CAT Scan machine used during my check-up

I only mention this because his illness forced me to spend far more time in hospitals than I ever hoped to spend. He spent almost three months in ICU unites, regular hospital rooms and nursing homes. He received kidney dialysis, CAT scans, X-rays, and almost every procedure you can think of. I saw first hand what the American medical system could do and I also I also had a front row seat to its downside.

When I mention to most people the idea of seeking medical treatment in another country, especially Thailand, it invokes a knee-jerk reaction. They couldn’t conceive of going to a hospital in Thailand. They assume the facilities are unsafe, unclean, and lacking in modern equipment.

This reaction is based mostly on ignorance.

Late last year I had the chance to visit the Bangkok Hospital in Ko Samui, Thailand. It was an eye opening experience.

[Read the rest of the article]

I’ve spent the last several days in my dark hotel room editing photos. My hotel room because the bandwidth is good and it is better than any other options for working around here, and dark because it is the best environment to edit photos in. I knew that I had let my photo editing slip, but I had no idea just how bad things have gotten.

You will probably notice photos of places that haven’t been previously represented in my daily photos over the next month. My recent photos from South Africa, Canada, Bilbao, Washington, and even a forgotten image from Sydney are all a result of my current photo editing binge.

I’m probably about half way done now. Chronologically, I’m about half way through South Africa with a few photos from Newfoundland I have to finish. I’m really pleased with some of the photos I’ve taken. The results from my new camera are evident in the photos from South Africa. The limitations of my lenses in taking wildlife photos are also evident.

So, I haven’t really done much of anything here in Thailand which is interesting. I even missed the celebrations of the Kings Birthday yesterday, which from what I’ve been told, was pretty amazing to see. I found out my site got hacked and had to fix that problem. I’ve recorded two podcasts and gone to a few movies. That is about it. It isn’t the glamorous life of a world traveler, but sometimes work just has to get done.

I just want to give everyone a heads up that I’m still alive. I haven’t been very active on Twitter or Facebook the last week and I haven’t written anything in a while. Once I’m done with the photo editing I’ll be shifting into writing mode, which should be more enjoyable if for no other reason than I can do it from anywhere with less concern about bandwidth and ambient light.

There are some great stories that I’ve been promising that I’ll be publishing once my photos are processed. This includes my dive with Great White Sharks that I’ve been promising, an audio slide show about a live game capture I witnessed in South Africa, my trip to the doctor in Thailand.

With that, I’m going to head back into Lightroom and hopefully get this finished in a few days.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure I’d be leaving the country when I took off for Niagara Falls/Seattle/Hawaii. I had entered a competition for bloggers to visit Thailand for medical tourism and I sort of forgot about it. Just before I arrived in Hawaii I was notified that I was one of 12 finalists and would be flown to Thailand.

…and here I am!

The trip is sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand to increase awareness of Thailand as a medical tourism destination. The 12 bloggers drew lots and were sent to various locations throughout Thailand: Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket, Bangkok and Ko Samui. I drew the most medical intensive trip in Bangkok and traded with a woman who works in the medical area for the trip to Ko Samui. I’m not complaining.

I’m writing this in Ko Samui where I just landed about an hour ago. I’ll be here for three days before returning to Bangkok.

Every time I’ve been in Thailand I’ve considered going to the dentist here or look into getting LASIK surgery done on my eyes, so this was a decision to come here and check it out. At a minimum, I’ll get my teeth cleaned while I’m here.

Also, because I’m here, I’ve decided to just stay in Thailand for a few weeks to do some of the work I was going to do in Hawaii. I’ll be here until the middle of December when I will start to work my way back to Wisconsin to be with my family for Christmas. I’ll be returning via Tokyo, Honolulu and San Francisco.

If you are in Bangkok the next few weeks, please drop me a line.

I have been in Bangkok for several months now, and like many other transplants, I only planned on staying a week, maybe two. Though I had ample opportunity to visit Thailand’s capital as I criss-crossed Southeast Asia, I never truly felt at home here and, in looking for a place to plant myself for a few months, I expected to end up in Chiang Mai or Kuala Lumpur. However, after a glorious six weeks in Burma, I returned to Bangkok in time to meet with a large group of fellow Tweeters, most of whom were either travelers in transit or ex-pats who had made Bangkok their home. They were a great group of energetic, fascinating people, and their creativity and enthusiasm made me want to make Bangkok my temporary home too. Among them was Dwight Turner, behind the incredible organization In Search of Sanuk, which seeks to alleviate urban poverty here in Bangkok.

Visiting Refugees in Immigration Detention Center

Jodi and crew bringing supplies to the detainees

Understandably, the IDC visits are depressing, even when bolstered by a family’s happy reunion. Conditions are squalid, and many of the refugees linger in there for years – I’ve meet several women who even gave birth in IDC, as they were arrested when pregnant.

Why Are These Refugees in IDC?

Detainees have so much time on their hands, some make toys like this out of plastic bags

What Can You Do to Help?

1) Visit IDC

If you are coming through Bangkok and want to visit IDC yourself, please sign up at VolunteerSpot and Becky will contact you to coordinate. Becky goes to IDC at least twice a week (usually on Mondays and Wednesdays), and is always looking for new volunteers.

Jodi and Becky at the IDC

2) Make a Donation to In Search of Sanuk

Alternatively, you can make a monetary donation. In Search of Sanuk is an organization under the umbrella of Mark Gold’s 100 Friends Project, a registered 501(c)3 tax-deductible charity organization in the United States. Click here to donate to In Search of Sanuk or set up a recurring contribution. Be sure to mark ‘Sanuk’ in one of the note donation fields so the funds can be allocated toward ISOS’s projects, including building new parks for Bangkok’s slums, bringing food or supplies to IDC refugees or paying rent for other refugees that are housed in Bangkok so that their families can use their little funds to educate and clothe their children instead of paying for rent.

Visiting the IDC is a Rewarding, Important Experience

Thailand has many exciting things to do and beautiful sights to see, but it is also important to discover what lies underneath the surface of the country. I’ve gone to IDC many times during my 3-month stay in Bangkok, and it has been infinitely rewarding to do so. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments, or contact me through my blog for more information.

I'm looking forward to being able to walk down the street and not worry about what color shirt I'm wearing.

I’ve spent almost three months in Bangkok which is more time than I’ve spent in any other city since I’ve started my travels. While I have been here I didn’t visit a single temple or tourist attraction. I did something totally different from what I’ve been doing the last three years: living as an expat.

Normally, because I travel alone, I meet people but never develop any sort of friendships. Usually I don’t even get last names. In Bangkok I was able to meet a large group of people and was actually able to experience something resembling a social life. Almost every night I could find something to do with a group of people somewhere in Bangkok. I probably drank more in the last three months than I did in the last three years combined.

Just some of the people I met in Bangkok include Jodi Ettenberg, Greg Jorgensen, Cody McKibben, Sean Ogle, Kevin Revolinski, John Berns, Sarah Lipman, Richard Escobar and good ol’ Nomadic Matt. I’m going to miss many of the people I met in Bangkok and hope to meet them again.

I enjoyed the hell out of Songkran

I’m going to miss the street food in Bangkok, the great movie theaters in Bangkok. The street bars (yes, they have wagons that sell alcohol!), the warm weather, and all the craziness which is this city.

That being said, I’m ready to get moving again. Three months I think is my limit for staying put in any one place. I really haven’t been doing much traveling, which is sort of the kiss of death if you are running a travel blog. Living in Bangkok might sound exotic if you don’t live here, but I’d like something more to write about than just one city.

I’m looking forward to visiting Spain. It is one of the great, historic countries of Europe and I’ve never been there before. It is all very exciting.

I’ll be in Spain until about mid-June with a side trip to Israel from May 10-18th. Then I head to New York City for TBEX. If you are in Spain, Israel or New York and would like to meet up, feel free to contact me.

You also might want to read my companion piece on the celebration the Thai New Year (Songkran) if you haven’t already.

Songkran is the craziest celebration I’ve yet experienced traveling.

Bangkok, I'm yours for a few more days

Technically, Spain hasn’t really been effected by the ash cloud. It hasn’t extended beyond the French Pyrenees so far. However, my original flight was supposed to be on Air France with a connecting flight through Paris. Moreover, planes which might have flown a route to Bangkok might have been stranded in Germany, so things gets screwed up all over the world.

The end result is that even though there is technically no ash between Thailand and Spain, I’m stuck in Bangkok.

Furthermore, while flights are now starting to fly in Europe, the first priority is getting people back who have been stranded the past week. I’ve met several people in Bangkok who have been stranded here because their flights to Europe have been canceled (I should note that none of them are really complaining). So even if flights start taking off, I might be stuck a few more days than I otherwise would have just waiting for the glut of passengers to clear out.

I have to be in Valencia on the 29th to give my presentation, so I’m not in any big rush. I’ll end up having to move part of my Spanish adventure to after May 18th when I get back from Israel.

Until I hear more and report otherwise, I’m stuck in Bangkok.

No one is safe from getting wet during Songkran. No one.

No sooner than I got 20m down the street from the entrance to my hotel a woman who was a total stranger grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulled it forward, dumped a bucket of water down my chest and smiled “Happy New Year”. Her friend slapped my cheeks a muddy goop from a dish made up of water and talcum powder. 60 seconds after hitting the street I was drenched head to toe and had a face full of wet talc.

It was quite the introduction to Songkran.

Songkran is not subtle

Over the three days of Songkran, I saw people with spraying water on most major intersections in Bangkok. Most of the side streets (soi’s) had people standing outside their businesses drenching cars and motorbikes as they drove by. On one intersection, a group of redshirts had a drum kit set up and what appeared to be a fire hose. Everyone was wet.

Under normal circumstances, if you dumped a bucket of water on someone’s head, they’d get really pissed off. During Songkran those social norms don’t apply. You don’t just sprinkle people with water. This isn’t like a blessing you get in church. Buckets, hoses and squirt guns you’d normally only see in comic books are fair game.

Sean and Jodi having Songkran fun on Khao San Road

The scene on Khao San Road was liquid chaos. Thousand of people walked up and down the street getting drenched and drenching others in water. Unlike most days on Khao San, most of the people there were Thai, not tourists. There were only three things being sold on the tables lined up along the street: water, beer and super soakers.

You are never too young to take part in Songkran

I got a cheap plastic bag that a squirt gun was packaged in, wrapped it around my camera and fit the opening around my lens with the lens hood locking it in place. As is evident from the photos you are looking at, it worked reasonably well. The camera survived and I got some OK photos.

The remaining two days of Songkran were much more low key than the day on Khao San. On the street my hotel is on, everyone had music playing and was having a good time getting taxis and motorbike riders wet. (Songkran is a very dangerous time in Thailand for accidents. Over 200 people were killed during Songkran this year in accidents.)

Songkran was one of the best times I’ve had while traveling and certainly the craziest celebration I’ve encountered. If you get the opportunity, try to visit Thailand for Songkran which is celebrated every year from April 13-15. It doesn’t fall during the normal tourist high season, but it is an experience to remember.

The protesters have stopped being shiny, happy people

I am perfectly safe.

All of the activity is taking place over an area of one to two square miles of the downtown area. I’m about two miles from the closest redshirt roadblock and another mile or so from all the clashes. Walking around the neighborhood in my area, I would never know that anything was going on in the city.

Several expats and travelers I know in Bangkok live in the Victory Monument area which was the scene of protests yesterday. They were much closer to action and could hear gunshots and could smell the tear gas which was dropped. Correction: The protesters were not at Victory Monument. The people I know live near there, but were elsewhere when they heard gunshots and smelled gas.

People like Arthur Frommer are advocating totally avoiding Thailand which is absurd.

Thailand is a big country. What happened here was a tragedy, but it occurred only on a few streets in one part of one city on one evening. There were tanks and soldiers all over the place so it was impossible for someone to accidentally wander into the area and not know something was going on. Saying you shouldn’t visit any part of Thailand based on the events of last Saturday is like saying you shouldn’t visit California if there is a school shooting in Colorado. They have nothing to do with each other and danger in the former doesn’t imply danger in the latter.

Could things really turn bad in Thailand? Sure, that is possible. But as of right now things are fine and if things really do turn bad, I’ll be on the first plane out of here.

When you hear of bad things happening on the news, take some time to find out the whole story. Unless a country is the size of Monaco or Singapore, it is hard to say that an event in one part of the country means the whole country is dangerous. I wouldn’t go to parts of Mexico right now, but that doesn’t mean everywhere in Mexico is equally dangerous. Most Americans wont flee the country because something bad happens in one city.

Use the same logic for other countries as you do for your own.

Chinatown is one of the many parts of Singapore I didn't see on Saturday because I never left the airport

I’ve done glorified visa runs before. My trip to Papua New Guinea was really just to renew my Australian visa which was expiring after 3 months in the country. I decided to make a real trip out of it, so it was more than just getting a passport stamp. Likewise, last month I went to Singapore because my Thai visa was running out, but I also spent 10 days there with my college roommate Dave and met with people in Singapore.

Last Saturday I flew to Singapore and back to Bangkok in one day. In fact, I never even left the airport in Singapore. That, my friends, was a real deal, in-out, quickie, good old fashioned visa run. My flight arrived in Singapore around noon and I was checking in for my flight to Bangkok at 4pm.

It was a very odd experience flying without baggage. I had my backpack with my laptop and a book, but that was it. The entire airport experience was really different when you didn’t have anything to carry.

The entire cost of the round trip was about US$100, which isn’t bad for a round trip ticket, but its really a stupid policy. I understand the need for countries to set a limit on their tourists visas, but so many people stay in Thailand for more than 30 days, they would be better off just allowing for in-country extensions of the visa for a fee (say $50). It would be easier for tourists and it would bring in cash for the government.

On a related issue of visas, it is the biggest reason I hear from people who don’t live in developed countries for why they can’t travel more. If you are from the EU, US, Canada, Japan, Australia, etc. you can go to most countries on Earth without applying for a visa before hand. There are some big exceptions like Russia, China and India, but for the most part the visa system isn’t so bad if you are a member of the club.

If you are from a country like the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, etc. it sort of sucks. There are all sorts of road blocks which prevent you from traveling. Take Singapore for example: As an American I can show up at the airport unannounced and stay in the country for 90 days with pretty much no questions asked (so long as you are not smuggling drugs or something). If you are from Indonesia which is right next door, you have to have a visa proof of a ticket out AND US$500 in cash on you.

I have met travelers from places like Congo and Ukraine, but not many. Yes, money is a big and obvious impediment to travel if you are from a developing country, but even if you have the means to travel, there are still many legal barriers which make it difficult.

Let me know your visa run stories. Also, if you are from a country that doesn’t get easy visa access to other nations, let me know how you’ve dealt with the rules.

The press on Soi 31 waiting for things to get started

Until last week, however, I had never found myself in the middle of a real honest to goodness news story. For four very exciting hours last week, I found myself between thousands of Thai political protesters and hundreds of Bangkok riot police. I was shoulder to shoulder with seasoned pros from Associated Press and Agence France Presse. The difference was that they had an audience of millions spread across hundreds of news outlets and I’m just a guy with a blog.

Police blocking Soi 33

On the third day I didn’t go to the protests and they changed their strategy. They began taking blood samples from all the protesters and dumping it on government buildings. The next day they were going to dump several gallons of human blood on the home of the Thai Prime Minister who lived about a block from where I was staying. I certainly couldn’t pass that opportunity up.

As the only photographer with an umbrella, I had the street to myself for five minutes.

The area between the protesters and the police was mostly press. There were video guys, photo guys and your normal run of the mill reporters. There were even a few people with “Witness” badges from some sort of non-violence project. Most of the press had green arm bands or bandands that labeled them as being part of the press. This is probably more important for the Thai reporters that it was for me. As a farang with a fancy camera, no one really questioned my presence and I obviously wasn’t on either side. But for the arm band and the standard issue helmet with “press” on the side, I looked like I knew what I was doing.

Protester with several liters of human blood ready to be thrown on the PM's house

I ran ahead of the other photographers as protesters worked their way down the street, so I go some photos like these that no one else seemed to get

My photos are fine, but I don’t think I got that “one” photo which captured the nature of the protests. I think I did OK for my first time doing something like this, but I wouldn’t give myself an A.

What would I do differently next time? First, I’d bring someone with me. Second, I’d bring a small step ladder. Third, I’d bring a poncho so I have some sort of hands-free rain gear. An umbrella doesn’t work well when holding a camera. Finally, I really need a better camera. It was raining during most of the protest and the lighting was often poor. Once again, the low light capabilities of my Nikon D200 which I’ve been using for three years now let me down. I ended up using my 50mm lens most of the time just because it is the fastest lens I own.

I have to confess that the time I spent covering this protest was one of the most exhilarating things I’ve done since I’ve started traveling. I totally understand why some journalists get addicted to covering the news in dangerous places.