Going Postal

I have been looking around for postcards and some cards. Postcards cost 15 baht and cards w/envelopes cost 30 baht (15 baht = $0.44). I mailed some today. Postcards cost 15 baht to mail and the letter cost 28 baht.

(Left side)

There is a post office for the district between the BTS station and my Co-Working place. It is a modern government office. Like most government offices, they use the "take-a-number" system. But, I only had to wait about 7 minutes for 10 customers ahead of me. Meanwhile, I got to sit in a chair and enjoy the air conditioning. They have all kind of supplies if you need them. They also have a post office box area. If I were going to move here, I would probably get one.

(Right side)

There is the number dispenser and a picture of the King. Thais are among the nicest people on the planet. But, all visitors should be respectful of the King. I saw no English signs in there at all. So, I just handed the teller my stuff and she took care of it all. Your postcards may not have stamps, just something stamped on there with a rubber stamp.

Namaste From (halfway to) Nepal

TV, etc.

We only get (got) one English channel: AXN. It was an action program channel. But, it stopped about 2 weeks ago. Now we have none. They just started charging for internet at my place. So, now I don't have that either. This is actually good for both of those. It was just too easy to hang out in my room.

Now, I just have e-books and android games on my tablet. However, it would be nice to have something while I eat breakfast and supper. So, I have been investigating audio dramas I can download. I found a great source of sites that have programs I can download and listen at home:

http://theaudiodramadirectory.com/

Right now, I am listening to the Harry Strange series:

http://harrystrangeradiodrama.libsyn.com/

There are 3 seasons available. He is a Private Investigator that is a cross between Kolchak: The Nightstalker and Men In Black. Lots of fun.

Namaste From (halfway to) Nepal

Wargamers

And The Winner of the Entry Door Tumbling Is . . .

Took the last few days off. I was having a great week last week. A dude came through Bangkok and we got together for some gaming on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday saw me do a ton of work on my book at E88, the Co-Working place. Thursday I wewnt to Terminal 21 for shopping and a movie. I was almost out of a couple of prescriptions and I wanted to go to a pharmacy near Terminal 21 that was supposed to have everything (which is OTC here.) I felt so great I walked to the pharmacy and back even though it was 100 degrees.

Unfortunately, when I got back to Terminal 21 I tripped on a mat before the entrance and did a 5-point landing. Major bummer. I had rug burns and scrapes on my knees, palms, and forehead. However, with 5 points of landing taking my weight, I didn’t get too hurt. I was bleeding from my forehead and knees and they wanted to take me to the infirmary at Terminal 21, but I declined and took a Taxi straight home. Thais are super nice people. Everything seems to be fine, except some major damage to my left shoulder. It is healing slowly and should be fine in a month. One nerve/muscle got torn pretty good. I couldn’t put my left arm on my hip and can barely do so now. However, I was able to sleep on my left side for the first time in a week last night.

Fortunately, I had already got my prescriptions so I didn’t run out of pills. I stayed in my room from Thursday noon to today noon (Wednesday). I just read and studied my Bible a lot. I read a good post-apocalyptic trilogy that I got on Smashwords. The first book is called A Glimmer Of Hope. It was a good read, good quality writing. It was extra interesting, though. In the first book, one of the characters presented the Gospel in a very clear way, yet it was woven well into the story. In the second book, Mother Teresa’s “Do It Anyway,” sayings were presented, again well woven into the story. In the third book, the Gospel of the first book was reinforced. Very, very clever way to reach the mass market.  (“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

Elephants in Nepal and Volunteering

It appears elephants are treated much better in Nepal than Thailand. (1/3 of Nepal is jungle.)

http://www.thelongestwayhome.com/blog/nepal/elephant-tourism-in-nepal-is-it-different/

One thing to remember about Asian elephants compared to African elephants: They are mostly born in captivity and have been historically used as work animals, just like horses, mules, and oxen.

Volunteering seems to be much cheaper in Nepal than Thailand. In Thailand it was $600 per week. In Nepal it is $300 for 2 weeks and $1200 for 12 weeks.

www.volunteersummernepal.org/volunteer-with-elephants-in-chitwan-nepal

Another idea is the Peace Corps. They not only pay your travel and living expenses, after 27 months you get $8000 transitional funds for school or tourism. They don't have any elephant programs, but they do have volunteers in both Thailand and Nepal. Also, you get 48 vacation days during that time. You also get full medical and dental coverage. There are openings in the 100 slots for Thailand. There are no openings for the 60 slots in Nepal. But, one could apply now for a future opening there.

Namaste From (halfway to) Nepal

Long Time No Talk

Got my VISA extended a month to May 24th. So, I will have to go to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) for about 10 days. I am going to treat it like a business trip and keep to the basics. Once I get back to Thailand, about June 4th, I hope to start doing some sight seeing. I want to take a first class train trip (with sleeper car), as well as some boat trips.

Going to the Immigration Center was interesting. They built a brand new one. But, it is way up north in Bangkok. I had to ride the sky train as far as it went and then take a long taxi ride. It took about half an hour for the taxi ride and I had no idea where I was until we got there. But, God was watching out for me. I had to wait for about an hour for my turn. The lady taking the documents was a bit surly with everyone. But, when I went up there she had this great big smile like I was her long lost brother or something. I messed up my application. But, she looked up the information for me and filled it in right. Wow!

Yesterday, I met a dude passing through Thailand for some games at MBK shopping center at a Starbucks. After a few games we decided to go to a gaming cafe after a meal. Since we wanted different food and he wanted to walk and I wanted to take a Taxi, we agreed to separate and meet there. I was about to order a Grab Taxi, but saw a taxi stand sign for the shopping center and decided to use that. Big, big, big mistake. The taxi driver didn't know where the cafe was and the Grab Taxi stopped working. We drove around for 20 minutes and I finally just had him drop me off when I thought we were close. I walked around for about 45 minutes in the 100 degree heat. The area was a very grungy industrial small shop area with no non Thais around. Finally, the Grab Taxi started working. I was very tired, so I just ordered a Taxi to take me home. Bummer. The month before I go to Nepal, I definitely need to start learning Nepali, at least the alphabet so I can pronounce any word I see, as well as some simple things like directions. Knowing how to talk to a taxi driver is essential.

Another thing one has to adjust for is the price of stuff. Imported stuff is more expensive. Labor is very, very cheap. So, cheese is expensive. However, delivery is cheap, whether it is people (taxis) or goods. MacDonald's will deliver 24 hrs a day for 40 baht ($1.15). They are delivered by motorcycle. My grocery orders from Tesco only cost 60 baht and they are delivered by refrigerated truck.

They have sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds just like in the U.S. They also have pumpkin seeds. These are big, as big as pumpkin seeds. I didn't know watermelon seeds had edible seeds inside.

Live and learn.

By the way, just saw packages of roasted silkworms in the potato chip and nut section. Want some?

Namaste From (halfway to) Nepal

Songkran

This weekend was Songkran - the Thai New Year. Factories and banks had a 4 day holiday from Thursday to Sunday. I took a taxi to a friend's house for gaming at 7 pm on Saturday. Wow! It was wild. Both sides of the street were packed with revelers. Think of a miles long wet T-shirt contest. They were constantly throwing buckets of water on all the passing cars and motorcyclists. In addition, they had made a paste of talcum powder/clay and water and would dart into traffic and smear cars and motorcycle riders.

I have been here 6 weeks and seen only one accident, despite all the crazy driving here. In the 2 mile stretch we drove, I saw 3 accidents.

Went to Terminal 21 and saw The Boss Baby. It was O.K. With so much closed for those 4 days, I didn't get much done. I stayed home 2 days and watched TV. With less traffic, I got to practice hailing cabs so I will save some money in the future.

Namaste From (halfway to) Nepal