More Than Halfway

I'm in Taipei for a nice three hour layover. Can't seem to sign in to email so this is my best bet to communicate. It was horrible, but not too horrible, getting to this point. Had a nice ride down to the SF airport with Jon and sailed through ticketing and security.
Of course the plane was crowded and crammed full of folks. Lots of Indian travelers and a big group of high schoolers or maybe college freshmen?
I finagled a window seat, but it was night time for the whole flight! We were racing the sun West I guess. It was good to have the wall of the plane to lean my poor tired head against. Thanks to a dose of melatonin and a kava kava capsule I actually slept for at least 6 or 7 hours. Wonderful! Of course that meant waking up every half hour or so because my neck was screaming distress.
After that seven hours of sleep, the big screen at the front of the plane told me we still had 5 and a half hours to go!!
I brought a flattened cardboard box and folded the ends up to make an elevated platform for my pillow. It worked pretty well. I was very glad to have it.
I was also glad to have the excellent sci fi book that Steve B lent me. I read about a third of it. There was a screen way up the aisle with some sort of bad movie playing. I was glad to have a book.
I sincerely hope that this will be the most boring entry of the trip.
So far so good, anyway.
rob

Update! Temperature is Rising!!

UPDATE: As of Monday night, I'm at $750 exactly, and poised to hit $800 tomorrow morning. Don't know if anyone else will book, but that's pretty much my whole Bangkok round trip airfare!!
I've really been enjoying these massages and I hope my gratitude and enthusiasm come through. It's also new and wonderful to feel that I'm working toward something so specific.
Yikes! I'm leaving in two days.

Yesterday:
Okay, thanks to many kind and well rubbed clients, I'm up to $580. That's more than halfway there! In fact I'm only $385 short, which means they'll be dumping me out somewhere between the coast of Vietnam and Taiwan.
I hope I'll have enough time to grab my seat cushion.
Or maybe a few more folks will sign up for a massage and I can make it back down to earth.

Temperature's Rising!

Today I brought the thermometer up to $325. I'm a third of the way and I've got two more folks booked with more to come. Woo hoo.
I also just bought a cell phone to use over there. Turns out USA and Canada phones are mostly 'dual band' which don't work anywhere else, so I had to find an unlocked 'triband' phone (thank you Ebay--$40).
Now I'll be able to call home accidentally in the middle of the night with much greater convenience.

Hey, if you want to jump in on my massage special, better get on it.

Learning to Cook in Chiang Mai.

Oh boy, another thing I REALLY want to do in Chiang Mai. There are a lot of cooking schools there and I want to spend a day learning how to cook Thai.
I think I've got it narrowed down to this one school, thanks to a great review by another blog about Thai cooking.
How I'll find time I don't know! I guess I'll make the time. God knows my culinary skills could use a boost.

The Elephant Nature Foundation

I found another thing I absolutely want to do whilst in Thailand. This place is different than all the elephant shows and treks. Here's a statement from their website:

Our mission is to increase awareness about the plight of the endangered Asian elephant, educate locals on the humane treatment of their elephants, and provide sanctuary for rescued elephants at our nature park.

It's not cheap, by Thai standards--$75 for the full day experience, but the money goes to helping elephants so that's okay. Committing a full day (out of ten) is a bigger deal, but I think this would be an unforgetable experience. More so than laying in a hammock by the Pai river.
I have to admit, I think it would be cool to see elephants painting too at one of those more commercial shows, but that'll have to wait.

Massaging My Way to Thailand

My Office, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

To help raise money for my plane fare, I sent out an email to friends and family, offering a great rate for 75 minutes massages--$45!
Today I did my first two and have my old friend Steve booked for next week. I've also got about five more folks saying they'll book. I just need ten and I'm halfway there. If I hit 20 I've got it made.
The great thing is, it feels wonderful doing massage again. I've been doing a few here and there, but doing a bunch in the next few weeks will be awesome. I'm feeling such gratitude and enthusiasm for these massages.
I've always wanted to create one of those fund-raising thermometers, so here it is. Today I hit $115 thanks to two happy friends.

If you'd like to take me up on my special offer give me a call! 707-280-8134. I'm booking until January 27th.

The Eyeballing Game

My friend Molly turned me on to this fun little game. I think it must help develop spatial coordination. It's not terribly addictive, so I'm passing it along to you. Enjoy.

Khao San Road Sunset

Khao San Road Sunset, originally uploaded by root-2.

The Great Pai Debate

Temple Elephants, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

After deciding to definitely travel up to the little village of Pai (about a four hour bus ride from Chaing Mai) I began reading posts on the Lonely Planet's thorntree forum--and was dismayed to find near universal condemnation of Pai due to the over development and the kind of culturally insensitive westerners who are drawn to it. Thorntree posters referred to Pai as the Khao San Road of the North--KSR being a section of Bangkok that caters to party going backpackers looking for disco bars, cheap digs and a rowdy time.
Not the real, authentic Thailand. Just a big party scene concocted to milk money out of tourists.
With that bit of discouraging news I began looking for a different destination. After all, I don't drink, don't "party", don't like 'techno' or disco or whatever it's called these days. I was rather picturing a quiet time in a hammock by the river.
But then I asked India what her favorite times in Thailand were. Khao San Road was near the top. We landed there near the end of our Thailand Sojourn and had a really good time. The atmosphere was like a carnival at night.
I remember being truly exhausted from our travels, then looking out of our hotel window, down onto the street and feeling an overwhelming desire to get out there! And we did! It was a surreal scene and we met some trippy folks, had the best pad thai ever--cooked up by a woman with a tiny cart on the sidewalk and stumbled around in the hot, smoky, colorful atmoshpere. We totally enjoyed it.
So I've come full circle thinking about Pai.
I'll probably give it a try after all. And if I hate it, there's always Soppong up the road.

Back to Thailand!!

Stop!, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Well, I just booked my tickets. SFO to Bangkok and then straight on to Chaing Mai. It ended up costing $956 all together. About a hundred dollars less than I originally thought.
It'll be almost exactly four years since I went with Krista, the girls and Joyce (Krista's mom). See Thailand Sojourn if you want to know about that trip. I could've called it Thailand for the Timid! It'll be so different being on my own, and I've been a little bit scared at the prospect. It's weird to see some amazing sight and not have anyone to share the experience with.
On the other hand there will be a lot less luggage to deal with!
My plan is to hit the Grace Dental Clinic my first full day, even though I expect to be pretty wiped out. The crowns can take up to 7 days apparently, and I don't know if they include weekends in that estimate. Grace is the most famous clinic catering to Farang (westerners) and has a fantastic reputation for quality. It's also the most expensive clinic in Chiang Mai, but still much much cheaper than care in the US.
There's a wonderful Sunday Walking Street Market in Chiang Mai that we missed last time. I'll get to check that out, then my plan is to head up to the little village of Pai and chill out for a few days. It's about 4 hours away by bus, but supposedly the trip includes fantastic scenery. If I'm feeling extremely daring, I might rent a motorcycle to do the trip--they say to allow six hours for all the stops, including waterfalls to bathe under. But I doubt I'd do it. Last time I rented a scooter (in Bali) I put it in a ditch and cut my leg up.
Returning to Chiang Mai for my lovely new crowns, I'll be just in time for the Flower Festival, one of the three big yearly events in Chiang Mai. I'm totally excited to get to see it. They say there are over 6000 orchid varieties alone on display. And 'on display' means big floats covered with real flowers and pretty girls an arm's length away. It sounds awesome.
From what I can make out (not knowing exactly what dental work I need) I'll get to enjoy this trip and still save at least $1000 (maybe closer to $2000) over the cost here in Santa Rosa. And I have no doubt the work I get in Thailand will be superior.
Even so, this trip is expensive and I'm starting to think about what I might buy there to bring back and sell. Maybe some yummy silver jewelry? Silk scarves? Or some hill tribe crowns and skirts and such? Any requests?

I am extremely grateful to Krista, letting me go off halfway around the world and fill my soul up with some adventure. I'll be gone for 13 days! We've never been apart that long in 23 years.

It's Not Too Early to Plan For Next Year's Kwanzaa

Krista and Molly

Krista and Molly, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Our big night out!

Cracker Van Beethoven

Last night Krista and I went to see Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven down in Petaluma. That was my Christmas present for Krista. It was CVB's 25th anniversary. We shared the experience with Krista's high school buddies Molly and Georgia. We staked out a spot right in front of the stage and stuck there for both shows.
The sound level was too high, even with ear plugs, but seeing the bands up so close was a fantastic experience.
When Krista and I first got together she had a cassette tape with about 6 CVB songs. We loved them. So this was a bit of a nostalgia trip.
Sorry the sound quality is absolute crap. My poor little camera was overwhelmed. Actually, so were my ears.

Inching Up on 50,000 Flickr Views

Our messy new home, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

This was the first photograph I put up on Flickr, March 5 2005. Just days before we left for Thailand and three months of travel. I had just discovered Flickr, and blogging.
Today I have 2,771 photos up and I'm just shy of 50,000 views of my photostream.

Woo Hoo!! Just made it. 100,000 here I come.

A Brief History of Human Innovation

Medical Tourism

I need some dental work. I'm rooting for Obama and the dems to pass Universal Health Care so the United States can join the rest of the first world nations. But in the meantime, I need some dental work and it's looking pricey.
I had planned to slip down to Tijuana for three days. The dentist puts you up for free at a luxury hotel on the beach and it's only $125 roundtrip down to San Diego and quick trolley ride to the border (my dad was the general manager for the trolley project, btw). But Krista says no. There are just too many headless bodies turning up down there, on an almost daily basis. Save a few bucks by maybe losing my head? Maybe not.
So then there's Costa Rica. Really excellant dental care there. And you can trot off to see the rain forrest and/or the beaches while you wait for those crowns. Not too many people getting decapitated by drug cartells--just a few robberies here and there. The ticket jumps up to $600 or so. I'm not sure how much it costs to stay--haven't looked into it yet.
But off in the distance I see Thailand beckoning. The airfare jumps up to $950 and it's a much longer flight. But much much cheaper to stay and eat and really wonderful food. More interesting culturally than Costa Rica and much much better shopping (the night market in Chiang Mai!!). It's also very safe there. Buddhist country.
Strangely enough, from what I can make out, the cost of the dental work is pretty much the same in all three places. A third or less than my local dentist, and all with very good reputations.
Traveling to either country will save me from one to two thousand dollars, including the price of the trip!
Do you have an opinion? Please leave a comment!

ps I just wrote the Thailand tourism board proposing that they pay for my airfare and in return I'll write a new blog on my experience. Good investment for them!

Santa's Helper

Santa's Helper, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

India

India, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

India is the soul of generosity. She stayed up all night, Christmas Eve, working on presents.

Eden

Eden, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

This was a rocky Christmas for Eden. A few nights before, she got some sort of stomach flu. Lots of throwing up, a fever with delirium, and not much sleep for us.
We also had trouble finding presents for her. She's outgrown the groovy girls and ugly dolls and ended up with a lot of books. Poor Krista went out again and again only to come back empty handed.
Fortunately, Eden was more focused on the giving part of the xmas equation and seemed perfectly content.

Well Received

Well Received, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Krista scored. Somehow on ebay she found a set of six ice cream dishes in the obscure pattern that Jerry and Joyce had when they were first married. Joyce told us she'd put it on their wedding registry. Almost 40 years ago!
The moment of nostalgia when they opened this gift was priceless.