This morning, I read the local/global news as usual. Here's what I found;
Chicago this week weather forecast: Min. 64F Max. 83F
Bangkok this week forecast: Min. 77F Max. 90F , with widespread thundershowers across the country until end of May.
Do those figures put you on alert? Yes? No?
Whether you notice or not, it's happening. What we thought that's so far away from reality is coming to pass at a fast pace. The Global Warming consequences take early effect and congratulate to every one of us, we can see and feel it in our lifetime now.
Chicago temp. at this time of year isn't supposed to be warm as the record. Bangkok, on the other hand, isn't supposed to have heavy rain until the rainy season, which begins from June-October. Well, it has rained "everyday" since mid April and continue into May. Widespread rainfalls are expected throughout this month. I've been told it's just a tropical storm. It could happen during the draught season and it'll be gone soon.
O.k., I'll believe them.
I'll try to pretend there's nothing to worry about. I'll try to pretend the reason I'm awaken by the sound of heavy rain pouring down on my roof as if the sky is furious every day, is nothing but the out-of-season storms. It will come and go.
I'll try to pretend Global Warming won't affect my daily life. I still have shelter, food, and clothes. What else do I care about?
And for those whose lands got flooded and their farms which's the only source of
income got destroyed by the storms. They can re-build it next year when the weather's back to normal, right? Nothing is in danger, and not to worry about.
I'll try to be ignorant.
what about the global economy, food, and pollution? if we don't take action immediately, it'd be too late to fix. We're not dealing with human here, we talk about the mother nature, the Earth, the World - the place we all live on. What if some day the Earth's atmosphere's devoid of oxygen and its food sources're depleted. What'd we breath in? What'd we consume?
I'll try to be ignorant.
Global Warming is no longer a fictional.
But wait, the topic is too serious. I'm not ready to discuss it. Besides, who cares about Global Warming. Look around. Nobody cares because their life sucks enough that they can't even make ends meet.
I rather put a stop to it and go shopping.
I'll try to be ignorant.
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(The rain is pouring down at the moment)
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Here are steps that we can do to help reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
1. Make sure the dishwasher and washing machine are full before running them to save energy and money.
2. Unplug your cell phone charger, TV and other electronics from the wall when you're not using them. Even when turned off, they use small amounts of energy.
3. Make sure to turn off lights and other energy-sucking devices when they aren't being used.
4. If you're leaving your computer for a while, put it on stand-by. You'll be able to restart it quickly, and it'll take less energy than shutting it down and then restarting it.
5. Do not leave the water taps on if not in use and turn off the taps properly, because one drop of water per second would waste 2,700 gallons of water per year.
6. Use reusable bags whenever you can. A plastic bag could take up to several hundred years to decompose.
For more tips, check out http://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Global-Warming
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
SongKran Festival
Here came the official Summer of Thailand, April is the month people wish it to pass as soon as possible. The heat index ,as of April 25, was 110 F. Well, how do we live in such climate? Once you get used to the weather here, 110F is no longer a freaking digit and 85F seems like 60F on good days.
Well, there was a celebration this month that can't be neglected to mention. It's the Thai New Year (April 13). Thais looked forward to that day because, first off, it's a long holiday weekend. People get to go back to their hometown, spend time with their parents and do some activities together such as going to Wat (temple). It's also a good time to re-evaluate their inner self and abstain from any wrongdoings. Observing the old tradition reminds them of who they really are. A new appreciation for life could be found at this time as the positive energy and good vibe're flying high.
Over the course of the long holiday weekend, Thais celebrated the New Year with traditional water festival called SongKran Festival. It was originated as a way to pay respect to elderly by pouring a small amount of purified water on their hands. The elderly, then, give them blessings in return. The youths also do it in a more
fun way. They splash one another with water to relieve the heat. Since April is the hottest month, it somewhat has turned into a water-splashing war. The water'd come
in a variety of containers (i.e. squirt guns, hoses, and barrels). They'd drive a
car around and spatter water at pedestrians by whatever equipments they have in hand. (Note: just water, no other substances) People won't get mad if they get splashed. It's an exception for SongKran. I wish I could have taken some photos to post on this blog. I didn't dare carry my camera around as it's likely to get wet and (later) broken. Tim went out one night to join the festival at a bar. He wasn't aware of
the ongoing war so he kept his cell phone in his jeans pocket without any protection. Well, needless to say what happened to that poor phone.
Asides from the event/weather update, Tim and I've spent most of our time overseeing his house renovation, yet still a work in progress. On our day off, we hang out with a few friends at a local bar. If the name Kao Sarn Road, Bars behind Lumpini Park, Ratchada Pisett, and KaSett NaVamin sound familiar to you, then welcome to the "old-timer" club. :) We hope, next month, we'd find time to leave the city for some islands. After the house renovation project's complete, we'll start looking into a job search. Until that time, I assure you'd find interesting articles up here. And of course, suitable for every age.
Well, there was a celebration this month that can't be neglected to mention. It's the Thai New Year (April 13). Thais looked forward to that day because, first off, it's a long holiday weekend. People get to go back to their hometown, spend time with their parents and do some activities together such as going to Wat (temple). It's also a good time to re-evaluate their inner self and abstain from any wrongdoings. Observing the old tradition reminds them of who they really are. A new appreciation for life could be found at this time as the positive energy and good vibe're flying high.
Over the course of the long holiday weekend, Thais celebrated the New Year with traditional water festival called SongKran Festival. It was originated as a way to pay respect to elderly by pouring a small amount of purified water on their hands. The elderly, then, give them blessings in return. The youths also do it in a more
fun way. They splash one another with water to relieve the heat. Since April is the hottest month, it somewhat has turned into a water-splashing war. The water'd come
in a variety of containers (i.e. squirt guns, hoses, and barrels). They'd drive a
car around and spatter water at pedestrians by whatever equipments they have in hand. (Note: just water, no other substances) People won't get mad if they get splashed. It's an exception for SongKran. I wish I could have taken some photos to post on this blog. I didn't dare carry my camera around as it's likely to get wet and (later) broken. Tim went out one night to join the festival at a bar. He wasn't aware of
the ongoing war so he kept his cell phone in his jeans pocket without any protection. Well, needless to say what happened to that poor phone.
Asides from the event/weather update, Tim and I've spent most of our time overseeing his house renovation, yet still a work in progress. On our day off, we hang out with a few friends at a local bar. If the name Kao Sarn Road, Bars behind Lumpini Park, Ratchada Pisett, and KaSett NaVamin sound familiar to you, then welcome to the "old-timer" club. :) We hope, next month, we'd find time to leave the city for some islands. After the house renovation project's complete, we'll start looking into a job search. Until that time, I assure you'd find interesting articles up here. And of course, suitable for every age.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Moving Forward
April 11, 2007
Huahin
Every year, my family go on a road trip together. Usually they would end up in a luxurious hotel by the sea somewhere near Bangkok. They would spend a night or two lounging and catching up with one another. The fact that I have a very big family and dad in a wheel chair, each year the trip get more challenging. The major hindrance is a lack of facilities for people with disabilities. Forget about kneel-down buses, priority seats, sidewalks, and washrooms for handicap, the insufficiency leave them no choice but staying home most of the time.
This year I had a chance to participate in my family gathering. Our destination is Kao Ta-Kleb beaches, Hua Hin Town, 3 hour drive from BKK. My sister planned the trip itinerary in advance and was able to reserve a 5 bedroom house by the beach for the family of 23. Before the trip, the number of attendees freaked me out as I was used to to living alone for a long time. I was worried about loosing my privacy.
Surprisingly, It turned out to be one of the best trip I've had. My sisters and I had
lived in a different places all over the world and had a lot to catch up. First night we stayed up until 5 A.M.. We sat in front of the house drinking beer and looking
at the sea at night. It was a beautiful night. What could be better than good conversation, great company, and bottomless beer?
As hours passed by, my sisters started to go back to bed, and left me and my in-law competing for a title of Last Drunk Standing. Around 5 A.M., the beer cases were empty. We were wasted but still chatted with our eyes half-way closed. Eventually we called it a night and went to bed. The next day my in-law got up hung over and had a headache. He asked if I felt the same. I said no, I was cool. Everyone thought I was a hard-core drinker. The secret is I drank half of what everyone else had. My in-law had about 12 bottles of beer. Our glasses were full the whole time. I was the one who refilled all glasses. I filled up half of my glass with beer and the other half with water. They were drunk and didn't pay attention to what I was doing. I knew drinking beer and water together will never get me drunk.
Hua Hin is a cute small town that has beautiful beaches and cozy resorts. I made a visit to the town when I was a kid so I had no recollection of what it looks like. I'm surprised to see beautiful beaches as I didn't expect shoreline beaches would be as pretty as beaches on the islands. No wonder it's become one of the most popular weekend get-away destinations for BKK people. Here's a link, in case you want to know more about Hua Hin. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-489327-hua_hin_vacations
We got there on Friday A.M. and left on Sunday P.M.. On the way home, we made a few stops at Ratchburi and Na-korn Pa-Tom, the 2 other cities. I looked out the window and saw the same scenery I saw 10 years ago. I smiled to myself. For once, I feel like I'm finally home.
Huahin
Every year, my family go on a road trip together. Usually they would end up in a luxurious hotel by the sea somewhere near Bangkok. They would spend a night or two lounging and catching up with one another. The fact that I have a very big family and dad in a wheel chair, each year the trip get more challenging. The major hindrance is a lack of facilities for people with disabilities. Forget about kneel-down buses, priority seats, sidewalks, and washrooms for handicap, the insufficiency leave them no choice but staying home most of the time.
This year I had a chance to participate in my family gathering. Our destination is Kao Ta-Kleb beaches, Hua Hin Town, 3 hour drive from BKK. My sister planned the trip itinerary in advance and was able to reserve a 5 bedroom house by the beach for the family of 23. Before the trip, the number of attendees freaked me out as I was used to to living alone for a long time. I was worried about loosing my privacy.
Surprisingly, It turned out to be one of the best trip I've had. My sisters and I had
lived in a different places all over the world and had a lot to catch up. First night we stayed up until 5 A.M.. We sat in front of the house drinking beer and looking
at the sea at night. It was a beautiful night. What could be better than good conversation, great company, and bottomless beer?
As hours passed by, my sisters started to go back to bed, and left me and my in-law competing for a title of Last Drunk Standing. Around 5 A.M., the beer cases were empty. We were wasted but still chatted with our eyes half-way closed. Eventually we called it a night and went to bed. The next day my in-law got up hung over and had a headache. He asked if I felt the same. I said no, I was cool. Everyone thought I was a hard-core drinker. The secret is I drank half of what everyone else had. My in-law had about 12 bottles of beer. Our glasses were full the whole time. I was the one who refilled all glasses. I filled up half of my glass with beer and the other half with water. They were drunk and didn't pay attention to what I was doing. I knew drinking beer and water together will never get me drunk.
Hua Hin is a cute small town that has beautiful beaches and cozy resorts. I made a visit to the town when I was a kid so I had no recollection of what it looks like. I'm surprised to see beautiful beaches as I didn't expect shoreline beaches would be as pretty as beaches on the islands. No wonder it's become one of the most popular weekend get-away destinations for BKK people. Here's a link, in case you want to know more about Hua Hin. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-489327-hua_hin_vacations
We got there on Friday A.M. and left on Sunday P.M.. On the way home, we made a few stops at Ratchburi and Na-korn Pa-Tom, the 2 other cities. I looked out the window and saw the same scenery I saw 10 years ago. I smiled to myself. For once, I feel like I'm finally home.
Friday, March 30, 2007
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Here, people are obsessed with superstition.
Every essential step of opportunity or change they take on in their lives engaging a ceremony of bringing good luck to the beginning. As someone once said, "to be in a right place at a right time requires luck." And to have that luck, the whole process involves a predictor of future such as Astrologer, Fortune Teller, Palm Reader, and so forth. People will take their identity to the predictors, and have him/her looked at it in-depth. The predictors study their information and inform them of future possibilities and proper timing to take action in such business. Moreover, people go to the predictors when in need of blessing for their wedding ceremony, housewarming, baby shower, business grand-opening, and etc.
Tim and I got to observe the tradition as one of our business needed advice from a predictor. When we lived far away, we did things up on our availability. We could no longer do that as we now live in a different culture. However, we're open to a new experience as long as it doesn't hurt us and keeps our significant others happy.
The predictor took our birth date, time, month, and year, along with other information, then studied them. She looked into our past and a year ahead of us.
She gave us a warning on a few things as well as handing out a fortune day to deal business, a color for our new car, and so forth. In deed, it was a fun experience. After our long conversation with her, we learned that before she got into this study, she was a pharmacist, then a lawyer, later a business person, and eventually found herself drawn into the mysterious, yet intrigue study. She has studied in the field over 5 years now. And we could tell she's not hosting a phony show.
The study about unseen future's remained mysterious and unexplainable act. People who don't believe in it make fun of other believers. We look at it as a different field of study. Whether our future is predictable or not, the most benefit to this is to gain confidence in people when they hesitate to change their path. Self-assured people tend to have more ability to conquer any obstacle. And that's what it counts.
Every essential step of opportunity or change they take on in their lives engaging a ceremony of bringing good luck to the beginning. As someone once said, "to be in a right place at a right time requires luck." And to have that luck, the whole process involves a predictor of future such as Astrologer, Fortune Teller, Palm Reader, and so forth. People will take their identity to the predictors, and have him/her looked at it in-depth. The predictors study their information and inform them of future possibilities and proper timing to take action in such business. Moreover, people go to the predictors when in need of blessing for their wedding ceremony, housewarming, baby shower, business grand-opening, and etc.
Tim and I got to observe the tradition as one of our business needed advice from a predictor. When we lived far away, we did things up on our availability. We could no longer do that as we now live in a different culture. However, we're open to a new experience as long as it doesn't hurt us and keeps our significant others happy.
The predictor took our birth date, time, month, and year, along with other information, then studied them. She looked into our past and a year ahead of us.
She gave us a warning on a few things as well as handing out a fortune day to deal business, a color for our new car, and so forth. In deed, it was a fun experience. After our long conversation with her, we learned that before she got into this study, she was a pharmacist, then a lawyer, later a business person, and eventually found herself drawn into the mysterious, yet intrigue study. She has studied in the field over 5 years now. And we could tell she's not hosting a phony show.
The study about unseen future's remained mysterious and unexplainable act. People who don't believe in it make fun of other believers. We look at it as a different field of study. Whether our future is predictable or not, the most benefit to this is to gain confidence in people when they hesitate to change their path. Self-assured people tend to have more ability to conquer any obstacle. And that's what it counts.
Stranger in the new world
March 25, 2007
Bangkok
Bangkok in 2007 is different from where I left off. The city has been expanded as if it wasn't big enough before. I've seen a number of unfamiliar expressways, streets, shopping malls, and restaurants all over the city. My parents house is in old town area, therefore nothing has drastically changed. Contrary to Tim's neighborhood,
outskirt of BKK, all the empty lands were replaced with high-rise buildings and restaurants. At a very first night, our friend took us out to dinner at a restaurant
that has a washroom the same size as entire Thai restaurants in Chicago. Later we found out most restaurants we went had a similar construction - hugh dinning spaces and gigantic washrooms. Not to mention good food and cool ambience, I gave it 5 stars. In case you wonder about a cost of lands here, NO, they aren't cheap. I guess Thai restaurant investors must be loaded with money and can afford to build 2,000 sf washrooms. We noticed, not only restaurants here that have generous sizes, but also shopping malls. We were surprised with extreme changes around Siam Square, shopping district. Before we left there weren't Siam Paragon and Central World. I'm so intrigued by the size of both malls as they're incredibly hugh and very cool in design. Tim and I spent a whole day in Central World, yet won't be able to finish every floor. It's that big.
The shopping block is filled with trendy/good looking people. It's where modeling agents gather and look for new models. So, we saw mixed race people hanging around here. We noticed more number of white people. Some travel through BKK, and some live here. We know because they act and dress like local and even have Thai's body structure. Good news for those who want to loose weigh, Thailand is the answer for you. Come to BKK and you will loose 10 lbs in 1 week. :) I may loose some weigh as well although I eat 5 meals a day. It's the weather here that burn body fat super fast. The temp. is around 85 F during a day and 80 F at night. It's hot and humid, yet still bearable. So far I don't have any problem as I feel more energetic in hot weather. Well, there is a long way to go and I have to see how April's weather goes though. (April and May are the hottest months.)
Here's a clip note of what I've seen during my first week in BKK;
Improvement in public transportation
• Trains
My first impression is the trains here. Both elevated and underground trains are in great shape. The trains and its stations are super clean and look new. The only drawback is the train lines aren't connected throughout the city. People still need to have a car, hence bad traffic remains.
• Speed boats
People who live along Jao-Pra-ya River have a chance to ride a speed boat to Sa-torn Pier for a train station. I took advantage of it as my parent's house is closed to the river and much enjoy riding those boats.
• Cabs and buses
no improvement except for a fare increase
• City
Greatly expanded. Hardly see sky as expressways cross bridges, and elevated railways built on top of one another. However, there are some part of BKK that's frozen in the time. Whatever they looked 10 years back, these days, those places remain the same.
• People
Majority are friendly and sweet in nature. They are willing to engage in our conversation any chance we asked for direction.
And myself....
As much as I like the city, there is a big adjustment I have to make in order to live here comfortably. I miss Chicago from time to time when I see things I dislike here. However, there is nothing left in Chicago for me to go back to. This is the first time I feel like I don't belong in both world. I guess time will help. I have to give it a try.
Bangkok
Bangkok in 2007 is different from where I left off. The city has been expanded as if it wasn't big enough before. I've seen a number of unfamiliar expressways, streets, shopping malls, and restaurants all over the city. My parents house is in old town area, therefore nothing has drastically changed. Contrary to Tim's neighborhood,
outskirt of BKK, all the empty lands were replaced with high-rise buildings and restaurants. At a very first night, our friend took us out to dinner at a restaurant
that has a washroom the same size as entire Thai restaurants in Chicago. Later we found out most restaurants we went had a similar construction - hugh dinning spaces and gigantic washrooms. Not to mention good food and cool ambience, I gave it 5 stars. In case you wonder about a cost of lands here, NO, they aren't cheap. I guess Thai restaurant investors must be loaded with money and can afford to build 2,000 sf washrooms. We noticed, not only restaurants here that have generous sizes, but also shopping malls. We were surprised with extreme changes around Siam Square, shopping district. Before we left there weren't Siam Paragon and Central World. I'm so intrigued by the size of both malls as they're incredibly hugh and very cool in design. Tim and I spent a whole day in Central World, yet won't be able to finish every floor. It's that big.
The shopping block is filled with trendy/good looking people. It's where modeling agents gather and look for new models. So, we saw mixed race people hanging around here. We noticed more number of white people. Some travel through BKK, and some live here. We know because they act and dress like local and even have Thai's body structure. Good news for those who want to loose weigh, Thailand is the answer for you. Come to BKK and you will loose 10 lbs in 1 week. :) I may loose some weigh as well although I eat 5 meals a day. It's the weather here that burn body fat super fast. The temp. is around 85 F during a day and 80 F at night. It's hot and humid, yet still bearable. So far I don't have any problem as I feel more energetic in hot weather. Well, there is a long way to go and I have to see how April's weather goes though. (April and May are the hottest months.)
Here's a clip note of what I've seen during my first week in BKK;
Improvement in public transportation
• Trains
My first impression is the trains here. Both elevated and underground trains are in great shape. The trains and its stations are super clean and look new. The only drawback is the train lines aren't connected throughout the city. People still need to have a car, hence bad traffic remains.
• Speed boats
People who live along Jao-Pra-ya River have a chance to ride a speed boat to Sa-torn Pier for a train station. I took advantage of it as my parent's house is closed to the river and much enjoy riding those boats.
• Cabs and buses
no improvement except for a fare increase
• City
Greatly expanded. Hardly see sky as expressways cross bridges, and elevated railways built on top of one another. However, there are some part of BKK that's frozen in the time. Whatever they looked 10 years back, these days, those places remain the same.
• People
Majority are friendly and sweet in nature. They are willing to engage in our conversation any chance we asked for direction.
And myself....
As much as I like the city, there is a big adjustment I have to make in order to live here comfortably. I miss Chicago from time to time when I see things I dislike here. However, there is nothing left in Chicago for me to go back to. This is the first time I feel like I don't belong in both world. I guess time will help. I have to give it a try.
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