Last Blog Entry....maybe

Well, I've been meaning to sit down for awhile now and write one long "what does it all mean" entry to sum up the whole trip. Think I'll break it up into bite size pieces to make it easier on all of us. So here we go...

• Thailand Overall: Thailand is awesome and I will go back in a heartbeat if/when given the chance. You all should too. The culture is great, the people are super-friendly, the food is great, its cheap, the massages are universally awesome, many parts of the country are beautiful, English is widely spoken. What else do you need?

• Return to Normal: After 5 weeks, it was great to get home. Missed Katie (and Mocha and Zipper...) a bunch. And on my first night back, remembered how totally wonderful it is to sleep in my own bed. That said, I probably experienced more culture shock coming home than going to Thailand in the first place. The shock was just how quickly I was plopped in the middle of "normal" after having such a long adventure. On my first day back, there I was having breakfast with Katie, mowing the lawn, paying the bills, etc. It wasn't boring or anything thing bad, it was just so...normal! Like the 5 weeks I was gone was a dream and then I woke up and it was just the next day of my normal life. Hard to explain...

• Work Thoughts: The time off (if a trip with 10 dental visits and 3 hospital visits can be considered time off...) was just what I needed. I was really burnt out before I left and I had some fear (hope?) that the time off and the space would bring into clarity that it was time to make a move and force me to take the hard steps needed to do that. But the opposite occurred: the break let me forget about all the stupid little things that were bugging me and I re-entered work fairly easily and the afterglow of the trip seemed to stick fairly well. I expected to spend a good amount of time while in Thailand "soul searching" about what to do with my career, but in actuality I barely thought about it at all. And that was just what I needed. Not sure what my future career path will be, but for now I am in a much better place to be where I'm at and make the most of it.

• Thailand Work Thoughts: That said...I am certainly interested to see if any opportunities pop up with South East Asia Energy Efficiency group that I met with. Sounds like they will be looking for a "lighting expert" sometime in mid-2008. Its possible that expert could be me and if they want me, I will seriously consider it. At this point it is very unclear what that might mean. The job would probably be short term and possibly part-time and probably would involve lots of travel to Thailand, Vietnam, Loas, Indonesia, China, and India but probably would not require me to move to SE Asia. So, we will see what comes of that, if anything...

• Medical and Dental: Overall my dental and medical care was incredible. I would have no reservations doing something like this again if I need to and I'd have no problems recommending it to others. It was cheap, professional and easy. I'm sure you can get bad medical treatment anywhere, but that wasn't my experience. The remote-planning process is probably the hardest part as I certainly learned with my "complicated" dental situation. But aside from that, awesome. In many ways both the dental and medical stuff seemed more professional or at least more "patient focused" than anything I've experienced in the US. Nothing ever felt rushed. All my doctors/dentists seemed to have plenty of time for me and were happy to answer all my questions. They had plenty of medical assistants always. Much more than the US; I guess cheaper labor has advantages. Coming home and watching Sicko only added an exclamation point to what I had just experienced first hand.
  

• Thai Food: While I was happy to have "American Breakfast," I never got sick of Thai food. Even after getting sick. Twice...Most of the places I ate at had many other non-Thai options (Italian, American (i.e. hamburgers...), Japanese, even Mexican...) but I rarely ever ate anything but Thai food because it was so good and so cheap.
• Things that I really liked: street vendors selling grilled chicken and yummy little sausage things, vendors selling fresh squeezed orange juice for less than $1 a bottle.
• Things that surprised me: that fried chicken and fried rice seem to be a stapled in Thai food. You never see them in Thai restaurants here.
  
• Grossest thing I ate (aside from whatever made me horribly ill...): I ordered some fried chicken from a street vendor that was really good, was extra juicy and fatty. When about half way done, I realized it wasn't eating a chicken thigh, but was eating a whole bird of some type. Much smaller than a chicken. But what was it? Pigeon? I didn't eat another bite.
  
• What "American Food" I craved the most but couldn't get: Fat Tire beer.
• What Thai food I miss the most now: Tom Kai Gai soup.
  

Anyway, I think that's it. I really enjoyed writing the blog and getting all the feedback, comments and emails from y'all! It really made it feel like I wasn't alone and I think really played a big part in keeping me from getting lonely on my 5 weeks alone. So thanks! I had so much fun writing the blog that I'd totally like to keep doing it, but something tells me that the stories about my adventures around the office and the house just wouldn't be quite as compelling. If I come up with a great idea for a new blog I'll let you know. (How about "Laos Lighting Lab"?...). Until then, it's been a lot of fun sharing this with you....

-Erik

More Pictures and GPS

I've added the rest of my pictures to my Picasa site with several new folders. Even though I know you have all bookmarked it and visit it regularly, here is the address anyway

http://picasaweb.google.com/erki666

Also, I've uploaded the GPS of my bike ride in Chiang Mai. You can see the ride with photos embedded here:

http://maps.google.com/?q=http://www.mtbguru.com/trip/kml_info/3760.kml

or for those biker nerds (4750 feet of descending!!!) , you can see all the data here:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4564967

Feeling much better now and almost over the jet lag I think. Gearing up for work tomorrow. We'll see how many hours of work are required to undo 5 weeks of no-work...

Home

Well, the Tokyo to SFO leg hurt (and the SFO to Sac leg was delayed for a 1/2 hr which also hurt) but I finally made it home. Good to be home. Showered and am now finally wearing something different than the handful of clothing items I took with me. Now trying to stay up at least until 8pm or so. I saw the sun rise twice today (once in Bangkok, once somewhere over the Pacific near SFO) , so I guess its OK for me to be tired.

Great to see Katie. And Mocha and Zipper. Alot colder here though. I wonder when I can get another 5 weeks off of work...

One Night In Bangkok

Another Tokyo post. Instead of going to bed early resting up for my 6AM flight, on my last night in Bangkok I finally went out and experienced the night life and it was great! I (finally!) was able to connect up with the Bangkok person I befriended earlier in the trip and she took me out on the town with here friends. It was a blast. At first we went to the part of the city that is all decorated for the Kings 80th birthday (which was the day before...) and it was amazing. Lights and posters of the King everywhere, Thai people everywhere taking pictures of everything. The more I learned about the King, the more I understand the passion Thai's have for him. He really does seem to be a "King of the People" (I believe his name even means "touching the ground" or "down to Earth" or some such thing). Anyway, it was truly a spectacle. Here is another picture of Thais taking pictures...

Then we went to a bar/club/concert. It was also incredible. Probably a 200-ish person club and I only saw 2 other white people. Cool! That's what I was counting on my local contact to do for me. The band was a Thai (of course...) modern rock band. They rocked hard and were pretty funny even though I have no idea what they were saying. There were actually very good and I really enjoyed the whole show. There were kind of like a Thai version of the Pixies. People in the club certainly know them well and sang along on many of there "bigger hits." I think I just found their myspace page...

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=130100730

The bar was fun too. I just knew my one friend (Jang) but met 4-5 more of her friends who while generally drunk and/or had limited English skills, were very friendly and welcoming. Any several other people came up to me and asked me where I was from and generally wanted to know what I was doing there in an very friendly and welcoming way. People were there to have fun, not "look cool". I'd probably go out more if the scene was more like that in the US. Ok, you're right, I'd probably still stay home...

Speaking of having fun, the way they do drinks in clubs (or that club anyway?) seemed WAY better. I didn't figure out exactly was happening (and stopped trying after 3 whiskey/cokes) but every little clique of friends seemed to have there own table with there only bartender. You then buy a whole bottle of whiskey, coke, whatever, and then you can mix your own drinks or the bartender takes care of it for you. I don't exactly know how much it all cost, but I'm pretty sure its a hell of alot cheaper. (I paid about $30, which I believe was for of my and Jang's drinks and maybe some of her friends. There was either no cover for the band part of my $30 also went to that.) And, at least for me, you drink alot more because you don't have to think "hmmm, another $6?" everytime you want a drink. At least twice the bartender just took my 3/4 empty glass and restocked it for me. All this adds to the fun, at least up to a point. Happily somehow I managed to not cross that line and stayed in the "fun zone" for the whole evening. Stayed till closing time (2am) then I took a cab back to my hotel to finish packing, take a shower and write a quick blog to let my Mom know I was not dying of Malaria on the other side of the planet. Took a 1-2 hr nap, then on a 4:30am taxi to the airport. This all helped me sleep through most of my flight from Bangkok to Tokyo and as I can hardly keep my eyes open now (so please excuse any typos, etc... ) I'm counting on it helping me sleep on my longer Toyko - SFO leg too.

Anyway, I think that's all I got for now. Still more to tell so check back later...

Dental Final Notes

Hey. In Tokyo with one flight down and two to go (Toyko --> SFO, SFO --> SAC). All the typical "it seems so quick, but also seems so long" feelings now.

Many many stories still to tell, so I'll offer up a few now as I have 2 hours before my flight. Here is a picture of me and Dr. Narang on my last visit with me giving my tooth-iest grin. See why I don't normally smile like that? Anyway, he was great and I'd have no probably going to him again (or refering others) if needed. Very skilled, very nice, spents lots of time with me, perfect English, inexpensive, nice clinic, etc. Here are two of his office assistants...

Anyway, all-in-all, although the dental work did not got at all like I had expected (different clinic, different procedures, etc...) I think I'm very happy with how it turned out. I don't think I'm done with teeth stuff forever like I was hoping I would be, but this was a simpler, cheaper procedure and certainly is much better than where I was. And if/when I need to do something again, I'm sure I'll be ready for another month in Thailand!

Better

Feeling much better today. Sorry if I worried any of you (sorry Mom!). It was horrible, but the 2nd Doc visit did the trip. They switched my antibiotics and I got better almost immediately. Not 100% yet, but 1000x better. The picture here is me on my first doc visit. Feeling better than that now!

I am very tired though. It is 2am here now and I'm off to the airport in 2.5 hrs to come home. Decided to just stay up tonight and sleep on the plane. Must finish packing now. Ok, then I might try to catch an hour or two before the 4:30am taxi.

Anyway, but a quick note to tell y'all that I'm gonna live (I think...) and I'm excited to be coming home!

I'll probably write at least one more detailed summary when I'm back covering alot of the stuff that I didn't have time to hit when I was on the road.

See ya all soon...

Medical Update

Believe me, you don't want the photos that go with this post. My health has not been good as I've gotten some intestinal bug that I can not seem to shake. Been 3-4 not-so-fun days. That "wonderful" curry in the earlier post may have been the culpriate. In any case, I've been to the hospital twice now (including this morning...). Stopped throwing up after getting a shot in the clinic on the firt visit (I think I earned some sort of travellers purple heart badge for puking in the bathroom of rural 3rd world country clinic...). (Side note: Care was very good though. And my hospital visit plus shot plus antibotics cost less than $10. That is less than my Kaiser co-pay for a doc visit...) Lower track still seriously not-normal. The 7 hour bus ride the other night (10pm-5AM) was NOT fun...

Trying to make the most of my last days here, but pretty weak. Today is the Kings b-day and a national holiday. Hope to take in the sights tonight at the festival here in Chaing Rai.

Anyway, I think I'll live, but this isn't the way I wanted to wrap up the trip. Certainly makes coming home sound that much better though (aside from the 17 hr flight...)

Lame quick post without a picture

Hey. Pai is to touristy so i'm leaving tomorrow. I did go on a nice (but way too long) hike today to a waterfall. I saw the biggest, fastest, scariest snake i've ever seen in the wild. after I almost steped on it, it ran off, then coiled and raised its head and checked me out from some near by brush. I think it may have been a cobra. I got a few pictures (and a video or it slithering away) but can't post now as I'm at an internet cafe and don't have the camera.

I caught a cold yesterday. Pretty nasty, but hopefully won't stick around for too long or slow me down too much. Eating spicier foods (not hard to find here...) to help clear things out. Had probably one of my best meals yet for dinner today. The North is more known for the curries and tonights was amazing.

Anyway, outta here for know. Think I'm heading to Chiang Khong (sp?) near the Loas border tomorrow if i can work out the transportation...

Further Afield

Heading out of Chiang Mai tomorrow after two days here. Pretty neat city, but a city nonetheless and I'm ready to never see a city again. So on the 9AM bus tomorrow to Pai, a small town in the hills. Suppose to be legitimately cool there this time of year which will be nice after being in a perpetual state of sweating for 3+ weeks. Also suppose to be really beautiful and peaceful.

I had an adventure with my bridge 2 days ago, as it came lose as i was about to get on the airplane to Chiang Mai. I was able to get it repaired the next day in Chiang Mai, but it hurt greatly for much of the 18hrs it was out (or loose) and it REALLY hurt when they reinstalled it. Everything feels great now and I essentially have all my "real" teeth. All done except the final checkup.

Went on a guided mt. bike ride today that was truly amazing. Technical and juggle-y. Hopefully more nature-loving experiences to come in Pai. Not sure if they have internet in Pai, so please forgive me if the next post is delayed. Must sleep now...

Heading North

Have my 2nd to last dental appointment at 3pm (should be getting my bridge installed for good and get my partial denture!), then running to the airport for a 7pm flight to Chiang Mai. 2 nights there, then off to explore Pai (pronounced "bye") hopefully for a homestay and nature immersion. Then flying back to Bangkok on Dec 6th from Chiang Rai and running back into the city for my last dental appt and my last night in Thailand. I have a 6am flight on the 7th. Looking forward to having a decent chunk of time in the North. Suppose to be pretty amazing.

Had a meeting this morning with Peter DuPont, head of the US-AID Eco-Asia office. We talked about what the CLTC is doing and what Eco-Asia is doing. They are going to need some help checking out testing labs. In India, China, Thailand, Indonesia, etc. Now THAT would be a fun side job to take on. We will monitor that situation closlely.

More later when I settle in up North...

Off the island

Back in Bangkok after 5 days on the islands. Was pretty fun and a nice break but not surprisingly (for me anyway) not as relaxing as it probably should have been. Whenever I'm somewhere new and exotic, I have a very hard time not trying to do and see everything. "When will I ever be here again?" I say to myself as I run myself ragged. I'd been planing on 10 hr of sleep a night during this "vacation" but have probably averaged closer to 6. That's just me being stupid. Hopefully I can work on that a little from here on out, but doubtful.

Flew back early this morning and now its 11am and I'm already in my hotel in Silom (near my dentist) with a little time before my 3pm dentist apointment. I'm getting the Novocaine today. Last visit I first tried without Novocaine and it was pain like I'm never known before. Then tomorrow will be a busy day too. I have a meeting on the morning with Peter Dupont, head of the Eco-Asia Clean Development and Climate Change Program. They are doing many things in lighting, especially with CFLs and they are going to be setting up a lighting laboratory and CFL testing program. I want to learn a little more about what they are doing and see if there is any way I can help. Especially if that might mean a trip or two to come back here! Then I have another 3pm dentist appointment. My 2nd to last one (hopefully) and my very last one will be the day before I fly home, so I will essentially be free to leave Bangkok for the rest of the trip (which will only be a week...). Then I hope to catch an evening flight to Chaing Mai and hit the North for a week. Hiking and hopefully mountain biking. They also have "homestays" up there where you actually stay in someones house, help them cook, etc. Might be pretty interesting.

Anyway, overall the islands (4 days on Ko Phan-gnan, 1 day on Ko Samui) were great but probably could have been better if I was smarter. The festival was pretty cool, though largely got lost in the noise of the full moon party. The party was pretty fun too, but certainly would have been more fun if I was there with someone (though it was pretty easy to make friends with the friendly and extremely drunk crowd.) In retrospect, a quieter beach scene and a better place for the festival (Chaing Mai or maybe even Bangkok) would have been better. No major regrets though. Hard to not be happy with "great."

Still Better Than Work

Yesterday I got more sunburned than I've been in years (sun must be pretty strong here: I consistantly applied sunscreen and was under an umbrella most of the day) and today I puked while taking a ferry on rocky seas to a snorkel sight. First time I've every gotten sea sick. It was really rough out and LOTS of people were losing it, including the person sitting right next to me. I was fine for the first 45 minutes, but after her 6 episode, it finally got to me. Felt fine pretty soon though and still had a nice time. The picture here is of a little hike I did after the puking and before the snorkeling. The snorkeling was pretty good (amazing live coral like I've never seen before) but the rough seas definitely mucked things up and visibility wasn't great. Anyway, despite these uncomfortable events, both days were still wonderful. What a magical place. And tonight is a double festival: a Thai holiday where people put floating flower candles in rivers, oceans, etc, plus a "full moon party" specific to the island I'm on. See the pictures below of the flower that a woman who works at my hotel put together for todays festival.

Snake

Here is a snake that seems to live on my deck here in Phan-ngan. I am totally convinced he is poisonous because he has scary stripes and stuff. If this is my last post, then that should confirm his deadliness.

Sai Yok

I'm finally uploading pictures of my two days in Sai Yok National Park so figured I might as well describe my great time there in more detail. Sai Yok is about a 2 hr bus right out of Kanchanaburi (which is about another 2 hours from Bangkok). The Kwai river flows from Sai Yok down through Kanchanaburi and then to somewhere else I haven't been. As I mentioned earlier, I was the only westerner on the bus and when I got off the bus (with help and pity for the clueless wonderer from the bus driver...) I experienced my first true lack of any english speakers. I knew I needed to catch a motorcycle taxi to the Park, but I didn't how or where to catch one (btw: motorcycle taxis are really scary. especially when you have a huge backpack on. especially especially in Bangkok with a huge backpack on). So I tried asking around at a few different places and there was lots of pointing and gesturing, but still no taxis in sight. So I decided to go to the only thing around that looked like a restaurant (there wasn't much around at all really) and have lunch. And had a surprisingly hard time ordering. No english speakers, menu entirely in Thai, etc. Eventually I think I said "fried rice" and they understood. (another aside: fried rice with chicken, pork, etc seems to be one Thai food mainstay here that doesn't seem all that common in American Thai resturants. The other is fried chicken which is pretty darn good) During the course of my very good and very cheap meal, the "town" managed to produce an english speaker who help locate a motorcycle taxi for me and get me headed off in the right direction.

Anyway, that was alot of writing and i still haven't even gotten there. I'll try to focus. The place that I was looking for was a guesthouse in the park appropriately named the Sai Yok View Raft Guesthouse. All the rooms (40-ish?) are literally on pontoons floating on the water. When I arrived there were very surprised to have someone like me just walk up as most of there guest come through German or Russian tour companies in large groups (for whatever reason). This turned out to be very good for me because the owners and staff took a special interest in me to make sure I wasn't lonely. (Another aside, sorry: Thais seem say "lonely" when then mean "lonely" or if they mean "bored".). This lead to me making my first true friends on the trip. I ended up running around with the locals for all sorts of things including going to the market, a hot springs, a strange Thai version of a county fair, and eventually even got a ride part of the way back to Bangkok with them. One of the people that was working there actually usually lives in Bangkok and might be able to give me the "insiders tour" later. Super cool. Anyway, many other cool things about that place including the scenery and the food (the Raft House provided meals, amazing meals...) But that's all I can write right now. Need to go eat...

Island time

Another very short update and a promise to write more soon. I'm on some island now with a name i can't pronounce (Ko pha-ngan). Settling in nicely. I will be here for 4-5 days before I need to fly back to Bangkok. Seems like internet from here is stable and available, so I should be able to update soon. Gotta get out and see some stuff now though...

It's thursday aka thanksgiving here now. Looking forward to talking to you family-types tomorrow!

Anyway, gonna run for now and hopefully add some stories, adventures, etc later tonight....

Still Alive

Hey blog watchers. Just a quick note to let you all know that I'm still alive. I took the "i'm the only white guy on this bus" bus and was immediately rewarded with incredible sites, stories and other stuff. Truely amazing and so I stayed for an extra day. And there was not internet. and no electricy often. And there were bugs in my room. And there was a barking ingauna thing in my wall. And it was still probably the nicest "hotel" I've ever stayed in. (See picture of my room above) Anyway, very tired now. More within the next few days, as i should be back among the wired.

Out of concrete, into jungle

Hopefully a quick blog as I need to eat, shower, book a plane flight to the north and rest. The last 2 days have been an orgy of tourist activities. I have petted a tiger, ridden an elephant, saw monkeys in the wild, gone down a river on a bamboo raft, ridden the "Death Railway" (bridge over river kwai...), and hiked to an amazing waterfall (with about 10,000 other people). It all was ridiculously touristy, but for the most part is was all pretty darn fun. Are tourist traps in Thailand really that much better or do people from other parts of the world have this much fun when they are at Pier 39? Most things manged to be both embarrassingly touristy and deeply fulfilling simultaneously. Except the train, which was just embarrassingly touristy, but at least it was short.

Anyway, tomorrow I think I might try to get out of tourist-land and hop an ordinary bus to a national park that is a little off the beaten path and try to rent a bungalow there for the night. Suppose to have some nice hiking and because its remote should be pretty unvisited. I can just be there for one night, then I need to bus back to Bangkok (4 hr bus ride?) for a 6pm appt.

OK, gotta run. Lots of new pictures on the site. Check 'em out...

Escaped

Finally, definitively out of the city. After heading into Bangkok for a quick dental appt yesterday, I barely caught the last train out for Kanchanaburi (after first heading to the wrong train station on bad advice...). Kanchanaburi is a small town and the location of the "Bridge Over River Kwai". So lots of WWII history around here, but I'm here primarily because it is a launching off point for many "trekking" options. Today I'm mainly taking it slow, recovering, catching up on some email, maybe do some laundry and take a short afternoon tour (there is a place you can go and pet large adult tigers. hmmm...) or rent a bike and tour the local WWII sites. I'll be in this area for another 2-3 days, needing to get back to Bangkok by 6pm Monday to get my stitches out. (Then another dental appointment on Tuesday AM, then leave Bangkok again for destinations unknown at this point. Maybe Chaing Mai in the far North...)

Aside from being seemingly overrun by backpacker types such as myself, Kanchanaburi seems pretty darn cool, and much mellower than any place I've stayed yet. And cheaper too. I stayed in a bungalow literally suspended over the Kwai River last night for less than $20. Check out this view through my front door:


Moving to a different place tonight though just for fun and also because there is actually suppose to be alot of noise from the river on weekends when Thais from Bangkok come and party all night on Kareokee boats on the river. Interesting...My room tonight is even nicer and cheaper, but doesn't have the view.

Anyway, I've added some more pictures online, mainly of Ayuthaya. I've also stated at Kanchanaburi folder too. And I added some more to the Bangkok folder too. All can be accessed from here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/erki666

Also, I ran the GPS while on the train, so you can see the profile, map etc here if you are interested:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=4451008

Well, I guess that's it for now...

Bairly out of Bangkok

Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth.
- New Slang, The Shins

(pre-script: New Slang btw turns out, in addition to just being an all-around perfect song, it is perhaps the best song ever for listening to while gauzing out a bus window with a blank look on your face. Someone show put that song on a soundtrack. oh yeah...)

I got out of the city for just one night. Yesterday morning I headed up to the ruins at Ayuthaya, the former capital of Siam, and spent one night then back on the bus this morning for another appointment (15 mins from now). Then hope to catch a train to Kanchanaburi and should actually have 3-4 days there so I can finally be out of the city for a little while. With the change in my dental plan, I am going to have many more dental visit is seems. Looks unlikely that I will be able to get away for any length of time and probably won't even finish up much before my return flight. I didn't really think that I would really need those 5 weeks off work. Though I was going to be able to play hooky more than it looks like I will.

Anyway, a few more pictures and then I put many more on my Picasa site later. Hopefully tonight. I think I'll have internet in Kanchanaburi. (Turns out that when you say your will not have access for 4-5 days on your blog, it slows traffic I've discovered...)

L8r...

Leaving Bangkok

The city is driving me out of my mind

- Bright Eyes

Totally Bangkok saturated and need out. I have my first 2 hr drilling session at the dentist in about 20 minutes and then I'm gonna head straight from there for the bus station and literally figure out where to go when I see which buses are there. How's that for winging it? I rescheduled my appt to have my stitches out from the 17th to the 19th, since my next dental appt will also be on the 19th. That will give me a chance to recoup for a little while somewhere quieter.

So I may or may not have any internet access for the next 4-5 days. I’m going to check back into the same Bangkok hotel I've been at on the evening of the 19^th, so hopefully I can at least report back in then at the least. (I imagine I will have access somewhere though....)

Anyway, overall, I’m still doing good, just ready for a little peace and quite. I took my ear wrapping off today and it is a little gross looking, but basically looks pretty good. Certainly seems to be more “normal” shaped. Now my teeth (including one of my two front teeth...) are going to be strange shaped for a little while (after the drilling and before the bridge placement)

Ok, until later...

Miscellaneous B-sides

Here are some miscellaneous Thailand snippets that I may or maybe not get a chance to cover in greater detail later:

• News: The Bangkok Post is the most enjoyable newspaper I've ever read. Quirky is probably the best word. It seems to blend the Opinion page with the News page in a way that totally works. Page 2 today had an article about Miss International Queen Miss Tanyarat Jirapatpakon, who "bested 23 stunning transsexuals" to capture the diamond crown. It news stories are complete, but always seem to have some bizare quote or line in them. And most stories are on one page, so you don't have to seek out the rest of the story somewhere else. If it wasn't for the glaring absence of Cal Sports stories, I'd totally cancel the Chronicle.
• Food: Is awesome. Only hit or miss because I don't know where to go or what to order, but when it's a hit, it's a hit. I just had far-and-away the best Pad Thai of my life (and a totally decent diet Pepsi) for dinner and it cost me $1.25. Mmm cheap yummy foood.
• Dogs: There are dogs everywhere on the street, but they are perfectly well behaved. I don't think I've seen a single one bark, run into the street, bite anyone, chase a cat (which are also everywhere), or anything. Why is that? All they seem to do is sleep in the middle of the sidewalk and not-to-aggressively beg for food. American dogs are so aggressive when out in public. Must be on the violence on TV.
• The King: These guys are WAY into the King. It's cult-like, but without the creepy edge. If you really want to see the news and opinion pages blur in the Bangkok Post, read an article about the King. There would be no other way to describe it except propaganda, except that is really does seem sincere. They are not trying to convince everyone the King is great. It seems to be just be part of the public conscience that the King is great. Such a foreign concept for a jaded and irony-addicted American. I don't think I've ever even voted for (let alone have had elected) a leader that I had had 1/2 as much respect for as people seem to have for the King. The King is 80 now, has been on the thrown for approximately 50 years and is in poor health (he just got out of the hospital after a 25 day stay around the time I arrived). Will be pretty tough on the Thais when he is gone. On my last day or two in Thailand, there is a national holiday for the Kings birthday that is suppose to be a big event. I can imagine.
• Body-Image: While Thais are very modest in general (expect for all the prostitutes: this really is a land of contradictions) they seem to not have as many physical hangups as Westerners. For example, strangers seem to have no problem commenting on things about my body they find interesting. Ok, that sounded strange: Let me explain. I've had more than one massage where the masseuse commented that I have lady-sized breasts. (Damn, this is sounding stranger...) But, while this was partially an attempt a humor (Thais seem to love to tease), it is also an indication of a lack of taboo about topics such as this. I've also had several people ask me what happened to my ear. (My favorite was "What happened? Lady bite?" That was awesome and is now the story I'm using...) It took alot for me to use that example so please nobody be an silly Westerner make fun of my chest. In any case, I think the comments where at least as much about how big and well developed my pects are as much as anything about them being flabby. Of God, I'd better just stop...
  

Squirrels!

Don't Drink and Shop

As many of you might know, I'm a bit of a light weight when it comes to drinking. I'm getting a little better now that my total body mass is up (that is i'm fatter) and I'm drinking more regularly because my job drives me crazy. But I'm still more or less a lightweight. So add that to the fact that Thai beers seem to be high in alcohol (5-6%?) and also typically come is extra-big bottles (700 ml? 1 L??) and I can get a descent buzz on here with one beer. Well that's what happened the other night and things were good and fine for a little while until I stumbled in to a pretty cool night market. Anyway, as you probably know by now, I didn't exactly use my best judgment or best bargaining skill that night. So I ended up spending $20 on a nice silk shirt that I'll never wear and which doesn't even fit me anyway. I guess this valuable less could have cost me much more than that.

Once I get up into the North country I'll let you know if this same lesson also applies to opium. (Mom, that was just a joke, really...)

Medical Update

So many of you don't know I was also planning on having my "Spock Ear" removed. (That is actually what they call it...). Some of you maybe didn't even notice I had a Spock ear or where polite or embarrassed enough to never bring it up (I alway like you guys the best). Anyway, I noticed it and I was ready for Scotty to beam it up (sorry...) and thought I'd take this opportunity to do it. So that's what I did today. I went to the famous Bumrungrad International Hospital at 1pm this afternoon and left there around 5:30pm without part of my ear. Actually, in a truly Blue Velvet-esque manner, I left there with the ear in a vile. I ask for it half jokingly and they actually gave it too me. How am I gonna get that through security? It's a surprisingly big chunk they took and is grotesquely neat-o. The surgery itself took about 45 minutes, was done under local anesthetic which allowed me to hear the cutting noises quite well throughout the procedure. They closed it up with 10-12 stitches that they will remove in a week. No swimming til those are out (and showering with a baggy again so soon after getting my cast off), but should be fine after that.

Any if you what see the totally gross and cool pictures, i've posting them here instead of forcing all of you see it them whether you like it or not. Also some pictures there of my wrapped up ear.

I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop, but am amazingly low level of pain so far consider the size of the chunk and the number of stitches. Starting to sting a little now (8 hours after surgury) but not too bad. Hopefully that wouldn't change too much when I inevitable roll over onto in tonight.

Dental Update

To counter murmurs that I'm having too much fun and not enough oral pain, thought I'd update where I'm at on the dental front. I have decided to go with the bridge plus partial denture option. Certainly the safest and most straightforward option. I will still have the option to add implants (to replace the partial) at a later date if I want/need to and am willing to go through the 1 year process of bone grafting, implants, then crowns. Fun, fun. I do think this unexpected reevaluation process was good. Certainly through me for a loop, but I think I'm going to end up with something that makes more sense. I'm gonna go with the 2nd opinion guy, Dr. Narong Potiket. I liked him alot. And he when to LSU and owns a home at was flooded in Katrina, for what it's worth. Anyway, the soonest he could start work is Monday afternoon. So another day to kill in Bangkok tomorrow. Bangkok is certainly interesting and I've got the subway/skytrain all figured out, but I am definitely really to get outta town. I'll probably have a follow up appt about 4-5 days later (and then another 1-2 another 5-7 days later I think), so I should be able to leave for a few days starting Tuesday.

Friday Night Fights

Any lingering questions about whether I might want to participate in a bar fight while over here were put to rest last night. I saw several kids (yes kids. minimum fighting age for professional Muay Thai is 15) that literally weigh 1/2 what I do who clearly could kick my ass. And I'm sure the 133 lbs featherweight champion could have killed me with a single elbow to, well, probably anywhere.

Anyway, it was pretty cool though and turn out to be more captivating that nauseating. It was awfully confusing though. Aside from the two legitimate knock-outs (see videos below, including one of the 15 year-old going down ...) I had no idea who was winning any of the matches 7-8 matches I saw. I think I literally guessed wrong on all of them. Apparently landing the most solid shots, knocking the other guy down alot, and making the other guy bleed more than you are all not important in the scoring. Not exactly sure what the leaves. Anyway, I'll post more pictures in my picasa Bangkok folder.

Muay Thai Massage

This place is so awesome that I could sit in my hotel all day and blog about it. This morning I finally got a traditional thai massage. (The other massages I've gotten were oil massages and were not significantly different that those in the US). It was pretty incredible. I was literally on the verge of screaming for about 90 minutes straight. I only actually yelled twice I think and once had to do with my broken/healing wrist, so that doesn't count. It was wonderful though and I was loving it the whole time too. Although I had her significantly outweighed, she was definitely the stronger of the 2 of us and she was not at all afraid to throw some knees and elbows to get the job done.

Anyway, speaking of Muay Thai, tonight I'm planning on going down to the stadium to watch a few matches. I'm a little trepidatious about the pure blood-lust of it, but certainly curious about the whole specticle of it at the same time. Wasn't oriniginaly even planning on seeing a Muay Thai match, but when Katie was planning on comming along, she seemed really interested in seeing a match and I didn't really like the idea of her being more into it than me. So I'm totally into it and it's going to totally kick. oops, bad pun, sorry.

Think I'm almost recovered from that food stall lunch a few blogs ago and really to try some true thai food again tonight. Will phase back into things with a restuarant meal though. They have something here that is some thai-version of fried chicken that is suppose to be good that i might try. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, just how Nathan likes it...

Ok, gonna go.

Bangkok isn't so bad afterall

Well, what a long and good day. There is news on the dental front, alot of news, but I will try to be brief because it is probably a lot less interesting to the most of you. If you are only interested in the non-dental stuff then skip to the next paragraph and I'll tell you about all the other cool stuff I did today. Basically The Plan has changed several times since I've been here. It changed to full-on implants everywhere with bone grafting (yes, probably with a "butt bone" Mr. Graeber...) a repeat visit (or 2?) to Bangkok and much more money. That all made me sleep quite poorly yesterday. When to a 2nd clinic today to get a 2nd opinion and he gave me a very different opinion. He agreed full-on bridges (the Original Plan) is problematic and shouldn't be done. But he also felt that the full-on implant plan is also pretty extreme and recommended I bridge just the one front tooth gap that I have and get a new partial denture for the rest. And only move to implants in the back if and when I really need to. This is kinda a 1/2 step forward from where I was at 2 years and much orthodontic pain ago, but seems like the other options are either a possible step backwards or too many steps forward for me to be able to take. Anyway, Katie and I talked about it and we feel pretty good about this option. So I'll probably work with this new guy (he is a professor at the dental school here and really seems very good), probably as early as tomorrow. Should take 2 weeks total from when I start to wrapping it all up.

The rest of the day was awesome but grueling(if a day with 2 separate 1 hr massages can ever be considered grueling...). Left my room at 10am for the dentist appointment and didn't get back until 10pm. Aside from the dentist and the massages I also took the subway, the skytrain (a totally different system than the subway for some unknown reason) and a water taxi. When on a walking tour that included several temples which were AWESOME. No offense to any Christian readers, but I've been to alot of churches in Europe that were incredible, but I've never felt as moved as I did today in the temple with the emerald Buddha. Wow. Also had a drink at a super-fancy hotel right along the river (they were looking for bombs underneath all cars and taxis coming in. How fancy is that?!). Also swung by one of the red-light districts on the way home. Sorry guys, the camera's battery conveniently ran-out before I got there. Really.

Speaking of pictures, I took a billion. Rather than put them all here, I started a website here for all the Thailand pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/erki666/ThailandBangkok

Actually, I'm gonna just use that for the Bangkok stuff. When I somewhere else, I probably start a new folder.

OK, the melitonen that I took is starting to kick in, so I better stop it right here. Your homework tonight is to count your teeth with your tongue as you lay in bed and be greatful for each and every one of them.

Cold Kok-ed

Day 1. First the dental news: this is why I'm here, right? Had my first visit today to go over my "plan". Well, turns out I am "a complicated case." If I had a dime for every dentist that told me that, I'd have enough to play for the dental work to get me fixed up. The general dentist and prothodentist that met with me today did all the usual molds, x-rays, and head scratching and still aren't exactly sure what to do. I'm going back there tonight at 7pm to meet with the Implantologist (yes, that is a real thing). Then I have a meeting on Friday (it's Wednesday here now...) to finalize "the plan". Seems they have some concerns about going 100% bridges and might push for some implants. This is a pretty big and somewhat depressing complication. I have always known that implants are a better long term solution, but they are more expensive, more complicated, and (the real kicker considering I'm doing this 1/2 way around the world...) are a 2 phase process with the phases 3-4 months apart. So guys at work: Let Michael know I should be back by March. No, I'm not sure what I'll do yet. I'll meet with the guy tonight, then see what they have to say Friday and go from there. It sounded like they could do the all-bridge plan that my US prothodontist proposed, but they didn't think it was the best option. They thought that the bridge spans would either be too long and/or they would have to drill on my existing teeth for the foundations so much that they would likely hit roots requiring 3 root canals. Not sure that sounds like an awesome solution.

Overall the clinic seem pretty good. Lots of other westerners in the waiting room. 1st world amenities (for the most part...) in the clinics. Helpful, knowledgable, english speaking dentists. Having mutliple dentists and specialists plus a lab all in one place does seem like a good thing, especially with a "complicated case" like mine.

Anyway, we'll see what they come up with and go from there. I guess I still have the option of during nothing and going with my US dentist if he thinks he can do what they can not, but my gut tells me they might be right. Anyway, more later on that.

Bangkok itself does seem pretty cool, or at least the few blocks of it I've seen. I think going to China 6 month back prepared me well. Being the only white guy around and breathing in pollution isn't entirely new to me. Unlike in China, people barily stare at me, which is nice. And when they do make eye contact on the street, they are much more likely to smile (rather than to just keep staring like I was a Martian or something like they did in China). And the pollution doesn't seem as bad either. The air is pretty nasty, but not as nasty, and the general trash + urban decay looks more like there was major war 5+ years ago rather than 5 minutes ago as it did in China.

Anyway, the hotel is nice. Clean, roomy if not extravagant. My view is pretty good, as I'm on the 22nd floor. (Picture at top is from my window. Smog does make for nice sunsets...). Food still seems good, though haven't had a chance too eat too much yet. Here is something I just picked up from a street vendor for 20 baht ( 60 cents!).

It was some kind of rice noodle, duck (chicken?) pad-thai-ish thing. Was pretty good, though complicated to eat in my room without any dishes. Should have eaten it there at the stall but it was confusing.

Anyway, guess I'll go for now. Tomorrow is an "off day" from dental stuff, but i can't go too far because of my appt on Friday, so I might try to see the main Bangkok tourist sites tomorrow. Laa Kawn for now...

Made it...

Well, I'm here. A long trip, as expected. Too tired to write too much as it is 2:30am and aside from the couple hours of sleep on the plane from Tokoyo to Bangkok provided by the sleeping pill, haven't really slept in a day and 1/2. Just went for a walk though and had the best-est and spiciest bowl of Tom Gui soup i've ever had. Then walked down a another crazy block that was PACKED with people (at 2am on a wednesday morning?) that seemed to be selling nothing but clothes for prostitutes, live animals (for pets or food. seriously...) and counterfeit stuff. It was pretty cool. i'll go back later for pictures. Must sleep now.....

Ready or not...

Well, the time has come. On a flight in less than 12 hours. Still on a flight in over 32hrs. Anyway, I think I am ready. Some minor pre-trip jitters, but not much more that any trip. Mainly I'm feeling good about the dental work and all the planning I've done. And excited for a bit of a break and a bit of an adventure. Thanks everyone for the good thoughts (and keeps them coming damn it! I'll need them!), they've been a real help.

Next post from a time zone far, far away...

Might need more t-shirts

Just checked the 10 day forecast for Bangkok and the lowest low for the period is 75F. hmmm...

What am I forgeting?

Ok, didn't do my practice pack this weekend. Instead went on my last two mt. bike rides for what will certainly be several weeks. (I am hoping to get a little mt. biking in on the "vacation" part of my trip though in the northern Thailand hills.) But I did finalize my list tonight while watching the World Series. (poor rockies...) Anyway, I really want to pack light, but I already feel like I am over packing AND forgetting a million things. Help me out. Here is my list so far...

• Clothes
• 4 pairs socks
• 4 pairs underwear
• 1 pair jeans
• 1 pair zip-away pants/shorts
• 1 pair slacks
• 3 t-shirts
• 2 collared shirts
• 1 long-sleeved overshirt/sweatshirt
• Windbreaker
• Tevas
• Tennis shoes
• Swim shorts
• Exercise shorts
• 2 pair of hiking shorts
• Visor
• Passport
• Wallet
• Sunglasses
• Document wallet?
• Watch
• Camera (plus spare battery, USB cable)
• Laptop (plus power cord)
• Universal power adaptor
• Skype headphones and webcam
• glasses
• Ipod(s) (plus headphones, USB cable)
• GPS
• Meds (sleeping pills for flight, melatonin for jetlag)
• Vitamins (multis, emergen-C)
  
• Books
• Bangkok tattoo (fiction)
• Lonely Planet Thailand (2007)
• Time out Bangkok (guidebook)
• Daypack
• Razor
• Toiletries (toothbrush, paste, earplugs, deodorant, etc)

What else???

Not Much Baht

The countdown continues. Realized today that I will only be at work for 4 more weeks this year. That's somewhat comforting. Continuing to make lists, checking them twice, etc this weekend. Might even pull a Mom and do a "practice pack" before I go since I want to travel as light as possible since I expect to backpack around some.

Continuing to monitor the Thai baht vs US dollar as the dollar drops and drops. Not a trivial matter as my procedure is quoted in baht and I won't pay until I get there. Don't know too much about macroeconomics, but I'm sure this is Bush's fault somehow.

ps. I changed the settings so anyone can comment without registering, in case anyone is so inclined...

3 weeks out

I fly out in 3 weeks from today. So ready and so unprepared at the same time. I think that I do have the big things covered (passport, check; visa, check; plane tix, check...) but a million little things still to coordinate. That's the physical. Similar story on the mental side. Have been waiting, thinking, planning to fix my teeth for at least 10 years. Very actively for 3. So I'm definitely ready to do it. And I'm sooo burnt out from work right now that the idea of sitting in a dental chair in a foreign country for hours at a time actually sounds appealing. Sad but true. But I also know that I not at all mental prepared for the whole experience. I've been "getting ready for the trip" by taking care of the physical details, but really haven't thought too much about it a deeper level. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time on the 18 hour plane ride over to get as deep as I'd like...