What can I say about Luang Prabang that hasn't already been more-eloquently phrased in the guidebooks by a thousand gushing travel-writers? Uhm... The snake whiskey totally kicks ass! At The Spiritual Center of Laos I made it into Luang Prabang after two crazy and hectic days on the Mekong river. Coming in on the evening of the 17th, it looked to me like a civilized shelter from the wildlife and wilderness and scams and wide world of sports of the days preceding. Mike and I and the two Canadian kids and the Swedes decided we'd all shack up together somewhere, but [View Full Entry]

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Exposition I'd been travelling for four days in Laos with an Englishman named Mike, two Canadians (Mike and Paul), and two Swedes (Johanes and Daniel). We were all staying in the upstairs of a fantastic, newly-remodeled guesthouse. We had the entire top floor: three king-size beds, two twin beds, three bathrooms, and two balconies, all for only fifteen U.S. dolllars per night--total. Mike had his own room, the Swedes shared another, and I was bunked up with the two Canadian kids (who're from Victoria, in fact, which is quite close to home for me). Rising Action This particular night, we started [View Full Entry]

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Luang Prabang is home to some amazing temples and some very famous Buddhas. This is the hot spot to be if you're a Buddhist Monk in Laos. Please enjoy this photo blog. [View Full Entry]

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The two-day boat trip down the Mekong river from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang has been billed as one of the most worthwhile journeys to take in Laos. It certainly introduced me to the natural beauty of Laos, and to the great people here. It also gave me a front row seat to witness the damage that tourism and outside influences can do to a peaceful, agrarian culture. I took a lot of pictures on the trip, and many of them were quite beautiful. However, many of them were also crap, and a lot of the landscape shots seemed redundant. So, [View Full Entry]

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My last night in Chiang Mai was kind of funny. After going out for drinks with my friends (Mike and Kay from the U.K. and Mahogany from NY/Arizona/Singapore), I got dragged off by a pretty Thai girl (an Isaan Girl, to be more specific--their beauties) who I thought was taking me to dance at a night club. She actually took me to a massage parlor for some of the famous Thai massage. There was no "happy ending", so don't even ask, but by the time it was over I really didn't feel like partying anymore. So I made a stop at [View Full Entry]

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Chiang Mai There are a lot of things we take for granted in America: closed sewers, orderly traffic, toilet paper in the bathrooms. One of the things I always took for granted was cheese. In America we have excellent cheeses; trustworthy cheeses; a wide variety of them; good for cooking with. Thailand has shit for cheese. They also don't have any good bread. Consequently, I've been having some serious cravings for bread/cheese combinations: stuff like pizza, cheesy bagels, and nachos. I arrived in Chiang Mai at 7:30 AM and started wandering the streets in search of breakfast and an internet cafe. [View Full Entry]

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I took so many pictures while staying at the River Ping Palace in Chiang Mai that I didn't have room for them in my other blogs. So here's a photo blog. [View Full Entry]

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Clap Your Hands Believe it or not, earlier today I actually found myself spontaneously clapping my hands in a public place. Out of pure joy. I was sprawled out alone in the sun on a comfy pool-chair, drying off from the swimming I'd done in the fantastically clean, clear little pool of the D2 hotel. Of the many things Americans and other westerners take for granted, access to a nice gym with a nice pool, a steam room, and a good, hot shower is probably not too high on anybody's list. But, they are wonderful things to have when you get [View Full Entry]

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I've done a lot of vivid dreaming on this trip. I wake up often in the middle of the night feeling like I'm in an even more unusual and adventurous place than I really am--and believing it. Sometimes, I suppose, I've been trekking on mountain peaks, getting lost in labrinthine underground sewer systems, or having rabid discussions for hours on end about life, the universe, and everything with mobs of stoned-out, gibbering foreigners. I suppose dreams are a way to process what is going on around you and what is going on in your head: sights, sounds, experiences, imaginings, emotions, stresses, [View Full Entry]

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Ayuthaya Leaving Bangkok is almost impossible. I wouldn't say that the night life keeps you there, as all the partying and drinking and staying up nights can get old pretty quick. But, when you do finally decide to leave, it gets really hard to figure out how. Not only are the busses crazy and the trains hard to find and the cab drivers utterly lost and clueless, but nothing is in English and no one really cares to help. Then, if you do ever make it to the bus station, you have to figure all that out--and you are still in [View Full Entry]

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