The Final Post....?

With the suddeness of a thunderstorm, we find our trip coming to a close. We've been lazy for the last ten days, remaining on the same isolated beach on the island of Ko Phnagnan. There is a group of 8 or so of us who have been hanging out together. It's a very neighborly kind of feel here. There are 3 Dutch Military officers on holiday, a German couple who rarely leave their hammocks during the day, and an Englishwoman who teaches psychology in London. It's quite a group, and we've had many fun times. We'll be heading up Bangkok tomorrow, and from there we'll take our chances on a flight to Tokyo, and then eventually home. It's been a great trip, but we're definitely looking forward to coming home and catching up with everyone! Thanks to all who have been following the blog. We hope we've kept it interesting enough.

Ko Phnagan - Bottle Beach

We find ourselves in the closest thing we've been to paradise: Bottle Beach in Ko Phnagan Thailand. Ko Phnagan is one of the three islands off the Southeastern peninsula of Thailand. The smaller Ko Toh is to the north, which is primarily a diving and snorkeling destination. To the south is the similarly large sized island of Ko Samui, known more for its package tourism and family resorts. We took a ferry here after almost two full days of traveling from the north (Chiang Mai). The ferry took us to the port in the southwest of the island, and we took a taxi up to the northern coast. From there, we paid a local man to take us by boat around a curve in the island to a place called Bottle Beach. It's a very small beach that can only be reached by boat. If you get a chance, google image it. It's incredible. The only downside is it's isolation makes everything more expensive (internet, food, etc.) Still not that bad compared to back home. Mike took a boat to the nearest town yesterday, where there was a 7 Eleven. We stocked up on basic necessitites (bread, jelly, water, candy, etc.) That's allowed us to save some money. We've been here about 3 days, and might stay for another 3 more. Then we'll have to start thinking about leaving Thailand and making the final push to Singapore, where we will finally make our way back home. Hope all is well back home with everyone! Thanks for following the blog.

Insight Meditation Retreat

We're back from the temple Wat Ram Proeng (did we say 10 day retreat? We meant 7). We left a few days early for a couple of reasons. Our visa's are running short again and we need to make a run for the border, and by the 6th day we both agreed (at this point we broke our pact of silence) that we had accomplished what we set out to do. The meditation is a really personal experience. Even learning it, you're on your own. The first day there, all the foreigner meditators coming in were acclimated to the temple complex (where our rooms were, where to practice meditation, where to report to our teacher everyday). That 1st night we learned the actual technique of Vipassana Meditation, the meditation used at this particular Buddhist Temple. Two seemingly easy concepts: walking meditation (which is basically walking in slow motion), and sitting meditation (what most people probably think of meditation, sitting cross-legged on the ground). It doesn't seem like too difficult to learn, but doing these techniques in 30 min increments for 7-9 hours a day can be very tough. We ate our second meal (lunch) at 11, and after that weren't allowed to eat until 6:30 the next morning. I'm sure you can imagine my skeleton frame right now (I'm down to around 180 lbs). For the first four days, I was able to go without talking to anyone (I don't think I've gone more than three hours without talking to someone before). Mike and I communicated with each other on the 5th day by writing pad. One thing we were surprised about was that we were the only foreign meditators there without any prior meditating experience. The program was pretty heavy for beginners, but very rewarding. When we got out we enjoyed the usual spoils of the real world; pizza, beer, music, TV, etc. We're headed down to Bangkok tonight, then head south. We'll have to make another border crossing into Burma before we head to our final destination in Thailand: the beaches. Can't wait. We're on the final leg of our trip! Sooner than later we'll be seeing everyone. Hope all is well!

Thailand: Visa runs and Buddhist Temples

We've finally reached the most modern country in Southeast Asia. We stopped in Bangkok for a few days, which was a culture shock. Khao San Road is infamous for its abundance of crazy nightlife and philandering tourists that come to take advantage of the industry there. Walking in the neighborhood was like walking around any Western city. There was hardly a local person in sight. We caught a movie there (Public Enemies, not bad), and then took a night train to Chiang Mai in the North. We've been here for four days preparing for the 10-day meditation retreat that starts tomorrow. Yesterday we made the popular visa run to the Myanmar border to extend our stay in Thailand by 15 days (our permit would have expired while we were attending the retreat). We crossed the border for a few hours and upon return to Thailand, received a new 15 days of travel. We'll do the same thing once we get out of the retreat and head south to the beautiful beaches. We'll be out of touch with the world until the 10th of August. Until then, everyone take care.

Stage 3 - Cambodia

After a 7hr boat trip and a few hour van ride we finally made it to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Surprisingly, unlike the country side, the city itself was a little more developed and westernized than we expected; a lot more cars/suvs, modern buildings. At first glance, the countryside of Cambodia is noticeably poorer than Vietnams’, however I have never seen so many Lexus’ and Land Rovers in my life, putting the social class breakup into perspective. Seems that there is a huge gap between the upper and lower classes. Moving on, we were able to find a little sanctuary within the city that catered towards tourists; hamburgers, pizza, English movies, book stores, real milk. After traveling around for awhile, however wrong it may seem, its nice to step back and get a taste of life back home. We spent the majority of the day running errands; washing clothes...actually that’s the only productive thing we did all day, aside from eating about 4 meals and watching a few movies. A few days in the city and we were ready to move north to Battombang. For being the second largest city in the country, it is tiny, population of 160,000. We walked around a bit, saw the central market, took a siesta, both finished our books. Tomorrow we are of to the Siem Reap / Temples of Angkor. Until then, hope everyone is doing well back home, miss you all.

Saigon and the Delta

Hello faithful friends,
Just a quick update. Spent a night in the wild town of Saigon, known for its abundance of motorbike's. There were literally hundreds of drivers at each intersection. It took us on average 5 minutes to cross a street. All part of the challenge. I'm not sure if even Matt Egan could manuever those wild streets in a motorbike. We decided to sign up for a 3 day tour of the Mekong Delta, welcoming the ease of being herded like cattle from one place to the next. We've done some pretty random things on the tour: Bet on and watched a pig race, fed crocodiles with a fishing pole, and stayed at a Vietnamese family's house on the river. We're on the border now between Vietnam and Cambodia. Tomorrow we'll say goodbye to this lovely country, and embark via river boat up to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We'll have the luxuries of internet at our hostel there, so we can finally upload some videos and pictures for everyone to enjoy (especially the pig racing). Our mission for tonight is to find a place that serves pizza, as rice and noodles are starting to get repetitive (we did have KFC in Saigon...wonderful). Hope all is well at home!

The Central Highlands

On our continuing quest through Vietnam, we find ourselves in the mountainous region north of Saigon. Our Lonely Planet book referred us to a town called Kun Tum, where we find ourselves now. It sounded appealing because of the "warmest people in Vietnam," and "beautiful scenery." Unfortunately, we've found the people here to not be very friendly, especially when we say we're from the U.S. We've been playing our Canada card here quite a bit (because who can really stay mad at someone from Montreal)? While the city itself is somewhat drab with a communist feel, the surrounding countryside is beautiful. The Central Highlands saw some of the most intense bombing campaigns of the war, and you can still see some signs of it (Huge areas with little to zero trees, people with birth defects from Agent Orange). We've only spent two nights here, and are leaving tonight on an overnight bus to Saigon (HCMC). We did have some good movies on in our room, including Psycho and Mrs. Doubtfire. Quite a combination. We've only until July 21st (Our visas expire), then on to Cambodia and mighty temple complex of Angkor Wat. We'll get some new photos and videos up at our next stop.

The Land of Tailored Clothing

We've been in Hoi An for three nights already. It's a very laid-back little town. Every other store is a clothing shop. I've officially bought my first suit and silk tie, and Mike has gotten suits of his own. The value here is great, and much cheaper than in the U.S. We tried them on yesterday, and not that I've had much experience wearing suit jackets, but I have to say we looked pretty sharp. Mike's pants were too tight around his thick farmer ass and legs, so he's getting that refitted today. We've picked out our restaurant (kind of like in Seinfeld) that we go to every day. Beers cost .15 cents there! And the foods great too. The beach is only a few miles away, and our hotel provides us with free bike rental. We soaked some rays and checked out the babes yesterday, occasionaly taking a dip in the ocean. The water is warm and clear, and the only downside is that you have to watch out for jellyfish. Went out with a few Australian ladies and a German last night for a few drinks. We'd met one of them before in a different part of Vietnam. This isn't the first time we've run into people we've met days or weeks ago in different places.

Halong Bay

After 24 hours of travel from Sapa, we reached our destination at Cat Ba Island, which is the only inhabited island in Halong Bay (which is a series of thousands of little islands in close proximity to one another. We took an overnight bus to Hanoi and continued straight on to Haiphong, the main port for travelers to see Halong Bay. We figured Hanoi was another bustling city that we weren't in the mood to see. When we arrived at Cat Ba Island, it took us nearly four hours to find a room. Apparently it was a Vietnamese holiday (not the 4th of July), plus it was a Saturday when we arrived. Since then we've gone to a beach and loitered around the main strip on the water. We'll be leaving tomorrow for Hoi An, which is the place to be if you're looking to buy a hand-tailored suit for cheap. If anyone has recommendations for us as far as what our suits should look like, feel free to comment. The weather in Halong Bay has been crappy, and there are many tourists, which took away some of the experience for us. Personally Sapa has been the most memorable experience thus far. The Hmong Villagers are a fun bunch of people. We've got videos posted now. They're directly on this web page or you can go onto YouTube and search 'Jayd22j' which is my account name.

Into Vietnam: The Northern Mountains

We finally reached Vietnam on the 29th of June. China was a great experience. We headed back to Kunming from Dali, and in the same day took an overnight bus to the border of China and Vietnam. If you've never been on an overnight bus, let me tell you that it can be a very intimate experience with other passengers. Imagine a coach/greyhound bus with the seats gutted. There are three rows of bunkbeds that run the long way of the bus, with two isles separating them. The space is very unforgiving for a man my height. I sat down next to a cute Chinese woman. I mistakenly told her in Mandarin that she was beautiful. Moments later, she had moved seats and Mike swooped in to take the newly available room. 12 bumpy, stinky, and loud hours later, we arrived at the border. After crossing the river into Vietnam, we took a bus up through mountains to the village of Sapa. It is quite possibly the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. Picture being on the side of a mountain with green jungle and fog surrounding you. There is a waterfall that runs into a stream a short walk away. We went swimming in the crystal clear water and walked around a few Hmong villages. Lots of chickens, pigs, and cows (which look more like water buffalo here). We'll be here a few more days, then on to Hanoi, where we plan to celebrate the 4th of July (definitely being much more inconspicuous of course). Mike and I weren't sure of what reception we would get from the Vietnamese (with the war and all). So far, they've been very similar to the Chinese: curious, friendly, and eager to practice their english. We'll try to get some pics and videos up very soon. Stay tuned.

China: An Overview

Hey all! Sorry for the lack of posts. China actually has blogs blocked on their internet. A fellow traveler showed me a way around that little inconvenience. We've been in China for about five days, and covered a lot of ground. After leaving the luxuries of Hong Kong and Pat Stahl's apartment, we took a two hour bus ride to Guangzhou (the 3rd largest city in China). Any large city in China is BIG, and Guangzhou was nothing short of chaotic. This was the first time we experienced the major problem of the language barrier.
We learned the easiest way to communicate things was to find someone who spoke english, and then have them write down a message in Chinese on a piece of paper. We decided to head west to Kunming, and using our little piece of paper, we purchased train tickets from Guangzhou to Kunming.
The 27 hour train ride was relaxing, and we met many friendly Chinese along the way. Even only being able to speak a few words in one anothers language, we were able to communicate. We traded Chinese Cigarettes for American 'Trident' Gum and played some card games. We've found the majority of Chinese to be extremely friendly, and almost treat us as mini-celebrities. We've gotten used to being stared at on the street. The type of staring isn't leering, but genuine curiousity. Very different then Europe (those snobs). We stayed a few nights in Kunming, which is really a hub for travel, and got to Dali yesterday. It's a large town, with a modern area and a maintained ancient city still within the original walls. Our hostel is right outside the walls. We're looking up at mountains and down at a lake. We'll explore here for a few days, then head up to Lijiang, a town similar to Dali that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then on to Vietnam. Stay tuned for more!

The Arrival in Hong Kong

It was an interesting time getting here, to say the least. I lucked out and sat business class on my flight to Tokyo, which was delayed due to debris up in the atmosphere of our flight path, caused by a volcano in Russia. I was put up in a hotel in Japan for the night, and continued on to HK. After wandering in the airport for an hour, my friend from childhood, Pat Stahl, rescued me at the airport. We took a train to his apartment, which is nothing short of spectacular. He lives on the 71st floor of a luxury apartment building overlooking the bay and what has been dubbed the "Manhattan of Asia." Imagine Manhattan with giant rolling hills in the background and more lights. Google 'The Arch Kowloon' to get an idea of what the building looks like. Mike will be joining us tomorrow night en route from Ireland. Then on to the next adventure...

Previewing the trip

Hello to all of our curious fans out there. It's hard to say how many people have reacted utterly bewildered, or at the least surprised, when I tell them I'm traveling Asia this summer; but it's true. It is no doubt out of the ordinary, but something that will be a lifelong experience we can take with us if we survive. There has been plenty of preparation: vaccinations for diseases spread by bird-sized mosquitoes, visas needed to be acquired just to step foot into certain countries, and travel equipment and tickets for getting us there and staying prepared. Either Mike or myself will be updating the blog as frequently as possible. We'll have posts, pictures, and videos. If you truly love either of us, you will follow this blog.