Sydney

After a great four days with Jono at his place, I went just a few minutes down the road to Jeff's apartment, set right on the southern tip of Bondi Beach. I met Jeff, from Dallas, while in Prague with J.D. in May of 2006. Me and J.D were walking out of a club when we saw a group of American guys waiting in a long line. We told them not to bother going in, as the place was filled with dudes, and we kept on walking. The following night we ran into the same group of guys and ended up hanging with them the next three nights. Over the years, Jeff and I kept in touch, mostly exchanging stories about our travels. He spent a couple of years working in London as a tax consultant and then returned back to Dallas for a little bit. Just before I left for Thailand, he drove up from Dallas to hang out when I went down to Austin, and he told me that his company was transferring him to Sydney shortly after that. So, the moral of the story is... keep in touch with people, because you never know when you're going to cross paths again. I met a guy outside of a random club in a random European city, and now I am sitting on the couch in his apartment, overlooking the waves crashing on Bondi Beach.

Sydney has been pretty cool so far. After a fun weekend of going out and getting to know the city's nightlife, I started the sightseeing on Monday. Jeff took off from work and we started out with the basic walking tour, visiting some memorials and historic sights. The architecture of the city is quite fascinating. After cruising through a large botanical garden we saw the world famous Sydney Opera House.

Today I took some buses and trains across the city to get to Darling Harbour, another iconic Sydney site. The Harbour is mostly surrounded by expensive hotels and restaurants, but back in the day it was home to numerous industrial factories. It was really nice to walk around and watch everyone sitting around the Harbour, enjoying the nice weather with a book, some on their lunch break, or just sitting. I figure I'll do a day or two more of site seeing before I start the surfing. I know once I get on the board I'm not gonna get off, which is why I am knocking out all the site seeing first. The weather here is warm, but it is not beach weather anymore. The majority of people left on Bondi are surfers, as it cools down at night enough for a longsleeve shirt.

ANZAC Day, Rugy, and Aussie Rules Football

Yesterday, here in Australia, was the national holiday known as ANZAC Day, commemorating their fallen troops. Along with parades and fire works, each bar and pub hosts a game called Two Up. Two Up involves two coins on a wooden paddle. Prior to a person flipping the paddle, everyone in the crowd places bets amongst each other as to whether the coins will land heads or tails. There is one coin flipper for the whole bar, standing on a platform with a judge who shouts the results. If the two coins flipped land on both heads and tails, everyone boos and the coins must be flipped again. If the coin flipper throws a "no result" three times, he/she must get down and do push ups in front of a chanting crowd. You don't want to be that guy... You don't want to be that guy. This event is fun for everyone because it is the only day in which Two Up is legal. It was a game played by Australian soldiers back in World War I, the reason why it is only legal on ANZAC Day. Some people bet $100, $50, $20, or as little as $5. I found $5 on the floor, bet tails, and lost.

I got a heavy dose of the Aussie sports scene, too. I saw a Rugby game at a small stadium, and it was very confusing at first, but I caught on quickly. There's actually two forms of Rugby; Rugby Union and Rugby League. The rules are slightly different. Now, Aussie Rules Football is a an awesome game. Played with a Rugby ball, the idea is to bring the ball all the way down to the endzone, but points are only scored when you kick it through a field goal-like structure. You can pass the ball via punching it and kicking it to teammates, and can tackle and wrestle the ball away just like in Rugby. It's a rough game, but very cool. But it can be difficult because being an amazing athlete isn't enough. You must be a very good kicker as well.

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Sydney

Hey guys and gals. Well, I'm rested up and rejuvenated in Sydney, Australia at my fav mate Jono's house. I met Jono, along with a couple other people I'm visiting in Sydney, while on my Birthright trip to Israel two summers ago. I haven't done too much sight seeing yet. I rested up all of yesterday and took it easy, then went out to a club with Jono and his girlfriend Sarah, who is from Philly and I also met on the Birthright trip, but now lives and works in Sydney. So prior to hitting the club, I was debriefed on the social differences between Australia and the States:

• No one "grinds" when they dance in Australia.
  

Ya just kind of dance near eachother.

• When you go out, you dress up.

In New York, you have your posh clubs where you dress up and pay crazy cover charges and walk around like an asshole all night with your $18 drinks. But then you also have your bars and small clubs where you can dress however you want and pay for normally priced drinks. But in Sydney, every place is considered "dressy" and there is no such place as a grungy dive bar. So, sport coats and suits are a norm. I wore a crummy button down that was buried deep in my backpack and had to borrow a pair of nice shoes three sizes too big. It was that or risk not getting in.

Jono's house is very interesting. His parents are orthodox Jews, and Jono's grandparents are Holocaust survivors from Poland. They were liberated from Auschwitz and immigrated to Sydney in the late 1940's. As some of you may or may not know, Orthodox Jews do not mix milk and meat products during meals. So in the Jono household, there are seperate sinks, microwaves, silverware, stoves, and table cloths for milk and meat. We had Shabbis dinner last night (the Jewish Sabbath) and had a wonderful mix of Challah bread and hummus.

I love good hummus, especially when there are people involved.

The picture below is from Israel two summers ago. Jono is far left, Warren is in the middle, and Sarah is kind of in the picture far right.

Rock.

Just got into Sydney... can't keep my eyes open... visiting a bunch of friends here... staying at my friend Jono's house, I met him in Israel two summers ago... I'll write again when my eyes want to open.

Can I Buy You a Beer From 7-11?

After a couple of days of air conditioning, a big comfortable bed, a television, and fast and free internet at Eli's brother, Richy's, apartment, I went back to the main back packer street of Khao San Rd. to enjoy my last couple of days in Thailand. Tim, who I met at the Full Moon Party and travelled with for a couple weeks, is back in Bangkok too, so we got a room together. He was one of the twelve other solo travellers who all buddied up during that week, and now that I think about it, I can't believe that was almost six weeks ago. So, it's only proper that we leave Thailand with a big bang, and I'm really happy that I get to close out the country with one of my favorite guys I've met in Thailand.

It's funny being back in Bangkok. When I first got here on January 29th I hated it. I was some poor shmuck with a big backpack on, being tugged left and right by Thai guys trying to get me into their taxis, Indian guys asking me if I wanted to try on a suit, annoying Thai women yelling "you want massaaaage?", and a creeper asking me if I wanted to check out a ping-pong show (take a wild guess what a ping-pong show is). But after being in Thailand for 12 weeks, you learn that it's part of travelling here and you get accustomed to it. You learn how to playfully deflect the annoying hawkers in your face all the time by telling the Indian guy that it's 150 degrees outside, what the fuck am I gonna do with a suit, asking the massage ladies how much they would pay if instead I gave them a massage, and telling the creeper that I'll only go to the ping-pong show if he was performing.

Tim and I ran into a guy we knew from a few islands back and hung out with him and his couple of friends for the night. Depending on where you are, sometimes a really fun way of spending the night is getting a dirt cheap beer at 7-11 (there's a million of them here), sitting on the curb outside, and enjoying the hustle and bustle go by, making cracks at everything and everyone. And if the street is filled with clubs and expensive bars, it's the absolute cheapest way to enjoy the evening. One of the English guys with us called to a pretty blonde girl walking passed. He introduced himself as did she, and in the most sincere way he asked her, "Can I buy you a beer from 7-11?" The four of us couldn't control the laughter that followed.

I saw a guy wearing a Boston Red Sox hat. I asked him if he was from Boston. He playfully responded with, "I don't wear this hat for nothing." So I gave him a high five and said, "Fuck the Patriots." But, we were all joking, and he was actually a really cool guy. He and his girlfriend just recently got finished taking bicycles and riding all the way from Bangkok down through Malaysia into Singapore. Pretty cool.

My flight takes off tomorrow at 4 p.m., arriving in Hong Kong whenever. I wait an hour then get on a plane to Sydney, arriving the next day. I'll try to write something tomorrow before I leave, as I hope to have a good story from my last night in Bangkok.

I'm Okay

Just wanted to write and let everyone know that I am safe. There have been some problems in Bangkok over the last few days and it is dying down now. Political riots have taken over certain parts of the city, and although only a few people have been killed, buses have been set on fire and military tanks have been brought in. I was hundreds of miles away from Bangkok when the protests were at it's peak, and luckily, Bangkok was the only location where riots were taking place. So I was totally fine.

But I am in Bangkok now and everything is pretty much settled... so no worries!

Phuket and the Songkran Festival

Phuket... the wealthiest and most expensive province in Thailand and most commonly pronounced, foo-ket. But poo-ket, as it is correctly pronounced, has more interesting twists and turns than an old school M. Night Shyamalan movie. I arrived in Patong Beach, undoubtedly one of the richest towns in all of Thailand. It was like stepping back into the real world again, running past McDonald's and Starbucks just like I did in Ko Samui. But Ko Samui has nothing on Patong's shopping mall, complete with all the stores we have back home. There was even a movie theater in it, which I thought was pretty cool. That night I went to see Fast and the Furious 4, which I liked, but going to see it was more about experiencing a foreign theater. This town was so expensive, I didn't eat in a restaurant for two days, I just ate street food... which is fine, it's all part of the experience.

Patong Beach wins the award for being the sleaziest, cheesiest, and most awesome town all at the same time. What's weird about this place is that it is a family destination as well as a town filled with hookers, lady boys, and sketchy European dudes looking to "try things for the first time". All day long you see husbands and wives holding thier young children's hands, but when the sun goes down and dinner's over, the strips of bars open up, the corny, pony tail-wearing men come out, and the LadyBoys start shakin' their... whatever the hell it is they got down there.

What was significant about my experience at Patong Beach was that it was during the Songkarn Festival, the Thai New Year. Simply put, the Thai New Year is an all out water fight. Thousands of people fill the streets with Super Soakers and buckets in hand, and you just start firing away at people. And if you don't have a Super Soaker, you stand at one of the bars next to a big tub of water and splash passer byers. You will not and cannot stay dry. I was soaking wet head to toe from 11:30 a.m. until 2:00 a.m. And no one is exempt from getting soaked... policeman, guy driving a motorbike, old wrinkled woman, they're all getting wet. I would have loved to have recorded a video of the event, but it was an absolute impossibility, as the moment I stepped outside I was hit in all directions by water guns and hoses.

Walking down the street early in the day, Super Soaker in hand, I teammed up with three guys from Seattle and we had a day soaking and getting soaked. We joined a bar's team with other people that were drinking there and protected the bar from other "soakers". We posted up and unleashed on anyone walking by, often singling out an unlucky fellow wearing shorts that were just alittle too short by American standards. So along with the Seattle guys, we had some Aussies, Scandavians, and loud screaming Thai girls. Whenever I saw someone walk by wearing a Yankees hat, I made everyone understand why that person needed to be absolutely drowned in water. Luckily, one of the Seattle boys was a 'Sox fan, so atleast he truly understood the fury behind it. Thai guys and Europan guys wearing these Yanks hats probably had no idea what "Fuck you, you Yankee fuck!" meant, but they all still deserved the 8-on-1 water malay. I saw one guy wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey and a Thai guy wearing a Rutgers Football shirt, so I made sure their ears were filled with as much water as possible.

Because we were getting wet every minute of the day, we went out that night wearing nothing special. I wore a pair of mesh shorts and a ripped up white tee, without any underwear. This served to be quite problematic, as "the tuck" became my biggest ally of the night. The club scene is a blast, as long as you are skilled in the art of fighting off ladies, boys, and ladyboys grabbing at your crotch all night.

Just so you have evidence that I am not exaggerating any of this, enjoy this You Tube clip of last year's Festival...

Making Friends and Making Money

The other week I was sitting at a table on a sidewalk in a small city munching on some delicious street food, when a woman walked by and asked if she could sit down and join me. She ordered food as she ntroduced herself and we started talking. I know it sounds weird to just sit down with someone you don't even know, but in travel-mode it's the customary thing to do. I can't even count how many travel buddies I've made just by walking passed a table and being asked to sit down for a drink, or asking the table next to me if they wanted to sit together. It's really cool to be able to do that and not have to worry about being looked at as nuts.

When I was in Ko Phi Phi Don I worked for a night at this Irish Pub. They needed Westerners to walk around town passing out flyers to promote, so i figured I'd do it. The pay was 300 Baht from 8-12 and free drinks for the night. Thats around $8.50, which doesn't sound like alot, but that's half of what I spend in a day. So that ended up covering my accomodation for the night plus a big dinner. That was the good part... the bad part was that I had to be "that guy" for an entire night. You know, "that guy", the annoying dude outside the bars saying, "Hey ladies come to my place tonight, free drinks, two for one, blah, blah, blah." By the way, I'm never refusing a flyer ever again. I felt really stupid when I offered someone a flyer and they denied me. That sounds dumb, but it's true... It's like,

"Hey man two for one tonight, here's a flyer."
"No thanks."
"Okay, I'll just go fuck myself."

I got denied so much I started passing out flyers to little kids walking down the street with their parents. Atleast they took the freakin' paper.

"Hey little man, half off buckets all night, go get wrecked."

They didn't know what I was saying, but they sure looked happy getting that little piece of paper.

Ahhhhhh Railay!

Some of you have asked me if I've been getting bored living the beach life for so long. Some of you have mentioned that if you've seen a couple you've seen them all. The great thing about Thailand's beaches is that no two are the same. Some have turqoise waters, some have blue, and some have emerald green. Some beaches are engulfed in mountains and some are surrounded by limestone cliffs. Some beaches are long and deserted and some are short and crowded. Some have beautiful coral right below the surface and some have nothing but sweet white sand through and through... you get the picture.

For example, right now I'm at this really unique beach called Railay in the Krabi Province. Huge limestone cliffs sprout out of the waters like wildflowers all around the sea and the water is the most interesting shade of emerald green. Little swim throughs lead into the cliffs from the sea. It's a beach unlike anything I've seen before. So, in response to the questions, no I am not getting bored seeing all of these beaches because every new location has a different style, personality, and characteristics.

Today I saw a guy accidentally run over a little girl while trying to make a play on an errant Kadima pass. It was very a-la Max Pachman at Jones Beach.

"The Beach"

It was the night of September 1, 2006. No matter what I tried to do, I couldn't fall asleep. I was in a comfortable bed, the air conditioning kept me cool, and my belly was full. But I couldn't fall asleep... my mind was racing too much, because the next morning I was going to be playing in my first college football game returning punts against Wake Forest in North Carolina. The anticipation kept me up all night, the excitment mixed with some nerves. Why am I telling you this story? Well, there have been very few times in my life where I've had the same feelings that kept me awake that night in the hotel room in Raleigh-Duram, North Carolina.

Last night I had those feelings.

Most of us have seen the movie "The Beach", Leo DiCaprio's movie with him and the unreal beach. It was filmed on an island called Ko Phi Phi Leh, right next to the main island of Ko Phi Phi Don where I was staying. It is a small island in a chain of small islands that is protected by the goverment, which means construction is regulated or prohibited. Construction on Ko Phi Phi Leh is prohibited and therefore there are no accommodation options. Day tours come in and they come out, and public transport to this island does not exist. But since the movie came out, Ko Phi Phi Leh has become the biggest tourist attraction Thailand has ever seen. Hundreds of people each day flock to Maya Bay, the beach made famous by the film for its unbelievable water color and limestone cliff back drop. After much investigation, swimming in peace and quiet without boats and people is impossible, and from 9:30-3:30, forget about even snapping a picture of just you and the wonderful background. The beach is way too small and the boats and people are too a-plenty. As I wrote before and as cliche as it sounds, this beach was what sparked my interest in Thailand. If God came down to me and said, "Max, I'll give you this beach to yourself for 30 minutes, but in exchange you have to wipe out all of your memories of your 10 weeks of travel," it wouldn't even be a thought, I'd take that deal in a heartbeat. Obviously, this deal would never even be an option, and unless I yanked the motors off of every boat within a 100 mile radius, I was going to be sharing it with hundreds of others. So how was I going to make sure I had this beach all to myself, even for just a little bit?

I wrote that when I arrived on the main island of Ko Phi Phi Don a few days ago, I found this awesome deserted beach with a few locals living there. One of the locals is a squid fisherman, who fishes all day, comes back to the shore to pick up his wife, and sells the catch at the night market. Khai, the squid fisherman, was nice enough to give me a lift all the way back to the main beach I was staying at one day when it started pouring. So I went back to that beach the next day, and with the help of a translator, worked out a deal with Khai. Khai agreed, as I expected he would, and I told him I'd see him tomorrow. So how does all of this relate to the night before a first game and staying awake all night and blah, blah, blah?

The alarm on my phone went off at 5 a.m. It didn't wake me up, though, as my eyes were wide awake the entire night. Sleep? Impossible, with the thoughts of what was about to happen. I woke up four other people in the dorm who also wanted to come along, and we got ready. At 5:15 we stopped at a market and stocked up on chips, cookies, water, and bananas. We had a thirty minute hike ahead... Khai was waiting for us at the deserted beach with his long tail boat. I walked as fast as the group would allow, back through the rocks, over the hills, and past the jungle. It was just before 6 when we reached the deserted beach, and waiting for us was Khai, right on time... he was about to take us to "The Beach", and god damnit I was going to be the first one there.

With Charlie and Jordan from London, KJ and Stian from Norway, and Khai the boat driver, we set out for the famed beach at 6:15 in the morning. I was going to have that beach to myself, and I was just minutes away. We pulled into Maya Bay at Ko Phi Phi Leh at around 6:45 and sprinted to the sand. We sat on a tree stump and dumped out all of our snacks. We waved good bye to Khai and thanked him for the ride and the bananas he gave us. We dug into the cookies and cereal we bought, chugged some water, and looked in awe at what we had infront of us. Here it was, the famous beach that was so nice a movie was shot here. Here it was, the biggest tourist attraction in all of Thailand... And I only had to share it with four other people. And all we did for 30 minutes was sit and repeat to eachother, "We're here... and it's just us."

The boats started pouring in at 9:30, and by 10:30 it became a circus, not a beach. One of the Norwegians and I took a swim to one of the corners of the bay where there weren't many boats, and when we returned we couldn't even see the sand because it was end to end with boats. The sand was as crowded as it was for the Full Moon Party, but by that time we didn't care. We knew it was going to be like this. And it was all okay, we didn't mind. Let the tourists snap their "priceless" photos with 2,455 people in the background. Have fun snorkelling with 490 people next to you. Have a good time dodging a speed boat trying to dock on the beach. We had our two and a half hours of absolute solitude, and there wasn't a tourist or a boat in sight.

It was just us... and "The Beach."

Wanna Throw Up? Get Me Naked.

Wow boys and girls, lots of updates. After my canoe adventures in Ko Muk, I spent a night and a day in Ko Lanta. And I have to admit... I splurged on my hotel. I couldn't deal with slumming it in tents and shacks anymore, so I spent $7 on a nice big bungalow with my own shower and a Western toilet! I know, living life in the fast lane is tough. But anyway, Ko Lanta was nice, but nothing special, so I high tailed it to Ko Phi Phi, one of the most visited, one of the most expensive, and one of the most storied islands in Thailand.

If you've ever seen pictures of a Thai beach, chances are it was a beach in Ko Phi Phi. However, this little island was hit by the 2004 tsunami as hard as any other place in the country. Waves 20 feet high wiped out everything on this island, from the most densely packed tourist areas to the little five star resorts on quiet beaches. Millions of dollars were lost and thousands were killed, and I didn't really understand the tragedy until I talked to a Thai man who told me about how he lost everything. He was sleeping when it happened and lost everything he owned, including his girlfriend. But, like everyone else on the island, they rebuilt and slowly moved on. However, one would figure that after the tsunami hit they would learn to care for their land a bit better. This tiny island couldn't keep up with the rapid building process, and according to most people, the place looks the exact same as it did prior to the tsunami in terms of infrastructure. So, of course, the main beaches of Ko Phi Phi have been ruined by boats, boats, and more boats. The color of the water is outstanding, which is a surprise despite the motor oil seeping into the ocean.

But Adventurous Max wasn't going to let some boats ruin his island paradise. Yesterday I walked, walked, and walked some more. I climbed hills, jumped over rocks, and traversed through the jungle, and eventually stumbled upon a beach hidden from people, development, and BOATS! The only thing on the beach was a small bungalow in the corner, and a couple of local villagers and their huts. This beach was just what I was looking for... deserted white sand with turquoise waters, no boats, and no people.

This island is extremely expensive, and luckily, one place has a 16-bed dorm room, which is a savior for a backpacker on a budget. At first I wasn't too keen on the idea of sleeping with fifteen strangers, but it really is a cool experience. You make friends right away, talk to people non-stop, and go on new adventures. I met two people from the states in my dorm which is half the amount of people from the states I've met in 10 weeks here. I slept in a bed next to a girl from the Lower East Side and hung with a dude from Corpus Christi. People come in and out all the time and it really is a great way to meet people. I am, of course, taking every precaution against being robbed. My bag is chain locked to the bed and all my zippers are pad locked.

Tomorrow I am off on a new adventure to an island just a mile away. I don't want to give away the details yet, as it will be a great post to follow... but I am going to the beach where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. This is my trip right here, what sparked my interest in Thailand. I hope the way in which I am doing this adventure tomorrow goes as planned... Until next time!

A Jew with a Canoe

Forget Thailand's islands and beaches... my mind is in football mode right now. The Giants cut Plaxico, and I, along with the rest of the Giants players, do not approve. If in the event that Plax reached some sort of agreement that would have enabled him to play next season, the G-Men need him! They didn't do a freakin' thing without him that last month of the season, and they need to find a guy to replace him. It takes way too long to cultivate a draft pick into a playmaking, number 1 guy right away these days in the NFL. The Giants need to go after a guy like Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards, two guys that want out of their respective cities. Personally, I'd go for Edwards over Boldin because he's 6'3 vs. Boldin's 6'1, and I feel Boldin's success is partly because Fitzgerald is on the other side. Edwards has problems catching the ball, but he's on a shit team in a shit city wearing shit as a jersey color. Put him on a winning team, and he'll go right back to that 'leaping fade in the corner of the endzone' kind of guy he was back in Michigan.

Anyways, I just got off an island that barely had electricity for a few hours a night, which was fun but a little annoying. I slept in a tent in the woods and got my sandals eaten by wild dogs that live in the rubber tree forest. My main reason or visiting Ko Muk was for their Emerald Cave. It's hard to explain, so follow as best as you can...

I had to kayak around the island to this big rock face with a little crevice in it. It was a cave opening, just big enough for me and my kayak to fit in. I paddled through a small river made by the cave, and the further I went the darker it got. Soon, I had no light, and simply kept padling, stabbing my paddle out in front to make sure I wasn't hitting anything. After about two minutes, some light shed into the cave river, and eventually led me to an entrapped beach, surrounded by limestone mountains. I know it's hard to envision, so I'll use this analogy. Imagine you're in the locker room of a football stadium... this is the cave. And you exit the locker room and walk down the tunnel towards the entrance to the field... this is the cave river. And you exit the tunnel and enter the field, surrounded by big tall bleachers and stands. On the far end of the field, instead of an endzone, picture a beach, with the field being the water. Surrounding you is the bleachers and seats, and those were the limestone mountains completely surrounding me. The only way out was back through the cave. It was a pretty unique sight.

I really am nervous for my G-Boys right now, this is a Super Bowl calibur team, and we need to fill this void right away. I can only trust it's being taken care of.

Visas and the Hated American

I wanted to go to Laos really badly. Prior to coming here, I knew nothing of it, nor has many other Americans for that matter. Laos? Do you pronounce the 's' or is it silent? It seemed like nothing worth looking at in the South-east Asian area. But I learned of how great it was very quickly. It is described as a country very hip in culture and deep rooted, and better yet, much less developed than Thailand (if you can imagine). Anyways, it was raved about enough for me to want to go. Typically, travellers go into the north of Thailand and visit the northern hotspots, then go from Chiang Mai into Laos, spend some time up there, dip south-west into Cambodia for a bit, then circle back around into the lower islands and beaches of Thailand.

Sounds like a great plan, right? Well I am an American, and I am the one held responsible for all the world's problems, as if me and George W. shared a bunk bed in the White House. Flashing my passport earns me nothing but snarles. We make our visa situation very difficult for foreigners, so they proudly return the favor. Here's the deal on the visa situation...

Upon arrival via plane you get a free 30 day, single entry visa. You would get the same 30 day, single entry stamp if you arrived by boat, train, or bus as well. But two weeks before I got to Thailand the rule changed, and if you arrived by land or sea you would only get a 15 day visa. Previously, people would travel on their 30 day visa, and if they wished to stay longer, would do what is called a 'visa run' the day before expiration. A visa run is a completely legal and acknowledged method of renewing visas, in which one goes to an official border crossing, (a handful are scattered throughout the country) cross into Burma, Cambodia, or Malaysia (not Laos because you must cross via river and the process takes too long), get an official stamp that you've left Thailand, then turn right around and re-enter Thailand, earning a fresh 30 day visa.

But Thailand did away with the over-land 30 day visa and now only grants 15 day stamps, and because there's only a handful of border crossings around a large country, it makes it difficult to plan your every move around being close to an official border every two weeks. Thailand's motivation for this new policy was to encourage more revenue via air traffic, but this was foolish becuase they alienated the demographic that brings in the largest influx of revenue: the backpacker. How does this all relate to me and being a hated American?

Citizens of other countries that apply to Thailand for a 60 day, single entry visa, get them for free. I am an American, so I pay $35 for mine. Not a big deal. Keep in mind, with these visas I am not permitted to enter and leave and enter and leave. I am only allowed one entry. So if I went up north, like I did, for the 34 days that I did, then went into Laos... upon my return to Thailand I would have ended up eating the rest of the days that I paid for and have been left with 15 days. Furthermore, entering the southern parts of Thailand, there are only two sanctioned border crossings to do border runs, and 15 days from one to the other is way too slim a margin. And there is way too large a fine if you are late on your visa. If they kept their 30 day gig this wouldn't be an issue, beacause it leaves plenty of time to do what you want to do, then take your two, maybe three days if you're in dead center of the country to get to a border. I knew I wanted to see alot of Thailand, and I wasn't interested in jumping the border every two weeks, it's a bigger hassle than it seems. I'll dot on the map the official border crossings so that you, too, can see. So I went to the immigration office and extended my visa for a third month, paid $55, and saved a bunch of headaches and sweaty bus rides, which would have added up to the same amount anyway.

So, yeah, after all that mumbo jumbo, that is why I wasn't able to go to Laos. I guess I can after I'm done with the south, but I'm 1,200 miles away and I would like to get to Australia by the end of April. But it's no sweat, it'll still be there.