Live from Bangkok

Hey there everyone, its 12:10pm in bangkok and the sun is absolutely searing. I haven't had a chance to upload any pictures yet but I will be leaving for Laos tonight, so once i'm back expect a huge collection of pictures.

Also, I think i got sick on the flight to tokyo, i've been walking around with a fever, hopefully its not swine flu (haha....) in any case i'm feeling better now.

Theres a LOT of foreigners here, almost 2:1 ratio of thai to foreigners in the area im staying in. In any case, I miss you all, and i miss the temperate weather back home.

I'll be back to post as soon as i can!

I leave in 10hours

My flight leaves at 10:30am EST tomorrow (tuesday), and i'm not done packing yet so i'm going to try and make this short. I'm just going to cover approximate dates & locations, contact information, and internet droughts.

Firstly, where i'll be and approximate dates are as follows in chronological order:

JUNE 24-25: Arrive in Bangkok, Thailand, go north, Enter Laos

JUNE 26-JULY 4: Laos (Huay Xai, Luang Nam Tha, Luang Prabang, Vientiane)

***Apparently there is little to no internet access in Laos, so don't expect to hear from me until i leave the country.

JULY 4-15: Thailand (Ko Tao diving, Ko Pha-Ngan full moon party, Bangkok & surroundings)

JULY 15-20: Cambodia (Siem Reap for Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh)

JULY 21-AUG 1: Vietnam (Saigon, Mekong Delta, Mui Ne sand dunes, maybe Dalat, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa)

AUG 1-14: China (Chengdu, maybe Shanghai, maybe Macau, Hong Kong)

AUG 14-21: Tokyo, Japan

I'll have a cellphone number for Thailand, Vietnam and China most likely, those numbers i'll post online as soon as i can. You're welcome to send me text messages if you feel like spending the 25c fee. Also remember that im living in a 12 hour difference.

In any case, I've got to get back to packing, see you all in august!

Packing is near impossible

Trying to fit a 17-85mm f/4-5.6 and a 50mm f/1.4 into a day pack with some other essentials is proving to be near impossible.

This trip is BALLS

I'm still planning, and looking at maps, and i think i just made more than enough time for Malaysia, and if i really feel like running myself to exhaustion, Singapore.

I'M GETTING TOOO FAR AHEAD OF MYSELF. This is exciting.

I looked at a globe, and it turns out for the bulk of my trip ill be south of the tropic of cancer, which means it's going to be blazing hot where I will be and shadows will be non existant.

General overview

Here's a quick idea of what my timeline is for this trip. The following lacks a tremendous amount of detail that will be posted on a later date (all times are local):

DEPART MTL: June 23 10am

ARRIVE BANGKOK: June 25 11pm

Thailand: Bangkok, Ko Tao, Scuba Dive, Fullmoon party(?), Golden Triangle(?)

Cambodia: Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)

Laos: Luang Prabang, Vientianne

Malaysia(MAYBE): Kuala Lumpur only

Vietnam: Mekong Delta, Saigon, Mui Ne sand dunes, Nha Trang, Hue ancient capital, Hoi An (maybe), Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa

China: Chengdu FOOOOOOOOOD, Shanghai, Zhuhai, Hongkong

DEPART HONG KONG: August 14th afternoon

ARRIVE TOKYO: August 14th night

Japan: Tokyo only, watch sunrise at Mount Fuji summit, visit shibuya, shinjuku, odaiba, harajuku, akihabara, roppongi, ikebukuro, tokyo bay, Tsukiji fish market, dunno what else.

DEPART TOKYO: August 21st night

ARRIVE MTL: August 21st 10pm

21 (or 20) MORE DAYS!!!

I'M BEYOND EXCITED. 20ish more days until I leave for Bangkok and the rest of Asia!!

Still need to plan, and buy things, and figure out visa stuff...

Anyways, I'm going to link you guys to a fellow friend whos also going to be backpacking asia, and will be visiting some breathtaking places: http://shuangandlex.blogspot.com/

ENJOY!!