%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |   A terminal for all blogs coming in or going out. A view into my life. |
Started July 1st 2019 for contests, etc. as other blogs are filling up and have other purposes.  I'm starting a new blog because
I'll be linking to
I've started an appendix (I no longer have one personally) to keep track of my Space Cadet journals for Space Blog. It's a work constantly under construction. Mind the mess.
I needed to start a folder for contests as there are so many deadlines and details to remember.
  |
| 14 พฤศจิกายน Sat with Michael from Surinam/Canada. He's wandering around looking for a place to settle... someday. A place with lots of wildlife, cheap, laid-back vibe. His search will continue to Laos, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Malaysia. Singapore is too expensive. 13 พฤศจิกายน ຂ້ອຍຢູ່ໜອງຄາຍ ฉันอยู่ที่หนองคาย Very relaxed here. Nong Khai sleeps along the MeKong like a satiated serpent (naga).  Great walk along the promenade. Clouds were perfect. Room is okay even if it only has a fan. Bed is comfortable. Met owner Pao. Nice chat with Eugene. Ate pork satay. 10 = 60 baht. 80 baht in Krungthep. Earlier: easy to catch a van to NK from bus terminal in UD. But... van goes to border first... then town. I got off by Wat Hai Sok. Spoke to German (20) from Frankfort before leaving La Malila hostel. Saw Nico... returning. Adam going home to teach children in Sakon Nakhon. Only had coffee and a piece of bread before leaving... a mistake... nothing free at Mut Mee in NK. 12 พฤศจิกายน Awake before 8 a.m. Now 9:30 and I'm wilted. Sweets and toast for breakfast, my second cup of coffee. I could lie back down... but... Nico (Bruxelles) leaves. Adam (London) arrives. Last day in Udon Thani. Returned to place by Chinese temple. Cute guys only spoke a little English. But Pun remembered me. We agreed to go out to eat. I went back to hostel to shower and change clothes.  Hot pot with ปัญญา ปัน ศิลาชัย tonight. 856 baht for the two of us. Pleasant evening. It felt odd to be holding hands but Pun seemed to be fearless and 'proud'. 11 พฤศจิกายน I got to pet นีนี (Neenee). She's very kittenish, gimpy, wears a green Grab jacket.  I'm spending another night or two. It's "only" 87 degrees... but the heat drains me. After Udon Thani I'll go to Nong Khai on the MeKong. I'll look across the river to Laos.  A bed is costing me 300 baht ($8.33). I can live with that. I had crab-balls (like takoyaki) and fish yesterday but I'm walking a lot. I'll lose weight. I booked 3 nights in Nong Khai, 13-16. I'm enjoying doing nothing. But... dehydration is a real danger, as is any attempt to cross the streets. My lack of Thai/Lao is quite frustrating.  Wish I had a guide. I'm following the News. 21 degrees in Missoula. Prop. 131 was defeated... a big relief for those who believe in a woman's right to her body. I'll need to write about that. Election '22 was frightening but not the disaster it could have been. To Kyle at YCC: "Islam kept much of the learning alive in the West though universities when Europeans were mostly ignorant barbarians. Not all Muslim sects/countries deny women's rights... maybe you are conflating the Wahhabi Saudis with others. In the USA, proponents of Christian Nationalism oft-times deny women's rights. The criminalization of pregnancy and women is a current example. Florida is one of the leaders of denial of human rights." As a solo traveler I don't do the typical groupie tourist route. I choose to cherish small moments. Got my hair cut by a barber (Porn sp?) for the first time since November, 2019  ! She cut it quite short. I ate a philly-steak with thin crispy onion at Koala. Told Pear that it was the best ever (it was). She mentioned that covid had been difficult... closed hostel? This was mentioned at Bees Boy Bar as well. Terry kept paying his employees (no help from government). Coke cost me 35 baht there (20 is street price) but well worth the pleasant chat. His clientele tend to be wealthy Thai women. The ex-pat red-light district "buy me a drink, massage?" is a street away. I chatted with two men, one from Eastern Montana, the other from Danmark. The walking street (Friday and Saturday) night market is overwhelming. May skip tonight. The mall, however, was a pleasant surprise. Ate duck with jade noodles. Found novels of two of the Thai TV series I've watched (Vice Versa and Eclipse). 10 พฤศจิกายน I just told Norma: Fun... ...this may be my last trip alone. I need to be very very careful. I lose things... important things. I don't mind getting lost if I have a map. I've learned only a little Thai/Lao. I don't sit and sip pinha coladas at a resort. I like seeing how locals live and eat what they eat. So that's wonderful.  However, it's getting harder, on my body and my mind, to travel.Today is an orange day. I will go to a couple/three parks, walk through the red light district. Hopefully be amused by "massage"... I'm looking out at trees (lots here... big ones too that remind me of the trees in Guanacaste) but this region is 'dry' and I don't see epiphytes like orchids and bromeliads. Lots of fragrant flowers though. I found Thai donuts (not sweet, more like fried dough) last night; today, I had 2 donuts for breakfast... and too much coffee. Now 1 pm. Time to shower, put on my orange shirt, go out. 9 พฤศจิกายน Green day. Also need to do a wash. Woke up just before dawn. There was a red glow in the room. Sometimes hard to notice what's missing. Fear. Fear is missing. No razor wire on the roofs and fences, no iron bars. Yes, there's security cameras and sure... there are pickpockets. But... there isn't a pervasive fear in the background like in Costa Rica and the United States. People here don't hate each other. I've done the numbers. I should consider staying an extra day here, if only to get my head screwed on tight. I overstayed Krunngthep by two days. I only booked two nights here; but, I like this hostel. Very quiet, close to street market, railway. Bad air though... there's a haze. AQI = 135. Not good.  Breakfast of champions: fish and donuts. Coffee... of course. Decided to stay extra day in Udon Thani at La Melila. Lovely place with lovely people. Calm here... no elections. So... must do wash. Must see the Yellow Duckie, symbol of Udon Thani. 8 พฤศจิกายน Do I give up traveling? Long day on train... over 8 hours on a lumpy seat. Met people from England and France as well as Thailand. Then I left my bag with donuts (186 baht/dozen) and my Samsung tablet on the train... got it back... but... now so tired that I barely got to see the moon. And I have no energy to see loi kratung. It may be time to stop traveling alone or... just quit. 7 พฤศจิกายน |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
. That's good, right? Or did you just list those checked? 
