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I arrived home after a very day or two of flying yesterday afternoon. I had forgotten how messy my apartment was. Before I left a month ago, I tore apart my apartment looking for certain things to pack for my trip. I haven't seen the cat around. I hope she didn't give up on me or move on to someone else.

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Angela Aki

I am sitting in a restaurant in the Osaka, Japan airport and I noticed this really good music they are playing. After a couple of songs, I wanted to ask the people working here who it was. Then I thought I recognized the voice. She sounded a lot like a girl I knew when living back in Washington, DC named Angela Aki. I was a big supporter of her music out there. I knew she moved to Japan and was told she was popular out here. I checked, and sure enough, it's her. I asked the waitress and she said she was very popular. I think I'll get her Japanese CD now. It's very beautiful music. It's a bit odd to recognize her voice and piano style, but in a totally different language. I'm so happy for her that she's made it out here. I remember going to some of her very first shows back in DC.

Check her out at http://www.angela-aki.com or I think her myspace account is http://www.myspace.com/angelaaki

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Thailand Trip Day 14 in Osaka, Japan

Today I am in the Osaka, Japan airport. I have a 10 hour layover here and have just been hanging out in the South Terminal. I thought about going out and exploring the local area, but the airport is far from anything and I'd have to go through customs and then come back through. Actually I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to leave because my bag is checked all the way through to LAX. We flew out at 11:00 PM last night and got here 5 hours later, but with time zone change, we got here at 6:00 local time. I slept a little bit on the plane, but not much. As soon as we got into the terminal, I hopped onto a free internet connection and worked for a couple of hours. I've been walking around in a sleepy stupor all day. For a little while I found a little quite place behind a retail shop and laid on the ground and slept as best I could for several hours.

Being in this airport and around Japanese today brings back all the memories of the year I spent in Okinawa, Japan. I was stationed there while I was in the Marines. I totally wasted my time there. I wasn't as adventurous as I am now (I became much more adventurous after the Marines; weird, I know), and so I spent the whole year basically just living on base and renting movies. So pathetic. I deeply regret that wasted year and not going out and learning more about the Japanese culture or learning more of the language. I kinda feel that I want to visit Japan again from a different perspective and really soak it in. But it's very expensive to live in Japan and that might just have to wait. I've wanted to visit Tokyo ever since I saw "Lost in Translation." Perhaps I will meet Scarlett Johansson in an elevator. Mmmm, Scarlett....
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Thailand Trip Day 12 &13 in Hua Hin

Yesterday I slept in pretty late and had a slow day. I went and got another massage and then walked around town a bit. I worked during the afternoon and went out for just a short while in the evening. While I was at a bar next to my hotel a local Thai girl came up to me and started chit chatting. I played along and it was fun and easy conversation. But then she asked if I would buy her a drink. Now ordinarily I would be thrilled if a beautiful young woman comes up to me and asks me to buy her a drink. But this is Thailand. So, I politely denied her request and she left shortly afterwards.

I went to bed fairly early and got plenty of sleep and woke up to some sort of eye infection. It looks like I've been in a fight or something. Plus it makes me sleepy all the time. Very inconvenient. I've already checked out of my hotel and have been working in an internet cafe this afternoon. I leave shortly to go back to Bangkok to catch my 11:00 PM flight tonight. After a very long layover in Osaka, Japan and a long flight back home, I will arrive back in L.A. around Noon on Monday.

I've had a great time here in Thailand. The reason I came out to Thailand in the first place is because a friend was going to be out here for work and he thought it'd be fun to hang out afterwards in Thailand. After some convincing, I got excited about exploring Thailand, so I said I'd join him. His work cancelled the trip after I had already purchased my non-refundable ticket. So, I've been traveling alone, but have been having fun meeting and talking to people whenever I get the chance.

I think maybe Croatia is next....

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Thailand Trip Day 11 in Hua Hin

I started off this morning walking on the beach around 7:00 AM. It was very serine. There was a man doing Tai Chi on the beach and German tourists riding horses. I then went back to my not so nice hotel and walked towards the center of town with my bags and checked into a nicer place. I figured I should treat myself. I deserve it. So I went from the 250 Baht ($6) hotel to the luxurious $1200 Baht ($30) hotel. Now I'm closer to the center of town and a 3 minute walk to the beach. Once I checked into the new hotel I went back out to the beach and got a front row lounge chair with table service. It was difficult to relax on the beach because every minute a local Thai would come by trying to sell you something. I cannot count the times I have to say, "No thank you" every day. Even while I was napping in the chair some boys shouted in my ear "Thai boxing!" and tried to hand me a flyer. After the beach I went and got a massage. It's a little more pricey here. It's 400 Baht ($10) vs the 100 Baht in Chiang Mai ($3). I then went and got a haircut because it's always fun getting haircuts in different countries. I tried to explain cut just a short amount off, but she took that as cut hair short. So now I have a close to military style haircut. It'll be back to normal in a couple of weeks. After giving myself an adequate amount of pampering, I went to the internet cafe to do some work.



Hua Hin is different that the areas of Bangkok and Chiang Mai that I visited. There are mostly just families (usually German) here or there are old creepy men. In the other places, there were tons of younger people traveling or backpacking that I could meet and hang out with. Not so much here. I noticed this fairly quickly when I got here and it has been confirmed throughout the day. I considered traveling somewhere else, but my time is limited and I'll just relax here. I think that perhaps because it is a beach town, you get the people that just want to be lazy on the beach for holiday. And I think it's mostly Germans because everyone knows that Germans are very lazy. They don't like to backpack or adventure. They just like to sit on the beach or play Xbox. Have you ever noticed how Germans are very good Xbox players? This is because they are lazy and don't like to be outdoors.

At night after having yet another cheap delicious Thai meal, I went out in search of a cool bar. I passed countless bars with Thai women sitting out front just waiting for some guy to come play pool. I settled on a place that seemed more popular and had a good mix of people. I started chatting with an American (Americans here are rare) named Farash, a Dane girl named Ida, and her friend that lived here in Hua Hin I think. Ida's cousin or aunt owns the bar. Farash grew up in the Middle East, moved to Philly at 15, and now he works in Australia. Ida goes to business school in Denmark.

Thai's love to play games at bars. Popular ones are Connect 4, Jenga, and dominos. The four of us played dominos and Jenga for a while and then we went out to a karaoke bar. This was the type that several microphones were passed around and the whole bar sang the karaoke songs. It was fun. Farash and I had them play the Star Spangled Banner. I was surprised at what a phenominal singer I am. After the karaoke bar we went to a dance club at the Hilton nearby that had live music. That was the place to be. It was packed. The Thai singers were really into it. They were "super cool." I was the first to bail in the group and I went back to my hotel a little bit after 3:00 am. We're supposed to meet up again tonight, but I don't think I will stay out as late.

There was an information card in my hotel room that I thought was funny and I'd like to share with you blog readers as a special treat:

Dear Guest,

So that you may have a safe and pleasant vacation, we wish to give you a few tips on some of the activities on the beach:

1. The massage girls on the beach to do not have any qualification whatsoever to massage or twist your body and, therefore, risk hurting you. However, if you still would like to try one on the beach, we recommend that you take special care and tell them to stop as soon as they start hurting you.

2. The horses for hire on the beach are not professionally raised and dressed. They are unhygienic and might have skin diseases. We do not recommend that you ride on them so as to avoid all risks.

3. The fishing boats which offer you a trip out into the sea are not equipped with any life-saving material such as lifebouys or life-jackets and do not have any radio contact with the mainland. In case of accidents, there would be no means for rescue.

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Thailand Trip Day 10 in Chiang Mai --> Hua Hin

Today I took off to go to a small beach town south of Bangkok called Hua Hin. I was pretty much traveling all day. I took a flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. I chose Hua Hin primarily because it was not very far from Bangkok and I don't have that many days left to spend traveling until I leave on Sunday. My guide book doesn't say much on Hua Hin. It mentions the best way to travel to Hua Hin from Bangkok is to take a minivan service that departs from Victory Monument in Bangkok. That's all I had to go on. So, after much debate as to where Victory Monument was, I finally convinced the taxicab driver from the airport to take me. He dropped me off in the crowded alley next to Victory Monument and directly me to a table where people where selling tickets to Hua Hin for 180 Baht (about $5). I bought my ticket and then they had me get in a 13 passenger van. There was very little English spoken. More and more people started to get in the van and we just sat there for about a half hour waiting for him to load up stuff in the back. I was the only Westerner. I made the tragic mistake of sitting in the back row. When will I learn?! We bounced around so much and they stuck 4 of us back there. We drove for about 3 hours and he dropped of us somewhere in Hua Hin. I got out got my bag, looked around and realized I have no idea where I am or really where I want to go. So, I just started walking. A motorcycle taxi driver asked me where I wanted to go and I said I don't know. He looked confused at that response. I tried to ask him where the guest houses and hostels where that backpackers stayed, pointing to my backpack, but he didn't understand. On a side note, why can't more people speak English? It'd be a lot more convenient for me. Sorry, I digress. So, I then tried to explain cheap room. He didn't know the word cheap. Or inexpensive. Or not much money. So then I settled on a price. That worked. Just say 300 Baht, night, and hotel, and that will get you to where you want to go. He took me to this cute little hotel that said they had wireless internet access when I checked in. I was so excited about that. Wireless makes me happy. As sunlight is to plants, wireless is to Trevor.

I dropped my bags off in my room, exhausted after a long day of traveling. After chatting a bit with an older guy from the UK at the bar, I walked out to find internet so that I could get some more work done for the day. You should've seen me in the minivan earlier. Crammed in the back seat working on my laptop while the bus was bouncing around. So I walked out of the hotel and found an internet cafe in the center of town. I finished my work that needed internet access and was having a phone production meeting with my client as I was walking out of the internet cafe. It was quite amusing to be walking down the bustling night streets of Hua Hin with Thai girls in bars yelling at me as I walked by and then talking to my client on the phone for work at the same time. The Thai girls yell, "Hello!! Welcome!!!" whenever you walk by. They want you to play pool with them. I'm not sure what sort of agreement you enter into when you play a game of pool with one of the Thai ladies. I'd rather not find out.

The hotel had a stupid long cylinder type pillow. It was difficult to sleep at first. I checked out early in the morning and found a nicer place closer to the center of town and beach access.

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Thailand Trip Day 9 in Chiang Mai

It is the "low season" hear because of the rain. But so far it hasn't been that bad. Just a little overcast and maybe rains for an hour in the afternoon. Not today. It was raining all day. It made me feel better about not being out and exploring. I spent most of the day working. I took a break for lunch at a new place nearby. I just kind of pointed at something at the menu, not really sure what I would get. I received a spicy fried chicken on top of white rice. I'm not much of a fried chicken fan, but it was super cheap and it wasn't that bad.

After a long day of work, I spent some of the later evening hanging out over Singha beer with the Thai manager of the guest house from where I was staying. I convinced him that adding wireless internet to his guest house was the best way to go. I even drew up a rough business plan and gave him some good advertising tips. He was very excited about the proposal. He's a good guy. If you're ever in Chiang Mai, be sure to stay at the Alley Nine Guest House on MoonMuang Soi 9.

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Thailand Trip Day 8 in Chiang Mai

Today I spent some time walking around the city of Chiang Mai. The city is surrounded by a square moat and I walked around the entire city wall. It got really hot. But it gave me a good perspective of the city and the different areas. I was supposed to leave to go to a beach town next, but I had to delay it because of some deadlines for work. When I leave for the beach, I have to take a night bus that will put me out of touch for 12 hours and right now I need to meet some deadlines before I can do that. I may just decide to fly to the beach, but it's so much more expensive. I already checked out of my guest house when I decided to extend my time in Chiang Mai, so I found another place right across the street. This place is so much nicer. For the same price, I've got a much better room and bed. So, I know to stay here next time.

I'll probably be working alot the next day or so, but that's fine with me. This is a working holiday. Oops, I mean 'vacation'.
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Thailand Trip Day 7 in Chiang Mai

On this day Christiane and I went to check out another temple located in Chiang Mai. This one had more students walking around and they were very curious to talk to us. I've been told that the Thai sect of Buddhist monks are less strict than others. I see them walking around talking on their cell phones and listening to their mp3 players.

I spent another part of the day getting fitted for a tailored suit. It's really cheap here to get a custom tailored suit with very nice material. I got cashmere wool.



In the evening I went to the Night Bazaar here. That was so crazy. The walkways are so small and there are so many people. If you have claustrophobia or agoraphobia, do not go. You have to barter at this market, they usually will sell you something for 50% of their asking price if you stick to your guns. It was fun for me to watch other people's bartering techniques. A lot of them act all mad and get upset when they don't get their price. I just act uninterested and say very politely, thank you, I just don't think I was prepared to pay that price.

After the Night Market, I walked over to the cool rooftop bar that I had been to the previous night. That place is so cool. I went there by myself and sat in the corner just observing the environment. I walked up to a group of English girls and asked if I could sit with them. They said of course and we had some good conversations. This is the restaurant/bar where everyone is sitting on the floor without their shoes. It lends itself to a more open inviting atmosphere. I met Claire, Lindsey, Shelly, and Kate from England and then Tamara from Canada. They were all part of a group that was trekking around Southern Asia. And then after that, the English girls are going to continue on a worldwide year long exploration.

After the rooftop bar, everyone decided to go to "Reggae corner", the place I had discovered the other night with the Belgian girls. Like I said before, that area makes you feel like you are in the carribean. If you're ever going to Chiang Mai, Thailand, be sure to ask me how to get to these bars. Claire bought us all roses and necklaces at Reggae corner and we were playing with the daughter of the lady who sold the roses and necklaces. It was a fun time.

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Thailand Trip Day 6 in Chiang Mai

Last night I hung out with the 3 Belgian girls and Christiane at a fun little area in Chiang Mai with all kinds of Reggae bars and live music. It felt like we were in the carribean. After careful selection we decided upon "Heaven Beach". We just hung out and listened to live music for the evening. There was a Thai guy singing Oasis and other cover songs. It was great.

Today I worked for most of the day at the coffee shop near my hostel that has wireless internet. I put in a 10 hour workday. There was a lot to be done to catch up on. During the afternoon I took a break and Christiane and I went out to a local Buddhist monastery called Wat Chiang Man. The temples here are called Wats. So they all start with the word Wat. This Wat was in the middle of the forest about 3 miles outside of Chiang Mai. It was built in the 14th century. Along the path to the center of the Wat, there were all these Buddhist phrases posted on trees. I think it was like a meditation walk. We explored some tunnels that were near the center of the Wat. At the center of the tunnel system was the 'main Buddha' I guess and all the incense and merits were placed all around him. It was a very surreal bizarre experience for me walking through that tunnel.

At 3:00 they had 'monk chat' which is an open forum Q&A session they have every Sunday for visitors who want to know more about the Buddhist teachings. The monk that hosted the session was English. I found it very facsinating and interesting to hear his perspective on things and more about their version of Buddhism. Thai Buddhists have some slightly different customs than Tibetan Buddhists. One thing is that they don't believe in reincarnation. I also learned that they don't like to call what they believe in as "Buddhism", but rather "the teachings of Buddha". This is because they feel that it's not a religion, but more of an individual perspective on life. They don't like the institutionalizing of the Buddhist teachings. We left as the talk was still going on after about an hour to go back to Chiang Mai. Personally, I feel that Buddhism contradicts with my Christian faith, but I am grateful that I had that opportunity to sit and listen and learn about something that is so foreign to me.



We got back to Chiang Mai and I did some more work and then that evening we went to a really cool bar in the center of town. It was a rooftop 3rd floor bar and everyone just sat around on the floor with tiny tables and cushions with bare feet. It was mostly filled with fellow travelers and we just all hung out and talked about anything and everything.

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Thailand Trip Day 5 in Chiang Mai

I was able to get a flight at noon today to Chiang Mai for $40. It is 5:00 PM on Saturday now. I am so excited to be here. It is a world of difference from Bangkok. As the taxi driver was taking us to the hostel we were staying in, I knew right away that I would love this place. It's surrounded by mountains/hills and it has a very quaint feel to it. We are staying in the Inner City part. It is the old city that is surrounded by a moat. I am staying at Grace House for $3.25 a night which has it's own restaurant which serves vegetarian and natural products. Very granola. Even though I am in the second largest city in Thailand, it is so peaceful and relaxing here. In Bangkok airport while getting ready to fly out, I ran into a girl that was staying in the same hostel as me in Bangkok (Big John's). She was also going to Chiang Mai, so we stuck together. Her name is Christiana and she is from Munich, Germany. She decided to stay at the same hostel as me since I recommended it.

Once we got to the hostel, I dropped my bags and headed out immediately to look for WiFi internet access. I found this one place close by that advertised "hotspot", but the guy was being a total jerk about it. First of all, I had to wake him up to find out pricing, and then he explained that it was more expensive to use your own computer with WiFi access than it was to use their computers connected to the LAN. How ridiculous. It wouldn't have been so bad had he not been so rude and annoyed that I was asking him questions. So I went out to look for an alternative. After asking around, I found a great place. It's a coffee/pastry shop very close to my hostel. And it's 75 cents per connection. So if I hang out for 1 hour or 4 hours, it's still only 75 cents or 30 Bahts, for those following the Thai currency. Chris that works here was very helpful in setting me up with the WiFi and he's even letting me string my laptop power cord into their kitchen.

I was able to reach the Belgian girls and it looks like we're all meeting up tonight at their hostel. My new friend, Christiana is also coming. I need to find some more guys to even it out a bit. I've got to get some work done now. Seeya...

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Thailand Trip Day 4 in Bangkok

Yesterday was fairly uneventful. I woke up early after a long night's sleep and planned to get some work done in the quiet morning. But the wireless internet at the hostel was down. And Big John (the owner) was sound asleep for another few hours. So, with no work to do, my only choice was to go get another Thai massage. I wanted to try another place this time to see if there would be different techniques. This time they offered only 2 hour Thai massage for around $10. This was the real deal. The other place didn't compare. She walked all over my back massaging me with her feet and really gave my body a workover. At one point she had to call in for backup because I was too tall to do one of her moves. They had a chuckle over that and said "too long" to me.

I spent some of the afternoon having conversations with fellow travelers at the hostel and then that night I went out to the Thai restaurant with Carissa from Georgia and Sam from Australia. Sam and I requested the hottest dish out of the curries, which was the red curry. We were both slightly disappointed that it wasn't extremely hot. Carissa seemed to think that they gave us the "Western" spicy version. I sure hope not. I can handle it.

It's Saturday morning here, Day 5 for me in Bangkok and I'm going to try to go to Chiang Mai today. If I've already missed the daily flights or whatever, then I'll try tomorrow. I will spend half a week in Chiang Mai and then go to some beach for the rest of the week. Not sure which one yet. I may go to Phuket, but I've been told that it's really overcrowded and touristy. But I do need a place where I have easy internet access. Chiang Mai is in the northern part of Thailand and is the second largest city. Even though it is a large city, it is has a more traditional village feel to it. I'm getting kinda tired of Bangkok and am looking forward to seeing a different side of Thailand through Chiang Mai. Also the Belgian girls are there and Karolien emailed me to say they arrived yesterday and that we all should get together when I get up to Chiang Mai.

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Thailand Trip Day 3 in Bangkok

Yesterday I decided to get visit a dentist and get my teeth whitened. She works right down the road from my hostel and got her degree in America. I was able to get the latest technology that uses light or lasers or some new fangled technology to whiten teeth in 30 minutes. I got it for 20% of the cost that is charged in America. I now have the freedom to smile. :)

I went to a local place for lunch and had an amazing Thai lunch. The dentist recommended it. I ordered Chicken Panang Curry, my favorite Thai dish so far. It wasn't on the menu, but they made it for me. It was so good. Very spicy and flavorful. They have a chicken with thick peanut sauce that I am going to try next. I think I'll go there tonight.

In the afternoon I went to this crazy shopping center in Bangkok called "MBK". My Scottish friends from the other night told me to check it out. It was huge. And everything was cheap. I went to this place where I got 2 pairs of Diesel jeans for $15 a piece. They measure your leg length and cut and hem the jeans just for you. It's very likely that the jeans are fake, but they look and feel real. But since most of the clothing we buy in America is "Made in Thailand", it's also very possible that they are the real deal. Either way, I'm happy with them.

I went to bed early and got tons of sleep last night. It was great.

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Thailand Trip Day 2 in Bangkok

Yesterday I started the day out with an hour long traditional Thai massage. That girl was rough on me. I don't think I've ever had that many bones crack in my life. But it felt good afterwards. Like a new man! I then went out to check out the famous Bangkok red light district in the area of Patpong. I got there around noon and walked around a bit. I turned down offers for sex at least 9 times. There was a guy on each corner that claimed to have the best girls in town. And then they just keep following you after you say no. The trick is to just keep walking straight and totally ignore them. Next to the sex there was an outdoor market with all kinds of interesting things for sale. I got a pair of fake Ray Bans for $6. I'm very happy with them. I'm learning to get around Bangkok fairly well. The SkyTrain is a 10 minute walk from my hostel. The SkyTrain is a part of their metro system. I guess like Chicago's "L".

After the market, I had to get back to the hostel to do some work and then a 2 hour conference call with my client back in DC. After work that night I went out to an Irish pub called O'Reillys. As soon as I sat at the bar I started chatting with this married couple. They are on their honeymoon and are from Scotland. There was Scott who actually is from Vancouver, Canada, but has been living in Scotland for the past several years. His family is Scottish. He's a chef/ice hockey player. His wife is Jane and she is a travel agent from Scotland. I think they live in Glasgow. They were a lot of fun.

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Thailand Trip Day 1 in Bangkok

Yesterday was my first full day in Bangkok. I started out the morning with a traditional Thai foot massage. It cost me about $5 for an hour long foot massage combined with some Thai back massage. It was great. I thought I was getting the regular massage, but I guess there was miscommunication and I got the foot massage instead. I'll try the regular one later.

After that , me and a guy I met in my hostel, Justin from Wisconsin, went to an area of Bangkok called Siam Square. It is a shopping district and is very westernized. In fact, most of Bangkok is Westernized. Right now I am blogging from a Starbucks 5 minutes from where I am staying. In Siam Square they had these mannequins sitting on public benches doing things like using their cell phone and laptops. I thought they were funny, so I took my picture with them. We had lunch in this alley filled with street vendors. My chicken panang curry was 70 cents and my Pepsi was 80 cents.






After Siam Square, Justin and I went to try to check out a historic area of Bangkok and see the Grand Temple. The temple was closed, but we met these 3 nice girls from Belgium while there and the 5 of us started touring around together. The girls names were Annelies, Petra and Karolien. We visited several temples and just had fun hanging out. After we were finished touring, the girls asked us to meet up later at a jazz bar in Bangkok. We couldn't figure out where it was right then, so we just said to meet up at the Hard Rock Cafe and go from there later.

We went home got showered and changed, then headed back out. Oh yeah, it's extremely humid here. You can't be outside for 5 minutes without being drenched in sweat. I took a motorcycle ride back to the Hard Rock. That was an experience. I sat on the back of a motorcycle and held on for my dear life as the Thai driver whipped in and out of traffic. A couple of other guys from the hostel met us up at the Hard Rock as well. There was Scott from Baltimore and Craig from Leeds, England. There was some sort of Thai holiday going on that day and the Hard Rock wouldn't serve us drinks until 10:00 pm. So after a couple of diet cokes, we decided to go out and try to find this Jazz bar that Caroline from Belgium picked out. We walked around forever and never found it. Finally we settled on a German Pub and was only able to hang out for an hour before they closed at midnight also due to the Thai holiday. But we had fun. The girls are off today to another village and we probably won't see them again, but there's a chance we'll meet up in Chaing Mai later on this week or next week.

I'm staying a couple more days in Bangkok, then I'm going to go out and explore more of Thailand. I'll probably go to Chang Mai to the north and then Phuket, the beach resort, to the south. I'd like to see some less Westernized areas.

I've also been working while visiting here. It's a working vacation for me. So everywhere I stay, I have to make sure that they have internet access. The hostel I'm in now has free wireless access which has been very convenient. I'm hoping to find similar set ups in Chaing Mai and Phuket.

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In Bangkok

After an extremely long travel day, I've arrived in Bangkok safely. I'm staying in this cool hostel owned by an Australian. It's 2:00 AM here and all the travelers are down stairs hanging out. I'm going to bed soon. I'm tired.

LAX

I'm sitting in LAX airport waiting for my flight for Bangkok to depart. I'm hangin out at the Daily Grill. Apparently there's something called the World Cup on the TV today. It seems to be a pretty big deal. I'm not caught up on soccer technology.

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