Journey of a lifetime

I would like to apologize for my lack of posts over the last three weeks. I simply preferred to be surfing or exploring then blogging. However, the weak wifi connections and by busted laptop battery did play a roll in my lack of updates.

But wow what a three weeks in Bali. Bali met and far exceeded all my expectations. It was absolutely crazy. Just flying by the seam of my pants. Never staying in one town for more than three days, before zooming off to the next destination on our motorbikes.

It is fair to say I definitely immersed myself in everything Bali has to offer. So much happened over the last three weeks, I could write a novel about it all. From surfing death barrels at Lacerations, to getting lost on my scooter and finding my way to Padang Padang. From great challenges to great triumphs, Bali offered everything it had to bear. The last three weeks were like riding a high that never stopped. Since landing on Monday, I feel like I have been experiencing one giant hangover. I cannot stop thinking about Bali. I compare everything I see here to what I saw and experienced in Bali. While the food was nothing extraordinary like it was in Sri Lanka and Thailand. The noodles were good and the roasted pig was legendary.

Renting motorbikes was the best decision we made. It allowed us unlimited flexibility to move wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. I miss that freedom. I miss waking up in the morning, no shirt, no shoes, riding my motorbike to check the waves. I miss the sunshine and warmth, because in Santa Cruz it rained today. And I have been constantly cold. I put my wetsuit on for the first time in two months. It felt like I had put a straightjacket on. I felt so constricted compared to the freedom I felt of surfing in boardshorts. When I jumped into the water I almost had a heart attack from how cold it was. Water that I would normally not second-guess or notice, I felt, as it seeped into my wetsuit. I felt it every time as it flushed down my neck.

I miss all the nice people of Bali. Having not to worry about my stuff getting stolen all the time. The local surfers were some of the nicest people I have ever met. Maybe it is because they live in paradise and are blessed with too many world-class waves to count.

Bali is a magical place that I will never forget for the rest of my life. I am already scheming for how I am going to return as soon as I possibly can. I am afraid I am addicted. I guess this what I would imagine a drug addiction to be. The waves, the people, the places, are always on my mind. I cannot stop thinking about it.

I am pretty much screwed…ahaha. Seriously, this summer is going to suck if I keep daydreaming and comparing everything I see and experience here to Bali. Bali was truly an experience. I do not know why I have become so enchanted with the place. I do not think other people who have gone there feel the way I do right now.

Looking in a mirror today, I look nothing like I did two months ago. For starters, I am darker (my hair actually turned blonde), and I lost weight. But I think the biggest change for me was my mindset. Maybe this will wear off with time, but I feel more positive about things in general. Granted I am depressed about the cold and the weather here, but I know it is only going to get better and summer shows up. I guess I just feel good.

Maybe in the future my friends will be able to come with me, so that I may share my experiences in real-time, instead of through a blog. But in the end of I am glad I met all the new people I did. I am also glad I traveled to all these places alone, meeting friends there and making new ones along the way. I created so many memories with people from all over the world. People I would have never met, had I never left for this trip.

What a journey it has been. The fastest and best two months of my life. What a ride. This marks the end of this chapter to my travel blog. I am not sure how I am going to top this adventure. But I will definitely see if I can. Hopefully very soon in the future I will be able to add new chapters to this ever-growing collection.

Bali

The last couple of days have been an absolute whirlwind! Bali is awesome, absolutely awesome. The Balinese people are nice, the weather is nice, the waves are killer, and the food is tasty. Life is good. Life could not get much better.

I am so glad I was able to make it to Bali. Thankfully the friends I met in Sri Lanka were going to Bali as well. So I was able to meet them here.

We are currently staying in a town called Sanur. Everything here is a bit on the pricey side. And it is a little touristy, but the main wave is killer. Taking a couple days to get acclimated before jumping into the circus that is Kuta was the right call. I am definitely looking forward to surfing Uluwatu.

We have rented scooters for the entire time I am in Bali. I was a little rusty at first, but I got the hang of it pretty quick. I forgot how fun those things are! The roads in Bali are pretty easy. Nothing crazy compared to Sri Lanka or parts of Thailand. Driving inside the lanes here is optional, but not nearly as death defying as Sri Lanka.

The wave we have been surfing, Sanur Reef, is nothing I have ever experienced before. It is a reef break that lies about a mile out from the harbor. It did not look that far out, and taking a boat cost $5. 30 minutes later and lots of cursing we finally made it out there. Only to see a boatload of Japanese surfers arrive zoom right past us and get dropped off. The next day we caved and took a boat too… It was a good decision.

The waves are pretty hollow, not Uluwatu, gaping barrel hollow, but pretty hollow. The reef isn’t that gnarly looking, which is nice. Nothing compared to the Uluwatu reef.

All in all, Bali is awesome; I will definitely come back here. If any of my friends are planning on going to Bali later in the summer, I will definitely consider going with them. Assuming I have the funds…

Uluwatu, Ubud, Caangu, Nusa Dua, Nusa Longbongen, and the Gilli Islands await!

Goooodbye Thailand... Hello Bali

Today was my last day in Thailand. A day I wish did not have to come. I have fallen in love with Thailand and its people. If this place had waves I would move here in a heartbeat.

It is funny to think that while I was in Sri Lanka, I was originally planning to stay in Thailand for a week tops. 16 days later I am still here and I do not really want to leave. You became enchanted with the beauty of this country. I think Thailand has that effect on people. Once you come here you never want to leave.

Yes there are too many tourists here and most of them are annoying and rude. Yes many parts of Thailand are touristy and built-up. But there are those little nooks and crannies that let you into the true Thailand. Places like Ton Sai, or the places Nott and his family took me in Phuket. These places are the true Thailand. It is the Thailand I have grown to love.

The main reason why I enjoyed my time in Thailand was because of Nott and his family. Without them, my time in Thailand would not have been nearly as fun. They took me to places that I would have never seen had I not met them. They were such gracious hosts, and I am eternally grateful for it. I am in their debt.

I have been away from home for a little over a month now. I did not really miss home until Nott’s family showed me a slideshow of Nott’s time as an exchange student in America. Watching the slideshow made me a little homesick. When I say homesick, I do not really miss my house. Sorry mom and dad. It’s more like I miss my bed, I miss my routine. The certain things that made life dull at home I sort of miss. I miss seeing the familiar faces and doing familiar things. I also miss the people I have met on this journey of mine. I miss my Galaxy Lounge crew from Sri Lanka of Hannes, Chris, Alex, Sara, Saffa Dave, Angy, and P. Ahaha and Hannes with his sandwiches! Just hanging out with all of them, going surfing, hanging out at the beach, and going on adventures together. In Thailand I am going to miss hanging out with Nott, his family, and his friends. I am going to miss Tommy P, Miranda and all those amazing people we hung out with and met in Ton Sai for that week. My week in Ton Sai is the highlight of my trip so far. Not to take anything away from the things I have done and the people I have meet prior. But my time in Ton Sai was simply all-time. Nothing can beat it. All these memories I have I will keep forever. I have made new friends and connections here that I will keep for a long time.

Looking back at my month away from home, it is amazing to see how things played out. Everything happened for a reason, both the good and the bad. All the chance encounters and lucky breaks. I would have done it any other way. It is simpler to just let things play out naturally. If it was meant to be, then so be it. Forcing things in the short run will not work in the long run.

I cannot believe how fast this trip is flying by. I am already 2/3 of the way through, with Bali being the last leg before I return home. This will be the fastest two months of my life. I would like to stay longer, but life at home is calling me back. Two weeks after I get back I will be walking at my college commencement ceremony. A month after I get back I take the GMAT exam and find out whether or not I get into graduate school. I really wish I had done better on that damn test before I left. That way I wouldn’t have to deal with that burden in the back of my mind. Graduate school and the GMAT hadn’t really been on my mind until since I started traveling. But recently it has been creeping back into my conscious. I do not have a solid Plan B if I do not get into grad school, so my life up until that test is pretty much a blank slate, which makes me a little nervous.

This trip has opened my eyes to so many different cultures, rituals, lifestyles, and people. I feel funny saying this, but I feel more worldly now compared to before I left. The person I was before I left does not exist anymore. If you were to look at me now, you probably wouldn’t see anything different about me. But I feel different.

Here’s to a fun 3 weeks in Bali! Thailand topped Sri Lanka, just barely. I hope Bali can top Thailand. Can’t wait!

Thai Boxing

Yesterday I was able to check something off my bucket list.  It has been something I have always wanted to see in person. With the help of my good friend Nott and my new friend Gap. We were able to go and watch live Muy Thai aka Thai Boxing matches. These matches were no exhibitions. The boxers definitely wanted to win.

One would not label me as a city boy. Being that I did not grow up in a big city, I sometimes do not quite grasp how big some cities can be. In Santa Cruz, one can go from one side of town to another in about 10 minutes with no traffic. Take Bangkok for example. Bangkok is HUGE. When Nott said the arena to watch the fights is across town, I figured, “no big deal, lets take the bus or a cab.” Little did I know the arena is a solid one-hour away. Not only would we be taking a bus, but we would also need to take a river ferry. Which by the way was pretty damn cool. Although the river water was absolutely disgusting and I had some splash in my face, which almost made me want to vomit.

The outside of the arena looked like any other sporting event. With throngs of people outside, and stands selling their goods. Nott and Gap were going to try and get me the local Thai ticket, which only cost 250 Baht, instead of the foreigner ticket, which costs 1,000 baht (the exchange rate is 30 to 1). Needless to say our plot was rooted out fairly quickly. As soon as I got into the locals line a rather aggravated Thai lady walked up to me demanding to know where I was from. In that situation I thought it best not to lie, even if I wanted to lie, it is not like I could have responded to her in Thai. I relented and said I was from America. Upon hearing I was from America, she sternly told me to go into the foreigner’s line. After making sure I went into that line, she walked back to her ratpack and starting talking to her friends about how the stupid American tried to get the Thai price. You may be wondering I would know she was saying that, but trust me, judging from the way she was talking and seeing her friends react, it was pretty easy to figure out what they were saying. Not to mention I heard her say, “American” a couple of times. So moving on I paid the 1,000 baht and we got into the arena.

Walking into the arena, it sort of had that dive bar feel. It was dark, except for the ring was lit. It smelled old; there were no seats, just terraced concrete levels to sit on. It was similar to a school amphitheater. Thank god it was air conditioned though. Without thinking much of it, we got the closest spot we could to the ring and plopped down. Our tickets were for the upper levels, but since the arena was super small, it did not really matter where we sat, because everywhere had a good view.

The first fight started at around 630. I already knew in Thai Boxing that during the fight, traditional music is played. It is a pretty unique sound, if you have never heard it before, just watch a fight and youtube and crank up the volume. It has a thai flute (don’t know what the hell its actually called), a percussion, and two drums. The music isn’t loud, but it just plays along as the fight goes and helps the whole atmosphere. Before every fight the fighters have a pre-fight ritual of stretching and bowing. It is definitely more fashion over function as the fighters do not seem too into it, but they have to do it out of respect and ritual. Upon finishing of the ritual, they go to their corners for a pre-fight prayer with their trainer. Once completed, they meet in the center and the referee starts the fight.

Each fight has five-three minute rounds. The first round is almost always the most boring. The fighters more or less just stand there feeling each other out. Round two gets a little more interesting as the fighters start to get aggressive. By far though, the best rounds are three and four. That is when the fight is won or lost. The fighters go absolutely balls to the wall in those rounds. During the first few fights, the arena remained pretty empty. But around fight number two, people started to file in. We found it strange that people were only sitting on our side of the arena. We could not figure out why. On top of that everybody was standing up and yelling, which was annoying. Nott finally asked a local why everyone on this side was doing that. He said this was betting side and if we did not plan on betting, we should move to the other side, which was basically empty. We heeded his advice and moved. Turned out to be a good move, because the betting side filled up pretty quickly. Full of people yelling and waving their hands trying to place bets. Looked like it was straight out of  a Jean Claude van Dam movie. People constantly yelling, trying to place bets and going nuts when their fighter would land a solid blow. It was cool to watch from afar.

The fighters themselves are gnarly. They are all lean and mean. The heaviest fight was between two guys weighing only 128lbs, but they looked absolutely ripped! They did not have an ounce of fat on them. Their kicks, punches, elbow strikes, and takedowns were lightning fast. And their knee strikes looked absolutely devastating.

One fight ended only about a minute into the first round after one fighter landed three consecutive kicks to the inside of his opponents knee. The slapping sound the kicks made on contact was loud enough to be heard on top of the yelling and cheering. So you know these guys are kicking hard. After the third kick, the guy just crumpled to the mat. Where the referee immediately called the fight. It looked like the guy’s knee ligaments were toast. I know mine would be after taking three shots like that.

After the first round, there aren’t really any dull moments in the fights. The boxers are not afraid to engage and even when they clench there are still knees and elbows flying. Which is cool, because the pace of the fight does not slow down like in American boxing. The guys must have shins of steel too, because their kicks are being blocked with elbows and forearms, which from personal experience hurts like hell without pads on.

The seventh fight, which was the main event, was by far the best fight. The fighters were the most skilled and polished. The blue fighter had lightning fast punches, while the red fighter had awesome flying knee strikes. It was an awesome fight in all five rounds. In the end blue won, and deservedly so, he landed more solid punches compared to red’s knee strikes which looked gnarly, but rarely made solid contact.

Thai boxing is definitely the most exciting type of martial art I have ever seen. I am really glad I was able to witness that. It is something I will never forget. Thai muy thai fighters are way gnarlier then American muy thai fighters. There were a lot of American and European fighters there watching.  My advice to them is to definitely not do Muy Thai. They will just get their butts kicked. They are too big and too slow. In Thai boxing, speed kills.

Where to begin...

I do not even know where to begin since my last post on the 17th. So much has happened!!

After leaving Koh Phi Phi and spending my last day in Phuket with Nott's friends and family. Nott and his friends had to go to Bangkok and I headed to a place called Ton Sai, located 3hrs north in Krabi. Where my friends Tommy P. and Miranda were staying. After a pretty mellow bus ride and getting ripped off by my taxi driver I arrived at the beach town of Ao Nang, where I was to take a long-boat to Tonsai. Upon arriving in Ao Nang, I was absolutely blown away by the scenery. As I have been saying a lot recently, the place looked like it came straight out of the movie Avatar.

I thought my days of pushing boats in Sri Lanka were over... But after lugging my tired body and bags into the long-boat. It turns out the huge-ass bags these Euros had in the boat actually got the boat stuck in the sand. The boat driver asked the guys in the boat to get out and help push the boat into deeper water. After his 2nd request, seeing no one either understood him or wanted to. I did what I think most Americans would do. I took matters into my own hands, got out of the boat and along with 2 other locals pushed this heavy-ass long boat from knee deep water into about waste deep water. Leave it to the Euros to sit there and do nothing. But enough of my ranting and euro-bashing. I have actually met a ton of cool Europeans, so my distaste will only stay with those on the boat.

The boat ride was only about 10min. From the little Ao Nang bay to the next bay over, which is Ton Sai. Once we turned the corner and went to the bay at Ton Sai, the scenery was phenomenal. The bay is flanked by sheer cliffs standing at least 100ft tall. With huge stalagmites hanging from them. The water is crystal blue and the beach is your typical tropical beach covered in palm trees and beach huts. The place left me absolutely speechless. The beauty of it was awesome. What made it even more amazing was that the beaches next to Ton Sai on Railay were even more beautiful. The rock formations here are so prehistoric. The beaches are full of shells and the sand was shiny and white.

Apparently Ton Sai is a mecca for rock climbing. All the people staying there are hardcore rock climbers. Most of them are yogurt and granola eating hippies, which is fine with me. I like yogurt and granola.

Tommy and Miranda are avid rock climbers, they lent me a harness and shoes and got me out on my first outdoor climb. Rock climbing is HARD! Harder then in the climbing gym that's for damn sure. But the climbing was absolutely amazing. The views from the top were beautiful. I didn't climb anything gnarly, but it was still super fun.

We stayed in this little guest in the middle of the jungle. Only had power at night too, but that did not matter since we maybe only spent 4hrs a day in our room on top of sleeping.

On top of climbing we did a lot of hiking, swimming, and little cave exploring which was cool too. I am eternally grateful to Tommy and Miranda for letting me stay with them and taking me climbing. I am truly grateful. Once I find some wifi I will upload all the awesome pictures I took.

I have met so many awesome people on my journey so far and that continued in Thailand. From Nott's funny friends. To the two guys from Wyoming and the two californians we met at Ton Sai. For the record the two guys from Wyoming are the funniest two people I have ever met and first people I have met from Wyoming. I thought it was only myth that people live in Wyoming, but they proved it is actually a fact!

I was sad to leave Tommy, Miranda and my new friends in Ton Sai. But the adventure must continue!

Yesterday evening I boarded a bus from Krabi to Bangkok. It was long 10hr bus ride. But I almost had a heart attack midway through.... About 3hrs in at 10pm local time, the bus stopped to get food and use the bathroom. I had to pee like no other so I ran off to use the bathroom. Upon finishing my business and returning the parking lot, my heart literally stopped. The bus was gone.... I couldn't believe it, i thought, "no f***ing way! the bus left without me!?!?!?!?" I started to freak out and panic. My wallet, cell, and passport were all on the bus. There were no other tourists here, I had no money and no way to contact anybody. Not only was I having a heart attack, I was having a panic attack and was about ready to cry. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a bus leaving, I immediately ran after it thinking it was my bus. After catching up to it, I realized it was not my bus. I started to calm down a little and realized there is no way all the people could have loaded back up into the bus, since I was only gone for 5 minutes. So after pulling myself together, I began searching the parking lot to see if the bus moved. By the grace of God, after about 5 minutes of looking I found the bus. It was the happiest moment of my life.

Traveling by myself is fun, but times like that really make me wish I had a travel buddy. But I also realize that traveling alone has helped me in so many ways. I will chalk this one up as a story for my children and grandchildren. Wow was that a scary 15 minutes.

That is all for now, Nott is hungry sitting next to me waiting for me to finish.
Since internet is cheaper here in Bangkok another update is coming soon!

Thai adventures

What a busy last few days!

Over the last few days we have gone waterfall hunting, gibbon watching, snorkeling, sightseeing, etc etc.

Upon entering the park with the waterfalls. The park attendant comes up to my window and asks if everybody in the car is Thai (Thai's get in free, tourists have to pay). Without really knowing what she said, I just nodded my head. Nott then said something in Thai. I presume he said, "Yes we are all Thai." And she let us in for free. I am quickly discovering there are two costs for just about everything in Thailand. The locals price and the foreigners price. It is nice being with a bunch of locals. I get to enjoy the local's price. The waterfall is was really cool. The water was really cold which was nice for a change, considering it was suuuuuper hot and humid out.

Inside the park with the waterfall, is a Gibbon reservation. Gibbons I guess are a type of monkey. But they look like furry little 5yr old children. They make some really funny noises that are really loud.

After watching the Gibbons, we checked out a beautiful temple holding a bone relic of Buddha. The temple also had life-like wax models of the three most important monks in Thai history. The models looks so real, I thought the monks were going to come to life.

The Buddha bone relic was so TINY! It was like the size of a booger or something really really small.hahaha. You could barely see it from behind all of the glass. But the temple was HUGE! Covered in intricate paintings and carvings. Full of vibrant reds and golds. All in all a cool experience.

We also drove up to the top of mountain to see the "Giant Buddha." A Buddha statue that is something like 50ft tall and made of white marble. It was HUGE! The staircase up to the statue was lined with little bells you could run your hands through as you walked up. The sound of the ringing bells and frothing kids all over the place made for a very serene setting.

Yesterday we spent the day/night in Pantong. The beaches of Pantong are absolutely covered in tourists. While going for a swim it felt like I was in Moscow or some Russian city, since every person in the water was speaking Russian. The beach of was full of sunburned skin, banana hammocks, and skimpy bikinis. This was the first beach I have ever been to in a foreign country that didn't have surf. Despite all of the development and tourism, the beaches are still beautiful. I tried closing my eyes and thinking of what the place looked like before it all. Pretty sure it would be PHENOMENAL and pristine.

Pantong is like Las Vegas, except everything that is illegal in Vegas is totally fine in Pantong. One can easily get into a lot of trouble there. Lady-boys are everywhere!!!!!! What is even scarier is that from afar they look like girls! Walking through the main drag of Bang La is like walking through a street full of sinful pleasures. From prostitutes and lady-boys rubbing my arm and saying, "hey baby." To seeing loads of absolutely piss-drunk Europeans and its barely 10pm! I enjoy having a good time and enjoying myself, but even this was a little much for me. I felt out of place. Luckily or unluckily for me I had a 7am bus to catch the next morning so I called it a night at 12am and stayed out of trouble.

The next day we took a ferry to Koh Phi Phi island. Which is an absolutely beautiful island. The water is crystal clear. The island looks like something out of Jurassic park. With sheer cliffs directly meeting the sea. There are tons a little islands, bays, and beaches. I was unaware we were doing a touristy day package adventure. I wanted to explore this place without the hordes or tourists. But I did not complain and went with the flow. After all, the place is BEAUTIFUL! After a bunch of boring sightseeing on the boat around the island, which included sailing by this "famous" beach where the filmed the movie, The Beach. I think I have seen the movie, the beach looked just like the one in the movie....Or the other way around... After about an hour we finally go to snorkeling, I was really hoping we would go to some secluded area without many people. But to my disappointment we were dropped off in the thick of bunch of other boats. The boat people tried to make me wear a life-jacket before snorkeling. They didn't seem to believe me when I said I could swim. The snorkeling was pretty cool. There was a ton of fish, but the reef sadly did not look too healthy.  It was covered in sand, the coral didn't exhibit any of its brilliant color. This spot had a little too much human contact. But it was fun none the less. I was surprised to see I was one of the few that wasn't wearing a life-jacket in the water. I guess not as many people can swim as I thought.

I am surprised at how touristy Thailand is. I know it is a great thing for Thailand. But I do not think it is the sort of thing I like. When I travel, I like to get away from the hordes of people. Not to them. Thailand is such an amazing place and I am loving every minute. However, I do not know if I would want to return. If I had a girlfriend that wanted to go, I would consider. But I do not think I would go by myself or even with friends. Unless I got to stay with Nott. Having local knowledge of this place is CRUCIAL! I would be absolutely lost without Nott.

That's all for now. I will be making my way north soon to see some friends. Then eventually to Bangkok and Cambodia. Till then!

Thailand

Made it! Thailand is AMAZING! After a 10hr van ride across Sri Lanka followed by two more plane rides I finally made it.

Upon arriving at the airport, my friend Nott and his family picked me up and promptly whisked me away to the beach where we lounged around all day, snorkeled, and had lunch.

The ocean here is like a swimming pool. It is crystal clear and absolutely beautiful. Upon jumping in it felt like I was in a bathtub. Definitely warmer than Sri Lanka. There are hundreds of little islands off the coast as well.

I am a little sad I missed Songkrans, which is the Thai New Years celebration. I hear it is one big water fight. I really would have liked to experienced that, but oh well.

I had a little bit of culture shock upong arriving in Thailand. It is completely the opposite of Sri Lanka. The weather is similar, but that is about it. There are soooooo many tourists here! Today I definitely saw more tourists then locals. Nott's parents were telling me that some of the beaches have so many tourists on them that they feel like the beaches are not even part of Thailand. Like they are different a different country.

Well I am about to pass out, because I am running on 5 hours of sleep. But so far today was a good start to the Thailand leg of my journey.

I think I see a little four day stint in Cambodia in my future, before heading to Bali for 3weeks and then home. I really want to see the ruins at Ankor Wat and the Khemor Rouge killing fields in Phenom Pen. But we shall see. Hopefully the pieces will fall into place. The people I have met have all had nothing but great things to say about Cambodia.

That is all for now. PEACE!