Misadventures in Thailand

Just as our luck was getting worse and worse with dishonesty following us around constantly, flash floods hit the southern part of Thailand blocking roads and stranding many tourists on the islands. Luckily, we never managed to reach any other islands so we were able to escape the south and move north.



We were sad to be driven out by floods because once we stopped attempting to go to any islands, things were getting better for us. Thailand actually has an incredibly colourful and unique culture. The television commercials are unlike anything I have ever seen.

We arrived in Bangkok early in the morning. It was proving to be a difficult city to navigate and Ami and I had taken a wrong turn looking for a hotel. Once we found the center of the city, we were tired, sick, and just not looking forward to spending any time in the city. The only place we really wanted to be was at the airport.

So, two hours into our Bangkok trip, we headed back on the monorail and headed to the international airport.
Here is a video documenting probably the most impulsive behaviour Ami and I have ever been guilty of.



Well, that was our trip to Thailand, which lasted all of 6 days.The next few entries will have many colourful video and stills of where we ended up next. Till next time.

We're Baaaaack

Hello all. I know it has been a while a since my last entry. The past month has been a whirl wind of activity, adventure and extreme laziness and now, more adventure. It all began when we left Kuala Lumpur on an over-night train to southern Thailand. Let me begin...

We had to return to Kuala Lumpur to sort out our Thailand visas.

There's Ami picking the nose of the prime ministers mug.

And of course, we couldn't resist some more shots of the Petronas Towers.

We then took a night train from Kuala Lumpur to southern Thailand. Here is Ami's video tour of our train.



Here are some stills from the restaurant compartment.

A nice guy we met from Denmark on our way to Thailand.

Now, once we got to Thailand, all the great luck that followed us around in Sabah had suddenly turned on us. As soon as we got out of the train station, the friendly guy from Denmark walked away from us without a goodbye and we were lost with a horde of aggressive tuk-tuk (taxi) drivers hassling us on the street. The city we arrived in was dirty and congested, no one spoke English and no one wanted to give us an honest price or answer to any of our questions. Coming from Sabah, the way we were being treated in Thailand was a huge culture shock. It was pretty unpleasant. With all the hassles and confusion, I wasn't able to take many pictures.

We headed to one of the famously picturesque islands of southern Thailand only to be heaped in with the massive tourist crowds the populate the islands. Here are some shots of our time on the island once we got our bearings.

The bungalow we rented on an island. It was nice except for no electricity 16 hours a day.

Here's Ami as we were climbing a nature trail.

There's me as we were half-way up.

Once we reached the top, the view was quite lovely.

Now, as things were becoming manageable, everything turned upside down. As we were making our way down the very well-trodden nature trail, we heard a growling about 30 meters into the trees around us. The growling quickly became closer and we saw a large, gray furry animal darting through the jungle. For a split second, our minds thought we were about to witness one animal hunting another and it would be quite a show but we soon realized the reality we were in. This furry gray monster was a raving, rabid macaque monkey bee-lining through the jungle straight for Ami and I. We begin to run for our lives. I was behind Ami so at any moment, I was expecting a monkey to pounce my back and sink its teeth into my flesh. We ran fast. I was yelling until I tumbled down some steep, sharp rocks and badly cut and bruised my ankle. At that moment, I knew the monkey could have me if it wanted me but, to my relief, the monkey was gone. I had to rest on the rock but Ami thought I had broken my leg so she ran on to get help. Nobody working on the island seemed to want to lend a hand. Even when Ami went running for help saying that I broke my leg, everyone just laughed and told her to tell the park ranger. Luckily, nothing was broken but, due to all the bad luck that followed us in Thailand, the cut on my ankle got infected and painfully swelled for about 5 weeks after the incident.

I managed to take some more photos of our island living before it got lost in the ocean.

Another friend we met on our travels.

It's true what they say about the pristine beaches of southern Thailand.

The taxi boat ride before my camera got lost.

Here is a video documenting some of the ups and downs of the first leg of our Thailand trip.



Unfortunately, there are no more stills from the Thailand trip. However, the next entry will have some more video footage documenting our travels and, inevitable escape from the country.

Only in Asia......

Okay, so this post isn't really about where we have been or who we have met. It's just about some of the bizarre things we have seen and encountered like products and signs and such. I hoping to make this a bit of a mini-serial within the travel blog.

It's amazing how the city can make cutting down trees not seem so bad.

Wait a minute.....

Now here's the main feature. The cigarette packs. Never have I seen such persuasive warning labels.

Well, no doubt these warning pictures have convinced me to cut back....

Or not.

Hope you enjoyed this new little feature of the blog. Truth be told there have been many other little sights that could be have been included but my camera wasn't out then. Better luck next time. It's off to Thailand. ADIOS!

Farewell Sabah!

Well this is it. We have left Sabah. We spent exactly two months in a very small region of one province in Malaysia yet we got to understand it so much better then if we traveled around. It was such a rewarding experience. So rewarding in fact that I was inspired the make a music video. The song is a traditional song that praises the famous Mount Kinabalu, which is the highest peak in all of South East Asia and costs a whopping $500 a head to climb. Needless to say we didn't climb it, but I still sang the song about it! But before we get to the main show, here are some memories of our last days in Sabah.

A view from the terrace of a bar where Ami and I partied all day long.

Same terrace. As I said, all day long.

A view of the moon at dawn in KK just before we left for out flight to KL.

Here's a video of some cute, funny and frightening moments I shared with the wild and interesting creatures of Sabah. More specifically in Kudat.



Once we landed in KL, Ami and I had a stroke of luck a landed a room with a view.

View, a REAL view!

There's Ami picking the nose of the Prime Ministers face, hehehe.

Once we got to KL, we contacted our dear friend Hunter, the one who took us to his village in Ranau, Sabah earlier on our trip.

I just had to take one more shot of the towers.

We then headed to Bukit Bintang, KL's party district.

Who would have thought making a visa run to KL would be so much fun? We are certainly making the best of it.

Well, here's my final video before we head to Thailand. This is my farewell to Sabah. Much of the footage in the video is from our time with Hunter in Ranau, our tour of an aquarium site called the Green Connection, our time with our friend Mei in Kota Belud and just other moments of traveling and site-seeing. Enjoy!



I am now going to include a video that is not mine but that I discovered on YouTube that I just love. It helped me learn the song. I hope you guys enjoy this authentic Sabahan musician as much as I did.



Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for my last post before We head for Thailand. Cheers folks!

Whodat in Kudat: Part 4

Welcome back. In this portion of the blog, we will be wrapping up all the final moments of Kudat Stock as well as showing some pictures of our final days in Kudat. Awww, I'm missing it already. Well, enough chit chat, here we go....

This video took place when all the kids had played their music and then requested me to play a few songs that I played for them in the weeks prior. And to the Yetis, this performance was not the same without you!



And here some photos from random times with the Kids of Kudat that you guys haven't seen yet.

The guys just chillin' outside their house.

There's me rockin' out during a rehearsal with the very talented keyboardist of JEBA.

Here are the kids preparing for a sports day. The girl in the bottom right is Zoe who was also hanging out with the kids.

Every day, Ami and I had one meal outside the house and we always ate at the same restaurant every single day. Kudat is a small place so options can be limited. Once we found a good place we stuck with it. The owners got to know us throughout the entire month. Here are some pictures of our favourite restaurant in Kudat.

We'd watch movies everyday on that little screen while we ate fried noodles.

The woman in the middle is the owner.

Now back to some more random pics from Kudat.

Here's Ami doing an impression of  a monkey. Pretty convincing, eh?

This is us with some of the house guests who cooked for us every day. Thanks again a million times over guys!

An now back to Kudat Stock. Here are some exciting stills from the show.

There's Star Band dazzling the audience.

And here's Generation X living in the moment!

And what's a concert without the wonderful crowd to enjoy it.

This is a just a fraction of the turnout. 

The guy on the left is actually the one who introduced us to the kids. Thanks again Howard!

There's me closing up the show, by request.

Here is the last performance of the show before the very touching closing ceremonies. This song was very popular with the kids.



And here are post-Kudat Stock stills taken backstage.

Everyone wanted their picture taken with Ami because she is so sweet and lovely.

There's me with the star drummer of JEBA and someone's hand behind us.

And finally, here's Ami and I just glowing from it all.

So, here it is. The end of the show. I hope you enjoyed all the performances. All the kids worked so hard to pull everything off, especially the ones who just picked up their instruments that week. They were so committed to perfecting everything for the big night. Here are the closing ceremonies which were a touching surprise for Ami and I.



We then walked the kids home and took group photos with everyone in their homes.

Boys will be boys.

Well, that's Kudat for ya. Stay tuned. I have one or two more entries left before Ami and I pack up for Thailand. Visas are on the way while we party it up one last time in KL.

Whodat in Kudat: Part 3

I imagine your rubbing your eyes and blinking twice but no, your not dreaming, you really are reading

WHODAT IN KUDAT PART 3!!!

Welcome back.

I will begin with what is always on every man's mind.....food. Here are some more pictures of the delicious home-cooking we enjoyed in Kudat.

A cornerstone breakfast consisting of fried noodles and hot Milo.

Just a sexy close-up for you hardcore food lovers.

I said it once and I'll say it again, you can't have a meal in Asia without egg.

Well now that I got that off my chest, here part 6 of Kudat Stock for your viewing pleasure!




I will now include some photos taken on another outing with the kids. This time, we all went to the beach!

There is my cutie and I.

There's Ami...standing there....I guess enough said.

Chillin' by the rocks.

The rock formations were actually pretty spectacular.

Me just prancing around.

Ami just told there was a huge wave behind me, I guess I believed her.

A couple of the kids just hanging out nearby.

A couple more kids just hanging out.

These guys were looking for snails for us to cook that night.

And even more kids hanging out.

The waves were actually huge that day and tons of fun.

So that was our day at the beach. This beach was literally 5 kilometers long and we were the only ones there.

I know, I know, as much fun as the pictures are, you all want to see more footage of Kudat Stock. Well wait and scroll no further. Here is part 7 of Kudat Stock.



Man, did those guys ever rock!

Well, that's it for now. Stay tuned for the next blog, although I'm going to be posting in about 20 minutes. Till next time.....