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Author: Josef

Day 2 of My 1st Songkran

April 14, 2017
by Josef

Yesterday I wrote about Day 1 of my 1st Songkran which I spent in Silom. Today I spent Day 2 in Khaosan Road, which is the backpacker district of the city. I was able to take a lot of pictures along Charoen Krung Road in Chinatown, which I walked through on my way to Khaosan, but I’ll post those on another day. Here are a few photos of Khaosan.

Compared to Silom, Khaosan is definitely a whole lot smaller. The water fights in Silom were a lot more intense, but I was a whole lot wetter in Khaosan because the shop owners were spraying and throwing cold water at the revelers non-stop. There were also parts of the road where you could sit even without entering one of the bars, so I wasn’t as tired as I was yesterday.

I thoroughly enjoyed the water gun fights in Khaosan. Below is a video of me ambushing tourists like me celebrating Songkran. Super Mario and Spiderman make a cameo at the end.

I left Khaosan at around 3pm. I got lost on my way back, but I didn’t mind too much because I was able to take some more pictures. I can’t wait for Songkran next year. I plan to bring Vince over, and possibly Pia too. They’re going to have a blast for sure!

Bangkok

Day 1 of My 1st Songkran

April 13, 2017
by Josef

I’m super thrilled that I got to experience my first Songkran in Bangkok this year. Songkran is the start of the Lunar New Year, and it is also celebrated in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Songkran is the probably the biggest festival in Thailand, and it also one of the most fun (read: wettest). Everyone at the office has been talking about Songkran since I arrived 4 weeks ago.

According to Bangkok.com, “Songkran is the occasion for family re-unions, temple visits and annual house cleaning. Traditionally, Thais perform the Rod Nam Dum Hua ritual on the first day of Songkran, which is officially the National Elderly Day. During the ritual, young people would pour fragrant water into the elders’ palms as a gesture of humility and to ask for their blessings. The second day of Songkran is officially the National Family Day. Families would wake up early and give alms to the monks, then ideally the rest of the day would be spent sharing quality family time together. An important religious ritual on Songkran is ‘Bathing the Buddha image’, in which devout Buddhists pour fragrant water over Buddha statues both at the temple and at home. More religious Thais would engage themselves in Buddhist ceremonies and merit-making activities throughout the holidays.”

Aside from the traditional ceremonies, Songkran in Thailand is well-known because almost everyone in the country, especially in Bangkok, throws water at each other or engages in water fights. The water is supposed to cleanse you of your misfortunes from the previous year, and helps you start the new year fresh. With the amount of water I had poured on me today, I’m pretty sure I had more than a few years-worth of misfortunes cleansed.

I decided to spend the 1st day of this year’s Songkran in Silom. Silom is half business district, half seedy bars. It’s the perfect place to have a water-fight festival. Though I had my GoPro with me earlier, I unfortunately wasn’t able to take a whole lot of photos. I was too busy spraying random tourists with my Doraemon water gun.

Here’s a video of me running into the oncoming crowd and spraying them with water.

Tomorrow I’ll be in Khaosan, which is the backpacker district. That should be just as fun. I’ll try to go a bit early so I can take pictures with my regular camera without worrying about it getting drenched.

Bangkok

The Bangkok MRT

April 11, 2017
by Josef

Yesterday I wrote a quick guide for the BTS Skytrain, the light rail system that is elevated above Bangkok’s streets. Today I’ll write a quick guide for the Bangkok MRT which is the city’s subway system.

The BTS and the MRT intersect at a few stations. Below is a pic of the interchange between the BTS Asoke station and the MRT Sukhumvit station. The entrance to the MRT is to the right of the blue roof behind the stairs leading up to the BTS.

Below is the entrance of the MRT Sukhumvit station.

Here’s the escalator going to the lower platform where the ticket vending machines are.

There aren’t a lot of shops in the MRT station, but you will see a few ATMs. Some of the stations are connected to the Metro Mall, and other malls as well.

Like the BTS, you have the choice of getting your ticket from the ticket booth or from a ticket vending machine. The lines for both seem to be about the same, though there are more vending machines than booths.

The ticket vending machine is easy to use. You select your destination station in #1, you insert your payment in #2, and get your ticket and change in #3. The single-journey ticket is actually like a medium-sized plastic coin. It has an electronic chip in it that contains your fare.

Once you have your ticket/plastic coin, you go through the station gates and proceed to trains which are 1 level lower. The signboards will let you know which side your train will be on. It helps to know what the end station is, though there are station maps posted everywhere.

The platforms are very clean, and I think all of the stations have a protective barrier between the platform and the trains.

The subway trains are packed on weekdays. Here is what it looks like early on a weekend though.

Inside the train there is also a video screen that shows advertisements. It also let’s you know what station you’re at and what station is next.

Once you arrive at your station, you get off and go up 1 level to the ticket platform. The signboards will let you know which exit to take depending on where you want to go. The exits will be another level up.

Manila needs subways. We need more mass transit systems in general. I really look forward to having more trains in the Philippines. It would be awesome to be able to travel across Luzon in trains as pretty as these ones in Bangkok.

Bangkok

The Bangkok BTS Skytrain

April 10, 2017
by Josef

Traffic in Bangkok can get pretty bad. Sometimes I’ll wake up at 6am and there are already many, many vehicles on the road. Luckily for me, my hotel, the office, and my new apartment are all near the BTS Skytrain, so the traffic doesn’t really bother me.

Bangkok’s light rail system is very easy to use. It comprises both the BTS Skytrain and the Bangkok MRT. I use the BTS Skytrain everyday to get to work from the hotel. Once I move to my new apartment though, I’m planning to walk home instead. I need whatever exercise I can get, to be honest.

Below is a map of Bangkok’s mass transit system. Not all places in the city have access to a train station. As an example, the tourist spots of Wat Pho, Wat Arun, and the Grand Temple aren’t easily accessible by train. Plans are in place though to increase the number of lines and extend some of the existing ones.

Here’s quick guide on using the BTS Skytrain. I’ll write about using the Bangkok MRT in another post. The main difference between the 2 though is that the BTS Skytrain is elevated above ground and the Bangkok MRT is a subway system.

When you get to a BTS station, you have the option to either get a ticket through one of the vending machines, or through the ticket booth. I highly suggest you get your ticket through the vending machine, as the lines for the ticket booth are almost always as long as in the photo below. The booth is where you can buy the stored-value Rabbit card though, which is helpful if you’re planning to take multiple trips on the BTS.

There are 2 types of ticket vending machines. The one below is the most common one, and it only accepts coins. It doesn’t accept 2-baht coins though, which is a bit annoying but understandable considering that the 1-baht and 2-baht coins are very similar in size.

To use the machine, you first have to look at the Fare Information table which you see in the picture above on the right. Once you see the fare you need to pay to get to your destination, you press the button for that amount in #1. You then insert the coins in #2, your ticket comes out in #3, and whatever change you have comes out of #4. Make sure you select the right fare amount or you won’t be able to exit the station gates.

There are a few ticket vending machines like the one below that also accept paper money. These are very easy to use as well, though the lines are a bit longer here. Like the other vending machine, this one also doesn’t accept 2-baht coins. It accepts paper bills up to the 100-baht denomination.

All you have to do is select your destination on the touch screen under #1, then insert your fare in #2. Once you’ve paid, you take the ticket that pops out in #3, and any change is dropped into the container in #4.

Once you have your ticket, you proceed through the station gates. You tap your ticket on the blue square thing you see below, and the small monitor will show your ticket balance. Some turnstiles go both ways, so just check in case someone is trying to use the same gate as you.

Inside the gates you can see some shops, and occasionally there are ATMs as well. Don’t linger too long though, as I think there’s a time limit on how long you can stay inside the station.

Then you go up the escalators or stairs to the 3rd level. Once you reach the next level, you’ll see the train platform. Everyone is well-mannered and lines up. You have to be a bit careful as not all of the stations have platform gates like they have here in the BTS Asoke station.

Here’s what the train looks like when it arrives at the station.

People on the platform give way to people who are exiting the trains, and people on the train near the doors sometimes get off to make it easier for people in the middle to exit. In Manila, I had to fight with disorderly people on the MRT almost everyday. I’ve never even come close to doing that here, even during rush hour.

Here’s what it looks like inside the train on a Sunday. It can get even more crowded and packed on weekdays.

Above the doors is a panel that shows you where the train is. The red lights are the stations that have already passed, and the green lights show you the stations that are upcoming.

Once you get off the train, you have to go down the stairs back to the 2nd level. Signboards let you know which exit you need to take for various buildings and landmarks.

One of the things I love about the BTS is the Skywalk that connects some of the stations. The Skywalk is on the 2nd level next to the station entrances, and they are kind of like pedestrian overpasses only much cooler. This section of the Skywalk goes from the Ploenchit station all the way to Siam station — 3 stations away! I love it because it encourages walking, and it’s not as hot as having to walk on the streets below.

I really, really wish the new light rail lines they’re building in Manila would be more like this. There’s no hope for Manila’s MRT, but hopefully the new lines will be better. There’s always hope, I guess.

spirituality

“Letting Go” Meditation and Guided Visualization

April 9, 2017April 9, 2017
by Josef

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about Eluv’s Chakra Meditation and Guided Visualization that I’ve been using to meditate for over a year. Since I posted that, I’ve started using another one of Eluv’s audio guides: “Letting Go” Meditation and Guided Visualization.

Letting Go Meditation and Guided Visualization

I really love this guide. The imagery used is quite simple, but very highly effective. The first time I followed the meditation, I could immediately see the white light beam being described. I felt vibrations flowing up and down through my body. I use this guide now more than the chakra meditation.

Introduction

This is a simple yet powerful meditation for creating the space to let go of the things in your life that you no longer need, or no longer empower you. Use it often for regular cleansing and letting go, and to create the space for new things and new ways of being to come into your life and empower you.

It will facilitate letting go in a very gentle and healing way. Remember the law of the universe: If you let something go, you will be creating the space for something new to come in. This is true of all things; possessions, people, places, ways of thinking and being. Things that are stuck can dissolve and heal within the power of this law.

Let us start by centering and grounding ourselves with a three-part breath. The breath is the foundation to our letting go and our healing, and will provide the energy flow physically, emotionally, and spiritually in order to let go.

Preparation

The three-part breath: We will begin breathing deeply in and out through our nose, bringing the breath all the way down to our stomach, expanding the abdomen fully with each breath in, then bringing more breath into the chest, expanding our chest out. This is done in one smooth and steady flow, your breathing wave-like and flowing. After a few times you will begin to find your own steady flow of breathing. Most importantly, you will be shifting the energy in your body and supporting the letting go process.

Let us take a few moments to do our three-part breathing and find our own flow. Focus your attention on the breath. Take a full deep breath in through the nose, bringing the breath down to the lower stomach, expanding your stomach out as you breathe in. Then bring the breath up to the chest, opening up the chest fully, then release the breath very slowly through your nose. As you release the breath out, slowly bring the abdomen in towards your spine. Let the breath circulate through your whole being, cleansing and grounding you… and breathe…

Your stomach rises with each breath in and sinks gently towards the spine with each breath out. Take in this healing energy with each breath and open your heart to the universal energy of love, compassion, appreciation, and gratitude.

Letting Go Meditation and Guided Visualization

As we begin to settle our hearts and open up to new possibilities, with each breath out we let go and release anything known or unknown to us that is blocking our path to enlightenment. This is your time to heal and let go. Let us begin the meditation.

Imagine you are standing on the earth at the edge of a shallow pool at the bottom of a beautiful waterfall surrounded by a lush green forest. The water is clear and bright aqua blue. The sand at the bottom is pearly white and luminescent. Step into the water. Feel the silkiness of the soft sand under your feet. As you step into the water, the sand feels like baby powder underneath your feet, and the water is just perfectly cool.

Feel the vibrant, magnetic energy of the water moving up through your feet to your calves, up through your legs and hips, through your torso, hands, and arms, chest, neck, and head. As you feel the magnetic energy from the water rising through your whole body, you can feel the energy clearing and energizing you. Your mind feels clear. Your body feels relaxed, and your breathing is deep and flowing like soft waves washing over sand. You feel grounded and safe.

See the sunlight filtering through the trees down onto the water, shimmering back and forth and sparkling throughout the waterfall. You can hear the birds in the trees singing. Butterflies land on the flowers surrounding the pool and the waterfall, and bask in the filtered sunlight. Listen to the sound of the waterfall gently cascading into the pool, and the birds singing. You can smell the gentle fragrance of wild jasmine and gardenias wafting through the air and through the trees as they move in the gentle breeze. The fragrance is uplifting yet relaxing.

As you stand in the magnetic water of the waterfall, imagine a white light going through the bottom of your feet, down into the middle of the Earth. See the white light travelling in a beam through the core of your body, up through your feet, through your legs, going up through the middle of your body, and up through the top of your head all the way in the sky, on past the clouds, and extending the same distance upwards into the galaxy as down into the earth. See yourself connected to the earth and the sky through this beautiful glowing white light beam.

As it radiates through the center of your body, feel light radiating outwards and filling your whole body with light. Breathe deeply and smoothly. Take in this universal light energy with each breath, and allow it to support you and empower you. See yourself in the middle of this light. As you become the light, feel yourself glowing and expanding in the light. Feel the purity and the weightlessness. You feel no edges, no boundaries. You feel totally free as you move and keep expanding in the light. You are the light. You may see yourself floating effortlessly in the light or swimming in this quiet, tranquil sea of light. The energy is peaceful and gentle.

Now bring your mind to everything you want to let go of. It may be a part of yourself that you want to dissolve and let go of. It may be something physical that you’re holding on to. It may be a thought that reoccurs and you may want to let go of. It may be a pattern of behaviour that you would like to shift out of and let go of; people, places, thoughts, experiences, fears, disappointments, and doubts.

Let go of the worries, the sadness, and upsets, and place them into a ball in a beautiful glowing green light at your heart center, one by one. Here you may place anything you would like to let go of, into the beautiful green light sphere. Take a few moments to do this. Take your time. Let the breath circulate through your whole being, cleansing and grounding you, and open your heart to the universal energy of love, compassion, and gratitude.

Once you have placed everything you would like to let go of into the glowing green sphere at your heart center, ask if there’s anything else that you can let go of that you might have forgotten. If there is anything else, place it there at this time. Take a moment to do this. And when you are ready, take the green sphere of light, with all that you want to let go of, and allow it to merge with the white light beam at the center of your body that connects you with Mother Earth and Father Sky.

See the green sphere of light gently moving from your heart, merging into the white light. You may see the green light and all of the things that you want to let go of travelling up through your head into the sky, or travelling down through your feet into the earth. You may even see the green sphere changing colour as it merges with the white light beam in the center of your body. These colours may get brighter or more faded as they merge with the white light. Breathe…

Continue to see your sphere of all the things you’re letting go of dissolving and flowing out through you, through the top of your head and through your feet until all of the colour has dissolved into your center light beam and only the white light remains. If there’s anything that still remains, wash over it again with the white light and allow it to dissolve gently and lovingly into the white light. Continue until only the white light remains. With each breath out, let go. Take your time. Breathe deeply and evenly.

Now see yourself standing at the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, and feel the magnetic water washing over your feet as you make your way to the waterfall. Hold your hands under it. Allow the water to wash over your hands and over your arms. You may want to stand under the waterfall, or play in it, immersing your whole body under the magnetic aqua blue water. Feel the soft glowing sand underneath your feet as the soft fragrance of frangipanis and wild jasmine wafts through the gentle breeze. You feel refreshed and revitalized. Your mind is clear and at peace.

Take a moment to give thanks to Mother Earth and Father Sky for absorbing and recycling that which you no longer need, and allowing a safe place for you to let go of all these things. Take a moment to connect with your deepest appreciation for the wisdom you have gained and the lessons you have learned from the things you have let go of.

Once again, see yourself as the light. Take in this universal light energy with each breath. Feel the lightness, and feel yourself glowing totally free as you move and keep expanding in the light. You are the light; pure, white light. Focus your attention on the breath. Let the breath circulate through your whole being. Breathe pure white light…

Begin to walk to the edge of the pool and step out of the pool back on to the earth. As you begin to come back, remember to breathe deeply and evenly. Take your time, and then when you’re ready, come back into the room. Gently move your body or stretch as you come back, and slowly open your eyes. Continue to breathe slowly, deeply, and evenly.

You are love.
You are love.
You are love.
You are love.
You are love.
You are love.
I am love.
We are love.

My blog has gone through many reincarnations since I started it. Its focus has changed as many times as my focus in life has changed -- from writing about the start of my career to writing about the most private details of my life, to reading people's auras online to sharing details about my health issues, and now...

I'm about to start my dream job in Bangkok with one of the largest online travel agencies. I'm also trying to be more creative, and I'm trying to be a better writer. Ultimately, I'm still all about my family, my friends, and my husband. I'm all about supporting them and helping them make their dreams come true. Their dream is my dream.

That is what I will write about.