1k+ k

just got back from my bike trip.
Jamie and I rented a xr250 and got a map and headed out not knowing what to expect.
I knew i wanted to try and stay to dirt roads so we first when north to a trail marked on our map as motorcycle only, and that's not for some hippy reason.
it took most the first day to get up to where the drit road started and it was starting to get dark, luckily a crazy thai mute named Cum led us to his home where we got some food and stayed in a small room they had. that night a huge storm came in and it rained all night. the next day we hit the roads and they were rutty muddie and often crossed by knee deep streams. I don't have our map with me now so I can't for sure say the exact rout we took but after a long long long day of rough trails and beautiful views and 3 chest deep river fording (luckily each time a random thai person wandered out of the jungle or was trying to carry there scooter across so i had help pushing the bike across. after the first fording the bike didn't want to start again and once it was it was only 1/2 running, i think because a wet coil, of course on the sandy beach of the rive the bike fell over and broke the mirror..
we rode and rode and after about 8 hours came to the end of the road in a small unfriendly village in the middle of nowhere, they told us to turn around and go back and that we missed our turn, so we when back and started exploring every little trail that went off the main trail we were on, poor Jamie got a leach on one of the exploratory river crossing (with out the bike) she was not happy about that..
finally after back tracking all the way back to the last major river crossing that we would have to bring the bike across we turned back and tryed again, final we found at one place where the trail ended the trail was up a shallow rocky stream that was about imposable to see. after that we met a really nice family who we ate lunch with and they offed to let us stay with them for the night we probably should have but sharing a little hut with 15 people seemed a bit much so we continued on.
a while after it shattered rain pretty hard and we had to cross some waist deep rivers but those i could just ride most the way through.
the next town was a creepy opium town but it was pouring rain getting cold and dark so we stayed there, but didn't trust them after they wanted 100B for a beer, so we whet to bed with out eating or hanging out, we were in a big room, almost like a grain house, with one guy in the corner smoking opium for 7 hours strate with out moving.
we slept with one eye open and clutching our bag.
the next morning we set off early and the roads were shit, slippery as all fuck, we made it about 1k before the first crash. it was mainly just trying to navigate between deep rain ruts in the road while the back of the bike slid everywhere. we got to the next town and discovered the map was missing. the only way we had gotten this far was by being able to neam the next little town or village on the map and have people point. so we had to turn around and go back to the creepy opium town, in the pouring rain and crash again in almost the same place, this time grating my face across the side of the hill. and breaking off the clutch perch mirror mount. ok fuck this i took off both mirrors... got to the creepy town and found our map which some little kid had found to play with.. tip them and head again down the shit road, soaked to the bone grumpy and i think that's when we cashed again on that road. but Finley got out of there, and hit up a little shop where i got some galoshes for $2 so i could get out of my soaked shoes.
a few days from there we made it to Pai and it was tourist hell, so we continued on after a day break to dry our cloths (of course once we get in the rain stops for the first time in 48 hours)
but once we got out of Pai and hit the rird road to Wat Chan it started raining, and our plastic sheet was missing so we got soaked. luckily later that day we found a fire next to the road and dried out ourselves, and found a scrap of plastic, and hid under a pice of scrap tin till the down pour passed. on and on, slick mud trails now on the rige line of the mountains shrowed in mist, fucking beautiful, chased by blood sucking beetles (litraly, they were keeping up with the bike!) a few more crashes and we figured out 2 things , one we were on the wrong road headed towards May hong song and two the rear tire was bald and had no grip on the wet clay trails. but a farmer showed us were we were on the map and we should be able to get into a city in a few hours, so on an on, till it was late, pouring, we were chilled and covered in mud from crashing and sliding out onb the trail too many times, filany Jamie had to get off the bike on steep hills on the way up and down for the bike to even be able to make it, but we were laffing at it most the way, me trying to crawl the bike down a trail that's becoming a river the front tire facing down the hill and the rear end fishtailing madly. one hill the whole way down the bike was totaly sidways except the front tire.
we fialy found some strip of prevent they were working on so we layed the bike on it's side and dragged it onto the concrete which soon ws coved in heavy bamboo rod grids i was soo pissed just hit the gas and drove over the fucking pile but the road was over in just another few hundred feet.
we passed through small town and then figured out we were far less than 1/2 way to the city so a really nice kid named 2 let up sleep at his house, and the next day we hung out around the fire trying to get dry. but we got to Mayhongsoung and got a new tire slept in a super creepy holel room that smelled like dead hookers, and continued on. after trip to Meow Microwave village (just for the name) we headed to may lin noi and amazing that day it wasn't raining!!! back into the forest and we stayed with a super nice hill tribe family (the lady's in traditional clothing with stretched ears and copper bands around the legs ect, spiffy enough to shame the neo hippys we know) we were so bummed when they wouldn't except any money we tryed to give them. a few days later and i pulled over at a place called Hot Coffee thinking it would be a nice treat for the girl but we found out they had a tree house, a big one way up a tree with plumbing anbd lighting and everything so we stayed there for the night. the next daywe were tired and a bit grumpy and after about 11 hours we made it back to chaing mai, 13 days after we left 1000 + kilometer of some of the most beautiful rough roads I've ever seen. fucking cool. I'm sure I'm, forgetting a bunch or just too lasy to mention but, i keep telling myself i'm going to dich the blog anyways.. soo
yep.

on the road

soggy, tired, covered in mud.
we have gone 4oo k in 6 days, all on dirt/mud trails, we are in ma hong son now waiting on a new rear tire, we've fored 3 cheast deep rivers, taken to hiding under a pice of plastice we round on the raod for the terable storms, which aper when we qare on the road but never when we stop.
it's been great but we are ass tired, been sleeping in small vilages (one of them a really creepy opiom den)
we are taking a day off the road to try and get our cloths to dry out a bit, dry our map enough for it to not turn to pulp.
bla

upward and onward and all good things to come.

so i'm waiting for the delivery of a CMR250 to head off into the wilds of Thailand, Moosie and I are going on a 3-4 day off road motorcycle trip, we've got a map and a small bag packed and a vage idea of where we want to go and see, first stop should be pai if we can make it there before night fall. the map we picked up shows the rough dirt trails that connect small villages, and they are 4x4 dry only so should keep it intresting, only7 thing i don't know is how far to expect to make it each day, so hopefully we won't get stuck in the middle of no ware.
while in chaing mai i have been taking full advantage of the great medical facility's, have gotten a bunch of xrays and a ton of tests, trying to take advantage good hospitals and medical service while I'm in a country where it's available and cheap. (fuck i hate Americas medical system)
anyways, I hope going with a 2 stroke isn't a mistake, it sure would suck to have it break down.. gonna keep my fingers crossed.
I'll try and hit a computer at our next city to update how it's going.

ugg

gurm.. i hate this bloggy blog blog..
but i guess I'll babble a tad.
seeing how in the last 14day I've had 20 message not responded to on myspace, so no one to write back to..
just got back from heading out of town, whet out to a place called 2nd home. in a tiny village of 14 family's thers a monk who speaks English and you can viset him and help him work on his property and learn about local plants, mud brick building ect. ok, sounds cool, a fucking ass twisty 5 nauseous hours getting thrown about in the back of a pick up with tons of boxes and house wife's and puking children. we get to a beautiful temple on a beautiful hill on a valley, on the other side is some low mud huts to sleep in, and i small living space.. and about 12 obnoxious khosarn road travel hippie kids.
bitching and playing the worlds worse crappy music on the guitar, and bickering and generally acting like people under 20 do. hell.
pure fucking hell, the bit of work i got to do out there was nice, i helped a local farmer plant some of a peanut crop, but in reality the people out there were helping no one, the villagers humored everyone by letting us "help" but i have the feeling they probably would have gotten it done faster with out us there.
after that i helped on very nice, well meaning goober with a compost project that he had been working on, i guess he had been at it for about a week and had about 3 sticks cut. in an hour I helped him get it planed out, 1/2 built and on secured foundation (I still give it a 90% chance of falling off the side of the hill.)
we were invited to a mediation at night, but i left once 1/2 of them were asleep on the floor with there feet pointing a the buda image.
hell.
and really I've realized why Israeli people travel, to make the French look like less of dush bags.
i'm going to try and go buy a GPS unit and go on a few day motorcycle ride..
anything else, well, my foot still feels broken, it's been about a month of trying it ignore it. I finlay when to a Doctor, i thought the fact that it now snaps every time i step is probably a bad sign... we'll that was useless.. they told me the same thing every Doctor has ever told me every time i've gone to one about an injury, "take some ibuprofen and come back again if it doesn't get better" fantastic.
well, ok, guess i'm a bit pissy, it's hot.. bla.

well, at least i don't have some fuck-tard singing anymore 4 non blonds over and over and over....

Myanmar

Well, it's been imposable to post at all from anywhere in this country. so this is the first time, but i was a bit over the blogger thing anyways.
so far I've spent a week in Yangoon, mainly training traditional Myanmar boxing, which is quite crazy. unluckily i missed the one of the few time a yea they had live fights, but I'm still keepijng my eyes pealed, there boxing here isn't quite like Muay thai, they use more sweeps, trips, arm locks, head buts, switching strong side and spinning back fists.. oh yea and they don't fight with boxing gloves on! yeiks.
the training in Yangoo was great, the instructor pulled me from the class (at the YMCA) and started giving me private instruction with some of his more advanced students, and he started bring me to his Akido studio. what was pretty cool, I only wish it was possible to spend more time in this country to train, buy Yangoon is filthy, hot, and crowed so donb't know how long i'd want to stay in it anyways.. that and tanning on super smooth concrete floors sucks..
next I went to golden rock which was preaty amazing, huge fucking bolder balancing on the last 2 or 3 inches of a cliff, and the bottom of the bolder which is touching is only about 3 inches, it's a poplar pilmragig point for budest, and they've covered the bolder in so much tiny bits of gold left theres not a bit of rock exposed.
after that I hoped on the top of a pick up with a bunch of Burmese guys, they get pickups build a steel cage over the bed so lady's can sit in the bed and men on the roof. it was a long brutal 6 hours in the sun but the view was amazing, and all the guys packed on top got a good laff at the check points where we had to get off, or cross through areas holding onto the sides ect, and I was clue less, but they were super nice (this was before I could speak any Burmese) and offered me snacks of deep fryed Beatles (bright green and yellow suckers with heads that looked like praying mantises) I took that truck to Bango and spend about 40 min trying to negotiate a fair price for a bus to Taungoo where I was searching for Akiko a famous boxer who might teach me. on the bus I met some super nice Nuns and chatted with them a bunch, at the end I went to there convent and hung out and talked a bit and they showed be a good guest house, Taungoo was really nice because there were no tourist at all, I didn't see one white person, so I was a bit of a celbraty when I'd go to the market, after a couple of times of going they got to know me and I'd get followed by a herd of little kids jumping up and down saying hello over and over again, and father back a pack of giggling teen age girls.
thge markets had some great handmade products, and I finaly got a pair of handmade sandals made for truck tires, with tire tred on the soles and all, the'll take forever to break in, but still sweet, (all set for the Apocalypse, you homos can prance about in your new rock fashion booties, lol)
while in Vietnam I tryed to find a pir of the ho chi men sandals, but at the chi nchi tunnels they only had really huge ones and super small ones..:(..
I finally got to meet Akiko and his father, crazy ugly scary huge guys that were super nice, but they didn't seem interested in teaching so I just said hi and got a photo with them.
after Tangoo, I headed to Kalaw, or tryed to, I sat (with my pack of nun homies) at the side of the road for about 4 hours but no bussed wanted to have a white person on it, I guess it's an added responsibility, and theyre whiny. but finaly I got a bus and got into Kalaw ass early in the morning. I wanderer arou8nd like a zombie looking for a guest house, and after walking the whole town I found one and checked in, then I headed out again to look for a trek guid to get to Inlay like, after several hours of wondering around and talking to people, none of which could understand who I was traveling alone, I found out it would be ass expense to get a guide, and they had rairly ever had someone alone ask so i'd have to find someouther people to go with, but, I hadn't seen any honkys in town so there didn't seem like much of a chance of that.. back at my guest House i found out a couple of Canadians had set off earlier that day and if i left right away I could probably catch them and there guide.. so without even getting to use the room I had rented I got my stuff together and headed out, I brought an extra shirt, a rain jacket, tooth brush, water uv pen (to sterilize water), my canteen, and a small scarf type wrap from Vietnam to use as a towel ect, and some soap and hit the road, it took about 4-5 hours of practically running to get to the village where they were but we made it before sunset, the canden people were nice. it was funny they had big back packs with stuff hanging off them everywhere, I felt a bit silly with just my hip pack with my stuff in it (of course i still brought more than I needed).
it took 3 full days of a quick paced walk to get to inlay lake, along the way we hit a few hill tribe villages which were intresting, preaty much forgotten by time, the second night we stayed in an old (150 or so year old) budest monastery, where we got woken up at 5 am by loud chanting. kinda cool.\
in the morning we got to spend some time talking to the head monk, who taught us all about how the world was a big frying pan that spun and that we should stay away from the country's on the edges so we didn't fall off (all this while he's wresting hjis arm on a globe) but he explained they the globe was just round to it was easier to spin. he also tryed to explain how the Moon was eaten by some big critter in the sky but it was kind of lost in translation, our guide/translator didn't seem too keen on telling us all about what should be common knowledge. he also talked about how Myanmar is the biggest and wealthiest country in the world, ect ect(*it's funny, anywhere you go in the world the back wards people always think there country is the biggest, best, ect.. it reminded me of all the "America fuck ya" people in the usa) but you could tel the monk was quite bright, it was just all the stuff everyone there knew to be true, like that the foragers that go there have the same color skin as the Burmese people, but we put on makeup (sunblock) that turns our skin white)
Inlay lake was great, a whole little town built over the lake, all the houses on stilts and little boats to get around, so cool, even little baby kids paddling around from here to there.
I spent one day out on the lake going to the different shops and seeing the neighborhoods and floating gardens. another day I spent biking around on a rickety old bike (cover your eyes bike nerds) and petaled out to the west mountains, I was trying to hit some hot springs out that way but when i finaly got there they had jacked the price up 3x so I said fuck that. on the way back a monsoon shower started dumping so i hung out under a tree with a big pack of monks, I ended up helping them huld cut down trees and then when the rai got worse I hung out with them under a huge Chinese truck. they put a monks robe over my shoulder so i didn't get cold and gave me coffee candy, they were great, joking around and laffing up a storm, but after about 45min under the ruck i decided i better just deal with eh rain and keep going, even though i would have liked helping them finish moving the wood.. oh well. the way back took a long ass time, the roads out there are just rocks pounded into the dirt, and the bikes are old 40's style so it was rough going. I stooped at a road side bamboo shack and got some food, but there were some government guys there and that made it really uncomfortable there (the government here is like George Bushes wet dream, they are rich from taking bribes (just like all our politicians) and if anyone doesn't agree with them they re killed. so they all strut around in there fancy uniforms and in there big shiny cars while everyone else is poor as fuck) anyways got to start wrapping this up... the next day i walked to the east mount ans and brought some donations to the monks there, toothbrushes, pens and such.. it was a nice 4 hour walk there and back, then I needed to get to the junction to catch my bus to Mandalay, yesterday I took a tricshaw around looking for military truck parts which was interesting but i didn't have much luck (except for getting a cool Bemuse license plate) and I climbed Mandalay hill, which except for getting followed up and back down by the police was nice, and I even joked with the police so they weren't too bad... today I think I'm going to try and head to Saggin, but I worry there a $10 fee to get in and I'm getting worried about $, there are no ATM's in this country.. so well see what happens...

through

thorough Vietnam, to Bkk, to Chang Mai, and a lot of kaos, back to Bkk, getting bit by critters on the train while sleeping on the floor with farm critters. shitty 15 hour ride.
beak downs and moments of clarity, got deep into the training, started to think i was getting somewhere, and then got a beating, deep deep bruise on one shin, could barely walk for a few days, but it's getting better, at the time i almost blacked out, but then got up to keep sparing, only to get a finger jabbed in the eye which got a bit bloody, and then 2 more kicks to the shin.. haven't trained since... that sucks,
now down in Koh Chang with Moosy and Tabby.
trying to hid from the sangsome. and failing. spent the day traversing the island, an ass jarring hour ride, and now to cook up about 10 kilos of fresh sea food.

but doing better. no idea whats next.




Sleep, don't weep, my sweet love
Your face is all wet and your day was rough
So do what you must do to find yourself
Wear another shoe, or paint my shelf
Those times that I was broke, and you stood strong
I think I found a place where I...

Sleep, don't weep, my sweet love
Your face it's all wet 'cause our days were rough
So do what you must do to fill that hole
Wear another shoe to comfort the soul
Those times that I was broke, and you stood strong
I think I found a place where I feel I will...

Sleep, don't weep, my sweet love
My face it's all wet 'cause my day was rough
So do what you must do to find yourself
Wear another shoe, or paint my shelf
Those times that I was broke, and you stood strong
I hope I find a place where I feel I belong

Sleep, don't weep, my sweet love
My face is all wet 'cause my day was rough

D.R.

lama muay thai

I trained at this gym yesterday with Kim, it took hours of driving around to find it, but luckly the bike is fun and easy, one of the best condision of bikes i've rented in thailand so far.
finaly after driving in circles some cute young kids hopeed on there scooter and had us fowwlow them to the place.
it was a fair size gym, with two rings, a bunch of bags, but no mats anywhere... whats up with that.. who wants to skip rope on cement? well i tryed for a bit and it sucked so i just jumped on a tire for a bit to get warmed up.
i felt quite silly in my size too small boxing shorts and no shirt when everyone ease had a shirt on, but what ever..
odd thing about the camp, tons of whitre people, almost all white people! so weird, but there was a white owner so i gues it makes sence.
we got a free set of thai wraps and the class was only 300 B wich is an ok price, seing how most places want 500 for a single day.
(which is way too much!)
th eowner took us through the basics and found deep flaws in every move i had. it was good but really humbling, i felt like i didn't know shit.. at all.
but if i could get that detal of corection once a month or so, i'd totaly switch over to this gym. i guess just another reason to move to ching mai
after that i got pulled into the ring to do some pad work, and the coaches were nice, but pushed me hard. it took a bit to figure ou thee rithom and what they wanted but it was ok.
they alkso did something i haven't seen since fiartex in the usa when the last 30 sec they push you really hard, then pushups between rounds.
after 3 round i was preaty beat and did some bag work, but got called into the ring for clench work , where like always i got my as anded to me, but did lear a bit, and got to trrain witha really nice, way ripped thai kid. i think i got a bit more respect from them becaue each time i was slamed into the flor, i just jumped up smiled and whent back at it..
afterthat i when to work my kicks on the bag but got called in to the outher rind and told to put my gloves on, so i did and a very stern thai guy wanted to spare.. oh fuck, now i was regretting having my outher guyms name on my thai shorts..
i started out expecting him to just work slow tec work, well after the first hard as fuck kick to the side i knew that wasn't the deal, he pummled the fuck out of me, amnd i came close a few time s to cursing hi8m out in thai, but i just kept getting up each time my legs were kicked out from under me, trying to recompose myself each time the wind was knocked out of me, and trying not to lo to see if i hada bloody nose yet, though i could tell he was going easy with the punches..
that when on for about 20 min,
i got in a few good hard kicks and push kicks, which I always apoligised form and asked if it hurt and if he was ok, it seemed i finaly broke the ice with him and i think he got bord with knocking the wind out of me, or kicking welts into my shins...
the restvof the time he, like most people at the gym want to ask me questions about Kim, and like everyone ealse in Asia they won't acept the idea that she's not my girlfriend. or wife
and everywhere we go people are telling us how nice we are togeather and asking when well have babys or insisting onhow cute they'll be, much to Kims horror.
what an insane world. anyways SHe trained with a crazy old dude, and i even had a student come up and warn me about him, he kept tryiong to dance with her and ask her out.. what a nut job..

anyways, i'm still sore as fuck , and quite beaten up, not sure yet if i'm going to go train again, Kim wants to.. but i'm not sure.. but still have a few hours to figure that out....

chang mai

been here for a few days, showing Kimberly around, having her meet at my crazy friends up here.
been serching out some goodies for my truck, and getteing her some tatical poutches an such so she can look all Lora Croft. today we hope to get some muythai training, just need to find a good gym. it has been nice to have the extra encuragment to go train, if anything i've been the lagger.
which is usaly not me.
anyways, it's been fun up here, but a bit expencive. we've gotten to rent some fun bike, first day I got a cbr 400 rr, but it was fucking floged, so I turned that in and got a super 4 which is far more fun than it should be. for a flying couch it zippy and feels nimble, probaly juyst because it dosen't have square tires like the rest of the bikes up here.
last night we rolled around this my friend pee pots bike club the hell raisers, it was fun to get to ride in a pack again, after so many years. and I think it was proably a noval experince for Kim.
(lol, and i seem to always freek out the bikers up here, they always cring when i jump my bike off the curb, last night i drove down some stairs but didn't have enough room to launch the bike off the curb so ground it a tad, thoses poor guys think i'm nuts)
today I hope to track down a snorkle system, or at least part of one for the trucky, becasue having to mod up my own system will be a total pain in the ass, even if i can just get the head/scoop i'll be doing good, but trying to explan to shops what you want is a bit tricky. and of cource traveling with an asian girl everyone is ass confused when i can speek thai and she can't, normaly to such an extent we can't get anywhere with them... it is funny though.
unluckly we missed Laura by one day, she was flyiong out of chaing mai while we were on the train heading up.. crap sticks
i think we have about 2 days or so left up here then to head down to BKK, to do more training and be in for Moosy and Tab to arive.
it's such kaos, after last time preaty much alone for 8 months, now with so many people visteting, it's exciting, but sometimes overwhelming, but i am very excited for Moosy to get here.
hope fully we can do some scuba togeather..
outher than that and constantly loosing my mind... everything is working it's self out.







............................
I surely knew it was a trap yeYet my hands they would not listenI shoulda known your word was flapComin' out all sweet an drippin'O so where could i go - yes but to the lordI been to your house an' see what you adoreI left there stiff - stiff as a boardWhere could i go but to the lordWhen will i hurt for heaven's sakeWhen will i suffer for the sake of heavenAll my love well it is madnessFreely given to you folks with gladnessI will not live and die - no not by the swordI am weak without the joy of the lordTaste and see that the lord is goodLet's bend our knees like we know we shouldWe can't see clear - our eyes are made of woodTaste and see boy that the lord is good
16hp

"Bottles & Cans"

I think about, you know life and what it really means,
I drink about it,
I think i'm busting at the seems,
Don't over think it,
I think somebody told me that before,
Yea whatever thats my attitude what can I say,
Evidently I was raised to be this way,
But incidently there's days I really want to change,
If heaven sent me,
Then why do I feel this crazy? got a man down mayday mayday,
Bottles and Cans,
Seeds and stems,
Down to my last roach,
Here I am again,
Caught between tomorrow and yesterday,
Tellin' myself it'll be okay,
Bottles and Cans,
Seeds and Stems,
Will I ever change, guess it all depends, feels like nothin' ever went my way, tellin' myself it'll be okay,
Broken-hearted, I've been listenin' to my head scream,
Got it spark it,
You hear that or is it just me,
What's the matter are you feeling just like me,
Has anybody seen my mind i cant find it,
Life is flyin',
Somebody rewind it, were all dying,
And just runnin' around buyin' it,
I think we've gotten a little too open minded, got a man down, mayday, mayday,
Bottles and Cans,
Seeds and stems,
Down to my last roach,
Here i am again, caught between tomorrow and yesterday,
Tellin' myself it'll be okay,
Bottles and Cans,
Seeds and stems,
Will I ever change, guess it all depends,
Feels like nothin ever went my way,
Tellin' myself it'll be okay,
Broke and lonely,
Chokin on dro can I borrow another tommorow dear lord,
I'm scopin' hopin' some door can open,
And my folks don't even know me no more,
My kids are growin' and my age is showin',
Will of the seeds I sow gonna sprout i'm not sure,
The doubt and the lure is a couch of valour,
With a mirror and a blade and a pile of inpure,
Bottles and Cans,
Seeds and stems,
Down to my last roach,
Here I am again,
Caught between tomorrow and yesterday,
Tellin' myself it'll be okay,
Bottles and Cans,
Seeds and stems,
Will I ever change,
Guess it all depends,
Feels like nothin' ever went my way,
Tellin' myself it'll be okay,
Bottles and Cans,
Seeds and stems,
Down to my last roach,
Here I am lookin',
Caught between tomorrow and yesterday,
Tellin' myself it'll be okay,
Bottles and Cans,
Seeds and stems,
Will I ever change, guess it all depends,
Feels like nothin' ever went my way,
Tellin' myself it'll be okay,
Bottles and Cans.

-Rehab-

A day in Saigon

again let me apoligise for the shit spelling, bloggers spell check isn't working , still.

so while in Vietnam it's been like this, First day in Saigon i got a bical taxi and hit the war rements musium, a cathredral and a chinese tempal, then early the next moring headed to phan thaip to meet Kimberly and her family, after a few days down ther i came back to Saigon and have kept busy, doing tours the last 2 days, dush bagish but a good way to see alot, on a tour you can see in one day the stuff it would take to see in about 4 or 5 with out all the hassle, but also with out all the chram that that hasle brings.
well, today was about just tracking out on my own and doing stuff, and taking care of stuff.
i was out walking around for about 10 hours or so, started by picking up my ticket back to bkk, i was sad to dump that much money 200!!! but need to meet somone whos flying into BKK soon, so unluckly don't have the time to head up through nam through laos, ect ect.
next i got a map got lost and then figured out my way, hit the big market, which as people fucking rave about it, wasn't that specal, but i guess most people haven't wandered the markest of kashkar so maybe i'm just jaded.
i picked up some presents for my buddie/(past) roommate/domestic partner Dave tryed to bargen on some ouyther stuff, but had to walk away becasue i couldn't get it to a price i wanted..
lol, side noat, it's funny, i've bought about 5x as much crap this trip on my last trip out to this side of the earth.. odd.
anyways, after that i walked for ever till i hit the reunifacation palace, got to look at all the photos of Vietnams gloryis defeat of the US invaders, step by step. (there a whole shit load of that here!)
i wandered around the palace for hours, which was intresting, never anything i'd plan to do, but it was cool.
ooh heres some photos from my phone (which as a camra is about 10x as conveniont as my stupid ass expencive camra...
not sure if this will work but i'll try.
a coool tank.. wel fuck all tanks are cool but this one still has ins machine guns, fule tanks and tracks!
thisn is one of the tanks that smashed through the gates when the palace was retaken.

and in the basment was lots of cool old stuff like this...
oh and this!!!

sweet!
after that it was a few miles to the post office to mail some post cards.. which was crazy enough in it's self, shit ons of tourest taking pictures of the post office, tour groups, there was a gift shop.. not sure what that was all about..
ooh and here you dopr the mail a big goopy bowl on pecker snot looking paste!! so weird!
and of cource coming out i was ataced by a relenless moto driver, and a girl that damanede that i buy staps from her... they both fowleed me for about 5 min auntill i wandered out into traffic..
about that..
ok, in china you just ran you ass off thoug traffic, in thailand you stay out of it, and take the ped bridegs that are everywhere. but in cambodia and vietnam, you walk very slowly, as they wizz around you at every side.. it's disturbing, i try to not even look becasue if you flinch and stop you'll mess up someones timing and thell plow into you!
i got a masage and a ear clean.. sounded so weird i had to try, it was weaird and a bit painfull, i'm not sure if i even want to try to exlane what it felt like!
but the whole experince was intresting and fun, the girls were super nice, and kept patting my head and pinching my cheaks, and one threatend to hit me becasue i didn't want a drink.. that the same one who insisted she feel me gum, and when walking on my back sliped off and instintvly i reached out to stop her fall and touched her butt, she made a very unhappy noise about that..
then after a long march (and a few wrong turns i got back to my guest house, across the street got a t shirt that i'm really going to be happy i bought or will really regret.. also a pair of sandles made from tracter tires, they are really cool and i've wanted a pir since i saw some old ones in cambodia at the land mine musium, i had a chance to buty some atuntic ones at the vc tunnles but they had ones that were huge, and tiny....
the ones i got are the right size and a bit better desined, but not as athentic. the real ones are just tire side wall as a soul, intertube as straps, the ones i got are a bit fancyer.. but a shirt and some shoes for 5 bucks i can't complane.
ow i'm gonna go out and get somethine for moosie that i saw yeasterday, and think she'll eally like.. but of cource i have shit taste when it comes to getting stuff for outher people.
bla!
p.s. i ate chicken featusius yesterday. there half developed bones were a bit crunchy....

who's got yellow feaver?

P2130541, originally uploaded by noble matthew.

two nice korean air stewerts, behind them a cool lady from Kenya, and to the left a Chinese man that had his faimly with him, and i was the only one on the trip that could speak chinese, and they couldn't speek any english.. lol, crazy days..

mekong delta

P2130539, originally uploaded by noble matthew.

BEEEEZZZ!

sweet

P2050448, originally uploaded by noble matthew.

you can't argue, thers something sexy to this..
and not just her sad face..

P2030434, originally uploaded by noble matthew.

sigon...

so, today i hit the mekong delta, i think really becase of the years at the LL listing to Duncan storm on about da nag and the mekong delta, as if he were an old war vetran.. well then he'd kick the crap out of someone... lol those were the days..
anyways, it was fun, it was silly tourest crap, but i made it fun by just jumping into everything, helping guid the baot, sitting outside the cabin, helping little old ladys about.. it was fun.
i broke down and got a conacal hat, yea, white people in them are fucking stupid, but after cooking myself in cambodia...
i gotta say, asain girls in them, are painfully hot..
it was a lot of sillyness, but a guy i met from Bangladesh who was way too excited to be my friend kept things entertaing.
and all the vitmanise people i came across were fantastic, i'm guessing the people in the nort are the ones who gave viatnam a reptaution for being a worable palce to be a tourest.
yea, yea, i know spell check isn't working on blogger for some reason, anoying but i don't have the time to fuck with it..
today on the tour ther was a chines family and it was fun yet fustratin to chat with them, i really have forgotten sooo much of that langage..
ok, well, i'm being glutinos and got a privat room for the night, it'll be the first time i've had a privat palcae to sleep in the last month!!
woot.
i'm not going to head up north unluckly.. nor to cambodia again, i need to get to thailand to meet a friend, so i'm going to have to break down and buy a 200 ticket.. fucking sucks!
but, it's that or take about 40 hours of bus strate to make it in time.. and it would still cost clost to 100 or more..
tired.. gonn get off the internet.
i keep trying to use flikr but it keeps not working, so i don't knw when if ever i'll get my photos up, i did pick some key ones and i'm just working on getting those to laos now.. fucking flikr! but if notinhg easle i'll get about 3 up on myspace..

in a hole!

No!
Huh!
Live in a room
An empty room
Four walls
White walls
I live in a hole
Huh!
No!
I live in a hole
Not some trailer park
I won't die
In a chip-to-lie?? home
I live in a hole
Huh!
Live in a hole
Huh! Hoh! Huh! Hoh!
Every day
I get less civilized
It's a lot of work
To dig in that hole
Hunh!
No!

big black..

eh my title just made me have to throw that.
well, ok, after a 7 hour chat with moosie i regained a healthy chunk of my sainty, so on agian on again jigity jig!
after catching about 6 hours in a room full of 12 people, but one of the first times sleeping in a bed for about a week, i got up with the sun and hit the VC tunnles.
yea i was stuck with a shit tour group, sadly it's kinda a necasary evil, but seeing how i've been living the better chunk of my life in a self induced hald faided vietnam flash back i had to go.
yep yep,,, first we when to a crazy temple where the twisted mix of many religens had crated an odd system that i in now meens have the energy to try and explan.. wow, yea i just got a herd of drooling slobering, yaping vitmise childern at the computer nex to me, .. and they won't stop touching me, .. ok i picked the one up who kept touching me and put her in a chair that i found, thats better..... lol
anyways, yea crazy temple, single secared eye, crazy colered robes, chanting, a bit of crazyness and 1 billion anyoing tourest shoving there camras in everyones faces, fashes strobing, and old german people yealling to try and talk over the muics the small chines instrumt band was playing, and a group of girls in white rodes were singing.. i was glad to get out of there, next off to lunch and of coure they (as laura would say) brought us to a west-arant, lol, one look at the x3 overprice mune and i took a walk down the high way, much toi the horrar of the few honkies sitting outside the west-arant,
about 1/2 a klick down the road i found a cool place to eat, and hung out wth some col, shirtless guys who spoke not a like of english, and my vietmanise is a sad sad thing!
but everyone way really nice and i got to drink some rice wisky/wine out of an old sprit bottle, but fearing missing the bus out here got me back to the bus early.
the VC tunnles were great, but i really wish i had someone to share the experince with, but it was still cool, everyone though i was nuts becasue when they showed the tiny trap door to the caves and asked if anyone wanted to go down i said fuck yea and jumped in! it was cool, and i got a realy silly photo of me coming out.. then another tourest tryed and got his fat ass stuck, and it was funny!
there was a shooting range but at 1.60 a bullet i said fuck that... till i saw the full auto m60, but didn't have enought $ with me anyways.. on display to shoot they had about 10 guns, and i had them all less 2, the m1 carbine and the m60, and once people found i knew a little about it i spent about 15 min awancering queations about them.
cralwing throught the tunles was, fun, but wuld ahve been cool to have someone to share the experance with.. at first 1/2 the group got about 10 meaters in and said fuck this, about 50 meater down about another 1/2 turned around, and at the first exit everone ealse excetp me got out, in some areas there were dim red lights monted in the wall but most of the time ou were in pitch black, i did have my little key cahin light to use (thanks again ribeye!) but that just semed like cheating, it was crapey and weair but not too bad, till i found a turn off in pitch back, i was all alone down there and was a tad bit orryed about getting lost, but whats the point of living if we can't die in some exciting way, so i took it, it ended up being walled up a ways downb, as were quite a few outher turn offs, i passed a bunch of exits, but more and more were boarded up.. guess not often do people travel this far down.. everything was alright till all the sudden the tunnle was going down and getting tight enough to need to crawl. i stoped in pitch back silance, a bit scared, who knows how far past where i was suposed to come out i was , but hey it's for tourest, ut it's vitenam, and if some idiot gets lost no ones gonna get sued...
all alone, in a hole, who knows how far undergrond, i sit there contmplating, listening in the total blackness to things moving down there, probaly just little bus echoing off the walls, ok.. and i keep going, a bit invegrated by it, i guess i'ma bit of a junky for kaos, danger, ect.. but after about 10 more min i the dark i come across another dim light i the wall, so this isn't a forgotn part of the hundreds of miles down there.
anyways after awhile i comeout into an old surgry room, but no, it wan't cool and crapybecasue the roof has been removed to let light in.. it was an exit tot eh top, there was another tunnle leading on, but some very large very old folks were headed in that way, and that spells no fun.
right now i'm contmplating hitting the mekong delta, cool, but i've kind had my fill mof being hurded around with tourests.. or... getting the 30+ hour bus to hanoi to meet back up witha friend. i'll have to decide tonight before 10pm, ..
so we shall see.
oh or i could get a 100 doller plane ticket, but thats a fortune to spend ;)

Coal Black Horses

Just as sure as that suns gonna shine
When he comes at his table I will dine


Just as sure as that dog's gonna whine
In my heart no longer will I pine


Just as sure as by evil you are torn
The sky will open up an an angel blow his horn
an down come Jesus lookin' so fine
Just as sure as that girl she is mine....
an I say


Hey hey hey it's always forever
Hey hey hey it's never or now


I dug a hole an hollowed it out
Yes an I fell in
Oh lord I'm caught in the cord....
the cord of my own sin


Shoot 'em up cowboy - yeah I got away,
but I been dragin' this chain the whole way.....
an I say


Hey hey hey it's always forever
Hey hey hey it's never or now


Oh yea boys I know an I am certain
in your heart of heart ye all are hurtin'
Oh no no no not that name not to me
It's much too hard to get down on my knees
But just as sure as by evil you are torn
the sky will open up an an angel blow his horn
an down come Jesus lookin' so fine
Just as sure as that girl she is mine.....
I say.....

also

girls speaking Vietanmise are really cute!

Saigon... shit; I'm still only in Saigon...

Saigon... shit; I'm still only in Saigon... Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle. When I was home after my first tour, it was worse. I'd wake up and there'd be nothing. I hardly said a word to my wife, until I said "yes" to a divorce. When I was here, I wanted to be there; when I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle. I'm here a week now... waiting for a mission... getting softer; every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger. Each time I looked around, the walls moved in a little tighter.
(Apocalypse Now)

here i am again, after a wirl wind, on the edge of anaroxia, cutting, pill abuse, and taking up smoking cigrets with a fiercness, not to mention the deep (devient)depravity lurking in some cold corner of my soul.
the last week was something, something good, enlihting, but igrance sadly is well conected with some sort of bliss.

so for now i'll just be alittle sad for people who are blind to there true overwhilming worth. morn it and stop with that.

i'm back in sigon.
the bus was of cource an experince, not out of the ordanarly but it's something to talk about insted of outher things which i shal give my mind and heart a rest from.
it's a older minni bus (aka van) with seating for about 10 people, and with 30 people in it. hot sweaty people, (no working ac of cource, thats more of a norm) vomiting people, people who keep trying to ask me to do stuff with i can not understand. the large dose on zanax i decided to talk on an empty stomic i'm sure did aid me.
thou i did finly figure out that they were ither throwing me off the bus to leave me by the side of the road, or.. oh yea, getting out the push the bus for about 15-20 min.
i kept nodding out, and of cource without head rests i was head butting people. thats nice, old folks like that i'm sure. shit come on some one's gotta like that, but it was a stardling way to reenter relity over and over and over agin, but i don't know if it was the overwhilming vomiting from one of the girls in fromt of my emo dope dance i was doing they finly let me sit in front where there was a head rest, and that really helped.
after our 1000000 stops to pick up people on the side of the road, drop off people and what semed just to yell at people, (quite a past time on the bus, screaming at motorcycles as we wize by with inches to spare..)
i'm getting hussled off the bus and atacked by motocycle taxi drivers, after quite a bit of negoation, including walking away about 3 times, have one of the drivers good heartly grab me by the sholders and yell something?? in my ear a few time (oh a a wink , a nod and a signed out message from the granny selling quail eggs that the price i was driving was fair) I got to my dorm i'm staying at over an internet caffee..
just need t share a tiny, steamy room with about 20 outhr people.. no problem.

anyways. i don't feel like typing any mo...

star no star

Babylon was built on fire
-out of- the bones of useless machines
It hurt to breath!..xxx
(And) you fell away from me

Packs of helicopters divide
Across a crowded sky
What angels did you ride
(As) I staggered at your side

Babylon was built on fire
-out of the- bones of useless machines...
It hurt to breath!
(And) you fell away from me

Citizens in their homes
Missiles in their holes
And citizens in their homes
And missiles in their holes...

?(This highway needs rain)
?Across both of its lanes
?Until all that remains
?Is this heart and its flames
?And the rumble of trains
?'Neath of a handful of stars

The brightest night I ever saw
Across an empty parking lot
No stars...

A.S.M.Z.A.T.T.L.L.C.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

when confronted by blinding beauty: turn away. it's always tainted, thickly the air of insanity sufacates.. to who the owner of that dence fog is of course imposable unclear.
we know the out come miles ahead, in past lives, far before the circumstance.
.not only do all systems fail!

..

and to attempt a force forgetting of the system-a (of) everything in a fools skill, sorely lamented by the ones who can see, luckily some times I'm not too bright, to only hope for more lapses/idiot grins.

sigon...

just got in, zanaxed out the whle trip, people say it makes you feel nice, it just puts me to sleep, and i don't see whats so exciting about that, unles your ona bus or plane.
once i got in i got my on ward ticket for the morning and hit the amreican war crime musium, which was cool becasue there was tons of tanks and stuff like that..
so far everythingfs been really easy, i had to serch for about an hour to find a place to sleep that wan't going to be 17 bucks or so, found a cramped stuffy dorm.
but, it's just sleep.
i recived an emaile from my friend kim, so i'm not sol, and i'm not stuck in sigon for the tet offencive, opps i meen chinese new year.
i've gotten by not getting too riped off so far,got to go buy a nam smi card, and maybe try and eat someting again before i try and crash..
i also have tro say i so afar have been amazed by how nice the vietnamise people have been, i have heard nothing but horrar story about how awful they are to tourests here.. but even though i have had a few scams pulled over on me, everyone has been nice, and not even gotten mad when i catch them short changing me, or tryng to change prices after the fact...

paddy's sport center

while in cambodia i whent to paddi's gym, to train muy kamer, or really just muy thai/boxing. gotta say that was the shittyest class i've ever gone to, and trained at fairtex before!
abslutly no train, no instruction, and unless you have tits no pad work.
the place was filthy, it was cleaner traing on the parking lot with the cambodian guys I met a few days before.
and it looked like no one there knew how to fight at all.
no hand wraps, no water.
a real disapointment seeing how I was hoping to move there and train for a few months.
now i gotta say, the old dude patty seemed really nice, and in there defence i was lot that that night was one of there bigger classes they have had.. but still. it was fucking pethitic! and i left fustrated, fuming and not feeling like I had gotten fuck all of a work out.
I have been planning in the back of my mind building a web site about train in south east asai, and i would give this place another try before make a final decision. or even gving them an ofical wright up.. but fuck! how anoying.

getting lost..

so after a long day getting sun burnt, lost in insane Cambodian traffic. what to do, well. how about get lost in the city at night.. that was fucking frighting! in a big way, my travel friend wanted to go see a friends brother so we rode across town, but then she wanted to stayt out and drink, so i was stuck trying to find my way back to the guest house.. and i have a sepcal skill at getting ass lost.
I'm not sure what was more whorfing, aproching intersections where people don't even slow down for there red light they are running, the on coming traffic with no headlights down one way roads, the dark.. death allys that you need to pop into to turn around, the deep uncovered service holes that you need to nearloy avoid..
in this city every night at lest 4-5 people die at night from the roads and traffic..
after about an hour of driving in circles i was concidering ditching the bike and just taking a tuk tuk. what hell. and then after her long night of drinking the responce i get is how could you have gotten lost it's so easy.. suck!
that sucked big time, worse than the scary as shit traffic the day before..
anywyas, yesterday we finaly made it to the kamer rouge killing filds, it was a bit desturbing. today I hope to make it to the tourture prison.. so fuck up shit..
anywyas.. guess thats it for now. (looks like the spell check won't work again.. fucking Cambodian computers!!

pheon phen hell

well, yesterday we finaly got out of seim reip. of cource we missed our first bus because a certen travel companion's one night stand adiction. but at least she talked the ticket offic into giving us tickets for a latter busm so i can't be too angry, maybe just a little jellous about someone getting action.
the bus wasn't too bad, and we go into the city around 9, once off the bus it started, we were greated by about 7 cambodian men running full steam at us. shouting at us.. oh crap, well they were just the ever present ever anoying every visious tuk tuk drivers, here is seem anyone with a motorcycle is now a tuk tuk driver, and they will get in groups around you, tugging and pushing and yelling, wispering obsentiys, offering drugs hookers and just being sleazy in creapy wispers. you can try and run but they keep coming out of the wood work, following you for blacks not taking no for ab ancer. and once one gives up another 3 join in, trying to keep you from reading your map, talking to anyone, or being abole to figure out anything. 1/2 the time you don't know if they are tuk tuk driver, or just scum bags trying to get there hands on you.about every 10 feet one will drive up and block your path with there motorbike, so you can't get past. while the herd behind you closes in.
i finaly remebred the trick of walkinbg aganst traffic, so they have less time to try and block you, and can't follow as easly. hell.
we walked for about an hour, dealing with this to one part of the city but found that there were no afordable rooms so we had to take a tuk tuk to another area of town.
dark dank allys, and in every showow a guy wispering , tuk tuk, want something?, cokane, lady boom boom, any anything ealse to make your skin crawl.
we checked every guest house and they all were full. standing there fucking beat, anoyed, hot and sticky, on edege from all these guys fowling you 2 steps behind and trying to block your path, hundreds of them!
about the 5th gusest house we were at trying to ask for a room, which of cource there was none, a french guy comes up and starts punching my bag. seeing my gloves, want to french box? i just keep saying no, looking ass tired, and knowing he's just drunk and trying to have fun, but there is a thick dark haze of pure hate arounbd me, enamating from my eyes and ears, coming out like vapor in my breath, he gets a worryed look and takes off. trying every huest house in this guest hous getto, swarmd mby men in shawos and tuk tuk drivers, at least here there are sooo many people *though 99% are human waste( at least on one is joning to just trry and jump us, just rape us with there offers of all the mortal sins one can buy.
after about 12 geast houses with no one working at them or full, we see a sighn for sunset guest house, down this dark deserted ally
well fuck, what choice do we have?
down and down 5 min, then 10 min, then 15 min down a wet, dirt pasth of small ally ways, darker and darker, each time we almost stop and turn around there anothe sign, just a little ferther, almost there... yea right, free candy, just get in the van.
we go and go, a pack of filty dogs following us in the showowas, my old shitty pack cutting into my sholders.
finlay get htere and it's just a locked gate.
so we turn around and start headding back then from the side out of the shawos, something lunging at us, a growing sound and the slam as a large filty dog lunges and slams into a chainlink fence about a foot away.. i'm too tired to even get a burst of adrenilan, my friend screams,.. fuck
so we keep checking, flowwed and getting blocked and getting wisperd to, and getting pawsed at. finaly fianly fianly, get to a place, get a room. yea the condom posters on the walls make it preaty clear what this place is.. fuck it, need sleep, and i'm happy i've toted my silk sleep sack with me. what lara calls my dush bag.
but she's always giving me shit your looking like a creap, wearing neard shoes, and my looser business cards, so i should be used to it..
so excet for someone knocking on our door and trying to get in a few times.. and of cource lara grabbing as she tryed not to piss her self.. yea it was a bit sketchy.
but that part is over, got a room with 2 big beds, full of honkys.. eh.. phon phen.. not sure how i feel about you city..

re last post

it's not my first day in asia. and i'm nt a 45 your old acountet from tenasie.
i now about the girls, here. no need to send me emails waring me against the obvious.
thanks for the concerned emails.. but really. i know the deal.

ankor wat ect.

earlyer today.. well, ass early today at 5 am i headed out to ankor wat.
got there in the dark and crossed the huge oat to the main complex.
and as the day slowly faided into view the temple apeared before me.
yes is was cool, yes it was amazing. yes to all that.
but perhaps becasue of my travels through so many ancent countrys, i couldn't exactly see what all the people are shitting them selfs over, perhaps with a bit of reflection i'll better undersatnd. and so it

so it's a goal to reserch more ankor history.

i'm getting more of a feel for cambodia, the busy dirty streets, the tinge of kaios, still flondering with the langeage.
i've got about a week left to work with in cambodia for now, then i need to make it into Sigon.

tomarow i hope to ither hit up the landmine musium, find a bus to hon pen, or both.

the maskitos are so thick here just walking you have to be carfull to not get them in your mouth and eyes. i finaly broke down and started taking the malrea medicin andrea left with me whan she viseted last year..
it seems that no amout of deet and keeping these little fuckers from eating me alive.

yesterday I had an intresting incounter at dinner, i was sitting alone at a small open air restrant, really nothing more than food vender stals in a peranet location. i was trying to ask in on plate came with rice, it think it was the fryed pig sternum but they wern't getting it, when the small grl who worked there roughly grabed my hand an draged me smiling behinsd the food cart to show me what was in teh pots, and i said yes but continued to try and ask about the rice. the guy there siad yes yes yes, and i sat down at on of the many empty tables. not far into my meat to preaty cambidian lady sat dow at my table as well and saterted eating and trying to talk to me. telling me i ws preaty. next thing i know there are 4 girls. really preaty all sitting there, chowing down and trying to talk to one. one lady cat spoke some thai and some english , w chatted for awhile. al the girls worked at a dance club/sprip club/masage parler/restrant acorss the street.
very strang, i was worryed the whole time that something fishy was going on, they kept offering me there food, an the waiter kept bringing me tea, and soup and kept saying free free!.
so odd, all teh girls finaly headed off to work. so strang, at thhe same place the guys hanging out there wanted me to hang out and drink beer with them but i was just too wiped out to atempt to comunacate and worry about scams ect ect ect..

cambodia

after may many hours in a honky packed mini van, a crap cambodian bus and then sharing a car with some nice polish people we got into seim reap last night, high on tramadol and cranky
found a guest house dorm for $1 a night.
this town s a tourest trap, and I feel far removed from the real cambodia.
i'm strugling with the langauge, like when i first came to thailand. but i think in a few days i could figure out some of it, though i really need to start working on my vietnmase in a hurry.
lol, what a mess.
I met a russon guy whos hich hiking acroos all of asia, hope to travel with him down to phon pen by hiching. would be a great way to start traveling!
tomaorow I go to ankor wat and the sorunding temples. should take 2-3 days to see them
...
in Phon pen i've been told there are some boxing schools to check out, so that would be cool, and at least make up for the pain in the ass of lugging these stupid gloves with me!!

anyways.. till next time

ling, chang and katoy , oh my

hey, so trying to drop something before i had to cambodia then on ward to Vietnam,
tomorrow moring i'm off to Cambodia, like a good white person i'm going to ankor wat, it'll be a tourist hell, and i'll be part of that gross tourist swarm eroding this ancient wonder of the world.. but,,, hey.
yesterday I went swimming with elephant, which was really cool, even if it took a huge dump in the watering hole
but of course, i took one pic and then the bat on my camra died. fucking fantastic hu?
geeze
to going to try and scoot through Cambodia to nam in about 9 days, then get into Saigon around the 6th to meet a friend who's grand parents live in a fishing village in a near by area. hang out there for a bit then all head up to Hanoi, and from there bring her back to Thailand to show her around. i think the plan is bkk, and chaing mai.
also Moosie coming soon so i'm ass excited about that, it's going to lead to a very busy next few months, which will really help take my mind off the whole getting blow off about working for burning man this next year (it's not official just a gut feeling)

monkye time

not much time to blog, but down in kho chang,
been riding motorcycles around, drinking, and today had a monkey climb all over me. and grab at me with it's little stinky monkey paws.
so very cute.
also got to help some thai guys deliver vegatables by boat by sea.
ate my first western meal out here, and got sick (am sick)

ache

yesterday training was good. i began working on training left handed. it was a bit confusing at times, and it's going to take a lot of practice but i think it's doable.
after class i whent to rachamadon stadium to buy some new gear, but the shop i had gone to last time was gone, luckly there was a twins shop,i'm not much a fan of some of the other gear makers, at least not as far as gloves go, for training pad work.
seems that all the prices had just about doubled, maybe i was getting riped off, but i try to bargain like crazy, and had only gotten maybe 10 buck off everything.. and i spent almost 200! but to think what that would have bought me in the states I can't com plane too much.
I ordered up 3 pairs of custom designed shorts, (either they';ll rule or just suck, I'll not looking forward to having to having to try to send them back if they are not right) also I got a new pair of gloves, boxing oil, anchel supports, a steel cup (yea talk about being put on the spot by the lady that works there.. what size?! what size?! lol, I opted for med (not like i could try it on in the shop) but I have the feeling it's gonna be way too small.. maybe i can just use it for a hat or something..
I got a warm up suit, it's a rubber jacket and pants that I've seen many boxers and muythai people using, guess it makes you sweat like hell, not sure if getting that was a mistake, I know it will be good to have in the usa, but it's already ass hot here.. though I am extremely paranoid about getting fat here... doesn't help that all my thai friends keep saying i'm looking chubby.. but maybe that's just supposed to be a complement or something... i don't know.
anyways, i can't kick myself too hard, if I got this stuff in the usa it would probably be about 600 bucks..
the rest of the night i was assss sore, my knees ache, everything was hurting. the pain kept up up till about 4 am, but i feel ok now, a bit sore but good.
I would really like to train, but i have to try and keep myself from doing so, I think at least one day off after every 2 days on is a good way to go. maybe they'll let me come by and lift weights after class.. anyways, if they say something i'll stop and leave..
so my hair keeps getting shorter, most likely due to the fact it's so hot, and the idea of a pile of shag on my head is not a pleasant one. not sure if i'll end up giving into the idea of just shaving my head again, it's been over a year since i last had a shaved head...
last night I whent out and saw cloverfild, yesterday was it's first day out here, ended up seeing that one because it was in English, didn't know anything about it before seeing it.. pretty cool.
but I think my friend who I saw it with was not too into it, the Thais have a much different expectation of movies, guess you'd have to see a corny, slapstick style of thai entertainment... eh.

ok, my brina is going flat.. till next time.

count down to kho chang

crap
as the US continues to plumit, it dosen't look very favrobly on my travels, seeing how my money is in us savings.

I'm in BKK, my knuckles are raw, red and probaly in need of some iodine. after training they'll get some, but i know they sure won't be preaty after my class today. you'd think they would just build up some scar tisue and toughen up.. eh.

yeaterday i was hitting the focus mits so heard my glove tore open and the padding shot out.. if only i could figure out a way to mantain some cardio.

soon i'll be heading south. going to kho chang, not sure how long i'll be down there, but ionternet is over 2x as expencive so, i'll be off the radar for awhile. my friend down there was sugesting i stay 3 months! don't think i could handle living on the island that long, last year it tryed to kill me with a haze of anaverys, unwanted suprises, a mountan of pills and windy roads.

this time i don't think the world is cruel enough to try that again.

after class I plan on going to ratamadon stadioum, and ordering up a new pair of fight shorts, still argueing with myself on the final design. drunken monkey across the front in thai of the monkey head, or something... gonna pick up some new gloves, we shall see.

made it into BKK

so, i ended up taking a bus from the morning market in Vientine, a small bus with about 20 seats, and about 60 people loaded in. so many people had to hang out the door. it was preaty bad, i kept worrying that i was on the wrong bus, but there wasn't really anyway to ask, so i just whent with the flow. worse caem to worse i could always find my way back to the city.
finaly about after an hour (i was sure glad i had the satand on audio book on my ipod to distract me.) we finly got to the border, for some reason all the border control seemed to take for ever, and it was a bit over an hour of standing in lines to get through. but while in line i met a girl, looked totaly lao, but i knoticed she had a usa passport, and when she spoke she had a southern bell accent, it was very strange but awfuly cute. she has grown up some where in kanses or some such place in the center of the usa.. it's always odd to meet people from the usa but not from real citys, normaly the only people in the usa that are likely to travel are ones from the big citys... eh
anyways, finaly found my way to the train depot with 10 min to spare, got a seat, and sat, it that brightly lit car, for 13 hours, every 10 min someone pushing down the hall, bumping you, calling out what ever it was they were selling. i spent a good amount of time just hanging out in the open door at the front of the car, sitting 1/2 way down the stairs that lead out. everyone in awhile a steel girder bridge would fly by a foot or so away.. a sobering reminder of how fast we were going... i often can't help but ponder on my many , many hours spent sitting in thoses door ways, if i slipped, lost my footing, ect. how long till someone noticed i was missing.. a few hours would someone see my empty seat and wonder.. probably not, maybe when the train got to the stasion and my bag was still sitting in the rack. I'm sure people forget bags all the time..
anyways, i think i fell asleep for maybe an hour. then we pulled into bkk, the sun coming up.
i tryed to rent a room, but the small rooms were full and i'm not going to spend over 5 bucks on a room that I can probably do without..
so it's 8am now, in about an hour it'll have been about 24hours up. I think in a few hours i may try and check again on a room, try and get a little sleep before training today. but it'll probably be too hot to sleep by then..
i'm delirious... I think my ipod got a virus.. lol.. such is life, at least no night mares :)

BKK bound

ok, i'm lagging, on the computer.. ehh.. it's almost as evil as the tv.
i need to head to nong kai to catch the train, but insted of buying an overprived ticket like i normaly do, i'm gonna try and find a bus to the friendship bridge, and find the train stashion from there, hopefully threre will be a free seat.
there are tourest busses, that are fairly cheap, that go strte to kho sarn rd, the armpit of thailand, but a convenat place, but they often crash and kill everyone, becasue to save money they give the driver speed insted to a replacment driver after 10 hours solid.
so, i was going to try and go much earlyer.. but ya know how it goes..
the plan is a few days in bkk, do some hard core boxing, then down to kho chang. hopefully intime to catch my friend kai before she heads off to auz.
i got my overpriced visa for nam ready, so at the begingin of next month i can go in.
hopfully the friend who i plan to viset,, well and her grandparents.. hopfully she dosen't back out and not go..
right now i'm just waiting for the last of my files to trasfer over to my ipod.. then I'm gonna hit the road, and hopfully everything will work out :)
till next time..

end of days (laos)

so, i have tryed to post a few outher blogs but the computers here have been crashing like crazy. my vietnam visa should be ready to pick up today, after i whent through all the hassle of finding the emasy and getting in i found out my outside contacts could have gotten me my visa for about 1/2 the price.. oh well, live and learn,.
today I have an apointment to meet with the Laos natanal boxing team and coatch. a huge cuben guy, who through a bit of spanish a bit of lao and a bit of help from a crazy martal artest for Irac I've been able to comunacate.
I'm still a bit suprised a Cuben and an Iracie, will speak to an american!
last nigth i ran around a bit with a 50 something bat shit crazy , but very out going and nice Jahovas Witness. which ws cool, i was tempted to goin him on a motorcycle adventure to an area where the Lao goverment has been at war with the Moung tribes people. but right now i don' think i have the time, and i don't know how much anti eveloshen talk i can handle.
suck i need to take off to, becasue a Mung friend has offed to bring me back to his tribe so we can do a forst walk and kill and eat stuff and such. but i will be moving back to Laos in a few months, and getting a place to stay so i'll be in a better situation to do such stuff.
I am a bit nevrous to hit Nam, becasue for the most part i have heard nothing but horrer storys about how awfull most Vietnamies are to tourests. also becasue I'm going to meet someone i have only met breafly at a club and chatted to a bit over the net, she has granparents who live in Nam, so i get to go meet them, which is fucking rad and defantly the best way to get the feeling for a country.. I got some vietamise on tape lessons, so hopefully wit a bit of disapline i'll learn to speak a bit before i go there.
still morning the loss of my sock and bandana...
and still having a hell of a time trying to get my photos up loaded to the net..
probaly going to try and set aside a block of time laster today to try and do that.
OUTHERWISE I'LL TTRY IN bkk.

i'm geting the feeling BM won't have me work for them this year.. i haven't been getting any responces from them, so i'm not sure about the tenitave return date i had planned. or what will happen to my bm car, or trailer. though i have some ideas of what i can do with both.. anyways. I wanted to get t something down while i could, who knows hown long the power and net conceting will hold up.
tomaorw I'm off to nong kai to try and buy a train ticket, well see if i get stranded over there.. lol, or if i have to spend 12 hours without a seat.. lol. anyways.

good bye sock

shit....
ya know been fighting this cold, so i';m not drinking so haven't been invited to go out.. so spending lots of time alone.. and thats cool..
but just some shit..
lol
today i decided to do some landry, got some detergent, took over one of the bathrooms upstairs, emptyed and washed out the black bucket up there,,, washy washy washy.. wring out sopy closhs, dump dirty water down tolet, washy washy washy, rincing closth, dump drithy water down tolet.. one more wrince and dump... oh crap there goes some of my cloths down the shitter!!
fuck!
guess i'm gonna have to try and go in after them...
ick.
fucking hell. so now i have one sock, and no bandana. and a runny nose.
a reacuring fash back to "fuck whats that going down the ..."
oh well.
so i rented a bike and spent the rest of the day in the herbal sauna at a temple a ways away..
the folks at the sauna were happy to see me again...
eh, what can you do

Chaing Mai Bike Week

Chaing Mai Bike Week, originally uploaded by noble matthew.

MCing out heres not just about the road!