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
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Tags: Cameron Highlands, Chiang Mai, langkawi, Mae Pundin, Malaysia, Malaysia travel, Malaysia vacations, Melaka, Nan, Phu lang ka, Ratchaburi Plant Nursery, Thailand, Thailand travel, Thailand vacations, travel

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 10th, 2009 at 2:58 pm and is filed under Bangkok, Commentary, Malaysia, Nature, Thailand, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.