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Woz goes Eastbound
This blog was set up to keep all friends and family in touch and up to date with all my travels as I head through Thailand, Laos and Cambodia over six weeks starting June 25th and ending on August 10th. I will be with my sister for the first two weeks until about the 14th of July when she then makes her way to Chiang Rai to volunteer for the next two months. Main destinations along the way include:Woz
Bangkok (main attractions + Koh San road)
Koh Tao (scuba diving)
Koh Phangan (full moon party)
Koh Samui
Chang Mai
Chiang Rai
Slow boat to Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Tubing down the Mekong River
Vientiane
Si Phan Don
Angkor Wat
Siem Reap
Phnom Penh
Hope everyone stays well and I can't wait to update you as the trip goes on, and of course tell you about all my stories in person once I finally get back to the States. Take care!
Travel Blog Posts
July 30th 2009
Hey again! So the last two stops on my journey in Laos have brought back vague memories of some places I haven't been to in some time... and by that of course I mean back home and my time in Bangkok! Well, as far as home is concerned I only mean that Vientiane's quality restaurant scene brought back some fond thoughts of being back in DC. Otherwise, this city is a very sleepy one, a sort of austere place with a some vestiges of Soviet influence. While this country is still officially communist it has opened itself up to foreign investment over the past 20 years, so now the only obvious reminders of this fact to tourists passing through are the hammer & sickle flags that still fly alongside the Lao flag on government buildings. Otherwise, ... read more
July 26th 2009
Hey again everyone! So I finally made my way out of Cambodia and into Laos, and it's almost as if at the border that everything, except for the temperature of course, has at least ten dimensions of chill more than anywhere else in the world... this place is relaxed! Since my last entry I made it through the Northern border of Cambodia and into Laos' southernmost region called Si Phan Don, meaning Four Thousand Islands, because of the number of times the Mekong river breaks up and rejoins throughout this stretch, creating these tiny islands. One them are some of the most laid back communities I have ever seen, just self subsisting villages amongst rice paddys and grazing water buffalo in every direction. Of course some of the villages on these islands have figured out their ... read more
Ahh, Cambodia... Temples of Angkor & More
Published: July 23rd 2009Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap
July 22nd 2009
Sue'sdei!! Hello from still-only-occasionally-sunny Cambodia. Last time I posted I was in being held hostage indoors by increment weather in Sihanoukville, down on the southern coast of the country. Back in Phnom Penh I thought that, with time to kill, I could make my way down here for a few days hoping for some fun in the sun, possibly even a dive. It was beautiful and cloudless up in Phnom Pehn, but who knew weather could change this drastically in a country as small as this? This wasn't one of those short hour-long downpours that I've gotten used to going through every few days on this trip - this one lasted all the way through the day and night and showed no signs of going away. Looking at my calendar, I decided there was more I ... read more
Phnom Penh Day 3: Genocide Museum and Killing Fields
Published: July 19th 2009Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh
July 16th 2009
It's practically impossible not to feel at least a little weighed down by the heavy history here in Phnom Penh. That said, it's also a city that is so easy to appreciate. While the government in power right now (the Cambodian People's Party, mostly corrupt and includes many defectors from the Khmer Rouge) does little to help, this city is in overdrive right now. People are at work everywhere, few people are ever begging for money. There's a clear vision here, and though the recent past is the subject matter of many sights and activities in this city, it does not distract anyone from moving on. This was overall a pretty depressing day though. The morning started with a quick breakfast and visit to the internet cafe, then afterward a trip to a nearby ATM, which ... read more
And now for something completely different: Phnom Penh
Published: July 19th 2009Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh
July 15th 2009
Hey all! Sue'sdei to anyone who speaks khmer! Just now am wrapping up day 2 of my visit to Phnom Penh, and it should go without saying that this place is worlds different from the cozy beaten tourist paths of Southern Thailand. Not saying that there aren't many foreigners here - in fact there is still quite a good amount - but it's not exactly the happy kind of destination most vacationers are looking for, so not as many come here for obvious reasons. Visiting this city requires reading up on Cambodia's recent history a little though, because after I arrived I noticed just how little teach they teach us about this era in our high schools back at home. It's been only 30 years since this place was liberated from one of the bloodiest revolutions ... read more
Ko Phangan, Full Moon Party Silliness & Ko Samui
Published: July 15th 2009Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Pha-Ngan
July 12th 2009
Hey all! So we're on Ko Samui now winding down our last days on the islands before we part ways in two days as Leila heads North to start her volunteer work in Chiang Rai and I move on to Cambodia. Sadly the weather here is a little crummy, so we haven't been hitting the famous beaches too much yet, but the town we're staying in (Lamai) is very nice and sort of reminds us of an island version of Kao Sahn back in Bangkok. Back are the stores selling polo shirts for $6, chic boutiques offering custom tailored Armani suits at rock bottom prices, and course 7-11's on every other street corner (on Ko Tao I only counted two, probably the lowest concentration we've seen anywhere in Thailand)... and even the first McDonald's we've seen ... read more
Last Days in Ko Tao and on to Ko Phangan
Published: July 9th 2009Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Pha-Ngan
July 7th 2009
Hey all! So we just arrived in Ko Phangan and just settled in to our new guest house here. It's a different island to be sure - you definitely need taxis to get around and there's just a lot more stuff going on here. There's actually traffic here! The whole past week in Ko Tao spoiled us so much we actually might have believed that time actually stopped for a week, but Ko Phangan is definitely giving us a little bit of a jolt back to reality. Fortunately though we found a nice and sort of secluded guest house resort up north, far away from Had Rin, the center of the full moon party on the 9th, which almost matches Ko Tao in terms of relaxation. This place completely works on the honor system - there's ... read more
July 4th 2009
That's right, I just had a close (talking like 1 foot away, max!) encounter with a WHALE SHARK today! This thing was apparently just a baby but it was still massive, like 10 feet long! I still can't believe it. Picture this scene. Whale shark sightings here are extremely rare, and some people here have been diving for years and haven't seen one. Even Angie says that she didn't see her first until her 300th dive (and was once chased around by one too, which is insane). So we were on the deck of the boat going out to Chumphon Pinnacle, the dive site where we were going to do our deep water training, and Angie briefed us on the slight possibility of encountering one today. They're not dangerous to people, she said, but if we ... read more
July 2nd 2009
Greetings again from Ko Tao, the coolest island in the world! It's another beautiful day out, sun is setting soon and we're taking a break from our strenuous daily routine to catch up on emails and do a little blog writing. We've only been here a few days but have already decided to extend our stay here until the 7th. I think it's probably the best decision we've made next to deciding to come here in the first place! Actually I think we're pretty lucky to have found this place. The original plan was to go straight to Ko Samui and do the scuba diving lessons there, but as soon as we heard that Ko Tao was ten times better for diving and tons cheaper, we juts had to give this a shot instead. We actually ... read more
::Hoo... haa... hoo... haa:: Wave to the camera, hi!!
Published: July 3rd 2009Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Tao
July 1st 2009
This is me... on my first dive evar! It was just a closed water dive, so not much actual diving was involved. We spend our time underwater doing various drills, such as switching between regulators (our main and alternate mouthpieces), practicing buoyancy exercises, and things of that sort. I have to admit, my first moments underwater were a little freaky, maybe felt a little claustrophobic, just because you realize you're covered in water and breathing through the regulator is clearly not the same as breathing on the surface. But it was over pretty quick and the dive was altogether fantastic. Tomorrow we have our final exam and first two open water dives. We're going down to about 10 meters below on two dives. In two more days I'll be certified. Dare I say it? Diving is ... read more
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