LA meets Bangkok

I wasn’t sure what to do next. I was tired of Bangkok. But I hadn’t researched any other destinations yet.

I was writing a blog post in front of a cafe, while eating breakfast. I overheard two guys talking about traveling through southeast Asia. One of them had just finished a two-month stint. The other was beginning his.

I eavsedropped. The experienced guy was a wealth of information. I wanted to glean information from him. Maybe I could talk with him, but I didn’t want to interrupt.

The experienced one said he was from LA. Bingo. Now I had a common ground with this guy. But I couldn’t barge in yet. My battery life was dwindling, and I was almost done with the blog post. First things first.

The two guys completed their conversation and parted ways. I was polishing my blog post. I couldn’t tear myself away. “Oh well,” I thought. If it’s important that I talk to that guy, then it will happen.

A few minutes later I finished the post. I packed up and walked back toward my hostel. I remembered that I needed to go to 7-11 quick, which was in the opposite direction. I stopped and turned around. Lo and behold, who did I see walking my way? The guy from LA.

I stopped him and said, “Hi! I overheard you said you are from LA. Me, too!”

He replied, “Cool! You don’t meet to many Americans out here.”

We hit it off. He told me the highlights of southeast Asia and the things to avoid. He suggested that I read the Four Hour Work Week. I told him I already did in December, and I have it with me now. He smiled. We pounded fists.

John Crestani is his name. He looks similar to me, except with long hair. He has a travel blog, too.

John traveled southeast Asia in two months with a group tour. He followed a strict itinerary and the tour company took care of all the logistics. He had a 90-page itinerary that was dead weight to him now. He gave it to me. Research done.

I won’t follow the John’s itinerary to the T, but I will use it as a guide. It’s way too rushed. He was only in towns for 1-3 days. I don’t enjoy moving around all the time. It’s annoying. I’d rather find a good place and stick around for awhile–uncover the details of a town. The first town I plan to visit is Chiang Mai.

Paul replied to my Facebook message. He’s a friend of one of my old co-workers at Leads360. He wanted to meet up that night. He took me to an upscale bar downtown Bangkok. It was fun. He brought another friend of his, too, who just moved out to Bangkok from California. We all ha some drinks and talked about life. Good times.

The bar had a cover band playing American songs. I’m sure they didn’t know what they were saying. People know a little English here, but not that much. I laughed to myself. Paul said they play those songs because the songs are popular. Fair enough.

Later, the DJ mixed songs from Michael Jackson and hip-hops songs you hear on the radio now. America has a strong influence on the world’s taste in music–at least the wealthy people.