1. Lord of the Rings is so over.
2. When I first moved back to Asia from San Francisco, I thought I would be back after a year or two. My heart is tellin' me to stay, so I'm going to listen until it changes its mind.
3. To a lot of Thai people, especially strangers and those that can't pronounce "Charles" comfortably, I am more easily introduced as Charlie (likely pronounced Chaaleee). Note that is OK to call me Charles, Charlie, or CJ. Meanie Monkey, DS, and King Kong are acceptable. Charles JW for Johnnie Walker is fine. Chuck and Chucky are NOT okay!!!
4. Khun Charlie is a stupid nickname my friends gave me for doing modeling and a movie, as if I was a superstar. So I guess I better have some fun with it!
WARNING: this mega-post is damn long and pretty hefty to digest at times since I decided it was a good day to express some deep thoughts, but I promise, no B.S.! And you might get to know me a little better.
For the record I haven't boycotted Singapore - but with all my traveling I have BARELY been there for the past month. Every weekend I seem to be gone! Plenty of time to catch up with the city later though, it's not like I'm moving anytime soon. Singaporean friends - fret not, I do not hate you or your country!
*Sipping on some Johnnie Walker Blue Label at the Cock's Feather after work
Okay the job has been tough in terms of sheer workload (where's my divisions manpower?!), but I didn't sign up for some cushionny, easy gig where i wouldn't learn anything. It doesn't help my mental fatigue that I MUST do well in everything and MUST be proud of what I produce. Whoever I work for will be lucky I put my passion behind everything in my life...hopefully one day in the future, that lucky person will be me.
At the end of the day, being able to stare at the mouth of an Austrian Riedel glass of rare, old Scotch whisky and saying "You are MINE," or "Business is beautiful," is decently satisfying and makes my work worth it..for now! One day my liver may say otherwise. It's good to be employed in alcohol =P
*Work photo by the office bar, representing Thailand with my King polo shirt on a Monday.
It's kind of funny, most people in the office think I'm half Thai. Shit even I think I'm half Thai sometimes. That country, those people...something about them really touched me, as anyone who knows me over the past two years will know, in a way that has and will change my life...for the better and richer I hope. More on this, and some thoughts about my identity later.
My Uncle Peter had another 1 day stopover in Singapore, so I thought it would be good to catch up with him over a nice dinner. I took him to Morton's Steakhouse in the Mandarin Oriental as per Natalyn's suggestion. This place had DELICIOUS Chicago style steaks and other American food, ie gourmet macaroni and cheese. I think I left the house 3 kilo's heavier. Good to see the fella, as it's not often I get to hang out with my extended family from my Dad's side, and such nice ones especially.
*Calm before the storm - Chillin' at Tanjong Beach on Sentosa with Adam, Aimee, and Helen before getting crazy at Km8. Seems like the same scene from MOS and Attica combine and go here on Sunday evenings, often still hungover or drunk from the night before.
*Getting down to some house music at Km8 on a Sunday evening, beach party!! Maybe I got carried away, as always.
Last month I still found time to party up a bit in Singapore, even on a couple of Wednesdays. The best way I deal with stress is to go out, have a few drinks with friends, and flip out for a cracking good time. Life is too short, yanno? This month though, I've just been too tired and too traveled to feel like going out in Singapore during the weekdays. Maybe the drunken weekends has something to do with that.
*No idea where this was, only that I was having an awesome time by the looks of it.
I had an opportunity to visit Laos on a business trip some weeks ago. Fascinating little country Northeast of Thailand, landlocked and traced by the Mekong River. The capital, Vientiane, felt a bit like Chiang Mai in Northwest Thailand, but perhaps even smaller and more low key. The culture and language were also very close to Thai, including, thankfully, their drinking habits - Johnnie Walker is a superstar here too. Amidst my market research I did have a couple hours to check out some nice sites as pictured below.
*Sitting next to one the most famous temples in Laos
*At an old Vientiane Laos-French landmark
*Perhaps bogus picture of a Naga, massive dragon fish caught in the Mekhong River in Laos by the US Army around the Vietnam War era. Supposedly all of the guys in the picture died after eating this "fish".
*Trying some local Laos delicacies...fried crickets! I got a bit adventurous, at the urging of my customer and colleagues.
The big temples were quite fascinating, and unique in their own way to the many temples I have seen in neighboring Thailand. Life seemed so laid back and content there, despite the poverty. I would go again for holiday - my friend says you can float down the Mekong River for a week on a raft and/or innertubes, eating pizza, drinking Beer Lao, and jumping off of riverbank tree-swings into the water. Sounds like the chillest holiday ever. When the stress mounts to unbearable levels in the next 12 months, I'll know where to turn!
*Driving around in the Johnnie Walker-mobile
Back in Singapore, I had to work a full Saturday for a regional Smirnoff training. Normally I'd scoff at losing my precious rest time, but this event was actually interesting and useful, and built my affinity up for a brand that normally I tend to de-prioritize given the massive focus on Scotch whiskey in my markets. Did you know that in blind taste tests, Smirnoff beats Absolut more than 80% of the time? Smirnoff is damn pure vodka, and is over 140 years old. It's a great, quality brand that I feel lost a lot of image amidst the pricing wars in lead market USA, where the brand has gotten quite cheap and put into massive plastic handles while tons of new vodka players have moved in and tried to push the luxury or "cool" angle. Anyway, if you live in the States take comfort in the fact that Smirnoff is a damn solid buy and if you aren't a pretentious schmub that needs to ALWAYS have a glossy bottle of Grey what's it on their table or in their fridge, turn to that red bottle baby! Okay shameless plug ends now.
I did have to miss Singfest, the biggest annual two-day music festival in Singapore, because of that training though. At the same time, I felt like I only knew half of the performers flying in. In my last 2 years of work, I've really lost a lot of touch as to what's/who's new in music. Arrrggh! I guess with less time, you pick and choose what to drop and what to MAKE time for. Like how I stopped watching TV almost completely after high school.
I played some Texas Hold'em with John, Paul, Holman, Christian, and a bunch of good guys and gals that same weekend. It was good to get back in the game - it had been so long since those weekly house games I used to get into with buddies back in California, during college. Came out up S$120, not bad - but it's more about the fun than the cash (easy to say that when you win though). Looking forward to the next game...though I don't want to get sucked in. There was a point in UC Davis when I was playing online poker and went up and down on my wallet like a rollercoaster, not to mention the mood swings and tons of lost hours sitting on my computer, not even having fun at a supposedly fun game anymore. NEVER again - lesson learned.
*Reunion with the fellas at Jet, in Ekkamai, Bangkok
Yeeep, my next weekend trip was back to one of my beloved homes - Bangggggkok! I just can't help myself, can I? I needed another BKK fix of partying, friends, and shopping.
*Sporting Nick's Nike "Team USA" shirt at Jet, with nong sao (lil sister) Ally
The first night at Jet, was insane (I was so keen to be back, I wandered to an after party at Tapas with 4 people I didn't even know, cuz all my friends had work the next day and went home already!). The second night at 808, was out of this world (free flow alcohol, battle between 8 DJs, need I say more?). The 3rd night, at a Universal Player Party and Bamblu Bar, was thankfully more chill, ending with me kicking Kae's ass at Nintendo Wii @ Daniel's condo. Oh yeah except an elephant showed up outside Bamblu bar, so we fed him. I shit you not, THIS IS THAILAND! Brian Busse made it down from Hong Kong at the same time, and we sure had some crazy memories after those 3 days to look back on - Brian you know what I mean.
*Hanging with Patrick at another Universal Player party in Bangkok
I had the chance to watch the Olympic opening ceremony for a bit. It was good to feel pride when I saw Great Britain, Philippines, Thailand, and USA come out onto the track. And then bitterness when the French team came out. Who really roots for the French at sports besides the French? Hehehe...
I didn't watch too much of the Olympics after that, but what I did see was pretty sweet...except for all the medals China won...athletic program machinery.
*With the original English-Asian partner in BKK crime, Katie, at 808, RCA
Oh Thailand how I missed thee. The delicious cheap food, the affordable and who cares what you do partying, motorbike taxi rushes through urban jungle traffic, and sleeping in without feeling guilty. Maipenrai...sabaai sabaai.
*Partying with friends (Nutthanit pictured back to back) at Slim, RCA
*Kae and Kae both looking glam at Bamblu Bar, Thong Lor, Bangkok
On a random almost-forgotten note, I saw Batman: The Dark Knight, in Singapore before I left for BKK. A really quality movie! One of the first films in 3 years that I might have actually paid to see again in the theaters if I had more free time and didn't want to party. Great story, good acting, emotional connection, not super-predictable or cheesy like a lot of superhero movies. Gotta hand it to Heath Ledger too for an exceptional performance in that very unique/eccentric/weird Joker role. He owned that character. Only one complaint - listen to Batman's voice when he has the suit on - it's actually really hilarious how fake and put-on the pitch and tone are. Come ON, don't try so hard!
*An elephant crashes the party at Bamblu...someone give this guy a beer!
*Ken has a wine party at his condo on Sukumvit
Before the weekend was over, I had a chance to meet up with a wonderfully charming friend, Nutthanit, who barely ever goes out and doesn't drink (WHAT?!, my heroine!). Also saw Mummy 3, meehhhhh, and ate some BOMB Japanese at Akiyoshi and aroi maak fusion at Kuppa. My last night was spend chilling at Ken's place for a wine party, then sneaking off home early since my flight was luckily placed at 7AM the next morning and I didn't to hear the cries of "One more drink!" or "You suck!" from my friends if I announced my departure.
*Two very lovely ladies and friends reinforcing the message on my shirt, at Ken's place
Revert back to Singapore (and the real world) - I went to Morton's AGAIN with Nat this time, to indulge in a juicy prime rib steak. My punishment for such decadence - a lost ipod nano. @#$#@%^!!!!! Anyone who has an ipod that is NOT synced with their PC's music library, KNOWS how frustrating it is to lose those songs/organization. I just bought a new one but haven't bothered to load it up yet, cuz it will take me hours. Ugh - oh well...someone did tell me that you know what, not having a world-shutting-out ipod stuck in my ears for a couple weeks will do me good - it's not always ideal to have OTHER people's voices and thoughts running through your own head. Fair point, I had never really thought of music that way. Still, those treadmill runs and subway rides home get pretty boring, especially when I'm not SMS'ing people like a teenage girl with trigger happy thumbs.
*Coming into a Playeur magazine party at the White Rabbit in Dempsey with Nat.
The next weekend, in mid-August, was time for my highly anticipated trip to visit Troy on Koh Samui and crash the Koh Phangan Full Moon Party with tons of friends from Singapore and Bangkok, which thank god, fell on a Saturday night!
The early comers hit up Chaweng, the main party town on Samui, on Thursday night - with a few friends from both cities and our main man on the island previously from Bangkok, Tam, showing us how these tourists and locals get down. Buckets and Black Label, a strange combination but one that none of us denied.
*Everybody celebrating Tam getting kicked in the balls by Sua at Sweet Soul bar, Chaweng, Koh Samui - Thailand
*Sucking down a bucket of red bull-vodka at Sweet Soul bar
*Ally and Kae enjoying a colorful moment at Sweet Soul
Surely after a crazy night like that, we spent Friday morning and early afternoon KNOCKED OUT. However, we did get up in time to enjoy some beach-side fun and get a feel for the simple life. Troy had moved to Samui just before I left for Singapore. He says he doesn't enjoy it very much and he prefers the city life, and I can totally see where he is coming from, but one can't help but be jealous when they look out at blue calm ocean, green jungle, a spotless beach void of any hi-rises, and think damn...people in the West would KILL to live a year or two in this hakuna-matata place (Lion King, anyone?).
*Providing King Kong shade to Kae outside of Troy's place on Koh Samui. I was the designated bodyguard
*Troy and Ally getting romantic on Chaweng beach
Oh yeah I should mention that during this trip I was the self-appointed bodyguard of Kae, who can't seem to help but get paparazzied by locals and Bangkokian visitors and their camera phones because of the film and television work she used to do in the past. And, she is a dainty sweet girl who could use some King Kong protection, hahaha. Just don't piss her off though, her pinches are like a crab's!
*Taking Kae for a jet-ski ride...she fell off!
*Kicking a ball around with Troy on Chaweng Beach
*The kids frolicking in the water :)
The next evening, of course the party continued and more friends from Bangkok and Singapore arrived. Had dinner at a quality restaurant called The Pier, which served excellent cocktails (Lychee Mojito was niiiice) in a post-modern, calm-yourself down environment. Later we hit up the same club from the night before after checking out Q Bar Samui (there aren't that many places to go, really...but they're good fun). Things got silly again, but I personally drank a bit too much too early and spent 2 hours after midnight chugging water to salvage my brain and stomach, successfully.
*Another night at Sweet Soul (after Q Bar Samui), another night my nipples get harassed by so-called friends. It hurts!!!
*Ally is wasted but saves her dignity. Troy, was not drunk and has no excuse...
After the debauchery, we slept our butts off once more. Had to gather energy for the coming Full Moon Party all night yo. More chilling on the beach and fast forwarding to the evening, we took a speedboat over to Phangan and landed to find a million people crowding that beach, all ready to have a wild one. We had a LOT of people to control, which was a pain at first, but soon we settled in a general spot and proceeded to dance, prance, and consumptually enhance the night away. Bodies were thrown, clothes were ripped, inhibitions were forgotten - MAN, that was an awesome party, and the whole night and group were filled with positive vibes, how it should be everytime.
*A fake 7-11 on Koh Phangan as our crew gather's for the night's insanity
*More Full Moon Party madness on Haad Rin Beach
Some strange FMP moments:
- Changing into my muay thai shorts when my swim suit ceased to work properly...in a flooded toilet! Yuck.
- Wearing luminescent body paint all over our skin, including "KEEP" and "WALKING" written on my two calves, "Ally's Property" on Troy's arm, and me drawing a penis on his neck while he asks "Mate you aren't drawing a dick, right?"
- Aimee and Helen losing everything but their bra's for a drunken 10 minutes
- Kristina disappearing for what seemed like forever, only to be found tipsy and happy
- Getting subtly hit on by a gay thai guy and not noticing it until returning to the area and finding him grinding with a European dude
- An obnoxiously drunk English bloke at a bucket-stand asking for more alcohol, while blabbering nonsense on his telephone saying things like "Oi! I'll pay 300 baht, I mean 300 pebbles, for that vodka red bull...or I could just buy half of your bloody country with the rest of my wallet!" and "Hey! Guess who's on the phone? It's the King! The King is on the phone with me you wankers!" Man what a douchebag, LOL.
- Racing back to the pier to get on a speedboat so we could catch Ally's early morning flight back to Bangkok and get Kae a bandage for her bleeding foot, and cutting 100 people in line with my "You are thai, I am thai" eye-contact look with the boat-gatekeeper (hahaha, player-move!!!).
*Taking down another bucket on Koh Phangan
*We love the Full Moon Party!! And stripping too, apparently!
*Towards the end of the night, everyone was going flat-out
Recovery was surprisingly not as painful as I expected the next day, given that I planned a Monday evening return to Singapore rather than a Sunday evening, in anticipation of a massive, flight-barring hangover. Instead we chilled out with Troy, sent Kae back off to Bangkok, rolled around with Tam on his bad ass motorbike, and had a few cool drinks in town. On the way back to Troy's that night we filled up gas on his moped - using old 100 Pipers whisky bottles filled with gasoline. Bloody inventive sometimes, those resourceful Thai islanders.
*Troy with the backdrop of his new, serene home
*Kae and I paying our respects to the country that we both love...notice the significance of it being ABOVE the French flag...heheh
*On a jet ski shortly before being thrown off by a game of semi-chicken/let's splash each other with hairpin turns at the last second
Overall, I had a very refreshing holiday of beach and party. A very different feeling from the hecticness of Bangkok though, which I still love regardless. Sometimes you just need to get some true R&R in a peaceful setting.
Coming back to work after that was really tough, but I was lucky that only 4 short days of holiday felt truly longer and fulfilling. On the horizon fell another farewell - the charming and lovely Dawn was off for a year of study in the Big Apple. She'll definitely be missed by her friends in Singapore, but at least she blogs more than me and we'll probably be closer in touch than the distance of two oceans would suggest. Speaking of New York, I wonder how my buddy Vadim is doing over there. He just moved a few weeks ago to get his masters, and I haven't spoken to him since. In fact I haven't spoken much to a lot of my best friends from California in a while...really need to make it a point to make time for that soon. Skype, you are about to get an injection of credit.
*Saying bon voyage and see you soon to Dawn at Zouk's Mambo Night, before she flies off to New York City. My older bro Dar also showed up to Singapore for job interviews regionally. He felt like Mambo (the night where people have coordinated dance moves to each word in a song, at Zouk) was one of the coolest things he had seen in Singapore.
A lot of people have been leaving lately...before Dawn, Lyndy also left Singapore back to England. Jenny left Bangkok for Mexico then Spain. Timo took off to Phuket for work, and of course Troy also peaced out to Samui. Ally and Katie are considering grad school abroad in the next 12 months. Met a pleasant American dude in Bangkok and threw his farewell the same night as Dawn's. Emerald moved from BKK to Singapore, then back to BKK. Mo moved to Australia for a year. Hilary also skipped town to study. What is going on here!? I guess that's life, but it's a bit sad really. Going back to my point about nostalgia though, people will come and go - and I feel like it's best to just keep a piece of them with you but don't try to hold on too tight. If fate and desire mix and match well enough, you'll see them again soon enough, wherever that may be. In the meantime I'll raise my glass or look to the sky for the temporarily.
I still hope to return to Bangkok within 2 years though, and you have no idea how sad I will be if half my old friends have already picked up and moved on - it just won't be the same!
Well, next stop, MANILA! A rare opportunity came up to see my extended family there as my bro and mother were going at the same weekend, and I seized it. Some people may not know this, but I am half Filipino. Technically my Mom is also party Japanese-Chinese-Spanish in her ancestry, but her family is culturally very Filipino, even despite most of her brothers and sisters living abroad for the past 3 or 4 decades.
I hadn't been back "home" in over 6 years, but I immediately felt welcomed when I arrived back amongst familiar but slightly older faces, many of them surprised to see how I had changed in height and stature. I've been told Manila has struggled to advance and "change" over the past decade, and that may be true, but the Manila I knew in my mind had definitely changed. First of all, the walls around my Lola's (grandma's) mansion seemed twice as short as before. They were like hurdles now, why even have a wall!? That said, hanging around the people and driving through the city did seem a bit like dejavu...a revisit to one's childhood.
So what do I do the first night there? Go out clubbing with my bro and my friend from PI, Gerald AKA MigZ. We take off to Embassy, one of the top nightspots in the upscale area of Manila, and have a crazy time, just the fellas.
*Posing with my brother and total strangers outside one of the top clubs in Manila...okay we were a bit tipsy
We went to an after-party at Fiama club, and met some cool friendly folks despite being very drunk. Apparently a couple of em were local celebs. As is always the case in SEA for me, when I meet celebs I usually don't even know it, and most of the time they are pretty down to earth. The night ended late with some Filipino street food and post-binge Mcdonalds (wtf was I thinking?!)...I knew I shouldn't have drank half that liter bottle. Crappy luck I lost my Thai-looking gold pendant that my lil bro gave me...but I did find the chain. I was pissed off at the time, but I guess I just got to take it for what it was - a symbol of what Hong Kong and my lil brothers mean to me, which doesn't change at all whether I have the physical thing around my neck or not. It's always with me.
*With my brother, cousins, and Grandma in her Manila home
When I first saw my grandma, who is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease unfortunately, she didn't actually recognize me. That hurt a bit...but soon she was reminded and her memory showed through with a sweet smile. We have never been super close, but I will always respect what she has done for me, my Mom, and the whole family, through her hard work and persistence. Did I ever tell you guys she won the Philippines lottery in 1948, pregnant with my Mom, and with that million pesos built up a exponentially significant asset portfolio and became objectively, an enormous success? It's a pretty cool story, I still don't know all the details and I try to stay out of that business so I can find my own unique success in this lifetime, but man I gotta hand it to her. It also ensures I won't play the lottery much, because I've already won. Chances are I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that lucky ticket 60 years ago.
*A street cat got runover but barely survived and crouched on the sidewalk. The poor think was bleeding internally (thus sweating profusely), breathing slowly, and had it's right eye popping out. Super grotesque and disturbing.
One sad part about this visit was my eye-opener to all the extensive and extreme poverty that plagues my home country. It is much more behind than Bangkok, and the state that people lived in was just aweful in some places, as bad or worse than Saigon, and Vientiane. To get out of our gated community and onto the highway, we had to pass through the slums. There is a physically deformed guy who sweeps a couple street corners every day, and spends the rest of it crawled up in a cement corner next to a diseased dog. Apparently my grandma gives that guy 100 pesos (about 3 USD) every day that she drives by...for the last 23 years. This trip truly made me think about how lucky I am to be where I am and doing what I'm doing. Most people just NEVER get that chance...so I better not bitch about work, material things, being slightly sick, etc. These people in the Philippines need help, immediately. I hope the government can get their act together as a first step towards markedly improved progress and speed to national development. Seems like every hand moved to make a change, two more hands move behind the scenes to pocket some cash. No people of a nation deserve that.
*With my Filipino fellas, Reggie and Gerald (okay celeb names Lance and MigZ) at an Italian restaurant in the nice Makati area of the Greenbelt. Reg apparently thinks I could be an actor like him back there...we'll see.
*An old 1960s family photo, with my Mom up top, my grandparents in the middle, and the rest of my Aunt's and Uncles all around. Thought I'd just stick my own head in there for fun.
Wanted to touch upon some more identity-talk again here, like I mentioned near the beginning of this post. Having lived in Hong Kong, England, California, Thailand, and now Singapore, and grown up an essentially biracial Eurasian, one would think I'd be pretty mixed up. I'd say yep, that's true, but not in a bad way - rather, in a positive, complex, self-evolving way that had opened up my mind and eyes to so many perspectives. In my youth I sometimes was frustrating by how difficult it was to fit in, given my differences to monoracial kids and my pretty frequent international moves (doesn't it suck to be the new kid?). Now I look at those experiences as a blessing, and today I see my identity as solid and content, but growing and open for exploration. I feel connections and pride in England, and the Philippines. I also have this strong cultural bond and affinity to the USA, since I spent my formative years in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the same time, my time in Thailand was very influential and enriching, and I would even say that I know more about local Thai language, culture, and people than about those in the Philippines. Is that something I'd be inclined to change? Perhaps, mainly in that I want to learn much more about both!! I love Thailand, and I could see myself living there for years at some point. I also have love for the Philippines, and will never forsake her nor forget where I am from. It's all a bit conflicting and I don't have all the answers now - which is kind of cool because I've got time and motivation to learn. Maybe there is a dark horse culture/country which I'd like to adapt to one day - Japan? Any multiracial kid or kid who has lived in a separate country from their ethnic/national background (sometimes called 3rd culture kids - lots of international school kids will be like this) can feel me here. I feel for us, this life experience/point of view is a unique privilege that if used correctly, shouldn't the very least open our minds and make us more tolerant of others.
I do miss the US sometimes but a lot of people just don't fully understand where I'm coming from in regards to my identity formation. It's not bad they don't, but I can't really feel comfortable discussing this with them when they just won't get it, or aren't sure what kind of feedback to give. But hey, sometimes I just want to be me, a person, without any thought about background/stereotyping/race. Unfortunately other people, subtle or overt, don't let us exist like that for very long, no matter how hard we try.
I guess I'm just an international citizen that chuckles inside when people ask me "Where are you from?" or "What are you?" For now I'd like to live and grow in Asia, and I want to do it with some local flavour and assimilation...at the same time, I'm keeping my roots, but just letting them dig deeper and branch out. The future may hold any number of things for me - I should be excited, right?
*Saying bye to Dar and Mom at the airport, with the backdrop of the Philippine flag behind us.
I'll definitely make another trip back to Manila in the next 6 months, perhaps in mid December for my grandma's birthday. I feel like I've got a lot more exploring to do and people to meet in that country where almost half of my ancestors called home.
A view of Makati, one of the nicest downtown districts of Manila, from our car. Palm trees...is this California?
Coming back to Singapore (AGAIN), I feel pretty re-energized and focused for work. My boss is out of town for a couple weeks so I've got to step it up further to keep things going smoothly. He really needed this break too.
By the way I'm officially apartment hunting. I've got 3 more months in my current pad, but I think in Singapore it's best to be on the lookout early for good deals. If you guys know of any good Studio, 1BR, or 2BR places on the cheap, near an MRT and within 5 stops of Raffles Place or Clarke Quay, hook it up!!!
You know, I've always been a bit of a nostalgic dude...reflecting a lot about people I've known, experiences I've had, places I've been...memories that have made me happy that I know I won't have again in quite the same way. Every week I miss Bangkok. Every month I miss California. Every so often I miss Hong Kong and England. At the end of the day, I can conclude that these feelings aren't telling of how I don't like Singapore, but more about how lucky I am to have had such great overall times and met such awesome people over my short years on this Earth. There are good times and bad times, problems and triumphs, in everyone's life, no matter where they are. I think I probably should focus more on the present, but hey there is nothing wrong with sitting back, and recognizing what's been given to you and what you've given back. As long as I live I'll be proud of missing times, things, and people...just means my journey til death has and will be a good one :)
This weekend I return to Bangkok again. Go figure, what else is new? Adam has a 20th birthday to celebrate and ONE chance to make it to this fabulous city before returning to England in a month. I'm going to make it a memorable first trip for him, bwahahaha.
Take care and keep in touch everyone. Nothin' but love for ya.
- Khun Charlie
