Letters Home: The final stretch home...

The last email I sent home was from Koh Tao three weeks before the end of my trip. So by means of a wrap-up, here's the quick version of those three weeks....

On Koh Tao I had this view from my bungalow where I stayed for 6 days while learning to scuba dive-

After Koh Tao (which is in Thailand), I headed to Penang, Malaysia. The two highlights here were Little India (I'd been craving Indian food for nearly a month) and the view from Penang Hill.

From Penang, I crossed the Malay peninsula and took a boat to the Perhentian Island of Kecil- almost paradise! Here I spent six days sleeping in this bungalow, laying on this beach and continuing to perfect my scuba.

From Kecil I halved the peninsula, stopping in the dead center in the Cameroon Highlands- famous for two things- clean, dry air and tea plantations.

The Cameroon Highlands were the beginning of the end. From there I would start my week long trek to Seattle consisting of two nights in Kuala Lumpur-

then a flight to and two nights in Singapore-then a flight to and two nights in Seoul, South Korea-then a flight to and a night in San Francisco, where believe it or not I didn't take a single picture. All before catching a flight home to Seattle and back to the real world.

This summer is all about the wedding madness. No not for me, but for my good friends Chris and Monica first in Colorado, then my little sister Kim and my good buddy Greg on Bainbridge Island, followed last by one of my oldest friends Alan and his fiance Helen in Seattle in August. Then, if all goes to plan and the embassy cooperates, Barcelona.

Letters Home: Hello from Koh Tao

Family-

So, I've been spending the last few days trying to master this whole underwater breathing through tubes while swimming thing, but more on that later...

Just to catch you up, Laos was incredible and it lived up to all of the hype! My first impression of the country was the capital city if Vientiane which is shocking that it is a capital city considering you can walk across it in under an hour. Laos is very poor, and you notice this sad reality straight away. Often families live and workin the same place- the restaurant they own and operate along theMekong River. I only spent one day in Vientiane, which was plenty of time to see the major sites- Wat Ho Prekoh and the city itself. From Vientiane, we took a mini-bus north to the riverside town of Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng has been getting quite a bit of hype on the traveler's trail for being a bit of party destination- in Laos? I didn't believe it, but it was. The premiseis simple. Rent a truck intertube and take a tuk-tuk (small pick-up truck) 4km up the river. Start floating and stop as necessary at any of the numerous riverside bars competing for your business and enjoy the Beer Lao and free Lao Lao shots! And what better to mixwith alcohol than crazy rope swings and zip lines.
There is more to Vang Vieng than just the boozy tubing, the scenry is simply incredible- by far the most inspiring and beautiful place I've been on this trip. My friend Grant and I decided to rent motorbikes for the day and explore the countryside and the views were pretty incredible.

From Vang Vieng I headed north to Luang Prabang- a UNESCO World Heritage City. The relaxed pace and easy going atmosphere fit me perfectly. With a couple friends, I met heading the similar direction I visited the Kungsin waterfall- which for lack of a better description was like swimming in a postcard. What I haven't told you about Laos is the national curfew that states that all people- local and foreign- must be in the place of residenceby mid-night. This policy is, of course, relaxed yet all establishments close at 11:30pm and travelers looking to continue their good times are like, what now? Well in Luang Prabang you go bowling! And bowl we did. And my last night in LP the bowling (along with an uncounted number of Beer Lao), nearly did me in. My 6am flight to Bangkok was less than enjoyable, and I arrived to find the my body and all of my organs had decided to go on strike.

So, in the city that rattles till 4am to the beat of too many discotechs with tin roofs and where roosters crow at all hours for the day, I spent over 30 of my 55 hours asleep recovering before heading south to the islands...

Tim