Blogging and Bangkok Beauty
Posted by Stuart at 12:04 PM on March 23, 2008It's been a full week of daily posts here, and I have to say that this took me by surprise perhaps as much as it did you. As I have been working on my company getting our first release out the door, my output on this blog site has been steadily decreasing, and basically came to a complete stop. But I started to realize that my life was getting a little out of balance. And to me, this website is one hobby that I really enjoy investing a little time in, so I thought that maybe I could try to find that time.
Although I have to admit I felt a little strange with that last post, for whatever reason. Perhaps it was because it was about topics that I don't really talk much about on such a public forum. The "Why do you still live in Bangkok?" question is always circling around my head. And so some of the last week's posts have addressed those thoughts in two of the things that are important in life: health and finance.
Plus, the point of that last point is that I find the Zopa loan/CD model so interesting, I just wanted to share. I love learning about new business models that are popping up due to the efficiencies of the Internet. My expat lifestyle has been made so much easier due to the Internet and other technologies. It's hard to imagine living on the other side of the world away from my family and my culture without email, cnn.com, banking websites, etc.
(And I'll make one more sales pitch for my company and the Zopa website. Click here to learn more about Zopa or to get a great deal on a bank CD investment and help me with my business loan at the same time. :)
I thought that I didn't really have much to say today. Originally I was just going to post a picture that I took on my bike ride last week. This is a shot from Suan Rot Fai ("Train Park") which is next to the famous Chatujak Weekend Market.
I certainly don't consider Bangkok to be a beautiful city, but every now and then, I get a surprise peek. Just another small reason to stick around for a while...
I have often found that there are serious problems when a person must think and find reasons to "stay" somewhere. Perhaps it is time to begin to list the reasons to "leave". Having spent time abroad in Europe, I began to start making excuses to stay and found myself constantly having to find new reasons/excuses to stay. It wasn't long until I realized I was trying too hard and became unhappy.
Dave, I agree with you that it's not good when one starts trying to figure out reasons to stay somewhere. I re-read my post and I can see how someone might interpret it that way. But that is not what I was trying to say at all. It was more like: "Wow, my life has turned out to be nothing like what I expected. Why is that?" Or, "I have chosen a path that so few choose, what is it about myself or about the path that made this happen? And why has it been such a great path so far?"
I am not trying hard to find reasons to stay here, that's an easy list to produce. But I get asked the "Why Bangkok?" question all the time, and it's an endless source of amusement for me to figure out a simple answer to that question.
That's a great photo and a rare glimpse at a beautiful side of Bangkok away from the smog, traffic and nightlife. Thanks!