Ottawa Bound

I was up early this Sunday morning at 5 am and was out of the apartment by 6 am and on the SkyTrain to Vancouver Airport to catch my flight to Ottawa at 9:30 am. I like to catch that flight as it is one of the direct flights to Ottawa that does not go through Toronto.  I like to be early to the airport and head to the maple Leaf lounge for some coffee and breakfast.

I get into Ottawa about suppertime, courtesy of the 3 hour time differential. I am staying at my Mother's and look forward to chatting with her and getting caught up on the latest family news. Mom always asks me lots of questions that I can only answer with I don't know :-)  I tend not to plan too much and therefore have no answers about the what the future holds.

I leave behind the usual drizzle and 4 degrees in Vancouver and probably arrive to some sun and temperatures just below zero in Ottawa. I managed to get a good deal on a car rental and will have some wheels for the 5 days. That is good as I have lots of travel everyday. Hopefully, the snow will hold off until I head back to Vancouver.

I am booked for the Prescott on Tuesday night, so that should be fun, getting caught up on what my guy friends are up to. Billy should be back from down south and hopefully will be there.

TTYL,

Jim

Vancouver

It's taking me a while to acclimatize to Vancouver temperatures after a month in Bangkok and 35 degree temperatures. It has been cloudy with the usual December drizzle and temperatures about 6-8 degrees, a far cry from the 18 degrees Ottawa enjoyed a day or two ago.

Other than the chill, I am enjoying the clean air and I am trying to get into the gym to shed the extra 5 pounds I gained in Bangkok. I am in Ottawa Dec. 9th to Dec. 14th to work with the local school boards . It looks like I will Christmas (used as a verb) in Vancouver this year.

Plans for the New Year? Not quite sure at this point.

TTYL,

Jim

Hong Kong Airport Lounge

I am sitting in the Traveler's Lounge in Hong Kong's Airport for 4 hours awaiting my Air Canada flight to Vancouver  The lounge is not bad, free beer, but no free liquor or wine. The food varies from day to day, but my previous flight (Thai Airlines) fed me well and I am not too hungry. Air Canada will feed me 3 times in 12 hours en-route to Vancouver as well.

I am trying to be better at updating my Blog and my life usually slows down somewhat when I am in Vancouver so I hope to be more frequent. I am in a light short sleeve shirt, shorts, and sandals and it is a little cold in the lounge.  I will also freeze my butt off travelling from Vancouver airport to downtown Van via the SkyTrain.

You would think I would be tanned after 53 days in Thailand, but you really do not spend much time in the sun as it is usually too hot. More time is spent in pubs and bars, both during the day, and at night.

My flight was the usual 245 Asians and 5 Farongs, but that is fine with me as I get along great with Asians, despite the language barrier. They have the great ability to laugh at themselves :-)

I don't hear much from my kids these days ...  I guess their iPhones are not working (joke). I guess I neglected them when they were growing up (another joke) ... Maybe they are too busy to fire off a sms once a month ... Reminds me of a certain Cat Steven's song.

Speaking of music, Simon and Ben at ASB have the greatest collection of off beat music that I have ever heard. Next time I am in Bangkok, I must get copies of some of their stuff ... great fun to listen to on a 12 hour flight.

Here is a link to some vids of one of my favourite bars in Bangkok:

https://plus.google.com/photos/111841259004493957471/albums/5817175160929067201?authkey=CO6h5YjZzuSKPA

Oops they just put some more Doritos out ... just can't resist them  ... they were a major cause of my marital breakdown ... my spouse just could not stand the smell of them :-)

TTYL,

Jim

Home Again to Vancouver

It is a quiet night in Bangkok as I pack for the butt crushing flight back to Vancouver via Hong Kong this time around. I prefer the Bangkok-Hong Kong-Vancouver route over the Bangkok-Tokyo-Vancouver route. It is better to have one long flight rather than 2 nine hour flights.

I spent 53 days in Bangkok this time around and I feel quite comfortable now in this city. I have lots of friends at the American School of Bangkok and of course meeting girls at the bars has never been an issue :-)

I leave a sunny 35 degrees and will probably be greeted with a cloudy 6 degrees with some drizzle. However, the quality of the air more than makes up for the cooler climate.

I won't be back in Ottawa for Christmas but I will be there from December 9th to the 14th if anyone wants to join me for a beer. I will visit my Mom and sisters but will spend Christmas in Vancouver.

I think I will be back in Bangkok in late January or early February,but who knows where the wind is likely to blow me?

I will miss Jip, John, Tang, Linda, Simon, Ben, Gil, BooPah, Ross, Sylvia, and Martin as they truly are wonderful people to have a beer with and definitely are not the boring or disapproving type. Until we meet again ไม่ดี (Mai Dee, phonetically).

TTYL,

Jim

Bangkok

I am back in Bangkok for the next while and I do not have to get up every morning at 6 am and head off in a 30 minute walk in 35 degree heat to work at the American School of Bangkok.

Instead, I wake up about 7 am, put on the coffee and program for my company for about 4 hours and then head out for breakfast at one of the English pubs I frequent. Then it is back for another 4 hours of programming until the sun goes down and it cools off somewhat.

I still enjoy playing pool but my favourite pool hall shut down and I am looking for another spot where there is always some pretty girl to play, who often beats me. Of course the beer needs to be cheap as well.

Hillary 4 on Nana (Soi 4) is still my favourite bar, and the music just keeps getting better. I have a condo in downtown Bangkok that I have rented and it saves me a lot on hotel costs. I still eat out a lot as it is pretty cheap, a buck or 2 on the street gets you a healthy meal.

I am here for about 40 days and then I head back to Vancouver and Ottawa for Christmas. I have some work to do for both Ottawa School boards so I will see some of you in December or January.

TTYL,

Jim

Bangkok Update

Bangkok is it's usual lively, cosmopolitan self :-) The bar scene is the same and only the girls have changed. It is still a very inexpensive city to live in, even though the minimum wage was raised to 300 Bahts a day which is $10 CDN if you are counting. That is a day, not an hour as it is in Canada.

I can still eat dinner on the street for a $1.

One of the best deals if you are visiting Bangkok is the The Best Western Plus on Soi 20 at Sukhumvit. It is $55 a night and I would rate it as a 4 star back in Canada.

Bangkok continues to grow as they knock down rows of shops to build more hotels and malls. All the usual suspects (retail) from North America have arrived but the Thais compete on variety and price.

I am off to Pattaya this week and that is an experience in itself.

TTYL,

Jim

Summer Flying By!

It is August 4th and summer has arrived in Vancouver since about July 1st. The temperatures started approaching 25 degrees with no sign of drizzle and clouds for 5 days at a time. Apparently summer stays in Vancouver for July, August, September, and October and then we get back to cloudy and drizzle for the rest of the year.

I am currently in Bangkok, visiting my buddy John and the rest of my Thai friends. Lucky me, the rainy season is just arriving so I can expect drizzle and maybe a whole lot more. I am here for about a month ad then I will return to Vancouver. I am here because I love the city and its inhabitants. It is an exciting place to visit with lots of night life and music.  I am not working this time around so I will do a lot more travelling of the surrounding areas, other than Bangkok.

I have many more friends in Bangkok than I do in Vancouver. There is also lots more for me to do. My money also goes a lot farther, so I may be spending more time in Bangkok in the future.

TTYL,

Jim