The Chiang Mai Night Bazaar is definitely bizarre. Strolling through this crowded ½ mile stretch of wall-to-wall sidewalk concessions is definitely a can’t miss experience for the first time visitor to Chiang Mai. Everything under the sun is for sale here – from handbags, knockoff jeans, pirated DVDS and a variety of clothing accessories to tacky (and obscene) T-shirts to faux bugs and snakes. Weaving through the parade of tourists are young Akha girls and women dressed in their native finery, trying to sell costume jewelry as well as wooden frogs that croak when you rub their top with a small wooden mallet. Whenever I hear the croaking frogs, I say “poot Gop” (in English, frog speak) as the Akha girls pass me by with a big smile on their face. In the past, I have purchased a couple of these novelty items. The variety of T-Shirts with tacky and tasteless designs is amazing, however if you look hard enough you’re bound to find one that has a design that is both aesthetically pleasing and made of quality material. On my last trip, the most outrageous T-Shirt I saw was a satirical condemnation of our former President, George Bush, who certainly is not the most highly regarded man in the world.

Before my little stroll through the night bazaar, I took my colleague and friend, Ms Moongmink, out for dinner at the Whole Earth Restaurant. Specializing in nouvelle interpretations of traditional Thai and Indian dishes (with many vegetarian choices), Whole Earth is a casual and semi-elegant restaurant, very popular with both well-heeled Thais and the tourist crowd. Unlike many Thai restaurants in Chiang Mai which cater to young backpackers, it is not cheap, but for a western tourist the Whole Earth cannot be considered expensive either.

After a very enjoyable dinner, a very unusual thing happened when I requested the bill “check bin”. I was simultaneously shocked, offended and humored when the young waitress presented the bill to my female friend instead of me. Feigning embarrassment, I immediately snatched the bill from my friend. Call me an American chauvinist if you will! I told her that this was the first time in my life that a waitress/waiter at a proper restaurant handed the bill to my female date. Explaining the young waitress’s rationale for her behavior, Moongmink gave me some very valuable insight into Thai culture and mentality. I’m sure Moongmink will come forth with her explanation shortly!

This is a story of how my travel blog (and website) was hijacked by malware. Apparently the hijacking took place while I was staying on the island of Langkawi, one of the most popular beach resorts in Malaysia. I had checked into AB Motel on December 5th and I decided to pay for their daily internet access at 10RM per day (about 3.50USD). While surfing on the internet on my first or 2nd night there, a very loud popup ad appeared on my screen - the popup was luring me to do a free antivirus scan of my system. My gut feeling was that this invitation was bad news, however I clicked something which initiated the download. It took a while before I was able to halt the progress of the download, as the damn window would not go away immediately. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I have a feeling that is how the malware was able to sneak into the very core of my website.

Later on that evening, I tried updating my WordPress Blog in the Firefox browser using the WordPress automatic updater plugin and received a warning from Norton Antivirus that my computer was being attacked, and the installation of the update was aborted. I clicked on the link requesting more information on this attack, and I got the following explanation from Norton (see picture). Undeterred, I tried installing the update with Internet Explorer – this time, I didn’t get the warming from Norton, but the browser informed me that this address couldn’t be displayed at this time and to my check my browser settings. You know the standard stuff…

Somewhat disturbed about this new development, I called my Webmaster in Thailand. We concluded that a bug had corrupted the WP automatic upgrade plugin, which caused the installation to fail. In the days to follow, I continued to blog about my 30-day travel odyssey, but when checking my traffic numbers I discovered that visits to my site had dropped over 80%. Very disturbing to say the least, but I let the matter slide! It was only several weeks later, after returning home to the USA, that I realized the true nature of this nasty malware - how it attached itself to my website like a leech, stealing all my search engine and web traffic.

Here’s how the malware worked – Using the Firefox browser, when people clicked on a search engine listing which linked back to my blog/website, they were either directed to a different and totally unrelated website or if they had a malware detection software on their computer, they received a warning that their computer was being attacked. In the latter instance, when using Internet explorer, the clickthrough would bring up the standard “this address couldn’t be displayed at this time and to your browser settings”. In addition, any hyperlinks to my site sent by e-mail, would behave the same way. No wonder, my traffics figures were way down!

Next – how my Webmaster figured out how to extricate the malware bug from my Website (the Fix), and how you can protect yourself your website from being hijacked!

It’s been a rocky start for CALYPSO ISLAND CHRONICLES in 2009. While I was on my 30-day odyssey to Thailand and Malaysia not too long ago, I discovered that Calypso Island Chronicles (and our associated website) had been hijacked by some nasty malware. This hijacking caused traffic numbers to our blog to drop significantly as many of our readers/visitors were unable to access our site and read our new material. Needless to say, this act of cybervandalism caused me a lot of aggravation and grief. Because of the hijacking, I decided to temporarily halt the blogging effort as of January 1st until the culprit was eradicated.

I can finally breathe a sigh of relief as it has been a couple of days that my webmaster – a young English bloke by the name of Paul who lives in the popular mountain resort of Pai in Northern Thailand - discovered a way to extricate the culprit (bug) from the site and banish it into the nether reaches of cyberspace. The details of this hijacking and how you can protect your website from being vandalized by this insidious type of malware will be treated in a subsequent blogpost. Now that CALYPSO ISLAND CHRONICLES has been debugged, we will commence our blogging effort on a variety of travel topics and issues. In particular, in the next couple of months we will feature many stories, anecdotes and memories from our recent excursion to THAILAND AND MALAYSIA. For a sneak preview of upcoming stories in CALYPSO ISLAND CHRONICLES, read on…

• A day at the Beauty Salon – how I was worked over by four ladies at my favorite beauty salon in Bangkok
• Excursion to the Moslem village of Nong Chok – interesting visit to a small rural Moslem community located just 70KM outside of Bangkok
• More Snippets from Bangkok – anecdotes, tips and random observations while stationed in Thailand’s fascinating capital city
• An eerie rendezvous with Mother Teresa, Ho Chi Minh and Mao Tse Tung – a visit to the Hall of Fame, the fascinating Wax museum at the Siam Cultural Center in Ratchaburi Province



• The Starbucks Index - the cultural impact of STARBUCKS in Thailand and Malaysia
• A pleasant Saturday excursion to the 100 Year Market – colorful outdoor Thai market, a popular weekend outing for Bangkokians
• THAIger very dangerous, eat money – a rollicking adventure in NAN in Northern Thailand featuring my amiable tour guides, Nong and Chaat
• Highlights of Nan – featuring the earth dunes of Sao Din, the Thai Hibachi factory and a visit to a Mlabri village, the most primitive and poorest hilltribe people in Thailand



• The Terracotta Lady – profile of the wonderful lady who owns Mae Pundin Guesthouse, an eclectic hostelry near Chiang Mai which features ceramic making and Thai Cooking classes
• The Plant Man – Profile of one of Thailand’s premier horticulturalists and owner of Udom Gardens and Nursery in Ratchaburi Province
• The View – commentary on the heavenly views at Phu Lang Ka, Phayao Province in Northern Thailand. Out of this world!
• Passport of Pan Hu and the Yao People – While I was Phu Lang Ka, I had the opportunity to learn about the origins and history of the Yao people



• Special Memorial Tribute to Princess Galyani by the Hmong and Yao people of Phu Lang Ka – One of the most heartwarming experiences that I have ever had as a traveler
• The ruination of MELAKA – how modern development threatens to destroy the old world colonial charm of this popular tourist town in Malaysia
• Snippets from Chiang Mai – includes a stroll through the famous night Bazaar, outrageous T-Shirts, a weird experience at Whole Earth Restaurant and more!
• Snippets from Cameron Highlands – random observations and tips about this popular hill resort in Malaysia including recommended places for dining



• Lulu, the best masseuse this side of Beijing – profile of a very talented lady in Cameron Highlands. I miss her magic touch
• The search for the legendary Jim Thompson - highlights of a most memorable all day tour in Cameron Highlands featuring a muddy 3 hour hike through the rainforest to the world’s largest flower
• Snippets from LANGKAWI – random observations and travel commentary on Malaysia’s most popular beach resort.
• Dine around Plan in Langkawi – A review of my favorite places for dining in this popular Malaysian beach resort
Sphere: Related Content

On New Years Day, I lie in bed reflecting on the past year in the life a traveler. In light of the global recession and economic downturn, 2008 was a very rough year for many people including your truly. There were far less travelers taking to the seas and the skies than in years gone by, and trips were a lot shorter in duration and closer to home.
But for this traveler, hard times wasn’t able to keep me grounded as exploring the world and traveling is what keeps me alive and defines me as a person - I AM A TRAVELER. That is MY LIFE and what I lack in monetary wealth, I make up in the richness and experience that travel brings.

In 2008, I consider myself fortunate to have made two trips....

In April, I returned to La Manzanilla aka My Secret Paradise on Mexico’s Costa Alegre. A relatively small and unpretentious beach town located 1 hour north of Manzanillo, not much had changed from a year ago but the economic downturn in the USA and Canada resulted in far less visitors. Looking down the two mile beach, I observed that there were far fewer Mexican tourists in the area over the popular All Saints Holidays compared to last year. Most of the Gringos I met were either snowbirders (winter residents) or were scouting the area to buy some property or start construction on their new vacation home. As usual, I had a quiet relaxing time - in the mornings, I would blog at El Girasol Café over breakfast and in the afternoons, take a siesta or read a book on the beach.

On November 11, I took off to Thailand and Malaysia in Southeast Asia for one month. I had a wonderful experience overall - I visited many new places and met a lot of interesting people. I was on the go the whole time and did not have more than 3-4 days of downtime. I have so many outstanding memories from this trip, it would be so very difficult to discuss all of them at this time. But if I had to choose the most memorable experience from my recent trip, it had to be witnessing a special memorial tribute by the Yao and Hmong Hilltribes to the recently departed Princess Galyani, the revered older sister of The King of Thailand. This tribute was staged on November 24 at a small community school near the village of Pong in Phayao Province, Northern Thailand, more than one week after an extravagant 4 day national tribute was held in Bangkok. This had to be the most heartwarming experience that I’ve had as a traveler.

In a more humorous vein, I was attacked by an invisible bamboo while hiking in the rainforests of the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. This encounter resulted in a very nasty gash on the top of my left hand. As the wound was infected, I went to the local hospital at Tanah Ratah the following day to have it cleaned out and stitched up. Presiding over the minor surgical procedure was a young man by the name of Mr. Amri, who I later learned was just a medical assistant. As he performed the operation, he gave sort of a running commentary of the procedure in Malay language to the four young female interns who were in the operating room. Looking at their dog tags, I discovered that they were all from the same college in Kuala Lumpur. In the meantime, I alternately winked, grimaced and smiled at the young ladies who didn’t really know what to make of this strange foreign patient. The WOUND STORY didn’t end right there, as I had to go to a local hospital in Bangkok at the tail end of my trip (Dec. 9-12) for three consecutive days to have the stitches taken out, the wound recleaned and dressed.

On the day I arrived home in San Francisco safe and sound (December 12), I went to my local Kaiser Medical clinic to have a Doctor look at the wound. When I showed her a digital picture of my hand after the surgery was performed in Malaysia, she shook her head in dismay and said “The good news is that the infection is contained and you will live to die another day, but because of the poor stitching job you’ll be left with a permanent albeit small scar/souvenir”. Upon hearing this, I laughed and said “No problem - I can add this new souvenir to the ones that I have already collected from Thailand and Costa Rica.”

Happy Trails Everyone. Have a healthy and prosperous New Year

I admit to being a Chinese food enthusiast; although I’m a vegetarian, most Chinese restaurants can accommodate me by substituting soy bean curd (tofu) for meat/chicken/seafood. One of my favorite dishes – I usually order it with all my meals - is hot and sour soup, a staple in Chinese cuisine. I have had this particular soup at Chinese restaurants not only in my home town of San Francisco but all around the world, in places as far away as Accra, Ghana and Quito, Ecuador. The common denominator is that the soup is relatively spicy and has a certain thickness or consistency.

Believe it or not, the worst hot and sour soup that I have ever had was at Kim Liam Kee, a rather, large establishment located on Petaling Street in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s famous Chinatown. I ate at this establishment on Nov. 27 of this year - it was my first night in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city and after a strenuous day of travel, I really wanted a proper vegetarian meal. My hotel was an easy 5-minute walk to Chinatown and my decision to patronize this particular restaurant was primarily because of their rather large and very prominent signage.

I ordered two dishes at Kim Lian Kee – a vegetarian claypot dish with rice and a small hot and sour soup to the accompaniment of a Royal Stout. While the claypot dish was satisfactory, the soup was very watery and had hardly any taste – it was so bad, I thought I would let the management know about it. Now I’m a person who is not afraid to voice his opinions to the restaurant management if the service or the food is bad.

Expressing my dissatisfaction vociferously with the manager over the bland tasting soup, I opened up ‘a rather large can of worms’. Later on, I asked the manager to reprimand the young waitress for her very flippant comment when I requested the bill. After hearing my complaint, he smiled and replied “I am sorry sir, none of these girls have any training; they are hired off the street.” After hearing that, it was very difficult for me to refrain from laughing out loud!

In retrospect, I really thought the whole incident was quite amusing as I relished playing the role of the incensed tourist-customer. Bottom line - I would never, ever go back to this restaurant and recommend that my fellow travelers do not patronize this establishment as well. For a detailed account of my rather dismal experience at Kim Lian Kee, I have filed a report on TripAdvisor

On my 2nd night (and final night in Kuala Lumpur), I went to Fatt Yan, a small vegetarian Chinese restaurant that received very favorable reviews in Happy Cow. The price was right at 18.50RM ($5.25USD) and my two entrees were very tasty – one of which was a vegetarian hot and sour soup. Take that Kim Lian Kee!

I was very fortunate to have chosen the ANCASA HOTEL for my brief 2-night stay in Kuala Lumpur. Situated only two short blocks from Chinatown, the hotel’s location is ideal - Puduraya, the interstate bus terminal is next door while the public mass transit system- the overhead monorail and underground trains - are within easy walking distance. As a bonus, Starbucks Café with free WIFI is conveniently located directly across the street. And at $51USD including breakfast, the price is right. While the hotel is short on facilities - no swimming pool and only a stripped down and small fitness center – all rooms come with cable TV, free wifi, a hot water utensil and a small refrigerator and the breakfast buffet was more than satisfactory with a variety of hot and cold dishes, rolls and pastries as well as fresh fruit. The hotel management seemed very keen on customer service.

The young manager, an Indian fellow who I believe is first generation Malaysian, was especially accommodating. Upon check in, he personally gave me a guided tour of the hotel and its facilities - gym and the massage treatment concession - and answered most of my questions about Kuala Lumpur. While he was showing me around, we chatted a bit about the terrorist attack in Mumbai, India as well as the political situation and demonstrations in Thailand. Although he did give me a bum steer as to where to find premium T-shirts as gifts, I cannot really fault him for that – he meant well.

Bottom Line – I would highly recommend the ANCASA Hotel for the first time visitor to Kuala Lumpur. While short in facilities, it is very affordable for a 3 star property and you cannot beat the location.

• Be aware of the laws and customs of the land

..Shortly after landing, I picked up some informational brochures at airport; on the back of the brochures in small print there is a warning - trafficking in illegal drugs carries the death penalty. Be forewarned and please remember to leave your recreational drugs at home. Also I learned from an informed source that a Fatwah will be issued for any citizen Muslims practicing Yoga. No kidding aside, I don’t think I will be opening up a yoga school there anytime soon.

• Bars, nightclubs and alcohol use in Kuala Lumpur

..Because MALAYSIA is an Islamic State, there are not that many dedicated liquor stores (most of them are owned by the Chinese) and many of the convenience stores do not carry wine and beer. Like Thailand 7-11’s minimarts are very common here. However in Chinese restaurants, beer, wine and liquor are readily available. Curiously enough, a small can of Guinness Stout can be had for as little as 2.80RM (80 cents). Compared to Bangkok, there are far fewer bars, nightclubs and discos - not far from my hotel on the outskirts of Chinatown district was the popular REGGAE BAR. Bob Marley lives!

• Globalization

..Scattered around city are KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King and of course, Starbucks.

• Free wifi at Starbucks

..Shortly after arriving in KL, I learned that all Starbucks outlets in Malaysia offer free WIFI with no strings attached – now if only Starbucks in Thailand followed suit, I would be absolutely delighted! The people who worked at the Starbucks across the street from Ancasa hotel were very friendly and customer service oriented – more so than their US counterparts.

• The mass transit system

..Compared to Bangkok, I found the Mass transit system - overhead train, monorail and underground subway - in Malaysia’s capital city to be somewhat confusing with it’s many different routes and platforms. But then again, I was there only for a very short time – therein likes the problem.

• People

..In general, the people in KL seemed to be friendly although a little on the reserved side, maybe not as smiley as Thai people, but genuinely nicer than people in the USA. Because Malaysia was a former British colony, people’s facility with English was far superior to Thais. Like Thai people however, I found that Malaysians were terrible about giving directions - it could be that cultural differences and communication problems come into play. After all, English is still a 2nd language here!

I admit that it was nearly impossible in two short days to get a feeling for “the pulse” of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s modern cosmopolitan capital city of about 1.7 million people. My only other reference point admittedly was Bangkok, Thailand’s sprawling capital city whose orientation and culture is 180 degrees different than KL - afterall, Thailand is predominately a Buddhist country and Malaysia is an Islamic State, where approximately 60% of the population is Muslim. Buddhists comprise Malaysia’s 2nd largest religious group followed by Hindus and Christians.

Walking around Kuala Lumpur – at least in the area around my hotel - I observed that most of the Malay women, whose religion is Islam, dress very conservatively wearing the traditional Muslim garb - a wrap over their head and a color coordinated two piece outfit which covers their entire body. And many of the men wear the traditional Muslim skullcap. As a westerner, I say Viva la Difference! From what I could see, there was very little overt discrimination against Muslim women. They seemed to be well represented in the workplace - in hotels, shops, restaurants, banks, department stores, airport etc.

The architecture is an eclectic mix of East meets West - there are a number of rather ornate Mosques scattered around the city along with some exotic architectural structures whose design is influenced by Islamic iconography and motifs in addition to many gleaming new skyscrapers, modern high-rise condominiums and office buildings. In fact, Kuala Lumpur seems to have a proportionately higher percentage of skyscrapers than Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city. Rising far above the flat urban landscape of KL are the Petronas Towers, the highest twin towers in the world. These imposing skyscrapers, which can be seen from anywhere within this modern Asian metropolitan city, are named after Petronas Corporation, Malaysia’s large oil and gas conglomerate. Like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur has its fair share of gaudy shopping centers. Kuala Lumpur? For a big city, it is not bad at all. I wouldn’t mind going back there!

When I told the manager of Ancasa Hotel in Kuala Lumpur that I wanted to buy as gifts some high quality T-shirts with a simple but tasteful design, he suggested that I go to the nearby Petronas Towers. Rising far above the flat city landscape, these towers are the highest twin skyscrapers in the world and are Kuala Lumpur’s claim to fame. Although these towers can be seen from anywhere in this large cosmopolitan city of over 1.6 million, like most imposing landmarks they look closer than they actually are. Getting off at the closest underground railway stop, I had to walk over 1/2 mile before reaching the towers. There is a huge shopping complex, which occupies the lower floors containing many fancy, upscale and expensive boutique stores. In a way, the shopping complex reminds me of the Emporium in Bangkok, but considerably more grandiose. Insofar as finding the T-shirts that I was looking for, it happened to be a bum steer and an exercise in futility.

After finally reaching the towers in a roundabout way (I admittedly got a little lost), I made a beeline for the information counter, where I asked the young ladies for the best shops to buy high quality T-shirts. They gave me some leads – I spent the next hour going to at least 4-5 shops, only to discover that none of them had what I was looking for – they all carried the same cheesy T-shirts albeit of mediocre quality that most teenagers buy for the outrageous price of 72RM ($28USD).

Upon recommendation of somebody who worked in one of the department stores, the last store I visited was Banana Republic. This turned out to be the biggest joke of all. The young, affable sales clerk showed me a very flimsy T-Shirt with a design that reminded me of something that one would find in New York City. Out of curiosity, I asked her what was the price - she replied “150RM” ($42USD). I laughed as I told the sales clerk point blank, someone would have to “insane” to buy one of these T-shirts for $42. She smiled and said she bought one for her boyfriend, to which I replied suuureee! Then she went on to tell me that the T-shirts are made in the USA - no wonder they have western designs that you would expect to find New York City - and the reason why customers are willing to pay so much monies for these T-shirts is because they have the Banana Republic label. I laughed and repeated my assertion that any Western tourist who bought a Banana Republic T-shirt in Kuala Lumpur had to have a couple of screws loose.

Leaving the store, I thanked the sales clerk for her time and for putting up with my blatant sarcasm. I concluded that all these fancy boutique stores at the Twin Towers were really geared for the domestic market, not for the tourist crowd. It seems that there is quite a market for status conscious locals who are willing to throw their monies away.

Returning to my hotel by the underground train sometime in the early evening hours, my attempt to buy some T-shirts for gifts in Kuala Lumpur turned out to be an exercise in futility. In retrospect, I realized that I would have been lot better off staying at my hotel and taking a nap. Every dog has his day!

There is HAPEE ENDING to all of this - During my brief stay in the old colonial town of Melaka, about 2 hours south of Kuala Lumpur, I found what I was looking for - cost per T-Shirt ranged between 35RM-50RM ($10-14USD). Mission accomplished!

Timing is everything – On December 03, 2008, BANGKOK DANGEROUS was the featured story on the front cover of the New Straits Times, one of Malaysia’s most popular English dailies. This of course referred to the ongoing political unrest in Bangkok and the continued occupation of the two international airports by PAD, a group of concerned citizens – mostly from the educated middle and upper middle classes - who have been trying eradicate the cronyism and corruption that has plagued the Thai government over the last 10 years. Exiled former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra and his family have been PAD’s primary target.

As always, in the newspaper business, sensationalism sells papers. Wouldn’t you know it, come December 4, the political conflict in Bangkok dissipated after the courts declared the current regime as being illegal and the two opposing factions – the yellow shirted PAD and red shirted pro-government supporters - put aside their differences and a truce was put into the place. It was then that PAD ended their occupation of the airports - both airports reopened and the many stranded tourists were able to leave. It was business as usual. A day after the sensationalist headlines, Bangkok was no longer dangerous! Timing is everything…