Supernova

Supernova
Originally uploaded by wootang71

The first rule of Thailand is: don't trust anyone trying to help you. The 2nd rule of Thailand is: don't trust anyone trying to help you. Sounds cold and harsh, but the reality is that in SE Asia, people will rip you off. Big if they can. It's nothing personal, it's just how street business is done. Get used to bargaining for everything. In Vietnam, vendors and cabbies were fairly blatant about fleecing travelers. In Thailand, they were so good that sometimes I didn't even know I was getting ripped off! Of course I can't say that everyone is trying to rip off travelers. But in my experience, those that are offering help will. Those that you have to approach for help are generally safe. Once I got past the "financial customs", I finally got to enjoy Thailand.

Koh Phangan was awesome. I've heard so many jaded travelers saying that Phangan is over run and just about parties. I can't think of any place in Thailand that doesn't have a good party. Being a major hub for travel in Asia, Bangkok is the jumping point for all sorts of destinations. And it's no secret about the Full Moon Party on Phangan. Which was exactly why we trekked over there. That said, Dave and Maria luckily booked our bungalows at a beach on the NE corner of the island. Most backpackers head for Baan Tai on the south to be close to Haadrin for the FMP. Problem is, the beaches there are non-existent. So there's not much to do other than party. Up on the north, I regrouped with Marcin, and finally Dave and Maria. The FMP was the FMP. Rolled in on a boat, stayed up as late as we could, everyone got separated, and we got really wasted. I still can't seem to figure out how i managed to get on the right boat back home. I do remember Maria making me bail 'cause we somehow resumed the party on her and Dave's porch with some Israelis, and some other randoms at 5am. But other than that, we did a whole lot of chilling on the beach, lots of drinking beer, and that's fine by me. We did venture into Thong Sala one Friday night to check out muay thai kick boxing matches with Mrs. Handsome.

After a week, it was time to part. Dave and Maria stayed while Marci and I headed for the docks. I was en route to Bangkok, he was going to Koh Tao. And this set up for an awesome day in the BKK.

By this time, my taste in music was going awry with Petshop Boys, Cyndi Lauper, and all sorts of 80's dance pop sneaking out of the pizzle. Thailand does that to a person.

SE Asia: Cheap Eats

Apparently He Said A Lot of Things
Originally uploaded by wootang71

One thing I like about developing countries is that commodities have to be cheap. Commodities like food and water. I like food. A lot. Cheap food is only better. And in south east Asia, where there's a lot of not so rich people, the food is cheap and fantastic. I remember getting great eats in Vietnam for 12,000vnd, which is like $0.70. So I'd buy 2 meals and eat them both. I'm always down for local food and i'm conscious of trying to not eat food I can get at home (although i'm a sucker for pizza. But who isn't?). Many travelers were weary of eating at sketchy street vendors or restaurants, which is fair enough. Diarrhea ruins people's days. Especially in a country that commonly uses squat pots sans toilet paper. But after my ridiculous case of Bali Belly, I felt a bit invincible and often chowed anywhere I deemed local and authentic.

From the observation of cheap commodities, I came up with a little theory: one can gauge the average wealth of a country by the wealth of their chefs. In a poor country, food must be inexpensive. In a wealthier country, luxury food items can exist. Because of this inverse nature, my theory is that chefs in developing countries are more likely to not be rich, if even exist at all. I can't name any famous chefs from developing countries. But in a wealthier region like, say, Europe, being a chef is an esteemed position. After further research and discussion, I found out that this theory of mine already exists. It's called the Big Mac Index.

This was Marci's party shirt. Apparently Bon Jovi said a lot of things. For me, Bon Jovi reminds me of 2 things: the year 1986, and a little Argentinian girl who kept playing Bon Jovi on our roadtrips. Also a bit of Enrique Iglesias. Sumbawa also marked our love affair with the movie, Superbad. VHS or Beta got the pizzle time.

All Night in Singapore

Gatito
Originally uploaded by wootang71

10 days surfing sumbawa was not enough for me, but we apparently left at the right time as the swell dropped to nil. however, it seems to me that "flat" in indo just means not overhead. i had 2 awesome sessions at pipe on "flat" days. once back on bali, we stayed at a hotel that had a crazy french guy who pretty much scared us into moving to the next hotel down the street where i scored the pink flops. thought the indo kids were gonna jump me for my dunks. sold my board and caught a flight out just as steve and arri pulled in from sumbawa earlier that same day. flew out to the legendary singapore airport which sports a hotel, pool, free internet access, cinemas, and lots of shopping. the plane was scheduled to arrive at 2am and my connecting flight to vietnam was 11am. so i was stoked on the idea of crashing at the hotel. but the way it works, to get our bags from the flight, we had to pass through immigration. the hotels are located inside immigration, which means we need a boarding pass to access the area with the hotel. at 2am, none of the flight desks were open, which means no boarding pass. which means we were stuck at the check in desks of the airport all night. when i say we regarding singapore, i mean me and this french girl, lorean. we met in the bali airport heading to singapore and ended up small talking until 6am since neither of us had anything better to do or anywhere to go.

this guy is gatito. he was my little buddy during marcin's birthday dinner at the captain's restaurant. then gatito started nursing my neck. weird. by singapore, belle and sebastian were playing through the pizzle.

SE Asia, take 1

Now that I'm back in San Diego, i have a bit of time (and my computer) to reflect on what the hell happened in the last 6 weeks. South East Asia is unlike any place i've ever been to before. it's the little things: the bargaining, the traffic, the smells, the food, the traveling. and then there's "bigger" things like squat pots, no toilet paper, and sketchy street food. but during and after, i'm happy with the trip and it was an awesome experience. i'll try to glance on the highlights in the next several blog posts. but for length's sake, most of it will be in my brain fart format.

indonesia. first thing in indo, marci was waiting at the airport with a taxi full of surfboards. i go from 24 hours traveling on planes straight to super low-tide dry reef uluwatu at sunset. the booties i hate so much saved my skin, literally. getting bali belly a week in. learning how fins can be too big. reflexology massages rule. high tide balangan. going to denpasar and seeing local prices. scooting around. mio's were cool, but vario's were way faster. indo chili sauce on rice and fish. ty and monchaya. marchi-face. driving on the left side while dealing with bali traffic. corne jumping the golf course gate. our flight to sumbawa being changed to 2 hours EARLIER. Aman Gati. lakey peak was my favorite. getting cleaned up at nungas. just the boys at periscopes. senorita silvia. what would jc do? 2 days of straight bintang time. esther, my bintang lady. internet connection shoddy at best. power outages. indo is 3rd world. having to off road 'cause it was smoother than on-road. no hot water means not showering the entire time in indo. gatito nursing my neck. rolling 3 deep on the vario. the aussie steps. pink slops. crazy french guy at the hotel. who eats breakfast with a sword? surya's house at bingin. tweaking my back 3 days in. getting hobbit feet. dry reef walks in the afternoon. the sea horse at nungas got me caught inside. i'm not japanese! avocado juice. solo sessions at pipe.

here's marchi and me freestylin' during a sunset bintang time. sumbawa, indonesia. at that time, i could NOT stop listening to hip hop and rap, specifically N.W.A, some big pun, some biggie.