Ken Curtis' blog Travel «

Fri 19/12/08 07:38

I think I’ll let you know tomorrow…

So I got to my hotel at about 4 this afternoon after some serious gridlocked traffic. It was great though driving through the city at about 5 mph. Going at that speed you really get to see a lot of different things well that you wouldn’t normally get to see.

I guess I should fill people in on my trip to get to bangkok though before I go into this place. The flights were as usual, some minor annoyances like people coughing constantly. I know that doesn’t sound that bad, but this guy was sitting behind me and coughing so hard that he was blowing my hair forward. :) Other than the usual things the trip was okay. I didn’t get to get off the plane in Karachi, and I didn’t get to leave the airport in Kuala Lumpur so those two things were kind of a disappointment, but hey, I’m in Bangkok.

The only thing I can say about Bangkok is “wow!” The city is huge, and it’s packed with people. People everywhere you go they’re on foot, driving tut-tuts, motor cycles and cars. I’ve never been anywhere with so many people. Beijing doesn’t even compare to this place in shear density of humans. The city is huge and makes Dubai look like a small town in the amount of buildings, though I assume that will most likely change after a few more years.

I’ve been walking around a little today, but I’ve been so afraid that I’d get lost that I’ve been staying around the hotel. It’s not bad, the major tourist things are here so I’ve seen quite a bit in the short time that I’ve been around.

There is a Christmas music festival going on right now in the main shopping area. About 5 stages are set up all with different bands and entertainers. People were lined up to get in all of them so I stayed out on the outside and watched from a distance. I took a video of one drum band and I’ll upload the video when I get a chance.

Thu 18/12/08 07:55

It’s starting….

I’m sitting in the Dubai airport right now, eating a DQ Blizzard and watching planes taxi by as I wait for my gate to open up. It’s so strange, I raced around today trying to make sure that I got everything ready to leave, and guess what? I actually did it. It went so smooth that I keep feeling that I’ve forgotten something. It’s been nagging at me for a couple of hours now, but for the life of me, I don’t have a clue what I could have forgotten. It started about an hour before I left the apartment, and I’ve done every checklist in my head that I can think of. I guess I’ll figure it out eventually.

The plane takes off in about an hour an a half for Karachi and then heads to Kuala Lumpur. I’m kind of looking forward to the stops since it will be the first time I’ve been in either of those countries. So far I’m kind of watching myself “third-person” if you know what I mean. It’s almost like I’m not really leaving… or maybe it’s just that it hasn’t sunk in yet that I am leaving. Whatever the case, it seems somewhat surreal.

So the writing isn’t flowing right now… just in case you didn’t realize it. :) It’s going to take me some time to wind down after running all over the place today. Once I do, I’m sure that my writing will make more sense.

Sun 14/12/08 22:43

So much to do to get ready

With only three days to go before I leave for Thailand, it’s starting to seem like I’ll never be ready. That’s not exactly true, I’ve been ready to go, except for packing and cleaning the house before I leave for some time, it’s just the excitement of leaving that’s starting to make me nervous. Do I have everything ready to go? Am I forgetting anything? Those are the questions that are in the back of my mind that keeps me on edge.

My biggest priority right now is getting my grades completed and turned in to the registrar. Unfortunately though, that’s something that has to wait until the finals of each class are completed, and of my finals I still have two today, and one tomorrow.

My guess is that by the end of the day on Tuesday I’ll be ready to turn in my grades and start on preparing for my vacation. That will leave me two days to get packed and ready….

Wed 10/12/08 01:52

After all sorts of delays… finally have it.

Something that should have taken about 1 hour to do, has finally been completed after about 2 weeks. I don’t know why it became such an ordeal to get the visa, but at least it’s over.

Back in September when I first decided to go to Vietnam, I knew that I was going to have to get a visa, but I thought that I’d have time, so I ended up procrastinating until about 3 weeks ago. I headed to the consulate here in Dubai only to find out that it had been closed and the only Vietnamese consulate in the UAE was in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is about 100 miles away, and it costs 500Dhs to hire a taxi for a round trip. That seemed high to me so I decided that I would rent a car instead, but I had to get my UAE drivers license first. So I did that, and then tried to find a car rental place that wasn’t too expensive, found one. So I called them up and they told me that I needed to come in to fill out the paperwork. They told me that they’d send me a map via email. I waited a couple of hours, no map, so I called them again and they said that they’d get one to me asap. No map arrived, the next day still no map, then I called them again, and gave them a hard time about it. So they sent me a map again… this time it was corrupted, so I called them again and they sent a new one… this one was corrupted as well. Then during December there are holiday’s, there was one last Tuesday, and then on from Sunday to Wednesday… Anyway, during the holiday I decided that I would just pay for the taxi and go to Abu Dhabi this morning.

The whole process of obtaining the actual visa took 15 minutes. No lie… 15 minutes. I’m just glad that I have it and as far as I can tell I’m good to go for my vacation in 8 days.

Tue 02/12/08 10:44

Will I be able to go on vacation?
The last few weeks I’ve been watching the news about the protesting going on in Thailand, especially that protesters have taken over the airports in Bangkok. With only about 2 weeks before I leave I was worried that I be able to make my flight as booked or I was going to have to find a different way into Thailand. Well as of tonight it appears that things will go smoothly. I just heard that the government has been dissolved, and the protesters have agreed to vacate the airports. So, I’m still a little worried, but at least I’m not planning on making alternate plans. That’s a good thing.

I still have to get my visa for vietnam though. There isn’t an embassy or consulate here in dubai, so I have to go to Abu Dhabi to get it. It’s only about 120 km, but without a car I have two choices, I can rent a car, or take a taxi. I decided to rent, but I had to get my license first… that I did last week. So hopefully I’ll be able to get the visa next week. I know, I’m rambling…

Wed 03/09/08 22:31

Nearing a Month Since I’ve Been Back

Well, I got off the plane in Dubai on the 17th, and it’s getting close to one month since I’ve been back. Long enough that I look back on the vacation as a memory, and not like I was still living it. I’m back teaching, my life has gotten back to normal, and things seem to be no different from when I left for Beijing more than two months ago.
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My name is Ken

Category Archives: Travel

Okay, so am I really here?

In the Dubai Airport

Three Days to Go

Finally got my Vietnam Visa

Unrest in Thailand

Final Entry