Xi'an

I haven't had internet access in many a day. Technically I still don't now. I made it to Xi'an. Barely. I am using my bosses computer right now so I can't update any more, but hopefully I will have internet tomorrow and I will be able to update the info more with photos, videos, and a video blog.

Chiang Saen

First off, thank you for your emails of concern regarding my physical condition. I can say with a fair amount of conviction that I am BACK to 100%. Today I am firing on all cylinders and loving life again. As far as the Chinese Visa... well things are moving along quite nicely now. Quoting the great and noble Hannibal of the A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together." I went to the Chinese embassy for attempt #4 and waited the obligatory 90 minutes to go to the counter and I couldn't understand a word of the english the gal was speaking. I gathered through hand gestures that she wanted me to make copies of my documents. So I went to the mall downt he street and found the Thai equilivant of a kinkos (basically one copy machine with 6 employees standing around). and made copies. I decided to skip getting a number and just sneak behind the person at the cage of the woman with whom I spoke with earlier. She looked briefly at my papers and started to wave her arms to the back of the room. I looked down and thought f*ck China, I am going home. Luckily a lady next to me understood the embassy employee and told me that all I needed to do was fill out another copy of the visa application. Apparently they need two copies filled out in original form. So I did and cut again into line, and whoalah she gave me the sheet to come back at 3 to pick up my visa. So with the trip to the thai kinkos I would be coming back for trip number 6 in the afternoon to the embassy. I still don't have my visa in hand, so I am a bit nervous. Not to mention that they want me to pay 4400 baht for the visa and 1200 baht for a same day rush. We are talking about pushing 200 bucks in the third week of vacation for a moderately financially irresponsible person :). So I came back in nervous anticipation to receive my visa. Alas the transaction was conducted flawlessly. I now have a Chinese Visa Stamp in my passport. HOORAY. hooray looks a bit lame in written form sorry. So I went back to the hostel and started figuring out my plans for the next few days. I am supposed to report for duty on Sept. 1. I looked and to take the boat up the mekong I would need to get to Chiang Saen. Looking at the bus schedule for a direct bus, it left Bangkok at 6 p.m.. I checked this at 4:30 and the northern bus terminal was 20 km through the city around rush hour from where I was staying. So I scrambled and put my things together and hustled to the station with about 15 minutes to spare. I woke up this morning in the beautiful border town of Chiang Saen. I can say without any hesitation that I am a mountain person. Today I feel so great. Outside my hotel which cost only 300 baht for a private room with a fan and personal bathroom, is a buddist monastary. Literally the first thing that I saw when I arrived in my room was a bunch of monks walking around a garden out my hotel window. This feeling of regret has washed over me that I should have spent much more time outside the megaopolis of Bangkok and in the mountains with the "salt of the earth" people. Alas I am here now with all the temples. Clouds swaddle the mountains across the mekong in Laos like a scarf hanging loosely over broad shoulders. My hotel didn't have internet, so I at a cafe that doesn't allow shoes, and out the open front doors I can see a 30 foot stone buddah lying on its side. Since I can't use my computer, there are no pictures to post today, but I have been taking a lot. I will include these belated, when I can on this blog. I would also like to say thanks to everyone for commenting on this blog. It is nice to know that someone other than my mother reads this thing. The boat doesn't roll up the river until Saturday, so I am going to go walk around and soak up some of this culture for a few days.

Refreshed and feeling great,
-Shawn

Sir Sick-Ness

Here is a long overdue Video Blog. I trimmed up my beard a little bit. I will have to clean it up even more before I head to China.

I have spent the weekend in Pattaya. it is about 2 hours south-east of Bangkok. It only cost 102 baht to get here via bus. About 3 dollars. The hotel was a little bit more expensive than the one I have been staying at in Bangkok, but it is nice to get out an asian megaopolis every now and again.

The one evening I went out for an hour I played some pool and here is a short video of the pool hall. Very nice place with full size tables.

Lazy Boy (attempt #2)

Honestly I wrote a whole page updating my travels and the internet connection I had in Phucket was terrible. It took 45 minutes just to upload those 4 photos. I will re-recap my trip. I left with a friend I met at the Hostel a German named Patrick to visit Phucket in Southwest Thailand. We left by train to Surat Thani and that leg of the trip took 11 hours. We had a layover in Surat Thani for 4 hours from 4 in the A.M. to 8 A.M. when we took a 4 hours bus to Phucket. When I finally arrived I felt like I had just run a marathon (or at least walked a marathon). Slept for 20 straight hours and was completely refreshed. I decided to live it up beach style and headed to my local beach about 300 yards away from the hotel for a little R&R. Laid out for 5 hours in the sun reading my book and swimming. I managed to acquire a minor sunburn which made for an early evening. The next day I decided to go see Ko Phi Phi the island from the movie "The Beach" starring Leo. Unfortunately I left my memory card to the camera in the computer, so alas no photos, but I am sure you can imagine... utter paradise. I got to go snorkeling in the reefs and had a great lunch on a beach encircled by mountains coming striaght out of the water on 3 sides. The next day I decided to rent a motorbike (scooter) and go visit my friend Patrick on the other side of the island at his Muay Thai Kick boxing camp. It was about 25 kilometers away around some crazy terrain. We ended up going to some sweet beach around Rawai. Supposedly it is considered one of the 10 best beaches in the world. I tried to upload a short video below. The girl in the video is an Italian kickboxer who just won a match in 3 minutes in Bangkok about 2 weeks ago.

I ended up staying the whole day until it was late and decided to sober up a few hours and make the drive back to Patong (where I was staying). I popped in some Mike West and made the journey home safe and sound. I had so much fun renting the bike that I decided to keep it another day. I took the motorcycle around the whole southern half of the island. It took about 6 hours (making the obligatory tourist stops).

I stopped for lunch in a sleepy little seaside town and met a cool Canadian that had been traveling for over a year. She knew a "secret beach" that took a bit of hiking to get to. But well worth the extra energy. I didn't bring my camera because of the Sand/Water/Salt/Sweat mixture that tends to destroy electronics. We ended up going out the the debacherous Patong Beach night life. Imagine spring break daytona beach style with a shit ton of "ladyboys" trying to lure you into bars. Ladyboys are men who have decided to live thier lives at women. Some electing to endure dramatic surgery to enhance feminine characterstics. My friend took a picture of me with two ladyboys which I am hoping she will send soon so I can share with you guys. Here is the streets of Patong below.

The next day I kept my bike for one last day. One day too many. I was coming back to my hotel from running to the bus station to buy my ticket back to Bangkok when a giant truck decided to pass a car on the other side of the road. When he passed I was to the left of a car on my side of the road. the car on my side swerved to avoid the truck and I had the choice of hitting the side of the car or slamming into the curb at 20 M.P.H.. I elected for the latter. I hit and basically flipped over the handle bars. Luckily I only scrapped my elbows and knees. Unfortunately I bent the front tire. I had to walk it back the rest of the way, well over a mile on a broken wheel. Then the rental place charged me $160 to repair the broken wheel. After this incident I have elected to "steer" clear of motorbikes in Thailand.

So I traveled back to Bangkok. No more dial up speed internet. It was a 12 hour trip back and I am once again feeling jetlagged. Hanging low tonight updating my blog.

As far as my Chinese Visa goes, I still haven't acquired it yet. I picked my physical that I had to take here in Bangkok, today. So once I get my orginal paperwork from Dave, I will try again to get my visa. There is a chance that I won't be getting my visa, which will force me to come back stateside. I will know for sure in the next week. Tomorrow, I think I am going to be a geeky tourist and go see the Buddist temples.

This last video is for Olivia. I thought that she would dig all the shells from the ocean.

"It's the simple pleasures, I'm a child at heart. I play fast and I play hard"

-Mike West

Pictures, Blog, Video, oh my

BLOG

I ain't broke, but I'm badly bent.

Check out the video for more details. Here is a picture of the longboat I took to the market. You just have to be careful of the raw sewage splashing up into the boat.

Good Times. Good Times

I took a day off (sleeping mostly yesterday). Honestly Shawn is a bit too hagard to be seen on video (there is enough evidence scattered around Bangkok). On friday I attempted to get my Chinese Visa issued at the embassy in Thailand. Unfortunately they weren't open on Fridays, I don't know what I was thinking assuming an embassy would be open on a weekday. Finding the embassy was difficult, it took almost 4 hours to get there and locate. The good news is that while I was walking back to the subway, I came across an awesome little market. It had a bunch of food vendors and people selling cheap trinnkets. It was amazing because the entire time I was there, there were no other farang (white people). I felt like I stumbled into some secret world. I included a few pictures of this market. My food was heaping with 3 different dishes for 35 baht (about 1 dollar). I was so tired and uninspired afterwards I went to get a foot massage. The girl couldn't have weighed more than 100 pounds, but she had a grip that would make superman jealous. 1 hour was 200 baht, a little less than 7 dollars. Probably the best spent seven dollars in my entire life. I went back to hotel and took a short siesta and headed to Patpong with a few other travelers. This is basically spring break Cancun, Thai style. We went to a bar with live music that was actually decent. The bars close around 1 a.m. . We went to catch a cab back to the hotel and the cab driver asked us if we wanted spicy. The German I am hanging out with assured me that meant an afterhours bar. We went in and it stayed open about 2 hours and then closed and kicked us out. We saw a pool hall across the street and went in to play a few games and have a few more beverages. Suddenly everyone in the bar started going outside. the original spicy bar opened back up again. It was still going strong when we left at 7:00 a.m.. Yesterday I spent most of the day sleeping as you may have guessed. I went out with the German last night to get some fresh coconuts for 15 baht (about 40 cents) and had some great street food. Today I am getting ready to head to the MBK which is a huge market that draws 10's of thousands of people. Just think the Swap meet with food and cock fights.

Rain Rain Go Away

I am holed up in the hotel this morning. I know sugar melts not sh*t, but I am not taking any chances. I am listening to the Chiefs game. Sounds like our first drive was impressive. Check out the video below that I recorded.

Made it to the "Land of Smiles"

Well at least most of me made it. My bags were left behind in Chicago by United. So I am still wearing the clothes I was wearing for my 26 hour journey here. I was dog tired last night when I made it. I didn't get much sleep the previous two nights.

I have adventured in the neighborhood around my hotel this morning. I am now "downtown" in Bangkok getting my passport photos. So far I would describe Bangkok as a full assault on my senses. The incredible smell of food vendors cooking up all kinds of things I have never seen before (most of the time it overpowers the smell of raw sewage on the streets). The constant traffic and people speaking noisily. The colors and people are interesting. I made it a point to have Phad Thai for my first meal and it actually took me a while to find someone selling it. I will try and follow up with some more pictures.