Laos

To get from the North of Thailand into Laos, I decided to take a boat down the Mekong River from the border to Luang Pranang. After crossing the border we loaded into a long boat and somehow my group got suck in the engine room. But we made the best of the situation and had a party amongst the roar of the huge motor. After 6 hours, we stopped at a riverside town for the night. 

The next morning we were determined not to sit with the engine again so we got to the boat nice and early to stake out seats. It paid off and we had amazing views of the river and it's surroundings for the next 8 hours until arriving in Luang Prabang. That night we explored the night food and craft markets. 

The next morning we went to the Tat Kuang Si waterfalls, which is a multi-tiered limestone falls, that tumbles in to many turquoise pools. On the way back, as if we hadn't had enough water for the day, we stopped at the neighborhood pool for a party. 

Luang Prabang has a curfew of 11:30pm so after the bars close the happening place is the bowling alley. So that night along with backpackers and locals alike, we crowded into the 20 lane alley and bowled barefoot while drinking Beer Laos. 

The next morning we took a bus down to Vang Vieng, the river tubing capital of the world. Our first night however was spent exploring the town and near by market. 

The next morning we rented our tubes and got taken to the top of the river for our day on the river. In years past there were 12 bars that lined the river with all sorts of activities, but after multiple deaths, the city cut the amount of bars to three and eliminated all jumping in to the river. We spent the day floating from bar to bar and enjoying the incredible scenery. 

The next night I made a stop off in the capital of Vientiane, where I visited the night market and feasted on a blizzard from a random Dairy Queen next to my hostel. 

The next morning we took a bus to the remote village in the middle of Laos called Kong Lor. That night we stayed with a local family in their home where they cooked dinner and breakfast for us. It was a great experience to see how the locals live and immerse ourselfs in their culture. 

In the morning we walked to a river that disappeared into a huge cave in the neighboring mountain. We hired a boat to take us through the massive 7 km Kong Lor Cave with only head torches to light our way. I was hard to imagine the shear size of the cave in the dark but when our guide turned on a few lights that the locals had wired in I was truly amazed that nature was capable of creating it. There were huge selagmites and stelagtites and even a few beaches for us to get out at. It was so big that it took us about 2 hours total to go there and back with a few stops. 

Back in town we took a series of four Tuk-Tuks (open air cabs) to the closest big bus station to try and catch a bus south. However the one we wanted broke down and we had to sleep in the bus station until morning and the next bus. 

After our morning bus ride we arrived in 4,000 islands and picked a guest house on Don Det. We rented bikes and explored the surrounding islands for the day. 

The next morning we joined a kayak tour and paddled our way though the Mekong, seeing massive waterfalls and a pod of the endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins. After not working out for a few months my shoulders were burning by the time the sun set on us. 

The next morning I crossed the border and am making my way to Siem Reap to meet up with my mom and begin our two week adventure together. 

Phuket to the North of Thailand

I arrived in Phuket in the late afternoon and made it over to my hostel in Petong just in time for one of the islands famous sunsets. I then explored the much talked about and crazy nightlife on Bangla Road. 

The next day I rented a scooter and went to explore the island. I started out down the west coast to a small town called Kata which is the only respectable surf in Thailand at this time of year. I then crossed to the east coast, stopping along the way at the top of a mountain with a huge marble Budda on it. I then when north along the east coast to Phuket Town to grab some lunch at their Vegitarian festival and to check out the port town. I then circled back to the north west for the sunset and another adventure on Bangla Road. 

The next day I traveled across Thailand to the West island chain and the dive meca of Koh Tao. My first day there was spent jumping back and forth between my resorts beachside pool and the beach its self. The next day I started my Advanced Dive Cetifiation, doing 3 dives and 2 theory sessions. The first dive was navigation, where I had to use my compass, visual markers and the suns angle to lead a dive through a cool site called Japaneese Gardens. My next dive was a Peak Buoyancy Performance dive at a site that was man made to practice the very skill. It was like an underwater playground for divers, with things to swim though, hover on and weave under all to practice your buoyancy control. After a dinner break my final dive of the day was a night dive. After watching the sunset from the boat, we dove in, torches in hand to begin the dive back to the beach. I was leading this dive as well so I had to keep the correct heading even in the dark. At one point we turned off our lights and thrashed about agitating the bioluminescence in the water. The combination of it being pitch black, being weightless and the twinkle of the bioluminescence made me feel like I was in space. 

The next afternoon I had two more dives and theory sessions to complete my certification. The first dive was a deep dive to let me feel what it was like to be 30 meters under water. You can become disorientated and colors change at that depth. After testing my skills at the depth we ascended and continued on an amazing dive at a site called Red Rock. Koh Tao is such a popular spot to dive because of the rock formations, and no where is this more apparent then Red Rock. It feels like you are diving though an underwater city with skyscrapers towering over you. My second and final dive was a wreak on an old WWII gun boat. It was deep as well and had an amazingly preserved turret gun on it that you could sit on. We then continued the dive off the bow to a little panicle called Pee Wee. 

The next day I caught the ferry to Koh Phanang. Where I spent the day lounging on the beach. The next morning I took a boat out to a dive site called Sail Rock for two great dives. The rock is in the middle of the sea and mushrooms down into the water making it a haven for thousands of fish. That night I went to one of the parties that the island is famous for, The Half Moon Party. It is held in the jungle until sunrise with everybody dancing in day glow paint. 

The following afternoon I took a boat/bus combo to Bangkok arriving the next morning. That day I explored the city and the many famous temples that surround it. 

The next day we took a taxi to one of the famous floating markets where we got lunch from boats floating by in a canal. We then went to the biggest market in SEA only coving about 10% of it in the 3 hours that we were there. I then jumped on a night bus bound for Chiang Mai. 

The next morning after arriving in Chiang Mai, I rented a scooter and did a 100km loop through the hillside villages. I stopped along the way at the Tiger Kingdom to play with some humongous tigers. 

The next day I took a tour of an Elephant camp where we got to feed, ride and bathe them. I felt bad that all of these huge animals were in captivity in this camp, but all were rescued from far worse conditions and were now treated like kings and queens and lived on average longer than in the wild. 

Today I took a bus to Pai and the northern hills of Thailand. It is a beautifuly clam place that is a nice break from all the big cities I have been in recently. I will spend two more days here and then cross the border into Laos.