Today, I received the news that the teaching agency which I have worked at since early July 2011 would be unable to renew the contracts it holds with area schools. One of the more ridiculous aspects of the Thai education system is that the agencies -- those companies that act as liaison between the schools … Continue reading The End of an Era
Month: October 2022
Christmas Stamps 2022: Åland
The Åland Islands -- an autonomous and demilitarized region of Finland in the Gulf of Bothnia where the official language is Swedish -- is one of my favorite areas from which I collect stamps. The entity began issuing its own stamps on 1 March 1984 and I had a fairly complete collection of her stamps … Continue reading Christmas Stamps 2022: Åland
Stamps on the Tube Ep. 2: StampCat Stamps
StampCat Stamps is another fairly new YouTube channel that had escaped my radar up to now. The videos are hosted by Lisa Berthin, a young lady who is completely new to philately. During the pandemic, she decided one day to simply start collecting stamps. Her first video -- shot in mid-February 2021 -- features the … Continue reading Stamps on the Tube Ep. 2: StampCat Stamps
Sunday Summary #9
Welcome to Sunday Summary, the meme in which I attempt to summarize the week that came before. It has been a very wet week, culminating in most of Phuket Town being underwater as I write this. I spent most of my morning today wading through dirty water and my afternoon putting together and uploading a … Continue reading Sunday Summary #9
The Great Phuket Town Flood of 2022
This is NOT the post I had planned for today, Sunday the 16th of October 2022. In Phuket Town, Sunday evenings are reserved for the popular Walking Street known locally as Lard Yai. I highly doubt that tonight's event will go ahead, however. It has been raining here for weeks. It is the Monsoon Season, … Continue reading The Great Phuket Town Flood of 2022
Stamps on the Tube Ep.1: Ted Talks Stamps
One of the inconsistencies with YouTube is that it doesn't always display the date a particular video was uploaded. So, I cannot tell you when the first episode of Ted Talks Stamps first aired. I can tell you that Ted Tyszka started his YouTube channel in February 2020 and that Episode 1 has been there … Continue reading Stamps on the Tube Ep.1: Ted Talks Stamps
Long Walk to Saphan Hin, Phuket
The 13th of October is a public holiday in Thailand marking the death anniversary of the late His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty, Thailand. My previous visit to the Saphan Hin area of Phuket was probably during the preparations for his funeral towards the end of 2017 (yes, we had … Continue reading Long Walk to Saphan Hin, Phuket
Thainess Part 8: Bathroom Basics
When I moved to Thailand some 18 years ago, many of the public toilets -- even those in more touristy areas and shopping malls -- were quite bad. I can vividly remember my first use of a squat toilet when an alternative was not possible. It was on the overnight train between Bangkok and Chiang … Continue reading Thainess Part 8: Bathroom Basics
Stamps on the Tube: Prologue
In mid-July 2018, I wrote about the excellent Exploring Stamps YouTube channel. It remains, hands down, the best stamp collecting vlog out there. Host Graham Beck continues to post interesting content on a regular basis. Although the Exploring Stamps series is ongoing (Season 4's Episode 6 was posted some four months ago), most of the … Continue reading Stamps on the Tube: Prologue
Sunday Summary #8
Welcome to Sunday Summary, the meme in which I attempt to summarize the week that came before. This was the first week of the month-long term break and I was even lazier than usual. I concentrated on music and little else, as we will see. I have decided that the coming week will see more … Continue reading Sunday Summary #8
Mark Joseph Jochim 