Rafael Archuleta

First night on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 05:56:00 +0000

The first time I heard of Okinawa, Japan was when I watched The Karate Kid 2 in the 80's. Ever since, I've wanted to visit the beautiful islands of Okinawa and explore the jungle, beaches and reefs as well as the unique culture. So finally, after a brief layover in Naha, Eiko, Miyuki and I arrived on Ishigaki Island this evening.

Eiko and Miyuki at Haneda Airport

On the way, there were some stunning views of the clouds and sea. The blue water was so clear you could see the bottom perhaps 7 meters deep or maybe more, even with the cloud cover.

just one of the breathtaking views from the plane between Naha and Ishigaki Island

The package that Eiko booked included a night at the Hotel Best Inn. While I don't think it lives up to its name, it's clean and has a free internet terminal among a number of decent little amenities, so I'm not able to complain (despite a bit of a damp moldy smell in the hall). They even provide some funny yukatas that look a bit like hospital gowns.

Everyone we've come across so far has been really helpful and friendly, and the food was great at the restaurant we went to. Originally we were headed for Iso, recommended by the Rough Guide to Japan for its picture menu and local food, but when we arrived, we ended up opting for another place just a few doors down called South Wind (translated) due to its rustic island atmosphere and similar, if not better pricing. One of the highlights was the yummy squid ink rice, and another was what they call sea grapes, served with long shreds of daikon radish. Mmmm. :)

steaming squid ink rice

After a filling and delicious dinner, we checked out a few of the shops down the street. One thing you're sure to see here are shisa - sculpted little (or sometimes big) pairs of fiery lions that are believed by some to protect your home or shop.

shisa, small protectors of the home with big personality

I'll update this post later with a few more details once I get back to Tokyo on Saturday evening - we're planning to have some adventures on Iriomote and Kayama islands where there's little access to internet. Ciao for now!

Happy birthday to me in Japan!

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:21:00 +0000

Today Eiko is taking me to my first Japanese onsen (hot spring) near Lake Ashino for my birthday, which is tomorrow, September 8th. The place is called Hakone, about halfway between Tokyo and Mt. Fuji. It's a few hours drive, and there was a typhoon that passed over Tokyo last night, so let's hope the roads are not covered by landslides or washed out. I'll be sure to post photos ("yeah right!" you say) when I get back!

The closest thing I had to an photo of an onsen, since I've never seen one in person. Photo taken at Aki Gawa last weekend.

NameCat Domain Name Grabber updated to 1.0.3

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:20:00 +0000

After a long hiatus, I've updated the Domain Name Grabber Dashboard widget for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger (and newer). With the new version, you can now search for and register .eu and .mobi domains bringing the number of different Top Level Domains you can use the the widget to search for to 41! You can learn more and download the widget from NameCat.com.

Domain Name Grabber Widget 1.0.3

First strong earthquake I've felt in a while!

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 06:01:00 +0000

About 1 minute ago a strong earthquake shook my parents house in Royal Oaks, California (where I'm visiting for a few weeks) pretty good. Royal Oaks is near Santa Cruz, and the epicenter of the pretty serious Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, so I wonder where this one originated. Today's was a higher frequency type - a faster vibration (as opposed to a rolling wavy type) and started out with a powerful shake and tapered off over maybe 15 seconds or so. No damage was done -- around here anyway! It will be interesting to see the details of the quake as they surface on the news and the web over the next few days.

The first quake I ever felt was actually the Loma Prieta earthquake, and at the time I actually thought it was rather fun. I was living in Palo Alto, and a freshman in high school. I had been laying down on my bed reading a book or something, and when I stood up, I felt strangely off-balance. Thinking that I must have stood up too fast and was a bit dizzy, a pillow then practically hopped off my desk, and I knew it wasn't all in my head. The house started to make noises like a big, old wood boat, and so I went to my bedroom doorway to check out what was going on.

The whole house seemed as if it was floating on water, slowly rocking on the waves. The front door of the house was open and I distinctly remember looking out across the street as the trees swayed back and forth as the waves of the earthquake passed through the neighborhood. My little sister's friend was freaking out and started screaming at me, "GET IN A DOORWAY! IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE, GET IN A DOORWAY!!" It didn't seem so scary to me, and I found it pretty humorous how animated she was about the whole thing. I thought the sensation of being on what felt like liquid land was so cool! Too bad it was so devastating for so many people in the rest of the San Francisco Bay area.

Update: It turns out that today's quake was rated at 4.3 on the Richter scale and the epicenter was only about 3.9 miles away -- probably why it felt so strong! You can check out the statistics at the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program web site. Also, if you have Google Earth, you can download and double-click this KML file (a Google Earth bookmark) to see the exact location of the epicenter.

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta en El Pitillal, Puerto Vallarta

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Sun, 06 May 2007 03:49:00 +0000

Fortunately, my beautiful sister Laura is visiting during one of the biggest party days in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo. So Eiko, Laura and I went out with my cousin Chris, his girlfriend Alejandra, her sister Cynthia and his friend Sergio to a huge fiesta with mucha charreria (bull riding), cowboy boots, dancing, music, and even an old dancing transvestite cowgirl(?) and some clowns to disturb and entertain (respectively) between bull rides.

Mexican rodeo clown gets molested by dancing transvestite cowgirl

Laura and Eiko dancin' to the sounds of Mexican banda

Tsunami, The Aftermath airs on BBC TWO

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:02:00 +0000

Ugh... I can never seem to get to bed on time lately! I suppose it doesn't help that I am starting my trip to Israel tomorrow - I always feel pretty wired before traveling.

Anyway, it's confirmed, I made it through the editing process for the film, Tsunami, The Aftermath. Michelle Gray from England, a friend and fellow volunteer in the Khao Lak area of Thailand, just gave me the news via Google Talk. Apparently Kudos (the production company) and the rest of the gang did a good job in general, and in recreating the damage as well:

2:28:29 AM Michelle: hey saw you on the tv the other day.

2:28:38 AM Rafael: yeah? did you see you too??

2:29:17 AM Michelle: not me i knew where i was in the background but you are on for ages playing volley ball

2:29:26 AM Rafael: hahaha
rad, I'm fake volleyball superstar

2:30:08 AM Michelle: its a 2 part tv movie and its pretty good actually.

2:30:24 AM Rafael: you've seen the movie already?

2:30:30 AM Michelle: its mad to see everywhere all broken up
it was on BBC 2 on tuesday

She didn't mention if my role as a "continuity dead person" materialized on film, so I'm still curious about that... If you see the film, let me know.

The documentary, Making Tsunami, The Aftermath, is getting good initial feedback as well: IMDB.com Boards

Either I'm really bad at finding listings on the BBC website, or BBC sucks at updating it -- I can't find where on the site it says Tsunami, The Aftermath was airing on Tuesday - it still shows it as unconfirmed. Oh well...

By the way, it's Michelle's birthday. Feliz cumpleaños Michelle! I think you deserve some more fame, so here's to hoping you'll get you more paid work in the film industry (and of course, some actual screen time). ~_^

Michelle Gray displays her infamous wound as a "holiday maker" on the set of Tsunami, The Aftermath. A similar shot was featured in her hometown tabloid newspaper

Israel: Visiting the Holy Land

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 18:48:00 +0000

Friday, I fly from Mexico City to Israel! I'm meeting up in Tel Aviv with one of my best friends, Mark Aceves, for a two-week exploration of Israel, Jordan (Petra... remember the last Indiana Jones movie?), and possibly Palestine. Pretty exciting, as I've wanted to visit Israel for years and years. The amount of world-changing history concentrated in such a small section of the world is overwhelming.

I know, two weeks is not even close to the amount of time needed to truly experience everything. However, Mark was going alone, and I rarely get the chance to travel with my friends, so off I go! Perhaps I'll get a chance to introduce Mark to some of the new Israeli friends I've made during the last 18 months of traveling.

Most people don't think about the fact that the history's most influential revolutionary came from Israel: Yehoshua Moshiach.

no, it's not che

Sadly, the ironic thing is that although this radical revolutionary never killed anyone -- he promoted only tolerance and love for everyone -- many have killed in his name. Hopefully, more people will lead the way living by his example, instead of using his name to promote their own selfish agendas.

Tsunami, The Aftermath Update

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:22:00 +0000

Tsunami, The Aftermath Part 1 (of 2) has got a release date, finally! As you may recall, I worked as an extra on this movie when it was being filmed on location Khao Lak, Thailand. December 10th, the 2004 tsunami story, based on real life characters and events will start airing on HBO, almost every day of the month.

Right now, there's a behind-the-scenes documentary entitled Making Tsunami, The Aftermath being shown. I may or may not show up in either of them, but if I do, you may get to see me playing volleyball on the beach and gawking at the strange sea behavior (woohoo), and maybe even dead on the ground (eww).

BBC Film details
HBO Schedule for Making Tsunami, The Aftermath
HBO Schedule for Tsunami, The Aftermath Part 1

my professionally applied fatal(?) wound

Dual Citizenship, Here I Come

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 13:56:00 +0000

Okay, it's about time! After almost exactly 32 years since my parents left Mexico for California with me as a baby, I am finally on my way to USA and Mexican dual citizenship. Today, my new friends Gustavo and Claudia were my testigos (witnesses) and vouched for me when I went to apply for my Mexican credencial (Federal ID). The staff was great. The process was actually very simple and didn't cost anything but time, and the the thing that probably took the longest was when the woman taking my photo was trying to make it look just right. My new ID will be ready when I get back from Israel next month. I'm stoked!

Next step: Mexican passport!

After visiting the IFE office, what better to do than relax for a bit at the beach? Here's a few shots of Boris, Gustavo and Claudia's son en la playa. What a character!

Mexico Road Trip! Heading for the border...

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 20:21:00 +0000

Packing up my stuff, I realized that I had a lot more than what I could carry by myself, or check on a plane for that matter... So, at the last minute I decided to drive down instead of fly. And then my dad wanted to come along and help drive (gracias papá!), and my sister Laura almost came along as well, but had a work opportunity with a big client she didn't want to miss.
So anyway we're heading to Puerto Vallarta first, and dropping all my stuff, and then I'll meet up with Mark y Belen in Guadalajara or Morelia depending on where they'll be.

Right now I'm near El Centro by the border - we're crashing a Super 8 for the night. Free WiFi - wheee! Well, more like "ZZZzzzZZZzzz!" Dad is a log-sawing champion. :)

Below are some nifty night shots from the drive down through California. Hope you like 'em.

Moving to Mexico next month!

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:13:00 +0000

As many of you may or may not know, I've been wanting to go live in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, my birthplace, for a long time. As a matter of fact, I was originally planning to be there by September 2005, but ended up in Spain instead! The earlier part of this year was spent on an overdue trip to Thailand, where I ended up doing a lot of volunteer work for tsunami recovery, making some life-long friends, and getting certified as an Open Water scuba diver, among many other things.

Okay, I digress... Back to the topic of moving to Mexico. Some people say "Why?"
My first response is usually "Why not?" (to which some have said, "Hmm... yeah really, why not?!").

Then I explain that despite not living there for most of my life, I have always loved everything about Mexico -- the language, the food, the history, the culture, the weather, the beautiful and warm people, the list goes on.

And then I mention that since I was whisked away as a wee lad, I have been back to my home town exactly once, and over the border like 3 times (once to Tijuana, once to Mexicali and once to Rosarito with my friends Chris y Darci).

Puerto Vallarta and the Banderas Bay area has warm water, great fishing, awesome surfing and scuba diving, hiking, waterfalls, and beaches, the small village feel and the luxury resorts too (if you're into that sort of thing).

Considering these facts, and that I have many aunts, uncles, and cousins there that I have not even met, it's basically a shame that I haven't even been back to visit. So, I plan to stay at least 6 months, and work with my clients in the US via Skype, instant messaging, and e-mail, as usual. I also have a new site about Vallarta in the works, and you can be sure I'll announce it here when it's ready.

Today, I booked my flight on Avolar (only US$63 -- can you believe it?) from Tijuana to Guadalajara, where I plan to meet one of my best friends, Mark, and take a trip to Lake Patzcuaro and the island of Janitzio for las Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead). It will no doubt make for some phenomenal photography.

Russian Elm: the self-trimming tree

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 06:01:00 +0000

Late this morning, the sound of something large and crashing interrupts my train of thought. I step outside, and this Russian Elm tree notorious for falling branches, deposits probably the largest one yet onto the wood deck.

While some oak trees in the area here have fallen due to some insect larvae infestation, the Russian elm just does this naturally. Fortunately it makes for a nice renewable kindling and firewood source! The dogs, Rusty and Andrew, are seemingly unfazed -- excited even.

"Bark, Bark!" Pulling his favorite ball from the newly arranged foliage and dropping it at my feet, Andrew the dachshund uses his surprisingly 'big dog' voice to insist that I kick it back in.

Fun with jetlag

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 15:38:00 +0000

I wanted to get out earlier, but jetlag seems to have the uncanny ability to have me wake up at sunset. So I go out to run some errands and set up new cell phone service with the GSM phone I got in Thailand. There, you can go to any 7-ll and pick up a SIM card for your GSM cell phone with a new number for THB 99.00 (currently about US$2.64), as well as prepaid minute cards. I was hoping to do something similar this evening... No such luck.

This just isn't the same dusk skyline I've gotten used to in Thailand...

Crossing the railroad tracks, I spotted a rabbit and tried to capture him on camera. Images of Alice in Wonderland came to mind, but this is what ended up on the Memory Stick

I followed the rabbit up some stairs onto this patio -- he was trapped. I got you now, wittew wascawy wabbit! Unfortunately, he was too quick for a better shot using a long exposure.

China Airlines foot massage, part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 16:59:00 +0000

After almost seven months in South East Asia, I've finally landed in California again. The last time I returned to California after an extended time away - 19 weeks in Europe - it was with mixed emotions, and this time was no different. While I've missed my friends and family tons, I can't help but wish I could be in more than one place at a time. It appears my friend Yimei (who's letting me crash her spare room tonight) is right -- I've been bitten by the travel bug, hard.

Everybody always seems to ask, "So how was the trip home?" so I'll just answer here. The flight from BKK to TPE was about half an hour late, but it made up for it with the nifty multi-channel TV screens in the backs of the seats... The jetliner was even tricked out with multiple video feeds from the outside of the aircraft, so that even if you have a window seat, you can not only check out the view, but see it as if you were strapped to the belly of the plane. Here's a video clip:

Bangkok's urban sprawl quickly fades into the mist

These things are probably old hat for some of you. Okay and yes, that video was extremely cheesy. At least I kept it short, right? As you can see, I'm easily amused...

As for the flight from TPE to SFO, it was not as bad as the flight there last February. The sleepy foot massaging my arm this time ended up belonging to a cute, lanky Taiwanese girl with braces in her early 2os who was hidden completely, head to toe, under a blanket most of the flight -- as opposed to the brutal combo of the smelly socked foot of an Indian dad and his kids that were kicking the stuffing out of my seat while I tried to get some shut-eye. The delay on this flight was for about the same amount of time, however (2 hours) due to some sort of mechanical problem -- last time, we had to make an emergency landing in Osaka due to a guy that was having trouble breathing.

Upon arrival in at SFO, Customs decided that I needed to unpack my bags, but at least the woman checking out my stuff was happy and easygoing; it was entertaining watching her awed reaction to the Mac OS X interface on my Apple PowerBook G4.

At the BART station in the airport, I got to start practicing my Español right away with Manuel "El Peruano" García Godos, a friendly car salesman that works at the Auto Plaza in Hayward. I was caught a bit off-guard when I kept having the urge to respond to him in Thai... :P

After a basically uneventful BART ride to San Leandro, I finally got to Yimei's condo, where she made me feel right at home.

Last full day in Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:59:00 +0000

I decided that I needed one more day in Thailand, so I'll be leaving tomorrow instead of today. I made use of it checking out the Royal Palace in Bangkok. While I'm sure millions of others have posted images of the same subjects on the net, hopefully, you'll find something new in these photographs...

one of many golden Hanumaan

sad and blue

Throughout the palace compound, stories are told through long murals. Here's my favorite piece:

part of a legendary conflict

This guard appeared to be struggling not to look at me while I took his photo:

can't... look...

students at Sa Nam Luang Park

So far behind...

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 13:07:00 +0000

I'm really behind on getting back to everyone via e-mail, and I hope those of you that are waiting can forgive me. I'm heading to Phuket for a few days to relax and sight-see, and should come back refreshed with some good photos and some emails and web updates for y'all!

In the meantime, if you haven't already, check out the sites I've recently launched:

4Kali.org

Ecotourism Training Center

And look at this cute bunny I saw at the Bangniang Market a few weeks ago.

bunny hanging out at the rambutan stand

Thailand: Nellie has arrived

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 07:24:00 +0000

My good friends at the Ecotourism Training Center, Reid and Cougar, were blessed to have their daughter arrive safe and sound this morning. After a run down to the hospital yesterday that turned out to be a false labor, Nellie meant it this time, and got everyone up at around 5 this full-moon morning. She was born at around 10:30am at Bangkok Phuket Hospital, weighing in at just 2.89 kilograms (6 lbs, 5 ounces).

Nellie Narisarah Ridgway

What a beautiful girl. Maybe it's the Irish genes from Reid's side, the little gloves, or both, but to me she looks like a little scrapper. Perhaps she'll be a future featherweight female Muay Thai champion? Who knows. Regardless, there's no doubt she'll be a knockout in more than one way. Watch out, boys! :)

A note about my NameCat.com website

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Tue, 30 May 2006 22:46:00 +0000

Right now I've got a sale going on private domain registration at NameCat -- only $1.95. Also, if you decide to pick up any of the other services like web hosting or deluxe email, you can get your domain for just 4 bucks. Woohoo! If you have questions or need help with anything, you can call my trusty customer service team at +1 (480) 624-2500. :)

Okay, I have to go get bloodied up for the movie now (see the extra work post).

Thailand: Extra work and extra work

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Wed, 24 May 2006 16:31:00 +0000

I've been keeping rather busy doing freelance and volunteer work, and desperately needed a break from coding. As it turns out, HBO and BBC are filming a movie in Phuket and Khao Lak, and needed extras for the shoot in Khao Lak, and so I got a small part.

It'll be interesting to see if the shots I'm in will make into the film. The current working title is The Aftermath, and the plot of the film is based on true events surrounding the 2004 tsunami, while some of the characters are fictional.

the aftermath camera crew on the beach in khao lak

The first day was a lot of fun, despite a lot of waiting around. I'll be coming back next week to play dead, and so I'm curious as to what kind of gruesome death they have in mind for me. :P I'll post more photos and updates on this soon. Questions and comments welcome. :)

Koh Samui budget accommodation: Whitesands Bungalows

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:24:00 +0000

not exactly white sand, but still gorgeous

Making my way down Hat Lamai (Lamai Beach) on Koh Samui from Lamai Pearl toward Hin Ta Hin Yai (Grandfather Rock and Grandmother Rock) today, I came across a group of neat little bungalows right on the beach, and it turns out they only cost 120 baht per night (about US$3.15). Even though they didn’t have all the amenities I had at Lamai Pearl like the private bathroom and shower, it had a better view of the ocean, and was just as peaceful and quiet. I couldn’t resist — I checked in as soon as I had taken a look at the bungalow and the facilities.

Budget bungalows
It’s not much more than basic Thai style accommodation — a couple mattresses with sheets on mats inside a wooden bungalow with a porch to chill out and take in the ocean breeze — simple but effective. A fan, plus an additional electric outlet are included as well. Each bungalow has its own personality, as past and long-term tenants have personalized them with everything from small bits of graffiti, to faded murals on the insides of the window shutters and charming bits decoration and landscaping.

While the Thai staff does freshen up the bungalows between tenants, you may opt to do some of your own cleaning. At these prices, however, I don’t think too many budget travelers will have a big problem with that.

Facilities
As for the budget toilet facilities, one thing I found odd was that the squatter-style toilets are on the opposite side of the hall from the showers, so that you have to re-clothe between tasks if you need to use both. Note: there are no spray nozzles for washing up, and you need to bring your own toilet paper. The sinks are all at the end of the hall. If this is all an issue for you, staying in one of the private bath units, a little further from the beach, for 300 baht (approx. US$7.95) per night is another option, as are the 800 baht per night air conditioned rooms.

Tasty Thai cooking
An additional perk here at Whitesands Bungalows is that although it’s off the beaten path, you don’t have to go far to eat — there’s a Whitesands Restaurant that serves tasty Thai and western food at a decent price. Keep it simple, and you can get a nice meal for about US$2 or less. If you’re feeling pretty hungry or you like to drink beer, you can end up spending more, maybe US$3.50 to 4.00.

Comprehensive, friendly service
Not leaving any base uncovered, the Whitesands staff also offers laundry service for 30 baht (about 80 cents) per kilo, motorbikes and jeeps for rent, as well as tours and information about everything Samui Island has to offer. Many tenants here love it so much, they stay for months on end, some even stay most of the year. If you’re coming to Koh Samui, Thailand on a budget, it’s definitely worth the time to see why many people from around the world keep coming back, or simply don’t leave.

How to get to Whitesands Bungalows from the southern end of Lamai, on Koh Samui:
From Ban Lamai (Lamai town), take road 4169 heading southwest and turn left at the sign, immediately before 7-11. Follow the dirt road down a few hundred meters or so, turn right at the Whitesands Bungalows Restaurant sign, then turn left at the end and park in the cul-de-sac.

Thailand: Koh Samui seaside magic

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 02:16:00 +0000

the full moon on Songkran night

The weather was so fantastic last night, with the full moon out and the soothing breeze blowing in from the sea. So great in fact that I didn't even sleep in my bungalow. I grabbed my favorite Mexican blanket, and took the 30 steps or so down to the beach and enjoyed the night sky along with the sound of the water lapping at the shore. And almost even more amazing -- no mosquitos! :)

sunrise at Lamai Beach, Koh Samui

Waking up with the sun, the scene was breathtaking -- sections of the tall clouds in the distance would brighten up with colour intermittently as lightning bounced around inside...

Songkran - Thai New Year Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:31:00 +0000

I had heard so much about Songkran, Thailand’s new year celebration that I had to make it back there in time to see it. Dubbed “Extreme Holiday” by a Thai television news station, it’s a 1 to 5-day, country-wide happy water fight.

Because Songkran is a Buddhist holiday, and southern Thailand has a high percentage of Muslims, I was told that Songkran was not so big of a deal in Hat Yai, the biggest city in Southern Thailand. Well, don’t let anyone fool you! Everyone participated, from little kids to senior citizens. I arrived from Kuala Lumpur somewhere around 7:30AM and already, there were grandmas sporting super-soaker guns and buckets of water ready to douse you as you passed. Walking down the sidewalk, I heard a timid “Sorry...” and got shot in the back by a boy with a water rifle — pretty hilarious.

After breakfast, the water throwing and had picked up pace and I was dying to jump in on the action, but had to catch the bus to Koh Samui, and unfortunately ended up watching all the fun from inside the bus, all day...

It took forever just getting out of Hat Yai. The streets and everything in them were glistening with water and crammed with quick-moving attackers and slow-moving vehicles. People on motorbikes probably got the worst drenching. While able to weave their way through the traffic, they had to go slow, making themselves easy targets for the truckloads of people armed with buckets, bowls, giant syringe-like squirters, and huge barrels of water as an almost endless supply of ammo.

Helpless motorbike riders

Another part of the Songkran tradition is to mix baby powder with water and cover everyone you see with that as well — making for many more white people (and cars, for that matter) in Thailand than usual — even the bus got hammered.

As the bus made its way to Surat Thani (the take-off point of the ferry to Koh Samui) it was hard to find 100 meters between water squads next to or in the road, throwing water at others across the street, helpless motorbike riders, cars or mobile attack units. Even when it started raining in the afternoon, the action kept going.

You may be wondering, so where’s all the photos? Sadly, my camera battery had basically died. And with no way to charge it on the bus, it wasn’t until I got on the ferry that I was able to find a power outlet. At least I was able to get a few shots after that, but there wasn’t any water tossing on the boat — only on the television in the ferry lounge.

That’s where I met little Ning, a little cutie that introduced herself by attaching a Hello Kitty sticker to the back of my hand. Thai kids seem to love practicing their English, and she had a number of essential phrases down pat, like “What’s your name?” and “Where are you going?”. Soooo adorable.

Ning, aspiring photographer

nui and I (photo credit: ning)

Thailand: Koh Samui budget bungalow in Lamai

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:29:00 +0000

Arman and Nui told me about a cheap bungalow that was only 10 meters from the beach in Lamai on Koh Samui. It’s a bit aged — being right next to the beach things get rusty easily. However, it's got a private bathroom and shower, fan, full size bed, a little desk, electricity, and a deck with table and chairs to chill out and take in the ocean view. All for 200 baht per night (currently about US$5.25). Aptly named the Lamai Pearl, it’s not listed in the Thailand Lonely Planet guidebook. Luckily, they had a unit available when I arrived! It's nice and quiet — and there's discounts if you pay for a week or more in advance. Definitely worth checking out if you don't mind funky fixtures and a little rust, and just want to be next to the beach!

How to get to the Lamai Pearl on Koh Samui
You have to go to the south end of the strip in Lamai, and turn left up the small hill at the yellow Orchid Suites sign. At the top of the hill, turn left again to go down the hill to the Lamai Pearl.

Traveling Thailand on a budget? Take the bus.

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:27:00 +0000

Amazingly, it costs only about US$20 to get from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket — a XX kilometer trip — by bus. I wanted to go to Koh Samui, however, and that was only about $25 total, including the ferry ride to the island, and the taxi ride to Hat Lamai, the beach where I was staying. On the night bus from KL, I met Nui, who was on her way to Koh Samui to go back to work, and her Dutch boyfriend, Arman, heading to Bangkok for Songkran. Despite Arman being close to a meter taller than her, she was definitely the boss... ;)

Nui (in the bus on the way to Koh Samui)

I have to leave the country

noreply@blogger.com (Rafael) — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 16:42:00 +0000

It's already time for another visa run, and I haven't even gotten around to posting the photos for the one I did to Myanmar. I can hardly believe it's been a month already. Today I will head down to Malaysia by bus via Hat Yai, and try to see a few things before coming back into Thailand.