1-Year Lockdown

Sipadan

Pictures are up, details will follow. I need to label all the pictures before it makes sense. In the meantime, read this.

Whew...

OK, I’m back.

Actually, I’ve been back for a couple weeks, but between getting caught up on work and needing a root canal, I’ve just had no time. At least I got some pictures up, even if they are not labeled. I may do that soon. The unnamed shots at the end are from my 5-day live-aboard dive trip to the Similan islands off Phuket. Also, I plan to head to Tokyo for a few days to see Stacy, Geoffrey, and Son Volt.

Quick Update

I made it safely down to Phuket last night. I met up with Julian on Thursday, and I should have taken his picture for W00ks.org gallery. He cleans up well though, and claimed he was going to get his head shaved before he went to Malaysia. Me, I’m searching town for some breakfast and taking care of stuff like laundry before my dive trip tonight. Julian suggested a dive trip to the Similans, and it sounded like a pretty good idea at the time. So I’ll be out on a boat for the next four days. See you all on the 15th.

Cambodia revisited

Hmmm. That last post about Cambodia came off sounding a little more negative than I intended. It is a third-world country after all. In most villages, the only power is provided by auto/marine batteries that are carried to and from a recharging station in town. NGO’s build wells to provide clean water, but the pump is quickly stolen for scrap. The police corruption is on a level I can’t even fathom. That and we were attacked by wasps at the Bakong temple (in the Rulous group), which sort of soured my day.

But in spite of all the challenges the Cambodian people are friendly and helpful. You shouldn’t miss the temples there. Just take a more relaxed approach, and don’t go full-bore trying to see everything. Assume the buzzing is from wasps and not a swarm of flies. They are both black, but the sting was not as bad as the ones I remember getting from yellow jackets as a kid. Once you remove the stinger the pain stops, although it’ll leave a bump for a day or so.  I thought I was bitten by a horsefly until I saw the stinger in my arm (they got Vera on the back).

Cambodia

We stayed in Siem Reap one day too long. At some point we screwed up the math and thought we were checking out and heading back to Bangkok a day earlier than we really were. We got to Siem Reap before 9AM so we had a full day when we only planned for half a day. Then we ran out of stuff to do by day six but couldn't get an earlier flight. So it goes, I guess.

If I'd known we gained a day (we really thought we were leaving the day before until the hotel front desk corrected us), we would have gone to Kulen mountain. I think we did everything else. I still need to see the Emerald Budda here in Bangkok, but that aside, I'm templed out. I've still got this loop of a bad lot scene running through my head: "Siiiir, you want cold drink? You come back, you buy from me", "Siiir, you want postcard? 10 for one dollaaar", "Siiir, you buy bracelet for your girlfriend?", "Siiir, where you from?", "Siiir, you need tuk-tuk?" After four non-stop days of that, it's hard to keep your cool with them.

I'll get some photos up soon, hopefully this weekend. Vera went home with most of them. We had to do every temple at the most crowded time so the pictures look better. Go figure.

Xin Nian Kwai Le

Happy Chinese New Year everybody.

Vera and I are in Siem Reap doing the whole Angkor Wat thing right now. I have actually been taking photos this trip, so I'll try and post something if I ever find a card reader. Otherwise it'll need to wait until I get back on the 20th.

Julian is running around Thailand and I'm going to try to meet up with him late next week. We'll see what happens.

One thing we all have in common is Bruce Lee

This story never tires me. I think that is all that needs to be said, except maybe, "I can't believe Bosnia can get this done before the Chinese, but basic services remain a dream."

When someone steals Bruce and sells him for scrap, you'll hear it here first.

What's in a Name?

So I know it is not even news anymore when we get a typhoon, but I couldn't resist. There is juvenille delight in writing about typhoon Longwang. That is all. I just like the name.

Woohoo!

Typhoon Day! Like a snow day with booze. Gotta love it.

Not a Substitute

Facial tissue is not an acceptable substitute for napkins, no matter how much the Taiwanese would like it to be. You get boxes of it free with purchase of gasoline and everyone carries it. As for the need to carry your own, I finally discovered why: Public toilets are BYOTP.