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| Does it make sense to say that I like working in Bangkok, but not visiting?  Perhaps working in this hustle and bustle city gives a different perspective of what the life of a Thai is like. For instance, the “Ladyboy” population is not quite as affluent as one would have gathered from their first impression of the city. Yes, there are the famous P*&^ shows that one must mention to his friends upon his return from this lovely country…not to mention the abundance of older, gray-haired males who seem to flock to this country in attempts to pick up a beautiful Thai girl as a wife, a fun time, or to use her to obtain property rights. Frankly, after my 4th visit, I’m still a bit disturbed by this concept. Of course, I’m generalizing, but doesn’t this idea seem a bit sketchy to anyone? And why is this not so apparent in other Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, Singapore …and so forth…… I'll stop my thought process right here.  Can you tell how many females there are?
Where was I??...oh yes, working in Bangkok (backtrack: I went to Thailand for an MBA consulting project as part of my coursework)…I absolutely had a great time, despite the assignment—consulting project for a heavy machinery company. Do I look like someone who knows anything about backhoes and excavators??!! Whatever the topic, it was great to work on something completely foreign to me, and it was great to challenge myself, presenting in a room full of males who, in a sense, “knew their sh*t.”  Part of our consulting group
 Nightlife in Bangkok
Besides the working part, Jing (roommate back in San Diego) was gracious enough to invite me to temple with her family. I’ve always had a curiosity about Buddhism…this was the perfect opportunity for me. On top of that, our company liaison, Bo, is a Buddhist who entered monkhood (is that a word?) for a month, and said it was the happiest time of his life. I really admire people who have made an effort to find their place in this big, gigantic world. So, I’m attempting to learn more about this starting with reading a pretty cool book on the laws of Karma, courtesy of Bo. Pretty interesting stuff so far.  Jing's little brother
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| I was lucky enough to have visitors during my stay in China. First, my brother came to Shanghai, we partied a bit, ate lots of balls, and hung out in the humidity. Next, Aubree and Jessica from work made their way to Shanghai… Their first time in an Asian country. It was a definite adjustment for the 2 as they stood out in the crowd with their height and color. Also, the excessively oily foods didn’t seem to agree with their detoxified Gastrointestinal System from their vegan diet in the states. Note: Do not travel to China if you are a Vegan…or at least bring all the food supply you will need while you are there. There was barely anything for Aubree to eat   yup..it's a starfish..can't believe I took a bite
We all took the night train to Beijing from Shanghai, which was great. Free slippers, soft beds…and even a pole for you to hold on to while you squatted over the toilet of a softly swaying train. *nice*  Aubree and Jessica
Beijing changed soooo much since my last visit 2 years ago. The streets were cleaner, and I didn’t have to watch my feet to avoid the continuous spit wads locals like to decorate the ground with. This time, we went to a different section of the wall in hopes of avoiding the overcrowding of tourists such as ourselves. Um…who would have thought that the great wall would have a chair lift to bring you to the top..then a toboggan ride back down to the bottom.??? Ahh… the creative minds of the Chinese…gotta love it!    Summer Palace By the end of my stay in China, I was ready to leave…ready to see my family…ready to return for my last year of grad school. The long summer break in Europe and China taught me to take better care of myself…reminded me to enjoy what life has to offer…and really made me slow down to smell the roses…errr…at least to smell the greasy chicken cookin’ in that hawker stall. Although I spent much of my time in Shanghai studying and practicing mandarin, it was still a long needed escape from my life in the states. And I suppose it was my own way of dealing with the life decisions I had made earlier that year. My summer ended with no regrets, newfound friends, and lots to look forward to. | | |
| This is about 5 months late, but I couldn’t write about my current travels in Southeast Asia without first giving tribute to the incredible times I had in China, Shanghai in particular.  On the Bund with a view of Pudong
First off, I must mention that I was completely naïve about my own and the people of shanghai’s language capabilities. My fluency in Cantonese did not help one bit, and the people of shanghai didn’t speak a lick of English…not even at the International Language school. I just remember struggling just to get registered at the Jiao Tong University when they were offering Mandarin classes that would be taught in English. In the end, it was beneficial since I was forced to learn the language.  The Bund at night
Once classes started, things were great. There is just so much to do in Shanghai..it’s a city of nonstop stimulation, and you definitely can’t sit still even if you tried. Getting places was just so easy with taxis costing next to nothing, and food…oh man, the food. Everything is freshly made, cheap, and good! It was dumplings galore…shanghai dumplings..mmm. Not to mention how many varieties of balls you can buy (please get your mind out of the gutter) . Yup…fish balls, meat balls, pork balls, shrimp balls…there were so many!  Mikala and I couldn't stop eating dumplings My classmates were from all over the place. People from Spain, Holland, Japan, France, Russia, and just a few from the states. I met some really cool people, one in particular, Mikala from Melbourne. We spent almost every moment together…dancing, eating, massaging, eating some more…   Partying with classmates Despite the 23 consecutive days of +90 degree weather with humidity in the 90s, I somehow still found myself wandering around the city. The worst part about the city is just how dang crowded it was. You couldn’t walk through the streets without sweaty arms brushing each other *argh*…think I took about 3 showers a day in my gross shower that sat right above my toilet. Ahhh..the life of a student…so luxurious. At least I had my own room, some of the locals had 4 to a room *yikes*.  Oriental Pearl Tower
By the end of my studies, my Mandarin had gotten…um…almost elementary. I did discover that if I just yelled my words rather than try to pronounce them, people tended to understand me J | | |
| Ok...Guess China really does censor what is allowed on the internet. I can't believe I couldn't access my xanga page from Shanghai. Maybe the communist party was afraid I would spend my time China-bashing on my blog. So, here is my extremely late recap of my Europe trip before heading to China: After my long stent of traveling through bits of Europe (see previous blogs), my diminishing summer funds were not looking so healthy. A break in London was in order. Unfortunately, it's pretty difficult to do ANYTHING in the city without having to spend money. Not to mention, converting from GBP to USD was extremely painful.  So, what did I do??...stopped thinking about my lack of mula and went to Wimbeldon. Yup...I tried to get a closer glimpse of Maria Sharipova and Venus (had to see what the fuss was all about). Didn't quite make it onto Center court, although they did look pretty good on that big screen... but I did manage to get court 2 tickets and watched Novak Djokovic work his way up the ranks. Not to mention he was pretty easy on the eyes . 
Alas..as Wimbeldon is famous for its rain, we were graced by the big dark clouds, muddy grass...and multiple injuries due to umbrella pokes....those things are dangerous!!
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| My first time to Africa just happened to be right across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain, a 3 1/2 hr plane ride from London. That's closer than flying from San Francisco toNew York!! Although it's not the richest of countries, it was still quite expensive for a developing place. I don't remember the last time I was in a city where there were loads of cars, no traffic lights, and you had to share that with horse carriages, motorbikes, trucks, and donkeys   See the donkey in the roundabout? Marrakech stood out because the entire city was made of pink...even the McDonalds! 
And those movies you see where a guy is playing an instrument, making the cobra dance..THAT'S TRUE!!  One of the snake handlers walked right over and put a snake around my neck without asking...what if I didn't like snakes?? ...good thing I do 
 This was my biggest shocker...a bunch of men hanging around this goat head stall, eating everything but the eyeballs. They even put the best part on a separate plate...the brains *barf*...I wasn't adventurous enough to try that one...
Off to Casablanca...  Hassan Mosque II is the 3rd largest in the world, next to the ones in Saudi Arabia.
 This mosque had a retractable roof, heated floors, and can fit 25,000 people inside, 80,000 in the square. That's like a baseball stadium!!
 One of the fountains had all these cool mosaic designs...
 The fresh veggies and fish were really yum!!
 Casablanca is right on the coast...quite a few surfers and body boarders!
 Sunset along the coast...so perrrty
 And, of course, you can't go to Morocco and not ride a camel. It wasn't quite the Sahara, but it was still worth a go.
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