2007 Mid June to Beginning of Sept Approximately Last Few Months in Australia
Last Few Months in Australia
Approximately 2007 Mid June to Beginning of September
I will start again here, my job in Adelaide, Australia officially ended on June 30, 2007. We knew a few weeks before hand that Government of Australia had chosen the low risk and cheaper Spanish option for the program I was working on. Needless to say my job in its current form was about to end and not a vast amount work was going on at the office, a bit sad, but it was out of our control. They gave us Friday off after decision day for cooling off or something to that nature, so that weekend I flew to Sydney on a whim to do weekend snowboarding trip to Threadbo in Snowy Mts of Australia with my mate Simo, and a few of his mates. Before we headed to the snow, I had all day Friday to myself in Manley while I waited for my mates to get out of work, First thing I did was acquire an Ahoy, one of the best bacon egg rolls in the world. I was skeptical of this statement until I had my first one, and it was amazing. If you are ever in Sydney take the ferry to Manly Beach, walk to the beach take a left and head to Ahoy. I’m serious about the statement above, it will change the way you think of a bacon an egg for the rest of your life. After my Ahoy I headed out for a morning surf. The waves were big, it was right after a huge storm that hit Australia that was so strong it grounded a massive cargo ship on a beach in New Castle. I barrowed a 11ft Mini Mal and hit fresh water beach, First I was trying to surf in the secondary break, but I could not paddle out, so I watched other suffers take the rip out to the deep water. I decided I would try to take the rip half way, and cut in after the secondary break but before the main break. This did not work as planned, after a brief panic, I realized there was no stopping half way the rip took me straight out to deep water. Once out there I sat and watched other surfers drop in on massive waves, all on short boards. There was only one way back into the beach and it was over the break, so I dropped in, I stood no chance of riding it out, I got washing machined pretty bad right way. I decided after this that was enough surfing for the day.Moral of this story is it is not a good idea to take on over the head waves with no idea what you are doing.Beauty of Sydney is you can surf and end up in the snow on the same day. Friday night we took off for the snow. The snow was way better then expected, I imagined a Midwest type hill like Crystal Mountain but got an East Coast Mountain or Searchmount type resort, with the bonus of snowboarding in Gum Trees. This trip also included as Roger who’s birthday it was, stated, The biggest night of my life, needless to say it was a pretty big night. It was demo day at Thredbo and they had an open bar for the company reps at the demo day who we were or acted to be. It got a bit messy
Fresh Water Beach, Sydney Queens Cliff to the Left
Me on the Manley Fairy Heading to the Snowy Mts
After my short trip to Sydney and the snow I flew back to Adelaide for work on Monday knowing nothing was going on besides dealing with the terms of loosing the contract. For me the question was what to do next, I did not feel a huge rush to figure this out, I hoped it would work its self out. I sent some resumes out in Australia to see what kind of feed back was out there. I knew I would go back the US at least for a short time, due to my contract and relocation issues with my company, other issues and I had not been home since Christmas.I couldn’t really leave until the end of August because I had a friend from Germany coming with one of his friends for the month of August. The no job worked out good in this respect, I didn’t have work the entire time the Germans were in Australia and I could hang out with them every day not just weekends. Also I had already booked a trip to take a camper van around the South Island of New Zealand for a long weekend with another friend Holly in late July, with the main goal of snowboarding around Queenstown, and a dream of hitting up Craigyburn if it got dumped on. So I spent most of the month of July in Adelaide, doing the activities that I enjoyed, hanging out the friends, dealing with all kinds of issues and thinking about what to do next. The what to do next was a big deal, so many ideas, it was one of those points in your life where the decision you made would effect the rest of your life. I could write a lot more about this, but I won’t. At this time I was really starting to enjoy Adelaide, and Australia. I had a feeling I was going to end up back here. I had a good group of mates, some I imagine and hope some will remain my mates for the rest of my life.
2007-07-15 Acusa Park Motocross Grounds
(It was so sloppy out, it had to be one of my favorite days of riding ever. You would come off and just slide in the mud. Some low corners were knee deep mud filled ruts. We put together a good crew for this day to adding to the fun)
South Island of New Zealand Via Camper Van
2007 July 26
South Island, NZ before we landed in Christ Church, New ZealandThe trip to the South Island of New Zealand wasn’t super long trip because at the time of booking I still had a job to go back to, Holly who I went with also had a job. I wish I had spent more time there, still a wicked trip just a bit short. New Zealand is an amazing country; it really looks like the scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies. Amazing glacier lakes, huge valleys, mountains, ect. After you leave the Christchurch the main and only city in the South Island, I don’t think there is a single stoplight on the entire island.If you ask me the only way to see New Zealand is by campervan, you just pull up cook your breakie, and lunch in what ever amazing indescribable place you can find. If you decide you need some amenities, caravan parks are everywhere for like $20. Or you can be like us and park and camp infront of one. The total cost for your apartment and car is $40 a day total, bargain.
Queenstown New ZealandWhat your not spose to camp infront of the Camper Van Camp Ground?
The bad part of New Zealand was the snow was disappointing to say the least. I had such high expectations. I soon realized we are so spoiled in the US with the amount of consistent deep powder we receive out West. I believe the annual average base is maybe like 39 inches in most New Zealand snowfields, compared with 30 ft of annual snowfall and 8 ft base that is the norm in many areas of the Rockies. When I was in New Zealand, the base was like 4 inches, and none of the club fields such as Craigybury were open due to lack of snow. What New Zealand does have going for it is remoteness. The hills are empty of people, and there is no tree cover, they all rocky grassy slopes like the highlands of Scotland. When a dump comes, this place probably offers endless freshies all day long. I am sure the backcountry in New Zealand is amazing, if you get access to it.
Queenstown is know as adventure capital of the world, pretty much every adventure sport you can think of can be located just out side of Queenstown. It was the home of the first commercial bungee jump, which is still in operation and worth the stop if your in the area. You can sit and have a drink as terrified people one after another jump off an old bridge.
Holley and Me on the Shotover Jet Boat Ride
The last note on New Zealand was the people, all the locals seem so laid back, helpful and generally nice. I also like the fact that hitchhiking was a normal way to get around. We picked up a few and they always had a crazy tale to tell. Their stories would be few pages alone.
Queenstown New Zealand
Cigs are Called Fags in New ZealandBack in Australia, Guests in Town
2007 July 30
When I returned from New Zealand the Germans, Theelko, and his friend Sebastian had already arrived in Adelaide, they were hanging out with my roommate Mic while I was in New Zealand. A short time before I headed to New Zealand, my friend Rita from the States called me up, and basically decided on the spot she was flying over too. So the Germans and I plotted how to best spend are time in Oz. We decided on doing some short trips around my area of South Australia, such as the Flinders Ranges National Park, Cooroong National Park, Fleurier Peninsula, Adelaide Hills and some other locations. Then when Rita got in we would fly up to the tropics and hit up one of my favorite areas of OZ. The Whitsunday’s Islands and the coast of Queensland. We would do a few days of sailing then a few days in the Arlie Beach, a town that is completely filled with traveling back packers, then maybe head up the coast even further.There are to many events that happened during this time its hard to pick out just a few to write about, Im sure all involved would agree.
Cruising on a 50 Murry Bridge S.A.
Early August we headed up to Flinders National Park in my Jeep Wrangler. For the record I will state I love Jeeps, they are such a sweat car. The Jeep suited my life perfect. It was also the perfect car for this trip. I could not believe Flinders Ranges was only a 4 hour or less drive from my front door and I never went there before, this is kind of sad. Over all it was a pretty low key trip, a lot of amazing scenery, both landscapes and wild life. During this trip we encountered kangaroos, wallabies, emus, wedge tail eagles, and others. The 4x4ing was average, probably could have been better but we were a lone vehicle, this is not a place to break down, or get stranded.
Alligator Gorge S.A, Theelko and Sebastiaon
Alligator Gorge, Theelko, Sebastian, Me
Local Wildlife Emus, Flinder National Park
Sebastian Desturbing the Natural Beauty Chasing the Emus
A Flinders Sunset Theelko and Me
Shortly after are return from the Flinders Rita flew into Adelaide we did not give here much jet lag recovery time, and took off straight for the tropics.The Whitsundays is no longer real Australia, in fact it is hard to find an Australian, its all tourist, and people who migrated there. The town of Airlie Beach, is made up of hostels, bars, tourist shops, and travel agents. Although this sounds like hell, its got a really cool vibe to it. It is clear to see this vibe wont last for long, major hotels are laying there foundations as we speak, which will change the vibe of this little town for ever. Currently the vast majority of travelers are backpackers from all over the world, these backpackers just travel around Australia, and the world. It’s a great place to learn about other people and places. Backpacking is something as an American you don’t really fully understand until you experience it. I have learned a good chunk of the world takes a year off of their life and just travels with only a backpack, and attempts to live on 30 dollars a day, working odd jobs when the money runs out. Its funny to think traveling for a month or even three is a short trip, but that is how it is when you are backpacking.
Arlie Beach, Sebastian, Remi, Justine, Me, Rita
Sebastian Making His Own Pary (Rita, Sebastian, Justine)
Once in Airlie we booked a sailing trip around the Whitsundays, I’ve book a similar trip in April when my brother and Miah were over. We found this trip amazing then, and I was totally up for doing it again. The second sailing trip was as amazing as the first, good company, views, snorkeling, whales and long nights. The bad thing was I dragged my kite boarding gear with me everywhere and there was no wind for kiting.
Whitehaven Beach (Sebastian and Me)
The Jolley Roger, Are Boat Proudly Flew it
Magnetic Island Fishing Trip, Rita Cleaning up
Another Whitesundy´s Sunset (Sebastian, Rita, Me, Theelko)
After Sailing we spent a day or maybe a few, hard to tell in Airlie Beach just hanging out. We meet a numerous crazy people here, the ones who stick out in my memory are a few French people who would end up hanging out with us again down in Adelaide. Justine, and Remi. After Airlie we rented a car and cruised up through sugar cane country, to Townsville and to Magnetic Island. On Magnetic Island I think I went ocean fishing for my first time in my life. I didn’t get skunked but dam close. While Rita just cleaned up. After Magnetic Island we headed back to Airlie to catch our flights out of Hamilton Island, the flight home ended up being an experience.Who could ever forget the Virgin Blue Lounge in Brisbane? On are way out from Hamilton Island, a kind check in lady looked at us and said I know what you would love, she seen we had a 4 half hour lay over in Brisbane so she let us know that you can buy a one day pass to the Virgin Blue Lunge for I think $30. Which inside, had a buffet, and an open bar. For some reason Theelko and I started putting the beers away soon, Sebastian joined in. I don’t even want to declare the number of beers we put away, it’s a bit shameful. We almost missed are flight first because we were late, you know its bad when you here this is the last and final boarding call doors are closing for all of are names. Once we made it to the gate they would not let us board, they claimed we were to intoxicated to fly.We were asked the question how many drinks did you have at the gate, and of course the answer is one or two. We didn’t hear that our flight was called. Needless to say they didn’t buy it all and claimed we reeked of booze and denied us boarding.They had to ask the flight crew what they thought; the flight crew said we were all good. They most have not cared at all because once on the plane. They continued to let us indulge. No longer for free but o well it had to have been the greatest layover and flight I have ever had. I am confident that we took Virgin to the cleaners on that trip to their lounge.We actually rebooked are flights back to Adelaide earlier to make sure we were back in time for my roommates 30th birthday, They tend to celebrate birthdays with more style then us in the US, and the 30th is a big one. All your mates get together and hook up a wicked gift, my roommate got a sick guitar. Mic´s birthday was a blast, it involved everything from an all nighter, beach golfing, police and even a run in with biker gang. Are French friends Justine, Remi, from Airlie beach joined us in Adelaide and partook in this event. They left me a voice mail the next day saying it was one of the best nights in Oz. Soon after Mic´s birthday the Germans left, Sebastian claiming it was a life changing experience.
Clealand Wild Life ark Adeladie, Getting Friendly With the Locals
My Font Yard, Rita´s Last Night and One of Mine
Rita flew out, and that left me with a week or so to pack my house a get out. That last week was mostly spent saying my good byes and see you laters to all the friends that I made over there. At that time I imagined I would be heading back over in 6 months or so.
Adeliade S.A Coast a View from my Flight Out
On my way back to the States I stopped off in Sydney for a day lay over to say bye to my mates there. I meet up with my mates Simo and Chris, a good and not so good crew to see you off we ended up on a mini pub crawl that ended up at German pub, were they served Mases, 1 liter mugs of true German brews, beer I would run into in the near future, and deadly German schnapps. We ended up getting ejected from this place, but I learned some thing there. At least at this place in Sydney they would not force us to leave until we signed are credit card receipt we all had a liter of beer so I didn’t sign and we just enjoyed are beverages till the last drop. I also believe the bouncers didn’t see a need to remove us the bartenders were over reacting, in Sydney it’s a big deal to serve to intoxicated people.
Simo´s Parents Front Yard and Drive way (There is no way to the house beside by boat)Sydney Simo, Chris and Me Enjoying a Mas
Simo and me took the ferry back to Manley, were we had bikes to ride the rest of the way back to Queens Cliff. A vintage 10 speed and a big night out don’t add up, needless to say I stacked it. That was my last night in Oz, I flew back to the US Sept 5th.
Back to the USA 2007,
Sept 7th
I was already planning on returning to the US for my annual Whitewater Rafting weekend in early September. It has been an annual trip of mine for 5 years or so, but this was a one way ticket back because I did not have job anymore. I had offers both in the Australia and in the US but non that really felt right. I was pretty confident that I could pass on these and they would still be available a few months down the road.I flew into back to Michigan via a layover in D.C., mainly because my friend Miah´s girl friend needed a ride to WV. It also gave me a chance to see some old friends and stop into my old office. I arrived in D.C picked up Amy who I’ve never meet and we were on are way to WV for the start of Gulley Season.
Early Sept is the start of Gulley Season. If you don’t know what Gulley season is then you are missing out on life. Gulley Season takes place in West Virginia every year on the Gulley River. For eight weekends they release a controlled flood mandated by an act of the U.S. Congress. A dam releases from 2,400 to 2,800 cubic ft of water per second, for the sole purpose of recreational use. That’s about 2 Olympic size swimming pools a minute. This creates one of most popular whitewater destinations in the world. One of my favorite personal quotes about the Gulley is on bus the ride to the drop in, by my friend Keith in 2006,I asked the loaded question,What’s the number one whitewater river in the world? Knowing their answerGuide answers seriously,I don’t know maybe the Nambizie,Keith’s response, Fuck the Nambizie!Followed up by the other 30 of us joining in, it was a wild, rowdy, bus ride. The only thing I could compare it to would be a bus load of football players leaving a football game after a big win. You might have had to be there. I would have been a bit nervous if it was my first time on the river, riding with a group such as ours. We took up most of the bus, while the others outside of are group were just quite and looking nervously at us. Its payback from a previous year when we were the odd ones out, another whole other story. Anyways rafting 2007 was a blast, we had a pretty big number of people probably 30 plus.
High Water Louge Songer White Water Wall of Fame
(Guelly Season is 8 weeks hence the 8 photos per row, each row represents a year, the Guide who places his boat the highest up on pillow rock wins a large bar tap for that week paid for by the other guides. Are crew is reprsented well with 3 photos)A big mix of people from all over, DC, MI, VA, NY, CA and even my mate Joel from Australia attended. He was in the middle of a two week trek across the US.
Me and my Mate Joel
Cruising with Mia (Also the day of the Frozen Swim) 2007-9-17 Big Lake Fishing with My Mate CoopMichigan Post Sunset 2007-9-13
A Michigan Sunset 2007-9-132007 September 2007
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The Master Bore Drivers (Jelto, Tobie, Me) Jake and Jelto2007 October 8th
Bath´s Bit ChurchStreets of Bath 2007-10-11Next day we were off to Stonehenge. This time we found it. Id say it was worth seeing, we didn’t spend a ton of time there but seen it.
Rocking it out with the Rocks Stone Henge (Me and Simo)2007-10-11 Stone HengeThe next part of are trip I really enjoyed. I love rental cars, why because it’s a renal. I think of them as an extended go cart ride.At Stone Henge we asked the friendly information people about areas near by that are uninhabited for a drive. She instantly assumed we were into the entire country village to village stroll that she loved. So she pointed us towards a rout that brought us into a large military testing ground, sounded by small villages. Well we followed her route, and to are luck the military testing grounds were not fenced in, it was actually tank two tracks, so of course this seemed a very appropriate place to test the renal car out make sure it was safe for the trip home, it was acting up on us.
We headed back to London, where I spent another day highlights of this day was checking out the Indian area of town. I love Indian food. I’ll take some nanh and some curry any day. There has to be in this area of London at least 500 Indian restaurants next door to each other all claiming to be voted number one, all trying to entice you in. I was happy with are choice. The next day I was leaving London for Greece.
Greece Catching up with a Uni Mate
2007 October 12/p>
I called my University friend Paul in Greece before I headed to Europe and said I might stop buy and he was all about it. So I caught a flight out of London to Athens. For the first time in my life while landing we had to do a do over. We were just about ready to touch down, and all of a sudden the engines were full throttle and the plane was pulled steeply up. As we were circling around again the captain came on and said well lets try that again, it happens. Like I said I fly a bit, and that was a first for me. Paul grabbed me from the airport and took me to his place where I meet his parents. In Greece it is very common or even the norm to live in a family unit housing. For instance at Paul’s his parents lived in the bottom two stories of the building, and then there was a completely separate two story apartment that he and his sister shared, but things like the pool and barbeque areas are shared. I liked this idea. We went to some of his other friend’s place which were all the same. Greece was also a short trip, it was great to catch up with Paul his family.The food was amazing. I ate many things I had never tried before. Such as pickled octopus, caviar, small fish including the bones, and other sea food. We also had dinner a traditional Greek restaurant that served lamb in every way. This was also amazing. We spent one night out in Athens, the Greeks don’t start there night out until like 12 or 1 and then go all night. We went to some club, were the parking lot was exclusively Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Porsches, ect. Even though things like this don’t mater to me a ton it was still an experience. I think the styling of these cars is amazing. Why can’t all cars be that beautiful? Inside we joined a table of Paul’s friends that was a blast. My last day in Greece Paul had to work so I went out and did the tourist thing by my self. Went and seen the temple of Nike, Acropolis, the markets and other such things. Paul was so happy I didn’t ask him to show me things like this. I know how he feels, once you’ve seen then a few times it can get old. I left Greece and headed back to Germany to catch my flight back to the US in a few days.
I flew back into Berlin, caught a train the next day back to Braunschweig. Here I basically said my see you laters then it was off to Hamburg for a few days then onto the US. I had never really been out in Hamburg before. I had heard good things so I was excited to check it out. Hamburg has a famous area down town called the Rapa bon. Which translates to Red Light, as in like Amsterdam the Red Light District. But don’t be to scared by this I was actually recommended my friends mom to go here. Unlike most European city where the night life is spread out all over the town, in Hamburg its all in the Rapa Bon, from concert venues, to avenues of bars. I couldn’t even guess to how many bars and pubs are here, there are a lot. If you have a seen you can find it at the Rapa Bon. There would be punk rock bar sandwiched between a karaoke, and techno club. We went to one particular bar night that featured a staggering list of artists on there wall of fame. It was staggering considering the entire bar was not much bigger then a large living room, names like the Hives, Killers, White Strips where just a few. My day light hours in Hamburg were spent checking the city out, One highlight here was heading down to the Harbor and hitting golf ball towards containerships. After a few days in Hamburg I ended up at the airport and caught my plane home.
2007 October 23
One thing that was going on while I was in Europe was trying to figure out what to do with myself, such as school, work, travel and other stuff. Like I said I had a few job offers, I even received more while in Europe. The job that stood out the most was to work in Spain on the same program I worked on in Australia, but consulting for the Spanish Company Navantia that won the bid. A formal offer was made to me for this position with a original start date in November just a few weeks away from when I returned home. Then a few weeks later I was informed the job was to start Dec 15th. I had no plan to leave home right before Christmas. So I figured I would start Beginning of January. So once again I found myself sitting around in MI. It didn’t take me long to realize I didn’t want to waste this time.
I had some friends that were heading to South East Asia, partly because of me. At one point my mate Miah and me decide we were going to circle the globe. He was to quite his job, I had no job. Well, I fell through because, I stated if a amazing job came up then I would take it.
Miah still quit his job and decided to travel, his plan wasn’t to go all the way around the world but to spend a year traveling around. This plan included a trip to South East Asia with his girl friend Amy and her mate Amber. I decided to join a leg of this trip until I had to start work. I decide to head to over after Thanksgiving and be back for Christmas they would stay until beginning of February. I flew out to Bangkok Thailand a few days after thanksgiving.
Onto South East Asia
2007 November 29
I flew to Bangkok a week or so before my friends because I wanted to maximize my length of my trip, they had already booked their tickets and where arriving early December but where staying until February. Once in Bangkok I decided to head straight to the islands of Southern Thailand, I had heard so many good things about them I figured it would be a great place to start. I flew from Bangkok to Phuket, I spent one night here then early in the morning caught a ferry to Koa Phi Phi. I really did not do any research about the places I was going, I was truly just winging it. The boat ride to the island was a few hours. The entire boat was filled with fellow backpackers. I was asking around and it seemed most didn’t make accommodation plans or anything either. I ended up staying with a group of South African Girls. We got a place together to save a few bucks. Most backpackers try to save a buck when they can. I’m pretty sure the first few nights of accommodations cost about $10 or so a piece, for a place with a western style bathroom, aircon, and electricity, this is living in this part of the world.
Koa Phi Phi is an entire island that is just backpackers hanging out taking it easy and not so easy. Koa Phi Phi is also one of the places hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami. Its was crazy to see photos of the destruction. It was also easy to understand now how so many people lost there lives, 250,000 of them. These places are popular Christmas destinations for travelers of all types. The wave came the day after Christmas and reached heights of up to 100ft and traveled over 1 mile inland. It is hard to imagine such an event.
Koa Phi Phi and the area around it was the location where the movie The Beach was filmed. That Beaches setting is not far from true, the scenery and beauty of the place is as depicted in the film. There are tons of activities around from snorkeling, swimming with sharks, rock climbing, cliff jumping, fishing, ect. There is even a bar where you can Thai box your friend for a free bucket, which is a common drink in there parts. It is literally a bucket of booze, usually cheap Thai whisky or rum mixed with soda. I partook in some of the activities on Koa Phi Phi, such as a long boat trip, snorkeling, visiting some beaches, not the Thai kick boxing. I even had my sunglass stolen by a monkey. My last night on the island before I had to leave to meet up with Miah and crew in Bangkok I decided to go camping on a beach. It was actually the beach from the Movie the beach, Maya Bay. The little tour info guide stated, snorkeling, kayaking, fishing, and camping on a deserted beach with a maximum of 24 people sounded right up my alley.
I thought this trip would be nice easy night before I met up with Miah and crew, even bought a book for incase I got board. Well I was wrong we got on the boat to go, first thing they do is hand out beers to all of us on board. I found out this was a common practice, first one was free then they just run a tally and you pay the end. These tallies tend to sneak up on you. Shortly after onboard I found out this trip is not all about a peaceful night on a beach, its actually a well know word of mouth trip, that takes you to this amazing island beach to basically party on the beach. So the quite night was out, all I can say was I tried. It turned out to be a really fun night. We did almost nothing listed on the tour, the tour info sheet was just a cover. The next day I caught a boat back to Phuket and then a plane to Bangkok to meet up my mates.
Back in Bangkok I reunited with my friends from the states, I was first in, followed by Amy from Singapore, then Miah and Amber from the states. We headed straight to Ko San Road or the XPAT area of Bangkok, are home for the next few nights. The first night in Bangkok we ended up not heading to bed until the next morning. There was quite a large group of us at this time because anther group of Amy´s friends form Australia were also in Bangkok. We hung out in the Ko San Road area and bullshited the night away. A funny thing here was bar was required to stop serving at 3am but they just switched to paper coffee cups afterwards. Its not like one or two people, the entire bar would be drinking out of paper coffee cups. Late night espresso.
We woke up late afternoon the next day, which also happened to be the king’s birthday. There is no expense spared on the king birthday party in Thailand. Millions of Thais head to Bangkok all dressed in yellow shirt because it’s the kings favorite color and celebrate. It was just masses of people, most their just to catch a glimpse of him. The Thai people from what I gathered just loved their king, everyone reveres him, and no one dared talked bad about him. It’s a day filled with a verity of events, parades all day long, concerts, free Thai kick boxing, and free food for all. This went on all day and into the night. The only bad part of this experience was I was pick pocketed here. Luckily I didn’t have hardly any money in my wallet maybe like $30 or so, but all my credit cards, and worst of all my Australian Driver License. That’s the one thing I was upset about. Still am a too. This celebration was capped of by a fireworks display that put all other fire works displays I’ve seen to shame. We scored an incredible view for the roof top of the Duke Hotel on Ko San Road. We could see the area where they were launch directly below us and where the exploded directly in front of us. Safety is not priority number on in Thailand. Burning pieces of fireworks were land on people and objects all over. There was even a building burnt down close to the lighting area. This building catching fire did not stop the show either.
While in Bangkok we decided to set up an itinerary or game plan for are travels for the weeks ahead. Miah, Amy, and Amber wanted to head north first and do the islands at the end of their trip. So we booked the next two weeks almost at a travel agent in Bangkok, partly because they were taking care of the VISA´s for Vietnam.
This is an alone is an experience, you willingly give your passport to these people in what most consider a third world country while you continue your travels and your passport meets back up with you somewhere else on the trip with the VISA in it. A bit weird but that’s how it done. It seems like you are always handing your passport over to people for extended periods of time. I know this made some of my travel companions very nervous, while I was more nervous about having a pre set itinerary for two weeks; this was not my normal style but seemed like an easy way to go about things. Are trip was as follows, take a bus from Bangkok, to Chang Mia, then head into the jungles there for a 3 day trek, staying in remote mountain villages, then back Chang Mia were we would continue by bus to northern boarder of Thailand and Laos, cross into Laos take a 2 day boat trip down the Me Kong river to Lampra Bang, then from there no plans. The plan seemed good, I know the only concern was we ended up in the middle of Laos, with no planned way out. I figured tons of people do it every day cant be that hard.
We got on are way first by 10 hour bus ride from Bangkok to Chang Mia. The bus ride was nothing special, beside the roads suck, and its one bumpy ride. The toilette was basically a hole in the floor of the bus. We arrived into Chang Mia real late in the evening. The next day we rented bikes and went around checking Buddhist whaks. We also learned that Amy is not he greatest bike rider. I was a bit nervous for her safety and life, but she made it. The next day was the start of are 3 day trek in the Jungles north of Chang Mia. The hike started out with a 3 hour ride in the back of a pick up to the Mountains. Once again safety is not priority number one in Thailand. The first stop was at an elephant park were we were able to ride elephants through a trail in the jungle, as you went along the trail you would run into these stands in the tree where you could bye banana for your elephant and beer for yourself. After the elephant ride we continued on are way and started are trek.
The trekking itself wasn’t overly difficult, I was a bit nervous due to the fact I had not been to active in the last few unemployed months. The trek its self was pretty sweat, at times you would be in dense jungle, then you would emerge into stepped rice paddies, then back into a dense Teak forest. Are first night camping we stayed on the out skirts of a small Karen Tribal Village. These villages reminded me of the type you would see in a Vietnam War film. Most of the construction was bamboo, natural foliage roofs. The only electricity in the village was provided by a small solar panel, so basically there was no power. No lights or other modern electrical items. The accommodations provided for us were straw mats on a concrete floor in a large room, we were provided with a few blankets, and a mosquito net. All I can say is it had to have been one of the coldest nights sleep of my life. I can only think of one that compares. The bathroom was a site to be seen. It was simply a faucet above your head that fell into a bucket. This bucket was what you used to scoop the water to flush the hover over toilet. You have to see a picture to understand. The village offered a stellar view of the mountain and valley below. The next day we hiked on and stayed in a similar structure but no village. This night was as cold as the first one. Day two did provide for one of the greatest showers of my life. We all showered in a water fall just up from the camp.
Our Hotel in the Keren Tribal Village Our Hotel Toilet Amber & Amy Chillin on are Hotel Balcany Kerin Tribal Village, Outside Chang Mia Thialand Keren Member Gathering Cooking Wood Miah and Me on the Day on of the Trek Giant Spider in the Outhouse Pre-Trek Elephant RideThe most rememberful parts of the trek for me was one our guides, Bank. One night, im not sure how it started he told me his life story, and It was a sad story to say the least, and gave me a insight into some Buddhist philosophy. He was an inspirational person, and even tough I only meet him for three days, I don’t think I will ever forget him and I wish him well. A side note on Bank was he was Stalone´s personal driver for Rambo 4. The film was shoot in the same area where we were hiking. Another quote I loved from this trip is I asked the question Who is the world most well known artist. Im was thinking like Bob Marley, Elvis, Beatles, but a French guy answers in all seriousness, I don´t know maybe Tina Turner. I busted up laughing so hard. He even defended his statement, but later realized he was probably way off. After are trek we headed back to Chang Mia, were we were to catch a bus to Northern Thailand to cross into Laos.
Originally I had no plans to go to Laos, but every traveler I talked to said that Laos was there favorite place in SE Asia, and a must see. It also worked for the others agenda I was traveling with. There plan was to head to Vietnam next then onto Cambodia, and finally end up in the islands of South Thailand for the famed full moon party on Koa Sumuii.
The only way to cross into Laos from northern Thailand is by boat, there are no bridges. So early one morning we headed across the Gates of Indo China and into Laos. Once in Laos, I became a millionaire, 1 USD was worth about 10000 KIP. So it didn’t take much. There is only two way to head south from Northern Laos towards the Capital of Veitinne. One is by boat down the Mie Kong, the other is by bus down an extremely ruff road that I was to hear horror stories of later. We chose the boat.
The boat itself was used by tourist and locals alike and it was a sight to be seen, especially for me being a Naval Architect. It was probably 80 ft long by 8ft wide. It was powered by what looked like normal diesel engine from a truck with a straight shaft running to the propeller, no gear box. The engine room doubled as the baggage room, and was the location of the single toilette on board. The engine was completely exposed, no noise guarding at all. It was so loud in the rear of the boat you would half to scream to be heard. Yet somehow locals were able to sleep on the bags back there. We scored sweat spot on the front of the boat in another baggage area, where we had tunes from my IPOD speakers and a good crew of travelers mixed with a few locals. There is no drought we had the best seats on the boat. Some people look angry we had it so good. These boats can not operate past dark due to hazards in the river. So each leg of the trip was 10 hours or so. The landscapes that passed by the boat as we traveled down the river where indescribable, it was clear that we were truly were in the middle of no where. Once every few hours you would travel across some a village settled on the banks, that seemed like their way of life had not changed in hundreds of years. We disembarked the boat approximaly half way to L, where you stay just for the night before you continue on to Lampra Bang. The only power this town had was provided by generators. At a certain hour all the lights and power just went out. I believe I was in the shower when this happened. The next morning we continued on leg two of are slow boat trip down the Me Kong. We arrived in Lampra Bang just before sunset, walked around and acquired accommodations.
We scored single rooms in a pretty decent guest house for about $6 a night. Lampra Bang was a nice place, lots of things to see. Lampra Bang is know for its vast amount of water falls located just outside of town. The weirdest thing about this town was it had a curfew of 11 pm, but there was just one venue open after hours it was a 10 pin bowling alley just outside town. So everyone who head to Lampra Bang ends up bowling, weird. We spent a few days here checking out water falls, some caves, and a few pubs. The next stop after Lampra Bang was Van Vieng.
Van Vieng was another place that had a good reputation from other back packers we met. It turns out I would have to agree. It was an interesting place to say the least. We ended up staying right on a river just outside town. The town of Van Vieng itself was not to large but growing. Laos for what I gathered had only really been open to tourist for about 5 years or so. For instance in Van Vieng, I was told there was one guest house, and today there were between 50 to a 100, with another 100 to 200 in construction. That’s a tourism boom. Van Vieng is also known for playing old Friends episodes at bars and restaurants. I did not believe this at first, but it was true, and I have no idea why. At least they snuck in some Seinfeld.
It is also home to the craziest tubing I have ever done in my life. You tube or kayak down the Nam Son rives and all along it are make shift bars, cobbled together out of who knows what, that provide some tip of crazy rope swing or zip line, into the river. These rope swings are not small. Most you jumped from 25 ft or more. The zip lines were similar, resulting in a force flip if you held on all the way. All they asked you to do was drink, use of the swings and zip lines were all free. The craziest thing I saw here was a guy basically fall from 25 ft, land and almost knock himself out, people jumped into save him, then a few minutes later gave it another go. Let me remind you we are in Laos, who know where the nearest ATM is, let alone medic or hospital.
This brings me to another point, VISA full of shit, its not everywhere you want to go. First Laos has like 6 ATMs and these ATMs only except MasterCard, not VISA After a few days here exploring around it was time for me to catch leave make it back to Bangkok for my flight home.
I found out there was kayak trip that left Van Vieng and took you to Vientiane the capital where I could catch a plane back to Bangkok. This sounded like the best way I’ve ever heard to get to the airport so I booked it. Everyone else joined on this trip but they would stay in Vientiane and continue there travels. The kayaking to the airport was a bit of an exaggeration. It was more like a truck ride to a river where we would kayak, then take truck ride from the take out to the river to the city. I’m pretty sure we spent more time in the truck bed then the kayak but I did get to the airport. The kayak trip did have its high lights a little class three rapid, I wanted to take it backwards but Miah said no, and probably the biggest cliff jump I’ve ever jumped, I think it was 12m so 36 ft or so. I caught my plane to Bangkok; sleep in the airport then took off back for the USA.
Back to the USA
2007 December
My flight arrived into the US a few days before Christmas. I spent the holidays around home with friends and family. It was good time. Christmas in my family is a big gathering I think there were 27 of us at my Aunts for Christmas Day, it’s a big day of eating catching up and games. We do a gift exchange, I was that guy who picked his own gift, I don’t feel too bad about it either. I scored a pigeon thrower, and a Frisbee golf disk. The next few days were uneventful beside I got the flue. This caused me to spent my first New Years that I can remember in bed by myself. It took like 5 days to kick, it sucked I could have been worse because my original plan was to go to CO and spend it snowboarding and hanging out in boulder. This would have been dreadful with the flue.
Anyways I recovered and organized a trip out West with for a week, Im lucky to have a good group of friends in Boulder, CO. I always try to mix in some snowboarding and some time out in the city. I convinced two others to join me for this excursion, Tom and Jake. We all flew in about the same time. We were blessed with, as described on Vail TV epic powder conditions. The snow was deep and untracked, maybe the best of my life. It is yet another thing I can not describe in words, the feeling of bombing a hill, litterlly planning like a boat on water as you float over the powder. If you don’t lean back your front just digs in and causes a barrel role effect. Luckily Trevor and Jake provided me with lots these for my entertainment. I can also provided my fair share. Even these barrel roles in the powder are a blast in the powder. Its like falling into a pit of cotton balls. This trip provided me with my first experience snowboarding that freaked me out, I fell into a tree well and it caved in on me. After a few brief moments of panic, I thought it through and dug myself out.
Under Chair 11 Northwoods Express Lift Vai, CO
Trever Francis aka Fuper after a face plant, loving every moment of it
When Jake Meyer is in your presence you are pretty much guaranteed to be amused in some way. Here is a quick one for you, Jake was not quite as good as Trevor and I at snowboarding so he causally watched Trevor and I dropping into the China bowl via a cliff and chute, I was first to drop in off the cliff, it went well at the beginning then it all fell apart and I barrel rolled to stop in a flat, Trevor followed through a chute and crashed even sooner. We both had to unstrap and hike trough chest deep untouched snow to where we could ride out again. Jake observed all this and decided he would take a different root because he knew this would not end well for him. The thing about this was he chose even a worse line and spent a good chunk of his morning, at least an hour, hiking in chest deep snow back to the main run. If you see Jake you have to ask him about it. He told me he knows what it would be like to cross Antarctica. I can guarantee you will not be able to hold back the laughter, While your at it ask him about the traffic Jam on I70, just incase the first story isn’t enough for you. Another highlight of this trip was bringing my friend Tom out with me. I had only went out with him once before and it was at Caberfee in Michigan. I think he saw me there and thought he was probably at about my level or maybe even a bit better then me. Well the Rockies were an eye opening experience for Tom. It took him a few days to adjust to the size steepness, and deepness of the snow. Taking Tom on a run called Steep and Deep was one of the highlights.
Top of Blue Sky Basin Vail Colorado
Steep and Deep lives up to its name, its steep, I’m not to good with Angles on a mountain but the top has to be close to a 45 degree angle, and the snow is deep. It is also a glade run witch means it covered in trees. Tom was not prepared for such a run, we was nervous he claimed he was shaking.. It all ended well we coached him down and he lived. More happened on the trip but that was the major part of the boarding, and skiing. We headed back to boulder for a night out, which was also Heathers Birthday. I went to Steamboat for a few days with my mate Marty.
Steamboat Springs After an Eary Season Dump
Steamboat Springs CO,
A view from top
Me at Steamboat Springs CO
NO Names or North St Pats, Steamboat Springs CO
Marty Trying to Avoid Shredding His Skis on a Rock Face
It got a bit Steep
Bottom of East Face Steamboat Springs CO
Marty Enjoying the Powder in Steamboat
Right after Steamboat I headed to Las Vegas for my kinda for my birthday with Keli and Trevor. Trevor sister ended up flying out to see hang out for a night to. We had a pretty good time, we actully didn't gamble that much, most of are time was spent trying to score free drinks, and eating.
Every time I flew back to MI part of the reason was I had a job lined up in Spain and it was always suppose to be starting, First it was November, then December, then every two weeks until it finally started in March. The problem was work permits they were stuck in some government office. This got old, not to mention the entire time I was unemployed with no funds coming in. I was just spending. After a few more weeks at home with the family and friends I saw that there was another big store heading towards the Rockies so I headed west again. This time I flew out solo, but had prearranged to meet up with my mate Marty who was living as a ski bum in CO to pick me up and head to Steamboat for a few days of riding and then he would take off and the Boulder crew of Keli, Fuper and Heather would meet up with me in Steamboat for a few more days of riding and hanging out.
The snow was epic once again. They received 5 ft of snow over 5 days, by this time, mid February Steamboat had already received like 350 inches or so. That’s close to 30 ft of snow. I70 and every major mountain pass, such as Bertha, Loveland, Rabbit Ears was closed for a few days and up to 4 days. The only way in was over the small local passes that they kept open.
The first few days in Steamboat we stayed with a local that Marty knew, and they told us of a out of bounds run called the golf coarse that was a favorite of the locals. The golf course was out of bounds but still a petty safe run that ended back at a lift if you know your way. On are first attempt we ended up with a small amount of hiking but by the second attempt we had it figured out. The runs were amazing, deep, deep untouched powder every run. The difference between the off piste runs in Steamboat verses Vail in terms was the Aspens, Steamboat is loaded with Aspens. Aspens glades are so much nicer then in Evergreens glades. There is so much more room to cut, plus there are very few tree wells. I learned that my panic from the tree well a few weeks back was in good order. In one week alone there were 2 deaths from falling in tree wells inbounds the ski area at Steamboat.
Golf Course Steamboat Springs Colorado, Off Piste
Marty who has been a ski bum for 3 years claimed the snow was the best in his life. I would have to agree it was amazing. The pervious trip to Vail was also epic, but I think Steamboat gets the title. On Friday I road alone for most the day Marty took off to go back to work, and Trevor and crew were not coming up until the night. Steamboat got so much snow that night, the chair I’ve been riding Pony Express, had an hour delay to starting because they had to dig I out. There was so much snow at the top the chairs could not pass through.
Friday night I switch residences to the comfort in where we have a bit of a hook up. I already had Trevor all fired up about the snow prior to his arrival. We headed out early and the snow started out wicked. At about noon I convinced him to try a OB run I had not tried yet. I figured it ended up at the bottom of the other OB run the Golf Coarse.
Steamboat Springs O.B. Gate 6 Off Piste
Read the sign for some fun
So we hiked the trail out for about half mile or so. It was pretty clear that only two people hiked the trail before us that day, and not many others in previous days. We finally got the drop in area. The snow was the deepest I had ever been in. So deep that even though it was steep you had to keep you momentum going or you would just stop.
Trevor aka Fuper on the Trail out of Gate 6
Trevor especially had a ruff time So id attempt to blaze a trail for him to follow. For the first time in my life I was using the little avalanche knowledge I had. I would sit and stare at an area and try to pick a line down that looked safe. About half way down the run got tight lots of trees and cliffs. Trevor got stuck between two trees hanging down hill, this is when he decided it was way above his level, I actually agreed we had no reason to be here. We finally reached the bottom and learned we had one massive hike back to the Mt. After about a mile we came across to others riders, the main difference between us them was gear. They had everything, snow shovels, probes, beacons, snowshoes, ect. They asked basically what and the hell were we doing and said we had no reason to be back there, and ended with sarcastic enjoy the 3 mile hike out. At first I thought they were joking about the 3 miles. Well they weren’t, 3 hours later we emerged from are run. I might not do it again anytime soon, but I am glad we did it. By this time the sun came out and powder started turning heavy, so we headed out.
Steamboat Springs CO
Off Piste O.B. Gate 6 "Canyon maybe??"
Amazing amount of untouched snow, picture does it no justice
Lucky for us this was the day we planned on hitting the natural hot springs up just outside of Steamboat. I’ll tell you what there nothing like a natural hot spring after a day like that. I was so sore it was exactly what I needed. I had never been there before. Didn’t really know what to expect. The area around in Steamboat springs is very volcanic and there are numerous hot springs that poor into cold mountain streams. The difference I’m told between these hot springs and others is they are sulfur free. So its just warm water with no gas. The hot springs were outstanding; the temperature varied from 120+ degrees to like 90 degrees. Then you could jump into the steam which was just above freezing swim around and back into the hot springs. It felt so good. I would recommend this place to anybody. They also have cabins they rent right in the Springs, and surprisingly they are really cheap, but book up extremely quick.
Steamboat Springs CO, Natural Hot Springs
After the springs we had a night out in Steamboat caught some good live music and made are way back home. Next day we caught a bit of the Steamboat Springs winter carnival and had the best driving day back to Boulder gorgeous sunny day drive back through the mountains. I had one night in Boulder then it was back to MI again.
This ended up being my last trip to CO for the year, which was ok I check the snow reports no matter where I am at, am example of this is sitting in the middle of Laos and saying its getting dumped in CO right now, having Amber and Amy go who thinks about snow when they are in SE Asia. Anyways it appeared that my last trip out was towards the end of the dumps for 2007. The week I returned to MI I got notice that my work permit and VISA where in the final stages of approval. This meant that I had a lot to do. I had to get my stuff together for shipping, and pack the rest of my stuff away at home. I said all my good byes, see you laters and all that good stuff, I caught up with Miah and Amy who just returned from their trip from ASIA. I had to fly to DC for a short trip and pick up my VISA at the Spanish Embassy, sign all my employment papers ect., then back to MI one last time, for my last weekend at home, before my departure for Spain. For me its always a hard time leaving home, but I knew this was a pretty good opportunity.
Sugar Bowl, Meinert Park Michigan
Jeimiah Holden, Lake Michigan Snowboarding
Bald Eagle, Lamos Rd Montague MI
Welcome to Spain, My New Residence
2007 March 5th
I arrived in Santiago De Compela, Spain on March 5th. The city its self is extremely famous for the religious pilgrimage that ends at it. If you come visit me it will probably the airport you will fly into, but Madrid and La Coruna also work. My residence is currently in Ferrol, about 1 hour from Santiago. It is located in the NW corner of Spain, in the Coruna area of Galicia, right on the Atlantic Coast. The major city by me, A Coruna is 40 minutes away; I imagine this will be my home in a few months. A Coruna has a pretty good reputation, unlike Ferrol where I currently live a industrial port city. Coruna hosts a Spanish Premier League football club, although im informed they currently suck.
What I have learned about Galicia so far is in the winter it rains. It rains almost every day. I hear that summers are amazing, ill let you know when it comes. Also English is almost non-existent in Galicia, they speak Galician, Spanish, and Portuguese as there main languages, this makes things a bit ruff, but it will force me to learn Spanish, one of my goals for being here.
With all that said, I am excited to be here.. Like every place it takes time to adjust and really settle in. This may take a bit longer because I don’t speak Spanish yet making it hard to meet new people. I’m a bit of a social person so this is a bit ruff. Luckily in away Europe is small, and I have plenty of mates to go bother.
I have checked out the coast around Galicia and it seems to boast wicked beaches at the same time offer jagged cliffs straight into the ocean. I’m told coast offers some of the best surfing breaks in all of Europe. Luckily I have my board on its way. I’ve also heard the kite surfing is not to bad either, if you didn’t know I’m an aspiring kite surfer to. One down side to the ocean here is its deep Atlantic water so it is cold. My first weekend here a huge storm hit that produced up to 60 ft waves. I know it made the CNN world news report. I was at the beach a day before it really came in and seeing 30ft waves come ashore was pretty impressive. Another activity I see partaking in is trail riding. I have seen numerous enduro bikes, and even quads riding around so there has to be some trail riding around, I’m going to do my best to get involved in this.
As far as my job its interesting so far, to say the least it is a new type of work, I could elaborate here but I will not.
First I got to see my first launching of a ship. On like my third day, Navantia launched a LHD, which is basically a small air craft carrier type ship. It was a big deal the entire royal family and newly reelected president were all present for it, not that we meet them or anything but still cool.
LHD Launch
Second at least at Navantia the siesta is still alive and kicking, we work from 730 am until 230 then it’s a two and half hour lunch, and depending on the work load you either go home or return to work at 5.
Third I found out after arriving in Spain that the entire country takes spring break. That is the entire week before Easter, and the Monday after. I put this time to good use. I booked a last minute one way trip to Northern Europe to see some mates.
I found a last minute one way flight to Amsterdam over Easter, this worked out well because some of my colleges were doing a northern Europe trip, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Prague. I flew to Amsterdam with them but went my own way after a day. I headed down to Germany to catch up with Jelto and crew. I spent most of my time in Bransweig area, and Berlin. I decided instead of flying back to Spain I would buy a car and drive back. The time crunch hit and Jelto decided to let me barrow his second car. I diffidently own him huge for this one. The problem was in Spain I could not get one until I had a residence card. So barrowing his helped a ton. So I left Germany Saturday evening and drove to France where I would crash at Felix’s place, and then continue on the next day back to Spain. The drive went well besides it rained all the way from Northern Europe to Southern Europe, I got a few picture taken by speed cameras, and I encounter a blizzard in the Pyrenees, something like 14 inches over night that I drove straight through.
Ferrol, La Coruna, Espana
The weekend after Easter I really wanted to get some snowboarding in while I still could, but I could not find anyone who wanted to go. So I packed my car up and headed towards Madrid where snowfields are only an hour outside of. I caught up with my mate Armis in Madrid. It had been awhile since we caught up but not much had changed we did a bit of catching up then he showed me around Madrid, we ended up being out until 6 in the morning. The next day we basically spent, hanging out with his cousin and wife. I ended up not snowboarding, next season.
Praia de Meiras, La Coruna, Galicia, Espana A View
Punta Taraza, La Coruna, Galicia, Espana
This on top of a WWII gunner mount
posted by Morris from Montague @ 2:16 PM
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