Bangkok- sweat, steam, and me (and ladyboys)

Bangkok really is the steamy king of SE Asia. We're staying at this beat up, old hotel called the Muangphol Mansion (it's not too bad actually, safe enough) right next to the biggest, baddest shopping/food experience in the city... MBK. Chalked full of tourists, hormone filled Thai teeny-boppers, and well... me (somewhere in between). I've never had a shortage of food since I've been here, and most meals are under $5 USD.

The past couple of days we've accomplished:

1. Most of the random temples (ohhing and ahhing as most of them look the same, although one or two were impressive)
2. Several of the biggest market areas in Bangkok. The experience consisted of me trying to haggle over 20 bhat (about 70 cents need I remind you) for a t-shirt I wasn't really in love with in the first place... but it's the principle of the matter! Regardless of how much over cost I paid, as long as I get that 20 bhat, I've won. David-1, Thailand-0
3. With that being said we've pretty much been fleeced everywhere we've gone. Doesn't matter how nice you or they are, round eyes pay 4 times Thai prices. Just the way it works.
4. We did see a real live Muay Thai fight last night. Really an amazing experience. 9 bouts of knee rocking, elbow crushing fun. I wanted to jump in the ring and show off my 3 months of classes... but the 105 lb fighters kind of scared me (they're scrappy!).

We haven't quite finished up Bangkok just yet, so there might be more to come in the next day or two. I've traded one Felicia for a Dan with a side of Arian, so now I have 2 traveling compadres for the next couple of weeks. We'll probably end up at an amazing national park in the next day or two, then off to Chiang Mai. I hear CM is really one of the gems of Thailand... should be an amazing experience.

Side note: apparently I've been using my 'hello' and 'thank you' Thai phrases in the wrong gender. Nothing like knowing you're being giggle at every time you open your mouth.

Side note 2: I don't think I'll shave for a while...see what happens

Why not?

As we walked into quite possibly the most American bar we could possibly find on Patong beach (only because they advertised the best: self proclaimed "Rock your ass off"), we were greeted by apparently what epitomises America the best. No, not our contributions to the arts or sciences... not our diverse cultures, dialects, and foods... not even a 4th of July celebration. Nope, apparently what says "I *heart* America" the best is Jackass (the Movie). I can't tell you how proud I became when I saw a fat sumo chasing a midget sumo down some random street in Asia. God bless America.

We landed in Bangkok last Saturday afternoon, and quickly jumped a flight down to Phuket. The first night we spent at the "On On Hotel" in Phuket Town was... umm... interesting. Apparently parts of the movie 'The Beach' were filmed there. While I haven't seen the flick myself, I can say with utmost confidence that none of the good parts of that film were shot there, but hey, what more can you ask for for 300 bhat/night (roughly $9 usd). We quickly booked it to Patong the next day and were greeted by more farangs (tourists) than you could shake a stick at. The motto around these parts thus far has either been "Why not?" (hence the post title) or "same same". Can we find pad see ew at midnight tonight? "Why not!?!" Do you think renting a motorbike is safe? "Why not?" Are tranny shows as fun as everyone says? "Why not?" The "same same" applies to negotiating street markets. Everyones' stuff is apparently just as good or better than their neighbor's, but the one you're currently talking to will obviously give you a much better discount. Oh! I don't know what it is, but everyone around here has been offering me discounts! ("..for you, I give discount. How much you can pay?") Guess I'm just lucky. (shucks) We did find a really nice place 5 min from the beach here in Patong for 650 bhat/night. (seriously, clean and safe... you do the math)

After driving around the island riding elephants and watching monkey shows (the former for Felicia, the latter for myself), we decided to head to the grand-daddy of beautiful islands. Even though it may be small, Phi Phi Island (pronounced "pee pee", kinda cute) is seriously one of the most beautiful places I've seen. We took in the beach area yesterday, and hired our own long-tail boat today to drive us around. We taxied around to some great sites, and dove in some of the clearest blue/green waters ever. (also the warmest natural open water I've ever been in) Attention divers: this is a must see.

Granted everything here is tourist oriented, but even so, all the Thais have been honestly very friendly. They're easy going and very respectful. I'm even getting their bow/sawadee thing down (hello in Thai). Well... maybe I'm not, but it's good of them to humor me. All the women in the bars are really friendly as well. They keep saying "hiiiii" and inviting me in for a drink. (I think they can spot an award winning personality when they see one) I'm sure they want to talk world events or something along those lines. If I wasn't already with a friend, I might have to take them up on it.

Note: Thai massages are very... umm... personal. Not even the shady kind. I'm just talking about your everyday, run of the mill, bring home the bacon massages. With that being said, I think I'm developing a 300 bhat/day massage habit.

Note 2: Durian IS as bad as people say, although the taste still beats the smell. The random durian/garbage/sewer smells kind of balance out the nice Thai food smells. Such is life...

Off to Bangkok tomorrow, then Chiang Mai.

Choc-tee!

G'bye dingos, koalas, and kangaroos

So I'm wrapping up my last week in Sydney today. This time tomorrow I'll be mid flight from Sydney to Bangkok. Let's see what else happened this week...

It's been a bit rainy, so that's put a damper on things. I did see the Tarongo Zoo. (took pictures with the kangaroos, koalas, etc.) I also saw the aquarium at Darling Harbor. My aquarium experience was as such: "turtles, check. (5 min.) Platypus, check. (10 min., not sure what God/nature was thinking when they created those things) Crocs, check. (10 min.) Where are the effin sharks?!?" We all know why anyone would go to an aquarium in Australia... sharks. Oh sure, people will stop at the birds, fish, whatever, whatever... but in the end, all roads lead to sharks. For some reason I was expecting great whites to serve cocktails at the end (at least a song and a dance), but then I remembered you can't have great whites in captivity... or they die. (sensitive things for the "nature's perfect killer") Nursing sharks, sting rays, and the rest were a reasonable consolation. Oh, and one note on the zoo: I DON'T think koalas are as cute as everyone makes them out to be. I was more interested in the full sized brown bear eating oranges. Koalas don't do anything! (for the most part, when I was there they were eating bamboo... WOW)

I've also discovered that Thai is the official food of Sydney. I'm not sure what I expected authentic Australian cuisine to be like (kangaroo anyone?), but they seem to have adopted Thai and most any other Asian food as their own. I can't complain. I love the stuff.

My friend Felicia also finished up her triathlon last Sunday morning. (did pretty well at that) Since then she's held off on working out in lieu of... well... cocktails. I approve.

Sydney's been a great city... like I've said, a very livable city. But honestly, I can't wait to get to Thailand. Not only are Australian prices killing my budget (David's budget=don't spend too much money), but this country is just too easy. It's a great segway to the next step, as I do appreciate my English speaking countries, but I'm ready for more.

Until Thailand folks...

choc tee khap!

Aussie Aussie Aussie... Oi Oi Oi!!

It's true, they do say it here. I asked my friend Felicia upon arrival: "Tell me the Aussie Aussie Aussie thing is real!". As she broke my heart into a thousand pieces with "umm... I've never heard it...", I was redeemed when meeting up with a bunch of her Aussie friends they reaffirmed me. God Bless Australia.

Common American stereotypes of Australia that are (not) true:

-Contrary to popular belief, all of Australia is NOT like Outback Steakhouse (huge disappointment on my part as I was expecting to wow them with my in depth knowledge of "blooming onions" and "Alice Springs chicken"... it was not to be)
-They DO say "mate". IE- "no worries mate"
-They also say "no worries", but I adopted that while I was in the states. Not gonna lie, I'm a fan of the phrase
-Get this, instead of "how you doin'?", here it's "how you goin'?". Seriously. I have no idea how grammatically incorrect that is, but it just doesn't sound right. Probably one saying I will not pick up.
-Instead of "what" or "sorry" when you mishear someone, it's "hey". Not kidding, I was so confused at first, and now I find myself using it.
ex. Me: "I just wrestled a 1 (metric) ton croc!"
(in America) Them "Whaaaaaaa??"
(down under) Them "Hey?"
Does that make sense to you?
-All Australians are ridiculously fit. It's true. They're formidable opponents.
-Apparently not all Australians have pet koalas in their homes. (I AM hoping to sneak a prize fighting kangaroo out of the country somehow, perhaps a baby one)

I've spent the past 5 days mainly wandering around, trying to take in as many "must sees" as possible. Sydney truly is a lovely place, but I didn't realize how much so until this afternoon. After an amazing meal at the fish market (best sashimi EVER, honestly) we walked around the harbor bridge and opera house until sundown. 20 minutes before sunset it seemed like the heavens opened up. A bit dramatic I know, but there we stood with the beautiful city skyline and bridge, set to the backdrop of one of the most pristine skies I've ever seen. I'm hoping my pictures can somewhat do it justice, but I have a feeling they won't. I seriously had a moment where I felt the spirit of Steve Erwin shine down and give me a pat on the back. (ok, a bit of a low blow, but I really did love the guy)

The food thus far has been amazing, and the people super friendly. My only problem so far is... do people realize they're driving on the wrong side of the street here? Maybe someone should report them... or at least let them know...

Eat with your hands!

A white guy and a rabbi walk into a South Indian restaurant in the middle of the day... what's the rest of joke?... don't know, but that was me on Sunday (minus the rabbi, just me). I decided to go to the south Indian join down the street from my hotel in Dubai. You know the culture shock is wearing off when as I walk in... EVERYone else is eating with their hands and it doesn't phase me. I calmly find an open seat at one of the tables and ask the man sitting there if he would mind if I sat with him (in hand gestures of course) . He gave me a look like "why are you asking"... and I sat down. Thank God they gave me a fork with my burani. It was probably the lightish tone of my skin that gave away the fact I've never eaten with my hands before.

Later that day I went on a desert safari tour. My SUV ended up being our Jordanian driver/tour guide, 3 Italians, 2 Pakistanis, and 1 David. 6+ hours of sand duning (driving), bbq, belly dancing, and sheesha later... we were back at the hotel. I ended up walking around the waterfront with 2 of the Italians for a couple of hours to finish off the night, and as a result, I'm pretty sure I have a mad hookup in Sicily. Bellissimo!

I arrived in Sydney yesterday morning after my (full) 14 hour flight. There's nothing more comfortable than spending that much time with barely enough room to rotate your foot. (although I much say, international carriers are MUCH better than American ones. High five to Emirates.) Sydney's a beautiful place. Reminds me a lot of Seattle. Green, rolling hills, cool, crisp, and along the harbor/bay/whatever they call it here. I've only been here 36 hours or so... but I think I'm in love.

Cheers mate!

Milkshaeks

There's nothing cuter than seeing two dudes in full dishdash and headwear... game faces on (very serious)... sipping iced mochachinos complete with whipped cream and sprinkles. This was the scene at Mall of the Emarites last night. Adorable. I wanted to take a picture, but I didn't think that would go over so well. Oh, and they have an indoor ski slope. Guess I should mention that as well.

Dubai is another world. You have a huge disparity between the Emiraties who own everything, the Westerners who have the white collar jobs and run everything, and the Filipinos/Indians who take care of blue collar business. Apparently there are camps (basically barracks) outside the city where they bus all the workers in to work long hours in construction and maintenance. I've heard the living situation is 8+ per room, so needless to say I think everyone gets pretty cozy.

I've been privileged to drinks at some of the most beautiful bars/restaurants overlooking several of the world's finest hotels (Burg Al Arab)... and I've walked some of the pseudo-slums in the older part of Dubai. It'll be interesting to see how long this city can sustain this kind of growth, and how it will effect the residents. I heard Dubai alone has 70% of the world's cranes employed in the city. At this pace, the Dubai/Paris metroplex should be a lovely place to live in 2020.

On a positive note, I've made friends with some of the guys at the Lebanese bakery across the street. I've had my fare share of kibbeh, baklava, zaatar, etc... but this might be the best. They seriously give me a handfull of free stuff every time I walk in. I end up pointing to anything and it's "you try, please" from the owner... I like.

I've also been practicing my broken English (so I apologize if any seeps in this journal). I can condense a well thought out sentence or two into a handful of key words (like PowerPoint).

ex.
"Pardon me sir, would you happen to know where I could find a nice restaurant that serves roasted chicken? Preferably free range if it's available."

...becomes....

"where I find shawarma?"

It's easy. You try.

How do you say ‘trabajo’ in Arabic?

Despite working until 7:30 or 8pm every night, Al Ain is a really nice spot. Even calmer than Abu Dhabi or Dubai, the town is like a giant flower pot. It’s been in the 70s (F) at night, making it perfect weather for a bit of hummus and sheesha after work (ok, a lot of hummus and sheesha… and lamb). Last night I ended up lounging outside with my Rx team consisting of a South African, Canadian, Jordanian, Indian... and umm.... me. People outside the states more consistently have a great world perspective. (everyone vacations in all sorts of exotic locations, as opposed to say... Florida)

I’ve heard there’s camel racing around here, but I won’t believe it until I see it.

Today’s also my last day of work. It’s a weird feeling knowing that you’ll no longer be doing what you’ve spent the last 2 ½ + years doing. In any case, I know I’m ready. I thought about giving everyone high-fives on the way out… I’m just not sure how that would go over with the shaeks and princes. (seriously, apparently one of the Emirate princes hangs out with his crew at the cafeteria here at the hospital… I think the food’s good, but not THAT good)

I can’t wait to give away my business casual…