tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71786144541222235082024-03-19T16:09:53.076-07:00Brandon and Leah's Adventures in Southeast AsiaLeah and I plan to leave San Francisco on February 17th, 2009 for Bangkok and will explore Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia until early May. We set up this blog as a form of communication and a method of sharing our experiences with family and friends. Please check for updates, the blog begins at the bottom and reads up to current.BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-44335486847645026392009-05-02T09:50:00.000-07:002009-06-08T17:14:55.592-07:00Lombok -Last but not least!<div align="center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrUrelbaFOmq91zNuTao7d_Q58WAwYdMZdXQa0p_2NE2zJ2FhvLKHPloMd9wh7zaCbMBILJkHxp4uD2BCITW8BZsOso26Pxrd1oedaqG4h8LS7AKg1W-1O-sQHCjA2mAfI4xBeAgJnd8/s1600-h/IMG_6081.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279511162833954" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrUrelbaFOmq91zNuTao7d_Q58WAwYdMZdXQa0p_2NE2zJ2FhvLKHPloMd9wh7zaCbMBILJkHxp4uD2BCITW8BZsOso26Pxrd1oedaqG4h8LS7AKg1W-1O-sQHCjA2mAfI4xBeAgJnd8/s320/IMG_6081.jpg" border="0" /></a> We did a one day rafting trip in Bali before flying back to Bangkok. </div><div align="center">Everything is so beautiful and green here right now. Aside from getting a little car sick on the way because we were recovering from a late night with some Swedish travelers we met the night before, the ride was fun, and we got a delicious Indonesian lunch with it. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXm01iy7aEKzKtz8tAg36SwMxDaGvDrH3VfmIuWsWc6rdYRWUHMiTNZqDr12BljOVVa4rhtFAlVLyOe2apVkl9ifQL4Neb7JoHwjJvM12gqd32huGzwiWP2mrkK95EruTu0WwMoyw-Jgc/s1600-h/IMG_6045.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279507200006770" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 180px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXm01iy7aEKzKtz8tAg36SwMxDaGvDrH3VfmIuWsWc6rdYRWUHMiTNZqDr12BljOVVa4rhtFAlVLyOe2apVkl9ifQL4Neb7JoHwjJvM12gqd32huGzwiWP2mrkK95EruTu0WwMoyw-Jgc/s320/IMG_6045.jpg" border="0" /> </a><p align="center">View of low tide and sunset at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Gili</span> T (small islands off <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Lombok</span>) the last stop in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Lombok</span>. The shores are so shallow that when tide is low it can be 1/2 a Km away! At night you'll see hundreds of lights on the ocean from fishermen out in their boats. </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJ8mle7fFvgiuzRS9wVhyphenhyphenkw9kbUjIjC8ocVsxnTyvI063Pxlb6fDE-2xTs33RDZ1_mKacd-MTdOyEG0GeIVh2hy8OSkDSxUkuYcuFDylA7BJ9LT2C-jFu-z21fdTnDH1W7vC-xMXuKzU/s1600-h/IMG_6009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279503608828994" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJ8mle7fFvgiuzRS9wVhyphenhyphenkw9kbUjIjC8ocVsxnTyvI063Pxlb6fDE-2xTs33RDZ1_mKacd-MTdOyEG0GeIVh2hy8OSkDSxUkuYcuFDylA7BJ9LT2C-jFu-z21fdTnDH1W7vC-xMXuKzU/s320/IMG_6009.jpg" border="0" /> </a><p align="center">View of the lake from our camping spot. Locals hike down here </p><p align="center">all the time to go fishing for a day or 2. </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0xddzRuIlGIyZIWcpVqVMJEFaxHjan8fHKgimbyXZXrD-wj4iGl7-b1hF4JohVxvQ8ssEu4-XGLV5WBYaHmW2YfjFhWOUQVi7cLysjKlBwyPKo7roslgiHlfj6xBpWWAJT1JL1B6MPc/s1600-h/IMG_5997.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279499917997954" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0xddzRuIlGIyZIWcpVqVMJEFaxHjan8fHKgimbyXZXrD-wj4iGl7-b1hF4JohVxvQ8ssEu4-XGLV5WBYaHmW2YfjFhWOUQVi7cLysjKlBwyPKo7roslgiHlfj6xBpWWAJT1JL1B6MPc/s320/IMG_5997.jpg" border="0" /></a> This water fall is coming from the lake... if you look in the bottom right corner you'll see the hot springs that we relaxed in. The hot water was coming from inside the rock and the pools were built by locals. They were pretty clean and didn't have that typical sulfur smell. Needless to stay they did little to ease our pain/soreness <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">despite</span> the local belief that they have healing power. I still don't know how I had the leg strength to hike 8 hours out of there the following day... maybe they do have power ; ) <div align="center"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpyzad4z0g4cQou2datz3XTGdkeHPfuKa8XQq_S11Bmh29xMLDjfwU6Q8VLF_pM-mFG8ru02qMZQ85cBFUcH_vHiHS2-ywsBb8oln_UPE9kaFRXSVLE3etIR4iuuX2HsdNKU9ZS0ulwI/s1600-h/IMG_5963.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279500044928082" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpyzad4z0g4cQou2datz3XTGdkeHPfuKa8XQq_S11Bmh29xMLDjfwU6Q8VLF_pM-mFG8ru02qMZQ85cBFUcH_vHiHS2-ywsBb8oln_UPE9kaFRXSVLE3etIR4iuuX2HsdNKU9ZS0ulwI/s320/IMG_5963.jpg" border="0" /></a> Like I said after 12 km of hiking straight UP! (about (8000ft elevation change) </div><div align="center">We were exhausted but happy...next was to hike 2 hours down 2,000 feet into the crater and stay overnight at the lake. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W-R9UjBbs3fTlNm6ugLxaFi6TnQCVKMnll9PmsQyqwFSNlR53aV2GT7Y8o25B2kaUOoaQxlu_JWBg0UDwMRXPjEAA1JBptPtDUCLNjwpL7eID179flkmoN5MwNOvLLcGlZ0mBeRMeOw/s1600-h/IMG_5954.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279027267833298" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 180px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W-R9UjBbs3fTlNm6ugLxaFi6TnQCVKMnll9PmsQyqwFSNlR53aV2GT7Y8o25B2kaUOoaQxlu_JWBg0UDwMRXPjEAA1JBptPtDUCLNjwpL7eID179flkmoN5MwNOvLLcGlZ0mBeRMeOw/s320/IMG_5954.jpg" border="0" /> </a><p align="center">On the second day of the trek we hit the rim of the active volcano which last erupted 100 years ago and now a lake inside thousands of feet deep. It took my breath away it was so beautiful. This picture hardly does it justice. The second volcano you see steaming inside formed in 1994 and a third smaller one is beginning just below that. </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmSfrv6MgrM-RM-RqBmCCcVth0IbPlD9XDVSjY6fJz9K9D9IlsZAQSW0IT1u9dNgEwBBAOIs8KfqgthSauqm9EnDTakY8DTvXfL1fgURC8Htv5lxNioAhzv1KYtMgs3zGCoL7gc44xVQ/s1600-h/IMG_5919.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279024381929074" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmSfrv6MgrM-RM-RqBmCCcVth0IbPlD9XDVSjY6fJz9K9D9IlsZAQSW0IT1u9dNgEwBBAOIs8KfqgthSauqm9EnDTakY8DTvXfL1fgURC8Htv5lxNioAhzv1KYtMgs3zGCoL7gc44xVQ/s320/IMG_5919.jpg" border="0" /> </a><p align="center"><strong>Mount <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Rinjani</span> Trek</strong> </p><div align="center">We decided to do some hiking for the last bit because Indonesia is so beautiful and we through originally we could hit the volcano in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Lombok</span> by ourselves...turns out the rules had changed and we ended up having to get a Porter (An pictured above). This guy was AMAZING! He carried all of our stuff shy some water, clothes and sleeping bags on his bamboo stick and in flip flops! for three days we covered a total of 25 km and 18,000 feet of elevation change! oh and it rained days so it was slippery too. He didn't speak much <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">english</span> but he knew "slowly slowly" or "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">hati</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">hati</span>" in Indonesian and kept saying that to us as we walked. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirg8p9Z5YNPHg2OtpMVQ2FmEbhGU5XxKAEKo4YMI4PJzTmjbtPF5KKsUhwmau1RyBv8V1zojCZkzPdQ6Z7FS-oVwsQHL8M5YCtLzHkkE8U-pzkVPMnAw4x4dEbraGLDJaStnUsTFJt8YA/s1600-h/IMG_5889.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279020593869106" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirg8p9Z5YNPHg2OtpMVQ2FmEbhGU5XxKAEKo4YMI4PJzTmjbtPF5KKsUhwmau1RyBv8V1zojCZkzPdQ6Z7FS-oVwsQHL8M5YCtLzHkkE8U-pzkVPMnAw4x4dEbraGLDJaStnUsTFJt8YA/s320/IMG_5889.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div align="center">Same beach near <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Kuta</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Lombok</span>...</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHH_GvX_dZp1CJGX6X5hBztbLqBoiCt36Is1ngV1B0nyfKR7gWNweUh80nUIHIVlTWXOErztw9_vWZ_wPoJ-D2Zb9C3iLhVpuOdqbtOhhlkftYufT_wRKHQMMZQh-iNbOuOaE4QOmwjlM/s1600-h/IMG_5878.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279014675079330" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHH_GvX_dZp1CJGX6X5hBztbLqBoiCt36Is1ngV1B0nyfKR7gWNweUh80nUIHIVlTWXOErztw9_vWZ_wPoJ-D2Zb9C3iLhVpuOdqbtOhhlkftYufT_wRKHQMMZQh-iNbOuOaE4QOmwjlM/s320/IMG_5878.jpg" border="0" /></a> This is our favorite beach break for surfing - while you can't see in the pic I just finished surfing a massive wave!! <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">haha</span>, no this is actually a great beginner beach about a 45 min scooter ride from where we stayed. We actually hit some nice waves here, good size for us. (and bigger then this white water I swear!) </p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNQnjVl5f3pf10ne9h-CbkBKDiR7JhIyTGxlvR0J8ExOAvngtmc5RZXozqoye18H-EWKH1RPmswXNTcJ7lbn7Y9zQY6e844juh_Uo3MATLf6hWBCo840rrMAHe7l3N52nplutPKMPJPFY/s1600-h/IMG_5820.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331279011950567202" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 180px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNQnjVl5f3pf10ne9h-CbkBKDiR7JhIyTGxlvR0J8ExOAvngtmc5RZXozqoye18H-EWKH1RPmswXNTcJ7lbn7Y9zQY6e844juh_Uo3MATLf6hWBCo840rrMAHe7l3N52nplutPKMPJPFY/s320/IMG_5820.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center">This pic is from a remote beach in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Lombok</span>... there are so many coves with these beautiful beaches... one family might live here and do farming or earn money by charging to park in the area. Most of the smaller coves had great reef breaks (we stayed clear of those though).</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><strong>We LOVED <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Lombok</span>.</strong> Quick geography lesson... Indonesia is one of the largest counties in the world but is so broken up into islands people tend to forget about it's size... additionally, each island has it's own make up of people, religion, culture, character, and food. While the locals may notice more so then the tourists we found immediately that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Lombok</span> was far more remote and even more chill then Bali. There was little available <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">internet</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">ATMs</span> only in the largest towns and limited public transportation... Oh and the electricity just shut off mid day if the place didn't have a back up generator it meant no shower power and no blender power for our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Arak</span> Attacks! (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Arak</span> is the local hard A used in most drinks). </div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14276206952979136396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-53342684129975960282009-05-02T09:23:00.001-07:002009-06-08T17:15:56.391-07:00Ubud Bali<div align="center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FZdK0_8t3SLwv_bkZloxAaX1IlrXBI-hvfjkD4Qzqu-7Y_4_XZAM3X2IlWq607eA28Nx8PkKTDS5bDFKG1Vt-r9BG69KRhgbapoqVRG7_PFZRfSEugf2i3CU2unczBO2wCc7DydUJd0/s1600-h/IMG_5798%5B1%5D"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331270602371992306" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FZdK0_8t3SLwv_bkZloxAaX1IlrXBI-hvfjkD4Qzqu-7Y_4_XZAM3X2IlWq607eA28Nx8PkKTDS5bDFKG1Vt-r9BG69KRhgbapoqVRG7_PFZRfSEugf2i3CU2unczBO2wCc7DydUJd0/s320/IMG_5798%5B1%5D" border="0" /></a> (Brandon's picture choice) This pig was freshly delivered to a very popular restaurant we had lunch at. The only food choice was rice and... you guessed it PORK. I asked specifically if they had vegetarian and that didn't go over well.. so we both enjoyed a delicious plate of this guy.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1-e8GJvLmAjKYbqiFj1IgGc9qwoqg-1luD2cP2o6oOaVhmyVhpym736WVKAIvJjIF7aqFL3cXmRKcyqO1MgaMcBtwoOcmxmFMzYI94bbgWj36w5i0E27rBrJU1gt8QzGmhuSpSbCfXU/s1600-h/IMG_5779%5B1%5D"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331269703806351506" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1-e8GJvLmAjKYbqiFj1IgGc9qwoqg-1luD2cP2o6oOaVhmyVhpym736WVKAIvJjIF7aqFL3cXmRKcyqO1MgaMcBtwoOcmxmFMzYI94bbgWj36w5i0E27rBrJU1gt8QzGmhuSpSbCfXU/s320/IMG_5779%5B1%5D" border="0" /></a> We took a bike ride through the beautiful rice fields around Ubud. Ubud is known as an opportunity to see the "real Bali" because most of it is so touristy... We saw a house for rent on our ride - did a quick calculation on how long we could live here on our savings and and were very tempted! ... But instead we opted to stick with the plan on moving to a cold rainy climate - oh and pay a lot more in living costs for it too : ) haha</div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxKkYPoKu-BM_g_RXGZJl-4TiHoXLuQQgBd2piLeI_VqTRTwo30rBEkYpHhmRQWe55NfVjHC3SolqGMl46FcJ2ikfhzgzY8s0Zq9tYh8apJn9SUk-UibwO06lYmTkNNZTq-XVTKK3ymE/s1600-h/IMG_5761.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331269085352790834" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxKkYPoKu-BM_g_RXGZJl-4TiHoXLuQQgBd2piLeI_VqTRTwo30rBEkYpHhmRQWe55NfVjHC3SolqGMl46FcJ2ikfhzgzY8s0Zq9tYh8apJn9SUk-UibwO06lYmTkNNZTq-XVTKK3ymE/s320/IMG_5761.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div align="center">Brandon's friend was cute in the beginning, but Monkeys are sneaky. We had a great time watching them at the temple overall. </div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJrbREEEh2ImKcH2Hp7j9IcKLwIqpk1tXiyPZZBU71cG8FqY3Dg1x9UhuEE9_9fAPZZKQLtKRiRl0kZ7BzdNfIoO6Gj_yAuBqcAkH0rGWnnKwksc7x0IaRUwTpJYImMP5hFrmv1Uy3qk/s1600-h/IMG_5753.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331269081580073234" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJrbREEEh2ImKcH2Hp7j9IcKLwIqpk1tXiyPZZBU71cG8FqY3Dg1x9UhuEE9_9fAPZZKQLtKRiRl0kZ7BzdNfIoO6Gj_yAuBqcAkH0rGWnnKwksc7x0IaRUwTpJYImMP5hFrmv1Uy3qk/s320/IMG_5753.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The monkeys started off innocent enough. This was the first one the climbed on me.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0e-bIaatc4eYxA4p2qoBTUVJaeTPPM5f69G4oD_6mtEbLSldC9AzqIP0atd7HmjYW7d1rf7HDn_emr6K43g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">We visited the Monkey Sanctuary in Ubud Bali... The monkeys seemed innocent enough until one turned on Brandon... What the video doesn't show is how the monkey proceeded to do a chin-up, grap a chunk of Brandon's hair in his mouth and hang from it. Unfortunately I was little help between trying to turn the camera off to get to him and laughing hysterically! soooo funny!<br /></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14276206952979136396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-46674734556192506572009-04-09T06:12:00.000-07:002009-04-09T06:52:25.984-07:00Bali<div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTteBiOo65yvwKCRZyynaRZQzW74pY1Y5Sjxk6exq7sq_df3k5-7SQ-9tlHpPqY_jLc_zpsAGLkVWWhvs-41p_w1SEyjQXStpzd_SAeYR8fLSWjjDh75lKZ2HkzLL33xIwwy3I9fhveA/s1600-h/Picture+060.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322680075861760594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTteBiOo65yvwKCRZyynaRZQzW74pY1Y5Sjxk6exq7sq_df3k5-7SQ-9tlHpPqY_jLc_zpsAGLkVWWhvs-41p_w1SEyjQXStpzd_SAeYR8fLSWjjDh75lKZ2HkzLL33xIwwy3I9fhveA/s320/Picture+060.jpg" border="0" /></a> The sunsets are amazing on Kuta and a lot of people come out for them because the temperature actually drops moderately to a comfortable level. The locals always play soccer, the volleyballs come out, and the surfing is great right up until you loose visibility. I haven't seen Kelly Slater or Andy Irons out there yet but I'll let you know when I do...</div><div align="center"><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5APK8jGSkga2g4ZWVbgYt7tvgo6AfVsfxjOKRIyXl_hbaj6UkxTS8Jw2VFiyVaNdvlhtojusQBiG0o4UDIRnnTmW7EYBXuW5wjg91Bw6abkkud7P1uCkXVGdx4q1whFzif3wbVb62yo/s1600-h/Picture+058.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322680074392926658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5APK8jGSkga2g4ZWVbgYt7tvgo6AfVsfxjOKRIyXl_hbaj6UkxTS8Jw2VFiyVaNdvlhtojusQBiG0o4UDIRnnTmW7EYBXuW5wjg91Bw6abkkud7P1uCkXVGdx4q1whFzif3wbVb62yo/s320/Picture+058.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322687010407100450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvm1uWtEZ5dV04FRWWvzoPexZwtPvqsVQ9QduVW5nRe6Y5wy8dzaf5FEE7M5KZ9esYY97XdKQZepjs_mJbjE7sYGpXKhQ2W6FLwHjssxyeVwPkIVbZm3YgOl5ou1iiKy4kQOX1Jm1jjVY/s320/Picture+055.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHup6RKBL50b7ECZrmmINa3msIcDLUbeFceeWkM28IsEVEm3cGpW7nEVaGqo6pzkAFaZ8NdfRaSOcLqAfXV4GYq-0rPJlPzXBZXRGGu9G2D0Zsa_3vzmLMNhsLTUXxG0Dm9mAR2lON7bY/s1600-h/Picture+054.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322680067653734482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHup6RKBL50b7ECZrmmINa3msIcDLUbeFceeWkM28IsEVEm3cGpW7nEVaGqo6pzkAFaZ8NdfRaSOcLqAfXV4GYq-0rPJlPzXBZXRGGu9G2D0Zsa_3vzmLMNhsLTUXxG0Dm9mAR2lON7bY/s320/Picture+054.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Bali is a really great place that I would say is best described as Mexico for the Australians (only not quite as shady as modern day mexico) and it's waaaay cheaper. Great beaches, shopping, nightlife (as if every night is Friday night), and eventually we'll get some white water rafting and volcano hiking in as well. We just haven't made it past Kuta beach yet since we arrived 3 days ago. We also have plans to visit the neighboring island of Lombok for about 10 days while we are down here. Now that we have an uninfected camera card we will be able to post more pics again.</div><div><br /> </div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322686391784939314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5_uqljnr3KRVEQfowjH48c-l6CCbax05IAFJz8YgFvqCIxwBn5WKtq3A6jd3mfBIjK1dtff3TMEiRN1dyPBOe1ZaqXm_YUTE2n679bXG3oqfaDlEn1Ew0bAsydPOzv4-KYqiP5uXe2s/s320/Picture+021.jpg" border="0" /> The F1 race turned out to be a little bit disappointing due to the heavy rain cutting the race down from 56 laps to 33 laps. We were glad that we saw the cars so much during the couple of days before the race both in practice and qualifying. Jensen Button grabbed the pole and ended up winning the race (that's 2 in a row for him). Pit strategy played in a lot less with the shorter race so it's not much of a surprise that he won. Definitely glad to have witnessed these cars running though, very incredible machines to see in person! I hope all of the practice session photos aren't corrupt...<br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div>BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-21872216214002462712009-04-04T08:36:00.000-07:002009-04-04T09:12:20.699-07:00Sihanoukville & Sen Monorom - F1!After our fun ride to Kampot & Kep down on the coast, we did some easy riding up the coast to the slightly larger beach town of Sihanoukville for a couple of days. This was a great vacation from our vacation where we pretty much chilled out on the white sand beach for three days and ate bar-b-qued fish (literally, whole ones) and frequented the beach bars.<br /><br />The trip back to Phnom Penn by dirtbike was really uneventful, mostly paved surprisingly, with much less dust inhalation. We did the trip early in the morning to avoid hot weather and get the bike back the rental place by noon. We had a quick night's turnaround and then we traveled northeast to Sen Monorom by "mini-bus." Nothing short of a 9 hour journey in a 90's toyota minivan with 15 people (meant to hold 11) and cases and bags of food, oh yeah, and the road was at best 50% paved. Much of it was "just being built," we have better logging roads in the states.<br /><br />Sen Monorom was a great quiet (relative to tourists we'd been around) place in the countryside of Cambodia. We rented a scooter and did some extreme off-road scooting through the villages and hills of that area to some waterfalls. We also found one of our favorite viewpoints on a hill where you could see for many many miles (partially into Vietnam) and it was all just green lush emerald jungle that we caught at sunset. I would post some pictures but it appears that our memory card has caught a virus from these internet cafes and this particular one will not remove the virus without deleting all of our pics. We are optimistic that we haven't lost a couple of weeks worth of pictures but we are switching cards just to be sure we don't continue with this issue. The joys of traveling...<br /><br />Anyway, our journey back to Phnom Penn was far more memorable than our trip out (if you can believe that). There were no "mini-vans" going back to town so we were put on a "truck." This was lifted early 90's extended cab Toyota that they fit 4 people in the front seat, 5 people in the rear seat (including us), filled the bed with huge ginger root & curry sacks, throw everyones bags on top of that, and then pile about 12 people on to hold everything in. This was truely "interesting" to us and it only lasted for 9 hours.<br /><br />We are now soaking up the more modern city of Kuala Lumpur where we were excited to eat Pizza Hut this evening =) after the F1 qualifying today. It looks like we may get some rain during the race as we've had thunderstorms the last two days at the time that the race will be tomorrow. Also, the cars are very tightly matched and because of the new rules, it seams that the field has been quite mixed from the last couple of seasons (McLaren, Renault, & Ferrari not looking so good). Should be a great race!BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-35428802406325259332009-03-24T02:15:00.000-07:002009-03-24T02:50:57.692-07:00Dirtbiking through south Cambodia...<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIvltsX2SnHjwEN_8oK6nPMznwhVIbw4V03tqGnSl_qr46CkdJbsxydV1ye8BjySsRYXW9nzJdxHQOanAKtevddEMRJzm9S9Sd5C6_k8DNeIpcJHK4rrJP5BowEtz3RP-WfqbGLBXj00/s1600-h/IMG_5363.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316685586358805010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIvltsX2SnHjwEN_8oK6nPMznwhVIbw4V03tqGnSl_qr46CkdJbsxydV1ye8BjySsRYXW9nzJdxHQOanAKtevddEMRJzm9S9Sd5C6_k8DNeIpcJHK4rrJP5BowEtz3RP-WfqbGLBXj00/s320/IMG_5363.JPG" border="0" /></a> Rabbit Island, a some prime beach spot - rare for Cambodia which is primarily occupied by rocky shores. We had a nice day relaxing and swimming in a somewhat cool ocean. We took a short hike to the top of the island which had fantastic views at the old Khmer Rouge look-out point. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxqmUvhoaOZFjwpwv74SdYBniMW9nmLdeOx04QEIyOxJl5rZusTlvtGIieg2q9j0_Dlp4kvwtpQbQ_9M14ze5MFjW0iZQJsslAvXak8ivQSyJiCHIchXLdDAWz_ii8ylYU2BcLplRar0/s1600-h/IMG_5325.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316685184520715586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxqmUvhoaOZFjwpwv74SdYBniMW9nmLdeOx04QEIyOxJl5rZusTlvtGIieg2q9j0_Dlp4kvwtpQbQ_9M14ze5MFjW0iZQJsslAvXak8ivQSyJiCHIchXLdDAWz_ii8ylYU2BcLplRar0/s320/IMG_5325.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kep</span> (just outside <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Kampot</span>) used to be a thriving colonial town <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">occupied</span> by the french back in the 1700s ( i think) and a favorite of the Cambodian King. Its apparent this once quaint beach town was hit hard <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">during</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">reign</span> of the Khmer Rouge... this building has bullet holes in the walls. Most of the gated plots don't have any buildings remaining. Those that do are now <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">occupied</span> by squatters (these squatters have apparently taken good care of the lawn??) . It's pretty <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">eerie</span> to drive through, and many natives still believe these places are haunted. <br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlSdbxVxUOwOJfYioTNzrSpcgBpmFxnUfAf6qV9mHo2jw2RAFYEjQ9PeuRN-7ltlPPkYFy_QRRYgW7hinmKGgIcku277j32C03bSCCD21a74E6Lr2NeIlMEA8FkL24s89Iw-FvFb27a0/s1600-h/IMG_5315.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316684075626377490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlSdbxVxUOwOJfYioTNzrSpcgBpmFxnUfAf6qV9mHo2jw2RAFYEjQ9PeuRN-7ltlPPkYFy_QRRYgW7hinmKGgIcku277j32C03bSCCD21a74E6Lr2NeIlMEA8FkL24s89Iw-FvFb27a0/s320/IMG_5315.JPG" border="0" /></a> Brandon doesn't have a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">mustache</span> - it just looks that way because he's coated in dirt from our trip from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Phnom</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Penh</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Kampot</span> (148km) on a loaded XL 250. The roads are paved but very narrow and under construction so you're on the dirt <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">nearly</span> as much as the paved road...<br /><br /><br /></div></div>BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-11576417853881238522009-03-24T01:39:00.000-07:002009-03-24T02:58:37.100-07:00Angkor What?<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOFkhgp1qixgHCVRjfldB3_TCDNC6ppJHvX3fBz_CHKGYYk3Q8JLcoc_OjpVQG-G7MGEMUhFr2J36lKJZ85GveFSHkmYysyHvdcHjrWKUwvddXRzqZ5TCOcyi5BVEEAeymSBgtjrg9qI/s1600-h/IMG_5272.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316679363473388002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOFkhgp1qixgHCVRjfldB3_TCDNC6ppJHvX3fBz_CHKGYYk3Q8JLcoc_OjpVQG-G7MGEMUhFr2J36lKJZ85GveFSHkmYysyHvdcHjrWKUwvddXRzqZ5TCOcyi5BVEEAeymSBgtjrg9qI/s320/IMG_5272.JPG" border="0" /></a> Floating Village outside of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Seim</span></span> Reap. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Actually</span> pretty cool. These fisherman live on the lake as the water rises and lowers through the season. However I don't recommend drinking the water. 12% of children here don't make it past 5 due to poor sanitary conditions among other things I'm sure. </div><div align="center"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpuTTVYQ8nd17AWRme-MTbF5_D90kMuJgmgXj-4gB3sHtqvxRZ655I5aJR0TxdaKi44OYnk83gdav2nrbduCbl7Y3s6Hjdve5H2GZOufbnvDX3m8XLvyDvlJZgmtfaCTJIPO-zH1lZVk/s1600-h/IMG_5239.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316679353860489522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpuTTVYQ8nd17AWRme-MTbF5_D90kMuJgmgXj-4gB3sHtqvxRZ655I5aJR0TxdaKi44OYnk83gdav2nrbduCbl7Y3s6Hjdve5H2GZOufbnvDX3m8XLvyDvlJZgmtfaCTJIPO-zH1lZVk/s320/IMG_5239.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Akiko</span></span> buying food at a local Khmer market, so unlike her : )<br />The sellers sat up on the tables with their food to sell, pretty cool. And super cheap food.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBGMf2ASecJTqoFm7MzQWNvL_2C5qN5gTXcN2QNc8pABe5TpGHT8dqjRkbGc2JVjbHu3P6grj-HTxsMaVFxxkyI29X457j35HmPEe4UlAlnARBuyriAzRW3HDiETM2KXPhtq__U1q5vss/s1600-h/IMG_5138.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316677759871753746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBGMf2ASecJTqoFm7MzQWNvL_2C5qN5gTXcN2QNc8pABe5TpGHT8dqjRkbGc2JVjbHu3P6grj-HTxsMaVFxxkyI29X457j35HmPEe4UlAlnARBuyriAzRW3HDiETM2KXPhtq__U1q5vss/s320/IMG_5138.JPG" border="0" /></a> Listening to a Khmer cover band at a bar in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Seim</span></span> Reap with Dave's friend Adam, </div><div align="center">he was very helpful and he spoke really good <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">english</span></span> ; )<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQWlEBjxRchgbT_RTV_fhkDi5gUF65WBVFiarTcuK-o7iXbG0ZcGlmTZ359sXho__Vwv3aNdo_kirJ3JEXHRC04P2yzeSPAzxMjCbhxe8vPzsy_XVMwECNEHuy8i_LsFpvf8vFlrCxN4/s1600-h/IMG_5229.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316675545091682834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQWlEBjxRchgbT_RTV_fhkDi5gUF65WBVFiarTcuK-o7iXbG0ZcGlmTZ359sXho__Vwv3aNdo_kirJ3JEXHRC04P2yzeSPAzxMjCbhxe8vPzsy_XVMwECNEHuy8i_LsFpvf8vFlrCxN4/s320/IMG_5229.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">We meet a traveler who was teaching at an orphanage in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Seim</span></span> Reap so we decided bring the kids some balls to play with and spend some time with them. They LOVED us! and the adults thought we were volunteers (they didn't speak any <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">english</span></span>) ... we ended up playing with the kids all morning and were asked to teach <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">english</span></span> in the afternoon class. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Akiko</span></span> taught the younger kids while Brandon and I took charge of the "older" kids. While most kids we had encountered were begging and obnoxious, these kids were so sweet and pure of heart... it's was one of the best experiences we had. Too bad it's now illegal to adopt children in Cambodia (they were being sold into slavery in Thailand) or I would have come home with a couple.<br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL_6736keOk9xRwubUR7Kt2dC6mw0XjIG-JIMWH7rV5uRbwB3JsBsvnrF4HAVJKkG6cUrjK0MIRo-yjvoQpCQLwjuPDUuMu91PqpRlYjaJYRRLj_EyTrFOXLlJ5USNHe92jSrLGaWj6g/s1600-h/IMG_5151.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316674062275277698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL_6736keOk9xRwubUR7Kt2dC6mw0XjIG-JIMWH7rV5uRbwB3JsBsvnrF4HAVJKkG6cUrjK0MIRo-yjvoQpCQLwjuPDUuMu91PqpRlYjaJYRRLj_EyTrFOXLlJ5USNHe92jSrLGaWj6g/s320/IMG_5151.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />We spent three days exploring the temples of Anchor by bicycle (very hot but avoids the high cost and annoyance of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">tuk</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">tuk</span></span> drivers). Our friend <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Akiko</span></span> joined us for a week It was nice to have a familiar face on the trip : )<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgx973HooXuH6WGd5kV6k1_F_bT7mJHyBlzH7poU2zWyDy07zPnFm7oDgjTDnwpcwv6a_OpT9EPVE7SBf7gNT_eGLgOUfswEDzY3e-7-M-SHbsQm_B_MhGd0O26UnHtKsQp4bigGD2a0/s1600-h/IMG_5037.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316673173746651042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgx973HooXuH6WGd5kV6k1_F_bT7mJHyBlzH7poU2zWyDy07zPnFm7oDgjTDnwpcwv6a_OpT9EPVE7SBf7gNT_eGLgOUfswEDzY3e-7-M-SHbsQm_B_MhGd0O26UnHtKsQp4bigGD2a0/s320/IMG_5037.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>First stop in Cambodia after our horrific boarder crossing was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Seim</span></span> Reap - home of the SE Asia Empire back in the day... now it is Cambodia's pride and joy, and the envy of Thailand. </div><br /></div></div></div>BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-78428295971091310432009-03-16T06:34:00.000-07:002009-03-16T07:06:41.371-07:00Ko Chang & to Cambodia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42LjqBnsBlwMS95BXUFodSj1j7JTwBZwnznbfgCTZxgNZfwBhJTQwJtRJsvuFBD1bW0inlUXiNnQ4txmtvyJ25TdvGBkTboFFhv1BBPioVomdzJO4QMiACLyYRBJGRRiAk5bCg3s6OiU/s1600-h/IMG_4972.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313785792705911730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42LjqBnsBlwMS95BXUFodSj1j7JTwBZwnznbfgCTZxgNZfwBhJTQwJtRJsvuFBD1bW0inlUXiNnQ4txmtvyJ25TdvGBkTboFFhv1BBPioVomdzJO4QMiACLyYRBJGRRiAk5bCg3s6OiU/s320/IMG_4972.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HHIh4EsRULk790-ydn8HXZecDujdLhoTkLuN26M-e-Ix1P0hfRKUGYDCLiPYwcil9dNb8vxCYA95ES_z2hHRTS8SX4BaWzvSEAX3A9Dr0H_vjg0SpmH1Z2JwmMmCMsi_SATuDeVSumA/s1600-h/IMG_4962.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313785781344428402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HHIh4EsRULk790-ydn8HXZecDujdLhoTkLuN26M-e-Ix1P0hfRKUGYDCLiPYwcil9dNb8vxCYA95ES_z2hHRTS8SX4BaWzvSEAX3A9Dr0H_vjg0SpmH1Z2JwmMmCMsi_SATuDeVSumA/s320/IMG_4962.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcq3H9jysmgLMO_9jxQkeso_BR086oL8stk4YRMnXTqu-O2-sL2MnLo9ODof9X7pEmFHrk1NMcRgU-4Xdof5ztQOhwzrXMx2F52JlhLK08UFxQcXVC65r3vLHLl8q8nxw4YWkKBFAT6dU/s1600-h/IMG_4949.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313783646079839282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcq3H9jysmgLMO_9jxQkeso_BR086oL8stk4YRMnXTqu-O2-sL2MnLo9ODof9X7pEmFHrk1NMcRgU-4Xdof5ztQOhwzrXMx2F52JlhLK08UFxQcXVC65r3vLHLl8q8nxw4YWkKBFAT6dU/s320/IMG_4949.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcruRaUWePfvUHsp6Vdyyk2A3wzM9OS2bcIBl7F-4bi1CF6nT91inhJ085sM-vZZFaN-GtZw-G76wd2hSvQydJi8mGyUmy8iTDNimN3wPuXus_XeBOI65sDabyjrrOSYUXQu0HJVBvV20/s1600-h/IMG_4939.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313783638360140498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcruRaUWePfvUHsp6Vdyyk2A3wzM9OS2bcIBl7F-4bi1CF6nT91inhJ085sM-vZZFaN-GtZw-G76wd2hSvQydJi8mGyUmy8iTDNimN3wPuXus_XeBOI65sDabyjrrOSYUXQu0HJVBvV20/s320/IMG_4939.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>After the Elephant Conservation, we had a couple of days to kill before heading over to Cambodia to meet Akiko, so we decided we were in the mood for some beaches. We caught an overnight train from Lompang to Bangkok (12 hours) and then a bus (8 hours) to Ko Chang, an island on the southeast portion of Thailand. Very chill island with warm waters and beach bungalows. We did some kayaking one day and rented a scooter for a trip around the island the second day, a great mix of bars, jungle adventure, and fishing industry.</div><br /><div>Ko Chang was a great last taste of Thailand... until we attempted to cross the border to Cambodia. The bus tickets that we bought to take us from Ko Chang to Siem Reap apparently ended at a transfer station in the middle of nowhere in Cambodia after refusing to pay the bus company double for the Cambodian Visas. We had heard about this scam and knew what to expect but didn't expect the Thais to attempt to sweat us out at the border so that we would miss our bus to Siem Reap. Luckily we weren't the only ones this happened to and the four of us bartered for a taxi and ended up making our way into Siem Reap in only 12 hours. After polling a bunch of the travelers here apparently this occurance is frequent. </div></div></div></div>BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-12753955178407956072009-03-15T09:59:00.000-07:002009-03-16T05:46:08.721-07:00Mahout Fisher & Mahout Price!<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvZ05slK62J2FXwk7G_fPcoU2K2Zc3k4UCHngCO0lK4LerDx8FQ_kSRrL2TioHDK5V1znQFmlyCqoaN54QfZUzkrxAludjepoaKC9puBZN7LUQG15SUshUWas0uQ1tX1EAyA6HdkNBPI/s1600-h/IMG_4910.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313468980969182658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvZ05slK62J2FXwk7G_fPcoU2K2Zc3k4UCHngCO0lK4LerDx8FQ_kSRrL2TioHDK5V1znQFmlyCqoaN54QfZUzkrxAludjepoaKC9puBZN7LUQG15SUshUWas0uQ1tX1EAyA6HdkNBPI/s320/IMG_4910.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />A 4 month old elephant at the nursery... so cute!</div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhHDmvvA18R5fxhukeCmcn5A0fMj1xVwsaGJ7o6jpNbrCebZwmQ_rndw9EIBU9YGxu_L4IBL4IjsyW5HtEL1qmqL0RorJJ5w7Pt-9hQiDbIPYLoc7ZupFfbtlAx4SYteUx_Lw8BVXZjM/s1600-h/IMG_4882.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313468969994721586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhHDmvvA18R5fxhukeCmcn5A0fMj1xVwsaGJ7o6jpNbrCebZwmQ_rndw9EIBU9YGxu_L4IBL4IjsyW5HtEL1qmqL0RorJJ5w7Pt-9hQiDbIPYLoc7ZupFfbtlAx4SYteUx_Lw8BVXZjM/s320/IMG_4882.JPG" border="0" /></a> Leah and Kao : ) Picking up the stick for me<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfYX8jfZY70YQYqJE04YswEd4P9w5bMsF8pBf26vkm1FB2K5TPq-xA4IikSch1jriCbtiq6WbRBeFt5GFVrd6BzxQkKstMMKiEvZP6V0XD5xx-_EpGd87LoH7kEBlODJ476qPWsLuPrE/s1600-h/IMG_4857.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313468955473437378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfYX8jfZY70YQYqJE04YswEd4P9w5bMsF8pBf26vkm1FB2K5TPq-xA4IikSch1jriCbtiq6WbRBeFt5GFVrd6BzxQkKstMMKiEvZP6V0XD5xx-_EpGd87LoH7kEBlODJ476qPWsLuPrE/s320/IMG_4857.JPG" border="0" /></a> Leah squirting water on Brandon and his Mahout... while bathing the elephants.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuQepxpWv8RbFE6y3SPgoodTU26dNxHYpJRSlTNjQoNYSNOk63dubQ53nEwEX0hZibVJzox3Gml9A-p7XMUKqPbAMuNJuNnBUT06d9LLDk7q-QzVFI8YdqbpQi7lMOFEmstgwwem7Ns8/s1600-h/IMG_4840.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313468177172931666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuQepxpWv8RbFE6y3SPgoodTU26dNxHYpJRSlTNjQoNYSNOk63dubQ53nEwEX0hZibVJzox3Gml9A-p7XMUKqPbAMuNJuNnBUT06d9LLDk7q-QzVFI8YdqbpQi7lMOFEmstgwwem7Ns8/s320/IMG_4840.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />"Tag Long" Thai for getting off and on from the front of the elephant.<br />Nice jump Brandon.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJnOCAKjs4NPKQYfekGWe6u2tO6oIFyiBkqUZ1xp0TWTVWOi9XuWHBjJCANjU7KNfd-ho3ysHT1GWHJlItG5NHLVskRS5qAyMl3Grs81WSaBIVH2jURFFCjiynK3JIL9N6pE2Jpu7ZCM/s1600-h/IMG_4843.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313468170237956514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJnOCAKjs4NPKQYfekGWe6u2tO6oIFyiBkqUZ1xp0TWTVWOi9XuWHBjJCANjU7KNfd-ho3ysHT1GWHJlItG5NHLVskRS5qAyMl3Grs81WSaBIVH2jURFFCjiynK3JIL9N6pE2Jpu7ZCM/s320/IMG_4843.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Us in our Mahout outfit with our Elephants : )<br /><br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7bloOLl2bKAVI8wnehlpbprYYrcxCAhF2vIgLOgm3cVhz5r6ZkkPEpdJaC2upR3G2oAQsfTT7ObUKgx-GNVXImPjftDIeGk7HjnzqpAeHMEKOjVxuYyGDR0k1K92Rh5eUXZr6zO8pIc/s1600-h/IMG_4842.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313468187251646290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7bloOLl2bKAVI8wnehlpbprYYrcxCAhF2vIgLOgm3cVhz5r6ZkkPEpdJaC2upR3G2oAQsfTT7ObUKgx-GNVXImPjftDIeGk7HjnzqpAeHMEKOjVxuYyGDR0k1K92Rh5eUXZr6zO8pIc/s320/IMG_4842.JPG" border="0" /></a>Brandon and his Elephant (20 months pregnant)<br /><br /><br /><div>Brandon and I stayed at the Thailand Conservation for 2 days as "Mahouts" or "Elephant trainers" (but let's be honest they were training us ; ) ) Of course this was after being sick for 24 hours with food poisoning - both sick because we're always sharing food... Anyhow we recovered just in time to play with the elephants. We met a great English couple along the way and that always adds to the fun... Above are some pics of us and our elephants!</div></div></div><br /></div>BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-24646101478325549582009-03-05T04:22:00.000-08:002009-03-16T06:34:39.566-07:00PAI... The Best Place Ever!<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPi949kIm0fz0ALBRr6bG-I-6_hClwJEtGKKjDhC2vMWYFwIZKMyxqlrq6Hp2qdhZB8RoKVjMw0BDRSUEqQF3_bNHl5uMrIM2HZnIQQazIdHCKv1HBsC51A493FnBaMscRg7gBg5-7aHg/s1600-h/IMG_4834.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313775462838152962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPi949kIm0fz0ALBRr6bG-I-6_hClwJEtGKKjDhC2vMWYFwIZKMyxqlrq6Hp2qdhZB8RoKVjMw0BDRSUEqQF3_bNHl5uMrIM2HZnIQQazIdHCKv1HBsC51A493FnBaMscRg7gBg5-7aHg/s320/IMG_4834.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYgkgjDW1Vac5ps-LwOiD6Kw4Ih4HKRUL5BmX1AEat3Oh4fHjbHuXJRrnM83qapFaM3CPhfl3oiTOKBa-fOphx95aavRRH712G8vCVH8s3eSmiJwm5SrCeTgy6q4wo6-fqdamgSmdjt0/s1600-h/IMG_4823.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313772625741787826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYgkgjDW1Vac5ps-LwOiD6Kw4Ih4HKRUL5BmX1AEat3Oh4fHjbHuXJRrnM83qapFaM3CPhfl3oiTOKBa-fOphx95aavRRH712G8vCVH8s3eSmiJwm5SrCeTgy6q4wo6-fqdamgSmdjt0/s320/IMG_4823.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Leah in the Lod Cave entrance<br /></div><div align="center"><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Vc59MHRmL-xES3ogrNGl5KdUpBvPDkn-aJCDxcO8j4BL2hceQflb2eNjSs64RYnAVjKhG8lgtBLjzxjg3SpGPYIJT4kh1eOlwMtAd3SzWmSW4p_LlI-LYZSWOHXyI7BD0MUKu01204k/s1600-h/IMG_4814.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313772619619094690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Vc59MHRmL-xES3ogrNGl5KdUpBvPDkn-aJCDxcO8j4BL2hceQflb2eNjSs64RYnAVjKhG8lgtBLjzxjg3SpGPYIJT4kh1eOlwMtAd3SzWmSW4p_LlI-LYZSWOHXyI7BD0MUKu01204k/s320/IMG_4814.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">This is the summit between Pai and the Lod Caves... the roads over here aren't necessarily built to any standards, so the moped that we rented barely made it up some of the switchbacks with us "Fat Americans" on board.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8hDnIcJ4nvSa_670AdwG3A0KF_WhkdKPjYCxmNxJ2A_6DRxw7Kn_YQLPgZTDgMTIjoOPgNgGtjNST7kxJsv-oU3YOfKD3qXlKLLC5IX_G692SsTYtiVgE4L74TEBCgqUW6B0vbj_o8Y/s1600-h/IMG_4793.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313771116036364786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8hDnIcJ4nvSa_670AdwG3A0KF_WhkdKPjYCxmNxJ2A_6DRxw7Kn_YQLPgZTDgMTIjoOPgNgGtjNST7kxJsv-oU3YOfKD3qXlKLLC5IX_G692SsTYtiVgE4L74TEBCgqUW6B0vbj_o8Y/s320/IMG_4793.JPG" border="0" /></a>Sunset over Pai... Always beautiful!</div><div> <br /></div><div>Updated with a few pics from Pai... Sorry, the Captain Jack Sparrow pics were on another drive that we forgot to bring.<br /></div><div>Chang Mai began a new era of our trip. We were finally able to relax and have fun, let our guards down some and didn't feel like such tourists but more like we were here to have fun and learn some culture. The people are really kind in the north and it was just what we needed after the Bangkok rat race. We also ran into some Aussie friends that we met when we were over in Kanchanaburi and were able to hang out with them at night. As a side note, there are so many travelers over here that we continue to meet new people and run into them as we travel to new areas, makes traveling even more fun and you can also exchange information about things to see and transportation methods. Our trek guide (Ping Pong) showed us a great reggae bar (Thai reggae bands of course, entertaining) with live music every night. Across the gravel alley was a rock bar where a live rock band played "American Rock." Also a sight to see Thai guys who don't even speak english sing Kings of Leon and Green Day and the mixture of crown going crazy to the songs. This whole bar scene was almost out of a movie really, it was off the beaten path on a gravel alley intersection that everyone seemend to find and party at. Also the bouncer of the reggae bar was a famous martial artist who looked familiar but he was very modest and more interested in the girls having a good time (giving them shots) than revealing his identity. We found out by a couple of different sources that he was one of Jet Li's trainers and also in a couple of movies. Another character that we keep running into is a Spaniard always dressed up like Captain Jack Sparrow and really looks the part! We've seen him in three different cities now and he always makes us laugh! I finally caught a sneaky pic that I'll post in a few. After our fun adventures in and around Chang Mai, we headed a few hours north to a small hippie town called Pie. (Captain Jack showed up there also, in case you are windering).<br /><br />Pie was a super laid back, Thai town that you could walk from corner to corner in 15 min. The town is all shops, botiques, massage parlors, restaraunts, resorts, and of course bars with the other necessary tourist ammenities but we were there for three days and never had anyone approach us to buy something like we were accustomed to from other areas of Thailand. Close to town were a bunch of hot springs (which we rode bikes to but were too hot to want to go in after sweating for an hour to get there), waterfalls, wats of course, and the usual elephant riding, bamboo rafting, etc. which we didn't feel necessary to do because we'd done already. There is also a bunch of motorcycling out of Pai including a track. We stayed away from that only because we plan to ride a bunch in Cambodia (although it was tough to). Instead we rented a scooter for $4 a day and rode about 50k to the Lod Cave out of Sapong. The cool cave air was probably the best thing about the trip but the caverns, stalagtites, stalagmites, and formed crystal structures were really interesting as well. The nightlife in Pie was really laid back with all of the bars having a guy or two that played guitar and sang classic tunes; the club in town "Ting Tong" was a bunch of bamboo platforms around firepits. They also always had fire shows going on (a guy spinning a fire stick and throwing it up in the air and such). Fun to watch and where most of the travelers our age went after starting at a street bar or drink cart. The streets of Pai were always changing with the busses dropping off a new group of travelers every hour, street vendors changing, drink carts moving, but always lively, no patter what time of day, night, or morning. We stayed in a nice little teak bungalow by the river, our nicest accomodation so far. Overall a great little active town, the best so far.<br /><br />Today we came back down to Lampang which is right by the Elephant Conservatory where we will go tomorrow for the elephant camp. We are really looking forward to this and hoping that we will be around the river most of the time as it is HOT down here. That's all for now, we'll post another batch of pics when we return from the camp.<br /><br />Brandon</div></div></div>BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-21949822360925513552009-02-28T07:33:00.000-08:002009-02-28T07:58:02.441-08:00Arrival in Chang Mai!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ01Jpvpa3DK2_PIsZB7UiMq6X5hd75ym-TF3xdREQfrP2T8ndh47sYsFuAgjrbuoFg16inWFayCa5fNFt4f0gKxv28jQugrAsgXr3WITBjAMD5hiK6fhjq1Juh2iKSfID2Xu08hlCIQ4/s1600-h/Thailand+040.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307873443621720514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ01Jpvpa3DK2_PIsZB7UiMq6X5hd75ym-TF3xdREQfrP2T8ndh47sYsFuAgjrbuoFg16inWFayCa5fNFt4f0gKxv28jQugrAsgXr3WITBjAMD5hiK6fhjq1Juh2iKSfID2Xu08hlCIQ4/s320/Thailand+040.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTiwd3lXzB9ofScYFyl5SFAG898DpUjkOGtPI9xf1c4ngr9Nazc6qxWpgmuhKvNSHCrtAlRcWeXxO-Yy3V5r6XBHIS2mC07Scr9MbxUvz3CqTcien-Z1A4VCXdJqDW5qXXK1MpHxUsIk/s1600-h/Thailand+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307873434052932770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTiwd3lXzB9ofScYFyl5SFAG898DpUjkOGtPI9xf1c4ngr9Nazc6qxWpgmuhKvNSHCrtAlRcWeXxO-Yy3V5r6XBHIS2mC07Scr9MbxUvz3CqTcien-Z1A4VCXdJqDW5qXXK1MpHxUsIk/s320/Thailand+039.jpg" border="0" /></a> We made it 16k to a Wat on the hill overlooking the city (These were the stairs we had to walk up to the temple) too bad the pollution/rice burning is so bad right now there isn't much to see. </div><div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3n5dJ0UxSBAIR7g7e3jBdEiN-5wd474pEgu5ES0QCw-yEndFyBAd24m-6jE5v8T0L9lAVNDOTPQB2fhdjWAH2OIZJmdUIAwiwqiT7d4VO_guAFBg5uUmUTzfbsxNGxka185BfkJ1QBc/s1600-h/Thailand+038.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307873434184824610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3n5dJ0UxSBAIR7g7e3jBdEiN-5wd474pEgu5ES0QCw-yEndFyBAd24m-6jE5v8T0L9lAVNDOTPQB2fhdjWAH2OIZJmdUIAwiwqiT7d4VO_guAFBg5uUmUTzfbsxNGxka185BfkJ1QBc/s320/Thailand+038.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Today we rented a scooter for the day and battled the traffic in Chang Mai...<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pVN0ehkBjPF-upiWWcSGbQMDAcGs76Vbb3gmCuLP9YTQf7nrSAbsl_4gWc1HxRWrG1DNJZDMlCYA2jMZr6SJSrF6Ud8bOrtjJj1bzGjWyj43nLPvkgyaHb-w0CWPdH1t_kqDBSe1IGQ/s1600-h/Thailand+036.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307873432997073330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pVN0ehkBjPF-upiWWcSGbQMDAcGs76Vbb3gmCuLP9YTQf7nrSAbsl_4gWc1HxRWrG1DNJZDMlCYA2jMZr6SJSrF6Ud8bOrtjJj1bzGjWyj43nLPvkgyaHb-w0CWPdH1t_kqDBSe1IGQ/s320/Thailand+036.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The trip concluded with some bamboo rafting, </div><div align="center">Brandon did a good job stearing us through some tough rapids... </div><div align="center">after running us into a few rocks first that is.<br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZcSHBqSC7o0eL1gu1DKwCRhWQmEQC33SXXhqNk60BGPwHu7YdhQvplpTAQq3w1ABy_oR0punaGkKvqBDBBKvBPh2uwRXrnI77UFDVgK57xi4MifD7JXrQserVVApWsUMm9yQO3lL6m8/s1600-h/Thailand+035.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307873428872539954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZcSHBqSC7o0eL1gu1DKwCRhWQmEQC33SXXhqNk60BGPwHu7YdhQvplpTAQq3w1ABy_oR0punaGkKvqBDBBKvBPh2uwRXrnI77UFDVgK57xi4MifD7JXrQserVVApWsUMm9yQO3lL6m8/s320/Thailand+035.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Last day of the trek... the guy behind brandon was our second guide, super nice but didn't speak much english - I think "waterfalls", "hello", and "bit further" were then only things we got out of him after hiking 4 hours the second day... we just followed like good americans. : )<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3r0Mo05ofKRclCD5n_CMNDSkfqrD1tNpn_rGMMa01nKbNcSRkNJSpd653dKAEx5pOiC6KdEZM56dRAMXQQ-WL7xP-vRbe3DsrBqKOXt0LKKIDHbgoTbOGQRXWA6CIrONddym-ritVrwQ/s1600-h/Thailand+034.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872837935893922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3r0Mo05ofKRclCD5n_CMNDSkfqrD1tNpn_rGMMa01nKbNcSRkNJSpd653dKAEx5pOiC6KdEZM56dRAMXQQ-WL7xP-vRbe3DsrBqKOXt0LKKIDHbgoTbOGQRXWA6CIrONddym-ritVrwQ/s320/Thailand+034.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Our accomodations that night. If you can believe it, </div><div align="center">this is nicer than where the villagers sleep which</div><div align="center"> is in bamboo huts on the floor near a fire (to keep mosquitos away)...<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTroq1DoWPnB92UZplfdGL9uRKchX2OKCuPY4Qv6v2-OIdoQvcfX8QuF7JdwbqSgEzJK_QL_6j-69t7RaxDzmFY6p3j-7PX1MD811FRLYcRyTx9j4w1SOBwMu7tIaz_8oM71ZIDYi4kGQ/s1600-h/Thailand+033.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872834658920690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTroq1DoWPnB92UZplfdGL9uRKchX2OKCuPY4Qv6v2-OIdoQvcfX8QuF7JdwbqSgEzJK_QL_6j-69t7RaxDzmFY6p3j-7PX1MD811FRLYcRyTx9j4w1SOBwMu7tIaz_8oM71ZIDYi4kGQ/s320/Thailand+033.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Drinking with locals on our second night of treking, much different than the first night but pretty freaking cool... we were the only two and Ping Pong took us to the neighboring village where we sat and took a shot with some old-time Thai people... I'm talking the ones who smoke tabacco out of bannana leaves and make chewing gum with bananna leaf, tree bark, a splash of tabacco, oh and lime stone to top it off... seriously. Needless to say we didn't try that one. Great people and very friendly. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t4s75Q0vi9yjqvjJ5J7nHwx2CFyKNnvmGw07CML_whFXHmobiFD01-s2vgUqoFQX6yjH0jQ_lXRgSj01YrLYK2QlZv53K2J8tR1XbsdBWQrmEslWp7vLsLKzF8GrxHwotyv7hP9eyRo/s1600-h/Thailand+032.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872832513683602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t4s75Q0vi9yjqvjJ5J7nHwx2CFyKNnvmGw07CML_whFXHmobiFD01-s2vgUqoFQX6yjH0jQ_lXRgSj01YrLYK2QlZv53K2J8tR1XbsdBWQrmEslWp7vLsLKzF8GrxHwotyv7hP9eyRo/s320/Thailand+032.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Our treking leader - "Ping Pong", </div><div align="center">He not only showed us the sights but also introduced us to </div><div align="center">"moonshine" (rice wiskey) mmmmm....<br /></div><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5vBXAIVGHnqB40p3CJnKJC1u7E_1iZos-b2ykZ-v5KmVP6FWappA7zsyzZo8TlBlagtEU9_ebfZNM5yqoYCtR1Hl-iXS_b3PUoJZ-lrIrnM4_VUG-VcYIrRYhcD25ep4MeGoP6THsWQ/s1600-h/Thailand+031.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872825791894210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5vBXAIVGHnqB40p3CJnKJC1u7E_1iZos-b2ykZ-v5KmVP6FWappA7zsyzZo8TlBlagtEU9_ebfZNM5yqoYCtR1Hl-iXS_b3PUoJZ-lrIrnM4_VUG-VcYIrRYhcD25ep4MeGoP6THsWQ/s320/Thailand+031.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuBvCuLjzx7UUwCNqjQuVa4rAg5PHR8MflYAOJcD7zSzzWSop2NbvwQ6FWVWZWscqaC1n9h7d-x33sZfikFP2XgQuW4Cbc217eFkmdax8aa_76AJCNjyQWg-XLJ-HUzAZLzedhw6KHmo/s1600-h/Thailand+030.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872822518986802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuBvCuLjzx7UUwCNqjQuVa4rAg5PHR8MflYAOJcD7zSzzWSop2NbvwQ6FWVWZWscqaC1n9h7d-x33sZfikFP2XgQuW4Cbc217eFkmdax8aa_76AJCNjyQWg-XLJ-HUzAZLzedhw6KHmo/s320/Thailand+030.jpg" border="0" /></a> The treking group for night 1... good mix of French, German, English, and American</div><div align="center">We played some fun multi-cultural games around the campfire that night.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPn3JP5t2jHVnxZ6iJZ83svtvg9XyoIyM-ymv4zJ-VEQw3yn1l5A13O6iTWBbmBgr6Zf7oXrFWFc15iTMhATOGQaKVFF6bG13tXXReuoBxt9tk6Kpc3eS-yGs5E1P8tyLdAe-ybq-Bftc/s1600-h/Thailand+029.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872383973177746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPn3JP5t2jHVnxZ6iJZ83svtvg9XyoIyM-ymv4zJ-VEQw3yn1l5A13O6iTWBbmBgr6Zf7oXrFWFc15iTMhATOGQaKVFF6bG13tXXReuoBxt9tk6Kpc3eS-yGs5E1P8tyLdAe-ybq-Bftc/s320/Thailand+029.jpg" border="0" /></a> We passed through a lot of fields, the villagers grow rice (of course), corn, soy beans, basil, mixed with water buffalo, pigs, chickens, and cows...<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLof-Y0kRR_Xq_GI-r09aeQZLzH3h_uCuNF2IFXbJvnpsZ7WesvinNf4ddysJbbyonWcEpIeIRh8r5gWjxW67rJ1YNHafIgg9YWE8suMUiIrJQGxL-MyPuoylH-PM2niU8M9bHXhRFl0/s1600-h/Thailand+028.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872376195580114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLof-Y0kRR_Xq_GI-r09aeQZLzH3h_uCuNF2IFXbJvnpsZ7WesvinNf4ddysJbbyonWcEpIeIRh8r5gWjxW67rJ1YNHafIgg9YWE8suMUiIrJQGxL-MyPuoylH-PM2niU8M9bHXhRFl0/s320/Thailand+028.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />All up hill the first day - that smile is JUST for the picture... </div><div align="center">Brandon's face is more reflective of the reality of this situation.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQgVEYJ36pvH3SzIgCHBY1dAqfsg-Z7xAZk4dBSVZU_caX7aXcz2Ae2jay90wnLtGzknPWQ2WPK5LQSEhz-X5CK39eWqWGX46T32oWbIJIOsZG3O-2ak2ZIWVoZ-Y8c-udDm12oOmfV8/s1600-h/Thailand+027.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872373123039266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQgVEYJ36pvH3SzIgCHBY1dAqfsg-Z7xAZk4dBSVZU_caX7aXcz2Ae2jay90wnLtGzknPWQ2WPK5LQSEhz-X5CK39eWqWGX46T32oWbIJIOsZG3O-2ak2ZIWVoZ-Y8c-udDm12oOmfV8/s320/Thailand+027.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />More waterfalls, but always appreciated... especially when hiking.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMaDqL2znfW9yxLpoj3RO5b13BvADCBw6I5CGFucC50GFFePNfuIDu2170J16qQV5_CnhfcWDUikzmRy9F9PG4ouSzsEQnAMsDTPh09RDvagNNzmUuHh8Q3xd82qMBszaDGW_FuF_UvI/s1600-h/Thailand+026.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872366840620194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMaDqL2znfW9yxLpoj3RO5b13BvADCBw6I5CGFucC50GFFePNfuIDu2170J16qQV5_CnhfcWDUikzmRy9F9PG4ouSzsEQnAMsDTPh09RDvagNNzmUuHh8Q3xd82qMBszaDGW_FuF_UvI/s320/Thailand+026.jpg" border="0" /></a> Brandon leading the way - sketchy...<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHIspvfAHxr1DsdnHLR_tKQ6v0SSJr4daDqTyPTQeRRdTGadujEfTPEqrK16K8sNxwvMYEf1QrXzQUSFe32yhwN7HEoLVphDG6BL-DCwFOTkYrsuO6ZdkODbaBW1CbLRfUk0z0UF6DyY/s1600-h/Thailand+025.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307872365711034450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHIspvfAHxr1DsdnHLR_tKQ6v0SSJr4daDqTyPTQeRRdTGadujEfTPEqrK16K8sNxwvMYEf1QrXzQUSFe32yhwN7HEoLVphDG6BL-DCwFOTkYrsuO6ZdkODbaBW1CbLRfUk0z0UF6DyY/s320/Thailand+025.jpg" border="0" /></a> We went on a three day trek which started with elephant riding!<br /></div><div align="justify">We love Chang Mai, people are nicer, nature is more beautiful, there is some culture, and the weather is a bit cooler. Finally what we came to Thailand for.... <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-19188202703585414192009-02-27T05:01:00.000-08:002009-02-28T07:33:36.531-08:00Outside of Bangkok - Kanchanaburi & Ayuthaya<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEk3H1fibzddQqQlqJO1jrqrRhq8J8CCECOzsaS_r_VC3bFHGdu4LV1oXJqSXzZaVhxx_xE46l2QwQC9dmAkUxXOj7xyLfwHoCrKWV4T6LH1ldpDMUA8yDnsKg2r7DWgs_yu-b6raw88s/s1600-h/Thailand+025.jpg"></a> </div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6oPsrSVx-ZdEHSsyusEvIWonwyup1KHSnb1svbD8J9yS2MO6w7Wm5gRuNgCg0zWLTiQBHLlYHihYN8C97SBeeYKDqWpGYU42853kMc_9G-wytYnAk1ng5VVLFLbxlNXfLw_NXKsGl7w/s1600-h/Thailand+024.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307865193194630610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6oPsrSVx-ZdEHSsyusEvIWonwyup1KHSnb1svbD8J9yS2MO6w7Wm5gRuNgCg0zWLTiQBHLlYHihYN8C97SBeeYKDqWpGYU42853kMc_9G-wytYnAk1ng5VVLFLbxlNXfLw_NXKsGl7w/s320/Thailand+024.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUg_YTpzF62zdDpkpMtWrxCYvTPCeL-fLAty6AYujQw06JrfvQy_qxpRdjSSj5gu_aS2QVygKwuFIfhgchqGEUI9yyuBVvGlOl8X1hyphenhyphenO3b3dyvQ74aFQyE_5-2g_91P95H_INhyCNulMg/s1600-h/Thailand+023.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307865187782934242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUg_YTpzF62zdDpkpMtWrxCYvTPCeL-fLAty6AYujQw06JrfvQy_qxpRdjSSj5gu_aS2QVygKwuFIfhgchqGEUI9yyuBVvGlOl8X1hyphenhyphenO3b3dyvQ74aFQyE_5-2g_91P95H_INhyCNulMg/s320/Thailand+023.jpg" border="0" /></a> Biking around the ruins of what used to be the capital of Thailand... Ayuthaya. Very cool! But we had to hit a local swimming pool later that day to cool off.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3N156qO7t4k_WM68DHtbSMl5zDnjgottB48lPAtM-lugGmrKPjXtkNLd3k5WIJaHXtJEzQIBjGb53mmpvxLlqf4L50XfPKK0804Lattit5jPmWyRtr5sxHARZNoOKVDQOsTXBy0nLFNs/s1600-h/Thailand+022.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307865189646411954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3N156qO7t4k_WM68DHtbSMl5zDnjgottB48lPAtM-lugGmrKPjXtkNLd3k5WIJaHXtJEzQIBjGb53mmpvxLlqf4L50XfPKK0804Lattit5jPmWyRtr5sxHARZNoOKVDQOsTXBy0nLFNs/s320/Thailand+022.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Ruins - much prefered over the temples (Wats) which all look the same to us....<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5r2k9HXrVePdhli23f-nGkrvz5abTjotjznav1mV-uMOWYHj4b8hYIN9gVMW-awRK95EOdQ90BV30tg9amZd1xTEHhD0lq86bAhWq7IQU9IcM199uEtmIXOS_rHodPTx3j4IUvzAiEU/s1600-h/Thailand+021.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307865185180529570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5r2k9HXrVePdhli23f-nGkrvz5abTjotjznav1mV-uMOWYHj4b8hYIN9gVMW-awRK95EOdQ90BV30tg9amZd1xTEHhD0lq86bAhWq7IQU9IcM199uEtmIXOS_rHodPTx3j4IUvzAiEU/s320/Thailand+021.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswutkiX_FI7gPzQOntMKC96CBkC3jl-C1HfRRZU0tWQng2Ag_z1DeyjDfHE_X8etWHNO3R0xAilv_igygyfdGo-I5X6XQ7cZTfjNE2lZiGPEaq51ncsAcYPCBaqetdxHmJoqRfNyiXAQ/s1600-h/Thailand+020.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307864450534422882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiswutkiX_FI7gPzQOntMKC96CBkC3jl-C1HfRRZU0tWQng2Ag_z1DeyjDfHE_X8etWHNO3R0xAilv_igygyfdGo-I5X6XQ7cZTfjNE2lZiGPEaq51ncsAcYPCBaqetdxHmJoqRfNyiXAQ/s320/Thailand+020.jpg" border="0" /></a> Biking ( Brandon, Franz-Josef, and Jesse)<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyMiOb_SiavVU-NqHkRw_H88FGCayvNlonPpMw2eQnPuZvf8Z5rSnAxlDtuikCc4IuQtwbLx_1Xro_vbV-DYF4wAk8GC-j0i1-gwz-l5tTkV-JaWLxkYVNuflOWE8LKM_UhaFRVmZNwA/s1600-h/Thailand+019.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307864450925184194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyMiOb_SiavVU-NqHkRw_H88FGCayvNlonPpMw2eQnPuZvf8Z5rSnAxlDtuikCc4IuQtwbLx_1Xro_vbV-DYF4wAk8GC-j0i1-gwz-l5tTkV-JaWLxkYVNuflOWE8LKM_UhaFRVmZNwA/s320/Thailand+019.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center">In Kanchanabury (which we found to be mostly a </div><div align="center">tourist trap, but at least we were trapped with some cool </div><div align="center">travelers) we enjoyed our trip to the 7 falls the best -</div><div align="center">this pic is looking down into the national park. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYKbAGRt0wqq-MRrQcmEH3jrDSFR9LZJ0gk34bjp_CX4jT_haogZSk1u-5_AeXzAxUWc6To6Fr9cAr0X6far20vWkOkqHpRk4YvuZqeQ7sBQoRz5zgrOqP-qYXGgC4t3bvebYSfLPKco/s1600-h/Thailand+017.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307864440978123698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYKbAGRt0wqq-MRrQcmEH3jrDSFR9LZJ0gk34bjp_CX4jT_haogZSk1u-5_AeXzAxUWc6To6Fr9cAr0X6far20vWkOkqHpRk4YvuZqeQ7sBQoRz5zgrOqP-qYXGgC4t3bvebYSfLPKco/s320/Thailand+017.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Swimming in the falls - if you wern't quick to get out </div><div>of the water the fish would suck on your feet (not a fan!)<br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRFTPAqOFueCiuOPJ1M9tUmR_L-lrUBGSCpVrHPrzqwjLoowcJoVnFA43817SGM-W9bkjRZ21sSdXNHGg4czaF2y9K-cYKjCzBmo3pymNiwfsIuf2yHmvQBMxPFj4uI9vivZi-cPq0qI/s1600-h/Thailand+015.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307863765132872866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPRFTPAqOFueCiuOPJ1M9tUmR_L-lrUBGSCpVrHPrzqwjLoowcJoVnFA43817SGM-W9bkjRZ21sSdXNHGg4czaF2y9K-cYKjCzBmo3pymNiwfsIuf2yHmvQBMxPFj4uI9vivZi-cPq0qI/s320/Thailand+015.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO_cqmn32ONIECnnx5WzLyAFc7yMH_FCezArTIiZsqDJhkLeV2QDCXUXr2hO1GcvSMfjAEQCRytzFjPMx67pvkN3VGzIoz9W5xO08heZobGcaU2eR6N6o3Nn3-WJ5fbyTrUASPYC6d6M/s1600-h/Thailand+014.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307863765552903138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO_cqmn32ONIECnnx5WzLyAFc7yMH_FCezArTIiZsqDJhkLeV2QDCXUXr2hO1GcvSMfjAEQCRytzFjPMx67pvkN3VGzIoz9W5xO08heZobGcaU2eR6N6o3Nn3-WJ5fbyTrUASPYC6d6M/s320/Thailand+014.jpg" border="0" /></a>Tiger temple... tourist trap but still an experience...<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeIXUXWSv_RsHFE6cz40JFhe7qpW1ShI70CYzMa5i_48THvMTwmr6YeYHqnY2uL2aLBCnsqTbGQ31mEyi0Vr2fGE1CCLS0lsuErV4ufjuvcFvBfHrS4TB2FFOCJzwnV_qoChM2SsEUAw/s1600-h/Thailand+013.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307863756915826834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeIXUXWSv_RsHFE6cz40JFhe7qpW1ShI70CYzMa5i_48THvMTwmr6YeYHqnY2uL2aLBCnsqTbGQ31mEyi0Vr2fGE1CCLS0lsuErV4ufjuvcFvBfHrS4TB2FFOCJzwnV_qoChM2SsEUAw/s320/Thailand+013.jpg" border="0" /></a>At least where we stayed in Kanchanaburi was</div><div>awesome - A house on the River Khwae<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2PKn-_ye4TbqjVuN1Pqml7zIUeydftkZHqC1nBjqZQZJdE7CHljjHYTJRnTIIIiLXoyJXar7gYsUtJsmqDflrGmwa554ukUscHk3vhkyllbv3rx-wNhdP6jn9Pbu4UezpioCdYGcbDs/s1600-h/Thailand+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307863753007709346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2PKn-_ye4TbqjVuN1Pqml7zIUeydftkZHqC1nBjqZQZJdE7CHljjHYTJRnTIIIiLXoyJXar7gYsUtJsmqDflrGmwa554ukUscHk3vhkyllbv3rx-wNhdP6jn9Pbu4UezpioCdYGcbDs/s320/Thailand+012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Our first experience "river rafting" pretty chill...</div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVingNGQcrlC7GcjwIWbYhLK2e0My__iAA9sKDjNO81ArkL0xAuCaAjbIuNm4yU7Djt3u6CZc8DX2HPjYToKSSipKCL2s3uOo8Tv_etjCu2tIzlNhfYxcnJ_BB4RUt0npR5I2ZOfEuQw/s1600-h/Thailand+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307863747265802674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVingNGQcrlC7GcjwIWbYhLK2e0My__iAA9sKDjNO81ArkL0xAuCaAjbIuNm4yU7Djt3u6CZc8DX2HPjYToKSSipKCL2s3uOo8Tv_etjCu2tIzlNhfYxcnJ_BB4RUt0npR5I2ZOfEuQw/s320/Thailand+011.jpg" border="0" /></a> Ride on the "death train" (built by WWII POWs)</div><div> </div><div></div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-zkghoQ5gF9RMV4or97z7SuVkeJgRjEaXTOCnXj8PKlkfyGWGuVXrpr_j1c49XTTbao25DhtqOebBJlrLfzl9ZO-xr_1Q9BhaQI0Ref1rRbPa0QOo52O1GBVbrTqwmZ6FXYqC6rZsK0/s1600-h/Thailand+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307862965476251170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-zkghoQ5gF9RMV4or97z7SuVkeJgRjEaXTOCnXj8PKlkfyGWGuVXrpr_j1c49XTTbao25DhtqOebBJlrLfzl9ZO-xr_1Q9BhaQI0Ref1rRbPa0QOo52O1GBVbrTqwmZ6FXYqC6rZsK0/s320/Thailand+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />River Khwae bridge and tracks </div><div>(also where we spotted our first elephant)<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvMLo8ui_kpkTyZ0gloPejpWI5u7XA8YLGSN-firt-_ju_YEEBNql89Y_iQTmvmJXkT-hilY_8VmWKFpb0_Ft-ZQlfRJVYW2dCCqoKcFIfggOKGi3xMrOVKsZxZVzMngpyXUNdCqYjMA/s1600-h/Thailand+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307862959350981490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvMLo8ui_kpkTyZ0gloPejpWI5u7XA8YLGSN-firt-_ju_YEEBNql89Y_iQTmvmJXkT-hilY_8VmWKFpb0_Ft-ZQlfRJVYW2dCCqoKcFIfggOKGi3xMrOVKsZxZVzMngpyXUNdCqYjMA/s320/Thailand+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjvz3gB102-PqlS-pXpKhoLMdbtRkpoNsbiRlKPNwo5mkKHIGlGC-_ZM5QdAuvEFJfC9tB2w8k3TpjoqHzhPiFrLXtOGTe168h17NNpXuqQqX_RMNGRfnkTjCT-onkpqypMUNhoPOnd0g/s1600-h/Thailand+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307862957467163074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjvz3gB102-PqlS-pXpKhoLMdbtRkpoNsbiRlKPNwo5mkKHIGlGC-_ZM5QdAuvEFJfC9tB2w8k3TpjoqHzhPiFrLXtOGTe168h17NNpXuqQqX_RMNGRfnkTjCT-onkpqypMUNhoPOnd0g/s320/Thailand+006.jpg" border="0" /></a>This floating market was the first tourist trap we encountered.. and while it only sells goods to </div><div align="justify">tourists now it is still quite a sight and indicator of what used to be.<br /><br /><br />We finally made our way out of Bangkok... to the Kanchanaburi Provence and then to Ayuthaya. Kanchanaburi was quite the tourist trap because it's difficult to get around without a car - we joked that they trade tourists like the stock market....and it's pretty accurate. Ayuthaya was better and we met some cool Austrians/Germans on the trip and traveled with them for a few days so that was nice.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /></div></div>BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-85154359853556635022009-02-19T06:59:00.000-08:002009-02-28T06:56:24.757-08:00Arrival in Bangkok<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q99YdRq6kVi9XQuJ0ArtWHsSOFX-Rq6W4mXMUAyuOToTY-qAcKf2F_R4jFgBYHADpF2vv0a1qeN1KepHYCyf9ggi3NM3VuTTjhtam07FM1AeW5oZf2KT1-C9P3f3WBgLw9xyDYAk5_k/s1600-h/Thailand+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307862042895992626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q99YdRq6kVi9XQuJ0ArtWHsSOFX-Rq6W4mXMUAyuOToTY-qAcKf2F_R4jFgBYHADpF2vv0a1qeN1KepHYCyf9ggi3NM3VuTTjhtam07FM1AeW5oZf2KT1-C9P3f3WBgLw9xyDYAk5_k/s320/Thailand+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_xVtCohhcdc4q4R4dEqU10pR_p6207nyPmoGaKkM_sMZmojP8q7zoONXBzhYq1IYy_WdP19inMiYlu8SJJXsZ6Zz0rkbZNTHuAWUVkEgtilio4egVu8G3BfiyjbuBnDZ44W2l4p35Jw/s1600-h/Thailand+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307862036903095378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_xVtCohhcdc4q4R4dEqU10pR_p6207nyPmoGaKkM_sMZmojP8q7zoONXBzhYq1IYy_WdP19inMiYlu8SJJXsZ6Zz0rkbZNTHuAWUVkEgtilio4egVu8G3BfiyjbuBnDZ44W2l4p35Jw/s320/Thailand+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4IOHLGpeW5iXmoKS6z5jcuBzG8clUUQX2N4I0vIMqKyMMgIU8adrZ0dCSOOi40kNS80Zqr6mC4ycIpGrAMyXgxwd4pRtmkgsMg0NiThYNcFUjDxISFFcHT8U19LKzg28l0SpwHSt_U0/s1600-h/Thailand+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307862038851002770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4IOHLGpeW5iXmoKS6z5jcuBzG8clUUQX2N4I0vIMqKyMMgIU8adrZ0dCSOOi40kNS80Zqr6mC4ycIpGrAMyXgxwd4pRtmkgsMg0NiThYNcFUjDxISFFcHT8U19LKzg28l0SpwHSt_U0/s320/Thailand+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-YL06MZ03nNgrOmd08ubjsZna_Db8u83hxewr96NYpFb0Nb6_NkOqLzK3VcSO_FOzYg6rvY7qXgNzXIGeJaUDfLpgaHxvLUWsOSMwOlGn3aUjxcWmgTXoXtRNgZe4hmHi4GOKS5dRJA/s1600-h/Thailand+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307862033251334770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-YL06MZ03nNgrOmd08ubjsZna_Db8u83hxewr96NYpFb0Nb6_NkOqLzK3VcSO_FOzYg6rvY7qXgNzXIGeJaUDfLpgaHxvLUWsOSMwOlGn3aUjxcWmgTXoXtRNgZe4hmHi4GOKS5dRJA/s320/Thailand+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZP9Afiut-ZQxMiguc09VBm9BRzVvU6dhrWU5TpXqiYNype_koW-pTa0pLLW6Lap-lNO7dy0c9LHtK9PivjDAmHIc4p1mB6gWIUCbiJBdkkGaNbiVlOdQ8HDN_XSqQFSWmRQk79ytc5KI/s1600-h/Thailand+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307862028925839090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZP9Afiut-ZQxMiguc09VBm9BRzVvU6dhrWU5TpXqiYNype_koW-pTa0pLLW6Lap-lNO7dy0c9LHtK9PivjDAmHIc4p1mB6gWIUCbiJBdkkGaNbiVlOdQ8HDN_XSqQFSWmRQk79ytc5KI/s320/Thailand+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib09i3upRZD7QSjhIAxDdpacV3UccqOuf0yczdeuDf2MFoQ-tk9zNmA4MWlvAXNpB6XehgjMp8ZSkayF9WzcJo1ZMmE2TaZucgWEbYEU_PN3KvKq1ZsPcqtigSDSGbycpY50q24mJpBMk/s1600-h/IMG_4190%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307851307415792162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib09i3upRZD7QSjhIAxDdpacV3UccqOuf0yczdeuDf2MFoQ-tk9zNmA4MWlvAXNpB6XehgjMp8ZSkayF9WzcJo1ZMmE2TaZucgWEbYEU_PN3KvKq1ZsPcqtigSDSGbycpY50q24mJpBMk/s320/IMG_4190%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLpmdjZ4ZXlnyejv1eykmDNi9c-BtbPWBKCzJgi8oKU_l1J0JXd-HyTaByKpNE1cVdOw-gzaCXSXek2jXm0EPLt-ZfBwO21RCo5oCsfnkwUg0VeDD-_S2N_pnO-EzBY5wua7_B9o6Dprc/s1600-h/IMG_4140%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307849850323245762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLpmdjZ4ZXlnyejv1eykmDNi9c-BtbPWBKCzJgi8oKU_l1J0JXd-HyTaByKpNE1cVdOw-gzaCXSXek2jXm0EPLt-ZfBwO21RCo5oCsfnkwUg0VeDD-_S2N_pnO-EzBY5wua7_B9o6Dprc/s320/IMG_4140%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>After a 25 hour trip that included transport by car, bus, train, plane, and finally a taxi - we made it to the lively streets of Khao San (backpacker's spot in Bangkok). After walking around a bit and smelling all there is to smell at 3am on a street with very interesting street vendors, drunks, and stray cats we found a simple guest house ... Rainbow Guest house (very simple!)<br /><br /><br /><br />Our first day consisted of the usual - observing the people, trying some authentic food, getting a feel for the con-artists, and visiting a few temples ("wats"), oh and walking A LOT! Perhaps the most important was Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. Afterwards we took a tuk tuk (motor taxi) to the shopping meca called MBK and Siem Square... we had to keep reminding ourselves that we're traveling for 10 weeks, and to pace ourselves. We are off to Kanchanaburi tomorrow for three days of activities then up to Chaing Mai (and around) for treking, elephant training, rafting, and zip line!! We'll keep you posted : )</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>BrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178614454122223508.post-77783824691762662002009-01-01T22:01:00.000-08:002009-01-01T22:55:30.030-08:00IteneraryI think we finally decided on our travel itenerary, well, the outline anyway. After landing in Bangkok, the plan is to head north to Chang Mai where Leah is really excited to hang out with elephants in both an elephant camp and on a trek. We'll probably spend two weeks on this northern excursion before returning to Bangkok and then down toward Cambodia. I think we want to jet down to the southeastern Thailand coast on our way to Cambodia.<br /><br />Week four will start in Cambodia around March 12th or 13th with Siem Reap being our first destination. We have a friend to meet up with there that should help to firm up our Cambodian destinations but I'm excited to tour the jungle and ruins by motorcycle on dirt roads. We want to make it to Phnom Penh by the 25th of March or so to get down to the coast for a couple of days before we double back to fly south.<br /><br />Around April 2nd we'll catch a flight from Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to attend the 2009 Formula 1 Grand Prix season opener. The race is the 3rd, 4th, & 5th and then we'll head north to explore a little of the Thailand peninsula, Kho Phi Phi & Phuket for a week. This island hopping excursion will continue down to Java, Bali, and Lombook in Indonesia for the next two weeks.<br /><br />We'll have to wind down our island hopping at the end of April and head back up to Bangkok to catch our flight out on May 4th. We'll be back in the San Francisco on May 5th, 2009.<br /><br />Stay tuned for more detailed info and maps!<br /><br />Cheers,<br />BrandonBrandonWFisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11363184131211452290noreply@blogger.com8