Aspiring

I've been fooling around with my new scanner and photo editing program. I'm having fun. It really makes me wish I took more photos than I did.

Anyway, I promise to write my final travel blog soon! Promise.

PS - Can you believe that I was supposed to be in Indonesia right now? Scary shit. Those poor, poor souls down there. Can't they get a break?

Channels 2 & 7 (Calgary, Canada)

When I was a child, there used to be this little jingle that was sung all the time on television about Calgary. Whenever I travel away from Calgary and come back home I sing it, its a perfect fit...

Makes no difference where I go,
you're the best hometown I know.
HELLO CALGARY! HELLO CALGARY!
Channels 2 & 7 (and Dean Estrella) love you.


Ahhhh.... I made it! I'm home!

Countdown (Bangkok, Thailand)

8 hours and 36 minutes until I leave Bangkok. Wow, I've got mixed feelings about all this. Definitley excited to go home and I'm definitley sad to leave Asia. I can't believe its almost over. Its been good.

I spent my last day here in Bangkok, my 7th and final time here, shopping at this insane weekend market. Couldn't wrap my head around that place, found lots of cheap things though!! Tonight I tried to do some last minute things, but I ended up hanging out with a couple Canadians, I guess they're a good warm up for what's coming. Well, gotta pack, busy, busy, busy.

Stay tuned for my next blog. Its gonna be written from my homeland... O' Canada!

The Morning After (Koh Samui, Thailand)

Ever been really hungover after not having much sleep? And you have to check out of your bungalow at 10 o'clock in the morning so you can't sleep in? And the reason why you're checking out is because you have to take a short bus ride, then a 2 hour ferry ride, and then a 12 hour bus ride to get to Bangkok? And all you wanna do is get some rest, but the only place to do that is on the beach where the burning sun is beating down on your body? And its so hot that it almost makes you wanna hurl?

Watch and Wonder (Koh Samui, Thailand)

Eye spy with my little eye:

A couple both wearing pink long sleeved shirts.
-Did they plan that?

Two guys wearing fancy dress shirts, strolling the bar scene.
-Trying a little too hard aren't we guys, everyone else is wearing t-shirts and shorts!

A thai lady with a light skinned child.
-Is that child a half breed? Where's the father, does he know that he has a child in Thailand. Is this lady a prostitute?

An elderly man walking hand in hand with a young thai girl.
-I hope that man doesn't have a wife somewhere! Poor girl, I hope that man's hands aren't clammy.

That guy from my guesthouse is flirting with that girl who hasn't spoken to anyone since I arrived.
-I betcha they hook up! (Morning after...) Yep, I was right.

A bright red faced man laying in the sun.
-That's so gonna hurt buddy, what are you thinking?

A Thai person with low rise jeans and their crack showing.
-What's new?

An Israeli girl asking the McDonald's manager to turn down the air-conditioning.
-No comment. Lower my head and shake.

A elderly caucasion women strolling the beach topless.
-What was she like when she was younger, maybe an activist or something? You go lady! Ooops, stop staring Dean!

A Thai... uh... a Thai... person.
-Is that a boy or a girl?

A ladyboy with too much make-up.
-Ouch, you need to hide your adam's apple or something.

A ladyboy riding on the back of that guy's motorbike.
-Does he know she's a he?

An elderly couple, walking hand in hand on the beach.
-Now that's sweet, I hope they're enjoying their vacation.

A young girl collecting the flowers from the Budhha shrine and returning them to her Mother who originally sold them in the first place.
-Hey!

Someone staring at me.
-I wonder what they're thinking?

Feet problems (Koh Samui, Thailand)

Painful Pedicure

So I got the pedicure I had intended on the other day. It was my first ever professional pedicure, other than the one that Jenny gave me a long time ago (which could be considered prof, but doesn't count cause it was free and from a friend). I thought I'd get one because many people do it in the Philippines on a regular basis and seem to enjoy it.

I should learn a lesson from it though. The esthetician at first asked for 150 Thai Baht for her services (this is before the actual pedicure) and I bargained her down to only 100 Baht. I sat down and put on my earphones thinking that I was going to being enjoying a nice pedicure with a long soak in hot water and a foot scrub to follow (the way Jenny did her's). No, I was wrong. After about 10 minutes, 2 tracks later and harsh jabbing and cutting away at my toes the lady was 'finish'.

Now, 2 days later my big toes still hurts. Every now and then I can see some blood peeping out of the cut that she 'accidently' made! I've put antiseptic on it a couple of times because I'm scared it might get frickin' infected!

Next time I won't bargain. Maybe there just won't be a next time.


Stained

And now, only an hour ago I was walking along the beach, a nice stroll as I listened to my discman and the waves crash to my left. Since I didn't recieve a foot scrub by that damn lady, I walked barefoot, hoping the coarse sand may do me some good. Anyway, after I had put my white flip-flops back on and started to walk around the town, do a bit of browsing. This one shop requires you to remove your footwear before entering, as with a lot of buddhist places, so I take my slippers off and see that my sandals are stained black in a few different spots. I look at my feet and I see this yucky gunk all over them! It has the consistency of gum or oil or something. I think that I may have stepped in squid ink or something. I snuck into a washroom and tried to rinse it off, I even used soap and my fingernails to try and remove it. No luck. Damn it, I was actually going to go for a foot massage, but now I'm too embarassed to walk in with black stained feet.


Azan from Oman

I've met many interesting people throughout my travels. Just thought I'd tell you about Azan. He's now the second person I've met from Oman, a wealthy country in the Middle East with a population of only 3 million. Both of them are quite interesting.

Anyway, Azan has been travelling for the last 2 years mostly through the Middle East taking proffestional photographs. There's a popular author that wrote 22 novels a long time ago and most of them are about his travels through different countries. So Azan has been approached by a magazine company to go and re-trace the steps of the author and take photos of his writings for one particular novel.

He's now completed it and is just on a month holiday in Thailand, without his camera. Well actually his 3 cameras, 2 tripods, 6 different lenses and countless rolls of film. He enjoyed the journey that he was sent on, however he said that patience was strongly needed. To try and find certain people, to sit their and wait for them to do the exact pose that's described in the book, to find certain places and objects, its really quite unimaginable.

Fully Booked (Koh Samui, Thailand)

Homesick

Maybe a week or so ago, while walking through yet another shopping mall in Manila, I bumped into a gorgeous book store. Staight away I sensed a certain ambience, and as I walked in I could smell that fresh aroma of brewed coffee, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and thought... 'Chapters'. I walked around the store and saw the different displays of new releases, bestsellers, Harry Potter, up and coming authors, etc, I couldn't help but think of my own days working at a book store. As I kept going through the different sections, fiction, music, photography, travel, etc, I realized that I really, really miss home. Its not necessarily the fact that I miss Chapters, because I don't think that I'd ever want to work there again, but it was just the comfort of being somewhere that felt like home to me.

Leaving Home

My last couple of weeks in the Philippines was spent with my relatives. The days were filled with activities such as playing the ever so addicting Mah Jong, singing with my cousins while RJ played his guitar, one huge 90th birthday bash for my only living Grandmother, one celebration of my grandma's 1 year death anniversary, watching films, playing with my young niece and nephew, sleeping, eating, shopping, etc. In short, I just relaxed.

After resisting many invitations to stay longer, mainly to see my one cousin get married in April and my other cousin to have a baby at the end of March, we sadly left. Yes, it was another sad goodbye to relatives that I got quite close to. It was as if I was leaving home all over again, taking off for another long journey and not knowing my return date. I actually had that feeling of butterflies in my stomach hours before our flight, that sense of insecurity inside. I can promise this; this is not a goodbye forever, I will come back to the Philippines.

My aunt texted me the day after we left and told me that Andre, the 2 year old boy, was knocking on mine and Jeremy's bedroom door in the morning and calling our names. Oh I can just hear his voice in my head... "Deannie, Deannie... Jemy, Jemy!". Lord, I hope that he remembers us.


Plans Always Change

And so here I am. In Thailand. Well, its not really home now is it? Jeremy has left me and reluctantly gone back to Calgary. His flight was 3 nights ago and arrived home yesterday morning. I've gotten word from him that all is well and that home is... home.

I myself am actually supposed to be in Indonesia right now. I had a flight leaving from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday morning to Medan, Indonesia. While in the Philippines I had gotten in contact with an NGO that is doing tsunami relief work in Sumatra, Indonesia. They welcomed me to join them and there lifestyle for 2 months, in a house where they practise yoga in the mornings, sleep on the floor, eat only vegetarian food and do various volunteer work from 10am - 6pm each day. As I've said before, I would love to do some volunteer work, I feel that I need to give back to someone, something, for blessing me with this great life that I lead.

The day before my flight I emailed them and said that I'm too homesick and I am regretfully not coming. The thought of me having to get settled in, make friends, deal with refugees who've lost their homes and families, and then, have to say goodbye. I wouldn't be able to go through the heartache once more. Even as I write this, I think of all of the horrors that these people have gone through and my heart cries for them. I don't know if I'd be able to witness it first hand. I sound really selfish for all saying this, I know. But perhaps I can help out in another form, donate more money or do some other form of volunteer work in Calgary.

Ah yes, Calgary... where does that leave me? Well right now I'm on a island in Thailand and its absolutley pouring rain here! I woke this morning frightened because the storming rain may bring my small hut crashing to the ground. I am enjoying myself though and I'll enjoy every day until I go home. Its actually nice to be on my own again, meet some other backpackers and just chill. (No offense to Jeremy). After I write this blog I'll hide away in a spa and get a nice long Thai massage and pamper myself with a pedicure or something.

So anyway, I've got 8 days. That's right, 8 days left on my trip that started in October, 2003. While in Bangkok, I booked my flight home. I'M GOING HOME!!!!

Only 2 people in Calgary know that I'm going home. I'm banking on the fact that no one will read this before I get there so I can do a bit of surprising. So don't tell anyone!