SO much has changed since we last spoke. The changes are drastic, the goals unparallelled..

I cannot decide which I like more, is it Angkor Wat or Angkor beer? Angkor Beer I suppose. Kidding. I got you good didn't I. 11 century temples built for Lord Vishnu, or were they built in order to decay for thousands of years so that Hollywood's Tomb Raider could be filmed there. It is interesting to see that the Hindu religion, which has a much greater concentration of following in India, practically non existent here, had such force in the past. Although the temples were converted to Buddhist temples years after their original construction, the Indian government has donated money in order to repair and maintain the temples. Good on you India.

The temples and caves in Elora, India, has a very similar feel. The stone seemed similar and although they are different they are quite the same. 'Same same but different', a slogan of south-east Asia. Backpackers and locals alike both wear t-shirts bearing the slogan. The language barrier that exists diminished when you reach this point thought, 'oh i get it, it is similar but different.' I think you get what I am saying.

Siem Reip is pretty great but it is orientated toward tourists visiting for the sole purpose of going to ankor.

I took the bus to Bangkok yesterday and am continuing this blog from here. Bangkok, bangkok is crazy ...So much action all the time... I have been lacking on the photos I know but there will be more to come soon.

I honestly cannot think right now, I am going to publish this thing right now and hope for the best. Hopefully I will have time to write more soon.

The adventure is never ending . The temples, the fortresses, the cities with millions of people.

Keeping up with this thing is not as easy as it once was but still it's worth it. I am currently in Cambodia, the south in Sihanoukville to be more precise. Cambodia is sweet. All the people, like so many of the people from other countries I have recently visited, are so welcoming and genuine. Crossing the boarder from Loas was an event, there is a lot of corruption. A dollar here and a dollar there just for a little stamp from guards, police, medical checkpoints all of which are supposed to be free. They are not free and there is no way of avoiding them. Pay immediately or wait and hold up a line of people and eventually have to pay anyway. So you get to the first exit point of loas and for an exit stamp you must pay 2$, for a stamp that says you've left the country. It was 3$ for me cause I had lost my departure card. The guard I was originally talking to sighed and went to hand me another departure card to fill out but before that could happen his superior officer took another dollar from me and slipped into his pocket and told the officer I was talking to to give me the stamp and move me along. Sweet, if only I could pay a dollar instead of filling out form for the rest of my life, oh wait that is probably a lot of money in the end so... I am undecided. So I am told to walk about 500m to the Cambodian border crossing but before i reach it I have to pay another dollar to go through a medical check point, h1n1 gets you ever time. Lucky i was getting low on money so Sarah and I only paid a dollar for the two of us. Next is the visa 23$. I thought is was only 20$ well it is Sunday and they don't want to be at work, i should have guessed, bamb 23$. As long as I get into the country that I am trying to and out of the one I was just in I will be happy, so I got the visa, YES! I am told to walk a few more feet to a police check point. Oh wait, i had two passport pictures so I was alright but if i hadn't of had them it would have been another 2$. Okay so i am at the police check point and I have got to fill in another form and give them another two dollars, well I don't have a penny on me. Nothing, not a dollar, not a kip, not a riel. So I sit for 15 min and then they stamp the form in a very displeased manner and send me on my way.
Nice, welcome to Cambodia!
Phenom Phen, I call in P.P. or Phenom, we have that kind of relationship. A very happening city. Anything is possible here but you will just have to take my word for that casue I am not going into detail.

Before that though i was in the 4000's islands which was really beautiful. Oh and I rode an elephant for 2 hours one morning in Tad lo, Loas. It was like 8 a.m. and I was certain that this elephant was thinking, 'damn i hate the early shift.' Huge massive beautiful beasts. Towering over me. I pet him, yes it was a him, and it was so nice and friendly. Our guide was great, he was so nice to the elephant, and rode on top with us.

Too much has happened since my last post to fill anyone in in any tactful way considering my timed internet usage and financial status. Actually money is looking pretty good but I'd much rather spend it on massage and dollar beers then internet.

Souther Loas was filled with huge waterfalls. The largest one in the south is 120 m high. I tried to get a picture of it and slipped off the path, which at the top of it had a warning sigh,'dangerous.' Opps, so i slipped and was hanging off this dry brush over this cliff. I was alone, well kind of, Sarah was at the top of the hill. Anyway I am trying to grab anything that i think will hold but everything is just ripping out of the ground. I am relaxed about it now but I was flipping out for a moment. Finally i found a root which was strong enough. i am damn lucky i can lift my weight with one arm cause other wise i definitely would have been stuck.well, it is over and I am alive and well writing to you.

Another huge waterfall had the best swimming hole at it's bottom, so nice and refreshing in the 40 degree heat.

Okay so now it is into Cambodia. The first day in Phenom Phen, I went to the Pol Pot regime's killing fields and s-21 a famous torture facility used in the genocide of the Cambodian people 30 years ago. Words cannot really do justice to the feeling you get entering these places. In the killing fields you see bone and teeth half buried in the dirt, a monument of 8000 skulls has been build for the victims of the fields. That was heavy enough so I left after a few days to chill by the beach for a little while. The beach here is alright, good night life. Tomorrow I am heading to an island off the coast for a few days, nice beaches, snorkeling, bamboo huts and coconut palms.

"Chris, man, you have been going for a while. How much longer are you traveling for?"
Chris smiles and takes a sip of his cold beer, "I am not traveling anymore, I am on vacation."

Loas. What a country. Another rushed post. I hit loas after a 23 hour bus ride from Vietnam. I will admit fully that the Loas people are much nicer than the people from Vietnam but that is neither here nor there and I am not in any position to judge a entire nation after only 30 days. The Loas people are clam, they believe in getting by each day and act according to this philosophy. They have not taken to their neighbors fast-pace economic growth but do have the potential.

I waited at the border of Loas from 4 hours. It was 3:30 a.m. when I got there. The border does not open until 7:00. They turned off the bus, hence the A.C. and there we sat. 46 people in a bus without a.c. in 35 degree heat. I laid on the dirty bus floor to try to get some shut eye while many others simply walked outside and slept on the grass or surrounding pavement.

Vitentiene was the first city, and the nation's capital, that I explored. Some of the pictures I posted a few days ago were from there. I am actually back here/there now. Only in transit after another night bus. This one is one you must hear about. Now I admire a people who are relaxed and do not stress too much about upcoming days and financial stresses. They have enough, they are happy, truly they are, in my eyes but in order to get from Luwang Prabang to Vientiene, a whopping 353 km, it took us 9 hours, I had heard other stories of 11 hours, even 18 hours. Let me point out here that waiting and the ability to entertain oneself was acquired on this trip to Asia.

Okay so I am here not but only from a few hours. I arrived last night in the middle of the night and spent 2 hours looking for a guest house for me to rest my weary bones for 12 hours before getting onto another night bus to Pakse. Pakse is in the south of Loas just above it's world famous 4000 islands, where I am headed after Pakse.

I feel like my bog has taken a small turn I am am telling you more about what I have been up to where as at the beginning I was telling you what I saw and not what I did. I liked the old way better but the time today will not allow me to go into too much detail. Remember though that Loas and the Loas people are, in my books', an amazing people and I would come back here in a second though I have not yet left.

A bit frantic, I am awaiting a sandwich before having to eat it, run back to my room, check out, get to the north bus station, check in, have them drive me to the south bus station, and then get on a bus until 8:00 a.m. tomorrow where I will be entering yet another new city and new experience. Pakse is located on what is known as the 'Bolivian plateau' a beautiful part of Loas filled with massive waterfalls and hiking trails. A pedal bike will be in order to cover the terrain properly.

Now is the fun part..... After Vientiene I headed to Vang Vien which is probably the biggest party and party town I have ever been to. I will only attempt to paint a picture for I know having it described to me before arriving did not do it justice. Did that make sense? No time for editing this one. So, imagine a river, a beautiful river that flows through a lovely town of rural bamboo houses, surrounded by high sharp peaked mountains. Now add bars along this river. Bamboo bars built with platforms that allow you and encourage you to swing yourself off ropes, not before buying a bucket of Loa Loa vodka and redbull chased with a big beerloa, into the river below. The point is to rent a tube and make it down the river back to the town. So you swing and you swim and you drink and you drink and you dance and you meet all kinds of people, and you get into your tube and you go to the next bar. I made it to #3. Most people don't make it to 4. At least not the ones who drink and swing and swim and laugh.



From there I headed north to Luang Prabang which is a UNESCO world heritage site whatever that means ..Kidding It means http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site , that's right, wiki that shit. Anyway, it was crazy. Loas New year was a sight I would live through over and over. It is an event that showed me what it means to truly be a part of a community. For three days you have everyone in the city, as well as the entire country but specifically this city, out in the streets with huge water guns and buckets of water. Thousands of people take to the street to wish people happy new year by pouring a bucket of water down their back, into their face, or wherever they happen to get you if they are one of the hundreds that are driving around in trucks throwing bucket at people. There are young kids both boys and girls hosing down older men and women. The best was seeing this little boy of about 5 whipping a bucket at a passing motor bike carrying town older men. I heard the slap of water on their faces. All the older men did was laugh and smile. I was not dry for three days. The celebration is for the end of the dry season which in Loas is quite intense. I did just say that I was not dry for three days but I would go to sleep with everything I wearing was soaked, shoes included and when i woke at 8:00 a.m. everything was more dry than the Thar. The Thar is the dessert in the north west in Rajasthan, India. What I am trying to say is that other than the water being poured down your back it is dry and hot, everywhere in Loas right now.
People would be riding around, 25 in the box of a pick up, with garbage cans filled with water throwing on everyone. You had to prepare yourself. The second I walked out of my guesthouse, kids from neighboring houses would begin to hose me down, to spray me with water guns and to chase me with buckets. I didn't really run to hard or to fast. Not only was it inevitable to be soaked, it was fun too. I will never experience something like this again unless I come back to Loas for New Year. The Loas people are some I will never forget.

I had to get a picture of this.. The green one on the right is seaweed flavor.. What the heck is that..And before you even ask, no, i didn't even try it.. I probably should have but....


Here is the cutest sleepy buffalo. He was standing in the sun and we watched his waddle over to the mud get comfy and shut his eyes...So cute..

A few decades ago the U.S. donated concrete for Loas to built an airport but they thought it would be better to build a arch similar to the L'arch de triumph, in Paris. Super sweet..




Loas' most important monument representing the Buddhist religion and Loas sovereignty.

Don't have much more time but enjoy the few images...

There was a god damn cockroach crawling on my keyboard about two seconds ago. I let it live, I am that kind of guy but it best not test me by crawling back this way. Cockroaches are one thing, people are a completely different thing. I like people, they can crawl all over and around, they are all right. I've been meeting more and more. A lot of people, from what I have gathered, vacation to Vietnam alone when coming to Asia. I have not really been around too much of this area; Vietnam, Cambodia, Loas, China and Thailand but I think this is such a pity. I feel like they should see not only Vietnam but other places too. I guess as long as you get where you are going it does not matter but if you are going to get out then you might as well get around.

North Vietnam is a very different place than south Vietnam. The people here in the north are much colder. There is much more pressure to buy and they are flat out rude when you are being a cheap ass like I am being. I am only being this cheap because I litterally had a new wardrobe tailored in Hoi An. For 300 U.s. dollars I got, four pair of shorts, one pair of pants, a pair of sandlas, a pair of slick black dress shoes, a 'two button' black suit (fit to perfection), and nine shirts (5 fitted button-downs and two collored Lacoste shirts and two Vietnam t-shirts). Damn good deal, right? I thought so. The shorts are the exact style and colour I wanted and fit perfectly to both my waist and my legnth specifications.
I was going to buy a red tie with a sickel and hammer sown into it but I figured, considering the emblem, I would have to buy them for everyone and we all know my thoughts on that commie shit.

Buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo, buffalo.


Last time I wrote to you all I was in Nah Trang I think. Or I had just left there but anyway. I am in Sapa now, very close to the Chinese boarder. It is a hill station, filled with tribal people, recent commercialism to support tourism and is surrounded by a bunch of beautiful mountians covered in rice patties. The rice patties are small but numerous, the mountians at times are very steep so you cannot have the patties too large. A picture will show you.

Here is a nice waterfall in Sapa. I walked there two days ago and decided to do it again today cause it was nice out.


Just before Sapa I was in Hanoi where I saw a water puppet show. Curious? I sure was. What the hell is a water puppet show? Despite most theatrical or artisitc performances being evasive in name this one was litterally a water puppet show. Puppets, on water, in a theater. I am glad I went, I do not think I would go again, but i sure felt cultured, if only for a moment. I ventured outside of Hanoi to Halong Bay for a three day trip within my trip. Damn roach just tried to get into my motivational writting beer. Back to Halong bay. The Vietnamise people are trying to get this geographical phenomenon to be one of the seven wonders of the world, I guess they are trying to get it to become the eight wonders, I confess, this confuses me because if it were to become one of the seven wonders they would no longer be the seven wonders. I am rambling.

Below you see only a fraction of the beauty that is Halong bay. Honeslty the tour was shit, the people had us waiting all over the place and the drinks on the boat we took and slept on were so unreasonably priced I almost tried drinking some of the sea water to save money and still get a buzz.


The region itself though was one of the most beautiful places I think I will ever see, in my entire life. The weather was not the best but the region is also known for this. It's wet, foggy weather. We had one great day while on the boat so it made up for the rain.
Here is me on the boat. Can I get a whoo whoo? What I can't hear you?

We saw a beautiful cave on one of these island, there are about 3000 islands in total. Below is the cave, or is it some great holy figure, no no it's just bowman being bowman while in the cave.

Here is some local ladies selling fruit and other goods to the hundreds of tourist that come to Halong Bay each day.


I am on my way back to Hanoi on a night train tonight. I love train travel. I had not taken a train since India and it was amazing. Train travel gets a ten in my books. Once in Hanoi I have an exhasting day of sight seeing and sitting around before boarding a night bus to Vientienne, the capital of Loas. My vias is up the day after tomorrow so I best get out before I turn red.

I plan only to spend a day in Vientienne for heading to Vang Vien. Vang Vien is famous for it's tubbing. You rent a tube and are driven about 3 km up stream. You then lanch yourself, after having a few beers at the drop point into a river for a 4-9 km ride down, depending on your willingness. On your way there are many many bars who have people throwing you a line to pull you in so you can stop in for a drink before continuing down stream. Sound dangerous? You are telling me. We all know me and well I know I must be careful so there is no need to tell me.
I'll let you know how it goes or rather how it flows.

Long live the travelling ox.

Here is more of the sand Dune. It is like I was in the middle of the Sahara. Where you see the two people sitting in the background I slid down on a slide. Who says you need snow to go sliding.


Behind me is the longest over-sea cable car in the world, it's highest point is more then 60m above the sea. What a handstand though really. The yoga has perfected my balance.

How many times have i asked where I should being? what should I say this time? How about, there is no need to ever ask where to begin for everything has already started. Even in my typing things are passing by. We think nothing changes as we go, or is it that we think everything changes as we go. I have come to the conclusion that there is and never again be a time for me to ask 'where shall I begin?'.
This blog, although I am no writer, makes me feel as though I have created some sort of a following, not me, but my travels, and now I am at a loss for what to say. I have sold a bestseller and now I need a follow up.

I went diving in nah trang which was amazing, nothing compared to Indonesia but still amazing. I met two Irish guys, which i dove with and we all agreed that we best celebrate st.patty's the right way and head to the only Irish pub in town. You can all guess how that went, well! you thought I was going to say "in a debaucherous rage of drunken stupors." Well, who do you think I am, of course it ended with that and that is what i meant by it went 'well'. I can drink all I want when I get home and the point of this trip is to control myself which has been so easy that every once and a while you've got to let go. But we cannot keep talking about drink. I did it in my last post and I will not do it here. I have been more sober and am in some of the best shape of my life, but not without the help of the people that have kept me going throughout the time in which this journey has not been so easy.
An early tribute: Thanks Tuna, Lou, Mom, Dad, Art, Simon, and Stacey...I am sure there are more but I cannot become so sentimental so early. I have so far left to go. Three more countries and an endless amount of adventures. Phil keep the words flowing, Alex, get that email to me.

I hit an amusement park today, that is right, i punched right in the mouth, it is also a aquarium and a water park. I went on the craziest water slide of my life.

More of me after a drink of two at the amusement park in Nah Trang.


This is the market which I took a boat tour on. The Mekong delta hits the ocean in 9 different places in the south of Vietnam. It is known as the river of Nine dragons.


This is where I went diving. Just off the coast of Vietnam. What a beautiful coast line.

Vietnam is different than anything I have seen before. It is so easy to travel around this country, it is shocking. I bought an open ended bus ticket and It takes me to 7 cities. From here there are tours that lead to all the sites surrounding these areas. How about I just show you some pictures. Camera is dying.

Here is the amusment park, I am upside down. Smooth.

Entering the aquarium, where the amusement park and water park are.




Me and my slide, sand dune rides, whoooo! Ayoooooo!