that was an experience i will never forget. remember the days when it was the last night of sleep away camp and everyone stayed up through the night til sunrise and went crazy and were honeybadgers and didnt care. it was like that...but adults, and drinking and drugs (for some - not us), and no body gave a shit and just danced their ass off.... and pants off for some. we saw so many people face down in the sand.... and just people out of control and dancing with their neon shirts like its 1991.
beach activities included but not limited to:
jump rope - on fire
water slide - into no water
dance - yea dancing
Happy Shakes- Mushrooms
Buckets - mixed drinks
and now to bangkok for a relaxing 5star hotel experience to rest and reflect. (courtesy of starwood hotels and kristin C.)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
its happening
About t minus 6 hours until 2012. The beach is getting packed for a much anticipated full moon party. Unleash the mayhem. Radio silence until bangkok.
Godspeed
Godspeed
Thursday, December 29, 2011
DMV
There must be no dmv here or at all in thailand. 10 year old kids r riding the moto bikes like its nothin. We witnessed a head on collision between 2 gopeds while eating dinner today. 2 kids, must have been 11 and 14 years old. Looked like they were ok but their bike was totalled, one had to go to hospital. We were talking to one guy today in our tuk tuk and he said he broke his arm on one, just got his casÞ off yesterday. def avoiding those here.
Me and wolff are both 100 percent healthy again. Great timing as the festivities kick in.
Also- we saw a bunch of ozzie tourists get scammed with the jetskis. They were trying to charge them 47000 bhat in damages aka 1700 dollars. Well not up in here. NOT UP IN HERE!
Me and wolff are both 100 percent healthy again. Great timing as the festivities kick in.
Also- we saw a bunch of ozzie tourists get scammed with the jetskis. They were trying to charge them 47000 bhat in damages aka 1700 dollars. Well not up in here. NOT UP IN HERE!
countdown to 2012
We r here in haad rin. Our communist-like hotel is about a 20 min tuk tuk ride to the "action" or where the parties at/the beach. The beach is really nice here, has a similar cove-like shape like bondi beach in australia. The party will take place there. There is a party every night leading up to nye. Tonight we are goin there, tomorrow is a full moon party in the jungle and nye is the main event. We got down to the beach this am and realized this IS the place to be and where all the action is. We were lucky to find a hostel very close to the beach so we booked that too, last 2 of 3 beds left. Now we have 2 rooms. We took naps in the communist hotel and now we r gonna go back to the spot and this way we have a place to change/crash tonight if we need it. The ride back to the communist hotel has many rolling hills, peaks and valleys, makes me naucious just thinkin about.
The look and feel of haad rin is similar to a global spring break less americans and on a moderated scale. Still haven't met american travelers yet, kind of cool/ I like it.
Fyi everything like clothing to accessories is florescent here. Its like living in the early 90s. Ill be sporting my bright orange tang top and my neon green shorts to blend in with the crowd. Wolff is still tbd.
Party starts in 2 hours...
Here.we.go
The look and feel of haad rin is similar to a global spring break less americans and on a moderated scale. Still haven't met american travelers yet, kind of cool/ I like it.
Fyi everything like clothing to accessories is florescent here. Its like living in the early 90s. Ill be sporting my bright orange tang top and my neon green shorts to blend in with the crowd. Wolff is still tbd.
Party starts in 2 hours...
Here.we.go
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
road to the full moon party
We are leavin ko samui after a relaxing 3 days to ko pagnan, and stay 20 min outside of haad rin, home of the full moon party. A place where thousands of backpackers gather for one crazy party that lasts til sunrise. Its an expected 40000 people for the new years full moon party. We r goin for the new years party and nights prior. For more info, just google full moon party to get more details but its pretty much as much as we know.
I'm considering wearing a diaper to this party since I keep making frequent trips to la bano ever since I got that bug lol. I haven't seen a solid #2 since xmas eve. Time is of the essence
Ps Eeeeer-ik is our new names here bc thet can't pronounce our names correctly with their thai accents
I'm considering wearing a diaper to this party since I keep making frequent trips to la bano ever since I got that bug lol. I haven't seen a solid #2 since xmas eve. Time is of the essence
Ps Eeeeer-ik is our new names here bc thet can't pronounce our names correctly with their thai accents
smoked out
Today around 1pm they had a company come to the hotel to do some pest control. They were doin some backend work to help control the mosquito situation here (not that bad). About 115 I suddenly saw white smoke coming from every crack and sliver from the wooden deck near the pool. It came fast and quick, and we soon couldn't see in front of us. We got smoked out, we ran out of the hotel and walked over to the beach from a few doors down. We could see all this smoke coming up from the resort. Luckily I purchased some of those masks that you see people in Asia wear to prevent sickness, from 7-eleven late last night so we were fully prepared.
Wolff may have /probably broke his toe from our adventure back to the hotel 2 nights ago. We may amputate it just so at least we say lost a body part.
Btw- so many topless people bathing on the beach. A site to see
I'm a sucker for monkeys. This time I paid to take a pic w one of the non-wild monkeys when I was at dinner. After I got the poloroid pic from the monkey owner, I realized I didn't have enough money for food and we already sat down and ordered drinks. I tried to send back the water that I bought to increase my spending cap. They said they wouldn't take it back but I never opened it. I had 110 baht left and water was 40. I couldn't even get a veggie pad thai. Thet finally gave in and took back the water,I still borrow 20 baht from wolff, who barely had enough from himself too.
Today we basically just chilled out and didn't do too much.
I can finally eat more things, like icecream and banana. It still hurts a little but managable. I hope ill be 100 percent in 2 weeks!
Goin to take a nap now
Wolff may have /probably broke his toe from our adventure back to the hotel 2 nights ago. We may amputate it just so at least we say lost a body part.
Btw- so many topless people bathing on the beach. A site to see
I'm a sucker for monkeys. This time I paid to take a pic w one of the non-wild monkeys when I was at dinner. After I got the poloroid pic from the monkey owner, I realized I didn't have enough money for food and we already sat down and ordered drinks. I tried to send back the water that I bought to increase my spending cap. They said they wouldn't take it back but I never opened it. I had 110 baht left and water was 40. I couldn't even get a veggie pad thai. Thet finally gave in and took back the water,I still borrow 20 baht from wolff, who barely had enough from himself too.
Today we basically just chilled out and didn't do too much.
I can finally eat more things, like icecream and banana. It still hurts a little but managable. I hope ill be 100 percent in 2 weeks!
Goin to take a nap now
Monday, December 26, 2011
we lost our shirts
No fingers this time, just shirts and when I say shirts I mean cash. We lost all of the money we had in cash at the muay thai fight in betting red vs blue. And all the money we had was about 1300 baht each which is about 40 dollars. (A full week's pay in thailand, a round trip to the water cooler's pay on wall street.
At first we were winning! We kept betting on the "blue" shorts guy vs red. I was the ginnypig to bet first, we had to bet with the locals that take bets before the match. I took one for the team and did one bet for 200 bhat.. Btw all bets were even money bc its too complicated for them to do otherwise. The first match was the light weights.. 90 pds weight class... Turns out they were like 10 years old I think. The blue guy threw up in the middle of the fight at one point but he still won! Boom, made 200 baht... But wait...there's more. An old old local man sitting next to me took out 200 baht and handed to me. At first I was baffled but then soon realized I may have accidently taken a bet with him without even knowing. Before the fight started he had tapped me on the shoulder and was pointing to the guy in red and putting up 2 fingers. I thought he was just acknowledging that he liked the bet his friend/local neighbor just made with me or was acknowledging who had what side of the bet. I honestly had no idea what he was doing at the time.I was just focused on the bet I made with a different guy. So u know when u don't understand someone and u want to be polite so u just smile and nod, I did just that... Probably the worst thing u can do in a betting environment. But it turned out for the better when I tripled my 200 wager from an accidental bet with a 90 year old man that didn't speak... And if he did speak it would have been only thai.
By the 3 4th and 5th fight we just kept losing 200 baht 300 baht.the other fights were middle and heavy weights..130pds - 170 pds. At one point I had 3 bets goin, hedging my bet based on my last minute instincts. By the last fight, I had the old thai locals betting with me, waiving their one hundred baht in the air to try and get anyone to pick the underdog. I gave in, as charity... Clearly I didn't win the last one, nor did wolff or this post would have been constructed differently.
I also had a chance to interview 2 of the fighters as they were leaving, I said I was doing a documentary and I needs some answers. I took out my flip and asked some questions... It was more of a one way conversation , like speaking to a wall. They understand no english.
There was one knockout last night... And I missed it bc I was taking a piss. I eagering came out to see the replay... But wait..we are in thailand.. They didn't even have an LED screen so there is no way in hell I'm goin to see a replay unless they renact it in slow motion ( I wouldn't put it past them). The arena probably held 3000 people total. I will never see the replay so I just asked the fighter about it in my interview on the flip cam. He had no words...
At first we were winning! We kept betting on the "blue" shorts guy vs red. I was the ginnypig to bet first, we had to bet with the locals that take bets before the match. I took one for the team and did one bet for 200 bhat.. Btw all bets were even money bc its too complicated for them to do otherwise. The first match was the light weights.. 90 pds weight class... Turns out they were like 10 years old I think. The blue guy threw up in the middle of the fight at one point but he still won! Boom, made 200 baht... But wait...there's more. An old old local man sitting next to me took out 200 baht and handed to me. At first I was baffled but then soon realized I may have accidently taken a bet with him without even knowing. Before the fight started he had tapped me on the shoulder and was pointing to the guy in red and putting up 2 fingers. I thought he was just acknowledging that he liked the bet his friend/local neighbor just made with me or was acknowledging who had what side of the bet. I honestly had no idea what he was doing at the time.I was just focused on the bet I made with a different guy. So u know when u don't understand someone and u want to be polite so u just smile and nod, I did just that... Probably the worst thing u can do in a betting environment. But it turned out for the better when I tripled my 200 wager from an accidental bet with a 90 year old man that didn't speak... And if he did speak it would have been only thai.
By the 3 4th and 5th fight we just kept losing 200 baht 300 baht.the other fights were middle and heavy weights..130pds - 170 pds. At one point I had 3 bets goin, hedging my bet based on my last minute instincts. By the last fight, I had the old thai locals betting with me, waiving their one hundred baht in the air to try and get anyone to pick the underdog. I gave in, as charity... Clearly I didn't win the last one, nor did wolff or this post would have been constructed differently.
I also had a chance to interview 2 of the fighters as they were leaving, I said I was doing a documentary and I needs some answers. I took out my flip and asked some questions... It was more of a one way conversation , like speaking to a wall. They understand no english.
There was one knockout last night... And I missed it bc I was taking a piss. I eagering came out to see the replay... But wait..we are in thailand.. They didn't even have an LED screen so there is no way in hell I'm goin to see a replay unless they renact it in slow motion ( I wouldn't put it past them). The arena probably held 3000 people total. I will never see the replay so I just asked the fighter about it in my interview on the flip cam. He had no words...
ko samui fight tonight
There is a muay thai fight tonight at the local colliseum which we will attending at 9pm. Today we pretty much chilled out at the hotel until the afternoon, and we walked along the sand for about 30 min , and got massages for 8-10 dollars for an hour which were literally on the beach outside.
The ocean literally comes right up and over the steps into the hotel restaurant here.
The thai massage station was set up with 6 low matts in a row. It was like "synchronized massaging" as wolff called it when all the thai women where giving the same thai massage at the same time. There is one part of the massage when the woman pulls your arms all the back while you are facing downward in the mat. She pulls them so far back that you are supposed to raise up and you extend your torso. I couldn't take the intense pain so I let go and she fell off the table. She wasn't expecting me to let go of her arms so she just took a spill.
After the massage, we attempted to walk back to our hotel on the sand... We overshot this mission completely. We walked and walked and walked from beach to beach and once it became dark and after sunset, we realized we were lost. We decided to walk up the stairs to a random hotel and asked one of the waitresses serving a family of 4 how to get to Tengo hotel. She pointed in the opposite direction we were trekking. At that point we didn't feel like retracing our steps since we've been walking for about 40 min too far. We walked further up the hill and we saw car headlights.. This was good news. We reached a main road.. And hailed a tuk tuk... And again an account an asian family of 4 who we hopped in the tuk tuk with bc they already hailed that tuk tuk and they were going in the same direction. 2 little children and their parents. the tuk tuk fare was 200 bhaat. We split it 50/50.
It took us about 5 min drive back but it seemed like a major walk on the beach bc we walked about 30 minutes the opposite way for the massages.
The muay thai fight starts in one hour. Here . We. Go.
The ocean literally comes right up and over the steps into the hotel restaurant here.
The thai massage station was set up with 6 low matts in a row. It was like "synchronized massaging" as wolff called it when all the thai women where giving the same thai massage at the same time. There is one part of the massage when the woman pulls your arms all the back while you are facing downward in the mat. She pulls them so far back that you are supposed to raise up and you extend your torso. I couldn't take the intense pain so I let go and she fell off the table. She wasn't expecting me to let go of her arms so she just took a spill.
After the massage, we attempted to walk back to our hotel on the sand... We overshot this mission completely. We walked and walked and walked from beach to beach and once it became dark and after sunset, we realized we were lost. We decided to walk up the stairs to a random hotel and asked one of the waitresses serving a family of 4 how to get to Tengo hotel. She pointed in the opposite direction we were trekking. At that point we didn't feel like retracing our steps since we've been walking for about 40 min too far. We walked further up the hill and we saw car headlights.. This was good news. We reached a main road.. And hailed a tuk tuk... And again an account an asian family of 4 who we hopped in the tuk tuk with bc they already hailed that tuk tuk and they were going in the same direction. 2 little children and their parents. the tuk tuk fare was 200 bhaat. We split it 50/50.
It took us about 5 min drive back but it seemed like a major walk on the beach bc we walked about 30 minutes the opposite way for the massages.
The muay thai fight starts in one hour. Here . We. Go.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
ko samui
Got in last night around 7pm. Ko samui is extremely westernized and filled with families, not so much backpackers. Ko samui is like the miami beach of thailand. Our hotel is pretty awesome, the location is great we are right on the beach. There are like 2 rows of bunguloos that are seperated by a wide staircase that leads to an oudoor restuarant and the edge of the beach.
I got a bug 2 nights ago in phucket from eating food at a restuaurant. I think it was a 24 bug. I started feeling really hot, chills etc , we were in phucket which is filled with lady boys who are catcalling every tourist that walks by... Young and old. And at every bar, there was literally a dozen or so hookers that basically try to climb all over you trying to get you to take them home with you. Its not discrete at all, its very open. We didn't take any hookers home but I did take one to the pharmacy so she can translate my symptoms to the the pharmacist. So "mini" if your reading this... Thank you! It was awkward at first bc I'm walking with her to the pharmacy and all of the tourists are probably thinkin that I'm taking her home but really I was getting medical attention. Shame on them for assuming. Shame
I got a bug 2 nights ago in phucket from eating food at a restuaurant. I think it was a 24 bug. I started feeling really hot, chills etc , we were in phucket which is filled with lady boys who are catcalling every tourist that walks by... Young and old. And at every bar, there was literally a dozen or so hookers that basically try to climb all over you trying to get you to take them home with you. Its not discrete at all, its very open. We didn't take any hookers home but I did take one to the pharmacy so she can translate my symptoms to the the pharmacist. So "mini" if your reading this... Thank you! It was awkward at first bc I'm walking with her to the pharmacy and all of the tourists are probably thinkin that I'm taking her home but really I was getting medical attention. Shame on them for assuming. Shame
Phuket
well, we are waiting in the airport now to go to Ko Samui. Phuket.... i have no words.
but i can tell that you that Erik and I shared a bed in the hotel. they had no more doubles.
The pingpong show was... well..
the end.
but i can tell that you that Erik and I shared a bed in the hotel. they had no more doubles.
The pingpong show was... well..
the end.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
pay per pound
Let it be known that we did infact pay per pound..@steveryan @dad. But it was for laundry at the hotel, and it was in kilos. Pay per kilo.
Imagine if u had to pay per pound for massage. That would be a funny pricing model. They would make some serious cash on the average american
Imagine if u had to pay per pound for massage. That would be a funny pricing model. They would make some serious cash on the average american
pay per pound
Let it be known that we did infact pay per pound..@steveryan @dad. But it was for laundry at the hotel, and it was in kilos. Pay per kilo.
Imagine if u had to pay per pound for massage. That would be a funny pricing model. They would make some serious cash on the average american
Imagine if u had to pay per pound for massage. That would be a funny pricing model. They would make some serious cash on the average american
ko phi phi and me
So we finally lost our fingers in thailand! Both of us! That's why they're are so many typos! But when I say fingers I mean sandals. we left our sandals underneath the chairs on the beach to keep them in a safe place. This is right where all the parties, techno and fire throwing happens at night. Around 2am when went to grab our sandals and we realized both our left sandles were missing. These r the expensis Reef sandals we both have. I have size 11 and wolff size 12. I soon noticed 2 shady characters with a black sack wrapped around their shoulder as they collected random sandals on the beach that were left by intoxicated westerners. Despite coming off my intoxicated state of mind, I sobered up once I realized the sandals were missing. I approached the shady european lads to investigate the bag, at first they were hesitant but I needed to know where my sandal went! I was reallly upset bc I've had to replcae these same ones 3x before. I began to beg and act desperate ... The finally gave in bc they didn't want to cause a scene bc they would get caught. they opened up the bag and out comes 50 random sandals. I find wolff's but mine is still missing. They tried charging me for one of them but I said only pay if u find the other one (100 baat/ 3.30 dollars). No luck for me :(
But 2 hours later as the party empties out for the night I was walking back from the scene and I noticed a lone lost sandal just covered in sand about 20 yards deep into ocean. It looked it has gone through some domestic abuse and been through the ringer. Keep on mind the ocean is so shallow and it was low tied around 330am so there was puddles of water but mostly wet sand in between. So I leaned in to check and boom size 11! It was like I found my missing child. .. If I had one. But I don't think I'd leave a child under a chair in thailand.
Last night on the "dance floor" aka sand near the beach, we were talking to this girl from holland named Mica. Seemed pretty chill and we were about 15 min deep into convo and she told us she was traveling with her boyfriend. My snap decision response was, "great! I'm traveling w my boyfriend too!" And pointed to wolff. So now her and her bf think me and wolff r gay. So continues to chat for a little bit and she said it "cute" that we were dating and we were both erik and eric. End scene.
Next morning wolff and I are eating breakfast together and guess who"s there...Mica and her bf, she begins talking to us again. Keep in mind I completely forgot that I told her we were dating. She brings up the fact that she thought it was so cute again we got a hotel room together, just the 2 of us in ko samui. I was dying laughing after I just recalled my convo with them last night about this. End scene
So Ko phi phi has Todd now. He loved it so much that he decided to stay for a while. We left him this morning and we are currently on the ferry back to phucket for one night only... Ping pong show!!
Ko phi phi is a pretty amazing place, here is the summary of it:
A bunch of westerners (caucasians) backpacking in asia and looking for beautiful beaches / snorkeling / monkeys / "the beach" during the day and party like rockstars at night. There is just a row of bars on the beach that convert into night clubs in the evening with techno and DJs.
It is very intense, fun, and alchohol is very accessible.
Not too many people from the US which was nice. They have these stands where u can buy "buckets" and its like a la carte menu to mix 1 liquor , 1 soda, and/ or 1 energy drink and prices range from 150-550 baat depending on quality of alchohol. Everyone is drinkin them here, similar to the Hurricanes in New Orleans. Its like the thing to drink.
One theme song of Ko Phi Phi island, which we will never forget and always associate w our experience here is the hit single "paradise" I think its called by coldplay which just came out last month.
Also- we heard a song "big bad wolf"... Should be the big bad wolff... They kept playing it here. Maybe it will be popular in the states soon.
And finally the ladyboy from our Palms Residence came back one last time today. We paid our respects and parted ways... She/he was such a nice ladyboy. Very accomodating for our hotel room.$ always bringin us fresh towels, but the room smelled like mold/mildew.. Nasty!
We feel like we've been here forever, and we still have another 10 days!
Last night was the first night I actually was able to have a proper night out considering my stomach has been bothering me.
Tonight will be epic... I probably need to wear a cup for protection against the ladyboys in Phucket tonight. We heard they go right for the junk.
Godspeed
Ps currently I am in the very tip of the Chao Koh Group boat (max passengers 400) standing about 7 ft away from the edge. A slightly moderated version of Titanic style, less a female figure and clearly not as dangerous ... Islands instead of icebergs and in 80 degree. What a country.
Pss_ I found my sunglasses! But I'm wearing the fake blue raybans I bought in phi phi with my fake Ripcurl bathing suit. ..much more character
But 2 hours later as the party empties out for the night I was walking back from the scene and I noticed a lone lost sandal just covered in sand about 20 yards deep into ocean. It looked it has gone through some domestic abuse and been through the ringer. Keep on mind the ocean is so shallow and it was low tied around 330am so there was puddles of water but mostly wet sand in between. So I leaned in to check and boom size 11! It was like I found my missing child. .. If I had one. But I don't think I'd leave a child under a chair in thailand.
Last night on the "dance floor" aka sand near the beach, we were talking to this girl from holland named Mica. Seemed pretty chill and we were about 15 min deep into convo and she told us she was traveling with her boyfriend. My snap decision response was, "great! I'm traveling w my boyfriend too!" And pointed to wolff. So now her and her bf think me and wolff r gay. So continues to chat for a little bit and she said it "cute" that we were dating and we were both erik and eric. End scene.
Next morning wolff and I are eating breakfast together and guess who"s there...Mica and her bf, she begins talking to us again. Keep in mind I completely forgot that I told her we were dating. She brings up the fact that she thought it was so cute again we got a hotel room together, just the 2 of us in ko samui. I was dying laughing after I just recalled my convo with them last night about this. End scene
So Ko phi phi has Todd now. He loved it so much that he decided to stay for a while. We left him this morning and we are currently on the ferry back to phucket for one night only... Ping pong show!!
Ko phi phi is a pretty amazing place, here is the summary of it:
A bunch of westerners (caucasians) backpacking in asia and looking for beautiful beaches / snorkeling / monkeys / "the beach" during the day and party like rockstars at night. There is just a row of bars on the beach that convert into night clubs in the evening with techno and DJs.
It is very intense, fun, and alchohol is very accessible.
Not too many people from the US which was nice. They have these stands where u can buy "buckets" and its like a la carte menu to mix 1 liquor , 1 soda, and/ or 1 energy drink and prices range from 150-550 baat depending on quality of alchohol. Everyone is drinkin them here, similar to the Hurricanes in New Orleans. Its like the thing to drink.
One theme song of Ko Phi Phi island, which we will never forget and always associate w our experience here is the hit single "paradise" I think its called by coldplay which just came out last month.
Also- we heard a song "big bad wolf"... Should be the big bad wolff... They kept playing it here. Maybe it will be popular in the states soon.
And finally the ladyboy from our Palms Residence came back one last time today. We paid our respects and parted ways... She/he was such a nice ladyboy. Very accomodating for our hotel room.$ always bringin us fresh towels, but the room smelled like mold/mildew.. Nasty!
We feel like we've been here forever, and we still have another 10 days!
Last night was the first night I actually was able to have a proper night out considering my stomach has been bothering me.
Tonight will be epic... I probably need to wear a cup for protection against the ladyboys in Phucket tonight. We heard they go right for the junk.
Godspeed
Ps currently I am in the very tip of the Chao Koh Group boat (max passengers 400) standing about 7 ft away from the edge. A slightly moderated version of Titanic style, less a female figure and clearly not as dangerous ... Islands instead of icebergs and in 80 degree. What a country.
Pss_ I found my sunglasses! But I'm wearing the fake blue raybans I bought in phi phi with my fake Ripcurl bathing suit. ..much more character
Friday, December 23, 2011
rise of the island of the monkeys
so we decided to stay for one more day/night in phi phi island. we heard that phuket wasn't that great so we figured all we need is one full day/night there. today Erik went rock climbing and i took care of a few errands/activities of my own including booking a 3rd night at our Palms resident hotel! maybe we get to see the lady boy again :)
so we also noticed that while we are walking around EVERY shop is selling t's and tangs with suzan demir's face on it! im telling everyone i know her.. its kind of bizarre to see her face all over thailand so i took a lot of pics. for those of you who are confused, suzan is the one that runs la pomme, it's evelina's boss. she came to a few Knicks games, but she always texts me when SNL afterparty is at la pomme. so i HAD to buy a shirt, for $6. it is pretty much novelty at this point.
so i had a chance to rent a kayak for the day and kayak over to monkey island b/c i didnt really have enough time when we went on the sailboat yesterday. we only spent 20 min there. today is spent 2 hours!~ you are able to purchase food to feed them but its not good to get too close or tease them. at least i didnt learn the hard way...
i went over to the food stand after buying some bananas earlier in the day. i wanted to rent some snorkling gear b/c the marine life is pretty awesome there. i was about knee deep in a conversation with an Australian backpacker next to me, discussing the standard, where are you from, how long are you here bs. and all of a sudden we see a guy/girl running into the water fast, and the girl screaming. we were told to run into the water if the monkeys chase you. the girl was screaming histerically, and then a few seconds later the monkeys scattered off as they made there way into the water. only a few seconds later you see her leg gushing in blood. her bf picked her up and carrying her to land and was ordering us to call an ambulance. I was thinking to myself... why do you call an ambulance? how is an ambulance going to drive over to this island, then the rationalization kicked in they put her in a boat and took her to the main land. about 15 people hovered around her as they tried to stop the bleeding and they wrapped her leg up . the size of the gash was about 3 inches long and about 1.2 cm deep. it was pretty bad. she probably has rabbies now. i realized how they happened, b/c the monkey got pissed b/c she was teasing it. she kept showing him food and then putting it away. dont tease the monkeys OR they will eat you alive. after that incident, i just took a few more pics from a distance and then i did some snorkeling. i packed it up , packed it in, and about to begin... my journey back to the main phi phi island. once i returned i realized i had not finished where i started so i had to walk all the way back to the place where i rented and left the kayak behind.
so today- for a total cost of $40 dollars:
1) Ripcurl bathing suit - $12
2) tshirt - with suzan demir's picture on it - $6
3) 2 tang tops - $6
4) Kayak - $10
5) coconut, 2 bananas and monkey food - $ 3
6) Snorkling gear - $3
7) 200 monkey pictures- free
8) watching someone get attached - priceless, but in a bad way
so we also noticed that while we are walking around EVERY shop is selling t's and tangs with suzan demir's face on it! im telling everyone i know her.. its kind of bizarre to see her face all over thailand so i took a lot of pics. for those of you who are confused, suzan is the one that runs la pomme, it's evelina's boss. she came to a few Knicks games, but she always texts me when SNL afterparty is at la pomme. so i HAD to buy a shirt, for $6. it is pretty much novelty at this point.
so i had a chance to rent a kayak for the day and kayak over to monkey island b/c i didnt really have enough time when we went on the sailboat yesterday. we only spent 20 min there. today is spent 2 hours!~ you are able to purchase food to feed them but its not good to get too close or tease them. at least i didnt learn the hard way...
i went over to the food stand after buying some bananas earlier in the day. i wanted to rent some snorkling gear b/c the marine life is pretty awesome there. i was about knee deep in a conversation with an Australian backpacker next to me, discussing the standard, where are you from, how long are you here bs. and all of a sudden we see a guy/girl running into the water fast, and the girl screaming. we were told to run into the water if the monkeys chase you. the girl was screaming histerically, and then a few seconds later the monkeys scattered off as they made there way into the water. only a few seconds later you see her leg gushing in blood. her bf picked her up and carrying her to land and was ordering us to call an ambulance. I was thinking to myself... why do you call an ambulance? how is an ambulance going to drive over to this island, then the rationalization kicked in they put her in a boat and took her to the main land. about 15 people hovered around her as they tried to stop the bleeding and they wrapped her leg up . the size of the gash was about 3 inches long and about 1.2 cm deep. it was pretty bad. she probably has rabbies now. i realized how they happened, b/c the monkey got pissed b/c she was teasing it. she kept showing him food and then putting it away. dont tease the monkeys OR they will eat you alive. after that incident, i just took a few more pics from a distance and then i did some snorkeling. i packed it up , packed it in, and about to begin... my journey back to the main phi phi island. once i returned i realized i had not finished where i started so i had to walk all the way back to the place where i rented and left the kayak behind.
so today- for a total cost of $40 dollars:
1) Ripcurl bathing suit - $12
2) tshirt - with suzan demir's picture on it - $6
3) 2 tang tops - $6
4) Kayak - $10
5) coconut, 2 bananas and monkey food - $ 3
6) Snorkling gear - $3
7) 200 monkey pictures- free
8) watching someone get attached - priceless, but in a bad way
Thursday, December 22, 2011
lady boy "misses you"
We were informed that the ladyboy at the front desk who wasn't working last night sent a note to our room that she misses us. She is now working tonight and starring us down.
God help us
God help us
my visit with the ko phi phi doctor
This morning, my acid reflux was really bad so I basically camped out in front of the walk in clinic at 8am waiting for the door to open. I was the first to see the dr! But wait, the language barrier was insane. I was like talking to a 2 year old to explain my symptoms and I somehow understood what he was saying .. After the 2nd or 3rd time he said it. He gave me some pills to take over the next few days. I have like so many Rx drugs in my bag. It was an interesting morning.
YOU GIVE HIM THE MAP!!!
For some reason, the "map" was very accesible. I even had more than one copy of the map for "the beach". It was amazing, one of the most peaceful beach settings I've been to.
I got some great pictures and used my gopro for the snorkling.
Monkey beach was awesome! I keep having to remind myself they are wild animals that has diseases and rabies. Its tempting to touch them!
I got some great pictures and used my gopro for the snorkling.
Monkey beach was awesome! I keep having to remind myself they are wild animals that has diseases and rabies. Its tempting to touch them!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
ko phi phi yea u know me
We mainly chilled out for the day at phi phi island$ the water is beautiful here. Its a bay so the wàter is extremely warm and no movement. First day I actually had a chance to relax.
A few fun facts:
Monkey island is close by so we r visiting that later. Doing a sale boat tour of 6 key locations include "The Beach" beach, aka maya bay
Todd left his passport in phuket so he needs to go back there to get it. He now needs to change his itinerary.
The ladyboy working the front desk at our hotel wants me and wolff
A few fun facts:
Monkey island is close by so we r visiting that later. Doing a sale boat tour of 6 key locations include "The Beach" beach, aka maya bay
Todd left his passport in phuket so he needs to go back there to get it. He now needs to change his itinerary.
The ladyboy working the front desk at our hotel wants me and wolff
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
boat ride for three to ko phi phi
Mmm boat ride for 3 who should I take? Song reference
We just boarder our boat to ko phi phi. Its the first time I've been on water and on a boat this trip. There r many westerners aboard this boat. Its actually a ferry that fits about 300 people I'd say.
I haven't seen this many westerners since america.
I wish T-pain was here with us right now.
So I was sitting just on the edge of the seat on the upper deck, there was water covering most of the seat and most of the surrounding area. An asian girl said "excuse" I got up bc I thought she left something since she pointed to the seat.
I got up, and then she just snagged with my seat with her mom. I was like um wtf, they didn't speak english besides excuse me. I asked if they had a towel to wipe down the seat if they planned to f me over. The mom pulls out a single tissue. Fml
I go down stairs to get a bunch of napkins. I wipe down and plop a seat next to the 2 crooks. But wait, a 3rd has arrived, the father! Now I am sitting with a family of 3 asians and I am in the middle! Luckily I fit right in :)
We just boarder our boat to ko phi phi. Its the first time I've been on water and on a boat this trip. There r many westerners aboard this boat. Its actually a ferry that fits about 300 people I'd say.
I haven't seen this many westerners since america.
I wish T-pain was here with us right now.
So I was sitting just on the edge of the seat on the upper deck, there was water covering most of the seat and most of the surrounding area. An asian girl said "excuse" I got up bc I thought she left something since she pointed to the seat.
I got up, and then she just snagged with my seat with her mom. I was like um wtf, they didn't speak english besides excuse me. I asked if they had a towel to wipe down the seat if they planned to f me over. The mom pulls out a single tissue. Fml
I go down stairs to get a bunch of napkins. I wipe down and plop a seat next to the 2 crooks. But wait, a 3rd has arrived, the father! Now I am sitting with a family of 3 asians and I am in the middle! Luckily I fit right in :)
in phucket
Spent 10 hours traveling today. Finally arrived at our hostel in phucket. Its very nice clean and we have our own room. An asian man picked us up at the aiport that runs the hostel and he drove us in. 8am ferry tomorrow for ko phi phi. Gonna get some rest, 2 full weeks ahead!
98 eggs , 3 backpackers and a cabbi
So our cab ride to the thailand cambodian border was a little nuts. The drivers are classified maniacs. Everyone is always trying to pass eachother on a 2 way highway. I can't even count on both hands how many close calls we had, I'm probably over hyping this experience but I definitley didn't feel comfortable sleeping in the back seat.
On the way to the border, our cab driver made 5 shady stops. Each time, we stopped there was someone waiting for him and he would hand over small packages and/or receive them from the person.
First one was at a bakery,2nd was a gas station second and by the 3rd stop we were getting upset bc we needed to make our flight and he kept delaying$ we paid for a direct taxi service, not a delivery service! The 3rd stop was by bar the most mind boggling. We slowly approach a midsized home (shady) and we roll up on the black top driveway. The driver steps out and we just about had it. I see him through the rear view mirror picking up 2 crates of grade A eggs and was attempting to stuff them in the trunk with our 3 backpacks. This wasn't goin to fly. The last thing I wanted is we hit a bump and now we have cracked eggs oozing all over our shit. Then we smell like rotten when crossing the board from the hot sun beating down on us as we wait patiently to be cleared by the border patrol. I quickly got out of the car and told the driver this isn't happening , however this didn't really process well with the driver given his english language skills. Basically nothing we or I could do so we had all of these eggs packed in the trunk with all of shit just stuffed up against the crates. One small bump and we are fd.
Luckily we arrived to the border without a scratch but I am still wondering what were in the packages.
And if u were wondering, the 4th stop was the egg crate hand off and the 5th stop was a 2 package exchange. Shady shady
Still 2 hours to airport...
Btw we are goin to research buying suits in bangkok. Wolff says he heard they are cheap there.
On the way to the border, our cab driver made 5 shady stops. Each time, we stopped there was someone waiting for him and he would hand over small packages and/or receive them from the person.
First one was at a bakery,2nd was a gas station second and by the 3rd stop we were getting upset bc we needed to make our flight and he kept delaying$ we paid for a direct taxi service, not a delivery service! The 3rd stop was by bar the most mind boggling. We slowly approach a midsized home (shady) and we roll up on the black top driveway. The driver steps out and we just about had it. I see him through the rear view mirror picking up 2 crates of grade A eggs and was attempting to stuff them in the trunk with our 3 backpacks. This wasn't goin to fly. The last thing I wanted is we hit a bump and now we have cracked eggs oozing all over our shit. Then we smell like rotten when crossing the board from the hot sun beating down on us as we wait patiently to be cleared by the border patrol. I quickly got out of the car and told the driver this isn't happening , however this didn't really process well with the driver given his english language skills. Basically nothing we or I could do so we had all of these eggs packed in the trunk with all of shit just stuffed up against the crates. One small bump and we are fd.
Luckily we arrived to the border without a scratch but I am still wondering what were in the packages.
And if u were wondering, the 4th stop was the egg crate hand off and the 5th stop was a 2 package exchange. Shady shady
Still 2 hours to airport...
Btw we are goin to research buying suits in bangkok. Wolff says he heard they are cheap there.
Monday, December 19, 2011
succesfully crossed thailand border!
we are currently in a shared cab service to the bangkok airport. Approx 3.5 hour drive from the boarder. It took about2 hours to drive to border from baddanbam,cambodia. This morning we had a nice breakfast for 3.50 at 9am which consisted of soup, and 3 cups of really good iced coffee for 60 cents each. They tasted almost exactly like canned frappuccinos.
After, I had a chance to stop at the market. Andrew, wolffs brother gave me a ride on the back of his moped to get there. We browsed a few shops and I had to buy adidas mesh shorts bc I forgot to bring them on the trip. I just have cargos and 3 bathing suits.
I also purchased a collared shirt. Its funny bc in cambodia they try to write english phrases but they never come out right and they are spelled wrong.
We hitched a private car to the border around 1045am for 30 dollars. our flight to phuket is at 730pm. We will arrive at the aiport about one hour before our flight.
The border was sooo sketchy. It just looked like a complete dump and when we crossed over, all of these thailand locals were gathering tourists for the shared cab service tothe airport. Some of the van cabs don't have a/c just a fan. "Aircon" means airconditioning to them so we just kept saying "no taxi, van, aircon, leave now!" They kept trying to get us to wait for others so they could fill the car but we didn't have time and they no zero english. It was a funny convo, I have it on tape w my flip.
Next update will be when we hit phuket.
I now have full internet access on my phone so there will be more periodic updates.
May peace be with you... Mazel tov
After, I had a chance to stop at the market. Andrew, wolffs brother gave me a ride on the back of his moped to get there. We browsed a few shops and I had to buy adidas mesh shorts bc I forgot to bring them on the trip. I just have cargos and 3 bathing suits.
I also purchased a collared shirt. Its funny bc in cambodia they try to write english phrases but they never come out right and they are spelled wrong.
We hitched a private car to the border around 1045am for 30 dollars. our flight to phuket is at 730pm. We will arrive at the aiport about one hour before our flight.
The border was sooo sketchy. It just looked like a complete dump and when we crossed over, all of these thailand locals were gathering tourists for the shared cab service tothe airport. Some of the van cabs don't have a/c just a fan. "Aircon" means airconditioning to them so we just kept saying "no taxi, van, aircon, leave now!" They kept trying to get us to wait for others so they could fill the car but we didn't have time and they no zero english. It was a funny convo, I have it on tape w my flip.
Next update will be when we hit phuket.
I now have full internet access on my phone so there will be more periodic updates.
May peace be with you... Mazel tov
30k bike ride and CFI
today we did sooo many activities. first off let me say that i purchased a bottle of water on our bike tour for 1000 cambodian dollars, which is the equivalent of 12 cents.
now that we got that out of the way, we did this 30 kilometer bike tour which gave us a nice glimpse of the Cambodia countryside, real villages, we saw rice wine making, bamboo rice cakes and rice paper mills. all of these are done 24/7 by Cambodian families who make a living from this stuff. the average amount that a Cambodian worker makes each day is $1.00. i'm having a very hard time spending $20 a day here. the bike tour was about 4 hours long but we got a chance to really see Baddaban, not just the city center. everything here is very 3rd world and is definitely one of the poorest countries I've ever experienced. the bike tour was from 8am-noon. we got lunch for another $2 and proceeded to visit CFI, Children's Future Internation. there are about 200 kids that are affiliated with the program but its basically a full service learning center for children to educate them and provide financial support/resources because their families dont have the financial stability to support and they are at risk of being sold on the child sex trade market.
for more information: http://www.childrensfutureinternational.org/
out of the 200 kids, about 18 of them actually live at the center because it's too dangerous for them to live at home, where there is abuse, violence etc. We played soccer, baseball and other sports with the kids as that is their after school activities. you would have never guessed the types of lives these kids have outside of CFI. all of the kids were so happy and they didnt show one sign of being depressed, scared or vulnerable. it was a humbling experience and it just makes you appreciate what you have in the US.
we wrapped up the day with a nice dinner with Andrew, other CFI staff and we are going to take a car ride to the Cambodian border , transfer cars at the border to get to Bankok and then take a flight to Phuket for the night, and then we are off to Ko Phi Phi for 2 days.
I'm finally getting out of jetlag mode but it's been quiet the battle to overcome.
im doing my laundry here for $1/pound.
they have great mango salad here.
the fish market smells like shit.
so many motorbikes with many kids on the back.
the end.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Cambodia- Siem Reap and Battambang
So it we've been in Cambodia for almost 2 days now. I tried explaining what happened yesterday but i was so delusional that i really dont remember too much of what i wrote. I just know i was extremely tired.
today was filled with activities including roaming through Battambang market, the bamboo rail, flashmob aerobics. Let me give you a few highlights of the last 48 hours.
The most popular form of transportation here is a moped and i've seen about 4-5 people packed in each one. it is like entire family transporting from one place to another. its really funny to see, ive heard that it gets up to to like 6 people on one. the trucks have like 20 people. definitely a site to see.
we woke up this morning in siem reape and we took a "private cab" 3 hour drive to this city called Battambang. this is where CFI is based out of and where Erik's brother lives. we paid a wopping $30 this experience. this is the equivalent of getting a private cab from Atlantic City to new york city but it in a much more chaotic environment. I'm still baffled but the extremely low cost/prices for food/activities here. it is really mind boggling to be paying $1.00 for a full lunch or dinner.
we arrived at our hotel in battambang called the Royal hotel. For the hotel rooms, we had 3 options. $9 for a 2 bedswith cold shower, fan, $10 for 2 beds, fan, coldshower or $20 for.. wait for it....wait for it...HOT shower, with 2 beds, fan, balcony and A/C unit. This is split amongst Todd, Erik and Me. for someone reason we've been trying to save $11 by NOT having hot water and A/C. if i am at any bit hot later tonight, i am getting my own room i dont care.
our hotel bathroom was an experience. this it the first time ive see a bathroom, shower and sink all in the same room. no doors to block each other. you will literally shit and shower at the same time. you can probably shit, shower and shave at the same time if you really wanted to. also, the most important thing is there is NO toilet paper! they just have this hose that you use to clean your butt. that's it.
just to give you an update on Todd, this is Erik's coworker who he randomly saw traveling here , and they realized they worked together and Todd is doing his own vacation but similar itinerary so he's tagging along for the next 4 days. the thing about todd is that he LOVVEEES to bargain. we've trying negotiating $1 and $2 meals, and tu tu rides...i dont know how it does it but sometime or more often than not he will be successful. i personally dont mind since it is so cheap to begin with but i think he likes the thrill of discounts. At one point, he made a transaction that consisted of a discounted price and include a piece of fruit in exchange for the ride on the tuk tuk (the 2nd main form of transportation for tourists)
And btw- you can literally make it rain here with 20 singles. if you try breaking 20 at ANY of the restaurants, little shops or stores, the people will honestly shit themselves and not know what to do. they would be overwhelmed and excited.
it's like going into McDonalds's in the US of A and buying a happy meal by dropping a hundo. it just doesnt happen. I serious feel like i can live like a king here. .50 cents for beer, as a mentioned in my last blog entry but honestly everything is $1.00-$2.50. okay, enough about the cheap shit...
We did a really fun activity today, i twas called the Bamboo rail. The locals used this rail as a form of transportation for supplies etc, but you can also ride it like a tourist attraction. it was recently taken over the government so its govt regulated but it's basically a traintrack with platforms made of bamboo that rides on the track, powered by lawnmower like engines and a cambodian tweenager.
Let me tell you that the cambodian child are very cute, they all gather around you asking if you are interested in buying the stuff they made or from their home/village. They are all programmed to try and sell you things and make you feel bad. It's like they will say... "hello mr. hansom, would you like to buy this pictures. 10 for $1. " If you say no, they go right to the next thing, "would you like to buy this flute, it plays many sounds"and they will start just playing for you. "would you like to buy this necklace, so I can pay for schoooool??" they ask in a high pitched voice at the end to make you feel so bad! it's like they are machines or like a whind up toy, they are so cute and its very hard not to give in. they have a set list of things to sell you like they take them out of their pocket one by one if you declined the previous item. it's like QVC channel- cambodian style.
towards the end of the day we were winding down, we walked through the market and boom , out of no where we see a group of people doing a dance in a unison! it's a flash mob! at least i thought initially but i was just a daily aerobics class they do so we made erik hop in there and participate. we also got involved with a makeshift street show with some cambodian tweens and a hoolahoop.
we then ended the night was a nice dinner with erik, todd, Andrew (erik's brother) and Jenn, who works at CFI.
tomorrow we will possibly do a 4 hour bike ride tour to see some of the Cambodian lower income houses and then we are going to CFI in the afternoon to spend time with the kids.
Good night America.
today was filled with activities including roaming through Battambang market, the bamboo rail, flashmob aerobics. Let me give you a few highlights of the last 48 hours.
The most popular form of transportation here is a moped and i've seen about 4-5 people packed in each one. it is like entire family transporting from one place to another. its really funny to see, ive heard that it gets up to to like 6 people on one. the trucks have like 20 people. definitely a site to see.
we woke up this morning in siem reape and we took a "private cab" 3 hour drive to this city called Battambang. this is where CFI is based out of and where Erik's brother lives. we paid a wopping $30 this experience. this is the equivalent of getting a private cab from Atlantic City to new york city but it in a much more chaotic environment. I'm still baffled but the extremely low cost/prices for food/activities here. it is really mind boggling to be paying $1.00 for a full lunch or dinner.
we arrived at our hotel in battambang called the Royal hotel. For the hotel rooms, we had 3 options. $9 for a 2 bedswith cold shower, fan, $10 for 2 beds, fan, coldshower or $20 for.. wait for it....wait for it...HOT shower, with 2 beds, fan, balcony and A/C unit. This is split amongst Todd, Erik and Me. for someone reason we've been trying to save $11 by NOT having hot water and A/C. if i am at any bit hot later tonight, i am getting my own room i dont care.
our hotel bathroom was an experience. this it the first time ive see a bathroom, shower and sink all in the same room. no doors to block each other. you will literally shit and shower at the same time. you can probably shit, shower and shave at the same time if you really wanted to. also, the most important thing is there is NO toilet paper! they just have this hose that you use to clean your butt. that's it.
just to give you an update on Todd, this is Erik's coworker who he randomly saw traveling here , and they realized they worked together and Todd is doing his own vacation but similar itinerary so he's tagging along for the next 4 days. the thing about todd is that he LOVVEEES to bargain. we've trying negotiating $1 and $2 meals, and tu tu rides...i dont know how it does it but sometime or more often than not he will be successful. i personally dont mind since it is so cheap to begin with but i think he likes the thrill of discounts. At one point, he made a transaction that consisted of a discounted price and include a piece of fruit in exchange for the ride on the tuk tuk (the 2nd main form of transportation for tourists)
And btw- you can literally make it rain here with 20 singles. if you try breaking 20 at ANY of the restaurants, little shops or stores, the people will honestly shit themselves and not know what to do. they would be overwhelmed and excited.
it's like going into McDonalds's in the US of A and buying a happy meal by dropping a hundo. it just doesnt happen. I serious feel like i can live like a king here. .50 cents for beer, as a mentioned in my last blog entry but honestly everything is $1.00-$2.50. okay, enough about the cheap shit...
We did a really fun activity today, i twas called the Bamboo rail. The locals used this rail as a form of transportation for supplies etc, but you can also ride it like a tourist attraction. it was recently taken over the government so its govt regulated but it's basically a traintrack with platforms made of bamboo that rides on the track, powered by lawnmower like engines and a cambodian tweenager.
Let me tell you that the cambodian child are very cute, they all gather around you asking if you are interested in buying the stuff they made or from their home/village. They are all programmed to try and sell you things and make you feel bad. It's like they will say... "hello mr. hansom, would you like to buy this pictures. 10 for $1. " If you say no, they go right to the next thing, "would you like to buy this flute, it plays many sounds"and they will start just playing for you. "would you like to buy this necklace, so I can pay for schoooool??" they ask in a high pitched voice at the end to make you feel so bad! it's like they are machines or like a whind up toy, they are so cute and its very hard not to give in. they have a set list of things to sell you like they take them out of their pocket one by one if you declined the previous item. it's like QVC channel- cambodian style.
towards the end of the day we were winding down, we walked through the market and boom , out of no where we see a group of people doing a dance in a unison! it's a flash mob! at least i thought initially but i was just a daily aerobics class they do so we made erik hop in there and participate. we also got involved with a makeshift street show with some cambodian tweens and a hoolahoop.
we then ended the night was a nice dinner with erik, todd, Andrew (erik's brother) and Jenn, who works at CFI.
tomorrow we will possibly do a 4 hour bike ride tour to see some of the Cambodian lower income houses and then we are going to CFI in the afternoon to spend time with the kids.
Good night America.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Cambodia
while Erik and Todd (who Erik knows from work, and we met here) are negotiating a travel deal in terms of transportation, trying to get to the town where CFI is. its a 3 hour drive or a 8 hour boat ride. i am taking the free internet. btw, ive never felt so tired in my life, i am not even making sense rigth now while writing so ill give you the scoop
we visiting anker wat today... the ruins of the temples here in cambodia, it was pretty cool but i was soo wiped from the early mornign plane ride, so by the end i was pretty beat. we went back to the 5 star hotel we have tonight, le maridien, and chilled at the pool for the remainder of the day. food is $1-2 here, and the drinks are $.50. 50 cents!!! everything is sooo cheap its scary. we had 50 percent off all apps at the hotel b/c of kristens starwood discount so i was just ordering shit for fun. we just had dinner out in the town of siem repe, and the total bill was $14! we all had main dishes, drinks and apps. unreal. i am literally fallling asleep everytime i stop moving so i am trying to make it. the highlight today is they have thiese things called the tuk tuk, you basically get a personal driver for the day, its like a makeshift golf cart. i paid $15 and now i have a personal driver and he like waits for me for every activity i do. tour the temples, go to the downtown area etc. its amazing. and that is $15! we also tried this new thing where you get a foot massage by putting your feet into a pool of fish, and they bite on your feet. it was so weird, i only lasted a few seconds but the fish loved wolff's dead skin.
i need to rework this later but i seriously am falling asleep as we type, worst feeling ever. i think wolff and todd just negotiated a deal for a transportation tomorrow!
also- now i can die a happy man, we saw wild monkeys today, so many of them just monkeying around. they were amazing.
we visiting anker wat today... the ruins of the temples here in cambodia, it was pretty cool but i was soo wiped from the early mornign plane ride, so by the end i was pretty beat. we went back to the 5 star hotel we have tonight, le maridien, and chilled at the pool for the remainder of the day. food is $1-2 here, and the drinks are $.50. 50 cents!!! everything is sooo cheap its scary. we had 50 percent off all apps at the hotel b/c of kristens starwood discount so i was just ordering shit for fun. we just had dinner out in the town of siem repe, and the total bill was $14! we all had main dishes, drinks and apps. unreal. i am literally fallling asleep everytime i stop moving so i am trying to make it. the highlight today is they have thiese things called the tuk tuk, you basically get a personal driver for the day, its like a makeshift golf cart. i paid $15 and now i have a personal driver and he like waits for me for every activity i do. tour the temples, go to the downtown area etc. its amazing. and that is $15! we also tried this new thing where you get a foot massage by putting your feet into a pool of fish, and they bite on your feet. it was so weird, i only lasted a few seconds but the fish loved wolff's dead skin.
i need to rework this later but i seriously am falling asleep as we type, worst feeling ever. i think wolff and todd just negotiated a deal for a transportation tomorrow!
also- now i can die a happy man, we saw wild monkeys today, so many of them just monkeying around. they were amazing.
Friday, December 16, 2011
rem 5
this will be short. i def hit rem5 today sleeping on the nice lazyboy like couches they have here. its' pretty amazing actually, it's like a high end shelter.. kind of reminds me of a "first class" homeless experience. So to that point, there are definitly strangers all sleeping in rows with these lazy boy sofas all of the rows have back to back lines of couhces facing each other.
Bottom line, best pick up line I've heard all year. I believe at approximlatey 3:05AM, i hear "you know, you sleep really well." At this point, I'm still adjsuting to the fictatious neon lighting in the airport terminal. I pulled my sleeping mask off. I said... "excuse me," the middle aged Indian women humbly repeated.. "You sleep very well."... I was speechless. My initial reaction, was am I about to get reverse Sandusky'd right now. i paused for a bit, and then simply replied. "don't worry, the show's not over yet! ill be back in a minute. I just need to take a piss".
Going back to sleep now. ANd btw for those of you who are confused to what Rem5 is, it's the best possible state of sleep you can obtain in a given sleep period. REM stands for rapid eye movement. If you learned anything in pysch 101, it should have been this...
and pavlov's theorum.. and probably the correst spelling of his name.
Good night America.
Bottom line, best pick up line I've heard all year. I believe at approximlatey 3:05AM, i hear "you know, you sleep really well." At this point, I'm still adjsuting to the fictatious neon lighting in the airport terminal. I pulled my sleeping mask off. I said... "excuse me," the middle aged Indian women humbly repeated.. "You sleep very well."... I was speechless. My initial reaction, was am I about to get reverse Sandusky'd right now. i paused for a bit, and then simply replied. "don't worry, the show's not over yet! ill be back in a minute. I just need to take a piss".
Going back to sleep now. ANd btw for those of you who are confused to what Rem5 is, it's the best possible state of sleep you can obtain in a given sleep period. REM stands for rapid eye movement. If you learned anything in pysch 101, it should have been this...
and pavlov's theorum.. and probably the correst spelling of his name.
Good night America.
Bangkok has me now... for real.
My first class treatment to Bangkok was defintiely worth it. 8 hours of semi relaxing environment with great service, free booze, unlimited food, and sub-par movies, can't really ask for much more. The icing on the cake is that my flight attendent's name was Jew...that's right "Jew". I was in awe and filled with excitement when i learned about this. To make lite of the situation, I asked her for a monorrah but she came back with a diet coke instead. If you're a jew from bangkok you better have your channukah shit together. ps i never asked her for a manorrah, just in theory i did.
and btw- apparently a jew is a female name...unless she was a ladyboy.
AND... this just happened... i missed my fucking flight to cambodia. next one avail is 8am tomorrow ! the flight attendant told me i have to come back in 10 min because they werent boarding my flight yet, keep in mind i was 2 hours early for the flight and then i twas delayed another 90 min. i was falling asleep so i had to walk around, i couldnt just sit down or i would pass out. i came back 15 min later and they said the flight left. i was like wtf are you kidding me? it left at 830pm. i was so confused. they said they called my name a bunch of times, i totally got fucked over completely here. i dont even know how this happened but im desperatly trying to stay awake right now.
i am nauseous. i threw up a little bit between customs and immigration. idk it must have been the beef or something that i had in bankok like 10 hours ago. ughhhhh time to pass out or im never going to make it.
good night bangkok. you really did get me now... bangkok has me now for real.
and btw- apparently a jew is a female name...unless she was a ladyboy.
AND... this just happened... i missed my fucking flight to cambodia. next one avail is 8am tomorrow ! the flight attendant told me i have to come back in 10 min because they werent boarding my flight yet, keep in mind i was 2 hours early for the flight and then i twas delayed another 90 min. i was falling asleep so i had to walk around, i couldnt just sit down or i would pass out. i came back 15 min later and they said the flight left. i was like wtf are you kidding me? it left at 830pm. i was so confused. they said they called my name a bunch of times, i totally got fucked over completely here. i dont even know how this happened but im desperatly trying to stay awake right now.
i am nauseous. i threw up a little bit between customs and immigration. idk it must have been the beef or something that i had in bankok like 10 hours ago. ughhhhh time to pass out or im never going to make it.
good night bangkok. you really did get me now... bangkok has me now for real.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
first class to thailand bitches
Just paid 10000 yen to have frst class for 7 hour flight to bankok and they arranged to have a seat for me with no one next to me. Make it rainnn
Ps- 10k yen is 142 dollars
Ps- 10k yen is 142 dollars
visa for cambodia
I was a JUST informed by the japan airways check in staff that I need a visa for cambodia to enter the country! Wtf!! Did I panic? No bc apparently u can get one at the airport before u get on the flight at customs. Luckily I have 3 hours in between flights. I have both tix printed.
Ps I'm having the best beef udon while waiting for my flight to bankok to board. I would def come back here!
Ps I'm having the best beef udon while waiting for my flight to bankok to board. I would def come back here!
I forgot to mention... I tower over everyone here. I have at least 6 inches on everyone. I've never felt so power, alex now I know how it feels.
Its funny bc everything is just a little shorter here, buses, public transportation, railings etc. I guess u have to play the part.
Steve ryan- I was in your heavin last night. U need to come check this city out one day, u will fall in love with half the population.
Its funny bc everything is just a little shorter here, buses, public transportation, railings etc. I guess u have to play the part.
Steve ryan- I was in your heavin last night. U need to come check this city out one day, u will fall in love with half the population.
tokyo in 4 hours
So I ended up getting to the hotel to drop off my stuff (about 10 min from aiport w free shuttle) about 5pm.
I got up to my room (806) and it was about 90f degrees no joke. I immediately called down to the front desk.
Me-"can u turn on the air conditioning in room 806. Its extremely hot"
Front desk -"in japan, here is out winter. No cold air"
Me -"damn"
I like to sleep in the cold, this isn't goin well.
They said it takes about an hour to get to tokyo w the highspeed train but the last one back to norita airport is 945. And the 2 hour train last dept is 11pm. A cab would cost me 28000 yen, aka 350-400 dollars. I chose the alternative method and realized I wasn't goin to be able to do the things I wanted to actually do in tokyo given my time constraints. 4 hour hit list- karoake, sushi, sumo wrestling.
I took the narrita express train into tokyo. Damn that shit goes fast. They also had a vending machine on the train filled with colorful and neon beverages which allll looked amazing given my current state of thirst. I was kind of tired so I figured I'd go for the iced coffee to hold myself over. Clearly I was mistaken, when I picked up the hot metal can, which looked similar to a frappucino to go. It was my first time drinkinh hot coffee in a soda can to go. Not to mention, on my second attempt to consume a cold beverage about 10 min later, I was tricked again by the packaging when I received hot green tea in a can with a similar look and feel as snapple. Fooled me twice, Shame on me.
The trains also are just one step ahead of american trains with lcd tv screens running ads on each car but the comfort level can be improved for the headrest.
I got to tokyo station and immediately took a cab to the "times square" of tokyo, it was definitelty an experience. So many stores, shops all packed together with over stimulating smells and colors. Nothing was really commercialized, many local shops or a had a unique feel to each one.
The first thing I did was check out was have sushi at sushi sishizanmi. I'm not sure if that was the actual name of the restaurant or just the name of the type of place but I ate there ( california role and spicy tuna). Amazing!
And I must must say, the chop stick quality here was phenominal. Smooth around the edges and a clean crisp break when seperàted.
I realized by the time I was done, there wasn't too much time for dilly dallying if I wanted to try and do sumo wrestling and karoake.
I had to nix sumo because not enough time. If there was a home depot and bed bath n beyond I would have made time (wedding crashers reference).
All of the karoake places (about 6) in walking distance I found where private rooms for groups only, u don't find public karoake like u do in the city. I'm not renting a private room for myself, I bet 90 percent of the songs I wouldn't know anyway. I gave up on karoake and took some time to just check out the scene before heading back.
Everyone is so friendly and u can tell they really want to help u get to where u want to go but 80 percent of them can't really speak english well enough to communicate.
The cabs in tokyo have doors that automatically open and shut automatically , controlled by the driver. This is amazing but I could see this being really dangerous in nyc.
Bikers getting hit and lunatic drivers just tail whippin people out of the cab on a sharp turn.
Also I do want to make a shoutout to hsbc, the first time I actually can use my "global" atm card w no transaction fees. There was an hsbc at the norrita,japan airport.
I ended up getting home about 1230, woke up at 630am, didn't sleep well bc of jetleg but I should be fine today I hope.
Flight is in 4 hours so I better start getting ready.
Good bye tokyo, hello bankok for 3 hours amd then cambodia!
I got up to my room (806) and it was about 90f degrees no joke. I immediately called down to the front desk.
Me-"can u turn on the air conditioning in room 806. Its extremely hot"
Front desk -"in japan, here is out winter. No cold air"
Me -"damn"
I like to sleep in the cold, this isn't goin well.
They said it takes about an hour to get to tokyo w the highspeed train but the last one back to norita airport is 945. And the 2 hour train last dept is 11pm. A cab would cost me 28000 yen, aka 350-400 dollars. I chose the alternative method and realized I wasn't goin to be able to do the things I wanted to actually do in tokyo given my time constraints. 4 hour hit list- karoake, sushi, sumo wrestling.
I took the narrita express train into tokyo. Damn that shit goes fast. They also had a vending machine on the train filled with colorful and neon beverages which allll looked amazing given my current state of thirst. I was kind of tired so I figured I'd go for the iced coffee to hold myself over. Clearly I was mistaken, when I picked up the hot metal can, which looked similar to a frappucino to go. It was my first time drinkinh hot coffee in a soda can to go. Not to mention, on my second attempt to consume a cold beverage about 10 min later, I was tricked again by the packaging when I received hot green tea in a can with a similar look and feel as snapple. Fooled me twice, Shame on me.
The trains also are just one step ahead of american trains with lcd tv screens running ads on each car but the comfort level can be improved for the headrest.
I got to tokyo station and immediately took a cab to the "times square" of tokyo, it was definitelty an experience. So many stores, shops all packed together with over stimulating smells and colors. Nothing was really commercialized, many local shops or a had a unique feel to each one.
The first thing I did was check out was have sushi at sushi sishizanmi. I'm not sure if that was the actual name of the restaurant or just the name of the type of place but I ate there ( california role and spicy tuna). Amazing!
And I must must say, the chop stick quality here was phenominal. Smooth around the edges and a clean crisp break when seperàted.
I realized by the time I was done, there wasn't too much time for dilly dallying if I wanted to try and do sumo wrestling and karoake.
I had to nix sumo because not enough time. If there was a home depot and bed bath n beyond I would have made time (wedding crashers reference).
All of the karoake places (about 6) in walking distance I found where private rooms for groups only, u don't find public karoake like u do in the city. I'm not renting a private room for myself, I bet 90 percent of the songs I wouldn't know anyway. I gave up on karoake and took some time to just check out the scene before heading back.
Everyone is so friendly and u can tell they really want to help u get to where u want to go but 80 percent of them can't really speak english well enough to communicate.
The cabs in tokyo have doors that automatically open and shut automatically , controlled by the driver. This is amazing but I could see this being really dangerous in nyc.
Bikers getting hit and lunatic drivers just tail whippin people out of the cab on a sharp turn.
Also I do want to make a shoutout to hsbc, the first time I actually can use my "global" atm card w no transaction fees. There was an hsbc at the norrita,japan airport.
I ended up getting home about 1230, woke up at 630am, didn't sleep well bc of jetleg but I should be fine today I hope.
Flight is in 4 hours so I better start getting ready.
Good bye tokyo, hello bankok for 3 hours amd then cambodia!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
hello Japan
Just landed in japan. Flight suprisingly not bad. My plan to sleep all 14 hours failed miserably. Only 4 hours and then here and there for the remaining 10. Watched 3 movies! Planet of the apes, silly stupid love and a movie about an airborne disease highly contagious that everyone dies in japan, no joke lol. I fell asleep before that one was over.
Luckily, the passenger next to me was inexistant which means the entire row to my self. I make sure to sprawl out the entire flight. I made it a point to really stretch my left leg and make use of the extra room.also I had the window to rest my head_ it was like a makeshift first class experience.
I am no food critic, but I must say the food provided on this flight was a little weak. I managed to acquire double servings for each meal ( one for me and the seat next to me). Dinner - chicken or beef with mashed potatos green beans cheese snicker noodle cracker. Snack was one slice of ham and cheese on extremely cold bun, reminds me of the days I served jail time... Which never happened.
I'm pretty shot right now, goin to check into the hotel and explore tokyo.
Luckily, the passenger next to me was inexistant which means the entire row to my self. I make sure to sprawl out the entire flight. I made it a point to really stretch my left leg and make use of the extra room.also I had the window to rest my head_ it was like a makeshift first class experience.
I am no food critic, but I must say the food provided on this flight was a little weak. I managed to acquire double servings for each meal ( one for me and the seat next to me). Dinner - chicken or beef with mashed potatos green beans cheese snicker noodle cracker. Snack was one slice of ham and cheese on extremely cold bun, reminds me of the days I served jail time... Which never happened.
I'm pretty shot right now, goin to check into the hotel and explore tokyo.
passed security and at gate 14
I think I am one of two caucasians at this terminal. This 14 hour flight will be interesting. What a country.
Packed up and ready to go
This is the lightest I've ever packed for a 3 week vacation half way around the world. About to grab some breakfast before heading out to the airport. When does the McDonald's breakfast menu kick in? we all know it ends at 10AM but what time does it start?
Red Eye
I am not taking a red eye tomorrow, but I'm trying to pull an all nighter so i can sleep 16 hours straight on the plane. my eyes are burning. i took a 5 hour energy around midnight. i was on the phone with RIM b/c my internet wasnt working on my global phone around 9pm. i've been to bestbuy about 5 times tonight to keep myself occupied (they are opened 24 hours). leaving in 7 hours. so help us god.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Thailand The Movie
My first post as the adventure of a lifetime begins today. well, not today, but in approximately 18 hours. Why is this called "Thailandthemovie.blogspot.com" you may ask? Number one, it was the one of the only names not taken yet, and secondly I'd like to think the stories that unfold and you are about to read over the next 3 weeks could be spark a movie or even a book deal :).
So, yes, this after all is said and done, this could be... "Thailand The Movie". Maybe I am really over hyping this experience. Or, maybe I can let my mind wonder a bit to break away from reality for a short time.
So this is a good time to say....
My adventure begins here... the following will be a series of short stories on my journey to Thailand. (I'm also visiting Tokyo and Cambodia on the way).
My name is Eric, and these are my stories...
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