8 posts from April 2008

So the other night I meet up with some Couch Surfers and we hit the bars (what else is new right?)  Had a blast as usual and even hosted (and still am) a CSer from Germany.  To skip the typical stuff as we were walking back at 3am (ish) we ran into bunch of guys who appeared to be homosexual dancing in the middle of the street.  I should have taken video instead of still pictures because you just cant make this stuff up...

So saturday we woke up and went down to Pattaya which should have been a 2hr bus ride.  Instead we decide to take the cheaper bus and save 22 baht ($.75) not knowing that it was a local bus and stopped every 50 feet haha.  The guy that came around to collect tickets didnt speak any english and was histarical.  at random points he would open the door and hop out of the bus while it was still moving.  My German friend hadnt really slept in 30 hrs as we were drinking long enough to watch the sun rise on my balcony (after watching the street dancers above) and was planning on catching up on the bus.  well, judging by the picture below, he must have been tired to sleep in this manner (see below).  Also on the way down i was brought back to NYC briefly when i saw an Allianz office (my old company for those of you who dont know.)

So after taking 4hrs on a bus which would have taken 2hrs to save $.75 we learn there are elections the next day.  Who cares you say?  Well that means NO ALCOHOL can be sold in the entire city.  Let me put this really in perspective for you.  We have 20 people traveling several hours to go to a going away party for a guy that some of us had never met and to see a city that is supposed to be wilder than any other on this area of the planet. Let stack the fact that many of us dont plan to spend more than one night and may never have the opportunity to come back.  So we did what any other alcohol loving travelers would do.... a boarder run.  Me being smart (so i think) get 10 22oz bottles so i am set for the night and have a couple bottles to share.  Well, others didnt plan so well and i ended up with 3 bottles (at three times the price).  It was a pretty rocking party though so i didnt let it bother me.  We drank until about 2, then went to Walking Street to see some ladyboys.  I have never been attracted to dudes this much in my life.  Some of them you can barley tell because of all the plastic surgery.  My new roll of thumb in this country is now that if she has fake breasts, shes a dude to me.    Later (4am) we hit the beach for a while.  Ended up staying up all night and instead of trying to make room on the crowded floor caught a 5:40am bus back to BKK.

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So i have definitely tested out my pancrious over the last week.  I dont plan to get half in the bag every night... it just happens.  One of the great things about Thailand (as in many other countries) is that you can stop in a 7/11 which are everywhere, buy a "big" beer (22oz) and drink it on the walk to the bar.  There are also a good number of street bars in certain areas which literally set up a make shift bar in the middle of the street.  The "bucket" is great for a group of 3-4.  It is a plastic bucket filled with all kinds of booze and they go for 100-150 baht ($3-5) depending on where you get it.  The other night some of my friends decided to make their own bucket on the street because 100 baht was too expensive haha, you got to love Thailand!

Most happening areas are filled with gogo bars and the like.  You cannot walk down the street without having girls and guys... and taxis ask if you want a "sexy massage."  OF COURSE I DO!  But I have had good restraint.... so far.  

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The other night while walking with a friend by a karaoke bar a very small girl jumped in front of us and told us to get inside.  I smiled and politely said I was not interested.  She said I was sweet (total lie) and gave me a hug, then put her legs on my hips and proceeded to climb me like a poll in the middle of the street!  No complaints other than i wish my Nate would have taken a picture for me.  

 

Yesterday I went to the Grand Palace and it was amazing.  A huge white wall surrounds an area of 218,000 square meters.  I was told it is where the king worships.  The whole thing is amazing, but instead of giving you a brochure type writing below are some pics

My knee is getting much better due to my daily Thai massage.  HEY! you would do it too if you could get an hour for $7.  I have also been introduced to a magical fruit (not that kind of magic) called a mangosteen.  Just eating a few of these things and on occasion making tea with the peals have reduced the swelling in my knee by 50% in 3 days.  So between the belief of my pancreatitis being caused by alcohol (which makes no sense) and not being able to do that much for my knee even with surgery I may be giving up on western medicine.  All i needed for both problems were some mangosteens and a few good massages.  

Well, heading to Pattaya or Sin city as they call it for the weekend for a big party and hoping to see ping pong show (yes that kind).  Also in the process of setting up my scuba diving certification in Ko Tao.  Only $400 total around here so why not....

 

So I arrived in Bangkok two days ago and the city is amazingly large.  In some ways it reminds me of NYC with less asian people hehe.  But seriously the people are very friendly and a big thanks to Tyler for recommending Boss Tower for my stay.  The place is very nice and I have a great view of the city.

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Its been about a week since my last post and soooo..... much has happened since then that I cant really remember it all.  We rented a car in Avignon and drove to Marseille to see Frances second largest city.  It is quite large and more than a bit dirty.  It is right on the Mediterranean and has a great view though.  Justin's friend Casey, whom used to live there, showed us around.  Take my word for it when I say there is no need to go there if you are in France.  Avignon is a different story.  It is very clean and has the feel of a college town.  There are many bars and restaurants inside the huge wall that surrounds the city.  There is also a very large cathedral that many past Popes have lived in.  From on top of the hill you can see for miles and in the town square there are outdoor restaurants that are perfect for enjoying a sunny day.

On our last day in France we went for a very long bike ride.  We left at about 11am and covered about 80 kilometers.  The first 40 seemed to be all uphill.  It felt like at every intersection Justin would look around and peddle towards which ever way seemed to be the steepest uphill.  After climbing to what seemed to be the top of a mountain for a wine tasting, Justin found what I will now call a "French short cut."  It cut out 10 kilometers from our journey but added about a half hour because of the road (see pics).  It was a 50/50 mix of dirt and rock....up hill.  I have no idea how he was able to find a way to go up further from the spot we were at.  I should have known something was up after Justin told a guy at the vineyard which way we were going and he shook his head.  We ended up pushing our bikes for a quarter of the way.   The way back down was no better and Angie ended up going over her handlebars.  She was ok and was able to continue.  When we made it back down I was so happy to see actual pavement that I got on the ground and kissed it.  The wines we tasted were very good and at every spot we purchased at least one bottle.  We covered 40 kilometers in an less than an hour and a half on the way back, partially due to it being a mild downhill with the wind at our backs for most of the way and partially because our "short cut" almost put us past our bike return deadline.  

Next we went to Geneva, AWSOME..... but I dont have time to cover that at the moment.  I will post that along with many pictures in the next few days but for now I need to get ready for my flight to Thailand tomorrow.

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First off, yes Tyler I douched (showered) once in Paris and again today.  Now that we have that covered, France is great.  We walked around Paris for hours the other day and it was ok.  Saw Notre Dame, the Effiel Tower and Center Pompideau and peed in many McDonalds.  The people have been friendly and many of them speak english which is nice.  Yesterday we took a bullet train to the South of France.  It was crazy, we covered about 400 miles in less than 3 hours.  The people we are staying with are extremely friendly and like to drink.  Last night they fed us a traditional French meal consisting of ratatouille (which is a food here, not a movie http://www.beyond.fr/food/ratatouille.html), salad, and chicken. It was really good, especially for something that healthy.  Then they got us piss drunk on the best wine I have ever had.  We sampled at least 5 different bottles which were all amazing.  Today we are returning the favor and making them home made pierogies but we have no Iron City to drink with them so it will not be the same.  On a sad note, my knee popped yesterday and has been hurting ever since.  I was able to bike over 20k today and it actually helped which is good because my brother was threatening to "leave my ass behind" if I couldnt make it.  I have picutures of all of this but cannot use my computer here.  They will be posted soon though (I hope). 

At the time of this writing I am seven thousand feet in the sky on Air India on my way to Paris. Pre-take off was a bit scary because after we got on the plane i could hear them working on something below us.  It sounded like they were putting a few more bolts on the wing or something.  The seats are a bit narrow but comfortable enough.  

As Justin so keenly pointed out as we got on the plane, I feel like we are traveling in an cylindrical Indian restaurant.  Even the bathroom smells like curry, which was no surprise once I heard my food options.  A) Lamb curry B) Chicken curry C) Veggie Curry.  I got the chicken curry (see pic) 

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and it wasnt bad for airline food.  I was expecting Bollywood movies to be playing but am having no such luck.  Right now they are playing something that reminds me of Circus Olay. The front of the plane (huge 747) is packed but the back is pretty empty so i ditched my brother and Angie for a row to my self a few rows back.

Once in Paris we got our place pretty smoothly after a few misguided turns.  The area is nice, 

Paris is like i imagined it so far but less smokey.  France has gone like NYC and other areas with no smoking inside.  Our hotel 

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1 comment

must have known who was coming and had a special room for me and my brother (see pic on left).  It is a nice clean place for only 20 euros a night per person IN PARIS!  Sure its a shared bathroom with the rest of the floor, but is your own bathroom worth 60-80 euros extra a night????  There is a nice cafe downstairs and we are in one of the main parts of the city only a few blocks from the metro (subway to you yankees).  If your coming to Paris I would recommend it http://www.leschansonniers.fr/index1.php

We are only a few blocks for the cemetery that Jim Morrison is buried.  It is HUGE with many large structures (I forget what they are called).  I dont recall seeing a basic tombstone, they were all like mass shrines and most for whole families.  My favorite has a sculpture on with sideburns that would make Elvis jealous (see below).  Not sure who the guy is/was, but he is my favorite frenchman.  Anyone who could pull of that look is alright with me.   Well, much to do and less time to do it in, I will post again when I can.