Vehere - Around the World in 25 or so years

The World Geography Quiz

2007-12-27T13:23:00.000-06:00

Since we don't have enough maps in the United States and there are a lot of geography limited people in the United States, I've added a geography quiz at the bottom of the page. Give it a try and see how you do.

It gives you a score based on how close you click to the location and how quickly you do so.

I had a Final Score of 534,233; Level 12, and a Traveler IQ of 129. Can you beat it???

Amsterdam - Early Evening

2007-09-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

These are a few random shots of the area around my hotel when I was in Amsterdam. I really need to get back here again. I think a trip to Europe with my wife would be pretty fun and would get here to see some of the world.

This was the hotel I stayed at. The Swissotel was fantastic accomodation. Large bed, a tub you could swim in, a decent restaurant and close to the central train station.

I'll have to see what photos I have left from any trips. This was everything from Amsterdam. I guess I can get a few photos from my trip to Koh Chang in Thailand from February. I'll have to see how to load them with the new photo editor on Google.

Cubs are making their run for the playoffs. Hopefully, my next post, they'll have won the division.

A museum, a brewery, little cars, and the Amstel River

2007-07-13T07:30:00.000-05:00

This is the Riks Museum. I didn't have the time to go through and see the collections here and since the next day I would be in Paris, I decided to take a pass since I didn't want to get museumed out.

This is the Heineken Brewery. I personally don't like the taste of Heineken, I think it tastes awful and skunky because of the deterioration of the beer due to light coming in through the green glass of the bottles. I also found that with the brewery close by that the local supply would not have that skunky taste.

Wrong. Still skunky.

I stuck with Carlsberg (a Danish import also in green glass, but not skunky) in the bars and taverns of Amsterdam.

I just loved taking photos of these little cars. If you were to get into an accident, a serious accident, they could pull your remains out with a shop vac or just use the car as a coffin. Pretty convienent.

These remaining photos are of the Amstel river. Yes the same name as that other miserable beer that comes from Heineken.

I've been extremely delinquent in putting up photos and posting anything. Let's just say that the past couple of months have been extremely hectic for me. I suspect that I'll have a little more time to post and get a few more of my travel photos and observations up by the end of July. Till then...

Amsterdam - More canals and the Anne Frank house

2007-03-29T16:30:00.000-05:00

Been very busy working on getting a visa for my wife to come to the states. Between that and work, I haven't been terrible motivated to post here. I've got a few photos from Koh Chang in Thaialnd which I'll post eventually, but in the meantime, a few more photos from Amsterdam still.

The line of people here are waiting to get into the Anne Frank house.

Amsterdam - A few Canals and other significant buildings

2007-01-31T07:30:00.000-06:00

I leave for Thailand in a week. Stressed at work and it will continue into the next weeks. Here's a few more photos from Amsterdam...

This was a restaurant that had some pretty good food and real good Blegian Trappist Ales. I really liked the chandelier that had candles lit instead of actual lights. I never got a decent photo unfortunately, way way too blurry.

Below is the central train station in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam - The Dam

2007-01-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

Here are a few photos from Amsterdam that I took back in 2002 in the fall. This was my first multi country trip and I stopped here for a couple days and then went off to Paris by train. In the background is the central train station.

Soccer celebration in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam of course it's outside of my hotel room

2007-01-11T07:43:00.000-06:00

One of the last two video clips that I have uploaded. I just remembered that I do have a couple that I took when I was in Mae Sot back in April, so I'll upload those also and eventually post them.

This and the other clip that I need to put up were also taken in December of 2005. I was sitting in a Bia Hoi, a bar that serves cheap beer on ice and food. I was sitting relaxing and watching the crowds of people gathered around single televisions watching the Vietnamese national soccer team compete against Malaysia. Vietnam won the match and this is the beginning of the celebration.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam Traffic

2007-01-05T07:14:00.000-06:00

Traffic in HCMC on my trip last December.

Temple Ruins - Siem Reap, Cambodia

2007-01-03T07:34:00.000-06:00

This is video of one of the temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I really need to get back here and take more video. I guess next time I'll have more memory to take video.

Happy New Year?

2006-12-31T08:59:00.000-06:00

In Bangkok there has been a grenade attack in the capital just as New Years parties were getting ready to start. Two people have been killed at this time and dozens injured according to this CNN article.

It can be a dangerous world out there. At this time no one has claimed responsibility for these cowardly acts, but speculation is that it is realted to the ongoing separatist insurgency in the South of Thailand.

Anyway, here's to a safe and happy New Years and a prosperous 2007 for you all.

Big Buddha at Wat Phra Yai - Koh Samui, Thailand

2006-12-28T07:30:00.000-06:00

Video of the Big Buddha at Wat Phra Yai on the island of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand.

Sitting on the beach - Pattaya, Thailand

2006-12-22T07:13:00.000-06:00

This is one of the beach areas in Pattaya. We got a hotel room pretty close by and walked over to find a good spot to sit and relax. I went with my girlfriend, her mother, one of my girlfriend's friends and her boyfriend. We left late morning and got to the beach by about 1:30PM.

Here you don't really see it, but when we got to the beach the entire area was covered with umbrellas to the point where the sun wasn't getting down to the sand.

Here's a perfect example of what I was talking about. Umbrella on top of umbrella. Now the reasoning that there is this heavy a concentration is that culturally, Thais don't want to get suntanned. My girlfriend wanted nothing to do with sitting out in the sun. I'm not a big sunbather either, but if I was going to go to the beach, I was going to sit in the sun. My chair was on the end in the sun and everyone else was in the shade (and thought I was crazy for doing so).

You can buy food from the various vendors and here is a table of grilled squid, crab, and green lipped mussels. I loved the mussels and the squid, but didn't really want the crab. It's too much work for too little payoff. We had to go get the beer (the bottle of Leo that you see in the photo), but you could buy ice there. For the entire day the cost was about $20, which I think is a pretty decent deal.

Here's the sun just getting ready to go down. Sunset is fairly early here around 6:00PM, but I just love getting photos of the sun setting behind the waves. The last time I had the opportunity to catch a sunset in Thailand, I was going to take a boat trip to the setting side of Koh Samui. Unfortunately, that trip was cancelled because a weakening typhoon was passing by.

Pattaya is a true beach resort with a lot of hotels and high end hotels going up. Because it is only 1 1/2 hours away from Bangkok is is a very popular destination with foreign tourists and Thais alike.

The sun is just about out of sight.

And it's gone until tomorrow...

These are all of the photos from my recent trip. It was a good, but busy time and I have a few ok photos and even better memories. I'm going to head back in 43 days to see my girlfriend for her birthday and for our wedding in Mae Sot a few days afterward.

I'm really excited for this trip and a bit nervous as I mentioned to her the other day. I'm very familiar with weddings in the West, not so much in Thailand and don't want to make any cultural gaffes. I'm sure all will go well when it is all over. After our wedding, we'll be going to the Adaman Sea (Indian Ocean) side of Thailand to Phuket.

I'll be putting up a couple videos as time permits in the next couple days. In the meantime, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Pattaya, Thailand

2006-12-20T13:40:00.000-06:00

I always forget that my camera can take short video clips, so the video isn't the best quality if I actually had a video camera, but its the beach. Nothing terribly exciting, but I'll have a few photos by Friday from later in that day at the beach and the sunset.

An Evening Walk in Mae Sot, Thailand

2006-12-18T18:37:00.000-06:00

The nice thing about Northern Thailand in the cool season is that the temperatures do get cooler in the evenings and are warm during the day. I had a different opinion of Mae Sot in April when I first came to meet my girlfriend's parents. In the evenings, we would take a walk around the village and talk. Didn't typically matter which direction we went in, but this evening we walked out toward one of the main roads because I saw a photo that I needed to get as the sun was going down.

It's much greener than in April because the rainy season has only ended about 5-6 weeks ago and this is just the start of the dry season. In Bangkok, we did see rain, but the showers both times only lasted about 20 to 30 minutes each time. I know that this area does get a lot of rainfall during the rainy season from May to October.

This is a cleared ricefield. One thing that I try to impress my girlfriend with is my rudimentary Thai language skills. The name for a ricefield in Thai is 'naa', so as we were walking by I ask her in Thai "this is a rice field, right?" and received a suprised "yes" in Thai from her. I really need to start studying Thai a lot more in my spare time.

This is a front wheeled drive cart that is used by people in the area. There are several around and I always kid that I'm going to buy one and use it when I'm in Mae Sot. I rode in the back of one of these this evening and then got another photo of this one.

Another rice field. This one was being flooded.

A papaya tree.

This was the photo that I wanted.

and this one also. I really liked the sky that was offset by the sun going down and how green everything was at this time of the year.

This photo was taken from the other side of the road. The sun has slipped behind the mountains and its going to get dark now pretty fast. I'm also about to become a meal for the local mosquitos for the first time in three days in Mae Sot.

Some cattle at a farm on our way back. I've also joked about becoming a farmer when we finally decide to move back to Thailand. I already know, I don't think I'd be a very good one.

This is the shop at the front the home of my girlfriend's parents.

in the metal container is the broth for noodle soup. It's one of my favorites and my girlfriend makes some of the best. The broth is combined with vegtables, rice noodles, and pieces of pork. Its garnished with crushed peanuts and cilantro also. I think I might know what I'm having for lunch today.

Some of the goods that are offered for sale.

These little red peppers are some of the hottest you will ever try. I love them, but sometimes eating them really sets my mouth on fire. I guess I don't learn so easily.

So on tap next will be photos from my trip to Pattaya, Thailand. It's the closest beach to Bangkok at a 1 1/2 hour drive away and we went here for a day prior to going to Mae Sot. I think I'll post the video first and then the photos a day later.

Mywaddi, Myanmar - Part 2

2006-12-17T13:29:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delays. I got back two weeks ago and my first week back, no jetlag. I was also running around the entire time and just couldn't afford to sleep. This past week, not the case. I love being tired at 4:00 PM and struggling to keep my eyes open on the train home. In Chicago, the consistent thing about the trains is their inconsistencey. I live 5 miles away from work and some days it takes an hour to get home; other days, much less time.

Today, I had nothing to do and with my football team being a pathetic mess (4-9 record with three to play), I decided to upload everything I could (and as it figures, they won today). I now have photos and a couple videos that I posted to You Tube and then copied into postings. I should finally be a little ahead of the game and only have to write which will be a nice change of pace. It's really the loading of the photos that I can't stand because the amount of time involved. Anyway, back to Mywaddi, Myanmar...

This is one of the market areas in Mywaddi. I guess there was another market area to shop, but the day we were here, it was either closed or not open to tourists (never really received an answer on this either way). Nothing terribly exciting to see here, but I took a photo of these bikes because they were chainless. They had a drive shaft connected from the pedals to the back wheel. The vendor said they were from Japan and they were around $200. I didn't really consider buying one and actually couldn't due to lack of funds.

This is where we parked and went into the market. The market wasn't that large and after a quick walk around, we were off to the second of the four temples we were to visit.

Here's the view from the second temple and the Myanmar countryside in the background.

Here's the Buddha image from the second Wat. Do you see the purple disc behind the Buddha's head? Well, this was pulsing lights in a circle. Craziest thing I've ever seen. I guess not that crazy. I didn't get a photo of this, but behind this was one of the Wat's monks sitting watching television and had a better stereo system and television than I can afford right now. Just crazy.

There were also other items and if I recall correctly even a motorcycle inside at this Wat. I forgot to ask my girlfriend about this, but if I get back here to Mywadi, I'll be coming back here to get a photo.

More of the Myanmar countryside. My interest is really peaked to explore this area further in future years.

What's that you say? Is that a giant crocodile? Well of course it is. Now we weren't allowed to go into this temple, but I certainly wasn't going to leave without getting a photo of this. This kind of reminds my of vacations when I was a kid and going to Northern Wisconsin. I don't know if I saw it on vacation, or I saw the photos of it, but I do recall a giant Muskellunge statue being in the Northern part of the state of my birth (also a giant bass which I think was what I actually saw).

I'm sure some of you are asking what exactly is a giant Muskellunge? Click on the word and you'll find out. It's an elusive sport fish in the upper Midwest of the United States and it averages about 3 feet long. They feed on other fish, frogs, mice, ducks, babies (oh wait, probably not babies, but you wouldn't want to find out.)

So that's Mywaddi, Myanmar. Wait. You say I was supposed to have photos of four temples? Yeah, I noticed that too when we were heading back across the border into Thailand. Only went to three and the market. It really didn't bother me too much. The afternoon temperatures were in the 90's and the sun was pretty strong, so after a couple hours of walking around and taking photos, I was a bit tired and ready to get something to eat.

My girlfriend, her mother, brother, and another relative and I all headed to a restaurant for a late lunch and a cool drink. Sometimes, you have to prioritize to keep everyone happy and I had no issues with cutting the siteseeing short. Plus, I now have a built in excuse to go back and see the fourth mysterious temple in Myanmar.

Coming up next, I've got a few photos from the other side of the Moei river back in Mae Sot followed by a trip to Pattaya, the closest beach from Bangkok.

Mywaddi, Myanmar - Part 1

2006-12-05T23:46:00.000-06:00

Description of the photos and my observations to follow. Its late and I need to get some rest.

Update:

Ok, here is the first view of going into Mywaddi, Myanmar on the Friendship Bridge from Mae Sot, Thailand. I was happily trying to snap photos across the bridge when I was told that it was a big no, no until I went into Myanmar. This is just before you get to the Tak immigration booth. You go to the Thai immigration point and are stamped out of the country and then you walk about 50 yards to the Myanmar immigration booth. They fill out some paperwork, take your photo on the computer, take 500 baht (about $13 now thanks to the even weaker dollar), and you are free to enter Myanmar.

Now one other hitch, Myanmar holds onto your passport. Entering into Mywaddi, you're not allowed to stay overnight. You are only allowed to enter through this immigration point for a day trip and further travel is strictly prohibited. You are also not allowed to drive into Myanmar as we had to rent a van and a driver for the trip.

It was pretty hassle free as the driver knew where to go and was very familiar with the immigration procedures.I'd definitely like to travel a little more in Myanmar, but you have to travel in by air to Yangoon and I think that your travel is still further limited as to where you can go.

The photo below is the friendship bridge crossing the Moei river into Myanmar from Mae Sot.

This is the first temple we visited. The stark difference I thought after visiting several Thai and Cambodian temples was that the Buddha image was not in all gold. A very different image but beautiful.

There are parts of the temple that were unmistakably Burmese and others that were unmistakable Thai. Some of the Chedis here in the foreground were actaully constructed by the Thais.

This photo below shows one of the locals. You'll have to open the picture up to see it (the photo posting software unfortunately darkens the photos you post), but the boy in the foreground has a yellowish powder on his face which is used as sunblock.

This was another Buddha style that I have never seen before. The image is in a typical pose, but the style was something that I have never seen before. It was pretty impressive though.

I'll have more of two other temples that we went to and a few images of Mywaddi in one of the local markets. The one difference that you could see between Mae Sot and Mywaddi was that Mywaddi was drastically poor. The surrounding roads in Thailand are all paved and aside from one of the main roads into Mywaddi, the remaining were dirt tracks. I can only imagine how tough it would be to get around in the rainy season. It was a real eye opener. About the same eye opening experience that happened when I traveled to Cambodia. You have different countries in the same area, but you could tell which was the more prosperous within just scant miles into the country.

I did notice a heavy investment though in Mywaddi by the Chinese as I noticed several Chinese owned banks and hotels. Makes you think a bit on how effective U.S. economic sanctions are against the military junta in charge when the Chinese are so willing to invest. Just some food for thought.

One thing that really peaked my interest was the scenic beauty which you'll see in the next set of photos that I'll post somethime in the next day or two. This is what makes me want to travel further into Myanmar and further into the area. Its a shame that further travel is prevented because Myanmar looks like it could be a realy beautiful country to explore. Hopefully this changes in the future.

Thailand Again...

2006-11-30T01:49:00.000-06:00

Ok, I've only got three days left on this trip and this is the 1st time I've been able to get to a computer. I have been super busy getting papaerwork together with an immigration attorney for my girlfriend to come to the U.S. and going to see hewr family.

Its been pretty nuts so far, but I'll be able to update with photos once I get back home.

Just a couple updates on what I've been up to...

Monday 11/19 - went to get my girlfriend her passport. Three day wait before she can pick it up. Made the DMV in IL look real bad.

Tuesday 11/20 - saw Casino Royale. Awesome movie. I love the darker James Bond. Also went to have Thai bbq. There were some animal parts that I just couldn't bring myself to eat, no matter how burnt they were.

Wed 11/21 - Went to pick up the passport. Driver took the wrong turn and we took an extra 20 minutes. Did I mention that Bangkok traffic sucks? Real bad. Also went to see the attorney and presented all of our collective information. Have to go back to sign the application and bring several passport sized photos.

Thursday 11/22 - Got the necessary photos. You wouldn't believe the list of things that the photos needed to have including the background color. Welcome to dealing with the US government. Signed the papers for the application and we're on our way to the beginning of a six month process.

Friday 11/23 - Did nothing. I've been battling some type of allergy and the medication is not working.

Saturday 11/24 - Went to Pattaya to see the beach. Its the closest beach to Bangkok at 1.5 hours. The place is still seedy but the sunset was nice. One of my bank cards hasn't functioned on this day. I know exactly what is going on. Fraud division thinks someone has my card even though I've called and told them I was going to be out of the country and was going to have a couple large purchases (attorney fees).

Sunday 11/25 - Back to BKK. Found out the cause of my allergy. My girlfriend's Johnson & Johnson baby lotion. She started putting it on and I sneezed like crazy. Haven't taken the allergy pills since. Tonight we are heading on an overnight bus to Mae Sot.

Monday 11/26 - In Mae Sot at about 5:30 AM. Got to my girlfriends house and realized that my money has fallen out of my pocket (aboout $100) I go back and it is amizingly in between the seat and the wall. I give the bus driver 100 baht (about $2.50) to thank him. In the afternoon we went across the Mae Nam Moei to Mywaddi, Myanmar. We went to a few of the temples there and they were very scenic, but the city is very, very poor.

Tuesday 11/27 - Went to the bank and helped out at the family shop. Didn't really do too much today.

Wednesday 11/28 - Sat around all day. The weather in the North is quite cool at night (I've had two blankets on when I sleep) and it gets fairly warm in the day. We took the late night bus back to Bangkok. I also had my first snake encounter at my girlfriend's parents home. The snake approached and went one way as I went the other. About 10 minutes later, I hear something in the home and its the same damn snake. I yell to my girlfirend that there's a snake in Thai, but I'm saying the word for rat instead of snake. Its a tough word for Westerners to say and finally she comes out of her room as I point to it. I have no idea what kind, and wasn't about to ask. I stayed out of its way and it slithered out the opposite door and her mother chased it away with a pole. I hate snakes.

Thursday 11/29 -Arrived in Bangkok at about 4:30 AM and went to bed. Today we're at the mall and are going to see a movie after eating a ton of Japanese food.

Back Sunday and will update as time allows.

And you thought I only went to Southeast Asia

2006-10-18T19:29:00.000-05:00

Alright. It has been way too long for me between updates and I decided to put up photos from one of my favorit cities in the world - Paris, France.

I absolutely love Paris (the city, not the tramped up hotel heiress). I was last there in November of 2002, so almost four years ago. Four years ago, I guess I could speak some passable French. Now, my Thai is a lot better. This was part of my see multiple cities in Europe trip in 2002. I went to Amsterdam for about three days and the remainder of the week in Paris. Due to only having four days to explore, I went the traditional tourist route and saw the usual sites as you'll see below.

Because I went in November, a lot of these shots are taken under grey skies. I actually liked the atmosphere as it was a litte chilly in the air and there was a distinct lack of American tourists which I always like in my travels. I enjoy challenging myself in whichever culture I immerse myself. I've heard dozens upon dozens of times that the French are rude, etc... I call bullshit. Granted my exchanges with most of the Parisians was fairly limited, I found them to be warm and friendly. Especially when you made the effort to observe French culture and made an effort with the language which I feel is key.

Now, since 2002, there have been world events that have changed French opinion of America, but I highly doubt that applies to American tourists out to enjoy such a rich and colorful city and culture.

I took these photos with my old 3.2 megapixel camera which worked pretty well, but I wish I had my current camera and was able to capture more of everyday life in Paris.

This is St. Augustine in the eigth arrondisment of Paris. The city proper is divided into areas called arrondisements. I foget the total number, but the 8th had such stores as Hermes and Roderer just down the street from my hotel. The building with the red awning on the right had a phenomenal bistro that served a pretty good selection of beers. I went here my first night and never got back in there. Pitty I never got back in there.

This is the view from my hotel window on Boulevard Malsherbes. End of the day with Tour d' Eiffel in the background. I wish I had a good photo from here in the evening. There's a spotlight of some sorts that rotates around the top so when watching the tower, you see a beam of light shooting off of it.

This is the base of some building. The name of it escapes me at this time.

Same with this one. Here's where I really wish I had a camera with more resolution. The Eiffel Tower lit up would have really popped against the darkening sky. Seeing it live however was pretty cool. I've seen and I'm sure you have also seen hundreds upon hundreds of images of the Eiffel Tower, but actually seeing it live you'd probably have the same thought that I did.

"I'm actually standing in front of the Eiffel Tower."

I didn't go to the top of the tower as I'm just not too keen on heights and in the evening that I was there (I got to Paris in the afternoon and with three actual days for the sites I didn't want to go up).

Arc de Triumph. Once of the premier tourist sites in my opinion to see in Paris. To get to the Arc, you have to go down a set of stairs and through a tunnel the runs under the roadway. The Arc is in the center of a traffic circle and from my best recollection, there wasn't a street crossing.

The evening that I was here there was a ceremony taking place and I thought that it could have been Armistice Day, which commemorates the end of World War I, but this was well past the 11th of November. As I walked toward where the ceremony was, I along with others were shuffled inside the Arc and paid a fee inside. I then proceeded up a spiral staircase that led to the top of the monument.

I said earlier that I'm not good with heights. Guess what? Still wasn't and the feeling of vertigo was a lot worse going down the stairs.

This is the view from the top of the Arc de Triumph. You can see a bit of the traffic circle on the foreground.

Notre Dame cathedral taken from a bridge over the river Seine. I guess the cathedral was pretty dramatic. I just wanted to see it and didn't explore it too much. I did however do a lot of walking in Paris. The subway system is second to none in my opinion and if gets you usually within a block or two 0f where you're trying to get, but with the multiple train lines, you will do a bit of walking uinderground as you make your connections.

I didn't really see any of the interior of the cathedral as I figured I'd have already been back to Paris, but I have promised myself that I would get back as soon as I can. Possibly in 2008.

Finally one of the many fountains in Paris. As you can see, not any water flowing. It's November and getting cooler. Yet another reason for me to get back to Paris. Soon.

I'll try and get a new post up a little more often. I have a few photos from the Louvere, Amsterdam, and Barcelona and I'm leaving for Thailand in about 30 days and plan to head into Myanmar for a day trip while I'm there and possibly Phuket to get back to the beach. I only have 14 days this time around, so I have to maximize my time. I'm already getting a headache thinking about it.

Stupid, just stupid

2006-09-29T11:25:00.000-05:00

If you've seen the Daily Show video below, I believe that a lot of fear mongering related to travel happens. This CNN article is just another case of rampant stupidity gone wrong. I don't begrudge the TSA for having the job it has to do; however, your job is to make sure that the people getting onto airplanes are not threats to fly. I'm also not going to get outraged over some idiot that thinks that 1st ammendment rights only apply in certain areas, but WTF? I grew up in Wisconsin and was schooled there, but this is quite an embarrassment for the educational system.

A couple years ago, I was flying to see my parents over the holidays and was waiting in line for an early morning flight domestically. I was told after a short wait that I was on the 'no fly list'. About a week before that I was in Southeast Asia for a three wek vacation. I stated this fact to the person at the airline counter, but was just mildly amused at how truly laughable airport security can be. After a quick phone call to who knows where, I was given my boarding pass and allowed on my way.

On a Thailand related note, Suvarnabhumi (��ó��, pronounced "soo-wanna-poom") airport began fulltime operations yesterday (September 27th) replacing Don Muang airport which had been in operation for 92 years. I'll be arriving there on November 19th and I'm a little excited to see it. The airport is about 19 miles east of Bangkok and still is waiting to have the skytrain linked to it (best reports are that this is still 2 years away), but Bangkok has needed this airport for quite some time and being the hub for Southeast Asia travelers a new modern airport will only help travelers to the area.

Coup in Thailand

2006-09-19T12:28:00.000-05:00

This evening in Thailand there has been an attempted coup by the army. Details are sketchy at this time as Thai television stations are not broadcasting live news or programming and live news is speculative at best.

BBC News' story on the events.

As some of you may or may not know, my fiance is Thai and lives in Bangkok. She's safe and at home, but as she said this is not good for Thailand.

I had been reading about coup rumors for the past couple days and with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra out of the country the rumors had intensified. There currently in Bangkok is a state of emergency declared (by the Prime Minister) and businesses have been closed.

At this point its wait and see. I'm off to check the Thai ex-pat boards for any news. I'll update if I find anything pertinent.

Update:

On one of the expat boards one of the posters said that on local television, an announcement was made that

"that the army and the police have taken control of things in view of all the uncertainty and arguments going on in the country with the temporary government in place. They will not form a government and they will look after things until the election. (Scheduled for October 15th)and have requested peacefulness and co operation from the population." - from a Thai-visa poster

Update 2:

This Yahoo news story has the most up to date information so far on the coup.

Update 3:

This site has updated information from the start of events today.

High Praise - United Airlines

2006-09-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

A rare case of me giving praise to of all industries in the world, the airline industry. I'd like to praise Chicago's hometown airline, United for once again a pleasant customer service experience.

I've flown several airlines over the time I've been traveling. United, American, Continental, Northwest, Midwest Express, America West, Spirit, Southwest, and Delta domestically in the U.S.; United, Iberia and Aer Lingus to Europe; and United, Bangkok Airlines, Thai Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines in Southeast Asia.

It's really easy to say which airlines I liked the best and which ones will never see another dollar of my money. Domestically, I'd choose either United or American and would probably give a nod to Northwest in an absolute pinch, but the rest not a chance. To Europe, I definitely preferred United or Aer Lingus. I actually had a flight attendant wake me out of a dead sleep on an Iberia flight to ask if I wanted to eat.

In Southeast Asia, I really enjoyed flying Bangkok Air and Vietnam Airlines. Bangkok Air is a boutique airline that services a huge number of cities in Thailand, China, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. The majority of the cities served are in Thailand and China, but the planes are on time and the service was stellar. I've only flown them twice, to Siem Reap, Cambodia and from Koh Samui to Bangkok, but I would highly recommend them.

Back to my customer service experience with United Airlines. When I'm about two to three months out from my estimated departure date, I usually start checking airfares. I go direct to the airlines and look at cheap fare consolidators to try and find a deal. I had a couple real compelling deals from a few Asia based air carriers and still decided on United. I decided to go with a known commodity where I've had very few issues. The only issue is people putting their seatback into my lap.

Well, in searching diligently, I noticed a United fare from the consolidators cheaper than the web fare. I decided to give a call to see if I could talk them into giving me the lower fare. I really didn't even get to that as the rep had the lower fare already and explained that sometimes the web fares were higher. Kind of sad since I was well prepared to pay the higher fare. Yes, brand loyalty is foolish and companies like United do get to take advantage of that from customers like myself.

The other pleasant experience was when I called back today. Because I've actually flown a lot on United, I've achieved their "Premier" status with my frequent flier miles and have access to the Economy Plus section that has more leg room.

I wanted to make sure that I had my seats there and gave a call. No problems, they already had my seats set up and knew my preference for the window seat. I know the airlines do take a beating from customers and in the media and some of it is truly justified, but it is nice when things from them in the booking process go off hassle free.

The cluster map on the sidebar is really filling up and I'm really surprised in the number of hits that are coming in from out of the U.S. If you do come back, and I promise to get some more photos up this weekend before the Sunday night Washington Redskins football game, drop a note in the comments section and let me know where exactly you're looking at this infrequently updated blog from. Thanks.

Watch Out

2006-09-07T20:36:00.000-05:00

A little fear-mongering from the Daily Show. I know its a couple weeks old, but I was checking out You Tube and just figured out to post a video clip on the blog. Kind of cool. This is moderately travel related, but I do enjoy the examples of fear mongering from CNN. I always get the impression from them that the world is about to end. Not that the bufoonery that attempts to pass for news on Fox News is any better. Honestly, I don't really watch cable tv news. All programs cater to the lowest common denominator for viewers and slog through the muck to present the stories with their spin and agenda. For a non-news program, the Daily show makes a lot more sense.

Angkor Wat - Siem Reap, Cambodia

2006-08-21T08:23:00.000-05:00

Built in the early 12th century as a Hindu and later (14th to 15th century) a Buddhist temple, Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world. Angkor was abandoned in the early 15th century and lost to the Cambodian jungle until its discovery by French botanist Henri Mouhot in 1860.

When I went in November of 2004, this is what I wrote about seeing the sunset at Angkor Wat:

The last temple of the day for me was Angkor Wat itself for the sunset. I went into the temple with the sole purpose of seeing the sunset. Two problems: One, after walking up and down countless steps, my body just ached. Two, in order to get the best view, you have to climb a series of steps that are at a 70 degree angle (this is to make worshipers bow as they climb, or fall, I'm still not sure). No problem on number two? Yes, big problem, I'm not so fond of heights. After 20 minutes of getting my hackles up to do this and walking around the numerous stair cases, I made my move and climbed up as fast as I could without looking down. Got to the top and wondered what I was going to do to get down. I saw a set of stairs that had a metal railing installed and a line of about 40 people waiting once I got my photos from the top, so the choice was obvious to me. Funny thing that you wouldn't even be allowed to climb something like this in the states. I was joking with a couple other Americans that were in front of me in line about that; as well as the sphincter tightening that occurred just when you realized that you had to still get down the stairs. I made it down no worse for wear, but won't be going up that today as I explore the Angkor bas reliefs.

I really hope to get back to Angkor Wat and Cambodia in the near future and see how it has changed in two years. I'm sure that there isn't a McDonalds there right now, but it probably isn't too far off.

Like I wrote yesterday, I'm going to try and make the effort to post more often, but with smaller amounts of photos. I have a few hundred just from Cambodia, so I should have enough to get me through a few posts until I go back to Thailand in Novemeber.

Chiang Mai Zoo

2006-08-20T10:40:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the photos I took at the Chiang Mai Zoo. I'm not a huge fan of zoos and was less than excited about going. I think animals in captivity are a bit sad and would rather see them in a more natural environment. At the Chiang Mai zoo, the main attraction are the pandas. Aside from nature documentaries, I've never actually seen a wild panda. There were two in this enclosure that was temperature controlled and actually compared to the temps outside, it was real pleasant. Being that this was the main attraction, there was a separate charge to go see these animals, well in a word, sleep. I think the only thing this one panda did was wake up, stretch, relieve itself, and go right back to sleep. I was in the process of taking a photo of my girlfriend when the panda was in the process of relieving itself and decided to delete that photo.

I have a couple other photos of a few of the big cats housed at the zoo, a tiger and a leopard. Both were less than captive subjects for my camera choosing to look the other way and sleep also (how dare they). The last photo is of an animal that wasn't even a permanent resident of the zoo or at least it wasn't in an enclosure or a cage.

This lizard wasn't actually in any exhibit. I came upon it as we were walking back to the van to head out to see one of the handicraft markets outside of Chiang Mai. It is neat how it is mimicing the color of the tree and the greenish post next to the tree.

Its been a while since I've posted and I'll try to get more photos up on a more frequent basis. I've been trying to get out to the gym and run at least three times a week and when I get home, the last thing that I'm thinking about is posting photos as it honestly takes a few minutes to get the photos up on the blog and then moving them all onto one post. I just went through my photos and have a lot that I haven't posted from Cambodia so I might just put a few up every other day or as time permits.

Nam Dtok Mae Sa

2006-06-17T10:21:00.000-05:00

There's always a tough balance on this blog for me to decide how much of a description of a place I should give along with the background of location and any historical aspects that I can find. I'm struggling with this post in that there are a lot of photos that I took and really don't need to describe what you are about to see. These are the waterfalls at Mae Sa about 4 miles from Chiang Mai.

When I first went here, I thought that I was only going to see one waterfall, take a few snapshots and would be on my way to go do or see something else in the area. Well, I was quite wrong about that. Here at Nam Dtok Mae Sa, there are a series of 10 waterfalls. On each side of the river, there are steps and a walkway to get you to each of the waterfalls. I was only wearing flipflops, but this could have been better suited for my feet later if I had worn more sensible shoes. Oh well, live and learn.

The one impression that I would like to leave is just a commentary about how different countries are around the world. As my Thai language skills are fairly rudimentary, there are thankfully signs, warning signs in both Thai and English. Now the one thing that these signs do not say is to use your common sense. There are no barriers to keep you from walking out on the rocks and in several places I did just that to secure a better photo. You will also notice that there are a few photos of people playing in the water by several of the falls. Once again, no warnings, just use your common sense. If you get swept away by the current and injure yourself, guess whose fault that would be? If you answered the park, welcome to America. If you answered your own fault, well, then you are at least thinking.

One last admission. There are 10 waterfalls here. I only saw 9 as I was getting pretty tired and sore from climbing over rocks and up stairs. I did the same when I went to see the temples at Angkor. I saw all but a couple. This gives me something to go back to and look forward to seeing. Enjoy the photos.

Next, I'll be putting up a few photos of my visit to the zoo in Chiang Mai and share a couple stories.

Busy

2006-06-13T13:40:00.001-05:00

I haven't had the time to get the photos up of Nam Dtok Mae Sa. I should have some time after Wed. or so and will try then, but right now I've got a few things that have to take precedence.

Doi Suthep - Chiang Mai, Thailand

2006-06-03T10:33:00.000-05:00

Doi Suthep is located about 10 miles northwest of Chiang Mai. The Wat is located on the top of a 5,000 foot mountain. Here are the steps to the top, all 300 of them.

This bell was huge. I'm 6 feet tall and it was still two feet taller than me.

This is Chiang Mai. It was a little cloudy in the late afternoon, but still a great view.

And the stairs back down.

When I get some more time, (It seems that I only have time on the weekends lately in the early morning) I'll start posting photos of my trip to the waterfalls at Nam Tok Mae Sa. There's a lot of photos, so I might put them in multiple posts.

Thai Elephant Conservation Center

2006-06-01T21:22:00.000-05:00

The Thai Elephant Conservation Center is located in the Mae Sa valley, outside Chiang Mai, Thailand. Here, they have elephant rides and a show featuring elephants painting, playing musical instruments, and playing soccer. This place does practice conservation, so I was interested to see as there are less reputable places in the area that treat these animals very poorly.

I passed on taking an elephant ride (just not my idea of fun) and took these photos.

Coming up...Wat Prathat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Thailand and soon thereafter Nam Dtok (waterfall) Mae Sa.

Lamphun, Thailand - Wat Phra That Hariphunchai

2006-05-27T09:34:00.000-05:00

Lamphun, Thailand is 38km Southeast of Chaing Mai. Wat Phra That Hariphunchai is one of the eight holiest stupa in Thailand. The wat was built on the site of Queen Chama Thewi's palace in 1044. There are also other datings saying that the wat was built in 1108 or 1157.

These photos were taken during Songkran, the Thai new year when the Buddha images have water poured on them and Buddhists make merit at the temples.

The yellow fabrics indicates that the stupa represents Buddha and is a sacred monument.

This chedi, Chedi Suwan is 138 feet tall and is said to date from 1418.

The next stop on the trip to Chaing Mai was to an Asian elephant sanctuary. I'm not a huge fan of elephants only because there is always a newspaper story about some Western tourist being at one of these elehant shows and being trampled by a pissed off miss treated animal. Anyway, enjoy Memorial Day weekend for those of you in the states. I'll have these up as soon as possible.

Mae Sot, Thailand and the Moei River

2006-05-18T20:52:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to get a post up here for a while, but have been busy with other projects. These are a few photos from around Mae Sot. The town is in the mountains very, very close to the Myanmar (Burma) border.

These photos were taken on the way to the mae nam Moei (mae nam is Thai for river). The weather in April can only be described best as f*%$ it's hot. The best time to do anything was late in the day or if you were going to be near or in water.

Some of the mountains in the background.

and a few more as we approached the river. This was taken from the back of a speeding pick up truck, so I'm pretty impressed that it came out so well.

Mae nam Moei. The far bank is Myanmar. Now at this spot the river is for me at about lower calf height or about a foot deep. Due to the hot ass sun, the water temperature was about 75 degrees. Real pleasant and nice to walk around as the river had a sand and small rock bottom. Actually, as I walked, I would get these little rocks lodged in my flip flops. I'd take it off, shake out the rocks and let the flip flop float a bit on the lazy current before grabbing it back.

It may not be possible to see if you even open up the photo, but on the far bank (upper right of the photo) there were people out washing their clothes beating them on the rocks to get them clean. First time I've ever seen this and eyeopening to how people can live without all the crap we take for granted.

This is the Moei river looking north.

This is the view from my hotel balcony the following day April 15th in the afternoon. I was just hanging out around the room reading when I heard the familiar rumble of thunder. I snapped this about an hour before the cloud burst finally hit.

The neat thing about this is past these homes is a Buddhist temple so you could hear the chanting of the monks at the temple interspersed with the occasional and them frequent rumbling of thunder.

Sunday April 16th early morning. I couldn't sleep any more and decided to see if I could get a good photo of the sun coming up. I was leaving for Chaing Mai late morning and leaving Mae Sot, but I knew that I would be back here in the near future.

This weekend, I'll get the photos from my trip to Chaing Mai. We hired a driver for 1,500 bht / day who would take us to Chaing Mai and anywhere around that we decided to go. It actually was a good deal becuase trying to get from rural Thailand to anywhere else is a bit of a struggle as Mae Sot is on a bus line, but not the train line. It became a lot easier to pay a little bit to be able to go where you wanted and to do so on your schedule and not someone else's. The next set of photos I'll have are from a temple in Lamphun.

Want to eat Foie Gras? Don't come to Chicago

2006-04-27T16:47:00.000-05:00

The dumbasses have won again. I happen to like foie gras. First time I tried it was when I went to Paris and then tried it in a few of the French restaurants here in Chicago. I don't get this. Why are lawmakers continually trying to legislate their morality upon the rest of us? Cell phone bans, smoking bans, what's next?

Ald. Joe Moore (49th), honestly, what's next? You can't find anything else wrong with the city of Chicago that could be legislated huh? Thank you for your bufoonery and clownish ridiculousness. Restriction of the sale of a food product. You certainly emulate the Jeffersonian ideals of democracy. Bravo to you sir.

If it were up to me and I lived in Mr. Moore's ward, I would do all I can to make sure that he was no longer my alderman. Enough said.

Mae Sot and Songkran

2006-04-18T08:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm back in Bangkok right now. Just got back from Chaing Mai and wanted to give a couple quick notes. I'll flesh it out when I have time, but I want to get something to eat and its an election day tomorrow, so I'll have more time as a lot of places are closed.

The drive up to Mae Sot was about six or so hours from Bangkok to the North. The ride was great as we go into the mountainous terrain. The mountains reminded me somewhat of those in the Smokey mountains in Tessessee.

I met up with Julai and met her mother and one of her brothers. I made a great impression smacking my head on one of the roof beams of the garrage. It was at least a good ice breaker.

Her parents and one brother run a store with fruits, vegetables, drinks, and various other sundries. They get up real early (4:30 AM) to go to the main market for the day. One of the days, I went with to the market and helped a little bit (carrying stuff I guess is helping).

On that first night, we walked around her village. Not really an accurate description, because the homes were very close to one another. Being the only foreigner was pretty neat as I met a lot of Julai's friends and was always met with a lot of curiosity. No, suprise, no both. It was pretty fun though seeing wide eyed looks from kids who were at first terrified and then a day later asking when I was going to be there.

I met Julai's other brother a day later and we went to a couple of the local waterfalls. This was on one of the days of Songkran, the Thai New Year. It was hot, the waterfalls were absolutely packed with people trying to cool down from the heat.

It was at this time, day 2 that I had to deal with the reality of being the only foreigner. There are western toilets in the hotels, but other than that, you're using a squat toilet. I'm only going to say that I'm not a fan and am a bit terrified still of using them.

I'm off to get some western food right now. I really want a cheeseburger. More to follow, especially the trip to Chaing Mai.

Mae Sot

2006-04-11T22:18:00.000-05:00

Tuesday April 11th, 2006 Bangkok, Thailand

Quick update as I need to get some sleep.

I hate jetlag. I woke up today early and just couldn't stay awake. Of course tonight, I'll be wide awake. I'll have to take matters into my own hands tomorrow.

I'm leaving for Mae Sot, a town in the mountains of Northern Thailand close to the Myanmar border for Songkran and to see a friend of mine and meet her family. I'm looking forward to getting out early as most Thais in Bangkok head home for the holiday which runs from approximately the 13th to the 15th. After that, I'm on my way to Chaing Mai and then back to Bangkok, probably by next week.

I have no definite plans except that I need to be back in Bangkok by the 23rd to go home.

Weather here is great. Very hot, and very, very humid.

My Thai language skill although better improved, still needs a lot of work. Anyway, off to bed.

Vacation

2006-04-06T13:16:00.000-05:00

Thursday, April 6th, 2006

Well, its been a while since I've posted up here. I've been absolutely slammed at work for the past three weeks with several projects and the past week has been a real treat.

I've had to get my taxes done, laundry finished, photos developed, and still have to pack. Tonight, the Badgers play in their first frozen four since I was back in school, against Maine. It would be nice to see them advance. Tomorrow, is one of my favorite days of the year, Cubs Opening Day at Wrigley Field. It will be cold and miserable during the game with chances of rain, but because baseball season has started once again in Chicago, it doesn't matter to me. The promise of warmer weather is ahead.

Speaking of warmer weather, I'll be leaving for Bangkok on Saturday. Next week is Songkran, the Thai New Year. I've never been to Thailand in April, but will be reporting as often as I can. I know this time around that if my eye is a little red and irritated, I'm running to the nearest hospital without hesitation.

This trip, I'm heading to the border town of Mae Sot to meet up with a friend. Mae Sot is on the Myanmar border and is in the mountainous Northern part of Thailand. I really have no more information than that because guidebooks and the net have little on the area.

The trip to Mae Sot has become a bit of an adventure for me and I haven't even gone to the airport. I initially found out that you can use the government bus which is fairly inexpensive and takes 8 hours. I was not a huge fan of that idea and tried to see if there was another way to get there. I found out that I could fly from Bangkok to a town called Sukhothai and then take a 3 hour bus ride. A little more palatable I thought.

Earlier this week, I decided to book my internal flight. Guess what? No chance. There's only one flight a day and the day I needed to go its booked full. Damn my procrastination as it was available a week or so ago. Plan B, I'll take the train to Phitsanulok and take a bus to Mae Sot. Strike two. Trains are all booked except for steerage and the times just won't work for my schedule. Plan C, A while back, I found a limo company that offers service all over Thailand. I enquired and found that they could take me to Mae Sot for $143. About twice what I would have spent taking plan A.

Vacation begins in 3 hours, 15 minutes. Go Badgers, Go Cubs, and Go Me.

Cambodia - The Bayon, Part 2

2006-03-06T08:15:00.000-06:00

These are the remaining photos of the Bayon that I took. In order to get to the faces on the pillars, you have to climb a set of steps up to the roof of the structure. I don't recall it being terribly fun making the climb, but it wasn't as bad or as steep as taking the stairs to the top of Angkor Wat.

This is definitely one of my favorite photos. I posted this one with some guy's arm in the left corner, but have a clean one that I'll blow up one of these days.

Cambodia - The Bayon, Part 1

2006-03-03T07:07:00.000-06:00

As I said yesterday, I wanted to post some of the photos I took in Cambodia. These are from my first day. I have a link to the description of the first day and the temples I visited. The photos below are of the detail on the gate of city of Angkor Thom and the Bayon. I've got a lot of photos from Cambodia to post, so here goes:

This is on the side of the gate to Angkor Thom.

A closeup of the face at the top of the gate.

This is just past the gate entrance; a three headed elephant. Its a little tough to pick it out, but the elephant head is stained black.

This is the main walkway to the Bayon. If you open the photo up, you can see the faces on the spires.

The left side of the Bayon.

A woman seated next to a reclining Buddha statue.

A closeup of one of the faces.

This is a bas-releif on one of the outer walls of the Bayon. There are bas-releif carvings all over all the Angkor Temples with the most famous being on the walls of Angkor Wat.

Another bas-relief.

This is a bas-relief of Aspara dancers on a pillar.

With most of the photos, its probably better to open it in another window and then expand the photo in the window to see the detail. The 5.6 megapixel camera really does give some pretty decent detail. One of these days, I'm going to see what the maximum photo size I can print with a couple of the photos I'll post next time and you'll understand why I want them printed.

The Reunification Palace - Part 3

2006-03-02T08:23:00.000-06:00

This is the final installment of my photos of the Reunification Palace. I do have another group of photos that I took in the basement of the building that were of communications rooms, map rooms, war rooms, and a presidential bedroom. Honestly, they are pretty boring unless you enjoy looking at severely dated office equipment. If you do like looking at office equipment from the 60's and 70's, you probably need help.

I'm going to get back to posting photos from Cambodia. I liked the temples and the people of Cambodia much, much more than Vietnam. Maybe I'm a bit prejudiced since I didn't have an eye infection when I was in Cambodia or lose $12.00 getting hustled in pool. I did realize that I have a few hundred photos from Cambodia that I've never published, so I'll start putting them back on.

I'm going back to Thailand in April, the day after Cubs Opening Day. I'm kind of glad that I am leaving that Saturday. When the Cubs open the season at home on the weekend its crazy in the neighborhood. This year, they open against the Cardinals. Their fans travel very well and they are all over the place.

I guess I need to get hotel reservations soon. I've been putting it off just out of pure laziness. I'm planning for this next trip to visit Tak province in Northern Thailand by the Thai / Myanmar border. Its supposed to be a more mountainous (wow, for some reason that word didn't look right) area. I'm planning on spending Songkran (Thai New Year) there before finally going to Chaing Mai. Yes, I've talked about going to Chaing Mai for a while and come hell or high water (very possible for Chaing Mai in the rainy season), I'm going.

Enjoy the photos:

This is the top of the Reunification Palace. The woman in the foreground is wearing the traditional Ao Dai.

The grounds in the front were beign set up for a concert.

The red circles are where NVA pilots dropped bombs during the war.

This is the flag of the Republic of South Vietnam.

The flag of the North Vietnamese and a AK-47 of the unit that captured the South Vietnamese flag and raised this one in its place.

Inside the Reunification Palace - Part 2

2006-02-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

Here are more photos of the Reunification palace. Here are photos of various meeting rooms of the president and the first lady, the president's bedroom, and a gaming room. I also have a couple photos of various works of art that were found all over the palace. Tomorrow, I'll have some photos from the roof of the building.

The President's bedroom

Inside the Reunification Palace

2006-02-09T11:23:00.000-06:00

I'm breaking these photos down into about three to four separate posts. When I toured the Reunification Palace, I took over 100 photos. In most of the posts, I'll have a photo of the room description and then that room below the photo.

That was one of the features of the building itself and aside from the added signage, there really aren't a lot of changes to the building probably since April 30th, 1975.

A model of the presidential compound

A view of one of the gardens in the back of the palace.

This is a conference room. I forgot to get a photo of the room description for this one.

I tried about 5-6 times to get a decent photo of this bust of Ho Chi Minh, but couldn't get any closer than this. You can't see it from the photos, but there are velvet ropes up to prevent you from going into the room and I wasn't about to cross them just for the sake of a photo.

The Manufacture of Rice Paper

2006-02-08T07:25:00.000-06:00

After touring the Cu Chi Tunnels and the firing range, I came upon this hut on my way back to the entrance of the park. There was this woman making rice paper. The mixture was poured on a heated surface and then turned onto a drying rack.

The hut was also selling sticky rice whiskey or as I called it after giving it a try, gasoline. I brought this back to Bangkok and showed it to the guys that worked in the bar. We did a couple shots of the stuff after cutting it with soda water and lime juice and it was still strong. I unfortunately forgot the bottle before I came back, but I hope that some of it will be left for a return toast in April.

HCMC Street Scenes

2006-02-07T08:19:00.001-06:00

I took these from the front seat of a cyclo. As you can see from most of these, the primary means of transport is the motorcycle.

Approaching the Saigon River. The green and white object straight ahead is a boat.

Going into oncoming traffic.

One of the markets in HCMC.

The Vietnamese Countryside

2006-02-02T08:29:00.000-06:00

I took these on the way from HCMC to Cu Chi. Just a few shots of the countryside in Vietnam. I'll try and get something a little more substantial up during the weekend.

The Saigon River

2006-02-01T08:24:00.000-06:00

When I took a tour of the city in the cyclo, the driver took me down to the Saigon river. There wasn't a lot of ship traffic when I was there, but I took these shots.

Definition of irony? Socialism and Capitalism together.

The Cu Chi Tunnels

2006-01-31T08:10:00.000-06:00

40 Km northwest of Saigon (HCMC) are the Cu Chi tunnels. The tunnels were used by the Viet Cong to hide supplies, hide from the Americans, and contained hospitals and living quarters.

Here's an entrance to the tunnels

For some reason, a size 12 1/2 shoe is about the same size as the entrance. I don't think I'll fit

Another tunnel entrance

There was a section that was widened to fit the larger Western body size. I decided to take a pass on going in the tunnels. It was hot as hell, my eye was really bothering me, and I wasn't about to squeeze into a hole in the ground.

This is a cut away section of the tunnels.

The Viet Cong took unexploded US ordnance and used it for various booby traps.

A close up of the VC making booby traps in the tunnels.

Imagine that this is covered with more leaves. Looks like the jungle floor right?

Wrong!

This would just ruin your day. I can't imagine getting an arm or a leg caught in this. I forgot to ask whether this was put in the tunnels or in the jungle, but this would just suck.

Same with this one.

Or this one too.

More examples of booby traps.

Ouch, ouch, ouch.

War Remnants Museum - Part 2 (Con Dao Jail and a special surprise)

2006-01-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay in getting these photos up. Of the two other parts of the War Remnants Museum (the abandoned and captured US military equipment and the anti war / pro Vietnam reunification struggle literature), I was able to see the infamous "Tiger Cages" of Con Dao Jail.

Con Dao is an island is found in the South China Sea 220 Km south of Ho Chi Minh City. Now a nature reserve, the island was formerly a French penal colony and used to imprison communists during the war.

The tiger cages kind of speak for them self. Even though the figure in the cage is a mannequin, it still made me a bit uncomfortable to look at. I'm not sure if this was the aim of the people that put together the museum, but if it was, then mission accomplished.

Finally, you see the gift of French colonial occupation, the guillotine. In my life, I never thought that I would see one of these up close. It was also pretty chilling to know that this was used to eliminate the communists during the war. The guillotine was last used in 1960 on Mr Hoang Le Kha, a member of the Provincial Committee of the Vietnamese workers Party in Tay Ninh province.

Looks like it still would work

Book Review

2006-01-24T10:23:00.000-06:00

I think the last time I wrote a book report I was in grade school and I sure it wasn't that great a review. I go in spurts with my reading. Some months, I'm a voracious reader going through book after book; other times, I think usually during baseball season and the beginning of football season, the book I've started will gather dust until its not worth going out of the house.

I bought about four or five books at Asia Books in Bangkok which is one of my favorite book stores. They have a solid collection of fiction and non-fiction books by authors that base their novels in Southeast Asia like Jake Needham and David Young and a lot of books that cover local subjects. I always seem to find something there that peaks my interest. There were a couple books about the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam that I should have picked up my last time there. Oh well, I think I'll pick those up in April.

Another Quiet American Stories of Life in Laos written by Brett Dakin describes Brett's experiences in Laos from 1998 to 2000 as a language and marketing consultant at the National Tourism Authority for the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

I enjoyed the book and loved the stories about someone working to help a developing country and despite the bureaucracy. I think that the feeling of Southeast Asia was perfectly captured. I saw a lot of similarities in the Lao way and the Thai way of doing things and can't wait to see Laos for myself.

One other aspect of the book that I enjoyed were the stories of the Lao people the author encountered. These were and are hard working people worried about their futures and being able to provide for themselves and their families. Not too much different than anywhere else in the world.

I'll get to Part 2 of the War Remnants museum probably by the end of the week. It just takes a little time to get the photos up and arranged and I've been working on a couple other projects.

War Remnants Museum - Part 1

2006-01-20T08:09:00.000-06:00

These are photos of the War Remnants museum in HCMC, Vietnam. It was a pure tourist trap and most exhibits in the museum showed articles and photos of the anti-war movement in the US during the war. This is just a few of the photos of US equipment on display. Tomorrow or Sunday, I'll put up the photos of the photos of the tiger cages that housed Vietnamese communists in Con Dao jail.

Wat Arun - the prang

2006-01-19T09:24:00.000-06:00

Here are photos of the prang. The prang is the central tower of the wat and was decorated by bits of porcelain. The porcelain came from China which the Chinese used as ballast in their ships that sailed to Bangkok.

Buddha images of Wat Arun

2006-01-18T08:21:00.000-06:00

This one is pretty self explanatory. Just a few of the Buddha images around Wat Arun.

The trip to Wat Arun and a few statues

2006-01-17T10:05:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the day off yesterday, I had a chance to start posting some of my photos. These are from my trip to Wat Arun. I wound up taking a longtail boat (an obviously long boat with a auto engine driving the propeller) over to the wat instead of trying to figure out the water taxi system. The round trip cost me about $10-$12 from my best recollection. I know that I did have to negotiate a bit, but in the end just wanted to get there and make sure that I had a way back.

One additional item that I neglected to realize was the docking fee at the Wat. I'm sure there are other ways to get there by auto, but arriving by the river was neat and I got a few good photos out of it.

This first set of photos is the trip on the river to the wat and some of the statues around the grounds. Enjoy.

Dancing Shrimp and other food oddities

2006-01-16T11:22:00.000-06:00

Bangkok, Thailand

One food item that I wanted to give a second try to was dancing shrimp. The trick to it is actually finding a vendor selling them. The vendor pushes around a plexiglass fishtank on wheels. The tank is lit up, I don't remember if it was aerated or not, but when I saw the tank being wheeled past, I was not about to miss this Issan (area of Northeastern Thailand) dish.

So where does the dish get its name from? If you haven't guessed already, the shrimp are dancing because they are alive. Coated in spices sure to melt your insides, the shrimp are tossed in the spices and put in a styrafoam container. The shrimp are then served with glutinous (sticky) rice or as I had it that night cucumber slices.

The first time I saw this I really wanted nothing to do with it. This time, I was out and decided to just try it. The real trick is to keep the little buggers on your spoon as you take a bite. There's honestly no taste and the spice mixture that the shrimp are tossed in are real, real hot.

I'm finally at the point where there aren't a lot of dishes that I'm afraid of. I guess the only thing that I'm never terribly jazzed up about eating is some of the fish dishes. I'll eat them, but just never a big fan of fish (even though I know it is supposed to be god for me).

Fruits in Thailand:

There are two fruits that I love to eat in Thailand and order whenever I get a chance and a third I wanted to give another chance.

Rambutans -

They look like giant hairy strawberries.

You break open the shell and the translucent fruit lies within.

Other than having to work around a seed in the middle, rambutan is one of my favorite tropical fruits. Sadly, other than canned in syrup, I think the only place that you can get rumbutan is in Hawaii.

Jackfruit - Sadly, I didn't take any photos of the jackfruit, but did get to eat a fair share when I was in Thailand. The fruit itself can be just gigantic. Inside, the fruit is yellow and tastes a bit of pineapple and bananna.

Durian - Have you ever walked by a trashcan of rotting garbage? If so, this will give you an accurate description as to how durian smells. The fruit itself comes out of a large spiny protective outer shell. If you had to protect yourself with one piece of fruit, durian would do it. I'm not sure whether the spikes on the outside covering would do it or the smell. I've only tried it a couple times and I've had it when its kind of firm and had no problem with it. I've also tried it when the flesh was real ripe and soft like custard (I know I'm really selling it, smells like garbage and can be soft like custard.) and wasn't too big of a fan.

Updates

2006-01-06T11:51:00.000-06:00

I've just put up the second day in HCMC below. I've got photos and will be updating my posts when I get the time. The weekend is full of Redskin playoff football and laundry for me (lots of laundry).

I just picked up a new guidebook, Laos. I've wanted to go to Laos and northern Thailand for a while. There only two Southeast Asian countries that I haven't visited are Lao and Myanmar (Burma).

Myanmar is supposed to be very beautiful, but has a very restrictive and oppressive military government.

I'm on the fence about it, but most travel decisions that I have now are based on avoiding the McDonaldization of the world. There are fewer places on the planet where you won't find the McDonald's and designer coffe houses of the world. I'm not saying that these companies don't have their place in the world, I just want to see the world before they get there and that's pretty tough to do.

Glad to be back?

2005-12-19T10:52:00.000-06:00

Yeah right.

I’m a little jet-lagged and sore from a ridiculously long flight. I felt like I was in steerage for the first time on a United flight. I came to a real interesting realization; I think it was the same as last time I got back, or maybe it’s a little reverse culture shock, but I’m not glad to be back.

The same problems that I had before I left are still here. I’m not happy to be back, I’m honestly depressed. As I sat in sub-zero temperatures once again waiting for an ‘El’ train to take its time to pull in the station, I finally came to a realization that I may never be happy here in Chicago. I’m not saying that Thailand is the answer. I’m saying that change may be in order for me to have a little slice of happiness.

As for reverse culture shock, I don’t mind being a foreigner in a completely different culture. What did I miss when I was gone? I think the only thing that I craved was a good burrito. Now that I’m back, I’m craving a good bowl of Tom yam gung (hot and spicy soup with shrimp).

I’ll be back updating the blog, so keep an eye for my other observations and photos.

Pink Eye

2005-12-16T04:30:00.000-06:00

Fucking pink eye. Sorry for the lax posting here, but haven't really felt up to it and the eyesight in my left eye was real cloudy. Actually, still is a bit at times. I got back to BKK and a couple of my friends here were a bit concerned by the fact that my eye was almost completely red. I said that if it was worse on the next morning that I would go to Bumrungrad Hospital and have it checked out.

Well, I think that all of you know how it worked out the next day. Looked like I wend 2 rounds with Mike Tyson circa 1988. I showered and headed to the hospital. The eye doctor after about 30 seconds of looking at my eyes said that I have an eye infection. Conjunctivitis, I inquired? You got it.

Since then, I've been to the hopsital 3 other times for follow up visits. My eyes are completely cleared up, but I have drops that I need to take every four hours. I guess my doctor appointment on January 9th will be well worth it.

Due to the appointment schedule that I was on, I was Bangkok bound. I played a lot of pool (sometimes with one eye), shopped a little, caught Little Louie Vega and Deep Dish out at the clubs on RCA road. Both of those nights were completely crazy.

I really wanted to get up to Chaing Mai, but it will have to wait until my next trip when ever that will be. I think I'm heading to Germany for the World Cup next summer (Argentina and Netherlands play in Frankfurt in June).

I went shooting yesterday (Thursday the 14th) at a range hosted by the Thai military. I was able to shoot a .38, .45, and a 9mm. It was really fun and completely safe and supervised (ear protection, showing how to load the weapon, etc.)

I can't say that this trip has been completely dissapointing, because the purpose of this trip was to see if I would entertain living in BKK and to relax. Jury is still out, but I am looking forward to coming back home to Chicago (just not 21 degree temps. Its "cold" here by Thai standards about 70-73 degrees) As for relaxation, I think I got my fill with bouts of the runs and pink eye. Boy, I can't wait for work on Monday. I think I'll tell people that I caught pink eye from a chicken.

I'll have more updated next week, I think I owe it to all readers. Later.

Vietnam - Day 3

2005-12-03T07:58:00.000-06:00

Saturday, December 1st, HCMC Socialist Republic of Vietnam

I'll have more to report tomorrow or Monday. I arrived in Saigon on Thursday and really am not having a choice time, so I've decided to change my flight and return to BKK.

I got something in my eye a couple days ago and would rather trust the medical staff in BKK. Suffice to say, my left eye is a little puffy and really red. Quite annoying actually.

I did go to the Cu Chi tunnels during the day. After an 1 1/2 hour bone jarring ride in a taxi, I was there. Got to see the tunnels, decided not to cram myself in there. Big plus was the shooting range. $1 per bullet was a great deal to fire off a pistol (which misfired several times) and an M-16. Needed a little ear protection as I forgot how loud guns can actually be.

I'm out of here tomorrow around 3:30 PM, so more to report later...

HCMC Day 2 - And the hits keep on coming...

2005-12-02T12:04:00.000-06:00

Well after a suprisingly good night of sleep, I decide to go out on my own and see HCMC. I just don't feel like meeting Gib today. I'll phone her when I get back and see if she can take me back to Ba Ba for a bowl of Pho and a couple beers.

There weren't a lot of items on my schedule to see in Saigon. I wanted to see the reunification palace and the war remnants museum and just see the buzz on the streets. Well, the buzz was constant because of all the motorcycles and scooters, I hailed a taxi to take me to the reunification palace. I had plenty of offers from people to take me on their motorcycle, but after wiping out on a scooter in college (and having to pick rocks out of my back side) and fear of having my back pack pulled away, the taxi was the best and quite a quick option.

The reunification palace:

I guess I was expecting more when I decided to tour the reunification palace. The building was the home of President Ngo Dinh Diem during the war and was breached in April of 1975 by Northern Vietnamese tanks. Replicas of the tanks are on the grounds of the palace.

During my tour, the large front lawn of the palace was being set up for some type of concert and plenty of musicians and technicians were around doing sound and light checks.

The palace itself was certainly frozen in time. The building was completed in 1966 and reminded me of some of the 60's era buildings on the UW-Madison campus. Access was only granted to certain areas of the building, but you were able to go on all floors, the roof, and the basement where they housed a small museum. The museum was interesting because it did house the flag that flew as the North Vietnamese were storming the palace and the flag that replaced it.

As a history buff, it was interesting to see the perspective of the Vietnamese in this museum. In the museum, you saw the perspective of a country struggling to unify in the wake of French and later American occupation. Among photos taken of significant events during the war, were quotes of Ho Chi Minh and other leaders of the Vietnamese Workers Party. After touring the entire building, I was a bit tired and with the eye issues, needed a rest. I walked out the gates of the palace and decided on my next destination.

Cyclo Fun:

A cyclo is a three wheeled taxi where the passenger sits in the front and the driver is behind. The cyclo can either be motorized through the cannabilazation of a motorcycle or person powered by using a bicycle. I was walking down the street trying to get my bearings and find the war remnants museum when I was approached by a motorcycle driver who offered to take me all around. I wasn't getting on a motorcycle. Not safe enough for me.

As I walked a cyclo driver approached and said he's take me on a tour of the city. I agreed and hopped in the seat making sure to secure my backpack around my leg to prevent theft. The tour was fine, but I screwed up. I forgot to negotiate where we were going to go, how long the tour would be, and most importantly, the cost. I was pissed at my self that I would let this happen and should have stopped and negotiated before going any further. I knew better having traveled in Southeast Asia (Thailand and Cambodia) and my own stupidity would be my undoing here.

No Cyclo fun:

After the tour, the cyclo driver took me to the central market, about a block away from the hotel. Here's where my own stupidity could have avoided the situation. Normally, no that's not right, always when you use these types of services (same as taking a tuk tuk in Thailand), you pre-negotiate cost and destinations. I negotiated destinations and figured that cost would be negligible. Imagine my complete and utter shock when the driver asked for $120 USD. No that's no missprint $120 f'n US dollars. Not being a stranger to negotiating in Asia I decided to see if I could get this down as there was no was in hell I would pay that. I countered with $50, a reasonable fare for his time and effort. He said that he had to work hard as I was very big; I couldn't disagree with that fact and I knew that he did work his ass off taking me around. I cursed at myself endlessly for being so stupid. I could have easily avoided this.

I countered again that $120 was a lot of money and that I would settle for $100 even. $105 was finally agreed upon with me cursing at myself the entire time. The driver was just doing what he had to do. I couldn't begrudge his greed. I should have negotiated the total cost before we started, but being tired and just wanting to cool down stopped me from thinking. I lost another round to the scam artist and was really annoyed with myself.

Ouch:

After getting gouged (I have another word that I'd like to use, but will keep this moderately clean) by the cyclo driver, all I wanted to do was get away from the driver and walk around the market. According to the guidebook I had, if you walk a measured pace across the street, motorcycles and scooters will go around you. Bullshit! I had a motorcycle run right into me. The guy was pissed off and I didn't have much to say except a muted 'sorry' as I go out of the way. Thankfully, no one was injured (well, my pride was) and I was able to laugh it off soon enough.

On to the market:

There was one item that I really wanted to find in Vietnam: snake wine. Snake wine is rice wine with yes you guessed it, a snake in the bottle. There are a bunch of other herbs in the bottle as well and apparently the wine is used for medicinal purposes. I just wanted the bottle for conversation purposes. I walked around the market for about five minutes and came up to a stand that had exactly what I was looking for. Bottle upon bottle were there of all sizes, some with a cobra in it, others with scorpions and if I recall, spiders too. I was after the bottle with the cobra though. Thoughts went through my head on what customs would say when they saw the bottle. I didn't care. I had to have it just to say, "I've got a bottle of rice wine with a dead cobra in it." I know. Completely childish, but still I made a mental note of the stand's location and decided to make my big purchase the next day.

Fee fie Pho

I called Gib and after apologising for blowing her off told her that I wanted to go back to the bar and have a good meal and a couple beers. All I wanted wass a bowl of Pho. Pho is a soup consisting of noodles, vegetables, and meat. It could be really anything (beef, pork, chicken, seafood), but I decided on beef and was not dissapointed.

When I was in HCMC the Southeast Asian games were taking place in the Phillipines. That night the city was all abuzz because Vietnam and Malaysia were playing a soccer match. I've seen a country shutdown before due to a soccer match. In 2001, I was in Dublin when they played a world cup qualifying match. The bars were packed and the country lost an entire afternoon's productivity.

The football match was at night so, not much productivity would be lost. Vietnam won the match and everyone went wild. Driving up and down the street on scooters with Vietnamese flags flapping behind; yelling, cheering, just celebrating a win and a finals matchup with Thailand.

After hanging out for a couple hours I decided to take a taxi back to the hotel. I was going to the Cu Chi tunnels and wanted to get an early start. Problem was, everyone in HCMC was celebrating the football win and traffic was not moving. Imagine hundreds, no, thousdands of people on scooters and motorcycles beeping their horns in celebration. Absolutely insane. I got to about a block from the hotel and walked from there.

Outside my hotel room window

My eye was still feeling pretty bad and I resorted to putting ice on it for relief. I was too stubborn to admit it, but I needed to see a doctor. I was going to have to cut my trip short and go back to Bangkok and see how the medical facilities were. I needed to get out of Vietnam.

HCMC - Saigon Day 1 - Ripped off (Part Two)

2005-12-01T11:41:00.000-06:00

Ok, so after being ripped off (my fault completely), moving quickly to another place, and grabbing a beer, I was able to relax and actually enjoy the place I was at.

It was just an alley with a few tables and chairs set up. There was a restaurant attached, but it was busy and hot in both places.

At the tables, there were a bunch of older Americans (I later found out). Yes, they were vets enjoying a beer. I asked one of the guys sitting next to me how Saigon had changed since he was last there. The only difference he said was that we would have been drinking on the roof of the place (to avoid mortar fire), but other than that, no difference in 30 years.

I met a local girl named Gib who asked me if I wanted to go dancing. I decided I didn't have much to lose since the place I was at was closing up. We went to Apocalypse Now bar, one of the more famous nightlife places among tourists and locals. It was just as I expected, hot, sweaty, full of Westerners and locals. I think I was able to stand the place for about two drinks. I told Gib that I wanted a local place where it was a little quieter. She knew of another place, so we went off in a taxi again.

The new place was much better. Real quiet, real local. It was a bia hoi place. A bia hoi place is where the locals drink beer on ice and grab a little bit to eat. I think the name of the place was Ba Ba, but I'm not sure. It was really quiet though and after the loudness of Apocalypse Now, this was a welcome change.

Ba Ba, would be the place where I would be introduced to Vietnamese food. My first was marinated beef and onions. I know, it sounds simple, but served with a little fish sauce and hot peppers, it made the beer go down fast; especially, with the hot peppers. I stayed out way late into the evening and eventually made it back to the hotel waking up the security guards to get me my room key. Gib was going to meet me in the afternoon to show me around HCMC. I was a little wary, but said that I'd phone her in the afternoon when I was ready to go site see.

HCMC - Saigon Day 1 - Ripped off

2005-12-01T10:56:00.000-06:00

Thursday, December 1st, 2005 - Saigon, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

My flight out to Saigon was out in the afternoon, so I secided to get to the airport about 3 hours prior just to get everything I needed. I took a taki out in front of the hotel. I hate doing this because the guys that sit here ask for ridiculous sums of money and refuse to use the meter. Knowing the cost to the airport and taking the tollway to Don Muang (about 250-300 B), we negotiated 350B including the tolls (I know I'm bitching about $9 USD, but if you let someone walk over you, they'll continue to do so all the time)

We get to the airport without incident and pull up to departures. I only have 500B and 1,000B notes. Shit. I'm not about to give this guy more than negotiated. A litle fortune smiled on me as the taxi driver behind us had change.

Second bit of good fortune, I didn't make any reservations prior to leaving for HCMC. The guidebook, stated that there would be plenty of places available for good prices. As I was trying to get change I struck up a conversation with a guy that had just returned from Vietnam and gave me the card to a hotel which was around $20 perr night. I decided to use the card and go to the Thanh Long T@n Hotel. (www.thanhlonghotel.com)

All this time, my eye has been really bothering me. June and my friend Pae were really concerned and thought that I should go to the hospital. I figured that I just got something in my eye and it would eventually wash out and I would be ok, but it was really red and hurt a bit too.

I checked in with Vietnam airlines with no incident and paid the international departure tax of 500B, got my departure stamp from the Kingdom of Thailand and was off to Vietnam.

Flight:

Nothing really exciting here to report. Quick flight of about an hour. The food was decent and flight attendants of Vietnam Airlines were very nice and professional. Actually a pretty pleasant flight experience (like Bangkok Airlines).

Arrival:

Tan Son Nhat Airport (a.k.a Saigon Airport) is about 5 miles away from central HCMC and probably hasn't changed much since 4/15/75 (more on this later)

Immigration:

Looking back now, I'm suprised that I was even let into the country. My left eye was so red and wattery the immigration official did give me a look before stamping my passport and letting my into the country. I grabbed my one checked bag, got a taxi to the hotel (165,000 Dong about $10USD).

My first impressions of Vietnam and probably the first thing that anyone would notice were the vast amounts of motorcycles and scooters. Most people can afford either of these, but autos are real expensive. Traffic is everywhere and honking horns is standard when driving.

I checked into the hotel and took the $20 per night room with A/C and satellite tv (which had mostly Thai television along with HBO and Star Movies channel) and headed out for a drink.

I must have walked around for a good half hour before I even found somewhere to drink. I wound up getting into a taxi and went to one of the main streets where tourists are. For the past two weeks, I've been hanging out with mainly Thais and not too many Westerners, so walking into Allez Boo was a bit strange seeing mainly Westerners. It was pretty hot out even though it was 9:30 or so at night, so I ordered a large Tiger Beer, a glass of ice and a large bottle of water (about a liter and a halfe bottle).

I was enjoying my beer on ice when one of the local kids (could have been anywhere from 16-22) asked me if I wanted to play pool. I should have said no, but had been playing pretty well in BKK and decided to give it a shot. Now pay attention, because here's where the story gets good. The kid says how about 20,000 Dong a game (a little over a $1)? I say fine to that, in fact I know he said 20,000 Dong. After losing to first, going double or nothing on the second and getting run off the table (long tables, not bar tables, so I was missing everything on the table), I grab 40,000 Dong and decide to head out.

The kid with all seriousness, says, "No that's 400,000 you owe me." Alright, I know better than to bet in pool against a local (just like I know to not play cards with someone named after a city), but I'm being taken. I calmly, well as calmly as I can, state that we were playing for 20,000 per game and if we were playing for anything higher, I would have not played in the first place.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. I know the whole 'Face' thing in Asia is in play. This guy has lost face, because I've called him out. I'm not so sure why I haven't lost face though. I grab 200,000 Dong, hand it to him and tel him that's all he's getting from me. I then grab my big ass bottle of water, and head out a different exit quickly and duck down an alley where there's a few Westerners.

I'm not afraid of one person who was considerably smaler than me. I'm afraid of six to ten guys jumping me and beating the crap out of me for $12.50. Life is still cheap there. A story was later told to me about a guy that managed a bar that had people selling drugs there. The manager had kicked out a dealer there and some hours later had a cleaver burried in his skull.

I decided to take a seat at this table outside and try to have a relaxing adult beverage. As I approached, a guy asked me if I wanted a table. I asked if they had a pool table. After he said no, I took a seat with my back on the wall facing the street.

No news to report

2005-11-25T03:23:00.000-06:00

Friday, November 25th, 2005 - Bangkok, Thailand (still)

Well, no news to report yet. I've been severely jetlagged all week and only went to Wat Arun a couple days ago. I'm really hating gettting up in the early afternoon. Tomorrow, I book for Vietnam. I'll need to get out of BKK for a week or so and give my impressions of HCMC and the South.

If I don't hit Vietnam early next week, it will be on the weekend with the beginning of the week spent in Chaing Mai. I know there's cold and snow back home and maybe I'm just used to the warm weather, but 70's at night feels a little cold at times. Good problem to have I know.

The spot where I used to be able to go for internet access was bulldozed for condos back in Feb., so finding a reliable place with little hassle has been a bit of a challenge. There's a place halfway down the soi (street), but I only trust the computer to enter a blog submission and nothing else. Well, gotta get going. Meeting a couple friends out here for dinner. I think I almost ate Western food the other day and decided against it. Just easier to eat Thai food.

Back Again

2005-11-19T05:33:00.000-06:00

Saturday, November 19th 2005 - Bangkok, Thailand 19:35

Its said that you can't go back home again. I think that the same applies to Thailand. This is my 4th trip here and I'm no longer disillusioned by the hustle and bustle of this fascinating SE Asian city. Bangkok is a city that has grown up too fast with far too many trappings of the Western world.

Are the people as nice and accomodating? Yes and no. No in that I made a decent deal to get to the hotel on my first night. My bargaining skills are once again in top form and only 10 minutes after clearing customs. My lacking Thai language skills have left me the inability to tactfully let the taxi driver know that I saw him scam me for 20 baht and take local streets instead of the toll road and being scammed out of another 25 for fradulent minibar charges (c'mon people, I may look dumb, but I know what was taken from the minibar). Yes in that my friends at the bar were more than happy to see me, The cell phone airways were abuzz of my arrival and I was happy to be able to see people that I genuinely call friends again.

The thing that I now realize that wears one down is being looked at like a walking ATM machine. The common thought is that if you can afford foreign travel, you must be rich. Wrong!! I saved my ass off the past 9 months and gave up several trip opportunities to have the cash to make it here. Even with Thai speaking friends it takes its toll. A dollar here, fifty cents there, well you get the point.

Friday I checked into the Grand President service apartments. Smaller than a hotel room, but at least I have a fridge and a small, but nonfunctional kitchen. Yeah, I'm a little bitter. The bloom is off the rose. Vietnam airlines rt to Saigon $287. I'll be leaving Wednesday and searching for the 1st McDonalds in Ho Chi Minh City.

More to follow...

Finally

2005-11-16T07:57:00.000-06:00

7:57 AM - Chicago, IL

Plane leaves in four hours (hopefully). I've slept exactly two hours since yesterday, good times. Outside, its about 31 degrees. Much warmer in Thailand. Get me the crap out of here.

Time to get a taxi and deal with big fun at the port.

Coming up - Thailand and Vietnam Trip #4

Panic

2005-11-14T15:41:00.000-06:00

Not sure that I've ever felt this before, but just have a general feeling of panic. I've checked that my accommodation is all set in Bangkok and will check to see that I'm alright with my flight tonight, but I'm starting to panic a bit.

I think if I can get my bag packed tonight, I'll be a little better off, but the whole going to Vietnam with no general plan has me a bit flustered right now. I think once I get to a travel agent in Bangkok and check flight prices, I'll settle down. I've never really gone by the seat of my pants on a trip and everyone that does it has usually no issues. I guess its just a big combination of nerves, anxiety, and anxiousness.

Its got to be since I was up at 4AM this morning.

1 more day of work, just need to keep my head.

Later.

This is how I feel today...

2005-11-11T10:51:00.000-06:00

I've got 5 days to go before I leave. I've thrown clothes that I plan to take on my opened suitcase (my version of packing), bought all the toiletries that I suspect I can't get in Thailand, and will be making a call to get a malarone prescription (anti malarial drug) this afternoon. I have no issues with the Travel and Immunization Center at Northwestern Hospital, they're fantastic and do a great job. I think that my medical insurer is a bit faulty, but I'll give them a chance before I start to condemn them.

This should be a good weekend in the city, my last for a month. The weather will be fairly warm with chances of rain and there's a lot of good football to watch. Next week Friday I'll be in 90 degree temps having an adult beverage and lounging by the pool, can't wait.

Work is work. Slow and well, I'll just leave it at that. I've got a few things working before I leave on Wed., and a few more when I get back. Might be time for change all around in 2006.

I might have an update before I leave if I have time. If not, I'll try to have an update on Friday November 18th from Bangkok.

Time to cross the wild meridian.

The World Series is Over

2005-10-27T14:56:00.000-05:00

Thankfully. The Sox won with a sweep. Congrats. I have no feelings about a Sox championship. I root for the Cubs and as a Cub fan, I'm pissed. They were 5 outs away from getting there in 2003 and lost. They blew a chance to make the playoffs in '04 and never had a chance in '05.

2006? Who knows? I'm too embittered right now to think they have a shot, but fortunes can change year to year. I have to think happy thoughts. Wisconsin is 7-1 with 4 games to play and the Redskins are 4-2 and are starting to look like they could make a run.

I'd love to see the Redskins make the playoffs. They haven't been there since 1991 when they went to the Superbowl. I can't believe that they have been this bad for so long. Does every team that I root for stink this badly?

I've got 20 days to go. I should start packing at least most shorts can go in my bag already. I don't think that I'll be seeing warm weather any time soon around here.

Till tomorrow. Maybe I'll post a photo or something.

No World Series Tickets

2005-10-21T12:38:00.000-05:00

Chicago, IL

And no chance of me going either. I'm not paying a minimum of $900 (for one seat) to sit in the nose bleed seats at US Comiscular. I have a strange feeling that I would pay that to see a Cub World Series game. Fat chance of that happening though.

Its Friday and I can't type for anything today. 26 days left until I get out of here for a month. A month, I can't even believe that I could pull it off. I'm excited to get out of here since the weather is starting to turn and there is talk of snow making an appearance during Game 1 of the WS tomorrow. Yup, I'm ready for temps in the 90's again.

I think I might have my Vietnam trip planned a little more now. Talked with a friend that has previously visited and was told that Hoi An is a must see. Hoi An is in the middle of Vietnam on the South China Sea near Hue (pronounced Whey) and Da Nang. I'm only worried about how long to go for. My thinking is to fly from BKK to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) or Saigon as its still called. Stay a couple days and see the sights and then take the train to Hue and work my way back to Hoi An and then Saigon and a flight back to BKK.

I really want to see Hanoi and Halong Bay also, but I'm not sure how to work it all in even with a month. Flying can get real expensive and the train in going to be slow, real slow.

Thankfully, for this trip I don't have a lot of additional purchases to make. I have my camera, memory cards, rechargeable batteries and charger. I need to look into extended battery life for my iPod so I have something to listen to on the plane, but will probably do that just before I go. All I really have to do this time out is pack and write out checks for bills before I leave. If I forget something, I'll get it there, or go without.

I'm still amazed at how fast the time is going. When will it ever slow down?

After Such a Great Weekend...

2005-10-17T13:49:00.000-05:00

Chicago, IL

30 days to go.

The Badgers beat the golden goofers of Minnesota with 35 seconds to go in the game and USC beats Notre Dame. Just a great weekend of college football. The ALCS ended last night with the Southside American League ballclub going to the World Series and the NLCS should end this evening with a Houston win (hopefully).

A great weekend of sports all around, but Monday has reared its ugly head again. I'm not going to rag on my job, everyone hates their jobs to some degree. I just really need to do some severe soul searching to see if I want to come back to it.

I once again sent out the resume to a couple job prospects in the hope of getting an interview when I get to Thailand. I just hope to hear something.

Congratulations to the White Sox and their fans. Its nice to see a team actually take advantage of a 3-1 lead in a championship series and close it out. Am I jealous as a Cub fan? Somewhat. I'm more pissed at the ineptness of the Chicago Cubs management and the Tribune Company for taking the fan's money for 25 years and not producing anything. If I'm lucky enough, I'm going to try to get World Series tickets tomorrow. Its the World Series, need to go to one when its in the city.

33 days, time to get to it

2005-10-14T16:53:00.000-05:00

Chicago, IL

33 Days to go. I've been walking in the dream state for the past 126 days. Not sure where to go, what to do, just trying to figure it all out before I leave.

I've been asked if I'm coming back after a month in Southeast Asia. Answer is, I don't know. I suspect I will be going back to the States after this trip, but there's too much unknown right now.

I've made my savings goal, well, I'll be off by $60 dollars, but will deposit that at the end of the month.

I'll have a few more thoughts later this weekend and probably a slight semblance of where I'm going to go in Southeast Asia for 30 days while avoiding kissing chickens and ducks. Shouldn't be that difficult.

The return trip

2005-06-10T12:51:00.000-05:00

Friday June 10th, 2005 Chicago, IL

Well, I'm going back. In 159 days (November 16th), I'll be back on a plane to Southeast Asia.

I got my visa for Vietnam a couple weeks ago, but still have no idea where I will go yet. I'm planning on getting my tickets there when I get to Thailand.

Geting airfare this time around was a royal pain in the ass. I usually go direct to United to book, but couldn't find a flight for under $1,400. The price jumped $300 after Memorial Day and I was gettting tired of waiting. I got the flight I wanted for $1,136 through of all resources, a travel agent.

I honestly couldn't believe it myself, but it worked. My only issue is that I wasn't able to choose my seats. That could be a bit of an issue, but hopefully, it will work out. I think I'll put in a call to United and see if there's a way to get the window before I leave.

Nothing new to report on everything else. Hate my job, getting sick of Chicago, but at least its warm outside finally.

Busy weekend ahead. Cubs and Red Sox all weekend; Belmont Stakes on Saturday (I really need to get out to Arlington sometime this summer ). Till I get off my ass and write again...

Something Different - The Ibizan Sunset

2005-04-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

In 2001, I made my first trips overseas. That summer, I went to Ibiza, a small island off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean which is world renown for clubbing, partying and getting baked in the Summer sun. This was my first exposure to Europe and I fell in love with the sunsets and the mix of several different European cultures.

These photos were taken two years later in 2003. I decided to make a return trip to Ibiza and see if I still could hack partying all night and sleeping in the sun all day. Truth be told, I couldn't. I loved the nightlife, but as a 31 year old, its best left for the young kids. I do love the sunsets there and people all over the island make the trip to the San Antonio side of the island to see the sun come down. These were take on one of those evenings. You kind of have to hike a bit to find a spot that doesn't have too many other vacationers since there are bars that are built on the beach just for the sunset. One of the most famous is Cafe Del Mar.

It was kind of a sad realization that I probably would never go back to Ibiza as there were other places on the earth to see and the sun sets there also. Anyway, enjoy...

Whoo Hoo

2005-04-19T16:47:00.000-05:00

Tuesday April 19th, 2005 Chicago, IL

Well, its in the 70's. I haven't seen warm weather like this in 49 days. I couldn't be happier.

Work stinks, I hate my job.

I'm on the verge of a complete breakdown, so I need to work my ass off on our little project, so I can get out. Pro-forma income statements tonight. Should be a blast.

The dream of gettting a job in Thailand is dead. I wil now work for myself and take vacation when I please then. Done. Finished.

The next three weeks will be hectic, so maybe no updates for a while.

So what's new?

2005-04-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

Thursday April 7th, 2005 Chicago, IL

No too much to report travelwise. I'm making a domestic trip next month to D.C. for the Cubs and Nationals at RFK Stadium. I need to get my airline ticket for the trip and will probably buy next week. I fully expect due to the price of oil and in turn jet fuel prices to be paying upwards of $200 for the flight.

Job opportunities in Thailand:

On the job front in Thailand, I had a response from our affiliate company in Thailand and they are not hiring. I received contacts that headhunt in insurance in Thailand and haven't heard anything yet. I'll start to bother them next week when I have time.

My return trip to Thailand

Tentatively scheduled to start on the 16th of November during my jobs "slower" season, I'm going to have to take time off unpaid (rpobably 10 days or so). I don't think that it will be much of a factor since I want to be able to go to Vietnam and Laos, and I'm saving like crazy to make of for the lost income during those two weeks. Well, at least Vietnam. I think that I'll have the time to look for permanent employment there, but I have a couple other irons in the fire that may make this a lot easier for me.

1060west.net

1060west.net is a new internet venture that two partners and I have started. It has evolved from the 1060west.blogspot.com site and will be offering a lot of cool stuff for Cub fans as we get into the season.

Currently, we are offering a ticket give away for the month of April. If you submit a comment on the blog and include your e-mail address with the comment, you'll be entered into a drawing for two tickets for the 7/3 Cubs vs Nationals game at beautiful Wrigley Field.

We've got a lot of work ahead, but we have a good feeling that this site will take off. Now we just have to get all of the behind the scenes work done before the site goes live (hopefully at the end of this month).

Check out the site if your a fan and put down a post. If you're not, check out the site and tell your friends that are Cub fans about it.

That's all for today. I probably will have a few photos from the weekend at the Friendly Confines and hopefully, will be able to post video from the ballpark. I've got an early day tomorrow as I have to wait in the cold for tickets. Its never Opening Day unless you're freezing your ass off.

I just quit my job...

2005-04-01T15:15:00.000-06:00

Friday April 1st, 2005

No not really. It's April Fool's Day. Stupid day, but that felt really good to write. I guess that something is good about that, I'll have to see where that thought goes as the year progresses.

Nothing to report. Just bored with everything; I guess I should do my taxes this weekend. Opening Day is next week Friday. I can't wait.

I'm officially a convert

2005-03-30T13:47:00.000-06:00

Wednesday March 30th, 2005 1:48PM - Chicago, IL

I've been loading this ipod now since the 15th of March. I'm probably a good week away from finally completing the task and now have 3,333 songs loaded. That's about 9+ days of music. I'm not sure how that's calculated; I'm assuming its if you listened to the ipod 24 hours a day, but I'm really looking forward to when this is completed. I'll have my entire cd library with me now whenever I travel and won't have to bother with deciding which cds to take, because I'll have them all with me.

I'll need to back-up the entire library sometime this weekend. I plan on buying a portable 80G hard drive to use for backup, but then could conceivably sell all of my cds. Even if I were to get $1 each, that would be around $300. Granted, I spent a hell of a lot more than $300 on them, I just don't want the clutter. Trying to streamline a bit I guess.

I'm completely screwed on finding a job with my company in Thailand. I received a letter from the Managing Director of the Bangkok office and they are not looking to hire and have even reduced a few staff members. He was kind enough to forward my resume (CV) to a couple people in Bangkok and I'll hopefully be able to get their e-mail addresses to contact them directly.

I'm a little disheartened by the whole process, but not discouraged. I know what I want and unfortunately will not stop until my goal is achieved. I don't know that I can continue doing the job I do any further. Its no knock to what I do, I just want to look toward other options at this time. Still though, what I thought was going to be a slam dunk has developed currently into an air ball. Sorry for the basketball analogy, too much basketball talk around these days.

I'm mildly toying with the idea of just chucking it all and making the move. Common sense I guess keeps me from doing it, but days like today in the office really make me consider it. I guess not having enough saved up and a credit card bill are enough to prevent it right now.

I think for now, I want to start on getting vacation set for the end of the year. I need to go for a month in order to make it worth while, but will need to take time off unpaid. That should be an interesting conversation. I guess its time to start with that dialogue now.

The weather has broke a bit and its brightened my spirits a bit, but its supposed to get cold this weekend. Typical.

Tonle Sap

2005-03-30T08:11:00.001-06:00

The Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. During the dry season, the lake reduces in size due to evaporation. During the rainy season, the lake reaches its highest levels. These photos were taken at the beginning of the dry season (End of November 2004). After being templed out from the Angokr temples, I decided to go out to the Tonle Sap which is about a twenty minute ride from Siem Reap. It was nice and hot out the day I took these photos and the breeze coming from the lake was quite nice.

This is the view from the boat as we pushed away from shore. There isn't any official boat dock. You just walk over the decks of the other boats until you get to the one you hired for the afternoon. I'm glad that I at least had my sea legs and didn't get soaked.

Most of the residents of the floating village on the Tonle Sap are Vietnamese. Here is a woman with a boat full of wares to sell. I don't exactly know how I would have ordered a coke, but it was certainly possible.

Outboard motor? Not a chance. 100% people powered here and with the wake from the speed boats, none too easy.

One of my favorite photos from the trip. Just two women out on the boat.

When the lake starts to dry out, the homes of the floating village are just moved further into the lake.

Being that it was the middle of the day, most people were actually heading home and resting from the heat of the day or emptying their nets from fishing.

Yes, that is a styrofoam cooler.

Can the weather change any time soon?

2005-03-17T14:25:00.000-06:00

Thursday March 17th, 2005 - Happy St. Patrick's Day

As I sat at my home computer checking to see if a cd had been properly ripped, I looked out the window and saw...yes, wait for it...snow. Again. F$^%ing snow. Its mid-March and I know that it can still snow in the Midwest, buy I'm tired of it.

It reminds me of a line from a Buffet song: "This morning, I shot six holes in my freezer, I think I've got cabin fever..."

I guess I'm lucky that I don't own a pistol or the refrigerator would be getting it.

I decided to let the cd player go the way of the dodo. I purchased an Ipod to try and streamline my cd collection and get them out of the 2' X 2' box in my bedroom.

I've only had a limited time ripping and putting cds on the thing (I had to upgrade my operating system to XP first, what a 2 hour pain in the ass!), but right now have 10 whole cds on there. I only have about 190+ cds to go through. I think tonight I'll go through the cds where I bought them for just one song (which I think is quite a few). I'm already embracing the technology. On my last trip, I went with my cd player and a book of 30 to 40 cds in a book (I double up the cds to fit more in the book). I like to listen to music on the plane and when I'm not doing anything, but it becomes a bit bulky. I now already have 10 cds in the Ipod and the thing is about the size of a deck of cards.

With 30G of storage (holds approximately 7,500 songs or 25,000 photos), I should be able to get my entire cd collection on the Ipod with room to spare. Now I have to get portable storage to hold the contents of the Ipod when I finish this upload. Should be fun.

Sunset in Cambodia

2005-03-15T08:03:00.000-06:00

I don't know that I need to really describe these too much. I took these photos from the causeway of Angkor Wat. The clouds that rolled in made a phenomenal sunset on my first day in Cambodia.

Not a good day

2005-03-14T11:15:00.000-06:00

Monday March 14th,2005

I promise that later in the week I'll be back to something more positive, but today I need to focus on a bit of bad news that I received. My friend Trevor was pronounced dead last night. He had gone in for a gastric bypass operation, but due to complications, he was never able to fully recover. Trevor was a fighter and it came as a shock to me that he didn't make it.

Trevor was a guy who certainly lived life to its fullest, so I'm sure that he would want us to celebrate his life, but we will all grieve at his passing.

Since this blog is primarily about my travels, I will recount a travel story about a trip I took with Trevor. A few years ago I had agreed to go with Trev on a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. There were four of us on the trip and we drove leaving around 10:30 or 11:00 PM on a Thursday night. The drive down took roughly 19 or so hours and we got to New Orleans around 4:00 PM. We had pretty fun times in the bars checking out the sites and sounds of the Mardi Gras weekend. The bar we went to Trev was a regular and all the staff just loved him (I think that this was the case everywhere he went). The only issue that arose during the trip was Trev's infamous snoring. Anyone that had ever shared a room with Trev knew that he was a loud snorer. Very loud. Driving back was hell as I was exhausted and the drive really takes a toll (Trev was in the back snoring and even that couldn't keep me awake).

I'll remember that trip too from a trip to Cafe du Monde. Cafe du Monde is famous for chicory coffee and benginets, one of the photos that I have from the trip (At least one of the photos that I could publish), is Trev wearing one of those paper hats and holding a cup of coffee. Trev was a big guy, so the cup of coffee looks like a thimble and the paper hat just sat on the top of his head. Just a silly image, but was great for a laugh.

It had been a while since I had seen Trev. I really wasn't going to the same bars where we all used to hang out, but remember sitting and laughing with him the last time that I saw him. I'm going to miss that. Rest in peace my friend, you will truly be missed.

Learning Thai

2005-03-09T11:21:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, March 9th, 2005 Chicago, IL

Since my first trip to Thailand in 2004, I've been interested in learning the Thai language. I always feel that if you can communicate in someone's native language, it makes it easier to be understood and to get around during your travels.

I started probably the way most people do with languages when they travel by memorizing as much of the travel related phrases in the guidebook. Most of the phrases do help with very general situations like "How much is this?" "Help", "Where is...?"

It just doesn't help in everyday situations.

About a year ago, I purchased a copy of Thai for Beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker. It really has provided a good start, but without being able to practice everyday and the other b.s. that happens in life away from Thailand, I really didn't get past Chapter 3 in the book. I did however put as much effort as I could into learning the consonants and vowels of the alphabet. My thinking was that if I could at least identify the characters, I could sound out the word even if I didn't know what the word actually meant.

On my last trip out, I purchased the Thai for Beginners computer software. I'm thoroughly impressed with the software as it provides repetition and the ability to go over phrases endlessly until its understood. I've been pretty good on the first three chapters, but decided to try another chapter, chapter 6. Wow, I could phonetically pronounce the words, but had no clue what the word's meaning was.

If I really want to make this move, I better start studying a lot more.

Just bought a guidebook for Vietnam. I'm planning on taking a bit of an extended trip to Southeast Asia at the end of the year if the job search turns up nothing. I figure that if I have enough time, I'd like to spend at least a week plus there and then tour Northern Thailand.

Lagaan (good bye)

2005-03-03T14:35:00.000-06:00

Sunday 1:00 AM - Back at the hotel. Have to leave for the port in 3 hours.

There's no use sleeping. Just want to spend my last few hours in country having fun. We decide to play cards for the next three hours and then head out to the airport.

For once I don't get screwed over by the taxi mafia outside of the hotel. The driver uses the meter, I pay the tolls for the tollway. There's no traffic on the tollway, ever really. Its the fastest way to the airport although there is a new international airport being constructed and should be open this year. That will be interesting when I return at the end of the year.

I do kind of love the ride on the tollway, the only traffic you see are cars going to the airport and everyone is driving like they are on the autobahn.

This is actually the first time that I've contemplated telling the taxi driver to take me back to the hotel. I really did, but I guess there were too many loose ends to tie up back home before pulling this kind of move.

There are no stories of any tearful goodbyes or anything because that didn't happen. We sat, laughed, and said our goodbyes. I was a bit sad leaving, but like I've said before, the world is a lot smaller these days. I'm 8,000 miles away, but never feel that I'm that far with e-mail and relatively inexpensive international long distance rates and text messaging. All I'm doing now is counting down to Cubs Opening Day and my return trip. 261 days to go...

TIme to get out...

2005-03-03T10:11:00.000-06:00

Thursday, March 3rd, 2005 Chicago, IL 257 days to go.

I did it, finally did it. I sent an e-mail to my bosses indicating my desire to go to Bangkok, permanently. This has been a decision that I've agonized over my entire time in Thailand. Several times I asked myself "Why exactly am I going back?"

Well, I'm now decicated to getting out and that's it. I'm tired of cold, corrupt Chicago and would rather be in hot, corrupt Bangkok. Its the decision of a lifetime. My initial plan is to get a transfer with my current company and stay there a couple years. I'm excited about going because if it does come to fruition I'll be able to travel throughout Asia for vacations.

What do I need to do in the mean time is study, study, and study Thai. I was lucky to get a software program for Thai when I was in Bangkok, now I just have to spend the time studying. Whenever I can find the time that is...

Ok, I owe a lot from the last trip. I wasn't realy near a computer except for two days and thus the lack of updates. I'll start working on that this weekend. I don't have any photos, but still have my impressions of someone now more familiar with Thailand.

Weekend Market - Part Dooh

2005-02-26T14:34:00.000-06:00

Book & Collectibies: 1
Miscellaneous & Décor: 2
Plants & Gardening Tools: 3, 4
Clothing & Accessories: 5, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23
Home Utensils & Décor: 7, 22, 24, 25
Handicraft & Miscellaneous: 8
Pets & Accessories: 9, 11, 13, 15
Furniture: 17, 19
Antiques: 26

The weekend market. Love it. Except that it was hot as hell today. There were only two things that I wanted to get. A gift for my mother's birthday (if you're reading this, I have yet to get to the post office.) and a opium pipe that I saw on my last trip.

It took a while to find the stand, but finally found the pipe. I packed it badly in my suitcase and broke it a bit. Time to get out the superglue. Oh, absolutely hated it. Well, she won't have to see it. Lst day in Bangkok. I'm a little sad to be going back.

Massage time

2005-02-20T11:46:00.000-06:00

Sunday February 20th, 2005 Bangkok, Thailand

A week to go. I'm already slightly depressed. I spent the rest of the night playing cards until the wee hours of the morning. Learned a couple new Thai card games, one was three card poker essentially. I cleaned up. I think that Oh was a little surprised that I beat her so handily in our last three hands and a little pissed. Gambling is illegal at Bushwood, but the Thai people love to play cards.

Once again another early morning that ended with the two of us talking till the sunrise. Mental note, get a room on the West side of the hotel next time.

Oh and I got a little lunch late in the afternoon and hit the bar to play some pool. I'm not terrible at pool, but when I play against Oh, I get my ass kicked on a consistent basis. Sometimes it becomes a bit embarrassing.

I was a little sore from traveling, so we went to go get a massage. Thai massage is what I would describe as a painful experience that leaves you relaxed. We decided on two hours for the both of us which I think was about 1,000 Baht with tip (about $27 USD). I strained my elbow picking up my suitcase and it was still real stiff, so the girl that was working on me took it as a personal challenge to straighten out my arm. Big mistake. I was on the verge of tears a couple times as she worked me over. I tried to keep my cool, but finally relented and said that it was "ok" and she could move on.

I'm not sure if that the pain is the way the massage is supposed to go or that because I'm a bigger guy, they decide to really work on my muscles a lot harder. Either way, it was painful followed by being pretty relaxed.

6 Days to go before I go back. Why do I have to?

So an elephant walks up while I'm eating...

2005-02-19T11:22:00.000-06:00

Saturday February 19th, 2005 Bangkok, Thailand

Ok, this trip wasn't about doing a lot of touristy things. This was to find out a couple things for myself about Thailand. Can I live here? How would I adjust to the culture shock? Can I find a job? Where exactly is this thing going to go with Oh?

Well, today we got going later in the afternoon and decided to go to the movies. We met up with Kan at the bar and went to Ekamai (down Sukhumvit road) to see what movies were playing. Nothing really good here, so it was off in a taxi to MBK and their theater. I didn't see anything that interested me, but Oh saw that "Finding Neverland" was playing and wanted to see it. Who am I to argue? Not a bad movie (honestly, I fell asleep a couple times, still not completely adjusted to the time change I gues).

After, we went to get something to eat. Most of the Thai places that we went to eat at were outdoor with one or two exceptions. This place, (I know where it is, but can't remember the name), was outside and I was of course, the only Farang in distance. I guess the first trip I was a bit more self conscious about being the only Westerner around, but now I just accept it as no big deal. I only wish that I could understand a little more of the conversation.

Now to the elephant. As we were eating, I see a man sitting on an elephant crossing the street toward us. Now, I'm not scared of the elephant. I'm scared of being trampled by it though. One of the handlers tries to sell us a bunch of sugarcane for around 20 Baht for the elephant to eat. We all declined and just hoped that they would go on their way which eventually they did. About 10 minutes later here comes another elephant. Same sales pitch, I decline. We're all finishing up dinner and about to get the check and I see about three more elephants with their handlers crossing the street. Ok, time to go.

I guess the funny thing about it all was when we were walking out. The handler asks if we want to feed this elephant. Oh and I both decline and the handler turns the elephant's backside toward us. I recall saying "This is not the side that I need to see after eating." Luckily, we got by unscathed.

Coming up...time for a massage.

S%t, S#%t, S&t!!!!

2005-02-18T11:10:00.000-06:00

Friday February 18th, 2005

Fucking jetlag. Crap, crap, crap!!!

Ok, I was supposed to go to the bar and meet people at 2:30PM and later at 5:00PM. I woke up at 7:00 PM. Great. Just pissed this day away. Time to get ready and get out.

I finally met up with Oh around 10:00 PM. Its great to see her. I honestly can't stop smiling now. We've been talking on e-mail and the occasional phone call since I was back in the states, but this makes 22 hours in the air worth it. We decided to head out to Ko San road for the evening and go to Gulliver's Travelers Tavern.

I'm not a big fan of Gulliver's; the music is great, but the crowd can be crap. Last time I went there was the first night I went out with Oh a year ago and witnessed the best of Western behavior in a fight. Thankfully, nothing like this happened this time around. With the 1:00 AM bar time, you have to be a little resourceful if you want to drink late. You can go to a restaurant or private club and get served, I never had much problem getting something to drink late if I wanted, but this trip, I really didn't drink too much at all after this night.

Oh and I got back to the hotel around 3:00 AM or so and wound up talking until the sun came up. I'm in trouble. Big trouble.

Going back - Thailand Trip #3

2005-02-16T10:33:00.000-06:00

Well, here it is, ten weeks have passed and I haven't been able to get Thailand off the brain. I've made my standard pre-flight breakfast at Salt & Pepper and am now ready to go. I'm nervous and excited.

Here are a few of my impressions of the flight over.

Airport - I guess I'm still on the "no fly list" what a joke. It took a bit to get my tickets and a quick call by the woman behind the counter cleared everything up, but I'll say it again: I feel no safer by this facade of airport "security" than I did prior to 2001. Anytime that we become dependent on a government agency for protection, a letdown is certain to occur. Just my opinion, but prove me wrong.

Frequent Flier programs - I fly United. I think they're a good airline and try to fly them exclusively when I can (yes, this is a shameless plug). I recently have been upgraded to their "Premier" status having flown now over 80,000 miles. The plus is that I was able to board the plane is the first group and get settled. The other perk is that there now is an "Economy Plus" section on the plane. More on this in a second.

Economy Plus - Ok, the deal with the economy plus section is they try not to put someone in the middle seat. Here's a description of the section from the United website:

United's new Economy Plus® section. Economy Plus is a premium seating area in our Economy cabins - consisting of the first 6-11 rows (depending upon the fleet type) - that offers up to 5 inches more legroom per seat. This means more space and greater comfort for business travelers who are flying in coach - especially when it's not possible to upgrade to First Class. Economy Plus provides more room so you can get your work done inflight. Up to 5 inches more legroom in

Economy Plus
United was the first airline to announce it was reconfiguring its fleet to add more inches of legroom in the air - and the only airline to focus this benefit on our most-frequent fliers. The idea for the Economy Plus section came straight from our customers. Our business travelers told us they wanted more room in the Economy cabin. It was their number-one request. So we listened - and began removing seats from our planes and reconfiguring our aircraft.

21,000 Economy Plus seats
We have more than 21,000 Economy Plus seats in the sky - each with up to 5 inches more legroom. That's more legroom in Economy than any other US airline.

Economy Plus seating
Economy Plus is available on most North America and many international flights. Advance seating assignment in Economy Plus is available on a first-come, first-served basis to the following customers:
Mileage Plus members who have Mileage Plus Premier status or above.
Star Alliance Gold and Silver members.
Customers traveling on fares booked in Y, B or M class.

Having experienced this first hand, I'll book in this section as often as I can.

The Flight - Maybe I'm just used to it now, but the flight wasn't that bad. The movies were terrible and the food (God, the food), was even worse than before. Mental note, bring your own food next time.

Transfer to the hotel - Once again, no problems. I think after a couple trips to BKK, you don't have that wide eyed, "What do I do now?" look. I once again decided to not take the taxi queue and go with a private car. Its a bit expensive, but I really wanted to check in and get something to eat.

I spent the rest of the night, and a good majority of the morning drinking a few beers and trying to adjust to the time change. I finally ended my night (if that's what you call it) around 9:00 AM having a couple beers with a few Brits I met on the street and a Thai guy that was educated abroad. Great conversation, but sleep finally took over. Coming up, Day 2.

What a day...

2005-02-15T15:46:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, February 15th, 2005 3:47 PM Chicago, IL

21 hours 13 minutes...

I'm so ready to go. Yesterday seems like a week ago already. I just want to be sitting in the uncomfortable cabin of that plane trying to fitfully sleep. This time tomorrow, I'll be somewhere over the Western U.S. asking myself, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"

I think I might take a small nap tonight when I get home from seeing friends, but after that, up all night. Yahoo Holdem, here I come.

I had an interesting experience with the pharmacy today. I was told that they couldn't fill my Malarone script because it wasn't called in by the nurse. I was a little testy by hearing this and not wanting the hassle, so I told the pharmacist to forget it and that I'd get something in Thailand (hopefully not malaria).

Kidding, I'll just pick up a doxycycline order at the pharmacy in Bangkok if I go to a malarious area. I'm pretty sure that Kanchanaburi will be fine. No worries.

Friday I'll have a post for day two. Thursday night arrival gives me time to get a meal and a few beers and that's it.

Time to fire it up

2005-02-14T11:13:00.000-06:00

Monday February 14th, 2005 11:13AM (Happy VD)

Alright 2 days to go. Today has already been hell. Just sat through a 1 1/2 hour meeting this morning. I once again contemplated jumping out the window (my office is on the 30th floor). I've got no focus today.

I worked all afternoon yesterday for our new business venture and have secured a meeting with a vendor, so the vacation will be a lot of relaxing, a little bit of work. I'll report on that during the trip. It will be an interesting perspective and a valuable lesson on doing business in Thailand. I'm actually looking forward to it.

Took care of the V.D. (Valentine's Day, not venereal disease get your head out of the gutter), thing a couple days ago. It is celebrated in Thailand, but I'm not going to fall into the running into a card store for some useless piece of crap that will be forgotten years from now. I'm not so sure why we fall into it here. I'm not advocating doing nothing (although its not a bad idea), but just not sending my money to the greeting card companies.

I did a lot of laundry, but still didn't pack. Unless putting the clothes on top of the suitcase counts. I still need to pick up my prescriptions for Malarone (malaria prophylactic) and Ativan (sleepy time on the airplane), but will take care of it tonight before going home to pack and hang out.

I'm trying a new technique to help me sleep on the plane. My flight leaves at 1:00 PM Wednesday afternoon. I plan on staying up all day Tuesday and not go to bed until I get on the plane at 1:00 and then lights out. My flights are from Chicago to Tokyo's Narita airport which is a 12 1/2 hour journey to hell. This is why I want to go sleep deprived so that I can sleep the entire way. I've only ever been able to sleep fitfully on that flight. The next leg is the one I dread. Last time out, I was jammed in next to two similar sized Western guys for 6 hours. I still feel bad for the guy riding in the middle.

I'm not too sure what my schedule is going to be this week. I think I'll log my flight again, but I hope there aren't many entries except fell asleep, woke up, landed. We'll see how that works out.

What have I learned that I'll apply this time out?

1. Buy bottled water before going to the airport. No more $7 for two bottles of water this time around.

2. I'm going to start using a lot more Thai. This might be potential for a lot of comedy as my mastery of the tones is pathetic at best.

3. I will not have any fear of anything food wise. I'm going all out this time and looking forward to it. Although, I may still not be eating too many bugs.

4. Photos, photos, photos. Capturing life in Thailand for all to see. The good, the bad, and the ridiculous.

5. Patience and understanding. Not getting electrocuted by culture shock.

I'll admit that I'm a little nervous this time out. Not sure why and I'm sure everything will be fine and if not, I'll figure it out.

Time to tuck tail and hit Hallmark.

Coming up...sleep deprivation and airport fun.

Monk Bowl Village

2005-02-06T14:00:00.000-06:00

A few days late. Happy Chinese New Year!

Here are photos of the Monk Bowl Village. This is an area in Bangkok, no more than an alley wide that produces alms bowls for Buddhist monks. This area used to be much larger with several families producing bowls, but has since been reduced to only a few families (apparently, there are only 3 families doing this now). I went here in February on my first day in Bangkok after the snake farm.

This was my first real experience with taking taxis in Bangkok. I hopped in one, attempted to pronounce where I wanted to go and after a blank look, showed the driver the name in Thai. We drove for about 15 minutes through traffic clogged, pollution filled streets. Here's where I started to get a bit of a feel for how lively and active Bangkok is just during the day. The driver eventually stopped on the street, pointed toward a side street and told me to walk that direction. I paid him and off I went.

Now looking back on it, this is probably where the foreign tourist could have been robbed and thrown in the klong (canal). It never occurred to me that I could be in trouble at any time. This lack of fear probably needs to be adjusted sometime in the future. I started off up this side street and after 70yds, I finally saw a sign that indicated the Monk Bowl Village and an arrow pointing in the direction I was walking.

I did kind of think that this could be trouble, but came to a courtyard eventually where the arrow pointed to the left. Now I was a bit confused as to where to go next. Here's where the Thai people are so awesome. A Thai woman saw me looking around and approached me. She asked me if I was looking for the Monk Bowl Village, I shook my head yes and she pointed to a small alley off to the right. I thanked her and walked into the alley...

The alms bowl is formed from 8 separate pieces of metal which represents the eight spokes of the wheel of Dharma. Here, the pieces are being formed together.

In the past, the pieces would be welded together in a kiln. A little modern convenience is used to speed up the process.

This is the guy that sold me two alms bowls. Here, he's showing a bowl that has been tacked together. The bowl now has to be shaped and fired with a lacquer.

This woman is shaping the bottom of the bowl and rounding it out. After the shaping is complete, the bowl would be fired with a lacquer and then sold.

This was a great experience seeing how craftsmen use a combination of modern and old technique to manufacture a truly beautiful piece of art. I'll have to photo the completed bowls and post them here. Maybe this weekend.

Aaaah!!! Cobras!!!

2005-02-05T11:42:00.000-06:00

Saturday February 5th, 2005 12:48PM Chicago, IL (Happy Superbowl Eve)

Hope those of you that got the Simpson's reference enjoyed it.

Here are a few photos of, well, cobras. Sorry, no posts in the past couple of days, I've been working on the 1060west blog and all the furor surrounding the Sammy Sosa trade. To see updates, check out www.1060west.blogspot.com

The Badger hoops team is about to dump one against the damn Goofers; thankfully, the Badger hockey team won 3-1 last night. NHL what?

On my Thailand trip of last February, one of the things on my list to see was cobras; as long as they weren't crossing my path. I had two opportunities to see them at two different snake farms. The first photos are from the snake farm that is run by the Red Cross. The last three photos are from a snake farm that was part of a canal tour I took. There was a stark difference between the two, especially in the was the snakes were handled. I'm no snake fan, but these animals are used to manufacture anti-venom which helps countless snakebite victims in Thailand which is definitely a good thing. Anyway, on to the photos:

This is the entrance to the Queen Soawapha snake farm. Its run by the Red Cross and has shows twice a day. I went here on my second day and was really looking forward to seeing a cobra up close (well, not that close). The farm holds a slide show and an exhibition of milking the snakes for venom. Yeah I know, an educational activity on vacation? Go figures, it was pretty interesting.

After the slide show, you're escorted out to a covered set of bleacher seats. I had the misfortune of getting a seat in the top of the bleachers; I wanted to get closer down to get photos, but still got a few good shots. If you look in the background, there is a structure that looks like a hut. This is where the cobras are housed. The whole area is roughly 40 yd x 40 yd with these little structures. One of the workers then went down there, grabbed a couple Siamese cobras, and brought them up. As you can see, they look real happy to be disturbed. Smile for the camera guys.

Maybe its better that I'm not too close.

After having the Siamese cobras out, they bring out a king cobra. Look at that damn thing. You're not going to really run into one of these unless you're in the deep forested areas of Thailand. That being said, I'm not going out to the forest anytime soon.

A close up of the king cobra. These things can rise up about 1/3 of their body length. That's easily a 6 foot snake there. I'd seriously wet myself if I saw one of these in the wild.

Anyone want to hold it???

This photo was taken from the second snake farm. I had no intention on going here, but wound up getting roped into going. The day I went here I was at Sathorn pier and wanted to go on a canal (klong) and river tour. After agreeing on a price for an hour tour (I think it was around 500 baht), we were off on the river on the longtail boat. We entered one of the canals and after about 15 minutes, the boat pulls up to a pier where the driver told me "snake farm" and urged me to check it out. Well, it was a ploy for the longtail boat driver to make some commission by having me go there. The cost was much more that the other snake farm and the facilities left much to be desired.

I walked around the cages and eventually came up to this stage area where they have the show. Here you can see this guy taunting the cobras. Umm, is that a good idea?

Here he picks up the cobra and it makes an attempt to bite the handler. No such luck of seeing someone bit by a cobra.

Here he lets the snake go away. One thing that I did not enjoy was at the end of the show this guy grabs the cobra and swings it toward the crowd. Not cool at all. There was a woman sitting next to me (I was standing) who must have jumped 3 feet and ran. It was kind of funny after the fact, but if the guy lost control of that snake, I'd have been right behind her.

11 days to go...

Tomorrow, photos of the monk bowl village.

Disbelief

2005-01-31T11:24:00.000-06:00

Monday January 31st, 2005 11:25AM Chicago, IL

Well, here it is the last day of January. Here in Chicago, I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as winter is concerned. I only spend 16 more days in Chicago until I go back to Bangkok and 90 degree temperatures and get back with one day left in the month and then its March.

The weather still stinks and its cold, but there's the NCAA Basketball tournament and St. Patricks Day (which should be the first day of the NCAA tourney).

I've been thinking about what I want to do this time in Thailand and have a few ideas. Since my first trip last year, I've become fascinated with early Khmer architecture and saw the ultimate at Angkor Wat.

Here's where I'm thinking about going:

Lopburi - Has a few Khmer brick ruins and monkeys (just a note, I had seen monkeys walking around wild in Cambodia and avioded them like the plague; I'll do the same here, but will try to get a couple shots of them). Lopburi is only 154 KM (roughly 92 miles for us Westerners) from Bangkok, so it would make a nice day trip (planes, trains, and automobiles part 2)

Kanchanaburi - Kanchanaburi is another day trip that I'm considering making. I think I'll probably go the first weekend I get to Thailand. Its 130 KM (78 miles for us Westerners) so I can get there pretty quickly via train or bus. Kanchanaburi sits along the river Khwae (pronounced "Kwai"), yes that river Khwae. Although from my reading, its not too impressive, I plan to see the bridge on the river (which was bombed several times during WWII and was subsequently rebuilt after the war) and then out in the country to see some of the waterfalls in the area.

I'll post a few photos later today when I get home. Coming up in 16 days Live From Thailand.

Ayuthaya

2005-01-29T13:16:00.000-06:00

Here are a few more photos from Ayuthaya. This is a Buddha head that had a tree grow around it. This was one of the sites that I wanted to see when I went to Ayuthaya. The head itself isn't terribly big, but another example of nature taking over the works of man.

I'll try to be better about getting a photo of the day up. I had a garbage week. Only wish that I could get the hell out and find something that I want to do when I grow up. Anyway, enjoy the photos, 18 days till I go back. Where did the time go?

Photo of the Day - Ayuthaya

2005-01-19T08:19:00.000-06:00

I took these photos on my first trip to Thailand in February 2004. These are from the city of Ayuthaya which was the Siamese royal capital from 1350 to 1767.

This was taken at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. The structure is known as a 'chedi' which is used to house Buddhist relics and ancient texts. I remember that taking the stairs up to the top left me a bit out of breath, but I had a great view of the surrounding countryside and some of the other temples in the area. I especially remember a large number of stone Buddha images draped in saffron sashes seated around the perimeter of the chedi.

This Buddha image was taken at Wat Phanan Choeng. The Buddha image is 19m high (approximately 57 feet high) and was probably one of my favorite Buddha images next to the reclining Buddha at Wat Po in Bangkok. The temple is located on Mae Nam Chao Phraya (the river that runs to the Gulf of Thailand and is a main transportation artery in Bangkok)

28 days to go...can't wait.

Photo of the day

2005-01-18T08:22:00.000-06:00

The Big Buddha at Koh Samui

Friday's Photo of the Day - A Bayon Extravaganza

2005-01-07T13:33:00.000-06:00

This photo is the front of the Bayon. This structure is most famous for the faces on the pillars (on the upper floor) that face in the four cardinal directions. I read somewhere that is was an image of the king and symbolized his ability to see the kingdom in all directions.

These are pillars on the lower floor that sometime ago would have held up a roof of some sorts. Obviously, the roof has long collapsed or rotted away.

This was taken on one of the outer walls. These bas reliefs are fairly well preserved as are the ones at Angkor, but these depict more everyday life.

A better close-up of a bas relief that shows everyday Khmer life.

This was taken at the top floor of the Bayon. Here are the faces in greater detail.

Another shot of one of the towers with the faces.

2005-01-06T15:23:00.000-06:00

Photo of the Day:

The gate to Angkor Thom

I'm sick as a dog today, but wanted to post something. I'm finally able to load photos, so I'll put one down from my last trip as often as possible. The photo is the gate to Angkor Thom. If you look close enough, you can see the face on the top.

Angkor Thom

An ounce of prevention...

2005-01-05T10:39:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, January 5th, 2005 10:40AM - Chicago, Il

Monday I went to the Northwestern Hospital Travel and Immunization Center to get my booster shots for Hepatitis A and B.

http://www.nmff.org/travelmedicine/index.asp

Aside from a couple sore shoulders, I really didn't feel so bad, but by the end of today I felt a few cold symptoms. Probably got it from one of the patients lurking around the office. Thanks a lot.

I did inquire if there were any additional immunizations that I would need if I ever chose to stay in Bangkok on a more permanent basis. The nurse, who has been giving me my shots for the past year now, suggested that I should look into immunizations against rabies and Japanese Encephalitis. Both are a series of three shots which is par for the course as they help to build the anti-bodies necessary to fight the diesase if ever infected. The interesting statement that the nurse said was with the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, I would have to wait roughly 30 minutes after each shot to make sure there were no adverse reactions. A little chilling to say the least. For now, I'll hold off. It wasn't really the chance of adverse reactions that scared me off, but the cost. I think the entire series of both shots would cost in the neighborhood of $900. Not a neighborhood I can afford to go to right now.

Coming up - A new feature until I can think of something more interesting to write: Photo (or photos) of the day...

Happy New Year's

2004-12-31T14:30:00.000-06:00

Friday December 31st, 2004 2:31PM - Chicago, IL

With only a few hours left in 2004, every news organization has ben relfecting on the past year. I'll choose not to do the same.

I'll be posting photos of my trip as soon as I get my computer out of the shop. I had an unfortunate deletion error and decided to upgrade my machine to a larger case and have my DVD ROM player re-installed, so that will start to occur during the upcoming week.

What's on tap travelwise for 2005? February, I will go back to Thailand and find out how difficult it will be to get a tourist visa for my girlfriend (wish me luck, since that's all you have against bueracracy)

If I can get Tan to the states, that will probably sometime in May for a month or so.

I'll probably have a return trip to Southeast Asia sometime in the fall, with a trip to Vietnam, Laos, and hopefully the north of Thailand (Chaing Mai and Chaing Rai).

This is of course dependent on the employment prospect in Bangkok. If the job front changes, then I'll be able to make these trips on my leisure. Anyway, I'm off to get my computer and start cocktailing.

Happy New Years, have a great 2005...

Disaster

2004-12-29T14:10:00.000-06:00

Wednesday December 29th, 2004 - Chicago, IL

With the death toll at 80,000 plus lives and climbing, the affected areas of Southeast and Central Asia are in a real crisis. The major issue at hand now is the eventual and impending epidemics of disease that are due to follow in the wake of such a disaster.

I've been asked by several people if I had been to this area. I hadn't, but if I had stayed in Thailand after my return date, I probably would have traveled to Koh Phi Phi (the island on which the movie the "Beach" was filmed). Koh Phi Phi from reports was completely destroyed with a lot of those on the island being washed out to sea. Scary.

My condolences go out to those who have lost family members or that have missing family members. I hope those that are missing turn up alright.

This is the kind of natural disaster that will affect the Thai tourist industry for several years to come, not only from lost rooms, but from incomes lost from cancelled reservations and destroyed properties. For those thinking about cancelling your trips to Thailand, don't. Go and help out the economy with your tourist dollars.

Epilogue part 2

2004-12-14T14:36:00.000-06:00

Tuesday December 14th, 2004 8:11AM Chicago, IL

The icy wind hit me square in the face as I walked off the porch of my house and up the sidewalk. It was still dark out and wisps of lake effect snow were in the air. Why was I up walking to the train this early? Jet lag. My body thinks its 6PM in the evening and I can’t sleep anymore.

Walking on the sidewalk all I hear are my footfalls. I’m alone with my thoughts and they run wild at this early hour. I’m not exactly sure what the exact thoughts were, but they revolved around the same thought. I need to get out of here; it’s too damn cold here; and why didn’t I put a little more effort into my job search.

So what did I learn on this trip? Anything? I guess a couple things.

Once immersed in a culture you have really two choices – adapt or die. I did a fairly decent job of adapting to eating solely Thai food with only a couple days of eating falang (foreign) food. Honestly after now being back, I'd rather just eat all Thai food. Fresher. Better tasting. No preservatives.

My language skills need to improve rapidly. I need to start getting more Thai language study into my day, at least an hour or two a day before I go back. In seven weeks. I could pick up about every 20th or so word when I would hang out with Tan and her friends. I need to improve this quickly.

I guess the final thing that I learned is that there are a lot of Western influences that I could live without. Would I miss watching sports at a normal time? Of course, but there is such a thing as DVR and VCRs. I figure that if I do pack it up and go to Thailand permanently, the Cubs will wind up winning the world series (this might be a good thing considering how the neighborhood degenerated during the 2003 playoffs. I really don't want to have to face that anytime soon). I'd miss the variety of food also. Getting a good burger or steak would be tough, but I think that the positives by living in another culture like Thailand far outweigh a few minor inconvienences that I'm sure I could overcome.

The return trip to Thailand is now officially scheduled for February 16th, 2005 to the 27th. I'll have updates as they warrant.

Epilogue - What's next for our foolish traveler?

2004-12-13T14:44:00.000-06:00

Monday, December 13th, 2004 2:45PM - Chicago

So what's next? Where do I go from here? Jet lag gave me the wonderful opportunity to wake up at 2:30AM. I hate this part of travel. All I wanted to do was sleep and go into work for as long as I can, but waking up that early makes it difficult. It feels like its 3:45PM in BKK on Tuesday.

I decided that making a few phone calls would be a good way to kill some time. I called Kan to say hello since the last night I saw her, I was carrying her to a cab hoping she wouldn't get sick. We talked for a couple minutes and I tried Tananchanok. She called back and we talked for a few minutes. I'll call her later in the week. We have to figure out some kind of reasonable schedule where we can talk during the week. Looks like a lot of early morning calls will take place in the future.

With nothing else to do, I decided to go to the gym and work out. It would kill some time and I wouldn't miss my 9AM meeting. I hate being late for those and 9 out of 10 times, I'm late because of some CTA snafu.

Walking out into the cold and freezing my ass off within minutes, I quickly realized what's going to transpire. I am going back in February. Not just to escape the cold, but to look for a job in Thailand. I needed this trip to see if I was love with a country and a city and not a woman. I found out that I was in love with all three.

I've got a lot of challenges coming in the job search and with this newfound relationship. I'd say I'm more worried about the job search. I sent out my resume to a couple people I met in the bar after I had explained my lack of any response to job ads online in the months prior to my trip and have had it forwarded. I suspect that I will have to make a career change in order to find a job. Is it worth it? Will I be able to make the same amount or a comfortable amount of money and be able to stay in Bangkok?

I'm a bit tired right now, so I'll have to put more in part two of the Epilogue - What have I learned, if anything?.