Amazing Delhi Warzone

Delhi, India, January 5, 2007

This is a story from my recent trip to India

Delhi is the capital of India. This is where we start our trip. I was warned that we would be overwhelmed by the City but I don't really feel that way. Yes, there are many beggars, pushing at us and showing their mutilated body parts like strange puppet shows, to extract money. And urine and feces can be smelled in many parts of the city. And we have to stay constantly alert to thieves, Cons and Schemes. It's a War zone for sure. But then there are the most amazing people and sights all around too. As long as you remember there's a War on; everything is Okay. This is Stephanie. She was sitting on the plane next to us as we flew from Bangkok to Delhi. Stephanie's from Germany but has been traveling in India for several years. She gave us some great tips on how to start our explorations; markets to shop at and some good places to stay in Delhi. She is on her way back to Dharamsala; where the Dalai Lama is living. The woman smiling with the Fed-Ex package is Joanmarie. She's a Buddhist Nun and good friend of my Doll maker friend; Emily, from British Columbia Canada. Emily helped me contact her before leaving Canada and Joanmarie was gracious enough to get us connected in Delhi as we started our travels. She had her debit card stolen and just received her replacement this minute as I take this photo. She's been waiting a tense two weeks for it to arrive. Now with her help, we are getting sorted out so we can get on with the adventure of our first day in India.

Retiring In Siem Reap

Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 12, 2007
This is a story from my recent trip to Cambodia.

Dennis is from Canada. I met him in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2005. We were both looking for postcards and struck up a conversation. We ended up traveling together for the next month in Thailand. [Read The Story Here]
Dennis was taking a year off to cycle around Asia when I met him. That might not sound so amazing until you realize that Dennis over sixty years old. We've kept in touch since then. Then last year he wrote to say he had met a woman in Siem Reap, Cambodia and that they were going to settle down together. He wants to work in Canada for a couple more years to build up a better pension before retiring in Siem Reap with his sweetie.
Aw and I are here in Siem Reap right now, so I wrote Dennis on the chance he might be here right now, too. It turns out he's back in Canada working. I asked him if he would send some photos of his partner and new baby. His partner's name is 'Kunthea'. What a lovely woman. Dennis looked at the other stories I wrote about Siem Reap and recognizes some of the people we met. He says he knows the restaurants and waitresses shown in my stories here. He also tells me that their home in Seim Reap is only four minutes from where we are right now. And this is their new baby; 'Angel'. Sorry Dennis but I'm just guessing from the name that your baby is a girl, right? Angel will celebrate (her?) first birthday on May 17th. What a great pair they are. Way to go Dennis. This is an amazing step to be making at this time in your life. I wish the three of you, all the best. You're moving to a wonderful City. Many foreigners are retiring here in Siem Reap. It's very inexpensive to live here and the City is showing amazing progress economically. I find it easy to travel for a thousand dollars (CAD) per month in Cambodia. You can imagine from that figure, how well you could do on a pension.

My Thai 'Fix'

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May, 2007
I'm visiting with my dear friend Vivyan for the weekend here in Toronto.

We head out for lunch to her favorite Bistro which happens to be a Thai restaurant. I miss Thailand a lot so I'm excited to go.
When we arrive I feel like a stalker as I hunt for some unsuspecting victim to practice my Thai on. A lovely woman takes us to our table. She doesn't look 'Thai' to me but I give it a shot anyway. "Sawadee krup" I blurt out to her. "Oh nice to meet you" she replies. It turns out Lily is from Northern China; not Thailand. We get talking and find out that she is living with a Chinese family here in Etobicoke (a suburb of Toronto) but is looking for a place of her own, or at least a place to share that would give her more space. Before you know it, Lily and Vivyan are talking about sharing Vivyan's place. Vivyan and I start to feel guilty because Lily stays at our table, talking for twenty minutes even though she's on duty. Finally we order our food. It's very good but I wouldn't call it authentic Thai food. But the best part of our meal is when we are leaving. As we pass the kitchen, I see the twinkle in the eyes of the women preparing the food. There are five of them and I can tell right away they are Thais. "Sawadee krup" I exclaim on my way past. Suddenly I hear a sound that's a cross between a sigh and a shriek. All five women are suddenly talking at once and letting me know they are excited that I speak their language. I'm on a roll now, so I add: "Aroi mak mah krup!" to tell them I thought the food was delicious. Again the shriek and a collective gasp of amazement. "Khapt khun kaw" one of the ladies says (thank you). We're just about out the door but just as we exit I reply: "Mai ben lai krup" (don't mention it). These ladies made my day. I really needed that.

Songkran Family [Part 3]

Bangkok, Thailand, April 15, 2007
See [Songkran Family Part 1], [Songkran Family Part 2]
I'm so impressed by this family. They have fun together but they have a stronger bond that comes through at difficult times.
A'taw is being a great sport today. She joins in with gusto but her heart is elsewhere.
Her husband, Poung, is in hospital right now. He just suffered a stroke a couple of days ago. Our warmest thoughts are with you khun Poung. Fortunately they have this wonderful family to watch out for them both.
I sneaked this photo from another event but these are A'tui and Mao who have been so kind as to let me stay in their home for the last month. A'tui was with us on Khao San road yesterday She owns a chain of restaurants in Thailand. Khun Mao runs a Country Club in Bangkok. They are wise and humble people (and above average Karaoke singers). The Celebration today is at their home.

View (pronounced 'Wiew') is one of the daughters of Wat and Pooky (are you confused yet? I am). She is a great sport and is always willing to pose and smile for a photo. And I think her T-shirt sums up the attitude of this beautiful family; 'Life is what you make it. It's my honor to share this special occasion with this amazing group of people. Khopt khun krup, everyone.

Songkran Family [Part 2]

Bangkok, Thailand, April 15, 2007

See [Songkran Family Part 1], [Songkran Family Part 3]

Everyone is getting drenched at our family Songkran celebration. I'm honored to be a part of it.

Nat, his girl friend; Aui . She has the most luminous eyes. Next to her is Nat's sister; Nampeth. Nat just got back from his training as a monk. Many men in Thailand take this training before starting their careers. I just love these faces. So many of the Thais have such a radiance to their faces.

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'Aui' at the moment of impact. Fortunately, the water tends to be warm (except when some people I will not mention ((((Aw))) put ice cubes in the mix.

Aw and Pooky do a lot of work behind the scenes at these family events. Pooky is the unofficial photographer for the clan.

These are the ring-leaders of the water fights; Wat and Natty. Natty has a great spirit. He's in the midst of a round of chemotherapy for a brain tumor and yet he joins in with the best of them.

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Of all the people we doused with water, Wat is my favorite. He really knows how to have a good time.

Aw, Waaw, Wat, and Wow. Can you pronounce 'Waaw' different from 'Waw'? Neither can I. It's like the old 'Get Smart' TV show with the arch-villain who kept insisting: "not 'Craw'...'Kraw!!!'.

And look at that 'cool kat' with the women here; my buddy 'Wat', who I have nick-named 'Jackie Chan'.

It's a great pleasure getting to know 'Wow'. She's the top student in her high school and was just awarded a scholarship to the number one University in Thailand. She is also a wonderful pianist (I hear you from upstairs sometimes, Wow.) The only trouble is that one of my favorite expressions is 'Wow!' and she must always feel like I'm calling for her.

Songkran Family [Part 1]

Bangkok, Thailand, April 15, 2007

See the whole series: [Songkran Family Part 2], [Songkran Family Part 3]

Hold onto your potatoes everyone because it's day three of SONGKRAN!!!
Tenom is the Matriarch of the family.

The Songkran festival is the renewing of life through water. Each member of the family pours water into the hands of the elders and receives their blessings for the New Year.










Lek is Aw's mom and Tenom's neice. I think white is her color. Lek is so quiet and shy so it's fun to see her so slathered up.

Waew with her auntie A'tim.

They act like mother and daughter; or like co-conspirators. Look at that glint in both their eyes; trouble just looking for a place to happen.

Waew is a fashion model and was featured in Image Magazine this month in a swim-suit spread. She is also a well known VJ on MTV Thailand. [See Her MTV Website]

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Sexy 'Songkran' Girls

Continued from [Bangkok 'Songkran!']

Khao San Road is nuts today with thousands of warm, energetic people celebrating the Thai Lunar New Year.

We stumble upon a great street party where lovely young dancers are selling beer (three cans for 100 baht, or a dollar a can. The party is great but when we see it is Filipino beer, we know we have to have some, in honor of Ivan. Just after we got our beer, this girl got doused with water. I love this shot because I got captured her just at the moment before she reacts to it. But no worries; she gives as good as she gets.
Right in the middle of our fun, we have a line of police vehicles pass through with lights flashing. The police are great. This officer's car is smeared all over with powder but he just quietly carries on with his job. The one chilling event was when a series of Bomb squad vehicles came through the crowd. Some parts of Thailand have experienced bomb scares and even a couple of actual bombs since the Ex-Prime Minister was thrown out. But so far it's all just fun and no problem here. If there was a bomb, there's really not much the police could do to move us. So we might as well keep partying.
We fight our way through this combat zone to get a better look at the stage with the dancers. Songkran is WILD!!!

...and sexy. The girl on the right can really dance. They're holding up signs to sell the beer while they groove to the music. Thailand's Songkran is the World's largest Wet T-shirt Party.Aw is so much fun to party with. She is so bold and has a killer smile as she smears strangers with powder and pours water over them. Ivan and I just hang on for the ride.

Aw snapped this just as the Restaurant owner snagged this Farang with the hose. Look at that evil look of glee on his face.
Songkran reminds me of Halloween. It's the one time in the year when a culture who never touches in public, suddenly is touching everyone. And it's the one time when transsexuals (called 'Lady-Boys' in Thailand) are able to flaunt their stuff on the streets. Aw swears this is a lady-boy. All I know is, everyone is welcome here and we're all having a blast. HAPPY SONGKRAN 2050!
Bangkok, Thailand, April 13, 2007

Bangkok 'Songkran!

Thailand celebrated the Lunar New Year and they call it 'Songkran'. It's a huge water festival and while it's happening, the whole city shuts down to party. This is Bangkok's Khao San Road areas. There must be fifty thousand people here.This is Aw after the first ten minutes. We all slather each other with white powder mixed with mud to form a mud for smearing on each other's face as we wish everyone 'Happy New Year'.
I"m wearing the 'Drunk' shirt that Aw gave me to get me in the mood for this crazy event.
This is what my camera sees as I hold it over the crowd on Khao San Road.

That's Ivan on the left. We met him a few days ago at Angkor Wat Cambodia. He's a television producer from the Philippines. He's supposed to be back at work right now but he just couldn't resist the show here.

Ivan started out by saying that he just wanted to stay dry and safe inside somewhere. Then the next thing we knew, he had bought a Commando sized squirt gun and has now become Rambo.
The people of Thailand are so 'Jai dee' (sweet heart). Look at the expression on her face as she douses me.
Songkran is insane; so much fun. We kept walking around and rubbing 'white powder' on the smiling faces around us. Then we came upon a street party led by a group of sexy young women on stage. [See 'Sexy Songkran Girls']
Bangkok, Thailand, April 13, 2007

Erbsville World Reunion

Okay, you've seen [Erbsville Fan Club] but what about that Garage Sale? I'm glad you asked.

It's 'Garage Sale' day and the phone rings. Squiddy patters down the stairs and makes an announcement: 'Melbah, your dear sister, has ordered that we be ready for the Garage Sale at 9:52am. I have a look of shock and horror on my face. I'm doing important things here. It's Saturday; I have blogs to write. I don't have time for 'GARAGE SALES'. "Well, you can write your sister about it if you like" mom says. (Which translates into: 'Don't even bother to try to get out of it. Be ready." )
So I haul my sorry butt into Squiddy's car and off we go. We take a country drive down Erbsville Road and Mom announces: 'Stevie, it's just over that rise. When we get there, I am counting on you to do the talking." I have no idea what I am going to do.
But then I see a woman frantically waving cars into the parking lot. "Oh My God, that's her.

That's the accordion player." Melissa parks the car a discreet distance from the event and we get out. At first I'm thinking I will just look around before saying hello but then I see those arms waving and realize there is only one way to proceed. I head straight for the crazy woman with the flailing arms. As Elaine sees me, I start to say: "Hi Elaine. Remember me? We met the other day at Home Depot." I got as far as: "Helloooo..." and suddenly she shrieks.
"Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeve! Hey everybody, it's Steve! This is the guy I was talking about from the other day" and suddenly it seems that the whole parking lot of people stop what they are doing to witness this event. I come up to her and we hug like long lost friends. Elaine starts introducing me to everyone and telling them: "He just got back from India and Thailand" and he showed the movie of us playing the accordion, all over the World" (which is technically true).

"Hey Steve, you need to meet my brother. He plays the guitar." So off we go
The next thing I know, Elaine is introducing me to her brother, Elmer, and Olaf Olson; Pastor of Saint Paul's Lutheran Church here in Erbsville. Then a guitar comes out and a crowd is forming. I didn't dare look around but my sister and Mom both have their cameras out and this is suddenly turning into a World Event. Elaine (who I think should be running the Home Shopping Network) is ready for her cue. I point to her and say: "We're rolling Elaine" and here's what happens.

Elaine cracks me up. She starts by saying: "Steve is here at the Garage Sale as he is every year" even though I only met her for the first time the other day. She has single-handedly made this visit into an anual event. She's a wonderful promoter. I think CTV is missing out.

After the round of applause, Elmer starts showing us his Car. He tells me he has been restoring it for twenty years and it is a beaut'.

Everything is so surrealistic and these people make us feel welcome as if we're part of the family.We walk around the tables looking at the stuff for sale and find Elmer with a purchase in his hands.This is a quilt that Elaine made for the raffle here at the Church Sale. My sister and Mom bought tickets for it. (In case you're interested Elaine, my sister has a website showing the work she does in this area. See here site [Quilts And Handiwork]

As we're leaving, I ask Elaine to take her photo and she grabs Kelsey (far right) to Squiddy and Melbah in the picture. I hope I hear from my new friends in Erbsville. You guys are a blast and you make me feel very welcome here in Ontario.And for my friends in Alberta, I just want you to see the fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror on Elmer's Classic Car. When I first moved to Alberta in the late 'Seventies, I saw these all over the place in Calgary and Medicine Hat. So now I really feel at home here in Ontario too.

Thanks Elaine and Rudy for leading us to this incredible Erbsville World Reunion.

Erbsville Fan Club

My sister, the infamous Melbah Toasty; minor Blog celebrity
[Pioneer Woman With A Cell Phone] has been trying to convince me for a long time that it is her and not me who is Mom's favorite child. I would think that the evidence is overwhelmingly in my favor. [See The Evidence]
But last year a spontaneous event occurred that I think puts this matter to rest once and for all. Watch this video. You be the judge of my greatness.

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But it gets better.A couple of days ago, Melbah and I are at the local Home Depot getting some materials to build her a utility room. We are paying for our purchases when I suddenly hear a voice that seems so familiar to me. I look over just as the couple ahead of us are leaving. Then I turn to Melbah and we both have the same puzzled look on our faces.I say to her: "Isn't that the couple who played the accordion for me last year. She says: "I thought they looked like the people but I wasn't sure."So we follow them out and find them looking at garden sheds in the parking lot. It's so funny because I say: "Excuse me but do you play the accordion. The man looks at me with a shocked face as if I am from the Accordion police and I am making an arrest. His wife hesitantly answers yes-ssss. So I say: "You sang a song for me." And she replies: "oh yeah. You're Steve." (They look visibly relieved now that they see there will probably be no jail time involved here.)Melbah gets out the camera and here's what happens:

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Oh My God, there's more. See [Erbsville World Reunion]

Dinner and a Movie

I finally had a chance to visit with my brother Mike and his family. They came over to my Mom's for a delicious dinner of glazed baked ham with all the trimmings. We even had baked Alaska for desert. Mom really knows how to make a meal!
When we were finished dinner, we sat down to watch a new Christmas video that Melbah, Mom and I just finished producing. We've been working on the video technology of Windows Moviemaker for the last three years. I think we nailed it this time. The movie's fast-paced, funny, and most of all it doesn't bore.

It was wonderful to have a chance to talk with my brother. I find that with my family, we love each other but we tend to not talk very much on the phone. We have the best time when we get together.

Melbah, you were asking how Mike's family enjoyed the video. Did they find it exciting? Did it enthrall them? Well...

Ticket To India

Today I went to Nippon Travel to get my tickets for Asia.

Okay, here's my plug for my travel agent. Elaine is fantastic. She had to change my travel plans five times before we were done. And she got me a great price. She managed to get me a flight from Toronto to Vancouver on Christmas Eve. She has me arriving in Bangkok in time to make my other connections for New Delhi India at just the time I wanted.
A few weeks ago, I thought I would have to arrive in Asia on New Year's Eve. But then she suddenly found me a ticket for December 24th. I told Elaine I couldn't go on Christmas or my Mom would kill me. A couple of days later I tried to score Brownie points with Mom by letting her know what a loyal son I was being by staying with her in Waterloo on Christmas. Her reply shocked me. "I don't care if you're here for Christmas. You're going to be here for the three weeks anyway. Take the ticket and go."
So everything is working out great. Thanks Elaine. Thanks Mom. India here I come.
...So you don't want me home on Christmas eh Mom?...