There are plenty of places to visit in Asia, including China, Japan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the Philippines.  Some are more attractive than others, and while I like a little adventure on my vacations, I also like my creature comforts as well.  And I like to get more for my money than I would if I traveled in the States or the EU.  So I’m making a list of some of the good and the bad of the countries I like to visit.

The Not So “South East” Asian Countries on my list:

China – I would love to make a visit there.  One of the first Asian cultures I’ve really been attracted to from a young age.  I’d love to see all the history that is on offer, the great wall, the forbidden city are two of the spots I want to see.  I would also like to visit Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Macao.  This can be an expensive trip, and the country is so vast, a lot of time would be spent getting around on transport.  I also don’t like supporting a repressive government like China with my hard earned dollars.

Japan – This is another culture I have been fascinated with since I was a kid.  I’m not even sure what places I would like to visit there, I just know that I will need to make a trip there at least once.  The major downside of this country is the cost.  Japan is very expensive.

On to the real South East Asia

Laos -  There are a couple spots that I would like to visit, including the capital city of Vientiane and a couple of beachs on the Mekong that I’ve heard about.  The Country is a cheap place to visit, though I don’t get real excited thinking about it.  It hasn’t made the short list.

Cambodia – This one is definitely on the list.  Angkor Wat is someplace I’ve wanted to visit for a while.  Also Siem Reap and the killing fields of Phonm Penn.  The last is a little morbid, but one should not forget the horror that went on in that country not so long ago.  There is also an old French colonial casino and hotel that has been abandoned.  It is off the beaten trail, but it looks like a great place for photos.

Vietnam – Not that crazy about this one either, but I would like to see old Saigon or Ho Chi Minn City as it is called now.  Also Halong Bay in northern Vietnam looks spectacular.  The price is right, but something about Vietnam doesn’t sit quite right with me.

Philippines – They have some really nice beaches, and Islands such as Boracay are great for SCUBA as well.  The legendary nightlife and debaucery of Manila and Angelas City does appeal to my purient nature.  But I’ve heard a few negatives about safety is this area of the islands.  The price is right, but I’ll have to consider my options.

That is my short list of places to travel in South East Asia.  I still need to do some more research and see what places will best suit my travel needs.  They are all options right now and I hope to get some more info and narrow down the list.  Though maybe by then the turmoil in Thailand will be over and I can feel comfortable getting back there.

I had been warned that American Thai restaurants toned down the spicy for their customers and I should ask for ‘just a little spicy’ when I was eating in Thailand to see how things went.  Well my first couple meals were in major tourist hotels and restaurants and they were pretty mild.  But what I didn’t realize at the time was that were catering to their crowd, pasty white farangs.

On my first day in Phuket I took a walk around town and stopped at one of the restaurants.  The waitress didn’t speak English, and I knew I was in a locals hang out.  I ordered a ‘little spicy’ just to be on the safe side.  When I dug into my plate of food, I was soon sweating and my tongue was on fire.  A little spicy had a whole new meaning.  But I learned quick that authentic Thai is a lot spicier than what we get here in the states.

Now, enter Som Tum, or Papaya Salad.  Sounds like a nice refreshing meal on a warm June day.  Refreshing would not really be the word I would use to describe it.  Hidden fire ball, with a sore ass the next day is more like it.  I had trouble sitting down, and I feared having to take a dump because I thought my ass and toilet paper were to catch fire.

How did I decide to give this a try?  I met a girl.  Seem a lot of men’s dumbest stories start with either I met a girl or I was drinking one night and…  Actually in this case it was both.  I took her out to dinner where she asked if I wanted to try Som Tum with a cute little smile on her face.  Little did I know she was up to something.  I said sure and we ordered.  It wasn’t long after the first bite that she could see I was in pain and giggling up a storm.  But a few beers and too much male bravado and I kept eating to show her she didn’t get the best of me.  That was of course a mistake I would come to regret later.

So how spicy can you take your Thai food?  Me I’m a tough farang, but I’d be a wimpy Thai.  “Just a little spicy” is how my orders have ended ever since.

What is a Thai Spirit House

Long before Buddhism made it’s way to old Siam, the Tai (yes it was Tai not Thai at this time) people followed more of an animistic religion.  This was actually quite popular throughout Asia and other parts of the world before the major religions took over.  Shinto in Japan is another example.  Even though Thailand is now mainly a Buddhist culture,  Thai’s still believe that spirits inhabit a lot of natural things, houses and gardens are two big examples.

The spirit house is place never a building for these spirits to inhabit.  It is believed that if they are not taken care of or appease that they will do bad things.  As part of housing the spirits in the house they also make offerings to them.  Flower bands, incense, rice, among other offerings.  Spirit houses are not just for homes, businesses, hotels, any major structure will have one of these somewhere outside.  These are not to be confused with the spirit houses that Thai’s have in their gardens.  That is a completely different set of spirits that are watching and living there.

That is just a brief explanation, and probably oversimplified, but I though it good to mention.  It has nothing to do with Buddhism, in fact it is essentially remnants of an earlier religion that took over.

I’ve put a plan in place to start building up a second income, where I can work from anywhere in the world…oh and I’d have only me as the boss.  There is a lot of hard work involved and when I set out, my goal was to quit my job by November.  However I’ve already seen January slip away and February will still be gone with not a lot of progress.  I think I’ve got the right formula, but I don’t sit down and do the work necessary.  By the end of my regular work day I am so burned out that all I want to do is relax.  If I do get to the computer I usually surf the web or do ‘research’ on my business instead of actually doing the work.  This weekend I was supposed to put in two long ten hour days.  Instead I did more ‘research’ and worked on my pet blog instead.  I need to start making money now, and doing the work now, so that by November I will realize my goal of living in Thailand for 60 days.

I need to set myself some goals and hold myself to them.  Daily Goals, Weekly Goals, and Monthly Goals.  The problem lies when I get them down on paper the workload just seems so overwhelming, I’m not sure I can complete it.  But I must try.  I don’t want to look back in 9 months and see that I didn’t give it a real go, and I’m still in the same place I was at the beginning of the year.  Instead I want to be sitting on a beach chair on Patong beach or in a beer bar in Pattaya thinking “I can’t believe I really did it!”  But it’s going to take a lot of hard work and sleepless nights.

I think along with goal setting, getting organized, and I mean ultra anal, is going to become a necessity.  I spent a fricken hour trying to find logins to my website today because I haven’t posted in so long.  No organization equals wasted time.  I also have a lot of little small items to do that fall through the cracks if I don’t keep track of them somewhere.  Organization will be key.

I’m also going to try and set a new schedule for myself.  My sleep patterns have been crap lately and it hasn’t helped my motivation or work ethic.  I know, excuses, excuses.  The new plan is to get up early, workout (I’m becoming a fat bast*$d), eat healthy and get to work by 8 am.  I can then leave at 5pm – get some errands done then come home to concentrate on working my second job.  I’m going to have to go balls to the wall for the next three months to catch up on to where I should be already and get ahead of the curve.  But I think a full time income by November is still possible.

I need a way to keep motivated as well.  I have placed a few pictures of my trips to Pattaya on my nightstand so I remember why I’m getting up everyday.  I’m also going to frame a few more pictures of my Thailand vacations and put them on my desk and around my house so I have a constant visual reminder to get to work…I’m a visual person so this should help.

I just need to make this happen.  I’ve already invested the money and I’m getting close to $1,000 in the hole.  I need to make that money back and then some.  Well enough about this.  I’m going to make my yearning to travel to Thailand on a regular basis a reality.  I need to get off this blog and get to work.

I had spent a night with a ladyboy a year ago and in a alchol induzed haze the next morning I gave her my email address.  It had been a nice time, but I wasn’t really interested in seeing her again so I shouldn’t have passed on my email.  But I thought what the heck, no harm done.

Well after returning to the States, I recieved a few text messages and a couple of emails from the new friends I met on the trip.  I responded back to her, as there was no need to be rude, and just kept the emails friendly.  Every few months I would get another email, asking me to send pictures, etc.  I never did.  Finally a few months ago I got an email saying she knows who in her bar I like, and ended with ‘you like Die’.  Now this caught me of guard.  I wan’t sure if it was a threat and I would be gutted the next time I was in Pattaya or if it was something else.  I must admit, in the broken english of the email, I thought she wanted to truly kill me.  But after thinking of it, I remembered I had been with another ladyboy in her bar called Dear.  I’m hoping this is what she meant, because I really don’t ‘like Die’.

Now the next email was even better.  I had spent several nights with a real beauty and we both took a liking to each other.  Well we exchanged emails upon my return and I was happy to keep in touch with her.  I had not heard from her in a while then one day an email showed in my inbox.  I had to laugh.  Her email to me was nice and sweet, wanting to know when I would return.  However she also forwarded a copy of the emails she had been going in back and forth with her boyfriend/sponser.  Stuff about stealing a camera and all sorts of personal details that I didn’t need to know about.

The kicker was the last email from him to her stating that she should go find another farang to take advantage of.  Sure enough then there was the email to me.  Needless to say I never responded.

That’s it for now.

I’ve been there before, so I do know what to expect.  The ‘unknown’ factor does have a way of increasing the intensity of the post trip excitement.  I will be going to Phuket for a few days, which isn’t new either, but I haven’t been there in a few years.

I’m also fixated on my job and making money at the moment.  This is taking a lot of my time and energy.  It will be good to kick back after 6 long months of work.  And I must say I’m not really enjoying the job at the moment.  So my mood is a bit somber.

I’m also out of shape and had been planning to get back in shape before the trip.  It always gets me down when I don’t hit my goals.  Too much beer and pub food for this guy.  I’m going to hit it hard these last three weeks and see if I can cut 10 pounds.  No beer or junk food – well after tonight.

Probably the last thing is I’ve really been in a bit of a funk for the past few months(years) and I haven’t quite shaken it.  It is hard for me to get motivated to do anything really.  I need to change that aspect of my life, and I’m actively working on it.

Well after all that downer stuff, I will say that I am looking forward to the trip.  If I can hit a few goals before I get there, I’ll be a lot happier.  That’s all for now.

Now this place isn’t for everybody, nor should it be.  It is already filled up with too many wankers as it is.  If everyone loved the place, I’m not sure it would be the same and I’d have to find another second home.  So what is it that makes this so great?

If you like thai food, beautiful white sand beaches, beautiful women, cheap food and drink, and by all accounts living like a king on a fraction of what it would cost you back home, then this place is heaven.  There isn’t much more that needs to be said…or is there?

My first trip to Thailand was an overwhelming experience for me.  It was my first independent travel experience and I was more than a little leery of traveling on my own.  However as soon as I landed and got a taxi to my hotel I knew that I was in the right place.  The people were so friendly and helpful.  Most spoke decent, but broken english, and most sign were in both Thai and English so it made it easy to get around.

Now Thailand is made for the European tourists and they make it exceptionally easy for them to get around there.  This also makes it great for the American as well.  I found I was treated very well and made to feel at home.  I love the food, and could eat it everyday.  Which I pretty much did except for the odd burger or two when I was craving the home fixings.

I spent a few days in Bangkok taking in all the sights.  The typical tourist attractions like Wat Po and the Grand Palace.  Even though they are a tourist zoo, they should definitely be on anyone’s itinerary if they plan on going to Bangkok.  The architecture and history are quite magnificent, and they are centrally located at the heart of the city and within easy reach of most hotels.

I headed off to the island of Phuket, which solidified my desire to come back to Thailand.  It has clear blue water and white sand beaches.  If you have ever had a vision of what a south Pacific tropical beach paradise might be like, this it.  I didn’t get out and see many of the sights or surrounding islands, but that made me want to get back even more.  There is truly something wonderful about this island.  Oh, and the fresh seafood is not to be missed!

The sights, sounds, and experiences I had in Thailand were to change me forever.  I no longer looked at life the same way.  I aspired for other things in my life than just keeping up with the Jones in the rat race.  I needed and wanted more from life.  To me, everyone elses lives seemed so much more ordinary upon my return, and I didn’t want that.

I have met some interesting people, had some wild times, seen some pretty amazing sites, and I’m anxious for more.  Follow me as I recount my past travels, and as I catch up to modern day journeys in the land of smiles that is Thailand.

Sawatdii-khrap, and welcome to my story.