December 6 – 12, 2009 Phuket, Thailand
We went to The Laguna Phuket Triathlon today to watch them race. We did not see the first swim leg but we were at the finish of the second swim and transition to the bikes and had a good spot to watch the finish of the race. The 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medal winner Jan Frodero took first place in a new course record and US$ 3,500 in prize money. It was kind of a blow-out as 2nd place Matthieu O'Halloran finished 12 minutes behind Jan Frodero. The event saw an estimated 1,000 athletes officially start the race in an attempt to conquer the 1.8km swim, 55km bike and 12km run in and around Laguna Phuket. Competitors represented more than 40 countries and ranged in age from 18 to over 70 years old. I think maybe Sim and I will enter the 6K fun run next year.

We are taking Mack and about 6 of his classmates to Layan Beach today. They are all put of a school project team doing a report on the eco-system of the beach. I took a sailboat and Sim took lots and lots of food. We spent almost 4 hours at the beach. I never got my boat in the water because of electrical issues and the boys did more goofing off than project work, but they did shoot some video that we will edit and format when we get home. First however, we stopped at the restaurant where Sim’s brother works and also happens to be owned by the father of one of the boys on the project team, for a nice meal.

I will be on my own for 5 days. Sim is going to Bangkok for 5 days of Spa time and a Tichi retreat organized by her high school friend who is a health magazine publisher. The event will be held at Chacherngsao, Bangkok a neighboring province.

December 13 -19, 2009, Phuket, Thailand
I have another dog story to share with you all. I know I have told you about all the neighborhood dogs and their incessant barking at any new person or car or motorcycle that passes by their house. Well now, with the addition of a new dog in a house in back of us comes a cacophony of howling 5 times a day. You see, we live within earshot of a Muslim Mosque. So 5 times a day the devout are called to prayer. The first call to prayer is at about 5:00 am. So when the prayer call starts, the new dog starts howling, that in turn sets off about 6 other dogs to howling until every dog in the neighborhood is howling. It is quite a wake up call. Then it starts all over again throughout the day. I can’t wait to start building our new house.

I had my first “accident” in the truck today. No real damage done except for a small scrape on the wheel and a broken bracket on a fender fairing but it was scary. I was approaching one of the traffic circles with a big semi beside me on my left in the next lane. As we got into the circle I noticed he was cutting the circle short and I was running out of room on the inside. I could not stop in time and I brushed up against his truck, popped my left side mirror back and there was a crunching sound. I caught up with him down the road, pulled alongside and honked my horn. We pulled over and a husband and wife got out coming take a look. He denied hitting me and said something about a sign at the circle. Sim was doing all the talking and it turned out the wife was from her hometown so they had a nice 10 minute chat. Since there was minimal damage to my truck, and none to his, we went on our way. No harm, no foul.

December 20 -26, 2009. Phuket, Thailand
Merry Christmas to everyone; screw political correctness. We are not going anywhere this Christmas, just staying home. It does not really feel like Christmas and we are both having a hard time getting the Christmas spirit. There are a few lights going up at some public offices and the shopping mall has some trees up but that is about it. Thailand is 95% Buddhists and 5% Muslim so they really don’t do Christmas here.

Sim and I did not exchange gifts this year. We pretty much have everything we want. We do want a Bar-B-Q however so we went shopping for one this week. At the Bar-B-Q Store we found a nice 3 burner unit with a heavy duty cast iron grate and grill. It is on sale now so I think we are going back to pick it up in a few days. They are expensive here. Around $300 for a Made in Australia Barbie. Yikes.

December 27 – 31, 2009. Phuket, Thailand
Happy New Year. Now this is a holiday that Thais celebrate. Sim had three New Year’s parties to go to. The first one was at her first sister in law's house. The second at the Head of the local Municipal officers party at the beach, and the last one at her brother's friend restaurant. She invited me to all three parties, but I went to only the last party when it was close to count-down time. We went out with Sim’s sixth brother and his family. We ate prawns and clams, drank wine and had a gay old time watching concert videos including a great performance by the Scorpions. At midnight, lots and lots of fireworks filled the sky. Fireworks, including sky rockets are on sale here year round. For $10 you can buy a box of 40 skyrockets all set to go. Just set it on the ground light the fuse and 40 rockets blast off one at a time to about 60 feet where they explode in a sparking array. Pretty cool

We are off to the sports stadium in downtown Phuket. Toey is on the track team in school and for the next 3 days all the schools on the island are participating in track and field events. Along with shot put, javelin, high jump and long jump they are having the usual races and relays. Toey is in the 200 meter and the 4 x 100 meter relay. It was hot and a good thing we brought umbrellas because we did not have any shade for the first couple of hours. Toey won his heat but finished 4th in the main event.

Mack had to go too, but he was part of the cheering section that did a bunch of flash cards I guess you call them. He is in this picture somewhere.

I have made a couple of New Years Resolutions which I have already begun. First, I am on a new health diet. It is called the Paleo Diet (www.thepaleodiet.com) and is based on the research of Loren Cordain and Mark Sisson. (www.marksdailyapple.com) Basically it is eating like our caveman ancestors did for about 2 million years and avoiding all the things that they did not eat. So I eat meat, cooked of course, eggs, vegetables, (lots of colorful ones), raw and cooked, nuts and fresh fruit. I avoid all processed foods, dairy products, legumes like peanuts and potatoes and grains, including rice, corn, breads and pasta. I know it sounds a bit extreme, but when you do the research and reading, it all makes sense. It is only in the last 10,000 years since the hunter gatherers of the Paleolithic age became farmers and started to domesticate animals and started to grow grains that all the present day diseases of humanity like obesity, diabetes and heart disease became prevalent. Sim is not joining me on the diet as she is pretty skeptical about the whole thing.

I also have started a daily routine of walking and exercise that is working out well. I am up to 3 miles a day, everyday, and finish my walk and cool down and dumbbell workout in about 1.5 hours.

Well it is a brand new year. We hope each and every one of our readers and followers had a great Christmas and New Year and that all your dreams come true in 2010. Sim and I wish you all the best.

Coming up for us in 2010 is a trip back to the US sometime in Feb or Mar. It will need to warm up a bit first. We are not used to cold weather. We are also looking forward to a visit to Phuket by a former colleague from Sanmina and Brother Bill coming out for 3 months at the end of the year. It should be an exciting year for us. Stay tuned.


Here is a funny article out of the Phuket Gazette that I thought you might enjoy.

Santa to remain in Phuket for high season
Khun Santa arriving at Patong Beach at 8:15 this morning.
A repeat tourist, he says he may now seek work here.

PHUKET - Friday, December 25, 2009: In an exclusive, impromptu interview with the Phuket Gazette earlier this morning, Santa Clause – spotted arriving at a Phuket beach by long-tail boat on the last of his deliveries to the island’s good boys and girls – said he plans to take some time out here.

Mr. Clause said he had been thrown off his sleigh and dumped in the sea when his reindeer became "disorientated" on the approach to Patong Beach. Fortunately, a local fisherman had plucked him from the water and taken him inland so he could finish his work.

“The reindeer were distracted by the bright lights and cacophony of beer-bar music and someone screaming ‘tonight, tonight’, over and over again at 90 decibels,” said Khun Santa.

“I need a break, and I’ve heard there’s a lot to do here,” he said.

“I want to try out these wonderful jet-ski things and have a nice long body massage," he said.

Mr. Clause volunteered that he might invest in some land and seek part-time employment as an Elvis impersonator if he can get a work permit. He admitted that his deliveries earlier today had been conducted without such a permit, and confided that he had no visa since he'd landed in Thailand near Koh Kaew where there were no Immigration facilities.

As for his reasons for wishing to hang out in Phuket for awhile, he said he was simply stressed out.

“I can’t keep up with the pace anymore. They don’t make toys like they used to, and everyone is emailing and texting me non-stop with their Christmas lists now,” he complained.

“The X Station 6 is coming out next year and we have to test every one of them before delivery. Since Grand Theft Auto came out, the elves have been slacking and are now rather aggressive,” he said.

Asked which resort he’d be staying at, Mr. Clause said he was perfectly happy camping out under the stars on the beach. But anyone hoping to see this currently illegal alien is going to have difficulty spotting him.

“I’m going to shave off my beard and put on shorts, a muscle top, sandals and socks to blend in with the other tourists around Patong,” he said.

Asked what gifts most Phuketians had been given this year, Mr. Clause mumbled something about a bad Internet connection out of Thailand and not knowing for sure what everyone wanted. Pressed for further details on this, he said nothing, smiled, opened an old cloth bag and handed this reporter a stack of discount coupons for tailor shops and tuk-tuk rides.

Numbed, I watched in silence as the kind old man wandered off in quest of a beach chair.