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A collection of 25 posts

PBS Double Feature: April 2023

It’s no surprise that I’m a huge nerd who appreciates many things in life, and one of those things is PBS. One of my cherished pastimes is dialing in to my local PBS station on Wednesday evenings to enjoy the double feature of Nature and NOVA. This week’

A Strong Contender Approaches

Sadly, every single member of EXID has departed from their label, casting doubts as to whether the five will comeback in the future. I hope to be surprised, as I was when Brown Eyed Girls came back for "Wonder Woman" in 2019. It's no secret that

Danang and Hoi An

Because I got sick in Hanoi, I felt like planning the end of this journey. I was not a fan of Vietnam so far. I had a 30-day visa, though. And I heard many people talk about Danang and Hoi An as great places. In fact, I heard multiple conversations

Hanoi

My new passport arrived! After staying in Chiang Mai for close to 2 more weeks, I needed a change. I found myself in the same situation that landed me in Korea! Sapporo's Snow Festival was coming up, and I had booked a hostel with free cancellation. Time was

Chiang Mai Another Moment

I had to renew my passport and I figured the best place to do it would be Chiang Mai. There's a U.S. consulate there, plus a jazz scene with unexplored gems. My friends Nu and Yok from Jazz Happens in Bangkok had told me they would be

Seoul

In 2018, I spent both Christmas and New Years Eve in Bangkok. After having spent nearly 2 months in Thailand thus far in my journey, I wondered whether I had had enough. As I had planned to stop by South Korea and Japan before returning to America, I booked a

Reflection

Apologies for the late update! I returned from Asia right before spring started. I wrote the following little reflection in the airplane... Sad to leave Asia and happy to return to America. I hope to come back again soon. I'm very grateful to be Californian, to have a

It's Happening!

One of my favorite memes is Ron Paul saying "It's happening!" The variant, "This is happening," is my favorite phrase to feel when I'm in an interesting or unique situation. Yes, this is happening. It's always happening. What happens? Jazz

Southward Ho!

After feeling like I'd stayed enough the second time, I decided to fly to Krabi. There, I could access some of southern Thailand's islands in the Andaman Sea. Immediately, I noticed a higher sun intensity and humidity than Bangkok. It makes sense as this area is

Second Stay in Bangkok

Resolved never to take another sleeper bus in Asia, or at least so long as I'm over 180 cm in height, and decided that Vang Vieng and Vientiane were not necessary destinations for me at this time, I returned to Silom Soi 6 to stay in Kinnon Hostel.

Deadlines? Oops

Three weeks since my last update. I'd be sorry if I had followers. If I might send someone a link to this page, I must frantically update from my ever-expanding backlog of content. In contrast to the start of my journey, things have quieted down a great deal.

Luang Prabang, Laos

Just five days from entering, I decided to leave this country. Destinations I considered visiting: Nong Kiaw is a beautiful place but far out of my way as it is north. Vang Vieng is south, and also lovely, but I hear it is a tourist party town. I don'

Hearts Open

This is something new I'm trying, so bear with me, and provide comments and criticism appropriately. The pain of a broken heart can be one of the most debilitating feelings one can experience. In extreme cases, feelings of hopelessness and no belonging drive one to end a life.

Mai, Pai, Rai

My journey through northern Thailand is nearing its end, for now. It's a beautiful part of the country, well worth more visits in the future. At the very least, I'm curious how the country changes as the cities continue growing. There's a lot of

Decisions

Quickly after arriving in Chiang Mai and experiencing the North Gate Jazz Co-Op, I realized (not necessarily for the first time) that I have a jazz soul. And this means I want to play with others. Sure, I can borrow a horn like I did in Tokyo and Bangkok. But

Noodles and Doodles

I wouldn't call it food poisoning but I guess I shouldn't eat kao soi every day. Sucks, because it's like the best chicken noodle soup I've had. Or maybe the food stall silverware is the culprit. I'll never know. I

Arrival in Chiang Mai

It's pretty great here! Except for the tiger mosquitoes... I opted for a budget flight since overland methods take a full day. I might regret it later, but I doubt it. Chiang Mai is in northern Thailand, a popular destination for tourists and expatriates. I haven't

City Nights

I stopped by Above Evelen while exploring Sukhumvit and Nana Plaza. Rather different from Silom, which features many Japanese restaurants for Japanese tourists, Nana offered fares of the Arabic, Persian, and Indian varieties. The bar has a nice view, and the music consisted of one DJ (drum and bass) plus

12 Little Spells - (album review)

http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/12-little-spells/ Esperanza Spalding is a extremely talented woman. Erupting into the jazz scene over 10 years ago, she's recently declared to reinvent herself as an artist. Her project for this transition is 12 Little Spells, a musical experience intended to foster spiritual healing. Released

Choices

If a dilemma is a choice of two options, a trilemma is three, and a lemma (monolemma) is the only choice, usually in the context of a logical proof. What choices are on my mind? Well, I recently learned that my KPOP top 3--Red Velvet, Mamamoo, EXID--all have comebacks scheduled

Ancient Sites and Sacred Animals

On my 3rd night, I stopped by a nice Thai shop for some bomb curry. And by bomb, I mean FIRE. Dude is like, "How spicy? 1 to 5?" and I'm like yo in America we go 1 to 10 but that's cool. "

The Sun in Sunday

I spent the next day chilling in Silom, Bang Rak, and Si Phraya, visiting temples and bearing the harsh tropical sunlight. I'm so blessed to live in a Mediterranean climate zone. It's hard for me to imagine permanently living in countries like Thailand and India where

Hot Tropics

How do so many people confuse trumpet with saxophone? What, is it that they're the same color, made from the same metal? Nobody confuses a knife with a spoon. Talk about pet peeves! Second night in Bangkok, I phoned around for live jazz on a Saturday night. I

Arrival in Bangkok

Pokemon is great. Every core game follows the same formula. You play as a young person traveling alone, connecting with people and animals as you explore a region. You learn to appreciate geography and biodiversity. Speaking of biodiversity, isn't it just neat that principles of ecology relate to

Travel Update

I tell myself I prioritize quality over quantity, only leading to a stack of unpublished writings. Deadlines are important, and they'll keep popping up here on out. The imminent deadline now: tomorrow morning I fly to Thailand. Why? I've been itching for some nomadism for a