How long is your neck?

Day 148

Today started off as another lazy day. Wake up around 8am, chat a bit on skype, waste time on the internet, take a nap, you know, the usual. I had planned on going towards this place my friend in Laos told me. The place is called: Lod cave. It is supposedly this spectacular cave and is one of the top sites in Pai. The only way to the cave is via bus, car, or in my case, motorbike. I set off for Lod cave because she told me that there were cool sites and villages that I could see on the way there and that it wasn’t just a stupid trip. I’ve wanted to see villages since I’ve been in SE Asia and so the prospect of seeing one was making me really excited. Lod cave is about 60 km away from Pai and so I set off with high hopes and a sense of openness. I didn’t know what to expect and I was excited about that. I rode for about 30 minutes before my butt fell asleep and I had gone about 10 km. The road to the main cities and towns are incredibly windy and it takes forever just to go 1 km. Luckily for me the roads were pretty open because it is the low season, however…it is the rainy season. The rain here is soft for a minute and then a torrential downpour for about 4 minutes and then soft for another 3 minutes and then it stops. It is pretty easy to tell when it is going to rain because the temperature dramatically drops. I admit that riding in the rain isn’t the most fun thing to do on a motorbike, especially knowing my track record with two wheeled machines. I continue to ride along the highway looking for signs for Lod cave and eventually see some. Now signage in Asia needs help. Arrows point to sides of roads or cliffs or to each other. I have no clue what some of the signs mean, and that is not good when everything else is in Thai and when I have no clue where I am. I think we know where this is going. I pass Lod cave without me knowing, but I had a clue that I did, but just like Dorrie said in Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…” In my case: just keep going.

Eventually I arrive at a police checkpoint. The police officer stops me and starts talking to me. I’m not sure in what language because people here speak multiple sometimes. Probably Japanese though. He asks me in English where I’m going. I just point forward and say the next city, Mae Hong Son. He smiles and says, “OK, just 55km.” I’ve already gone 60km and that took me about 1 ½ hours. I say what the heck and keep going…without checking my fuel tank. About 10 minutes into my journey, I see that my fuel is dangerously low and I make an immediate U-turn and plan to head back about 20km to refuel. I reach the police checkpoint again and he tells me of a station about 6km away. I jet towards it and see a nice quiet little village. The buildings are simple, almost trash-like but there are all efficient, and their gas station is a woman with 3 barrels of gas. After a quick drink, I set off to Mae Hong Son again.

I arrived into Mae Hong Son without a clue of what I was going to do. I gave myself about 3 hours of time in the city before I would have to head back to Pai because I had to return my bike. I had a quick lunch and remembered seeing flyers for a tribal village called the Longnecks. Their tradition is to have their women bind their necks with brass rings in order to make their necks longer. Cool. I ask the owner of the restaurant which way to go and I set off.

Their village is about 10 km away from the town and is a series of windy side roads and brings you deep into their wilderness. Crossing over steams and such was cool but then I arrived into the village and was stopped by a tourist information dude. I had to pay 250 baht to see the village and my sense of guilt came back again. I’m all for taking pictures, but I’m not into taking them when I make the people just feel uncomfortable and I get a feeling that I am intruding. There were little vendors set up as I made my walk down a path towards the village and came to the bottom to see my vendors. The tourism totally changed the people of the village and now they make most of their money by selling their goods to tourists. It was sad to see, but I tried to make the most of it. It was cool to see their homes up close though. They are simple timber framed and their roofs are made up of wood and boat load of leaves. I ask a few of the women for some photos, and that made me feel much better about intruding, but not totally.

I now had a 110km journey to look forward to in order to get back to Pai and about 3 hours to do it in. No problem. Today’s trip started around 10am and ended at 7:15pm. I had traveled about 230km and had leveled up my motorbiking experience by about 12 levels. I was getting way more comfortable and found myself averaging about 50-60km/hr instead of 30km/hr. I had seen a cool culture and had been so cold from riding in the rain all day that I actually had the shivers and goosebumps. Overall, a great trip.

Fresh Air

Day 147

I didn’t sleep to well this morning. Mainly cuz I just feel so sticky. SE Asia is so hot and it was so difficult to get comfortable. Along with the stickiness is the massive amount of bug bites that have invaded my skin. The mosquitoes don’t bit my body, but just my legs and all night long and all day long I’m just scratchin away at my bug bites. I'm starting to learn why so many people here wear pants instead of shorts. So because I didn’t sleep too well, I had a huge headache and my plan of going to see some waterfalls took a huge dip and I didn’t feel like doing anything all day. I was fine with doing nothing, that’s why I’m here in Pai, but I had to at least eat something. So I got ready and stumbled out of my room and almost immediately started to feel better. Fresh air is beautiful, but so is riding a scooter in the fresh air. It was amazing at how alert and awake I became once I was outside and away from the stink hole room of mine.

Nothing too exciting today. I got kinda lost, but that’s what I like doing. I saw a semi-“Olympic”/ Field day event at the local community center. There was loud music playing, people playing soccer and it looked like a ton of fun; and totally ridiculous. I saw a waterfall, drove through a village and a Chinese sanctioned village and basically just rode around Pai. I’ve started to really love it here, but there is no way that I could stay longer than a week, I think I would just get too bored and plus being alone doesn’t help. I’ve fallen in love with pineapple shakes and I can never get enough of Pad Thai, and yes I am eating the vegetables.

Blowin in the Wind

Day 146

Today I cheated death…I rode a motorbike and didn’t crash or have a horrific accident. It is only a work of God that I didn’t crash into anything… or anyone. Today was my first time and attempt at riding a motorbike (scooter). Being in Shanghai since January, one of the things that you notice is the massive number of people that drive motorcycles and motorbikes. It is efficient and really cool. I have always wondered what it would like to have my hair blowing in the wind and to be riding down a road in the open air. Well today was the day where that dream came true. My hair is quite long, if you haven’t seen pictures, it is almost touching my shoulders. Hair long enough to blow in the wind: check. I paid 100 Baht for 24 hours on a 100cc automatic motorbike and then paid 40 baht for the insurance (a necessity for me). I paid 140 baht to drive a motorbike for 24 hours. 140 baht = about $4. Holy moly, Thailand is awesome. Now keep in mind that I have never ridden one of these before and so the lady points to a bike outside and says that that one is mine. So I’m thinking to myself, “Ok self cool. There’s our baby, but I have no clue what to do.” Luckily, there was a staff person nearby who taught me how to turn it on and then asked if I have ever ridden one before. I tell him no and he just chuckles and smiles. Just like my first time in the car, it’s hard to gauge just how much power is a lot and how much is a little. My heart is racing and nervous because I am not the best person to be on two wheels. After a few jolts of throttle, I finally get the hang of it and I’m off. At a speedy 20mph! It’s funny to say that now, but for my first time, it felt fast; but more importantly safe and AWESOME! I had such a rush and it felt so good to drive around and to have my Japanese looking hair blowing in the wind. Pai is a pretty lazy place.


After I moved out of my guesthouse I checked into a different one near the Pai River and saw a little place called Edible Jazz. Sweet name. I read that it is a hot spot for musicians to just jam out and is a nice place to just relax. I go there around 8 and talk with a few other travelers and then a guitarist grabs the mic and starts jamming. This guy is awesome. He has a raspy and scratchy singing voice, but it is “real”. It is one of soul and he sounds awesome. It has been some time since I’ve had live music and this was a great time. I stayed till about 11 listening to just the kind of relaxing music I like. Pai is a sweet place and I’m definitely getting my share of relaxation.

Just Reeeelax

Day 145

Yesterday I arrived into the lazy town called Pai via a crazy minibus driver. We had to drive over this mountain, which forced the people to build the windiest road I have ever been on. After being tossed and turned and nauseated, I stumbled out of the bus into Pai and felt a sense of relaxation. The mood around here reminds me of hippy/ pot-heads. Tons of Bob Marley paraphernalia and tye dye shops. As I was walking around, I heard some foreigners ask a local for some opium! Ahhhh Thailand. People around here love their dreads and it is the first place that I have been where the local people actually dress in the clothing that the market people sell. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, let me explain:

When many foreigners travel to places in South East Asia, they get this feeling of being cool and to wear the natural clothing. The natural clothing consists of loose pants that are colored to be subtle and are very stripy; and to wear shirts that are also loose and are designed to I guess show off the chest hair that no one here has (people here don’t really grow hair on their bodies). Usually only foreigners wear these type of clothing and the locals wear their khaki pants or jeans and wear t-shirts. It is quite funny to see foreigners think that they are truly part of the culture by wearing these things, when in fact they are the only ones wearing these things. HOWEVER, in Pai I have seen a good number of people wearing these natural fibered clothing. I will admit that it is cool looking and looks incredibly comfortable, I’ll just have to use my judgment on this one.

My friend in Lao told me to spend about a week in Pai, but I’m not sure how long I’ll spend, but I do know that it will be very relaxing.

Budget

Day 144

I arrived into Chiang Mai, Thailand on Tuesday, and this time not for ultimate Frisbee. I met someone in Luang Prabang who told me about this little town called Pai near Chiang Mai. She said that it was beautiful and totally relaxing. With only about 2 and a half weeks before I have to go back home, I figured to do as much relaxing as possible before I would start having non-stop all-nighters.


Money usually isn’t too much of a hassle for me because of the crazy exchange rates and because things in Thailand are so cheap. However, the geniuses at my bank decided to not allow any ATM transactions to occur for an undisclosed amount of time in the areas of Malaysia and Thailand; due to a high number of pin # fraud. So I came into Thailand with about 2000 kuai, which equals to about 8,160 Baht, which is equal to about $230. My trip just got increasingly more interesting. Usually when traveling I do not worry about spending a little because it is so cheap, but now that I am on a pretty strict budget, I will have to holster my want for some things. My idea behind buying things, I believe is pretty rational because I will generally only buy something if I feel that I will use it often or if it is important. That will have to be true now more than ever because there are so many cool things here that I want, but do I really need?


My first meal in Chiang Mai was a Thai style BBQ buffet in a giant warehouse complex. Tons of tables and tons of fresh meat, seafood, vegetables, fruit, ice cream, pastries, and so much more. The set up is similar to that of Chinese hot pot. These is a “pot” that looks as though it could be a hat, and it is heated by burning coals. Water or broth is poured around the brim of the hat and then the middle is used as a regular grill. It was delicious and very filling.

Apple Pie Shots

Day 141

Day two of the Malaysian tournament was one filled with excitement and more laziness. We, Cowboyz, continued our ways of not warming up and it showed, but only cuz we played the team that would eventually finish 2^nd in the tournament. It was hot again, and as bodies started to fall, our team chemistry started to grow. We beat our next team 9-2 and it felt really good because here we were a team of “misfits” and we are starting to really click. It was our last game against a team from Singapore called: Freakshow that really showed how far we had come. It was a back and forth battle but the Cowboyz finally came out with the win and we finished in a very respectable 5^th place out of 16. And we were seeded 11^th. Kuala Lumpur was a great tournament with awesome people and I look forward to hopefully playing again with the great people in Bangkok. Cheers and to your apple pie shots!

Ultimateness

Day 140


So I’m sitting in a guesthouse in KUALA LUMPUR!!! I guess before I tell you why I’m in Kuala Lumpur, I should fill you in on what has happened in the past week.

Last week Beijing held an awesome ultimate tournament. It was China Nationals and it is meant to determine the National Champion of China. There were over 20 teams at this tournament and it was just awesome to see so many Chinese people playing ultimate. Shanghai wasn’t able to win the title of national champion because we are a team of “wai guo ren”-foreigners/ expats. So we had two fairly even teams and we had a good time playing against the other ineligible teams. My team, Tres Eckes! played just ok, and what I mean is that we lost to a Beijing high school team. I’m was more frustrated because at how poorly we played in a strong wind, but it is good for those little buggers to win cuz that’s what this tournament was all about. Hong Kong won the title from Beijing Bang, and it was just another quality tournament to put in my resume.



Kuala Lumpur is HOT! I found out about this tournament through my friend, Aeoy, who I met at the Bangkok Hat tournament earlier in the year; through facebook. I asked her if I could play and she said, “totally!” so I joined the Bangkok Cowboyz and now I’m here in Kuala Lumpur playing ultimate Frisbee. It is really incredible what I and so many other people do, we travel to different countries around Asia and the world, and then play ultimate Frisbee. We make great friends and see awesome places. My team struggled heavily in the first game because we are all new with one another and we are basically a pick-up team. I played alright, but I wasn’t too impressed with the play that I was seeing from the “top” teams here from Singapore and other places. That is one thing that I am excited to doing when I get back to the states, and that is to play some ultimate that is always competitive and is just at a different level than it is here in Asia. But until then, let my domination continue…

I called my blog this for a reason

Day 130

My time is Laos was not exciting, and that was perfect. I scheduled two full days in Luang Prabang and for those two full days I basically just did nothing…and taken from Tony the Tiger: it was GGRRREAT!!! Some of biggest differences between Laos and Cambodia to China is that the people are nicer, they are more relaxed (mainly because it’s too hot to do anything but lie around), people don’t try to hit you with their motobikes or their cars, and that they don’t bargain the same as they do in China. In China, I’m able to bargain and haggle my way to possibly 1/3 of the price, but in Cambodia and in Laos, they are nicer and not as pushy, but they don’t allow you to go even close to half of their price. Laos was great, and my final destination for this trip is to the Tiger Leaping Gorge in China.

Tiger Leaping Gorge is known as one of the world’s biggest and deepest gorges in the world. My friends in Shanghai have constantly praised how beautiful this place is, so my expectations were pretty high. Siem Reap was amazing, Luang Prabang was restful, but Tiger Leaping Gorge was breathtaking. It is difficult to put into words at just how majestic this place is. The people living on the gorge are known as the Naxi’s and they are incredibly resourceful and friendly. I would love to come back to China and just live with one of the families and learn more about their culture and their way of life. Pictures are said to speak a thousand words, so I’ll let them speak for themselves.

$1= 8,550 Kip

Day 125

I arrived into Laos yesterday after a farewell to the lovely Bun Kao family and my trusty driver, who I can’t remember his name. I arrived into Luang Prabang around 3 and had no idea what I was going to do. I added Luang Prabang to my list of places to go because my friend and travel agent Jon told me that it was a good place to go. I trust him and so here I am! The city of Luang Prabang is very small and is run by the Buddhist temples and the monks. The main attraction for Luang Prabang is to visit the temples and the huge waterfalls. I chose to stay at the Spicylaos guesthouse and it has been great. I walked around the city, tried some of the street food, not as good as China, and some of the traditional drinks, (an iced bag that with a coffee flavored liquid). Laos is crazy beautiful and the people are also very friendly, but it is soo HOT!!! The host of the guesthouse took me and other guests to a local restaurant called Utopia and it was fantastic.

Inside Utopia, there is a sand beach volleyball court; the seats are either floor seating or gigantic rocks with the tables being rocks as well. It is right on the lake and it is really a great design. If only my camera was working the way that it should, then you would be able to see it…sorry.

Today I went to the waterfall called Khuangai Waterfall. My driver from the airport picked me up and we left at 9am. I arrived at the waterfall around 9:45 and started my hike up the mountain. It was so beautiful. The people did a great job of making the waterfalls and pools very accessible without disturbing the natural too much or making it extremely obvious that you are on a trail. I of course got lost and wandered a bit, but eventually made it to the very top of the waterfall and continued for another 3km to a cave. It was all worth it.

Being in the sun all day is very tiring and for the rest of the day I vegged and didn’t do much. I was about to pay my driver 20,000 Kip but he said 40. So I gave him $40. dang…I lose.


The saddest part of the trip so far has to be my interaction with the cat that lives in the guesthouse. She is a mother of some kittens but about 4 days ago the kittens were killed. The mother cat roams around all day in the guesthouse and around it, calling for it’s babies and there is no response, there will never be a response. It makes me think of just the love that this cat has, but has no clue as to where it’s kittens are. I have no idea how long she will keep it up, but it is certain that she cares.

Guilt

Day 123

My camera is broken, but my spirit isn’t. I went to the lake today to see the countryside and to see the people again. The lake is a huge economic help for the Cambodians, who fish like crazy and then sell them to the surrounding countries. On the lake is a floating village and just like the rest of my days, breathtaking. Luckily for me I didn’t need to use my broader lens and only needed my telephoto lens to capture the essence of what I was seeing. I am someone that will take pictures at will and my favorite thing to take pictures of is people. This was the first time that I felt guilty for taking these pictures. I was on a boat and we rode through the village and I could see the people going about their normal business of fishing, lounging around, eating, sleeping, playing, etc. I started to think of what they must be thinking. Imagine a life without privacy, where strangers would come to your neighborhood and home and just take photos of you, your friends and your family. How does it make you feel when someone is pointing a camera directly at your face? For me it feels weird, but it could have a total different feeling for others. I didn’t take as many photos today out of respect for these people, and I hope now that I can show more respect in the future.

The Good, Bad and the Sad

Day 122

Today I went to the mountain that contained the waterfall that is used by the Hindu religion for healing and to the temples of Banteay Srey. The hike on the mountain was only 1500m and the waterfall and nature was just what I needed. It’s hard…impossible to find quiet areas and peaceful areas in Shanghai. It was a huge thing for me to be completely alone in nature and to just listen to the water flowing and the birds chirping. The temples of Banteay Srey were by far my favorite. In my opinion, these temples and this site was more impressive than Angkor Wat and co. Angkor Wat and Co. were amazing because of their hugeness, but Banteay Srey was breathtaking due to the level of detail. I sat in my spot and just marveled at these temples and all I could do was hope to capture what I saw in the photos. This was by far a great day because I saw a level of craft that I have never seen before and was inspired, and then when I returned back to the guesthouse I brought out my Frisbee and just started to play with the kids. I must say that there was some good talent and great promise. The kids here are amazing, the have the ability to play with the simplest of things forever. They play with balloons for hours, then have a game where they kick their sandals in the dirt, they are always smiling, always curious and always ALIVE! It is really inspiring too to just see their spirit and to remember times when there wasn’t the distractions that we have today of internet and TV. I gave my Frisbee to one of the locals because he wanted to buy it from me. Ultimate isn’t like most sports/games, it is a community and it’s about spirit. I was more than happy to give my YUC Cincinnati disc to him and I hope that it can help start something big in the ultimate world. Look out cuz here come Cambodia.

It was a great day, until it took a turn for the worst. I took a bike into town again to get some dinner and after riding around for a bit, looking at the restaurants that were around, I saw a BBQ place that caught my eye. I looped around the market again, crossed the bridge and only had to go straight to reach the restaurant. As I was approaching the BBQ I could start to smell the awesome aroma of food and came to a sorta 4 way intersection. In Cambodia, there aren’t really any stop signs or yield. I was riding towards this intersection, looking back and forth looking to see if there was any cross traffic and saw to my left there was a van slowly approaching with a caravan of other cars and motobikes. I sped up on my bike so that I wouldn’t have to stop and wait to cross the right of way. I cut in front of the van and see that I’m in the clear until I see a “gang” of 5 motobikes turning left from the oncoming traffic. They start to turn and start to cut me off. I look at my choices: stop in the middle of the road, crash into them, or avoid them by turning left and go behind them. I chose to avoid. As I start to turn left I hear one of the worst sounds known to my life, the sliding of tire on dirt. My bike falls over and I am thrown to the ground. I bounce up like a ball to see onlookers and people coming to help me. I am too shocked and too flustered to do anything but just leave. I pick up my book and look down to see my Nikon D40 SLR digital camera on the floor…with the lens separated from its body. I grab everything and rush away on my bike towards the restaurant.

I got a few bumps, bruises, cuts and scrapes, nothing I haven’t had before; but I was more bummed and sad about my camera than anything else. The lens is broken, it is stuck on one setting and can only focus to a certain point. The focus of the lens: zoomed to the max. Say goodbye to broad pictures and I could see my arsenal take a dramatic turn for the worse. Dinner was good, but I couldn’t help but try to forget about the death of my camera lens.

Japanese?

Day 121

I woke up at 5:10am this morning. Why? To see the famous Angkor Wat temple at sunrise. My motorbike driver shows up at 5:30 and we head off to Angkor Wat. It’s dark, obviously, but my heart is pacing and speeding up because of all that I have heard of Angkor Wat. I walk into Angkor Wat and it’s hard to comprehend just what I’m looking at. It is difficult for me to put into words how I felt, but complete admiration is a start. My driver and I proceed to the rest of the temples around Angkor Wat and the pictures will say much more than I ever could.

Just like China, there are vendors and people just trying to sell their goods. And just like in China, they don’t give up and they are all selling the same thing. The good thing about them, is that they all speak some English, and so it’s easy to strike up conversations and be more friendly than it is in China. I make some friends with some of the sellers, and it’s refreshing to talk with someone. That’s the problem with traveling alone, you can’t always find someone to talk to that is interested. The funniest part of talking with the vendors is that they all thought that I was from the same place, Japan.

Travel

Day 120

Due to my lack of a job, it seemed only fitting to use my remaining time in Asia to explore and to visit some of the most amazing sites in Asia. First stop: Cambodia.

I flew into Siem Reap today and my immediate reaction was, it’s hot. My second reaction, it’s still hot. My third reaction, I’m in freakin Cambodia! I start off my time in Siem Reap with a little visa problem, but that is easily settled and I find my driver who takes me to my hostel: Bun Kao Guesthouse. As we are driving, it starts to rain and my driver tells me that it is supposed to rain for the next week. Great, that’s just what I need. I arrive to Bun Kao guesthouse and the owner, Bun Kao and my driver lay down how my next three days will look like. I’ll be going to the temples in Siem Reap for the first two days and then head to the lake to see more of the countryside. After the briefing, I decide to take a bike out and just ride around. I know I’m going to get lost, but that’s what I’m good at and it’s important to get lost in life sometimes. As I’m riding around the city, I can’t help but just feel alive. It’s hard to put into words but I’m taken aback at just the people and the environment. Siem Reap isn’t entirely westernized yet, but it is in the process. Because it hasn’t become fully westernized yet, the people are still real. They are not “fake” westerners and they are for lack of a better word, dirty. I find the markets and see so many things, you’ll just have to see the photos to appreciate it. After becoming a gigantic mosquito bite I head to bed and get ready to wake up the next morning to see Angkor Wat.