http://poagao.org Absolutely Not Your Monkey Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:30:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It seems as if we've been getting up early nearly every day of this trip; maybe some day I should try one of those lay-on-the-beach-and-do-nothing vacations. I've tried to lone-traveler thing and the group travel thing; both have advantages, but I think I need to have both kinds of trips ... http://poagao.org/2010/back-again/ February 27, 2010 We drove back to the coast, to an Indian neighborhood for a breakfast of rice combined with various parts of a pig this morning. The restaurant was a space by the side of a building, where a bridge passed over the railroad tracks. It was cloudy; rain ... http://poagao.org/2010/fishing-village/ February 27, 2010 I could understand how the Muslim call to Prayer at 6 a.m. could become annoying when I heard it this morning. For some reason, the plumbing in Tianshun’s apartment answered in an eerily similar fashion whenever the toilet is flushed. We were up early to go out to Malacca, ... http://poagao.org/2010/malacca/ February 25, 2010 Prince Roy and Spicygirl took us to breakfast at their favorite restaurant, a little place near their office, decorated in tasteful shades of blue. I’ve seen a lot of blue in Laos for some reason, and it’s always tasteful. In fact, most of the men in the place, ... http://poagao.org/2010/back-in-kl-2/ February 24 We were up early again this morning, this time visiting the morning market, a busy scene. Vendors were setting up stands, laying out colorful vegetables and presiding over large spreads of bloody, fly-covered meat. Already the monks were out begging for alms, and I shot a couple of photographs ... http://poagao.org/2010/back-to-vientiane/ February 23, 2010 I managed to get up at 5:45 a.m., but Chenble had problems, so it was well after 6 before we got out the door and along the still-dark streets as the day began to show up. We saw the flashes of the hordes of tourist photographers well before ... http://poagao.org/2010/luang-prabang/ February 22, 2010 Prince Roy drove us to the domestic terminal of the airport this morning, dropping Spicy Girl off on the way. We had plenty of time, so we had some breakfast in the international terminal. The domestic terminal was an exercise in retro design, sparse and muted. I had ... http://poagao.org/2010/northward/ February 21, 2010 The Elephant’s breakfast buffet this morning featured delicious Fukien noodles, scrambled eggs, omelets, fruit, French bread and orange juice, which we ate under the baleful glare of a scary blonde kid with a huge forehead at the next table. The hotel’s beds and sheets were quite comfy, and ... http://poagao.org/2010/vang-vieng/ February 20, 2010 After finally getting all my stuff packed up again, I went to sleep at 2 a.m. and woke up three hours later, at 5 a.m., so that Ah-lin could drive Chenble and I to the airport in time for our flight. For the second time, however, we were ... http://poagao.org/2010/to-laos/ February 19, 2010 Another brilliant morning in Penang; we had breakfast at a blue-tiled restaurant downtown among the old estates that seem to line each road, some housing fast food restaurants and some tire shops. This one served noodle soup and sweet herbal tea. Then we all drove to ... http://poagao.org/2010/back-in-kl/