"Hello? หน้าของ ประเทศไทย... "

One of the funny things about Thailand: everyone answers their cellphone with "Hello?" then they proceed to carry on the conversation in Thai. It can be very misleading because I think everyone speaks English all of the sudden, but they certainly don't.

This weekend has been a huge celebration of the Tenth Anniversary for the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment at KMUTT. For the festivities on Thursday, ten monks came and sang while we sat on the floor and bowed to them. It was a beautiful but long ceremony, and afterwards I asked Pai what they were saying, but it turns out that Thai Buddhist Monks sing in Sanskrit, so he had no idea what they were saying. Just a blessing for more success for our graduate school.

Thursday evening we had a JGSEE dinner party at a restaurant near Central Plaza Rama II called "The Park". Our professors talked about the history of the grad school, there was a video, and to our surprise, Kareoke is a part of a semi-formal event in Thailand. Par for the course, we got up there too and sang "A Whole New World". The lyrics on the screen were in Thai, but luckily we've seen Aladdin enough to get through it. The highlight of the evening for us as well as the program, was a traditional Thai dance performance by myself and the six other girls from UNC. A team of Thai women and 1 fabulous Thai man took almost 2 hours to get all of us in the proper hair, makeup, outfits, and ready to go. We'd been practicing the dance for 3 weeks and it was a lot of fun! Our colleages were surprised how beautiful we looked in the traditional Thai garb (considering we're usually running around playing frisbee like good girls should not).

Saturday evening was another adventure with a four course dinner and speakers from around the world. One sip of your drink and they replace it! The menu of courses was as follows:

-Smoked salmon rose with green leaves, citrus vinaigrette peppered cold tuna carpaccio with balsamic syrup, tandoori chicken on salad raita dip

-Classic lobster bisque, crab ravioli and vegetable pearls

-Raspberry sherbet

-Baked snapper and salmon steak combination with a green asparagus salsa, served with a peppered sweet and sour sauce and glazed onions

-Chocolate iced souffle with apricot and spicy mango sauce

-Freshly brewed coffee or tea

News flash: I have a house in Bangkok. It's this little townhouse to the left here, 3 stories. There are six of us that just moved in and I will have more pictures later once we get more furniture and get everything ready for our housewarming party.

Regrettibly, I have learned that another one of my relatives has passed away back in America. My Uncle Peter was an amazing doctor who ate organic food, loved cars and photography, ran in marathons across the world, and has 3 beautiful daughters that I love more than anything. My sympathy goes out to my family and I am absolutely heartbroken that I cannot be there with you all.

Why Am I Rasta Man?: Full Moon Party

Perhaps you’ve heard of the legendary Full Moon Parties that occur in the Gulf of Thailand on the humble island Koh Phangan. I honestly cannot believe that these parties occur every single month, it was a blowout party of which the likes are unheard of worldwide (so I’m told by my travelling companions). About ten thousand farang show up from their backpacking adventures to this island, just north of the more recognized island Koh Samui. Due to a Buddhist holiday this past week, I had about six days to take the most amazing vacation ever! Ruby (<---check out her blog) and I took at a ten hour bus down the peninsula of Thailand to Chomporn where we then took a six hour ferry to Koh Phangan. While looking for a place to stay, a nice looking Thai boy drives by on a motorcycle: “Need bungalow?” Me: “sure, why not!”. I hop of his motorcycle and he takes me through the mountainous terrain to Hillside House on Baan Kai which is a set of beautiful wooden bungalows away from the crazy partiers up on the side of a mountain. The people who own the bungalows have a beautiful art studio on the mountain where they paint colorful Bob Marley and Jim Morrison all day. We spent a lot of time hanging out with them and drinking with them to their amazing selection of music. I spent the entire trip getting to know the island Thais who are so much more Rastafarian than Asian.
The first day, Ruby and I swam in the hot Gulf water and slept on the beach. By night we drank 40 baht Chang beer while challenging each other to a very creatively stimulating game of Scrabble (thanks to Linda for the going away travel game that has proved perfect). After a slow night, Ruby and I returned to our 400 baht-a-night bungalow with an incredible view and gigantic living space (that’s about six dollars a person per night).
Day two, Ruby and I seize the day and try to locate Kao Ra, the largest mountain on the island. We found our way to the center of the island via two taxis, then we hiked several kilometers to the largest waterfall on the island "Paeng Noi" which was not very intimidating. From there, it was all mountainous terrain to Kao Ra and we trekked for several hours uphill. Unfortunately we ended up losing the trail, but we ended up finding a lone Thai man with a shack on the top of a mountain with a little self-sustaining coconut grove. We also came across a very Twilight Zone-Outer Limits moment when suddenly in the jungle there was a cement factory-empty rooms with dogs chained up everywhere. Either way, we ended up walking several kilometers back into town with Chang in hand to make the heat bearable. We spent the rest of the day swimming, napping on a concrete slab near the water, and eating some delicious Thai food near the pier. I bought a really neat sarong and we ran into two friends from KMUTT, Joel and George who we thought were on Samui. That night we ended up running into our motorcycle friend from the day before, Karn. Karn was the sweetest guy, about 28 and he hooked us up with Muay Thai Boxing tickets which we spent the night watching while eating peanuts and watching a guy’s face bleed. Very raw.
Day three, we decided to check out a day-long boat adventure called the Reggae Magic Boat Cruise. The boat cruise was a traditional Thai longboat that went in tandem with the Snoop Dogg Boat Cruise which was just hilarious. I’m thinking about shooting an email to Snoop and telling him I loved his trip that I’m SURE he knows exists. The boat took us around an entire half of the island to beaches such as Bottle Beach and to an amazing waterfall where I climbed through this really cool creep cave. A spliff on a boat in Asia is not what I was planning. We watched the sun set over the island and spent the evening back at our artsy bungalow with music and our friends Joel and George. We played cards and our artists only charged us 30 baht per beer because they loved us (that’s less than a dollar). Joel and George stayed over with us which was quite silly and funny.
Day four, Ruby and I went to the beach Haad Rin for the day, laying out, reading, swimming, eating, sleeping, and I got a very amazing Thai massage. I can’t wait to get another one now! Full body hour-long massage for 6 dollars. Unreal. On the beach we met a cool Thai man named Bao that played Frisbee with us and just chatted with us for a while. That night, most of the UNC crew came to our island from neighboring Koh Tao and Krabi (where they filmed the movie “The Beach”), and the Full Moon Party was underway. Starting the night with a very western burrito, Ruby and I were pals all night in the giant crowd. Everyone drinks the very naughtily-named “Fuck Buckets” which was mixed drinks that you guy on the beach that are served in buckets. I may have partaken. Black lights and rave music and fire dancing and fluorescent body painting fought furiously against each other for attention among the crowds. Our friend Karn painted us for free (I got a KILLER scorpion on my back that will only live on in memory as a camera at this occasion would have ended up swimming with the fishes). After dancing and drinking, we ended up hanging out with Karn a lot and I spent several hours in very engaging conversation with a Danish boy that who was equally obsessed with Saturday Night Live! He was a doll, he’s working on his Master’s Thesis in Electrical Engineering in Denmark. He also loves John Belushi. Watching the sun rise is actually an experience I had never had before, and what a location for my first time. I went home to my bungalow to sleep from 9am to 10am, then the trek home of 16+ hours was so worth it.
Conclusion: Longest blog entry yet by far, but for the best adventure. I don’t know if I’ll be going back to that island, but our friend Karn will likely visit us in Bangkok before we leave. Most memorable night ever. You can’t see me, but I’m grinning ear to ear.

Satan Arrives in Time for Independence Day!

Satan, you ask? Well seeing as how everything over here in the Kingdom is so cheap, how could I resist a bootleg copy of Diablo 2 with the Lord of Destruction expansion included! All of this excitement was spurned by the much awaited (at least in my life) announcement of pre-production for Diablo 3. Nicholas boys, it's going to be a good reunion in about 2 years when it finally comes out.

But I digress. This past weekend was my first time just sticking around Bangkok, and what a great decision it was! Every year the American Chamber of Commerce (affectionately: AmCham) hosts a blowout Fourth of July Party. On the grounds of the Port Authority of Thailand, Americans came out of the woodwork for this super-patriotic abroad experience. There were American soldiers, the US Ambassador to Thailand, rock music, burgers, burritos, baby back ribs, Budweiser, face painting, and naturally, fireworks at the end of the day. I was able to register for my absentee ballot there, and for a small donation I received a "Bangkok for Barack" t-shirt (oops, I didn't mean to give away my affiliation). The festivities were a ton of fun, even when it came to overhearing the occassional "what up bro" which brought back a warm sense of nostalgia. ~*sigh*~

I should mention that I got AMERICA painted on my back with the ol' Stars and Bars and an Eagle biting the head off of a snake. We danced into the night, feasting, and causing quite a commotion.

Interesting sidebar: while getting my back painted, I ended up talking to an American man who has lived in Thailand for the past 30 years and has married with little half-Thai babies. I mentioned that I was doing a major research project for my university on Nuclear Feasibility in Thailand and I just casually asked this man for his opinion. Can someone say "can o' worms"? After much ado, this man made it very clear that if there was nuclear energy coming to Thailand "it would be reason enough to leave" and take his family with him. He was VERY put off by my even asking... this project will prove more interesting than I thought!

More later... I simply must kill the Countess before this day is through! Over and out!

You Say Potato, I Say Manfarang!

Potatoes are hard to find sometimes, but this morning I ate some sweet potatoes that were being cooked like streetmeat outside the park.

This past weekend I ended up going to Ayutthaya to meet up with a friend from Chapel Hill. I met Greg Smith last semester through some mutual friends and it turns out that he's volunteering at an AIDS hospital/temple in Lop Buri, about two hours north of Bangkok. We met up (after much ado on my part as I tend to starting shopping when I get lost) in Ayutthaya, one of the former capitals of Thailand in centuries past. Ayutthaya was the big trading mecca for th 14th to 18 Centuries until the Burmese Army sacked the city in 1767. The city is essentially an amazing location for ruins and temples, and it was quite the adventure. Upon arrival, without a map or fluency in Thai, I couldn't find my way around very well, so I ended up hopping on the back of a motorcycle taxi and finally arriving at our bungalow that Greg set up, Baan Lotus (home of the lotus). Infact, there were beautiful lotus flowers in the pond in the back.

Greg and I rented bicycles and rode around the city through traffic, but I didn't need a helmet because I had a beautiful new sun bonnet! We crossed a river by ferry and explored a temple and saw the Giant Buddha. We also went on a guided tiny bus tour with 4 other people from Baan Lotus that the littl old lady who owns it put together. The woman speaks perfect English, is about 4'8'', probably 75 years old, went to college in Tel Aviv Isreal, and is a retired medical scientist. Love her. On the bus tour, we went to some spectacular ruins, all of which are lit up beautifully at night by floodlights. We also went to an elephant farm where I got to see little baby elephants (chang). I finished off the night by buying Thai Fisherman Pants and drinking some Chang beer. Don't worry mother, the drinking age is 18. The following morning Greg and I could barely rise from our soft beds and oscillating fan after a night of much fun and conversation (sorry for waking you up Belgian lady), but we ended up biking across the city to find the afamed Giant Reclining Buddha. It was the coolest thing ever.

The rest of the week passed with classes, schoolwork, aerobics, and mostly as normal. However, during my Aerobics class on Monday morning, I was invited up on the stage once again to help lead class and it's the most exhilerating thing in the world. I've started an intensive Thai language class, and a traditional Thai dance class as well. Coming up soon: Americans celebrating Independence Day abroad...what will happen!?

5: Honey, I Shrunk Thailand!

This past weekend I went on three adventures!

Part 1: Disco Fever. A bunch of us decided to go to a Disco Night at this club called Glow in Bangkok with a couple of kids we met from Virginia and Australia. We all got dolled-up and glitzed-out and headed into town for a good night. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this yet, but partying in Bangkok is a ton of fun. There are always scantily clad Thai girl posses and jazzed up Thai men, but they never seem to dance. To make up for all of the still-standing Thais at their cocktail tables with entire bottles of liquors, us farangs dance as wildly as possible. What makes the whole ordeal the most fun is the fact that the Thais do not appear to be annoyed with our dancing, I think they envy our ability to just let loose. In such a normally conservative culture, Pai says that “it takes a lot of alcohol to get Thais to dance”, and I do believe that most of the girls worry that if they dance too much they may be mistaken for prostitutes. Speaking of prostitutes, to get to Glow we had to walk down Soi Cowboy("the heart of Bangkok's Sleaze District) which is one of the three major red light districts in Bangkok. Friendly ladies and awkward advances on our male counterparts were amusing.

Part 2: Robotany. Saturday I spent the entire day to myself, walking around campus and the Park through Thon Buri taking photographs of plants. “Robotany” is a shout out to my third session major class at Nature Camp last summer, they were so cute. I found out that in my absence as Botany instructor this summer, the director Flip has taken charge. Also I found out that the arts and crafts closet that I so meticulously conceived is being put to good use in a Wildlife Art class. My botanical adventure around Thon Buri turned out decently because lots of plants are randomly labeled (all in Thai except for the scientific name, which I can look up!).

Part 3: Honey, I Shrunk Thailand! On Sunday, six of us took an 8 baht bus to Samutprakan where we could spend the day at Muang Boran (The Ancient City). This “City” is a several hundred acre plot in the shape of Thailand housing replicas of every major architectural and natural landmark in the entire country. We were hesitant to the idea that this could be cheesy, but everything we read on Muang Boran said that it was remarkably amazing and not touristy. True! We got student discounts because in effect we have immigrated here for the time being, so we also got free bicycles for the day to explore the City. The replicas were on a smaller scale, but still gigantic to us, and we were able to get a feel for where we would like to visit in the coming months. The day was a leisurely bike tour of the entire country of Thailand.

4: Mommy...Close Your Eyes For This One...

This past weekend was a doozy! Friday night about ten of us farang girls went into Bangkok to see Sex and the City (with Thai subtitles naturally) at the EGV Theater in Siam Square. Afterwards we met up with the boys on our trip to watch Italy versus Romania on a big screen TV. The world cup qualifying matches are really big over here, so on Saturday afternoon we all went to see the Thailand versus Japan soccer game in Bangkok at the Rajamangala National Stadium. The game was a ton of fun and we got a lot of funny looks for being white people in Thailand Jerseys, but unfortunately Thailand isn't very good and lost 3-0.

Saturday to Monday, I traveled by bus and ferry to an island in the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Samet is a tropical island, and is almost entirely National Forest (cost a pretty penny to get in) (and by pretty penny I mean like 200 baht) (okay, so that's like 6 dollars but still). Regardless, after arriving on the island through an absolute monsoon in the Gulf, Lauren, Alana, and I ate some lunch (gai mamuang for me), and then the three of us rented two motorcycles for the day. That's right: Motorcycles. I know my mother is crying right now, but don't worry, I was completely against it in the beginning. As it turned out, I was the best driver of all of us. After renting a little bungalow for the night called the Ao Phai Hut (named for the specific beach we found, 400 baht total), the three of us went cruising on the motorcycles (with helmets, like no one else we passed). The craziest thing about the adventure was that we didn't have a map and that the roads were unpaved. Regardless, we rode all the way to the other end of the island and saw some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. We were even back to our Hut by nightfall so we could enjoy some Pena Coladas in the white sands. We sang Karaoke at a Reggae Bar we found (we were the only people there besides the staff so we went crazy with Madonna's "Like a Prayer" and Destiny Child's "Survivor"). There was another soccer game scheduled that night, but instead of watching that, we challenged three European boys to a soccer match in the dark on the beach at midnight.
Editor's Note: the girls royally kicked the boys' tails.
The next morning, hungover on the white sands of Koh Samet, I enjoyed an amazing half hour Thai foot massage practically with my toes in the waves. Heaven. After all the fun was had, the three of us girls ended up making it back to Tecno Thon Buri just in time for our Intensive Thai Language Course on Monday night from 5-7:30 pm. Here comes another week of class...!

Also, I wanted to send out all of my love and respect to my extended family at home as we grieve the loss of my grandmother. Winnifred Nicholas was an institution, and I wish I could be with you all right now. I attribute a lot of my compassion, independence, and affinity for acting to her. Thanks for all the support you all have given me from overseas as well. We love you Weo.

3: Hear Ye! Giant Banana Storms Gulf!

For our first big weekend since we’ve settled in, and with the long awaited arrival of our professor from UNC, it was time to go to the beach. Our professor, Dr. Rich Kamens (or as we call him, Ajarn Rich) took us on several different buses to the province of Chon Buri, about 2 hours away (not to be confused with Thon Buri where I live). Ajarn Rich lived in Chon Buri during his stint in the Peace Corps in the 1970s and he says things have obviously grown up around where he said was once a landscape of dotted rice paddies. The beach we went to was Bang Saen, and since we are mostly travelling and living in areas that are not tourist-heavy, we stand out like sore thumbs. I had not been to the beach since Pop’s boogy board accident two summers ago, so it was nice to swim in the Gulf of Thailand where waves were not the standard. However, for about 100 baht each, six of us jumped on the back of a giant Banana Boat and toured the Gulf by way of a jet-ski tow. We were slung off several times but it was great fun (don’t worry mom: life jackets). Let it be known however, that Thai people do not swim in bathing suits. If they have them on, even when swimming, they are wearing a t-shirt and shorts on top because conservative dress is the norm in non-tourist areas. Farmer’s tan, here I come!

A relaxing day at the beach was followed by a night of shooting pool, drinking Singha, eating frog, and enjoying some home-made non-dairy coconut Thai-style ice cream. The Kingdom of Thailand is a Lactose Intolerant’s dream. The milk is all rice or soy, and the ice cream is all coconut milk, so my digestive system could run circles around my fellow Intolerants roaming the States aimlessly.

The following day we visited three destinations before returning back to campus in Thon Buri. First, we stopped by a little area that was known for crafting stone mortar-and-pestles, and although I did not buy one, I got some other nifty gifties for my American counterparts. Secondly, our group went to a Chinese Buddhist Temple in Bang Saen that was absolutely phenomenal in scope. I had never seen anything so intricate and beautiful, especially with the communion-like water ceremony we witnessed. The pictures are in the slideshow. Our third part of the day, which was the most moving experience I have had in Thailand, was our visit with Thai Buddhist Monks on a secluded part of the Bang Saen coastline. Deep in the forest of eastern trees and flowering plants, these monks live together, worshipping Buddha, eating only one big meal a day that they gather in one big pot each from the villagers, studying, and meditating. I had the honor of being able to experience and partake in a meditation session in a small temple in the woods. We lit incense and the monk, translated by our friend Pai, described the exact way to meditate and properly center yourself in any situation. Spirituality is the basis of the monk’s life, but almost every Thai male spends at least three months as monk in his mid-twenties, so meditation and self-guidance plays a big part in every Thai’s life. Although I have never been a very spiritual person, this experience was very soothing and meaningful to me, allowing me as well to reflect on my love of my grandmother Weo. The peace of the temples was exquisite, and I know I will return to others. That particular temple extended the invitation to stay with them for however long I liked to live as a monk, and although it was tempting offer, I am but a college student.