Chinese Fire Drill

In the US, a Chinese fire drill is when a car is stopped at a traffic light; everyone jumps out of the car, runs around it, and gets back into it at a different position. I don’t know why it is called that. It is probably derogatory, but if it is I apologize. I mean no offense. That is just what they were always called. Yesterday, however, I witnessed an actual CHINESE Chinese fire drill. Amanda and I were at a friend’s apartment, when I heard sirens. At first, I didn’t really pay attention to them, but suddenly I realized “Those are fire trucks”. I raced to the window to catch a glimpse of them (Yes, I really miss my job with the fire department!), and much to my surprise, they were pulling up to the apartment building across the street. It was nice to see the efficiency with which they suited up, deployed the lines, and entered the building. They appeared to be very well trained. They even had personnel on hand to set up a perimeter using safety tape, and police to handle the traffic.
Originally, I thought that there may have been a HazMat incident because one team went inside in Class –A HazMat suits, and also we saw no smoke. Soon the team returned carrying a victim on a stretcher, but shortly after they got him to the safety zone, he stood up and walked away. We then realized that it was just a drill, but it was really cool to see anyway. It seems like I have still got fire fighting in my blood. - Frank
The funny thing about firemen is, night and day, they are always firemen. ~Gregory Widen, Backdraft

I can think of no more stirring symbol of man's humanity to man than a fire engine. ~Kurt Vonnegut

PS - Beau and Sara, Amanda and I are looking forward to hearing your news!

Videos Abroad - YangShuo

Recently, I was reviewing some of the videos that I have recorded over the past few months. Amanda told me to post them, because she thought they might be entertaining. All of these vids are from our trip to Yang Shuo, China. The video of the woman being carried, shows the local "taxi" service. You can hire guys to carry you up the mountain. (It is such a long trip, I wonder if they charge by the pound.) I am not going to write a lot about them because they all coincide with past post. Enjoy - Frank
A good video can make all the difference. Brian May

Koh Chang

About five hours from Bangkok is the Island of Koh Chang. The name means Elephant Island, and yes there are elephants there. Although we saw them from the distance, we did not get to do any elephant trekking. We did, however, get do to some snorkeling, fishing, fed some monkeys, rode motor scooters around the island, hiked to see a waterfall, and of course were lazy on the beach. There was so much to do on Koh Chang, it could really deter from the true reason to take a vacation; rest and relaxation. One of our favorite days was spent on the beach doing absolutely nothing. Amanda slept in the sun, I slept in the shade, all while listening to the soft drumming of the fingers of the ocean on the wet sand. There is something innately soothing about the sound of the waves gently lapping against the shore. Cares and worries just seemed to melt away.
If you ever visit Koh Chang, here are a few pointers:
1. Pack light – We only had our backpacks with us, and were glad that is all we had. The main means of transport on Koh Chang is either on the back of a pickup or motor scooter. Therefore, having a lot of luggage can be a hassle and frustrating.
2. Don’t take the first hotel you see – When leaving the pier from the ferry, one may be tempted to take a taxi to the closest beach (White Sands), and stay at the first hotel with an available room. It may be better to pay the taxi driver a little more, and go to a beach farther away (i.e. Lonely Beach). If you do that, you can probably get a quieter room for a much better price.
3. Rent a scooter – An alternative to paying the taxi driver to take you to the far end of the island would be to go to White Sands beach and rent a scooter there to explore on your own. This might make it easier when looking for a place to stay. The downside to that is that you will have to find a way to return the scooter.
4. Bug Spray – Unless you are such a tree hugger and can't stand the thought of killing anything that you don’t mind being a buffet for mosquitoes, bug spray is a must.
5. Take out the trash – Our last night on Koh Chang we had ribs. They were very good but we left the bones in the trash can in our room. Soon after going to sleep we were awakened to a loud sound of flapping plastic. There was a rat in the trash can going after the ribs.
6. Boutique Resort and Spa – This resort was pretty nice. The prices were not the lowest but also not the highest. The rooms were clean, had A/C, and had mosquito netting. It also came with a free breakfast. The staff there was also very friendly, and the ones who worked the desk spoke English pretty well.
Frank

Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone.
The Dhammapada

Comfort Zone

It is interesting how, in other countries, you often find pockets of immigrants grouped together. In the US, in most big cites you will find a “Chinatown”, a “Little Italy”, a Korean corner, or a Japanese village etc where expats live, work, and shop. Coming to Thailand has helped me understand why this happens. It can be very discouraging not being able to speak the local language, and it is comforting to speak ones mother tongue. So when people of any given nationality group together in a foreign land, it is not only so that they can provide mutual support, but also for the comfort that it brings. After spending a little time in Bangkok, where most people don’t speak English (aside from understanding enough to barter), I was ready for a comfort zone of my own. One such place was Starbuck’s. I know I write about Starbuck’s often but never underestimate the value of a good cup of coffee. After having a taste of home in a cup, our friend Jeff told us that there was a Chinatown in Bangkok that we could visit. Since there are never any “Little Americas” in any of the places we have visited, where we could feel completely at ease, I thought that being among Chinese speakers would provide a little relief. Although we didn’t find many Chinese to talk to in Chinatown, we did speak to a few. It was nice actually being able to communicate a little.
This idea of how people will seek out others that speak their language was also borne out for us when we took a snorkeling cruise. As we were lounging en route to the first island, to our surprise we heard someone speaking Chinese. Later on we said 你好 (hello) to the person and he was so happy that we could also speak Chinese. As the discussion continued, we found out that he is from the same city in China where we are living. What are the odds of that? Well, after that, Mr. Wang latched onto Amanda and me. He would seek us out on the boat. He had us pose for pictures with him. He even asked us where we were staying on the island because he was changing hotels and wanted to stay at the same place as us. I guess he thought we could form our own temporary little Chinatown on the island.
It is funny. Even though I am very far from being fluent in Mandarin, somehow I found it comforting for just a little while to be able to speak Chinese. Soon, however, we will be back in China. Speaking Mandarin will no longer be refreshing to do. It will revert to being the language of the locals with which I am struggling. Even though I have a rudimentary understanding of it, and smidgen of ability to speak it, I have a long way to go before speaking Chinese truly becomes a comfort zone. - Frank When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.
Clifton Fadiman (1904 - 1999)

Videos From the Land of Smiles

Thailand is known as the land of smiles. This is probably in part because the people have some of the most beautiful smiles. I think it may also be because those who visit are often seen smiling. Sometimes the smiles are smiles of joy due to the amazing things that can be seen or done here. Sometimes however, they are the smiles that one just puts on to shunt aside other less healthful emotions, (like anger) and to keep from doing something rash. This comes in handy when you realize that you have been cheated. We have so far escaped that experience, but some friends visited a few weeks ago, and they were cheated often. One time they haggled with a "water taxi driver" for about 15 minutes. Once he relented to their price, he asked for the money, gave them "tickets", and then told them to wait for a minute for him to return. They waited about 20 to 30 minutes before they looked at the fake tickets, and realized that he was not coming back. What can you do in that situation? You could get anger, cry, or laugh about it. They opted for the latter, had a good long laugh, and found a real taxi driver with a smile on their faces. Finally, some smiles that come to your face here are of the uneasy variety. The type of smile that is often found on your face after seeing something that you could have gone without seeing. I am sure I had this look on my face on several occasions. Thailand is infamous for it's call girls and cross-dressers, and unfortunately we saw both numerous time, hence the uneasy smile. Below I have loaded some of the videos that I have taken here in the "Land of Smiles". Most of the smiles that we had were of joy. Some were forced smiles from seeing the the crazy guys in the cobra show. Where ever in the world you happen to be reading this, I wonder if they will bring a smile to your face? If so, what kind will it be? - Frank

Smile though your heart is aching

Smile even though its breaking

When there are clouds in the sky,

you'll get by

If you smile through your fear and sorrow

Smile and maybe tomorrow

You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness

Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear may be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, whats the use of crying?

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile

Nat King Cole

Wow!

So often in life, things don’t live up to the billing that they have been given. You know how it is, one of your friends may tell you that you have to see a certain movie, and then after you have seen it, you feel like you wasted precious time in your life that you can never get back. Well, that is an especially horrible way to feel after you have shelled out money for a trip to a tourist site, so we were hoping against hope that the floating market, elephant trekking, and cobra show was as advertised.
We were picked up at 0630 at a local hotel by a minivan for the hour and a half trip to the floating market. About half way thru the journey I realized that this must be a really popular tour because the padding on the seats on the minivan was totally worn out by all of the people who have gone before us. I have sat on concrete that was more comfortable. After we arrived at the market, the posterior pain gradually subsided. What really helped this was the fact that we were too busy gawking at the spectacular views to worry about residual discomfort. After getting out of the van, we boarded a fantailed boat to get to the floating market. As we were cruising along, we saw several big monitor lizards, and a few monkeys. What was amazing about this to me was that these are animals that I have only seen before on animal shows on TV, and we were seeing them right amidst homes in which people live. These people are as used to seeing these animals as we are to seeing cats and dogs. The river that holds wonder for us is as normal and commonplace as a street. Wow! They even wash the clothes and dishes right in the river. After a short trip in the fantailed boat, we finally arrived at the floating market. Once there we were presented with a choice. We could wander around the docks and look at the shops, or we could rent another boat and do it from the water. We opted for option number two. What fun would the floating market be from the ground?
What is a floating market? Just as the name implies, people load various goods onto canoes, and float down the river selling them. In times past, this was the main method of trading goods in this area. With the blossoming of tourism in Thailand, they began to replace the everyday goods with trinkets and do-dads that tourists around the world always crave. They could fetch a much better price for “authentic, hand crafted” Thai goods than for fruits and veggies. I guess we can call this applied capitalism abroad. Other than just knick-knacks, they also sold food from these boats. We ordered sticky rice and mango, which was absolutely delicious. We rented the boat for a half hour, and it was well worth it. Part one, lived up to the hype.
After leaving the market, we went to the elephant village. Since my close encounter with an elephant in China, I have wanted to have the opportunity to get up-close and personal with another one. For a small fee (about $20 US), we were able to ride one. The elephant we rode was a 35 year old female. She was also pregnant. She and our guide had been together for five years. Elephants and their handlers form a close bond, which is important if a man is going to control the largest land animal in the world. Even though we know that elephants are immense animals, when you are standing next to one, it makes you really understand how small man truly is. It was an amazing experience to ride her, if only for a half hour. Wow was how we felt afterwards. Part two also did not disappoint.
From the elephant village we took a short 10 minute journey to the cobra show. Melissa, Jeff, and Amanda all decided to pass on it, but I have always been fascinated with cobras, so I was drawn to the show like a moth to a flame. The snake handlers were all dressed like they were members of the “Cobra Kai” dojo. I kept expecting someone to say “sweep the leg, Johnny” (If you get that reference, please let me know in a comment). Anyway, I sat in the front row and watched those guys do the absolute stupidest things with the snakes. They were deliberately antagonizing the world’s most venomous snakes. One guy was almost died. He underestimated the snakes strike range, and the snake caught his shirt. The only thing separating him from feeling the pierce of the fangs was a thin layer of fabric. After that they put a mongoose and a cobra in the same cage. In the wild, these animals are mortal enemies. The mongoose usually ends up eating the cobra. They kept reassuring us that the animals would not be harmed. That was not 100% percent true. They did break the fight up, but only after the mongoose had the cobra’s head in its mouth. That had to hurt. This part of the trip I did not enjoy. I don’t know what I expected to see. I guess I should have taken a cue from the others who passed on it. They all knew what was going to happen. In fact, Amanda told Jeff and Meli that I would come out and say “I wish I hadn’t seen that”. She was almost right. I actually said “That was disturbing”. Close enough. So let’s recap. Parts 1 and 2 of the trip were wonderful. Leg three, not so much. Oh well. You know what they say. Two out of three ain’t bad. - Frank
Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.
Stephen Leacock (1869 - 1944)

Seeing the Sights

If this were a cheap paperback adventure novel, the opening line would probably be; "Bangkok was hot and sultry…”. This is just a free blog, but I will still begin this post “Bangkok is hot and sultry…” because it is. When we arrived it was 1:45 am, but when we stepped out of the airport, it was like stepping into a sauna. I was warned about how hot Thailand would be, but I didn’t take it seriously. After all, I had spent quite a few years in South Carolina, so I thought I had a handle on what humidity meant. Well, it seems that there is actually a difference. This is the tropics. It seems like there is a different sun here because its rays seem to cook you. Being in the tropics also brings a whole new meaning to sultry. So while checking out this city, I took the advice of a friend, and wore sunblock. Normally, I don’t use the stuff but I heard it said once that discretion is the better part of valor. I figured I would be discreet and not find out the hard way that people with my complexion actually can get sunburn.

A few of the “must see” sights of Bangkok are the Royal Palace, the reclining Buddha (or chillin Buddha as I like to call it), and the giant Buddha. In fact, for those who practice the Buddhist faith, there are hundreds of “must see” sights here because there are hundreds of Wats throughout the city. We were going to visit the Royal Palace which also has the reclining Buddha in the same complex, to try to kill two birds with one stone. However, upon arriving to the palace, we were informed that you could not visit the sites with shorts or short sleeve shirts on. Can you imagine, in this temperature, not being able to wear shorts or short sleeve shirts? They would however loan appropriate clothing to you once you arrived at the premises. So we qeued up with everyone else but wouldn’t you know it, there was a 380 Bat (Thai dollar) charge for entrance even though we were told it would be free. So it turned out that for Westerners, this was not really a must see. We skipped it because he is not my king, nor is Buddha my god, so I was not about to offer up sacrifices to either one. We did see one of these sights though. We saw the “big” Buddha. Hidden off the main road is a gigantic statue of Buddha that stands 120 feet tall. Much to our surprise there was also a baby "chillin" Buddha at this site. Since this more of a religious than historical site, we found it interesting, but it was not a highlight of our trip.
Something that we always find interesting is seeing different places from the water. Since Bangkok is known as the Venice of the East, this was definitely something we had to do. If you ever visit Bangkok, we recommend what I have dubbed the poor man’s river cruise. This package includes the river, a boat, and a view of the city, which is basically the same thing you get with any of the other packages that you will be offered as a foreigner at the docks. The great thing about the poor man’s river cruise is that it cost a fraction of the cost of the others (26 Bat compared to 400 to 500 Bat). How do you get this package? It is known as the river taxi. All you have to do is get on one of those boats, and then you pay your fare of 13 Bat once you are on board. It is a cheap way to get to different places in the city, and you get a relaxing cruise with a great view to boot!
One of the things that I was most looking forward to about Thailand was going elephant trekking. So we booked an excursion to a place outside of Bangkok that offered elephant trekking, an outing to a floating market, and a cobra show. That was trip was definitely worth the price of admission. I will write more on that later. - Frank
The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people's reality, and eventually in one's own.
Susan Sontag