Nothing Can Describe Thailand...

Bangkok, Islands, THAILAND (Currently in Ahmedabad, India)

Thailand was amazing. Simply out. Everyday was filled with something worthwhile. I will do my best to describe it with some words and photos.

To pick up where I left off, Sebastien and I arrived in Bangkok on the 12^th of March. It was a very long day and once we arrived at Khao San Road (Backpackers rite of passage in Bangkok), we searched exhaustedly for Jacob and Curtis. After an hour or so, about to give up, we found the place they were staying. We checked into our sauna like room, which was 8 X 8 and headed for the town.

Within minutes Curtis has brought us all a special treat. Something to celebrate being back together and something to kick off our adventures in Thailand. He brought a bag full of grasshoppers and 4 cockroaches. As the 4 of us indulged, Curtis began talking about the spreading of the insides within our mouth. I gagged but successfully finished it, without anything coming out.

That night we went out to a club on Khoa San and had a good time with some people we met from Germany.

The next day we decided to stay another night before we would head south towards the islands. Since it was Saturday we went to the weekend market. Now in Bangkok the tuk-tuk (rickshaw) drivers charge enormous amounts. But if you let them take you to a tailor or some sort of shop, they receive fuel vouchers which is even more valuable. So our ride went from 300 Baht to 30 Baht. We first went to a tailor, run completely by Indian people. We spent about 30 minutes pretending to be interested, only to break their hearts. The driver said if we went one more spot, the ride would be free. We then went to a jeweler warehouse. This was the elaborate place I had ever seen. Guards with huge automatic guns stood outside, while inside food and refreshments were offered. There were pieces in there which cost about $50,000. We clearly were not the crowd. Above the display cases were fish tanks which contained smaller sharks in them. It was a serious place.

At that point we went to the weekend market and did some shopping. The market was huge with so many things at such low prices. There were even some street performers and Sebastien started Beat-Boxing with one of them.

After that, we took a hilarious cab ride back to Khoa San. Our driver claimed to be a doctor and kept multiple weapons within reach of the drivers seat. It was funny but a little scary at the same time.

That night, there were about 60,000 protesters in Bangkok to ask the government to step down. We figured we might as well jump in on the action so we went. This was the same protest, which caused the airports in Thailand to shutdown about 2 years ago. The protesters promised not to get violent this time around. I believe they charged parliament two days ago… Anyways, the protest was good and we got to take some photos with riot police.

Later that night, we manged to find out Matt and Dave (our travel buddies from Vietnam) were in Bangkok that night and we met up with them again. It was awesome to hang out again one last night. We once again hung around Khoa San and went to some spots around there. Jacob and I made some local bar owners a little angry, so they chased us around until they felt Jacob had to be removed. I literally danced myself out of trouble. That was a pretty late night and a very memorable one for Curtis.

The next day we were to take a bus to Koh Lanta around 6 pm so we just spent the day hanging around. I ate Pad Thai in Thailand for the first time off the streets, so that was pretty cool. The lady who sold us our bus tickets, also happened to be a girl who practiced Muay Thai, so she took us to her local gym. There were a lot of foreigners training there and some crazy people. It was pretty cool to watch.

At that point we were all to meet at 5:30 board the bus. Curtis tired from the night before, had decided to get a massage for 30 mins and then sleep for the other 30 mins. He was exhausted so he felt it was the only way to get rest, as we had checked out of our guesthouse. At 6 p.m. the bus was held back and Curtis was no where to be found. Just as we suspected he was napping in some massage place a few minutes away. Since we all had paid for our tickets, we decided to go ahead and hopefully Curt would arrive the next day. Around 6:40 p.m. the bus had stopped somewhere else in Bangkok to pick up some other people. Before leaving, Curt appeared on the bus. Some guy on a scooter had given him a ride from the original pick up spot. We laughed and could not believe he was actually sleeping.

From that point we took an overnight bus and arrived in Krabi at 7 a.m. We took a boat to Koh Lanta and just hung out. Koh Lanta is a very peaceful island where no one visits. We thought we might as well check it out. That night we rented motorbikes and explored some of the island. It was a very quiet scene. We played some pool and relaxed.

The next day, the 3 guys went diving and I went snorkeling. Since I am not certified I chose not to go. Snorkeling was really nice and I gained a ridiculous sunburn out of it.

That night, we hung out on our beach side resort and ate Peanut Butter and Jam sandwiches. It was good times.

The next day we woke up and decided to make a huge sand castle. It was St. Patricks Day, so something had to be done. Of course, hanging out with those 3, there is no ordinary, so we decided to build a Sand Octopus. In the blazing heat, it took a couple of hours but it came out pretty good. We then went to a mini-bar at the end of the beach and listened to some Thai Reggae. It was another random moment.

The next morning we woke up at 7 am and jumped on a boat to what has been, my favourite place of the whole trip, Koh Phi Phi. Phi Phi is known as a paradise spot, full of young people. It is completely overrun by tourists but it is just beautiful. We got off the boat and within hours went snorkeling right off the shore. The snorkeling was beautiful.

That night, we discovered the crazy party scene on Koh Phi Phi as well as the joys of playing with fire. Every bar had some sort of fire show, whether it was skip rope or jumping through rings of fire or fire batons. We did it all and didn’t get burnt that badly.

The next day we did a snorkeling boat tour for about $13. We went to 5 different locations and every place was breath taking. We first went to the spot where The Beach was filmed with the man Leo Dicaprio. It was a very beautiful place. We then went to this place called Monkey beach, which was obviously full of Monkeys. The snorkeling and scenery were all amazing. We ended the day with a sunset ride and jumped through fire again at night.

The next day, Curtis and I decided to get a real hotel room. For the past two nights, Jacob had been sleeping in a sauna of a bungalow with Sebastien and I with Curtis. After not sleeping for two nights we got a real room, which was double the price, but well worth it. That same afternoon, we hired a boat which took us cliff jumping. Cliff jumping was pretty cool. I climbed to maybe half the height the other boys did, and was still very scared. I got some amazing photos of Sebastien and Jacob. We went back to the island after and did the same thing we did the nights before.

The next day, we had planned a Scuba Diving trip. Now I was not certified so I would be going with an instructor while the other 3 went with a guide. But we boarded the same boat and went around the same place. Scuba Diving was a remarkable experience. To spend 45 minutes under water was awesome. To those who have done it, know what the feeling is. We saw huge turtles, all types of fish and different reefs. Even though visibility was not great, I had an amazing time. We spent the day on a huge boat and had really cool guides and instructors.

That was our last night in Koh Phi Phi, so as were about to go out Jacob asked if we should go watch a Muay Thai fight or if he should go and get… We chose the latter and you will have to ask him what we did that night.

The next day, Sebastien decided he wanted to head to Railey/Tonsai Beach to begin rock climbing so he did. Curtis, Jacob and I took a boat to Phuket. Phuket is a famous spot in Thailand as it has an airport and many older Europeans vacation there. We arrived there and realized it was a huge full-fledged city. It was like Bangkok with an ocean.

They have their own road called Bang-La which was like Khoa San but even dirtier with more illegal activities. That night we met some helicopter pilots vacationing from the US. They apparently worked for a firm who did contracts for the US Army but were accused of so many controversial things. As we asked them what they did, they were hesitant in describing. As Jacob was the only knowledgeable person of political events began to realize who they were, he decided not to discuss anything and they were happy with that. They were young people who were buying us drinks, we could not complain.

We went to a huge nightclub, hung out with some VIP guy named Billy Boy. It was a goodnight.

The next day we went to the biggest beach there, called PAtong Beach. It was the most people I have ever seen on a beach. We spent the day just lazing around and went out again at night. Met some people from Norway who Jacob and Curtis had met in Laos.

The next day we jumped on a boat and made our way to Tonsai Beach. Tonsai is the beach which is right beside Railey. Railey is one of the most beautiful beaches of Thailand and Tonsai was the cheaper alternative right beside it. It was also known for its rock climbing. We arrived there in the afternoon, to its blistering heat and found Sebastien. We spent the afternoon in a cave doing some bouldering and just hung out. Tonsai had this amazing Rastafarian Bob Marley culture through out. Everyone is so relaxed and just hangs out. It is the most peaceful place.

The next day was more of the same. Just relaxed. The island was pretty quiet and had no electricity from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. We would sweat buckets all day long. The boys did some bouldering and just hung out. In the afternoon we walked over to Railey which was absolutely beautiful. The water was very warm but the surroundings were amazing. We spent a good part of the day throwing jellyfish at one another. Once again, we walked into a resort and swam in its pool. It was nice to get away from the salt water.

The next day, Jacob and Sebastien went rock climbing. The climbers on this mountain were amazing. They were really skilled, as it was a known spot for all climbers.

That evening it rained a little and the island was happy. It’d been about 50 days since it rained and everyone was happy. I spent about 30 mins just standing in the rain, it was wonderful.

The next day we did a deep-water soloing trip. Deep-water soloing is basically rock climbing without ropes, but if you fall, you go into the water. I was unable to climb barely any of the things while the other 3 had done the hardest and highest climbs. Their jumps were pretty ridiculous off the top.

The next day (March 28^th), Curtis, Jacob and I left for Koh Phangan to reach in time for a full moon party on March 30^th. Sebastian decided to stay back and just climb for the rest of his time in Thailand as he would be leaving soon.

The journey to Koh Phangan was a long one but we arrived in a quick 10 hours. We found a really cheap place about 5 mins from where the party would be and just relaxed for the evening.

The next day was by far the greatest beach day of the trip. We went down to the beach and the weather was beautiful. Not too hot. There were huge waves coming in and the water was very nice. The beach was completely packed, with all young people coming in for the party. We played hours of volleyball with many different people. The highlight of the day was to ride a Jet Ski for the first time in my life. It cost me about $8 for 15 mins, there was no way I could turn it down. Jacob and I hit some huge waves and were flying. It was one of the best moments of the whole trip. After that, we had some great dinner and hung out on the beach were the party would be. Before heading to the beach, we went to the center of the island to a stadium to watch a Muay Thai fight. We saw about 8 fights which were all amazing with some crazy TKOs. The stadium was packed with people and some of the fighters were foreigners, so it was cool to see. After that, we went to the party beach (Haad Rin). There were still at least 1000 people out the night before, so it was a good time.

The next day was the reason we were there. We hung out all day, played some Frisbee and got ready for the evening. This party was known to have lasted into the morning but we weren’t sure if we could stay up that late. All that said, we got to the beach at 9 p.m. and back to our bungalows at 7 a.m. I lost both Curt and Jacob for many hours and met many people. Curt seems to have been missing the whole trip, but I found him around 6 a.m. doing a limbo that had been set up. It was great.

The next part of the trip was not as great. As I had to get to Bangkok asap to catch a flight to India, I had to leave immediately. I went back to my bungalow, packed my things, slept for one hour and jumped on a boat. Jacob came with me, as he had to get back to Bangkok to retrieve his passport. Curt stayed there for another few hours and then was headed to Malaysia. After the boat ride, we took a bus ride and then an overnight train. We finally arrived in Bangkok at 6 a.m. the next day (April 1^st). It was exhausting to say the least. At that point, we figured we might as well picked up Jacob passport.

We waited a few hours for the consulate to open, then we needed to get to the government buildings which were on the other side of town. Eventually we found a hotel on Khoa San Road and finally got to sleep around 2 p.m. It was a long day. I had a flight to catch on the 2^nd to Mumbai, India.

We slept for a few hours and decided we would eat a real meal for dinner since it was our last night. We ate at an amazing Indian restaurant and then went out with some Canadians we had met.

The next day, we woke up and I go myself to the airport and the said goodbye to Southeast Asia. Jacob took a boat back down to Railey beach to meet Sebastien and I believe he is currently in Malaysia with Curtis right now.

Most Valuable Buds

Thailand had a lot of amazing people. I had to choose my German Scuba Instructor, Ella as the most valuable bud. She helped me dearly as I somehow stayed under water for 45 minutes.

And by random coincidence we ran into her at the full moon party and hung out with her there. All in all, she was very helpful throughout Thailand.

Angkoooor WAT

Siem Reap, Cambodia (Currently in Bangkok, Thailand)

We woke up very early in Don Det, Laos, took a boat to the next island and then boarded a bus. One of the coolest parts of the trip was when leaving Laos and entering Cambodia we had to literally walk across the border. The bus stopped one one side, we walked into Cambodia, got our visas, then got back onto the bus. This is a shot looking into Cambodia.


This is one, looking back at Laos.


We were supposed to go straight to Siem Reap, Cambodia (Location of Angkor Wat Temples), but after the 12 hour journey we landed in the capital city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We were told the bus does not go any further and we would have to connect the next day. That was a very long day of busing. These are some photos I took on the bus ride.




We ended up staying in a hotel which was located directly above a kitchen and the heat was brutal. We went out that evening and found a big night market.


The next day, we woke up early and jumped on another bus ride to make it to Siem Reap.

The bus stations were so hot, they had water spraying from above to cool people down.


We ended up getting on a really bad bus, which was a 6 hour ride and had no Air Conditioning. It was another sticky brutal ride. Fresh pineapple available at rest stops, was always good.


We arrived in Siem Reap, found a place to stay and just relaxed for the evening.

In Don Det, Sebastien and I met a guy traveling alone from Australia named Darren, so we traveled with him through Cambodia. Meanwhile, Jacob was with Curtis, still in Vientiane, Laos waiting for his passport. It would be days before he got it and they decided they would skip Cambodia. After another night of no air conditioning in our room, we decided it was vital to have some.

We found a new hotel which gave us a room for $5 each. The room was absolutely deluxe. It was a proper hotel with amazing air conditioning and real mattresses.

That evening we went to watch the sunset at one of the spots in Angkor Wat. It was quite an amazing site, even though there were lots of people.





That night we hit the town and just relaxed. There is this huge area called Pub St. in Siem Reap which is just full of tourists. I could not believe the scene I was in, in the middle of Cambodia.


The next day we visited the main temple, Angkor Wat and it was an amazing site to see. The pictures cannot do justice to the ruins which are over 800 years old.









At the same time, the weather was on a whole new level. I believe it was over 40 degrees and very humid; which was very hot at times. I have never sweat so much water in my life.




We stumbled upon this market, which was pretty cool. It was full of locals and busy at all times. It had to be covered very well because of the heat. I got a nice Versace belt out of there. Definitely genuine.


The next day we visited Ta Pronh which was amazing. It is the temple which has roots growing out of it. The pictures describe it all.







That night, we found a luxurious $100/night hotel and snuck into the roof-top salt water swimming pool. Being westerners, the clerks assumed we were guests. The pool was gorgeous.


The next day we decided to do nothing and just relax. This trip has actually gotten me into reading, so I ended up reading Angels and Demons within a span of a few days. It was good to relax. That night we decided to eat well and do a Cambodia BBQ. We got our own BBQ and ate all different types of meat. Chicken, Beef, Squid, Crocodile, Snake and Kangaroo (for our Aussie friend). It was super delicious.



The next morning, we woke up at 5 am, hopped a bus back to Phnom Penh and then hopped a plane to Bangkok.

On the way, we stopped at a rest stop and I met a kid who was trying to sell me bananas. His language skills of English were impeccable and his selling were even better. He could have sold American mortgage backed securities during the recession.


This is one of my favorite shots of Sebastien and I on our way to the airport in a tuk-tuk.


We had to fly to Bangkok in order to receive a 30 day Visa. It was more pricey than usual, but had to be done to stay in the country of Thailand. After about 14 hours, we finally reunited with Jacob and Curtis and stayed right off Khoa San Rd. Anyone who has been to Thailand, knows it is where all the backpackers go.


Most Valuable Buds

The Most Valuable Buds of this leg of the trip is Darren Bonehill.


He is doing his own one year world tour and was a great guy to travel with. He is a real estate agent in Brisbane, Australia so he gave us a crash course on how to sell property anywhere.

Easy losing time while in Vang Vieng...

Vang Vieng, Laos (Currently in Siem Reap, Cambodia)

Laos is such an amazing country.

First of all, on almost every street corner, they sell sandwiches and pancakes for about $1. It doesn't make sense. They also sell fruit smoothies on every corner for about 55 cents. I truly loved Laos.


On our last day in Luang Pra Bang, we visited the oldest temple in Laos. It was not very big but it is said to have been around the longest time. It was right along the Mekong river.



Once again it was really awesome to see the Mekong River and just relax with some mango shakes.


We spent most of the time in Luang Pra Bang just going through the night markets and seeing local sites.

The next day, we jumped on another bus to Vang Vieng. The bus ride was as usual, very gorgeous. It only took about 6 hours. They are becoming easy now.


Our lunch stop was very nice as well.


Vang Vieng, Laos is known as the tubing spot of Southeast Asia. They basically found a river and set up dozens of bars and restaurants along this river. As well as rope swings and water slides. It is just a big place for all foreigners from across the world to gather and have fun. If you have been, or heard about it, you know what goes on in the city.

We were glad to have met up with our buddies from Vietnam, Matt and Dave. We also made friends with another guy named Alex from Edmonton.


Vang Vieng was indescribable. The surrounding areas were beautiful.


I normally have a great amount of photos, but not many for this city. Especially since we stayed 7 nights, I wish I had more photos. We ended up getting a bungalow along the river for about $3 a night. It was amazing.


The first day we spent on the infamous river, taking 40 feet ropes swings into the air. There are no photos to prove it, but I actually did some of them. To be launched 45 feet in the air is scary to say the least. I am sure YouTube has some videos of it. We also played a pretty crazy game of mud volleyball. The river was 3 km and we barely made it 200 m the first day, for whatever reasons.

The next day,we rented motorbikes and drove outside of town. The four of us and Dave and Matt joined us along for the ride.


We found a water filled cave and sat on a tube and just floated through it. It was absolutely remarkable, to be in a tube floating in a cave.






After that we rode our bikes to another nearby cave.


This cave was very long and narrow.



Within the cave, there was a really large Buddha statue. It was amazing to see something built so deep into a cave.


After that, we made our way back to the town. Driving on motorbikes throughout the trip, was probably the activity I enjoyed the most.



The next day we went back to the river and Jacob, Curtis and I tubed the whole thing. It was pretty fun to sit for 4 hours and float down a river.That night, we somehow found a bar which was showing the Canada - US Gold Medal game. We made our way there around 3 am and celebrated with cheers around 6:30 am when Canada took it. There was a huge Canadian community in the city who came to watch it, so it was great. I have had such an amazing time during my whole trip, but that was surely a moment I wished I was in Canada. Crosby scoring in Overtime couldn't be scripted any better.

The next day, the other boys went rock climbing while I just stayed behind and sat in a hammock all day. It was quite enjoyable.

Everyday we went to the same breakfast place. The service was good, the people were great and the view was... really nice.


The next day, we once again went to the river. The river is very addictive and so much fun. I ended up taking this water slide which basically flings you 20 feet into the air. Flying was pretty awesome.

Every night while there we heard some great tunes. One of my favourites which always played was What is Love; it is a great song, which reminded me of a great Szyjka at home.


On our last day, we took a trip to a nearby lagoon and did a little bit of caving. This is Jacob jumping into the Lagoon.


We went to the caves with Julie from Switzerland and Vanessa from Vancouver.




There was once again another Buddha statue within the cave, really well done.


Overall Vang Vieng was a place we all thoroughly enjoyed and will never forget.


The day after (somehow we spent 8 days there) we decided the city had abused us enough and we had to leave. We made our way to the capital city of Laos, called Vientiane by bus. It took about 5 hours. At which point, we were to stop for one hour and then take another 12 hour over night bus.


While eating in an Indian restaurant (great reminder of home) our friend Jacob could not find his passport. The bus was leaving in 30 mins and he didn't know what to do. Long story short, I boarded the bus with Sebastien to Don Det, Laos (4000 Islands) and Jacob and Curtis remained behind. Update on that is, they had to miss Cambodia and we will meet them in Thailand. Medium.

The bus ride to Don Det was pretty ridiculous. At first I was excited it was a sleeper bus. When I saw my bed, I thought wow, I only have to share with one person. Of course, nothing is what is seems. Imagine a double bed, that is only 5 feet long, with myself, 3 Laotian men and a German man. It was uncomfortable on so many levels. 10 hours later, I was still alive.

We finally made it to Don Det the next morning and just relaxed.


Don Det is known for having 4000 Islands and the beach was gorgeous.



This was the bungalow I stayed in for $3. It looked really good, especially with that towel they offered me. But it was too hot and just another miserable sleep.

We spent the day just swimming and relaxing. This was the background of our breakfast table, it was awesome.


Right The next day we embarked on another 13 hour journey to Cambodia (where I currently I am). Right before the bus ride, in this super town that was clearly lacking infrastructure, we discovered one of the most beautiful rice fields.



Most Valuable buds

The Most Valuable Buds for this leg of the trip has to be Dave Bene from Kelowna, Canada and Matt Matheson from London, England.



We met these boys in Vietnam and ended up meeting them in Vang Vieng. We spent all 7 days with them. They are some good guys and hopefully we meet up with them again sometime soon.