One addition to the Laos story before we start the Vietnam Story...
Last night in Laos we see on Facebook that Nick Arkinson and Cameron Doctor (I need a doctor! I need a doctor!) are in Luang Prabang. So Paul and I decide that we're going to go find them. After just 5 minutes of walking through the market we find them at a table just on the other side. Sit for an hour and tell each other what to do for the rest of our trips. Totally random and totally awesome!
Then we were off to Vietnam. We land in Hanoi which is so smoggy and hazy that at 3000 feet you still can't see the ground. We grab a cab (after I nearly lost it on the pushy drivers) and get to our hostel. Hanoi Backpackers Hostel is awesome (even have free beer on sundays). We spend the afternoon and evening here and then go find the Bia Hoi bars. Bia Hoi for those of you who don't know is fresh beer that costs a quarter for a pint. A total of $2.50 later it was time to go to the late night bar.
It was supposed to be a late night bar but after about an hour (and more beer pong domination by me) the police kicked everyone out. That was fine because all we did was go around the corner for about 10 minutes and then come back to party the night away. Now its time for a day of some culture and a somewhat early night as we are leaving for Ha Long Bay tomorrow at 8am.
Things in Hanoi are fun, but I'm ready for the bay and then off to Ho Chi Minh City. Too bad we won't get to see uncle Ho (Sorry Tony). Its closed today and we won't be in the city after this.
We're almost done, and I definitely don't want to come home.
See you all soon,
Two Giants
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Leaving Laos Vegas
Laos, you will always have a special place in our hearts. From going out in Vientiane in a torrential downpour, to ridiculous tubing experiences in Vang Vieng to amazing scenery in Luang Prabang, this has been a great stop for us.
After we left Kenny G in Phnom Penh, we arrived in Vientiane late in the afternoon. We walked down to the river, and found this great rooftop bar restaurant. So excited for our first Beer Lao, we sat down for what was planned as being a beer or two before dinner, turned into much, much more. As we were thinking about leaving, Vientiane was hit with a torrential thunderstorm. We even had to move seats since the water was coming into the bar. So, we order food (and more Beer Lao), and made the best of it. 3 hours later, we were still at the same place, making friends with a tour group that was at the bar as well. We made it back to the hostel pretty late, and pretty drunk, which probably wasn't the best way to go into our two day tubing experience.
Tubing was awesome. I'll leave it at that. If you don't know anything about it, go to youtube and search Vang Vieng tubing. We drank a bunch, I almost drowned, we were RIDICULOUSLY dominant in beer pong.
Luang Prabang has been a really good way to end our Laos experience. We got in pretty late, so we went down to a nice little restaurant right on the Mekong River. We also had the privileged of experiencing a Luang Prabang blackout, which our hostel said was pretty common. The food was great, and after wards we walked through the Night Market and called it a day.
Today, we went up to the Waterfalls just outside the city. The views were out of this world. Boyink convinced me to hike up to the top (about a 30 minute hike straight up the side of a mountain, and though i bitched at first, it was totally worth it. REALLY wish we could post these pics, but they'll be coming soon. As an added bonus, as we were walking out of the waterfall, they have a Black Bear Sanctuary, and we saw an actual Bear Fight.... Priceless.
That's all for now. I fee like i missed a bunch of stuff in this, so there may be another Laos post to come. Until then, talk to you later!
Two Giants
After we left Kenny G in Phnom Penh, we arrived in Vientiane late in the afternoon. We walked down to the river, and found this great rooftop bar restaurant. So excited for our first Beer Lao, we sat down for what was planned as being a beer or two before dinner, turned into much, much more. As we were thinking about leaving, Vientiane was hit with a torrential thunderstorm. We even had to move seats since the water was coming into the bar. So, we order food (and more Beer Lao), and made the best of it. 3 hours later, we were still at the same place, making friends with a tour group that was at the bar as well. We made it back to the hostel pretty late, and pretty drunk, which probably wasn't the best way to go into our two day tubing experience.
Tubing was awesome. I'll leave it at that. If you don't know anything about it, go to youtube and search Vang Vieng tubing. We drank a bunch, I almost drowned, we were RIDICULOUSLY dominant in beer pong.
Luang Prabang has been a really good way to end our Laos experience. We got in pretty late, so we went down to a nice little restaurant right on the Mekong River. We also had the privileged of experiencing a Luang Prabang blackout, which our hostel said was pretty common. The food was great, and after wards we walked through the Night Market and called it a day.
Today, we went up to the Waterfalls just outside the city. The views were out of this world. Boyink convinced me to hike up to the top (about a 30 minute hike straight up the side of a mountain, and though i bitched at first, it was totally worth it. REALLY wish we could post these pics, but they'll be coming soon. As an added bonus, as we were walking out of the waterfall, they have a Black Bear Sanctuary, and we saw an actual Bear Fight.... Priceless.
That's all for now. I fee like i missed a bunch of stuff in this, so there may be another Laos post to come. Until then, talk to you later!
Two Giants
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Phnom Penh: The Adventures of Kenny G-Spot
So, it turns out that there was no feasible way for us to head out from Siem Reap to Laos. Our best option was to take a VIP bus down to Phnom Penh, and then fly out from there. Wasn't exactly what we wanted to do, but we're trying to roll with the punches out here, so we figured we'd make the most of it.
The VIP bus did mildly exceed expectations. First, it was Air Conditioned: we were bracing ourselves for a 6 hour ride without it, so that was a welcome surprise. However, there were certainly some interesting characters on the bus. First, was the Cambodian gentleman who legitimately sounded like he was going to die. He coughed up at least one of his lungs on the way down. Second, was another older gentleman whose cell phone went off no less than 14 times down there. Apparently, he really liked his ringtone too, because he would let it play for 10 seconds before he answered. At around 1:30AM, we arrived at our final destination, and headed to the hotel. There, we found that the King size bed they promised us was actually a Queen. The two giants got a little closer then they wanted to last night, but we were so exhausted, it didn't matter.
Now the fun part. We woke up and went down to get breakfast at the hostel. This is where we first met Kenny G-Spot. He's a 21 year old Cambodian who works at the Hostel while also studying at the University. He really likes to practice his English, so we spent most of the meal chatting away with him. After a quick break to hit the Internet Cafe, we were back at the hostel bar / restaurant, again with Kenny G-Spot. Now, he was also joined by Tony Montoya (another Employee) and Cambodian Tammy Dorje. We spoke about America for a bit, and then the conversation turned to music. Kenny G told us he is a gangsta, and is into hip hop, especially Jay-Z. At that point, I took over the hostel iPod, and started playing some of my music. I hit him with some Arrested Development, which he liked, and some Wiz Khalifa, which he really liked. The ultimate highlight was when I played "Big Pimpin" for him. He loved the song, but when we asked him if he was Big Pimpin in Cambodia, he was confused. He took out his phone to try to find the definition for "Pimpin", and once he found it, he started cracking up and showing everyone. Needless to say, Kenny G-Spot has a new word in his English repertoire now.
Though we only spent 12 hours on the ground in Phnom Penh and had absolutely no expectations for the place, turned out to be a bunch of fun. Tony Montoya, Cambodian Tammy Dorje and especially Kenny G-Spot will always have a place in the hearts of the Two Giants.
Two Giants: Teaching Ebonics since 2011
The VIP bus did mildly exceed expectations. First, it was Air Conditioned: we were bracing ourselves for a 6 hour ride without it, so that was a welcome surprise. However, there were certainly some interesting characters on the bus. First, was the Cambodian gentleman who legitimately sounded like he was going to die. He coughed up at least one of his lungs on the way down. Second, was another older gentleman whose cell phone went off no less than 14 times down there. Apparently, he really liked his ringtone too, because he would let it play for 10 seconds before he answered. At around 1:30AM, we arrived at our final destination, and headed to the hotel. There, we found that the King size bed they promised us was actually a Queen. The two giants got a little closer then they wanted to last night, but we were so exhausted, it didn't matter.
Now the fun part. We woke up and went down to get breakfast at the hostel. This is where we first met Kenny G-Spot. He's a 21 year old Cambodian who works at the Hostel while also studying at the University. He really likes to practice his English, so we spent most of the meal chatting away with him. After a quick break to hit the Internet Cafe, we were back at the hostel bar / restaurant, again with Kenny G-Spot. Now, he was also joined by Tony Montoya (another Employee) and Cambodian Tammy Dorje. We spoke about America for a bit, and then the conversation turned to music. Kenny G told us he is a gangsta, and is into hip hop, especially Jay-Z. At that point, I took over the hostel iPod, and started playing some of my music. I hit him with some Arrested Development, which he liked, and some Wiz Khalifa, which he really liked. The ultimate highlight was when I played "Big Pimpin" for him. He loved the song, but when we asked him if he was Big Pimpin in Cambodia, he was confused. He took out his phone to try to find the definition for "Pimpin", and once he found it, he started cracking up and showing everyone. Needless to say, Kenny G-Spot has a new word in his English repertoire now.
Though we only spent 12 hours on the ground in Phnom Penh and had absolutely no expectations for the place, turned out to be a bunch of fun. Tony Montoya, Cambodian Tammy Dorje and especially Kenny G-Spot will always have a place in the hearts of the Two Giants.
Two Giants: Teaching Ebonics since 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Leaving Siem Reap
We've had a couple of pretty fun days here in Siem Reap. The majority of this portion of the trip has been cultural, which is nice, because Koh Phagnan was a little less cultural. As Andrew posted, we spend the first two days checking out the temples of Angkor, and today we went over to the National Angkor Museum to get a better understanding for what it was we were looking at. It was also nice to be "exploring" the temples in a climate controlled facility, instead of out in the open where it's pushing 100 degrees everyday.
We all did spend some time on "Pub Street" both nights we had here, which was fun too. $0.50 beers are the special pretty much every bar offers, which you obviously can't go wrong with. Had some amazing Khmer food both out on the street, as well as in our guest house. If any of you loyal readers are planning on coming to Siem Reap, I highly recommend Rosy's Guesthouse; the food and service has been top notch, and an air conditioned room cost us $10 each.
Another interesting thing about Cambodia is that USD is the prevailing currency. There is a local currency, but you only get that if you're change is less than a dollar. Its a nice break from having to continually do the conversion in your head while bartering with someone.
Next stop on our magical mystery tour is Phnom Penh: We hadn't planned on spending any time there, but it's the only place that flies daily to Laos. It will be our first experience on Asia's long haul buses. Here's to hoping they are built for two giants.
Two Giants
We all did spend some time on "Pub Street" both nights we had here, which was fun too. $0.50 beers are the special pretty much every bar offers, which you obviously can't go wrong with. Had some amazing Khmer food both out on the street, as well as in our guest house. If any of you loyal readers are planning on coming to Siem Reap, I highly recommend Rosy's Guesthouse; the food and service has been top notch, and an air conditioned room cost us $10 each.
Another interesting thing about Cambodia is that USD is the prevailing currency. There is a local currency, but you only get that if you're change is less than a dollar. Its a nice break from having to continually do the conversion in your head while bartering with someone.
Next stop on our magical mystery tour is Phnom Penh: We hadn't planned on spending any time there, but it's the only place that flies daily to Laos. It will be our first experience on Asia's long haul buses. Here's to hoping they are built for two giants.
Two Giants
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Travel to Cambodia and Angkor
I have to warn you this post is going to be pretty long. A lot has happened in the life of the Two Giants since we last posted.
On the 19th while Paul was recovering, I went off Scuba Diving, which I had always wanted to try but did not know how much I was going to really love it. It was an amazing experience, I had a great instructor who ended giving me a personal lesson for about 45 minutes. I didn't have to learn much to be able to do it, just how to clear my ears, how to clear my mask, how to find my regulator if for some reason it comes out of my mouth and some simple hand signals. The hand signals were the hardest part, because when I'd do some thing wright and the instructor would ask if I felt comfortable I'd give her the thumbs up (that's the signal to surface, not the OK signal). Once we got that all out of the way, we went diving, and I just had the coolest experience, especially when we were literally sitting on the bottom of the ocean, looking at thousands of multicolored and diverse fish swimming around us in the coral. Needless to say, I think I've found a passion that I want to continue.
After diving I went back and met up with Paul, we packed up, and then decided for one more night out on the town. We went to this awesome bar that was real chill, it actually required taking a water taxi around the corner of the island to a place that had no roads. We were with two Ausie dudes, a Brit, and another American all who we met at the Power Beach Resort we were staying at. It was a working on being a chill night until we went back to the Haad Rin beach (Where full moon is) and decided to stay out partying... Not smart when we had to get up at 6am.
Travel on the 20th was long, and allowed for many naps, but it was still not the type of sleep I was looking for after the single hour the night before. We left Ko Pha-gnan at 7am on the boat, and didn't reach Siem Reap until 9pm. That is a long day of airports when you have a total of 2.25hrs of travel... The one cool thing was that the airport in Ko Samui had an outdoor concourse. All the shops and everything were literally lined up like a small outdoor shopping mall. It was definitely a change.
Arriving in Siem Reap we found our Tuk Tuk, these are a little different than the ones in Bangkok and Chiang Mai because they are basically wagons attached to a moped. The ones in Thailand are solid and don't feel like you're in a trailer. Siem Reap is really a small tourist town that is in place to service the Angkor Temples. There are more hotels and guest houses in this city for its size than I've probably ever seen. The traffic is crazy with almost no rules and everyone just kind of doing what they want, but it all seems to work in some crazy way since I have seen no accidents here. I just know I would be really uncomfortable on a Moped here.
On the afternoon of the 21st (aka, the day the world didn't end) we went to Angkor Wat and explored the temple at sundown. It was an amazing space that really can't be described in words. With its size and complexity it is amazing to think that it was completed in only 37 years, but even more amazing to realize that the completion date was 1150AD. I guess if you have enough peasants, slaves, and elephants anything can be accomplished. It is too bad that the Khmer Rouge destroyed so much of it when they took power because it would have been all that much more impressive if 8 of the 12 surrounding towers hadn't been knocked down as a way to try to eliminate religion from the country. After catching the sunset there we tried to go to another temple but it was closed so we came home for the night. We explored the city a bit and then called it an early night. Our wake up for the sunrise was at 4:45am.
Leaving the hostel at 5:10am the city is deserted but so its quick to proceed to the entrance road to the temple complex. Here things are a little more congested but not bad, the bad was when we got to Angkor Wat. While beautiful in the morning dew and mist with the amazing colors rising behind it (the temple faces due west, the direction of the afterlife and the gods) the number of people who were there made it a little less cool. What was really cool though, was exploring the other temples immediately afterward while everyone else either explored Angkor Wat, or napped. We saw some very impressive places, and started to get a feel for the immense size of the complex. The most interesting one we saw was Ta Prohm (sometimes known as the Tomb Raider temple). It was amazing to see that the construction of this temple was good enough to allow almost a thousand years of jungle to grow up around it and still have it standing. There are trees growing off the top of some of the arches that have to be 200 feet tall. They are starting to crush it, but it just goes to show, that if you aren't actively protecting civilization from nature, nature will eventually return it to the earth.
We are now back at the hostel, and it is time to take a nap.
More to come soon, we've got an interesting trip ahead of us when it comes to getting to Laos. Its not the easiest thing to do evidently from here.
Till then,
Two Giants
On the 19th while Paul was recovering, I went off Scuba Diving, which I had always wanted to try but did not know how much I was going to really love it. It was an amazing experience, I had a great instructor who ended giving me a personal lesson for about 45 minutes. I didn't have to learn much to be able to do it, just how to clear my ears, how to clear my mask, how to find my regulator if for some reason it comes out of my mouth and some simple hand signals. The hand signals were the hardest part, because when I'd do some thing wright and the instructor would ask if I felt comfortable I'd give her the thumbs up (that's the signal to surface, not the OK signal). Once we got that all out of the way, we went diving, and I just had the coolest experience, especially when we were literally sitting on the bottom of the ocean, looking at thousands of multicolored and diverse fish swimming around us in the coral. Needless to say, I think I've found a passion that I want to continue.
After diving I went back and met up with Paul, we packed up, and then decided for one more night out on the town. We went to this awesome bar that was real chill, it actually required taking a water taxi around the corner of the island to a place that had no roads. We were with two Ausie dudes, a Brit, and another American all who we met at the Power Beach Resort we were staying at. It was a working on being a chill night until we went back to the Haad Rin beach (Where full moon is) and decided to stay out partying... Not smart when we had to get up at 6am.
Travel on the 20th was long, and allowed for many naps, but it was still not the type of sleep I was looking for after the single hour the night before. We left Ko Pha-gnan at 7am on the boat, and didn't reach Siem Reap until 9pm. That is a long day of airports when you have a total of 2.25hrs of travel... The one cool thing was that the airport in Ko Samui had an outdoor concourse. All the shops and everything were literally lined up like a small outdoor shopping mall. It was definitely a change.
Arriving in Siem Reap we found our Tuk Tuk, these are a little different than the ones in Bangkok and Chiang Mai because they are basically wagons attached to a moped. The ones in Thailand are solid and don't feel like you're in a trailer. Siem Reap is really a small tourist town that is in place to service the Angkor Temples. There are more hotels and guest houses in this city for its size than I've probably ever seen. The traffic is crazy with almost no rules and everyone just kind of doing what they want, but it all seems to work in some crazy way since I have seen no accidents here. I just know I would be really uncomfortable on a Moped here.
On the afternoon of the 21st (aka, the day the world didn't end) we went to Angkor Wat and explored the temple at sundown. It was an amazing space that really can't be described in words. With its size and complexity it is amazing to think that it was completed in only 37 years, but even more amazing to realize that the completion date was 1150AD. I guess if you have enough peasants, slaves, and elephants anything can be accomplished. It is too bad that the Khmer Rouge destroyed so much of it when they took power because it would have been all that much more impressive if 8 of the 12 surrounding towers hadn't been knocked down as a way to try to eliminate religion from the country. After catching the sunset there we tried to go to another temple but it was closed so we came home for the night. We explored the city a bit and then called it an early night. Our wake up for the sunrise was at 4:45am.
Leaving the hostel at 5:10am the city is deserted but so its quick to proceed to the entrance road to the temple complex. Here things are a little more congested but not bad, the bad was when we got to Angkor Wat. While beautiful in the morning dew and mist with the amazing colors rising behind it (the temple faces due west, the direction of the afterlife and the gods) the number of people who were there made it a little less cool. What was really cool though, was exploring the other temples immediately afterward while everyone else either explored Angkor Wat, or napped. We saw some very impressive places, and started to get a feel for the immense size of the complex. The most interesting one we saw was Ta Prohm (sometimes known as the Tomb Raider temple). It was amazing to see that the construction of this temple was good enough to allow almost a thousand years of jungle to grow up around it and still have it standing. There are trees growing off the top of some of the arches that have to be 200 feet tall. They are starting to crush it, but it just goes to show, that if you aren't actively protecting civilization from nature, nature will eventually return it to the earth.
We are now back at the hostel, and it is time to take a nap.
More to come soon, we've got an interesting trip ahead of us when it comes to getting to Laos. Its not the easiest thing to do evidently from here.
Till then,
Two Giants
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Full Moon Party 1, Two Giants 0?
I disagree with Paul's description of the events two nights ago. I would say Full Moon Party 1, Paul 0, Andrew 1. Since I made it past sun rise and then made it to my first ever scuba diving experience I refuse to agree that I lost.
More about both are to come, but right now I'm too tired to think or type. Should have stayed away from the Buckets of Awesome last night.
More about both are to come, but right now I'm too tired to think or type. Should have stayed away from the Buckets of Awesome last night.
Full Moon Party 1, Two Giants 0
Sorry we've been a little slow keeping the blog updated. Internet is a little pricey in Ko Phang'an, and its pretty awesome here, so we're spending more time by the pool and less on the internet. Last night was the famous Full Moon Party in Ko Phang'an, which brings about 15,000 people together on the beach every month for an all night party. The drink of choice is litle bucket filled with Thai Whiskey, Red Bull and Coke. Needless to say, they are pretty lethal.
The party was out of control: We spent the day warming up with Jolene Monestier who is doing some pre b-school traveling, and our new friends Ryan (don't call me Dave-O) and Michael. After dinner we headed down to the beach and kicked it into high gear. It's hard to describe how crazy it was, and pictures couldn't even do it justice. At 5:30am when I finally headed out, the party was as strong as it was at midnight. People were even talking to us about after parties, because appareently afterpartying straight through until 9am, some people want to keep going. There isn't enough Red Bull in the world for me to do that, but to each his own.
Today, as expected, has been a recovery day. Boyink is off SCUBA diving right now, which is mildy impressive that he pulled himself together for that. Tomorrow, we're off to Cambodia to jump back into the cultural part of our trip, and spend some time at Angkor Wat.
Until thenstay safe!
Two Giants
The party was out of control: We spent the day warming up with Jolene Monestier who is doing some pre b-school traveling, and our new friends Ryan (don't call me Dave-O) and Michael. After dinner we headed down to the beach and kicked it into high gear. It's hard to describe how crazy it was, and pictures couldn't even do it justice. At 5:30am when I finally headed out, the party was as strong as it was at midnight. People were even talking to us about after parties, because appareently afterpartying straight through until 9am, some people want to keep going. There isn't enough Red Bull in the world for me to do that, but to each his own.
Today, as expected, has been a recovery day. Boyink is off SCUBA diving right now, which is mildy impressive that he pulled himself together for that. Tomorrow, we're off to Cambodia to jump back into the cultural part of our trip, and spend some time at Angkor Wat.
Until thenstay safe!
Two Giants
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Chiang Mai > Ko Samui > Ko Pha-Ngan
Woke up this morning, again at about 7:30 after about 10hrs of sleep and went to find great breakfast. We were tired of the crap that the woman in our hostel was feeding us and so we went in search of something better. Really the problem was that I was just really tired of drinking Nescafe when Northern Thailand has some of the best coffee. We found a great little place called Diva Cafe, part of a hostel and had breakfast. The coffee was so good I had 3 cups and really could have drank it for the whole day.
We left the hostel and went to the airport where it took us about 10 minutes to check in, and then we found that our airline had a fantastic lounge for everyone to use, not just frequent flyers. The trip to Ko Pha-Ngan was pretty un-eventful, and I will talk about it more when we are blogging away our hangover tomorrow, but a few quick highlights:
The second smallest airport i've ever been in
A work out area at the end of the peer where our boat picked us up
A million resorts on Ko Samui
500 haggared passengers on the boat to Ko Pha-Ngan (Can't imagine what they'll look like in a few days)
Realizing that we're staying at what would be considered a spring break hotel in Mexico.
We left the hostel and went to the airport where it took us about 10 minutes to check in, and then we found that our airline had a fantastic lounge for everyone to use, not just frequent flyers. The trip to Ko Pha-Ngan was pretty un-eventful, and I will talk about it more when we are blogging away our hangover tomorrow, but a few quick highlights:
The second smallest airport i've ever been in
A work out area at the end of the peer where our boat picked us up
A million resorts on Ko Samui
500 haggared passengers on the boat to Ko Pha-Ngan (Can't imagine what they'll look like in a few days)
Realizing that we're staying at what would be considered a spring break hotel in Mexico.
Chiang Mai: A little Culture
Today in Chaing Mai, Well really yesterday, in Chaing Mai, we partook in a little culture, or at least some culture, and some tiger petting. We got up at our normal time of about 6:30 am, still can't sleep here, either we're old or the time is still messing with us. After another not so good breakfast at the Guest house, we left for the Tiger Kingdom.
The Tiger Kingdom is very cool. Here you are able to play with baby tigers just a few months old and spend some time with other tigers that are any where up to a year an a half. At a year and a half they are fully grown but do not show the attitude or unpredictability of the older ones. The trainers told us that at 2 years they take the tigers out of the rotation and keep them for breeding because at that age they are not safe to have around people they don't know.
It was a very cool experience but very intimidating and definitely made you realize just how little real power you have in a situation like that. They could have easily decided I was dinner if they had wanted. This was very strange to think about when you saw one chasing a pair of coconuts that were dangled from a string. It acted just like a very large house cat.
After the tiger kingdom, we strolled around Ching Mai, and then met our cooking instructor at the hostel. The cooking instructor took us on a tour of the market and told us about how to pick ingredients, and also which ingredients not to pick. After that we went out to his house where he had a kitchen set up in the back. In his kitchen we learned to make Sweet and Sour Soup, Panang Curry, Cashew Chicken, Pat Thai, and Banana Spring Rolls. When we get back, we both expect to be retaining our cooking skills by practicing, so expect some good Thai food in the future.
After we ate all the food, we went back to the hostel and went out and explored the Saturday Night Market that happens on the street our hostel was on every Saturday night. It was very interesting with lots of different crafts as well as food options. We perused that for a while and then felt our old age again, by going to bed at about 9:30.
What is happening to us? Hopefully a more lively scene in Ko Pha-Ngan will change our mood and get us back to the business school kids you all know and love.
Till then,
Two Giants
The Tiger Kingdom is very cool. Here you are able to play with baby tigers just a few months old and spend some time with other tigers that are any where up to a year an a half. At a year and a half they are fully grown but do not show the attitude or unpredictability of the older ones. The trainers told us that at 2 years they take the tigers out of the rotation and keep them for breeding because at that age they are not safe to have around people they don't know.
It was a very cool experience but very intimidating and definitely made you realize just how little real power you have in a situation like that. They could have easily decided I was dinner if they had wanted. This was very strange to think about when you saw one chasing a pair of coconuts that were dangled from a string. It acted just like a very large house cat.
After the tiger kingdom, we strolled around Ching Mai, and then met our cooking instructor at the hostel. The cooking instructor took us on a tour of the market and told us about how to pick ingredients, and also which ingredients not to pick. After that we went out to his house where he had a kitchen set up in the back. In his kitchen we learned to make Sweet and Sour Soup, Panang Curry, Cashew Chicken, Pat Thai, and Banana Spring Rolls. When we get back, we both expect to be retaining our cooking skills by practicing, so expect some good Thai food in the future.
After we ate all the food, we went back to the hostel and went out and explored the Saturday Night Market that happens on the street our hostel was on every Saturday night. It was very interesting with lots of different crafts as well as food options. We perused that for a while and then felt our old age again, by going to bed at about 9:30.
What is happening to us? Hopefully a more lively scene in Ko Pha-Ngan will change our mood and get us back to the business school kids you all know and love.
Till then,
Two Giants
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Scammed Again?
Day 1 in Chiang Mai. We arrived on Thursday night to a Guest House that is nice enough. We have a private room with our own bathroom and a "shower." Its really just a hose stuck to the wall with a shower head that sprays water all over the bathroom when you shower, evidently no one ever heard of a shower curtain. Anyway, the AC is amazing since its about 90 and 95% here so being able to sleep with some AC makes all the difference. The woman who runs the house appears to have an affinity for tall people because she gives us much more attention than she gives anyone else in the house. The first night we met a great guy named Pascal from Switzerland. When I asked him where he was from he said, "The Mountain Part." I knew right then we'd be friends. Early to bed on night one, because we had to leave at 8:30am for our Elephant Trek, and we are still adjusting to the Time Zone. We have been up at 6 or 6:15 every morning without an alarm. Its almost like the real world...
We started the Elephant Trek with a group of 9 people, and with Paul and I being on the same elephant, we quickly lost the charm of the event and just wanted to get out of the sun and stop being squished into a set built for 2 Thai people. The elephants were nice, and really loved bananas, in fact, they loved them so much that they would take about 5 steps, and then beg for another banana. The trek was just up the side of the mountain and then back down. The only interesting part was when the elephant that one of the other people in the group was riding saw a cobra and flipped out a little. It was pretty impressive to see how quick and nimble the animal could be. I'm not sure that the couple riding it thought the same thing.
After the Elephants we went to visit a Hmong village which was very awkward. We went in, they were sitting there making crafts to sell to visitors and we were supposed to take pictures. I have to say, I wanted to leave as soon as possible. Plus I was sweltering and just wanted to get to the waterfall so I could take a swim. The waterfall which according to our guide was a 30-40 min hike (really 5) was amazing. The water was cool but not cold, the current was strong but it was deep so there was a place you could jump off and into it. Finally it had a sand bottom so it was very safe to jump into. (See Mom, I told you I'd do nothing dangerous). This was by far the best part of the day so far.
We hiked out about 10 minutes and then went to lunch. We had traditional lunch and got a chance to get to become even better friends with the other people that were on the tour with us. After lunch, we went bamboo rafting. This turned out to be one of the best things we have done so far this trip. Instead of the 10min promised by the guide we spent 45 minutes floating down the river on these long bamboo rafts and waving to all the families who were swimming in the river as well. There were only a few problems, with rafts getting stuck or people being left behind, but in the end everything was great. It was just like floating a river in a tube, except we didn't have any beers...
As we were getting off the elephants and heading to the Hmong village Paul and I discussed the fact that maybe we'd been mislead again. We thought the elephants were going to be the best part, and so when they sucked, we were really concerned that the rest of the trip would be no good. Glad we were wrong. The day wound up being awesome.
The ride back (in the back of the truck; OK I did something a little dangerous) was uneventful until we ran into a nasty thunder storm. It is the rainy season here now, and every day has at least one awesome thunderstorm run through, in fact, there is one coming through now as I type. The rain was being blown so hard that it was coming in the back of the truck as we were driving at 60kmh.
Things cleared up and Pascal and I went out around 8:30 looking for some dinner in the night market and a bar that might have some more people in it since the hostel we're staying at has very little in the way of other people. We found a bar that looked like it could be cool, and was pretty full when we got in there, but after being upstairs for a little while meeting some people from Holland, we went downstairs to find not a sole in the bar except for a few elderly gentlemen looking for some company (well not so much looking as negotiating).
I'm tired of writing, and you're probably tired of reading, so tomorrow morning before we leave for Ko Samui, we'll post another entry about our day today, second day in Chiang Mai.
Two Giants
We started the Elephant Trek with a group of 9 people, and with Paul and I being on the same elephant, we quickly lost the charm of the event and just wanted to get out of the sun and stop being squished into a set built for 2 Thai people. The elephants were nice, and really loved bananas, in fact, they loved them so much that they would take about 5 steps, and then beg for another banana. The trek was just up the side of the mountain and then back down. The only interesting part was when the elephant that one of the other people in the group was riding saw a cobra and flipped out a little. It was pretty impressive to see how quick and nimble the animal could be. I'm not sure that the couple riding it thought the same thing.
After the Elephants we went to visit a Hmong village which was very awkward. We went in, they were sitting there making crafts to sell to visitors and we were supposed to take pictures. I have to say, I wanted to leave as soon as possible. Plus I was sweltering and just wanted to get to the waterfall so I could take a swim. The waterfall which according to our guide was a 30-40 min hike (really 5) was amazing. The water was cool but not cold, the current was strong but it was deep so there was a place you could jump off and into it. Finally it had a sand bottom so it was very safe to jump into. (See Mom, I told you I'd do nothing dangerous). This was by far the best part of the day so far.
We hiked out about 10 minutes and then went to lunch. We had traditional lunch and got a chance to get to become even better friends with the other people that were on the tour with us. After lunch, we went bamboo rafting. This turned out to be one of the best things we have done so far this trip. Instead of the 10min promised by the guide we spent 45 minutes floating down the river on these long bamboo rafts and waving to all the families who were swimming in the river as well. There were only a few problems, with rafts getting stuck or people being left behind, but in the end everything was great. It was just like floating a river in a tube, except we didn't have any beers...
As we were getting off the elephants and heading to the Hmong village Paul and I discussed the fact that maybe we'd been mislead again. We thought the elephants were going to be the best part, and so when they sucked, we were really concerned that the rest of the trip would be no good. Glad we were wrong. The day wound up being awesome.
The ride back (in the back of the truck; OK I did something a little dangerous) was uneventful until we ran into a nasty thunder storm. It is the rainy season here now, and every day has at least one awesome thunderstorm run through, in fact, there is one coming through now as I type. The rain was being blown so hard that it was coming in the back of the truck as we were driving at 60kmh.
Things cleared up and Pascal and I went out around 8:30 looking for some dinner in the night market and a bar that might have some more people in it since the hostel we're staying at has very little in the way of other people. We found a bar that looked like it could be cool, and was pretty full when we got in there, but after being upstairs for a little while meeting some people from Holland, we went downstairs to find not a sole in the bar except for a few elderly gentlemen looking for some company (well not so much looking as negotiating).
I'm tired of writing, and you're probably tired of reading, so tomorrow morning before we leave for Ko Samui, we'll post another entry about our day today, second day in Chiang Mai.
Two Giants
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Sweat, Baby Sweat
Day 2 in Bangkok is coming to close, and with that, our last few hours in the city. Tonight we're off to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand to ride some Elephants, play with some baby Tigers, and take a cooking class. The weather has been, as expected, brutal. By the time we're 100 ft out the door, we're both dripping with sweat. Shade and the occasional fan has been our best friend. We finished up our touring of Bangkok today by hitting up the Grand Palace, Sleeping Buddha, and Chinatown. Contrary to what EVERY single person in the city told us, the Grand Palace does, in fact, open before noon. This may be one of the most elaborate scams I've ever seen, since without fail, every person told us the same thing, usually trying to get us to hop in their friend's Tuk Tuk.
Also, today marked the first day someone actually asked us to take a picture with them. It was a big moment for the trip. Today we also started gathering data for our upcoming blog, PicturesofAsiansTakingPictures.blogspot.com. I wish either us had our camera cords here to upload you some of the early pictures; they're amazing. In no particular order, here are my quick highlights of Bangkok:
7-11s roughly every 200 ft.
Street Food; Good and Super Cheap
Playing the "Girl of Lady Boy" game at night
Tall Chang beers
Buddha's in every way, shape, and position you can imagine
Cheap custom made clothing
The not-highlights:
Streets that smell worse than any pier I've ever been on
Our hotel having the YES network
The questionable meat storage techniques
That's all for Bangkok: Off to Chiang Mai
Two Giants
Also, today marked the first day someone actually asked us to take a picture with them. It was a big moment for the trip. Today we also started gathering data for our upcoming blog, PicturesofAsiansTakingPictures.blogspot.com. I wish either us had our camera cords here to upload you some of the early pictures; they're amazing. In no particular order, here are my quick highlights of Bangkok:
7-11s roughly every 200 ft.
Street Food; Good and Super Cheap
Playing the "Girl of Lady Boy" game at night
Tall Chang beers
Buddha's in every way, shape, and position you can imagine
Cheap custom made clothing
The not-highlights:
Streets that smell worse than any pier I've ever been on
Our hotel having the YES network
The questionable meat storage techniques
That's all for Bangkok: Off to Chiang Mai
Two Giants
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Bangkok, Where everyone wants to know your height.
So, not only does everyone want to know how tall we are, and whether we play basketball, but they also seem to want to always be our friends. Whether its the random girl walking on the street, or the man who claimed he was in "police intelligence," or finally the man who worked in Car Insurance who wanted to show us a great local Thai spot (it was really good), everyone here in Thailand seems to want to be our friends and help us out. It is a great quality of the people but can be a little annoying when they won't leave you alone when you say you're fine.
The police man was very helpful though, he got us a Tuk-Tuk driver who took us to half the important sights in the city: Tall Buddha, Happy Buddha, Golden Mountain, the Tailor, and the Tourist Information center; all for 20B ($.65). At the Tailor we bought suits (they better be good) and at the Tourist Info center, we booked the rest of our trip in Thailand. We will fly out to Chiang Mai tomorrow at 8:30pm, to stay there for 3 nights. Then we will fly to Ko Sumi for 4 days of relaxation, and one night of Full Moon Partying. From there we will travel to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat.
Bangkok, has been good, and we have some time to explore tomorrow, mostly the Great Palace and the Emerald Buddha. In case you couldn't tell, there are lots of Buddhas here in Bangkok, evidently more than 500 temples exist in the city alone.
A point of clarification, I was definitely ripped off, but it wasn't like I was scammed, I accidentally gave the waiter 2 1000B bills instead of 2 100B bills and he refused to admit it. So in reality, he just stole from me. Not quite the same...
OK, time for pool and relaxation, maybe even a massage this afternoon/evening.
Two Giants
The police man was very helpful though, he got us a Tuk-Tuk driver who took us to half the important sights in the city: Tall Buddha, Happy Buddha, Golden Mountain, the Tailor, and the Tourist Information center; all for 20B ($.65). At the Tailor we bought suits (they better be good) and at the Tourist Info center, we booked the rest of our trip in Thailand. We will fly out to Chiang Mai tomorrow at 8:30pm, to stay there for 3 nights. Then we will fly to Ko Sumi for 4 days of relaxation, and one night of Full Moon Partying. From there we will travel to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat.
Bangkok, has been good, and we have some time to explore tomorrow, mostly the Great Palace and the Emerald Buddha. In case you couldn't tell, there are lots of Buddhas here in Bangkok, evidently more than 500 temples exist in the city alone.
A point of clarification, I was definitely ripped off, but it wasn't like I was scammed, I accidentally gave the waiter 2 1000B bills instead of 2 100B bills and he refused to admit it. So in reality, he just stole from me. Not quite the same...
OK, time for pool and relaxation, maybe even a massage this afternoon/evening.
Two Giants
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Safe and sound in Bangkok
We're here. We're safe. Boyink's already been ripped off. More to come later.
Friday, May 6, 2011
T - 3 days an counting
Really starting to get excited for the trip. Have my lonely planet guide loaded on my Nook, and tons of recommendations from friends printed out. The prospect of two giants going to Asia is great, but I have to admit the idea of two giants flying coach to Asia on 16 hour flights is a little less than appealing. Here's to hoping Tylenol PM and some Red Wine help us pass out for a good chunk of it. And, just to clarify the first post, I'm only 6'5". The last thing I need is someone calling shenanigans on our posts before we even leave the States.
Paul (The lesser of the two giants)
Paul (The lesser of the two giants)
Monday, May 2, 2011
Introduction to the Blog
Paul, and I (Boyink) will be traveling in SE Asia from May 9th till June 6th. We will be Traveling in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Check here frequently for updates and pictures of our travels, and also for pictures of people taking pictures of the two of us. For those of you who are friends of only one of us, you should know that I am 6'10", and Paul is 6'6". We will definitely be Two Giants in Asia.
We'll both be posting on this blog, so keep an eye out for our adventures and our travel.
We'll both be posting on this blog, so keep an eye out for our adventures and our travel.
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