Sawadee Khrap

Just looking at yesterdays Bangkok Post, front page no less, and spotted this ad.

Conveniently located right next to the Thai Bank in Bangkok  (and ATM) you can go from “rags to riches” so to say or to put it more exactly  “from boy to girl” – but not too sure if it works the other way around for the same price.  But NOTE – same price for Thais as Farangs – outstanding.

BUT WAIT, You’ll need to consider all aspects  – if you opt for the change then it would probably require that you also opt for “Breast enlargement almost doubling the cost.  But not to worry,  Wow,  still within everyone’s budget.

My worry is the falling dollar – today = 33.6 Baht – that means at todays value your full operation above would run a little higher. Still not a bad price for a new life – Buying a used car would cost more – so still not a bad idea. 

Round trip flight SFO to BKK = $1,800 Lodging 2 weeks @ 1200 Baht day = $500 Food and Entertainment = $2,000 B/day  (just the essentials, no visits to the boy bars included) $850  Surgery Sex Change & Breast Enlargement = $3,273

Grand Total – $6,423 US

Priced for the Masses – Fits anyones budget  – leave work on a 2 week vacation to Asia, enjoy the sights of Bangkok and return home a new person – but before you leave work

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Sawadee Khrap

Jerry just sent me a excerpt from a book he is reading and recommends I get.

"Love Entrepreneurs" Cross-culture relationship deals in Thailand by Phil Nicks 

“An interesting fact about Thailand - and one which is rarely mentioned in other guidebooks - is that Bangkok is a world center for penis reattachment surgery. There is a reason for this: cutting off a man's penis is a fairly common form of retribution by angry wives, girlfriends, second wives (mia noi)*, or lovers. Some say Thailand is a world center for poly-amorization (jaochoo)*.

  If the unlucky man manages to bring his disconnected member to the hospital within an hour of severance, it can usually be surgically reattached. However, only in fifty per cent of these cases does the man regain normal sexual function of his penis. A team of doctors in one Bangkok hospital reportedly reattached thirty-three severed penises each year - about one every ten days.   *jaochoo - multiple relationships * mia noi - second 'little' wife (mistress)”   Now that should make you a little more careful in choosing your relationships or playing the field.   Sorry – Don’t have any pictures – I’ll leave it up to you to get the book and see what else he has to say about “getting it on” in Thailand.   I’ll stay in Chiang Mai.  ...

Sawadee Khrap

More tidbits from the Bangkok Post – Friday, 25 2008.

 

 

I was always told that

“dog bites boy”

would not be considered headline news –

BUT

“boy bites dog” would be.

 

And here the Bangkok Post proves that statement true.

 

 

In another story from the same edition

Castration given the chop, a very serious problem is confronted – many, many young boys 12,13,and 14 or katoeys are opting to have their balls removed thinking that this will insure they have beautiful, smooth lady-like skin.  They fail to realize the health problems that this action will introduce into their lives – not now but later.  At least the Health Ministry has started the ball rolling (no pun intended) and doing something about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahhhhhhh life in Thailand  – never what you’d expect.

Ciao

 

Sawadee Khrap

Just found a new Sideshow template – TiltViewer by The Turning Gate – it’s a add-on for Adobe Lightroom and really makes neat sideshows.  I grabbed several images and just put them into a test gallery.

*** Sideshow ***

Check it out – sorry I didn’t take a lot of time setting up the Titles and Descriptions for each shot – I just wanted to see what the finished show would look like on the blog.  Look for other gallery templates in the future – it’s great to have plug-ins for Lightroom.  If you use Adobe Lightroom try these out, this is using the free version but the pay-fro Pro version is even better.

Sawadee Khrap

Friday night we went to see “A History of Piano Music” by Jonas Dept and Laurent Chiarelly at the AUA Auditorium in Chiang Mai.

Laurent narrated the history and Jonas performed selections from 1732 to 1937.

Here is the program:

and    *** SLIDESHOW ***

 

What a great evening of music – afterwards we went with Jonas & Laurent and their extended family to “The Writers Club and Wine Bar” up the street for late conservations and drinks.

Jonas and Laurent are planning on many more future presentations at different locations around Chiang Mai and we will definitely go and gather more pictures for the blog.  Great entertainment – make sure to catch these shows when you visit Chiang Mai.  I’ll try to post their calendar of up-comming events.

Ciao

 

Sawadee Khrap

Just got back from Wat Suan Dok where they were celebrating Khao Phansa, the start of Buddhist Lent and the time when the monks enter the Temple for the next 3 months of the rainy season. 

Here’s a nice link about the tradition – Khao Phansa .

The monks I have been helping with web-sites were all there and this was a great time to see them before they retire. Sorry I didn’t get any pictures as they had just gotten their heads and eyebrows shaven and really were quite sticking. 

They will still have MonkChat but now it will end at 6 PM – that is the time when all the monks and novices have to return to the temple for prayers and meditation. 

3 times the Lay people and the monks will walk around the Stupa and offer their life to the Buddhist path, thinking about what they have done the past year and what they can do better the coming year.  

Phra Chhunny said he was going to get some pictures and would send them to me so I can post them on the blog.   Phra Chhunny, Jerry and Leo, all have blogs now and I will post those links as well, they want to finalize the themes before fully opening them to the public.

Ciao

 

 

Sawadee Khrap

Just got a email from my friend “Max” in Berlin.  Max visits Chiang Mai every year for about 3–4 months at a time and then returns to Germany.  He is a free-lance writer and photographer for several Gay MAG s in Germany.

But, this email tells about a new place he went to and had a fabulous time.  The Kit Kat Club  , Berlin.  Now here’s a club you don’t want to miss when in Berlin, as Max says “ Mostly 2 people start somewhere and than other people join in and a small group will continue, what ever they like.–action on the dance floor, rooms, girls, boys, anything you desire and patrons 20–60.  Lady-boys, Thai-s, Japanese – you name it they were there, a group or just enjoying themselves “ – I’ll leave everything up to your imagination as to how  Max described it.  But it was HOT, FAST, OPEN and completely inhibited.

Next time in Berlin – stop by for a quickie.  Thanks Max  see you when you come back to Chiang Mai again.

Ciao

 

Sawadee Khrap

Just got back from the new meeting of the Expats Club in the Shangri-La Hotel. 

Great hotel, room and todays meeting.  Thitipol Kanteewong gave a wonderful talk on Thai Lanna Music and performed with several old Lanna style musical instruments.  He started his talk covering the history of the area, kingdoms, tribes and music for each. What a great presentation. I’ll check to see his next venue and make sure to go and get pictures.

 

Nu spent the 3 hr with his new tutor and feels she is really doing him some good – math – so it should be easier for him in school and make it able for him to keep up with the math class.  Next class – two weeks. 

 

And just got a call from Brian & Pong who just came in from a trip to Cambodia.  Apparently a great trip too – Brian says he is waiting to see if his offer on a guest house on the Cambodian Ocean area was accepted.  We're going to meet them now for coffee and can’t wait to see what this is all about.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get some pictures.

Well we’re off.

Ciao

 

 

Sawadee Khrap

Gonn’a try out a new masseur next Tuesday, he’s coming to the house and charges 300 Baht for a 2 hr. Oil massage.   that’s US $10   Hope he has strong hands and can give a full 2 hr massage without losing power.

My regular masseur “Odd” can but it’s costing me 600 Baht for the same time.  We are trying to cut expenses and this will help.  I really like Odd’s work and we have been doing it for quite a while  – he knows what I like so this new masseur will be judged against that.  But I do need to cut expenses so a change may be necessary.

Maybe I can have Odd once a month and the new guy for the in between weeks.  I am so used to a massage every week that when I miss one I get very stiff until the next one.  Really helps keep the back pain under control too.  Spoiled I guess.  But this is really my only vice.

Well this was just a brief post about todays happenings – Nu is doing GREAT in school – top of his classes – We have gotten him a tutor teacher to help bring up his math skills – Tomorrow will be his first class with her so we will see how that works out – reasonable, she is charging 100 Baht/hr – $3.30.  We will see how much she helps him and if so than may continue – I set it up for 3 hr

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Sawadee Khrap

Gonn’a start planning my trip back to the States for back surgery.  Try to set it up for late September or early October – gott’a stay within the 5 yr time period of the actual accident injury date.  Ever since I’ve been here my back has been getting worse.  I have tried to use exercise and medication to keep the injury from flaring up, but hasn’t worked.  I didn’t want to believe what I was told by the back Surgeon, the first one I went to for the Workman's Comp injury.  He told me that, in his judgement, surgery would most probably be needed and it seems that he was right. 

I am going to call him and have him start the process to do what is needed.  He will have to check with Liberty Ins – that is the Ins. company that under-wrote for Ikon Workmans Comp policy, before he can actually start.  But this should be sufficient time to get approval to operate.

Don’t really want to do it – I have heard bad things about back surgery gone wrong – not being able to get it up being the most glaring – bad slice and there she goes.  But I really don’t see any alternative. 

Ciao

Just tested Flock, thought it might be a alternative to BlogJet – but alas not, BlogJet is still the product I will use to post to the blog.

Flock is a browser/blog editor but cannot upload images directly and therefore cannot directly show what they will look like in the post if they are on my computer now – also it will not product thumbnails and allow expansion to full size viewing.  I didn’t go any further in the testing  – I use a lot of images and this would be too cumbersome.  F%#k  Flock for now,  so to say.

 

But today I did sign up for a new catastrophic health Ins. policy from HealthCare International – their HealthCare Emergency+  $US 622 yr.

100% In-Patient Hospital Treatment 100% Emergency Medial Evacuation Up to 3,000,000 Baht for Organ Transplants 100% Daycare Surgery Treatments Up to 600,000 for Chronic Diseases Up to $US 3,000 – airline ticket to attend parent’s funeral services Coverage in US/Worldwide – 60 day visit–Accident/ Emergency There is a deductible ($2,000 – 60,000 Baht today ) but these figures are coverage above that– and the first are exempt from it.

Of course I just signed up – approval will take 1 week – But the policy will also cover me for life renewals, but no guaranteed lock.

Compared to my old policy that I had to drop – $US 3,500 yr,  $2,000 Ded., but coverage up to 10,000,000 Baht  – I could never use this amount – they would have to almost replace every organ to get a Thailand

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Sawadee Khrap

Just reading the Bangkok Post today, and a older issue and saw several great articles.

Sexual Double Standards   -   This commentary by Sanitsuda Ekachai is interesting and does show a little about Thai culture.

 

Cancer Issues – Prostate cancer at a glance

 

 

 

 

 

This a great article  – Made me sit back and think, I had to drop my Major Health Hospital Ins policy because of cost so I hope I will not have this as a problem in the future.  Perhaps I will search for a less costly policy to make sure that I do have some coverage at least to help should a problem arise.

 

Dis-infecting Homophobia  – This is a interesting article about why Medical students need to be encouraged to take a healthier approach toward gender-diverse populations.

And on the same page – “School gets trans-gendered restroom” – but I couldn’t find the link to it – here is part of the article by Ambika Ahuja.

“Kamphaeng School in North-eastern Thailand has just installed a unisex restroom – designated by a human figure split in half – part man in blue and part woman in red.  Below it are the words “Transvestite Toilet” .—————-The article goes on to state that Kamphaeng is not the first school to install such a toilet facility – a 1500– student technical college in the

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Sawadee Khrap

Well we finally made it to “THE REAL CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE”.  At least to the private swimming club and resort with that name.  We went to a BBQ featuring Tuskers Bar’s famous BBQ ribs and other great offerings. 

We didn’t swim but did watch the others and had a good time – another new place to visit when your hot and want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Chiang Mai.  The resort is a new sponsor of the Expats Club and this was a get acquainted day, and Tusker’s provided the food.

Beautiful place to swim, cool down, relax and enjoy time with friends:

*** SLIDESHOW ***

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ciao

 

Sawadee Khrap

Just a quickie – here’s last night’s sunset over Chiang Mai  –

 

 

 

 

Ciao