Home » Thailand » SE Asia 2004 (part I)

My dear readers,<br /><br />It has become more and more difficult for me to adjust to settled life after the nomadic life of a traveler. Travel is addictive! I survive only with help of my non-prescription medicine, which I take on a daily basis: seventeen table spoons, at bed time with food. What medicine, you may ask? Here is the chemical formula of it: 40% solution of C2H5-OH in H2O.

SE Asia 2004 (part I)

Alex Mumzhiu
2006-03-22 19:06:55

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few small fish and make fish soup. I made a fire and boiled them in a sea water. Soup became too salty, but fish was OK. For desert I had a wild pineapples growing on the shore.

Once I did really stupid thing. I found unattached tridakna. I read these stories about divers who's hand or foot was jammed by gigantic tridaknas. So I tried to see how this tridakna will react. I put something inside tridakna. It did not really react. Then I put the fingers of my two hands inside and try to open it. Instantly my fingers were jammed with incredible force, like in wise. I pulled them out, but sharp edges of shell made two deep cuts on my thumbs. I took tridakna to the shore and broke it with stone. I still wanted to see what is inside. It was big and thick closing mussel there, like scallop's mussel, but much bigger. It taste also like scallops.

After two days of swimming my back was in fire from sunburns and I definitely cannot swim anymore. So next day I left in the morning for the big island of Ko Chang, with intention to cross it on bike and to take a ferry to the mainland from the opposite side of the island. Road was steep and sun was very hot. I protected my body and head but my legs burned during two days of swimming were unprotected. It was impossible to put on long pants in such hot. So, I remembered what Indian yogs do. They cover their body in ashes. It was no ashes there. So I covered my legs with road dust, it helped. Now I know why yogs do it. It is just kind of sunscreen for them. The same day I returned to Bangkok and tomorrow morning (Dec 5) I will fly to Burma.

Alex Mumzhiu
Bangkok, Thailand
Dec 4, 2004, 7pm

My dear readers,

I went through last portion of my trip on pretty tough schedule because I wanted to visit several places which were on my back burner for a long time. I slept on the buses while riding from one destination to other. This is why I did not responded to your E-Mails. However I have three travel notes ready in my mind and even partially written.

1. Myanmar (Burma)
2. Ko Phi Phi Island and Phang Nga Bay in Thailand.
3. Diving at Similan Islands, near the boarder of Thailand and Myanmar.

When I came to USA, I have got sucked into the mess caused by overwhelming amount of travelers before the Christmas day, airlines computer crush and bad weather; and I stand entire night in line for the bus from NY to Wash.

After I came home the dramatic event happened. The tsunami hits the most of places I visited in SE Asia. Place which I admire most Ko Phi Phi Island was washed away.

Soon I will sent you my notes as they were written before the disastrous tidal wave stroke, even it may looks irrelevant by now.

Alex Mumzhiu
McLean Va USA
Dec 27 2004 3am