June 15, 2022 (Wednesday) To my surprise, I had no issues when I arrived in Hanoi International Airport. It might have been because it was 12:30 AM and/or we were the last plane arriving, but I was grateful for the smooth transition. Moving through the Visa processing line was simple and unobtrusive. I even received …
Continue reading "Hello Hanoi!"Istanbul contains within its borders sights and sounds that are frozen in time. The people have managed to capture the grandeur of their rich history. My time in Istanbul was short lived, but I managed to visit places like Topkapi Palace, the Column of Constantine, the Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque, and the Hagia Sophia …
Continue reading "Top Destinations in Istanbul (Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar and more…)"To be honest, I didn’t want to come back to America. Who in their right mind would? Consider for a moment: I had respectful amazing thoughtful intuitive progressive Thai students, I adored my job teaching English at a government school, the city of Pathum Thani-Rangsit was a thrumming inclusive environment, there were an infinite supply …
Continue reading "90 Days (Part I) – Religious vacuum leads to reverse culture shock"About a month ago, I was sitting at my desk in the Foreign Language Department at Suankularb Wittayalai Rangsit School preparing my lesson plan for the day. I recall it was a Monday and the AC had kicked on cooling down the office in preparation for the humid day. I usually arrived early to organize, …
Continue reading "Entering Eden (An adventure on Koh Samet Island)"The pulsating sting of change has been pricking that area where I normally seek solace and shut everyone out. But that is NOT my story. In one day, I left colleagues and friends who I grew to respect and love, students who showed me what it means to build honest-authentic student-teacher relationships, a culture that …
Continue reading "Sting of Change"With my K+E Coffee mug filled to the brim with black gold sitting on the table to my right, my lap top computer fully charged in front of me and the Pathum Thani sunset waning in my peripheral vision; I popped my earbuds in, dialed up two renditions of “Foggy Dew” by the Blaggards and …
Continue reading "Three Temples, Three Spiritual Truths"After a rewarding week of crashing around Bangkok, I took some much needed rest on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. I spent time writing, napping, meditating, eating my favorite Thai chocolate wafer cookies, and as a result; I found the creative juices flowing stronger than ever. I am a firm believer everyone needs to …
Continue reading "Searching for the Naga within"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"Ayutthaya has been on my radar since arriving in Thailand. It is located approximately one hour north of Bangkok and is easily accessible by taxi, van, or train. The bulk of my history reading has been laser focused on learning more about understanding the how and why the ancient capital city fell in 1767 to …
Continue reading "Holiday (Day 3) — Ayutthaya, Thailand"Still reeling from the prior day’s adventures, I decided to see if I could push the boundaries even more. I rode the BTS/MRT to Hua Lamphong station and hopped on a Tuk Tuk to Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha). I walked through the temple absorbing the history and overwhelming presence of the reclining …
Continue reading "Holiday (Day 2) — Temples, Khao San Road & Free Muay Thai Fights!!"