Vietnam VI: Sapa Road Trip

After the trek hung out in Sapa for a couple days playing online poker. It's a good place to chill. Then rented a scooter and went on a little road trip with a couple Austrian travelers.

Vietnam V: Sapa

Sapa is a picturesque mountain town in NW Vietnam near the Chinese border, an overnight bus ride from Hanoi. It is surrounded by terraced fields and inhabited by ethnic minorities, mostly Hmong and Dao.

Vietnam IV: Hanoi & Ha Long Bay

It took well over a year into my trip to reach Vietnam. I believe I stated in a previous entry that Vietnam is the Asia I envisioned when leaving home. This trend began with the canals in the Mekong Delta and continued though out the country. As a traveler Hanoi has to rank as one of the very best cities to visit in SE Asia. After having already been to more than a dozen major Asian cities, Hanoi is what I had been anticipating from the start, but never found.

Vietnam III: Nha Trang & Hoi An

Went to the coastal town of Nha Trang after Dalat. Only planned to stay for a day but ended up there for 2. Walked down the beach with a fellow traveler with the idea of doing a cable car to an island if it wasn't too pricey.

Vietnman II: Mui Ne & Da Lat

From Saigon I headed North to Mui Ne which is a resort town on the beach. The high season begins in December so the town was kind of dead but I got to relax and play poker for a couple nights overlooking the ocean. After a great start in Saigon I wasn't as profitable in Mui Ne, or profitable at all I should say. But hard to complain when this is your office

Vietnam I: Saigon & Mekong Delta

When I went to Chiang Mai I thought I was going to end up skipping Vietnam and  straight to China. I got my Pokerstars account reinstated and off to a terrible start so decided a change of scenery was in order. Just starting my Vietnam trip but very happy to be here, definitely the right decision.

It is always cool to enter a new country and gain a first impression. India needs birth control, Indonesia is corrupt  etc. Saigon is a river of motorcycles. And I thought Indonesia has a lot

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I spent nearly a month in Phnom Penh, Cambodia mostly playing poker at Naga World Casino. I played decent, not great and ran very poorly taking 7 sessions to hit my first draw (sick!) but managed to break even overall. Not the expectations I had but such is the life.

 As of several years ago nearly 60% of Cambodians lived on less than $2 a day. It's a poor country with a very dark recent history. Leaving the casino is the first time in any of my travels I have ever not felt safe. It is a vulnerable feeling getting into a tuktuk late at night with 1-2 years salary in your pocket for the average Cambodian. While in Phnom Penh there was a string of robberies involving foreigners leaving the casino late at night. Then the police caught the suspect in the act, a chase ensued as he fled on a motorbike. He then pulled over, shot and killed both police officers and escaped. I had planned to stay a few more weeks in Phnom Penh but I decided to skip town. Phnom Penh certainly has an edge to it, truth is I loved the city and all its craziness. I want to make clear the only time I felt unsafe or vulnerable is when leaving the casino. 

Sunrise on the Mekong River

The Cambodian Village Girl

While in Siem Reap Tom and I went to a local bar/restaurant near our guest house. The hostess Aleac took a liking to Tom and he invited her for lunch the next day. I wasn't there but during lunch she invited us to visit her village 9 hours from Siem Reap in Prey Veaeng province near the Vietnam border. Later that night Tom asked if she could get the next night off of work since it was our last night in Siem Reap. We had to ask the owner permission and he informed us it was her birthday! If we threw her a birthday party at the bar she could have the night off. Neither of us believed it was really her birthday, I set the odds at 1/365 and told Tom "don't fuck up my village experience". We didn't know who was coming but for $50 Tom was getting  birthday cake, food, and 6 beer towers. Not a bad deal.

Tom was throwing a fraudulent party, I was getting drunk, and we were going to the village!

Siem Reap, Cambodia: Angkor Wat

In Macau I met Tom, a fellow poker player and invited him to join me in Cambodia. We flew to Bangkok for 2 uneventful nights then it was onto Cambodia. I always have my guard up at border towns and Poipet was one of the shadier I have been to mostly because there was no buses running or marked taxis and obviously everybody fighting for your business. I had to tell Tom to quit being so Canadian and stop talking to  everybody, they don't want to be your friend. Eventually after about an hour we took a car to Siem Reap. I didn't like the situtation, but the driver ended up being really nice and just wanted the business  though I never trusted him until we arrived at the guest house

Siem Reap is is home to the temples of Angkor, according to many the top site in SE Asia. To say I have seen too many temples over the past year in Asia is an understatement, but I was obviously looking forward to Angkor Wat. Having already been to the other top contenders (Borobudur in Indonesia and Bagan in Myanmar) I wanted to see how she stacked up!

The night we arrived a Tuk Tuk driver was trying to get our business. I said I was going to sleep, he left his number with reception. I woke up at 11am and Tom told me the driver was waiting downstairs. Asked him what for, we never agreed to anything. Said he had been there since 7am waiting for us. We did need a driver, so we hired him for 3 days. Ended up being very friendly, a trend that has continued with tuk tuk drivers in Cambodia. They are extremely persistent and willing to work for dirt cheap, in the end they've all ended up being really great. Tom the beady eyed flapping headed Canadian says I need to be more trustful of people

Our Tuk Tuk driver Va

Macau

After "Black Friday" eliminated the ability of American players to play online poker I was left with a few options. In the end I decided to fly to Macau, the poker capital of Asia and the gambling capital of the world. When I arrived I got off to a decent start. At one point I was up about $2,500 US after all expenses paid. Then I began playing a little less as my social life grew. I also went on a little downswing taking a couple 3 outers in 2+ buy in pots, having sets cracked and had a couple sessions with nobody but myself to blame where I played absolutely awful. I ended up leaving Macau about even but with a brand new camera. That was far short of my goal, however, far from the worst case scenario which would have placed me on a flight back to Los Angeles. Now I have decided to fly to Bankok and travel back to Macau overland, expecting to take about 12-14 weeks playing some poker in Cambodia. With funds still locked up on Tilt I am still playing on the edge and must do well, but I have the confidence I will eventually make it all the way to Moscow overland stopping everywhere along the way. Those entries will be for another day, time to cover Macau.

Obviously the biggest news is that I upgraded from a point and shoot camera that fits in my pocket to a digital SLR. The pictures in this entry will be mixed between the 2 but the majority of pictures from here on out should be with my new camera so hopefully the image quality will be much improved. I am still an amateur getting use to my new toy but over time my skills should improve

New Camera: Canon EOS 600D / Rebel T3i
New Lens: Canon EF-S 15-85mm IS USM

Macau was a Portuguese colony until it was handed back to China in 1999. As a result it is a mix of Chinese and Portuguese culture

Chiang Rai, Thailand: Road Trip

After Myanmar I made plans to return to Chiang Mai, Thailand and stay with Freddy who I had previously stayed with in Bandung, Indonesia. He is the one who went to Banda Aceh a week after the tsunami, I posted some of his pictures earlier. He is now in Chiang Mai volunteering with a humanitarian organization dealing with the Burmese. I had originally planned to hang out and play poker for a few weeks but after "Black Friday" that was no longer an option

Freddy was hosting a few other Couchsurfers and they invited me to join them on a road trip to the Golden Triangle. They intended to do the Mae Hong Son loop as well but I had already done that so agreed to accompany them for the beginning of their ride.

Myanmar 6/6: Inlay Lake

Covering 45 square miles Inlay Lake is the 2nd largest in Myanmar

Myanmar 5/6: Hill Tribe Trek

From Bagan I took a bus to Kalaw where I did a 3 day/2 night trek to Inlay lake. Was a truly wonderful experience. I had been trying to do hill tribe treks in both Northern Thailand and Laos but for various reasons it never worked out for me. In the end can't imagine either place being a better location than Myanmar

separating tea leaves

Myanmar 4/6: Bagan

After the boat trip I took a bus to Bagan, one of the top sites in SE Asia along with Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Borobudur in Indonesia (posted earlier in blog). Bagan was the top site I wanted to see in Asia when I left home. The ruins cover 16 square miles and possess over 2000 pagodas

Myanmar 3/6: Irrawaddy boat ride from Myitkyina

I only spent 2 days in Mandalay and then took a 21 hour train ordinary class up to Myitkyina for the purpose of taking a boat for 4 days down the Irrawaddy River back to Mandalay.

from the train

Myanmar 2/6: Mandalay

From Yangon I took an overnight bus to Mandalay. I didn't have a guide book but everybody else did. The Lonely Planet listed the ride at 12-15 hours, it only took 9 hours. A theme that would continue throughout the trip. Maybe a sign of improved infrastructure over the past couple years since publication

Myanmar: Mandalay

With a population of 1 million Mandalay is the 2nd largest city in Myanmar sitting on the East bank of the Irrawaddy River. In the middle of the city is Mandalay Palace surrounded by a moat. These are the walls

Myanmar 1/6: Yangon

After over a month off from traveling I was amped to get back on the road. Even more excited due to the destination being Myanmar. She exceeded expectations and was absolutely incredible. Reminded me why I love traveling as the people impressed at every turn. Older traverlers commonly say you should have seen Vietnam 30 years ago, or Laos is how Cambodia was 20 years ago etc. Well I was certainly late to Laos just as I was 20 years late to Eastern Europe. Not Myanmar! I took a ton of pictures and will likely post them in 6 parts as my trip had 6 distinct places, each worthy of their own post. Hopefully everybody enjoys and most will learn some things about a forgotten land.

Guessing many don't know what Myanmar looks like so I will post a map. I didn't know where any of the cities were until I looked at a map for the first time the night before my flight! ha.

Laos

I Crossed into Laos from Chiang Kong, Thailand. View across the border into Laos (Mekong river). It got off to a rocky start when I went to the ATM only to learn that I had apparently lost my debit card. I had already spent all but 14 of my emergency US dollars, mostly on visas.  Luckily I was still with Joyce who I did the Mae Hong Son loop with and she saved the day. I would later contact my Mom and have her Western Union me some money.

Mae Hong Son Loop: 7 Day Road Trip in Northern Thailand

While playing poker in Chiang Mai I saw a post in the CS group from Joyce a friendly Dutch asking if anybody was interested in doing the Mae Hong Son Loop. I didn't know what it was but I hadn't done a whole lot other than play poker in the previous 15 days since India so it sounded like an excellent idea so I joined her. We each rented a scooter and did it in 7 days, stopping for 3 nights in Pai and 2 in Mae Hong Son along the way. Best part is she did all the planning (I think she expected more of me in that department). It got off to a shaky start as Joyce crashed her scooter the first day (wasn't part of the plan). I was behind her and thought the worst when I saw her face plant after hitting the ground but she only hit her helmet and was ok. Though the rest of the way she drove very slow! Safety First :)

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Spent about 10 days couchsurfing in Bangkok over Christmas and New Years Eve then headed to Chiang Mai.

This is the only picture I have to offer of Bangkok. I was really impressed by this squatter. 

Chiang Mai is North of Bangkok and home to 300 temples. It is super touristy and full of Westerners, both tourists and expats/retirees. After India I wont complain. Actually I love Chiang Mai, dig the wifi everywhere, good food and ease of everything. Also some huge outdoor markets/bazaars here.

Rented a scooter for a couple days and visited some Buddhist Temples. The temples in Nepal didn't have all the dragons etc. These look like Chinese temples to me, not that I know what I'm talking about. So I'll just post pictures

Agra, India (Taj Mahal)

I am pretty good at long distance travel but gotta admit the jeep ride from Srinagar to Jammu (Kashmir) was pretty awful. Due to the 24 hour curfew and large military presence it took a long time to get out of Srinagar. About 8 hours in we got pulled aside at yet another check point to be searched by the military. Thankfully after only searching one bag they decided to stop, I had a train to catch! Then we pulled over several times because a passenger had to vomit. After 10 hours of mountain driving I was feeling a little shitty myself. Ended up making it to the train station at 11:25pm, 20 minutes before my train. Was sleeping on the train at 3:30am and a Punjab police officer wakes me up, he wants to search my backpack. Irritating, I hate the police in general and don't appreciate having all my valuables (laptop etc) pulled out on a train in the middle of the night with 8 passengers watching everything, but nothing I can do. Then, I have no idea what time it is but I am sleeping and the same cop wakes me up, he says "are you sleeping?". "Yes, what". "Good, sleep". Then at about 11am he comes by again and tries to shake my hand, wtf. I just gave him a dirty look. Long story short train arrives 4 hours late to Agra past 10pm, almost 23 hours on the train, w/e. After 37 hours I just wanted to go get a quiet room w/ some privacy.

Kashmir

Took an 8 hour bus at 11am to Jammu, Kashmir (Hindu section). Worst traffic jam ever, bus must have turned off his engine 30 times along the way ( I'd let it idle w/e). Went to a restaurant for 2 hours across from the bus station. Everybody was curious to talk to me, was a great welcome to Kashmir. Then back on an 8 hour overnight bus to Srinagar (Muslim Kashmir). 

This place is heaven on earth. The 1,400 house boats on Dal Lake use to be a very popular place for both English and Indians to vacation. Over the past 20 years political tension, violence, occasional 24 hour curfews etc. have limited tourism making it affordable for somebody on a budget like myself. I have been reading the Kashmiri newspapers the past couple weeks, soo interesting. Long story short after the 1947 partition of India the Kashmir region was divided. Pakistan and India control roughly 40% each, China has a 20% slice. The people identify as Kashmiri and want their own state. This territory is the focal point of the tension between Pakistan and India. When tensions do flare and people speak of nuclear war between the two countries it is over this region. The Indians have deployed troops in order to quell separatist extremist. Most of the violence in the city I am in takes place between the Indian soldiers and separatist who want them out. The locals usually make like the Palestinians and throw rocks but there have been many casualties over the past 20 years, over 100,000. The troops are not going anywhere, depends who you ask there is a minimum of 250,000 Indian troops in Indian controlled Kashmir

Amritsar, India: Golden Temple

Arrived in Amritsar at 8am, the holiest place in Sikhism. I usually hate holy cities, they are interesting to visit for a couple days but I don't leave with much new found respect. Anybody who has ever been to the Old City in Jerusalem for example knows the whole thing is a giant market. You feel like your purpose for being there is so the locals can extract money from you. Similar held for Varanasi, India.
I first noticed a difference the moment I stepped on the train with all the pilgrims wearing turbans headed to Amritsar. A teenager approached me and told me his family has 4 berths (24 beds) and offered me dinner, told him I had just eaten. That is one thing that bothered me some in India, I shared compartments for several hours with families on two occasions who had big pots full of rice, potatoes, curry etc. but never offered to share. The weird part is that I never expected them to. Could run off a list of countries where that would never ever happen, nobody would ever eat in front of you like that in most places I have been. I know i wouldn't.
Anyway, arrived at the train station and took the free bus to the Golden Temple. The Temple offers free accommodation (donations accepted) to both Sikh pilgrims and tourists. Then there is a kitchen with 24 hour free food. You are not forced into walking past hundreds of stalls selling shit like at Borobudur (largest Buddhist temple in the world in Indonesia) or in Jerusalem etc. This is how a holy place should be! 

Rishikesh, India: 12 days in Hindu Ashram

After 2 buses with a border crossing inbetween, 2 trains, a rickshaw and 36 hours I made it to Rishikesh. 2nd class on the trains, Ghandi style, sleeping on the floor. 


I was on an 8 hour and 10 hour train, both jam packed over capacity without a seat. Should have been taking pictures along the way when it was day, but only snapped a bunch of shots over the course of about 10 minutes. Here are a few from the door of the train in India (between Lucknow and Haridwar)

Annapurna Circuit Part II: 17 days trekking in Nepal

Day 10 Continued:

Many people found the 5500 foot descent to Muktinah more challenging than the climb up, it is definitely harder on the knees. It is less exhausting so I was happy to be able to walk for more than a couple minutes without having to stop to catch my breath...

Annapurna Circuit Part I: 17 days trekking in Nepal

The Annapurna Circuit is considered one of the greatest walks in the world and after doing it I can see why. Virtually everything about it is perfect. Everything slowly unveils itself. It begins in Besisahar at 820 meters (2690 ft) walking along the river through rice fields. You continue to climb through the different zones into forests, then yak country, getting increasingly crisper glimpses of massive snow covered peaks. After about 8 days you are over the tree line looking over the clouds where only rocks and minerals are found. Up and over the pass at 5416 meters (17,769feet). Then a 5,500 foot descent in the same day to Muktinah where you get your first clear view of Dhaulagiri, the 7th highest peak in the world (26794 ft./8167 m.). Wasn't until about day 15 or 16 when a full panorama view of both the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges opens itself to you. A well deserved and respected view after 2 weeks of walking!

The landscape is breath taking. The mountains are so incredible steep, something I don't expect to come across in the pictures. I believe only in Nepal can you hike 5,700 feet of vertical in one day, wake up early and do another 1,000 in order to watch the sun rise and be told you are on top of a fucking hill!! (Poon Hill). But this is no wild nature walk. The entire time you are walking from village to village, passing herds of goats, Tibetan stupas etc. All of the villages are admittedly touristy, offering food and lodging to hoards of trekkers, but their life several days walking away from the nearest road is no cake walk. It's a fascinating culture that adds an incredible dimension to the trek. 

Nepal

Off to Nepal!!! I was concerned about my passport because I decided to leave it in my pant pocket and give it a wash, smeared my India stamp along with others. However, when the immigration looks like this a smeared stamp is not a problem. Jesica, a Swedish girl that I took the bus with from Varanasi (22 hours) had more of an issue than me. The Nepal side said the "8" for the exit date from the Indian side did not look like an 8 (October 8). We had to go back to the Indian immigration and ask them to make it look like an 8, they dicked around for a while until I finally took a pen and give it to her to do herself. We also had issue because Indian Immigration asked us for 50 rupees each ($1.10). There is no fee, when asked the reason he said because we wanted a stamp HA corrupt fuck, but he was correct, we did need the stamp and it's not really worth arguing over a dollar when he has your passport in his hand imo. 

Varanasi, India

Varanasi, a "city situated on the banks of the River Ganges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is regarded as a holy city by Buddhists and Jains, and is the holiest place in the world in Hinduism (and center of earth in Hindu Cosmology). It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and probably the oldest of India" (Wikipedia). There isn't any amazing site or Temple here. The best thing to do in Varanasi is people watch, get lost in the alleyways and try to take in Hindu culture. I stayed for 5 nights wondering the streets. It is a truly fascinating place, hopefully this will come across some in the pictures.

Darjeeling, India

From the University I went to Darjeeling for a weekend. The drive up the mountain got me excited for impending trip to Nepal, I was psyched to enter the Himalayas for the first time, the range with the 100+ highest peaks in the world. From Darjeeling there is a view of Kanchenjunga, the 3rd highest peak in the world behind K2 and Everest. There is also a view point near by where Everest can be seen. Sadly, I did not see shit. There were clouds my entire time there which is why now is not the high season, and why I am waiting for what is said to be prime time to trek in Nepal (Oct/Nov). If the skies look like this on my trek I will be utterly disappointed, but I will be returning to the Himalayas so will not complain about my trip to Darjeeling. 

West Bengal, India

The road to India was long. Took a ferry for 1/2 hours, 1 hour bus, tuk tuk, 13 hour train, 7 1/2 hour bus for a grand total of 29 hours to get from Koh Samui, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Had my last drinks with Jeeva and Vina then the flight to Kolkata.

Showed up in India with the following information:
"Volvo bus to city center by Royal Cruiser. 5 routes, 3 prices (20/40/60) -> outside arrival at DOMESTIC terminal, from INTL turn left and walk 800 meters. Fuck the taxis, bunch of sheisty bitches

Sudder Street Area = Budget hotels"

Singapore, KL & South of Thailand

From Jakarta I flew to Singapore which was overall uneventful. Wish I had couchsurfed there, would have made it a better experience and I would have spent way less money. The only major occurrence is I made the first large change in plans and decided to alter course and head to Nepal in order to do the Annapurna Circuit. This would also add India as flying into Kathmandu is expensive

Indonesia: Bandung and Jakarta

When I arrived in Bandung, Indonesia my host Freddy picked me up from the train station on his motorcycle.He would end up being one of my favorite hosts I've ever had. He bought me a welcome dinner and it turns out he has many fascinating stories and experiences. Over dinner I learned he lived in Banda Aceh on Sumatra for 4 years. Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that has Sharia law.Complete with the special police who come around making sure everybody is covered and beards are being grown, talibanesque! Freddy didn't have to worry about that though, he can flash his license that shows he is a Christian. This is something that bothers me about Indonesia. All the citizens have their religion on their identity cards.
Banda Aceh was hit very hard by the 2004 tsunami. Prior to the tsunami it was a conflict zone fighting for its independence form Indonesia. Since the tsunami they have made a peace agreement and are now a "special territory" with some autonomy. One of the few positives of the tsunami

Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Prambanan & Borobudur

After Malang I headed to Yogyakarta, the center of Javanese culture and home to both Borobudur and Prambanan temples. I stayed at a University for 7 nights with 19 year old Muslim student. He is really a fantastic and caring host though quite young. Staying in a dormitory at a Muslim school is obviously very different from the West. I never saw a female my entire stay there. Instead I could hear kids singing karaoke at 6:30 in the morning (having just woken up, not from being up all night).

On July 31st 2010 I went to Prambanan temple. I copy and pasted the below info from Wikipedia

Prambanan is the ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple compound located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta city on the boundary between Yogyakarta and Central Java province. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, currently is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia. It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples.

Bromo volcano complex in Indonesia

From Bali I went to Malang on the island of Java, the most populated in Indonesia. The bus ride was supposed to be 9 hours but ended up being closer to 15. It included a short ferry ride between the islands.

In Malang I surfed with Imke and her family which was amazing. The hospitality in Indonesia is world class! Here is the view from our front door.

                                            

Bali, Indonesia

After Israel I went to Egypt for several days, mostly relaxing in Dahab, a backpackers paradise on the Red Sea. From Cairo I had a 12 hour stop over in Doha, Qatar. Flew right over downtown with a window view, futuristic city. Tried to leave the airport to walk around for a few hours, visa was 31 dollars. No problem, don't know if I will ever be in Qatar again. Then they say I need to also book a hotel from the airport prior to going through immigration. fuck that! I just want to walk around for a few hours. So no Doha

Had an 11 hour stopover in Bangkok. Went to the city for about 6 hours. Found this guy (on right) playing some classic rock covers and had a few beers before returning to the airport for my 6am flight to Densepar, Bali.

Israel

I started my current trip June 16th 2010 on Birthright in Israel. Birthright aka Taglit is a free 10 day tour of Israel provided to Jews aged 18-26 who have never had an educational experience in Israel. It is a superb trip and was a splendid way to get myself half way around the world. Everybody who has the opportunity should take advantage. After birthright I spent several more days in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem before going to the West Bank for 6 days. I had been to Israel once before but Birthright provided a greater opportunity to see the country.
Religious or not the history and politics of Israel are fascinating. Covering it all requires a tremendous amount of detail from various perspectives and an expertise of the region. My goal is to present the state of Israel by giving some background to the pictures I am sharing. I fully realize every comment can be both expounded upon and countered. Explaining the complexities of the region or supplying solutions are not the purpose of this post. I do hope to spark an interest in you, the reader.

Final day with my dad

On Sunday December 14th 2008 at 20:45 military time my beloved father passed away at the Sepulveda Veterans Hospital in North Hills California. On this day I lost the person dearest to me whom will live on in my mind forever. Nearly two years ago he was diagnosed with the small cell lung cancer that grew to puncture the blood vessel that erupted into a pool of blood before my eyes, and stole the man responsible for both my creation and methods of existence. He molded my virtues, morals and world views; he made me who I am. My father and I were always extremely close. When my parents got separated (and eventually divorced) when I was 8 years old I chose to live with him, he was the most preeminent figure in my life.