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 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!