Listening: And the lovers that you sent for me didn't come with any satisfaction guarantee. So I return them to the sender, and the note attached will read, "How I love to hate you."
What's my problem? Other people's drama.
So I came to Vang Vieng to hang out with Jennifer and Adam. Since I split off from them in Chiang Mai, they acquired a large group of people and now there's big drama in the group and it has affected my relationship with Adam and Jennifer. I just don't feel as welcome and as meshing with them as I once did. Maybe it's the fact that I don't want to drink nearly as much as their crew does.
Anyhow, I think that the main problem is this guy Rob who is 100% full of himself. He's kind of the alpha male of the bunch, but he's a complete prick. All of the men follow suit behind him as if they have no minds of their own. The there are the girls. All of them stick together. So that leaves me somewhere in between. And now I am choosing to extract myself.
I could have stayed an extra night in Vang Vieng, but I'm leaving tomorrow instead to go back to Luang Prabang. I know that there's not too much for me to see and do there, but I figure it might be a nice place to chill out for a few days before I head to Hanoi.
For a second, I contemplated going to Phonesavanh where the Plain of Jars is, but it would cost me three days. It would be one day to get there, one day to see the sites, and then another to get to Luang Prabang. I decided five minutes ago to nix it and just go to Luang Prabang. It might be nice to write some postcards and hang out with Goi and Lucky, as they will be there from the third to the sixth. I'm planning on flying out to Hanoi on the sixth, I think. I have to book my flight when I get to Luang Prabang. I think it's going to cost me a hundred and fifty US dollars.
On the flip side of things, Laos is beautiful. I have never been anywhere this beautiful before in my life. The mountains are stunning, and the landscape is like something out of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I haven't been able to take many pictures of the landscape though. When I was on the river today, I left my camera in the room. I didn't want it to get wet. And it's hard to take pictures out of the side of a minibus. Maybe I'll try tomorrow.
What screws things up in Vang Vieng are all of the bloody immature backpackers. I have never been to a place so devoted to drunken backpackers. Buckets of booze everywhere, places playing re-runs of Friends and The Family Guy, and cheap bad food fill the streets here. It's so lame. The place could be perfection if you just removed the assholes.
Anyhow, tomorrow I go to Luang Prabang. Tonight I hang out in backpacker-land. Pray for me.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Day 30: Four Solid Days of Travel
Listening: You convince yourself that you want it, but you don't know. You keep trying to wash the blood from your hands, but it won't go. We're gonna keep you on the run.
What's my problem? My body aches.
I'm here at Vang Vieng, finally, after four days of travel. It took a day to get to Chiang Khong, a day down river to get to Pak Beng, then another day to get to Luang Prabang, where I met back up with Jennifer and Adam. Today I caught a minibus down to Vang Vieng.
The trip to Chiang Khong wasn't all that bad. I made friends with a Canadian couple and a couple of chicks from Scotland. When I got there, as I said before, the hotel was shit and I'm never buying a package again.
In the morning, I (along with other people staying at the same shithole) was shuttled to Huay Xai to pick up my passport with a fresh new visa (not as fresh as the Vietnam one though). In Huay Xai, a shitload of us waited around for a few hours for the slow boat. In the mean time, a guy tried to scare us off the boat telling us that the first leg of the trip would take eight or nine hours and that the second leg would take us eleven or twelve hours. We think he was a guy working for the bus company, because all of a sudden, about half of the people who were supposed to go on the slow boat ended up going on a bus instead.
In Pak Beng, I shared a room with a German girl who was a solo traveler as well. We got bait and switched though. At the boat, we were told two hundred baht for the room. When we get to the place, we were told that we could have the room for two hundred baht if we ate dinner, breakfast, and bought lunch to go there. Hellz no. She said otherwise it was three hundred baht for the room. We argued for a long time until we got her down to just breakfast, where I bought the cheapest thing on the menu, which was bread for five thousand kip (about fifty cents). Laos wasn't looking good to start.
On the boat, I met this great group of Germans who I hung out with the entire time. We drank beer and played card games. I learned two new games, and refreshed my German a bit. When we got to Luang Prabang, I met up with them for dinner and drinks. Hopefully, I'll see more of them on the trail.
At my crappy hostel in Luang Prabang, which is another place I won't be returning to, I met up with Jennifer and Adam, who had been on a bit of a bender the night before, and hence were having a quiet night in the hostel. That just left me and the Germans. We hit up Lao Lao Garden, an amazing bar and restaurant where you feel like you're really eating in a bamboo grove. It was truly beautiful. From there, we went to the Hive Bar, where I danced my ass off to everything from MGMT to A Tribe Called Quest to the Basement Jaxx. Drinks were cheap and abundant, but I stuck to beer. There were two for one cocktails that were a mess waiting to happen for some people.
After the bar closed at midnight, the only things open were the discotheque and the bowling alley. I hooked up with some other people I met on the boat to go bowling. I have to say it was kind of crazy. Bowling in Luang Prabang.
And that brings us to today. The minibus ride was perhaps one of the craziest road trips that I have ever been on. It wound its way through fantastically beautiful mountains on bumpy cliffside roads. It was a kind of "take your life in your own hands" kind of experience. But we all got here. We have a crappy guesthouse, but I'm only going to be there for two nights. After that, I head back north and then over to Vietnam. Tomorrow is tubing.
In other news, all of the ATMs in Laos are out of service until at least Monday. I've been operating off of my US dollars, but I think I'll need a new infusion of cash in the next couple of days. There's beauty in developing nations, and then there are convenience annoyances. We'll see how it all works out.
What's my problem? My body aches.
I'm here at Vang Vieng, finally, after four days of travel. It took a day to get to Chiang Khong, a day down river to get to Pak Beng, then another day to get to Luang Prabang, where I met back up with Jennifer and Adam. Today I caught a minibus down to Vang Vieng.
The trip to Chiang Khong wasn't all that bad. I made friends with a Canadian couple and a couple of chicks from Scotland. When I got there, as I said before, the hotel was shit and I'm never buying a package again.
In the morning, I (along with other people staying at the same shithole) was shuttled to Huay Xai to pick up my passport with a fresh new visa (not as fresh as the Vietnam one though). In Huay Xai, a shitload of us waited around for a few hours for the slow boat. In the mean time, a guy tried to scare us off the boat telling us that the first leg of the trip would take eight or nine hours and that the second leg would take us eleven or twelve hours. We think he was a guy working for the bus company, because all of a sudden, about half of the people who were supposed to go on the slow boat ended up going on a bus instead.
In Pak Beng, I shared a room with a German girl who was a solo traveler as well. We got bait and switched though. At the boat, we were told two hundred baht for the room. When we get to the place, we were told that we could have the room for two hundred baht if we ate dinner, breakfast, and bought lunch to go there. Hellz no. She said otherwise it was three hundred baht for the room. We argued for a long time until we got her down to just breakfast, where I bought the cheapest thing on the menu, which was bread for five thousand kip (about fifty cents). Laos wasn't looking good to start.
On the boat, I met this great group of Germans who I hung out with the entire time. We drank beer and played card games. I learned two new games, and refreshed my German a bit. When we got to Luang Prabang, I met up with them for dinner and drinks. Hopefully, I'll see more of them on the trail.
At my crappy hostel in Luang Prabang, which is another place I won't be returning to, I met up with Jennifer and Adam, who had been on a bit of a bender the night before, and hence were having a quiet night in the hostel. That just left me and the Germans. We hit up Lao Lao Garden, an amazing bar and restaurant where you feel like you're really eating in a bamboo grove. It was truly beautiful. From there, we went to the Hive Bar, where I danced my ass off to everything from MGMT to A Tribe Called Quest to the Basement Jaxx. Drinks were cheap and abundant, but I stuck to beer. There were two for one cocktails that were a mess waiting to happen for some people.
After the bar closed at midnight, the only things open were the discotheque and the bowling alley. I hooked up with some other people I met on the boat to go bowling. I have to say it was kind of crazy. Bowling in Luang Prabang.
And that brings us to today. The minibus ride was perhaps one of the craziest road trips that I have ever been on. It wound its way through fantastically beautiful mountains on bumpy cliffside roads. It was a kind of "take your life in your own hands" kind of experience. But we all got here. We have a crappy guesthouse, but I'm only going to be there for two nights. After that, I head back north and then over to Vietnam. Tomorrow is tubing.
In other news, all of the ATMs in Laos are out of service until at least Monday. I've been operating off of my US dollars, but I think I'll need a new infusion of cash in the next couple of days. There's beauty in developing nations, and then there are convenience annoyances. We'll see how it all works out.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Day 28: I'm NEVER Trusting A Travel Agent Again
Listening: Looking at your watch a third time, waiting in the station for the bus, going to a place that's far, so far, away. And if that's not enough, going where nobody says hello. They don't talk to anybody they don't know.
What's my problem? This hotel blows.
I have a thing about when things are done half-assed. Maybe I get that from my father. But, I can take the ghetto. I like sleeping in open huts with shared bathrooms and mosquito nets with mats on bamboo floors (not refined lacquered bamboo, but split bamboo). I like ghetto food like Harold's fried chicken and four dollar fried rice. I also like the finer things like posh hotels and fine dining restaurants.
What I can't take is the middle ground. Everyone knows that I hate the middle class chain restaurants, places that pretend they have nice food, but you know it's coming out of a cryovaced package of sauce. What I hate about crappy hotels is that they have hot water and an actual bed, but they're not clean. At least in the hut, you know it's gonna be less comfortable and maybe a little bit dirty, but the huts on the trek made this hotel look like a luxury getaway.
The linens weren't clean. There were footprints on the wall. The sink didn't line up with the drain pipe, so everything that went down the sink didn't make it to the drain pipe, but made it to the floor. The food has been less than mediocre, but not good enough to be ghetto. Furthermore, the backpackers staying here don't seem all that friendly. The four people I bonded with on the minibus down all stayed somewhere else. Where? I don't know. They didn't have reservations anywhere, which is what I should have done.
I made a betrayed a cardinal rule of traveling. I trusted a travel agent. For 1800 baht ($54), I got a minibus trip to Chiang Khong, accomodation in Chiang Khong, dinner, breakfast, a lunchbox ferry over the border to get my visa, and a ticket on the slow boat. It sounded good. From the accomodations and the two meals I have had, I can honestly say that I've been bamboozled. It's okay. It'll never happen again. I've learned my lesson.
Anyhow I've got to see what the exchange rate for baht to US dollars is over here. I heard they operate both on the Lao kip and on the US dollar. I'm curious to know what my baht will be worth.
What's my problem? This hotel blows.
I have a thing about when things are done half-assed. Maybe I get that from my father. But, I can take the ghetto. I like sleeping in open huts with shared bathrooms and mosquito nets with mats on bamboo floors (not refined lacquered bamboo, but split bamboo). I like ghetto food like Harold's fried chicken and four dollar fried rice. I also like the finer things like posh hotels and fine dining restaurants.
What I can't take is the middle ground. Everyone knows that I hate the middle class chain restaurants, places that pretend they have nice food, but you know it's coming out of a cryovaced package of sauce. What I hate about crappy hotels is that they have hot water and an actual bed, but they're not clean. At least in the hut, you know it's gonna be less comfortable and maybe a little bit dirty, but the huts on the trek made this hotel look like a luxury getaway.
The linens weren't clean. There were footprints on the wall. The sink didn't line up with the drain pipe, so everything that went down the sink didn't make it to the drain pipe, but made it to the floor. The food has been less than mediocre, but not good enough to be ghetto. Furthermore, the backpackers staying here don't seem all that friendly. The four people I bonded with on the minibus down all stayed somewhere else. Where? I don't know. They didn't have reservations anywhere, which is what I should have done.
I made a betrayed a cardinal rule of traveling. I trusted a travel agent. For 1800 baht ($54), I got a minibus trip to Chiang Khong, accomodation in Chiang Khong, dinner, breakfast, a lunchbox ferry over the border to get my visa, and a ticket on the slow boat. It sounded good. From the accomodations and the two meals I have had, I can honestly say that I've been bamboozled. It's okay. It'll never happen again. I've learned my lesson.
Anyhow I've got to see what the exchange rate for baht to US dollars is over here. I heard they operate both on the Lao kip and on the US dollar. I'm curious to know what my baht will be worth.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Day 26: I Haven't...
Listening: One chance. One shot. That's all anybody ever got. Newborn, still warm, naked in the rush hour, dancing in my gutter. And if you want to find me, call me. I'll be far from the cars and guitars and everybody.
What's my problem? Part of me just wants to go back down to Koh Tao for my birthday.
I haven't worn socks in three weeks before three days ago. I haven't charged my iPod since I got here until tonight. I haven't figured out how to really use my iPhone knockoff very well. I haven't figured out how to efficiently get around Chiang Mai. I haven't read much of anything besides guidebooks since I got to this continent. I haven't figured out a way to transport a tuk-tuk back to the States for use on Nantucket. I haven't been eaten by a tiger on my jungle trek. I haven't been this sore in a long ass time. I haven't had more than one beer in the past three days (okay... I had a nip of rice whiskey that my crazy guide gave me... not bad). I haven't figured out how I'm getting to Hanoi on March sixth. I haven't figured out if I'll get to Halong Bay by my birthday.
But, yes. I am alive. No tigers have eaten me. Nothing makes a guy feel like more of a fat-ass American than three hours of hiking straight up in ninety degree heat. I had sweat through my shirt within the first hour. I guess what it means is that I should exercise a bit more this summer. It could be good for me. It would eat up time so I'm not out there spending money.
I'll elaborate more on the jungle trek that kicked my ass in a later post, and maybe I'll even get some pictures uploaded before then. But for now, I'm heading over to the Panda Bar to meet up with three of the Brits that were on part of my trek, and tomorrow, I'm heading to Xiang Khong to catch the slow boat to Luang Prabang so I can meet up with Jennifer and Adam in Vang Vieng for some tubing. I've been lazy about getting a move on in Thailand. It's time to start going commando (in the "I'm still wearing underpants" connotation).
What's my problem? Part of me just wants to go back down to Koh Tao for my birthday.
I haven't worn socks in three weeks before three days ago. I haven't charged my iPod since I got here until tonight. I haven't figured out how to really use my iPhone knockoff very well. I haven't figured out how to efficiently get around Chiang Mai. I haven't read much of anything besides guidebooks since I got to this continent. I haven't figured out a way to transport a tuk-tuk back to the States for use on Nantucket. I haven't been eaten by a tiger on my jungle trek. I haven't been this sore in a long ass time. I haven't had more than one beer in the past three days (okay... I had a nip of rice whiskey that my crazy guide gave me... not bad). I haven't figured out how I'm getting to Hanoi on March sixth. I haven't figured out if I'll get to Halong Bay by my birthday.
But, yes. I am alive. No tigers have eaten me. Nothing makes a guy feel like more of a fat-ass American than three hours of hiking straight up in ninety degree heat. I had sweat through my shirt within the first hour. I guess what it means is that I should exercise a bit more this summer. It could be good for me. It would eat up time so I'm not out there spending money.
I'll elaborate more on the jungle trek that kicked my ass in a later post, and maybe I'll even get some pictures uploaded before then. But for now, I'm heading over to the Panda Bar to meet up with three of the Brits that were on part of my trek, and tomorrow, I'm heading to Xiang Khong to catch the slow boat to Luang Prabang so I can meet up with Jennifer and Adam in Vang Vieng for some tubing. I've been lazy about getting a move on in Thailand. It's time to start going commando (in the "I'm still wearing underpants" connotation).
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Day 23: The Payoff
Listening: I wanna, li-li-li-lick you from yo' head to yo' toes, and I wanna, move from the bed down to the down to the to the flo'. Then I wanna, ahh ahh. You make it so good I don't wanna leave, but I gotta, kn-kn-kn-know what-what's your fan-ta-ta-sy
What's my problem? I'm starting to get Western food cravings.
Let me, for a second describe to you the fantasy that's becoming a reality right in front of me. I'm in an internet cafe in the Central Airport Plaza Mall facing an atrium. In other atriums (ones without internet cafes) there are "Drypers superstar" contests going on where parents bring their kids in to see if they can get their kid into a diaper ad. My atrium is different. My atrium has the Gems and Jewelery School of Technology putting on some kind of show. So, in front of me there are around a hundred girls. Half of them are in university uniforms which involve white tailored shirts with silver buttons and black skirts (very hot), and the other half of the girls are in some sort of runway fashion show, so they're all strutting their stuff on the catwalk. I.LOVE.THIS.COUNTRY.
You know, as much as I would HATE wearing an actual uniform (though I do wear whites....), they make some girls who may look a bit blah hot as hell.
Yesterday, I had a lot of fun. I was up and in town by eight in the morning and off to a cooking class at The Thai Farm Cooking School. I was in a class with nine other people, a couple from Seattle, a couple from Sydney, three girls from Canada, and two girls from (I'm guessing) France who didn't talk too much to anyone else. Our instructor was the tiniest little Thai woman. The great thing about her is that she acted like every single badass chick I have ever cooked the line with. She was very straight forward and cracked a few quick jokes from time to time. If you weren't fast enough, you missed them. I learned how to make green curry, tom yam, pad thai, fried basil with chicken, and sticky rice with mango. It was a lot of fun. I wanted to take my instructor to Nantucket with me so she could cook the line next to me. I'm pretty sure the food would all be put out perfectly and I would be laughing my ass off as well.
Also, in honor of Linh's birthday (happy b-day, Linh!), I got my first Thai massage (sans happy ending, thank you very much). Goi talked to a bunch of people and found one of the best places in town. The woman at the front desk said that one hour wasn't possible, and that I would have to have at least a two hour massage. So I was in it for two whole hours. Oh yeah. It only cost me 200 baht, which turns out to be right around six dollars. Yeah. I can smell the envy of all you readers all of the way over here.
So, this little Thai girl takes me to a chair where she washes my feet and then brings me to a small room and tells me to change clothes. The clothes are a very loose fitting pair of pajama pants and a cheesecloth shirt. From there, she totally works me over. She hits all sorts of pressure points and contorts me in all sorts of ways. There were snaps, crackles, and pops all around. It wasn't really rough though. It was very relaxing. She found all sorts of knots and stuff. In the end, I came out feeling sore, but relaxed. And for two hundred baht, I would do it again in a second.
Anyhow, I have to go REALLY soon. So here's the payoff. Some pics and a couple of videos.
Wat Mahathat in Ayuthaya
One of the few Buddhas with the head still in tact in Wat Mahathat
Hoot and Buddha in the tree... He felt a special connection with this Buddha.
A 40 meter tall Buddha in Ayuthaya
I want a 1/8 size one of these built for me when I die.
Me, Adam & Jennifer at Soi Cowboy on Valentine's Day... Oh yeah, and a stripper and a mama-san.
Really, these guys are too much fun.
Vats of stock & stewed duck
In case you're looking for a comfortaple fit...
The girl in front is the one who interviewed me. Her skirt wouldn't stop staring at me.
Do these exercises every morning.
Traditional northern Thai food
Traditional Thai dance
The Monkey King
Jennifer, Me & Mike at the Khum Khan Toke
Me attempting to do Thai dance
Me and a girl dressed up real cool
Badass crepe maker at Ayuthaya
Part of the Traditional Thai war dance
What's my problem? I'm starting to get Western food cravings.
Let me, for a second describe to you the fantasy that's becoming a reality right in front of me. I'm in an internet cafe in the Central Airport Plaza Mall facing an atrium. In other atriums (ones without internet cafes) there are "Drypers superstar" contests going on where parents bring their kids in to see if they can get their kid into a diaper ad. My atrium is different. My atrium has the Gems and Jewelery School of Technology putting on some kind of show. So, in front of me there are around a hundred girls. Half of them are in university uniforms which involve white tailored shirts with silver buttons and black skirts (very hot), and the other half of the girls are in some sort of runway fashion show, so they're all strutting their stuff on the catwalk. I.LOVE.THIS.COUNTRY.
You know, as much as I would HATE wearing an actual uniform (though I do wear whites....), they make some girls who may look a bit blah hot as hell.
Yesterday, I had a lot of fun. I was up and in town by eight in the morning and off to a cooking class at The Thai Farm Cooking School. I was in a class with nine other people, a couple from Seattle, a couple from Sydney, three girls from Canada, and two girls from (I'm guessing) France who didn't talk too much to anyone else. Our instructor was the tiniest little Thai woman. The great thing about her is that she acted like every single badass chick I have ever cooked the line with. She was very straight forward and cracked a few quick jokes from time to time. If you weren't fast enough, you missed them. I learned how to make green curry, tom yam, pad thai, fried basil with chicken, and sticky rice with mango. It was a lot of fun. I wanted to take my instructor to Nantucket with me so she could cook the line next to me. I'm pretty sure the food would all be put out perfectly and I would be laughing my ass off as well.
Also, in honor of Linh's birthday (happy b-day, Linh!), I got my first Thai massage (sans happy ending, thank you very much). Goi talked to a bunch of people and found one of the best places in town. The woman at the front desk said that one hour wasn't possible, and that I would have to have at least a two hour massage. So I was in it for two whole hours. Oh yeah. It only cost me 200 baht, which turns out to be right around six dollars. Yeah. I can smell the envy of all you readers all of the way over here.
So, this little Thai girl takes me to a chair where she washes my feet and then brings me to a small room and tells me to change clothes. The clothes are a very loose fitting pair of pajama pants and a cheesecloth shirt. From there, she totally works me over. She hits all sorts of pressure points and contorts me in all sorts of ways. There were snaps, crackles, and pops all around. It wasn't really rough though. It was very relaxing. She found all sorts of knots and stuff. In the end, I came out feeling sore, but relaxed. And for two hundred baht, I would do it again in a second.
Anyhow, I have to go REALLY soon. So here's the payoff. Some pics and a couple of videos.
Wat Mahathat in Ayuthaya
One of the few Buddhas with the head still in tact in Wat Mahathat
Hoot and Buddha in the tree... He felt a special connection with this Buddha.
A 40 meter tall Buddha in Ayuthaya
I want a 1/8 size one of these built for me when I die.
Me, Adam & Jennifer at Soi Cowboy on Valentine's Day... Oh yeah, and a stripper and a mama-san.
Really, these guys are too much fun.
Vats of stock & stewed duck
In case you're looking for a comfortaple fit...
The girl in front is the one who interviewed me. Her skirt wouldn't stop staring at me.
Do these exercises every morning.
Traditional northern Thai food
Traditional Thai dance
The Monkey King
Jennifer, Me & Mike at the Khum Khan Toke
Me attempting to do Thai dance
Me and a girl dressed up real cool
Badass crepe maker at Ayuthaya
Part of the Traditional Thai war dance
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Day 21: Was It Something I Ate?
Listening: I'm no crazy creep. I've got it coming to me because I'm not satisfied. The hunger keeps on growing. I eat too much. I drink too much. I want too much. Too much.
What's my problem? I'm run down.
It's day 21 and my pace has caught up with me. I'm in Chiang Mai and today, I'm taking a "day off." It's a me day. A personal day, if you will. I'll be writing some post cards, eating fruit, trying to upload pictures (though I doubt it with these slow ass connections), and moving my bags from Goi's father's place to Goi's mother's place.
Yesterday, I spent the whole day feeling like arse. The day before, I spent climbing up a mountain to a temple in Chiang Mai. That night, I had dinner with Goi's father and got aquainted to Northern Thai food. I don't know if it was heat exhaustion or the food, but I woke up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous. It lasted the rest of the night and then until morning. The rest of the day I had a headache and my stomach was neither here nor there. I didn't vomit. I didn't have the shits. I just felt like crap. My friend Jennifer, the nurse from Canada, thinks that it's more heat exhaustion than the food. That makes me happy, but it's been about 36 hours, and I still really don't feel like eating much of anything. I forced myself to eat last night at dinner, and I had a cup of coffee this morning. I think I might get some pineapple a bit later on.
Anyhow, the trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was pretty good. Goi and I had the two sleepers closest to the car door, so we would hear it every time someone went in and out. The second class sleepers are a million times better than the sleepers from Amsterdam/Frankfurt to Prague. There was more padding and generally more space. Since I was the top bunk, I had no window. It was a good time to just listen to my iPod and do some reading.
My inner sketchy guy came out during the trip though. I knew he was coming out, but I was helpless to stop him. See, across from me, there was a girl. She reminded me so much of Alice that I couldn't help but looking over there. Goi said I was staring. I seriously couldn't help it. What was it about this crunchy Japanese girl? She knew I was looking at her too, which made me feel even worse. I was a sketchball.
So far, in Chiang Mai, I haven't done too mucyh. I have seen a bunch of temples, eaten some food, but the good portion of the trip comes tomorrow. Tomorrow, I go to cooking class at the Thai Farm Cooking School. I'm going to learn how to make a number of dishes that I will undoubtley be making for staff meal this summer. I'm excited about learning to make red curry, tom yam, fried basil with chicken, and a few other things. The following day, I'll pick up my Vietnam visa from the travel agent, and I'll tool around Chiang Mai some more. Three days from now I'll start my three day/two night jungle trek. It includes elephant riding, white water rafting, bamboo rafting, seeing four hill tribes, a bat cave, some waterfalls and some other stuff that is really just gravy. Luckily, since I'm staying at Goi's mother's place, I'm leaving 90% of my stuff there, bringing only some cash, and the essential clothes and pills.
The day after I finish with the trek, I'll be heading to Laos. Hopefully, I'll be able to meet up with Jennifer and Adam in Vang Vieng to do some tubing before I meet up with Goi in Luang Prabang. I'll probably be taking a minibus from Chiang Mai to Xiang Khong, crossing the border to Huay Xai, then taking the slow boat to Luang Prabang before taking the bus to Vang Vieng.
A couple of places have been cut from my itinerary thus far. I have had to cut out Chiang Rai and Vietiene. It's a bit disappointing, but it's just the nature of the time limits. Also, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to get from Luang Prabang to Hanoi. I don't want to spend the extra day in Luang Prabang to catch the flight, but I also don't wanto to spend two days doing it over land, as I have heard that it sucks. It's kind of a no-win situation. My main concern is to get to Halong Bay or Cat Ba by March 9th. I want to spend my birthday somewhere beautiful. Hopefully, I'll have friends there.
Anyhow, enough of my travel woes. I'll leave you with some outdated pictures.
Goi and I at the full moon party. Note: the bucket.
Is this my type of girl, or what?
Me, Doris & Markus at the Full Moon
Sunrise over the Full Moon
What's my problem? I'm run down.
It's day 21 and my pace has caught up with me. I'm in Chiang Mai and today, I'm taking a "day off." It's a me day. A personal day, if you will. I'll be writing some post cards, eating fruit, trying to upload pictures (though I doubt it with these slow ass connections), and moving my bags from Goi's father's place to Goi's mother's place.
Yesterday, I spent the whole day feeling like arse. The day before, I spent climbing up a mountain to a temple in Chiang Mai. That night, I had dinner with Goi's father and got aquainted to Northern Thai food. I don't know if it was heat exhaustion or the food, but I woke up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous. It lasted the rest of the night and then until morning. The rest of the day I had a headache and my stomach was neither here nor there. I didn't vomit. I didn't have the shits. I just felt like crap. My friend Jennifer, the nurse from Canada, thinks that it's more heat exhaustion than the food. That makes me happy, but it's been about 36 hours, and I still really don't feel like eating much of anything. I forced myself to eat last night at dinner, and I had a cup of coffee this morning. I think I might get some pineapple a bit later on.
Anyhow, the trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was pretty good. Goi and I had the two sleepers closest to the car door, so we would hear it every time someone went in and out. The second class sleepers are a million times better than the sleepers from Amsterdam/Frankfurt to Prague. There was more padding and generally more space. Since I was the top bunk, I had no window. It was a good time to just listen to my iPod and do some reading.
My inner sketchy guy came out during the trip though. I knew he was coming out, but I was helpless to stop him. See, across from me, there was a girl. She reminded me so much of Alice that I couldn't help but looking over there. Goi said I was staring. I seriously couldn't help it. What was it about this crunchy Japanese girl? She knew I was looking at her too, which made me feel even worse. I was a sketchball.
So far, in Chiang Mai, I haven't done too mucyh. I have seen a bunch of temples, eaten some food, but the good portion of the trip comes tomorrow. Tomorrow, I go to cooking class at the Thai Farm Cooking School. I'm going to learn how to make a number of dishes that I will undoubtley be making for staff meal this summer. I'm excited about learning to make red curry, tom yam, fried basil with chicken, and a few other things. The following day, I'll pick up my Vietnam visa from the travel agent, and I'll tool around Chiang Mai some more. Three days from now I'll start my three day/two night jungle trek. It includes elephant riding, white water rafting, bamboo rafting, seeing four hill tribes, a bat cave, some waterfalls and some other stuff that is really just gravy. Luckily, since I'm staying at Goi's mother's place, I'm leaving 90% of my stuff there, bringing only some cash, and the essential clothes and pills.
The day after I finish with the trek, I'll be heading to Laos. Hopefully, I'll be able to meet up with Jennifer and Adam in Vang Vieng to do some tubing before I meet up with Goi in Luang Prabang. I'll probably be taking a minibus from Chiang Mai to Xiang Khong, crossing the border to Huay Xai, then taking the slow boat to Luang Prabang before taking the bus to Vang Vieng.
A couple of places have been cut from my itinerary thus far. I have had to cut out Chiang Rai and Vietiene. It's a bit disappointing, but it's just the nature of the time limits. Also, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to get from Luang Prabang to Hanoi. I don't want to spend the extra day in Luang Prabang to catch the flight, but I also don't wanto to spend two days doing it over land, as I have heard that it sucks. It's kind of a no-win situation. My main concern is to get to Halong Bay or Cat Ba by March 9th. I want to spend my birthday somewhere beautiful. Hopefully, I'll have friends there.
Anyhow, enough of my travel woes. I'll leave you with some outdated pictures.
Goi and I at the full moon party. Note: the bucket.
Is this my type of girl, or what?
Me, Doris & Markus at the Full Moon
Sunrise over the Full Moon
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Day 17: A Few Days In Review
Listening: One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster. The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free. You'll find a god in every golden cloister and if you're lucky then the god's a she. I can feel an angel sliding up to me.
What's my problem? Pics upload soooooo sloooooow.
Well, it's been a few days. The post I put up last night, should have been day 16, but I was a little bit tipsy. Could you tell?
Well, on Tuesday the 10th of February, I went on quite an adventure. See, since Goi and I were in Koh Samui around the time of the full moon, we decided that it would be a shame not to go an see it. I had no desire to stay overnight there, booking a room, but I did want to see the party. Also, two of my friends from Koh Tao, Doris and Marcus, were going to be there.
Being the fantastic hosts that they were, Lucky and Paul arranged for us to borrow a yacht from another resort owner to get to the party which was on the Haad Rin beach on Koh Phangan. On the boat, it was Goi, Lucky and myself, along with Paul, a "companion" of his, another resort owner and a "companion" of his, yet another resort owner and his very nice Vietnamese wife, and his friend from Israel joined by what seemed to be a "companion."
By "companion," I think it's clear what I mean. Now, I'm not Mister Stuffy-Conservative-Man, by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think that prostitution should be illegal. Like drugs, I believe that it should be legal and regulated. I've been to Amsterdam. I've seen the working girls. But the truth of the matter is that I have never seen it in action up close and personal. By this I don't mean that I was watching these older men go at it with these younger Thai ladies. But I was up close watching how these men were acting towards these women. I kind of found some of the interaction to be inappropriate and kind of insulting to the women. So, I found myself conflicted about how I felt about prostitution. It's a very strange place to be on the conservative side of an issue like this.
Anyhow, I was easily the youngest person on the boat. Goi is a little bit older than me and all of the other men on the boat were well over forty years old. The girls, well, I couldn't really tell how old they were. Maybe they were in their late twenties or their early thirties. However, from the way they were acting, and the way they were treated, it was clear that they were working girls. I have to be honest, I felt a little uncomfortable.
When we got to Koh Phangan, we shuttled over to the beach in a dinghy where overload began. Hundreds upon hundreds of people dancing. People drinking out of buckets. Lights. The smooth white sand. It was pretty damn cool. Some places were playing house, while others played trance or drum 'n' bass.
All along the town side of the beach, there were bar stands where you ordered "buckets." Buckets are just that, a bucket of booze. They're about the size of a Big Gulp from Seven-Eleven, and they're filled to the max. There's ice, about a pint of the booze of your choice (I chose vodka), a mixer of your choice (I chose tonic), and a bottle of Red Bull. I have to say that two buckets over the course of the night from ten in the evening until seven in the morning was plenty for me.
The older guys and Goi only stuck around until midnight or so, but I decided that I wanted to stay with my Koh Tao friends and dance the night away. I have to say that it was a blast, and dancing on sand is much lower impact on your joints. Marcus got hit on by a gay guy, and Doris egged him on. I think the best moment was when Doris nonchalantly got Marcus to take off his shirt and the gay guy came up to him and told Marcus that he loved him.
There was debauchery everywhere. People fucking on the beach, people passed out on the beach, people pissing into the ocean (instead of paying ten baht for a proper urinal). It was all there. There were gorgeous girls everywhere and I have to say that I fell in love a few times.
The party kept going all night long. We stopped at around five in the morning to grab a bite to eat, but when we got back to the beach, it was still bumping. As the sun came up at around seven in the morning, people were still dancing. It was a lot like back in my raving days, except instead of coming out of the building and seeing the sun rise, you saw the sun rise as you danced your ass off.
It was nice though. It wasn't quite the party that the hype had made me expect, but it was a good time. I would go back again and maybe do it a little differently, now that I know what's up with the party.
After the party, we went back to Marcus' friend's hostel and chilled out for a while before going for breakfast. Unfortunately, since I ended up staying for breakfast, I missed the eleven o'clock ferry back to Koh Samui. Instead, I had to take the four o'clock, and with the others having other things to do, I was left wandering around Koh Phangan with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
I had a few hours to kill, hadn't slept a wink, and didn't know what to do. I spent a little time in an internet cafe, did a bit of window shopping, and then finally ended up going for a massage. See, I thought that this was quite clever. I had the oil massage, which is less, how shall I say this, hurtful than regular Thai massages. So while this little Thai lady worked away on my muscles, I actually got a good hour of sleep. I thought it was perfect.
By the time the massage was over, it was time to head back to the ferry terminal to check in and be back on my way to Koh Samui.
I got back to the Samui Beverly Hills Resort at around five thirty in the evening. With one hour of sleep under my belt, I was totally knackered. Paul told me that they were planning on going to dinner at around half past six and that Goi would call me on my phone when they were about to go. I said, "Fantastic," and headed into my room for a shower and a fifteen minute nap. Right. Fifteen minutes. Let's just say that when I opened my eyes, it was eleven at night, I had missed Goi's phone call and she was even already asleep after dinner.
The next day was spent traveling from Koh Samui back to Bangkok. It actually takes a good ten hours to make the trip. If you don't have advanced ferry reservations, you end up having to wait for two or three ferries to go by in order to get your car on one. In addition the drive time between Bangkok and the port is about eight hours. I, again, used this opportunity to sleep as Goi and Lucky chatted away in Thai.
When I got to the hostel back on Sukhumvit Soi 1, I checked in and ended up meeting a couple of my roommates. One was from Australia, and wasn't all that talkative, there was a chap from Ireland who was wikkid talkative, and then there was Jennifer, a girl from Canada who had just pulled in that night as well.
I asked if any of them were going to Ayuthaya. No one was, but Jennifer decided to come with me last minute. So, the next morning, we caught a minibus from the Victory Monument, took the hour and a half ride to Ayuthaya and walked around all day.
It was hot and sunny that day. When I say hot and sunny, I mean it's like being in a kitchen with all of the burners on in the height of summer with a hundred order tickets hanging, and so bright that you might rather wear a welder's mask in addition to sunglasses. As Jennifer and I walked around the old capitol, we must have downed at least three liters of water each. There were times that we stopped in shade and didn't want to get up to go on to the next place.
But the city was absolutely beautiful. The ruins of all of the old wats and temples were truly majestic. It was exactly what I thought I would see in Thailand before I had even stepped on the plane. The ruins were so awe inspiring that I can only imagine what the buildings were like before the Burmese came in and burned it all. Many of the Buddha statues were headless, and a lot of the buildings were reduced to pillars.
Also in Ayuthaya, we saw a sitting Buddha in a temple that was about forty meters tall. It was HUGE. I remarked to Jennifer that I thought that Buddha's hand would perfectly cradle my ass if I wanted to sit up on it.
When Jennifer and I got back to the hostel, she wanted a bit of a nap before going out to dinner. I told her that I didn't think that she would wake up for it, but she insisted that she would. At around nine thirty, after the hour of nap that she said that she wanted, she was still out. I went downstairs to Seven-Eleven to get something to drink and use the internet. When I came back up, she was still out and the lights were off. So, I decided not to wake her.
Off I went on my own to grab a bite and to look for a hat. I've been looking for a hat for a little while now. I can't seem to find one to my liking though. I've been to the weekend market, up and down the streets of Sukhumvit and even to shopping centers. I can't find one. That night, I saw one that was okay, but I still didn't buy it. I guess I'm just picky.
When I got to the Asok area of Sukhumvit, I saw the first car crash I have seen in Bangkok. To be honest, it was just a little fender bender, but I was really surprised by the procedure that took place. Both cars stopped and people started yelling at each other. A police officer drove up and started directing people around the cars while another spray painted around the cars. Apparently, no one can leave until insurance assessors arrive and survey the damage. It's totally messed up. Traffic was backed up for a while.
The next day, Jennifer came with me when I met up with Goi and Lucky to go to a floating market. Goi's friend who owns a car wash knew of this market which was well outside of Bangkok. The four of us and two of Goi's friends headed out there to check it out.
We were expecting a bunch of boats on the river selling fruits and other foods, but that wasn't really what it was. Instead, it was a market alongside of the river that had all sorts of fruit and foods. There were so much duck for sale that that I felt like I had arrived at the promised land. Fruits of all sorts, and duck. Mmm. Duck.
After buying an array of fruit, we did decide to take a river cruise where we saw all sorts of cool houses built along the river. They ranged from shacks to old teak houses to new-fangled, fancy-schmancy, tacky mansions.
After we finished at the market, Lucky and Goi dropped Jennifer and I off at the weekend market. It was close to the end of the day, so we only shopped around for a couple of hours. I saw the koi fish tee shirt that I really wanted the last time I was there, but he still wouldn't discount it beyond a hundred and ninety baht. I still passed on it. I did, however, get a blue plaid very light cotton, short sleeved, button down shirt. As a matter of fact I'm wearing it now and it's crazy comfortable. I paid two hundred baht for it. He wanted two hundred and twenty, but I talked him down. I figure if I paid two hundred baht for a button down, I'm not going to pay almost two hundred for a tee shirt.
That night, Jennifer and I ended up going out with this big Irish guy named Adam to Soi Cowboy. It was the night of Valentine's day, and everything there was humming. If you're not familiar with Soi Cowboy, it's a street near our guesthouse that's famous for its strip clubs and it's sex trade. It's one of the three major red light districts in Bangkok.
Now if you've never been to a strip club in Thailand, it's a different experience. They have a number of girls up on stage at the same time dancing. There's actually very little stripping. It's not seductive. It's just naked girls dancing on a stage. Every few songs, there might be a show, like a lesbian show, or a lotion show. It's all pretty funny. Sometimes five girls dressed in the same clothes like cowboys, or nurses will come out and strip over a few songs. It's good, dirty fun.
If you go with a girl, you get even more attention. The girls at the clubs that we went to loved Jennifer. They were all over her. At this one place in Soi Cowboy called Cowboy 2, the girls were really eager to come and hang out with us. At one point, Jennifer got up on stage and danced. At one point, I was invited to go up and dance. And you know I did. Nothing like having two half naked girls grinding on you while up on stage. I don't know if I have any pics of it, but I tried to do some pole tricks. Yeah, I bet I looked like a complete fool, but it was fun as hell.
I have to say that it must have been the most fun that I have ever had on a Valentine's day. Jennifer ended up walking out of Cowboy 2 with a really nice red leather cowboy hat, a rose and a foam heart with wings on it.
After Soi Cowboy, we went to an after hours club called Spicy. The music was bumping and the girls were hot. I ended up flirting with a girl who had really cool glasses for a little bit, until she said, "you want me go home with you?" I thought about it, and decided against it as I'm staying in a hostel, and I don't know where that girl has been.
Anyhow, Jennifer and I stayed out until around three in the morning, and I was pretty zapped by the time I got back to the hostel. Because of all of the partying, we really didn't get started today until after noon. Jennifer, Adam and I ended up going to a meditation class near the Grand Palace. I have to say that it was really nice. I may have to get back to meditation. It was extremely relaxing.
Well, it's eight o'clock and only half of my pictures have uploaded. I have to meet Jennifer and Adam for dinner in a few minutes, so I have to log off. Hopefully tonight, we'll have more fun adventures.
What's my problem? Pics upload soooooo sloooooow.
Well, it's been a few days. The post I put up last night, should have been day 16, but I was a little bit tipsy. Could you tell?
Well, on Tuesday the 10th of February, I went on quite an adventure. See, since Goi and I were in Koh Samui around the time of the full moon, we decided that it would be a shame not to go an see it. I had no desire to stay overnight there, booking a room, but I did want to see the party. Also, two of my friends from Koh Tao, Doris and Marcus, were going to be there.
Being the fantastic hosts that they were, Lucky and Paul arranged for us to borrow a yacht from another resort owner to get to the party which was on the Haad Rin beach on Koh Phangan. On the boat, it was Goi, Lucky and myself, along with Paul, a "companion" of his, another resort owner and a "companion" of his, yet another resort owner and his very nice Vietnamese wife, and his friend from Israel joined by what seemed to be a "companion."
By "companion," I think it's clear what I mean. Now, I'm not Mister Stuffy-Conservative-Man, by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think that prostitution should be illegal. Like drugs, I believe that it should be legal and regulated. I've been to Amsterdam. I've seen the working girls. But the truth of the matter is that I have never seen it in action up close and personal. By this I don't mean that I was watching these older men go at it with these younger Thai ladies. But I was up close watching how these men were acting towards these women. I kind of found some of the interaction to be inappropriate and kind of insulting to the women. So, I found myself conflicted about how I felt about prostitution. It's a very strange place to be on the conservative side of an issue like this.
Anyhow, I was easily the youngest person on the boat. Goi is a little bit older than me and all of the other men on the boat were well over forty years old. The girls, well, I couldn't really tell how old they were. Maybe they were in their late twenties or their early thirties. However, from the way they were acting, and the way they were treated, it was clear that they were working girls. I have to be honest, I felt a little uncomfortable.
When we got to Koh Phangan, we shuttled over to the beach in a dinghy where overload began. Hundreds upon hundreds of people dancing. People drinking out of buckets. Lights. The smooth white sand. It was pretty damn cool. Some places were playing house, while others played trance or drum 'n' bass.
All along the town side of the beach, there were bar stands where you ordered "buckets." Buckets are just that, a bucket of booze. They're about the size of a Big Gulp from Seven-Eleven, and they're filled to the max. There's ice, about a pint of the booze of your choice (I chose vodka), a mixer of your choice (I chose tonic), and a bottle of Red Bull. I have to say that two buckets over the course of the night from ten in the evening until seven in the morning was plenty for me.
The older guys and Goi only stuck around until midnight or so, but I decided that I wanted to stay with my Koh Tao friends and dance the night away. I have to say that it was a blast, and dancing on sand is much lower impact on your joints. Marcus got hit on by a gay guy, and Doris egged him on. I think the best moment was when Doris nonchalantly got Marcus to take off his shirt and the gay guy came up to him and told Marcus that he loved him.
There was debauchery everywhere. People fucking on the beach, people passed out on the beach, people pissing into the ocean (instead of paying ten baht for a proper urinal). It was all there. There were gorgeous girls everywhere and I have to say that I fell in love a few times.
The party kept going all night long. We stopped at around five in the morning to grab a bite to eat, but when we got back to the beach, it was still bumping. As the sun came up at around seven in the morning, people were still dancing. It was a lot like back in my raving days, except instead of coming out of the building and seeing the sun rise, you saw the sun rise as you danced your ass off.
It was nice though. It wasn't quite the party that the hype had made me expect, but it was a good time. I would go back again and maybe do it a little differently, now that I know what's up with the party.
After the party, we went back to Marcus' friend's hostel and chilled out for a while before going for breakfast. Unfortunately, since I ended up staying for breakfast, I missed the eleven o'clock ferry back to Koh Samui. Instead, I had to take the four o'clock, and with the others having other things to do, I was left wandering around Koh Phangan with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
I had a few hours to kill, hadn't slept a wink, and didn't know what to do. I spent a little time in an internet cafe, did a bit of window shopping, and then finally ended up going for a massage. See, I thought that this was quite clever. I had the oil massage, which is less, how shall I say this, hurtful than regular Thai massages. So while this little Thai lady worked away on my muscles, I actually got a good hour of sleep. I thought it was perfect.
By the time the massage was over, it was time to head back to the ferry terminal to check in and be back on my way to Koh Samui.
I got back to the Samui Beverly Hills Resort at around five thirty in the evening. With one hour of sleep under my belt, I was totally knackered. Paul told me that they were planning on going to dinner at around half past six and that Goi would call me on my phone when they were about to go. I said, "Fantastic," and headed into my room for a shower and a fifteen minute nap. Right. Fifteen minutes. Let's just say that when I opened my eyes, it was eleven at night, I had missed Goi's phone call and she was even already asleep after dinner.
The next day was spent traveling from Koh Samui back to Bangkok. It actually takes a good ten hours to make the trip. If you don't have advanced ferry reservations, you end up having to wait for two or three ferries to go by in order to get your car on one. In addition the drive time between Bangkok and the port is about eight hours. I, again, used this opportunity to sleep as Goi and Lucky chatted away in Thai.
When I got to the hostel back on Sukhumvit Soi 1, I checked in and ended up meeting a couple of my roommates. One was from Australia, and wasn't all that talkative, there was a chap from Ireland who was wikkid talkative, and then there was Jennifer, a girl from Canada who had just pulled in that night as well.
I asked if any of them were going to Ayuthaya. No one was, but Jennifer decided to come with me last minute. So, the next morning, we caught a minibus from the Victory Monument, took the hour and a half ride to Ayuthaya and walked around all day.
It was hot and sunny that day. When I say hot and sunny, I mean it's like being in a kitchen with all of the burners on in the height of summer with a hundred order tickets hanging, and so bright that you might rather wear a welder's mask in addition to sunglasses. As Jennifer and I walked around the old capitol, we must have downed at least three liters of water each. There were times that we stopped in shade and didn't want to get up to go on to the next place.
But the city was absolutely beautiful. The ruins of all of the old wats and temples were truly majestic. It was exactly what I thought I would see in Thailand before I had even stepped on the plane. The ruins were so awe inspiring that I can only imagine what the buildings were like before the Burmese came in and burned it all. Many of the Buddha statues were headless, and a lot of the buildings were reduced to pillars.
Also in Ayuthaya, we saw a sitting Buddha in a temple that was about forty meters tall. It was HUGE. I remarked to Jennifer that I thought that Buddha's hand would perfectly cradle my ass if I wanted to sit up on it.
When Jennifer and I got back to the hostel, she wanted a bit of a nap before going out to dinner. I told her that I didn't think that she would wake up for it, but she insisted that she would. At around nine thirty, after the hour of nap that she said that she wanted, she was still out. I went downstairs to Seven-Eleven to get something to drink and use the internet. When I came back up, she was still out and the lights were off. So, I decided not to wake her.
Off I went on my own to grab a bite and to look for a hat. I've been looking for a hat for a little while now. I can't seem to find one to my liking though. I've been to the weekend market, up and down the streets of Sukhumvit and even to shopping centers. I can't find one. That night, I saw one that was okay, but I still didn't buy it. I guess I'm just picky.
When I got to the Asok area of Sukhumvit, I saw the first car crash I have seen in Bangkok. To be honest, it was just a little fender bender, but I was really surprised by the procedure that took place. Both cars stopped and people started yelling at each other. A police officer drove up and started directing people around the cars while another spray painted around the cars. Apparently, no one can leave until insurance assessors arrive and survey the damage. It's totally messed up. Traffic was backed up for a while.
The next day, Jennifer came with me when I met up with Goi and Lucky to go to a floating market. Goi's friend who owns a car wash knew of this market which was well outside of Bangkok. The four of us and two of Goi's friends headed out there to check it out.
We were expecting a bunch of boats on the river selling fruits and other foods, but that wasn't really what it was. Instead, it was a market alongside of the river that had all sorts of fruit and foods. There were so much duck for sale that that I felt like I had arrived at the promised land. Fruits of all sorts, and duck. Mmm. Duck.
After buying an array of fruit, we did decide to take a river cruise where we saw all sorts of cool houses built along the river. They ranged from shacks to old teak houses to new-fangled, fancy-schmancy, tacky mansions.
After we finished at the market, Lucky and Goi dropped Jennifer and I off at the weekend market. It was close to the end of the day, so we only shopped around for a couple of hours. I saw the koi fish tee shirt that I really wanted the last time I was there, but he still wouldn't discount it beyond a hundred and ninety baht. I still passed on it. I did, however, get a blue plaid very light cotton, short sleeved, button down shirt. As a matter of fact I'm wearing it now and it's crazy comfortable. I paid two hundred baht for it. He wanted two hundred and twenty, but I talked him down. I figure if I paid two hundred baht for a button down, I'm not going to pay almost two hundred for a tee shirt.
That night, Jennifer and I ended up going out with this big Irish guy named Adam to Soi Cowboy. It was the night of Valentine's day, and everything there was humming. If you're not familiar with Soi Cowboy, it's a street near our guesthouse that's famous for its strip clubs and it's sex trade. It's one of the three major red light districts in Bangkok.
Now if you've never been to a strip club in Thailand, it's a different experience. They have a number of girls up on stage at the same time dancing. There's actually very little stripping. It's not seductive. It's just naked girls dancing on a stage. Every few songs, there might be a show, like a lesbian show, or a lotion show. It's all pretty funny. Sometimes five girls dressed in the same clothes like cowboys, or nurses will come out and strip over a few songs. It's good, dirty fun.
If you go with a girl, you get even more attention. The girls at the clubs that we went to loved Jennifer. They were all over her. At this one place in Soi Cowboy called Cowboy 2, the girls were really eager to come and hang out with us. At one point, Jennifer got up on stage and danced. At one point, I was invited to go up and dance. And you know I did. Nothing like having two half naked girls grinding on you while up on stage. I don't know if I have any pics of it, but I tried to do some pole tricks. Yeah, I bet I looked like a complete fool, but it was fun as hell.
I have to say that it must have been the most fun that I have ever had on a Valentine's day. Jennifer ended up walking out of Cowboy 2 with a really nice red leather cowboy hat, a rose and a foam heart with wings on it.
After Soi Cowboy, we went to an after hours club called Spicy. The music was bumping and the girls were hot. I ended up flirting with a girl who had really cool glasses for a little bit, until she said, "you want me go home with you?" I thought about it, and decided against it as I'm staying in a hostel, and I don't know where that girl has been.
Anyhow, Jennifer and I stayed out until around three in the morning, and I was pretty zapped by the time I got back to the hostel. Because of all of the partying, we really didn't get started today until after noon. Jennifer, Adam and I ended up going to a meditation class near the Grand Palace. I have to say that it was really nice. I may have to get back to meditation. It was extremely relaxing.
Well, it's eight o'clock and only half of my pictures have uploaded. I have to meet Jennifer and Adam for dinner in a few minutes, so I have to log off. Hopefully tonight, we'll have more fun adventures.
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