Silly

To me, Laos was an award-winning country. I fell in love with this country’s rugged terrain of emerald mountains and dramatic limestone peaks crisscrossed with rivers and forests. Laos seemed relatively untouched by tourism. The people were warm, friendly, relaxed, and kind-hearted. Laos is socialist country with a population of 5.6 million. 80% of the population live in remote rural areas. Many areas can only be reached by boat or by plane. Most of the small villages or tribes have never seen a Westerner. (e.g. The Yellow Banana Leaf tribe. This 21- member tribe lives under yellow banana leaves and, sadly, will soon become extinct). After our 12-day visit in Laos, the following prizes were awarded by a panel of one lowly judge (aka moi): World's Most Heavily Bombed Country Tragic Winner: Laos Per capita, ... read more

Hello Loyal Blog Followers. It's been ages since I have written a blog. I am now travelling in the South Island of New Zealand. My time has been consumed with seeing this beautiful part of New Zealand before the snow flies. Additionally, I wanted to do a few multi-day hikes before they closed for the winter. Thus, I have had limited internet access. Alas, I am bound and determined to finish off my blogs from my SE Asia trip this week. Although, my blog entries will be nearly 2 months late, I have safely stashed all of my Asian memories in my little noggin. These memories are patiently waiting for me to put my fingers to the keyboard. Like wine, they have gotten better with time! So where did I leave off before taking a ... read more

Have you ever wanted something for so long that when you do get it, you'll do anything to keep it? I have always wanted a Leatherman ever since I saw my first one about 13 years ago. I was enthralled with the needle nose pliers and the multiple tools. I could not justify buying one because I rarely tackled the great outdoors. Instead, I secretly coveted my friend's Leatherman. When I decided to travel, can you guess what item I purchased immediately after a backpack? Why of course, a Leatherman. It's an absolute necessity for all backpackers in addition to ear plugs and Immodium (Think the travellers' trots on a long bus journey. Asian buses typically don't have washrooms). On December 28, 2006, I became the proud owner of a glacier blue Leatherman, the C2 Juice ... read more

Thai Transportation Tales En Route to Bangkok Feb 11-12, 2007 We hit the road again on February 11. This time we were penciled in for 18 hours of travel from Koh Pha Nga to Bangkok. I was dreading the 18 hours by taxi, ferry, bus, and train. I seriously considered taking a flight to Bangkok. After some deliberation, I decided to stick with the original 18-hour game plan. Our days spent travelling were proving to be better fodder for stories than our actual destinations. Furthermore, part of the adventure in backpacking is in the traveling itself. Our 18 hours of travel to Bangkok didn't prove me wrong regarding story fodder. Here are some tales from our travels by ferry, bus, and train. (For some readers, these tales may be an excellent cure for insomnia!). A Pre-Boarding ... read more

A Meditation Retreat at a Thai Budhist Monastery January 31- February 3, 2007 Part I: Getting to the Meditation Retreat Jan 31, 2007 We awoke at 5:30am on January 31 to ensure that we arrived early at the monastery to register. Registration often closes by noon. The monastery was located about an hour's drive outside of Surat Thani. At 6:30am we left our hotel with 2 other people who were also planning to attend the retreat. Once again, we encountered difficulties in getting transportation. We hired a taxi to take us to the government bus station. Instead, he took us to a private bus/min-van company. The taxi driver refused to take us to the government bus station unless we paid an exhurbent amount of money. We attempted to argue, but the both the taxi driver and ... read more