Blood Spilled in Bangkok

The city has erupted, and now that blood has been spilled it seems far fetched that things will go back to the nonviolent protests that have occurred over the last three weeks. The UDD is aggressively moving forward in their demand for the PM to step down and dissolve the parliament. Yesterday they seized several government vehicles and the Pinklao Bridge, witnesses say they saw weapons being removed from the Army trucks.

With twenty dead and more than 800 wounded the atmosphere in Bangkok is tense. The government denies the use of live rounds, though eyewitnesses have seen evidence to the contrary. Amateur footage from students in the area show a flash fire of violence from both sides.

"I thought it was okay, the paper said the army was using rubber bullets. But when the people from the front pushed past us they were covered in blood." Said one student who was on KhoSan Rd when the violence broke out. KhoSan Road is one of the main tourist streets in Bangkok.

"I realize just how lucky I was. We were going to stay for Songkran but now I think we will leave the city." The same student said. The sentiment is echoed by many students at Thammasat University who are out for New Year's break. With the University resting in the middle of several hot protest zones classes have been cancelled. Student's are being urged to check in frequently with university officials as well as family and friends back home.

Daily Dose of Arsenic

That's right, TTM takes self medication to a whole new level by using arsenic in its recipes. Traditional Thai pottery has to be coated in an arsenic solution before painting. When the bowl is boiled with various herbs the arsenic begins to leach out. TTM recipes take advantage of this, by timing how long the bowl remains in the pot before removing. After the designated time the bowl is removed leaving trace amounts of arsenic behind. The trick is to leave the bowl in long enough to get the required amount without exceeding it.

It seems a rather risky business to me. There is no way to judge how fast the arsenic is leaching out. And what if the bowl is cracked or chipped? Either way, I think I'll pass.

Lion of Love

A long time ago a Thai king was barging two Singha lion statues up the river to line his palace gates. But huge wave came and the barge broke and the two lions sunk to the bottom of the river. Some time later, one lion was recovered and placed near the river facing away from the water.

The next day when the men returned they were shocked to find that the Singha had flipped around and was facing the river. They had no idea how it had managed to move. So with much effort they turned the lion around again and left him.

Another night passed and when they returned, the lion was once again facing the water...and they came to realize that he was looking for his mate, who is still lost.

To this day, hopeful Thai boys and girls leave offerings of gold leaf, food, marbles and statues to this heartbroken lion in hopes that he can help them find their mates. When he is successful they return bearing gifts of disco balls to hang above his head.

Blood Play in BKK

Eight months ago when I stepped off the plane I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore. But after a short period of starvation and a monsoon season I adapted and the differences between East and West didn't seem so big. But every now and then a sucker-punch out of left field reminds me that they're still worlds apart.

The ritualistic bloodletting that has swept through Bangkok and Chiang Mai this last week and a half has been a vivid reminder that there is still a strong belief in the darker arts. I'm not an expert on Thai politics, actually if I'm honest, I'll admit that I don't know squat, but when the UDD (red shirts) decided to start pouring, and tossing, blood all I could think of was "eewwww."

So far over 500,000 ccs's of blood has been spilt, tossed and painted with in Bangkok alone. The UDD has not commented on the blood that has been spilt in Chiang Mai.

Photos from the Bangkok Post:

Oops...

It's been a while since I last posted, sorry about that. I'm beginning to realize that having a blog is a lot like journaling, you always start with the best of intentions but you always get side tracked...

Life here in the big city continues on much as it always does, humid and hot. Mid-terms have kept me up late the last couple of weeks studying for subjects that I'll probably never think about again after I leave here. I mean it's not like there's much opportunity to use Thai in little ole E-burg. (Even if I could my teachers tell me that my accent is horrid :D )

I hate mid-terms, and it's not just the studying. It's all the time that's required to prep to go, ironing uniform skirts and shirts, attaching huge silver buttons, dusting off those uncomfortable shiny shoes (which you have to kick off as soon as you go into the exam room anyways), and digging out various forms of ID. It seems like a lot of pomp and circumstance for a two hour test. Kind of reminds me of the SAT actually.

Luckily, there almost over just one more tomorrow morning at the Rangsit campus. Coincidentally enough it's for the once class that I may actually end up using, Introduction to Advertising and Public Relations.

So wish me luck!!

Lessons with Missionaries

On the train up to Chiang Mai I was seated across from an older Thai gentlemen and his friend. They looked at me oddly as a woman traveling alone then politely ignored me as seems to be the custom. At least they did until I pulled out my Introduction to Thai Writing Book. Then they approached me, perching on the side of my bench and leaning across the rickety card table to look at it.

They were a couple of Thai Christian Missionaries heading up to the jungles of Chaing Mai to talk to the hill tribes. They were a great help showing me the proper way to draw the swirling Thai characters. My handwriting needs some improvement and they laughingly referred to children doing a better job. But Thai characters at best look like squiggles to me.

They helped me for a good hour, correcting my grammar, tones and my writing. It seems like just about anyone will stop and help you learn Thai if you make an effort. My taxi driver on the way to the train station kept teaching me words like traffic, bridge, left, right, bus, etc. etc.

When the train was delayed it was the missionaries who told me about it. And when I slept through the lunch stop they appeared with sweets, milk and news paper wrapped phad thai refusing to accept the money I offered. When we finally arrived at the station, a good 6 hours after the scheduled arrival time they made sure that I had a ride to my guesthouse before going there own way.

Lunch with Expats.

So as many people know there is a huge American expatriot culture in Thailand. Today I just happened to meet two interesting italian/american expatriots who've been here since the late sixties. They were an interesting pair of Vietnam vets, who had gotten frustraited with the States and left one day to never go back. They didn't offer an explaination as to why, and I didn't want to pry.

But they were an interesting couple of gentlemen who seemed amused by my 'young indepent liberaltarianism,' I'm not really sure what that means let alone if that's what I am. All I said was that I'd prefer not to talk politics and that it should be about the person not the party.

I made them laugh, and aparently that was enough to earn me a free meal of cheeseburger and fries. They kept stalling me from leaving, asking questions about how life back home was and comparing it to the states that they left behind. I think that in the end they were just two lonely old men, eager to catch news from home even though they had left along time ago.

And tomorrow morning at o'dark thirty (like 6:30am) I'm heading back to that bar becaue it's the superbowl... and they promised me free breakfast.

Nueng, Song, Saam, Si

She approaches me as I stumble of the Tha Prachan peir feeling huge and out of place surrounded by the slender Thai, a little urchin in a pink Mickey Mouse t-shirt and ratty jeans. She dances before me in obvious delight of having a foreigners attention a white plastic bag clenched in her hand.

“Nueng, song, saam, see,” she laughs and waits expectantly as I repeat the numbers back to her. With the patronizing tone of a young child she corrects my pronunciation before handing me the bag in exchange for four coins that are only slightly bigger than a quarter.

Her mother watches our exchange with amusement from her stand at the corner. Such exchanges have become commonplace on my daily commute to Thammasat University. I don't know how we fell into this routine, but it makes me smile every time. It just seemed to happen, though my schedule is erratic at best.

Just like how the sushi man somehow knows when I have class and always smiles and makes small talk as I pass him on the way to the ferry.

"You a teacher yet?" He often asks me, though I've explained time and time again that I have no intention of teaching here and will return home in a few months. He shrugs it off, "just wait, you never leave here, you see."

At first I laughed it off, counting the days until I would return home. But somewhere along the way that changed and now I can't seem to help looking at ways of prolonging my stay. I can't help but wonder if he is right after all.

Classes

So today was the first day of my Traditional Thai Medicine and I couldn't be more excited for a class. The professor, a 'Royal Fellow' is one of 80 Thais nationwide who is in charge of traditional medicine in the Royal Court. But I'm not entirely sure what that means, but apparently it's quite an honor. He's really thrilled about it, he only mentioned it, 10, 15, 20 times in the hour long class.

Thai Traditional Medicine (TTM) has a long history and plays a massive role in modern Thailand. With over 60% of rural Thailand relying on TTM, and over 15% of Urban Thailand. Unlike in the States, traditional medicine is strongly encouraged by the government which requires that hospital have at least 10-15% of all funding go to TTM, within 5 years they hope to increase the amount of TTM in hospitals to 30%.

In an effort to promote the TTM, the Government is reimbursing all traditional medicine costs to Thai nationals, including that two hour long steam bath and Thai Massage. Oh the jealousy.


But perhaps the best thing about the TTM class is that out of the 13 classes we're have this semester, 5 of them are going to be field trips. Next week Wat Pho the home of traditional thai massage, then the royal gardens, followed by museums, Thai massage lessons, and ending in a steam bath experience.

I can't wait!

A Quick Note

Hey y'all,

I'm back in Bangkok but I just wanted to let you all know that i put up some pictures on the last few posts. So if you get a chance, go back and check them out.

Breakfast With Monks

I was wandering down a little soi (street) taking pictures and roaming through nearly deserted temples when I passed a park on the river. A group of monks were dining in a little gazebo on the water. I crept closer, hoping to sneakily snatch a picture or two when the women traveling with them looked up and spotted me hesitating at the park entrance.



One of them waved to me and when I returned the greeting she gestured for me to come over. Hesitantly I complied, not wanting to seem rude and before I knew it I was seated beside the other women who were busily dishing me up food. They shared everything they had, from rice porridge with egg, to sweets and bread. They even gave me a new water bottle.



While I ate they tried to teach me Thai, pointing out dishes as they said the names and waiting for me to repeat them back. The monks, who ranged in age from about 6 to 16 watched me with open facination. They giggled at my attempted Thai, and one of the younger ones gathered enough courage to approach me, offering me a palm leafed wrapped sweet. From the looks on the women's faces, I gathered he did not often share.

As the meal finished up some of the older monks came up to me, gesturing to my camera they posed. I willing snatched a few shots, then posed in return when one whipped out his own camera.



While we took our pictures and the bolder young monks came up to me to talk asking about where I was from, and how long I would stay. The women were packing up the midmorning meal. When I turned back to them, they had already packed me a huge bag of sweets to take with me. And one of the more talkative monks offered me a water bottle.

As I bid them farewell so they could continue to the temple the Abbot approached me and gestured for me to take his picture. He handed me a calander with his email and invited me to visit their home wat in the north.



I still can't believe that they approached me like that calling out to a perfect stranger, an outsider even. You really do meet the most wonderful people when you travel.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Today I had my first up close and personal experience with monkeys. Before today, I had suspected that they were a myth, having never seen them in the six months I've already been here. But when I went to the Phra Nakhon Historical Park and National Museum I was shocked to see hordes upon hordes of the furry beasts.



A tour guide informed me that there are over a thousand monkeys at the park, and another thousand or so out at the Khao Luang caves a few kilometers away. They travel in packs of 200-300 and each pack is distinguished by the letter tattooed on their chest.




They had claimed the trees, bushes, walkways, pavilions and shady picnic spots designed for humans. At first they seemed cute, harmless even as they lolled in the heat of the day lazily blinking their beady yellow eyes at you from the shade. They didn't even blink as I snapped picture after picture and seemed almost indifferent to my presence.

Then I made a critical mistake. I took the water bottle out of my bag. Instantly every monkey eye was on me. A particularly large and mean looking monkey charged me rising up on his hind legs to grab the bottle dangling in my hand.

When I didn't release it quickly enough he fixed me with his beady stare and revealed a mouth full of pointy looking teeth. Confronted with the option of either possibly contracting any number of diseases through a monkey bite or loosing the 10฿ water bottle I willingly gave it up.



It scurried away and with a surprising amount of dexterity unscrewed the lid in seconds drinking from the bottle. I spent the remainder of my time at the park surreptitiously glancing around as I took quick sips from my new (and highly overpriced) water bottle which earned me much laughter from the Thai I passed. Apparently, they don't find the monkeys particularly fierce.

You Okay Get Off Now... Part 2

Ratachanburi. I pushed down the growing worry as I flipped through my guide book. I could handle this. I am a independent traveler. A little thing like getting off at the wrong stop shouldn't be a problem, it's not like I had a real plan anyways right?

But as the guidebook came up with absolutely nothing on the entire province. I started to get a little worried, but I pushed it aside and left the station, stopping briefly to check out the map provided by the ever helpful TAT (Thailand Tourism Authority). Nothing of interest.

At the very least i could get a meal, and I began to walk down the main street from the station. Silence. I only made it down two blocks of gated stores before the creepiness of being in a modern ghost town set in and I high tailed it back to the station. Rousing the sleeping train master, a tall Thai barely past adolescence, I bought a ticket for the next train.

With three hours to kill at a tiny train station I practiced the Thai superpower of sleeping in public places. Which worked for all of about fifteen minutes before the stationmaster woke me up to ask what train I was getting on. My attempt at sleeping I watched people filter into the station.



My curiosity peaked when a white robed nun entered the station a huge plastic sack in her hand. With a smile at my interest she sat across from me and emptied her sack spilling a mound of freshly picked plants between us. She didn't speak English, and I don't speak Thai but she managed with much pantomiming that the plants had medicinal properties. This one for her knees, that one for her stomach, etc, etc.


She kept me company until the train came. Throwing my bag over my shoulder I boarded the train with my bag thrown over my shoulder. Phetchaburi here I come, again...

You Okay Get Off Now...

In true university fashion I'm out of school for the university games. You have to love thebreaks school has here. And in true exchange student fashion I decided to take a trip south. And traveling, at least for me, involved catching a train at the Hua Lampong train station in Bangkok.

Traveling on trains in Thailand is always an experience, where one can expect delays and interesting (albiet mostly helpful) people. This trip was no exception. But instead of being approached by a helpful Thai, I was pounced upon by a American who demanded to be my seat partner so we could protect eachother from the farang (foriegner) robbing thai. I told her I had never had a problem, but she remained adament so I relented and we rushed onto the 3rd class car together to claim our seats. 3rd class trains have no seating assignements, it's first come, first serve and those commuter trains are always crowded.

The trip passed enjoyably and I learned just about everything about my new American friend, Maddie, 22, recent photography graduate, germ freak, food freak, cleanliness freak, bug freak, ect. (I couldn't help but wonder what she was doing in Thailand, a country known for problems with all of the above.)

And before too long the helpful lady food vendor person, whom I had refused to buy food from twice, told me that it was my stop coming up. Checking the ticket the timing was about right so I grabbed my pack, bid Maddie adieu and jumped off the train.

As it pulled away and I left the station a knot formed in my belly. In big black letters blazed the name Ratachanburi. This was not my stop...

To be continued...

Another Lamentation

Another sad and frustrating fact about life in Thailand, the unreliable and incredibly slow internet connection. Don't even get me started on the link between the rainy season and internet outages. When it takes over a minute to load a page, you know you've hit a new technological low point in life. Kiss your streaming and downloading habits goodbye unless you're one of those people with unlimited time and patience on your hands. Sadly, I fail to fit either category.

For the most reliable internet hit an internet cafe on a major tourist street, but be prepared to deal with computers well past their prime. Many of which are hovering around a decade old. This is one of the few places in the world where the floppy disk is still sold.

Spirit houses

Thai spirit houses can be found throughout the country from tiny run down Soi’s to the main tourist districts. They vary from deceptively simple structures to elaborate miniature palaces and can be made from wood, concrete or brick. And can only be constructed by expert spirit house builders.

This elaborate spirit house is located on Rambuttri Lane

a major tourist destination in Bangkok.

Every detail in the spirit house is important from the color, which varies depending on the owners birthday, to the style and the number of figurines.

This older Thai spirit house has numerous dancing girl figurines and old offerings left around its' base.

These miniature dwellings offer shelter to the animist spirits that reside in and around the house or place. The two most common spirits worshiped are the Lord of the Land, and the Hindi guardian angle Phra Chai Mongkol.

Offerings are left daily to appease the spirits or to ask for good luck and small favors. Offerings include food such as chicken, duck, Fanta, fruits, as well as flowers and small figurines. Candles and incense are also lit and small prayers recited.

A frustrating fact about life

So there's this itty-bitty problem that has been driving me absolutely insane these last few months, my inability to log on to my groupwise e-mail account. And I thought that the fire ant infestation last semester was bad...

Apparently I can only log on to groupwise when the time zone on my computer is set to Washington time and not when it's Bangkok time. That's a huge time difference, like +17 hours. All the jumping back and forth through time and space has both me and my laptop frustrated. Sadly, the IT department who I've been furiously e-mailing this last week has no answers to my dilemma. Any suggestions out there?

The story so far...

It's my second semester at the prestigious Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. For the first time I'm in classes at the Tha Prachan campus in Bangkok, which is a far cry from the remote Rangsit campus an hour north of the capital. It's exciting to now be in class with other foreigners, last semester it was only me and Adelie from France.

Unfortunately, I'm still stuck in academic limbo as the BJM and the BA office fight over which program is responsible for my registration and general well being. If everything goes according to plan I'll be able to take classes in both the journalism and Thai studies programs. If not, I'm going to have to play major catch-up and transfer back to the Rangsit campus.

Here's to hoping for the best.