Kowlooooooooon

We spent last night in Lan Kwai Fong, and SoHo. Started the night at TiVo, which was a pretty cool restaurant, where it was two for one meals, so we saved some money as well. Then headed down to The Brew House for the end of Happy Hour! We of course got Hoegartens which were served in half litter mugs. It was the biggest beer I have ever held, but don't worry we both finished them, and then another! From there we went to Z-bar to listen to some music. Around 10 we hit up the infamous club Dragon-I and got some nice 12 dollar cocktails. Apparently it was model night as everyone in their was a model from some eastern European country including Kazakhstan, and Estonia.

Most conversations when something like this:

Me:Hi, I'm Joe, where are you from?
Model:(roll eyes) Kazakhstan.
Me:That's pretty far, why are you in Hong Kong?
Model: I am a model
Me:Me too!!
Model: I have to go now

It was actually a lot of fun, and I just kind of laughed it off, and got to dance to some good music. After the model club we went back to the hotel and called it a night.

Woke up this morning and went to one of our favorite restaurants, Pret A Manger! Then we took up the mid-level escalator, to the end, and the walked back down. Then we took the subway to Kowloon! The subway system here is so easy to navigate, and so nice. Also the card is called an Octopus Card, which is way better name than a metro card.

In Kowloon we took a walking tour. We visited the bird market, where lots of old Chinese men sat around with their birds, and played Mah Jong. Next was the flower market, where we could bu banzai trees got so cheap. If only there was a way to transport them back to the states! Next we went to an outdoor market and bargained our way to some good deals.

Jed is ruthless with the bargaining, if someone says 200 Jed says 20, if they say 150 Jed says 20. He always gets a good price though. When I bargain, they say 200, I go 160, they say 190, I say OK! I feel bad for them because they might actually need the money. My trick is if I really want something, I just let Jed bargain it down for me. We ended up getting some great souvenirs, and gifts for everyone back home. I think we are going to need to buy an extra suitcase to carry all the items we have acquired.

It was a long and hot day. Back at the hotel now. Getting ready to go out. It is Canada Day and they are having some huge parties, so maybe we will pretend to be Canadian eh?

Big Happy Birthday Shout Out to Jeremy Bia, who turns 12 today!

2 Weeks In!

Cannot believe this is officially the start of our third week traveling. As you can imagine after the flying all day we were pretty exhausted, but we still made night of it. Explored the area by our hotel, which I can only describe as version of Hell's Kitchen but instead of restaurants they only have bars. Ate dinner at an English Pub, which was good but found out quickly the HK is going to be much more expensive than Thailand. Much much more!! Walked around some more and got a few more drinks, than decided to call it a night. Hotel LKF is like a luxury apartment, they have everything, from a mini-bar, to complimentary bathrobes. To save money Jed and I got only king size bed so its also very romantic haha :) I highly recommend this hotel!

Woke up at 10:30 and got ready while watching the CNN. Surprised to see how much we had missed while isolated on the tropical beach Paradise of Phuket. Went out to get breakfast/lunch then walked around central, which is the uhhh central part of HK. It is like any city here in Hong Kong, but the catch is there are hills EVERYWHERE. We got lost many times trying to find the Bank of China tower, but eventually got to it.

We did a walking tour we got from our Lonely Planet guide, and visited the HSBC tower, St. Johns Cathedral, the Hong Kong Park, and Central Square. We also went to the Chinese Tea Museum which is exactly what it sounds like (kind of boring, but free to enter). Jed convinced me to go get some tea at the attached tea shop. It was kind of cool to watch how the prepared it, but in the end, it was just tea, expensive tea. 81 HK dollars each! The HSBC tower is called the Steel Robot, and it lives up to it's name. The architecture is really beautiful here, I am excited to take the tram up Victoria's Peak to see it lit up at night.

So tonight the plan is to hit up LKF, hopefully make it to a happy hour, and meet some new people!

Note:
$1 USD is equal to $7.75 HK

You for Scuba?

Our sixth day in Phuket was pretty low key. Luckily the day before we did all our confined water dives (in pool) so we had the day off from scuba. We woke up by far the latest at around 1pm. Then we hit up a new beach called Kata Beach. It was so much nicer than Karon. No killer riptides here! Joe and I just chilled and Joe got some questionable Pad Thai from some hut right on the beach. But he said it was still pretty reasonable. After some sun and boogey boarding we headed home showered and read. Our motorbikes took us yet again to Patong beach where we found a Scruffy Mcgees and listened to some live music and called it a night.

The next day were our first open water dives! We were picked up at the bungalow around 8:30 then headed to the boat. The boat was pretty large and just made for scuba. About 25 people were also on the boat ready to dive. We were the only divers training for our open water certification so basically we were the newbs. After three dives at three different locations we were feeling pretty good. The dives ranged from 36-50 feet deep. Joe and I took our final exams and passed with flying colors. Food was served on the boat and after a 10 hour day we made it back to our bungalow. That night being exhausted we caught "Drag Me to Hell". I definitely recommend. It was good in a classic, cheesy, funny kind of way for a horror film. A lot like Sam Raimis other film "Evil Dead".

Saturday was our final day until we got our Padi certs. Same deal... we headed to the boat and did three dives. This time our dives went deeper and we saw a lot more cool stuff. At about 65 feet at Phi Phi island (where they filmed the beach) we saw octopus, zebra mora eel, giant mora, rock slugs, trumpet fish, lion fish, leopard shark, school of yellow tail barracuda, sea horse and some catfish. Not to mention a million other tropical fish. After another long day we finally got our certification. Now officially we can go out on our own and find treasure! It was actually a lot of work to get this thing, but Joe kept pushing to get it. Our last night in Phuket, we went to another Irish bar right by where our motorbikes were dropped off and watched some rugby. We walked back to Kata and fell asleep.

Today was a travel day. Flight leaving Phuket to Bangkok then finally to HONG KONG!!
We arrived a couple hours ago to pouring rain but still I'm so excited to be here. The city definitely has a New York feel. Our hotel is amazing and finally were not slumming it. Were located right in Lan Kwai Fong in central Hong Kong Island. Supposedly a very happening area. Miss everyone and we will be updating more often no that we have internet!

Change of Plans

If you haven't noticed we have been in Phuket for a while now, and are not leaving until Sunday. You are probably wondering how we are going to visit all the places we had in our original itinery, and the thing is we are not going to.

Now that we are in Asia we have decided to take our time in the places we visit, this way we will get to spend more in without all the hetic travel. We still plan on going to HK, Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo, but are going to skip Singapore, and Vietnam. Vietnam was also a pain because the Visa are really hard to get right now.

Who wants to visit Vietnam anyway?

You Want Thai Massaaaaaaaage?

After the dangerous journey through the jungle, and weaving through Thai rush hour traffic, we met up with Tony, and Tim and decided we were aching for a massage. Now in Thailand, massage's are not hard to find, in fact the girls will grab you and do anything to get you inside.

The hard part in Thailand is finding a legit massage place, with no uhhhh funny business. After consulting with a hotel they told us the only place they could think of was called Let's Relax.

Not the most legit name, but we checked it out, and it seemed nice enough so we booked four thai massages, 1 hour for 500 baht. It was my first real massage, and it was as good as you can imagine. They bent me into shapes that are not natural, and really hurt, but felt so good later. It was funny because they kept making fun of us because we were so out of our element, every time they cracked one of our bones, they had a nice thai giggle.

After the massage we went to the Aussi bar, watched some AFL (like a combination of rugby and football) and called it a night. Tim and Tony caught their boat, so we said our goodbyes, but will hopefully see them in Australia soon!!

Yesterday was our first day at PADI. We went in at 8AM and after a long day of classroom and pool we were pretty tired. So we kept it pretty chill last night.

We went to the movies, which was so great. 140 baht for a premium reserved seat. Like a big lazy boy in the best part of the theater. Before the movie everyone stands to watch a movie of the King and hear the anthem. Being in Thailand really makes you love the King, I feel a big brother kind atmosphere.

Pictures coming when we leave Phuket, the internet is too slow on the island! Also there is no spell check at this terminal, forgive the typos!!

Jed and Joe of the Jungle

Oh what a two days it's been! We woke up the next morning and thought that since we didn't have any plans we would trek up one of these waterfalls everyone is talking about. Little did we know what lied waiting for us.

Joe and I got on our motorbikes and traveled a good 40 km to northern Phuket. Ton Sai waterfall was located in basically the hardest location to find on this island. We drove our little motor bikes on a 4 lane heavy traffic freeway. I must say we have gotten pretty good at weaving between trucks and the occasional tuk tuk. After an hour and a half ride, that should have taken 40 minutes, we finally made it to Khao Phra Thaeo National Park. We were extremely excited to finally made our destination.

We quickly jumped on a path and headed up the mountain. Now when I say path I mean in it in the loosest form possible. We had to climb rocks and clear away thick jungle to get through. We had our 100 deet bug spray so the bugs weren't all over, just ears nose etc. So we hiked...and hiked...and a little more hiking on top of that. We walked about Three miles in looking for this waterfall thinking we could hear it. Covered in sweat at the top of the mountain, the furthest part from where we began, a downpour started. It did make it somewhat cooler but the rocks got extremely slippery. Yes we both fell and my bag broke. We finally gave up headed down and then past a sign saying "waterfall this way"... We were so excited to get up we walked past the right path and took some random side path! WTF! So we got some water and headed home.

The experience was cool though. We will remember running through the forest like Predator hunting Arnold. Next up Scuba!!

Club Lime

Big night in Phuket last night. Met up with our buddies, then got some excellent Pad Thai from a restaurant. It was the best I have had yet, and yes Pad Thai just tastes better in Thailand. We started the night slowly with some Long Islands at the Aussi Bar, then hit up Club Lime. It just happened to be foam party night, which is as much fun as it sounds. And when you add foam party with 100b shots, the night is defeinitly going to be good. Though there were far more guys, then girls at the club we managed to have an excellent time. The DJ was from Estonia, and "spun" some good tunes, and looked exactly like Lady GaGa. Got back to the bungalow around 4, and went to sleep.

Phuket Paradise

After our encounter with the vicious riptide Jed and I got ready to hit then town. We met up with our Aussie friends, Tim and Tony, and got some dinner at their hotel. It was a good meal, and we got some drinks at the bar where the singer asked us for requests. We didn't have any but it was nice to listen, even if all of her words weren't perfect.

We then hit the town, and started at the Austrailan bar where we sipped on long island ice teas, and met up with a bunch of other travellers. Good fun, good drinks, and good times were had by all. We have got pretty used to the culture in Thailand, and are really enjoying it here.

We decided to switch hotels this morning, and ended up in a Bungalow on Kata Beach. It is a HUGE upgrade and only 700b a night. I can only describe it as a place two people might spend their honeymoon. It is a bit seculded, and there is no tv/internet, but I still love it.

We booked our PADI course today, I am so excited to get certified. It is a four day course, two days of class/pool (kinda boring) and then 2 full days of diving at four different dive sights inculding the Phi Phi Islands, which is where they filmed The Beach. I think it is a really good idea to get our certs, that way we can SCUBA anytime the we get the oppurtunity!!

Spent the rest of the day relaxing, a much needed break. Believe it or not we are not getting as much sleep as we should. Tonight we are meeting up with out Aussi friends, and hitting the clubs.

Watch out Phuket.

Will post tons of pictures tomorrow, as this internet cafe does not have an SD slot for my memory card.

Phuket… tres love

We left Bangkok on Saturday morning then quickly and easily caught a plane to Phuket. The Bangkok airport was arguably the easiest airport experience I’ve ever had. Not a ton of security and 50 dollars to get from Bangkok to Phuket on a one hour flight. Once we arrived we used our Lonely planet guide and tried to find a guest house. Our taxi driver didn’t speak a word of English and we could find the guest house we wanted. Eventually we ended up in Karon beach at a descent guest house for 450 baht a night.

Then Joe and I hit the beach around 3pm. The beaches are beautiful. The water is a jade green instead of the light blue like in the Caribbean. The sand is so fine it makes a strange squish sound when you walk on it. After this we headed to Patong beach which is the main tourist area of Phuket. The Tuk-tuk ride was 300 baht WTF. No taxis here.

Once at Patong we walked on Bangla road and basically we were treated like fresh meet. People grab you saying, Cheap strong drink!, You wan’t massage?’ Ping pong show? and Tuk Tuk. It was kind a weird experience but not bad. Joe and I had a couple of drinks and headed home.

The next day (today)…my favorite so far. We rented motorbikes!! They are the best thing ever! They are 200 baht a day are a lot of fun to drive. We met some New Zealand guys who said they were headed to a giant marble Buddha on the highest point in Phuket. We went with them and after getting a little lost we got there. The drive was straight up a large mountain with forest all around. Once there the Buddha was huge and the view was indescribable. You could see all of Phuket and the perfect beaches all around it. We went inside the Buddha which was scary baucause there was no light and the stairs were steep as hell. Not good idea. No tourists do this which we didn’t know. We left the Buddha, got some drinks at this cool bungalow, and headed back to Patong. About a 20 minute drive.

For lunch we had some much needed subway. We met four really cool Australians who seemed to love our American accents. After some time we decided to all head to the beach. They rented a motorbike and the 2 girls road on ours. The beach was the same as yesterdays because the one we wanted to go to was closed. Once there we jumped right in the water in the non-swimming area and had a scare. We were all laughing and talking we ended legitimately getting sucked out. Joe realized this before me and the three others and quietly headed back. He made it in and I was swimming as hard as I could to get back in and help the girls. After being out there for about 5 minutes I told everyone to relax and conserve energy. When a wave came we swam and when there wasn’t we didn’t . Everyone was freaking out yelling to Joe. I knew the lifeguards would come because I saw them starting to run towards us on the beach. Eventually with the wave strategy we were able to touch and get back in. Yeah sorry Mom and Dad about that story.

We left the beach after a little while after drove everyone back to Patpong and now are about to head to a diving place to see if we can get our Padi certs.

I love Phuket and miss you all!!

Goodbye Bangkok

Well it is the last morning we have here in Bangkok, and I can't say I am sad to be heading out from this city. It has been an awesome five days, but Bangkok is probably not a place you want to spend more than 5 days in. Glad we got to see all the sights, and have a blast along the way.

We started the night back at our favorite mall, and I am pleased to report that we finally got our good dinner!! 150 baht for tom-yum soup, pad thai and a drink. And it was so delicious!

Then we headed to the Patpong night market. I have to say this is the sleaziest place I have ever been, but had a blast bargaining for all sorts of goods. The counterfeit designers merchandise looks much more real over here, and I got some t shirts, sunglasses, and a ton of Buddhas. Also some souvenirs for everyone back home.

Took a 100b tuk-tuk to Khao Sarn RD. We started the night with a "very stong" cocktail, and decided that wasn't enough, so we upgraded to the cocktail bucket. For 300Baht it made the night a lot more fun. We hung out with some teachers from Belgium and South Africa. The girl from South Africa hated Americans, but I made her like me, or at least she said she did when I asked her. Later we were hanging out with some Brits, and Jed got into talking about politics, while I schmoozed with the rest.

Leaving for Phuket (1600 baht airfare) in an hour of so. Don't know what the internet situation will be but will try to blog often.

Oh It's Just Too Hot Today

Our last day in Bangkok was today and I'm glad to say I am sort of Bangkoked out. Not saying that the city isn't great, but once you have seen all the sights and done everything it feels like it is time to move on.

So we woke up today to some crazy cats fighting outside our window at about 6 am, love them. Then tried to fall back asleep until about nine. Joe and I made it to our favorite mall and had some delicious Au Bon Pan and Red Mango. (Just a note: if your wondering why we aren't really eating Thai food around here it's because we realized there are no restaurants besides fast food and 90% of all eating is done at sketchy street vendors that aren't really good.) Then we took the Sky Train over to a tourist boat to ride the Nam Mae Chao River to see some of the last sights Bangkok has to offer. The boat ride was nice and breezy and I kind of wanted to stay on all day. We first made it to the Royal Barge Museum which was pretty cool. Basically, long boats the kings used to ride on decorated in ornate art. The walk there was just as fun. We had to navigate in true Bangkok poverty back alleys. I actually love seeing the real side of where I am and not the fake/glitzy tourism places.

We then took a boat to a Cambodian style Wat (temple) called Wat Arun. It was excellent. You can actually climb it and see the skyline of all of Bangkok. The stairs were so steep I almost fell. Next we went to Wat Pho. It contains the largest Buddha in Bangkok. He was in the laying down position so the building was very long. After this and literally dripping with sweat, we got on our boat then Sky Train and made it back to the hotel to nap before our last night out in Bangkok.

Chinatown, Sarongs, and Muai Thai

Long day today!!! We left the hotel around 10, and decided go get some food. One thing we have learned about Bangkok is that although there is food everywhere, there are no restaurants, except for fast food. And unfortunately ordering food from the street is not easy, and you never know what you are getting/how clean it is, we have been eating fast food (with the exception of my 1500 baht fish).

We settled on DQ Grill and Chill, and after some nourishment we were ready to explore. We explored a seven story mall, which is as boring as it sounds. Then we found our way to Chinatown, which was a bit hyped. What it basically ended up being was narrow sidewalks, and 100 copies of the same store. And as much as I love dragons, I did not feel like carrying a statute of one around. So we left Chinatown empty handed, and headed to what we thought was the Kings Palace.

Of course when we got there and saw that gate was open, and they were waving us in we knew we were mistaken. The Palace we went to ended up being a Museum, but they wouldn't let us in because we had shorts. But they said if we purchased a Sarong, we could come in. They were only 40b so of course we went for it. They even tied them nice, and we looked very pretty. The Museum was really cool, no photographs were allowed but we took a nice audio tour.

After we left that, we walked the grounds, and some how stumbled upon the Zoo. Admission was only 100b so we went in, and it was the best decision. Zoos in underdeveloped countries are more fun, because they have less rules, and more elephants to feed. We could literally touch 50 percent of the animals, and it was nearly empty. At the end we bought a bushel of bananas and fed the elephants, which was awesome and disgusting at the same time. When you see that 5 foot trunk coming from your hand, dripping with mucus...well it's a bit unsettling.

After the zoo, we of course had to go see the Thai national sport, Muai Thai! We bought 1000b seats (the foreigner price). The seats were alright, and we met a bunch of other backpackers so we had a lot of fun. Muai Thai boxing is very boring though, and we didn't bet and the contenders weigh only 100 lbs. So knockouts are slim. But it was a great experience, and we got to heckle the red corner (the favorite to win).

Back at the hotel now, so tired, wondering what we should do tomorrow. We leave for Phuket on Saturday...I want to get my PADI certificate. We shall see.

Out and About

So it was our first night out in Bangkok last night and it was quite the experience. We headed to Khao Sarn Road which is basically a hodgepodge of backpackers, locals selling random stuff, and sleazy Tuk Tuk drivers trying to get you to a "ping pong show". But it was amazing! We ended up at this bar and had some cheap beer with a couple of Israeli girls and a couple of guys from Jersey. Yes, we came all the way to Bangkok to meet more people from New Jersey.

After having a couple drinks Joe and I ended up at a ska club called Brick Bar. Here we were basically a novelty because we were literally the only white people out of the 500 people in the packed club. I realized that my dancing skills are somewhat comparable to the Thai locals. Instead of being the goofy guy with two left feet I could just run in place and look like I knew what I was doing. Yesss! After many high fives and cheers from random Thais we were feeling pretty good and we decided to end the night on a high note and get pizza and call it a night.

Bangkok Dangerous

Finally our first day in Thailand! We woke up around 8:30, and were out of our hotel by 9. First we tried to find somewhere to eat, but we learned quickly that even though all signs are in English, the Thai people don't really speak it. So we ended at McDonalds...which wasn't ideal but delicious none the less.

We took the sky train to Siam Sq, which was a huge mall. Like the fanciest I have ever seen. Even better than the Short Hills Mall in NJ. But we didn't stay long, and hired a Tuk-Tuk to take us to the grand palace. We also learned today tuk-tuk drivers are all scammers, as they do not take you where you want to go right away.

The grand palace was so cool. Had a blast exploring for like 2 hours, and got to see the famous Jade Buddha. Then we went to a thai restaurant, and I got the fish which I thought was 100 baht, but ended up being 100 baht per 100 grams. So it was a 1500 baht dinner!! Learned my lesson...

sitting in the hotel now, going to hit the town tonight.

500 Baht

We made it! The flight from Tokyo was the best flight of all time. The middle seat was empty which allowed me to stretch out. They also served sushi, ice cream, and free alcoholic drinks. And the Japanese flight attendants are just so nice, they are like geisha's who just want to make you happy.

We got to Thailand at like midnight, and went through immigration and picked up our packs with no problem. Our taxi was 500 baht...or like 14 dollars, which is definitely the tourist price, but considering it cost us 2100 Baht to get from Jed's, to JFK, I still think it's a steal.

Staying at the Imm Fusion hotel. It's is decorated in the style of traditional Indian. Jed asked me why we traveled to Thailand to stay in an Indian style hotel. 30 dollars a night for 4 stars! Going to sleep now, pictures are coming tomorrow.

In Transit

Hello from Tokyo!!! So we made the trek out to JFK with no difficulty at all. Had some McGriddles and got on our flight leaving at 11 AM on Monday. I think I saw Dave Navarro in the terminal but it could have been some random guy.

So the first flight..over 13 hours to get to Tokyo. It wasn't too bad because I had Paul Blart Mall Cop and Bride wars to keep me company. Our next flight leaves for Bangkok in a couple hours. Can't wait to finally get there.

*We will continue to try to at least do one post per day. If there isn't one up you have permission to yell at us via comments.

a loose itinerary

We were so excited about our gear that we forgot to give some details about our trip.

We are flying American Airlines out of JFK leaving on 6/15 at noon. This flight gets to Tokyo, 12 hours later. I think it will be the longest flight we have ever been on. Good thing it’s a 777. In Tokyo we have a 4 hour layover (I am hoping there are those futuristic sleeping pods in the airport), From there we fly to Bangkok getting in around midnight 6/17. So about 24 hours of nothing but flying and waiting around.

From Bangkok we plan to fly to Phuket. Maybe get a tattoo like Jack did in lost. Then we are leaving for Singapore. From there we are off to Vietnam, which I am so excited about. The South East Asia portion of our trip will take like 2 weeks.

Then from Vietnam we are going to fly to Hong Kong, where we will also visit Macau one day. I hear its like the Las Vegas of China. Then off to Shanghai for a few days, then to Beijing, where we will climb over the great wall and watch out for Mongolians, and infiltrate the Forbidden City. From there we will fly to Japan where we will end our trip.

Our flight leaves from Tokyo on July 20^th.

35 days, 5 Countries, 2 Breeds.

A Minimalist Approach

I am a notorious over packer, so one of my goals this year was to pack light. The first time I tried it out was during a long weekend to Vegas, where I only brought a carry-on, which I checked because I didn’t feel like carrying it around the terminal. It worked out pretty well, but I still found myself having a bit too much clothes.

So for our 5 week trip, I have taken it to another level. Jed and I both have our 65 liter Gregory packs, which isn’t a whole lot of space. I have packed:

3 pairs of shorts (1 regular, 1 “travel”, and 1 bathing suit)
1 pair of jeans (I doubt I will wear these)
4 t-shirts (Hanes Brand…4 dollars at Wal-Mart)
8 pairs of boxers
2 Shoes (Tivas, and Vans slip-ons)
2 Pairs of Socks
1 Travel Towel
1 Money Belt
Random Necessary Toiletries

I have yet to master the art of packing less electronics, so I am going with enough to open up a small radio shack. This includes my Camera, my Ipod and skullcandy headphones, a Kindle, beard trimmer, my netbook, and portable handheld massager. I made that last one up. I know this is not much, but if I find myself in need of something, Thailand is a good place to find it…on the cheap.

Jed or I will post some pictures of us tomorrow with our packs!

Getting pumped…and am way to excited to sleep…

Let the Infamous Exploits Begin!

So yes we started a blog. It may be the trite/narcissistic thing to do but who cares? Even if no one reads this thing at least we have it as a reminder of all of our travels.

If you are following from home, thank you for visiting. Not only will you be thoroughly entertained, but maybe you'll learn something about us and possibly yourselves. Please leave comments! We love seeing whose reading and want to hear from everyone!

For my first post just a basic list of everything I'm bringing for our 5 week journey:

Jed:

6 pairs of sox
8 pair of boxers
7 T-shirts
1 pair of jeans
1 sneaker
One slip on black shoe
1 sheet
1 Batman Towel!
Suntan Loation
Camera and charger
Ipod Touch
Two Sunglasses
2 pairs of Sandals
3 Pairs of Shorts
Flip Video Camera
Passport
Money Belt
Bathroom stuff
Malaria Pills

I think that should be sufficient...or will it be?