Killing Time

I'm killing some time while they get my hotel room ready for me...First Hotel...room 526.

This is where my tour starts......5 pm tonight.

The front desk let me bring my bag up to the room while it was being cleaned.

I walked in and just about fainted. Holy cow...what a mess.

Someone had a good time there last night!

Womens clothing.......potatoe chips.........pop........booze........diary...........all on the floor.

I picked up the diary and read the first page.

Some guy had just arrived in Bangkok....day 1 page.

I didn't want to read anymore.

I hope they sterlize the room before I sleep in it.

Tiny People

I'm easily two of one Thai person.

Both males and females are very small people here.

I look like a sumo westler.

One with lots of hair.

Yummy Cheap Food

I had an awesome meal yesterday!

Steamed rice with stir fried veggies in oyster sauce. The veggies were super fresh: asparagus, snow peas, carrots, baby corn and cabbage. Oh so yummy!!

A big plate cost me 70 Bhat..... that's less than $3.00.

Food is even cheaper from the street vendors.........it all smells soooo good as I walk by.

I want to take a chance and try some....but I've been warned one too many times to stay clear of it as you never know how it may affect you.

All I have to do is remember one of my friends...Barry... who got really sick for months after he had some street food in Columbia.

No street food for me.

Slimy Western Males

Okay...maybe I should not stereotype them ALL in this category....but it sure grosses me out when I see some of the Western men over here.

My first glance at this world was years ago when I travelled with several friends to Thailand. We spent some time in Bangkok, then went over to a beach resort...Pattaya...for a few weeks.

The place was crawling with Western men.....fullfilling there illegal sex needs with kids and other men/women. I was truly disgusted.

It's one of those things you really don't forget, and unfortunately I have now painted most men travelling to these parts of the world as slimy.... especially when you see them with young Asian girls.

I haven't seen any 'pedophile' acts anymore due to the Government crackdown...but I'm sure they exist.

It's a sad sad world out there when it comes to sex perverts.

Shopping, Shopping and More Shopping

Good thing I'm not buying anything.....YET!

This place is insane for shopping. It's EVERYWHERE!

Seeing as I don't want to go see any Buddha's....Temples...or Palaces....all I can really do is walk around.

From my experience, the Asian world is made up of the 'brand' shoppers.....they only buy the best and the most expensive..........or the 'knock off' shoppers.....they only buy cheap stuff but with the brand name on it.

Thailand is by far in the 'knock off' category......and it's really really good knock off stuff!

Unfortunately there is no fashion sense here. Foot wear is from the 70's....or for sex workers. Clothing is all one size.....and that size fits tiny tiny people.....even our Western size 0 is large to them.

You can find stuff that 'Westerners' would like........but usually much cheaper versions. One wash and it melts away.

I plan to purchase loads of movies..........going rate is $3.00 per DVD. Some will work and some won't.........but it's worth the chance!

I might also pick up a pile of books...some of the photocoping is pretty clear.

You've got to love the business sense here!

Beautiful or Not

Beautiful:
Having qualities that delight the senses, especially the sense of sight.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Long Live the King

They love the King here.

His picture is everywhere. It's like he is a God.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhumibol_Adulyadej

Kind of reminds me of Cambodia and their King. They also worship their King.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Cambodia

I was almost blessed by him when I was there.........too bad the security police were hauling me away due to me HOLDING Olivia's peanuts while she ran up front to kneel and get blessed by the King.

This is also the day that Olivia got bitten by a monkey and we had to go get her a rabies shot.

Not MY Fault

I almost killed a pizza motorcycle kid today. ALMOST.

They drive on the opposite side of what we do in Canada. So here I am in a taxi getting dropped off near my hotel.

The driver stops close to the curve (on the left). I pay him...he says thanks...I whip open the left door in the back seat to get out and BANG..down goes the kid and his bike.

OOPS!

I find out later that it was the taxi drivers fault as he was supposed to park right up to the curve. Seeing as he didn't, this meant that anyone could pass him on the left.

Good thing the kid is still alive.

Return of the Luggage

My luggage went missing several days ago when I missed my flight in Vancouver to Beijing.

I last saw it the morning of Dec 26th around 9 am.

My next viewing of it was several hours ago. Dec 29th....5 pm.

Me so happy!

Room with No View

I had planned on checking into one of the hotels on Khao San Road (where all the backpackers stay)....however there was a slight change of plans (a whole separate blog entry).

I tried to first check into the First Hotel...which is the hotel I will be meeting up with for my tour....and as they were all booked up (good thing....as they charge 2,000 Bhat a night $65.00), I ended up going around the corner to Opera Hotel.

My room is right by the pool. 102. One double bed. TV. Air conditioning. Bathroom with tub/shower (no hot water). No windows. All this for 750 Bhat a night $25.00. I booked for 2 nights.

An upgrade to a room with a window would of been 150 Bhat more.....$5.00.

I figure I can spend my $5.00 on something else (like a massage).

I'm pre-booked into D & D Inn on Khao San Road for when I return from my tour....550 Bhat...$18.00 per night. I just need to advise if I want to stay on longer.

Not sure if I get a window in that room.

Seven Elevens

I forgot that there are so many 7-11's here!

Last night while trying to buy some bottled water after midnight in the neighbourhood I was staying at, the all time fave of 7-11 saved me.

I'm glad to report that I was able to safely brush my teeth before going to bed.

Yes I Speak English

Alot of the Thai people are pretty funny.

They say they speak english....but they really don't.

Just one of my many many examples:

Last night while I was walking down this narrow street from one hotel to another, I heard numerous dogs barking. This scares me and seeing as I have not had a rabies shot...I decide to ask this one Thai guy standing around if the dogs are dangerous in Bangkok.

I first approached him to ask if he speaks english. Yes he says...with confidence.

Great I'm thinking.

I then proceed to ask if it is safe to walk down the street with all these dogs barking. Will they bite?

He looks at me and smiles (they all smile here).

Gathering that he did not understand one single word I say, I change my approach and then just say a few words. Me. Safe. Walk. Dogs. No. Bite.

He again looks at me and smiles.

I then add some action to my words. Me (pointing). Walk (my feet moving...while I stand still...I also use 2 fingers showing them walking). Dogs (I bark...YES...I really bark). Bite (I move my mouth in biting action...oh...I also start pitching him).

He looks in shock at this point. Still smiles though.

I'm laughing by now wondering how I am going to communicate with him.

I start with the word 'dog'. I say it a few times. He repeats but does not understand a thing. I then SEE a dog sleeping at the building next door. I take his arm and walk with him a bit....point to the dog and say dog a few times. He repeats and smacks his head as if he should of known this word. Great....we are making progress!

I then go shhhhh.....listen to the dogs (as they are barking all around us)....I then start trying to bark again. He still thinks I'm crazy. I yell....DOG....BARK...BITE. Taking his arm and pretending to bite.

He laughs and FINALLY gets what I am trying to say.

He then says...no.... safe...you walk.

I rock as an english as a second language teacher!

Finally....In Thailand

What an adventure so far.........

I went to Edmonton for Christmas taking the 6 pm bus back to Calgary that evening as I had an 11 m flight to Bangkok the morning after.

Here I am...2 am...still packing and getting myself sorted out for my trip!

No sleep, I get myself to the Calgary airport bright and early. Good thing as its insane at airports this time of the year. It seems that EVERYONE with small kids is getting on an airplane!

My 11 am flight to Vancouver was deplayed by 1.5 hrs....shortage of baggage handlers......causing me to miss my connection by FIVE minutes. Air Canada doesn't wait for anyone. Even cute me.

I had to overnight in Vancouver at Air Canada's expense. Not a great thing. Separate blog entry on that.

The next day...Dec 27th...I try it again from Vancouver. 12:35 pm flight. Delayed by 1 hour. Great.......another rush to make the connection in Beijing. Good news...I made it!

Flight times: 1.5 hours Calgary to Vancouver. 11.5 hours Vancouver to Beijing. 4.5 hours Beijing to Bangkok. Total of 17.5 hours in the air. Yuck.

I don't sleep on airplanes...so here are my reviews on the 5 films I watched on the one flight alone:

• After the Wedding (Danish) ...Fantastic.....I highly recommend
• The Darjeeling Limited.....Great movie....also recommended
• Eden (German)......Interesting movie....
• Grease......always a feel good movie
• The Nanny Diaries.....just as bad as the book

I'm movied out.

Delusional Me

Reality is what it is.

My Special Day

I had one of the best days the other day!

It started with me having organized about 8 of us to help out at one of the homeless drop in centres in the city. Our role was helping out in the kitchen. I had the task of placing the bread on the plate and passing it over to the next person for their task. The assembly line had us filling up the plate with bread, ham, potatoes, veggies, and a big piece of cheese. We did this for 550 plates. It's shocking to hear that this one homeless centre can sometimes feed up to 1,400 people per night.......AND......I live in a properous city!!

Some of the homeless starting clapping for us 'volunteers' as we were leaving the kitchen and walking thru their dining area. Seemed so surreal and kind of embarassing.

That night I went out for dinner with some friends for thai food....this little restaurant within walking distance from my house. It was super yummy!

My doorbell rang around 10 pm and all I could see from the peep hole was this huge bouquet of flowers! Wow!!! One of my best friends, Gorete was standing behind them. She even brought me a VENTI tazo chai.

I love my friends for remembering me.

Thank you...........it means a lot to me.

Reasons to be Happy

I purchased a few stocking stuffers for Christmas this year, and one of them is this little booklet called '1,000 Reasons to be Happy'.

Of course I'm flipping thru it before I give it away and I found this one reason that I especially liked....

'My soul is like a kite and the less tightly I hold the string the freer it is to soar.'

Say No to Working

I'm the perfect poster child for this 'say no' to work campaign!

My plans so far on my next adventure:

I leave Calgary Dec 26th, via Vancouver to Bangkok (via Beijing)... returning home April 25th. I leave Bangkok on the 22nd with a stop over in Tokyo for a few days. I used my Aeroplan points for the flight. Yippee!!! No cost there...other than some tax of about $250.00.

I'll be picking up a Northern Thailand tour for 15 days.....visiting hill tribes, elephants, rivers, falls, hellfire pass, trekking and rafting. Yipee!!!!

Once I get back to Bangkok, my focus will be to get to Delhi as I will be picking up a tour of Northern and Southern India for over 1 month.

Once there I'll be doing some volunteer work or just being lazy in Goa.

I love not working.

Garbage Bag Experiment Update

Not working.