I have despaired of resuming blogging since the demise of my laptop and having to resort to using my moderately satisfactory ipad, but maybe i will be more successful now than previously. So far this seems to be working.
When I last was able to post something I was lamenting being unable to get to the Renfroe reunion. It seems like such a long time ago. I spent a week in Middle Vietnam instead of Washington and then flew to Malaysia last Sunday. I am now in the island state of Penang and also in the island state of mind.
I have spent most of my time here looking at apartments and I can happily report that I found one just an hour ago. The apartment is the vacation home of a family member of friends I met the last time I was in Penang, so I am renting without paying a finder's fee and without signing a long term contract. Also i am getting a pretty incredible price of 1000 Malaysian Ringit which is just $300 for a furnished 3/2 with balcony overlooking the Andaman Sea. It is one of those times to stop and give thanks. I am justbwaiting for the cleaners to do their thing and I hope to be living there early next week. Dare I dream my wandering days are over?
Friday, August 24, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Face the Fact
I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that I will not be able to go to Seattle for a week of being Renfroe. Flying standby as its perks but there is also the dark side. I will miss the cool summer days and nights in the northwest, the delicious food and wine that everyone will be enjoying, the goofiness we share in our closeness and the intimacy of being with my loving family. My consolation is expecting to be together again next year when my great nephew James gets married.
Since I have to vacate my apartment tomorrow I have made plans to go to DaNang which is a 14hour train ride north. I leave tomorrow at 7 PM in a sleeper seat. I actually plan to stay in the ancient seaside town of Hoi An. There was a television series years ago called "China Beach" and this is the site of China Beach.
I mentioned before that I am now blogging using my iPad. I have not figured how to add photos yet, so I regret the dearth of pics. I will experiment and hope to find a solution.
Since I have to vacate my apartment tomorrow I have made plans to go to DaNang which is a 14hour train ride north. I leave tomorrow at 7 PM in a sleeper seat. I actually plan to stay in the ancient seaside town of Hoi An. There was a television series years ago called "China Beach" and this is the site of China Beach.
I mentioned before that I am now blogging using my iPad. I have not figured how to add photos yet, so I regret the dearth of pics. I will experiment and hope to find a solution.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Not in Tokyo
I had planned to be in Narita Airport in Tokyo at this moment, alas I am not. It was my intention to travel via Bangkok and Tokyo to Seattle for the biannual Renfroe family reunion, this year at Whidby Island near Bellevue, WA, where my nephew Jim Renfroe's family lives. As you know I travel a lot and I am able to do so by flying standby as airline staff. The catch is that I have to travel off peak when seats are available. Well, this is August and the heaviest travel month of the year, and I can not find available flights to get me to my destination. There is still a possibility I can work something out for Tuesday, 7 August , which would get me there in time, however I am cautiously watching the bookings.
The past week I have spent getting ready for a final departure from Ho Chi Minh City, since I did not plan to come back here after Washington. My guitar and bicycle have gone to good homes and I don't have to move my laptop because I broke it last week. Yes, I lifted my laptop by the screen instead of the keyboard and the LCD shattered. I was still pretty satisfied with the 3 year old HP although it was beginning to show its age. To repair it would have cost more than I wanted to spend, so now I am down to iPhone and iPad for communication. I will buy a MacBook when I have a chance, but surprisingly computers, which are generally made in Asia, are far more expensive here than in the USA. Go figure.
I made a very accurate analogy yesterday that I will share with you. I was riding a city bus in Saigon and my friend David from New York called using Viber, a fantastic app for your phones which lets you speak to any other Viber subscriber anywhere FREE. At some point in our conversation he said, "It is so noisy there." I told him, "The noise in Ho Chi Minh is to New York as New York is to Valdosta." I think I am not far off so you can imagine the cacophony of horns blowing, motorbikes revving, cocks crowing, vendors hawking and twelve million people living in this mega city.
The past week I have spent getting ready for a final departure from Ho Chi Minh City, since I did not plan to come back here after Washington. My guitar and bicycle have gone to good homes and I don't have to move my laptop because I broke it last week. Yes, I lifted my laptop by the screen instead of the keyboard and the LCD shattered. I was still pretty satisfied with the 3 year old HP although it was beginning to show its age. To repair it would have cost more than I wanted to spend, so now I am down to iPhone and iPad for communication. I will buy a MacBook when I have a chance, but surprisingly computers, which are generally made in Asia, are far more expensive here than in the USA. Go figure.
I made a very accurate analogy yesterday that I will share with you. I was riding a city bus in Saigon and my friend David from New York called using Viber, a fantastic app for your phones which lets you speak to any other Viber subscriber anywhere FREE. At some point in our conversation he said, "It is so noisy there." I told him, "The noise in Ho Chi Minh is to New York as New York is to Valdosta." I think I am not far off so you can imagine the cacophony of horns blowing, motorbikes revving, cocks crowing, vendors hawking and twelve million people living in this mega city.
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