Matt Eastlick

Wow
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Day 1
The first part of the trip was interesting. Lots of waiting. Starting off with the Coast Flyer was good. Met some nice people moving to New Zealand and talked about plate techtonics of all things. Another lady was a Cruise Broker, what ever that is. The bus got us there an hour early which means an hour longer to wait. So showed up and grabbed some McDognuts for a nice seven bucks…bastards. Then saw Professor Waldorf and his family so I chased them down to talk, but they were taking the early flight. So, I sat down ant met a nice girl who was from Bangkok. Her name meant “deer,” but I don’t remember what it was. As I was talking to her, there were two men sitting next to us who overheard us and chimed in that one was from Bangkok as well and the other was from Manila in the Philippines. Halan, from Bangkok and Gilbert from Manila. Gilbert was very nice and I found out that the two men had been there from two days due to a missed flight. He had missed his sons 6th grade graduation and had been at work for 4 months and had five days off then 4 months back on. Sad story……but he jumped on our flight to Taipei and made it home I’m assuming.
So we got to Taipei fine. The food was interesting and the movies were good. We actually eat better in the mountains, but it was ok for airplane food. Once in Taipei the signs cracked us up. “Escape Sling and Chute”. Awesome. Then from the flight to Chiang Mai was interesting. I had a strung out tweaker about 1 o’clock and an old guy that had a 5 hair beard about 4 inches long off the side of his chin to hide a mole……..I was jealous. Met a nice guy, Marty, who gave us his number and to look him up. He went to OU and lived in Chiang Mai. He knew tons of info.
Krit, or Shane, was with Dr. Waldorf to pick us up. Customs was a little scary, but passed with flying colors. Tons of people waiting in the pick-up section trying to sell you things. So as we waited for the others, I grabbed 5,000 baht ($142) to get started. Went out to the two song-taos. Old school Toyotas with Camper shell and benches. Dane, you would be jealous. Road to the Chiang Mai Flora where we are staying.
The traffic was ridiculous. Not heavy, just crazy drivers! Amusement park. Beautiful scenery with watts and spirit houses. Beautiful place to live. Open patio and just awesome. Rooms are cozy with a shower that goes right onto the floor. Put the key in for power. Cool.
First on the list…..suits. Go in and it was awesome. Mom…..you would go crazy with how much fabric. Guy with a crazy tumor thing on his ear and people were packed in it. Owner new good English and memorized all of our measurements and everything. 244 Dollars for a tailored suit. Not bad. Black with white pin strips with an eggplant color shirt…..I’ll be fly. Went and had dinner. Awesome. Dane…oh ya. Spicy but not to bad. 60 baht(under $2). Came back took a shower and had to go to the seven eleven with Justin(roomie). Came back had a Leo(beer) and then ran off to the Monkey Club. Hahahaha……just silly. Kareoke and free everything…..food, drinks, and mixed drinks. The Smirnoff girls….damn. Not an asian fan, but damn. Got super tired and came back at nine and went to bed.
Slept like crap and shit my brains out. But awesome first day…..well 40 hours in one day.
Day 2
Well, kicked it off with some breakfast down in the main lobby with some fresh papaya which was amazing. We jumped on some song-tows and took off for the university. Showed up and got looked at like we were aliens….which we were. Got to talk with some people about the cultures and the families of the Thai people. Went to lunch with the Chiang Mai University (CMU) students and met "Mix" and "Bank". Nice guys. Went back to class and got Thai language from Aa Caan Dougdamon (Professor) which was sooooo ridiculously hard. Stupid tones. Came back and went to the hot pots for dinner. All you can eat, awesome. Went and got my first fitting of the suit. Looks amazing. Then we went to the night market and I bought a shirt and pants…..too small. But I’ll rock them. Went to Irish Pub (O’Mallys) and saw the Smirnoff girls again. The nasty old man with the lady-boy. Walked around a little more and had some cougars checkin’ me and Josh out. Yikes.
Day 3
Started today with coffee and then we took off to the factories. First the pottery. Mom, you would have loved it. Beautiful pieces of work. Then to the Gem factory. You guys will see the product of that. Off to the Silver…..cool but ok. Then to the silk. Very interesting. Then to the climax….the wood working. Dad…you should have been there. The inlay was amazing rosewood and teak with an abalone inlay. Amazing. Now back at the room to take a nap. Took off to get fitted again. Ends up that suit is already done. Kalen was being ridiculous so I got pretty drunk. Crazy thai bar with people that don’t dance and got in trouble touching a girl's arm.
Woke up with a wicked hang over and started toward the Watt. Doi Suthep. Ended up being 11 km (7miles) and I was out of shape. Pretty tough. Got to the watt and it was cool. Lots of gold and budda around. Cool instruments and dancing girls. Banana Waffles. 306 stairs. Came back and ate at a veg restaurant that really wasn’t that great. Took a nap and planning on going to get a massage. No sucky sucky. Came back and went to the Sunday market. Lots of crap…..lots. Everything about the same, however, the music. AWESOME!!!! Two blind, one def, and one normal…..awesome video. Bought some clothes and came back and went to bed.
Woke up and went to a bakery. Not that great. First meal that I have been unimpressed by. Came home and took a nap before class. Went to class and had a guest lecture on Buddhism. Very interesting. Came back and went to sushi. Pretty good, except for the 45 minutes wait for it. Good wasabi budo ;) Went on night safari which was really cool. A palace in the middle of the slums. Lights show and the spot lighting of animals. Reminded me of poaching with Billy. Lions, Tigers, and Bears…oh my. Shot so I went to bed.
Went to coffee at Doi Changs. Pretty good, little ritzy, but good. Now waiting for class and might take a nap. Wishing for high speed internet to send everyone pictures.
written by  Matt Eastlick on March 26, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand
from the travel blog: Thailand Study Abroad

Week two
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Went to class which was just as eventful as usual. Came back and went to dinner with the crew, however, big crowds= no fun. So, Dave and Nick and I took off. Found a great hole in the wall diner and had a spicy seafood dish that blew my socks of. Awesome. Started walking around and found a banana roti stand. OMG….sweet jesus so good. Kept walking around and found ourselves in the middle of non-english town with no English signs and no English speaking people. Found an open market with fresh meats, veggies, and fruits. Super good. Old man helped us buy our fruit and gave us a few free fruit to try. Dragon fruit, mangos, and papaya. Felt like we were the only Farangs (foreigners) to visit in the last ten years. Everyone looked at us like we were aliens….oh wait, we are!! Wandered around some more when we found a sports bar that was pretty hopin’. Had some beers and found a tuk-tuk back to the hotel. Picked up Justin and the guys and went down to the bar Moisture. Everyone wanted me to jump up on stage and play some music, and before I knew it, Emmet was up on stage talking to the guy to see if I could play. He said “yes,” so I walked up there and grabbed the guitar and as I did the man said we were out of time. He must have misunderstood us. But he said that we could come back tomorrow and play around ten. So we walked back to the hotel but found another bar on the way home who we had previously made some friends. Nan, Nun, Tos, Paul, and Nit Now. Had a drink with them and passed out for the night.
Woke up and got movin’ and went an got coffee at the Mad Coffee shop. What do you know…..super good. When to class and spread the word that I was playing at Moisture. Came back and took and shower and went to sushi by myself. It was awesome. The guys who worked there had lived in Chicago for a year so they knew pretty good English. I got the Jade Dragon Maki. Shrimp tempura, salmon, topped with avocado and a spicy soy sauce. Yummy!!! I had to get some tabs for the show, so I walked towards the copy shop when I saw Nan. She knew where I could go and she would show me. I began to walk when she jumped on a motorcycle and motioned for me to jump on. So I did the one thing that Cal Poly specifically told me not to do. Get on a motorcycle. But it was fun and Nan helped me with the copies. Came back and got the troops round up and swung by Nan’s bar to get started. I only had one drink because if I'm playing in front of 200 people, I don't think being drunk would do. So I saddled up and got to Moisture and finally got up stage when the place was packed with 40 Cal Poly people(including my profs) and probably 130 to 160 thai people. I nearly soiled myself. So I had Tos introduce me to the croud and they gave me a good welcome. I played Wagon Wheel, Caroline, and Lovin’ Man. Screwed up the first two(I know, not like me) and nailed the the third. Everyone cheered from the Cal Poly section and it made me feel alittle better. By the time I made it off the stage, everyone was smashed and my profs were drinking the blue drinks out of the bucket! I was the DD for everyone, so I walked most back to the hotel, and the other half back to Nan’s bar. Everyone was happy that I played. Never seen so many happy drunks. Went to bed at 3am.
Not so happy drunks;) Everyone was soooooo hung over when we had to get up at 7am to get backed for the weekend at the Hill Tribe Village. I was bright eyed and bushy tailed, but not so much everyone else. Went to a Hill Tribe Museum and drove to a little cabanya lunch stand thing for lunch. It was about a two and a half, three hour drive. After lunch, we got to walk down the hill to the tribe and along the way seeing their terraces for rice and the beautiful jungle. Also, the waterfall……..like a postcard, and we got to go swimming. I thought it was fun, but it was like swimming at home a Devil’s Hole, but bigger. 120 foot waterfall. The water was sooo nice. Not like Patterson Creek or White Rock. Everyone had an awesome time. We finished out the hike down the mountain to the tribe. It was about 3km total. We were shown our accommodations and around the little village. They had a little coffee stand were they gave a sampler of the coffee that they grow. It was amazing. I picked you up some dad. They also had some beautiful scarves;) So we went to dinner with the local Karen people. HOT PEPPERS!!! But as usual….good food. Then we went to a bon-fire where they showed us some traditional dances and music. I got some good video to show. Cool instruments. Then the tribes people wanted music from us, so of course they all looked at me and told me to play an encore of the previous night at Moisture. So played some music and then the people wanted to drink…..And I thought the Indians in the valley drank…..holy crap those boys can drink. We had an epic jam session with them and I was tired so I went to bed……I wish. There were some Irish boys that were also staying with the Karen so before I knew it I was awaken by my roommates and the Irish boys ripping my covers off, slapping a beer in my hand, and a guitar in my face yelling at me to play!!! So I told them I would just put some clothes on real quick, but I was told that I don’t need clothes to play Johnny Cash. So I drank beer and played music in my underwear with Justin, Emmet, Lucas, Kalen, Randy, and the three irish boys on the porch for another 45 minutes!!!! I was freaking tired! I think that the guys on this trip have finally found out another thing about Thailand. You can’t try to keep up with the local people and then with Irishmen. Duh!!!
Well of course I can sleep in, so I woke up at 6:30am and packed my stuff and went for a walk. It was nice. Since we were about the same elevation as Etna, there was dew on the ground and not too many bugs. Took some good pictures and wished that I would have brought a fishing pole because the fish were jumping out of the water at the river. Morgan woke up so we went and sat by the river and talked. Then people started to get out of bed. I’m almost certain that a quarter of the people were still drunk. Then we loaded up and left for the “Royal Project.” Oh my goodness mom….I think we need to move you to Thailand. The Royal Project was organized by the King to help with jobs and help improve the agriculture for the Hill Tribe people. So he set up a huge flower garden and green house thing. Beautiful flowers. All the water of plants you could ever want mom;) Then we went to lunch and ELEPHANT riding!!!! Mit Now was the elephants name. The trainer let Justin and I ride it by ourselves. Not a big deal because regardless of what we did to the elephant, it knew where to go. Then we drove down the road and paid to get guided down the river on a bamboo raft. Like from Horn bridge to Black brigde. It was fun. There was all of the local people in huts all along the river splashing us and it was a water war the whole way down. There were 4 people to a raft which was nice. Not too many people on each. So we were all exhausted and we drove home. Then we took a shower and ran off to Sumo Sushi…..holy crap…..so good. Under 8 dollars for two plates of sushi and a coke. Super good and super cheat. Just how I like it!!!! Haha. Dane, even you would have been full after this meal. Then we came back and of course wanted to tell all of you about it and the internet wasn’t working. So I fell asleep.
Woke up at 10:30 and now I’m at a coffee shop trying to get you guys updated!!!! And tomorrow “Flight of the Gibbons!!!” 2 km zip-line over the jungle!!!! Next time on the Blog!!!! Love and miss you all!
written by  Matt Eastlick on April 3, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand
from the travel blog: Thailand Study Abroad

Another Exciting Weekend
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Well I thought that I was going to do nothing today, but instead I did quite a bit. Morgan, Stacy, Kim, Justin, and I all went to the shopping mall. Holy crap was there a lot of stuff. Shoes everywhere which was good because I am looking for some to match my suit. So we went and checked the whole mall out. Bought sandals and some black dress socks. Saw a bowling alley and then got some donuts at a random little donuts store. No shoes, but other stuff. Then we went to the Forest Watt. Cool tunnels. Then walked around looking for a pawn shop to buy a guitar. No pawn shop, but definitely a guitar. Brand new, “epiphone like”, “Carols guitar. Awesome! 1500 baht. $43. oh ya….plays good and sounds even better. Emmet bought a electric mandolin as well….it’s awesome. Just formed our band….. “Farangs”…..classy. But now headed to bed for the gibbons tomorrow!!!
Flight of the Gibbon. Crazy fun. It was exactly like it sounds. Zip line over a jungle. Lunch and a waterfall. Cleaned up and went and got some food for dinner. Burmese food was disgusting. I think I’ll probable get sick  Came back and played some music with Emmet and got another dinner at Laan Dao. Good but the owner sat in front of us and watched us eat and talked with the whole time. Kinda awkward. But we went and got some shoes for our suits and came back and showered again and strapped up the new suits for Kalen’s birthday. Went back to Laan Dao for drinks and headed up to the roof top to drink and play some music. Got tired and came down stairs to pack since we are moving to the International Center (IC).
Woke up and realized that the Burmese food was bad. Mantazuma’s revenge!!!! NO!!!! But, I got it out ;) Went down to the coffee shop to talk with Ashley and did that til 11:30. Grabbed my stuff and headed to the IC. Got here and it not as good as the hotel  Have to pay for internet and it’s farther away from everything. So it’s a good thing we are only here for two more weeks. Took a long cat nap and ate some food down stairs. Pretty good and inexpensive. Then we took our laundry down and paid for some internet that will last us about a week. Went and ate again at an “organic vegetable, food, and drink” place. So freakin’ good and good veggies and big portions and really inexpensive. We will definitely go back  Then waited around for people to get back from dinner so we could go bowling. Walked to the mall where the bowling alley is on the fifth floor. Weird, because the mall stores were closed, but not the mall, so we could walk around an empty mall. Kinda weird. Went to the rock and bowl and bowled ok, but not great. Had fun, but got way too hot. Then we went down to a bar where our friend “Ball” was playing in his band. Emo music, but it was good. Walked back, took a shower, and now off to bed. I actually have school tomorrow. What the hell?!!!
written by  Matt Eastlick on April 6, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand
from the travel blog: Thailand Study Abroad

School :(
Well woke up went to class. Hard time staying awake…….Language class was good and then came back and picked up our laundry. Changed and headed out to dinner with everyone for Randy’s 21st birthday!!! Dinner was expensive, but pretty good. Walked around to try and find a new club to go to, but that ended up harder than it sounds. So we ended up going all the way back to the IC and going to one of the clubs that we already knew about. There was an American cover band that was pretty good, so it made it easy to dance. However, dancing when it is 90 degrees doesn’t make for a very cool atmosphere!!!! Thought I was in a sauna. Came back jammed with Emmet and Randy in the hall way until 3am and then went to bed.
Woke up and ate some free breakfast and now thinking I should probably do some homework  Went to class…..same same. When to dinner at the organic vegetable place and then searched for a roti stand. Negative. Walked to the mall for donuts and then caught a cab to still look and then to the suit shop to the only one we knew of. Then took a convertible tuk-tuk back……awesome.!
Woke up and my stomach was still hurting. Has been for the last 2 or 3 days. But went to the bathroom and felt better. Went and ate breakfast down stairs. Went to class early so I could get some cheap, good cafeteria food. Went to class and language. Came back and went to Sumo Sushi again! SO GOOD!!! Jade Dragon Maki again, Sumo Maki, Fire Dragon Maki, and Mango Delight Maki. Justin and I shared them all again. So good! Came back and now typing to update you all.
written by  Matt Eastlick on April 9, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

Week Three
Came back and thought about an easy night of reading and doing a little R & R. Ya right! We went down to a jazz club where there was an acoustic band playing covers of Clapton, Eagles, Cat Stevens. They were great. Then we went inside to where there was another live band playing Hendrix, Clapton, The Doors, Marley, all different Blues. Holy crap Dane….you should have been there. The Long Islands weren’t too bad either. ;) Came back and fell right to sleep.
Well, woke up and went to school early to get some food, however, since the red shirts were blockading the parliament building, the King declared Sonkran a day early because no matter if you are fighting or whatever, there is no protesting during Sonkran. So none of the cafeteria stands were open because of the holiday  Went to class and learned about all of the genocides in the history of the world. Not all of them, but quite a few. Came back, ate dinner down stairs, jammed, packed, got some money, updated, and went to bed. Need all the rest I can get for the weekend in Pai (“Bye”). A little backpacking town north of here. I’ll be back on Monday to let you guys know how it went  TTFN!!!

Crazy Kids!!!
Pai, Thailand
Woke up and jumped in the vans that were waiting for us out front. Got prepared for the three and a half hour drive to Pai. The road was like to Happy Camp, but with lots of cars and everybody wanting, and actually, passing people right and left sides of the cars!!! It was quite the adventure just getting there. Before we even got to our housing, the kids were out in the streets throwing water and the trucks with people stacked in back. Sonkran had started! We got to our place which was awesome. Bamboo huts with mosquito nets over the beds. Very romantic to share a bed with Justin. And we also got the privilege to have three in our room. Kalen stayed with us……cool. But it was good. We thought we could make to lunch without getting wet….ha! no way. We couldn’t even get out of the driveway. And of course I hadn’t put my camera in the case yet, so that was a hassle running from the kids trying to keep the camera dry. I ended up turning around and sprinting back to get the case. Dane…..Life saver!!!! Worked great. Ate lunch and admired house many farangs where there. Did battle with some of the novice monks for a half hour…….they were tenacious little guys!!! So a couple of us ran off and found another spot to eat and had some beers….such good food. Then we came back and lounged on the front porch. Perfect weather. Took a nap. Got up and headed out for the night. Had the notorious “Buckets.” Oh man…..A flask of whiskey, club soda, sprite, red bull, and some lime……served in a bucket. Jesus….dangerous. So, had a bucket and went out to dinner. Then went to a bar that had live music. Great music once again. And another bucket! Met a guy from Long Beach who graduated from Stanford. He’s been traveling for 5 months already. Ben was pretty cool…..he bought me a few white Russians, so he got an “A” in my book;) Passed out…..
Woke up……ouch. Everyone else took off for a bike ride to a waterfall which ended up being more than everyone asked for. I slept in.....til two. It was great….woke back up and got a massage for an hour….5 bucks!!! Got back and took a shower. Went and grabbed some dinner and went and watched another live band….super good once again. No Buckets though ;) Went home around 10:30, packed, ate some left overs, and went to bed.
Vans were here at 8:00am. Everyone else hung over…..not me!!! 3 girls puked from the windy road….oh how glorious. Got back and prepared for the Chiang Mai Sonkran….good lord. Crazy…..got good video so I’ll show you more later. Parade was cool…..long walk and sore feet. Came back, hit sushi up and now just waiting to relax and go to bed. Long day! Hope to talk to you guys soon.
written by  Matt Eastlick on April 13, 2009 from Pai, Thailand

Homo-work
Well, didn’t do much today……slept, read for class, played the guitar. It actually rained today which was really cool……bedtime.
Well………I actually did homework today, took another nap, but nothing exciting. Talked to the fam!!! Bedtime.

Caves!!!
Chiang Dao, Thailand
Ya! Actually did something today…..Went to Chiang Dao to see the caves. Man I’m happy I’m an Earth Science major. Probably the most fun I’ve had here. Pictures or stories don’t do it justice, but I’ll try posting pictures. Found a lake with a huge drop off into the abyss. Came back and watched a movie with Justin. “7 Seconds” with Will Smith…..if you like crying, watch it. Super tear jerker. Great one to watch with another dude. Anywho….tired, so might go to bed. TTYL
written by  Matt Eastlick on April 16, 2009 from Chiang Dao, Thailand

Market Time
Well, Friday….supposed to have class, except for Professor Kerbo got food poisoning at and Italian restaurant. So no sociology class, but language. Not bad. Came back and played some music.
Woke up and rented some bikes to bike to some local ruins. It was going to be fun til I broke my bike all to hell. I busted the pedals up in multiple ways to the point where I could only use one pedal……I was pretty impressed with myself. But got there later rather than sooner. Took a songtao with all of our bikes on top. After we got there, we were glad we took a ride because it was way farther than the book said. Luckily Dave had a bike that had another seat over the back tire and pegs for me to ride on. He reminded me of Dane when we where little. Dane being my mule;) Came back and went to the Saturday Market. That was cool. Found the amazing blind band, but forgot my camera!!! Then got some kind of a crispy crepe thing with chocolate. It was good….real good. Dave and Nick bought hammocks for 350 baht…I was tempted. Came back and went to a Rasta club…..it was ok…came back swung by Mike’s (a burger joint). Pretty good….came back and went to bed…
Woke up and went to the Central Airport Plaza shopping mall by myself. I got there an hour early so I ended up talking to this Thai lady for about 45 minutes. Very nice and she had gone to University in Baton Rouge about thirty years ago, so she still spoke pretty good english. Finally got in and bought some new cargo shorts since I blew the crotch out of my green ones finally  Also bought a button up shirt and some basketball shorts so I could work out with Dave later. Came back and hung out til me and Dave went to the fitness park across the street from the IC. It is a track with obstacles like push ups and sit ups and bars and a military press thing….pretty cool. It’s no wonder everyone is skinny over here. Hot and fitness parks!!! We ran a mile (like a 7 minute mile) and the a half of mile through the obstacles. Then came back and went to the Sunday Market. Got some cool stuff that you guys will have to wait and see…..;) Then came back and crashed….
Woke up and kicked Dave out of bed and we went to the fitness park again. Ran 2 miles….holy crap. Came back ate and got ready for school. Went early to study. Talked to Ashley instead;) Went to the first class in a week and a half. Awesome. Came back, dropped my laundry off and went to the “OP” aka….The Organic Vegetable Place. Then I’m back here update’n and I think we are going to the Night Bazaar to pick up some suitcases to pack all of the shit we bought at the markets….ya, there’s that much stuff. So I’ll talk to everyone in a bit….Oh and we now are 98 percent sure we are going to Bangkok….everything is pretty much over with the riots and protests, and we might actually get to see some army tanks that are still on patrol. Hopefully we get to see that!!! The place where all the protesting was going on was 2 blocks down from where we are staying! But it’s safe….Love you all and I’ll talk to you later.
P.S. I wrote just a few captions on my pics explaining just a couple of things.....no biggie

On the Way
Sukhothai, Thailand
Well….didn’t make it. Went to bed. Woke up to Justin telling me to wake up. I looked outside, and the rain was coming down. A true toad strangler. Never seen it rain sooo hard. Then the lightning started. It was banging all night long. Went back to bed.
Sunday. Went to the ruins of Sukhothai. Awesome. Took like 200 pictures. Got some food and ice cream!!! So good. Then came back to the hotel and took a nap. Got up and got in the pool. Then had dinner and started drinking with the teachers. Fun night.
Got prepped for 8 hour bus ride to Nong Khai. Amazing drive. Beatiful Country. Got here. Wasn’t too bad. Here and it’s right on the Mae Kong river which is the border between Laos and Thailand. I’ll get more info later miss you all.
written by  Matt Eastlick on April 27, 2009 from Sukhothai, Thailand

On the Way
Nong Khai, Thailand
Well….didn’t make it. Went to bed. Woke up to Justin telling me to wake up. I looked outside, and the rain was coming down. A true toad strangler. Never seen it rain sooo hard. Then the lightning started. It was banging all night long. Went back to bed.
Sunday. Went to the ruins of Sukhothai. Awesome. Took like 200 pictures. Got some food and ice cream!!! So good. Then came back to the hotel and took a nap. Got up and got in the pool. Then had dinner and started drinking with the teachers. Fun night.
Got prepped for 8 hour bus ride to Nong Khai. Amazing drive. Beatiful Country. Got here. Wasn’t too bad. Here and it’s right on the Mae Kong river which is the border between Laos and Thailand. I’ll get more info later miss you all.
written by  Matt Eastlick on April 27, 2009 from Nong Khai, Thailand

Nong Khai....finally!
Nong Khai, Thailand
. Checked into our little houses (Mut-Mee). Went down to the river bar, and checked it out. Super tired, so went to bed.
Woke up….damn it was hot last night. Jumped on the bus and went to a Cal Poly Alumni’s village he lives in now. Been there 20 years with a thai wife and 3 kids. It was the Esan village. Very cool and got to do a scavenger hunt in order to get to know people. Very fun and got a hole bunch of fruit off the trees. Uie was our guide. Very nice lady. Lunch…..finally bugs!!! Snail, beetles, ants, ant larva, papaya salad, water buffalo skin, sticky rice, mango, rice cakes, chicken, and fish…….Ant larva was no joke probably the best. The fruit we got from the locals…..3 type of mangos, Lyche, fresh tamerin, starfruit, little cherries, little green sour things, long green bean, tomatoes, and ….. some other stuff. Of course….awesome. Come back and now I’m just typin’ this and should start studying for midterms tomorrow. I forgot that we had a huge welcoming party for us at the school. So at 6pm, we went down to school and got a nice barbeque style dinner. Chicken, sticky rice, fresh fruit, everything good. Then we played games (snake eating tail, tiger eating cow, and stupid American games.). After came back and studied, and then a group of us went out for an hour or so to see the town before we went to bed.
Wednesday….went to class and took a midterm. Ouch. Hopefully that turns out better that I feel about it. Came back and rented some bicycles. Rode to the Tesco Lotus. Ended up being more of a shopping mall than a supermarket. Crazy insane. There was actually a Wal-Mart type thing inside. Anyways, we got some beer, but the funny thing is that in Thailand you can’t buy beer from 2pm-5pm. We got to the register at around 4:57pm….we had to wait three minutes to buy it because they couldn’t have the records on the cash register! So that was entertaining. Came back and ate dinner and just hung out under the cabaña.
Went to class again and had another midterm. I think that one went better. Came back and went to a Vietnamese restaurant that was pretty good with amazing service. All of the waiters and waitresses just sat there watching you which was totally awkward. You would take a drink of water or soda and by the time it hit the table, they were filling it back up for you. Good thing we weren’t drinkin’ booze. Might be an awful deep glass;) Came back and had a few beers and played the guitar with Randy. I was Carrie’s birthday, so I played here happy birthday on the git. Went out with some of the the guys and the nursing students at the college with us. Came home and hit the sack…I was shot and we leave at 8am to Lao tomorrow!!
written by  Matt Eastlick on May 4, 2009 from Nong Khai, Thailand

Laos?
Vientiane, Laos
Got up and headed to the Friendship Bridge. It’s the passageway to get to Laos. Got there and there was a guy who helped us get through faster if we took his taxi on the other side of the border. So we did it. Then we probably did the sketchiest thing we’ve all done so far this trip. He asked for our passports and we gave them to him…..Mom, Chele, don’t freak out. I had my hand around him the whole time. And by God he got us through fast the security didn’t even really look over anything. They just stamped us and we went on through. Anywho….he took us into Vientiane(the capital) and then we paid him extra to take us the next 3 hours drive to Vang Vieng. Had a funny lunch….baguette and water.
written by  Matt Eastlick on May 4, 2009 from Vientiane, Laos

Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng, Laos
. Showed up and only saw white people. Totally touristy. Wondered around looking for a place to stray since we are guys and don’t plan a head. We found one. It was positioned in between 3 bars!!! But for 50,000 kip (3.17 dollars;)) a night it was just right for the first night. Went and got some pizza. Vang Vieng was settled by the French, so the foreign food is very good there. Then watched a movie on the projector they had. Weird story. Went out to Bucket Bar because there were free buckets from 8pm-9pm. Had about a quarter of one and remembered how disgusting they were so I was the designated walker since all of our housing was across bamboo bridges on the other side of the river. Got everyone in bed and tried to go to bed, but the music from the 3 bars was still blaring in our huts!!!!
Woke up and hiked this little mountain behind the city. Very cool. Started thunder and raining!!! Felt so amazing!!!! Watched it rain from under our new little cabaña since we moved for the slums!! Met a nice couple. Chris (Australia) and Anja (Germany). They were very nice. They gave me a book called Blood River about Africa and a journalist traveling the area. Ate dinner with them and found out it was Anja birthday, so I knew that my big group was going to “Q-Bar” so I took them there. I meant to mention that I think 35 of us went to Laos that weekend. So when we showed up at Q-Bar all I saw were drunk Cal Poly kids. It was so funny! We just joined in and got Anja her birthday shots and danced for awhile and then went bed. Exhausting day….
Woke up and met Chris and Anja for breakfast at Bungalow. They were staying at the same as us. We planned a trip to some caves. Everyone else went tubbing down the river, but that sounded like a drunkin’ day so I opted out on that one. So we rented motorbikes and took off to the mountains. Beautiful landscape. Dane we are coming back. Went to the “Blue Lagoon”. It really was a blue lagoon which was the most beautiful water I’ve ever seen. Rope swings into them and trees to climb and jump off of. So we swam for awhile and then hiked the mountain to where the cave started. Holy crap…..you couldn’t see the ceiling it was so big. So we walked around that and then took a detour home. We still had gas in the tank, so we had to go cruisin’. We went north or town to where there weren’t any white people and it was great. Watched the sun set and came back to return the bike. All day on the bike…..35,000 kip…a little over 4 dollars. Read my book and went to sleep.
Planned on going home, but everyone wanted to see the blue lagoon, so I stayed to be there tour guide. Skipped class, but worth it. Took a mini-bus back to Vientiane and then got back at the Mut-Mee at 6pm. Took a shower and ate and went to bed around 9:30pm……Long ass weekend.
written by  Matt Eastlick on May 4, 2009 from Vang Vieng, Laos