Furry Fury: When Rats Attack!

Police Report- Bangkok

Date: Saturday, June 4, 2011

Time: approx. 8:30pm

The victim was walking on the sidewalk with friends towards their residence. From a distance on the same sidewalk, the group took note of several rats, which had been temporarily displaced from their hiding places by the monsoon rains. Suddenly and without provocation, the victim was attacked.

It happened extremely fast- victim stated that the event transpired “in a blur”. She first felt a mass of wet fur and claws on her foot, and when she looked down she was able to catch a quick glimpse of the attacker before he fled the scene. The victim provided the following description: approx. 11” long, (16’’ including tail), brownish-blackish fur, weighing approx. 4-5 lbs (“a chunker”). One friend was also present to bear witness, while the other was up ahead, about to enter a convenience store. Both the victim and the witness stood screaming, paralyzed by shock. The other could only hear the screams of the two women but could not decipher the reason as to their cause.

When the victim and witness had “snapped out of it”, they sprinted into the convenience store and devolved into hysterics. That was when the witness noticed blood on the victim’s foot. Upon processing this information, the victim started to cry. The manager of the convenience store quickly calmed her down by bringing her alcohol and iodine to clean the wound immediately. She was then able to see that the scratches were quite small.

Due to the traumatic nature of the event, the victim felt it appropriate to first have a drink and then worry about whether she should go to the hospital. (Let the record state that this is a fact related about the victim’s mindset and not a character judgment.) She admitted she was concerned that she may need medical treatment because of the risk of disease; “after all, rats do play in the sewer.” However, as the wound was not serious, and because she was aware that the worst pathogens could only be spread through saliva, she decided that she could wait and go to the hospital the next day.

In the morning, the victim went to the hospital near her home. Her doctor informed her that she would need to take an oral antibiotic… and also undergo a series of rabies shots! The treatment lasted a month, for a total of five injections. Luckily, most of the medical fees were covered by insurance. The victim has filed charges against the suspect, pending his capture.

*It has been rumored that the culprit was apprehended by authorities but was successful in paying them off. This can neither be confirmed nor denied. BPD declined to comment. 

Family Thai-m ^_^

Spending the “winter” in Bangkok has been surreal. From taking a walking photo-tour of all the strange and extravagant holiday decorations and light displays around the city (the Thais love their festivals!) to zealously celebrating my team’s big win from halfway across the world (GO PACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), I feel that the meaning of the phrase “never in my wildest dreams” is beginning to diminish for me a bit. Certainly the best part of the winter here though was the arrival of the premier customers of Come Visit Your Long-lost Globe-trotting Daughter/Sister Tours, Inc. =)

-I welcomed my guests on the first of February- my dad and my sister had arrived in Bangkok! I met them at their hotel after my shift finished at work and immediately whisked them away to my favorite Thai restaurant by Victory Monument, the location of which has been passed down from teacher to teacher at my school. As we entered the alley and strode into the eclectic teak-paneled diner, the waitress recognized me and asked me if I would like my usual drink, a bottled beverage that tastes like a mixture of red wine and coke and intriguingly named Spy. I then proceeded to order for my family a splendid journey through the world of my adopted country’s cuisine, speaking only in Thai (complete with some special instructions about specific ingredients and degree of spiciness!). The language is still difficult for me, but if there are two things I had to learn quickly it was directions and food. Spicy green papaya salad with lime and peanuts, spicy ground-pork salad with lime and mint, spicy coconut soup with chicken and lemongrass, (do I need to mention that Thais LOVE spicy food?) stir-fried chicken with vegetables and cashews, pineapple fried rice… we thoroughly enjoyed the feast, my dad proclaiming happily “There’s so many different flavors!”

-The next day we took a tour of Bangkok, via every form of transportation imaginable! We took the Skytrain to the river and hopped on a taxi boat upstream to Wat Arun- the “Temple of the Dawn.” We climbed the ultra steep stairs to the top, and looked out over the sprawling expanse of the city. Upon our descent, my sister immediately spied a stand selling coconuts; she devoured every last bit of the sweet juice and flesh in a state of delirious happiness. We crossed the river again to go to Wat Pho, home of the massive golden reclining Buddha that takes up the entire interior of the temple. The day had grown extremely hot and we no longer had energy to make it to the next temple, Wat Pra Kaew, which was not that big of a let-down for me, seeing as I was not particularly looking forward to seeing my old friend the Emerald Buddha again after what happened last time (see previous post).

-Early the next morning we woke up to start a 4-hour road-trip to an island southeast of Bangkok. Instead of taking a bus or taxi like I had been planning, we would be getting a ride from the brother of one of my students! My student had said that they had business near that area and we could ride in the company van, but his brother actually arrived in his personal car, leaving us to speculate about whether he did indeed have business to do or not. Because Sun didn’t speak much English we weren’t able to communicate much more than the limited Thai phrases I knew. When we arrived he refused to accept any money for gas, and concerned, I called my student… who assured that it was a gift for my family! In a state of incredulity I then spoke to a Thai friend who explained that this help for a teacher was not uncommon in Thailand, as “ajarn” is a well-respected profession and my student would gain much merit in assisting us. We couldn’t believe it! We decided on the way back we would buy Sun a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label whiskey, a popular choice of beverage here… still not enough to return the great favor.

After a 20-minute ferry ride from the pier, we arrived in island paradise. Our hotel was a series of rooms in round white towers connected to each other by wooden bridges over a thick tangle of tropical foliage. We did a lot during our 3-day stay, but it was surprisingly relaxing for a Sauer family vacation =) We took a half-day snorkeling trip, stopping at different reefs and an island to see bright colorful fish (my sister was too happy to step on dry land, as she had gotten motion sick on the speed boat). My dad and I got to take a kayak out from our hotel and paddle up a little inlet to the beach. We also took an elephant trek, riding through the jungle on movable gray mountains; Megan had her own elephant and both her and my dad got to take turns “steering” as the guide walked alongside! I never dreamed I would spend any birthday doing such cool activities in such a beautiful place (in such an amazing country!)

-Six days was too short for my Dad to be here but I’m really glad he came. Hopefully he might have the chance to come out again and to bring my mom! My sister settled in and got ready to spend two more weeks in this chaotic mishmash of a city. While I was at work, she set herself to exploring. She made it to some destinations I still have never been to! She even went up to Chiang Mai (the city I remember so fondly from my previous travels) alone- her first solo backpacking adventure! We also did some shorter excursions together out from the city- a day trip to Ayutthaya to see the ancient temples and an overnight trip to Khao Yai National Park so she could trek through the jungle to see wild elephants (and I could lay by the pool and absorb the vitamin D I’d been missing in pollution-shrouded Bangkok).

I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my family and felt their absence immediately and acutely when they left. It was also difficult to talk to my mom and other sister back home while they were here. Now I’m on my own again, missing everyone back home all the more, but their visit recharged my batteries. I have a renewed energy and enthusiasm for being here. I even bought a guitar to teach myself to play! Now that I’ve passed the 6-month mark and the end is in sight, I want to make sure I do all that I had planned when I first arrived.

I miss you all and continue to keep me updated about what’s happening in your lives!

***One special note I wanted to make: the earthquake and tsunami in Japan have had a deep effect on many here- especially on my students, many of whom are Japanese. If you could please consider donating to the relief fund through the Red Cross or any other charity it would be extremely helpful and much appreciated by them and their families
Donate to Red Cross- Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief Fund

White Sand Christmas

I have now been in Thailand for over 6 months. This is the longest I’ve ever been away from home, as my previous travels ended at 5 months to the day. The past few have gone by in a blur- Christmas and New Year came and went, and I spent January anticipating the arrival of my first two visitors! Anyway, this is what I’ve been doing =)

-Christmas Eve happened to be my day-off (which was lucky because I would have otherwise had to work). My friends called me and asked me to make egg-nog, but never having attempted that before and not being a fan of eggs in general, I decided to make coquito instead: a Christmastime drink from Puerto Rico made from coconut, milk, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg… oh and I can’t forget the rum ;) I brought it to work and served a bit as some of the teachers finished their shifts. Verdict: they loved it! We stopped at the Four Seasons and had a drink as well while listening to Christmas songs played by a string quartet and then later sung by an accapella choir. A funky Santa wearing giant green-rimmed sunglasses sauntered around the room, posing for pictures. Later, we went to another friend's apartment to hang out by the rooftop pool; we stayed until 4am mostly just because we wanted to indulge in the fact that none of us had to work the next day.

-The next morning we all went to Bourbon Street, a New Orleans-inspired restaurant that had the biggest mash-up of food I’ve ever seen: everything from traditional English roasts and desserts to spicy Cajun seafood dishes. I definitely got my money’s worth, leaving the table feeling full and exhausted. I then went to another friend’s house to watch movies, and finally, we all managed to un-mold ourselves from our chairs yet AGAIN to eat a not-so-small Italian meal. It was very strange not being with my family- it didn’t really feel that similar to any holiday in my memory. My consolation was to speak with them all on Skype, using the video camera to see all their smiling faces and receive their well-wishes. If it weren’t for technology I seriously don’t know whether I could live abroad!

-A few days later I boarded an overnight bus and then a ferry to go to Koh Phangan, an island in the south of Thailand, best known for its out-of-control Full Moon parties. I had been there as a backpacker before, although back then I had chosen to stay on the opposite side of the island to avoid the insanity of Haad Rin beach. This time I would be venturing straight into the thick of it but remained confident that I would be able to handle it in the company of my friends. The other teachers and I had rented out all of the bungalows at one resort, and we quickly made it into our own, stacking coolers and food around the picnic table in the sand, alternately swimming in the ocean and playing cards, strolling the grounds to browse the various cement plant-holders that freely dispensed timeless and clever (if not grammatically or orthographically correct) advice in the form of decorative inscriptions written in seashells.  At night we would all jump in a sawngthaew- a pickup truck with two parallel benches and a steel frame covered in canvas to form a roof over the passengers’ heads- and hold on tight as we rode to the Full Moon beach.

The way to Haad Rin is treacherous, the drivers constantly switching gears to urge their trucks up and down the steep hills, brakes squealing loudly, as if trying to make it “just one more time”. The first trip was on New Year’s Eve. The signs that we were almost there couldn’t have been more obvious: masses of party-goers in bright colors and neon body-paint carrying plastic beach buckets (the kind used by children the world-over to make sandcastles with) but filled not with fine, granulated particles the ocean has methodically polished for thousands of years and deposited on shore, but with ice, liquor, and mixers; essentially a giant cocktail. I refused to touch a drop of it, mostly because I felt I needed my senses to deal with the intense overstimulation that is a Full Moon Party.

The beach is a curve of about a half-mile, and every single inch of it was filled with bass-pounding clubs, fire-twirling performers, and glow-stick adorned, fist-pumping twenty-somethings in the midst of what had to be the biggest rave in the world (having never been to a rave, I guess I can only assume the similarity). One particular bar, the aptly named Mushroom Mountain, is perched on the side of the cliff so that one has to walk up a steep stone pathway to reach it and the “special” cocktails it doles out. This, combined with the proximity of swelling tides and burning towers that read “Happy New Year”- not to mention the perilous roads to get there- had us counting the ways it must be possible for a wasted reveler to win a Darwin Award* on that island. I took it all in, stayed to wish my friends a happy New Year, and turned around and went back to my bungalow (I’m sure with mouth still agape) to sleep and process what I had just witnessed. The next day it had calmed down significantly as many people left the island, and we went back to our previous pattern of chilling, until it was time to go back to Bangkok and work…

*Darwin Award- recognition given to someone who actively participates in removing himself or herself from the world’s gene pool by dying or otherwise losing the capacity to reproduce.

Happy Loi Krathong!

It's hard to believe I've been experienced two consecutive Loi Krathong holidays in Thailand. That's two times more than I ever expected to pay homage to a water goddess in my life =) It just so happens that this holiday usually falls in November, due to the fact that it must correspond with the full moon in the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar, which brings to mind other similarities to American Thanksgiving (which, by the way, this year I spent eating roast CHICKEN at an ENGLISH pub, haha). Loi Krathong is a day of thankfulness and time spent with loved ones (many Thais who live in Bangkok go back to their hometowns in the provinces to be with their families on this day). It is one of the most beautiful festivals I've ever seen in my life. The Thais construct small rafts (krathong) out of bamboo stems, banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense to float on any available body of water to apologize to and thank Phra Mae Khongkha (the goddess of water in the Hindu tradition), and to ask her for good luck. (I like the idea of apologizing and think this is something that should generally be kept in mind for our Thanksgiving too). It is also an honor to the Buddha.

On my first Loi Krathong last year, I purposely stayed in Thailand long enough that I would be able to witness the festival in Chiang Mai. The city in the north is unique in that in addition to loi-ing krathongs, they have a tradition of "floating lanterns" (khom loi). They really go all out. There are parades with intricate floats of flowers and electric lights (every float must be followed by another vehicle carrying a generator). There are Noppamas contests- a beauty pageant to dress as Noppamas, the beautiful consort of a king long-past who floated the first krathong and inspired the king to declare the holiday. There are fireworks of all sorts going off at all hours for the entire week prior to the holiday (including loud bangs at 3am when you're trying to sleep and mid-afternoon when you're walking down the street and children launch small firecrackers at your feet to scare you). Finally, on November 4, I went with friends to dine at a restaurant on the river, which was the perfect place to gaze in wonder at the thousands of orbs of light floating in the river and sky, making the swirling, flowing patterns seem like mirror images gliding across the twin shining surfaces. We finished dinner and went down to the river to launch the krathong that we had purchased, made a customary wish, and watched as our rafts floated away, hoping they would not capsize within our view so that our wishes would be preserved. Later we tracked down a khom loi and, standing and holding on as a group, released it into the night sky to join its twinkling would-be star sisters.

This year, I may have gained even more merit by making my own krathong and ensuring it was made of mostly natural materials. A Canadian teacher and our Thai events coordinator teamed up for an arts and crafts Social Club, where students were provided all the materials for making krathong. Many of our Thai students were old pros and quickly designed beautiful rafts with many tiers of banana leaves folded into origami-esque shapes. They were more than happy to then help our Japanese students, and myself =) I couldn't do the folding fast enough so one woman passed me banana leaves she had already creased and I pinned them to the bamboo stem in a pattern that resembled a forest king's crown. I added purple orchids and a marigold, along with a candle and three sticks of incense. We then went to Lumpini, the Central Park of Bangkok, and together with thousands of other people, placed the krathong into the water. I did alright as far as my wish last year, so I'm hoping for even better luck this year. Happy Loi Krathong =D

Bangkok is...

view from my first apartment

I know it may seem as if I have disappeared into Thailand... in fact, the Big Mango (Bangkok) does have a certain absorbant effect (this is actually pretty necessary during the rainy season to minimize flooding). I feel like I've been on a moving sidewalk (or possibly one of the escalators I ride everyday)... not really rushing or speeding, but also not stopping. I've been here two months and I still feel like I'm in the process of settling in. One of the lessons I teach is "What's it like?" in which I ask students, "What's Bangkok like?" I think the students' answers may provide some insight into my experience here thus far.

"Bangkok is traffic jam." -Not grammatically correct perhaps, but telling nonetheless. This city of around 10 million people is unbelievably busy. It is difficult to walk down the uneven sidewalk due to both the sheer number of people and the mass of street stalls piled on top of each other that they stop to shop at. Traffic really is horrible, so I stick to the Skytrain and motorbike taxis (By now, I've become a pro at riding side-sadle in a skirt. I even rode with another passenger recently for the first time- only for a short distance!)

"Bangkok is hot." -The weather here ranges usually ranges from hot to inferno. Now that the rainy season has tapered off into "winter" the climate has become milder, though by no means could it be described as cool. Breezes are a blessing that merits much appreciation, and I have ducked into a convenience store on more than one occassion just to get some relief (7-11 always feels like a refridgerator). Unfortunately the combination of heat, humidity, and pollution is not my preferred consistency of air. Funky smells are preserved and waft out of unexpected places as I pass by, and mold grows rapidly in my bathroom and kitchen. At least I never have to question the temperature of the pool at my condo- I can just jump right in, being assured of the refreshing effect of the water.

Giant photo of a past king in the mall

"Bangkok is modern." -I work in the heart of downtown, on the 16th floor of Siam Tower, which has a 360 degree view of the city. Our language school is surrounded by no less than 5 multi-story malls. I hop off the Skytrain and walk right through one of them to get to the school. The school I worked at before my transfer was actually inside a mall! My new apartment is a condo with a pool, internet, and entertainment system. I really love my comfortable little oasis in the midst of all the chaos.

There seems to be something for everyone in this city, especially in the way of nighttime entertainment. I can add to my checklist salsa-dancing at a 5-star hotel, wine-tasting at a restaurant with it's own private lake in the middle of the city, drinking tea under a tent in a garden at a Middle Eastern spa, various rooftop pool parties, company Halloween party at an amusement park, several hi-so parties sponsored by different liquor companies, and eating at countless restaurants with mind-blowing menus (new favorite cuisine: Burmese). Many of these things were free or cheap as well!

"Bangkok is convenient." -Any need or want can be easily fulfilled here in Bangkok. There is street food available practically 24 hours a day, there is a 7-11 every few blocks, grocery and superstores compete for the lowest prices, the Skytrain and subway manage to cover most of the city with buses, taxis, and motorbikes making up for the in-between, pirated DVDs are sold on every corner, international restaurants can be found everywhere, including McDonald's, which delivers (!?), public or private transport can take you out of the city to beaches or forests within a few hours, English-speakers are abundant in certain areas, and the airport is close and even connected to downtown by another line of the Skytrain! The only danger here is becoming spoiled by the instant-gratification, or if you are foreigner, sometimes being treated like a D-list celebrity (friends and I were put on the red carpet at a Grey Goose event). 

Restrictions on the subway

"Bangkok is confusing." -The second day I was in the city, I went to a salon in the mall I first worked in. I explained that I wanted my hair black, even pointed to a black swatch, and somehow it turned out blond! That was a low moment for me, because I had no one I could call in that moment (seriously, how have I become so paranoid about my hair?), but it was easily changed back. Another night, I was in the car with some Thai women from work, but the driver was not used to going downtown. We missed our turn and it took us an hour to do a loop, owing to so much traffic. We later joked that we had actually driven out of the city to the beach that night. 

"Bangkok is nice." -I enjoy my students. They are respectful and fun and I enjoy spending time with them. The challenge will be to get to know them better, because the school functions like a language machine- input English, test, send down the line. They really do receive quality instruction, so I am happy about that, but I would like to see the same students more frequently. While this is not "traditional" teaching, it has already helped me realize that I'm really looking forward to future opportunities when I can truly commune with students. The other teachers here immediately merged me into their family, no questions asked. They are extremely friendly and interesting people who I enjoy spending time with. There are even two other teachers from Wisconsin! I am hoping that having friends around will make not being able to be home for the holidays more bearable.I'm quite happy with my home away from home!

Back to Bangkok + trip to Khao Yai National Park

I had a very interesting first week getting settled in here. I had been told to be here by Sept 4 in order to start training on Sept 6, so Monday morning I was all prepared to go. After a long commute on foot, subway and skytrain (made longer by getting turned around frequently), I arrived at the head office. As it turns out, my orientation was little more than a powerpoint presentation, and then they sent me home because the director of my branch was not able to come meet me as planned. "Oh and we don't have anything for you for Tuesday so just go in to your center on Wednesday."

Another day of unpacking and then I did it all over again to reach my center. I met the manager and observed some classes, after which I was again told there was no training for me to do... until the following Monday! The other news that was dropped on me was that I would actually be working at a different center for the first month! That center was short one teacher so I would be helping out there until they could bring in a replacement in October. The only good things about this was that it was closer to the apartment I had been put in (which otherwise was a very random location) and that I had met the teachers there on Tuesday just because I happened to stop by. Needless to say I felt quite frustrated on my ride home that day. I decided that to reduce boredom and anxiety, and also because it would probably be my last chance to get out of the city for awhile, I decided to go to Khao Yai National Park.

The public bus to get there took only just over two hours (a time period I now consider short for transportation). My guest house sent a shuttle to pick me up at the bus station- a deal I got for purchasing a trek. I settled in and went to sleep very early, owing to the last remnants of jet-lag and the fact that I needed to be up early the next morning. At 7am I was ready to go, jumped in the truck with a few other trekkers, laced up our leech socks (a necessary precaution during the rainy season), and we were off. Our guide had grown up in the town near Khao Yai and knew exactly where to look for animals. As we wound through the dense forest and attempted to avoid slipping in the mud (fail!), we came across spiders, scorpions, and giant millipedes. We almost ran right into a venomous green snake that was luckily pretty groggy, due to being noctural, and not to mention busy digesting the previous evening's meal. Suddenly, we heard a sound overhead like a fleet of helicopters rushing in- it was actually the beating of the powerful wings of one of the species of hornbill native to the park. Later we heard hooting ricochetting off the trees and followed it to find a family of gibbons using their long arms and legs to swim through the highest layer of the leafy canopy.

Even though we didn't see any elephants, the excursion was memorable, and best of all... just what I needed for relaxing. I befriended a family from Pennsylvania and exchanged travel stories and jokes with them the entire time. We swam under a massive waterfall, just out of sight of a sign that may or may not (but definitely did) say "No Swimming". I ran into a ballet of blue butterflies at the park where we ate lunch and filmed them as monkeys looked on in lust after our food. We walked down a paved path that ended in 23849890741 stairs (it was a lot ok!) to see another waterfall, and then had to hike all the way back up... taking frequent breaks, of course. I was exhausted by the end of the day but felt amazing- I had gotten to breathe fresh air, exercise in multiple ways (hiking, swimming, climbing trees and... does involuntary mud-sliding count?) and have good conversation with real live human beings for practically the first time since I had landed (that's what I get for not understanding Thai yet). AND my leech removing skills (grabbing them, rolling into a ball and flicking them away) apparently reached a professional level- I was one of the only trekkers who didn't get bit! More getaways necessary- pronto!

Tales from Thailand- Bus Journey Backfire Part I

November 2009

I boarded the "Friendship Bus" from Vientiane, Laos to Udon Thani, Thailand (final destination: Chiang Mai) and immediately realized that I was the only non-Lao, non-Thai person on board. My friend who also stayed in Chiang Mai had done this exact same trip two days prior and assured me that it was a cheaper, better way to get back to that city than taking one of the chartered tourist buses. I secured my luggage in the cargo area underneath the bus and we were on our way. The bus stopped at Laotian border, which happened to be directly in front of the Mekong River. Everyone disembarked, paid the "exit fee," got stamped through, and climbed back on the bus to cross the long "Friendship Bridge." On this side, all Lao and Thai people crossed easily through immigration, flashing some form of ID and practically walking right through. On the other hand, I was stuck waiting in line behind several other "farang" (foreigners). One couple up ahead was taking a very long time due to some problem with their paperwork. I gazed nervously at my bus waiting up ahead and wondered how long the driver would care to stay.

After about 10 minutes the couple had still not resolved their problem and the line had moved no further. I signaled to an immigration "un-official" (I'm guessing this was his job title seeing as he had a walkie-talkie but was also wearing what appeared to be a Star Wars T-shit); I gestured and said "Will my  bus wait for me?" He smiled and said "no problem," translated from "mai pen rai" which Thais use for so many everyday situations. I had been making conversation with the French family in front of me, 4 people total, and now began to voice my worries aloud to them in the hopes that maybe they would be understanding of my predicament and allow me to skip them in line. No such luck. The family waited and then presented all of their passports to the official. While he was carefully examining the first child's passport, I watched in horror as my bus pulled away. My large backpack- containing all of the minimal personal possessions I had to my name on this side of the world- was on that bus without me!

The plain-clothes immigration guy came to my aid. He could see my stress (I was in tears) and decided to take it upon himself to help me, possibly because not two minutes earlier he had said "no problem." Not speaking much English, he gestured to me to follow him to what appeared to be his personal vehicle. Trusting my instincts, I got in and we started to drive. He made calls on his cell phone (so the radio was for ?) and tried to talk to me to assure me things would be resolved, "No worry!" We slowed down at a police outpost along the highway because he expected the bus to pull over there (explained mostly through charades). However, there was no bus to speak of, so he sped back up and we kept driving... right into Udon Thani, over 60 kilometers away (nearly an hour's drive!)

Luckily, I remembered the bus number and told him in Thai (been practicing numbers to score bargins in the market). When we reached the bus station there, he pulled up to my bus and got out to speak to the driver. He then got back in the car with a confused look on his face. I asked what happened and conveyed that my bag had been dropped off... back at the highway patrol post! So we drove alllllll the way back, until we arrived again at the post, just shy of Nong Khai where I had crossed the border. By now several hours had passed and it was starting to get dark. The immigration guy talked to the officer at the post, who then showed me my bag. Then my hero said "bye!" and started walking back to his car. I was immediately startled. I called after him "Wait!" and asked where he was going and why he was leaving me. He pointed to the highway officer "he... you... bus... English!" He smiled and took his leave. I thanked him profusely, realizing very sadly that I didn't have enough money to pay him for all his trouble.

I now turned to the other police officer (for the purpose of the rest of the story, we will refer to him as Officer Creepy). He asked me to sit down and started talking to me. Although his speech was quite broken in English, I could tell that he had quite a good understanding of the language. He asked me the usual questions of acquaintance, "What's your name? Where are you from? etc." but then started to throw in some that made me uncomfortable, mostly because of the look he had when he asked them- "You have boyfriend? What hotel you stay? How much money have?" My uneasiness intensified as he suddenly decided he should search my bag (after I had already been there for at least half an hour!) If I was a cat, my hair would have stood straight up. I was hypervigilant now, worried that he would find the US dollars I had lied about not having. Something had warned me early on to pocket those, along with my pepper spray and knife, so luckily he didn't ask me to turn out my pockets.

He concluded his search with a smile on his face, nodding over at the clock and saying "bus no come."While I had been busy paying attention to him sifting through my bag, the time of 7pm had come and gone, and with it the bus he was supposed to have flagged down for me. After phoning my friend in Chiang Mai (the same one that recommended the Friendship Bus in the first place), I grabbed my guidebook and began to search for hotels nearby, realizing I wouldn't make it to Udon Thani anymore tonight. He said "No worry, I know hotel, I take you." I insisted that I wanted to choose my own, thanks. He pointed to the office and said "No worry, you can stay. Has a bed, door has lock." This is the point where I really started to panic. I grabbed my things and headed out to the road.

What was I going to do? I had no idea, but I started to wave at passing buses, realizing that hitch-hiking was just as dangerous of an option as the current situation. Officer Creepy followed me, "Where you go? That bus go Pattaya. That bus go Bangkok." "Fine then I'll go to Bangkok!!!" I was nearly shouting now. My hysteria must have un-nerved him because finally he said "Ok ok, we go see a police officer." There's been another police officer here the whole time?!?! 

To be continued...

Tales from Thailand- Part VIII Meditation Complications

Saying goodbye to my dad when leaving China to catch my flight back to Bangkok was incredibly difficult for me. I missed my family and friends terribly, and getting to spend time with him had renewed the ache of not seeing them. When I was looking to leave India, I had convinced myself that it was ok to go back to Thailand because I would be looking for jobs; it was ok to not go home yet because I had a legitimate reason to stay. I still hadn’t come to terms with what exactly I was doing going to all these places. Traveling just for the sake of traveling? In my world this was unheard of; I had never known anyone who had done this. At least you must be going to school, at least you must be working, at least you must be volunteering, doing a program, visiting friends, something, anything! Otherwise it starts to seem like a long-term vacation, which is idleness, which is condemnable. What place can this have in our culture where what you produce defines who you are? Except I was being productive… in my own personal growth. But I had not yet come to value this as a justifiable way to invest my time.

So I lied to myself. I went to back to Chiang Mai, the city I had stayed in for my course, and found a comfortable room to rent in a Thai woman’s quaint teak home-converted-guest house. I met several nice people there and started to get to know the town by bicycle. For almost an entire month, I struggled with whether I would feel ok to postpone my return to the US by one year! I had thus far been successful in casting off the burden of unalterable plans, but this seemed like too much of a stretch from my original plan of returning to the US in mid-September after volunteering in India for a few weeks. I never thought it would be so soon that I would take such a long leave from seeing my family and friends. If I had already planned on settling I would have most certainly packed more than three shirts and three pairs of pants! So my heart wasn’t really in it when I sent emails inquiring about teaching jobs; I knew that the real way to get a job in Thailand is to show up in person and apply.

Anxiety continued to build until I felt ready to explode. Wasn’t I wasting time? Didn’t I just spend money on TWO flights back to this country on the premise of searching for jobs? If I left already, wouldn’t I regret not looking? I needed some peace of mind. That’s when I thought of something that had actually been on my mind since arriving in Asia: a meditation retreat. A 10-day foray into my own consciousness, foregoing communication with the outside world and postponing my progress in the job hunt… It seemed the epitome of selfishness, and was therefore very freeing. I finally was able to make the decision to take care of my own personal well-being without worrying about what else and who else I was taking care of.

I called the meditation center a friend had recommended to ask for information on retreats and the monk on the other end exclaimed “Hurry! One starts in 3 hours!” Nervous as all hell, but committed to the philosophy of “go with the flow” that I had recently begun pushing myself to use for the first time in my life, I agreed and hung up the phone. Swiftly, I packed and caught a taxi to the mall so that I could purchase the white clothes (even underwear!) that would be required from the moment of my initiation and onward until the end. I arrived at the temple grounds during the lunch hour and was met by the voice I had heard on the phone. A young Thai man wearing an orange robe and a huge smile greeted me in this serene setting of chedis, bells, and statues of the Buddha, all surrounded by lush greenery. He told me to eat and change into the white clothes and meet him at his office in two hours.

Two other foreigners around my age, a woman and a man, were waiting in the office. After introducing ourselves, the woman immediately mentioned that she felt she wouldn’t make it through the 10 days. “Well you definitely won’t if you think like that,” I thought to myself. Our monk returned and explained the procedure of the opening ceremony. We would enter the teacher’s room on our knees and bow in a certain way three times to the Buddha and then greet the teacher. We would then give offerings of flowers and incense. We would also need to smile visibly during the entire ritual. We practiced all of this several times, and then we were taught the meditation techniques we would be using. I was prepared for the retreat to be intense; however, I was not prepared for the actual form of the meditation to be intense. Although I still consider myself a beginner, I have had an introduction to meditation before, enough to use as a foundation for my current irregular practice. Having become accustomed to this way of meditating, the differences between the methods were clear. Where my familiar technique used some visualization, the Vipassana taught at the center mandated acknowledging feelings that arose and then again concentrating on sitting or walking. The differences, though small, were great enough that I struggled to try the new one, having to actively pull myself away from slipping into my default method; after all, the purpose of being there was to learn Vipassana meditation.

By the time of our initiation, I had had just about as much as I could take. I felt foolish that I had rushed into this; even though I had entertained the thought for a long period prior to actually going there, I thought it would have been more practical if my mind was not going through such an emotional turmoil in terms of determining my immediate future. I decided to go to the initiation anyway, because I hate quitting things and thought that somehow I would start feeling better about the retreat after the ceremony. The teacher was very nice and encouraged us afterwards to keep fighting, because he knew that the prospect of not eating dinner and getting only 6 hours of sleep would be hard for us. I was more concerned about the sitting, sitting, sitting, and walking, walking, walking that I would still have to do in my room until 10pm! When it became apparent that I was just as miserable in the retreat as I had been back at my room in the city with my thoughts, I decided that I had indeed been too rash jumping in as quickly as I did. I decided it was time to leave.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of a gong at 4am. I got out of bed and tried again to do the meditations, but my mind had ultimately been made up the night before. I knew I would not be able to find transport until later in the morning, and I also knew I would not like to eat breakfast at 6 (the food is collected every morning during alms rounds as donations from Buddhist followers outside the monastic community, and I felt that it would be wrong of me to benefit from this because I already intended to leave). I went back to sleep and woke up again at 7 to pack. I attended a closing ceremony of many others who were finishing a 20+ day retreat. I was able to converse with a friendly American female monk who suggested the name of a less intense form of meditation that I could look into before undertaking Vipassana again.

Heading back to town, I felt good about my decision to leave because I was finally hearing my own voice and making decisions that felt good for me. I could do things without worrying about what others would think. By the time I arrived back in town, it was 11am and I hadn’t eaten for the last 23 hours! I immediately went to seek out some chocolate pancakes. I settled back in at my rented room. Within two days I started a yoga class that would provide me 3 hours of practice every morning for a week. This was the perfect answer to my need for means to calm and center myself and organize my thoughts.

So good things did result from the short time I had spent in the meditation retreat. Most importantly, I decided that I felt confident to return home to the US and begin my internet search for year-long contracts to teach abroad, as I had originally planned. I had been away three and a half months, and I was satisfied with the experiences I had had thus far. There was only one other thing left that I had been really wanting to witness: the Festival of Light, Loy Krathong. As it would be taking place on the second of November, I would have to wait almost another two weeks, putting the length of my journey in over four months. I was sure it would be well worth it and I was thrilled that I wouldn’t be missing out. The only problem this created was with my Thai visa because my legal allotment of 30 days would soon be up. This was easily solved however, as all I would have to do to extend it would be to make a border run…

Tales from Thailand- Bus Journey Backfire Part II

...There's been another police officer here the whole time?!?! Warily, I followed him across the divided highway at a safe distance. There was indeed another outpost for that direction of traffic, and he called out to whoever was there. First another policeman came out, soon followed by a woman. A woman! I'm saved! She was his wife, a few months pregnant, and behind her was another woman, who I somehow deduced was her sister. All of them spoke less English than Officer Creepy, but I tried to communicate primarily to them instead of having to rely on him as a translator because I still didn't trust him.

They invited me to sit down to dinner with them; a traditional "hot pot" meal was being served, made by adding different ingredients to a boiling soup. The family made sure to serve me the "best" ingredients first, which happened to be my least favorite foods- pork, sausage, and squid. I swallowed them down, hating every bite, but also thanking them profusely and sincerely- I understood that this family was honoring me greatly as a guest by making sure I got enough of what was probably not easy for them to afford.

I then got down to the business of trying to figure out how I would get out of there and where I would stay. Officer Creepy was still there, drinking whiskey (and offering some to me) and asking me exceedingly unnerving questions: "You like dance? You like date Thai man?" I opened my guidebook again, and called the first Nong Khai hostel on the list. A friendly Australian woman answered. I tried to explain my situation to her, but when she heard "police" she turned the call over to her manager, a Thai woman. I described as best I could where I was located and asked whether she could send transport for me. She answered that that would be impossible because taxis didn't go that far outside of the city. She asked to speak to one of the police officers. I offered the phone to the kind police officer, but Creepy passed in front of me and grabbed it. He walked around, speaking and nodding for a few minutes. Then he handed the phone back to me. The call was already ended. I told the family I would like to go to the guest house and asked how I could get there. The husband and wife discussed the directions between themselves in Thai (I could determine this based on their gestures) and then smiled and pointed to Creepy: "he'll take you."

I was seriously concerned at this point. Not only did this guy freak me out, he had been drinking a bit as well; I did not want to get in the car with him. However, given that my only other option would be hitchhiking (still too dangerous) and that this family, the guest house owner, and my friend in Chiang Mai all had an idea of where I was... I conceded. I threw my bag in the back seat of the police car and got into the front passenger seat.

I knew things were very wrong when, as soon as the highway post faded into the distance, he slowed the car waaaaaay down, until it was nearly crawling along the road. Then the officer asked "You need money? ATM is there"... and he pointed to deserted field! I lost it. I grabbed my phone and dialed my friend in Chiang Mai who spoke Spanish. I started explaining to her what was happening, and she advised me to stay on the line with her and escape the car once I could find a populated area. Since the officer didn't know who I was talking to or what I was saying, he kept driving... right into Nong Khai. I told him "Take me to my hotel please," he said "No, we go dance. We go Udon Thani (now 60k away!) I know good hotel."

I began to see people around, and we were going slowly around a corner, so I unlocked the door myself and started to get out of the car. He hit the brakes- I started shouting loudly "THANK YOU! GIVE ME MY BAG!" This was incredibly effective, as one of the worst things you can do in Thailand is to cause a scene- people there avoid conflict on principle. He unlocked the door and I grabbed my backpack out of the back of the car and hurried away. I walked to the nearest tuk-tuk I saw, told the driver the name of my lodging, and still had the sense to negotiate a price with him.

When I arrived at the guest house, several people were waiting around, including the two owners. They had kept the reception open because they knew I was coming and they were worried. Why? Because the officer had hung up on them and they also had no way to call the number back! Luckily I was safe now- I put my stuff in a room and went down to their bar on the river to have a drink and listen to live music. I felt nearly joyful to be sitting there with those folks- later the adrenaline wore off and I did have a breakdown, but I never once let myself think I wouldn't continue enjoying my travels =)
...

I ended up spending several more days in Nong Khai, having been extremely shaken up by the whole experience. The town was quite small and charming, but what really made my whole experience there was the hostel whose staff had really come through for me that night, Mut Mee Guest House. The room I stayed in was one of the nicest ones I had seen in my budget travels, with the cleanest and classiest shared-bathroom ever (stone tiled floor with river stone accents). I met some travelers in the garden/dining area and went on a bike ride with them around the town and the promenade along the river. We also went to the town's quirkiest treasure, an eclectic sculpture park even bigger than the Lao one, done by the same artist and combining the same influences of Buddhism and Hinduism. They were even almost directly across from each other on opposite sides of the river (the Lao one is actually visible from the Thai side of the Mekong).

The cement sculptures were extremely impressive, one of which was a 7-headed snake rising an indeterminable distance into the sky. Another area called the "Wheel of Life" depicted different stages of the human life cycle from conception to death, including such pivotal moments as "you as a fetus," "love," and "death of love". In the middle stood a tower of faces in the following order: Your Best Face- Your Most Evil Face- Again Your Best Face- Your Strange Face- Even Stranger Face- The Snake- Good Face- Zero. It always fascinates me the way that different cultures and religions think about different aspects of life; the strange stylization of these events somehow made sense to me, a way to present sensitive topics like death and divorce as just another thing that happens during life. Rather than feeling at all disturbed, I felt peaceful.

On my last night in Nong Khai, I was trying to figure out what to do. The guest house had its own dinner cruise, a boat that traveled west on the Mekong to follow the setting sun- quite the romantic activity. I hesitated slightly; it didn't seem like the kind of thing for a single person to do. But then I decided that that was all the more reason to do it! I boarded the boat- yep, definitely the only single person there- and had a very nice, relaxing time with my book, the BEST massaman curry I've ever had (slightly spicy), and the beautiful sunset =)

When I returned to Chiang Mai (12 hours by bus!), the Loi Krathong Festival was getting under way, something I had specifically stayed this long to see. This was also time to say goodbye to the good friends I had made at my guest house, as I had recently decided that since I would no longer be looking for a job in the area, it was time to move on from my beautiful adopted city and proceed to meet up with some other friends... in Indonesia!

Did you miss Part I? Click here!

"The Curse of the Emerald Buddha" - A Short Story

Once upon a time, a girl named Nicole traveled to Thailand. She had never traveled alone before, and never for so long. Thus she was very ignorant of many things. Many times over, she was made aware of this. On one such occasion she was touring the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The palace included many Buddhist shrines. She had learned enough at this point to know that her shoulders and ankles must be covered, and so she went to rent a sarong at the palace office. She met some friendly Spanish backpackers and decided to walk around with them. They viewed several shrines and commented on their loveliness. However, the naive girl was about to make a grave mistake. She and her companions entered the shrine of the Emerald Buddha. She bent down and crawled forward on her knees, taking care to sit with her feet pointing behind her, away from the Buddha (as is the custom). But then she picked up her camera... and snapped a photo! Someone near her simultaneously did the same, and received a thorough tongue-lashing from the guard. Nicole immediately put her camera away, realizing the impropriety. But she failed to delete the photograph. Then she made the worst mistake of all: she shrugged off the incident, and laughingly promised to email her new friends a copy of the photo! All agreed that this was a brilliant idea and left the palace to share a meal of delicious Thai food at a nearby cafe.
...Several days later, after arriving in New Delhi, this silly girl went to retrieve her camera in order to bring it with her on a visit to a monument. In a swiftness that could only have been preordained, the camera slipped from her hands, fulfilling its destiny by falling a mere foot and clattering to the floor. Upon examining the camera, she decided it must be fine- surely it had endured worse! She proceeded to her destination and spent several minutes admiring the beauty of the scenery. She then decided it was time for a photo. She pulled out her camera... and discovered the camera was broken! She sadly shook her head, knowing that she had only herself to blame.
...Years later (or so it seemed), she was able to send her camera to the gods of technology, who took pity on her and set their space-age robot servants (or so it seemed) to fix her camera. In the meantime, she had extracted the memory card and was able to upload the photos to a CD... all but one. She was tempted, but knew that she must delete the photo lest her karma catch up with her yet again. She had learned her lesson though, and so... she erased the photo.

Or did she?

Tales from Thailand- Part VII "Bests" from THE Beach

Time to make good use of my beach paradise! With only one and a half days left, I needed to really make my time there count. So, early in the morning, I got up and went to my appointment for rock-climbing. After finding the office closed and locked, I wandered into a nearby shop where the proprietor explained, through creative gestures, that the young Thai guy with the long hair had been out drinking very late last night... my guide. For a few seconds I pondered whether I should be upset about this; I decided instead to return later and tease him about it. I spent a leisurely few hours strolling on the beach, eating fried rice cooked in a pineapple (yum!) and reading. When I showed up back at the rock shop, my guide was there but not in a great condition; I advised coffee, but he smiled and shook his head and we boarded a long tail boat to take us around the bend. To his credit, the waves seemed to have no effect on his stomach and he introduced me to another guide on the next beach before taking off in the boat again.

My climbing experience was very enjoyable. I have rarely done anything so physically challenging, so I felt the full effect of the euphoria that apparently arises after having focused the mind and coordinated the body enough to accomplish so strenuous a task; in this case, a formidable stone summit. I had done two climbs and was halfway up the third when my strength suddenly gave out, the combined effect of my lack of fitness and experience and a very depleted level of energy owing to "Bangkok Belly" =/ I definitely intend to do some climbing again once I return home.

The next morning I was awakened abruptly to the sound of my bungalow being broken into... or so I thought. When I started to come to my senses more, I realized that some kind of animals were frolicking (or rather, lumbering!) on the tin roof and creating a tremendous banging sound. They sounded too heavy for squirrels, and cats would undoubtedly be more graceful. So I rolled out from under my mosquito net and opened my door. A monkey was staring me in the face! I recognized it as a Dusky Leaf Monkey, the white markings around the lips making it appear to have a milk mustache! (thank you Psych 402- Primate Behavior, lol).It was very cute! As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed the sky darkening. Thanks to previous experience with Thailand's monsoon rains, I knew I still had a bit of time.

As I walked across the beach with my backpack, I felt a gust of wind rush past me. That was the signal! I started to run, heading right towards the wall of water I could now clearly see in front of me. I reached my intended shelter, but not before getting thoroughly soaked. I was joined by several other people waiting for a boat. It took me several minutes before I realized that the Thai guy had a baby monkey sleeping on his lap! He explained that it had been injured and a troop of these primates had moved in to kill it. It was rescued, but sadly would grow up as a pet, never to return to his native wild habitat. (At least the monkey could look forward to having a steady supply of a certain "substance" on hand... although while I was present, he refused, even if only to keep up appearances, hahaha).

Tales from Thailand- Part VI Paradise Found!

I finally found my beach paradise! It was certainly an adventure to get there...
When I got back to Bangkok I decided to book a bus ticket right away. I planned to go to two different places in the south, but I couldn't decide where to go first. Because one involved a plan of rigorous inactivity, I decided to go there =) I got on the night bus, relatively comfortable considering that the seats reclined and were not too cramped, but still not very conducive to sleeping. Around 2:30am the driver announced my stop- surely we'd arrived too early though? I knew that the boat didn't leave until 5:30, which could only mean one thing... waiting. As I hadn't been informed of this by the agent in Bangkok, I was naturally concerned with these new details. Luckily, several others had gotten out with me, and one informed me that indeed, this had been the plan all along. We walked into... an office? It was a large tiled room with a desk and some posters, but clearly it was either not used regularly or no one cared to clean it properly. I watched some cockroaches scuttle around on the floor next to a straw mat... on which I was expected to sleep for the next few hours before getting picked up to go to the pier. I laughed- it's all I could do. After India, I think I was forced out of necessity into developing a better sense of humor. I balled up my fleece sweatshirt as a pillow and covered myself with my puny towel, sending mental notes to my buggy bedmates "Just try it, see what happens!"
Two and a half hours later I arose groggily and boarded the sawng-thaew (covered truck with benches) which would ferry us to the ferry! We had to hop across several boats to board the one which would bring us to the island (I'm surprised I didn't mis-step in my zombie-like state). I handed over my backpack to be put into a pile, and I promptly laid across several benches, bumpy where the lips of the seats curved up. I fell into a deep sleep on my ridged mattress, unaware of the gentle rocking of the boat.
I woke up and realized we were pulling into port. I went above deck to get a good view. I hadn't had the chance to witness our approach, so the sight of the island didn't really impress me. I could see the dark palms covering the hill inland, but the shore was scarred with development, dirty harbor with dingy boats and restaurants and hotels that didn't even pretend to blend into the natural scenery. Was this really the 'jewel' someone had reccommended I seek out? My exhaustion and the impending rain surely contributed to my general lack of enthusiasm, but I still felt glad to be off the boat, off the bus, done with transportation for awhile. The rain (as it does in the south, I found out) had gotten sick of our petulant refusal to seek shelter after a long presage of dark skies and suddenly starting pelting our bodies with sharp slaps. I sought shelter with several others from my boat in a restaurant, which led to a conversation, which led to me setting out with a German girl to find a cheap room to share. We found a decent place, and free of the rain's assault and our heavy bags (we had carried them over 1K) we happily ambled down to the beach. To our dismay, there barely was one. You could only wade in the water up to your knees before encountering large stones, a dead coral field. After walking to other parts of the island and realizing that it was mostly good for diving (which I didn't have enough money for), it didn't take me long to make plans to island-hop to Koh Pha-ngan the next day.
The sea was not so calm as it had been the previous morning. A storm was moving through (perhaps angry it had not soaked me thoroughly enough the day before) and before long our boat was being heaved and tossed around, stirring us in a stew. I again occupied 4 seats in a lounging position, trying to sleep so I wouldn't be sick (crew had already passed around barf bags), at one point sliding down towards the opposite window, the horizon tilted dramatically beneath me. I managed though, and woke up once again having missed the entire ride (although it was in my best interest this time). I succumbed to a tout offering a "resort" with a private beach, plus free transportation for only 300 baht per night (about $8.50). The grounds and room were nice enough, a pool as a substitute for rocks that constituted the "beach" and plenty of hammocks to relax in, but the service was awful, including being nickled-and-dimed at the restaurant (my only alimentary option in a mile) AND getting sick from its food! I was ready to leave the next day to investigate another part of the island with better beaches, sure that two days was enough time for Full Moon Party revelers to have cleared out from Hat Rin. Unfortunately, I was not well-informed on the budget accomodations, and neither was my motorbike-taxi driver, so I wasn't able to find any vacanies within my means. Instead, I went to a travel office and booked a boat/bus combo that would leave the island within the hour.
I should have been a bit more wary about this kind of transport by now, but I was so anxious to leave I took the first thing available from the first office I went to. MIS-TAKE! The "boat" was a massive car ferry, which hundreds of people poured on to and jockeyed for seats (lucky I got one). At least we couldn't feel the waves' movement. We got off at the pier and I looked for the bus with the name on my card and was directed to... a joke. Compared to the two-tiered "VIP" buses with plush seats, this looked like an oversized aluminum can and easily as able to be crunched. The seats were technically separate, but you were definitely very snug up against the person sitting next to you. Luckily mine was a friendly Norwegian, and we chatted about how we might be in for more surprises, as we learned this bus was only taking us 1 hour to Suratthani (the place I thought the boat was supposed to have landed at). When we got out there, we waited for a truck to take us to the bus! Squeezed into the truck almost as an after-thought (I was sitting on the floor between scrambled limbs- at least I wasn't hanging off the back like some others, although I would have been able to breathe better), I wasn't looking foward to what could possibly be coming next. Unfortunately, my intuition was correct- another packed bus with uncomfortable seats (and no seats at all, for a few people!) This misfortune would be more prolonged however, as our destination was still 3 hours away.
When we finally pulled in around 10pm, I had to laugh again. We were several kilometers outside the town at a rest stop (no chances of the bus going further), so we would have to take the only transportation that just-so-happened to be available on site. We also had the option of getting free transport if we selected one of the hotels that they were advertising. As one girl not so inaccurately stated, "This is a MAFIA!" I just smiled calmly and agreed to share a room with a Scottish girl at one of the "recommended" hotes; there are many things worse that could have happened.
The next morning, I boarded a long-tail boat to set off for Ton Sai beach. It soon became apparent why the boat was necessary- large limestone formations loomed ahead, sealing the coast-line away from any over-land transport. This was one boat ride I wasn't going to miss! The jungle-cloaked cliffs towered protectively over topaz waters, which sparkled just like the gem of the same name. Caves yawned open at the water-line, waves scouring the rocky tonsils: salt-water gargle. Just for fun, the boatman maneuvered us through a bridge-like structure. As we came around the last stone guardian, I saw the beach. It was perfect! Dwellings were hidden back in the palms, water inhaling whole stretches of sand for several long seconds at a time; colorful boats bobbed up and down in the swell. Limestone cliffs closed in on three sides, isolating this quiet cove.
That night, I went to one side of the beach in order to get an unobscured view of the sunset (massive rocks are quite the obstruction!) Only a few woolly clouds lingered on the horizon, wrapping themselves around a distant island like a shawl. The sky began to darken from cerulean to cobalt, and the skyline combusted, brilliant reds and oranges burning flameless. Slowly, and yet swiftly, the sun tucked itself away. I believe I sat there, mouth agape, for a few minutes afterwards before I rose from my place on the moist sand and leisurely floated over exposed seabed back to my side of the beach- jagged rocks and sluggish sea cucumbers, ageless coral and scampering crabs- their universe revealed by the wonder that is the tides, which still leaves me in awe, after all these years of traveling to the ocean. It seems limiting to say that I found this to be one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I've ever been to- definitely augmented by the fact that it was such a trial to get there.

Tales from Thailand- Part V Bittersweet Departure

I leave Thailand tomorrow morning to fly to New Delhi. I am sad to leave such a beautiful country where I met so many great people, but I'm really looking forward to going to India and continuing my travels. I'm looking forward to being in more beautiful places and spending more time with wonderful people. In this regard, I've been so fortunate up until the very last, even meeting and hanging out with some Spanish backpackers today as I went to tour the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

The good news is... I passed my course! I'm now certified to teach English as a foreign language and the qualification is internationally valid, thus the world is literally my oyster as I'll be able to search for jobs anywhere. I was not let down in my hope that I would love teaching. I’m really glad that this certification will allow me to continue. I will miss the students very much. On the last day, they threw a party for us. They brought food that they had made and small gifts as well. We gave them certificates for their accomplishments, but what was more enjoyable for them was that we had to read their many-syllable names (up until now they had only told us their nicknames- one girl is Thaninwattaphong but in class we are accustomed to calling her Dao. Regardless of where I look for work, I definitely plan to come back to Thailand in the future.

In the last few weeks, I've been very busy, first finishing up the course and then making my way back to Bangkok by train. The previous weekend, we had gone to see a Muay Thai (kick-boxing) match. I’ve never been very into boxing, but I was told it’s a good experience. The fights open with ritual- the fighters kneel down, stand up, pat their fists on the floor and flail their feet in a rhythmic prayer to the spirits to keep them safe and bring them good luck. Then it begins. Live music is played on the sideline, three musicians playing a drum, cymbals, and some kind of woodwind. The boxers hold their gloved fists in the air, elbows bent, ready to jab or block. The punches are not dealt in fast sequence; rather they are carefully timed and precisely aimed. No energy is wasted. It is conserved for kicking. When the other fighter comes within the exact distance, they strike. The feet fly out with the force of a catapult, launching kicks at the opponent’s vulnerable torso. In close quarters, it is not possible to fully outstretch the legs to great effect; instead, knees are thrust sharply upward into the ribs. Skin reddens, spit and sweat are flung in all directions, and competitors try to catch their breath. A bell rings and trainers pull their fighters into opposite corners of the ring, sit them down, pour water on them and rub their arm and leg muscles vigorously. Individual raters have awarded points for hits (and kicks) and one fighter is declared the winner of the round. Then it starts over. Fighters are clearly exhausted by the fourth round. In the fifth round, if no one has been knocked out, the wins for each round are added and one boxer emerges victorious.

On Saturday we left the beautiful place that had been our home for a month. We said goodbye to the staff and fed the catfish one last time (they've grown enormous). When we got to town, we had to say goodbye to our driver, Neng, who was also our student and someone we had all spent a lot of time with and had helped us immensely. This was sad as well. As for my fellow trainees, we've become like a little family. We'd all grown very close through the ups and downs of the course, and we decided to stay at the same guest house to postpone our parting as long as possible. That night we celebrated as the last time we would be all together and went out for a night on the town, discussing our future plans and promising to meet up with each other as we wander through Asia. We stayed up until 5 in the morning... and then Sumra woke me up at 7 to paint beautiful flowing patterns and flowers on my hands with henna. She is the person I became closest with on the course and I will miss her very much as my friend and sister (and I have now come to be called little Naqia's "khala," Urdu for aunt). I know I'll be seeing her in the future. One by one, I said goodbye to each of my friends. I can only describe it as bittersweet, knowing that each of us was on our way to do great things, but not knowing when and if we would see each other again.

When we had checked into our guest house, some of us had been talking about going to Doi Suthep, the temple on the mountain. However we realized we were all exhausted and nobody really had it in them to go anymore. But it being my last opportunity, I decided to forget my fatigue and go by myself. The ride up took about half an hour, by which point I had almost no energy left. A light rain started to fall and I fought to stay awake. When we arrived, I seriously considered asking the driver to turn around and go back. I didn't feel any better once I saw the 306 steps guarded by colorful dragons that I needed to summit in order to even see the temple. But I put one foot in front of the other and started my ascent. Once at the top, I walked around the back of the temple to see the view from above and I got a spectacular reward for my perseverance- a rainbow stretched out over the entire city!

Tales from Thailand- Part IV Barefoot Teacher

I haven't worn shoes for a week and half. The woman who owns the training facility is a nurse and she gave me some iodine and forbid me to wear shoes after she saw the cut on the top of my foot that hadn't healed since my encounter with coral the first weekend I was here (although I count my blessings, because I was luckier than the guy who stepped on a sea urchin!) Resigned to my fate, I have learned to cope with the agony of having to walk through the garden everyday without protection from the horribly wonderful sensations of soft, dewey grass, cool, smooth stepping stones, and warm, well-worn wood against the bare soles of my feet.

I am also teaching my classes barefoot... but so are all my fellow trainees as it is customary in Thailand to not wear shoes indoors. Anyone leaving during a class will encounter an obstacle course of at least 30 pairs of shoes right outside the door. After only one day of training we were given a lesson to plan and teach the next day. My lack of experience was clearly visible as my lesson tanked during the first ten minutes, and things kept going wrong until the end. I spent the night thinking about whether I should bail out and wondering why I needed to come all the way to Thailand just to find out I was a horrible teacher... But the next lesson was much better, as I steeled myself to teach the past tense. Finally, success! My fears eased, I could now stick out the course knowing that while there would be ups and downs, I did have the ability to keep improving with practice.

We're learning a lot! Everyday we have several hours of instruction on teaching methods and several hours on English grammar, vocab, and pronunciation (I'm still grateful that I'll never have to learn English as a second language). I am very confused about phonetics as my teachers are both from the UK. I'm supposed to be learning that "arm" is pronounced "ahm" (no r) and the word "saw" is pronounced "sore" (r added?!) Then we write words and sentences in phonetic symbols and share with the person next to us- I wrote /gWt mi: aˆt ‚v höWr/

I am enjoying myself though actually. Classes run from 11am to 5 pm, with teaching practice from 6-8, when our students get out of work and school. We eat wonderful food everyday, and watch movies and play cards at night. It's a good way to relax from the hard work, but the hard work can't be put off forever- lesson plans and evaluations are due every few days, and there are four 1000-word essays to finish by the end of the course. The build-up to teaching practice is very stressful: leading a class for an hour can be quite nerve-wrecking if you've never taught before. I always feel under-prepared beforehand, even when the lessons turn out well.

The students make it so much easier. Thai culture is very much based on respect and saving face, so everyone is incredibly polite and even the teenage students are well-behaved (!) Teachers also hold a position of reverance in Thai society, and activities that I would find boring or awkward, such as quizzing the teacher on her life story, are the peak of entertainment for them. They love games or anything fun; I did karaoke with them to a Madonna song in one of my lessons!

The person I spend the most time with here is actually not a fellow trainee- she is the wife of one of my colleagues and their 8-month-old daughter is also along. The baby is so cute! We went to the Chiang Mai zoo on the weekend, and little Nakia was screaming with glee at the deer in the petting zoo. We also saw the pandas! Only one was out, because the other was a mother with a newborn baby, but they were visible on a TV screen =) Sumra is teaching me a bit of Urdu for when I go to India- it's almost exactly the same as Hindi so it should be helpful. Overall, I am having a great time...

and my foot is healing nicely =)

Tales from Thailand- Part III "Oh My Buddha!"

I've now been in Chiang Mai for a full week. The city is very green and beautiful. It has a medieval feel, owing to the fact that its old historic center is surrounded by a moat, as well as the remains of red stone walls with castle-like battlements. I checked out a bicycle from my guest house and rode from the west moat to the east moat in about 10 minutes (I congratulated myself on not dying, seeing as I haven't ridden a bike in 5 years and the traffic goes the opposite way than it does in the US!) The city sprawls beyond the walls but I haven't had enough time to explore it yet beyond going to the "night market," where vendors hold camp all night selling clothes, jewelry, art, and even designer handbags.

The day after we got to the city, we went on a trek into the jungle! The Londoners and myself were joined by others from Spain and Scotland. Our guide first cut us bamboo walking sticks- I was very glad we had these because we immediately charged straight up a mountain! The trails were so choked with vegetation in some areas he had to pull out a machete. It's also monsoon season right now, so the mountains get rain multiple times a day and the trails are perpetually muddy. It didn't take long before my pants were covered in red mud and I could no longer determine the original color of my socks and shoes.

We reached an area where the forest had been cleared to make a rice field. A man and a boy made an offering of chicken on a bamboo shrine to ask the spirits to bring a good harvest (the man then also offered us a bamboo cup of homemade moonshine brewed from rice- I had to pass). Our guide explained that farming used to be the sole livelihood of his people, the Karen hill tribe. Because the rice paddies are usually only fertile for a few years and too small to feed many mouths, the people used to live in family groups and move and resettle often, rebuilding their bamboo homes. Now much of the forests have been claimed by the government as national parks and the people are no longer allowed to move or clear land when they want. They now have to live in large villages and come up with food and crafts to sell at market to get money, which they used to have no need for. In compensation for changing the traditions of hundreds of years, the government gave them solar panels for electricity...

We spent the night in a bamboo lodge next to a family's home on the mountainside. We attempted to watch the sunset, but the clouds rolled in. It was still beautiful regardless. I was reminded of how much I mistakenly equate "comfort" with "necessity;" people are clearly capable of surviving without electricity and toilet paper, and I've been preoccupied about not having TV in my apartment.

In the morning we hiked downhill (mercifully), and swam in a gorgeous waterfall! When we went to ride elephants, the teenager who was "steering" it decided we should trade places and I rode on its neck, grimacing as it walked nearly straight up a cliff. In exchange for my safety, I fed the greedy thing about 20 bananas which he demolished in 20 seconds!

Our last stop was bamboo rafting. I was very concerned because the rafts looked rather flimsy. Hopping aboard, I found out they were actually strong enough to stand on, and joyously committed myself to the recreation. Our group was separated onto two rafts and the guides were both hilarious, picking up floating fruit to try to pelt each other and shouting "Oh My Buddha!" as we went down the rapids. We ended up jumping in the water and swimming to the end, detouring to swing over the river on a tire swing and cannonball back in. I never wanted to leave!

But we had to. The next day, I had to split with my backpacker friends, Tanya and Jason, who I'd been with since day one. If I hadn't met them, I surely wouldn't have had nearly as much fun or felt so content on my first time traveling alone. They went on to Laos to continue their 5 week excursion in Southeast Asia and I moved on to do my teacher training course. Thank you both so much and I hope you're doing great =)

As soon as I arrived at the training facility, it immediately started pouring rain... and didn't stop for 30 hours straight! But even that couldn't obstruct the gorgeous scenery at the site. Upon walking in the gate, I felt like I had entered paradise! The entire place is a garden: bamboo, trees, orchids, and earthy sculptures of elephants everywhere... buildings seemingly added as an afterthought (which is misleading, because they were actually built with great care and love by the owner Clarence, who has a real passion for wood). The dwellings are rugged and charming, all opening outdoors to incorporate nature, and situated around a lake full of large, restless catfish. It will be very good to live in such a beautiful, relaxing place for a month while I deal with the intensity of the course. Wish me luck (and sanity) and as always please keep in touch!

Love,

Niki

Tales from Thailand- Part II Snapshots

I woke up this morning to find myself in the jungle! I peered from my bed in the overnight train through dense emerald foliage to see a mahogany river below and cloud-covered mountains above. It was absolutely breath-taking!

I just arrived in Chiang Mai today after a busy, fun-filled weekend. Here are a couple of snapshots: (tried to make them as sensory-oriented as possible!)

-The day after I landed I went with my new backpacker friends on a looong 4-hour bus journey and was rewarded with the sight of a beautiful island! I checked in to my own bungalow/hut and spent a peaceful night before going down to the beach to see the sunrise, as well as a procession of monks in bright orange robes making their way along the white sand...

-Went snorkeling the next day. Boat pulled up to a smaller island and we swam into the coral beds, careful to avoid the foot-wide spiny sea urchins! Lunch looked and tasted amazing- fried rice with fresh watermelon, pineapple, and mangos on the beach!

-Back in Bangkok, their friend took us to markets in non-tourist areas, where we sampled meats, veggies, fried treats and confectioneries! Also went to Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining Buddha, which takes up the entire temple, top-to-bottom, side-to-side and painted completely gold except for footprints which were mother of pearl sceneries of elephants, birds, and fish.

-Went to the former capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya, about 1.5 hours away from Bangkok and explored ancient temples so quiet and serene they seemed to be in the middle of the jungle, when really the city was all around. The stone stupas and Buddha statues were draped in giant swathes of marigold-colored silk. Outran an impending thunderstorm in the tuk-tuk, only to be soaked in the unending downpour on our arrival back in Bangkok.

And here are the photos! Just the way you pictured them?




my bungalow on the beach at Koh Samet

 

 

the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho- Bangkok



ancient temple in Ayutthaya

  

dawn at the white sand beach- Koh Samet






view of impending storm from temple in Ayutthaya





view from the train to Chiang Mai