Sorry, No pictures for this post. My Camera is currently in therepair shop. Hopefully it's not to expensive to fix the LCD screen. I'm assuming it won't be however considering everything here inThailand is very cheap. And only cheap in price. Quality still seems to be good.For example, today in Bangkok, I went to the Tailor. I just bought a suit that will (in theory) last the rest of my life for only $235. Tailored to me too! Incredible! I couldn't pass it up, (even though I was planning on buying one all along. . .)
It was about a two hour drive from Pattaya to Bangkok, and we got a taxi to drive us. I gave the taxi driver a hard candy that I brought from the states, and he almost choked on it. It was kinda scary withhim cruising around at 100km/hr with traffic everywhere, and he was coughing up a lung. I don't think the Thai's are used to hard candies! He also said it was VERY sweet. They are very used to bitter tastes.
I'll be staying in a hostel tonight that looks like it has tons of character. I am right in the middle of a party district in Bangkok. Apparently Soi 1 - Soi 16 or so (Soi means street) gets very exciting at night, especially with women trying to sell themselves. So I found it amusing that at the Hostel the first sign you see as you walk insays "No Sex Tourists Allowed!" :) Good thing I'm not a Sex Tourist eh?Well, I guess I don't have a lot of other things to say considering it has only been a day since my last post. It may be a while till my next post considering we are heading up to smaller towns and villages tomorrow. I guess we are eating lunch at some spot next to the bridge over river Kwai tomorrow too! Really excited to tell you all about that experiance. And don't worry, I have a loaner camera that I'll beusing while they fix my other one.
Glad I have so many devoted readers! You guys are really making thisfun! Thanx!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Scuba Diving and Fun in the Sun
For this Post, I have good news and bad news. And just so I don't keep you in suspense, I'll tell you the bad news first. It really isn't that bad, just more of a bummer than anything. . .
So, I have a Pentax camera that my parents gave me for my highschool graduation. It has kept on ticking for five years now, after being dropped underwater, dropped running full speed in a parking lot, and dropped while rock climbing. It is incredible how well it worked. The problem with it is that is was large and bulky. So, for this trip I bought a new Pentax Optio S5i Camera. You know, the one that'll fit into an Altoid can! Perfect for my travels. Well, wouldn't you know it. The LCD screen broke on me already! Four days in and I'm already trying to find a camera repair shop. They say there is one in bangkok, so hopefully this setback won't be too bad, but kind of a pain, you know! However, my camera still takes, pictures, I just don't know of what anymore. I can't change the options on it either. So until it's fixed, it's anyones guess to what the quality of photos are going to be.
So that's the bad news. See really not that bad. As far as what I have been doing this past few days, here goes!
First we went Scuba Diving on Sunday. My first time diving in the ocean ever! It was just as fabulous as I had expected.
Definately made all the classes and certifications worth it! We dove at an island called Manwichai, which is about an hour and a half boat ride out into the Gulf of Thailand. If you've ever dove, you know that between divers there is always a competition to see who uses their air faster. Well, long story short. . .I lost. My first dive I was out of air by the time Linnea was just past half. And the second dive, even though I stayed under for an addition 16 minutes, I was out and Linnea still had over 1000psi left. Jeez. I was way too excited under there I guess! Well, regardless, this is a picture of the island we dove at.
I did some some wonderful wildlife under the waves too! Here is a picture of one of two Blue-spotted stingrays we saw. I also got to see a pufferfish
puff up. He did this because our dive guide (who we didn't really need, but more he wanted to dive with us considering it was so long since we had been under water) was trying to get the fish out from some coral and more or less got it mad. Apparently it's really tough for them to puff up though, so we let it alone after that. We also saw some beaked coral fish, which always travel in pairs. And we saw a Dorrie (from finding nemo) and sure enough they are skiddish creatures!
I've got to climb a cocunut tree the other day, and pick my first fresh cocunut. I dropped one and it broke over the ground, so I had to pick a second and make Linnea catch it. We still need to eat it, but man fresh cocunut is good! I also ate a dragonfruit today which is the strangest fruit I've ever seen. It looks like it belongs on a planet that some fiction author would write about. Pink skin with little flaps all over it.
I also got to jump off of a 170 meter building yesterday! They have a building much like the space needle just down the street from our condo.
But to get down, they have these harnesses that you put on and more or less take a zip line down. The picture is of Linnea about to jump off the side of the building. Once you get to the bottom you realize what is actually slowing you from free falling this 170 meters. They've hired these guys that sit in a chair with a wheel in front of them. They have gloves on so their hands don't get too hot, and they hold on to the wheel which is connected to the cable that your connected to. It seems that if they let go of the wheel, you'd just go flying down at free fall. Scary! In fact, the whole "safety" issue that we have in the states is completly non-existent here. They have a roller coaster that travels no more than eight feet above a walkway. You could literally reach up while a roller coaster was going by and get your hand ripped off. No fences or anything! I guess they aren't worried about lawsuits like us Americans!
And Finally, I made a few sand structures the other night. We made a sea turtle (by the way, we didn't see any sea turtles on the dive :( ) and we made Santa Clause. It was fun!
Hope Thanksgiving treated you all well! I didn't get any turkey this year so I hope you all ate an extra serving for me!
So, I have a Pentax camera that my parents gave me for my highschool graduation. It has kept on ticking for five years now, after being dropped underwater, dropped running full speed in a parking lot, and dropped while rock climbing. It is incredible how well it worked. The problem with it is that is was large and bulky. So, for this trip I bought a new Pentax Optio S5i Camera. You know, the one that'll fit into an Altoid can! Perfect for my travels. Well, wouldn't you know it. The LCD screen broke on me already! Four days in and I'm already trying to find a camera repair shop. They say there is one in bangkok, so hopefully this setback won't be too bad, but kind of a pain, you know! However, my camera still takes, pictures, I just don't know of what anymore. I can't change the options on it either. So until it's fixed, it's anyones guess to what the quality of photos are going to be.
So that's the bad news. See really not that bad. As far as what I have been doing this past few days, here goes!
First we went Scuba Diving on Sunday. My first time diving in the ocean ever! It was just as fabulous as I had expected.
Definately made all the classes and certifications worth it! We dove at an island called Manwichai, which is about an hour and a half boat ride out into the Gulf of Thailand. If you've ever dove, you know that between divers there is always a competition to see who uses their air faster. Well, long story short. . .I lost. My first dive I was out of air by the time Linnea was just past half. And the second dive, even though I stayed under for an addition 16 minutes, I was out and Linnea still had over 1000psi left. Jeez. I was way too excited under there I guess! Well, regardless, this is a picture of the island we dove at.I did some some wonderful wildlife under the waves too! Here is a picture of one of two Blue-spotted stingrays we saw. I also got to see a pufferfish
puff up. He did this because our dive guide (who we didn't really need, but more he wanted to dive with us considering it was so long since we had been under water) was trying to get the fish out from some coral and more or less got it mad. Apparently it's really tough for them to puff up though, so we let it alone after that. We also saw some beaked coral fish, which always travel in pairs. And we saw a Dorrie (from finding nemo) and sure enough they are skiddish creatures!I've got to climb a cocunut tree the other day, and pick my first fresh cocunut. I dropped one and it broke over the ground, so I had to pick a second and make Linnea catch it. We still need to eat it, but man fresh cocunut is good! I also ate a dragonfruit today which is the strangest fruit I've ever seen. It looks like it belongs on a planet that some fiction author would write about. Pink skin with little flaps all over it.
I also got to jump off of a 170 meter building yesterday! They have a building much like the space needle just down the street from our condo.
But to get down, they have these harnesses that you put on and more or less take a zip line down. The picture is of Linnea about to jump off the side of the building. Once you get to the bottom you realize what is actually slowing you from free falling this 170 meters. They've hired these guys that sit in a chair with a wheel in front of them. They have gloves on so their hands don't get too hot, and they hold on to the wheel which is connected to the cable that your connected to. It seems that if they let go of the wheel, you'd just go flying down at free fall. Scary! In fact, the whole "safety" issue that we have in the states is completly non-existent here. They have a roller coaster that travels no more than eight feet above a walkway. You could literally reach up while a roller coaster was going by and get your hand ripped off. No fences or anything! I guess they aren't worried about lawsuits like us Americans!And Finally, I made a few sand structures the other night. We made a sea turtle (by the way, we didn't see any sea turtles on the dive :( ) and we made Santa Clause. It was fun!
Hope Thanksgiving treated you all well! I didn't get any turkey this year so I hope you all ate an extra serving for me!
Friday, November 24, 2006
Thailand - The Land of Smiles
Plans have started to come together and I will now tell you what they are! It sounds like I'm going to be traveling to the border between Thailand and Myanmar. I've decided to take the picture of me with an Outside Bozeman magazine there to see if I can win yet another contest. The "How far will you go" contest that Outside Bozeman does with every issue. Check it out sometime! I've been "hired" as a photographer for a very exciting fundraising venture. We will be traveling up north and west to visit schools and jungle villages. It sounds like it will completely immerse me in the true Thai culture, instead of very "touristy" areas like Pattaya and Bangkok. But Touristy is good too, because it sounds like Linnea and I are going scuba diving on Monday! It'll be my first time in the Ocean (diving) and it sounds like we get to dive with sea turtles all day! Yay!
I promised some pictures in my last post, so here they are!
This is Linnea, the person that is so kind to have given me a place to stay and the person that is showing me the ins and outs of Thailand. Thanks Linnea!
Here we are having our first meal in Thailand. Notice the Hard Tack and Napkin that my ever so wonderful mother made me pack halfway around the world! Thanks mom. It was a delicious meal. In Linneas left hand there are marinated roasted bananas. Mmm. On her lap is vegetable vietnamese rice rolls. They were very good!
This is the Infinity Pool that I was talking about in the last post. Incredible! I got to swim here mere hours from stepping off the plane. What a great welcome! This pool is also just outside of where I am staying. In fact it is on the roof of the building that I am staying in.
Here is mee (No pun intended) in front of that tree I was talking about in my last post. (Mee means noodle in Thai, and this is me, infront of the "noodle" tree) But yeah, all those strings hanging down are from a tree. They hang down and dip into water that is below them. I'm assuming they drink water not just from the trunk of the tree, but also from these noodles.
Here's just a good shot of Linnea watching the sunset at a gorgeous beach about a ten minute walk from our humble abode. We even went swimming, and got stung by tiny no-see-yellies jellyfish. It was a different experience for sure.
This is Thailand. Here is the market area that is just incredible. (In fact it is right outside the door of this Internet Cafe as I type) I was walking down the street, and saw a pig face being sold. I have no idea how one would eat a pig face like this, but yeah, it was there. There are also some of the most incredible exotic fruits here that I've never seen let alone tasted before. I got to eat jackfruit, sugarcane, and like fruit-juice marinated mango. I also got to see a custard-apple which linnea promised to feed me another time. :)
Well, that is all for now. It's wonderful to read all your comments! Keep um coming! It gives me a great taste of the bozone!
-Trevor
I promised some pictures in my last post, so here they are!
This is Linnea, the person that is so kind to have given me a place to stay and the person that is showing me the ins and outs of Thailand. Thanks Linnea!
Here we are having our first meal in Thailand. Notice the Hard Tack and Napkin that my ever so wonderful mother made me pack halfway around the world! Thanks mom. It was a delicious meal. In Linneas left hand there are marinated roasted bananas. Mmm. On her lap is vegetable vietnamese rice rolls. They were very good!
This is the Infinity Pool that I was talking about in the last post. Incredible! I got to swim here mere hours from stepping off the plane. What a great welcome! This pool is also just outside of where I am staying. In fact it is on the roof of the building that I am staying in.
Here is mee (No pun intended) in front of that tree I was talking about in my last post. (Mee means noodle in Thai, and this is me, infront of the "noodle" tree) But yeah, all those strings hanging down are from a tree. They hang down and dip into water that is below them. I'm assuming they drink water not just from the trunk of the tree, but also from these noodles.
Here's just a good shot of Linnea watching the sunset at a gorgeous beach about a ten minute walk from our humble abode. We even went swimming, and got stung by tiny no-see-yellies jellyfish. It was a different experience for sure.
This is Thailand. Here is the market area that is just incredible. (In fact it is right outside the door of this Internet Cafe as I type) I was walking down the street, and saw a pig face being sold. I have no idea how one would eat a pig face like this, but yeah, it was there. There are also some of the most incredible exotic fruits here that I've never seen let alone tasted before. I got to eat jackfruit, sugarcane, and like fruit-juice marinated mango. I also got to see a custard-apple which linnea promised to feed me another time. :)Well, that is all for now. It's wonderful to read all your comments! Keep um coming! It gives me a great taste of the bozone!
-Trevor
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Thailand - Cabbages and Condoms - Asia at its best!
Right now I'm sitting at a kiosk staring at a manniquin that has a swimsuit made out of condoms! This is the restaurant that we ate at tonight. Cabbages and Condoms. The idea of this restaraunt owner is to make condoms as readily available for the people of Thailand as cabbages are. What an innovative idea. So if you wanted free condoms, Thailand is the place to go!
Back up a little bit. Yes, I have landed in Thailand and had reletively few hitches getting through immigration. There are a few signs that are difficult to understand. (Mike and Russ. . .if you read this, DON'T stand in the line that says "Visas on arrival" I did that for about 15 minutes before someone finally pointed me in the right direction. And once I went the right direction, it was hard to believe that I could've gone the wrong way.
So, it's about 9:05 right now, and I'm exhausted. A little jet lag, but I think I'll get over by tomorrow.
A little more about Thailand now. I showed up, met up with Linnea without a hitch, and jumped on to a bus. This bus took us to Jomtien in about 2 and a half hours. I was then shown to my room, which I can't wait to post pictures of. It is gorgeous. I really wanted to just hit the hay, but couldn't because I'm determined to beat the jet lag. So I went for a swim instead. On the roof of our building there is an infinity pool. Once again, just typing about it won't do it justice. Google infinity pool though and you'll see what I'm talking about. And once again, I'll post pictures next time. I wasn't expecting to use the computer tonight, so I didn't bring my camera cable with me.
Anywho, after a quick swim in the 80 degree weather, and watching the sun set, we came to Cabbages and Condoms to grab a bite to eat. Afterwords, Linnea and I checked out the beach and I have discovered my new favorite tree. A Manbali tree. It has no leaves, rather vines that hang to just inches off the ground. These vines are as thin as spaghetti, but there are thousands of them. And you can just walk through them pushing them aside. It is a really phenomenol tree. Man! There is so much to talk about, and I've only been here for nine hours or so!
So, with that said, I'll leave other details till I can get pictures up. It looks like I'll have pretty good access to computers for the first week that I'm here, so I'll try my best to keep you all in the know! Miss you all already!
Back up a little bit. Yes, I have landed in Thailand and had reletively few hitches getting through immigration. There are a few signs that are difficult to understand. (Mike and Russ. . .if you read this, DON'T stand in the line that says "Visas on arrival" I did that for about 15 minutes before someone finally pointed me in the right direction. And once I went the right direction, it was hard to believe that I could've gone the wrong way.
So, it's about 9:05 right now, and I'm exhausted. A little jet lag, but I think I'll get over by tomorrow.
A little more about Thailand now. I showed up, met up with Linnea without a hitch, and jumped on to a bus. This bus took us to Jomtien in about 2 and a half hours. I was then shown to my room, which I can't wait to post pictures of. It is gorgeous. I really wanted to just hit the hay, but couldn't because I'm determined to beat the jet lag. So I went for a swim instead. On the roof of our building there is an infinity pool. Once again, just typing about it won't do it justice. Google infinity pool though and you'll see what I'm talking about. And once again, I'll post pictures next time. I wasn't expecting to use the computer tonight, so I didn't bring my camera cable with me.
Anywho, after a quick swim in the 80 degree weather, and watching the sun set, we came to Cabbages and Condoms to grab a bite to eat. Afterwords, Linnea and I checked out the beach and I have discovered my new favorite tree. A Manbali tree. It has no leaves, rather vines that hang to just inches off the ground. These vines are as thin as spaghetti, but there are thousands of them. And you can just walk through them pushing them aside. It is a really phenomenol tree. Man! There is so much to talk about, and I've only been here for nine hours or so!
So, with that said, I'll leave other details till I can get pictures up. It looks like I'll have pretty good access to computers for the first week that I'm here, so I'll try my best to keep you all in the know! Miss you all already!
Monday, November 13, 2006
Sinking In
So, it's finally sinking in that I'm leaving in a week. I turned in my keys to work today and painted my name on the wall. "Trevor Olson, 1998-2006" I worked at the Wilson for eight years! Wow. And what a fabulous job. Hopefully I can find myself keeping a hand in theatre for years to come. That'd be so sad if this was it!
My house is mostly empty now, just the necessities left. Bed, computer, desk. Yeesh. This is getting scary!
With that said, Eric K. was kind enough to offer his house for a going away party on Friday the 17th. So for those of you that are keeping up, and are in Bozeman, you should try to make it. Call me for directions if you need them. It's not going to be any type of rager or anything, just hang out drink beers, eat food, and say our fond farewells. Hope to see you there!
Wow, I'm gonna miss Bozeman! I'm assuming this'll be my last post before I take off, so I guess I'll catch ya on the flip side of the globe!
My house is mostly empty now, just the necessities left. Bed, computer, desk. Yeesh. This is getting scary!
With that said, Eric K. was kind enough to offer his house for a going away party on Friday the 17th. So for those of you that are keeping up, and are in Bozeman, you should try to make it. Call me for directions if you need them. It's not going to be any type of rager or anything, just hang out drink beers, eat food, and say our fond farewells. Hope to see you there!
Wow, I'm gonna miss Bozeman! I'm assuming this'll be my last post before I take off, so I guess I'll catch ya on the flip side of the globe!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Here it is!
I've gotten numerous requests to post a blog cataloguing my travel experiences, so I got on to blogger.com, and low and behold, I had a user already created from 2001! Boo yah! I've been a member to this site for 5 years and didn't even know it!
So, I don't have much to say right now besides that I'm just getting ready for my trip. The current plan is to Leave Bozeman on Nov. 20th to fly to Thailand. I'll stay there for a month at which point I'll be flying to Auckland. I'll be travelling in New Zealand Until mid February at which point I'm going to be flying to Tanzania, Africa to go on Safari and Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro! Once that is completed I'll be flying back to New Zealand to finish my stay there. I'll probably be gone till December of 2007, but that could change. It's all up in the air right now! And that's what I love!
So, I don't have much to say right now besides that I'm just getting ready for my trip. The current plan is to Leave Bozeman on Nov. 20th to fly to Thailand. I'll stay there for a month at which point I'll be flying to Auckland. I'll be travelling in New Zealand Until mid February at which point I'm going to be flying to Tanzania, Africa to go on Safari and Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro! Once that is completed I'll be flying back to New Zealand to finish my stay there. I'll probably be gone till December of 2007, but that could change. It's all up in the air right now! And that's what I love!
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