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Pinch Me, Take 2: Bali

My good friend from college, Christina, just came to visit me. For her visit, we planned to take a fun beach vacation. As we were brainstorming on gchat (as all good brainstorming is done), Christina suggested Bali. I was down and have always been a bit curious about Bali myself--it's one of those heavily mythologized places as an oasis of luxury and relaxation, I feel--so I thought, why not, and we booked our tickets.

Unfortunately, the start of our oasis escape wasn't so relaxing. We messed up the time of our tickets AND almost got in a very scary car accident that we missed our flight, which was definitely a bummer. It was the last flight going to Jakarta, so we would miss our early AM connection in Bali. We were so crazed in racing to the airport, getting new tickets and then collapsing in my apartment for what turned out to only be a short "nap" before our new flight (we had to leave for the airport at 3 am), that the whole episode quickly became incredibly amusing--we were two disheveled, hot messes.

Christina, disheveled, appropriately consoling herself with an ice cream

So, when we finally did make our flight to Jakarta, we rushed out of the airport to change terminals to try and catch an earlier flight to Bali--one that would only put us 5-6 hours back from our original flight instead of 10-11. Miraculously, we were able to get on the earlier flight, which was a bit delayed, so we even got Javanese massages at the airport for a totally relaxed arrival in Bali.

Our luck only got better once we landed in Bali. We hadn't arranged for a driver to pick us up from the airport to take us to our hotel and we were very nervous about getting ripped off or scammed, but thankfully, the rates to each hotel were pre-fixed, so we could rest easy. We had decided to stay at the Ritz Carlton in Jimbaran because, compared to any other Ritz in the world, this place was a bargain! Only $200 a night for a regular room! We checked in, were "laid" with gorgeous, fragrant frangipani flowers and were served a tasty tropical welcome beverage. The receptionist soon informed us that because of overbooking, we had been upgraded to a PRIVATE VILLA with a private pool, and hopefully that would be okay. We were ecstatic! We could not have gotten any luckier and thought that perhaps if we hadn't missed our flight, we would just gotten a regular hotel room.

Lay and welcome beverage--still not looking so great after the long and arduous journey

A buggy (gold cart) then took us to our villa which was absolutely stunning--not as over the top as the Four Seasons in Samui, but certainly top notch. We had a private pool, with a little pavilion and lounge chairs; we had a great bedroom with the most comfortable down pillows and comforters (the turn down service was also great and we were left the best dark chocolate in little gold Ritz Carlton wrappers); our bathroom was incredible and the bathtub was filled with rose petals and also had a great view of our surrounding garden; the living room was also lovely and stocked with fresh, local fruits that we feasted on for breakfast.

Our pool and little pavilion

Christina lounging in the pavilion

Our bedroom

View from the Bathroom

Rose petal bath

Our living room

The rest of the Ritz compound, as Christina liked to call it, was also mind-blowingly impressive. Everything was perfectly decorated with ornate Balinese statues; the flowers were in full bloom in all colors; the three pools were all exquisite--the ocean beach pool was my favorite, an infinity pool looking out over the beach; the lower pool with the water flowing from the upper pool, and with a view of the aquarium was also pretty spectacular. The restaurants were absolutely delicious--we had dinner there our first night as a treat to begin the vacation. The spa and gym was also lovely. The Ritz spa is famous for its aquatonic pool that's used for water-based massaged and relaxation. I really wanted to try the pool, but it was closed for renovation, alas. The hotel was also perfectly suited for couples and newlyweds--there was a marriage pavilion to hold weddings and also two different areas where you could have a private, candlelight dinner.

On the Ritz grounds

Flowers along one of the staircases

The lower pool

The ocean beach infinity pool

Me overlooking the beach in the infinity pool


View on the way down to the ocean beach pool


One of the fountain-statues

Me and Christina at dinner on our first night

After relaxing and hanging around the pools on our first day, we decided to take a short snorkeling trip on our second day, and in the evening, try to see the Uluwatu temple. So, after sleeping in and lounging by our villa pool, we went to make arrangements for snorkeling. I'd read that Blue Lagoon was a great place to snorkel, but the hotel suggested Nusa Dua since we only wanted a short snorkel trip; the other offering was a full-day and we didn't have time. So, we went to Nusa Dua, about 30 minutes away to snorkel. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best experience and it was our first glimpse into the environmental degradation and exploitation of natural resources that is occurring now in Bali.

Our little boat took us in very shallow waters, right over reefs--something you're not supposed to do--and we could see the boat was leaking fuel into the waters. A lot of the waters were dirty and the first spot was so bad that we insisted he take us somewhere else. We did get to a nicer spot where we saw some interesting fish and some pretty coral; I also saw a number of beautiful starfish. Even at this spot though, there was some trash in the water and there were so many boats in such a small area. It made me very sad that the people were so poor that they exploited their only means of income--snorkeling, a tourism activity. A friend of mine did go to the Blue Lagoon on a full day trip and said it was absolutely marvelous--the waters were clear and the visibility was great and the biodiversity was extraordinary. Perhaps if I go back, I'll try it out.

We returned to the hotel to relax a bit before the driver we'd arranged would pick us up to take us to see Uluwatu temple, a 1000-year old Hind temple. When our driver arrived, he actually had a guide with him too, which was great. Our driver's name was Coman and our guide's name was Made, pronounced "mah-deh." He was a very nice man and his English was very good. He told us how in Bali, the first child is always called "Wayan," the second is "Made," and the third is "Coman," so Coman, our driver was his younger brother!

Made also told us a little bit about Balinese culture, and how different is was from the rest of Indonesia. First off, the Balinese are Hindu, not Muslim like the rest of Indonesia. Also, they speak Balinese, their own language, which is very different from Bahasa Indonesian. As Made spoke, we could tell that the Balinese really identify more as "Balinese" than Indonesian, but that this was also true of the Javanese, the people of Java, and the Sulawesi, the people who live in the Indonesian part of Borneo, and people from Sumatra, etc. It was interesting because we saw many Indonesian flags, but no one said anything about being Indonesia, but more about being Javanese or Balinese etc, identifying more with their own local culture, which they believe is very different from others.

Coman and Made took us to Uluwatu just before the sunset. He warned us that we had to put all our things--sunglasses, jewelry, etc--in our bags or else the monkeys roaming the ruins would take them! He told us that the Balinese love monkeys, but that these were mischievous monkeys so we should be very careful, also with our cameras since they'd been known to steal cameras too. He also told us that if either of us were in our "female cycle," we couldn't come in the temple.

Monkey at Uluwatu

When we got to the temple, Made wrapped us in sarongs and sashes, the traditional Balinese way to go into a temple. The temple was perched on top of a huge cliff, with gorgeous views of the limestone rocks and cliffs below, and the crystal blue water. The monkeys were indeed very naughty, I saw a few playing with women's' hair clips they'd stolen or other little things. They would come out of no where and jump right next to you, startling you an throwing you off guard, but it was all part of the experience.

Overlooking the cliffs at Uluwatu

Uluwatu in the sun

1000 year old stone art at Uluwatu

As we watched the sunset, Made told us that we could watch a Cecak (pronounced ke-chak) dance, a traditional Balinese dance performed by about 80 men who act as a vocal orchestra of sorts, with a flame in the center which has a symbolic meaning, and actors who perform an old Balinese folk tale; the performance lasts for about an hour. It was interesting and certainly like nothing I'd ever seen before. The sounds the men make are very different, it sounds like a mix of a chu-chu kind of sound and heavy breathing.

Sunset at Uluwatu

More sunset

Cecak performance with the flame in the center

After the Cecak dance, Made took us to Jimbaran Bay to a fresh seafood restaurant right on the beach. It was a very nice, atmospheric place; it was actually one of many little restaurants along the beach. The restaurant was cool too because all of the fish were live and you got to pick which fish you wanted; since it was my first time eating fish, Christina kindly picked our fish and it was delicious! We also got serenaded by a cute little Balinese four-man band. They played Oasis, U2--exactly the kind of music popular over here.

Me and Christina serenaded by the Balinese beach band

The next day, Christina and I just lounged around the Ritz, soaking up our last bit of time there. In the late afternoon, we went to Kuta Beach, where we'd stay for only one night, since we heard the only reason people went to Kuta was to party and surf. When we got there, we were shocked with what we saw--it was totally overrun with people and way too overdeveloped. The traffic made Bangkok's traffic look mild and the amount of motorcycles everywhere was ridiculous. It was really sad actually, because a lot of the people in Kuta, we later learned from Made, were from Java and came to make money. As a result, a lot of the people were very aggressive, trying to sell us stuff and even touch us as we walked by to get us to go into their stores. We walked around for a bit, but thought we'd rather just go to a nice dinner and go out after.

Gasoline sold in Absolute Vodka bottles

So, we went to the Sentosa Hotel in Seminyak, which was recommended to me by a friend. Seminyak had a totally different vibe than Kuta, which just seemed like a trashier version of Cancun where 18-year olds Spring break; Seminyak was classier, still developed but not as overwhelming, and it still had an air of sophistication and class. The hotel we went to was amazing--it was designed so interestingly and the food was also very good.

The lobby of the Sentosa Hotel in Seminyak

After dinner, we decided to give Kuta a chance and head to some of the bars my friend recommended. At night, Kuta was even worse. We went to this one roof bar which was okay--it had a view of the Kuta "strip" and was filled mainly with Australians. We decided to walk around a bit to at least enjoy or make fun of some of the ridiculousness. We walked by a reggae bar which had some good live music, but was empty. Then, we walked into this absolutely ridiculous club called "The Bounty," it was out of a movie. The bottom floor had pool tables, crazy lighting, an area that would later turn into a foam party, animal prints everywhere and old wood and the waitors were dressed up as sailors. Then, we moved onto the next part of the club, upstairs and into a huge wooden ship that opened up to a dance floor, complete with a disco ball and small Indonesian men "battle break-dancing;" it was quite the scene.

Part of the dizzying Kuta strip at night

We decided to leave Kuta to head back to Seminyak after being chatted up by a group of 20-year olds and we realized we were clearly the oldest people there (granted, I'm only 22 and Christina is 24, but there's a wave of difference between a 20-year old, college partying traveler and a working young adult). The clubs in Seminyak were nicer and right on the beach, which made for a night atmosphere. One club was so old though, which was odd.

To get a cab back, we were majorly ripped off by cab drivers that band together and keep the rates high after midnight. It wasn't even that late, only about 12:30, and the drivers refused to take us for anything lower than 100,000 rupiahs (about $10) when the meter far was only 12-18,000 rupiahs. We gave our driver 50,000 and he yelled at us but we thought it was generous since the meter was only at 15,000; Christina got so sad she made us go into a German restaurant to eat a pretzel until he was gone. So, needless to say, our fore into Kuta wasn't too successful if you go to Bali, avoid it!

The next morning we had a delicious traditional breakfast provided by our hotel--a banana pancake sprinkled with lime and honey, and fresh fruit--and waited for Made and Coman to pick us up to take us to Gunang Kawi, ancient ruins up in the rice paddies of central Bali; Telalangang, the area with rolling, famous rice terraces; and to Ubud where we would end our trip.

The whole day trip was amazing. It was the first day I felt like we were in the mythic island paradise that I'd always thought Bali was. Driving up to Ubud, through the island, we passed a number of villages, including one Batik and wood carving village and another village, Celuk, where the people were metal workers, making beautiful gold jewelry (much of it was very expensive). On the drive up though, before we got into the heart of the island, we did pass many villages where again we saw signs of environmental exploitation--huge piles of wood, piled 5 feet high along hundreds of meter of road. Made told us that most of the wood came from Java, not Bali, but it was still deforested from somewhere...

Our first stop on the day trip were the ruins of Gunung Kawi, also over 1000 years old, which were awesome, with these enormous stone carvings set into huge rock slabs. Our guidebook said that it was rumored that these carvings were done in a day, but it just didn't seem possible. Gunung Kawi was also a temple. We had to climb a good number of steps to get down to it--it was situated in this valley with a river running through it, surrounded by rice terraces, where the local people farmed, but did not live because it is a protected area. The temple was so quiet and peaceful, it was a very enjoyable experience.

Our guide, Made and Christina on the way down to Gunung Kawi

Me and Christina by the stone carvings at Gunung Kawi--you can tell how big they are!

After leaving the temple, we went into Telalangang, not too far away to go to a few stopping points. Made let us out at two lovely points where he told us to go and sit and "meditate." It was very relaxing looking at the terraces, but looking at them, your eyes would get lost, unable to look at just one. The sad part about this part of our day was that the viewpoints we were taken to were in tiny, extremely poor villages and many children and women would crowd around us trying to sell us postcards or little crafts; it was often hard to walk around them, to move them out of the way, which was definitely overwhelming, the amount of poverty that caused them to be so aggresive.

Rice terraces in Telalangang

One of the men working in the rice terraces in Telalangang selling palm hats

After the rice terraces, we headed into Ubud towards our hotel. Ubud was honestly the most adorbale town I've seen in all of Asia. It had tons of art shops, artsy boutiques, adorable cafes, spas and hippy-venues like palm or chakra reading. Before dropping us at our hotel, Made took us to the Monkey Forest, which is a forest filled with more monkeys! Made told us these monkeys were nicer, though they were certainly fiesty! The jumped on some people, posed for pictures, ate bananas with their hands, and put on shows for the tourists.

Art in Ubud

Entertaining monkeys in Monkey Forest

As the day was coming to a close in the late afternoon, Made and Coman dropped us off at our hotel and we bid them farewell. They were both so nice and definitely made our trip to Bali very special. We gave them a generous trip because Made was trying to start a family and Coman's wife was about to give birth to their second child!

Our hotel in Ubud was adorable--it was very authentic, situated IN a rice paddy and it had two nice pools overlooking the paddies, one freshwater and one saltwater, which was also built in the infinity pool style. Our bungalow was also very cute with an ornately decorated Balinese Batik door and a nice fountain in front.

Our bungalow in Ubud

We settled in, got some dinner, and wandered around the town and later had dessert before heading in at about 8pm for a swim in the saltwater pool. Ubud is incredibly quiet and relaxing, and everything shuts down between 10 and 11pm, so it's a great place for a getaway or a yoga retreat. In fact, there are many yoga and spa retreats in Ubud (this is where the author of "Eat Pray Love" went in Bali). And, before going to bed, we made spa appointments for the morning before leaving, definitely something to look forward to.

Cute cafe in Ubud

The next morning, we headed to the spa at our hotel for two-hour treatments. First I had a 15-minute foot reflexology which was interesting, then I had a 45 minute Balinese massage, which was amazing, not nearly as hard as a Thai massage. After that I had a body scrub, following by a milk bath treatment. Then, I got to soak in a flower bath for about 20 minutes and then sit in a jacuzzi for another 20 while I sipped sweet ginger tea. The entire package was $40...damn good deal!

So, thoroughly relaxed, we headed back to the airport to begin our journey back to Bangkok! It was a great vacation, the longest one I've taken while here (5 days) and it was the first trip that really felt like a vacation, not just trekking around to see interesting things. I think part of that was because we stayed at nicer places than I usually stay in. All in all, it was a great trip and I would go back (just not to Kuta!); I still didn't get to see the volcano at Mount Batur, the floating temple, or some of the other things, so perhaps one day!

Hotel Heaven

After over a week without a real meal, I decided, why not go all out and treat myself to something special? So, on a lovely Sunday morning, I headed to The Sukhothai's Sunday Jazz Brunch with my friend Meg. The Sukhothai is one of the top, 5-star hotels in Bangkok, famous for its brunch and Thai restaurant, Celadon.

The pond outside the brunch room at the Sukhothai

When we got to brunch, we had no idea what we were in for, let alone that it was a three-hour affair. We got there, ordered bellinis and water, and headed to check out the brunch spread. There was a sushi bar, a pasta station, a meat-carving station, crudite with an array of interesting dips, stuffed vegetables, steamed vegetables, a cheese board with over 20 cheeses paired with honey and dried fruit, dim sum, tempura, a salad station, prepared Indian dishes, breads galore, lobster, crab, shrimp, oysters, I could go on and on. There was also a separate dessert room, which included a chocolate fondue station, with a selection of different chocolates for dipping and fruits and dried fruits to dip. I had a five-course meal, it was incredible.

After our marathon of a brunch, we walked around the Sukhothai compound. Unlike other luxury hotels, this one has a distinct Thai mark and feels like it's an urban getaway. We checked out the spa, which we had received a 500B gift voucher for from brunch--they had quite the array of treatments. We also checked out the silk gift shop, Almeta. The silks are some of the finest I've seen--I'd love to buy some of the bedding (the duvets are filled with pieces of silk!) and place settings. The man who works in the store was so nice, and as I talked about Gigi (there was an adorable dog bed I wish I could have gotten for her), he told me about his 15 dogs.

Having fully explored the Sukhothai, we moved on to our next destination, The Oriental. The New York Times and everybody else says that of all the top-notch hotels in Bangkok, this is the place to stay, and let me tell you, all of these people are right. Granted, I didn't see any of the rooms, but even before you enter the hotel itself, you can smell the gardenias, an immediate sign that you've arrived at an oasis, escaping the city, with its strong , unavoidable and often jarring smells.

The feeling of an oasis away from the city at The Oriental

Meg and I walked around the grounds--the pool is lovely and the seating area, right on the river is a prime spot to watch the sunset. We had tried to have tea in the famous Oriental Tea Room, right off a beautiful garden, but it was closed for a private party, so we opted for the seating by the river. Sitting there on the veranda, snacking lightly and watching the sunset go by, we were both so relaxed and at peace, completely forgetting that we were in Bangkok.

The pool at the Oriental

The veranda at the Oriental with a view of the Chao Praya River

After the sunset, we headed on the Oriental's shuttle boat across the river to check out the spa and the hotel's Thai restaurant, Sala Rim Naam. The restaurant, which is lovely and has Thai dancing, has a very authentic feel and also has gorgeous views of the river; the ambiance is only enhanced with candles and lotus flowers. The spa was also one-of-a-kind, even though we didn't have any of the treatments, we browsed the menu. The offerings sounded spectacular. The spa even has a survey and will interview you to determine the optimal treatments for you, the best oils to use, and other specifications that should be made, just for you. They also offered us a tea that was very tasty.

Still in awe of the Oriental, we decided to head next door to the Peninsula, which is on the other side of the river in Nonthaburi--although the Oriental's spa and restaurant is on the other side, the hotel portion is on the main side of the river. The entrance to the Peninsula is far grander, but the rest of the hotel doesn't feel as Thai as the Oriental or as grand, but still a lovely hotel. We walked around it for a bit, but were limited to only a small portion since there was a wedding going in. Seeing a hi-so (high-society) Thai wedding was certainly interesting, even from afar. The wedding portrait of the couple was done in the style of the portraits of the Royal family, and the photos were all taken in front of this huge orchid wall.

The tall Peninsula Tower at night

So, after seeing this whole other side of Bangkok, that I don't ever see, I returned on the Skytrain to my apartment, very content with my day of luxury.

The Vagina Monologues, Part I

My plan to start and direct the first official production of "The Vagina Monologues" here in Bangkok is finally happening. In the past week, so much has happened that the production doesn't seem like a daydream, but a real future event. Chris, my co-producer, and I found a venue that we intend to book. We received the news that MTV's EXIT campaign here in Thailand, www.mtvexit.org, is going to be one of our official partners and will help us with large-scale fundraisers for the production. We scheduled and publicized auditions which will be held next week. And, we've found two additional partners, the Foundation for Women, www.womenthai.org, and Pavena Foundation, www.pavena.thai.com, who will be the recipient of our fundraising efforts.

This past Sturday, I attended the Foundation for Women's 24th Anniversary event. Chris and I attended the first seminar on what the Foundation has achieved over the past 24 years. A number of women in the Foundation spoke about their work and experience. The session was in Thai but we had a wonderful translator. We learned that the organization worked to provide legal support and representation to women who had been trafficked and forced to do sex work. The Foundation also helped protect these women in government shelters and also gave them counseling and money so that they could return to their home countries. Some of the women who spoke from the audience cried when they talked about how the organization had changed their life and helped them. These women are so brave and progressive for their time, since a strict social hierarchy routinely marginalized women, particularly poor and uneducated women here in Thailand. Additionally, the police do not take rape or violence seriously and leave it unreported.

As wonderful as the Foundation for Women is, the Pavena Foundation is truly extraordinary and my visit there really effected me. Pavena is an extraordinary woman who was a Member of Parliament here--she went to Thailand's top university and has two masters degrees--and became passionate about helping women and children who are victims of violence, rape, trafficking, abduction, etc. We went to her headquarters, in a small village off of a main highway in a countryside province about an hour and a half outside of Thailand. I'd heard from a friend who's grown up here in Thailand that she really helps women. She has a help hotline, a four-digit number that's known throughout Thailand, and cabs around the country know where she is. But I only realized how much she helps when she took us around her organization.

In a small one room building, Pavena takes hundreds of cases a month and is a safe haven for women and children, in a country where there aren't many. She showed me the thick binders containing just how many cases she gets each month. In the building, she shows me photos of women she's helped--how badly they've been beaten, abused, and some hospitalized. She works with the police, since she has a lot of credibility, to remove women from these toxic and harmful environments, and then to catch and punish the responsible men.

I saw her two safe houses--each a small house, with 5 beds and a small bathroom. I met the young girls living in these houses. One girl, at only 15, was raped by 7 of her classmates, who videotaped the incident and put it on the internet. She now lives in the safe house, goes to school down the road, and has a good life until she is ready to leave, to go to school or get married. Another girl, just 10 years old, was raped by her teacher in the North of Thailand. She too, lives in the safe house. Another girl, 17 and pregnant from her rape, was in the hospital giving birth; she also live in the house. I met a women and her one-year old son, her husband beat her and she showed me her bruises, it was very difficult to look.

I felt a bit strange there, being introduced to all these women and girls, who were so polite and respectful, one even thanked me even though I'd done nothing for her. I told her I was so happy that she'd come to a place where she could get help, and though I'm pretty sure she didn't understand my words, she understood the sentiment.

I talked to Pavena about what the funds could be used for--I'd asked if she wanted to build another safe house; she told me of course she would like another safe house, and an activities center--she has too many cases, but not enough space for all of the women and children. So, we tentatively decided to aim to raise enough money for Pavena to build a new safe house and activities center.

So the journey begins. Auditions, fundraising, and a whole lot more ahead, so stay tuned.

I encourage all those interested to visit their websites to learn more about these organizations. If you would like to contribute to our V-Day campaign to raise money for Pavena's new safe house and activities center, please email me at vdaybkk@gmail.com.

The Hospital

I've become very familiar with Thai hospitals, well, one in particular: Bumrungrad. This is a hospital like no other. You can ask me anything, and I'd probably know the answer. Is is clean? Do they speak English well? What floor is women's medicine on? And what about digestive diseases (very important place living in Thailand), or the wellness center? How is the ER?

I've spent the past week in and out of the hospital and quite a place it is. I've experienced an abundance of its services, in both the new wing and the old wing, though an ordinary Bangkokian probably wouldn't know the difference, I know. Don't worry, I'm fine and all is well...now. I'm usually not this public about my health, but I feel that I must explain my absence and lack of responsiveness to my friends and family, but I'd also like to blog about the experience because it was very revealing. I'll start from the beginning.

Upon returning home from Europe, Thailand just seemed so happy to have me. First, I collapsed on the subway--either from exhaustion or dehydration or maybe just not eating enough? I was taken to the first-aid room by a very kind woman, who also bought me an orange juice from a local vendor, and awoken with Thai sniffing balms--they love them here. A woman rubbed my temples with the balm to calm me, and gave me juice and a Thai cure-all medicine. I was so touched about how concerned all the women were, hoping that I was okay. I don't think anyone anywhere in the US would be this concerned and caring to a stranger. I tried to pay the woman for the juice, or the skytrain workers for the balms and medicine, but they all refused. That's not the Thai way.

Three days later, I fell into a sewer. I was in a food market waiting for Kate to get her bubble tea when I walked over it and fell in. The sewer gave and I hurt my shin--a scrape and a bone bruise on my shin that still hurts. Just as I yelled out in pain how I hated Thailand--poor sidewalks and infrastructure here do bother me--a crowd of vendors, security guards and strangers from the market rushed over to help me, it was quite a scene. A girl gave me band-aids for my cuts, a guard brought out some antibacterial spays, and a woman even offered me a beer; I kindly declined and explained I had to go back to work. I was overwhelmed again, by the number of people who wanted to help me, and who refused to let me give them something for it--to pay the girl, who was clearly very poor, for the band-aids, for example. I wanted to take back the thing I said about hating Thailand as I was falling in, crying in pain. I love Thailand, and I loved the people.

But I digress, on to the hospital. After coming back from Bali when Christina left, I got sick. Very sick. My health certainly seems to be off this month. I went out to lunch with my office at a Vietnamese restaurant and four hours later, I was uncontrollably vomiting. I was in so much pain and I tried to go home. Luckily, the traffic in Bangkok worked in my favor, for once, and the cabbie refused to take me because of the traffic. So, I got out of the cab, barely able to stand up, and right in front of the US Ambassador's gorgeous house complex (it has a moat), I vomited. And I kept vomiting and people were staring. I knew I had to get back to my office building, across the street to get into the bathroom. I rushed to the bathroom, where I could be sick in peace, oxymoron, I know, until I passed out on the floor.

Soon after, a Thai woman who worked at Au Bon Pain right on the ground floor of our office building came in and found me, tried to wake me with her sniffers, and went to get help. I was in so much pain, I could not move. She brought in a security guard, tried to get me to go to the hospital, but I thought I just had a bad bout of food poisoning (episode 5 in 4 months!) so I didn't want to go. Eventually she got me up, took me to a back couch in ABP, and let me rest, gave me a plastic bag for emergencies and came in every 5 minutes or so to check on me.

It soon became apparent that I needed to go to the hospital, so Amelia (my roommate), came to pick me up and bring me to the hospital. She was amazing and talked to the doctors, since I clearly couldn't. I was taken into the ER in a wheelchair from the taxi and serviced immediately--no wait, nothing. I was treated by a nurse and doctor quickly, who told me I needed an IV and needed to stay overnight. I was given a chart to select my room--they give you different options with corresponding prices. Did I want a room to myself for 6,000B a night? Or to share a room for 3,000B? Or a four bed room, or a six bed room? It was as if I was checking into a medical hotel.

I was taken to my room and my misery began. I developed a fever. My IV swelled my entire wrist and hand. I was woken up every two hours for my temperature and blood pressure. But, I was given pain medication, which it didn't work incredibly well, and the service was great. And I had an all-in-one remote was attached to my bed: it controlled the bed, the TV, the lights and called the nurses. Basically, my body continued to leak for about 24 hours.

When I finally left the hospital--I begged to be discharged early, even though the doctor wanted me to stay another day and night--I was weak and worn and had no energy. I couldn't sit up without being dizzy and I could barely eat. I've never felt so drained and lifeless before, ever. But, I began on my road to recovery, with my 3 medicines, electrolyte packets and restricted diet. They were still trying to figure out what caused my severe episode, but would have an answer shortly.

A few days later, just as I was able to walk and leave my apartment and eat simple foods, I started to feel pain again. I called my doctor and it turned out that I didn't have a parasite or a bacterial infection--I had nothing at all, according to the tests he did. I had to come in and see my doctor.

I went back to the hospital and waited. The digestive diseases center was filled exclusively with Arab people--women in burqas and men in traditional or conservative wear. In my deranged state, I started to wonder if Arab people had bad particularly bad stomachs and if I was in fact part Arab. This clearly wasn't the case, but does speak to the hospital's main demographic, as I've mentioned before--wealthy oil men and their families who come from the Middle East to Bumrungrad, the best hospital in Thailand for elite treatment.

Indeed, the care is superb. I like my doctor here better than my gastroenterologist in NY. He's incredibly smart and thorough, and knows his stuff. When I came in and he felt around for my pain, he was able to identify specific areas where he thought my problems were, and suggested I take the next steps to determine my illness.

Needless to say, I had two very unpleasant procedures that I won't discuss here. The procedures themselves weren't unpleasant since I was asleep under local anesthesia, but the preparation and after-effects were quite awful. But, they were the right thing to do and did lead to a diagnosis and treatment--I'm fine, nothing serious, everything I have is controllable and can be monitored--and I am much, much happier now.

But, these rocky experiences this month showed me a lot about the Thai people and have really made me love Thailand, oddly, even though I seem to be allergic to it. They've also made me feel lucky because as bad as this was for me, I know that not only was I able to afford top treatment, but also I know that some people here go untreated and would experience worse in terms of their health and wellness. I'm reminded of this everyday on the street when I see blind people singing for money, or burn victims begging, or people with terrible deformities living on the street. I'm also reminded of this through my work for "The Vagina Monologues" here, when visiting our local partners and the women they help--seeing women who have been beaten or raped--I know that what I experienced, though jarring, especially in a place far away from home, cannot even compare to what some of the people face here.

I recognize that this seems to be a bit of a tangent and doesn't seem to relate, but my experiences this past month have made me value my own health, something I take for granted, and my situation in life, with access to health care and help, something that many do not have. I've come out of this rocky month with a renewed sense of purpose here in Thailand, and hope that I can give back to the community that has so willingly helped me when I needed it. Will keep you posted on how I do...

Something Strange about Singapore...

I went to Singapore about a month ago, and the place still irks me. When I arrived, my immigration and customs experience couldn't have gone more smoothly, but right after I stepped past the customs booth, I saw a soldier carrying a huge machine gun (it looked like one, though it was probably not). My friend Jay met me at the airport and took me to his apartment in a cab as he started to explain the city to me, the good and the bad--there is a very small gap between the rich and the poor (there are no bums in Singapore, god forbid!), prostitution is legal and registered, most of the housing is government-owned and each building upholds racial quotas to ensure mixing...the list goes on.

As we were driving along the highway, I noticed the perfectly manicured trees and felt like I was in some sort of jungle oasis, but in a city. We passed the Singapore skyline, which is lovely, and headed toward's Jay's apartment--which isn't government owned, but owned by the ministry of education since he is a teacher. After settling in a bit, we went down to Clarke Quay-- the harbor area where the major clubs, restaurants and bars are located, there's even a bungy-esque adventure contraption--for dinner, drinks and a fun night out.

Partial view of the Skyline and the Durian building

Perfect streets

Out in Singapore was also quite the experience. The expat community is older and the clubs are filled with a lot more Caucasian people, unlike Thailand. The clubs also tried to be a little glitzier and more exclusive than some of the ones in Bangkok. I guess this fits in with the whole intensely materialistic culture that reigns in Singapore. Like Bangkok, Singapore has tons, and tons, and TONS of malls, but shopping in Singapore seems to be a more ritualized activity than in Bangkok.

The next day, Saturday, Jay took me downtown to see some of the major sights--the government buildings, the Durian building and the Merlion fountain--definitely one of my faves--the Raffles Hotel, the colonial-era hotel famous for their Singapore Slings. We also went to the Fullerton, a 6-star hotel--to be honest, the Raffles, a lowly 5-star hotel, seemed just as nice to me, though the Fullerton was definitely more modern.

Jay, Kate and the Merlion

The Raffles Hotel

Then we continued on in the heat to the air-conditioned malls of Orchard street where I experienced Singaporean shopping and style. I got a great pair of jeans on sale which I love. It's funny, even though these jeans fit me, they were the largest size this store offered, a size 28. In the US, jeans run usually size 24-32, with most women falling between a 27 and a 30. And, amusingly, the jeans I bought, an American brand, were considered to run large, whereas in the US, this brand is considered to run small, as the brand is called "Rich and Skinny." Oh Asia.

After shopping, we returned to Jay's apartment for a nap and to get ready for another night out. We first went to Chinatown to see the famous temple with the Golden Buddha Tooth, had Foot massages, and then headed to dinner at an Indian-Asian fusion restaurant, just on the outskirts. Chinatown was okay, but it didn't feel incredibly authentic or special, I prefer the Chinatown in SF or NY. We continued our night at a bar called Helipad, which was an interesting concept-bar overlooking Clarke Quay and the bungy-like contraption.

Lights at night in Chinatown

The next day we headed to the Zoo, which was by far, my favorite thing in Singapore. The animals were great and the surroundings, while perfectly manicured in true Singapore-style, were open-air and natural for the animals. For the remainder of the day, we went to Little India and the Little Arabia. There was a cool market in Little India, but the intense incense everywhere made it impossible for me to walk around outside for long without sneezing. We then headed to Little Arabia, which was my favorite of the "Little" ethnic neighborhoods. The mosque was very pretty and there was an alley of very hipster boutiques and restaurants made for lounging and hookah reveling; the mosque was also quite pretty.

Monkeys at the zoo

Artwork on a temple in Little India

Flower offerings and incense in Little India

Hipster hangout in Little Arabia

Mosque in Little Arabia

What's strange about all the ehtnic neighborhoods is that they're fairly interchangeable with each other, you just have to change the writing on the signs from Chinese, to Tamil to Arabic--the Singaporean government tries to celebrate the diversity of it's population by delineating these spaces as "Indian" or "Chinese," and uses the same flags and markings to mark them. Little Arabia did have a more distinct personality--they each had distinct personalities, but there was still a common thread.

Overall, here are my thoughts on Singapore:

• It's a strange place, but I could never figure out how to articulate why it's so odd. Everything is perfect and well-run--the sidewalks, subways, signage--but something is off. Perhaps it's because everything is too forced. Just like Singapore tries to highlight it's diversity by highlighting cultural differences, you miss the point of diversity in the first place, and it all starts to look the same.

• The government sounds.....I probably shouldn't say. There are serial numbers on doctors notes, which you need to get a sick day. There is intense censorship. No gum....but prostitution is legal?

• There is some great architecture in Singapore, there's even a building that looks like the Gotham Building from Bathman. And hey, it all looks new. That's because the Singapore government tears down buildings more than 20 years old....

• For a city that's remarkably clean, I've never had worse environmental allergies in my life, I could not stop sneezing. And, for a city that tries to sterilize everything and gives grades to each of its restaurants--even street food vendors, which are kept off the streets and put in centers called "hawker centers," have grades--I somehow contracted a terrible bout of food poisoning that hit me on the plane home....
  

That's all I've got. I'm glad I went and experienced the oddities for myself....