Hungry in Hanoi
I’ve been in Hanoi for two days. I’m still suffering from a minor case of Ho Chi Minh’s Revenge. You’ve got two choices during a trip of over a couple of weeks: avoid eating or drinking anything that seems remotely dangerous and get sick after 2 weeks, or eat whatever you want and get sick after a week and a half. Today I went to an Italian place that my guidebook suggested and the neighbor said it closed 6 years ago. I went to another Italian place that managed to make lasagna with bread in it and no sauce. It’s…
Last Day in Laos, for a while
I’ve made it to Hanoi on a French airplane. I flew Lao Airlines and there were no Chinese YUN-12s in sight. Maybe the last of them exploded in mid-air. I was feeling under the weather today. I definitely didn’t enjoy the hour-long mini-bus trip from the airport to the City. Try explaining in Vietnamese that you might have to ask them to stop in the middle of the highway for a biological event. There were some twisted charades that caused real animation in my fellow passengers. In any case, it’s the first time I’ve had any trouble here at all…
Near Luang Prabang
For the last couple of days I’ve been taking small side trips out of Luang Prabang. As much as the city is a major tourist destination, it’s easy to get an idea of what real life is like here by going only a short distance away. I hired a small boat pilot to take me across the Mekong to a small village on the other side. The people there were very welcoming. I also made an instant friend. I took some video of kids in the village racing down the road with some bicycle tires. The video may take a…
The Mekong River and Luang Prabang
Traveling from Chang Khong Thailand to Luang Prabang is a river trip on the Mekong. There are two choices: a leisurely journey of two days spent enjoying the quiet serenity of the Mekong River and wishing there was a bathroom onboard the “slow boat” or six hours spent on a “fast boat” enjoying the very loud serenity of the Mekong River while crammed into a very small space with seven other cadets going 70 km per hour wishing that the strap on your helmet wasn’t broken so you didn’t have to hold it onto your head the whole time. You…
Oh, That Earthquake
Because of the twelve hour time difference and the fact that I’ve was in the middle of nowhere all of yesterday, I’m just getting info about this now. It looks like a mess down there. It’s noon-thirty Monday here and I guess this hit yesterday morning. I’ll make a few phone calls, but it’s after midnight at home. Two nights ago I was talking to people asking questions about how I should get to Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, and Phuket. It looks like it might have to wait until a different trip. I might redirect to Vietnam and skip the…
What Earthquake?
I’m alright. I’m sorry I didn’t get the word out sooner, but I’m just getting an idea of the scope of this earthquake this morning. I saw something on restaurant TV last night, but it was in Lao. Some French people were telling me about it this morning. It looks like I might not be doing any kayaking on the coast of Thailand this trip. I’m in Luang Prabang, Laos right now. I was on a speedboat all day yesterday coming down from Chang Khong. Other than the news and rumor, I would not have known about the earthquake at…
Bangkok to Chang Mai
This is just a very brief update. I’ll expand it later. I’m in Chang Mai in the north of Thailand. It’s the second largest city in the country. I got here at 6 am yesterday on an overnight bus. The trains were full. It is more relaxed than Bangkok and small enough to walk around, but the pollution is getting to me. I saw a couple of unusual Wats yesterday–Wat Umong and Wat Chet Yot. Last night I went to a Thai Kickboxing event. It was clearly a tourist affair, but interesting nonetheless. As usual the small guys kick the…
Last Day in Bangkok
I’m leaving Bangkok tonight. The second class train tickets were sold out so I’m taking a VIP bus. Hopefully I’ll be able to sleep. I think I’m on Thailand time now even though last night I fell asleep at 8pm and woke up at 1 am. Today I went to the National Museum. An Englishwoman gave a three-hour tour. She was very knowledgeable about the various poses and periods of the Buddha. I didn’t realize before how heavily influenced Thailand is by Hinduism. It precedes Buddhism here and they kept a lot of the stories and symbolism. Toward the end…
Bangkok: Part One
Well I made it. That was a long series of flights. The flight from Atlanta to Tokyo was not so much a journey as a temporary lifestyle. I watched four complete movies and some TV, ate three and a half meals, read and slept. I’m staying at a place called the Sawasdee Bangkok Inn. It’s alright. Sawasdee means hello, so when you say “Sawasdee” to a taxi driver he says, “Sawasdee” and you look at each other until he realizes your an idiot. There are at least half a million Sawasdee guest houses around Khao San Road, which is where…