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!

Ciao Sri Lanka!

Wow, where to start. I cannot believe my time in Sri Lanka is coming to an end. Today was Hannes and my last full day here. Tomorrow we are surfing early in the morning then taking a van back to the airport in Colombo. We are definitely not looking forward to that 10hr ride. It is 10hrs bc we are dropping off some of our new friends in a town called Mirissa, which is along the way.

I have met so many new wonderful people and experienced things here that I never even dreamed of. I have created friendships here that I hope will last the rest of my life.

Words cannot describe how cool Sri Lanka is. This place is just jaw dropping. The people here are so ridiculously kind and caring. If anything they will kill you with kindness.

Upon arriving here, I was semi-expecting to see some bombed out buildings and bullet riddled walls. To my surprise I have seen none of that. While I am sure the scars of war still run deep here, the people are doing their best to move forward.

The locals at Arugam Bay are all so awesome. Upon arriving, they showed me where to paddle out, which waves to catch, where to sit, and so much more. I am eternally grateful for it. As a small gift,. I helped burn the stupid foreigners that would drop in on the locals. Which was much appreciated by them. I guess the ultimate compliment I received was from one of the local kids who asked me what part of Sri Lanka I was from (I guess my skin is that dark now. I would say I am in the burnt toast category now.). I was blown away that the kid thought I was Sri Lankan, he was surprised when I told him I was from America.

The last four days here have been absolutely awesome. We finally got some solid surf and have just surfed our brains out. Today we took an all-day trip to this secluded beach that had a super fun point break. For the most part it was just the eight of us (Yes we did roll eight deep. And yes I had second thoughts about rolling that deep.) in the water with just awesome weather and good company. A herd of cows even tried to overtake our little picnic spot, but cows are no match for us!

Coming to Sri Lanka has re-affirmed by belief that everything happens for a reason. So many great things happened from terrible situations. Case in point, the first two nights in Arugam Bay I was absolutely victimized my bed bugs and mosquitoes. No amount of repellent or net could keep them away. My entire left foot, ankle, leg, and elbow was completely eaten alive. My elbow was swollen so much it looked like I had two elbows. My left was swelled up so bad I could not wear sandals or shoes. Pretty shitty right? Well as a result, I decided to sleep outside in a hammock. Granted I wore socks, long pants and a shirt and plenty of bug repellent. But it turned out to the absolutely awesome! The hammock was really comfortable and I woke up every morning to the most beautiful sunrises imaginable. It has been 5 or 6 days I think, since I have slept in a bed inside, but I couldn't be happier. Everything happens for a reason, we just don't see it yet.

I will say without a doubt that Sri Lanka has made me a better, well-rounded person. Coming here has given me a whole new perspective on culture and the world in general. I could write a novel about my experiences here, but that would just take too long. When you see me, just pick my brain and I will tell you some fun stories.

I am sad to leave this beautiful country, but Thailand awaits!!!

fun stuff!

   Finally found some wifi! Now I don't have to rush against the clock to get everything in my head onto this. Here is a little more in depth description of what's been going on compared to the last post.    

    Local Sri Lankan men are funny. But who am I to say someone looks funny though. I am sure the locals think I look funny too. Most of the local surfers have long shoulder-length hair that is black as night, however a majority of them have lots of blonde in their hair. At first I thought it was just from being in the sun all day, but Hannes actually told me the guys highlight their hair. To make it look like it has been sun-bleached. At first I couldn’t figure out why they would want to do that. But after some further thought, I realized it is because they want to look more like westerners. They read the same surf magazines I do, and they see the same pictures of western surfers with sun-bleached hair getting all the girls. They are looking to emulate that image and lifestyle. This was further reinforced after going out to a club, where the locals were trying to emulate our behavior. After a while it got annoying, but at least they are all really nice.

            Also, I found it interesting that there were no Sri Lankan women at the club. In fact I can count on one hand the number of Sri Lankan women around my age I have seen. Where are they? What do they do all day? Your guess is as good as mine. I have also yet to see a woman driving a car.

            Finally surfed the infamous Arugam Bay. It was pretty small, only 2-3ft, but still super fun. The potential of this place is unreal, I can only imagine what it is like when it gets 5ft or bigger. I hope we get a couple days of bigger surf.  I can definitely see why this wave is ranked in the top 10 in the world.

            We are staying in a pretty nice guesthouse/villa called the Galaxy Lounge. The food is a little more expensive here than in Hikkaduwa, but it is really really good. In morning they serve a fruit salad with curd that is absolutely amazing. Comes with pineapple, melon, mango, papaya, banana, and dried dates/figs (not sure which). Topped with local honey and a side of curd made from water buffalo milk. The curd and honey is hands-down the best I have ever had. Needless to say, despite all the activities we are doing, I do not think I am losing any weight on this trip, despite the heat and all the rich curries we are eating. Safe to say we are definitely not starving here.

            On the way to the beach, we have to pass a row of fishing boats. The fishermen are so aggressive here it is ridiculous. If you walk by they will always ask you to help them push their boats up the beach and out of the water.  The first day we obliged and helped push five boats in. None of the fishermen said thank you. The next day we were absolutely over helping them and made like ninjas across the beach to the surf. After surfing, on the way back, a group of fisherman was pulling in a huge net from the water. It was probably over a quarter-mile long. They all asked me to help them pull it in, but I realized that if I were to help them, I would probably be there for at least 1.5hrs and would not have received a thank you or anything. I decided I would help them anyway, but only after I went back to my room to drop off my board. I told them I would be back in 10 mins. As I was walking away, a fisherman approached me as he walked towards the nets and asked why I wasn’t helping. His tone sounded like he was offended I was not helping, as if I had some moral obligation to help them pull in a net that looked like had dragged across the bottom of the ocean tearing apart everything in its path. I told this fisherman what I told the other fisherman, that I am putting my board away and I will be back in 10 mins. But that wasn’t good enough for this fisherman; he wanted me to help now. He became so angry that I wasn’t immediately helping him that he told me not to bother and to not come back. Which was absolutely fine with me. So I did not come back and watched from afar as they spent another two hours pulling the giant net.

I have no problem helping the fisherman push in their boats. I have a problem with the fact some of them act like it is my obligation to help them. I am afraid to say no now, because I fear their reaction to my response will be very negative. The point is this, I do not expect compensation from them, but a little gratitude or a simple thank you would suffice. Instead of this sense of entitlement the fisherman have. Making it seem I am somehow obligated to help them, but some unwritten law.

            Anyways, besides that, I met a couple from America today. More specifically from Marin and San Jose. Turns out we have a couple mutual friends and know a lot of the same people. Funny how we have to be in a foreign country, on the other side of the world to finally meet each other.

            We went hunting for crocodiles today, which was quite the adventure. We weren’t hunting to kill them per se, but just to see them. It required some off-road Tuk-Tuking and some beautiful scenery. While we really only saw one crocodile, we did see our first wild elephant, tons of wild peacocks, monkeys, and water buffalos. Definitely made for an awesome day. The elephant we saw was crossing the road and was definitely not happy to see us. Our driver got so close that he was actually a bit scared. He kept asking if we had taken enough pictures because he wanted to get the hell out of there. Apparently the other week an elephant charged a van and knocked it over.

            Sri Lanka is such a beautiful place. Its beauty not only lies in nature, but also in its people. Sri Lanka truly is a special place.

Arugam Bay

Over the last couple of days, we were debating on whether or not to head to the eastside of the island. In a bit of a spur-of-a-the moment decision, we decided to go yesterday. We had about 20minutes to pack all of our stuff, get into the van, barge across the island. A little hectic to say the least. Especially when we didn't make it 10ft on the road before almost dying in a car crash. A scooter jumped onto the road in front of us as a bus coming the opposite way was in our side of the road. Probably one of the scariest moments of my life. My heart literally skipped a beat. But after that debacle, the eight hour drive was definitely uneventful. Just a nice mellow drive with tons of beautiful scenery.

I have to admit, up until today, I was definitely underwhelmed by the scenery of Sri Lanka. It was not as pristine and beautiful as I was expecting. Upon arriving in Arugam Bay, it is fair to say those expectations have been met and exceeded. The beauty of Arugam Bay is beyond description. Only a small fishing village, still early in the surf season, there are only a handful of tourists here. We are the only people in our guest-house.

Upon arriving at the guest house, I heard this strange chanting coming from afar. At first I did not know what it was, until I remembered that Arugam Bay is 95% Muslim. Upon looking at my watch, I realized it was evening prayers. Hearing the evening prayers was one of the most surreal things I have every heard in my life. I am definitely looking forward to listening to again this evening and for the rest of our stay. The 5am morning prayer is a little annoying though, because it is so early in the morning. But it helps me wake up to go surf.

This morning we surfed the main surf spot in Arugam Bay, which is a reef/sand bottom point. A really fun and fast wave. The walk to the surf, is a little far, about 30 minutes, but it is a walk I will take any day. The walk is absolutely beautiful. However during our walk, Hannes and I were stopped four times by fisherman, asking us to help them push their boats up on the beach. These are no small boats either, they are big! It took 10ppl each time to push those boats up. Hannes and I figured it would be best to help them, as it would be rude to say no. The fishermen put stingrays they have caught under the boats to help slide them across the sand. The funny thing is, the stingrays are probably the "fish" that we are eating too. Since it is impossible to tell what kind of fish the restaurants are putting into the fish curries.

Over dinner last night, Hannes and I talked to our driver about Sri Lankan culture, history, Buddhism, and the war that ravaged the north of Sri Lanka. It was one of the most valuable conversations I have ever had. I learned more about Buddhism and Sri Lanka in that talk then I could have ever learned anywhere else.

I have to go now though, I am typing this at an internet cafe and my bill is through the roof. Sorry if this post is a little rushed, I have so much to say in so little time!

P.s. these two Muslim men are looking at porn on the computer right next to me.... Isn't that against the rules?
ahaha apparently the two guys can read english... Im in trouble....

Cricket World Cup Final Today!

         Right when I think I won’t have anything else to talk about, I think of a bunch! As I may have already said, Sri Lanka is crazy about Cricket, I mean absolutely fanatical about it. Today is the Cricket World Cup final, and it just so happens to be that Sri Lanka will be playing against India. Everyone is abuzz about the game and I doubt anything will get done at all tomorrow once the game starts. I have had the last three days to try and learn how Cricket is played, but I still honestly cannot figure it out. The game just does not make sense to me and to me it is boring to watch. Especially since Cricket matches can last six or more hours. Despite my misgivings I will be donning a Sri Lankan Cricket team jersey and joining all the locals in watching the game. I probably will skip the first few hours of it and join in towards the end when it really gets good. Either way, if Sri Lanka wins today, I should have some pretty fun stories to tell about it in my next post.

            A couple observations I have made so far about the Sri Lankan people are that they are genuinely nice people. They all say hello to my friend Hannes and I, and they all smile at us when we make eye contact. However, one thing that does bother me is they definitely are not afraid about staring at us. Whenever Hannes and I walk into a place that is full of locals, we can feel every single set of eyeballs just mad-dogging us the entire time. But it is more out of curiosity than anything else.

            Sri Lankans also do not have any concept of personal space, absolutely none. They have no problem with being in each other’s personal bubbles. When I was at the ATM the other day, the person behind me stood literally right behind me, I felt his breath on my shoulder as I was withdrawing money. The guy was not trying to see my PIN or steal my money; he was just simply waiting in line. But it did sort of freak me out a little bit. On top of that, they have no qualms about being in each other’s business while being packed like sardines into a bus.

            The Sri Lankan language, called Sinhalese, named after the ethnic Sinhala majority is one of the complex languages I have ever seen. It takes ten letters put together in seemingly random order just to say thank you.  Fortunately for us though, just about everybody understands English. Most of them only simple English, but quite a few can carry conversations. It is also nice that almost all signs are posted in English, Sinhalese, and Tamil. Tamil is the language of the ethnic minority in Sri Lanka. They are the ones that were fighting against the government in a civil war that lasted 20 years and only just recently ended. Most of the fighting happened in the North of the country, so we are not exposed to any of it. Apparently though the North is a dump in comparison to the South.

            Today we went by bus to the city Galle to check out this old Dutch Fort that was built in the 1500s or maybe 1600s. I was a little apprehensive about getting on one of those buses for the reasons stated in a previous entry. But the two buses we rode in were quite mellow compared to some of the suicide buses we have seen. In all honesty, part of me was hoping to get a bus with a suicidal driver, just because it would have been absolutely crazy. But in the end, I am fully content with getting two rather mellow bus drivers.

            The Dutch Fort was absolutely massive. The walls were at least eight feet thick. The Dutch actually built an inner wall and an outer wall and then filled the middle with dirt. Once atop the fort, it had an amazing few of the entire town and of the surrounding bay. The Fort was pretty cool and a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. Inside the Fort there was little town with shops, restaurants, temples, mosques, hotels, everything. Almost like a separate town from Galle. 

Link to pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=352336&id=502975049&l=3b94ed4af8
 

           Inside the Fort, we walked by a Mosque where young boys were memorizing verses of the Koran with rhythmic chants, it was quite surreal and cool to watch and listen. I am not quite sure if we were allowed to watch or not, but we slipped away undetected. There was also a very cool Buddhist temple inside as well, but it was closed to the public.

            Hannes and I are quite popular with the school children. While at the Fort, there were hordes of kids on field trips. When we walked by a class they would all yell, “hello!” and ask us how we are doing and where we are from. The schoolgirls especially liked us, as they would yell at us to get our attention from inside their buses. They didn’t really want to talk to us for they just wanted our attention.

            I met my first fellow American today, from Oregon. He never told me his name, or if he did I forgot it already. But that is not important. This guy may be one of the most interesting men in the world. If I had to guess he is probably between 55 and 65, chain-smokes like nobody’s business, and looks like he’s been through hell. Where he makes up for it are his experiences and travels. This guy has not been home in about three years and has been traveling the world for the last 30+ years. I have no idea what he does for work, all that I do know is that he sold his home and has no plans on going back to Oregon any time soon. Some of the things he’s done and places he’s gone are just mind blowing. For example, going on a month-long safari from South Africa to Kenya. Spending 20 of the 30 days camping in the savannah. To vagabonding through Australia, India, Malaysia, it seems you name the place he’s been there or knows somebody who has. The mold was definitely broken after this guy was made. And if left unchecked, he will talk unabated for hours, I found this out the hard way. But I didn’t mind, since his stories are interesting. He wants to come with us to Arugam Bay, so that should make the 6.5 hour drive more interesting. The guy is like a walking encyclopedia and almanac, I am going to try and soak up as much as I can from him.

            That’s all for today. PEACE.