Hanoi & Homecoming

My journey has finally come to an end. After spending nearly a week in Hanoi meeting up with friends I had met in previous cities and meeting new people in my hostel, I made the long series of flights via Tokyo back to the United States.

This past week in Hanoi and all of Vietnam was exciting for it was the 40th anniversary of the reunification of the country. On April 30th, 1975, Northern Vietnamese troops invaded Saigon, finally signalling the end of the long and brutal war that plagued the country for over a decade. My week was spent not doing a whole lot of activities, but rather enjoying relaxing and getting into a little routine with my days with working out at the local gym, reading in the park, eating meals of pho and bun chau (a delicious Hanoi meal of rice noodles and pork in a succulent broth) and hanging out at my hostel.

The hostel I stayed at was called Drift Backpackers Hostel, located in the Old Quarter of the city, and was one of the best hostels I stayed at during my SE Asian trip. For $2.50 a night, I stayed in a clean dorm bed, got free breakfast of coffee, tea, a baguette, and eggs, while also getting free keg Bia Hoi beer every night from 7-9 PM. While one of the cheapest hostels I had stayed in during my travels, it was also one of the easiest to meet people and staffed by some of the kindest and helpful Vietnamese people. An awesome place that I would recommend to anyone looking for a cheap place to meet cool people from all over the world.

While I type here from my brother and sister-in-law's apartment in Los Angeles, CA, I look back to all of the amazing experiences, wonderful people, and beautiful places I had the pleasure of encountering during my trip through Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Many people ask me what my favorite place was during my trip. That question is terribly difficult to answer because out of every country I visited, each place offered completely different wonderful experiences and people, leaving me unable to narrow down even my favorite five places.

Another question I was asked frequently by the locals I met during my time in Asia, was,  "Isn't traveling alone scary, lonely, etc?" I always answer that while yes, sometimes traveling alone can sometimes be lonely, but in general, one can meet people from all over the world extremely easy at hostels, on transportation, and in just random situations throughout the day and night. I also have found that traveling alone is wonderful in that you have the freedom to go anywhere you want, eat wherever, whatever, and whenever, and generally do anything you want. 

During my travels, I occasionally spent a few days at a time traveling with others ranging from one other person to a group of five others. While traveling with others is nice in that you always have someone to hang out with and talk to, it does limit you in the experiences you have. Traveling alone forces you out of your comfort zone, causing you to do things that you shy away from when you have a group of friends to retreat to. Also, random and wonderful experiences happen more to people alone than those in groups because someone alone is more easily approachable by others and without having to think of someone else, you can change plans at any moment to follow any unexpected experience.

While the feeling of being back in the United States has not set in yet, I am sure soon I will start to notice the differences of culture and the shock of being back in my native, yet now seemingly foreign, country. I know I will miss Asia in due time, but for now I am excited for reuniting with friends and family, seeing familiar sights, and moving on to my next adventure of working as a Wilderness Ranger in the White River National Forest this summer in Colorado.

I'd like to end my first ever blog with two quotes that I read from the book Blue Highways, an account by William Least Heat-Moon, who writes about his two month long journey driving around the backroads of the United States and living in his van around the year of 1980.

"If a man can keep alert and imaginative, an error is a possibility, a chance at something new; to him, wandering and wondering are part of the same process and he is most mistaken, most in error, whenever he quits exploring." 

--William Least Heat-Moon, from Blue Highways

"I can't say, over the miles, that I learned what I had wanted to know because I hadn't known what I wanted to know. But I did learn what I didn't know I wanted to know."

--William Least Heat-Moon, from Blue Highways

 

Sa Pa

Arriving back in Hanoi after leaving the islands of Halong Bay, Jazz and I booked a bus to the northern reaches of Vietnam. Sa Pa, a town at an elevation of 5000 feet, is located just south of the China border. The area surrounding the town is beautiful with green mountains and terraced hillsides used for rice farming. The population of Sa Pa and the surrounding area is unique in that the majority of the population are not the ethnic Viet people but the Hmong and Dzao (pronounced Yao) and other smaller ethnic groups.

One can tell which ethnic group one belongs to by the clothing worn by the people. The women especially dress in traditional garb, with both the Hmong and Dzao people wearing handmade indigo clothing, while the Hmong wear indigo hats and the Dzao wear red scarves on their heads. While the town itself has been opened to the tourist market, there still is a feel of an older time with the many people in their ethnic clothing.

Upon arriving in Sa Pa, the difference in weather was immediately apparent from the rest of Vietnam. With so high of an elevation, the temperatures never crested 20 C. Fog covered the area the entire time we were there and it rained on and off, from a misting to outright downpours. Though the weather far from ideal, I welcomed the cooler temperatures and finally used my winter jacket that was unused since my time in Tedim, Myanmar back in February.

Jazz and I rented a motorbike for two days and explored the winding mountain roads, taking in the breathtaking scenery. We wandered about the town, eating almost exclusively pho and pineapple. At one small restaurant, we noticed an unusual platter filled with dark cuts of meat and four paws. Immediately I thought that it had to be dog, which is served throughout Vietnam, especially in the north. We tried a small bit each and I ordered a bowl of dog pho, more so for the experience of trying dog. The taste of the meat was okay at best to me, but to many Vietnamese this meal is a delicacy.

After three days in the cold of the mountains, we booked a bus back to Hanoi where I will stay the remaining days until my flight back to the States on May 1st.

Halong Bay

After leaving Dalat, I split up from the two Germans and headed to Hoi An, a World Heritage City on the coast about half way up Vietnam. Hoi An is famous for its many tailors where one can buy custom fitted suits, dresses, leather jackets, boots, shoes, etc. With over 300 different tailor shops in the small city, the merchandise will run you a fraction of the price it would back in the States. Seeing this as a perfect place to buy a custom fitted suit to replace my $10 Goodwill jacket and pants, I purchased a perfectly fitting navy blue Italian cut three piece suit with turquoise silk lining, a burgundy shirt, and turquoise tie. 

I spent three nights in Hoi An, geting into a routine of going to the local gym and lifting with dozens of shirtless and sweaty Vietnamese men. Here also I befriended two Americans, and a Dutch guy, all of whom were motorbiking all of Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. My days were spent lifting, eating several meals of pho, chicken and rice, and bahn mi's, swimming in the ocean, and drinking 14 cent beers at night. Yes, the beer, Bia Hoi, are sold as low as 3000-5000 dong (14-19 cents).

After a few days in Hanoi, I took a long bus to Hanoi with Jazz, an English girl whom I met along with the two Americans. We spent a day in Hanoi in the beautiful Old Quarter before bussing off to Halong Bay.

In Halong Bay, Jazz and I avoided the expensive boat tours and cruises and took a slow ferry to Cat Ba Island, one of the biggest islands in the bay. Here we swam in the ocean, relaxed on the beach, and ate dozens of cheap and delicious pineapples. We also rented a motorbike and spent the day cruising around the beautiful island, visiting the Cat Ba National Park, which is home to the endangered species of orange and white langurs. While passing through a construction site, we passed some workers on the side of the road burning what seemed to be a small deer carcass. They saw we were curious and waved us over to investigate. The animal turned out to be a goat that they had just killed and gutted and they were burning off the hair before gutting it and cooking it further. They offered for us to stay and eat with them but with the butchering and cooking process in the early stages, we decided to continue on our motorbike journey.

Staying in the Halong Bay area for three nights, Jazz and I soaked up the ocean for one last time before heading back to Hanoi and to the mountainous region of Sa Pa.

Mui Nei & Dalat

After leaving Ho Chi Minh City, I took a bus northeast to Mui Nei, a tourist strip of a town on the ocean. On the way I met two German guys. We quickly became friends and hung out together during our time in Mui Nei.

One awesome attraction in Mui Nei are the sand dunes outside of the city. Renting motorbikes, we cruised over to the White Sand Dune, a vast dune resembling something out of the Sahara Desert. The rest of our time there was spent relaxing on the beach and eating a variety of Vietnamese and Indian foods.

After Mui Nei, the two Germans and I took the bus to Dalat, a city located in the mountains. Dalat is named "Little Paris" with beautiful winding streets, hundreds of cafes, and much welcomed cooler temperatures. Our days in Dalat were spent drinking lots of wonderful coffee in its many cafes, eating dozens of banh mi's (Vietnamese sandwich on a baguette), and going on a canyoning tour in the nearby river. The canyoning was truly awesome. We belayed and swam down waterfalls and jumped off an 11 meter high cliff into the water. A big adrenaline rush of a day.

Ho Chi Minh City & the Mekong Delta

Arrived in my final country of Vietnam on April 5th. Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is situated in the south of the country and is the largest city with a population of 7.4 million people. Spending three days in the city, I really came to enjoy my time here, walking around the motorbike infested streets, lively markets, and quiet city parks.

In one park in particular, local university students come in the afternoon to find tourists to speak English with. Seeing groups of students crowded around individual tourists on my first night, I walked to the park on my second night in an attempt to attract a group of students to talk to. Only 30 seconds after sitting down, two students walked up to me and we began talking. Over the course of the next four hours, I spoke with a group of twenty students. With varying degrees of English speaking skills, the students were interested in American culture, while I asked many questions about Vietnam and their lives. Students pulled out their English text books and I helped them with some exercises they struggled with, while one girl going to a job interview asked help in pronouncing words for her interview. I also taught them new words such as sibling and likewise, while they taught me different words in Vietnamese.

I went to the park two nights in a row and each time spent over three hours in the park talking with over a dozen students. Each night I also was invited by students to get dinner and some drinks at local restaurants. I feel very fortunate to have grown up in a native English speaking country because all across the world people are trying to learn English. In all it was a wonderful experience and a great way to meet the local people of Vietnam.

During my time in Ho Chi Minh City I also took a tour of the Mekong Delta where many people make their living fishing and selling goods on floating markets.

Cambodia

Video of some clips of Phnom Penh and the beaches of Sihanoukville and the island of Koh Rong. Like my days here in Cambodia, I am too lazy to write much, so just a video.

Siem Reap & Angkor

Siem Reap (See-um Ree-up) was my first stop in Cambodia. Spent four days there, with two days touring by bicycle the Angkor Archaeological Park, the number one tourist attraction in the country. It did not disappoint, with some amazing views of the ancient temples.

Siem Reap itself turns into a great night market in its downtown near the river every evening. Lots of food stands, massage places, and plenty of things to buy. Also there's Pub Street. Draft beer can be bought for 50 cents a mug of national beers Angkor, Anchor, or Cambodia.

South to the 4000 Islands

After spending one last day relaxing in Nong Khiaw, I reluctantly took a series of bus rides back south. My first bus took me to Luang Prabang, where I had to wander around with my pack for 7 hours until the next bus took me to back to Vangvieng, arriving there at 2:30 AM.

    I spent three days visiting Dao, the Lao girl I had met previously. During my travels I have been lucky to experience some more authentic experiences with locals such as in Myanmar with Sian’s family. Meeting Dao resulted in me having an interesting and very enjoyable time in Laos. Staying at her home for four days to attend her mom’s remarriage, eating local Lao food for alarmingly cheap prices (For $1.75 Dao and I could not finish all the food it bought), visiting and eating with her friends and family, I felt very lucky and fortunate to have these experiences.

    Nonetheless, I said goodbye to Dao, left Vangvieng and took the long journey south to the 4000 Islands on the Cambodian border. From leaving Vangvieng, I took a bus to Vientiane, then a tuk tuk to the bus station, an extremely cramped sleeper bus, a minivan to the travel company, another bus, and finally a boat to the islands on the Mekong. Needless to say I was pretty glad to arrive in Don Det, after 22 hours of travel time.

    The 4000 Islands are located on the border of Cambodia. At this point, the mighty Mekong river sprawls out creating a watery landscape dotted with thousands of islands. The Mekong is over a mile wide, awing the viewer when looking out across the huge expanse. With it coming to the latter end of the dry season here, the river is quite low, exposing more islands than during the wet season, when the Mekong transforms into a massive turbulence, rising many meters above where it stands now. Nevertheless, the river is still quite strong, where a swimmer needs to constantly fight against the constant flow south.
   
    I stayed on Don Det, one of the bigger islands that comprises the 4000 Islands. This island is known for being a spot for backpacker looking to relax, swim in the river, and smoke the very available herb sold at any restaurant or hostel. While many people come to visit the 4000 Islands, it is nowhere as touristy or crowded as Vangvieng. This being so, the prices are lower and the island is more relaxed.

    I spent my two days here (would have spent more if my visa was not ending soon) swimming in the strong Mekong, swinging on a rope swing into the river, visiting local eating establishments, and biking to Don Khone island and visiting the awesome series of waterfalls and rapids the Mekong turns into after Don Det. One thing I noticed almost immediately upon arriving is that the temperatures are much hotter now that I moved a considerable distance south. While the humidity is always present, the heat now causes constant sweating, requiring liter and liter of water consumption.

    Staying one month in Laos proved to be an amazing time. I really enjoyed my travels in this small landlocked country, having great experiences, meeting amazing people, and seeing some beautiful areas. I now move on to Cambodia to hopefully gain more fulfilling experiences.

Nong Khiaw & Maung Ngoi

After leaving Luang Namtha, I headed east to the small town of Nong Khiaw, nestled between rising rocky cliffs on the Nam Ou river. While there is not much to do in the town other than eat and hang out, there are lots of different activities to be done in the river and surrounding cliffs. These include renting a tube for $1.25 and floating down the river, kayaking, fishing, trekking and village homestays, hiking up to the viewpoint showing a stunning panorama of the surrounding area, visiting the many caves in the area, or renting a mountain bike for $5/day.

    Upon arriving at my hostel I met another guy from Japan named Tom and we agreed to hike to the viewpoint the following morning to catch the sunrise. The hike was only 2.5k but very steep and even in the “cool” morning temperatures, we were drenched by the top. The views nonetheless were definitely worth the struggle, giving some amazing views of Nong Khiaw and the meandering river which was hidden under soft white clouds yet to be burned off by the rising sun.

    Later that afternoon Tom and I took a one hour boat ride up the Nam Ou river to an even smaller town called Maung Ngoi. With the population of probably 200 people, the town consists of one main dirt road no wider than one car’s width. This does not prove a problem as there are no cars in the town, only the occasional motorbike or bicycle. The town is largely only reached by the river from Nong Khiaw, giving it the feel of a truly off the beaten path place.

    Though being a out of the way place with a small town feel, there are about three or four dozen tours there at a time, engaging in the similar activities  done in Nong Khiaw. My days were spent reading in a low lying hammock on the balcony of my $6/night bungalow, swimming and helping throw the local boys in the river, and visiting the surrounding area via mountain bike.

    After spending two and a half days in Maung Ngoi, I took the cramped boat back to Nong Khiaw, where I spent the day relaxing before making my series of long bus rides south with my eventual destination of Cambodia.

Luang Namtha

      Luang Namtha is located in the very north of Laos only a short drive from China. A small town with few tourist attractions itself, Luang Namtha draws visitors for its trekking and kayaking tours located in the nearby Nam Ha National Park. Within 200 meters on the town’s main road, there are about seven different agencies advertising 1 to 4 day trekking, kayaking, or mountain biking tours of the national park and surrounding villages. Outside each agency, a billboard lists how many people are doing what tour, where the larger the group attracts people as the price is significantly lower than doing a tour alone.

    Spending time shopping around for a tour I wanted, I eventually settled on a 3 day trekking tour. Our group would be led by a guide through the jungle spending one night in a village with a family and the second night camping in the jungle. Unfortunately, the next morning I found out that the group I would trek with had canceled so I settled for a 2 day trek and one night camping in the jungle.

    My group for the two days was comprised of our guide, a 28 year old Lao guy, a 21 year old Japanese guy for only the first day, and two 23 year old French Canadian girls. The trek crisscrossed a creek into the jungle, where bamboo and banana trees grew thick around the trail. The first day we hiked 5 hours, stopping to eat sticky rice, fish, and bamboo shoots for lunch. The weather, like usual, hung heavy around us with both heat and humidity. At the end of uphills, I stood drenched with sweat.

    In the late afternoon, we stopped near a small trickling creek where a simple bamboo lean-to stood next to the trail. This was to be our camping spot for the night. We got to work collected firewood and banana leaves, which would act as both our roof and our bedding. For dinner we ate banana flower, vegetable, egg, and noodle soup with the ever essential sticky rice. For plates and a table, we used banana leaves. Everything else was bamboo; spoons, cups, candlesticks, a shot glass for Lao Lao (homemade rice vodka), even the soup was cooked over the fire in a large bamboo tube. This versatile plant grows everywhere and can be used for almost any perceived need.
   
    After dinner we sat around the campfire, while our guide sang traditional Lao songs and we passed around our bamboo shot glass filled with the potent Lao Lao. Tired from the day, we slept soundly upon the banana leaves as the gentle ripple of the creek murmured in the night.

    The night morning we awoke to drink coffee and eat sticky rice, bamboo shoot soup, and duck before we continued our trek. Soon we came out of the jungle and reached a Lantan village. We quickly became surrounded by curious children, who had been playing in a field outside the village. Carrying with me a bundle of children’s books bought from the NGO Big Brother Mouse in Luang Prabang, I thought this was a great opportunity to hand them out. I passed out the books and was greeted by numerous Kop Chai’s (Thank You’s) from the young children.

    We then entered the village and walked around  for 30 minutes, observing the life, where little children and puppies played in the dirt pathways and adults sat talking and going about their days. One older man came up to us and asked where we were from. Upon me saying America, he raised his eyebrows and proceeded to make motions with his hands of planes flying over and bombs dropping. Unfortunately this is the legacy left by Americans during the Vietnam War in Laos. While many people think that the Vietnam War was waged solely in Vietnam, this is grossly untrue, with enormous damage done to both Laos and Cambodia. Laos, according to my research of the credible Wikipedia, is the heaviest bombed country on Earth, with the total of one B-52 plane’s load of bombs dropped every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, for ten years from 1964-1974. Over 2 million bombs still lie in the rural parts of Laos, killing people every year. This atrocious legacy definitely does NOT make me proud to be an American.

    We then left the village and hiked around few hours before reaching our end at a river where we immediately jumped in to cool off in the searing heat. The day was Sunday and was Women’s Day here in Laos, which acted as another reason to guzzle down the BeerLao and Lao Lao and party. Near the river were two large open air tents where a group of 40 Lao people sat eating, drinking, dancing, and talking. Quickly upon arriving the scene, the 2 Canadian girls, our guide, and I were invited to partake in the carousing.
   
    The people enthusiastically invited to sit down (cross legged of course. Chairs are not a thing in SE Asia) around a large array of plates of food. The group of people were from the nearby village. The village chief, the only one who spoke English, talked to us while people drunkenly danced away. Soon enough, we too were among the drunk, as cup after cup of BeerLao was poured and pushed in our direction. We eventually were prodded up to dance with the group, awkwardly swaying to the keyboard accompanied music.

    Staying at the party for about two hours, we walked, or rather stumbled to the nearby road and took a minivan to town. Getting to the road was the last thing I remember before the last BeerLao washed over my brain, blanking any further recollection of my actions. I awoke in the middle of the night confused in the darkness of a foreign room, which I later found was a bungalow that I had checked into with the help of my two also drunken companions. The next day was taken slow for obvious reasons before taking the bus to Nong Khiaw.

Luang Prabang

Leaving Vangvieng, I took the night bus to Luang Prabang. The man who sold me the ticket informed me that I would arrive in Luang Prabang around 5 or 6 AM. Though early, this would be perfectly fine with me as I could go somewhere for breakfast not long after arriving and would not have to spend money on accommodation. Instead, we arrived at probably the worst possible time: 2:30 AM. I, along with a Dutch couple and an English guy, walked the streets of the city trying to find a hostel with an awake staff member. After a handful of failed attempts at finding sleep, we happened upon a guest house with the owner sleeping in the lobby. We awoke him and he pronounced that he only had one bed available. The Dutch couple, being two, paid for the bed. Lucky for myself and the English guy, the owner said we could stay for free in the hallway. He laid down some blankets and we were both happy to be sleeping indoors, rather than wandering the streets in search of somewhere else.

    Luang Prabang is the ancient capital of Laos and is surrounded by small mountains. A World Heritage site, the city sits on the Mekong river, has many cafes, and a large Buddhist monk population in its local wats. Keeping in line with the other places I have visited in Laos, the temperature, coupled with the scorching sun, reach alarmingly high levels in the afternoon everyday, causing most people to hunker down under shade for a large portion of the day.

    My first day in Luang Prabang, I took it easy in the blazing heat by just wandering around the city center, getting accustomed to the area, eating lunch on the Mekong, and reading my book. During the evening, I headed over to an NGO called Big Brother Mouse to help with English practice. Referred to me by a fellow traveler in Vangvieng, Big Brother Mouse is an organization set on improving literacy in Laos. It publishes books and distributes them to rural villages so children, who otherwise do not have access to books, get an opportunity to read. In addition, twice a day they hold English speaking get-togethers for tourists and local Lao people wanting to improve their English. Over my three days in Luang Prabang, I attended three sessions, talking with local university students and one novice monk. It is an awesome organization and the sessions are great to meet and talk with people from different cultures.

    During my next few days I visited the famed Kuang Si waterfall, a beautiful multi leveled waterfall 30k outside the city, visited the difference wats, and cultural sights of the city. I also had an awesome surprise when I was walking from Big Brother Mouse to my hostel on my second day in Luang Prabang. Walking past the center of downtown, I look over to the tables outside the food stalls, and I see my great friend Yoha! I met Yo in Pai in early January and he was the reason I came back to Pai after visiting Sarnelli House. We were both overjoyed to unexpectedly run into each other 1.5 months later. We hung out together for 2 days before we again went our separate ways.

    After spending a couple lazy days in Luang Prabang, I again went north to Luang Namtha, a small town near the China border, famous for trekking in its nearby national park.

Lao I

After taking the train from Bangkok to the Laos border, I crossed the Mekong river and entered country number three (or four if you count my brief trip to India). My first stop was Vientaine, the capital city on the banks of the mighty Mekong. Vientaine, the biggest city in Laos, pales in comparison to neighboring Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. Vientaine has no buildings over, say 6 stories, and looks more like a large town rather than anything city like.

Also unlike Bangkok, there is not a ton of things to do in Vientaine, so I only stayed for two days. I visited the Patuxai Arc, which resembles the French Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the national museum, and the night market. I met a number of people at my hostel, where I spent most of my time hanging out and talking with them. I also noticed that Vientaine and Laos has been the hottest place I have visited in my trip here. Hitting around 40 Celsius, the sun is scorching all afternoon, making you want to stay in the shade as much as possible.

After Vientaine, I took a bus to Vangvieng, a tourist town on a river and some beautiful craggy cliffs. Vangvieng is famous and infamous for its tubing on the river and the bars and drinking that accompany the tubing experience. Years ago nearly 20 bars lined the river, with the carousing and debauchery at extreme levels. Zip lines and rope swings dotted the banks. In one year 27 people died on the river, leading to the police cracking down on the number of bars and the zip lines and rope swings. Today there are still 5 bars, where you can drink bottle after bottle of Beerlao, but it is tamer than in the past. Nonetheless, I went tubing and had a blast, drinking and meeting people from all over the world.

My trip to Vangvieng was also unique by meeting a Lao girl. We spent time together, eating lots of Lao food (sticky rice with everything), while she also taught me some Lao. After only a couple days of knowing each other, she invited me to her town two hours south of Vangvieng to her mom’s remarriage. I accepted the invitation and spent the next four days at her home. No one spoke English except for her elementary English, so to say the least, I did not speak much over those four days. It was interesting to watch the preparations of the wedding, which was held at the home. The women from the nieghborhood cooked seemingly nonstop, the men slaughtered a pig while taking pulls of Lao Lao, the homemade rice vodka. During the weekend I ate copious amounts of sticky rice, laap, and other delicious Lao foods while also drinking Lao Lao with the men and Beerlao at almost every occasion.

After the wedding I went back to Vangvieng for one day before moving north to Luang Prabang.

The name Laos was given by the the colonial French because the largest ethnic group in the region is the Lao people. There are other ethnic groups, especially in the north, with the Hmong, Kmhu, and Lantan peoples. Since Laos is a French word, the S in Laos silent and thus should be pronounced "Lao", similar to Illinois.

Here's a video of my first week in Laos. For those who are squeamish, there is a butchering of a pig. You have been warned.

Mandalay, BKK, & into Lao

After making an arduous exit out of the Chin state, I arrived back in Mandalay with two days before my flight back to Bangkok. Arriving from my bus at 6:00 am after getting no more than two hours of sleep, my first day in Mandalay did not yield much sightseeing. Quite tired, I walked slowly in the relentless heat to the Grand Palace. Costing $10 to enter, which is outrageously expensive here in SE Asia, foreigners are only allowed to stay on the main road and can only view the Grand Palace. While the palace was interesting and impressive to see, it needless to say was not worth the $10 fee and 20 minutes to view the area.

That afternoon I met a woman who has biked around much of the world and currently biking Myanmar and Thailand and we arranged to rent a motorbike and tour the city together. Rising in the dark, we traced the normally chaotic Mandalay streets, which were happily quite empty. We arrived just before sunrise at the famous U Bien bridge, which is one of the longest teak bridges in the world covering a distance of 1.2 km over a shallow lake. There we watched the orange sun rise slowly into the sky and had tea and donuts to start the day.

The rest of the day we visited different sights around Mandalay such as Mandalay Hill, a teak monastery, and different stone carving businesses. In the evening, I sat along the Irrawaddy river watching boys play in the water, women wash clothes and dishes, and the sun fall into the horizon. Watching the sunrise and sunset during my last day seemed a fitting end to my stay in Myanmar, recalling the sunrises and sunsets I viewed in Yangon, the train to Bagan, Bagan, and the Chin state.

The next day my time in Myanmar came to a close and I made my short flight back to BKK. Upon arriving to the enormous city, I instantly realized the stark difference between the highly developed Thailand and the still up and coming Myanmar. I enjoyed relaxing for a few days in Bangkok, visiting with friends met during my previous stay here in November/December, working with fast wifi, and preparing for the next phase of my trip. One thing I also thoroughly enjoyed was walking down the street and not being stared at by everyone as was the case in Myanmar.

After a few days in Bangkok, I boarded the overnight train to Nongkhai and my eventual destination of my next country, Lao.

The Chin State

After taking a bus from Bagan to Mandalay and with a week and a half left until I was to fly back to Bangkok, I wavered about what to do with my last 10 days. Even after leaving Yangon and the wonderful and welcoming family that so gracious hosted me, I still benefited from their generosity. The oldest sister, Lian, kindly asked her uncle in the northern Chin state to show me around this more remote part of Myanmar. Giving me his number, I called him from Mandalay and he told me to call him upon arriving in the town of Tedim, located in the heart of the northern Chin state.

The Chin state is a rather unique part of Myanmar. Located on the very western edge of the country, it is largely bordered by India and with Bangladesh on the very south of the state. The state itself is almost entirely mountainous, with the tallest peak being Mt. Victoria at just over 10,000 ft. Because of the seclusion of the mountainous landscape, there are many different groups of people speaking dozens of different languages. In Tedim and the area of the north, Tedim is spoken. In the town of Falam, falam is spoken. In Hakha, the language of hakha. What also makes the Chin state unique is that the dominant religion is not Buddhist like almost everywhere else in the country and the region, but Christian. With Christian missionaries, largely American, coming to the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the people were converted to denominations such as Baptist, Catholic, and Anglican. The people remain very religious until today, with churches scattered throughout the towns.

Only staying in Mandalay one night, I booked a minivan to the city of Kalaymyo, which acts as the one of the only entrances to the Chin state. Leaving Mandalay at 2:00 pm, I unfortunately claimed a seat crammed in the very back corner of the van, surrounded by 11 Myanmar people, all of whom spoke no English (From what I experienced, the people here do not use the term “Burmese”. They call their food “Myanmar food” and the language “Myanmar language”. But I digress) Though cramped, the first few hours were manageable as the roads were paved and let’s say, moderately bumpy. As night fell, the pavement ended, and the moderate bumps turned into extreme cavernous pot holes. Rather than calling it a road, it more resembled a wide ATV track that even a dirt bike would struggle to navigate. The bumping of the van, especially in the back was insane. Sleep not even a possibility, I stared quite miserably out of the window for the 18 hour ride until I finally was able to break free in Kalaymyo.

Arriving in Kalaymyo haggard and near delirium, I quickly found out that no buses ran to Tedim as it was a Sunday. Accepting my fate passively, I checked into a hotel and quickly fell asleep until the afternoon.

The next morning, a van drove me and a group of locals the 2+ hour trip into the beautiful mountains to Tedim. Upon arriving at my small inn, I called the Uncle and minutes later he and his nephew came to greet me. The uncle, speaking minimal English, obviously had recruited his nephew, 26 year old Chinbee, as he spoke decent English and would be a better guide for showing me around the area.

For the next three days, Chinbee and I would visit the different sites around the area; he driving the motorbike and me holding tightly on the back. The first day we visited a religious sect village near Tedim. The religion began in the 1930’s like almost any other, with the founders hearing the call of God in a dream.

The second day Chinbee and I took off early from Tedim to drive the three hour stretch to Rih Lake, located on the Indian border. The road to the lake, like all of the roads in the Chin state are solely dirt roads, built by the British during WWII. Extremely dusty in the dry season and horribly muddy and almost impassible during the wet season, the roads are very bumpy and traverse steep inclines and declines. Luckily it being the dry season, the roads were firm and quite drivable, with only problem being lots of dust in the air. During the trip we past many small villages, which resemble wild west boom towns of the 19th century. Largely farming communities, some villages consisted of just three or four wooden plank homes lining the road, while some others were larger with maybe sixty homes. Also during the trip, many trucks carrying both cargo and people went to and from the Indian border, stirring up dust in their wake.

Finally arriving at the heart shaped Rih Lake, a group of local Chins coming from India grew quite curious of me and included me for pictures and into their local song and dances. After relaxing at the lake for quite some time, Chinbee and I crossed the bridge into India for a short trip. The border is open for locals as many Chin people live just across the river. I assume it was probably not open for me, but nonetheless, we zipped past the immigration hut with no questions asked.

On my last day with Chinbee, we climbed the nearest highest mountain, Mt. Kennedy, standing at 8871 ft. At the top stood both a pagoda, for Buddhism, and a cross, for the many Christians in the area. The views of the surrounding area were spectacular, with hundreds of peaks weaving themselves throughout the landscape.

Other than the few sights around the area, there was not a lot of things to do around Tedim. The Chin state was closed to tourists until only a year or two ago, so it is still largely unvisited by outsiders. When walking down the street, it felt like everything everyone was doing stopped and all eyes turned to stare at the white person. It was quite intimidating just walking to get something to eat. Luckily I met the owner of a local place to eat who spoke English very well. During my entire four day stint in Tedim, I ate there as I was at ease conversing in English, rather than trying to mime out what I wanted at another place, while dozens of locals stare and laugh at me.

Eating at John the Baptist’s (what he referred himself to) restaurant, his three year old daughter quickly became comfortable with me and would play with me for the couple of hours each day I was there. I also met the two only other westerners of my entire week in the Chin state at the restaurant. One, an American teaching in Falam, south of Tedim and the other an Austrian, motorbiking through the Chin state to investigate for a future tourism company. Being that I barely spoke much during my time there, I was ecstatic to talk in English over a bottle or two of delicious Chin wine.

After four days I made my way back to Kalaymyo and having to stay another night there, finally made the dreaded journey (though not as bad as the way there) back to Mandalay. Though being a pain in the ass to get to the Chin state, it was an amazing and authentic experience. If it weren’t for Lian setting my contact up in Tedim, Chinbee, John the Baptist, and the two other westerners, I would not have had a great experience at all. But luckily they were there to help me have an awesome time in a truly beautiful and unvisited place.

Bagan

Arriving in Bagan somewhat haggard after the 19 hour off road like train journey, I grew excited to see one of the most famous travel destinations in the world. Bagan is a large area consisting of over 3000 temples, pagodas, payas, and stupas all built from the 12th-15th centuries. It is believed that at one time 10,000 temples existed, but over time with war and earthquakes, the number has decreased. The area is very dry and flat bordered by two mountain ranges to the east and west. Bagan is one of the key travel destinations in Myanmar and rightfully so, as the thousands of temples are each an impressive work of architecture.

Almost every hotel and many other businesses offer bicycle rentals or electric bikes for tourists to cruise around the vast area to explore the many temples. Being that the area was so expansive, I opted for the electric bike everyday. My days were spent riding around to whatever pagoda (a temple with no entry inside) or paya (a temple in which you can enter) that caught my interest. Some of the temples are enormous, being several stories high and attracting thousands of visitors a day, while others are more off the beaten path, where I found myself completely alone in these amazing structures.

All around Bagan the local people, especially children, hang around the highly visited temples in order to make a buck or two off the tourists. At the most visited temples, stands are manned by women selling a variety of clothing, jewelry, and many other souvenirs. Others sell beautiful paintings on white cloth. All of the children sell post cards, which they are relentless salesmen. At one temple I met a fifteen year old boy. After turning down his multiple postcard pitches, I agreed to hire him for the next morning to take me around from sunrise until noon. We agreed on $10 and he said he would meet me at my hotel the next morning at 5:30 am. 

My first evening about an hour before sunset, two Burmese girls asked where I was going to watch the sunset. Not really knowing, I told them the enormous pagoda that most people view it from. They said nonsense and told me to follow them to a completely off the path paya where we watch the sun dip below the western mountains turning the sky a combination of reds, oranges, and pinks. The pagoda where I was intending to go was packed with hundreds of people, where only the three of us sat quietly upon this hidden gem of a paya. I took note of the location and intended to come back the next day.

My second day was spent with my guide, Pew Pweh, who took me around the less visited temples. We went back to the pay a the two girls showed me and watched a stunning scene of the sun rising while the dozens of hot air balloons rose into the sky. It was a truly beautiful scene.

Finally my third day was spent doing more of the same. By the end of my third day I was getting pretty “templed out” and was ready to move on. In the end I watched three sunsets and two sunrises, with the sunrises being the most spectacular part of my stay in Bagan. In all it was a fun three days touring one of the most famous places in the world.

Here's the video. Youtube said that my use of ELO's song violated copyright terms so the song may not play for you, but nonetheless:

Return to Yangon and the Train to Bagan

After two days spent exploring the area of Inle Lake, I was torn about which direction to head next. I originally had planned on heading west to the temples of Bagan, but I felt that I had not spent enough time in Yangon with Sian’s family. Knowing I had plenty of time left in my stay in Myanmar, I took an overnight bus back to Yangon to spend the weekend with my most gracious hosts.

During the weekend, my confidence in the decision to return to Yangon grew. Cooked and served selflessly by the mother and many of the sisters, I enjoyed multiple meals at their home, met the sixth sister, watched Burmese and Korean movies (of which I understood nothing), laughed uncontrollably as the sisters spread thanakha on my face, and took pictures of me with all of the family. All of these things I did not get to experience on my first and too brief trip the weekend before.

I again said goodbye to Sian’s family and Yangon, but this time I left content knowing that I was leaving not rushed, but with a sense of completeness in my stay in Yangon. Wanting to experience the infamous trains in Myanmar, I boarded the overnight train to Bagan. With the almost all foreigner sleeper cars all booked out, I paid $6.50 to go local by riding in the second class cars. Rather than beds our evening, night, and morning was to be spent on meagerly cushioned bench seats.

Myanmar’s trains ride atop track laid decades ago and have not been maintained as rigorously as many western countries. This is immediately felt by any passenger as he or she is violently thrown side to side, up and down as the train rumbles along. Things such as closed windows and doors are seen as safety standards back home, but here in Myanmar are unnecessary safety nets. Doors swing open back and forth and windows are open wide exposing the contents of the train cars to the rapidly passing outdoor elements.

Expecting a bumpy journey, the off road feeling of the ride did not take me off guard. The wide open windows acted as large HD television screens to live happenings as we passed from city to villages and countryside. During the 19 hour ride, when it was light out, I was glued to the window, waving at smiling children, taking in the golden glow of sunset and sunrise, and passing farmers laboring over their next crop.

Without the wide open window and the ever changing views it displayed on its screen, the train ride would have been a miserable one. Being too bumpy to read, write, or draw there was little else to do. Luckily I befriended the five Buddhist monks sitting around me by offering them cigars that I had bought in Inle Lake when I saw they were all smoking. They showed their gratitude with smiling faces and by offering me an energy drink. A younger monk, who spoke next to no English, but still more than the others, then pulled out his tablet and showed me various Myanmar and western videos. While we could not speak much to each other, the experience added a friendly note to the otherwise solitary train ride.

When night finally cloaked the daytime in an ebony blanket, the temperature dropped below comfortable levels and windows were shut. Being on our lowly second class seats and with the incessant jerking back and forth, sleep was fleeting. The seats were too small to even attempt the fetal position, resulting in the only option being to awkwardly twist to allow my feet to settle on the opposite seat. I managed to sleep in hour increments a few times until sunrise, each time awaking to one of my legs asleep.

Though the night seemed like it never would end, the sun eventually did rise and the windows unhatched to reveal the golden Myanmar countryside. Given coffee by my newly made monk friends, I warmed up slowly as we bounced our way to Bagan. Finally, 19 hours after saying goodbye to Sian’s family, I arrived in Bagan to start the next phase of my trip.

Inle Lake

Leaving Yangon and the welcoming embrace of the family in Yangon, I boarded the overnight bus to Inle Lake, located in the Shan State north of Yangon. After eleven hours on the bus, I arrived at Inle Lake at 5:00 AM to a rather brisk temperature of 9 degrees C (mid 40’s F), which though nothing compared to my normal habitat of Chicago, nonetheless felt frigid after my usual balmy 25-32 C (70-90ish F).

Spending only two nights at Inle, my first day was a typical tourist’s agenda for one of the most popular tourist sights in Myanmar. Renting a bike from my hotel ($1.45), I biked to the expansive lake and hired a boatman to take me around the lake for about six hours. The lake itself is home to a large community of people who live in wooden and bamboo homes raised up on stilts through the shallow lake. Along the ride we viewed fishermen laboring for the daily catch, school children playing on a grassy island where their school is located, and many locals taxiing through the lake on wooden canoes. The lake itself is stunningly beautiful with mountains that run parallel along both sides of the lake.

After getting more Vitamin D than an average Chicagoan gets all winter, I leisurely biked over to the Red Mountain Winery, which is one of two wineries in all of Myanmar, to unwind after my rather stressful day of lounging on a boat. Tasting four different wines all for the price of $2.00, I joined a few Europeans to watch the sun slowly retreat behind the mountains giving way to brilliant oranges, pinks, and purples.

The next day I again rented a bicycle and spent the day biking around the other side of the lake. I ended the afternoon by relaxing at a natural hot spring.

While Inle Lake is one of Myanmar’s most popular tourist destinations, the quantity of tourists pales in comparison to even the most average sight in Thailand. Nonetheless, the area still felt very touristy with people hawking different souvenirs and tourist services at you. But in the end, I left Inle Lake feeling fortunate that I was able to view such a beautiful area.

 

Yangon

After two short flights I finally left Thailand after two months and landed in Yangon, Myanmar. Formerly known as Rangoon, Yangon was the capital of Myanmar until about five years ago when the capital was changed to the current city of Naypyidaw. Being the largest city in Myanmar, Yangon is a bustling place with streets jammed with white taxis, pagodas, and people selling an eclectic assortment of foods on the streets.

Unlike the rather homogeneous Thailand and rest of Southeast Asia, many different ethnicities call Myanmar home, for it acts as a crossroads between India and the rest of east Asia. Skin colors ranging from the darkest hues to the lightest give variety to Myanmar, especially in Yangon, with many residents having Indian, Bangladeshi, and Chinese heritages.

Also unlike Thailand, which is developed quite extensively, Myanmar is just beginning to open up its doors to globalization and the development that comes with it. As a consequence, Myanmar seems to have maintained a large part of its culture; something that in Thailand has seemed to diminish. Some of this culture is seen worn on almost every citizen: longyis, long cloths worn by men instead of pants and thanakha, a cream colored powder scraped from tree bark worn as a dual sunscreen and makeup.

Originally when I was planning this trip in October and November, Myanmar was not on my list of countries I hoped to visit. It was not until my Dad mentioned to a close Burmese friend, Sian, that I planned to travel to Southeast Asia, that Myanmar crossed my mind. Telling me that I could visit his six sisters and parents who lived together in Yangon, I quickly applied for a visa online and added Myanmar to my agenda. Before I jetted from the western hemisphere for Bangkok, I packed along with my belongings some things for Sian's family, including two unopened iPhone 5's.

After two months of lugging this rather heavy cargo through Thailand, I finally was able to meet the family in which these phones would end up with. Exiting the airport, I was warmly welcomed by two of the sisters, Lun and Kim. They quickly bargained for a taxi and we were off into the pulsing heart of Yangon, China Town. We quickly entered a swarming city with people everywhere, the strong mixture of aromas of nearby food stalls, and the hectic sounds of honking cars as they weaved inches by pedestrians. Before showing me to my hostel, we sat down for my first Burmese meal, which was delicious ("Sa-luh-kawn-deh" in Burmese) and consisted of fish, prawn salad, fried vegetables, and of course, mounds of white rice.

The next day, I went to their home to meet the other four sisters and parents. Out of the eight family members, three spoke enough English to carry a decent conversation, so as expected there were many bouts of silence that only the chanting from the local Buddhist temple and shouts of the street vendors could fill. While these silences were the farthest from awkward, we did Skype back home with my parents and their brother/son Sian, which was an excellent way to translate and break the ice.

After socializing or at least attempting to, they generously gave me a longyi to wear before we went to lunch at a Burmese restaurant. Being that Myanmar is rather new as a country to travel to, seeing a westerner on the streets results in lots of staring, double takes, and the occasional “hello, how are you?” from the local people. So when seeing a westerner wearing a longyi and accompanied by seven Burmese women, the heads really start to turn. Being a rather unique experience for a white male coming from the United States, I have come to enjoy the attention.

The next day, again accompanied by two of the sisters, we drove, rather weaved in and out of traffic with no foreseeable rules of the road, for three hours to the Golden Rock, another sacred Buddhist sight set in the mountains east of Yangon. The rock, completely covered in gold (“Shwe” in Burmese), sits precariously on the edge of a ledge atop a long chain of mountains.

This was the last day before I intended to leave for Inle Lake north of Yangon. While my trip with this family was rather short, I left feeling the utmost thankful and indebted to this family for their immense generosity and kindness.





Finally able to upload some videos now:

 

Myanmar

Hello all!

After two months of traveling throughout Thailand, it is my last day in the country as I prepare to fly to Yangon, Myanmar this evening. Thailand has been a wonderful experience filled with memorable moments, wonderful people, and overall great times.
As I move to my second country, I expect and welcome a difference in culture, infrastructure, and experiences.  Since Myanmar is still developing as a nation, I expect to post a lot fewer posts in the 3.5 weeks I travel here as blackouts are common and WiFi is horrendously slow. Hopefully I will at least be able to post pictures as those are easier to get online than the huge GoPro movie files.
My general plan is to avoid the beaches in the south of the country and move north from Yangon to the cooler temperatures of the more mountainous areas around and north of Mandalay. Over my time in Thailand I have found that I enjoy finding the more rural and off the beaten paths, so I plan to seek out these places for more authentic experiences.
While each year they are lessening, there are still many areas tourists are restricted from entering. While this is preventing me from traveling to the most eastern parts of the Himalayan mountains on the northern border, I plan on traveling up to the far north to where tourists rarely get to. I have heard Myanmar called, "Thailand 20-40 years ago", which excites me enormously, as I am itching to find myself lost in a remote area as the only westerner, which is much harder to find here in Thailand.

Later!

Doi Luang Chiang Dao

Planning on leaving Pai on January 19th, I was sad to leave friends that I had grown quite close to, but also excited to experience new faces and places. This, I guess, is one common feeling that accompanies any solo traveler during his or her adventures. Planning on enjoying my last day in Pai, I was sidelined by a second food related illness, this time a different beast than the mere upchuck of two weeks earlier. Feeling odd after eating an vast assortment of foods in an attempt to replenish my skinny self after a long absence of food, I soon was plagued with an increasing fever and stomach pains. Throughout the day I lay in bed in a half dazed state, too weak to walk to town to get food, water, and medicine. Eventually after hours of torture, my awesome friend Yo came to my rescue by giving me a lift to town for food, water, and medicine, which almost immediately made my blood settle from bubbling to a more desirable temperature.

While again getting a sickness the day before I intended to travel, it did not stop me from hitchhiking out of Pai for the second time; this time more seamless than the first. Only thirty seconds after flashing the thumb along Route 1095 South, a small Honda stopped, where a Thai gentleman in military fatigues gladly took me in as he was traveling to Chiang Mai. Speaking enough English to have basic conversation, we spent most of the winding drive south listening to indistinguishable Thai radio, which was sprinkled with more common tunes, such as Jason Mraz's "I'm Your's".

Eventually I was dropped off in a town half way between Chiang Mai and my eventual destination of Chiang Dao, where I gave a very thankful, "Khap Khun Khrap!" and was off. Minutes later, I boarded a public bus and was in Chiang Dao, having spent 0 baht, saving myself about $6 in total if I were to have taken a minivan.

Chiang Dao is a town nestled next to Doi Luang Chiang Dao, which is a mountain that rises impressively out of the lower lying areas, towering in the clouds over the landscape with its green craggy peaks and valleys. Already having the intention of climbing the mountain, I immediately became invigorated for the climb I intended to do the next day, now that my sickness seemingly had left my system. Renting a motorbike to transport myself the 16K to the mountain the next day, I settled down in my 100 baht ($3) a night tent and called it an early night.

I awoke before the sunrise, in search for sustenance for my intended enormous calorie burn of a day. After filling my system with cereal (which I hadn't eaten since back home) I took off towards the looming mountain. Since I left so early, I whizzed past the empty NP ranger station, saving myself the typical foreigner entrance fee of 200 baht. Eventually finding the trail, I took off towards the summit carrying my now light as a feather pack, inside it only some warm clothes, camera, food, and water.

In typical Olp male fashion I hiked like a bat out of hell, showing no mercy as I blew past winded Thai men in ancient looking wooden external frame packs. Crushing the ascent in a little over two hours, I was stunned by the sheer beauty of the area. After sitting in the clouds on the cold summit for thirty minutes taking in the scenery, I descended more like a trail runner than a hiker. Having not filled my hiking appetite, and being that it was only 11:00 am when I returned close to the bottom, I took another trail, which meandered over low valleys to a NP ranger station. Though the hike was not saturated in the stunning beauty as the other trail, it was nonetheless a beautiful hike. It was not until the way back from the ranger station, that I started to fatigue--but only slightly. After just under seven hours since I parked my bike at the trailhead, I returned muddied, sweaty, and oh so satisfied with the day's adventure.

Life of Pai

This video is mostly about Pai, but I want to share a story of my day waiting for the bus back to Chiang Mai in Udon Thani, a city near Laos, where not many tourists come to.

Leaving Sarnelli House, I was dropped off in Udon Thani where I would take the overnight bus back to Chiang Mai. I arrived at the bus station around 10 am, so I had about ten hours until the bus left. Feeling that my now shoulder length hair was looking rather unkempt most of the time, I decided to get a trim while I waited for the bus. I found a little salon and asked the woman to take a few inches off. Being a woman's salon, the woman did exactly as she was asked, but the result turned out resembling a seven year old girl's hairstyle. Trying to reassure myself that it looked fine, I paid and went back to the bus station. Immediately upon looking at myself in the mirror, I knew this would not do. Looking and feeling out of place with this ridiculous looking haircut, I went back to the salon and asked the woman to try to fix it. The result was worse than before. At this point, I knew I had to cut it down to a standard male cut in order to salvage what hair I had left.

So I strapped on my pack and embarrassingly walked off down the main road in search of a barber. A few minutes down the road a older Thai gentleman on a motorbike offered me a ride (he spoke no English). I motioned to my hair and said, "barber", though seeing my comical looking haircut, he probably new immediately where I was headed, and we set off down the road in search of a barber.

Finally we found a place and after five minutes, my long locks were almost completely gone and I now sported the hair I have now. The man who gave me a ride waited for me and after stopping to have another young guy translate for us, I went back to his house to shower and eat some food. After this nice gesture of hospitality, we set off back to the bus station, where I would wait out the remaining four hours until my bus came. We stopped at a small coffee stand on the side of the road, where two ladies worked. Buying two coffees, they motioned for me to sit down while I drank. After a few minutes of difficult talking do to the fact that they did not speak very much English and me, no Thai, the man called someone and spoke in Thai for a couple of minutes.

About five minutes later, an old man biked up, speaking English immediately. His name was Tommy and he had lived in Connecticut for 50 years after leaving Laos as a refugee after it fell in the mid 1970s. His presence was welcomed by everyone there because he now facilitated as a translator and was a very happy and positive man. After about 30 minutes of talking, he offered for me to stay at his house for a couple of hours. I felt a little awkward and out of place, sitting on his couch as his children came home from school, seeing a Farang sitting in their home.

After two hours of relaxing, Tommy and I went back to the coffee stand where the two women lived in a home just nearby. Tommy had just started teaching them English and had invited me to come help out. Arriving at the home, I was immediately offered fried eggs and sticky rice, which I gladly accepted. Soon thereafter, Tommy and I began our lesson with the two women, their two young daughters, and another relative. Spending about two hours exchanging both the Thai and English words for various topics, I reluctantly said goodbye as my bus was leaving shortly.

This day in Udon Thani was one of the most random and best days I've had traveling yet. Traveling solo defintely has its ups and downs. Some days are lonely, while some days, like this one, are filled with unknown pleasures and amazing experiences. What a day, all stemming from me wanting to get a haircut.


Most of the video are shots from Pai, as I came back immediately upon arriving in Chiang Mai. Renting a motorbike for four days, and meeting a super cool Australian guy, we spent a couple of days biking along the mountainous roads outside of Pai. Other than that, my days have been spent relaxing, eating lots of Thai food from my favorite local restaurant, going for long walks, and generally just having a grand ol' time.

Sarnelli House

After hitchhiking to Chiang Mai, I spent one miserable night in a hostel with my first bout of food related illness. Not knowing whether I would be able to take the next day's 12 hour bus to Udon Thani, I luckily gradually improved after eliminating the contents of yesterday's sustenance sometime in the night. The bus ride was an interesting experience, for I was the only Westerner on the bus or seemingly in any of the towns we passed through. The further we traveled from the tourist populated Chiang Mai, the more stares I received from the locals.

Finally after drifting in and out of fleeting sleep, I arrived in Udon Thani at 2:30 am. I was dropped off at a bench of the side of the road, where I sat next to a Buddhist monk in incommunicable silence for 30 minutes until my next bus took me to Nongkhai, a city on the Mekong river bordering Laos. Stepping off the bus in Nongkhai at 4:00 am, I was bombarded by tuk tuk drivers asking (in Thai of course) if I needed a ride. I tried to show them the address of Sarnelli House, but after ten minutes of comical and frustrating miscommunication, I eventually gave up and found a spot on the bench at the station and lay down for a two hour nap before calling Sarnelli House for a ride. Awaking in the dawn light from my homeless-esque nap with a sore neck, I called Father Mike from Sarnelli House. An hour later I found myself traveling along the red dirt road to the place I would spend the week.

Now would probably be a good time to explain what Sarnelli House is and why I visited. Sarnelli House is an orphanage for sick, abandoned, and abused children from the local NE Thailand area. About half of the children have HIV/AIDS, while a number of others have been raped or have other illnesses. The orphanage, which consists of six homes across a few kilometer radius, was started 15 years ago by the Redemptorist Priests of Thailand and was spearheaded by Father Mike Shea, a missionary priest originally from Wisconsin. St. Michael Church in Wheaton has donated money to Sarnelli House, with my Dad being a contact for the orphanage here in Wheaton. I visited, as I was curious and I had a connection from back home.

The orphanage is extremely well run, having about 60 staff members, consisting of farmers who tend to the pigs, cattle, chickens, sugar cane, rice, and tobacco fields, multiple cooks, caretakers for the children, office workers, drivers, and many other people who help make this orphanage run streamlined.

During the week almost all of the children went off to school, so my mornings consisted of lifting weights in the weight room under the room in which I stayed, reading, writing, and eating enormous amounts of food that the wonderfully kind cook, Pidah prepared for me. Everyday around 4:00 pm, I would bike over to the House of Hope, where the younger children stayed, where I would spend the next hour or two swinging the children up and around. Leaving exhausted and sweaty, I biked back to a different tasty meal every night.

My stay at Sarnelli House was very rewarding. Seeing how generous everyone at the orphanage was, I left inspired to help others in need.

Here are some clips from my week in Nongkhai:

Pai II

This video shows just some of the things I have been up to in Pai the past week. The first clip is of the Pai Circus School & Resort, a hostel set away from town, where residents can swim in the pool, lounge around, or practice their various performance arts, such as poi. On New Year's Eve, a bumping party went into the early morning sunrise, where views of hundreds of rising lanterns and fireworks could be seen from this beautiful spot.

The next clips are from a waterfall that I visited with two girls I met in Koh Lanta and their new acquaintances. Motorbiking about 15k from town, the waterfall poured into a deep bowl of rock. Immediately upon seeing that I could swim here, I quickly disrobed and turned on my GoPro to film myself jump in. Jumping into the cold water felt cold and refreshing, but this feeling of tranquility immediately turned to panic as I realized my vision was blurred. My glasses! (If you listen closely under the sweet vocals of Robert Plant, you can hear two expletives) Luckily, the bottom of the pool was touchable, and after five minutes of groping with our feet, my new friend from New Zealand found them.

After rejoicing and then drying off, my NZ friend and I, along with two guys whom we met swimming, motorbiked up to the viewpoint overlooking Pai advertised on a billboard near the waterfall. Eager to get to the viewpoint, we quickly became overly cautious as the roads turned from bad to worse. Resembling more of a trail, rising and falling at alarming grades, we crept up the mountain at a snail's pace. Finally, we arrived at the top to see a stunning 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Seeing almost no other tourists up there (for good reason!), the mountaintop was occupied by local Thais, all of whom seemed much more at ease than us, as we tried not to think of how the ride down would go. Eventually, we did go down, ever so slowly upon the dirt "road". Of the four of us, two fell, but luckily they arose with only minor scrapes. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we reached the flatter main road.

Finally, the last clips are of my new Moroccan/French friend Yo and I biking around Pai. Yo is an amazing guy, as he is big into music, spirituality, and always emits such positive energy.

Though Pai has been a great place to spend a week, I left to go back to Chiang Mai to eventually make my way to Nongkhai, a city on the Mekong river and Laos border. Having heard from multiple people that hitchhiking in Southeast Asia is doable and quite easy, I thought I would try it out to get to Chiang Mai today (140k trip). Walking a couple of kilometers outside of the town center, I flashed my upwards thumb at passing cars and motorbikes. A few minutes after beginning this thumbs-up process, a Thai woman on a motorbike stopped and gave me a lift about 10k down the road. Hopping off and thanking her (khawp khun khap!), I continued down the winding road. Only minutes later another car stopped, inside it two Thai girls and a guy from Singapore. They gladly took me in as they were going to Chiang Mai. We even stopped for coffee, lunch, and a karaoke party along the way!
It was a fitting end to a great week in Pai. Such a great week in fact, that I think I will be back after my trip to Nongkhai.

Pai I

Arriving in Pai on Sunday, the 28th, I quickly came to love the beautiful scenery surrounding this small town. Nestled in a valley near small green mountains, Pai is a spot where one can enjoy the surrounding nature and relax in the many restaurants and hostels peppered throughout the area.

On my first full day in Pai, I decided to hike to a waterfall 8 kilometers from town. The path crisscrossed a small creek through a beautiful shaded forest, ending at a rushing waterfall, where I sat alone taking in the sounds of the natural area.

My second day in Pai I again rented a motorbike, which now is one of my favorite things to do here. Having no plan, I decided to bike north into the mountains along Route 1095. Starting at 9:00 am, I quickly became quite cold as I rose in elevation. Greeted with stunning views of the low lying areas, I continued onward along the winding road north into the mountains. Stopping at a local market to buy gloves and another flannel (with a total of 49 baht...$1.50), I ended up biking all the way to Mae Hong Son, a town 111k from Pai. There I filled up my bike, ate a quick lunch at a place where no English was written or spoken, and headed back to Pai. As the sun started to set, I was fortunate to view some beautiful vantage points before finishing my all day >220k ride.


Decided that Crazy Jim singing LA Woman fit the motorbike ride well. I also upped the quality to 1080p...for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy!