http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/there-goes-Dave/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from there goes Dave en-us Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:32:58 +0000 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:32:58 +0000 Saai and I spent two nights in Trang with her family. Her family were great hosts and her mom is an excellent cook. There was a continuous flow of seafood coming from the kitchenhellipcrab mussels fish and prawns. We ate up. But it was soon time to leavehellipOn Thursday October 15 2009 Saairsquos mom and stepfather dropped us off at the pier in Krabi to take a 1 hour ferry to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-446668.html Wersquore now visiting Saairsquos family in Trang southern Thailand but I wanted to get a blog update covering our time in Phuket where we celebrated our 1 year anniversary. Yep it has already been one year Saai and I chose to return to Phuket the popular island in Thailand where we went on our honeymoon.Saai and I really enjoyed our honeymoon on Phuket a year ago and decided to retu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-444889.html I've done some traveling since my last update. Where Mostly to destinations within Thailand such as Phetchabun northern Thailand Khao Yai and Hua Hin but I've also taken a trip to the U.S. to see family friends. However there's really too much to cover. So let's keep it simple...and share about my most recent trip to Ko Samet an island in the Gulf of Thailand. Due to its proximity http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Samet/blog-400775.html This blog is still alive but barely. When was my last update July 31 2008. Ok thatrsquos some serious neglection. But here I amA lot has happened since my last update. The biggest news is my marriage to Saai. Saai and I got married on October 11 2008 in Bangkok Thailand. The wedding was held in a church in the Silom area of Bangkok and the reception at a nearby restaurant. The we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-378469.html A couple of months have passed since my last blog. You'd think by now I'd have put together something covering my trip in May to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai northern Thailand. But ahh nope I haven't done it. The trip overall was good but it didn't go as planned or rather things weren't planned well enough What do I mean Well the original intent of the trip was to make a visa run acr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-305546.html Itrsquos already been about a month since Saai and I visited her family in Trang a city province in southern Thailand. One month Whatrsquos up with the slow updates Ok ok..Irsquove been procrastinating. These things do take time and Irsquove been pretty busy with other things. What other things I started my new teaching job at St. Johnrsquos teaching 7th12th graders http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Trang/blog-276487.html Halong Bay is a very popular side trip for those visiting Hanoi Vietnam. It's a 3 12 hour drive between the capital city and this bay a UNESCO World Heritage site. Halong Bay contains almost 2000 limestone karst islands. There are a few islands with lodging for tourists but primarily the islands are uninhabited largely due to their topography. There aren't many flat areas to develop and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Halong-Bay/blog-264940.html Rain or shine we were on our way to ride through rice paddies and villages outside Hanoi Unfortunately for us it was rain. No matter. Getting a little muddy is a good thing right Umm the key word is little. I'm back in Bangkok now but there is a lot to cover from the rest of my trip to Vietnam...My last update was on Friday March 28 from Hanoi Vietnam. So that brings me to Saturday. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-262813.html It's day 2 in Hanoi and I'm trying to adapt to all this honking. I got an early exposure from the driver taking me from the airport to my hotel who was kind enough to demonstrate quite readily his fondness for the horn.He isn't alone. I assume this isn't just true in Hanoi but other areas of Vietnam too Wow. Why are they all honking The streets are a bit crazy granted. The lack of tra http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-260626.html Ok ok. Where have I beenWell the title of this blog entry surely will give you some clue as to one place I've been. After wrapping up teaching English at Neeracha School in Bangkok for this past semester February 29 I returned to an island I first visited in 2005. Ko Samui is a large island in the Gulf of Thailand 3rd largest island in Thailand. As to be expected development has cont http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-258560.html It may be approaching the end of January but I'm still trying to capture Christmas on this blog. Here goes...As I mentioned in my last entry I was heading to Denver Colorado to visit family for the holidays. A series of flights 3 from Bangkok to Denver found me at my destination on the night of December 22 2007. The flights were basically uneventful and thankfully not full. I had plen http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/Denver/blog-237976.html It's Thursday December 20 and I'm two days away from heading to America to see family friends for Christmas. I'm looking forward to this short visit. I leave Bangkok on December 22 and arrive in Denver Colorado later that same day. I'll be in transit for almost 24 hours but with the time change I don't lose a day. The time gets eaten up though on my return to Bangkok leave Denver on D http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-228773.html It didn't play out as planned but I am finally teaching English in Bangkok. Last week was fairly uneventful after all the drama of the previous week. I renewed my search for a teaching job and scheduled two interviews for Monday November 12. My plan was to go through those interviews before pursuing any other options. However I ended up responding on Saturday November 10 to another post http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-219849.html Irsquom sure there will be a happy ending to this story but the initial drama involved with finding my first English teaching job has been more than I expected. Itrsquos been a whirlwind recently. Over the course of 6 consecutive business days I interviewed 5 times. Those interviews varied greatly. The shortest was 30 minutes the longest was 3 hours and included a 45 minute teaching http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-215983.html It's Sunday October 21st and I've returned to Thailand. I wanted to give a little update on my last few days in the Philippines and the latest news since my return to Bangkok.Ok the Philippines. Thankfully the good weather held in Boracay until my departure on Tuesday October 16.I really enjoyed my time on the island. I connected with a group of Germans 4 university students when I retu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Boracay/blog-212766.html Itrsquos Saturday October 13 and time for a little update from paradise. The weather has been incredible this last week. So what did I do I decided to stay on the beautiful island of Boracay for the rest of my vacation in the Philippines. It's hard to beat this. Irsquove got a couple more days before I fly to Manila and then itrsquos back home to Bangkok.Island life for me has mos http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Boracay/blog-210764.html The weather on Boracay has taken a dramatic turn. The storms passed and the rain and high winds have been replaced by calm seas and sunny skies. Let's hope the good weather holds Tomorrow I head out for a boat trip around the island with snorkeling gear and lunch included all for under 15. Love itI'll let the pictures and captions cover these last two days...Look There goes Dave http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Boracay/blog-209361.html The beach has always been a special place for me. From my early years of building sand castles boogie boarding and digging up sand crabs on the beaches of Orange County So Cal USA to more recent years of playing volleyball or relaxing on beaches from all over Southern California to the Caribbean to Thailand. I've seen quite a few beaches in my life.Yesterday I arrived at the most popular be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Boracay/blog-208759.html I wasnrsquot looking forward to that 430 a.m. wake up call so I got up on my own at 420 a.m. Irsquod do it on my own terms. The taxi was waiting for me prearranged by 450 and I was off for the LCCT Low Cost Carrier Terminal outside K.L.My Air Asia flight was at 720 a.m. on October 2 Tuesday. With no traffic we made it in less than 1 hour...plenty of time to navigate through t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Manila/blog-208041.html Lots to cover in this update. Itrsquos Monday October 1 2007 and Irsquom sitting in a smoky internet caf in a city I am not particularly fond of. Where am IIrsquom in the capital city of Malaysia Kuala Lumpur. For those of you who read my blog during my 9 week adventure to SE Asia in early 2006 you know why I donrsquot like this city. I was much more prepared for K.L. Kuala Lu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-206800.html