Thailand's "normal" is awesome

In Thailand, even the discount, off-brand shampoos are exotic. Ahh, Thailand.

Optimism

Not only is our textbook teaching a new language, it's teaching a little optimism, as well.

When Cultures Collide (in the Porta-John)

As countries rise to economic affluence, more of their citizens are enabled to travel abroad, bringing two cultures into contact. Often, with a host of frustrations. 

Sixty years ago, it was the rise of American affluence and the birth of the "ugly American" - a loud, demanding, oblivious world traveler who rubbed almost everyone he (or she) came into contact with the wrong way.

Not long after that, the rise of the Soviet Union paralleling the US gave way to a wave of Russian globe trotters, who brought the same abrasiveness and lack of cultural awareness.

Over the last 30 years, travelers from the US and Russia have learned to listen, tone their own cultures down a bit, and study up on cultural cues before traveling. And we also handed the baton of "ugly traveler" off to the Chinese.

For the last 5 years or so, the growing Chinese middle class has been venturing past their borders, but often they are "first generation wealthy" who have rocketed up from village poverty to cosmopolitan riches. As they enjoy their new-found wealth, they often expect those around them to accommodate their preferences and "village mentalities," leading to a host of (often comical) misunderstandings.

Exhibit A, from Sydney, Australia (a favorite destination for Chinese travelers):

Apparently, the Aussies are not fans of the… collateral damage… caused by Chinese tourists trying to use toilets as squatties.

Wassaaap(bi)

Dairy Queen, Dairy Queen, Dairy Queen. Just because you call it a Blizzard doesn't make it delicious.

More Punakaiki

Earlier this week, I posted a picture of the sunset from New Zealand's Punakaiki beach. Here's some more pics of the beautiful, rugged South Island west coast.

Part of the beach curls between two cliff faces, where an inland river meets the ocean.

Windswept and rocky, Punakaiki isn't much for sunbathing, but it is absolutely gorgeous.

The Family Jewels

This is the title of a story in our textbook. Let's just be honest, they really don't have much of a leg to stand on if the authors of the textbook try to claim this isn't about… well, you know.

Sunset on Punakaiki

(On the west coast of New Zealand's South Island)

Trains in Thailand

Here in Asia, we take lots of types of transportation, many more than we have in the US. Songtaews, tuk-tuks, motorbike taxis, long tail riverboats, trains, and even the occasional pedicab.

A Malaysian pedicab

Most of them are fun, and even better, cheap. However, Chinese trains rank down at the bottom of my list.

While economical, They. Are. Disgusting.

The amount of trash and food/human waste that accumulates in the cabin is mind-blowing, and the bathroom is usually bombed out and deemed unusable after about 30 minutes.

The rest of the trip is smoky, stinky, and generally cramped.

However, Thai trains are fantastic. Their service and cleanliness is top-notch, and the views aren't bad, either!

Here's a view out the window during our recent train ride from the mountains of northern Thailand down to the capital, Bangkok.

I Love Tea

The title probably didn't shock any of you. If you know me (Aaron), you know that I can't turn down a big glass of sweet tea with lemon. No way, no how.

However, this post is about… (Yankee) hot tea. [head slightly hung in shame]

That's right, since moving to Asia (read: since moving to a place with no heat), I have taken to drinking a lot more hot drinks, mostly hot tea (and writing about my tea mugs). Admittedly, I grew up loving Twinings Earl Grey tea on cold days (something I learned from my mother), so I always have an eye out for new and intriguing Twinings flavors. 

Our time Down Under didn't disappoint. In Australia, I snapped up this little gem:

Later, in New Zealand, I was even more pleased to find this delight:

A New Zealand slant on a tasty classic?? Kiwi goodness combined with the elegant goodness of Her Majesty the Queen? Not to be missed! (This one was a little too floral for my tastes, it was still quite nice to have around during our travels.)

Then there's this one:

This might be my favorite hot tea. Of all time. And it's not even Twinings. It's like an Atomic Fireball was melted down and then steeped - spicy cinnamon and sweet sweetness. Perfection.

Someone from the US mailed this to us (if you know who you are and need a recommendation for sainthood, contact me) and since we've gotten back to our frigid home, I have been hitting this one. Hard.

Merry Himalayan Christmas

No, we're not just now celebrating Christmas, but Stacy's video review of our December/Christmas festivities reminded me of a… unique… Christmas gift I received from a friend this year. See if you can guess what it is:

One more chance:

And…

…

if you guessed…

…

a yak penis, you would be correct. Well, technically, there is more going on here than just a penis, but we'll just leave it at that.

Threat to Air Travel

Over the last few months, we have been traveling quite a bit. Lots of trains, lots of taxis, lots of tuk tuks and ferries and boats. And lots of airplanes.

On one of the many flights we were taking, Stacy happened to glance at the safety bulletin that was placed in the seat-back and something caught her eye:

That's right, folks - if you're traveling to New Zealand, leave your Furby pet at home.

I'll be honest, it has been about a decade since I have even heard someone utter the word "Furby," but apparently down under, they still see them as a threat to air travel.

Sorry Furb.

December 2013

So, I know it's already March, and no one wants to hear Christmas music in March, but I didn't get to make my December in review video until we got back from all of our travels.

So, here it is:

And We're Back...

For the last 2 months, we've been traveling so we haven't been blogging. Now, we're back. With lots of pictures and videos to blog about.

Let's do this. Your patience will surely be rewarded.