Taco Bell....before.

Singapore harbor and Na.

Singapore….taco bell

Camping sounded really fun. I would love to have made the trip(s) with you. Dorri, I will try to make it next year.

Last post I talked about going to Singapore. Well, I did, and I finally found Taco Bell. (see picture above) Well, ya see Singapore is a predominantly Muslim country, and Muslims (like Jews) don’t eat pork. So Taco Bell took all the pork products out of it’s food. Mexican food without pork-fat (lard) just isn’t the same. To be honest it was quite disappointing. I had a burrito supreme that I didn’t even finish…..oh well. It’s kinda good, cuz if it had been really good it might have cost me a bunch in trips to Singapore. I’m in Bangkok right now, and I’ve started cooking for myself, and honestly for me the best food I can get here I make myself. It’s also really really cheap, so I think I’ll try making my own Mexican food. Other than that, Singapore was cool, but I think I’ve seen enough. It’s a great town for shopping, especially if you have thousands of dollars burning a hole in you pocket…I don’t, so I think I’ll be going back to making Cambodian visa runs.

I’ve been spending a lot of time working on my gem photography. I’ll post a few of the new ones. I think the photos are improving.

Ruby cabochons

1.74 carat sapphire.

What’s Happening?

You’re right Jamie…..I been slacking. I just been real busy. Moving right along with school. I’m nearly half done. That’s cool because while I really enjoy school, living in Bangkok just isn’t something I’d do voluntarily. Traffic here makes LA look like Canada on a Sunday. Not that I’m not happy. School is still fascinating. I’m making friends with some of the other kids in school, and there from all over the world. I have a nice little apartment, and Na has been her about half the time. Na and I are going to Singapore tomorrow, so I’ll take another run at Taco Bell….I let ya know how that goes when I get back.

I think I’ll tell you about some of the stranger people I’ve met lately. This one guy walked into the bar, and he was totally Harley’d out. Levi’s, white tee shirt, black leather vest, tattoo’s everywhere. Total American biker look (something ya don’t see here). Oh, yeah I forgot to say…this dudes like in his mid-sixties. I played pool with him, and after a while he told me he was in Asia with the BBC trying to track down Gary Glitter (70’s pop star). According to him Gary’s a pedophile that has been moving around in Southern Cambodia. I don’t know how much of all that is true, but if it is ….go get him. Along the lines of things that may or may not be true…..a guy walked into the bar, and was playing pool with Rob, an English guy. Later Rob told me the guy was Icelandic, and just got out of jail after 8 years. He told Rob that he wouldn’t have been in jail that long if he had told them where the money was. He said he was in Thailand just laying low til he could go back to Iceland to dig it up. That’s the kind of story I would expect to be followed by a con where you give them some money in exchange for a share in the loot, but the guy just told his story and left…..Who knows.

I’m a little envious about camping next week. That really sound fun. Drink a few for me and send some pictures.

Exam week.

I’m back in Bangkok after a nice weekend in Pattaya. On Friday my gem class went on a field trip to Chantanburi, it’s a town fairly close to the Cambodian Border. They used to have mines there, but now it has one of the largest colored stone markets in the world. What a scene…..people literally walk the streets with rubies, sapphires and other colored stones, and sell them to buyers that come every Friday and Saturday. The storefronts are empty shops with desks that the owners rent to stone buyers to sit at while sellers come in and show there stones. It’s an amazing place. I didn’t buy any stones(I’m still trying to catalogue and photograph the ones I already have), but I did get some tools, Scale, tweezers, lupe, and a little light.

This is the last week of my colored stone class, so I’m taking exams on Wednesday and Thursday. After that I’m going to go to Singapore to get my Education Visa. That means I’m gonna get to go to Taco Bell! Woooooohooooo!!!