Sweat Dream

AI wake up to the screams of the starling clan that has taken up residence in the garden behind my house. They are preparing for their yearly migration to England leaving Amsterdam to their brethren from Poland.
I`m not yet fully awake, as a matter of fact I`m still in the realm of the dream world. In my dream I`m back in Thailand, about to wake up in a shitty little room of a dirt cheap hostel located in Khao Sarn Road, the busy tourist district of Bangkok.
Even with the fan on I can sense the oppresive heat of the Thai sun promising me a sweaty day while walking around Bangkok, an activity I love while being here.
The voices of young local women doing the laundry outside in the courtyard, invade my dream. They are discussing the topics of their love life. The main character is a young australian male one of them went out with last night.
This is good practise for my Thai and I wanna stay in bed listening in on their conversation, eavesdropping so to speak, but the starling clan in Holland is way to rowdy and brings me back to my own bed, my own house in Amsterdam.
With a start I`m back and fully awake, the sound of the fan gone, these female voices discussing the male prowess of a young and lucky australian tourist, gone as well, the oppresive heat of a new day in Bangkok, gone too.
My body however, is covered with a thin layer of sweat, the sort of persperation that always covers my body while being in Thailand.....sh*t, that was one helluva realistic dream...... not the first time though.
Just two more months and this dream will be real again.

msterdam, 25 oktober 2008.

Teuke

Amsterdam, 24 oktober 2008

The cow in this weird looking contrapcion is called Teuke and she lives and prospers at the animal farm for children in Amsterdam west where I do my volunteer job.
Twqice a year the farrier comes to the farm to give Teuke a pedicure job, cutting off the excesses of her hoofs you know.
You might think that Teuke is in great discomfort here, don`t worry she`s quite used to it. Not getting her hoofs cut every so often would be much more discomfortable to her.


I once asked this farrier what people think about this weird contraption dragging along behind his mini-van driving around Holland from farmer to farmer.
He told me he once got stopped by the police, "don`t worry sir, we do not wish to give you a ticket, just wanna know what is this strange thing behind your van?", "are you a window cleaner or, maybe a carpenter"?
Hehehehe.

DelightfulNames

Delightfull little names given to me during my backpack trips around the globe:

Farang....Thailand.
Limey.
Ferengi....Malaysia and Indonesia.
Rooinek.
Soutie.
Khawaja....pronounced in Egypt as Khawagga, from
the turkish Fat Man.
Msungu...certain african countries.
Gwailo....in Hong Kong.
Gringo....seems obvious.
Honkey.
Rosbiff.
Tomi.
Satan Nyora...Devil Snake in Bantu..< I liked that one >
Sassenach.
Round-Eyed Foreign Devil...Taiwan < I`ll never return >
Gai-Jin...you guessed it, yes Japan.
Sahip...India.
Bwana...Kenia.
Orang Puti...Borneo.

If anybody out there in the Internet realm has got any more to add...pls do so.
Hope you enjoy my collection of delightfull little names.

BackToThailand

Amsterdam, 20-10-2008.

This being the time of autumn, the time of the year that the dropping of leaves multi-colored leaves makes certain people depressive. Well, not me, in just a few more months I`ll be off to my beloved Thailand, back to the country of the smile.
How many times have I been there.....I`ve lost count but I know I`ve enjoyed every trip I ever made in this fabulous country, even the one so many years ago when I got into serious problems and ended up spending 30 days in a dusty rat and cockroach invested police holding cell.
Even that trip was interesting to say the least.
After a whole summer of selling my games at the Anne Frank House, having saved up enough money to allow myself a SUPER GOOD time, two months in Thailand, I feel happy beyond believe.
There have been no soft drug addictions this summer, no stoned out of my farang mind times in my house being inactive apart from my frequent trips to the neighborhood`s many coffee shop buying hand rolled joints at inflated prices, drinking cheap supermarket beers and watching Blokker DVDs that they sell at dump prices.
Instead i bought myself a good ATB bike and cycle the city each morning visiting the public library and making photos of city sights which I up-load to photosites, a new hoppy.
Publishing my travel stories on the internet, an old hoppy that has become new in its design due to ever increasing interest I get in the world wide web.
Two more months and I`ll be back where I feel at home, Thailand here I come.

BanksInCrises

Haaaa, you should know all the sh*t that has hit the fan here in Holland, banks being nationalised, dutch savers who have lost 1.800.000.000 Euros because of ICESAVE, an islandic bank that went bankrupt only yesterday, insurance and credit companies going downhill fast and people taking their savings out of the banks en masse.
Just mere months ago gouvernment members were falling over each other`s feet screaming their political heads off "all is save, nothing to worry about, the creditr crises is in the States, far away" and more of the same.
Good thing I have no savings to speak off, too bad for all these people losing their life`s savings though, because of stupid bankers thinking more about their own benefits than of those whose money was fattening their bellies.
And were are they now? Most likely...lying on a tropical beach cold beer in hand and a tropical beauty at their side, enjoying their "well deserved" bonuses.
Sorry for the harsh words ladies and gentlemen, just needed to let off some fustrations.

In memory

In september 2007 Bone, born Mark Lawrence David Scott, 13-02-1963 - 18-09-2007, living in the Spaarndammer street neighborhood.
His Mother would have loved to come over from England for his funeral but was prevented from such by bad health.
But she would like to thank all his friends for their love and support during those sad times.
In memory of her beloved son she send us this poem,

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep
I am a thausand winds that blow
I am the softly falling snow
I am the gentle showers of rain
I am the fields of ripening grain
I am the morning hush
I am the grateful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight
I am the starshine of the night
I am in the flowers that bloom
I am in the quiet room
I am in the birds that sing
I am in each loving thing
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there - I do not die

On a personal note....I was with him and Rob in the park chatting about life and having a few beers just ten hours before he fell into a canal and drowned drunk as a skunk, not an unusual occurence in Amsterdam.
Rest in peace dear friend,
Always, Hans