The Fryhole

You who are the chosen few the might the proud the fonzy. Air mattresses make it hard to type. I think I have the hang of it now thought. The password it not fufk

Tonight in the light of the darkest moemtn in ttime, which was ten years ago, resurgace and I knew it had. this airmatres sucks. its so movie

I will trhow my glasses I hope they are sage. Did wait, secong…. now to blog with that puicguer in time… lol you suck mc death

time fot the hththth

ok what

my abs used to be the thing that made so many of the woemn all for me, but now allas they are not what they si=ysed tp be

as teje time goes by sad state o;f timg tp ne O a, jave tp rea;oze tjat O a gettomg p;der. amd totjt t j tje to,e fpr tje so;;y of s;vomg at jamd, amd O fpr pme sjpid ne ja[[y tp emd ot wjo;e O cam. wmp tjwme ot cam cam ,e/

oh baby oh baaby oh

lloyg is th tie tim ei s th e guter

oh dark abyss that is the oly end of my heart, whey for though are tno love till the death of my heart>?

my boyshake brings all the girls to the yard

2:21 am? slee[ suclasS!

As Remi mentioned, he and I were incredibly lazy in Bangkok. It was great!

Mom and Dad however… well, they basically hit all of the big sites, including:

The Grand Palace - with both demon and monkey guardians

Wat Arun - the Temple of Dawn

Wat Pho - the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (and its temple mascot - a kitty eating rice)

Dusit Palace

Vimanmek Mansion

Red Teak House

There are more pictures of all of these places in the gallery.

They also went to the Bangkok National Museum, where they learned that Ganesha is the god of knowledge. And in order to ensure that knowledge survives, he seeks out and destroys ignorance - hence the skulls on the bottom of his throne.

What a great god!

While Mom and Dad were sight-seeing, Remi and I shopped, relaxed, watched James Bond movies (which were on all the time), and basically just hung out.

Mom and I worked fittings into our schedule, as we both got a bunch of clothes made at King’s International Tailors on Kaosarn Road - from Papa Jim.

Mom and I also inspected various food vendors, although I only bought mango and sticky rice (mmmm!), not the other… delicacies.

Mom did manage to get friendly with Ronald though. She really likes fast food iconic statues.

Bright and early Sunday morning, we all got up, grabbed our luggage (with the addition of a couple of bags and boxes from all the stuff we had purchased), and caught our flights back to Canada. That was the end of our latest family adventure.

Our trip is rapidly coming to a close — just a few more days in Bangkok left. Bangkok’s not a very clean city, but it is a nice place to shop and buy poison traps souvenirs for everyone back at home.

Hahahaha I had you going there didn’t I? You’re not getting anything.

Yesterday we (”we” being myself and Angela) shopped around a fair amount and even visited the adult district of Bangkok — honestly, I was underwhelmed by it. The shows didn’t strike me as erotic or sexy at all; rather just… weird. Somewhat disturbing. Strange. It’s like watching a freak-show. It was worth seeing once; but not at all sure that I would go back again. Angela’s more happy though; ’cause apparently she was treated much better due to being in the company of a boy (last time she went it was her and a female friend and apparently they were denied access to a few of the clubs, the ones with the ‘best’ shows, etc.) So it was perhaps her first time seeing some of the… weird… stuff, as well.

I’m proud to report that I witnessed the second coming of Jesus yesterday evening, though — and he’s no longer a dude! He’s now a very nice lady that can turn water into cola like magic. I’ll leave that for you to imagine, considering the preceding paragraph. You read it, you can’t un-read it.
Mom and Dad are spending their time visiting the palace and temples, etc., but honestly I am pretty temple-ed out at this point, and Angela has already seen all of that… so we’re spending our time out and about, trawling the shops for cool things and just generally being pretty lazy. It works out well.

It is raining right now, though, so we opted to spend some time doing posts and documenting things, catching up on what we’ve been slacking on. So, for your pleasure (beyond this nightmare-inducing post), we’ve also written about:

• Nara, on November 9.
• Osaka Universal City, on November 10.
• Osaka Castle, on November 11.
• Himeji, on November 12.
• Hiroshima, on November 12.
• Fukuoka, on November 13/14/15.

I promise that none of those posts will leave you as scarred as this one did.

We left the comfort of our Phuket resort on November 25, and headed to Chiang Mai (sadly, via that retarded Bangkok airport again). We basically spent the next 4 days on the opposite end of the spectrum - having gone from 5-star to… well, a place that probably doesn’t even register on the star rating system. I had organized a 3-day trek in the mountains of Northern Thailand - through Doi Suthep - Doi Pui National Park. During the trek, we slept in huts in a Karon (a hill-tribe) village. For the nights before and after the trek, we stayed at a guesthouse called Eagle House 2. Apparently Eagle House 1 isn’t too bad, but Eagle House 2 is… well, loud to say the least. It’s right next to at least 3 nightclubs. So it was a little different from the resort. Fortunately, we were only there for a minimal amount of time, and the trek was great! So… on to the trek…

We left early Sunday morning. There were 4 Canadians (i.e. Mom, Dad, Remi, and I), an Irish couple (Aine and Richard), a Scottish couple (Swampy and Janey), 2 English couples (Ben and Kate, and Dan and Sarah), and our 2 guides, Date (pronounced like a cross between Dat and Det) and Sor. We loaded all our stuff and ourselves into a pick-up truck, and were off!

Our first stop was a market for supplies, and then we got to ride elephants.

The elephant that Remi and I rode was extremely large (even compared to the othe elephants), and hence - very, very hungry. We bought a couple of bags of sugar cane and bananas for him, as well as a package of Mentos, but he also made our ride more interesting by continually wandering off the path into bamboo groves, and proceeding to systematically rip them down and eat them. It’s a good thing that bamboo grows very fast, as this elephant alone could eat a bamboo forest, I’m sure.

After the elephant ride we all clambered back into the truck and drove for a few hours to the start of the trek. The drive wasn’t so great, as the road was terrible - there were many potholes, bumps, and curves - so we were all very relieved to start the trek. Our trek took us up and down the Thai mountains, across various rivers (some with bridges, some without; we later learned that we were simply criss-crossing the same river over and over again), and through rice fields - much to Dad’s delight.

Of course, 3 hours later we were a little tired, but by then we had reached the Karon village where we spent the night.

The Karon people were very nice, and brought us various merchandise to purchase (including beer!).

They also invited us into their homes for tea, and answered our many questions very patiently (courtesy of Date’s translation services). Of course, there was only one gentleman in the house that we visited, as the rest of his family was up at the house with the satellite TV, watching soccer.

The next morning we all huddled by the fire, as it really gets cold in the mountains at night. Dad and Dan built a rack to help dry the shoes that had been soaked in the various river crossings. Remi and I also attached various wet socks and sarongs to our backpacks, to let them dry while we were hiking.

After breakfast, we visited the local elementary school, and gave the kids candy. Apparently, the villagers like tourists to do that as it provides positive reinforcement for going to school.

Then, we were on our way!

We stopped for lunch at a little hut near a stream, where we ate fried noodles out of banana leaves, using young bamboo sticks as chopsticks. The ultimate enviro-friendly lunch!

After a few more hours of trekking (and crossing rivers on rickety bamboo bridges), we arrived at our camping site for the evening.

We spent the evening relaxing, swimming in the river, and Ben entertained us around the camp fire. He plays guitar quite well, and is part of a band back in the UK: The Day Brakes.

The next morning, we awoke to find Date making sticky rice in a bamboo stick for us.

To make bamboo sticky rice: fill the bamboo with rice and water and let soak overnight (stuff leaves in the top end so there’s no bugs) then cook over the fire in the morning until done.

It was good!

After breakfast (including the sticky rice, but also some French toast - or as the Brits & Irish called it, “eggy bread”), it was time for the rafting portion of our trek. There were 3 rafts, built right on the river next to our campsite.

There were 4 or 5 of us standing on each raft, along with our backpacks on a tripod at the front. Each raft had at least one guide, who took the front position. Then, we set off down the river.

Some areas were more exciting than others…

But all of it was fun!

After disembarking, we hiked for another little bit, until we met up with the truck again. We drove for about an hour to a restaurant for lunch, where we met this little guy.

Then we drove another hour or so to the Great Holy Relics Pagoda of Nabhamethanidol-Nabhapolbhumisiri, built to commemorate the birthdays of the King and Queen (Stupas).

Then, another little bit of driving to the Mae Sa Waterfall.

And finally, we drove back to Eagle House 2. That was the end of our Thai trekking experience.

Mom, Remi, and I took a Thai cooking class at our resort. We went to a local market just off of Phuket (over the causeway), and learned that there are many, many different kinds fruits, vegetables, and herbs, far more than we have at typical Canadian grocery stores. (Fortunately, the Chinese superstore is more varied.)

We also got a demonstration of how fresh coconut milk is made.

Then, we went back to the resort for breakfast, followed by our cooking class. We learned to make gaeng keaw wan (green curry with chicken), som tum (spicy green papaya salad), and pad thai with shrimp.

Our instructor was the head chef of the resort’s Thai restaurant, and was very good at explaining how to balance flavours. Of course, she had a sweet tooth, so she was forever adding more palm sugar.

We learned a lot - most importantly, that Remi can make much more than spaghetti!

It was a delicious day in a beautiful kitchen!

Its like my Wii is cooling on the window sill, well more like updating, I need duck hunt like I need nitrogen to breath!

Soooooo

This is the dark empty hole in my life…

Now that hole is filled.

Had today off, and had a hunch that Toys R Us would have a Wii. Their website said we open at 9! LIES! So I got there early, and they were closed. So I swung by Zellers, which were sold out of the Wii, however a guy named Cory was there before me and was getting his name on a call list or something. He is my new best friend, and new worst enemy. At any rate, I don’t want to do the list thing, so I figured screw it, its freezing I will buy some gloves.

9:20 lots of people are going into Toys R Us, seems a little odd, fine I will line up. I was about 10th in line, and chatted with the guy in front of me. He was trying to get both a Wii and a PS3. He is my new best friend, and new worst enemy. Turns out everyone in front of us in line was there, just to shop. I understand geek mentality of lining up, but lining up to just shop? alien to me. Anyway 9:30 we get in, at the R Zone I am second in line, of about 20, with 16 Wiis to be sold.

Ah me sweet little Wii I of course grabbed some Transformers while I was there

I decided to check out Futureshop, I had driven by there waiting for Toys R Us to open. There was a mad frenzy there, probably 40 people in line at least. I charged in and elbowed my way into the games department. “What are you here for?” “Nothing, just watching” yea people hate me.

All in all a fun day. I have to go back to Zellers, apparently accessories are hard to find now. Not sure if they have controllers, but they had the new Zelda game, so I may need to purchase it.

Anyway my arms are tired form Wiiing, its hard to type. For a launch title of pure fun, and odd controls (the Wiimote takes some getting used to, but is very fun) its pretty good. This is just the tip of the iceberg, the games that are coming for this thing are going to be CRAZY! Dance Dance Wiivolution, I fear it, I fear it to the core!

The lazy mans Wii

So I got a call from another tech, saying Toys R Us had Wiis! Weee!  I was stuck at work, so he offered to go by and see if they had any.  Thanks Rick!  Anyway the had sold out that morning (Wednesday).  Apparently people lined up at open to get them.  The store person did say they expected more this week, meaning Friday.  I think I will be waiting at the doors! YAY!

I do get the day off, so it works out!

In retrospect I should have lined up at 4:30 :-(  Damn you Jan!

On a side note:  Reports of accidents, and injuries due to the Wii have started to roll in.  My good these people!  What I have seen so far, broken TV, Broken Laptop, Gash in the hand due to hitting an overhead light.  I don’t have to worry about that one, since many at Bat’leth and Nun-chuck has long since rendered my roof barren of light fixtures.

Why I bring this up?  Well if I ever had a do not invite list to one of m parties, I would be at the top, with some of my close friends in the rest of the top spaces.  So I can just imagine what damage, injuries, and insanity the Wii will bring to my home swiit home.

On Thursday, we went on the John Gray Sea Canoe Tour of Phang Nga Bay. We kayaked through (or rather, a guide gave us a tour of) various limestone islands and caves in the Bay. We also went through the caves into lagoons in the centre of the islands, complete with mangrove trees.

There are reputedly monkeys on the islands too, although we didn’t see any. There were lots of eagles though, that the boat crew enticed with bits of chicken.

We kayaked around Hong Island for a while, looking at the caves, the little crabs on the rocks, and the lungfish (a.k.a. Muddy Mudskipper). And we relaxed in the sun.

Remi and I also managed to scare the crap out of Mom, by boarding her’s and Dad’s kayak in an attempt to steal their treasure. Yarrr! Unfornately, we didn’t get a picture of that.

Once the sun set, we went out into the caves again, and played with the bioluminescent algae. It makes the water sparkle when you move your hand through it, as the algae reacts to pressure changes. No photo of that either, as it probably wouldn’t have turned out anyway.

So yea, I didn’t make it out to the stores I wanted to last night…  Why?  My Pants, my pants they ripped, yup took the butt right out, luckily I was in my car at the time…  So yea no flashing for no one!

So failing any pants mishaps I hope to hit Toys R Us and Super Store tonight… du du dun

But on a happy note, in an evil and funny sorta way… I know that South Side Future Shop got 92, Nintendo Wiis.  How do I know this?  Simple Geoff was number 93 in line.  Ouch.

Just a brief update, I went to three stores last night for my Wii search. Alas I just found sold out signs, oddly Future Shop didn’t even have its Wii display set up yet. I wasn’t the only one there looking either. I listened in as a FS lackey told another like me, that the Wii was sold out, and it would be next week before they were likely to have anymore in.

But thats ok, the less money I give to future shop they better. Although I did buy DVD’s there, so I didn’t really help with my own boycott.

Zellers was also sold out, they were my long shot, I did however get a calender there. Thats right I am a consumer whore, I check a store for a Wii, and I buy other stuff. Oh well this calender was of care bears drawn by Satan him self. So awesome, its like my dreams, only in calender form.

So tonight, I think I will hit Toys R Us, on the off chance that they got so Wii in their weekly shipment. As well maybe superstore, cause I need food for my home. As well I can get Andrew that Transformer I was bugging him about earlier.