Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Ready, Set, Wait
I am now in the airport in Bangkok waiting at the gate for a boarding announcement. We are scheduled to depart in 25 minutes and boarding has not begun so that indicates some problem, but hopefully a minor one. Keeping my fingers crossed for a smooth trip. At least I have a boarding pass in my hand.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Wind Down
I am now sitting in my hotel in Bangkok relaxing for the first time in a long while. I have made all arrangements for departing at 1930 on 3 May (tomorrow) on Thai Air (TG794) non stop to LAX and then I will connect with AA onward to good ole south Georgia (well, actually north Florida) where either the Hicks or Renfroes will meet me at 12 noon.
I have worn out 2 bags on my journey and outgrown another with new "stuff". I have made new friends; tasted exotic foods; swam in waters cold to near scalding, traveled by train, boat, and plane; slept in rooms which were quite pleasant to almost unbearable. The experiences and adventures of the past 3 months have fulfilled a long held fantasy and I am happy to know that I can still do it.
I am looking forward to getting home, mostly because I miss my family, friends and Max the Cat. I also anticipate being able to open a cabinet and put my hands on a toothbrush without rummaging through my backpack. I want to sit down with some good southern comfort food or maybe a steak, salad and potato with a glass of wine. You might think once I get home I will soon be planning my next trip. That would be incorrect because I am already thinking about the next one and I haven't left Asia yet.
I have worn out 2 bags on my journey and outgrown another with new "stuff". I have made new friends; tasted exotic foods; swam in waters cold to near scalding, traveled by train, boat, and plane; slept in rooms which were quite pleasant to almost unbearable. The experiences and adventures of the past 3 months have fulfilled a long held fantasy and I am happy to know that I can still do it.
I am looking forward to getting home, mostly because I miss my family, friends and Max the Cat. I also anticipate being able to open a cabinet and put my hands on a toothbrush without rummaging through my backpack. I want to sit down with some good southern comfort food or maybe a steak, salad and potato with a glass of wine. You might think once I get home I will soon be planning my next trip. That would be incorrect because I am already thinking about the next one and I haven't left Asia yet.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Homestay in Isan
Partt time in Isan
Dinner is served
I get lei'ed and strung out as a welcome
One of the most interesting (not to be interpreted as enjoyable) things I have done on this trip was to visit my friend Sang on his rice farm in north eastern Thailand. I took an overnight bus from Vientiane, Laos to Pakse, Laos where I caught another bus to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. When I arrived at the terminal in Ubon I called Sang and he came from his home about an hour away to meet me. We stopped at a modern grocery store and bought beer, sodas, snacks, etc. for a party in my honor that night. Then we went shopping at the market for the other things needed for the party. Since I had not brought gifts for the family, not knowing how many people there were, I bought all the provisions and I was a little shocked at how much money we went through in a short time. I repeated my frequent mantra, "It's only money."
When we got to his house there were about 20 or 30 people waiting to welcome me. In greeting me they layered me with flower leis and then everyone tied strings on my wrists which is a Buddhist custom to wish well. After the welcome gathering I was invited to nap while my hosts got the party ready. At about 6 PM Sang roused me and these early to bed farm folk were ready to party all the way up to 8:30. There was a lot of food, most of it very tasty, a lot of beer and whiskey and a lot of dancing and karaoke. I felt a bit awkward being able to speak to only one person at this gathering in my honor. No one else seemed to be bothered.
The following day we toured the family rice and bamboo farm. The family owns a lot of land and the house where I stayed was by far the most modern of any I saw for miles around. I had a fine bathroom to myself with hot water but no toilet tissue. Septic tank I guess.
What was hardest to deal with was the cooking and eating area. Even thought Sang's house was new and very comfortable, the kitchen where all the cooking was done was in an outdoor shed complete with chickens, flies, dogs and well water. I think having gotten through the 3 days without stomach problems validate my good health status for the year.
While waiting for my train to return to Bangkok on my final day we went to the nearby river where I swam with the local kids. Here we built our own Wet n Wild slide by piling rocks to funnel water through deeper channels and then we would lie down and let the water propel us through the course. There was a lot of whiskey drunk that afternoon and many of the kids seemed well under 18. Who am I to judge? They seem like nice children and I doubt that juvenile delinquency is a problem with these people.
The sleeper train to Bangkok was very comfortable and I conked out before I got to place a dinner order. When I woke up hungry at midnight I was very happy that I found some crackers and a bottle of water in my backpack.
Now I am sitting in my hotel in Bangkok. I went out today and saw no evidence of political unrest, thankfully. Perhaps it is because there are heavily armed military and police everywhere. Many police have been recruited from all over the country and a lot of them are being quartered in my hotel. Seeing all the serious weapons on the street is reminiscent of Jerusalem.
I plan to chill here until I can get a non stop flight to LAX on Monday. Tomorrow I will go to Chatachuk Weekend Market and the pool at my hotel is looking very inviting. There are many worse places to spend a weekend than Bangkok.
When we got to his house there were about 20 or 30 people waiting to welcome me. In greeting me they layered me with flower leis and then everyone tied strings on my wrists which is a Buddhist custom to wish well. After the welcome gathering I was invited to nap while my hosts got the party ready. At about 6 PM Sang roused me and these early to bed farm folk were ready to party all the way up to 8:30. There was a lot of food, most of it very tasty, a lot of beer and whiskey and a lot of dancing and karaoke. I felt a bit awkward being able to speak to only one person at this gathering in my honor. No one else seemed to be bothered.
The following day we toured the family rice and bamboo farm. The family owns a lot of land and the house where I stayed was by far the most modern of any I saw for miles around. I had a fine bathroom to myself with hot water but no toilet tissue. Septic tank I guess.
What was hardest to deal with was the cooking and eating area. Even thought Sang's house was new and very comfortable, the kitchen where all the cooking was done was in an outdoor shed complete with chickens, flies, dogs and well water. I think having gotten through the 3 days without stomach problems validate my good health status for the year.
While waiting for my train to return to Bangkok on my final day we went to the nearby river where I swam with the local kids. Here we built our own Wet n Wild slide by piling rocks to funnel water through deeper channels and then we would lie down and let the water propel us through the course. There was a lot of whiskey drunk that afternoon and many of the kids seemed well under 18. Who am I to judge? They seem like nice children and I doubt that juvenile delinquency is a problem with these people.
The sleeper train to Bangkok was very comfortable and I conked out before I got to place a dinner order. When I woke up hungry at midnight I was very happy that I found some crackers and a bottle of water in my backpack.
Now I am sitting in my hotel in Bangkok. I went out today and saw no evidence of political unrest, thankfully. Perhaps it is because there are heavily armed military and police everywhere. Many police have been recruited from all over the country and a lot of them are being quartered in my hotel. Seeing all the serious weapons on the street is reminiscent of Jerusalem.
I plan to chill here until I can get a non stop flight to LAX on Monday. Tomorrow I will go to Chatachuk Weekend Market and the pool at my hotel is looking very inviting. There are many worse places to spend a weekend than Bangkok.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Return to Thailand
I am once again in lovely Thailand after a long night on the bus from Vientiane. Now I am sitting in a coffee shop in the bus terminal of Ubon Petchathani waiting for my friend Sang to come meet me. His village is about an hour away. I plan to spend a couple or 3 days with him on the rice farm before heading to Bangkok. I wish that I had shopped for the children in his family but I do not actually know their ages and it is kind of hard to buy anything unknowing. I am really excited about an honest to goodness home stay here in Thailand.
Teaching English
Teaching novice monks English
Sinh eating lunch. The boy can put away some food.While roaming around Vientiane on Saturday I asked directions of a local who turned out to be an English teacher and he was happy to practice his English so we ended up spending almost all day on Sunday touring Vientiane on his motorbike. There is no tour I have ever been on which can compare with riding around on the back of a bike with someone who lives there. Vientiane is not long on memorable sights so mostly we spent time just hanging out and eating.
I asked if I could go to his English class on Monday and he was delighted with the idea. He teaches in his apartment and the class I taught consisted of 2 novice monks. Their lesson had to do with southeast Asian geography. Since the class was conversational English I was teaching them the difference between Vietnam and Vietnamese, Laos and Lao, Thailand and Thai, etc. They caught on quickly and I enjoyed the hour immensely. Like many speakers of English as a second language there is a difficulty knowing what syllable to accent and I think I taught the students and the teacher to to emphasize CHI-na and not to say chi-NA. I was glad to reaffirm that I think I would be a good English teacher.
I will take the VIP sleeper bus tonight to Pakse in southern Laos and connect on to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. I am unhappy with speeding through the places i want to see but I am trying to get to Bangkok and out of there before the situation gets too bad. I will stay with my friend Sang and his family in Isan and I am looking forward to participating in village life for a few days. I will be away from internet while there so there may be a lapse in reporting.
I asked if I could go to his English class on Monday and he was delighted with the idea. He teaches in his apartment and the class I taught consisted of 2 novice monks. Their lesson had to do with southeast Asian geography. Since the class was conversational English I was teaching them the difference between Vietnam and Vietnamese, Laos and Lao, Thailand and Thai, etc. They caught on quickly and I enjoyed the hour immensely. Like many speakers of English as a second language there is a difficulty knowing what syllable to accent and I think I taught the students and the teacher to to emphasize CHI-na and not to say chi-NA. I was glad to reaffirm that I think I would be a good English teacher.
I will take the VIP sleeper bus tonight to Pakse in southern Laos and connect on to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. I am unhappy with speeding through the places i want to see but I am trying to get to Bangkok and out of there before the situation gets too bad. I will stay with my friend Sang and his family in Isan and I am looking forward to participating in village life for a few days. I will be away from internet while there so there may be a lapse in reporting.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Not So Good News
I doubt that there is much coverage back home of the political situation now in Thailand, but you may recall a few weeks ago I attended a Red Shirts rally in Bangkok. The Red Shirts are demanding a new election since the present military led government simply ousted the elected prime minister and parliament and installed themselves to run the country.
It seems the government is not bending and a confrontation even to the point of civil war seems likely. For that reason I plan tomorrow to star rt making my way back toward Bangkok in hopes that things will stay fairly calm until I am in able to catch a flight to LAX or Tokyo, and then head back home. Right now I am in Vientiane, Laos and tomorrow I will bus to Pakse in southern Laos and cross into Thailand to visit my friend Sang, the rice farmer and collect the bag he saved for me while I am up north. From there I head to Bangkok. I am so happy to have been able to travel as much as I have and I am planning my next trip to see some of the places I will miss this time.
So the news from Thailand is not so good. It is a shame that the lovely country of Thailand is undergoing such turmoil and I am praying for a peaceful solution to the problems. Please add Thailand to your prayer lists.
By the way I did something to my computer and now the display print is very small and I can not remember how to enlarge it. I would appreciate if somebody refreshes my memory. hanahan12@aol.com. Thanks.
It seems the government is not bending and a confrontation even to the point of civil war seems likely. For that reason I plan tomorrow to star rt making my way back toward Bangkok in hopes that things will stay fairly calm until I am in able to catch a flight to LAX or Tokyo, and then head back home. Right now I am in Vientiane, Laos and tomorrow I will bus to Pakse in southern Laos and cross into Thailand to visit my friend Sang, the rice farmer and collect the bag he saved for me while I am up north. From there I head to Bangkok. I am so happy to have been able to travel as much as I have and I am planning my next trip to see some of the places I will miss this time.
So the news from Thailand is not so good. It is a shame that the lovely country of Thailand is undergoing such turmoil and I am praying for a peaceful solution to the problems. Please add Thailand to your prayer lists.
By the way I did something to my computer and now the display print is very small and I can not remember how to enlarge it. I would appreciate if somebody refreshes my memory. hanahan12@aol.com. Thanks.
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