Posts Tagged ‘beliefs’

Election day

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
02 November 2010
0

I’ve hated the negative back and forth going on between Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown, so I chose to exercise my vote by not voting for either of them.  This time around I chose to stay away from the polls because there was nothing I strongly cared for or believed in.  I’ve voted in both presidential elections since I could vote, missed the mid term election in 2006 since I was studying abroad, and now again decided not to participate in this mid term election.  I also don’t feel good about voting if I didn’t take the time to review the materials for the opposing sides to make a decision that I am comfortable with.

But, I think in a way I was hoping that Meg Whitman or Carly Fiorina would win, just to get that business perspective into our government.  We could use a bit more fresh blood with new approaches.  But I guess I generally do tend to side with Democratic views a bit more, so I guess the outcomes can still be good.  We’ll just have to see how things pan out from here…

Childlike wonder & curiosity

laelene Posted in general blog, video blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
20 February 2010
0

I was watching this video of Aimee Mullins about adversity, and the thing that struck me, strangely enough, was not her main message, but the moment when she spoke of “childlike curiosity.”  I do agree with her message and the powerful way that language sets a precursor, as well as the strength of the human spirit.  So I suppose that’s why everything else she said didn’t hit me the way that the reference to curiosity being childlike did.

Why did that part stand out?  Well, because I wondered why attributes like wonder and curiosity and innocence are so often described as “childlike.”  It’s as if we no longer recognize that adults can be like that and when they are, it’s a rare thing.  What’s wrong with “adult-like” curiosity?  What has happened in our society that makes everything children do so great and everything that adults “grow into” so bad?  Actually, I think that’s exactly what happens because of society.  Because we have this sort of structure, at a certain age, things like responsibility and maturity take hold.  Expectations develop into more serious ones and we lose much of our freedom to do what we want, enjoy as we like, and not worry too much.

The good thing is that it seems our culture is more and more tolerant of “childlike” activities in adults.  After all, records of generations past make them seem rather rigid, but that could just be because what is recorded is not the playful silly moments shared, but the serious and “important” moments had.  Nevertheless, I still do feel that generally we are heading towards habits that allow more carefree expressions from older people.  I just hope that soon we can progress to such a point that people who sing in public because they are happy aren’t given strange looks as if they’ve lost their minds.  Or that fully-grown men and women can get child’s meals without feeling shameful.

Speaking of, why is it that small portions are only allowed to those under a certain age?  It’s like the problem with McDonald’s Super Size meals – when you offer larger portions, people will get them*.  And when they get them, they try their very best to finish the portions in front of them.  So why not just offer smaller sizes and alleviate this pressure that people have looking at their uneaten food?  I think we still stuff ourselves full much of the time because of our hunting and gathering days, when food wasn’t so easy to come by.  Nowadays, it’s far too easy to overeat, and judging adults who want to get a “child’s” meal is part of the problem.

Personally, I believe in expressing your joy.  People sometimes find me too enthusiastic or hyper when I am happy and excited.  Generally, they enjoy it, though they are wary and wonder if I’m just a bit cuckoo.  But why is that?  Why can’t I burst into song because it was playing in my head?  Why can’t I be giddy over the smallest victories?  Why can’t I jump around and share my positive emotions?  Well, I can.  Just not without being judged.  And that’s ok, I’m used to being judged.  When I’m happy, I’m happy and I’ll show it if I want to.  I think more people should.

I hope that people will learn to stop putting up the walls around themselves and open themselves up the way they did before society taught them otherwise.  I think that’s what people mean when they refer to those childlike qualities.  It’s freeing yourself from the bounds that society puts you in, even if just a little.  Let’s not become drones and make all the motions going through life without experiencing and enjoying the way we did before the clamps started to pin us down.

*The issue of portion size and the poor eating habits is up for discussion in a future post – ironically, I just watched another TED video, this time about America’s (and now the world’s) eating problem.

HOME

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , ,
15 February 2010
1

A few nights ago, I went to a screening of HOME, a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.  It’s a film that brings to light many environmental issues surrounding the planet.  It has such spectacular graphics that sometimes it doesn’t feel real.  Plus, you’re seeing things from a bird’s eye view (or, more accurately, a hot air balloon’s eye view), which is rather unique in itself.  Such images are striking possibly purely because of the difference in perspective you get.  Whatever the case, the beauty of the film is undeniable and the message it spreads is powerful.  In fact, you should go see it yourself – it’s free to the world!

The bit that struck me the most was when it said that Dubai has just about as much sunlight as you can ever hope for, yet not a single solar panel.  It’s not really something that I had thought of before, but it’s ironic, isn’t it?  The great thing about films like these is that they not only inform you and teach you, they make you think.  They don’t always have the answers for you, but they bring about certain issues that are important to consider.  Just by starting conversations and getting people aware of things they should consider, they’re making a vital contribution towards the betterment of this world.  In addition to learning that tidbit, the film also showed me an area (I believe it was in Germany) that has solar panels covering the rooftops.  If a place like that with less sunlight can take advantage of the energy provided by the sun, why aren’t the countries closer to the equator and with far stronger sunshine following suit?

It’s truly a fantastic film that should be shared with the world.  By making it free, what better way to spread it far and wide?  That is his goal, and he has been traveling all over the planet to promote the film, answer questions at screenings, and generate the sort of momentum we must gather to turn the environmental movement into something that will truly change the world.  We are changing for the better, but not fast enough.  It’s not too late to right some of the many wrongs that have happened, but all too soon it could be.  Hence, it’s important that we take action now, in a way that we haven’t been.  Copenhagen was disappointing in the lack of unity between countries and that NEEDS to change.  We’re the first and only species that has ever done so much harm to the very environment we live in.  Are we set on self-destruction?!

I hope not.  Which is why I appreciate efforts like these to get people to take charge of the future and make this world better, not worse.  And for those who laugh and make fun of the environmentalists out there… well, you can be the ones to blame when our progeny no longer have a safe planet to live on.  That’s just a lose-lose situation for us all.  It’d be pitiful for a “great” population such as ours to contribute to our own undoing.  So much for being superior.  Ultimately, the film ended by saying that “it’s too late not to be optimistic” and I think that’s true.  If we give up hope, all is lost and we destroy so much beauty and wonder.  So, we have no choice but to put our hearts and souls into saving the future of the planet and believe that we can.  I certainly believe we can.  Now, will we?

A drop in the ocean

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , ,
24 October 2009
0

It frustrates me when people don’t do anything because they think it won’t matter.

“Oh, it’s just a drop of water in the ocean, a grain of sand on the beach, a star in the night sky.  Without that drop, the ocean is still as expansive; without that grain, the beach is still as solid; without that star, the night sky is still as bright.  You’ll never miss it.”

Everything has an origin point. Don't underestimate just one little thing. photo credit: shannonstanley.wordpress.com

Everything has an origin point. Don't underestimate just one little thing. photo credit: shannonstanley.wordpress.com

But you know what?  It does matter!  That one drop creates ripples, affecting its neighbors that then affect their neighbors until a wave builds up.  Besides, actions reflect a mentality, so not making one small change here can lead to not making another small change there.  If you work incrementally, the next thing you know, you’ve made a huge change.  It takes time and patience to see results that are truly worthy of gaining, as well as persistence.

Every time you leave the water running, don’t turn off the lights, don’t donate your time or money, and otherwise deem things too much effort and not enough tangible reward, you are increasing the vicious cycle of inaction and indifference.  Aggregated, each little action adds up to become a trend, a movement.  And thus, nobody should ever give up from the get-go, thinking, “Well it won’t really matter that much overall.”  It can and it will, if you stick to it, then start to affect the people in your life too.  Eventually, you’ll have something on a scale you never imagined, because the power of compounding has taken effect and created something much larger than just you.

And so, I’m going to start increasing the number of registered bone marrow donors (particularly ones of Asian descent), one person at a time until we get a massive database.  It’s pathetic that there’s only 7% of Asian Americans on the US who are currently available to donate when there are thousands of people in need.  I’ve already gotten some friends to enter themselves into the registry and slowly started to educate them not only on the need, but the misconception that it is a painful procedure to extract the marrow.  What are you waiting for?  Go register yourself now!  And also go learn more about one young lady who is fighting the battle against leukemia right now.

I’m also taking environmentalism one step at a time, constantly weeding out the things and habits in my life that are unsustainable, replacing them with more globally-friendly alternatives.

Be the impetus for change.  Start something.  Then keep working hard as the effects ripple further and faster.  This goes for anything you care about, from our deteriorating environment to our broken education system to poverty to deadly diseases.  Everything has got to start somewhere!

A story of luck and optimism

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , ,
28 September 2009
3

I consider myself a very lucky person.  I’m not the one to exclaim that I’ve never won anything before when I get a prize from the radio station, or when I get chosen for a raffle prize.  Though I haven’t actually won anything from my local radio station, that is probably for lack of trying, not for lack of luck.  When I do want something, I often win it, through something that I can really only attribute to luck.  I suppose I also weigh wins heavier than losses, since generally the loss is expected and a win is rare.  So in that respect, it probably also feels far more frequent.  But nonetheless, while most of the population has never won anything, I have – and multiple times too.

I believe that much of it comes from optimism and a general positive state of mind.  Luck, after all, is really what you make of it.  Those who consider themselves to be lucky are far more likely to act in ways that will actually render them to feel more so.  For example, one time when I really wanted to win a pair of uniformed bears being raffled off at my Military Ball, I enlisted the help of my friends and got more ticket entries for that particular prize.  That greatly increased my chances of winning and lo and behold, I had the winning ticket!  If I hadn’t believed in myself, I probably would have either decided there’s no way I’d win and not even try, or just throw my tickets in and not try to increase my chances.  It’s like they say – you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket!  As with anything, you won’t get what you want if you don’t try (and try your best while you’re at it).

Gimme, gimme!

Gimme, gimme!


This played out beautifully in one of my most successful wins ever.  It was the first Friday after school had started again at UCLA in the fall of 2007.  We have a tradition on campus of holding Resfest, an athletic carnival, at the John Wooden Athletic Center.  On-campus residents can go play dodgeball, compete in an obstacle course, even get a henna tattoo!  At the event was a table giving away free rugs, ranging from small 2X2 foot ones shaped like basketballs, footballs, and the like to the grand prize: a 5X8 footer with the UCLA logo!  With my eye on that big rug, I entered to win and dragged along half a dozen of my other friends, one by one, to apply as well.  The people at the table were certainly amused by my dedication.

As I went to wait for the drawings, I headed to one of the gyms where they had the obstacle course set up.  A bunch of my friends were in line to run through the challenge, so I stayed to cheer them on and take pictures.  In all that excitement, I nearly forgot about my beloved rug.  When I went to check my phone, I noticed that I’d missed a call from a number I didn’t recognize.  I immediately went out to the table again and was chatting with them when we discovered that I had been called by them!  Unfortunately, they gave my rug away to someone else, but that was fine, because it was just one of the small ones.  Ninja had come with me and we waited around for the real prize to be drawn, hoping the name they drew would be mine (or his).

Victory picture!

Victory picture!


It wasn’t.  They called the number and I eagerly stood, now hoping that the winner wouldn’t pick up and I’d have another chance.  No such luck!  The girl picked up and came to redeem her prize.  Sad, I watched as they congratulated her and took pictures for the Daily Bruin.  Ninja and I hung around chatting with the tablers and next thing I know, the owner of the company (Campus Mats) who was giving the rugs away kindly offered both of us free rugs (the nice big ones)!  He had been tickled by my pure persistence and enthusiasm in getting all my friends involved so I could win and he said that Ninja deserved one too, for being such a gentleman and not hesitating to agree to give me the rug if he won (some of my other friends weren’t so keen to give it up if they won).  And just like that, we went from no win to double whammy!  He collected our information and a few weeks later, we were proudly clearing the floors in our rooms to put down our wonderful gifts.

It was certainly lucky that the guy was so generous, but it was optimism and positivity that got me to try so hard and attract his attention.  So really, being lucky and optimistic go hand-in-hand.  What it really comes down to is your perception of the world and your subsequent actions that make being lucky easier or harder to come by.  At least that’s my experience, anyway.

Legos, a mind challenge

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , ,
25 September 2009
1
legos

photo credit: tantek.com

I believe that Legos are one of the best toys that people (particularly kids) can play with.  They’re so wonderfully simple, yet combined together can be amazingly complex.  Kind of like how life works – you have all these microscopic cells that combine to create life.  The sum of the parts is greater than the whole, right?  When you start putting a lot of things together, it’s not as simple as addition – it’s more like multiplication, where things get more and more complex as there are more units of whatever that are interacting with each other.

Now Legos don’t get quite so complicated, but they certainly do lend themselves to an endless variety of structures!  Using these little building blocks, you can make robots and houses and animals and faces.  Really, whatever you are creative enough to conjure up in your imagination, you can find a way to represent it using Legos.  I love that they’re very plain and the beauty that arises from them can only be got through creative thinking.  It encourages people to think.

See, you’ve got these parameters.  You only have square and rectangular blocks.  They can only stack on each other.  The fewer circles you overlap to put them together, the less stable that connection.  There are only a handful of generally primary colors to work with.  That’s pretty much it.  Then you’re let loose into a world full of designs that can fill up your head.  These are the kind of toys that challenge kids while making it fun.  That’s why I believe in the earliest versions of these lovely toys.  The crazy designs that have come out since then take the creative fun out of the user’s side and puts it into the manufacturer’s side.  Now it’s people who work for the company that come up with cool things and shapes are made to fit that.  Not as exciting as finding out how to make something look like that with the given (limited) resources.  It has become more about aesthetic appeal than mental appeal now.

However, I will say that those new designs can still teach kids something.  I’ve often self-taught myself skills and I find that when that happens, you lose out on the “tricks of the trade.”  So rather than having to figure it out yourself, if you first follow instructions and build exactly what is mapped out for you, you can learn the methodologies behind how to create such a thing.  I can imagine if you got one of those pre-designed versions of Legos and tried to build it just by looking at the end result, you’d find yourself with pieces in the wrong place, missing pieces, or leftover pieces.  If you take that first time as a process-learning experience, then take that and start making your own things from that structural knowledge, I’d say that was still time and money well-spent.  I’m just afraid that nothing will be learned, except how to read and follow instructions.

Besides, there’s nothing quite like the mindless fun of putting blocks together without the pressure of creating something beautiful.  With plain blocks, there’s that freedom.  With strange ones that are meant to be something else, it’s not as fun to mess around and let your mind wander.  You never know what you may come up with and what you can learn in the process!

The language of nature

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
14 September 2009
0

“We all use math everyday – to forecast weather, to tell time, to handle money.  We also use math to analyze crime, reveal patterns, predict behavior.  Using numbers, we can solve the biggest mysteries we know.”

~Numb3rs

photo credit: u-kult.de

photo credit: u-kult.de

I saw a commerical for Numb3rs and decided to start watching that now that show I’ve completed all seasons of NCIS.  As I went through the first episode, I noted how often referrals to natural occurrences were made.  The entire philosophy is that through the language of mathematics, we can find the equations (or “sentences”) that explain natural phenomenon.  Add all that up and you have the backbone of mother nature’s workings.  It makes me wonder if math is the language that she speaks in and expresses herself in.

Let me draw some parallels.  To start with, numbers, letters, and symbols comprise the alphabet of complex mathematical equations, just like letters and accents comprise the alphabet of human words and sentences.  Each one has a unique meaning and depending on how you combine them, meanings change drastically.  From there, words combine to become sentences and sentences combine to express ideas, just like variables combine to create equations and equations aggregate to matrices (or something like that).  I’m not exactly a mathematician, so forgive me if this metaphor is slightly inaccurate.  I think you get the point though.

A romanesco broccoli. Fascinating example of a fractal occuring in nature. photo credit: tiger.towson.edu

A romanesco broccoli. Fascinating example of a fractal occuring in nature. photo credit: tiger.towson.edu

And it’s true, math is found all throughout our lives.  Probability, percentages, the Fibonacci sequence, fractals… the list goes on.  Everywhere we turn, we are unknowingly interacting with numbers or in ways that mathematics can explain or predict.  Take the very computer you are using to read this now.  Though it’s all nice and neatly presented to us in visually appealing ways, computer programs use binary code.  Imagine trying decode 01110100011010000110100101110011 in binary.  What does that turn out to be?  Well, try it out yourself.  So then binary would be a subset of mathematics, or a “dialect” of the language of nature, if you will.  Of course, we use it ourselves on a daily basis when we make financial decisions (is 3% interest better or 2% interest with handling fees better?) or compare differences in our lives (is he more likely to agree to a lower price with free gifts or a higher price with no hidden charges?).

It’s no secret that the physics we encounter everyday abides by certain principles, guided by equations.  So I guess it’s not shocking to posit that math explains nature.  I guess it’s just strange to think that all those equations you began to learn in school are the building blocks for finding the patterns that we see in our lives.  However, math is all about predictability and people generally want to find a definitive answer from the calculations they make.  In life, there are just too many variables to consider and I don’t know if humans have the capacity to fully comprehend the immensity of the language we would need to master.  No doubt as with non-native speakers of any language, we are bound to make grammatical errors that may give the gist of what we’re trying to express, but don’t do so so beautifully and elegantly as the one native speaker of that language: physics, the master of nature.  I do believe that the physical world follows the guidelines of physics and that rulebook, though we have cracked much of, is still much a mystery to us.

[edit]  A few episodes later, they actually said that mathematics is the language of nature in the show!  Yup.

Greening: to each his own

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
03 September 2009
0

opp greenI’ve finally gotten a chance to join the green movement by helping out at Opportunity Green!  It’s something that’s been on my mind lately as I tried to figure out what way I wanted to make a difference in this climate crisis of ours.  There’s been a lot of talk about the bad shape our environment is in, from the oceans to the air to the land, yet amazingly, the reaction still seems minuscule compared to the problem.  I’ve read and listened to countless speeches on how the polar ice caps melting and coral reefs dying off can have dire consequences for us all.  I’ve always wanted to do something about it, but there are so many options out there that I don’t really know where to start and I’m tempted to try everything, but I think we all know that’s unrealistic.  So, I’ve decided on the divide and conquer strategy by starting somewhere – anywhere.

A company with a motto of use less.

A company with a motto of use less.

I think the easiest way to reduce my carbon footprint is to use less.  Use less energy, use less water, and buy less in general.  I’ve never really cared to eat much meat, so I’ve definitely minimized my footprint by not encouraging the unsustainable ways that Americans produce and consume meat products, particularly beef.  Another type of conservation is to turn off all lights that aren’t necessary and turn off and unplug appliances not in use.  I’ve been making it a point to unplug my laptop as soon as I notice the battery is fully charged, then re-plugging it only when it hits the 6% mark and starts to shut down on me.  I try to use less water for showering and reuse as much from dishwashing as I can (usually to water the plants).  Oh, and I never use the dishwasher to wash dishes.  I try not to run the AC at all, and minimally if needed.

organicA harder thing for me to do right now is buy all-natural, organic, local, or fair trade products.  With no income, I’ve got to go for cheapest over other benefits.  However, my mom and I have been living an essentially waste-free life for a few months now.  We compost all the perishable items that we don’t completely consume.  We recycle the plastics, cardboard, aluminum, and glass that we may come across.  The other items are the little bit of trash left over that we do have, which doesn’t amount to that much at the end of the day.  In fact, my mom has even canceled our trash-collecting service.  I’m working on buying less bottles and opted for a powder to mix my own drinks.  I reuse plastic bags like crazy and have stopped leaving a grocery stores with a handful of bags in tow.  Instead I try to remember my reusable bags, otherwise I “punish” myself by carrying the items separately.  I’ve even dragged Panda into that lifestyle and don’t let him be wasteful when we shop for food.

photo credit: spacetoday.org

photo credit: spacetoday.org

I feel guilty every time I have to drive my car, so I’ll feel better when I get a hybrid (which won’t happen until I land a job).  It won’t be the best solution, but it’ll be a great improvement, and certainly better than how things are now.  I wish electric cars were a more viable option, but they’re not quite practical for me right now.  I’m working to make small improvements here and there.  I may not be able to suddenly outfit my house with solar panels, drive a pollutant-free car, or buy organic or local, but I can use natural ventilation as much as possible, drive a hybrid, and eat less useless food.  I can also use reuse more so I end up using less.  I really need to start bringing my own mug/bottle with me when I get drinks outside.  With enough time, behavior like this can become second nature and I no longer have to think about it and remind myself to do it.

We all must do something about the climate, but it can be on your own terms.  So go ahead, choose one way to change your lifestyle for the better of the environment and start acting now!

Why do you blog?

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
22 August 2009
0

I’m sure every blogger asks themselves this at least once during the time they maintain a blog.  Why do I do this?  What is this for?  What do I want to accomplish?  I know I certainly have thought about the purpose of this blog time and again.  And mull as I might, it really is just a collection of my thoughts, observations, and experiences.  I’ve considered attempting to fit more into a theme and have sets of topics I talk about, like feminism or the Asian-American experience and whatnot, but I’ve found that those get expressed on my way to sorting out other thoughts in my head.  So though I do cover certain broad areas, there are none that I am willing to sift out of possible future entries purely to “brand” my writing.

The result is a mish-mash of my opinions and stories that vary depending on how tired I am when I’m writing, how much time I have to write, what else is going on around me at that time, and what I’m just plain “in the mood” to write about.  Many a draft lay unwritten, with just a bullet point or two to remind me to write about that idea at some point.  When I get in the mood, I can achieve a certain level of flow and write a few entries to store away.  But all too soon, I get busy and use up those “back-up” entries and find myself needing to find something to write about for today, as each one comes along.  With this sort of disorganization, it’s no surprise I haven’t been able to think of a set of topics I’d deal with.  Instead, I just take things as they come along.

I saw a video today of Mena Trott talking about her view on what a blog is.  What she said helped me realize that a blog for me is not for attracting high traffic or making money, but it’s a piece of my legacy.  Assuming WordPress doesn’t go out of business and stop hosting my blog (and this made me wonder what happens if a blogging platform closes down – are all those blogs lost or transferred elsewhere?), what I write will remain there potentially eternally.  It’s a sort of e-footprint I’m leaving on the internet so that I (or others) can look back on my life, my ideas, my experiences, and even my writing style.  I can be reminded of how I was and others can learn of how I was.  It can be a really useful tool for future generations to look upon to get a better idea of who I was and am and will become.  And of course when I make an impact on the world, everyone will want to know the background of my person.  😛  Plus, it’ll be great to use to draw info from for my memoirs.

Mena’s talk also made me realize that blogosphere is a historian’s dream come true (though nightmare at the same time, having to sift through so much material), allowing them to get first-hand accounts of thousands upon thousands of people’s lives in this day and age, from all across the globe.  Blogs are great resources for attitudes, cultural norms, fads, and all the fluctuations that societies undergo.  Unofficially, the consolidation of blogs around the world is a sort of wiki project too – whereas Wikipedia captures information in an encyclopedia format for more formal records, wikiblogs capture the daily lives of a huge cross-section of the human population in an informal format.

And so, I have reaffirmed my reasons for blogging.  So what are yours?

Serendipity

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
16 July 2009
2

Some may call it an accident, some may call it a mistake, but I call it serendipity.  With every supposed wrong turn we make, every situation that doesn’t go quite as we planned, there’s something else to be discovered and seen.  It seems that the “bad luck” I’ve had recently may have been unfortunate, but it has also provided the opportunity for some rich experiences.  Of course, there are lessons to be learned, but I don’t like to concern myself too much with getting things right.  Traveling is just about the one thing that I am ok not doing extensive research on before jumping in.  In fact, I’d be perfectly fine with not knowing my next destination or how long I’d be staying at the current one, if only I had the money to support that type of travel.

Spacious and comfy.

Spacious and comfy.


It all started when I was getting ready to check in for my flight to Kuala Lumpur.   I had inadvertently packed my passport in a purse that I had decided not to bring.  Thankfully, I discovered it soon enough to still catch a ride with Mizu and Zen.  It turns out that was actually fortunate, because I had booked the wrong flight (it was for the following day), so I would have been stranded there or been forced to pay SGD 60 to change to that flight, if they had space.  Instead, I got a luxury bus ticket for SGD 38, got treated to gelato and waffles, had a huge seat and personal TV, got a chance to enjoy the landscape, and even got dropped off at a location very close to my hostel (saved me a trip from the airport!).  I had wanted to take a bus originally, but what I fould was more expensive than flying, which is why I had chosen to buy an air ticket.  But in the end, I still got what I had wanted to do.

The next hiccup was a small one, where I nearly went to the wrong airport to board my flight to Phuket.  It was caught early on in the day, so I got to my boarding gate with plenty of time to spare, but even if I had gone to the wrong place, I could have found a way to get there on time anyway.  Upon arrival in Phuket, the airport bus had stopped running for the night, so I took a shared airport “limousine” and we stopped at a travel agent’s office so they could solicit us.  Though I didn’t book any tours, I did find out about one that I was interested in, which I probably wouldn’t have known about otherwise.  I plan on taking such a tour in the next day or two.

The night view of Phuket Town.

The night view of Phuket Town.


Now in Phuket there are many beaches, most of which are a good 30 minute drive from Phuket Town.  My first day there, I decided to go over to Patong Beach, which is the most tourist-concentrated one.  I had booked a spa appointment for the afternoon and enjoyed some wonderful relaxation treatment (aromatherapy sauna, hot stone massage, and facial!) before heading to the beach.  I had a lovely time digging up clams and those sand bugs that burrow in the sand with amazing speed.  Unfortunately, I had a bit too much fun and by 7:15 I was trying to find a ride back to no avail.  The bus stopped running at 6:30 and the tut tuts quoted me at THB 500!  So I walked along the street, trying to find a better way and ended up asking a hotel security guard and his friend for help.  They flagged down a family on a motobike and arranged to have them drop me off for THB 200.  The man dropped off his wife and baby and took me over the hills back to Phuket Town.  On the way he stopped for gas (or whatever it is) and I was greatly amused when they took a huge bottle of what looked like cherry syrup or grenadine and poured it into his tank.  What interesting fuel!  When we got to the hostel and I paid him, he then offered to take me for a spin around town.  I decided to accept his offer and later he insisted on showing me Phuket Town from a viewpoint.  There was a nice park at the top of a summit and a crowd of people sat on the small wall erected to prevent people from tumbling down.

It almost makes me want to try it.

Would you have guessed this is fuel?


Learning my lesson, I checked with the bus driver the next day to make sure I didn’t miss the last bus (which was due at 4) and went to another beach, Nai Harn.  I had managed to find a larger clam and even a pointy-shelled sea snail before it started to rain.  So by 3:20, I was standing under some trees at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to arrive.  When it stopped raining, I ventured back towards the beach to get some more water for my new pets and an expat approached me, offering to take me back.  Apparently he had seen the guys at the coffee shop eyeing me and he didn’t feel it was safe for me.  I just needed the bus to come and all would be fine.  He insisted on taking me because he was bored out of his mind and needed something to do, so I decided to go with it.  I got the extra water I wanted and he took me to his place to exchange the motobike for a truck.  We had a nice chat and I got a comfortable ride back, complete with a bucket to keep my pets in so I wouldn’t have to hold them the whole way.

So, it turned out that each transportation problem I came across became a new adventure, often with nice people helping me out.  I believe that people are mostly kind and genuine and certainly not psychokillers or kidnappers, but I still keep a wary eye out.  Everybody I’ve sized up so far seemed like a punch to the face and a kick to the groin would be enough to take them down.  I’ve watched out for roads to make sure we were going the right way and noted places that we passed that looked safe enough to find help at, if I had to run away.  With those precautions, then it’s just luck on who I choose to trust.  People may be concerned about a girl traveling on her own, but as my expat driver told me, I seem very confident.  I walk with a purposeful and powerful stride, I ignore most of the people hollering at me, and I act like I know what I’m doing whether or not I actually do.  Nobody’s going to see me as an easy target.  I’ve come across a lot of helpful people who have saved me a lot of hassle (and money).  I call that serendipity.  🙂

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