Egil is now back home in Stavanger, and is actually in bed as I write this -- a loooong journey has come to an end!

Expect to see lots and lots of more pictures, videos and stories in the next few weeks.

Regards,
Roar
Webmaster

well, well   now my trip is going towards an end,  and I have to first say I'm sorry for not feeding you all with any stories for a while, as I just have had little time for writing, especially with high internetcosts in Japan and S.Korea.
 
I am really glad I got the chance, and took this oppurtunity to travel this time, ever 4 months are a long time... and a bit longer than the 2+ months that was the original plan.
 
I got around to see MANY exciting places, and even more importaint, - meeting a lot of nice and interesting persons along the way...  some for just a short minute, and other for weeks to an end... you were all a big part of my journet, and I'm happy for meeting you all....
 
my site:  www.meihack.org is a bit short of information lately,  but I will use time in the months comming to go through my around 7000 ? photoes and post more and more photoes, videos, and travelstories weekly (and maybe many smallewr shortstories several times a week)..
 
I will also try to make some rankings over some topics...  i.e  where did I like the food the best,?  1-5 best..  where was the accomondation cheapest...  the best beds... and so on,  
 
Please feel free to come with suggestions for things you like to read stories of,  see photoes of,  and ranking of,  and any other things you like to see on my site...
 
So I'm getting ready to get home... already gotten an offer I accepted for a job, so I start in a week, unless I have to get in the military training one week first,.. in that case its 2 weeks till I start working...
 
but still I have some days left here in China, for enjoying life, shop, travel the last bit to beijing (12 hour train is a piece of cake now), and really concider how to pack my luggage for the plaine...
 
Thanks all for beeing who you are...
 
hugs to all
 
Egil Viking
WuHan

Happy new year and may the new year bring you all the happyness you possebly can handle....

Im currently in Japan, and getting closer to the end of my trip.... whitch I, btw, some hours ago got extended for almost anouther month, so my trip will not be 99 days, but 123...

Also Im preparing a little bit for my life back in Norway already, using the tired first day of 2007 to start applying for jobs back home.. and today I had a arranged phonecall to my hostel from an agency, and set up a meeting for the day after I have my first day home again...

Newyears is always a day for thinking about ones life, reflecting back, and planning ahead... and putting out hopes for the future....

This time Im not back home as I usual has been, som newyear is definitly different, - but still I will do as Ive done the last 3 years... Im going to put up 10 improvmentissue for me self for the year to come, and I will try my best to improve as a person, and to improve the quality of my life, and people I love... I will not manage to get improvements on all 10 issues, - but I will be happy as long as I can make 1, 2 or maybe even 3 improvements in my life.... so.. 10 issues to work on, instead on one newyearsresolution...

Normally I have my 10 issues ready on newyerars Eve, but this time I might wait till I get home... And what my 10 issues are, well, Im not telling any....

In addition, this time I will also put up for me self 10 goals for the end of 2007, who may be related to my issues, and maybe not...

Last year one of my goals for 2006 was to finally get my nerve/act together, and take the chance and forfill my dream of travelling for a longer period... so I think I can declaire that goal for accompliced..

I have still not put up all my 10 goals eigther, but here is a couple of examples*
- Travel some more, - at least 2 weeks abroad, - prefeerably to Cuba
- Get a good job I enjoy
- Start learning a new language
- Use in average at least 1 hour on webbuilding/writing a day in 2007
(any have suggestions on what they would like to read of?)

I dont expect to make all my 10 goals (then I put them up) but hopefully I can make 4-6...

Reason to write them down on paper, is to easier put my attention to them, and hopefulle they will be easier to focus on, and to accomplish.. Only time will tell...

Well, I just wanted to greet you will all the best for the future, and may luck follow you and your family...

Happy New Year !

Egil

On the Road in Marvelously Friendly Myanmar

Well, form Thailand it was time to travel to Myanmar (Burma), ans I was actually a bit nervous about going in here, as I had the impression it could be difficult to travel around. Also I heard the people here was really friendly, - but anyway, I felt a little unsafe before going into Myanmar. (also because I had iniatially plans to travel inlands Myanmar from the Thai border to Mandalay, and then down to Yangon (Rangoon) before flying out to KL(Malaysia), - but have to fly direct to Yangon, since inland travels was not allowed anymore..!!!)
And furthermore, I could not not have the safety of having mobile/sms to the outside world, - as this was not possible in Myanmar...

So.... I entered Myanmar by flying in to Yangon from Bangkok (had to fly from Chang Mai to Bangkok first), with a nervous smile, and did not really have any big idea of where or when to go in Myanmar from Yangon.

At the airport in Bangkok I startet talking to a girl from Japan going to Yangon too, and I quickly adopted the first part of her plans as my new backup-plan. (since my original plans had been aborted..) there is one thing I learned on this travel... a bad plan is better than no plan... no plans only leaves you doing,... well nothing (just as planed))

Well landed in Yangon, I got hang on another guy to a hotel mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide.. so I got free transport to this hotel, as I from experience know the drivers always overcharge the newly arrived from the airport... (happened in basicly all contries I'd been to...).



Well - my first impression of Yangon was that the people here really tried to help you, and I felt a little surpriced by this overwhelming helpfulness, as this usually by experience is followed by open hands wanting tips for doing any small things I normally do myself with no trouble.... but many here actualy just helped to be helpful, and as part of the service... not to get tips.... no need to explain why I really started to like this place... Also my 10 usd hotelroom was the nicest I've seen since my delux singleroom in Cambodia (then I took over a vacaint place in a packagetour arranged by www.bikeforpeace.no) . the room was Huge!!, and had two big doublebeds, and a bathroom just as big as many hotelrooms I've stayed in before., and 6 towels ready for use Surpricing luxary



First I took a trip to the marked, and walked around here, trying to take in all the new impressions. Surpricingly do almost all the men in Myanmar use a leg-garment the call "Longy" - basicly a sarong for men... I heard about this from before, but still was surpriced about the number of men using this.I guess the feeling of needing a pair of pants is just a fix idea the rest of the world has got...



And the girls almost all use a form of clay facemask, to protect their face against the sun, - and keep this mask on all day long... This seams really strange to me, but after some days I got so used to see it I did not notice it anymore...



Since travelling in this country can be a bit timeconsouming I decided to take first bus north from Yangon to Bagan ( and espesially the last half of the road was on really bad and bumpy roads), and I did a whole day here looking at some of the 4000 temples. ... Its impressingly many temples here, but most of them are quite small, and not so impressive in them selves, but its the share number of temples thats impressive... One day was enougth here... Remarkeble about Bagan is also the big number of horsestaxies here, - many, many hundreds of them...



Next day again it was time for anouther long busride on bumpy mountainroads, - beeing shaken in all directions..., this time to Inle Lake, and on a local small bus.... let me also mention the roads in Myanmar.... they are NOT of the best standard in Asia.... !



At Inle Lake I got ne anouther nice room, for 6 usd a night this time,. good value, even I had to wait for 20 minutes for the water to get warm...

The first day in Inle Lake I and a other from Australia took a boatride across and around the lake of Inle Lake ( Inle Lake is both name of the lake, and the town). And this was truley a very good daytrip... Inle Lake are espesially known for the fishermens special foot-rowing techique, and its part impressive, and partly funny to watch... Also thay have a floating market every 5 days, but not this day... so we visited a regular Inle Lake market instead. (and I got me some Longys and some xmas presents here) Also we visit some Lotus-treadweavers, a fishfarm, a silversmith (more xmaspresents), a longneckexhibithion and weavers, a temple, a monastary and many more interesting places., - and on the way back - more fishermen and a sunset from the boat... Very nice.



Internet is a different store, gmail, yahoo, hotmail and other western (american?) popular sites are beeing blocked from use in Myanmar, and the internet lines are, if exicting..., call-uplines of not very good quality... and mobiles, well not possible....

Next day we took a little hike with a guide in the mountains around Inle Lake, It was nice to get around by foot again (as compared to be bumping upanddown and sideways on the bus), and walk through villages, temples, caves and nice landscape. The most memorable on the trip was the people living here, and espesially the young girls , already beeing mothers and married at age of 14... As always in Myanmar, - people were extremely friendly and smiles were plenty. It was a very nice trip, but I wished it was longer...



The next day we had to take a long, slow, humpy 21,5 hour bus back to Yangon. This was a new record for me in long (bumpy) busride... - and normally the driver would drive 4-4,5 hours before stopping for wc and food/supplies... Did I mention the roads in Myanmar... ? They are really not very good....

Well back and still shaken, but not stired, we had a day in front of us, whitch I used for hunting down any possibility for getting from Yangon to KL (Malaysia) , since there was no possibility to order by net (since the net refused me to stay logged in to Air Asias webpages... and some hours later, and quite a bit us dollar in commision I had a ticket to KL via Bangkok the next morning... so my last day I could have used for sightseeing, but used for tickethunting instrad...

All in all Myanmar has to be one of my top favourite destinations, - Im really happy I took the chance to visit this country, in which has people with wonderful big smiles, and really helpful and serviceminded attitude. Myanmar also has very good hotelstandard compared to what you should expect compared to the rest of the standard of infrastructur ( did I mention the roads? ) Also many things in Myanmar are not the same, same as other countries, whitch gives it a spesial touch.

Food are cheap and good, hotels are a bit more expencive, but really good, Postcard ar cheap, and stamps are rediculusly cheap, girls are cute, but relationships are not possible, - the internet are expencive, SLOW, and restricted, and may be on line, if lucky... Mobile cant connect and money comes in small bills, and big stables, or in USD... And I have to at least once mention the roads... which are not to good....

Myanmar is highly recommendable
(but the roads are not..)

Pictures from Myanmar!

Egil just sent me a large batch of pictures from Myanmar (Burma), which are now out for your enjoyment Egil has taken many beautiful pictures during his Asia travel, but this time he has, in my opinion, really overdone himself -- there are lots of great pictures, just see for yourselves!

He is now busy writing his blog post, which will be published in a few days.

Regards,
Roar
Webmaster

Merry Christmas (God jul!) to everyone!!!!!

I just want to use the oppurtunity to wish you and your family a very merry Xmas from me, currently in Taipei - Taiwan.
 
I've been quite tired the last weeks, but feel better/more energy now...   but I've been travelling t fast to get time to sit down and write my travelstories in the last weeks,  so after Thailand I've visited Myanmar (Burma), Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Macao, Hong Kong(left HK today), and now I stay in Taiwan for about a (short) week...
 
my plan is so far to go to Tokio at the 30th dec (for a week), and then go S-Korea....  the last week/10days in january I plan to stay in China before I go home to Stavanger (and an army winter-excersice in the Norwegian HomeGuard..)
 
I will probably not get time to the same lenght of stories on these countries while I'm stll on my travel, but I will write more about mytravel then I get home as well,...  also,  if there is any request on other ti\opics you would like to read of (or get me to write) - you can give my suggestions and ideas...  ( i.e: comparing accomadations, comparing food, how I feel travelling alone, where was ppl most friendly, how I do/feel this or that,   anything,  just ask... and I will decide if I like the idea....)
 
any way,  I wish you all the best for the xmas and new year... and take care
 
 
Egil

Short visit in Thailand...

Well, to be honest, I only was in Thailand to get into Myanmar (Burma)... so I only planned a few days there to get my ticket.  but as I was there, I had to see a little bit...  so I decided to see Chang Rai, and Chang Mai (whitch many decribe as a Mekka for travellers).
 
To be hounest even more, - I had a little negative impression/attitude of Thailand for my former girlfriends actions, and some people I met, telling about the intence salespressure in the south of Thailand.  I decided to give at least northern Thailand a chance a few days before I went to Myanmar...
 
Anouther reason I did not plan much travel in Thailand this time was because I was travelling alone, and I expect plenty of oppurtunities later to go to Thailand on a beachholiday later, so I would rather use more time in all the other more "unusual vacation-targets" like Myanmar.
 
Comming into Thailand from across the Mekong River from Laos, I want straight to find the local bus to Chang Rai./ Thailand seamed like a half world apart from Laos, even it was just on the other side of the river.....  Thailand was really much more developed, and happily, there was no much salespressure here, so it was really pleseant to walk around. (Even it was hot )
 
The busride went with no problems, and then I came in to Chang Rai, I decided to follow one of the hotel-sellers who promiced the lot (you can always trust to at least not expect half of what they promice).  I was really positively surpriced then I saw Bernard (an Irish I met on the slowboat and villages up the river from Laos) and "his two girls".   So after some nice hours strawl in the nice and relaxed city of Chang Rai, we all decided to take a tour around the aria next day, arraged by the hotel.

 
So next day we + a japaneese girl all went around to see the Golden Triangle (Where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meets in a triangle, the opium museum, and the facinating Long-neck Karen-tribe. Also me, Bernard and Kana (the japaneese) decided to take a littel trip into Myanmar (Burma) for half an hour and a beer, - so I got a good chance to ask the officers on the border if I could travel inlands in Myanmar as I was planning....    and the answer was no...    

 
The trip was a nice one, and next morning I went to Chang Mai on a bus, and we was stopped by the police, who checked all asianlooking persons on the bus to look for burmeese run-aways.... Luckyly they didnt find me... 
 
Chang Mai was yet anouther positive surprice in Thailand, except for the really difficulty about finding a place to buy tickets to Myanmar. So because didn't find a ticket as fast as I wanted, I ended up spending my days in Chang Mai at the markeds, and talking with friends I met here... (from S-Korea, Puerto Rico and my "old friend" Aaron, with whom I travelled in Laos.) We even took our self a little trip around some of the bars in Chang Mai, and espesialy the last night was nice, going to a nightclub where there was more locals than tourists.
 
All in all it was a nice little stop in Thailand, and I look back to see more in Thailand at a later time, then I go with friends,  espesially to do some trekks around Chang Mai.

Lots of updates!

You’ll find Egil’s updated chart of Plans and progress here.

There are also some new pictures in the Egil the Viking gallery.

Even more exciting; there are 16 pictures from Thailand in a new gallery!

But, the most important thing, above you’ll find Egil’s most recent story, this time from Thailand. This is quite a lot at once, so enjoy

Regards,
Roar
Webmaster

Excitingly relaxing Laos...

Then the time was come for me to visit Laos, a country I actuelly started to read about in my travelguide on the flight to Vientiane, - the capital...
 
First thought was that this was HOT! - I could feel meself melting on the runway...,  and that pretty much stayed like this rest of the day/week... It was much hotter in Laos than any place I'v been so fare...  maybe also the lack of closeness to the sea had something to that feeling? 
 
I met anouther lone traveller on the airplaine, Aaron, and we decided to join forces and share a room in Vientiene, and we got a good room in a very new hotel at the riverside.
 
I think there is no other capital like Vientiane anywhere in the world (even I only seen a few...) This city is so quiet, that anywhere else it would have been counted as a "dead" city...  Barely no activity in the streets, and little traffic...
 
I was relly impressed on hoe little pressure there was from shops and sellers, it was almost like noone cared to sell anything...  it was really a relaxing atmosphere   , and the sunset at the Mekong River....

Really nice !!!!   Really a peaceful town, and maybe a nice place for lovers/couple, ... the town will leave lots of time to enjoy any friendship without to much influence...     Only real strang thing was that there actually were quite a few shemales... :s
 
next Stop was Vang Vieng, - a real backpackers heaven, especially for those intrrested in pure fun-for-fun-sake, happy pizzas, long hours watching reruns of friends with friends in horisontal chairs, partying and relaxing without any thoughts of the outside world...  I certainly want to go back there later, if I'm not travelling alone...  But I felt it was not my place to use my traveltime this time (especially while on antibiotics), so I took the first bus out next morning,  leaving Aaron a note...
 
I decided to go to Phonsavanh to the the "Plain of Jars" (Norwegian: Krukkesletta). (Read more at WikiPedia   Actually there is more than one field of Jars, and in this city we (me and a chech couple) organized a tour the next day with a tourcompany to see the 3 main fields + a Hmong minority village...  Very nice tour, and me and an english traveller both took lots of fun photoes at/with/under/in/on top of/becide/over the Jars I turned out to be a really nice day at the Jars
 
Luckyly we (again we and the chech couple) got lift with a private car to Luang Prabang the same evening, so we saved one day of travelling (all busses in Laos goes in daytime, so I could not do as in Vietnam, and do the travelling at night, and saving the days...
 
So we came late to Luang Prabang, and nothing much else to do but going to find a place to stay the night...  pretty full the first places, so I basicly took the first offer. Took a stroll around the city, whith looked really nice, and used a couple of hours on the terrace together with the other travellers... sharing stories and fishing for info about what to do in Luang Prabang the next day... I already decided to only sta one day (two nights) here, and then take the 2 days slow boat to the Thai border the next morning.
 
So next day I used to walk around the city a little, get my 8.74 Gb with files burned on two DVD's, and visit the most impressive temple/wat in the city/town. There was many temples/wats in L/P/, but after soon two months in Asia,  temples is a bit same, same but different for me... But the streets in L.P are really nice and friendly.
 
The afternoon I used to take a tour to one of the waterfalls outside L.P, whitch was definitly a great decition ,  Really a nice experience to walk and swin at/beneat the falls, - really a beautuful place... - I only wish I had someone to travel with at this time,.. some places are just more suited to be visited by more than one alone   I really enjoyed my time there, and wish I had better time to soak in the amazing water.
 
The last two days in Laos I used to take a SlowBoat to the Thai border northwest in Laos. It was really a peaceful journey, with a beautiful view over the riverside of Mekong all the way...  and some crazy FastBoats (speepboats) passing us time after time...  The boattrip was used to reading, playing games, take photoes, eating, study the views, planning ahead, tellig/listening to stories, jokes and so on...  Also we were 4 ppl having cardgame, where the looser had to sing a song for the whole boat....  and soon "Oppna landskap" was heard loudly on the Mekong River...
 
The worst thing in Laos was the ending, - the SlowBoat the second day suddenly for no reason was S L O W E R  than usual several hours, so strangely we missed the chance to cross the border to Thailand by a short half hour...    Next time I take a FastBoat the second day... ;s ....   But it did not ruin the impession must, it still was enjoyable the last night...
 
All in All.... Laos was amazing,  and I REALLY want to go back here (with friends) to relax and enjoy, and hike in this beautiful country....
 
So far Laos is as a country , - on the top of my list over positive adventures
 
 
Egil,
currently in Thailand
- going to Burma / Myanmar...

New Viking pictures

We’ve now added some pictures to the Viking gallery.

Also added a NEW gallery, with pictures from Laos. There are actually 84 pictures there, so go and check them out!

Regards,
Roar
Webmaster