Gone Astray: Russell Johnson » Thailand http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress News, opinion, podcasts and video on travel, world culture, media, science and technology. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:45:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 2006-2009 rjohnson@connectedtraveler.com (Russell Johnson) rjohnson@connectedtraveler.com (Russell Johnson) travel 1440 http://connectedtraveler.com/images/RJHSBlog.jpg Gone Astray: Russell Johnson http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress 144 144 A fresh quirky take on people and places around the world, travel, culture, humor, music Russell Johnson Russell Johnson rjohnson@connectedtraveler.com no no Tales from the Waiting Room: San Francisco and Bangkok http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2008/08/15/tales-from-the-waiting-room-san-francisco-and-bangkok/ http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2008/08/15/tales-from-the-waiting-room-san-francisco-and-bangkok/#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:23:50 +0000 Russell Johnson http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2008/08/15/tales-from-the-waiting-room-san-francisco-and-bangkok/ Tales from the Waiting Room: Bangkok

Last month I visited doctors twice: in San Francisco to have a spot of sun damage checked, and in Bangkok for a physical. As Mrs. Kuchenbecker, my sixth grade teacher said, “Let us compare und contrast.”

SAN FRANCISCO
I make an appointment, the doctor will see me in about a month. I show up on time, fill out forms and, clutching my Ganesha (the Hindu elephant god associated with overcoming obstacles), am waterboarded by a nurse-enforcer who finally establishes my financial worthiness. I sit down. Another patient in the waiting room stands up, exclaims, “I don’t have time for this,” and leaves.

MORE ON CONNECTEDTRAVELER.COM

]]> http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2008/08/15/tales-from-the-waiting-room-san-francisco-and-bangkok/feed/ 0 0:03:53 Last month I visited doctors twice: in San Francisco to have a spot of sun damage checked, and in Bangkok for a physical. As Mrs. Kuchenbecker, my sixth grade teacher said, “Let us compare und contrast.” SAN FRANCISCO I make an appoint[...] Last month I visited doctors twice: in San Francisco to have a spot of sun damage checked, and in Bangkok for a physical. As Mrs. Kuchenbecker, my sixth grade teacher said, “Let us compare und contrast.” SAN FRANCISCO I make an appointment, the doctor will see me in about a month. I show up on time, fill out forms and, clutching my Ganesha (the Hindu elephant god associated with overcoming obstacles), am waterboarded by a nurse-enforcer who finally establishes my financial worthiness. I sit down. Another patient in the waiting room stands up, exclaims, “I don’t have time for this,” and leaves. MORE ON CONNECTEDTRAVELER.COM Audio, Thailand Russell Johnson no no The Meaning of TIT: What Would Jitplecheep Do? http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2006/09/27/the-meaning-of-tit-what-would-jitplecheep-do/ http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2006/09/27/the-meaning-of-tit-what-would-jitplecheep-do/#comments Wed, 27 Sep 2006 23:10:17 +0000 Russell Johnson http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/?p=126 TIT: This is ThailandTIT, she said about the military coup in Thailand in an email from Bangkok. TIT to farangs means “This is Thailand.” That is not the title of a bad travelogue but the notion that “hey, stuff happens here we may not understand but mai pen rai, no big deal.“ Another friend emailed me his fear that his neighborhood Starbucks might be closed (javas-interruptus). It wasn’t.

Sonchai Jitplecheep, the protagonist in John Burdett’s novels “Bangkok 8″ and “Bangkok Tattoo,” is an honest cop in a place where being on the take is a form of art. Sonchai lives in a tub of moral and ethical Jello, awkward for westerners until they become comfortable with shrugging their shoulders, admitting they don’t understand and uttering TIT, mai pen rai. From The Connected Traveler

]]> http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2006/09/27/the-meaning-of-tit-what-would-jitplecheep-do/feed/ 0 0:02:47 TIT, she said about the military coup in Thailand in an email from Bangkok. TIT to farangs means “This is Thailand.” That is not the title of a bad travelogue but the notion that “hey, stuff happens here we may not understand but mai pen rai,[...] TIT, she said about the military coup in Thailand in an email from Bangkok. TIT to farangs means “This is Thailand.” That is not the title of a bad travelogue but the notion that “hey, stuff happens here we may not understand but mai pen rai, no big deal.“ Another friend emailed me his fear that his neighborhood Starbucks might be closed (javas-interruptus). It wasn’t. Sonchai Jitplecheep, the protagonist in John Burdett’s novels “Bangkok 8″ and “Bangkok Tattoo,” is an honest cop in a place where being on the take is a form of art. Sonchai lives in a tub of moral and ethical Jello, awkward for westerners until they become comfortable with shrugging their shoulders, admitting they don’t understand and uttering TIT, mai pen rai. From The Connected Traveler travel, culture, humor, music Russell Johnson no no Nirvana Tonic – A Cruise on the River Kwai (with podcast) http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2005/09/22/nirvana-tonic-a-cruise-on-the-river-kwai-with-podcast/ http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2005/09/22/nirvana-tonic-a-cruise-on-the-river-kwai-with-podcast/#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2005 21:56:15 +0000 Russell Johnson http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/?p=60
Nirvana Tonic
A Cruise on the River Kwai
Story, photos, audio and video ©2005 Russell Johnson
Audio MP3 5:09
Video: Windows Media
Video: Windows Media HDTV (130MB)
(Do not attempt to download this unless you have a very fast DSL or Cable connection and a very fast computer with a 1280 x 720 or better monitor)

I am a river rat. Not a rafter, but a lollygaging Huck Finn kinda swamp rodent who likes to flow with the current and poke around the slough. Lord Buddha describes The Dharma as a raft that floats one to Nirvana. A few days on a river and I find myself paddling pretty close to a perfect state of bliss.

I love jungle rivers, draped with serpentine vines (not to mention envined serpents) where steam rises in the morning, macaques squawk and shake their hairy little fists, insects whine like powertools and plumy birds, aloft and aloof, snub me as a lower form of life while I stare at them in admiration.

Thailand’s Kwae Noi, better known as the River Kwai, is such a river…MORE

]]> http://connectedtraveler.com/wordpress/2005/09/22/nirvana-tonic-a-cruise-on-the-river-kwai-with-podcast/feed/ 0 0:05:10 Nirvana Tonic A Cruise on the River Kwai Story, photos, audio and video ©2005 Russell Johnson Audio MP3 5:09 Video: Windows Media Video: Windows Media HDTV (130MB) (Do not attempt to download this unless you have a very fast DSL or Cable connectio[...] Nirvana Tonic A Cruise on the River Kwai Story, photos, audio and video ©2005 Russell Johnson Audio MP3 5:09 Video: Windows Media Video: Windows Media HDTV (130MB) (Do not attempt to download this unless you have a very fast DSL or Cable connection and a very fast computer with a 1280 x 720 or better monitor) I am a river rat. Not a rafter, but a lollygaging Huck Finn kinda swamp rodent who likes to flow with the current and poke around the slough. Lord Buddha describes The Dharma as a raft that floats one to Nirvana. A few days on a river and I find myself paddling pretty close to a perfect state of bliss. I love jungle rivers, draped with serpentine vines (not to mention envined serpents) where steam rises in the morning, macaques squawk and shake their hairy little fists, insects whine like powertools and plumy birds, aloft and aloof, snub me as a lower form of life while I stare at them in admiration. Thailand’s Kwae Noi, better known as the River Kwai, is such a river…MORE Video, Audio, Cruises, Places, Thailand Russell Johnson no no