Our news
-
Penang instead of Danang
I was going to make a visa run to Danang, Vietnam but my visa was expired. I had read the dd/mm/yy date as a mm/dd/yy date. I got to the airport and the check-in agent told me my visa was expired. I was embarrassed by my mistake and it ended up costing me. I booked…
-
The Beach
First lets talk about Western male fashion at the beach. Maybe I’ll just give some observations. My impression of Ao Nang was that the same things happen every night. A mix of younger backpacker types and couples come into town and stay a few days. It is a good party town, that’s not as over…
-
On Exile
In the Ramayana, the protagonist is exiled for 14 years1,3. In many ancient cultures exile is a punishment or a political tool. Humans are social beings. We are raised to be a part of society and in many cultures, children are raised to take on a certain role in society. To be exiled, to be…
-
The slow train and slow town
This is the day I went to Buriram. I booked a second-class seat on the train and slowly traveled into Isaan and on to Buriram, population 30,000. The slow train… It’s a nondescript town so far. There is the temple nearby, a park with a volcano and a race track for cars nearby. The train…
-
I’m ok with this
I had a conversation with a guy at Choosy’s. His name is Bryce and was a former Wall Streeter. As expected from another customer at Choosy’s, he was middle aged (or beyond), male and slightly cynical. We talked about working and not working. We kind of came to the agreement that it’s a bit early…
-
A kick in the lungs
The air quality took a dive in the last few weeks in Bangkok. This has been a downer, I’ve been wearing a mask when I remember, but maybe it’s the wrong kind of mask, because some of the pollution seeps in. Also my eyes start burning a bit. https://breathesafeair.com/air-pollution-in-thailand/
-
The trouble with sources
I ran into a road block when trying to write up some of the information on Lakhon Kohl, a Cambodian masked dance that has its roots in the Ramayana. Apparently the dance is only performed in one village in Cambodia at certain times of the year. A lot of Cambodian cultural heritage, including Lakhon Kohl,…
-
Why do myths matter
why do myths matter? some ideas: 1) they provide good stories 2) they give insight into what the creators and believers of the myths thought are / were important we have modern myths, like the myth of Elon Musk as a self-made genius. The myth of Elon Musk does give insight into what the believers…