wow, what a long last day i had. thought i’d do something good for a change so i went up north out of bangkok to visit one of the most hard core prisons in the world. i wanted to visit this prisoner from britain that’s spending the rest of his life for drug smuggling. drugs in thailand equals big trouble. if you get caught even with a joint, you could spend the rest of your life in prison here. and get caught with more, it’s the death penalty. anyway, i searched the web for the prison where foreigners are housed. spent 3 hours on a train and boat to get up there. i thought i’d drop by to talk story with the poor guy and give him some magazines and stuff. it took me a while but i finally found the prison. gosh, it looked horrible from the outside. tall walls and really dirty looking. i heard the conditions in there are the worst in the world. it was kind of scary when i first seen it. anyway, i went to the office and told the guy who i want to see. i had to lie and tell him that he was a friend of mine. i gave him my passport and all the information necessary. he looked at me and said, not today. what??? he said that they don’t allow foreigner visitors on friday. shit, i gave him my sad story on it was my last day in thailand, and i came from hawaii, and i really had to see my friend. he didn’t give a shit. i could feel like he just wanted me to leave. and leave i did. i was really bummed out but didn’t want to push it. i’m in another country and i could end up in there for any reason they wanted. so i came back to bangkok bummed. then i went looking for this orphanage for unwanted babies. maybe donate something. anyway, i went to the right station and was walking all over looking for it. then i finally found someone that knew where it was. he told that they moved across the other side of the city. it was getting late so not enough time. shit. what a depressing day. i’m kind of bummed out but now i guess i have another reason to come back. those are two places i will have to visit someday. next time, i will be better prepared. anyway, going to eat my last tom yum soup and thai green curry from a little stand near my hotel. i can smell it…. see ya…
**check out some more photos…

if we had an open market like this back in hawaii, foodland and safeway would go out of business. everything you need. no expensive packaging, no chemicals, and no bullshit. somebody please make one in hawaii. i promise i’ll go everyday….

the seafood is so fresh. oh, do you know how to tell if the fish is fresh? put your finger in the mouth, swing it 3x in the air, and if it stays on your finger, it’s fresh… haha.. no, just look at the eyes and gills. the eyes should be clear and not milky white. and the gills should be red, not pink. these fish were fresh…..

once again, i am fascinated with the lifestyle here. i stood on this street for an hour just watching everything around me. the people, the bikes, the tuktuks, and the kids playing. it was pretty cool. you all should try it someday….

leaving thailand and heading on a long journey back to hawaii. stop over in japan again, grab my luggage stored at the airport, then jump back on a plane to home sweet home. total of 18 hours including stopover. long, but can’t wait. this past month, i surfed like 4 times and i feel like a kid wanting it. i might have to surf with my nephews all day to get back into it. hassle with them for waves, drop in, and just have fun. give me a week and i’ll be back to normal. but for right now, i feel out of shape. eating too much food, with little exercise. but at least my teeth is clean and my body feels great from thai massages every day. sometimes twice a day. haha. i thought cozy in bali was the best in the world but i was wrong. can’t beat a good thai massage. itai but good. anyway, just checked the surf forecast and looking like north, east, and south swells on the way. see you in the water really soon…
*when booking a hotel on the internet, be careful. do your homework. i stayed in a couple of hotels and the photos you see on the website aren’t the same as the real thing. the first hotel i stayed at was awesome. the hotel i stayed at last night was more expensive, but was half the quality. far from the station, shitty service, and worst of all, bed bugs. shit, i got bites all over. i’m going to move to another hotel tonight. all 4 star hotels but some are better than others. when i get back to hawaii, i’ll give you the scoops on hotels and stuff in thailand. after 50 hours on the internet doing searches, i learned a lot about thailand. maybe too much.. haha…

this is a where i stayed the first night. at $60/night, it was worth every penny… it’s called the key bangkok hotel and if i come back here, i’m staying there again. clean, good location, and quiet.
*it was in july 2006 when an unexpected north/west swell hit the north shores of oahu. during that time, we were doing a photo shoot with kondo-san for surf1st in town. but when we heard the waves were up, shuji and i went straight to the north shore. i pulled up with my 6’4 and when i seen pipe, way too short… it was 6-8′ and barreling. so ended up surfing 4-5′ perfect rocky point… hope this summer is the same. can’t wait…. check it out….

it’s pretty fascinating to watch people in other countries go on with their daily lives. to me, it’s just pure and simple. no BMW’s, no gameboy’s, and no designer clothes. just the necessities they need in life. and yet, they seem much happier than the some people in the world that have everything. it really makes me realize that i don’t need a nice house, or a nice car to be happy. i should be happy that i even have a roof over my head and a car to get me around. these kind of experiences wake me up. that’s what i love about traveling. makes you appreciate every little thing you have… even if it’s little…

the food here is pretty fascinating. cheap and good. why go to an expensive yakitori restaurant when you can just sit on the side of the road and order anything you want. and you don’t need a photo menu or have to speak thai to order. just point. gosh, i must have eaten 15 sticks…. so good…

they say not to eat food from the street vendors because it’s not safe. well, that’s all i’ve been eating. how the heck can you pass up a thai noodle soup like this for a dollar? i went to a restaurant the first night here and ordered some food. lamb curry and a salad cost me $12. i could have eaten the same thing on the street for $3. never go to a restaurant again. you know the saying, WHEN IN ROME, DO AS THE ROMANS DO. that’s what i told myself i was going to do on this trip. eat local, travel local, and think local… Korb Khun