Well, so far I've received a lot of pictures from mom and dad (thanks!) and one of my friends from the World of Warcraft days. I really appreciate everything they did. My old co-worker Matt is putting together a picture with the folks at BMWFS and is just waiting on someone to get back from vacation.
Overall, though I was pretty disappointed that I couldn't coax more people to participate. My hope was to have some pictures of him from a lot of different places in the U.S. (and possibly other places), but I guess it didn't work out.
As he won't be back to school until next Tuesday, I'm thinking of sending another email to give people a last reminder.
Again, to those who helped, both Jacob and I really appreciate it. Thanks!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Back to School...sort of
The kids started back to school yesterday. Well, Aleena and Nalin did anyway. The day before they were ready to start, Jacob contracted pink eye (yeah, from me) and will miss a week. Oh joy.
In other "great" news, my laptop is not working. I think it is an overheating issue, although I'm not certain. I hope to take it into a shop soon.
In other "great" news, my laptop is not working. I think it is an overheating issue, although I'm not certain. I hope to take it into a shop soon.
Monday, January 7, 2008
One Year Visa Approved
Unlike in the case of our drivers, the third time was a charm when it came to my attempt to get my one year visa. That's write, I walked out of the Thai immigration office this morning with a one year visa with a multiple entry permit.
As you may remember, during our first visit we were not able to complete our request because Tim's lack of a penis (a fact for which I am very grateful) required her to provide proof of tax payment, which she didn't have at the time. During our second visit, we had the required paperwork and I met one of the least polite Thai's I've ever encountered. It was also that second visit where I was not asked a single question during my interview. At the end of our second visit, we were instructed to come back on January 7th to learn the results.
Interestingly, my visa actually expired on January 6th. That would have been the date where I learned the result of my interview, but the office was closed on Sunday. I guess I'm fortunate that they didn't arrest me when I entered the office today for overstaying my visa. That would be what they like to call irony.
We left the house at 6:00 today to try to get their early. Before going to the office, we had to stop at Top's house to pick up a letter verifying her employment. The salary listed on the one we provided with my application did not match the tax documentation that Tim provided.
We got to the office a few minutes before 8:00, and Tim had breakfast at the little cafe behind the offices. Our contact was out running errands, so we went and did the unthinkable. We actually put my passport in the queue just like everyone else.
Fortunately, the office wasn't as crowded, and after thirty minutes, the immigration officers reviewed my passport and provided the all important stamps. So, I was free to leave, right? Well, not quite yet.
While I now had the legal privilege to stay in Thailand for a year, if I left for any reason, my visa would be invalidated. So for about $125, I obtained a multiple entry permit, which allows me to leave and re-enter the country multiple times during the year. Of course, our contact had someone in her office fill out the form, and she ran it over for us. Somehow I think the fifteen minutes it took her to get it processed was much faster than waiting in the line.
So, with any luck, our family is not due back in the immigration office until we need to renew the kids' visas in October.
As you may remember, during our first visit we were not able to complete our request because Tim's lack of a penis (a fact for which I am very grateful) required her to provide proof of tax payment, which she didn't have at the time. During our second visit, we had the required paperwork and I met one of the least polite Thai's I've ever encountered. It was also that second visit where I was not asked a single question during my interview. At the end of our second visit, we were instructed to come back on January 7th to learn the results.
Interestingly, my visa actually expired on January 6th. That would have been the date where I learned the result of my interview, but the office was closed on Sunday. I guess I'm fortunate that they didn't arrest me when I entered the office today for overstaying my visa. That would be what they like to call irony.
We left the house at 6:00 today to try to get their early. Before going to the office, we had to stop at Top's house to pick up a letter verifying her employment. The salary listed on the one we provided with my application did not match the tax documentation that Tim provided.
We got to the office a few minutes before 8:00, and Tim had breakfast at the little cafe behind the offices. Our contact was out running errands, so we went and did the unthinkable. We actually put my passport in the queue just like everyone else.
Fortunately, the office wasn't as crowded, and after thirty minutes, the immigration officers reviewed my passport and provided the all important stamps. So, I was free to leave, right? Well, not quite yet.
While I now had the legal privilege to stay in Thailand for a year, if I left for any reason, my visa would be invalidated. So for about $125, I obtained a multiple entry permit, which allows me to leave and re-enter the country multiple times during the year. Of course, our contact had someone in her office fill out the form, and she ran it over for us. Somehow I think the fifteen minutes it took her to get it processed was much faster than waiting in the line.
So, with any luck, our family is not due back in the immigration office until we need to renew the kids' visas in October.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Drivers Come and Go
Well, as I think I mentioned, we let our last driver go right before we went to Hong Kong. I chronicled a lot of the reasons that we had to let him go over the past few months.
Yesterday, driver number four started. Once again, there was an auspicious start, and once again, it was not a match made in heaven.
Tim had him meet her at work yesterday and bring the car back home. I saw him laying in the car sleeping during the afternoon, which is not altogether unexpected or uncommon.
At 5:30, we were getting ready to go to meet Tim at her work and go out for dinner. The driver told me through the nanny that the car battery was dead. I verified that it wouldn't start. My first thought was that he had the car radio running while he was laying down napping. Except for the fact that he had managed to let down all the winders (electronically of course), there was no other proof he caused the problem. Of course, it would be quite the coincidence that the battery happened to die the day he started. So we had him take a taxi and pick up our van from Tim's brothers and go pick her up at work.
Tim told the driver to meet her here at 12:30 this afternoon to take her to work. When she went outside at 1:00, he was not there. She called his house and an older woman, probably his mother, answered and said that he had a flat tire. The woman informed Tim that he couldn't call her because he couldn't afford a phone.
Well, unlike baseball, there are not a preset number of strikes that you get as a driver in our family. In this case, two was more than enough. Tim called the agency and fired him.
I am seeing a bit of a pattern. The first and third drivers, while deeply and utterly flawed in their ability to do their jobs, each lasted a few months. The second and fourth drivers, however, lasted less than 24 hours each. As our next driver will be number five, I expect I'll have a few months to share his exploits with you.
Yesterday, driver number four started. Once again, there was an auspicious start, and once again, it was not a match made in heaven.
Tim had him meet her at work yesterday and bring the car back home. I saw him laying in the car sleeping during the afternoon, which is not altogether unexpected or uncommon.
At 5:30, we were getting ready to go to meet Tim at her work and go out for dinner. The driver told me through the nanny that the car battery was dead. I verified that it wouldn't start. My first thought was that he had the car radio running while he was laying down napping. Except for the fact that he had managed to let down all the winders (electronically of course), there was no other proof he caused the problem. Of course, it would be quite the coincidence that the battery happened to die the day he started. So we had him take a taxi and pick up our van from Tim's brothers and go pick her up at work.
Tim told the driver to meet her here at 12:30 this afternoon to take her to work. When she went outside at 1:00, he was not there. She called his house and an older woman, probably his mother, answered and said that he had a flat tire. The woman informed Tim that he couldn't call her because he couldn't afford a phone.
Well, unlike baseball, there are not a preset number of strikes that you get as a driver in our family. In this case, two was more than enough. Tim called the agency and fired him.
I am seeing a bit of a pattern. The first and third drivers, while deeply and utterly flawed in their ability to do their jobs, each lasted a few months. The second and fourth drivers, however, lasted less than 24 hours each. As our next driver will be number five, I expect I'll have a few months to share his exploits with you.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Thai Elections
This is the political season. I know that some of you might be following the recent Iowa Caucus and the upcoming New Hampshire primary, but I thought I'd let you know about the Thai elections.
I told you a few weeks ago that Thailand was having its first election since the coup on December 23rd. What I didn't tell you at that time was that my brother-in-law was running as an MP (Member of Parliament) candidate for the PPP (People Power Party).
The two major parties contesting the election were the PPP and the Democrats. The PPP consisted of a lot of former Thai Love Thai members (deposed PM's Thaskin's party), while the Democrats were largely seen as the "pro-coup" party. There are a couple of mid sized and a handful of small parties.
Unlike in the U.S. where smaller parties have virtually no influence, here it is quite different. Since the "winning" party often does not garner enough seats to rule outright, they often court mid-sized and smaller parties to form a coalition government. These smaller parties can often have significant leverage when forming a coalition and can garner important cabinet positions.
Well, my brother-in-law did not win his seat. His party, however did win the most seats of any government. The breakdown was:
PPP 229
Democrat 165
Thai Nation Party 37
For the Motherland 25
Thais United 9
Neutral Democratic 7
Royalist's People's 5
These numbers are approximate because I've seen slightly different numbers reported from different sources at different times.
So while the PPP won the most seats, they did not win the 241 needed for an outright majority. The PPP could not form an alliance with the Democrats, and the Thai Nation and Motherland parties are seen as Democrat allies. So the PPP have been courting the three smaller parties. There have been rumblings that if they are able to form the coalition with the three small parties, at least one of the two mid-sized might join as well.
The PPP has a problem that might prevent it from forming a government at all. The Election Commission (EC) is investigating sixty-something PPP candidates for violation of election rules. There are less than 10 candidates from other parties under investigation.
The EC has already disqualified three PPP winners. If more are disqualified, the PPP might not be able to form the coalition.
In addition to difficulty with individual candidates, there have been lawsuits attempting to disqualify the PPP. There are several claims, including that it is an illegal nominee for the outlawed Thai Love Thai party. If it is found guilty it could be dissolved and their chance of forming a government dashed.
The coming weeks should be interesting.
I told you a few weeks ago that Thailand was having its first election since the coup on December 23rd. What I didn't tell you at that time was that my brother-in-law was running as an MP (Member of Parliament) candidate for the PPP (People Power Party).
The two major parties contesting the election were the PPP and the Democrats. The PPP consisted of a lot of former Thai Love Thai members (deposed PM's Thaskin's party), while the Democrats were largely seen as the "pro-coup" party. There are a couple of mid sized and a handful of small parties.
Unlike in the U.S. where smaller parties have virtually no influence, here it is quite different. Since the "winning" party often does not garner enough seats to rule outright, they often court mid-sized and smaller parties to form a coalition government. These smaller parties can often have significant leverage when forming a coalition and can garner important cabinet positions.
Well, my brother-in-law did not win his seat. His party, however did win the most seats of any government. The breakdown was:
PPP 229
Democrat 165
Thai Nation Party 37
For the Motherland 25
Thais United 9
Neutral Democratic 7
Royalist's People's 5
These numbers are approximate because I've seen slightly different numbers reported from different sources at different times.
So while the PPP won the most seats, they did not win the 241 needed for an outright majority. The PPP could not form an alliance with the Democrats, and the Thai Nation and Motherland parties are seen as Democrat allies. So the PPP have been courting the three smaller parties. There have been rumblings that if they are able to form the coalition with the three small parties, at least one of the two mid-sized might join as well.
The PPP has a problem that might prevent it from forming a government at all. The Election Commission (EC) is investigating sixty-something PPP candidates for violation of election rules. There are less than 10 candidates from other parties under investigation.
The EC has already disqualified three PPP winners. If more are disqualified, the PPP might not be able to form the coalition.
In addition to difficulty with individual candidates, there have been lawsuits attempting to disqualify the PPP. There are several claims, including that it is an illegal nominee for the outlawed Thai Love Thai party. If it is found guilty it could be dissolved and their chance of forming a government dashed.
The coming weeks should be interesting.
Pictures - Science Museum
The link on the left has all our pictures from Hong Kong. Here are the pictures from the day we went to the Science Museum.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Hong Kong Holiday - Day 2
Day 2 (December 24th)
We spent our first full day in Hong Kong on Christmas Eve day. Since we had arrived late the night before, we decided to take it easy this day by starting a bit late. Our plan was to explore a bit around Discovery Bay and visit the Hong Kong Science Museum.
Discovery Bay is a community on the Lantua Island. It is an upscale area that tends to cater to Western residents of Hong Kong. It is accessible to the main land via a ferry (number 3) or by a bus to an MRT (subway) station.A few things noteworthy about Discovery Bay. There were a lot of apartments, but I did not see any stand alone homes. its possible that that they exist, but if they did, I certainly didn't see them. Perhaps the reason is that condos in Discovery Bay range from several hundred thousand to several million dollars.Another interesting feature of Discovery Bay is the lack of cars. Access to Discovery Bay via private cars and taxis is extremely limited. Since residents can't bring their car, many have golf carts to travel around Discovery Bay. Along with the golf carts, the most common vehicles seen on the roads of Discovery Bay were public buses.
At the ferry, there is a small shopping plaza with a nice selection of retail shops and western restaurants. The center of the plaza is a huge circle where stood a little play house decorated for Christmas. You see kids playing in the large circle while parents sit and drink coffee or eat at the tables around it.
We had lunch at Discovery Bay, walked around a bit, and then took the ferry into Hong Kong. There are nine or so ferries that dock at the Central Ferry. From there, it is a fifteen or so minute walk to the bus and MRT lines.
One of the challenges that we initially faced was change for the bus, MRT and ferry. A lot of the machines don't take bills, or if they do, they only take one bill. I had a lot of difficulty getting change. I would ask for change for a 100 in 10's (the highest coins) and I would always get back five $2 coins and the rest bills.
On the fourth day we broke free of our change chain and bought Octopus cards. Wikipedia describes the Octopus card as ".. a rechargeable contactless stored value smart card used to transfer electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong. " You can use the card for transportation, restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets and more.
If you travel to Hong Kong and are going to use public transportation (which you almost certainly will), I cannot recommend the Octopus card more highly. An adult card initially costs HK $150, of which $100 is credited on the card and $50 is a refundable deposit. The card can be replenished all over the city.
The brochure stated that the Science Museum was open until 9:00 p.m., so when we arrived at 3:00 p.m., we thought we had six hours to play and explore. When we arrived, we discovered that this was one of the few days during the year where the museum closed at 5:00 p.m.
Despite our shortened stay, we had a lot of fun at the museum. The Hong Kong Science Museum boasts over 500 exhibits of which 70% are described as hands on. The hall of mirrors was pretty cool. I think the kids enjoyed seeing themselves stretched and shrunk, and although I know they didn't completely understand the science behind it, I think Jacob understood that some of it had to do with the shape of the mirrors.
I'm not sure that we saw even a third of the museum before we left as they closed the doors at five. We had hoped to visit it again before we left Hong Kong, but ran out of time. If we return to Hong Kong, we'll definitely go back to the science museum.
After eating dinner at a Chinese restaurant that Tim really enjoyed we made our way to the MRT to head back home. we saw a restaurant named Charlie Brown that had a sign with the Snoopy characters on it.
As it was rush hour, the MRT was absolutely packed. We were going against the direction of most people, so getting to our train was like swimming upstream. I was more worried about the kids getting stepped on our lost, but they held our hands and followed closely behind.
By the time we got back to the flat, I think we were all a bit tired. There had been a lot of walking, and I think the kids weren't fully recovered from the late night before. Still, it was a fun first day in Hong Kong.
Alien versus Predator II
Tim and I went and saw the Alien versus Predator sequel last night. Although I've seen the first Predator movie and a few Alien movies, I have not had the "privilege" of seeing the first Alien versus Predator movie. Still, I thought that we would probably be able to catch on.
After the movie was over, she turned to me and succinctly summed up my feelings for the movie, "That was a bad movie." Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting a cinematic masterpiece that the critics will be talking about for the ages. I was, however, expecting a lot more than I got.
One of the necessary elements for a successful story is to have interesting characters. You want the readers or viewers to related to the characters. Neither Alien nor Predator were very likable or interesting. They both killed humans fairly indiscriminately. The human characters were equally uninspiring. There was weak attempt at the boy loves popular girl story, but it came off really weak.
So I know, this movie is an action movie, forget the story. Aside from the fact that most compelling action films have at least a solid underlying story, the action in this film fell short. I think the problem was that most of the action was in the dark, either at night or underground. It was hard to make out exactly what was going on. When they were fighting, it was sometimes tough to tell where the alien started and the predator ended.
After the movie was over, she turned to me and succinctly summed up my feelings for the movie, "That was a bad movie." Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting a cinematic masterpiece that the critics will be talking about for the ages. I was, however, expecting a lot more than I got.
One of the necessary elements for a successful story is to have interesting characters. You want the readers or viewers to related to the characters. Neither Alien nor Predator were very likable or interesting. They both killed humans fairly indiscriminately. The human characters were equally uninspiring. There was weak attempt at the boy loves popular girl story, but it came off really weak.
So I know, this movie is an action movie, forget the story. Aside from the fact that most compelling action films have at least a solid underlying story, the action in this film fell short. I think the problem was that most of the action was in the dark, either at night or underground. It was hard to make out exactly what was going on. When they were fighting, it was sometimes tough to tell where the alien started and the predator ended.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Mosquitoes
One of the less appealing "features" of Thailand is the abundance of little blood sucking creatures. No, I'm not talking about attorneys rather the flying variety known as mosquitoes. Thai's refer to them as yung.
Thailand's warm and humid weather are apparently the perfect breeding ground for developing the uber mosquito. Although smaller than their cousins in other places, the Thai variety make up for it in nimbleness and ferocity. Trying to swat one of these makes me feel like Grasshopper attempting to snatch the pebble from his master's hand. By the time my hand gets there, the mosquito is gone.
Okay, I know what you are thinking. Brian, you are getting to be an old man, your reflexes are just shot. I might have believed you but for a couple of reasons. First, I have seen other people swatting futilely at these little pests. My most dramatic proof, however, came during our Hong Kong visit. While in the rest room, I was accosted by Chinese mosquitoes. Four claps later and there were four less mosquitoes in the world. Master would have been proud.
Thailand's warm and humid weather are apparently the perfect breeding ground for developing the uber mosquito. Although smaller than their cousins in other places, the Thai variety make up for it in nimbleness and ferocity. Trying to swat one of these makes me feel like Grasshopper attempting to snatch the pebble from his master's hand. By the time my hand gets there, the mosquito is gone.
Okay, I know what you are thinking. Brian, you are getting to be an old man, your reflexes are just shot. I might have believed you but for a couple of reasons. First, I have seen other people swatting futilely at these little pests. My most dramatic proof, however, came during our Hong Kong visit. While in the rest room, I was accosted by Chinese mosquitoes. Four claps later and there were four less mosquitoes in the world. Master would have been proud.
Hong Kong Holiday - Day 1
December 23rd came in with the promise of the start of our Hong Kong adventure. As our flight didn't leave until 6:20 p.m., we had some time for some adventures here in Thailand before we left.
First, the email for the cruise vouchers did not arrive prior to leaving the house. While I assumed that we could easily find a place to print it easily in the modern city of Hong Kong, I would later learn the extend of my naivety.
The kids spent part of the afternoon playing in the pool. Tim and I heard screaming and went out toinvestigate. Nalin was holding her mouth and screaming. She was playing with a stick and managed to cut the little membrane between your tongue and the bottom of your mouth. A quick trip to the emergency room confirmed that she was okay.
The flight on Emirates Air was a very pleasant surprise. We had some concerns about the quality given that it was a discount airline, but those were soon dispelled. The plane was nice, and the staff very friendly. Each seat had its own video entertainment system, complete with a wide selection of movies, TV shows, video games and music. The flight was not very crowded, and right before we took off the flight attendants asked Tim of she and the girls would like to spread out. Emirates also gave each child a bag with a puppet, a sleeping mask, a color activity books and a colored pencil set.
Allow me to digress from my tale for a moment and discuss flight attendants. More specifically, I have noticed a big difference between American and Asian flight attendants. Tim and I have both noticed that in general, the American flight attendants are much less friendly and more strict than their Asian counterparts.
The most obvious way you see this is with how they both handle kids. With a lot of American flight attendants, it seems like kids are a bit of a bother. This was especially noticeable when the kids were smaller and had a difficult time sitting in their seats for long periods. The Asian flight attendants would always dote on the kids, sometimes even giving them candy from their own personal supply.
I also noticed that the American flight attendants on the long overseas flights were often older than those from the far east. My guess is that this is seniority based, as the international destinations may be more desirable for flight attendants, so the more senior ones in the U.S. get first preference. In a lot of Asian countries, most of the flight attendants are young and usually attractive women. Places like Thailand are not so concerned with age or gender discrimination.
One thing that bugged me a bit about Emirates was that about 30 minutes before the flight landed, they went through and collected the blankets and headphones from the cabin. Fortunately I had an extra set of headphones that allowed me to finish watching the latest installment of Harry Potter. But come on, why rip the blanket of some sleeping senior to save some time on clean up.
We landed in Hong Kong after about 2.5 hours, and easily cleared customs and immigration.
Our friend had someone meet us at the airport and take us to her flat. It was only a twenty minute bus ride, and it stopped right in front of our building.
To be continued....
First, the email for the cruise vouchers did not arrive prior to leaving the house. While I assumed that we could easily find a place to print it easily in the modern city of Hong Kong, I would later learn the extend of my naivety.
The kids spent part of the afternoon playing in the pool. Tim and I heard screaming and went out toinvestigate. Nalin was holding her mouth and screaming. She was playing with a stick and managed to cut the little membrane between your tongue and the bottom of your mouth. A quick trip to the emergency room confirmed that she was okay.
The flight on Emirates Air was a very pleasant surprise. We had some concerns about the quality given that it was a discount airline, but those were soon dispelled. The plane was nice, and the staff very friendly. Each seat had its own video entertainment system, complete with a wide selection of movies, TV shows, video games and music. The flight was not very crowded, and right before we took off the flight attendants asked Tim of she and the girls would like to spread out. Emirates also gave each child a bag with a puppet, a sleeping mask, a color activity books and a colored pencil set.
Allow me to digress from my tale for a moment and discuss flight attendants. More specifically, I have noticed a big difference between American and Asian flight attendants. Tim and I have both noticed that in general, the American flight attendants are much less friendly and more strict than their Asian counterparts.
The most obvious way you see this is with how they both handle kids. With a lot of American flight attendants, it seems like kids are a bit of a bother. This was especially noticeable when the kids were smaller and had a difficult time sitting in their seats for long periods. The Asian flight attendants would always dote on the kids, sometimes even giving them candy from their own personal supply.
I also noticed that the American flight attendants on the long overseas flights were often older than those from the far east. My guess is that this is seniority based, as the international destinations may be more desirable for flight attendants, so the more senior ones in the U.S. get first preference. In a lot of Asian countries, most of the flight attendants are young and usually attractive women. Places like Thailand are not so concerned with age or gender discrimination.
One thing that bugged me a bit about Emirates was that about 30 minutes before the flight landed, they went through and collected the blankets and headphones from the cabin. Fortunately I had an extra set of headphones that allowed me to finish watching the latest installment of Harry Potter. But come on, why rip the blanket of some sleeping senior to save some time on clean up.
We landed in Hong Kong after about 2.5 hours, and easily cleared customs and immigration.
Our friend had someone meet us at the airport and take us to her flat. It was only a twenty minute bus ride, and it stopped right in front of our building.
To be continued....
Hong Kong Holiday - The Planning
Back in October Tim and I decided to take the family for a week's vacation in Hong Kong during their holiday break. Since we were not going to spend Christmas with the family, we decided to give the kids a treat and spend it in Disneyland.
The decision to visit Disneyland left us with two obvious choices. We could visit Hong Kong or Japan. Of course, the esteemed rodent has palaces in California, Florida and Paris, but those were just a bit too far away. Besides, Japan and Hong Kong were already on our list of places to visit during our adventure over here.
Initially, we leaned towards visiting Japan. As we started researching it, we realized a few things. The first factor was that Japan was going to be a lot more expensive.
Weather was another consideration. Japan is much colder than Hong Kong in December. While I am certainly not intolerant of cold having grown up in the Midwest, it was certainly not something I missed. The possibility of riding amusement park rides in freezing conditions was less than appealing. I mean, when you are spinning like mad on the tea cups, do you really want to be hit with frozen vomit? I can only imagine that the wind chill factor on a roller coaster would be brutal.
Another compelling reason to visit Hong Kong was that friends of ours in Bangkok used to live there for many years, and they still rent a flat there. They agreed to let us stay there for our trip. Their apartment was in Discovery Bay, an upscale community on the Lantau Island.
Our initial inquiry into flights was hardly promising. The rates averaged about $400 a person, and since we needed to buy five tickets, the cost came up to about two grand. One of Tim's employees knew a travel agent who found us tickets on Emirates Air for only $200 a piece.
The price was great, but it didn't come without a catch. We wouldn't arrive in Hong Kong until about 10:00 p.m., and our return flight to Bangkok wouldn't arrive until after 1:30 a.m. Despite the undesirable arrival times, the cost difference was simply too much to pass up, so we booked on Emirates Air.
On the day before we left, I booked a cruise to watch the Symphony of Lights show. After booking, I received an email telling me that I would receive another email within 24 hours so that I could print out the vouchers necessary board the ship. As I made the reservations only 25 hours before leaving, I was a bit sceptical as to whether they agency would come through.
To be continued...
The decision to visit Disneyland left us with two obvious choices. We could visit Hong Kong or Japan. Of course, the esteemed rodent has palaces in California, Florida and Paris, but those were just a bit too far away. Besides, Japan and Hong Kong were already on our list of places to visit during our adventure over here.
Initially, we leaned towards visiting Japan. As we started researching it, we realized a few things. The first factor was that Japan was going to be a lot more expensive.
Weather was another consideration. Japan is much colder than Hong Kong in December. While I am certainly not intolerant of cold having grown up in the Midwest, it was certainly not something I missed. The possibility of riding amusement park rides in freezing conditions was less than appealing. I mean, when you are spinning like mad on the tea cups, do you really want to be hit with frozen vomit? I can only imagine that the wind chill factor on a roller coaster would be brutal.
Another compelling reason to visit Hong Kong was that friends of ours in Bangkok used to live there for many years, and they still rent a flat there. They agreed to let us stay there for our trip. Their apartment was in Discovery Bay, an upscale community on the Lantau Island.
Our initial inquiry into flights was hardly promising. The rates averaged about $400 a person, and since we needed to buy five tickets, the cost came up to about two grand. One of Tim's employees knew a travel agent who found us tickets on Emirates Air for only $200 a piece.
The price was great, but it didn't come without a catch. We wouldn't arrive in Hong Kong until about 10:00 p.m., and our return flight to Bangkok wouldn't arrive until after 1:30 a.m. Despite the undesirable arrival times, the cost difference was simply too much to pass up, so we booked on Emirates Air.
On the day before we left, I booked a cruise to watch the Symphony of Lights show. After booking, I received an email telling me that I would receive another email within 24 hours so that I could print out the vouchers necessary board the ship. As I made the reservations only 25 hours before leaving, I was a bit sceptical as to whether they agency would come through.
To be continued...
Eye Infection FTL
Yesterday, my left eye was red and full of gunk. When I woke up this morning, both eyes were encrusted. The Thai word for it translates literally to "eye shit".
I went to the doctor today and was diagnosed with red-eye, i.e. a contageous eye infection. I am infectious for the next 7 days, so I am limitting contact with people. The doctor told me not to go to work for 7 days. At least the medicine she gave me has eliminated the irritation and reduce the eye shit.
I went to the doctor today and was diagnosed with red-eye, i.e. a contageous eye infection. I am infectious for the next 7 days, so I am limitting contact with people. The doctor told me not to go to work for 7 days. At least the medicine she gave me has eliminated the irritation and reduce the eye shit.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Hosting on Blogspot Again
When I restarted blogging in November, I decided to host the blog and my pictures on my own site. Part of the reason was that uploading photos to the blogspot was a bit of a pain. It took too long to upload photos, and I could only do five at a time.
Blogspot has now added integration with Picasa Web Albums, so I'm hosting on blogspot again.
I have a link to my photo albums in the link section of the blog (currently to the left).
Blogspot has now added integration with Picasa Web Albums, so I'm hosting on blogspot again.
I have a link to my photo albums in the link section of the blog (currently to the left).
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