Lovin Luang Prabang

So we arrived in Luang Prabang yesterday and it was interesting before we even got off the plane. There is only one run way and only one plane per day flies into LP. You have to walk out to the terminal (more like a tiny building) and you enter a different world. Once we got into the city it is all old cobblestone streets and French architecture that hasn't changed since the French occupied Laos about 40 years ago. You also see the influence on the baguettes and doughnuts sold by street vendors, French street signs..... but dont let that fool you... no one here speaks anything but Laotian. We were walking through the streets and it is so beautiful. I really don't think i could capture how amazing the natural beauty is here in words on this blog. We saw a small river, the Nam Thang (three rivers merge here in LP.... the Mekong, Nam Thang, and some other one) All the little local kids were swimming in the river and jumping off this rickety old bamboo bridge... so i decided to join in. It was me and about 10 little Laotian kids jumping into this river (which had a really fast current) and all of us in our undies. Cause i was a white kid we caught a little attention by the locals all looking and laughing... i am guessing it was because of my outrageous farmers tan. Probably the most fun i have had while i have been here. It was beautiful... this old bamboo bridge with the muddy water and the Laotian mountains in the background and everything is so green and tropical with all the little kids having a blast. Dont worry... got lots of pictures... but i don't have a card reader here so i think i will have to keep everyone in suspense until i get back home. Then at the night market i bought some old antiques... an old opium pipe and an opium scale all for pretty freaking cheap. Today we head to Vang Vien after a trip to a water fall.

Made it to Laos... and its amazing... more to come later

Be sure to read the comments section to see what people think of the blog.... i am trying to comment back to the comments so i dont have to send emails.

Leaving for Laos... well maybe

Well today should be the last day for Thailand. We are going to try to catch a flight into Luang Prabang. We tried yesterday but the flight was canceled.... seems to be a continuing trend here. Cause they canceled the Wednesday flight as well... so we will see. Considering it was pouring down all last night and today (yeah... dry season my ass). I have heard that Laos is suppose to be awesome. Pristine scenery, very remote, not touristy, cheap, tubing down the mekong, lots of island bars. Everyone says that it is there favorite place in Asia.... that might have to do with the mushroom shakes and weed pizza... but i guess we will just have to see.

And REMEMBER, the amount of comments that you post to my blog is directly proportional to how much you love me but I wont call anyone out.... Mom and Dad.... I love getting comments. And Faith Nicole, I would really like some updates on my niece and nephew!

Still trying to stay dry in Thailand.

I fell in love with a Thai woman...

..and her name is Jokia... which means "Eye from heaven" in Thai. She is 55 yrs old and blind in both eyes hence the name Jokia). She is an Asian elephant rescued from an illegal logging company in Thailand and now living on an elephant reserve on the Thai-Burma Border. I heard about this trip from some other travelers who said that it was amazing... so I had to check it out for myself. I have been wanting to do a trek with elephants but was planning on waiting until Laos until I heard about this elephant rescue program. In 1993 Thailand outlawed logging of Thai tropical forests which was a huge step in the right direction for preserving habitat for wild elephants... but a huge problem for domesticated elephants who were now out of un-employed. For the mahouts (elephant care takers) and elephants to survive, all the un-employed turned to tourism. Elephants are made to beg for money on the streets and take pictures with tourists, carry tourists on their back in metal saddles... making there mahouts over $50 dollars a day... about the same as a months income for an average Thai. It really makes me sick. Domesticated elephants are considered livestock and treated like cheap labor here. Absolutely no animal rights in this country. At the nature reserve there are 31 elephants: some missing limbs due to land mines, some abused by logging companies, some addicted to methamphetamine in order to carry more tourists with less food, some blind. It is seriously so sad.... we watched a documentary on the way to the park and i cried the whole way.
So my elephant was rescued from the illegal logging in northern Thailand. The owners made her work long hours with little food or water. She was pregnant and had to deliver her baby on the mountain while logging. The baby elephant ended up rolling down the mountain and dying. The mom went into depression and would only lay down and refused to eat or even get up. So the mahouts shot out her eyes with arrows and slingshots in order to convince her to work. The park rescued her and when she got to the park another elephant, Mae Perm, adopted her and now never leaves her side. She kind of acts like her eyes. Jokia walks using her trunk as a walking stick or by holing Mae Perm. Its really sad but sweet to see the other elephant looking out for her. In the morning we went to the market to get all the food for the day. Then unloaded it and had fed out elephant. The coolest thing was when i got to give Jokia a bath in the river... it was incredible. I want to write more but we are meeting some friends at the bar. Tomorrow we are leaving for Laos (or at least trying to... seems a bit hard to get there) so i might not be able to post for a few days. Also a baby elephant kissed me, blew water all over me, and threw sand at me.... so awesome
NEVER PAY FOR ANY ELEPHANT RIDES EVER OR FOR ELEPHANTS BEGGING ON THE STREET.... it just contributes the abuse.
You can check out the organization at: www.elephantnaturepark.org

Thai food deliciousness

Yesterday me and Vida decided to take a Thai cooking class and it was so freaking sweet. The day started with a trip to the market. It was my job to buy Tiger Prawns for the whole group.... Vida got Chinese Kale. So we get out to the cooking school and start our 8 hour glutinous feast. Seriously.... you cook 6 dishes and then have to eat all of them. We learned how to cook Pad Seeuew (kinda like pad thai and just as delicious), Chicken with yellow curry (also fan-f$#$ing-tastic), Spicy prawn salad, Fish cooked in a banana leaf pyramid, Cashew Nut Chicken, and bananas in coconut milk. We ate a ton of food and learned a lot about thai food..... will we be able to make this shit back home.... not so sure.

Talking to a Monk

So now i will diverge from my normal humorous writing for a more serious topic. Yesterday i decided to go to a Temple for a Monk Chat... basically a time for travelers to come to temple and sit down and talk with the monks. This gives the monks a chance to practice their English, but also for travelers to learn more about the buddist culture and way of life of a monk. Really an awesome experience. I sat down by one of the older monks. Here in Thailand you see monks everywhere. Most boys in Thailand are a monk for a least a small part of their life (some for a week, a month.. however long you want to). You see them all over town in their Orange robes, no watches or technolgy, shaved heads and eyebrows. But I never really talked to one.... always seemed a little too Holy and i didnt know if was acceptable to just walk up and start talking. That is what the monk chat is for. To show tourists who monks are, and i was extremly impressed. The monk i talked to was incredibly worldly and knowledgable.... he probably knew more about Christianity than I do (i know thats not saying a lot but the dude was smart). I asked him about the Burmese government slaughter of Buddist Monks in Burma(which I am only about 1 hour drive from Burma in CM), about the boycott of the Beijeng Opening Ceremonys due to the Chinese treatment of Tibet, and also the question that i really wanted to know... why they shave their eyebrows (i was couth enough to ask those seemingly intellegent questions first). I also learned a lot about Buddism... truely an interesting religion. Budda was not a deity... he was just on ordinary person that found enlightenment in his own life at age 35. Buddism believes in truth in all religion. When i asked him about how he felt about the slaughter of Buddist monks in Burma (now Mynamar.... but in protest of the current regime many here refuse to acknowledge the gov name change to Mynamar... so i will go with Burma cause those guys are bad)... his response was.... "it makes me sad. Not for just the monks but for all the people in Burma that suffer." Interesting take when many of his friends have been killed by the current government. I think if i were in his shoes i would lean more towards pissed off. I think everyone could learn a little from the monks. I was very impressed by how cool (can a monk be cool?) and down to earth they all were. Really an experience i wont forget

Sweet Baby Jesus Really Loves Me.. Cheese and a Massage

SO i really like Chang Mai. Really i completly different feel from Bangkok. Much more of a cultural city... you can get German, Thai, Mexican, Italian foods... nice change from just rice and noodles. People arnt all trying to rip you off or sell you everything, and they listen when you say no.
I was walking down the street the yesterday.... and there sitting on the corner in all of its delicious gloriousness, McDonalds. Dont judge me. Before i came on this trip I was also one of those westerners determined to experience every aspect of SE Asian Culture and scoffed at the other travlers clinging to their culture by eating the expensive "WESTERN BREAKFAST" instead of the cheap noodles like the real thia people. But there comes a point in a mans life when he just needs a freaking piece of cheese. How can a culture with such culinary apptitude miss the boat on the deliciousness that is cheese.. So yes i had my cheeseburger because at that point i was willing to trade my intergrity and traveler values for a piece of cheese... even if it was on a McD's burger.
Next to McD's was a massage parlor. I have never been the one for massages and have never had one... didnt really see the appeal. But this heat and walking everywhere can run you down... So decided to try it out. It was ORGASMIC.. but not in the Thai "Happy Ending" sort of way, strictly platonic (Happy Ending is where the little Thai ladies rub one out for you after the massage for a few extra baht..... sorry Asian ladies but your not really doing it for me.) But damn it was amazing.
Today me and Vida are taking a Thai cooking class that lasts all day... so will let you all know how it goes later.

I miss everyone and hope everyone had fun at Ann's party... wish i could have been there. Lots of love from Chang Mai.

So much for preemptive planing

So I am now writing from Chang Mai... which thank God is not as hot as freaking Bangkok. I took a VIP (take the term lightly) sleeper bus from Bangkok overnight to CM. Well, good news is that the bus was fairly nice (which it should have been for $30... i am bitter but whatever), bad news is that the roads are HORRIBLE. I was getting thrown all over the guy next to me and none of us got any sleep on that damn ride north. So i thought i was being super smart by traveling at night so i didnt have to pay for a hotel, BUT, when you get into CM at 4 AM no hotels are open or they just say that they are full so they dont have to wake up to help you (and after the 10 hour drive on pothole alley i was exhausted). So that left me aimlessly wondering the streets for someone who would give me a room. Finally found a place that had a room with a fan for 400 baht (that is about $13 US... and you dont know how much that pains me to pay that much for a roach nest of a room.. and yes there are roaches..big ones... i just write it off by saying everyplace has roaches... i can just see them better at this specific establishment). But on the bright side there is a pool. But so much for preemptive planning... never has been my strong suit. I guess thats a good thing about traveling in SE Asia though, there is a lot of shit that will make you mad... but then there is always an upside. I am just hoping the upside to this hotel doent end with me getting bed bugs or scabies. I am terrified of getting bed bugs while i am here, sad but true. AND VIDA comes tomorrow... this should be fun :)

Check out Jami's and Vida's travel blog

I just wanted to let you know I added Vida's travel blog to my list of links. I know that the fam will want a second opinion of all my activites.... so go check out her blog. We will be meeting up on Sat morning in Chang Mai. And i know the rest of you are already checking out Jami's from the comments.

Still having a blast and cant wait to come home and see everyone at graduation.... yikes.... still cant believe that i am about to be an MD. Love everyone and hope all is well back in the mother country.

For Your Entertaiment Pleasure: Ping Pong Continued

I just wanted to thank all you guys for your comments.... i love logging on to hear what you guys have to say about my travels. So thanks for reading and keep the comments coming. Since the ping pong show caught everyones attention I thought I would add some more about it.
Well when we first walked in and was swarmed by the performers i guess you would call them.... and before I realized what was happening I was holding a big ass candle and being pushed up to the stage.... where low and behold there was a chick laying there with a metal tube coming out of her va-jay-jay. Then a huge puff of air came out as she quefed (sp?) the candle out. So then she sang "Happy Bert-day" to me. Gotta love you some Thailand. What really disturbes me is that there must be some people in the world that get off to that stuff. For me it was just the pure novelty of it all. I was just glad that all the customers in that joint were young backpackers like me and not creepy old dudes. It had more the feel of a comedy show than something perverted. I had my first brush with the law yesterday too when I accepted a 20 baht tuk tuk ride. I was really impressed because i thought it was the first time one of the drivers wasnt trying to rip me off and felt like i was getting a pretty good price. BUT... halfway in the drive i realized that he was trying to say 200 baht. So I was like NO way! I knew that was too high. So i told him i would give him a 20 and walk the rest of the way. So he called the Police over. Crazy. I think it was because the popo spoke a little better English and not that he wanted me arrested. I ended up giving him a 20 baht and 1 US dollar and an apology and walked my happy ass the rest of the day. Yet another day of avoiding Thai prison. Heres to tomorrow!

Ping Pong Anyone??

Wow... i am having an awesome time here. more fun than i even thought that i would. I was excited about traveling by myself this week but also a little nervous.... especially with a lack of people that speak english. But it has been amazing. So this is the part where Aunt Deb should probably stop reading... haha. I know the audience of this blog is for the most part family but i think it is my journalistic duty to be uncensored with this blog. So i met some really cool people at my hotel. I met a really cool guy from Israel and he was traveling with his folks who dont really go out. So we decided we were going to explore Bangkok. Well... ""Dry Season" is really a misnomer because it freaking poured down last night. But me being the cheap ass that i am didnt want to pay money for a taxi so i made Orin ride in a tuk tuk. Well by the time we got to the red light district we were freaking soaked. The big thing in Bangkok is Ping pong shows. So in order to better understand Thai culture we decided to explore such an establishment. WOW! Must admit that it was a little shocking/gross/impressive. With such skills as: shooting ping pong balls out of vagina, shooting a blow gun with dart to pop a ballon with vagina, opening a coke bottle with vagina(pry off top), and multiple other removal of foreign objects. After the show (the finale was a live sex show.... and Colin, Kara, and Jami it would have made you proud... no dry humping here in Thailand. In NOLA it is lame dry humping. When the workers at the club see white guys they swarm... its like they can smell money or something. But when a group of Indian guys walked in none of them even stood up. When me and Orin walked in there were about 10 girls all trying to grab our junk. Disturbing. Then we went out to the bars and I ended up meeting this group of Irish folks that knew where bars stayed open all night. So we ended up partying until 7:30am the next morning.... crazy. Irish people are so cool. And today i returned to my room only to find that everything was soaking wet because the freaking ceiling leaks. But the good news is that they put me in a MUCH nicer room for the same price. UPGRADE. Since i am about out of time on my card i have to cut this short.

One Night in Bangkok and the worlds my oyster

So that is a reference to a song but I am not sure if my reading audience will get that. BUT... I made it and am having an awesome time. It really is nice to travel alone and meet random new people. I met the coolest tuk tuk driver today (a tuk tuk is a go kart from hell that travels on the highways and i am sure will kill you if it ever gets in a wreck)> Sorry if stuff is spelled wrong but spelling has never been my strong point and i am drunk off cheap thai beer. But after 1 day i am totally templed out... HOLY HELL. tHERE are so many freaking temples here!!! I saw 4 today. Hired a tuk tuk (and survived) and went to 4 temples (or wats... that is basically thai for temple). Switched guesthouses thank sweet baby jesus! THE other one was nasty. So hot here. Met some really cool people. Tonight i am going out to some clubs (aka ping pong shows) with a dude i met from New York via Israel. SO should be interesting to say the least. I just really like being here. So far not home sick at all. Everyone should be glad that i am being ultra safe... nothing illegal so far... haha. Lots of tourists but not many Americans. What i totally wish i had was a Thai phrase book. Jesus... i seriously thought that there would be more English speaking people. There goes my American-everyone-revolve-around-me mentality. But seriously... so frustrating. It is so hard to even say hello or thank you in Thai.... i swear that my mouth cant make that kind of sound. But i am slowly learning. From the sounds of it I CAN speak much better thai than most of the tourists that i have met. But my go to phrase is "how much?" which is probably bad for the walllet.... but considering how much of a cheap skate i am i dont think that there is anything to worry about. Today i got a TUK TUk for 4 hours and only paid the dude $1.50. AND ONE LAST story for the road.... I dont have any pants... and you have to have pants for the temples or they wont let you in... so i rented the most hideous pair of women pajama pants in the world... they were really bad... every american tourist commented on my pants at the temple.... but i dont care cause they were super cheap. I MISS EVERYONE AND CANT WAIT TO SHARE MORE OF MY STORIES.

Phoot Thai mai dai

translation - "I don't speak Thai"
So it is currently less than T minus 2 weeks before I depart for my month long tour of SE Asia... to include Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. I will try to use this blog to keep everyone in the loop so that everyone will know that I am still alive without me having to send weekly emails to everyone confirming that i am still alive.