Chris W

In the interest of saving time and space, I will just summarize all our stops in Laos in one entry. I was delayed by Laos having primarily garbage internet. Now, back in Bangkok, I'm free to revel in high-speed wireless. So Laos was Awesome. It was interesting traveling there from Thailand, as it's very similar, but also very different in subtle ways, like traveling from Australia to New Zealand, or Mexico to Guatemala. The language is very similar, the main difference being that the 'r' sound is substituted for an 'l' sound. This meant I was able to continue to employ my pidgin Thai, which solicits many a confused giggle. But people generally seem to appreciate the attempt. People over here are generally eager to practice their English, so many exchanges consist of me butchering Thai/Lao ... read more

After a ridiculously tiring/disorienting journey, we arrived in bangkok. We stayed in the western part of the city, in Banglamphu, by the Chao Praya river. The size of the city was mind-boggling. It made new york (and new york traffic) look like a small town. The lack of sleep and a small dose of culture shock made the first two days a bit surreal. I still haven't achieved anything like a normal sleep schedule, but the first two days were ridiculous. We did a lot of the normal sight seeing, but some of my favorite memories were just small things. We took a hike off the beaten track into a nearby working class Thai neighborhood, when a rainstorm hit. It only lasted an hour or so, but it was much stronger for that hour than anything ... read more