Trip Report Thailand
Aug 17th, 2002 | 11:59 AM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Trip Report Thailand
I have a whole bunch of these saved from previous trip, is anyone interested in more?
Here's and example of the newsletter I sent to friends while travelling.
#1 Thailand
Rode elephants two days ago across green fields and saw incredibly
beautiful temples in the distance. My guide named M & I smoked giant
Cuban cigars on elephant back and talked rubber trees. I then got
hammered on Thai whiskey with the 168 year old guy who owns all the
Pachyderms. Then cooked a very spicey Thai dinner for about 1/2 the
village and bought a bunch of beer to become the stuff of legends for
that one day. I guess that’s my 15 minutes of fame.
Yesterday I went to Phang Nga bay where there are giant outcroppings of
rock jutting hundreds of feet in the air. Sea caves that you need to lay
down in a sea kayak at low tide to explore, enter the huong (volcanic
donut-like island with ocean in the middle) and then get the hell out
before the tide comes back in. Did all the city temples and went to
Ayutaya and Sukumvit on day trips for a look at 12th century
ruins...took a few boatrides and wiped out two buffets on the upper
decks in the sun drinking something strong and unpronouncable, did some
flower festivals and a floating market.
Phuket (pronounced poo-ket) the party island, had the MTV X-Games going
on and it was nuts and high energy twisted western styled fun in the
midst of ascene from Apocolypse Now or some Joseph Conrad novel. Played
this funky archery game and was pretty good, but my fingers are raw. I’d
get crushed in a rematch.
Too many incredible shots to shoot them all. The food is unbelievable,
but I'll eat anything. I really don’t want to publish all that Bangkok
has to offer, as it tends to compromise my integrity by inferring that I
might have done that which thou doth suspect.
Here's and example of the newsletter I sent to friends while travelling.
#1 Thailand
Rode elephants two days ago across green fields and saw incredibly
beautiful temples in the distance. My guide named M & I smoked giant
Cuban cigars on elephant back and talked rubber trees. I then got
hammered on Thai whiskey with the 168 year old guy who owns all the
Pachyderms. Then cooked a very spicey Thai dinner for about 1/2 the
village and bought a bunch of beer to become the stuff of legends for
that one day. I guess that’s my 15 minutes of fame.
Yesterday I went to Phang Nga bay where there are giant outcroppings of
rock jutting hundreds of feet in the air. Sea caves that you need to lay
down in a sea kayak at low tide to explore, enter the huong (volcanic
donut-like island with ocean in the middle) and then get the hell out
before the tide comes back in. Did all the city temples and went to
Ayutaya and Sukumvit on day trips for a look at 12th century
ruins...took a few boatrides and wiped out two buffets on the upper
decks in the sun drinking something strong and unpronouncable, did some
flower festivals and a floating market.
Phuket (pronounced poo-ket) the party island, had the MTV X-Games going
on and it was nuts and high energy twisted western styled fun in the
midst of ascene from Apocolypse Now or some Joseph Conrad novel. Played
this funky archery game and was pretty good, but my fingers are raw. I’d
get crushed in a rematch.
Too many incredible shots to shoot them all. The food is unbelievable,
but I'll eat anything. I really don’t want to publish all that Bangkok
has to offer, as it tends to compromise my integrity by inferring that I
might have done that which thou doth suspect.
Aug 17th, 2002 | 12:01 PM
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Heres another, maybe I should be putting these on the respective continents I have visited.
#2 Hong Kong
Took the tram to the top of Victoria peak, the ride was one long uphill
roller coaster without the drop. I'm up at the peak in a coffee shop
waiting to see if the clouds lift and I'll try to shoot the harbor at
night with some 400 film and a tripod.
It's cloudy and foggy as hell and I couldn't shoot the harbor so I
switched to black and white and just shot a temple with fog and it was
back lit. Got a few eerie silhouetted umbrella people earlier by a
temple in the rain, should be a cool effect.
Also went to the gardens... Botanical, Aviary, Dry (cactus), etc. the HK
version of central park, but it is vertical and tiered. This is not
surprising considering the cost of real estate on a 420 some odd square
mile island with the highest population density on the planet. I want
to tour HK harbor on a Sampan if I get a nice day..maybe Cheung Chan
harbor instead...also go to Macau, and take the star ferry to Tsim Sha
Tsui. Again, all this is waiting for a nice sunny day.
#2 Hong Kong
Took the tram to the top of Victoria peak, the ride was one long uphill
roller coaster without the drop. I'm up at the peak in a coffee shop
waiting to see if the clouds lift and I'll try to shoot the harbor at
night with some 400 film and a tripod.
It's cloudy and foggy as hell and I couldn't shoot the harbor so I
switched to black and white and just shot a temple with fog and it was
back lit. Got a few eerie silhouetted umbrella people earlier by a
temple in the rain, should be a cool effect.
Also went to the gardens... Botanical, Aviary, Dry (cactus), etc. the HK
version of central park, but it is vertical and tiered. This is not
surprising considering the cost of real estate on a 420 some odd square
mile island with the highest population density on the planet. I want
to tour HK harbor on a Sampan if I get a nice day..maybe Cheung Chan
harbor instead...also go to Macau, and take the star ferry to Tsim Sha
Tsui. Again, all this is waiting for a nice sunny day.
Aug 17th, 2002 | 06:21 PM
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Only one complaint, heres the next stop.
#3 Hong Kong to Cebu
OK...I guess this is the boring part of travel. Hong Kong got crowded as
it apparently does every weekend, the streets and hotels filling up with
local Chinese and Japanese visitors. I couldn't extend my stay at the
fabulous Panda in Kowloon, HK central doubles in price on the weekends,
and Xian was out of the question unless I had 5-7 days so...I got out of
Dodge city and blew to Cebu.
Wow, pretty dirty and rainy...sure glad I arrived early! Anyway, there
is no real delicious indigenous cuisine so to speak, and I have some
time here to plan the next step, so it's research time for me. Looking
at Boracay and Siquijor for some island hopping...there are, after
all... 7,165 islands to choose from, so I'll find something.
My fingers are still numb from the archery game I played in Patong, and
here the only game is casino-styled stuff that I've done quite enough of
in the states...and besides, I like to leave the gambling to Estrada. He
seems to win at numbers like Hillary wins at cattle futures. It sure is
humid here
#3 Hong Kong to Cebu
OK...I guess this is the boring part of travel. Hong Kong got crowded as
it apparently does every weekend, the streets and hotels filling up with
local Chinese and Japanese visitors. I couldn't extend my stay at the
fabulous Panda in Kowloon, HK central doubles in price on the weekends,
and Xian was out of the question unless I had 5-7 days so...I got out of
Dodge city and blew to Cebu.
Wow, pretty dirty and rainy...sure glad I arrived early! Anyway, there
is no real delicious indigenous cuisine so to speak, and I have some
time here to plan the next step, so it's research time for me. Looking
at Boracay and Siquijor for some island hopping...there are, after
all... 7,165 islands to choose from, so I'll find something.
My fingers are still numb from the archery game I played in Patong, and
here the only game is casino-styled stuff that I've done quite enough of
in the states...and besides, I like to leave the gambling to Estrada. He
seems to win at numbers like Hillary wins at cattle futures. It sure is
humid here
