Show up for a change

(This post was originally sent as an email to our email list, on Feb 4th)

 

Molly and I saw the second showing in the world of “Lions for Lambs” while we were in England. We missed the premier (and Tom Cruise) by one day. That movie made a pretty big impact on me, one of those movies that you keep thinking about long after you left the theater. The main thing I kept thinking about was “When did I stop showing up?”

 

You may not know this but I was very involved in student government during high school, including becoming the ASB President my senior year. I used to be involved, committed to change, and ready to defend against injustice and tyranny (like our school policy against wearing shorts) to the nth degree. Then something happened.

 

It didn’t happen with a big bang, and really I didn’t even realized that it happened until Robert Redford poked his finger in my chest with that movie. “When did you stop showing up…” it kept ringing in my head. I got carried away with my own life. I thought that all the problems were bigger than me. I got fat, lazy, greedy and self centered.

 

As we travel around the globe the number one bonding question that vendors ask you is “Where you from?” When we reply “America”, there is usually just dead silence. It’s as if you can hear their mother’s instructions in their conscious saying if you can’t say something nice about somebody, don’t say anything at all…” When bars post flags out front as if to welcome their different international clientele, our flag is usually missing.

 

Like many Americans, I am near tears about the state of my country. Our leaders, if you can call them that, are ignorant, arrogant and self serving. I keep telling myself, only 346 more days, only 346 more days. And although that will be a great day in American history, it’s not really the problem. I am the problem.

 

Despite my gifts for action and persuasion, I sit idly by while my country’s resources are squandered on war, and pork, and to line the pockets of the already rich via their squadron of lobbyists plying the halls of congress. I allowed us to have a leader that is mocked by the rest of the world by not doing more last election. I allowed our country to lose all of it’s moral authority by condoning a government now committed to torture, suspending the privacy rights and the spying of it’s citizens without a warrant (for a worthy cause!) and other atrocities.

 

Well, I’m here to say – I’m done. I’m angry at myself and this email is my first step to correct things.

 

The Problems are numerous

 

Energy Policy

My country is deeply committed to funding our enemies by continuing our addiction to foreign oil. Did you know that you and I subsidize the oil industry (please read this article) to the tune of 14 Billion dollars, while just today Exxon announced the highest yearly profit by any US company ever – over 40.65 Billion Dollars!

 

40 Billion. And I can promise you that my accounting friends will agree, that Exxon did everything in it’s creative bookkeeping grab bag to take every deferment and write-down even remotely possible before releasing that embarrassing number.

 

Could you imaging being the CEO of Exxon’s neighbor, walking over and taking $40 bucks out of your pocket and saying here Bill, the government thought you should have this. Yet that is exactly what you and I are doing. By the way, have you noticed that gas prices spike an hour after bad oil industry news, yet take weeks to drop after good news? Where do you think that spread goes? It adds up to 40 Billion at Exxon. It adds up to 25 Billion at Shell – also a record year for them.

 

This is the point in the past where I have shaken my head, spit on the ground and said “Yep, big money runs this country…” You know what? That is bullshit and an excuse for being “too busy” to do something about it. In other words, I quit showing up. I need to take another look at the Constitution and realize that you and I run this country. This is not a goddamn dictatorship, but the f#*%@ing United States of America. What we say goes, and we need to start acting like it.

 

I used to live in Phoenix, and went back for the College Football Championships a couple years back. In a city of 300+ days of sunshine and 120 degree heat, I was shocked upon flying in through the haze of smog that I couldn’t see a single solar panel. Lots of pools, but no solar panels. Not a one in a city where every single dwelling has an air conditioner a hot water heater and more. As I’ve traveled around the world I’ve seen absolute bamboo shacks with solar panels. How about just one year, we use 14B to subsidize the buying of solar panels and hot water heaters for homeowners instead of for oil companies?

 

Better yet, how about we have an Apollo-like race to develop alternative fuels and put a $100 Million dollar prize on it? An open contest to America’s best and brightest. By the way, if you are thinking that hydrogen powered automobiles are the future – you’ve been brainwashed by the oil industry. They know that oil is going to run out, but if we go and do something crazy, like invent cars that run on simple compressed air (Time Magazine, Best Inventions of 2007) where would that put them? The reason they are pushing hydrogen is that it is very complicated and needs big companies to produce, control, and distribute. Sound familiar? It’s the next oil industry in the making. For a great, and infuriating perspective on this – put Who Killed the Electric Car on your Netflix list.

 

Foreign Policy

While our energy policies are exacerbating, our foreign policies are even worse. Of course, with a President that never owned a passport before being elected, that’s hardly shocking. When we support dictators like Saddam Hussein and General Musharraf who repress the freedom of their people in an unholy grasp for power, it’s not hard to understand why we ring the Al Qaeda recruiting bell louder than anyone. If you think for a moment I’m dismissing the actions of Al Qaeda that is hardly the case. I think we should have stayed the course and annihilated them in Afghanistan instead of starting the war for oil, er Halliburton, er WMD.

 

Education

I am just finishing the excellent book, The World is Flat. If anything I’ve learned that our schools are woefully incompetent in producing the kind of educated workforce needed for the next century. Unless we just want to trade service jobs for each other, we better get on this stick right away.

 

Broadband

Our broadband access is 15th in the world, behind super powers like Iceland and South Korea. What is our national policy around this, making sure we have a level playing field with the rest of the world? Uh, we don’t. We let cable companies dictate to us how much we are going to pay for broadband. You can get Internet 40 times faster in Japan for $10 per month. Think about that every time you sit and wait for your next Internet page to load.

 

Tax Policy

Even the rich are embarrassed by this one. On the front lines of fighting for more appropriate estate taxes are Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Enough said. The pendulum has swung so far to the right that it is now warped. Yeah, we all want to be rich, and this is what the rich are counting on. The stats don’t lie – about 1% of this country’s population control 90% of the money. They don’t need any more of our help. This solution here starts with massive changes in our lobbying laws and supporting a presidential candidate that can stand up with a straight face and do that.

 

I’m going to start showing up, starting now.

Yeah, you knew I had to have a point to all this. I’m doing what I can from this small town in Vietnam (how ironic) to spread the message of democracy and real freedom. My fellow Americans – democrats, independents, and republicans – please do me this favor. Listen to Barack Obama’s message. We long for someone honest and sharp to finally identify themselves as willing to lead, and this guy has it. Listen to him speak. Listen to your heart when he does. Of all the orators that I’ve watched move through the political process, this guy can move mountains. He can inspire, and that is what this country needs more than anything. One of his major messages is not just to believe in his ability to bring change to Washington, but to believe in yours.

 

We need to believe in ourselves again. We need to hold our chin up. We need to apologize to the world and start to make up for it by being the super power that everyone wants us to be, if we only would have the courage to do the right thing. Not just the best thing for us, but the best thing for the world.

 

Barack can do it because he can reach across the aisle and get things done. His strategy to stay above the fray of dirty tricks politics pays dividends – you make a lot less enemies. If you think that one term in the Senate is not enough, I disagree. I had high school and college pretty much wired after 4 years. And if you have ever believed that “A good man can’t get elected as President” ask yourself why that is. Is it because they get indoctrinated into the “system” and therefore can’t commit to it’s change? I think that is exactly why one term in the Senate is perfect – enough to see what’s going on, but not enough time to get caught up in it.

Why not Hillary? I guess my gut response is, why Hillary when a much more powerful choice exists? I just read an article that the Republicans are hoping among all hopes that the democrats nominate Hillary. They understand that after the last 8 year debacle that without her, the election is already over. Nothing can solidify and activate the republican party like the lightning rod that is Hillary Clinton. While I had a lot of respect for Bill, right up to the end there, Hillary is not Bill (although it’s getting confusing on the campaign trail). And if there was ever anyone who can keep the country divided it is Hillary and Bill Clinton. I’ve had enough of that show.

 

I also don’t like her campaign financing. Look me in the eye and tell me that huge campaign contributions don’t buy influence. I love that Barack has a grass roots strategy and owes nobody anything. He’s refused lobbyists who are tripping over themselves to give money. And if I truly value that stance, should I not reward that with my own money? Is the guy perfect? I haven’t seen him walk on water so I imagine that he is human, and is by definition fallible. But what an amazing individual, with impeccable character, and an authentic humility to lead by example. That’s why I just made the largest campaign contribution to a presidential candidate that I have ever made. This is my country and I’m going to start acting like it.

 

Please vote, please engage your neighbor, please donate your money or your time, please allow yourself in a world of skepticism to have a little hope. I’m showing up. I’m encouraging you to do the same.

 

Please join me in support of Barack by donating on my personal page, or sign up for his emails on his home page at www.barackobama.com and please check out his policies.

 

Have a Super Tuesday.

Ken Mahar

 

Cambodia, Corrupt Border Agents, The Killing Fields

Our travel day from Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia started very early. We wanted to be at the border crossing before the hordes of Thai’s looking to gamble in the DMZ arrived. Molly did a great job researching this journey and found a great article by someone who makes the trip regularly and advised on how to side-step the various scams that we would encounter along the way. This proved to be very valuable and I’m sure anyone not armed with the truth would easily fall for the various scams while running this gauntlet. Our journey was fairly uneventful until we reached the border. Stamping out of Thailand was no problem, but entering Cambodia was a different story.

At the Poipet border crossing the Cambodian visa agents are crooks, that is just the simple truth. As we approached the little building that says “Cambodian Visa” there was a large sign hanging above the window that says “Visa $20 USD” and there was a very helpful person who pointed us to the proper forms. Having just left Thailand where everyone is friendly, helpful, and for the most part extremely honest we thought nothing of the generosity. The form was extremely short and easy (we’ve already avoided another posted scam where people want to charge you to fill out the form which would likely take about 5 times longer than you just filling your name in yourself). There was no line so I sauntered up to the window with a big smile on my face. The agent slid open the window and said 1000 baht (equivalent of $30). I backed up a foot, looked up at the sign, pointed to it and said – “1000 Baht is $30 USD, and the sign says $20.” “1000 baht” was his curt reply and when I said respectfully, “uh, actually $20 is 750 baht” he just stared at me like I was from Mars, or America or something. It was here that I decided to switch strategies and pay in USD. I took out a $50 dollar bill (what I would have given for the proper change!) and said “here, $40 for 2.” This is when he simply slid the window shut in my face and went to sit down behind his desk.

I was already geared up for this fight as it’s clearly discussed in the “cheat sheet” we have. So, I stood there in front of the window waiting for him to return. My on-the-spot strategy is not to move out of line until they accept my proper payment – although no one is behind me so I have little leverage at this point. I figure I’m about 100 lbs. larger and a foot taller than any of them so I’m not feeling threatened whatsoever, although in hindsight they probably had some motivating techniques should they feel the need to impose them.

Finally someone gets in line behind me, and the power position is now mine. This is when the friendly “helper” who is basically a plain clothes agent in on the con comes over with three passports in his hand with a 1000 baht bill sticking out from each and reaches around me to the window from which the passports are taken. He says “See, everyone pay 1000 baht.” I don’t fall for it a minute and just stand there.

The window opens back up as people are now lining up behind me. The officer motions for me to move out of line and I just smile. No thanks, here’s my $40 for two visas. “OK, for you $25 each” (down from the $30 initial price) he says. No, I say calmly, $20 each for $40. I’m hoping to be more hassle than it’s worth and I think it’s beginning to work. The agent says something to the “handler” and then just takes my $50 bill and my two passports without agreeing to my deal. I leave the line and move over to the waiting area where there are maybe 5 other people thinking that may be the last I see of my $10 change. About 2 minutes later the handler comes over and asks “You pay $20 or $25?” “I pay $20” I chant to match his broken English. He replies – “Oh, you wait a long time…” and goes back to the counter to relate my position. Having sold thousands of cars in similar circumstances I’m aware of the third-party dynamics. Molly is a little nervous at this point, but knows better than to try and talk me down from my high and mighty position, and wisely just keeps to herself. About 3 minutes of torturous waiting later, her tongue now bloody, she asks “How long do you think it’s going to take?” I confidently replied, “about 5 more minutes.” We have other monetary considerations as we plan on splitting the 4 hour cab ride to Siem Reap with a couple that we met on the bus. I’m aware of this potential dollars dilemma but at this point am fixated on my stance of not getting ripped off. My logic is that if more people act like me, these scams will eventually disappear as too troublesome to try.

That’s exactly when some new backpackers show up at the building – Brits. I warn them they are about to get hustled and they approach the window, point to the same sign, but quickly pay the extortion fee – $25 each for the three of them. Brits are exceptionally polite, almost embarrassingly so at times I’ve concluded. The guy had the same problem I did with exact change, but essentially agreed to extortion probably because of it. When his visas were returned a minute later, it was then he decided to let the “handler” have it by telling him that he was a thief, and that he should be concerned about Karma, and “why are you stealing from me?” guilt trip. Not a bad tirade for a Brit, but I’m wondering why he didn’t put up that kind of fight during the exchange. Regardless, he probably felt better and “got his money’s worth” by chastising the handler who simply shrugged and probably thought (Hey, if dumb-asses like you are quick to agree to pay what amounts to a week’s salary to us just because we ask for it despite a huge frickin sign that says $20 who’s the asshole here?) I couldn’t agree more.

About a minute later, and exactly-as-predicted 5 minutes after Molly asked, the Handler delivered our two passports, of course without our change. I instantly ask for the $10 and put my hand out. He nods towards and starts walking back towards the office. He says something in Cambodian and the agent goes over to the early retirement fund and grabs a $10 bill and hands it over. Thanks I say with a big smile and walk over to collect my girlfriend, my bags, and my pedestal.

We quickly caught up to our friends in the “Enter Cambodia” building who had gotten in the wrong line. I noticed for the first time that they had some serious luggage including a large framed picture. It was then that we met some friendly Australians (they only come friendly) who asked about sharing a cab. We hedged with them and said possibly, but we need to find out from our other contacts. That minute they came up and said they were getting their own cab because of their luggage. No problem, as we had new mates to split costs with.

We negotiated a premium price for a 3 hour cab ride down a dusty and very rough road – $30 if I remember correctly, and the cab guy seemed nice at first, but tried to pull the exact scams that were listed in our cheat sheet. We didn’t fall for his “I can’t drive into town, so you have to take a Tuc-Tuc from here” scam where the Tuc-Tuc slides him some money for the opportunity to hustle us off to a spiff-paying property. We just stayed in the car and read him the exact scam he was pulling from our sheet. Hustle blown, he pulled back onto the road and drove us into town. Even though he lived in Siem Reap, and said he knew exactly where everything was, he suddenly had amnesia and claimed not only not to know the location of the hotels we gave him in the beginning, but also an inability to read a map. Tired of the bullshit, my cohorts (not me, I was ready for another fight) piled out of the car and were ready to move on. The driver, careful to get his money before opening the trunk of his car, was just another scammer.

The next day in Siem Reap was hot and sunny. Molly and I decided to rent bicycles and see the town from them. We selected some desirable steeds for the rate of $1 per day and were off. We got a good feel for town, and resettled at our new home – a great little guest house across the river that was huge, air-conditioned, spotless, had a full bathroom including a tub, TV and even a minibar. Heaven.

The next day we grabbed an open-air tuc tuc for the day and explored the amazing complex of Angkor Wat temples. Fantastic, mind-blowing, spiritual, hot, steep, beautiful, extensive, massive were the adjectives of the day. Be sure to check out our post on Angkor for pictures.

We had such a nice hotel room in Siem Reap that we stayed a few extra days and even sought refure at a first class hotel (The Meridian) pool that we just walked over and used. The staff eventually caught on that we were not staying there, and on the third day (when I left Molly behind) a pool guy told me a boldfaced lie that they had spoken to Molly the day before about the situation and embarassed me into paying a $10 pool fee at the end of the day. I figured that since we had ordered $10 burgers the previous days they would overlook the fact we weren’t staying there but no such luck. Hey $10 for three days poolside was definitely worth it.

From Siem Reap we made our way to Phnom Penh via bus. The bus stop was hilarious. We hadn’t experienced that kind of pressure from taxi drivers since Central America. I pointed to one guy and told him our hotel and said $1. Of course he balked, a bold move with a dozen other people shouting at me. I gave him the “last chance” look and he said OK, ok. Negotiating cabs has become a favorite past time of mine, and I still promise an entire blog on the subject. We enjoyed the city very much as there was plenty of backpacker essentials – good English breakfast places, internet cafe’s, bars with great happy hours, etc. Just a block from our hotel was a huge market serving locals. One of our favorite things to do is visit the markets and just soak up the energy and the colors, and the smells, and the people, and the culture. I took a bunch of pictures, a few of which are here.

I thought this woman’s retail display skills were great. After I took the picture I started looking closely at what she was selling. Those little brown things are some kind of poultry with the head still on, and the near-black shellfish looking things were full size roaches. Just goes to show that with proper merchandising anything can be made to look appetizing. I also caught a couple of guys who had mastered the art of sleeping upon a tipped moped, supported only by a single kickstand. These guys were masters and not merely resting, but in full REM.

Part of Cambodia’s history includes the awful dictatorship of Pol Pot who of course was backed by the US. I’ve learned that the US is pretty much willing to support any thug as long as they can say “Well, at least they are not communist.” This regime makes Castro look like a Nobel Peace Prize candidate. Basically, the very short story is that Pol Pot and his cronies decided that they would rule with an iron fist and anyone that wasn’t an uneducated peasant was an enemy of the state. Doctors, professors, business leaders, artists and any one of any standing were rounded up, imprisoned, tortured, and murdered in huge numbers.

Molly and I visited two sites; the Killing Fields out of town and an in-city high-school turned prison/torture facility.

Killing Fields

After about a 30 minute Tuc-Tuc drive out of town we arrived at the Killing Fields. This is where truckloads of people were brought each day to be killed. Men, women, and children. There were these large wooden signs that said stuff like – this is where the truck stopped to unload the dozens of frightened people to be murdered each day.

After a while, they simply couldn’t process (kill) everyone that showed up on a single day, and had to work double time the next day to get the job done. Apparently they ran out of bullets, or the willingness to use them, and started using ordinary garden tools and other instruments to hack-up, dismember, puncture, and otherwise expunge the dissidents. As I was taking a picture of a bunch of skulls, I noticed a heavy wire “tool” that apparently had been recovered. I imagined that someone probably wrapped their fist around it and punched through people’s throat or heart.

We also saw a tree called the Killing Tree where kids were presumably picked up by the feet and swung through the air and up against the trunk of the tree crushing their skulls. There were remnants of kids clothes scattered at the base of this tree and that’s when I about lost it. This was not ancient history, but went on until 1979. How could something like this be happening in the modern era. Didn’t we learn anything from the Holocaust? Then I thought of Darfur, and realized that it’s likely happening today.

The exhibit was grossly underfunded and insecure. There was a large tower holding thousands of skulls on different tiers, and the bottom was piled high with clothing of prisoners. The rest of the exhibit was oddly unprotected. There were teeth on the top of one box that I held in my hand, and it seemed like if you had a shovel and some time you could wander out and discover more skeletons. Numbers vary widely but it’s estimated that up to 1 million Cambodian citizens were executed by their own government until the country was liberated by whom? Vietnam.

The second place we visited in our tour of hell that day was a high school turned prison. There were hundreds of photos of vicitims posted on boards so you could see their faces. You could enter the prison rooms where there were still iron beds, shackles, and chains. There were old blood stains on the tile floor and gruesome pictures of what were remnants of human beings that had been bound to these beds and tortured in ungodly fashion. There were like 12 survivors of this “camp” that were still holding on to life when they were rescued. There were gallows still standing where prisoners were raised up by the feet to be lowered into large pots of water and dipped until they recanted whatever crime against the state (like having a college degree), their confessions entered into their file, then they were sent to the killing fields. One of the tour guides I was eavesdropping on was giving incredible descriptions of the conditions here and eventually teared up and choked out the fact that her mother and two brothers were killed here. Their entire tour group by the time I caught up to them was in shock, eyes red and flushed with tears, chins quivering with disgust and horror and sorrow.

We stared at row after row of pictures, trying to give each picture the one second of reflection that it deserved as ghosts looked back at us from the past. About 2 hours later Molly and I exited the last building and sat in the sunshine. We were emotionally and physically drained. It’s hard to describe in words the impact that such horror can have. Take a look at their faces.

Worn out from Phnom Penh in more ways then one we headed for Sihanoukville and the beach. We found a great little hillside room for $15 and spent a few days on the beach eating, drinking, dozing, reading, writing, swimming, walking, etc. We then headed back to Phnom Penh for a day as it was the route to one of the few border crossings into Vietnam. We took advantage of our day to see the impressive palace and it’s amazing buildings, pictured below.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Without my guidebook, I’m lost to what is what (wat is wat!).  So enjoy the photos and I’ll attempt to write some intelligent captions soon.

My Favorite Thai Photo

I just came across this one from when Ken and I went snorkeling in Ko Phi Phi with my sister.  Heaven.  And checkout the other photos I posted in our Thailand blogs!

Where the heck are we?

Ahhh!  Sorry faithful readers- our blog was not accessible in Vietnam- not to read, nor to update.  Big brother was watching us…

Regardless, we have made it back to Thailand, safe and sound.  We’re once again basking in the sun, riding motorbikes, eating curry and pad thai, and scuba diving.  Today we saw 5 grey reef sharks on our deep dive!

Unfortunately, I am not in the mood at all to tackle the entire last month of Cambodia and Vietnam adventures.  I was planning on doing it all in pictures, but I can’t find a computer that reads DVD’s.  My old faithful from the last time we were on Ko Tao has been closed both nights I’ve attempted!

 So this is just a hello and a promise that we’ll be in touch soon. 

On the Beach with Kate

Okay!  Here goes!  I had a wonderful time with my sister, besides the sunburn she managed to get the first day and the 2 days I spent with a flu-bug.  Actually even those days weren’t so back because we were holed up on a rocky beach on Koh Lanta with absolutely nothing to do except play cards, read and get massages… But, here’s the recap for all you interested parties.  (And for those of you uninterested, why are you reading this blog?!)

Kate flew into Phuket after a million hours traveling- 31 I think, I met her with a Tuk-Tuk and we traveled back to Kata beach to meet up with the Ken’s for a Singha.  Had our first inkling that Kate might not actually like Thai food when the Sweet Green Curry was too spicy for her!  Luckily the travel didn’t seem to cause too much jet lag and she was ready to hit the beach the next morning.  We rented chairs, got caught up, paddled around in the water, and sunbathed. Kate applied 30 SPF sunscreen 4 times, I swear,  and was only out of the cover of the umbrella for maybe an hour.  But apparently her ivory skin couldn’t even handle the hour, as later that evening she turned a lovely shade of magenta.  Ouch. 

The Little Umbrella that Couldn’t

The next day we headed to Koh Phi Phi on the ferry.  As we were waiting for the ferry, we all decided we needed some lunch to bring, so headed down the street for something tasty.  Kate and I got pineapple and water and Ken came back with some plastic bags of rice and orange curry type soup with unidentified vegetables and bones floating about.  Hmmm.  Kate took one sniff of her orange bag and swore off Thai curry for good!  The rest of the ferry ride was uneventful and beautiful and we arrived safely to the island.

On the Ferry

Not the Ferry!

Our hotel, The Viking Place, wasn’t at the ferry to pick us up so we all ended up piling into a longtail boat to avoid a long walk with our packs.  Not showing up was strike one, but the Viking Place only went downhill from there…  Regardless, we pulled some tricky room switching moves, piled on the bug spray, checked out the next morning, and ended up getting dinner and multiple cans of lukewarm Chang for free because they were so disorganized.  

 

Finding Our Own Way to Viking Resort

In the morning Kate and I headed back to the main strip to find new rooms and the Kens went on a hike to the viewpoint.  Later we gathered back together for happy hour and a night exploring “town”. 

 

Dig the Glassware

The real highlight of Koh Phi Phi was the all day snorkel trip we went on the next day.  Ken Sr was feeling ill so he didn’t come along, but the rest of us had a fabulous day in the sun and surf.  (Well, Kate tried mightily to avoid all sun, but ended up toasting the back of her legs a little…)  We oooohed and ahhhed over the gorgeous scenary, the green water and the plethora of fish.  I saw lots of my favorite banner fish again (plus barracuda, parrot fish, trigger fish, puffer fish, cleaner wrasse, and lots of little sparkly guys), so I was happy!  And we saw the fattest, laziest monkys ever.  They just waited for people to hand them food and if it had a little sand on it, they would throw it down in refusal! I thought they were a little scary. I think Kate loved it all though- it was quintessential tropical beach vacation mode.  We even visited the beach where Leo’s The Beach movie was filmed.  It was filled with tourists, it was still pretty cool. 

One of our Snorkel Locations- Heaven.

Kate Taking Me Out in Crystal Clear Water

Fattie Monkey Ignoring Us Because We Have No Food

We spent our last night with the Kens eating mounds of pasta beachside at a cute little place called Ciao Bella and trying to get the night mode on our camera to work. 

 

Doesn’t Exactly Capture the Fantastic Atmosphere!

And then, the next morning, Kate and I took off on our own for Koh Lanta.  Smooth travels and by 2 pm we were settled into bean  bags, playing cards and enjoying the hippy vibe at our “Where Else Resort”.  We had a cute thatch bungalow with an outside shower and toilet (of the no flush, just scoop water into the bowl variety), with basically no security and lots of mosquitos, but it was perfect.  Cheap, and giving Kate a taste of real traveler life!  Enter my flu bug, which sapped me of all energy and desire to eat.  I think I had yogurt or toast for a majority of meals while we were in Koh Lanta…  But no worries, we had a nice time just hanging out and getting all caught up on each others lives.  I was happy to just watch the amazing sunsets and go to bed early.  I would have been happier if I had been the one to win our Gin Rummy tournament, but Kate pulled off a sneak victory in the last game.  Grrrrr.

Where Else?

Another Gorgeous Sunset

Next came a very sweaty minibus ride over 2 slow car ferries to Krabi that lasted much longer than we were led to believe!  All was well though (except that the Thai girls in our van found us hilarious and kept laughing at us- Kate did you notice that?).  We found a $7 room on a little travelers street, located some food and umm, played some more cards.  Because we weren’t on a beach for the first time, were sharing a bathroom, and had arrived in a strange town in the dark–it felt like I had gone back into backpacker mode.  I think Kate understood what I was saying and I’m glad she got the chance to experience what my life has been like these last 9 months! 

The next morning we took a longtail boat to Railay Beach for a daytrip.  The beach itself was as gorgeous as we had been told.  We rented a kayak and paddled around the caves and big rocks and then settled into the beach (in the shade of course!) for Kate’s last Thailand beachtime.  Roasted corn and some diet cokes made the scene complete.  We headed back as the sun set to do some souviner shopping and stuff all my extra junk in Kate’s bag so she could take it home to Seattle with her (Thanks again Bink!).  She left the next morning on a minibus for Phuket to catch her flight to Bangkok, so I waved goodbye as she pulled away and then burst into tears! 

We had a great time together and I miss her again already. Everyone who didn’t meet up with us in Thailand missed out!  We’ve got lots of great photos to share, but it’s the same old song and dance- this computer can’t edit and shrink them, so I can’t post them yet.  Soon, I promise! 

(Real time update-  Ken and I have been in Cambodia for the last two weeks and are headed into Vietnam tomorrow.  We’ll blog about our adventures soon.  Suffice it to say, we’re both still healthy and happy, though I am covered in bugbites for truly the first time on the trip.  Ick.)

Dad comes to Thailand

We hired a Tuc-Tuc in a little beach town called Patong where we had arrived the night before after a 16 hour travel day including a thrilling boat ride with 20 foot swells. We wanted our Tuc-Tuc driver to take us the hour ride to the airport, wait while we picked up my father, and take us back. We agreed on $30, or 1000 Baht if you are interested.

An hour after the flight monitor showed “Arrived” and was actually pushed off the electronic board by other flights, and after I just hung up the pay phone after asking the operator the rate for a credit card call ($25 for the first minute), my father appeared with his three bags. Apparently he had been waiting at the wrong carousel – no big deal, he made it and was here. After big hugs around his smaller body (he has recently lost 30 lbs), we were off to the beaches and nightlife of Phuket where we would be hanging out until Molly’s sister Kate showed up.

We rented motorbikes so we could get around and on our second day my dad decided that he wouldn’t wear a helmet because he saw others (locals) without them. I didn’t think it was a great idea, and wore mine. About 45 seconds later we were pulled over and he was issued a $7 ticket by the Thai Police for no helmet while locals zoomed by sans headgear. No biggie, we’ll just go pay the ticket. It can’t be far as the Thai Policeman simply raised his arm as if to point down the street.

After filling up with gas, and stopping about 4 different times for directions, we finally arrived at the police station – about 15 kilometers, and 30 minutes away. After paying the ticket we worked our way back over the mountain pass seperating the ticket town with the beach and tried to find the issuing police officer so dad could get his confiscated license back. Well, he wasn’t there so we had to go to the local police station about 2 km down the road, but of course, he wasn’t there either. They finally radio’d the officer in, either that or he happened to show up for his carpal-tunnel alleviating Thai massage (there were plenty of tourists looking to retreive their licenses). Either way, dad got his license back and we continued on to the beach after a mere 90 minute delay.

I was pretty upset at this point having spent my morning risking my life on the wrong side of the road getting this ticket handled instead of lounging on the beach, but so far had held my toungue. This was my committment to myself before my father arrived. You see, I have a habit of criticizing and condemning the man, much more so than other people. I’m not sure what that is about. Probably some deep-seated instinct about wanting my father to be a super hero, and every mistake he makes is in contrast to that ideal. Or the stark realization and contempt that I have about the ravages of time, and the knowledge that I am only 21 years behind him.

As we pulled in to finally park our bikes so we could go to the beach, something tremendous happened. My father sincerely apologized. All the contemplated speeches I was preparing, editing, and rewriting in my mind simply vanished. How could I jump on him after he apologized? This was a very vivid lesson for me on the power of a sincere apology, and how it can diffuse a situation.

After Katie showed up and we spent a couple of days as a big (someties dysfunctional) family in Phuket, then on the island of Koh Phi Phi where my dad got travellers sickness and missed the big snorkeling day, we parted company with the girls and my dad and I headed off to the east coast where I had booked the same retreat where Molly and I had stayed.

Well, at least I thought I had as there was a lack of communication on what I thought was needed to reserve our space, which apparently wasn’t as valuable as someone who showed up with cash-in-hand and wanted my room.

I was pretty dissapointed about this as I was looking forward to more cooking classes, and I had signed my father up for a “self-healing” course of introspection and counseling. My dad recently broke up with his long time girlfriend of 20 years and I thought an outside perspective and some thorough counseling sessions would help salve his wounds.

So with that out of the question, we decided to just book ourselves a room on the opposite side of the island that I hadn’t really seen much of yet. Then we used the extra money we saved from not attending Monte Vista to buy huge sums of alcohol and hookers. As anyone knows, nothing helps better than that to get over a love gone wrong. Ok, just kidding, but I needed to liven things up – you look a little tired.

We did get mopeds which we negotiated down from the exhorbitant price of 150 baht per day ($4) to the much more reasonable $125 for three days saving a cool $.75 per day. Hey, it’s a habit I have ok – if it’s negotiable, which everything is, I do my best. Then I figured out why they were happy to agree to my number – there was no gas in either tank. Hmm, what are the odds that both people would return their mopeds on fumes.  Zero, I decided – and instantly, and correctly concluded that any tourist sucker that came back with any gas in his tank, the moped vendors quickly syphoned out of their tank. This was just a suspicion, but when I mentioned that both bikes were out of gas, the speed of their response “No problem, we have gas for 40 baht per liter” was all the confirmation I needed. Pretty clever, eh? Well they weren’t going to get me, so I idled/coasted down the hill to the gas station, filled up 1 liter for 32 baht, and roared off. I only ever bought 1 liter at a time to make sure I brought the bike back in the same condition as it was rented. Anyway, these are the fun mental games I play since I have a severe lack of business stimulus out here. So, where was I, oh yes, my father.

Our first day on Koh Phangan we spent on Hat Rin beach just soaking up the sun and playing frisbee in the water. My dad pretended to pretty much suck at getting me the disc, but I think it was because he liked my running arobatic dives. I made more catches then Pete Rose.

The second day we spent on mopeds crossing the island to a little snorkeling beach Molly and I had discovered up north. We rented the same crappy snorkels and masks from the same vendor and proceeded to suck up salt water on every second breath. Hint: Don’t buy or rent a snorkel with a valve at the bottom. Though they looked brand new, they leaked like Seattle raingutters.

The next day we made almost the same trip, but this time in seach of waterfalls. We saw all three on the island (the first two were pathetic) and the last one included a pretty big hike. We stumbled upon a couple who were “about” to go skinny dipping until my dad clapped his big mitts trying to see if that would quiet the loud bugs that were singing like sirens. I had only noticed the nudists milliseconds before, but had to give him crap about spoiling our view. Juvenille, yes, but still fun.

Although the woman quickly rerobed, the guy didn’t, so my dad decided to join the fun and stripped to the buff and waded in the cool tannic-stained pool below the biggest fall of water on a huge slope of rock that acted as one mile-long waterfall type deal. So, I got pictures, the woman got very nervous, and the leeches got attached. He exited the water with new black slimy nipples. Ok, kidding again.

The next few days we spent on beaches and motorcycles and in our great cliffside bungalow with AC and cable. We talked a lot about our past and some of the regrets we had regarding the break up of our initial family.  It was good to actually have an intimate conversation instead of the superficial ones we usually had.

Dad even picked up a book I was carrying around called The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma, author of “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.” I had never seen my dad actually read a book before, ever, so this was a pretty big deal. Not only that, but it was a book on how to lead an extraordinary life. He kept reading and reading and even when there were 20-something topless girls from Sweden directly within our view, he read some more.

Then, he got out his journal which I recommended he bring along and began writing and taking notes. ( Molly and I are totally in love with our Moleskine journals. They are super high quality and become a great travelling companion.) I had never seen this kind of thing from him before and I complemented him on it.  When I thought he might need a break from reading I dialed up Tony Robbins relationship section on the Ipod and he listened intently. After it was through, he asked me to reset it so he could listen to it again. More notes were taken. We talked about it when it was over and he admitted to me that he had made some of the exact mistakes that Tony had discussed. I was pretty proud of my old man right then, and it taught me another important lesson. Old dogs can learn new tricks.

Anyway, I thought I would write a quick note (I failed), publicly thanking my dad for his trip to Thailand. He came out for my 4oth birthday and we both had a good time. I think I succeeded in my quest not to criticize him, and just love him for who he is. And I think maybe he got the healing he needed, without visiting Monte Vista. (We did show up there one moring for what I thought would be a Yoga session, only to learn we were doing a healing-shaking-dancing thing with blindfolds which was interesting, but that’s a whole other blog.)

Thanks Dad!

Our Cell Phone, Skype

Greetings.  Apparently it can be dificult to call our cell phone number, so I thought I would give some details.

 To dial us from the US on a land line, you need to enter this sequence: 011 44 7936090840 .

If you are dialing from a cell phone it may be different. You can try the plus symbol on your phone then 44 7936090840. If all else fails you can call an operator and ask for instructions on how to dial a UK Cell Phone number.

All that said, it costs about $3 a minute so talk fast. Oh, and getting voicemail is a non starter, so don’t bother. The joys of third world communicatons!

Our best option for phone calls has been Skype, when we can find it.  Our skype number is mollyandken if you happen to be a user.

Cheers,

Ken

Jack Johnson is the new Bob Marley

All around the planet we have enjoyed the cool sounds of Bob Marley. It is the quintessential beachside music. However, the smooth sounds of Jack Johnson are also heard around the globe. Just wanted to bring you this important news from the travel front.

Dreaming of a White, er, Salty Christmas

Holidays in Thailand. Ken’s 40th Birthday. The island of Koh Tao.  All sorts of amazing coves, perilous moped rides, deep dives, luxurious infinity pools (okay, not all sorts- but one really nice one!), and more green curry. 

Arriving in Koh Tao

Here’s what Ken had to say about it all in our holiday email:  “We are currently in Thailand where it is about 90 degrees, so it seems a little weird to be wishing people Merry Christmas, but it’s true.  It’s also my 40th birthday, so kind of a big deal. Happy Birthday to me! Because we are far away, Molly is planning an actual birthday party around June 25th. It will be my 40.5 birthday and I’m very excited about it not having real birthday parties ever. Today was very special though as Molly surprised me with a fistfull of birthday cards that she had the foresight to collect before we even left. As I opened one after another I got a little emotional about the love I have for my friends and family. Thank you so much to all of you who took the time and effort to get a card to Molly, to Katie for playing post office, and thank you Molly for making my 40th absolutely great.  After breakfast, we went snorkeling… 

 

Feeling the Love at his Birthday Breakfast

 

Merry Christmas! 

I sat down and wrote out some goals and some changes I want to make, and this quote meant a tremendous amount to me today: “Today is the first day of the rest of my life.” I plan on making some positive changes and nothing gets your attention like the fact that we are all mortal and marching second by second towards the next adventure.  We dined last night on a restaurant deck, sitting upon cushions and looking out over the sea. Molly suprised me with a scarf dress that she basically created on the fly, and blow dried hair, and fresh lipstick. She looked amazing. It was the first night in our newest address, a luxurious retreat called Thipwimarn on the island of Ko Tao.  That is all for now, and I just want to close with this. We love you, and we miss you, and we wish you the very best for Christmas and all the miracles that it brings. And please send a prayer to my mom, who has missed me for my birthday the last two years. Next year is in Index mom!”

One of the very few things I had booked in advance was a nice place to stay for Ken’s birthday.  It was wonderful to have 3 days at a resort that actually gave you pool towels and cleaned your room.  And the sheets were so soft, and the bed was so big, and we each had 2 pillows.  We spend lots of time in bed! 😉  When not in bed, we could be found sunning ourselves at the gorgeous pool.

Yup, the Pool.  Ahhhhh.

Once our three days were up, we headed to Sairee Beach to stay at Ban’s Diving Resort.  I spent 2 days and 5 dives getting my advanced certification with Ken as my Diving buddy.  We had fun, except for the night dive, which I thought was crap.  I couldn’t see a thing sweeping my light back and forth and I kept getting kicked by the kid swimming in front of me!  It was great to be back underwater though.  I definitely want to do more scuba diving, though I have a feeling I prefer being a warm water diver.  No freezing my butt off in Puget Sound for me…

Ken and I were digging Koh Tao, so we decided to stay there 3 more days and celebrate New Year’s on the beach.  We spent our days getting “stuff” done like our laundry and exploring the island via moped, trying to find some of the secret beaches.  Well, not secret exactly, but less obvious ones.  Once found, we would cozy up and read, write in our journals magazines, people watch and listen to the iPod.  Very chill.  The funniest thing I saw was this girl burying a dog in the sand.  The picture doesn’t do the situation justice, but I seriously couldn’t stop laughing.  The dog slept right through the entire thing…

Looking for Laundry… Running Errands in Thailand!

Sleeping right through all the attention.

Nights were spent watching the sunset, getting some internet work done, drinking Singha and meeting up with some new friends from my diving course.  And then New Years was a firetwirling, beach dancing, Indian feast, bad DJing, loads of fun sort of night.  Pictures below!

After we rang in 2008, we hightailed it to Phuket so we could meet Ken Sr.  It was our first big travel in a while and the 5 hour ferry ride was so rough that I thought I was going to be sick.  We planned an escape route out the window, as waves broke up and over the deck.  In the end all was well on the boat, but then we endured the comical overcrowded back of truck ride to someone’s brothers “restaurant” where we waited in the rain for the big bus to come, and when it did, we were charged 200 more baht to get on.  The driver seemed to get very lost as we entered Phuket hours later and pulled into a parking lot where the next brother tried to convince us to stay at his hostel because it was so late.  We eventually dispersed into smaller vans and finally made it to Patong Beach.  All it all, we traveled on 6 different modes of transport from 8:30 am until midnight.  Back on the road again!  

Next blog we’ll catch you up on all the fun and trials of our time with Ken’s dad and my sister.  Kate- I miss you already!  XOXOXO