Catching up--December, January

The last two months have been hectic to say the least. I didn't even get to expound upon a big Thai holiday back in the end of November, Loy Krathong, the Theravada Buddhist day of repentance where Thais take "Krathongs," small votives with flowers, incense and sometimes foods, and set them out to sail on the Chao Praya River as an act of repenting for their sins and starting afresh. So, here goes my best effort to catch up on my travel and cultural reports--I'll be uploading pictures in the next few days that were taken from my new digital SLR camera, my Christmas present from the States!

What I've been doing with my time....

First off, my efforts to organize the Bangkok V-Day campaign, both directing and producing the show, "The Vagina Monologues," has taken up the majority of my time in the past few months. My co-producer, Chris, decided to go back to the States, leaving me to head up the campaign alone. To make sure the production didn't fall apart, I recruited a team to run all aspects of the production--outreach and local partnerships, PR and marketing (Thai and English), merchandise, University campaigns and post-performance events, and events and fundraising. As a production team, we selected a venue (we looked at about 7 in total), solidified our charity (Emergency Home, see vdaybkk.blogspot.com), set up 4 fundraising events: 1 networking party, 1 happy hour, 1 club party and 1 VIP fundraising dinner; got a ticket vendor (like ticketmaster) to take care of ticket sales; recruited local celebrities and supporters; manufactured all of our merchandise; designed all of our print material; applied for gender-based violence grants and solicited for corporate sponsorship, and many other things. Thankfully, after about two months of hard work, the production is on track and things are progressing nicely. All of the events should be a success (we had our first one last week) especially our VIP dinner which will include an auction with really spectacular items, including two piece of art from two of Thailand's most prestigious artists. Tickets are on sale and the PR has been great--our show will be featured on radio, in magazines and on TV this month and next, and things are going along smoothly.

Then, I also had to make sure the production was on track, attending rehearsals about 3-4 times a week this month and next (Feb), and getting the production details in order--thankfully, I have a phenomenal stage manager, Eff, who's been pulling a large amount of the actual production weight, getting all the technical parts of the show set up, checking over the Thai scrip to finalize the translations, organizing costume fittings with our costume designer, Marisa Baratelli, a lovely designer who makes clothes for women using only Thai silk--she will be donating all of the costumes. We had fittings this past Sunday and they look wonderful. So, the show should be a hit and we have about a month left to finalize everything and make all of the monologues even stronger. So, as you can all see, this has been the major part of my time.

Borneo, Bangkok and Luang Prabang: my mom and Mark

Next, on to other topics. My mom and Mark came to visit for Christmas and New Years and we had a wonderful time--it was so great to see them both in my new home environment, though I must admit, it made me miss them and all my friends, family and life back in the US a lot. We started off the trip in Luang Prabang, Laos, in the Mekong Delta. Luang Prabang was magical, and one of my favorite places I've been to in Asia so far--the mountains and the river made for a gorgeous natural setting, the French and French-Asian fusion food was absolutely delicious, the town was quaint and relaxed, the people were lovely,our hotel was adorable and everything we did was just perfect.

We took a long-tail boat up the river to the Pak Ou caves, which are filled with Buddhas and small shires. The trip up the river was very slow and the only unpleasant thing was the weather--it rained (even though it's not rainy season) and it was very cold. We rode elephants through the forest and got to feed them afterwards--they eat bananas without taking the peel off! I started to peel a banana when the elephant caretaker told me I could feed them with the peels on--the elephant truck deftly took the banana from my hand, as if it were a hand. We explored the many temples in the town--some of the artwork and glass mosaics were incredible. The colors were still vibrant and intact too. We enjoyed the Laotian massages and frequented the night market, which had many beautiful handy crafts, including paintings on natural paper.

Luang Prabang is a very holy city and you can see monks everywhere. Many of the paintings by the local artists featured monks as their subjects--all of them barefoot, dresses in yellow robes, some carrying umbrellas to guard from the sun. One morning, I woke up at 5AM to give alms to the monks. This consisted of going into town and sitting on the ground, on a lower level than the monks, and giving them sticky rice in their begging bowl. The monk have to use all of the alms they get and ration it out during the day. Giving alms though, isn't as easy as it sounds. The monks move at a very rapid pace, and sorting out the sticky rice in small handfuls to put in each monk's bowl is more challenging than it seems when they move so fast. There were some I wasn't quick enough to get, and then I would feel bad. I had to move so fast that I ended up giving much bigger chunks of rice and ran out of rice at the end...I'm sure the monks were fine though.

After three lovely days in Luang Prabang, we headed back to Bangkok where I could show off my new home. I took my mom to see Wat Pho and Wat Arun, my favorite wat in Bangkok. We took the river boat up so she could experience that. I was amazed how much she loved the river. She loved it so much that later, we even did a klong (canal) tour--Mark loved this too. It's funny, most people complain about the river and the klongs in Bangkok--how dirty and smelly they are, but they loved it, so this made me happy. I also showed them Siam and the vast sea of malls; the BTS--it's funny, they both love the subway in NY but hated the BTS because of all the stairs! They also didn't really understand the traffic problem....

On their second day in Bangkok, my mom and Mark came to my humble abode and saw my apartment for the first time (I have yet to post photos of it, I know, I'm on it). I also took them to my office, my favorite Thai restaurant, Kalaprapruek (pronounced "gal-a-pra-prook") and introduced them to some of my good friends and co-workers. It was fun for me to get to introduce them to people I tell them about, for them to put a face to a name. It was also fun to see them devour Thai food. The constant refrain of the two days in Bangkok were, "We can't find this kind of Thai food in New York! It's never this good!" Dinner was at another traditional Thai restaurant, of course--they couldn't get enough of it. Their last meal before they left to go home (one day stop over after their private vacation to Krabi) was also at a lovely traditional Thai restaurant with a gorgeous garden.

After two whirlwind days in Bangkok, we all set off for the last stop on my trip with them, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, in Borneo (they still had Krabi after). I was incredibly excited to go to Kota Kinabalu, but also nervous that it wouldn't live up to its expectations after Laos and Bangkok. I was expecting Borneo to be a mixture of things--rain forest meets ocean; exotic flora and fauna and opportunities for snorkeling, rain forest walks, relaxation and warm weather, kind of like northern Australia. It wasn't exactly like this, but it was still a fun time. The resort we stayed at was lovely, but it did have a very resort-y feel and was very big.

The island itself wasn't tropical--it was mountainous and hilly and filled with forests, not tropical rain forest; it was very intact though and not cut down and depressing like parts of Bali. We spent our New Years at the resort, but got to spend NYC New Years, 13 hours behind, on Mount Kinabalu, the 3rd tallest mountain in SE Asia. We also did get to do a canopy walk, but it certainly was not for the faint of heart. The hike up to the canopy was long and steep and misty; the canopy itself didn't feel so sturdy and it felt like I was walking on a tightrope suspended in a forest.

We also flew to Sandakahn, another part of Sabah, to see the orangutans and monkeys at the Sepilok Reserve and Rehabilitation Center. All of the orangutans there have been rescued, either from homes as pets or animals for show, and brought there to try and re-learn their natural survival instincts. The monkeys and orangutans were spectacular--they came right up to you and would stand so close, even to touch you. Some of the monkeys were a bit frightening and loud, others were really sweet and gentle, scared of us--these were mainly the baby orangutans. I'd never seen wildlife in this kind of setting before, so open and in their home (their natural habitat which is preserved), as opposed to at a zoo; it was a fun time and I got some fantastic photos. Other than that, we simply relaxed by the pool, read, dipped our toes in the South China Sea, something not many can say they've done; it was surprisingly warm with a strong undertow! It was a great trip, the only downside though was getting there--no direct flight so we had to have a four-hour layover in the KL airport, which is perhaps the worst airport I've seen.

After Borneo, my mom and Mark continued on to Krabi, one of the most famous beaches in Thailand, it's "jewel." They had a wonderful time filled with limestone craters, picturesque sunsets, blue waters and quiet beaches, and luxury five-star accommodations. I'm glad they had a chance to relax since the rest of the trip was very jam-packed and a bit hectic. When they came back to Bangkok for their last night, I got to see pictures from their trip, and show them a few more of my Bangkok favorites--the night market, Suan Lum Night Bazaar and then off to one last Thai meal. Saying goodbye was hard, but I only have a little over 5 months left--it's all gone by so quickly!

"The North:" Pre-Christmas trip to Chiang Rai, Thailand

I should back-track to highlight one of my other trips I took before my mom and Mark visited, my trip up to Chiang Rai, Thailand to visit my friend Theresa. This was another one of my favorite, memorable trips. I was incredibly stressed about all the V-day events things to do, but my visit to chilly northern Thailand was just what I needed to de-stress me. Chiang Rai is an adorable town that's not too developed and it was great to see some of the northern highlights with Theresa.

In Chiang Rai town, I saw some temples, the day market that sells just about everything and also the night market, where I bought a gorgeous hill tribe embroidered bag. After a day of exploring the city, Theresa took me back to her apartment and brought me to her friend Rachel's house, and when I say a house, it really was an incredible, 3-bedroom house, with a full kitchen and everything! It felt so nice and homey, and it cost a fraction of price of my entire 2-bedroom apartment in Bangkok.

My favorite part about my night at Rachel's house was that Rachel and Theresa were holding a Holiday Party for their students, so I got to meet them and talk to them. Most of the PiA posts are teaching posts, but mine isn't so my only Thai friends are those I meet through work or V-day, so not students. It was really interesting to get a glimpse into what they learn about, what they are interested in, to hear about their experiences. I think this was one of my favorite parts of my trip to Chiang Rai and I learned a lot from them. Some were a bit shy, but others were chatty and interested in me too, and Christmas and US traditions. It was nice to see this other side of an expat experience in Thailand, as a teacher.

On Saturday, we journeyed outside of town, first to Doi Tung, the agricultural and alternative livelihoods project by the Princess Mother's Royal Foundation, Mae Fah Luang, to combat opium production--it is famous in Thailand and has been used as a template by the UN for combating drug production and poverty. At Doi Tung, I got to visit the Princess Mother's house, a Swiss-style chalet with Thai astrology mixed in on the ceilings, and her royal gardens, which were in peak season in December after just blooming.

After some time in the gardens, Theresa and I continued in our rented songtaew on our hot spots of northern Thailand tour to Mae Sai, the town on the border of Burma (Myanmar). Mae Sai is a town made for shopping--jewelry, trinkets, clothing, electronics--it's overwhelming. I did buy a stunning, Thai-style ruby ring made from high quality Burmese rubies; I just hope that the rubies aren't "blood rubies" so to speak. The man who sold me my ring also gave me some phone bling, aka, a phone charm to hang on my cell phone. I feel very Thai with it now. Also at Mae Sai, I stood at the northern-most point of Thailand, saw over to the other side of the border. You can cross the border into Burma for 500B to shop to your heart's content--apparently the Burmese town is loaded with DVDs, CDs, bags, you name it. Theresa and I didn't journey over the boarder, but I am trying to plan a trip to actually journey into Burma, but that is for another time

The last stop on our tour was the "Golden Triangle," the point at which Laos, Burma and Thailand all meet. I thought this would be a pretty cool sight as I'm into borders, but it was a bit of a let down; there was a very interesting gold Buddha though. After the Golden Triangle, we continued home with our goods in tow, ready for a good meal and for some night market shopping.

On my last day in Chiang Rai, Theresa and I met up with Rachel to see the White Temple, a newly constructed temple that is entirely white with mirror pieces as mosaics. Inside the temple is a very political and controversial wall painting. The artist got the idea to build the temple from a dream he had and donated it to the people of Chiang Rai, financing it all on his own. It's quite a sight, and very different from any of the old Thai temples, in either the Siam or Khmer styles. After the white temple, we headed into one of the national parks for a short hike to a waterfall. The air was so fresh and crisp and it was really nice to be back in nature again.

The thing we were planning to do while I was in Chiang Rai was to visit and ostrich farm where visitors, for just 60B (less than $2) can ride an ostrich while wearing a SWAT vest!! Theresa had done it before and when I heard about it, I desperately wanted to ride one--who rides ostriches?! After driving and searching for the farm for over two hours, we decided to give up, head to Rachel's, bake some cookies, and curl up to watch The Tudors and later a movie. All in all, the weekend was just what I needed, and got me rested and ready for my big trip with my parents.

Coming up...

I think that that, in short, takes care of the past two months. In a few days, I'm expecting visitors--first a good friend from Princeton who will be passing through for two days, then my friend and little Kappa sister, Davion, will be in Bangkok for about 10 days (trip to Ayutthaya and Samet!) and then my friend and and big Kappa sister, Julia, will be hitting BKK to start off her grand Asia tour and we'll journey down to Khao Lak together for some R&R before V-day crunch time sets in.

Pictures coming soon!

A