I was a bit stressed out when I first got into Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon, if you prefer). I blogged saying that I couldn't wait to get out. It was a little difficult arriving in that the people in Chau Doc ("chowdah") just gave me a paper with instructions of where I needed to go to show to the "bus waiter." No one spoke English; I don't speak Vietnamese. It's always so strange being the only person like yourself - also kind of fun, but mostly strange.
When I got to Pham Ngo Lao (the backpackers' district) the first hotel I wanted to stay at was torn down, as was the second one. I journeyed to a couple others before I found one with a good price. "It's on the third floor." Third in Vietnamese means fourth anywhere else I've ever been. Which was awesome when I stayed in Vung Tau and I was on the fourth floor. Tall stories. Oh, but the thing about this cheap room in HCMC was that there was no window. I thought it would be great for sleeping, but it turns out I don't like feeling like a rat in a cage, and believe you me I sang that song as I bounced off the walls, looking at the rose-covered ceiling and wishing I had a window. The next night I changed to a window room - cost me an extra $4. Four dollars for a window. That's what I'll think of when I think of Vietnam. And $2 for a beach chair. I know how they say nothing's free... particulary to Vietnam.
After dinner on the first night... Wednesday night... I went back to my room to watch 'Species.' (I know. I know!) The whole reason why I'm not exploring HCMC right now is cause I'm solo and not stupid to be struttin' around the city single @ night. One more CON. Sonouva! I'm adventurous, not stupid. I want to see. I don't want to die, and I'm not going to risk it given my chances of survival are severely slimmed just from traffic alone. So the needing someone thing plays mostly into part at sunset and after. Company-wise it's better than yourself - no matter how awesome you are [at getting 'turned around' in back alleyways - thanks, long-haired mole man for pointing me in the right direction]. Two pairs of eyes are better than one. And to be the voice of reason sometimes!!
Southeast Asia is totally for lovers. Especially Vietnam. Sheesh! Everything seems made for two 'round here. It was particularly bad in Vung Tau - romantic beach time.
On Thursday I went to the Cu Chi Tunnels, and while it was all well and good, it's really weird to see Anti-American slogans. We watched a video at the end that was pro-VC and talking about this or that soldier being awarded medals because the number of American dogs they killed. Very interesting/tricky things. We got to crawl around in some and I don't think I would've liked to do that very much. Afterwards I went to the War Museum, and again the place where we shouldn't have been we were... the agent orange pictures, the senseless killing, the details of this that and the other... it made my head spin. Then I went to the Reunification Palace, and it was pretty neat to see all the old control/situation rooms... that was about it.
Thursday night, I walked around on a busy road, through a park, and was flanked by this group of kids who wanted to practice speaking English with me. So, for twenty minutes I sat and answered their questions (one of the girls is moving to Washington State "Seattle City" for a month) about mountains, and gun control. Then one girl asked me who my idol is... stumped. I couldn't understand who she told me hers was... some band from what I could gather. One of the dudes from it went to Hanoi but not Saigon, and she was so sad she was so far away... They were just little babies 19s and 20s, and what trouble-makers, eh? Scouting the parks at night looking to practice English with unsuspecting strangers.
Mouth breating on the moto back to the hotel. I probably could've walked, but one experience on a moto in HCMC seemed necessary.
Crossing the street is mental! There never seems to be a lull in traffice and crosswalks are few and far between in some areas. (Trash cans are everywhere, though!) You just walk out there; disappear into the seas of woors and exhaust. Like George playing Human Frogger, but with a better ending.
Vung Tau was great, and I met some crazy people on the beach... I'll write on it... give me some time.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Under the Sea
I never imagined diving to be so wonderful and exciting - it always seemed so terrifying to me, like you might as well chum up the water around the boat, give me manila folder paper cuts all over my body and lower me into the water with a "SHARK BAIT" sign around my neck. But despite my morbid-disaster loving imagination, everything was smooth sai- scuba'ing!
Big Blue Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand was by far the best place to get certified. Perhaps there are others that are just as good on the island, but I highly doubt it. For a three and a half day Open Water Certification course it only cost me 9,000 baht, or roughly $290ish, icy air-con dorm room included (four nights, but I only stayed three so I could boogie on over to Koh Phangan for the Moon Madness). A good deal if you ask me! They offer both PADI and SSI certifications, and while both are great and offer the same certification in the end, SSI seemed to be more focused on the individual while PADI seemed very structured (and you had to buy a book). Obviously I went for the SSI.
Evening One
We watched videos and had homework(!!!) learning about all the equipment and general diving information. My group was comprised of a British instructor, Dan (incredibly knowledgeable, patient, kind and funny - really made the experience enjoyable), a German girl, Dutch lady, Indian man, and British guy. Very international, right? (I didn't meet one American during my time in the islands - weird!)
Day One
More videos in the morning. Trip to the equipment room to learn how to put everything together and then wear it. Always dive with a buddy (at least in the beginning - some people do solo dives, but I say "No, thanks!") and do a check of equipment before you go into the water. Buddy checklist:
Bangkok (Buoyancy Compensator - helps you float on the surface and keeps you hovering above the sand under water)
Women (Weight belts - to help you stay down)
Really (Releases - check all the clasps and clips on the BC)
Are (Air - make sure it's turned on and working properly. And Regulators - for breathing, and every time Dan said "Regulators in!" I couldn't help but think of this song.)
Fellas (Final OK - give everything one more check)
Funny acronym, but it's really true; there are a lot of lady boys in BKK.
We got in the water that afternoon (at the Japanese Gardens - very beautiful); practiced taking the regulator out and putting it back in underwater, and doing the same thing with the mask. Standard preparation stuff. Then we went a bit deeper and practiced hovering and swimming around.
Day Two
Last round of videos and then we took our SSI test. Everyone passed with 100% - woohoo!! Pretty cool. That afternoon was our first official dive, and we took it down to 12 meters. It was really awkward swimming through the water at first, getting used to only using the fins and not swimming with your arms, but we gave it a little time and we were basically pros. I felt like your regular Jacques Cousteau, and y'know, he died on my birthday, along with MJ and Farrah Fawcett, so if that says anything I'm going to be a bodacious babe singing and swimming my way through the seven seas. Dive sites for the day were: Twins and White Rock.
Day Three
Met at 6:30a. In the water by 8a, (at Pinnacle - basically in the middle of the sea, but only went to 18.5m) bubbles of divers below made it seem like volcanoes were erupting on the sea floor. I felt the pull from the great blue abyss that extended all around me, beckoning me to go deeper, further into the aquamarine unknown. How I wanted it! Safety and practice first; next time.
We saw a couple moray eels - a white-eyed one named "Cedric" and a blue-spotted one; stingrays, pufferfish, box fish, butterfly fish, angel fish, emperor fish, and so many others.
It was a trial getting used to the thumb-forefinger OK sign rather than a thumbs up (which means that you need to go to the surface, and if you do it accidently, you have to buy the instructor a beer!), but I really enjoyed the underwater language.
The sunshine scattering down from the surface made me feel like Arielle, and everything was perfect. Currents acted as underwater winds, the sea particles seemed like dust, and the schools of fish were wagon trains watching out for potential threats in the outward darkness... everything kind of felt like the Wild West... maybe it felt like that because my group was a solo traveler mash-up, and I dubbed us the "Lone Rangers" - also, we had horse races on the seafloor during the second dive (at Red Rock Drop-off), so that helped (I won, b-t-dub) the whole theme.
All in all everything was excellent, and while I wish I could've done the Advanced Course, I'm so happy to be in Siem Reap right now. I have a cooking class this afternoon, and then I'm possibly going to check out the floating villages just south of here, but I don't really want to pay for the $30 boat all by myself, so I'm hoping that I can talk some other folks to join me or perhaps just forget it... BAH! Then wandering around the Night Market and taking a night bus into Phnom Penh. Excellent.
Big Blue Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand was by far the best place to get certified. Perhaps there are others that are just as good on the island, but I highly doubt it. For a three and a half day Open Water Certification course it only cost me 9,000 baht, or roughly $290ish, icy air-con dorm room included (four nights, but I only stayed three so I could boogie on over to Koh Phangan for the Moon Madness). A good deal if you ask me! They offer both PADI and SSI certifications, and while both are great and offer the same certification in the end, SSI seemed to be more focused on the individual while PADI seemed very structured (and you had to buy a book). Obviously I went for the SSI.
Evening One
We watched videos and had homework(!!!) learning about all the equipment and general diving information. My group was comprised of a British instructor, Dan (incredibly knowledgeable, patient, kind and funny - really made the experience enjoyable), a German girl, Dutch lady, Indian man, and British guy. Very international, right? (I didn't meet one American during my time in the islands - weird!)
Day One
More videos in the morning. Trip to the equipment room to learn how to put everything together and then wear it. Always dive with a buddy (at least in the beginning - some people do solo dives, but I say "No, thanks!") and do a check of equipment before you go into the water. Buddy checklist:
Bangkok (Buoyancy Compensator - helps you float on the surface and keeps you hovering above the sand under water)
Women (Weight belts - to help you stay down)
Really (Releases - check all the clasps and clips on the BC)
Are (Air - make sure it's turned on and working properly. And Regulators - for breathing, and every time Dan said "Regulators in!" I couldn't help but think of this song.)
Fellas (Final OK - give everything one more check)
Funny acronym, but it's really true; there are a lot of lady boys in BKK.
We got in the water that afternoon (at the Japanese Gardens - very beautiful); practiced taking the regulator out and putting it back in underwater, and doing the same thing with the mask. Standard preparation stuff. Then we went a bit deeper and practiced hovering and swimming around.
Day Two
Last round of videos and then we took our SSI test. Everyone passed with 100% - woohoo!! Pretty cool. That afternoon was our first official dive, and we took it down to 12 meters. It was really awkward swimming through the water at first, getting used to only using the fins and not swimming with your arms, but we gave it a little time and we were basically pros. I felt like your regular Jacques Cousteau, and y'know, he died on my birthday, along with MJ and Farrah Fawcett, so if that says anything I'm going to be a bodacious babe singing and swimming my way through the seven seas. Dive sites for the day were: Twins and White Rock.
Day Three
Met at 6:30a. In the water by 8a, (at Pinnacle - basically in the middle of the sea, but only went to 18.5m) bubbles of divers below made it seem like volcanoes were erupting on the sea floor. I felt the pull from the great blue abyss that extended all around me, beckoning me to go deeper, further into the aquamarine unknown. How I wanted it! Safety and practice first; next time.
We saw a couple moray eels - a white-eyed one named "Cedric" and a blue-spotted one; stingrays, pufferfish, box fish, butterfly fish, angel fish, emperor fish, and so many others.
It was a trial getting used to the thumb-forefinger OK sign rather than a thumbs up (which means that you need to go to the surface, and if you do it accidently, you have to buy the instructor a beer!), but I really enjoyed the underwater language.
The sunshine scattering down from the surface made me feel like Arielle, and everything was perfect. Currents acted as underwater winds, the sea particles seemed like dust, and the schools of fish were wagon trains watching out for potential threats in the outward darkness... everything kind of felt like the Wild West... maybe it felt like that because my group was a solo traveler mash-up, and I dubbed us the "Lone Rangers" - also, we had horse races on the seafloor during the second dive (at Red Rock Drop-off), so that helped (I won, b-t-dub) the whole theme.
All in all everything was excellent, and while I wish I could've done the Advanced Course, I'm so happy to be in Siem Reap right now. I have a cooking class this afternoon, and then I'm possibly going to check out the floating villages just south of here, but I don't really want to pay for the $30 boat all by myself, so I'm hoping that I can talk some other folks to join me or perhaps just forget it... BAH! Then wandering around the Night Market and taking a night bus into Phnom Penh. Excellent.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
I Can't Help But Smiling!
I am OPEN WATER DIVE CERTIFIED!!! I passed the SSI test with a 100 score!! It wasn't that hard though, to be honest... 10 year olds can pass it. But still, exciting!
Yesterday was our first day in the water, and wow! Even though we were only kneeling on the beach (under water) practicing the skill sets (removing and replacing the regulator - breathing apparatus; removing and replacing the mask; sharing air; yada yada yada) it was still cool. Then, me and this German chick, Paula, each had enough air left in our tanks, so we were able to swim under back to the boat. A small taste of what was to come today.
We dove to 12.5 meters two separate dives. Saw moray eels, sting rays, all sorts of fish and coral. It was incredible!! I felt a bit like an astronaut bouncing around on the sand at the beginning, trying to get my bearings. A bit awkward, but wow! Yesterday I kept smiling - I couldn't help it - but then water would get into my mask, and although I'm used to it now, it's not my favorite part clearing out the water under water. You have to take a deep breath into your regulator then look up as you heavily exhale out of your nose to clear out all the water. And you can't rub your eyes, y'know?! That's what I usually do, but you just have to blink it away. Tough.
I want to write more, but I'm also exhausted and we have a 6:30a meet-up time tomorrow, so as you folks and friends are getting home from the old axe-grind and sitting down to dinner I'll be under the sea - at 18 meters this time! Hopefully see some turtles and stuff. (I'm still feeling like I'm riding in the waves which is real strange.) I wish I had more time in this region of the world because I'd really love to do the Advanced course where you can go to 30 meters and do a wreck dive or a night dive, but unfortunately (not so much) I have to get to BKK to get to India on the 5th of October and hit up Cambodia and Vietnam before then. Such a hard life, right?! Sheesh. I love it.
Here's a song about smiling, and not being able to help it:
Enjoy! Until next time...
Yesterday was our first day in the water, and wow! Even though we were only kneeling on the beach (under water) practicing the skill sets (removing and replacing the regulator - breathing apparatus; removing and replacing the mask; sharing air; yada yada yada) it was still cool. Then, me and this German chick, Paula, each had enough air left in our tanks, so we were able to swim under back to the boat. A small taste of what was to come today.
We dove to 12.5 meters two separate dives. Saw moray eels, sting rays, all sorts of fish and coral. It was incredible!! I felt a bit like an astronaut bouncing around on the sand at the beginning, trying to get my bearings. A bit awkward, but wow! Yesterday I kept smiling - I couldn't help it - but then water would get into my mask, and although I'm used to it now, it's not my favorite part clearing out the water under water. You have to take a deep breath into your regulator then look up as you heavily exhale out of your nose to clear out all the water. And you can't rub your eyes, y'know?! That's what I usually do, but you just have to blink it away. Tough.
I want to write more, but I'm also exhausted and we have a 6:30a meet-up time tomorrow, so as you folks and friends are getting home from the old axe-grind and sitting down to dinner I'll be under the sea - at 18 meters this time! Hopefully see some turtles and stuff. (I'm still feeling like I'm riding in the waves which is real strange.) I wish I had more time in this region of the world because I'd really love to do the Advanced course where you can go to 30 meters and do a wreck dive or a night dive, but unfortunately (not so much) I have to get to BKK to get to India on the 5th of October and hit up Cambodia and Vietnam before then. Such a hard life, right?! Sheesh. I love it.
Here's a song about smiling, and not being able to help it:
Enjoy! Until next time...
Monday, September 20, 2010
And the Imagination Runs WILD!!
(Currently in Koh Tao, and the internet pricing seems to be standard for all islands so I'm going to type this one out real fast.)
The imagination was running wild last night, blame it on watching (yeah! there was a TV in my overpriced room!) a violent episode of "Criminal Minds" (not even a good one, though I haven't seen any but this and another so maybe they all suck - there was no guessing whodunit because they showed you right off the bat... is that how the show works? d-u-m-b if you ask me.) right before bed and then hearing 7-8 consecutive loud bangs (gun shots?! fireworks? gun shots?!!) out in the distance. I imagined a group of rebel forces was sweeping the island, ridding it of all the tourists, and if that was the case, from the sound of the shots I only had 15 minutes - 20 minutes max - to make my move or hide. Because the door was one that had the padlock on the outside, they'd know I was there, and there was nothing I could do but wait because c'mon, if I ran where would I run? All hotels being targeted and all locals being suspicious of rebel allegiance. I prayed for my safety through the night - for my family's sake, and I supposed it wouldn't be so good for me either if I died. (Nothing like the potential threat of imminent doom to put the fear of God in a girl.)
I went to bed clutching my pillow and facing the door enabling me to act quickly if necessary - and that was sleeping on my left and I always sleep on my right, so you know the level of paranoia was high.
Sometime after midnight a massive storm started raging, enough to startle me awake, followed by another succession of loud gun-like bangs (fireworks in this weather - no way!) - dazed and confused, thinking it a part of a dream I went back to sleep.
A few hours later and the storm was still going strong and it seemed mightier as well. The power went out - not that it matter so much what with it being the dead of night and all, and me being used to no air con anyway. I just slid out from under the sheet and attempted to go back to sleep, but as my eyelids were fluttering closed I thought I saw - no I saw, I saw! - a shadow person pass by my window; I stopped breathing, my eyes widened and my mouth moved rapidly in silent prayer. I thought about my friend Sophie and how when she was staying on a beach bungalow during a stormy night a small Thai man had come to try and break in but she scared him away by going to the door and pushing it back on him. Wide-eyed and terrified she sat in the corner of her room, too scared to go to sleep when not more then 20 minutes later she heard him outside again. I forget if she had anything to hit him with just in case, but she did stand at the door and when he opened it she went on the porch and screamed bloody murder in his face. He ran away and neighbors came to the rescue.
My mind raced through my belongings for things I could use as a shield and a weapon, because I was the only one at my "resort" (read: motel) and screaming seemed useless with the howling storm still holding steady.
Needless to say, despite the rebels' activity around my location and them (not the storm, yo - shadow was too perfect on the timing) cutting my power and although I tossed and turned from a number of bad dream I came out of the night unscathed (physically).
All is well and good in the world. It's really hot here, really, really, and it's kind of nice because you spend all your time in the water, but then I wanted to read a book and I couldn't because I was sweating all over it. I even got the beads on the face sweat and that's never happened before. HOT - h-o-t!! I start my dive orientation this evening and the next three days will be spent learning and practicing, mastering and testing. BLAM!
The imagination was running wild last night, blame it on watching (yeah! there was a TV in my overpriced room!) a violent episode of "Criminal Minds" (not even a good one, though I haven't seen any but this and another so maybe they all suck - there was no guessing whodunit because they showed you right off the bat... is that how the show works? d-u-m-b if you ask me.) right before bed and then hearing 7-8 consecutive loud bangs (gun shots?! fireworks? gun shots?!!) out in the distance. I imagined a group of rebel forces was sweeping the island, ridding it of all the tourists, and if that was the case, from the sound of the shots I only had 15 minutes - 20 minutes max - to make my move or hide. Because the door was one that had the padlock on the outside, they'd know I was there, and there was nothing I could do but wait because c'mon, if I ran where would I run? All hotels being targeted and all locals being suspicious of rebel allegiance. I prayed for my safety through the night - for my family's sake, and I supposed it wouldn't be so good for me either if I died. (Nothing like the potential threat of imminent doom to put the fear of God in a girl.)
I went to bed clutching my pillow and facing the door enabling me to act quickly if necessary - and that was sleeping on my left and I always sleep on my right, so you know the level of paranoia was high.
Sometime after midnight a massive storm started raging, enough to startle me awake, followed by another succession of loud gun-like bangs (fireworks in this weather - no way!) - dazed and confused, thinking it a part of a dream I went back to sleep.
A few hours later and the storm was still going strong and it seemed mightier as well. The power went out - not that it matter so much what with it being the dead of night and all, and me being used to no air con anyway. I just slid out from under the sheet and attempted to go back to sleep, but as my eyelids were fluttering closed I thought I saw - no I saw, I saw! - a shadow person pass by my window; I stopped breathing, my eyes widened and my mouth moved rapidly in silent prayer. I thought about my friend Sophie and how when she was staying on a beach bungalow during a stormy night a small Thai man had come to try and break in but she scared him away by going to the door and pushing it back on him. Wide-eyed and terrified she sat in the corner of her room, too scared to go to sleep when not more then 20 minutes later she heard him outside again. I forget if she had anything to hit him with just in case, but she did stand at the door and when he opened it she went on the porch and screamed bloody murder in his face. He ran away and neighbors came to the rescue.
My mind raced through my belongings for things I could use as a shield and a weapon, because I was the only one at my "resort" (read: motel) and screaming seemed useless with the howling storm still holding steady.
Needless to say, despite the rebels' activity around my location and them (not the storm, yo - shadow was too perfect on the timing) cutting my power and although I tossed and turned from a number of bad dream I came out of the night unscathed (physically).
All is well and good in the world. It's really hot here, really, really, and it's kind of nice because you spend all your time in the water, but then I wanted to read a book and I couldn't because I was sweating all over it. I even got the beads on the face sweat and that's never happened before. HOT - h-o-t!! I start my dive orientation this evening and the next three days will be spent learning and practicing, mastering and testing. BLAM!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
North to South
I love Thailand. Plain and simple. I would tell you more about it, but I'm in Koh Samui waiting to head over to Koh Tao tomorrow and get dive certified!!
The Gibbon people never got back to me, but switching out zip lining through the forest (as much as that would've rocked) for getting dive certified (as scared as I am about Jaws - and perhaps it's an irrational fear when I'm in a lake, or a swimming pool, or my bath tub... it doesn't seem so irrational when you're under the water - ocean water) doesn't seem like such a bad thing to me.
Koh Samui from what I've seen is meh - at least the Chaweng Beach was algae-full and lackluster. Also expensive these islands!! Man. I'm paying 1baht/MINUTE!! PER MINUTE!! On the mainland it's 20baht/HOUR. Talk about rip-off. Maybe if I stay for a long time I could haggle with the guy, but seeing as how I haven't been doing a great job of that (read: at all) and paying the quoted price, I should stick to typing quick and getting out of here.
I know I have oh-so much to catch you up on like the beauty and chillness that is Pai (intended to stay 2 days and took it to 5) and the wonder that is Chiang Mai - Thailand's second biggest city, but it feels like a small town. So small town in fact that I ran into a dear friend of mine from college days... or rather he walked by as I was struggling to eat a falafel sandwich after imbibing a bit much the night before. Muay Thai fights and a cooking class. Thai massage and yoga taught by one of the strangest ladies I've ever met - her cat loves to eat "coln!" Corn for the cat! And bananas for her dog! More details to go into, but I have the time nor the money to tell all at the moment.
Off to go eat some massaman curry - ohhhh so tasty!
Peace and love!
The Gibbon people never got back to me, but switching out zip lining through the forest (as much as that would've rocked) for getting dive certified (as scared as I am about Jaws - and perhaps it's an irrational fear when I'm in a lake, or a swimming pool, or my bath tub... it doesn't seem so irrational when you're under the water - ocean water) doesn't seem like such a bad thing to me.
Koh Samui from what I've seen is meh - at least the Chaweng Beach was algae-full and lackluster. Also expensive these islands!! Man. I'm paying 1baht/MINUTE!! PER MINUTE!! On the mainland it's 20baht/HOUR. Talk about rip-off. Maybe if I stay for a long time I could haggle with the guy, but seeing as how I haven't been doing a great job of that (read: at all) and paying the quoted price, I should stick to typing quick and getting out of here.
I know I have oh-so much to catch you up on like the beauty and chillness that is Pai (intended to stay 2 days and took it to 5) and the wonder that is Chiang Mai - Thailand's second biggest city, but it feels like a small town. So small town in fact that I ran into a dear friend of mine from college days... or rather he walked by as I was struggling to eat a falafel sandwich after imbibing a bit much the night before. Muay Thai fights and a cooking class. Thai massage and yoga taught by one of the strangest ladies I've ever met - her cat loves to eat "coln!" Corn for the cat! And bananas for her dog! More details to go into, but I have the time nor the money to tell all at the moment.
Off to go eat some massaman curry - ohhhh so tasty!
Peace and love!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Change of Plans.
Sorry I haven't been that good about updating these past few day; I've been busy!
This isn't going to be much of a post either because I'm going to go hop on a motorbike and relax at the waterfall, or something equally as awesome.
I was thinking that I wasn't going to be able to make it to Laos because I decided to go south and check out the islands and the Full Moon party (day-glo paint!) with some friends, but then I was talking to this American girl last night and she said "Go for it!" when I was saying how I wanted to do the Gibbon Experience (zip lining through the rainforest and staying in tree houses), so I am (that is if they get back to me and there are spaces available), and then I'll go south without getting dive certified because the party is on the 23rd and I need to make sure I can get a good room so I don't get robbed.
Everything is great! I am really enjoying my time in Pai, it's a very friendly environment, smiles on all of the faces you see sort of place. I'm a fan of Thailand.
Peace and love. I'll try to get a few posts before I leave this area, but we all know how that can sometimes go.
This isn't going to be much of a post either because I'm going to go hop on a motorbike and relax at the waterfall, or something equally as awesome.
I was thinking that I wasn't going to be able to make it to Laos because I decided to go south and check out the islands and the Full Moon party (day-glo paint!) with some friends, but then I was talking to this American girl last night and she said "Go for it!" when I was saying how I wanted to do the Gibbon Experience (zip lining through the rainforest and staying in tree houses), so I am (that is if they get back to me and there are spaces available), and then I'll go south without getting dive certified because the party is on the 23rd and I need to make sure I can get a good room so I don't get robbed.
Everything is great! I am really enjoying my time in Pai, it's a very friendly environment, smiles on all of the faces you see sort of place. I'm a fan of Thailand.
Peace and love. I'll try to get a few posts before I leave this area, but we all know how that can sometimes go.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Blah blah blahh, BKK!
I loved it. I hated it. I wished I had someone to share it with.
Bangkok ended up being a pretty cool place.
I stayed at Refill NOW, which was a really nice place but terribly far away from anything and everything you wanted to see and do. That's what you get when you book blindly and late. For as far away and expensive as it was it was also really nice, and they did anything and everything to help me get to the places I needed to go to. The hostel itself was really new and clean, very modern and it's whiteness and cutesy decals on the doors reminded me of Japan.
I really enjoyed spending an afternoon at the BACC (Bangkok Arts Culture Center?) which was FREE!! WOW!! The first few floors, spiral-y floors - apparently they "borrowed" the design from the Guggenheim - were full of individual artists galleries, but the top floors! The top floors were where it was! Wow! For being modern art it was beautiful and not all all head scratching, just very entrancing. I like spending time in art museums, and it was one of the few places I actually felt comfortable with being alone. (Oooh! I forgot to write about it, but I went to the Rodin exhibit in Seoul, and wow! That man. It was really pretty awesome seeing the plaster mold of The Thinker and getting so close to the statues that I could blow the dust off them. I never knew much about Rodin, and although everything was in Korean on the descriptions, I got a really good view of him through the variety of his works; a lot of sensual/erotic pieces, The Embrace really reminded me of Gustav Klimt's The Kiss... I wish I had more art history knowledge to compare the pieces and the artists and their lifetimes... parents would've come in handy as their both well-versed in their knowledge of the art world.)
After wanting to the entire time, I finally took a motorbike as a method of transportation!! Everyone rides motorbikes in Bangkok. It's as if the city is one giant bike gang! Mothers and fathers with their multiple children hanging on as they zip and zoom between the traffic. Everybody edging their way through the hustle and bustle to get close to the waiting line, and then - they're off! once that light turns green, or before. The traffic is horrendous in BKK, so it's essential to have a 'bike if you want to get anywhere before your hair turns gray from the stress of the wait.
For my experience, when I first got on the bike I started to wrap my arms around the driver's waist and asked the hostel guy, "Is this how I do it?" thinking back to my days of dating hairy Italian, Long Island Bill and climbing on the back of his bike, White Lightning. No, he told me laughing, you hold on here. Pointing to the handles on either side of the seat.
The ride was all well and good until I got off, stumbled against the curb and onto my arse on the sidewalk. Sonouva!! Super klutz! Oosh! I took another one back from the errand of getting a new memory card, and got a helmet that time. Safety first! It didn't necessarily fit, but it's the thought that counts, right?
That's about it for Bangkok. I'm hoping to go back and catch a Ping Pong Show (I know! I know! But I'm young and I'm in Thailand, and when in Thailand - go to a PP show, right? No judgments from you! I might not even have the time to do it. I'm just saying that I want to, that's all.)
Bangkok ended up being a pretty cool place.
I stayed at Refill NOW, which was a really nice place but terribly far away from anything and everything you wanted to see and do. That's what you get when you book blindly and late. For as far away and expensive as it was it was also really nice, and they did anything and everything to help me get to the places I needed to go to. The hostel itself was really new and clean, very modern and it's whiteness and cutesy decals on the doors reminded me of Japan.
I really enjoyed spending an afternoon at the BACC (Bangkok Arts Culture Center?) which was FREE!! WOW!! The first few floors, spiral-y floors - apparently they "borrowed" the design from the Guggenheim - were full of individual artists galleries, but the top floors! The top floors were where it was! Wow! For being modern art it was beautiful and not all all head scratching, just very entrancing. I like spending time in art museums, and it was one of the few places I actually felt comfortable with being alone. (Oooh! I forgot to write about it, but I went to the Rodin exhibit in Seoul, and wow! That man. It was really pretty awesome seeing the plaster mold of The Thinker and getting so close to the statues that I could blow the dust off them. I never knew much about Rodin, and although everything was in Korean on the descriptions, I got a really good view of him through the variety of his works; a lot of sensual/erotic pieces, The Embrace really reminded me of Gustav Klimt's The Kiss... I wish I had more art history knowledge to compare the pieces and the artists and their lifetimes... parents would've come in handy as their both well-versed in their knowledge of the art world.)
After wanting to the entire time, I finally took a motorbike as a method of transportation!! Everyone rides motorbikes in Bangkok. It's as if the city is one giant bike gang! Mothers and fathers with their multiple children hanging on as they zip and zoom between the traffic. Everybody edging their way through the hustle and bustle to get close to the waiting line, and then - they're off! once that light turns green, or before. The traffic is horrendous in BKK, so it's essential to have a 'bike if you want to get anywhere before your hair turns gray from the stress of the wait.
For my experience, when I first got on the bike I started to wrap my arms around the driver's waist and asked the hostel guy, "Is this how I do it?" thinking back to my days of dating hairy Italian, Long Island Bill and climbing on the back of his bike, White Lightning. No, he told me laughing, you hold on here. Pointing to the handles on either side of the seat.
The ride was all well and good until I got off, stumbled against the curb and onto my arse on the sidewalk. Sonouva!! Super klutz! Oosh! I took another one back from the errand of getting a new memory card, and got a helmet that time. Safety first! It didn't necessarily fit, but it's the thought that counts, right?
That's about it for Bangkok. I'm hoping to go back and catch a Ping Pong Show (I know! I know! But I'm young and I'm in Thailand, and when in Thailand - go to a PP show, right? No judgments from you! I might not even have the time to do it. I'm just saying that I want to, that's all.)
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