New blogs

So here's me travels documented for the most part.
But www.beandolan.blogspot.com is where you'll find me ramblings
And www.beanspics.blogspot.com is where you'll find me pictures.

Otherwise feel free ta peruse the archives here.

Home again

Do I feel different?
Yes.

I've spent the last few days, adjusting, then mucking it all up!

I've spent most of my time with a pint of Guinness in my hand, so it's been great as you can tell.

It's great to see everyone again, even people who I hadn't been in contact with before I left have suddenly waltzed back into my life, the more the merrier I say.

Plans?
Music.

Music. Music. Music.


Also, in a way I've become addicted to doing this diary of everyday life.
So I've decided to set up another one:
www.beandolan.blogspot.com

Actually now there is another one too!
This one is for photos (No rambling!)
www.beanspics.blogspot.com

Now!

I love most of you, and would love to hear from everyone.
Gimme news, email addresses, phone numbers and whatever else you can spare.

Bye bye beansontour.

Fans are a lifesaver

At some point in the excessive humidity of yesterday evening, I found myself the better part of naked in my hostel room to catch as much moving fan-air as my skin possibly could.
During this time the mirror I passed revealed to me that I had a mossie bite on my chest. I proceeded to scratch it even though it wasn't itchy, and then I realised I wasn't getting any histamines running through my veins; that ol' familiar I-know-it's-bad-but-it-feels-so-good-feel of scratching a mossie bite.

"Why?" - you ask

Because it was my God damn nipple.

I mean how much heat does your brain require before you start thinking your body parts are foreign to your body.

It's too hot, I went to bed at 1.00Am and got up at 4.00AM.
My eyes are tired, but that's about it.
You never feel "Full of life" in this heat anyway, so sleep is optional sometimes.

"Quit your whinging Bean and get a room with A/C"
NO.
I've still got this head cold from the last A/C in Vietnam.
A/C bad.
Fan good.

I took my sleeping bag, travel pillow(Thank you Qantas) and full bottle of factor 25 sunscreen to the street vendors with the "We buy everything" signs.
The sleeping bag wasn't as compact as the the average one, so that didn't fly.
I didn't even try sell the other two, I just gave the bag of stuff to her.
She seemed very grateful, so that's good.
I'm going around the hostel asking people if they want all sorts of things:
Clothes, Organic Aloe Vera gel, Deet/Insect repellant. Even unused throatsprays and some half-used bottles of shower gel etc.
It's good craic, people are very glad to get anything for free, it's like a mini xmas.

It just dawned on me that I remember saying to myself a month or two ago - "I should shtick the highlights and lowlights of the last year on the blog... "
I might just go have a beer and make a wee list...
Yes that's exactly what I'll do.
Stay tuned......

It will appear here in a few hours:

Here it is!
Well I didn't spend taht long at it, just the stuff that came to mind in five minutes before my food came. Here goes(In no particular order I might add)....
I'll get the lows out of the way first, so we can end on a high:

LOWS:

• Getting robbed of my Aussie dollars going through Asia last year.
• Hearing of Henrietta being robbed off the Scots.
• Phonecalls from Ireland - a strange one you may think, but almost all calls(except for most of Mams!) were news of people passing away.
• The silly chain of events in NZ regarding the car, those bastards.
• Running out of travel insurance!

That's about it for lows, onto the highs!

HIGHS:

• Crossing the Nullabor.
• Learning to surf.
• Surfing with Dolphins.
• Becoming a Rescue Diver.
• Terrence.
• Red Bluff.
• Learning to juggle.
• Night surf on our last full moon down under.
• Dawn and dusk surfing too, magic!
• Learning to play the didjeridoo.
• Singing and playing in Melbourne and Agnes.
• Doing a Thai Massage course, albeit very short!
• Laos in general!
• Talking to monks.
• Going down a 70kph water slide - a very big thing for me!
• Seeing certain animals in the wild like: Sharks, Whales, Crocs, Snakes, Walabies, Kangaroos, Wombats, Goannas, Lionfish...the list goes on and on!
• "Teaching" kids in Laos .
• Seeing the biggest Spider I've ever seen in real life or magazines/TV.
• Little Creatures and Little Creatures Brewery, Fremantle, Western Australia.
• Halong Bay - Vietnam, gorgeous.
• Finding hot springs in NZ
• Getting a custom made surfboard!

As you can see, the highs are way higher! And that's all I can think of in five minutes, I'd hate to see the length of an hour high and low list!

I bumped into a guy we met in Agnes Waters' Workmans beach campsite - small world, also on that corner I've met everyone else. Speaking of which Claire, whom I left in Chiang Mai, found me on that corner. It's a magnet for meetings.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Gecko Story

I have to say, they are one of my favourite living creatures in the world.
I recently found out some recent discovery about them(Thanks Smeels)
That they they don't have suction pads, or "Sticky feet", but that they've tiny hairs so thin that the actually slip in around atoms, and by modern sciences standards, the connecting hairs on the feet technically becomes part of what ever it is they're on.
An unbelievable story, that upon telling it to whomever I regale it too, they instantly think I'm bullshitting.

Well from now on, I'm just gonna give them the blog address, and tell them to look up this post and click either one of these:

Shorter one

Longer one

...score one: Bean

Almost there

I'm back in Bangkok, after getting the train - which was fifteen hours in a seat instead of a bed - I was pleasantly surprised at how energetic I was when I got here.
Back in the same room, in the same guesthouse from before leaving for Chiang Mai, have my airport bus booked, have taken most of the junk out of my bag and have enough money for four more meals and ten more beers.
Perfect!

Chiang Mai, I like it there, it was like a retreat in the end.
I met some cool people:
Claire, who is flying around the same time tomorrow night to London, so we're meeting for one last beer in the airport before our flights - ahhh the last Singha supper...
Steve, who is a middle-aged, quiet wanderer of the world from the edge of the countryside near Brisbane. He says he's off to San Francisco sometime soon, I wouldn't be surprised if I met him there some year, playing chess with the bums and living the beat life.
What a character...

Well I best go think of a decent last day travelling post for tomorrow, as all the posts for the last two months or so have been of low grade quality, due to me being lazy, and not caring as much for it!

Here's a few photos:

Myself and Claire, having our last beer in Chiang Mai 

The winner 

As you can see from the inbetween-carraige-section, safety on the trains is not an issue, altough that's untrue: as there are several armed guards on the trains. It'd be hilarious to see the ticket inspector on the train to Galway with a 9MM at his side!

Taken from hanging outside the train (They don't go too fast here, about 50k)

Saying goodbye to my favourite hoodie. I've had to leave a load of stuff and I'm still over the limit. Surfboard taking up most of it, leaves me with an 8kg limit for my bags!

I hear that train a-comin'

The trains are back running!
I'm getting out of this town.
Wahoo!
Only thing is, there are no beds on the train left so its 15hours in a seat back, but it's still better than a bus.
I've got a few baht left, almost enough to last until I leave, so I'm gonna budget like a jinit until I get on my flight.
Kim is collecting me at the airport, although I can't get in contact with her! But still, Dit is also meeting me there, so I won't be stuck...

Bangkok tomorrow, I've nothing to do before I leave Sunday night, so if anyone is online over the weekend drop me a mail or something as I'll be bored as hell!
I've mentally gone home a few days ago.
I guess I'm just tired, I need a bed that isn't lumpy or infested with bed bugs.
I need a Guinness.

Massage anyone?

I still suck at it, but I am qualified!
It wasn't a four year course either, but I've got notes...

Tim, Smeels and Macleod after much effort, finally got into Burma/Myanmar today.
I wish them nothing but the best of luck with not dying in there.
Macleod might be OK, at least there is a British embassy (Although I'm sure he'll only go to the British embassy if he really really needs too)
Poor guy.

I'm trying to get out on the train, but I think the tracks won't be fixed before my flight, so I'll just have to take a silly bus journey down, I'll leave tomorrow night more than likely...

My birthday was gas, after hours of massage lessons, I was treated to the "Worlds fastest Indian" - which was possibly, no definitely the best Indian I've had, by Macleod. I also got some pressies from Tim and Smeels.
Aren't they as good.

Here's some stupid photos....

That's right, a qualified Thai massage Bean 

What an american lookin' bloody arsh 

You gotta love this dog, it's eating Smeels hands 

What!??!?!? 

Ahhhhhh....aren' they cute. Lets hope they make it out alive from Myanmar. 

Me and me bday pressies yesterday, and a cup of masala tea! 

Rain

I forgot to say that all this rain has caused severe flooding.
Anymore rain over the next few days and the river will break the auld banks.
Unlucky for us, rain is forecast for the next week.
Some parts of the city are under a metre of water, low lying roads and tunnels are under two metres!
But worse than that, well worse for me, is the fact that the flooding has destroyed a section of the Bangkok-Chiang Mai train track i.e. I can't get back for my flight, unless I fly.
But usually the airstrip is also flooded, so this could be entertaining...
It's ironic: The flooding is due to tree felling to make way for some tourist place.

Now!

Cold feet about a wet week.

So it rained, and it rained.
It wet my clothes on the line, and the clothes on my back.
I decided it was time to go home.
I phoned the airport, the airline in Australia, Bangkok and Ireland, trailfinders and I didn't get anywhere.
Oh well.
It's amazing how bad weather made me realise I've nothing major left to see or do here.
Of course there are many things I could do, or could have done, but they aren't on the agenda.
So I tried to get an earlier flight home.
To no avail.

Well today I made sure - justin timbercase they were wrong yesterday!
They were not.

I enrolled in a Thai massage course around the corner, starting tomorrow.
Wahoo!

Now I thank the rain for making me do something constructive.
Hopefully we'll actually go to this Thai boxing match tonight too, and not get too lazy like the countless nights before.

It's all good in the hood.

Chat ya'll soon

Informative post

Macleod....what a bloody arsh

Sad news

My friend Rob O'Rourkes Dad passed away last week.
My thoughts are with him.

Bebo and Brise lookin weird

http://beandolan.bebo.com is my bebo page, if anyone has it, and is looking for me, so maybe you just look for beandolan, who knows? Let me know how you find it...

here's some photos anyway:

We had some good craic with our rope dragons at dinner an hour ago. 

Standing up and all 

What is going on with his face? 

Smeels and her new camera, yes Nellie, she did indeed get a haircut!

Beautiful 

Our new room, Macleod feels worse than I do after the burgers... 

At least they are honest. Well its one of the few things they're honest about!

Here's the new hair, it calmed down a bit afterwards. I started getting dreads in Oz, so I just speeded up the process and made sure they came out OK. I'm starting to look like a red head in photos for some reason...

Chiang Mai

We're here!
This is where I plan to spend the rest of my time pretty much.
The others are leaving during the week for Burma (Lucky ducks)

Well I'm tired after putting up the photos to follow, so this'll be short.
Also the dodgy burger yesterday isn't helping...damn these western food cravings....

I hurt me foot like a bloody arsh:

The foot incident

The phone rings in the room.
I turn off the shower and proceed to the bathroom door in my towel.
Having trouble opening the lock, due to the door being warped and causing tension on the lock, I try lean my shoulder against it.
I slip across the door. Shoulder's too wet.
Phone still ringing.
"Grab the lock and kick with your foot while holding the towel Bean" - I said to myself.
*Kick*
The phone stops ringing.
Someones talking on the phone....Tim.
Tim has answered it.
Good man Tim.
Then it hits.
An intense pain in the foot.
After a muffled curse and some moaning I go out into the room, the plot to open the door was successful.
I take the phone, it's Mam.
I'm slipping on something....
Blood.

As it turns out, there was the flat head of a nail(Shtuck out about 5mm) keeping the bottom of the warped door in place.
"Mam can you ring me back in three minutes?"

What a bloody arsh eh?!

Well it's not brilliant I can tell you.
It puts a dampener on the things I came to Chiang Mai for: A hill trek, perusing markets, foot massage and the biggest rock climbing in south east asia.
Foiled.

Well that's what I get.

Here's some photos of it all better after the blood stopped:

Pressure on the wound! 

If only I had pulled straight off the nail, and not down an inch first... 

All better, using some toilet paper and the elastic of Tims Simpsons boxers, which had definitely seen a better day! Hehe 

Pics

Some more pics:

The routine of packing and unpacking never stops, I think I'll find it very hard to stop lving out of a bag, I'll probably keep mine half packed for a good while. 

Recarving the jade Buddha, and giving it a quick rinse so we can photograph it 

The jade Buddha