As I am blanketed with e-mails regarding the upcoming Waterwheel party in Amakusa, Kumamoto, I think back on all the great jumps I made from the bridge at the hallowed site. Whether it was an early morning plunge or a late night/mid-thunderstorm suicide jump, I always enjoyed it. So when I arrived yesterday on Ko Phi Phi island in Southern Thailand and saw a sign for cliff jumping, well, I was delighted to say the least.
I met my guide Roy at about 10:30 am and was happy to learn no one else would be joining us. No one else to get in the way of Roy's cliff jumping expertise and my willingness to absorb his tutelage. We headed out on a small boat in the intense sunshine to some cliffs overlooking the center strip of the I shaped island. Roy gave me some substantial rubber shoes and rubber gloves and I was quite happy he did as we climbed up razor-sharp limestome formations. Over the next hour and a half, I attempted six jumps.
#1 - 8 meters (Hey Americans, 1 meter ~ 3 ft [Got Metric?])
#2 - 12 meters from a tree branch
#3 - 20 meters and 2 lungs full or water
#4 - 12 meters from the rocks
#5 - 20 meters on video and significantly less water in the lungs
#6 - A dive from 8 meters and a sore scalp
Standing on the ledge looking down at the ocean 20 meters below, I felt pretty nervous as you could imagine. However, I have been trained well and honed my skills over the cornucopia of waterfalls of Southern Japan.
It was an intense experience no doubt, but I had a nice chat with my man Roy between jumps and he told me all about his experience and the terrible tsunami of last year. I don't know the death toll form this small island, but it was significant. All over the island are signs of damage, abandoned hotels, eerily green hotel pools, random bricks everywhere; a sense of devastation nearly overcome. Roy's family all survived, but he lost many friends. I have been very lucky to avoid the plethora of natural disasters that have seem to have become very common recently and hopefully will continue to miss them.
As I took a walk this morning, I saw a group of foreigners who looked as if they should have been fast asleep recovering from a night of buckets, but they weren't. They were working on a massive garden just behind the beach, others picking up trash and junk that has become pretty much an endless job here. I think I may join them tomorrow.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Full Moon to Krabi
First of all, I must apologize. I have yet to post any photos of any of my travels in SE Asia. I have my adapter right here in my bag and I was just ready to upload some photos when I looked down and there is no USB port on my computer. The one next to me in this cafe has two, but is out of order. Such is Thailand.
After finishing diving on Ko Tao, I got on a ferry to Ko Phangan in very rough seas. I made the mistake of pounding a 7-11 hot dog as I got on the ferry, but luckily it didn't make a reappearance. As we docked at the town of Thong Sala, the ropes holding the boat to the dock quickly snapped and a deck hand lost part of his and was seen hurriedly seeking medical attention. Finally, we were able to get off the boat when they tied it to another and we climbed over both onto dry land.
I spent three nights at the family-oriented Nai Pan Noi beach where I did some serious relaxing and reading. One afternoon, I set out to explore a nearby waterfall (barely a trickle) and ended up climbing some hills more inland and ended up at this amazing view point. It was a thin granite rock jutting out almost 1000 feet above the ocean and a sheer 200 ft drop to the forest below.
The next day, I decided to try out the scuba diving on Ko Phangan. We went to the nearby Ang Thong Marine Park and made two dives. The first dive was great, saw a few Sting Rays and some nice coral even though the water was pretty cloudy. The second dive was with a Master in training, and this young lady had some problems. We got separated from two other gentlemen in our group so we surfaced to find them. They were very far away. So we went back under and our guide apparently set a course for us to swim and get nearer to the others. However, she bagan to swim in circles and my buddy and I looked at eachother and shook our heads but had no choice but to follow her. Finally, we surfaced again and found that we had been swimming exactly the opposite direction we needed to go and we were now a good 1000 ft from the boat. It was an exhausting 20 minute swim back and our guide felt pretty bad.
On Saturday, the day before the Full Moon Party at Haad Rin Beach, I boarded a ferry and made my way to party central. I located a nice bungalow that was surprisingly available on a quiter beach away from the action. For two days, the wind off the ocean barely dipped below 30 mph. When I layed on my hammock on the porch of my dwelling, the mosquitos didn't stand a chance in the wind so I was naturally protected.
The next day, the town was noticeably more packed. I knew a few people staying in town from scuba diving and random travels, and I tried to meet up with them as the party got in full swing. I strolled over to the beach around 10 pm. All along the beach, there was massive speaker systems blaring terrible techno crap and all the glitter and neon paint that go along with it. I walked around a bit more, slightly surprised by how many Thai police were on the beat. I briefly talked to my man E.T., an Israeli guy I had hiked with in Chiang Mai. After taking it all in, I was ready to retire to my windy bungalow and was happily asleep by 1 am.
The next day, I crowded onto a ferry with 300 hungover party-goers for the four hour ride to Surat Thani, from where I caught a bus to rainy Krabi. On the ferry was one of the scuba instructors I had dove with and he busted out a portable cd player. I traded him my ipod for a bit and was able to finally listen to the brand new Kanye West that Katie had bought me in Ko Tao. Tight beats, cop that.
So I am now in Krabi, land of amazing rock-climbing, gorgeous beaches and breathtaking kayaking...when the weather is good. It's been mostly raining. I rented a motorbike and put an enjoyable 100km on it today and will try to do the same tomorrow.
I am still having an amazing time, but I seem to be ready to go back home. Perhaps its "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson that has got me itching to get back to the states. There is so much to see here, and yet I have seen relatively little of America. I don't have a plan yet for the rest of my time in Thailand(nor a plane ticket home), but I think I will go to Myanmar before I get out.
After finishing diving on Ko Tao, I got on a ferry to Ko Phangan in very rough seas. I made the mistake of pounding a 7-11 hot dog as I got on the ferry, but luckily it didn't make a reappearance. As we docked at the town of Thong Sala, the ropes holding the boat to the dock quickly snapped and a deck hand lost part of his and was seen hurriedly seeking medical attention. Finally, we were able to get off the boat when they tied it to another and we climbed over both onto dry land.
I spent three nights at the family-oriented Nai Pan Noi beach where I did some serious relaxing and reading. One afternoon, I set out to explore a nearby waterfall (barely a trickle) and ended up climbing some hills more inland and ended up at this amazing view point. It was a thin granite rock jutting out almost 1000 feet above the ocean and a sheer 200 ft drop to the forest below.
The next day, I decided to try out the scuba diving on Ko Phangan. We went to the nearby Ang Thong Marine Park and made two dives. The first dive was great, saw a few Sting Rays and some nice coral even though the water was pretty cloudy. The second dive was with a Master in training, and this young lady had some problems. We got separated from two other gentlemen in our group so we surfaced to find them. They were very far away. So we went back under and our guide apparently set a course for us to swim and get nearer to the others. However, she bagan to swim in circles and my buddy and I looked at eachother and shook our heads but had no choice but to follow her. Finally, we surfaced again and found that we had been swimming exactly the opposite direction we needed to go and we were now a good 1000 ft from the boat. It was an exhausting 20 minute swim back and our guide felt pretty bad.
On Saturday, the day before the Full Moon Party at Haad Rin Beach, I boarded a ferry and made my way to party central. I located a nice bungalow that was surprisingly available on a quiter beach away from the action. For two days, the wind off the ocean barely dipped below 30 mph. When I layed on my hammock on the porch of my dwelling, the mosquitos didn't stand a chance in the wind so I was naturally protected.
The next day, the town was noticeably more packed. I knew a few people staying in town from scuba diving and random travels, and I tried to meet up with them as the party got in full swing. I strolled over to the beach around 10 pm. All along the beach, there was massive speaker systems blaring terrible techno crap and all the glitter and neon paint that go along with it. I walked around a bit more, slightly surprised by how many Thai police were on the beat. I briefly talked to my man E.T., an Israeli guy I had hiked with in Chiang Mai. After taking it all in, I was ready to retire to my windy bungalow and was happily asleep by 1 am.
The next day, I crowded onto a ferry with 300 hungover party-goers for the four hour ride to Surat Thani, from where I caught a bus to rainy Krabi. On the ferry was one of the scuba instructors I had dove with and he busted out a portable cd player. I traded him my ipod for a bit and was able to finally listen to the brand new Kanye West that Katie had bought me in Ko Tao. Tight beats, cop that.
So I am now in Krabi, land of amazing rock-climbing, gorgeous beaches and breathtaking kayaking...when the weather is good. It's been mostly raining. I rented a motorbike and put an enjoyable 100km on it today and will try to do the same tomorrow.
I am still having an amazing time, but I seem to be ready to go back home. Perhaps its "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson that has got me itching to get back to the states. There is so much to see here, and yet I have seen relatively little of America. I don't have a plan yet for the rest of my time in Thailand(nor a plane ticket home), but I think I will go to Myanmar before I get out.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Anatomy of a Perfect Day
Once in a while, a day is extraordinary. Not just one amazing experience, but three or four, or even a whole series of events work out perfectly. On days like these, acquaintances become friends. You have little time to stop and think about these fun things as you are experiencing them, but the slow pace of Ko Tao Island has allowed me to spend a little time thinking about it, so I share this day with you.
7:00 am - Wake up and get ready to go out diving. Today I am doing two of my five Advanced Level dives. In the morning, I do my Multi-level dive. In this dive, I go with my Danish instructor, Henrik. We spend the first part of the dive at 18 meters then move to 12 meters for the rest of the dive. The point of the dive in to use charts to track the amount of residual nitrogen in the blood and maximize dive time while minimizing time spent on the surface between dives. The dive goes very well, the water was a bit cloudy, but I am able to enjoy some stellar views of some coral-covered boulders and exotic fish.
10:00 am - Upon sufacing from my first dive and getting back on the boat, Henrik tells me it would be alright if I go ahead and join him and three beginner students on the next dive at no extra charge. On this dive, I am able to basically go on my own and practice some buoyancy tricks like floating upside down at a constant depth. While Henrik is occupied with another diver, one of the beginners begin to approach a pretty large fish. I don't know what it was, but see some pretty large teeth in its mouth. The next thing I know, Henrik is swimming towards this young Dane and grabbing him and pulling him away. It is a Triggerfish, known to attack and severely bite some humans if disturbed.
12:00 pm - Our boat returns to our dive shop and resort. I enjoy some delicious Pad Thai for lunch. I relax for a bit, enjoying the amazing setting of our resort. I am staying at the Big Fish Resort. It is a haven for German and Danish scuba divers, all the instructors are multi-lingual and very skilled. The operation in run by an older American guy named Bryan who has been on the Island for 20 years. He was one of the first foreigners here to exploit the scuba opportunities and immense growth potential of the Island. His small resort now sits nestled among countless others on a secluded and calm bay on the South of Ko Tao. This time of year, the weather can change from day to day. These two days, it has been sunny and perfectly clear until late afternoon when the clouds move in.
3:00 pm - Enough with relaxing, time to do something. I have a night dive leaving at six o'clock, so I have about three hours to do some exploring. I grab a snorkel and a mask and make up my mind that I will get to Buddha Point. It is a large crop of rocks that marks the left tip on the cove we are in. The entire side of the cove consists of massive granite boulders. Buddha Point is the tallest formation, with a smaller boulder perched precariously on top on a very large round one, roughly resembling a sitting Buddha. A Billiken, perhaps. If you are familiar with the unique and exotic places of Southern Missouri, it's like Elephant Rocks with the ocean surf splashing against them. As I looked out at the rocks, I notice something that makes my heart jump. A newly constructed basketball court belonging to a neighboring resort calls me. There was a flat soccer ball nearby, so I take the opportunity to polish my skills that I sadly haven't used in months. The rims are a bit lower than usual, nine feet perhaps. As I rise to dunk the soccer ball, I fall woefully short, barely skimming the net. An old Thai man watching nearby cracks a knowing smile. I try it a couple more times, getting higher each time. At last, I rise, tuck the ball against my wrist, then release, slamming it home with authority. As the ball rolls to a stop, I walked off the court, satisfied I could still do something so important as dunk a basetball on a lowered rim. Really, it's been a lifelong love of mine.
So I head out into our cove. It is impossible to climb across the rocks at first, so I swim and snorkell out into the bay. Finally, I am able to scramble up onto the rocks and follow a seaside path along the coast. Again, I am forced into the water. The boulders begin to get larger as I get further out. I climb back onto the rocks painfully close to the sitting Buddha. The rocks are balanced in such a way that at some points, I have to split my legs and climb using pressure, as one might do in a thin hallway. A couple places, I have to use a well-placed rope to get up. As I climb higher, I crawl through a small crevice with a stiff wind coming from it. When I get through, I look up and see nothing but open ocean. I am about 30 meters above the lapping waters and can clearly see the entire bay and tiny bungalows on the beach. But I am not at Buddha yet. I climb higher, grabbing the odd tree branch for support. All of a sudden, a severe pain directly on my buttocks, then another on my hand. Bees! Before I had time to see how many I had stumbled into, or how big the nest was, I was sliding back down the hill, falling over the same tree branches and glancing for bees in pursuit. I am only stung twice and I am safe. Now for the Buddha. I wisely choose another route up the hill and am soon staring at the boulder that is Buddha's head. I made it. I jumped across the last few boulders and sit on Buddha's shoulder. I took in the view of the ocean, back at the Island and at the ever-clouding but still clear sky. It's a feeling like dunking that dusty soccer ball, but a perhaps a little sweeter.
5:00 pm - I get back and join my sister Katie and her freshly stitched up friend Gwen at the restaurant. They were ordering fruit shakes and inconspicuously adding the secret ingredient named after the fine city of Malibu. I was too hyped about my approaching night dive to eat anything more than my own non-alcoholic Tomato shake.
6:00 pm - We head out on the very rough seas to our night dive site. Among the divers was a 20 year old German named Moritz who proudly professes a fondness for women with ancestral origin in the continent under Europe. Another diver Patti, from California, had been working in Australia and took a vacation to Bali, from where she took a vacation to Thailand. Christian is another Dane doing his Advanced Certification as I am. When we get to the dive site, there are several other boats and lights coming from swimming divers under the surface. We get the dive plan from Henrik, then plunge into blackness. We take our powerful torches to the depths and quickly encounter a dryer-sized jellyfish floating effortlessly above us. I glance over and see something rather unnatural. There is an abandoned pair of goggles resting on the sand of the bottom. I snatch them up and with Moritz's help, stow them in my pocket. For nearly 50 minutes, we swim through the dark, encountering three Sting Rays, two Squid, two Crustaceans tucked away in massive conches and countless other startled fish. When we surface and get on the boat, I whip out my new prize and am told by Henrik they're a nice set of 50-dollar goggles and are mine to keep. Bonus.
9:00 pm - When we get back to Big Fish, I join Patti and Christian for a well needed dinner of fried Squid (my mouth was watering when I encounted them in the deep). Following dinner we go to the nearby bar and order two "Buckets". A massive container filled with a delicious blend of Saengsom Rum/Whiskey, Coke and Red Bull. After some good conversation and entertainment from several fire-swingers, it is getting a bit late.
1:00 am - We leave the bar and head to the only late night destination at our disposal on this tiny Island adrift in the Gulf of Thailand, 7-11. One of us three indulges in a foot-long hot dog and a liter bottle of coke. Unbelievably, it is not an American. As we stroll back down the street, I see it. One of the diving resorts trains its divers in a pool before unleashing them into the ocean. We quickly disrobe and jump into the darkened pool. We were a bit worried about getting caught and ejected from the premesis, but all we got were the odd group of drunken tourists asking us how to find So and So Bar.
2:00 am - Another moment of inspiration seeps into my brain. I scale the wall next to the pool then hop on the overhanging roof of the nearby resort. For the next 20 minutes, we proceeded to make several noisy jumps from the roof into the deep end, drawing the attention of exactly no one.
3:00 am - We wind down with another covert swim in the resort next to ours, with Patti commandeering several table cloths for use as towels. A beautiful ending to a beautiful day.
In two hours, I will leave the Island of Ko Tao and take a ferry to another Island called Ko Phanang. More adventures await, including one known as the "Full Moon Party".
7:00 am - Wake up and get ready to go out diving. Today I am doing two of my five Advanced Level dives. In the morning, I do my Multi-level dive. In this dive, I go with my Danish instructor, Henrik. We spend the first part of the dive at 18 meters then move to 12 meters for the rest of the dive. The point of the dive in to use charts to track the amount of residual nitrogen in the blood and maximize dive time while minimizing time spent on the surface between dives. The dive goes very well, the water was a bit cloudy, but I am able to enjoy some stellar views of some coral-covered boulders and exotic fish.
10:00 am - Upon sufacing from my first dive and getting back on the boat, Henrik tells me it would be alright if I go ahead and join him and three beginner students on the next dive at no extra charge. On this dive, I am able to basically go on my own and practice some buoyancy tricks like floating upside down at a constant depth. While Henrik is occupied with another diver, one of the beginners begin to approach a pretty large fish. I don't know what it was, but see some pretty large teeth in its mouth. The next thing I know, Henrik is swimming towards this young Dane and grabbing him and pulling him away. It is a Triggerfish, known to attack and severely bite some humans if disturbed.
12:00 pm - Our boat returns to our dive shop and resort. I enjoy some delicious Pad Thai for lunch. I relax for a bit, enjoying the amazing setting of our resort. I am staying at the Big Fish Resort. It is a haven for German and Danish scuba divers, all the instructors are multi-lingual and very skilled. The operation in run by an older American guy named Bryan who has been on the Island for 20 years. He was one of the first foreigners here to exploit the scuba opportunities and immense growth potential of the Island. His small resort now sits nestled among countless others on a secluded and calm bay on the South of Ko Tao. This time of year, the weather can change from day to day. These two days, it has been sunny and perfectly clear until late afternoon when the clouds move in.
3:00 pm - Enough with relaxing, time to do something. I have a night dive leaving at six o'clock, so I have about three hours to do some exploring. I grab a snorkel and a mask and make up my mind that I will get to Buddha Point. It is a large crop of rocks that marks the left tip on the cove we are in. The entire side of the cove consists of massive granite boulders. Buddha Point is the tallest formation, with a smaller boulder perched precariously on top on a very large round one, roughly resembling a sitting Buddha. A Billiken, perhaps. If you are familiar with the unique and exotic places of Southern Missouri, it's like Elephant Rocks with the ocean surf splashing against them. As I looked out at the rocks, I notice something that makes my heart jump. A newly constructed basketball court belonging to a neighboring resort calls me. There was a flat soccer ball nearby, so I take the opportunity to polish my skills that I sadly haven't used in months. The rims are a bit lower than usual, nine feet perhaps. As I rise to dunk the soccer ball, I fall woefully short, barely skimming the net. An old Thai man watching nearby cracks a knowing smile. I try it a couple more times, getting higher each time. At last, I rise, tuck the ball against my wrist, then release, slamming it home with authority. As the ball rolls to a stop, I walked off the court, satisfied I could still do something so important as dunk a basetball on a lowered rim. Really, it's been a lifelong love of mine.
So I head out into our cove. It is impossible to climb across the rocks at first, so I swim and snorkell out into the bay. Finally, I am able to scramble up onto the rocks and follow a seaside path along the coast. Again, I am forced into the water. The boulders begin to get larger as I get further out. I climb back onto the rocks painfully close to the sitting Buddha. The rocks are balanced in such a way that at some points, I have to split my legs and climb using pressure, as one might do in a thin hallway. A couple places, I have to use a well-placed rope to get up. As I climb higher, I crawl through a small crevice with a stiff wind coming from it. When I get through, I look up and see nothing but open ocean. I am about 30 meters above the lapping waters and can clearly see the entire bay and tiny bungalows on the beach. But I am not at Buddha yet. I climb higher, grabbing the odd tree branch for support. All of a sudden, a severe pain directly on my buttocks, then another on my hand. Bees! Before I had time to see how many I had stumbled into, or how big the nest was, I was sliding back down the hill, falling over the same tree branches and glancing for bees in pursuit. I am only stung twice and I am safe. Now for the Buddha. I wisely choose another route up the hill and am soon staring at the boulder that is Buddha's head. I made it. I jumped across the last few boulders and sit on Buddha's shoulder. I took in the view of the ocean, back at the Island and at the ever-clouding but still clear sky. It's a feeling like dunking that dusty soccer ball, but a perhaps a little sweeter.
5:00 pm - I get back and join my sister Katie and her freshly stitched up friend Gwen at the restaurant. They were ordering fruit shakes and inconspicuously adding the secret ingredient named after the fine city of Malibu. I was too hyped about my approaching night dive to eat anything more than my own non-alcoholic Tomato shake.
6:00 pm - We head out on the very rough seas to our night dive site. Among the divers was a 20 year old German named Moritz who proudly professes a fondness for women with ancestral origin in the continent under Europe. Another diver Patti, from California, had been working in Australia and took a vacation to Bali, from where she took a vacation to Thailand. Christian is another Dane doing his Advanced Certification as I am. When we get to the dive site, there are several other boats and lights coming from swimming divers under the surface. We get the dive plan from Henrik, then plunge into blackness. We take our powerful torches to the depths and quickly encounter a dryer-sized jellyfish floating effortlessly above us. I glance over and see something rather unnatural. There is an abandoned pair of goggles resting on the sand of the bottom. I snatch them up and with Moritz's help, stow them in my pocket. For nearly 50 minutes, we swim through the dark, encountering three Sting Rays, two Squid, two Crustaceans tucked away in massive conches and countless other startled fish. When we surface and get on the boat, I whip out my new prize and am told by Henrik they're a nice set of 50-dollar goggles and are mine to keep. Bonus.
9:00 pm - When we get back to Big Fish, I join Patti and Christian for a well needed dinner of fried Squid (my mouth was watering when I encounted them in the deep). Following dinner we go to the nearby bar and order two "Buckets". A massive container filled with a delicious blend of Saengsom Rum/Whiskey, Coke and Red Bull. After some good conversation and entertainment from several fire-swingers, it is getting a bit late.
1:00 am - We leave the bar and head to the only late night destination at our disposal on this tiny Island adrift in the Gulf of Thailand, 7-11. One of us three indulges in a foot-long hot dog and a liter bottle of coke. Unbelievably, it is not an American. As we stroll back down the street, I see it. One of the diving resorts trains its divers in a pool before unleashing them into the ocean. We quickly disrobe and jump into the darkened pool. We were a bit worried about getting caught and ejected from the premesis, but all we got were the odd group of drunken tourists asking us how to find So and So Bar.
2:00 am - Another moment of inspiration seeps into my brain. I scale the wall next to the pool then hop on the overhanging roof of the nearby resort. For the next 20 minutes, we proceeded to make several noisy jumps from the roof into the deep end, drawing the attention of exactly no one.
3:00 am - We wind down with another covert swim in the resort next to ours, with Patti commandeering several table cloths for use as towels. A beautiful ending to a beautiful day.
In two hours, I will leave the Island of Ko Tao and take a ferry to another Island called Ko Phanang. More adventures await, including one known as the "Full Moon Party".
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Fingerhuts Underwater in Ko Tao
My older sister Lynn and I have been scuba diving every day for the past 5 days. We got to Ko Tao Island and found a nice little row of bungalows called Big Fish. The guy who runs the place in an old American dude who has been here for 20 years. For some odd reason, most of this resort's customers are Danish or German. The scuba instructors speak English so that's all that mattered. We signed up for the PADI Certification course. We watched the videos and read the textbook, flashback to half-ass homework assignments in high school.
After practicing some basic skills, we were ready for the open water. Our first few days we spent in water up to 18 meters (about 54 feet) just getting comfortable adjusting our ears and monitoring our breathing air. Yesterday, we finished the beginner's course. Lynn got a ticket for the ferry to the neighboring island of Ko Samui, and I chatted with our instructor Henrik about the advanced diving course. When Lynny heard that I would be going to 30m (100ft) today, she had to do it too. With one swipe of the pen from Mr. Boat Ticket Man, she got it changed. This morning, we descended to the deep and tested ourselves for nitrogen narcosis. It is a condition some people get when diving at deeper depths. Some people can get almost delirious from excess nitrogen in the blood. (It is said that some narcosified individuals offer their breathing apparatus to fish swimming nearby. Luckily, we kept it in our mouths.) We had to perform a simple number test. On the surface, I did it in 15 seconds. Down below, I took a sluggish 18.
I spent the day today keeping a 150cc motorbike from slipping, sliding and crashing down the unsealed roads of the island with 3 Danes and a German. Lynn finally got on the ferry this afternoon, off to explore more of Southern Thailand before flying back next week. I got an e-mail from younger sister Katie who said she is coming here Sunday or Monday with her friend. As I undergo the Great Southern Thailand Sister-Swap, I will continue with my advanced course, tomorrow diving during the night. We will take torches (flashlights) to see what kind of shenanigans go on under the water after dark. (I heard at one point, we all turn them off at once. Can't wait!) I am thinking of continuing here until I get a Diver Rescue Certificate, still a few steps away.
On a different note, I want to call attention to the Kyushu Hash House Harriers. They are once again going strong. After a very solid Hash in Miyazaki to open the year, there will be a huge City-Hash this Saturday. I cannot wait to hear all about it. If you are checking the Champon Adventures from Japan, I suggest you get out and Hash! Good job to everyone involved and keep up the good work. Brother Disco Ass is watching from afar(even when I am underwater).
After practicing some basic skills, we were ready for the open water. Our first few days we spent in water up to 18 meters (about 54 feet) just getting comfortable adjusting our ears and monitoring our breathing air. Yesterday, we finished the beginner's course. Lynn got a ticket for the ferry to the neighboring island of Ko Samui, and I chatted with our instructor Henrik about the advanced diving course. When Lynny heard that I would be going to 30m (100ft) today, she had to do it too. With one swipe of the pen from Mr. Boat Ticket Man, she got it changed. This morning, we descended to the deep and tested ourselves for nitrogen narcosis. It is a condition some people get when diving at deeper depths. Some people can get almost delirious from excess nitrogen in the blood. (It is said that some narcosified individuals offer their breathing apparatus to fish swimming nearby. Luckily, we kept it in our mouths.) We had to perform a simple number test. On the surface, I did it in 15 seconds. Down below, I took a sluggish 18.
I spent the day today keeping a 150cc motorbike from slipping, sliding and crashing down the unsealed roads of the island with 3 Danes and a German. Lynn finally got on the ferry this afternoon, off to explore more of Southern Thailand before flying back next week. I got an e-mail from younger sister Katie who said she is coming here Sunday or Monday with her friend. As I undergo the Great Southern Thailand Sister-Swap, I will continue with my advanced course, tomorrow diving during the night. We will take torches (flashlights) to see what kind of shenanigans go on under the water after dark. (I heard at one point, we all turn them off at once. Can't wait!) I am thinking of continuing here until I get a Diver Rescue Certificate, still a few steps away.
On a different note, I want to call attention to the Kyushu Hash House Harriers. They are once again going strong. After a very solid Hash in Miyazaki to open the year, there will be a huge City-Hash this Saturday. I cannot wait to hear all about it. If you are checking the Champon Adventures from Japan, I suggest you get out and Hash! Good job to everyone involved and keep up the good work. Brother Disco Ass is watching from afar(even when I am underwater).
Friday, September 02, 2005
An Irishman's Close Call
I recently went on a three day/two night trek up into the mountains outside Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. The first day we hiked up a mountain and stayed the night in a small hut among a hill tribe. We had a group of about twelve people and I think we just about put the village children through college with the purchase of some choice beverages. It was a beautiful place to watch the sunset and the approaching rain.
The next day we set out in the downpour slipping and sliding down the other side of the mountain before spending some time at a massive gushing waterfall in the jungle. This being the rainy season here, the rivers are all swollen although fortunately, the leeches stayed away.
We made our way to our lodging for the second night, anohter hut on the banks of a massive raging river. Wanting to cool off and remove layers upon layers of mud, we ventured a few feet into the river just enough to get wet and clean up a bit. As I was standing there, I glanced over and saw Dez, one of five Irish university students, out further than he should be. He was quickly swept into the massive rapids and he was down river and out of sight before the rest of us could believe what was happening. The other 7 people I was with had their shoes off in the midst of bathing, but I luckily had my shoes on. I sprinted as fast as I could along the banks, falling over rocks and onto the sandbars. I really didn't grasp the gravity of the situation until I paused running, looked down the river and didn't see his head above the water. I continued to run and scramble over the rocks on the side until I finally saw that he had managed to grab onto a bunch of bamboo poles in the middle of the river. I told him to hold on as he screamed for help. I grabbed another bamboo pole and stuck it out to reach him. By this time, our Thai guide Sing was there and he also had a pole. Using both, we managed to pull him to the side. He collapsed on the bank but he was conscious and alive.
There are certain situations in life that happen in fast motion. Something as simple as washing off in a river can escalate into something so far out of our control in a matter of seconds. I can't imagine how things may have turned out and I am certainly not going to spend time thinking about it. Just seeing his body cascade down the muddy water among the jagged rocks of the river and his head barely bobbing above the water was surreal. True, Dez was a lucky Irishman this day and the beer tasted a little better that evening.
The next day we set out in the downpour slipping and sliding down the other side of the mountain before spending some time at a massive gushing waterfall in the jungle. This being the rainy season here, the rivers are all swollen although fortunately, the leeches stayed away.
We made our way to our lodging for the second night, anohter hut on the banks of a massive raging river. Wanting to cool off and remove layers upon layers of mud, we ventured a few feet into the river just enough to get wet and clean up a bit. As I was standing there, I glanced over and saw Dez, one of five Irish university students, out further than he should be. He was quickly swept into the massive rapids and he was down river and out of sight before the rest of us could believe what was happening. The other 7 people I was with had their shoes off in the midst of bathing, but I luckily had my shoes on. I sprinted as fast as I could along the banks, falling over rocks and onto the sandbars. I really didn't grasp the gravity of the situation until I paused running, looked down the river and didn't see his head above the water. I continued to run and scramble over the rocks on the side until I finally saw that he had managed to grab onto a bunch of bamboo poles in the middle of the river. I told him to hold on as he screamed for help. I grabbed another bamboo pole and stuck it out to reach him. By this time, our Thai guide Sing was there and he also had a pole. Using both, we managed to pull him to the side. He collapsed on the bank but he was conscious and alive.
There are certain situations in life that happen in fast motion. Something as simple as washing off in a river can escalate into something so far out of our control in a matter of seconds. I can't imagine how things may have turned out and I am certainly not going to spend time thinking about it. Just seeing his body cascade down the muddy water among the jagged rocks of the river and his head barely bobbing above the water was surreal. True, Dez was a lucky Irishman this day and the beer tasted a little better that evening.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
On to Chiang Mai
I have made it back to Thailand. I am writing from the beautiful town of Chiang Mai.
From the capital of Laos, Vientiane, I took a short bus ride north into the mountains and stayed in a small backpacker's town called Vang Vieng. There are some amazing limestone cliffs overlooking the town and the lazy Nam Cha river winds through. The main bus center of town is on the massive airstrip, built by the American Military "to perpetuate countless crimes." Taking a page from the Southern Missouri's Beer-Drinker's Handbook, tubing has become a popular pasttime. My first day there, I was shuttled about 3km north of town, given a tube and hopped in the Meremac of Northern Laos. Along the way, people have set up little bars serving the excellent BeerLao and other enticements such as rope swings, tree jumps, caves to explore and so on. The next day, I joined a kayaking trip. This time, we were shuttled 20km north of town and stopped at several caves and jumping spots as well as facing the occasional class 2 rapids. My evenings I spent at several establishments in town, drinking cold BeerLao with some Canadian lawyers, sampling the "happy" garlic bread and avoiding the restaurants with episodes of "Friends" playing 24 hours a day, no joke.
From Vang Vieng, I took the breathtaking 7 hour bus ride way up into the mountains of Northern Laos. It was amazing to see how people live along the thin mountain roads. They build their houses on stilts hanging over the side of sheer drop-offs and even carry on some kind of agriculture even though the mountainsides are all over 45 degree angles. The views from the winding road was incredible. Finally we came back down and entered the World Heritage former capital city of Luang Prabang. It is renowned for its French architecture and beautiful temples. The night market was one of the best I have been to--a long street filled with high quality fabrics, scarves, lamps, clothes and the highly sought after BeerLao T-shirts. Most importantly, the sellers did very little hassling, you were free to browse without any pressure, and the crowds were minimal. I spent the day there bicycling around, locating a waterfall not too far from town and having a nice swim, then coming back to relax a bit before climbing the large hill located in the center of town and watching the sunset from a Buddhist temple with views of the town and the majestic mountains in the distance. It was at this point that I realized I had asked myself the question upon arrival in Luang Prabang, "why is this a World Heritage city?" Looking at the town and all the surrounding temples among the pristine mountains, I got the picture.
I made the decision to make it all the way from Luang Prabang to the Thai border at Huay Xi, Laos. To do this in one day would require use of the suicidal, unsafe at any speedboat previously seen crossing from Cambodia into Laos. It was going to be a 6 hour trip up the Mekong river. This time, we were provided with life vests and crash helmets. Despite the deafening engine, I somehow managed to doze off a few times, only to quickly awaken paranoid that I would somehow slump over into the Mekong which was flying by us at about 70 km/h, most likely decapitation to ensue. Arriving in Huay Xi, I was told I could cross the border before it closes and have enough time to catch a 5 hour bus to Chiang Mai in Thailand arriving at about 11pm. With a healthy supply of sleep-aids legal in these countries, I happily agreed and was whisked across the Mekong one last time. I must have slept through a rather powerful thunderstorm in the car, but was delivered safe and sound the the jewel of Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai. I will attempt a 3 day trek/raft/climb/meethillpeople/barbeque/waterfall/elephantride/feedthemonkey/cowtipping adventure in the mountains here before heading back to Bangkok for a mini-Fingerhut reunion of sorts.
My trip count so far: 5 days in Bangkok, 11 days in Cambodia, 9 days in Laos, Chiang Mai - 1 day and counting.
From the capital of Laos, Vientiane, I took a short bus ride north into the mountains and stayed in a small backpacker's town called Vang Vieng. There are some amazing limestone cliffs overlooking the town and the lazy Nam Cha river winds through. The main bus center of town is on the massive airstrip, built by the American Military "to perpetuate countless crimes." Taking a page from the Southern Missouri's Beer-Drinker's Handbook, tubing has become a popular pasttime. My first day there, I was shuttled about 3km north of town, given a tube and hopped in the Meremac of Northern Laos. Along the way, people have set up little bars serving the excellent BeerLao and other enticements such as rope swings, tree jumps, caves to explore and so on. The next day, I joined a kayaking trip. This time, we were shuttled 20km north of town and stopped at several caves and jumping spots as well as facing the occasional class 2 rapids. My evenings I spent at several establishments in town, drinking cold BeerLao with some Canadian lawyers, sampling the "happy" garlic bread and avoiding the restaurants with episodes of "Friends" playing 24 hours a day, no joke.
From Vang Vieng, I took the breathtaking 7 hour bus ride way up into the mountains of Northern Laos. It was amazing to see how people live along the thin mountain roads. They build their houses on stilts hanging over the side of sheer drop-offs and even carry on some kind of agriculture even though the mountainsides are all over 45 degree angles. The views from the winding road was incredible. Finally we came back down and entered the World Heritage former capital city of Luang Prabang. It is renowned for its French architecture and beautiful temples. The night market was one of the best I have been to--a long street filled with high quality fabrics, scarves, lamps, clothes and the highly sought after BeerLao T-shirts. Most importantly, the sellers did very little hassling, you were free to browse without any pressure, and the crowds were minimal. I spent the day there bicycling around, locating a waterfall not too far from town and having a nice swim, then coming back to relax a bit before climbing the large hill located in the center of town and watching the sunset from a Buddhist temple with views of the town and the majestic mountains in the distance. It was at this point that I realized I had asked myself the question upon arrival in Luang Prabang, "why is this a World Heritage city?" Looking at the town and all the surrounding temples among the pristine mountains, I got the picture.
I made the decision to make it all the way from Luang Prabang to the Thai border at Huay Xi, Laos. To do this in one day would require use of the suicidal, unsafe at any speedboat previously seen crossing from Cambodia into Laos. It was going to be a 6 hour trip up the Mekong river. This time, we were provided with life vests and crash helmets. Despite the deafening engine, I somehow managed to doze off a few times, only to quickly awaken paranoid that I would somehow slump over into the Mekong which was flying by us at about 70 km/h, most likely decapitation to ensue. Arriving in Huay Xi, I was told I could cross the border before it closes and have enough time to catch a 5 hour bus to Chiang Mai in Thailand arriving at about 11pm. With a healthy supply of sleep-aids legal in these countries, I happily agreed and was whisked across the Mekong one last time. I must have slept through a rather powerful thunderstorm in the car, but was delivered safe and sound the the jewel of Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai. I will attempt a 3 day trek/raft/climb/meethillpeople/barbeque/waterfall/elephantride/feedthemonkey/cowtipping adventure in the mountains here before heading back to Bangkok for a mini-Fingerhut reunion of sorts.
My trip count so far: 5 days in Bangkok, 11 days in Cambodia, 9 days in Laos, Chiang Mai - 1 day and counting.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
The long road from Phnom Penh to Vientiane
For about the last 5 days, I have been making my way north from the capital of Cambodia to the capital of Loas. It's been an arduous, but surely interesting journey on the backroads and the Mekong.
The first step was a 5 hour short-bus ride north to the small city of Kratie. There was no leg room and my left arm got terribly sunburnt because there wasn't room for it in the bus. In Kratie, me and this geologist Brit John took a short boat ride to see the endangered freshwater Iyerwaddy dolphins in the Mekong river. The next day after falling victim to conniving Kratie driver/transportation system, we set off for Stung Treng. We were guaranteed only 3 people in the back of a taxi for the 4 hour ride because we paid an extra 6 bucks. But sure enough, as soon as we rounded the corner, another guy jumped in. Fleeced again!
In Stung Treng, we boarded a small canoe-type raft with a Toyota car engine attached to it. Needless to say, we flew from Stung Treng to the Cambodia/Lao border crossing. When we left Stung Treng, it was a very sunny day. As we made our way further up the Mekong, it became apparent it was gonna rain. Our tiny boat was unsheltered. As the wind kicked up and our boat driver kept the speed up, we were battered with rain, although it might have been glass shards. Finally, it let up and as we approached the stilted shack known as Cambodia immigration, the super-duper immigration officer got out of his hammock and put on his shirt. He stamped us on our way and collected his "official" $2 overtime fee. Although we thought we paid for transport all the way to Laos, we were then charged another dollar to get to the Laos immigration office across the river. Happy to be out of Cambodia for the time being, we got stamped in Laos, paid the overtime fee there and headed for town as it began to get dark.
We were set on getting to the bungalow/backpacker town of Don Det, located in Si Phan Don, or 4,000 islands area. Here, the mighty Mekong diverges into countless channels creating many islands and picturesque waterfalls. We were able to stay in a nice riverside bungalow for a dollar a night. We spent the next day strolling a couple islands, checking out mile-wide rapids and falls, wading through flooded paths, enjoying the extra-happy menu of the local restaurants and like the Lonely Planet suggests, recovering from Cambodia. On Don Det, I believe I have recovered evidence of the fist ever Ducken--the ducks and chickens of the island have a very good relationship. Recovery complete, we reserved a seat for the next leg of our journey.
Pick it up from my journal entry:
The journey from Don Det to Pakse was an interesting one. John and I got on a Lao truck/bus thingy at 8:40am and told we'd leave at 9am. People were loading bags of all sizes onto the truck. One guy got on, opened one of the bags, pulled out a few frogs and ripped off one of the legs of the still-living thing. Sure enough, we felt the other bags and there were animals of some kind in there. Six Spaniards got on and objected as more and more bags and baskets were loaded on. It got to be 10am, we were still there and the Spaniards weren't happy. One guy displayed his expertise in Spanish cussing. "Joder! Tu puta madre!" Me too. They got off and got there money back, setting off on foot. Finally we set off. On our truck, there were about 20 people, several bags of rice, several bags of animals: species unknown and in various stages of near-death, 2 large pots of fish swimming in Mekong River water (one of whcih fell off onto the road spilling the water and depositing the fish onto the hot pavement), baskets of unknown groaning animals and finally a large wicker cage containing about 40 chickens all crammed together and shitting onto aforementioned bags/baskets/passengers. We happily got off the Farmyard Connection in Pakse, Laos.
John and I recovered with a few of southeast asia's best beers, BeerLao. He was off on an overnight bus to Vientiane, while I was getting a morning bus (the VIP, no farm animals) to the town of Savannakhet. Savannakhet is a town on the Thai border which was heavily bombarded by American troops around the time of Vietnam. I checked out an amazing Buddhist temple then checked out the local Museum. Most of it was an homage to national communist heroes and pictures of farming and Laos' burgeoning "industry" as evidence of its place in world communist powers! Yeah, I was the only one at the museum. Upstairs they had a few old bombs left by America and a few pictures with captions like: "U.S. imperialists and puppet soldiers use Savannakhet Airfield for perpetrating countless crimes." Good stuff. Outside there was an old US fighter plane and some cannons on display. There were a group of teenagers sitting and talking on the fighter plane. One guy was laying on one of the wing flaps. As he got up, the flap turned and he tumbled to the ground. Ah, sweet victory! Vindication! Go USA!
I opted for an overnight bus to Vientiane("local" = no animals, just bags of rice piled 2 deep in the aisles and from floor to cieling in the rear). I managed some good sleep on the bus despite the Loatian karaoke hits blasting all night and rain blowing in the windows in the middle of the night.
So now I am here in Vientiane, not much going on here. I think I will go to Vang Vieng tomorrow, where I here they have some good tubing. Can't wait...
The first step was a 5 hour short-bus ride north to the small city of Kratie. There was no leg room and my left arm got terribly sunburnt because there wasn't room for it in the bus. In Kratie, me and this geologist Brit John took a short boat ride to see the endangered freshwater Iyerwaddy dolphins in the Mekong river. The next day after falling victim to conniving Kratie driver/transportation system, we set off for Stung Treng. We were guaranteed only 3 people in the back of a taxi for the 4 hour ride because we paid an extra 6 bucks. But sure enough, as soon as we rounded the corner, another guy jumped in. Fleeced again!
In Stung Treng, we boarded a small canoe-type raft with a Toyota car engine attached to it. Needless to say, we flew from Stung Treng to the Cambodia/Lao border crossing. When we left Stung Treng, it was a very sunny day. As we made our way further up the Mekong, it became apparent it was gonna rain. Our tiny boat was unsheltered. As the wind kicked up and our boat driver kept the speed up, we were battered with rain, although it might have been glass shards. Finally, it let up and as we approached the stilted shack known as Cambodia immigration, the super-duper immigration officer got out of his hammock and put on his shirt. He stamped us on our way and collected his "official" $2 overtime fee. Although we thought we paid for transport all the way to Laos, we were then charged another dollar to get to the Laos immigration office across the river. Happy to be out of Cambodia for the time being, we got stamped in Laos, paid the overtime fee there and headed for town as it began to get dark.
We were set on getting to the bungalow/backpacker town of Don Det, located in Si Phan Don, or 4,000 islands area. Here, the mighty Mekong diverges into countless channels creating many islands and picturesque waterfalls. We were able to stay in a nice riverside bungalow for a dollar a night. We spent the next day strolling a couple islands, checking out mile-wide rapids and falls, wading through flooded paths, enjoying the extra-happy menu of the local restaurants and like the Lonely Planet suggests, recovering from Cambodia. On Don Det, I believe I have recovered evidence of the fist ever Ducken--the ducks and chickens of the island have a very good relationship. Recovery complete, we reserved a seat for the next leg of our journey.
Pick it up from my journal entry:
The journey from Don Det to Pakse was an interesting one. John and I got on a Lao truck/bus thingy at 8:40am and told we'd leave at 9am. People were loading bags of all sizes onto the truck. One guy got on, opened one of the bags, pulled out a few frogs and ripped off one of the legs of the still-living thing. Sure enough, we felt the other bags and there were animals of some kind in there. Six Spaniards got on and objected as more and more bags and baskets were loaded on. It got to be 10am, we were still there and the Spaniards weren't happy. One guy displayed his expertise in Spanish cussing. "Joder! Tu puta madre!" Me too. They got off and got there money back, setting off on foot. Finally we set off. On our truck, there were about 20 people, several bags of rice, several bags of animals: species unknown and in various stages of near-death, 2 large pots of fish swimming in Mekong River water (one of whcih fell off onto the road spilling the water and depositing the fish onto the hot pavement), baskets of unknown groaning animals and finally a large wicker cage containing about 40 chickens all crammed together and shitting onto aforementioned bags/baskets/passengers. We happily got off the Farmyard Connection in Pakse, Laos.
John and I recovered with a few of southeast asia's best beers, BeerLao. He was off on an overnight bus to Vientiane, while I was getting a morning bus (the VIP, no farm animals) to the town of Savannakhet. Savannakhet is a town on the Thai border which was heavily bombarded by American troops around the time of Vietnam. I checked out an amazing Buddhist temple then checked out the local Museum. Most of it was an homage to national communist heroes and pictures of farming and Laos' burgeoning "industry" as evidence of its place in world communist powers! Yeah, I was the only one at the museum. Upstairs they had a few old bombs left by America and a few pictures with captions like: "U.S. imperialists and puppet soldiers use Savannakhet Airfield for perpetrating countless crimes." Good stuff. Outside there was an old US fighter plane and some cannons on display. There were a group of teenagers sitting and talking on the fighter plane. One guy was laying on one of the wing flaps. As he got up, the flap turned and he tumbled to the ground. Ah, sweet victory! Vindication! Go USA!
I opted for an overnight bus to Vientiane("local" = no animals, just bags of rice piled 2 deep in the aisles and from floor to cieling in the rear). I managed some good sleep on the bus despite the Loatian karaoke hits blasting all night and rain blowing in the windows in the middle of the night.
So now I am here in Vientiane, not much going on here. I think I will go to Vang Vieng tomorrow, where I here they have some good tubing. Can't wait...
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh
Yesterday, I returned to Phnom Penh from Sihanoukville. This is a little beachside town on the southern coast of Cambodia. I relaxed for 2 days on some excellent beaches and hopped on a scooter to explore a nice waterfall.
After returning to the capital yesterday, I decided to check out 2 places that most tourists visit when in Cambodia. First, I went to the Tuol Sleng Museum. In 1975, the genocidal Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge forces took over this high school and made it a detention compound and interrogation center. The aim of the Khmer Rouge was to rapidly create a communist state, to undergo its own "Great Leap Forward". Many intellectuals, people who knew foreigners and sometime people who simply wore glasses were rounded up form all over Cambodia and sent to prisons like this. Here they were interrogated, tortured, beaten senseless until they gave name of friends, family members and anyone else they knew to be traitors of the state.
After thorough torture, the prisoners were loaded into trucks and taken about 20km outside the city to The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. I made the very same trip on the back of a scooter after visiting the museum. Here the remains of 8985 people have been unearthed. There is a memorial pillar with many of the skulls and bones stacked inside. As I walked around the fields, there were many holes, some with signs saying things like: the remains of 420 people were found here or 166 bodies of women and children were buried here - without heads. As I walked, I looked down and was amazed to see bones still protruding from the dirt. I brushed my hands across them in disbelief and was further amazed to see clothing, worn by the victims on the day of their execution, sticking out from the dirt.
On a lighter note, I continue to meet very interesting people: A former Canadian Football player who now works on oil pipelines in western Canada, on vacation until the roads freeze again and he can drive on the ice; A young Japanese kid who has been bicycling through Japan, China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. "I love to bike," he says; A former English teacher in Japan who has opened his own shop in Phnom Penh. His business: loading up peoples' ipods with albums for $.75 per. I got 10 bucks worth.
Keep checking back here, I will head to Northern Cambodia tomorrow then into Laos soon after.
After returning to the capital yesterday, I decided to check out 2 places that most tourists visit when in Cambodia. First, I went to the Tuol Sleng Museum. In 1975, the genocidal Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge forces took over this high school and made it a detention compound and interrogation center. The aim of the Khmer Rouge was to rapidly create a communist state, to undergo its own "Great Leap Forward". Many intellectuals, people who knew foreigners and sometime people who simply wore glasses were rounded up form all over Cambodia and sent to prisons like this. Here they were interrogated, tortured, beaten senseless until they gave name of friends, family members and anyone else they knew to be traitors of the state.
After thorough torture, the prisoners were loaded into trucks and taken about 20km outside the city to The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. I made the very same trip on the back of a scooter after visiting the museum. Here the remains of 8985 people have been unearthed. There is a memorial pillar with many of the skulls and bones stacked inside. As I walked around the fields, there were many holes, some with signs saying things like: the remains of 420 people were found here or 166 bodies of women and children were buried here - without heads. As I walked, I looked down and was amazed to see bones still protruding from the dirt. I brushed my hands across them in disbelief and was further amazed to see clothing, worn by the victims on the day of their execution, sticking out from the dirt.
On a lighter note, I continue to meet very interesting people: A former Canadian Football player who now works on oil pipelines in western Canada, on vacation until the roads freeze again and he can drive on the ice; A young Japanese kid who has been bicycling through Japan, China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. "I love to bike," he says; A former English teacher in Japan who has opened his own shop in Phnom Penh. His business: loading up peoples' ipods with albums for $.75 per. I got 10 bucks worth.
Keep checking back here, I will head to Northern Cambodia tomorrow then into Laos soon after.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Holiday in Cambodia
I just finished up 3 days in Siem Reap and I am now in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. The first 2 days I spent checking out Angkor's countless ancient temples and crumbling structures. I opted to get shuttled around to them by a guy working at the guest house I stayed at on the back of a scooter. His name was Phech Sopaul, or just Paul. I also met 2 lawyers from CO who met in the courtroom (facing eachother)and have been engaged for over a year.
By the third day, I was pretty much tired of seeing the temples, so we did something a little different. There is a huge lake in the middle of Cambodia and of course many people who live on the lake fishing and raising alligators. I shared a boat with a Brit banker who was on his way back from working in Bogota, Colombia. We checked out the floating villages and I was the only foreigner to jump into the muddy, flooded canal with the Cambodians.
Then Paul took me to what he called the killing fields. It was a site at which many people were massacred during the Khmer Rouge's regime and institution of communism. Today, it is a Buddhist monastary complex. There was still a pile of bones as a memorial along with pictures and diagrams of different ways in which people were killed. As I began to feel pretty emotional thinking about this, I strolled over to a classroom where there was a foreigner teaching english to a classful of young adults. I stepped outside and there was a Buddhist funural service going on. There was the body in a concrete pyre and men began to put burning wood inside to cremate the body. I saw some women and kids crying for the deceased. It was an amazing place with so many real things happening.
I then asked Paul if I could go to his house. He lives in this tiny, one room shack with a hammock for a bed and a dirt floor. He cooked me a little food he usually eats and his mom brought over a special dish too. We strolled around the neighborhood and talked to a few people, one guy who makes genuine engravings like the ones at Angkor Wat and sells them to hotels and rich tourists. Last night, I paid Paul more than what he asked for for the 3 days. He was pretty happy and invited me to drink with him, some other co-workers, the guest house owner and the owner's family. It was great fun an we raised our glasses every 2 minutes to drink Anchor Beer poured over ice. I did the usual foreigner thing of repeating funny Cambodian phrases to everyone's amusement. I was sad to leave Siem Reap this morning, giving Paul my e-mail and a recieving a promise that he will ask me to invest in a new guest house he wants to open.
Land mines are a part of everyday life all over the country. Millions of mines were laid in the decades of war in the 60s to the 80s and they are still a huge problem today. I visited the Siem Reap mine museum. This small one room building has tons of old mines and bombs gathered by the museum's creator, Aki Ra. He was a child soldier for the Khmer regime and he actually placed many of the mines when he was a child. Today, he works on locating and disarming the old, but still active mines. Several children live at the museum. They are all amputees or are blind. Being in Cambodia, I have seem so many people walking or crawling around missing legs, arms, or everything. There is really no reason for these terrible devices to exist in the first place. Most mines are created by the huge powers: Russia, China or the good old USA, and end up in extremely poor places like here and Laos. About 90 Cambodians are victims of land mines every month.
More to come from Cambodia...
By the third day, I was pretty much tired of seeing the temples, so we did something a little different. There is a huge lake in the middle of Cambodia and of course many people who live on the lake fishing and raising alligators. I shared a boat with a Brit banker who was on his way back from working in Bogota, Colombia. We checked out the floating villages and I was the only foreigner to jump into the muddy, flooded canal with the Cambodians.
Then Paul took me to what he called the killing fields. It was a site at which many people were massacred during the Khmer Rouge's regime and institution of communism. Today, it is a Buddhist monastary complex. There was still a pile of bones as a memorial along with pictures and diagrams of different ways in which people were killed. As I began to feel pretty emotional thinking about this, I strolled over to a classroom where there was a foreigner teaching english to a classful of young adults. I stepped outside and there was a Buddhist funural service going on. There was the body in a concrete pyre and men began to put burning wood inside to cremate the body. I saw some women and kids crying for the deceased. It was an amazing place with so many real things happening.
I then asked Paul if I could go to his house. He lives in this tiny, one room shack with a hammock for a bed and a dirt floor. He cooked me a little food he usually eats and his mom brought over a special dish too. We strolled around the neighborhood and talked to a few people, one guy who makes genuine engravings like the ones at Angkor Wat and sells them to hotels and rich tourists. Last night, I paid Paul more than what he asked for for the 3 days. He was pretty happy and invited me to drink with him, some other co-workers, the guest house owner and the owner's family. It was great fun an we raised our glasses every 2 minutes to drink Anchor Beer poured over ice. I did the usual foreigner thing of repeating funny Cambodian phrases to everyone's amusement. I was sad to leave Siem Reap this morning, giving Paul my e-mail and a recieving a promise that he will ask me to invest in a new guest house he wants to open.
Land mines are a part of everyday life all over the country. Millions of mines were laid in the decades of war in the 60s to the 80s and they are still a huge problem today. I visited the Siem Reap mine museum. This small one room building has tons of old mines and bombs gathered by the museum's creator, Aki Ra. He was a child soldier for the Khmer regime and he actually placed many of the mines when he was a child. Today, he works on locating and disarming the old, but still active mines. Several children live at the museum. They are all amputees or are blind. Being in Cambodia, I have seem so many people walking or crawling around missing legs, arms, or everything. There is really no reason for these terrible devices to exist in the first place. Most mines are created by the huge powers: Russia, China or the good old USA, and end up in extremely poor places like here and Laos. About 90 Cambodians are victims of land mines every month.
More to come from Cambodia...
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Greeting from monsoony Cambodia.
Yesterday morning, I boarded a bus in Bangkok and set out for the Thailand's Eastern border with Cambodia. This was a smooth 4 hour drive. Despite arriving at the border and already possessing a Cambodia visa, I waited in a line for a good 2 hours for 2 stamps in my passport. After the nice a/c bus and the paved roads in Thailand, Cambodia was not quite there. The road from the border to the nearest big town of Siem Reap was about 130km of muddy, potholed, washed out slop. We set out from the border at about 4pm and arrived at about 12:30am. Plus, I was in one of those temporary pull down seats in the aisle on our short bus.
This morning I woke up and hopped on the back of a motor-bike with my new friend Paul as my guide. This nice young Cambodian man proceeded to drive me 80km East to the ruins of an ancient Khmer temple. There was no one around there, I had the chance to explore the crumbling stones in the middle of the jungle for several hours. We repeated the same incredible journey back to the city, speeding down the muddy red roads thourgh rice paddies, dogs laying on the road, naked kids waving as a white man passed by, women bathing near the well in mid-afternoon and dump trucks trying to avoid us.
Every time I open my eyes, there is another photograph I am sure I have seen as I paged through our monthly National Geographic as a kid. The culture here is just so amazing. Cambodia is a very poor country and people do what the can to make some money. Cattle are the means to bring crops to the market, sharing the busy roads with scooters and 3 year olds on full sized bikes. Need some gas? Pull over and buy it by the liter from soda bottles recylced as gas containers.
This evening, I walked the grounds of Angkor Wat. This is perhaps the most expansive structure I have ever been in. Oh, and it's 800 years old. I have taken so many pictures the past 2 days and I can't wait to share them. I will spend the next 2 days exploring Angkor Wat and countless other ancient Khmer temples in the area. Stay tuned.
Yesterday morning, I boarded a bus in Bangkok and set out for the Thailand's Eastern border with Cambodia. This was a smooth 4 hour drive. Despite arriving at the border and already possessing a Cambodia visa, I waited in a line for a good 2 hours for 2 stamps in my passport. After the nice a/c bus and the paved roads in Thailand, Cambodia was not quite there. The road from the border to the nearest big town of Siem Reap was about 130km of muddy, potholed, washed out slop. We set out from the border at about 4pm and arrived at about 12:30am. Plus, I was in one of those temporary pull down seats in the aisle on our short bus.
This morning I woke up and hopped on the back of a motor-bike with my new friend Paul as my guide. This nice young Cambodian man proceeded to drive me 80km East to the ruins of an ancient Khmer temple. There was no one around there, I had the chance to explore the crumbling stones in the middle of the jungle for several hours. We repeated the same incredible journey back to the city, speeding down the muddy red roads thourgh rice paddies, dogs laying on the road, naked kids waving as a white man passed by, women bathing near the well in mid-afternoon and dump trucks trying to avoid us.
Every time I open my eyes, there is another photograph I am sure I have seen as I paged through our monthly National Geographic as a kid. The culture here is just so amazing. Cambodia is a very poor country and people do what the can to make some money. Cattle are the means to bring crops to the market, sharing the busy roads with scooters and 3 year olds on full sized bikes. Need some gas? Pull over and buy it by the liter from soda bottles recylced as gas containers.
This evening, I walked the grounds of Angkor Wat. This is perhaps the most expansive structure I have ever been in. Oh, and it's 800 years old. I have taken so many pictures the past 2 days and I can't wait to share them. I will spend the next 2 days exploring Angkor Wat and countless other ancient Khmer temples in the area. Stay tuned.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Banned in Bangkok
Greetings everyone. For the first time, I am blogging from the road. I am currently sitting in an internet cafe just off Kao San Road in Bangkok. Today was my third day here. I arrived Thursday night late and was lucky to find a room. I made sure the room had a fan--more of a jet propellar. I was defintely cool but mostly slept in the fetal position in case it worked its way loose off the cieling.
These 3 days I have mostly spent walking, strolling and working my way around the little free city map I picked up at the airport. I must say, I've covered a good portion of it already. I made a few purchases--a medium sized backpack for shorter excursions, a pair of sandals to avoid doing sock laundry and a pair of pants in order to properly enter the buddhist temples(all fakes, of course). Yesterday, after a long day of walking in the heat, I rewarded myself with a movie in a cavernous, frigid theater. I watched "The Island". It was classic Michael Bay/Armageddon type stuff (Joey, you love it) but the action was pretty good and it served its purpose for about $3.75. After that, my adrenaline was pumping, so I hopped on a TukTuk, a 3 wheel taxi vehicle. The driver was whipping in and out of traffic and I couldn't help but laugh as I held on for my life.
I also moved to a different guest house yesterday, slightly cheaper and a cool place to relax and watch some pirated movies on the first floor. I've arranged for a bus ride to Siem Reap in Cambodia--I will leave Tuesday morning. I plan on working my way through Cambodia, then north to Laos, the back to northern Thailand. Bangkok is most defenitely interesting, but I'm ready to get out. As far as food goes, mostly been eating Thai or Indian, but tonight I had to have some pizza at this one place. I kept walking by and the smell brought me in. I had some amazing Dragonfruit today. Just a few interesting things I've noticed the past few days: tattoo parlors in the back of vans, an abundance of white people but a noticeable lack of American accents, a family of 4 on a scooter on a busy street--no helmets, standing for the Thai national anthem before a movie, old dogs laying and chilling anywhere even in traffic.
This is just a start, but hopefully the next time you hear from me will be in the heart of Cambodia. I'll see if I can't get to a beach while I'm there. Out.
PS - I was in a scavenger hunt in Tokyo a while back. My friend Brooke just sent me the link for some of our pictures. Check 'em out. You'll notice, I'm the guy whose feet are off the ground in each of our team's 3 pictures. Classic.
These 3 days I have mostly spent walking, strolling and working my way around the little free city map I picked up at the airport. I must say, I've covered a good portion of it already. I made a few purchases--a medium sized backpack for shorter excursions, a pair of sandals to avoid doing sock laundry and a pair of pants in order to properly enter the buddhist temples(all fakes, of course). Yesterday, after a long day of walking in the heat, I rewarded myself with a movie in a cavernous, frigid theater. I watched "The Island". It was classic Michael Bay/Armageddon type stuff (Joey, you love it) but the action was pretty good and it served its purpose for about $3.75. After that, my adrenaline was pumping, so I hopped on a TukTuk, a 3 wheel taxi vehicle. The driver was whipping in and out of traffic and I couldn't help but laugh as I held on for my life.
I also moved to a different guest house yesterday, slightly cheaper and a cool place to relax and watch some pirated movies on the first floor. I've arranged for a bus ride to Siem Reap in Cambodia--I will leave Tuesday morning. I plan on working my way through Cambodia, then north to Laos, the back to northern Thailand. Bangkok is most defenitely interesting, but I'm ready to get out. As far as food goes, mostly been eating Thai or Indian, but tonight I had to have some pizza at this one place. I kept walking by and the smell brought me in. I had some amazing Dragonfruit today. Just a few interesting things I've noticed the past few days: tattoo parlors in the back of vans, an abundance of white people but a noticeable lack of American accents, a family of 4 on a scooter on a busy street--no helmets, standing for the Thai national anthem before a movie, old dogs laying and chilling anywhere even in traffic.
This is just a start, but hopefully the next time you hear from me will be in the heart of Cambodia. I'll see if I can't get to a beach while I'm there. Out.
PS - I was in a scavenger hunt in Tokyo a while back. My friend Brooke just sent me the link for some of our pictures. Check 'em out. You'll notice, I'm the guy whose feet are off the ground in each of our team's 3 pictures. Classic.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Sayonara, Japan
In about 48 hours, I will get on a 1-way flight to Bangkok. I will leave Japan after spending 3 years here on the JET Program. There's so much I want to say about Japan and my experiences here. Perhaps I should only say this: To everyone I have met, worked with, jumped off waterfalls with and to Japan as a country, Thank You.
I'll be in SE Asia for about 2 months before heading back to the states. I can't wait to get to Thailand, a country I have heard so much about but never been to. I'll try to keep updating this when I am travelling, but it could be spotty. Feel free to e-mail me to sey hay. Stay tuned for more Champon Adventures...
I'll be in SE Asia for about 2 months before heading back to the states. I can't wait to get to Thailand, a country I have heard so much about but never been to. I'll try to keep updating this when I am travelling, but it could be spotty. Feel free to e-mail me to sey hay. Stay tuned for more Champon Adventures...
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
A good-bye barbeque
On Saturday, I joined the Ishizuka and Yoshida Families (minus Michiyo and Taiji, repectively) for a great barbeque at Minoru's favorite spot in Kikuchi. The weather was a good 35 degrees. But the river was high which allowed some fun in the water with the kids. It was a great time until my sandal fell off and floated away. On the way back, we paused to pick a few of the blooming sunflowers in Shisui.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
City Hash, July 17, 2005
The blazing 35c afternoon of July 17 witnessed the 32nd running of the Kyushu Hash House Harriers (The Professor’s Return). With Disco A** set on organizing a successful day after a minor fiasco in Miyazaki last month, the group gathered in front of Kumamoto Station among sleeping ojiisans and yelping school girls. The group set out and was quickly confused by the diverging trails and maze of ancient shrines and monuments of the Kitaoka Nature Park. Then it was on through the noodle-thin streets of Yokote Machi. The trails meandered through forgotten toriis and emerged at the newly gutted Shimasaki Quarry (as seen before on Champon Adventures). With an option to bask in the ectoplasmic green waters of the ancient quarry, the hashers made their way east back towards the city. On Home was reached after the trail wound through the raked rock gardens of the Hosokawa Mansion, a bum residence and the massive parking lot for the high school baseball tournament. Everyone found relief in the cool breeze and ample shadiness of Ninomaru Park. As the clouds rolled in and the lightning began, a rousing religion was held. The gods rumbled their approval, for Disco A** had made these hashers smile.
The dirty details:
-25 heads turned out. There were 7 immortals and about 7 virgins along with 4 Miyazakians, a long way from home.
- A more-red-than-usual Alastair finished the course about 10 minutes after Disco A** and caused DA’s heart to jump when he earlier cried in anguish happening upon the YBF.
- No one was overcome by the heat to the point of medical attention. Thanks for doin’ it safe everyone.
- 2 hashers merit special attention for their (before the jump) loins of steel. James and Mark took up my offer of an 8m jump into the quarry lake. Its
- There were 3 immortalizations on the day:
(1) – Alastair was coined “Red Raja” after many stellar hash performances. His blazing red speed and hair to match along with his genealogy of Indian oppression were brought to light.
(2) – Nancy, always bringing her legendary genkiness to each hash was made into Sister “Poo Ticket” —the Japanese toilet paper brand bearing her name(Hello! Nancy!) and its Aussie slang term.
(3) – Miyazaki hare Emily was baptized as “Jacko Flash”. She has previously introduced the hash (and alcohol: one in the same) to young high school boys in MiyaBama. Also quoted was her great hash performances and propensity to shed her inhibitions at various times.
- After about a year hiatus, Professor Quintana marked a successful return to the hash thanks to its Sunday placement.
- A big thanks to everyone who made it out. It’s great to have such numbers and especially a good number of first-timers. Keep spreading the word.
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On the occasion of personally completing 3 happy years on the Kumamoto/Kyushu HHH, I want to share some facts and personal shout outs. Most of this information can be found in the ever-expanding Official Kyushu Hash Excel Spreadsheet. You can see a small sample here or download it from the Kumamoto AJET Yahoo!Groups page. Make it yours today!
This was the 32nd running of the hash. I have been a hare or a co-hare for 10 hashes. I have not missed a hash in the last 3 years here, that’s 24 of them. I’ve also hashed in Hong Kong, Singapore and I will hash soon in Thailand. We have had some excellent hashes this year. 4 out of 9 hashes brought crowds of over 20. The hash is alive and well. Big shouts to Kumamoto Hash founders Austin, aka Sakuraba, and James Ringworm. Also, hash legends Muppet, Fracas, Lettuce, Sonic-san—you’d be proud. I am happy to have continued the tradition during my time in Japan. This has been my livelihood while I have been here and I will miss it. I am confident this strong tradition will continue for many years. Sh*tf*ck, Sliced Bush, Nuck-a-Nuts, Jacko Flash, Bitchiro and all you other immortals that will be sticking around: You have been chosen from many to show others the way. Keep it up here and in Miyazaki and bring it elsewhere. Be proud of who you are, don’t forget your roots and most of all, ON ON!
If you happen to have the picture from the starting box, could you mail it to me or post it in comments? Thanks.
Last Lesson
Today, I had my last English classes in Japan. I decided to play a game of maru/batsu. It is the Japanese version of true/false, where I read a statement and the students walk to the true or false side of the room and rack up points if they're right. I made all the statements about myself and Japan. Here were the questions, how many could you get right?
1 Mark is 26 years old.
2 Mark eats onigiri for breakfast. (rice ball wrapped in seaweed)
3 In Korea, Mark ate dog. (actually it was China)
4 Mark went surfing for the first time in Miyazaki.
5 Mark studies Kanji by watching Japanese Comedy TV Programs.
6 Mark will travel to Africa when he leaves Japan.
7 Mark’s brother Joe lived in Fukuoka.
8 Mark thinks the most delicious takoyaki is in Osaka. (octopus dough ball)
9 Mark went snowboarding in Hokkaido and Nagano.
10 Mark passed 2kyu Japanese test. (3kyu)
11 Mark know the kanji for ”へ” 屁 (fart).
12 Mark had a bicycle, motorbike and a car in Japan.
13 Mark always likes to eat school lunch.
14 Mark has been to the Kumamoto Fish Auction.
15 Mark went scuba diving in Thailand.
16 Mark lives on a farm in America.
17 Mark say Aya Ueto at a shopping mall in Tokyo. (popular Japanese pop star)
18 Mark watched the sumo championship in Fukuoka.
19 Mark has been to Australia and New Zealand.
20 Mark can write his first and last name in katakana in less than 5 seconds. (マークフィンガーハット）
1 Mark is 26 years old.
2 Mark eats onigiri for breakfast. (rice ball wrapped in seaweed)
3 In Korea, Mark ate dog. (actually it was China)
4 Mark went surfing for the first time in Miyazaki.
5 Mark studies Kanji by watching Japanese Comedy TV Programs.
6 Mark will travel to Africa when he leaves Japan.
7 Mark’s brother Joe lived in Fukuoka.
8 Mark thinks the most delicious takoyaki is in Osaka. (octopus dough ball)
9 Mark went snowboarding in Hokkaido and Nagano.
10 Mark passed 2kyu Japanese test. (3kyu)
11 Mark know the kanji for ”へ” 屁 (fart).
12 Mark had a bicycle, motorbike and a car in Japan.
13 Mark always likes to eat school lunch.
14 Mark has been to the Kumamoto Fish Auction.
15 Mark went scuba diving in Thailand.
16 Mark lives on a farm in America.
17 Mark say Aya Ueto at a shopping mall in Tokyo. (popular Japanese pop star)
18 Mark watched the sumo championship in Fukuoka.
19 Mark has been to Australia and New Zealand.
20 Mark can write his first and last name in katakana in less than 5 seconds. (マークフィンガーハット）
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