Saigon, Phnom Phen

Well i'm in phnom phen right now, it's pouring rain outside and were waiting for the bus to come get us to go to siem reap. Saigon was interesting, a bit of a blur but that's fine with me, big cities aren't really what i'm looking for. Got in around 7, found a place to stay and went out for some drinks and of course met up with people that we had seen in hoi an. Well fifty cents for a bottle of beer, can't go wrong. The next morning after maybe, mmm, a few hours of sleep, we went on the tour to the cu chi tunnels. It was quite interesting although there wasn't much to see. OUr guide was a south vietnamese veteran so it was the most interesting talking to him and his experience. Then, we got dropped off at the War remnants museum, had some luch and explored. The museum was interesting, lost of relic american war stuff and some pretty amazing photos, no kiddy stuff that's for sure. Walking home from the museum was interesting, the traffic was intense and i just liked crossing the street, i could do that all day, hehe. We got some good videos. That night had some really good thais curry and of course met up with the group at the same local place with cheap beer. Afterwards, me and 2 of the kiwis decided that we had better find some dancing in the club district. Well again, that was interesting. Many prostitutes, well i think so, sometimes it's hard to tell who's who. It was fun though just got a beer and danced for a couple of hours. When we went to leave, it was a serious downpour. We waited for a bit but it didn't seem it was gonna totally let up so we caught a cab back to our hostel area. When we got there, it soon died down and so we walked the rest of the day. Funny how i miss the rain, it puts a smile on my face. The next morning we woke up early and went to the saigon waterpark. Since we were flying to Phnom phen and were really only saving a few hours( It turned out to be more than that as the bus was really late, hehe), so we decided we better make use of it. So i spent the last few hours of my time in vietnam in a waterpark. It was fun though, they had tons of rides, tubes for people and tubes for rafts, and wave pools etc... So the flight was 20 minutes and we got a place on the lake and went to the killing fields. Quite the contrast from the waterpark... Well it was interesting, just the walk around bones and old clothes everywhere, the evil is everywhere. It's quite hard to understand how people can be allowed to make other people do such terrible things and the fact that there is still no justice. That night we sat on the deck overlooking the lake and watched the amazing sunset and scenery, had some food, some drinks, and just chilled out. It was great. Today we got up early, said bye to Lisa who was going back to NZ and set off to see the grand palace and the genocide museum. The palace was quite spectacular, and all kept in tip top shape. Don't know really how to descibe it, you'll just have to see the photos. The genocide museum was located in a high school that was turned into the largest prison and interrogation centre by the Kmer rouge. It was really sad, just to picture the cruelty and pain that envellopes thsi complex. There were 20,000 people saif to be intered here over the years of the regime and 7 survived. To stare at the many photos pf the victims struck you hard. And the stories of many of them were really touching. A country in tourmoil with people with little choice in the matter. Well gonna catch the bus to siam reap, got 3 nights, 2 days there and then fly to bangkok fo rthe day and then i'm home. i gotta say i'm kinda looking forward to it now that's it's happening and i know it, hehe. well talk to you or see you soon.

Nha Trang- Mui ne

Hey there, not going to even bother with photos but i thought that i would keep you updated. So that day after i put up the last entry i walked down the street, went to the post office to phone the airline to try to change my flight for the hundreth time. So i was on hold and i hear, "your call will be answered in one minute", then a minute later, "your call will e answered in 2 minutes", then a few minutes later, "your call will be answered in 3 minutes". so i just hung up the phone and said forget it. So then i was walking down the street to go to the beach, ut one of the many people offering motorbike rides got my attention and translate some written testaments of previous customers that was french. So then i read numerous testaments of how amazing the trip is, i think to myself, i can be on the each anyday. So i say yes, let's go. It was actually such an experience. He took me way out into the countryside, to the beautiful rice fields and sugar cane fields. We went to these cool waterfalls, stopping along the way anytime i want to take some pics and give some cookies to the kids in the minority villages. The water falls were quite nice where we swam and had lunch. On the way back, we stopped at a school where i gave a large ox of cookies to the teacher to give out to the students. Then we stopped at a sugar cane factory which was really interesting. We then stopped at a spot where they were processing rice with this thing that looked like a quarter tanker truck. The people there were so friendly as i dout that they see many tourists out here. Amazing what a difference tha makes. After visiting some sights of the city, the huge white buddha and some champa ruins, we went ack to his local spot for some saigon beers. That was awesome, his english was actually really good, a good friend of his stopped by and joined us for a bit. one lady was trying to teach me all the words to describe different body parts, etc... Really cool experience and i now know why there was so many good reviews. After that i went ack to the hotel and then met up with the kiwis and the americans who were hanging out at a local place. the irish wussed out. then we went to the why not ar where me and 2 of the kiwis just danced up a storm as there wasn't much else to do. On the way to the beach at 2:30am, i had the best baguette sandwich ever, hehe and we chilled at the each before i returned to the hotel. Of course was woken up by a knock on the door, had slept through my alarm and had to get on the us at 8am. So grabed my stuff and out the door i went. The bus ride wasn't too ad, about 5 hours, arriving in mui ne around 1:30pm. Got a room and a motorbike and drove to the kiteoarding place. unfortunately, there was not enough wind to do kiteboarding, nor was there gonna be any for the next 5 days so that was out. instead just drove my motornike around and pretty much went down every paved road possible until it ended, hehe. Took in the sand dunes at sunset where you can slide down them on carpets. Good sleep last night and today was gonna do some windsurfing but the wind is even worse today so maybe just gonna lie around. Got a 2pm us to saigon then maye quickly into cambodia, still gotta decide that. well take care

Hoi an-Nha trang

Well here i am at another shitty vietnam comp with so usb access, i might as well just wait until i get back, hehe. Hoi an was a really cool place, i was going to stay there for only a few days but that soon turned into 5. I went out and partied every night, 4 nights in a row to the same bar. Full moon bar that's about 5-7kms out of town and you gotta hop on the back of someones bike for the ride out and back. It was crazy. The first night i went out with the irish. The second night the irish bailed out very early, wusses, so i headed out with this other crowd 3kiwi girls, another irish guy and a new yorker and a albertan, that we had been talking to in pretty much the only bar in old town. The night after that, when we went for dinner, who do we find at the cafe playing pool but Damian and Barry the irish from Hanoi. So we had to go out again, the whole irish crew was there but it was so interesting to see a brand new group of people there everynight, hehe. Well except for me of course. That was a crazy nights, one of the irish ended up pulling a girl and frank was cloes but at the last minute, didn't remember her name, hehe. It was quite funny to hear that in the morning. The last night i met with the new zealand girls for dinner then i met up with Maria who was in town with her parents for one night so i had to show her out on the town of course. And there was this crazy older aussie guy who was allowed to drive a scooter around this bar, actually in it, hehe. Around the pool table, do a dew laps, would never see that in vancouver. The days were spent sleeping in of course, at least a little bit, then the day would commmence usually around 12 or 1. Went to the same beach as before one more time. Then spent 2 other days on the nicer beach, did some runs, hung out in paridise. One day we took our scooters out to the my son ruins, about 50km out of town. Now the ruins were pretty destroyed by american bombs but it was still cool as they were from the 7th century but i thought the best part was the drive out there. We drove through countryside, on a major highway, i think i'm really starting to like this scooter thing, hehe. Got some suits made during the day and pants too. So very cheap and there on there way home as i'm writing this, well i hope they are at least. Then i caught a night bus to Nha Trang, arriving at 6:30am. Got a room and tried passing out but the kiwi girls wanted to get out and have some breakfast. We were maybe gonna book a ticket on the boat tours they have to the islands but we decided to get breakfast first and think about it. And of course who do we see at the hotel across from ours, waiting for the bus to take them on their boat trip... Damian and Barry. So we jumped on their trip, i think they were still drunk from the night before. They called it a booze cruise, and in a few ways it really was. We drove out to the islands, the first one had some really cool snorkling. The coral was in really good shape, i'm no coral expert but it was all alive at least and there were many fish and such, i can see why the diving here is so popular. The next stop we had lunch on the boat which was amazing. All kinds of foods for us to share in the benches that converted into a large table. The after lunch, what's the plan. Well the crew comes out and plays some songs, we had a guitarist, a drummer with some barrels but a real bass druma dn pretty much the worst looking cymbal i have ever seen. It was hilarious and very entertaining. So what do we do after that, well get some life buoys and set up the floating bar to get some free wine and pinneaple. So we drank all of that, then took over another boats floating bar, drank all of their and our guide even went to a 3rd boat to get a few more bottles. we were quite the posse. After this crazy fest, we stopped at another island were we could lie down and rest a bit from the drinking. Tried to play some volleyball but they wanted $6 just to rent the ball, ridiculous. At the last island, a small fishing village, some people went on these crazy basket rides and the rest of us just did jumps of the boat, couldn't get my back flip down unfortunately. After getting back to the hotel i had to nap, i was exhausted. Went out that night of course though, to this pretty good bar, the Why not? bar, pretty much one of the best bar names i have ever heard. Partyied here for a bit but didn't stay out too late as there wasn't too much going on and damian and the kiwis left quite early. well i'm gonna go hit the beach now but it was good to catch up on this a bit. sorry there are no photos, maybe next time. i'm outro

Hanoi-Halong bay-Hoi an

OK well I'm in Hoi an now, finally getting to some beach time, although it's almost one and i'm just getting up, hehe. A little bit of a late party night, but that's ok, gotta do it once and a while. Ok so i got quite a bit to talk about, and again there are no photos as this computer that i'm using doesn't even have usb ports, hehe. oh well, at some point i'll just do pics. So that night in hanoi was interesting. We went out for some dinner at the Legends pub, which looked out onto this really busy intersection and so it was just interesting watching the traffic try to negotiate itself. Then after dinner, we went to the top floor where there was a bar for a few more drinks, met up with the 2 other irish guys from the tour and picked up this aussie guy who had just gotten here and was by himself. We also met Jon and his girlfriend, who were old friends with Keith from home and living and working in Hanoi. After a few here, we got taken to their local joint, a nice little place with a sweet upstairs lounge and a pool table downstairs, a nice feel to it. We talked up all kinds of people here, mostly who were living and working in Hanoi. Good group of people for sure. Then when this bar was losing it's energy, we went to the late night place just outside of the old quarter. It was really good that we had an insider to tell us all these things. The doorman was either a policeman or had a policeman uniform, hehe which was interesting. The bottom floor had a bar and large dancefloor that was packed already with farangs and vietnamese farang friends. there was pool tables as well. the second floor was more of a lounge with another bar, and there was even a top dark flooor, ooohh. There was also a nice large terrace that overlooked the river. Nice place, and i think open till whenver, maybe 6am? hehe. Well i did some dancing but soon i was hitting the lounge hard, getting tired of drinking and just content to hang out and talk to whoever came and sat down with me. The irish boys wre going quite hard, hehe. Eventually, i think it was prolly around 3:30-4am, Matty(the aussie) and i decide that it's time to walk home. Well we know the direction kinda but once you get into the old quarter, things can become very confusing fast. We eventually came to this open bright area that was packed with all kinds of people sorting through ginger, garlic, limes, fruits etc..., getting ready for the next days market i assume. It was quit the crazy sight to see at 4am, hehe. Eventually found my way and after banging on the door a bit got someone to let me in.

So 2 hours of sleep later, i'm up and ready to get on the bus for the Halong bay trip. And who of course are across the street, having just got in and are now having breakfast? Keith and Frank, still hammered, especially Keith. When they left the cafe, they headed in the complete opposite direction, even though the hotel was right across the street, hehe. So i went and got the back but Keith refuesd to go to bed until he got some chips, and it only cost him 1.5 hours of wandering around lost and got no chips... shoudl have jsut gone to bed. Well the 3 hour bus ride to Halong bay city was a bit rough but once i got on the boat, things were a lot better. The Boat was beautiful, no backparcker boat, hehe. They served us lunch and we started relaxing. There were a kiwi couple, a aussie couple, a belgian family of 5 who were living in bangkok, and a family of 4 from Denmark, visiting their daughter who was living in Hanoi. The scenery is absolutely amazing. Beautiful shear cliffs, little islands everywhere, enormous caves that we visited and also a lookout point with an amizing 360 degree view. A place where the pictures truly don't do justice. When we got to the place where we were going to stay for the night, Marie(Danish girl living in Hanoi) and I went for a little kayak trip and you could go under this cavern into an enclosed bay which was quite spectacular and so peaceful.

That night we had dinner and stayed up as long as i could talking with the kiwis and aussies but only lated until about 11:30 when i had to crash. The next morning after breakfast, Marie and i went kayaking again and this time i had my own boat as the tour guide came with us. It was relaly nice, the sun came out, gave me a bit of a burn but oh well. I was trying to find some cliffs to jump off of but didn't bring my sandals, didn't even think that i would need them but the rocks are freaking ridiculously sharp, like needles right into your foot so i could never get to places that i had spotted. There were so many good spots though, overhanging rocks and such, with really deep water. Well after this we cruised back to the bay, had lunch at a restaurant in Halong bay city and rode the bus back into town.

That night i caught up with Keith and frank, who had done little but party and sleep since i left and we caught the 11pm train to Da Nang. 14 hours later, that actually went by a lot faster than i thought it would. Took a taxi from Da Nang to Hoi an and now am staying in this really nice hotel, $14 a night but it's luxury and i don't get the chance to "splurge" like this most other places. We went out for some food and drinks in the afternoon, then rented some motorbikes and drove out to the beach for some late afternoon, sun setting beach time. The day had been really slow on the beach so we were soon surrounded by people and eventually we were drinking beer, eating peanuts and getting foot massages. You can only say no for so long. After driving back we went out to try and find some place for some drinks and such but there wasn't much available and we learned that the full moon bar 7kms out of town is the late night place to go. There are always a few, you just have to find them. So we went there to find an interesting place with fully graffitied walls, a pool table and a bar, simple yet effective. There were a whole whack of people from all over, we chatted up many, partied and went home around 2am, i think. all i know is i woke up today at 12, air con is so sweet sometimes and now it's almost 2 and i need to get going on the day. Gonna hit the beach i think, that's prolly a good idea, hehe. Need some food though. Sorry that this one is so long but it''s so much tougher to find internet places in vietnam, especially after thailand and laos. oh well i'll try to keep up better. Take care everyone.

Hanoi

Anyways, maybe no photos this time as that doesn't seem to be working but i'll add them later. The last day in Vientiene was interesting. I took the tuk tuk again andthought i was getting a sweet deal until i found out when we got back that it was a misunderstanding. damn, i got hit twice, i should have just rented a moto for 24 hours, it would have been cheaper than a freaking 30min taxi ride. Then i decided that i would go watch a movie and have some food maybe but as it was Lao new year, it turned out to not be an option. I was stopped on the way there and fed beers and food by these crazy dancing gang of guys and one girl who had been partying all day and weren't planning on stopping anytime soon. It was hilarious, the had this big speaker pumping out tunes, electronic mostly, which is was better than thai pop and stopping everyone coming down the street to get them soaked as is the custom. The drunkest guy actually physically stopeed people as the rest of us with buckets would soak them, hehe. The one video i got is quite funny. So 4 hours later or so, i'm pretty tipsy, even though i was gonna stop frinking and i had to get on a plane to another country. I had no choice though... Anyways, the flight went off great, so much better than a 24 hour bus ride and there was even a person waiting at the other end with my name on a sign to take me to my hotel in the old town. Went walking around that night in search of some pho, ran into this student who was selling books and maps and such for money for shcool, maybe... and he took me to this place and we hada huge meal, with all types of meats and this big bowl of boiling broth that we cooked it all in. it was really awesome, no matter what the bill was, it was worth it. Woke us the next day to take the day hanoi toor. Saw Ho chi minh, interesting... creepy..., saw some museums and some famous pagodas, tiring day but worht it if your only here for a day. When we returned i walked around the old quarter adn got totally lost of course, the streets here are ridiculous, not much street room, way too many motorbikes and cars and almost no rules, hehe. I have trouble even walking, i couldn't imagine driving. Now i'm writing this entry. Tomorrow morning i will be taking a 2 day trip to halong bay and then when i get back to hanoi, i hope on the overnight train to Da Nang. Well gotta get some dinner, take care everyone. The weatehr here is sooo mcuh better, nice comfy sleeps and no need for air/con, mmm...

Vietniene

Well, last day in Vientiene as I fly out to vietnam tonight at 7pm. Excited to get to veitnam and check that place out. this is quite the whirlwind tour of asia but only so much time so what are you gonna do hey? I like it anyways as it forces me to move on but i know some places that i could for sure come back and hang out in longer. Anyways, yesterday was another solo adventure. I went to see the That Louang Stupa, the most religious site in Laos and the Patouxai, which is the vientiene version of the arc de triomphe. of course the one time where i don't ask the fares before hand, they are ridiculously expensive. so when i returned, he asked for $10, which is absurd, but what could i do, i gave him $8 and left. well for it being the first time that i have gotten actually ripped off, that's nt too bad. Always ask the price before hand, always. The stupa was actually quite amazing and the view from the top of the Patouxai is quite nice of this sprawled out village. I had met some people that i knew from the slow boat there and agreed to meet them later at a cafe. In the meantie i went to get my plane tickets and passport and then walked down to the river to see what's going on. There was a huge spectacle of things going on right at the waters edge, which was quite far from the city. There was lots of stands with food and drink and so many people swimming in full clothing of course and a few soccer pitches where there was a tourney going on and even some inflatabble slides. Well i got some food and drink here watched some soccer and tried talking to people but only slightly succeded. Then i met up with the peeps from the slow boat but only for a bit as they were getting on a bus to continue their journey south, so i continued on my way. Back to the room for a rest and then get some quick cheap dinner. Then, as when i was at the stupa, they were setting up this large stage and the tuk-tuk driver said that it would start at 7:30, so i thought get there by 9 and i would be fine. Well this time i walked of course and it took a little longer than expected so when i rolled in at around 9:10, they prolly had finished maybe 15 minutes ago, hehe. Oh well i think that there are things going on there all day today so maybe i'll go check it out in the afternoon. So another early night in laos, seems always inevitable. Take care everyone.

Vientiene

Hey there everyone, still in vientiene, flying out tomorrow night at 7pm to hanoi so a few days left. After the first night with the Finns, which again ended early as the kick you out at 12am. No worries. Went back to the guesthouse and after one not very good sleep there in the intense heat, i decided that i needed some aircon, so i splurged on a $12 room with air con, fridge, bathroom, tv, and window, and the place has a roof terrace. Totally worth it as it is very very hot here right now, it's crazy. Maybe i'm just a wuss, all the lao people have no problem with it, hehe. It was worth it as i wasn't woken up by the heat this morning and slept till 10:30, so nice. anyways, this ton is quite interesting, being the capital and yet still the streets aren't completed and many of the buildings are quite run down but that's lao style for you. It's nice though because you can walk pretty much everywhere which makes it so much easier for navigating. Saw a few of the sights, will see a few more today and bought a burnt dvd for a dollar fifty so maybe try that out tomorrow before i head to the airport. I hope the vietnam coast is just a little cooler, it has to be, hehe. Anyways, all by myself now but it's been kinda nice having my own space and do what i want to. i'm sure that i'll meet someone on the plane over to vietnam or in the guesthouse and have a partner again. no biggie anyways, not much plans for today and so not much to say, gonna have some lunch, chill for a bit as everything is closed from 12-1 and then see some sights for a bit come back maybe get a massage, dinner and see what's happening for the new year celebrations? All of this can change too, hehe but it's good to have some sort of plan. anyways, everyone take care.

Vang Vieng-Vientiene

Ok, so now i am in vientiene. it's amazing how samll a place can feel but this city feels really small. It was a nice journey on the bus today and i have everything set up for vietnam, had to pay a little more for the visa so that i can leave here on saturday but no problem, flying to hanoi on a hour flight is way better than 24 on the bus, whatever the cost, and you just have to look big scale. Vang Vieng is a nice location but is lacking in the feel. It was more like an amsterdam in laos and there was construction everywhere. The first night, we partied quite a bit and it was feelng a little too much like a spring break party, kinda weird but oh well. The next morning i did not get up early as i had splurged on a a/c room, mmm... We didn't get tubing until 1pm and this was a little late as the sun went behind the large rock mountain that faces the town. It was still fun though to go on the swings and float around drinking beer lao of course. It was crazy how tired i was after this though, i don't know the full reason but crashed from 7-10pm, woke up to go get some food, got a pancake and some water and returned to bed, hehe. what an exciting time you say, but it was good for me. some much needed comfortable rest. Man it is really hot here. ok well there is not much else to say i guess, just wated to throw some pics up and say hi.

Louang Phabang-Vang Vieng

Ok so now i am in vang vieng, the internet this was a lot easier in thailand but still it's fine here too maybe i'm just lazy, hehe. anyways, the past few days have been a blast. we got a nice place to stay for 5 bucks a night and this group of 7 or so cam to our place the next day after we told them how good it was and they told us how bad theirs was, hehe, suckers. anyways, there is a sweet night market in the town with many things to buy, i wish i cuold teleport stuff backl but alas i can only get little things here and there. That night we went out to dinner and then to a bar for some drinks, the german retired, i guess they can only drink lots of beer during the day, hehe, so it was me and the finnish couple. we had one drink and at 11 decide to go to another place where there where other people from the boat. But of course as we were walking in the next place they were walking out as last call had already passed. Things in laos close at 11:30, hehe. So we got a good night's sleep at least.
The next day after a leasurely(i can't spell) breakfast along the mekong, we took a tuk-tuk to the speedboat launch and took the speedboat tothe buddha caves where there are many buddha statues and paintings. We had seen speedboat go past when we cam down from Houay Xai and most of them were wearing helmets. BUt of course we had none. I probably felt a lot safer than it actually was but oh well. After the caves, we decided to cross the river for some beerlao, and of course because of this trip, we ran out of gas 200m from our destination, hehe. total lao style. after some paddling we got a little bit of gas from another boat, and got close enough to paddle into our spot. That night, we went out again to the same place and had to leave at 11:30 but this time we heard of this place that is somehow open to 2am. maybe owned by the gov't? well whatver it was, all the bartenders were flaming with orange shirts and the place was full of farangs. But it was Piet's last night so you gotta go a little more.
The next day me and the fins and one canadian went to the famous waterfalls which were actually quite amazing. some very nice cliff jumping and a good rope swing and lush jungle forest. It is now the new years festival here which is also called the water festival as people soak everyone driving/biking by. and so as out taxi is more like a truck and because we are farangs, it is impossible to arrive back at your hostel with a single thread of dry clothing. It's a good things it's hot here. i bought a watergun but that doesn't compete with buckets of water... We had a nice chill night of shopping and cards and of course beerlao and hopped on the bus at 9am this morning to vang vieng. the scenery was amazing, rugged sharp mountains encased in lush jungle. but it made the journey very long and rough and windy. tomorrow we shall do some tubing and such then it's off to vientiene. ok this is plenty long enough. ok well i wanted to add more photos but it's doesn't like me, i just though maybe i should be loading while i write...hehe

Louang Prabang

Hey there, so now i am in laos and survived the 2 day slow boat, which of course was no where near as bad as some people had said or some things i had read, it's really all about the attitude and the people you are with and the number of beers you drink... Anyways, the last day in Chang Mai was nice, i was able to recover from the sickness and also meet up with Eddie, an old family friend who has been living in Thailand for 6 years now. We met for breakfast and then then again later that afternoon. I met his family and was able to stay at his place and spent the night with beers and other talking about working in the bush stories and a few of my parents party day stories. Then the next day i had the 6 hour bus ride to Chiang Khong. The bus ride went alright, i'm so glad that i have my mp3 player that's for sure and i was able to cross the border into Laos that night with no problem. (Again a lot different than all the other stories that i had gotten, hehe.) I met this woman from San Diego and this guy from Berlin and we hit up the town as best as it could be for Laos. I got to play some soccer with a bunch of kids on the beach which was sweet, i didn't get to do that in Thailand although i had wanted to. The guy from berlin pete, came on the slow boat with me the next day and even though the boat is kinda slow the day went by fairly fast as he made me drink beers all day, hehe. That's what germans do. We actually had to get out at one point and walk for a bit as the water was so shallow, that was quite entertaining watching all these foreigners walking along with my beer in hand, hehe. The scenery is amazing though, the rocks are very deformed and the jungle amazing. We would stop and vendors would come on to sell more beer and pringles and such. Near the end as the sun was setting pete and i sneaked on the roof whihc was cool now and it was beautiful to get some serene time with the sun going down. We stopped for the night in Pakbang which really was kinda a ump but what do you expect from a place where most people stay one night and leave the next day. So one night, no problem. We loaded on the boat the next day and this time they packed us into one as a few people weren't taking the boat the whole way, but as long as you have a seat your ok. The day was fun though, we of course started drinking some beers at 12, and i got the chess board out for a mini tournament with germans, finnish and swedish and a canadian(me). the swedish guy was really good and won the european championship but i was able to squeek by a stalemate for the world championship, hehe. We met many others on the boat as well, some girls from kelowna, one from whistler etc... Gonna stay here a few nights maybe take a speedboat to some caves, there are waterfalls, wats on mountains... Then i will go to vang viang i think... take care everyone. oops, 2 of the same picture.

Pai

ok, gotta get back on track. I am now banck in Chang Mai after 3 nights in Pai. It is quite the place, true countryside as i had imagined it to be. We stayed in these really cool bungaloos just outside of town, prolly the nicest place so far for sure. the place was called Pairadise, get it. hehe. Anyways, spent one day waling around and checking out the town, which really has little to check out but that's more what i was up for. That night, the storm came and knocked the power out as we were finishing up dinner and although it came back on maybe 45min later, we were already in chill at our place mode so that night was over. The next day we had planned to get up early and hike to this waterfall that was supposedly a 4 hour hike. BUt of course, we didn't get going until 11 and 3 hours in decided that we should turn back(sucked when some people passed us as we were swimming as they todl us that we were prolly only 20 minutes away, hehe) it was really nice to hike around though, kinda like another say in the office but in a jungle.

That night, we had one of the local foreigners, as tehre is quite teh large foreigner hippie community there and ended up meeting whole bunch of people at this party that night. quite the characters, people that had been there for months and months, i don't know how they do it but i guess it's easy to get caught up in, if your into that type of thing. it was a fun party though, they had a band from chang mai in and played lots of covers and when the band ended they threw on some electronic music which was sweet. the we headed to the bamboo bar which doesn't really open until 1am and were there from 3-4am, the only reason that i was still awake is that i wasn't drinking as i'm still learning to drive the scooter sober let alone drunk.

the next day was a lazy morning and we took the bike touring around to a waterfall that you could slide down and some canyons as well. Then afterwards, as the sun was setting i just rode around for a while with my headphones in. I can sure see how that can be addictive. That night there was another blackout but there was almost nothing open as the elections were today and they want those voters sober. we eventually found a place with these torontonians who was kinda selling illegally, but the night turned bad fast. my food poisoning sickness set in instantly and i was pucking all night. still feeling weak today and so gonna chill out here for a day at least before heading into laos to make sure that i'm better. take care everyone