Cambodia

We arrived in Cambodia last night after our flight's delay caused us to miss our afternoon booking of Bangkok to Siem Reap. We stood in a procession of Qs in Siem Reap while a series of serious looking Cambodian officials inspected our passports and issued us visas. Finally, we got in a cab and headed out to find somewhere to sleep. Today, we moved guesthouses to a lovely light room above an Irish Pub in the Psar something area of Siem Reap where we will spend New Years.

Cambodia, so far, is much more relaxed than Thailand. Since Cambodia was under French control, colonial buildings in that style remain throughout the city. The feel is New Orleans with kind people and extraordinary food. We are going to a Mine Museum later (I think) then probably off to see the Wats tomorrow and the next day.

I am so excited to be here, and so reluctant to even consider the reality of school, looming ahead. If it weren't for my pups, home would seem to fit nicely in my backpack.

The Beach

Actually, we weren't on the beach that 'The Beach' was filmed on--but we were close by. Signage in Thailand is plauged by a kolidescope of possible English spellings of Thai words. So -- we were at the Nai Kon, Naithon, or Nai Ton beach, depending on where you look. It is on the West side of Phuket -- a little strip of perfect gold sand, flanked by tropical evergreen trees, the a perfect shallow wake of warm waves to swim in. We were sucked in to the delicious vibe of the quiet little town and stayed until yesturday. We spent one day diving off the East coast of Phuket; but mostly, we just wandered around barefoot and sandy.

We also rented a car for a couple days. And, while I knew I married a man with great skill, I was still in awe of his ability to drive both on the 'wrong' side of the car and the 'wrong' side of the road while navigating around seas of motocycles, tuk tuks and pedestrians. I tried to capture it in 20 second videos for your viewing pleasure at a later time.

The diving was not spectacular, but was pleasant and pretty. They were good first dives for Ms. Nora, who is now certified. The three of us have started to jointly read Love in the Time of Cholera -- and William is as awed by Marquez as I hoped he would be.

I miss the ocean so much. It was good to languish a bit in the salt water.

Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning (in Chiang Mai),

An adorable family is cooking in a one room kitchen/ dining room/ office and I am sitting in an overgrown garden, waiting for breakfast.

I remember Christmas mornings. Our pajama-only rule in the mornings -- no day clothes until after breakfast, because being together in pajamas is one of the main things that makes a family a family.

I remember how warm and perfect it felt. On Christmas, all that mattered was that we were together--telling the same stories, eating the same food, re-acquainting ourselves with each other's laughter.

In the kitchen a few feet away, the lovely family that owns our guesthouse has not idea that it is Christmas morning--most likely at least, but they are acting like it anyway. In slippers and aprons, they are bustling around the kitchen, chatting in Thai, cooking my Christmas breakfast.

It makes me lonely but also happy.

Unemployed Elephants and Brokedown ATVs

(Two Days Ago in Chiang Mai)

Elephant riding turns out to be another moral quandary. Elephants, once used in the calvary in Thailand, as well as in the construction industry, are not suffering from unemployment.

They are weened at 3 years and trained until they are about sixteen by the same person that follows them into their career. They retire at 50 or 60, depending of course upon whether they contributed diligently to their 401K, to an elephant sanctuary.

However, with the advent of fossil fuel powered trunk machines (such as cranes and tractors) they lost thier jobs.

So, while we provide them with work, thy avoid being abandoned or hunted. And, we chose an elephant trekking place about an hour out of town, in the hills and jungle, along a stream (not immediately off the highway in Chiang Mai).

But, it is still hard to know whether it was the lesser of the two evils.

On a more selfish note, I go to hug an elephant. While riding on its neck (yes, I said riding on its neck) I made up songs for him (like I do for the Big Pig) and sang to him while he walked. I felt a bond.

We then went ATVing (my generation turns all nouns into verbs and gerands to save time and money. Okay, maybe not money.)

Our guide was a young Chiang Mai native, Tuk, that was recently awarded a scholarship from the Thai government to study in Louisianna at a University. His scholarship lasted six months, during which he studies English.

He was another extraordinary person that we got to spend a day with. He wants to move back to the states, so W and I have been brainstorming about getting him a visa.

Anyway, the ATVs were less extraordinary. While I try to be a driver and not a passenger while on this Earth, I deferred to my husband's greater ATV experience and chose to latch on behind him while traversing through mountainous roads. (And, last time I drove an ATV--in Costa Rica--I nearly killed us. It was embarassing.)

Nora's ATV as not only a manual, it was a half-broken manual. So after we arrived at a hilltop village (that grew and sold opium until five years ago when the King provided rural farmers with government subsidies and training to grow vegetables -- they were growing mountains of soft green cauliflower) we switched and I started to drive Nora down the mountain. Well we stalled at the bottom of a hill and no one could get the machine working again. It was interesting.

Anyway, we showed up in the Chiang Mai airport yesterday morning with high hopes but no plans, and now we are in beautiful Phuket.

The water is warm and clear on this beach, Hot Noi Thon -- or something like that -- and I am so relieved to feel the salt and the sand.

Airline tickets are more expensive than anticipated, so we are unsure where the rest of the trip will take us.

Lorna, I am writing this from an internet cafe with a Pomeranian at my feet, named Pom-ae, who attacked William last night -- funny.

Anyway, I miss my dogs but am happy to be in this beautiful place on Christmas.

Hands On

We arrived in Chiang Mai, expecting a sleepy northern city, nestled in the mist. We found another loud, bustling, Thai city: exhaust, sizzling meats, sewage, curry. I don't mean that as an entirely bad mixture. But yesterday unraveled with a certain blessed serendipity. And it all comes down to coffee.

I located a place to secure by morning caffine, and marched my small troop in that direction. While I sipped a delicious Americano, we decided that we might try to rent a car and drive out of town. But on the way to find the recommended car rental place, we found instead a tour shop recommended by Nora's friend (who lived in Chiang Mai for a couple years while teaching English). After chattling with the sweet girl who works there, we booked Thai cooking lessons for that afternoon and an afternoon at a spa. After wandering a bit looking for a place to stay, we found a beautiful guest house called Pha Thai, run by a kind and adorable family. It has a lovely overgrown garden, rich coffee, and, as it is set off the street a bit) lots of light and fresh air.

For about fifty dollars (1700 bhat), Nora and I enjoyed a nice chat in the steam, in rose petaled water, and then a massage. Nora opted for something soft, but I chose a traditional Thai massage. It was like yoga for those who have lost use of thier limbs. It was incredible -- like in movies, where the massusse stands on the bed and uses her whole body to push and simultaneously pull on you.

Our Thai cooking class as the highlight of the trip thus far. After chatting with him throughout the day, we learned that the owner of the cooking school is a young man (with two boys as chose in age as is humanely possible) from the Laos - Thai border. His family owned a farm and practiced sustainable agriculture. Mon Santo moved in with chemical fertilizers, engineered seeds for purchase, and ready-to-go loans for the farmers, entirely destroying his families ability to make a living wage. He said that the UN set up a hospital in his town and he admired the way the nurses and doctors were 'alert.' He said that he wanted to be like that.

So he left his village to live a a monk and gain a free education. After five years, he moved out of the temple and lived with an elderly man who had lost his viison. He took the man around town and acted as his eyes. Eventually, the man told him that he should open a cooking school (as he was working as a cook at the time) and offered him room in his house.

So, he started this beautiful school, and has since moved six of his family members out of the village, and into Chiang Mai, where they have received an education and training in English.

We were there for four hours and received instruction on how to cook 6 dishes. It was Nora, WIlliam and I as well as a 'Climate Change Scientist' from Oregon. And, I have to say the food was delicious.

Anyway, I'm being eaten by mosquitos...so I'll write about my day today (riding elephants) tomorrow!

My love to all!

Long Live the King

It was the King's 80th birthday, recently, and the country is FILLED with salutations to his long life and health...and I mean FILLED...its unlike anything I've ever seen.

Red Lights, again

Nora actually ate real food last night, so to celebrate, we ventured out into the Red Light district in Bangkok. Which was somewhat like Amsterdam, but more sad and more filthy. An experience, none-the-less.

We are off to visit the Grand Palace today, and then North, to Chiang Mai this afternoon. I am going to be releived to be out of this city. The sheer weight of humanity that treads upon this limited ground is a bit overwhelming. Okay, a lot overwhelming. We have been happy for the relief of this beautiful hotel -- both as a respite from the grime and intensity of the city, and for the comfort it has afforded Nora during her illness.

The city, however, is also a window into the future: it contains hundreds of gorgeous, modern, sky-scrapers and winding malls of steal and glass which seem to defy both purchasing power parity and gravity. The sky-tram and subway are the most clean and sophisticated which I have ever ridden.

Anti-biotics have made her an entirely new person -- or rather, have restored her to her entirely old self. I find it a bit ironic that she contracted this illness while still in New York. I also found it ironic, that after the three of us all visited doctors in order to have our own little backpack pharamcies available for such occassions, Nora's illness still required a different antibiotic: we all were given z-pacs...which exacerabe diarrhea... ridiculous.

Anyway, we will be spending tonight at the SK Guesthouse in Chiang Mai (for your peace of mind, Mom).

Hope all is well -- thanks to everyone who is caring for our puppies !!

cabbages and condoms

I'm typing in the Captian Condom Lounge of the Cabbages and Condoms veg-friendly thai restaurant in Bangkok.

Nora became sick about four hours into our 17 hour flight, and began to vomit, etc, for the remainding time. We were able to find her a bed in first class in which to rest (she had to stay away from a monk who was residing near by -- since a woman cannot sit near a monk, apparently). She was in complete misery until we landed and took a seat in the luxurious Mercedes that Four Seasons sent for us. She improved a bit, but we had to call a doctor yesterday who now has her on antibiotics.

Meanwhile, Willie and I have been exploring this sprawling and intriging city. WHich is at once the most modern city in which I have ever stayed, and also the most mired in poverty. The food, in either case, is incredible. We have been traveling by this beautiful new sky train, and then proceeding on foot through winding channels of foot carts frying, roasting, and char-broiling every imaginable edible plant and animal. The smell of those sizziling snacks, mixed with sewage wafting from below the street, and the bubbling channels of the city is the most incredible concoction I have ever inhaled.

We are off to see a lady boy show tonight, and then to Chiang Mai tomorrow. I'll write more when I have a minute. My love to all!

Safe and Spoiled

We are safe and sound in Bangkok, at the Four Seasons (Nora's employer), about to go to sleep. I'll add more tomorrow :) Hope all is well!

The Big Crispy Apple

I'm sitting at Nora's small square kitchen table in an 11th story flat on 14th Street with gorgeous views, south, of the seemingly endless buildings, all of which scrape, more-or-less, the cloud swept sky.

And it is damn cold; or it was last time I ventured outside. That was about three hours ago, before a delicious nap with Mr. WIlliam on Nora's bed.

For about half an hour after arriving, we weren't sure whether we'd be spending the entire day on the street. We got into JFK about 5:30 this morning. I slept a bit on the plane, W did not. I guess that's the advantage of being able to fit lying down across two seats: this is why Darwinian selection has nearly stopped in homo sapien sapiens: too many variables.

Anyway, we took a taxi to Nora's montrous apartment building and rang her buzzer. No response. Rang it again. No response. At that point a couple of women leave the builing. We sneak in. We go up to Nora's floor. We locate her door (aparment C). We knock, no answer. We ring the little door bell that goes: ding. dong. No answer. We call her. No answer. ding. dong. Nothing. We drop our bags and really bang on the door. No response. I go downstairs to buzz her again. I buzz her three times. Willie can hear it through the door, he says it too loud for anyone to sleep through. We try to remember who deep a sleeper Nora is. I want food, so we decide to venture outside, toting our bags into the cold wind.

But before we leave, we find ourselves in an elevater with a kindly father-ish man who advises us to leave our bags in the hall -- that the building is safe. We're tempted but wary. Then, on our way out, he runs into his rather adorable kindly mother-ish wife; they offer to let us bunker down with them, and stow our bags in their apartment.

Which we do. Amidst the sort of rubble that few people can accumulate in a small apartment in a lifetime. The couple's son is home from college. He is sulking at the kitchen table: he just arrived from Miami for Christmas. He is thin, pale, and has long brown scraggly hair. I wonder, judgmentally, what exactly he did in Miami.

Anyway, by the time we leave and get bagels, Nora calls.

She slept through it all: she even had kept her phone right next to her bed.

Now we know: we're out to purchase one of those new-fangled alarm clocks with a tazer attached

Hope all is well!

Still Sleeping Husband

The misguided notion that I successfully internalize stress to save myself and others from its outside manifestation, died a bit, this week.  I realized that my stress may not be digesting on its own so well when William seemed as exhausted and relieved as I was yesterday, the last day of my finals.  Well, we survived two papers and three finals, including a nine hour Trade Mark exam during which William shuttled coffee and food to me for sustenance.  

And tomorrow at midnight we leave for Thailand, by way of New York, where we will slow the plane to allow Ms. Nora to run and jump aboard.  No, actually, we have a full 36 hours in that Cold Apple to wander and pine for warmer (and wetter) weather.  (I have no need to imagine what my hands will look like in old age; the first month of winter in the desert turns my fingers into ragged, cracked, dead-dried-fish.)  (I know that's gross.)