Island weekend

We spent the weekend on Koh Si Chang, a small island within easy striking distance of campus. Our total cost per person to get to the island: about $2.70. I love how cheap some things are in Asia.

The island is nice because it isn't very touristy at all, and the tourist who do come are mostly Thai. We went to the beach one day, and spent our time kayaking and snorkeling. I did see one fairly large fish that scared the shit out of me. (I'm not sure what it was, but it sure looked a lot like this.)

The next day we saw some of the island's culture: old palace buildings and other old stuff. Then it was time to head back.

I know the weekend doesn't sound too exciting here, but it was relaxing and fairly interesting.

Next up: In under two weeks is Songkran, an important national holiday. We'll be heading to another beach for more beachy fun. Yes, it is a tough life I live.

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More photos can be found here.

Lastly, one interesting thing about the island is that the squirrels there are white. I have no idea why.

Sitting safely south

I have arrived safely at our secluded campus near Pattaya. While the protests did not reach the level some had expected, there were several interesting actions and episodes of violence. In protest against the prime minister, one of the groups poured human blood on a government building, and then later tossed blood at the PM's house.

There have also been two soldiers injured in a grenade attack on a military base.

Fortunately, we are fairly far away from the violence where I am located. The teaching is going well, and we are enjoying ourselves.

This weekend we'll be spending some time in Pattaya, a city best known for its women of price-negotiable affection and its "sex-pats," a term for expatriates who have come to Asia looking for a certain something.

Since none of those things have any appeal for us, we'll be checking out the Pattaya Music Festival and the opportunity to eat food that isn't mass-produced for 70 summer campers.

I'll try to keep you updated on the political situation as things develop.

Twenty hours away

I'm currently in the Seattle airport, waiting for my flight to Taipei and amusing myself with the airport's free wi-fi.

I've been aware of potential civil unrest in Thailand since my last visit, or perhaps since the protests at the airport in late November 2008.

But when I decided to check my email at the airport, I found that my friend and soon-to-be boss in Thailand had sent us a message about potential political craziness this Friday. I land on Thursday.

Hopefully I'm not flying into a shit-storm. As my friend pointed out, neither side really has anything to gain by doing anything to harm tourism or the foreign population of the country. Still, it never hurts to be aware of a potential situation.

I'll try to keep everyone posted.

Thanks, America. It's been fun.

In several hours I will get into a car to Portland. From there, I take a short flight to Seattle. (I looked into taking a train from Salem, OR, to Seattle, but it would have taken SEVEN HOURS to go the 189 miles. Way to go, Amtrak.) From Seattle, I have a 14-hour flight to Taipei, then a four-hour flight to Bangkok. I'll spend the evening with some friends, then take a three-hour bus ride and then a half-hour van trip, and then I'll be at my destination. Easy. The plane ticket was cheap, at least.

I had a good time in Portland. In addition to the Blazers game (a blowout for the home team) and the concert (quite good), we did karaoke one night (my songs: "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer" and "Safety Dance") and went out to the ocean another evening.We caught the end of sunset at the Pacific, went for some pizza and beer, then had a bonfire on the beach. I've been away from Alaska for too long; even in the moderate climes of Oregon I've felt fairly cold. Good thing I'm heading to a hot place, where it's currently in the upper-80s.

I hope to get back here some day, but for now it's time to move onward. Goodbye America, until we meet again.

Last days in the desert

Still down in the desert for now. I fly out on Tuesday to Salem, Oregon, for a week in the Pacific northwest. My buddy Steve has lined up an excellent week, including an NBA game, a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club concert, and some beachy bonfire excitement. Should be great. Then it is back to Thailand in mid-March.

It's been good to sort of settle back into "normal" life for awhile. Living at my brother's place and reconnecting after years away. Working normal hours and hanging out.

We have experienced a little culture down here, including a Renaissance Festival.
We got to throw a variety of weapons (ninja stars, knives, and axes), go through a very low-budget torture museum, and drink beer and relax on one of the most beautiful days, weather-wise, since I've been down here.

I'll miss the people, the weather, and the setting when I'm gone. (And good beer. And cheese.)
I'm a little nervous about heading into a new environment and culture and diving back into teaching. (We have a two-day orientation and then we're face to face with the kids.) But I'm also excited. After the camp is over, I'll be doing some traveling. Angkor Wat is the main destination, but I'll see what else happens. Then I really have no idea what happens next. For now, I'll have to be alright with that.

Hasta la vista, Arizona, y muchas gracias.

Indubitably, old chap

'Ello, Guvnah! A brief recap of my trip to England:

I was in England to visit friends, and I was there just before Christmas, so I got to do a lot of Christmas-y things, like watch a parade.But most of the Christmas stuff was helping cook a lot of things, like gingerbread men, mince pie (which is made out of mincemeat, which isn't meat), Christmas cake (which you get to "feed" with alcohol), and Christmas pudding (which doesn't remotely resemble anything we here in the US-of-A would call pudding).

Fun times, since I like to cook. I also convinced my friends to celebrate Thanksgiving with me (I received some emails asking if they celebrate Turkey Day in the UK; no they do not). Most of them had never had a pumpkin pie before, so I had to enlighten them.

I also got to do a little travelling. Despite it being winter, we went to the beach and made some sand art. Winter in England isn't quite as harsh as Alaska or Wisconsin.I also made it to London.
The city is very expensive, so I ended up seeing the outside of many famous city landmarks because I didn't want to pay to go inside. (The picture above is Big Ben, if you couldn't guess.)

Also, no trip to England would be complete without a visit to a castle.
This is Windsor Castle, located in Windsor. I was too cheap to go in there, as well. (Windsor is also the home of LEGOLAND, which I did not get a chance to visit.)

As I travelled, people would ask me about the big differences between the US and the UK, aside from the people's accents and personalities. The main difference is the age of the country. Even such mainstream daily destinations as Starbucks and Pizza Hut are housed in buildings that are over a hundred years old.
The other main difference is probably the size of the countries; England is much smaller, and you can get to places using some strange means of transportation, such as trains.

I enjoyed my time in England, and I hope to go back some day. (Hopefully sooner rather than later. If you're an English businessman and would like to hire me, please send an email. Thanks!)

But for now, I am enjoying the enviable situation of hunting for a job. Fortunately, we're not in a global economic recession or anything! That would make things difficult.

Other plans include a two-month trip to Thailand, beginning mid-March. I'll be teaching at a summer camp. I'll keep you posted as plans change or stay the same.

Last days in the tropics

Back in the American southwest desert, biding my time. Here's a quick recap of Malaysia and Thailand.

We spent some time in the Cameron Highlands, hiking and avoiding the rain.We also did some touristy stuff, like going to butterfly farms, tea plantations, strawberry farms, and other such things.After the highlands, we made our way to the island of Penang. We spent several days in the city, viewing some tourist attractions of dubious quality, and then headed to a national park for three days.

We had a great time, except for Sinead getting stung by a jellyfish. A local ranger applied some local remedy.We believed the mixture was just water and a local plant ground into a paste. However, a known "remedy" for jellyfish stings is urine, so we are not sure what liquid the ranger used.

After the park, we had to head back to Kuala Lumpur to catch our flights: Sinead to England, me to Thailand. But we did have time to catch a look at the Petronas Towers, one of the world's tallest buildings. ***

I was in Thailand to visit friends, not to be a tourist, but I did manage to get up to Ayutthaya for a couple of days. The city is the old capital, and ruins are scattered around the city.I took a sunset tour of the city, which involved a boat ride around the perimeter--the city is surrounded by a protective river/moat, and is sort of an island.The rest of my trip was spent in Bangkok, where I managed to commit very few acts of debauchery. Then my year of fun in the sun was over, as I got on a plane to England.

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One more photo for you. Yes, that is a monk on a cell phone.
More photos can be found here, including some shots from our last days in Indonesia.