Good news - in 3 days time I'll be on a plane home to San Francisco (the suburb of San Mateo to be more precise) to take a much needed break from work and the craziness of South East Asia until January 5th. Pretty much all my vacation time
will be gone for 6 months but the recharge is just necessary at this point.
*This little guy gets to finally meet his Uncle!
I'm sure I will miss Bangkok and my independence after a week, but for now I'm very excited to see my friends and family, and just sleep in EVERY BLOODY DAY. I really took that for granted in college.
I'll just do a recap of life since I last left off...
My week in Hong Kong went really well, and I managed to mix in downtown shopping and partying with decent family time.
*Eugene, Jane, and I in Lan Kwai Fong
*It was a late, heavy night
*Shopping in Sham Shui Po at the Golden Computer Center - the best place in HK for cpu/game software.
*Shenzhen view from the cross-border train - Jane and I went for one night just to experience Tai Ping Yang, the "Pacific Ocean" mega-spa where we got 5 hour massages, ate and drank all we wanted, chilled in Roman bath-house style rooms, and fell asleep in huge lazyboy recliners all for less than 50 bucks each. No one may speak English but I'm not complaining - this place is AWESOME.
*My 10 year old brother James playing in his first public concert at the school fair. I'm so proud of him! He really has a natural talent; he's so good for his age it is scary.
*My 6 year old brother Sam and I messing around at the school fair
*James, my Dad, and I at a neighborhood kid's birthday party near Sai Kung
My trip to HK overall did seem a bit short for a proper "vacation" though. I'd like to go again in Spring next year just for a few days to see the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament - an annual HK bash that I am ashamed to have never been to despite 7 years living there and 2 trips a year coming back. Hopefully Eugene or my Dad can hook up tickets as they are tough as steel to come by.
Does anyone watch Battlestar Galactica? I just watched the first 3 seasons within 2 weeks, it was so addicting. Okay it sounds a bit nerdy but seriously give it a try! I DID like Star Trek but it isn't anything like that. It's more like a future drama with contemporary military and political overtones and very deep subtle themes about humanity. In general, really good acting too.
I went to my first Thai (modern Thai) wedding celebration ceremony a few weeks ago. My colleague and friend Wanthip got married and threw a huge bash at the Dusit Thani hotel.
*Wanthip, hubby, and I
*Group shot of her Duty Free team!
Met a few new folks these last 5 weeks that were really cool. Honorable mention to Emerald for being able to dance as good as any chick in a California club - a rarity in Bangkok.
Thank you lunar calendar for having a full moon on a November Saturday! I finally went to the infamous Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan - basically a massive all-night beach rave with tons of Europeans on a small Southeastern island. After hours of travel by plane, bus, boat, and taxi, I met up with Andrew and Timo for some vodka-red bull buckets and got blasted. Although I thought it was a bit overrated (rave's aren't my preferred party though), I had lots of fun.
*There was a lot of fire-play
*Timo and our new found friend motorbike taxi-driver that promised to take us all the way to Bangkok cuz we were nice to him and had a thousand baht.
*Andrew, me, and his gf Fern
*One of the many victims of probable rave-drugs
*The view of Koh Phangan from my hotel window with room service breakfast delivered. It's actually quite an undeveloped and charming island.
Sergey, a friend from University, stopped by Bangkok for a night at the beginning of a Thailand vacation with a couple buddies, Mike and Anthony. I showed them out how we do around here - Johnnie Walker, Thai live band/hip hop, and a shitload of fun. I think they enjoyed it.
*In Thailand you will never have to make your own drink, unless you want to. These guys will do it!
*Welcome to Bangkok fellas
I finally got some soft copies of my modeling photoshoot in Hua Hin many months ago for Expat Weekend magazine. Check it...and don't make fun haters!
*Am I playing golf or baseball in that Burberry top?
*She almost looks extremely bored (color is jacked up)
*When I took this picture, I knew I would get shit from my friends. I had no choice okay? (color is jacked up)
I took a weekend to go see Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia with Katie and some coworkers who were also there for the inaugural Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open golf tourney. Angkor was absolutely amazing, I have never seen anything so old (1000+ years) so massive and preserved in the middle of a bloody jungle.
The local Cambodians were very friends and goods were cheaper than in Thailand. People also spoke English on the whole better than Thais! At least the taxi drivers did for sure; where in Thailand your average taxi driver may not speak 10 words of English, in Siem Reap he speaks as much English as someone working reception at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bangkok.
Unfortunately there is a lot of eye-opening extreme poverty. I even saw a little boy with severe Elephantitis resting on his mother's lap while she begged on the floor of a street path. Beggars on the street are not unusual in South East Asia but this case was really sad. His head was as big as a watermelon - it was horrific and made me want to cry. Cambodia is on its way up fast nowadays but they still need a lot of help. I read that because of mostly covert and over-the-top bombing operations on Viet Minh supply lines that ran through Cambodia during the Vietnam war, Cambodia is actually the most bombed country on earth. Tons of unexploded land mines still maim people every year. People just don't get much awareness about this stuff, and they don't care sadly...
*The main Angkor War temple
*Katie and I on the grounds
*Massive trees now grow on the ruins. I think Angkor was only just rediscovered a century ago...it used to be swallowed up by thick jungle
*The JW Cambodia Open gala dinner location - Kravann Temple
*At the Gala Dinner with a couple colleagues from Diageo Philippines
*The golf course during tournament play. Oh btw I still can't play golf.
*Sunset in Siem Reap
*The Red Piano, Angelina Jolie's bar of choice on Pub Street while she was filming Tomb Raider
*Two little girls on a boat while we were on a tour of the biggest lake in the country. Boats with kids came up to our boat pirate style (and at pretty FAST speeds), the kids boarded us, and they proceeded to sell us coke and water bottles for one US dollar each. When they were done they just jumped onto their tiny moving boats and were off. It was crazy!!!
*A little girl at the fish/crocodile farm that had a python bigger than HER round her neck to tempt tourists into giving her a buck. She was so cute but what the hell is going on here!? So out of control...
*Going back to Bangkok with a newly purchased "Angkor Beer" shirt. Not many grunge backpackers will have THIS on Khao San road!
I had a business trip to Singapore recently to finish a handover of my current role so I can start fresh in my new role come January. There is still a chance I may have a relocate...I will do my best to try and compromise so I stay in Bangkok though. It is my personal and career preference for sure.
I left Singapore before I could attend the Diageo Christmas Party AND the annual rave Zoukout (on Sentosa beach). I figure Koh Phangan was enough, and the company wasn't going to pay for a hotel just so I could party!
FYI for all you Thailand natives...There is a new Johnnie Walker RTD (ready to drink - like Smirnoff Ice) out in Thailand called Johnnie Walker Soda Mix. It's pretty self explanatory! Nice bottle, great, authentic taste, and it's not expensive. Next time you think about downing a regular old Heineken, try this out instead.
I decided to throw a birthday party at Blog 9 in Bangkok before I left for America. I made it celeb-themed, and a good 6-10 people dressed up out of about 50. Decent ratio for Thailand! Anyway, I had a great time and got to see so many friends come together in one place (which has pretty much never happened on this scale before) without any ill events (fights/puke/other drama). Too bad it was on a Thursday and the next morning was hell...but well worth it (and the 30,000+ baht it set me back - yeah, in Thailand the birthday person generally gets the bill).
*Troy, Ally, and I rolled up the club in a chauffeured Merc (okay not that great, but free!).
*I was Usher (notice the "U" bling and $100 belt buckle?) and Ally was Lil'Kim
*Jane (Avril Lavigne) and I (poser)
*Look at these stunnas
*Not everyone in Bangkok is this good looking
*Tommy and I are never sober at clubs, and this is why...hey, we never go totally overboard either!
Hopefully we can get another big party together in January/February. Who am I kidding, this happens all th time! I love Bangkok, I love my friends in Bangkok, and I love being 23 (even if I feel 29 sometimes)!
Sadly I will miss some friends coming back to Bangkok for Winter Break such as Mark, Lea, Bonnie, etc...Maybe I can catch them for a party the weekend I get back before they fly off to Universities around the world for their final year.
I hope I get to see as many old friends and family as possible while I'm back in California. I miss that the most - San Francisco will always be there for me and be pretty much the same in 10 years. Some friends I have kept in touch with semi-regularly, some have actually visited me, and some I have talked with maybe once since I left. Regardless, I want to catch up if I can...you only live once!
I can't wait to eat home cooking, drive a car, and get soaked in cold rain.
I'll definitely try to go up to Davis and pass out on a keg after a wild house party like the old college days. The local restaurants will definitely be happy to see my business again too - Pluto's, Osaka Sushi, Fuji's, Cafe Med, Steve's Pizza, Dos Coyotes, Guad (real Mexican food!!!)...
Before I know it I'll be back to work thousands of miles from home...Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone.
