Nemo And The Jets

Last day in paradise and it's raining
my luck, so much for the tan.
one dive to do tomorrow, and a boat ride to Phuket in the afternoon.
I'm staying the night there, and flying to Bangkok the next day.
One night in Bangkok, and off to Canada I go.
I don't really want to go back and face "reality",but I guess all good things come to an end.
Things aren't gonna be the same as when I was there, and I guess that might be the reason why I don't want to go back.
Well and the fact it's winter LOL
I'm sitting here in shorts and a Tee typing this less than a week I'll be in a sweater, pants and a jacket :(
I took alot of pics in my travels, but hardly any of this place. The plan today was to do that but the weather is the shitz....maybe later??

Trigger Fish

When bouncing around from the beach to Internet cafes
ya never know what your gonna get, for example:
a sunburn, or a computer that doesn't have chat
When ya want to chat with someone, and there's slim chance you might catch em online
your happy until, the computer you rent for 2baht a minute does not have the smarts to do so :(
Speaking of smarts, she was right again
I signed up for a 3 day open water dive course here on Koh Phi Phi
very scary and weird at first, but now I think it's pretty frickin cool!
I'm halfway to certification with 2 dives left to do..
Today we did a 10m dive in the bay where "the beach" was filmed
Saw to many fish to list, and a giant sleeping turtle
no nemo's yet though
I wonder who will show up first the chat or the Nemo?

Runaway Train

A rainy day in paradise
A island where the music scene is behind,
lots of tunes I have not heard in like 12 yrs
kinda cool and it brought back memories!
Staying at the rock backpacker hostel
got a room the size of a twin mattress in the room there are 3 things:
mattress
light
fan
Not pretty, but very cheap and after a few days I'm gonna relocate to a real hotel room just for the hot non seawater showers!

I'm Ascending To Outer Space, To Find Another Race

Full moon party was fun, but really not my scene
I'm gonna guess maybe 20,000 ppl in attendance!
Was fun to watch the drunk as shit ppl passed out and stumbling around :)
Left the day after the party and took a flight to Phuket
a couple islands to visit then the party is OVER
back to Canada I go :(
I am sad, but it will be a refreshing change of pace.
Peoples relationship with animals and the amount of stray dogs and cats
you see in SE Asia is starting to get to me,I mean they are everywhere, picking through garbage and sleeping on the street.
Granted there is nothing I can do, but I feel bad for the dogs and cats.

Be Yourself, Take Only What Ya Need From It

What have I been up to?
Well I'm on an island in the south of Thailand and besides working on my tan;
-I have met some great people. One guy from England who is an expert at the contact ball and juggling. The contact ball is the coolest thing I have seen. It's basically a round ball the size of a cantaloupe and he balances it up and down his arms, neck, and body ( anyway look it up F'n cool! His german friend is quite the character aswell!
-Saw Muay Thai boxing from the third row. 6 KO's outta 8 fights...got pics
-Learned to Juggle(sort of)
-Smoked a little and watched the sun go down
-Lost money at the worst poker game I ever been to. All the players were drunk and it took like ten minutes a hand, so I threw all my chips in and gladly lost and left the table.
- Huge full moon party tonight on the beach, not my scene but gonna check it out anyhow
-been wondering where my suit is I sent from Vietnam to Canada.
-been waiting for an email, that doesnt seem to be coming
-been drinkin alot of Singha and Leo beer
Thats all folks
Off to Koh Samui tomorrow to check it out, before I leave the sun and return to the snow :(

Beach Bums

Well Koh Phangnan is nice
I decided to get away from the party scene
and went to the north coast of the island.
Well, let me tell ya I was away from the party scene and
everything else in the world
saw like 5 people in 30+ hours!
Beach was nice,saw some crabs eating a dead fish!
The bungalow was not so nice, but what can u expect for 5 bux a night?
Met some hippe dude, who happened to be my bungalow neighbour
He was OK, but a little to far out of his brain to be the only person to talk to, so that got old fast. LOL
Today I relocated back to party central.
Rooms are up in price because the full moon party is around the corner.....
now I'm paying 20 bux a night, but hey I have warm water, power and a sink!
Got a sunburn on my back today I guess travelling alone does have some disadvantages,
like you cant reach your whole back with the suncream
Ahhh well, hopefully the burn will fade into a tan :)

Foolish Games

Ahhh step by step I guess
The great debate now is, send a box home and MAYBE get it in 2 months
OR
take all my newly acquired stuff on the flight home,
and pay the overweight charge/extra baggage fee
either way I'm payin...
However, if I take it with me I know i'll have it:)
looking at all this stuff here I think i'm just gonna pay at the airport.
I sent some stuff from Vietnam which has not arrived yet to my knowledge
gonna check on that today...
Been checking other stuff out too, but that seems to be running it's own course.

Running Blind

Well I'm back in Thailand
This is a good thing, but also a bad thing
Less than a month from now, I will be back in the motherland
of cold Canadian winter.
No money, this is OK life's short so who cares
No job, this is a bad thing
No car, this is a livable and cheaper alternative
No women, this is a no comment
Isn't there a song like that?
Looking forward to going home, however reality is gonna smack me in the face when I get there on so many levels
Till then, I'm going Island hopping and hopefully get home nice and tanned

Giving Back

Last night was crazy fun!!!!:)
It's pouring rain, so I duck into this little Khmer food place,
order a beer and some kinda spice beef/veggie/rice/peanut combo.
Next door to my restaurant is a fish massage tank, you know the kind u
stick your feet in and the little fish eat all the dead skin.
Weirdest feeling ever! After about 5 minutes of squirming around it actually felt great.
Now, the fish massage was not why I went over there, There were 4 Cambodians sitting on the ground playing traditional instruments,clapping and generally carrying on.
I grab a beer, put my feet in the fish tank and listened to these guys rock out.
Before ya knew it I'm now in the band playing these hand bells!
Couple of other dudes came and sat down and they got one guy to be the drummer(bongo)
Cool and fun got some pics and clean feet to prove it!
Today was OK, went with my tuk tuk driver to the furthest temple out of town 36km
nice place, but crawling with busloads of people so every pic I got has a tourist in it :(
On the way back, we stopped at the landmine museum.
What an interesting and eye opening place
They say there is about 5,000,000 mines left unexploded on Cambodian soil,
killing and injuring people and animals every year.
The guy that runs the museum has been looking for and clearing mines for years.
(can't remember how many but judging by the collection he has...)
He runs the museum with about 12 staff and there is an orphanage/boarding house and school for child mine victims. If they do well in their studies, the centre gives them a scholarship to a university or trade school
The guy who started the mine clearing was declared a hero in 2010 and is getting interviewed with CNN on Thursday(show to air in November)
Pretty cool eh!

Tomb Raider

Angkor wat
Angkor thom
Bayon
Ta prohm
Bakheng
Banteay Srei
Banteay Samre
Pre Rup
Neak paon
Preah khan
All of the above are something to see,I think my fav was Angkor Thom???
I'll get back to ya on that.
I have many pics and no way to post em :(
I'll also get back to ya on that,if your still here....
Where ya been?

Khmer Dance

Cambodia is probably the poorest country I have been to.
You kinda have to have thick skin to look past the poverty and not feel bad.
On the same note, if you give $$ to everyone you would be broke the first day!
The amputee rate here is very high aswell, due to the Vietnam war and the many many mines that are left unexploded in the rural areas.
The people here though are amazingly friendly! Granted there are alot of beggers and hawkers on the street, but If you say no thank you and smile they leave u alone.
Vietnam and Thailand were different because when you say no thank you... they keep on ya till you basically ignore them and then they go away.
Phenom Pehn was OK like any other big city it has its faults
The killing fields and S21 prison were very very disturbing and sad
I got an erie feeling there, but it was something to see.
Took the bus today to Siem Reap, gonna see Angkor Wat and the many other temples tomorrow. After that Im not sure, but I think I won't be spending too much time in Cambodia and move on to Laos or Thailand!?!?!?!?

So I Drew A New Face, And I laughed.

well this is fun, I'm in a little town
a little poor town, the roads should be dirt but they are not
if they were, it would match the infastructure of the place.
I arrived to this little place called Chau Doc last night at 3am
me being me and not having a plan isn't a smart thing when you arrive at 3am.
I pick a hotel recommended by the lying planet
knock knock...wait
knock knock....wait
no one around
hmmmm well time to go for a walk 330am
I find the second place and try again
knock knock
A dude answers and I'm in luck...so I think
he opens the door and with a friendly 345 am voice he says
"no room" and closes the door
hmmmm, now I am contemplating life on the street in this strange poor place
I look down the road and see a dude or a group standing around a fire in the middle of the road...well not walking that way I think to myself
By this time I have attracted the attention of the local motorclyle taxi's and the cyclo drivers. I politely tell them to buzz off and carry on wandering.
I found a hotel and managed to wake someone up at about 415am to check me in
The place isn't pretty but it works, I guess.
Today, is a new day and I awake at 1030am, walk down to the river which I know where it is because of the walking I did last night.
I hire a boat guy to take me for a tour
A rusty old boat with a very loud motor
We tour around and see floating markets and some shitty temple.
He takes me back and I go for lunch.
What's for lunch you ask?
I'm not exactly sure but it was something that resembled a street meat sandwich.
Was OK a baguette sort a thing
Im happy, me belly is full and I'm going for a walk
I booked a boat to Phenom Penn tomorrow am
Cambodian holiday!
I think things are going ok, walking I notice the different types of sports in this town:
People here sleep in hammocks or on benches
People here play cards or checkers
People here fix they're scooters or bicycles
People here like to watch the only foreigner in town walk by
People here like to say hi and then giggle when I say hi back
????????
People here like to drink the local beer and talk really loud
I also noticed alot of random chickens on the street
chickens in the tv shop
chickens in the garages
chickens in the parking lots
there is also alot of cats and dogs running around
as I sit here in this internet cafe there are 4 cats and 2 dogs within spitting distance of me.
Off to people watch the people watching me
sounds creepy eh....well it is!

Ba Ba Ba 3 3 3

3 days of madness is enough time in Saigon.
I like it better than most big cities I been to, but madness I tell ya!
Wanna take a video of me crossing the street
nerve racking to say the least!
I wanted to leave today, but the post office is closed and I need to mail stuff home.
Gonna take a local bus to the Meekong delta tomorrow and a slow boat to Cambodia
That should be good for a few pics!
Cheers