Islands

I'm back! The flight was long and arduous, but I made it. My good friend Charlie picked me up at the airport and drove me to my mom's house where she had a fabulous dinner waiting. We ate outside and enjoyed the sunny northwest weather. My friends trickled in and by the time I was falling asleep in the living room I was surrounded by Grant, Ryan, Mike, Maggie, and Charlie. It was so good to see such good friends. Unfortunately after a major lack of sleep I wasnt able to make it out with everyone or to Sanchez's show... Sorry Dirty Sanchez! I will make it up to you.

Today has been beautiful and fun. I woke up to a breakfast of waffles, strawberries, whipped cream, and sausage! My mom is great! I also had a chance to speak to my fabulous grandmother. Then back to Olympia for a nice day of car washing and a mexican food dinner with Charlie. I have a plan to now watch one of the two pirated Thai movies I bought and to get a bit more sleep.

I also wanted to share that Catherine and Kenny from the Clubside restaurant in Olympia, had a baby at 2am Sunday morning so if you know them make sure to give them congratulations!

Love, Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 01:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So I made it to Bangkok and I am staying on the famed Ko Sahn Rd. It is very Farang oriented and this is the same place where I ran into my friend Jed from Juneau earlier in this trip. I really wish I would have stayed here when I first came to Thailand. The energy from all the travellers is really good to be around and it is an interesting place to pick up tips. I would definetly suggest staying here if ever you plan a backpacking trip to Thailand, I would also suggest staying in the D&D hotel because it is great! There is a pool on the roof and all the people staying there are young and fun. The pool is kinda like going to heaven because you take the elevator all the way up to the roof then step off and nestled amongst traditional thai shaped pagodas is a beautiful pool sourounded by lots and lots of sun bathers, and lets face it, they're european sun bathers so you know what that means... There is also a bar up there that serves food and drinks. What a great spot! I have made some nice friends already and that is another reason for starting here, it would be easy to find travel friends here. Anyway I have to run cause I have a full day of shopping ahead of me. If anybody wants somehting let me know! I will soon be back in Oly! Love -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 02:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm leaving Patong in the AM and I made the most of my last day here by enjoying the sunny beach and getting a little more sun on my skin before I'm back in the tropical weather of Washington. Tommorrow I'll be in Bangkok and doin some shopping then at 7am on the 24th I'll be boarding my fun 17 hour flight back. School starts again on the 26th. Have fun everybody!

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I began my day by deciding to stick around Phuket and find a place I hadnt yet explored. I chose the "gypsy sea village" on the west portion of the island. I found a tuk-Tuk and due to traffic, slowly left patong. the village was not what I expected at all. I thought it would be a small town on stilts in the ocean like I had seen pictures of. Instead it was an impoverished village along a mud flat next to the ocean. it was definetly interesting to drive through and observe. One of my main observations was that my idea of island cultures made an assumption that most people living on islands around the world had extra girth to their size due to an abundance of seafood. So far all of Thailand has not shown me this to be true. Instead most of the people are very thin and short in stature. Until today.... The women of the village tended to be very wide. I was surprised by this observation and it was somehting I would have most likely never noticed in a western culture. however, in thailand the women of all ages remain very small and usually thin, except in this village.

I was invited, with my Tuk-tuk driver over to a table of THai people eating and drinking. There was multiple families and many smiles as well as a well drank bottle of thai whiskey. I indulged, and sat with them for about 45 minutes. They joked and had fun and tried to include me as much as their english allowed. It was very fun and made the poverty lessen. From there the driver and I went around the island and saw an abalone farm and a couple large rubber plantations. He dropped me in Phuket town where I went to watch a movie. the movie was Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymoore in "50 first dates". It was a romantic comedy but was pretty funny. I was so glad I finally went to a movie here, because I thought the movies would in general be the same as in the U.S. Instead, directly before the movie began and the previews had finished, a homage for the king was requested and all members of the audience stood for the entirety of a short pictorial celebration of their royal patriarch. Wow was this interesting to see. Other than the giant photos of the royal family along the highways and the poster photos of them in every business and household. I hadnt really seen any action of Thai patriotism towards their leader. It was quite an eye opener.

From there I came back to my hotel and now over here, to use the internet at trusty, old, "Siam Internet". I purchased my airline tickets to Bangkok today for 68 dollars and on the 21st I'll be heading that direction. Then at 7am on the 24th I'll be boarding a plane back to Washington. To be honest I saw Alaska on that "50 first dates" movie, and felt a bit homesick. The movie ended up being quite poignant due to its location on an island in Hawaii (as half of my geo group is) and his desire to sail his boat to Alaska. All of it was good stuff to reflect on. Thats all for now... Have fun! Love -Tim

P.S. Tom, thank you for writing such fantastic comments for me. You've really been a great support and a strong source for constructive personal reflection. -Thanks so much, your friend -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well after I finished all my sailing courses I was invited to Patong for a night out with my sailing instructor "Andrew", The boss at Yacht Pro "Rob", and the man who actually owned one of the yachts we took out "Allen". I arrived to a restaurant where we all ordered italian pasta. It was strange but at 500 baht each it managed to tip the scales as one of my most expensive meals in THailand to date. Definetly not a place I would have chose for myself, but the food was good and it was an interesting beginning to an interesting evening.

Rob, began taking us to "go go" bars where women dance on a stage in skimpy clothing. They werent nude but close. All the men were amazed that I hadn't yet frequented one of these establishments. I explained it didnt lend itself to a very communicatable environment... Andrew and I have become pretty good friends and though he is 40yrs old he and I are similar in our outlooks on the world. In other words, the go go bars werent his bag either. It was interesting to observe the other men in the places, and the interactions between the men and the women and lucky for me I'm a little too young to gain any significant attention from the girls that work there.

From those places we wandered to a couple other bars then Rob took the reins and told us he knew of a great place where we would have our minds blown. In Thailand there are bars then there are areas where there is one roof covering a plethora of open air bars underneath. These establishments are called "soys". In Patong there is a particularly large soy which is staffed virtually entirely by transexual women. Men that have undergone or are undergoing different levels of transexuality to become women. Of course this was exactly where we went with Rob. He took us all the way through to the very end of the block-deep soy and into a cabaret show called "moulin rose". The place was extremely well put together and the decor was of a much higher level than I have been use to in Thailand. I later was told that the man who owned the cabaret show alos owned the restaurant we ate at. We watched a song and dance and comedy performance by "lady boys" or "Katoys". It was entertaining and well rehearsed and the comedy was pretty funny. They were usually half dressed and the whole thing was bizzarre but still intriguing. We stayed only for three performances or songs then went out. Admitadely my comfort levels had been approached to there tops but, at the same time I had never experienced anything like this and figured I might learn something about myself. When we left I assumed we would leave the soy and go to another place, instead Rob insisted that we sit at the first bar. Instantly we were surrounded by scantily clad, surgically enhanced, katoy girls. It was self enlightening to relax uncomfortabilities and bridge potential prejudices. I think in truth, that the accepting nature of Thailand aided me in this process.

Eventually we left and Andrew and I left Allen and Rob to go to some discos. THe older men went some place else, assumably back to the Katoy soy or more go go's. I had a lot of fun dancing and I went back to my hotel. Andrew tiredly and unintelligently rode his motorbike back to kamala. The next day I had made plans to meet with Erica, and Andrew to say goodbyes. I met with Andrew who was hung over from the night before and played a few games of pool -side note... I am getting okay at playing Thai rules pool, and I'll teach anyone who wants to learn- then Erica came and we played a few more games. Rob had told her about the night before, so she was eager to see the cabaret show we had attended. So for two nights out in a row, I went to a transexual, partially nude, Thai, lipsynched, song and dance show. Again we went out to the bar right outside of the Moulin Rose, but this time a few of the Katoy girls recognized Andrew and I... By the end of the night a man came around with a polaroid camera and took our picture with a topless katoy lady. It is one of the gems I have collected from this trip! we all four took a great picture and Erica and the katoy girl "Shaw", kissed the picture cover while wearing lipstick, then signed it. What a weird couple of days!

To add a little more humor... I was recently asked by a friend why I wasnt with a girlfriend, and in turn, if I was gay. I answered, "after last night and the night before sexuality has become a very confusing concept. What is the rule if I admired an ex-man's new vagina?"

Many of the Katoy girls in the bar exposed themselves again and again obviously proud of the expensive new additions to their bodies...

I am so interested to read the comments off of this one... LOL! Have fun and keep an open mind! Its a strange world! -Tim

P.S. if this offended anyone, it wasnt my intent, I simply was trying to share a short series of interesting events.

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

So I finished my last day of sailing and a whole day of written tests. I recieved an 89% on one, and a 97% on the other. I additionally have one more test but it will require more study time and ultimately I will have to send it back here for them to admit it. No worries though, it has been quite a ride.

Tonight I will again be in Patong, I'm going out with Andrew, and Rob (the boss at Yacht Pro). It should be an interesting night, I'm not too sure about Rob because he's an older boorish fellow who happens to be Australian. He is quite a blow hard on occasion, but ultimately has a good core if you can find it. He often complains about whats wrong with THailand and Thai people...

Tommorrow I will most likely end up in Kamala with Andrew and stay at his place, he has a two bedroom apartment to himself so it should be nice. I am beginning to feel the pressures of leaving and daily I try to thwart their impending actualizations. I dont want to go home!!! But, at least I'll go home to new beginnings, as soon as I can get out of my old ones, such as the room I rent etc. Its time and my roomates are incourageable. I thought I was the one who had the problems until my sensible, good friend Charlie, took over my room while I've been gone and has had the same complaints... mainly passive agressiveness. I think the power of "passive agressiveness" should be left in the hands of wise people only such as Ghandi! Its definetly time to down scale! time to get rid of a lot of stuff that I dont use, and have myself a mighty garage sale. I read, "a person doesnt truly own things, the things own the person" I definetly agree with this statement, especially when considering having to move again... AHH! Oh well life is an adventure and I'll just pretend to be Indiana Jones... write me when you can, love Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So today was great, I learned many new techniques of sailing, got some sun to advance my sexy tan, and was able to teach a few things to my new crew member, Marcus. He's German, and a real nice fellow. It helped me a lot to be able to instruct someone else in what I have been taught, because it made me think of the exact orders of things during my explanations.

Its kinda sad coming to an end here. I feel my time here drifting away and the innevitable airplane ride home just around the corner. I miss many people but instead of going home I'd rather you all came here. However I am excited about the oppurtunities ahead of me after graduation and all the new adventures and experiences of my career and more adult life. My time in the sun has done me well to acquire a new attitude and perspective.

As for pics of my nemesis queen of the insect kingdom, yes I managed to snap a few and lucky for me the zoom was still working... Have fun, -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Wow! What a time! Okay so normally Patong beach is a place full of many people all trying to do different things and most of it has to do with seperating the tourist from the money in their pocket. For this reason many Thai and foreigner alike dont really enjoy Patong for extended periods because it is so loud and busy... However, when looking forward to the biggest water fight in the world I couldnt have picked a better place to be! Excess is in excess here and the festival was incredible!!! I didnt take any pictures, because the pictures wouldnt have done the celebration justice and I definetly would have ruined my camera! Instead I just became totally involved with squirting people and making friends and trying to breathe between each squirt or bucket on my head. I have stayed enough time around Patong now, that many people recognized me and in turn dumped varying amounts of water on me. It was great, at one point I was even smeared with wet flower pedals. The tradition is to gently smear a vapo type powder on your victims face and either pour or flick some water on them. It has developed into a massive squirt gun fight where even truck loads of Thai people drive around pouring water from trucks etc. My advantage came in two words... "ice water" for one coming from the Northwest and Alaska I am nearly immune to the stuff, but Thai people aren't in fact so far I found ice water to be the Thai achillies heal. LOL!

The playfullness of this culture really came out in this festival and it was very fun to be able to stand on the street shoulder to shoulder with people from all over the world, many of us not knowing how to speak the others language but all of us laughing and playing like children. All ages of people indulge in this water game, but the most fun are the children. They get so into it. This was a great oppurtunity to see a gap bridged between foreigner and local and it was truly a great experience.

By the end the streets were covered in multiple inches of water and there was not a single visible person who wasnt wet. Even the police were unable to avoid the water! As I made the tired trek back up the hill to my hotel in Baan Boa 1 (because Baan Boa 2 was full) I was again and again greeted with buckets of water from all the stores, restaurants, and laundery employess that I frequented while I was here. Everytime with a smile and always in good nature.

The only negative thing I saw during this festival was from a family of either Swedish or Germans. There was a man his wife and their daughter and I watched as they walked one way down a street getting angry at people for squirting them then 15 minutes later they came back up the street still being angry at people, in fact the man even pushed a Thai man at one point and I intervened by telling him this is Thailand and this is the Thai people's New Year festival and if you dont want to participate to go back to your hotel. He disregarded me rudely and carried on, his daughter also haughtily left the down the street. Leave it to foreigners to become ugly in a time of celebration... I managed to look beautiful in all my powdery, flowery, wetness! LOL!

I sadly left Baan Boa this morning and I said goodbye to many of the Thai friends I have made during my time here. I called Mr. Sakchai the owner of the internet place in Baan Ko Aen and he came to pick me up. Upon arrival in Ko Aen I found my room already prepped with the key in the door but nobody there. A woman across the courtyard managed to explain to me that it was okay for me to go in and the elderly woman who owned my hotel would be back later. I went in and noticed the windows in my room were open...

Upon the window sill sat a ferocious beast! one of the greatest Queens of the insect world! A preying Mantis (but it was a big one) Unfortunately my knowledge of this creature ended with the fact that upon coppulation the female tears off and eats the head of the male. Knowing this I autimatically feared the beast and had a strong internal drive to remove these genetics from the global food chain... Knowing that my only weapon was my trusty water gun I leveled my barrel and gave her a blast. It wasnt enough to send her out of my second story window, and now I was out of water. Her head turned and eyed me with two large alien-like eyes. Her antennas twitched as she could undoubtedly smell my fear. I lept to the bed and across it to reach for a 6ft wooden curtain rod. She sat stareing, watching my every move. I stretched out my arm and the rod I held, I nudged her, and I beleive she scoffed... She then began moving about like she might take flight or even more likely, use her huge legs to leap for my face, so I nudged her again... She crawled (slowly) out onto the opening apparatus of my window. Since she was fleeing I knew I had the upper hand and so I went for another nudge... She fell from my window and made a sound like the thunder of a twig falling from a tree. I looked out to see her smote remains, but, as every evil nemesis, once vanquished she just disappeared...

I start my final set of sailing courses tommorrow. We'll see how it goes, this one will focus on fine skills such as sailing into a marina, docking, reverse motoring etc. There are many factors to account for when piloting a keel boat such as current, wind, tide, rudder angle, etc. Once complete I should be well on my way to a strong sailing life. I look forward to gaining these skills and completeing all my tests this has been quite an experience. Once home I will need to complete only three more courses then I will be ASA certified to eventually (after 365 days sailing though even crewing or day sailing counts) be a charter captain if I wish. You never know. Have fun and write me when you can, and Joy, thank you for getting Rory out, he sounds like he needs it. Quit being so grumpy Rory! focus on the positive! Okay Bye, Love -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

So I'm back in Patong and this time I'm staying at Baan Boa 1 because Baan Boa 2 was all full! LOL! Its a little further up the hill but for a 20 baht motorbike ride its no problem.

I'm here again because on the 12 and 13 there is the national water festival where they have the worlds biggest water gun fight and throw buckets and buckets of water on each other, and smear a kind of powdered cream on each other which acts similar to vicks vapo rub. I wont write much today because I already have written so much yesterday, but here I am and life is right. Tonight I will meet with Andrew. And please send a mental congratulations to my Grandmother cause she just got married!!! Way to go grandma! and though you were already part of it, welcome to the Family Tom! Have fun everybody, -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 03:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It was Extraordinary! I have been sailing and motoring and anchoring and dinghying.... and everything else for five days! The boat was beautiful and was actually a 29 and a half foot boat. The other guy who was supposed to be coming actually bailed out so I ended up with a private lesson which I really made the most of! We went a long way but actually didnt stay in a lot of places because I got to make all the choices and charting decisions (with lots of local expert input) so when we found some of the best snorkeling on the planet and a fantastic anchoring point on the bay at Koh Phi Phi we decided to keep going back to the same places to get a better feel for them. The first day we sailed North and ended up in a very majestic setting between limestone cliffs and small limestone islands that were peeking out of the waves, along the beach were stands of flowering mangrove trees. THat night I slept on the cushioned deck under the stars and enjoyed the cool breeze and sound of the waves. The next day we headed for Phi Phi and once there we anchored and took the dinghy to shore. Many people told me to steer clear of Phi Phi, but when comparing it to any other touristy sort of place that I have been to, it was paradise! It wasnt without development and a complete lack of other people but instead it had elegantly bricked walking paths, mangrove stands that hadnt been removed for structures but instead built around, and people who werent pushy with foreiners. There were still places for very inexpensive dinners and in general just a great place to relax after a long day of sailing! Andrew took me to a place called "hippies" which made me laugh due to the obvious Evergreen relation. There we watched an amazing fire show where THai people performed at surgical levels of skill with balls of fire on chains and on sticks! It was truly spectacular. We slept on the boat and in the morning went for a sail. We ended at "bamboo island" which is where we had our first snorkel. I snorkeled around a bit in the shallows and found the current to be a little unnerving with all the coral around but the fish were plentiful and beautiful. I finally got out and Andrew kept going. He came in and told me a tale of fantastic sights just further out off shore and convinced me to again take to the water! I would have been so horribly ignorant if I hadnt the formations of coral and colors of the coral, the fish, the eels, the rays, the giant schools of small fish were enough to make a persons mind wonder endlessly. Needless to say the next two days continued like this. Andrew said it was the best he'd ever seen and the further we went the better it became! Andrew is also a certified advanced diver and has grown up all over the world and is now 39 years old so when he said it was the literal "best he'd ever seen!" I took it to heart. Each day we went out and sailed and practiced techniques then anchored off of Bamboo island to delve in the occular pleasures then back to Koh Phi Phi for dinner and even some dancing. In fact yesterday we picked up two couples who's longtail boat abandoned them on Bamboo island, and we gave them a sail back to Phi Phi. It was nice to have others to talk to and in the evening we all got together to go dancing! Today it was a long sail back but a beautiful one!

I leave back to Patong now and will probably stay around there until Sankran (a festival celebrating Thai new year where people throw water on each other all day and a kind of cooling powder) which is on the 12 and 13, the dates change all over Thailand. Wish me luck! I am meeting up with Andrew and Erica in Patong tommorrow and I may actually stay at Andrew's house for a couple days but we'll decide that tommorrow. Now I must run to take a shower as my taxi driver is waiting! Have fun and write me when you can! Love, Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 09:52 AM | Permalink

Okay I had planned to not be able to write but due to an unexpected stop on Phi Phi Islan we managed to find a very expensive internet cafe. I will quickly summarize that so far things have been incredible!! I'm on a private course with just Andrew my instructor! THe other guy cancelled. It has been great because I have been pushing for more study on navigation so I may be able to clump a few tests together out of one course! THis is so amazing! THe lime stone islands dot the sea and rise from the water like giant haystacks and rounded animal shapes! The cliff sides are a multitude of color and we have been covering lots of ocean! The Andaman Sea is beautiful. Today we saw a leopard or zebra shark just basking in the sun following our boat it was so surreal and great. The ocean is gorgeous and our 30ft boat is an awesome way to travel through it. We have now anchored twice and my skills are growing everyday. Tommorrow or possibly the next day I will get the chance to plot my own course and set Andrew entirely to crewing so as to truly act as Skipper. This oppurtunity is once in a lifetime and I am making every minute of it! Hope you all are well and dont be shy to write a message. Lots of Love for everbody, -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It has been a while since I blogged but here it goes,

These past few days have had their ups and downs. I was very worried about money for a while but then everything came together. THanks to my mom and grandma and Charlie the money finally found its way to my account! It got very close I was down to 40 baht or $1usd. It cost 20 baht to get to town but I made it. The local public transportation is really wild it is painted with brilliant colors, and has ornate metal work that makes one think of a carnival ride of sorts. Mainly blues and golds and packed with people!

Even without money I had some great experiences. For two nights there was amazing lightening storms like nothing I have ever seen. The lightening was coming down right in the harbor and licking boat masts! The second night was the craziest. It went from a calm evening to a suedo tropical storm! It was blowing boats into the side of the restaurant and I was out helping the owners of the restaurant defend their place. It was herry with the lightening because it was so close I could feel it in the air, it made my joints kinda sore, I've never felt this way before! I stayed close to the buildings so that I wouldnt be the highest point on the ground anywhere. One of the Thai young men jumped into the roiling ocean and towed a couple of the "long tail" boats away from the building.

The first night of lightening I came out of my room to see what was making so much noise and then saw the sky splitting with such intensity that it made me cower. It was lucky I came out that night because I ended up making some thai friends and even though I had no money they bought me some local bar food (peanuts, dry salted very small fish, and some dried leaves of some kind) they even bought beer and filled my glass during the night. I sat and talked with them for many hours and ended up sitting and having a beer with the grandma lady who owns the restaurant. She doesnt speak any english but is very kind. We had a lot of fun and it was a wild night do to the weather. Sometimes it was hard to hear one another over the immense thunder claps.

Last night after I was able to get some money, I went out with Erica and her friend Annabelle. Erica was my instructor for sailing (now I have Andrew) and Annabelle is her friend from highschool who has been living for multiple years in Japan and is now on her way back to Canada where they are both from. I met up with them on a mat on the beach right in front of the ocean with a beautiful canopy of mangrove trees covering the area. THere was a low rusty table and food was being brought from a small portable restaurant with a two burner propane wok set up. This portable restaurant idea is very common in Thailand. We sat there for multiple hours and played with a baby squirrel that Erica recently rescued after it fell from a tree. (Dont worry I have my rabies shots lol) After we went down the beach a ways and had dinner and played some pool. We ended the night with a full moon swim in beautiful clear ocean water. It was so bright that I could see my legs perfectly under the water all the way to the sand. The water was calm and warm and just gorgeous!

Tommorrow I will leave for 5 days on my live aboard course so I wont be able to e-mail during this time. When I get back I will tell all about this new adventure! Also I will hopefully have completed another certification! THere will only be Andrew (the instructor) and one other man besides me on the boat so it should be really intimate and a great setting for learning the concepts. I'm excited and cant wait to set sail.

Also if you want you can bid Hilary ado as she sets off on a trip to Lebanon! She leaves tommorrow and her e-mail should be available on some of the posted comments she has made if you go back and look through them. Quite exciting!

Have fun and I will e-mail again soon! -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 08:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Well after many threats and discussions of Ethans potential exodus he finally did it... Its okay cause now I will have more time for my sailing studies and for updating my journal (which is now in a sad state of repairs) but it will be again a bit more lonely not having anyone to talk to. If my Thai was better I would have no problem finding friends but sadly it came to Sailing, or Thai language courses and after discussing with my uncle I went with Sailing.

I have been wanting to get properly trained in sailing for so long. The first time I sailed I took an elderly fellow named Jerry, who was unfortunately ridden with Parkinson's disease, out in his dinghy and onto his sail boat, where he began to teach me how to sail. He couldnt do it himself and you could tell it drove him nuts but he gave me my first couple of lessons... The lessons stopped when he decided to get himself out there one day and go for a cruise. The coast guard ended up having to get him back and his wife and family said "no more".

I think once my money finally comes I may move directly west to the other side of this thin point of the island. I hear there are a few more things to do and the beach is nice there. Also Erica, my instructor lives there and her Thai is real good so it may be helpful to be around her. It is about 15 minutes away from here but since I will only have to travel over here a handful of times I find that between Erica's scooter and the busses and Tuk Tuks I should have no problem getting here. Thats of course if I can find innexpensive lodging.

I guess thats all my news things have been very quiet here and other than some meals and watching video cd's and reading there isnt much happening. Its still early in the day though and you never know what kind of adventure awaits around the corner! Have fun everybody! Thank you Dad and Tom and Joy and Mom and everybody for your great support!

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 04:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

That was my score on the written portion of the sailing test! Yes I have been studying in paradise! I have three more written tests before I leave and so far I am mainly dreading the navigational one, but all in all I am so interested in this and having such a good time learning that it is great!

I saw another one of those mighty spiders and some interesting beetles lately.

I did see something today that has definetly inspired personal introspection and I guess, a kind of cultural obectiveness. Ethan and I got up and went to the Yacht Pro office this morning to gain a free ride from the truck goin in to Phuket town today. We ended up lucking out and riding in the airconditioned boss'es car. On the way we saw many beautiful things and were excitiedly talking about what our goals for the day were and our expectations of the next couple weeks. As we drove Ethan spotted some massive water buffalos right next to the road, grazing in a field. Unfortunately I had already spotted a horriffic motorbike crash only a few car lengths ahead where the man lay dead on the side of the road while a few other drivers were directing traffic past on the two lane highway. The man wasnt breathing and his motorbike lay ahead of him, utterly destroyed. His helmet was about fifteen yards away from his body, and blood flowed from his mouth onto the concrete road...

I thought about this incident all day. As we past our driver said "its an accident" with a sort of giggle. In thai culture it doesnt seem as if death and dieing or even distress and pain are factors for grief.

As I have been writing here a man sitting to my left got stung by some type of slow flying insect. The shop owners came to his aid and squashed the offensive beast, and applied some kind of balm, but while laughing the entire time.

When in the mountains of Chiang Mai I met a man who owned one of the building I slept in. He told me how cool it was watching american airplanes bomb Iraq. He did so while laughing.

Just a couple quick personal observational examples...

I'm not sure if people here laugh about all this because, "what else is there to do?" Or if they do this because of the nature of Bhuddism and the concepts of life as suffering? or really just why? I'm not offended by it in any way just morbidly interested.

The incident also made me reflect on something Rob (the owner of YachtPro) said to me. He said that Thailand promotes a false civility. That in actuality this is a facade, and that in reality it is similar to the "old west" (funny coming from an Australian). The lack of emergency vehicles, some kind of covering for the body, or I guess just the utter reality of the situation being so close, made me really reflect on what we have as Americans and what we lack. I thought about who I am while I am here and the validity of the expectations I have.

Once in Phuket town we did our shopping, though more subdued and ate a bit of food. The movie theater had 7 movies playing but only was playing Scoobie Doo 2 in English. I opted out of that one.

Coming back we caught the local form of a bus and rode with local people back here. This is very uncommon for foreigners and every person we asked for directions, while trying to navigate the city, kept offering us taxi's instead. We ended up being the last stop on the route. The driver was very nice but quiet and the ride was not bad at all. We paid our twenty baht and got off.

All in all it was quite a surreal day...

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thank you Aunt Jody, and Crazybone (wow its been a long time since I heard from you! have fun in New yOrk and one of my buddies in this class is actually studying in Manhattan and he's real cool if you go down and look for comments on this site from "willie bee" you can directly e-mail him just tell him your my friend or Wil, vice versa) okay enough of that!

I just finished my day skipper course and am very stoked! Ethan and I have been having fun and I was planning on sleeping in tommorrow since I havent been sleeping well, but no go... I'm goin into town with the company truck to get some money out of the ATM and to get more sunscreen and soap. The store within walking distance is very limited and the store that is about 2 miles away has more but closes early and it is very hot in the day time here. So tommorrow we go into the big city of Phuket town! whew hew!

I start my next set of courses on the 6th. Its a five day live aboard cruising course! Should be interesting! I'm not sure if Ethan will be gone or on the course with me. I dont think he knows either. Anyway this is expensive in this town (in comparison) so I better run but have fun and keep writin! Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 08:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wow, I have a lot of good friends and family supporting me out here! Thank you all very much!

Dad did you get the package I sent you yet?

So I am now in Baan Ko Aen. Its that little muslim village and like all of Thailand its not what you probably picture. There is such a tolerating compromisation that this country's people have. No matter what your beliefs or goals, you can make a life for yourself here as long as you are tolerant of others lifestyles and beliefs as well. There are plenty of women walking around and some wear the bhurka (sp?) and some dont. There is no problem getting pork products or even alcohol the only differences are that there is no prostitution, everything closes much earlier, there isnt as many options of things to buy, there is the call to prayer several times a day, and in general things are much, much quieter.

It took me some time to get settled in this new place and locate an internet shop. Anyway, It has been great Sailing! I just finished my second day out! Ethan and I have our own instructor named Erica from Canada. We get to take a 24ft boat out and learn tons of stuff each day I have already completed the big test for Day Skipper and I will find out my results shortly. Tommorrow we have a on boat test where the culmination of these three days will be reviewed! I love it here and next I will go on a five day sail where I'll get to see Phi Phi islands and Krabi which both were on my plans but I wasnt sure when I'd get to go to them. We sail all day then have dinner and lunch at random places along the way! Some people will most likely stay on shore at a hotel of sorts but I will be sleeping aboard the boat each night! I have been learning so much and with the help of my books I have learned basically every part of the boat and all the vocab regarding the main theories and terminology of sailing!

This town is a bit quiet but my room is very nice and I have facilitated another room for the entirety of my couple weeks here for about ten dollars a night. Since I will only have to pay when i am not staying on the boat it should end up being pretty Everything is going well and I'm not sure when or if Ethan is leaving. He mentions it every day but then also discusses staying on for more courses. We shall see...

This school is fantastic and I am learning immense amounts. When I am finished I will have multiple certifications through the American Sailing Association. Life is good and as long as my money comes through soon I will be okay. Have fun everybody! and keep them comments comin! -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Okay so today Ethan and I are heading north to where Yacht Pro is located. We will finally be leaving Patong beach and our fine hotel. The people there have been extremely nice to us and in total it has been a great location and oppurtunity to be involved in the lifestyle of Thai people. Where we were located was in the heart of where all the local people who worked in the area lived. Many of them got used to us and greeated us daily.

Now on to a small quiet Muslim village which should be a grand change of pace and on to Sailing! As for my recent troubles please dont worry all will turn out in the end. I just look at it as I will now have paid 15 dollars a night instead of 10. No worries! Good Luck and Have Fun -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 03:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

First of all, THank you everybody for all your e-mails and great support. Dad I am really glad to hear your surgery went well, and that it didnt hurt as much, but I fugure your probably just gettin used to the pain by now. If you need pain killers I can buy them here over the counter! Thank you Maggie, Tom, Hilary and the mysterious Malaysian cusser, and everybody else!

Okay! So Bad News!, I went down to the beach real early to watch the sun rise. THere are wooden lawn chairs down there that you pay 50baht for the day and you get an umbrella and service. I paid my baht as the sun rose into the sky. THe water was warm and beatiful and the clouds were in almost a vertical shape along the horizon. It was amazing. I was comfortable and happy, and I drifted off to sleep for a nap... When I awoke I had been robbed! Someone took my money pouch from my pocket as well as my loose money in my other pocket! It was about 9000baht or $175.00! Also I gained a terriffic sunburn. I wandered back to the hotel and had to drive the rental jeep back then walk all the way back again. In total it was a really bad day. Due to the sunburn and lack of sleep I ended up staying in all day. Today I feel a little better but with a lack of appetit. Luckily Ethan was here to loan me a few Baht. I'm not totally certain about the next course of action since I have already tapped out my folks... sorry. People had told me that as soon as you let your guard down is when they'll get you. I dint beleive it and so far people had been so kind and good... Luckily they didnt take any of my important doc. though such as passport etc. There's always something good, right?

To keep from ending on a bad note, I will tell you about the day before leading up to the jacking! Ethan and I rented a jeep for a good price... about $8 a piece. And began the drive around the island and to the Yacht Pro sailing school. I finally got to meet Sue, a lady I have been corresponding with for about 4 1\2 months. Also I got to meet the boss and the instructor that will most likely be teaching me. THe operation is also based in a predominately muslim village so the potential exposure to a new facet of this great culture is ahead. I walked around and looked for housing and was able to find some great inexpensive options. While sailing I will be at sea for about 12 days and by the end will have, finished all the requirements for my ASA day skipper license and my coastal navigation license. Both of these are internationally recognized and certifications that will be with me as long as I wish to sail. When deciding to come to Evergreen for my education the maritime program was one of the most attractive features. I was fortunate enough in my Sophmore year to take one of the last classes to utilize both of the available sailing vessels. Now one of those sailboats have been sold and the other is rarely used and being looked at for a remodel or for sale as well.

Anyway the program at Yacht PRo seems very professional. I was able to talk to one of the students testing in the waiting room. He was very happy with his experience and wished only for more time and money. The major downside is that the total cost for the training and certification is high. $1900.00 it is much less than in the U.S. or Australia, but still a big chunk. I have nearly $3000.00 in finances coming from financial aid so I think if I am frugal with lodging and food that I can make it happen. As for the motorcycle trip this summer dad, will you be well enough? and does anybody have any work for me when I come home?! LOL!

Back to the story... So after getting a bit lost in Phuket Town, where we ate lunch and found it to be quite a large industrial type city, we came back and Ethan complained again of not feeling well and went to bed. I went out and met some Frenchman outside of our room. They gave me a bit of an energy drink and went to go dancing with them and some Thai friends. It was a blast and I really had fun as the night came to a close I went back to the hotel and talked with about 5 thai friends that I had made. We sat around and watched movies and ate food. After they left was when I walked down to the beach and met a couple of Irish guys still drinking from the night before. They were a kick and really nice they eventually went home as the sun rose etc. etc.

Since beginning this trip I've spent way to much time worrying about funds... the new quarter begins April 29 so hopefully after that things will be better. Ethan has decided to take the first 3 day sailing class with me which will begin in two days. After that my classes wont continue until April 6th which gives me more time to finish my Documentation kit for class and do a bit more studying about the aspects of navigation from my 35lbs of sailing books I've been toting around. Yeah I know I'm a tool. Have fun and be safe, and watch your valuables! -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 06:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I left Bangkok with a new sense of place and a few new and older, friends. Now I'm back in Phuket (not like the Charlie Daniel's song "back in Saigon") It has been a super interesting week with a lot of new eye opening oppurtunities layed out in front of me. Potential international business work is now an option and one that is very intrigueing to me...

In the present its good to be back in Phuket. It feels like a solid base here and I got many recognizing smiles from people as I walked back to the hotel Ethan and I have been staying in.

Tommorrow I am renting a motorbike and riding the Island! For real this time! I have been meaning to do this since I got here. I just recently got a full set of directions and schedule from Yacht Pro, the organization who I hope to learn sailing through. It looks as if they may be approx. one hour from where I am currently. This means that I wil have to find innexpensive housing nearer to their location. The classes dont look as if they really start until April 6th but I thought I might get a bit of a jump on them.

Ethan just told me that due to his health, when I leave to work on this part of my project that he may leave Thailand entirely. Its unfortunate but all good things must come to an end. As for me however, I hope my Thailand time will never end! I really relate to the culture and beyond the language barrier life is very pleasant. Income is the obstacle, but you never know what can happen...

A few years ago the minister of tourism in Thailand asked the people to try to smile 5 more times a day than they already do. I love this and I think a culture who's politicians ask only that they smile more, is a great one! And I can tell you that people here do smile a lot. I enjoy it immensly because I too smile a lot. I think my good friend Grant, would correlate the eye contact and smiling with a general lack of television viewing... lol! This could be, people definately dont look at you like your a commercial.

Have fun and tell me what your doing... -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I have gone out with my uncle and Chiang Chang and Butcherd (the two Thai Chinese associates of my uncle) two nights in a row to very interesting restaurants and clubs of sorts. Both places had almost no foreigners what so ever in a capacity of well over 1000 people. We ate and had fun then both nights I have succumb to questioning the management and making them move tables and chairs to allow for a dance floor in the front of both of the establishments! It has been a blast both times my uncle looks at me like I am insane but soon I have been able to get everyone dancing in front of the bands and DJ's and he has been dancing as much as I have! It has been so much fun! The Thai people look at me at first as an arrogant foreigner but as I make no qualms(sp?) regarding self preservation of pride, they laugh and I eventually (some times) end up actually physically pulling them up and them dancing with me for hours! The people here (as I beleive in most places, peers back me up!) are so incredibly kind and ready to have fun. All they need is to have the ice broken and as a person who has spent much time in Alaska, I know how to break ice! LOL!

I was suppose to go back to Phuket today but my uncle missed his flight and in turn simply changed mine so we could spend another day together. All this fun has been paid for by the shipping company, but more importantly the shipping company people were the ones to take me to these places! Butchered said that there are approx. 200 of these places (outdoor with food and drink with retractable roofs and stage, that can fit over 1000 people) in Bangkok! I asked so many people to go to normal Thai hangouts and again and again I was taken to tourist infested money snatching venues! Bangkok is actually really interesting and fun if you know a local person... Not a western local person but a Thai local person! I would really love to come back again and in actuality there has recently been career oppurtunities on many sides proposed to me that I would otherwise never had considered possible! Thai people are very proud of their culture and traditions and so far I am proud to be able to observe and participate in them!

Mrs. Hansen's class rocks! and I amglad to have you observing my time away please write a response or many responses, all are welcome! As for my comments from others... I am not sure of your ages so possibly they may not be appropriate for you to read. That goes for Daniel (my brother), Ariel (my sister) and Grandma and Grandpa Dippold as well as Grandma Swoboda too... LOL!

Have fun Everyone and every chance you get you should: "Dance like no one is watching ( like my craziness the last two nights), love like you have never been hurt before, and work like you dont need the money!"(a quote I recently heard and that has stuck with me thus far! and particularly poniont to myself and I think to most of my friends and family!) the best for everybody!

Your friend in Thailand! -Tim

P.S. Dad, how ya doin? Anybody hear? Please let me know and know that I love you and am prayin for ya!

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 04:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bangkok is actually intriguing and great this time!!!

I have been running around with my uncle and two Thai/Chinese gentlemen on a daily basis, looking at factories of many sorts. Mainly we have been focusing on Furniture manufactury (my uncle's primary business) and large scale Bronze factories. The two men work for a global shipping company and are extremely knwledgable about Thai culture. Their english is also pretty good. As an "executive assistant", life has been great! You would all see your eyes pop out of your heads if you saw the room I'm staying in, and the dinners I have been eating. Everything is paid for by the shipping company! They cater to my uncle because through his contacts they have increased their business over 20%. In other words I have free reign to learn from these companies we go to and from my uncle and his associates while they pay for everything and drive us around in fancy cars! Now this is learnin!!!!

Additionally, getting a perspective on Bangkok through local people has been invaluable. Both of the men are very kind, and its kinda fun because everyone in the factories always think I am my uncle's body guard! lol! We went to our last factory today and tommorrow we will go to the Bangkok furniture market before I leave back to Phuket, and my Uncle to Seattle. In Phuket I will be renting a furnished apartment for about $150 U.S. util included through Sah. Life is good and I am extremely excited to get to do some sailing soon. I am also excited to get my additional financial aid money cause things have been pretty slim here, luckily I am in Thailand and with my uncle and his friends! Being poor has never been this good!

Unfortunately my father is going in for additional surgery on his shoulder because the original surgery in the fall did not take, so if possible say a little prayer for him. Good Luck Dad and your loved in Thailand!

Have fun and be safe! -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hey everybody,
I'm leavin to go back to Bangkok to learn some business with my uncle. I bought my ticket today and I will be there for about three days before returning to Phuket. Phuket so far has been great! Thanks to Scott (my uncle) I have been able to make many local contacts and potential friends. Through a new friend Sah, I will be able to rent a furnished apartment for April for a total of approx.. $150us. Life is good and I hope to soon be sailing.

Some of the unique factors that i have observed around Thailand so far, are the way people say hi... Often it is simply asking where you are going... Not to be nosy but to come off as interested in the other persons day. Also upon greeting people will look in one anothers bags to see what they have bought for that day, and once inspected, they will discuss those items and where they were aquired.

These are small realizations but I think important ones, when looking at the sociology of the peoples culture.

More Later... -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Okay I hadn't planned on making only one blog entry this week but it was very busy!
I left Koh Samui for Koh Phangan on Saturday. I spent a lot of time on Samui trying to wade through the double talk and scams that are commonly used on foreigners here and found the best possible price to Koh Phangan (which was 100 baht 2.50us) I hitched a ride to the ferry dock and cruised off. The boat ride produced a few vomiting passengers... none of them were me.

Upon arrival I was stunned to see the amount of foreigners and lack of THai people. I had thought that the Full Moon Festival would be more of a mix. I instantly rented a motorbike and headed around to find accomodation for the night. Unfortunately the entire place was sold out! Everywhere! So after a couple hours I checked my e-mail and found that Mia and Emma (The Swedes) who had arrived a few days prior, sent me an invitation to sleep on their floor. I took my motorbike and rode through the most trecherous roads I have ever been on! Anywhere! If there was a chin and gears and some sort of harness you could sell this road as a rollercoaster!

After dropping and recovering my sleeping bag and about an hour of time, and learning about the lack of the front brake, I arrived at some beautiful cabanas and I was happy to sit with the girls over some dinner. They ended up having a room with one large bed and one twin so they offered me the small one which was quite comfortable. We met some Canadians from both Toronto and Northwest territories. We left in the night and went to the main town for the festival. Unfortunately it was a kind of giant beach rave that was very pointed towards foreign tourists, and after having many talks with locals about the concept of middle class american college aged kids coming here and hippying out and getting henna tatoos I felt like my totall participation would be potentially degrading to the culture of Thailand. I did however, observe how people interacted with one another and how the locals interacted differently towards foreigners during this huge influx of tourism. All was interesting but any conclusions will have to be left for later. We eventually went to bed and the next day I spent watching a plethora of "party debris" was ashore on the beach. I said goodbye to the girls and took my bike back (again through the arduous hills) and hopped on the ferry back to Samui. I had planned to stay longer on Phangan but after the short experience I had, I decided that it wasnt the place for me. I found a little bungallo in Chaweng Beach that was rather horrible but the cheapest place I could find. It had multiple large holes in the floor, lenolium that was layed on dirty wood floors and a dirty loud fan over a bed that I decided to use my sleeping bag on. I slept with the lights on all night to deter the onslaught of potential Cockroaches.

The next day I found a ride and boat from Samui to phuket and through e-mail found that not only Ethan but my uncle Scott would also be on Phuket. The ferry trips around here seem to make people sick but again luckily I have thwarted that issue thus far. THe trip was long and once I got here I went to the hotel suggested by my uncle. Then went looking for Ethan and found him! That night we explored the city of Patong Beach a bit.

The next day Ethan and I got a room together in my hotel (Baan Boa 2) and it was great! a real apartment with a medium sized refrigerator etc. the price is very low and life in general is good. We met with my uncle and the past few days he has been showing us around and taking us on boat trips and car trips all aound this island and others around here. There are so many here they dot the sea like the spots on a dalmation. All of them are so beautiful! The night life here is insane but luckily our hotel is far enough away that the noise isnt bothersome but still within walking distance to the town. On Koh Phangan it rained a bit in the night and since then almost everyday it has rained a small amount but quickly drying and turning to sunshine.

Today however, it looks like the clouds might hang around longer, it is still quite warm though. My uncle will leave on the 16th for Bangkok for business, and has asked me to accompany him while he conducts business with multiple giant factories and shipping lines. He is currently working with a large shipping corporation that works throughout southeast asia and much of the world. As I had written in my travel proposal, the concept of import/export business has been a very intersting field to me but I wasnt sure how to make contacts or develop a plan for learning while I was here about the topic... Until now. I feel that this would be an unbeleivable learning oppurtunity for me and it will only span four days but many factories and the executive working of them, so I think I will go. You may ask why I didnt know my uncle was working in the shipping business now... Its because he lives in Hawaii and over here and I havent seen him in over a year and a half. Its an exciting oppurtunity.
In total I have been learning a whole lot about Thailand and myself and look forward to learning about import and export. There will be more later... -Thailand Timmy!

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 06:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As I reflect on time here this past 2 weeks, I find that I have seen many new things and discovered a culture I had previously only read about. However, I dont think that I found only one culture. So far there has been dramatic differences between the tribal mountain people, the temple monks, the urbanites of Bangkok, and the slow enduring island people. All of them create a society in Thailand that is so rich and diverse and full of acceptance.

I've never been in a place that was so gay friendly. In every different environment I have been in so far there is an abundance of transvestite men. The locals call them "lady boys" but without condemnation. In the U.S. my experience is even in a gay bar people have a cautiousness about them. Here it seems the only people who are cautious are the foreigners. Just an observation...

Thai people have been full of warmth and smiles towards me. So far I have only seen two negative outbursts from people. One was an American Foreigner driving a rented Jeep the first day I came to Koh Samui and the second was yesterday at a restaurant where the Thai owner completely lost his temper and began yelling and cursing at a caucasion foreigner. THe foreigner was an older man and the two had obviously had dealings in the past. After the exchange and the foreign man left the Thai man mentioned that the other was crazy. Losing of ones temper in public is very unacceptable. It makes you "lose face" in front of others. I like this concept. No one has been rude to me, if anything they actually seem basically indifferent towards me. As if I'm a post on the street as they walk. I can relate to this kind of lifestyle because in Juneau Alaska we too get many tourists and they often walk in the road and stop in the middle of the side walk... I try to be aware of myself and my surroundings to try my best to not become a nuisance.

So many things I have seen and sometimes it is hard to take time to digest it all but, I write multiple pages every night and try to take at least five good photos a day. Additionally I have purchased glue and tape and have been constructing a continual scrapbook of my Journey. As for our assignments... I plan to document the full moon festival on koh Phangan, and the country wide national water festival in April...

I have also completed other pieces of the documentation kit such as photographing and drawing particular flora and fauna. Both a specific Jungle spider (which I havent been able to find out its name yet) and bannana trees have been my focus thus far. Both of these specimens struck me do to their uniqueness from what I am use to. I have never seen Bannana Trees before and their leaves epidomize a jungle to me. As for the Spider, It was the single largest arachnid I have ever seen outside of a pet store... In the wild! And they are everywhere in the jungle! I have found the exact same type in both the mountains of Chiang Mai and Now in the Jungle of this small island! Their legs span a good five inches and are of black blue and yellow coloring. From the tribal peoples I learned that they are also quite poisonous but only enough to make you very sick and not dead. I would assume though that a child might not be so lucky.

From this point forward I plan to make a weekly friday reflective entry in addtion to any other weekly entries. Thanks for reading... -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Today I decided to rent a "motor bike" basically a scooter or moped. It costs the same to either take two taxi's or one moped for 24hrs. I saved a lot of baht by renting the bike so I could ride to the other side of the island and buy my ticket to Koh Phangan. The travel office at my hotel said 700baht, the travel office in Lumai said 400baht, and the travel office in Chweng said 250baht but when I got to the dock they said 100baht. Also the rental place wanted to sell me an automatic scooter and couldnt beleive I didnt want it. It was an additional 200 baht. All in all I think I saved about 800baht today, by not being naive in the workings of a motorcycle. I considered renting the larger 900cc cruiser honda that was available for 450 baht but thought that my macheezmo wasnt worth it. Besides the scooter seems to be the general Thai form of transportation. Everywhere from Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and now here they have been covering the roads. T้้้้้้he people here attach everything to them such as work carts, ice cream vending carts, and an array of thai food vending apparati such as barbeques, tables, deep fry woks etc. The driving here is pretty crazy but this is much easier than driving the jeep. The jeep was the first right hand drive vehicle I have driven and combined with this being the first place I have driven where one must drive on the left side of the road it was a bit confusing. Having to shift with my left hand was a trip. Anyway just a note from Samui town (the more local town with less tourists where more industrial supplies are available).
P.S. Dad what bike were you riding? Did you get the Mad Kaw working correctly? -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I went out and saw a fantastic 8 bout Muay Thai Kickboxing extravaganza last night! It was pretty wild and the children fighting that started and ended the match were quite impressive. I went with two Swedish girls who I dont think were too into the idea at first but seemed to really get into it after a while. THere was a Swedish kickboxer featured but unfortunately it was really unnerving when he finally fought at the end. He was about a foot taller than his opponent and probably ten years younger and in much better shape. I wondered if his opponent hadn't been picked off the street. The other thai kick boxers were in much better shape and much more capable. The girls Emma and Mia felt ashamed of their country. I laughed and said "try travelling as an American!" I would like to make some better friends so far I have had poor luck with making any friends who have at all the same kind of travel itinerary as I do. The Swedish girls bicker a lot and one of them is very high strung so I'm looking forward to Ethan getting here. Anyway today was great I just cruised up the beach to the town by myself and had lunch for $100 baht. I'm making that my new meal budget. It equals out to about $2.50 USD but you can get a lot for that if your choosy and careful. I did a lot of reading in my books on sailing today and I am looking forward to finishing them so I can put them somewhere and stop having to carry them around. I think hard back was a very bad idea... LOL! Have fun everybody and I hope to hear from you soon. Tim
P.S. Dad quit riding around with chickens on your motorcycle. Rachel, have fun! Maggie thank you! Hilary, way to back me up with Curt! Curt, read more you slouch! Mom, your the best! ... more later!

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This place is utterly amazing I've never seen so much beauty in one place! I thought that I had found the answer to Randy's question of "What is Paradise", and I still think I have...
I have to be super careful with money at least until I get my next bit of financial aid money so I'll have to keep it strictly to e-mail for a while... I even gave up a chance to have my picture taken with a full grown bengal tiger today because I'm being so $ conscious, the picture was only about $10! can you beleive it!? anyway maybe later, tonight or maybe tommorrow I'm going to a Muay Thai kick boxing match! I cant wait and I think it'll really be fun. I trained a little in this style so I have a limited knowledge of what it'll be like but I think it should be really amazing! It is the biggest thing happening on this island and advertisements are everywhere. I went to the butterfly garden on the island today and it was beautiful I also saw a huge golden Bhudda staue that was built on an island it was magnificent! I have now driven around the entire island a few times in the jeep that my friends and I rented for approximately $8 each with gas. It is 38* C. today and everyone is complaining about the heat I dont know what that is in farenheit and I'm glad or else I would probably be complaining too. A Thai man I spoke to today said that this is the hottest day he can remember happening in his entire life! Well I'm lovin it and just appreciating my time here!

I have recently been trying to save money and yet still go more places and do more things with my every minute. I find being very choosy about food and drink has been really helping and I'm getting comfortable enough in Thailand now to make my own reservations for travel and lodging and not rely on the travel agents anymore. I got my beard all trimmed up yesterday so as to be cooler and to look a little less Evergreen...lol. The lady accidently cut my lip with her scissors and made me bleed but she felt so bad that it was kind of endearing.
The people for the most part here are extremly nice and polite. Bangkok is such a poor representation of this culture and I wish I hadnt stayed there as long, but maybe then I would be appreciating this as much. Anyway I'll write again sonn and I hope your all as happy as I am Love from the Thai islands -Tim

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 06:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Quick and dirty... Here's where I'll be for the next week or so... I'm in Chiang Mai way up in the north then I'll be in Bangkok after a 12hour bus ride this evening and then stay one night and leave for Ko Samui on the 28th the bus ride is again a massive one so I wont be there until the 29th but then I'll be staying in the Samui Beach Resort Hotel so that is where you can get a hold of me if you want. I'll be there until March 7th... Have fun everyone.

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 04:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Whew! that trip was intense! It was so great though! When I got to Chiang Mai at like 2:30am and drunk with a few new friends I made on the bus ride, they took me to the company office where we would be doing our trek through. There they sold us a tour package that consisted of an all day city tour and some checking out of a fantastic temple etc. So the next day when I awoke I and my new friend Az (short for Aziz, he's from England) piled into a van with 6 other people and went out for the entire day. When we finally got back we kept it pretty chill. Anyway so it was an early night for me that night. The next day I had to be packed and prepared by 9am for the 3 day trek. On the way to the mountains we stopped and shopped at a local open air market that was pretty cool, then off to the adventure in an open air truck for another hour. The Trek finally started and we began hiking into the mountains of Thailand. Only to find that 30 minutes later we stopped for some lunch. THere I ate some good food prepared by the local tribal people (all the food on the trip was prepared by the local people of each tribe we visited) and our guide, "Dragon" (super cool guy and I am gonna send him some stuff when I get home) , who fixed us up some ant larva and some chili paste. It was actually pretty good. That was by far the easiest part of the first day! It was straight up hill for the next 4 hours! I was the last of our group to get into camp that day and I was beat! OUr group consisted of Dragon (our guide), Mr.T (his assistant), Az, Dean (a giant canadian fireman), Stu and Felix (a pair of Aussies and guess what... Felix is half chinese! Erin would have been in heaven!!), Rick and Mariam ( a couple from holland), and myself (a dumb american...).That night we went to sleep on the hand made sleeping mats, under mosquito nets, inside of a stilted bamboo house. The next day we were all pretty tired from the walk the day before but mainly from being kept up all night by the village roosters! Anyway I'm over it! but let me tell you, I'm proud to eat chicken! So the next day we went to another village and had lunch. We even ate some eel that we had helped catch that day out of a semi dry rice paddy! then onto yet another village to sleep... This one was amazing!! it was right next to a beautiful water fall which had a cave behind it and that was where we showered! we also each got our own little leaf covered bamboo huts! I'll tell you that the bathroom in Thailand are really hard to get the hang of. They are a porcelain hole in the ground that you go in then pour water down to flush! Its not easy. Anyway We all showered and had fun after that long day of hiking and went to bed. THe next morning we had a great breakfast and even ate a bit of a small crab and fish that they cooked right in the coals of our morning fire! I took another wake up shower cause really when else am I gonna get the chance to shower in a Thai mountain waterfall? then we set off to finish the trek we hiked for another 2-3 hours then we were out. We even went through the only school in the area and it was real interesting. When we got out of the jungle we were taken to the elephants where we rode them through some less dense foliage but up and down some very hairy terrain for a couple hours. THen we went to do some bamboo rafting down a river! It was like a really simple water park and was tons of fun! For the rafting we had to split into two teams and by the end my team had all but demolished our raft! it was wonderful. I have gotten some great pictures and had an amazing time being educated about Thai people and their history and customs.

When we got back we all (except Dragon and Mr. T) went out and had a really amazing dinner on a river where we ate tons of different Thai dishes (and some pizza? I dont know either) By the end I convinced the restaurant to move some tables and I got people up and dancing to the house band while they played old disco songs! I danced my head off and was quite worn out and ready for bed when I finally crawled into it late into the evening. Today I woke up and had breakfast and took my clothes and had them cleaned and folded for about $2. Then I ate with Rick and Mariam (because everyone else has now left onto more of their own adventures) after lunch we parted ways and they went to see that temple that I had already visited and I went off to see the zoo. They had an absolutely exquisite Panda exhibit! which was in truth my reason for going but the Orangutan area left me feeling a bit sad. Anyway, now I'm getting ready to have dinner soon with Mariam and Rick then back off to Bangkok for one night and then to Ko Samui, and then to Phuket!

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 08:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Hey everybody lets see if this sucker works!

I'm in Bangkok and it has been pretty wild so far everybody wants my money but lucky for me everything is very cheap I already made contact with the people my uncle set me up with and in general life is good... THe Tuk-Tuk taxi drivers are crazy everday I step out of my hotel I feel like I'm taking my life into my hands... Oh well I only live once right? sorry mom...lol. So I have reservations to got to Chiang Mai today then I'm dooin a three day elephant trek into the jungle then back to Bangkok and finally to an island. But not Phuket yet... its gonna be Ko Samui first where there isd a huge full moon festival which I will participate in then to Phuket for sailing... Bangkok is fast and dirty and I'm ready to experience a more beautiful Thailand but this has been a unique trip so far! until next time... Bye

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 04:54 AM | Permalink

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Hi its me and I have a new blog!

Posted by Timothy Lyon at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)