At this moment my bum is firmy seated in a chair, which is in a hostel, which is in the city of Kuala Lampur, which is in the country of Malaysia. I arrived here two days ago with a laptop and a few changes of clothes (and of course a child like sense of wonder), all of which were straped around my shoulder (by child like sense of wonder I meant my super cool batman laptop case). Time was passed on my short, two hour flight by reading a cumulative total of 8 words of a text book, with mostly intermitent nap time. I arrived at the KL airport to greet the super-lovely and super-french and super-my-friend-kevin's-cousin Nathalie. She is living in Hong kong while I'm in Bangkok and we realized what a fool-hearty thing it would be to not meet up.
KL, as it's known by those in the know, has the usual trappings of equitorial asian countries: lush green vegetation, circitous preasure-cooker streets, and geckos and cockroaches. KL, as oppsoed to Bangkok, is rich as hell. It's not quite like you'd imagibne Dubai or anything like that, but it is well developed and has all the crass comercialism that quenches home-sickness like an ice cold Coca-Cola.
Oil money is the lubricant that keeps the Malaysian economy turning. There's something uncomfortable about that. Petronas inc, the company for which the Petronas Towers are named, is housed here and it looms over the city like Biff's hotel in Back to the Future 2.
Friday to monday I spent with Nathalie. We walked up and down these streets hoping to happen upon some intersting sights (but mostly food). We found both (but mostly food). The food explanation is to come; the sight will start soon.
Now.
So our first intended sight was the iconic petronas towers. You know the petronas towers. Remember that movie where impossibly hot what's her face got with impossibly Scottish Sean Connery. "Entrapment", I believe is the name. Anyway, the ending takes place there. So Petronas was first on the list, but food got in the way(see food below). So we attempted to look for china town, which was in the opposite direction, and turned out to be pretty lame. We looked for a decent shop for over an hour and finally my exhuast and frustration lead us to a less than reputable chinese street vender. It's interesting to see food that will soon make the trasition diarhea, actually look like diahrea...its just sort of reassuring to know the outcome of a meal.
Other things happened, but I'm being draged away from the computer. Hopefully I'll pick up where I left off soonish.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
etc.
One of the things I love about being in this country is that everyday activities have an odd and irregular charge to them. I’ll be going through the same motions of normal life but I’ll find that it’s tweaked and distorted in odd ways.
Par example: So just last night I went to go see a movie with my friends Sarah and D.J. We planned on seeing this Thai flick called Hello Stranger. It’s about a quirky Thai couple who fall in love and hate with each other on a trip to Korea - all the while dressed in plaid, wearing thick rimmed glasses, and listening to indie music - essentially it’s the Thai 500 Days of Summer.
Sadly however the movie wasn’t playing that night. So of course we went with our second choice: Resident Evil in 3D. I’ll hold out on a review, but let’s just say that even with the extra D this flick is pretty painful to watch. They really should have thrown in a few extra D’s to make up for this steaming pile of elephant shirt. Anywho, what makes going to the movies worth it, regardless of the feature attraction, are the trailers in a Thai cinema. There are quite literally about 45 minutes of trailers and commercials before the show, advertising products ranging from Coca Cola, to Instant Tom Yum soup, to 711 brand collagen (yes that’s right you can actually buy collagen from a 711 and apply it directly to your glistening plastic face - and yes 711 has it’s very own brand - and no I haven’t tried it yet - and yes I will soon!).
Another interesting aspect of silver screening it is to see the trailers for Thai movies. Mostly they’re facsimiles of American style action thrillers - nothing too special. But what is a little disarming is too see a release date as “coming soon in 2556”. Now, yes, Thai people are generally a bit slower: they generally take longer to serve food, or at the check out counter, or in traffic, or just about anytime I need anything; but to slate a movie for release for the next 546 years is just a little off putting - to think that I would have to wait several centuries to see a masked vigilante take on organized crime using only his physical prowess and cunning is devastating! So, putting my investigative skills to task, I asked around. What I found was that the Thai are on a calendar that does not begin with the birth or death of Christ(understandably), but begins with the death of the Buddha - a whopping 556 years before Christ. It’s kind of nice to know I’m in a bit of a time capsule here. And I thought it was cool to just be 14 hours in the future, now I know that I’m 546 years and 14 hours into the future. You guys are way behind.
Par example: So just last night I went to go see a movie with my friends Sarah and D.J. We planned on seeing this Thai flick called Hello Stranger. It’s about a quirky Thai couple who fall in love and hate with each other on a trip to Korea - all the while dressed in plaid, wearing thick rimmed glasses, and listening to indie music - essentially it’s the Thai 500 Days of Summer.
Sadly however the movie wasn’t playing that night. So of course we went with our second choice: Resident Evil in 3D. I’ll hold out on a review, but let’s just say that even with the extra D this flick is pretty painful to watch. They really should have thrown in a few extra D’s to make up for this steaming pile of elephant shirt. Anywho, what makes going to the movies worth it, regardless of the feature attraction, are the trailers in a Thai cinema. There are quite literally about 45 minutes of trailers and commercials before the show, advertising products ranging from Coca Cola, to Instant Tom Yum soup, to 711 brand collagen (yes that’s right you can actually buy collagen from a 711 and apply it directly to your glistening plastic face - and yes 711 has it’s very own brand - and no I haven’t tried it yet - and yes I will soon!).
Another interesting aspect of silver screening it is to see the trailers for Thai movies. Mostly they’re facsimiles of American style action thrillers - nothing too special. But what is a little disarming is too see a release date as “coming soon in 2556”. Now, yes, Thai people are generally a bit slower: they generally take longer to serve food, or at the check out counter, or in traffic, or just about anytime I need anything; but to slate a movie for release for the next 546 years is just a little off putting - to think that I would have to wait several centuries to see a masked vigilante take on organized crime using only his physical prowess and cunning is devastating! So, putting my investigative skills to task, I asked around. What I found was that the Thai are on a calendar that does not begin with the birth or death of Christ(understandably), but begins with the death of the Buddha - a whopping 556 years before Christ. It’s kind of nice to know I’m in a bit of a time capsule here. And I thought it was cool to just be 14 hours in the future, now I know that I’m 546 years and 14 hours into the future. You guys are way behind.
Friday, September 3, 2010
I have 10 minutes devoted to a quick update: GO!
So in the last week a sense of routine has revealed itself to me. Wake up(possible with a mild hangover) - attend an early class for three arduous hours - an hour break for lunch and perspiration - another three dismal hours - more lunch and perspiration - miscellanious hanging out with a good people which more than not feeds into drinking - getting to bed late - waking up early(possibly with a hangover).
It might not be a sacred revelation, but it's more or less my life and it's interesting to see the dust settle.
Now, to stir up that dust is a must. In about 5 minutes I'll be closing my laptop and heading to koasan road with a man by the name of J.P, wherein we will catch a bus for Chiang Mai, a quiter, less expansive and frenetic town than Bangkok. I'm told that if Bangkok is New York than Chiang Mai is San Francisco. Let's see if that proves to be true.
Thanks all.
It might not be a sacred revelation, but it's more or less my life and it's interesting to see the dust settle.
Now, to stir up that dust is a must. In about 5 minutes I'll be closing my laptop and heading to koasan road with a man by the name of J.P, wherein we will catch a bus for Chiang Mai, a quiter, less expansive and frenetic town than Bangkok. I'm told that if Bangkok is New York than Chiang Mai is San Francisco. Let's see if that proves to be true.
Thanks all.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
So I’m still getting the hang of this blogging phenomenon. Summery might be the key. So to catch up to my life at the moment of this blogging, I’m going to revert to the bullet point system. Try to keep up.
-Arrival at Ko Toa
-Staying at the Ban’s diving school resort.
-Our room is called “The Cave”. Fitting as there are faux rock outcroppings and an assortment of dead bugs.
-First introduction to diving comes in form of under-produced, uber-tacky, safety video where the word buddy is used more than breath.
- Next diving experience is in three feet of swimming pool.
-I struggled massively with this. Breathing underwater, as it turns out, is a totally unnatural act. I had to convince myself that every breath wouldn’t be filled with a rush of water. Took me about an hour longer than everyone else to learn all the skills involved in the pool. I was a little dishearten considering the challenges of three feet of water compared with an expansive ocean the next day.
-Nervous
-Ocean
-Success
-Under water we came across a school of fish that separated me from the rest of my crew in front. Literally an impenetrable wall of fish.
-Awesome.
-Went on a total of four dives.
-Passed the scuba test.
-Now a certified open water diver.
-Awesome.
-Departure from four days of Ko Toa.
-Another 9 hour bus ride back to Ko Toa.
-Less than awesome.
-School starts.
-Teachers barely speak English or speak with such broken and timid voices that it damn near impossible to listen to.
-classes
-classes
-drinking
-classes
-Israelis
-Ko Chang
-more tropical paradise
-Drinking
-beach front bungalow
-Waterfalls
-drinking
-sandy sheets
-back to Bangkok
-classes
-classes
-blogging
-drinking
And there you have it: a cryptic summery of my last two weeks. They’ve been wild. They’ve been bizarre. They’ve been loaded with new experiences and not a little homesickness, which is then quelled by new experiences. The ground never stops moving here, and it’s all I can do to keep running.
Be well, all.
-Arrival at Ko Toa
-Staying at the Ban’s diving school resort.
-Our room is called “The Cave”. Fitting as there are faux rock outcroppings and an assortment of dead bugs.
-First introduction to diving comes in form of under-produced, uber-tacky, safety video where the word buddy is used more than breath.
- Next diving experience is in three feet of swimming pool.
-I struggled massively with this. Breathing underwater, as it turns out, is a totally unnatural act. I had to convince myself that every breath wouldn’t be filled with a rush of water. Took me about an hour longer than everyone else to learn all the skills involved in the pool. I was a little dishearten considering the challenges of three feet of water compared with an expansive ocean the next day.
-Nervous
-Ocean
-Success
-Under water we came across a school of fish that separated me from the rest of my crew in front. Literally an impenetrable wall of fish.
-Awesome.
-Went on a total of four dives.
-Passed the scuba test.
-Now a certified open water diver.
-Awesome.
-Departure from four days of Ko Toa.
-Another 9 hour bus ride back to Ko Toa.
-Less than awesome.
-School starts.
-Teachers barely speak English or speak with such broken and timid voices that it damn near impossible to listen to.
-classes
-classes
-drinking
-classes
-Israelis
-Ko Chang
-more tropical paradise
-Drinking
-beach front bungalow
-Waterfalls
-drinking
-sandy sheets
-back to Bangkok
-classes
-classes
-blogging
-drinking
And there you have it: a cryptic summery of my last two weeks. They’ve been wild. They’ve been bizarre. They’ve been loaded with new experiences and not a little homesickness, which is then quelled by new experiences. The ground never stops moving here, and it’s all I can do to keep running.
Be well, all.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Island Bound
You know, I have this awful tendency to remorselessly abandon projects that I begin, no matter the velocity I begin them with. I'm afraid my career as a blogger might follow this pattern. So if you happen to notice this blog falling into disrepair, please remind me that I don't have a documentary crew with me lurking in the shadows and the task of documenting my life falls on my shoulders.
So whats the news, eh? Well I tell you, much has happened in this last week. My first day of school was supposed to descend last Tuesday, but due to Thailands general carefree attitude, both of my classes were cancelled - one cancelled for logistical reasons, the other the professor seemingly decided not to show up(there is a phrase that floats around Thailand called Mai Ben Rai, which as far as I can tell basically translates to hakuna matata. It means that one shrugs off misfortunes and embraces changes. It means no worries...for the rest of your days).The day wasn't a total waste though; we got to wear our school uniforms out in public which of course translated into immediate awesomeness.
After dealing with school business on Tuesday I was taken to this fantastic Thai buffet. Bangkok is cut down the center by murky and heavily trafficked river called the Chao Praya river; this buffet is situated right on that river, and it's wonderful. For 99 baht ($3) you are directed to a stand with an abundance of seasoned meats that you pile up high and take back to your seat where a small grill waits for you to throw on your food and grill up your own meal. A small two piece Thai band with pre-recorded baking tracks, a live singer and a guitarist play for a crowd of mostly Thai, playing Happy Birthday in english every four or five minutes (I think this place might be like the Thai Chucky Cheese).
The early to mid portion of next day was spent recovering from a Chang induced hangover - a changover(Chang is a type of Thai beer that is labled as 6% alchohol. But in reality has a massive spectrum of alchohol content. 6% is an average. I've heard it can run from 4% to 12%. Whether or not you get one of these loaded Changs is like playing Russian roulette. Hence the changover).
The later part of my day was spent purchasing tickets and boarding an overnight bus to Ko Toa, an island in the south of Thailand. I was finally getting out of the blistering heat and choking smog of Bangkok.
After 10 hours on an overnight bus with only labored sleep we arrived at the port city of Champon. We did not though actually stop at the port. We were dropped off at 5:00 in the morning on the side of the road in a nameless Thai city with no other instruction than "wait here". The three of us and a smattering of Europeans waited, tired and wary. About 15 minutes later a truck rolled up with a canvas coverd bed. The truck looked like it should have been hauling chicken crates and produce rather than people. But we braved it and boarded our rickety old truck and sped off towards the harbor, which as it turns out wasn't that far away.
Our boat taking off for the island doesn't depart for another two hours, so again we have time to kill. Finally, with the sun rise, our boat docks and all the weary eyed white folks shuffle onto this ferry that will take another three hours to get to Ko Toa.
More to come…pictures are overdue but on there way…
So whats the news, eh? Well I tell you, much has happened in this last week. My first day of school was supposed to descend last Tuesday, but due to Thailands general carefree attitude, both of my classes were cancelled - one cancelled for logistical reasons, the other the professor seemingly decided not to show up(there is a phrase that floats around Thailand called Mai Ben Rai, which as far as I can tell basically translates to hakuna matata. It means that one shrugs off misfortunes and embraces changes. It means no worries...for the rest of your days).The day wasn't a total waste though; we got to wear our school uniforms out in public which of course translated into immediate awesomeness.
After dealing with school business on Tuesday I was taken to this fantastic Thai buffet. Bangkok is cut down the center by murky and heavily trafficked river called the Chao Praya river; this buffet is situated right on that river, and it's wonderful. For 99 baht ($3) you are directed to a stand with an abundance of seasoned meats that you pile up high and take back to your seat where a small grill waits for you to throw on your food and grill up your own meal. A small two piece Thai band with pre-recorded baking tracks, a live singer and a guitarist play for a crowd of mostly Thai, playing Happy Birthday in english every four or five minutes (I think this place might be like the Thai Chucky Cheese).
The early to mid portion of next day was spent recovering from a Chang induced hangover - a changover(Chang is a type of Thai beer that is labled as 6% alchohol. But in reality has a massive spectrum of alchohol content. 6% is an average. I've heard it can run from 4% to 12%. Whether or not you get one of these loaded Changs is like playing Russian roulette. Hence the changover).
The later part of my day was spent purchasing tickets and boarding an overnight bus to Ko Toa, an island in the south of Thailand. I was finally getting out of the blistering heat and choking smog of Bangkok.
After 10 hours on an overnight bus with only labored sleep we arrived at the port city of Champon. We did not though actually stop at the port. We were dropped off at 5:00 in the morning on the side of the road in a nameless Thai city with no other instruction than "wait here". The three of us and a smattering of Europeans waited, tired and wary. About 15 minutes later a truck rolled up with a canvas coverd bed. The truck looked like it should have been hauling chicken crates and produce rather than people. But we braved it and boarded our rickety old truck and sped off towards the harbor, which as it turns out wasn't that far away.
Our boat taking off for the island doesn't depart for another two hours, so again we have time to kill. Finally, with the sun rise, our boat docks and all the weary eyed white folks shuffle onto this ferry that will take another three hours to get to Ko Toa.
More to come…pictures are overdue but on there way…
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Six months in bangkok
Greetings from the future! 14 hours in the future to be precise - and if your future is anything like my present - when you catch up that is - I can give you one insight: it's friggin hot here!! The moment I stepped out of that air-conditioned airport terminal and hit the sultry air of Thailand, I walked into a wall of water. Now I've yet to determine if that wall was standing waiting for me, or if my sweat was that instantaneous, but one thing is for sure: it has persisted for the last week and a half.
So with the future/heat disclaimer out of the way: here I am!!! It's still quite unbelievable. Reality hasn't set in and I suspect it won't for quite a while(probably near the tale end of my trip). Walking down the streets feels like a waking dream(a wet dream perhaps).
Bangkok is a frenentic city driven by Tuk Tuks and madness( a tuk tuk is an overpriced three wheeled taxi. Madness is what the driver possess. A routine stroll down any city street involves dodging sidwalk driving motorcycles(somwtimes with entire familes on the back); is flanked by street venders every 4 or 5 paces selling whole skewerd fish, fried bugs, and other qusi eatable foods; is completed by a 7-11 at the end of nearly every block(the thai LOVR their 7-11s. It's like the thai starbucks I guess: one on everyblock; oh and did I mention it's hot as balls!
So far I'm still trying to figure out my place in this chaos. the language barrier is not easy. Simple requests are pretty easily mimed, but how do I mime the directions to a cab driver when I can't even pronounce the address? It's tough, but the excitement of experiencing something so wholly new every time I walk outside a door is still a lingering electricity. How long that will last is questionable. I'm still waiting for my homesick-induced nervous breakdown to set in. But until that moment comes I'll still walk down these streets with determination and reckless abandon (and a cold ass drink).
Be well all. Pictures to come.
So with the future/heat disclaimer out of the way: here I am!!! It's still quite unbelievable. Reality hasn't set in and I suspect it won't for quite a while(probably near the tale end of my trip). Walking down the streets feels like a waking dream(a wet dream perhaps).
Bangkok is a frenentic city driven by Tuk Tuks and madness( a tuk tuk is an overpriced three wheeled taxi. Madness is what the driver possess. A routine stroll down any city street involves dodging sidwalk driving motorcycles(somwtimes with entire familes on the back); is flanked by street venders every 4 or 5 paces selling whole skewerd fish, fried bugs, and other qusi eatable foods; is completed by a 7-11 at the end of nearly every block(the thai LOVR their 7-11s. It's like the thai starbucks I guess: one on everyblock; oh and did I mention it's hot as balls!
So far I'm still trying to figure out my place in this chaos. the language barrier is not easy. Simple requests are pretty easily mimed, but how do I mime the directions to a cab driver when I can't even pronounce the address? It's tough, but the excitement of experiencing something so wholly new every time I walk outside a door is still a lingering electricity. How long that will last is questionable. I'm still waiting for my homesick-induced nervous breakdown to set in. But until that moment comes I'll still walk down these streets with determination and reckless abandon (and a cold ass drink).
Be well all. Pictures to come.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)