Butterworth to Khon Kaen - Planes, Trains & Autmobiles

Jim stopped in Penang in Malaysia to get a new tourist visa on the way through from Kuala Lampur north to Thailand. He wrote, "Georgetown on island of Penang is an amazing place to visit. Great Indian and chinese food!" We spent a few days there several years ago and I have to down there myself in early Janurary to get a new tourist visa thanks to another change in regulations from Thai Immigration.

The photo above is with a wonderful family,Y and Kai and their two children in Nakhon Si Thammarat whom Jim met while hitching.

Here are some more photos of Jim's trip from Butterworth (mainland across from Penang) in Malaysia. He writes:

Getting to Khon Kaen, Thailand from Georgetown, Malaysia was a rather complicated and tiring trip requiring planes, trains, ferries, buses, walking, and hitching. Took three days starting on Dec. 16th, 2008. (Of course, there are easier ways to cover the same ground.)

From my guesthouse, it was a 15 minute walk to the ferry terminal. Then half an hour to Butterworth on the mainland. Waited a couple of hours for a train to the Thai border. The train left at 2:20 PM The trip took about 5 hours. After stamping out of Malaysia and into Thailand, walked out to the highway and eventually hitched a ride to Hat Yai where I checked into a GH near the train station.

Next morning, caught a train to Nakhon Si Thammaret where I walked around for a while before hitching a ride to the airport about 12 miles north. My flight left at 8 PM, arrived BKK at 9 PM. Then a free shuttle from airport to bus terminal and a city bus to the Don Muang train station. There I caught a late train to Ayutthaya and checked into Minthouse GH and crashed.

Next morning, got a train at 11:25 AM going north to Keang Khoi where I got off and hitched to the highway, another ride to Nakhon Rachisima, a third ride to KK with guys going to Laos. Then a fourth ride to the gate near Narong and Noi's home. It was about 4 PM. Made incredibly good time from Ayut. to KK that day - took just 4 1/2 hours."

Trust me - although one does have to use many forms of transportation to get from Chiang Mai to Penang, my trip will not be as complicated as Jim's!

Jim's Homestay in the Philippines

Here are some links to photos that Jim took while in the Philippines.

A family in San Juan invited me to stay with them. I did for four days. It was a great experience. They treated me very well and invited me to come back next year. This homestay was the highlight of my visit to the Philippines. My stay at the beach resort was great, also. I walked into the town of San Fernando several times. It was about 3 miles from where I stayed in San Juan. Here are just a few more photos of my homestay family.

Tina at Lake Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia

Here's Tina's latest adventures in Indonesia, December 08:

Here are some photos taken from my new home at Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Had an "interesting" time getting through customs, but they finally let me in (not sure if they wanted a bribe or just don't like Americans).

Getting here was interesting also. I had to spend a night in Medan, which is one of the dirtiest cities in Indonesia. I was one block from the city's main mosque and there were gaping holes in the sidewalk that went into a black sewer hole. If you weren't watching your step you could simply disappear forever! After a four hour van ride, I arrived in Parepat, on the shores of the largest lake in SE Asia, and also the world's largest volcanic crater lake. It's fairly high in elevation so it's actually quite cool here, which is a huge relief from Georgetown, Malaysia. From Parepat it was a short ferry ride to Tuk Tuk on Samosir Island. I'm currently at the Carolina Guest House.

There are some friends here from Georgetown, and it's a wonderful place to stay, so it looks like I'll be here thru the holidays. My lovely little Batak cabin is less than $7 US a night and the food is cheap. The Batak people are fabulous musicians and we went out last night to hear singers doing harmonies with the musicians and dancers. Amazing place!

Budget Cuts - What must go? What should stay?

This is from HuffingtonPost.com, 12.22.08, written by Mike Stark

Tim Kaine (Man of Faith) Chooses

I suppose there will be any number of similar stories coming in the months and years ahead, but this one struck a nerve. You see, from 3 years old until I joined the Marine Corps at 17, I lived almost exclusively in foster homes. Cycling through the system, you run into an awful lot of troubled kids. Some of them more so than others, but in the end, they are all just kids. And some of them are sick - very sick. You see, it's extraordinarily difficult providing care to an extremely autistic child. Or an obsessive-compulsive. Or Asperger's. And a lot of these kids end up "in the system."

Yesterday a close friend told me (through tears) that Governor Tim Kaine, as a cost-cutting measure, is closing the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents. 200 jobs - nurses, doctors, social workers and staff - will be eliminated.
The CCCA was one of the only in-patient psychiatric hospitals in Virginia. It served practically the entire state. It was a way-station for these kids. They'd stay there for a while, receive a diagnosis and treatment plan, and move on to the next stage - either back home with their family or to a facility or home equipped to take care of them.

Nobody really knows what is going to happen to them now. The staff is scrambling to find a place for existing patients. Of course, they are also probably scrambling to find a job for themselves.

The CCCA affiliated with the University of Virginia's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program. To be certified as a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, a rotation through an in-patient setting is required. The country - especially with its sky-rocketing rates of autism - is suffering through a huge shortage of C&A Psychiatrists. Without this hospital, UVa may have to end its C&A Fellowship Program. The fellows-in-training stand to be left adrift.

Governor Kaine, I'm convinced, chose to close this hospital because kids don't vote. Republicans will stand in the way of any tax increases, so there will simply not be any opportunity to close the budget gap the sane way.

Drive through Northern Virginia sometime. You'll see the posh corporate offices of Lockheed Martin, SAIC, CACI and scores of other war profiteers that have made billions of dollars in the last 8 years. These are the people whose taxes we simply cannot contemplate raising.

So yeah, shit really does roll downhill in bad economic times. Today it's sick children; I'm quite certain that tomorrow it will be food stamp recipients or folks that need help paying to heat their homes.

But it will never be the CEOs, war-profiteers or crooks that looted Wall Street.

Reading List So Far...

Due to the long journey here plus having NO computer for several days, I had plenty of time to finish a few of the books that I had scavenged over the summer from the Swap Shop and mailed over here last month.

Life on the Color Line

This striking memoir of Gregory Howard Williams, born to a white mother and a black father who passed for white, relates his story of being raised as white for his first ten years. His mother left in 1954 and his father moved Gregory and his younger brother from Virginia back "home" to Muncie, Indiana where he sank further into alcoholism.

"To Greg's amazement, having lived his short life as white, his fair-skinned father's relatives were black. Williams' many anecdotes are a mixture of pain, struggle and triumph: learning "hustles" from Dad, receiving guidance from a friend's mother, facing racism from teachers and classmates, beginning a clandestine romance with a white girl he eventually married. And while his scarred, grandiloquent father was never reliable, he did instill in young Greg-though not in Greg's brother-sustaining dreams of professional success. Along the way the author decided, despite his appearance, he would proudly claim the black identity that white Muncie wouldn't let him forget. Facing a lifetime of choosing whether to be black or white and, whatever his decision, opprobrium from both races, Greg opted for black. Today he is dean of a respected law school, a man who in the 1950s of his youth might have been patronizingly called 'a credit to his race.' 'A credit to the human race' is more like it."

Any Bitter Thing by Monica Wood

This would have to be my favorite book by Monica.

From Booklist. "The victim of a hit-and-run accident, Lizzy Mitchell is left by the driver in the middle of the median, hurt and adrift. Later Lizzie comes to see the accident as indicative of her life up to that point. Raised by her uncle Mike, a Maine priest, Lizzy grows up surrounded by his devotion to ministry. But at age nine, her comfortable world crumbles when her uncle is accused of molestation. Lizzy, now a high-school counselor, is still trying to make sense of what happened to her uncle. Wood's characters, similar to those in Mary Lawson's Crow Lake (2002), show refreshing depth and complexity as they each grapple with the irrefutable power of the past. This emotional story is filled with crisp, rich details that linger in the memory much like the Moxie soda that Lizzy recalls from her Maine summers. Wood's stirring domestic drama is full of surprises as it explores the weighty themes of religion, perceived innocence, and the corrosive quality of best intentions."

Princess: A Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson

This is the life story of a Saudi princess the author met while living in Saudi Arabia and offers a glimpse of the appalling conditions endured by even privileged women in that country.

"One must keep in mind the context of time and place when reading this emotional and exciting book to alleviate some of the horror of the injustices endured by the women described here. [My copy was published in 2001 but the book was written in 1992. I surely hope conditions have improved.] Equality of men and women has not worked out in any society, but the status of women in Islam is more problematic in that canon law is applied according to the social climate. Consequently, countries influenced by the West, such as Egypt, are more relaxed than countries like Saudi Arabia that are ruled by strict Hanbali law, which subjects women to unwelcome marriages, execution at whim, and the boredom of purdah."

Somebody's Heart is Burning - A Woman Wanderer in Africa by Tanya Shaffer

I really enjoyed this book and tried to imagine if I could have done this when I was 27...

"Shaffer's vivid travel memoir captures scenes of Kenya, Mali and, most notably, Ghana, rarely seen by American tourists...a white 27-year-old upper-middle-class performance artist with progressive politics, she decides to travel, choosing to participate in various volunteer efforts in order to spend more time and less money in Africa. Her tales are rich in visual and cultural explication; villages and hamlets too tiny for names come to hot, vibrant, scent-laden, insect-thrumming life as Shaffer depicts the dailiness of African culture and the struggle to subsist. The unrelenting heat, ubiquitous disease and economic chaos...Shaffer is a natural storyteller and she evokes the villages she visited and the people she met masterfully."

Toyota vs Ford - A Modern Parable

Written by Mark Berger on WallStreetSurvivor.com

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.
Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid-off one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses.
The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India.
Sadly, the End.

And here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages. TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results: TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses. Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses. . .and now wants the Government to 'bail them out'.

If this weren't so true, it might be funny.

Jim in the Philippines

The Philippines is very different from any other country in SE Asia that I have visited. Only been here a couple of days, but have concluded these folks are Asian Latinos. If I didn't know better, would swear I was in Juarez, Mexico. Most of the people are Catholic. It was a Spanish colony for more than three hundred years and Spain certainly left its mark. Today there are many signs of poverty, much unemployment and under-employment, Western music blaring, greasy food, aggressive behavior: it doesn't feel that safe here and I can tell Manila is going to be a challenge. Way too hot and busy. [More photos.]

The good news is that I am in an excellent guesthouse not far from the airport. The middle-aged Japanese husband and Philippino couple who own it are wonderful people. Have already met some other fine people. One of the flight attendants on last leg from South Korea to Manila was a lovely Philippino lady, who provided much helpful information. She even wrote out directions for getting to my guesthouse from the airport, plus a list of foods I should try. In fact, that last flight, which was with Asian Airlines, was very enjoyable, even though 36 hours had elapsed since leaving Maine. Shortly after boarding, I was suddenly surrounded by several beautiful flight attendants. Wondered what I had done wrong to deserve this kind of attention. Then it became clear; they had noticed the bandaid covering a cut on my hand was flapping loose. They were there to rescue me; one of them took the old one off and another replaced it with a new one. Would not have received this kind of nurturing from United Air folks on my previous segments.

Some comments about Islas 8817 Guesthouse [where I am now] from previous guests:
I have been traveling all over the world for over a decade and this may be the best hostel I have ever stayed in. They are two of the nicest, friendliest most welcoming people I have ever met. If you stay anywhere else, you are crazy!!!! . . . . All I can say is “Wow! What a positive surprise!” . . . . This was a true “Home away from Home”, which you can not feel even in 5-star hotels. Very nice home-made foods. The owner lady cooked a very nice Korean Kimchi stew just for dinner just for me, with the owner providing lots of valuable local information and advice. A bit off to the metro, but very close to the airport and quite easy to get around with 150 pesos taxi fare. Will come back again within next few months. Two thumbs up!

Jim next took a 7 hour bus ride to Baguio, which is high up in the moutains with much more comfortable weather, not hot and humid like Manila. The town had been designed for 20,000 residents (an American summer capital) back in the early 1900's and the population has swelled to over 300,000 with way too much traffic! He wrote that the sidewalks are so crowded with people, you have to walk in the street much of the time. "The foot traffic is comparable to the busiest day at the Fryeburg Fair. Needless to say, I was not happy there. [The town of Sagada was recommended to Jim as a much quieter place. Although known for its pleasant climate, pine sceneries, rocky terrain, waterfalls, centuries-old burial caves, rice terraces, local weaving and hanging coffins (?), Jim decided that Sagada was "not the place for me - an 8PM curfew, no ATMs, and no TVs [news and sports] in GHs.]

After 3 days in Baguio, caught a bus to the coastal town of San Fernando. That turned out to be a good decision. It was busy, but nothing like Baguio. And the people were friendlier. After one night there, I moved a few miles north to the small village of San Juan. This a wonderful place to hang out. Am staying at Hacienda Peters's Beach Resort right on a beach. Surfers come here from Manila and other countries in the west. I could stay here a long time."

Some humor:
"A sign at a Manila train stop listed 'obviously pregnant' as one of the categories for a discounted fare."
"In Baguio shortly after I arrived, a cop asked me to go to the police station with him. He pointed to a sign that said 'No jaywalking. I had just jaywalked and figured a fine was in order. At the station, told him I just arrived in town. He was good about it, gave me some ideas on places to stay, warned me about pickpockets, etc. After getting a room and checking out the town, I realized jaywalking was no big deal. Everywhere you looked, people were walking in the street. There was no way the police could enforce such a law."