El Nooch
Keo Joined: August 11th 2007
Logged in: June 5th 2011
Logged in: June 5th 2011
Keo
Travel Blog Posts
Hard Rock Cafe Beijing
I took a quick hop to Beijing, China during Thanksgiving weekend with a couple of good friends. Looking back I realized that 4 days in Beijing was not enough to actually see the whole city but we walked (and there was a lot of walking involved) way with a great appreciation for the Chinese culture of balancing economic growth and old world tradition. Being part Chinese, going to the mother land for the first time was an amazing experience that I will never forget. Another thing I won't forget is how cold it was there in November. That wind just cuts right through what ever you got on. The only time we took off our jackets was after making it up to one of the Great Wall towers. By then we were sweating like pigs. Besides ... read more
Taxi boat
Bangkok or what the Thais call it, Krung Thep is a city of enormous proportion. Occupied by roughly 10 million people, BKK is busy, crowded and nosiy . But what major city isn't. The great shopping, night life, food and the welcoming people made it a great place to visit. Either by boat, Tuk Tuk, Sky train, taxis or moped, the city is very accessible. I spent 8 days in the heart of the city on Sukhumvit Rd, the business central and had a blast there on the last leg of a 20 day trip. BKK is a fast growing city so visit it before it gets too expensive. Can't wait to go back there on my way from Koh Samui next spring. More to come. ... read more
Bang Pa-In Palace
After arriving to Bangkok from Phuket, the next two days was all about lounging and vegging out. Suffering from jet lag, not enough rest, and too much sun in Phuket all I wanted to do was sleep and thats what I did. On the 3rd day I booked an all day tour to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. We rode a tour bus to the city and caught a boat back down the Chao Phraya river, well worth the 1500 bahts. The ruins of the city was beautiful. Even after been burnt and ransacked by the Burmese, you can visualize how great and might this capital was back in its glory days. The only thing that I didn't like about the city was the many headless Buddha statues that you encountered walking through the capital. ... read more
Tuk Tuks
Sept 18-22 2007 Not being back in Hawai'i for about 4 years, made me miss the beautiful beaches (especially the warm and clear water). Don't get me wrong the beaches of Korea are nice but I was yearning for something more like Hawai'i. I was losing my tan living in the ROK for the past 6 months and since I was going to visiting relatives in Bangkok, I decided to stop over in Phuket. Had to call people up to tell them that I was not on the plane that crashed at the Phuket airport couple days earlier. I believed the airport was closed for about two days and then it was business as usual. I wasn't too scared to fly in but made sure I ate the meal on board, just in case it was ... read more
Monk Tuk Tuk
Spent 3 days in Phnom Penh Cambodia after departing from HK. Cambodia is probably one of the poorest countries in the world that never rebounded from the numerous external and internal wars. Talking to the people about the genocide during Pol Pot's regime and seeing the killing field was very hard and disturbing. Its currency the Riel is very weak (4K Riel to a dollar) and is not available outside the country . The average monthly salary is about $50 and even though life is hard, this does not stop Cambodian from being one of the friendliest people I have ever encountered. I will make a point to visit Wat Angkor next time I head to Cambodia, a true Land of Smiles, tuk tuks and moped. ... read more
Enlighted
Day 1 After an unforeseenable delay of my flight, finally got into HK on Sept 12 from Seoul. Only staying for 2.5 days so I had to really manage my time. I was planning to stay up 18+ each day for sight seeing, shopping and to grab a hop to Macau for some gambling (haven't played craps in a while). Got a map from the Tourist Info booth, arrived at my hotel and I was off and running. The ferry system was fairly easy enough to follow. Just look for what district/island you want to go and jump on it. This is probably the most cheapest form of transportation (about 3 dollars one way). Opening seatings so first come first serve and it gets packed. The people are pretty nice, most speak English and if they ... read more
