In Transit

In Transit, originally uploaded by ShonC.

I'm in Hong Kong now. My time in India was better than I had hoped for. I traded in my trip to China for a few nights in Rishikesh and it was absolutely worth it. Rafted 25 Kilometers with almost level 4 rapids, jumped from a cliff 22 feet high into the river, sat on the banks of the holy river after dark hearing the gush of water, staring at the starlit sky surrounded by fire flies that lit the way back to my room.

All of this besides quality time with friends and family. Need I say more? :)

Goodbye Thailand!

create your own visited countries map

Some of you have seen me paint the town red, now I'm going for the entire world! I've only done 4% so far, and I'm in no rush. Next stop India! :)

Thailand has been a fantastic experience। It's rich with culture and is one helluva playground for anyone seeking some memorable experiences. I've rediscovered a lot about myself in the 3 months I've been here. Almost everything I lost to the west, I've got back from Asia. I'm in a sweet spot now, enjoying the best of both worlds.

As excited as I am to go to India, saying goodbye to the new found friends felt bitter sweet. I will miss Thailand...

Thai Cooking Class

Preping Tofu, originally uploaded by ShonC.

After thinking about it for alomst 3 months, I finally enrolled myself for a Thai cooking experience, the DIY type (http://www.bangkokthaicooking.com/index.html) Oh what fun!

It started with a shopping trip to the wet market along with quick lessons about ingredients. Then came the 5 course meal, cooked and consumed in under 3 hours!

Tom Yom Goong (Spicy shrimp soup)
Pad Thai (Thai fried noodles)
Kang Khio Wan Gai (Green curry with chicken)
Laab Gai (Northern Chicken Salad)
Mango and Sticky Rice

Until I find an opportunity to recreate this sumptous meal for you, wet your appetite with pictures: http://flickr.com/photos/shonc/

P.S.- Minutes after I sent the link to Nusi (the teacher) he called back and here's how it went: Supriyaaaa (that's how Thai's usually call me!) The photos are beautiful. I want more. You come back and I cook everything I know and you take photo. I put on my website. You also learn more cooking. :)

Fabulously Robbed!

Bangkok Sky Walk, originally uploaded by ShonC.

Thank you Bangkok! 10 days to departure and, I finally have a semi-exciting travel tale. My trip to Asia would've been incomplete without it! It all started with a visit to a custom tailoring store (Inders Fasion, Sukumvit, Soi 11. Highly recommended!!) for a business suit fitting. A few minutes later, I was standing at the sky train platform waiting to board when someone pointed out that the zipper on my back pack was open. Wallet and iPod gone! poof! Of course I panicked and then traced my steps back to the store trying to tell myself I probably dropped it somewhere. All this time clearly remembering putting my wallet safely in and closing the zipper. In the panic stricken state, I’ve given up my train ticket and walked out of the station and now I don’t even have enough cash to get back to the apartment.

I get back to the store and the kind store owner (Thai Sardar) sits me down and gives me a glass of water before handing over his cell phone and a laptop with internet connection so I can cancel all my cards. He then takes me to the police station where he speaks to the cops in Thai and has a report filed for me. He even drops me back to my apartment and offers me some cash to tide me over.

Back at the apartment I start making calls to my family and friends and start realizing what has really happened. What did I loose?
 Cash: I think a certain portion of my earning is pre-ordained to be spent on drinks. I haven’t been paying my dues to the alcohol gods since I’ve been here. So they found a way to extort it from me. The guy who took my wallet in all probability shot straight for a go-go bar in Pat Pong, bought himself a bottle of Johnny Black and partied the night away and even managed to take a girl back home with him for once! Money well spent I’d say, bought someone a night of excitement and action (or so I’d like to think.)
 Credit cards: I lost some replaceable plastic and some liquidity until I get back to the US. I had put away some cash ‘just in case’ and ‘just in case’ happened. Patting myself on the back for that one!
 Driving license: I can’t go to work on May 2 since I will need the day to get a new license. An extra day off from work, ha!
 iPod: The iPod had some sentimental value. On the flip side, it was an obsolete mini and I wasn’t upgrading for sentimental reasons. Thank you Mr. Thief for giving me the opportunity to go out and gadget shop. Yipeeeeee!

Some of you have heard me talking about wanting someone who takes charge for me when I don’t feel like it. Suddenly I was surrounded by 3 men (the store owner and his sons) who took care of it all without me having to struggle with the language. Help comes when you least expect it and even though people hide behind the facades of indifference trying to shelter themselves from the mean world, they are very nice at heart and will help others in difficulty.

I know I sound nauseously positive to some of you at this point. Did you know optimism is contagious? I hope I’ve infected some of you, leave a comment and let me know if I did!

P.S. - I considered making the story a bit more juicy by adding an action sequence (kick in the crotch or slamming a guy down with my bag) but decided against it.