BEST video & pic -- "Has it really been almost 3 months...and it's July already!!"

Not sure where the past 3 months have gone, but I looked at when I posted last and it was April!!  Guess I've been busy...but I'll tell you about that in a bit--first, time for some call-outs.

CALL-OUTS
May 5th - My godson's/nephew's b-day...Happy Birthday Dane!

 ...KIDDING! ...This is the little monkey!

May 16th - My little sister's b-day...Happy Birthday Nat!

June 11th - Happy B-day to "the twins"--my nephew/niece...Loren and Lucas!

July 1st - My nephew Liam had heart surgery...luckily everything went well and he's home recovering.

July 3rd - Lots of b-day's in the summer...Happy B-day to my nephew, and other godson, Dawson!

July 12th - Happy B-day to my nephew Trent! 

Cory - My thoughts & prayers are with my cousin Cory...love you and I know you'll pull through everything OK!

Dad - my dad is going to be getting a partial hip replacement surgery next Tuesday...and I know that his biggest concerns is how the surgery will effect his golf game ;-).  

Yvette - my friend Yvette opened up her apartment to Joe and I when we visited Beijing and also volunteered as our "official tour guide"--both of which totally made it a memorable & fun trip.  Thanks--here's to you!

One would think that because I haven't posted in almost 3 months that I would plenty of exciting and funny stuff to share, but I honestly don't know where the time has gone.  Other than a couple cool trips, things have been pretty uneventful, which I guess means that I've acclimated to my new surroundings...maybe.

MY TRIPS

China (May 23-28) 

(click on this link to see all my China pics)

My friend and co-worker, Joe, decided that it might be fun to go to Beijing and check out what China had to offer.  We only had a few days, so we decided to stay in Beijing vs. trying to squeeze another city in during that time, which was definitely the right call. 

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I arrived in Beijing--I guess I was thinking...pollution, over populated, communist ruled, little China men running around in the streets.  But it was nothing like that!  I found it a very clean city, and surprise surprise, I appreciated the orderly way things were done, especially the driving...remember the country that I had just come from ;-).  I did see a couple little China men running around though, and I think I even saw Mr. Miyagi meditating...

"Why Beijing?"...honestly there wasn't too much thought put into picking the location, other than I had wanted to visit China while I was here in Asia--to see "The Birds Nest"/Olympic Park, The Great Wall, Tienanmen Square & The Forbidden City...and of course have some authentic Chinese food and visit my friend Yvette as well. 

One of the reasons I enjoyed Beijing so much was because it felt more like a large city you'd find in the US, and the food options, well let's just say there was a bit more of a selection than in Hyderabad.  Some of the highlights of the trip were:

• The "V Bar" that we came across on our first night...it was a vampire themed bar and I'd say that they nailed it, even down to serving us shots in a syringe!

• Tienanmen Square & The Forbidden City - It was very cool to walk around and see up close and personal areas that I've only seen on TV or read about.  Of course we were not alone in visiting these places, which made for some fun people watching...

View of the Forbidden City from above

• The people...and the people watching -

She's bring the 'Frohawk' back - Fro and Mohawk

Apparently if you do the splits you can get a better picture. 

I've NEVER seen anyone so focused & determined...playing hacky sack!

But the creme dela creme was this video I took--the couple was definitely not camera shy... (just in case you have issues just clicking on this video thumbnail, here is link: Couple dancing in China park)

• The Great Wall of China - nothing says Memorial Day like a visit to The Great Wall of China...somewhat ironic, but still an amazing thing to see...and to walk on!

 

And I think I saw a leprechaun and the Great Dame Judi Dench on the Wall...

  

• And lastly, The Silk Market - unfortunately I didn't take any pictures, but I bought almost a full suitcase worth of stuff.  And when I say "stuff", I'm not kidding...some of the most random things, and of course nothing that I really needed, but because it's all about negotiating and trying to get the best price, I was sucked in big time!!  Let's just say that when I walked out of there with 3 watches I knew I was bitten by the shopping bug...because I don't even wear watches!!  Still, it was an awesome experience and if you ever get to Beijing, you definitely need to set aside a full day to go to the Silk Market.  

Of course there were other things that I'll remember from that trip, like eating some really good Mexican food and drinking beer while playing cards back at Yvette's...all in all, it was a great trip and very cool to have had the opportunity.

See ya China!

Thailand (June 25-29)

(click on this link to see all my Thailand pics)

It had been just over a year since I was last in Thailand, but I liked Bangkok so much the first time I said "what the hell!".  Plus this trip was with some friends from Hyderabad (below pic L to R - Joe, Roy, me, Dave), so I knew it was going to be a good time.

Unfortunately I was still recovering from an upper respiratory track infection at the start of our Thailand trip, so I was 100%, but even if I were, I'm not sure I would've been up to keep up with these guys.  YES, you all heard it directly from the horses mouth...my days of case races and beer bonging may be a thing of the past.  Instead, chilling by the pool drinking a beer and reading Game of Thrones on my Kindle was more my scene...as boring as it may sound. But I think that's what I needed to kick the cold I had and get me back into the game ;-). 

By far the best part of our trip was going to Phuket, especially Phi Phi Islands, which is where "The Beach" with Leonard DiCaprio was filmed.  Below are some pics from a day trip we took to the Phi Phi Islands...and if you're curious about all the different islands that make up the Phi Phi Islands (pronounced Pee Pee by the locals), just check out this super detailed map...I don't think it's drawn to scale though, ha, ha. 

Roy was hurting a bit from the night before--I think he'll think twice about drinking the night before a day trip on a boat...in choppy waters!

This is actually "The Beach" (above) and us making a stop and exploring it (below)--we also made a new friend who was on the same tour as us, Chelsea.

I actually contemplated quitting my job and applying for a job at the 'Snack Bar' on this island...I may not become a millionaire doing this, but I would have a damn nice view every day from my "office".

I think this is my ALL-TIME FAVORITE photo from ALL the pictures I've ever taken...definitely my favorite from this trip (which is why it gets blown up to max size)!  There are so many great things about this photo:

• You have this group of Asian women posing as if they're super models on the beach
• And if that's not amusing enough (I mean look at them), they're all wearing the same pink hat...actually I kind of liked that idea and implemented something similar that night when a few of us went out to the bars (you'll see in a later pic) 
• If you look at the other people in the photo, you would think that this was an 'Asian Only' beach, BUT...
• ...you may also notice that a Latino "photo bombed" this picture.  Yes, my friend Dave really wanted to be a part of that group, so I suggested that he go join them for the picture...and yeah, he kinda did. That was also the first time I ever heard the term "photo bomb" before, which basically means an uninvited/unwanted individual 'blows up' a picture by jumping in it.  Again, you'll see a couple other examples from my Thailand picture album on Facebook.

You've all heard the saying that "photos don't do it justice", well the pictures I took of our Phi Phi Islands tour are a perfect example of this phrase.  Not only were the beaches and islands amazing, but the water was so clean and clear that you could see all the fish--all the way to the bottom.

And I even think I finally found someplace that my nephew Dane would feel right at home -- it's called 'Monkey Beach', and there were monkeys everywhere.  Nat, let me know if you want more information--it could actually work out great--Dane can go live on Monkey Beach and I'll be just a quick boat jump away, working at the 'Snack Bar'.

 

That night, after our boat trip to the islands, Dave and I met up with Chelsea and Angie, who we had met on the tour that day, to check out the night life in Phuket...and it is a pretty happening place I must say!

After polishing off a couple drinks, like the one in this pic...

I thought it was a good idea to buy all of us 'light up bows' to wear on our heads.  I have to admit that I stole this idea from the group of Asian women wearing the pink hats on Phi Phi Beach. Ironically enough, the first picture we have taken of the 4 of us wearing them, we got photo bombed by some random lady! Karma's a bitch...and so was that lady for photo bombing our picture (not really--it actually makes me laugh every time I look at at pic).

And it wouldn't be a trip to Thailand if someone didn't leave with tattoo!  I did have to reassure my mom that it wasn't real, which I thought was pretty funny. 

After Phuket, we went to Bangkok for a couple days and stayed stayed in a hotel that smelled dead people. Seriously, I think I saw blood stains on the carpet in the hallway outside our room--nice pic Roy!  But for those of you who've been following my blog, you'll know that I've stayed in worse places...and just in case you haven't read by past posts, or have forgotten, here are a couple pics to ring a bell--

The guest house that I originally stayed when I first moved to Hyderabad--the guest house wasn't that bad, but the pic is just outside the guest house, where I think they held dog fights every night @ 3a.m.

And who can forget the room I stayed in at one of the campuses I visited here in India...I will never forget it! This is a pic of the mattress and pillow--just to give you some indication of the room.

So really, in comparison, the hotel we stayed at in Bangkok was like a 5 Star!  So the four of us roughed it for a couple days and had a good time.

For some reason I only have a couple pictures from Bangkok...not sure why, but it is what is, so with that I'm going sign off.  I'm not going to make any promises about posting more regularly, because I'd most likely be starting the next post with something like "I know I promised to post more regularly, BUT...".  I will promise you that I'll post at least 2 more entries before I most likely put this blog to a close.  Since I only have another 3 or so months left in my assignment, I figure I'll get another one out while I'm here and then what I'm hoping will be the CREME DELA CREME of my blog posts--my last blog entry, which I do promise you will be worth reading ;-).

Deep-ak Thoughts By Keith

• The saying "Time flies"...not sure who came up with it, but really the only time I seem to use it is on Sunday's when I'm thinking about the weekends* AND when I'm posting for this blog.
• If you're ever walking by someone who's about to take a picture, if at all possible, photo bomb it!! Trust me, it will not only make you feel good, but it will most likely give that person a good laugh...they'll either laugh when they're looking at their pics OR they'll kick your ass for ruining their picture--either way, GOOD TIMES!!

*This is just side note/tangent that I thought of when I wrote about how the weekends seem to fly by...anyone who reads this post, and finds themselves bored one day, I've got a mission for you.  Your mission, if you chose to accept it, is to research the history of how our week structure came about--I'm curious to know who decided that it makes sense to work 5 days (work week) and only have 2 days off (weekend).  You would even earn bonus points if you can pinpoint as you're researching this topic, who the jackass is that actually put forth this recommendation...because the idea of working 5 days and only having 2 days off in 'standard week' had to start with someone!  I'd love to hear what you find out.

Peace, out!
Keith