| Brian in Thailand |
| Written by Brian Teeman | |||||||
On December 20th 2004 I set off on my travels. This time I was going to go white water rafting and trekking in the Jungles of Western Thailand on a guided trip supported by elephants. As a committed off-beat traveller I've been to Thailand many times before but this trip was going to be a little different. Over the previous few months I'd heard good things coming out of Thailand in relation to Mambo. The occasional postings in the forums at http://forum.mamboserver.com/ and announcements of Thai language versions of Mambo and various components at http://mamboforge.net/ had intrigued me. 
Not being able to speak or read Thai the information at
http://www.mambohub.com/ was a mystery to me but the photographs
sparked an interest. What was happening in Thailand? Was Mambo really
as popular as it appeared and what was going on here? 
As I had a spare day in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, at the start
of my adventure I decided to contact Mambo Thailand to see if I could
arrange to meet them for a drink or perhaps a meal. A quick exchange of
e-mail and instant messages revealed that Ninekrit and Cherry had other
ideas. My idea of a relaxing beer in a bar was soon replaced with a
full blown meeting of Thai Mambo users with a guest of honour making a
full 2 hour presentation on "Mambo - the Past, The Present and The
Future". And I was to make the presentation.So along with my walking boots, trekking poles, life jacket and
sleeping bag I left Heathrow airport, in London, with my
presentation on a CD. [Not trusting the airline to deliver my bag in
one piece, or on time, I was taking no chances with the CD, a copy was
given to every person I was travelling with and I also had copies
stored on the memory card of my camera and on my usb watch.]After two flights half way across the world I arrived in Bangkok early on Saturday morning. Even though my body said it was 2am the clock on the wall said 9am and it was only a few hours to go till I met Ninekrit and Cherry. After a drive across the city battling through traffic I arrived at my hotel ready for a hot shower, change of clothes and large cup of the most caffeinated coffee i could find. Sadly the hotel had other ideas. The room would not be ready for another 3 hours and the coffee shop was closed for refurbishment. A quick bit of lateral thinking, and the fact that I had stayed at this hotel before, and I was washing in the shower by the swimming pool and attempting to shave using a cigarette lighter for a mirror. I could hardly meet the Thai Mambo community in the clothes I had been wearing for nearly 48 hours and a 2 day growth on my face.  Anyone here for Mambo? I needn't have worried. They arrived on time and wearing a very smart golf shirt with a Mambo Flower embroidered on the front and www.mambohub.com on the back. Greetings over we hopped in the car to battle through the traffic to cross Bangkok for the restaurant where the meeting was to take place. For the next few hours we sat and ate a luxurious meal whilst I was briefed on all the work that Mambohub had done in the previous few months.
2:30 and the witching hour was approaching. It was nearly time for my presentation and I had to prepare. Kittiwat and Cherry would be working as my interpreters, which was to be a first for me. I've made several presentations before, although not on Mambo, but I've never had to work with an interpreter.  Setting up the projector Crikey! This really is starting to sound like a major event I hope I can live up to their expectations. 3.00pm and we're ready to go. My presentation is ready, the projector is on and the introductions are made. And then just when I was ready to start the projector decided to go to sleep. A quick fiddle with the cables and everything is working again. Don't panic Brian everything will be fine.  Refreshment break Re-loaded with caffeine it was time for the final part of the presentation, Brian's favourite Mambo sites, and Questions from the audience which hopefully I would be able to answer. 4.45pm the presentation is over and I can start to relax. Now it was time for the exchange of gifts. Being nearly Xmas I'd brought with me a traditional Xmas pudding and Mamboclub presented me with a traditional tribal mask. . A donation was also made to the Thai Webmasters Association on behalf of Mambo and one lucky attendee recieved a years free domain hosting.
 MamboClub members  On the bus to meet the elephants Back in the hotel it was time to pack away the CDs, forget about Mambo and head off to the jungle for my adventure. You can see photos of my trip here (http://www.teeman.net/thai/gallery)  New Year on the Khao San Road  backpacklife.com So at 00:00 on the 1st Jan I raised a glass of champagne and toasted the New Year, knowing that now Mambo featured in the restrooms of Bangkok the future was bright.  Aftermath of the Tsunami  Noon helping out |
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