So awesome being Jewish!
The land of avodah zara Ha Long Bay
Catbah Island Jungle Trek Crossing the street in Hanoi - VC Everywhere!

You all may or may not have noticed that I haven’t been blogging much lately. Yes, I’ve been on a bit of a vacation – but mostly I’ve been putting out Internet fires. Server migration issues, messed up databases, tweaking new installs – it’s all been a hoot and a holler running around looking for high speed wifi connections in some fairly odd places. As a result, sites like roi120 and jdaters anonymous are updated and speedier than ever. I also managed to get jewtube.com redesigned and online – go check it out!

But in the midst of all that I still managed to get some, you know, vacationing done. I started off in Bangkok and found these awesome stickers all over Kao San road, near the Chabad House. The sticker says “It’s so great being Jewish! Thank blessed God” (You’d know that if you paid attention at Hebrew School). I know, I know – it may seem a tad chauvinistic and perhaps a little politically incorrect, but really, as long as you’re not knocking anyone else, is it wrong to be proud of who you are? I can’t help it, especially in South East Asia, the land of idol worship and treiff galore!

Seems like, amidst the poverty and the filth, there are all these elaborate and immaculate Buddhist temples on everywhere! Giant Buddhas! Reclining Buddhas! Emerald Buddhas! And I know I ought to show respect but every time I visited these places, I had to resist the temptation to, you know, laugh out loud. But I behaved. And then there was Vietnam, the most capitalist communist country ever! You think Charlie won the war? Hell no – corporate America did – the country is awash in logos and the factories are kept buzzing churning out Nikes, Adidas, North Face, Hilfiger and every type of crappy, logo covered piece of sweat shop generated apparel you can think of. And NOTHING is kosher. Nothing. All you can eat are Pringles, cereal, tabasco sauce and chocolate – the only products I found with any hecsher at all. That was a fun Shabbat meal let me tell you. Yeah the OU travels pretty far – but I wish there was just a little more variety…

Anyhow, yeah, Bangkok, Hanoi, Sappa, Ha Long Bay and Catbah Island. Fun! Off to Koh Samet next. I’ll try to blog something less idiotic next time. Sorry this was so lame. Anyhow, Shavuah Tov y’all.

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About the author

ck

Founder and Publisher of Jewlicious, David Abitbol lives in Jerusalem with his wife, newborn daughter and toddler son. Blogging as "ck" he's been blocked on twitter by the right and the left, so he's doing something right.

13 Comments

  • But at least they let you access their templess in sleeveless attires 😉

    Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) denied the existence of deities, so officially Buddhism doesn’t believe in gods (hence it’s considered a philosophy, not a religion in religious studies) while the actual worshipping of Buddha has taken on forms reminiscent of idolatry. In many areas in the Far East, Buddhism and Hinduism have mixed a great deal in common people’s religious practice, so it’s not uncommon to find Buddhist respectively Hinduist elements of faith among followers of the respective other belief.

    Hope you’ll enjoy the rest of your trip and will get something to eat afterall 😉 – that trip will certainly make you understand that keeping kosher is a real challenge where kosher food isn’t readily available.

  • Pringles, tabasco sauce, cereal and chocolate–and you’re complaining? Picky, picky, picky.

    You poor thing!

  • Cholent? I thought you were Sefardi 😉

    ck, in your honour, I’ll now have a few spicy-Thai pringles.

  • Are you being facetious, ck? I am sure that all of us, at some point, have had to make do and cobble together some cholent out of Fruity Pebbles and Diet Coke. Even if it was just once or twice in college when there was nothing else lying around.

    You make it sound like it’s weird or something.

    (P.S. Haul your azz to Italy and get some real food, will ya? Capisci?)

  • I am being facetious. I would never make cholent for shabbat – a veggie Chamin maybe, but not cholent. Anyhow – I am now on this crazy tropical Island paradise. It’s awesome! Still with the pringles and cereal though – luckily there’s lots of fresh fruit and veggies. I bought some dishes and cuttlery and even toveled them at the beach. People think I’m weird. Well, i am weird. But now they think I am REALLY weird…

  • At least you seem to be having fun 🙂 We miss you here though and are looking forward to the pictures.

  • ck, any advice for a 50-something couple wishing to travel in Thailand? Can you “wing it” or do you recommend any particular tour company or guides? Thanks!

  • Beach tovel? Isn’t that something you sun yourself on? 😉

    You must be making quite a splash with that. Think of the interesting idea these people will have of Jews, ck.

    “What’s he doing with those dishes?”

    “Stop staring, he’ll see you. It’s a Jewish thing.”

    “And did you see all those Pringles tubes?”

    “I think that’s a Jewish thing, too. I’m not sure about the Fruity Pebbles, though…”

  • Sandy: Advice? Yeah. Go!! You can definitely wing it – I suppose it depends on what sort of experience they want and their level of friskiness. Feel free to send me email at jewlicious [at] gmail dot com and I will gladly provide advice and answer questions.

  • ck,

    1.you never answer my emails,
    2. you’re even more weird than just REALLY weird. whatever the superlative is of that, that’s what you are.
    3. i like your idiotic posts. it shows you’re not an invincible writer, and very much off the top of your head.
    4. its very close to all the crap that i write!
    5. pictures! colors! ooo.

  • aaron… you are so odd. You have mail. I always respond to your emails – I think you may have a spot of ADD. Have that looked at – they’re doing wonderful things with Ritalin these days!