Hey - greetings from Kyoto, Japan!!!!! Well that is right - Japan. Been here about a week and a half now and I think am adjusted as much as I will ever be........unless I learn some Japanese someday.....yep this is down right probably the most challenging country I have been to as far as communication goes. Sure I get my fair share of students (middle school, high school, and university students) comming up to me to practice their english but other than that not much luck. So lately have just been resorting to the "speak your own language and point technique". It seems to be working so far.

So, where in the world have I been???? Well my lack of updating the web site was an effort to get emails from all of you.....no not really, but thanks for all of you who keep heckeling me about not updating it. It has just been for many reasons - in Thailand I was just having to much fun and didn't want to spend time in a 100 degree internet cafe so It was in the cafe - hit major needed email and then back to the beach. In Cambodia it was about the same but the number of internet cafes and the connections were less and the price was more than I was used to paying. In Laos it was that there were possibly even less cafes and I spent more time in places where there wasn't a chance to send email (i.e. floating on a boat down the Mekong). And now Japan......I can't figure out where the internet cafes would be and then when I get there the sign is in Japanese........can't figure that out either.

So I am going to include a draft that I wrote after Cambodia and hope that keeps ya till I get back home and can update the site with some pictures and more storries.

Hope you are doing great and I get to see you soon!

Planing on visiting anyone out West who's home is open to a visitor for a day or two sometime in late June or in July....Rob and Cathy in Ventura, CA....Erin and Henrick in Nelson, Canada and anyone in between. Lets here it for people in the Pacific Northwest and Southern California???

Cheers kids, I will be home soon! Look forward to seeing you all!

Mike

Here is the Cambodia Post:


So, it has been over a month and I have not updated the site so I guess I have to make up excuses whty I have not been letting you all in on my fun and well, I don't have any except that I have been having a good time and been covering a good amount of ground in Southern Thailand and more recently Cambodia and just haven't wanted to spend a moment in an Internet cafe!

Currently I am just freshly returned to Thailand and on the island of Ko Chang (Elephant Island). So far, a realy nice place...I actualy think that this is possibly one of the more appealing islands I have been on.....not so built up that it is way overcrowded and not a lot of older building that sometimes makes some of these islands look, well junky. It seems to be changing though....looks like they have recently pumped lots of cash into the road structure and some areas look like they have been cleared of jungle for some prime beach real estate, but for now a nice stop.

I got here yesterday after a 12 or so hour journey that involved 5 interesting car ferry crossings where the minibus that I was in drove along with probably 4 - 5 other cars and quite a few people on to three big canoes that had a platform on it to hold the autos. Then two dudes on each side maning two big truck engines with propellers attached drove this thing across the river...Cambodia's idea of a car ferry....needless to say the trip from Sihanoukville to Ko Chang was a long one.

So all in all I spent two weeks in Cambodia. I hit three towns and did most of the touristy things but was also able to chill out and enjoy the Khymer New Year. I flew from Bangkok to Siem Reap and spent 5 nights there. Most of my days were spent in Agkor exploring all the temples in the area under the extreeme heat of Cambodia in the hot season. Agkor Thom and Angkor Wat were magnificent and even better were the people of Siem Reap. SO amazing - everyone smiles at you and wants to know wherre you are from, how old you are, if you have any brothers and sisters, etc. etc. Kids run from there huts to smile and wave at you as your moto or boat cruzes infront and everyone wants to speak english with you. In siem Reap also got to meet some great people - fellow travelers from America, England, Denmark, Switzerland, and Sweeden and some expats that have settled down in SIem Reap and opened up bars. Great time all around!

After Siem Reap I took the boat through a interesting fishing village outside Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is the capitol of Cambodia and an interesting city with a very tragic history. The first day I spent the mrning at the Silver Pagoda and Grand Palace, where the king lives, and the afternoon at the National Museum which houses some of the original Angkor statues and various other Khymer Historical artifacts. Both of these places are beautiful and amazing. A very stark contrast to outside there walls where, although amazing, beauty is not apparent on the surface of most of Phnom Penh. The second day in Phnom Penh I went to the Killing Fields where Pol Pot burried all his victims in mass graves and to SP21 where most of the victims were tortured before being killed and taken to the killing fields. I also was able to visit the "Russian" and "Central" markets. I spent my evenings on the river in the Foreign Correspondants Club and other restaurants and got out one night to the Heart of Darkness Bar.

Then off to Sihanoukville - the main Cambodia Beach Town to celebrate and enjoy the Khymer New Year. The Khymer New Year is a three day holiday where the Cambodians celebrate by going to the beach, drinking heavily, and the kids run around and squirt waterguns, throw waterballons (well mostly plastic bags filled with water, and powder each other and tourist with talcim and baby powder. I found a great place to stay where there were tons of travelers and had a beach front hut that had a great breeze. I spent 5 night in Sihanoukville just in time to miss the Thai New Year (on purpose - it is similar to the Kymer New Year but much more aggressive on the water fight sceene).

I will update this post more later but here is all the places I went to between Singapore and Cambodia:

Ko Phuket, Thailand
Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
Ko Lanta, Thailand
Krabi, Thailand
Railay Beach, Thailand
Ao Pang Nga, Thailand
Similan Islands, Thailand
Surin Islands, Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand

That was it,

since then I was in the following:
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Bangkok, Thailand
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Pai, Thailand
Chiang Kong, Thailand
Houxoui, Laos
Pakbeng, Laos
Louang Prabang, Laos
Vang Viang, Laos
Vientaine, Laos
Bangkok, Thailand
Tokyo, Japan
Kyoto, Japan
Nara, Japan

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I haven't updated the site for a while but I have been on the move and have not been able to find a fast connection to get more pictures up so I have been delaying the update. A lot has happened since my last post, so I will give you a quick update and see if I can find a fast connection once I get back to the mainland and update this post with some pictures.

After Samui I spent 3 nights on Ko Pha Ngan, home to the Full Moon Party. I was there after the party had happened so it was slow which was nice after Samui and hanging with Tom and Dave. Ko Pha Ngan was supposed to be less touristic than Ko Samui, but my thoughts were that it was possibly more touristic just catering to a different crowd of tourists.....hippies and alternative budget travelers. So, I took it easy enjoyed the Hat Rin Beaches and the hospitality of the place where I was staying.

After Ko Pha Ngan, took a boat to Surat and then a songthaiew to Khao Sok National Park. Khao Sok is a jungle with immense Limestone Karst that rise straight up out of the riverbeds. I stayed at a cool place, Art's Jungle House, which had great accommodations, stilt houses, and a great restaurant/deck that you could view the river which doubled as a swimming hole that the monkeys would climb down to to get fed by the locals and tourist every evening. A Brit, Jamie, and I hiked about 20 K through the jungle our first full day there to get to some nice swimming spots including a 30 Meter deep Gorge formed by the river and several waterfalls. The Second full day there we canoed down the river and got to see some locals fishing in the river with spears and snorkeling masks and women straining the river for freshwater prawns. Also saw some Monitor Lizards about 4 feet or so long on the banks.

From Khao Sok took a local bus to Phuket. The trip was an experience, for the first leg the bus was as full as you could get - I ended up sitting on bags of produce with my legs crossed, for the second leg the bus was less crowded but had a flat that took a god hour long to fix.

In Phuket, I spent two nights in Kata. Great beach with wonderful sunsets. It is where Club Med is on Phuket, not that I stayed there, but I did use the beach and paid about a hundredth of the price that they would have charged.

From Phuket, I boarded a flight to Singapore and was whisked into a very different world. Dan Durkin picked me up at the airport and after dropping my bags of at he and Krissy's home, went out for a long night on the town with their friends. The following day got to have lunch at Dan's work and then walked around the Financial District, Colonial Area and Raffles for a Singapore Sling or two, and ended up in Little India for dinner and some beers. The following day Dan and Krissy went to work and I toured China Town, enjoyed lunch at a Hawker Center, and ate dinner and walked the Arab Quarter. Then on my final day in Singapore, Kim, a Aussie friend of Dan and Krissy's, took me to Pula Ubin, the only undeveloped area of Singapore, for a day of bike riding and to the Night Safari. We ended the experience with a huge night out visiting the Mire Hotel, the only place you can get beers late night in Singapore (pictures of this one will be posted for sure).

That Friday I flew back to Thailand, spent two relaxed nights on Phuket at Karon Beach with the rest of Scandinavia (Norwegians and Swedes everywhere) and then took the ferry to Ko Phi Phi. Ko Phi Phi is a beautiful island that has been a little overrun with the tourist bug. So many Huts in such a small area, yet the island is still beautiful. Had a fun night out there on my first night. Enjoyed the beaches the next two days and then on my third day went diving to a really cool ferry wreck that was filled with Lion Fish, Scorpion Fish, and Puffer Fish. Also managed to see a school of Squid and some beautiful colors at Anemone Reef and Shark Point - Phuket.

Then Yesterday I took a ferry to Ko Lanta! Today, catching up on business (email, travel plans, etc.) and will be touring the island via motorbike. Tomorrow I am heading out diving to two of Thailand's best dive sites in search for Manta Rays and Sharks!

Then of to Ao Phra Nang and Ao Railay Beachs the following morning.

Will try to keep this updated - hope you are all doing great!

Mike

Ko Samui (http://www.kohsamui.com/)
Well, I finally "escaped" Ko Tao and met up with Simmons and his cousin Dave. The first day we took it easy and enjoyed the beach......

and we were also able to enjoy some of the local services....$4 hour Massages...


Our second day out we rented scooters and toured the island. On the way north found this really cool place that had an old Wat and a new one. The locals were getting the new one ready for a celebration that night, Budda Day. The new Wat was amazing - the workmanship and the detail were astounding...

Old Wat and The New Wat

saw some cool views....

Small Boat with Fishing Nets in it

Saw some cool temples.....

Big Budda that overlooks Big Budda Beach

Went to some cool waterfalls. The first two pictures are of a local hangout that is fairly easy to reach. Below are some pictures of locals bathing and playing in the water....

Check out the kid in the second picture jumping into the small water hole

Also did some brutal jungle climbing to get to some amazing waterfalls that we were able to reward ourselves for our vertical climbing ability...

Simmons taking a dip & a WIDE angle shot of me

Also got to see some animals that were being forced to do work or were chained to platforms...

Working Elephant for tourist rides and I think this is a Malaysian Bear

On the third day we caught a fast boat from Samui to Ang Thong.

Waiting for the ferry to Ang Thong

Ang Thong National Marine Park (http://www.amazingsamui.com/angthong.htm)

View from top one of Ang Thong's many islands...

Ang Thong is a National Marine Park off the coast of Ko Samui. It is made up of tons of islands that make for good snorkeling and kayaking. On some of the islands you can do a bit of hiking and get to some cool places like inland saltwater lagoons and some cool caves with bats stalactites and stalagmites..

A cave on one of Ang Thong's islands

On the fourth day we decided to take head over towards Ko Tao for some scuba diving and a change of pace. We decided to stay on Ko Nang Yuan just off of Ko Tao's North West Coast.


The Boat Ride From Ko Tao to Ko Nang Yuan

Ko Nang Yuan (http://www.nangyuan.com/)

The only place in the world where three beaches meet - The beautiful island of Ko Nang Yuan & The Ko Nang Yuan Dive Resort.

Ko Nang Yuan is one of the coolest places I have been. A great spot for enjoying the beach and the slow pace and quite that these three little islands provide. They want to build like ten times the amount of bungalows on this place by 2030. Get there soon if you want to really enjoy it!



Simmons and Dave on the Beach


Two of Ko Nang Yuans three beaches


One of the same beaches as above and the other beach...


The view from our Hut


A view from the restaurant....

One of the other cool things you can do here is climb up to the top of one of the islands and enjoy the sunset!


Swedish Chicks.......

...enjoying the sunset from the Viewpoint on Ko Nang Yuan



Back on Ko Samui
On the fifth day we did two dives from a longtail boat - really nice to have such a small group and a fun way to put on your dive equipment....you get in first and then someone hands you your bcd and then your weights....then after a nice lunch on Ko Tao (http://www.kohtao.com/)we headed back to Samui for some nightlife

The Green Mango on Samui - just getting started at about midnight

And that was it for Simmons, Dave , and I - they headed back to Bangkok for there last few days and I moved on to Ko Pha Ngan for some much needed R & R.....

Ko Pha Nang (http://www.kohphangan.com/)

Local Thai children playing on the northern rocky coast of Hat Rin Nok

Will update you with some more pics from Ko Pha Ngan and Khao Sok National Park (http://www.khaosok.com/), where I currently am. Tomorrow I head for Phuket and after a few days I will fly to Singapore to hook up with the infamous Dan Durkin!!!

Hope you are all hanging in there in the snow!

Cheers,

MB

Hey gang,

I just completed my Advanced Open Water PADI SCUBA course so I am certified to dive on my own up to 30 meters! Today we did our Multi Level Deep Dive (about 30 meters) and our own Multi Level DIve. Yesterday we had three dives, a Navigation Dive, a Naturalist / Photography Dive, and a Night Dive. All were great, but the Night Dive was amazing - you get down there and turn your lights off and your eyes adjust and you can see.

Still on Ko Tao (www.kohtao.com) and going to stick around until the 15th then I am off to Ko Samui to hook up with Simmons for 5 days or so!!! Since I have been diving I have been taking it easy, but I am sure that will change as soon as Tom and I get a couple SIng Has (beers) in us!


Ko Tao Sunset & Ko Tao Longtail

Well - keeping this short, but I hjave upgraded my site and you soon will be able to see some pictures and I hope you will be able to write comments to it (knowing some of you, I am a little worried about this one - my Mom reads this stuff).

Take care and enjoy the Sun or snow or whatever you are enjoying!

MB

Hey all,

Just a quick note to update you from my last post. I spent a couple more nights in Bangkok and then two nights ago took an overnight train south to Chumphon where I caught a interesting ferry ride to Ko Tao where I am getting SCUBA, PADI, certified. Today will be my second day in the course and we will start to get wet and learn the ropes.

The Thai Boxing that I posted last post was great. Eight fights of five rounds each, but I was only able to keep awake fopr the first four or five. The Thai's get so into watching the last two rounds and spend there time betting with each other in a sceen that looks like the Traders on a Stock Exchange - very entertaining!!!

The final night in Bangkok we went to Soy Cowboy wich is where all the Go Go Bars are - kind of disturbing but interesting at the same time. Was fun to be there and whitness how it is over here.

Well - got to run to my class. Hope you all are doing great. See Ya!
MB

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE.



Hey - sorry all for neglecting the weblog for so long! I figured that my last 5 weeks in the states (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio ) wasn't much to write about, or at least wasn't of much interest to most of you, so I took the time off and enjoyed the relaxation of not having to go and didn't do to much updating, calling, or emailing. So, if I wasn't able to connect with ya, forgot to email you, or you now think I am missing in action - I am sorry. I will gt back into the swing of things realy soon....

So here is the scoop. "Where is Mike Brown", you ask??????

BANGKOK, THAILAND!

Left Indianapolis on Saturday, February 1st and after a brief stop in Chicago and Tokyo arrived safely in Bangkok late on Sunday night. 25 hours trip in all. Sounds depressing, but I am somewhat getting used to these long hauls......kids stuff realy when you compare it to that London-D.C.-Chicago-San Francisco-Sydney tourture rout I did back in October.

SO, how is Bangkok - Fantastic!!! SHockingly different than anything that I have been exposed to before, but fantastic! I met up with Dan and Jen, a Brit couple that I met in Norway back in August and they helped me out on recomending a place to stay and my first day here. It was a huge blessing and got me back up and running much faster than I would have on my own. We went to China Town to whitness first-hand the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration. Fantastic!



Then last night we went out with another traveler, Vanessa (a Sydneysider), and experienced the crazy nightlife in Bangkok. Today Vanessa and I went to see the Grand Palace which was....., well, Fantastic. Tonight - Dinner and then Thai Boxing!

Well, need tyo plan some more for my trip, so I am going to cut bait and get out of here - will update more soon.

Hope you are all doing well and not freezing to much!

Cheers,

Mike

One last Oz destination for you kids before the ride to N. America.......Ayers Rock / Uluru and Alice Springs.

Decided that the weather here in Sydney wasn't hot enough for me before comming back to the cold for a couple weeks and going to hit the hot core of Oz. Booked a trip that leaves tomorrow and will spend 3 nights in the core before heading back to Sydney for one night and then back to the Great White North.

Take care kids - I probably will not have email except on the 23rd. Happy Holidays!

MB

YO, HO, HO, HO -

Hey kids! What is up? Here in the South Side, weather has turned much warmer and I have been getting back into the swing of things (backpacker style). Last weekend I went to the Victorian country with a friend and had a laid back weekend. It was great to get away into the sticks and see cool stuff like classic OZ pubs and hanging ou tin the wild watching all the crazy birds they have here - it is like a pet store outside - parrots, cockatils, etc.

Then yesterday I took a backpacker bus tour of the Great Ocean Road. Really beautiful vistas - Bells Beach, The Twelve Apostles, London Bridge. The tour was great and the weather couldn't have been better! I also met some other great travelers from Spain, Oz, and the UK. Oh ya - almost forgot - actualy got to see Kangaroos and Koalas in the bush (The Roos were on a golf course, but wild no less)!!! It only took me a month and a half to see 'em (guess I wasn't looking to hard).

Today, I hoped a Virgin Blue flight back to Sydney to hit some things I want to see (Blue Mountains, More Beach time, etc.) before moving on.....

Yep, you heard correct - I have decided to move on - Austrailia is realy nice, but I decided that I want to be in a culture that is more different than what we have back home and Austrailia is not it. So, with this in mind I looked at all my options and decided to spend a couple weeks back in the ol' USA for the holidays before jumpting to another continent. I will not be heading back home to Denver......I am going to go visit my family for the holidays and use my spare time to plan my next destination (with a small side trip to Chicago to see 2 Jeff Tweedy shows with Ronscavage, possibly Christian and Ben as well). The options right now are to head to Asia or South America, but for the time being I am leaning to SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, etc.).

Since my first day back will be Christmas Day (I am flying out Christmas Eve) - I would like to wish each and everyone of ya a great Holiday!

Take care and I will try to get in touch with all of ya back home when I am stateside for my short holiday stint.

Happy Holidays!

MB

Hey all,

Since my last post I have spent allmy time in Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia. Auckland was great - lots of stuff going on for the Americas Cup. The vilage that they have set up is realy nice and good place to hang out, eat, and drink.

Last Saturday flew into Melbourne and been hanging with a friend I met in Greece, Kristina. It has been great to get around town and see all the spots that the tourist don't normal have the transport to see. Weather has been a little cool but looks like it is getting warm for the weekend. Getting into the country for this weekend.

Hope you are all hanging in there and ready for the holidays! Take care and will update more soon.

MB

Yo,

Hanging tonight in the Bay of Islands in Northland, North Island, NZ. Last night had to get out of the country sceen and hit a night in Auckland. What a cool city - really beautiful. Gonna head back there tomorrow for my final 3 nights in New Zealand. Since my last update I have been through Taupo, Rotorua, and the Coromandle Pennisula. Some cool stuff - largest lake in NZ, a good amount of volcanic activity, and some nice beaches in that order. The Bay of Island is even nicer beaches than Coromandel, but it isn't flaming hot here so I am going to wait till I get back to Oz to hit the beaches all day. Well - looking forward to hiting the city and then off to Melbourne.

See ya,

MB

Update - Napier, North Island, New Zealand
Cities also covered - Marlborough Region, and Wellington

Happy T-day kids,

While scribing this update I am watching the Buffs online - CU 21 - NU 13!!!!

So, yesterday afternoon was my first day back as a solo traveler....not sure how good I am adapting - I rented a car for the rest of my trip so I can see as much as I want (wouldn't be possible on a bus and would have cost more). Enjoyed a nice drive to Napier from Wellington and then checked in to a single in a Backpacker establishment in Napier. Went out grabed dinner and read in my room for an hour or so and went to bed - not feeling so social yet.

Dru and I had misty weather the entire time in Wellington but made the most of it and went to the NZ Museum (Te Papa) and enjoyed the nice variety of restaurants in town. Before Wellington, we spent a night in the Marlborogh Region. Small little wine town that has a verry Grand Junction Palasade feel. All I need to do is to convince Carr and DaveMC to open the winery expansion over here and to let me manage. What do you say guys...

Hope you all have a great T-day and I will keep my fingers crossed for the buffs!

MB

Update - Nelson, South Island, New Zealand
Cities also covered - Te Aneu & Qweenstown

Hello Kids. Dru and I arived last night in Nelson after a day long drive up the West coast of the Soputh Island. The New Zealanders couldn't believe that I drove 10 hours in one day (to them that is at least a two day drive). But, we went the long way from Qweenstown to make sure that we experienced every inch of this beautiful place. The drives here are amazing - every 10 - 15 minutes it is like you are in a different place.

Nelson is a nice town of about 50k. Nice downtown area with cool architecture and wine growing nearby. Feels a little like Telluride a little - yep I think they have some hippies here. Probably spend our next few days in the sound (Marlbouro) before heading to the capital city, Wellington on the North Island.

Qweenstown was cool - like a mini Vail or Aspen sweezed into a 6 block downtown on a nice Mountain lake. Every kind of Adventure Sport imaginable here and good nightlife - not tons of that in these other small towns.

Before Qweenstown we spent two nights in Te Aneu. This is the jumping off town for Milford and Doubtful Sounds (not sounds actualy - they are huge Fiords). Dru and I went Kayaking on the fiords for about 4 hours - was a realy beautiful day and got to see some seals about 10 feet from our boat. Just watch out for the sand flys!!!!

New Zealand is so amazing - you need to see it. It is the most beautiful, cleanest, most non-comercial, and most varried geography I have ever seen in my life. Just blows away anything you have ever seen before. The water is so clean that you can see right through it and it even looks like it has a clear steel blue tint to it - like cold water should.

All - greetings from New Zealand! Sorry for not updating this lately, but I have been ocupied with Dru and Ian in town and Ineternet cafes with good connections have been few and far between. So, for an update here you go...

Spent my last night in Sydney at Manley Beach before hooking up with Ian and Dru. I realy liked manly compared to Bondi, just a little more mature sceen and a town that I could easily live in. Not as much Beach Scenery, but a nice place with all the ammenties.

On November 3rd, met Ian and Dru at the Airport Hilton. Was great to have friends from home back in the loop again. We jetted off down to "The Rocks" for lunch and headed over to Manly Beach for the afternoon before retiring early to catch our early flight.

We flew into Cairns, Qweensland on the 4th and spent the following 5-6 nights in Port Douglas. Port Douglas is north of Cairns and a major jumping off point to the Great Barrier Reef and Far North Qweensland's Daintree Tropical Forest. The town is small but has excellent restaurants and some good sporting activities. Winds were high so we were not able to go Deep Sea fishing as planed and our trip to the Reef was quite choppy. Even with the conditions the reef was quite a sight - Ian did his best Scuba Steve imitation and we bent the relaxed rules and regs and ended the day jumping off the charter boat for some extra thrills. One day we rented a Land Rover and took a ferry up to Cape Tribulation and checked out Mossman Gorge (about the only place you can swim that far North, because of the "Stingers"(Box Jelly Fish - you can die if they attack you). Also got to enjoy the Melbourne Cup, biggest horse race in Austrailia at a pub - everyone in town was partying it up.

On the 9th we flew into Brisbane and then drove up to the Sunshine Coast. Stayed at Noosa till the 13th. Once again, the only day the weather sucked was our day to go fishing so it didn't happen. Went out on a South African military boat and jumped the surf and crusied around Noosa Sound and Lake - Ian didn't barf. But we did get out a little more in Noosa and enjoyed the nightlife and reastaurants. Enjoyed one night to much and shaved my head - got sick of my long hair and figured that was one way to solve the problem.

Spent the 13th - 15th in Sydney and hitsome of the sights that I hadn't hit yet like, Chinatown, the Sydney Aquarium, and took a tour on the Bondi Explorer bus.

On Saturday the 16th - Ian took off for home and Dru and I flew to Christchurch, New Zealand! The entire time we were in Christchurch it was constant rain, which I hate, but I realy loved this place. I know it sounds wierd.......I typicaly do not like rainy places but Christchurch has some wierd kind of aura to it that is realy inviting, friendly, and cool. OK, I did have a couple drinks with a huge feast of lobster and steak, to celebrate my 32nd birthday, and that may have played into my impression of the town, but overall I am really impressed!

From Chrischurch Dru and I picked up our car, a Holden (Austrailian/Kiwi for GM), and headed into the mountains to Lake Ohau through the Canterburry provence. Some of the most amazing sights I have ever seen - this place is so beautiful. so diverse in geography, and so not developed it is amazing. And there are less that 4 million people that live here. Imagine a place bigger than the UK with 4 million people and more amazing climate - like the climates and geography of Switzerland, Colorado, California, Pacific North West, Ireland, and Scotland all on the Southern Island!

The second day at Lake Ohau Dru and I went to Mt. Cook National Park and did the Hooker Glacier hike. Was really amazing being that close to 3 huge Glaciers!

Today we went flying in a glider! I was in the air for about 25 minutes and flew the glider for a good 1/3 of the time. One of the most amazing things I have ever done!!! The outfit we went with is sponsered by Steve Fossett and we got to see his glider in storage - he is attempting to set the world distance and altitude records at this very same location!

And now we are in Dunedin, Otago. This is on the far SOuth East COast of the SOuthern Island of New Zealand. Hoping to see some Penguins and other stuff tomorrow on the Pennisula and then we will head over to the west to the Fiords.

Well have to run - sorry for beiung behind on email - will try to catch up when I get good connections. Hope you are all doing great!

Take care and GO CU - beat Nebraska!

MB

Greetings from hot and sunny Far North Queensland! I am currently in Port Douglas and having a nice and relaxing time in the heat. I think Ian and Dru are managing to get aclimated to my lifestyle and heat vs. the tech business and the cold in Colorado.

This is going to be a short post because of the painfuly slow upload download time required up here in this sleepy 2000 person town. So, I will get back top you all shortly once we hit Noosa and we can hopefuly find a faster internet connection.

Tomorrow we are scheduled for heading out to the Great Barrier Reef to do some snorkeling - should be fun. Hope you are all doing well - send ya an email soon!

Mike