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I'm back!

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calisota
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I'm back!

Postby calisota » Thu Jan 19, 2012 10:06 pm

Hi guys,

I now have internet access in my room and an actual PC with a decent screen and a proper keyboard. All of which means that I should be able to spend a bit more time here, when I'm not actually working. :roll:

So...here I am in Laos...ask me anything.

Greg
Chiang Mai Pickleball Club Play Pickleball in paradise

calisota
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Re: I'm back!

Postby calisota » Thu Jan 19, 2012 10:09 pm

PS, I'll try and start the news up again, both on the front page of the site as on the twitter feed. I just had a look and one of the "latest" things on there is about Steve Jobs and not that he's dead.

Has anyone read his biography? I have a feeling I would have tried to hit him within a few minutes if I'd met him.

Greg
Chiang Mai Pickleball Club Play Pickleball in paradise

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Re: I'm back!

Postby ajp » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:35 am

Good to hear from you Greg. Only last week I read your post to work out how long you've been there. I trust everything is going OK for you. Hows the challenge of looking after the fresh volunteers? Do you plan to extend your time past the 12 months or are you happy to come home when you've finished?

I bought myself the Jobs biography, but haven't opened it yet. If I haven't done so beforehand, I'll start it on our flight to the US in March. He would have been a tough man to work for from snippets I've read so far, but hey, the man was a true visionary.
2023 Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Lines - Disney Wish. Going to be awesome to be back!

KeithS
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Re: I'm back!

Postby KeithS » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:40 am

Welcome back online Greg!

Steve Jobs makes my skin crawl, I couldn't ever read that book!
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

calisota
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Re: I'm back!

Postby calisota » Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:40 pm

Jobs was on my list of people to meet but more because you have to admire what he achieved than because he was a person I admired on a personal level.

So, what did I do today, I hear you ask?

An early start as I had to herd 4 volunteers up to the local library at 7.40. We have a deal with the library where we provide volunteers to teach English at a local village school on Saturday every 2 weeks It's a great way for the volunteers to get out and see a bit of the countryside and experience a rural school.

It is only about 25 minutes out of town but might as well be a world away. The school has no electricity and the kids are always in the same clothes.

We usually arrive about 8.30 and word quickly gets out that we are there.

The school is on top of a hill overlooking the village, probably so it has some hope of getting a breeze through the classrooms in summer. They are basically concrete boxes with a couple of small windows and like saunas when it's hot.

The kids come swarming up the hill and we get to play games with them for a while. I have a sore shoulder right now from throwing a ball backwards and forwards with some of the older boys as they have really good arms. They even have a cricket set which someone donated but trying to explain the intricacies of the game is better left to someone with more skills at Laos than me.

Then all the kids are lined up in their respective age groups and marched into class. The volunteers teach in pairs to 2 classes of slightly older students (7 - 12) and I usually amuse the little kids with the help of the Laos library staff that come with us.

After an hour English lesson we move outside and the kids do ethnic Laos dancing and singing for the volunteers, photos are taken, some tears are shed by the more emotional volunteers and then we come back to town.


Now I'm going to take the afternoon off, surf the web a little and then try and catch up on some work tomorrow before a new intake arrives next week.

Greg
Chiang Mai Pickleball Club Play Pickleball in paradise

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Re: I'm back!

Postby churros » Sat Jan 21, 2012 5:45 pm

Are you still enjoying the work?

calisota
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Re: I'm back!

Postby calisota » Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:09 pm

Are you still enjoying the work?
The problem is that it's becoming work. Dealing with the people who complain all the time is becoming tiring as well.

I have tentatively agreed to stay for another 12 months but I'm wondering if that is the right thing to do. Of course the question then would be what else to do.

Greg
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Re: I'm back!

Postby churros » Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:28 pm

I'm guessing you have watched all the free movies you downloaded in Hong Kong by now

calisota
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Re: I'm back!

Postby calisota » Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:21 pm

I'm guessing you have watched all the free movies you downloaded in Hong Kong by now
Not really. I picked up a few hundred more in Thailand before I got here. I have almost a TB of TV and movies. :oops:

Greg
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calisota
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Re: I'm back!

Postby calisota » Mon Jan 23, 2012 10:34 pm

At the moment I am in Laos on a tourist visa (the wheels move slowly to get a business one) which means that I must leave the country every 3 months and then re-enter in order to get a fresh visa. I am due to go again in about 8 weeks.

I asked Keith if it was worth my while to go back to Hong Kong but he didn't really think so, or at least not now that he has seen first hand my choice of rides, although I suppose I could go back and try to better that winning score on the Astro Blasters. 8)

So here is the dilemma I am asking for help with. I am able to leave on Monday but have to be back Saturday morning. If I don't go to Hong Kong then another option I am looking at is to go to Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days and then Singapore for a couple of days. The total airfare for that trip would be $155 including taxes.

What should I do?

Greg
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Re: I'm back!

Postby ajp » Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:17 am

If I don't go to Hong Kong then another option I am looking at is to go to Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days and then Singapore for a couple of days. The total airfare for that trip would be $155 including taxes.

What should I do?
This is a trick question, right? $155 is cheaper than flying Sydney to Brisbane return. I assume the plane has wings? :lol:

In Singapore is a freshly opened Universal Studios, so you could give that a whirl and report back for us.
2023 Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Lines - Disney Wish. Going to be awesome to be back!

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Re: I'm back!

Postby churros » Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:01 am

Greg's report of universal will lack credibility as he won't go on the roller coasters. :twisted: but my votes for Singapore

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Re: I'm back!

Postby mushu mama » Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:57 pm

Singapore or KL are both great ideas, lots to do in both places.
I guess it depends on what you want to be doing on your break.

If another adventure is your goal, had you considered Sabah? its only a little bit further than KL. You could fly into Kota Kinabalu, check out the jungle and stay in Longhouses, walk the headhunters trail and then finish at Sepilok to see the Orangutans.. or the turtles on Turtle Island.

Just a thought...
1999- Tokyo DL, 2008- DLR/Cal Adventure, 2012-DLR/Cal Adventure, 2013-Tokyo DLand/Sea, 2014-DLR/Cal Adventure, 2015- Paris DL, 2016 - WDW/Disneycruise , upcoming - May 2018 - HongKong DL

KeithS
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Re: I'm back!

Postby KeithS » Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:26 pm

I'd be going to Singapore too.
Keith

Trip history:
DLR: 2005, 06, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
DLRP: 2006
HKDL: 2006 (Mar & Sept), 11 (Apr & Dec), 14, 19
SDR: 2017
TDR: 2008, 10, 17
WDW: 2006, 13 (Mar & Sept), 16, 19
DCL: 2013, 15 (Alaska & Hawaii), 18
Aulani: 2015

calisota
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Re: I'm back!

Postby calisota » Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:42 pm

Okay, Singapore looks to be the go.

I have been to Singapore before but only for a couple of days so it would be nice to go back and refresh my memory. I'm looking at the website for Universal Studios now. The plan is to land at 9.30am one day and leave at 10.45pm the next so I have most of the first day I am there and all of the next. Certainly enough time to look around and do a theme park.

I haven't been to KL so it is another place to tick off the list although there is no way I am going anywhere near the top of the Petronis Towers.
If another adventure is your goal, had you considered Sabah? its only a little bit further than KL. You could fly into Kota Kinabalu, check out the jungle and stay in Longhouses, walk the headhunters trail and then finish at Sepilok to see the Orangutans.. or the turtles on Turtle Island.
I'm kind of getting the adventure thing here at the moment although I do have plans to go to Siem Reap 3 months after this trip, for the next renewal, because I really want to see Angkor Wat. I just don't want to do it now during high season, I want to wait until low season (summer) so I can do it with less tourists and have some hope of getting good photos.

Greg
Chiang Mai Pickleball Club Play Pickleball in paradise


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