Nong Kai

I met some guys who were skateboarding yesterday and we went out and had a pretty good night at the bars, so I decided to stick around Thailand another day. Im on the boarder now so I will probably be in Laos around this time tomorrow. Hanging out with the locals is one of my favorite parts about traveling. We went to a Thai reggae type place which I would have never seen if I hadnt gone with those guys. Even though there was a bit of a language barrier we all got along well. Sometimes meeting good people can change your outlook on an entire area and I think this is my favorite town in Thailand so far. Not because there is a ton of stuff to do but because there are some cool people here.

Change of Plans

My plans change all the time and by the time I post this something will probably be different. I didnt make it to Mae Sariang because the bus was broken and I would have had to wait about 6 hours to catch the next 'economy' bus. Instead I spent 11 hours on a bus to Chiang Rai. Even though it doesnt look very far it took that long. When I got to Chiang Rai I waited at the bus station for an hour to get a ride to the city by a local bus (pickup with seats in the bed). It cost 10 Baht to get to the city instead of paying a Tuk Tuk 80. Today I found out that the water is too low in the Mekong River so I cant take a slow boat south. The buses in Laos are pretty unreliable from what I hear so Im going to stay in Thailand and make my way to the Laos Capital boarder crossing from this side. Although things dont always work out like I plan it usually turns out pretty good.
One note about traveling: When I first started and saw an American I thought that I must be in the wrong place because they were there too. Now when I see an American I think that we are both in the right place. There are not many Americans traveling compared to other countries. Most people I talk to have only met a handful of Americans including me. While Ive been traveling I have met tons of Europeans, Israelis, Canadians, and Argentinians (not in Argentina). So far I have run into less then 20 Americans and that is a generous estimate.

Not leaving Thailand quite yet

When I went to the local bus station there were only 2 bus routes and neither went towards Laos. So I took a bus to Mae Hong Son, which is in north eastern Thailand. Im glad I did because this is much less touristy and a really nice place. Tomorrow Im going to catch a bus to Ma Sa Riang (about 4 hours south). After that Im going to catch a bus to Chaing Mai (second biggest city in Thailand) then to Chaing Rai. From there Im probably going to cross into Laos and take a boat down the Mekong River to the capital of Laos. I heard that you can get a free visa stamp in the capital that allows you to stay in Thailand for 2 months without having to leave. I dont plan on staying here that long because I want to check out other countries, but its nice to have the option. Most of this probably doesnt mean much to anyone reading who doesnt have a map of Thailand in front of them, so sorry about that. I dont think that the majority of people that come to Thailand take this path but it seems pretty cool.

Pai

Im in Pai now. Its a little village in northern Thailand with a bunch of activites like rafting and treking to do. Its really nice, but everyone knows it so there are a lot of travelers here. I got a bungalow for 100 Baht a night (about 3 dollars). Tomorrow I think Im going to head to Laos for a couple weeks. I need to meet a friend in Bangkok in 13 days. I wanted to do Viet Nam, but I dont want to rush it so I will probably stay in Laos. Because of immigrations I can only be in Thailand for 2 weeks at a time once I leave so after meeting my friend I will probably go to Cambodia to at least get my passport stamped. All is good.

Chaing Mai

The morning I decided I was going to head north to Chaing Mai I met someone going the same way. Next thing I knew we were in Chaing Mai and she was signed up for a medetation at a big buddist temple here. I decided to give the medetation thing a try and did it for 5 days. They were 5 of the hardest days in my life. You could only talk to the teacher once a day and not talk to any of the other meditators. No reading, music, tv, internet, or any other form of entertainment. We ate twice a day at 7am and 11am and we were not allowed to eat later then that. We also woke up at 5am to start meditating. After doing this I realized that medetation is not really my thing. It was cool to learn about the buddist culture and I have a lot more respect for monks now, but I dont think I will ever do it again for that long. That being said, I did figure out what I wanted to while being there. So all in all it was a good experience, but it was I much harder task then I originally thought.

Thailand

Flew into Bangkok last night. Today Im going to try and catch a train or bus to Chiang Mai in the North. There are some temples and cultural stuff like that to check out up there so it should be interesting. I might even do a meditation thing because it seems like a cool experience.

Leaving NZ

I am flying to Australia this afternoon. Im staying in Sydney for 3 nights then I fly to Bangkok. I had to book a ticket to Singapore for 30 days after I arrive in Thailand. After traveling for a little while I have realized that its always great and exciting to see new places, but the people I meet are what really changes me. Everyday I meet new people, most of whom I will never see again, and that is the best part about traveling. Its a little depressing knowing I will never see most of these people again, but its still great to socialize with people from all over the world. Some of the people I have the most in common with are from places completely foreign to me.

Skipping Australia

Im not going to stay in Australia as long as I had planned on. Its pretty expensive because of the exchange rate, so Im going to go to Thailand sooner. That means almost 2 months in South East Asia! Im pretty excited again. I will be able to see a lot more then I would have been able to see in Aus.

Heading North

Im catching a night bus from Wellington to Auckland. Im going to try and see the Bay of Islands and any other nice areas near the city. I fly to Oz on the 11th, so NZ is almost done. I put a bunch of pictures on facebook for friends who didnt have cameras along the way, so if you want to see some of the places Ive been check it out there.