Change of Scenery

Life sure is funny. Just over a week ago, I called my sister Melanie to tell her I had both good and bad news. The good news? I'd just gotten a raise! The bad news. My company went under 2 days later. Oh, we laughed and we laughed. Mel and I have always had disturbed sense of humours.

I'm sure most people are aware of what happened to my company. By now, most of my co-workers have accepted positions with new companies and I'll be joining them soon enough. For the past 10 days, I've been cluing up things here in Southeast Asia, meeting with clients and partners. It is very unfortunate how everything turned out but I suppose that's the way these things go sometimes and the only thing to do is move on.

I fly home to St.John's on December 6th but I'll be spending the remaining week exploring opportunities with partners and the possibility that they may continue some of the work with our clients.

I had considered taking a vacation to Cambodia but that idea was quickly dismissed yesterday when the anti-government protesters stormed the Bangkok International Airport and brought all services to a halt. Today, they took over the domestic airport so unless I want to travel by bus or train, I'm not going anywhere. Honestly, it's not advisable as they have interrupted ground transportation in the past.

Not to worry though, I'm sure all of this will be sorted out by the time I have to leave. Until then, I have a number of friends to visit so I'll simply hang out with them and enjoy my last week in Bangkok.

Sean

Khon Kaen

This weekend past, I decided to get out of the city and check out more of rural Thailand. At the invitation of some Thai friends (Ann, Art, and Bee), I decided to meet up with them in Khon Kaen, a province in Northeastern Thailand (a.k.a. Isan). It was a great time as Khon Kaen sees few tourists. I met with my friends for a Vietnamese lunch on Saturday, going out with Art's parents who, like most Thai people, are extremely friendly. Afterwards, we visited a temple called Wat Nong Want Muang which I explored and enjoyed thoroughly. We checked out a few other lesser known sites and then went for dinner at a streetside vendor that was serving Isan food , including a delicious barbeque fish. Finally, it was off to a crowded local club called U-Bar, where I was the only foreigner. I got to meet lots of people though and my spoken Thai is gradually getting to a point where I can have basic conversations. I really want to explore more of Isan now, especially the province where Meg and my's friend Tui is from, Si Saket.







Sean

One Year Later

Gee, time sure does fly. It's hard to believe that it has been one year since Meg and I left St.John's to move to Thailand. During that time, we've been fortunate enough to travel throughout Thailand (although we still have to explore more of the beaches), Japan (Toyko is crazy awesome), Mayalsia (the jungles probably being our favorite trip to date), Laos (the most kicked back country in the world), and Vietnam (it's with good reason Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site). Every time we discuss our next trip, we find it difficult deciding where to go. I know too much history about Cambodia not to go but Meg is determined to see Tasmania. Stay tuned....

With only a month left before I head home, there is a lot to do to prepare. For one, Meg and I are desperately looking for new homes for our kitties Gahnomee and Chochie but so far we haven't had any takers. Perhaps it's time to bring them to Thailand. But who wouldn't want to take care of these cuties (picture here investigating their new kennel)!?! ;)



Yes, it does appear that Meg and I will be returning to Thailand in the New Year but not before enjoying the comforts of home with family and friends for an entire month. If anyone is looking for me, chances are you'll find me at Don Cherry's for wing night every Monday and Tuesday.

Sean

Monsoon Season

Monsoon season in Bangkok might be drawing to a close but it is going out with a bang. For the past couple of weeks, we've had torrential rainfall, resulting in streets flooded with black, oily water and bringing out the vermin from the depths of the sewers. Most often, we stay in the cozy confines of our apartment and enjoy the incredible thunder and lightning show but Tui was in an adventurous spirit today so off Tui, Bryan, and I went in search of lunch.



It only takes 15-20 minutes before the side streets start flooding. Sandals are a must as you can't expect to get anywhere without wading through some water. The deepest it got was about a foot.





Had we the appetite for it, we could have snack on the numerous cockroaches making a run for higher ground. They tend to cluster on the walls, wherever they can find a dry spot. Of course, there's no shortage of them running around your feet either but it's not so bad that you can't avoid them...almost.



Sean

Sean's Saturday

With Meg back in Canada, my "habit" of constantly working went into overdrive. Without Meg being here to gently remind me that I have to take time to relax (or eat for that matter), I rarely saw the light of day unless it was to attend meetings (which, thankfully, is quite often). After a couple of weeks, I realized I didn't fancy the idea of dying from malnutrition in front of my laptop and have since been making an effort to step away from my hermit lifestyle.

So, instead of waking up at 6am on a Saturday morning to work the daylight hours away, I've been getting out more with friends and taking time to relax by myself (ok, maybe I still work for a few hours but gimme a break, it's a gradual process). For instance, yesterday I spent my afternoon reading (just started "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini), playing guitar on my balcony (pictured below: a bit of a poser pic, I know), and then went out with friends for dinner to celebrate Tui's last day of work.



We went to the Tawandang Brew-House, a large German beer hall with great Thai food and impressive stage performers - whether its traditional Thai music and dance or an elaborate break dancing show, they have it all. For anyone coming to Bangkok for a visit, I highly recommend the place. By 10pm, people begin standing up at their tables to dance. The Thais love of relaxing and enjoying life to the fullist never ceases to amaze me. It's a good environment for me to be in.



Anyway, rest assured that I am healthy and have forsaken the vampiric existence of living in my bedroom, void of all light. :)

Sean

Halloween in Bangkok

Halloween isn't exactly a popular event in Thailand. From what I understand, it was introduced here for commercial purposes, another holiday for the malls to promote and profit from. Nonetheless, I wasn't going to let that stop me from dressing up and going out, even if I was the only person to do so.

A quick rummage through the closet didn't leave me with many options, it was a choice between being a samurai or...a samurai. So, I broke out the kimono I had bought from Tokyo last December, picked up a plastic sword from the mall, and voilà, instance samurai! (侍 in Japanese)

I ended up going to Muse, a popular Thai club. Unfortunately, very few people were dressed in costume. I would have gone to one of the more popular foreigner hangouts but Muse is just such a happenin' spot.



Sean - (a.k.a. Samurai Champloo's Jin)

Bangkok Theaters

Ya just gotta love the Bangkok theaters. Tui, Bryan, and I went to see "Tropic Thunder" recently (yes, it finally made it to Thailand) at the Nokia Theater in Siam Paragon. There are reclining couches instead of chairs, pillows and blankets, and people to bring you any food or beverages you might want. It's so comfortable that halfway through the movie Tui nodded off for 5 minutes. As for the movie itself, I loved it, especially Tom Cruise's crude character. I think my favorite scene was with the landmine...gold!



Sean

สวัสด

I just finished my last Thai language lesson. Meg and I have been taking weekly lessons since May but we have definitely not practiced as much as we should (isn't that always the case). I suppose we do know enough Thai to navigate Bangkok, order food, and have very basic conversations - and I mean BASIC!

Being a tonal language, meaning pitch defines the meaning of a word, it took awhile to train our ears to identify the tone being used (it's still very difficult to distinguish when speaking to Thais in ordinary conversation as they tend to speak quickly). And using the wrong tone can cause some major misunderstands. For example, "klay" spoken in a medium tone means "far" while spoken in a rising tone means "near". You get the idea.

Nonetheless, the Thai we have learned has made life easier in Thailand and, more importantly, gave us better insight into the wonderfully unique Thai culture. Next up, written Thai....

ฌอน (Sean)

STAcKeD

In terms of Thai cuisine, there's practically nothing that Meg and I cannot or will not eat. We absolutely love the food. I'm not sure how Meg is coping back in Canada at the moment without it. We eat out all the time! It's rare that we'll cook something ourselves. Since Meg left 2 weeks ago, I have yet to cook myself a meal. That changed tonight as I decided to stay in and break out a classic: STAcKeD - a.k.a Stove Top And Kraft Dinner.

When I was living in Ottawa 7 years ago with my cousin Chad, we took two of our favorite dishes, combined them, and added a little BBQ sauce for flavor. We cooked STAcKeD so often it warranted the acronym. It's probably a good thing I returned to NL when I did or Chad and I would have died from malnutrition.

I don't expect a repeat of the STAcKeD-only diet anytime soon, especially not when there's so much delicious Thai food outside my door. However, there is enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....



Sean

Motorcycle Diaries

Though my motorcycle adventure wasn't quite as extensive or life-changing as the biographical film "Motorcycle Diaries" about Che Guevara, it was nonetheless blog worthy.

Despite being extremely dangerous, there is definitely no faster way to get around Bangkok than taking a motorcycle taxi. While all the suckers wait for hours in their cars and tuk-tuks in horrible traffic jams, a motorcycle taxi weaves in and out, violating just about every traffic and safety law to ensure you get to your destination quickly. Though hazardous, Meg and I will sometimes take the motorcycles to go short distances.

Today, I jumped aboard and headed off to the Thai Immigration Bureau. As we neared our destination, a policeman standing outside a police station waved us over to the curb where he was already in the process of issuing a ticket to another motorcyclist. Our offense? I think it was because I wasn't wearing a helmet which a driver is required to provide and ensure the passenger wears. The policeman handed a ticket to the other motorcyclist who, upon seeing the fine, tried desperately to give it back, pleading that it was too much (please note that all dialogue occurred in Thai and this is my interpretation of what happened). Meanwhile, the policeman began issuing our ticket, attempting to ignore the other driver. At this point, a crowd had begun to take notice of our situation and gather - I was feeling ever-more uncomfortable. This did not stop the other driver from taking out his wallet and trying to bribe the policeman...in front of the crowd...in front of the police station. I could see the policeman was getting annoyed now as he firmly dismissed the other driver who slowly retreated to his motorcycle, mumbling under his breath.

Then it happened. The driver just couldn't let it go and probably made some vulgar comment about the cop's mother. I guess I'll never know what was said but the policeman reacted swiftly, grabbing the driver by the neck and literally dragging him into the police station. My driver and I kinda looked at each other and shrugged, glad to no longer be the center of attention, we took off.

P.S. If anyone tells Mom that I wasn't wearing a helmet on a motorcycle, I will vehemently deny it. :)

Sean

Thanksgiving

Although I'm missing Thanksgiving at home, I did go out for dinner at a friend's house yesterday with a number of my Thai friends. Well, it's more of a resort than a house. Located an hour northeast of Bangkok, it is nestled away in a quiet gated neighbourhood. Over the course of the evening, we enjoyed various Thai dishes, swimming in the pool, and gossiping about the latest Thai news. My Thai is still not at the point of being conversational so Tui and Nu spent a lot of time translating.



I brought my guitar along and spent an hour relaxing poolside. It honestly was like going to a resort.

On a side note, our kitties Gahnomee and Chochie will be moving to new homes very soon. They're going to split up for awhile until we return to St.John's - which I'm sure is fine by Gahnomee who is tortured endlessly by Chochie. :)

Sean

Bangkok Dangerous

No, I'm not referring to the movie "Bangkok Dangerous", I'm referring to the fact that things are heating up here in Bangkok again. Last night, anti-government protesters clashed with police, resulting in a couple of deaths and a couple hundred injuries (some of them very serious). My impression is that things aren't going to get better anytime soon. There is talk that the government might impose a curfew, making it illegal for people to gather in public in groups of more than 4 people. We shall see....

Below is a picture from Bangkok Post's website showing a scene from last night's violence. Not to worry though, I am making sure to stay well away from any of the protests.


Sean

HOME

After weeks of dreaming and wishing and hoping I am finally HOME. It's not that there was anything wrong with Bangkok...but I was just seriously homesick and needing a break from the big city.

The trip started with an almost tearful goodbye to Sean (we'd convinced ourselves that I was just going on "vacation" in order to keep me from starting my long journey sad and teary-eyed) at 6am. I flew to Hong Kong first and then boarded the LONGEST FLIGHT EVER. 14.5 hours is far too long for anyone to be expected to sit still.

Once I arrived in Toronto the excitement set in. People were speaking English! They were cranky and unhelpful! I was back in Canada! When I got to my gate it got even better. Newfie accents! Oil rig workers on the way back from Alberta! Ahhh home sweet home.

After a scary moment when we all thought the flight would be diverted to Halifax, the plane touched down in St. John's. And as is the case on most TO - St. John's flights, the cabin erupted in cheers and "woo hoo"s as soon as we landed. But the best part of the whole thing was stepping off the plane and feeling COLD instead of suffocating heat! Yay!

I'm still super jet lagged and constantly tired but that hasn't stopped me from starting in on my list of "things to do when I get home". I had a hot turkey sandwich with fries, dressing and gravy today (drooool) and went for a brief shop downtown. Tomorrow will be all about a drive to the ocean, signal hill, more downtown shopping and then of course, some serious time on George St.

Now, like Sean mentioned, the countdown is on. C'mon Dec. 6th!!!!

The Countdown Begins

I just got back to the apartment after seeing Meg off at the airport. Meg is heading home to St.John's a month early for a few reasons: 1) extending her Thai visa again would be a pain, 2) her return flight cannot be extended beyond Nov. 4th so she would have had to leave by then anyway, 3) if we do come back to Thailand in January, some additional time home would go a long way in combating homesickness, and 4) she's sick of being around me 24/7 (kidding!).

My flight home is scheduled for December 6th so the countdown is on for my return to the Rock. Can't wait! I'll be in St.John's for a couple of weeks and will then head to McIvers for Christmas and New Years.

P.S. Have a safe flight Meg!

Israel - Hospital stopover

It seems Meg and I are destined to visit numerous hospitals during our travels. Saturday night, after just finished having a late supper, I decided to call it a night since I had meetings in the morning. I hadn't even had a chance to fall asleep when I began to feel extremely itchy. Initially, I tried to ignore it but then I began to suspect I was being eaten alive by bugs. I got up to investigate and discovered that I had a dozen or more "bites" over my arms, back, and neck. After a quick hot shower to help relieve the itching, I tried to go to sleep again, knowing the hotel was fully booked so I wouldn't be able to change my room and that I had to get some sleep for my meetings in the morning (it was now 2am). This time, I used the "cover every inch of my body with clothing" strategy. However, it did not work and I once again was forced to get up to investigate. Unbelievably, I had more "bites" and patches of my face, arms, and body were beginning to swell (I couldn't speak properly)! I was now beginning to suspect that these weren't bites at all but that I was having an allergic reaction to something - perhaps the bed sheets but I've never been sensitive to anything like that before. I notified the hotel staff who arranged to have a taxi take me to the hospital. Due to the swelling, the doctor thought the reaction was more likely due to something I'd eaten (I have no idea what it could have been though) and hooked me up to an IV to put steroids into me to bring down the swelling. By 7am, with my prescription of amoxocyllin filled, I was back at the hotel, just long enough to sleep for almost an hour (I slept in a chair - wasn't taking anymore chances with that bed). By 8am, I got up and got ready for an entire day of meetings. The swelling and itching were gone for the most part so, aside from the lack of sleep, I was in pretty good shape.

The office where my meetings were located was close to the West Bank border. You could easily see a number of the settlements and the fence that runs along the border. I thought it was very interesting that the Jewish and Muslim settlements were so close to each other. Also, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, was celebrated at sundown on Monday so the clients at the office extended an invitation to Trevor (my boss) and I to attend a company toast - it was welcoming to be a part of a Jewish tradition.

By the time I got to the airport for my flight back to Bangkok that evening, I was ready to drop. It did not help matters that I had to go through f@&king El Al security again, being asked the same questions by four different agents before I even got to the ticket counter. I'm all for security but you'd think they'd make it slightly more efficient. Anyway, after "politely" voicing my annoyance and cursing vigorously in my head for 3 hours, I eventually got to my gate. In the future, instead of the direct El Al flight between Tel Aviv and Bangkok, I will try a different one-stop airline, even if it takes longer (that just goes to show how much El Al pi$$ed me off and what 48 hours of sleep deprivation will do to me).

Despite my trip to the hospital and the difficulty with the airline, Israel itself is a very beautiful country. I regret not making it to Jerusalem and will be sure to make time for it the next time I'm in Tel Aviv. There are a lot of concerns over safety when traveling to Israel but I never felt the need to be nervous so if anyone would like to travel there, I would highly recommend it - just be sure to take the direct Air Canada flight from Toronto instead of El Al....

Israel - Flight with El Al

This morning I arrived in Tel Aviv, part of a last minute work trip. I caught a direct flight from Bangkok with Israel's national airline, El Al. Known for their tight security, I got the opportunity to experience it first hand. Even before getting to the check-in counter, El Al security drilled me for 15 minutes. Angus and Meg had dropped me off and were waiting for me, to which security asked, "who are they and how long have you known them?"

Once I got to my boarding gate, security brought me to a small room, privately searched all of my luggage, thoroughly checked my clothes/shoes, and drilled me with more questions. I guess I had a unabomber look going or something.

The flight was uneventful. I simply dozed in and out of sleep. It was a nasty 12-hour flight, I think it takes so long because El Al has to avoid the airspace of various Arab nations.

Currently, I'm settled away in my hotel. My room overlooks the beach on the Mediterranean Sea were numerous people are enjoying various water activities (kite surfing looks like SO much fun!). My first impressions of Israel? Let's just say that Adam Sandler's new movie, "You Don't Mess With The Zohan" is not as inaccurate as you'd probably think. Exaggerated, yes, but not completely inaccurate. Beach tennis ("matkot") is very popular here. :)

The Nutcracker

Bangkok's 10th annual International Festival of Music and Dance is now underway! There are a lot of performances that I'd love to take in (such as the Paul Taylor Contemporary Dance Co. from New York), but since I'm outta here in a week I only had time for one - and I chose a classic - the Nutcracker.

Although it was a little strange to be watching a Christmas show in the middle of September, the show was spectacular. Performed by the Russian Bashkir State Ballet Theatre and accompanied by a full orchestra, the music and incredible dancers certainly got me wishing for snow and presents under the tree. I was a little blindsided by the hot sun and heat when I left the theater!

It was nice to get a touch of culture here in the big city. As I've mentioned before there's not much to choose from in the way of music or the arts here in BKK. So, this interesting festival was a nice surprise. Of course, I attended alone - Sean couldn't handle 2 hours of ballet and it seems my Thai girl friends weren't much into it either ;) But regardless, I enjoyed the show and was happy to be able to catch an international festival like this before heading back home.

I've gotta work on my triple axel landing

To our great surprise, there are a couple of ice skating rinks in Bangkok. Meg and I have been wanting to check one out awhile so today we finally packed our woolen socks and set off. We went to Esplanade Mall where the Sub-Zero Ice Skate Club is located (http://www.subzeroiceskateclub.com/main.html).

The size of the rink was our first disappointment and the fact that it was crowded did not help matters. Some of the rinks we've made in our backyards were almost as big (Justin, Jamie, and I have even made some that were bigger). Also, there was a couple centimeters of water on the ice. Nonetheless, we haven't had the luxury of skating since April '07, so we decided to give it a shot.

The next hurdle was renting skates. The only skates they had that were big enough to fit us were figure skates. So, for the first time in my life, I donned a pair. The word "uncomfortable" was an understatement. They looked and felt like someone took a brightly colored sock and attached a blade to the bottom.



I managed to pitifully shuffle around the rink three times before I had to retire. Oh well, I suppose I could buy a decent pair of hockey skates but it doesn't seem worth it, especially if I can't get out for a game of hockey. That will have to wait until I go home in December. :)

Just another crazy night in Bangkok

We decided on Friday to head to one of our favorite spots in Bangkok - a really laid back, beautiful community dinner theater where you can eat great food alongside the river, drink nice wine and watch some really interesting performances, including a Thai acrobat who has trained in Canada with Cirque Du Soleil.

So off we go into the crazy traffic that is Bangkok on a Friday night. We expected to get stuck so we left a full hour in advance of our reservation. Luckily, the first taxi we hailed agreed to take us to this slightly out of the way spot. But not quite so luckily, the driver was actually a policeman...yes, a policeman in full uniform driving a taxi...we thought this was a little strange...

But stranger things were about to happen. First he tells us he really needs to go to the bathroom and pulls off into this tiny, dark gas station on the side of the road. As he's getting out of the car I nervously check his hip to see if there is a gun holstered there...luckily he'd put it away somewhere when he switched from law-enforcement duty to driving duty ;) (Bangkok cops are known to wear their guns always - even at the end of a shift when having a few beers with friends - it's always a shock to us to see cops drinking in full uniform with guns at the ready...).

Although I was thinking he was gone to get his buddies from the back of the building to come out and hold us up or something, he returned to the car without incident and kept driving. But it wasn't long before the next strange thing happened. The Cop/Cabbie started a lively conversation about money and salaries. It wasn't long before he was insisting that we tell him how much money Sean makes...he wanted to know if he got paid in Dollars or Baht - how much he made - which company paid him, etc. etc. We were avoiding answering and sort of acting like we couldn't understand his questions and so to help us along the guy pulled out his cell phone so we could TYPE IN THE AMOUNT! Clearly he didn't want there to be any confusion. With our limited knowledge of average Thai salaries (which, sadly are MUCH lower than any North American salary) we made up a number and passed it back. Turns out we didn't do a very good job - it was still about 3 times higher than what the cop said he made.

Now, in general it's not uncommon for Thais to ask questions about salary and how much things cost, etc. It's not taboo here like it is in many other parts of the world. But the fact that this was already a strange encounter paired with this guy's insistence and our knowledge that foreigners are often seen as rich, easy targets got me really nervous. We were getting closer to our destination and I just wanted to hurry up and get out of this car!

But since nothing is ever easy in Bangkok things kept getting worse. Instead of taking us straight to the restaurant the guy took us on the "tourist route" (this means that the taxi driver takes you on the longest most complex route possible in order to drive the meter up and make you pay more). Normally we would have argued and directed the guy to go the proper way - but with a policeman at the wheel we were a little hesitant to start giving orders (you have to understand that cops in Thailand are not like cops in Canada. They do not provide any sense of safety or reassurance. Instead they're quite scary given the amount of corruption that exists in the system).

Finally the driver admitted that he really didn't know where he was going and pulled over to ask for directions. And then a few blocks later he did the same. As he got back in to the car he exclaimed that now he knew! and quickly started to back up....RIGHT INTO A MOTORCYCLE with a man and a little girl on it! YES, the cop ran over a motorcycle. Of course the poor victim looked furious, until he saw who was getting out of the car...as far as we could see the cop didn't really do anything about it. Just jumped out to make sure they were ok and quickly got back in and started off again.

Thankfully we were just about at our destination. One short drive down a small road and the restaurant came into view. We couldn't get out of the car quickly enough! The rest of the night I was sort of in shock about what had happened. Truthfully, it's the only time since we've been living here that I actually felt scared. Sure, people sometimes try to scam you out of a few bucks, take you the long way, or try to trick you into their cousins tailor/gem shop - but none of that is really harmful. This time I really did think that we were going to be brought to a dark alley and held up at gun point! Maybe i was over-reacting. Things that are normal here just seem So foreign to us sometimes! It's hard not to be shocked by it and even a little scared when you don't really know what's going on or if it's acceptable or not. The whole time in the car we really wanted to call one of our Thai friends to see what we should do - but the cop spoke enough English that he would have known what we were talking about.

So just another story to add to our growing list of "crazy things that have happened in Thailand". It's times like this that we're really happy we've kept up with this blog - a few years from now we'll be able to look back and laugh at all the insane things that we've experienced this year...

Flood!

There's a flood happening right outside our window! Ok, it's not the "stock up on bottled water, canned food and then evacuate" kind of flood. But still, the streets are FULL of water.

I heard the thunder storm happening while at work. Now that it's the rainy season it usually rains really hard for at least 30 minutes each day. This is generally accompanied by the loudest thunder I've ever heard and wild, crazy lighting! It's quite a lot of fun while sitting at home comfortably in your pjs. Not so much fun while at work wondering how your going to get home. It's like the tropical version of a blizzard.

Thankfully I have a wonderful, chivalrous boyfriend ;) I attempted the walk back home on my own. The rain had lightened up a lot and I had an umbrella. But when I got to the first place where I had to cross a street I realized I was screwed. The water had flooded all the streets right up to the sidewalk. And clearly there was no WAY I was wading through that - forget about my leather sandals - there could have been any number of scary rodents/slithery things in there! When I called Sean wondering what I was going to do he said he'd come get me and bring flip flops. Yay! Better yet, when he arrived he offered to piggyback me across the deep parts - to the cheers of a group of people in a passing tuk tuk. Sweeeeet ;)

Next time I'll get some pictures - i'm sure this won't be the last bout of crazy rain.