http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Woz/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Woz en-us Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:46:21 +0000 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:46:21 +0000 Hey againSo 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 BangkokWell 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-424139.html Hey again everyoneSo 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 relaxedSince my last entry I made it through the Northern border of Cambodia and into Laos' southernmost region called Si Phan Don meaning Fo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-424111.html Sue'sdei Hello from stillonlyoccasionallysunny 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 Peh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-421078.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-420065.html Hey all Sue'sdei to anyone who speaks khmerJust 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 lo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-420049.html Hey allSo 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 K http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-418894.html Hey allSo 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 g http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-416801.html 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 unt http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/blog-416713.html Greetings again from Ko Tao the coolest island in the worldIt'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 her http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-416696.html 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 ju http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-414769.html Sawatdee khrab Hi everyoneMeet our friend Ying Ying is super cool and we had an excellent time with her yesterday For those of you who don't know it just happens by coincidence that Susan who is the person who replaced me when I left my job at IPI is from Bangkok and therefore was able to put us in contact with Ying her friend from home. Ying was very nice and offered to meet and show http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-414759.html Hello or sawatdee khraaaaab as they say here... you hold the aaa for politeness from unfortunately notsosunny Bangkok Hello to my new blog as well. As promised to many over the past many weeks I finally found a moment to create this and write out my first entry but of course like a doofus I forgot to bring the USB cord for my camera from the hotel room so sadly I cannot grace this entry http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-412898.html