Hi everyone. Since my last post I finished my Cambodia leg in Phnom Penh, which was great. While there I vistited the Killing Fields where the Khmer Rouge slaughtered untold numbers of Cambodian people. It was quite a downer but also important to see to fully understand their plight. It's unbelievable that there was civil war there until 1998 and the international community didn't do anything to help them. It really hammers the point home when you see all the people walking around missing limbs reduced to begging. While there I also fired an AK-47 and hung out with this local guy who was a major stoner. He was a great guy and we had heaps in common. Suprisingly enough we were also able to get our hands on some really good E and had a great time.
After bidding our farewells there, we crossed the border into Vietnam and took a tour up the Mekong Delta to Can Tho and saw heaps of traditional Vietnamese rice farming and agriculture. Really good but it was also the first of three times I was crippled with food poisoning in Vietnam. The food here is definitely not to the standard of Thailand or Cambodia. None of the meat is refigerated. For the first time in my life I've made myself a vegetarian and started a love affair with tofu.
After the Delta we found ourselves in Saigon. It's a very busy city with heaps going on. Went to a few bars and nightclubs and then bailed to Mui Ne, a resort town on the coast featuring huge sand dunes and kite surfing. So much fun, however we didn't stay long and headed to Nha Trang.
Nha Trang has been my favourite Vietnam stop so far. Also on the beach and with heaps of resorts. Here we went to the local hot springs and relaxed in the heated, mineral enriched water where we also cooked eggs for lunch. We also visited the local waterfalls which were heaps of fun, swimming and diving off rocks. After being fairly disappointed with the weed in Vietnam compared to Thailand or Cambodia we also scored some decent smoke here too. It was in Nha Trang that the american girl I'm travelling with had a pregnancy scare which needless to say put the fear of god up me. She claims it to be a false alarm now which is a relief but I've vowed to be more careful in future. A few days here and we braced ourselves for the 12 hour bus ride to Hoi An.
Hoi An (where I currently find myself) is a nice quiet, town where every second shop is a tailors. So far I've been fitted for two suits (more stylish than business), three shirts, and five pairs of shoes. I'm a little ashamed of my Emelda Marcos like extravagance, but fuck it. You only live once, right?
Tomorrow we leave for Hanoi (assuming the Amerikkkan girl doesn't buy any more clothes) and after that we're done with Vietnam and cross the border into Laos. My travel buddy has cancelled going to South Africa, which were on the cards and it looks like the Phillipines to cap off the Asia experience.
I tell you what. So far it's been one hell of a trip!
After bidding our farewells there, we crossed the border into Vietnam and took a tour up the Mekong Delta to Can Tho and saw heaps of traditional Vietnamese rice farming and agriculture. Really good but it was also the first of three times I was crippled with food poisoning in Vietnam. The food here is definitely not to the standard of Thailand or Cambodia. None of the meat is refigerated. For the first time in my life I've made myself a vegetarian and started a love affair with tofu.
After the Delta we found ourselves in Saigon. It's a very busy city with heaps going on. Went to a few bars and nightclubs and then bailed to Mui Ne, a resort town on the coast featuring huge sand dunes and kite surfing. So much fun, however we didn't stay long and headed to Nha Trang.
Nha Trang has been my favourite Vietnam stop so far. Also on the beach and with heaps of resorts. Here we went to the local hot springs and relaxed in the heated, mineral enriched water where we also cooked eggs for lunch. We also visited the local waterfalls which were heaps of fun, swimming and diving off rocks. After being fairly disappointed with the weed in Vietnam compared to Thailand or Cambodia we also scored some decent smoke here too. It was in Nha Trang that the american girl I'm travelling with had a pregnancy scare which needless to say put the fear of god up me. She claims it to be a false alarm now which is a relief but I've vowed to be more careful in future. A few days here and we braced ourselves for the 12 hour bus ride to Hoi An.
Hoi An (where I currently find myself) is a nice quiet, town where every second shop is a tailors. So far I've been fitted for two suits (more stylish than business), three shirts, and five pairs of shoes. I'm a little ashamed of my Emelda Marcos like extravagance, but fuck it. You only live once, right?
Tomorrow we leave for Hanoi (assuming the Amerikkkan girl doesn't buy any more clothes) and after that we're done with Vietnam and cross the border into Laos. My travel buddy has cancelled going to South Africa, which were on the cards and it looks like the Phillipines to cap off the Asia experience.
I tell you what. So far it's been one hell of a trip!
Still bumming around Sicily. Met some nice people. Everyone here is so nive to me when they find out I'm from Australia.
So I've booked accomodation for the full moon party in Thailand on the 12th of July and I fly out of Europe from Amsterdam (third time) on the 2nd. I'm a little sad at the European dream being over but on the other hand really excited at what a few months in Asia has to offer...
Here's a stupid cartoon. Enjoy!
So I've booked accomodation for the full moon party in Thailand on the 12th of July and I fly out of Europe from Amsterdam (third time) on the 2nd. I'm a little sad at the European dream being over but on the other hand really excited at what a few months in Asia has to offer...
Here's a stupid cartoon. Enjoy!
Wow. I haven't updated in soooo long. Not since Poland I think. Well anyway I made my way to Lithuania after that which was quite nice, well at least Kaunas was. Vilnius was also pretty cool except all the drunk, rowdy English lads on stag nights have given English speakers a bad name so it made getting to know people a bit hard. The nightclubs were also an... er... eye opener. I walked into a regular nightclub and had to double check I hadn't walked into a strip club by mistake. There was soft-core porn showing on all the plasma screens and girls dancing around poles. If that wasn't dodgey enough, they took an article of clothing off every hour. The local Lithuanian girls didn't seem to find it out of the ordinary, strangely enough. God bless Eastern European liberal mindedness.
So after that I made my way to Prague which was very, very beautiful although also very touristy and more pricey than I first expected. It really is a fairy tale city. The night life was also very cool and it wasn't to hard to get your hands on good old, high octane party fuel.
After Prague I headed south to Bratislava. After half hoping for a scene out of the movie "Hostel" I discovered a fairly nondescript city. Not bad, not not outstanding either.
So onto Rome which was awesome although also awesomely expensive. I enjoyed polishing up my Italian conversation skills and found that speaking the local language opened a few doors to places that tourists just don't get to see. So much to do and see in Rome, so I was a bit bummed to have to leave after only 5 (budget busting) days. I'm half considering moving out to Italy here to pick up university studies that I foolishly turned my back on a few years ago.
So I'm in Naples right now which is a bit poorer than the north and kinda shows it, although it still has redeeming features. Not staying here much longer though.
So I move to Sicily next to freeload with some family that I've never met before. Looking forward to a regular bed, shower, kitchen and laundry like no-one's business. Plan to stay there 3-4 weeks.
I still desperately want to see Barcelona and Lisbon so I'll try to squeeze them in before my deadline of 5th July when I'm due to meet a new friend that I've aquired in Europe in Bangkok. Europe's great and I really love it but I'm kinda looking forward to a change of pace (and expenditure) in Asia. Europe is quite mainstream and in Asia on a Friday or Saturday night absolutely ANYTHING can happen...
So that's the whirlwind explaination of what I've been doing last few weeks. Hope you are all well and having as much fun as I am. Shit, if you're having half as much fun as me you're doing OK for yourself. So stay frosty all y'all and keep up the good work.
So after that I made my way to Prague which was very, very beautiful although also very touristy and more pricey than I first expected. It really is a fairy tale city. The night life was also very cool and it wasn't to hard to get your hands on good old, high octane party fuel.
After Prague I headed south to Bratislava. After half hoping for a scene out of the movie "Hostel" I discovered a fairly nondescript city. Not bad, not not outstanding either.
So onto Rome which was awesome although also awesomely expensive. I enjoyed polishing up my Italian conversation skills and found that speaking the local language opened a few doors to places that tourists just don't get to see. So much to do and see in Rome, so I was a bit bummed to have to leave after only 5 (budget busting) days. I'm half considering moving out to Italy here to pick up university studies that I foolishly turned my back on a few years ago.
So I'm in Naples right now which is a bit poorer than the north and kinda shows it, although it still has redeeming features. Not staying here much longer though.
So I move to Sicily next to freeload with some family that I've never met before. Looking forward to a regular bed, shower, kitchen and laundry like no-one's business. Plan to stay there 3-4 weeks.
I still desperately want to see Barcelona and Lisbon so I'll try to squeeze them in before my deadline of 5th July when I'm due to meet a new friend that I've aquired in Europe in Bangkok. Europe's great and I really love it but I'm kinda looking forward to a change of pace (and expenditure) in Asia. Europe is quite mainstream and in Asia on a Friday or Saturday night absolutely ANYTHING can happen...
So that's the whirlwind explaination of what I've been doing last few weeks. Hope you are all well and having as much fun as I am. Shit, if you're having half as much fun as me you're doing OK for yourself. So stay frosty all y'all and keep up the good work.
So, Krakow. Where do I start?
Krakow, in Poland is an amazing city. it has a population of 750'000 or thereabouts with about 135'000 students in 13 universities. Walking around the streets you'd believe that the holy grail was pumping water straight into the showers because the average age is so low.
Met a German girl studying here and spent a few days together. She taught me how to play squash and we went to a tattoo convention here together. She has a tattoo on her inner forearm which says in Spanish "Behaviour is Lying". Although I could really like this girl under different circumstances... it's just not going to be more than a dirty weekend. Unfortunately.
On the subject of tattoos, I got inked again and had my left nipple pierced. The tattoo is a religious/blasphemous image of an angel but instead of cradling the baby jesus he has a machine gun in his arms. black and grey. As I recall, none of my tattoos are immortalised here so I must do something to remedy this.
So tomorrow I get on a train to Warsaw and have two days there before I fly to Lithuania.
To be continued...
Krakow, in Poland is an amazing city. it has a population of 750'000 or thereabouts with about 135'000 students in 13 universities. Walking around the streets you'd believe that the holy grail was pumping water straight into the showers because the average age is so low.
Met a German girl studying here and spent a few days together. She taught me how to play squash and we went to a tattoo convention here together. She has a tattoo on her inner forearm which says in Spanish "Behaviour is Lying". Although I could really like this girl under different circumstances... it's just not going to be more than a dirty weekend. Unfortunately.
On the subject of tattoos, I got inked again and had my left nipple pierced. The tattoo is a religious/blasphemous image of an angel but instead of cradling the baby jesus he has a machine gun in his arms. black and grey. As I recall, none of my tattoos are immortalised here so I must do something to remedy this.
So tomorrow I get on a train to Warsaw and have two days there before I fly to Lithuania.
To be continued...
Amsterdam is alright. Very touristy though. Can't upload pics from here. Looking forward to Turkey.
must smoke more...
must smoke more...
