Mount Merapi Volcano

 Mount Merapi Volcano

There is a Volcano in Indonesia that is about to explode, of course this is a maybe. I can use a two hop plane jump and get there relatively cheap and easy. I have three Low Cost Carriers in my sites.

http://www.airasia.com
http://www.tigerairways.com
http://www.jetstarasia.com

I do not think there is anyway to go direct to Bali or Bandung, I can hop to Kuala Lumpur then to Bandung, then about 188 Miles to Mount Merapi.

I am waiting until Joroem of Nat Tours to return to Bangkok. There are some dodgy areas of Indonesia and I am not sure if I can do a cross land trip. Joroem is from Indonesia in a way, he lived there for a long time. He is from the Netherlands, however they had a colony more or less in Indonesia. The Dutch are hooked at the hip there I believe.

I want to see a Volcano!

Mount Merapi Volcano

Visakha Bucha Day

Visakha Bucha Day

1 800 Find A Monk ... Hmmm...

How do you find a Monk or know when they walk around in Bangkok or Khao San Road. Visakha Bucha Day is an important Holiday in Thailand, it falls, as best I can understand on the Full Moon Day or day after the Full Moon. A big day on Koh Pha Ngan Island also...

It is the celebration as I understand of:

1. Birth of Buddha.

2. Enlightenment of Buddha

3. Death of Buddha

They all fall on the same date and month.

My friend from Khon Kaen University, a girl felt a need to offer rice as a gift to the Monks in the morning of May 12, 2006. I said, go buy them a SIM Card or Cell Phone time, they are always in Panthip purchasing Computer things, why not?

She says, No, I go to 7-11 and buy something. Now what happens is this, Monks walk around in Thailand every morning, very early and maybe at 6:00 6:30 or 7:00 or sunrise, they walk to peoples homes carrying this round bowl like thing. I suppose a person is to give rice, or money or something as a tribute. I often see them making their small and never ending reminder walks around cities of Thailand. Sort of like the bells ringing on Sunday for Christians, or the call to Prayer on loud speakers of the Islamics.

Hard to avoid in the early morning, they are up and at it, collecting their gifts.

Now, if you are visiting Bangkok, do not have a home here, where do you find a Monk? What time do they do their little barefoot walk around Bangkok area? I said, they need a 1 800 Find a Monk service, then a Buddhist person can know the rules.

There is a compulsion and a need to find a Monk in the morning for my friend. I say, go to 7-11 and buy something. Like any person there is a maybe a thought, .. I just sleep, however to feel guuod about yourself as they would say in Thailand.

Guueod - Good

You need to give your fair share of Rice or something to the Monk, she knows 7-11 is not the best place, but the only sure place to buy something in Thailand at 5 in the morning is 7-11. She went and did here penance of a sort, said she also gave some money. Personally I think the Monks would be elated with the Prepaid Phone card.

The idea is to give.

Visakha Bucha Day

A Holiday in Thailand and for the Buddhist Religion

 

Capturing the Feeling in a Blog

Capturing the Feeling in a Blog

I have the definition problems, I believe a blog is my log or my personal diary, it is not supposed to be edited. I can learn from a post and maybe not repeat the same type of spelling or grammar errors. However, I do not think I should sit around trying to make myself a perfect person. I believe the art of a blog is to expose yourself or in this case myself in a true, honest and authentic way.

Easier to say then to do, however I recently made a fast and furious post on the my site. It was a comparison of Philippines to Thailand and it is funny, I am getting all of these encouraging post.

I truly do believe a person is better off just letting a post fly and allowing the world to understand how you feel or think. I do know that some people have dark thoughts and really should hide, however there are many who just have a shadow, like all of us. Somewhere there is place where people can share, be intimate, think, and be allowed to have a thought. Not a perfect thought, however a true and real thought.

I think the best is a thought that is quick, fast and not edited. I typed this whole post out in less than 3-5 minutes. No backtracking, no thinking, just let it fly, sort of the proof to myself that you should be open and free in style, not constricted and planned.

This is the post that took 3 minutes.... hehehe

http://www.hobotraveler.com/2006/05/thailand-versus-philippines-culture.html

Capturing the Feeling in a Blog

New Joe Guesthouse Office

I am in the New Joe Guesthouse eating Chicken Fried Rice while doing this post and the last one about Mobile Office Thailand. I am good to go and this is unique.

Mobile Office Thailand

Mobile Office Thailand

I cannot believe it, I have purchased a connection in Thailand that connects my cell phone to my computer.

I have 120 hours and it will net out costing me about 850 Baht, this is about 21 Dollars U.S.A.

This is the number, Card, Time, etc...

I am very excited, I will blog on this later, however for a person coming to Thailand, I think this is a windfall.

I can go anywhere in Thailand where my One 2 Call or AIS Cell System works.

Yippee

Closer to the really mobile world that does not yet exist. I try to be at or under one dollar per hour for internet access.

Mobile Office Thailand

Thailand versus Philippines Culture

Thailand versus Philippines Culture

The feeling are harsh, distinct, real, I can feel a critical different between cultures. One day or two days, more and I will stop comparing; I will be living in Thailand and forgetting the Philippines.

However, as of last night or yesterday, I am still mentally living in the Philippines and my body is in Thailand.

I see�

The people of the Philippines are friendlier.
The girls of Thailand are more snobs.
Thailand is cleaner than the Philippines
The men of the Philippines are scammers.

The people of the Philippines are culturally less hip or cool than Thailand, fashions and understanding of the world is behind in the Philippines.

The food is better in Thailand.
The travelers in Thailand are children.
The tourists in the Philippines are perverts.

Thailand is Asian, I am not sure the Philippines culture is definable easily.

Thailand seems to be winners and confident, the Philippine people have all the same opportunities and seem to drop the ball.

Women in the Philippines can do anything the men in the Philippines are severely in trouble.

Philippines people are pigs, the Thailand are clean.

I like the Philippines people more, however I trust the Thailand people more.

The Philippines are delusion about what the value of what the sell or what they are worth. The Thai people sell things and services for a good value.

The government of the Philippines is arrogant, stupid and does not have a clue; the government of Thailand fully understands what their resources are and how to use them.

Thai people are cold.

Thai people are surrounded by people that speak English and refuse to learn to speak English.

Travelers in Thailand do not care about Thailand they are just here to buy.

Travelers in the Philippines live there.

I feel clean in Thailand.

I have better access to purchase and buy things in Thailand of an Asian nature, if I wanted to purchase something American I could maybe find easier in the Philippines.

My room is twice as good in Thailand for half the price of the Philippines.

Transportation in Thailand is easy; the travel in the Philippines is ridiculously difficult.

There are more people in the Philippines, they all live in Manila.

I am not sure which one I like more, I would say the Philippines, however I really do not like the men of the Philippines, they have this macho way of acting that reminds me a Mexican, a sort of arrogance that never stops. The USA culture can have the same on many levels. The USA culture or arrogance is easy for me to avoid, I do not think a person in the Philippines can avoid the arrogance of the men.

Thailand is great but the people are cold and distance, a sort of cruelness to them as is all the Asians. Guilt or the ability to feel guilty is more prevalent in the Philippines.

In the end, I really do not care about the differences. I go and carve out a place to live as quickly as possible and set up my travelers nest, then go out and explore.

Thailand versus Philippines Culture

I can be what I want to be

I can be what I want to be

I am realizing, I always am realizing, everyday I change. I know each and every day of the week it is possible to be anything I want to be.

I can pretend for three years.

After three years of pretending, I am maybe what I want to be.

There are questions asked of one in life, what do you want to be, how did you become this, or the worst question.
- Did you study computers in University? -

I truly believe you cannot study to be something; you must have on the job training.

Therefore, you get a job where you are incompetent, then after three years of pretending, you are competent.

People can hurt me, they can tell me thoughts, and they can make me believe I am not capable of doing something.
I am presently in Thailand; I just left the Philippines a person start to continually ask themselves.
- Why is the culture of one country different from another? -

Many persons would refer or say, this is a job for an anthropologist. I would say to myself, you want me to ask some person, who has just started studying cultures, and is still incompetent, does not even live outside their own culture, lives inside a culture, pretending to study another culture to explain to me about culture.

You have to be crazy.

Where did this all start, I was watching CNN here in my room, I am listening to some Journalist explain the political situation in a country. I think, this is a journalist, they are a not a person that studied political sciences or history.

Everyone thinks they are an expert on all things, and in reality, they are just a pretender to be many things.

This is good. This is OK; I do not think it is good for a person to represent himself or herself as an expert in something they know very little about. It is obvious a journalist is not capable of being an expert on all the subjects they pretend to be experts on, and what is ever more dangerously stupid is the public listens.

Working inside your chosen field for three years is a good start.

I know of five subjects for sure, I believe I am expert on; I try to never tell you, I could be wrong.

I will study, I do not pretend, however I will study for a few more years and maybe I will be an expert, or the master of one small conversation I could have.

I can be what I want to be

May 9 Leave Manila go to Bangkok

May 9 Leave Manila go to Bangkok

I am  leaving Manila, Philippines and flying to Bangkok, Thailand.

May 9 Leave Manila go to Bangkok

 

Philippines Copy of Da Vinci Code Movie

Philippines Copy of Da Vinci Code Movie

I am bogged down in my morals, my mother and father did a good job. This does not mean I am a perfect person, however I do know the difference between right and wrong, and I know also it is not always clear.

Two days ago, I purchased the movie.
- The Da Vinci Code -

I keep seeing the previews; it has Tom Hanks in the movie.

This is the cover or a photo of the packaging of the movie I purchased. I was on the way to Robinson�s mall to walk around and look at people. Just outside the mall in the street was one of the stands or street Vendors selling movies. The quality of copy movies or illegal movies in the Philippines is sub-standard compared to Thailand, therefore I do not purchase movies here, and they are crap.

Therefore, the moral dilemma is this, how can I complain about a movie that is illegally copied and sold, and I purchased it.

In defense of my stance or lack of good moral standing, I do not think I have a choice. I think it would take me a week to find a legal copy sold in Asia.

So go figure, in a typical Philippines sort of way, guess what happened when I put the movie in my computer to watch it.

PHILIPPINES

Aagh, a scam a minute.

This is not the movie, it is some documentary or semi-documentary or some made to sell explanation about how the Da Vinci Code came to be or where it came from.

IT IS NOT THE MOVIE

I suppose I can blame myself for buying a copy of a movie, however, it is annoying; you cannot even depend on the crooks to sell you what you wanted to buy. This is a scary thing about the Philippines and always under my skin, I know there is a side story or something I should be paying attention too when I am here. Culture and funky low levels of behavior have skins, or various peelings. You can peel off many layers to a culture, not all people are the same and not all of us are made the same, we are not all equal, it is not that easy.

Philippines Copy of Da Vinci Code Movie

Calling Home or Writing Home

Calling Home or Writing Home

I do not have a Home, I have a Home where my family is, and this will always be my Home. Home is where the family is, however, I also know or slowly come into a full realization that I am a
- Man without a country -

I have this toy called a cell phone. I love gadgets; I can go into a hardware store and e in heaven.

Well, my computer, cell phone, internet, web page and all these techie toys are to me gadgets or play toys.

I use them to call or write home.

Now, the problem is this, I now have many homes in many countries. I have friend all over the planet and they are not choosy. They live where they want, and I am not living where they live. I am here living in Manila, next week I will live in Bangkok and hopefully soon in Katmandu, Nepal. I live where I am, not where I used to live. It is the perception of life that is changing. In the past, the world needed and was required to communicate with a location. The reason why I say,
- Calling Home or Writing Home -

I can call my parents or friends at their homes. I do not have a home. Many say to me,
- I will wait until you are back in the USA to call you -

I then know, they do not read my blog or newsletters or they would know, this is, could or would be 3-6 months from now. Then when I am in the USA, they say, you left so early and I did not have time to call.

The culture of perception of living is a location. Even though we says - paperless work - or - truly mobile - these are just buzz words in reality and are not true. Even though many people say they are a traveler, you can see,
- They send things home -

I do not send things home; I do not have a home. I have sort of a place I would send things I never want to lose.

PLAYING WITH MY CELL PHONE

This is all about me playing with my cell phone; I am in my little 4-walled room, typing on my computer, playing on my cell phone. I connected my V555 Motorola Un-locked Quad Band Cell or Mobile phone to my computer by a cable. I have a Motorola program called - Synchronization Suite - actually it maybe be called Motorola Phone Tools. I am not sure, however it is a Motorola program when I purchased the telephone.

I am playing with my telephone; there are NEW phone numbers of friends on the telephone.

I leave tomorrow for Bangkok.

I will not return for maybe a long time.

I accidentally ERASED all the numbers on the phone. Gone, finito, I cannot find them.

LUCK has it that this program has a thing called RESTORE - I was able to find and restore all the telephone numbers on the telephone.

You can save telephone numbers on the phone or on the SIM card, I change SIM cards ever 2-3 weeks, therefore I save on the Phone.

Whatever the case is the bottom line is I travel and I do not want to lose my friend. My friends have a location, I can return to the location. However, I may never pass this way again.

REDUNDANCY

In computer lingo or ideas, concepts, we strive to back up or make redundant or repetitive systems that will allow us to restore or keep information if we have an accident and delete all the information.

I have to have ways of remembering and keeping my new friends telephone numbers. I am afraid, I do not want to lose my pictures, however I really do not want to lose the way of contacting my friends.

BullS#$T

IF I asked a computer person or almost anyone how to keep telephone numbers, they would say,
- It is easy -

What the are telling me is either
1. They do not care if they lose a number.
2. They have no numbers or friends to lose, therefore not important.

A Traveler, a true traveler has lost contact with a good friend, has no idea how to ever find this person again. I can return to the locations where I met them, however I may have met them in Ecuador and they live in England. I can go to where they say they lived, however what if they was in college or university, they are now not at home.

I keep thinking about President Clinton, I believe he proposed an Email Address for life; I do think the world needs to somehow or someway stop people and assign them a contact for life.

The government of the USA, IF we want gives us a Social Security number. This is our number for life; we can if we apply for it have a way for the USA government to contact us in a very long way for life.

Somewhere over the rainbow in a land of never never there is a way for all of us to find a friend and never lose that friend. They can move, travel, be who or what they want to be, and never lose them.

I look for redundant, impossible to lose ways of keeping my friends telephone numbers, addresses. I have this constant worry.
- If someone comes into my room while I am in the shower, steals all my toys, computer, cell phone, camera, etc? -

Will I be able to find you again? I wish I did not care, however I do.

All these thoughts because for one minute I thought I lost all my telephone numbers in the phone. A panic, a feeling of loss.

Calling Home or Writing Home