A Teaser

Its here...details to follow.

Unwinding...

After a really long and very stressful week in Korat (North of Bangkok about 200km), I got to unwind on Sunday....my buddies Piriyakorn (nickname "A") and Panya took me down to the Sea. We took a 1/2 hour ferry ride out to a small island called Koh Samed. With powder white sand, perfect blue water, and $1 beers, it was just what I needed. I would call it paradise, but I didn't see any mountain bike trails....

Something lost in translation

Every once it a while a new t-shirt comes along that can only be described as "way too awesome." This one could rival my cousin Jeff's "I've got the eaties for my wheaties" shirt. A closer look... If you look hard enough, you can find gems like this....I just stumbled on this at the w/e market this morning. Clearly something was lost in the translation...and check out that front suspension!
The lady looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for 6 of them. I couldn't refuse though at $1.50 a piece....

Next week will be super busy at work so don't expect too many updates. I am headed to the Korat factory tomorrow morning, which is about 150km north of Bangkok. Not only is there less to see and do there, but I will have my nose to the grindstone, as I am to unpack, setup, calibrate, test, train, and release a machine to production in one week...oh yeah! Should be a fun challenge.
Cheers!

I found em!

I have been looking for these now for 3 trips now. They have motorcycles, tuck-tucks, and robots everywhere, but I have never been able to find bikes....I bought a few...The chicken in the picture has nothin' on me...
In other sweet news, this was on My.yahoo page:
Caption: A chubby baby smiles in front of the portrait of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong at Tiananmen Square in Beijing in a November 2002 file photo. Health services across Asia could crash in the face of a worsening epidemic of obesity-led diabetes, experts warn.(AFP/File/Peter Parks)

Bazaar!

Last night I headed here The Bangkok Night Bazaar is a huge night market and entertainment area. The area also includes one of the largest Thai Boxing arenas in the country.... I am going to go watch some this weekend.

I pretty much hate shopping, but some of the things they have in the market are really cool...handmade, ornate, and cheap.

The food is amazing too...does this look like it is worth $1.75?

Cheers.

Traffic...Flowing like water

I am starting to get adjusted to the time difference and actually slept until 6:30 am this morning! My days are pretty long, as we catch the Seagate van from the hotel at 7 am and get back at 6-7pm...it seems kind of wasteful given that the work day is still only 8-9 hours, but Bangkok traffic is what it is. The traffic in the US is pretty regimented with speed limits, lanes, stop signs, etc. Here, there are no stop signs (at least not that anyone follows), but there are stop lights. There are lanes here but no one really stays in them...if there is an obstruction, each lane just gets a little thinner and things flow around it (hummers simply wouldn't fit in the lanes here). There are speed limits but no one follows them and no one ever gets pulled over...in fact, I have never seen anyone pulled over for anything. Somehow in all the chaos, there is still no road rage.

Other happenings...well given the schedule described above, I basically get back to the hotel, work out and then go grab something to eat. I am pretty much the least picky eater ever (gosh!)so finding food is easy...however, I won't touch the bugs

Power and phone....organized chaos.

What time is it?

Well, I made it safely to Bangkok. It was a longer trip than normal....the flight from MSP leaves at 1pm to Narita, Japan. After 12.5 hours in the air we were supposed to land, but there was some issue with another plane needing "special assistance" at Narita. We were running out of fuel after holding for 15 minutes, so we swung down to another Japanese airport for some gas. By the time we got gas, returned to Narita, and got of the plane I had 5 minutes to find my connecting flight to Bangkok...as if 14 hours of flying wasn't enough, oh yeah, Bangkok is another 6.5 hours in the air=) By the time I got the hotel here, it was 1 am...I guess for my body it felt like 1pm or so (12-13 hours off here depending on the time of year) but you kind of get in this surreal travel world where you just sleep whenever it feels right.
I awoke to a beautiful morning here in Bangkok... On the way to the hotel last night, I was assured by the limo driver that the weather would be great and it was "winter" here. Highs are only about 85-90 F=)

I got the coffee rolling because I wanted to go for a run, and coffee helps me empty the tank quickly=)
I promised Jen that I would take more pictures this trip so here is a pictorial view of the run.
Road bikes are RARE here, but I saw this guy go by riding a Fondriest...I don't know if that is a nice bike but it sure sounds expensive.

On thing you MUST know before coming here is that they LOVE their King. If you said something negative about the King in public your safety would be in jeopardy. From what I understand, he has no official power, but is the most powerful person in the country....doesn't make sense to Americans.
I like to run at this place called Lumpkin park. To get there, you take an elevated run/bike/walkway. It goes right over a very low income housing area. You can listen to the roosters and chickens as you run by!

The actual park is very scerene. I always get a kick out of the outdoor weight rooms...check out the spin bikes=)
And martial arts practice
I had to take a picture of these signs...enough said The run ended here...

Tonite is the Loi Krathong festival. I must pay homage to the water Goddess.....
Cheers