Thailand photos are up. For some reason they are posted in reverse order and I haven't yet figured out how to fix it. It sorts properly when you view the set or when you view the slide show... who knows...
Monday, March 27, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
Chariot Pushing
Okay, not actually a blog entry here. Just me trying to figure out how to post photos. Haven't quite got my Thailand photos yet, so I'll give it a shot with a Burning Man photo. Erin is steering, Sam and I pushing (both also Thailand travel compatriots). I think Erin should of had both hands on the steering wheel!!
Also, clicking on the photo should take you to my photo website, where I think I'm going to put my Thailand photos. This could change though...
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
home alive
I'm home alive and well. The tv's in the back of economy were broken so I had to read, sleep or watch the TV 200 feet up the aisle for the 9 hour flight from Tokyo to SF. But that's pretty well the biggest highlight of the trip home. I got in at 8 this morning (Weds, Mar 22). I left Bangkok at 6 this morning (Weds Mar 22). Go figure! I thought about going to work, but have decided other things are more important. Namely that I only had 42 pages left in my 679 page book, so I finished that up and just in case anybody wants to know, the judge was corrupt but his son burns the disk at the end and the butler was innocent.
I wanted to list a few things that I've appreciated or chuckled at this morning:
1. After a month in places such as Cambodia and Laos, known for civil unrest, mass killings, significant restrictions on personal freedoms, and police corruption, to name a few, the first time I have even heard of any sort of police action is at the San Francisco airport BART station: "All trains will be delayed 15 minutes due to a police action at the West Oakland BART station". Nice to be home.
2. I walked home from the 24th St. BART station with my rolling backpack and another bag strapped on top. I crossed all intersections at intersections with lights. All streets were paved. There were no open sewers large enough to swallow you whole. No scooters or tuk-tuks tried to run me over. I didn't hear a single horn. And every intersection had handicap ramps so my bags never had to be picked up. It was all really quite boring.
3. I very much enjoyed going home and having a glass of water from the tap without worrying about whether the result will be a forced close proximity to the toilet for the next couple days.
4. I went to the bath room and didn't have to bring my own toilet paper and wonder whether there would be a hole in the ground or an actual toilet seat. (note that I also used an excessive amount of toilet paper and disposed of it in the toilet!!)
5. It took me about 45 minutes at home before I made a break for a mid-morning veggie burrito at Cancun on 28th St. The similarities and differences between the Mexican (e.g., salsas) and Thai spices (e.g., curries) are quite interesting. I think both are great, but damn that was a good burrito!! To keep costs under control, I had a glass of water (from a pitcher on the counter with ice, again not worrying about the toilet issue), yet the meal still cost me well over my Thai daily spending allowance for food.
6. Page 3 of the SF Chronicle has a big article about the protests over the Thai Prime Minister and the upcoming elections - I wasn't sure if it was getting any coverage here. Will be interesting to see where this goes...
7. I had a Cafe Au Lait earlier and, now, having changed coffee shops for variety in life, I am having a Chai Latte. These two drinks together cost the same as any of the below:
- an hour long Thai massage
- a typical lunch and dinner in Thailand, breakfast too if alcohol is not ordered
with the meals (breakfast usually has non-alcoholic shakes)
- a good day's wage in Thailand
- a good week's wage in Cambodia
- the cost of my half hour taxi ride to the Bangkok airport yesterday morning
(which was actually this morning in a literal sense)
8. The thought of work tomorrow is quite depressing...
I wanted to list a few things that I've appreciated or chuckled at this morning:
1. After a month in places such as Cambodia and Laos, known for civil unrest, mass killings, significant restrictions on personal freedoms, and police corruption, to name a few, the first time I have even heard of any sort of police action is at the San Francisco airport BART station: "All trains will be delayed 15 minutes due to a police action at the West Oakland BART station". Nice to be home.
2. I walked home from the 24th St. BART station with my rolling backpack and another bag strapped on top. I crossed all intersections at intersections with lights. All streets were paved. There were no open sewers large enough to swallow you whole. No scooters or tuk-tuks tried to run me over. I didn't hear a single horn. And every intersection had handicap ramps so my bags never had to be picked up. It was all really quite boring.
3. I very much enjoyed going home and having a glass of water from the tap without worrying about whether the result will be a forced close proximity to the toilet for the next couple days.
4. I went to the bath room and didn't have to bring my own toilet paper and wonder whether there would be a hole in the ground or an actual toilet seat. (note that I also used an excessive amount of toilet paper and disposed of it in the toilet!!)
5. It took me about 45 minutes at home before I made a break for a mid-morning veggie burrito at Cancun on 28th St. The similarities and differences between the Mexican (e.g., salsas) and Thai spices (e.g., curries) are quite interesting. I think both are great, but damn that was a good burrito!! To keep costs under control, I had a glass of water (from a pitcher on the counter with ice, again not worrying about the toilet issue), yet the meal still cost me well over my Thai daily spending allowance for food.
6. Page 3 of the SF Chronicle has a big article about the protests over the Thai Prime Minister and the upcoming elections - I wasn't sure if it was getting any coverage here. Will be interesting to see where this goes...
7. I had a Cafe Au Lait earlier and, now, having changed coffee shops for variety in life, I am having a Chai Latte. These two drinks together cost the same as any of the below:
- an hour long Thai massage
- a typical lunch and dinner in Thailand, breakfast too if alcohol is not ordered
with the meals (breakfast usually has non-alcoholic shakes)
- a good day's wage in Thailand
- a good week's wage in Cambodia
- the cost of my half hour taxi ride to the Bangkok airport yesterday morning
(which was actually this morning in a literal sense)
8. The thought of work tomorrow is quite depressing...
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
about to leave :(
Laos was great!! I switched my flight so I could stay a day longer in Luang Prabang and less time in Bangkok. Vietiane was nice (I think my last post covered that? I guess I could have checked...) but Luang Prabang was way nice, like totally dude. It was much quieter than many other places with everything 100 percent shut down by 11:30 PM. It also had the feel of a small French town with loads of little shops and bakeries and cafes lining the streets. There are a lot of French here as it was a former French colony and they still use it as a hangout. I spent 4 nights / 5 days and had a great and relaxing time. Met a Canadian (Kelly) my first night and we hung out for the entire time (we both left the same morning, but in different directions). The 2nd day we did a day boat trip to some caves with buddhas and such in them. Also stopped off at some little villages on the river. The next day we did a day trip to some waterfalls that you can hike and swim through - there's a bunch of different levels each with pools, and rope swings and was incredibly relaxing. The next day we were tempted to do a biking and kayaking day tour, but decided to just walk and explore and take it easy. Not very ambitious but a nice way to spend my last full day in Luang Prabang...
Just got back into Bangkok last night and am flying out tonight in about 10 hours, well, actually, that's 6AM tomorrow, which means I'll just stay up late and go to the airport at 3AM... a good enough reason to party late!! After getting into Bangkok last night I went to the Shanti Lodge (a guesthouse that Justin was fond of but kind of out of it) around 7 to pick up an abandoned piece of luggage. I've been travelling with only my day pack and a shoulder bag for the past three weeks. Needless to say I haven't had an extravagant wardrobe, but it sure has made travelling easier. But after all the purchases in Laos - a quilt with matching pillows (will need filling, ummm, Mum?), several stitched silk tapestry type things, some little purse type things for, say, certain nieces, shirts, etc. etc. So the load has definitely increased. And while at the Shanti Lodge I met a Swiss girl who was meeting up with a friend-from-home's Thai friend (a blind friend date?) who ended up being two cute girls. They took us out to some live music and dance clubs, but I was worn out and went home early - what a horrible night to be tired and a lame ass!!! And tonight I'm hanging out with an Australian - it's ridiculously easy to meet people because so many people use Bangkok as a launching pad for other places in Asia that there are lots of solo travellers, such as myself at the moment.
I'm back at the same guesthouse I stayed at with Sam for simplicity and since it seemed very safe and I now have a bunch of stuff. I've yet to be robbed or molested though a couple really young (and poor looking) kids in Siem Reap gave it a go (pick pocket that is). Usually it's quite the opposite with people leaving cell phones, bags and such lying around and nobody even seems to think of taking stuff. A certain Mr. Smith (aka Justin) even left his bag containing most of his essential possesions (i.e., passport, money, camera, etc.) in a tuk-tuk at the airport and managed to get everything back an hour later - that's somewhere between amazing, lucky, and a medical miracle (the miracle being how horseshoes were surgically implanted up his butt). And I haven't had any bouts with the toilet either, so all has gone quite well. I'll just keep knocking on wood.
I'll be back in SF in two days. Then off skiing with my sister and the rotten Jack & Emma in a week, and then back in Canada a day or two after May 1 I'm a guessing. Of course, I prefer to have ideas rather than plans.... Hope to catch up with you all soon!!
Just got back into Bangkok last night and am flying out tonight in about 10 hours, well, actually, that's 6AM tomorrow, which means I'll just stay up late and go to the airport at 3AM... a good enough reason to party late!! After getting into Bangkok last night I went to the Shanti Lodge (a guesthouse that Justin was fond of but kind of out of it) around 7 to pick up an abandoned piece of luggage. I've been travelling with only my day pack and a shoulder bag for the past three weeks. Needless to say I haven't had an extravagant wardrobe, but it sure has made travelling easier. But after all the purchases in Laos - a quilt with matching pillows (will need filling, ummm, Mum?), several stitched silk tapestry type things, some little purse type things for, say, certain nieces, shirts, etc. etc. So the load has definitely increased. And while at the Shanti Lodge I met a Swiss girl who was meeting up with a friend-from-home's Thai friend (a blind friend date?) who ended up being two cute girls. They took us out to some live music and dance clubs, but I was worn out and went home early - what a horrible night to be tired and a lame ass!!! And tonight I'm hanging out with an Australian - it's ridiculously easy to meet people because so many people use Bangkok as a launching pad for other places in Asia that there are lots of solo travellers, such as myself at the moment.
I'm back at the same guesthouse I stayed at with Sam for simplicity and since it seemed very safe and I now have a bunch of stuff. I've yet to be robbed or molested though a couple really young (and poor looking) kids in Siem Reap gave it a go (pick pocket that is). Usually it's quite the opposite with people leaving cell phones, bags and such lying around and nobody even seems to think of taking stuff. A certain Mr. Smith (aka Justin) even left his bag containing most of his essential possesions (i.e., passport, money, camera, etc.) in a tuk-tuk at the airport and managed to get everything back an hour later - that's somewhere between amazing, lucky, and a medical miracle (the miracle being how horseshoes were surgically implanted up his butt). And I haven't had any bouts with the toilet either, so all has gone quite well. I'll just keep knocking on wood.
I'll be back in SF in two days. Then off skiing with my sister and the rotten Jack & Emma in a week, and then back in Canada a day or two after May 1 I'm a guessing. Of course, I prefer to have ideas rather than plans.... Hope to catch up with you all soon!!
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