The first night in Istanbul, I decided to walk the neighborhood and being searching for night life opportunities within a two-mile radius of the Double Tree Hotel Topkapi. You are probably thinking to yourself, “Why don’t you just look on the internet for suggestions?” Trust me, I did, and quickly learned COVID had decimated the …
Continue reading "Grand Makel Hotel Roof Top Bar"For the last three months, I have experienced Thailand from the perspective of my external senses and internal ideology. This reality changed dramatically with the arrival of my son and daughter. Prior to their arrival, I made a detailed list as though I was Chevy Chase in European Vacation. The “To Do list” grew to …
Continue reading "Shared Experiences (The Speakeasy Rooftop Bar)"I never thought or had the inclination to visit a cat cafe. But when you’re in Bangkok and the world seems to open before you like a can of tuna (cat…tuna-not funny. I had to try!?) then you go for it. A colleague in the foreign language department told me I had to visit this …
Continue reading "Caturday Cafe — Meow"I confidently declare to the world that I have won the war that 2.5 months prior, I affectionately named: The Pathum Thani-Rangsit Night Open Air Weekend Market Seafood Stand Battle. Every Thursday to Sunday night there is a weekend open air market that springs up in the parking lot of a strip mall near my …
Continue reading "Battle Pathum Thani-Rangsit Open Air Weekend Market Seafood Stand is officially over – I win!"I went back to work on Thursday… Actually, I didn’t go “back to work” because teaching is not work to me. From now on, I’m going to reclassify the term “work” when referring to teaching in a new context. I am going to phrase teaching as a “passionate pursuit of the noble good”. Let’s try …
Continue reading "Cabbages & Condoms with a hint of Black Amber"I decided to stay in Bangkok one more night for the express purpose of trying to climb the 49-story Ghost Condominium located approximately one block from the Saphan Thaksin BTS station. I had seen it the prior day jutting through the city skyline and read some online articles about it but I couldn’t decide if …
Continue reading "Holiday (Day 5) — Ghost Condo"Overcoming challenges big and small, trivial and overwhelming are reasons why I love traveling. Each time I step around, climb over or push through one of these obstacles; I gain a sense of accomplishment and celebrate a new found ability that I never knew existed. For me, Bangkok has provided numerous opportunities to test my …
Continue reading "Holiday (Day 4) — FREE Bangkok Canal Shuttle"Day 3 of my holiday whipsaw didn’t end like I had planned. I took a short nap during the taxi ride home from Ayutthaya and awakened with a sense of purpose. I dove into my next adventure with added vigor leading me to the conviction that I needed a night of food and fun. The …
Continue reading "Holiday (Day 3 Nightlife) — Saxophone Jazz Pub"School let out for the pending Buddhist holiday on July 16th and 17th (Tuesday & Wednesday) and we were notified by our school that we also had Monday off. Bangkok seemed the likeliest destination to explore with its endless supply of temples (over 400), tantalizing food, night life, and markets. Day 1 I started my …
Continue reading "Five Day Holiday (Day 1) – Bangkok Temples & Food"A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to visit a teacher’s home. The backstory is he lives in a small farming town of approximately 400 people in the province of Phetchaburi, Thailand. He had been living in this village with his Thai wife for the past 12 years and was one of the only …
Continue reading "Thank You Tha Yang for Culture Shock 101"