Quote of the Day

I have been collecting quotations that I like for years and though I'd share one today. I copied this from somewhere but I'm afraid I forgot to note the author. Of course, he is talking about a few lines from one of Tolstoy's short stories but the author of the rest of the comments is a mystery. Anyway, I hope you get something out of it.

“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt myself in a super abundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life.”

–Leo Tolstoy, in “Family Happiness”

"I saw this quote for the first time in Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild. It’s true–why live a simple, quiet life when there is so much more to life than stagnation? Its the extremes, seen via dangers and excitements, which give our lives true satisfaction. The status quo, normal, conventional life is exactly what Tolstoy describes as “the calm course of existence.” Why stay calm, when you can experience the un-calm? The fluctuations, the extremes, and the inherent mystery in the loud, active life, is invaluable. Why would you live at medium, when you could be experiencing high highs and low lows? It is the extremes which truly impact us. It is the movements in our moods, personalities, friends, and surroundings, which give us more meaning and more of an intriguing identity. Travel. Move. Always Change. Don’t stay in one place, and never be quiet, in words nor actions. Always Progress, and never waste anytime."

Time for some exercise.

The Laguna Phuket International Marathon is coming up June 13. I'm not in shape for a marathon right now, but at the same time, they are having a 10K race so I've signed up for it. Phuket is an island and only a couple hours drive away, which is close by when it comes to finding road races in Thailand. The island is an internationally known resort area and quite beautiful. We flew into Phuket when we arrive here in Thailand but it was the middle of the night, so we really didn't have a chance to see any of the island. The race will give us an excuse to go there for a short visit and see the area. Lots of sailboats and sailing there as well, so there's also that to check out. I've been in contact with my old coach, Eric Sorensen, back in the US, and he's doing me up a training schedule. Even though this is just a 10K, a good training schedule makes all the difference in keeping you focused, motivated, on schedule and most importantly, less subject to over-training problems like injuries. As some know, I've had my share of running injuries over the years and I'm not anxious to continue the trend.

It has gotten a tad cooler here within the last week and I think we've got a little acclimated to the heat, so a short race seems doable. And the race certainly take the heat into consideration, they start the marathon at 4:30 in the morning! The 10K starts at 6:30, so I'll be done by 7:30 with the rest of the day to scope out the area and sites.

Khao Phanom Bencha

This a view of the mountain Khao Phanom Bencha from our front yard. Its the highest point in the providence at 1,305 meters. Today you can see the top but somedays clouds obscure it. I've been looking at it since we arrive about six weeks ago and just figured out what it was. It sits in the middle of a 50 square mile National Park of the same name and is one of the biggest attractions of the area. There are several beautiful waterfalls in the park and all sorts of wildlife, so naturally we are planning on visiting it soon, like Sunday for my birthday. As for the wildlife, I had no idea some of the animals that are found there where so close to us. We are only about 10 kilometers away! Below is a write-up I found in the Lonely Planet's guidebook on Thailand about the park. Imagine ... tigers, leopards and bears, oh my!

Clouded leopards, black panthers, tigers, Asiatic black bears, barking deer, serow, Malayan tapirs, leaf monkeys, gibbons and various tropical birds – including the helmeted hornbill, argus pheasant and extremely rare Gurney’s pitta – make their home here.

Found one of these guys on the carport yesterday morning. They really scare me and believe me I found the bugs spray in no time flat ... he's now history. They have a very nasty bite which is toxic. Here is a write up from the internet:

Giant Centipedes

Giant centipedes are found all over Thailand, in urban areas as well as forests and can grow to the size of a man's forearm. Like a lot of insects in the tropics, if it rains heavily, giant centipedes like to come indoors to avoid drowning. A shoe or bag can provide a handy place for the creatures to hide and if they are surprised and can't escape they will bite.

Their bite does not kill but for three or four days the victim will be in serious pain- even a shot of morphine from the local hospital will only take the edge off.

The bite marks are similar to those of a small snake and centipede bites can be mistaken for snake bites in the dark. The victim requires anti-tetanus, painkillers and rest. In the case of allergic reaction, breathing support may be necessary,

They are plenty big enough to notice in the day but for your own safety never walk around without shoes in the dark, even indoors!

I now sleep with a flashlight nearby and something to put on my feet in case I have to get up in the middle of the night. Just the though, that a shot of morphine only takes the edge of the pain, is enough to make me extra cautious. Besides, they just plain give me the willies. Snakes I can deal with but certain bugs and spiders are not to be trusted.

Happy New Year Everyone!

We just got back from a cruise through town and here are a couple shots of what its like during Thai New Year or "Songkhran" as it called here. As you can see there is this tradition of throwing water on each other. Some do it from the car and some from the side of the street. The kids were having a blast as you might expect, and the adults were enjoying things too. The celebrations go on for three days and today was the first.

Some new stuff

We have started to pickup a few items that we'll need in the house, things that we didn't ship. This is our new washer/dryer combination. Pretty neat, huh? Thought you'd be impressed. Not only does it both wash and dry, it also dry cleans and makes it own hot water. Why does it make its own hot water? Seems as though here there are no central hot water systems in homes. Not sure why just yet but there is usually only one source of water to sinks, showers, basically everything. So, if y0u want hot water you install an on-demand electric hot water heater right at the source of your need. For example, there is one in each shower usually and one at the kitchen sink if you chose to have one there. But for clothes washers and dishwashers, the solution seems to be have hot water making capability built into the appliance. I guess the requirement is too much for the small on-demand heater. But I really don't know, this is all very new to me. The other day we tested out the new washer and it worked fine but the dryer is not drying, so we are waiting of the repair guy to come take a look today. Interestingly, there is no separate outlet for the hot air when drying, everything, water and exhaust air goes out the same line to the sewer or in our case the septic drain. The drain line (see photo) is only about 1.5 inches in diameter so I'm skeptical as to how efficient this can be when its drying. But we don't plan to use the dryer except in emergencies. We can usually hang the clothes outside and with the heat they dry pretty fast. But of course there is the monsoon season so we need a backup plan.

Lots of bugs in Thailand

Yes, those really are bugs piled up in the corner. This is the sight we found the other night when we came home. We had left the outside lights on at our house and they were swarming around so thick you wouldn't want to even approach the door. Luckily we are still staying at the guesthouse so we just left the light on and we to bed. These are pictures I took the next morning. The story we get from the locals is this occurs only once a year right before Thai New Year (Songkran) which is April 13-15. They don't bite thank goodness but are just a big pain in the you know what. Most were dead by the next morning and once I swept them up I had a pile that could have passed for Fall leaves in Virginia. If you are familiar with the "love bugs" of the some part of the Deep South in the U.S. you will have an idea of what these are like. Hopefully, we have seen the last of them for a year.