Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in David Cohen's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
1:36 pm	Very Sad News I just got word that my friend of 20 years has died.  I'll miss you. CapeGazette.com Billy Echo Taylor Jr., journalist, activist Billy E. Taylor Jr., 46, of Dewey Beach, passed away Thursday, June 14, 2007, at his residence. He was born Feb. 7, 1961, in Baltimore, Md., son of Billy Echo Taylor Sr. of Baltimore and the late Joann C. Gosnell Taylor. Following his undergraduate studies, Mr. Taylor graduated from the University of Maryland with a master's degree in computer technology. He was a writer of short stories and plays and reported for the Coast Press in Sussex County as well as contributing to other Delaware newspapers and periodicals. He was an active participant in local Democratic Party initiatives. In recent years he was a prolific political writer, public advocate and elected member of the Delaware Democratic 14th District Committee. In addition to his father, he is survived by a sister, Rosemary Fitzsimmons of Mineral, Va.; a brother, Jim Taylor of Powellville, Md.; two nieces; seven great-nieces and nephews; and many friends. A memorial will be held at Sunset Park, located at the bayside end of Dagsworthy Street in Dewey Beach at 8:30 a.m., Thursday, June 21. All who knew Mr. Taylor or who will miss reading his work are invited. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the American Diabetes Association, 100 West 10th St., Suite 1002, Wilmington, DE 19801. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, November 20th, 2006
2:56 pm	Shanghai, Guilin, and Yangshou After cruising the Yangzi, it was time for the big city again. Upon arrival in Shanghai, it was off to a hostel for some sleep (and laundry). The next few days were spent wandering a little bit on the Bund (the riverfront tourist/business strip), walking some of the shopping areas, and visiting the Museum (which was a great museum). But after only a couple days, I had pretty much all I could take of Shanghai - it was too much oriented on shopping and too much of a big city. The next leg of the trip was a flight to Guilin in southern China. On the approach, the landscape Guilin is famous for was quite apparrent. The land looked pretty much flat, except for the Karst (limestone) formations. Everywhere there were near vertical pinnacles sticking straight up from the flat green landscape. Quite beautiful. On arrival, I checked into a hotel, then wandered on to the "walking" street a nice pedestrian shopping area for some food. The next day, I got picked up for a boat trip up the Li River to Yangshou. This 3-4 hour cruise was quite spectacular with all the karst pinnacles. Of course, the "guide" babbled on in Mandarin, so I pretty much had no idea what they were saying. After arriving in Yangshou, I checked into the hotel and wandered around town. Yangshou is a fairly small city, very devoted to tourism. It has several nice relaxing streets, and karst "mountains" right in and around the city. I have not seen many cities or towns with such amazing natural scenery. The next day, I spent essentially just relaxing and enjoying the place. On my last day there, I rented out a bicycle and toured the countryside. Rather than hire a guide, I headed out on my own and got lost a few times (which was great as I got to find nice peaceful scenery!). But fate did not want me to spend too much time on this tour. After a couple hours, I ended up in a ditch. While I was headed towards the last planned stop on my bicycle trip, I decided to pass some slow, errattic local cyclists, so I stood up on the pedals and put some real power into it. BIG MISTAKE - the chain jumped sending all my weight down at once sending the bike off into a 4-5 conrete drainage ditch that I had been riding next to. OUCH. In all I ended up very lucky. Some pretty bruises, bumps and a big scrape (about the size of my hand) on my right thigh. I ended up taking a pair of motorbikes back to town (one for me and one for the bike with the mangled front wheel (I rode the bike down, letting it take most of the hit :) Once in town, I dropped by a medicine shop to get the scrape "properly" cleaned and to buy more bandages/antiseptics. In the end I limped back to Guilin to chill and let my wounds heal a little. After a few more days in Guilin, I headed back to Beijing. Eventually a few weeks later, all I had to show for this was a small scar on the thigh (which may still dissapear). Back in Beijing, I went to a few more sights including the Lama Temple and the Summer Palace, shopped a bit, met up for dinner with Nicole my friend/ex-coworker. Finally with my 30 days ending it was back to Bangkok. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
2:14 pm	Oh my god, an Update? Ok, so I admit, I am not very good at keeping up with regular postings. Anyway, I am now in the Philippines (yesterday was my first full day here), so I have a lot of catching up to do... So today I will at least start with one update... After the train ride, which ws about 16 hours sharing a soft sleeper with 3 chinese business men whose english ability matched my mandarin, I arrived at Xi'an and got booked into the hostel. Hostels are really a great way to travel around China as they are a) cheap b) speak english well and c) you can get tips, maps, etc from other travelers and staff. After checking in, I headed off on foot for the main square area and visited the Bell Tower and Drum Tower in the old city. Xi'an is a pretty nice, clean city with some nice strolls in the center as well as some old market street type areas (like the muslim quarter). The next day, I got up and went to the Forest of Steeles (Museum). This museum had hundreds and hundreds of incribed Stone monuments etc. I was amazed by the age and amount of these. One amazing thing about Chinese culture is how far back it all goes. The next day, I spent the morning doing a little bit of shopping, then in the afternoon, I got on a bus and headed out to see the Terra Cotta warriors. Some 2000 years ago, the first emporer of China (as a whole) had a burial site fashioned for him. But not just a small grave, a mausuleum, or small temple, but a whole complex complete with 1000's of individually unique, lifesize pottery (terra cotta) warriors, chariots, horses, and weapons. The fact that comparitively not long after he died, the complex was sacked and burned is a bit ironic given that the intent seemed to be to have an army in the afterlife to protect him. But in some ways, this also helped to ensure we have this site today. It was buried and forgotten until 30 odd years when it was rediscovered by accident when a well was being dug. It is a massive excavation and restoration project with a number of pits, discovered. It has also provided even more mysteries such as how 2000 years ago, the chinese had the technology and processes to plate swords with a chromium alloy to preserve them (largely intact) for 2000 years. This is a process only "discovered" in America and Europe in the past century. In the end I spent almost 5 days in Xi'an and liked the city very much. I managed to see a number of other sites such as the Old Mosque, Little Goose Pagoda, and the Shaanxi Museum. After Xi'an, it was another long overnight train ride to Chengdu, where I went to a Giant Panda breeding facility to see the pandas, and wandered around the city. After a day there, it was a bus ride to Chongqing for a cruise down the yangzi river with a couple fellow westerners (from England and America). This cruise was aboard a Chinese tour boat, which made it all the more interesting. We had our "guide" on the boat who more or less (more like less) made sure we got off the boat at each stop and were placed in one of the chinese tour mobs. Since following a large pack of chinese who are following a tour guide who is speaking a strange language was not so necessary, we tended to wander off as soon as we could. The cruise was quite spectactular though with the scenery still quite lovely even though it had 130 meters more water due to the 3 gorges dam project. We even got to see a few hanging coffins on the cliffs of the Little 3 Rivers gorges (one of our sidetrips and a definite highlight). At the end of the cruise, we were able to take in the 3 Gorges dam and then in the evening got a nice music and dance show. After the cruise, we had to kill time in Yichang until the flight to Shanghai. More on all that later... (Comment on this)
Monday, September 11th, 2006
4:44 pm	Temple of Heaven... My second day in Beijing began with a fairly early start. I met the swedish girls in the courtyard and we walked about 30 minutes to the Temple of Heavan. This temple is pretty large and has a whole lot more greenery than I was expecting. Much of the temple has been renovated in the recent past so it is all immaculate and sparkling and is very pretty, especially with the (hazy, smoggy) city skyline in the distance. The only bummer was that the Echo Wall was closed for renovations until next year. This seems to be a fairly common thing in Beijing, probably because of the upcoming summer 2008 Olympics. After walking around the temple for a few hours, we were all pretty exhausted from the heat and walking, so we headed back to the hostel to shower and relax. I also arranged a train ticket to Xi'an and a tour for the morning to see the Great Wall. The next morning I awakend for the journey to the Mutianyu section for the Great Wall. It was about 2 hours to get there by minibus, and we arrived around 11. About 10km or so of this particular section has been restored. This is something I was looking for as I hope to go to both a restored and unrestored section (when I go back to Beijing). After arriving in the car park, it was a 30 minute walk up the stairs to the Great Wall itself (I should have taken the cable care ;) After getting to the top, I found myself on a section of the wall that was about 10-15 feet wide running along the ridge of the mountains. This is pretty much how the wall was built - better to prevent invasions when you control the high ground and guard the passes. In the case of Mutianyu, the wall was built to protect a pass. There are towers all along the mountain tops around the pass (if you have seen the scene in Lord of the Rings where they light the signal fires on the mountain towers, you get exactly the idea!) and the wall essentially forms a cul-de-sac along the pass and valley essentially providing 3 sides from which to fire into any invasion coming through the pass. After making my way along the walls and through about 8 towers, I was pretty wiped from the constant climbing and heat (in the 90's) and it was time to head back down to grab a very quick meal and get the bus back to Beijing. The remainder of the day was laundry and dinner and crashing early for the next day. My final day in Beijing was spent heading to see the Forbidden City. The forbidden city was a bit of a dissapointment as the most significant buildings were (as in the Temple of Heavan) closed for renovations. It was still pretty great to walk around the grounds which for many centuries were the exclusive domains of the emperor (and his family/servants). I was also pretty amazed by the sense of age and history. In simply walking around the area, you walk by quite a few objects that are literally hundreds or even a thousand years old. After poking around and many pictures it was time to get back to the hostel to shower and check out and then head to the train for Xi'an. (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 3rd, 2006
8:18 am	Beijing I left Bangkok on time for my flight to Beijing on Egypt Air not knowing what to expect from them. I was not sure if this was going to be a scary flight ala Air India or not. I got to the airport and checking was a breeze - almost no line, but the flight was delayed 2 hours. So, I kill time by eating, reading and just bumming around. I head to the gate, call the hostel I have booked to let them know the plane is delayed, then board. Luckily, Egypt Air is not quite so bad - it is a new Boeing 777 and the flight is fine (except it is another 90 late due to in flight and on runway delays). I breeze through immigrations and customs and find the driver from the hostel (I payed 150yuan/~$20 for the pickup which is really not that great a deal). The driver is apparrantly not happy as I am late, but since he speaks almost no English and I speak less Chinese, I simply try to say sorry and pretty much it is his problem (after all, they had my flight number...and these things happen). So I get to the hostel and check into a dorm bed and pretty much crash. In the (late) morning I make my way towards Tiananmen Square and just to walk around. On my way there I go by China Mobile to get a SIM card for my phone. Things seem easy enough, but as I am finalizing things (they have more paperwork for this then is needed...) I find out that I can't use international SMS messages with this SIM card which is one of the most frequent things I do. Nope, I need a *different* SIM card. Since it has already taken 60 minutes and takes another 30 minutes to find out what SIM card I *supposedly* need and that they will charge me $2 in monthly charge for the 4 days in August, I just ask to get my money back and will get the card later. Of course this takes 3 more phone calls and 20 minutes to do, but by then I am starving and tired of the effort. So I head out and look for the closest place to eat. Since the nearest place to eat is McDonald's, I decide to look for the *next* closest place ;) So I end up in a pricey roast duck type restaraunt and order my first meal in China - chicken with chillies and some rice. I finally get my meal which is not bad except for the way many chicken dishes here are prepared - chicken meat chopped in bite size complete with bone (little bit of bone with every bite! grrr...). After eating, I head off to Tiananmen square where I am accosted by a couple "English speakers" who try to get me to go see an art show. Along the way I run into a girl who I still am not sure if she was a tourist as she claimed or a "professional English Speaker". She accompanies me as I explore a bit and then head to a shopping street near Tiananmen square where we go for Tea. This is where I am not sure if she was a pro or not. We head for a tea house which is pretty much the first one we come across and spend maybe 90 minutes with a whole tea ceremony and drinking 10 kinds of tea. It was a nice time, and there were quite the variety of tea (most very good that I have never seen or tried), but when the bill comes it is about $160! Ouch. She paid her half, but still, split that and it is some expensive tea! Of course on the way out, there is a price board and it lists the prices as were billed. In the end the tea house had to discount a bit more (since I did not have the cash). Like I said, not sure if she was a very adept tout or not...either way, I learned tea can be very expensive in China and to look or ask for prices first... After tea, I headed back for the hostel, stopping at Tianenmen Square to watch the flag-lowering ceremony. This was really not that exciting, but it was interesting to be a part of the mob of Chinese tourists watching it. When the ceremony finished, I met another (probably the only) western tourist that stayed for the ceremony, and chatted with him a bit. Since it turned out he was headed for the same hostel and was from America as well, we walked and chatted, got back to the hostel and then went out to eat. Dinner was at a small restaurant down the street and we shared pork with garlic shoots, (lamb) dumplings, rice and beer and the total was about 1 tea. A good bargain! Also another lesson - the same thing can be expensive or cheap in China. The same beer can cost 3yuan/0.35USD in a small restaurant or 15+yuan/2+USD in a modestly fancy bar (or 2yuan/0.25USD). Afterward getting back, I went for a few more beers and had to join a couple of girls from Sweden and another American as seats were hard to come by. It was a pleasant time and I spent a total of $0.50 on beer... Since the girls were going to walk to the Temple of Heavan the next morning, I decided to join them as it was too late to book a tour to the Great Wall. After having 2 beers, I headed off to the dorm room to get some sleep... (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 2nd, 2006
2:23 pm	Sukothai After leaving Bali, I arrived in Thailand so I could organize visas for China (and Russia). My plan was to spend about 3 weeks in China, then get to Russia for 2 weeks before it got too cold. I went to Charlie Connection, the travel agent I normally use in Bangkok (they are totally great - they have even saved me when I made a major goof with an airline ticket) and had them submit my passport to get a visa for China. While this was processing I hung around and looked into heading to Russia. It looked like it would be a 5-6 day trip from Beijing to Moscow by train for about $400 or a one way ticket for about $500. Not cheap but doable. However, I discovered that to get a visa would take 10 days and cost about $250!!! This meant that I would be unlikely to go to both China for 3 weeks and get to Russia unless I took a plane and even so, it was pushing my luck to get through before it got cold. So, in the end I decided to put Russia off for another time, take my time getting to China (so it could cool off a little bit from the blistering summer), and be able to spend more time in China. So before I went to China, it was time to go visit Sukothai which I have missed up until now. Sukothai is an ancient (ok, not really that ancient - a few hundred years old) capital of Thailand. It is now a World Heritage listed site and covers quite an area. So I catch a flight up and spend a few days touring the temples there, renting a bicycle to get around more easily in the heat (temps about 38C or 100F). It was quite a nice place to roam around with several temples surrounded by water. One of the hightlights for me was to head outside the old city walls and visit the sites of ancient kilns. Maybe this would be boring for some, but to me it was sentimental, remembering my Mom throwing pots on the wheel, applying glaze and firing them in the kiln we had in our carport (and helping her sell the pottery at many craft shows). The kilns were a bit different though - these were oblong brick kilns about 10-15 feet long dug into the dirt. Pretty much all of them were collapsed, but many of them clearly had features (chimneys, etc) and looked the part. All in all, I probably walked around 15 or 20 of these, and picked up and looked over the shards of pottery surrounding them. After looking around Sukothai, I went went to Chiang Mai by bus, then back to Bangkok to make my way to Beijing. (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 20th, 2006
3:00 pm	Mola Mola! After leaving Flores, I arrived in Bali where I checked in to the New Arena hotel in Kuta Beach. This place is pretty new with a very nice pool and is a good value, costing about $15/night. After chilling out for a day and getting my laundry done, I arranged for a bus and ferry ticket to take me to Nusa Lembongan for my first diving in Bali. I decided that since I only had about a week, I would only be able to dive two areas in Bali and this was my first choice, which I would follow by heading to the wreck of the Liberty in Tulamben in the east of Bali. After my arrival on Nusa Lembongan, I checked in and went to the dive shop to get sorted out to dive the next day. The island is one of 3 islands (the others being Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Penida). Typical dive schedules is a morning dive in the straights (with strong currents) followed by a dive off the eastern end of Nusa Penida (where there is little current). So the next morning it was a dive off of Nusa Penida in a spot called Crystal Bay. This area of Bali is known for an exotic fish called the Mola Mola (or Oceanic Sunfish -see http://www.starfish.ch/reef/mola-sunfish.html) but there were no expectations of seeing one as it was "too early" for the season. We arrived, set up our gear and dove in. Currents were pretty strong and we immediately headed down to almost 30 meters. We had managed to swim our way for about 15 or 20 minutes when suddenly two large murky shapes appear off to our left. Yup, two Mola Mola, one mid-sized and one fairly large (maybe 2.5m tall!). So next thing you know, there are a bunch of divers trying to get a closer look as they gently head away and deeper. The next thing you know I hear my depth alarm on my watch notifying me that I am heading below 32 meters which is not such a big deal except we are only a couple minutes away from exceeding the limit and requiring decompression stops. To make it worse, some of the divers (even deeper than me!) are only open water and have not done deep dives, so we retrieve everyone and get them to come up shallower and then our group heads back. As we ascend to 10 meters hit 50 bar, we suddenly see another Mola Mola only about 15 meters off. It appears that one of them has circled around or maybe it is even a third one! This time we get a much closer, more relaxed look before it swims off about 5 minutes later. Needless to say, while the rest of the dives were good (3 more), this was the highlight of Lembongan. After returning to Kuta beach, I then booked a one day trip out to Tulamben to dive the wreck of the USS Liberty (a ship torpedoed by the Japanese in World War II). The day started with a 7am bus to the East side of the island (about a 2.5 hour drive), where we dove from the beach (actually rocks not sand). We descended to about 6 meters and swam to the left until we reached the edge of the wreck. We then followed the line of the hull descending to about 25 meters and as we came around the far corner of the hull, *BAM* there is a 2m+ Mola Mola just sitting there about 8-10 meters away from us. So we pull up and watch as it hovers than comes on a fly by of us about 5-7 meters away, turning and swimming off. Did I mention that these things look more like some kind of alien submarine than a fish? They have this large body with two fins (one "dorsal" fin on top, and one "anal" fin on bottom) and swim but undulating these two fins. We finish the dive and I chat with the dive master who has about 1000 dives at this site, but has never seen a Mola Mola here. Quite a lucky day! The next dive is not so eventful, but is still very good as we swim through parts of the wreck which is quite interesting as well. After heading back to Kuta, I get packed, send a package home and then head back to Bangkok where I am to arrange a visa for China. (Comment on this)
Monday, August 7th, 2006
5:16 pm	on to Kelimutu After diving from Labuhan Bajo, I set off across Flores because I wanted to see a little bit more of the island, in particular Kelimutu (a volcano which is the islands #1 tourist attraction). After inquiring about flights to Ende (a 2 hour ride from Moni, the small village which is the starting off point for Kelimutu), it appeared that there were no flights that would work and still give me enough time to get to Bali to do some diving. I say appear, because many travel agents claimed there were *no* flights to Ende from Labuhan Bajo, some claimed there were, and finally after about 10 phone calls, the folks at Reefseekers were told that there were flights, but not when I needed them (the airline didn't make their answer seem too sure though - I do not know if they really knew when/where they flew). So, it was the bus for me... The bus ride was interesting...I had arranged for the "luxury" bus and was told that it would pick me up at 6:30am. Well, at about 5:55 the next morning, I got a knock on the door...it seems that pickup was at 6am...oh well, I packed in about 5 minutes and hopped on the bus. I was one of only 2 tourists on the bus, along with Stuart a Scottish guy that I had dived with a couple days earlier. The bus was an odd looking beast that seated about 18. All total, after numerous roadside stops along the way, we ended up with about 25 people on the bus, plus a few tied up chickens about 100kg of chestnuts, and a half dozen bags of rice and other assorted items. After about 11 hours, we finally arrived in Bajawa, a fair sized town nestled in the shadow of a volcano at about 1200meters. The evening I spent getting cash (yes, finally an ATM!!), grabbing a bite, and attempting (but failing) to use the internet or get money for my cell phone. The next day, I checked out at about 10, but first switched books with Stuart (he had a John Grisham book set in Washington, DC and I had a book set in Scotland so we both got to get a new book set in our neighborhoods). After checking out, I set off for the bus station after having been told there was a bus at 11. Well, I get there and there is one just leaving. Of course at first I am told there is not another one for a long time, but they can "catch up to the bus" if I pay them an outrageous fee... I refuse and settle in to wait, and it turns out there is one at 12 noon. So I get the next bus, which is 6 hours to Ende. In Ende, I arrange for my flight to Bali, and try (but fail due to no connection) to use the internet again. In the morning, I head up to Moni where I check in to a guesthouse and then go for a walk around town. After a bit, I end up talking to a few guys hanging outside another guesthouse playing guitar. I buy a few beers and we share them and they are inviting/insisting that I go to a party a few kilometers away as their "cousin" is getting married. Eventually, I get all but dragged along. Of course it turns out I am (quite obviously) the only foreigner there. At first, there is a ceremony with only certain guests, family and friends etc, with everyone watching from the outside. The ceremony is not too long, and afterwards, other guests are invided in where they make small donations and shake hands and congratulate the bride/groom/family. Then there is some tea and some more ceremonial handshaking/etc for a few minutes then there is dinner served buffett style. After getting a quick (but small bite since I had already eaten), I got dragged by my new friends to a table in one of the houses where the Arak was flowing freely (Arak == nasty, strong, kerosene tasting local palm wine/whiskey). Next up, it was time to be dragged on to the dance floor where I was temporarily adopted by an elderly local lady who did her best to teach me the steps to the local traditional dances. I finally managed to mostly get it right, but still did not linger too long, but went to sit and watch and take a few pictures. I snap a couple of some of the local kids, and the next thing I know I have about 15-20 new friends as all the young kids crowd around to get their picture taken. Finally, after a few hours, it is back to Moni, where I get to bed in the dark (there is not 24 hour power in most places) and set my alarm for 4am to go up Kelimutu. About 4am, I am awoken by voices. It is a guide wakeing the folks next door and talking over whether to try to go up for sunrise. It is raining fairly hard and is not looking cloud free at all. It is decided that it is not worth the attempt, but sometime during the day, we would all try. Later in the morning, after breakfast, after the rain had (mostly) stopped, and it had cleared a bit (so you could see a kilometer or 2), we all got in a truck and headed up the mountain. Kelimutu, is an active volcano (though not currently erupting) and is famed due to the colored lakes on its summit. These lakes are called the 3 colored lakes and are currently turquoise (more like green though in the light conditions), brown and black. The local villagers believe that the lakes are where souls of the dead go - on lake each contains the souls of the young, the old, and the evil. Further, these lakes have changed colors over the years, just to keep everyone on their toes. Well, after the truck drops us off in the parking lot, we take a 30 minute walk to the edge of the first lake. When we first get there, there is not much to see - the clouds have everything socked in. However, after a few minutes things ling and we can see the brown lake and (the edge off) the green lake. After a few "oohs" and "aahs" though the clound banks drop back and hide everything and we head to the summit. We get there in a light rain and it seems we are out of luck. After about 15 minutes though, we are again surprised as the clouds break up enough to let in a few rays of sun and for us to see the black lake and the (entire, much larger than we thought) green lake. But after only a few minutes, it is back to cloud and rain so we head back down. That afternoon I take a truck back to Ende where I am scheduled to fly out to Bali the next day. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 1st, 2006
3:33 pm	Diving at "La Bamba Joe" After the trip to Flores and arriving in La Bamba Joe, I found myself a place to sleep. Most of the folks on the boat ended up in the same place, a dive call Mutiara. The lonely planet had made it sound ok, but it was pretty well run down, with only Mandi and "shower" (really a shower head in each room all connected to one shared pipe, which when you ask them they turn on resulting in a slow drip of cold water out of the shower head). Anyway, it was about $3 per night and most of the time I knew I would be away diving, so it was ok. I did look at other places which were pretty well either no different or were booked out. And since there was no ATM in town the price was helpful. The next day I spent in town talking to the dive shops and setting up to go diving. I also hung out with our guide from the boat (since the boat was still docked), and found the internet (a shop with one computer and a queue of people waiting, and then was closed every other time I went). The next day, it was up early so that Angus (an Englishman from the boat) and I headed out for a day of diving in North Komodo. The first dive in Komodo was a dive site called "the Cauldron". This was a really interesting dive. Basically it is a location where the walls form a cauldron about 20-25 meters deep. Our dive guide Earnest (on of the owners of Reefseekers, our dive shop) spent a good bit of time cautioning us about the strong currents that are the norm in the whole area and briefing us on how the dive would proceed (using the currents etc). This dive was a decent to about 16 meteres, then a swim up the bottom of a valley to 3 meters at the lip of the cauldron, where we had to swim straight down through the current at the top to reach the bottom. At the bottom, we clung to the (mostly sandy) bottom and looked around and up, with the boiling currents in the cauldron swirling our air bubbles all around and fish swimming through the current. After about 10 minutes or so, we then swam out the other side of the cauldron and around to a great coral garden at a shallower 10 meteres. As the dive would down, everyone but Katherine and Angus were out of the water when Angus put his mask in the water as he was about to exit the water and spotted a manta ray swimming below. After he shouted to us, everyone grabbed their masks and jumped in to swim and watch the manta (a baby with a wingspan of maybe 1.5 meters) as it swam along the drop off at about 5 meters depth. After that we had a second dive, with an abundance of coral like nowhere I have seen. I think any given 10 square meter area must have had 100s of types. The fish were equally amazing with large schools of many types, Giant Travalle, a Napoleon wrasse, tuna, and more. After the second dive it was back to Labuhan Bajo. The next day Angus and his friend Miriam left, leaving me as the sole person from the boat left in town. I spent the day (and the next) diving, this time east of Komodo. The diving was again amazing with countless types of hard and soft coral, countless fish and a couple more firsts including a ribbon eel and a bamboo shark. After 3 days of diving, I had to head on so that I could make my way across Flores and to Bali in time for my flight. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 26th, 2006
7:03 pm	Ocean voyage part 2... After spending the morning at Moyo, we motored for a couple hours to Satonda Island where we took a brief walk inland where we got to see the Salt Water lake. The lake island is basically the top of a volcano whose crater is now filled with salt water. It is said that if you make a wish and hang a rock by a string from a tree by the lake, that when the string breaks, your wish will come true when you come back and find the string holding your rock has broken. After Satonda, we had dinner and headed for Gili Banta, an 18 hour trip away. We awoke in the morning, had breakfast, and arrived about 10am to Gili Banta, where we hiked up to the top of a good size hill for a great panarama view of Komodo, Rinca and Flores. After making our way down, we went snorkeling briefly then had lunch before setting sail for Komodo, about 3 hours away. Once we arrived at Komodo, we stopped at Red Beach (it wasn't really red though...) where we went snorkeling. It was definitely the best snorkeling of the trip. After snorkeling, we made our way to a smaller island across from Komodo where we had dinner on the beach complete with bonfire, (warm) beer, and cocktails (sprite and vodka, served warm of course). After dinner, we hung out until after midnight before heading back to the boat for the night. The next morning, we went back to Komodo to go ashore and spend a couple hours looking for the famed Komodo Dragons. It turned out to be Mating Season and we were warned that we may not see any. So we set off on our search and were lucky enough to spot one 15 minutes later (along with a wild deer and boar not far away). It was maybe 8-10 feet long, simply lying in the sun. So we took some pictures not wanting to rouse it, but of course our guide had to poke it to get it to move ;-) We walked around for another 30 minutes where we came to a platform built for viewing Komodo Dragons in the days when they use to feed them (by hanging deer etc. from trees). Since there were no more dragons, we made our way back (passing the same dragon on the way out). Next we sailed for Rinca, where we went ashore looking form dragons. We walked the length of the pier and were greeted by 3 Komodo Dragons (ok, they didn't say hello, they were just sunning themselves off to the side. After taking pictures, we headed in to the park "huts" where we hired a guide to take us on a 5 kilometer trail loop. We headed for the trail head and maybe made it 100 meters or so before we came across a couple young Komodos, only a few feet long and 1 large one. The younger ones were probably 3-5 years old, since when they are babies, they spend their first few years in the trees. We then made our way onto the trail, were we spent the next hour or so seeing a few more Komodo Dragons, some water buffalos, and some monkeys, and some nice views from the hills. After our hike, we made our way to the boat. We then spent the last 3 hours traversing to Labuhan Bajo (which we nicknamed "La Bamba Joe")where we got off the boat and found accommodation as our boat trip ended. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 25th, 2006
8:26 pm	Yup, I am still alive... Sorry for not having posted for a while, but after I left the Gili Islands, it was about 2 weeks without being able to find internet (that was not closed or down). Anyway, after my time on Gili Trawangan, I took a 4 day/3 night boat trip to get to Flores. The trip began with a 7:30am meeting at the beach to get a public ferry boat to Lombok, then a very cramped bus ride across Lombok to the boat. We finally got to the boat around 2 or so and piled onto our home for the next few days. The boat was about 20 meters long, but was fairly basic facilities...a deck for sleeping/sitting, coolers for drinks, thermos for coffee/tea, (open flame) stove, and a squat toilet in the back of the boat (dumping in to the sea of course). Oh yeah, and a pair of live chickens for one of the meals (which we never did get to eat). For the trip, there were 15 of us 1 American, 4 from Holland, 3 English, 2 Czech, 1 Australian, 2 Belgians, 1 Brazilian, and 1 Indonesian, so it was a nicely mixed group. In addition, the first night we had a family 6 or 8 Indonesians catching a ride to their island (because our boat was the only way they could get back to their island that day). Once we got on the boat, we sailed for a few hours before stopping at Gili Bedil for dinner (it was too dark for snorkeling...) and then getting settled into bed (on pads on the deck). About 2am, the boat got underway and headed out for our next destination (the island where were dropped off the family). After dropping our passengers off, we headed to Moyo Island where we spent about 2 hours snorkeling and hiking up to a waterfall. Ok, I am going to stop for now and will post in a day or so about the rest of the trip and about other adventures... but for now so I am off for bed... (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 5th, 2006
6:59 am	Diving... Well, I am now in Indonesia... Right now I am on Gili Trawangan (for the 3rd time) typing from an internet cafe which is running on generator fed power... It is a small island and sometimes there are power issues. I have now been here about 1 week and have done about 8 dives. Diving here is great. Only on one dive have I NOT seen a turtle on a dive, and there have been lots of sharks, eels, lionfish, scorpionfish, and other good stuff (octopus, cuttlefish, frogfish, sea snake, tuna, more). This morning it was diving at a spot called "Deep Turbo" with DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle). For this dive, it was just me and Marcus, the owner of Manta Dive and my dive guide for the journey. Manta Dive is where I got my open water dive, and now some 2 years later, a number of faces have changed, but Marcus and Antony are still there and run a great shop. This dive was quite deep and we were pushing right up against the no-decompression limits for much of the dive. It was great scenery with fish of all kinds everywhere, even a couple White Tip Reef sharks and a baby turtle. After about 50 minutes we finally surfaced and snorkelled a little bit while waiting for the boat to pick us up. In the end, we were only about 200 meters up the beach from the dive shop when the boat finally reached us. This island definitely has some great diving and is a relaxed place. But it will soon be time to depart for places further afield. On Saturday it is off to Lombok to catch a 4day boat trip to Moyo, Satonda, Komodo, Rinca and Flores where I will stay for more diving. I will try to post a little about the trip when I can. (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 1st, 2006
7:31 pm	Diving Koh Tao After the craziness of the full moon party, it was off to Koh Tao for some diving. On my first visit to Koh Tao, I got my PADI Advanced Open Water at Sea Shell Dive Resort. As I talked to all the touts for different dive resorts, I heard that they had changed hands, and since their rooms were pretty umm...rudimentary, I decided to go talk to Simple Life, a smaller dive company/resort closer in to Sairee beach. Since I was not taking a course, I had to bargain with them, but managed to get a great price on the diving and a fair price on the room. The room was better, but was only a fan room without great circulation so it was an oven between noon and midnight. Anyway, I ended up doing 7 dives with them, and they were good folks. My days pretty much consisted of 2 dives, and a half day lounging around their beachfront restaurant or on the beach. The diving in Koh Tao was better than I remembered. The coral was pretty healthy and I got to see a sea snake while diving which was a first. After Koh Tao, it was off to Pattaya for a couple days, mostly because I had never been there. I would say the place is rather interesting, but not necessarily a place to go. It was a fair city with hundreds if not thousands of "beer-bars". Essentially a city of small bars with girls looking to earn some money from tourists the "old fashioned" way. Pretty amazing, weird, and sad. But the girls are nice, it is ok if you want to just hang out, chat, buy some drinks and play pool or other games (connect4, jinga, etc). After a brief stay, it was off to Bangkok for a few days to arrange to head to Indonesia. Which is where I am now...I'll post more in a day or so, but I expect that internet access will be sporadic, so if you email and I don't reply for a few days or a week, you will know why. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006
4:05 pm	Party on the beach Well, I now have been to two Full Moon Parties on Koh Pha Ngan. This is truely an interesting event. Basically you have the entirety of the beach (and inland for a few blocks) setting up shop to sell booze, food and flourescent body paint to 5000 or more tourists (and a few Thais). I really mean the entirety. Every storefront and spot on the beach. In front of a Nail Saloon? Buckets of Booze of various kinds for $3-6. In front of the pharmacist? Same. 7-11? Same. Massage Parlor? Same. There is of course maybe 10 beachfront bars blaring music. It truly is an interesting thing to see. Just be careful - many people get too drunk and end up face first in the sand asking to get robbed. And I was offered both X-tacy and cocaine which is *real* tempting in a place that has capital punishment for drug offences! I think beer is good enough for me! In the end it was a good time and very interesting. During the surrounding days, I spent my time hanging around the guesthouse on Ban Tai beach (about 5K from where the full moon party is). This is the same place I stayed last time I was in Koh Pha Ngan - it is a very mellow, pleasant place run by a Thai couple. On the second night, there was a huge storm which knocked out power which made getting food and watching England play in the World Cup rather difficult. The next day I turned on the TV (which had one channel!) and heard a drip, then sizzle, then smelled burning insulation. So I turned it off and let Kenny (the owner) know. Late that afternoon they came and turned it on and it did the same thing, so they took it away. When I went to check they gave me a discount for not having a TV (hardly a difficult thing), and I asked them how the TV was. They told me it was dead - evidently a Gecko had gotten inside it and cooked itself and the TV. I had a great stay and would recommend Hansa in Ban Tai if you ever head to Koh Pha Ngan for the full moon party. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, June 9th, 2006
2:31 pm	Thai Heat Well, I am now in Koh Samui. This time I took the bus/ferry from Bangkok which was cheaper and not too bad (except it left at 6am!). I have to confess I have not been doing too much. Sitting on the beach, going to cafes/bars, reading, even (gasp) watching some TV. It is nice and relaxing, but I feel like a slug for doing it. Koh Samui is a pretty nice island, but is definitely on the touristy/expensive side. The beach (I am staying in Chaweng Beach) is nice soft crescent sand beach in a sheltered bay. But the bay is not so good for swimming and cooling off as much of it is shallow pretty far out and is too warm and a little dirty. Also don't expect to be alone - it is crowded here and the entire beach is fronted by maybe a hundred beachside bars/restaurants. Right now, I am in an internet cafe/travel agency waiting for a bus to the ferry to Koh Pha Ngan. I would hang out on the beach, but it is really hot out and I wanted to stay out of the heat a *little* bit. I will be spending the next 3-4 days on the beach, so I do not worry about missing a few hours on the beach. I'll even be spending most of the night on the beach at the full moon party (on Sunday). I probably will not post again until I get to Koh Tao on Tuesday. Anyway, I will post when I get the chance. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 3rd, 2006
5:41 pm	On The Road Again Well, I finally managed to get moved out of my apartment in Tokyo and get on the road. I needed more time to sell the furniture that I had, so I was lucky to be able to sell all the major items, though it was painful to accept the prices I had to. The final walk through went ok, which surprised me. The floor of the apartment was the softest most easily scratched floor you can imagine. It was scratched and dinged up when I moved in and was even more so when I moved out. I figured they may want me to pay for a new floor. But, it seems they just want to deduct a (slightly excessive) cleaning fee. Anyway, I actually ended up getting off to the train station on time, and to Narita Airport 2 hours ahead. Of course there is a *huge* line and it takes me over an hour to get to the checkin counter. This is where for the second time, I have to wait while the checkin agent calls someone about my passport. After about 10 minutes or so, it is sorted out, but I find out the problem is that my name matches a name on some no-fly or watch list. I find this kind of irratating...I guess some other David Cohen must have gotten thrown off a plane or some such, and now everyone with my name must jump through hoops every time they want to fly. Well, we will see how things go with that. Anyway, I made it to Bangkok safe and sound and am trying to figure out what things I may see and do. I am looking to maybe bum around Thailand for a month, then head to Indonesia to dive in Bali, Lombok, and hopefully out in Komodo/Flores. I think my next stop may be Koh Samui, then Koh Phan Ngan for the full moon party, then Koh Tao for diving. I will try to keep more up to date with posting here, so please feel free to drop by here anytime. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 4th, 2005
6:47 pm	Hanging out in Ho Chi Minh Yes, I know I last wrote a month ago (is anyone reading anymore?), but at least I am finally getting to it ;) After my short stay in Nha Trang, I flew into Saigon, aka Ho Chi Minh City. Saigon is a bit different from Hanoi, but one thing that is consistent is that there are motorbikes *everywhere* and you need to use the same technique to cross the street (pretend the roads are empty, step onto the street and walk slowly and steadily across the street and count on or pray that the motorbikes/bicycles/cars go around you). However, my impression of Saigon was that the city was a lot more "open" with numerous parks/wide green spaces around the city, whereas I found Hanoi to be packed pretty tight. Anyway, after arriving I checked into my hotel in one of the tourist/backpacker areas, cooled off and wandered the neighborhood a little bit. Along the way, I stopped down the street at a corner bar/restaurant and was approached at the entrance by one of the everpresent beer touts. For those who don't know, in many parts of asia, different brewery/beer brands will pay girls money to put on a short, sexy little dress with their beer name/logo prominantly displayed, and have these girls "push" their particular brand of beer. It is all innocent enough and they don't bug you, but generally just ask you if you would like (in this case a Foster's) beer. If you say no, they will let you go without hassle. So anyway, I agree (hey I was thirsty and hot and a cold beer sounded great!) and the girl takes me over to the bar. Along the way she sniffs me and tells me I smell great (I had showered etc, so it was nice to know I didn't stink). When I get to a bar stool, she calls the bartender over to get her to pour me my beer, and also tells the bartender that I smell good and she should smell me to. So the bartender leans over sniffs, and also tells me I smell great. Anyway, I have a couple beers and some dinner and chat with the bartender (very petite, cute, young girl). A couple of times she leans over to smell me again. Anyway, after dinner, I wander on and explore the neighborhood. The next day, I head out of town a little bit on a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnels are in an area not that far (maybe an hour ride?) from Saigon. These tunnels extended over a vast area during the war and housed/protected Vietcong soldiers and locals alike. They were pretty amazing feats of engineering and very ingenious. Many features were built into them to either hide their existence and entrance/exits and to protect them (entrances too small for many/most westerners). One of the things that struck me was where they were located. I had always had the picture of most of the front being further to the north and/or in jungles etc. But quite literally much of the "battlegrounds" were right in the backyard of Saigon. Everything was thrown at areas such as these from Napalm to heavy bombs, to footsoldiers, but nothing was effective in changing the fact that the "enemy" was in and around Saigon. Pretty facinating stuff and I have a new understanding of the difficulties faced by the American GI during the war. After touring the Tunnels, we were dropped off at the "museum of American atrocities". Naturally this was a slightly biased exhibit, but still interesting to walk through. They had everything from pictures, to captured tanks and planes. Afterwards, I headed back to the hotel and went to the same place for dinner and a beer after showering and putting on some insect repellant. I get to the bar, and the same bartender is working and heads over to me, leans over the bar and sniffs and tells me again how great I smell. So I spend the next hour or so hanging out, chatting and joking with her and getting something to eat. As I get ready to leave, I tell her "see you tomorrow" and she tells me she is not working tomorrow so she will have to see me the next day. I tell her that I am leaving early the day after that, and she seems genuinely disappointed. So I ask her if she wants to go to dinner then and surprisingly she agrees. The next day, I spend wandering down to the "Reunification Palace" and check out the really swank digs occupied by the leaders of the South. You can't complain about bars, theaters, private helipad and more. Afterwards, I did a little bit of shopping on my way back, then shower and get ready for dinner. After a little confusion, I finally meet my new friend and we head off on her motorbike and find a nice place for dinner. She again goes on about how great I smell several times. She asks again what I am wearing and I tell her. We have a great time at dinner laughing most of the night. She is charming, beautiful, smart, very traditional/conservative, and funny. Finally it is time to go and she asks me again what I am wearing because she really loves the smell. So I tell her again and have to swear to her that I am telling the truth. So after dinner she give me a ride back to my hotel and says goodbye with a cautious hug and rides off. I find out later that she lost a bet. She had bet that I was lying to her about what "cologne" I was wearing that she liked the smell of. Have you guess yet? I would never have guessed it, but my amazing toiletry item for picking up girls - Fresh Scent Off. Yup that's right...it keeps mosquitos away, but attracts girls....or at least one...I do admit though, it doesn't smell *bad*. The next morning it was off to Tokyo. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 5th, 2005
6:18 pm	Vietnam in a hurry I figure now that it is some 8 months later, it is well overdue that I post about the trip through Vietnam. The flight from Vientienne to Ha Noi was fairly routine, but while waiting, I got convince to get "free transport" from the airport. This was of course based on the fact that they would take me to their guest house with the expectation that I would stay there (which I was willing depending on the place). Well, they *pack* in the minibus and haul us all there with promise that there is plenty of room. I get there and they unload all our stuff and slowly go through booking people into rooms and although I ask if there are sufficent rooms and am assured there are, eventually they run out (maybe an hour waiting). Of course it is a bit wet and cold outside, so it is off to their "other guesthouse" by motorbike (yuck). I check out the room and haggle over the price. After all, it is now 8 or so and I don't really feel like walking around still trying to find a place and the place is ok and the price is not crazy ($7 or 8 bucks). So after a quick rest, I head out into the craziness of Ha Noi to grab a bite, check internet, get a SIM card for my phone and acquante myself with the city, knowing that I am going to have to move in the morning and waste part of a day doing so. Afterwards, I head back and to the hotel (it is just after 10 at this point) and have to bang on the door as "reception" is closed for the night. I find this to be common in Vietnam - after 10 or 11 or so, most guesthouses close their doors and the owner (or family) sleeps in the "lobby". Anyway, the next day I spend the morning finding a new guesthouse (one that had been recommended to me by someone I met in Thailand) which was nicer, but more expensive. After that, I headed towards the center of town for a late lunch by the lake there, which was quite relaxing (but tourist and pricey). Then I checked out the temple that is on an island in the lake and exchanged some books on the street. I then took a partial walk around the cities "historic" area. There is a walking tour which takes you around several small neighborhoods with specialties in various things, such as metalwork, stationary, gravestones, etc. After that I arranged to go on a day trip out to Halong Bay, before heading to Da Nang (where "China Beach" was during the Vietnam war). The next day it was a very early start and a 2+ hour bus journey out to Halong Bay. Then it was on a boat for a drizzly, overcast start (though things brightened up a fair bit later). Halong bay is a very beautiful calm bay with limestone formations/islands rising out of the waters. We cruised around for about 90 minutes before stopping at one of the larger rocks and wandering through a large cave there. Then it was off for another 90 minutes or so, with wonderful views along the way (including a stop at a fish farm in the bay). Finally it was back on the bus and back to Ha Noi. The next day it was off to the airport to get a flight to Da Nang. At Da Nang I got a really nice hotel and location except for the fact that the entire road between the beach and the hotel(s) was being totally destroyed/reconstructed. Still, I spent two nights and a nice day and a half on the beach and exploring Da Nang (not too exciting), before heading on to Nha Trang. Nha Trang was a very nice beach resort town. I stayed at a hotel fairly close to the beach (I bargained them down to $15 for a corner room at a nice new hotel with a double bed and single bed, AC, nice bath, TV, and a view of the Bay). I spent 2 and a half days there enjoying the beach, some diving and just hanging out. After that it was off to Saigon...I'll leave that as the topic of my next post... (Comment on this)
Monday, April 11th, 2005
12:29 am	long bus rides... After Luang Prabang, I was eager to head to head to Phonsavan in the Laos interior to see the Plain of Jars. Not long ago, this journey took several days due to difficult road condition and the Laos embassy's tourist information links say to permit 3 days for travel to Phonsovan, so with only a dozen days planned for Laos, I needed to get going! So after making enquiries, Guy decided that this detour sounded intriguing so he and I (we had said goodbye to the girls the night before) booked tickets on the local bus leaving in the morning. The journey was an adventure. Since the past couple days had been warm, I had put on shorts and a t-shirt. This proved to be a big mistake as the day dawned overcase, drizzly and cold and we were headed into the mountains in a bus that turned out to have no heat. We get to the bus station and board the bus with almost exclusively locals which included two who boarded with AK47s and took seats near the front. About an hour or so of very slow traveling we made a stop by the road and folks got out and used the "facilities" (as in any available bush or blade of grass). Well, at least that is why we though we stopped. After another couple hours of slow going (by slow I mean maybe 20km/hour) we stopped for lunch. This stop, I noticed the driver and his assistant pull out a mat which was thrown under the bus so they could crawl under the bus. After our lunch break it was back on the bus for more slow going with more stops every couple hours to break out the mat and crawl under the bus. We finally seem to be almost at our destination - less then 60 km from Phonsavan by the signs, I am now thinking maybe an hour or hour and a half now that the road is flat and not curvy anymore! Nope...not so quick. We now make more stops. First we are flagged down by another guy with an AK47 who boards and gets off later (commuting home for the weekend I expect), and others including a man with a shoulder bag which it turns out is actually a pig carrier. A little bit after that, the bus starts to sputter and we then make an emergency stop as we have now run out of gas perhaps 20km from Phonsavan. Luckily we are in front of a farm with a good size truck and our driver and conducter seemingly barter with the owner, then proceed to siphon gas from the truck to get us back on the road. We finally get going and arrive in Phonsavan only about 12 or 13 hours after our start! Well, anyway, we decide to check out a guest house which is more midrange (about $10 for a twin room) because it had good reviews in the LP and ran tours to the Plain of Jars. It turned out to be a good choice as it was pretty well run, provided lots of extra blankets, had a fireplace and hot water. After arriving we made arrangements for a full day tour to all 3 sites of the Plain of Jars and turned in for the night. The next day it was up early to get in our russian-made jeep to see the plain of jars. We visited site 1 first, the largest site and cruised around looking at the large, mysterious stone jars (made some 2000 years ago for reasons no one is truly sure of though either they had a role in funeral rites, or making rice wine, or...). We walked around the site only recently cleard of UXO (unexploded ordinance - aka bombs). Next up was site 2 for more jars where they are still clearing UXO (mostly "bombies" or bomblets from cluster bombs). The plain of jars was a hotbed in the unofficial war carried on by the US forces there in fighting the communists and Vietnamese using Laos for supply trails. As such it was heavily bombed and saw much fighting which resulted in many "holey" jars with bullet holes and blast damage. Even after so much trauma, it is still quite a site to see. 100s of jars, many as big as me or bigger are scattered around. There are another dozen sites in addition to the 3 we saw that are not accisble today. After the plain of jars, the plan was to head to Vang Vien then to Vientienne, but that night I spent too much time in the bathroom as I had come down with some kind of stomach bug and a mild fever, so the next day I said so long to Guy as I decided to just stay in Phonsavan for a day of bedrest. The next day it was off to Vientienne where I would spend a couple days arranging a flight to Ha Noi, Vietnam, calling my friend Julio in Tokyo (resulting in my currently being in Tokyo), and seeing the sights around Vientienne (boring by comparison to the rest of Laos except for maybe the odd Buddha Park). Finally, my 12 days in Laos over it was time to get onto a Vietnam Airlines flight to see Vietnam. (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 10th, 2005
11:58 pm	Overdue tales of Slow Boats... Yup, I am finally getting around to posting again! I won't be catching up or even nearly doing so, but at least I can get a small start... Anyway, after the 6 hour minibus ride to Chiang Kong in a minibus with 8 israeli's, one Canadian and me, we arrived at Chiang Kong where we stayed the night in fairly simple, yet sufficient accomodations (a double bed in a room to myself and bathrooms/toilets a short, but chilly walk away). The next morning it was up at 7:30 to grab a bite for breakfast before getting in a minibus to head to Thai immigration for an stamp, then to the jetty to get on a (long-tail) boat to cross the Mekong. After crossing it was a quick line to get through Laos immigration (in Thailand and Laos they pronounce it "Lao" without the S as we think we know it) and to change money ($50 in Laos kip is a stack about a half inch thick given that their largest bill is a $2 bill and at that place they didn't even have those!). Afterward it was a walk up from the waterfront to the main street to wait for the pickup that would take us to the slow boat to fill up. I noticed that the town/city was wired for electricity, but not to more modern standards with all the cables and connections strung up seemingly haphazard and all the connections laid bare to the elements. About 20 minutes later, the pickup finally filled up and it was maybe a 10 minute ride to the waterfront where we would get on our slow boats (after waiting for 45 minutes for our passports to be surrendered and "checked by the police"). We then were given our passports back and boarded the boat. So I board the boat among the early group and grab a luxury wooden bench (one with a pillow for the bum) and a dutch couple I had met while waiting grabbed the one behind me. Anyway we wait and people board, I am joined in my spot of luxury buy Guy a guy from Liverpool who was doing some traveling after having tought English in Japan. We then invite a few girls to have the seat ahead of us (and move our daypacks which were taking the bench). They were all friends who met in Vietnam (after having interned for a semester there) - two of them from Finland and one from Germany. We finally get going about 11 and spend the next 6 hours cruising down the Mekong River which turned out to be a very pleasant, scenic cruise even if it was cramped quarters and rough on the bum. Along the way, we have a pleasant time and Guy, myself and the 3 girls hit it off pretty well and decide to stay at the same place when we get to our midway stop at a small tourist trap called Pak Beng. We get off the boat and after dealing with the touts end up at a small riverside guesthouse with minimal, but cheap (Guy and I split a twin room for about $1.5 each) facilities. After throwing our bags in the room and arguing about the price (they tried to triple the price but we called them on it as we had plenty of witnesses), we sat down to get a beer and a bite to eat with a nice view of the river. We had not even ordered a beer before one of the staff produced a bag of pot and tried to sell us some pot or opium. Not quite the same as Thailand, Malaysia, or Indonesia where severe penalties (such as death) are enforced - what laws exist are not enforced in many parts of Laos. Since he is also taking orders for beers and food we order up some beer and later some food before retiring. The next day was similar to the first with about 6 hours on a boat, arriving in Luang Prabang at about 4. We then walk around trying to find a guest house before letting a guy on a motorbike direct us to his. His place turned out to be a fairly nice (for Laos guesthouses) and fairly cheap ($3 for a room with no bath/$6 for a room with a private bath). The folks running the guesthouse were very nice and the atmosphere of the place kept us there for the rest of our time in Luang Prabang... We spent the next days visiting temples, bicycling around the city, shopping and going to see the falls about an hour away (the waterfalls are the daytrip that every tout in the city is trying to get you to go to, but they are one of the most beautiful waterfalls you will ever see and get to swim/play in so are well worth the $4 or $5 to go!). Our visit there was truly pleasant - the Laos people turned out to be mostly very nice, of very modest means yet fairly happy/content, and inspiring. Many spoke English surprisingly well, even a friendly monk we met at Phu Si temple on the hill in the middle of town. The younger generations in Laos are very keen to learn/speak English as it is seen as a route to better jobs. Anyway, that is a good start...a post after a long silence...I'll post more soon... (Comment on this)