For those of you that know me you know I'm involved in a 12 step program which has kept me sober for almost 2 years now. I decided to try to get to a meeting today, even though I was scared of getting lost.
The meeting was supposed to be in the this hotel, that was an 8 minute walk from the Asok / Sukumvit station. I left with plenty of time, because I was sure that it would take me longer than 8 minutes, and I was right. I went the wrong way after exiting the station and probably walked around for about an hour before finding the location, and went to the 8th floor of the hotel it was supposed to be on, but that floor was all under construction, and I couldn't get information where it was located. Oh well. I felt good about finding the place, and also found a place that had thai massages for 200 baht, about $7 bucks right near by. How could I resist. I went in and got one. It was good massage, but a little awkward at points. The lady doing the massage told me how attractive I was and offered a happy ending, completely barking up the wrong tree, but I took the compliment not the happy ending lol.

The market was cool, but I wasn't really looking to buy a lot, but did get a tank top for 150 baht, about $5, because it was so hot that I had sweat all over my t-shirt.

All the subways and sky train payments totaled to about 108 baht, about 3 dollars and some change. You'll notice I keep putting what I spent on here. I just want to give anyone reading an idea of how much everything cost, and if I find cost effective tips for people to be able to have a fun trip I want to give them that. So so far today I've spent 653 baht, about $21 (I bought a coffee for 100 baht and lunch for 95 baht I didn't mention before). So I'm still living pretty cheaply.

It's not too difficult to live modestly since everything is so cheap. I've found food and everything is cheaper when you get away from the tourist areas, and much nicer and not as claustrophobic. I feel the stresses from the first day are not as dramatic, and I'm getting a little bit of a better feel for getting around. I'm very grateful to be able to be here and experience all that I'm experiencing.

Tonight I plan to actually make it to the night life so stay tuned for pictures and a blog post. Also as promised here is the link to my photo album of the photos of Bangkok so far: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4179219235409.173854.1132242665&type=1&l=bd7fdd1f47

Thanks for following me. I love you all.

written by  Kirk on August 26, 2012 from Bangkok, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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I also cannot tell you how many times I had to tell people I didn't want to see a 'ping pong' show, even if it was only 100 baht. I had to keep telling the same people this too, because I couldn't for the life of me find this club or any of the other ones that were supposed to be around it. I must have walked up and down the street 5 times tell finally I gave up. As I was

I ended up meeting some people who were from other countries, but now lived in Bangkok. I ended up going to lunch with them that day. It was nice to talk and socialize with others. We ended up eating at the hospital cafeteria near where I was staying, but unlike our hospitals there food was amazing. I got a Thai meal with two different entree items and a bottled water for 45 baht, about $1.60. Amazing!!

It was interesting at lunch they talked about many things. About how there was a noodle soup census done and the price of noodle soup in the last 7 years has gone from 20 baht to 35 baht. Now for Americans this isn't really a big deal, because that's still about $1, but if you live here that can be a very big deal if it's reflective of the inflation in the entire economy. That's a 75% increase, and when you only live on 10,000 baht a month, roughly $200, you are probably accounting for each baht you have. It made me appreciate what I have more.

From lunch my new friends suggested I should go to the Wat Arun

After a long day I went back to the hostil, and got some dinner on the way at a hole in the wall Thai restaurant.

I went to bed early, because i had to get up and travel to the Don Muaeng Airport to go to Surat Thani.

So when I woke up today to travel to the airport I had to take the sky train, subway and regular train, about 45 baht, less than $2.

So it's definitely been a full couple days. I feel much more at ease with my traveling than I did at first. I realize that Bangkok is not Thailand. Just as New York City is not America. They are their own entities which you can't compare the rest of the country to. While initially in Bangkok I felt overwhelmed and a little scared at times I left feeling at ease and really finding a love for the city I didn't know I would have, but now being in the gulf and on the islands I feel I'm stepping into more of what I was looking for on this trip. While I love the temples, and movement of Bangkok I think I will enjoy the slowness and warmth of the islands. More to come stay tuned!!

written by  Kirk on August 28, 2012 from Ko Samui, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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The hotel I was staying at had shared showers and bathrooms for each floor which is fine because I'm already used to staying in a hostel, but this was my first cold shower. I know that this will be pretty common in Thailand, because I've heard from people most of the cheap places don't provide hot showers. It wasn't horrible though. The water isn't freezing and even early in the morning it starts to get hot outside so the cold shower is invigorating.

After my 'refreshing' shower, have to stay optimistic right lol, I went and had breakfast and talked on Skype with my dad. I've talked with my Dad twice since being here and my sister once. It is great when I get to talk to people because I don't feel so disconnected from my old life, and Skype is great in letting you feel like you're in the same room with the person you're talking to.

Since this is island time the ferry of course wasn't on time, but it didn't bother me. I met some Australians and ended up talking to them before and for the entire ferry ride. It's crazy they're on the end of a long trip where they've just spent about 6 months in South America, and our now finishing their 6 week trip in Southeast Asia.

It's amazing. Every time I'm backpacking I always meet Aussies that are traveling for really long periods of time. I have no chance at ever beating them. It's like talking to the one up guy.
me: "I'm backpacking for four months."
Aussie: "Oh that's great. We just finished 6 months in South America and now are doing 6 weeks in Southeast Asia."
me: *smile with hidden jealousy*

Just kidding. It's great to meet other people who are out and about exploring the world as well. They were super friendly and made the ride more fun. Especially since the first ferry was so packed. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I was trying to get on board and didn't think about it. There were literally people hanging and lying on every inch of the boat. The seats floors deck were full. I didn't realize that the full moon part was going on right now.

The full moon party happens every month on the island Ko Pha-ngan. Which is the island right before Ko tao. From what I gather it's a big party stretching all over the beaches of the islands where everyone is smashed and getting more smashed all night. So the first half of the boat ride was cramped, but the second half from Ko Pha-ngan was really comfortable.

When arriving in Ko tao I new that this was what I've been looking for in my tirp.

I took a taxi from the ferry and checked into the dive resort I'm staying at to get my PADI certification. I had to do about 2 hours of class room

Talk to you soon.

written by  Kirk on August 29, 2012 from Ko Tao, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
tagged KohTao and KohSamui
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Stacy, one of the Australians I met on the way here, told me when she was scuba diving here last once and that she saw a whale shark. I know they have been seen here a lot, but I'm not sure if right now is the season for them to be here, fingers crossed though.

It was really nice after the class work I had today that I ran in to the Australians again. I had forgot to get there facebook information when we talked on the ferry so I wasn't sure I was going to see them again, but low and behold I did. Of course the populated areas of Ko Tao is small so I guess I was probably bound to run into them.

We all went to dinner and then just watched the sunset at various

Most of the time when I make friends it's because we work together or are in some situation where we'd have to talk to each other at some point. In Bangkok I didn't meet too many people, and I think was a little nervous because I was out of my element and wasn't sure how to start conversation, but it's nice to see that as I get more comfortable with traveling that the good social skills I thought I had are still present.

After my dive today I'm supposed to meet up with my new friends for

Trigger fish are these fish that eat coral so they have sharp teeth. They're called trigger fish, because when they are going to attack they have a small fin on the top of them that sticks up like a trigger. They are also an aggressive, territorial fish. They have a territory that is a cone shape of where ever they are to the surface so if you ever run into one you should swim on your back straight out of their territory, and defend yourself with your fins if need be. Don't go up because then you're still in their area since it gets larger as you get closer to the surface.

It wasn't too scary since I knew what I was supposed to do. I'm glad that my reaction was to not freak out and instead to think about what I was told to do. The final dives this morning were back at Twins, and an area called Buoyancy world, where they've set up multiple metal shapes and swim throughs on the bottom of the ocean you can play in. After that we went to an area called Pei Wei. It was amazing, because it was much deeper, there is also a shipwreck right near there that we swam over to.

Doing these dives got me so excited to do more with scuba diving. It is such a beautiful experience to be able to be a part of an underwater environment and see all the amazing creatures and formations of the ocean.

After the dives last night I met up with Stacy, Carl, and Stefan, the Aussies, for Stefan's birthday.

Now that I have my certification I'm ready to meet my friends and do some diving in the Philippines in a couple days. For now I will spend one more night here in Ko Tao and then I will head to Ko Samui for 2 nights, fly back to Bangkok, and then on to the Philippines where I will be for the rest of September. This trip has been amazing so far and I feel blessed and lucky to still be at the beginning of it. It's had challenges, but I've felt grateful to be in a position to take on those challenges. I continue to grow and change, as we all do, and strive more and more to live and love. I hope all is well with everyone reading. I'll keep you updated as usual as things go along.

written by  Kirk on August 31, 2012 from Ko Tao, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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In Ko Tao I got certified scuba diving, and made some friends from Australia that I hung out with the whole time. I couldn't have asked for a better time in Ko Tao. The new friends and amazing dives well forever be vivid in my memories. After completing the scuba course I decided to come to Ko Samui to spend 2 days here, because initially I wanted to go out. Ko Tao is fun, but Ko Samui is the island that has a little bit more as far as night clubs.

I spent the day with day with the Aussies hiking to a cool rock out crop on the ocean

Being sick from the food poisoning made me homesick as well. All I wanted was to be in bed and near family. When I got to Ko Samui I took a songthew, which is just a pickup truck that has benches in the bed to Chaweng Beach. Chaweng Beach is the beach with all the night life. I figured if I felt better I could still try to go out. That didn't happen though, I just felt like babying myself so I got a room with air conditioning, and hot water, took a long shower and watched movies in the cold. It was great. I felt silly for even going all the way to Chaweng Beach with not going out, because this morning I had to take a songthew back to Nathon Pier, where I originally was at, and get a room here. My ferry tomorrow takes off at 8 am so being on the other side of the island wasn't acceptable.

Oh well I still enjoyed my hot shower and air conditioning. I'm spending the day mainly relaxing. I got my room here and have been using the internet to figure out how to send myself money via Western Union because I lost my ATM card in the beginning of my travels and then I booked my hostel for tomorrow night in Bangkok. I have a couple days ahead of me of traveling so I'm going to spend some time reading and walking around in whatever city I'm in.

One thought that I thought was interesting was that I was thinking about how I'm beginning to feel more comfortable with nomad status right now. I thought about home sickness and then thought about what home was defined for me. Is a space that holds all your possessions? Is it because you bought a couch, or a car, or a house, that it becomes a home? I don't believe the material defines home for you. If you can feel at home in yourself and in your heart then you can be at peace where ever you are.

I don't have much more to report but keep reading and I'll keep updating.

written by  Kirk on September 3, 2012 from Ko Samui, Thailand
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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So if you've been following you know that I lost my ATM card while traveling here. So the only funds I've had have been my credit card and the cash I had on me. I'm currently waiting for my new card to arrive at my sisters so she can forward it to me, and I was told by my bank that I could try using Western Union to get myself money.

So while I tried starting a Western Union transfer from my bank account. It asks you to verify your bank account either by doing it as a bill pay, where you set up a bill to be paid as Western Union and pay that amount, or it will charge my account and once the charge has been processed then I can see a number from the charge on my account online and then go back to Western Union put that in and my account would be verified.

Well first I tried the billy pay way and their system would cancel the transaction every time, not allowing me to set up the bill pay. Then I tried doing the account charge method, well it cancelled this charge too before I was able to verify it. I called Western Union and found out that since I'm doing the transaction from a computer in Asia that the system automatically denies the transaction, and they don't have an override option to allow me to verify my account. The only option they have they said is that I can take cash to one of their vendors and pay to transfer the money, completely useless, because if I had cash their wouldn't be a problem.

I was finding all this out as I had about 800 baht to my name, about $26; and I was about to fly to the Philippines. Very stressful. Luckily my mother sent me some money Western Union, and my sister logged onto the Western Union site as me and sent a transaction so hopefully I'll be able to verify my account now. For me this lesson was that I can't do it alone. I still had to wait though for my mothers money until I got to the Philippines, and I had to travel from Bangkok to Clark airport, stay the night there and then travel to Puerto Princesa the next day.

It's difficult down here to use a credit card. Many places are strictly cash. So I didn't really eat anything to start the day of traveling, because I didn't know how much a cab from the airport would be to my hotel in Clark. The hotel I had already paid for. When I got to BKK airport and tried to check in for my flight I found out I had to show a return trip ticket which I didn't have printed out, and they said I had to go to the internet cafe and pay to print one out.

I went up to the internet cafe and their credit card machine wasn't working. They told me I had to find an internet phone machine downstairs and e-mail them the file to be printed and then come up and get the paper printed. Oh and finding the internet cafe from where I was in the airport was a struggle all by itself. I found the internet phone sent the e-mail to find I had written the e-mail down wrong. I went back down to the internet phone and sent it again. Printed it out, and then went and checked in and went through customs.

When I got to Clark, initially the first cab driver told me it would be 500 pesos to go to the hotel. When I converted all the cash I had then I had only 1000 pesos. I told him no and found another guy to do it for 300. This is actually expensive for how far he took me.

The hotel I was staying is was not very nice. I feel bad saying that, because I met the owner the next day and she is very sweet, and from what I gather she bought the hotel and is trying to slowly make it better. Angeles City, where Clark airport is located, is also kind of a hole with a lot of prostitution places, and no cheap rooms anywhere. It was just depressing, and the wifi was out so I couldn't get the information I would need to take to Western Union to get my money from the e-mail my mom was sending, so I still had that stress going on in my mind.

I should say I did eat in the airport because I found a place that took a credit card.

The next morning, today, I woke up and didn't eat again, because I still wasn't positive when I would have cash next and didn't know how much it would cost to get to my hostel from the airport in Puerto Princesa. The owner of the hotel, Jocelyn, drove me to the airport for 240 pesos. She was very nice, and told me if I came back she would give me a special price on the room. I would almost want to just because she's so sweet, but I definitely didn't feel comfortable sleeping there.

Now when I got to the airport this morning, my bag was 5 kg over the free weight limit. I thought I had bought extra weight when I purchased the ticket, but I guess not, and again having to use the credit card was a huge ordeal. I had to follow this girl to the other side of the airport where another girl tried to run the card and was having problems with their machine, had to call multiple people, and finally got it to work, again I should mention both the girls were very nice. So then having that paid I found out the airport itself then makes you pay 150 pesos has to be in cash. I thought this was BS, because my ticket already had airport fees charged on it, but they said I couldn't fly if I didn't pay it.

I would love to say I was handling all this stress well, but I wasn't. I wanted to cry.

While getting on the plane I ended up talking to a really nice Filipino couple who just so happened to be from San Diego, and where gong to Puerto Princesa for 3 days before they flew back home. Also when getting to Puerto Princesa I got a tricycle cab, actually it's a motorcycle with a riding cab attached for 50 pesos to my hostel. The cab drivers name was Laurence and he was very friendly, and then when I got to my hostel the people here were all very friendly as well.

One thing I can say is that the Philippines has some of the friendliest people I've met yet on my trip.

Once getting to my place I connected to the internet and was able to get the information I needed from my mom and go to Western Union. Hooray!! I celebrated by eating.

It's difficult because some moments of this trip have been so amazing, and some have been so stressful. In in some parts of this stress the last 2 days I've felt a little bit like that story where a man was praying to God and asked for sign God was listening and God made the wind blow, and he asked again and God sent a butterfly, and so on and so on; and at the end of his life he asks God why God wasn't listening and God said I was I sent you the wind and I sent you the butterfly (there's other similar tales). I felt a little like that man in some points because I was so stressed out about my situation, and then I would meet some really friendly, really kind people, and I would have to think OK someone does see me, but it was so easy to not notice that and be caught up in my own stresses. I also talked to my mom and she reminded me of a time I went through were just so many bad things were happening and while it was going on I told her "Well God must have something really great planned for me if all this bad is happening." I remember that time and a lot of amazing things did happen after that hard ordeal too.

I know that this to shall past. It's difficult to go through the hard times, but I guess I won't actually grow with an easy road. I have to have faith that I'll be alright and that the lessons I learn will prepare me for whatever else is needed for me in this life. Tonight I'm OK. I have a roof over my head, I have some cash in my pocket, and some food in my belly.

I appreciate all the prayers and good energy you all send me. Thank you again for reading. I promise I'll have more optimistic posts to come :D

written by  Kirk on September 6, 2012 from Puerto Princesa, Philippines
from the travel blog: Kirk's South East Asia Adventure
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