YANNI UTAH

i know i haven't written in here for the last 6 months and do you know why? because i'm in the uk working all the hours god sends so that i can go back to thailand again for the winter. and now that time is nearly upon us, only 4 weeks to go til i get on the big silver bird and head out. october 16th i leave these damp and dismal shores and arrive on the 17th in the land where i can spend all my time lying on the beach. so now i've started again, i'll probably try to keep my blog going while i'm away.
thanks for reading.

yanni

I've got less than 2 weeks left in Thailand, the last 4 and a half months have gone so fast. Not really looking forward to it.
Can someone let me know how cold it is back there. Don't want to go to the airport here in jeans, trainers and jacket but don't want to turn up at heathrow in shorts, flipflops and a t-shirt, maybe a combination!!!
The one good thing about coming home is that i've got to go back to work, so that means i'm earning again. I can start saving for my next travels. Work ain't so bad really, not when you're doing something you like, and I love bungee. Haven't done a jump for a while, looking forward to getting back into it.
Still ain't got anywhere to live yet, looks like i'll be sleeping in the back of the works van for a week or two. I don't s'pose that'll be too bad after some of the places i've slept in Thailand and Laos. I just bought a tent the other day so maybe when it gets a bit warmer i'll sleep in that. Its one of the one's that doesn't need putting together, you just pull it out of the bag and it unfolds and errects itself, quite cool really.
Does anyone know how much 10kg is in real language ie stones and pounds? Thats how much weight i've lost since getting here and i don't know if its good or not?!?!
Also, how long does it take to get from Heathrow to Victoria? My flight gets in at 06.30 and there's a bus to leeds at 08.00 and another at 12.30. I know you can never tell how long it'll take to clear customs, I think i'll book the 12.30 just to be safe..
Thats me for now, chat soon huh!

yanni

Well as I promised myself that i'd go back thats just what I did.. Me and the girlfriend got the nightbus from Bangkok on Friday the 10th which got us to Ranong Saturday morning. Got the boat to Koh Chang which takes an hour and a half, saw some dolphins on the way.
When we got to Tommy's Bungalows we got the same place we had last time, right on the beach. We went swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing, fishing and generally just had a great time.
Tommy took me out fishing one day in his little speed boat and as we circled this nearby island we saw monkeys on the rocks on the beach using stones to break open the shells to get at the stuff inside, we also saw dolphins again and this time they put on a show for us jumping out of the water. But because the boat didn't look too safe I hadn't brought my camera. Life's a bitch.
At low tide we'd go to the rocks and catch big crabs and take them back to the hut, build a fire outside and have BBQ crab. Delish!
We stayed for 10 days then got the boat back to Ranong. As I hadn't checked my e-mail for a while the first place to go was the internet cafe and what a shock I got, I'm signed into this Thai news website which sends out news items and it had sent one on the 11th, the day we got to Koh Chang, warning of an Tsunami in the Ranong area due to 31 volcanoes erupting under the ocean. Luckily it never occured but in the 10 days I was on that island we never had a warning. We saw fishing boats go out every day, all the normal stuff that goes on. But you'd think after the last Tsunami and all the promises of warning systems, something would have been done. Never mind tho', just another exciting day in the life of yours truly.
Back in Bangkok now, two weeks to go and i'll be back over there. Looking for somewhere to live now. Trying for somewhere in the Leeds/Sheffield area. Have been checking www.gumtree.co.uk which is a good site. Anybody know any other good sites?

thats it
yanni

incase anyone's wondering what PDR stands for, its "Peoples Democratic Republic" or as its otherwise known "Please Don't Rush".
as i may have mentioned before, i've been spending 6 months a year out here in asia and 6 months back home for 6 years now, so thats 3 years out here. in this time i've been into laos 10 times(you can only get a 30 day visa at a time). the 1st time i went back in late 2000 i fell in love with the place and thats how its been ever since... until this time!
travelling in laos is not the same as travelling in thailand. thailand is a piece of cake compared to laos. but over the last couple of years things have got better, some of the transport has improved and the roads are getting better. but its still bloody hard work if you want to see the real laos.
but along with certain things getting better a lot of things have got a lot worse. guest house and hotel prices have gone through the roof, in some places by 400 or 500%. now, if you're planning to travel there and you're on a budget (which i always am) you'll find it hard to get by. i used to go there to save some money but thats impossible now. and its all down to greed. too many rich tourists (mainly french and american) are turning the laos people into money crazy, money grabbing thieves. where you would be able to get a room for the night for $1 or $2 before, they're now charging upto $10 and in some places $15. and laos is still a 3rd world country. most of the population probably only earn this much a month. is this true communism????
after planning a month of travels in laos i left after 5 days, completely sick of what had happened to a country, that was so beautiful, in such a short time. if you are planning to go, go soon, before its too late.
i know this blog probably makes me sound like a moaning shite who should be happy with what i've got, but fuck it! it really pissed me off and i just wanted to get it out.
thanx for reading it if you did. 'til next time!
yanni
P.S. going back to koh chang soon, need to chill again!!!

have just spent a week down south on a gorgeous island called koh chang (not to be confused with the other koh chang on the way to cambodia, this one is close to ranong) man, its sooooo peaceful and quite and relaxing and..... the list goes on and on. all i can say is if you come to thailand and you really want to chill out, this is the place to come. i stayed at "tommy's garden bungalows". 200baht a night for me and my friend. our total daily spends averaged about 10quid, thats beer, food and accom.
swimming and snorkelling every day, fishing, beatiful sunsets, no vehicles at all, excellent!!!!! (no police, so you're free to smoke as much weed as you like, unfortunately i've given up!!)
if anyone needs contact details, drop me a line and i'll pass 'em on.
yanni

i got invited by a friend of mine to her sisters wedding up in nong khai, which is in the north east of thailand. this area of thailand is called isaan and they speak a different type of thai than back in bkk, leaning more towards laos.
anyway the official party starts the day before the wedding when all the family of the bride get together and and have one hell of a shindig. ( the grooms mob do the same but thats back in his village.) my lot had bought a shed load of beer and an equal amount of lao khao (rice whiskey) they also had 3 buffalo ready to slaughter.
me and my friend arrived at her village at 8am and everyone was busy with the preperations. i've met my friends parents before so they where ok when i turned up but the rest of the extended family (about 100 of them) where pretty shocked to see a falang (foreigner) turn up to the wedding but with my charm and good looks i soon had them all on my side.
it soon became time to slaughter the first buffalo which i had to see. nothing humane here i'm affraid, they just tied it to a tree and whacked it over the back of the head 3 or 4 times with some type of farming hoe then slashed its throat. i took a few photo's out of curiousity but hung around a little too long, the tradition is that once the buffalo is slaughtered some of the meat has to be eaten while still warm and yes you guessed it they picked me to eat the first bit followed by by a glass of lao khao and all this at 10 in the morning. well i carried out the task with ease which had everyone clapping and cheering. from then on it was just a day of drinking beer and eating rather under cooked buffalo.
come night-time and the party is still going strong, suprisingly so am i.. then its time for the dancing, and now looking at my photos i feel quite embarressed at my thai dancing technique.
i stagger off to bed at around mid-night very, very drunk only to be awoken at 6.30 am to re-start the party ready for the wedding in a few hours time. i manage to avoid any alcohol until 8am and then i start slipping into a drunken haze.
the family wants me to use my digital camera to take the wedding photos, i manage a few but have to pass the camera to my friend to continue. the wedding is conducted in an upstairs room with only selected family from either side but i do sneak a look or two. after that its just more drinking, they had to send off for more beer and i think they got yet another buffalo from somewhere(4 altogether).
i had to crash at 6pm but was back at it by 8pm. it finally finished at 11ish. the family let me lay-in until 8am the next day.
but here's a word of warning about thai weddings, if you do go to one, make sure you take some imodium with you. i had to visit the toilet at least 10 times that day, lao khao and buffalo create havock in your guts. be warned!!!!!!!!
yanni

i see chelsea had a great win yesterday, chuffed to bits, don't like henry (and i'm a chelsea fan). and even better, liverpool lost 1-0 over there in japan. my holiday just keeps getting better!!!!!

yanni

i seem to be following chicken soup around as i'm now doing "the bridge over the river kwai" thing at kanchanaburi. been here 4 days now and its really nice, been elephant riding, played with the monkeys, had my photo taken with the tigers. just me and a wild tiger, sat there together, no chains, no cages, just me and him. yes, very touristy i hear you say, but i've got to do a little bit of it while i'm here!!
anyway, i wont be following C.S. to oz thats for sure.. heading back to bkk tomorrow to prepare for the pre-xmas parties, 1st one's next sat. i must try to not spend my entire budget over the next few weeks, got to remember that i've still got another 3 months.

until next time,

yanni

finally made it to bangkok after about 18 hrs travelling...
got myself a nice appartment tho' away from the really touristy areas, its got air-con, hot-water shower and the biggest king-size bed you've seen. and all for 60 quid a month, cool eh! going to keep it for the whole 5 months i'm here as its so cheap, then at least i've got a base to come back to and somewhere to leave the stuff i don't need when i'm travelling.
35deg today, hot !!! i hear its cold back home in the uk.
anyway, things to see and do so i'm off, until next time, sawasdee for now...

yanni

not long to go now and i'll be there...
got down here to london yesterday from leeds after working for the bungee club at magna in sheffield ( did anyone see it on sky news or in the papers??) got very drunk with the guys'n'gals and suffered all the way down on the megabus. (which i must say is cheaper and better than national express) went out last nite with my mates from down here and got very drunk again so i'm suffering again today. why do we do it????? going out again tonite but got to get the tube to heathrow about 11pm-ish coz i'm on a fairly early flight and i dont trust myself with getting up in the morning. so my next post will be from out there. yipee!!!!!
yanni