The Young Man Odyssey

Another sleepless night as i was right above the heart of the action, no wonder my room only cost $4.25. Had a wonderful breakfast of pineapple, papaya, mango and cornflakes. 2 cups of coffee to compensate for lost sleep. Spent the morning touring some temples and here are the pictures:

This was a little garden that had little buddhist messages on the trees.

My feelings of the south of thailand vs. the north.

As I write, the elections are looking fairly good. The senate is still tight but I’m happy with the way things look. Too bad my absentee ballot didn’t come in time. Good cheer to all those who voted.

The red white and blue flag is the Thai national glag. The yellow flag is the buddhist flag, and most times when you see one you see the other.

Oh you silly lads, did you really think I’d just laze around the beach my whole trip!? Ha!

The night after the full moon party, I lay in bed and started drooling over the fact that I could, be in Chiang Mai tomorrow. The full moon party showed me what I did and did not want in my vacation, and most of the things that I did not want were in the south of Thailand. I knew up north the cities would be more geared towards Thai’s, not foreigners, and I was sick of getting treated like a tourist. Also, my towel was getting smelly from all the ocean water.

So it was decided, in those last sleepless hours in my cheap as dice bungalow, when the sun came up I would set off to find some culture.

Awoke and took the 11 o’clock ferry to Ko Samui, free shuttle to the airport included. Met a Thai woman and her kid, who liked to run unescorted around the airport. Her and I got to talking, and we chatted until the flight.

I really wonder what the people in the airport thought of a 2 year old kid crawling over a 19 year old American sitting with a 35 year old Thai woman.

Is that his son!?

And so it was my epic return to the Bangkok airport, and I felt a little craftier this time around. Bright faces of people whose trips were just begining, but ha! I’d been here a week. Bought cheap $50 flight to Chiang Mai, I wandered around the airport gawking at the many, many characters who come through the airports of Thailand.

When we landed in Chiang Mai I knew something was different. No angry touts for taxi rides, the smell of the sewer seemed to be staying underground. Prices were lower, temperatures were cooler. People were slower paced than in Bangkok, and on less of a drinking binge than in the south islands. I had fallen in love with the dam place already.

The city of Chiang Mai is surrounded by a moat, and was used to protect the city from Burmese invaders. It’s gorgeous and bohemian, and I love it completely. To celebrate my newfound culture I got a big hamburger, fries, and a soda from the most American looking restaurant in town. I plan to spend a few days here before moving on to Pai, and soon I need to start thinking about the real adventure which is crossing through Laos and into Vietnam.

Even with my newfound travel savvy, I’m still up to my old habits. I write this wearing the most wrinkled shirt in Thailand.

I promise pictures soon, I tried to take some at night but they didn’t come out very well.

G’day everyone, it’s more like Thailand up north.

First and foremost, this thing is a giant rave, I refused numerous touts from locals for ecstacy, and judging by the scene, my travel compadres did not. Standing by the side of the road, a pickup truck stopped and I jumped ... [Continue reading this entry]

I left Sarisa's place and got series of pickup-taxi (sawganthew) to Bo Khai. It is about 2 miles from the site of the full moon party. There are many more tourists over here, ... [Continue reading this entry]

My dirt cheap bungalow was called Sarisa's place, and throughout the two days I was there, Sarisa and I found refuge in each other. We talked Buddhism, tourism, love, life. She is the first person to truly touch ... [Continue reading this entry]

Our plans diverging, Will and I said goodbye to each other in the sleepy hours after the ferry. I caught another ferry to Ko Phangnan. As the ferry got underway, I smoked the last of ... [Continue reading this entry]

After my motorcycle ride, I gave the death trap back early and talked to Will for a few hours. I got a few Beer Changs in a frozen, viking glass of a mug. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Sorry Mom. While you silly Americans were sleeping, I took a train from Hua Hin to Chumphon, planning on catching a boat to Ko Tao. However, the boats were done for the day until 11 ... [Continue reading this entry]

G' day everyone. I would have left for the train station by now but my new shirt is being tailored for 9:30. I am having trouble talking to tourists for some reason. There are so many of ... [Continue reading this entry]

After Bangkok, on the bus ride the sight of grass lulled me to the fact that I am a country boy. If there is no grass I care not to walk. Hua Hin is a beach town that was a welcome retreat ... [Continue reading this entry]