JeremyLaDuke.com

Life is working itself out it so many interesting ways. I can’t wait to see what’s next. God has given me such a wonderful life. I only hope I can somehow make it worth all the effort He’s put into it and me.

It’s raining today in Bangkok. It’s made the weather much cooler. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have cleared the air much. I’m literally choking on the air here. You can see it. It’s worse than L.A. People wear masks over their face. Seems wise. I had to go to the pharmacy to get some caugh drops.

That reminds me of a conversation I had with Jamie, a good friend and theological student. We were talking about smoking Ganja. The question came up of whether it was allowed by God or not, but then spread to incorportate more than just Mary Jane.

Galatians 5:19-21
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Witchcraft. Blatently of the sinful nature. But what is witchcraft? The greek word is pharmakeia. It’s where we get the English word for Pharmacy.

It had a few different uses in the Bible.

1) the use or the administering of drugs
2) poisoning
3) sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it
4) metaph. the deceptions and seductions of idolatry

Hmm… Maybe withcraft is a little more prevalent in our lives than we thought. Maybe our idols come in the form of something more acceptable to society.

Wow! It’s my first day here and it’s been amazing! It’s much better than I expected. Bangkok itself is very modern, relatively speaking. And the best is that some of the comforts I’ve been lacking or paying extra for are here and are cheap! I’ve got a pretty decent double room with A/C a clean bathroom, shower and hot water for 450 Baht (~$11). That’s expensive here! If I would have gotten the hotel I wanted (all booked up) I would have even gotten a TV for the same price or less. A single room with a fan and no A/C is 250 Baht (~$6)! This is in Bangkok! The most expensive city in Thailand!

Surprisingly there is a 7-11 on every corner, which is actually nice. I enjoy being able to buy the simple comforts when in places that are a little scary. There is nothing that makes you feel right at home more than being able to by a bag of M&Ms without having to buy a pound from the Duty Free store.

I’m sure some of you are thinking “Oh that sucks! I want to be immersed in the culture!” To that I say BAH!! It gets tiresome eating the same food day in and day out. Not being able to satisfy those simply cravings once in a while can drive you insane. Toilet paper is a godsent and a proper toilet a throne when you’ve been squating in a hole and using the questionable water in a bucket to wash yourself. All that is not to mention that THIS IS THE CULTURE! When in Thailand do as the Thai’s do….go to 7-11! Buy toilet paper, buy M&Ms, buy Pepsi and buy it for a fraction of what it would cost you back home!

All that being said, the Pad Thai here is AMAZINGLY GOOD! I bought it from some street vendor lady and she cooked it up right there in front of me. I ordered the Special. It was 25 Baht (~$0.62) and I was full when I was finished. It had 4 different kinds of noodles, egg and sprouts (my favorite!). You can customize it as she cooks it buy throwing in some of the varied spices and oils available.

This place already is one of my favorite places I’ve visited and I’ve only been here for a few hours! It makes me terribly excited to visit Hong Kong or Tokyo! I’m also excited to see more of the rural areas of Thailand and the islands which are supposed to be incredibly beautiful.

I’m here for 21 days or so and I’ll be styaing in Bangkok for a few days. Then I’ll head up to Chaing Mai for a few days before I head back to Bangkok on my way down to some of the more rural towns and villages. Then I’ll visit the island of Ko Samui and/or Ko Pangan. Then from there I’ll probably head thru Malaysia on my way to Singapore, where I catch a flight to Melbourne, Australia to meet two lovely ladies who have graciously welcomed me into their homes.

I’ll quickly detail my short stay in India. I hired a taxi for a day and toured around Delhi visiting all the sites on my touris map. There were many places; forts, tombs, temples, government buildings, etc. But a few of the highlights were the Bahai Temple or Lotus Temple, a some of the tombs that look very similar to the Taj Mahal. The taxi cost 650 rupees (~$15). I later found out this was expensive.

Next a took a bus to Agra. I was seated next to a young Irishman named Brian. He was ver funny. And in front of me was seated an Israeli named Dana. As we were the only non-Indians on this trip we banded together. We were probably very obnoxious since we were the only ones speaking, and having a good time on the bus.

Israel has the most beautiful women in all the world. After hearing this from my lips, Dana decided she would like to introduce me to a few of her beautiful, single, Israeli girlfriends! Dana, like all Israelis, served in the Israeli military. She knows Ariel Sharon and her roommate is the big bald guy behind Ariel Sharon, one of his body guards–named Edo. He girlfriends include a model, and famous Israeli actress and a flamenco dancer! She said all three like American boys with blue eyes. Hehehe! Lucky me!

I saw the Taj Mahal. The entry fee was rediculous by Indian standards. In fact Indians only pay 20 rupees to get in. Foreigners pay 750 rupees! Thats more than the tour bus to Agra! My tour bus cost me 600 rupees. I found out that my Irish friend paid 400 rupees for the same thing and the guy sitting next to Dana paid only 300 rupees!

The Taj Mahal was like a dream world. It definately lived up to the hype. It was amazing.

Later I visited the Birthplace of Krishna, no camera allowed. I also visited a red Fort and a Temple of Krishna. I spent the rest of my time recording “Sounds of India” to my mp3 player/recorder. I also recorded a conversation with one of the merchants trying to sell me a set of 10 Hindu idols, a flute and video CD of the temple.

My Bus ride back was horrible. The A/C was freezing and the back of the bus on a bumpy road for 3 hours is the worst place to be, and the worst place for your back. I didn’t get home till 2am and my neck was all messed up. The next day I had a headache all day. I was bed ridden and watched movies on HBO until I went to sleep. Today I feel much better.

In any sense, India is an adventure best done with a companion. I’ll come back, but only with a travel partner.

It has come to my attention reacently that I have plenty of annonymous readers. I encourage all of you to send me emails and/or comment on my posts using the comment feature under each article. I’m very interested in hearing your points of view and also curious to find out who is reading! I’m only aware of a few regulars. And that is because I get emails from them.

Please, share your thoughts and greetings.

So I hired a taxi and explored the city. The poverty is shocking. What even more shocking is the huge devide between rich and poor. You see this entire city–or maybe nation–trying to grab hold of the future, to modernize and technologize. And then you see the disregard for the common man. People are living on the side of the road in tarp houses, or in run down buildings, or buildings that were half finished and forgotten about.

A man approached my taxi window asking for money. He had an infection of some kind that left gaping hole in his leg that had dried out and become like jerky. He was walking on it, going from car to car as people ignored him or waved him away. I was so shocked and didn’t know what to do. At the moment I thought “No amount of money I can give him is going to help him.” But I’m sure my heart and mind were not in the right place. I look back at that moment and the moment when children ran up to me begging for food, pointing at the empty tin foil my lunch was in, and other similar moments and wonder, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!?

I find myself at a loss. I feel compelled to help these people. When I’m caught off guard, in the heat of the moment, I find it difficult to find the ability to do anything more than stare or keep walking and say “I’m sorry.” I feel helpless. I give some of them money. And more come.

What bothers me more is I don’t find the time to think about these issues more often. I spend hours, days and weeks pondering my own sorry situation, looking for solutions. I usually find them. So why am I not spending more time thinking of solutions for these issues? Can I even do anything?! These issues are huge!

I saw most of Dehli in a day. It’s rather large, but the monuments are spread across the entire city. I expect to head to Agra tomorrow and see the Taj Mahal.