tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33769662011-04-21T16:04:11.940-05:00Gaga's Thai DazeSatories from ThailandGagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-1065849291923795112003-10-11T00:14:00.000-05:002003-10-11T00:14:51.933-05:00Bkk 15 British Isles Redux originally written Saturday, November 27, 1999 Let me tell you what happened last night. I got a phone call by that wheeler-dealer Tim, who said he was going to the beer garden at the World Trade Center in Bangkok and that I should join him. Well, fair enough-- it's just down the road, and I had just finished writing a piece for your reading pleasure, and it would Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-1062722180833135742003-09-04T19:36:00.000-05:002003-10-10T23:52:10.903-05:00News From The Front originally written Monday, February 15, 1999 I took the night train from Bangkok to Surat Thani, from where I would take a boat the next morning to Ko Pha Ngan in the Gulf of Siam. The train trip was uneventful but stylish? a second class ticket for $13US got me the upper bunk in an air-conditioned car. The boat was packed with backpackers, mostly European, heading for a Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-106003640687405822003-08-04T17:33:00.000-05:002003-08-04T17:34:02.686-05:00Fear of Flying If lift plus thrust is greater than load plus drag, well, anything will fly. -Sally Field as the Flying Nun Airplanes are supposed to fly. Interestingly, mega big commercial jets like the 7X7 series by Boeing and the European Skybus, really cannot. They would fall like a stone if the jet thrusters were to conk out. Not so with the old DC-3s or the modern day STOL Dash-8; Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-1058461446854263992003-07-17T12:04:00.000-05:002003-07-17T12:04:06.850-05:00Some Advice Dear J, I trust you are enjoying all the sights, sounds, and smells of Thailand. Currently I am in Nepal (just finished a trek to the Everest Base Camp) and will be here for a little longer. Hmm...I don't know how long you intend to stay in Thailand, but it sounds like you've got a pretty good itinerary planned...I won't be back to Bangkok for another two weeks. I don't know what Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-1058456225921148642003-07-17T10:37:00.000-05:002003-07-17T10:37:05.876-05:00Keep your pecker up --Byline on the front page of the Daily Sketch (London Newspaper) Thursday, August 29, 1940 1 And so it seems the pecker is bolt upright these days, that is, if you follow the news. Of course I am referring to the latest jingo from CNN on this Iraq stuff, as passed on by Donnie Rumsfeld on the Larry King show. Imagine that! US national policy is made public through the sameGagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-821666742002-09-26T17:48:00.000-05:002002-09-26T17:48:22.253-05:00BKK 19 Thai Language and Fun Originally written Friday December, 10, 1999 I finally started taking Thai language lessons. I only had one so far so not much to say about it really. I decided the "Natural Approach" was not the best way to learn (recall I mentioned I sat in on a sample lesson where you literally just watch two women entertain you and you're not to take any notes or anything). Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-818296932002-09-19T12:20:00.000-05:002002-09-19T12:20:09.860-05:00BKK 14 Women Originally written Friday, November 26, 1999 1 I'll start on the topic of women in Thailand. This is not at all insightful, but mere facts I pulled out of Joe Cummings' version of "The Lonely Planet" Guide. Joe Cummings, interestingly, went to Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina (also the home of a convicted felon and funny short story writer O. Henry). I taught thereGagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-111247962002-03-25T23:02:00.000-05:002002-09-19T11:54:05.000-05:00Kanchanaburi 1 In the mid 60s, my parents hung around with political folks, and they would come over to our house in the hot summers in Ottawa to swim in our swimming pool. On one of those sultry summer nights, after us kids bathed and put on our pyjamas, we sat down in front of the TV to watch David Lean's adaptation of Pierre Boulle's novel "Bridge on the River Kwai." One of the political Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-109964772002-03-21T23:44:00.000-05:002002-03-21T23:46:10.000-05:00BKK 32 Dikembe Mutombo, And Other People I Have Been Compared With. Thursday, March 16, 2000 I So, I started playing basketball again. I try to get down to Chulalongkorn University twice a week to throw around the ball with all the young men and women in the wonderful teak and mahogany paneled and floored sports complex. Along with me there is James, the 58 year old sports writer, as the Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-106657922002-03-12T14:47:00.000-05:002002-03-16T14:52:40.000-05:00(Originally written Wednesday, December 8, 1999) The Skytrain. Within a few hours of returning from Chiang Mai, after faithfully writing my report for you, I took a bus down the few blocks to Ploen Chit to catch the Skytrain (you simply cannot beat a bus for value: 3.5 Baht--a few pennies-- can get you anywhere in or around the city), with the only intention to travel the entire line to get theGagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-105611092002-03-09T12:34:00.000-05:002002-03-16T14:53:56.000-05:00(Originally written on December 6, 1999) Day 1 I got to Hua Lumpong Train station in Bangkok on a motorcycle taxi during rush hour. Weaving in and out of traffic, helmetless, is really an act of freedom-- nothing stands in your way. We arrived 30 minutes before the 700km, 13 hour trip to Chiang Mai, in Thailand's North-Western region. I met up with my colleague from the University, S. SheGagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-105084802002-03-07T18:55:00.000-05:002002-03-16T14:54:49.000-05:00(Original written on Tuesday December 14, 1999, in Bangkok) On the weekend an experimental film festival began here in Bangkok. I was pretty fond of experimental films, being a film major in the 70s, so I wanted to see what the latest offerings were like. There was a free screening in a park to kick off the festival. That's right, in a park. It's not so uncommon here to have screenings Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-104880692002-03-07T08:55:00.000-05:002002-03-16T14:55:34.000-05:00I'm currently reading the first European account of Thailand, published in English in 1688. It was written by five French Jesuits in 1684. What I found most interesting so far is the life of Constantine Phaulkon (pronounced Falcon). I've included a bio blurb about him below, which gives a good summary of the goings on at the time. What it doesn't say is that he was married to a Japanese woman-Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376966.post-104590692002-03-06T14:25:00.000-05:002002-03-16T14:56:23.000-05:00I should start labeling these correspondences because otherwise I'll lose track of them. The other thing is that should you wish to comment at all about them, you and I will know to which letter we're referring. I usually write on the fly at a terminal hooked up to the internet, but I will write them on my powerbook and cut and paste them from now on. It should make for a better read, although IGagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0