I feel I should expand on my previous statement about Angkor Wat appearing in Tomb Raider. I'm not going there because it's in Tomb Raider. I just mentioned it because it's the only place that I could mention of the top of my head that other people may have seen photos of the temples. The several people I know who've been there raved about them.

I'm listening to "From a Basement on the Hill" by Elliott Smith. Really a kick ass album.

I made an appointment with the travel clinic today. Looks like it won't be too expensive (maybe $150 all told?).

Also, I've been talking to some people about Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia. These are the temples that featured in Tomb Raider. I think I could take a 2 or 3 day excursion to Cambodia while I'm in Thailand.

TTFN, LF.

So, it's been a while since my last post, but I've been working like a Japanese mofo¹ on getting the site redesigned. The look is obviously different, but that's really secondary. It's now much easier to update content. I can add a new photo gallery by just uploading a bunch of photos and running through a wizard that creates the layout for me. It even creates thumbnails on the fly.

Nothing much is happening with my trip. I have to get to the travel medical clinic to find out what kinds of shots I need. I have a bit of a weird problem. Before I went to Patagonia, my dad gave me one of Havrix and Twinrix. Havrix is for hep A, Twinrix is for hep A and B. I don't remember which one he gave me, and I don't think he does either, and since he just wrote me a prescription there's no documentation anywhere... I'm sure we'll figure it out.

I need to start listing what I'm going to bring, and figure out exactly how big a pack I'll need. I'm going to need a day pack when I'm in Nepal, because we'll have porters (aka sherpas) to carry our stuff, but I'll want a day pack. The question is, do I want a very small day pack that I can roll up and put in my big pack? Or do I want a proper, more comfortable day pack that will be too bulky to go in the big pack. The other issue is, if I put the small pack in the big one, I then have to put all the stuff in the small one in the big one too. But I don't know if I want to carry two packs all the time. Maybe I'm over thinking this.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new site, and I'll try to post more often from now on. Oh, if you're interested, you can subscribe to the blog by clicking 'Subscribe' over in the right hand menu.

¹The term 'like a Japanese mofo' came about due to a miscommunication between my brother and I. He said 'busier than a Japanese beaver', but I think my brain expected him to say something like 'busier than a mofo' and I ended up hearing 'busier than a Japanese mofo'. I really like it.

Two more things:

1. I've been looking for a pack for the trip. After carrying a big pack on my back country skiing trip over Christmas, I think I really want to minimize how much I carry, and the easiest way to do that is to limit the size of my pack. I've been looking at the Arc'teryx Bora 65 at MEC. I fit the standard size, so that's 66L. That's still pretty big, but not too big. I have to start working out exactly what I'll be brining, and then I'll settle on a pack.
2. I'm going to redesign the site. I'll be developing my own blogging utilities (I'm using blogger right now) and streamline the photo galleries, and allow myself to add galleries while I'm on the road, so I should be able to add pictures while I'm on my trip. You can track the development here: dev.varsitydodgeball.com.
3. This is one more thing.

Two things:

1. Some pics are up from my recent trip to Alberta. Check them out here.
2. My travel agent tried to screw me. Before Christmas I paid for my flights in full. I got an email over the holiday saying that in order to stop in New Zealand I'd have to pay an additional $285. I got on the phone with them this morning and they tried to tell me I'd have to pay this additional fee if I wanted to stop in Auckland, or I could forego it and just have a layover in Auckland, but not a stop. My original itinerary, without a stop in New Zealand was about $600 cheaper than with NZ, so I said I'd like to go back to that one, rather than spend another $285. They told me that wasn't an option, so I really started getting angry on the phone, saying how they offered my an itinerary at a price, and I accepted, and they can't jack up the price after the fact. Anyway, long story short, I don't have to pay any extra. They made a mistake, but they are going to eat the cost. I feel pretty good about that. I really stood up for myself and didn't get screwed.
   
3. Oh, one more thing. Listen to 'Young Pilgrims' by The Shins. Good song.