Snapping back to reality for a moment, but without getting too far off course, I think Thailand can be a contributing factor for me to help obtain admission into a top MBA program. Now that I have successfully completed the CPA exam (yep, just got the results back from my last section! Yeah!!! CPA!!! Me!) and will shortly be officially licensed, the next road-mark in my progression to realize all my professional goals in obtaining a Masters of Business Adminstration from a top MBA program. While I initially considered this upcoming adventure of mine to be a complete detour and break from my career, I have begun to consider some of the potential professional development opportunities that this trip can potentially afford me.
In the past week or so, I have spent far less time researching Thailand travel, and more time considering my future career. I suppose the reasoning behind this is that now that the CPA exam is complete, I feel that I have accomplished everything that I have set out to accomplish in the accounting world. I have gained valuable business experience, learned how to succeed in a corporation culture, been promoted, and now have the CPA to validate all my these experiences. For me to stay within public accounting, the next steps would be for me to become a manager and ultimately partner, which have never really been goals of mine.
It’s ironic after officially be certified to be an accountant, I have absolutely no desire to use any of these new abilities (preparing tax returns, attestation services, etc) in my future career. Instead, the foundation that I have obtained as an accountant and as evident by my newfound certification will be used in the future to help a company make financial and operational decisions. Having an accounting background and understanding of accounting is critical for success as a CFO, and being a CPA will forever label my competence in this area.
A CFO of a company is appointed with the responsibility of managing the financial risks, raising capital, financial planning, and financial reporting. When a company is making the decision to enter a new business or purchase new equipment or issue a dividend, it is ultimately the CFO who is in charge of making that decision. For me, having the responsibility of making multi-million dollar decisions that can make or break the future of an organization is the type of pressure and involvement that I seek. For years, while I have helped all sorts of clients from the federal to non-profit to commercial industries with their financial reporting, I have felt left out of the bigger picture – the decision-making and strategic operations of a business. I want to feel apart of a company and share in its continued success. I want the results of my work to be more defined. Right now, it certainly is a feeling of accomplishment when one of my clients issues their financial statements complete with our letter stating that we have audited the statements, and they are free of material misstatement, however, the results of the company’s performance are not mine or a result of the work that I did.
As such, in order to successfully advance my career from accounting into the private sector, obtaining an MBA is the logical stepping stone to altering my chosen career path within the business world. In order to be accepted into a top MBA program, the application and competition is obviously intense. In fact, even more so than law and medical schools, the prestige of the school in which you receive an MBA will have a direct correlation to the employer and specifically the salary of the MBA graduate upon re-entering the workforce. So, its very important to go to a top program, otherwise, I’m not even sure if its worth it, quite frankly.
While being a CPA and having Big 4 accounting experience, in addition to the corporate and growth experience of working in a mid-sized firm in rapid growth mode, is a very solid basis for my resume, I realize that the ultra-competitiveness of the top programs requires more. The MBA program admission criteria can be divided into roughly 3 equal parts: Tangibles (Work Experience, Qualifications, Education), Intangibles (References, Essays, Interviews), and Standardized testing (GMAT). While I believe that I will rank right up there based on my tangible qualities, I realize that I’m not going to be the only CPA with Big 4 experience applying to the top MBA programs. I’m sure that we are a dime a dozen when it comes to potential Harvard MBA candidates. I absolutely need to obtain above a 700 on my GMATs (roughly the 93rd percentile), which is often considered a cut-off point for many of the top programs.
However, it’s the intangible qualities in which my trip Thailand comes into play. The top business schools are looking for more well-rounded students who have leadership and worldly experiences outside the work-force to share. If I play it right, I can use my experiences in Thailand as a basis for an essay. If I go with the mission to met tourism business owners or individuals who have opened up a business in Thailand, or to go investigate how the economy has so quickly rebound since the Tsunami in 2004, then I could also obtain relevant business knowledge in addition to having fun and exploring and learning about different culture and myself. In fact, the recently released list of Harvard 2008 Essays for the HBS September 2008 start-class, includes the question, “How have you experienced culture shock?” If putting myself alone in a foreign country half-way around the world doesn’t provide me with a basis to answer that question, then I probably should lower my MBA standards.
In looking at application deadlines, the deadlines for submitting your completed application for a September 2008 start are in October 2007, so the only issue of course is that I would have to have my applications submitted prior to leaving. I still think my planning, and perhaps even this blog, is worthwhile essay fodder regarding my trip, so I think I can weasel an MBA essay out my trip to Thailand prior to it even starting. I guess the bigger issue is that I really don’t have much more time to procrastinate prepping for an MBA around considering I have to take the GMATs after first attending a course, obtain letters, write essays, conduct interviews, visit campuses, decide on schools, etc. Lots to do in really not all that much time. But how sweet will it be to go to Thailand already having all my applications submitted?
Monday, June 25, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Weekend in Boston
I was up in Boston this past weekend visiting some old college friends. What was planned to be a relatively tame weekend trip up to see a few friends I haven’t seen in a while, turned into a ridunkulous college reunion where 8 successful young professionals quickly and surprisingly effortlessly deteriorated back into 19 year-old frat boys. Instead of swapping stories about the ridiculous things that we did during college, we added to our legacy by having a weekend that included so much debauchery, tomfoolery and bally-hoo that this weekend will be talked about in future get-togethers with the same amount of infamy as the nights of college parties known simply as Beerzilla, Hurricane Party, or the Shrine.
But besides demonstrating to ourselves, my friends' girlfriends in attendance (much to their dismay), and the city of Boston that we still have it in us to party like a rock-star, I think my weekend in Boston demonstrated to me how exciting travel and change can be. I spent my weekend living in Boston as opposed to being a tourist in Boston. The distinction is that while I did some touristy things like walking through Quincy Market and checking out the USS Constitution (“Old Ironside”), I had the most fun hanging out with my friends who call Boston home, and walking around different neighborhoods (like the North End, Cambridge, and Kenmore) to visit restaurants and bars – check out a beer festival, grab some fruit and veggies at the hay market, and attend a Red Sox game at Fenway. Living in Washington DC, which incidentally is #2 on Forbes Magazine’s list of the top 50 biggest tourist destination in the World, for the past 7 years, I don’t think there is a single street I have never been down, a restaurant or bar that I haven’t been to, or a museum/park/entertainment complex that I don’t know within the city. Bottom-line is that as much I have enjoyed my time in DC, spending a weekend in a different city makes me realize just how ready I am to move out of Washington and live and explore someplace new, whether as a month long or life long adventure. I now have more motivation in the next few months to prepare for attending a Top 10 MBA program beginning in the Fall of 2008. GMATs, letters of recommendations, transcripts, essays, applications etc will all be completed and submitted prior to my departure to Thailand. An MBA is my ticket out of DC - Harvard Business School – here I come!
While I was in Boston over the weekend, there were a few interesting developments regarding “Next Exit to Adventure”. The Internet really is an amazing place. While I certainly did not set out to start this blog in order to gain readers outside my friends and family, it now appears that I have actually picked up a few without any sort of solicitation on my part whatsoever. The webmaster, Chris Mitchell, of one of the top Thailand websites regarding backpacking in South Asia, TRAVELHAPPY, in which I have posted links to articles from in past entries and has really provided me with not only a tremendous source of research for my trip, but has also been an inspirational as well, stumbled across my blog and posted a link to Next Exit to Adventure on TravelHappy Asia Links. That’s right! My first plug! And with the link, you can see how the number of visitors on the counter on the bottom of the page has increased, as well as comments added by random strangers like the one by Clare to the “4 Quadrant” post. How cool is this?! I have an audience! Welcome everybody! Glad to have you!
And now that I have an audience, I kind of feel obliged to provide content that appeals to those people who care about things other than me. Actually, on second thought, I really don’t. This is my blog, damnit, and while it’s certainly great to have you, I’m not planning on tailoring my thoughts or posts to appeal to people who are interested not so much in Jeremy Dommu, but are instead interested in Thailand or travel or quarter-life crisis, etc. Still, once I get to Thailand and start writing about my Thailand adventures in internet cafes as they are occurring, I do suppose this blog will have a lot greater interest to the masses than it currently does as I write about my emotions and preparation for my journey. What I would like to do though is get a little practice about writing about specific events, similar to the ones I am bound to experience in Thailand, so what follows is a recap (complete with jokes and photos) of experiencing a baseball game at Fenway Park:
After spending a weekend in Boston, I have come to the conclusion that the Boston Red Sox are beloved by their city more than so any other sports team in America. And keep in mind, I’m a Yankees fan. Walking around Boston during a weekend in which the Sox were in town, I saw more individuals wearing Boston Red Sox merchandise than people who were not wearing Sox memorabilia is not an exaggeration. Every other person that I passed had either a Red Sox hat or Red Sox shirt on. It really is quite impressive to see just how supportive the fans of Boston are of the Red Sox. On Friday afternoon about 6 hours before the game began, I walked about 3 miles from the North End of Boston (from the famous Pizzeria Reginas) all the way down to Kenmore, where Fenway Park is located. This walk entails passing through Government Center and the Boston Commons, two of the most populated areas of Boston. While some cynics like my friend Tony, may claim that the influx of all the fair-weathered fans since the team won the World Series in 2004, often called “pink-hat fans”, are not “true” fans and not deserving of being a part of “Red Sox Nation”, I found the popularity of the team amazing as we made this walk and saw so many jerseys, hats, and shirts.
After polishing off a few beers at the Lower Depths, a new neighborhood bar a few blocks from the stadium, myself, Tony, Phil, and Henry, proceeded into Fenway Park - one of the oldest and most famous sports stadiums in the US – home of the infamous Green Monster in left field and the giant “CITGO” sign. Tony had secured amazing Corporate tickets from his company roughly 20 rows behind home plate. Oh, and if the location was not good enough, this game was probably one of the most sought after tickets of the season thus far, as their opponent was the San Francisco Giants in an inter-league matchup in which Barry Bonds, who currently stands 8 homeruns back from breaking the most historical record in all of sports amidst a flood of controversy regarding his steroid use in which he cheated during his most productive home-run hitting years of his career and later lied about it to the US Congress, made his first career appearance ever at Fenway Park. So, let’s put this in prospective; this was the very first time in history that some of the most hateful fans in all of sports were combined with the most hated man in all of sports at one of the most historic venues in all of sports history. And here I am, a casual baseball fan, sitting back and quietly taking it all in. Actually, I am obviously joking here: I was rip-roaring drunk being just as obnoxious screaming obscenities as the most die-hard of fans while covering my eyes with a "Boycott Barry" blindfold, as the following pictures clearly indicate. But hey, when in Rome …
So, if there is a morale to this story, it is this: Even as a Yankee's fan, I can still have an unbelievable time at Fenway Park, the home of our arch rivals. And while I suppose having fun with some of your best friends while drinking beer at a baseball game on a beautiful summer night shouldn't be that difficult of a thing to do; I pride myself on my ability to have fun and make the most out of every situation, and with that attitude that I will bring to Thailand and beyond, I welcome change, exploring the unknown, and finding myself outside my comfort zone. THAILAND - BRING IT ON!
But besides demonstrating to ourselves, my friends' girlfriends in attendance (much to their dismay), and the city of Boston that we still have it in us to party like a rock-star, I think my weekend in Boston demonstrated to me how exciting travel and change can be. I spent my weekend living in Boston as opposed to being a tourist in Boston. The distinction is that while I did some touristy things like walking through Quincy Market and checking out the USS Constitution (“Old Ironside”), I had the most fun hanging out with my friends who call Boston home, and walking around different neighborhoods (like the North End, Cambridge, and Kenmore) to visit restaurants and bars – check out a beer festival, grab some fruit and veggies at the hay market, and attend a Red Sox game at Fenway. Living in Washington DC, which incidentally is #2 on Forbes Magazine’s list of the top 50 biggest tourist destination in the World, for the past 7 years, I don’t think there is a single street I have never been down, a restaurant or bar that I haven’t been to, or a museum/park/entertainment complex that I don’t know within the city. Bottom-line is that as much I have enjoyed my time in DC, spending a weekend in a different city makes me realize just how ready I am to move out of Washington and live and explore someplace new, whether as a month long or life long adventure. I now have more motivation in the next few months to prepare for attending a Top 10 MBA program beginning in the Fall of 2008. GMATs, letters of recommendations, transcripts, essays, applications etc will all be completed and submitted prior to my departure to Thailand. An MBA is my ticket out of DC - Harvard Business School – here I come!
While I was in Boston over the weekend, there were a few interesting developments regarding “Next Exit to Adventure”. The Internet really is an amazing place. While I certainly did not set out to start this blog in order to gain readers outside my friends and family, it now appears that I have actually picked up a few without any sort of solicitation on my part whatsoever. The webmaster, Chris Mitchell, of one of the top Thailand websites regarding backpacking in South Asia, TRAVELHAPPY, in which I have posted links to articles from in past entries and has really provided me with not only a tremendous source of research for my trip, but has also been an inspirational as well, stumbled across my blog and posted a link to Next Exit to Adventure on TravelHappy Asia Links. That’s right! My first plug! And with the link, you can see how the number of visitors on the counter on the bottom of the page has increased, as well as comments added by random strangers like the one by Clare to the “4 Quadrant” post. How cool is this?! I have an audience! Welcome everybody! Glad to have you!
And now that I have an audience, I kind of feel obliged to provide content that appeals to those people who care about things other than me. Actually, on second thought, I really don’t. This is my blog, damnit, and while it’s certainly great to have you, I’m not planning on tailoring my thoughts or posts to appeal to people who are interested not so much in Jeremy Dommu, but are instead interested in Thailand or travel or quarter-life crisis, etc. Still, once I get to Thailand and start writing about my Thailand adventures in internet cafes as they are occurring, I do suppose this blog will have a lot greater interest to the masses than it currently does as I write about my emotions and preparation for my journey. What I would like to do though is get a little practice about writing about specific events, similar to the ones I am bound to experience in Thailand, so what follows is a recap (complete with jokes and photos) of experiencing a baseball game at Fenway Park:
After spending a weekend in Boston, I have come to the conclusion that the Boston Red Sox are beloved by their city more than so any other sports team in America. And keep in mind, I’m a Yankees fan. Walking around Boston during a weekend in which the Sox were in town, I saw more individuals wearing Boston Red Sox merchandise than people who were not wearing Sox memorabilia is not an exaggeration. Every other person that I passed had either a Red Sox hat or Red Sox shirt on. It really is quite impressive to see just how supportive the fans of Boston are of the Red Sox. On Friday afternoon about 6 hours before the game began, I walked about 3 miles from the North End of Boston (from the famous Pizzeria Reginas) all the way down to Kenmore, where Fenway Park is located. This walk entails passing through Government Center and the Boston Commons, two of the most populated areas of Boston. While some cynics like my friend Tony, may claim that the influx of all the fair-weathered fans since the team won the World Series in 2004, often called “pink-hat fans”, are not “true” fans and not deserving of being a part of “Red Sox Nation”, I found the popularity of the team amazing as we made this walk and saw so many jerseys, hats, and shirts.
After polishing off a few beers at the Lower Depths, a new neighborhood bar a few blocks from the stadium, myself, Tony, Phil, and Henry, proceeded into Fenway Park - one of the oldest and most famous sports stadiums in the US – home of the infamous Green Monster in left field and the giant “CITGO” sign. Tony had secured amazing Corporate tickets from his company roughly 20 rows behind home plate. Oh, and if the location was not good enough, this game was probably one of the most sought after tickets of the season thus far, as their opponent was the San Francisco Giants in an inter-league matchup in which Barry Bonds, who currently stands 8 homeruns back from breaking the most historical record in all of sports amidst a flood of controversy regarding his steroid use in which he cheated during his most productive home-run hitting years of his career and later lied about it to the US Congress, made his first career appearance ever at Fenway Park. So, let’s put this in prospective; this was the very first time in history that some of the most hateful fans in all of sports were combined with the most hated man in all of sports at one of the most historic venues in all of sports history. And here I am, a casual baseball fan, sitting back and quietly taking it all in. Actually, I am obviously joking here: I was rip-roaring drunk being just as obnoxious screaming obscenities as the most die-hard of fans while covering my eyes with a "Boycott Barry" blindfold, as the following pictures clearly indicate. But hey, when in Rome …
So, if there is a morale to this story, it is this: Even as a Yankee's fan, I can still have an unbelievable time at Fenway Park, the home of our arch rivals. And while I suppose having fun with some of your best friends while drinking beer at a baseball game on a beautiful summer night shouldn't be that difficult of a thing to do; I pride myself on my ability to have fun and make the most out of every situation, and with that attitude that I will bring to Thailand and beyond, I welcome change, exploring the unknown, and finding myself outside my comfort zone. THAILAND - BRING IT ON!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
The more I consider all the things that I want to do in Thailand, the more excited I am about taking a SCUBA course. Probably from the time I was nine (?) years old and Dad took me on a day long snorkeling adventure in Saint Martin, I always figured that I would eventually graduate to the world of SCUBA. I can still vividly remember starring into the turquoise reef watching schools of magnificently colored fish swim below me, while the Vernster took a big breathe and swam down to the reef below to get an up-close photo with our water-proof camera of the biggest and brightest fish. I remember that I couldn’t figure out how to close my mouth around the snorkel mouthpiece to prevent the water from rushing in from the top when you swam under and I was amazed that the Vernster could. I even got a turquoise blue tank top t-shirt on that trip that I wore for a few years probably between the ages of 9 and 12. Damn, I can’t remember all these memories are coming back. Mom or Dad, can you comment on how old I was when we went on that trip to St Martin?
Sure, land animals, especially of the African Safari variation, were my top animals of choice as a child, but I always had that spot in my heart for the reef world. From those childhood snorkeling trips to my salt-water seahorse aquarium to my whale and shark books, it only seems natural that on my upcoming quarter-life adventure, I finally learn how to SCUBA.
Here’s the breakdown. You have to get licensed to become certified to scuba. The licensing body is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). While there are many advanced courses, the Open Water Certification is the basic course that you need. Once you are certified, you are basically licensed to dive up to 60 feet anywhere in the world. The Open Water course is 3 or 4 full days, and consists of a theory class, pool training, a test, and 4 real dives in the ocean. Not all that difficult really. Kao Tao, which was on my original itinerary in the final quadrant of the trip, issues the second most PADI certificates in the world (behind some town in Australia by the Great Barrier Reef). It is really cheap to get certified in Ko Tao (probably 8,000 baht [$1 = 33 baht} or $240) and they are supposed to have some great dive sites, so I figured that would be the place to do the course. However, upon further research, I learned that the underwater visibility on the Gulf of Thailand side is bad in November and December. Upon further reading, the diving in the Andaman Sea is amongst the top in the world, and while it may be slightly more expensive (12,000 baht or $360) to do the course on Ko Phi Phi, the diving, visibility, and experience is supposed to be significantly better. How did I find all this out? Well, I asked a question on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum and got a near unanimous response.
Could this be me (on the left)?
Much like the elusiveness of the Cheetah in Africa (Harriett, remember how we didn’t spot one until our final day?), the Whale Shark is the prize “spot” in Thailand diving. Actually, its probably the #1 goal of many scuba diver to swim with a whale shark. For the few of you who didn’t spend their childhood reading about sharks, the Whale Shark is the biggest fish in the world, however they pose no danger as they only eat plankton. And it just so happens that they occasionally show up in the Andaman Sea. It is still very rare to see one especially while doing your introductory dives so I am certainly not counting on it, but I can say this: the chances of spotting a whale shark are significantly higher when you are scuba diving in Thailand as opposed to when you are auditing in Washington DC. And if I don't spot a whale shark, there are always manta rays, sea turtles, reef sharks, barracuda, moray eels, and octopus amongst all the coral and tropical fish.
So, there we have it. First change of plans is to do the Scuba course in Ko Phi Phi in the Andaman Sea during the 3rd quadrant as opposed to Kao Tao in the 4th and final quadrant. And how exciting is this! I’m going to Thailand and I’m going to learn how to SCUBA! And I just might swim with a shark the size of a school bus!
Sure, land animals, especially of the African Safari variation, were my top animals of choice as a child, but I always had that spot in my heart for the reef world. From those childhood snorkeling trips to my salt-water seahorse aquarium to my whale and shark books, it only seems natural that on my upcoming quarter-life adventure, I finally learn how to SCUBA.
Here’s the breakdown. You have to get licensed to become certified to scuba. The licensing body is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). While there are many advanced courses, the Open Water Certification is the basic course that you need. Once you are certified, you are basically licensed to dive up to 60 feet anywhere in the world. The Open Water course is 3 or 4 full days, and consists of a theory class, pool training, a test, and 4 real dives in the ocean. Not all that difficult really. Kao Tao, which was on my original itinerary in the final quadrant of the trip, issues the second most PADI certificates in the world (behind some town in Australia by the Great Barrier Reef). It is really cheap to get certified in Ko Tao (probably 8,000 baht [$1 = 33 baht} or $240) and they are supposed to have some great dive sites, so I figured that would be the place to do the course. However, upon further research, I learned that the underwater visibility on the Gulf of Thailand side is bad in November and December. Upon further reading, the diving in the Andaman Sea is amongst the top in the world, and while it may be slightly more expensive (12,000 baht or $360) to do the course on Ko Phi Phi, the diving, visibility, and experience is supposed to be significantly better. How did I find all this out? Well, I asked a question on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum and got a near unanimous response.
Could this be me (on the left)?
Much like the elusiveness of the Cheetah in Africa (Harriett, remember how we didn’t spot one until our final day?), the Whale Shark is the prize “spot” in Thailand diving. Actually, its probably the #1 goal of many scuba diver to swim with a whale shark. For the few of you who didn’t spend their childhood reading about sharks, the Whale Shark is the biggest fish in the world, however they pose no danger as they only eat plankton. And it just so happens that they occasionally show up in the Andaman Sea. It is still very rare to see one especially while doing your introductory dives so I am certainly not counting on it, but I can say this: the chances of spotting a whale shark are significantly higher when you are scuba diving in Thailand as opposed to when you are auditing in Washington DC. And if I don't spot a whale shark, there are always manta rays, sea turtles, reef sharks, barracuda, moray eels, and octopus amongst all the coral and tropical fish.
So, there we have it. First change of plans is to do the Scuba course in Ko Phi Phi in the Andaman Sea during the 3rd quadrant as opposed to Kao Tao in the 4th and final quadrant. And how exciting is this! I’m going to Thailand and I’m going to learn how to SCUBA! And I just might swim with a shark the size of a school bus!
Friday, June 8, 2007
4 Quadrants
So, the more and more I read about Thailand , I more inclined that I am to plan everything out in advance. To book hotels, make travel arrangements (Thailand is a huge country; so to save time, I want to book flights instead of taking 12 hour train rides) within the country, and plan the amount of days that I want to spend in each location and what I want to do there. And as I discover and read about more and more locations within the country, I keep adding to my list of places I want to go – which makes me even more inclined to arrange an itinerary in advance. Additionally, the late December Christmas time is the absolute height of tourist season, so it does make sense to make hotel arrangements in advance for fear of things booking up. Plus, it’s pretty much in my nature to read everything that I can find about where I am going, and the more I read, the more I want to make my arrangements now. As it currently stands, there are about 10 locations within the country that I want to visit.
However, this forward-thinking is probably not the best idea for a solo backpacker. Despite my continiously growing list of places to see and activities to do, I want to maintain a certain level of flexibility to change my arrangements while I travel if I come to a location that I don’t want to leave or I stumble across people that I want to continue to my travels with. What if I make friends with people going into Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, or Burma, and I want to go with them. If I have everything arranged and paid for in advance, I wouldn’t be able to. But then again, what if I am alone and I don’t have things planned, and I am delayed or booked out of a hotel or hostel I want to stay in because I didn’t book in advance. It’s a fight with myself to refrain from making too many advance plans in order keep this flexibility. But with so many amazing things to do within Thailand , its hard not to want to plan in order to ensure that I cover them all.
With that in mind, I have come up with a plan to divide my travels into 4 equal quadrants (of roughly one week each) that basically provides a rough outline of the places I will see and the order I will see them in – but also allows some flexibility. So, without further delay, and obviously subject to change, here is my initial plan:
Quadrant 1: Central Thailand: Bangkok and Kanchanaburi. Total Days: 5
Travel: Despite leaving NYC at about 2 PM in the afternoon of November 26th, I don’t actually arrive in Bangkok until about 11:30 PM local time on November 27th. Don’t ask me how a 22 hour flight (which includes a short stop-over in Hong Kong), takes 34 hours, but if I had to guess, I’d stay it has something to do with the fact that Thailand is 11 hours ahead of us.
Bangkok: From everything that I have heard, Bangkok is an overwhelming introduction to SE Asia. The place has a larger population than New York City, and has a huge pollution problem. Most people only stay in Bangkok for a few days before venturing off to explore areas of the country. Still, there obviously is a ton of things to do in Bangkok, and my plan is to spend 2 to 4 days exploring the area. There are tons of Buddhist temples, Buddhist statues, and Buddhist museums to see. The nightlife has tons of options, and the shopping is first rate. Apparently, they have millions of tailors that will make you a custom-made suit for about $100, so I will certainly pick one up. Khao San Road is basically the backpackers ghetto – where budget travelers from all over the world stay, so I’m planning on finding a hotel in that area.
Kanchanaburi: Kanchanaburi is about a 3 hour drive east of Bangkok. There was a prison there were American/English/Australian/etc POWs were held during World War II, and were forced to build a bridge over the River Kwai. A movie was made about this. The POWs were also forced to build a railroad over some mountains in the area, which is called “Death Railroad.” A festival is held every year in late November/early December in which there is a laser light show and a retelling of the events each night. While I’m not that much into history, considering the perfect timing of the festival, I will definitely make it to Kanchanaburi to check this out. Also, there is a sanchuary in the area called the “Tiger Temple” in which a bunch of Buddhist monks care for injured or previously domesticated tigers. Tourists can visit, pet the tigers, and have their photos taken. So, that should be fun as well. Plus, there are some good hikes and waterfalls in the area. Accomodations: A Riverhouse on the River Kwai.
http://www.travelfish.org/feature/40
http://travelhappy.info/thailand/tiger-temple-thailand/
Quadrant 2: Northern Thailand: Chiang Mai and Pai – One Week
Travel: Return to Bangkok from Kanchanaburi and take a flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai: This is the second largest city in Thailand, but significantly smaller than Bangkok. The northern part of Thailand should have the least amount of tourists and provide the most cultural experience. There are more temples and Buddhist things to explore here, and I can get a traditional Thai massage and perhaps take a Thai cooking or just experience great Thai food while I am up here. If I’m looking for an adrenaline rush, bungee jumping is pretty popular in Chiang Mai.
Pai: The main reason to go up North is to spend a several days going on a trek. A trek is basically an overnight camping trip to visit local mountain tribes and see crazy jungle scenery. Bamboo rafts and elephant rides are often combined with treks. From my research, Chiang Mai offers plenty of treks, but its often better to get further away from the city to a smaller town, such as Pai, to find a more authentic experience. Pai has a “bohemian” feel and has a big music scene. It’s a small town with a laid-back atmosphere, and that should provide a perfect place for a day or two of relaxation prior to going off on a trek. Plus, they have hot-springs and the Pai river is the best for white-water in Thailand. Also, I can travel up to Soppong which has lots of caves to explore.
http://www.1stopchiangmai.com/backpackers/pai/
http://www.1stopchiangmai.com/what_to_do/trekking1/
Quandrant 3: Andaman Sea; Phuket; Ko Phi Phi; Ka Sok National Park (One Week)
Travel: This will be a long travel day. I have to return to Chiang Mai from Pai, and then take a flight all the way from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand to Phuket, which has an airport.
Phuket – Phuket is the Miami Beach of Thailand. It’s wear all the rich tourists visit and is very well developed, or overdeveloped. Still, its supposed to have amazing beaches with tons of great watersports. They have tons of 5 star beach resorts, and great night-life etc. If I can find a way to use my points, I might relax in one of these resorts for a few days, but otherwise I might just make this a quick stopping point.
Ko Phi Phi – Ko Phi Phi is supposed to be absolutely beautiful with crystal clear water and limestone cliffs jutting out of the ocean. It isn't as remote as some of the other islands in Thailand, but its suppose to be one of the most beautiful. It was completely destroyed during the 2005 tsanumni, but it has since been rebuilt. They have great scuba diving, snorkeling, and cliff-jumping. Its an island about a 45 minute ferry away from Phuket. This is where they filmed the movie, “The Beach”
Kao Sok National Park – This is the oldest rain-forest in the world and is home to tigers, leopards, elephant, sun bears, poisonious snakes and frogs, gibbons, and tons of birds. A lot of the places to stay are “tree houses” where you stay in a room built high above in the canopy of the rain forrest.
Quadrant 4: Gulf of Thailand: Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan (One week)
Ko Tao: Ko Tao is one of the best places in the world to learn how to Scuba dive. There are apparently tons of dive shops that offer 4 day long PADI SCUBA certifications. While I could do the scuba course in Ko Phi Phi, it seems that Ko Tao is scuba diver paradise with some of the best dive spots in the country for beginners. There is even a chance to see the largest fish in the world, the Whale shark. So, I plan to do one of the 4 day PADI courses here, but of course, is is subject to change.
http://www.travelfish.org/location/thailand/southern_thailand/surat_thani/ko_tao
Ko Pha Ngan: Ko Pha Ngan is famed for the infamous “Full Moon Party” Every full-moon, thousands of travelers party all night long to trance/rave music. Its a huge party that lasts until the sun comes up in the morning. The full-moon is scheduled for December 24th, a perfect ending to my adventure. But Pha Ngan also has great beaches as well, so I plan on arriving a few days before the party for further relaxation. I then travel back to Bangkok on Christmas and leave the morning of the 26th.
http://fullmoonparty-thailand.com/
So, that is my initial plan. How cool does that month sound? I would book transportation in advance from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, from Chiang Mai to Phuket, and from Ko Pha Ngan back to Bangkok, and then allow myself to explore and otherwise alter my trip between those few legs of the journey. While the last 2 quandrants can really be combined into one since I can make the journey across the Thailand pensula, stopping at Kao Sok along the way, any time I want, I should probably consider booking rooms in Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan in advance because its going to be pretty busy when I am planning on being there. All in all, I think this represents a pretty damn good journey.
However, this forward-thinking is probably not the best idea for a solo backpacker. Despite my continiously growing list of places to see and activities to do, I want to maintain a certain level of flexibility to change my arrangements while I travel if I come to a location that I don’t want to leave or I stumble across people that I want to continue to my travels with. What if I make friends with people going into Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, or Burma, and I want to go with them. If I have everything arranged and paid for in advance, I wouldn’t be able to. But then again, what if I am alone and I don’t have things planned, and I am delayed or booked out of a hotel or hostel I want to stay in because I didn’t book in advance. It’s a fight with myself to refrain from making too many advance plans in order keep this flexibility. But with so many amazing things to do within Thailand , its hard not to want to plan in order to ensure that I cover them all.
With that in mind, I have come up with a plan to divide my travels into 4 equal quadrants (of roughly one week each) that basically provides a rough outline of the places I will see and the order I will see them in – but also allows some flexibility. So, without further delay, and obviously subject to change, here is my initial plan:
Quadrant 1: Central Thailand: Bangkok and Kanchanaburi. Total Days: 5
Travel: Despite leaving NYC at about 2 PM in the afternoon of November 26th, I don’t actually arrive in Bangkok until about 11:30 PM local time on November 27th. Don’t ask me how a 22 hour flight (which includes a short stop-over in Hong Kong), takes 34 hours, but if I had to guess, I’d stay it has something to do with the fact that Thailand is 11 hours ahead of us.
Bangkok: From everything that I have heard, Bangkok is an overwhelming introduction to SE Asia. The place has a larger population than New York City, and has a huge pollution problem. Most people only stay in Bangkok for a few days before venturing off to explore areas of the country. Still, there obviously is a ton of things to do in Bangkok, and my plan is to spend 2 to 4 days exploring the area. There are tons of Buddhist temples, Buddhist statues, and Buddhist museums to see. The nightlife has tons of options, and the shopping is first rate. Apparently, they have millions of tailors that will make you a custom-made suit for about $100, so I will certainly pick one up. Khao San Road is basically the backpackers ghetto – where budget travelers from all over the world stay, so I’m planning on finding a hotel in that area.
Kanchanaburi: Kanchanaburi is about a 3 hour drive east of Bangkok. There was a prison there were American/English/Australian/etc POWs were held during World War II, and were forced to build a bridge over the River Kwai. A movie was made about this. The POWs were also forced to build a railroad over some mountains in the area, which is called “Death Railroad.” A festival is held every year in late November/early December in which there is a laser light show and a retelling of the events each night. While I’m not that much into history, considering the perfect timing of the festival, I will definitely make it to Kanchanaburi to check this out. Also, there is a sanchuary in the area called the “Tiger Temple” in which a bunch of Buddhist monks care for injured or previously domesticated tigers. Tourists can visit, pet the tigers, and have their photos taken. So, that should be fun as well. Plus, there are some good hikes and waterfalls in the area. Accomodations: A Riverhouse on the River Kwai.
http://www.travelfish.org/feature/40
http://travelhappy.info/thailand/tiger-temple-thailand/
Quadrant 2: Northern Thailand: Chiang Mai and Pai – One Week
Travel: Return to Bangkok from Kanchanaburi and take a flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai: This is the second largest city in Thailand, but significantly smaller than Bangkok. The northern part of Thailand should have the least amount of tourists and provide the most cultural experience. There are more temples and Buddhist things to explore here, and I can get a traditional Thai massage and perhaps take a Thai cooking or just experience great Thai food while I am up here. If I’m looking for an adrenaline rush, bungee jumping is pretty popular in Chiang Mai.
Pai: The main reason to go up North is to spend a several days going on a trek. A trek is basically an overnight camping trip to visit local mountain tribes and see crazy jungle scenery. Bamboo rafts and elephant rides are often combined with treks. From my research, Chiang Mai offers plenty of treks, but its often better to get further away from the city to a smaller town, such as Pai, to find a more authentic experience. Pai has a “bohemian” feel and has a big music scene. It’s a small town with a laid-back atmosphere, and that should provide a perfect place for a day or two of relaxation prior to going off on a trek. Plus, they have hot-springs and the Pai river is the best for white-water in Thailand. Also, I can travel up to Soppong which has lots of caves to explore.
http://www.1stopchiangmai.com/backpackers/pai/
http://www.1stopchiangmai.com/what_to_do/trekking1/
Quandrant 3: Andaman Sea; Phuket; Ko Phi Phi; Ka Sok National Park (One Week)
Travel: This will be a long travel day. I have to return to Chiang Mai from Pai, and then take a flight all the way from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand to Phuket, which has an airport.
Phuket – Phuket is the Miami Beach of Thailand. It’s wear all the rich tourists visit and is very well developed, or overdeveloped. Still, its supposed to have amazing beaches with tons of great watersports. They have tons of 5 star beach resorts, and great night-life etc. If I can find a way to use my points, I might relax in one of these resorts for a few days, but otherwise I might just make this a quick stopping point.
Ko Phi Phi – Ko Phi Phi is supposed to be absolutely beautiful with crystal clear water and limestone cliffs jutting out of the ocean. It isn't as remote as some of the other islands in Thailand, but its suppose to be one of the most beautiful. It was completely destroyed during the 2005 tsanumni, but it has since been rebuilt. They have great scuba diving, snorkeling, and cliff-jumping. Its an island about a 45 minute ferry away from Phuket. This is where they filmed the movie, “The Beach”
Kao Sok National Park – This is the oldest rain-forest in the world and is home to tigers, leopards, elephant, sun bears, poisonious snakes and frogs, gibbons, and tons of birds. A lot of the places to stay are “tree houses” where you stay in a room built high above in the canopy of the rain forrest.
Quadrant 4: Gulf of Thailand: Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan (One week)
Ko Tao: Ko Tao is one of the best places in the world to learn how to Scuba dive. There are apparently tons of dive shops that offer 4 day long PADI SCUBA certifications. While I could do the scuba course in Ko Phi Phi, it seems that Ko Tao is scuba diver paradise with some of the best dive spots in the country for beginners. There is even a chance to see the largest fish in the world, the Whale shark. So, I plan to do one of the 4 day PADI courses here, but of course, is is subject to change.
http://www.travelfish.org/location/thailand/southern_thailand/surat_thani/ko_tao
Ko Pha Ngan: Ko Pha Ngan is famed for the infamous “Full Moon Party” Every full-moon, thousands of travelers party all night long to trance/rave music. Its a huge party that lasts until the sun comes up in the morning. The full-moon is scheduled for December 24th, a perfect ending to my adventure. But Pha Ngan also has great beaches as well, so I plan on arriving a few days before the party for further relaxation. I then travel back to Bangkok on Christmas and leave the morning of the 26th.
http://fullmoonparty-thailand.com/
So, that is my initial plan. How cool does that month sound? I would book transportation in advance from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, from Chiang Mai to Phuket, and from Ko Pha Ngan back to Bangkok, and then allow myself to explore and otherwise alter my trip between those few legs of the journey. While the last 2 quandrants can really be combined into one since I can make the journey across the Thailand pensula, stopping at Kao Sok along the way, any time I want, I should probably consider booking rooms in Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan in advance because its going to be pretty busy when I am planning on being there. All in all, I think this represents a pretty damn good journey.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Blog Expectations
Writing a blog seems almost a bit narcissist to me. Posting thoughts about my life, career, and future plans for anybody and everybody to read seems like I am making a big deal of myself and dramatizing my life, which I feel contradicts my normal personality. So, I suppose it feels slightly strange to consider the fact that links are being emailed across the internet and a link was added to my facebook profile so people who I am not often in touch with can catch up on my life through a few pages of written text on the internet, as opposed to the more traditional method of actual conversation.
Not to downplay my plans because it obviously is a pretty big deal for me to up and travel for a month, and possibly more later on, but the truth is that what I am doing, traveling on my own and blogging about it is not unique. There are millions of people like me between the ages of 24 and 30 who have similar thoughts about their career and their future, thousands of people who are actually doing something about it, and hundreds who are blogging about their experiences. I personally have been inspired by other blogs, specifically these entries: How to Ditch your Cubicle and Plan your Escape, 7 Reasons to go travelling solo , and some random guy’s photo-blog of his month long trip to Thailand.
All things considered, I honestly don’t think it’s that difficult to find a few months to a year during this part of your life, to be able to travel or do something like this. Finding the courage and motivation to actual do it is certainly more difficult.
And while I do believe that traveling on my own will probably lead me to become more outgoing, social and worldly, I don’t think I will come back with a completely different mindset or outlook on life. My expectation is not to “find myself,” as I am already entirely comfortable with who I am and where my life is going. My expectation is simply to live a little, experience new things, and be able to define myself by things other than my career. When I see a friend who I haven’t seen in a while, the only real update I can provide to them is about my career, what I am doing at work, how I am doing on the CPA exam, what my future plans of obtaining an MBA are, etc, etc, etc. It’s as if my career has become my identity, and I want that to change.
But, I digress, in the interest of keeping this blog on the lighter side, I rather move away from the “why” and focus more on the what and where. I have spent some time researching the country of Thailand in order to help me determine what parts of the country I want to visit, and what I want to do there. With a few exceptions, I don’t think that I plan on making many reservations in advance to allow for spontaneity, but at the same time, I want to be prepared to know where I want to go, what I want to do and where I want to stay in different cities, islands, and national parks throughout the country. So, to pump me up for my trip, look for my next several posts which will each deal with my preliminary thoughts on all the exotic locales through Thailand that I will be finding myself at in November/December.
Not to downplay my plans because it obviously is a pretty big deal for me to up and travel for a month, and possibly more later on, but the truth is that what I am doing, traveling on my own and blogging about it is not unique. There are millions of people like me between the ages of 24 and 30 who have similar thoughts about their career and their future, thousands of people who are actually doing something about it, and hundreds who are blogging about their experiences. I personally have been inspired by other blogs, specifically these entries: How to Ditch your Cubicle and Plan your Escape, 7 Reasons to go travelling solo , and some random guy’s photo-blog of his month long trip to Thailand.
All things considered, I honestly don’t think it’s that difficult to find a few months to a year during this part of your life, to be able to travel or do something like this. Finding the courage and motivation to actual do it is certainly more difficult.
And while I do believe that traveling on my own will probably lead me to become more outgoing, social and worldly, I don’t think I will come back with a completely different mindset or outlook on life. My expectation is not to “find myself,” as I am already entirely comfortable with who I am and where my life is going. My expectation is simply to live a little, experience new things, and be able to define myself by things other than my career. When I see a friend who I haven’t seen in a while, the only real update I can provide to them is about my career, what I am doing at work, how I am doing on the CPA exam, what my future plans of obtaining an MBA are, etc, etc, etc. It’s as if my career has become my identity, and I want that to change.
But, I digress, in the interest of keeping this blog on the lighter side, I rather move away from the “why” and focus more on the what and where. I have spent some time researching the country of Thailand in order to help me determine what parts of the country I want to visit, and what I want to do there. With a few exceptions, I don’t think that I plan on making many reservations in advance to allow for spontaneity, but at the same time, I want to be prepared to know where I want to go, what I want to do and where I want to stay in different cities, islands, and national parks throughout the country. So, to pump me up for my trip, look for my next several posts which will each deal with my preliminary thoughts on all the exotic locales through Thailand that I will be finding myself at in November/December.
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