One night in Bangkok

Imagine this scenario: a man travels to Bangkok on vacation. One night, after too much drinking and debauchery, he tries to get back to his hotel, but with all that alcohol he has consumed he loses his way. Unable to get his bearings, he sits down on a pushcart outside a busy 7-11 and passageway [...]

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Royal Treatment on Thai Airways

Robbie: Oh, my! I’m sorry. I’ve never been on First class before.
Flight Attendant: My name is Joyce. Just buzz if you need anything.
Robbie: Sir, is that Billy Idol?
Flight Attendant: I believe it is.
Robbie: Oh my God!
Flight Attendant: Would you like some champagne or some orange juice?
Robbie: How much is it?
Flight Attendant: It’s free.
Robbie: It’s what? [...]

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Buddha in the Bodhi Tree

Buddha in the Bodhi Tree
This stone head of The Buddha-
does not seem to mind
the Bodhi Tree’s powerful roots
intertwined and wrapped around it;
but instead finds harmony
in this symbiotic cradle.
© 2009 Jeffrey Alan Miller. All Rights Reserved

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The night I narrowly escaped a terrorist bombing

My vacation to Hat Yai in southern Thailand in September 2006 started off with a bang-actually a couple of bangs-when about an hour after I checked in the Novotel Hotel a car bomb exploded in a crowded shopping area at the end of the block from the hotel.
I had arrived in Hat Yai a little [...]

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Twelve hours in Bangkok

Daejeon to Incheon; Incheon to Taipei and then onto Bangkok. In the morning, Bangkok to Vientiane and then on to Paksong.
The journey has started again. Miles and miles to go before I sleep; miles and miles to go before I am with my loved ones.
I’ve been up since yesterday morning and now in Bangkok, it [...]

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Christmas in Asia

Halfway around the world in Asia, the celebration of Christmas is quite different than the way it is celebrated in the West. Although the true meaning and spirit of the season might be lost in the obvious commercialization and marketing of the holiday in countries like Japan and Korea, certain traditions and celebrations have evolved [...]

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A long day’s journey into night and the next day — Part 1

Friday, September 26, 2008 – 2:00am to 8:00pm
 
I knew it was going to be a long trip when I started to think how I was going to get to Paksong to be with On after Jeremy Aaron had been born. It would get longer with all the baby stuff I would be bringing along as [...]

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Four hours in Bangkok and miles and miles to go before I sleep

Daejeon.
 
Incheon.
 
Hong Kong.
 
And now Bangkok for four hours.
 
It’s been a long day after a long night and I still have miles and miles to fly before I get to Vientiane and then figure out how to get on the bus to Paksong in the morning.
 
I know On is probably worrying a lot about me—I won’t be [...]

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Tattoo Styling with Jimmy Wong

I got my first tattoo in December 1976 when I was serving in the U.S. Air Force in Panama, but it would be over 20 years later before I would get some more ink done and another eight years before I would meet the Thailand’s legendary tattoo artist, Jimmy Wong.
I wrote this a few years [...]

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Little bars of soap and heart-shaped beds, Part 2

In 1968 I was on a vacation with my grandparents that took us from Illinois to South Carolina including a visit to Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina where my grandfather had been stationed during World War II.
 
Twenty-five years later, maybe some of those soldiers who trained at Fort Jackson were on R&R in Bangkok [...]

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