Weekly Photo: Ruea Hang Yao (Long-Tail Boat)

Long-tail boats are very common around Southern Thailand. This picture was taken at Koh Phi Phi Ley. They use a simple engine that is often seen in automobiles, but they make a put-put sound that is rather loud. Thais used them for everything from fishing to ferrying people around. They are called a long-tail boat because the propeller is mounted on the thrust shaft and juts out behind the boat a couple meters. It can be lifted from the water and rotated around making long-tail boats easy to maneuver.

Weekly Photo: World Money

One thing you end up with a lot of is left over currency. No matter how hard I try to withdraw just the right amount, I usually have some left over. A while ago I finally gave up and just started collecting it. Now I have money from nearly every country I have visited. In a way it’s kind of cool. In some countries I am a millionaire. In others, the reality is more sobering. At least I end up with colorful wads of useless paper.

Weekly Photo: Cricket & Silkworm Snack

Oh yes, bugs! Not too many people eat bugs anymore in Bangkok, but they are a staple in other part of the country. Before you wrinkle your nose up at them, they aren’t half bad. I’ve had silkworms before, but the crickets were new to me this time around. They both taste kind of nutty. Insects are very nutritious and healthy, so you should try them the next time you have a chance. My tip: get them fried, they taste much better that way.

A Visit to Vientiane (via Suvarnabhumi and Hau Lamphong)

I was in Vientiane, Laos last week getting a new visa for Thailand. That’s not where I was supposed to be, but it’s where I ended up, almost last-minute. I left the day my visa expired (with the extra 30 day extension), which is something I try not to do.

I was supposed to be in China. I got tired of dealing with their bullshit and decided to push that off for a bit. They are going through a party leadership transfer that has been a bit messy. Not to mention the continued occupation of Tibet and the problems that has caused. The typical paranoia the Chinese seem to exhibit along with these other issues has just meant far more hassle for a visa than I care to deal with.

I wait until Spring of next year and then deal with it. Though, I have to admit, it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to know that I am a threat to the stability and security of China (they must be one wobbly weak country).

I was going to head to Indonesia instead, but decided against it when I saw the price of flights and hotels. Ouch!

After China I was supposed to be Australia. That was moved to December, but I still get to hang out with my Aussie friend in Cambodia in November, so I am looking forward to that. Also, my ex-partner and good friend will (hopefully) be visiting from Seattle. I haven’t seen anyone from back home in a year, so it will be nice.

So, I ended up in Vientiane getting my visa. I almost didn’t make my train, even though I left at 5:30pm for the 8:00pm train. I literally had to jump on as it started moving. I think that is the first time the train ever left on time (though it was still 3 hours late to Nong Khai. My boyfriend went with me in the taxi so he asked for Hua Lamphong (the railways station), in Thai of course.

Normally the drive would take 30 minutes in moderate traffic, though at 5:30pm I expect it to be 45 minutes. An hour later I noticed things were not right. I started to complain, but my boyfriend, being Thai, just ignored it. Eventually he said something to the driver, but the driver said he had been driving in Bangkok for 30 years. In other words, shut up. I still made my boyfriend ask a few more times and clarify that the driver knew where he was going. Each time, I heard Hau Lamphong and “chai, chai” (yes, yes) and mind you, I rarely can tell if Thai words are correct or not.

Well, after an hour and a half, it was pretty clear we were nowhere near where we needed to be and the meter was over 250 baht, plus toll fees. I was freaking out because it would be almost impossible to make the train and that would mean a new ticket (758 baht) plus 500 baht a day for over-staying my visa.

Finally, my yelling about how we are going to the airport and not the railways station got the driver’s attention as well as my boyfriend’s. A big scene developed and I heard the word “Suvarnabhumi” thrown about quite a bit. See, Suvarnabhumi is the airport, and it nowhere near Hau Lamphong. Believe it or not, Suvarnabhumi and Hau Lamphong actually sound very similar, but NOT TO THAI PEOPLE. To Thais, those two names are like night and day. I wasn’t the one telling the driver where to go, so it was plain what was going on: white guy with backpack… must be going to the airport so I am not going to pay attention anymore and just go the airport.

I have never seen my boyfriend lose his Thai cool before, but he was pretty pissed off (it probably didn’t help that every other word I was yelling was “fuck”). It was actually pretty funny to listen to him explain the difference between Suvarnabhumi and Hau Lamphong to the driver.

Once you are on your way to the airport, though, there is no turning around. At this point I was in the cab for almost two hours and pretty much accepted I would miss the train. I was clear that I wasn’t paying a single baht for that cab, especially after paying for toll fees. The driver tried to make it into our fault, but that wasn’t working out so well, especially since I made my boyfriend clarify several times about the destination.

The driver then said 100 baht would be fine. I said, “Translate this: I will give him 100 baht if he gives me 758 baht for a new train ticket, plus 500 baht for over-staying my visa, plus 100 baht to take the subway and then Skytrain to the place he was supposed to take me in first fucking place!” I don’t think that needed much translation. So, I got a free ride to the airport when I didn’t need one. Even better, when my boyfriend complains how bad my Thai is, I can just point out that his isn’t that good either! =)

After jumping on the train, I needed a beer and ended up meeting a nice guy from the US in the restaurant car. Later, I met another guy from Spain, who lives in Koh Tao and works as a diver instructor. Guess where I am going to visit pretty soon? =) I ended up hanging out with them in Vientiane.

Vientiane hasn’t changed, and is still ridiculously hot—I swear the temperature drops by several degrees when you cross back into Thailand (several people commented on this)—and it’s still a nice little city. I didn’t do any sightseeing. Just applied for my visa, waited and left when I got it. I think Laos should try to get people to stay, but being a communist country I don’t think the tourism bureau is on top of it yet. I was going to stay longer, but Laos is just so expensive. It didn’t make much sense to stay and spend all that money when I had so much work to do, the internet was so bad, and it would cost so much.

Back to Thailand it was. The trip turned out okay, though. I met some cool guys. Drank and smoked way too much (and have spent the last week detoxing Beer Lao and Marlboro’s from my body), and met some more cool people on the train who had Lao whiskey (the strong stuff). Of course, the train was 4½ hours late getting back to Bangkok, so I plenty of time to sleep it off.

What’s next? Well, Bangkok has been loosing its charm for me for sometime now. I have friends here, though the one I enjoyed hanging out with the most has left for the mother country (England). I moved half way around the world so I could have sunshine and beaches, not pollution and rain, anyway. So I decided I will be moving to Phuket next month. At least, that’s the plan. We’ll see how that works out.

Weekly Photo: Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua

Nicaragua is often referred to as “the country of Lakes and Volcanoes.” Masaya Volcano is close to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It is really easy to get to and hike around, though the constant stream of poisonous gases does make it a little challenging to breath at times, especially when you are huffing it up to the vantage point. Still, it is well worth the visit and quite thrilling to be able to literally stand on an active volcano.

The 5 Nicest Countries in the World

There are some people around the world that, well, they are just really wonderful. I actually had a really hard time deciding which countries should be on this list. I wanted to add so many, but I wanted to keep it limited to the top five like I did with the rudest countries (mostly because five was all I could really come up with when it came to rude—which is a good thing).

Most people around the world are polite and nice, especially to tourists. I mean, who isn’t a little proud that someone has traveled around the world to visit them? As I mentioned in my previous post, I have never been some place where people flat-out disliked me just because I was a tourist or because I am American. More often than not, people go out their way to be helpful. This list is the top five nicest countries in the world where the people are genuinely nice.

#5 El Salvador

Many people think of El Salvador is a dangerous place because of the civil war they had. That was over 20 years ago! El Salvador is a great place to visit. The people there are really very, very nice. Customs and immigration are polite and efficient, and government offices are really very helpful (I had a visa issue because of Guatemala, so I experienced it first hand). Average people actually stopped what they were doing to help me fill out forms because a few Spanish words didn’t make sense to me. When is the last time you helped someone… in a government office, no less? Everywhere I went, El Salvadorans were just really nice and friendly. A very welcoming country that you really should visit.

Update: Sadly, just read that there are some serious issues in El Salvador right now, though mostly effecting El Salvadorans. When I visited two years ago, I never felt unsafe.

#4 Portugal

My fondest memory of Portugal was a lady who spoke no English (and I knew better than to speak Spanish to her—the two countries have a bit of history). Her restaurant looked nice, but had no menu. She smiled, brought a bottle of wine, and disappeared for an hour. When she came back, my friend and I had the most amazing meal (probably only $10 for both of us, including the wine). That’s what people in Portugal are like. They make you feel like you are at home. Everywhere I went was like that. People on the street will stop and help you without you even asking. They are friendly and just plain nice.

#3 India

I expected a bit of a challenge traveling around India. Instead, turned out to be one of my favorite counties and a breeze to travel around. The people are genuinely nice and helpful. Sometimes they just want to stop and chat with you. They don’t want anything, they are just being friendly. Often they shoot you a smile while walking down the street. Other times, they would help out if I looked lost or confused. Most Indians are just genuinely friendly, helpful people. I can’t tell you how many cups of chai I had during pleasant conversations with Indians. I really enjoyed that.

#2 Cambodia

If there is any country that should not have happy people, it should be Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge did a lot of damage and touched every family in Cambodia (and not in a good way). Yet, Cambodians are super nice and genuinely wonderful people. They always seem to be smiling. Things are changing (a few years ago I would have put them at number one on this list), but they still are very welcoming and friendly. Most Cambodians are thrilled that you are visiting their country, it makes them feel proud (as it should—Cambodia is a truly amazing country). There is a lot of poverty, yet everyone always seems to have a smile no matter what and they are always friendly.

#1 Turkey

Turkey is fabulous. The culture, the architecture, the beauty, and the people—they are so nice. Shop owners that I was not buying from, would sit down with me for hours and want to talk about anything and everything over copious amounts of tea, never once asking me to buy a thing (one even refused to let me buy something I wanted; he forced me to take it for free despite my protests). Everyone is fair, honest, and genuinely nice. I really feel that Turkey has the nicest people I have ever met.

Honorable Mentions

There are a lot more countries that should be on this list. Estonians are a really fun and friendly bunch. Hungarians are super nice and seem to have a really fun streak (especially the ladies working at the baths who slapped my ass while I was changing—yup, women assist in the men’s dressing room in Budapest). Costa Ricans are exceptionally polite and friendly.

And then there are Americans—we are really nice too. No, really, we are. I know we have a reputation, but it is very much undeserved. Blame the few stupid people you see on TV. Most Americans are too nice for their own good. Sure, Canadians are nice too, but a visit to small town America is likely to pleasantly surprise you about just how nice Americans really are. After encountering a tourist, most Americans will have a stupid smile on their face the rest of the day because… well, we feel rather proud that you wanted to visit us too. (Just avoid Texas, they aren’t really Americans as they always remind us: “We were an independent country before…” blah blah blah “and remember the Alamo…” blah blah blah.)

Which countries do think have the nicest people? Share your favorites in the comments below.

Weekly Photo: Panama Canal

The Panama Canal really is a modern marvel. America favored a canal across Nicaragua, which probably made more sense given the geology of the area, but in their rush to begin construction on the canal, the French began building a sea-level canal through the then northern province of Columbia without doing the proper research. The French effort went bankrupt in 1890 after spending $287 billion. After this, canal gets interesting with political alliances changes and a new country forming (Panama), but eventually the US takes over the project in 1904 and completes it in 1914 at the cost of $375 billion plus $12 billion for security. In today’s dollars, that is over $9 trillion (with a “T”).

Top 5 Rudest Countries in the World

I’ve been to quite a few places around the world and I can honestly say I have never been any place where people flat-out disliked me because I was visiting (or because I am American). Nonetheless, there are some places that have people who are just not very nice. I know, it is not very PC of me to suggest that some people suck, but there are some that do!

Not everyone is rude just because they come from a country I list below. Ironically, I have good friends either from or stilling living in each of these countries and I have met really wonderful people from each country. Nonetheless, some places just seem to have some unpleasant folks. Here are the top five places I think have the most rudest people.

Update: Since I’ve actually received death threats for this post, I thought I would add that I don’t hate any particular group. Just because I thought people were rude doesn’t make me a Nazi. I’ve met great people in all these countries, but in an article this size it’s difficult to get into all the nuances. As for the rudest country, check out the link I added when you get to that part.

#5 France

Picking on the French is fairly common for an American, but they make it so easy. They are so damn rude. They seem utterly fixated on the fact that the French language is no longer the main language of the world and that no watches their movies without subtitles. They will refuse to speak any language other than French (even if they know how) and treat most people as inferior little bugs if you they do no speak French perfectly (even attempting French is simply not good enough). Sure, they have great bread, wine almost as good as two buck chuck (joking!), and the best cheese in the world, but the French language… well, it sounds like someone slurring from drinking too much French wine.

#4 Malaysia

Malaysians don’t seem to give a shit about much, least of all you. To be fair, my experience is primarily with Borneo (yes, it is part of Malayasia), though I have little doubt the mainland is much different. Malaysians seem intent on ignoring you or just being completely indifferent most of the time (want to check into your room? well, I am watching my soap opera so you have to wait). That is actually the best you can hope for because when they are not completely ignoring you they seem to be in a perpetual state of irritation at your existence. Since you irritate them, it makes complete sense that they should try to screw you out of your money, which they will happily tell you they are doing because, “You are not Malaysian.”

#3 Panama

Coming from Costa Rica, a really nice country with pleasant people, to Panama was a rude shock. Panamanians are racist, bigoted and super rude. Hotels flat-out refuse rooms to gays but happily give them to married men with their prostitute (I love the Christian thought process). Regardless of whether you are gay or not, many people simply refuse to help you or answer questions (even if you are speaking Spanish), and hotels and restaurants won’t help you or show you rooms unless you are doing business with them (hotels often want money before they will even show you the room). Taxis will not take you to the bar you requested, and instead take you somewhere else because they just didn’t feel like driving there or don’t like the bar you want to go to. This extended to just about every facet of Panamanian life. Very annoying to deal with that while on vacation.

#2 Guatemala

Guatemala has some amazing sights. Unfortunately, they are in Guatemala. This country seems hell-bent on screwing tourists any way they can. It seems built into the fabric of their society. Arrive anywhere in Guatemala and watch as their eyes light up with dollar signs. Border agents deliberately mess up entry stamps so they can collect a “fee” to fix it. Even if you already have a stamp, well you need another one and that sign is old, the price is much more now. Travel service agents flat-out lie to you and over charge for everything. Taxis and minibus drivers go to great lengths to screw you out of money, tacking on extra fees and charges that are not real. I managed to only get soaked for a few dollars (at 3am in the morning when I had no choice but to go along with it), but it is really sad to watch as Guatemalans screw people out of big chunks of change. Not a nice people.

#1 Philippines

I actually didn’t think it was possible to find  people more rude and unpleasant than Guatemalans, but then I went to the Philippines. Wow! Filipinos are so amazing rude it is almost unbelievable. They treat people like shit. The exception? Palawan. The people in Palawan are the complete opposite of the typical Filipino—they are absolutely wonderful. Avoid the rest of the Philippines unless you are a glutton for punishment. Filipinos are excessively rude and mean, and fly off the handle at the slightest provocation, which usually involves you asking them to do their job. I had a lady at a resort get mad at me because I ordered dinner New Year’s eve and she wanted to leave early. She actually made me eat outside and locked up the restaurant. That was probably the nicest experience I had, Filipinos are usually much worse. I have never experienced a more unpleasant people.

Update: Here’s a post about the Charming Cities of Iloilo where I said I could see myself living in the Philippines.

Honorable Mentions

There are a few other countries that are rude. Vietnam is well known for being rather aloof and unfriendly. The Spanish, especially those in Madrid, often seem to have a chip on their shoulder, though about what I cannot say. Southern Italians are rather rude and always seem to be mad about something. And good old mother England has her fair share of folks that can be rather off-putting.

Even as I wrote this, I was thinking of my friends and all of the nice people that were pleasant and quite helpful in every one of these countries. Maybe it was me or just the people I encountered, I don’t know. But I do know there are nice people everywhere (even in the Philippines).

Weekly Photo: Painted Hills, Oregon

Painted Hills is named after the colorful hills that make up this interesting geological formation. Painted Hills is part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The reds, oranges, and yellows are all from different geological eras (in a different part of the Monument, there are greens and blues). While the colors are rather spectacular, the real importance of the area is the paleontology (as you might have guessed from the name). Hard to believe, but bones of camels and rhinoceroses have been found here, along with many other species.