Cambodia, Pt 1: A Newbie's Introduction

On the grounds of the Royal Palace in the capitol of Phnom Penh

Cambodia is a nation with a rich and colorful history. Some of it is distinctly dark and unpleasant, but then so is some of my homeland; none of us are judge and jury, to my way of thinking. If you leave the torture camps and the killing fields out of it much of what physically remains can be breathtakingly beautiful. We'll visit the less-savory places, but they're a reminder to never forget... and not the face of Cambodia today.

At a memorial site in Choeung Ek, Phnom Penh: the best-known of the areas called the "killing fields"

The people at all levels of culture are gracious, the food is nothing short of magnificent, the shopping can be varied and quite rewarding, and in almost every instance your travel dollar goes a long, long way.

There's plenty of information already online about the kingdom so there's no need for me to fill space with the same facts re-worded, so I'd suggest a site like Wikipedia for more than enough facts and figures for the casual visitor and observer. Here's the Wikipedia link - just don't forget to come back!

You can see the yellow mass of metropolitan Bangkok on this map, as well as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia

As a very basic overview, the kingdom of Cambodia is a country of nearly 15 million people, covering almost 70,000 square miles (181,000 square kilometers), bordered to the West and Northwest by Thailand, a bit of the North by Laos and along it's Eastern and Southeastern side by Vietnam. You can see their only "free" area is on the Gulf of Thailand, to the Southwest.

Easily reached from Bangkok it's a worthwhile side trip, and a good example in and of itself of a land "same same," but distinctly different. We'll be looking at places in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, including museums, memorial sites, night markets, restaurants, accomodations and more ruins than you can shake a stick at, including Angkor Wat and others in that area.

Independence Monument in Phnom Penh by available night

It's not my plan to dive directly into nothing but Cambodia posts - readers have already spoken up with a preference for Thai posts - but be prepared for quite a few in the near future.

"Kingdom of Cambodia" in 2 Cambodian letterings, both of the Abugida family script, as is Thai

New Feature: Book Reports And Reviews

One of many used book seller stalls at the Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok. They're full of undiscovered treasures, if you're willing to dig for them

Somewhere back near the Paleozoic era when I was in elementary school I remember how a collective groan would rise from my classmates whenever the teacher would assign us the task of writing a book report of one form or another. Myself and a couple of others already read on a regular basis, anyway, so it wasn't anywhere near the task it was for those who were unfamiliar with the joys of the printed word.

Once "Real Life" took over, an afternoon with a new book became an almost guilty pleasure; sneaking away from what I ought to have been doing with a book from the stack of new titles waiting by my nightstand became a delicious diversion.  Still is, if I'm to be honest here.

To this day, one of my biggest complaints is not being graced with time often enough to sit with a good book and let my mind wander, be entertained, or soak up something new to activate what's left of my grey matter.  Granted, as the years pass that complaint has lost serious ground to the desire for a nap, but that has a lot to do with my own loss of inertia overall, and we can't really gripe about that, can we?  Well, OK, I do, but I don't put much heart and soul into it.

Before my first trip to Thailand I dutifully did my research about the culture, customs, history and places, afraid I'd be lost in a strange land on my first day, unable to get back to my hotel and at the mercy of strangers I couldn't communicate with.  I soon learned that that apprehension and fear was a complete waste of time.

I've since learned a lot about this country I've become so fond of; nowhere near an expert, of course, and still admittedly ignorant about some aspects of life and ways there, but that's just part of what keeps it interesting, wouldn't you agree?  Frankly, there are some things I'm quite happy to remain ignorant about. There are plenty of other sources if you feel a need to try to illuminate the darker things of Thailand.

That said, I was pulling a guidebook off of my shelves the other day for someone who was planning to venture there next Spring. They may be coming along with me, but if not they'd be going with another friend, so all they were looking for was something that would be a reference with the least amount of bulk to carry along with them.  That got me to thinking of an idea I'd had about two years ago: doing some simple write-ups here about books I've read that are related to Thailand.  This is the introduction to that new series.

As an aside: at this point I don't intend to publicize titles that are unwelcome in Thailand. I have a few of  them that have been shunned in the Kingdom, and I see no need to write about them here - for now, anyway.

However, if you, too, found (or find) yourself early on in your first visit saying to yourself "I'm going to come back here!" - for whatever reason - there are all sorts of places in Thailand selling new and used books to look around in and pick up a book or three to take back home with you. I'll list a few of them that I've found useful as we go along.

Let's start out with a recommendation: the guidebook I purchased before my first trip - the compact Lonely Planet Thai Phrasebook...

1999 4th edition on the left; the very newest, on the right, is due out in October of this year

The version I bought was the (then new) 1999 4th edition, pictured on the left, above. There have been some changes since then, but nothing earthshaking. If you can find the older version, save some money. The edition on the right is the current offering, going for $9 USD on Amazon. You can get a copy of the earlier edition for half that, including shipping. The book is 2/3 the size of a regular paperback, and small enough to slip into your pocket.

With a modicum of practice the pronunciation guide will allow you to make yourself understood (more or less), and provide some entertainment for the locals as you try. It also lists things in Thai, so you can point to a word or phrase to get something across if you aren't comfortable being the cause of raucous laughter. 

There are more than a few other books like this one, but this is the reference I find myself bringing trip after trip, while the others - especially the larger/heavier ones - wait on the shelf for my return.

So, there's your simple start. In the interest of time I lifted the book cover images for today off of the internet, but I expect as we go along I'll need to scan some unusual titles to give the adventurous folks something to look for if they wander into a used book seller like the Jatujak stall up top.

If there's a title you're curious about, leave a comment or send me an email. If I've got it - and I have several shelves of appropriate books to cover - I'll bump it up the list.

Samut Prakarn's Crocodile Farm, Part 1

A crocodile smiles a welcome at the farm in Samut Prakarn

The Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo just outside of downtown Bangkok claims to be the largest in Thailand, and that's probably true.  It's without a doubt the largest I've seen or heard of, and even if it isn't the largest farm it's home to the largest crocodile in captivity, Yai (meaning large); born at the farm in 1972, a couple of years after it opened.  If you want to drop him a card his birthday's June 10.

Nearly 20 feet long and weighing in at 2,465 pounds (or 1118Kg) he is one big reptile, even being awarded his own listing in the Guinness Book of World Records.  The photo below is one by the Farm, as both times I've seen him he's been mostly submerged and I haven't gotten a clear shot of him myself.

Nearly 20 feet Yai is indeed a large beast

Yai is just one of 100,000 crocodiles the farm claims to have on its 300 acres of grounds, in addition to a wide variety of other flora and fauna. I didn't attempt an inventory, but there were crocs of every size, color and variety; enough for the most rabid fan.

Youngprapakorn

For those who prefer their reptiles ready to wear there are plenty of shops and places to buy belts, bags, purses, briefcases and other items made from the  specimens raised on the farm, both for their skins and for the edible meat.

The farm was opened in 1970, the brainchild of Utai Youngprapakorn. His original intent was much as it still is today: preserve the many varieties of crocodiles from extinction and provide a source of skins for the fashion industry in an effort to curb poaching in the wild.  It's probably been a beneficial arrangement for all but those who've been harvested for shoes and the likes.

In addition to the reptile menagerie you'll also find areas for elephants, monkeys, birds, camels, lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) around the grounds, with an elephant show in its own small stadium.  It was here on my first visit to the Land of Smiles that I found myself atop an elephant for the first time and crouched tentatively next to a tiger and a crocodile to have my photo taken.  The tiger was somewhat sedated, but the crocodile was a meter longer than I am tall, and freshly hauled out of the water around the small "stage" island that a few of us were led out onto to pay Bt100 for the privilege of risking being bitten.  Crocodiles have a total of 65 teeth - 35 on top, 30 on the bottom - and a vice-like grip once their jaws clamp down and that made me think twice, but I did it anyway.

There's a train to take you around the park, if you want, or you can hire a horse-drawn carriage to take you and a friend around.  Paddle your way around on a small foot-powered pedal boat across a large pond (without crocodiles in it, naturally) or just wander the grounds on foot - there are plenty of places to stop and rest, and the grounds are nicely landscaped; planted to provide shade on the paths.

One small section of a series of elevated walkways above the large crocodile ponds

Presentations and shows happen on the hour (for elephants) or half hour (for the crocodile wrestling) throughout the day from 09:00 to 17:00, and there are other demonstrations and things going on, too.  You can purchase raw chicken to drop from the elevated walkways into the snapping jaws of crocodiles who whip their bodies and tails around, knocking each other around in a frenzy to get at said tidbits.

Crocodiles fighting over chicken dropped from the walkway above

Albino and differently colored specimens are on view in many spots, some communally and some in solitary enclosures.  I suggested to my Thai friend that maybe these isolated ones didn't play well with others, and looked at me wide-eyed and said "I wouldn't want to play with any of them!"

Rather than make the post too long again I'll split this into two or three parts. In the next post I'll share more images of the crocodiles themselves and maybe some of the elephants.  I'm adding a couple of images (below) from their hand-out for those of you who want to read their translations to Chinese and French, and a map giving a rough idea of where it is.  More on that next time, too.

http://www.worldcrocodile.com/home.html

Bangkok's BTS Skytrain: An Introduction

The BTS Skytrain sailing along - far above the traffic below

If you've been reading this since the beginning back in March of this year (oh, stop lying - I don't know anyone who's read all of it other than me) you've seen many references to the Bangkok Transit System - or BTS - but nothing more than a Night Photos post and mentions of "we'll cover that another time soon" to explain it. "Soon" has finally arrived.

I've been going back through images from different trips and trying to pull illustrative examples of how the system is laid out, how you can access it, where it goes and what's near the stations it stops at and discovered that while I've been in and around the stations hundreds of times it's usually been while on some mission or another and time hasn't been taken to photograph it very well, sorry to say. We'll try here, though.

There are already many sites that can provide the basics, so rather than re-create the wheel I'll refer you as we go along to some that have been helpful to me in the past: the first being the official BTS Skytrain site. The link I'm including is to the site in English, but if you can read Thai, more power to you!

Informational signs in the stations themselves aren't always where you'd expect to see them - and it isn't all in English - but there's quite enough to get you where you want to go, if you're willing to be observant and look. There are always people working there who have dealt with tourists from many nations, so don't feel you can't get directional help - but again, you have to be willing to seek it out, be patient and keep a firm grip on that "mai pen rai" (nevermind, it doesn't matter) attitude.

I leave extra time to be confused and get lost, and if my Thai friends give me the "where were YOU?" look I tell them "Sorry! I am using 'Thai time!' ". There are always maps and guides available at the service windows that will fit into your fanny pack or pocket, and I'm sure web sites in whatever your native tongue is (Swedish, Finnish, German, French, Russian, whatever) that will give you more detailed information, too.

It's considerably faster to get you from point A to point B than a taxi if you're going any distance, especially during the three- to four-hour morning and afternoon traffic windows, when you can spend an hour sitting in a cab and only go five blocks. I'm not kidding. You can ride the entire Sukhumvit line from one end to the other in about 30 minutes.

Bangkok Transit map, showing the Sukhumvit (light green) and Siam (dark green) lines, as well as the the MRT/Subway (dark blue)and river boat stops.

During non-commute hours if you're out with a friend or two it can be cheaper to take a taxi than pay for individual tickets, but considering most taxi rides can be in the range of 70 to 90 baht (you can check the current exchange rates for your currency here) a BTS ticket between 15 and 45 baht it's more a matter of where you're going and which seems more convenient for you at the moment.

In the next installment we'll take a closer look at routes, fares and tickets.

A Silom line Skytrain heading into National Stadium, the current end of the line near MBK Mall.

Jatujak Market, Part 1: An Overview

A family out shopping early one Saturday morning

The Jatujak Weekend Market can be an overwhelming experience, even if you've already been there a few times. Also known as Chatuchak Market (or just "JJ" among many locals) it's a test of endurance on a few levels - feet, stamina, vacation budgets, heat tolerance, claustrophobia and personal hydration, for example - but it's an experience I strongly advise all visitors to try at least once. Then when you've had enough, leave. For those with no sense of adventure whatsoever there's still the Suan Lum Night market adjoining Lumpini Park, although they continue to threaten to bulldoze it away. We'll cover that another day. [Summer 2012: the Suan Lum is now gone, by the way - Bao-Bao]

My first visit was back in 2003, guided by a long lost Thai friend who was then going by the name of Voy. Actually "lost" isn't accurate, but let's be kind and say I've made the acquaintance of other Thai friends since wishing Voy a good life and let it go at that. Voy had arrived on his own personal “Thai time” schedule (a bit after 1pm – instead of 8:00) and took my farang friend and I via BTS to the Mo Chit station at the northern end of the Sukhumwit line. From the elevated station platform we could see - stretching off into the distance - roofs of a small portion of the most unbelievable open-air market you can imagine.

Looking down about a third of one of the long, covered buildings

Depending on which estimate you choose to believe there are between 10,000 to 15,000 vendor stalls on the official grounds, most crowded together side by side under a series of long, high corrugated metal roofed buildings, covering the better part of 35 acres (or 70 Thai “rai”) like a regular weekend flea market on steroids. Some stalls - primarily produce, I'm told - are open on Friday, but the main market itself runs from 9am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. On any given weekend day between 250,000 to 300,000 people wander their way through the heat and humidity to shop for the best bargains in Bangkok. Not especially well organized but loosely grouped by item types, it’s a labyrinth of mythological proportions.

A photo of a map/sign - one of many to help guide you around

From the "official" map sign pictured above you can see there are hundreds of the buildings I mentioned above. In addition to this mapped area there's an additional area of homewares, fish and aquariums and an enclosed air conditioned mall not surprisingly known as JJ Mall. The mall is open every day and has many of the things a shopper would want - except many of the surprises and experience of the monstrous market itself, which is worth the effort.

A stall of religious statuary, one of dozens

Almost everything you can imagine, a lot you can’t and some things you probably shouldn’t are all available for purchase here: packaged and freshly cooked food of all varieties, all types of traditional and modern clothing, herbal remedies, leather goods of all kinds, electronics, music, animals, thousands of tropical fish, jewelry, orchids, medicines, appliances, software, plants, furniture, china, pottery, everything but humans themselves - and I’d imagine they were available for rent in some part of the market as well, if you catch my drift.

Creatures you (thankfully) don't often see outside of a zoo are available as pets

Enclosed “aircon” eateries rub elbows with a stall of musical instruments next to ATM machines, sandwiched between stalls of religious statues and artifacts that adjoin a small cock fighting ring – it seemed that every turn we took (and we wandered for hours) brought a surprise. My index finger cramped from taking so many pictures.

One of many places to eat - some smaller than this, some seating hundreds

By leaving the hotel at 1:00 that first visit we began with the deck stacked against us, and I've never gone there in the afternoon again. By 12:00 noon the covered buildings become large convection ovens. If you knew what you were going there for and precisely where to find it you could probably get in and out without roasting, but unless you thrive in the heat it just takes too much of the fun out of it for me. I like the wandering, the people watching, the sights and sounds - and that's so much nicer with the temperature less than 100F+ and without everything you're wearing stuck firmly to your body with perspiration.

There's no way to do "JJ" justice in a single post, so I'll break it up into some sort of sections. Today is your introduction - in Part 2 I'll share some guidelines based on my experiences that you may find helpful, and past that we'll cover some specific areas and stories.

From the air. Detail on this image to come

New Series: Night Photos, Part 1

Although I don’t consider myself to be an exceptionally gifted photographer I do enjoy taking pictures (and I'm very thankful for digital photography and the slack it affords us by way of the "delete" button).

Something that's interested me for the past few years is the realm of available light and night photography, and I've had the time to experiment with it more while in Thailand, away from the normal routine of life.

I'll do a proper post tomorrow but let the header photo here set the stage, if you will.

I’m not saying that Thai workers are reckless but there's no denying there's a far stronger sense of fatalism involved with jobs you'd rarely see done quite so cavalierly in the West. For example, the welder above wasn't wearing any sort of eye protection whatsoever; either from sparks or from that blinding pinpoint of light arcing at the point of contact. It made me cringe just to (briefly) watch him doing it, actually.

Sunrise, Sunset - Part 1

Looking South on Pattaya Beach - 2006

There's a benefit (of sorts) to the particulate matter lingering in the air weeks after farmers burn off post harvest crops, along with the by-products of internal combustion engines, dust in general and the trash of millions burned in countless locations: they certainly help color skies at the beginning and end of the day. Those gorgeous yellows, oranges and reds at the longer-wave section of our visible spectrum can be stunning, especially when accessorized by clouds highlighted by the rays of sun that are as close to the aurora borealus as most of us will ever see.

Early morning and late afternoon are my favorite times for most any kind of nature photography, and I try not to miss seeing it - even if I can't make the time to take pictures. It's a time of (brief) reflection for me.

Rather than bowl you over with a flood of images I think maybe it would be nice to just share one at a time, maybe giving you a moment's pause, too.

Here's the first.

The Gift Of A Lifetime, A Lifetime Gift

Today’s post is an appeal. What I’m asking you to consider is no more than a single drop of water in a pond, but let me explain how that one drop can spread circles across the surface much farther than our eyes can perceive.

Several years ago I learned from a friend about the enormous amount of selfless, ongoing good work being done by the Pattaya Street Kids Support Project, a charity based in England that indirectly has made futures brighter for hundreds of Thai children. More importantly – looking back at the ripple effect just mentioned – it will most likely make a positive difference not only in their lives, but the lives of their children and their children. If you continue to follow this blog you’ll read more stories about my experiences with them, the students and the other kids they help, but let this serve as an introduction, if you will.

Normally it’s not polite to stand here online with a hand out (even if it is on behalf of others), but I wanted to pitch the possibility today of a personal reward I can heartily recommend from my own experience: making the commitment to yourselves that you'll become a child's school sponsor on an on-going basis. This means you'll be giving educational stability to a child and assuring that they'll be able to complete their basic education, giving them essential and valuable tools for a better life; both for them and their families.

For the relatively small sum of around $100USD per school year (here’s a currency calculator) you provide nearly everything a child needs for school except their lunch. If you stop to think about it, that's about 25 cents a day over a calendar year. Thankfully very few of us can say we couldn't come up with that. Younger children’s fees tend to be a little less than this, high school students can be a little more. You can pay in a lump sum or monthly, either way - either by bank draft or PayPal (which accepts credit cards).

You don't sign a contract, you just make the decision to do it: contact them through the web site below, let him know if you have any basic preferences (elementary school, secondary school, girl or boy, two from a family if needed, etc.) and - just like expectant parents - you "receive" a child. They know where the needs are most urgent, so I’d recommend letting them arrange for you if possible. If circumstances truly change and you can not afford the upcoming year's funds next year they'll do their best to arrange another means of funding so the child can continue school. One of my students was previously sponsored by a woman who could no longer afford it due to age and health issues.

Please take a moment to look at their web site, if you haven't already – and please note the funds many would use for the polish and flash of a “professional” site have been channeled into something more useful! Administrative costs are almost zero…you'll see that your funds truly DO go where you intend them to go (board members pay their own expenses to visit Thailand, for example), there is reliable transparency up front, and it is NOT a religious organization with an agenda.

OK, so why am I posting about this now, you ask? Because it's the middle of April, the new school year will begin in a few weeks and fees are due very soon. There is a year-round need, but if you've ever considered doing this, the time to act truly is NOW.

If you do, when you look back years from now you’ll be able to think warmly of the far-reaching ripples of hope you started with this single act of kindness today.

You won't regret it.

Pattaya Street Kids Support Project

Accommodations, Part 1

Finding, researching and booking a room to stay while visiting a new place can be an odd mix. On one hand, there’s the excitement of the hunt; finding a place that seems to adequately fit our needs and desires, and on the other the molar-grinding frustration of contradictory reviews and misleading web sites – not to mention the often clumsy process of price comparisons while making the booking ourselves, if we’re not using an agency of one form or another.

When it comes to where I’ll hang my usually sweaty hat in Thailand I tend to lean towards the less adventurous, myself. There are plenty of basic rooms available throughout Thailand for less than few hundred baht a night, and if a room with a fan instead of air conditioning and a very basic shared shower/toilet room down the hall rings your bell, more power to you. In my quest to see more of the “real” Thailand I’m learning to be much more flexible about it, but normally I’d prefer something a little more than what many might consider to be “indoor camping”.

If we’re really honest with ourselves most of our apprehensions are more than likely fear-based, and needless, to boot. Will I wake up covered in mosquito bites and worry about malaria the rest of my trip? Will the water from the shower make me sick if I get it in my mouth? Can I really balance myself on a normal Thai “squat” toilet without losing my wallet and everything else in my pocket down the drain? [That last one you’ll see again in a future post].

The old saying look before you leap is the best guide in this case. My suggestion would be to do some real, in-depth research:

1) Decide what you can afford to spend per night on a place to stay
2) Consider the quality of accommodations based on your past experiences/comfort
3) Check online maps to see where the lodging is vs where you’ll want to be
4) Research travel sites, online forums and printed guidebooks
5) Speak with or exchange email others you think fit your travel lifestyle

Being a generation removed from the adventurous spirit of Khao San Road back-packing I stayed in more traditional hotels on my first visit, and that’s the suggestion I’d make here for other “Newbies,” especially those of us in middle to later middle age.

If travel time permits you can also book a couple of nights in one hotel and then check around and book one on the fly after you're there. Internet cafes are everywhere, so you don't have to pay walk-in or "rack" rates. If you aren't there in peak season you may well get a better rate just by speaking with the manager or person in charge at a hotel or guest house.

If you can comfortably afford a room for about $45USD / 33Euro / 49Aud / per night, you should be more than fine. If you check around you’ll find rooms in that range with an in-room safe, a decent view, a good location and breakfast included in the package. If you do your homework you can find the same for less than that.

Remember, this should be someplace you’ll feel safe and comfortable while far from home – and much of what is familiar there. If you can’t afford it, consider saving up a little more before making the trip. Don’t cheat yourself – you’re on vacation!

Interviews With "The Boys" - An Introduction

With and without the help of Thai friends as translators I've done a considerable amount of talking over the years with people in Thailand about their lives, gathering information that I hope to publish one day in a form that might earn me more of a reward than the numb butt I’ve gotten writing about it so far.

Because I’ve long been interested in the whys and wherefores regarding sub-cultures of the Night Life (and yes, the World’s Oldest Profession) quite a number of the folks I’ve talked with have been hosts or go-go boys, either presently or in their past. I’d say go-go dancers but if you’ve spent any time in the clubs you know there’s precious little actual dancing that occurs. Either way, these men have been some of the most intriguing interviewees.

Time and circumstances don’t afford the same opportunities with massage guys but I can usually scribble down some basics immediately after leaving the place from my mid-session Q & A, and photos I take also help to jog my memory after the fact, thank goodness. A few times I actually tried to jot notations on a piece of paper while getting the massage, but found that to be counter-productive to the relaxation process – and messy at best.

I can be a fool but don’t live in a fool’s paradise thinking I can really learn much of anything about what makes a person “tick” who not only speaks a language I’m unskilled with (to be as kind to myself as possible here) but who has no real reason to talk much about themselves, so I am seldom privy to a Thai guys’ inner hopes and dreams, but by showing a little interest and sincerity I’ve found I do get extended glimpses every so often, and it’s been fascinating.

The guys I have kept in contact with over the years have all taken me into varying levels of confidence, and some people have no problem with casual participation in the phenomenon I refer to as “the stranger on the bus” – someone you confide in a little because (A) you want to talk and (B) figure you’ll probably never see them again, so who cares? Some have agreed to allow me to share parts of their stories after being assured I’d change names and some details to protect their privacy.

Tomorrow you’ll see what I put to paper after visiting for a few hours over coffee with the first guy I took out of a club to interview. It’s a “Same same, but different” world for these guys who begin work after the neon blinks itself awake in club land... and yet not so different at all, in many ways.

A beginning, of sorts

There are probably already a million blogs about travel, and easily thousands about what has become my favorite destination – Thailand – but as I’m just as vain as most other writers and not nearly as thick-skinned as some this seems a safer place to post some of my experiences in the Land of Smiles than a public member forum. Here I can do my own moderating and delete what I’d normally grind my molars down a bit further about on a forum. Besides, there are those who are interested in my observations and stories and this will allow them to check in at their leisure as their time allows.

Am I an expert on Thailand, this land I’ve grown so fond of? Not by a country mile, so save your comments. I’ve made a baker’s dozen trips there over the past seven years, and each time I learn a smidgeon more about some sliver of the culture or people or some place I've visited, and this will be a place where I can share... but it’s by no means a reference. If you want that, try doing a Google for something more authoritative.

My experiences may be of use to you, but the anecdotal nature of them will probably put them more into the category of entertainment, since I rarely reference sources. If you find it an enjoyable read, I’ll be pleased enough. If it inspires some sharing of ideas and opinions in a constructive manner, that’s a bonus.

At some point I’ll assemble these entries along with other pieces into book form and who knows, perhaps even find someone interested in publishing it besides a “vanity press” house.

So... sawatdee krub. Nice you found me.