Gregory White Photography

2009-06-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a little slideshow of some of my travel work....

ROAD TRIP!

2009-03-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

Going on a road trip to see beautiful canyons, ancient ruins, eat good food, camp, and visit good friends and family.

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archives now working

2008-10-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

Archives of previous posts now works. You can now read my postings from my trip around the world. Enjoy!

NYC

2008-06-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

Staying with my friend Myles in Brooklyn exploring the city day and night. Been here 2 full days and already I'm exhausted.

More traveling, more time with friends and family, falling in love...

2008-06-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

In Iowa visiting family and friends. heading to NYC in a couple of days to visit more friends and hopefully show my portfolio around. I'm quickly trying to update my website which is in DIRE need of it. My idea that it would only take a "few hours" has become a much bigger overhaul. The most important thing that's happened since I've last written is that I've fallen for a fantastic woman in Seattle. She's beautiful in so many ways and we seem like a really good match. Suddenly my life feels entirely blessed once again...I only wish I was getting more photo work and had a place to live. Since she is in Seattle, I will be too, at least for the time being. I won't be heading down to San Francisco in August as I'd rather be with this woman than anywhere else in the world. Being with her feels like traveling.

Whidbey Island

2008-06-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

Knowing that many people I know read my blog, I find that I am starting to censor myself. I don't want to, but this is a public place and I don't want everyone knowing everying about my business. So, for now, I am just going to say this: I've started seeing someone and I think she's totally great. If she reads this, then she knows I'm talking about her.

I'm on Whidbey Island staying in a beautiful house overlooking the sound. I'm trying to get photos printed and my life sorted before heading off to Iowa and NYC for almost a month. I'm dog sitting a cute little dog named Scout who is sweet as pie but she's blind and nearly deaf. It's nice being out of the city and away from people for a while, playing my music and working on photos and prints, but I miss my Ms. C. She's coming to visit me soon, and she's flying to NYC as well, so I think she might like me a little bit too... I'm a happy man.

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2..1...

2008-03-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Today is the day! I find myself being aware that everything I do is the last time I'll do it in the house. Had my last night of sleep, took my last shower, made my last cup of tea, and now I'm writing my last blog in this house. I have a lot to do so I'll keep it short with a quote from W.H. Murray given to me last night by Miss Michaela Murphy:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: 'Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.'"
-W.H. Murry, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

Off I go into uncharted territories...

2 more days till lift-off!

2008-03-13T23:42:00.000-07:00

Almost finished packing! I've been packing for weeks and am surrounded by boxes. Soon I will walk out my front door for the last time. It's bittersweet, this huge change. On the one hand I know it's for the best, as I've been stagnating here for years... but on the other hand, I love this place. It's been my home for so long. I have so many memories here and returning to Seattle without a home to come back to is going to be...difficult. So, for all my friends who are wishing me a bon voyage... please call me when I get back on APRIL 24th, and check up on me because I WILL BE FREAKED OUT about not being able to come back to 419 12th Ave East. I'll try to write once more before I go start the new chapter of my life. If your name is Kourtney, I'd especially like to hear from you. You are why I started living here in the first place, and I miss you.

Order the book!

2008-02-11T22:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm out of books. You want one of my books, you've got to order it online. Click here:

Photos From Afar

Southeast Asia: Bur...

By Gregory White

Book Preview

It's a non-profit book. Price is only a few bucks more than the cost of printing, and those few bucks go towards U.S. Campaign for Burma and WildAid.org.

NEW BOOK!

2007-11-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

Two years ago today, I was in Vietnam. A year ago today, my sweet cat Grover died. Today, I am releasing a book on my travels to SE Asia. Life is happy-sad-bittersweet. I also want to mention to all of you who do not know...the house where I've been living the last 16 YEARS is soon going to be sold. I will be moving...at long last. The very idea of packing 16 years of collected things and moving makes my stomach burn and leaves me unable to sleep. Anyway, check out my book... and buy one.

Photos From Afar

Southeast Asia: Bur...

By Gregory White

Book Preview

New Feature On Website

2007-11-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

The Featured link on my gregwhitephoto.com homepage now shows images from my recent show at PulpLab Gallery. Yeah!

This is also the link here:
http://www.gregwhitephoto.com/gwpgallery/gwp_feature.html

Sign in Myanmar - to instill fear.

2007-10-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

PEOPLE'S DESIRE

To Oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views (of the government).

To Oppose those trying to jeopardize stability of the state and progress of the nation.

To Oppose foreign nations interfering in internal affairs of the State.

To Crush all internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy.

Of any place in the world the US should be meddling, it's here. This government is horrible. Worse even than China.

RTW SHOW in October

2007-09-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

Yippie! I am having a show of 22 photos from my trip around the world! The show opens on October 13th at the PulpLab Gallery in Ballard (Ballard Ave and Dock St). Oct 13th is also the Ballard Artwalk, so it should be a good time. Prices for 12x18 framed prints are very reasonable so you should come down a buy your favorite before they all sell out, which they (fingers crossed) will. However, if your favorite sells, remember I can print another one. Get on the invite list by sending me an email or posting a response here.

NEW RTW PHOTOS GALLERY

2007-01-14T16:47:00.000-08:00

Hi favorite people. I have moved my website to a new server and upgraded my photo gallery to Gallery 2.0. It's pretty cool. You can watch slide shows full screen, add ratings and comments to the photos and albums, register as a user, and lots more. There are some tricky navigation things that I am still working on. The little grey icons in the upper corners do all kinds of things. There's a sidebar that pops out that lets you add comments, view as a slide show, navigate to other albums, and even shows a random image that you can jump to. The image views also show a little box of thumbnails of other nearby images. What I don't like about it is that you can click on a link back to the main gallery page, which is where all the images for my website, Northern Light Agency, and Shark & Yeti wedding photography live. I'd rather that the link only goes back to the main RTW gallery page, like I could do with the old Gallery version. Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think.

Click Here to go to the RTW image gallery.

A New Year

2007-01-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been nearly 2 months since Grover died. It still sucks. I'm trying to get things done, but find that my scattered mind and sad heart aren't making it easy. Still, I am plugging away at the photos. Almost done I promise. I'm currenty moving my website to a new host because my old host has become unreliable and has crappy customer service. The trasition has taken me all day...and it's still not done.

India

2006-11-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Hey folks. Nepal photos are all up now, and 95% of the india photos are up too. Enjoy the photos and LEAVE COMMENTS under any photos you particularly enjoy. I need feedback. Check out photos by going to the RTW PHOTOS link on right side of this page.

Back to it!

2006-09-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm back and I've updated my photos...

Ok, where did we leave off?

The next part of my trip after Burma and a nice diving trip in Thailand was Nepal. When people ask we what my favorite place was on my trip, I tend to give different answers depending on my mood, as each place was a favorite for different reasons. But the place that I most often blurt out is Nepal. Nepal is just a fantastic place, and I had a terrific time there.

I purchased a second digital camera in Bangkok before heading off to Nepal, and it was for this reason that I reluctantly hired a porter for my trek around the Annapurna Range. This allowed me to shoot a lot of photos, as my load was lightened to carry just my camera gear, a few clothing layers and some hiking essentials. Shakti, my porter, carried my sleeping bag, a few extra clothes, my image storage hard drive and extra food along with his own things. Actually he shaved off less than half the weight I would have been carrying on my own, but it was enough to make a difference. [CHECK OUT THE NEW PHOTOS!!!]

Now, ultimately Shakti and Mala, the guide who came with us, ended up being a huge pain in the ass and stole all my money. But I don't regret having them along on the trek. We had a great time on this trek, and whatever happened afterwards doesn't diminish this. Had I been smarter, I would have left them in Pokhara. I wanted to leave them in Pokhara. I had decided to leave them to Pokhara.... come to think of it, I DID actually leave them in Pokhara! But they ended up at my door in Katmandu a few days later with a story of how Shakti's mother needed an emergency operation. I did the nice thing (i.e. stupid, naive thing) and gave him 200.00 dollars. It was a mistake. I couldn't get rid of them after that. Why? Well for one, they made promises about paying me back by getting me some nice thanka paintings. This of course never materialized. What did happen was that they ended up leeching money from me for two more weeks, always wanting me to pay for their food, their transportation, etc. I actually wasn't too upset to do this, since in exchange I got two guides and saw more of Nepal than I possibly would have without them, but at that point, I was growing tired of them and would have preferred to have gone it alone without them. hanging out with them was preventing me from meeting new people. I just couldn't get rid of them. When I finally did announce that I had to go on without them after a week together in Varanasi, they took the first opportunity to rob me off all my cash ($1200.00) and run off. Rotten bastards. These guys were friends, or so I thought. We had been hanging out together for nearly 2 months and although the last week was sort of tense because I knew I had to get rid of them and they knew I wanted to get rid of them, I didn't think they would betray my trust and steal from me. Live and learn. It cost me a lot of grief and fairly ruined my time in India as I dealt with the anger of being betrayed like that. But I did realize the power of meditation and yoga and discovered "The Power of Now". After a month of simmering anger, I managed to get back into my trip again. If these guys really are Buddhist/Hindu as they claim, then they know about karma. Unless they gave that money to a charitable organization or did something good with that money, they are going to pay for it one way or another. However, I'm more certain that the money is going to drugs and good times in India. I hope that one day I will be able to go back to Nepal and India and that, by some miracle, I will find them.
I've been working for over a month doing construction, and I've now earned 1200 dollars. That's how much time and work it takes to make 1200 dollars. I've been conscious that I am working to make back what was stolen from me. $1200 a month doesn't even cover my basic monthly expenses here in Seattle. But that amount could easily get you by for 3 months traveling in India. And so it goes. So here's my latest rationalization: I hope I can earn back all of the money I spent on those betrayers by selling the photos they helped me to create. I hope to earn enough to fly back to India and spend a month actually enjoying myself. Karma. Check out my Nepal and India photos and let me know if you are interested in purchasing prints of any of them. Prices are going to start out cheap at $10.00 per 5x7 and $25.00 per 8x10, unmounted. 11x14 and bigger can also be made. I'll give you a discount if you order more than 5 prints at a time.

So, back to Nepal. I had so many fantastic experiences in Nepal I can't even begin to talk about them. I've been editing photos from my trip, but they don't really tell the story of my experience. Trekking around the Annapurnas was not only one of the best times of my trip, it was one of the best times of my life. I LOVED it and would do it again in a heartbeat. Sadly, this classic trek may soon no longer exist: They are building a ROAD from Pokhara to Multinath. Some of the road is already completed. It was certainly a shock to see motorcycle taxis in Multinath. Though there were only about a dozen that I saw, soon the road will be good enough for trucks, and then I fear it will be spoiled for good. Still, It's an amazing trek and I can't recommend it enough. Not only is it filled with stunning mountains, rivers, gorges, forests, and villages... But also the WONDERFUL people I met along the way and, surprisingly, the delicious food. In two words, Dal Bhat. Dal Bhat is a variety of lentil beans, spices, chilies, pickled fruits, and rice. Everyone makes it a little differently, but every way I tasted was wonderful. We ate it every day, with our hands, and I NEVER got tired of it. It's just that good. Also very good is dried yak meat sauteed in chili oil, and to drink, Raski, hot chai, or a tall glass of fresh buffalo milk with coconut cookies. mmmm. Heaven on earth. I was surprised by how good the food was, but I shouldn't have been. Katmanduu had great food. Besides that, fresh food always tastes fantastic after you've been hiking all day. I trekked part of the way with Nir from Israel and Sam from Australia. They were great guys, but they went ahead after the pass and I was left with Mala and Shakti for the rest of the journey. I've actually written a long story of my trek, but as it's about 20 pages long, I'm not going to post it here. If you are interesting in hearing all of the sorted details, I'd be happy to email it to you.

So enjoy the photos! I am currently about half way through editing them. Please do me a favor and leave me comments under the photos you like most, and check back in a little while: I still have to add India, Egypt, Jordan, Palastine, Cyprus and the rest!

One Month Later

2006-08-23T00:03:00.000-07:00

Holy crap. I've been back in Seattle for a month and I've still not finished my blog. I've been busy. Too busy. I just want to sit down and write. Even now, I can't write, because it's midnight and I'm exhausted and have to get up early tomorrow to work. I'm doing construction with my friend Patrick. I know nothing about construction work, so it's all new to me and so not boring. It's also kept me busy and out of the house, where I could easily catch a strong case of post-RTW depression. Though it's nice to have a home and not always packing up to move, I miss the adventure of travelling. I miss seeing new places and new cultures and wonderful new people. I feel alone here in Seattle. So many of my friends live so far away. And now some of them live on the other side of the world. Anyway, I still have not yet gone through my photos from the trip, which really is becoming shameful. I also have not yet written about Jordan, Israel, Cyprus and Amsterdam, my last month on the road. I have much to say and must get the words out before I forget everything that happened to me that last month. Some of what happened was personal, and I don't want this blog to be a public diary, nor do I know who's reading it, so there may be a few significant things left out.

Must go to bed now.

America

2006-07-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Seattle. I've unpacked only the basics, leaving most of my boxes of "stuff" unpacked in the basement. I just don't want to fill my house up with so much stuff again. It's strange being home, yet not strange at all. It's hard for me to explain it. I really don't feel like I've stopped traveling yet. Tomorrow, I am flying to Iowa where I will get a car and drive back to Seattle. So I still have 2 weeks of travel ahead of me. Maybe when I get back I'll finally feel more settled. I have yet to write about my last month of traveling around the world. I had some amazing experiences in Dahab Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Palastine and Cyprus. Writing about them and updating my photos is a priority for me, but I don't know if it's going to happen until after I get back from Iowa. So any of you who are wondering if I am ever going to add anything more on this blog the answer is YES! I have so many more photos to show you all. So many, in fact, that I will need several days just to go through them and pick the ones I want to show you. So please be patient...photos and stories will come soon enough.

Coming Home...

2006-06-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

I'm coming home in two days! I've clearly been slacking on the blog. this last month has been intense and I've had little chance to update the blog nor the photographs. I'll post plenty of both when I get back to Seattle. Right now, I'm enjoying a few days in Amsterdam!

I will be staying at Deirdre Doyle's house on Capital Hill until the 1st of July. My skype phone number is still active!

Grover

2006-05-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

I miss my kitty. I will be coming home soon Grover! However, I will be
going to Iowa soon after I return to attend my (gulp) 20 year high school
reunion and to buy a car to drive back to Seattle. The whole trip will take
me about 2 weeks to do, so...

Anyone want to house sit for a couple of weeks while I am in Iowa? The
dates are: July 17th-31st.

Whining

2006-05-24T04:30:00.000-07:00

I've just read through the last several blogs that I've posted and have noticed that I do an awful lot of complaining here. It's not that I'm having a terrible time, it's just that it feels good to vent on this blog. I think my horror stories are more interesting than my good time stories anyway. Everybody likes a good travel horror story, right? I mean, if I just wrote about all the good times I'm having, it would be A) boring and B) irritating. Who wants to hear just about how wonderful traveling around the world is? It's actually pretty great, it's true. But it's also full of complications and bad times as well, just like life back home. It's all in the attitude you have, whether you're touring around Egypt or going to work at the post office every day. If you're mind isn't focused on the present moment, you're missing your life. It's easy to miss life, even when touring the world. My head has been in the past and in the future for many weeks, and I now see how I've rarely found the greatness and beauty of life as it was unfolding before me while I wallowed in my recent past. It's not just me. I know It's really a struggle for most of us to be in the moment, no matter what we do with our lives.

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."
John Lennon

So please, if I can just give you some wisdom from my adventures: Try to be more conscious of the present moment. If you consider it for a moment, you'll see that it's where ALL of life really happens. We all spend way too much time planning and remembering, and not nearly enough time just living in the moment.

Ok enough metaphysical mumbo jumbo. Time to hit the beach!!!

India (reprise)

2006-05-21T11:35:00.002-07:00

I just want everyone to know that despite my last posting, I actually thought India was a wonderful place. The people, for the most part, were really good people and I was offered genuine kindness time and time again from many people. It's a wondrous country with really good people and it deserves many visits. My first visit, I'm afraid, was badly tainted by the theft by the Nepali assholes, so my head was in a bad place for pretty much my entire visit. India is a country you must surrender to. Fighting it, as I did, will only cause more grief. I struggled in India only because I let that theft take over my head. Near the end of my visit, I was nearly moved to tears when a poor shoeshine boy ordered me a chai tea and offered me one hundred rupees after I told him that I lost my wallet. (Yes, I lost my wallet, just 2 days before I left. I still don't know how. I know exactly when I had it last, and that I put it in my camera bag pocket. When I got home, it was gone. It fell out of my bag somehow along the walk home. Totally bizarre. Lost 50 bucks, my atm card and my credit card. BIG pain in the ass, not to mention embarrassing. It's embarrassing because nobody who was being as paranoid as I was about my money should ever lose their wallet.)

Anyway, this poor young man had the warmest heart, and when I told him I lost my wallet, he wanted to help me any way he could. So this guy, who only had a few hundred rupees to his name, was going to give me about a third of all his money. I let him buy me a chai. This guy was not the exception. Most Indian people are very kind, but you have to sometimes deal with the occasional jerk. You just can't let these people give you the opinion that all Indians are cheating, lecherous assholes. I really didn't give India much of a chance. My head was elsewhere. I knew all along that I was missing out on India because of my attitude. I really wasn't even present. So, I must return when my head and heart are in a better place. I skipped the Taj Mahal even though I had a chance to go on my last day because I want it to be yet another good reason to return. So let me repeat: I think India is a great country and that everyone should visit it at least once in their life. It will definitely change you, whether you want it to or not. My advice for India is to be PRESENT, be AWARE, and SURRENDER to it, but be ready to fight the jerks. Sometimes it's the only way.

The Egyptian Tour

2006-05-21T11:35:00.001-07:00

I've signed up for a little Egyptian sights package tour against my better judgment. I've never actually done a package tour, so who am I to judge? I'm on day 3 or 4 of the 12 day trip, and I have to say that so far, it's not horrible, and it's actually nice not to have to worry about how to get to point A to point B. After dealing with travel logistics for the last 7 months, it's nice to have a little break. Besides, I thought I might meet some fellow travelers this way. So far, I've done:

A trip to the western desert for two nights, including a night of camping in the White Desert. Got to do the trip with two Mexican men who may or may not have been a couple. I suspected they were, but they were playing it very straight. I didn't pry. The desert wasn't as fun as it should have been because I was feeling sick. I slept most of the time. But I did manage to get up at sunrise and practice yoga and meditation to a beautiful rising sun in this surreal white desert landscape with wild rock formations. It was there that I realized just how much I've been in my own head for the last month, and how I've been punishing myself for what happened with the Nepalis. I know it's why I'm sick. So I decided then and there to let it go. That night was a full moon, so it was exactly EXACTLY one month since I stepped into my room to find the Nepalis had taken off with my money. Instead of being able to rise above it, my mind went to a very unconscious self-punishing place that's not been good at all. So, I've had it with my mind. I'm not going to let it boss me around anymore. So decided to shut my mind up every time it goes into thinking about the past or the future, and really just try to be in the present moment as much as possible. I know this all sounds very odd, but I think it's working! I got back to Cairo and decided to stay another extra day. I had a great last 2 days in Cairo trying to do everything I could squeeze in. After my White desert morning meditation, I'm feeling much better! I managed to visit in one afternoon: Khan-a-Kalili, the Northern Cemetery, the citadel, and Coptic Cairo, before taking the metro back to town. Then I got a nice shave and haircut, got my email, and said goodbye to my new best friend in Cairo, Ellen. Ellen has been absolutely wonderful and she was just what I needed, exactly when I needed her. She really made my first night in Cairo one of the best nights of my trip, treating me to a wonderful steak dinner at a nice French restaurant, then taking me to a hookah bar in the heart of Islamic Cairo for sheesha and coffee. I couldn't have had a better introduction to the city! She's been really wonderful! She got me some work photographing some pajamas for her friend's business, took me around to some very nice places, took me on a felluca ride, and even baked me cupcakes for my last night in town. I wouldn't be in the happy place I am today if it wasn't for her. She told me some poetry one evening, and that night, I dreamed of poetry written on Cairo's ancient walls.

I caught the night train up to Aswan and arrived this morning. The Nile is absolutely stunning here. I enjoyed a little tour to the Isis temple and the dam that holds back the longest river in the world, making the second largest reservoir in the world. It's really not as impressive as it sounds, but the temple was cool, despite being squeezed in with 4 or 5 busloads of Italian and Spanish-speaking tourists. My own little tour van had about 10 of us, including 2 Americans with two young kids. I took a good amount of photos, and I'm now back in my room, enjoying my first room with air-conditioning since...my first night of my trip! I must go to sleep now, because I have to get up at (EEEK!) 2:45AM to catch the shuttle up to Abu Simbel. Then it's off on a felluca down the nile for two nights! This tour package stuff is fun! All I have to do is show up. We will see how it goes.

Egypt - the Felucca trip

2006-05-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, the package tour isn't everything it's cracked up to be.

The trip to Abu Simbal was a pain in the ass. First, it's a wake-up call of 2:45 am, then it's 8 1/2 hours of sitting on a packed mini bus, just for an hour of viewing a big temple along with hundreds of other tourists. It's a pretty rough trade-off. The temple was indeed cool, but it was hard to enjoy with the punishing bus trip, the heat, the hunger, the touts everywhere trying to rip you off, and the throngs of grumpy tourists, all feeling the same way I did. Back in Aswan, I went straight to the pool and feel asleep. The next day, I started my felucca trip sailing down the Nile, hoping that I'd meet some cool travelers on the sailboat. I was delighted to find a nice nice Australian couple and a very cool British fellow were my only other companions for the 2 day trip. The boat is supposed to bring up to 8 people, so the 4 of us were going to have plenty of room on the boat to spread out. We ended up having a great time, but we definitely had our problems. We bought a case of beer for the 4 of us, and the captain, though completely lecherous, lazy and stoned the entire time, at least shared his ganja with us. We spent the next two days lazily floating down the Nile, reading books, drinking beer, smoking, eating and sleeping. The food was excellently prepared by our very nice 19 year old skipper, and there was plenty to go around, which was a relief to all of us. We had heard horror stories of bad food and under-feeding on these trips, so we all came with extra food just in case. Our captain is a real piece of work. He's constantly stoned, and just getting going in the morning or after a lunch break seems to be a real hassle for him. We didn't even push off from the shore until 2 pm on the second day, and then we only sailed for about 4 hours in all. We were a bit annoyed when our captain hadn't even gotten us 1/3 of the way to our destination by the second morning, and we had a bit of an argument when he announced that he would be dropping us off far short of our agreed upon destination of Edfu. He claimed it wasn't his fault, but we were rather dubious. We ended up getting off the boat to go to a village to call our tour agents to see what the deal was. The tour agents backed up the captain, stating that the boats can only go to Kom Ombu, and that a police escort would take us the rest of the way to Edfu. This was news to all of us. We decided that our tour operators are a bunch of lying, cheating asses and that we feel a bit cheated as the details of our itineraries keep changing as we go. We all agreed that we would probably do it ourselves if we could do it again. The entire reason for getting the tour package was so that we wouldn't have to deal with the hassles of arranging things, but we find that we are still having to arrange a lot of things, that things aren't quite as promised, and that we are all stressing out just about as much as if we had planned things ourselves, but now we don't have the control to change things because we paid for someone else to do it for us. Nothing's gone quite as promised. For example, I am always supposed to have someone waiting for me to take me to the next hotel when I get off a train or bus. When I got back from the white desert, the bus dropped everyone off miles away from downtown. Every tourist on the bus had someone waiting for them, except me. Nobody was there to pick me up. I had to track down a phone and call my tour guy several times before I finally got him on the line. He had some lame excuse about how when he said "see you back at the hotel" before I returned from the desert, that was supposed to indicate to me that I was to take a cab from the bus station and that he would pay me back. Yeah right. After this, I became dubious of the whole deal. When I got to Aswan after the overnight train, I once again found that nobody was there to pick me up. I had to track someone down once again. Again, I thought I was paying extra money so I wouldn't have to deal with this sort of thing. So, the tour package is really sort of bogus and I wouldn't recommend it. The other people are coming from other agencies, and we all paid different amounts, but we all are getting the same shitty service. That's not all. On the first night, our captain took the liberty of groping Lucy, the only woman on the boat, as she slept next to her boyfriend. She awoke to find the captain asleep with one of his hands holding her hand, and his other hand holding her breast. NOT COOL. A confrontation with him in the morning lead nowhere. It's like he just DIDN'T GET IT. We all tried to explain that it's absolutely not ok what he did. He wouldn't even outright admit that he touched her. He never apologized or anything. He was either playing stupid or his brain has seen too much THC to function properly. He only seemed to understand that Lucy was Steve's girlfriend. Like she is Steve's property and so is off limits to him. Ugh. I've heard countless stories already of women getting harassed, being called whores, of men asking their boyfriends "how much" for their girlfriend. Thow some Egyptian men are constantly trying to feel up the western women, never understanding the words NO or NOT INTERESTED or GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! It's completely disrespectful and offensive. The Lonely Planet even recommends that women NOT travel to Egypt alone. I can't say Egyptian men are my favorite guys so far on my trip. I couldn't tell you about Egyptian women. I've not spoken to a single one. They are as aloof and distant as any women I've ever met. Perhaps they fear they will be judged as whores if they are seen even talking to a western guy. I don't know. I just know that this sexually repressive culture of Egypt, and I am assuming other Islamic countries as well, is breeding sexually psychotic men who think that all women are property and all Western women are whores. Oh, and needless to say, our felucca captain didn't get a tip, but our nice skipper did.

I am now in a hotel in Luxor. My felucca friends are also in rooms in the same hotel. They are only staying one night here before getting on the 16 hour bus to Dahab. I've opted to avoid that bus ride by taking a 48 dollar ferry ride across the red sea, making my bus time only about 6 hours. I've also spread out my temple visits here in Luxor to two full days, and I'm not doing anything today but chilling out. There's only so many ancient Egyptian temples one can take in a day, and my limit is two.
Even two is pushing it. I'm sorry to say this, because the temples are each incredible achievements, but they all start to look the same after a while. It's pretty much the same architecture, figures and petriglyphs on every temple. Since I can't decipher what the glyphs are saying, it's all just lotus lotus crocodile snake snake ankh beetle beetle lotus ankh. Slave slave king warrior ship king slave slave ship. It gets a little dry after a while. It's also very sad to see that many of these magnificent carvings have been total defaced by later Christian and Islamic groups that found the figures of gods, kings and queens blasphemous, and so chiseled them all off. Fucking morons, pardon my French. So going to these sites can sometime trigger a bit of anger towards intolerant religions - Islam and Christianity obviously being included in this category. There's also a fair amount of names of westerners carved into the temple murals - from the 1800's mostly. Again, what kind of egotistical morons would carve their names on artwork THOUSANDS of years old? It bothers me that their names have not been removed or covered up. It seems to me that it just encourages the next generation to get their names up there too. Clearly I'm still working on some anger issues here. My tolerance for bullshit is low, as I find it MUST be, because I find that letting any bullshit get by you can result in getting cheated or duped in some way. Being a tall white westerner here in Egypt, I find there's a constant barrage of bullshit being thrown at me from every direction. "The shops are closed that direction, come with me I'll take you to a good market, only open today..." The cab drivers, the horse carriage drivers, the shop keepers, every guy standing on a street corner, they all want your attention, they all want to know 4 things:
1) "Where are you from?"
This is so they can size up how rich you are. They assume that if you are from Japan or America, then you are filthy rich, and everything will be priced 5-6x the normal Egyptian price. If you are from Western Europe, then prices drop to 4-5x, Eastern Europe 3-4x, Other countries, 2-3x or so. I'm going to start announcing that I'm from Bulgaria.
2) "What do you need?/What are you looking for?"
Clearly you need something, because you are walking down the street. Whatever it is, they have it, or can get it for you at the "very best Egyptian" price.
3) "Come, why don't you just look? looking is free!"
Looking is in fact not free. It costs time. Time is expensive. Look, given that most people come to Egypt for two weeks or less, and pay well over a thousand dollars just for the plane ticket, you could estimate that each waking hour is costing them something like 10-20 dollars an hour. So that half hour or so that you will inevitably waste by allowing them to drag you into their shops is in fact costing you money, "just for looking". Explaining this to them would be yet another exercise in futility, so I usually just shrug my shoulders and keep walking.
4)"Are you Christian?"
I was told that Egyptians often ask about your religion. This is another way for them to size you up. I don't like the connotations, so I usually ignore them. Sometimes I'll tell them I'm Buddhist, and it usually confuses them. I think many Egyptians have never even heard of Buddhism before. If it's not Islam, Christian or Jewish, I don't know if they understand much else.
It's really kind of sad that I have to be so on guard with every Egyptian guy I meet. Perhaps one in 20 really wants to just be friendly. I've met a few like this. Sure they want you to visit their shop. Everyone has a frikin' shop. But after a while, if you have the patience, they sometimes get past the "buy something" attitude with you and you can just sit and have a laugh with them. Not surprisingly, they hate George Bush, and they tell me that every American they have met has told them the same. Either some of these Americans are lying, or it just that any American who has the patience and trust to actually sit down and talk with an Egyptian about politics is usually a democrat. Call me crazy.

Time to get out of India

2006-05-07T02:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday 5/7/06 New Delhi.
I have just arrived after a long, hot, uncomfortable overnight bus ride from McLeod Ganj. The monk I was sitting next to refused to open the window, so I sweated and hardly slept all night.

I’ve had it with India. It’s really time to go. Getting on the bus in McLeod Ganj, I’m told that my ticket is wrong, I can’t have the front seat that I reserved nearly a week ago, and that I have to go sit in the back of the bus. I try to explain that I really need that front seat, that I reserved that particular seat far in advance because of my long legs and that I certainly need that seat more than anyone else on this bus. He refuses to listen to me. “Your ticket is wrong, it’s a different agency. Back of the bus!” “How can it be wrong? It’s says right hear Cityland Bus, seat 4. “ I try to remain calm about it, but he’s not hearing me. “Your ticket is wrong, you sit in back of the bus!” I angrily stomp to the back of the bus. I sit in the back seat and my worst fears are realized, it’s impossible to get my legs in front of me, even with the seat upright in front of me. I see nobody sitting in the front seat, my seat. People are staring at me, wondering what I’m going to do. “This is not acceptable.” I head towards the front again and try to talk to the ticket man again. This time, I’m angry. ”Look, I’m 6’6”, I need that see more than anyone on this bus, I reserved it far in advance! It’s not my fault that somebody screwed up and double-booked my seat!” I’m really pissed now, and now everyone on the bus now knows what’s happening. “No, those seats are booked by another agency, my friends are sitting there. You sit in the back!” His friends?! “I’m not sitting in the back!” “Then you go tomorrow!” Laughter in the bus. But I’m not laughing. “I can’t go tomorrow.” He ignores me. That’s enough for me. I go back to my seat in the back, grab my bag and announce so everyone can hear me, “Fuck this shit, I’m sitting in my reserved seat in the front! If they want me to move, they can fucking try to pry me from my goddamn seat!” An American guy on the bus cheers me on, “Now that’s the right attitude!” And it was. This is the attitude one needs in India just to be treated with respect and fairness. It requires a strength of will and of stomach that I have never really needed before, just to get treated fairly. After more cajoling and my demonstration of how it is for me to sit in a normal seat, he relents. His friends sit next to me across the isle. Everything is fine, I sit next to a monk who refuses to open his window. It’s the only window in the bus that isn’t wide open. I don’t try to argue with him, because he’s a monk. I’m sure he’s got his reasons, I just hope it’s not some kind of Buddhist self-punishment.

At our first rest stop, after standing in the crowded “cue” to order drinks, it’s my turn up, and I order a fresh lemon soda. The man comes back with a bottle of plain soda water. “20 rupees.” “No, I want a fresh lemon soda, and it’s 10 rupees.” I grab the menu and point it out. He seems confused. “ Ok, you wait. You want a glass, right? “ “Yes.” That’s what a fresh lemon soda is; It’s a bottle of soda water and a glass that has some fresh lemon juice in it. It’s not complicated. He takes several more orders before a glass is produced and the soda is poured into it. I’m not sure what he’s doing, as there is clearly no lemon in the glass. There is some discussion, and I’m again starting to lose my patience with this bullshit. He’s trying to give me a glass of plain soda water. There’s a long cue behind us now, and I’m starting to raise my voice. “You know what, forget the lemon soda, give me a Limca.” Finally I’m given the soft drink and have to explain that I already gave him 10 rupees, so I only owe him 5 more. At last it’s all sorted out. I’m now labeled the trouble-maker on the bus. Jesus, you almost have to start breaking chairs just to be treated right. I’ve got to get out of India.

The bus finally stops in Delhi. I don’t know where we are, but lots of people are climbing out. I step out of the bus, not sure if this is the final stop or not. I’m immediately surrounded by touts. “You want autorickshaw or taxi?” “I don’t know yet.” “Autorickshaw? Taxi?” “I don’t know yet.” “Rickshaw?” “I don’t know.” Jesus, It’s 6 am and I’ve hardly slept. “You need taxi?” “My friend! Taxi? “ It’s too much. I just put my finger to my lips. A tall taxi driver with a big mustache and dressed in a white gown approaches me. “Where do you want to go?” “Main bazaar” I tell him. “ Ok, I take you.” “Where are we? Is the bus going further?” “No. This is the last stop.” Just then, I hear someone inside the bus “this isn’t the last stop.” I turn and look at the man. He just smiles and shrugs his shoulders. Fucking assholes.
I climb back on the bus. I’ve really got to get out of India. I’ve had enough.
This is just how it is in this part of the world. I don’t like it, and I don’t have to like it.

Cairo, I’m sure, isn’t going to be any better.

The Little Prince

2006-05-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

I just read The Little Prince. I know, it's a classic, and I'm sure I read
it before, but I must not have been ready for it, because now it really
reverberates for me. And, little did I know, one of my favorite quotes in
the world comes from this book:

"It is only from the heart that one can see clearly.
What is essential is invisible to the eye."

Yes! I so agree. Yet, I always find myself judging by what I see with my
eyes.
I just finished a 2 hour hatha yoga class. It kicked my ass. Every stretch
that my body hates, we did. My body hates these stretches because they are
the ones it most needs work on. The forward bends, the stretches to the
hamstrings and lower back, everywhere this is always always tight on me, we
stretched. I am going to come to this class for the next week and see if I
feel any change. It's a very shanti place I am right now. Bhangsu. I have
my own little hut, with a garden in front for lounging in the sun. It's a
nice day, a little overcast so not so hot. A perfect day for hiking up to
the waterfall above the town. I am finally getting on with my trip, not
just physically, but spiritually, mentally. It's been 2 weeks of dealing
with my anger. Yesterday, I spent most of the day writing my story of Nepal
and my betrayal. It's definitely helped to go over it all again from the
start, as I now see the story more clearly. I have gotten a little distance
from and can see it more clearly now...from my heart. What I see is that it
started from the very beginning. They have been conning me from nearly the
first day. I don't know if they ever told me the truth about anything. And
as one lie became the foundation of the next, I didn't see that is was all a
house of vapor, until it was too late. It's like a wind came and blew it
all away, and I can see it all so clearly now. I was seeing with my eye,
and ignoring my heart, which was telling me to not trust them. I didn't
listen to it. I didn't even hear it. I drowned it out.

Betrayal

2006-04-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

I got ripped off. My Nepali "friends" took all of my cash and ran off. After a few days of frantic attempts to get the Indian Police to help, and complete confusion as to what to do and where to go, I have decided to give it up. I've done all I can, contacted everyone I can, and have come to realize that I'm just not going to catch these guys without help which isn't forthcoming. So I am just trying to get over it, and hope that karma gets them eventually. I am heading to Udaipur to be alone and try to get some peace.

NEPAL

2006-03-29T02:48:00.000-08:00

I know, it's been a long time since I've written. I went on a 23 day trek around the Annapurna Mountains, climbed over a 17 thousand foot pass in snow, soaked in hot springs, got 15 dollars extorted from me from Maoist seperatists, ate delicious Dal Baht almost every day, and had a great time. Afterwards, I stayed in the lovely town of Pokhara for over a week just relaxing. I then returned to Kathamandu for a few days and am now in Baktaphur, a gorgous ancient village outside of the pollution and traffic of Kathmandu. I am hoping to have my India visa by friday and to get a bus to Varinasi by Sunday, as a strike is about to start on Monday. Strikes suck here. I had to pay a driver twenty dollars to get from the end of my hike in the mountains to Pokhara, about 20 minutes away. This is over 20 times the regular price of taking a public bus..but there were no buses...or so I was told. Later I found out that there were busses, and that I had gotten ripped off. Oh well. These things happen sometimes. I have so many stories from my adventure in the mountains, but I don't have the time or space to write about them right now. Grover needs to be boarded with someone else, as my tenant is now asking for 900 dollars to watch him until I get home in July. If anyone knows anyone who might be willing to take care of Grover for 3 months, I would love to hear from you. There will be monetary compensation.

back from Burma...off to Nepal!

2006-02-19T03:39:00.000-08:00

Back in Bangkok one last time. What a fantastic journey Burma was! I can't believe how quickly a month went. I didn't really miss my computer or the internet, but I did miss listening to my music, especially on the long bus and train rides. I just checked my email and had over 500 messages waiting for me when I returned... It was almost entirely junk emails promising longer, harder erections, stock tips, a lower mortgage on the house I don't have, and all kinds of other stupid stuff. A total waste of time. No, I didn't miss email at all. I've been frantically busy trying to edit, caption, and burn image dvds and get them shipped of before I leave for Nepal tomorrow AM. I just finished it, so now I can actually use the laptop for updating my blog! But now I have little time left. Burma is amazing. The people are the nicest people I have ever met anywhere. I met a monk in Mandalay who accompanied me though the last few weeks of my trip. It was great fun. I can't even begin to write about all of it right now. I even managed to take several good photos. I'm finally getting better at this travel photo thing. Practice practice practice. I could spend hours writing about my experiences, but I don't have the time right now. I have to pack up my gear, get a box to ship some gifts and discs back home, meet Michael McGarrigle, the guy with the greatest job in the world, for dinner, and try to get about 20 other things done here on my last night in Southeast Asia! Yes, I am going to NEPAL tomorrow morning! I can't believe it! Everywhere I've gone seems to get better then the last place. If you asked me what my favorite place was, at any time on my trip, I would normally be able to say it was the last place I was. This trip just keeps getting better and better! Unfortunately, my trip may be cut short. I may be heading back to Seattle July 1st, as my sub-letter wants to move out before October 1st. Coming back July 1st at least allows me to attend my good friend Robert's wedding in Cyprus, which I have be planning my entire trip around since before I left. Ok....much to to....must go now!

Myanmar!

2006-01-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

I can't check email, but I CAN enter blogs and read your comments. So if you want to contact me before Feb 15th, when I leave Myanmar, I can only be reached here. Someone please let my mother know, so she doesn't worry about me. Her email address is pamandron@nfinity.com.

My first day in Myanmar was quite an adventure. I hardly slept last night due to being relentlessly attacked by mosquitos, even though I was under a mosquito net. I stayed in a dorm room, and it was WITHOUT any sort of fan. In other words, it was ROASTING. All the beds are butted next to each other, so I was sleeping next to someone I didn't know at all. So the only way to fight the skeeters was to cover myself up with a blanket or dig through my pack for my repellent, which was certain to awake everyone... so I tried the blanket. The blanket only made me sweaty, which seemed to attract the skeeters even more, and any flesh that poked out of the blanket was IMMEDIATLY BITTEN. It was insane. I finally gave in and dug out my repellent at about 1:30 am. It felt much better without the hot blanket, but any spot on my body that I missed spraying DEET on was bitten. It took all my nerve not to scratch and make things worse. This went on until I finally got every part of my exposed body covered and I finally drifted off to sleep around 3 am...only to be awakened at 4 AM by the LOUDEST MEGAPHONE BHUDDIST PRAYER SESSION I could have ever imagined. Earplugs did very little to drown it out. This went on for AN HOUR. Some time around 5:30 I started drifting back to sleep, but awoke at 9 AM for breakfast, which was great. I then moved to a fantastic room at the top of the guesthouse which not only has a nice comfy PRIVATE bed and a fan, but what's best is that it has a great view of the Shwedogon Pagoda, which is this amazing 2000 year old towering pagoda that is covered in over 54 tons of gold, 5000 diamonds, hundreds of rubies... It the holiest place in Myanmar and one of the greatest human-made structures I have ever seen. I have been trying to kick this phlemy throat and cough thing I've had since I went diving, but it seems to be getting worse again. So I went out and exchanged money from a money exchange tout (only to discover later that he tricked me out of about 7 dollars in the exchange, clever monkey!) and found my way to a pharmacy to get some drugs. On the way, two local boys approached me and wanted to practice thier english with me. They took me to the Sulay Pagoda which is another gold-encrusted pagoda in the center of town. A man approached us there at explained in perfect english everything about the pagoda, the practices happening everywhere, and about transendental medication, which he went at length about for over 20 minutes before we got rid of him. We got rid of him by my agreeing with the boys to go to their english class and say a few words...

I arrive at the class, which has about 40-50 students in there late teens to late twenties, and I am immediatly brought to the front of the class. I am asked to improvise. So I go on for about 10-15 minutes about who I am, what I have been doing, etc.. and then ask if anyone has questions... boy did they.

Are you married? No. Why not? My girlfriend and I broke up. Why? She left me. How did that make you feel? sad. Someone asked me to explain how I felt about relationships and love. JESUS! What is this?? What is your religion? Do you like Jennifer Lopez? (No. Which was an unpopular answer, I found out.) What do you think of Myanmar. What do you think of Thai people? What do you think of George Bush and the Iraq War? (I LOVED this question, because I tore into George Bush. I found out later that MOST people in Myanmar really LIKE George Bush. I can't imagine why, other than the only news they can sometimes get is CNN.) All in all, I was up in front of this class answering questions about travelling, love, relationships, politics and J-lo for an hour. I WAS the class. I was exhausted and little embarrased about my answers afterwards, especially when I revealed how LITTLE I knew about thier culture and country. At the end, I took a photo of the class. Which I will post when I can. It was actually great fun, and I have been asked to return before I leave Myanmar. Then my new friends took me to lunch, then the Shwedogan Pagoda which was stunning but was unfortunately under some rennovation, so photo ops were limited. Then we worked our way back home by super croweded bus, and then I got a sarong, because almost everyone here wears one! You don't know how happy this makes me! It's like being back in indonesia again! Tomorrow my friends are going to take me around again starting at 9 AM. I am exhausted. I found this internet place about a mile from my guesthouse, and it may be the only one in town. Anyway, it's late here, so I am heading back to my guesthouse for hopefully a peacefull night of sleep.

Off to Burma!

2006-01-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am off to Burma today. I may or may not be able to receive emails or
update the blog while I am there. The Burmese government is unpredictable
and things are changing all the time. I will be back in Bangkok on the 15th
of February. My quick stopover in Thailand has stretched out to 20 days
somehow. Strange. Everything took much longer than I suspected. The Burma
visa alone took nearly a week to get, then the plane ticket to Burma took a
few days. My diving trip in the Similan Islands also took much longer than
I could have guessed, since getting sick there (fever) kept me in Koh Lak
several days longer than I predicted. I also had some technical
difficulties with my laptop and my new digital camera back here in Bangkok
which took some time to figure out. It all adds up! I guess I was meant
to slow down for these 3 weeks. Now everything is sorted out perfectly and
all is good. I am finally ready for my next adventure!

PHOTOS!

2006-01-10T21:50:00.000-08:00

I want to remind all of you who are reading my blog that I am uploading LOTS of photos to my website. The link is listed on the right (RTW PHOTOS!)....

Also, I will try to keep my blogs shorter and hopefully sweeter so you will actually read them.

I am in Koh Sok, which was tsunami ground zero here in Thailand. Many destroyed lives. Nearly 5 thousand in this area alone. There are a few huge boats still on the far side of the highway. There are many new fancy bungalows being built at break-neck speed. There are only fat German tourists here. The dive shops, which are many, are all owned by Germans. The only reason to come here is to dive or be lazy in a fancy new resort on the beach. I came here on a whim(and an invite from my friend Nicole) to dive the Simlian Islands, which I heard are fantastic. They were. I will write about it later. I didn't have any underwater housing for my camera, so don't expect many photos...

Greg

PS. REMINDER: I am going to Burma in a few days, hopefully, and will NOT be able to send/receive emails nor post to this blog for the entire month that I am there. So don't WORRY about me. Just pretend I've gone to a distant planet for a month. I will return to Earth some time in mid February.

Cameras! (Boring Gear Blog)

2006-01-05T04:20:00.000-08:00

Warning: This particular blog is probably dull to all but the photo gear freaks out there.

I got two new spaceships, as my lovely Italian friend Irene would call them. I spent more money yesterday then I've ever spent before. As I've mentioned, I lost my great little Canon SD500 Digital camera. It's been gone now for what seems like months and I've been missing it, especially shooting little movies with it and snaps of friends along the way. I've also heard about by dream camera being released, the Canon 5D. A full frame 12 MP SLR. I researched prices online at B&H Photo, and tried to figure out how much time & money it would cost me to ship them here. It would have ending up costing more (and would have been a huge customs headache) than if I just bought the stuff here, so I ended up finding the best pro camera shop in Bangkok and buying here! First of all, the Canon SD550 (IXUS 750). This this is truly a spaceship. It's like a tiny computer with a lens and and 7.1 MP sensor. Even though I had it's predecessor, I still needed to study the manual for over an hour and take notes. Insane. At 450.00, it's not cheap. It can be found for under 400.00 back home. Now I can shoot videos again! Yeah!
Then there's the dream camera. This is the camera I've been wanting since digital SLRs first came out: A full frame digital SLR. This is the third model released by Canon, and only the fourth one ever made by any company. Canon is definitely leading the way for digital SLRs. It's also the first full frame SLR to be "affordable" as the others were closer to eight thousand dollars when they were first released. It's basically a Canon 20D with a better sensor, so I am completely comfortable shooting with it. It's also got a nice big review screen, which I am very happy about. It cost me about $3200.00. Scary. I hope it pays for itself before it's replaced by something even better. I better get to work shooting some great photos! Anyway, that price is about 150 dollars more that if I bought it in the USA. But the owner of this great camera store in Bangkok was so nice, I told him the price differences and he helped to make it up by giving me a free memory card and some lens/body protection bags. So ultimately, I've only paid about 100 dollars more for everything. Not bad at all actually. I was worried about not having a USA warranty...but then I realized I won't be in the USA very much in the next year, so it doesn't matter! Now I have two Digital SLRs and the great little pocket camera. I am totally set!
----
My Photo Gear:
Canon 20D (x1.6 CMOS sensor)
Canon 5D (Full Frame CMOS sensor)
Canon 16-35mm 2.8L
Canon 50mm 1.4L
Canon 70-200mm 2.8L IS
5 batteries
6.5 GB worth of CF cards
(Range of Lenses:16mm-320mm at f2.8, up to 448mm at f4.0)
Canon SD550
2 batteries
1.5 GB worth of SD cards
----
I don't want to tell you what all of this is worth. I don't even want to think about it.

My 20D has the 16-35mm lens on it (making it a 24-53mm), and the 5D has the 70-200mm on it, So I have just about everything covered from 24-200 at f2.8 without having to change lenses! I also have a 1.4 50mm lens, and a 1.4x extension for the 70-200mm. This is truly a dream kit. No more switching lenses all the time!!! It's taken me 10 years, but I am finally really happy about my photo gear. Who wouldn't be? If I want, I can also switch the lenses, and then I have from 16-35mm and 112-320mm. So, because it's a full frame sensor, it's also like I got 3 new lenses! The new camera addition obviously makes my bag a little heavier, but not by much. The 5D weights just a little more the the 20D, so it's almost nothing compared to that insanely heavy 70-200 I'm hauling around. Hopefully this will allow me to get shots much faster. The last thing I need to figure out is my camera bag. It's a great bag, a good size, but it's not really designed to carry cameras and lenses around. My 50mm has been damaged from hauling it around, and is in repair here in Bangkok. I am thinking about how to tweak the bag almost every day, and now I am on a quest to find some plastic inserts to give the bag some better structure and cushion. Ok, sorry to bore you with my camera gear business. I am just so excited about my new gear! First thing I need to do is INSURE it! God help me if I get it stolen.

I am really enjoying Bangkok much more this time around. I still haven't met anyone to hang out with, which I seem to have a problem with here, but I am actually liking the city much more now. Everything I need is here, and much of what I don't need. Tomorrow night I will head down to Koh Lak for a diving adventure in the Similan Islands! Then I come back to Bangkok once again, and fly off to Burma! Please note, I will be COMPLETELY UNAVAILABLE for the entire month I am in Burma. There is NO email that I know of.
Greg

Bangkok, Oriental City

2005-12-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

12/31 New Year's Eve

I'm back in Bangkok. I've completed a long 3 month loop of SE Asia. I started here on Oct. 5th, and have gone overland, by bus and by boat, counter-clockwise through southern Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and now back here. It's a perfect time to be back here, full circle, just as the year ends and a new one begins. So many thoughts and impressions filling my mind. After arriving yesterday and finding a new hotel that was recommended to me by the man with the greatest job in the world (more about him later), I walked down Kho San Road. It was same same as ever, but it was interesting to notice how different my mind was after my 3 months of adventure. When I arrived here from Seattle, I found Kho San Road to be overwhelming in it's commercialism and tourists. I found myself wanting to buy all kinds of trinkets and clothes and eat the cheap street food and drink beers...and I found it impossible to meet anyone. Everyone seems so young and to be traveling with other young people, and they are all having a great time. Last night, as I walked down the middle of the street, filled with, once again, 20-something scantily-clad western women and hippy/party boys all drinking and buying, buying and drinking, I sensed a definite shift in my mind: It was completely calm. This is still the loneliest place to be when you are traveling alone, but I didn't feel it nearly so much as I did when I first arrived here. I had no desire to shop or drink beer or eat the cheap Thai food from the countless stalls. I simply wanted to sell back my book, which I had finally finished just before arriving back where I bought it. Anna Karenina is over 800 pages long. An 18th century Russian Classic by Tolstoy. It was strange to be immersed in Russian history and characters while bounding across SE Asia, but that's what I chose to read when I arrived here. I bought it for ten bucks on Kho San Road, and last night, I sold it back for 2.50, which I used to buy myself dinner.

Kho San Road. It's horrible and lonely yet so lively and full of beautiful people. It's not Bangkok, it's not anywhere. It's a bubble, a caricature of itself. I felt completely outside of it even as I was in the middle of it. I realized then just what my trip has done to me after 3 months. I am now a calm traveler. I am now "in the groove" as it were. I am centered within myself, no matter what's going on around me. Being here on new year's eve is also ironic because this is where I was exactly 3 years ago with Robin, whom I was with for 5 years until last February. We had just come back from the bus trip that everyone talks about: the road from hell from Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) in Cambodia to Bangkok. We were both needing to stay near our guesthouse since we both needed close access to our toilet for reasons I need not explain. Comparing that trip to this one is impossible. This is a long solo wander, while that was a short, tightly-scheduled "couples" trip. Simply being in Bangkok alone already magnifies one's aloneness, but adding to it the memories of a previous trip with someone you love makes it even more so. Fortunately, I am now much more comfortable with being alone. I've been alone a lot during this trip and I think it's finally feeling ok not only to be alone, which always felt ok to me, but to feel lonely. Feeling lonely feels ok now because I know I won't be alone for long. There is always someone new and unexpected just around the corner. For example....

Two nights ago, my last night in Laos, I met the man with the greatest job in the world. His name is Michael McGarrigle. He's from Ireland, in case the name didn't give that away. A few years back he quit his job as an engineer, sold all he had, and decided to take a 3 year trip around the world. Sounds great, right? Except that when you do that, you come back home with nothing. No savings, no job, no home. Scary. Too scary for me. When I go back home, I will have a little money left (I hope), a home to return to, and since I work for my own business, I will hopefully be able to ask myself for my job back. Michael's also a musician, and before he left, he was looking for a certain type of travel guitar to take with him on his journey, but he was having a difficult time locating one. So, he managed to get on the local public radio station to talk about his forthcoming trip and ask over the airwaves if anyone had this guitar that he could purchase for his adventure. Well, as luck would have it, some producer from the BBC was listening to his plans and called in to ask him if he would be interested in documenting his trip with a video camera for a BBC series. After meeting with the producers, Michael got a 3 year, all-expenses paid contract with them! This was the first time the BBC has ever given anyone a 3 year contract for any show. He's got a great little Sony broadcast-quality camera, and some nice microphones. That's all he really needs. His gear probably weighs less than mine! Not only are all his expenses for the entire trip covered, but he also gets a fairly large salary (40k a year!) on top! In contrast, my travel budget for the entire year is 12,000 dollars. A thousand dollars a month, including flights. Michael is getting paid for traveling around the world and talking about it along the way. The show is called "Around the World in 1,080 Days". He is the writer, director, camera man and star of the show. He ships the tapes home and the folks back at the BBC edit them into 30 minute shows. What could be better???? I am green with envy. I spent my last morning hanging with him in Vientiane. He asked me to shoot some video of him riding up to the camera on his rented motorbike and talking about arriving in Laos. He had just arrived the day I met him and he only had two weeks there, so he was on a tight schedule there. In return for the "favor" of shooting video for him, he bought me breakfast and I will get a camera credit on the show! Then we went to the holiest of Lao temples on his motorbike and I took photos while he shot video. It was great! He's a super nice guy and I really enjoyed talking to him and hanging out with him that day. I left that evening on a bus bound for Bangkok. Had my visa not expired that day, I would have happily traveled with him for a while! But we were going opposite directions. This often happens. I meet very cool people but we find that we are going different directions and so we only get to spend a short while together, sometimes only a day, sometimes a few days. If I am lucky I meet some people who are going in my same direction (Nada, Marc, Nicole, Chieko), but more often, they are not (Irene, Paul, Tim, Jeremy, just to name a few).
This is what travel is really about. Yes the temples and the culture and the food and the scenery are all very beautiful and great. But it's the experiences I have with the people I meet that really leave the strongest impressions on me. OK, I must figure out what I'm going to do here on New Year's Eve!

Happy New Year to all my friends and family everywhere!

Love,
Greg

Things I've Lost

2005-12-22T00:38:00.000-08:00

When you are traveling as long and moving as much as I am on this trip, you are bound to lose things. Everything you lose is important in some way, or you wouldn't be carrying it, so it's always painful to discover that you've lost even the smallest thing. When it's a big thing that you've lost, it becomes that much more painful, especially if it's difficult to replace and/or expensive. So, as a cathartic way for me to get over my losses, I am listing everything I've lost up to now, three months into my trip, listed roughly chronologically.

----
My Journal. I lost it before I even got to Bangkok on the stopover in Taipai. Not a great way to start the trip. Fortunately only two days were written in it.

Vancouver baseball cap. The second thing I lost after my journal. Left it hanging behind a towel in a room, I think.

My Wallet. Don't know how or where, but somewhere in Sihanoukville. Only 10 bucks in it, and it was falling apart anyway, so I wasn't too upset.

My shark bag: Left on bus from Hanoi to Halong Bay.
I loved this bag. I've had it for years and I took it with me almost everywhere I went. I made this small bag from leftover silcone-nylon when I made all of my ultralight gear for Hawaii. II called it the "shark bag" because it had a small plastic shark attached to the drawcord. Inside was a collection of bits and pieces that I liked to have with me with regularly. Fortuntately for me, I had just slimmed it down for my trip to Halong Bay, where I only brought my daypack and my camera bag, so I only lost some dramamine, some band-aids, a blister kit, emergin-c, insect repellent, a lighter, earplugs, glass cleaner, lip balm, and some assorted drugs for pain/poops. It normally also contained my headlamp, swiss army knife, and my compass, all of which I would have been additionally bummed to lose. I've replaced it with a sandwich baggie that I've drawn a shark on.

Big red bandana. Lost in Vang Vien when I had a bag of laundry done and it was never returned to me. Remarkably, hard to replace here in Asia.

Red plastic carabineer. used it to hang my daypack on bus seatbacks. Lost on bus from Vang Vien to Luang Prabang.

A nice pen I bought in Vientianne. have no idea where or when exactly.

An almost brand new cell phone. Bought in in Saigon the end of October. Disappeared less than 2 months later sometime between leaving Luang Prabang by bus and coming back to Luang Prabang by boat 10 days later. Very irritating that I lost it so soon after buying it, I really liked it, and it wasn't cheap.

A lens cap and a lens end cap while hiking in villages around Moung Ngoi.

Canon SD500 Digital Camera. Ouch. This one hurts. Lost on boat from Nong Kiow to Luang Prabang. I'm sad about this one. I loved this camera and all the images on the card are obviously also gone. Hopefully I can replace the camera in Bangkok. It too was almost brand new. I bought it in September just before my trip. I am hoping my travel insurance will cover it and the cell phone loss together, because combined, they are a considerable chunk of money, and there is a 200.00 deductible on every claim.

A 1000 Bhat note (worth about 25.00) Lost most recently in the night market in Luang Prabang. It must have fallen out of my pocket or something. Still a big mystery. This was my holiday spending money, so I'm still quite vexed about it's disappearance.

It seems buses and boats tend to eat my stuff, so I must learn to be VERY careful about my gear when traveling by bus and boat. It's very easy for gear to be jostled from pockets and seats and fall to the floor where they are often never seen again. Also, if you determine that you've lost the item after the bus or boat has left, you are almost guaranteed never to see them again, as the busses and boats aren't reachable or identifiable once they've left, and, chances are, someone has already grabbed it anyway. Your stuff is gone gone gone. Take my word - be very careful of gear on boats and buses. I fairly certain that nothing I've lost was stolen, except perhaps that one red carabineer. Everything else has simply dropped away from me never to be seen again. It sucks. I don't consider myself a clumsy or bumbling traveller nor overly burdened with luggage and gear, but here I am losing things left and right and I hate it. So, I have to try to be even more careful in the future. Here's to not losing anything for the rest of the trip!

Things I THOUGHT I lost, but then found:

My digital camera

My ability to take a decent travel photo

My sunglasses

My SE Asia Phrase book

Things I've found:

Lots of friends

Cool culture

Great people

Unforgetable memories that I will probably forget by the time I reach India.

Grover is fine!

2005-12-22T00:28:00.000-08:00

Just to let everyone know, Grover is recovering from his ear infection. Hooray! On the down side, my cat-stter/subletter Ahsha's Grandfather is ill and she wants to go to Oregon to visit him 1-2 weeks a month....so if anyone has any ideas that would be great. I'd hate to have to use my NUCLEAR OPTION of having to fly back home early to take care of my kitty. Anyone know how much it costs to have a cat sitter come in and hang with your cat for a week?

Muong Ngoi

2005-12-21T18:57:00.000-08:00

I am back in a place that has electricity/internet. Laos has been fantastic. The people, the scenery, the simplicity of life here, it's all been such a great experience. I have spent the last several days up in a village on the Nam Ou river in Northern Laos that had indoor lighting for only 3 hours a night. From there, I met two guys, Tim, 50, from England but has been living in Australia for the last 5 years, and Paul, 54, from Wales who is nearing the end of his 1 year trip. They are great guys, and we immediately got along great. We decided to go on a trek without a guide through the villages in the area. It was definitely a highlight of my trip. I fashioned a rather spartan map of the route from hand-drawn maps hanging at little restaurants in the villages, and although we got lost a few times, got our legs riddled with leeches, and made, we are certain, several nearly unforgivable faux pas in every village we walked into, we can say we did it ourselves! Some of the highlights of the trek include getting lost for almost half the day on the first day, stumbling though leech-infested trails that led only to fish traps down at a river, and finally giving up and heading back to our first village for dinner and trying to figure out where we took a wrong turn. We NEVER did figure out how, exactly, we got so turned around, so we decided to skip that route at take a shorter route that would give us one more night in a remote mountain village and then drop down to a village on the main river and get a boat back to our main village where we started. Along the way, without fail, we would walk into the village just in time to see the women bathing at the town spring. We stopped for lunch and had some rather bland food with the ubiquitous sticky rice that is served with nearly every meal here in Laos. We couldn't eat even half of the mound of sticky rice they gave us, so we put it in a bag and took it with us. Hours later, we arrive at this fantastic little mountain village and are lead to the village chief who has the only place for us to stay. We greet the chief and his wife and, not knowing what else to do with it, we offer them our sticky rice. The look at us like we have just farted, but politely take it and we walk off to see the village before it gets dark. As we are walking away, I turn back to see the wife feeding the sticky rice to the mangiest dog in town. If there was anything worse to offer these remote villagers than day-old sticky rice, the ONE THING they absolutely do not need, I can't think of it. Can you imagine? Oh look, foreigners with big expensive cameras have come to our village! I'm sure they have something new and wondrous to offer us! And here it is.....dog food. Once we realized our mistake we had a big laugh about it and started calling ourselves the Sticky Rice Stooges. I'm sure the villagers thought we were complete idiots. I joined the kids in a game I've seen all around Laos. I don't know the name of it, but it's basically volleyball, but with a woven rattan ball that you kick or header over the net. No hands allowed. I figured my hacky sack days would finally pay off now...but once I started playing, I realized I hadn't played hacky sack in over 10 years. Still, I got the ball over more than once and had a good time with them. The crowd of smiling villagers watching us seemed to confirm that perhaps we were forgiven for the extremely disappointing gift of sticky rice. There were so many fantastic photos to take in this village, but we all found ourselves quite unable to take very many because it just seemed invasive and maybe a little disrespectful. Even asking to take their pictures seemed embarrassing. So I ended up taking only a few photos of this village. But let me describe it: it's like a farm. There are pigs and chickens and dogs and children roaming around everywhere. The men hunt the forest with these long-barreled muskets, which must be quite accurate because they are bringing home the smallest of birds, which seemed to be the only thing left in the forest that hasn't been eaten by them. We did see the tails and skins of some furry four-legged creatures, perhaps civets or some kind of other small mammal. We had seen, sadly, a few baby monkeys tied to trees as pets at villages along the way, but here, thankfully, there weren't any. Perhaps they had already been eaten. We had also seen a few birds stuffed in the smallest of wooden cages, looking miserable and hardly able to move. Nearly all the cats we have seen have had their tails chopped off, leaving only a few inches of stumpy tail. Why? Cat tail soup? Superstition? No idea. In this village, at least the chickens and pigs and cows all looked healthy and reasonably happy. The people also seemed content and happy despite the dusty shacks they called home. So, given that there were so many animals wandering around the village, we expected our dinner to be chunks of bland meat and sticky rice. What we got, however, was completely unexpected. His wife prepared our meal in the kitchen: a small fire on the dirt floor, a single knife and a piece of wood on the ground. All preparing and cooking is done in candlelight while squatting on the ground. In this remote, dusty village, in the Chief's house, his wife came out with a large platter of the most wonderful, fragrant, flavorful vegetarian food we have ever eaten. It was impossible to explain. On our trek into town, Tim had found a strange fuzzy orange plant laying in the path that looked like a small pitcher plant. When we arrived, we asked the chief what it was, and he got excited, grabbed a large bag from inside his house, and showed us a bag full of beautiful red and white flowers. What we had found was the outer shell that these flowers grow out of. At dinner, we found a plate full of these flowers, now cooked and blackened and seasoned. They were absolutely delicious, with a peppery flowery taste, and great texture. There was some kind of gingery, pulpy chili condiment that was spicy/hot but very flavorful as well. The other dish had a variety of greens and veggies and fruits in it that were completely foreign to us, some of it may have been tender bamboo shoots, but much larger than I've ever seen, all cooked in a delicious curry sauce that had hints of coriander and coconut milk. It was all so so good you can't imagine our surprise and delight. Breakfast was equally surprising and wonderful. We were completely taken aback, especially considering the village has NO WATER in it. To wash and get water, you have to haul it from the stream about a quarter mile out of town. So as you can imagine, these people are all in great shape and the women are all beautiful. Since there is no electricity, it seems the only thing to do at night to keep warm and be entertained is sit around the fire, drink lao lao, and have sex. Not a bad life I suppose. The next morning, we head out and immediately take a wrong turn because our village chief tell us to take a left turn 4 KM out of town, so the first left turn out of town, about 300 meters from the last structure in the village, we completely ignore thinking it can't possibly be THIS left turn, so soon after the village....after a good 40 minutes of hiking up a hill along a ridge, we meet some Laos people who indicate that we have taken a wrong turn and that the trail to Hasaphuay, our destination, is back the way we came, actually way back at that first left turn out of the village. So we lost about 70 minutes or so from that wrong turn. But the VIEWS from that wrong turn were amazing, we were actually looking down into two valleys, east and west, while we hiked along a high ridge. A very nice wrong turn. So down we go into the valley, now certain we are on the right track because the locals have once again gotten us going the right way. We are becoming convinced that they must, by now, believe we are complete idiots. The trail down into the valley is astouding, a beautiful, steep mountain is in front of us, teeming with giant forest trees and hanging vines. Below us are rice terraces and banana plants along the rivver. Once at the base of the valley, near the river, we find ourselves hiking through a beautiful bananna forest, then giant bamboo, then the trail goes right into the river. It seems strange to hike in the river at first, and for a time, we stop and try to suss out whether or not we have taken a wrong turn. Looking around, the river is gorgeous with hanging vines, and gouged stone, it's actually very easy walking and so lovely, we vote to continue forward and hope it's a trail. After about 20 minutes of hiking down the river, just when we are all starting to worry that this can't be the trail...we find a trail that looks fairly used coming out of the river for a spell before dropping back in once again. So we continue down more and finally see are very wide, steep, slippery trail heading up out of the river. It looks steep but is clearly in heavy use, so we head up, very steeply. It's not 100 meters up when we start to realize that this just can't be right. It's incredibly steep and there are no foot steps carved into the clay-like earth, like almost the entire rest of the trail. That's when it dawns on me that this isn't a trail, but a log shoot. Just then, from above, comes this splintering banging racket.... Just kidding. Actually, from below, a villager spots us and explains in laos that we are going the wrong way. When we get back down to the river, he's disappeared. So we walk not 5 steps further down the river and see the actually trail winding up out of the river bank just 5 meters from the log slid. We are once again feeling like absolute fools. After another hour of hiking, we finally drop down to the river and our final village, Hasaphuay, where we hope to hire a boat back down the river to muoang ngoi, the adventure complete. Arriving in Hasaphuay, the first person we meet is a man who appears to have a boat and wants to take us to Muong Ngoi. Ok, that was easy. We gesture that first, we would like to eat. So we are lead to the middle of the village where we sit under a house while children and older men gather around to stare at us. The children are carrying smaller children on their backs, and the men are all carrying children on their backs. The women are all beautiful and many of them are pregnant with even more children. Soon a crowd of children is watching us. We don't even realize how many children are gathering around us, because we are too busy trying to soak in this extraordinary setting. There are beautiful women walking through the village, there are beautiful women bathing at the local outdoor spring across the street, there's a beautiful young woman pounding rice with a see-saw contraption that has a big stone on one side pounding into a larger stone mortar filled with un-hulled rice, and in a see-saw action, see steps on the far side of the board to lift the stone up and down into the mortar. In front of her is a baby sitting in a rice basket. The entire scene is surreal in it's simplicity and beauty. And I, a "professional" photographer, found that I just couldn't raise my camera for fear of ruining the moment. It would have been rude to take a photo without asking, and if I ask, it ruins the magic, whether they refuse or not. So I didn't take a photo of any of these things. It was for the best, I think. However, I then snap out of my vaguely leacharous Laos beauties daydream that had something to do with impregnating several of them, I realize that we have a sizable audience of children in front of us. A table seems to appear out of nowhere in the middle of the village "square" and a delicious rice noodle soup is prepared for us right there in the middle of town. We sit and eat our delicous soup while all around us, curious eyes stare at us. Children and adult men alike. Hardly any women stop to stare, except a few older women a bit further away than the rest. The pretty younger women are probably smart to keep away from us. I feel compelled to entertain the gathering crowd, so I go and drum up three objects off the ground of approximatley the same size and weight: an orange, and two rocks. I juggle them for a while and then try to show Paul how to do it. He tries in front of the kids and can't do it, and they laugh. Then I do it again and I am actually doing pretty good with it. Then I stop and try to hand them to a child, who becomes surprised and nervous, and the crowd giggles. They are very shy and polite. Then I pick up my camera and take several photos of the kids and show them the pictures. They love it. All is good. I felt fine about photographing the kids, because I was interacting with them, entertaining them, and showing them the photos. I don't feel nearly so comfortable photographing the adults and especially the beautiful women, who are very camera shy anyway. After eating, the man we met on the trail takes us to his boat and we head downstream on some of the most beautiful river scenery I have ever seen. Just stunning karst mountians with gorgeous jungle dripping from them, villagers fishing and rowing and bathing on the shores. Incredible. After about a 20 minute boat ride, we arrive in Muong Ngoi with an incredible high from the entire experience. Tim and Paul were an absolute joy to hike with. They were both so easy-going and humorous and fun to be around. We voted on every questionable turn, and it all turned out extremely well. Just a great time. I have now redrawn the map with new details on the hike and I might have one of the better maps of the area at this point, since mine indicates times and elevation gains, and water sources and trail markers. We actaully felt a bit smug and a bit like experts advising other travellers in Moung Ngoi to head out into the villages and spend the night...it's so magical. I'll never forget it.

Now my Laos visa is coming to an end. I am heading back down towards Thailand now. I will stay in Luang Prabang until after Christmas, and then into Thailand by boat along the Mekong River from Luang Prabang to Chang Mai; a two or three day journey I think. I will celebrate New Year's in Chiang Mai and then head down to Bangkok to get my Burma visa and flight, ship some things home, and prepare for the next part of my adventure. After a month in Burma, I will be heading to India and Nepal for the following 3-4 months, then over to Cyprus and Egypt, and finally Italy, Prague, & Barcelona before heading back to the USA in September. What a trip this is! I can hardly believe how great this has been. Merry Christmas and happy new year!!

Vang Vien Caves

2005-12-09T05:12:00.000-08:00

12/7

I'm still here. I really should be gone by now, but after a slow start, and then getting sick, and now today the weather was kind of cold for tubing, so I rented a scooter and went to a few caves. While at breakfast, I met an American woman named Sue . She was pretty from a distance, but after she came up to me and started talking, I was immediately unattracted to her. She's young, maybe 24, but she seems even younger. Everything's fucking rad, and so fucking cool, and every nice place was a good place to "party". Ugh. It was mildly amusing at first, but then it wasn't anymore. She sounded much dumber than she was. Anyway, she was nice enough, and despite her bothersome "partier from the states" dialect, she was still fun to explore caves with, namely because she had NEVER been in a cave before. This made it fun to listen to her go on about the "fawking awesome" stalactites and "gnarly" rock formations. Besides, it REALLY WAS "fawking awesome". We had a guide take us into the caves and we were able to hike deep inside about 3 KM through one of them, leading us back back back to where there was an underground river. We took off most of our clothes and swam there! It was very fun! After swimming and a smoke, we turned around and headed out. The caving was actually pretty easy for the most part due to the fact that water runs through it during the wet season, so it was mostly flat and even. However, it was still very tiring from having to walk so carefully on slippery surfaces and at the same time, watch my head. There were a few parts where I had to nearly crawl, but then it would open up again after only a few meters, so it wasn't too bad. After over 2 hours of hiking that cave, we hit another very wide and beautiful cave with a lot of great formations. After that, we were tired, hungry and had seen enough. We ended up paying the guide 10 bucks each and buying lunch from him. It was well worth it. He had two nice torches for us, and we NEVER would have gone where we did without him. Very cool. Tomorrow, come rain or shine, I AM GOING TUBING DOWN THE RIVER! I have put it off for several days now and all I hear is how fun it is. So Tomorrow, I am going for sure.

Greg

Vang Vien

2005-12-05T17:43:00.000-08:00

Finally feeling up to moving again, I took the afternoon bus from Vientiane to Vang Vien. By the time the bus arrived it was pitch dark. We are dumped out of the bus out into the noisy street. Everyone on the bus is completely disoriented as to where to go. First impression: There are restaurants everywhere and they are all filled with young stoned westerners who are all pointed towards the big screen TVs that every restaurant has. At least 4 of them are playing reruns of Friends, all next to each other. It's the Friends block. Then there are the bar/restaurants that are showing movies like Star Wars, The Longest Yard, Chicken Run, Big Fish, Action flicks, etc. It's really sort of sick, but mesmerizing too. I found my way to the river where I wanted to stay, but all the riverside rooms were taken... Oh yeah, I guess it's now the busy season here in SE Asia. I have been used to easily finding great, cheap places to stay, but now I am here Vang Vien and I swear it's like SPRING BREAK. I sat down to eat dinner at one of the few restaurants WITHOUT a TV, and across from me was this bar playing obnoxiously loud music, LOADED with drunk, tanned tourists, and I saw in the middle of the crowd...a beer bong being raised. Hoots and hollors. Obnoxious young college guys and scantily clad women, which seemed so offensive to the locals, if a pleasant view for me. I found a cheap box of a room to sleep in for the night, only three bucks but ice cold showers and the ceiling fan was broken. I got up the next day with the hopes of moving into an opening room in Saysong Guesthouse, right on the river. I was wondering what the big deal was here. Unless you we here to get drunk or stoned off your ass and watch Friends reruns, it seemed like a rather boring, dumpy little town... Then I took a look outside my guesthouse from the balcony. Wow. Beautiful mountains. Gorgeous river. Too bad it's a bit ruined with beach umbrellas, loud speakers pumping out Bob Marley, and "chill out" bars right along the riverbank. Anyway, there's kayaking/tubing to be done, caves to explore, and "happy" pizzas to be eaten... ...who am I to judge before partaking of this particularly westernized kool-aid? I'll find out...tomorrow. Today, I'm just going to chill in my new place, swinging on the hammock on the balcony overlooking the river valley and mountains beyond, while reading Anna Karinina, an 800+ page Russian classic by Tolstoy. Life has just gotten a whole lot better. However, I am still awaiting news about Grover, so I am still uneasy about things. I pray he's ok, and I don't pray often.

Tuk Tuk Mafia

2005-12-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

12.3
Good morning.
Ok, I think I need to move today. I am so tired of being stuck here, but there are certainly worse places to be stuck. Vientiane was very good and very easy. The people are friendly, the food is great, internet cafes are everywhere, it's quiet, and apparently the tuk-tuk drivers not only serve as your personal taxi drivers, but also as your pimp and drug dealer as well. At certain times of the day, the tuk-tuk drivers all gather around a few tables just around the corner from my guesthouse, like some kind of union meeting. Actually, I think it's a bit more Godfather than Norma Ray. I've noticed that there are NO OTHER forms of public transport available in Vientiane other than the tuk-tuk drivers. No motor scooter drivers. No cyclos. Just the tuk-tuks. Tuk-tuks are like motorcycles on steroids. They have 3 wheels and a covered bed in the back with a small bench on each side to sit on. I've seen 8 people with bags in one. But only about 4 farangs with backpacks could possibly fit in one. So I imagine these little tuk-tuk driver meetings deal with fixing prices, settling turf disputes, eliminating the competition (a motor scooter driver seems much more economical and useful for tourists.), etc. They clearly have some power here in Vientiane, because there are way too many of them, and they openly offer you prostitutes and all kinds of drugs on the streets.

I need to get breakfast, a bus ticket, go to the post office, the bank, pack up my considerable amount of gear and check out, all in just a few hours. No more time to write!

Hanoi Hijinks, Hemmorhoids, and the Onion Bus

2005-12-03T23:09:00.000-08:00

There's a place in Hanoi you should avoid. The hotel is called Camellia Star hotel. Their address is 37 Yen Thai St. The email address is t&ttravel@hotmail.com. Be sure to email them a nasty letter, and if you happen to be in Hanoi, please give them the finger for me. They seemed nice when I was checking in, as they all do when you are perhaps going to spend money at their business. They were actually pretty nice all the way until I was checking out, then things really went downhill.

I've heard a LOT of similar stories while traveling in Vietnam about being lied to, ripped of, misinformed, and just getting serious attitude from the people if you don't want to buy something, so it may be something to do with the culture, but I don't want to sound prejudiced. I DID meet many wonderful Vietnamese people. Anyway, on with the story...

In order to stay a month in Laos, you have to get your visa ahead of time at a Laos Embassy. Two days before I wanted to leave Vietnam for Laos, We all rented bicycles from my hotel to do our visa business. We waited around for nearly a half hour, and when they finally arrived, two of them were the usual upright one-speeders, and then there was the shitty little mountain bike. I immediately went for the tallest bike, and Marc went for the other. Nada got on the mountain bike for about 10 seconds and then flat out refused to ride it. I did the chivalrous thing (and I didn't want to wait around for another half hour) and took the little bike. It was to be a key element in my future horror. After spending too much time getting fruit shakes and coffee, I left Marc and Nada to go to the Laos embassy to get my visa. It was only about 3 kilometers away at most, but it took a few stops to refer to the Hanoi map to be sure I was on the right track. Although my guidebook said otherwise, the Laos embassy closes at 4 pm. I got there at 4:06. 6 minutes too late! As I was riding home through the Hanoi traffic, I started to notice my ass was getting mighty irritated by the skinny, tiny, rock hard seat on this little bike that had my knees nearly hitting the handlebars when I peddled. Hotels, agencies, and guesthouses all over town advertise that they offer visa services, and for a few extra bucks, I thought it would be worth it to use my guesthouse's services to get my visa just to be sure I got it in time. I made it very clear I needed the one month visa, and that I needed it by the following day. "sure sure, one month, 40 dollars plus 3 dollar commission." They were certain they could do for me, and I would even "get it cheaper through them" than if I bought it myself since they "knew someone at the embassy"...so they said. The next morning I ask about my visa, and they show it to me, and it says Laos Visa type TR-B63. Nowhere does it show how long the visa is for, so I ask them," is this a one month visa?" " yeah yeah, one month, don't worry. " Ok, fine. (Cue the ominous music...)
--
That morning, I feel my hemorrhoid swelling up painfully. Fabulous. I take baths all day, visit a pharmacist to get prep H and constipation pills (don't ask how I explained it), and start popping the codeine I brought from home, but nothing is working. It just keeps getting sorer and sorer. By late morning, it's a trial to just sit down on one of the tiny chairs that seem to exist everywhere in Vietnam. Getting up from them is even worse. I move in slow motion. If any of you have ever experienced the joys of a swollen hemorrhoid, you know what I'm going through. If you haven't, let me suggest that you get your thumbnails removed with a pair of rusty pliers rather than the constant discomfort and embar-ass-ment of this. Traveling with a swollen hemorrhoid comes recommended only if you love pain.

So, I've been at this Camilla Star hotel for several days. I bought my visa and bus ticket to Laos from them, and I brought them more business by having Nada stay here too. The night before, I sat down with them and had rice wine and food along with their friends, and felt like I was really starting to develop a little friendship with them. So that morning, since my 22 hour bus to Laos didn't leave until 6:30 that night, I explained to them that my ass was killing me from the bike they rented to me, and could I check out of my room a little later, say, 2 pm instead of the usual 12? Oh no, if I want to stay longer, I have to pay for another night. "But, my ass is killing me, I gave you a lot of business...how about a discount for just a few more hours.." No no. Nothing doing. I stay longer, I pay for another night. End of story. I could have paid the 6 bucks and stayed in my room, but it was the principle of the thing. So, I pack up, check out and hang out at cafes all day, trying to give my poor bum a little rest before embarking on what is sizing up to be a wonderful little voyage into the depths of hell.
--
The bus is supposed to leave at 7 pm. The motor scooter driver picks me up at 6:30 sharp to take me to the bus. I sit very slowly on the back and we take off. Every little bump feels like hot needles. The 5 minute ride to the bus...no wait, to ANOTHER hotel is mercifully short. I sit at the hotel along with about 20 others, waiting for the bus to Laos, but the others aren't going to Laos. One by one they all are whisked off to other places by taxis and scooters. By 7:20, a new moto driver arrives to take me to the bus. My backpack is stacked in front of the driver, nearly blocking his view and giving him little ability to turn, while I sit ever so carefully on the back with my camera and daypack hanging from me, and praying for a short ride or a quick death...

...25 minutes later, we arrive at a dark parking lot well outside of town. I tried to just leave my body during the ride, so I can't tell you what I saw or where we were exactly. In the middle of this dark lot is a big shitty bus. I am asked to take all my bags on board, which I thought was unusual, since normally the bags go in the side of the bus. Getting on board I'm nearly knocked back from the stench and am simultaneously greeted by the 4 other fellow riders; A young Scottish guy, two women from San Francisco, and a Japanese woman who is traveling with them. I then see the piles of onions in the back third of the bus, and the backpacks stacked on top of them. It reeks of onions, and the floor is wet with red liquid that looks frighteningly like blood a la "The Shining". This should be an interesting trip. We all introduce ourselves and I just can't resist telling them my current health problem in order to receive some sympathy and perhaps break the ice. We start taking bets on how many times the bus will break down. We all settle on three as the magic number. After about a 1 hour delay, the bus rumbles to a start with about 7 people on board, thankfully, and we start out of the parking lot....only to stop and back up again. Trouble with the transmission. Breakdown #1 is underway. Two hours later, we head out again. It's after 10 pm at this point, and after reading with our headlamps for a short while, everyone tries to settling in for a sleep. We were naively hoping to awake at the boarder at 6 am, as we were told. At around 4 am, the bus stops and the drivers get out to start loading the inside of the bus with...more onions! I mean about 50+ more very large bags of onions...not only filling the back half of the bus, but overflowing into the empty seats and stacked high into the aisles around us and all the way to the driver up front. Getting out of the bus would now require climbing up on the bags, and nearly crawling our way to the front. The good thing is that now we have a place to put our legs - on the onion bags, and the other good thing is that onions keep the mosquitoes away. At several points in the early morning, the bus picked up a few more passengers, and let some people out for peeing, and at one point, the bus stopped on the side of the road for about an hour or so so the drivers could sleep. By 8 am, everyone was up and hungry...but there would be no stops for breakfast, no stops for water...we were obviously quite late for the boarder. The boarder didn't come until around 11 am. We all climb out and walk about a half mile to the Vietnam customs building in this dusty ghost town of large empty government office buildings. The mountains around the "town" were beautiful towering misty mountains which I only barely noticed because I was sore, hungry, and had a burning ass which demanded most of my attention as I slowly walked to the customs building.
--
The customs office was like something out of a movie. The very stern, frowning customs officials came in behind us and then proceeded to dust off the counters so they could get down to business...leaving a cloud of dust in the air. Three officials each took long looks at each of our passports in turn, using a magnifying glass on some of them, and a special scanner on others, and murmured things to each other about each of our passports. After a considerable amount of examining and discussing, we eventually each got our Vietnam visas stamped USED with a tiny red rubber stamp. So, off the four of us go to Laos... but first, we have to hike there. The bus sat back beyond the boarder, so we were told to walk to the Laos customs up the road, actually quit a ways up the road, and over the summit, and back down the hill around the corner, about a 30 minute hike in fact. We were all hungry, thirsty, grumpy, wondering if we would ever see our bus and belongings again, and I was certain that soon blood was going to start seeping down my leg.
--
We turn another corner and finally arrive at the Laos customs "office" which is little more than a roof over a concrete table and 4 chairs. The officials are very friendly compared to the Vietnamese freaks, and we all feel relieved about finally getting out of Vietnam...but there are problems. many problems. The Scottish guy and the two Californians were told by their travel agents back in Hanoi that they could get their Laos visas at the boarder. Well, apparently not at this boarder. The customs officials didn't know a lot of English, and not surprisingly, there was no phone here either. It seemed there was nothing that could be done for my three new friends but for them to turn around and head back to Vietnam, hopefully get their visa cancellations cancelled (that could take some time), and then somehow get a ride to a different boarder that WOULD give them a visa upon entry. What a nightmare! The Japanese woman and I had gotten our visas in Hanoi so we weren't about to turn around and head back, so we handed our passports over to get stamped. Surprise surprise, my visa also had problems. The one month visa I was assured I got...turned out to be a 5 day transit visa. A transit visa is the most ridiculous visa imaginable. It allow for only 5 days of travel, assuming that you are only going through the country on your way to some other country. It's clearly not what I asked for, and after checking my Laos guidebook about it, it costs 15 dollars. Those bastards at my hotel ripped me off and got me a 5 day visa for 15 dollars, pocketing the other 27 dollars I paid them. Well, at least I am going across the boarder, right? I figured I'd just explain my situation at the immigration office in Vientiane and all would be ok...
--
The Japanese girl, Chieko, said a sad goodbye to her two American travel companions and the Scottish guy who all had to go back. After an additional 90 minute mystery delay at the Laos boarder, the onion bus and it's remaining 2 foreigners, along with 4 other Vietnamese/Laos people, started down the mountain into Laos. There was a little trouble in the bus, because a woman on the bus took Cheiko's 2 liter bottle of water, opened it, drank about half of it, then put it back where she found it while we were out of the bus at the customs office. Cheiko was so sweet about it it made me immediately like her. She was angry, but she has such a good nature, she couldn't even show her anger on her face even though she tried. She didn't know what to do. She handed the bottle back to the woman trying to frown and explain that this was not cool. The woman just shrugged her shoulders and said that her little girl drank it. She didn't even apologize! She just pretended it wasn't their fault. She tried the give the half-consumed bottle back to Chieko like that would settle everything. So I gestured that she should keep the bottle she stole, and buy Chieko a new bottle at the next stop. That seemed to be understood.
--
I don't remember much of the rest of the afternoon. I tried to stay on my back as much as possible, trying to keep my butt from contact on the dirty vinyl seats and ignoring my hunger pangs. I realized that I hadn't taken a poop in about 3 days, mostly out of fear, but I knew that I would have to soon, and this made me very nervous considering the smallest fart was bringing tears of pain to my eyes. Mercifully, at around 4 pm, our bus blew a tire. I say mercifully because the timing of the blowout was perfect. The bus came to a stop directly across from a Laos restaurant, and about 100 meters from a tire repair shop. So, while the tire got repaired, we got to finally stop and eat something. Getting out of the bus was a struggle. There were so many bags of onions to crawl over, my back was stiff, and my brain was only functioning at about 10%. The restaurant had no menus, and nobody could speak English. Walking into the kitchen and pointing also proved to be useless, as there seemed to by only a bowl of weeds on the floor. Fortunately, Chieko had a Japanese guidebook for Laos that has photos of all kinds of Laos food. She just pointed and they made it. I pointed at the same thing and finally we had fried rice and my first Beer Lao in Laos. That cold beer tasted like nectar from the gods. The woman who stole her water bought two small bottles and gave us each one.

Back on the bus an hour later, we heading through some beautiful limestone karst mountain/jungle scenery, but I couldn't be bothered to sit up and take a single photo, I was just trying to get though this journey with as little movement and pain as was absolutely necessary. It was a struggle to get on and off the bus, so at a certain point, after that beer has passed through me, I really really really had to pee. So, I cut a hole into one of the empty 1.5 liter water bottles laying on the muddy floor and nearly filled it up, Then, at an opportune moment as I saw a big garbage pile on the side of the road, I chucked the bottle out the window into the garbage.
--
After another several rounds of reading, sleeping, waking, gazing out the window, reading, sleeping...we finally arrived in Vientiane at midnight. the total duration of the bus trip from the moment we first started up the engines in Hanoi to stopping in Vientiane was 27 and a half hours. My clothes were filthy and reeked of sweat and onions. Climbing off the bus only half awake in yet again a dark parking lot well outside of town, we were left with the option of either paying 2 dollars each for a single tuk tuk driver who waited there for us, or walk. Since we had no idea where we were, it was very late, and there were no other options, we settled on the tuk tuk driver, after talking him down to 3 dollars for the two of us. I picked out a hotel from the guidebook that sounded promising, but arriving, we found it full except for one room with a large bed for 9 bucks. Chieko said she would look elsewhere if I watched our bags. She's very clever. She came running back after about 5 minutes and said there was a dorm available up the street. We wearily checked in and after begging, were made some fried rice for dinner for a dollar each. The dorm bed cost $1.50. After showering, we both climbed into bed at around 2 am. Today I got up, found a better, though much more expensive place to stay, where I have been typing this story, and after leaving Shieko a note about where I am staying, headed to the immigrations office to try to straighten out my visa problem. Naturally, it was closed when I got there, so I went to the market across the street to kill some time. Who do I meet but my Japanese friend! We walk around a while and agree to meet for beers later. I head over to immigrations and am given the bad news. I can't buy a one month visa here. I can only extend my visa 15 days max at an additional cost of 2 dollars a day. If I overstay my visa, it's a $10/day fee. So, my current rip-off $42 transfer visa ends in 4 more days. I guess I will buy the 15 day extension and try to get though Laos quickly.
It's sad, I really wanted to spend a whole month here, but fate has forced other things. In order get a one month visa, I would have to go back to Bangkok, get a 1 month visa there, and come all the way back. Why does that sound completely retarded? Because it is. Those fuckers in Hanoi have forced me to cut my trip to Laos short. I'll be sure to post complaints online at the lonely planet thorn tree, and boots 'n all, and as many other traveler's web sites as I can to warn them about this hotel scam. So, now I'll just stay here for a few days in Vientiane, letting my poor ass recover, prepare for my journey, and get my emails/website/finances in order before traveling on.
--
12/3 Many things have happened to me while I've been recovering here in Vientiane. I have writing many stories about it, but I will spare you the details for now. But here's the lowdown:

1.) Got my visa worked out. I now have a MONTH in Laos. It took crossing the boarder into Thailand and coming back (about 3 hours), then a few more visits to the immigrations office for an extension.

2.) Catherine emailed me to tell me that we couldn't be boyfriend/girlfriend right now. This wasn't a surprise since we've hardly spoken in the last two months. It was inevitable, and we both knew it. Back to being good friends.

3.) Grover has an ear infection or polyp or broken eardrum and is getting an operation today, Friday. Please send good thoughts to the little guy. I miss him very much. I just had a dream about him the day before I found out about him.

4. Now I must go because I'm going to Vang Vein now!!!!

Hoi An

2005-11-25T23:34:00.000-08:00

Hoi An is awesome. It's beautiful, it's full of great restaurants, illuminated by beautiful lanterns, and along every street, tailors who will custom make you any clothes you want. You really can't escape Hoi An without spending money on clothes. It's well worth it, and besides, it's fun! But the real attraction is the town itself. Wandering the streets at night is fantastic...but I get ahead of myself. After the long overnight bus ride from Nha Trang, I ended up at a hotel in a nice little neighborhood. The 16 dollar room was a little steep, but it included a nice view of the swimming pool(!), free breakfast, free internet (didn't work so well), and best of all: free bikes! I reached Nada with my handy cell phone and convinced her to move to my hotel. We ended up spending every day together cruising around on our bikes, buying clothes, visiting temples, and going to the beaches in the day, and then going out to nice dinners and bars at night. We spent 4 or 5 days there, and it really was one of the highlights of my trip so far. The best experience was the night of the full moon. Nada and I took our bikes down to the water where there were all kinds of things going on. Traditional music, dancing, and most beautiful of all, hundreds of floating candles on the river. We hired a boat from a nice old woman and floated among them, the warm air was filled with music, incense and and the energy of hundreds of happy people, the full moon up above and the candles and lanterns of the old town reflecting in the water...It was magical. I made the mistake of not bringing my camera with me, so don't even ask about photos. It's makes me ill thinking about it. I do, however, have some video from my little camera. On our last night in Hoi An, we discovered Cao Lao at an outdoor food stall. It's a local specialty of veggies, fresh herbs, a little broth, and the delicious rice noodles that are specific to Hoi An cao lau, because they MUST be cooked only in this natural spring water that flows near town. They say that these noodles do not taste right if you cook them with anything but this water, so Cao Lao is specific to Hoi An. It's SOOO GOOD! Nada and I ate two big bowls of it, and could have eaten a third. After that, we had a beer on a nice old french-era balcony, and I saw down below: Marc from Nha Trang! , He was staying in a very cool old house near the market. Marc and Nada ended up traveling together the next day to Hue in the same bus, where they had fantastic horror stories of vomiting locals and flat tires. Nada, Marc and I stayed in Hue only one night and Nada and I took a boat tour together during the day to some overpriced tombs, but it was fun anyway. I hired a moto driver to a great old palace, where he told me a story I was getting familiar with: his father was in the South Vietnamese army, and died in prison. He and his brothers and sisters were not allowed to attend school. As soon as I tell someone who had family or was in the South Vietnamese army that I am an American, I have heard very similar stories of this type. One day when he was younger he tried to escape Vietnam by taking his boat to Taiwan - which at the time allowed you to be deported to the United States if you were family from anyone from the South Vietnamese Army. He had 10 other family members and neighbors on the boat with him, and just a mile before the river met the sea, where their escape would have been almost guaranteed, they were discovered by the new government. Half of the people on the boat were killed, including one of his brothers. He has learned English on his own because he wants his children to speak it, which goes a long way towards having a better life in Vietnam. Speaking English well can open a lot of doors. Anyway, he's a farmer and motorbike driver and has 2 kids and barely gets by. I gave him a sizable "tip" to help him buy books for his kids. Otherwise, the town of Hue was sort of dull, but the local food was good. The bus to Hanoi from Hue is a long overnight affair that I'd rather forget, so I am going to skip to Hanoi in my next entry, which is where Marc enters the picture to join our gang.

Nha Trang

2005-11-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

I took my open tour bus to Nha Trang for a little beach time. After Dalat, it seems like a dumpy little town. I sat down at the beach and found myself pestered by dozens of women wanting me to buy pinapple, postcards, peanuts, candy, chips, cigarettes, bla bla bla. They don't leave after you say no. So just hanging out alone and reading my book turned out to be a challenge. After a few minutes on the beach I noticed that I was sitting near a big bloated rat that had washed ashore. Ick. In Cambodia, I discovered how nice it is to run barefoot on the beach to get exercise. So I found a nice looking couple and asked them to watch my stuff while I went for a run, being careful to not step on the rat. After the run, I felt better about being there. I sat down again in the sand and soon two Vietnamese women sat near me and struck up a conversation. One of them spoke enough English for us to actually have a decent talk and I was in a good mood and was being funnier than usual, so we were all having a good time. We made plans to meet for dinner and had a good time feasting on fresh seafood at a nearby restaurant. After that night, I went on a one-day snorkle tour and met some fellow tourists with whom I've been traveling with ever since. It's been great traveling with Nada and Marc, and I wouldn't change anything, but I do realize what I've missed by not hanging with locals for these last two weeks. I stopped trying to learn Vietnamese, because it wasn't necessary anymore. I also stopped learning about the culture from the local's perspectives and really just started being a tourist with Nada and Marc. They are really fun & adventurous people, and are now good friends, so I really am not complaining. I just need to remember to keep a balance between hanging out with fellow travelers, and connecting with locals - so I can have the best of both worlds. Vietnam was a good balance, because I spent the first two weeks meeting locals, and then, as I grew weary of the difficulties of having this language barrier with everyone I met, I found two great Europeans with whom to go on adventures for the last two weeks. So I should mention the snorkle tour. If you go to Nha Trang, you MUST do the snorkle tour. Yes, there is snorkling, but the tour is really just about partying. Our boat was packed with people, over half of whom were Vietnamese. The westerners all went up to the top to get in the sun, while the Vietnamese all sat downstairs and got rowdy. After the first couple rounds of beers went around, the tour guide and his sidekick set up this rusty drum set and taped-up guitar and rocked the boat. Several Vietnamese guys in underwear and towels danced around in the middle. It was hysterical. After the first snorkle swim, we had lunch and then the best part... We all jumped in the water and a little styrofoam "bar" is set up and free (sickly sweet) dalat mulberry wine is served until everyone gets hammered. The French girl on the boat, who was rather unfriendly before, got so drunk, she had to be watched after for fear that she would drown. At one point, she jumped off the boat, climbed up onto a dock and stole a local woman's pointy hat. Another guy named Jacob and I had to jump in after her and get her back on the boat before real trouble erupted. Getting her back on board turned out to be a little challenging, because she didn't want to go. But she took a liking to Jacob, so she finally started allowing us to help her back up onto the boat. I ended up cutting my foot and legs on the side of the boat, which turned out to be pretty sharp on the edge just below the surface of the water. Not such a good design for a tour boat. Back on board, I met Nada (pronouced Nadia) from Slovokia. We were both headed to Hoi An so we exchanged cell phone numbers. That night, the westerners on the boat all met for drinks. There were three people from Canada - one couple from Vancouver, a nice German couple, Jacob from Denmark, Patricia the drunk French woman was now completely sober, and Marc from Holland. Nada left for Hoi An that night so she didn't join us. Marc seemed pretty cool and Nada had his email address, so we hoped to all re-connect in Hoi An. I got to bed by around 2 am that night after a lot of drinking and a little dancing, and left the next day for the overnight bus to Hoi An.

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Pickers

2005-11-23T23:01:00.000-08:00

Many SE Asians use toothpicks after every single meal. There are always toothpicks on the tables, and someone is always picking away somewhere nearby. However, it's apparently offensive to show your teeth when you using your toothpick because people hide their mouths with one hand while they pick their teeth with the other. However, nobody seems to mind when someone is picking their nose. Walking through the streets and markets in Vietnam I saw people digging for nose potatoes all the time. In Hanoi the waitress standing across from my table was picking away deeply into her nose and rolling away the bugers to the floor while I ate. While behind her, someone was carefully picking their teeth with one hand over their mouth. So picking your nose in public is ok, but showing your teeth when you use a toothpick is offensive. Get it? Neither do I.

Saigon and More

2005-11-23T02:35:00.000-08:00

11-23-05
Hi all. Sorry It’s been so long since I’ve written. I’ve been to Nha Trang, Hoi An, Halong Bay and am now I Hanoi, trying to sit still for a few days and REGROUP before my Vietnam visa expires and I am forced to fly off to Laos. Let’s see, where do I start? So in my last posting from Dalat I whined about finances a lot and promised to write about Saigon. I’ll avoid whining about money this time. Saigon is a big city – over 8 million people call it home, but somehow it feels small. Perhaps this is due to the fact that compared to any city in America, it feels squashed together. I’m not sure how to explain how densely populated this city is. There are motor scooters and people everywhere. Walking across the street required a strong will and a deep faith that every motor scooter driver careening directly at you will, at the last moment, swerve around you. It’s almost best to just close your eyes and slowly...steadily..walk…across the street. Riding on a motorbike is nearly as frightening. This was the first place since I left Bangkok that I was too chicken to rent a scooter. It looks like suicide to me. However, somehow all but a few people do it every day without accident. I was befriended by several local college students who took me out to the local hangouts, cheap dinners, and bowling. It was a great time. Only one of them could speak English in sentences that I could, with effort, comprehend. But the difficulty in having deep conversations was easily compensated with the feeling that I was really experiencing Saigon the way the Saigonese do. At least, the way the college-aged Saigonese do. They had almost no money, but they insisted on paying for everything. On our last night together (I went out with different combinations of them for 3 nights), I was giving a chime as a gift from one of them. It was so sweet. They were really great kids. Well, they certainly looked like kids. Vietnamese people look about 10 years younger than they are. And as you can imagine, I tower over everyone. Cau. That means tall in Vietnamese. I hear that word a lot when I am walking down the street or through markets. I am now conditioned to hear it as if my name was just spoken, so I always turn my head when I hear it…because I know who they are talking about. This always makes them smile, because they suddenly realize they’ve been caught talking about me. Then they say something else in Vietnamese to me, expecting me to understand…and of coarse I don’t. My Vietnamese is limited to about 10 words, unfortunately. Saigon really comes to life at night. There are little plastic chairs and tables that come out and cover the sidewalks, make-shift kitchens consisting of a burner and a big pot of something yummy, along with a big bowl of cooked rice are set up everywhere as soon as it starts getting dark. The tables are sized to be perfect for a very small child. The “chairs” a laughable little boxes of plastic not much larger than a shoebox. Sitting in one for long periods of time is guaranteed to make you sore. However, the food you get from these little street stalls is great. Strange meats wrapped in banana leaf. Cow? Pig? Dog? Pig I think. Dried squid. Pho…delicious noodle soup with fresh sprouts and basil and thin slices of meat. Bia hoi. This means “fresh beer”. It’s brewed locally, every day, and is meant to be consumed that night. Anything not sold is dumped. A big glass is 1000-2000 dong... about 7 cents. It’s cold and very light, lemony, and delicious. Cheaper than bottled water. Vietnamese, the language, has 6 tones, and if you use the wrong tone, even if you pronounce the word perfectly, you will be stared at as if you were speaking gibberish. It’s frustrating. I’ve really given up trying at this point. I have better luck just pointing, gesturing, and often…being completely misunderstood. To hear them speak, you would think that they are all yelling at each other. The all sound like they are pissed off, even if they are just talking about the weather. I think it’s partially because the tones that are required to be understood make them have to emphasize words by saying them harder or louder than other words…so they sound so serious and angry even when they are just chatting. It’s so strange. Anyway, I only got to hang out with a few other local people who spoke limited English, a couple of women from Nha Trang. We met one afternoon on the beach and ended up going out to dinner and walking around the town. They were a lot of fun, but the next day I met a bunch of fellow tourists on a snorkeling tour boat which turned out to be a big party boat. Everyone got smashed on free Dalat wine and danced to the crappy live band on the tiny boat. There were about 10 westerners – I was, as usual, the only American, and about 30 Vietnamese. They made us look like timid pussies. They were jumping around in their undies on the “dance floor”, having a great time while we just stood back and laughed. I met Nada and Marc on the boat. We were all heading to Hoi An so we ended up meeting again there. Nada moved to my hotel and we ended up spending several days together in Hoi An. That’s another story. What happened when I met Marc and Nada was this: I stopped mingling with the Vietnamese and started mingling with people with whom I could speak to easily. So my immersion in the culture sort of shifted to outsider again…but the trade off has been to have two new friends that I’ve shared really great times with as we traveled together. We are all actually sharing a big room tonight. Marc is leaving for India tomorrow, and I will be heading to Laos in a few days. Nada is heading to Bangkok and then to Australia. So we are all parting ways for what may be a very long time – perhaps never meeting again…but I know I should never say never. So, tonight we are going to go out and get drunk in Hanoi. This means I need to stop writing. I still have so many more stories to tell! So next time I need to talk about my adventures in Hoi An and Hue with Nada and then our rendezvous with Marc in Hanoi, and the adventures we shared in Hanoi and Halong Bay! It’s so hard to keep up! Tonight more adventures will pile up on the old ones!

Dalat

2005-11-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends.

I am sitting in a restaurant in central Viet Nam. I've been on the road for just over a month now. I've had some great times, and I've had times like these, when it's been days since I've really talked to someone who doesn't want me to buy something. Here in Dalat, it seems like every moto driver wants to take you on a tour of central Vietnam on their motorbike. It actually sounds pretty good. You go to waterfalls and lakes and villages and see a silk factory and longhouses and rice paper making, and so on and so forth. The trouble is that they want about 50 bucks per day, and the trips are from 3 to 5 to 20 days long. My budget for asia is "supposed" to be 15 bucks a day, in reality, it's been over 30. The trip would be cheaper if I was sharing the cost of my room, but not much. Anyway, I don't think I'll do it. I'll see plenty of indigenous people in Laos and Myanmar. Besides, Vietnam is really most interesting when you are meeting the Vietnamese, not visiting toursty waterfalls, and semi-"authentic" minority people's villages. In case I haven't mentioned it to everyone, I bought a cell phone in Saigon, and it was surprisingly expensive. But now I have a cell phone in case anyone wants to call or better yet, TEXT message me, because I don't have voicemail on it. You can text me and tell me when to call you or vice versa...I have an internet phone I can call from when I am online and it's very cheap for me. However, right now I am having problems with it. My account has been blocked for some reason. I am trying to figure out why. However, I think you can still leave me voicemail at my skype number, which is a Seattle number: 1-425-296-2591.

My Vietnam cell phone number is: 084 (vietnam country code, might only need to dial 84, not sure) + 090-836-3560

I'm also not sure text messaging service is international, but it seems to work from local Vietnamese I've met who message me nearly everyday! Just text message me and we will find out!

By the way, Saigon was absolutely great! I met some great local Saigonese, we went out for dinners, bowling, ice cream... really fun. The city has a great energy and made me a little bit crazy...but in a good way. I will definitely go back to Saigon. It's my favorite city in Asia so far. I will post a blog about my time there later, because I'm STILL processing the experience.

Phnom Penh

2005-10-29T02:10:00.000-07:00

After sadly leaving Sihanoukville, I headed up to Phnom Penh for what I'd been told was a totally crazy place. It didn't disappoint. Stepping off the bus, you are surrounded by touts wanting to take you to their hotel. Be sure to have a place in mind before you step off the bus, and stick to it. They will tell you all kinds of lies so that you'll go to their hotel. Oh that place is closed, it's flooded, it's very dirty, very expensive, very far away, etc. I paid a buck to be taken about a mile down the road to the lakeside where there are several super cheap places to stay. I was told that they were all flooded because the lake was flooding from all the rain. I was actually surprised to find that they weren't entirely lying. My guesthouse had piles of bricks and wood planks set up on the flooded areas, but you still ended up stepping in water. Shoes are left at the waterline. Several rooms were flooded, but mine was a few steps up, so it was fine. I actually saw a few fish and lake snails attached to some of the doors. The lake is beautiful and it's hard to believe that you are in the middle of the capital of Cambodia. It had a nice laid back feel. Several Cambodian men just hang out there all day, hoping to make a little money from tourists by giving them rides, selling them pot, whatever you want. However, they are very blasé about it. If you want something, just ask, but they don't hassle you. It's actually very refreshing. The traffic at first glance looks completely insane. People are driving the wrong way down the street, there are people pushing carts and towing huge stacks of baskets plus 2 passengers on a single motorbike. Traffic signals are merely "suggestions" to stop or go. I really don't like getting hassled from drivers whenever I step outside, so I decided to get my own wheels, I also decided to do it because I thought it would be a little crazy. It was a great time! The rules of the road are easy: Don't hit anything, and anything bigger than you has right of way. To turn left on a two-way street, you actually head over into the oncoming traffic well before your turn and get to the side of the road, then you just hug the left turn corner and maneuver your way back into the proper flow of traffic. It's surprisingly efficient and easy to learn. However, seeing hundreds of scooters coming straight at you can be a little unnerving at first. I drove around Phnom Penh for two days and never had even a close call. One of the places that really affected me was visiting the former Khmer Rouge torture site, To lung Sleng. It was a former school before the KR converted it into a horrific prison. Reading about Pol Pot and the KR, I have been staggered by the brutality and sheer numbers of people killed. Nearly half of all people living in the cities were killed. Every single Vietnamese person who didn't escape was killed. Something like a quarter of the population was killed. Insanity. The photos of the prisoners at the site are very moving. The fear and sadness in their eyes. Some of them show signs of brutal beatings. There are also relics of the torture devices, and the leg irons that were used to chain the prisoners to a long iron bar where they slept side by side on the concrete floor. Death was preferable to staying alive there. The KR took measures to prevent people from killing themselves, like barb-wiring the balconies so nobody would jump over. On the lighter side of Phnom Penh, I met a local guy who rode with me to a disco where we danced and drank expensive beers. When we left the bar later, the streets were completely flooded from a downpour. I drove home in what seems more like a river than a street. Several times I was certain that my scooter was going to stall out in the deep water, but I found my way home - completely soaked and exhilarated by the insanity of it. I'd definitely go back to Phnom Penh and Cambodia. I found the people very warm, fun, and genuinely kind. Leaving the laid-back feel of Cambodia for the crazy hustle and bustle of Vietnam was actually culture-shock. The two countries are VERY different.

Irene

2005-10-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

I met my neighbor next to my bungalow in Sihanoukville and she is terrific.
Her name is Irene, and she is 24, Italian, and beautiful. I know what your thinking, but nothing happened, so don’t get excited. She was at the end of her trip, and I am at the beginning, but we got to be friends and enjoyed several days of beach time, waterfalls, markets, dancing, dinners, and getting stoned. She had only been in town a few days longer than me, but she had friends all over town. She makes friends very easily because she has such an open and social spirit. It was very good being with her, because I learned a lot about how to really engage life and share that with the people I meet, live each day to the fullest, and how keeping a smile on your face can really open the doors wherever you go. She told everyone that she had a boyfriend and she wore a wedding ring, but that was all forshow. If you saw her, you would understand. She didn’t want to be hassled by every guy who met her. Ididn’t hassle her, and I think she really appreciated that. Instead, I got to just spend lots of time with her and it was fantastic. I really needed a good traveling companion and I found the perfect one in Irene. My only worry is that I am now spoiled by her. She was such a good time, everyone else I meet won’t live up to the fun I had so early in my trip with her. I’m sure I will met more wonderful people, but there’s always something unforgettable about those first great memories of a trip. The first time I came to SE Asia, when I went to Indonesia over 11 years ago, it was such an unforgettable first impression. I still remember very clearly every person I met those first few weeks on the road. That first time buzz never really comes back when you return to Asia again, but I definitely still feel a strong buzz from meeting Irene and being able to have all of this experience crammed into such a short time…I’m feeling so alive! And maybe that's the best part of traveling, you leave a bit of yourself with others, and you take a bit of them with you. I have finally gotten a decent night’s sleep. I was up until 3 am talking and laughing with 2 Tazmanian mechanics who just got into town after touring Viet Nam for 3 months. They were really great totalk to last night, and we sat down by the lake and watched these big clumps of floating plants move around the lake like they had brains. It was very “invasion of the body snatchers”. They plants will come and crowd around the water-level veranda where we were sitting and you got the feeling that they were coming to grab us with their root-tenticles and pull us into the water to eat us before moving on. The ever abundant local smoke always helps with such imaginings. Ok, time to get out of my room and join the living. I’m going out to eat breakfast and take a look at this city with it’s “wild west” reputation.

Greg

10/27/05

Koh Chang

2005-10-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

I am on the island of Koh Chang off the Eastern coast of Thailand. This island is the second largest in Thailand and holds some of the last untouched jungle in all of SE Asia. The beaches on the Western side of the island are slowly being built up. The old hippy bungalows are being razed and are being replaced by enormous 50+ room hotels. This backpacker's getaway is slowly disappearing. So if you want to see it, see it soon. I am staying at a lovely little set of bungalows here on the beach and have met a nice couple from Chiang Mai who have befriended me and taken me out on the "town" for the last two nights. The "town" consists of a single packed bar and several dozen completely empty ones. Let me just say that every single western man who arrived here without a girlfriend and perhaps several who did, has a Thai girlfriend here on Koh Chang. Everyone except me that is. Let me give the example of my bungalow neighbors: To my right is the 50-something man with his 40-something Thai woman, her 4 kids are staying across from me in a separate bungalow. Next to them is the short balding fat racist white guy, a real charmer, with the entourage of at least 4 Thai women he has brought along with him. Then there is Ross, the 38 year old Scottish man and has his lovely girlfriend Jum. They are staying just to the left of my place. They are the nice couple I have befriended. Ross lives and works as English school teacher in Chiang Mai, up in Northern Thailand, and so his having a Thai girlfriend is completely understandable. They are on a short holiday before heading back. He's a great guy and I've had a good time getting to know him. Ross has explained the situation happening here on Koh Chang. Middle-aged male Farangs (westerners) come to Thailand looking for a good time. The good times last as long as the money does. It's a sort of rent-a-girlfriend deal.

Thai women out-number Thai men by nearly two to one. The women do all the work while their husbands are usually at a bar getting loaded. However, the Thai women are certainly the ones in charge here. They make all of the decisions and run most of the businesses behind closed doors. There are apparently many lazy, good-for-nothing husbands who are either off having affairs or they just simply disappear one day after a few kids have come along (perhaps to the relief of the wives). So, many children in Thailand end up being raised by their grandparents while mom works all day trying to support them. Just about any farang on holiday here is clearly much richer than the average Thai. Given the kind of somewhat seedy culture that we farangs are building here, simply by coming here and spending most of our money on booze and women, it's hard for me to not believe that most Thais either dislike us or, at best, simply tolerate our rude and tasteless ways because of our tourist dollars. But somehow Thai people remain always kinds, warm, welcoming and good-hearted.

Not to make you jealous, but I'm going to go sailing/snorkling on a catamaran all day tomorrow for 20 bucks. Then my new plan is to go to Shanikville Cambodia (another beach town) and then to Phnom Penh, which I've been told I CAN'T MISS if only to be astounded by the sheer insanity of it. Then I'm off to Saigon (Ho Chi Min City), Viet Nam, and then mosey on up to Hanoi before heading over to Laos... I'm seem to be doing a lovely tour of shameful US military bombing campaigns! I'll try not to step on any landmines. That remindes me:
Please write to your senators and tell them to STOP BUSH from lifting the INTERNATIONAL BAN on landmines. Yes that's right. Every other country in the world considers landmines barbaric and there has been an international ban to stop production of them for some time now. They kill and maim absolutely indiscriminately and there are far too many accounts of when a child or farmer gets completely blown up from a 20 year old land mine, or (on the front page of Bangkok's paper yesterday), a young elephant and his brother get their legs maimed while helping to move timber for a logging operation near the Burmese-Thai border; landmines from WWII! Somehow, however, our lovely government sees nothing wrong with starting development on new landmines (called Spiders), even though the rest of the world has has banned them. That's our tax money being used to make internationally banned landmines. Is it any wonder the rest of the world hates us? Thanks for giving me one more reason to apologize for my country Mr. Bush.

Sorry for the rant there.

As always, my plans are subject to changes due to whims of fancy, weather patterns, and flips of the coin.

Greg

One Night In Bangkok

2005-10-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

I started my big year-long trip around the world by missing my flight. Yep. I thought I was to leave at 2 in the afternoon, when actually I was supposed to leave 12 hours earlier, at 2 AM. I was put on a wait list for Wednesday. So there I was, all ready and no where to go. I had already said goobye to everyone, and so I just wanted to hide until I got on the next flight. Catherine and I had a nice "free day" of walking around downtown while she shopped for clothes for her own excursion. It was nice.... I really miss her. I am slowly adjusting to the hot humid stickiness that is Bangkok. The food is cheap and so damn good. So many great things to eat and buy and do.... So much that my brain has broken. Every thing I try to decide to do becomes this huge deal. By chosing, we deny the other choices...so it's best not to choose. This logic allows you to do nothing...until you are forced to choose. Then the choice is usually not the best, but the only. Not a good way to live really. So, when my brain starts working again, I'll probably choose to leave Bangkok and head down to Ko Chang...hopefully before my 38th birthday in a few days. I'm just not going to rush myself. I need time to adjust to my new life.

One Month

2005-09-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

September 2nd,

One month and counting...

The pieces are falling into place. With Catherine's help, I have started
packing my things up. The bookshelves are empty, my shrine is boxed up, my
various chachkis are packed away. The house is becoming zen-like in
simplicity. I love it. Ahsha is coming over in an hour to look over things
again, decide what furniture she wants out. I just cancelled my health
insurance in exchange for some different traveller's insurance I am using,
which is remarkably cheaper.

But the big news is this: At some point today, I will supposedly have
deposited into my E-trade account, 492 shares of Eddie Bauer Holdings stock!
I'm not sure what that's worth exactly, but you can look up the value of
EBHC online and figure it out. Right now I think it's worth about 10,000
smackers. At long last, I will finally be repaid for the money they've
owed me for nearly three years. I have to say, it may have been a
blessing in disguise, for if I had simply received that money when it was
due, I probably wouldn't have saved it to go on this trip. Many people
have asked how I am financing my trip. Well this is it. With this deposit
of 492 shares I will also receive the funds I need to travel for a year.
I had be acting on faith that I would see this money before I left on my
trip, and fortunately, it's worked out. Perhaps it's a lesson to be learned
about how some misfortunes can become just what we need.

Countdown 4 weeks

2005-08-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

Shit shit shit. Why am I going on this trip anyway? Everyone I talk to is "so jealous" about my trip. So now I feel this obligation to have the "trip of a lifetime" just so I don't dissapoint them. But, I don't even know the real reasons for doing this. Sure, I've always wanted to do something like this, but in a very vague, general way. Now that it's actually going to happen, I really feel like I should have more concrete reasons for picking up and leaving for a year. Ok, so let me try to figure it out:
1. Travelling educates, broadens the mind, frees one from prejudices, helps one to discover oneself, bla bla bla. Still very vague, simplistic, and perhaps naive reasons really. Some other reasons I've said to people, for lack of a real answer; 2. To see if I want to be a travel photographer. 3. To shoot stock images. 4. To perhaps have a show/book of my photographs when I return. What I haven't said is that I just don't know my real reasons. One of the unspoken reasons for going is to try to get over Robin, my girlfriend of 5 years, who dumped me last January. Is that reason enough? The other unspoken reason is that I just feel a little lost right now. I need to shake things up. My "career" as a photographer has always been a bit lackluster, to be honest. I feel a little directionless. Perhaps I need to push myself into taking better photos by going out into the world with nothing to hide behind but my camera. The other reason is that I feel like it's now or never. I'm coming up on 38 now. I don't have a house or kids. I haven't had a "real job" in over a decade. If I want to take off for a year, and not have those troublesome responsibilites of mortgage, children, or job, I better do it now before I acquire any of them. Perhaps these are all just excuses. Perhaps I'll find the real reason once I am out there. In any case, right now all I am thinking about is what I am giving up. My place, my cat, and perhaps mostly, Catherine. I miss her already and she's not even gone yet. Why did I fall in love? It was supposed to be a simple summer romance. The only reconciliation is that she would be leaving whether I went on this trip or not. She is going off to work on a cruise ship for 6 months, perhaps longer. I would only be miserable if I stayed here. So off I go. I need to stop trying to find reasons to regret it and just GO GO GO.

Last Photo Test

2005-08-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

I shot a test with two models yesterday. Shari Noble did the styling and Katie Maco did the hair & make up. We shot at Jive Time Records on Pine St. It was great fun! Everyone; the models, the parents, the people at Jive Time, everyone, was so nice. God that helps. I still haven't looked at all the photos. But here's one.... (Click on the photo to see it bigger.)

5 Weeks and counting

2005-08-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

The anxiety is racheting up now that the weeks until liftoff can be counted on one hand. I don't feel so freaked out, but I'm not sleeping so well, my stomach burns when I eat, and my dentist says I'm grinding my teeth. Great. My biggest worry on this trip has nothing to do with the trip at all. I worry that something might happen to my buddy Grover. I love that cat too much. He's 14 now, and I just wouldn't be able to deal if he, gulp, died while I was on my trip. I hope the new subletter treats him like the little spoiled prince that he is. I should perhaps mention the subletter. Her name is Ahsha. I found her via craigslist and decided she was the one after talking to her for about 30 minutes when she came over. She seems very responsible, smart, and good with Grover. I'll be seeing her again on the 2nd of Sept to go over more stuff. So much to do. I've just got to keep it together.

THE BLOG BEGINS!

2005-07-19T01:35:00.000-07:00

I just announced to most of my friends that I am going to go on a year-long trip around the world. Now I guess I really have to do it or look like I'm chicken.

So Greg Jerrett says, "You should set up a blog, that would be cool." And I though, yeah, that could be cool. My trip is "supposed" to start in October sometime. Anyway, I'm thinking of trying to get out of here on the first or soon thereafter. I still need to decide where I'm going a little more clearly, find an agent, get my ticket, find someone completely awesome to sub-let my place and take care of Grover, and get my shit together. Right now, with just over 2 months to go before my hopeful departure, I am still in denial that I have so much to do. I DID take the first step: I got vaccinated. Hep A, Typhoid, Tetnious, Menengitus, Malaria pills.... Cat's made a list of Chinese herbs to take along too. So the ball is finally rolling....