taipei before opening/china air

so we ade it to taipei but are in terminal 1. so no massage or johnny walker blue lounge. we do have w coffees for 7 bux us and muffins from arizmendi. china air was way lees entertaining than previous jaunts. no tv no slippers and the guy we hoped doesnt have the flu puking beside us. sounds like home doesnt it. we did finally have rice porridge and charity is repeating good morning asia over n over. we fly into bkk at 11am then get train tix and head out for food. hell yeah best food ever. so i am preparing to be stared at for three weeks and pratice speakin thai to people who want to speak english. all that and some kratooey bars and im in water buffalo heaven. i cant wait for the,humidity summer finally none of this 45 degree oaklane crap. here i come mouth....chook di!

medical tourism dental end again, thailand part 2

so here we go again on the road to recovery and further chewing insurance in the latter years of my misquoted life. tomorrow i embark on that long road to thailand. i got a good pair of shoes and am ready to leave them at home for the same ridiculous pair of teva's that look like a stencil on my feet. we are flying into bangkok on the fourth and begin the journey into the depths of our molars on the sixth. i say we because my most beloved fiance is gracing me with her presence and experiences for me to write about at the same dentist ( http://www.gracedentalclinic.com/ ), again that dentist is grace dental clinic in chiang mai! the best for us of course. also if you end up there chiang mai ram hospital is top o the line. we have chocolate and pirate booty onboard with us. well we always have pirate booty with us but i meant the food, get yer head out my drawers! this after 3,000 miles with a 3.5 yr old boy and we are ready for some time in the land of dreams. i am ready with two camera's, a journal, a nokia 810 and two field recorders so i don't miss a thing for y'all, i will post photo links on flickr (rules) upon my return. itenerary is dentist until the 13th atleast and then we head for some exploration and end up in ko tao in a bungalow on the beach. brilliant, yes we are, you should emulate us whenever you need some brilliance in your life as well. so keep your eyes watered and your curiosity on the tip of your tongue and i'll be sure to mesmerize the pupils and burn the buds with some thai spice and broken english. remember the cautious one ponders while the fool crosses the bridge and pink slippers go great with breakfast burritos or whatever it is i am trying to say......stay tuned....what!

i hate the b word

usually don't go. nothing is in wow, alot has happened since i last wrote. but that should be how it is on this path to better health and living. i had my first day at grace dentistry yesterday. i expected to go in for my initial exam and return the following day to begin. instead i spent the entire day there. the facilities were as sterile as a 90 year old couples house in dallas texas. you could pass the white glove test. i was truly impressed. the technology was far beyond what i have seen ever in the states and they send alot of their specialist (26 six or seung sip hock of them) to the states for further schooling s well. both competent and professional i would give them two thumbs up. not to downplay painless in tahoe. he did as amazing job on my front teeth and i would recommend him to you for caring and top quality work in the california/nevada area. i, as previously stated, received a murder of more work than i anticipated, all in total, exam, x-rays, cleaning, four fillings , one root canal, one surgical extraction. all for the total of $586us. most of the staff spoke perfectly fine english and had a great sense of humor. the insect museum is also four blocks away so if you have time between you can go there. you can catch a sawngthaew for no more than 30 baht if you want to go right there. if they are headed that way it will be 10 baht. all in all i can't tell you how good the experience was. here is a link to their practice.
http://www.gracedentalclinic.com/
today i am getting another root canal after i visit the insect museum. also yesterday i got a new pair of simply dazzling spectacles. vision in 3-d is so much more exhilarating than the boring old 2-d. i can't believe you see in this everyday. you are very fortunate. while i was getting work done yesterday i went and had soup when i had an hour between appointments. i ate some sea life i still cannot recognize or begin too, blue balls and big octopuses, fresh eel, and something solid and round sliced thin that was VERY fishy. it was delicious though. a tantalizing and sweaty eyeball concoction. i love trying to order food in the area's the farangenglish. i also must mention that while i enjoy putting around on the tuktuk i wouldn't call it the method of transit you should make a regular part of your visit. take the sawngthaew (red trucks) basically anywhere in town for 20 baht. tonite i am getting a tattoo at my friends shop he works at and then i am planning on one more at naga. if you get tattoo's here (especially in chiang mai) do not mention going to other shops when visiting one. there is serious rivalry here and it will be taken as disrespect.
today after i go to the dentist i am considering going to a shooting range to fire .50 caliber machine guns. you don't get the opportunity very often. i went into an army/navy type shop here today outside of the wall and there were people putting together machine guns to look at for buying. behind the counter was a very small thai lady about 20 years old who was an expert. once again proving my point that when guns are freely available nobody gets shot. that's a huge can to open now though.
tomorrow morning if they don't make another dentist appointment today (i'm supposed to have 3 days off) i am going to go to mae sai and cross into burma. i am overflowing with curiosity especially post nargis. this may be one of the only open crossings along the whole border. of course you have to pay for entry both ways but it will be worth it. then i return and get ready for the sunday walking market. that is very exciting also. also and inviting thought is to finish my work i will have to come back again. i need healing time before i can get a couple of teeth finished. so that is another great opportunity.
sure he last night i ran into three friends from the states. two of which arrived that afternoon. it was one of their birthdays and so we went out for drinks, well coca-cola for me. we went to a punk bar and some wasted english hippies were running around in nothing but shorts and almost started a fight with the birthday boy. you don't want to be around a fight. going to jail is not the same as getting a massage at the woman's prison. oh yeah, i have a good scam with the tourist police (yes, there are two police forces here and the local won't really lift a hand for you). if you want to know write me and i will tell you about it. it is pretty much foolproof and can cover part of your expenses. after that my friend likes ladyboys and preferably was wanting to "hang out" with a post op. so we went down to the street you meet them on and had a drink at "juicy" bar. i met a couple of kratooey's amd we sat and talked. nicest people i have met so far. and contrary to popular myth not i was never propositioned by them. when walking by one bar i was spanked, hit in the back, and had my hand grabbed pretty much all at the same time. but with a gentle laugh and smile suppressing my initial anger it was really no big deal. especially after hearing my isreali friends stories of how the men were to his girlfriend while walking around. all of them grabbing her personal spots without a care in the world and he doesn't really know how to stop it. sucks, there was so much frustration still when they talked about it. to finish the story since my mind want to go to a museum now, we left our friend with the card to his guesthouse with the boys. i'mwas well taken care of. i'll write more later....after the frogs start singing...i will try an get pictures\video later

bangkok is for lovers

so i made it to the airport in oakland three hours in advance as was recommended and low and behold it was a complete farce. i sat there listening to the breathtaking piano of lebensessenz pondering the irony of them wanting me there so ridiculously early so i can spend more overly taxed money yet the only place open was some horrible burrito place. i'll be damned if i am going to buy a $7 burrito that is three inches long and wrapped in more aluminum than a rim of a bicycle. the actual reason for this is a complete remodel of this closet sized airport including two, yes, two starbucks, so you only have to walk one minute instead of two and a half for coffee. they drove out the private place with smoothies and peet's which is far superior in my snobbish introverted opinion. oh two points in this, one cab's a expensive, $35 expensive from macarthur bart and that is because bart doesn't run until 8 on sundays, however economic that is.
lax was a whole different story, i was not expecting to be walking through security armed to the teeth including machine guns. i also learned of the greatness of duty free shopping. you can buy all the booze, perfume, cigarettes, etc... you want and have them brought to you at the gate so you don't have to deal with them through security. this is in every airport i graced with my stinky presence. i thought the drug dogs were going to get me since my armpits smelled of weed. i saw them looking. really, i did. flying into l.a. made me feel a little sick also. disgusted to the same degree i get when i wat baraka or koyaaniskatsi, you know the feeling you get when you come down off of a few hits of acid and you're still awake. exchange was up though 35baht on the dollar. which was fantastic. oh, don't let me forget to drill this into your head. if y ou want any food or drink before flying air china. get it in the main hall before you go through security. once you get through there is nothing but booze, hotdogs, and prepackaged sandwiches. i spent my time studying thai and drooling over the thought of eating pon suu rot (look it up).
on the plane i first talked with this business man from india who was the genuinely happiest person i saw the whole time. he told me to tell the world that singapore airlines is the best airline in the world. so there you go. it was funny to me that i flew to l.a. only to come back up and fly over the u.s. to seattle and then alaska. seems i could have done it another way. i did get to have a conversation with a nice old lady who pee'd alot about kung fu, muay thai, and thailand although she had never been here i think (she didn't understand any english). it reminded me of working in kitchens in texas but without the props to assist teh language barrier. it was fun. i got to eat pork fried rice, bread, fruit, and some dessert that tasted like a sweet tiramisu but had some strange yellow gel on top. i was exhausted and i think i pee'd on russia while chasing the sun.
whiel i was sittin gin the airport in taiwan i was looking around and noticed something was aloof. then it hit me. hte only obese (and not repulsively) person was a buddhist monk who kept smiling at me. how's that for culture shock. it was there that the problematic situation of me not being abnle to sleep on airplanes took over. you see. there isn't much room for a 6' tall person to sit, so i was cramped but got a little more comfortable with the help of good ol valium. i sat and stretched under a sign that reminded you that drug trafficing is punishable by death. yee-haw!
there was nobody next to me from taipei to bangkok so i got to stretch out a little. i woke up to us about to land and some horrible cartoon with a white bear that had the worst luck ever. i think it was called backkom. disturbing. i got my 30 day visa and went to get a bus. well, the A2 bus to khao san doesn't run until 6am now so i went to get a public taxi. don't do this. while the drivers are nice and take you to many hotels although you don't want to. oh wait, that was the point. get a cab from one of the services inside the airport. they will get you where you need to go. i finally get to khao san and a room at rambuttri village inn. it seems that when you want a room at 2.30am here the only ones available are with air conditioning (atleast 100 baht more). and my air was actually a glorified fan. but it was a bed and shower and i was grateful. i went to get food past all the "pizza" places and had some pad thai made on the street by a nice lady. it was delicious. then i decided to calm my nerves and get a chang beer. little did i know i was entering bourbon street for the british. it smelled and sounded the same. the waitstaff looked at me funny for ordering a small beer. i looked around, i was the only one with one. oh and so you all know, thai beer is stronger than us beer. also expect to pay a deposit around $1000 baht for a room. dont' worry you get it back. now, i trudge forth to hualamphong station after breakfast and make my way to chiang mai. i am excited. i feel like it will be alot more real than here. bangkok feels like plastic and cheap perfume. more to come this computer is driving me nuts. the guy next to me just went outside to puke anyhow, silly aussie. so i don't want to smell him anymore. pob gan mai

countdown six hours

alright, here we go, head em on up, move em on out. i wake up in six hours to begin my day with coffee and stretches, drop my truck off with adina for some more outstanding work, and head to bart to begin the medical misadventures you all have been waiting for. i am confounded with a plethora of human emotions over the whole concept of what i am about to endeavor. like siegfried stepping back into the cage after roy's attack mixed with dumpstered fish from trader joe's that is still somewhat frozen but puffy also. you never really can know what to expect can you. i also am experiencing that feeling of elation when you take a 30 foot leap into water. i'm at the part where you point your feet and start moving horizontal after the plunge. refreshed and alive. vibrant, but still overwhelmed. how the hell am i going to sit on planes for 25 hours? i can't sit still for 20 minutes unless i am meditating and oliver (my son) usually puts a halt to that for his papa! either way i'm going to drink some coffee in taipei and then head to the dreaded (why am i dreading it, i've never been there) khao san road. anyhow, i should probably pack. more to come my patient readers...
including, china airlines, khao san road, hualampong railway, chiang mai, grace dental clinic, cm bluehouse, and so much more, you can sit back now, this is just the trailer......