The Korean Way
Filed under: Trip Author: JanisMost of us were told during our childhood that there’s a right way and a wrong way. But in Korea, Villy and I learned there is a third option…the Korean way.
What is the Korean way? Well…I think it’s best to describe this through an anecdote.
Aunt Thim, Villy, and I accompanied Uncle Chuck to a Mint Director Conference in Busan (city located on the southern tip of South Korea). As accompanying guests, we were taken to the governor’s house for traditional tea lessons. Yes…tea lessons! They taught us how to make and serve tea, along with how to bow and drink the tea properly. Don’t be fooled…it’s not as easy as it sounds. One must follow many steps where each step is properly timed. For example, to make tea the traditional way, the following steps must be performed (as a disclaimer, I’m not an expert and do apologize in advance for all the details missed):
1. One must bow and gently lower oneself to the ground (5 count step)
2. One must use a handle to scoop water from nearby bucket to clean the tea cup (2 count step)
3. One must dump the water into another bucket with hands positions in a particular fashion – don’t shake the cup or the instructor will make you repeat the process over again (x count)
4. One must wipe the cup a certain way…wrap the cup with cloth on one side and spin the cup not the cloth (x count)
5. One must place the cup down and then pour – don’t even think about pouring tea into the cup in your hand (again…this is done in x counts)
Ok…so I’m sure you get the point now and I haven’t even told you about the other lessons – bowing, meditating, and the actual drinking tea portion. Basically, this was a 3 hour experience that was not only educational but very entertaining! We took a few pictures of our experience…for your viewing pleasure, please click on the gallery below.
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| Korea Trip - May 11 to 18 |
My first run in with the long arm of the law
Filed under: Author: Villy
Well, all of you knew it would happen, it was just a matter of when. I finally had my first brush with the law in Thailand. Janis, my Aunt, and I were driving to the center of Bangkok to have lunch with my family last Sunday. I was driving, Janis was in the front and my Aunt was sitting in the back giving me directions.
So I'm driving down Petchaburi road which is a variable lane street - a street where the amount of lanes in each direction is determined dynamically based on traffic conditions. For instance, it could have 4 westbound lanes and 2 eastbound lanes in the morning and the opposite in the afternoon. The directions of the lanes are determined by a series of lights over the roadway denoting either a green arrow or red X. Little did I know that after 11am all of the lanes are eastbound lanes. So I'm driving along when a cop jumps out in front of the car in front of me and in front of our car and directs us over to the side. When I open the window, the cop leans in and asks me for my ID; I just stare back at him blankly. He asks again - more blank stares (I do understand what he's asking for but technically I don't have an ID carcd). So my Aunt asks him what's wrong and he tells us that we're driving down the street illegally (along with a flotilla of other cars I might add). She says she didn't know it's illegal and asks him if she can pay the fine here so we don't have to go to the police station; she offers him 100 baht (a little of $3 US). He says "no, hand me your ID" and we're thinking, man, we somehow got the one honest cop in Thailand. As it turned out he was just looking for a little more money. My aunt continued to argue with him until another cop came over and told him to just take it at which point he took it and let us pass - he had a bunch of other cars waiting.
Part of me thinks all this is the product of a corrupt police system, but in reality it's not all that different from the US. In the US, departments set the speed low and then make speed traps to insure that the department has enough revenue to keep it running. This is basically the same thing, just with less red tape, and thus lower fees. All the money that the cops take goes into a community pot, and the money is allocated based on rank and seniority as the cops don't earn enough salary to make a living. I do wonder how far this goes though. I'm sure you're all eagerly awaiting my armed robbery blog post.
So I'm driving down Petchaburi road which is a variable lane street - a street where the amount of lanes in each direction is determined dynamically based on traffic conditions. For instance, it could have 4 westbound lanes and 2 eastbound lanes in the morning and the opposite in the afternoon. The directions of the lanes are determined by a series of lights over the roadway denoting either a green arrow or red X. Little did I know that after 11am all of the lanes are eastbound lanes. So I'm driving along when a cop jumps out in front of the car in front of me and in front of our car and directs us over to the side. When I open the window, the cop leans in and asks me for my ID; I just stare back at him blankly. He asks again - more blank stares (I do understand what he's asking for but technically I don't have an ID carcd). So my Aunt asks him what's wrong and he tells us that we're driving down the street illegally (along with a flotilla of other cars I might add). She says she didn't know it's illegal and asks him if she can pay the fine here so we don't have to go to the police station; she offers him 100 baht (a little of $3 US). He says "no, hand me your ID" and we're thinking, man, we somehow got the one honest cop in Thailand. As it turned out he was just looking for a little more money. My aunt continued to argue with him until another cop came over and told him to just take it at which point he took it and let us pass - he had a bunch of other cars waiting.
Part of me thinks all this is the product of a corrupt police system, but in reality it's not all that different from the US. In the US, departments set the speed low and then make speed traps to insure that the department has enough revenue to keep it running. This is basically the same thing, just with less red tape, and thus lower fees. All the money that the cops take goes into a community pot, and the money is allocated based on rank and seniority as the cops don't earn enough salary to make a living. I do wonder how far this goes though. I'm sure you're all eagerly awaiting my armed robbery blog post.
and this time, I mean business...
Filed under: business Author: Villy
It's been a long time between postings for me but with good reason. I've actually been quite busy with the two projects I've been working on.
The first project is starting a packaging business in Thailand. We are now the primary distributor for APS machines and materials in Southeast Asia. Automated Packaging Systems is a large privately held company based in Cleveland Ohio that sells bag-on-a-roll packaging machines. They are the dominant player in their space in both the US and Europe. We just had a visit from the newly hired APS Asia-Pac representative and I he seems to be quite happy with what he sees so far. I also just hired a sales manager with 6 years experience as well so I think we're well on our way. We're have a big show coming up in June called ProPak Asia that I'm busy preparing for now. If that goes well, I think we should get a ton of leads.
The second project is still confidential, but involves outsourcing sewing from the US to Thailand. This is definitely a multi year project but it's definitely headed in the right direction.
Since both projects involve completely different people and companies, it takes up a pretty significant portion of my time. I'm glad it didn't take me too long to find something to do here though.
The first project is starting a packaging business in Thailand. We are now the primary distributor for APS machines and materials in Southeast Asia. Automated Packaging Systems is a large privately held company based in Cleveland Ohio that sells bag-on-a-roll packaging machines. They are the dominant player in their space in both the US and Europe. We just had a visit from the newly hired APS Asia-Pac representative and I he seems to be quite happy with what he sees so far. I also just hired a sales manager with 6 years experience as well so I think we're well on our way. We're have a big show coming up in June called ProPak Asia that I'm busy preparing for now. If that goes well, I think we should get a ton of leads.
The second project is still confidential, but involves outsourcing sewing from the US to Thailand. This is definitely a multi year project but it's definitely headed in the right direction.
Since both projects involve completely different people and companies, it takes up a pretty significant portion of my time. I'm glad it didn't take me too long to find something to do here though.
One of the things I've always wondered was whether or not the American diet was more likely to make you fat than the Thai diet. In Thailand it is far more common to eat smaller portions more frequently during the day instead of sitting down to a huge meal. Food is readily available at small restaurants and street vendors and is both high quality and inexpensive. Portions are sized such that you can order 1-2 items. Currently I'm a not so svelte 186 lbs. (none of it muscle). My goal is to get to 172. So in the grand tradition of blogging about way too personal stuff (e.g. starryeyes posting about an herbal tea laxative), I've decided to post my weight loss progress (or regression) for all those interested. | ||||||||||||||||||
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4 Wat-ings and a factory
Filed under: sightseeing - wat Author: Villy
Despite the traffic jams, countless modern malls, bustling open markets that pop up within hours, and crowded side walks where vendor and pedestrians fight for space...it is possible to escape to a peaceful and tranquil WAT (Buddhist temple) in just minutes. If you open up a map of Bangkok (one with icons of tourist sites to visit), you'll notice countless WATs are sprinkled throughout the city; each infamous for something – their location, how fast they can grant your wish, or the type of Buddha (tallest, longest, etc.) that is housed in the temple.
In our attempt to be typical tourists in the city, Villy and I decided to visit a handful of Wats with the help of a local tuk-tuk driver. Although the experience is worth a try, I don't recommend using a tuk-tuk as your regular means of transportation – it is basically a small 3-wheeled vehicle that is a cross between a motobike and horse carriage. The cabin is open and would be considered a pleasant ride if we were in Napa Valley with light traffic and lots of fresh wine air; in Bangkok, this is quite the contrary since we share the road with many cars and exhaust fumes. But the ride is cheap and even cheaper during government subsidized days to promote tourism...our entire trip (4 Wat visits) was suppose to cost us 10 Bahts ($0.31 USD!!) as long as our tuk-tuk driver could take us to a gem factory to collect his free gas coupons. A deal worth paying and even tipping on (which is not a norm here). It's too bad our tuk-tuk driver abandoned us on our 3rd Wat stop...after the gem factory visit, of course. Those must have been some amazing gas coupons!!
Click on photo below for more photos.
In our attempt to be typical tourists in the city, Villy and I decided to visit a handful of Wats with the help of a local tuk-tuk driver. Although the experience is worth a try, I don't recommend using a tuk-tuk as your regular means of transportation – it is basically a small 3-wheeled vehicle that is a cross between a motobike and horse carriage. The cabin is open and would be considered a pleasant ride if we were in Napa Valley with light traffic and lots of fresh wine air; in Bangkok, this is quite the contrary since we share the road with many cars and exhaust fumes. But the ride is cheap and even cheaper during government subsidized days to promote tourism...our entire trip (4 Wat visits) was suppose to cost us 10 Bahts ($0.31 USD!!) as long as our tuk-tuk driver could take us to a gem factory to collect his free gas coupons. A deal worth paying and even tipping on (which is not a norm here). It's too bad our tuk-tuk driver abandoned us on our 3rd Wat stop...after the gem factory visit, of course. Those must have been some amazing gas coupons!!
Click on photo below for more photos.
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| 4 Wat-ings and a Factory |
I just notice that I had our blog was set to only allow comments for people with Google accounts. I have changed the setting to allow anyone to comment so comment away!
Foreign fast food in Thailand
Filed under: food Author: Villy
Thailand was never conquered by a foreign power but they appear to have definitely stopped off for a bite. Walking around the city the last couple weeks we have noticed a ton of foreign fast food restaurants in Thailand.
So far we've only stopped off at two, and even then only really for novelty reasons but the longer we're here, the more I'm sure our bodies will begin to crave the preservatives we've been missing.
Click on the gallery below for more pictures.
So far we've only stopped off at two, and even then only really for novelty reasons but the longer we're here, the more I'm sure our bodies will begin to crave the preservatives we've been missing.
Click on the gallery below for more pictures.
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| Foreign Casual Food |
Arrival in Thailand
Filed under: Author: Villy
After about 19 hours in the air and 6 hours in various airports, we finally arrived in Thailand. We got in about midnight local time and in grand Villy and Janis tradition, immediately went out to eat in Chinatown. One of the great things about Bangkok is you can find food at pretty much any time day or night.
The travel was for the most part pleasant and uneventful. Our flights were booked far below capacity so we were able to stretch out and sleep on the plane. One particular highlight was the Sakura lounge in the main building of Narita airport. That lounge is so nice that if I could book a trip with a 1 month layover in Narita, I would. The lounge has private bathrooms with showers, free massages, free food (snacks, udon, Japanese curry) , and free drinks (beer, wine,. It also has comfortable seating, and free wireless access. The day I lose my platinum status on American (probably around 12/31/2008) will indeed be a dark day.
We are staying with my uncle's house initially then moving to the home my parents just built about 10 minutes away from my uncle's house once we get settled.
Click below to see some pictures...
The travel was for the most part pleasant and uneventful. Our flights were booked far below capacity so we were able to stretch out and sleep on the plane. One particular highlight was the Sakura lounge in the main building of Narita airport. That lounge is so nice that if I could book a trip with a 1 month layover in Narita, I would. The lounge has private bathrooms with showers, free massages, free food (snacks, udon, Japanese curry) , and free drinks (beer, wine,. It also has comfortable seating, and free wireless access. The day I lose my platinum status on American (probably around 12/31/2008) will indeed be a dark day.
We are staying with my uncle's house initially then moving to the home my parents just built about 10 minutes away from my uncle's house once we get settled.
Click below to see some pictures...
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| V&J Flight to Thailand |
Welcome to our blog!
Filed under: welcome Author: Villy
As promised to many, we will be maintaining a blog of our travels and experiences chronicling our move to Thailand. As most of our friends are new to blogs, I'd like to make a couple of suggestions.
First, get yourself a good RSS (really simple syndication) reader. Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox provide built in RSS readers although I find them to be less than ideal options. You can instead use an online RSS reader such as Google Reader, my personal favorite. Once you have your reader, all you need to do is subscribe to our blog by pasting http://boriraj.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default into your feed reader.
If we're the only blog you're looking at, you can also go the old school route by just using http://boriraj.blogspot.com/
Second, don't be afraid to comment. Other than our family, friends, and fetishists into pudgy Asian guys, nobody else will be reading our blog. We have configured it in such a way that it won't be picked up by search engines. That being said, I wouldn't recommend posting your SSN, email address, and bank account numbers.
If you have any questions on blogging or RSS, just drop us a line. We have time on our hands...
First, get yourself a good RSS (really simple syndication) reader. Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox provide built in RSS readers although I find them to be less than ideal options. You can instead use an online RSS reader such as Google Reader, my personal favorite. Once you have your reader, all you need to do is subscribe to our blog by pasting http://boriraj.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default into your feed reader.
If we're the only blog you're looking at, you can also go the old school route by just using http://boriraj.blogspot.com/
Second, don't be afraid to comment. Other than our family, friends, and fetishists into pudgy Asian guys, nobody else will be reading our blog. We have configured it in such a way that it won't be picked up by search engines. That being said, I wouldn't recommend posting your SSN, email address, and bank account numbers.
If you have any questions on blogging or RSS, just drop us a line. We have time on our hands...
