May 31, 2007
May 29, 2007
The Weekend in Pictures
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| From California52607 |
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| From California52607 |
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| From California52607 |
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| From California52607 |
May 17, 2007
Kickin' It Old School
The other day, someone made the comment to me about how I wear dresses with flip flips and it reminded me of the old blog game "Juxtapose", which turned out to be good old-fashioned "Oxymoron".
Then I started thinking:
Am I the only one who remembers how to Triangulate?
I am:
one part social butterfly
one part reclusive misanthrope
one part nerd, just trying to be cool
Come on, you know you want to play.
May 16, 2007
Travel Log Part 18
Monday, March 19, 9:10 am
We had such a fun day yesterday! M, K & I went with Noy & Gume to Phrae Province where we went to a monk initiation ceremony, but we never saw any initiating because (as is typical) they kept pushing the start time back, so we just left (which was fine by me). After that, we went to a crazy-gaudy temple for a bit. Then we had lunch and went to Silikit Dam, which was absolutely beautiful! We kayaked in the reservoir, then walked/drove around. It was very nice and refreshing (though hot, of course).
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| From Thailand Marc... |
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| From Thailand Marc... |
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| From Thailand Marc... |
Afterwards, we went to a golf course where we hit some balls at the driving range (and I wasn't that bad). Then we ate dinner with Mike from Illinois and Tony from England. They were fun to hang out with and thought I seemed tall, which still cracks me up.
We stayed out late and got up early this morning to go to the market with Noy, where we saw beautiful displays of produce and very questionable displays of meat. I suspected I shouldn't be eating meat around here, and my suspicion has been confirmed.
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| From Thailand Marc... |
We got our meat-free breakfast from the market (mangoes & sticky rice) which was much better than the rice soup & veggies we had yesterday morning.
Today, we're going to the mayor's office, a bank, and aerobics class with Noy.
March 19, 11:00 pm
If I have to keep going to karaoke parties, I'm gonna die. 3 hours tonight!
May 15, 2007
Travel Log Part 17
Friday, March 16, 5:15 pm
Today we visited two (more) hospitals. The first one was privately owned and is far nicer than the other ones we've visited. The second one was another public hospital. If I have to tour another hospital, I'm going to scream. We are all sick of it, but could not get out of it this time.
We also visited an electronic store. The big difference is that they don't have dryers, their washing machines are rather primitive and they have very few stoves or ovens (not surprising, since they have very few kitchens).
We had mass confusion over our airline tickets to Phuket. So many people want to help, but it gets more and more confusing. Hopefully, we can book the tickets tonight and get it over with.
I feel like I spend a lot of time here being confused. Traveling with a group is hard enough at home, but it's 10 times more complicated here. We always have an entourage. I'm trying to be laid back about it because we have two more weeks to go and being confused and irritated is worse than just being confused.
March 16 8:30 pm
We went to dinner on a boat. Same old Thai food. About 50 people. Sat with my friends from Wangchun. Fun time. Going to Utteradit tomorrow.
Saturday, March 17, 6:10 pm
This morning, we drove to Uttaradit. The trip went smoothly. We went to lunch with a ton of people. M, K & I are staying at the same house. Our hosts - Noy & Gume - took us for a Thai massage, then back to their house. This house is more Western than most homes we've been in, but it's still very Thai. Tonight, we're going to the "New York Steak House". Should be interesting.
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| From Thailand Marc... |
May 09, 2007
The Latest
I know all I've been blogging about lately is Thailand. I'm sure some are interested and others could care less, but that's pretty much all I've got right now. Take it or leave it. Even though it's only been a month or so, I feel like I've been back home for ever, so reading back over my journal is kind of fun.
In other news: life is good. I'm quite happy with most things these days. I'm happy to be back in my house and my country and with my church and my family and my friends. The job is going pretty well. Annie and family came over this past weekend, which was great. We celebrated Cinco de Mayo at a rockin' party hosted by Bethany and Micah (I took pictures, but I can't find my camera cord), and I had my first free weekend since Thanksgiving and until at least July. It was great. I've got travel plans in my future and I'm looking forward to catching up with my local friends sometime in the near future. I keep hoping for "normal life" to settle in, but I guess this is the new "normal".
May 07, 2007
Food
I kept several lists of random tidbits in my travel journal. Here were some popular food items:
*ice cream sandwich - as in: ice cream between two slices of wonderbread (served in a plastic bag)
*sticky rice with mango & coconut milk (by far the best food in Thailand)
*yogurt or ice cream topped with corn & black beans (you can even get a corn or black bean popsicle)
*omelets
*lotus root & palm seed (pretty good)
*fish sauce with hot peppers on rice (available at most meals - even thought I don't generally like fish sauce, this stuff was actually pretty good, and I practically lived on it)
*strong instant coffee - I think I saw one coffee brewer the whole time I was there. "3-N-1 Turbo" is my instant coffee of choice
*100 Pipers Scotch - (Scotch and soda is the popular drink)
*Beer Chang, Singha, Heineken
*beverages served in plastic bags
*that may look like a dessert, but it's actually pork!
*durien: the stinkiest fruit of all time (It is banned from hotels and airports. It smells like B.O.)
*whole fish (served at almost every meal)
*green bean chips
*fried grasshoppers, cockroaches, & grubs
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| From Thailand 321-42 |
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| From Thailand 321-42 |
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| From Thailand Marc... |
May 04, 2007
Travel Log Part 16
Thursday, March 15, 10:15 pm
Just when I was starting to wonder whether Peyamas was coming home, another lady showed up to take me to dinner. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant. The food was okay and the company was fun.They tried really hard to make me feel at home. Many of them spoke at least a little English, so I could communicate some, if I spoke slowly and simply. There was a man there (Buddy), who had worked for the US during the Vietnam war. He was very interesting to talk with. So many people here know a little bit about US politics and they always ask about Hillary Clinton. (The first time someone asked my about her, I mistakenly thought he said "Hello Kitty" instead of "Hillary Clinton." As you can imagine, that was a strange bit of conversation until I realized what he was saying.)
Peyamas & Buddy
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| From Thailand Marc... |
After dinner, 4 of them took me to their favorite ice cream place - "The Thai Swenson's" they called it. (Swenson's is everywhere in Thailand.) It was pretty good, but they put ice cubes in all their desserts, which is odd.
Then, we walked around the night bazaar for a bit. After that, the lady I was with took me on a tuk-tuk ride and a bicycle taxi ride. It was a lot of fun (I tried not to think about how dangerous it was - the traffic is especially crazy in Phisanulok).
Even though I was confused for half the night about what people were saying and what we were doing next, I had a really great night.
Tuk-Tuk
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| From Thailand Marc... |
Bike Taxi
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| From Thailand Marc... |
May 03, 2007
Travel Log Part 15
Thursday, March 15, 6:00pm
Presentation went better last night - no problems. Left out the jokes and the statistics - helped a lot.
This morning I called R, then went to meet the others. We were suppoesed to go to some museum, but the princess was in town visiting that museum, so it was closed to the public.
We walked through the Buddha foundry briefly, then M & I went to an insurance company to ask questions. Like banking, their insurance system is largely based on the American system. I also spent time talking with a pharmacist about public health. She was telling my about the anti-smoking campaign. The gov't is trying to discourage smoking (and I really haven't encountered many smokers), but the gov't owns 80% of the tobacco industry, so it's hard to say how much they really want people to quit smoking.
I also talked to her about the HIV/AIDS problem in Thailand. She told me that a large portion of HIV patients are housewives who were infected by their sorry husbands. (It's no secret that pr*stitution is a huge problem in Thailand - something like 3% of the Thai economy is funded by pr*stitutions. It is technically illegal, but everyone turns the other way. It is not discouraged.)
We also visited TV & radio stations. Apparently, we will be on both tonight. Must be a slow news day.
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| From Thailand Marc... |
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| From Thailand Marc... |
Peyamas left the radio station and had M's host, Anne, along with Jenny the Sarcastic Canadian Exchange Student drop me off. That was at 4:00. It's now 6:15, and I haven't seen Peyamas. She left the key at the salon next door. I walked down to an actual internet cafe (really more like a online game room), then went and got my hair washed (again!). Now I'm just hanging out at the house wondering what to do next. It may be a quiet evening at home.
May 02, 2007
Travel Log Part 14
Wednesday, March 14, 5:45 pm
Before we left Khampaeng Phet this morning, we went to a school for physically/mentally disabled children. The school is run by the gov't and has a budget of one million baht a year for 719 children (about $40.00 per child per year).
After that, we visited the Chinese Foundation which is a non-profit organization that does charity work & rescue work (i.e. ambulance service: there is no ambulance service like there is in America). Because of the abundance of motorcyclist (helmets are almost unheard of) and the crazy driving (few enforced traffic laws), there are many traffic accidents and many fatalities.
We are now in Phitsanulok, where M & I got to see a doctor because of our stomach pain. I don't think we needed a doctor, but better safe than sorry. At least we were at the private hospital, which is like a resort compared to the public hospitals, which are more like prisons.
Tonight, all five of us are split up for the first time. I'm staying with a lady named Peyamas. She's 60-ish and speaks some English. Her house is a storefront w/ no store. It's spacious and clean w/ marble tile floors and a marble staircase. It's sparsely furnished, but comfortable enough.
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| From Thailand Marc... |
Unlike many people we've stayed with, Peyamas has a washing machine (most of the others send their laundry out). She washed my clothes, then left a basket of wet laundry in my room, so I scrounged up some hangers and now I have laundry hanging all over my room.
We had the afternoon off (after a crazy buffet at a fancy hotel), so I took a nap then went down the street and used the internet at some random place. I don't think they usually offer internet service, but I was asking just to see if they could tell me where an internet cafe was and they offered (this was at a copy shop), so I gave 10 baht and used the net for a bit.
After that, I stopped next door to the house I'm at, where there's a salon, so of course I got my hair washed. The people that worked there were very friendly. They were listing all the English words they knew: man, woman, boy, girl, etc. Everyone in the salon stared at me the whole time I was there, like I was an alien. Then they tried to get me to go hang out with them tonight, but I declined because that might be a bit questionable (and of course, I have other plans). I told the girl I would come back tomorrow if I have time.
Tonight, we have to give our presentation again in front of many people. I'm sure it will be an interesting evening. It always is.
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| From Thailand Marc... |
Travel Log Part 13
Monday, March 12, 10:30 pm
Today has been good. We stayed at the hotel in Sukhotai until 2pm relaxing. I watched some TV, read, called S (I had to walk down the street to a pay phone), swam and took a nap - very nice.
At 2:00, we rode to Kamphaeng Phet. We toured more ancient ruins there, then came back to our hotel before going out to dinner.
Tomorrow, we tour a bank, a hospital, and the Beer Chang factory.
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| From Thailand Marc... |
Tuesday, March 13, 6:30 PM
Good day today - toured public hospital with a 1:10,000 doctor/patient ratio. Anyone can come to the hospital for 30 baht (a little less than $1.00). Inefficient system.
We also visited a bank - seems similar to American banking system. Had some translation issues, so didn't learn quite as much as I had hoped.
We had yummy noodles for lunch, then visited the Beer Chang factory which was by far the most state-of-the-art factory we've seen here. It was quite impressive. Chang produces one million bottles of beer a day and employees about 1,000 people. The average line worker makes about $1.40 an hour.
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| From Thailand 321-42 |
After that, we went and got our hair washed at a salon. The wash wasn't as good as the last one, but it was still nice.