My first night in Bankok... oops, no i mean Hong Kong

Got up early went for a jog, said goodbye to my friend lisa and ran home, finished pakcing, took the trains to airport. POrtland to Seattle on a puddle jumper. While in Seattle I called to change my flight. First guy with United couldnt find a cheap flight, called a 2nd time and she found me a good flight coming back the 16th. So 6 more days for the trip.
So, my flight from seattle to Tokyo went smooth enough for a 10 hour flight. Met a nice guy from chicago who is also traveling thailand so i will probably meet up with him. Did take an Ambien on the flight but not sure it helped much. ONly slept on and off.
Tokyo was fun, me and friend from chicago tried some Sopporo beer and a sake. Then onto the next flight. about 6 hours into the flight pilot comes on board and says that riots near the airport have closed the airport... so we have been rerouted to Hong Kong. Which looks like an AMAZING city.
Dead tired, only slept couple spread out hours in past 30 hours. Now its 4:13 in the morning here and probably 1pm back in the states. Got my room, looks nice, now palnning to me3et a group for some quick food... but i took another ambien and can feel it already...sleepty time.
Very important for me to get gong with thailand time!
I am safe and well and have already met cool people.
take care!
chris

UPDATE: next morning

WOW did I need some sleep. Me and my new friend Patrick are heading out to view the local sites for a bit around the hotel (which is pretty nice). Slept like a brick last night for about 5 hours. Feel pretty good now. All cleaned up and packed and ready to hike around. We have two hours before the shuttle is set to take us back to the airport. We should be arriving in Bangkok around 4pm (i think).

CNN here showed the riots from last night. Apparently someone in the Thai government ws flying into the airport and thats why the riots were centered there. Timing is bad but dont worry, the riots have consistently been non-violent and never directed towards ferangs (thai word for european/white tourists). Only problem is if it continues and I am not able to land in Bangkok for several days. I might consider a different approach if that is the case, such as a train into Laos and then Chiang Mai.

So far everyone has been very friendly. I am with a large varied group of travelers. Most are ferangs, but some are japanese or thai. There is even a friendly group of monks in their bright robes. Ive made friends with many seeing how this whole flight and ordeal took nearly 14 hours yesterday from Tokyo.

OK, i better go, Patrick is probably out waiting.
No worries on safety in Bangkok though. If any violence does esculate, i will avoid the city all together. Also i have no intentions of staying there any length of time, its just unfortunate that my flight goes through there.

I will update again asap.
chris

Flying for Thailand

I am up and packed. Just a couple things to finish up and I am off.
Backpack looks good.
My flight information:

Portland to Seattle:
United Express/skywest #5776 10:44am

Seattle to Narita, Japan:
United #875 12:56pm (10 hours duration)

Narita, Japan to Bangkok, Thailand:
United #891 6:35pm (7 hours duration)

Seats are picked, got my passport. All ready!

Thailand!

I haven't posted anything since February, 2008... over 8 months.
Writing clearly does not come as easy to me as others. I usually need to have something exciting to write about. Not that every day life is a complete bore, but its not as exciting as traveling.
That said, I am heading to Thailand two weeks from today for 17 days.
It was a last minute purchase after I realized that the prices from PDX to BKK dropped over $400. I am on a very tight budget and realized I could afford this trip... barely. :)
So, on November 24th (two weeks from today) at around 10am in the morning I will board a flight from Portland to Seattle, where I will catch another flight from Seattle to Tokyo, where I will catch one last flight to Bangkok.
Much like my last trip to Europe (which I was a week into as of a year ago today), I haven't much plans. I land in the city of Bangkok around 11pm and will probably be too tired to do anything. I figure I will probably not stay in the city for more then one day and might even leave the next morning.
As luck would have it, my friend Avery is in Thailand. We have emailed each other a couple times and it sound like we might meet up and travel together for a bit. This is great news because she has spent some time there and knows the routine and she is super cool... and will no doubt make a great travel companion. We have yet to establish much except that it would be great to meet up. She was suggestion in northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai which sounds great to me because I definitely want to see that area.
I also plan to spend at least 6 days on a remote amazing beach. Not sure where yet, but thats the plan. Other then that, who knows. :)
This trip is a long time coming. I applied for a 6-month sabbatical from work in 2005. It was denied. Last year I considered going to Thailand instead of Europe, but the time change would have caused problems with work. This trip, is all vacation. I am not even planning on bringing my computer (a decision that didnt come lightly). Actually this time I plan to pack VERY light. I am bringing my Canon Rebel XT camera but thats about the only thing of value I plan to take.
I will try to post often on this blog and expect too considering that internet cafes are supposedly easy to find in Thailand. I will also post photos here and even more on my flickr account.
I am getting very excited. My friend Lisa let me borrow a couple books on traveling in Thailand and I have been going through them. So much to see... 17 days does not sound long enough.
Now I need to buy some clothes for the trip, get my phone set up (with good music and a few videos for long flights) and determine what I want and need to bring.
14 days and counting. :)

Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

This past weekend I hit up one of my favorite hiking spots outside the city, Silver Falls State Park. It has been 5 years since I hiked there.

Sunday was the beginning of our wonderful sunny warm spell and so off we went!



The hike is about a 7 mile loop with nearly a dozen falls along it. Some of them reaching heights of 180 feet. I had to keep a hold on Kutya along some parts of the path for fear of him taking a fall. The area is a real threat to dogs and my friend Kate actually lost a dog to a fall at this park.



Some of the steep inclines really worked me and I have taken that as an incentive for me to start running again. Today was my first, tomorrow I am meeting my friend Rob for a run so the running officially starts today. Thats good as I have not ran regularly since before my trip to Europe in October.

Indianapolis

For the first time in almost 4 months I am back in Indianapolis...

My dearest aunt Janet, my mothers sister, has passed away. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer and passed relatively peacefully and unexpectedly before the cancer could take her this past Sunday from a blood clot. Though this fact alone is devastating to my family and all who knew her, almost everyone could agree it seemed that god had graced her with the ability to die with the dignity that slow death of cancer seems to rob from people. I had a hard time not thinking of this at her funeral. I had a hard time not thinking that she was lucky.

Hard to say.

Anyhow, my aunt Janet was a special person and she will be missed by many.

So, on the death of my aunt, I returned to Indy this past Wednesday for the funeral. I had considered coming back to Indy the week before for various reasons but had decided I was not ready. My thinking was that finally, for the first time in a very long time, I was happy... and I did not want to disrupt this positive momentum.

But my aunts death gave me little option. I bought my ticket and 3 days later I was in Indy.

Its not that I hate Indianapolis... To be honest, when I moved here 4 years ago I had such a negative impression of the city that when I finally got here I was very surprised at how cool the city actually is. But, there is no hiding it... I am in love with Portland. I always have been since I moved there in 2000.

So, being back in Indianapolis has been a little strange.

I am making efforts to visit my friends and visit with family as much as possible and it has been a good trip overall. Great quality time with my grandmother and grandfather, my mom, Richard, Dad, Lisa and many more...

And now that I am back, it is clear to me that I will never live in Indianapolis again. I moved here 4 years ago for a job and never expected to be here as long as I was. I never even really unpacked.

It wasn't a waste of time by any means, living in Indianapolis. During the past 4 years I was close to my family and made some great friends that I care for very much... But I can't say I was really happy during any of it. Not fully... And during it all, I wanted to get back to Portland.

So, finally getting back to Portland has been great. It has certainly lived up to my expectations. It is different and I am not trying to recreate my life from 5 years ago by any means. I have made new friends, been visiting with old friends and exploring the city like its completely new to me again. It is for the most part. Will I stay there forever? Who knows. But right now I am happy.


My flight back for Portland is in a few hours. The weather here in Indianapolis is COLD COLD COLD... There is probably 3 inches of snow on the ground and I am packed and ready to get going... Back to Portland.

Portland... finally...

I have almost been in Portland for 2 weeks. Hard to believe!

Pretty cool! Its been a long wait.

So, I got moved into my new place and found that I have two really cool roommates. Kaci and her brother Korey. They have welcomed me into their house and I have gotten settled well. The house is great and their two dogs keep Kutya busy. We have been cooking like crazy and seems we all have a fancy for wine and beer. :)

I have set up my desk and computers and am for the most part capable of working without problems. Except that I lack a desk chair and currently use my bed to sit on. I might have found myself a chair I can borrow for a bit until I buy a nicer one.

Its good to run into my old friends. I have seen most of them but a few are missing.

And went on my first hike in Forest Park in western Portland (the photo at top). Its amazing... even in the city! I can not wait to get out of the city though and do a real hike. Kutya is ready too!

Also, last night I took my first bikram yoga class. Thats where they heat the room to 105°F and you do yoga for an hour and a half. Very excited about the class, but I was completely unprepared for it physically. Not to mention I met my old roommate Serge for a late lunch and had 2 beers. So, I nearly fainted from the heat. Going back tonight in hopes that I do better.

Also had big news with the family yesterday. My brother and his fiance have found out they are pregnant! Its a bit unexpected but exciting and wonderful news nonetheless. :)

Overall, it is good to be settled. I feel grounded... It is nice to have a bed after about 2 months of homelessness and I am happy to be where I am at.

On the road... Arrive Portland tomorrow.

This morning I left my sister's in Denver.

13 hours of driving later, I am in Boise at Hotel 8. Room 234.



Snow on the ground almost the whole drive, but the day was always sunny. Really enjoyed the drive. Great sites almost the whole way.



I must admit, that after being away from Portland for 4+ years I am VERY excited to get there. I look forward to seeing my friends there, I look forward to walking Kutya in the park (Laurelhurst or Tabor) and viewing Mt. Hood. Hit the bars and have some Henry Weinhard's and other thick beers. Possibly in a McMenamins. On a slow night, a movie at the Baghdad with a beer and pizza. Some book browsing at Powells. All that...

So, I have 7 hours of driving left and should arrive in Portland tomorrow around 4 pm.

Pretty exciting. :)