A few photos

Some splashing around


Giant Buddha feet


River taxi



Art in Progress

I took a train yesterday to Kanchanaburi. There was some delay at the halfway point and it took a while longer than expected. When it arrived at Kanchanaburi there was a dash of farangs (foreigners) to the nearest guesthouse. It took me about 3 or 4 tries to find one with a decent price and room. Without a real plan this morning I just set out walking in the direction of a temple that was maybe 3km away. Before the temple is a WWII cemetary commemorating some of the fallen that worked on the railway. I wasn't really planning to go to the cemetary but there were some kids playing that called me over. Being a bit skeptical I went ahead and hung out with them for a few hours and had a pretty good time just goofing around; they even showed me the caves at the temple. I'll post more photo's when I get to a better computer. Take care!

Where I'm Typing From

So how to begin... I didn't realize I had to change terminals at one airport so I had to run, but no worries the plane was delayed and I made it okay. I also met two lovely older women, a mother and daughter, who are travelling to a small village and invited me to stay with them. It will be nice because it is an area where no tourists go and I can see a bit of rural Thailand without following everyone. I got a taxi from the airport to my couchsurfing friends place for a decent price. The place I am staying has 6 floors. My room is 100 Baht a night with a communal bathroom; 100 baht is a little more than 3 U.S. dollars. It is a really good price but only if a simple mat is okay with you and you don't mind being in a residential area rather than in the tourist area on the other side of the river. After three nights though I moved to the roof to sleep in a tent for free, more for the experience than the price but that is always nice. The weather has been really nice, not too cold in the evenings.

I got lost looking for chinatown with a really nice Croatian couple and wandered aimlessly in the residential area to see how people live (not too different from us). Just to give you an idea water is about 12or 14 baht for 1.5 liters, which is less than 50 cents. Where I'm staying is being converted into a bar (it was an abandoned brothel) so they had a party with graffiti artist come 

and write on a wall. There were also some drummers that came one night who were really quite good. Well, I'll write more as it comes to me but so far I have simply been relaxing and not rushing which I think will be my mode for the rest of the trip. A bit of planning has been going on in my head and I think that I will go to Kachanaburi on Wed or Thurs then go to the small village a few days later and work my way north. Take care!

Arrived

Finally got to Bangkok and arrived at the place I will be staying. It was a very long trip with a few interesting moments that I will write more about later. I am alive and well. 

One Way Ticket to Bangkok

Yesterday I cancelled my phone, applied for readmission to UNC for the fall, applied for financial aid, found some people to stay with on CouchSurfing.com, and managed to come down with a sore throat. I went to the doctor today and feel a lot better now which is good considering that I leave in a few hours.

On a somewhat side note I highly recommend Traveler's Tool Kit by Rob Sangster. It's a bit dated but I really like the way he writes and his information is general enough to be applied anywhere.

My tentative itinerary is into Bangkok then north and over into Laos, then down Vietnam, maybe into Cambodia, back to Thailand to go to the beaches in the south, head over to Malaysia for a bit, and finally to do some WWOOFing in Sri Lanka. I still am unsure if I am going to Nepal to do the Annapurna trek. 

I have been extremely nervous the past week and only grew excited when I received messages back about people inviting me to sleep on their couch. I guess it's always nice to see how welcoming some people are and to feel a sort of connectedness even though I have yet to meet them and only have travel in common. Even as of now I am not sure if I am looking for something or taking a young mans adventure (coming of age kind of stuff). I do know that foremost I simply want to travel and test myself, hopefully meeting some good people and trying some delicious, though exotic, food along the way.

I'll just scratch this itch and see if it doesn't turn into a disease.

The Things He Planned to Carry

Well everything is just about in order. Got all my shots, called my bank and credit card company, got all my medications in order. I just need to print out some passport photo's, upload copies of documents, and get some iodine or Silver Ion/Chlorine Dioxide.

This image contains just about everything that I will be taking on my trip. I suppose an itemized list is in order (starting in top left):

- journal with pens (one with a bit of duct tape wrapped around it)

-Gorilla pod

-Chap stick and sunblock

-Flashlight

-Watch

-Rubber bands and Money belt 

-Day pack

-Belt

-General guidebook 

-Travel pack

-Shoes

-Lock and keys

-3 bandages

-Insect repellent

-Extra batteries (for a total of 8 recharcheables; 2 in camera and 2 in flashlight)

-Bike Lock

-Anti-bacterial

-Universal outlet plugs

-Sink stopper and braided clothesline

-Ear plugs

-1 pair of shorts and two shirts

-Harmonica (learn on the road?)

-Towel

-3 zip lock bags

-Sunglasses

-Battery charger and mp3 charger with usb cable

-The Pocket Doctor (one never knows)

-Waterproof case for camera (I think I'm going to borrow this a bit longer Eddie)

-Mp3 player

-Sandals

-1 long sleeve shirt, 1 pair of pants, and 1 pair socks (with shoes is the outfit for day of travel)

-3 underwears and 2 socks in packing cube

-Zip lock with anti-malarial, anti-diarrhoea, anti-biotic, ibuprofen, and hand sanitizing wipes

-Toothbrush in a case

-Baby shampoo and shaving oil

-Floss and toothpaste (which I have to put in another container)

-Collapsible water bottle

-Sleep sack 

This brings the weight of my pack to about 14lbs when I have the money belt, watch, belt, camera, mp3 player, and harmonica on me. I'll also have a novel with me that I will probably carry in my hand. I plan to pick up a poncho and a hat when I get there. Any questions or ideas are welcome.

A bit o' home exploring

So for awhile I was starting to get a little nervous about the whole idea of traveling alone. When I finally got back to south Florida I decided to explore my area a little bit on a bicycle. Nothing I saw on the trip was anything new to me but it was different that I was biking it because I would normally just drive past. Plus it was a beautiful day that wasn't too hot. I think taking some time to just bike around for 11 miles and just look at stuff was different enough that I felt good about my choice to go travel alone for bit. I really do just like looking around.

I also found some history along
the way about a popular road.

On a separate note, I finally purchased my one way ticket to Bangkok, Thailand for January 7. This pretty much solidifies me going but at the same time I don't quite believe it yet. In fact I don't think I will until I am off the plane looking for a taxi.