Developments

1) Vietnam and Cambodia is on! Tickets and hotels have been booked! The plan is to hit Ho Chi Mnh City and the surrounds for a few days then head straight to Angkor Wat for the new year then back to Japan via Penom Pehn. Should be amazing!

2) No news on going away with the wife, but October looks almost certain. Locations have been trimmed down from a dozen to about six or so.

3) Europe next year is off. Maybe 2009...

4) Vegas should be on if everyone gets their act together! (the inverse law of video rental stores applies in this scenario though - unfortunately!)

Ideas!

I had a chat with a friend (former co-worker who now works for another company in Japan) the other night, and one of the things that came up was the subject of Christmas holidays. I was thinking of going back to SE Asia - namely Koh Samet - again, but I really would like to see a new country as well...

Turns out she had a similar notion! (Great minds, etc. etc.)

So my thoughts are currently turning to Vietnam and Cambodia (especially Angkor Wat) for a couple of weeks around Christmas. From some preliminary reading it looks like the best time of year weather-wise, which will probably also mean it's busy. Still, it'll be my first Christmas travelling, which will make it special.

Stay tuned...


The wife and I may have a chance to go somewhere together in September or October, but no holidays yet - so no plans either...


There's my mother's idea of going to Eastern Europe perhaps in April next year...


Also some current and former co-workers are brainstorming going to Vegas next year for a reunion... lordy lordy! What a holiday that could turn out to be if it ever comes to fruition!

A list.

The Times has published a list taken from The Rough Guide of what they consider to be the top 25 places to visit in the world. I can check off two of them, Vegas and the Grand Canyon. And while you may wonder why Vegas is there in the first place, consider why a dam is there at all (even if it is so friggin' huge) and that the Galapagos Islands are not....

The 25 Wonders of the World

1 Salt flats of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

2 Uluru or Ayers Rock, Australia

3 Pyramids at Giza, Egypt

4 Drifting down the Amazon

5 “Fairy chimneys” and caves of Cappadocia, Turkey

6 Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

7 Petra, the city carved from stone in the Jordanian desert

8 Machu Picchu, Peru

9 Sagrada Familia, Gaudí’s masterpiece in Barcelona

10 Perito Moreno glacier, Patagonia

11 Sistine Chapel, Rome

12 Trekking in the Himalayas

13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia

14 The canals and palaces of Venice

15 Taking a camel train across the Sahara

16 Great Wall of China

17 Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe

18 Paddling in the Barrier Reef, Belize

19 Taj Mahal, India

20 Maya ruins of Mexico and Guatemala

21 Stone giants of Easter Island

22 Grand Mosque, Djenné, Mali

23 The temptations of Las Vegas

24 Forbidden City, China

25 Itaipú, the world’s biggest dam, Paraguay and Brazil

And while fair Australia is only represented once, alas, I have not been there. I'll have to rectify that.

Japan has a grand total of zero, which isn't fair when you consider the silent splendour of Fuji-san, or the endless wonders of Kyoto...

Updating

1) The Festival of the Phallus was certainly *quite* the experience! We all had a hilarious time and took heaps and heaps of pix. I'll have to make a Flickr page so you can see them all. I can't choose just one...

2) Today was probably the best day to see the cherry blossoms at Himeji Castle for this year. It was a little earlier than usual but if you bookmark your diary then around this time should be right for you!

I went for a cycle and a wander about 9am this morning and the sky was crystal clear, as you can see. By the time I got home from the gym around midday it had clouded over just a touch and the smog was building, so early on is certainly the best time of day to see it all!

Next trip?

Nothing planned at the moment... but you know how that can change!

Next Trip!

Next Thursday the 15th is the day. Just a day trip this time.

I'm off to see the Giant Penis Festival which is held near Nagoya!

Yes, they have souvenirs...

I'm going with some co-workers and other hangers on. Most of the participants are female (what a surprise!) but there will be a few of us blokes along - all of whom are comfortable with their masculinity. Should be fun.

We're going by Shinkansen to Nagoya then by local train to where the shrine is.

Home Again!

Don Rickles give Las Vegas the thumbs up - and so do I!

Made it back late last night. Still in a bit of a whirl from the whole experience!

After my last post I went shopping up to the top of the Strip to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets. Getting there took nearly one and a half hours since it was Sunday, there weren't many buses so I tried walking for a while, then caught the bus that goes up and down the Strip, then had to change to the public bus which took 20 minutes to turn up. Wasn't feeling too chipper by that point; fairly frustrated at how long things were taking after everything had gone so swimmingly well up to then.

At the shops I bought up some shoes and t-shirts at the Nike shop, then went for a wander. I bought a top at Eddie Bauer, some work clothes at the Van Heusen shop and had lunch. I had a Chinese variety of things from the Food Court including Sweet and Sour Chicken the way we used to have it back in Oz with the luminous red sauce. MSG, I love you.

I took a taxi to the huge Bonanza souvenir shops which I'd seen from the bus. True to the title, it was truly a bonanza of kitchy goods for everyone and anyone. I picked up a couple of things including a Poker set for about $20. The staff were all so very nice to talk to - actually nearly everyone I talked to while in Vegas was lovely except for one taxi driver who refused to take me and Mr. Nishikawa from Fremont Street to the Stratosphere. Apart from that one dork, the taxi drivers of Vegas are all fine ambassadors for that city.

After that I took the bus which (slowly) made its way back to the Bellagio. I got changed and (mostly) packed so I had about an hour or so to hit the tables.

Turned out to be a pretty good session. I went to three casinos, played nothing but roulette and
ended up +$100. Happy! So happy I ordered a vodka martini at dinner - I'm such a class act... at least I felt like one afterwards!

Dinner was at the Bellagio's signature restaurant, Picasso. It was a bit Nouveau Cuisine, but the food was magnificent. I haven't had beef that literally fell apart like that for such a long time - so amazingly tender. I wish I could've had a bottle of the sauce they served with it to bring home as a souvenir as well. Afterwards, we enjoyed wonderful coffee as the fountains danced through the windows.

Back up to the room, changed, packed, down and on the bus. The check-in process at the airport was smooth, I got an aisle seat and we had to just hang out at the airport for a couple of hours.

I must say that for all my worries about U.S. ©'War On Terror' style security, they were much like any other immigration service I'd come across, except for the laid-back staff at the Seychelles International Steel Shed. They were more thorough perhaps (shoes and belts off) but not Gestapo-like or anything like that.

I didn't sleep at all on the plane even though I tried my best. I was lucky enough to be seated next to a tiny Japanese woman so that meant I didn't have to compete for space. I had three drinks, no coffee and did my stretches, but all to no avail.

The best thing about not sleeping turned out to be that the cabin crew on the return flight were the same ones that brought us over, so I had a long chat with one of the flight attendants, Jung, before she had to go make breakfast for us. She recognised me as I got on board and was assigned to my area, so I got a big, friendly smile, a quick chat to catch up and awesome service for the whole flight. When I asked for a vodka with orange juice she turned the plane upside-down trying to find the vodka and mixed up a mightily strong one which was a bit like the Fatima-style ones I'm used to having on Saturday nights! It certainly pays to be nice to the cabin crew. I've learned a lot from 'Air Babylon'!

Korean Air put them all up in a small hotel off the Strip which didn't have a casino (so they wouldn't gamble - like that stopped them!) and they spent most of their time in Las Vegas hitting the sights along the Strip and shopping. I got a few pointers for my time in Seoul (if we were going to have any free time) which was nice too. She was off to L.A. next, which she said was one of the worst routes for them as most of the passengers were Korean-Americans and were always very demanding. She said they all loved working on routes with lots of Japanese since Japanese customers were always easy to please. True though - a couple of drinks and a feed and nearly everyone was asleep!

We arrived early at Inchon Airport so it was into the centre of Seoul for fun and games. We went to one market (Namdaemun) that opened early. It was sprightly and energetic for so early in the morning with motorbikes and mini-trucks flying along the narrow lanes, closely avoiding the growing crowds of locals and tourists. There were lots of food, cheap clothes, accessories and what-nots but not for me. We were given four hours to wander around there as well as another market area (Myeong-dong, which had lots of designer clothes shops... yawn!) so I did precisely that, but had a long breakfast and leisurely lunch. Kimchi, kimchi and more kimchi! Yum! (K says I still smell like kimchi now, but hey - it was soooo good!) I found a nice little restaurant in the basement of one building and had lunch there for an hour while surrounded by Korean business-people and groups of ladies out shopping. Another out-of-this-world experience.

After a tourist-trap stop at a Korean food shop, it was time to catch the plane for the final leg of the trip, get on the bus and finally stagger through the door clutching my Duty Free and dragging my bulging suitcase of plunder into the silent apartment.

Viva Las Vegas! (with Seoul a close runner-up)



Next trip? Not overseas for a while, but I and some workmates are planning a day-trip to the Giant Penis Festival near Nagoya next month. Stay tuned for that one!

Vegas Baby!

Yup, in Vegas and I have a few minutes in the Business "Center" in the Bellagio. Try to access the internet here and they make you jump through hoops - it's taken me over an hour. That is the only thing that has sucked about this trip though so I won't gripe too much.

Oh... and I haven't won any huge jackpots or anything - that I'm sooo disappointed with. I'm all up $30 down, which isn't bad really considering I've gambled in four casinos (so far). Roulette has been the best game for me - surprising since I've never really played it much before. Beginner's luck I guess.

The Grand Canyon yesterday was truly an experience of a lifetime. Words cannot describe the experience so all I'll say is it's something you have to do for yourself some time in your lifetime.

Vegas itself has been big, brash, and busy. Next time I'll make a mental note to come during the weekdays. Trust us to be here on the weekend!

I've had one "Vegas Experience". I was nearly propositioned by a gorgeous black woman at 6am in the Bellagio corridors yesterday morning. She was stunning but as soon as she smiled at me I knew what she was after. What happens in Vegas, eh? There were a couple more prowling the hallways when I got back at 3am this morning but they were being hassled by a drunk hotel guest.

Been to Fremont Street, The Stratosphere Tower, and up and down the Strip. Today is shopping and maybe lose some more money. Tonight it's the Picasso restaurant in the Bellagio for a final send-off.

Viva Las Vegas!

visited countries, as of next week!

create your own visited countries map

The Seychelles are so small you can't see them on this map, but trust me, I've been there!

less than 24 hours to go

This time tomorrow I'll be in Seoul.

We're stopping over there for half a day on the way to Vegas and back. I have a good map thanks to Pav and tips for what to do, so that'll easily take care of the time, providing I can escape from the group.

The group consists of my private students (known as 'The Doctors', Masako and Etsuji), their daughter and son-in-law (Anri and Hiroyuki, who are also doctors), their grand-daughter (Sara, who is 8 months old, and is doomed to become a doctor) and about 30 of their staff from their hospital who have nothing on their minds except raising havoc in Vegas for 48 hours.

Apparently last time they did this, some people didn't sleep for the two days they were in Vegas...

We're staying at The Bellagio, seeing 'O', doing a Grand Canyon tour, having dinner at Picasso, and I'll try to squeeze in as much Vegas as I can without killing myself or others. I will be sleeping though. I couldn't have a room at a place like The Bellagio and NOT sleep there at least one night!

If I can see at least one Elvis impersonator, I'll be happy.

I've got my suitcase out, got my traveller's cheques signed, got my clothes out. Things are starting to happen...

Next trip!

Back from Thailand and already the next trip is lined up.

This time it's courtesy of my private students, known affectionately as 'The Doctors'.

They're taking me, expenses paid, to LAS VEGAS!!

I'm a bit thin on the details at the moment, but we're flying via Seoul, so we're spending about 12 hours there, then 3 nights in Vegas, then back via Seoul again.

Since it's the doctors, it'll all be pretty hard to take as they like doing things in style. It'll be another chance to see how things could be if I won the lottery. If I hit the jackpot in Vegas, who knows?

All I really want to do is to see the Grand Canyon.

Stay tuned.

Day Seven

(Morning view from my breakfast table)

Man my sunburn was killing me. I'd bought some Aloe Vera to put on anything like this, but I was certainly paying the price.

Breakfast was great again. The view from the restaurant was just lovely, with the water like glass and the beach mostly empty. They call it paradise here. and they aren't far wrong!

The resort had their own ferry service to Ban Phe, and from there I was on my own. I grabbed a baht bus to Rayong Bus Terminal, except that it broke down about five minutes into our drive! The driver dropped me right outside the bus terminal at Rayong. 20 baht for the ride.

Inside I needed to get a ticket. Some miscommunication with the staff meant they were going to sell me three tickets! (Who to, I wonder? Am I that huge!?) I thought they meant the time (it was leaving at 3:10pm) but they meant the number. Thankfully there was another passenger who spoke some English so he kindly helped me out. Lots of genuinely helpful and friendly people in Thailand - they left a good impression.

I had to deal with sitting next to an old guy on the bus who obviously didn't like being paired with a foreigner who had his bag on his knee (no way was I packing it underneath the bus! Too many bad stories...). He eventually moved to a free seat so I had a double to myself.

The road was the same as the one to Pattaya for half the way to the airport - bumpy and really crowded this time, so the driver stuck on some video of a Thai game show. The show seemed to be mostly an improvised sketch involving comedians smacking each other over the head - rivetting. The monks in front of me were enjoying it though.

Once we reached the bus terminal no one got off. The conductor also didn't make it clear (for the benefit of any non-Thai speakers on board - namely me) that this was the stop so the bus took off again. I came down to check with her if that was the stop and she gave a tired 'yes'. Fine, whatever.

From there I had to take a shuttle bus to the international terminal. The main building is quite a way from where the other buses come in. A dedicated shuttle train running between the bus terminal and the main building would be easier to use and follow - maybe they'll do that later. The Skytrain (when it's finished) will certainly make things a lot easier to get to and from Bangkok.

The atrium for the departures was much better than the one for arrivals. They made good use of the natural light as well as the space opened up by the roof. Most new airports seem to be designed this way - Kansai for example. I got changed out of my summer duds into my winter clothes in the toilet. Yay. Winter.

Check-in was easy and friendly. There weren't many people on the flight so I could take my bag on board. The girl even offered me an exit-row seat without me asking for it! I think I like Thailand! My passport check went without incident although the people in front of me were messing around - took a looooong time. Grrrr....

Once through I had plenty of time to recharge the batteries, do some shopping and get to the plane. Next time I'll have to get more dried fruit - they proved to be a popular choice for souvenirs!

I found the real Bvlgari watch in the airport shop and compared the price to what I'd paid. Heh, heh, heh. I can't believe people spend so much on something that just tells the time! I think the most I've ever paid for a watch was $30.

Whatever teething problems they had with the new airport seemed to have been ironed out. Everything was clean and neat although the lights were out at the gate, leaving the place in semi-darkness.

I had an empty row for the flight back to Japan so I could get some sleep.

Arriving back, I just had carry-on so no probs with getting through. Didn't matter though since I had to wait three hours for the bus back to Himeji!

I got interviewed by a policewoman who wanted to see my passport. Yay, done for loitering in an airport after nearly a month without incident? Thankfully no.

Home. Unpacking. Washing. Wife. Souvenirs. Catching up.

K said I'm not to do go away for so long without her ever again. Message received loud and clear.

Day Six

(Sunset on Koh Samet - a bit hard to take)

Day Six dawned bright and early.

A quick shower and it was off to breakfast. I had the American breakfast - complementary with my booking. It was a pretty good spread on offer. Juice, cereal, yoghurt, fruit, bread and pastries, a good range of hot food including omelette how you like it. I did. The coffee was strong and thick - a good heart-starter. They do coffee pretty well here in Thailand, I've been pleasantly surprised.

After breakfast I wandered down the beach to where they had jet-skis for rent. I hired one for 30 minutes at 1200 baht. After a quick tutorial I was by myself. I zipped up and down, bouncing over waves and jarring my legs and back but it was all good fun. No lasting damage - I hope.

I sunbathed for about an hour or so, but with no sunscreen. I thought I didn't get burnt, but how wrong I was. I was a little pink by the time I got back to my room. By the evening I was red and very sore. I made sure I put on sunscreen for the rest of the day, but the damage was done. Ah well... maybe I'll get a suntan out of it after I peel... (Still peeling after a week back in Japan! The tan is looking OK though.)

Lunch was a pizza and beer at a cafe which had tables on the beach. Sand through my toes again - mmmmmm....

My waiter was from Cambodia. He'd been living in Thailand for five years and said he really loved working on Koh Samet. He pointed out some asian girls in bikinis in front of us and asked what I thought. I replied that I worked out why he loves working on Koh Samet. He just laughed and winked.

The afternoon was spent reclining by the private beach near my room, in the shade, reading my book and taking it all in. It was tough.

I went for another walk along the beach as the sun was setting. It was good to see some Aussies out playing beach cricket. Just down from our resort was a place called the "Bob Marley Reggae Bar and Karaoke". I think I must have walked past that place ten times and never once heard reggae coming out of it! Another bar was having a 'Half-Moon Party' with some of the worst music I'd ever heard coming out of a sound system anywhere. I had to stand in front just appreciate how bad it was.

Dinner that evening was at another beachside restaurant. This one was one of the many that did a seafood BBQ. I had a prawn kebab with baked potato and grilled sweet corn (Yum!) with a sweet dipping sauce, all washed down with a couple of Thai beers.

My waitress was from Bangkok, and she was literally half my height! She had a couple of kids and one of them was running up and down the beach as she worked. She said that this year was very quiet compared to last year. The place I had chosen maybe had 20% of the tables taken. A couple of other places were over half full, but some others hardly had a soul in them.

After dinner it was time for (what else?) a walk to work the dinner down. I passed a couple of fire shows put on by the bigger resorts. The best one had five performers juggling various flaming implements. It was pretty spectacular.

Another day in paradise done... my last full day in paradise. Dang... in 48 hours I'd be back in Japan... freezing cold Japan.

Day Five

(First look at Sai Kaew Beach from the ferry - Koh Samet)

I woke up at 9:30. Whoops. I was being picked up at 11:30.

I sent some stuff back to Japan at the post office. No problems really. A small box of clothes and a couple of souvenirs cost about 1000 baht (AUS$30).

It was all a bit of a rush to get everything packed, checked out and picked up by the bus service. I had some Pattaya cliches share the bus with me to Ban Phe to catch the ferry to Koh Samet. One was an Englishman in his fifties; overweight, with tatts all over his back, he didn't wear a shirt at all along the way, and he had the Thai girlfriend accessory. Another was of similar build but at least he kept his shirt on. The last was a European gent. He must've married his Thai girlfriend as she was a bit older, and they had the mother-in-law in tow.

The driver took us through some of the back streets of Pattaya as we wend our way to pick up everybody. There were all sorts of poorly built apartments as well as some galvanised iron ghettos amongst the cheap guesthouses, bars and shops. If you needed a reminder that Thailand was still primarily a Third World country, then that was it.

The main road to Ban Phe was in much better condition than the one from Bangkok to Pattaya. We passed a lot of open countryside, but also a lot of light industrial parks and large discount centres. The vegetation was tropical, but very dry - a lot of brown undergrowth amongst the green.

We were dropped off at the bus office in town where we had to pay the entrance fee for the Koh Samet National Park. It cost 400 baht, but the Lonely Planet guide said it should be only 200 (apparently it had only just gone up). One of my co-travellers (the European gent) was getting quite steamed up about it but I couldn't be bothered. It's like haggling over a dollar. I coughed up and was escorted down to the wharf (which was a legacy to haphazzard repair work if ever there was one!) and to our transport across the waves.

The other passengers were a mix of types. There were the fifties gents with younger Thai girlfriends of course, but there were also families, couples, backpackers (like me), and small groups of friends.

The cruise across to the island was a little bumpy but no trouble for me. K would've hated it though. I thought we were being dropped at the main pier at Na Dan, but instead we were dropped off half way along the island at Ao Wong Deuan. Instead of what could've been a short walk to my resort loomed up as a 2.5 kilometre hike.

I got a taxi. Taxis on Koh Samet are green utes with hard seating on the tray at the back. Not exactly comfortable, but hey, better than walking! The track was pretty bumpy, but I was dropped off at my beach, so that saved a lot of time. I still had to weave in and out of the various beachside bars and restaurants to get to the Sai Kaew Beach Resort, but it was a good chance to check things out.

Check in was smooth and easy. I got a complimentary drinks ticket for their restaurant, but my internet research said that this restaurant was quite pricey, so I guess I wouldn't be using that!

My bungalow was small but comfy. It was just a bedroom with a small atrium with the toilet out the back. The shower was outside the back door although it had a high wall around it for privacy. The ceilings were quite high which gave it some sense of space. TV worked (with decent reception), air-con worked, fridge worked (two complementary bottles of water per day), view worked. All good.

I went for a walk down the beach to grab some dinner. The beach was taken over by the beachside resorts and restaurants for the evening. One of them even had tables down to the waterline!

I ended up at Jep's, a nice place which had soft lighting and groovy music right on the beach. I ordered nachos and a Thai dish - seafood with spicy basil. The nachos were pretty good but they weren't kidding about the spice! I had to take some time after I finished in order to recover enough to walk back to the hotel. Drinking with the sand through my toes - it was all a bit hard to take in.

Day Four

("Got your mother in a whirl
She's not sure if you're a boy or a girl..."

Ladyboy bartender - Pattaya

The breakfast wasn't up to much, but it was included in the price of the room so, hey, why not? The coffee was good - and you know that's good enough for me!

It was time to go shopping.

Avoiding the touts requires a deadpan gaze ahead - avoiding eye-contact - and the occasional slippery hand to avoid handshakes doubling as guiding you into a shop or to stop. The best line I heard as I was going down a small, quiet alleyway was, "Hey, remember me?". 10 out of 10 for originality but all it did was make me smile. The guy started to follow me though so I hot-footed it out of there.

I bought a t-shirt (whatever Thai for 'Red Bull' is...) for myself.

Heading back along Beach Road, the wind was quite strong and the water was quite choppy. The beach had almost disappeared completely! There were a couple of jet-skis braving the waves but no one was swimming. Pattaya Beach is not up to much really - just a thin strip of sand. The beaches in Adelaide kick Pattaya's butt!

I was starting to get a bit peckish, so I stopped at The Tip's Restaurant as there were quite a lot of foreigners eating there - always something to look out for. I had a fillet steak for under AUS$10! It was cooked well and came with chips and salad. Tasty.

After that it was back to the hotel room to dump the plunder and decide what to do next.

I decided to indulge my death wish by going to the interestingly named Tiffany's Shooting Range. Do you shoot diamond bullets there or something? James Bond might be proud...

I caught the baht bus down there. The shooting range was in the basement of the Tiffany's Show - an over-the-top theatre staging over-the-top ladyboy shows three times a day. Talk about mixing your enterprises! Anyway, I couldn't end indulging my death wish because I was by myself. You have to have someone witness your application form; legal blah blah... ah well. Next time I'll need to take a friend. Any volunteers?

On the way back to the hotel I managed to fulfil my death wish by playing putt putt. I think it'd been more thanten years since I last played miniature golf so I was sure to suck. I got a beer to assist my skills (2 for 1 deal - yay!) and played the course in the fading light. True to my predictions, I died! The quality of the course didn't help, but a poor tradesman blames his tools. I did do some of the old putt putt cliches; knocking in a ball 8-ball style, switching left and right-handed, etc. The second beer at the 19th was well and truly enjoyed.

I kinda wished I had a mobile phone at the restaurant that evening, just so I could've had the following conversation with someone,

- Hey, where are you?

- I'm at this restaurant. There's an all-you-can-eat BBQ buffet for ten bucks, they're playing country and western and half the waiting staff are ladyboys!

I just had to amuse myself with the thought.

The food was great (I was doing well so far!) and I waddled back to the hotel stuffed to the gills.

By now it was getting on past eight o'clock so it was time to summon the energy for another wander into the nightlife district. This time I stopped at a couple of beer bars for some beer (duh) and to enjoy the view. These places are all open air and are pretty laid back kind of places. they have girls there to draw in the customers as well as keep them entertained, whether it's by conversation, games (Connect 4 is the game of choice - I hadn't played that since primary school!), flirting or more...

It was a pleasant and entertaining way to spend some time. There was a street magician with a cowboy hat, ladyboys doing cartwheels, the usual range of tourists and Thais. It was interesting to note that a lot of the European ladies dressed like they felt they had to compete with the locals in the dressing (or lack of it) stakes. There was a LOT of cleavage about. Maybe it's just the fashion nowadays... was I complaining?

Went back via another restaurant near my hotel for a midnight snack. The place was busy. Apparently Thai people snack throughout the day - just eat when you want to, and that's reflected in how the restaurants work. A lot of places had all-day breakfasts and were open until well after midnight. This was paradise!

The telly was playing The Core on the D-grade movie channel. Yup, that was still a silly movie the second time around!

Day Three

(Wat Phra Kaew - Bangkok)

Woke up 15 minutes before the alarm went off - back to normal!

Another American breakfast started the day well. The scrambled eggs were much better than the fried ones from yesterday. The coffee was still good - that's the most important part!

I wanted to get down to see Ko Ratanakosin (the old city) as early as possible, which turned out to be a good idea.

I caught a metered taxi from outside the hotel - cost about 80 baht and took about 25 minutes. The traffic was pretty light so I was able to be dropped off nearly outside the front gate of the Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace a few minutes before they opened to the public at 9am.

As we pulled up a group of soldiers were getting out of the back of a truck. They certainly are taking security a lot more seriously since the bombs on New Year's Eve. The Wats and Grand Palace have their own guards and security staff already. Some gates were double guarded.

Once inside I was able to get some great shots, but the crowds stared to pour in more and more so that kind of ruined the mood. It must be a magical place on slow days. I guess Sunday wasn't the best day to do this after all! There were loads of Thais, as well as Buddhists from other countries, paying their respects, making offerings and praying in front of the temples.

As I left a tout came up to talk to me. I actually needed some bearings and he took that as his cue to try to get me into a tuk-tuk. His hand started to grab for my arm so I made my leave. They don't mess around those guys! (Something I was to find out about later...)

After that incident I stopped off at Lak Meuang (which was just down the street), another temple which is the home of Bangkok's city spirit. I think I was the only foreigner in that place, but it was throbbing with the spectacle of worship. The most interesting thing was some of the food offerings that were made. There were flowers and incense of course, but boiled eggs and pig's heads? Maybe that was to do with Chinese New Year or something (this is the year of the pig) but if I was Buddha I would be turning my nose up at that kind of dinner!

Avoiding more touts I ended up at Wat Pho, famous for the enormous statue of the reclining Buddha. I ended up getting an official guide to explain what I was looking at as we wandered around the site. He was from Laos, with two kids living in America. We took about an hour to get around the site and the cost was 200 baht - not bad really. I learned a lot more about the temple than if I'd just wandered about by myself. He enjoyed pointing out tourists from other countries; Russians, French, Chinese, Indians, Spanish, and so on. I spotted a couple of groups of Japanese as well.

From Wat Pho I made my way around to the river side stretch, lined with all manner of shops, street stalls and restaurants. I settled on one that looked like it was decorated in an old French-quarter style. The menu was quite varied, and they had proper coffee on the drinks list - always a good sign! I settled on grilled chicken with a sauce made form milk, garlic, coriander seeds, served with rice, with a caffe latte for afters. Marvellous. By the time I finished it was starting to look like it was time to get back to the hotel.

My camera battery died so I couldn't take any shots of the amazing variety of foods available for sale, as well as any of the endless sellers of amulets. I'll have to go back again when I have more time to just wander in and out of the alleyways. Next time...

I walked back to where the cab had dropped me off - got accosted by some touts along the way and had to buy them off to leave me alone. If anyone tries to stuff dried popcorn into your hand to feed the birds just drop it and run - that's my advice! Dealing with two jabbering old people was a sour end to a lovely morning.

The traffic was much worse heading back to the hotel. The taxi I grabbed moved along at a crawl for about half the way back - despite the driver's fervent attempts to weave in and out of the traffic. The trip ended up costing 130 baht and it took around 50 minutes. The cabbie dropped me close to the hotel. As I got out a couple of other fellows hopped in - such is the pace of life in Bangkok.

I finished packing and I thought I'd checked the room thoroughly - twice - but I had dropped my wallet with some Japanese money as well as my ID card! The check-in staff chased me down the street to call me back to the hotel to retrieve it. I was very happy with the Majestic Suites and would recommend them to anyone. The only problems were the power socket for the TV not working and a bit of doof-doof from the nightclubs nearby. Not too much of a problem really.

The Majestic Suites was quite close to the main bus terminal so getting a ticket for an air-conditioned bus to Pattaya was no problem. Not so spacious, but good enough for the trip down.

The road to Pattaya was under a lot of construction. It was a two lane highway most of the way, but they were putting in a third lane the whole length of the road. Hopefully they'll resurface the rest of the road too as it was quite a bumpy ride the whole way. We passed a lot of what looked like fish farms along the way - large square lakes with galvanised iron homes. There was an enormous service area with many of the obligatory lures; McDonalds, Starbucks, Seven-Eleven (they're everywhere in Thailand - interesting) and so on.

Entering Pattaya brought back some feelings from other countries. It felt a little like Dubai, because of the width and general look of the highway. The signs were dual Thai-English and something about Thai script reminds me of Arabic. The general look of the place reminded me more of South Korea though; a Third World country becoming First World, but just a bit too quickly.

Stepping out of the bus, and the whole 'dirty old town' thing became apparent. There were lots of older men with younger girlfriends, as well as the noise, dust and smell of the place. This was going to be interesting!

After checking into the Sawasdee Seaview Wing B Hotel (which only had a view of the sea if you opened the window, leant out and strained your eyes between the hotel and the next one) it was time to sort out what to put in the safety box downstairs (no in-room safe - that could be an improvement) and freshen up.

I did something that I'd never done before - ordered room service! No champagne though, I had a cheeseburger, which came with sliced cucumber inside it of all things. If you want a Thai-style cheeseburger - that's your recipe!

I went for a wander down Beach Road to Walking Street. It was fun watching out for the ladyboys. Some of the patrons were teasing them - taking pictures with them, slapping them on the butt, etc. It became quite easy to tell them from the real women. Basically ladyboys are taller, bonier and more over-the-top with their femininity. They actually look 'too female' if you can grasp that. I can understand why some guys get confused though, especially after a few too many beers...

I went to a restaurant, Nang Nual, for a bite to eat. It had one of the biggest menus I'd ever seen! Its speciality was seafood but I ended up ordering beef dishes! The food was awesome - really crisp vegetables, the beef was tender and the sauce tasty.

Thai beer is really good, by the way. It's lager and pretty light on for taste, but that made it perfect for drinking outside in the warmth of an evening like this one. Great for people watching.

Day Two

(The entrance to the Pak Lred Babies Home, just outside Bangkok)

The day dawned and so did I. Dang - must still be on Australia time! 6:30!? What a joke! I tried to sleep but no could do.

I had the 'American Breakfast' at the Majestic, which was juice (orange), coffee (strong), eggs how you liked it (fried), toast (too pale and cool), bacon (good and crispy), tomato and 'potato' (not quite sure what it was actually...). All in all it was fine for me.

I had plenty of time to get ready to go downstairs. My guide was waiting for me as I arrived so that was a good start. His name was Pet, in his late-twenties with pretty good English skills although my ears were still getting over the pressure changes from yesterday. I found him a little hard to understand sometimes. We had a driver and a big mini-bus to cart just myself and my bag out to the Pak Lred Babies Home. (To explain what what I was doing at a babies home, you'll have to blame my mum (see below) who put me onto a website called carryforkids.org/ - they set up my visit and helped organise the guide for me.) It took about 30 minutes or so.

There was a lot of construction along the way. The Thai government are putting in a lot of highways as well as extending the Skytrain so we were lucky there wasn't much traffic around that Saturday morning. Pet said it could easily take 30 minutes more on a weekday. It really felt like a Third World city to me at this point, but quite a bit less dangerous from what I've read!

One thing that was interesting was the sheer amount of flags and images of the King and Queen of Thailand there were around the place. Thai people really love and respect their royal family and to criticise them or the institution is really bad to do. A few years ago a Japanese pop singer (who is known for being up herself) nearly caused an international incident by behaving like an idiot to the crown princess (see here and scroll down to the entry for Feb. 3, 2003). Another interesting sight was that nearly every home and place of work had a Buddhist shrine of some sort - even some of the slum areas I went through had beautiful roadside shrines.

The babies home was quite a large place with many buildings for the babies to sleep and play in and around. I saw many groups of young kids - mostly under three years-old I'd say. Sometimes the ratio of carers to kids was 1:15 but mostly I'd say it was more like 1:8. Pet said that the women who worked there were paid a small salary, but it was really just a token gesture; they were volunteers more or less. There were also a few foreign volunteers around the place helping out and giving the kids lots of attention. They do receive a lot of donations, which is really good to hear. Pet left a cash donation there himself while I was there.

He said the first time he took someone there it really got to him, but now he can see the difference that people are making to these kids' lives. As I wrapped up my visit all I could feel is that my bag, which felt so heavy to me, was just a tiny drop in the bucket of what these kids need. The staff told me they need so many things to keep the children fed and healthy. As I left a family of Germans arrived, presumably to help out or make a donation as well. I'm glad that even though my contribution was so small, I (and my co-doners - thankyou!) were able to do something.

As Mother Theresa said, if you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.

I asked Pet if they could drop me off at the Chatuchak Markets on the way back, which they did.

This is the 'famous market' as the guidebooks say, a massive complex of shops selling almost everything you could imagine. I saw puppies, fish, fried scorpions (no I didn't), huge wooden statues, traditional Thai clothing, more jeans than I thought existed in the world, home goods, fake watches, DVDs, piles of vibrantly coloured fruit, jewellery, books... you get the picture. I saw nearly the whole complex in two and a bit hours and only bought a bag and four t-shirts, which I think was remarkably restrained of me! I think K would've happily taken a couple of days to try on every shoe in the place....

I had Pad Thai (remember the song, Matt?) with prawns for lunch which was delicious.

After that it time to get back to the hotel via the Skytrain (which is an excellent way to get around the city). 40 baht one way from the markets to my station and it only took about 20 minutes. Excellent.

Napilarity ensued.

Suddenly it was 6:30pm and time for a feed. Conveniently my hotel was (almost literally) a stone's throw away from what they call 'Little Arabia', a street cluttered with all manner of middle eastern food preparation services. I'd read about a place called 'Al Hussein' so I endeavoured to find it.

It didn't take long. With a cry of "Welcome Sir!" and a menu thrust into my hand, I was quickly introduced to the shiniest table in Thailand. The whole restaurant was decked out with stainless steel tables and chairs that had all been polished to a mirror-smooth finish. I felt like I was dining in Ali Baba's silver mine. Even though it was an open-air eatery, they had fans going hell-for-leather to keep the patrons cool, and there were quite a few of various nationalities, not just Arabic, enjoying the cuisine on offer.

I chose Indian fare; Garlic Naan, Chicken Marsala and a fried Dall. All were extraordinarily delicious. The spice mix for the marsala left me gasping but it was certainly one of the deepest and richest blends I've ever had. Will I eat there again? Will I! All that sumptuous feast cost about AUS$10!

After that I wandered down Sukhumvit Road. There were all manner of people plying their various trades along the pavement; hawkers selling all manner of goods, hustlers selling all manner of pleasures, beggars with their bowls, girls smiling and saying "Hello, handsome man" (must've been someone behind me... ), you get the picture. I bought myself my Genuine Fake Rolex, as well as a Genuine Fake Bvlgari Watch and a Genuine Fake Prada Wallet. I think I'm turning Japanese. We'll see how long these last if they make it back through Customs. They certainly looked and felt real to me (coz I am such an expert on these things...).

I ended up near the neon-lit entrance to Soi Cowboy - a collection of girly-bars just off the main drag. I wandered past all the bars (which was quite easy to do - the stories of people being dragged inside weren't true) and ended up at the Irish-style pub down the end run by a Dutchman! I read The Bangkok Post from cover to cover while disposing of a pint of Guinness. That was a very good way to spend a couple of hours!

The stalls were starting to be packed up as I wandered back to the hotel. I got a few more smiles and offers from the girls, the touts and tuk-tuk drivers, but it was time for bed.

Day One

(Welcome to Bangkok! My cabbie tries to sell me a woman. I'd been in Thailand for less than an hour!)

Adelaide to Bangkok

Had a birthday brekky with Matt, his parents, Amanda and (eventually) Adam. Had Eggs Benedict which was rather smashing! Everyone was pretty mellow; the time of day (ie. it was morning) probably had something to do with that! Mum came to collect me so we all made our way down to the airport.

Singapore Airlines were cracking down on people taking too much hand luggage - their one piece/seven kilo limit was being enforced so I had to do some hasty repacking to get under the limit. All a bit strange when my checked bag was really light - you think logic would prevail and the combined weight would be assessed. Nyah. The staff were friendly even though the queue was long and big dorks like me were messing about.

Said farewells (fond and long - hardly long enough) and joined the queue for emigration. That's when the fun started.

There were a couple of young Chinese girls in the line who obviously didn't speak much English at all - but also weren't exactly clued into their surroundings. They didn't fill out the departure card (despite large TV messages telling everyone to do so), so they were sent back to fill one out. The counter staff who dealt with them stood up and told everyone to make sure they all had one. She had that tired air of someone who has to say that kind of thing more than once a day. Pretty much everyone else stared back at her with the bored looks of people who already knew. Ah, beaureacracy... is there no sould you can sap the life from!

Later in the lineup to get on board the same girls tried to board when it wasn't their turn, leading to more tired-sounding raised voices from the check-in staff. There were some rather bemused/vacant looks from the girls as they made their ways back to the back of the line again. I swear I saw blonde roots.

The flight itself was OK. The food was fine as usual (Singapore have really got their act together) but the flight was the bumpiest I'd ever been on - including one that flew around a typhoon. Didn't sleep at all as a result. The in-flight TV also started messing around half way through "Casino" so I couldn't finish watching it. Frustrating...

I wandered around Singapore Airport for an hour or so. I wasn't really interested in buying anything but ended up getting some stuff in the chemists for dealing with the scores of flying blood-sucking insects I was expecting in Bangkok. The flight to Bangkok was mostly empty - I had a row to myself - but it was only two hours so no sleep once again.

There were a couple of tense moments in the new airport.

The airport looked a little like the mother ship from 'Close Encounters...' as we pulled up to it. I could see four planes lined up to land behind us as we taxied in. Great - hordes of tourists descending to clog things up. I had to be quick.

The interior of the airport was spacious, but rather drab. There was a lot of steel around the place - underfoot as well as overhead. It was a bit too sparse and unwelcoming for my liking - despite (or because of) the huge Thai style statues guarding the entrance to passport control.

Once there I had to produce my boarding pass - which I couldn't! I must've left it on the plane! The fellow looked me up and down and after a couple of minutes of questions from him and apologies from me he stamped my passport and let me through. I had to wait quite a time for my bag to appear on the carousel, by which time some of the people from the other flights were starting to apppear. But eventually all was well. I was waved through customs and went through the doors to the outside world.

Emerging from the customs area to the arrivals hall was like going from serenity to chaos. There were all manner of signs being held up to greet various passengers from hotels, resorts, taxi and limousine companies and the like. I ignored the line of touts as I made a beeline for the currency exchange counter.

The fellow behind the counter was quite a character - more interested in singing karaoke along to the radio than changing my money! Lots of smiles and he was helpful, but I wasn't in the mood for clowning around - I just wanted to get to the hotel. That's probably why I did what I did next.

A tout came up to me and said "Do you want a taxi?". I should've said "No" and just moved on to the outside where the proper yellow-jacketed metered taxis were lined up, but instead I just glanced at her pastel yellow jacket and said "Sure". She took me to another rank but I was too stuffed to say anything by this point.

The cabbie was good value though. He tried to sell me a woman within five minutes of leaving the airport! (Thai cliche #1 fulfilled) I asked him to teach me a little Thai language to get started - just five phrases to get started - hello, thankyou, yes, no and how much. That was a bit of fun. His English was passable but not great.

The road into Bangkok from the airport was wide and clear for most of the journey. There was quite a jam going back the other way - typical for Friday night according to my driver. There were some interesting traffic events going along our part of the road eventually, including a taxi u-turning right in front of oncoming traffic - "Not a good driver," said mine, and two buses clogging up the road as they tried to pull out from a hotel simultaneously.

There is absolutely no waiting for anyone or letting anyone pull in front of you in Thailand. He who hesistates probably gets stuck for days.

Thai architecture seems to be quite neo-colonial in style. The frontages of older buildings have small balconies at almost every window, whether the building is for accomodation or not. It's similar to what I know of the French Riviera, but less well kept. There were street stalls all through Bangkok along the main roads.

He dropped me off right outside the Majestic Suites, which is slam bang in the middle of Sukhumvit, one of the big nightlife centres of Bangkok. The check-in process was easy and quick. They gave me vouchers for breakfast and the key. There was no help getting the bags up to my floor or showing me how to use the room key. I had to work it out as well as explore the room by myself. I found the safety box and it was easy to use. There was more than enough room for everything - including my little PC. Good.

I bought a few supplies for tomorrow from the pharmacy which was conveniently located next to the hotel as well as some stuff from a nearby supermarket (called 'Foodland' - but not the might South Aussies). My little bag of things for the children's home was now full and rather heavy - perfect.

I checked out some of the streetside stalls on the way back for ideas (I found my Genuine Fake Rolex Watch ... quite a few actually!) and avoided the calls from the ladies and 'ladies' of the night. There were a LOT of lady-boys on the street near my hotel. Well, that's what you get for being centrally located, I guess!

I was buggered by now so it was time to go to bed.

Back from Thailand!!

Yep, made it back in one piece and even with a little money left!

I've just had a week back at work so that's been a really big jolt back into reality. Thailand already seems like an eternity ago, let alone my time in Oz - funny the tricks the mind plays ...

I'll post up the Thailand Experience in order from the first to last day, so you'll have to scroll down to read the first day and go up. Then again, if you're reading this, you've already scrolled down, so you know this already.... etc etc etc.

At least you'll get some pictures this time.

Last day

Woah, that came about quickly!

The last couple of days have been spent catching up with a lot of people, doing some much needed shopping and tying up some loose ends.

Matt and I went down to the beach last night and took a bunch of pictures. Amanda came down as well and brought her niiiiice camera so I'm looking forward to seeing how my little digital camera's pics stand up to her's. The evening was a classic Adelaide summer's night. There was scarecely a breeze and the water was glassy and warm to wade through. There were a couple of boats out enjoying the conditions as the sun set, making for some easy Kodak moments. The beach was busy with all sorts of people outside, taking advantage of the evening's relative coolness (it was in the high 30s yesterday); joggers, families, couples, dog-owners, groups of teens, and so on. Perfect!

I ended up at Adam's parents' place playing Texas Hold 'Em with Ads and the family. I didn't do so well - I had a lot of good hands, but just other people's hands were just a *little* better.... had fun though.

Today, mum and I had a 'picnic lunch' at home in front of the cricket. There was REAL bread, metwurst, pate, mushrooms, blue cheese, brie, cabernet paste (oooooh!) and so on and so on - all washed down with a Coopers Pale Ale. With the ABC radio commentary on and the Channel Nine commentators switched off - it was perfect!

Tonight is my brother's birthday dinner. I gave him an acoustic guitar for his present, which really knocked his socks off - didn't see that one coming! Mission accomplished.

Tomorrow it's Matt's birthday, so we're having breakfast before I have to get to the airport.

This may be my last blog until I get back to Japan, depending on the kind of access I can get in Thailand. Pics will be posted.... eventually!!

Making Caitlin Jealous #5

Beach....

#5a

Beach Volleyball!

Happy New Year 2007

Well, here it is. The sun is shining and the birds are singing to welcome the new year. It’s another perfect summer’s day here in Adelaide.

Last night I went to a friend’s house with a whole bunch of other people to see in 2007. It was a classic Aussie party. The main difference between this party and past ones was the number of friends who now have kids. Once they were all safely put to bed inside it was time to break out the grog (booze, alcohol – whatever you lot call it) and the tucker (food), get down to some disco tunes (thanks Matt) and catch up with people.

I think I got home about 3am. Hard to say… I certainly had my fill of the fruit of the vine! Plans for today are minimal, keeping with another fine Aussie tradition.

Woke up to the news that there have been a bunch of bombings in Bangkok. Yippie, I’m off to a war zone in five days - despite what the government says. I'm inclined to agree with my mum who quipped that it would probably be safer after an attack than before since all the law enforcement agencies would be on high alert. She should know; she was in the USA during and immediately after September 11.

Of course, everything depends on if I can get out of the airport in one piece, which according to this article seems to becoming a less likely proposition, day by day....

Making Caitlin Jealous #4

Three words: Gigantic Kangaroo Steak. You have to try it to know it’s true.

P.S. Making Pavla Jealous: Washed down with a fantastic Barossa Cabernet Shiraz Merlot.