Been back at it in the gym training Must Thai twice a day, but tonight was a special occasion and I took training off during the evening session. Instead, I did what a true blooded American is supposed to do. I ate turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pie until I felt incapacitated. I barely made it out of the restuarant before succombing to a food coma.

The Thanksgiving celebration this year had a different feel than my other Thanksgiving celebrations of years past. The main component missing is simple. FOOTBALL. How’s a guy supposed to recharge for round two without watching some good ‘ol fashioned football? Also looking forward to a solid post meal nap isn’t the same when you have to do it at a restaurant dining table. Oh yea, another big thing missing was family…

My day began in it’s usual way with a morning Muay Thai training session. After the session I made myself a light lunch to safe room for the collasal dinner I was imagining. Since I didn’t have to be ready for training session two I had a lot more flexibility in my afternoon. I decided to take a long walk and do some exploring on my way to the Thanksgiving meal. That’s when things got interesting.

I left on my journey at about 3pm and dinner was planned for 6:30pm. So needless to say I had some time to kill. My first stop took me on an adventure into the Thai equivalent of thrift stores. Let me tell you, it was truly incredible. To find the place I simply googled “thrift stores near me” and this location popped up decently close to me and near enough to my walking route. The real draw to me was that the place was called “Clothes Dumpster.”

After entering this large shack like compound, where you had to duck your head under the caved sheet metal roof to get from section to section, I witnessed mass amount of clothing literally sprawled out in mounds of different categories like pants, shirts, or shorts all acrossed the floor. I even saw a worker poring out new, giant bags of clothes into these mounds, as pictured above. I had come on a mission to buy a single black T-shirt that I needed for little gig I picked up (it will get explained in another post). Curiosity took over and soon I found myself sifting through heaps of shirts and other clothing.

I became most curious about the different hats they had there. The hats we’re very telling about the inventories original destination. I saw a lot of recognizable US brands and slogans, but also a lot of Euopean, for example German and british hats as well. Of course there were Thai hats and some hats that look like they had Korean writing on them. This is all struck me as kind of odd. How do articles of clothing from a these different countries end up in the same pile at a small store in Thailand called the Clothes Dumpster?

To the best of my reckoning I figure a lot of the clothes start out as “donations” and eventually get sent down distribution channels either by rejection or just lack of turnover on store shelves. Then all they a get piled together and bundled up to be sent to a foreitn country where there is a greater “need” and where they would accept the quality of clothes that hadn’t sold in other places. My guess is that the owners of the Clothes Dumpster buy these gisnt bags of clothes for super cheap bulk rates and then just let people do the scavenging themselves. Seems like a cool business model to me.

After that stop, I had another thrift store encounter at a higher end shop. You could tell that the management here made an effort to curate a collection of higher quality products. The prices, reflectively, were a lot higher. They did a good job of sticking to the retro, hipster theme I have to say. If I didn’t have to haul around the thing I buy in a backpack for the next who knows how long I might have made some purchases there.

I don’t know if going to thrift stores in Thailand on Thanksgiving and seeing the surplus of American consumerism has any implications or special meaning, but it does seem like a good opportunity for a warning. Believe it or not the fashion industry is the second most detrimental industry to the environment only behind the gas/oil industry. I’ve been through some countries where a main source of employment is the garment industry. Admittedly, I’ve been through some of the better off ones. In some of the worst ones the pressure put on these sweat shops by Western fashion causes the owners to forgo factory safety measures and continually lower wages. It’s a race to the bottom in countries like Bangladesh and India, and the people making these products are the real ones suffering.

So before you think you need another outfit or you think your current clothes are “out or fashion” remember that purchase comes at a cost. Though it seems so far removed and it’s hard to even connect the dots, there is someone, likely on the other side of the world, who is supporting our shopping habits with their lives in horrible living conditions. Our unconscious purchases only serve to further fuel the fashion industry to continue doing what they’re doing. So this Black Friday please think about whether you, family, or friends really need that item and instead think about the consequences that purchase may have on someone you’ve never met on the other side of the world. Sorry for preaching! I’m done now..

I finally made it to the mall where we planned our Thanksgiving feast! I got there an hour early so I got out onto the roof and was able to do some reading and enjoy the views. Just being alone and looking out over the city gave me some good time to reflect about all I have to be thankful for this past year and couple of months for that matter. I’ve been incredibly blessed with the opportunity to travel. It is something that I wake up every morning thankful for. I am blessed to have been able to learn more lessons than I thought possible on this journey as well. One of the greatest blessings I’ve experienced is the ability to see the work of God’s word in the lives of people here. I see this through the mission work of the people I, again, was so incredibly blessed to meet and be in fellowship with. They truly have become my family here and that is something I am so so greatful for.

Of course, I’m thankful for pie! Seriously though, I started traveling thinking I already knew myself pretty well and was confident in who I was, but everyday I am learning lessons about myself that I never thought I would have learned at the start of this journey. I am really starting to realize what is most important in my life. I have been given some crazy perspective and it makes me excited to see what my future back home has in store.

I want to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been supportive of me doing my own thing and going off and explore the world for a while. I know it is going to be tough on my family, and mom especially, not to have me around for the holidays, but just know I miss you just as much, if not more, than you miss me! Thanks to all my friends who make an effort to keep in touch with me and are always there if I need a friend to talk to!

Now if I could, I just want to ask that everyone reading this say a prayer for all the called workers, their families, and all others involved int their ministires. They are truly trailblazers and real life, present day apostles. They sacrifice so much for the sake of evangelism. I am so thankful for the ability to see the work they do just so I can appreciate their dedication and love for God and hopefully reflect it in my own life.

I’ll be posting again soon about my side income hustles and how I have attempted to make some adventure money here in Thailand. Until then!

On Saturday my stamp into Thailand was officially up! I had spent roughly a full month here already! Thailand let’s people with US passports enter the country visa free meaning that I can just show up at the border and they’ll let me stay for 30 days. To contrast, Vietnam required a paid in advanced visa that either has to be filed at an embassy or online. It’s nice to not have to deal with the paperwork, but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t a hassle to long term stay in a foreign country, even with favorable tourist laws.

That is why I made a quick “border run” they call it to Myanmar.. or Burma. Not really sure on the cultural identity that is most politically correct when referring to the country. I know a lot of people refer to themselves as Burmese, but everything official, like the signs and passport stamps, say Myanmar. Even on Google Maps it says Burma in parentheses. Apparently, there is some genicide happening in the northern regions of the country. That all seems like another conversation. Regardless, I got to experience a taste of this new culture.

The border system in Myanmar is different than I’ve experienced anywhere else. First, they make you pay 500 baht ($15) to get in the country, but that’s nothing odd. The weird part is once you pay they give you this type of “receipt” that has your name and passport info and then they take your passport to keep at the border checkpoint. Part of the reason they do this is to control those who are just trying to border runs versus the legitimate visa holding travelers who will be journeying further into the country. With this “receipt” I am only allowed in this certain border city called. Tachilek, Myanmar. I am not allowed out. I think the strict controls have been imposed to die some of the political instability in the north.

Regardless, the Burmese know well that the main purpose of this particular land border is for Thai expats and tourists who are looking to extend their trip by another 30 days. With that reality, they do a really great job in Tachilek to make the most of their opportunity to engage all these tourists. Since the government is a little more lax on regulations, this city is a haven for pirated movies, cheap drugs, and any type of counterfeit good you can think of. The pirated movie shops were genuinely impressive. I couldn’t believe the selection. I saw recent movies all the way to the first season of “iCarly.” First thing into the market, though, you’ll be bombared by vendors trying to sell you tax free cigarettes and Viagra. Looking for fake Nikes, Gucci clothes, Versace handbags? They got it. Later, I found the market the actual locals in the town visit and that’s the picture above where you can see cabbage for sale and more practical goods like food.

What good is a visit to a South Eastern country if I don’t visit the local temples? It was nice to get up to this relaxed monument because it had a nice view out over the city. Even though I was only a stone throw away from Thailand, it some how seemed distinctly different. They still accept the Thai currency, but you can feel the difference in especially in economy. Myanmar felt more like Cambodia in terms of economic opportunities for the locals than it did Thailand. You can definitely see pretty quickly what kind of opportunities these local people have. I saw more poverty by way of rougher looking local shops and restaurants, and just frankly more people who seemed unemployed.

Just seeing a shop/club that offers both karaoke and massage raises questions about the economy and how these people really have to hustle to make a living. Little street food stands are of course a staple in SE Asia, and the lady in the picture above opened my mind to the deliciousness of deep fried bananas. I need to figure out where to find these in Thailand! Lastly, the picture with the barwire shows a shut down carnival.

For those of you following along with my journey, you know I just recently suffered a concussion. This border run happened less than 48 hours after the incident and needless to say it was a rough day for me. I had to wake up a 5am to ride my bike 45 minutes to the bus station. Then I spent 10 hours on a bus riding through bumpy mountainous paths at points to only spend two hours in Myanmar. But I’d do it again, because I love the adventure! It’s cool to see another culture even if for just a short time, and of course I did need a new entry stamp!

For my medical update, I attended a doctor’s appointment this morning. This appointment cost me 870 baht ($26.32) for a one on one consultation with a Western doctor, Dr. Scott is ironically Scottish, and two new prescriptions. The diagnosis is that my head is still fine, but what I thought what might have been nerve pain down my arms could just be muscular soreness from the initial trauma. So we will give the new meds a go and I will return to light working out and see if my condition improves. We have a follow-up appointment scheduled for Wednesday!

Not sure what’s up next on the blog. I will be continuing relaxing the next couple of days before I return to training. I will have an opportunity to watch a full game of Monday Night Football which really excites me, especially since my fantasy football matchup relies solely on this game. I still haven’t talked about how my procurement of additional income streams has gone… I have some exciting opportunities unfolding there, so I may wait for that blog post. Either way, I’m sure I’ll have some news sooner than later! Thanks for reading!