Just an Elephant

Hello 2023!

Happy New Year!

I met up with my Canadian friend from Beijing (we went to Tsinghua University together) who is currently in Thailand for New Year's Eve. We had dinner, some drinks, and caught up while reminiscing about the glory days of when China was cool.

I've decided to make it a goal for this year to write a haiku every day. Although I'm not very experienced with poetry beyond the Shel Silverstein my mom used to read to me when I was younger, I think haikus are as good a place to start as any. I’ll follow the traditional format of three lines — the first and third lines contain five syllables, while the second line contains seven syllables.

You can check them out here:

2022 — Year in Review

Overall, 2022 was a pretty average year for me. I’m settled in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and though I did spend around two months in Singapore, I continued to work my four jobs, spent time with friends, went to the gym almost every day, and did a bit of traveling. I put away a decent chunk of change, joined a Dungeons & Dragons group, bought a PS5, and extended my Thai Education Visa, which will need to be extended again in August 2023. I got my third COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna) in February 2022.

As I, and the rest of the world, look forward to 2023, I don’t expect to make any big life changes. I’ll continue to stay in Chiang Mai and expect to continue with my current job lineup provided they don’t suddenly see a need to fire their writers. I have been thinking more about buying a condo or apartment in Thailand, though that’s something I’m continuing to mull over.

I’d like to thank everyone who visited and/or read my blog in 2022. It's hard to tell who exactly is reading it minus the numbers that Google Analytics spits at me, but I appreciate anyone who took time out of their day to visit this little project of mine. I’ll continue posting on a regular basis throughout 2023 and will aim to do more writing per post. Travel plans for 2023 include Brunei and Timor-Leste so I can close out my Southeast Asia travel map, though I still need a few smaller island countries that I’m unsure when I’ll get to.

In 2022, I published my second novel — A Viral State (technically late 2021, but who’s counting?), as well as my fifth short story, The Place Beyond.

Here are some other highlights from 2022:

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Conceived and developed a new column for KrASIA — The Bullet (Will continue in 2023)

• TOKEN2049 — No Frills, Just Crypto

• Laos Needs to Show its Startups Some Love

• Metaverse Madness

• Here’s a Solution You Didn’t Ask For

• We’re Not Using NFTs to Their Full Potential

• Temasek’s $100 Million Bet — Brilliant or Brash?

• Autonomous Agony

• Southeast Asian Billionaires: The 4% of the 1%

• Why Technology Isn’t Moving As Fast As We’d Hoped it Would

• Deepfakes — We May Never Need to Perform Again

• The Solution to Over-Connectivity — Analog-Only Experiences

• Is AI-Generated Art Still Art As We Know It?

• Southeast Asia — Simple Innovation Solving Big Problems

• Generative AI — The Good, the Bad, and the Scary

• More Than Just a Check — Investing in Social Good

• Buzzwords — There’s a time and a place

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Read 10 books (link to review)

1. Bangkok Tattoo — John Burdett

2. A Treachery of Spies — Manda Scott

3. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle — Haruki Murakami

4. Talking to Strangers — Malcolm Gladwell

5. Artemis — Andy Weir

6. Outliers — Malcolm Gladwell

7. Bangkok Haunts — John Burdett

8. Look Who's Back — Timur Vermes

9. Later — Stephen King

10. The Bangkok Asset — John Burdett

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Traveled to:

1. Phuket, Thailand

2. Chiang Rai, Thailand

3. Pai, Thailand

4. Bangkok, Thailand

5. Pai, Thailand

6. Singapore (Token 2049 & Formula One)

7. Bali / Sanur, Indonesia

A Very Merry Chiangmai Christmas

Had a little party at my place for Christmas Eve, then relaxed on Christmas day. Still weird to me to celebrate Christmas in hot weather but always nice not to have to deal with snow.

December Update

Just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a happy holiday season. It's been a bit quiet over here, just getting ready for Christmas and New Year's. I hope you're all having a great time, however you're spending it.

Whether you're celebrating Christmas, New Year's, or something else entirely, I hope you have a fantastic time with your loved ones.

Here's to a bright and prosperous new year! (Christmas pics to come after weekend)

Food Food Food

Khao Soi Gai, charcuterie plate, temple, some type of soup with beef, but not exactly sure what it is called.

The Latest from Chiangmai

Friend’s condo. Night market. Some type of Llama? Duck curry.

Saturday — Go Karting & Dinner

Went go karting, then had dinner by the river, and some drinks on a rooftop bar. Not a bad way to spend Saturday with friends.

Chidlom Restaurant

Happy Loy Krathong from Chiangmai 2022!

Week Ahead of Birthday

Went to a comedy show for my friend’s birthday last week. I've never done that before, and I likely won’t go again — not that funny, and it was a 3-hour show, which is longer than any comedy show should be.

Loi Krathong Festival 2022 is on November 8th — day after my birthday — so the city is covered in lanterns.

Latest Short Story — The Place Beyond

Just finished my newest short story titled “The Place Beyond.” Would love to hear anyone’s thoughts who gives it a read!

Go Karting

Difficult to get a picture of us racing, but these things slapped. They were super fast and definitely a lot more difficult than it looked. It's always nice to get out and do stuff in CM.

Not Much to Update

Now that I’m back in Chiangmai, work is in full swing, and my daily schedule is gym, lunch, work, movie, and sleep. Not thrilling, but I’m happy to be back in my condo and employed. Though part of me still wants to push and do something of my own, from inception to implementation. Ideas are still out there, but I think 2023 is when things might start to kick off.

Haven’t been out much, but here’s some cool graffiti near a market in Nimman I went to.

Sunday Night Market — CM

Back in Chiangmai — And It's Flooded

I land at 12:30 pm on Tuesday, October 4th. Tell the airport taxi guys I want to go to Changklan road. They say “That’s ground zero; there’s no way we can go.”

I place my hand on a driver’s shoulder and say, “Get me as close as you can.”

I’m dropped about 2 km from my condo, right off the highway — ankle-deep water. I have a backpack and my 20kg suitcase. I pick it up and start sloshing through the water. Ahead of me, I see a small boat and immediately start moving toward it while yelling and holding up 500 baht (USD 13). Without speaking the same language, we negotiate a deal — he’ll take me as far as the end of the street. In goes the suitcase and backpack, and we’re on our way. The water at some points was waste deep.

We reach the end of the road, and he says, “This is as far as I go” — or what I assumed he said, he was speaking Thai.

I thank him, pay him the money, pick up my suitcase and backpack, and start walking to my condo, about 800 meters or so. It’s heavy, I’m sweating, and the water is smelly and up past my knees, but the condo is in sight.

I finally make it. Friends in CM had told me there were floods, but I didn’t realize it was so bad. Food can’t be delivered, and my buddy told me the 7-11 close to the condo looks like something after Katrina hit in Louisiana — empty shelves and barren supplies for those brave enough to venture on over.

The water looks like it is receding today, which is good, but it was a helluva trip back from the airport yesterday.

2nd Article for The Bullet

Temasek’s $100 Million Bet — Brilliant or Brash?

New Column for KrASIA

I was recently given a new column at KrASIA — The Bullet. Here is first article

Big Upcoming Trip

Over the past week, I’ve been working on finalizing an upcoming trip, and it’s been a bit hectic.

Here’s where I’ll be:

• CM — BKK (August 26–27) | Quick 1 day visit, layovers from CM — Bali were a mess, so staying overnight was cheap and a lot less of a hassle.

• BKK — Bali (August 27–September 17)

• Bali — Singapore (September 17)

• Singapore — CM (???)

In Singapore, I’ll be attending Token2049 as a reporter for KrASIA, and then checking out Formula 1 just by myself. Things were getting a bit too comfortable (and boring) in Chiangmai, so I thought I needed to take advantage of my remote work situation and do some traveling. My buddy and his GF are in Bali doing visa stuff, so spending a few weeks there with them will be a nice change of pace.

I’m not sure when I’ll leave Singapore, but hopefully sooner rather than later. It’s expensive, and it’s so “curated” that things get boring real quick, especially since I’ll still be working and not as keen to go out, especially at the cost of $10 beers. From now until my first flight next Friday, I’ll continue going to the gym, working, and getting everything ready for my trip.