San Juan Diquiyu, Oregon

San Juan Diquiyu is a small town in the sierra of Oaxaca bordering with Puebla, now San Juan Diquiyu Oregon is a town of immigrants living in Oregon where their main fiesta of honoring St. Juan Diquiyu is held every year just as in their old homeland. I was privileged enought to attend the ceremony which was majestic, folkloric and just a great time with my friends Eden and his fiance Maria. As explained to me by one of the elders in the village, in Oaxaca this party takes place for 3 days with continous live bands and people dancing and eating all the time.
Muchas gracias to Doña Sarita without whom this post and a great weekend would not have been possible....

1st course: Yiqui, Traditional corn soup made with goat fat and chile, partner dish of Goat meat Barbacoa which is cooked buried underground for a good 12 hours, this cuisine is Mixteca, meaning that it is at least around 1000 years old, now this one in particular was cooked right before I ate it...

Eden, local Mixteco boy, obviously very hungry before he finished his Yiqui, Sangre (goat blood with spices cooked in goat stomach) and a good plate of goat barbacoa, all with a big healthy dose of Tortillas and Salsa.

The long........ road back

My flight from Phnom Penh was cancelled then they told me that if I wanted to fly out the same day I would have to go through guess where... Bangkok! Anyway, after about 30 hours of travelling I was home in old Eugene OR... So the journey continues, this blog does not die here it shall follow me to ... Canada

Good by Southeast Asia, I know that I wil be back very soon...

Blue hour in Phnom Penh

In my last day in beautiful Cambodia after having to pass through the colon of Southeast Asian Poipet Cambodia and 50 km of a road paved with a mix of shit and mud I decided to stop being a cheap-ass and buy a memory card to film the streets where I walked in the capital that I love, sorry for the bad videotaping, the unsteady hand, the low res and the beads of sweat visible in my face throughout the whole thing...

Fear and Loathing in Pattaya

Between the European prices for fried rice (6-7 USD) the overpriced hotels, the amazing numbers of go-gobars and the psychological environment that makes it seem as if the city is one humongous Brothel complex, panic struck me: Where am I? What am I doing here? Its obvious my money won't last me half a day here where drunk tourists with cash falling out of their camo shorts pockets drive the prices waaay up. It seems like there is a drunk English dude ready to start a fight in every corner after his first lesson in Muay Thai, a tailor taking your measures as you walk by while asking you where you're from, and throngs and throngs of vulgar barladys' screaming, "PSST,hello, hello, I go with you" and giving you that look that drives so many single and divorced older men to Pattaya.

I have to say, it is so different here from what I've seen of this country and such a contrast with the north, that and the possibility of a media driven coup-d'etat happening in the next few days, I believe its time to say bye to beautiful Thailand... for now...

Did I mention the food sucks? The sauce only makes the roaches a little less crunchy.

Welcome to Chiangmaica!!

Jah Man! As I was wallowing in my sorrow, I met Chris: a Canadian gone crazy and Sophie and Caroline from France and Poland respectively. They introduced me to Chiangmaica, a lost island of bars in the heart of the old city playing exclusively reggae and Afrocuban music. I have to say, here I found my home among good music with a Thai accent that gives it much character, friendly people and the opportunity to take over the mike or the djembe drum whenever they play "Oye como va" or other familiar Latin songs...


Caroll Lynn, Sophie and a crazy riff going through Rodrigo before taking over the drum

Bob never died, he just moved to Thailand...

The drunk Thai version of this song is just that much better

Hot food tastes great

After 3 days of mostly eating Thai grapefruit due to a lack of funds and contemplating the idea of joining the monks at the nearby Wat due to poverty while I got a job, my very generous mother has agreed to lend me some dough making this blog (and living) possible for the remainder of the trip.

Now that its happening, I promise you my beautiful audience, I will not let you down...



You would have had to visit me here had my mom not lent me money. Not too shabby eh?

Stop reading this blog!

Because its not happening anymore (for a while). After a bad case of bronchitis and parasites requiring daily attention, medical treatment and medicine, my personal budget has dwindled to the limit. Internet in Thailand is cheap, but at this point, every Baht counts (all 23 of them) and doing the blog has become unaffordable. I will resume my mindless rants when the time is right. I shall see you all at the other end of the tunnel...