blogger blocked from burma, chillin in bangkok

i'm hopping on an airplane to yangon in 10 hrs, so if i don't update my blog it can be for one of 2 reasons:

1. i've become extra extra lazy
2. blogger is censored in burma and i can't find a proxy site that will get me around it

i do have tons of really cool pictures from vietnam and cambodia that i need to post.

oh, and earlier today while i was walking around bangkok i ran into some protests. i took a picture and proceeded to walk in the opposite direction right into a movie theater where i watched max payne (not so great, but i was entertained for 90 minutes, and i was far enough way from large mobs).

so i spent the better part of the last 2 days in bangkok being a mallrat - i watched 3 movies, ate lots of food, and spent a lot of time in bookstores (bangkok has 5 major shopping centers on the same street and they're connected by a skybridge, so you can walk from one right into another). julie, i bought some books, and i might actually read them! maybe by the time you finish 100 books, i'll finish this one that i just bought.

that's kinda it for now. glad that i'm pretty much done with moving hostels/hotels every other day. i'm excited about going back to burma and then excited about going home after!

the current eta in SFO is Nov 17th.

in cambodia & job in shen zhen!

my dad and i took a bus from saigon to phnomh penh and arrived 2 days ago. we're having lots of fun. it's great that my dad speaks khmer, though it's been about 30 yrs since he's used it. the most fun comes when they speak to each other in khmer under the assumption that we don't understand (my dad has fun translating it to me afterward).

we'll probably head over to siem reap in a day or so. then i have plans to fly back to burma to do some more work with IDE (international development enterprises) before returning home around nov 17th.

for reasons of time, i've cut out laos from my traveling now, and will save it for a trip later on - probably a nice overland trip from shen zhen.

oh, and i've accepted a job in shen zhen for the next 2 years and will be starting in jan 2009. time for me to brush up on my mandarin (especially for ordering food from menus!). if you're looking for an excuse to go to china, this is it!

halong bay and ninh binh!

So a few days ago, I spent a night on a boat in the middle of Halong Bay, notable for 3000+ limestone "islands." It was amazing! I think I've determined that I like Vietnam the most when I'm away from the big cities. The landscapes are beautiful and peaceful, while the cities are noisy and in your face. I went kayaking and swimming in Halong Bay (the water is really warm!).


So these last 4 pictures are actually from Ninh Binh, which is the inland version of Halong Bay, and I like it much more (probably because it is much less commercialized (for now). There are limestone islands shooting out of rice paddies rather than water. So on the left, was Tam Coc, where we sat on a little boat and got rowed around for 2 hrs - awesome. It was also the second time in Vietnam where a mother has offered to marry off her daughter (since I look Vietnamese enough, and presumably have money - yes, she was pretty!). For the day, i sat on a motorcycle (and it was really safe - i wore a helmet, the driver drove slowly, and there was very little traffic). It was great just looking around at the views!

After climbing a bunch of steps (~500 steps) here was the view at the top - breathtaking!

Now, i'm really excited about meeting up with my dad in Hanoi tomorrow. I'll take him to Halong Bay again, and we'll start working our way south! Then off to Cambodia where he grew up! Lots to be excited about!