Whirlwind

The past ten days have been exceptionally busy for both of us. I have been taking care of business in Kelowna and am now on the brink of my Alaskan adventures for this year. Ashley is in Australia exploring and enjoying the northern scenery. We have been so busy that we have only spoken to each other twice in ten days. It has been a bit of a switch going from seeing each other every day to not.

There have been many adjustments in the past week; traveling to not, accompaniment to none, reading to not, free time to responsibilities, etc. It is all in transition. One thing I am happy about is that I feel neither regret nor grief towards any of it. I am content to have experienced what I have and to be where I am now.

Six months is a long time. We traveled far and long and accomplished every goal that we set out to do. I did not go on this trip to find myself but I did find out about myself. I found more about what I value, my strengths, and my shortcomings. I am very thankful to have had so many opportunities in life. I return more experienced and more resolute to live a mindfully and responsibly.

Here's to the future...

Thailand Review

I finally get to write a bit of a Thailand review. I have held off as we have been in and out of Thailand a few different times in our travels. We did not spend enough time to go everywhere in Thailand. Perhaps that means that I should be writing a Thailand reflection?

Thailand is unique in our travels because of its location. It is the hub for travel in Southeast Asia. If you want to go somewhere different you pretty much have to go through Thailand to get there. From what I have been told the tourism industry is responsible for the same amount of income as agriculture but 70% of workers in Thailand work in agriculture while tourism employs only 10%. The cash flow from tourism is very visible with specific areas highly developed and others paid little attention. Thailand is a rapidly developing country with stark contrasts in culture and development.

Northern Thailand is predominantly Buddhist. It is mountainous, somewhat temperate, and agriculturally focused. Southern Thailand is predominantly Muslim. It is flat and coastal with scattered large limestone protrusions, beaches, and many islands. The islands are especially magnificent. Both of these regions are run at a charmingly laid back pace of life. In one small town Ashley and I found ourselves at a large park that was more active than any other park I've seen. In each corner of the park there were aerobics courses open to the public with hundreds of people attended. The center of the park was crammed with families walking, joggers, men playing a unique game, and of course people exercising on the outdoor workout equipment provided.

Bangkok is the center of Thailand but it thankfully does not represent the country and I would say contradicts the rest of the land. If I have not expressed before I will now, I did not like Bangkok at all. We visited, like Thailand itself, only a small portion of what we could have seen but what I saw I did not like. There were two main reasons for my dislike. The first reason is the busy, crowded, hot, heavily rubbished streets of the city. The second reason is that these streets reflect and magnify a very ugly truth; scams, sex, drugs, and all sorts of unacceptable behavior is glorified in these streets. Not that it is approved of or officially advertised but the signs of it and the unspoken knowledge of it is everywhere. The wanton destructive behavior both towards self and others affects me in a similar manner as the Cambodian Genocide museum. It all reminds me very much of a description of Tom and Daisy in The Great Gatsby "They were careless people, -- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made." This description is perfect for what we saw throughout our trip and, unfortunately for Thailand, is typified in Bangkok. Its not that anyone is bad, it is that they are careless and being away from their lives allows it.

I think Ashley and I spent more time on trains in Thailand than anything else. And why not? Thailand's trains are actually very nice, especially the overnight sleeper trains. It is fabulous to travel 9 or 10 hours in your sleep! The best part is that they are some of the most affordable trains that we came across. Usually trains were out of the question for us but in Thailand they were very accessible. Some advice for future travelers though is anticipate but do not expect the trains to be on time. They are regularly a few hours late. This can work in a traveler's favor though because you will regularly get one or two extra hours of sleep. So good!

 Chances are you will go through Thailand if you go to Southeast Asia. You can enjoy both short and long stays in Thailand; mountain getaways and bustling beaches are both easily accessible. Please though, travel responsibly.

Away we go!

What a whirlwind. I did not have time for proper updates this week and I don't have any now but I can tell you we are heading to the airport for our flights. This trip is coming to a close for me and moving quickly for Ashley. In a month it will all be a dream.

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur was a few days ago but I remembered today that I wanted to talk about its City Center. I am a big fan. We spent two days walking around it and I was impressed. Specifically there are two items that I was impressed by; its transit and its layout.

First of all you can walk around the city center in the daytime and not realize that you are in a major international city. There are so few people around and hardly any cars. The actual city center is a large park with beautiful landscaping, fountains, a gigantic playground and water-park. There is also a 1.3 kilometer walkway surrounding it that has a built-in track for jogging. The track isn't just flat but goes up and down some mild hills and there is a lot to see while jogging making it an interesting place to jog.

Surrounding the park are the Petronas towers (which are stunning both in the day and night), the convention center (which houses the aquarium) the central shopping center (which is connected to the convention center by an underground walkway), the national Mosque and a number of interesting and beautifully designed buildings. From there the rest of Kuala Lumpur spreads out. I do mean it when I say spreads out because the city goes on for a long ways but I also mean that it is spread out in that the skyscrapers are not clumped all in one section of the city but several and there are patches of green that are just undeveloped; not landscaped or turned into parks, just wild growth. There are also other large parks placed sporadically throughout the city with bird and butterfly sanctuaries to go to. It is delightful to see.

KL's transit system is also awe inspiring. There is a monorail and buses covering a vast expanse of destinations. There is also a free bus system for the city center which was very handy for us. My most favorite part though is that in the city center connecting the major destinations is an above ground, air conditioned, security patrolled, walkway. It made everything more convenient on our trips into town. We did not have to worry about crossing the street, extreme heat, heavy rains, or getting lost. What a great idea.

Though it doesn't feel crowded during the day, at night the city starts bustling. People and vehicles come out in multitudes, the city is lit up, the restaurants are packed full. It has been like that in many SEA countries; during the day it is too hot to go out but at night the cities come alive.

The grand scheme

It has been an exciting week. We gained two new nephews only a few days apart. The nephews are closer to each other than we are to them though so photos have had to suffice. Still very exciting,

We have only one week left after today and we are planning on revisiting Koh Tao. I could say that we are going back because we know it and love it, and because we know how to easily get to there and then to Bangkok from there, and because it will be a good place to end our travels but the truth is that we are going back because it has the best chicken sandwiches that we have ever had. Seriously imagine two full breaded chicken breasts with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and onion on a delicious baguette with mayo and mustard (mustard being in short supply in Southeast Asia). All this for $2, how could we pass that up?

Our time in Tanah Rata has been pleasant. I get to wear my jeans and sweatshirt most mornings and evenings which makes things extra exciting. I haven't worn my jeans since Scotland and for some reason they came out of their stuff sack smelling like nachos. I don't know if that is good or bad but it made us both crave mexican food. In the afternoons we have spent most of our time reading or walking. We have gone on a couple of short hikes/walks; one through the town garden park which was very nice and one to some water falls that weren't very impressive.

We are moving on tomorrow to Butterworth (yes that is a real city) and from there we intend to take the train into Thailand and then a night train to Chumphon where we will eventually cross over to Koh Tao. It will be more than 24 hours of travelling by the end but it will be the last big stretch before our flights out. Here's hoping for straight paths.

"No problem, except you stupid."

If you ask someone who knows me you will find out that I have a high tolerance for people. Poor behavior, especially directed at me, usually makes me curious rather than angry. This is okay when I am alone but sometimes I wonder what my role is when I am with my family. If someone where to act poorly towards my wife or child what is an appropriate response especially in regard to physical action.

I know people who would never take physical action toward anyone at any time. I also know people who are ready at any moment to take action for any challenge to their or their families honor. The spectrum is broad.

I have spent a good chunk of my life in the wrestling room. This has taught me my way around a body and some neat tricks too. It has also taught me that there is always someone stronger, faster, quicker and that sometimes it comes from unexpected places. I am confident in my abilities but aware of the dangers of physical interaction. 

There are other factors involved with physical action other than my experience in martial arts, especially when children are involved. There are questions to consider: Does this deserve a physical response and if so to what degree? Am I putting myself or my family at further risk? What are the physical and legal consequences of this action?  Is this the role model I want to be? What if I fail?

The question is continually posed: "If someone had a gun to your spouse's head and you had a gun in your hand would you shoot?"

It blew my mind when someone posed the question "what if you missed?" to me. It further blew my mind when I shot a handgun for the first time and seemed entirely unable to hit anything that I was aiming at. Another question posed to me was "would your spouse want you to pull the trigger?"

Ask questions later right? Wrong? I have read a few stories in the last year that involve young inebriates killing another person by a punch to the head because the other person was trying to calm them or something. There are stories of people defending themselves or their family and going to prison because their defence became offence and they ended up maiming someone. Even one of my high school friends was killed by a bullet to the back from a shop keeper whose store he was attempting to rob. He died in a field after crawling some distance.

That is why the man at the mall who continued running into me after I apologized for cutting him off was not harmed even after he repeatedly called me stupid while going up the elevator. I merely looked at him and gave my conflict face (usually a perfect blend of confusion, empathy, and passiveness expressed in a smirk). I suppose if the only issue is that I am stupid then I can live with that.

I have been thinking a lot about this in the past few days due to this situation. It made me think of the "heroes" I always see from Hollywood who risk everything to save themselves or their families or who throw punches to defend honor. The movie Taken comes to mind (Liam Neeson blows up half of Paris and kills foreign diplomats and VIPS and comes out in the end with no legal or political backlash). Even though there is an alarming degree of impossibility, impracticality, and downright terrible choices, I still identify with Liam and cheer for him as he gets out of the hospital (the day after he is shot, stabbed, and beaten). I suppose a movie about a person having something terrible happen and then waiting to hear from the police regarding the incident is more of a drama than a thriller but seriously what should I do when a group of Albanian's abduct my daughter in Paris? Someone's got to know.

This post was supposed to be solely a critique of the movie Taken but it got a little bit out of hand. I apologize.

Tanah Rata

Today we took a bus journey to a town called Tanah Rata. It was a four hour ride two of which were navigating unfriendly mountain roads. It was well paved but narrow with many twists and turns. Vomit bags were provided by the company and utilized by the patrons; I will say no more.

The cameron highlands is famed in Malaysia for its tea production. Other attractions are its strawberry and honey farms as well as its beauty and proximity to Taman Negara national park. Many Malays come this way as an escape from the lowland heat. It is temperate here, though still warm, and at night  it can even get chilly. Maybe I'll have an excuse to wear my sweatshirt that hasn't seen action since Scotland.

We are excited to have a few relaxed days here. There are pros and cons about our hostel. It is inexpensive and has a book exchange with books I actually want to read but the rooms are quite bare and the city parks garbage trucks in a lot close by. The hostel owners told me that there is no garbage smell at the hostel so I suppose that I am conditioned to smell garbage when I see garbage trucks. Oh Pavlov, if it weren't for you it wouldn't smell bad around here. 

Another con is that, within an hour of our arrival, we have been mumbled at by an inebriate who stopped at our table and then became instantly confused at why he had stopped. "I'm just trying to figure out which one..." he said as he stumbled away. It isn't actually an issue except that it is the third awkward event in three days for me and I'm hoping it stops there.

Tomorrow we will explore the town and surrounding areas. Maybe we will even have some tea and strawberries with honey!