tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-339678262024-03-07T10:49:32.569+01:00Matt Hollingsworth's Blog<p>This is the blog for Matt Hollingsworth. I'm from Ojai, California. I've worked in comics for 22 years as a color artist.</p>
<p>This blog will largely be used to show my daily life as I live in Samobor, Croatia
and as I travel around the region. Lots and lots of photos! Leave me a comment,
will you?</p>
<p>All content on this blog is copyright 2013 Matthew Dale Hollingsworth and cannot be copied or used for any purpose without my consent.</p>Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-32560038415168014362013-03-19T11:37:00.003+01:002013-03-19T11:38:18.527+01:00Blizzard in HungaryTwo news stories about the blizzard we were stuck in in Hungary last Thursday night:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/weather-europe-idUSL6N0C7FNJ20130315">Reuters</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21810696">BBC News</a><br />
<br />
<br />Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-91371190170390014302013-03-16T09:12:00.000+01:002013-03-16T09:13:24.592+01:00Zagreb to Budpest, the blizzard of 2013.<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { </style>The entire harrowing story of our
attempt to attend a homebrew competition in Budapest in March of
2013.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Spring is coming! Spring is coming!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Or so we thought a week or so ago.
Warm weather had finally arrived. The snow which had been
persistently hanging around had finally melted. But then, a few days
before we were to set out for a homebrew competition in Budapest, I
checked the weather. “Heavy snow” it said. It seems in
retrospect that both words were accurate.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We had been invited some time ago to
attend a homebrew competition in Budapest. My friend Andrej and I
are the organizers for our homebrew competition in Croatia, so we
wanted to attend. And we gathered some entries from our local
comrades as well so we would enter some beers and see how they
organized their show, also helping them judge. We would learn from
their show and see what works well and what doesn't work quite as
well.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The competition was to be on March
15<sup>th</sup>, a Friday. This is a bank holiday in Hungary, but
the competition calls itself an international competition, so we gave
them some shit for choosing a date when most of us foreigners would
have to work. That said, we managed to get some time off of work and
left around 4PM on Wednesday. There was some snow falling in
Croatia. We figured we'd add 30 to 45 minutes to our trip, that we'd
simply have to drive slower. Surely their highway would be clear.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This is the route that we would
normally drive.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Zagreb,+Croatia&daddr=Budapest,+Hungary&hl=en&sll=45.813029,15.977895&sspn=0.462321,1.056747&geocode=FSUNuwIdp83zACk5zALJktZlRzGKwvsoliRFOg%3BFbjC1AId64ciASnJz9TRNMNBRzFgER4MKcQABA&oq=budapest&mra=ls&t=m&z=9">Zagreb to Budapest</a><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And here's something close to what we
actually ended up doing before we turned around and headed home after
18 hours of attempting to get to Budapest.</div>
<br />
<a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Zagreb,+Croatia&daddr=46.4557595,16.7350572+to:46.756024,16.8578883+to:T%C3%BCskev%C3%A1r,+Hungary&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=46.562637,17.435303&spn=3.648543,8.453979&sll=46.739861,16.98761&sspn=0.454567,1.056747&geocode=FSUNuwIdp83zACk5zALJktZlRzGKwvsoliRFOg%3BFc_bxAIdUVv_ACl9DTwUUbloRzHAFeu2rv7eSA%3BFbhwyQIdIDsBASmFZt_ZhdloRzFDoVZZmG1JWA%3BFQL6zgIdkCkIASkTxodzqmtpRzFwfh4MKcQABA&oq=tus,+Hungary&mra=dvme&mrsp=2&sz=11&via=1,2&t=m&z=8">Our drive.</a><br />
<br />
Initially, our spirits were high. In
addition to myself and Andrej, our friend Miro joined us. I picked
him up first, then Andrej. We were happy to be going to this show.
Figured we'd sample some tasty beers and sort of grow our network of
central European homebrewers. We booked an apartment in Budapest
with space for four. We would deliver our beers to the competition
first, then check into the hotel, then go meet those guys for dinner
and some beers at a Czech restaurant. We set out around 4PM from
Zagreb.
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There was some snow, but the highway
was pretty good. We managed a decent pace. Arriving at the border,
the license plate and headlights were coated with ice, which I was
instructed to clean off. The customs people looked in the back of
the car and saw our containers with maybe 55 or so beers, which is
well over the amount allowed. We explained we were going to a
competition and they were fine with it and just waved us through.
Great! I had worried about that and had armed myself ahead of time
with an invitation letter in Hungarian from the show's organizer.
Figured if they were trouble, I'd whip that out and try to talk my
way through. But it was okay, we got through.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When you're driving in Croatia headed
to Hungary, you reach an area where the land starts to look more like
Hungary. More flat, less hilly. Once we had reached that area, the
wind started picking up. Once inside Hungary, it picked up a bit
more. But the roads weren't really bad. The highway seemed okay,
not so crazy. We drove a lot slower, around 80 to 100 kmph or
something, where the speed limit is 130. I told the guys I would
only drive as fast as it was safe to drive and they were cool with
it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shortly after we crossed the border, on
the side of the highway on a road that was leading onto the highway,
we saw a huge line of trucks, all stopped. As we drove past it, we
saw the line extended onto the highway. The trucks were only in the
right lane, though, so we kept driving, slower now. We wondered what
was going on and talked amongst ourselves. We figured they must not
be allowed to travel in such weather and would have to wait it out.
We drove a bit further and then saw that, uh oh, the traffic was
stopped. There was a massive line of cars and trucks as far as the
eye could see. We saw cars turning around and driving the wrong way
on the highway to escape the mess. We pulled over and waited for ten
or fifteen minutes and talked about what we should do. Must be an
accident, we thought. We saw a truck driver outside and Andrej
jumped out to talk to him to see what was up. He told us there was a
bad accident ahead and that it would be a minimum of 3 to 4 hours
before the mess was cleaned up.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh fuck. We talked about it a bit and
decided to try to take the old road, which runs alongside the
highway. Driving would be a bit slower but certainly nothing that
would add 3 or 4 hours to our trip. So, we turned the car around and
drove the wrong direction on the highway as we had seen the other
people doing. We drove off to the side, with blinkers on and I
flashed my high beams. There weren't many cars and it wasn't as
dangerous as it may sound as everyone was driving very slow by this
point. We drove all the way back to an exit, maybe 5 minutes
driving, then exited the highway and found our way to the old road.
We drove a bit slower than on the highway, but we were on our way and
we'd get there. Or so we thought.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After maybe 10 km, we saw that we were
headed to a large hill. This in a country not known for its hills.
There was a cop at the bottom, stopping people, and flashing lights
on the hill. And here's where the language barrier first became
annoying. Hungarian people often don't know English. And on this
trip I think we encountered only one who knew English. The best that
we could understand from the cop was that the road was closed, well
that much was clear, and that we could turn left, north, to take a
detour that would eventually take us to another highway. Okay, we
did that. Other cars were doing that, so we simply followed them.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That road became the bane of our
existence. That little road we turned off on was the only non
numbered road we drove on during this trip and it was a mess. Snow
was building up. And the wind was howling and blowing like crazy.
We made slow progress, but we kept at it. We were now headed north,
but needed to go east. We had GPS and looked at that and could see
that we could go north a little bit, then take a right and head east
on a road numbered 75, which would lead us back to the highway. We
figured we could get past the accident on the highway, then get back
on the highway. But we had to make it to 75 first. And the further
we got on that little road, the worse it was. The worst of it was
the wind. It was snowing, but the vast majority of the snow
assailing us was coming from the wind blowing it around, blowing it
off of trees and the ground and onto our car and into our path. This
is like driving in fog. You can't see. High beams make it worse as
the light just reflects off of the snow. We often couldn't see AT
ALL and had to stop the car entirely and wait a few seconds or a few
minutes, then proceed on at a snail's pace. Just gotta get to 75,
just gotta get to 75.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The pace was excruciatingly slow. We
were crawling. Finally, we reached 75. And it was closed. There
was a sign blocking it. Okay, now what? We talked about it. Did we
want to turn back? No. We didn't. We figured it would just take us
much, much longer to get there, but we didn't want to give up. All
three of us were determined. We called the organizer and told him
what was up and he said we should stay in touch. Worse case
scenario, they could accept our beers up until 8AM the next day.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Looking at the GPS, we decided to go
further north and try to reach the next numbered road, 76, which also
ran to the east and could get us back to the highway, likely past the
accident. When we finally reached it, 76 was also closed. We were
now on a little larger road, numbered 74, headed north. In this
little town where it crossed 76 was a gas station, so we stopped, as
did many of the other cars that were traveling a similar path. In
the gas station, we spent some time trying to communicate with the
people who worked there, asking for travel advice. So did a lot of
other people. The place was a little packed as we tried to figure
out what to do. The locals were instructing us to go back the way we
came and go back to the highway and all of us were telling them the
highway was closed, but they weren't understanding us. They were
just saying to head back to the highway.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
By this time, it was getting a bit
late. I can't recall the time, but let's say it was 9:00PM or
something. So, what I've written thus far had taken 5 hours already.
We were getting very hungry, but they had no sandwiches, only
packets of snacks. We bought some of those and continued on. I ate
pretzels and stayed hydrated. We had plenty of water in the car.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Looking at the GPS in the car and also
on Andrej's smartphone, we decided to head even further north. There
was another numbered road, 8, that went all the way to Budapest. We
would try that and if it was closed, we would likely finally give up
and head home. It took quite some time to get to 8, which wasn't
very far. We just had to drive so slow that everything was taking
forever. We were usually driving 20 to 40 kmph. Slow going. And
this entire time that we spent heading north, which was hours, we
weren't actually getting closer to Budapest. It's to the east.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Finally, we reached 8 and it wasn't
closed, so we decided to try it. It wasn't so clear, but we gave it
a go. There was a gas station there where we found some sandwiches,
so we finally had some dinner. Still very slow driving on 8, though.
Less cars now. We weren't seeing many cars anymore. This was
worrisome. But we kept on and slowly progressed, finally moving
towards Budapest. We were traveling at a snail's pace, but at this
point, we started to just figure we might have to drive all night and
take the beers to the organizer in the morning without sleeping.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The wind was crazy. Constant and
strong, blowing snow into our vision and into the road. We were
having to stop entirely when we couldn't see. I could see that the
road was straight on the GPS, but I wasn't risking anything. No
driving when we couldn't see. We'd stop. Then go very slowly as
visibility increased. Finally, we came upon a car that had driven
off the road. He wasn't entirely sideways, the car hadn't turn over,
but he was off the bank at an angle and wasn't going anywhere. Not
that we could do anything useful except maybe take him with us, but
we stopped and Andrej and Miro jumped out to check on him. They
tried to communicate with him, but he just laughed at them, obviously
driven mad by the snow. We passed more cars that had driven off the
road at various points in our trip. We saw jack knifed trucks. We
saw trucks crashed off the road, turned on their sides with the cabin
gone, presumably having been rescued. We saw cars driven into
ditches. Many people crashed their cars that night. Hopefully none
of them were hurt.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We passed many sections of the road
that had more snow in them, from the wind. These were usually just a
little stretch that you could push through with a clearing just
after, just a little section where a strip of wind had pushed some
snow into the road. The road was already covered with snow, but
these sections were covered with larger amounts of snow. We pushed
through them, and kept going until finally, around 11:30PM, we got
stuck in one. This is after 7.5 hours of driving. We were really
stuck. The wheels spun. The car would NOT move. We tried digging
around the car with our feet. Andrej and Miro tried pushing while I
tried to get the car moving. We tried forward, then backward,
feathering the clutch. No go. The tires simply could not get
traction. We had winter tires, but it was no good. We needed
chains. We had no shovel. Miro had no hat and long hair. As soon
as you stepped out of the car, the wind would plaster you with snow
and make you wet. His hair got wet and he had areas of his hair that
froze solid, little crunchy strands.<br />
<br />
Some locals in a van came
up behind us and tried to help. There was a small line of cars
behind us. They had a shovel and helped dig a bit. No luck.
Finally, they hooked a tether onto our car and got the car free. We
got to the side of the road and out of the way, in an area where we
weren't stuck, and watched. These guys had two vans, one larger than
the other. The littler one continued on and tried to break through
on the road, to no avail. We watched for maybe a half hour as they
tried, failed and turned back. We talked to them and it seemed that
all of the cars were stuck. There were these two vans and maybe
another half dozen cars stuck further back. Nobody was moving. <br />
<br />
We
decided to sleep. We were helpless at this point. There were no
houses around, nobody to ask for help. And these guys were locals,
so if there was anybody to be called, they'd do it. And we figured
there were enough cars stuck, that eventually a snow plow would come.
So, we slept on and off. I couldn't really sleep at all. I would
let the engine rest for 15 minutes or so, then start it back up when
the car got too cold inside. We'd heat the car for 30 minutes or
something, then repeat. Andrej and Miro slept. Miro snored. Andrej
grunted in his sleep, almost sleep talking. But they certainly
didn't get any real sleep that night either. A hundred times worse
than sleeping on an airplane. We were all wet from the snow and
would get cold when I rested the engine, so it mostly had to be on
for the heat. The wind howled constantly, rocking the car and making
enough noise that we wouldn't have been able to hear a car or truck
approaching. We were there another 2 hours before the plow came. We
were stuck there for 4 hours total. The plow cleared the snow around
us and we drove on, along with the other cars.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We were elated. We drove at a very
slow pace again. The wind was still blowing like crazy but we
managed to slightly increase our speed. We were talking about making
it to the show when suddenly I went into another little section of
snow. This one was much smaller than the last one, but we got stuck
again. I hadn't seen it in time to miss it and we became stuck. My
second driving fuck up of the night. The car was relatively clear on
all sides, but we were sitting on a little snow bank. I thought we
would be able to clear it this time, but it was not to be. We put in
a lot of work clearing all of the snow we could, but to no avail. We
cleared the snow all around the wheels, but the bottom of the car was
literally sitting on top of this snow like it was a table holding the
car. The wheels would just spin no matter what we did.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
While we were trying to clear the car,
we watched as all of the other cars continued on. We got stuck in
that second snow bank about a half hour after having been freed from
the last one, so around 4AM. By that time we had been in the car for
12 hours.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We were all angry. This trip was
filled with emotions. We would feel scared and sort of hopeless and
worried when we were driving through the heavy winds and having to
stop entirely over and over and over because we could not see past
the nose of the car. We would feel relief, happiness and release
when we were freed from being stuck in the snow. And at the moment,
we felt angry and bitter for having gotten stuck a second time just
after having felt so happy that we might actually make it to the
show.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We worked on trying to clear the car
for maybe an hour, fueled by the dark side of the force and anger
before we just gave up. We had some help from a guy with a shovel
for a period, but they also gave up eventually. We decided to sleep
a bit. It was around 5AM and we thought that morning would come soon
and with it, light. People would slowly start waking up and we'd ask
for help. We were near houses now and would bother the locals. So,
we slept on and off. Same as before, I was not actually asleep this
entire time. I dipped into near sleep but never got into any real
sleep. I think it was the same for the others.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Morning arrived, and with it, light.
Cars started to drive past a little more frequently. Nobody stopped
to help us, but then they didn't have a real reason to. Some people
were stopped by the side of the road just to sleep or wait out the
storm and we could have just been one of those. We were too tired
and cold to feel like getting out every time someone passed to ask
for help. We knew they likely couldn't do anything. They wouldn't
have a shovel in their car. And even if they did, it wouldn't help.
We couldn't clear the snow from directly under the car very easily.
We couldn't stay outside in the snow for more than 5 minutes before
we had to get back into the car to warm up. We would get covered
with snow quickly from the wind and were constantly wet on various
parts of our bodies. My feet and legs were always wet and cold. My
torso, head and arms were fine. Around 6:30 or so, a car tried to
pass just next to us and also became stuck. We tried to push him out
while he drove, but his wheels spun, much like us. He was blocking
the road, though, so as other cars approached, they tried to help
him, even if it was only because he was in their way. Some people
from the local houses started milling about. A nice girl from one of
the nearby houses brought us some hot tea. We couldn't communicate
with them, but tried. I finally had an idea. Miro and Andrej both
had smartphones. I asked Miro to use Google translate to translate
something into Hungarian to ask for help. He wrote a small bit
asking if they could call a tractor to help pull us free. We were in
a village area and figured there must be tractors around.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This worked, the girl who had given us
tea understood as she read his phone's screen. She roughly
communicated that they had already called one.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Finally, around 8AM, a tractor arrived
and pulled both of us free. This was a massive tractor with some
real torque. It pulled our car like it was a doll, easily freeing us
from the snow. We had again been stuck for 4 hours. So, we'd been
stuck twice for a total of 8 hours. We were now 16 hours into our
trip to Budapest and we were still 175 km from Budapest. The beers
had to be delivered by 8AM, so we simply didn't make it. We didn't
give up until it was past the deadline. The trip was obsessed with
numbers. Times and distances and temperatures. All of them frozen.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
One of the local ladies indicated to us
to follow her to a parking area. As our line of cars was doing this,
Andrej saw a Croatian license plate and talked to those guys in that
car. They said they had spent the night in a shelter nearby and that
we should follow them back there, only 100m or so. We turned and
followed them back the way we had come, but quickly arrived at a snow
bank which the guy strangely accelerated into. This didn't even
slightly resemble a snow bank you could drive through, so we were
sort of baffled. He was stuck.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We turned around and headed back to the
lady who had been showing us where to park and parked the car there.
She talked to us totally in Hungarian with 1 or 2 Croatian and German
words thrown in once in a while just to confuse things further. She
pointed to a hotel that was there that we had been eying. She seemed
to communicate that they had 3 rooms. Great! We began happily
talking about getting a room, some sleep and a hot shower. We
figured we might be stuck there for the day, but we'd have a little
beer festival of our own with those beers we had with us and make the
most of it and just enjoy not being in the car. Miro went and told
the tractor driver about the other Croats getting stuck again so he
could help, but he seemed annoyed and reluctant. Must suck to rescue
people only to have them repeat the same shit that got them stuck in
the first place. By this point is wasn't snowing anymore but it was
still very windy and cold.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When we went to the hotel they said
they didn't have any rooms. Furthermore, the electricity was out and
the guy there was very unfriendly and simply wanted us to leave. We
didn't want to leave. We wanted to sit and relax a bit outside of
the car. The roads were not good and we didn't want to get stuck
again. And we had been defeated and had given up. We just needed to
sit and relax a bit. We didn't see any other options. What could we
do? Drive again and get stuck yet again? We were in the middle of
nowhere. This was a hotel. There wasn't anything else around unless
we just started knocking on doors and begging for mercy. And the
shelter the Croat told us about sounded worse and worse as it was
discussed. Sounded like an unheated little room with nothing to do,
no food, nothing.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The wife of the man at the hotel took
pity on us and let us sit at a table there. She brought us some
snack foods, but because they had no electricity, we couldn't buy a
proper meal from them. The guy sold us some drinks and tolerated us
being there. We were crushed. Defeated. They told us the road
towards Budapest was blocked by a stuck bus and truck. Impassable.
All other roads were similarly blocked except the road back the way
we came. Our plan was to just sit there for a while. If we saw a
plow pass going the right direction, we would follow it. But mostly
we sat there and delayed having to make a decision on how to proceed.
We were delirious.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We looked at some large maps on the
wall. On the left was Italy. In the middle was Hungary. On the
right was Romania. Strangely, Hungary connected directly with the
sea and Italy. When I looked closer on the Hungary map, I could see
in the lower left section “Jugoslavija”. It'd been cut out of
the map. I think people in the Balkans are used to their maps being
cut up by Hungarians and Austrians and everyone else.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After about an hour, we started to see
plows going back and forth. But these were local plows on tractors.
And they seemed to be only going back and forth in the immediate
vicinity. So, we waited. We didn't want to get stuck again. We
thought that perhaps a 1km stretch of road was cleared. We could
drive 1 km, then reach another area that wasn't well cleared and get
into trouble again.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Finally, around 10AM, we saw two plows
pass going the correct direction to head back to Zagreb, back home.
We had given up and decided to head home. We needed sleep and to be
home, not to be at a beer festival, especially after my wife sent me
a weather update saying more snow was expected. And the roads going
anywhere except back to Zagreb were blocked or closed.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Those two plows went past. And after
them, we saw a bus and bunch of cars and a truck. Presumably, these
were the guys who had been stuck and they were following the plows.
We decided to risk it and follow them.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The road in the immediate area was
moderately well cleared. It had a layer of snow on it, but it was
compacted snow and wasn't dangerous. We drove along at a decent
clip, heading back the way we had come. As we got further from where
we had been stuck, the roads became clearer and clearer. We were
driving on roads where we could drive 80 or even 90 kmph, the fastest
pace we had driven thus far on this trip.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When we got back to 74 to head north,
we stopped at the gas station again to clean the car a bit. The car
was filthy. The exterior surface was more than 50% covered with mud
and dirt and ice. Every time we had opened the door, snow had blown
in the car, along with the dirt in that snow. We had to roll the
windows down to break off the ice and some ice chips with mud in them
had fallen into the car. The inside was dirty, but we needed to be
able to see better, so cleaning the windows a bit and chipping off
ice was necessary. We saw a cop there, so asked him if the road we
intended to take, the 74, was clear all the way to the highway. He
said it was open, so that was enough for us and we continued on.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The wind kept up its constant dance,
but it wasn't so bad now. It wasn't snowing and the snow that was on
the ground was surprisingly sparse. Where had all the snow gone?
Weird. There weren't piles on the sides of the roads from the plows.
No hills of snow there. Never seen that before. Maybe the wind
carried it all away. The fields had only a thin covering of snow.
The trees were entirely clear, having had all of the snow blown off
of them. The wind had been steadily coming from the north so maybe
the snow was in Slavonia, the eastern part of Croatia. The arrival
of light in the morning had revealed that maybe 30% of the snow
consisted of dirt. As we drove along, I watched the snow on the
sides of the road, sandblasted into everything. Dirt was everywhere
mixed in with the snow. It looked like it was airbrushed onto the
snow. In areas, there was enough dirt covering the snow that it
started to look like sand and reminded me of sand dunes. These were
sporadic snow dunes, though. Most of the landscape didn't have a
helluva lot of snow. I joked that the wind had blown all of it off
of the surrounding farmland and into the road the previous night.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The road got slightly worse as we
neared the highway, but nothing even approaching how bad the road had
been the night before. These little rough patches were better than
the best road we'd had the night before. So, we made it to the
highway and headed towards Zagreb. The highway was pretty well
cleared, with some snowy patches that I would slow down for. We
passed another jack knifed truck. On the opposite side of the
highway, the traffic was stopped. We wondered if the highway going
towards Budapest was worse and still not cleared. Likely. The Gods
had not intended us to get to Budapest.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This entire time, I had been the one
driving. Miro and Andrej were persistent in offering to drive, but I
wanted to drive. I can get car sick when other people drive,
depending on their driving. So, I had kept driving. For a long,
long time. Finally, I asked Andrej if he could take over once I got
us to Croatia and he agreed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We reached the border. The Hungarian
border guard came and asked for our passports and asked me, in
Croatian, where we were coming from. I was relieved to hear Croatian
and I quickly painted a rough picture of what had happened to us in
just a few sentences in Croatian. He nodded and checked our
passports and waved us on. When we got to the Croatian side of the
border, we had sort of the same experience. Then Croatian customs
talked to us. Normally, they ask you if you have anything to
declare. And with a car with 3 guys and no girls and it being what
we would call a station wagon in America, they would normally ask to
see in the back of the car. The customs guy saw our car, completely
covered in mud, dirt and ice and was sort of sadly amused. He asked
how the car got that way and all three of us told him just a small
portion of the hell that we had been through. He didn't bother
asking us if we had anything to declare. He didn't open the back.
He just waved us through.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We were back in our own country and we
were relieved. We were jubilant. I pulled over once we got to the
toll booth and let Andrej take over driving. And I bloody well slept
for 45 minutes or so.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
By the time we reached Zagreb, it was
about 1:30PM. We had spent about 21 and a half hours on this trip.
We had been in the car for the better part of 19 and a half of those
hours and I had been driving or attempting to drive for all of that
except this last hour or so at the end, the times when we were stuck
and the time in the hotel.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So, what did I learn from this whole
experience? Well, when they say it's going to snow in Hungary, don't
treat it the same as snow in Croatia. Those flat lands generate
heavy winds that should not be taken lightly. When the weather
report says “heavy snow”, don't doubt it even if it is only 7
days until spring officially springs. The Hungarian people, as with
most cultures around the world, can be a warm and welcoming people.
They rescued us more than once. They brought us hot tea to our car.
They were friendly. But I couldn't understand a damned word they
said. Well, that's not true. I understood when they told me the
road was kaput. I learned that Andrej and Miro are very strong;
especially Andrej. He would stay out in the snow and cold trying to
clear the car for much longer periods than we could. Andrej strong
like bull! And Miro also worked crazy hard at trying to clear the
car of snow and allow us to travel. They're both good guys. I know
Andrej pretty well already and he's one of my closest friends in
Croatia. And I knew his character already. But I hadn't seen that
strength from him before we were so severely tested. And I didn't
know Miro as well as I now do. And so I will take these as a good
thing from this experience. We're closer than we were before the
trip, and that's something at least.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And finally, don't hold a beer festival
or competition of any kind in March.</div>
Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-79667285300784792092012-11-03T22:41:00.001+01:002012-11-03T22:41:22.706+01:00Been a while! But here's the latest video of Liam. He's growing up fast. Learning English and Croatian, and evidently entirely making up his own language.<br /><br />
<object width="640" height="360"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></param><param name="movie" value="https://www.facebook.com/v/10151494907789622"></param><embed src="https://www.facebook.com/v/10151494907789622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="1" width="640" height="360"></embed></object>Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-71744707958819882932012-04-26T23:22:00.000+02:002012-04-26T23:22:08.472+02:00The latest videos of Baby Liam:<br /><br />
<object width="400" height="224" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="truhttp://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=33967826#editor/target=post;postID=7174470795881988293e" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150982294289622" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150982294289622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object>
<object width="400" height="224" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150982237399622" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150982237399622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object>
<object width="400" height="224" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150982259319622" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150982259319622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object>Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-38517979607496817782011-11-28T22:20:00.002+01:002011-11-28T22:24:36.460+01:00Recorded some new videos today. Liam's vocalizing a lot these days and we managed to capture some of that in these videos. He does certain things like this for a short period sometimes, so we have to make an effort to capture it on video before he stops doing it. <br /><br /><object height="224" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150572953509622"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150572953509622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="224" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="224" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150572962554622"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150572962554622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="224" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="224" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150573043034622"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150573043034622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="224" width="400"></embed></object>Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-4795818134824937652011-10-15T16:46:00.000+02:002011-10-15T16:47:26.831+02:00The latest series of pictures of baby Liam is now online, in the album linked below. Some good ones too! Enjoy!<br /><br /><table style="width:194px;"><tbody><tr><td style="height:194px;background:url(https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left" align="center"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/13maudit/October152011?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CBDkwp47PzU/TpmbWqGdlWE/AAAAAAAABAo/hcqNeeScvzQ/s160-c/October152011.jpg" style="margin:1px 0 0 4px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/13maudit/October152011?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite" style="color:#4D4D4D;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;">October 15, 2011</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-63712982193567505102011-07-03T21:01:00.001+02:002011-07-03T21:02:22.082+02:00We also took a bunch of photos of Liam while on vacation, which are in the album here. Click the photo to go to the album.<br /><br /><a href="http://goo.gl/photos/UYpq0kG2K9" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vS1QrgqhUNM/ThC4yTULGQE/AAAAAAAAA5k/insSltymtN0/s160-c/BabyLiamOnVacation2011.jpg" border="0" /></a>Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-49343869141664923422011-07-02T20:29:00.004+02:002011-07-03T20:55:59.951+02:00We just got back from vacation on the Croatian coast and recorded some new videos of Liam. If you watch only one, watch the third one below. It's the best video of him ever.<br /><br /><object height="224" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150358658159622"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150358658159622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="224" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />At Čigrađa beach on the island Murter, in Croatia.<br /><br /><object height="224" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150358663499622"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150358663499622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="224" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />In the apartment in Tribunj, Croatia.<br /><br /><object height="224" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150358670849622"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150358670849622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="224" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />Liam has a major laughing fit at the restaurant Šimun in Tribunj, Croatia.<br /><br /><object height="224" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150358673519622"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150358673519622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="224" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />At Konoba Lanterna in Tribunj, Croatia.Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-47797567704432032202011-06-05T22:58:00.002+02:002011-06-05T23:03:37.638+02:00<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/5D58qTfZzc" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kFOqqUdDQds/TevsCT5_ExE/AAAAAAAAAx8/y1hUjtLiWac/s160-c/BabyLiam.jpg"></a><br /><br />Blogger's photo uploading software SUCKS. So, using Picassa to upload the whole album. Click the photo to see the album, which I will update and repost occasionally.<br /><br />And here's another video, while we're at it. This is a video of Nada and Zvonko Zednik entertaining little Liam. They own the apartment that we used to live in, so were our landlords. But we became friends with them. They're great people, as you can see here.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150321264609622" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150321264609622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-78963784277734538902011-06-04T10:32:00.005+02:002011-06-04T23:58:05.608+02:00Well, the blog's been dead for a while. But as you can see below, I've been busy!<br /><br />Baby Liam was born on February 24th, 2011. He immediately showed a lot of personality and has been a joy to live with. He's not much for crying except when he's hungry or wants to be held. He's at a stage now where he's really vocalizing a lot. He smiles at us constantly and always wants to talk to us. He's not shy with other people either. He's social and likes being around other people.<br /><br />Anyway, I'll start posting some photos and videos of Liam in this blog so that friends and family can see how little Liam is progressing.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="224"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150319727104622"><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150319727104622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="400" height="224" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150319733824622" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150319733824622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="400" height="224" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150319887974622" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150319887974622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="400" height="224" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150320303139622" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150320303139622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="400" height="224" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150320320024622" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150320320024622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="224"></embed></object>Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-66426639116443385852010-02-14T09:59:00.009+01:002010-02-14T11:42:38.245+01:00It being winter, we're missing the Thailand trip we did last year to escape from winter weather. What a great vacation!<br /><br />Anyway, on with the blog posts about the Thailand trip.<br /><br />After the elephant center and hospital we continued on towards Chiang Mai and stopped by a natural hot spring on the way.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dDjLxAhxkhHsbpXZXwPnb2OyxdC6qV9orpDJIHKcfRKe2hAUyR7BVCQPmxqXQNhvDEncu6ks9teC8-EEvJaxZ9uDFyOIXqD9J0WUhCNdro3NfeKcISmSCJ6-L4YRr7IlZt0YBA/s1600-h/DSC03596.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-dDjLxAhxkhHsbpXZXwPnb2OyxdC6qV9orpDJIHKcfRKe2hAUyR7BVCQPmxqXQNhvDEncu6ks9teC8-EEvJaxZ9uDFyOIXqD9J0WUhCNdro3NfeKcISmSCJ6-L4YRr7IlZt0YBA/s400/DSC03596.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438025051948561906" border="0" /></a>The park around the hot springs was pretty nice, so we stayed for a while.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhETkJG6CUIGooiUxBae-3izWLOf_am8WqLUDpnQh9H5LkNZUNuZidBATkimrvzlU-TK6QRgK1Flo6kr-dpa_UhTxlnQpaST0t8XifChy4E26oTnZH9WLTdr65ZKEo-LHcMcT6OZA/s1600-h/DSC03599.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhETkJG6CUIGooiUxBae-3izWLOf_am8WqLUDpnQh9H5LkNZUNuZidBATkimrvzlU-TK6QRgK1Flo6kr-dpa_UhTxlnQpaST0t8XifChy4E26oTnZH9WLTdr65ZKEo-LHcMcT6OZA/s400/DSC03599.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438025049524153314" border="0" /></a>Politically incorrect bathroom signs at the hot springs.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLMc7agIbc06rvlD6f8z5rNHXklU0Gku0Ut6UnRIqxdoOSJDAqgxtHhoiYw9fIVwfdQ1k04OCLtJzssK_tC4-6s_c1ReXY1JtmmAr2nDWK7-BKdSWArNo8OxRdZ-OZ8orN5cYBQ/s1600-h/DSC03602.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLMc7agIbc06rvlD6f8z5rNHXklU0Gku0Ut6UnRIqxdoOSJDAqgxtHhoiYw9fIVwfdQ1k04OCLtJzssK_tC4-6s_c1ReXY1JtmmAr2nDWK7-BKdSWArNo8OxRdZ-OZ8orN5cYBQ/s400/DSC03602.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438025041706209618" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUG3GE2GlH3kNEA1IWYkDI0cBMor8gIDZsAREb42magxoDnXIjTo22XaQ5KgxARvFbsOqayYtBhsT1orQfuj7dMhpwz8j8vBfBuVgsKYa5gXXIw4cNBhp628T_c6v8gXZpvOzJw/s1600-h/DSC03605.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUG3GE2GlH3kNEA1IWYkDI0cBMor8gIDZsAREb42magxoDnXIjTo22XaQ5KgxARvFbsOqayYtBhsT1orQfuj7dMhpwz8j8vBfBuVgsKYa5gXXIw4cNBhp628T_c6v8gXZpvOzJw/s400/DSC03605.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438025040911727394" border="0" /></a>This area is obviously where the geysers rise up and spray out of the ground. There's an area near there where you boil eggs. They sell you eggs here with a little basket which you hang into the hot water to cook. We had duck and quail eggs. The quail eggs were really great!<br /><br />After that we went and had a soak in a large private room. We rented one for the boys and one for the girls that were next to each other. The girls kept throwing cold water over the wall at us, so a sort of battle erupted over that wall. Like I said before, we had a great group who were fun to hang out with, so we enjoyed ourselves.<br /><br />After that we continued on to our homestay near Chiang Mai. Our homestay was in a little village and was my favorite part of the tour. There was a family there who had a sort of family complex of houses and huts and such. The boys stayed in one room and the girls in another but we only slept in those rooms. We spent all of the rest of the time hanging out, doing activities or being entertained by our hosts.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENnDUR4uADYveAg6_I_IEgxnd_wPirsBuNEeQuztYVoK76IG17rvUP2uVj56Qwz-zBSbVpeDPhnumSZPH2Yy7ITuNaN1_KpNKTRc8h3wm6w9A9jcQsRK8cnfXaMU5AaQEwjJwtw/s1600-h/DSC03612.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENnDUR4uADYveAg6_I_IEgxnd_wPirsBuNEeQuztYVoK76IG17rvUP2uVj56Qwz-zBSbVpeDPhnumSZPH2Yy7ITuNaN1_KpNKTRc8h3wm6w9A9jcQsRK8cnfXaMU5AaQEwjJwtw/s400/DSC03612.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438025037404084690" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxi-3kn31Zxc-CDLvR4fNLG2exNgu1Y8RIUk3W9BwVw_1QrPEdLSG5d8Cg7T8QHYjcQKbj87JEMcUwVt6qLUbln7QcrIdFbs8_LysTS6OIswrSo2ANuzSgH-UAq31CwQzRxn1GA/s1600-h/DSC03615.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxi-3kn31Zxc-CDLvR4fNLG2exNgu1Y8RIUk3W9BwVw_1QrPEdLSG5d8Cg7T8QHYjcQKbj87JEMcUwVt6qLUbln7QcrIdFbs8_LysTS6OIswrSo2ANuzSgH-UAq31CwQzRxn1GA/s400/DSC03615.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438024309609541442" border="0" /></a><br />We arrived at the homestay well into the day, so we just threw our bags into our rooms and then joined our hosts for a great dinner and entertainment. Local musicians played for us as we feasted on some tasty food. The music was interesting, but as you can hear below it might not be for everyone. They played for maybe 45 minutes or something. The food, like nearly all of the food we had in Thailand, was tasty. Afterwards, they showed us their instruments and had us each play some small bit on each one.<br /></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxcRyv8-0PCYZek5uuW3WqW99L3wb-_SQVnVLZcbE-5LbDged-l0ilTZenlO0JhduV4vqCrQiblZ78' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">After that, we headed outside where they entertained us more. They performed some traditional Thai dances and had us do some playful fighting with the younger boys. It was all really great and the fights were pretty funny as the little boys were giggling and playful about it. We wrapped up the activities with this candle lighting ceremony below. We all wrote our names on this paper lantern then lit the candles and watched the lantern sail away into the sky. It flew pretty high. And towards the end of the night our group hung out and some of us drank a lot of beer!<br /></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwP5wm1RPXj78sRi157f6YBrNxk_EIoUK5tc9-Z79t0sBDXVu2OU0g3q9UQtH4LNZbEmruHxvNWQE8' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In the morning we got up very early to go make offerings to the monks at the local temple. We gave them various kinds of foods that our host packaged up for us so this was an easy process. The local people do this with the temples, supporting them so that the monks have what they need to live and on this day we took part in this process which was pretty cool.<br /><br /></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDszxi3m4FWXZuM7kdAZwp0SKft7HA0r5IZTI6SC2al62YWw9tec7sA8fvg687Ozb5XF32l4OXscMDovOk8MFqRl67iVo073WbHQ9-k1FOSQSrrT0TRq2Xx_IkneotO91UNTITw/s1600-h/DSC03628.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDszxi3m4FWXZuM7kdAZwp0SKft7HA0r5IZTI6SC2al62YWw9tec7sA8fvg687Ozb5XF32l4OXscMDovOk8MFqRl67iVo073WbHQ9-k1FOSQSrrT0TRq2Xx_IkneotO91UNTITw/s400/DSC03628.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438024305394557666" border="0" /></a>After that, we went on a bicycle tour around the village, starting off at another temple. We went inside this one and took a look around. On the walls of temples there are often paintings depicting daily life in the area. In the detail below, if you look closely, you can see a guy under the tree vomiting from too much drink the previous night. Nice!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRrSnGuT6hiaUc1h5Ug1TAgqxAi9hBM2bt-JHCYsd3y9r_edR4eVWylntmP3DPkQvU0GmkOQnUQVqP1bgvp0gP2fP0Kl0ZXDKundMEuTxe9yFLe6GEZH64TSDrQ9EcqEjCwTHGA/s1600-h/DSC03630.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRrSnGuT6hiaUc1h5Ug1TAgqxAi9hBM2bt-JHCYsd3y9r_edR4eVWylntmP3DPkQvU0GmkOQnUQVqP1bgvp0gP2fP0Kl0ZXDKundMEuTxe9yFLe6GEZH64TSDrQ9EcqEjCwTHGA/s400/DSC03630.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438024301953466898" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Cx8WRglNgT30b1wt_uH-yVyp-z7AwRe4aciBtEhfIIOQsG04WXkcQdZs9jMRm7n38XB9_zprbXKKBGcyTcIRwa6V30QY5ZNLoJ0adGAKkvam7SXkselGQwQZ_0FpiolDoat3Aw/s1600-h/DSC03631.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Cx8WRglNgT30b1wt_uH-yVyp-z7AwRe4aciBtEhfIIOQsG04WXkcQdZs9jMRm7n38XB9_zprbXKKBGcyTcIRwa6V30QY5ZNLoJ0adGAKkvam7SXkselGQwQZ_0FpiolDoat3Aw/s400/DSC03631.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438024295308527842" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiw4NgGyiR-yWpSlLBD-ixkfrDUBCrG4-y6CULGXjqe4bqreWeVVdbPUeQZDKw-9J8xGPIXNPXiZJ16-IeYm-0R4vCqaoUMzw5U_iEiKJH_WQ_pNPV134BLH_xd3Nu3dnpGctwjw/s1600-h/DSC03632.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiw4NgGyiR-yWpSlLBD-ixkfrDUBCrG4-y6CULGXjqe4bqreWeVVdbPUeQZDKw-9J8xGPIXNPXiZJ16-IeYm-0R4vCqaoUMzw5U_iEiKJH_WQ_pNPV134BLH_xd3Nu3dnpGctwjw/s400/DSC03632.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438024295190813346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZX0uTabqARFHPYP7tvftcerscsTXfB4kYMbWVtIapd00aXVuOh4ICftsWZjQSfcOwem9-WQe-81T67YA4kCN8IRto86TVqHkzFknS09UzVKaKOGH5HQbdSVNzrwol7UB-fMJMA/s1600-h/DSC03641.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZX0uTabqARFHPYP7tvftcerscsTXfB4kYMbWVtIapd00aXVuOh4ICftsWZjQSfcOwem9-WQe-81T67YA4kCN8IRto86TVqHkzFknS09UzVKaKOGH5HQbdSVNzrwol7UB-fMJMA/s400/DSC03641.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438023545459292050" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7AsudEeiU-kFb0XjuKASRJgFTv53ZC5oxf-ueByAlQoaTqeb-AX3rXmBbxjMmPIMwG3cwodWwJ1aDYKrdjfVWZeYpONJQLPgPXqKpitotnwcRyv5dLW_L8-UFVSbueejOa8hG4w/s1600-h/DSC03635.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7AsudEeiU-kFb0XjuKASRJgFTv53ZC5oxf-ueByAlQoaTqeb-AX3rXmBbxjMmPIMwG3cwodWwJ1aDYKrdjfVWZeYpONJQLPgPXqKpitotnwcRyv5dLW_L8-UFVSbueejOa8hG4w/s400/DSC03635.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438023542852601250" border="0" /></a>After the temple visit, we rode around the countryside near the village for a while enjoying the natural scenery. We went to a local mushroom farmer and did a little tour. And we selected some mushrooms for our host to include in our lunch which she would cook later.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9n8rZmvSBOnkncyrg0Yls3ourqEG-rj6rX_CTcmE7Hk5um_2NHtHopIvsPtvvDjjYZjULMvsRVYwDaMqLHr6mLz3qkw23hpQ1uBYaVtLrhMF4xZVyDucRZ3EGVGEyobGyz_Itg/s1600-h/DSC03656.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9n8rZmvSBOnkncyrg0Yls3ourqEG-rj6rX_CTcmE7Hk5um_2NHtHopIvsPtvvDjjYZjULMvsRVYwDaMqLHr6mLz3qkw23hpQ1uBYaVtLrhMF4xZVyDucRZ3EGVGEyobGyz_Itg/s400/DSC03656.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438023531577801250" border="0" /></a>Those are plastic bags that the mushrooms grow in. Inside the bag is a nutrient mix and mulch for the mushroom along with their spores. They grow sideways out of holes in the bags and are harvested from there. When they're harvested, new mushrooms grow and go out of that same hole and this repeats until the supply of spores and nutrients is exhausted at which point new bags are placed in here.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfD52wfjwa_TgMoWpSewBd4UZJ_BbC1bv7Kktw5tIucc7kd63P9sM0KJLWdK6imhQC7RaDLJ4Dc5MlvnJ_bRf2jJ3qga7l35QiUCStcmaVvOAvO06_6125Jw-FE82RWfVOuZj55Q/s1600-h/DSC03669.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfD52wfjwa_TgMoWpSewBd4UZJ_BbC1bv7Kktw5tIucc7kd63P9sM0KJLWdK6imhQC7RaDLJ4Dc5MlvnJ_bRf2jJ3qga7l35QiUCStcmaVvOAvO06_6125Jw-FE82RWfVOuZj55Q/s400/DSC03669.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438023528468651090" border="0" /></a>We also stopped off a local crafts shop with all sorts of scarves, purses and clothing items. It was all local handcrafted stuff.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEice2HAzcvGtzq6WJPhWJ2Ni6dD9vdHzd5yWytDsCGKcxFqKJsmEzT3kvC-68FsyB5McGE0no96wJ4x5NJhJG0Cmzw0W9p3u4ylgPErYn8hw4_TWwkp1FBLwtfH3vOqGzNZHhSj1A/s1600-h/DSC03673.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEice2HAzcvGtzq6WJPhWJ2Ni6dD9vdHzd5yWytDsCGKcxFqKJsmEzT3kvC-68FsyB5McGE0no96wJ4x5NJhJG0Cmzw0W9p3u4ylgPErYn8hw4_TWwkp1FBLwtfH3vOqGzNZHhSj1A/s400/DSC03673.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438023525246024386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli7_m-rMdxuFmYqmJP8LPqaBNZ6cizmzBmcuqfo6VOxHD6_3j1kN_8qNDPEmuBPY6qMS1eJZNcDe2JASP3xpRMxZq5AROLVbq8uKlwwb_JZRN6niQe3XVfwUM75VQxPcXQBit-Q/s1600-h/DSC03676.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli7_m-rMdxuFmYqmJP8LPqaBNZ6cizmzBmcuqfo6VOxHD6_3j1kN_8qNDPEmuBPY6qMS1eJZNcDe2JASP3xpRMxZq5AROLVbq8uKlwwb_JZRN6niQe3XVfwUM75VQxPcXQBit-Q/s400/DSC03676.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438022735353423474" border="0" /></a>Thailand has a lot of dogs. Everywhere you go, you see dogs on the sides of the road or on sidewalks, sleeping like this fellow here. In some areas, the Thai also like to put clothing on their pets, so if the animal is owned by someone, you often see some clothing on it, whether it's a dog or cat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycBvIEba4RopOm9M3X9Xw29-ioMmcakoEPQbBb426xTz2xNd01R40uySzHJmb6O6G5VEs3tjiiv7owES5rIq1oOc2xdLk6WRJogr5u_wCKsnhELszPbEbcGjUGO0iM5vxtMzS5A/s1600-h/DSC03678.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgycBvIEba4RopOm9M3X9Xw29-ioMmcakoEPQbBb426xTz2xNd01R40uySzHJmb6O6G5VEs3tjiiv7owES5rIq1oOc2xdLk6WRJogr5u_wCKsnhELszPbEbcGjUGO0iM5vxtMzS5A/s400/DSC03678.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438022731079044194" border="0" /></a>Eventually we went to a local school where we helped teach English for an hour or so. We then went outside where football and volleyball were played with the children.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz64A2-PEE3CF193M1MZYdXbXiqwy31n-sxjTZ4qjOD7y-xrXk0d8pV95M01Zml5dbCzkPz6HvRu-lVq_aEfxEzmfyoI31s1DlYJYmhAOxVBmJM4xRx9MFVX5GikbMPA9v9rVU0w/s1600-h/DSC03686.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz64A2-PEE3CF193M1MZYdXbXiqwy31n-sxjTZ4qjOD7y-xrXk0d8pV95M01Zml5dbCzkPz6HvRu-lVq_aEfxEzmfyoI31s1DlYJYmhAOxVBmJM4xRx9MFVX5GikbMPA9v9rVU0w/s400/DSC03686.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438022722184557986" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENpDC-UBFsto4OowwC5IxK3Rf_qIW_EANZXXUyDhptp2CdFQhYQIFt21B4tdU0TiAlSvf31UuavWdUcamCAgwzhqLMM3Ze_TFvB3zbapWglTGRMqOtE0Ss5omfeq3hyphenhyphengNXExTFg/s1600-h/DSC03705.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENpDC-UBFsto4OowwC5IxK3Rf_qIW_EANZXXUyDhptp2CdFQhYQIFt21B4tdU0TiAlSvf31UuavWdUcamCAgwzhqLMM3Ze_TFvB3zbapWglTGRMqOtE0Ss5omfeq3hyphenhyphengNXExTFg/s400/DSC03705.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438022717584950610" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphogOBfR5ZXVgZ5z7UDIuhrmZc649CXGGk2jxpmY9K6HGFHpg650jYoTr2VCB4rva31j2JsMCtzkL5LioIsDT4H21LveHZGtziD5-5NlVNquDeEvu81j_LOXNUH1HXbVRqkdCQg/s1600-h/DSC03706.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphogOBfR5ZXVgZ5z7UDIuhrmZc649CXGGk2jxpmY9K6HGFHpg650jYoTr2VCB4rva31j2JsMCtzkL5LioIsDT4H21LveHZGtziD5-5NlVNquDeEvu81j_LOXNUH1HXbVRqkdCQg/s400/DSC03706.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438022711947878850" border="0" /></a><br />After hanging out at the school we went back to the homestay and had another great meal prepared by our host. It included those mushrooms that we'd harvested too.<br /></div></div><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg" />Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-32197854075699019052010-02-01T16:27:00.009+01:002010-02-01T21:08:11.669+01:00<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxIQCcJn46JIh6DX3wmW_wUsEDTDfIEuyvWMypksLeITBVHCUxKpyNMJeqCVd5AxzcxmOQUkvsAP5s' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After that, we headed to Lampang and our hotel, which was listed somewhat romantically as being on the river. Well, as it turned out, while I guess it was a river, it was sort of like being on the Los Angeles river. Like a concrete aqueduct. The hotel itself looked decent enough but everyone in our group was complaining of bed bugs the next day. We weren't there long anyway, though. I wouldn't personally recommend Lampang to anyone.<br /></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KQY90TIusXvb3sZdBT-Z34xlSj6mmrs21s5ghbJ29efqqGWl_SmK52uy3yyZAzzgzbuukVXK4GoimXAOqtY0ZbHP6hV0tmAhyphenhyphenLZP43mgeApcs0kwuSKOGqD-fOtXXYw_xsjkIA/s1600-h/DSC03496.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3KQY90TIusXvb3sZdBT-Z34xlSj6mmrs21s5ghbJ29efqqGWl_SmK52uy3yyZAzzgzbuukVXK4GoimXAOqtY0ZbHP6hV0tmAhyphenhyphenLZP43mgeApcs0kwuSKOGqD-fOtXXYw_xsjkIA/s400/DSC03496.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433300241992755970" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vve7qA2r3dH5TioUQAMlCwbIy6MRAMLiR9rjgIByeopQ4Oh_g0YcPqBNtj3IjrBOuyshavDKW2Q5t7zKguDxiId-oaDP2osBiqSofafVZOfjxM2_7qoj7c5hilFnYDDnjFtpsg/s1600-h/DSC03499.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vve7qA2r3dH5TioUQAMlCwbIy6MRAMLiR9rjgIByeopQ4Oh_g0YcPqBNtj3IjrBOuyshavDKW2Q5t7zKguDxiId-oaDP2osBiqSofafVZOfjxM2_7qoj7c5hilFnYDDnjFtpsg/s400/DSC03499.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433300236989066066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkA56-9n_tkD7dts_U1qXaGL7BQr-UmgwOtM9bUYKCCRES2jnhxv8uw8syvjMDBEFElX9nHuEnD-ZRVu4EHG8FNK6UKKYjOSCU5fPEwQB-G66AHBmcxKj48g_-5yNd-g5SEjGGw/s1600-h/DSC03500.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkA56-9n_tkD7dts_U1qXaGL7BQr-UmgwOtM9bUYKCCRES2jnhxv8uw8syvjMDBEFElX9nHuEnD-ZRVu4EHG8FNK6UKKYjOSCU5fPEwQB-G66AHBmcxKj48g_-5yNd-g5SEjGGw/s400/DSC03500.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433300232245332146" border="0" /></a>After breakfast we headed towards Chiang Mai and stopped at an elephant park on the way there. The main elephant park had elephant rides, elephants painting and such and was an overall educational park all about elephants.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvql3j_P1TLdBj_47OX8AqWjmuT-fec-RKk2qHHXkUf0-OQ8tKzTXjH7VMC-Y_gYBID0JRcSsB14eZGTgDVAlMXeAQfTZnkfR4qY4L0XUMO17iQQAeY1FUvrpoAw84ms8MV9oVxQ/s1600-h/DSC03507.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvql3j_P1TLdBj_47OX8AqWjmuT-fec-RKk2qHHXkUf0-OQ8tKzTXjH7VMC-Y_gYBID0JRcSsB14eZGTgDVAlMXeAQfTZnkfR4qY4L0XUMO17iQQAeY1FUvrpoAw84ms8MV9oVxQ/s400/DSC03507.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433300227586534306" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB42OTyP3HrCVDDUgJY1ea4VGPDZpUvQpitC42ZcAqVOH_QEyy9i4P0cOUL0-xAea9RGWhE-Mac1hp2DpkVlW-GqqVWjoxnSxtN8SVkrJ8ed_H4lgfsXkFu1JFdZPHwo56RxxhXw/s1600-h/DSC03510.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB42OTyP3HrCVDDUgJY1ea4VGPDZpUvQpitC42ZcAqVOH_QEyy9i4P0cOUL0-xAea9RGWhE-Mac1hp2DpkVlW-GqqVWjoxnSxtN8SVkrJ8ed_H4lgfsXkFu1JFdZPHwo56RxxhXw/s400/DSC03510.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433299684062113298" border="0" /></a>Elephant painting.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxKAURyWfh58_IOYzoxQg-Vh-2-hb7s-YgNsNbYqfiwXft0pn5vaBUqjhLnpmlJFTStaW2jyIX_HWQ6wn-tpAVFn3YM1xBdwS4tBGfafiAhC7VnNxyyo9Msa7gDyXjYCGG3mNAw/s1600-h/DSC03513.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxKAURyWfh58_IOYzoxQg-Vh-2-hb7s-YgNsNbYqfiwXft0pn5vaBUqjhLnpmlJFTStaW2jyIX_HWQ6wn-tpAVFn3YM1xBdwS4tBGfafiAhC7VnNxyyo9Msa7gDyXjYCGG3mNAw/s400/DSC03513.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433299677539488514" border="0" /></a>Now if only we can teach them Photoshop!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLB9-R8tenAal1m1oMvNcFSIo3nPexCIKkpT8XxyF-TCMqHarN9xU2IvgMnL7vinF0sXULWCQqdYhexYTQjb-gpaFQv_6WWff_9LvUrN8G5iKDZiBJkA4YDchSzTxSpHnz5aKsxg/s1600-h/DSC03515.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLB9-R8tenAal1m1oMvNcFSIo3nPexCIKkpT8XxyF-TCMqHarN9xU2IvgMnL7vinF0sXULWCQqdYhexYTQjb-gpaFQv_6WWff_9LvUrN8G5iKDZiBJkA4YDchSzTxSpHnz5aKsxg/s400/DSC03515.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433299677082988274" border="0" /></a>At the start of our elephant ride here, not that you can see the elephant in this shot!<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZ6ZteQj4_xVMssMmvLj-pgSHDvfOF3nO4S_99gsQpMkKaXvoAuZ9jNx9QqSXtk-E7LGJY5r_2BeQOMwUfXP1lZ7vACkGBhMkgzjNxrTQ6Aa0lr1sVKzwsLjh7L_fRXwnWvW0UA/s1600-h/DSC03530.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZ6ZteQj4_xVMssMmvLj-pgSHDvfOF3nO4S_99gsQpMkKaXvoAuZ9jNx9QqSXtk-E7LGJY5r_2BeQOMwUfXP1lZ7vACkGBhMkgzjNxrTQ6Aa0lr1sVKzwsLjh7L_fRXwnWvW0UA/s400/DSC03530.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433299670364190466" border="0" /></a>They also make paper out of the massive amount of elephant dung that's generated by the park's residents. Seems pretty eco friendly and the proceeds go to the park.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQMpiJ2wOktz0qCherLXjkyc8GKAzVEaEC5QQoLxq6j9SrznqiUokKa8T0352NVcvaS8LBGb693Bn6uJPVMXBINzVf7l_oxqvVk3gKxPxKzH10Q4dpY6Mj34hgsnSGrsxG_VcQA/s1600-h/DSC03541.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQMpiJ2wOktz0qCherLXjkyc8GKAzVEaEC5QQoLxq6j9SrznqiUokKa8T0352NVcvaS8LBGb693Bn6uJPVMXBINzVf7l_oxqvVk3gKxPxKzH10Q4dpY6Mj34hgsnSGrsxG_VcQA/s400/DSC03541.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433299664334594098" border="0" /></a>Mmm mmm. Poop!<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGO4syVw0Rx_OxvIeRL6zTPeKP4nSrCkG33NZlLN4-pGTSKvmlrQi3aIUkeqfnaFC9ZXtQFngrGV173nMwyzPbs9OJcFgfbyzn9dycjnPAQ4gaJ0VmQt0ZG9QeXsPZEDqMJTyUYw/s1600-h/DSC03549.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGO4syVw0Rx_OxvIeRL6zTPeKP4nSrCkG33NZlLN4-pGTSKvmlrQi3aIUkeqfnaFC9ZXtQFngrGV173nMwyzPbs9OJcFgfbyzn9dycjnPAQ4gaJ0VmQt0ZG9QeXsPZEDqMJTyUYw/s400/DSC03549.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433298955649174162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQHOXcNlZ_l7eIhBv4_lIvSCR2IiWbVG8Vr8OY8rPOMSpbWAX6XqT0vLul-c-NyhAv1YXrX_IYH7jWA7lZvSc40LDem_HLmosqFrdsomkbfBxA16XjQAI-Y2-7RfPHFabODHFBQ/s1600-h/DSC03551.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQHOXcNlZ_l7eIhBv4_lIvSCR2IiWbVG8Vr8OY8rPOMSpbWAX6XqT0vLul-c-NyhAv1YXrX_IYH7jWA7lZvSc40LDem_HLmosqFrdsomkbfBxA16XjQAI-Y2-7RfPHFabODHFBQ/s400/DSC03551.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433298952852994978" border="0" /></a>Near the elephant park was an elephant hospital. They showed us a film to educate us about what they do and introduced us to some of their elephants. In the area around the border with Myanmar, people illegally use elephants to haul timber. And in that area, there's a ton of landmines. Once in a while, an elephant gets their foot blown off or is otherwise injured. And this hospital helps those elephants.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOeG8GXLoGmWIPnY7d2PLbHM_SpWQpARVxfI1nP_-6SowTIfnfr8wS0yiKMPLfaEq-hpErn1MmHpmV7GX1KJc6BuPbK1mg72fA5zY9dKrIOTMCB19rrR26yp6HH7myJ0_2X4zkg/s1600-h/DSC03553.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOeG8GXLoGmWIPnY7d2PLbHM_SpWQpARVxfI1nP_-6SowTIfnfr8wS0yiKMPLfaEq-hpErn1MmHpmV7GX1KJc6BuPbK1mg72fA5zY9dKrIOTMCB19rrR26yp6HH7myJ0_2X4zkg/s400/DSC03553.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433298949864743410" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">You can see his injured foot.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9DjaM6kIo6wC2hObdoNm-dGq27uw89CQ8Lejhjh8kUObjVszPhKs0l998HD9jOsbZqLl-TiQocO6ILoijqgFl7Gn-Uooid-hzhJikw_u857MRgAU_Xl96mO5vmEdudtZr47gQg/s1600-h/DSC03556.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9DjaM6kIo6wC2hObdoNm-dGq27uw89CQ8Lejhjh8kUObjVszPhKs0l998HD9jOsbZqLl-TiQocO6ILoijqgFl7Gn-Uooid-hzhJikw_u857MRgAU_Xl96mO5vmEdudtZr47gQg/s400/DSC03556.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433298949299045122" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsNSfRXCDaSkNoljZHeCgLHl4Qm2woWpw6Tz49FWKbHWF1P0K2-rgEmOv6FzckJmVGOLyZYIVYkdOgIL1nvaiCQFXY6Bhqkcumg-CPi6idAzMgTv8QNxC-H1frWE7Tdv9M1xlag/s1600-h/DSC03557.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsNSfRXCDaSkNoljZHeCgLHl4Qm2woWpw6Tz49FWKbHWF1P0K2-rgEmOv6FzckJmVGOLyZYIVYkdOgIL1nvaiCQFXY6Bhqkcumg-CPi6idAzMgTv8QNxC-H1frWE7Tdv9M1xlag/s400/DSC03557.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433298942995262978" border="0" /></a>We donated some money to the hospital, bought some shirts and such. And otherwise, we had a pretty nice day. The elephants were pretty cool. Sad to see the injuries sustained by the hospital residents, but nice to see the hospital taking care of them!<br /><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxfwRPJwm-QQlgVpgfBZiOohC6CB6oGv9-x4hYk2zBnyT0rQ04AZv7fK90NkorRww2esSsq2YDfBE4' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg" />Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-15140308155171333642010-01-31T10:41:00.017+01:002010-01-31T15:18:47.111+01:00More about our Thailand trip:<br /><br />The hotel we stayed at in Bangkok, the Viengtai, was also the meeting point for the Intrepid tour that we had booked to start off our vacation. I also booked us time in the south, on Koh Mook and Koh Lanta. So, we'd have some nice, warm beach time with sun and swimming and such. For the tour, we decided to head to the Northern part of Thailand so we'd see a bit more of the country rather than just the islands.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSEU0aZDo8O9h5rAwlKldFFeni8vuKqoR5dv1FTRdiHt3l2kRDRbxOpopLZzUin8n4cRBJOIE_mrw_fob1WjHf3yhuKQs0FoYOVmC22PX-2yxo0O73OWjHDn8EcsmH-dvdkfFTig/s1600-h/DSC03396.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSEU0aZDo8O9h5rAwlKldFFeni8vuKqoR5dv1FTRdiHt3l2kRDRbxOpopLZzUin8n4cRBJOIE_mrw_fob1WjHf3yhuKQs0FoYOVmC22PX-2yxo0O73OWjHDn8EcsmH-dvdkfFTig/s400/DSC03396.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432843008240610018" border="0" /></a>We decided to take the tour called <a href="http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/TSK" target="_blank">Treasures of the North</a>. This took us around the north a bit, starting with a train taking us up towards Sukhothai. After the train, we switched to a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songthaew" target="_blank">songthaew</a> for transportation to Sukhothai. The songthaew is basically a small pickup truck that's been converted to carry tourists in the back. They range from moderately comfortable to totally uncomfortable depending on the seat structure and how low the ceiling is. Anyway, this carried us to Sukhothai where we checked into our guest cottages.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DXRlv7YnK8Dr5RXjU-70mpRWzBUvm5qKxaWrCVHx9GTqiMG0FnfB7Gy7IMWcVjUckyW1c2Elj90mRicqLPLXj3selEVUcX9Ok0S04qgwRpqSLCbUAFCI-BpcQU_t_fMotD76cg/s1600-h/DSC03398.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DXRlv7YnK8Dr5RXjU-70mpRWzBUvm5qKxaWrCVHx9GTqiMG0FnfB7Gy7IMWcVjUckyW1c2Elj90mRicqLPLXj3selEVUcX9Ok0S04qgwRpqSLCbUAFCI-BpcQU_t_fMotD76cg/s400/DSC03398.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432843001743444722" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg72dDVFZOyuRnFqrfpF9Jd1gL56CNnWzqb-h9e9XL55zRsic7eunJDQTmWuHUnPEtxDkjQpnwjUeJNiZ6D-CSVDluqajm45RDpLGJdzihT3gdSm9CbPuCBzP8NpPnycpQW7IX0w/s1600-h/DSC03399.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg72dDVFZOyuRnFqrfpF9Jd1gL56CNnWzqb-h9e9XL55zRsic7eunJDQTmWuHUnPEtxDkjQpnwjUeJNiZ6D-CSVDluqajm45RDpLGJdzihT3gdSm9CbPuCBzP8NpPnycpQW7IX0w/s400/DSC03399.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842998535115474" border="0" /></a>The guest cottages were pretty decent. If memory serves, we then headed off for a Thai massage at a local place (which was great! Maybe the best massage I had on this trip.) and returned to the cottages where we had some tasty dinner and drank beer for a while to get acquainted with the group we were touring with. As it turned out, we had very good luck with our group. It was a mixed group from Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Canada and Luxembourg (and Croatia and America counting us). For the most part we all got along great on the whole trip and had a lot of fun together. And our tour leader, Toon, was really great. I'd recommend these guys to anyone after this experience.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQF_sJauMtR934T3D7KbG4uW1xZSSkfoLC21nCZnBGHSeOtIrIR-sxVTDxcfhICzgiI8AajLlZbtZP42grCswVmxac72-lA41ZyH8He-EK_NloAjVWhD3ACsus1dz1f-B4fKpfRg/s1600-h/DSC03418.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQF_sJauMtR934T3D7KbG4uW1xZSSkfoLC21nCZnBGHSeOtIrIR-sxVTDxcfhICzgiI8AajLlZbtZP42grCswVmxac72-lA41ZyH8He-EK_NloAjVWhD3ACsus1dz1f-B4fKpfRg/s400/DSC03418.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842697946157010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTabW1559ZKnPHv6EbwfAFa8DRrjraOeZyXuw4NZ6bwUH6uxOaZ2-NT2B1gcQ4HG56AnGxXeajFVKrRGg4YqSdCdcXJMVreINrdoa-H8CMlwni6Nl82wXeYeRTQiiT_ld-lPh83w/s1600-h/DSC03421.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTabW1559ZKnPHv6EbwfAFa8DRrjraOeZyXuw4NZ6bwUH6uxOaZ2-NT2B1gcQ4HG56AnGxXeajFVKrRGg4YqSdCdcXJMVreINrdoa-H8CMlwni6Nl82wXeYeRTQiiT_ld-lPh83w/s400/DSC03421.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842694203856578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOe9EQt-o3PVrFZAM9hZFH6YcL-LFxblYobV48VNnASdC9BfOJxmy69WSN-NMKH4kDTuK6nmHIt_wL-6VTNR55QW0rTDck3hbF4_b-FRoUlv955fWq8bPffOsdiZQCRrDHFP3Lw/s1600-h/DSC03424.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOe9EQt-o3PVrFZAM9hZFH6YcL-LFxblYobV48VNnASdC9BfOJxmy69WSN-NMKH4kDTuK6nmHIt_wL-6VTNR55QW0rTDck3hbF4_b-FRoUlv955fWq8bPffOsdiZQCRrDHFP3Lw/s400/DSC03424.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842689147006914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpZYiBg_YhpSfsdaLxXjN-6CX7gCknsSMkKj2cqUHgwzXikpylohEZ_mwYAr_4AqWjPSefF557kul2r_Bw_LnoP6tIYCu1_olup14rzMpt0CiQoweNiLpVXxHvfBeUMSPjQqNtg/s1600-h/DSC03426.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpZYiBg_YhpSfsdaLxXjN-6CX7gCknsSMkKj2cqUHgwzXikpylohEZ_mwYAr_4AqWjPSefF557kul2r_Bw_LnoP6tIYCu1_olup14rzMpt0CiQoweNiLpVXxHvfBeUMSPjQqNtg/s400/DSC03426.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842688063252706" border="0" /></a>The next morning, we headed off to see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhothai_historical_park" target="_blank">Sukhothai National Park</a>, which was quite a sight to behold. We took a songthaew to get there, once again, then rented bikes for touring around. Our tour guide was fantastic, explaining a lot of the history of the place and really showing us around. And she made us some amazing lunch too that she brought with us for a picnic. Our tour leader was not really our *guide* per se. She did a great job of getting us around and helping us, but in each location we had local guides who really knew the area. That was the case here as well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ej4DJVyV6WUxABIlS6OjLs9F80ZrelFwESBpcWS-YpJt7vjY1Szaevi89T-DBJQ79j_Zfrzh2VE2IDWMPAEtlzFSKFoNHaKRGxENpyw55JdBa565mwWTXzVsbmQ9l4-61jGzNA/s1600-h/DSC03428.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ej4DJVyV6WUxABIlS6OjLs9F80ZrelFwESBpcWS-YpJt7vjY1Szaevi89T-DBJQ79j_Zfrzh2VE2IDWMPAEtlzFSKFoNHaKRGxENpyw55JdBa565mwWTXzVsbmQ9l4-61jGzNA/s400/DSC03428.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842680339640914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHA8HAPKv0J4KJpF_DGvRTuGVrf4wekDYsXDe8QzY0lx31B-XVjkHbeGPHo36IUFV7EmScqorzFeX9U1pQ1ptzUpWl3PBzlX-Z0PrEAQa_xw-VeofZXFNgITLEPGtWUvMx4tVnBQ/s1600-h/DSC03429.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHA8HAPKv0J4KJpF_DGvRTuGVrf4wekDYsXDe8QzY0lx31B-XVjkHbeGPHo36IUFV7EmScqorzFeX9U1pQ1ptzUpWl3PBzlX-Z0PrEAQa_xw-VeofZXFNgITLEPGtWUvMx4tVnBQ/s400/DSC03429.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842175452518242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JIy5GAZc0DcsUmsbc7Rvpe53egHWmidvDAtrtoOI0_WOztcOOru87dgrxSPICq6v3zQofMYgjdX6D9I7INeN3BUC0r63JKMWXAKmy2QrMeWgVKX2cfgiRRhXd0O92LVG9wtrdA/s1600-h/DSC03430.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JIy5GAZc0DcsUmsbc7Rvpe53egHWmidvDAtrtoOI0_WOztcOOru87dgrxSPICq6v3zQofMYgjdX6D9I7INeN3BUC0r63JKMWXAKmy2QrMeWgVKX2cfgiRRhXd0O92LVG9wtrdA/s400/DSC03430.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842169347693442" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMgJQDuA-X6tR-ny5muoEpY5rqJCGlL-iVxL_U5123ecjQjwQrfvL-iTfmT4_pk0ONRGKGHeL-F4i1yEgy2VEGKpWX_n9ZSXJUJ1B_u-yejUrsqQmT5qM6F19LTxOM1Jg5i7yyA/s1600-h/DSC03437.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMgJQDuA-X6tR-ny5muoEpY5rqJCGlL-iVxL_U5123ecjQjwQrfvL-iTfmT4_pk0ONRGKGHeL-F4i1yEgy2VEGKpWX_n9ZSXJUJ1B_u-yejUrsqQmT5qM6F19LTxOM1Jg5i7yyA/s400/DSC03437.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842166145968306" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwDYLMsaZL73Gt8Ab3CuYyP1ThDT_4qsn7Pu8nPumHz62i4AMHOYFKw_M_OZd4I8ZTktjqmKVr4-GP_Lv4zYBkBnCZzXv5YUdIJS9ZwlekbZ5wZ7V-A3FD6pKNpQG-5vESywY9g/s1600-h/DSC03443.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwDYLMsaZL73Gt8Ab3CuYyP1ThDT_4qsn7Pu8nPumHz62i4AMHOYFKw_M_OZd4I8ZTktjqmKVr4-GP_Lv4zYBkBnCZzXv5YUdIJS9ZwlekbZ5wZ7V-A3FD6pKNpQG-5vESywY9g/s400/DSC03443.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842164255884818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYI5ypWKUPLDdaTFe6e8xY6Gn2DlJ2sr7dRvwAN4YVtiqNxug10AsuLHbHG7biwzKcNsQSnoSuJwqxt2ISiNyRcffzMFwQzINu__BLgBMxemRaGLF4x5JUAHEexpQEuKrwv2YyA/s1600-h/DSC03446.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYI5ypWKUPLDdaTFe6e8xY6Gn2DlJ2sr7dRvwAN4YVtiqNxug10AsuLHbHG7biwzKcNsQSnoSuJwqxt2ISiNyRcffzMFwQzINu__BLgBMxemRaGLF4x5JUAHEexpQEuKrwv2YyA/s400/DSC03446.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432842157023383010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCpSX_7Qv2Y95uJGBuakNvkpr1YeT1AdxQ9a6Tqtu4zCyYdYTqkouYfXOJa49X9cscmG4oSbM9d-4y1wcwyAfR-NMTz2MJBiRNJtqLVsEahxUuSScA6brX-FVwRnr5_uCk8C-7g/s1600-h/DSC03448.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCpSX_7Qv2Y95uJGBuakNvkpr1YeT1AdxQ9a6Tqtu4zCyYdYTqkouYfXOJa49X9cscmG4oSbM9d-4y1wcwyAfR-NMTz2MJBiRNJtqLVsEahxUuSScA6brX-FVwRnr5_uCk8C-7g/s400/DSC03448.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432841547287576082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHC1Jio0suJIzoGN9WazJw-xf6GP9ABq9CahJ7y3FXBQPjBZ75mF-W_vY4SXGZtlfvB_dKjim7BA0t202t4qdaL7FjRNsOsK51DqyBMjzqQSftkl5aCLZcvwZcPCmcOYm2LNSlMg/s1600-h/DSC03451.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHC1Jio0suJIzoGN9WazJw-xf6GP9ABq9CahJ7y3FXBQPjBZ75mF-W_vY4SXGZtlfvB_dKjim7BA0t202t4qdaL7FjRNsOsK51DqyBMjzqQSftkl5aCLZcvwZcPCmcOYm2LNSlMg/s400/DSC03451.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432841542406125762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdMk7PVY9NYoGlyfd_PuQ69NFAV4cwB8VYOzCjsVuqzYWKV75H06LL5kjE2iRz_O-LpwWoIs9mzgqBL78oKpBgvSQubMgvyK4VeGFD0pxCGGZgbdnpH4PAtyARWtehw3Rx2cEcw/s1600-h/DSC03452.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdMk7PVY9NYoGlyfd_PuQ69NFAV4cwB8VYOzCjsVuqzYWKV75H06LL5kjE2iRz_O-LpwWoIs9mzgqBL78oKpBgvSQubMgvyK4VeGFD0pxCGGZgbdnpH4PAtyARWtehw3Rx2cEcw/s400/DSC03452.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432841539149404786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCykpTqeKsXk3d7kQlF54Ow68tEVEfzU3Zv8STyGjTcY0j1L3Jz-rkU3Gsf9_TVJZzLqIMicHYO0nZ1OfeDAL1Y05ubvwmqJHRPLF8Ek_BkF7g-Bt0tSWA0QOf3oUAlvlw2cp-g/s1600-h/DSC03454.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCykpTqeKsXk3d7kQlF54Ow68tEVEfzU3Zv8STyGjTcY0j1L3Jz-rkU3Gsf9_TVJZzLqIMicHYO0nZ1OfeDAL1Y05ubvwmqJHRPLF8Ek_BkF7g-Bt0tSWA0QOf3oUAlvlw2cp-g/s400/DSC03454.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432841536969218434" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdldSfrsGB-5yESIrjyE4NJ7hE8e9Mr2PiPXUOU-3SHrwk9jeW3pMfKGzYpmY2U0xk3S4c4v_7lz0EqJT_3V42iN6CZbuSOvYIqS16hA9zg4ESNmx4_qD5CoDg_lg2ibCDto1qg/s1600-h/DSC03458.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdldSfrsGB-5yESIrjyE4NJ7hE8e9Mr2PiPXUOU-3SHrwk9jeW3pMfKGzYpmY2U0xk3S4c4v_7lz0EqJT_3V42iN6CZbuSOvYIqS16hA9zg4ESNmx4_qD5CoDg_lg2ibCDto1qg/s400/DSC03458.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432841530190993186" border="0" /></a>Our tour group.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4Go8SbUAXKq84GmZBnPTGg1aQnLWCUe8CUSqze71i7X7Iq2I-kHR-KsSsDMpCUZtX9OqUySP-qiJE0gzaI9KG5ZFkJb7ydDBy_esf_qmMNJsOXawKhDZVxQ9QxKS6Qz30RJpUQ/s1600-h/DSC03460.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4Go8SbUAXKq84GmZBnPTGg1aQnLWCUe8CUSqze71i7X7Iq2I-kHR-KsSsDMpCUZtX9OqUySP-qiJE0gzaI9KG5ZFkJb7ydDBy_esf_qmMNJsOXawKhDZVxQ9QxKS6Qz30RJpUQ/s400/DSC03460.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432840828484684322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2chzonK9t8l2VznXBdVpzJJKMvoyYLssIKUDmC3_fdG76EOERkDrsf0xxwSdL4ybHfgnYmRK7FBsge8hS08x7eGcGeKgSytI5kzKdnzc4Lgb1bufjyctjcTgTAo9EOJz2AG38Rw/s1600-h/DSC03467.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2chzonK9t8l2VznXBdVpzJJKMvoyYLssIKUDmC3_fdG76EOERkDrsf0xxwSdL4ybHfgnYmRK7FBsge8hS08x7eGcGeKgSytI5kzKdnzc4Lgb1bufjyctjcTgTAo9EOJz2AG38Rw/s400/DSC03467.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432840817515946514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLXj2oqN9IoFc_wnZD2ukwhK6ojFRjaEPk2VsxKmcHLMSNiVaqIvwp8Kg3ZARfJgWdE4OfjcQ5prH6l_2dRPlgTT9gZZF0iw6T2ldKyQ87g1INZKhw8B2TuBpnB9wOG7sM6zIwA/s1600-h/DSC03469.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLXj2oqN9IoFc_wnZD2ukwhK6ojFRjaEPk2VsxKmcHLMSNiVaqIvwp8Kg3ZARfJgWdE4OfjcQ5prH6l_2dRPlgTT9gZZF0iw6T2ldKyQ87g1INZKhw8B2TuBpnB9wOG7sM6zIwA/s400/DSC03469.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432840813191453570" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-K51VZRXoT2IMCq2TPpmdw4fih0Sci4u4VxOw1Vao3xHXwugFd5TxS6V6OplVJFjlblm7GQn5vs0ipj1QmXfkOjSBlPQ5yLlzmLbzKpZKn1IX9jhW08XHTOd4Q18ujTofl6xcCQ/s1600-h/DSC03471.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-K51VZRXoT2IMCq2TPpmdw4fih0Sci4u4VxOw1Vao3xHXwugFd5TxS6V6OplVJFjlblm7GQn5vs0ipj1QmXfkOjSBlPQ5yLlzmLbzKpZKn1IX9jhW08XHTOd4Q18ujTofl6xcCQ/s400/DSC03471.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432840807250137794" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4ZaRiqnkwtGJ7zJQ6f8xbb36RcB_MTWWtEllhEZB6zQ65wkOHhyLtsfLoIm2_9aliUBt-9p3KUaNJWdtpVXSlMmrO8p7RC549a4o9dvH1jS40okyKOg10HpkiUNPaPJycDcGGg/s1600-h/DSC03472.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4ZaRiqnkwtGJ7zJQ6f8xbb36RcB_MTWWtEllhEZB6zQ65wkOHhyLtsfLoIm2_9aliUBt-9p3KUaNJWdtpVXSlMmrO8p7RC549a4o9dvH1jS40okyKOg10HpkiUNPaPJycDcGGg/s400/DSC03472.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432840805620461186" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Further reading about the Sukhothai Kingdom:<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhothai_Kingdom" target="_blank">Sukhothai Kingdom.</a><br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg" />Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-65234623942426297692010-01-15T11:45:00.008+01:002010-01-15T13:21:30.917+01:00Last year at this time, Nara and I went to Thailand for a four week vacation. Originally, we had planned to be married in December of 2008 and this would have been our honeymoon. But when we were renewing my visa in 2008, the process took ten full months, which took us up to November. And when they told us that I would have to renew my visa AGAIN within 8 days of getting married, we decided to delay the wedding until August of 2009 instead. The Thailand trip was already planned and paid for, though, so we went anyway and had the honeymoon before the wedding!<br /><br />It was the best vacation we've ever had. Truly fantastic. Not just because it was 4 weeks long, but because we really got to relax and we did a lot of exploring of Thailand, which is a beautiful country filled with great people.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjm23GTa5VcTP8WdMTzz1dHQhaqxVOKmOZZXYdA4honei5fbFhoircSYnFclSZnbY3I8jt2zPtguENjNhyphenhyphenkmQIqRD8mtAaJBD4SgRRHH6_vjTreE1tzQXwuAIhC5AE3Q2FtbTOQ/s1600-h/DSC03324.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjm23GTa5VcTP8WdMTzz1dHQhaqxVOKmOZZXYdA4honei5fbFhoircSYnFclSZnbY3I8jt2zPtguENjNhyphenhyphenkmQIqRD8mtAaJBD4SgRRHH6_vjTreE1tzQXwuAIhC5AE3Q2FtbTOQ/s400/DSC03324.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426919377869325826" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Me, outside of the hotel in Bangkok.<br /><br /></div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfU8899j6XMOPkiAaAz33RasuIa-DL9AXytlzsyuF4wNAXpJ-dPwl0O8JRpUcOoEkfSGNCUUIzTWwfr_QJMjzdBiWhHNvcfHQXvZ897VyiCLelKhIZji2gqKum5MM6UV5J_okIQ/s1600-h/DSC03325.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfU8899j6XMOPkiAaAz33RasuIa-DL9AXytlzsyuF4wNAXpJ-dPwl0O8JRpUcOoEkfSGNCUUIzTWwfr_QJMjzdBiWhHNvcfHQXvZ897VyiCLelKhIZji2gqKum5MM6UV5J_okIQ/s400/DSC03325.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426919369085010882" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Nara, outside the hotel in Bangkok. Intrepid sign in the background.</div><br /><br />When planning our trip, I had talked to a few friends who had either been to Thailand a lot or who travel a lot. We were basically told that Thailand is an easy country to get around and that you can just book everything yourself. But I wanted us to do a guided tour for part of the trip. Having never done a guided trip before, I took the advice of my friend <a href="http://mariejavins.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Marie Javins</a> who recommended <a href="http://www.intrepidtravel.com/" target="_blank">Intrepid</a>. The basic plan was to arrive in Bangkok, then head north on a tour for 8 days, then return to Bangkok and head south on our own and head first to Koh Mook then Koh Lanta, then return to Bangkok and return home from there.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZQAHu5OA1vDTzSla5koDviWFEAv4tZrOYp2gn3pKLQFJgIfE34TIkVR5lXHIdApSckUtUD5kWxixmZBdkVi9palFejIuuvpIe4z53BJbQog50DJF3f2LoqDXwMCjWpLfQT01FA/s1600-h/DSC03328.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZQAHu5OA1vDTzSla5koDviWFEAv4tZrOYp2gn3pKLQFJgIfE34TIkVR5lXHIdApSckUtUD5kWxixmZBdkVi9palFejIuuvpIe4z53BJbQog50DJF3f2LoqDXwMCjWpLfQT01FA/s400/DSC03328.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426917805255223122" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Local Heinz!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sFx2MONcrT5rO3nEaVTZFxI2buFoNuWV5AZWKcIrMlmqh7lfBCyb81Rdtq1q9wR8DiHtCPy_OGOaiaOV_19rH-yPWGIxGV3AktJCnsgpT2P1OFVeklWfITt3_E4R7C0mMf_kTw/s1600-h/DSC03333.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 296px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sFx2MONcrT5rO3nEaVTZFxI2buFoNuWV5AZWKcIrMlmqh7lfBCyb81Rdtq1q9wR8DiHtCPy_OGOaiaOV_19rH-yPWGIxGV3AktJCnsgpT2P1OFVeklWfITt3_E4R7C0mMf_kTw/s400/DSC03333.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426917798155960930" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Khao San Road.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblfglgrnQlIBX345HzFJ-GCDiUU_VuR4zlWPBImAwF3IUHzr9CwdXVu4pX5K-mKHylLbiYU5pgUSj7mSEFuXyW2x2vxxusf5NfBhAv0FQYx9LoE491LyKoYMzUWj0PClIBSea4w/s1600-h/DSC03338.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblfglgrnQlIBX345HzFJ-GCDiUU_VuR4zlWPBImAwF3IUHzr9CwdXVu4pX5K-mKHylLbiYU5pgUSj7mSEFuXyW2x2vxxusf5NfBhAv0FQYx9LoE491LyKoYMzUWj0PClIBSea4w/s400/DSC03338.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426917798262542338" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The view from the hotel room.</div><br /><br />There were a few reasons a guided tour sounded good to us. Neither of us had ever been to Asia, for one. And we'd be pretty jet lagged. I didn't really want to arrive into Bangkok then have to deal with all the travel and planning stuff to get around up in the North. And from reading Intrepid's site, it looked like they'd also take us to some places to do some things I just wouldn't have gotten around to.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeolzrzdaZXUlOFdP71UAVab3uUSSPQ6qmHl-cZlf8EDkAH0b3ZfOINhHOtkHqaswEnOzEURwOXPsMrHBqV6_SpiIZzfxn1jEBsCpNJ57vnstt70kfA0gOB9RZXJy8qqdafSlgQ/s1600-h/DSC03349.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeolzrzdaZXUlOFdP71UAVab3uUSSPQ6qmHl-cZlf8EDkAH0b3ZfOINhHOtkHqaswEnOzEURwOXPsMrHBqV6_SpiIZzfxn1jEBsCpNJ57vnstt70kfA0gOB9RZXJy8qqdafSlgQ/s400/DSC03349.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426917796051568434" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Driving around Bangkok in a Tuk Tuk.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM76HVpuWs-dN9VnAFG6rPrJ9_ftS6rxwaXO1gqDAEBDo-toZFlIrGEF9DH9jQd4f3CFXxau5UM7zlm-ST3fhB8UdBNei4mSdbGhznZQktzxxzYl7xJqPo9DHhtze8Jtgh3EYzEA/s1600-h/DSC03352.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM76HVpuWs-dN9VnAFG6rPrJ9_ftS6rxwaXO1gqDAEBDo-toZFlIrGEF9DH9jQd4f3CFXxau5UM7zlm-ST3fhB8UdBNei4mSdbGhznZQktzxxzYl7xJqPo9DHhtze8Jtgh3EYzEA/s400/DSC03352.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426917789767359042" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGMTmQvkNxWkOGxTcK_gMiFA62th4gLDxLQmoWoUgrphQ6O_VxjpgLZ-YclM8LOeVE4Xn83Fl2xkSc9VWlGuMgawfb4nJWoJXAD8oq66jv0X4MuVijGTXKlrTp_9Ze14hV5Vghw/s1600-h/DSC03353.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGMTmQvkNxWkOGxTcK_gMiFA62th4gLDxLQmoWoUgrphQ6O_VxjpgLZ-YclM8LOeVE4Xn83Fl2xkSc9VWlGuMgawfb4nJWoJXAD8oq66jv0X4MuVijGTXKlrTp_9Ze14hV5Vghw/s400/DSC03353.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426917095488510274" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjff2bjGmWuh-4n8ezF431IYWLwd8aoH059EFXYyqT_Jgj_Wvz_qgp1E9_iQf9fzXhPsx50fmm-7o6uNcwHYbSN35ew3VLGQKTwsuAZXsFp__fFz_oA67LE_F8H3TU5svLyoOMIAQ/s1600-h/DSC03355.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjff2bjGmWuh-4n8ezF431IYWLwd8aoH059EFXYyqT_Jgj_Wvz_qgp1E9_iQf9fzXhPsx50fmm-7o6uNcwHYbSN35ew3VLGQKTwsuAZXsFp__fFz_oA67LE_F8H3TU5svLyoOMIAQ/s400/DSC03355.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426917090830314226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtXGvnoaskGJhIiKp3F9nc23p1Dg7nVLaDcOC8GW8PEEdxvFE50_-CXJ1Yvoa4V6kyateyFvENeloLm5OzQsd5lhF-YwwqShjauLBRHaLm4_gFxSt9Ik364rWOD3DMa-PHTwW0Q/s1600-h/DSC03357.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtXGvnoaskGJhIiKp3F9nc23p1Dg7nVLaDcOC8GW8PEEdxvFE50_-CXJ1Yvoa4V6kyateyFvENeloLm5OzQsd5lhF-YwwqShjauLBRHaLm4_gFxSt9Ik364rWOD3DMa-PHTwW0Q/s400/DSC03357.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426917086798655394" border="0" /></a><br />Anyway, we arrived into Bangkok. We had booked a room at <a href="http://www.viengtai.co.th/en/" target="_blank">Viengtai Hotel</a>, just a block away from Khao San Road, which is a street bustling with activity and backpackers. It was fun to be in that area for a short time because there was a lot going on. It's loud at night, though, which would be a drawback for me if we stayed there for longer. As it was, though, I wore earplugs and all was well. We settled into Bangkok and spent a couple of days wandering around the city before heading north on our tour. More posts to follow with tons of pics of Thailand. Wish we were there this year too!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2GylHGBke3XsHxo5Z-9j9xIqpzbqgpf9tx55MN7-GXnnhS2nQ9UfrcFM8_V1HpafXgcjA3tafDxH97SmQ7ew2iNTNvaVhrYqV8bG3fAaGKijAeJStEaB_MM7oI8fhjOWKdhIww/s1600-h/DSC03366.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2GylHGBke3XsHxo5Z-9j9xIqpzbqgpf9tx55MN7-GXnnhS2nQ9UfrcFM8_V1HpafXgcjA3tafDxH97SmQ7ew2iNTNvaVhrYqV8bG3fAaGKijAeJStEaB_MM7oI8fhjOWKdhIww/s400/DSC03366.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426917076592395538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLQymUlGjOjhG0WVjhI5XsJOF3iUEu4pdx_xMnFISC-8CMLxN6oCDffxCzHG-CSjRC7Wczsuk5cs6aEU70oTEIwyKZ-S6DCXM61RIH-MEVPMO5puJEF68fWHaxdF3S9BY4ihJXQ/s1600-h/DSC03368.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLQymUlGjOjhG0WVjhI5XsJOF3iUEu4pdx_xMnFISC-8CMLxN6oCDffxCzHG-CSjRC7Wczsuk5cs6aEU70oTEIwyKZ-S6DCXM61RIH-MEVPMO5puJEF68fWHaxdF3S9BY4ihJXQ/s400/DSC03368.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426916404263383698" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ofnnkAPrVYzgIbqsn7Ul7eySqI-ZJUy87AjNICHM9RaAcj7vaQAXnUySNmfrc-buZgNC97r-p9yLOOTAZmaHwcKdUw7rgmrgoY51tSZOO0IWcTSGbZuYnq7xFy8kNa29UE-fZw/s1600-h/DSC03370.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ofnnkAPrVYzgIbqsn7Ul7eySqI-ZJUy87AjNICHM9RaAcj7vaQAXnUySNmfrc-buZgNC97r-p9yLOOTAZmaHwcKdUw7rgmrgoY51tSZOO0IWcTSGbZuYnq7xFy8kNa29UE-fZw/s400/DSC03370.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426916401013730674" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Khao San Road.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg" />Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-61459160970645547442010-01-07T22:17:00.006+01:002010-01-08T10:17:15.825+01:00Well, today I went and traded in my California license for a local Croatian driver's license.<br /><br />The process was fairly easy, but it still took some time. We first went to the local MUP station, which is the police station where I am registered. That's where the embassy site says to go, but as it turns out, all licenses here are issued through the MUP on Heinzelova Ulica. We'd taken the bus to the local MUP because it was so close, but this other MUP station is much further away. As it turns out, we should have driven. But we just took the tram there instead. Of course, they required one more piece of paper from me. We had a translation of my license that was basic from the American consulate, but they needed a full translation also. So we took a taxi back to the center and got the full translation, then went back and got my license. It took more time and effort than that all sounds like. But the people at that MUP station were great, very efficient, and the process was easy.<br /><br />The bummer is, they kept my California license. I couldn't keep it. Well, anyway, this is one more piece of the puzzle that I've gotten. Mission accomplished today.<br /><br />We also had the best Chinese food we've had yet in Croatia today at Asia Chinese food, right by Glavni Kolodvor. Not amazing, but very good.<br /><br />So good day overall.<br /><br />The license here looks very strange to my American eyes. I guess they don't use it as ID here, because this would be easy as hell to counterfeit. They have a separate card for ID and I don't have one of those yet. The license is like a little book. Looks like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6K4QzINkzeDw4IzOTwlvEEHFMk40jMXVpwzfreG1SQd4BjZM1bHGPn0hd7dwG1PzJOS4wL-A_8AxVVt8jK2vMaaRgfv_S8skRYkr6iL9vi1EXjM7EePGXC2tzh8ifcoZOgc0nZw/s1600-h/croatian_license_back.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6K4QzINkzeDw4IzOTwlvEEHFMk40jMXVpwzfreG1SQd4BjZM1bHGPn0hd7dwG1PzJOS4wL-A_8AxVVt8jK2vMaaRgfv_S8skRYkr6iL9vi1EXjM7EePGXC2tzh8ifcoZOgc0nZw/s400/croatian_license_back.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424113831915951634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCULSQ_Ae0x3dGGt5WQY1RDT3P1YV1_l1t24cXFODDuWJfGcm4GGJUj1VCwqfYQdndv7ellOlXTXANbFr0Z_Pe6w9BPh2W0iaWh1WxDwmvIvKNSkUPC8lrVyOT9sdp9DKIm-sg4Q/s1600-h/croatian_license_front.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCULSQ_Ae0x3dGGt5WQY1RDT3P1YV1_l1t24cXFODDuWJfGcm4GGJUj1VCwqfYQdndv7ellOlXTXANbFr0Z_Pe6w9BPh2W0iaWh1WxDwmvIvKNSkUPC8lrVyOT9sdp9DKIm-sg4Q/s400/croatian_license_front.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424113827434186818" /></a><br /><br />More information about the process of getting a license here if you're an American is at the link below. But, be aware that the cost is 70 kuna for the stamps you have to get, called "biljezi", not 35, and then another 35 paid as a bill. And you must have a full translation of your license AND the translation from the American embassy that explains the class of license that you have.<br /><br /><a href="http://zagreb.usembassy.gov/service/other/drivers_licenses.html" target="_blank">http://zagreb.usembassy.gov/service/other/drivers_licenses.html</a><br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg">Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-837717589231942732010-01-06T12:24:00.003+01:002010-01-06T12:33:38.963+01:00So, it's 2010 now. Snow covers the ground outside as the new decade starts.<br /><br />2009 was one of the best years in my life so far, as detailed in a previous post. I'll miss 2009! An amazing year for me.<br /><br />Last year, my resolution for the new year was to stay on top of my finances and to keep up with saving money for both retirement and for buying a house. I did a good job with that in 2009 and aim to keep that behavior up.<br /><br />For this year, my resolution is to finally look into getting a higher level of medical insurance here and to do a thorough medical checkup. I'm 41 now, so it's time for me to start looking into certain sorts of tests to make sure I'm taking good care of myself. I gotta go get a local doctor to hold my balls while I cough. <br /><br />;-) <br /><br />I'll likely take a look at Sunce Osiguranje and Basler Osiguranje Zagreb here locally and see about getting in for a checkup. I'd like to do all of that before tax time, which for me is April 15th. So, that's the goal. Do all of that, go to the dentist for a cleanup here in Zagreb and stay on top of saving money.<br /><br />Not exciting goals, but good for me to do.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg">Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-39729153473341841982009-12-02T14:29:00.004+01:002009-12-02T14:47:58.882+01:00There are some funny little language differences here in Croatia. Differences between the English and Croatian languages.<br /><br />One that popped up last year for me was "džuboks". My friends here thought that that was how you pronounced it in English too. But, the funny part is, that is pronounced like "Jew Box". For my Croatian pals, in English, it's "jukebox". It has nothing to do with Jews. Well, if it was playing Klezmer music, I guess it could. But it's not a Jew Box. <br /><br />Another one that is really strange to me is when Croats pronounce a V like a W. This makes absolutely no sense to me. They don't even have a W in their alphabet. They also pronounce a W like V, which to me makes total sense. Seeing as how they don't have a W, change it to a V. Makes sense. But to pronounce a V, which IS in their alphabet, like a W, which is NOT, makes no sense to me. My friend Esad says womit instead of vomit, for instance. Always reminds me of Chekhov in Star Trek 4 saying "nuclear wessels". Esad also says "awailable". <br /><br />I've asked him and others about this a lot and have never gotten a good answer. They say basically that they see no difference between those letters. But that still doesn't make sense to me. <br /><br />Inspired by the blog here:<br /><br /><a href="http://rosemarybaileybrown.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://rosemarybaileybrown.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg">Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-7532920722617441542009-11-27T12:26:00.003+01:002009-11-27T13:28:28.839+01:00Where have I been? What have I been up to for the last 9 odd months?<br /><br />Well, I've been all over. And I've been doing a lot of things. So, here's a bit of a catchup blog post. <br /><br />I've been meaning to get back to this for a while, but once you stop for a while, there's some sort of inertia that keeps you locked on (or in this case off) course.<br /><br />2009 has been a good year for me personally. We spent a good chunk of this year traveling. We've taken almost 10 weeks off from work and spent the bulk of that time traveling. That's more than 2 months off this year, which is huge for me. We spent 4 weeks in January and February in Thailand, 10 days or so in Southern California, and 3 weeks in Tribunj, Croatia and traveling around that area (1 week was working, so I don't count that week). In early August I headed to London solo to attend the Great British Beer Festival, which was four days of drinking with thousands of merry strangers. Lovely. In September we headed to Tunisia for a week, which was not so lovely. Then, just a couple of weeks ago we headed to Vienna. It's a beautiful city and we had a great time.<br /><br />I'll post more about these trips later, but in brief, Thailand was the best and Tunisia was the worst. All of the trips were fantastic except Tunisia. All told, 5 countries other than Croatia were visited on 4 continents. Well, 6 countries if you count our 2 little day trips to Slovenija.<br /><br />Nara and I also were married in August. And she's the best wife a man could ask for! We're very happy together. We lived together for a while before that, and life's pretty much the same as it was before we were married. We're a great couple and really like living together and enjoy our shared life. So win win!<br /><br />I also set up my homebrew brewery here in our basement. I homebrewed for five years while living in Portland, but had last brewed in 2002. So there was a 7 year hiatus there. But with quite a lot of effort, the brewery is all set up here and functioning well. Brewing beer, of course!<br /><br />Still working a lot for Marvel Comics, but also working for DC Comics again for the first time in some years. <br /><br />We're also saving for a house and for retirement. So working hard when we're not traveling and trying to invest and save as much of that money as we can. <br /><br />This is all just a quick catchup on what's been up in my world. I'll touch on these topics in more depth later and post pictures and all that good, fun stuff. <br /><br />But that doesn't quite touch on <span style="font-style:italic;">why</span> I stopped blogging. I stopped primarily because I started to get really annoyed with the volume of people e-mailing me about their desire to move to Croatia. Well, that in and of itself is not annoying. The annoying part was when they'd ask me for a lot of in depth advice about the process or when they were just up late in America and dreaming about moving overseas, had never been to Croatia and thought they'd just up and move here. Okay, it's fine to dream. But I'm not here as a service to people who want to move overseas. I mean no offense by this, but I will no longer answer this stuff. And in fact, I have removed my e-mail contact. If you want to have some contact, leave a comment on this blog. Don't e-mail me about advice for moving here, please. Anything I have to say on the subject is already in this blog, so read the blog if you want information on living here. <br /><br />I also didn't quite get back to blogging because some of the stuff that I notice that I might want to blog about is sometime a negative impression of Croatia, the people here and living here in general. And I don't want to offend a lot of my friends. So how do I go about writing about the negative aspects of living here? I don't have the answer for that yet, but we'll see. Either I'll try to find a way to write about this stuff and hope to not offend my friends and others or I'll just skip that part. More likely I will write about it, but try to be as tactful as I can. That said, I still like living here and enjoy a lot of the culture and the people here. But as with anything, it's not all rosy. Yin yang and all that. The overly positive first impression has, logically, been replaced by a more balanced view of life here after having lived here for 3 years now. When you first arrive somewhere, it retains that "vacation" edge to it for a while. Once that's worn off, you can settle in and get a more realistic impression of the place. That's where I'm at now. <br /><br />Oh, and I have my third visa. This year it was easy. It just required us to stand (yes, stand the entire time) in line at MUP, the police station, for 6 hours. We then got in for our meeting and had to return 30 days later and it went smoothly. The woman who processed me this year was great and all went smoothly.<br /><br />So that's that for now. I'm hoping to get back on here more regularly but can make no promises at this point. Time will tell, as always.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg">Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-17562723389897607812009-02-25T12:53:00.003+01:002009-02-25T12:55:44.667+01:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2lKxdWMzjO34YpQ9EMpgiV_LhFLgFzTS6i1odLdPpG9i1BvlIQXEeghiMm7V_gDeCjVt9O7lQxPzM3TbRgKcuTESNHe3k-DdhkEqgjtSC17aAIA5OVxFjuc5LQFkH2Poi94x0A/s1600-h/DSC04408_540.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2lKxdWMzjO34YpQ9EMpgiV_LhFLgFzTS6i1odLdPpG9i1BvlIQXEeghiMm7V_gDeCjVt9O7lQxPzM3TbRgKcuTESNHe3k-DdhkEqgjtSC17aAIA5OVxFjuc5LQFkH2Poi94x0A/s400/DSC04408_540.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306701947624136002" /></a><br />I looked out the window a few minutes ago and saw this image. Seems some local gypsies got inventive and knocked over the paper recycling container to bust into it from the bottom and take the paper. Presumably, they'll hit as many of these as needed to fill that van then take it in to some recycling center and get some money for it.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg">Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-32786027188742901102009-02-22T12:24:00.005+01:002009-02-23T09:18:49.307+01:00Well, we'll see if I can get back to blogging a little more regularly now that we're back home in Gajnice.<br /><br />Took a look at that little map at the bottom of this page and see that I've now had visitors from 79 different countries. Wow. That's kinda cool. <br /><br />Also received e-mail recently from a site that added me to its links section. The site is called Spotted by Locals and is intended to have people living locally in various locations around the world blog about their own area, thereby providing local knowledge and insight about the area. I added a link to their site in my links section to the left side of my blog here. The Zagreb portion is called Zagreb by Locals, and the link goes there. Go check 'em out, wouldya!?<br /><br />It's snowing today in Gajnice. The snow started last night and went all night and now there's a blanket of snow covering everything. I'm sure it'll melt in the next day or two, but for now it looks nice outside. And I'm currently reading the book Snow, by Orhan Pamuk, so it's nice to sit there and read with the snow outside. Appropriate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuYxNTk-8tgonbzZ4d0MfpZghq25UN-QavnweN2Ioax0S3cwgnnaGWJVL01rLPNOT192KDKa5w2qXgJVEkNREJKK0IkpEzAQRa6jzJWvmRUW9_u5n5RzPiGxz8hMIG5UZkXmuOQ/s1600-h/DSC04404_540.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuYxNTk-8tgonbzZ4d0MfpZghq25UN-QavnweN2Ioax0S3cwgnnaGWJVL01rLPNOT192KDKa5w2qXgJVEkNREJKK0IkpEzAQRa6jzJWvmRUW9_u5n5RzPiGxz8hMIG5UZkXmuOQ/s400/DSC04404_540.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305591608223387682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzHhb_84vIkwhl73oazzXdkCGOPbh8SQSHL-6SJcmXDM5SuRn9yV3iXUsdwuvmxTtmePv0eeh0Xj4s0ek9UfS1yh_C4GRU_xEUOe8kFlk6mb9yUOO3ivS9QfrEkluqYkKtt8wzg/s1600-h/DSC04402_540.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzHhb_84vIkwhl73oazzXdkCGOPbh8SQSHL-6SJcmXDM5SuRn9yV3iXUsdwuvmxTtmePv0eeh0Xj4s0ek9UfS1yh_C4GRU_xEUOe8kFlk6mb9yUOO3ivS9QfrEkluqYkKtt8wzg/s400/DSC04402_540.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305591609860490610" /></a><br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg">Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-85699698840309479712009-02-14T08:43:00.005+01:002009-02-14T08:59:48.454+01:00We're back home from Thailand. Been back for one week. And while it was a great four week vacation, it's good to be home. <br /><br />When I've been here for a while, in Zagreb, sometimes I get jaded. But often when I leave and return, I notice how much I like it. I was in the center yesterday and was noticing how clean it is. There can be a lot of graffiti in the center (and, well, everywhere). And this sometimes makes it LOOK like it's dirty. But as I was riding the trams and buses around, I was noticing how clean it is. Very little litter. Walking around the center, with the sun shining and looking at the park on Zrinjevac was nice. And taking the train home later, I was just happy to have this fast ride to avoid traffic with. <br /><br />Sometimes when I travel, other places are MUCH much dirtier. I had the same reaction when we returned from Belgrade. While I really enjoyed my time there, it's a dirty city. And by comparison, Zagreb looks shining, new and clean. Same thing with Bangkok. Bangkok is perhaps the dirtiest city I've ever been in. The infrastructure there is not enough to support the large population they have. Many areas have a bad sewage problem with the horrific smell of raw sewage wafting through the air and mixing with the wonderful spices of the cooking going on in the little stands on the street. <br /><br />Not all areas are filthy, but many are. It's a city of ten million people, so it's 12 or so times larger than Zagreb. So comparing it isn't really fair. It's a city that is bustling with life and all that entails. It's filled with wonderful chaos, but also immense filth. We enjoyed our time in Thailand. And we will return someday. But man, it's good to be home.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg">Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-22808702100262165562008-11-26T15:45:00.002+01:002008-11-26T16:11:00.391+01:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_Y7obU1WNlH_RMXH7bcz0QoRzpXVfzOB2a_ddVcny_UfGRJZk-k_H0jjH-lycly2BXyE1BU6WqPRcfsg6Dd_iQdbN9J9VJ5mipMlApat5sX76VKy9kwE2d3MOnwDNIKi0iMOKQ/s1600-h/visa_2008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_Y7obU1WNlH_RMXH7bcz0QoRzpXVfzOB2a_ddVcny_UfGRJZk-k_H0jjH-lycly2BXyE1BU6WqPRcfsg6Dd_iQdbN9J9VJ5mipMlApat5sX76VKy9kwE2d3MOnwDNIKi0iMOKQ/s400/visa_2008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272978635344050658" /></a><br /><br />After a hellraising process that took 10 full months, I finally have my second visa.<br /><br />Long time readers of this blog may remember the process I had to go through for this. To get my first visa, I had to start a company here and have myself as the director, which meant I received a business visa. When I put in my papers to renew the visa in mid January, the amount of paperwork they required from me regarding my company was just ridiculous. I ended up having to go from one ministry to the next and back and forth constantly. Every time we'd think we were done, they would ask us for a new paper. Really. We'd visit them and they'd tell us that we only needed one more paper, then when we delivered that, they'd tell us we actually needed yet another. And that part of the process went on for a few months.<br /><br />I had that company for a year before that and paid all of my taxes and filed all necessary papers. But sometime before summer they actually denied my visa. The ministry of finance had denied it to my company basically. And they offered NO explanation. The people at MUP, the police station (who deal with visas) said they didn't know why I was denied, but they had a huge stack of applications for people who had the same thing happen to them. <br /><br />My girl and I got engaged in December, though, of last year. And so we put in a new application for a visa based on this. But it's not as simple as that. That whole part of the process is also ridiculous. And every paper we supplied them with last year had to have new copies given to them. It's just crazy. A paper that is literally exactly the same must be given to them with a new date on it. Even stuff that is not dated requires a new copy. The file for me is something like 3 inches thick with papers. And that's just for this year.<br /><br />But finally, today, they gave me my visa. And of course, they couldn't just give me the new visa. They also want more paperwork. I now have to give them a new birth certificate. In Croatia, their birth certificates are not actually birth certificates. They're more like life certificates. They record stuff in them over time. For instance, if you are married, your "rodni list" is updated with this information. We don't do that in the States. A birth certificate is just that; a birth certificate. It lists only facts about the birth itself, not about the person later in their life. I already had to go to the American Embassy and have them certify that I am not married which is also stupid because they actually can't possibly know if I am married. Anyway, because I did *that* they basically said okay. But I still have to supply them with a new copy of my birth certificate. The date on mine is 1988. But the certificate itself is from 1968, when I was born. They were already supplied with a fresh translation dated now, but they need that purple ink with the notary public stamp to have a date within the last six months.<br /><br />And, I have to supply them with a paper that proves that my landlord actually owns the apartment I am living in. This despite the fact that we already went to a notary here to certify this and they already have that. <br /><br />Ah well. At least I have the damned thing now. Now I have to take the application for the birth certificate to the American Embassy and have their notary certify that I am in fact me and send the application off and hope that it actually arrives in the mail.<br /><br />And I am closing my company. For anyone who is considering opening a company here I recommend you avoid it at all costs. For me it was a pain in the ass and keeping it going is totally a waste of effort and a cause of stress as well as a good way to pay higher taxes. Fuck that.<br /><br />And we head to Thailand in January and today I read about bombs going off in the Bangkok airport.<br /><br />America doesn't look too bad sometimes.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg" />Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-67067214425449896442008-11-20T14:01:00.001+01:002008-11-20T14:03:35.748+01:00I recently started collecting foreign currency. There's an antique market here on Sundays and I go there once in a while and buy stuff from a guy there who has tons of money from all over. No, I have not visited all of these places. I like the art on them and the view into the culture of where they come from. It's fascinating to me.<br /><br />Click the image below to view money from Russia, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Iran, India and Montenegro.<br /><br /><table style="width:194px;"><tr><td align="center" style="height:194px;background:url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/13maudit/ForeignCurrency#"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_spyLAZVYGXw/SSVdRDYbcbE/AAAAAAAAASI/sK5KqLPQM_Q/s160-c/ForeignCurrency.jpg" width="160" height="160" style="margin:1px 0 0 4px;"></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/13maudit/ForeignCurrency#" style="color:#4D4D4D;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;">Foreign Currency</a></td></tr></table><br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg" />Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-70678225061571737702008-11-05T12:09:00.002+01:002008-11-05T12:11:40.015+01:00I ask all of my fellow Obama supporters today to not gloat. I ask that you not kick the Republicans while they are down. Extend a warm hand in their direction and draw them into the process of governance that will follow. Their party will have a lot of soul searching to do in these next 2 years at least. And by extending our friendship to them we can not only have a more unified country filled with far less vitriol and hatred, but we can help draw some of them to the Democrat party. And we can also help them shape the new foundation of their party that will have to be built. Engage any of your Republican or conservative friends in conversation. <br /><br />Our long national nightmare is over. But don't use this as a chance for revenge. We're above that. Use this as a chance to reshape the dialog in our country. In doing so maybe we can get rid of all the spite and hatred that has rocked our political world since 1992.<br /><br />A man can hope. And as we've seen, sometimes that hope is fulfilled.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg" />Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33967826.post-62399400447076348812008-11-04T10:57:00.004+01:002008-11-04T14:22:00.424+01:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsyFyD6Rm-Xsex4zgGW8snS9Irm3-19cRjtZWdeCWhKcgDKREkOM_IRkiwwTozF9L0aV2M3wBtRedYGHmBM1MRDdSW5xDZfNygTIN7TeI0P-DH5ePJfFPQjxpQGwwjwaJKDmVAg/s1600-h/electoral_map_2008_prediction.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsyFyD6Rm-Xsex4zgGW8snS9Irm3-19cRjtZWdeCWhKcgDKREkOM_IRkiwwTozF9L0aV2M3wBtRedYGHmBM1MRDdSW5xDZfNygTIN7TeI0P-DH5ePJfFPQjxpQGwwjwaJKDmVAg/s400/electoral_map_2008_prediction.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264791940609689618" /></a><br />What to watch on Election night as the polls close. <br /><br />We should be watching a lot of these states that are close or that have gone Republican in the past and are leaning Democrat this time around.<br /><br />Below are some of the closing times, what states to watch and what my predictions for those states are.<br /><br />But overall, I predict that Obama will win. I predict he will take 338 electoral college votes while McCain will claim 200. I also predict that the popular vote will have Obama winning 51% to 46% over McCain with 3% of voters choosing third party candidates such as Bob Barr and Ralph Nader.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6PM: Indiana.</span><br /><br />Prediction: McCain wins by 1%.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7PM: Florida and Virginia.</span> <br /><br />Watch Virginia and Florida. Even if McCain wins Florida, Virginia could go to Obama and make it very difficult for McCain.<br /><br />Prediction: Obama wins Florida, but only by 1%. It's so close that they don't call it right away and counting goes late into the night.<br /><br />Obama wins Virginia by 2% or less.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7:30PM: North Carolina and Ohio.</span><br /><br />Prediction: McCain wins North Carolina by about 4%.<br /><br />Obama wins Ohio by less than 1%.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8PM: Missouri and Pennsylvania.</span><br /><br />Chances are, if Obama wins ONLY Pennsylvania and Virginia, and McCain wins the rest of these, Obama will still win.<br /><br />Prediction: Obama wins Pennsylvania by around 5%.<br /><br />McCain wins Missouri by about 2%.<br /><br />I think the single most important state to watch is Pennsylvania. If McCain loses Pennsylvania it will be nearly impossible for him to win. But earlier in the night if Obama racks up a win in any one of these close states, the odds are very difficult for McCain.<br /><br />Happy election day everyone! And remember, whoever wins, in January Bush will be out of office. We will be better off next year without Bush one way or the other.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.matthollingsworth.net/home/photos/avatars/divider_skull_dot.jpg" />Matt Hollingsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11508408961031520485noreply@blogger.com5