Bali and Lombok, Indonesia

Here are my pictures from Bali and Lombok.


Mount Rinjani

Bali and Lombok

China Shanghai

The city of Shanghai was a totally different feel from Beijing. It looked more like any modern city with the surrounding skyscrapers. Also, it has a very unique characteristic with the old 18th century European style buildings. It is supposed to be the next New York with the world's tallest building. It is not quite New York but in 20 years it might be. There was construction everywhere. However, when you went to some of the older parts of town you could see a different side of the city. Also, on the last day I took a train out an hour outside of the city to Suzhou. I spent the day out there viewing life along some of the old canals.

The places I went were the Bund, Shanghai Oceanarium, Yu Gardens, French Concession, and many more temples and shopping streets.

Yu Gardens

The Bund

People, Parks, and French Concession

Suzhou

China Beijing

It has been a long time since my last post, but I hope people are still checking in every once in a while. I went to China because it's now a country that many are talking about as the economy continues to grow and it starts to become more open to other countries. The other reason I went is it has so much history and so many cultural sites that it was very interesting. It was similar to what I expected, a large city with many people (20 mil approx), but it was very interesting to see how the old city was and how it is now changing. You get a real sense about following beliefs and structure that have existed for centuries, as the palaces are all built the same and everything has a particular purpose. Many of the artifacts and palaces date back to the 1300's and some go back even farther. However, their life is not that different than ours from the aspect that they just try to make a living and enjoy the rest of their time with friends and family. It was hard to communicate as there is little English spoken and so it was difficult to get a real feel for the people. However, I had two guides that were very good and I learned a lot about the people and daily life.


I will give the highlights of the places I went since there were so many. I went to the Great Wall, , Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Drum and Bell towers, many parks, and a couple of shows. The trip was exhausting as I tried to fit everything in, but it was worth it. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The Great Wall

Tiananmen Square

Forbidden City

More Temples,Palaces,Parks, and People

Hello Hanoi

We arrived late into Hanoi for a short trip to Vietnam. I found the city to be very interesting and it was a lot of fun. The first day we went out to Halong Bay, known for the many rocks that jut out of the sea and the caves that exist on some of the islands. The next two days we spent walking around the city and getting a feel for living in Hanoi. Hanoi is a rapidly growing city and trying to modernize the country at the same time. There are a number of positives for the country, but it still has a long way to go. The city is full of motor bikes that fill the streets and are constantly honking as they weave through cars, vendors, and people. There are many areas where people eat some unique foods, but all my meals were very good and cheap. Here are my pictures!

Hanoi Pics

Halong Bay

Saint Joseph Church

Cambodia

The road to Cambodia is a rough one. A dirt road from Thailand to Siem Reap is the only way to get there and riding on a dirt road in a bus for multiple hours is, to me, considered a trip and not a vacation. Even though the trip was rough and the days were very long, it was one I won't forget. We visited supposedly the biggest lake in Asia, Tonle Sap, and then we visited the old city and temples of Anchor Wat. The Khmer dynasty was a huge empire that spanned most of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Burma in the 5th to 12th century. It is said that the city population was 100,000 when Rome was still about 50,000 people. We spent a whole day visiting some of the hundreds of temples in the old city. It was amazing the size and beauty of the temples made so many years ago. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Cambodia Randoms

Tonle Sap Lake

Ankor Wat Temples

Koh Lanta

The next day we went to Koh Lanta for one day. The island is larger than Koh PiPi and it has a lot of natural beauty. The beaches are very rocky and so you really can’t swim out there or at least you have to be careful. In order to get around on the beach we rented a scooter and drove it along the island road to just enjoy the sites and see what was around. Unfortunately, we missed all of the day outings so most of the day was just relaxing. At night we hung out at the hotel bar on the beach. The next day we headed back to the airport to end the island jumping weekend.

Koh Lanta

PiPi Don

The first day was spent arriving at the beach, checking out the shops, and laying on the beach and doing some small snorkeling. It was a nice relaxing beach and was great until some clouds and rain moved in. We had some dinner at this seafood restaurant and I had the silver fish in the pictures. The next day we went to the north beach and rented a kayak. We kayaked out the bay and to monkey beach. It was kind of stormy so it was a bit rocky, but the beach had great white sand and some monkeys for some good pictures. After some rest on the beach we kayaked back. After lunch we took a boat trip out to PiPi Leh where the movie “The Beach” was filmed. We got to do some great snorkeling, but unfortunately the underwater camera was broken and the pictures didn’t turn out. There was a bit of a storm so we had to walk over the island to the other beach in the rain. It kind of ruined the laying on the beach, but I think it added to the natural feel and a little bit of adventure to the island. The storm picked up when we were leaving and we had to have the workers paddle us out of the rapid waters. We ate dinner on the boat and headed back to PiPi Don. We caught some great fire performers at this bar before we called it a night.

PiPi Don Pictures Monkey Beach Pics PiPi Ley Pics

Krabi Province

This trip was a while ago, but better late than never. I went down to the Krabi province and stayed one night at Ao Nang Beach which is one of the stopping off beaches to take the ferry to Koh PiPi islands. It took a couple of hours to get to the island, but the scenery was beautiful. At Ao Nang it was mostly walking up and down the shops along the beach. I did walk into a bar that was setting up for a band. It was a pretty cool bar. It looked like it hadn't changed since the 70's. The decore was all American and British 60's and 70's rock bands. They were playing CCR and The Who with old videos of their concerts. I wanted to stay and hear the band but they took forever to setup and so we continued on and got ready for tomorrows travel.

Ao Nang Beach Pictures

Sentosa Beach

The next day I headed down to Sentosa beach which is a big island that is a big tourist destination. I dropped my stuff off at the hotel which was a modest stay and then started to check out the area. The first place I found was Under Water World. The Under Water World was very cool and you were able to walk through while the fish and sharks swam above you. I was able to get some good pictures from there. After the UnderWater World, I checked out the rest of the 3 beaches that were along the island. Also, I went and looked at the giant Merlion, a famous symbol of Singapore. It was a pretty impressive statue with nice fountains and gardens in the area. After checking out the beach, I went back to my hotel to actually check in and take a short break from the heat. Later, I returned to the beach for a little reading, people watching, and sleeping under the shade of a big palm tree. I did this until the evening when I caught part of a water light show and accidentally walked onto a performance of these fire performers. I decided to call it a night and an end my adventures in Singapore.

Under Water World

Sentosa Beach

Fire Performers

Night Safari

The Night Safari is one of the few tours in the world that operates at night and actually takes you through a trail with numerous animals. It was a pretty good tour with animals ranging from small flying squirrels to tigers and lions. You could even walk into some of the areas with these ugly looking bats and other small creatures. Unfortunately, it was at night and no flash photography was allowed. So no pictures, just imagine. After the Safari I headed back for a late dinner and headed to bed.

Singapore:Mixing of Culture

So I know I am not an inspiring writer because I am now writing in an airport about my trip almost 2 months ago in Singapore. The memory has faded slightly and the images are less vivid, but they are still there. Singapore is an interesting melting pot of cultures and lifestyle. It is on a fairly small island and is an expensive place to live. Yet, with those expenses come many nice things, clean air, organized living, and little or no crime. When you enter a country and you see signs that say, "Death to drug dealers" you know they mean business. Although, the government probably has too much power when they perform roadside tests to make sure your car is environmentally friendly. I didn’t have much time on this trip so I just got a glimpse of the culture. The first day I wondered through Little India with its street vendors selling everything and the very interesting temples. After that, I continued for around 5 blocks and came to Arab Street with very unique mosques and Arab schools. A few less vendors. In between these areas I walked upon a Malay Culture Center that had some small booths selling different products and people playing music. So many different cultures were living in a very close proximity. After the tour, I went to do some shopping at Bugis street, the biggest tourist shopping area. Again it had a main meeting area with many different fortune tellers, medicine men, and other side show entertainers.

After a short break from the heat, I headed down to Chinatown. I found Chinatown very interesting and especially a museum about the area. It showed the times and living environment of when Chinatown first began and when the port in Singapore first formed. Walking through the streets, I had little time for shopping, but there were some very amazing old items: chess boards and art. The evening approached quickly so I headed back to my hotel to get ready for the Night Safari.

Singapore Pictures

Songkran Festival (Thai New Year)

Last weekend there was an extended holiday with Friday and Monday as days off. Actually some people had Tuesday off as well. It is the Songkran Holiday and one of the biggest holidays for the Thais. It is known as something like the holiday of water. They celebrate the new calendar year by going back home and spending time with their family. They also spend the whole weekend having water fights and putting a talcum powder on each others faces. One of the biggest parties is down on Khao San road where there are streets filled with people shooting water guns and putting this talcum powder on people. The actual ritual is to have an elder or person of respect sit with a bowl of water that is scented and has flowers in the bowl. Then, you pour water through the hands of the elder and make a wish or blessing for them for the coming year. After that you put the talcum powder on the person's face. I am not sure if the powder is part of the blessing or if it is something you do. I have pictures from our office and then Khao San road. I was flying out to Singapore this weekend so I only got to spend a couple hours at Khao San. I wish I could have experienced a little more, but there are still some good pictures.

Songkran Pictures

Songkran Office

Watch out Down Below - Pattaya Beach

My friend and I headed out a couple of hours southeast of Bangkok in search of rock climbing. Pattaya Beach is a decent sized tourist area in Thailand and it had a number of regular hotels along with expensive resorts but it's best known for its sex tourism. I would say overall I thought the place looked pretty dirty in many ways. There is a nicer beach Jomtien Beach farther down that is nicer than Pattaya beach because the beach there didn't look too inviting. But the beach was busy with many people in the water and hanging out. I didn't have my camera on me so I will have to get pictures some other time. We spent most of our time looking for the rock climbing and the place it was supposed to be turned out to be a bust. So we were looking for something else to do and we decided to go to the Bungee Jump.

I had been wanting to try Bungee jumping, but hadn't planned on doing it this weekend. I decided to do it anyway even though I wasn't really prepared to go. I thought, how bad can it be, it's only 50 meters up right. Well, I felt pretty calm and cool until the crane started to lift me up into the air. Then, I realized that I had to actually jump off the platform. I couldn't just fall off and it wasn't just like pulling a cord to go. Even though the crane doesn't look very high from the ground, it's a different story from the very top. By this time I was pretty nervous and I just kept telling myself that I had to relax and I could do it. At the top the operator tells me to step to the ledge and he will count down and then I jump. At this point, I looked below and thought, "Oh crap, what have I got myself into?" The operator started the countdown, "Three, two, one, jump!" I didn't move initially and the operator repeated, "Now jump". So I let go of the handles and jumped out into the air starting my fall. I also starting to scream like a little girl. The rest happened very quickly with me falling towards the ground getting shot back up into the air and repeating the falling again. I tried to catch my breath in between the falling and screaming. Once the falling slowed down,I just tried to enjoy the moment and the scenery bouncing upside down. They pulled me back and I was glad to no longer be dangling from my feet. It was quite a rush and a lot of fun but I don't know if I will be doing it again any time soon.


Bungee Jump Pictures

Starry Night Company Party

Well, I must say they know how to hold a company party here in Asia. I have never been to a company party as impressive as this one. The annual company party was held at the Conrad Hotel, which is one of the nicest hotels in Bangkok. They had a large banquet room with our own MC for the evening. The theme was to be like a movie star at the Oscars and everyone was in their top gear. I arrived in a Limo(Taxi, there are no limos in Bangkok)and was sporting my suit designed by Dillard's, accompanied with a Marshall's shirt and tie. Apparently, I arrived too late for people to notice because I wasn't nominated for the best dressed contest and didn't show up in any of the High So magazines.

There was a large buffet with all sorts of good food. Also, they gave a number of prizes away ranging from day spas, to ipods, to cash. Each group at DSTI had to put on their own performance and they really got into their performances. I wish I would have taken more video because most were really prepared and were really into their acts. I found the Diana Ross "I will Survive" rendition especially entertaining and funny. Dianna was being played by a man with a mask and his best evening dress. It was a little strange, but all in good fun. Of course there was a song done by Nsync(Not sure how to spell) and then a couple of popular Thai songs. Once the groups had performed, they had a semi-famous singer named Lydia put on a 45 min. performance. My pictures weren't the best so I am going to get more from the rest of the group. It was a fun evening and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Company Party Pictures