Steven Reed Johnson
Portland, Oregon USA
Touch and Go
Blog
Thailand Sojourn
Steve’s Office, Somet Island
Just so you know I am hard at work. I had to walk 100 feet to get to the 70 degree Ocean. And then I had to figure out how to get back into my bungalow without dragging sand with me. But there was a nice jug by the front steps so I could clean my feet. Also, can you imagine there was no Internet Connection! I had to walk 200 feet down the beach to a cyber Cafe.
Then...talk about poor planning. There was this giant rock right where they wanted to put the bathroom so instead of blowing it up they built the bathroom around the rock.
Which meant I had to share the bathroom with other creatures, like this snail. I’m not sure where he or she was going but by my third day here he gave up. Although every time I took a shower he came out of his shell. On closer examination I realized it was it a web cam.
There is urban wilderness in Bangkok. Take for example this Ikebana arrangement. They are everywhere. You can see another arrangement in photo below. This is view from my bedroom. Although you can’t see the swimming pool just below.
Aesthetic Disparity
If I turn left from my apartment this is the walkway I take. Along the way, the equivalent of three blocks there are at least 25 businesses. 3 coffee shops, 10 food carts or small restaurants, a beauty salon and a jazz bar. I have been watching a three story building going up cinder block by block. Its very cool that there is one food cart person who I think caters only to the construction crew. The family is there to serve them breakfast, lunch and Dinner.
Now if I turn right, after a block, then one more block and I am at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. There is a long strange history to this hotel. Bangkok is filled with these contrasts. Turn right or left and you end up in old or new or pre-modern or post-modern.
See this www site for the bizarre tale
http://www.earthportals.com/Portal_Messenger/erawanshrine.html
Chapter #1
It had me puzzled. Why would they have a web cam in my cabin. An aging baby boomer? But then I found a www site: BabyboomSneakpreview.com
You see I am on the front edge of the boomer generation. My father and mother gave birth to me and my sisters during the war years, between 1937--1945. Which means my social security is safe and that my aging process is on the forefront. So this site allows you to see what the real boomers will look like in a few years. Clever, don’t you think?
Just wanted to see if I could capture the sound of rain storm