TRAVEL'S OF NICK AND SONJA

2006-05-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

Here is something you dont see every day... two carbon busas side by side.

2005-08-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

ADD THIS TO MY BLOG
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END of the photos for now, but VIDEO is comming! SCROLL DOWN TO 4/28 AND READ UP PLEASE!

2005-04-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, thats it for NOW!!! My camera is now broken and Im trying to find a replacement. Sonja and I are hanging out in Ko Samui for three more days and then we are heading to Hawaii for four more days. We have decided NOT to go to Costa Rica. We are just tired of travelling. Maybe later this year. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU who have made comments on the blog. There will be one more major post before this blog is closed and it will include VIDEO from all of our travels. See you then!!!

2005-04-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

As I take one last look at LAOS I realize that surely this is the most beautiful and magical place of all places I have traveled, and indeed any place I have ever lived or been. Vietnam, Cambodia, Borneo, Thailand were all wonderful, but Laos was hands down the winner. If you wish to go to South East Asia, I would strong suggest you stop by here! Email me for gps coordinates!
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2005-04-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Come back with my flashlight kid... (I wonder if he can comprehend that I paid thirty dollars for that and how long it will take his family to make the same amount, and my head spins.)
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2005-04-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

Cutest kids ever.
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2005-04-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

Magic tricks for the kids...
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2005-04-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

"If you don't drink this Im going to stick my finger up your nose."
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2005-04-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Sonja is obviously pleased with both the wine selection and the soup de jour.
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2005-04-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

It is finally the end of our long journey thru the forest and now we are welcomed by the friends and family of our guide to join them in the celebration they are having. Dont ask me what it was, I cant remember, but there were hundreds of people in the street and everybody was drunk, just wait until you see the video!
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2005-04-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

Read the right side of this sign.
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2005-04-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Finally, we are nearing civilization again.
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2005-04-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

In the distance, I can see another fire marking a new home and a new farm. I wonder to myself if maybe they are just moving around, Leaving their humble homes behind, and starting fresh with new land each year. It seems possible...
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2005-04-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

A beautiful jungle stream...
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2005-04-29T09:53:00.001-07:00

They sure dont make them like they used to!
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2005-04-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

We come across some local villagers who are burning the forest to make room for yet another farm area. They are building their new house as we come upon them.
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2005-04-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

Out the other side and on we go up the mountain.
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2005-04-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

We enter into a really cool place. There is a giant fissure in the side of the cliff and inside it is an ancient stone room with a perfectly made roof with inlets for lite.
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2005-04-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

Sonja is just ahead of me and the guide before her, when suddenly she makes a left into the side of the cliff and walks in.
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2005-04-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Our guide leads us directly towards the face of what appears to be a sheer cliff... the path seems to lead directly into the side of the mountain.
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2005-04-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

The noon day sun cuts thru the dense jungle canopy like a knife blade made of light.
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2005-04-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Our guide shows us the "path" up the mountain.
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2005-04-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

The local grasshopper. Note the distinctive leg markings.
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2005-04-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Here we see the remnants of what used to be about an acre of rain forest. As you can see now, it has been turned into farm ground for next years rice. Population grows, and rainforest deplete... Im not a tree hugger like some, but I do know that what is occuring is inevitable, despite our best efforts to try and think otherwise. Population growth does not stop.
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2005-04-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

Our guide shows us the knife that his great grandfather gave to his father who gave to him. It is silver, and despite its somewhat gaudy appearance, it is a sturdy and practical knife...
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2005-04-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Once she loads the hand crafted back pack full of rice or other produce, she will carry it the 12 miles or so to town... OVER THE MOUNTAIN you see pictured here. Notice that she is carrying a spear.
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2005-04-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

A local farm woman first collects the rice from the field by hand...
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2005-04-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

This is the view from the small shack were our guide fixed us lunch.
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2005-04-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

These butterflys flock together and almost form a plant. They are everywhere!
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2005-04-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

A giant among flys...
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2005-04-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

Sonja and I posing for the camera as we climb a natural path. This path was amazing simply because it was VERY DIFFICULT to climb, very hot and very steep, and yet SOMEHOW the local villagers climb over this mountain every single day with 50 lbs of rice on their back. Im talking children and old ladies. It had to be a hundred degrees and the humidity was overwhelming.
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2005-04-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Now we come across a naturally accuring formation of crystal. Sonja begins to break off a few pieces to bring home and give as gifts.
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2005-04-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

Check out his feet!!!
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2005-04-28T21:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a cool bug.
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2005-04-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

We will hike along the ridge just above the rock cliff, and then over the peak and down the other side... then on to the second peak to do the same thing again. No, really.
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2005-04-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Our guide points out the crazy path we are about to head towards next.
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2005-04-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Try not to bother the KILLER BEES NEST FOR GODS SAKE!!!!
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2005-04-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

We stop for a break and pose for a picture on this very cool rock formation. There is a sheer cliff just behind us.
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2005-04-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

As we begin our acent up the first of the two peaks, I look back over my shoulder and see a very nice view of the valley below. Note the schoolhouse near the bottom left corner.
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2005-04-28T21:29:00.001-07:00

Just down river, his two friends beat bamboo sticks in the water to drive the fish towards their spear gun wielding buddy!!!!!
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2005-04-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

When I saw this I could not believe my eyes. This little kid is SPEARFISHING in the river. Mind you he does not do this for fun, but rather to feed his family. No family member is supported by the others, but rather every one of them is expected to carry their own weight from the time they can walk until they die.
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2005-04-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Some local villagers look at us strangely as we walk by. They are especially intrigued by my fancy camera... almost as if they have never seen such a thing. After I took this photo, I showed them the preview on the small LCD screen, and they were most delighted.
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2005-04-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

First though, we pass thru the local village on the way to the bottom of the mountain. Along the way we see this fellow. They use him for breeding the local sow. What a life eh?
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2005-04-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

The next day comes and we have a "hike" planned. Much to my amazement, we are going to climb over TWO mountains. The first is the one on the right, and no Im not kidding.
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2005-04-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

Later that night, we enjoy some of the local "specialties".
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2005-04-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

As I look over my shoulder for the last time on the river for today, this is the site I see.
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2005-04-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

A small childs smiles at us as we land at the end of our trip.
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2005-04-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

Its starting to get dark, and we are near the end of today's journey.
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2005-04-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

The local people use the river for many things including irrigation, sanitation, primary drinking water supply, and on hot days as a swimming pool.
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2005-04-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

Another very unsafe contraption devised by the locals to dupe dumb tourist (like myself) to stop long enough to sell them over priced BEER LAO!!!
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2005-04-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

A comming sight as we went down the river was the local fisherman, often young boys, catching the local fish from the river.
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2005-04-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

Our party stops for lunch.
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2005-04-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

And yes, I did go off the VERY TOP ONE (the stand above the guys head) but Sonja chickened out.
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2005-04-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

The first of several really cool jumps that the local villagers have set up to tempt the tourist to stop. Once they do entice you to pull over they relentlessly sell you beer until you get up enough courage to jump off a very high (picture doesnt do it justice) bamboo jump, into what may well be 3 feet of water. You never know.
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2005-04-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Its really stunning to see this in real life. I have never seen sunlight do what this does before, Its impossible to explain the effect, but its surreal.
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2005-04-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

The sun is now casting a blinding light over the mountains... the small red dot you see just to the left of our kayak is the LAOS flag flying proud over a local building.
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2005-04-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

As we go down river, our small group of kayakers comes across a large group of beer guzzling intertubers. We douse them with water until they submit.
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2005-04-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Now we begin our Kayaking trip down the river. It was stunning. Day after day of beauty like this can start to affect you... in a good way.
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2005-04-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the whole cave. Sorry its a little out of focus.
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2005-04-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

Can you see why they call it Elephant cave? Remember, this is a natural stone formation.

2005-04-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

On the way out we stopped at the ELEPHANT CAVE. Inside was a small buddist temple. Because I donated 2000 of their dollars (about 20 cents), I was able to take these photos.

2005-04-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

Our next stop was at a giant underwater cave. You get on these intertubes and pull yourself by rope inside. I couldnt take my camera because there is no light and its very wet inside, but you should know that this cave goes about a half mile back, and by using the ropes, we pulled ourselves almost to the end of it and then back. The water was refreshingly cold.

2005-04-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

Sonja is getting hungry so she stopes for a fresh Pineapple.

2005-04-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

It is amazing when you think that this picture was taken in the year 2005. I mean, this is exactly how these people have lived for hundreds of years. and nothing has changed. Notice the sheer cliff just behind this little hut that goes strait up into the clouds.

2005-04-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

We begin our two day journey by hiking thru the dried out rice patties that will later be filled with water square by square, and then planted just before the rainy season.

2005-04-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Here is Sonja crossing a bamboo bridge to get to our starting point for todays hike and kayak.

2005-04-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Another shot, but once again, the photos really do not do it justice.

2005-04-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

The Nha Trang river runs right thru the middle of this town, and for today's event we will be kayaking down it.

2005-04-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting photo. This is the local bus in town. He basically has his field plow hooked up to a custom trailer he made. Now the interesting thing to note here is that the locals use these field plowers to pull every sort of thing, from plows, to bus rear ends, for water pumps (by hooking wheel to pully), and for many other uses.

2005-04-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

To call this area a "mountainous region" is completely an understatement. These photos really dont do it justice. Imagine looking at a completely flat piece of land, and then a wall of green pops out of and goes strait into the clouds in a near verticle push. Now multiply that by enough mountains to cover the horizon in every direction. That is where we are now. This guy in the camper has been on the road now for about 2 years, and is planning on going to Africa (by land) in this RV. Crazy Brits.

2005-04-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

After only a short stay in the capital city, we move on to a much smaller city about 3 hours north Viang Viene (spelling?). Anyway this town is really funny. Its main road is about a mile long and has over 10 pizza shops in the very same distance. Every one is an outdoor place, all with TVs playing various episodes of FRIENDS and some movies as well. So basically, you party, eat pizza, drink beer, and watch friends. Well, there is one other thing you can do too, and thats go hiking, intertubing down the river, and kayaking in the local mountains.

2005-04-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

hello again everybody. Ok, our next stop was LAOS. We flew into the main city named VIENTIENE. The first thing I did of course was to rent the biggest motorcycle I could find and terrorize the local male scooter riding population by demonstrating their lack of manhood in the face of superior horsepower.

2005-04-16T01:32:00.000-07:00

Well , thats it for now!!! REMEMBER, READ FROM THE BOTTOM UP. THIS POST STARTS AT THE PICTURE OF THE KID EATING THE SPIDER... Please read UPWARD from there!!! THANKS

2005-04-16T01:30:00.001-07:00

Dinner is superb.

2005-04-16T01:30:00.000-07:00

Especially as iut gets dark.

2005-04-16T01:29:00.001-07:00

The view from the room is quite nice.

2005-04-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

On to the good news. Sonja and I decided we needed a vacation from our vacation and are now staying in a five star hotel in NHA TRANG (The French Riveria of Vietnam) Our room is 4th floor dead center. 75 bucks a nite including all meals.

2005-04-16T01:26:00.001-07:00

Here is one last shot of that tank as we walked out.

2005-04-16T01:26:00.000-07:00

At the end of the tour, I was tempted to buy a "traditional Vietnam remedy" known as snake wine. Apparently it fixes rhomotism.

2005-04-16T01:25:00.000-07:00

Even if his position came under heavy fire, he would simply duck into the tunnel and go to the next fire hole.

2005-04-16T01:24:00.000-07:00

It felt sickening to stand at the same spot where once a Viet Cong soldier fired his machine gun on unknowning American soldiers walking down this road. From this position the enemy had a clear vision 360 degrees and a clear shot at any advancing force, while at the same time enjoyed near complete camoflage.

2005-04-16T01:23:00.000-07:00

An American sized entrance into the cave network. Very cramped for me.

2005-04-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

During the war, the VC would find tires from American vehicles and make shoes out of them.

2005-04-16T01:21:00.001-07:00

Various claymore mines.

2005-04-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

This is a simple land mine made used the recycled powder from our own bombs.

2005-04-16T01:20:00.001-07:00

Unexploded American bombs were sawed in half and the powder inside used to create land mines and other booby traps.

2005-04-16T01:20:00.000-07:00

They put these traps behind doors so that when you open them the wooden spikes come at you. If you put your hand out to stop them, the bottom half is jointed, so it swings at you with added force and hits you in the groin.

2005-04-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

Here is the roller trap. Imagine if you fall into one. The floor is six feet down.

2005-04-16T01:18:00.001-07:00

If you step on the center piece the spikes impale you just around your stomach.

2005-04-16T01:18:00.000-07:00

Additionally, they made many simple traps that were designed to lower American morale by severly injuring a soldier without always killing him. Here we see a step trap.

2005-04-16T01:17:00.000-07:00

From the hidden caves they could pop out of these "spider holes" and take pot shots at unsuspecting enemy soldiers and vehicles.

2005-04-16T01:16:00.001-07:00

Americans are just to big to fit thru the entrances, and even if they could, the VC are waiting just below.

2005-04-16T01:16:00.000-07:00

Once in the hole, they cover it again as they enter, leaving it as camoflauged as it was before.

2005-04-16T01:15:00.001-07:00

The Vietnam guide easily fits thru the entrance to the tunnels, of which there were hundreds scattered everywhere.

2005-04-16T01:15:00.000-07:00

This is what we are up against in Vietnam.

2005-04-16T01:14:00.000-07:00

Can you spot the entrance?

2005-04-16T01:12:00.000-07:00

Our next visit is a musem that tells us about the tunnels within a small town just outside of the city. Apparently, the U.S. forces built an entire base right on top of this tunnel complex and didnt find out until it was too late.

2005-04-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

As we leave we meet this fellow outside begging.

2005-04-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

The machine gun looking out. It should be noted that both the plane and the helicopter had bullet holes throughout. If only they could talk...

2005-04-16T01:09:00.001-07:00

Here is a Huey gun ship and a phantom fighter jet.