Categories
Asia 2013 Thailand

Confessions of a Thai Massage Addict

Hi, my name is Aaron and I have a problem. A whole day went by and I was having withdrawal symptoms… Nobody was poking and prodding my body! I didn’t know what to do! Why, oh why, did I doddle in the shower instead of getting an earlier start. Now I had no time for […]

Categories
Asia 2013 Philosophy Singapore Thailand

How to Design an Airport

Dear Airport Designers, I respect the work you do. Really, I do. Airports are complicated places that have to serve a multitude of needs. Getting passengers on and off planes. Immigration. Baggage facilities. It’s tough work, I’m sure. But you could really stand to learn a thing or two from Asia… Yes, Asia is putting […]

Categories
Thailand Travel Stories

“There’s No School Today, The Government’s Been Overthrown”

Imagine if you’re waiting for the school bus one day and the librarian walks over and casually says… “There’s no school today, the government’s been overthrown.” That was exactly what happened to me on the morning of September 19, 2006. You see, I was studying in Thailand at the time and in the dark of […]

Categories
Personal Stories Thailand Travel Stories

“We’re Getting Married Tomorrow…At a (Thai) Buddhist Temple”

Imagine if one day your parents turned to you and said: “We’re getting married tomorrow…at a Buddhist temple.” Now imagine that you’re in Thailand when they said that… Welcome to my life! Let me explain…my parents have always been a wee bit non traditional. That resulted in quite a unique upbringing for myself, going way […]

Categories
Thailand

The Ongoing Thai Political Crisis

Picture, if you will, throngs of anti-government protesters blockading roads, storming parliaments, blocking airports and setting fire to shopping malls. These are some of the images that have come out of Bangkok in the past few years. A mere six months ago, the headlines screamed that the Thai army had forcibly removed the “Red Shirts,” […]

Categories
Asia 2010 Thailand

City of Angels, City of Life

Bangkok is a great city. I’ll just go right out and say that. I know that sounds like quite a statement to make, but I’m not the only one who thinks so! Practically my entire family agrees! This place can be amazingly overwhelming (even more so than New York) but it’s just brimming with character […]

Categories
Asia 2010 Thailand

A Metropolis Awakens: Bangkok at Sunrise

I’ve got to be honest with you. I am almost never up and about at 4:30am. But here I was, standing in Krungthep’s (Bangkok’s) Hualamphong Station at that ungodly hour! It was too early to find a hotel room for the coming night and too early for Bangkok’s public transit system to be up and […]

Categories
Asia 2010 Laos Thailand

Border Crossing #2

After nearly two weeks of mostly doing things the “tourist” way in Laos, I was determined to get myself to Thailand the “real” way. There were plenty of opportunities in Pakse for VIP buses that went all the way to Bangkok, but I wanted nothing of that. My plan? Catch local transport to the Thai-Lao […]