http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/ Noodleshop Sun, 24 Dec 2006 21:45:02 PST http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2006. Travel http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/165.html Sun, 24 Dec 2006 14:44:41 GMT I could sit here for the next few years and regale you with tales of living in Thailand as a tragically white guy, and you might even like it, but it wouldn't be the best you could read - Gor is. GO HERE. Unfortunately, Gor is in jail. The great thing is, he's still being written about, even if he can't write himself - you can read years of posts on his site, and they're really worth reading. He's been writing for ThailandLife.com for nine years (interrupted by his recent incarceration) - since he was 12. Go visit Gor. http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=165 http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/164.html Fri, 22 Dec 2006 19:13:30 GMT One of the things that are easy for me to see every day is a Kuhli Loach. I see three of them every day, actually - they're easy for me to see because they live in a fish tank right here on my desk. They look like this: Once you get used to having little eels swimming around next to you, they're really fun to watch. They are fish with personality - they hang out together all the time, and when the mood strikes, they chase each other around or take turns sliding down the leaves of the plastic plant I have in there. My three loaches have grown from about 1 inch to 4 inches long, and they've... (more) http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=164 http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/163.html Thu, 21 Dec 2006 04:54:57 GMT The Asian Games have been going on recently, and I've been getting updates from my students about how Thailand is doing (mostly %&$*ing soccer scores). I haven't been watching the games because we don't have a TV, but I have seen a few shots here and there on other TVs scattered around my usual routes. One of these places is a restaurant down the road which has a big-screen TV. I usually ignore it while we're eating, because they're usually showing a %&$*ing soccer (foot-bon) game, and I don't like %&$*ing soccer. (See, I started out with ambivalent feelings about %&$*ing... (more) http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=163 http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/162.html Wed, 20 Dec 2006 04:51:23 GMT What's in a name? Quite a lot, if the name you're talking about is the actual name of Bangkok. - the real, official, full name of Bangkok is : Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit which translates to : The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayuthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace... (more) http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=162 http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/161.html Tue, 19 Dec 2006 05:23:53 GMT I just realized something - Chiang Mai doesn't have a local paper...except for the English-language ex-pat sneer mag "Chiang Mai CityLife", and the (also English-language ex-pat centric) "Chiang Mai Mail" (currently not publishing), which serve mainly to remind you that there are way too many of us here, and we mostly want to point and laugh at our surroundings from inside the safety of pool tournaments and (insert name of small group of someones pretending that this is wherever they came from) Theme Nights. Then I realized something else - Osaka doesn't have a local paper either. Both... (more) http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=161 http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/160.html Sun, 17 Dec 2006 18:28:17 GMT Just a short update on the last post - one of the two geckos who live under our coffee machine has decided that we're friendly, apparently. For the last couple of days, when I do something on the counter, he (?) just skitters back a few sticky paces and stares at me with cartoonishly bulging eyes. He waits until I go away, and then he comes back out to hunt for ants, rattle a dish or two and poop on something in the sink - none of which is a big deal for us, and it seems he now agrees - hiding's for suckers. However...there's a fine line between brave and brash - this gecko crossed it... (more) http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=160 http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/159.html Fri, 15 Dec 2006 18:35:36 GMT Another thing I see every day is geckos. That's a fanciful graphic rendering of a gecko up there at the top, under the tastefully understated 'noodleshop' title. You (whoever you are) that are reading this may also see geckos every day - I had no idea how common these things are - Canada's not the best environment for geckos, and there aren't any that I know about in Japan. The first time I ever saw one was about 6 years ago, when I was here in Thailand on vacation from Osaka - I picked up my duffel bag in the cheap bungalow I'd rented, and a half-dozen of these little lizards scattered to... (more) http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=159 http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/158.html Sat, 25 Nov 2006 18:25:45 GMT Awhile back, I promised to let you know why I think that His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand is possibly the coolest world leader of all time, and I haven't forgotten that promise. Anyone who knows me might find it strange that I consider a king to be praiseworthy. That would be because you haven't done your homework. Here's your chance : Click HERE to read virtually all there is to read about this man, and see if you don't agree that this is one of those very very few Good people in the world. He started out as the Man Who Would Not Be King, and has become, to my mind,... (more) http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=158 http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/157.html Fri, 10 Nov 2006 18:45:43 GMT The International Horticultural Exposition for His Majesty The King is taking place just down the road a piece from us, and I'll bet you're just as envious as can be. Around here, it's known as the "Royal Flora Ratchapruek" - the 'ratchapruek' part refers to the ratchapruek tree, a spiritually and royally significant tree in Thailand. You can find out more about why that type of tree is special on the Royal Flora site, but I feel it's important here to point out that in English, 'ratchapruek' means 'golden shower'. I point this out, not for cheap laughs at the expense of the Thais, but as a... (more) http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=157 http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/archive/156.html Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:44:59 GMT I know it's been another little while, and I apologize for that (again). The reasons are numerous and boring, but I've been a little busy with a few things - most notably getting married. I'll be sitting down someday soon to write something long and tedious about the ceremony itself, but until then, here are a few photos of the day, just to make you wonder and ask obvious questions : There are about 80 or so more, and you are more than welcome to flip through them HERE . Be forewarned, however - until I get around to writing up all the ins and outs of the ceremony, the... (more) http://noodleshop.blogdrive.com/comments?id=156