Famous view from James Bond Island.
Lots of tourists on James Bond Island.
Me after taking a dip in the water. No one else swam at James Bond Island.
Oh, the tourist trap. What's with the huts selling stuff.
Parting view of James Bond Island.Friday, April 25, 2008
James Bond Island
Famous view from James Bond Island. Lots of tourists on James Bond Island. Me after taking a dip in the water. No one else swam at James Bond Island. Oh, the tourist trap. What's with the huts selling stuff. Parting view of James Bond Island.
More Canoeing
Lots of boats. But this is the low season. Imagine during high season.
Juan, mechanical engineer from Columbia, working for Shell, as support for an oil rig, on the far east coast of Russia. I was asking him how to get a job on an oil rig!
Interesting formations.
Our guide made us take this photo.
Food! Yeah! Good stuff. Nothing exotic.Canoe trip
Is this thing even working? I wish I was paddling the canoe, but it wasn't that kind of canoe trip.
It was a relax-and-let-someone-else-do-the-work kind of trip.
Inside the mangrove cave.
Going thru the low passage to the cave. This is impassible at high tide. We had to lie back in the canoe to avoid hitting our heads.
The islands don't have many beaches. This tiny one was the best one of the day.... But we couldn't swim. The said there are sharp rocks under the water.Phuket
Cool dragon at a city/town park.
Learning to tell time in Thai.
Thousands of islands of the coast.
And they all look like this. You could get lost easily, if you're on your own.
And they have caves.Ko Pangang
I was SO disappointed. I hiked (I could have taken a taxi or the free rides I turned down) for nearly 3 hours (I missed the turn off and probably added 2 hours to my hike) to see this waterfall....and the river was dry!
One view of a beach.
Another view of the same beach.
Another view close to the beach.
View of the whole beach.Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Water Festival
Close-up of part of temple.
Some kind of really tiny temple/shrine standing of the side of the road.
Balloon float with people spraying water. The float was a bit tall and they kept getting stuck at the power lines.
The streets of Hat Yai during the annual festival. I'm not sure what the festival is all about, but it mainly involves people soaking each other with water in the streets.Short video clips of the water action from inside the safety of McDonald's. Not a good idea to carry electronics with you. I saw a news crew (cameraman & newswoman) trying to do a segment on the festival...
Temples in Thailand
My very first view of Thailand, as I walked across the border from Rantau, Malaysia to Sungai Kolok, Thailand.
Fountain Circle in Hat Yai.
Some kind of mini temple/shrine.
A statue of some god, I think.
View of a temple from the driveway.Prayer time
The boat ride back to the mainland. I had some fears of the overcrowded boat sinking...
Declan & Cassie
Jo & I don't remember who that girl was.
Ritual ablution prior to mid-day prayers at mosque in Kota Bharu, Malaysia.
Mid-day prayersMore Perhentian Islands
Another view of he very peaceful Coral Bay.
The pier from which Declan and I were diving. That fun abruptly came to a halt when Declan did a perfect dive from off the railing and hit bottom, coming up with his hand and foot bleeding and several sea urchin needles stuck in his foot.
The view from my beach hut at another time of day.
The shower & toilet house for my beach hut. Pretty... Sometimes there were large lizards in the toilet.
The eagle which flew down to hang out on the beach just outside my hut.Perhentian Islands
A mosque in Jerantut, Malaysia.
Close-up of part of the mosque.
Home sweet home. My Long Beach - beach hut on Pulau Kecil, the smaller of the two Perhentian Islands. I shared the hut with Declan, an Irish guy I met while waiting for the boat.
The view from my beach hut. It was so nice. My kind of beach. White sand, clear water.
View of Coral Bay from pier.You Want Lady?
I knew prior to coming to Thailand, that it had a thriving sex industry. On my last night in Malaysia, I was sitting with some local guys, and I asked them what people do for fun in conservative Kota Bharu. They hesitated. I could see that they were trying to decide how much to tell me. So, just for fun, I said “cross the border into Thailand?” We had a good laugh, and while they admitted that some people do that, they didn’t go into detail.
But I wasn’t expecting to come in full contact with this thriving industry in the southern city, Hat Yai. I thought I could cruise along quietly and get myself prepared for Bangkok. But no, every night the guy who works at the guesthouse offers to call up a girl for me. “You want lady?” “No.” “Thai lady, very pretty.”
As I walk thru the street markets, past all this stuff that I can’t imagine anyone wanting, a vendor would stop me, pointing out his products. I’d say I’m not interested. Then the question “You want lady?” If I don’t understand the first time, he’ll add a hand gesture - fingers intertwined with the palms banging together a few times.
I can hardly walk the streets, minding my own business, without some guy out of no where asking, “You want lady?” In some ways, I equate the prostitution problem in Thailand with the Batik problem in parts of Indonesia. Because for some time, so many people went Indonesia to buy batik, they ramped up production of batik, and it became a source of income for many people. Then they had more batik than buyers. So now it is high pressure sales. Similarly, lots of tourists go to Thailand to have sex. I can’t count the time I’ve heard guys talking about how hot Thai women are. I even met an Italian guy who was going to Bangkok specifically so he can have sex with 14 year old girls. I didn’t think anyone would admit this out loud. But there it was.
There are guys offering transportation on motor bikes. I think they are licensed because they wear numbered red vests. They ask “Where you go?” I say “I’m just going over there.” “You need transport?” “No.” “You want lady?” I begin to wonder…Is there one large brothel that they take everyone to and get a commission ? Or does each of these guys have their own lady that they’re offering up for sale? I keep on walking.
I was passing by a karaoke bar, and there was a guy and some girls sitting outside. They called me over. I thought they would try to get me to go inside, buy some alcohol and make a fool of myself singing. No. He pointed out two of the girls and told me 1000 baht for 1 hour with them. And the girls were right there smiling and waving. At first I thought he was offering a “massage”, but there was no pretense here.
The massage parlors seem to be trying to put on a respectable face. They all offer foot massages, and it is done in the open where people passing by can see. But I would not at all be surprised if there is a room upstairs where you can get a full massage with happy ending.
I went to a small family restaurant for dinner - a Muslim restaurant, no less. At first the owner/attendant thought I was Malay. The menu was in both Thai and Malaysian, and I was able to fake my way thru ordering in Malaysian. He sat down at the table with me, and we discovered that we don’t have a common language. This should be interesting: a cross cultural exchange thru a language barrier. But after we got thru the name exchange, he asked if I was alone and wanted lady. At this point some other customers came in.
I went to another small restaurant and had my Thai/English dictionary with me. I had decided that I needed to at least learn the alphabet and a few words. One of the ladies there saw the dictionary and got excited. “Oooh, you learn Thai?” “Yes, I would like to learn to read Thai.” She told me how to say the Thai word for tomato, because I was looking blankly at a bottle of ketchup. So they told me to come back later in the night. They sell alcohol. This will be great! I’ll get to learn a few Thai words. So I went back later. But that’s not what they had in mind, at all. That lady was only interested in going back to my room.
Then there is the security guard who, I think guards the gold shop next to the guesthouse at night, but sleeps in the lobby of the guest house every night. He doesn’t speak English, but by looks and gestures, I think he too wants to come up to my room.
In general, it seems that if someone is friendly, they either want to have sex with you, or they have a lady they want to offer to you. To be fair, I did encounter this on a smaller scale in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. But this is only Hat Yai. I can hardly imagine what Bangkok will be like!
But I wasn’t expecting to come in full contact with this thriving industry in the southern city, Hat Yai. I thought I could cruise along quietly and get myself prepared for Bangkok. But no, every night the guy who works at the guesthouse offers to call up a girl for me. “You want lady?” “No.” “Thai lady, very pretty.”
As I walk thru the street markets, past all this stuff that I can’t imagine anyone wanting, a vendor would stop me, pointing out his products. I’d say I’m not interested. Then the question “You want lady?” If I don’t understand the first time, he’ll add a hand gesture - fingers intertwined with the palms banging together a few times.
I can hardly walk the streets, minding my own business, without some guy out of no where asking, “You want lady?” In some ways, I equate the prostitution problem in Thailand with the Batik problem in parts of Indonesia. Because for some time, so many people went Indonesia to buy batik, they ramped up production of batik, and it became a source of income for many people. Then they had more batik than buyers. So now it is high pressure sales. Similarly, lots of tourists go to Thailand to have sex. I can’t count the time I’ve heard guys talking about how hot Thai women are. I even met an Italian guy who was going to Bangkok specifically so he can have sex with 14 year old girls. I didn’t think anyone would admit this out loud. But there it was.
There are guys offering transportation on motor bikes. I think they are licensed because they wear numbered red vests. They ask “Where you go?” I say “I’m just going over there.” “You need transport?” “No.” “You want lady?” I begin to wonder…Is there one large brothel that they take everyone to and get a commission ? Or does each of these guys have their own lady that they’re offering up for sale? I keep on walking.
I was passing by a karaoke bar, and there was a guy and some girls sitting outside. They called me over. I thought they would try to get me to go inside, buy some alcohol and make a fool of myself singing. No. He pointed out two of the girls and told me 1000 baht for 1 hour with them. And the girls were right there smiling and waving. At first I thought he was offering a “massage”, but there was no pretense here.
The massage parlors seem to be trying to put on a respectable face. They all offer foot massages, and it is done in the open where people passing by can see. But I would not at all be surprised if there is a room upstairs where you can get a full massage with happy ending.
I went to a small family restaurant for dinner - a Muslim restaurant, no less. At first the owner/attendant thought I was Malay. The menu was in both Thai and Malaysian, and I was able to fake my way thru ordering in Malaysian. He sat down at the table with me, and we discovered that we don’t have a common language. This should be interesting: a cross cultural exchange thru a language barrier. But after we got thru the name exchange, he asked if I was alone and wanted lady. At this point some other customers came in.
I went to another small restaurant and had my Thai/English dictionary with me. I had decided that I needed to at least learn the alphabet and a few words. One of the ladies there saw the dictionary and got excited. “Oooh, you learn Thai?” “Yes, I would like to learn to read Thai.” She told me how to say the Thai word for tomato, because I was looking blankly at a bottle of ketchup. So they told me to come back later in the night. They sell alcohol. This will be great! I’ll get to learn a few Thai words. So I went back later. But that’s not what they had in mind, at all. That lady was only interested in going back to my room.
Then there is the security guard who, I think guards the gold shop next to the guesthouse at night, but sleeps in the lobby of the guest house every night. He doesn’t speak English, but by looks and gestures, I think he too wants to come up to my room.
In general, it seems that if someone is friendly, they either want to have sex with you, or they have a lady they want to offer to you. To be fair, I did encounter this on a smaller scale in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. But this is only Hat Yai. I can hardly imagine what Bangkok will be like!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Hat Yai
It is late at night, and I'm sitting in a restaurant/pub in Hat Yai, Thailand, using their very slow "free" wifi, afraid to go outside. Of course to use the free wifi, I had to buy some food, at 60% more than what I would usually pay. But that's ok. Right now in Thailand, they have the water festival. I don't know exactly what it is called, but it is a couple days of people soaking each other in the streets. It was quite an adventure to walk from my guesthouse to this restaurant without getting my computer soaked! Earlier in the afternoon, I was out on the street and got wet, not completely soaked, just wet.
Hat Yai was supposed to be just a one night stop on my way to Ko Tao to do some diving, but I've been here 6 days already. At this rate, I'll still be in Southern Thailand when my 30 day visa expires. I'll have to go back to Malaysia and re-enter Thailand. Not a bad idea. There are still some things I want to do in Malaysia - like the 7-day hike to climb that mountain in Taman Negara.
Hat Yai was supposed to be just a one night stop on my way to Ko Tao to do some diving, but I've been here 6 days already. At this rate, I'll still be in Southern Thailand when my 30 day visa expires. I'll have to go back to Malaysia and re-enter Thailand. Not a bad idea. There are still some things I want to do in Malaysia - like the 7-day hike to climb that mountain in Taman Negara.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Time to move on
Tomorrow, I think I will go to Thailand. I could change my mine and stay in Malaysia. But for now, I think I'm going to Thailand. I've heard of lots of people having their things stolen in Thailand.
Muhammed Michael
I had to opportunity to chat with Muhammed Michael, founder & chairman of the International Islamic Information & Daawah Centre in Kota Bharu, and to visit the mosque with him to observe the mid-day prayers. While we talked about a number of things, including US politics, the following are answers to questions I asked specifically for inclusion in my blog.
Name: Muhammad Michael
Original Name: Michael Boateng
Birthplace: Asamng, Ghana
Family: 3 brothers, 1 sister (deceased), 1 wife, 2 sons, 0 daughters
Age converted to Islam: 33 (21 years ago)
Why did you convert to Islam?
Because Muhammad gets very emotional when telling about his convertion, I decided to use two quotes from a booklet about his conversion and work in Malaysia, rather than put him thru the emotional stress.
“My conversion to Islam cannot be attributed to any other cause or reason rather than the gracious direction of Allah (SWT). I converted to Islam through inspiration not by force, not by marriage nor by money as some people use to think. I converted by my won will.”
“I am very happy and grateful to Allah (SWT) for choosing me to be amoung His servants. The brotherhood of Islam, regardless of race, colour or country of origin, is themain thing that drew me towards Islam. Alhamdulillah! Praise be to Allah the most Merciful.”
-My Journey to Islam & the Aftermath
It was chosen by the Muslim brothers in Bangkok when I converted.
Why did you choose to live in Kota Bharu, Malaysia?
The brothers in Bangkok suggested that I move here. Kota Bharu has the highest concentration of Malay Muslims in Malaysia.
What kind of work do you do?
I was a seaman prior to my convertion. Afterward I was a trader. Now I am a missionary.
What is your favorite surah in the Qur’an?
YaSin, because it was the second surah I memorized and I feel committed to read it everyday.
What do you think is your greatest accomplishment?
Building a mosque in my hometown in Ghana.
How would you best respond to someone who says Islam is a violent religion?
I would try to correct the miscomception by giving the proper message from the Qur’an. That is the only way to make people understand what Islam is about, a peaceful religion.
How would you treat someone who is from a different sect of Islam?
I will treat any Muslim the same. Anyone who says the Shahada is a Muslim.
What about someone who is not a Muslim?
I treat non-muslims just like a Muslim brother. Because we are all created by one god. The differences in religion or color does not matter.
What about someone who does not believe in any God?
I would still treat him like a brother, but try to guide him to understand that there is one god.
How does the Qur’an say you should treat such persons?
The Qur’an does not emphasize any kind of treatment between a muslim and a nonbeliever.
Do you think there will be another prophet or messenger after Muhammed, with new guidance for the modern age or is the Qur’an the final message from Allah?
The Qur’an is the final message and there will be no other prophet after Muhammad.
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