Settling In (8/27/05)

Ahhhh, what a difference a week makes... I'm finally feeling settled in my new digs (see picture). This week's "excitement" included a pilgrimage to IKEA, the arrival of the movers, two keg parties, some beach time, my first run in five months and a few trips to downtown Chicago. One of the trips was to meet-up with one of my old college buddies, Ernie, who was in town for business. I couldn't have caught him at a better time as he was still glowing from the birth of his twin boys, Ernie and Cole, on August 8th - they were both over 7 lbs! God bless Kathleen for birthin those babies (and putting up with big Ernie)!!!

My second trip downtown was last Wednesday night to catch the final SummerDance party in Grant Park featuring DJs Terry Hunter and Farley "Jack Master" Funk, two Chicago deep house legends. It was a PS1-type setting with a Body&Soul crowd and let me tell you, the place was a-rockin! A few thousand people were jammed in there, hootin and hollerin with their hands in the air. I even had a few b-school friends with me willing to brave the dancefloor - what a great introduction to Chicago house! After Grant Park we headed to the Mamby party @ Moonshine to catch DJs Diz, Justin Long and Mazi and to meet up with NYC party people Steve (aka nyc420) and Eric (aka bassboy). Moonshine is a cool little spot (with GOOD pizza!) that, within in a matter of minutes, turns from restaurant to bumpin lounge. We sat down to eat around 9:30pm and by the time we had finished our meal the place was packed with a line around the corner and people dancing between the tables. I got my groove on for a few hours and then decided to call it quits when my ride was leaving around 12:30am. Listen kids, before I get any comments, this ain't NYC and I'm still trying to keep it under control (-:

That's all for now... I gotta pack for Peru (I leave tomorrow)! Lata!

Grad School Grumblings (8/19/05)

Oh boy...how quickly things can change!! One minute, you're partying like a rock star with your friends in NYC...the next, you're clipping coupons and deciding between a Whopper and the new Chicken Fries at Burger King. Yup, that's what I've been reduced to here in Evanston, during my first week as a grad student. And by the way, I got the Chicken Fries. Not bad except I had to eat them in the company of five random people chain smoking in the restaurant...disgusting! Oh how I miss the smoking ban.

As you may have guessed, I'm poor. And by poor I mean I have no money. Like zero. Turns out that my tuition and rent are due the first week of September but my loans don't get deposited into my bank account until the first day of class, which is a month away. Not sure exactly how that's going to work out. I'm looking for some sympathy (at least a little bit) or better yet a loan. Somehow I'm guessing I won't get either after spending all of the last year on one continuous vacation while the rest of you suckers were slaving away. LA, Santa Fe, Miami, Mexico, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Peru (next week)... no wonder I have no money. Did I just ask for a loan?! Don't worry, I'll smack myself for you.

So cash is probably a stretch, but maybe you'll consider sending goodies? You know, food or maybe even toiletries, hair/skin care products... especially the ones that I can no longer afford such as Aveda Curl Cream (cough cough, JD) and Burt's Bees Carrot Lotion (cough cough, Mom). Also, I saw some of those Ugly Dolls in a store window and decided I'd really like to cuddle with one at night. Either one of those or a body pillow (cough cough, anyone that's still reading). Actually, I'll take pretty much anything you want to send. And no, I'm not kidding.

UPPERS
I got my student ID and it's a HOT picture! (Now if only someone beside me and the dude at the gym could see it!) Not that I've actually been to the gym yet.

DOWNERS
The bars close EARLY here... like 1am early! I'm not sure what's worse, the jet lag after flying from Hong Kong to New York or adjusting to Evanston Everyone Is In Bed Really Early Time (EEIIBRET) from NYC Crack Time (NYCCKT).

There is not a decent slice of pizza to be had in all of Evanston and certainly nothing after 1am when I'm walking home from the EEIIBRET bars. For the love of God, how do these people live without pizza?

My shit still has not arrived from NYC which means I'm sleeping on an air mattress in an empty room. Granted, the room is 3x as big as any bedroom I ever had in NYC, but its still an empty room. Now you know why I want one of those Ugly Dolls to cuddle with!

Alright, that's all she wrote. I gotta hit the beach. Lata!

Goodbye NYC ::: PS1, 311 Church & The Balcony (8/6/05)

What a perfect way to say goodbye to NYC! When we rolled out to PS1 around 3:30pm, the weather could not have been better. We grabbed some drinks, met up with some more friends and decided to check out the museum for awhile. Shortly after we came back out, there was a hysterical incident involving a brownie, a bathroom attendant and some fungi. Then Stacey Pullen took over for the opening DJ and unleashed the fury. He played an incredible set and had us all rockin out in the bleachers... especially that Snardy, he's so hot this season! The next hour or two was all about styrofoam, beach balls, beats and beers. Josh Wink came on after Stacey and brought the energy down a bit but still played some funky tunes. A little while later, armed with a pocket full of drink tickets, me and the brownie bandit headed down to the bar. They were out of cups which led to a huge fight with the bartender... but somehow we still managed to walk away with water bottles full of beer. Must have been our stunning good looks. Blinded by the high of our victory at the bar, we immediately turned and asked someone (ummmm, that's a security guard) to take a picture of us and our illegal beer water bottles. Smooth.

After PS1, the party continued at 311 Church Street where host, Stadenco, and others threw down great music for the masses all night long. Sometime around sunrise, a small group of dedicated soldiers left the loft and headed to Chelsea to spend a last few hours hanging on The Balcony listening to the hosts' favorite Mylo mix. And then sometime around 9am, like all other good things, the party (and my run in NYC) had to come to an end. Sunday morning on The Balcony with ten good friends and sex toys... I wouldn't have it any other way (-:

Thanks to all the incredible people who made my last few years in NYC one loooong and memorable party. Until next time!

Summer in SE Asia ::: Part II

Day 16 (7/16/05) ::: Mekong River Delta - here we come! We got up early and set out on a 2 hour bus ride to the city of My Tho, where we boarded a boat for our journey on the upper Mekong River. It was pretty cool to navigate the very narrow canals, seeing life on the river... along the way we stopped at 4 islands - Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix, Turtle - to see plantations and sample coconut candies, yummy tea with honey straight from the hive and fresh tropical fruits from the local orchards. We also got to hear some traditional music from the villagers ... mostly adorable little girls. There was also a huge boa constrictor being passed around (skipped that, thanks) as well as a piece of the bee hive. Snapped a few pics for posterity and headed back home by way of a bonsai farm. Didn't even notice any bonsais but they did have some rad monkeys doing some crazy ass flips around the cage! One even came over to the side and literally swiped a juice box out of a kids hands and started drinking it from the straw....we were DYING!! Conditions for the animals were less than stellar though, which was a big downer. That night we met up with a friend of Hilary's living in HCMC at Nguyen Du Brauhof Restaurant and Beer Garden and had a pretty uneventful dinner until four drunken assholes (older men) started gawking and trying to have a conversation we weren't interested in. After numerous attempts to move them away from our table and shut them up, we tried to get the wait staff to step in and help out. They were pitiful - cowering behind a pillar and running away when one of the men waved them off. We demanded our check and then threatened to leave w/o paying ... it was quite a scene. Finally wasted man #1 said he'd pay our bill as he continued to try and speak to us. We took him up on his offer and ran out the door. As if that weren't enough drama for the evening... a moto tried to speed between the cab and the curb right as we were exiting in front of our guesthouse... nice move! Jamie basically clothes-lined the moto with the cab door. Everyone was ok and we laughed about it later but it could have been quite bad. We ran up the stairs and climbed into bed before anyone got hurt!

Day 17 ::: We took a tour bus to the Cu Chi Tunnels, the massive underground tunnel system the Viet Cong used to evade the French and Americans during their respective wars. I actually crawled down two levels (didn't make it to the third) - it was so hot and so small and that's even with the extra room they carved out for us fatty tourists! They were able to cook food, treat wounded and launch surprise attacks without ever really being detected...unreal. I got a chance to talk to our tour guide a bit on the ride home. His dad was a high ranking official for the south Vietnamese so he had an interesting perspective to share - he talked about issues with Communism but also had a sense of pride on the accomplishments of his countrymen and women who had built and maintained the tunnels. Later that day we found a little restaurant called Go2 that had nachos on the menu... we were very excited until they came out and were literally cool ranch doritos on a plate. LOL. Then we cruised around town a bit before heading out on an overnight bus to Nha Trang.

Day 18 ::: We arrived in Nha Trang around 7:30am after a pretty miserable night on the bus. But, it was a cute little beach town so we quickly found a guesthouse, grabbed some chocolate croissants and hit the beach!!! After hitting mostly cities, we were definitely ready for some R&R and Nha Trang hit the spot. Although it wasn't a remote location or anything, it was quite a nice beach - beautiful view, clean beach and water, umbrellas and chairs and drinks delivered to your seat - what more can you ask for? We were a little over zealous and scortched ourselves a bit and then hit local spot Shorty's for some lunch just as a big storm rolled through. We sprinted to the hotel as the rain poured down and waited out the storm. Once it cleared we explored town and made plans for a boat tour the next day. We came across a nice little bar called El Coyote that served us "welcome shots" and margaritas! That night was dinner at a spot called Red Star and then off to The Sailing Club, the somewhat swanky nightclub/bar/lounge/restaurant on the beach (think Nikki Beach). A few strong cocktails later the three of us were tearing up the dance floor (Beastie Boys!!!) with a mix of tourists and locals. We were definitely gettin our groove on... you know how I do!!! Even heard some Mylo get dropped! Met a great Argentine guy named Jaime and wound up hanging with him for a bit and then finishing the night on the beach with my travelmates and the Kiwi DJ from the club (so predictable!!).

Day 19 ::: A few weeks ago my darling friend Shirley was telling me stories about her trip to SE Asia a few years ago. One of her highlights was Mama Hahn's boat trip in Nha Trang so one of the first things we did when we arrived was look her up. Unfortunately Mama Hahn is currently in prison for her wild antics (Shirley!?!!??!) on her boat tours back in the day so we had to settle for Mama Linh's tour which was a lot of fun but somehow seemed a disappointment based on what I'd heard about the other Mama. And just to top it off, we found out that Mama Linh doesn't even live in Vietnam - she's in Philly with her American husband. HA. Anyway... boat trip was fun... we toured a number of islands, had some time to swim and snorkel and even got to enjoy a concert by the crew of our ship. Was pretty damn funny to watch the captain come out and start banging on random plastic barrels that had Yamaha scrawled on the side. And...one guy had an electric guitar. After signing songs with our fellow passengers, we all jumped into the sea for a "floating bar". We chilled on rafts and drank wine in the sun. Good times.

Day 20 ::: Beach + foot massage + driving up the coast on motos + fresh tuna sashimi = AWESOME. Huge moto burn on my leg = NOT AWESOME. We finally got the cajones to rent motos and decided to cruise up Nha Trang's equivalent of Ocean Drive. It was probably one of the best days on our trip so far - the drive was lovely and the views were simply stunning. Plus, we were finally out of the way of our fellow tourists and able to take in some quiet time away from the madness. We wound up quite a ways outside of downtown and just as we were going to turn around and head back, we came upon the Pearl Sea Restaurant. We decided to stop and have lunch before heading back and as I was getting off my moto I stepped back into another parked moto and firmly pressed my right calf against a very hot exhaust pipe. Sweet. Asked the restaurant staff for some help and they came out with this oily gel and started rubbing it on my burn. I had no idea what it was and none of them spoke English but I figured, hey, I'm in the land of motos, they must know what to do for these burns! Once the commotion was over we settled down to a fantastic meal overlooking the sea. Hilary ordered grilled fish (which they brought out flapping in the net for her to see before eating it!) and I got raw tuna with their crazy ass wasabi, which almost killed me. It was such a great meal, made even better by the best waiter ever! After cruising back to town we showered and left to catch our overnight train to Danang. Long story short... we wanted a sleeper car but were told they were sold out. So in order to get a ticket we paid 2x the actual price and that was for a regular (non-sleeper) seat. It was so crowded, so dirty and so hot.... and then we found out that the train wasn't getting to our destination at 6am as we'd been told. Of course not! We left at 8pm and would get in at 10am. Hilary and Jamie cruised the train discussing escape routes and then finally came back and told me that we could each pay MORE money (a bribe) to the train staff to get upgraded to the sleeper. Well worth it to be able to sleep and have AC although I figured there would probably be another scam. There wasn't (thank god!) and we actually met some very cool Vietnamese girls on the train in the morning who offered to tour us around their hometown!!

Day 21 ::: We got to Danang at 10am and then took an hour drive south to the little town of Hoi An, passing Marble Mountain and China Beach (US R&R location during the war made famous by the show of the same name). Taxi dropped us off just outside of the downtown b/c no cars are allowed and we walked to a guesthouse and dropped off our stuff before setting out to explore the tailor shops Hoi An is so well known for. Hilary had been told by a friend to get suits made at Thu Thuy so we went their first and got doted on by about 5 women from the shop. They gave us drinks, made some jokes and even inquired about Jamie's marital status before launching us into catalogs, fabrics and measurements. We decided on the clothes and got the prices and although they were very expensive by Vietnamese standards we agreed. It wasn't until later that day that we realized that the price of our suits was about 3x the going rate around Hoi An. Doh! We were pissed...we'd been had and they already had substantial deposits from each of us. We decided we weren't going to pay the rest - we'd make them give us the clothes for the deposit they had taken or we'd walkout and dispute the charge. We marched in there, made our demands and listened to them justify their prices (they claimed to be the best in town). We still didn't feel like getting swindled so we held our ground and after a bit of discussion were asked to speak to the boss in the morning and at least try on the clothing as we had planned to do that night. We tried the clothes and while doing so we met a guy who said an English tailor had been there earlier saying it was the best place in town and even he had his stuff made there. Oh the irony. We were so confused at this point...we'd been traveling awhile and tried to learn from past mistakes but every where you go, someone is trying to lie, cheat or steal from you. It gets old and it tiring. We figured it be best to sleep on it and decide what to do in the morning.

Day 22 ::: Popped out of bed, had breakfast, rented bikes and set off for a 5km ride to the Cua Dai Beach. It was a great ride and nice to be on a pedal bike! I spent the morning getting some rays, fighting off the vendors and keeping sand out of my moto burn. Jamie had met some guy, Wayne, in Nha Trang who recommended a restaurant for us to check out in Cua Dai (run by family of his wife) so we stopped by there and had some lunch. It was nothing more than a little beach shack but it was one of the best meals of the trip!! (I feel like this whole trip has been nothing more than one long meal.) I got the Shrimp Tamarind - made with tamarind, ginger, lemmongrass, ginger, onions, sugar and garlic. yum. yum. yum. And recipe forthcoming! Turns out that Wayne and his wife were actually in town and joined us for lunch. We told him the story of our clothing mishap and he explained that even the finest suits were much less than we had agreed to pay. On Wayne's advice, I called the shop and told them to deliver our clothes to the hotel for our deposit or that we'd dispute the charge. They were pissed and wouldn't agree. Oh well...no clothes. To be continued...we'll see what happens with the credit card company. We ended our day with a Vietnamese cooking class and a few drinks at a bar in Hoi An. Kicker of the day - we weren't able to learn the recipes for two of the dishes we ate that night b/c they are apparently only made by one family in all of Hoi An and the recipes are top secret. Our instructor told us that he and others had spent countless hours trying to crack the code, with no avail. Must be damn complicated recipes if the chefs in the "land of counterfeits" can't duplicate them.

Day 23 ::: Started the day with another bike trip to the beach for some R&R and another fine meal at Nghia. This time I kissed my fish after eating it and Jamie ate its eyeball. So gross. After getting a few cheap shirts made on a recommendation from our buddy Wayne, we hit a women's sand soccer match on the beach (apparently a special event). It was pretty awesome to see the entire town of Hoi An gather to watch all the young women play - they had fancy uniforms with sponsors and all! Not much skill, but fun to watch nonetheless. After another afternoon on the beach, we showered up and took a taxi an hour north to Danang where we checked into a guesthouse and met up with our new buddy, Ha (who we had met on our last train ride). Ha toured us around the city...we hit the promenade and saw the Han River Bridge before grabbing some delicious salmon sashimi at Hana Kim Dinh Restaurant right on the river. Post-dinner activity was a few hours of intense karaoke at a truly local spot called Lucky Karaoke. We sang New York, New York with Ha and then watched Jamie make an ass of himself singing Flashdance. Other highlights were Pump Up the Jam and I Just Called to Say I Love You. (-:

Day 24 ::: Oh the joy of flying...no more overnight bus or train for us! We hopped a lovely one hour flight from Danang to Hanoi and let me tell you... it was pure bliss! And when we arrived in Hanoi we even scored an awesome guesthouse on the first try... great spot and only $10 for the three of us. We dumped our stuff and headed up the block to check out the Tamarind Cafe which turned out to be a gem. Comfy seats, music and yummy food (I had curry quesadillas). It started to pour so we figured we'd use the rainy time to sort out our flight from Bangkok to Ko Samui, Thailand but quickly realized that not a browser in all of Hanoi would allow us to complete the transaction on Bangkok Airways' website. UGGGGGGGGGGH. We finally decided to head over to the nicest hotel in town, the Hanoi Hilton Opera to find a decent computer and presto, we're in! Thx to Nikki and Paris, we got our tickets. Our afternoon was spent cruising the streets of Hanoi's old quarter and planning our 2-day excursion to Halong Bay. Day 24 ended with a ridiculously large meal at Al Frescos, the first Mexican restaurant we'd found on our journey. Oh yeah... nachos, enchiladas, burritos and margaritas...how I love thee!

Day 25 ::: Up and out nice and early... it's road trip time. We hit the road for a three hour bus ride to Halong City, where we boarded a very nice boat equipped with dinner tables inside and sun chairs on the roof. We sailed through the limestone formations of Halong Bay for the next four hours with one stop to swim for an hour and another to explore some caves. Halong Bay is a World Heritage Site and I now know why - simply one of the most beautiful places I've seen. That night we slept in a hotel on Cat Ba Island and wound up checking out the island's only disco with our new friends, a family from New Zealand. One of the funniest nights ever! I really thought the place would be filled with tourists but it turns out that it was a real local spot packed with Vietnamese kids. I thought I was back at a 6th grade dance with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. We walked in and rushed out to the dance floor (the three twenty something Americans and a 6-year old from New Zealand) and started shaking a tail feather for all the on lookers. Then us oldies took a seat and watched the 6-year old dance his little ass off for the next hour. The Vietnamese did not know what to do ... they were stunned. Then the music ended and then they started what appeared to be Vietnamese Idol - three young guys singing their hearts out on stage... nothing but love songs. Oh man, we were dying. Talent show ended at 9pm and on came the hardest, cheesiest peak hour techno I'd ever heard.... and it was Monday... at 9pm... and nobody was on the dancefloor.... well, except the 6-year old. Finally after a track or two, I grabbed Hilary and told her we needed to help little Liam get the party started. We ran out of the floor and started working it out only to find the Vietnamese kids quickly follow suit and fill up the dancefloor. After getting a good group out there, we figured our work was done... so we left the disco all sweaty and laughed the entire way home.

Day 26 ::: Back on the boat for our return trip through Halong Bay. The weather was much better the second day so we laid out in the sun the whole way back, taking in the beautiful scenery and stopping once to jump in the water for a swim. (Well, not me... that stupid burn is in really bad shape so no water for me.) I stayed on deck, taking pictures of all the crazy boys jumping off the top deck. After docking in Halong City and having some lunch, we hit the bus for the trip back to Hanoi. When we finally arrived back in our guesthouse, I decided to unwrap my burn and take a look. Not so good. After a week of trying to speak to Vietnamese pharmacists and caring for it on my own, I finally decided it was time to see a doctor. I went over to the SOS International Clinic (a very nice place) and had my suspicions confirmed... my burn was starting to get infected. The doctor yelled at me for riding a moto and then looked at me like I had 3 heads when I showed him what I had been putting on it. Granted the bottle had no English and the person who gave it to me spoke no English either but I had showed her my moto burn and she pulled it out and gave it to me. LOL. I guess it hadn't been harming me, but it wasn't helping either. I got oral and topical antibiotics and was told no water (shower or sea) and to return tomorrow for another look before heading off to Thailand. $170 later (let's see if that traveler's insurance pays off)... I have a clean wound and some meds which is great... However, I'm a little disappointed that the next week at the beaches in Thailand will include little to no swimming and/or alcohol. Boo hoe. After the clinic we grabbed a yummy Indian meal with some fellow travelers and then hit The Funky Monkey Bar for some drinks and beats... They were even playing some relevant house music!

Day 27 ::: No trips or activities scheduled today so we finally got to sleep in!! Grabbed a quick breakfast and flagged down a taxi to check out the prison that US pose nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" during the war. Yet another poorly organized museum, but interesting nonetheless. They were sure to show how well the Americans were treated during their time there... And even had John McCain's pilot gear from when he was captured and detained. After the prison we checked out some more of the city - took in one of the only cathedrals we've seen during our trip, did some shopping and then chugged down some iced mochas while sitting lake-side. After cooling off a bit, we made our way to the Vietnam Museum of Revolution which turned out to be well organized and very interesting. I actually learned quite a bit about Vietnamese history... everyone from the Chinese, Mongolians, French, Japanese, and Americans have had a hand in shaping their story. All quite complicated and very sad. We made yet another stop that day...this time for more food and drink at the Diva Cafe. I had my first Avocado Shake and it was yummy! I made a return trip to the clinic for another look and dressing change and then we hit the Water Puppet Theater. I wasn't sure what to expect out of a water puppet show, but let me tell you... it was very cool! There were about 10 different scenes set to traditional Vietnamese folk music, all with different cultural significance. Apparently the art is over 1,000 years old and has its origin in the rice fields...was definitely an entertainment highlight! Our last dinner in Vietnam was at the Thuyta Cafe on the lake and then we hit Bia Hoi (fresh beer) Junction for some Vietnamese brew! I guess you can get bia hoi all over, but we decided to hit the backpackers spot, which consists of three bia hoi joints in one intersection. We pulled up a plastic seat and joined the many other backpackers and locals on the sidewalks being served 10 cent beers by a 12-yr old. Ahhhh, Vietnam.

Day 28 ::: We left Hanoi early for the airport and hopped a quick flight to Bangkok, Thailand (about 1hr, 30 min) and then another flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui (55 min), the largest of the islands on Thailand's southeast coast. For reference, the tsunami hit the islands in about the same spot, only on the west coast. The flights were lovely and believe it or not, we were fed on both legs! I'm talking a full meal.... on a 55 minute flight!?!?!? When we arrived in Koh Samui we got off the plane and drove a few minutes to the airport terminal which is tiny and mostly outdoors. Pretty damn cool collecting your luggage from baggage claim with a cool breeze at your back! We decided to spend the first night in Chewang aka party central. We found a bungalow steps from the water and quickly made the change to our swim suits. It only took me a few minutes to decide it was massage time! This time I opted for a 1-hr oil massage ON THE BEACH, which was incredible (and only $6). After some quality sun time, I hit downtown in search of the new Harry Potter, my favorite Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen, and medical supplies for my burn - came away with all three - Harry was a major score! The downtown was what I expected and more...it had Pizza Hut, McDonald's, trendy hotels and restaurants, cheesy bars and markets. Way too commercial for my taste. We went for some down and dirty (and cheap) drunkman noodles and Pad Thai that night (60 baht = $1.50) before venturing over to The Green Mango, a complex of outdoor bars and clubs. I guess it was the kind of madness Samui is famous for but definitely a little to much cheese. Everyone was running around the streets drinking liquor out of buckets (Brother Jimmy's of the Far East!), dancing to hip hop and acting a fool. We hung out for a few hours trying to be sports but I could only take so much of the young and old white men and their Thai hookers...really quite disgusting and disturbing. Had to call it a night.

Day 29 ::: Spent the day sunning, eating and reading Harry...so good! Around 3:30pm we decided we'd had enough of Koh Samui and caught a ferry to Koh Pha Ngan, another of the Thai islands. Just as we boarded the ferry a huge storm rolled in, making for a rough ride to the island. I sat downstairs on the ferry near a window (for air) but that didn't help much as I had to inhale diesel fumes and endure the rocking and the water blasting me in the face the whole time. The ferry dropped us off in Haad Rin, the most well-known part of the island and place where the famous Full Moon Parties are held. Unfortunately we missed the full moon (last week) but happened to be arriving the day of the Half Moon Party which is held in an alternate location in the mountains. We checked into the Same Same guesthouse and wandered around... was nice to be away from Samui in a much more relaxed beach town. After inhaling some pad Thai, we hit the beach and wound up meeting two young guys - one Thai and one Burmese - and challenging them to a beach volleyball match. We had a blast and played until it was pitch black outside and then decided to shower and catch a disheadingheading out to the party. We weren't sure what to expect so we left for the party relatively early (midnight), even though the party goes well into the next day. We boarded our taxi (a pickup truck with benches in the cab and a partial roof) and started to make our way on bumpy, windy, mountain roads. The trip was fine until a massive storm hit. Of course the driver didn't stop, slow down or turn around...he just kept going, while we held on for our lives in the cab of the pickup, getting pelted with massive amounts of rain. We didn't know what to do or say... we just kept looking at each other shaking our heads. We finally arrived and made our way to the party, whererevilersevelers were already getting down (most of which were crammed under the small covered areas). The mountain setting with palm trees and psychedelic decorations was pretty cool... the music was what you'd expect (psy-trance and progressive stuff) and was decent although not my bag. I guess I am a jaded NYC clubber (-: 20minutes later the rain was gone and the party continued to fill-up. Was a pretty mixed crowd...age, nationality, boozers, crackies... I stayed sober (I have a healthy fear of Thai prisons) but boogied down with Jamie and Hilary for most of the night. We stayed until about 6am and decided to head back to Haad Rin to catch the sunrise on the beach. About a few others had the same idea ...as we approached the beach, armed with our banana and nutella crapes, we found about 30 drunken Brits strewn all over the beach... one with his pants at his ankles and his hairy manhood out for all to see. What a way to start the day! Gross.

Day 30 ::: No sleep the night before so went back to the guesthouse for a nap. Three hours later we woke up and decided to head to the other side of the island where we could get some peace and quiet away from the parties and hairy asses. The beach we settled on is called Thon Nai Pan and can only be reached by long boat or jungle road. We opted for jungle road and after a bumpy ride in the back of another pickup, we had arrived in paradise. The entire beach was less than 1km in length and contained only a few sunbathers... ahhhhhh, just what the doctor ordered! After the typical guesthouse search, we wound up at The Dreamland Resort which was our best pick yet! Our bungalow was immaculate and literally a few feet from the beach...we could even hear the waves from bed! Eat, sun, nap, read Harry Potter. Repeat. Life is good.

Day 31 ::: More of the same...eat, sun, nap, read Harry Potter. In the afternoon we decided to mix it up a bit and rent a long boat for the rest of the day. We jumped on board and hit the water for a 15 minute ride to Than Sa Dej Beach, where we got out for a bit to explore the tiny beach and check out the waterfall of the same name. The waterfall was a bit of a disappointment but a fun little adventure anyway. Our next stop on the boat was Bottle Beach, another remote spot on the NE side of Koh Pha Ngan...gorgeous. We stayed there for about two hours ...had a few drinks, kicked a soccer ball around, read a bit and enjoyed the view. After we got back, I passed out in a hammock for about two hours before being awoken by cold water dumped on my head.... thanks guys! Just as we were about to venture down the beach a bit and have a meal somewhere other than our own guesthouse, a big storm rolled through and knocked the power out on the entire island. This is obviously somewhat common as all of the staff went on about their duties and seated us for dinner. The dining area was lit by gas lamps and lights (from a generator) but the kitchen remained dark. Despite the darkness, they churned out yet another fine portion of Thai Curry and Tofu, which I happily scarfed.

Day 32 ::: Another cloudy day on the island... so far the weather hasn't been great (but not that bad either). The temperature has been quite nice but we haven't been blessed with much actual sunshine. Today turned out to be the rainiest day which is fine because I had 300 pages of Harry left to read and a hammock calling my name. After reading most of the morning enjoyed some delicious stir-fry fish with ginger and pineapple for lunch and then kept on going... by 4pm I had finished the entire book (new record for me) and was already craving book #7! Naptime, computer time, dinner time. This is fun for me... but I'm guessing pretty boring for you (suckers!).

Day 33 ::: Finally, some sunshine on Koh Pha Ngan! Jamie left early (he's headed to Hong Kong for a few days) and Hilary and I got some sun, had a final meal at Dreamland and then set off by pickup truck, ferry and plane to Bangkok. After quickly finding a place to stay we grabbed some dinner and decided to hit Patpong, the "red light district" for a crazy night out. We walked the streets a bit, checking out the markets and the various strip clubs (from a far)...one of which was named "Pussy Collection" - very creative! OMG. After wandering for a bit we found a street of bars that looked somewhat interesting and then quickly realized we'd found the gay section of Bangkok. How has it taken me this entire trip to figay boysgayboys!?!?! I'm not quite sure but it must have been fate because Hilary and I wanted a crazy night out (sorry Jamie) and we found it! It started at a cute little lounge called Cafe 4, where we had a few cocktails and started to get our boogie on with some really cute gay boys. Before you know it, we have 10 new friends and I'm swing dancing with the most vein boy in there (I'm leading of course!). Around midnight people started to leave and the waiters told us that everyone would be heading to DJ Station, a three floor dance club that would stay open a few more hours. So....of course, we were off to DJ Station! As soon as we got to the door we were stopped by the bouncers and told we couldn't enter because we were wearing flipflops. We were livid! In the country where you can pile 5 people on a tiny motorbike, you can't wear flipflops to a club!?!? So....of course, we went and bought shoes on the street. Not just any shoes either... we each got a pair of ridiculously horribly fabulous shoes that would be the topic of conversation for the rest of the night (Hilary got a pink pair with strawberries and I got some blue jelly-like sneakers). And all for just 198 baht! ($2.50 each). More importantly... we walked back up to the bouncers, showed him our new kicks and strolled right in! Then we had to "check" our flipflops... oh it just kept getting better. We cruised into the club, found many of our new friends and made about 10 more. Within no time we were workin it all over the three floors. I actually met a very cool guy named Arash from Iran. In between drinks, dancing and the rest of the night's debauchery, we talked at length about his life story which he hopes to have published. After a few hours, DJ Station closed and so we decided.... to find another party. We had met an older German guy who knew about some underground disco that would rage on all night... so... of course... we went. It was basically a restaurant converted into a disco filled with young locals getting their party on. We ordered a bottle of Thai whiskey (yup, bottle service in Bangkok!) and drank and partied some more before finally getting creeped out by the German and heading home at 4am. What made it even better was that I had blood streaming down my non-burn leg in two places... ahhh, the universal sign for a good night out ... blood and bruises and no idea how you got them! LOL. (Attn: Mom --small scrapes, I am fine).

Day 34 ::: Woke up late feeling a queasy from the night before. Did some final shopping, eating, emailing and relaxing. Wow, can't believe it's the last day of the trip! )-:

Day 35 ::: The longest day ever... we leave Bangkok at 8:30am, fly to Hong Kong and then to NYC. We won't arrive until 10pm NYC time (which is about 12 hours behind HK).

It's been an amazing five weeks... but it will be good to be home and see you all before I leave for Chicago. See you this weekend!
xoxox
W

And for those who want MORE pictures... click here: http://amazon.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1379kkan.9izemnz7&x=0&y=-k4t599

Summer in SE Asia ::: Part I

Day 1 (7/1/05) ::: I left Chelsea, NYC (thanks Zac!!) around noon and walked my first 8 blocks with my overstuffed backpack to Penn Station...damn, if its this hot in New York......... Decided to hit McDonald's for the second time that day.... ahhh the egg and cheese biscuit cures all hangovers and the food at the Cathay Pacific terminal at JFK is terrible. Oh well, I'm sure I won't see another McDonald's for the rest of the trip (-; The 16-hr flight went fairly well thanks to some Ambien and my lovely neck pillow. The most frightening part had to be waking up around 5am and being handed what appeared to be a normal bun. Oh no, welcome to Asia....land of the pork-filled pastries. The other white meat surprise had me awake in a hurry and so I decided to watch "Hitch" with Will Smith and then pass-out the rest of the way.

Day 2 ::: Landed in Hong Kong (HK) and met my old buddy Kim (from the NBA) at the train station. After our loving embrace we headed to her boyfriend Vincent's apartment in Happy Valley to unpack, shower and grab a quick bite to eat at Tasty Congee @ Noodle Wanton Shop downstairs. My first introduction to true Chinese food and of course it was filled with mysterious meats which I decided I would only view from afar. Veggies and noodles... here I come! Hopped a cab to Lan Kwai Fong, the part of HK with crazy kids, tourist and ex-pats. Walked from there to Soho to meet a friend of Kim's from the NBA HK office and hit a lounge called Linq for a few drinks with the owner, a model who kept bringing us shots. We left Linq and headed straight for CEO, an enormous Karaoke bar in Causeway Bay. Believe me, I've seen some Karaoke in my day including a trip to the Malalis' basement in Edison, NJ, but this was no joke. Four floors of private rooms (with bathrooms!!) and bottle service. Many hours, cocktails, and Britney songs later... we were absolutely shit-faced and ready for a late night stop in Wan Chai for chicken tikka kabobs at Ebeneezer's. First night... out till 5am... bring it on HK!!!

Day 3 ::: We finally rolled out of bed around 11:30am and headed out for a lovely Dim Sum lunch at Victoria City Seafood in the Citric Tower overlooking Victoria Harbour. After lunch I went on a hike with Vincent and his friend Bernard (Kim was too hungover to join us -wimp!) around Wong Nai Chung Resevior, part of which overlooked Repulse Bay. I was told that hiking in HK is about as common as it is in NYC so this was a special treat. After heading home, watching some old Tour de France videos and passing out, we grabbed a delicious Indian dinner in Kowloon. The Star Ferry ride across the river was amazing... HK's skyline at night is simply stunning. From there we headed to the train station to meet up with Hilary who had just arrived from NYC. SE Asia...watch out!!! Crazy Hilary is in the building!!

Day 4 ::: Neither Hilary nor I could get much sleep so we were up and out early to grab breakfast at Pacific Coffee (free internet!!!). We checked out some of the major buildings in Central and then took the tram up the steep part of HK to Victoria Peak which overlooks the entire north side of the island. We explored Central and Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) that afternoon and enjoyed the first of many "interesting" Chinese meals but the highlight had to be our first time using a"squatter" toilet. We've officially arrived. We walked along the TST promenade and later had dinner in Wan Chai at American Restaurant - don't laugh - it wasn't American food, it was Peking and was actually one of our best meals to date! After dinner we met up with a friend with a friend at a spot called Fong but didn't last too long... sorry Felix....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Day 5 ::: We were up early again and decided we already needed to lighten our load... let's send some of this shit home! Why in God's name did we pack jeans!?!?! It's 90+ degrees and 100% humidity! We explored things a bit by bus and visited the Man Mo Temple - it was pretty damn cool to watch them unravel HUGE coils of incense and hang them up for burning. A few more hours of walking earned us our first foot reflexology session at Health Creative Gallery in Happy Valley. Hilary was clenching her fists while I was drooling on myself. Our lunch after was no less eventful as we feasted on Dim Sum at a restaurant touting their "tit-bits" (that's not a typo) - LOL. Our lovely guests rented "The Killing Fields" for us so we spent the afternoon schooling ourselves on Cambodian history and enjoying some well-deserved time in the air-conditioned apartment. Dinner was another yummy Indian meal, this time at Jo-Jo in Causeway Bay.

Day 6 ::: What's a day without a Pacific Coffee breakfast and free internet? I don't know and I'm not going to find out. I certainly didn't want to eat congee (soupy rice with rando meat floating around) for breakfast anyway. Despite a somewhat shady stomach, we decided to take a trek to visit the Big Buddha on Lantau Island (one of the islands near HK). Little did we know we'd be on a rockin ferry boat for 30 minutes and a crazy bus ride for another hour after that. Seeing that GIGANTIC buddha in all his glory was well worth it. However, our first major moment of weakness on the trip... McDonald's for lunch. I know, I know, I know. I wanted to see if the Big Mac still tasted the same (-: Then, it was off to the airport to meet up with our third travel buddy, Jamie, and catch a flight to Bangkok, Thailand. Gotta love sitting at an airport bar in HK and looking up at the TV and seeing your friend on CNN talking about London winning the Olympics... I was dying!!! Way to go, JH, you superstar!! We arrived in Bangkok quite late and headed to our posh (at least for backpackers) hotel, the Viengtai, for at least one night in safe place.

Day 7 ::: Finally... a good night's sleep! And... and a free Thai/American breakfast buffet at the hotel. Gotta love seeing pancakes! The people of Thailand waste no time in welcoming you to their country. Well, attacking you for their transportation services is more like it. The "tuk-tuk" is the master of the road in Thailand (it's a motorbike with a cart) and before our first day was half through, we had already been attacked, swindled, lied to and god knows what else. We fought our way through it all and visited The Grand Palace and the Wat Phra Kaew (home to the Emerald Buddha) before going back to our hotel to SWIM IN OUR POOL and checkout. Gotta enjoy the amenities while they last! We wound up finding a great guesthouse for the next few days - United travelers Connection (UTC) - a favorite of the Israelis and a really cool place to sleep and spend some time. We spend the afternoon there drinking Coca-Cola and watching our first major rainstorm. After that we took in some more sites, grabbed some dinner and went to Ratchadamneon Stadium for Thai boxing matches. It's everything you would imagine - a steel cage, men beating the shit out of each other, more men betting on the other men beating the shit out of each other and 10-year olds selling beer. Sweet! Fun night out. If only that had been the end of our night...we spent 20 minutes outside the stadium fighting with tuk-tuk drivers who were either trying to scam us or refusing us service. It was a little hairy there for awhile, but we finally made it back to our guesthouse.

Day 8 ::: After breakfast on Khao San Road, we decided to set out on a tour of the city's canals by way of a long tail boat. It was me, Jamie, Hilary, two women from Holland and our driver. It was pretty eye-opening to see all of the people living along the canals, most of whom had no other means of transport other than the river. Throughout the tour we had vendors on kayaks coming up to us to sell us food and other items which was our first introduction to the floating markets. We jumped off our boat at Wat Arun (wat = temple) and were greeted by people manning the dock demanding money from us for landing... the Dutch quickly ran off and left us to pay. Nice. We crossed the river to visit Wat Po and enjoy 1-hour Thai massages ($6) at One Pho...oohhhhaahhhh! Thai massage is like a crazy ass yoga session...they beat you up and stretch you out... but we loved it. After that we accidentally crossed the river and while we were headed back across we took a picture at a wooden cutout before realizing that we were supposed to pay for it. Well, turns out we had VERY FEW baht (Thai money) left and basically had to run away without paying...whoops. Back on the other side we found a great riverside restaurant and made friends with the waitress Na Klin Kasorn who fed us sticky rice from her spoon, took pictures with us and kissed Jamie. She was awesome!!! We headed further down the river on the public boat (think subway at rush hour) and walked the streets of Silom and visited the Jim Thompson House. JT was an American (Princeton grad -woot!) who fell in love with Bangkok and decided to start a Thai silk company. He was extremely successful and seemingly well-liked by the Thai people. His home was amazing. We passed out for the rest of the night.

Day 9 ::: The most eventful day yet. Up at 6am to catch a bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The bus didn't leave until 8am but it was a fancy double-decker with AC and a TV so we thought we'd be ok. Well, we were wrong. We stopped way too many times and the bus had various engine problems that kept us from leaving each place. We finally arrived at the Thai/Cambodia border around 2:30pm and as we would soon find out, the trip was only getting started. The border is CRAZY!!!!! Rickshaws, naked babies, beggars, police, tourists... all in chaos. Once we made it through and boarded our next bus on the Cambodian side, we were told there were no ATMs in Cambodia (which is true) and that we had to change to Cambodian money because they wouldn't take anything else (which is not true). In all of the confusion, we fell for it and exchanged many of our dollars... BIG mistake since we got a terrible exchange rate and later found out that dollars are ACTUALLY PREFERRED. I'd still be thinking about that had it not been for the 7-hour ride in a rickety-ass bus on unpaved roads that came after the border-crossing. Easily the worst roads I've ever seen. We were literally bouncing up and down for hour after hour... it was so rough that we really had to channel Buddha for calm. The rest of the day and night was spent on Road 6 trying to avoid whiplash and enormous potholes while watching out the window for our first true experience with the rural third world. The poverty is what you'd imagine only worse... but with one surprise... these people have TVs! I really couldn't believe it. We stopped for dinner around 7pm and watched a massive storm roll through. It was pretty intense but we waited it out and got back on the bus for 4 more hours in the darkness and rain. We arrived in Siem Reap at 11pm in good spirits, glad to be alive. You can breath again mom, I said we made it (-:

Day 10 ::: Our first breakfast in Siem Reap was at a true local spot so of course we barely ate. Hilary and Jamie ordered pate bread not really thinking it was pate but of course it was. Yum. Um, no. They scraped it off and ate the bread while I munched on a few noodles pushing aside the sketchy meat floating around my bowl. We met our driver, Chen Da, and drove off to see Cambodia's crown jewels, the temples. The first day we saw Angkor Thom, Preah Khan, Angkor Wat (the most famous of them all) and Phnom Bakneng (where we watched the sunset with most of Siem Reap). On the way back from the temples we stopped at the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital to listen to a cello and piano concert then showered and walked to "Pub Street" in downtown Siem Reap. We ate dinner at The Big Buddha restaurant and were harassed all night by tiny children, babies and other beggars. So incredibly sad and although there is not much funny about the beggars and the landmine victims we did have a somewhat funny moment when Jamie was literally chased down the street by a man with no arms. The man obviously had a habit of "messing" with tourists and scaring the shit out of them... Jamie will never be the same. We ended the night with a few laughs and some beers at the Angkor What? bar before heading home.

Day 11 ::: We spent half a day at the temples, seeing Prasat Kravan, Sras Srang, Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm (where Tomb Raider was filmed) and Ta Keo and then enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at our guesthouse, the Golden Temple Villa. We had a late lunch on "Pub Street" at The Red Piano and then explored some of the markets. We couldn't resist stopping at Happy Herb Pizza for some "special" pizza and beer. The waiter asked us... "How happy do you want it?" LOL. I guess it was happy enough that we passed out the rest of the night at the guesthouse.

Day 12 ::: Off to Phnom Penh by bus, although this ride was much smoother than the last one! We checked into the Okay Guesthouse, a great little spot along the Bassac River and then headed straight to The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. That night was grabbed some food at the Mekong Rover restaurant - I had some great Khmer curry - and then checked out backpackers row near Boeung Kak Lake. It was actually pretty dead there but we found a great little music shop called The Boom Boom Room, which is run by a cool guy named Vin from SoCal. I guess he's making some good cash loading up ipods for people here. We chatted him up for a bit and then met another ex-pat named Niles who escorted us to a local joint, The Ginger Monkey, for a few beers. Pretty cool guy, a soph at a school in West Virginia here for the summer, who lived in Cambodia for five years while his mother worked at the embassy.

Day 13 ::: A pretty somber day as we toured Tuol Sleng (S21), the prison camp where many Cambodians were held before they were killed by the Khmer Rouge. We also visited The Choeungek Genocidal Center, the most visited killing field. Our tour guide was a survivor who described in great detail the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. The most striking visual beyond the mass graves and bones that still remain was the small children playing around the fields, seemingly without any idea that thousands of their countrymen and women were buried beneath their feet. After hitting the sites, we grabbed lunch at a place called Friends which actually trains street kids to work at the restaurant as cooks, waiters, etc. We had a bunch of different tapas and every dish was amazing!!! A very cool spot. It was nearly 4:30pm by that time so we stopped into the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) for a few cocktails on their rooftop. Apparently most of the FCC locations around the world are only open to journalists but this one welcomes the public so we took in the view of the river and enjoyed a few western beverages. Back to the guesthouse to chill out and use the internet (the last two hours spent emailing and typing this!). Off to Vietnam in the morning!

Day 14 ::: After sending out my first email I watched Mr. and Mrs.Smith in the common room of the guesthouse we were staying in in Cambodia...gotta love piracy! Woke up the next morning, grabbed some breakfast and hit the road again...this time to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam aka Saigon. The first leg of the trip (to the Cambodia/Vietnam border) was a relatively smooth four hours. On the way we met a nice chap from Chicago who had been traveling since January. Remind me in my next life to shirk all responsibilities and travel much more often! We had a quick bit to eat on the Cambodian side and then started the process of exiting one country and entering another... let me just say, there is nothing quite like crossing a border by foot. It took us two hours to walk about an 1/8 of a mile and get our passports stamped. I had heard about the red tape in Vietnam but certainly didn't expect that five different people would have to see my passport before I was allowed in. And... to top it off, everyone who passed had to give one of the guys a dollar! It was so obvious that it was his f%#king lunch money. I mean, why else would you have to pay a dollar after already clearing everyone else!!?!!? Another bus finally grabbed us on the other side and after another 2 hours we were in HCMC. After a long day of bus travel most people would quickly grab a guesthouse and rest. However we decided that today was the day that we were finally going to haggle for the best price since we had been over paying for almost everything. So...with our packs strapped on and 95 degree heat pounding us, we traipsed around the city looking for the best possible deal. We saw a few shitty places and a few nice ones and after trying our hand at negotiation with the Vietnamese we got bull-headed and wouldn't give in! We even walked out of a nice place over $1. Did I mention that every place we saw was up at least 3 flights of stairs!!?!? About an hour later and a loss of 5lbs each in water weight, we decided to go back to one of the first places and give in on the dollar. We go back and right before our eyes the room is sold and we are shit out of luck and about to pass out. We took the next place we saw, which was the crappiest one we'd seen the whole trip ... three days in that dump...we're still laughing about it. We showered and took a quick nap and headed to The Rex Hotel to meet some American friends, also traveling before business school. Apparently the past few years have been a bit kinder to them as their hotel was swanky! We guzzled a few on their rooftop bar and then hit a fun local joint called Quan An Ngon for dinner. It was a Vietnamese culinary adventure for sure -everything from spicy squid and beef to seafood stew - the food just kept coming and coming. There were more than a few funny faces made during the meal but I think everyone left with smile on their face and a full belly. Oh and the entire dinner for six cost about US $30 including drinks. After that we packed all 6 of us and the driver into one cab and hit fun spots. Lost in Saigon and Apocalypse Now. Only bummer was that we had to call it quits at midnight - apparently the gov't mandated an early close time in the past few years because of drug use. Boo.

Day 15 ::: We slept in a bit after the mass quantities of food and alcohol the night before and then did an impromptu walking tour of HCMC including the Cho Lon market, City Hall, Central Post Office and the War Remnants Museum. The museum is mostly US Army and Air Force vehicles, photos from the war and a bunch of stuff meant to graphically illustrate the impact of Agent Orange on the people of Vietnam. It was pretty intense seeing disfigured babies in formaldehyde, among other things but I wasn't surprised by the content or the presentation. To get back to our guesthouse, Jamie jumped on the back of a moto and Hilary and I decided to take cyclos (basically a bicycle with a big basket on the front)... you should of seen us laughing our asses off as we crossed through hundreds of motos on these little cyclos! That night we had a traditional (but gourmet) Vietnamese dinner at a place called Lemongrass before hitting Q-Bar and Saigon Saigon which is on the roof of the Caravelle hotel. We stayed there enjoying the view, a few cocktails and a Vietnamese band covering American songs until some crazy, wasted dudes started smashing beer bottles right behind us. We also had a few laughs at the older white people trying to work it out on the dance floor. Oh boy.