Some streets were lit and decorated to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on Aug 12th.
Khaosan Rd in Bangkok - a bustling backpackers area with food stalls, bars, clubs, hotels, shops... everything. I think i walked it at least 15 times.
My favorite food stall. A plate of padthai and fried springroll for under a dollar!
My 180 baht (6 dollar) room. 4 walls, a bed, a ceiling fan, and a window that opens out to Khaosan Rd. Music stops at 4am, hehe.
our Chiang Mai trekking group
trekking in Chiang Mai
it was raining, so we made some hats!
hiking to our huts where we will be sleeping
the view from our huts
our huts!
me and our beds
elephant ride (mixed feeling about riding an elephant..)
Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep - a Temple at the top of a mountain
We're so high up, here is a Thai Airways airplane right after taking off from the airport
MBK - one of 4 malls in central Bangkok. Excellent for $4 movie tickets, shopping, and eating
My hostel in Bangkok - awesome place. Much better than my 6 dollar hotel room.
Now I'm in Myanmar. This is the view from the balcony of the house I was staying at.
A 1949 VW. Still running!
The Green Room: Our little prototyping workshop where I spend 8 hrs of my day developing the deep lift water pump for IDE
This is what happens in a country where there is no legitimate banking system and where the largest bill is 1000 kyat = 0.80 usd. This is 20k. Imagine buying a car in cash!
I found Fry's Electronics while shopping for a TV. It's about the size of my freshman year dorm room.
Filling up gas before our field trip to Kungyangon, a township 4 hrs southwest of Yangon that was hit hard by Nargis.
Fertilizer that is being delivered to farmers to help them recover from Nargis.
Creative transportation!
Power tillers that IDE is lending to farmers to help them till their land since all their farm animals are dead.
Hoping on a boat to visit one of the villages.
People trying to catch fish!
Rice paddies!
My bed for the night.
We are donating drilling and donating a tube well to a village so I can see how they drill a tube well. I'm helping drill an 80ft deep 2in diameter tube well.
Some core samples at different depths.
Cute burmese kids - they have thanaka, ground tree bark, on their cheeks for sun screen (and makeup).
The team I am working with on the deep lift pump. Tea break!
Unicef backpacks!
Visiting some of the farms in Kungyangon.
On our way back to Yangon.
Hanging out at the bridge as the sun sets (unfortunately, it's too cloudy for any good sunset pictures).
More chilling on the bridge.
View from the bridge
More views from the bridge.
Walking across the bridge
Waiting for the sunset
David Klaus (Stanford MS '07) is working with IDE full time and Lele, the Taylors' Assistant.
The “Taylor Hotel” - one of the most relaxing places ever. In Yangon, Myanmar, I stayed with the directors of IDE, the NGO I'm doing engineering work with.
Two IDE Engineers (Thadoe and KoZaw) and I go to a Burmese Boxing Match. 11 Fights! (No, Thadoe's son doesn't watch the fight with us).
Inside the boxing arena
In Shen Zhen at the 5 Star Marco Polo Hotel for my week long interview with Zaotech - a step up from my 6 dollar room in Bangkok. I did get the job and I'll be moving to Shen Zhen on Jan 1, 2009. Come visit!
Window of the World - an amusement park in Shen Zhen with scale models of different monuments around the world. It was awesome!
Sydney Opera House
Looks familiar! St. Mark's Square - but much smaller. I can't sit on these steps.
Versailles Gardens.
St. Peter's Square (this one looks pretty real)
Shwedagon Pagoda, in Yangon. This time, I got taller!
Coloseum and Arc d Triomphe
Eiffel Tower and Arc d Triomphe
Sapa in Northwestern Vietnam.
Lots of terraced hillsides for rice paddies.
Terraced hillsides - looks like someone is building a hotel here.
One of the ethnic minority groups - Hmong and ther dog!
Walking around Sapa still.
West Lake in Hanoi
Motorcycles everywhere!
A sea of tourboats at Halong Bay
More than 4000 limestone islands!
Some floating houses and a school (the blue one)
caves at Halong Bay
Sunset at Halong Bay
The cabins that we slept in on the boat in the middle of Halong Bay
Time to go for a swim!
Kayaking in Halong Bay
In Ninh Binh a little south of Hanoi. More limestone “islands.”
Motorcyle tours! Here are two German buddies i travelled with.
Boat ride in Tam Coc
view from the pagoda
stairs for climbing to the top of the pagoda
my dad joins me for a week in vietnam and a week in cambodia. halong bay is a must see, so here's my second trip.
The 14-hr train ride south to Hue
One of the many tombs we saw in Hue
Walking around Hoi Anh - a glimpse of hold Vietnam.
Hanging out at China Beach in Danang
On our way to Saigon
The meticulous electrical systems of Saigon.
Reunification Palace - the end of the Vietnam War took place here when a NVA tank crashed through the gates on April 30, 1975
A cathedral in the middle of Vietnam
After a view hours on the bus, we're in Phnomh Penh. Here's the Royal Palace.
Efficient public transportation.
Tuol Sleng - a prison where Pol Pot tortured victims when the Khmer Rouge were in power.
Gas station!
At Angkor Wat
Ta Prom with lots of overgrown trees (Tomb Raider was filmed here!)
The Bayon with many many faces
A mock traditional Cambodian wedding (with volunteers from the crowd).
The groom is a volunteer in this mock Cambodian wedding.
A cultural show demonstrating Chinese culture? Where in China?
The bus from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Bangkok, Thailand. Bad roads and crappy bus in Cambodia. When we got to the border, we got on an A/C bus and had nicely paved roads all the way to Bangkok
Back to Myanmar, since I didn't have to start work until January. Just grabbing lunch with some of my favorite people.
Shwedagon, an important Buddhist Pagoda.
Bali - the Taylors' very spoiled and very cute golden retriever.
Krista Donaldson and Bryan Cooperider (both ex Stanford PRL Shop TAs) come to Yangon for 2 weeks to help with fixture making for water pumps at the IDE workshop.
Trying on the Thanaka - don't i look hot?
Our favorite Burmese lunch place. Awesome food and really amazing sweet tea.
On the flight back to San Francisco
