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
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