Hong Kong 3/19-3/22

After last weekend’s heavy partying in Bangkok, it was nice to take a couple days to prepare for Hong Kong.  I spent Monday thru Wednesday in Asia Cement’s corporate office, and despite not knowing much about the business, I found it very informative and interesting.  Once again, everyone was very accommodating and set aside a lot of their own time to show me the details of their business.  What was also very interesting is that less than half of the people I met with were Thai, and I found myself sitting in a staff meeting that consisted of 2 Italians, I Bulgarian, I Greek, 3 locals and myself….I guess Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat” actually has a lot of truth to it!.....and I can’t thank everyone at Asia Cement enough for the great experience they provided me.

Although we were in “recharging” mode last week, we met up with Andrew and some of his friends to get in touch with our Irish roots for St. Patty’s day at a local pub called the Dubliner.  The bar was packed with young expats, a band was jamming some 80’s and 90’s tunes, and everyone had on green.  The only thing I was mad about was they didn’t have green beer, but we still had a great time and also made a few new friends.  We are also beginning to realize how crucial pubs are when traveling…..a great time can always be had at a pub, and they are also lifesavers with what I’ll call “normal foods” when you just can’t take the local cuisine anymore.

After work on Wednesday, Trey and I decided to go catch a movie at the IMAX theater, which is located in one of the nicest shopping malls I have ever been in called Siam Center.  The place is packed with all the shops you would expect to see in a mall, is 5 stories tall, has a nice grocery store attached to it, and even has a gym called “California Wow”.  We showed up early to buy the tickets, so we had some time to kill and decided to check out the food court.  Again, very nice, lots of familiar places like McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks, Duncan Donuts, etc….but we decided to try the Thai section of the food court.  After a few minutes of browsing, I decided to get some sort of soup…..not really sure why I went with this option, but I did, and after one bite, I realized I had made an awful choice.  Once again, the majority of the soup consisted of unidentifiable pieces of meat, and it just tasted like hell.  Thankfully, I was not concerned with offending anyone if I didn’t continue to eat the soup, so I put it down and settled on a few sushi rolls.  I am beginning to lose my “adventurous” spirit towards foods….but, I still have not pulled the McDonalds card yet.  This is something that I am proud of, but am not confident that it will last much longer.  The movie itself was good….we decided to see Watchmen, and we both thought it was definitely worth seeing.  The highlight though had to be before the movie started and after the previews ended when everyone in the audience stood for the King’s Anthem.  It is about a 3 minute song, with many favorable images of Thailand, the Royal Family, and King Rama IX himself are displayed on the screen.  I have to say, I found the anthem to be very emotionally charging and persuading towards the King.  It shows the countries unwavering support of the King, but it can also be argued that all of this is just propaganda…..either way, interesting to see.

On Thursday, we took the 2 and a half hour flight to Hong Kong.  Both Trey and I are beginning to notice that most of the non-US airlines do a much better job of taking care of their passengers, because we were both pretty excited when we learned we were getting an in-flight meal and free alcohol….its the little things I guess.  Anyways, we got into Hong Kong around 7 pm, jumped on the train to the city, and were in our hotel room in Wan Chai by 8.  We learned that Hong Kong’s airport was voted #1 in the world for the second straight year, and couldn’t argue with that considering how easy it was to get from the airport to the center of Hong Kong.  That night, we checked out a couple of bars in the area, but decided to turn in early so we could have a full day on Friday.

Friday started off with a trip to the central station where we grabbed some breakfast and then elected to take the 45 minute bus ride to the other side of the island (Hong Kong is on an island) to see Stanley’s Market.  By the time we made it to the market, the sun had burned through the clouds and the weather resembled a sunny San Diego day.  We wondered through the market, found a few t-shirts, but unlike the markets we have been to in Thailand, this one did not offer the same level of “wow” factor that we were getting use too (no dogs, monkeys, etc).  For the most part, it was upscale, factory reject items at a reasonable price.   Since it was such a nice day, and we had been told that in the event of a nice clear day in Hong Kong (apparently not all the common), you must go to the top of Victoria Peak (highest point on the island) to get a view of the city.  So, we took the tram up to the top, and were blown away by the views….it really put into perspective of how many huge buildings are in Hong Kong.  After taking in the views from the peak, we headed back to the hotel, put on our Sunday’s best and headed down to Lan Kai Fong, the bar district of Hong Kong.  When we walked up to th

e first bar (yet another pub), the scene consisted of mostly white men in the work attire.  We grabbed dinner and noticed that as the crowd got bigger, the makeup of the people really did

n’t change much, except a few older business men were rotated out for younger Brits and Aussies.  

We began bouncing around from bar to bar, with all the bars located on one big block (similar to 6ht street in Austin), and as the crowds got bigger, people just began to pour into the street with their drinks.  Trey and I both agreed that this was bad ass, and so followed the crowds into the street.  By the end of the night, the street was just as packed as the most crowded bar, beer was beginning to run down the streets like rain water, and there wasn’t a sober person to be found…..I decided the place wasn’t too bad.

Saturday didn’t start off quite as early as Friday, but we did make a huge find right after leaving our hotel room and in desperate search of a good breakfast when we found a place called the Flying Pan.  They offer a huge list of breakfast dishes neither of us had eaten for weeks…and in our condition, it definitely started the day off right.  After breakfast, we decided to wonder around the central area of the city and also ride a set of escalators that take you from the city center to a residential condo area half way up the side of a mountain.  Hong Kong is very impressive in the sense that it is built on the base of a mountain, has hundreds of enormous buildings, and is also a very clean and efficient city.  It has many similarities to New York City, but is much cleaner and is not as spread out due to the topography of the area.  It also has a very strong international feel to it, and would definitely be a good city to start in if you wanted to “ease” your way into Asia.

Saturday night, we threw on some slacks and headed over to the Peninsula Hotel in the Kowloon area, which we were told is home to one of the coolest bathrooms ever…they also serve $12 Heinekens, so we had 2 and then took pictures of the facilities.  I must say they were quite impressive, with a very modern architecture feel and it also provides a full view of the entire city while you use the urinal (I’ve got action shots, but I’ll refrain from posting them here).  After the Peninsula, we raced to catch the ferry to Macau (the Vegas of Asia), and got to the ticket line just in time….Scott:”One ticket to Macau please”…Agent:”alright, that will be $160 HKD and I need to see your passport”….Scott:”SH*T!!”.  We had basically run a couple blocks, were sweating to the point that our shirts were wet, and then we realized we didn’t have our passports.  So, we jumped into a cab, went back to the hotel to get our passports, and made it back to the ferry terminal in time to catch the 8:45 ferry.

After the hour long ferry ride, we made it to Macau and took the bus over to the MGM.  We had made plans to meet up with our buddy Ton from Bangkok, but hadn’t heard from him yet, so we sat down at a blackjack table and each started off with $1000 HKD ($130 US).  20 minutes later, Ton gave us a call, I was up to $4000 and Trey was up to $2000.  Perfect.  We 

both walked away from the table way ahead (something I don’t always do), and met up with Ton.  We walked to several other casinos, watched Ton’s buddy play in a poker tournament, grabbed a late night dinner, played one more quick round of blackjack at the Wynn (I lost $1000, Trey won $200), and before we knew it, it was already 3 am.  Deciding that it was best we walk away from the town altogether with more money than we started with, we headed back to the ferry terminal and caught the 4 am back to Hong Kong.  My overall experience in Macau was definitely a 

go

od one (I more than doubled my money), but the city does not have the same energy that you would expect from a big gambling mecca….most of the casinos are packed with serious gamblers, and not the hoards bachelor party groups we have all become accustomed to in Vegas.

I highly recommend Hong Kong to any traveler…..very easy to get around, incredible views and very foreigner friendly.  I would say it is a must see, but realize it is not exactly around the corner from the states.  You should make the trip if you can. Anyways, We made it safely back to Bangkok on Sunday, and plan to see a few more sites in the city before we head down to the southern part of Thailand this coming Thursday.  Our plans are to fly into Phuket on Thursday, stay there for at least 2 nights, and then hopefully wonder to some more remote parts of the region.  This trip will contrast our “big city” trip in Hong Kong nicely, and we will be down there for 8 nights…..should be an adventure.

Cheers,

sbt

Bangkok 3/12-3/15

After spending Thursday morning taking one last walk around the plant and saying my goodbyes to everyone, I headed back to Bangkok.  My one request from my Aunt and Trey was that we have dinner at a spot not quite so authentic as the other places I had been at up in Lop Buri, so we decided that it was already time to make our second round visit to Coyote for some much needed Mexican food.  The dinner was great, and we even had a little surprise appear outside the restaurant when Trey noticed a baby elephant walking in front of the restaurant.  There is a saying that many of the foreigners use around here….”This is Thailand”.  In short, you will see many odd things happen around here, and the only explanation many can come up is “This is Thailand”….so, that is why we have now seen 4 elephants in some of the most urban areas of Bangkok.

Friday gave me some time to catch up on a few things because everyone else (Bert, Merrie and Trey) were all out of the house working.  I also spent a few hours walking around the city to do some shopping, and also made it to Lumphini Park again and got some excellent footage of a monitor lizard (see facebook)…..I am beginning to see them a lot.

Over the course of the week that I was out of town, Trey became acquainted with couple of guys who work under Bert named Andrew and Ton.  Both have spent the majority of their lives in the US, but also have Thai roots and are currently living abroad.  So, Friday’s plans were to meet up with Andrew, Ton and a group of their friends at the local pub for happy hour.  Following our pub stop, we were going to go use some of Andrews gift passes at Pence, and then when Pence closes (2 am), go check out a local hole-in-the-wall bar called Wongs……all was thinking was I better pace myself.  We also were going to meet up with a friend that we haven’t seen since college, May Chen, who was flying in from Taipei for the weekend, but wasn’t scheduled to land until 1:30 am. 

Things started off great when we met several of Andrew and Ton’s friends…all of which were from the US.  Did the usual “where are you from….oh really, I know so and so from there” and it turned out we had a few friends in common.  Small world….Our next stop was Pence, which is more like a club in that you have your own waitress, as well as hosts who basically make you buy drinks.  It was a lot of fun, and I could tell the drinks were really getting to Trey….guy was a dancin fool.

After Pence was winding down, then it was time to check out Wongs.  When we walked up to it, I didn’t even realize we were about to go into a bar because there are no signs.....

jus

t 

a door.  We 

walk in and there seems to be a decent crowd considering it is 2 am (and also because the bar is only about 15’ X 30’).  Wong himself is the bartender, but he only serves you shots and mixed drinks.  If you want a beer, you just help yourself to the beer fridge and use the honor system to pay.  We headed to the Marriott to meet up with May and immediately head back to Wongs.  Oh yeah, the other policy Wong has is he stays open until the last customer leaves….apparently the record right now is 5 pm the following day….I learn about this and then claim this is the best bar in Bangkok.  We ended up staying at Wongs until about 4, which gave me just enough time to have a few more drinks, and also lose about 1000 baht ($28 US) to Wong in a series of arm wrestling matches.  Don’t let his small stature deceive you…..the guy is strong and well disciplined in his technique.

We headed out the next morning (a little later than expected) to go do a Klong tour and visit a floating market.  Bangkok was once called the “Venice of Asia” because of the many klongs (canals, rivers) that are interwoven throughout the city.  It was an unseasonably cool day, so the tour was very nice.  Saw many historic Temples and sites of the city from the water, and also walked around the “floating market” (not quite sure why it is called that, because not one part of it was on the water).  It was similar to most of the markets we had been too (clothes, food, etc)….May talked me into trying something that looked like a little chip with some unknown white substance on top….not nearly as bad as that meal I had last week, but you aren’t missing anything if you never try one.

By the end of the tour, it was already early afternoon and we all really wanted to catch a Muay Thai fight, so we went down to Lumphini stadium and bought tickets for a 3 hour block of fights.  I guess Saturday’s are not there busiest day, so the only tickets they will sell you are they pricey front row seats (about $50 US).  We ended up seeing about 8 matches, including one knock out.  I am not much of a big boxing fan, but found the sport to be very exciting with their level of technique.  The action in the ring seemed to escalate as the fights went on, either because the level of experience increased or because I filled up on Singha Beer between each fight….not sure.  You could also go under the stadium and attempt to talk with the fighters before they entered the ring…so I got someone to catch a quick action shot of my pre-fight pump up speech for one of the fighters.

We all seemed to hit a wall not too long after the fights, as it had been a long night and day.  I did insist on going back to Wongs again, which we did for a little while….but called it a night much earlier than the previous.

The weekend was awesome, it was good to get acquainted with a few peers, and also it was great to catch up with May again.  I am a little tired from the weekend, so I look forward to taking a few days to continue working with Asia Cement and rest up…..Because next on our agenda is we are headed to Hong Kong this Thursday for the weekend!

Peace,

sbt

Lop Buri - Days 2, 3 and 4 (3/10-3/12)

Monday night’s dinner really started things off with a bang, but things have simmered down considerably since.  Before I go into all the details, I want to start off by saying how awesome the plant employees have been.  Despite the fact that we have a very tough time understanding each other, they still continue to make this experience a rewarding one.  I have especially enjoyed going around with the Quarry Manager Tiitunmick (total guess on spelling).  He was one of the managers that went to the big dinner on Monday, and has now taken me around twice to show how his operation runs.  It is neat to see how much passion he has for his job as a mining engineer….he takes great pride in running a safe practice and being environmentally conscious.  He also likes to joke around a lot, so when we do understand each other, we usually have a pretty good laugh.  I could go on and on about how nice these people are….I can’t thank them enough.

Now, onto the other aspects of the week……the first two lunches (Monday and Tuesday) were at an outdoor place that I would guess to be the nicest spot within 30 minutes of the plant (lunch was still only 500 baut, or $15, for three people).  The managers made sure none of us foreigners (myself and the insurance consultants) had ice in our drinks (water issues here), and ordered fairly conservatively (none of us could order because the whole menu is in Thai).  Overall, not bad….I mainly stuck to the chicken and white rice, but also had some of the deep fried fish (whole fish with eyes and all). 

Wednesday’s lunch was a whole new experience all together.   I had been told by everyone at the plant that I needed to bring my own lunch from the hotel because their cafeteria probably wouldn’t serve things I could handle.  So, I just brought the 3 cans of Pringles, granola bars and dried fruit that I had bought back in Bangkok as a reserve (I have been eating these snacks now for two days, because despite the fact that the hotel does have a restaurant, I am beginning to lose faith in its quality…..I haven’t had a real meal since Monday).  I assumed I would just eat my snacks for lunch, but then the environmental quality manager said I should join him for lunch at a local Chinese place with a “Thai” flare.  I agreed, so we jumped in the company bus and made the 15 minute drive to the restaurant.  Once again, an outdoor restaurant…but this time it didn’t look so nice.  The first thing I noticed was that about 5 soi dogs (street dogs…imagine a diseased ridden, rabid looking dog) were scattered throughout the restaurant (Thailand seems to have a huge problem with their dog population).  My attention was drawn from the dogs when I noticed that our waitress was a ladyboy (transvestite)….and then there were the flies.  This place rivals a dairy farm in terms of their fly population.  Oh, I also saw a rat scurry across the floor in the back, and the sugar at the table had a small ant farm in it.   Anyways, I instantly lost my appetite (and all I had eaten that day was a granola bar).  I did not want to seem rude, so I still let the guys order for me (menus were in Thai), and he said he ordered some type of soup…..so Im like “great, another bowl of mystery meat soup”.  It came out, and sure enough, I had no idea what was in it.  If I were to guess, it looked like pork, chicken, and some sort of fish or squid….but not really sure.  I tried a bite of the meat and almost lost it right then.  I then asked for a Pepsi because I could tell I was going to need a chaser if I was going to get through this meal.  I did not touch anymore of the meat, and just stuck to the noodles that tasted like lawn grass, and chased each bite with some Pepsi.  What was so funny was the engineer across from me seemed to be in heaven with the exact same dish.  Anyways, as soon as he was finished slurping down the last of his soup, I said I was done as well….using the “I had a large breakfast” as the excuse for my small appetite.  The check came, and the two engineers insisted on paying the tab of 110 Baut ($3 US)….I still think we over paid, but it didn’t cost me anything, so whatever.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t get sick, but that still remains to be seen.  My only regret of the experience was that I didn’t get pictures of the whole ordeal…I guess I was too overwhelmed by the ambiance to remember.  It was a truly awful meal, possibly the most disgusting lunch I have ever had.  Enough said though….I start to get nauseated just thinking about it.

I want to thank my Aunt Merrie for insisting that I bring some snacks with me in case things got a little dicey in the food department….because THEY DID.  If it weren’t for the Pringles, Natural Valley Granola Bars, dried fruit snacks and Singha Beer, I am really not sure I would have made it through these past couple of days.

Tuesday night was low key….I spent most of the evening hanging out in my hotel room, watching TV, etc.  I did end up walking to the 711 to buy some water and a couple Singhas, and on the way back, a couple of soi dogs starting running towards me and barking…..so I very gingerly made my way across the street and back to the hotel.  Not a huge scare, but I really can’t say enough about how bad some of these dogs look.  If you are an animal lover, you would probably be very disturbed by the condition most of these dogs are in.  With the exception of these two that chased me, most seem very tame and not aggressive…..I also went to the hotel restaurant and took in the crowd of people singing Karaoke. 

Wednesday night was on pace to be about the same as Tuesday night….most of the evening I was lounging in my hotel room, eating a few Pringles and watching Thai TV shows.  I decided I wanted to give the restaurant another chance, so I went down there with the idea that I might order dinner, but for some reason, the smell of the restaurant seemed to instantly kill my appetite (might have been the lingering affects of that lunch).  So,  I ordered a Singha and took in the Karaoke crowd once again.  I have to say, after 3 nights of seeing these people sing Karaoke, I just don’t get it…..not only the words, but the music itself seems like a broken record….they seemed to be singing the same song over and over and over again….still very entertaining to watch.  I noticed another guy sitting by himself, and he appeared to be an American, so I went over to introduce myself and hoped I could strike up some sort 

conversation.  He introduced himself as Carter from Chicago, is 44, works for the US military and it turns out he lives in Bangkok and is married to a Thai girl.  We had a great conversation (I was just excited to talk with someone that could understand me clearly).  After a couple beers, Carter proposed that we go into town and check out a bar.  He also said he speaks a little Thai, so I was comfortable with the plan.  We asked our waitress where to go and to also get us a taxi.  About 5 minutes later, a guy pulled up in a truck and indicated he was the taxi.  If I were to guess, he was probably just a friend of the waitress and just wanted to make some extra money.  He took us through the town of Lop Buri, and dropped us off at some bar the seemed to be a very popular local hang out.  We went in side, and the bar was packed….but we were the only two white guys there.  Everyone one was dancing to the music of some Thai Rock band, which actually sounded decent (at least compared to the Karaoke I had heard the past 3 days).  We had a beer and tried conversing with a couple of different people, but had little success.  After one beer, we decided to head back to the hotel, and on the way, we tried to talk our driver into showing us the monkeys of the town (apparently, the main park in Lop Buri is home to hundreds of Monkeys, which helps explain why my hotel had a monkey theme).  He said they were all sleeping in the trees….damn, could have gotten some pretty good footage.  We made it back to the hotel safely and called it a night.

I am going to head back to Bangkok on Thursday, and can’t wait to have a familiar meal.  Also, this weekend should be fun because a friend of ours from Texas, May Chen, is going to fly in from Taipei to tour the city with us.  I also understand that Trey has made a few friends in the Deloitte office, and said we would probably be meeting up with them as well…..so, should be a good time. 

sbt 

Lop Buri - Night #1 (3/9)

It has been an eventful day.  After the 2 hour drive up to the plant site, I spent most of the day riding around with a few different managers at the plant to see where they mine all of the raw material to create cement.  I even got to watch them blast a whole section of limestone, which totaled about 40,000 tons of rock.  My suspicions of having communication issues have been realized when I first met with the plant manager, Sawang.  He is in charge of all the operations and probably speaks the best English of anyone at the Plant…..I would characterize his English as lacking.  His vocabulary is not bad, but it is very hard to understand what words he is saying….neverthless, he is a very nice 

and has been extremely accommodating.  The other managers are also very nice and interested in teaching me the processes of the plant, but again, the language barrier really makes it tough.  I usually nod my head and then replay what was just said in my head in order to make some sense of it.  I think I understand about 1/2 of what has been said to me at this point.  I will be staying at a local town “resort” (Lop Buri Inn Resort)…apparently the swankiest place in the area.  It is actually not an awful place, but I would rate it on the same level as a cheap Motel 6 in terms of quality.  This place does have some interesting highlights, including a bunch of Monkey Statues that are about 15 ft tall, a swimming pool that smells like a sewer, and a restaurant that offers a menu in English.

As for the town of Lop Buri itself, I don’t think it is a place for a furang (Thai slang for foreigner) like myself to go wondering around.  It is not huge, but I would guess maybe 25,000 people live here, and I have yet to see anyone but locals walking around the streets.  I have a feeling that getting lost in a town like this could mean real trouble.....so I put the odds of me walking around at almost zero.  I may muster up the courage to walk to the 711, but that is only a 100 yards down the road and I'm not sure if that will happen.  

After walking around the hotel and admiring the attention to detail the creators of these monkey sculptures used, I was just planning on spending the rest of the evening writing and reading when I received a phone call from one the managers I had been with that day.  He said we would be going to dinner, so I met him and a couple other foreign plant visitors in the lobby.  We ended up going to a pretty nice place, which of course served Thai cuisine and had a bunch of people singing Karaoke.  I have decided that I really do like Thai food because they love to make things spicy….so I ate everything that was in front of me, and about half the time I had no clue what it was (you have to be a little adventurous here if you want to get anything to eat).  Our table consisted of a couple of managers from the plant (all of them Thai), an insurance consultant (from India but lives in Singapore), another insurance consultant (French), and a guy named Mosimo who works for Asia Cement’s parent company in Milan (Italian).  The dinner was excellent, the conversations were great (and hilarious at times when you figured out what the other person was actually saying), and my waiter would not stop filling up my beer glass.  I could barely get 1/2 way through a beer before he had it filled up again.  Luckily, I have not idea how to say “stop filling my beer up” in Thai, so the evening got a little hazy by the end of the night....definitely a great night.

 My initial plan was to stay up here all week, but I suspect I will head back sooner.  I really don’t want to inconvenience these guys, and they pretty much have to stop working in order to show me around and attempt to give explanations to any questions I have.  I also don’t know if I feel like “roughing” it up here for the whole week as it gets a little old not really being able to communicate with anyone….and I am starting to get a little tired of eating rice and mystery meat soup.  The unknowns of this week have been exciting and interesting (and more to come for sure), but I think a couple of days up will be more than sufficient in gaining a unique experience.  

Korp kun Korp,

sbt

Dallas to Bangkok

Sawatdee Korp,

 After almost a week in Bangkok, this is just about the only thing I know how to say in Thai (standard hello/welcome greeting).  It doesn't take long to figure out that Thai is a very complicated language, both phonetically and in print....so I am not going to waste much time trying to become fluent because I only have 6 weeks here, and I imagine I would need something in the order of 6 years to become proficient.

I guess before I go into the details of my trip thus far, I should start by explaining why I am even here to begin with.  As some of you who are reading this know, I was accepted into the University of North Carolina full time MBA program.  I will be moving out to Chapel Hill in late June, so I figured it was a perfect opportunity to take a little time off and see a new part of the world before I dive head first back into College.  Southeast Asia seemed like a great place to explore….and so, here I am, on the other side of the world, hoping to gain a few lasting memories, make a few friends and find out a little bit more about myself all at once.  My plan is to update this blog at least once a week, and hopefully internet connections will allow more….but we will see, and I hope you enjoy the blog!

My journey to Bangkok began in Dallas on March 1st when my flight left DFW at 4:30 pm....and a quick 10 hours later, I found myself on a five hour layover in Frankfurt Germany.  Now, I'm sure you are wondering why I flew east instead of west in route to Bangkok....turns out Thailand is basically the farthest place on Earth from Dallas, so it really doesn't matter which way you go because it's a long ways either way.   After a few Weissbeirs and a bratwurst, I prepped for my next flight bound to Bangkok.  A few things jumped out at me while I was waiting to board the plane…..first, I was once again reminded that the Germans and I don’t see eye to eye when it comes to fashion; and second, all but 15 or 20 people on my flight (out of a couple hundred) were Caucasian.  This really surprised me, but I guess it makes sense due to Thailand’s internationally driven economy.  After an additional 11 plus hours I was given to digest all of this, I was in Bangkok.  By the time I stepped off the plane, almost 25 hours had passed from the moment I boarded my flight in Dallas.  I had also traveled through several time zones, which helped explain why I was passing through customs on the morning of March 3^rd (2 days after my departure). 

Feeling a little beaten down after the journey, I was very excited to be greeted at the airport by my Aunt Merrie.  Merrie and my Uncle Bert have lived in Bangkok for two and a half years when Deloitte gave Bert a great promotion if he would relocate to Bangkok.  His job keeps him very busy, so Merrie has become very involved in many non-profit activities to raise money for local charitable foundations.  They have a wonderful apartment in the central business district which allows Bert to walk home from the office every night, a full time maid that irons everything (including your underwear) and they have two great dogs Max and Sam…..anyways, it was great to see a familiar face after a long trip.  We 

jumped in the car, which is driven by their personal driver Surop.  I thought I was good with directions and navigation, but Surop puts me to shame…..Bangkok is about the most confusing place I have been in terms of its layout and size, and Surop has the place down.  I think I could get use to having him drive me around……..so we went back to their place and I got unpacked and showered.  Merrie is an expert in switching time zones, so she informed me that even though I had only slept about 7 hours over the past 48, I would have to gut through the entire day (it was only 7 am when she picked me up) and not go to bed until 9 to make the adjustment easier.  I knew we had a few things to do, including picking up my fellow travel partner, the one and only Bob Baublits III (Trey).  After Trey arrived on schedule, the rest of the day was spent shopping for groceries, getting settled, and trying to stay awake until 9.  I ended up making it to 9, but I really don’t remember much about the day other than feeling like a loony toon from lack of sleep.  My initial observations of Bangkok were big place, densely populated, a few foreign smells, a surprising amount of billboards/signs/etc written in English, and horrible traffic.

The next couple of days were spent with Merrie acting as our tour guide.  We went for a run in Lumphini Park, the main city park that is full of locals exercising, doing yoga, etc.  It really is a pretty park and reminded me a little bit of Central Park in that it has lots of trails, ponds, trees and tons of activity.  A subtle difference would be you would NOT want to go swimming in these ponds because they are home to a bunch of Monitor Lizards….quite possibly the most disgusting animal ever created.  I have some great footage of one swimming up to me.

We also have gone to a few different shopping districts, which mainly consist of lots of people, knock off designer clothing at a major discount, pirated DVDs and CDs, etc.  They are quite entertaining to just walk around and see the large variety of things to buy, but once your shirt becomes completely drenched with sweat, it is usually time to go find some AC.  The highlight thus far in terms of general tourist stops would have to be the Grand Palace.  It is 

the site of many temples and buildings within which the Royal Family conducts many affairs.  The architecture and attention to detail the creators of the Palace used really makes places like The Sisteen Chapel seem unimpressive.  One fact that really blew me away was everything that seemed to be gold was in fact covered in real gold, which included an entire building.  If you are ever in the neighborhood, The Palace is a must see.

A big concern of mine regarding being in Asia for 6 weeks was I would not have any access to Mexican food and 

might 

go crazy before I make it back to the States.  Well, my worries have been placated because my Aunt informed me on my first day here that a place called Coyote has pretty decent Mexican food.  It took us all of 48 hours before we decided to check it out…the food was pretty good, the 

décor reminded me of a cheesie Scottsdale tourist restaurant, and all the waitresses were in blue jeans and cowboy hats.  Very entertaining and very comforting to know I will be able to get my Mexican food fix when I need it.

My Uncle was kind enough to help both Trey and I find mini “internship” opportunities to help compleme

nt our travels and give us some international work experience.  Trey will be working on a project with The Deloitte Consulting Group, and I will be working with a company called Asia Cement.  Their main plant is located about 2 hours outside of Bangkok and near a town called Saraburi.  So, I will spend this coming week at the Plant to learn about th

e wh

ole process.  It should be very interesting, and I am just as curious about how everything else will go in terms of what I will eat, will anyone speak English up there, etc.  I am not worried, but I suspect I have an adventure ahead of me…..so stay tuned! 

sbt