Here's a quick update because it's been two weeks since I've written anything and it could be a while before I have time to write anything more.
I flew from Langkawi back to KL for a few days to take care of some errands, the most important of which was getting a 60-day tourist visa for Thailand. I slightly fouled up the application process my first time at the Thai embassy - I didn't have a photocopy of my passport - and the embassy was closed the following day because of a national holiday, so I stayed in Malaysia for a couple days longer than I had intended. I ended up doing a little shopping and enjoying the nightlife a bit more to fill the time, including a pretty fun rap and hip-hop party called "Ghetto Heaven" that happens every Tuesday night at Zouk. Tough life, I know.
I thought I needed a second Japanese Encephalitis shot, since that's what I was told when I received the first shot a month ago. However, after some confusion, paper rustling, and a phone call to who knows, the doctor at the clinic informed me that the shot I had already received was of the 1-shot variety, not the 2-shot variety, so I didn't need a second shot. I'm still a bit concerned that there was so much uncertainty regarding what shot I had actually received. On the outside, I was nodding and listening, but on the inside, I was wondering: "What the hell did you inject me with lady?!"
Also, given that I had some free time and access to an extremely fast and stable Internet connection (a rarity in these parts), I overhauled my online photo portfolio. I pruned the collection a bit, added the online-worthy photos that I've taken on this Asia trip, re-edited some of the older photos now that my Lightroom skills are a bit better, and, most importantly, migrated everything to a proper 500px account. I feel like a real photographer now!
Here's the link: https://500px.com/kylegetz
Upon flying to Phuket, I met up with Omar, a friend from San Francisco, who is on holiday in Southeast Asia. We spent the weekend in Patong, mostly to enjoy the city's world-famous (read: infamous) nightlife. I'm not going to transcribe anything that happened that weekend; you'll just have to use your imagination.
After the weekend in Patong, we took a boat to Koh Yao, a pair of small islands about halfway between Phuket and Krabi that are known for being very quiet and peaceful. It's a good thing this was the plan all along because I came down with some kind of illness and spent the next three days almost entirely in bed with a high fever. Koh Yao is a great place to do nothing though, so while I'm bummed that I didn't get to go cycling or kayaking or see James Bond Island, I'm grateful I had the time to rest before Chiang Mai. I may try to make it back to Koh Yao at some point for a do-over.
Some backstory is necessary for the Chiang Mai trip. For some time now, I've been planning to go to Chiang Mai in November to experience the two lantern festivals, so I also started researching volunteer opportunities there (of which there are many). I settled on a volunteer organization called Friends For Asia, which runs volunteer projects in several countries, including Thailand. They have a lot of great projects and I applied to a few, eventually getting accepted to be an intern at Citylife, the premiere English-language magazine of northern Thailand. My job responsibilities may include web design, graphic design, photography, layout, and writing.
Seeking out an unpaid internship in the middle of a holiday may seem borderline crazy, but I have my reasons:
Kuala Lumpur
I flew from Langkawi back to KL for a few days to take care of some errands, the most important of which was getting a 60-day tourist visa for Thailand. I slightly fouled up the application process my first time at the Thai embassy - I didn't have a photocopy of my passport - and the embassy was closed the following day because of a national holiday, so I stayed in Malaysia for a couple days longer than I had intended. I ended up doing a little shopping and enjoying the nightlife a bit more to fill the time, including a pretty fun rap and hip-hop party called "Ghetto Heaven" that happens every Tuesday night at Zouk. Tough life, I know.
I thought I needed a second Japanese Encephalitis shot, since that's what I was told when I received the first shot a month ago. However, after some confusion, paper rustling, and a phone call to who knows, the doctor at the clinic informed me that the shot I had already received was of the 1-shot variety, not the 2-shot variety, so I didn't need a second shot. I'm still a bit concerned that there was so much uncertainty regarding what shot I had actually received. On the outside, I was nodding and listening, but on the inside, I was wondering: "What the hell did you inject me with lady?!"
Also, given that I had some free time and access to an extremely fast and stable Internet connection (a rarity in these parts), I overhauled my online photo portfolio. I pruned the collection a bit, added the online-worthy photos that I've taken on this Asia trip, re-edited some of the older photos now that my Lightroom skills are a bit better, and, most importantly, migrated everything to a proper 500px account. I feel like a real photographer now!
Here's the link: https://500px.com/kylegetz
Phuket
Upon flying to Phuket, I met up with Omar, a friend from San Francisco, who is on holiday in Southeast Asia. We spent the weekend in Patong, mostly to enjoy the city's world-famous (read: infamous) nightlife. I'm not going to transcribe anything that happened that weekend; you'll just have to use your imagination.
After the weekend in Patong, we took a boat to Koh Yao, a pair of small islands about halfway between Phuket and Krabi that are known for being very quiet and peaceful. It's a good thing this was the plan all along because I came down with some kind of illness and spent the next three days almost entirely in bed with a high fever. Koh Yao is a great place to do nothing though, so while I'm bummed that I didn't get to go cycling or kayaking or see James Bond Island, I'm grateful I had the time to rest before Chiang Mai. I may try to make it back to Koh Yao at some point for a do-over.
Chiang Mai
Some backstory is necessary for the Chiang Mai trip. For some time now, I've been planning to go to Chiang Mai in November to experience the two lantern festivals, so I also started researching volunteer opportunities there (of which there are many). I settled on a volunteer organization called Friends For Asia, which runs volunteer projects in several countries, including Thailand. They have a lot of great projects and I applied to a few, eventually getting accepted to be an intern at Citylife, the premiere English-language magazine of northern Thailand. My job responsibilities may include web design, graphic design, photography, layout, and writing.
Seeking out an unpaid internship in the middle of a holiday may seem borderline crazy, but I have my reasons:
- After a few months of very free-form, unscheduled living, I was craving some structure/routine.
- Some of the job responsibilities (i.e. web development) match up with my professional experience and some (i.e. photography) match up with my personal interests.
- This is a perfect opportunity to try a different and more creative career without actually committing to it. I can extend the internship on a week-by-week basis if I want; otherwise, it's over after one month, which is enough time to develop an opinion on whether this kind of work could pan out long-term.
- This is also a perfect chance to get some insights and exposure to a foreign culture that wouldn't normally be available to a tourist. I will have a commute, coworkers, a boss, meetings, business lunches, happy hours, and all the other normal things that working folks around the world have. I'm really interested in the prospect of having those things in a foreign culture.
I'm actually writing all of this at my desk on my first day here since there isn't much for me to do yet, which goes to show that first days everywhere are sort of the same. I'm heading out tomorrow to take photos of a new art gallery and a new shopping mall for a couple spreads in the next issue of the magazine, so I think that things will be ramping up very quickly.
The orientation activities for all the new volunteers this past weekend included a tour of a couple temples in the city, so in the interest of not having a picture-less post, I'll include some photos:
More on the lantern festivals later.
Full photo album: Wat Chedi Luang
The orientation activities for all the new volunteers this past weekend included a tour of a couple temples in the city, so in the interest of not having a picture-less post, I'll include some photos:
More on the lantern festivals later.
Full photo album: Wat Chedi Luang
