A very delayed part II

I don't have a single excuse other than the fact that I've been really lazy.  Yes, I'm working (we will get to that in a second), but it's not like I don't spend countless hours perusing through facebook on any given day.  I've been an awful blogger.  I don't deserve to have anyone read it anymore.  Forgive me?  

Alright, now that we've taken care of that-let's get back to the story at hand.

I stayed at Eva's Backpackers, a small hostel in the Kings Cross area of Sydney.  I didn't know it at the time, but Kings Cross is Sydney's Red Light district which made for some very interesting walks back to the hostel last at night.  Along with the prostitutes, it's full of backpacker bars, strip clubs, more hostels, etc.  It reminded me of the French Quarter in a way.  I think that was largely due to the smell and the massive amounts of drunk tourists stumbling about.  

When I arrived back at the Hostel after the day of furniture shopping for the new house, I mentioned to Travis that I had some a little research and found a pub that was going to be playing the LSU vs. Auburn game live...which was at 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning.  I asked him if he'd like to come and he agreed, perfect!  Originally I had just planned on going alone...but how much fun would it be to watch a game all by yourself?  This was just getting better and better; maybe Sydney wasn't so bad after all!  

For the entire first half, Travis and I were literally the only two people upstairs at Cheers watching the game.  Then Umie arrived.

Umie is a 22 year old recent college grad from the New York University.  If that's not impressive enough for you, he also double majored in Finance and Marketing...from one of the top 5 business schools in America.  Not to mention the fact that he's just flat out freakin' awesome.  Umie grew up in Beaver Creek, Ohio but decided to give 4 years in NYC a shot...big change.  His father is from England and his mother is from Pakistan.  White people think he's brown and brown people think he's white.  Most people would grow up with  severe self identity issues, but Umie seems to manage just fine.  You'll be hearing A LOT about Umie in the future, so get used to it.  This kid is here to stay.  

Alright, so Umie brought this British guy (Tom) that he met along with him so he could teach him a little about American Football, or "gridiron" as they say.  Tom didn't say much, but he did have a Spongebob wallet and is apparently a good breakdancer.  I never witnessed either of these things.   Anyway, as soon as Umie and Tom walked upstairs we invited them to join us at our table.  Conversation began and before you know it, we were all headed down the road to get $7 steak at some dodgy pub for lunch.  

After lunch, we parted ways and Travis and I headed back to the hostel.  We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with the others at the hostel (around 90% of them were German) until it was time for Mass.  I still didn't have my "normal" clothes at this point as they hadn't arrived just yet.  I had to wear the same pair of jeans that I had been wearing all month in Asia and the only collared shirt that I owned.  Oh well, I'm going to Mass with what I have...God understands.  Mass was really beautiful inside St. Mary's Cathedral that Sunday evening, followed by a young adult group.  The young adult group wasn't what I was expecting.  Most of the people were from other parts of the world and the topic was very surface level...just not really for me.  I headed back to the hostel that evening feeling very hopeful and rejuvenated about Sydney.  

More to come I promise, but it's 4 am here and I'm exhausted.  

Go out and buy yourself a jar of Nutella.

Have you ever tried the stuff?  It's fan-friggin-tastic!  I had never had this hazelnutty sensation until yesterday...but man, I'm hooked.  I've successfully eaten TWO 600g jars of it on my own thankyouverymuch.  Do yourself a favor and search high and low until you find the amazing spread called Nutella.  You won't be sorry.

Ok, now that I've got that out of my system...I'll give you an update.  

Many things have changed since my last post.  Most importantly: my outlook on Sydney.  Last time I updated I was depressed, lonely, and extremely homesick.  Granted, I still get homesick on occasion, but it's more much palatable.  Things really began to turn around for me as soon as I got out of the awful living situation that I was in.  Here, let me paint a picture for you:

Josh lives on Cleveland St. which is the dividing line of Surry Hills and Redfern (Sydney is made up of tiny suburbs...similar to NYC or any other large city--these are two of them.)  Surry Hills is a nice, trendy area with many good cafe's, pubs, restaurants, etc. while Redfern is an area that is to be avoided at all costs due to the constant muggings, rapes, and hoards of homeless people (largely Aboriginal) in the area.  Needless to say, Josh doesn't live in the   safest area of Sydney.  Rent is cheap and he doesn't mind the occasional shrieks that pierce   your eardrum in the middle of the night...clearly we are very different.  He has 3 roommates, of which he knows one of their names.  Her name is Anna.  Anna is originally from Russia, in her late 20's and has already had a stroke...she's a junkie.  The woman has totally lost it, here's an example:  one night she was so high that she went into the freezer and ate all of her ice cream that she had just purchased and yelled at the entire household (myself included) for stealing it!  Josh's other roommates were a 60+ yr old Indian man that I rarely saw and an Aussie in his thirties with a major drinking problem.  I would wake up in the morning around 8 and he would already be in the kitchen drinking beers.   Josh's room was pretty small and dirty along with the rest of the house, but I was able to clean up a small corner to put my things.  We shared his double bed the first few nights...something I wasn't thrilled on doing but hey-it was free.  The second night that I stayed with Josh, he arrived home around 2 am completely trashed out of his mind.  I was already asleep but was awakened with his stumbling around and such.  I helped him into the bed and went back to sleep.  The following morning I notice that my leg is wet...yep-he urinated in the bed.  I jumped out of bed and alerted him of what he did; his response was far too casual for my expectations.  Josh didn't even take the sheets off the bed.  I'm not joking.  I showered, left the house, and when I came back to the house the room smelled of strong urine.  I slept on the couch in the living room for two nights before finally getting the hell out of there.  I couldn't take the constant yelling between the roommates, the filth, and the overwhelming depressing atmosphere. 

My original plan was to stay with Josh for 2-3 weeks, which was cut much shorter.  By day 2 I was already scouring the internet trying to find rooms for rent.  I found a few prospects but nothing really caught my eye...except one.  I sent an email to the ad and was given a questionnaire to fill out, etc.  I was told to be at the location at 11:15 on saturday morning.  I showed up at 11:18 along with another American guy from California (Travis) and was caught completely off guard by how many people were already in the house.  Turns out there were 2 guys interviewing people as they would be taking two of the rooms and had two rooms available for rent.  Travis and I were shown the rooms and left shortly afterward.  Travis and I immediately hit it off...finally someone to talk college football with!  I briefed him on the awful living situation that I was in and he suggested I walk over with him to the hostel where I was staying to see about getting a bed there for a few nights until I found a room for rent.  Both of us were really hoping to get one of the rooms in the house that we had just seen as it seem like the perfect place.  Not only was the house big, it also had a nice backyard, great location, and most importantly: both the guys living there seemed really cool.  

Within 30 minutes of arriving at the hostel, I got a phone call from Andi and Bojan telling me that I was selected as one of the roommates!  I was really thrilled to say the least.  They invited me to come with them to IKEA to pick out a few things for the house as it is unfurnished.  I asked them who the second roommate was and they told me they were still undecided.  I knew right then and there that I had to go with them to sway their decision for Travis to be the 4th roommate.  Once I got off the phone, I went back and hung out with Travis in the hostel without being able to tell him anything about the conversation.  I made up a lame excuse for me having to leave and met up with the guys back at the house.  We had a really good afternoon getting to know each other and picking out stuff for the house.  I hadn't been that happy in such a long time, I finally had a nice place to live!  Andi and Bojan were both still really undecided on who they wanted as the 4th flatmate.  The list had been narrowed down to three: a british girl, a french girl who hardly spoke english, and Travis.  After much persuasion (and telling them how badly girls shed, how they take forever in the bathroom, etc), I got them both to agree on Travis.  Man, this was really becoming too good to be true!  We called Travis up and he was elated to hear the news...he had been house hunting for weeks now so it was a huge relief for him.

I got back to the hostel (stayed there for 4 nights until we could move in) absolutely elated.  

To be continued very soon!  

It just took a little time

Hey kids!

  Sorry it's been so long since my last blog, but I've actually been quite busy!  I can't go into too many details at the moment, but I just wanted to say that things are so much better since my last update.  

I finally got my computer up and running, so I'll be posting pics and sending out photo albums as soon as I have time to actually sit at the computer all day.  

I have a job interview at 2 today...wish me luck!

Just to get your mouths watering...here is a shot from sunset at Koh Tao.  

Sydney: Day 1

Well...I survived it.

Woke up this morning around 9 and headed to the bank with Josh to open up my account. Josh had an event to go to all day, so immediately afterward he was gone. I have this really nice map of the city, so I began to explore. It was windy, overcast, and combined with the cold (around 60), a cup of coffee was in order. Thank goodness for my iPod and that cup of joe, or I would've been pretty miserable. I eventually came up to Hyde Park (yes, they have one in England too) and noticed a beautiful Cathedral to the right of it. I ventured on inside and was blown away by the beauty...definitely one of the most incredible churches that I have ever seen.

I walked in, sat down in a pew and tears began to well up in my eyes. This was the first time that I've been truly alone since my incident in the Vancouver Airport. Images of my family and friends began to overtake me. It was right then at there that I realized how much I truly love them. In all honesty, I didn't think I would have a single problem moving across the world on my own...boy was I wrong. After sitting there in prayer for a few minutes, I noticed that confession was going on. I got in line and had a wonderful confession and conversation with the Priest. He told me about the young adult program that they hold after Mass on Sunday evenings, so I'll be sure to attend that this week.

I left the church and within a few minutes saw a Public Library and took a look inside. I immediately though of my mom and Heidi because one of the library rooms looks like it could have come straight out of a Harry Potter movie! It was really neat, full of old books covering the walls, circular stairs, etc. I also found an art gallery within the library which was pretty interesting.

It was 1:30 when I left the library, so I went and found a small cafe for a sandwhich. The woman at the counter was extremely friendly and talked to me the entire time I ate. I needed that.

I then headed up toward Circular Quay (pronounced "key") to visit the famous Sydney Opera House. The views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Bay are picture perfect...so I snapped a few. Nicole (one of my best friends) called me on my new cell phone while I was there and we were able to have a great conversation. Not one of those average conversations...but a good, heart to heart talk. I hung up with her, walked around the Opera House some more, and opted to take the hour tour of the building. The tour was good, but not worth the $20...considering the budget that I'm on. It was almost 5 by the time the tour was over, so I walked around the rest of the Quay before heading back toward the inner city. Josh still hadn't called, so I kinda walked around aimlessly watching everyone in their business suits scurrying from their offices to their homes.

It took me at least half an hour to get back to Surry Hills (where Josh lives) and I was getting a bit hungry. I stopped in one of these middle eastern shops and ordered a falafel pita. It wasn't the best, but it filled me up and was the cheapest thing I could find. I noticed a backpacker hostel across the street and went in to see if they knew of any jobs available. The woman at the front desk was really nice and gave me some websites to look at, as well as a few employment agencies to check out. She told me that since I'm an American, I will have no problem at all finding work. I've been told that a few times, so this is hopeful. Josh said he'd help me find a job too, so that's another option as well. Originally I had planned on working as a waiter or a bartender, but I'm beginning to consider working in Finance. The economy here is booming and I'd be able to make REALLY good money if I put my degree to good use. It's a toss up...good money or being able to really enjoy myself in the city. I need to figure these things out.

Josh finally called and I met up with him and some of his co-workers at a little pub down the road. I didn't feel like being too social, so I asked Josh for his keys and came home to get ready for bed (and blog.)

This is going to be a great opportunity for me...I just need to get over all this homesick business :)

It's cold here.

Finally made it to Sydney around 3 pm yesterday. It's much colder than I expected. All I have are my backpacking clothes at the moment, most of my stuff is still in transit. I did airmail one package, but it's at Josh's friends house who is out of town until Saturday.

I'm not sure what I think about the city yet. It's really beautiful, but much more "city like" than I had imagined. That's not necessarily a bad thing...just not what I had in mind. I'm going to spend the day out exploring to try and get a feel of the city and where I'd like to live. Sydney is basically comprised of several small neighborhoods within one large city, similar to NYC.

I'm staying with Josh until I get on my feet, which is really nice of him. He lives with 4 other people (he doesn't even really know their names), and the place is cold, dark, and not all that clean. It'll do for now...at least it has hot water. Rent in Sydney is sky high (along with everything else here), so it looks like I'll be roughing it for a few more months. Once I get a job (gotta work on finding one of those too), I'll try to find something better.

All in all, I'm just a little dazed about the whole situation. Arriving in Sydney has made me more homesick than ever. I miss my family, I miss my family, I miss my room, I miss my car...you get the idea.

It'll take me a few weeks, but I know I'll grow to love it.

Sydney, here I come!

Just a quick note to give you all a little update. I'm leaving Bangkok around 9 pm (9 am your time) and flying to Melbourne tonight. The flight is atound 10 hours, but I'll sleep most of the flight, which is great. I have a bit of a layover in Melbourne before taking an hour-ish flight to Sydney. I'm really excited about finally getting there, although I will really miss Asia.

I'll be staying with Josh for a few weeks while I get settled, but will be getting my own place fairly soon. That's all for now. The next post will come from SYDNEY!

Bankok thus far

As you know, I have been in Bangkok for 2 days now. It has yet to impress me.

While eating dinner on the stopover from Koh Tao to Bangkok (the busses always let you stop at least once to get food, stretch your legs, etc.) I met a really cool couple from Chicago. We immediately hit it off, as we both had America in common. You know, it's so funny how you can gravitate to someone for the most subtle things when you're in an unfamiliar territory. Meeting people this way reminds me of freshman year in the dorms: I became pretty good friends with some people from my high school that I had never spoken to before...all because they were familiar, but I digress. As we arrive in Bangkok and gather our packs from the bus, we part ways and wish one another good luck. After finding a guest house and putting up a blog, I decide to take a stroll down the road to see what the street vendors have to offer.

Before long, I bump into the two of them and again we strike up conversation. Marquee and David are their names and after having a beer while sitting on small plastic chairs on the sidewalk, we decide to meet up the following morning to go and explore the city. We decide to meet at 11 and get breakfast together. I was up at 9:30, so I read a little of my current book and then headed to the internet cafe where I got to Skype with my dad. I show up at their hotel at 11 where David is waiting for me. He tells me that Marquee needs another hour, so we venture out on the street to see what we could find. After walking around for a bit, we decide on McDonalds, haha. Neither of us have had Mickey D's in months, so it was justifiable. They had stopped serving breakfast, so a cheeseburger and fries were in order for the two of us.

We head back to the hotel, pick up Marquee, and head out on the town. We take a look at our Lonely Planet books and decide that the Grand Palce and Jim Thompson's house sound like sights worth while. We decide to walk instead of taking a tuk-tuk of taxi (although we are begged by a driver every 8 feet or so...extremely annoying!) It wasn't five minutes into our walk when we are told by several people that the Grand Palace is closed for the day due to a Buddhist holiday/the King's sister dying. We are then told about all these other great temples that we should see and that they would drive us to them for a minimal fee. Good thing I've read my travel book well...this is a classic Bangkok scam.

From what I gather, the driver will take you to a few temples, but before you know it you're stuck at a market and he is demanding for more money to take you back. All the other drivers are in on it and won't give you a ride back either. This scam has been around for quite some time, but it still seems to get people more often than you'd think. Anyway, we dodged the scam and carried on our merry way to Jim Thompson's house...deciding to forego the Palace.

On our way to the house (located in Siam Square), we passed several Wats (temples) along the way. At one of the temples there were hundreds of pigeons loitering around...gross. In my option, pigeons are the rats of the avian world. As we walk through them, this lady rushes towards me and forces a bag of corn kernels in my hand. Being quite alarmed, I drop them on the ground as I don't want them. Her face looked completely disgusted by my rude behavior, so I pick up the bag and hand it to her while apologizing. She then takes my hand, opens the bag, and pours the kernels in my hand. Before I can react, I have pigeons ALL OVER ME! She does this SIX more times before I finally snap out of my coma-like state and ask her to stop. I begin walking away as fast as possible. She begins chasing me and demanding that I pay her for the very bags that she poured in my hand! Is she really serious? I tell her that I'm not going to pay her for something that I did not ask for, and she begins to HIT ME! I couldn't believe it! She wanted me to pay her 150 baht (almost $5 usd) for the seed...so I eventually give her 90 bath (3 usd) to keep her away from me. I wasn't the only one who got suckered into the Pigeon Scam, Marquee and David fell victim to it too. Argh! These people are ruthless!

We shake ourselves off, put some hand sanitizer on our hands and continue on. Thank goodness David is a good navigator, or else Marquee and I would've been pretty lost. I'm not sure who came up with the road system here in Bangkok, but I'm pretty sure they were on opiates at the time of implementation. It took us FOUR hours to walk the 4-5 kilometer walk to the house, and by the time we were in the area it began to rain pretty hard. MBK (a huge shopping center) was right in front of us at the time, so we decided to go check it out. This place is MASSIVE! It is seven floors FULL of vendors...you can get anything that your heart desires over here (as long as it's fake). I immediately thought of Heidi when I saw all the knock off Gucci, Prada, Coach, etc. purses cluttering the walls.

We strolled around the mall for a few hours, checking out all the junk that they have there. David and I both bought these cool shirts for a "good price" as the locals love to say. After a while, we got pretty hungry and found a nice Japanese restaurant. We had great conversation, per usual. Marquee works on movies as an art designer (something like that...can't remember exactly.) Let's put it this way, she helped design the laser (among many other things) in the new Batman movie! She told me that she worked on that movie for 9 months...pretty cool, eh? David is a driver for the entertainment industry, which is also much cooler than it sounds. I could listen to the two of them all day; they've got some really cool stories to tell.

After dinner we decided to head back to Kho San Road (i.e. the "backpackers paradise"...gag me) and get some sleep. Wanting to save a bit of money and dive more into the culture, we opt to wait for a public bus. After waiting for 15 minutes or so, our bus arrives and we hop on. According to the book, the fare is around 12 baht. We get prepared to pay as soon as we hop on, but it's so crowded that we can't reach the lady in uniform. The bus is beyond backed...it's exactly like you imagine, people on top of people. My guess is that we pay once we get off, since nobody else is paying either. I immediately notice that the bus is completely SILENT...something you'd never find in America. I guess these people all respect one another enough to give each other peace and quiet on their commute; something I wish would happen more back home. I quietly ask the man next to me when is our exit and he's able to convey to me that he is getting off at the same one and to follow him. Then I ask him when do we pay, in which he replies that we don't have to due to the bus being too crowded. WHAT!?! You mean to tell me that I get ripped off by the pigeon lady but not by the public bus? Some things never cease to amaze me. I felt pretty weird getting off that bus without paying...but hey, when in Rome...

I walked around for a little while before retiring to my room fairly early. I sat in bed and watched "Happy Gilmore" on my iPod before crashing for the night. The breeze was cool, so I opened my windows and let the sounds of rain put me to sleep.

Woke up this morning around 8, had a nice breakfast, and read more of my book while people watching. There are times when backpacking alone isn't much fun...but then there are times when it's really perfect. This was one of those times. I'm able to do what I want, when I want...something that doesn't happen as often as it should.

I found a new place to stay (this one has a rooftop pool!), walked around some, and ran into one of my diving buddies randomly on the street! I went up to the pool after while and layed out, although it's quite overcast here. Josh arrives within in the next hour (6 pm), and then we'll figure something out I'm sure. I really want to get a massage (around $9 for 1.5 hrs) and everyone raves about them.

Just checked the weather and I don't like what I see. Looks like Ike is going to be a real nightmare and my immediate thought is for all my family and friends in the Houston area. I talked to my dad today and he told me that my grandparents have evacuated which I am grateful for. I don't know about the rest of the family...but if you are reading this and haven't evacuated, I urge you to grab some clothes and get in the car! Please send me an e-mail and let me know once all of you are safe. I'll be worrying until then.

In Bangkok

Finally got here around 9 pm. This city is totally disgusting from what I've seen thus far. I found a fairly decent guesthouse for $10 a night, but I'm going to look for something else tomorrow morning.

I haven't seen any riots and from what I've been told, I'm pretty far away from where all the protesting is going on. I think I'll be safe from all of that...it's the dark alleyways that scare me more. It took me eleven hours to get here, so I'm pretty beat. I'll try and report back with more tomorrow when I have more energy.

In a sticky situation...

So here is my delimma.

Turns out there is a huge storm headed toward Ko Tao at the moment. I should've known by the extremely strong current and high seas, lol. Anyway, the storm is supposed to hit on Friday (Sept. 12th), but in order to get off the island safely, I need to leave TOMORROW at the latest to ensure safety. From what I hear, they've had some sunken ferry boats over the past few years...no thanks.

That's all fine and dandy, but that puts me in Bangkok sometime tomorrow late evening...which is bad. From what I hear, there have been many riots in the street over some political unrest with their current "president".

If I decide to stay on the island and wait out the storm, I'll miss my flight to Sydney, which isn't an option. I'm not really sure what to do here, either way I'm in a bad situation.

Most likely I'll head to Bangkok tomorrow and just keep a really low profile. I'll keep you posted. Send your prayers.

Life on Ko Tao

This place couldn't be more perfect. Seriously. From the moment that I arrived on this island, I knew I was going to stay here for a while. Finally, a place to RELAX!

I'm not going to go into too much detail on each day, but I'll give you a rundown of a typical day here on the island.

I did my PADI Open Water Diver Course as soon as I arrived here, beginning that same afternoon. The first two days was primarily videos and lecture, with the last two days involving some diving. Now, I'm getitng my Advanced Open Water certification, which means I can dive as deep as 30m (100 ft), along with some other cool stuff.

Anyway, I usually get up around 9, and get ready for the day. By 9:30 I'm down at one of the 7-11's (the asians LOVE their 7-11's) where I pick up some yogurt, a pack of frosted flakes, a big bottle of water, and a small loaf of sweet bread for 82 baht (around $2.75.) After picking that up, I head down to Big Blue Diving School, where I'm getting all of my training.

Depending on the day, we either head out for an afternoon dive which leaves at 12:45, 0r we have class...it all just depends. If I don't have a class, I usually just sit around and hang out with the people that I've met since being here. I usually get in from my afternoon dives (2 a day) between 5-6. After cleaning all my gear and having a quick meeting with my instructor, I head up to my hotel room and get ready for dinner. A big group of new friends and I all pick a place to eat and meet up around 7:30. After dinner, we'll either hang out back at Big Blue or go to a bar...it all depends on the night.

This island is extremely westernized, to the point that I almost forget that I'm in Thailand. Everything is written in english, all the locals speak english, etc. You can get any type of cuisine that you'd like, from Thai to Scandanavian!

I haven't met many Americans the entire time that I've been traveling, and to be honest with you...I'm thankful for that. I know that if there were many Americans around, I wouldn't be as inclined to talk to people from other countries due to accents and cultural differences. Being the only american has been tough though, as most of the world looks at us with a very negative stereotype. It's been a challenge for me to prove to them that not all Americans are arrogant jerks who only care about themselves and their country. Furthermore, I have now made friends from all over the world and know that whenever I'd like to backpack Europe, I have at least 15 different people that I can stay with while I'm there :)

Alright, it's late and I have to be on the boat by 7 AM!

Hope all is well down there...tell Ike to take a hike (hah, I'm so clever)

Getting to Ko Tao

Quite a bit has happened since my last post, to say the least.

Around 7 pm on August 31st, Josh and I were planning the next leg of our trip. The plan was for the two of us to go back to Phnom Penh, stay the night and then leave the next day for Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) to begin our tour of the country. I had been really wrestling with the idea of trying to cram in such a huge country with so many sights in such a short period of time for a few days by that point, and I finally decided I couldn't do it. Right then and there, I chose to split up with Josh until the 12th when we would meet back up in Bangkok.

No worries, there aren't any hard feelings with this decision; it's just that both of us have paid a ton of money to get ourselves down here and we shouldn't "waste" our trip with things that we don't want to do.

Before I came on this trip, I had visions of myself sitting on an isolated beach somewhere off the coast of Thailand...so that's what I decided to do. Sorta. I met some travelers a few days before who told me about this really beautiful island named Ko Tao and said I should check it out. They also told me that they had really good scuba diving, something I've been wanting to try for a while. So, as simple as that...I decided I'd head to Ko Tao alone.

I was picked up at 7:30 am the following morning by a cab from my hostel to take me to PoiPet (a Cambodian/Thai border). He shows up in his Toyota Camry and off we go. I had heard rumors that they road was rough getting there...but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to embark on. I'm not lying when I tell you that there were pot holes 3 feet wide and a over a foot deep EVERYWHERE! To make matters worse, this is a completely dirt (and dust) road. On top of that, the drivers in southeast asia have got to be some of the worst in the world. It's not uncommon at all to be driving head on with a huge truck or with motorcycles and tuk-tuks coming at you from every direction. He too, blared his favorite cambodian musician aas high as his stero would play it the entire ride, thanks pal. I had to sit there and bear it for three painstaking hours. I almost vomited on the floorboards twice.

We finally arrive at the border. The driver yanks my stuff out of the car, points to the immigration office, and jets out of there as fast as he can. I nervously walk up to the border and quickly notice that there are NO other westerners around. Throughout my entire time in asia, I have always been able to spot at least one other backpacker whereever I have been so this comes as a bit of an alarm. I continue on through the checkpoints and finally after 30 minutes or so, I spot a group of other backpackers. Turns out these guys were some really cool Germans and we all proceeded through in a group.

When we got to the other side, we hired two tuk-tuks to take us over to the bus station at Aranyprathet. We managed to get tickets on the LAST bus out of there by the skin of our teeth (we got to the bus station at 11:40 and they left at noon)...phew! The bus takes 4ish hours, putting us in Bangkok at 4:30 or so. As soon as I got off the bus, I got another taxi to take me across Bangkok (rush hour traffic in a city where people don't know how to drive is a blast) and drop me off at the other bus station which will take me to Ko Tao.

I arrive at the other bus station at 5:30 and after walking around for a good 30 minutes, finally manage to find the correct ticket office. The lady at the counter doesn't speak hardly any english...but she is eventually able to convey to me that I need to buy the 9:00 ticket but I couldn't really understand why at the time... I end up finding this pretty nice coffee shop in the station and camp out there for a while, which gave me a chance to read my new book "First They Killed My Father", a first hand story about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

So I board the bus at 8:45, take a dramamine and pass out. I'm awakend at 3 am and told that I have arrived at my destination. I'm not really awake, but it doesn't take me long for me to realize that I am the only one getting off at this stop which is nothing more than a shed with a few chairs under it. Lovely. I plop myself in one of the chairs and try my best to get back to sleep, but I'm entirely too freaked out. I have no idea where I am and no clue as to what I'm supposed to do next. Finally, 2 hours later, some other people begin to show up and sit down near me. When a group of Swiss get there, they manage to tell me that we're waiting for a truck to come pick us up and take us to the ferry station and from there we'll go to Ko Tao. At 7 am, the truck arrives and FINALLY at 10:45 am...I arrive on Ko Tao Island. Not to bad of a trek there, eh?

Ok, I have so much more to tell all of you, but internet ain't cheap on the island and I'm exhausted from scuba diving all day. I'll just leave you with this: the island is a complete paradise and scuba diving is an experience unparalleled with any other.

Until next time.

The Bus Scam

Before I get into my rant over the bus scam, I'll keep you abreast on my travels since my last blog.

Last time I wrote, I was in Don Det, Lao. I arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia (where Angkor Wat is) this evening after spending the night in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ok, now that we've taken care of where I am, I can begin my little schpiel.

The busses in southeast asia are total crap. Not really sure how else to put it...so there it is: the busses are AWFUL!

Granted, they have Air Conditioning (a total luxury here) and the seats recline a minimal amount, so it's somewhat comfortable. Well, definitely much more than sitting in the back of a truck in the middle of a rainstorm...but still not worth the two days that it took us to get here.


Alright, so I got up at 6:30 am on Saturday to make sure that I could eat some breakfast (banana pancakes with chocolate, of course) and get all of my stuff packed up. We were to meet at the local internet cafe at 8. I was 15 minutes early, per usual.

We didn't leave until 8:30, where we had to take another water taxi to Ban Nakasang before boarding a minivan to head toward Cambodia. We pile in and I immediately fall back asleep. I'm awakened 45 minutes later by Josh...we're at the Lao/Cambodia border. I manage to find my passport (which is getting quite full btw) and go deal with all the fun paperwork. I had to go to three different posts in order to get everything stamped correctly (why they couldn't have one guy with a few different stamps is beyond me) but each one wanted an extra $2 because they were working on the weekend...whatever. The excuses that these people come up with in order to rip you off is quite comedic.

We get back in another minivan that takes us from the border down to Stung Treng...where we are pulled into some restaurant in the middle of friggin' nowhere for a lunch break. Coincidence? I think not. It's quite clear that the driver gets a kickback for bringing us tourists there without any say so of our own. We were stuck there for 2 painstaking hours. Finally, at 1:30 we were picked up by a "big bus". This bus was the type that I drescibed earlier...still nothing really nice, trust me.

So we board the bus and things aren't to bad...until there was traffic. This bus driver blared the horn if there was so much as a child playing in their yard 30 yards away from the road. It was completely ridiculous. I turned my iPod on as I started my new book "For One More Day" by Mitch Albom, but I could still hear that road Nazi every 10 seconds or so...ARGH!

We would randomly pull over on the road and would pick up some local who was undoubtedly riding for a tenth of what we paid. We had to stop for gas once, where I bought some shrimp flavored chips...that was the best they had to offer. Otherwise, we would make random stop offs in little towns on our way to Phnom Penh to again, pick up and drop off.



It wasn't until 11:30 when we finally pulled up into Phnom Penh. We were dropped off in a dark alleyway with a dozen locals screaming at us to follow them to their guesthouse. It was clear to me that the bus company that contacted several guesthouses and told them of our arrival. They sure as heck know what they're doing, that's for sure. By the time we arrived, we were much too tired to walk up and down the street and shop hotel rooms...so we just succombed to their will and crashed as soon as our faces hit those stale pillows.



We were required to be ready to go at 7:30, but again...didn't leave until 8:30, per usual. We get on yet another "VIP" bus and head toward Siem Reap. Before you know it, we're stopped for some lunch...at 11 am. Nobody was buying it this time, so after a few minutes the driver herded us back up on the bus like cattle on the ranch. The drive from P Penh to Siem Reap is supposed to take 5 hours, but ours took a whopping EIGHT due to all the breaks and finally the bus breaking down due to the driver hitting every pothole imaginable. Oh, one more thing to make things even more entertaining: they have TV's on the bus. Great...right? WRONG. All the play is this insanely stupid "comedian" that I can't understand or this awful music that's always just a hair off tune.



I know I'm complaining...but the fact of the matter is that I'm really enjoying myself on this trip...I just simply don't like being taken advantage of. Other than the bus, the trip has been great. Josh and I are getting along really well, which is a total relief. The food is actually extremely good and the weather has been terrific! I've hardly been bit by any mosquitos and haven't had to break open the bugspray yet.



As soon as we got into Siem Reap, we rushed to find a guesthouse (got a really great one for $8/night with three people) and headed over to Angkor Wat just in time to catch the sunset. Unfortunately, it was cloudy but that didn't matter...these ruins are more than amazing. I encourage each and every one of you to make it out here and witness the 8th wonder of the world for yourselves.

I remember learning about Angkor Wat in Ms. McCarthy's 8th grade world geography class and remember thinking how cool it would be to go visit there sometime, but how unlikely that would happen. Welp, sure enough...ten years later, I have arrived. If anyone out there knows where Ms. McCarthy is these days, please let me know...I'd like to contact her and thank her for being one of the most incredible teachers of my childhood. Since I have been on this trip, she and her lessons have popped in my head more than once.

We got up this morning at 4:15 and were headed back to Angkor by 5 with our really cool Tuk-Tuk (don't know what a tuk-tuk is? google it!), where we were about to catch one of the most majestic sites that I have ever seen, aside from LSU winning the National Championship back in Jan, heh. To see that blazing sun come up behind Angkor Wat...wow.

We also visited the city of Angkor Thom which was again just as impressive, as well as Ta Phrom (did anyone see Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie?) I don't want to say too much about this place, because you really ought to experience it for yourself. Don't worry, I took more than enough photo's...you'll see them soon enough.

We left the temples around 4 this afternoon and I was more than worn out. Headed back to the hotel/guesthouse/hostel...whatever you want to call it and immediately checked the internet to see how things are going back home with the storm. It's all I have been thinking about. I can't imagine what you must be going through...again. You're in all of my thoughts and prayers, that's for sure.

Keep me posted on things, I'd really appreciate it.

Don Det Rocks

These past few days on the island have just been incredible.

First off, things are CHEAP. Here's a list of a few items to give you an idea:

$1 USD = roughly 8500 kip

My bungalow on the river with it's own bathroom, mosquito net, and fan: 30,000 kip
1 day bike rental: 10,000 kip
Avg. meal: 20-30,000 kip
Beer Lao (big friggin bottle): 10,000 kip
Internet access: 400 kip/minute

I don't think it would be humanly possible to spend more than $20 usd here, no joke.

Yesterday we didn't do much but lounge around on hammocks with a good book in hand. It was nice to finally not have an agenda and just be able to relax. I napped for a decent amount, spoke with new friends from all over the world, and again...read my great book. I actually ended up finishing it, so I'll be starting another one tomorrow on the bus (I'll get to that in a second.)

You'll never believe this...but I met a girl from LAFAYETTE! What are the odds that I would run into another american, much less a girl from my town on this extremely remote island? It totally blew both of us away. Her name is Lindsey (don't know her last name), but she was really cool. Unfortunately, she had her wallet and passport stolen which forced her to leave the island quickly.

Made friends with this Argentenian guy named Gonzo, a Canadian named Lola, Justin from NYC (he used to be an investment banker and couldn't do it anymore), Sandra and Andrea from Switzerland, and someGerman guy...I don't remember his name. Point is, I have met some really interesting people from all over the world and it's incredible...you should all be jealous.

Today a group of us rented bikes and headed around both Don Det and Don Khon islands. There is a bridge that connects the two (over the Mekong), which costs 10,000 kip for the entire day. We visited the biggest waterfalls in SE Asia...it was pretty spectacular and quite dangerous looking. Since we are here during the monsoon season, the water is pretty high and the current is really strong. So we hung out on the rocks watching the waterfall for a bit, before heading over to the beach 3 km away. The bike ride in itself was so relaxing and nostalgic of my childhood. It brought me back to the days when I would ride bikes with a group of friends around the neighborhood...those were the days.

We arrived at this totally desolate beach...talk about paradise. We all immediately jumped in the water, but made sure not to go too far due to the current. I got pretty sunburned, even though I applied sunscreen on 3 times throughout the day (taking your advice, Mom.)

We found a place a little down the road on our way back to have lunch, I had vegetable noodle soup. I haven't said much about the food here, but it's SOOOO GOOOD! I have panana pancakes with almost every meal, but everything they have is really great! Granted, it takes them FOREVER to get your food out to you (I'm such an impatient American at times), but it's worth waiting for.

We're headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia at 8 am tomorrow morning. From what I gather, I'll be on a bus for 8 hrs or so until we arrive in Phnom Penh where we will spend the night. The following morning we have another 6 hours until we reach Siem Reap.

I'm going to go get some sleep...lots of packing left to do.

Oh, and I'm pretty worried about Hurricane Gustav...please keep me posted with updates.

Be safe and I miss you.

Take a deep breath...

It has been a LONG couple of days. Since the last time I have been able to really blog, I have been through 3 countries and 4 border crossings! That's a lot, esp. when you've only taken one flight through all of that mess.



We left Hong Kong and boarded the ferry to Macau at 10:30 Am on Aug. 26th. The ferry took around an hour, and before you knew it there it was...the Vegas of the East. From the ferry you could see the Wynn, the MGM, the Venetian, and many more casinos right there on the water. It was so weird for me to have seen both gambling mecca's of the world within 2 weeks of one another.



We hop off the ferry and pile into a cab who takes us over the bridge to the airport. Surprisingly, the Macau airport was pretty decent. There was hardly anyone inside, which made getting our tickets and through security a breeze. We ended up arriving 2 hours early (got there around noon and our flight was at 2:20), so Josh and I went and grabbed a bite to eat. While we were waiting to board, we met this really awesome German girl named Nicole. Nicole has been living in mainland China (Shanghai and some other place that I can't recall) for the past year, as part of a study abroad/internship opportunity with her school. Before heading back to Germany, she decided to head down to Thailand and visit a friend of hers. We invited her to come along with us to Lao (I learned that the people here pronounce and spell is Lao...not Laos) and Cambodia. I could tell that she really, REALLY wanted to...but just couldn't ditch her friend (her friend was flying in later and there was no way to get in touch with him to see if he wanted to come along), so we had to leave her in the Bangkok airport. Dangit, I'm getting ahead of myself again! I've never been the best story teller, so you will just have to forgive me. We flew AirAsia to Bangkok and I was more than impressed. The airplane looked brand new, with fresh leather seats, very clean carpet, etc. I was expecting a dingy prop plane for the price we paid! The thing that struck me the most was that they were playing american top 40 music on the plane, pretty hilarious.



Alright, so we get to the Bangkok Airport (again, a REALLY nice airport) and use their free internet to figure out what to do next. We caught the AE4 bus at 6:30 pm that took us to the train station which took a solid hour and fifteen minutes to get us there with traffic and such. Neither Josh nor I thought that we'd be able to catch the overnight train to Ubon Ratchathani that was leaving at 8:30. Sure enough, they had 2 sleeper beds available in 2nd class WITHOUT air conditioning...just a measley rotating fan for 4 people. I wasn't too pleased about taking this, but hey-this trip is all about sacfricing some of your home comforts to learn more about yourself and to appreciate others...that, and it makes for a good story and gives me something to blog about ;) I bought a few pastries in the train station for dinner...just about the only thing of substance that looked safe enough to eat.



The train didn't leave until around 9:15 or so. I'm beginning to learn that people aren't nearly as punctual in this part of the world, a little frustrating for an American like me. Before long, we met this drunk and crazy Brittish guy who's been living in Thailand for the past 15 years. He begins talking to us and invites us down to car 5 (we were in car 11) for a drink in the cafeteria area. Josh immediately jumps up, but I'm hesistant...I just want to read and listen to my iPod. None the less, I decide to tag along and have a drink with the two of them. When we got to the car, we met Kevin. Kevin is another American (from NY) who has been living in Thailand for the past 6 years as an college writing professor. I had taken a Dramamine when we got on the train and beging to get sleepy so I headed to my bunk. The ride was bumpy, loud, and stifiling...but I managed to get some sleep.



Woke up the next morning at 7:30 to write in my journal, but wasn't able to due to all the shaking of the train. We arrived in Ubon at 7:45 anyway, much earlier than I expected. I woke up Josh and we quickly gathered up our things. Josh found my camera case on his bunk for some reason...but no camera. Mind you, I JUST bought this camera when I was in LA...so I kinda began to freak out. The conductor was rushing us to get off the train, but I wasn't about to leave without my camera. Luckily, we finally found it underneath Josh's mattress. Phew!



Jump off the train and take a "taxi" (some guys truck) 12 km down the road to the bus station. Josh got a little impulsive and agreed for each of us to pay 100 baht for the ride (around 3 bucks), when we later found out we could have taken a Sung Tao for around 12 baht...argh. Oh well, no big deal...live and learn.



We were able to purchase tickets from Ubon to Pakse (Lao) for the 9:30 bus...thank goodness. If we were going to make it to Don Det by sunset, we needed to leave as soon as possible. As we're waiting for the bus, Kevin strolls up with beer in hand and sits next to us. Mind you, it's around 8 am at this point...and he's already a little tipsy. He begins talking to us again, complaining about globalization and how it's totalled messed up these third world countries...blah blah blah. Then the tells us that he plans on killing himself within the next 10 years because "he doesn't want to be living a life when he's old and can't do the things he can do now." Who says things like that? Right then and there, I said a little prayer for him...I really feel for the guy, he obviously has a lot of pain and hurt in his life.

The bus finally arrived at 9:45 and Josh and I made it a point not to sit anywhere near Kevin. the bus had a/c, fairly comfy seats, and curtains so you keep the blazing sun off your face. I slept until around noon, when i was woken up when the bus stopped at Thailand/Lao border. We all piled out with our passports and money in hand. We had to fill out some paperwork and hand over $35 USD to get our 30 days visas. Josh didn't bring ANY american money (although I had told him to on a few occasions), so he asked me to pay his way through the border of course. I do owe him some money, but had no intention of paying him with american money on this trip...esp. when we're going to the depths of Lao! I don't have all that much american money, and I need to keep what I have for myself. Josh got really upset at me, but hey-I need to do what's right for me. I wasn't trying to be a jerk, I'm just looking out for myself. He was able to pay in Baht, but it cost him an extra ten bucks. We got back on the bus and didn't speak for the remainder of the bus ride. I started my new book "The Last Lecture", and haven't been able to put it down since! I really recommend all of you to read it...it'll make you cry, it'll make you smile...but most of all, it'll make you think about how incredibly precious life is. Mrs. Jennifer (my boss at the horse farm where I worked this summer) was the one who told me about it and boy am I glad she did. Anyway, things were pretty tense for the rest of the ride. We finally made it to Pakse and had to take a tuk-tuk to the bank for Josh and then back the other way (8 km) to the south end market/bus station. We arrive and I begin looking for a bus...but none were around. Crap. The "busses" are in fact extended bed trucks (ford ranger size) with a roof and three benches inside. We pile in, along with 11 locals. I had two bags of fish flapping at my feet, all sorts of produce on my left, and some stinky guy on my right. Well, this is what I signed up for...can't complain too much. I spent the next four hours (with the exception of a 20 min break when we had a flat tire in the middle of it) hunched over on this tiny bench. My legs, but, feet...everything fell asleep which is always a good time. I just kept on reading my book, it really helped the time pass.

We made much better time than I expected and arrived in Ban Nakasang around 6:15...just in time to watch the sunset on the Mekong River as we took a small boat taxi over to Don Det. Phew, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see the day! The water cab didn't get us nearly close enough to the shore for us to walk with our backs, but we were able to hoist ourselves over a balcony, lol.

Don Det is a sleepy river village on the very southern tip of Lao, in the land of 4,000 islands. We walked down the road which consisted of small shops, guesthouses, bars, and resaurants. Nothing special, but that's exactly what I wanted. Simplicity.

After looking at a few guesthouses, we picked one for 30,000 kip a night ($3.75). The room has a bed, mostquito net (haven't needed it so far), bathroom, and a fan. Well...the fan shuts off at 11, along with the rest of the power...but that's beside the point. Met some other really cool backpackers that are staying here and ended up having dinner with them. There are tons of hammocks around, so we hung out on them and listened to some Bob Marley while drinking a few beers...really relaxing.

Just to sum it all up: it took us from 10:30 am on 8/26 until 6:30 on 8/27 to finally arrive at our destination. All the other backpackers (many have been doing this for 6 months or more) think we are totally nuts for doing all that...and I agree.

Alright, I've spent way too much on here and not enough enjoying the awesome weather. I think I'm going to go kayaking or to go climb the waterfall that's a few miles away. I'll be in touch.

Made it to Lao

It's been a rough couple of days...just wanted to let you know that I made it safe. Currently in Don Det...very south Lao, just on the Mekong River...details tomorrow.

Wade

Made it to Bangkok

Just arrived in Bangkok (still in the airport, in fact.) Josh and I met this really cool German girl named Nicole in the Macau Aiport...looks like she and one of her friends might be coming with us to Laos and Cambodia! I'll let you know more when I can..

Wade

Big Buddha!

I'm gonna try my best to make this one short and sweet. I'm friggin tired and have a huge day ahead of me!



Left the house around 9:30 and headed straight to the Post Office to mail my last box of stuff. The shipping was around $120 usd, but it was sent AirMail and should be in Oz in 2-4 days. Inside this package is my laptop, some shoes, couple of clothing items, and my watches. Ka Wai suggested that I don't put the real amount of value on the sheet, as it is much more likely to be stolen. Another bad point is that in order to put insurance on a package, you must show receipts of value...so keep your fingers crossed!



We got back in the car and headed to the other side of Hong Kong (near the airport and Disneyland) to go see Tian Tan. They have just build a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain to see the Buddha, so we decided to take that instead of the bus. Of course we had to go through yet another shopping mall in order to get to the ticket counter...these asians sure do have it all figured out, don't they?

The gondola ride was pretty cool. We had great weather, so you could see far out over the water, the airport, over mountains, etc. About halfway through, you were beginning to see some big bronze figurine over in the distance..kinda like a bronze Godzilla.

Nah, in all seriousness it was pretty neat. I mean, that sucker was HUGE! I took gobs of pictures, some of which turned out rather well (if I do say so myself.)

Went back into Mongkok (major market/shopping district of Kowloon) and got another 4G memory card for $8 bucks! Mind you, MOST of the electronics that you purchase here are either equally or MORE expensive than back home in the states! I'm glad that I didn't take dad's advice and "buy it while you're in China", or I would've been spending quite a bit more.

That's about it for the day...I'm too tired to get into much more detail.

Tomorrow is when the backpacking portion of our trip begins. We're taking another ferry into Macau (the new Vegas of the world...they even have a Venetian!) and from there flying into Bangkok. Hopefully we will get there in time to catch an overnight train into Ubon Ratchathani (northern Thailand) and then the following morning get into Laos once we purchase our visas at the border. Plan B is just to stay in Bangkok for the night and take things from there.

I highly doubt that I will be able to blog as much as I have been lately, but please keep on coming back every so often to check in with me! I really enjoy reading the comments that some of you have left and the e-mails that I have received. Keep them coming!

One other thing. I need some prayers and positive thoughts sent my way. Josh and I have only been together for a few days and things are already beginning to get a little tense. I don't know what exactly happened to him, but he's completely different from the way he was before he moved to Australia. I'm trying my best to have patience and such, but I'm already beginning to wear thin.

Just to give you an idea of how different we are:

Before coming on this trip, I spent COUNTLESS hours doing research on the areas, what to pack, the climate, what vaccinations to get, etc. I've had at least 5-6 different shots since June, have packed for just about any situation imagineable, and have a fairly good idea of our itenerary. Josh on the other hand, got ONE vaccination (only because he had to), didn't pack bug spray, a rain jacket (we are going in monsoon season), etc!

...things are about to get interesting here in a hurry.

Sunday: a play by play

Sorry it's been a couple days...things have been more than busy.

Started out the day on Sunday with a walk to the train station around 9ish going to Hong Kong Islans. We hopped on the train (more like the subway), and headed over to Repulse Bay to check out the beach. Most of our way over there, it was a beautiful day...then all of the sudden (10 mins before we got there), the sky fell out and a monsoon began. Perfect timing.

The rain subsided a few minutes after we arrived (hid underneath a building), and we (Josh and I...Ka Wai had a bunch of errands to get done) took a little stroll on the beach...kinda boring. The scenery was really beautiful, little islands out in the distance, mountiains on the side...cool stuff, but fairly underwhelming.

Hopped on a bus and headed over to Hollywood Rd. (they just copy everything from us!) to check out the antique shops for a bit. I'm much too broke to be purchasing anything, but I did think of my dad (he loves that kinda junk, hah.) Man Mo temple wasn't too far away so we figured we'd check it out. One bit of advice for any of you who would ever want to visit a Buddhist Temple: bring some visine and learn how to hold your breath for long periods of time. Why you may ask? Incense coming out the ying-yang! (See what I did there?) The temple was pretty neat though, lots and lots of fruit and vegetables on the tables being given as offerings. Buddhist people pray in a very unique fashion, they rock back and forth with an incense stick in their hands.

Josh and I strolled over to the escalator in SoHo which were pretty cool. This escalator (well, escalators...it's broken up a little here and there), is the longest covered escalator in the world. It goes all the way up the side of the moutain, and thank goodness it does because that sucker is STEEP! Soho is great, lots of shops, restaurants, bars, etc...but shoot, if you were blindfolded and plopped in the middle of Soho, you'd think you were in the US for sure! There was absolutely nothing chinese about this place at all! Furthermore, Hong Kong in general is VERY westernized. There is a 7-11 or a Circle K on ever street corner, shell is where you get your gas, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Armani, etc. flood Nathan Road and the list goes on. I'm glad that I came to Hong Kong before heading off to SE Asia as it's a great transition from the western world into the more unfamiliar terrain of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

We began to get a bit hungry, so we stopped into this little ec0-friendly cafe just next to the escalator. This place was awesome! Granted, all of the food was vegetarian, but the food, music, and overall atmostphere was really great. I had a sandwich with sprouts, tomatoes, cucumber, tofu bacon, etc. along with a salad and some sweet potato fries. Sounds weird, but it was awesome!

Josh was craving a beer, so we stopped in a pub just in time to watch the US take the gold against Spain in Men's Basketball! It's pretty hot and humid here, so a cold beer hit the spot.

After the game, we walked a good mile or so to "The Peak" tram station. If you were to google "top things to do in Hong Kong", you're guaranteed to find this at the top of any list. You get on a tram (after waiting in line for a good 30-45 mins and being pushed and shoved by obnoxious people from mainland China), before getting on a tram that takes you for a 10 minute ride up Victoria Peak. When you arrive, you're let off in the middle of a shopping mall (go figure), where you have to go up 6 flights before reaching the rooftop deck. WHAT A VIEW!! From there, I was able to see all the skyscapers of Hong Kong, Victoria Harbor, Kowloon, etc. Don't worry folks...I took several pics, and as soon as I get the chance to upload them I will post them. We spent a good 20 minutes or so before taking the tram back down.

Josh really wanted to check out Lan Kwai Fong (HK's version of Burboun St. if you will), so we got another beer at Hong Kong Brew House. I had Hong Kong Beer and it really, really sucked. Oh well, you win some you lose some. It was beginning to get dark, so we made a mad dash to the ferry to get back over to Kowloon in order to catch the light show put on by the buildings on Hong Kong Island.

The show was spectacular! The buildings all light up in sync with the music that it being played all over the harbor; pretty amazing. I took a video of this, but it just doesn't do it any justice. My favorite building was AIG, they really go all out with their light design. The building that was featured in "Batman: The Dark Knight" is actually the International Financial Center (IFC) and didn't do all that much for the show...but the building alone is totally rad. I wanted to go inside it, but we just didn't have the time to trek all the way over there.

Following the light show, Josh and I were pretty starved. Ka Wai told us about this really good sushi restaurant just off Nathan Road, so we headed there. I have never been to a sushi train restaurant before, so that was pretty cool. Basically, there is a "treadmill" that goes in front of the entire sushi bar with different varities of sushi and you just pick them up and try them as you wish. If you want something else, you simply tell the chef and he takes care of it for you. I pretty much gorged myself, as I'm not sure that I'll ever eat sushi that cheap again in my lifetime. I had TONS of food and it only cost me $15 usd! I thought they were going to have to roll me out of there, but somehow I managed.

Next stop was the Temple Street Night Market...just 7 or 8 blocks away. A few days before we visited "The Ladies Market", although I'm not sure why they call it that...it's got stuff for everyone. Anyway, all these markets carry the same crap for the most part. Anyway, at this new market I bought a pair of sunglasses for my upcoming trip, as I don't want to bring a nice pair with me (thanks again, Heidi.)

By this point, it was 11ish or so...talk about a long day! We caught a bus back to Ka Wai's house a crashed hardcore.

SKYDIVING VIDEO!

One more thing before I head to bed. My dad put my video of my skydiving up on youtube, so ya'll go check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwr9p6B_Hk0

I'm aware that I still have to post all about Az, Vegas, Skyiding, and LA...I promise I'll get it done sooner or later.

Finally out of the house

Hi kids,

Woke up at 9 this morning, took a shower, did some odds and ends around the house, and finally got out of the house around 11ish. Our first stop this morning was the stationary store to get some wrapping paper to cover my luggage and then off to the post office. We were hurrying as fast as we could to get there because we were under the impression that it closed at noon on saturdays...turns out they close at 1 so our rush was pointless, lol.

Before I ever even came to Hong Kong, Ka Wai did some research and send me the link to the Hong Kong Post office with rates and such. Australia has restrictions that no parcel can be more than 20 kgs (44 lbs) and no more than 2.0 meters total with circumference and height. My dad and I both measured the pieces of luggage and came up with them being around 1.8 meters...but we measured them by length, then width, then height. Well the post office wrapped the measuring tape entirely around it and then did the height which put me way over! So you know what that means? Ka Wai's family just inherited two pieces of luggage! ARGH!!!!!

I was pretty upset about it, but hey-what are you gonna do...no point in being angry or a situation that you can't change. I bought two boxes at the post office and had to repack all of my junk into them. These two boxes were mailed today (mainly containing clothes) and won't arrive in Sydney until 6-8 weeks from now! I was really freaking out about not having any clothes to wear for 3 to 5 weeks upon arriving in Oz, so I bought a third box that I will be sending on monday by air mail containing my computer and a few clothing items. Looks like I'll be spending $200ish on shipping item. Pretty steep, but nowhere near the $1200 that I was looking at by sending it UPS.

After the post office fiasco, we headed to Tsim Sha Tsui (an area of Hong Kong over Hong Kong Island) for Yum Cha (yum-chow)! Yum Cha (or Dim Sum in the states) is a social event that the chinese do, most commonly on a sunday. You get together with friends and everyone orders a few different dishes that are all small portions...think of like chinese tapas. Ka Wai invited some of her friends to join us, so it was great. We had an incredible view of the harbor, the food was incredible, and the conversation was...well, it was a bit of a struggle. I'm really awful at Cantonese...all I'm able to say is "mmmguy" which means thank you, haha. When they speak to eachother, it sounds so harsh but they aren't yelling at one another (most of the time.)

Following Yum Cha, we headed to one of the local Starbucks to get a quick pick me up before heading to Mong Kok to do a little bargain shopping. We hopped on the metro and before you knew it, we were in hustle and bustle of the market. This place was PACKED! Everywhere you look there were just heaps of people, flashing signs, cars, busses, etc. The best way I can describe it is NYC x10. Josh and I bought some playing cards and Uno (figure we'll get our money's worth), a chinese fan (those will come in handy on those long bus rides without A/C), and some bubble tea (a tea with tapioca balls in it) while we browsed. I saw many things that reminded me of many of you at home...I would love to send them to you, but I think I've spent enough on shipping for the time being. Sorry kids!

Following Mong Kok, we went home and got ready to head out for dinner. I knew we were doing something a little special for dinner, but didn't know that it would be quite so unique. Before we arrived at the restaurant we pulled over at another market...a seafood market. We get out of the car and all you see tanks upon tanks with all sorts of sea life! I saw lobster that are THREE TIMES the size of the ones back home, no joke! All sorts of clams, scallops, fish, crabs, lobster, these weird slug looking things, and the list goes on. We bought 2 lobster (not the super huge kind, two smaller ones), a grouper, 4 huge scallops, and some of those slugs. They packaged them all up in bags (still alive), and off we went down the road to the restaurant. We get to the restaurant, the man at the door takes the bags, and we were seated. Within a matter of minutes, dishes were showing up at our table that looked strangely familiar...including the slugs.

If there is one thing that I've done thus far this trip is put my big boy pants on and tried some pretty unique cuisine. I've always been pretty good at eating strange things, but this is bringing it to a whole new level. I mean, fish eyes, chicken feet, pork belly, and sea slugs are alright and all...but I don't think I'll ever order them on my own. In general the food has been pretty good, I will admit.

Just got home and I'm worn out! I'm over my jet lag for the most part, but I still find myself being really tired toward the evening. Tomorrow Josh and I are on our own to conquer the city. I know we are going to Victoria's Peak, Deep Water Beach, another market, etc.

Oh, and please either e-mail me or leave a comment every once in a while! I'm curious to know who is reading all this (if anyone) and what you think about it. I've had a few people ask about pictures, but I'm afraid that those will have to wait until I get back to Syndey :( I'm not using my computer right now and don't feel right about uploading all my pics onto Ka Wai's computer. Don't you worry, I'll be making albums after albums as soon as I get back.

Night ya'll!

Just my luck.

For a while there...I didn't think I was ever going to here. FOURTEEN hours on a plane is enough to make you want to pluck your eyes out and learn to juggle blind.

I'll give you a the lowdown from my meltdown on Vancouver on.

So I get on the plane red faced and puffy eyed with much hesitation. My flight attendant directed me to my seat, which wasn't the one I had previously booked online. Thankfully though, it was an aisle seat, we tall people really enjoy being able to stick your legs into the aisleway from time to time. There were 2 seats, then an aisle, then 4 seats (I was on the end of one of the 4), then another aisle, then two more seats...got an idea? Luckily there was only one other person in my row of four and she was on the other end.

Alright, so as soon as we get on the plane I'm ready to take a little nap...all that crying really wore me out. As soon as I'm about to shut my eyes, one of the flight attendants suggested that I wait up a while for lunch. Fine, I'll stay up a while.. Turns out lunch wasn't served until almost 2 hours later and by then I was starving. I took half an Ambien right after dinner so that I could sleep right away (still nighttime in Hong Kong) and try to get on their schedule while still on the plane. The ambien didn't work all that great for me, I think I was still just too nervous. Well, that and the fact that my seat only reclined about 3 inches back from its original position..ugh! Oh well, I guess that's what I get for paying under $700 for the flight.

The plane had a few TV's, but nothing like on the plane that I took from LAX to Vancouver with each person having their own touch-screen TV in front of them. I didn't so much care for the first two movies, but watched "Definitely Maybe" which again made me think of mom. It was a good movie and came on toward the end of the flight, so it kept me awake which was important as I arrived in HK at 6:30 pm their time.

The Hong Kong airport is worth seeing in itself. That sucker is friggin AWESOME! Here's a fun fact for ya: the HK airport hardly uses any A/C, instead they created the building to have it's own natural airflow...cool eh? Customs went totally smooth, nothing like the pain in the butt when you come back to the US. As soon as I got to baggage claim I saw my luggage so that was great. In the baggage claim they have local phones that you can use for FREE, so I called Ka Wai to tell her I was about to leave baggage claim. Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself..let me go ahead and "introduce" you to Josh and Ka Wai as they will be talked about often.

Josh is a buddy of mine that I met last summer while living in Atlanta. When I decided that I wanted to move to Australia, I got on Facebook and looked to see if I had any friends down there...and sure enough he was there! He decided to move down there back in December for a year, similar to what I'm doing. He is also the one who talked me into backpacking SE Asia with him. As far as personality goes, he's very laid back (sometimes too laid back) and quite a smartass at times...oh, and he's SUPER A-D-D.

Ka Wai is Josh's friend and former co-worker that we are staying with in Hong Kong. Although she lives in Syndey now, she is back at home for a few weeks which worked out perfectly for us. She is really outgoing, energetic, funny, and an incredible pastry chef!

Ok, so Ka Wai tells me that she'll be there in a few minutes and before I know it, this little asian girl is running up to me with her arms wide open! I wrap my arms around her with a big hug; what a great welcome! We hop into her car (a BMW, mind you) and head to her house. As we're driving, you begin to see TONS of skyscrapers in the distance. I begin to take my camera out and she chuckles at me "this is just the countryside...we're nowhere near the city." WHAAAT!?!? Countryside!? She later explains to me that all of those buildings are residential. Most people in HK live in apartments, it's rare to have a home. We finally arrive to her house 30ish minutes later. it's 4 stories high, but not very wide. The house is perfectly clean (they have a live in maid) and quite modern inside. She shows me to my room but suggests that I leave my luggage and backpack in the living room...good idea. The room is no more than 10x10 with TWO beds side by side. Ah, the luxuries that we have back in the states...I'm not used to such cramped quarters quite yet. We sit down and visit for a bit as we wait for Josh to call us and pick him up from the Ferry. By this time, all I want to do is go to BED, but I do my best to keep my eyes open. Josh FINALLY calls at 9:30 and tells us to come pick him up at the ferry. What ferry you may ask? Instead of flying directly into HK, Josh flew into Macau (the Vegas of East) which is just across Victoria bay...around an hour ride. We hop in the car and take another 30 min drive over to get him and then wait another half hour before he finally shows up. By this point, it's taking all that I have to keep my darn eyes open and I'm starting not to make any sense in what I'm saying. We get back to the house and have a late supper and I finally get to bed around midnight.

One more thing I forgot to add.. Ka Wai's house is LITERALLY 5 minutes away from the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Games! As we were driving past her house, I saw this huge stadium from the distance that was all lit up. When she told me what it was, I thought I was going to lose it! I haven't been following the Olympics like I usually due, due to all of my traveling; so I had no idea that the equestrian part was even here! Once we got to her house, we looked up the schedule and wouldn't you know it...last night was the final night. I was really hoping to get tickets to one of the events. Oh well.

Oh, one more thing...Ka Wai casually mentioned that a typhoon was headed our way, but not to worry because it was just a level 3.

I wake up around 5:30 this morning to howling winds and tree branches hitting my window. For some reason, I can't fall back asleep so I go downstairs and turn on the TV (they have a few english channels here). Turns out that level 3 has turned into a level 8! All schools, offices, and public transport has been completelty SHUT DOWN. What the heck! I'm in a foriegn country halfway across the world and now I have to deal with a hurricane?!? I thought I wouldn't have to worry about this crap once I left Louisiana! I finally got back to sleep around 8 and woke up again around 10:30.

We've stayed inside the house all day today, which sucks because Hong Kong looks like a really interesting place. I was able to get my backpack all situated for my trip, as well as make a more details interary. Turns out that we're probably not going to pack in as much as we had hoped. I'm pretty alright with it though, as I'll most likely go back to that area before returning to the States.

My nerves aren't nearly as bad now that I'm finally here (even with this typhoon whirling around us at this very moment.)

Oh, and it's been moved up to a level NINE!


Wade

Bawling the Vancouver Airport...good times.

Hey everyone, 

  First off, I would like to apologize on taking so long to write up another post.  Things have been more than busy to say the least!  Between Arizona, Vegas, SKYDIVING, and LA...I just simply haven't had any downtime.  Don't worry, I'll be sure to fill you in on all the details soon...but before I do that, I just need to write the feelings that I am having at this very moment.

  I'm currently in the Vancouver Airport on a 4 hour layover to Hong Kong.  I arrived at LAX around 6:20 this morning (darn alarm clock wasn't loud enough) and had to pull the "but it's my birthday" card to have them let me on the plane!  I was the last person on the plane.  It's always awkward to see all those angry faces staring at you while you're trying to lug your 80 pound backpack into the overhead bin...good times.   So I finally get to my seat and strike up a conversation with this super cool perpetual hippie woman (that's the best way to describe her.)  Anyway, she's on her way to Beijing to watch some of the Olympics and then she's going to some college in mainland China to learn Mandarin Chinese.  This woman has to be in her late 60's or so and totally packed up and is heading off across the world.  Now, it's one thing for me to do it when I'm 24...but when you're SIXTY?!?  Wow, she's got some major "cajones" to say the least.  We talked about everything from fresh water preservation to one of her trips to Columbia where she was almost killed.  Hah, she's a trip. 

While I was on the plane, I would begin to think about my family and tears would just well up in my eyes so I would immediately have to "change the subject" in my mind.   Well, as soon as I got off the plane and sat down where I am now with no one around me...I LOST IT.  The tears just keep coming and coming, no matter how hard I try to shut them off.  I'm not a big crier, so this is whole experience is very odd for me.  I was crying so hard at one point that a lady went and bought me a water and brought it over to me!  I must look like the most pathetic loser ever!!   In addition to her, I have had 2 flight attendants come over and console me for a few minutes each...up until they had to board their flight.   

Reality is finally setting in.  I haven't had a moment to breathe for the past few weeks with all of my travels, my preparation for this trip, visiting with friends, etc.  that I haven't been able to address my emotions about the trip I am embarking upon.  I am full of all sorts of emotions...some I can't even describe.  First and foremost, I'm pretty scared of what is to come.  I know that the trip is going to be incredible, but I just can't help but think about being robbed, beaten, getting sick, kidnapped, or worst of all...killed.  I know these may be far-fetched, but they are legitimate concerns to have when traveling in Southeast Asia.  I'm also very excited to see all that these countries have to offer.  I'm sure I'll eat all kinds of unique food, learn about many different cultures, ride elephants...all kinds of crazy stuff!  These are just a couple emotions...I won't bore you with all the others, heh.  

As much as I feel like a fool for crying...much less in public; it's very healing and refreshing at the same time.  I feel like more weight is being lifted off my shoulders with every tear.  Yes, I'm going to miss everyone back home to very much...but I know that this experience will teach me so much and that I will be forever changed because of it.  

In closing, I'd like to share with you a video that my dad made of our recent trip to Vegas and of the Skydiving.  He worked very hard on it and boy does it show!  I'm so glad to have this, that way I can take a little piece of home with me as long as I have an internet connection ;)  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCa_2vYtvMI

Wish me luck and send lots of prayers my way!

Wade

Headed Left

It's official.  My journey has begun.  Here is a basic outline of what I'll be doing for the coming year:

August 4th-14th: I will be in Prescott, Az and Las Vegas hanging out with my dad

August 14th-20th: I'll be in Los Angeles hanging out with friends

August 20th-26th: I will be in Hong Kong where I'll meet up with my friend and backpacking partner, Josh.  We will be staying with his friend Ka Wai and her family for a few days.

August 26th-September 15th: Josh and I will be backpacking throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. 

September 15th-???   I'll start off in Sydney and then who knows!

So I just took off out of Houston around 3 pm (I'm writing this on the plane) and headed to Phoenis to spend my ten days with pops.  I'm still not sure how I feel about this adventure to be honest with you.  It's funny, when I began planning this trip a few months back; all you think about are the amazing sights that you'll see, the different cultures, etc.  You fail to think about what it's going to be like to pack everything that you'll need for the next year inside two measley suitcases, having to sell your car, making sure all your affairs are in order, and most importantly...saying goodbye to those that you love.  

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to the most influential person in my life...my mother.  Mom and I have had a pretty tumultuous relationship, especially in the past few years.  When I realized that I was going to have to move in with my mom for 2 months I was more than anxious.  I have lived with roommates all through college and was able to do whatever I wanted.  I didn't have anyone to tell me to clean my room, put up the dishes, take out the trash, etc.  I was certain that once I moved back home, I would immediately have to revert back to being 17...something I wasn't really willing to do.  Turns out my mom and I got along extremely well...much better than we ever had before in all honesty.   Yeah, she bugged me about the clothes on the floor or the fact that I didn't put the toilet seat down, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated.  One of the best times of my day this summer was lunchtime with my mom.  I always looked forward to it because it gave the two of us the opportunity to sit down and visit while we ate out sandwiches and watermelon.  I'll tell you what, if you would have told me back in May that I was going to cry when I said goodbye to her, I would've bet you money that I wouldn't...so let's just say that I'm glad no one approached me with such a wager because I surely would have lost.  This coming year is going to be really tough without being able to see her, but I know it will make our relationship stronger.

I'm also going to miss my great friends from college, my sister, my dad, my aunts, uncles cousins, grandparents, good food (I hear Aussie food is lousy), LSU football, shoot...LSU in general, driving my car, the list goes on.  As amazing as this trip will be, it will be equally as challenging.

Spending time with my dad should be great.  Dad and I haven't been able to hang out with one another much over the past few years due to him living out in Az, so it'll be neat to experience his life out here.  I think he has some fun things planned like skydiving, a trip to Vegas, hiking in Sedona, etc.  

I'll keep you posted.

Wade