My Bags are Packed ...

 I am ready to go, leaving on a jet plane (John Denver)

Thavorn and I just celebrated our birthdays on the 23rd and 24th of September. Thavorn wanted a new iPhone Max Pro and I decided on a 21 day solo trip to Bangkok. I have not had a solo trip to Thailand in over 10 years and I am looking forward to it. I also booked a trip for the family in March of 2026.

I arrive on October the first and will stay at Asoke and Sukhumvit for 4 nights before going to the Empire Marriott in the business district near Pat Pong for 2 weeks, I then have 2 more nights on Sukhumvit before flying back on Oct. 21st.

It has been about 2 years since the last trip to Bangkok. I am curious to see what has changed and I suspect a lot has. I have watched quite a few videos and there are many new places (bars) to explore and many have closed down. Tourism is down about 7 percent this year and there are many more Asian (Malasians, Indians, Koreans) travelers now. It is also the end of the rainy season so there should be fewer visitors at this time.

I am just about finished recovering from my hernia operation so I will try some exercising in the pool as well as exercising drinking, socializing, and playing pool. Lots of walking as well as I explore the sois in and around Asoke and Sukhumvit.

I will post my observations over the next 4 weeks.

TTYL

Thailand - when to Travel

 Canada to Thailand is about 24 hours with a short connecting flight or two.

The rainy season is approximately April through to October. This impacts airfare prices quite a bit. I have discovered the cheapest fares are the shoulder months of March and October. The prices of the flights I want to take are about $1350 return.  Forget about the summer months where July and August fares are $2350 return. 

When you have to purchase 3 tickets it means huge savings in March or October.

I am flying this October solo for my birthday present to myself.

However, I started to think about Thavorn and Jaidan who have not seen family for almost 3 years.

I thought I would explore the month of March that would require Jaidan missing 3 weeks of school becuase of march break week in the middle. I checked the air fares and the 3 of us can fly for $4,100 return.

I am thinking of booking shortly to get that rate.

Yippy kai yah

Return to Bangkok

 It has been an unsettling 3 years. The first year was the diagnosis of a tumour on my right kidney and a 9 month wait for surgery. The second year was an incisional hernia from the first surgery and a 7 month wait for surgery. The 3rd year was the first hernia fix failing and a 8 month wait for the new surgery that happened on August 28th.

I am now into a 4 week recovery that includes my 75th birthday so I decided (WTF), it was time to celebrate myself with a 3 week walk-on-the-wild side in Bangkok! I leave on September the 30th and return on October 21st and for the first time in a long time, I am travelling by myself.

As, I once stated, 'You can't step into the same river twice ...' I will try to recreate my memories from 2011 ish and explore what I came to love about Bangkok. I have really no expectations and I will simply explore the changes that have been wrought in the past 15 years in Bangkok.

I plan on documenting my trip on this blog so stayed tuned as I expect it will become more interesting coming from Thailand rather than the Great White North.

Undies gifted by my son Jordan 

TTYL

Back to Bangkok in October

 I decided to celebrate my birthday this year with 3 weeks in Thailand.  I am booked frrom Oct 1st to October 21st for 3 weeks. The first 10 days will be in Bangkok and after that I am undecided.

I may vist Pataya or Phuket, or perhaps both. I have never been a big fan of planning too much ahead in Thailand. 

The weather should be decent as it is the end of the rainy season and the start of the dry season so the pollution should be down as well as the humidy and to some extent, the heat. However I have always found the temperature is always around 35 degrees.

Hopefully some of my expat friends will be around, especially Arhtur who should be back from the states in the Fall.

My buddy John is back in Canada for a couple of years so he definetly will not be there.

I am also travelling without Jaidan and Thavorn this time around so it will be like stepping back 10 years in time.

I am flying Air Canada and Thai airlines going there and Air Japan and Air Canada on the way back. The air fare was $1,700 for flex so not too bad at that time of year.

So now it is time to start looking for some places to stay after the first 10 days. I will start at the Davis Hotel for the first 3 days and then the Marriot near Pat Pong for the next 7. After that it depends where the wind blows me.

Should be fun,

TTYL

The Itch

 I have the itch to get back to Thailand. I was there last in January of 2024 when I spent a month with Jaidan and Thavorn. Actually, I spent most of the month with Jaidan as Thavorn spent about 2 weeks with her Thai family.

This time around I will go by myself for a variety of reasons. Thavorn does not like the flight and would rather save the money from the fight and she also finds visisting her family costs a lot of money. Jaidan will also be in school, so that leaves me.

Why do I have the itch. I love Thailand and the excitement that can be had. I will play a lot of pool, swim a lot in the pool. and visit bars to listen to music and just enjoy the vibe of being foot loose and fancy free.

Why now? I will have just undergone three operations in 2 years and will have just turned 75. I may be running out of time. After talking it over with Thavorn, she understands that I need a break from our daily, monthly, and yearly routines.

It also does not cost me much as I have resort points to use and accommodations costs will be minimal. It appears I can find a flight for under $1,500 so food and beer will be the major cost. I am planning for an October excursion for 3 weeks with time in Bangkok, Phuket, and perhaps a couple of days in Pattaya.

Hopefully this will all play out. Stay tuned :-)

TTYL

Another Month, Another Post

 It has been a month since my last post, so what is new? My hernia repair surgery that was scheduled for June 16 was cancelled due to a patient with emergency colon cancer surgery. Apparently when you are cancelled you get rescheduled in about 2 to 3 weeks so I am guessing the first or second week in July.

Jaidan is just finishing grade 5 at St. Lukes and is looking forward to about 70 days off. As a reward for a good report card I bought him a Nintendo Switch2 for the school end. He really likes it but all his buddies told him he was so spoiled. Probably true but he is a good kid so why not spoil him. Better yet he knows he is spoiled so he paid $200 from his savings towards the purchase.

My buddy John and Fon arrive on July 2nd so it will have to be a few beers and time to get caught up on how he adjusted to almost a year in Thailand for the first time without a full time job. Also time for a few games of pool.

My friend Paul Cotton is back in Ottawa for a few days so we will get together for a lunch and get caught up on what has been going on in our lives as we have not got together for almost 10 years.

My buddy Kerry is also spending some time at their cottage on Bob's Lake which is also where Paul likes to spend time fishing as well. Maybe it is time Paul and Kerry met as they have some early tech days in Ottawa in common.

Thavorn is the joyful Thavorn that she always is. As long as she gets to spend some time shopping for clothes once a week she is happy. She is so easy to dress as she looks good in almost anything. However her walkin closest is almost full to capacity.

My two older children, Jordan and Jaime are looking forward to summer holidays as they are both teachers.

My sisters Ann and Elaine are planning their trip to England in September to visit our cousin Jill.

I am also planning to take a 3 week trip to Thailand in the fall as long as my July surgery goes well. It will be my 75th birthday present to myself. It's much cheaper for just me to go and Thavorn does not like flying. Jaidan is envious but perhaps we will go as a family in the summer of 2026 for his grade 6 graduation present before he attends Mother Teresa High School in the Fall.

After he finishes grade 8 we are currently thinking of placing Jaidan in an International School in Thailsnd so that he can improve his Thai and make important social contacts in Thailand so he can decide where he wants to work or attend University in the future.

My latest robotic car with mecanum wheels and ESP32 control and receiver for ESPnow

My first 3D print - whale comb

TTYL

Life in the Slow Lane

 Lots happening in Canada but not much new, We had a federal election but the Liberals won with a new Prime Minister, named Mark Carney. IMHO he was elected because the boogey man down south scared the chicken little electorate up north who saw Carney as the best person to deal with Trump. Time will tell but I am not optimistic. 

The weather in Ottawa remains cool for this time of years but Thavorn and I decided to visit the Tulip Festival  yet again and we took many pictures. However, if you wish to see them you need to look up her Facebook page undet Thavorn Dale.

However it appears we stole the land the tulips are planted on from the indigenous folks who passed through it from time to time, hundreds if not thousands of years ago. Before that, it belonged to the dinosaurs but there are no descendents to make claims.

I am still enaroured with my Kia Forte GT that is now 5 years old and I plan on keeping it another 5 years or when we depart Canada, which ever occurs first. The jury is still out when we will start to spend more time in Thailand. It all depends on how PM Carney handles the economy and when Thavorn starts to feel home sick, which she has not to date.

I continue to coach basketall (U19 Boys) and this is my 47th year. This comimg Saturday I will coach againt my friend Alex who is in his 37th year of coaching. He has said this is his last year and I am starting to think the same. I reactivated my incisional hernia while coaching this year and go under the knife again on June 16th. Such is life when you start aging and pretend you are still capable of doing the same stuff you did 30 years ago.

Not much else going on so TTYL