Sorry for the delay, folks.  I’ve had loads of free time the last two months (since finishing my degree!), but in all honesty I’ve just been lazy.  But I think I’ve earned that right.  The last time I wrote I was choosing between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and complaining about a painful gum graft.  Well, here’s how things stand now:

I decided to take the job in Saudi Arabia and have spent the last two months basically waiting for all the documents to be ready.  Kim has been a tremendous help throughout the entire process, and without her I know I wouldn’t have been able to take this job.  So, thank you Kim! 

Anyway, I was supposed to have arrived in Saudi at the beginning of September, but because of all the paperwork I wasn’t even ready to apply for my visa until Sept 27!  Because of Saudi’s ridiculous visa restrictions, I was forced to fly to Bahrain to apply for the visa.  That process, which was supposed to take only four days, is now up to day eight.  The visa is supposed to be ready today, but I have my doubts.  If it is, I’ll be heading to Saudi tomorrow.

Bahrain is a pretty interesting country.  It is a tiny island that’s actually smaller than Singapore, but there is a lot of history here.  People have lived on the island for at least 5,000 years, and some estimates multiply that number by ten!  It has sometimes been called the Island of the Dead because of the vast amount of ancient tombs that can be found here:  at least 85,000, when for most of its history it had only a population of less than 5,000 people. 

So far I’ve been able to visit a few of the historical sites, including an ancient temple and burial ground that’s about 4,000 years old, an old massive fort/castle that was originally built at least 1,000 years ago, and a couple of museums.  And because taxis are so expensive, I’ve also done a great deal of walking through the narrow, windy roads that make up the old parts of the city.  It’s a pretty fascinating place, and the food is delicious!  There seem to be hordes of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis living here, meaning that I’ve been eating Indian and Pakistani food basically every day — sometimes twice a day!  Sadly – stupidly, perhaps – I left the USB chord for my camera in Thailand, so I am unable to post any pictures.

As for my gums, both grafts have taken and I’m almost completely back to normal.  Still, that’s one procedure I hope I never have to experience again.

Hopefully the next time I post I will be in Riyadh with a new USB chord, but until then here is a picture (not mine) of Bahrain Fort, which I visited a few days ago.

Bahrain Fort, a few kilometers outside of Manama City, Bahrain. Although it's not evident in the picture, this fort was MASSIVE.

After 14 long months, I am finally free!  Without question, this last year has been the busiest time of my life, as I completed 16 classes (15 plus a CLEP exam, actually) all while teaching full time.  It’s been three days now since I finished my final class, and I still can’t quite understand this feeling of not having any books to read or papers to write – what will I do with all this free time?

Unfortunately, not all is well.  When I last posted I had just learned that I would need a gum graft.  Well, it is now 12 days after my first (and hopefully last!) gum graft, and things are still rather frightening.  The procedure itself was not so nightmarish, aside from having to keep my mouth wide open for about three hours.  It’s the recovery that has been horrible; for the first week, I lived off of juice, soup and over-cooked pasta.  I had a follow-up visit after 7 days, and at that point everything looked fine.  But, we won’t actually know until three weeks if the graft has taken, and since that visit the pain has been almost unbearable.  Two teeth were grafted; one is fine, but for the other, it kind of feels like someone is digging a hook around under my gums and tugging at the root of my tooth.  It is a horrible sensation, and I can’t stop thinking that the graft has failed – why would I still be feeling so much pain after nearly two weeks?  I will know for certain next Friday.

Now that I have finished my studies, however, I am looking at the next step of finding a new job.  I had settled on a job with King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.  It would be a rough place to live, but the contract is only 10 months and the benefits would be excellent – free housing, tax-free salary, free airfare.  Matters are slightly complicated because I’ve just been offered another job in Kuwait.  The salary is lower, but the contract length is negotiable (3 months and up), and Kuwait is undoubtedly a more comfortable place to live.  So, should I go for cash or comfort?  Any suggestions will be appreciated!

And now I leave you with pictures of a deserted beach that Nok and I rode to several weeks ago – it’s about 30 miles south of Songkhla.

The view from a rocky outcrop. The beach stretched for miles and was lined with nothing but trees.

An old pagoda sat at the top of the hill, overlooking a little island.

A shot towards Songkhla. The furthest hills in the distance are in Songkhla city -- you can see just how far we rode that day!

Scroggins makes a bed in the sand.

We grabbed a tasty lunch of oysters and papaya salad before heading home.

If you have a weak stomach, you might want to skip this post.

Back in December I visited a dentist for the first time in six years.  I’ve always taken pretty good care of my teeth, so I wasn’t surprised when the dentist told me I (still) had no cavities.  However, he mentioned somewhat casually that I was experiencing gingival recession, probably due to over-aggressive brushing.  His English was extremely limited (it was Taiwan, after all), but from his words and demeanor it seemed like the gingival recession was not a big deal.  He advised me to use a softer toothbrush and brush in a verticle, up-and-down motion.

Six months later, my receding gums have gotten noticably worse on one tooth in particular.  Yesterday, I took a day off work to visit a periodontist at the best hospital in Hat Yai – about an hour away.  What followed was not a pretty scene.  The periodonist confirmed that I have advanced receding gums and that a gum graft will be required!  Before the graft can be done, a sort of mega-cleaning is needed to clean the exposed roots. 

This is not your average cleaning.  Yesterday we cleaned only the top teeth.   I was given about six shots of novacaine but the cleaning was still pretty painful; there was also an insane amount of blood – and this just from a cleaning!  I have to go back next week to clean the bottom, and presumably the week after that I’ll be back for the gum graft.

For those of you who don’t know, a gum graft works as follows:  a layer of tissue is removed from the roof of the mouth.  This tissue is then stitched onto the gums surrounding the worst points of the recession.  After 1-2 weeks I will return to have the stitches removed, but I’ve read the healing process can be pretty painful.  In addition, sometimes the grafts don’t “take,” which could leave my gums in worse shape than before!

Let me emphasize once again:  my teeth are in excellent condition, and this gingival recession is not caused by poor oral hygiene.  I brush 2-3 times per day, floss daily and rinse with flouride mouthwash at least once daily.  My gum recession was caused by an incorrect brushing technique.  The periodontist showed me a new way to brush, and it is totally different from what I had learned previously.

So what is to be learned from all of this?

• Make sure you’re brushing your teeth correctly!  Up strokes will damage your gums.
• Visit your dentist regularly.  Even though I didn’t have any cavities, an earlier visit to the dentist could have identified the problem in its early stages.
• Get dental insurance!  Dental/medical care is much cheaper in Thailand than in the US, but it still isn’t free.  The visit yesterday was $60, and there will be at least 4-5 more visits before this is done.  The graft will likely top $500.  All told, this lovely experience will probably end up costing me close to $1,000.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go practice brushing my teeth correctly.

These instructions are similar to what I was told at the periodontist. Note that the brush is held at an angle towards the gums.

Seriously.  I don’t know what went wrong, but there was some sort of crazy malfunction.  If you happened to visit my blog within the last couple of days, you probably saw text spewed across the page with pictures everywhere and columns in completely random places.  The problem seems to have been fixed, but for some reason several of the pictures from my previous post are simply gone – but my captions remained, they just jumbled all together.  So in case the captions didn’t seem to make sense – and they shouldn’t have, if you were actually reading them – here are the missing pictures with their original captions.

From the Chinese Gardens in Singapore. We foolishly headed out during the hottest part of the day, and by 2pm we were all so drained and dehydrated that we spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool.

Nok is attacked by a wave while attempting to cast. She did manage to catch a few small fish and even a crab!

Hag enjoys the view from our old apartment. As you can, the surrounding hills and bay made for a beautiful view, but the horde of fishing boats and unsightly parking area below ensured we were almost always surrounded by noise.

Scroggins and Hagatha up in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! By the way, I'm not sure what I'll do with Scroggins after I leave Thailand in August. If anyone is interested in taking care of him for 1-2 years, I'll pay all transportation costs.

My friend Mouthrot.

Mouthrot was one of the many giant Singapore cats that Nok and I befriended on our most recent trip to visit the ‘rents.  Mouthrot earned his name thanks to his sparse and strangely brown-colored teeth.  He also drooled steadily, which was disturbing considering the state of his mouth.  He enjoyed many a feast courtesy of Nok and me from the leftovers we carried from the nearby hawkers.

All in all, it was a pretty good trip.  It was my third trip to Singapore and Nok’s second, so we really didn’t have much left to see in the city.  We enjoyed our 3 1/2 weeks nonetheless, spending much of that time lounging by the pool and massacring the ‘rents in Sequence.  It should be noted that I am the undisputed Sequence King; whether I was teamed with Dad or Nok, my team always won.  I welcome any futile challenges to my reign.

It was  a little sad to return to Songkhla after such a great time in Singapore, particularly since I had SO much homework to do in the week left before my school started.  Thankfully, it is all finished and I am now enjoying the brief break between the Spring and Summer terms.  The Summer Term starts on Monday, but thankfully I have only three courses to take before my graduation in August!  Originally, I would have needed to take four courses.  However, after a few weeks of cramming and a special trip to Manila to visit the testing center, I was able to test out of the early US History credit that I was missing.

At this point I’m already applying for jobs and will likely be heading to UAE (Abu Dhabi) in August/September.  It is meant to be an extremely modern, well-developed country, and with a free apartment I should be able to save enough money for a return to the States within a year or two.  I know you thought you had gotten rid of me for good, but I’ll have the last laugh yet.

Now, for your enjoyment, random pictures of cats, Manila and Songkhla.

Good old Mouthrot. Note the droplets of drool leaking out of his foul-smelling mouth.From the Chinese Gardens in Singapore. We foolishly headed out during the hottest part of the day, and by 2pm we were all so drained and dehydrated that we spent the rest of the day lounging at the pool.

A picture of the cat I affectionately call "Crapface."

The view from my hotel in Manila. This was apparently the nicest, richest section of the entire country. It reminded me of the older, dirtier sections of Bangkok. The food was great, though.

Also from my hotel in Manila - my testing center was in this general direction. I know because I had to walk back when I couldn't find a taxi! It took over an hour of blind wandering - I was lucky I made it back.

A view of the Songkhla peninsula from the south. The white sandy beach seen here stretches for nearly 9 kilometers, lining the entire city before reaching the undeveloped, finger-like tip. You can also see "Rat" and "Cat" islands; Nok and I took a boat out to Rat Island last weekend and enjoyed a small hike through the jungle.

Nok runs away from a wave while fishing on a deserted stretch of beach south of Songkhla city.Nok is attacked by a wave while attempting to cast. She did manage to catch a few small fish and even a crab!Hag enjoys the view from our old apartment. As you can see, the surrounding hills and bay made for a beautiful view, but the horde of fishing boats and unsightly parking area below ensured we were almost always surrounded by noise.Scroggins and Hagatha up in a tree... By the way, I'm not sure what I'll do with Scroggins after I leave Thailand in August. If anyone is interested in watching him for 1-2 years, I'll pay for all transportation costs.

But it’s almost there.  Having made the move to Songkhla in the south of Thailand in late December, I’ve found myself swamped with the million little things that accompany moving to a new country, starting a new job and entering a new semester of online studies.  Add to this the fact that I have been unable to obtain an internet connection in my apartment, and the blog becomes something that is easily ignored.  So for now, think of it as being in hibernation.  Until I finish my degree in four month’s time, there will likely be very few posts here.

But until then, here’s how things have gone so far.  The move to Thailand went without a hitch.  Nok, Scroggins, Hagatha and I arrived in Bangkok late on December 20, where we met my cousin Kenny at the airport.  After two nights in Bangkok we rented a pickup truck and made the 20+ hour drive south to Songkhla, though we took three days to make the trip.  In some ways Songkhla is exactly what I expected, but in some ways it is very different.  Songkhla is a peninsula, which means it is lined with miles and miles of beaches.  South of the city, the beaches continue as far as the eye can see, and north of the peninsula (if you take the quick ferry ride), the beaches also go on and on.

The city is also surrounded by beautiful rolling hills/mountains (hilltains? mountills?), and there are at least a few nice hiking trails in the area.  No photos now, but by apartment is overlooking the water on the inland side of the peninsula; across the bay, there is a range of beautiful hills that we have climbed several times.  So, Songkhla is a beautiful place, but there are some things that are not so great.  It is is surprisingly crowded — the city has roughly the same population as Portland, ME, but it’s condensed into a much smaller area.  The beautiful view outside my window is often filled with fishing boats and their noisy, boisterous crews.  The beaches can get a little crowded on weekends, and some of the hiking trails get their share of visitors on the weekends.

My job is okay but nothing I’d want to stick with long term.  I have to be at school from 8am-4pm everyday, but much of that time is just spent sitting in the office.  It’s good for me at the moment because I have so much homework to do, but after I graduate such time would be wholly unnecessary.  As a result, I’m looking to move somewhere new (and hopefully find a new line of work altogether) when I receive my degree in August.  UAE, Japan and even Singapore and the USA are on my list, but it all depends on where I get the best job.

Nok and I did have a chance to visit the ‘rents in Singapore for a week over New Year.  It was a superb trip, and I’m looking forward to going back when I have a month off in April.  I will also probably be spending a few days in the Philippines, as I’ll need to take a CLEP exam and Manila is the nearest test site.

Guess that’s it.  Sorry there are no photos, but it’s the result of life without an internet connection at home.  I may post again periodically, but expect very little until August, when my freedom returns.

Not my photo, but a view of Songkhla peninsula from the hills across the bay. I can see this old temple from my apartment!

A deserted beach in Songkhla, Thailand

Nok and I will be returning to Thailand some time next month.  This time we’ll be far away from the grit and grime of smoggy Bangkok:  We’ll be living the good life in tiny Songkhla in the far south of Thailand, where miles and miles of deserted, beautiful beaches await.  I’ll be earning half of what I earned in Bangkok and here in Taiwan, but the low cost of living and laid back way of life will more than make up for the lost income.  I’m really just looking for a place to hang out as I finish the final eight classes towards my Bachelor’s degree, which I should have by July/August.

Things were looking grim for a while; I had applied for a dozen jobs in the south of Thailand but had heard nothing back.  On Sunday, after I had all but given up, I sent out a few more resumes and now, one week later, the deal is sealed.  Songkhla is just an hour or so from the Malaysian border, making long-weekend trips to visit the ‘rents in Singapore just one more perk of living in the South.  Ahhhh…. I can’t wait.

Well, I did indeed have another holiday today after Super Typhoon Jangmi spent a good two days walloping most of Taiwan.  Sunday was the day of insane winds; signs were flying around the streets, scooters were knocked over, noodle stands were tossed about like ragdolls, and a dangerously sharp lightening rod was ripped down from the roof of my building.  Monday, today, was the day of rain; a torrential rain fell through most of the day, and is only now subsiding at 11:30pm.

Knowing that a typhoon was on the way and that I had a probable three day weekend on my hands, Nok and I took the opportunity on Saturday to head to the Taichung Folklore Park.  My main reason for going was as part of an assignment for one of my online classes – a study of popular culture.  We spent a couple of hours wandering around the park, which included a handful of old temples, an ancient, traditional home made of pounded earth, a giant “salted vegetable” bucket, and a fairly extensive museum filled with actual artifacts gathered from all over Taiwan, showing a much older way of life.  The goal was to find a museum that was the equivalent of the Maine State Museum and I think it was success; even down to the wax people enacting scenes of a long-forgotten way of life.

The giant salted vegetable bucket. It was taller than me.

The old house made from pounded earth.

Inside the house of pounded earth.

An old tree outside the house of pounded earth.

A collision of old and new: an ancient temple sits nestled between modern apartment buildings.

One of many corridors in the museum, each lined with dozens of unique artifacts from traditional Taiwanese life.

Another room filled with artifacts. Each room had two wooden tables with an old fashioned board game on top.

Many families stopped to play the games provided on each table throughout the museum. Some tables had what appeared to be Mahjong, while others had this game which looked similar to Othello.

Puppets. Puppet shows are an elaborate tradition in Taiwan, and even today they can be seen at temples across the country.

The various tools of the traditional opium fiend.

"Spiked Stick." Early Taiwanese weapon makers certainly understood the value of appearances. Absolutely frightening!

One's weapon collection wouldn't be complete without the old "spiked ball" to go with the spiked stick

Elaborately painted panels next to a full size aboriginal canoe. Unfortunately, my photos of the canoe didn't come out very well since I was unable to use a flash.

A wooden replica of the aboriginal boat.

Wax statues displaying the workings at an old fashioned palm reading.

Out of the museum and onto the temple. This was the main shrine in one of the temples.

The park also included a nicely groomed fish pond, which had some real monsters inside.

Once home, we brought Scroggins to the roof in time to see a spectacular, typhoon induced sunset.

There’s another big typhoon brewing off the coast of Taiwan — and this one is huge.  It’s now classified as a “Super Typhoon,” meaning it is a Category 4-5 with winds over 150mph.  Different projections show it either grazing the southern tip of Taiwan before turnin up the Taiwan Strait, or a direct hit over the mountains with the eye passing almost directly over Taichung.  I’m actually hoping for the second scenario.  The mountains are pretty effective at breaking up typhoons and preventing serious damage.  I’ve been told the most dangerous (and the rarest) typhoons are those that curl around Taiwan and head up the west coast, with no mountains for protection.

Anyway, looks like no school on Monday, but I’ll be trapped at home waiting out the storm.

Super Typhoon Jangmi looms large to the southeast of Taiwan. That is one mean looking eye.