Just a quick note since I haven’t written in a few weeks.

My trip to Thailand was a huge success. My primary motivation was completing my Thai yoga massage training with the intent of from receiving from as many practitioners as I could while there. I did get a chance to sample a few. Now, I need to write down my thoughts as my sub-conscious has processed all I’ve experienced.

I did get quite sick from the pollution in Bangkok. One day, my wife and I were touring a really neat area by foot. But I distinctly recall all the traffic and feeling the affects of the smoke. She, smartly, wore her mask that entire day. We left Bangkok that evening for Chiang Mai by train. It was quite an uncomfortable trip for me. I started feeling the affects of the pollution and was coughing a lot. The sleeper rooms next to us were filled with coughs too. Plus, the AC wasn’t cutting it and I had a hot sweaty night on the train. So I didn’t sleep well.

When we got to Chiang Mai, we rented a car from the airport and I did my best white knuckled driving on the crazy streets of Thailand. We had a really good day. But when I got to the hotel room, I was asleep by 230pm and didn’t wake up until the next day. The next day, we went to the highest point in Thailand, Doi Inthanon. It was super amazing. But both of us felt our lungs as we hiked up the steep slopes. The air was cool with a strong breeze. So we both stopped to catch our breath multiple times. Again, I was in bed for the rest of the day from mid-afternoon.

Fortunately, I started to feel better. I kept my cough for the rest of the trip. I mean, the cough when I was the sickest made me thinking of a whooping cough. People die from those coughs. They were completely involuntary. I would be breathing and suddenly a weird gutteral sound would emanate from me. It wasn’t like a regular cough. I had a fever and other issues too. My abs hurt so painfully that even sensing a cough coming left me dread with fear. And don’t even talk about a sneeze. It would take me a good 5 minutes to recover from a sneeze.

So as I am back home, I still have a cough. I’m taking Mucinex to loosen things up.

I’ve already mentioned this before, but if people are so hell bent on "global" warming, they should really focus globally. While in Thailand, I become very aware of the AQI (air quality index). It is highly variable and comes and goes. But if you look at the global map, most of the USA is in the green. Most of Europe is in the yellow (moderate). And almost all of SE Asia is in the red (dangerous). If you wanted to focus on a global issue, then you need to work with world health organizations to create emission standards for vehicles. That would play a huge role in reducing world pollution. It is really very bad. They also need help with sanitation, sewage, and water quality. And I won’t even mention the feral dog populations I saw. I think those in the US who are looking for green solutions, I think a global focus should be the start. We are actually heads above anyone else. We should be proud!