 If there is something everybody should do once in their life – it is to take a helicopter tour of their own city.
This past weekend we did just the same and went flying with Celebrity Helicopters’ very own Robin Petgrave. Our flight was something that we probably won’t ever forget and included dropping our jaws to all the Celebrity homes, flying directly over the sky scrapers in Downtown, cruising around the Peninsula in Palos Verdes and munching on Crickets… yes, Crickets.
With Celebrity Helicopters located in Compton, Ca (www.celebheli.com) you can pretty much customize any tour you want in Los Angeles and decide what you want to see. Robin put together a special tour for us and flew us from his location in Compton, CA to Santa Monica where we had lunch at the very exotic asian cuisine- Typhoon. I’ve never formally seen Insects and Amphibians on a menu before so this was definitely a first. Maybe I have seen it before, but not in a place where you least expect it… c’mon, ‘aviations peoples’ and insects??? – who would’ve known.
So we sat down at Typhoon located at the Santa Monica Airport and commenced our brunch with Continue reading The Coolest Thing You Can Do In Los Angeles!
From Delhi To Pathankot To Dharmsala To Palampur To Being Zapped To Sherab Ling
Himachal Pradesh
The Sleeper Train
The sleeper train to Pathankot was another first for me, even in Europe I had not taken an overnight train so I was really excited. The beds on the train and the train itself were everything I expected and actually probably a bit nicer.
While at Old Delhi train station we had our entourage of very heavy luggage filled with wines, whiskies, too many clothes, and just the usual belongings. We didn’t hire a Sikh to help us to the carriage but we should’ve because one of our bags was almost 100 pounds. I was wondering how one of those lil’ Sikhs will carry our bag on top of their head, it’s amazing how they can manage to carry anything on their heads.
Continue reading Sleeper Train Journey Through Himachal Pradesh
Before we left for India we had to make travel arrangements in Bangkok: sorting out visas, buying wines, whiskeys, and foods for Ben’s friends that lived in Dharamsala. Ben, my travel-mate, had lived in India a few years ago he moved there when he was 23 from San Francisco on a whim. He was a waiter then and had heard about India and the Dharma from friends he met in the US. He said he was so inspired to live a different life internationally that he said he picked up the phone and literally called Tibetan refugee camps in northern India and days later he was on a plane. His story is actually very inspirational and one that really impresses many people. He speaks many different languages and that is only the beginning.
I was really fortunate to travel with Ben since he lived in India for a couple years and had everything under control, knowing how to deal with customs, what to bring, where to go, when to go, the language, the whole thing… I was really lucky.
Continue reading Days In Delhi
Phnom Pehn. The Real Cambodia.
One of the reasons why we ended up in Phnom Penh was probably because how many travelers do, Bangkok Airways is just too damn expensive. For about a fifth of the price to fly to Siem Reap on Bangkok Airways ($450 USD/ return), we easily opted for Air Asia to Phnom Penh from Bangkok ($75 USD/ return).
Phnom Penh is a bit rough and definitely shows the aftermath of the 1970’s. For those that don’t know (because I didn’t), when America bombed the shit out of Vietnam they also bombed the shit out of Cambodia where the Khmer Rouge (communist influence) fled. The Khmer Rouge headed south where they enslaved, brainwashed, and killed hundreds of thousands of their own people. This was an indirect result of the Vietnam War and is very disturbing to understand. I don’t know if I’ll ever completely understand this chapter of history, but after seeing the movie “The Killing Fields” I got the basics.
Continue reading Phnom Pehn. The Real Cambodia.
Angkor Wat. Wat an Amazing Place!
The 5 hour bus ride to Siem Reap was quite the adventure. We were assigned to two seats towards the front but since the bus was empty in the back we switched seats to sprawl out and recoup much needed sleep. After 2 hours into Cambodia’s quite scenic and story-telling countryside we stopped in a little town.
In this town, I was feeling a bit thirsty so I thought maybe I’d try to drink some fresh coconut juice. After asking the guy on the side of the road to go ahead and prepare my coconut, I reached into my pocket and realized I left the money in the bus. While I was walking towards the bus, and while he hacking away at the coconut, HIS BLADE came flying at me and I ran for my life. Well it didn’t make it nearly that close to me but it shook me up a bit because if I were standing in front of him I would’ve been cut. So I went back into the bus and never came out.
Continue reading Angkor Wat. Wat an Amazing Place!
Ban Laem, Cambodia
My 30 day Thailand visa that was given to me on arrival was about to expire so my options to extend another 30 days in Thailand were to fly international or take a bus to the border. While flipping through the Bangkok Post, there was a tour company called Fine Day Tours which had an advertisement for 2000 Baht ($50 USD) for a 7 hour trip to and from the Cambodian border. The tour company did an exceptional job and the 7 hours wasn’t so bad.
While arriving to the border there was a dramatic difference between the two countries. I know not to judge a country by its borders but there was a huge difference in the quality of life. If Thailand is a 2nd or 3rd world country then Cambodia is definitely 3rd or 4th world. The asphalt literally stopped and the dirt roads began. There were many people begging for money and disabled, probably evidence of the recent genocide and civil conflicts in the 1970’s. Amongst the border town there was dusty air, children without shoes and in all due respect a primitive lifestyle presence. But I really can’t have my honest opinion of Cambodia until I see more of the country, which this tempting trip to the border definitely inspired.
Continue reading Ban Laem. A Taste of Cambodia.
Ayutthaya, Thailand
My day trip to the former royal capital, Ayutthaya (a-yu-thia) was a worthy trip away from Bangkok. The whole experience of taking a train in Thailand was just fun in itself. On the train ride heading out of Bangkok, it was an experience to see all the poor families living near the tracks. I always wonder what happens when the monsoon season arrives and the water starts to rise, what will happen to those people?
Continue reading The Ruins In Ayutthaya
Chiang Mai, Thailand
I was able to make a 2 day visit up north to Chiang Mai. At first when I arrived I thought to myself “where are the elephants?”, the place looked just like another city. After walking around and figuring it out, I realized that Chiang Mai is just a place to sleep and most of the adventure is in the surrounding hills. But the city itself I found quite welcoming, relaxing, and really inexpensive compared to Bangkok and Koh Samui. Chiang Mai is probably the favorite of many farrangs traveling through Thailand. While in Chang Mai I actually witnessed more older Western men and their Thai lady loves’ . Aside from the sites to see and things to do in Thailand, I just find some things very interesting, but very cool & open.
Continue reading The Trek Life in Chiang Mai
Koh Samui. It’s A Dangerous Paradise
You couldn’t pay me to go back to Samui. If it was not for the company of friends I had on the island I would’ve left on the first day. Samui WAS paradise, was in the sense that it’s destroyed now and getting overdeveloped as a result of the demands of Westerners. It’s just another place where Europeans [who fly into to Bangkok transfer on a plane to Samui and then fly back to Europe[ go. These Europeans seem like they just want a beach, a tan, some beer and a cheap shag. It’s almost the European version of a bad spring break vacation with pubs, English breakfasts, Italian cuisines and maybe some bits and pieces of Thailand. Oh, I forgot, yes, there is a little bit of Thailand… how about the sex industry?
I’d like to build up Koh Samui as a great place to visit but I think there are far better islands to see where you can actually relax. Ko Pag Ngan I hear is pretty nice or Ko Tao.
Funny Danger
Samui is very dangerous. The roads are not only a play ground for Westerners to strut their stuff on motorbikes, but a battleground for fatal injuries. No joke. Every moment feels as if you are risking your life and about to have a head on colision. I even had my own Koh Samui scars which are my souvenirs of the place.
In Samui there are people everywhere who have been injured from motorbikes. While in a store I ran into a Euro who had broke his collarbone, destroyed the left part of his face, eyes bloodshot, arm in a cast, and metal plates in his fingers. He was riding down the street, when a dog jumped in front of him and he went flying in the air with his bike. Ironically his son was also hit by an out of control motorcylist on a different occasion during the same week! Imagine that!
Continue reading Koh Samui. Paradise Island or Dangerous Island?
Taipei, Taiwan
To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect from Taiwan. I heard a couple things but I didn’t think my trip would be as much fun as it was.
Arriving jet lagged into a bustling Asian city can always be pretty tiring but Taipei kept me awake with its fantastic nightlife and markets.
Taipei has some great markets so I decided to finally buy a digital camera. I was forced to really search for the place to buy it since Taipei likes to cluster certain products into concentrated areas. I took a taxi to the Computer Market where there were some great deals on computer equipment etc. The prices at the computer market were about $3,000NT cheaper ($100USD) than the prices on the main shopping street ????.
Continue reading Surprised By Taipei
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Welcome to my Travel Blog
This is a place where I'd like to share photos and stories from around the world. I hope you enjoy it. When I first traveled to Europe while I was in college I really had the time of my life seeing the many different types of cultures. The flavors of the food, the welcome of the people, the love shared across the world was so different than living in the United States ... so i decided to create this website to inspire others to travel and share their stories... and of course live outside of the luggage... [read more]
this site is under renovation this site is currently under construction, please stay tuned as most photos are being uploaded into the new system.
thx, dec, 2009
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