Bangkok’s Poison Air is Poisoning Me Against Bangkok

It's hard to find a more pro-Bangkok apologist than I. Many people love Bangkok, but few have lived here for as long as I have and not grown bored. If you've read this site before you'll know that I still find it endlessly fascinating. But the annual Poison Air season, in which we often cannot go outside because of air pollution, has made even a Bangkok nerd like myself wonder how long I can take it.

Back on the Bike!

Back in the day, I used to ride my bike a lot. Like, every other weekend I'd be off on a 60, 80, or even 100km ride (my personal maximum). But after having a kid and getting busy with other projects, my bike riding took a back seat, and I only tended to get out once every six weeks or so. It's amazing how quickly your stamina drops off, because these days, I can barely manage to get up to 40k without wanting to pack it in. Granted, this is based on recent rides during the punishing summer heat, but still - my legs ain't what they used to be.

A Thailand Bike Adventure: 850km from Bangkok to Lampang

Over the Songkran break this past April, two biking buddies of mine, Andrew and Bill, set out on a pretty audacious adventure – to bike from Bangkok to Lampang (near Chiang Mai) over 8 days. First of all, I’m totally jealous. That seems like an incredible ride that I would love to do – but which, at my current level of fitness, would probably kill me. Second, that’s a pretty long ride, but the part that is most impressive about it is that they did it in April – the hottest month of the year.

Competing in (and Barely Finishing) Bangkok’s 2018 Vertical Marathon

In 2004, my good friend Scott convinced myself, Dan, and Derek to take part in the vertical marathon, a yearly charity event wherein they somehow convince people to pay for the privilege of climbing up the stairwell of the Banyan Tree Hotel, a 64-storey hotel on Silom Road. I joke, but it’s actually for a good cause, and an interesting challenge to one’s physical fitness; most anyone can walk or run – some faster/further than others, of course – but climbing stairs ain’t easy. There’s a reason that doctors use a single flight of stairs as a fitness test for victims of heart attacks.

2018-02-26T01:06:45+00:00Bangkok, Health|2 Comments

You’ve Probably Bought Fake CDs But Have You Ever Eaten Counterfeit Food?

I’ll be the first to admit that in the past, from time to time, I have bought counterfeit things. You know, in moments of extreme weakness. Taken a shortcut to save a few bucks. Usually it was for things that were pretty low profile – DVDs (back when people still bought those), shoes, sunglasses, and the like. But as I got older, I started to appreciate that, generally, you get what you pay for. When it’s a DVD it’s not a huge deal, but when you start to realize that the world of counterfeits extends to more serious […]

Shaking up my Commute – Riding a Bike to Work in Bangkok

Update 2018: This whole experiment lasted about six months. It was fine while it lasted, but let’s be honest – it’s just a numbers game. As I’ve said before, riding a bike in Bangkok isn’t deadly, but it isn’t safe, and the more often you ride, the higher the chances are of something happening. With a toddler at home and a nervous wife, I decided to just submit to The Man and take the BTS to work.

If you’ve read my site before you probably know that I ride my bike a lot in and around Bangkok […]

A Bike Ride in Pictures: Samut Sakhon to Samut Songkhram

One thing I enjoy about Bangkok is getting out on my bike and exploring the hidden corners that one rarely sees. That does the trick most of the time, but sometimes I get ambitious and plan a longer overnight trip, which is what I did this past weekend. In retrospect, it was probably a bit too hot for the route we chose, but sunburned, muddy, and very, very tired, we arrived at the hotel with a sense of accomplishment and a hint of amazement that we actually made it. Some pictures below, many courtesy of Andrew. […]

Visiting a Thai Hospital for a Quick Stitch-Up

So as I often do, I headed out for a bike ride with some friends today. I was going to meet them at Wong Wian Yai BTS station and take a new route down to the Gulf of Thailand for a bit of exploring and hopefully un-rained-on riding. However, as luck would have it the trip ended up being cancelled before it even started and I ended up laying on a gurney in a hospital getting stitches in one of the most cringe-worthy places you can imagine that’s not on your torso. I’ve been in Thailand so long […]

Spending Time in a Salt Cave

Every so often my dear ol' wife will come across an online coupon for a meal or a movie or a store that we check out. This has gotten a lot more prevelant with the rise of Groupon and, especially in Thailand, Ensogo. She recently came across a deal on something called a salt cave - indeed, it's name is Salt Cave. Bangkok is a city with no lack of trendy, often goofy fads, fashions and manias, and I figured this was one of them. Go and sit in a room full of salt...sure, why not, it'll be a laugh. But I did a bit of research online and, whaddya know, it's an actual thing! So, putting my cynicism aside, we went to the Salt Cave to sit and breathe the salty air.

2016-11-17T15:47:59+00:00Bangkok, Health|0 Comments

A Few Thoughts on Thai Healthcare

I've been away from Canada for so long now that I barely remember how the much-vaunted health care system works there anymore. Thankfully I've never needed a major operation, and any minor procedures I ever had done were just kind of...taken care of. Whenever I visited a doctor in Canada, I always trusted them 100%. Sure, you might get a second opinion, but you were always pretty sure that each doctor had your best interests in mind and that each one would narrow your ailment down to a fairly specific ballpark. But in Thailand, it sometimes takes a while to learn that things might not always be what they seem, and you have options as to the who, what, and where of your healthcare.

2016-11-17T15:48:12+00:00Bangkok, Health, Thailand|0 Comments
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