Get Yer Visa, Geezer
In the process of doing so. Unfortunately I hand over my passport to a shifty Thai guy (all Thai's look shifty when they take your pasport) and I only get it back tomorrow. I hate having to do that, but that's what it takes. So now I'm in the border town of Chiang Khong. It's right on the banks of the Mehkong River and over the water you can see Laos. How exciting. The journey here was uneventful despite taking 7 hours. You'd think that something interesting would happen in 7 hours but it didn't. I was on a second class bus with air con. The air con made the interior baltic and the seats were certainly not made with the average Western bloke in mind. Still the views on the way up were pleasant enough and I kept on thiking I was going to come across the reseach station in Khun Kong that I stayed at a few years back. Needless to say, I didn't. But it was the right area.
How to get to Laos?
Well Chiang Khong doesn't have a scooter rental place so my fvourite mode of transport is out. Oh yeah, plus the fact that rivers and scooters don't mix particularly well. Every guesthouse and travel agent in Chiang Khong offers a two day longboat trip up the river to Luang Prabang in Laos. Having looked around for the best price it dawned on me that every guesthouse and travel agent in Chiang Khong infact sells the same two day longboat trip. It looks class and for ten quid you can't moan so I leave tomorrow morning at eight thirty (passport and visa in hand or so I hope!) With England playing Switzerland(?) at eleven o'clock tonight my time, eight thirty sounds like a bit of a push. Since I'll be in Laos for a bit the blog may get a bit stale so amuse yourselves and others by putting up many witty comments.
Revoposty
Started to get word back about my forrays into mass postage. Gald to hear the some are getting through at least. I still need a random name and address though, come randoms... there's loads of you out there, though probably not that many that read this blog. As for the quality of the witticisms, I'm afraid that they might not quite be up to standard. As the number of addresses increases, the quality decreases. Sorry about that. At least you still get the bloody card.
Points Win Prizes
Indeed they do. As do page views. At the last look there's only about 30 or so to go. Don't forget to check. You wouldn't want to miss out on the super dooper prize that the lucky 2000th visitor wins. As always, the hit counter's at the bottom left of the screen.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Sunday, All Day
Indeed today is Sunday and has been all day. I'm now in Chiang Mai. I have a race against the clock to get to get a visa and get my ass to Laos before my Thai visa runs out. Okay, so I've dramatised it a bit. I do have seven days to get there. But I'm slow in my movements. You can't rush these things.
Peace in Phuket
Patong is not a peaceful place. In the Beach, when they go back to the mainland to get supplies and it's noisy and awful, that scene's filmed in Patong. So in search of a bit of peace I moved out to Surin and flash packed. Sod it, I needed rest before going up country. I over cooked it a bit with Surin as there's bugger all happening there and not much to do especially when it pisses it down every day. Nice room though.
Modes of Transport
My current favourite mode of transport is the scooter. I hired one in Surin to get about. Thrashed the shit out of the little 100cc chicken chaser and rode just about the length of Phuket, twice. The feds also got involved at one point.
This Country!
Coming down a hill into the next beach town and ahead of me was a lot of traffic. A bit weird for the beach roads in Phuket. Then I saw a bunch of cops and to my horror realised they were pulling over everyone. So I didn't blot through the road block like a hero crim on the run. I pulled over and started looking sheepish. This cop says, 'Where li ence?' Which I took to mean, could I have look at your license please. So I just shrugged and went, 'At hotel,' which I hope he translated as, I'm very sorry officer, I appear to have been rather foolish and left it at the hotel I'm currently residing in on your beautiful island. Of course, I have no such thing as a license, unless you class my license to swim without armbands when I was about five. I don't reckon that would have cut the mustard though.
The fed appeared to understand me and so I was happy. He then started writing me a ticket, and I was not happy. A license is required to ride the scooters in this country????? Honestly you should see the mess on the roads. I've just been driving through Chiang Mai for a couple of hours on a scooter, and it's a bloody god job I wasn't wearing white trouser. The upshot of the ticket was a 300 baht fine. Fine, that's only about 4 quid. Bloody annoying. So I paid my fine (which it appeared most of Phuket was having to pay judging by the queue to the payment table). Thoroughly annoyed, but happy not to have ended up in a Thai slammer, I got on my bike (haha, 'scuse the pun) and started looking to get back on the road. The cop about 7 meters infront of me started going mental and waving his arms and blowing his little whistle. So I just carried on shouting that I'd paid my fine and waving my receipt at him. Then I realised he was alerting me that I'd left my kickstand down. Red faces are a multi lingual way of proclaiming yourself as a twat.
About 5 minutes down the road I encountered the only roundabout in Thailand. So shocked to see such an advanced feature, I promptly went the wrong way round it. Maybe a license wouldn't be such a bad idea after all
Indeed today is Sunday and has been all day. I'm now in Chiang Mai. I have a race against the clock to get to get a visa and get my ass to Laos before my Thai visa runs out. Okay, so I've dramatised it a bit. I do have seven days to get there. But I'm slow in my movements. You can't rush these things.
Peace in Phuket
Patong is not a peaceful place. In the Beach, when they go back to the mainland to get supplies and it's noisy and awful, that scene's filmed in Patong. So in search of a bit of peace I moved out to Surin and flash packed. Sod it, I needed rest before going up country. I over cooked it a bit with Surin as there's bugger all happening there and not much to do especially when it pisses it down every day. Nice room though.
Modes of Transport
My current favourite mode of transport is the scooter. I hired one in Surin to get about. Thrashed the shit out of the little 100cc chicken chaser and rode just about the length of Phuket, twice. The feds also got involved at one point.
This Country!
Coming down a hill into the next beach town and ahead of me was a lot of traffic. A bit weird for the beach roads in Phuket. Then I saw a bunch of cops and to my horror realised they were pulling over everyone. So I didn't blot through the road block like a hero crim on the run. I pulled over and started looking sheepish. This cop says, 'Where li ence?' Which I took to mean, could I have look at your license please. So I just shrugged and went, 'At hotel,' which I hope he translated as, I'm very sorry officer, I appear to have been rather foolish and left it at the hotel I'm currently residing in on your beautiful island. Of course, I have no such thing as a license, unless you class my license to swim without armbands when I was about five. I don't reckon that would have cut the mustard though.
The fed appeared to understand me and so I was happy. He then started writing me a ticket, and I was not happy. A license is required to ride the scooters in this country????? Honestly you should see the mess on the roads. I've just been driving through Chiang Mai for a couple of hours on a scooter, and it's a bloody god job I wasn't wearing white trouser. The upshot of the ticket was a 300 baht fine. Fine, that's only about 4 quid. Bloody annoying. So I paid my fine (which it appeared most of Phuket was having to pay judging by the queue to the payment table). Thoroughly annoyed, but happy not to have ended up in a Thai slammer, I got on my bike (haha, 'scuse the pun) and started looking to get back on the road. The cop about 7 meters infront of me started going mental and waving his arms and blowing his little whistle. So I just carried on shouting that I'd paid my fine and waving my receipt at him. Then I realised he was alerting me that I'd left my kickstand down. Red faces are a multi lingual way of proclaiming yourself as a twat.
About 5 minutes down the road I encountered the only roundabout in Thailand. So shocked to see such an advanced feature, I promptly went the wrong way round it. Maybe a license wouldn't be such a bad idea after all
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Homecoming
Quite a few of the people that I've had the pleasure of travelling with over over the past months have been returning home recently, for all kinds of reasons. However, whatever the reason, it's usually not because they've had enough of travelling. My advice to avoid the imminent homecoming blues is to pretend that you're still travelling. Irish of UN fame (still in the field no less) sent me this genius piece of literature today. Inspired Christine. Thankyou.
How to Avoid the Homecoming Blues
When you return home from travelling it can be a shock. The culture shock, the shock of no longer backpacking, the shock of being clean. Therefore, to let yourself gently back into the normality of life at home I suggest the following steps be taken:
1) Replace your bed with two or more bunk beds, and every night invite random people to sleep in your bedroom with you.Ensure at least once a week a couple gets drunk and shags on one of the top bunks. Remove beds one by one as symptons improve.
2) Sleep in your sleeping bag, forgetting to wash it for months.Add some bugs in order to wake up with many unsightly bites over your arms and legs.
3) Enlist the help of a family member to set your radio alarm to go off randomly during the night, filling your room with loud talking. This works best if the station is foreign. Also have several mobiles ringing, without being answered. To add to the torture, ask a friend to bring plastic bags into your room at roughly 6 in the morning and proceed to rustle them for no apparent reason for a good half an hour.
4) Keep all your clothes in a rucksack. Remember to smell them before puting them on and reintroduce the use of the iron SLOWLY.
5) Buy your favourite food, and despite living at home, write your name and when you might next be leaving the house on all bags. This should include mainly pasta, 2 minute noodles, carrots and beer.
6) Ask a family member to every now and again steal an item of food, preferably the one you have most been looking forward to or the most expensive. Keep at least one item of food far too long or in a bag out in the sun, so you have to spend about 24 hours within sprinting distance of the toilet.
7) Even if it's a Sunday, vacate the house by 10a.m.,and then stand on the corner of the street looking lost. Ask the first passer-by of similar ethnic background if they have found anywhere good to go yet.
8) When sitting on public transport ( the London Tube would be ideal) introduce yourself to the person sitting next to you, say which stop you got on at, where you are going, how long you have been travelling and what university you went to. If they say they are going to Morden, say you met a guy on the central line who said it was terrible and that you've heard Parsons Green is better and cheaper.
9) Finally stick paper in your shower so that the water comes out in just a drizzle. Adjust the hot/cold taps at regular intervals so that you are never fully satisfied with the temperature. Because of this frustration, shower infrequently.
I think you'll find this helps.
Quite a few of the people that I've had the pleasure of travelling with over over the past months have been returning home recently, for all kinds of reasons. However, whatever the reason, it's usually not because they've had enough of travelling. My advice to avoid the imminent homecoming blues is to pretend that you're still travelling. Irish of UN fame (still in the field no less) sent me this genius piece of literature today. Inspired Christine. Thankyou.
How to Avoid the Homecoming Blues
When you return home from travelling it can be a shock. The culture shock, the shock of no longer backpacking, the shock of being clean. Therefore, to let yourself gently back into the normality of life at home I suggest the following steps be taken:
1) Replace your bed with two or more bunk beds, and every night invite random people to sleep in your bedroom with you.Ensure at least once a week a couple gets drunk and shags on one of the top bunks. Remove beds one by one as symptons improve.
2) Sleep in your sleeping bag, forgetting to wash it for months.Add some bugs in order to wake up with many unsightly bites over your arms and legs.
3) Enlist the help of a family member to set your radio alarm to go off randomly during the night, filling your room with loud talking. This works best if the station is foreign. Also have several mobiles ringing, without being answered. To add to the torture, ask a friend to bring plastic bags into your room at roughly 6 in the morning and proceed to rustle them for no apparent reason for a good half an hour.
4) Keep all your clothes in a rucksack. Remember to smell them before puting them on and reintroduce the use of the iron SLOWLY.
5) Buy your favourite food, and despite living at home, write your name and when you might next be leaving the house on all bags. This should include mainly pasta, 2 minute noodles, carrots and beer.
6) Ask a family member to every now and again steal an item of food, preferably the one you have most been looking forward to or the most expensive. Keep at least one item of food far too long or in a bag out in the sun, so you have to spend about 24 hours within sprinting distance of the toilet.
7) Even if it's a Sunday, vacate the house by 10a.m.,and then stand on the corner of the street looking lost. Ask the first passer-by of similar ethnic background if they have found anywhere good to go yet.
8) When sitting on public transport ( the London Tube would be ideal) introduce yourself to the person sitting next to you, say which stop you got on at, where you are going, how long you have been travelling and what university you went to. If they say they are going to Morden, say you met a guy on the central line who said it was terrible and that you've heard Parsons Green is better and cheaper.
9) Finally stick paper in your shower so that the water comes out in just a drizzle. Adjust the hot/cold taps at regular intervals so that you are never fully satisfied with the temperature. Because of this frustration, shower infrequently.
I think you'll find this helps.
Monday, June 07, 2004
Bit Slow?
Personally I'm not. I'm a master don't you know. However, naming no names, some people have failed to realise there is a counter at the bottom left of this page notifying you of how many times it has been viewed. If you go to the page and it says 2000, you win! Simple. And yes, you could just keep reloading until it says 2000. If you did that, you'd be a sad bastard, but cheers, you'd get me to 2000 quicker. You see, I can't come home until it hits ten. Just joshing. Anyway, prizes are as prizes does.
Personally I'm not. I'm a master don't you know. However, naming no names, some people have failed to realise there is a counter at the bottom left of this page notifying you of how many times it has been viewed. If you go to the page and it says 2000, you win! Simple. And yes, you could just keep reloading until it says 2000. If you did that, you'd be a sad bastard, but cheers, you'd get me to 2000 quicker. You see, I can't come home until it hits ten. Just joshing. Anyway, prizes are as prizes does.
Sunday, June 06, 2004
Revoposty
Now then now then, calling all recipients. Has anyone received a postcard recently? Preferably from Thailand. I sent off a few staggered over a couple of days but have heard of no receipts. The Lonely Planet assures me that Thailand has a very efficient postal system but I'm beginning to wonder. If I don't hear from the recipients, well, then I don't know if they've arrived, and if I don't know that then what's the point in sending them in the first place? Hmm, a quandary methinks. However, if they are never received there could be an explanation. If I have put enough postage on them, then I suppose they'll never get there. To solve this, I sent a few out about three minutes ago with twice the postage on them (i.e. 2 stamps) so if you get one.... aw bugger, you get the idea. I'll stop rambling.
An Invitation
And still we have yet to have a random person sign up. Don't worry all you random's out there, I am not an axe murderer or a stalker. I'm also bloody miles away, well, I suppose that depends on where you live. Anyway, feel free to send me your address and thou shalt receive a postcard. Granted, sticking your name and address on the comments section might not be the wisest thing to do but you can always mail me using the contact link at the top.
I thank you in advance.
Competition
We're coming up to the 2000 mark of how many times this page has been viewed. My oh my, there already hey? As with any land mark page viewing let me know if you're the lucky number 2000 and I'll send you a prize. Prizes usually cost around two pound fifty, to give you some idea of the quality, so mail me and I'll send it off. Bear in mind I am currently in Thailand, two fifty goes a long way out here. You could even win a Thai bride as my bartering skills are getting better.
Now then now then, calling all recipients. Has anyone received a postcard recently? Preferably from Thailand. I sent off a few staggered over a couple of days but have heard of no receipts. The Lonely Planet assures me that Thailand has a very efficient postal system but I'm beginning to wonder. If I don't hear from the recipients, well, then I don't know if they've arrived, and if I don't know that then what's the point in sending them in the first place? Hmm, a quandary methinks. However, if they are never received there could be an explanation. If I have put enough postage on them, then I suppose they'll never get there. To solve this, I sent a few out about three minutes ago with twice the postage on them (i.e. 2 stamps) so if you get one.... aw bugger, you get the idea. I'll stop rambling.
An Invitation
And still we have yet to have a random person sign up. Don't worry all you random's out there, I am not an axe murderer or a stalker. I'm also bloody miles away, well, I suppose that depends on where you live. Anyway, feel free to send me your address and thou shalt receive a postcard. Granted, sticking your name and address on the comments section might not be the wisest thing to do but you can always mail me using the contact link at the top.
I thank you in advance.
Competition
We're coming up to the 2000 mark of how many times this page has been viewed. My oh my, there already hey? As with any land mark page viewing let me know if you're the lucky number 2000 and I'll send you a prize. Prizes usually cost around two pound fifty, to give you some idea of the quality, so mail me and I'll send it off. Bear in mind I am currently in Thailand, two fifty goes a long way out here. You could even win a Thai bride as my bartering skills are getting better.
Friday, June 04, 2004
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
As of this moment I am finally a Master of Enterprise. From this day forth you may refer to me as Ollbeek B.Sc(Hons) M. Ent.
Haha!!!!!!!!!! It may have taken a while but I'm there at last.
Good things end....
... and thats a fact. Andy, without many previous difficulties traveling, has, upon his second last night in Thailand, managed to get stinking drunk, go for a swim in his boxer shorts and then proceeded to fall asleep in my bed. Foolish Glanners made the heinous error of leaving his T-shirt and shorts on the beach before retiring (to my bed I might add! Cheeky!) If one leaves one's shorts upon the beach and forgets to remove one's wallet, one's money will no longer be there in the morning. Tut tut Andy. Night swimming deserves a quiet night, and a wallet in a lock up. Poor guy.
Whereabouts
Currently located on Ko Chang, Thailand. The surf is shit, I've seen lakes with bigger swell. Phuket next, should be bigger! Go hard or go home.
As of this moment I am finally a Master of Enterprise. From this day forth you may refer to me as Ollbeek B.Sc(Hons) M. Ent.
Haha!!!!!!!!!! It may have taken a while but I'm there at last.
Good things end....
... and thats a fact. Andy, without many previous difficulties traveling, has, upon his second last night in Thailand, managed to get stinking drunk, go for a swim in his boxer shorts and then proceeded to fall asleep in my bed. Foolish Glanners made the heinous error of leaving his T-shirt and shorts on the beach before retiring (to my bed I might add! Cheeky!) If one leaves one's shorts upon the beach and forgets to remove one's wallet, one's money will no longer be there in the morning. Tut tut Andy. Night swimming deserves a quiet night, and a wallet in a lock up. Poor guy.
Whereabouts
Currently located on Ko Chang, Thailand. The surf is shit, I've seen lakes with bigger swell. Phuket next, should be bigger! Go hard or go home.
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