We're planning a trip to Thailand/Laos. Have you ever been?

If so: where/when did you go, what did you do, what was good/bad about it?

Help us plan this trip!

Thanks.
Kevin

Know what I hate? I hate the person who says "that's not funny" or does that fake "ha ha" laugh that implies the same thing. Humour is subjective, and if you don't think a joke's funny, just deal with it and shut your trap so the rest of the people can enjoy it. Because once someone says "that's not funny", it ruins the mood. At that point, I'm not sure who looks worse: the joke teller or the person who just killed the mood.

[I didn't recently have this done to me, but I have in the past. Just thinking back.

I found Nemo. And Marlin. And Nemo's adopted sibling.

An adult and two baby clownfish swimming around through anemone was part of the find on my first scuba experience.

After two days spent in a scuba pool learning the basics of snorkeling and scubaing, we went out into the waters of Kenting for some in-ocean practice and observation. We did about 3 tanks of air (roughly 2 hours in total) before packing it up and calling it a long weekend.

The more I thought about it, the more I was pleased with my accomplishment. There aren't many people in Canada who can say they've scuba'ed before - the chilly waters don't make it easy. While we can afford to do wetsuits in Taiwan, Canadian waters require drysuits and a whole other set of training. Anyway, Kenting doesn't have the best in underwater exploration, but even with its limited offering, there was plenty to see for a first timer and at 12 meters' depth. What might bore me in aquariums facinated me as a scuba diver. It's like the difference between watching Riverdance on video or in person... although some would argue it's just as boring either way. Being able to get upclose and personal with the living creatures under the sea was something else.

Needless to say, I'm really excited about getting my Open Water scuba license. I wish I had done it sooner. These are skills I can take with me when I travel in Southeast Asia - and now I can keep a list of "where I've scuba'ed" locations. Yay for me!

[I didn't take the clownfish photo.]

Our trip to 墾丁 (Kenting, Southern Taiwan) started today... or so we thought.

Benjamin (my coworker) had been the correspondent setting up the trip details on our end. But she (yes, she) fell sick over the fews days and had to opt out. Fred and I left the office promptly at 4pm, taking two hours off work, to start our scuba vacation a little early and head out on a 7-hour drive that would get us to the Southern tip of Taiwan.

As we arrived in 台中 (Taichung) at 5:30pm to pick up Fred's wife, we called the scuba instructor to inform him that we were already on our way.

He asked "Oh, you guys are heading down tonight?"
To which I replied "Yes, when are you going down?"
He says "tomorrow".
"Aren't we having our lesson tomorrow (Friday) morning?"
"I thought it was Saturday, Sunday, Monday."
"No, planned it for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday."
"Oh, okay. We can go tonight then."

Ok, back on track. We pick up Fred's wife, switch cars, and head back on the highway. About 30 mins later, we get a call from another guy (another scuba teacher coming to teach on the trip) and he said that he can't change his schedule and to see whether we can switch to Saturday - Monday. Fortunately, it's do-able for us.

We drive back to Fred's wife's parents' place, have dinner there, and back to Hsinchu thereafter. So basically, we left the office at 4pm to drive a total of 4 hours and have dinner in 台中. Silly.

Basically, they screwed up. The email correspondence clearly said Friday (20th) - Sunday (22nd). Ahh well, we'll be leaving work tomorrow at 2pm - 3pm to do it all over again.

A few notes from the Canucks vs. Oiler online audio broadcast:

1) For years now, I've been hearing this nasal-voiced Wireless Wave spokesperson, and I must say, he is one annoying character. Which marketing executive approved the use of this character? It's not even just his voice that gets to me, it's his attitude. Anyway, he deserves a punch in the face.

2) During the intermissions, the Canucks commentators usually have a special guest who's interviewed. At the end of the interview, Larcheid and Shorthouse present the guest with a Mont Blanc wallet courtesy of Charelle's (speling?)... and from what I heard on this broadcast, there's a $50 bill in the wallet too! How thoughtful.

Shortly after a post about not willing to buy tight swimwear, I did. I am the proud owner of a new pair of Dabana swim trunks. Yes, they are tight. But they're long, and almost down to the knees. So, really, they look a lot like biking shorts. Black with some grey parts along the sides, that ride up into grey curve over the butt. Although, right after I bought them, I kind of regretted not buying the other black pair I tried on that had a red and white stripe that went up the leg and over the butt (similar pattern... but sexier!) which had Lycra. But the difference in price was about $250nt vs. $700nt. Anyway, I picked up a pair of swimming trunks like these because after swimming a few times, I decided I might want to do it a little more. That and I was told by another lifeguard that I couldn't swim with my regular beach trunks. Also, I figured that I'd need this type of swimwear for my scuba diving lesson trip at the South of Taiwan next weekend.

This kind of swimming trunk definitely feel different. Firstly, after putting them on, I felt like a swimwear model. The way these shorts hug the quads really does feel appealing. They don't look nearly as nerdy as many of the other ones I've seen. Secondly, because the material allows water to pass through the fiber easily, with each stride (when doing the breast stroke) a gush of water passes through the shorts cooling everything that they cover. Kind of refreshing... yet distracting at the same time.

So, contrary to what I had thought, I do enjoy my new trunks.

Yesterday was Taiwan's National Day - similar to the Canadian Canada Day. A and I had plans of going to the annual parade and presidential (and other) speech, but decided that this wasn't the year to do it. This year's event was unlike any other year, and prior to this day, apparently the President, Chen Shui-Bian himself was asking the legistative assembly whether he may be excused from the event.

For those keeping up with Taiwanese current events, in recent months, the First Family has been under some scrunity of illegal behaviour (wife and son-in-law in particular). Naturally, these allegations (actually, I think the son-in-law was already found guilty) have placed the President under certain scruple, with many questioning his ethics. Consequently, an up-rising has formed, spearheaded by formerly strong supporters of the presidential party, to depose Chen of his position of power. So to add to the pan-blue (People's First Party) / pan-green (Democratic Progressive Party) political disputes that have been on-going over the past decade, now we have red (Anti-Chen) versus green (Pro-Chen). The last couple of months have seen thousands upon thousands (if not millions) of protestors rallying against the President, telling him to step down.

Back to Taiwan's National Day. With all the protests, this year's celebration would be a messy one. And it was. Massive swarms of people wearing red came to show their disappreciation of Chen. There were some little scrums and shouting, but I don't think anything got too far out of control.

Chen Shui-Bian also proposed yesterday of cancelling all future National Day celebrations due to the protests.

"Because this kind of national day celebration raises so much conflict, and so many people attend the event not to celebrate but to pursue their political agenda, A-bian [Chen's nickname] suggests that the necessity of the event be reviewed, with the possibility of canceling it in future," Chen said in his national day address to the crowd, which included foreign dignitaries and overseas Taiwanese.

Well, I'm glad I didn't attend the "celebrations", and instead spent a couple hours in the afternoon playing foosball. :)

The depicted photo shows "an anti-Chen protester dressed as the character 'V' from the film 'V for Vendetta' carries posters yesterday comparing Chen and Chinese President Hu Jintao to Adolf Hitler."

Related articles:
Protests, violence mar national day
Chen defiant as lawmaker foes protest

There's a sound that's as unmistakable to humans in the civilized world as can openers are to cats. Yup, that's the one: the sound of someone clipping their nails.

I'm not sure why some people think clipping one's nails is a gross. "Ew, you're clipping your nails?" What's wrong with clipping nails? It's not gross - but it's odd to be done in public.

I was scootering to work one sunny morning when I came to a stop at a red light. Then I started hear that distinguishable clicking sound, and noticed that the girl on the scooter next to me was clipping her fingernails. See? That's an odd time to do it - however efficient as it may be.

But make sure those clipped nails are disposed of properly!

I have an friend who reads this blog (to whom I suggest keep quiet of his/her identity) whose mom had a little pencil case of clipped nails. I accidentally stumbled upon this grisley discovery when I was over at his/her house and thought "OOooOooO... what's in this little box of treasures?" LITTLE BOX OF TREASURES IT WAS NOT!! Might as well collect dandruff in a jar.

It's strange that the Taiwanese are health-conscious without actually taking care of their health. Here, it is important to eat vegetables and fruits, because these are so obviously good for your health (and will give you clear, fair skin). A balanced diet is, as in North America, encouraged. And yet, why are so many people in bad health? The answer seems pretty straight-forward: it's not what they don't eat, it's what they do.

Taiwanese people love stacks. When visiting Taiwan, you must try the snacks. Health and taste are of the utmost importance, and yet they seem to clash violently. When something is identified as healthy, people flock to eat it. But when something is identified as tasty, they eat that too, without regard to how it's made. In the nightmarket, deep fried foods are everywhere. Sweet foods are everywhere. Fatty foods are everywhere. People say "You have to eat the pork leg with fat and skin. It tastes better."

MSG. Why can't people realize that MSG is bad for them? The more I pay attention to it, the more I see MSG in everything I eat. I wrote an email to our receptionist (who orders lunchboxes for us at work) a while ago asking her to ask the lunchbox vendors to not put MSG in our lunchboxes, stating the various illnesses associated with MSG - I cited my resources. I don't think they bother.

But it appears I'm naive in my way of thinking, since it can't be avoided. MSG is a taste enhancement that makes food taste and look better. I'm starting to see this as a flavour on its own. "Hmm... should I have the MSG pork or the MSG chicken? Maybe I'll just go with MSG noodle soup." It sickens me, but the cost of good health is a pricy one - and to avoid this cystal spice means going through a lot of hassle, and paying for meals.

I consider myself a tough guy. I'm not big, but for my size, I'm pretty strong. I have a high tolerance of pain too. So much so that I injured my elbow once in university because I wouldn't tap out in a Hapkido class.

So why can't I take massages like a man? I'm the wimpiest massagee!! Look, I like the concept of a massage - I like giving them, and I think I like receiving them. But as soon as I'm lying on my front and someone is trying to make me relax with their magic hands in my back, I can't lie still.

There are two ways I find discomfort in massages:
1. The pain of the pointed rub: this being when the masseuse is trying to work out the knots in my back muscles with their thumbs or elbows. I feel like they're working their fingers between joints and muscles, and it frickin' HURTS.
2. The tickles: when I'm being massaged just next to my spine, I squirm like an eel and my legs kind of stiffen in some kind of a defensive move. And it's hard to let the body relax under those circumstances.

Because of these two discomforts, in all the massages I've ever had, I've only fallen asleep during one. It was in Cambodia in the dirtiest massage parlor while getting a $4.50 US/hr massage from a blind man. And that was the best massage ever.

Appended:
I guess I kind of figured it out. I don't like massages so much as getting a relaxing rubbed. But the masseuses that come to our company every Wednesday make a point of pushing their thumbs and knuckles into the nerves. Ouch.