No Wind in Hua Hin

Not too much to report. I've been in Hua Hin (about 3 hours south of Bangkok by bus) for almost a week now. I did some research about kite boarding in Thailand and this place came up. I didn't know what to expect but this is what I found - basically every retired, Speedo wearin', burnt European in the world is here. Nothing against burnt Europeans...it's just that I thought I was in Thailand. There is a beautiful, long white sand beach but unfortunately it's accompanied by high rises that line the entire 3KM stretch so I would have to say that this is not my idea of an island get away.

The only reason that I've stuck around this long is because I pulled the trigger and bought a kite board set up. Wind was good the first 2 days but the kite hasn't seen the light of day for the past four. Here's the routine: Get up, have breakfast, walk down to the beach, sit and wait for wind, have lunch, sit and wait for wind, sit and wait for wind, get up, walk home, have dinner, get ice cream, go to the Internet cafe, go home, go to bed. The only other excitement that I've had is when I went for a swim to get some exercise and got stung by a jelly fish on my stomach. Burned like hell for about 4 hours (felt feverish too) but I think the pain was lessened somewhat by the local food stall lady who immediately doused me with vinegar and aloe when I came out of the water. Nice lady.

I feel like someone is trying to tell me something. Here are some pictures of monks (I know - totally random) and below that is the latest from Chris on Cindy. Please think of her today and send her your best wishes for the Happiest of Valentines Day.

FMP



The doctors have decided to be more aggressive with Cindy's pancreaticcondition. They have kept her in the hospital for at least a few more days. On Tuesday (Valentines Day) they have her scheduled to be taken to the Kaiser Hospital in Anaheim for a special procedure that only that particular hospital can perform.

The procedure will drain the pseudo cyst and the pancreas of as much of their collected fluids as possible. SO they seem to have turned a corner in their approach to this condition. I expect Cindy to be in terrible pain because every time they have disturbed the pancreas, so far, the pancreas has kicked back. We'll find out. In some ways Cindy is like the pregnant mother who at the end just wants the baby out! Cindy wants this to be over!

The last few days have been good for us. Erin has once a gain returned from her trip and has spent 5 days here with us. She is so thoughtful and helpful. Erin is really a sweet kid, you know? I am very proud of her and I thank Miles for making his sacrifice to allow her to come here!

Please keep Tuesday in prayer for the doctors and Cindy.

Thanks,
Chris

It's been 6 months...

...on the road and time for a quick recap. But first, 2 confessions. I have read some other travel blogs and thought to myself, "This person needs to take a writing course or 7" or "This guy has gotta be 12 years old" or "Who writes this crap? Can this be real?" The thoughts that the author is trying to convey is done in such a manner that it either sounds like a 2 year old wrote it OR the author is trying too hard to sound like a published writer (using big words and what not) which in turn makes it all sound like crap. Then I went back and read our blog and realized that ours is a combination of both. No offense to any of you other "writers" but there is a reason why authors get paid to do what they do and I am unemployed in Bangkok right now.

Second - The 6 months have been awesome to say the least but I think I'm getting burned out. Maybe it's time to come home. That's all I have to say about that.

Review of where we've been in chronological order: Guam, Chuuk, Yap, Palau, Japan,

China, Vietnam (Erin went back home), Philippines, Vietnam (only for 4 days), Cambodia and now Thailand.

This is my 4th time in Bangkok (once with the family when I was younger, once with Erin in 1996, once for a wedding in 2001 and this time). It seems like no matter where you go in Southeast Asia, you inevitably end up in Bangkok. We took a long (13 hours) and bumpy ride from Siem Reap to Bangkok and had our first flat while taking public transportation. We consider ourselves very lucky in this category as we've heard some horror stories from other's in the past.

Erin has gone home again to attend her annual mandatory training for Southwest and I will spend the next 3 weeks looking for a place to kite board in Thailand. That's the plan for now at least as I was hoping to go trekking in Nepal while she was home but the state of affairs are currently more unstable than usual at the moment. Then I looked into snowboarding in India but the 5 day wait for a visa (not including weekends) and price of a round trip ticket was not worth it. Things could be worse.

Thought you might be interested in what I have been carrying around for the past 6 months. Everything here is what I left with except the articles that I have marked with an "*" which was picked up on the way. Starting from the top left corner and zig zagging my way through: Back pack, 2 pair of convertible pants, jeans, 2 pair of lightweight "comfortable" pants, 4 pair of underwear, 2 long sleeve shirts for warmth and 1 long sleeve shirt for "going out", 5 short sleeve tees (1 given as a gift in Japan), 1 sarong (essential!), 1 soft shell jacket, 1 rain jacket, 2 knitted hats, 1 pair of gloves, 1 belt, 1 mask & snorkel, swimming goggles, 2 Tupperware holding 4 months of diabetic supplies, glucose meter and frio wallets (keep insulin cool), 3 pair of board shorts, day pack, 5 pair of socks, 1 converter, 1 speaker for ipod, 1 ipod (essential!), underwater camera case, 1 headlamp(essential!), 1 non-battery powered flashlight*(given as x-mas present in the Philippines) , 1 USB headset* (great for talking on skype or google talk), headphones, sunglasses, handheld fan*, multipurpose knife* (essential & given to me as a gift from my Tito Manuel in the Philippines when he remembered that my leatherman was stolen in China), playing cards, Lonely Planet guide book and leisure book, toiletry bag, bandanna (essential), silk sleeping sack, travel pouch, pen, calculator* (essential for doing your conversions!), passport, wallet with credit cards, local & U.S. cash, sun hat, rain fly for back pack, rope (great for drying the laundry you just did), Mr. Blues, Tupperware to hold electronic "stuff", 1 pair of athletic shoes, 1 pair of tevas and 1 pair of flip flops.

FMP - Painting found on the infamous Koh San Road

This just in...Miles Parroco named HUSBAND OF THE YEAR!!!

Well, for those of you that don't know, not only is February 2nd Ground Hog's Day, but it also happens to be my birthday!! I turned the BIG 2-9! My last year in my 20's. ): Anyhow, I just had to make a special post to tell you just how wonderful my Miles is! So, here is what happened...
On the morning of February 1st I woke up casually and as usual Miles was already up and running. He said he was going to head down stairs to see if Paco, AnnCe' or Dennis (a Canadian guy we've been traveling with) were up yet. He was gone for about 10 minutes or so. I got dressed and ready for the day. He came back and said no one was up. I told him I was ready to go to breakfast, but he said he needed a few more minutes. Then he started complaining of stomach cramps and saying he didn't feel so well. (Not an unusual occurrence in this part of the world.) Then I heard a knock at the door and it was AnnCe'. She said she just got up and wondered if we'd eaten yet. I was more than ready to eat, as usual, and said, "let's go!". Miles said his stomach hurt too much and that he would stay behind. So AnnCe' and I headed off to breakfast.

AnnCe' told me that she met some French girl at the temples yesterday and the girl had some information on volunteering in Cambodia. So, she asked if we could stop by her hotel and talk to her after breakfast. I said, "sure, no problem!" After breakfast we walked over to the hotel. When we walked in I was thinking, "Wow! This place is really nice! What kind of back packer is staying here?" The man in the lobby asked if he could help us and I told him we were here to see a friend. AnnCe' said she forgot what room number and went to the front desk to ask. I just took a seat in the waiting area and admired my surroundings. Then the hotel lady asked us to follow her to the room. As we were walking AnnCe' turned to me and said, "This place is really nice, huh?" I said, "Yeah! It's like a mini oasis!". The grounds were so beautiful. There were little bungalows everywhere and lots of tropical plants, but it was all very nice, very not our budget! On the way to the room we passed by a pool. I've been wanting to go swimming for several days now and was already making plans in my head to ask how much they would charge me to spend the day at their pool! Once we got to the room the lady said go ahead and opened the door. I thought, "what is she doing?! This isn't our room, we can't just walk in!" Then AnnCe' opened the door a little and gave a little knock. I said, "AnnCe', you can't just walk in, what if she's not there?" Next thing I know I hear this horrible French accent calling, "Bonjour! Bonjour! Come in!" I was thinking, "that's strange, that voice sounds a lot like Miles." Then we walked in and I was hit with a wave of jealousy! The room smelled wonderful and looked so clean and fresh! Then I looked at the ground and saw Miles flip flops by the bed and my back pack under the bed! I said, "Miles what's going on?!" He burst out of the bathroom and said, "What?!! How did you know I was here?!" I said, "I can see my back pack under the bed!"
Anyhow, long story short (too late) I got to stay in the most heavenly room for 2 days! I had air conditioning, a hot water shower, a clean bed, comfortable pillows and a pool! I stayed by the pool all day! It was wonderful! Thank you Miles for knowing me so well! It's just what I needed! Also, thanks for being such a good liar AnnCe', you really helped pull it off!

The next morning (my actual birthday) Miles woke me up at 8:30 and told me to start getting ready for the day. I kept asking questions like, "should I wear my tennis shoes today?" The response, "just dress comfortable". "Do I need to put on some sun block?" The response, "just dress comfortable." So, I gave up trying to figure out what was going on and I just dressed comfortably. Then we had breakfast and while we were eating Paco and AnnCe' showed up. Of course they came smiling, saying their happy birthdays and giving me lots of kisses! Silly French girls! After breakfast Miles flagged down a tuk-tuk and we all got in...all except Miles. I said, "what?! You're not coming?!" He said no and waved goodbye.

A few minutes later we arrived in the main part of town. Paco and AnnCe' covered my eyes and led me down the street. When I opened my eyes we were standing in a Spa! Miles had arranged for a girls day at the Spa! Our visit started off with a nice cup of tea while our feet were washed in warm water full of tropical flowers! Then we had to pick out a fragrance for our massage and a body scrub. We each had a full body scrub, a full body massage and a facial! It was wonderful! Then we all went to lunch together, including Dennis. By the way, it was Dennis' birthday too! Poor guy...no one to spoil him, but we did our best (a few beers, a hammock and a t-shirt). After lunch Paco and AnnCe' took me to the beauty salon in the market for a manicure and pedicure! It was such an amazing day! I'll never forget it!

(the beautiful foot bath and the girls modeling our complimentary panties!)

So, I just wanted to brag about what a wonderful husband I have! He deserves a little public praise! And I wanted to thank Miles, Paco, AnnCe' and Dennis for making my birthday so memorable! Also, thanks to everyone back home for all the birthday e-mails and electronic greeting cards! I feel so loved! I wish you all the best! Hugs, Erin

Siem Reap - Angkor W"H"AT!

From Phnom Penh, we took a 5 hour bus ride north to the town of Battambang. Not too much to see but it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the "BIG" city. Spent 2 days there checking out the local temples and took a ride on the Bamboo train. 8 km's of uneven, bumpy, "single" railroad track that the farmers use to transport goods to the city. I mention single track because if you happen upon a "train" heading in your direction, you simply unload, lift up the platform, pull the axles and let the other train through. The ride was bumpy to say the least but it was a fun glimpse into local life and we were assured that this was smoother than any of the surrounding roads.

From Battambang, we took an 8 hour boat ride up the river to Siem Reap. Another scenic day as we wound our way lazily through riverside villages and farm land. It's currently dry season so the rivers are quite low. "How low are they!?" So low that we often bottomed out and the driver would have to gun the engine while two of the deck hands pushed us through with bamboo poles. We figured out quickly that this is why they told us "Any where between 5 to 7 hours." when we asked how long the ride was.

Siem Reap is the base to explore Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. We bought a 3 day pass and spent the first day exploring by bicycle (pedaled 17kms and got in well after dark). Erin and I figured we had enough of the bikes and did the big circuit (26kms) the next day by tuk-tuk. Erin opted out the 3rd day choosing the swimming pool over the saddle and I went back to Angkor Thom with the Frenchies by bike.

It's difficult to put the temples into words as any description would be a grave injustice. The next best thing are pictures but even then, you're unable to capture the size and beauty in it's full grandeur. My advice - Come and see them when you can!


Just for fun! - FMP