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.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
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.
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.
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.
Monday, December 24, 2007
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!
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!
Friday, December 21, 2007
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 !!
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