Blogs from Asia - page 15627

Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Khao Lak July 26th 2005

Today I sit here at my laptop in beautiful Palo Alto, California. Just blocks away is Stanford University and criss-crossing in front of me are the visions of wealth and pretentiousness. In a few weeks I'll be boarding yet another airliner to hover across this vast globe to a little known area of Thailand named Khao Lak (ka-oh lack). I am returning to this tsunami-torn region not to engage in the multitude of adventures available to the average tourist, but to begin another round of rebuilding the communities lost in the wave. This time, however, I have come with a specific mission in mind: Playgrounds. After returning from my last trip in January, just weeks after the tsunami, I founded Operation Playground and have been able to raise money through private funding to build playgrounds for ... read more

Relaxation

Asia » South Korea » Busan July 26th 2005

stuark

In reply to the comments on the previous posting, no, I'm not "ronrey," as far as I know; I've never seen Team America, though I've heard it was hilarious. Something about puppet porn...Anyway, "Anonymous," if that is your real name, thanks for the out-of-context missive. Nothing beats candor, even from someone I'm not sure I know. "Cooler than you'll ever be?" I don't know. I sort of doubt it. As long as I've inspired you to rejoice in the pleasures of breaking shit, my work is done. And dad, thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed the board-breaking section. I agree, blowing shit up is one of the only things that beats breaking shit where funness is concerned. One 4th of July some friends and I tried to blow up a 5-gallon bucket of sour cream. Don't ask ... read more

pool and school

Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok July 26th 2005

Big pool

mellis

Here are some photos of the pool on our building roof. It's nice and tranquil up there. At the start of next term (end of August), Max will most likely be starting the Early Years program instead of the nursery program. The early years program is akin to preschool in the US. It's a tough call because their cutoff is usually turning 3 by August 31st to start preschool , but the cutoff in Virginia is turning 3 by September 30th and if we end up staying in Bangkok for 3 years, the Embassy will only pay his school tuition (for the final year) and hefty registration fee if he starts kindergarten during our third year here. If he stays in the nursery for the first year and then the early years for the rest of ... read more

Singing Poorly in Singapore!

Asia » Singapore July 26th 2005

Alice Dave and Pete

The rain didn't put us off going to Sentosa, an island to the south of Singapore, even though we were planning to go to the beach, because there's plenty else to do (and we had our trusty brollies!) We caught the cable car over from Harbour Front (even I was scared it was so high and Pauline told us about the time a really tall ship broked the cable after we were in) and the fee to get onto the island is included. It's a crazy resort type island with lots of attractions and man made beaches. We went to the underwater world first - Pauline fed the giant turtles and dave gave us another guided tour. I tried out some bbq chicken steamed rolls - one type of dim sum I hadn't managed to try ... read more

A week of tiredness!

Asia » China » Shaanxi » Xi'an July 26th 2005

Asleep on the train ride

Jobyrose

When one of my colleagues approached and asked me if I wanted to go on a trip to Xi'an with my chinese students, I thought it would be fun and agreed. The school was going to pay for all the expenses - and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get to know my students a little better. Little did I realise - that it was going to be one of the most exhausting trips of my life. We travelled thirteen hours hard seat to Xi'an. Which wasn't too bad - just not too good either. I managed to get a little sleep - maybe about two hours or so. I was looking forward to getting into the hotel and resting. When we got into Xi'an - we were rushed into a tour bus ... read more

Sterile Singapore

Asia » Singapore July 25th 2005

Me. Buildings.

gz55

I was having trouble finding a word to describe Singapore until somebody told me that they found it to be 'sterile'. I like that word. Singapore is also described as a nanny state - it's illegal to chew gum and until recently it was also against the law to dance on tables in clubs (?!?). A plus point to this government hard line is that there is very little litter and the areas that we saw were very well kept. Although Singapore is very multicultural with friendly people, I felt that it lacked a real atmosphere, without being boring. If that makes sense? Our arrival didn't go too smoothly as we hadn't booked ahead. We were surprised that the first few places that we tried were fully booked; our best offer was a night under the ... read more

Jokhang and around

Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa July 25th 2005

prayer wheel circuit from above

Garlichead

Along with being one of the most sacred places in Tibet, Lhasa is also one of the most expensive. Food is cheap, dorm beds can be had at about twice the price of beds in China, but the temples and cultural places is where one is really gouged. Arguably, it is still worth the money, since the temples and important grounds are usually fairly stunning (or can be snuck into, which is defendable when one considers where the ticket money is not going). Jokhang temple, one of the oldest, built from 641-647AD. Apparently the site was chosen by one of one of the great T king's wives (not a typo there), Mz Wencheng from Tang dynasty. But the actual building was ordered to blossom by one of the other wives of one of the great T ... read more

Kuala Lumpur, Capital City Of Malaysia

Asia » Malaysia » Wilayah Persekutuan » Kuala Lumpur July 25th 2005

Legend Hotel Staircase

vlim

Kuala Lumpur has a population of about 2.5 million people, with 95% Malays and 5% of other ethnic origin, mostly of Chinese and East Indian heritage. We stayed at the Legend Hotel, a 5-star hotel, for a couple of nights and it's a pretty spiffy place. We also happened upon a huge and important political meeting. During a breakfast buffet, Mom and I sat at a table next to one full of Malaysia's top ministers! Me, in my shirt and slacks... and them, in their beautiful and colorful original Malay outfits. Anyway, there are quite a few things to see in K.L., but it's mostly a wining and dining city. One of my K.L. cousins invited us out to a Middle-Eastern dinner buffet, and not having eaten sushi in two months, I piled my dish full ... read more

Pangkor Island

Asia » Malaysia July 25th 2005

Day at the beach!

Kryways

It is really odd because it is incredibly hot here, and the tourists are the only ones wearing a bathing suit. Furthermore, it's normally us taking pictures, but when we were on the beach, he had ladies walking up to us and asking to take our picture! ... read more

Reaching The Clouds

Asia » Malaysia » Pahang » Cameron Highlands July 25th 2005

Outside View of Resort

vlim

Hey y'all, just came back from a 7-day excursion to Malaysia. Whether or not you like the country depends on where you go. Crime is rampant in Johor Bahru, a city in the southern part of the country. Kuala Lumpur is safer, but it's advisable not to walk alone at night, especially if you're female. Men on motorcycles will stare at you with devious eyes, hoping to snatch your purse or wallet and ride away. The first leg of the trip was a journey to the Cameron Highlands. The highlands are mountainous areas with embedded spaces of flat lands that are situated high above sea level. Plantations of all sorts are found here, from tea to honey to cabbage and to those found in your average vegetable gardens. The floral lifeform here is somewhat best described ... read more

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