Motorcycle Diaries Chapter 2: Counter-Clockwise in NW Thailand
Sunday, January 7th, 2007
I’m at the age when it doesn’t seem to matter what time I go to sleep at night as I always wake up early. Througout SE Asia, even in most large cities, the roosters start the process around 4:30 or 5:00 AM. Earplugs can only block out so much.
So, it wasn’t suprising that my eyes were wide open at 7 on a cold and misty new year’s day. I was still in my bunglaow in Pai however and checkout wasn’t until noon. Plenty of time for the sun to cut through the haze and warm the day.
The agenda until that time was coffee and pastry (banana bread instead of a mystery turnover this time), supplemented by a good book and the morning music playlist from the Ipod. The water in the shower had plenty of heat and pressure – a rare double-combination in my travels here. Aside from sleeping alone, the morning couldn’t have been much better.
[read on]
Somehow I found myself in Chiang Mai, Thailand- it gets a lot of hype as one of the best places in this country, but it is just a Bangkok-north. Since it is the town I fly out of when I leave for home in less than a couple of weeks, it made sense to use it as a base for exploring north-western Thailand.
The trip out of Lao was an adventure - sort of the type that was fun in an uncomfortable way that makes great stories later.
I got up early to buy a ticket as I ... 
The trek began Christmas eve from the northern Lao town of Luang Namtha. Almost immediately there was a steady climb, but it felt really good to be out on a single-track trail again. For my ... 
After a day of kickin' back, hiking and caving I headed off to dinner and then on the walk back to the guest house came across a bar with a pool table. Well, it was ... 
Ok...more about the title of this section later. You're just going to have to read on.
With 126,000 dong in my hand...
(All apologies to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground)
Most all of the towns I have visited so far cater to tourists of course. The average wage for most Vietnamese is about ... 
Adventure changed to trouble when I rounded the bend of a narrow road that had long ago turned to a sloppy single track of red mud.
Down in the valley below and barely visible through the mist ... 
I've just returned from a 3 day visit to one of the more spectacular places I've seen so far - 
Most street corners in Hanoi (and most other Vietnamese towns) have Bia Ho'i, or fresh beer stands. A glass costs about 2-3 thousand dong and it's 16 thousand dong to the dollar- a lot of ... 
jpb