Condo Christmas

Glad to see Christmas lights everywhere im Chiangmai. Beijing was a bit bleak during the holidays.

2021 — Year In Review

As 2021 comes to a close, I thought I’d write out some of my highlights, accomplishments, and everything else that happened:

• Didn’t do a whole lot of traveling, but visited Krabi in southern Thailand

• Got a 1-year education visa for Thailand after months of extending my 2-year tourist visa

• Finished (and super close to publishing) my second novel — A Viral State

• Came in last place in my Fantasy Football League (1st year doing it — I did NOT have beginner’s luck)

• Bought a motorcycle (still figuring out how to get a driver’s license in Thailand)

• Went to a Chiangmai FC football game

• Helped my girlfriend open a bar

• Bought a new MacBook Pro (2020 w/touchbar) // My 2015 served me well, but couldn’t keep up with workload

• Bought an Apple watch 7 to replace my FitBit

• Celebrated my 32nd birthday in a warm climate for the first time in almost a decade. Most past birthdays were spent in Beijing, and 2020 birthday was in Tirana, Albania, which was also cold.

• Donated the majority of my jeans, long pants, and long-sleeved shirts and got an almost entirely new wardrobe better suited to Thailand’s climate

• Did a full year of No Meat Mondays. You can check out what that was like here

• Got two new jobs — KrASIA (tech media) and MagicFew (crypto consulting) // Still working for China.org

• Put away $50,000 into my brokerage & Roth IRA

• Read 10 books

  • Blood Meridian — Cormac McCarthy

  • Kafka On The Shore — Haruki Murakami

  • The Crying Machine — Greg Chivers

  • Timbuktu — Paul Auster

  • A Wild Sheep Chase — Haruki Murakami

  • Mr. Vertigo — Paul Auster

  • Pastoralia — George Saunders

  • Killing Commendatore — Haruki Murakami

  • Bangkok 8 — John Burdett

  • Sputnik Sweetheart — Haruki Murakami

Looking forward to celebrating Christmas with friends this weekend, and yes, I bought several ugly Christmas sweaters from Taobao, so get ready for some great pictures.

Overall, it has been a bit of a quiet year for me amid all the COVID-19 restrictions. Thailand didn’t really fully open for most of 2021, and even now, it’s starting to close back up because of Omicron. I have worked from home (and remotely) all year, which has been nice. I don’t miss the office at all. I finished writing my novel and spent lots of time putting together all the pieces that go into publishing it.

Basically, I worked a lot, had fun with friends, dealt with the struggles of being with my girlfriend, saved a lot of money, tried not to fall into a COVID-19-related existential crisis, and exercised daily. It was a pretty routine year. Looking forward to doing more traveling in 2022, even if just domestically within Thailand, as well as starting some new personal writing projects. I plan on staying in Thailand for the foreseeable future, though unsure what next year will bring. Hope anyone reading this had a great 2021, despite all the challenges it brought with it.

Here’s to 2022 and the possibilities it brings with it!

Oysters

Cover for New Novel — A Viral State

This is the cover for my new novel, “A Viral State.” Worked with Tim over at Dissect Designs, who also did the cover for “Contraception.” Incredibly happy with it. Just a few more steps until the novel is published — need to get it internally formatted, then send over the page count to Tim so he can create spine width. The back cover blurb has been finalized, as has the back cover design. Once the internal formatting is done, I’ll finalize full book jacket, then get it over to Amazon to publish!

Thanks to everyone who listened to me talk about this book. It’s certainly been a wild ride, having written it for over a year across more than five different countries. Will post link to blog once everything is ready to go, both print version & e-book.

Christmas Trees in Chiangmai

Also had a nice lunch by the lake. Not as nice as a beach-side lunch, but up here in the north, it’s the best we get. (Food picture is fish in a red chili sauce with veggies on top)

Picture of me by the ocean is on the Christmas tree in the HK office of the company I work for (MagicFew…MF)

Last Day In Krabi

Overall, Krabi was pretty cool, but it’s one of those places where it’s a one-and-done. Nice to go and check it out, but I likely won’t ever go back. Especially since there are so many other islands / beaches to visit in this country, I’ll cross Krabi off my list and go explore all the others.

Krabi — Day 3 (Island Tour)

Phra Nang Cave Beach was the first stop on the Krabi 4 Island Tour and is located on the east coast of the Railay Peninsula.

Legend has it that the Phra Nang Cave is a stone-turned virgin who lived in Krabi centuries ago. At her wedding there were disputes between many admirers and the future husband. When a hermit from a nearby cave tried to settle the dispute and it didn’t work, he used his magical powers to turn everyone involved into stone. Allegedly, these then became Phra Nang Cave, Chicken Island, Koh Poda and other islands.

The second destination on the tour is Tub Island, sometimes written as Tup Island. The small island lies between Chicken Island and Koh Poda. Tub Island consists of two small islands, Koh Mor and Koh Tub, which are connected by a sandbar.

The third stop is Koh Gai, better known as Chicken Island, or Koh Poda Nok. The name comes from a rock at the southern end, which with some imagination resembles the head of a chicken.

The final stop, and the one with the giant rock and me in the red shirt, is Koh Poda, and it was gorgeous. Not much to do besides have lunch and go swimming, but it was a great place to do both.

Also went snorkeling at some point, but not a whole lot to write about since we were a bit far off the island so the snorkeling wasn’t that great. Still nice to be in warm water though, out and about in the sun.

Krabi — Day 1 & 2

Ao Nang is Krabi's vibrant tourist center. It has the relaxed atmosphere of a small town, the beauty of a beach resort, the modern comforts of home, and the friendliness that sets Thailand apart.

The town consists chiefly of a main street, which is dominated by restaurants, pubs, shops and other commerce aimed at tourists. The main beach is used by sunbathers to a certain extent, but there are a large number of long-tail boats which offer access to other beaches on the mainland and on nearby islands.

Chiangmai FC

Nice weekend out and about. Went to Chiangmai FC vs. Nakhon Pathom and Chiangmai won 1-0. Weird environment. No concession stands, no hawkers, no shops selling Chiangmai FC stuff. Very strict entry procedures regarding vaccines, and it was on a Sunday at 7pm, so there were maybe only like 300 people in the stands. Fun to go just to say I went, but might wait to go again until things open back up. I usually only go to local games for the environment — I’m certainly not there for the quality of football.

Not sure if you can tell, but in the lower right picture, the teams stood and faced a digital picture of the King while (I think) the Thai national anthem played. No one in the crowd sang, and some people didn’t stand up. Odd that there was no Thai flag, or maybe it wasn’t the national anthem and instead, some ode to the King. Forever a mystery.

Thanksgiving In Chiangmai

Nice Thanksgiving here in Thailand. Pretty normal meal for dinner, and it's always nice to have real mashed potatoes and Turkey. Giant cat wasn’t Thanksgiving related, but didn’t have a 4th pic for the template so there you go.

Loy Krathong Weekend

Fun, and busy weekend for Loy Krathong. Lots of people came out to celebrate, so it was nice to see the city busier than usual.

Also, not sure what’s going on lately in Chiangmai (or Thailand as a whole), but there seems to be a ton of restaurants offering THC / CBD / Marijuana-based food & drinks. Didn’t try the pizza, nor the drink, but they seem to be popular enough to keep them on the menu.

Loy Krathong - (From 18th)

Loy Krathong is a Siamese festival celebrated annually throughout the Kingdom of Thailand and in nearby countries. The name could be translated as "to float ritual vessel or lamp," and comes from the tradition of making krathong or buoyant, decorated baskets, which are then floated on a river. Many Thais use the krathong to thank the Goddess of Water — Phra Mae Khongkha. This festival can see the traces of its origin back to India.

Loy Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar, thus the exact date of the festival changes every year. In Chiang Mai, the festival lasts three days.

And yes, that is a giant elephant in the back of a pickup truck driving through downtown. Tonight, many of the giant floats will take to the streets, so should get some cool pictures today. Yesterday, all of the floats and lights were organized in Tha Phae gate, with around 250 people hanging out and taking pictures. I expect tonight to be pretty crazy.

Some Thai Food

Weekend Food

Japanese curry with omelet over rice and a Japanese-style burger patty, sushi boat with soba noodles, and a massive box of charcuterie. Easily the tastiest thing I had this weekend. Also, like everywhere else in the world, Christmas decorations can never be set up too early.

More Birthday Pics

Officially 32

Along with all the books as presents, I also got a Bangkok football club soccer jersey, a bottle of wine, and an Airtag, which is something I had thought about buying, but ultimately didn’t, but love that I got it as a present. Fun birthday, but I did have seafood for lunch on the 7th, and a few hours later, was running to toilet and doing the “I’m so hot, no wait, I’m so cold” dance in bed with a fever. Slept it off, and I'm feeling a bit better this morning (8th) but in the future, I’ll stick with pizza for birthday lunch rather than seafood.

Before lunch, I went to a temple called Wat Lok Moli, and it was super cool. Lots of lanterns for the upcoming holiday, but also really cool statues.

Birthday Update

With my birthday coming up on Sunday, I’ve been busy sorting out a party for Saturday. Not a lot of friends in Chiangmai, but those I do know, know people, so it should be a good turnout. Other than that, just gym, work, reading, and figuring out some travel plans (some beach in Thailand) for December.

Editing for my 2nd novel “A Viral State” should be finished soon, and currently working with a graphic designer to get the cover finalized. I'm still aiming to have it finished by Christmas.

Out and About on Halloween

Some street art, an ancient temple, and then these 2 guys, who bought a box of assorted alcohol, and wheeled the grocery cart into the food court of the mall, and had lunch while dipping into the box and drinking at noon on a Sunday. Happy Halloween!

3 Kings Monument - Chiangmai

At roughly the center of the walled city, in the district where the former rulers of Chiang Mai built their palaces, stands the monument to the 'Three Kings' — King Mengrai, the founder of Chiang Mai; his contemporary and reportedly good friend King Ramkamhaeng of Sukothai; and King Ngam Muang of Payao.

Three Kings Monument Square was erected in 1984 as a tribute to the three founders of Chiang Mai. The statue itself is made of bronze and is located in front of Chiang Mai Cultural Center.

According to legend, the three worked together to lay out the city of Chiang Mai. The sculpture has become something of an iconic image representing Chiang Mai.

*Get ready to see a lot more lanterns on the blog. Loy Krathong Holiday is coming up (November 18-20), and lanterns are a staple of the celebrations.

Seafood Dinner

Had a bit of fresh seafood, as well as cooked, such as the left bottom pic, which was a mix of spicy seafood in a Korean sauce. Top right is snails, and though not technically a seafood, still delicious.