Travel Coaching, Custom, or Guided Tours Available

By popular demand I am now available for paid Travel Coaching, and Guided or customized Tours.

Examples are:

Travel Coaching: Dealing with family resistance or other obstacles+ Where to Go When + How much + What to Bring + other Getting started issues = $45 per hour.

2 weeks Amazing Thailand: Bangkok + Krabi + Koh Surin island = $2575 including airfare from LAX, lodging, local transportation, sight-seeing tours, kayaking, snorkeling, elephant riding.

2 weeks Magical Bali Well-being Adventure: Ubud + Detox + Nusa Lombongan Island = $2295 including airfare from LAX, lodging, local transportation, sight-seeing tours, rafting, snorkeling, temple dances, detox colon cleansing program.

Interested?

Leave Comment or email to:

jamesrascon@hotmail.com

We are all Travelers thru life.

Mu Koh Surin

Mu Koh Surin National Park, Thailand February 25, 2008. “Welcome to Paradise”, I say to a group of Thai friends I unexpectedly meet here on Mu Koh Surin. This island national park & marine sanctuary in the Andaman Sea is popular with Bangkok Thais as a weekend beach camping spot, and equally popular with Farrangs (foreign tourists) as a world-class coral reef snorkeling destination.

Fabulous white sand beach, pretty good visibility, big fish quality coral reefs, and virgin rainforest scenery will keep you out of the tent and actively enjoying this, my number 1 pick of outdoors island destinations in Thailand. Yes tent camping is the predominant and most affordable lodging here. You can camp at the Park Headquarters or at the more scenic Mai Ngam beach where I pitched my rental tent that I brought from Kuraburi on the mainland (60 Baht a day rental). The park also has nice large tents for rent at 300 Baht a day. These take-up prime beachfront spots in Zones 1-5 leaving the further 5 zones for private tents including large weekend group tours. There are some expensive bungalows at the Park Headquarters and they are building more.

Many couples enjoy the relaxed romantic beach setting.

Meals are served in the relaxing open-air Coop canteen restaurant. You buy coupons at the information counter and use these to purchase food in the canteen. Breakfast is 7:30 – 9:00am, Lunch 12nn – 2pm, and Dinner 6:30-8:00pm. Food is basic and affordable Thai food. I usually had fruit (30 Baht, not always available), and fried mixed vegetables on rice (40 Baht), or stir-fried chicken on rice (50 Baht). Water is always available free.

After a quick fruit and instant coffee (20 Baht) I buy my snorkel boat ticket (80 Baht) and hurry across the island to Ao Kra Thing bay and depart with the other tourists in our wooden long-tail boats for the morning snorkeling trip.

Exciting fish I saw included during my 3 weeks– A medium size Manta Ray, white and black tip reef sharks, Napoleon Wrasse, smaller sea turtles, Jacks, Mackerel, a sea snake, lion fish, giant Clams, Moray eels, even a nudibranch. Commonly seen fish of good size and variety include: Groupers, Snappers, Triggerfish, Butterfly fish, Anemone fish, Goatfish, Angelfish, etc.

Corals are mostly branching, encrusting hard corals, with noticeable dynamite fishing damage on some reefs but overall still very good quality for these modern times.

Other interesting aspects here include the Moken natives or sea gypsies. Their children are cute with traditional haircuts and simple beach play. Several sat with me while I was reading the 2nd hand magazines and pointed for me to describe the pictures to them. They enjoyed the attention but did not understand any of my English or broken Thai.


Local wildlife provides some camping excitement. A troop of Macu monkeys regularly patrols the campground watching for tasty items to steal. I brought a prized bag of mangos from the canteen back to my tent late one morning. I hung the bag on a tree in front of my tent and went to the nearby restroom. Three minutes later I came back to find a lone big male monkey eating my mangos. “Hey, those are my Mangos”, I stupidly shouted at him. Used to such statements, he just looked at me and peeled off another piece of the one he was eating, dropping the skin piece next to my tent. “Well at least share, give me back one”, I continued my monolog as I approached closer. He slowly backed away carrying my mangos. I ducked into my tent and retrieved my camera just as he was climbing into a tree.

There he sat, a mango in each hand and one foot, casually eating yellow mango, and tossing the finished seed down to the other primate below.

Walking back to my tent along the beach after dinner I spied this group of Thais photographing this fragrant white flower. They said it blooms for only 1 night. Sure enough the next day it was on the beach.

Gold at the End of the Rainbow, Mu Koh Surin National Park is indeed Paradise. And my number 1 pick for snorkeling spot in Thailand.
Trip notes: Island is only open from late November to early April. SW Monsoon prevents boat travel to the island the rest of the year.

My tour package will include getting your tent and pad and pillow as well as pier and boat transport.

What Matters To You?

Krabi, Thailand March 16, 2008. What Matters to You?

Not what is important to you or what you like or what you are supposed to be doing? The question that began a life changing inquiry for me is What Matters to You, as in what activity or thing or being that for you when you’re engaged with that gives you the experience of full-aliveness, satisfaction, power, fulfillment, being in the zone, this is it. Like that what matters.

Originally I came-up with Being CONTRIBUTION & ADVENTURE is what matters to me. And I have been on this trip for 8 months discovering distinctions and variations of Contribution and Adventure.

So recently when I camped and snorkeled and walked the beaches and jungle of Mu Koh Surin National Park islands off the west coast of Thailand (see separate story) I was surprised by an insight in what matters to me. SNORKELING Island Life is the “this is it”, the what-matters for me.

Snorkeling on pristine coral reef off a paradise island is what matters to me. What is surprising about this is that it has always been so obviously what matters to me yet I had not seen it before. What I noticed is the experience of ahhh, that I get when I snorkel this paradise coral reefs, and walked the scenic beach, and gazed at the jungle surrounded by water and sky. Ahhh, here I belong, this is my element, I am at my zenith of power and confidence and freedom.

Then I noticed that in the background of my whole teen and adult life is snorkeling. The Hidden Agenda has always been snorkeling. Specifically, “when will I be going snorkeling”, as in when will I have saved enough $ to go snorkeling, or when will I have enough time-off to go snorkeling, or when will I be free to go snorkeling…

Snorkeling as in free-diving, swimming with mask & snorkel and swim-fins in the ocean over/around/ down on a coral reef. Holding my breath and descending 30, 40, or even 60 feet along a coral wall to view all manner of ocean life close-up and personal. Covering 2 or 3 km of reef in 3 to 5 hours of snorkeling. It is massive exercise and I am beautifully present and alive the whole time.

I had known that I like to go snorkeling, and that I want to go snorkeling, and that I avoid settling down. But now I have clarity that it is the desire for What Matters to Me that has me avoid settling-down, being stuck in the rat-race. With this new clarity I can now plan accordingly and create a life that forwards and is consistent with What Matters to Me. With much less guilt or distraction.

So I can retire to Mu Koh Surin islands a few months a year and be happy engaged in What Matters to Me. Or at least so it seems to me now.

So What Matters to You? Know this such that you can retire and be engaged with that for the rest of your life (retired or not).

That 1st answer is ok. But I encourage you to continue thinking about it as you go thru your life. Like me, You might discover something surprising.

Krabi Elephant Riding and Sea Kayaking

Krabi, Thailand January 29, 2008. Elephants are considered lucky in Thailand. Riding one you can quickly consider yourself lucky because it is so enjoyable and elevating.

I’ve ridden elephants several times in Thailand and Nepal. This ride is relaxing and part of a 2 in1 tour I booked for 1300 baht. Here is a picture of 2 kinds of "Elephant Ears", 1 plant & 1 animal.

Normally kayaking comes 1st in the morning followed by elephant riding in afternoon. But the tide was too low in the morning so the creative Thai guides reversed the order and we rode elephants in the pleasant morning sun, had lunch, and then kayaked the mangroves and watery canyons in the afternoon.

Saw 3 troops of monkeys while kayaking. Two troops were on the rock cliffs patiently begging for fruit and 1 troop in the mangroves actually jumped onto our kayaks and commandeered all our remaining fruit and most of the fresh water.

This is part of my Thailand tour package so I wanted to reconfirm it belongs as a primary option on my 10-day Thailand package trip. Yep, this is a grand trip.

Koh Prayam

Koh Prayam, Thailand January 25, 2008. “Like Koh Samui in the 1980’s.” That was the advertising slogan on a poster that caught my eye in my guesthouse in Bangkok. I had got those itchy red skin dots again, so was eager to leave the city for some clean less developed tropical island paradise.

After an all night 10 hr bus ride I took the daily ferry to Prayam Island from Ranong about 8:30 am. We passed some scenic jungle clad islets on the way to Koh Prayam, docking at the village pier about 11 am. We stopped in route at a remote island resort that had small plastic boats that came out to gather their new customers.

There are two main tourist beaches on Koh Prayam. I stayed at the longer one on the SW corner of the island. It has powdery sand near the trees and grayer firmer stuff at wide low tide areas. There is a nice reef with excellent fish life on the North end of this beach, however the water visibility is very poor. There is also the jelly fish larva stinging in the water like is common at beaches in the spring in Florida.

I rented a bike and bicycled the hilly island for exercise and scenery. The other tourist beach on the NW side of the island is even more scenic at high tide than the one I stayed at. The higher priced accommodation and food places are located here. My camera battery died before I could photograph the wonderful see thru rock formation arches at the Northern end of this beach.

Had ok massages at “Welcome Massage”. This place has affordable food in nice garden setting. There is in a cluster of good value restaurants and a convenience store that are here about 2 km inland from the main tourist beach. A restaurant and bakery owned by a French lady (just next to the massage place) has the best muesilie on the island.

The season is Dec to March when the winds and weather are not monsoon. I stayed at Bamboo Bungalows which I don’t recommend as the attitude is too high prow there. I moved to Long Beach bungalows at the north end of the beach but I don’t recommend them either as it is too far from everything except snorkeling and has a noisy Rasta weed smoking bar next door. But nice owners and great value right on beach for 200 baht.

I would stay at Smile Hut next time with best all round location and value bungalows on the beach for like 300 baht. They also have a wind turbine to generate some green electricity.

Other logistics:
Island is in Adaman Sea just south of border with Burma (Myanmar).
One ferry leaves Ranong at 8:30am for the island, and leaves the island at 2 pm.
There are no cars on the island and motorbike taxi is 70 baht across the island.
Can rent a motorbike for 150 to 200 baht a 24 hr day.
Can rent a basic 6-speed bicycle at the inland convenience store for 70 baht for 24 hr day or 50 baht for half day.
Is no central power grid so electricity is generally only on from about 6:30 pm to 11 pm.
Mostly European tourists, almost no Americans have discovered the island yet, except Chuck a Californian who lives here 6 months a year.

Bangkok Street Food - Fresh Fruit

Bangkok, Thailand January 10, 2008. Fresh cold sliced ready to eat tropical fruit is my favorite breakfast. While that may be a do-it-yourself or forget idea in America, it is a readily available street food experience here in Bangkok.

This is one of my favorite fruit vendor ladies. I remember her from years ago when I 1st stayed on Khao San road here in Bangkok.

For 10 or 15 Baht (30 to 45 cents US) I buy my morning Papaya, or watermelon, and another 15 Baht for a cold young coconut to wash it down with. Actually these vendors operate into the late night hours or until they run out of fruit.

These carts are so well designed. They show their yummy fruit thru clear sanitary glass and drain the ice melt out the bottom. There are wheels and handle for pushing the cart to the best selling spot or for dashing down a side alley to avoid the police ticketing vendors clogging the roads and sidewalks.

Fruit, my breakfast for champions and another reason I love Bangkok.

Where Are You?

Krabi, Thailand January 30, 2008. I’m in Thailand, where are you?

I apologize for being out of touch and not updating my blog for some time now.

As you can see I am now busy slaving away writing stories and organizing my photos to post for you.

Like in real estate, location is everything in my writing too. I am a master of places and am sensitive to the energies that various location on earth have. I have found that I do not write or write gloomy self-centered content when I am not in a happy high-energy location. Conversely I write profusely when I’m at a nice elevated inspiring view that includes water.

Krabi, Thailand is for me one of those peaceful, inspiring, and high-energy places. I am writing from the 6th floor rooftop café of KS Manson in Krabi city on the west coast of Thailand. This is one of my favorite views in the world and I recommend this spot.

Yesterday went Elephant riding and sea kayaking, but not at the same time. Then at night I ate at the night market, followed by a Thai deep massage. Later went out on the town with new friends I met at the noodle soup vendor stall. Later stories to follow…