After our day in Ayuthaya we took the train back to Bangkok, then took an exciting cab ride through the city to get to the Southern Bus Terminal. This cabbie must have driven F1. He weaved in and out of traffic like it wasn't moving and got us there in record time. After a little bit of a wait, we took a VIP, Air Conditioned bus a few hours south of the city to Chumphon. It was the jumping off point for the Island Ko Tao; famous for its diving. On the bus we watched a Thai movie about a musician. It was all in Thai, so we weren't sure what was happening but it was somehow very entertaining. The ride was very comfortable, and we were there earlier than we thought. By the end of ... read more

Meet Clark Davis, my most recent travel buddy on this little trip abroad. Clark is officially the third to join me on this trip. First Dad, then Northy, now Clark. I know; it seems as though the level of maturity and self respect has fallen since the beginning. But don't worry; we're both being equally horrible influences on each other. He's a stand up guy, and although we've only known each other for a few years, we get along pretty well. He's also documenting this lil' trip on his own blog. Visit www.mytb.org/hey-its-clark for his side of the story. His sophmore entry is impressive, telling of his journalistic prowess. But then again, don't believe everything he says about me. some stories may be embellished, partially false, or entirely fabricated. I'll take you on a journey starting ... read more

My experience in New Zealand would have been totally different if it hadn't been for hockey. Who knows... Northy and I might have very well ended up picking fruit if we hadn't decided to play hockey here when we arrived asking for jobs for the third time. Perhaps I would be home right now, dissappointed that I couldn't find work. And it's opened a few doors for me in my last few weeks in New Zealand. It was great playing every week in Tekapo. It gave us a chance to blow off some steam from the week of work. And I definitely worked hard enough on the ice to earn a cold beer afterwards. But really, bottom line, we were hired and hung around Tekapo to help win the Erewhon Cup. It's a tournament that's played ... read more

Hey guys, This is long overdue, and I apologize for the wait! It’s been a crazy little while for us here in NZ. A car has been bought, and we finally landed a job. So enjoy the read… it might take a while if you read all the way through. We’re having a wicked time here. Unfortunately I can't seem to upload my Bungy jump video, so the pics will have to do. But we start way back in Christchurch, on Thursday, April 30th. Thursday, April 30: Thursday was taken to try out Turner’s again. We reviewed the paperwork from the previous session. We looked to see how many exactly ended up selling in the low range. We figured one in three cars ended up selling either below the suggested price range or close to the ... read more

And the story continues. Thursday, April 2: We drove from Wanaka to Haast had a simple dinner at a restaurant close to the holiday park. We did a short hike into the rainforests, and learnt a little more about the local land. There was an interesting story of a man who had been marrooned on the west coast in the Haast region, and survived on the land for three years until he was discovered by a passing vessel. We wondered how difficult that would have been. The area we were in was very thick, subtropical rainforest. It musn't have been much fun for the guy. There were a few nice sounding birds chirping amongst the leaves and branches, and we took some pictures. Eventually we headed back to the area we were staying and walked to ... read more