On to Nepal

Lizard in Tonsai



Flower in Phuket

Sunset from the JW Marriot in Phuket

Tonsai and Railay

(This is a long one- if you read the whole thing I'm impressed)
Things in Thailand are coming to an end. As I write this, I'm traveling on a bus through the frontier land that is border area of Thailand and Myanmar (Burma). This is certainly much different than any other part of Thailand I've been to. It is much more remote, much more Third World. Children working the fields, no other tourists. I just watched a beautiful sunset over the jungle covered hills of Southern Myanmar. It is strange to think about the contradiction between the natural beauty here and the genocide and civil war happening just a few hundred yards out the left windows of the bus.

Thailand has treated me well, and I am certain thankful to have come here and experience what the country and the people here have to offer. The smiling faces of the people will stay with me for some time. The food has also been quite enjoyable.

Last time I wrote in, it was from Tarutao I believe? After Taruatao National Park we headed north to Krabi- a journey that took the better part of a day. It may have been ten hours,,,maybe more. We went from a speed boat to a minibus to a full size bus to the back of a truck and then finally to downtown Krabi.

Krabi province is a well known for its beautiful beaches and international renowned rock climbing. We ended up spending several days in Railay and then three nights in Tonsai- another small village and beach just a short distance from Railay by way of a jungle hike. Railay is an incredible place. Sure, it is very touristy, but it has some beautiful beaches and overhanging limestone cliffs up to 400 or 500 feet high, right above the water. The climbing was superb, and Dave and Taylor and I had a good time climbing there. (Tonsai is also known for its climbing, and actually has harder climbing than Railay, but there weren't enough climbs that we could lead to make it worth spending much time climbing there- we just walked over to Railay instead.)
I left Tonsai a day early so that I could be in Phuket in order to pick up Jen at the airport on the morning of my birthday.

Railay West from Tonsai
Tonsai Lit up at night
**(Taken from an email I sent) My trip from Tonsai was kind of adventurous I guess- I had to walk about 20 minutes down a dirt path in the jungle to get to a beach where I had a longtail boat pick me up- then a 20 minute longtail boat ride to a small town where the taxi drivers wanted 500 (about $15, way, way overpriced) baht for a ride to the bus station about 25-30 minutes away. I joked with them and laughed, "You think I am a VIP or something? I can't afford that! It is 4 times as much as a bus to Phuket!" Normally they would continue to pressure you, but I guess since I was friendly about it, one of them flagged down a truck that I was able to pay 50 baht (1/10th the price) to let me ride in the bed all the way to the bus station. The bus was only 115 baht for the three and a half ride to Phuket town, but Phuket town is about 45 minutes away from the airport and I didn't need to go all the way there. At the same time, the airport is off the highway by several miles. Even so, I talked the bus boy (kind of like a flight attendant in a way) into telling the bus driver to drop me off on the side of the highway. There was no bus stop, no town, nothing, but I was able to sit on the back of a motorcycle that I flagged down to take me the rest of the way to the hotel where I am sleeping in the garden tonight. It was quite a motorcycle ride though, since I had my huge backpacking pack on and it was making it kind of hard to balance on the bike. **

Headed from Tonsai to Ao Nong
The garden where I spent the night

Jen got in with no delays or problems to the Phuket Airport on the morning of my birthday- her flying all the way to Phuket (more than 24 hours in the air!) to meet up with me on my birthday was awesome. I told her that she was the best birthday present that I have ever received.
For the past week Dave, Taylor, Jen and I have been staying at the Five Star JW Marriott Phuket in a two bedroom villa. It was a great place- the amenities, service, beach, even the landscaping is over the top. I'd even go so far as to say that it was a bit much for us at times- the service was so good that we couldn't even do things for ourselves. Want to lay your towel over you r beach chair? Nope, someone will jump over and do it for you. Thinking about going to get some fresh fruit to eat by the pool? They are already bringing it to you- they heard you talking about it. Want to pour your beer or water into a glass? Ha! What are you? A layman? The help will do that too. It was truly five star.
Birthday Dinner
The dining at the JW was great- we had a great Italian dinner for my birthday, complete with some really good red wine (Lambourgini I think) and some birthday ice cream. Another night Jen and I went out to the Thai Restaurant on the property. Although the food was very expensive by Thai standards, it only came out to about $15 per person and it was five star service there too. I'd say it was on par with the service at the Flagstaff House in Boulder- there were at least three wait staff assigned to our two person table.

The beach at the JW was by far the cleanest beach that we had in all of Thailand and it also had the biggest waves of any beach so far on my entire trip. Maybe four or five foot pounders right on the beach at times. The waves made sailing around (complimentary) quite nerve racking actually. Jen and I took out a 20 foot catamaran by ourselves one day and almost flipped in the waves while trying to get away from shore. I've been sailing a handful of times, but don't really have much business sailing in waves that big and wind that strong. Luckily we made it back unhurt.The waves did make body boarding lots of fun. They were probably proportionally as big to me as the waves I used to body board on in the outer backs of North Carolina as a kid.
Last night I dropped Jen off at the airport so that she could make the long journey home to Colorado. It was a tough goodbye, but we both took comfort in the fact that we'll be together again in two months at my brothers wedding and then we'll be moving back to New Zealand together and won't be traveling apart from each other again. This morning we checked out of the JW and started making our way north to Bangkok.
Our Villa at the JW
Update- I'm now finishing up this entry at roomthe Bangkok airport. Jen has made it back to Colorado, and Taylor is on her way to Laos. Dave, Taylor, and I had a hard night on a train from Chumphon to Bangkok. We got into Chumphun after dark and decided to get a night train to Bangkok. At the train station we were informed that all the trains for the next two days were sold out except for a few third class seats on a train that was scheduled to leave at 10:20 PM that night. The tickets were dirt cheap- only $5.50 for a ticket, but they happened to be in the lowest available class- no air conditioned sleeping compartment like we had planned on, instead a bench with literally no leg room shared with many, many people. To add to the pleasure of last night, the train ended up being three hours late, leaving us exposed to misquotes while we waited next to the train track in Chumpon.

The third class compartment was filled to the brim, with people in every available seat and more people and children stuffed on the floor under the bench. It was a pretty terrible night. The one saving grace for me was that Taylor had a few pain killers that I could take to knock myself out (or “out of it”). After a percocet, a vicadin, and a few beers I was able to zone off for extended periods of time. I didn't really sleep though, and towards the end of the train ride I was on edge. People were running through our train car starting at four in the morning yelling in Thai trying to sell food and drinks. This caused a lot of the kids to wake up and start crying and screaming, which lasted for the remaining six hours of the train ride. All of this coupled with the irritability induced by the pain killers caused me to almost blow up on a a few people who kept bumping into me. We did make it though...finally.

Dave and I are spending the night sleeping on the floor of the Bangkok airport to avoid any further complications with the thai overland transport system. We leave at 10:30 in the morning on a four and a half hour flight to Kathmandu. I'm looking forward to Nepal with lots of anticipation. I feel like there is a reason that the opportunity to go to Nepal has entered my life and I can't wait to get there and start trekking and climbing. A year ago I never could have imagined all of this. Now it seems pretty routine to me- I feel comfortable and confident with all the traveling right now. More than anything, I'm excited to see what the Himalayas hold for me in terms of climbing.

All photos here on Facebook

In Thailand

First Off, Clicking on any one of these photos will make them bigger. If you want to see more, go here- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2366863&id=10223429&l=fd2a3





A week ago, I arrived in Bangkok and met up with Dave and Taylor. Chances are, everything you have ever heard about Bangkok is true- the sex trade, the heat, the pollution, the overpopulation. There are more than 8 million people that live within the city limits of Bangkok. It is a sprawling Asian megalopolis, and from the Skytrain you can see tall buildings for maybe 15 miles in all directions.

For those of you that know me, it is probably no surprise that this is not really my kind of place. Luckily, Dave and Taylor don't like it much either. After one night, we headed north towards one of the national parks that is about 4 hours outside Bangkok. We then spent the about two days making plans for our trip to Southern Thailand and sightseeing. I was surprised at how much I did like Northern Thailand. We had some good wildlife viewing, and visited some large caves and a freshwater spring where we swam.

The highlight of my time up north was seeing millions of bats leave their cave at sunset. For about 30 minutes there was a constant stream of bats flying out into the hills to go hunting at night. It was an incredible spectacle, complete with about half a dozen birds of prey making dive attacks on the scores of bats. See the video here

After two nights, we traveled for about 24 hours straight to get to the small gulf island of Koh Tao. (3 hour bus ride, 3 hour layover, 10 hour train ride, 7 hour overnight ferry- all for about $25 or so) Koh Tao is known for its diving, but also has good snorkeling, sightseeing, kayaking, and 4 wheeling. Yesterday I rented a 4 wheeler and explored the islands 4x4 roads and hidden beach spots and today Dave, Taylor, and I explored a bit more and went for a sunset kayak trip along the islands west coast.

All in all, I like Thailand. The heat and humidity takes a lot for me to get used to, and yes, it is played when it comes to the tourist scene. There are a ton of westerners here and I've found it a little hard to find the “heart and soul” of Thailand so to speak. I'm sure it exists in the more remote areas of the north, but I've only caught glimpses of it in the genuine smiles of the people. I'm glad to be visiting now, before it gets any more touristed out.

Tomorrow we leave Koh Tao for Suratani and hopefully the Similain Islands on the Andaman (West) Coast. If we can manage, we plan to try to make it down to Tarotao National Park and Krabi before we spend a week in Phuket. I can't wait to see Jen in only 11 days!

Nepal is also on my mind, as Dave and I will be heading there in less than three weeks. I am excited for what is to come and what I will experience and learn in Nepal and Northern India. The next three months will undoubtedly be three of the most exciting months so far in my life.

Two Months!

It has now been more than two months since I left Colorado and started traveling. I've got a little more than two weeks left in New Zealand before I head to Thailand.

After a few days of vineyard work at the Two Paddocks Vineyard, I got a job working on a regional landscaping crew. I actually really like my job, getting to run a weed eater among some of the most beautiful backdrops in the world. The pay is also pretty good at $15 an hour, so I am able to break even on a weeks rent in a single day of work.

The crew is also good- I work with two Kiwis and occasionally we join forces with other two and three person crews for big jobs. There are lots of parks and community open spaces all over this part of New Zealand, most of which need to be mowed weekly to keep in top form. This means consistent work in Wanaka, Hawea, and Queenstown. I find that the work really is not hard at all by my standards, even though other people seem to think that it is. My opinion might skewed after a season of wildland firefighting though.

I think I might have a week left in Wanaka since I will have to go to Christchurch to sell my car before heading out. There is a slim chance that I could sell it here in Wanaka, but it is not likely. This Sunday I'll be flying over Mt. Aspiring to Milford Sound and then back again with Victor and Eric, the two Swedes that I worked and traveled with for about three weeks. Victor is a pilot, so he will rent the plane and Eric and I will only have to pitch in for gas. All told, it will cost me about 40% of what it would cost normally for the flight.

Back to Wanaka

Things in Roxburgh came to an end yesterday. There were too many people for the amount of work left- we had picked through most of the apricots. Our employer started laying people off in the reverse order of when everyone showed up. I was the 5th to last person, and 6 people got laid off.
.....

(Rant)
Things were also a bit complicated with the employer at the orchard too. He habitually short paid the workers, "forgetting" to include a days work here and there on many pay checks and then not taking any interest to correct the problem. He forgot to pay me twice, and then lied to me about a bonus he was going to give everyone after several days that everyone worked below minimum wage picking cherries. Everyone had a problem with this, and the law here clearly states that contract workers must be compensated at the at least the minimum wage rate no matter what, but no one had the guts to talk to the owner about it. I finally talked to the owner on behalf of everyone, coming to the agreement that a bonus would be paid. Unfortunately, only one person ever received a "bunus" and it only amounted to about 12 US dollars. To be honest, it was a crock of shit. I really have no respect for people that hire people and then don't pay them for the work that they do. I have even less respect for people who take no interest in fixing the problems with pay when they are apprised of them. Upon leaving I "forgot" to pay rent that I owed, even though it still didn't come close to making up for the money that I should have been paid.(End Rant)

.....
Normally one could expect it to be easy to just simply go to another of the dozens of orchards in the region and pick up work right away, but it is not this year. Apparently there are many more people looking for work right now than normal and there just aren't enough jobs to go around, especially right now as apricot season is nearing its end and nectarines, apples, and others have yet to start. Some people are saying that it is a result of the global recession- more people from Europe and areas around the Pacific coming to New Zealand for agricultural work as an alternative to post university education that may be impossible to come by back home.

I'm currenlty with Victor and Eric, the two Swedes from that I worked with in Roxburgh. We left this morning and looked for work all over Central Otago. After many phone calls and visits to different orchards we came up empty handed. We ended up deciding to try Wanaka, reasoning that if we couldn't find jobs at least we could go on an extended trip into Mt. Aspiring National Park.

We were very lucky to land jobs within about an hour of showing up. We'll be working for vineyards here starting on Monday, doing various jobs to help with the upkeep of the crops. I think I also landed a better paying labor job in Queenstown that should start as early as Tuesday doing some construction type work. I would even get paid to commute from Wanaka to Queenstown. Not bad!

Wanaka is indeed my favorite place in New Zealand and definitely one of my favorite places in the world so I'm happy to be here. It is a bummer that things at the orchard came to an abrupt end, but hopefully I will see several people from the orchard again in New Zealand or perhaps in one of our home countries. I'm sure there are good people to work with here too, and for now the adventure continues....

Apricots!

A week ago I started a job fruit picking in Roxburgh in Central Otago. I’m saving up some more money before I head off to Thailand, Nepal, and India. I was a little bit apprehensive to start a fruit picking job because I’ve heard bad things about how much you can expect to get paid for the work, and that the working and living conditions aren’t that great. Of course, the one known positive that I knew of going in was that it was easy to get a job and that I could work for a month and then leave to continue traveling.

I must say though, that I do enjoy what I am doing. The picking crew is great- it is made up of people between the ages of 18 and 25 from various areas around the world including New Zealand, Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, England, Scotland, Canada, and the US (I’m the only American). Everyone lives together In a small house and some of us sleep outside. The rent is also very cheap- only US$45 a month for me. Roxburgh is a small town defined by its fruit industry and most of the locals have grown up in the town.. Even so, they are not at all weary of outsiders and value the immigrant workers (including myself) as an important addition to the community. Around town and at the local pub I’m greeted with lots of “Hey buddy!” and “Hey mate!” from the locals in the town.

The work itself isn’t really that hard for what I am used to- we work normally from 7:30 to 3 or 4 with a one hour lunch break, spending the day climbing ladders to pick apricots and cherries. In a given day picking apricots on good trees I can easily make $130+. Cherries are another story, netting extremely small sums for the work that is put in. I have made it clear that I am in the fruit picking business for apricots though, so hopefully I will be picking them from now on.

For some reason it is generally thought that apricot picking is harder than cherry picking among the owners because of the heavier baskets we have to wear around our shoulders as we work. In my opinion, it is not at all heavy being that it weighs about 20 pounds or so fully loaded. It is also much more satisfying to pick apricots- baskets and palet bins (which weigh about 500 pounds when loaded) fill quickly, and it is easy to imagine myself literally picking money off the trees.

Anyway, the biggest plus is that everyone I work and live with is great company. We often joke that we are the most highly educated fruit picking crew in the world- people I work with have bachelors and masters degrees in Ocean Sciences, Environmental Management, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Nursing, Marketing, Commercial Aviation, and so on and so on. This is probably the only place in the world where people with western first world university educations willingly work in the orchards- manly for the experience of it and to make some extra money while traveling. We regularly cook, eat, party, and go to the pubs together- not a bad way to live for a month really. (we also supplement our diets with fresh fruit and with rabbits and venison that we shoot in and around the orchard- then we cook it all up with the influences from everyone's separate cultures)

The hardest thing about all of this for me is being away from Jen and having no cheap way of communicating outside of text messages. Internet in town is only available at certain times on certain days, and there are only 6 computers or so for the entire fruit picking crowd to try to use. The connection is slow, and the price is also high at $6 an hour. It is also noisy, so skype is unfortunately not an option. I can’t wait till Jen and I are living in the same place again so that we can talk for free!

Anyway, I am in Dunedin now- I worked a half day today and then drove 2 and a half hours to get here. Jen and I accidently left some cloths at a hostel here a few weeks ago. Luckily the staff at Chalet Backpackers is excellent and kept our stuff for two weeks.

About one more month and I’m off to Thailand to meet up with Dave, Taylor, and then Jen- I can’t believe it. Time is flying by.

Mt. Cook and Work Prospects

I think I may have figured out how to have photos not crop- We'll see how this turns out. The photos here are as follows- Mt. Sefton, Aoroki, and Aoroki from where I camped. All photos here- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2350385&l=2f5da&id=10223429





Two days ago I dropped Jen off at the airport in Christchurch and she headed back to Colorado. All in all we did have an excellent time together in so New Zealand, and it was a hard goodbye, but it will only be two months till we are together again in Phuket, Thailand.

After dropping Jen off I researched seasonal jobs at the library in Christchurch and then headed off towards Wanaka, determined to find work in Otago and not in Marlborough where most other seasonal jobs are. Although there are lots more jobs in the Marlborough area, it is much hotter up there, farther away from the big mountains, and to be honest I don't like it nearly as much.

I drove until finding an incredible camp spot right on Lake Pukaki. Although it was dark, I could see the far off glow of the snowfields and glaciers of Aoroki in the light from the nearly full moon. There was a special feeling to the place. Upon waking up I was greeted with one of the most picturesque views in my life, with the waters of Lake Pukaki (an almost impossible glacier blue color) reflecting the high peaks of Aoroki/Mount Cook National Park.


I spent the day yesterday hiking around the park, enjoying the views of the high peaks and glaciers. Although I've climbed mountains significanly higher than the mountains in the park, the mountains there were much bigger and more dramatic than I think I've ever seen before. It is really beyond words how awe inspiring it is.


Early in the day, I visited the Alpine Memorial, which is dedicated to the more than 200 people who lost their lives in the park. Family members and friends dedicate plaques to thier fallen loved ones detailing their lives. Many of the fallen climbers are under the age of 23. It was a sobering reminder of the power of the mountains and the price they can cost.


Last night I drove to Wanaka and found a camp spot on the lake. Two French couples in their mid to late 30s were camping there, and they invited me for a drink and dinner. Being that I had only eated a small dinner at that point, I was happy to oblige. We spent the night talking about life, traveling, international relations, and downing every available bottle of wine. Turns out the two guys are both French Chefs, and they cooked some incredible steak and lamb cutlets right ont he camp fire. It was a real treat, and I am very thankful for thier generosity.


Today I went back into Wanaka intent on finding work, which I did at a farm about 2 hours southeast in Roxburgh. I'm going to be trying my hand at fruit picking (apricots and cherries) and hopefully making some money before heading off to Thailand on February 20th. Perhaps on my days off I'll be able to return to Wanaka and Mt. Aspring for more hiking and possibly some climbing in the park. I also hope that I will be working with good people and actually getting a bit of a cultural exchange with Kiwis for once!

Kepler Track, and then up the Coast

After my last update, Jen and I set out on the Kepler Track, a 40 mile backpacking trip renowned for being one of New Zealand's "Great Walks". The track starts off right in Te Anau, and heads off into the mountains of Fiordland, reaching above the tree line into the alpine within the first day of hiking.

The Kepler was fun and rewarding, even though it rained for 3 of the 4 days that we were hiking on it. We even had a night of sustained winds over 100kph, or about 60mph. On our second day it rained more than 3 inches. It was a bummer that the views from the ridgelines and mountain tops of the track had been replaced with low level clouds, driving rain, and extremely limited visibility. However, that is the natural state of the landscape- it rains there, a lot. (As much as 30 feet a year in some areas of Fiordland.)

Jen and I are used to extreme weather, so it really wasn't that hard on us. We got cold and wet, but still had a great time on the hike.

A few interesting things about the Kepler Track and the great walks-
-I think that the whole "Great Walks" thing is a bit of a marketing ploy. As much as Jen and I loved the Kepler, it was definitely no "Greater" than the area we were in inside Mt. Aspiring National Park. In fact, I think we may have liked our little known corner of Mt. Aspiring a little bit better than the Kepler Track. We joked that we could do the same thing in the US- to create of series of "Great Walks" to drive the hoards away from the really good stuff. For instance, have you heard about the incredible new "Great Walk" recently constructed in scenic Nebraska? You gotta go! No, don't go to Colorado or Wyoming, you should really check out Nebraska!
-There is no two ways about it- in the middle of the high season (the southern summer), the great walks are crowded. There are 3 huts on the Kepler track, all capable of housing at least 50 people. You have to stay in the huts for the most part- there is no camping alowed on most of the track. (By the way, track and trail are synonimous in NZ) We spent each night inside large huts similar to the well known 10th Mountain Division backcountry huts back home, but much larger. It is a bit annoying trying to sleep with as many as 25 people to a bunk room. There is a lot of snoring and noise to put up with.

Alright, I'll say it. For Jen and I, who are used to roping around in the backcountry with at most a tent for accomadation our our 8 bunk Guine Mountain Hut in the Indian Peaks back home that we have been to countless times and never with more people than close friends, the great walks aren't quite our style, but I think we were both really glad to do it. We did get a day of great views, a few rainbows, lots of waterfalls and we got to see a lush rainforest and lots of unique bird species. In fact, I'll say it was a "great" experience, just a little bit different.

After finishing up the Kepler track Jen and I headed south to Invercargil, the southernmost city in New Zealand and then continued up the coast. We stoped for a night in the Catlins and again in Dunedin and on the coast between Duniden and Christchurch. Even though we only spent one night there, I think Jen and I are both fans of Dunedin. I think it may be my favorite city in New Zealand.

Last night was our last night together until Jen comes out to meet me in Phuket, Thailand for my birthday in March. It was really hard having to say goodbye. It sucks that Jen had to go back to school, but I'm sure it will be an excellent reunion in Thailand!

As for me, I'm off to look for work in the vineyard industry. I haven't decided if I'll head back south towards Wanaka or instead head north towards Picton. I hope to have all that figured out for my next update!

More photos here!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2350385&l=2f5da&id=10223429