TRAVEL TRAVEL TRAVEL!! That's all I seem to be doing with myself lately. Not that that's a bad thing, just doesn't bode well with blog updates. Here's the draft of an entry that I wrote before I left for Hong Kong, so I decided to share it even though it's not done.




I think I've given up trying to write about everything little thing that I do in this blog. It takes way too much time and I'm just doing too much cool stuff to write every day. The last month, though, has been as incredible as the first two. Danny came to visit, I went to an island called Ko Si Chang not too far from Bangkok, and I made another attempt at the full moon party (this time, successfully), and met Unger and Pogue there. We found some cool new places to go in Bangkok, one of which a girl from our school works at, so it's turned into a good, consistent spot for us. I've got a good couple weeks of traveling planned out, then back for exams. More travel in May, and then up to Isan for the next six weeks starting in June. Yeah, life's pretty good right now.

Danny coming here was awesome. It was the first familiar face that I'd seen in a while, and it's always good seeing my boys from home. Living all the way in Cali, I don't get to see everyone as much as I wish I did. Figures I'd see them across the world in Thailand. I showed Danny everything from the seediest to the nicest parts of Bangkok. The ping pong show, obviously, is the lowest. The Grand Palace and the nice clubs we went to are the highest. Bangkok is like that. There's entertainment for every mood, every occasion, and every price range.

The next weekend I went with my roommate Mat and this guy Joe to Sriracha and Ko Si Chang, a vacation spot for Thais that is close to Bangkok. It was cool being on an island with virtually no other farang. I'm used to going to an island and being surprised to see any Thais except the people who work the restaurants and bars. There wasn't all that much to do there, although I did have some of the best sea bass I've ever had. Less than $10 for a whole fish. During the day, we went ocean kayaking and two thai kids jumped on my kayak for a ride. Once we got around the point though, I think they got scared we were kidnapping them though so we went back.

Last weekend was the full moon party, and I met Unger and Pogue there. Once again, it was really good to see some of my boys from home. It had been almost a year since I'd seen Unger. The night before the party me and Abby had a pretty bad encounter with a taxi driver who couldn't find our place (we stayed at the same place as last time), and we ended up wandering through the jungle for a while at 3 or 4 in the morning. Finally we made it to a 7/11 and met a couple of Brazilian kids who took us back to the bungalows they were staying at. We ended up just crashing in one that was open and the owner only charged us 200 baht the next day. It was definitely an adventure and, although it was kind of fun in the end, it was a bad situation that I'd rather not be in again. Her latest blog has a more detailed description of the night if you want to check it out: http://semesterinthailand.blogspot.com .

The full moon party was a blast though. Unlike the scene I described last month, this time the beach was packed with thousands and thousands of people. It kind of reminded me of Halloween in santa barbara but in a more condensed area. Pogue and Unger got there in the afternoon, and we took a taxi up to a nicer beach and hung out there for a while.




That's as far as I've written in the last few weeks, so I'm posting it even though it's basically just description and maybe a little boring. The full moon party, in short, was awesome and everything that I expected out of a party like that. Some of the stuff in this entry already seems SO long ago, which sucks. It basically means that this leg of the adventure is starting to come to an end. I need to start preparing myself, both mentally and physically, for the next adventure: my stay in Isan this summer. More on that later as well.

I got back from Hong Kong last night (I was there for a week and had a blast) and I'm leaving this evening at 6:00PM for Chiang Mai for the Thai New Year, called Songkran, and then Laos later in the week for this thing called the Gibbon Experience. It's supposed to be amazing. Look forward to an extended post with pictures and everything later this month. I just need to find the time.