Dave in Singapore

Currently in Singapore, scheduled to be here until next Monday.  And of course my Finn Air flight was still in Helsinki when I arrived at the airport, as a matter of fact...that plane may not have even arrived in Bangkok yet due to some "technical difficulties".  Thought that only happens with television programming.  Thankfully I was rebooked on a Swiss Air flight right away.  And to add to that...the day I get to Singapore it's raining.

Could be worse I guess...at least I found my hostel pretty easily.  Off to do some exploring of Singapore tomorrow.

Dave in Bangkok

I find that I'm really not a good tourist.

I don't especially like taking pictures, and I really don't like sight-seeing. Go figure. I just like being there and chilling.

Walking around Bangkok has been fun though. Confusing traffic patterns, unfamiliar streets = LOST. I think I've walked more in the past 5 days than I have in the past year.

Did get to have some fruit I've never had before (see pic above)...dragon fruit. It's kinda like a kiwi in texture, but with bright red or white flesh. Or maybe I like it just because I was born in the year of the Dragon. But it is really good...ok, I'm drooling now.

Need more feathers

I'm in Bangkok.

 

Thailand.

 

A completely different continent.

 

The sight, smell, and sounds are overwhelming due to their unfamiliarity.

 

What the hell was I thinking!?!?!

 

Oh yeah...this is fun.  I don't think I've been this out of my element since doing the BOSS field course last year.  I have a goofy grin a mile...err...excuse me, a kilometer (since I'm no longer in the US) wide.

 

Give me MORE!

 

*For all y'all Muay Thai fans...I ran by Lumpini Stadium today.  I'll have to catch a fight there one of these nights.

My butt is flat...

From sitting on an airplane seat for 16 hours or so in the previous 18 hours.

Aside from sleeping and reading...the flight from LAX to Taipei was uneventful. One more flight to go, from Taipei to Bangkok...this time on a 777. First time for me on one of Boeing's newer products...and I'm oddly excited about flying over deep ocean floors on a plane with only two engines. Maybe I shouldn't have watched "Castaway" before leaving. One more flight to go...only about 4 hours this time.

On y va.

Life altering events

Every time I tell someone that I voluntarily put my current existence "on hold" to go do some exploring of the world, I get the "I wish I could do that" line.  Well...you can.  You just have to suck it up and give up some (if not all) of the comforts of your present life and environment.  It's been a crazy four months since I jumped off the cliff, metaphorically-speaking...and I'm still trying to learn how to fly before I run into terra firma.  Do chickens actually know how to fly?

"Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken." - Tyler Durden/Chuck Palahniuk

About 48 hours to go before I hop a flight to Thailand.

Remember, it's not the fall that kills ya...it's the sudden deceleration.

Live it up.

Email access will be sporadic.  Please feel free to contact me via the comment section of the blog...hope everyone is well...take care!

Doh! Landis B Sample also "non-negative" - does anybody care?

Sigh...

Even though the UCI acted a little unprofessionally in releasing the result of A Sample before confirmation via B Sample, and that there's an appeal process...I think it's safe to say that professional cycling lost some of its luster.

But in the grand scheme of things...it's just a sport. Entertainment.

Far more important things happening in the world.

T-Day

August 16th 9:10pm...I start on my loooonnnng flight to Bangkok, Thailand. Scheduled to arrive at about noon on the 18th...TWO days later.

Can't believe it's already been 4 months since I left behind my job, an income, and any semblance of a "normal" life.

Good times.

Non, je ne regrette rien.