Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!


The Other End of Heaven

What could possibly be said or done? Especially through the relatively outcasted part of the internet- the Homepage! Well, like many boys and girls who grow older and buy more expensive and technical toys, this for me is just learning, playing and using less paper to please myself of the few words that grace my eyes.

My intent is primarily to only make a few pages that make my life easier, allow greater contact with my distant friends and let me stretch a few dusty wings.

The Only page I have that's of any interest is COMPASS- a collection of internet links that I've frequently needed while working and travelling.

Hello Kester, Laos is splendid, for now. I was quite taken back during my journey there by the influence of tourism in Thailand. How many times were you offered opium? I rather enjoyed the surreal feeling of people yelling "DO you want opium" in a market or when seeing you on the street. Laosian derives from the same root family as Thai (actually, the majority of people in northern Thailand speak a form of Laosian not Thai). THis turned out to be beneficial during my time there. On one occaision I had the fortune of seeing how the sex trade in Thailand is affecting Laos culture. APparently prostitution has been becoming more public in the past 2 years. A bus driver took me to one of the brothels, 2 girls of the ages 14 nd 13. The bus driver finishing what he had come to do, we all sat and talked over a beer. I said a few words in one of the prositutes native tongues (she is hilltribe), at which she was so flattered that she kissed me. After scrubbing my face with 3 kinds of soap, I decided to cherish that memory. Taiwan,eh! Well, it is well worth your time to travel this place, I believe it's highly under-rated. The work culture here is a bit hard to swallow. There is a huge population of foreigners here. many who have stayed for more than one year. The majority have little desire to have anything to do with the society, it's all about paying off the student loans. My time here has been a bit stressful, visa problem, culture shock, that and I have never liked chinese society as a whole. I believe it would be the most ideal small community. But this conception is one of my reasons for coming here. The sky being blue, the sun shining and a magnanimous god should mean that I'll be here for a year. Feel free to come and visit or use my scooter fopr a vacation, your speaking chinese should make it a breeze. I do find chinese a bit of a challenge, they don't slow down much or try to help me understand even when it's clear that I can't speak well. Stiff upper-lip and all old boy, Daniel