DON'T BOTHER THE FBI WITH KIDNAPPING TIPS
Well, we're in the Bangkok airport waiting to board our twice delayed flight to Siem Riep, Cambodia. We're going to visit for two days to see Angkor Wat, supposedly rivaling Tikal and other ancient Mayan sites in Guatemala. But only if we could get there..
We will be back in Bangkok on the 27th, but then we're immediately headed to Hong Kong upon arrival. We've moved our departure up a day because, frankly, we'd rather have more time there at this point. The trip has had its moments (mostly rainy), but we're ready to move on.
An update to the FBI story, they're not doing anything but suggesting I contact the local authorities (in Chiang Mai.. a few hundred miles away after the fact, etc. etc.) Not to mention the FBI website regarding missing children explicitly states they work WITH local authorities through the local U.S. consulate with a direct link to the tip page I posted my information on.
Anyway, here's the message they emailed back to me. How helpful for those children. I suppose if the adults had strapped bombs to the children and put them in a UPS overnight express box to the Washington D.C. they'd THEN be interested. How unfortunate for those kids.
TEXT...
Dear Mr. Reid,
Thank you for your submission to the FBI via FBI.gov. After a careful
evaluation of your information, it is our determination that your
complaint should be reported to the local law enforcement authorities.
For your information, the Internet Tip Line (ITL) was created on
9/11/01, in response to the terrorist attacks upon America. We quickly
established a mechanism for the public to submit information to the FBI
via the Internet, and we received our first tip at 10:31 AM that first
day. Director Mueller has since made the ITL a permanent part of FBI
operations, and we have thus far received over 600,000 tips from around
the globe, from which thousands of leads have been sent to FBI Field and
Legal Attache offices for action.
Initially, almost 100% of the tips received were related to the
terrorist attacks; however, now approximately 45% of all tips received
are related to almost every other FBI criminal program, e.g., drug
trafficking, organized crime, money laundering, pyramid schemes, child
pornography, fugitives, bank robbery.
Our operation is completely automated and paperless. Submitted tips are
received immediately, reviewed within minutes and prioritized by trained
Professional Support personnel, and action leads are set by Agents
within the hour, as appropriate.
I encourage you to share this information with your family, friends, and
co-workers, and encourage them to not hesitate to submit information
they may deem of interest to the FBI. Again, thank you for taking the
time to forward this report to us.
IMPORTANT - NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
The FBI does not maintain an email address to submit information or
attachments to directly; therefore, please do not reply directly to this
message via your email client. The FBI maintains an automated system
that is designed to track all information received to ensure that all
tips are addressed in a timely and efficient manner. Therefore, please
visit the FBI.GOV Web site again should you have occasion to submit
additional information. We WILL NOT review "reply" email.
Sincerely,
David N. Rushing/ap
Supervisory Special Agent
FBI Headquarters
Washington, D.C.
MORE LATER
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Friday, August 22, 2003
UPDATE LATER - SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES REQUIRE ASSISTANCE
Hi, everyone. Jill and I are in Chiang Mai, Thailand in the very far north of the country. The Golden Triangle is roughly 1.5 hours north of here (Burma/Thailand/China/Laos area famous for illicit heroin trade). This city is very safe and touristy as it's similar to Guatemala with regard to indigenous peoples, arts and crafts, etc. We're doing alright, though I think the exotic food has caught up with Jill. She's been a little under the weather, but not seriously so.
But I'll get to that another time. Below is a tip I've forwarded on to the FBI from here regarding a suspicious couple and four children that were with them this evening. If you have more time than you care to admit, feel free to read this and do some searching on your own for these people on line. I couldn't find them on my first hunt on the U.S. Missing/Exploited Children website. Read it and do some searching if you care to. Hopefully the FBI/U.S. Consulate will act soon.
TEXT OF MY TIP TO THE FBI
At 6:38 pm at the Pizza Company restaurant (dated and time by my order receipt) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I witnessed a suspicious pair of adults, one male and one female, with four children whom I believe might be kidnapped.
The couple were aged roughly in their mid-40s. I witnessed the female the most as the male was gone for a while with one of the children (boy) and returned to the restaurant right before I left with my pizza.
She was mid-40s, caucasian, slightly wavy black/dark brown hair between shoulder length and waist length. She was fairly tall for a woman, 5-6" or 5-7", maybe more, somewhat big-boned (150lbs. plus)somewhat thick-lensed, thick-framed glasses. She wore a t-length summer dress, blue flowers/patterns printed on white fabric. She wore a fair amount of make-up, though not extreme, with slight southern U.S. accent.
The male was probably similarly aged and I don't believe much taller. Likely under 6'0". He was caucasian, wore his blonde to slightly graying hair short/crew-cut style and had a closely shaven beard/goatee. He probably weighed no more than 170 lbs., likely less. He was fairly lean. He wore a light t-shirt sensible for this tropical climate and he wore what looked like longer walking shorts with pant leg to the knees and pockets with metal snap buttons on them. On neither male nor female did I notice eye color due to my distance.
With these two were four children. Two children were definitely girls, likely sisters due to similar features, and almost definitely bi-racial (black/white). I'm guessing ages ranging from 6-10, the older likely 9, younger likely 6 or so. They were both a little pudgy/baby fat but not significantly overweight. Fairly long, wavy semi-afro hair that had the blond/dark-brown mix of a biracial girl. Eyes were brown as best I could tell.
The third child was not more than two, still in diaper, blonde boy. I believe his eyes were blue. He was upset frequently and the woman would pick the child up, hold him and swat him across the bottom fairly hard with not-the-best intent based on demeanor. The more he cried, the more frequently she swatted him, including across the bare leg rather hard. All the while she would stare out the front window of the pizza store as if she was "looking out" (it was like a fish bowl completely surrounded with floor to ceiling windows).
The final child was likely four years of age, definitely a boy, black. He was rather skinny, very short hair. Nothing else distinguishable. He was away with the adult male while the woman was alone with the three other children. She was rather cruel in her description of having to put up with the children while the male was away.
In general, the demeanor, words, characteristics, etc. of the couple were suspicious in the way they spoke only to each other, the way she watched out through the front door cautiously and the way in which the two adult caucausians had four children, three of which were at least in-part black in heritage, and in age given the young two-year old boy they had with them and who, clearly, the adult female didn't truly care for. It was obvious these weren't benevolent parents with adopted children or missionaries with adopted children, etc. They exhibited no true care for the children, but rather borderline if not outright contempt.
I took my pizza back to my wife's and my room, then searched the U.S. missing/exploited children website to no avail. I went back and tried to snap photos of the couple to no avail given the lighting difficulties with my camera. They all departed the pizza restaurant roughly 30 minutes later (when I was there watching them from a distance in the Chiang Mai night bazaar) and as best I can tell they headed west from the restaurant along the main street that the Chiang Inn/Night Bazaar is situated on.
I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have, though I'm on vacation with my wife in Thailand presently. I can be reached at my email address korynasz@hotmail.com all the while.
We will be in Chiang Mai tomorrow (Saturday 23rd) until 6pm Thailand time as we're headed to Bangkok by overnight train arriving Sunday morning. I do not have a contact telephone number convenient as a result and no current arrangements in Bangkok where we may be contacted. On the 28th, we will be in Hong Kong at the Sheraton Harbor View Hotel and can be reached there.
If I can be of any other service..
William E. Reid
-Anyway, I'll write more later when I can. I get charged per minute for internet use, so I try to keep it short. Besides, Jill's back in the hotel room worried sick I'm sure. I left her there with the pizza to try to photograph the people, but didn't have any luck that wouldn't get me followed or worse.
Bye for now.
Hi, everyone. Jill and I are in Chiang Mai, Thailand in the very far north of the country. The Golden Triangle is roughly 1.5 hours north of here (Burma/Thailand/China/Laos area famous for illicit heroin trade). This city is very safe and touristy as it's similar to Guatemala with regard to indigenous peoples, arts and crafts, etc. We're doing alright, though I think the exotic food has caught up with Jill. She's been a little under the weather, but not seriously so.
But I'll get to that another time. Below is a tip I've forwarded on to the FBI from here regarding a suspicious couple and four children that were with them this evening. If you have more time than you care to admit, feel free to read this and do some searching on your own for these people on line. I couldn't find them on my first hunt on the U.S. Missing/Exploited Children website. Read it and do some searching if you care to. Hopefully the FBI/U.S. Consulate will act soon.
TEXT OF MY TIP TO THE FBI
At 6:38 pm at the Pizza Company restaurant (dated and time by my order receipt) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I witnessed a suspicious pair of adults, one male and one female, with four children whom I believe might be kidnapped.
The couple were aged roughly in their mid-40s. I witnessed the female the most as the male was gone for a while with one of the children (boy) and returned to the restaurant right before I left with my pizza.
She was mid-40s, caucasian, slightly wavy black/dark brown hair between shoulder length and waist length. She was fairly tall for a woman, 5-6" or 5-7", maybe more, somewhat big-boned (150lbs. plus)somewhat thick-lensed, thick-framed glasses. She wore a t-length summer dress, blue flowers/patterns printed on white fabric. She wore a fair amount of make-up, though not extreme, with slight southern U.S. accent.
The male was probably similarly aged and I don't believe much taller. Likely under 6'0". He was caucasian, wore his blonde to slightly graying hair short/crew-cut style and had a closely shaven beard/goatee. He probably weighed no more than 170 lbs., likely less. He was fairly lean. He wore a light t-shirt sensible for this tropical climate and he wore what looked like longer walking shorts with pant leg to the knees and pockets with metal snap buttons on them. On neither male nor female did I notice eye color due to my distance.
With these two were four children. Two children were definitely girls, likely sisters due to similar features, and almost definitely bi-racial (black/white). I'm guessing ages ranging from 6-10, the older likely 9, younger likely 6 or so. They were both a little pudgy/baby fat but not significantly overweight. Fairly long, wavy semi-afro hair that had the blond/dark-brown mix of a biracial girl. Eyes were brown as best I could tell.
The third child was not more than two, still in diaper, blonde boy. I believe his eyes were blue. He was upset frequently and the woman would pick the child up, hold him and swat him across the bottom fairly hard with not-the-best intent based on demeanor. The more he cried, the more frequently she swatted him, including across the bare leg rather hard. All the while she would stare out the front window of the pizza store as if she was "looking out" (it was like a fish bowl completely surrounded with floor to ceiling windows).
The final child was likely four years of age, definitely a boy, black. He was rather skinny, very short hair. Nothing else distinguishable. He was away with the adult male while the woman was alone with the three other children. She was rather cruel in her description of having to put up with the children while the male was away.
In general, the demeanor, words, characteristics, etc. of the couple were suspicious in the way they spoke only to each other, the way she watched out through the front door cautiously and the way in which the two adult caucausians had four children, three of which were at least in-part black in heritage, and in age given the young two-year old boy they had with them and who, clearly, the adult female didn't truly care for. It was obvious these weren't benevolent parents with adopted children or missionaries with adopted children, etc. They exhibited no true care for the children, but rather borderline if not outright contempt.
I took my pizza back to my wife's and my room, then searched the U.S. missing/exploited children website to no avail. I went back and tried to snap photos of the couple to no avail given the lighting difficulties with my camera. They all departed the pizza restaurant roughly 30 minutes later (when I was there watching them from a distance in the Chiang Mai night bazaar) and as best I can tell they headed west from the restaurant along the main street that the Chiang Inn/Night Bazaar is situated on.
I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have, though I'm on vacation with my wife in Thailand presently. I can be reached at my email address korynasz@hotmail.com all the while.
We will be in Chiang Mai tomorrow (Saturday 23rd) until 6pm Thailand time as we're headed to Bangkok by overnight train arriving Sunday morning. I do not have a contact telephone number convenient as a result and no current arrangements in Bangkok where we may be contacted. On the 28th, we will be in Hong Kong at the Sheraton Harbor View Hotel and can be reached there.
If I can be of any other service..
William E. Reid
-Anyway, I'll write more later when I can. I get charged per minute for internet use, so I try to keep it short. Besides, Jill's back in the hotel room worried sick I'm sure. I left her there with the pizza to try to photograph the people, but didn't have any luck that wouldn't get me followed or worse.
Bye for now.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
SUNNY DELIGHT
Well, after several days of struggling through typhoon-style rain, unexpected crowds and miserable bus travel, we've finally got it together and found the little slice of paradise we'd hope to find all along.
It's called Ko Chang (fyi - Ko is the Thai word for island and it's pronounced kaw) and it's in the eastern side of the Gulf of Thailand near Cambodia. No sign of Khmer Rouge or landmines anywhere (just kidding!). The island is marked by the little red circle in the map below:
The place reminds me of Maui - verdant green mountains with cloud forests, nice beaches with moderate Pacific Ocean-sized waves/current.
It's only beginning to be developed significantly, so we've had the place nearly to ourselves. Long stretches of the most amazing beach and not a soul around. It's been very different from previous experience here, and we're enjoying ourselves immensely.
Today, we simply spent the day swimming in the ocean, trying pathetically to bodysurf waves entirely too small for it. Tomorrow, we'll be renting a motorcycle to explore the island and take a hike or two up some trails to waterfalls with pools for swimming. While we're here, we're staying at the Klong Prao Resort, a wonderful place for the money. About $20 per night gets us a nice, new modern bungalow/room near the beach and a lagoon, plus a huge all-you-can-eat breakfast brunch buffet. We gorge ourselves and then don't need to eat until dinner. It's quite a deal.
Now that we've managed to find a place that's more laid back (not to mention with fewer people.. topless sunbathing is expressly forbidden by law here - so few Europeans!), it's very much like vacation rather than a rat race for dry land. We should be here for a few days and then we're heading to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
Travel in Thailand has also become more pleasant now that we've just decided to fly everywhere that we want to go. After the negative bus experience.. don't forget to ask Jill about the bus restroom incident.. we've decided to just fly. It's dirt cheap (one-way fares per person roughly $40-$60), very clean, very safe AND they feed you a meal on every flight. You read that correctly Southwest Airlines peanut-eaters, they feed you a MEAL on every flight. No flight has exceeded 1hr. 20 minutes to date. One was even 40 minutes and they still had meal and beverage service, even with lightning out the left side of the plane and some turbulence! The food varies from not bad to not great, but frankly, I appreciate the effort, not necessarily the finished product. I've taken digital photos of nearly all of it, so as soon as I find a computer with USB or when I get back home, I'll post some.
We'll fly to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand probably the 20th, spend a few days in their older cities up there and then ride the overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok Saturday night with arrival Sunday morning. We depart at 5:50 pm and arrive at 6:50am Sunday. We managed to reserve and pay for a first class sleeper compartment for $35 for both of us! It's obscene how cheap everything is, and really, the high quality of it all.
Before we flew to Trat/Ko Chang yesterday (16th), we spent two nights in Ko Samui. The one full day was very enjoyable as we went ahead and rented a motorcycle/moped and explored the island. We got away from the crowds and had a little adventure along the way. The beach was hot, but the water was wonderful and the scenery was nice. We swam in the morning and evening and left while it was crowded, so all was okay. But we're glad we moved on. And the beaches do look like the photo I posted the other day.
Anyway, it's 8pm here, so 6am I believe at home. Hope you all have a good morning and day. I've have gotten news from the States and both Jill and I are keeping some recent bad news from two different fronts in our prayers. We hope things improve dramatically, quickly. Until next time...
Well, after several days of struggling through typhoon-style rain, unexpected crowds and miserable bus travel, we've finally got it together and found the little slice of paradise we'd hope to find all along.
It's called Ko Chang (fyi - Ko is the Thai word for island and it's pronounced kaw) and it's in the eastern side of the Gulf of Thailand near Cambodia. No sign of Khmer Rouge or landmines anywhere (just kidding!). The island is marked by the little red circle in the map below:
The place reminds me of Maui - verdant green mountains with cloud forests, nice beaches with moderate Pacific Ocean-sized waves/current.
It's only beginning to be developed significantly, so we've had the place nearly to ourselves. Long stretches of the most amazing beach and not a soul around. It's been very different from previous experience here, and we're enjoying ourselves immensely.
Today, we simply spent the day swimming in the ocean, trying pathetically to bodysurf waves entirely too small for it. Tomorrow, we'll be renting a motorcycle to explore the island and take a hike or two up some trails to waterfalls with pools for swimming. While we're here, we're staying at the Klong Prao Resort, a wonderful place for the money. About $20 per night gets us a nice, new modern bungalow/room near the beach and a lagoon, plus a huge all-you-can-eat breakfast brunch buffet. We gorge ourselves and then don't need to eat until dinner. It's quite a deal.
Now that we've managed to find a place that's more laid back (not to mention with fewer people.. topless sunbathing is expressly forbidden by law here - so few Europeans!), it's very much like vacation rather than a rat race for dry land. We should be here for a few days and then we're heading to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
Travel in Thailand has also become more pleasant now that we've just decided to fly everywhere that we want to go. After the negative bus experience.. don't forget to ask Jill about the bus restroom incident.. we've decided to just fly. It's dirt cheap (one-way fares per person roughly $40-$60), very clean, very safe AND they feed you a meal on every flight. You read that correctly Southwest Airlines peanut-eaters, they feed you a MEAL on every flight. No flight has exceeded 1hr. 20 minutes to date. One was even 40 minutes and they still had meal and beverage service, even with lightning out the left side of the plane and some turbulence! The food varies from not bad to not great, but frankly, I appreciate the effort, not necessarily the finished product. I've taken digital photos of nearly all of it, so as soon as I find a computer with USB or when I get back home, I'll post some.
We'll fly to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand probably the 20th, spend a few days in their older cities up there and then ride the overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok Saturday night with arrival Sunday morning. We depart at 5:50 pm and arrive at 6:50am Sunday. We managed to reserve and pay for a first class sleeper compartment for $35 for both of us! It's obscene how cheap everything is, and really, the high quality of it all.
Before we flew to Trat/Ko Chang yesterday (16th), we spent two nights in Ko Samui. The one full day was very enjoyable as we went ahead and rented a motorcycle/moped and explored the island. We got away from the crowds and had a little adventure along the way. The beach was hot, but the water was wonderful and the scenery was nice. We swam in the morning and evening and left while it was crowded, so all was okay. But we're glad we moved on. And the beaches do look like the photo I posted the other day.
Anyway, it's 8pm here, so 6am I believe at home. Hope you all have a good morning and day. I've have gotten news from the States and both Jill and I are keeping some recent bad news from two different fronts in our prayers. We hope things improve dramatically, quickly. Until next time...
Thursday, August 14, 2003
CRABBY IN KRABI, FOOEY ON KO SAMUI
Well, I think if we had a bit more strength the title would have been better, but the sentiment wouldn't have changed.
We're presently in Ko Samui, a large island in the Gulf of Thailand.
We arrived here around 7pm after journeying all day by bus from Krabi on the other side of the Thailand peninsula along the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean). The place is supposed to look like this (it very well may; we got here in darkness):
But instead, we're in the middle of Eurotrash Hell. What I mean by that is, all sorts of scroungy Europeans looking like they haven't showered in at least two months (as opposed to once a month back home). Hair braided to hide their greasy scalps, clothes (or lack thereof) offensive to the locals and all riding around on noisy scooters or in the back of obnoxious pick-up taxis. What was apparently once a beautiful, sleepy island has now become another tourist trap catering to low-rent European traffic.
Don't get me wrong; Jill and I love low rent. But unlike our fellow travellers, we do try our best to get to know the local culture and, at the very least, try not to offend. As we speak, several in this room are currently offending the locals by not obeying the "no shoes inside" custom. Why the Thai tolerate this (wait, money, right?!) I guess I'll never know.
Anway, after a long bus ride, we enjoyed a two-hour ferry ride across the gulf to the island. It was only sullied by the constant squealing of pigs tortured by the heat and suffocatingly tight cages atop a truck. Jill swore off pork for the rest of the trip. Jill just reminded me of the cigarette smoke.. how could I forget.
The two days before, we spent in Krabi province on the Andaman Coast. Specifically, we stayed at Railey Beach West, a tiny peninsula with its own bay. The scenery is stunning:
But unfortunately, we only got to enjoy it for two hours. When they say monsoons, they truly mean it. After swimming for probably 30 minutes, a monstrous cloud rushed across the bay and in a manner of seconds started dumping rain like I have NEVER seen before. It was like white-out conditions but with rain; I can't even imagine how much it poured while we stood in a cave and watched. When it let up just a bit, we headed back to the bungalow but got totally soaked in the process. Adding insult to injury, the sewer water in that bungalow overflowed in the bathroom so we had to change rooms.
Long story short, we've pretty much either been trapped by rain or on the move trying to avoid it the whole trip. Not pleasant. At least in Latin America, unless you're truly dealing with a hurricane (which we haven't yet) the rain can be counted on to last just so long, but never is a hurdle to travel by foot or by vehicle.
Hopefully, if there is room, we're taking a flight back to the mainland to head over to some east Gulf Coast islands that are supposedly dry nearly year-round and haven't been turned into a gigantic tourist trap like Ko Samui has.
I suppose it's obvious we're a bit negative about the experience right now, but we've been very privelaged to travel a good amount in Latin America. So far, the language barrier is probably a big culprit; we don't have that problem in Mexico and south. But we've also found some pretty amazing places that are still quite and like paradise in the Western Hemisphere. So far, this place has yet to stack up (except for at the breakfast, lunch and dinner table).
Until we get back to the mainland, hope all is well. We're both in 100% good health, though low in spirits. Better days are ahead.
Well, I think if we had a bit more strength the title would have been better, but the sentiment wouldn't have changed.
We're presently in Ko Samui, a large island in the Gulf of Thailand.
We arrived here around 7pm after journeying all day by bus from Krabi on the other side of the Thailand peninsula along the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean). The place is supposed to look like this (it very well may; we got here in darkness):
But instead, we're in the middle of Eurotrash Hell. What I mean by that is, all sorts of scroungy Europeans looking like they haven't showered in at least two months (as opposed to once a month back home). Hair braided to hide their greasy scalps, clothes (or lack thereof) offensive to the locals and all riding around on noisy scooters or in the back of obnoxious pick-up taxis. What was apparently once a beautiful, sleepy island has now become another tourist trap catering to low-rent European traffic.
Don't get me wrong; Jill and I love low rent. But unlike our fellow travellers, we do try our best to get to know the local culture and, at the very least, try not to offend. As we speak, several in this room are currently offending the locals by not obeying the "no shoes inside" custom. Why the Thai tolerate this (wait, money, right?!) I guess I'll never know.
Anway, after a long bus ride, we enjoyed a two-hour ferry ride across the gulf to the island. It was only sullied by the constant squealing of pigs tortured by the heat and suffocatingly tight cages atop a truck. Jill swore off pork for the rest of the trip. Jill just reminded me of the cigarette smoke.. how could I forget.
The two days before, we spent in Krabi province on the Andaman Coast. Specifically, we stayed at Railey Beach West, a tiny peninsula with its own bay. The scenery is stunning:
But unfortunately, we only got to enjoy it for two hours. When they say monsoons, they truly mean it. After swimming for probably 30 minutes, a monstrous cloud rushed across the bay and in a manner of seconds started dumping rain like I have NEVER seen before. It was like white-out conditions but with rain; I can't even imagine how much it poured while we stood in a cave and watched. When it let up just a bit, we headed back to the bungalow but got totally soaked in the process. Adding insult to injury, the sewer water in that bungalow overflowed in the bathroom so we had to change rooms.
Long story short, we've pretty much either been trapped by rain or on the move trying to avoid it the whole trip. Not pleasant. At least in Latin America, unless you're truly dealing with a hurricane (which we haven't yet) the rain can be counted on to last just so long, but never is a hurdle to travel by foot or by vehicle.
Hopefully, if there is room, we're taking a flight back to the mainland to head over to some east Gulf Coast islands that are supposedly dry nearly year-round and haven't been turned into a gigantic tourist trap like Ko Samui has.
I suppose it's obvious we're a bit negative about the experience right now, but we've been very privelaged to travel a good amount in Latin America. So far, the language barrier is probably a big culprit; we don't have that problem in Mexico and south. But we've also found some pretty amazing places that are still quite and like paradise in the Western Hemisphere. So far, this place has yet to stack up (except for at the breakfast, lunch and dinner table).
Until we get back to the mainland, hope all is well. We're both in 100% good health, though low in spirits. Better days are ahead.
Monday, August 11, 2003
HELLO FROM THAILAND
It's Monday night at 9:30 and I'm in the lobby of our Bangkok hotel using the internet. That link goes to information about the place. 9:30pm here is roughly 7:30am there, so I'm wishing everyone a good morning.
The trip so far has been surprisingly comfortable. After a couple of hours with Tom and Kate exploring the seedier side of San Francisco for shorts and aspirin, we boarded our Cathay Pacific 747 and spent 13 hours arcing from San Francisco north and over to near Tokyo, then south across Taiwan and into Hong Kong. The Cathay Pacific flight was surprisingly comfortable. True to their word, we had tv screens in the seats in front of us and we watched whatever we wanted. For Jill and me, mostly our eyelids. They fed us well and it was quite a pleasant experience.
We only spent two hours in the Hong Kong airport, but it was pretty quiet early in the morning. There was evidence of the SARS outbreak. All passengers staying in Hong Kong, rather than going on to other destinations, had to fill out a health declaration form, have their temperature taken (I didn't find out exactly how that was done...) and then you walk through an area where a really high-tech infrared camera detects your body heat. We did that ourselves and it was kinda spooky looking on the monitor for everyone to see.
Bangkok is a surprisingly comfortable city in many ways. For a developing country, it's cleaner, nicer and it feels like a little bit less of a headache than Mexico City. We haven't yet felt like we were choking on gas fumes. We've taken an elevated train to most everywhere we've gone of any distance. Today, we went over and took a boat along the Chao Phraya river to the old city center where we toured many wats (temples) and the old royal palace.
To date, we haven't been able to find a computer with a USB port, so I'm unable to upload any of my photos. Suffice it to say, there's plenty of them. We have photographed nearly every meal we've had, plus various street scenes, scenes of and around the elevated train, interesting buildings, and of course, the wats and the royal palace. But here's the Temple of the Emerald Buddha we visited today:
Although the weather is sweltering and humid, we're compensated by being able to visit everything and eat anywhere we want for extremely cheap. Our hotel room, in the center of town right near the train, has been barely over $10. Tonight we had our most expensive meal that in the States would have cost $45. For the both of us, it was $10. And everywhere you go, the aroma of the most incredible food wafts around the corner. Not only that, but the orchids are blooming everywhere and you can't miss all the sprays of color. It's quite a remarkable place. Every corner a new sky scraper in all sorts of shapes and designs are springing up.
Bangkok isn't without its negatives, though. I suppose for both of us, the most unpleasant thing isn't the weather (though it can be oppressive) or all of the stairs you climb here to transit or hotel rooms (elevators haven't yet seemed to have taken hold of the Thai imagination), but rather the occasional middle-aged farang or foreign white man being escorted, well, by an escort around town. Fortunately, none of the women have obviously been under-aged girls. But it's still quite disturbing. I won't write a dissertation about it, but it's quite out in the open. Neither the men nor the women try to conceal anything. The ironic thing is that the locals do not condone the activity, even though they don't openly object. It's just that Thais are incredibly passive about unpleasantries because of their culture of "saving face" or avoiding conflict. But the white men don't seem to understand it, or if they do it's doubly wicked, so they assume that the locals think it's alright.
My time is running out. We're safe and sound and I'll update again soon with better information. Tomorrow we're headed for Krabi on the south Andaman Sea. After a two-hour goose chase looking for a recommended travel agent, we settled on a different one and we'll be flying Thai Airways to Krabi at 8am (while you're watching the 6pm news). Bye!
It's Monday night at 9:30 and I'm in the lobby of our Bangkok hotel using the internet. That link goes to information about the place. 9:30pm here is roughly 7:30am there, so I'm wishing everyone a good morning.
The trip so far has been surprisingly comfortable. After a couple of hours with Tom and Kate exploring the seedier side of San Francisco for shorts and aspirin, we boarded our Cathay Pacific 747 and spent 13 hours arcing from San Francisco north and over to near Tokyo, then south across Taiwan and into Hong Kong. The Cathay Pacific flight was surprisingly comfortable. True to their word, we had tv screens in the seats in front of us and we watched whatever we wanted. For Jill and me, mostly our eyelids. They fed us well and it was quite a pleasant experience.
We only spent two hours in the Hong Kong airport, but it was pretty quiet early in the morning. There was evidence of the SARS outbreak. All passengers staying in Hong Kong, rather than going on to other destinations, had to fill out a health declaration form, have their temperature taken (I didn't find out exactly how that was done...) and then you walk through an area where a really high-tech infrared camera detects your body heat. We did that ourselves and it was kinda spooky looking on the monitor for everyone to see.
Bangkok is a surprisingly comfortable city in many ways. For a developing country, it's cleaner, nicer and it feels like a little bit less of a headache than Mexico City. We haven't yet felt like we were choking on gas fumes. We've taken an elevated train to most everywhere we've gone of any distance. Today, we went over and took a boat along the Chao Phraya river to the old city center where we toured many wats (temples) and the old royal palace.
To date, we haven't been able to find a computer with a USB port, so I'm unable to upload any of my photos. Suffice it to say, there's plenty of them. We have photographed nearly every meal we've had, plus various street scenes, scenes of and around the elevated train, interesting buildings, and of course, the wats and the royal palace. But here's the Temple of the Emerald Buddha we visited today:
Although the weather is sweltering and humid, we're compensated by being able to visit everything and eat anywhere we want for extremely cheap. Our hotel room, in the center of town right near the train, has been barely over $10. Tonight we had our most expensive meal that in the States would have cost $45. For the both of us, it was $10. And everywhere you go, the aroma of the most incredible food wafts around the corner. Not only that, but the orchids are blooming everywhere and you can't miss all the sprays of color. It's quite a remarkable place. Every corner a new sky scraper in all sorts of shapes and designs are springing up.
Bangkok isn't without its negatives, though. I suppose for both of us, the most unpleasant thing isn't the weather (though it can be oppressive) or all of the stairs you climb here to transit or hotel rooms (elevators haven't yet seemed to have taken hold of the Thai imagination), but rather the occasional middle-aged farang or foreign white man being escorted, well, by an escort around town. Fortunately, none of the women have obviously been under-aged girls. But it's still quite disturbing. I won't write a dissertation about it, but it's quite out in the open. Neither the men nor the women try to conceal anything. The ironic thing is that the locals do not condone the activity, even though they don't openly object. It's just that Thais are incredibly passive about unpleasantries because of their culture of "saving face" or avoiding conflict. But the white men don't seem to understand it, or if they do it's doubly wicked, so they assume that the locals think it's alright.
My time is running out. We're safe and sound and I'll update again soon with better information. Tomorrow we're headed for Krabi on the south Andaman Sea. After a two-hour goose chase looking for a recommended travel agent, we settled on a different one and we'll be flying Thai Airways to Krabi at 8am (while you're watching the 6pm news). Bye!
Friday, August 08, 2003
DAY OF DEPARTURE
The day has arrived. Vacation is about to start. Jill and I leave tonight on a flight at 8pm headed for San Francisco, where we'll then take our first big leap off the western edge of North America.
REMEMBER - korynasz@hotmail.com or korynasz@yahoo.com is how to get a hold of us. We'll be checking email regularly.
Here's the itenerary specifically for all of you who care to know:
08 AUG 03 - Friday
Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Flt. 2439
LV Portland, OR 800P
AR San Francisco, CA 950P
09 AUG 03 - Saturday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 873
LV San Francisco, CA 130A
10 AUG 03 - Sunday
AR Hong Kong 630A
Cathay Pacific Flt. 713
LV Hong Kong 855A
AR Bangkok 1030A
------------------------------------------------------
28 AUG 03 - Thursday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 700
LV Bangkok 835A
AR Hong Kong 1235P
30 AUG 03 - Saturday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 872
LV Hong Kong 415P
AR San Francisco 145P
Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Flt. 2438
LV San Francisco 410P
AR Portland 600P
-----------------------------------------------------
There you have it. We don't know where all we'll be staying in Thailand yet, but we do have confirmed reservations in Hong Kong:
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
20 Nathan Road
Kowloon
Phone: 852-2369-1111
We'll be staying there for two nights, Aug 28th and 29th. We wouldn't ordinarily stay in a place that fancy, but Hong Kong hotels are running incredible specials right now so why not bump up a notch and live a little, right?
Well, we promise all you worry-warts out there that we'll be very careful in our travels. I realize Jakarta, Indonesia was bombed recently, but it's a long ways from there to Thailand AND Thailand is far more diverse, democratic and socially stable than Indonesia could ever dream of being. Not only that, but Thailand takes its tourism industry (it's biggest economic asset, by far) VERY seriously, and as such, spends heavily on security and law enforcement to keep Thailand safe, thus keeping its travel reputation safe.
Just remember: the most dangerous thing in ANY country is the transportation system and infrastructure. Thailand has a very good transportation system; Hong Kong has one of the world's finest. Therefore, we're statisically much safer in Thailand & Hong Kong than we were in Guatemala both times.
I'll be blogging on this site occasionally to let you know where we are and what we're doing. I did indeed buy a digital camera (Minolta Dimage s414), so I'll try my best to post photos in "real-time" as we travel.
So, until we arrive on the other side of this little planet of ours, God bless.
The day has arrived. Vacation is about to start. Jill and I leave tonight on a flight at 8pm headed for San Francisco, where we'll then take our first big leap off the western edge of North America.
REMEMBER - korynasz@hotmail.com or korynasz@yahoo.com is how to get a hold of us. We'll be checking email regularly.
Here's the itenerary specifically for all of you who care to know:
08 AUG 03 - Friday
Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Flt. 2439
LV Portland, OR 800P
AR San Francisco, CA 950P
09 AUG 03 - Saturday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 873
LV San Francisco, CA 130A
10 AUG 03 - Sunday
AR Hong Kong 630A
Cathay Pacific Flt. 713
LV Hong Kong 855A
AR Bangkok 1030A
------------------------------------------------------
28 AUG 03 - Thursday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 700
LV Bangkok 835A
AR Hong Kong 1235P
30 AUG 03 - Saturday
Cathay Pacific Flt. 872
LV Hong Kong 415P
AR San Francisco 145P
Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Flt. 2438
LV San Francisco 410P
AR Portland 600P
-----------------------------------------------------
There you have it. We don't know where all we'll be staying in Thailand yet, but we do have confirmed reservations in Hong Kong:
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
20 Nathan Road
Kowloon
Phone: 852-2369-1111
We'll be staying there for two nights, Aug 28th and 29th. We wouldn't ordinarily stay in a place that fancy, but Hong Kong hotels are running incredible specials right now so why not bump up a notch and live a little, right?
Well, we promise all you worry-warts out there that we'll be very careful in our travels. I realize Jakarta, Indonesia was bombed recently, but it's a long ways from there to Thailand AND Thailand is far more diverse, democratic and socially stable than Indonesia could ever dream of being. Not only that, but Thailand takes its tourism industry (it's biggest economic asset, by far) VERY seriously, and as such, spends heavily on security and law enforcement to keep Thailand safe, thus keeping its travel reputation safe.
Just remember: the most dangerous thing in ANY country is the transportation system and infrastructure. Thailand has a very good transportation system; Hong Kong has one of the world's finest. Therefore, we're statisically much safer in Thailand & Hong Kong than we were in Guatemala both times.
I'll be blogging on this site occasionally to let you know where we are and what we're doing. I did indeed buy a digital camera (Minolta Dimage s414), so I'll try my best to post photos in "real-time" as we travel.
So, until we arrive on the other side of this little planet of ours, God bless.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
SHOCK OF SHOCKERS
Well, the California recall election just inched closer to resembling a Wrestlemania Battle Royale as Schwarzenegger announced he'd run.
Hang on to your hats, folks.
Well, the California recall election just inched closer to resembling a Wrestlemania Battle Royale as Schwarzenegger announced he'd run.
Hang on to your hats, folks.
CORRECTION
A reader has brought it to my attention that my age is, in fact, not 28. I have assigned a crack team of researchers to find out exactly how old I am. In the meantime, on August 6 throughout history:
1787 First Draft of U.S. Constitution Debated
1911 Lucille Ball is Born
1917 Robert Mitchum is Born
1928 Andy Warhol is Born
1945 U.S. Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
Interesting day to say the least.
A reader has brought it to my attention that my age is, in fact, not 28. I have assigned a crack team of researchers to find out exactly how old I am. In the meantime, on August 6 throughout history:
1787 First Draft of U.S. Constitution Debated
1911 Lucille Ball is Born
1917 Robert Mitchum is Born
1928 Andy Warhol is Born
1945 U.S. Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
Interesting day to say the least.
NEW PHASE OF BILLANDJILL.COM ON BILL'S 28TH BIRTHDAY
That's right.. happy birthday to me! 28 years and going!
To celebrate the occasion, my colleague Jason Morgan at the Rhode Island office of Johnson Gardner has set up a picture server. So, here's a photo for the ladies: Calvin Klein's new underwear models.
Cool, huh?!
That's right.. happy birthday to me! 28 years and going!
To celebrate the occasion, my colleague Jason Morgan at the Rhode Island office of Johnson Gardner has set up a picture server. So, here's a photo for the ladies: Calvin Klein's new underwear models.
Cool, huh?!
Saturday, August 02, 2003
WORK STILL EXTREMELY BUSY - BILL NOT ON THE BALL
The deadline for Oregon low income tax credit housing development applications has created quite a bottleneck of work for me, so blogging updates have been very low on the ladder of priority lately. This week, over a 48-hour period, I got two hours of sleep. That's right, two all-nighters in a row with one two hour nap.
Now some of you may sit and scoff.. "back in my day, I went three days without sleep after walking through six feet of snow back and forth to work uphill.. BOTH WAYS.
Yeah, whatever.
But in the meantime, here's some updates that I truly wished I could spend more time discussing.
TOM DONE WITH BAR EXAM
Tom emailed to let me know the bar exam was over and he felt pretty good about it. Signs are encouraging and hopefully he can move on to bigger and better things with certification behind him. He didn't say when he'd get results, but I'll update as much as possible.
JOHN AND JUDY FIND A HOME IN HILLSBORO
In quite a surprising turn of events, John and Judy found a house they both really like and they signed the papers last night on an offer for it. It's located here in Hillsboro, just a couple of minutes away.
Take a look at it if you care to:
The House
3B/2b, 1480 sq. ft., single-story, large corner lot, RV parking and more wallpaper inside than you'd care to imagine. That'll all come down in time. Anyway, it's a pretty nice house and it meets a lot of their needs. They're thrilled, so things are looking good.
Well, I'm back to work. I'll get around to posting more things soon enough. I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The deadline for Oregon low income tax credit housing development applications has created quite a bottleneck of work for me, so blogging updates have been very low on the ladder of priority lately. This week, over a 48-hour period, I got two hours of sleep. That's right, two all-nighters in a row with one two hour nap.
Now some of you may sit and scoff.. "back in my day, I went three days without sleep after walking through six feet of snow back and forth to work uphill.. BOTH WAYS.
Yeah, whatever.
But in the meantime, here's some updates that I truly wished I could spend more time discussing.
TOM DONE WITH BAR EXAM
Tom emailed to let me know the bar exam was over and he felt pretty good about it. Signs are encouraging and hopefully he can move on to bigger and better things with certification behind him. He didn't say when he'd get results, but I'll update as much as possible.
JOHN AND JUDY FIND A HOME IN HILLSBORO
In quite a surprising turn of events, John and Judy found a house they both really like and they signed the papers last night on an offer for it. It's located here in Hillsboro, just a couple of minutes away.
Take a look at it if you care to:
The House
3B/2b, 1480 sq. ft., single-story, large corner lot, RV parking and more wallpaper inside than you'd care to imagine. That'll all come down in time. Anyway, it's a pretty nice house and it meets a lot of their needs. They're thrilled, so things are looking good.
Well, I'm back to work. I'll get around to posting more things soon enough. I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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