In mid-December my Mom made a stopover in Bangkok before we would both travel back to San Francisco on my 2 week holiday for Christmas. I think she was genuinely happy with the life I had built since she last visited...seeing as her, my friends, and I all got tipsy at a beer garden in Suam Lum night market!
We had a short stopover in Japan on the way to SF. I checked out the Duty Free stores and very predictably starting talking to the alcohol sales staff to test their knowledge on Johnnie Walker and our other products anonymously. They did pretty well actually, good to know that team is doing a good job with the people that are the everyday face of my company to the consumer.
By the way, have you guys seen "Lost in Translation" and do you remember "Santory Whiskey?" Well it's a real company and they have the biggest whiskey in Japan - Yamazaki. It's no Scotch, but it tasted very good and I can see why it's popular although very expensive (I think I had the 25 year old variant).
So back in America I realized a few things quite quickly - I did not miss winter, paying for gas, the prices of pretty much EVERYTHING, and waiting in line at clubs. I DID miss my family and friends, Latinos and Black people, non-Asia food, sleeping in everyday (in college, I NEVER chose early classes), driving with loud music on (although this time I played a healthy list of Thai rock and hip hop, much to the strange looks of other people), and people definitely understanding everything I say.
*Some of my buddies back in San Francisco before heading out on the town
I had my 23rd birthday party in the city at the Bed Supperclub, a chain that is pretty popular in Bangkok and other cities around the world. The line took forever and there was a damn cover charge. What has the world come to? This does not exist in Asia. BUT it wasn't super packed wall to wall at least. Random: I ran into Tony Sabadini, an old friend from high school that I hadn't spoken to since, in the line at the club. He was totally different!
I did also have to get used to the idea of waiting for drinks at a bar - in Bangkok you just order a whole bottles and milk it for hours, depending on how many people you have and how "thirsty" you are (at my Bangkok birthday party 40 heads showed up and we drank 15 bottles+). Anyway it was a really good time and I caught up with some folks that I hadn't seen since even a year or two before I ever left for Bangkok. Now 95% of my friends are done with school and/or had all come back to the Bay Area for the holidays. A few of us walked to Mel's Diner (a very American style late night eatery out of the 1950s) and saw a pointless fight break out in the middle of the street along the way. Twenty cops showed up immediately and threw a guy or two in their squad cars. Ahhh it was good to be back in the USA.
I bought a couple Singha shirts back for Noonan, who had visited and loved Thailand last February. There is a great story about him and a barber, and a couch.
*My cousins at Crepevine in Burlingame
Oh yeah I took a little trip down to Santa Cruz to see my Step Grandma and had some delicious Mexican food. THAT does not really exist in Asia. There are barely any Mexicans around...maybe 8.45 of them, tops.
*My sister, step-grandma, and Mom in Santa Cruz eating real Mexican food
Contrary to popular belief, I actually didn't drink too much while I was home. I hung out a lot, chilled at Ratto's place playing board games, did some shopping (and last minute for Christmas), and just tried to relax - I didn't really stop to take a deep breathe in the last year to realize how much the routine and pace of my life has changed. Work is really hard in the sense of the time it consumes, but I also like to think I live for that on-the-go lifestyle.
*Missy in the back of Ratto's truck
On New Years Eve I had to go big and grand so I went to the nicest, highest bar in downtown with Lin, Steve, and Azar. It was a real cluster@#$% getting in, but the view was so worth it. We could see the fireworks go off around the Bay Area BELOW us.
At the end of the night the guys had to bounce but I, in my NYE stuper, met some random Filipino-American nice folks and jumped in their car to go to an after-party at Mission Rock where DJ Kaskade was playing. We slipped past the guards and the $60 entry, and next thing you know we are standing next to the DJ. It was awesome! After that I couldn't just go home, so my new friends dropped me off at a buddy's house party. I hadn't seen this guy since he went to Thailand with me a year before - it was good to catch up. I walked in on him trying to make out with some chick....some things never change!! I ended up meeting a dude named Abdul from Chad and talking to him for quite a bit - I had never actually met a guy straight out of Africa on exchange, he had some really interesting experiences. To cap off the night my buddy (Till) and I hopped over to Jack in the Box for some fast food at 6am, where a drunken homeless guy was mumbling nonsense and drooling from his mouth and nose...it really didn't look good. Happy New Year huh!
*View of San Francisco Bay Area (Bay Bridge, Oakland in the distance) from the Carnelian Room
I also got to meet my little nephew Joey - he is the cutest baby in the world. Of course I'm going to say that, but really, he never cries, always smiles and has that infant curiosity and innocence in him that we just lose when growing up. It's awesome to watch though.
*Marjan playing with lil Joey
I went back to Davis during the last couple days of my trip to catch up with friends who still lived there and just to get a taste of what college was like again. It was nostalgic, and I ate at all my old regular restaurants, but I realized that this place was just over for me. The people really made it happen, and most of them are gone or are no longer in school, when life was so different.
At Pluto's, my favorite salad and sandwich restaurant of such unparalleled quality that I can never order a crappy salad anywhere else again, I ran into the manager whom I used to chat with when I grabbed food there 3-6 times a week. He goes, "So where have you been?" I say, "Ummm...working for a huge alcohol company running around South East Asia and living in Bangkok...I'm going back to Thailand in 2 days." He had the most random look on his face, and didn't really know what to say besides "That's awesome man...uhh...we miss your business around here! Good luck, and come back next year."
I went out to G St pub with Allie, Jen, and Vadim, where Allie promptly c*&kblocked me from talking to a beautiful single girl that was chilling at the bar and started a conversation with me. "Are you going to spend the night trying to get in her pants or are you going to hang out with your friends?" was actually said in front of the girl too. Fair enough I guess, so I just played pool terribly with them and gave Allie shit for busting my balls.
Before heading back to Bangkok I grabbed lunch with a former TA of mine that I really liked - she is Thai American and was really amused to hear my stories about her home country. I also caught up with one of my favorite former professors over Cambodian food in Oakland - random huh? Even more random is that she used to live in Vietnam and knows one of my colleagues in Singapore from back in those days when he was based in Saigon too.
So I said bon voyage once again to California, a place where a piece of my heart will always be, but a place that I know I would rather come back to in a decade or so when I'm finished with most of my crazy adventures. I saw most folks I wanted to see and did a few things that gave me some more closure. My move last January was so abrupt, you know what I mean? Now I feel like I really do belong in Asia right now and I love where I'm going with it.
*Regina, Sarah, and I at Sirocco
My sister came to Bangkok after a visit to see my Dad in Hong Kong. It was good to see her even though we fought so much back in the day. The less time we spend together, the less arguing that ensues. I just want the best for her though...but it's not my life.
*Universal Player himself, Patrick R, at our cabana by the Dream Hotel's pool
Sarah, I, and some friends managed to go a pool party called "Universal Player" where we met the really nice host, Patrick. We smoked hooka all day, drank some J-Dub, and played tipsy pool volleyball. I briefly recollect being forced into a speed sake drinking contest where after a couple rounds, I was definitely smashed. Now when I'm drunk I'm not stupid, angry, or belligerent, but I start to wander and get pretty friendly. My friends said I was hitting on every girl in the party. I don't remember it, okay!? How embarrassing, haha. Chatting to is NOT the same as hitting on, come on!
*Troy's birthday at the newly reopened Escudo in Thong Lor
Good ole Troy turned 25 and in "I haven't drank hard in years" fashion, got so sloshed at Escudo I had to carry him home, face down in the backseat of a taxi. We had a great time though, despite being some of the only folks in the club on a Tuesday night. Even I haven't been that drunk in Thailand yet, and you guys know from my pictures how often I go out. It's more often than I did in college, that's for sure. It's different not having a girlfriend to hang out with at home too though...
*Some of the guys at Nang Len in Ekkamai
I did go out pretty hard one week in early Feb which resulted in me being crazy sick for two days. I guess I'm not Superman after all. Nang Len on a Monday night - what was I thinking? You only live once, I guess. And it won't be long if I keep drinking like this! In fact I'm a bit sick right now, at home on a Friday night, because I went out too hard last night and had to wake up really early for work.
*Ally and I at Culture One, a huge electro music festival outside Bangkok
One more comment on parties - there was a huge international rave in a big arena outside Bangkok, called Culture One. Electro isn't my music of choice but it's still pretty fun, especially trance in my opinion. I just feel a bit weird when I'm a bit tipsy and everyone around me is going crazy enjoying the party more than me, because they are likely on some sort of drugs. LOL. Oh another thing, this was obviously one of the first raves in Bangkok, because a lot of the hi-so's turned up in really nice clothes. The place was OUTDOOR, get with it people - drop the act and get practical sometimes!
*My bro and I on his first visit of the year, at Route 66 in RCA
Dar came to visit me for 3 straight weeks in February - I think that was the longest I had hung out with him in a couple years! He still lives in Hong Kong, but I think he wouldn't mind getting a job in Bangkok now, haha. We partied a lot of course, including a Thai karaoke joint with a load of Asian-Australian dudes. Bangkok is just insane.
*Khao Sarn Road
I actually did take him to Khao San, a grungy backpacker place that I don't mind much, but usually avoid. We caught up with my sister's ex-boyfriend from years ago in England, as he was traveling the world for a year and stopped in Thailand. Not a bad plan.
*Friends from Singapore and Canada visiting Bangkok - Sukumvit Soi 11
*Friends at Jet, Thong Lor. Emerald rightly called me a "Brand Whore."
In the middle of Dar's visit, I had to go off to Malaysia on a week long road business trip. It was extremely tiring as we had to do 9 or 10am until LATE at night (midnight to 2am) every day...we also went to 5 different parts of the country, meeting new eager partners to drink with and seeing as much as possible to determine our plan for this year. We are both new to this function and market so it was a very useful trip anyway.
Along the way I tried a Northeastern Malay specialty - Bees! Yeah, I know. They looked weird but didn't taste bad at all. The texture might get to people though. During a business dinner I leaned too far sideways on my plastic dining chair when talking to a big boss at a partner company of ours - I fell flat on my ass and everyone stared, it was great! We laughed it off with a beer though.
*Sunset on the boat to Penang, Malaysia
Malaysia is a pretty cool place. It's made up of three large ethnic groups - Malays, Indians, and ethnic Chinese that have a been around for a few generations. KL is also a pretty happening town and much cheaper than Singapore.
*Friends from Sydney, California, and Bangkok at Sirocco again (yeah, my favorite view in Bangkok)
My buddy Brian, who had gone to UC Davis a couple years before me and lived in Mongolia prior to moving to Thailand, unfortunately had to move again - to Mumbai, India. Exciting stuff, but he will definitely be missed in Bangkok. I'll see him during the Hong Kong Sevens Rugby tournament at the end of the month though - he is staying there and sorting some stuff out with his company before hopping over to one of the most crowded cities in the world.
I also met a lovely girl named Aimee who came to Thailand for a month from Sydney with her friend Zoe. They stopped in Bangkok in the beginning and end of their journey through the country and Laos/Cambodia. Zoe ran into some crazy bad luck in Laos and had to get her appendix removed after running from hospital to hospital where doctors didn't speak English and they couldn't determine what was wrong with her. I actually had to get Ally to talk to a Thai doctor at 3:30 AM about some consent forms to be translated to the girls, after which Zoe went into surgery an hour later. This stuff was out of a bad backpacker movie nightmare! But she is fine now, and both are back in Australia where I hope to visit next year perhaps.
*Entrance to the Alila Cha-Am
Dar and I were treated with some friends to a free stay and hospitality package at a new resort hotel in Cha-Am near Hua Hin, the Alila. It was gorgeous, and super luxury. Their pillows were so nice I had to find out the supplier and buy a couple for myself in Bangkok at $80 USD a pop. We couldn't help ourselves at night and had to go a crazy BKK style nightclub with a Thai live band rather than just chilling on the beach, hah. There is a hilarious story involving Timo, Alex and a WB that I probably can't say on here...oh man.
*Timo chillin' at the Alila Cloud Loft
*Dar and I messing around just before checkout
I went to Shanghai a couple weeks ago for Diageo's annual Asia Pacific marketing workshop. It was a very busy period but awesome fun - really engaging stuff that inspired me to move into a pure marketing role if I can sooner or later. I also got to meet a lot of interesting folks from around Asia Pac. I think I was definitely the youngest one there because generally we only send people in leadership roles. Lucky for me my department only had 2 guys doing any sort of marketing - me and my boss - but the department is really important to Asia Pac's performance, so I got to go.
Shanghai is a fun town, and super big. I have never seen so many skyscrapers across the horizon in every direction, and so much smog covering them.
*Sporting the Johnnie Walker Blue Label in Shanghai. Gotta love this liquid gold.
*Toasting to Diageo
At the end of the last night I met a few cool folks from Manila - the half Fila singer/host that was doing our event, her friend Manol working in a classy Shang hotel, and her radio DJ friend Migz. At 2am we ended up leaving the Diageo bar and driving around the city looking for an open club. What we found was empty clubs for a bit, and then eventually a Mcdonald's where I scarfed down maybe 20 chicken nuggets. Diiissgusting. Anyway it was a great time, I got back to my hotel at 5am, checked out immediately, and headed to my super early flight at the airport. THAT was a hardcore night, but my god the next day was ruined. At least it was a public holiday!
*Dar in Koh Kood - "Cowabunga!"
Before Dar left a few close friends and us went to Koh Kood, an isolated island near Cambodian waters in the East. It was a really sleepy, beautiful gift of nature. I think it had one convenience store, where the owning family slept in at night. I had to keep going back there for Cornetto ice cream cones. Ahh the good life. We spent the nights drinking in our hotel room and singing Thai karaoke DVDs that I bought a few weeks before. I had a great time - it's not often that I can just get away from it all for a long weekend and not worry about my city life.
*We love Thailand!!!
I can't say enough how much I love this country. I was on a motorbike riding down Sathorn, one of the main huge roads in the central business district, and I started thinking about how great the past year has been and how bloody much I am going to miss this place if I have to leave. Oh yeah, my company may relocate me to Singapore in May. It's still not confirmed yet so I won't comment until it is. I won't comment in detail on how frustrated I am with the way the whole process went too. All I know is that the Singapore role will be a great career move and I'm really passionate about this company and our brands...but is a move to a place where I will be poorer and not as happy something I'm ready to do now, I'm really not sure. I'm not ready to leave my great friends and the cheap living Bangkok has to offer. I will definitely come back to Thailand to live again within a couple years or so if I get the chance. No, I will MAKE the chance. That's a promise. I've also decided that no matter what happens, in May I am starting to take Thai lessons again. I'd like to be fluent in a few years!
I auditioned for an American movie filming in Bangkok a couple weeks ago - a remake of Street Fighter! I just tried out for a small role with a couple speaking lines (I think I'm an Interpol cop). Hope I get it just for the sake of saying I was in a movie for 15 seconds, haha.
The other day I was also on TV for a short interview I did for a local channel on Valentines Day at a massive Johnnie Walker Black Label party. I didn't see the bits that went on air but my friends said I looked drunk. It was probably true, oh well.
*Troy on Soi 38 at 3am after Bodyslam...we needed noodles that badly. I put a ton of chilli in his soup and he didn't care cuz he was obviously not so sober.
There were three concerts this week that I attended - Maroon 5, Bodyslam (a super popular Thai rock band), and Global Deejays (that European electro group that does the "San Francisco" song). I had a great time at all of them, but like I said earlier - I'm probably sick tonight because of all the partying and early morning starts.
*This is the site I come home to on most nights out - a sleeping security guard at my building reception.
*Jen and I at Santika for the Global Deejays concert. As you can see, my haircut is getting funkier every month. Only in Asia is this acceptable, hah.
My friend Mike unfortunately had to move to Phuket for work (okay, maybe FORTUNATELY), but all his buds will miss him and those insane nights in Bangkok. He spent quite a lot of his teenage years in Bangkok and is thus one of the only white guys that can speak Thai very well.
And 1, the street ball act, will be coming to Bangkok in May, brought to Thailand by a friend of mine. Looking forward to seeing some huge dude dunk on a 5 foot 3 Thai guy...haha.
Okay I'm a bit tired from all this typing - it was a really long one but considering I didn't post in 3 months, I did try to spare you all from readying for an hour. It did take that long to jot down tho, ugh. Maybe it's good I got sick then, because I've been procrastinating for ages.
Once again, take care and please write me a quick email sometime if it's been a while. Abzolut800@yahoo.com people, looking forward to it!
Cya next month.
