http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Howell/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Howell en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:01:41 +0000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:01:41 +0000 Once upon a time in a land far far far away four travelers set out on a journey. Each traveler had their own personal reasons for joining the group. Some wanted to find direction. Others wanted to face their fears and doubts. When the journey started they had no idea of the obstacles and triumphs that would stand before them. The beginning of their trip was filled with high spirits and innocen http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-313588.html I don't remember everything. I clearly remember leaving the island in the back of a pickup truck with 13 other people and their belongings. I remember arriving back in Bangkok after a 7 hour bus ride. I remember making fun of Paci and New York for hanging bug nets because there were ants in our room. I remember Eric leaving us this morning to head back to Indonesia where he'll arrive back home in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-313178.html The KayakA short play written by Kristin HowellAct 1 Scene 1Setting The early morning hours in a resort on a Thai islandChristina What do you wanna do todayKristin I think it's raining.Eric Go back to bed. I don't even get up this early on a school day. That's not rain. It's buckets of water falling from the sky.Scene 2Christina It stopped raining It's so nice out blue sky sun shinning. L http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Chang/blog-312271.html Author's note If there is going to be one blog you skip this would be it. I've done nothing but eat dinner since my last blog. There are no pictures. There are no grand adventures. These are just some of my thoughts as I sit here trying to fall asleep. 1 Today is the Queen's birthday and therefore considered Mother's Day. When there is a new queen there will be a new day to celebrate Mother's http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-311317.html After four days of riding buses 4 hrs to Pai 4 back from Pai 11 to Bangkok 7 to Trat we arrived on Ko Chang an island off the eastern coast of Thailand close to Cambodia. We have been in search of a crystal clear blue beach but have found none. June through October is the wet season so although the water is slightly more clear than that of back home it's still not the picturesque beach http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Chang/blog-311140.html Well I certainly did not mean to frighten anyone with my last blog. My spirit was caught in a barbed wire but not punctured. I just wanted you all to see the other side of things the untold story of travel that's forgotten when your destination is reached. Yes I am homesick I think we all are but we aren't crying at night in our bug nets. But for all the years I lived away from home this i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-309361.html It wouldn't be right to fill you in on all the exciting stuff and shelter you from the nitty gritty day to day things. So let this serve as your warning for what you are about to read. I'm completely prepared to keep it clean but I'm only on paragraph one. I vaguely remember writing in the last blog how we were taking a short three hour bus ride to a northwest village of Pai. The bus picked us u http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-309022.html I know two blogs in one day but as I went to pay the rain started falling so fast that I could barely see the street I am supposed to cross let alone all the critters the rain will surely bring to it's surface. I want to tell you all about the man on the bike. It's been well over a week we left Cambodia but still our experiences there are talked about daily. I think mostly because Cambodia was http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-308193.html I have to admit over the last few days I've sat down to write and have come up with nothing. I wrote over and over again but something was missing. I was ready to tell you all about how we went ziplining in the jungle high above in the canopy. I was excited to tell you that I rode on the back of an elephant and fed it with my own mouth. Or even how thrilling it was to go ATVing in the mountains http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-308172.html 230PM Train departs Bangkok and heads north to Chiang Mai414PM Almost two hours in and only one city outside of Bangkok. It rained out and we all got wet First card game of Quibbler begins. Courtney is already asleep439PM Kristin notices game is called Quiddler not Quibbler453PM Meet a lovely Chiang Mai family of three who just moved here from Hawaii. Imagine that So wild. Kristin is lo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-306657.html For a very brief time we had the pleasure of being in the presence of the one and only Mr Paci fellow Brooks teacher extraordinaire. The pictures will speak for themselves. Other than missing a fellow member Karen why did you need to get married I hate sharing you with Ross we had a refreshing pep talk and saw him off to the airport.We are now about to board a 15 hour train ride to Chang Mai http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-306192.html Well we are officially still three but our fourth member is in mid air as we speak. Her flight arrives around 530PM. We can't wait to see her look of bewilderment as she walks out of the terminal on her own the way we did about two and a half weeks ago. We want to watch her experience what we did because at the time it all seemed to have happened so fast we don't remember it all clearly. For t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-305835.html Safely back in the Kingdom of Thailand. They really weren't kidding when they said it was a 14 hour bus ride but if our bus driver was not a smoker and did not keep pulling over to take a few puffs I'm certain we would have arrived at least 2 hours earlier. We spent the first night back in a relatively more expensive room about 15 each. We hadn't eaten ALL day and really wanted a good nights http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-305462.html If I remember correctly when we last left off we were hanging our bug nets to save ourselves from the mice invasion. There were no computers at our visit to Kampot so I took notes to fill you in on the highlights of the last several days. We stayed one last night in our mouse room but with very little sleep decided to upgrade to a beautiful little bungalow over looking the ocean. I wish I co http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Kampot/blog-304441.html We honestly didn't mean to do it Let me explain. In Cambodia you pay for things at the end of everything including your hotel living arrangements. So as we awoke on Sunday morning at 545AM and waved goodbye to our hosts we completely forgot to pay for our room and they did wave back so we weren't sneaking out. As we were waiting in the overcrowded unairconditioned bus station buses do http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Sihanoukville/blog-302757.html Between the years of 1975 and 1979 the Khmer Rouge under the leadership oF Pol Pot ruled areas of Cambodia including Phnom Penh. Money was abolished and cities were abandoned. Thousands of peope who spoke foreign languages or wore glasses were considered parasites and killed. Hundreds of thousands more died of mistreatment malnutrition and disease. Between 19751979 approximately 2 million p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-301839.html Lounging yesterday teaching Ta the chicken dance YMCA and cartwheels a lovely british man sat down at a nearby table. As usual a quick smile and hello was shared as we continued to ponder where we would go next. We needed a fresh start and as we began to discuss the pros and cons of each location this man who is very well traveled listened in and joined our conversation. By the end of our http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-301211.html We could hardly even sleep last night waiting for the sun to rise literally with our cameras in hand waiting for the sun. The day begins so early here with people setting up shop around 530AM.We began the day across the street to buy some toys for the children at the orphanage and then set out. I realized I have no idea where an orphanage is at home. Anyways around the block we went to the Sunr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-300874.html I'm becoming Cambodian Okay let me slow down and start from the beginning.The bus did indeed pick us up in front our guesthouse at 7AM. We were on the bus for about 5 hours before we reached the border. We then had to wait for our visas get approval and then get on another bus. From this bus we took a three hour cab ride on roads that are not really roads they are well just earth. This is wh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-300461.html SNAKE MILKING FARM yup that's what we went to bed thinking about last night and images of how in the world this works made us arise quite early 330AM to be exact. The debate last night was to either spend the day at a crocodile park with 30000 crocodiles including a live wrestling match or attend a snake farm. We eagerly arose ate a very nice english style breakfast and went confide http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-299619.html