THE OMEGA NEBULA

Here, a bubbly ocean of glowing hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur gas mingle in the extremely massive and luminous molecular nebula Messier 17. Also known as the Omega or Swan Nebula, M17 is a hotbed of star formation, located about 5500 light-years away in the Sagittarius constellation.

I think I saw 2 people in love today

(On my way home from basketball and to try and pick up my laundry that is almost never on time (it wasn't ready) I saw a maybe 20ish year old Thai girl on the back of the bike of her I'm guessing bf and she just looked very comfortable and didn't seem to care where they were going, just happy she was hugging the person she adores. I found it very lovely)

Have 10 min before my bed time so here we go. Last time I posted I just got into Phuket. Not everyone loves Phuket because it is super touristy and somewhat seedy. I liked it!! The island is crazy big, if you want a laid back beach, baam Kamala, if you want a party scene that is honestly crazy, somewhat illegal in most countries and surprising, Patong. Want a real thai city, Phuket Town. My hopes were very low for Phuket because I didn't hear great things but I was pleasantly surprised. All about keeping your expectations in check..My mom abandoned me one day for an 8am round of golf which produced this great picture:

  I ended up seeing another teacher from my school randomly in the thousands of people on the main street which went well with the theme of seeing teachers from Nakhon in Chiang Mai. If you are thinking about visiting Phuket, I would try and go to a few different places to get a real feel for the place or if you find the right spot right away, just stay. It was nice spending 10plus days with my mom, I think she really enjoyed Thailand and spending time with her only/favorite son. She was a great travel partner and was good to see a percentage of your family. Highlights were 1-being away from work/real life for almost a month 2-Seeing my mom 3-Chiang Mai 4-Phuket 5-Driving around Pai 6-Doing whatever you want all day long.  7-Buying about 25 Christmas presents. So if you think you cracked my top 25....you will find out in December. 8-Fantastic weather.

Back to normal life feels good though, missed my kids and nice being back into a routine. Looks like the rain is here to stay for awhile, I was telling people here that I think the rain is going to get me down a bit but people gave me some good advice and the last few days I just look at the rain and think "You aren't snow and I can deal with being a little wet" however m;y mood is known to change so will keep you updated on this ongoing battle. Future holds no Europe summer unfortunately so looking into things to do next year, going rock climbing in Railay at the end of November so gives me something to look forward to.

2 quick thoughts: 1-While traveling is fun and new, there are some downsides so if you do decide to travel with someone, make sure you like them because being another world away and having to deal with constant decisions about hotels, food, itineraries, flights, tours ext can get exhausting even if you do like the person. If you are thinking about getting married and haven't done any extensive traveling, you might want to give it a go, you might be (un)pleasantly surprised. I have a feeling a few people on their honeymoons quickly realized they might have just made a big mistake.

2-My hair is getting very long. I went to my barber when I got back and the girl who did it sort of made a motion to touch up the sides of my hair, I nodded. So she did a little more than touch it up, hard to explain but the words uneven and bizarre come to mind. A few kids in my class have the same basic haircut as me. Just sayin.

Brick walls are there for a reason. They're there to keep other people out. They're there to show you how bad you want something.

Al Gore's roommate in college was Tommy Lee Jones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJT67NApROI&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cpULFQ13pI&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXc3HOaOiJ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFKJCT1INA0&feature=relmfu

I honestly can't wait to co-own/have a baby

Right, right, right now, I'm in the Chiang Mai airport, charging my moms IPod, hoping she comes back from wherever she says she is. I had my doubts.
Just want to a massive mall, bigger than the Rideau Centre, had so much stuff so I obviously ate at Pizza Hut. Got a massage, walked around this crazy big mall then back to the airport for our 10:45pm flight. Oh and I saw a verrrrry rude t-shirt on a thai young lady. I'm all about having funny t-shirts, some would say somewhat shocking to one that is certainly offensive. This one was by far the worst I've ever seen. I have some younger readers so lets just say the t-shirt said "I hold hands on the first date". NOT WHAT IT SAID.
 Flying is way classier than walking or taking a bus. Woke up this morning, did some interneting, my mom came back with chocolate milk, banana chocolate chip muffin, milk and Frosted Flakes.  Not the worst way to wake up. So. No elephants ate me. Was only on an elephant for a little bit, did not like it all al, very touristy and just didn't seem right. Did a decent trek into the jungle. Scene: (another camera issue has arisen, more stolen pictures)

Kamala Beach. Where we are spending today and tomorrow.

Slept in this village, ate some Thai food that our guides made, stayed up for a bit playing games with a couple from France and our guides. The next day, took a truck down the hill, went to a hot spring: (will post soon)

then did the whole touristy thing. Temple, Golden Triangle, something to do with a scorpion, Opium museum (something I am considering offering under the table at a my future first ever schawarma shop) and another temple.

That night, had supper with my mom then walked around Chiang Rai trying to find an NFL football game but to no avail. Oh and the Cowboys lost, quelle surprise. Played connect four, JJJJJJenga and dominoes at a bar near our guesthouse. Today we took a bus to Chiang Mai then had a few hours to kill before our flight to Phuket. Never been there, biggest island in Thailand and a huge tourist destination. After that, back to the tried and true Nakhon Si Thammarat, get a few things organized then back to shaping the minds of Thailand's future. 3 weeks is long enough of a break and we have a bunch of time off in December. Might go rock climbing at the end of November to give myself something to look forward to. Halloween is soon too, not sure what will take place but hopefully something that involves me going to bed early. That is a somewhat accurate summary of your friend, consultant, zoo keeper, blogger, uncle, teacher and scientist. Enjoy whatever day it is.
Bert Brandon III

I have a lot of free time so I'm trying to think of things that have happened that I have forgotten to write down. If I am repeating myself, go read, stop paying so much attention:
-I parked outside a 7-11 to get something after school, came back and a police officer was giving me a ticket for parking wherever I was parked. I motioned that the bike was mine and he somehow guessed I didn't speak Thai, just sort of looked at me and let me go. Bert 1- Police 0. For now, I have a feeling they might want to even the score.
-I am getting a crazy amount of compliments about my lavishly long eyelashes this trip. People keep asking me if they are real then secretly asking themselves how this lady boy looks so good.
-The longer I'm away the less you miss things like Wendy's and Tim Horton's and Blue Gatorade. BREAKING NEWS: Went into a 7-11 a few weeks ago and BBBBBBBBBAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!: Blue Gatorade. No need to go home anymore.
-I may or may not have Aladdin sheets.


Canadians consumer more macaroni and cheese than any other nation on earth.

Elephant Trek Tomorrow

Getting late, about to watch an episode of Mad Men, then bed. Posting this in case an elephant eats me in the next 2 days. Going on an elephant trek tomorrow, coming back Mondayish, will miss football but on the bright side won't have to watch the Cowboys lose. Pai is such a nice place, so many hills and great places to eat. Ate at Thai Kebab twice, once for a BAGEL!! and once for shawarma. Lebanese for is so good so I had a great idea. I've met a few Lebanese people in Ottawa and I'm pretty certain I've nerve seen a shawarma stand or restaurant in Ottawa, so once I get back, I will open the first ever in Ottawa, stay open late and cater to the after bar crowd. Hope nobody steals this idea by the time I get back. Pai:

In Chiang Rai now, walked around a bit today, had supper with my mom, got a foot massage and hoping for decent weather tomorrow.



Enjoy your weekend and stay out of the headlines.


In ancient Greece, tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vskv1Rpujwg

Oh. Hello there, didn't see you come in. So. I'm in Pai. Obviously have stolen a picture from the world wide web:

Very small and laid back town. About 3ish hours from Chiang Mai. The van ride here was like a mini roller coaster. I'd bet my massive Thai teaching salary that people have for sure puked on that ride. Let's just say if you were in the van, you wouldn't turn to your friend and say this is probably what Saskatchewan is like. Staying at an alright place with my mom for 250 baht a night, definitely the cheapest room I've had to pay for. Weather has been outstanding since we left one of my least favorite cities. Bangkok. The only thing I really wanted to do in Bangkok was to watch the movie Moneyball in a theater. Love going to the movies and Moneyball is a pretty big movie so thought Bangkok might be good for something. It isn't. Ended up traveling in style to Chiang Mai with Air Asia, much better than taking a bus. The plan was to take a train but because of the worst flooding in 40 years, no train service.


Loved Chiang Mai, a lot of things to do, places to eat and things to see. Went to the Sunday Night Market:


Bought so many great things and maybe a thing or two for teacher Bert. My mom will be bringing a wave of things home with her that some of you will be getting as Christmas presents. If you don't get something from the first wave, get the hint...just kidding...there will be many waves, I just have lots of people to buy things for and only one travel mule...for now. Did a cooking class with my mom just outside of town, took a train to get there, then a little bike ride, then picked out some ingredients for our dishes, made 6 different things. I ended up making spring rolls, cashew nut chicken, deep fried bananas (You'll never find one alone..) curry and other things. 

Went to the Night Bazaar market last night, bought more things for more people. Overall, trip with mom is a success so far, no rain makes Bert happy, not depressed about having to go back to work in a little bit, my kids are super cute and smart and I'm excited to see them again and the people of Nakhon. Oh, been getting tons of massages lately and got my ears cleaned by this lady and her candle. Ears have never been this clean.

You Pay Now!

Last one was getting a little long so still on the magical bus ride so will let you know how the rest of Phi Phi was. After diving, met up with Kait, Stu, Karen, Scott, Ian and Alex. Ian is Stu's brother and Alex is his gf. A bunch of Canadians hanging out on a Thai island. Not complaining. First 2 days rained a bit, had a few small rivers to walk through on the way into the busier part of town but nothing me and my flippy floppies couldn't handle. First night, watched a fire show, not surprisingly. oh and did something else that I will talk about later but needs to be a secret for maybe a month. Then will discuss. Ate some great pizza, had a bucket or two, saw a small Thai teenager pick a fight with a bigger non Thai person, definitely didn't know that the kid was into Muay Thai, went to see what happened, the non Thai guy was knocked out on the beach and the teenager was kicking him in the shins until his friends stepped it. Lesson: Don't fight locals.

Next day it was raining so I slept in, met up with everyone, they went swimming, I stayed dry and lifeguarded them. Ate supper at this Italian restaurant, very good. Even though I really like Subway, eating supper with friends at a nice restaurant beats it hands down. Not 100% sure what the quote is but been thinking about it lately. It doesn't matter where you go in life, it matters who you have beside you. I think it is very true.
Watched another fire show from people who were on Thailand's Got Talent. Best show I've seen. After that, well first let me say that I do like dancing. Just certain conditions need to be present. 1-Maybe a drink or two. Not drunk just something to loosen you up. 2-Music you like and music you can dance to. 3-Having people you like around you. All three of those things were present, we were outside, warm night, on the beach and had a DJ from Samui there who had incredible remixes and had the best dancing session of my life. I really needed to let it out before my Northern Thailand journey started and I got exactly what I needed so Teacher Bert was happy. Oh and the other night we watched Muay Thai, which was on my Tland bucket list. Then, they let random people come up and fight and they get a free bucket to entertain the masses. And it was entertaining, might have lost a hundred baht to Stu because the color Red wasn't aggressive enough.
After that, went to Long Beach where I did not double check ferry times and had to stay an extra night. Not the worst thing to be stuck here.

But left my mom solo which she apparently used for walking around Bangkok unsupervised and sleeping. Karen and Scott went home this morning, love them and will definitely be hanging out with them in Ottawa, possible at the cabin. Karen has a bunch of group pictures so once I get some, they will be posted on my fb and here. Hung out on the beach this morning, did a little snorkeling, oh and yesterday did a snorkeling trip around Maya Beach where the movie The Beach was filmed.
Was a tad overrated and would be better if you went really early before other tourists got there or there is the option of camping overnight. My favorite part of the island wasn't the part where they filmed it but was either Pi Leh Beach which is:

or 

on Loh Sama. Either way, not bad. Way less people, great swimming and beautiful cliffs. I'd rate Phi Phi a 17.8 out of 21 on the Bertron Tourist Scale. Anyway, that's what I've been up to, every day I get a little more excited to see Mother Goose so should be a good 2 weeks.
Goodbye and Good luck.
Bert.