Travel Blog

I like to take pictures (and use Pishcha's, who takes far better shots than me). I also enjoy taking videos, speeding them up, and see the world at a different speed. Here are a few recent medias that I think are fun. Please comment as desired. There's also a "subscribe" function on the left panel, to be notified of my future posts.      Met several trail runners on this trail. I asked one lady if she'll do the upcoming marathon here; she replied "well, it depends on the results of my last 50k race" (me: "what?!") Pishcha Pishcha Pishcha Pishcha Getting beat up by the (powerful) waterfall.

Over the most recent holiday weekend ( October 23rd is Chulalongkorn Day ) it was great to get out of the city and visit the province of Ratchaburi, just west of Bangkok and bordering Myanmar. There are quite a few hiking trails in the area and we chose Khao Laem Suan Phueng, apparently a well-known trail and frequented by trail-runners, day-hikers (like us), and I guess anyone else who's interested in getting outside! Since I enjoy data I tracked the hike on my Garmin watch, which provided location data (in addition to heart-rate, timing, steps, etc). I was able to pull that out (with help from Garmin , this YouTuber , and this data science guy ). I also wrote a little script to extract and transform the data in C# using Visual Studio, posting it to GitHub. It seems that not so many people have extracted their data, but it's fun solving problems that no one has considered!  Anyway, below are the results from importing the location data to GoogleMaps and using their 3D/Earth v...

Rocking a scooter helmet and folding bike (single-speed)! I think I look like pretty cool riding down the road to the market like this! Water monitor lizard right in the middle of the city!  Do they bite? I'm told "no" but would prefer not to find out. This was was three to four feet long There are several canals within the city of Bangkok so these guys pop up once in a while. I was impressed with the two guys who caught it using an umbrella and traffic cone, and then picked it up and carried it back to the canal very gently. Don't step on the toilet seat! Many areas of the world, including Thailand, use squatting toilets and some people may have not encountered a "western-style" toilet; in the past I have seen footprints on toilet seats. When in a Buddhist country, design your church to look like a temple! It's not an uncommon sight to see a church in this way, but it is always interesting to me to see how something so familiar as a church can take on t...

"Wat Lan Boon Mahawihan Somdet Phra Buddhacharn". Sponsored by a Thai actor who recently passed away , and the site of several films. There are  over 30,000 (active) temples  in Thailand, so I have some work to do. Covid remains a concern and many people wear masks in public, even outside. Rice growing season! I'm glad I can fall back on working in the rice fields. Me and Pishcha's mother weeding one of the fields. Despite having caffeine withdrawals and eating too much durian , it was quite a peaceful afternoon! Minions!  Temple #2 for the week. Giant Buddha over a temple below. The "sugar apple". Yet another fruit I've never heard of! About the size of my fist. Per Wikipedia, it's native to tropical America, brought to Asia by Spanish traders. Interestingly, the Thai Government has  published standards  for its cultivation and shipping to "gain recognition in domestic and international trade". In northern Thailand it grows in peoples'...

  Eating beef and noodles at 40k feet. I've now crossed the Pacific eleven times. Is that too much? Not enough? Just right? I don't know, but I recommend it if that's where you want to put your resources. Be sure to practice sitting for 11-13. I'm glad I made it in time for this flight; Delta's list of entry requirements to Thailand was not up to date and I was held up in MSP to confirm that I had all the necessary entry documents (which I did); I actually had to show them the US and Thai government websites to help convince the attendant, which I thought was funny. I'm told that airlines get a fine if they allow a passenger to travel without all the necessary documents. They check each passenger's documents before departure to make sure they don't get stranded in a foreign country.  Flying over Washington State is beautiful. It's beautiful from above and a shame not to walk it! I love Minnesota's flats, but it will be great to trek in those moun...

      Did I mention I'm getting married soon?  Saying goodbye to a few old friends! I think this was my bachelor party, celebrating getting married and getting ready to head out. It was great! Beer ice cream?! Yes! When it's fruity, it's basically sherbet, and tasty!      Cami made a beautiful cross-stitch which she was still working on it before arriving, and gave it to me this evening. Thanks, Cami!     It was a beautiful summer evening to spend time and chat with these four wonderful ladies!

Currently getting ready to travel, again, to Thailand. One-way ticket to Thailand: Purchased. Proof of "onward travel" plane ticket from Bangkok to Malaysia: also purchased. Sixty-day Thai tourist visa: Granted. Packing and to-do lists: already have several months' maturity. Successive appointments for US Embassy and Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been booked for me in order to get paperwork needed for marriage. Departure is sixteen days from now. Working on my final project for class. Finishing up work for the school year (and can not wait).

My good friend, P'Lek, whom I know from studying in China while he worked on his PhD. We met in Bangkok and ate a LOT of Japanese food, including my first time eating sashimi. Eating lunch is the tradition when meeting P'Lek.  After lunch we took a water taxi tour on the Chao Phraya River, which flows south,  through the city of Bangkok and has many important sites, including the royal palace and many temples (time was short to visit much today, though I have seen a few sites in the past). Pictures don't do justice to the the scenery.  Dinner of hot pot, mixed meats amd veges, in the driveway. It's easy to cook and eat outside when it's 80°F. "Fit to fly". Final Covid test is negative; test is required to return to the USA and must be taken the day before travel (departure is Dec 31st, 1am from Bangkok, approx. 10 hours from now).

Beautiful evening to watch the sunset after snorkeling. Final evening on the island. I did not expect to see a scorpion in the middle of the road in the jungle. Pishcha was not surprised and said they're common in Thailand. This thing a big, probably 5" in length.  Patiently waiting for the crab and fried rice.  Some perspective on a mangrove forest boardwalk on Koh Chang.  Kayaking through a mangrove forest in Koh Chang,, sort of a saltwater tree that creates a unique biome and interesting scenery in costal areas.   I never did see anyone at the reception... (the beach is way nicer, with or without a bar). I've really missed the wide variety of tropical fruits  We brought these to Koh Chang expecting island prices to be very high. Here we have guava, rose apple, mandarins, and a really giant apple. I'm ready for malaria but was not expecting ticks. This sucker hurt! Sorting some green rice while drinking some fresh coconut milk, picked from a tree around ...