a strange transition
Nepal does everything it can to distinguish itself from India: it even has its own time zone, only 15 minutes ahead of India, just to be different. Still, with a billion people and by far the largest area on the subcontinent, it’s inevitable that there will be some cultural similarities and both India and Nepal are fundamentally conservative when it comes to sex and public displays of affection. There are not many places in the world that are more the opposite of that than Phuket.
The thing that bothers me the most is seeing men who must be 60 or 70 walking hand in hand with a girl that can’t be a day over 20. As long as the woman is making a choice to do that, I guess I don’t have a problem with it. I just wonder how many of the women are choosing for themselves and earning money for themselves. Most, I hope.
Other than that, we’ve not been up to much. We met Steve in Bangkok on Saturday night; he’d been traveling for something like 40 hours and was pretty wiped out. After a few hours sleep, we took a cab to the new Bangkok airport, which looks like a space station. We left Kathmandu airport, which is a third world airport in every sense of the world, and landed at this space age wonder in Thailand. I felt like an astronaut getting off the plane. Anyway, after a blissfully uneventful flight, we landed in Phuket and the relaxing began.
Steve’s been a good tour guide. He knows quite a few people here, so he took us around and introduced us. We decided to splurge and stay at the same place as him, which still isn’t too insanely expensive, and when we were registering, one of the receptionists said “deposit?” to the man checking us in, who replied, “this is Mr. Richner’s nephew. Deposit not necessary.” Repeat business is rewarded in Thailand.
But yes. Very different. It’s like we’ve been welcomed back into the modern, if not the western, world.
Tags: Phuket, Thailand, Travel
awrichner
well, now i know where to move when I’m 70.
Welcome back to the world. I am now using your pictures as my background on my work computer. Did I mention I am insanely jealous? If not…. here it is… I am jealous.
I am with Justin….. When I am 70 or so.. I know where I will be welcome.
hey guys, you’re welcome now, as long as you’ve got the greenbacks.
and just for the record, you’re both disgusting. no offense.
oh, and tony . . .
did you get the job at UHC?
Not sure yet if I got it. I feel like I nailed the interview. It was 2 hours long with 3 different manangers. They siad that they would get back to me “soon.” I hate hearing the obligitory “soon.” Soon this week? Soon this month? Soon TODAY!? I am feeling good about it though. I think I nailed it. Would be good too cause it pays between 40 and 45000/yr. If you want/need some help when you get back to world with lookin for jobs and such in the metro, jut let me know. I have been doing it for 4 months now and consider myself an expert. Do you guys have a timeline on when you will be relocating back to the world and then back to the lovely inviting metro area?
http://explosm.net/comics/912/
….yeah i know!
well hell, I know where I will NOT be when I am 70, I would rather take the mick jagger route and rock out with my cock out till I die, thats what I’m talking about, I going through a making music withdrawal, I NEED you guys…
hey all,
we’ll be back stateside mid-july, settling in mpls. shortly afterward.
Hey tony,
glad to hear things went well at UHC, let me know when you hear. Fingers crossed . . . Where are you living nowadays? Your lease with Mark ended, didn’t it? Did you renew or move elsewhere?
currently, I am living in my Aunt and Uncle’s basement. Free rent. Free food and off street parking. Who can ask for more? Mark and I are done being friends (about friggin time). I am now waiting on the job situation before I decide on where I live. Once that falls into place, I can make some more decisions after that. Who knows, maybe you guys will need a roommate when you finally see what it is like in the area. 🙂 I will keep you posted on what I hear from UHG. I am goin out with Nick tonight and I am going to visit Justin on Sat. Got to love unemployment! 🙂 Peace out.