Thai Style Cookin'

This weekend was full of fun learning experiences for me. I had a chance to cook with the Thais, and we got to eat everything we made...lots of veggies, and lots of sugar!

I learned how to make Thai Rotis, also called "Banana Pancakes" by the foreigners. I'm not sure yet how to make the dough balls, but they pour oil on a table and spread the balls out with their palms. Then, with one hand over and the other under, they throw the disk on the table, stretching it out until it's quite thin. It's a challenge to avoid putting holes in the thin dough...I'm not the best at it.

Then, they stretch the dough over hot oil on a flat pan and crack an egg in the middle. You swirl the egg with a spoon and then fold the edges of the dough over the top using your fingers. It's not a good idea to stick your fingers into a pan with burning oil, but they all do it, and no one seems to hurt themselves. Not yet, anyway :-)
They coat it with sweetened condensed milk and sugar, then wrap it in paper to go! You can do many combinations, though - I'm not as big a fan of the egg version. Derek and I like ours with mango or Nutella inside.

Then, a former employee of Step Ahead taught Bailey and I how to cook a traditional Thai dish, called Phad Pak Ruum Gai. The recipe is below if you want to try it yourself. Enjoy!

Phad Pak Ruum Gai

You'll need:
Snow Peas              Mushrooms
Carrots                   Onion
Cauliflower              2+ Garlic Cloves
Baby Corn              3 Chicken Breasts
Tomato                   Oyster Sauce

Wash all vegetables. Slice peas at a diagonal and pull off the ends/strings. Peel carrots and make the edges "fancy" by slicing along the length of the carrot and chipping out small sections along those lines. Chop cauliflower up and use the leaves too (rip into pieces). Chunk tomato and quarter mushrooms. Chop onion into big vertical slices. Peel garlic and press under a knife, chop. Wash and slice chicken breasts into short strips.

In a wok, heat vegetable oil. Add garlic, then add chicken, and some water. Add Thai oyster sauce (found in specialty food stores) and some soy sauce and let chicken cook fully. Throw in a pinch of salt. Add the carrots, cauliflower and corn. Allow to cook for a few minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables.

Serves 3. Serve with rice and top with a fried egg.

A Bug's Life

As the rainy season picks up here in southern Thailand, the jungles have been sending all kinds of crawling and flying menaces our way. Let's review the psychotic insects that we interact with daily...in approximate order of irritation.

Gnats

Next to Al Qaeda these are probably my least favorite group of anything. Pure evil incarnate, their goal in life, their sole purpose of existing within their pathetic, miserable existence, is to fly around right in front of your face, wherever you are and wherever you go. Caribou in the Alaskan tundra can be driven crazy by the hordes of mosquitoes that harass them as they migrate. That sounds like a vacation. We don't know where they come from- they must get in as we go to our outside bathroom. That, or they spontaneously emerge from  some invisible evil. We hate them, and rejoice whenever one meets death at our own hands.

Mosquitoes

I have become quite adept at the art of killing mosquitoes, and let me tell you, it has not been for want of practice. The ubiquitous, blood-sucking menace is most frequently encountered in our bathroom and it's here that I often have to resort to small arms fire and hand-to-hand techniques to take them down. Tragically, one may find its way into our bedroom, often just as we're watching a tv show before falling asleep. Just late enough to let us know that it will be flying around waiting to strike. This is unacceptable, and I will hunt them down with extreme prejudice and use whatever force necessary. The Terminator from the first movie is apathetic about whether or not Sarah Conner lives by comparison to how badly I wish to kill every mosquito that crosses our path. One night, when Kendra and Bailey were in Chang Mai, one of them had the audacity to fly by me as I rested before bed. I spent the next 25 minutes straight hunting him down. Over time I've learned their habits, and knew to seek it out amongst our clothes, backpacks, or near our shoes. Finally, during the 4th encounter, I maneuvered it near the wall and struck! My right palm met the wall with such force that I'd swear to you part of that mosquito is still embedded in it. Justice... was served.


Big/Small, Red/Black, Fast/Slow Ants

They're everywhere. They're also worthy of our respect, as, in addition to Ian, they're the only organism I've encountered that can lift almost 50 times their body weight. But that doesn't change the fact that they're everywhere. There are probably 14,000 within 5 feet of me right now. When we ate at an outdoor restaurant in Singapore, I suddenly had the revelation as to what it was that kept feeling as though it were missing. Ants. Ants were missing. It was wonderful to suddenly be without their previously constant presence in my life, but then we returned to southern Thailand. Here they run along every plant, every chair, along the walls in the bathroom and the bedroom. If you even look at an open space the wrong way an ant will show up there. Kendra has slaughtered legions, yet, like the hydra of Greek mythology, whenever you kill one, two more will show up in its place. They can't be stopped. 

Cockroaches

The back room on the bottom floor of the center is an enclosed area that's technically outside. It's where we do the dishes and our laundry. It's also the principal point of infiltration of Kendra's greatest nemesis- the cockroach. When  we first learned of their presence, Kendra immediately besought me to bring death upon them, to lay waste to their armies and return to her taped recordings of the lamentation of their women. But I was disinclined to crush a relatively larger organism, especially one so renown for its capacity to survive hardship, and left it up to her to fight the good fight. That is, until one day when I saw one running about in the 3/4'' gap beneath our dishes on a drying rack. They drew first blood, not me, and I soon began leading death raids into our back room at night. Taking point, I'd flip the light switch, waiting out the delay for the light to turn on- then we'd rush in, shoes in hand, making leaps and desperate strikes to defeat our foes. Kendra would marvel at the prowess she claimed that I had in the discipline, possibly citing my experience in the Israeli fight system. I can only chalk it up to two rules: never show fear and always believe in yourself. Anything's possible.

Huge Flying Beetles

If you're looking for a way to discount Darwin's theory of evolution, look no further than these near golf-ball sized flying beetles. A bumbling testament to ineptitude, the darn things can hardly go an inch without idiotically bumping into something, knocking themselves silly or trapping themselves rolling about on their backs. They're the most ridiculously pathetic creature I've seen, and after initial attempts to set them about on their way or assist them, I've now given them over to their own disability to survive. Adding to the factors stacked against them, they're apparently a local delicacy around here and people eat tons of them. How they've lasted as a species for longer than 5 minutes is beyond me.

Giant Spiders

We've written about these before, but just like the omnipresent threat of terrorism, it's worth staying on one's guard. Just because you can't currently see a giant golden orb web spider doesn't mean one's not after you. If you can see a golden orb web spider, it can see you. If you can't see one, you are seconds away from death.

Bird-Sized Bees

On my first run of my first day here in Thailand, I was thrilled to see a large, jet-black hummingbird flying about and tried to tail  it to get a picture. Shockingly, I would soon learn that it was in fact a giant bee and possibly on of the horseman of the apocalypse. Modern science would have us believe that these are gentle giants, merely flying about in an absent-minded search for nectar. That's just what the bees want you to believe. Reinforce your doors, board your windows, and arm yourself with a tennis racket or a shotgun- these bees are here to stay and I'm not going to be the one to tell them to move.

Stick Bugs

One night at our beloved jungle restaurant (the one that sits on stilts up in the tropical canopy on a cliff-side overlooking the Andaman Sea), we were having a lovely dinner. It was during this time that another farang patron advised Kendra that she had a ~9in stick bug walking about on her back. To her credit, Kendra remained quite calm and I hopped up to inspect our new visitor. I had stick bugs in a terrarium growing up, so I was eager to meet the not-so-little fellow. The walking stick looked like exactly that, and he continued his wave-like walking motion, emulating the movement of a twig in the breeze. To his credit, he was doing an excellent job, but unlike most bird species, as a human I have acquired the unique knowledge that actual sticks are in fact incapable of walking on their own- so I saw right through his disguise. I reached out to gently grab him to carry him away, but upon contact he instantly froze, in another brilliant defense mechanism, and fell without injury to the boards below. He then made his escape.

Walk on, stick bug, walk on.

Praying Mantis

Walking out from our room onto our back patio is like a bug slot machine and you never know what you're going to get. One night recently, I happened to hit the jackpot and come upon a wayward praying mantis. Previously, I'd thought of praying mantis' in an adversarial fashion- pictures of them feeding on the geckos that I think of so fondly made me think of them as the enemy. But as I crouched down to look at the 4 inch tall insect, the strangest thing happened- it looked back at me. Rather than fly or crawl about like a thoughtless plant capable of movement, as every other insect I've ever seen has done, this mantis looked as though it were contemplating me. It wasn't even apparently afraid and, unless I'm anthropomorphizing here, it seemed as though it was curious. As I went to pick it up from behind, to help it out of being somewhat trapped in our patio area, it boldly whirled around with its arms to fend me off, then flew to the other side of the porch. But when I walked over and crouched down again, this time extending my open hand out at arms length for it to potentially walk up on, it took me up on my offer and walked aboard. I then lifted the mantis and, after a final look, it flew away. I was quite impressed by my praying mantis encounter and now think quite highly of his/her kind.

There are many more insects here, from dragonflies to incredibly annoying moths and ants that fly about losing their wings and touching everything, to giant, highly venomous centipedes (~1 foot long) that terrorize Thailand. Grasshoppers, flying bugs, mealworms - all of these and more have become snacks for the locals who cook them in spices. The insects (and for those nerdier than me reading this, yes I know that arachnids aren't insects) are just one part of our very multi-faceted part of Thailand and certainly add to the experience... except for the gnats and mosquitoes. May they all burn in Hell.

Tinglish = Thai English

Derek and I have been consistently teaching classes since we arrived back in February, and realized today that we have written nothing about our classes at all! So, here's a synopsis of how our classes look, what we struggle with, and what we're looking forward to in the months to come.

In February, we were told that we would start classes a week after we arrived, but the first Monday of the month came, and as we prepared to spend the day exploring Khao Lak, we were asked to teach. We had no training and didn't know the level of English that the girls knew, and to top it off, we learned that we would be teaching in 15 minutes - for TWO HOURS. We tagged teamed the first day with our two students and just a week later, I was pulled out to teach a lower level with all new students. Our classes go for two hours M-Th, and last 12 days. The students are graded on attendance, homework completion, essays and conversations, which they memorize. Most of our students are adults, ages 15 to 50.

Each day, the students arrive unbelievably early and sit and wait, sometimes for a half hour, for us to start class. We grade their homework (a list of English vocabulary words used in sentences) and teach everyone how to avoid the common mistakes they've made - ie, "I am a look." No, you cannot BE a "look"...look is a verb, it's something you do. Or this one: "He cut the rope clean through" (word was clean) - there is NO WAY you wrote this yourself, because when I told you what "clean" meant, I said it was used for scrubbing the floor or washing dishes, and so your sentence is too complex to be yours. "Kor yanlope noi ka (give me the eraser) and do it again." Or this: "To walk the streets." Who walks the streets? To walk the streets for what? "To walk" is the verb, but this gives me no information. Write you or I, and we'll call it good. Some sentences I just gape at, because I have no idea how to even begin fixing them, or have no idea what they mean. It looks like their dictionary exploded all over the page, and they grin with pride. Sigh! Moving on...

We skip over the part where you teach them an English song, because no one wants to do that, and these are adults, who would probably rather not sing Jingle Bells, especially when it never snows and Christmas is no big deal. We read excerpts from the Bible - they read the Thai next to the passage, then we read slowly in English, and then they read after us, being interrupted to correct their pronunciation. The most common mistakes are that they drop their endings, as the Thai language is quite lazy - they don't pronounce the "s", "k", etc. Then, they often replace "l" with "r" sounds, and vice versa (in Thai, this practice is common and acceptable). The poor things - we can hardly explain why "enough" is pronounced "enuf" or why "caution" is pronounced "caushun", because even we don't know why that is. English, though important, is "ting tong" (crazy), I tell them.

We discuss the passage which mostly consists of my rehashing the story in child-like cartoon characters on the white board and pointing specifically to the verse where the answer can be found. Then, we move on to grammar and sentence structure. Since I haven't actually "learned" this information more recently than 7th grade, it is sometimes difficult to explain why things must be the way they are. Both Derek and I struggle to balance the varying levels of English speakers in our classes. We have to pull some along and hold some back so that we can move at the same pace, but even within levels designated 1 and 2, we deal with variability that can be frustrating for the students and for us. But, in the end, we all get there!

Then, we have them do a writing assignment - something very simple, like "what you did this weekend" or "tell us about your family." This is a painful portion sometimes because after you explain that they need to choose 1 topic from the 4 options and write 5 very basic sentences, they all nod and tell you that they understand. But they don't. One will start writing about something entirely off topic while another flips through their dictionary for five minutes and never writes anything down. Eventually, you can get them to understand what you want, but not without giving a complete example of your own, which must be followed by a warning that they must create their own and not simply copy down what you've written. Thai students tend to be perfectionists, in a sense. They don't want to speak up unless they know exactly the correct thing to say. They don't want to write it down unless you've already designated it a proper sentence. Derek's class did a word scramble once where they were asked to pull English words out of other English words (glare - they write "large"), but Derek left our teaching book open to where I had previously written down those I had found ("age") and they saw this and erased their own words and wrote down mine. Both were right, and Derek told them that the words they had found were also correct, but erase they did, and my words were copied over their innovation.

We do a lot of pronunciation practice, and I think this is something that our students believe to be very helpful.  Hearing a native speaker speak the English words cleans up the way they read aloud and create their own verbal sentences, which we really see a difference in after a few days. They laugh at the way we stick out our tongues to show them the "th" sound, which they never use in Thai. We repeat over and over the "v" and "x" sound, and explain that "six" (6) is right and "sick" is not...because they mean entirely different things. Sometimes for no reason, they'll stick an "s" sound in the middle of a sentence, and I have to stop them and ask them to point out the "s", which they never can find, to get them to correct it.

We love our students in spite of the minor frustrations of the language barrier and find our time with them to be very rewarding. They are so patient and grateful for the lessons and are always eager to press on. So far, we have each taught two level 1 classes and one level 2 class, separately. I also taught a children's class in April for kids ages 8-12 where I taught parts of the body, how to tell time, names of animals and foods, and how to take care of yourself. We sang, played our fair share of Simon Says, made clay animals and colored many lovely Bible pictures which now adorn the classroom walls. Derek and I will each teach one more class in June (16 days at 1.5 hours each day), and then we're off to do some traveling, we think, up to Cambodia and maybe Vietnam and Laos. We figure, when you're so close, why not?! But we certainly will miss our students.

A Day with Siam Care: Part 2

"Time to introduce the second family," said Em from the backseat of the Siam Care pickup. I listened intently as she told me their tragic back story. The mother and six year-old daughter are both HIV+, the father was killed in the tsunami, and the grandfather is paralyzed. None of these hardships were evident on their smiling faces, however, as we pulled up to the open-air community center where they were living in a house supplied by the local government.

The mother grabbed us a straw mat and laid it down on the concrete floor, while also bringing over a fan to keep us cool. She then set about conversing with Siam Care about their lives and needs. It was a very casual, friendly environment, and other friends from the close-knit community gathered around as well. The daughter plopped down on Em's lap. She looked perfectly healthy, smiling and energetic as she played with another young girl. Perhaps a little undersized for her age, she'd not yet suffered any ill effects from the virus. Yet, as I told Kendra later, it's still tragically sad seeing such a young girl affected by such a terrible illness.

The mother was kind enough to grab her medications for me to analyze, and had a friendly reply to all of my questions. Her treatment appeared to be a little more comprehensive than the man from earlier, as she had a protease inhibitor, a reverse-transcriptase inhibitor, and a drug that inhibits viral genome production in addition to other supplemental drugs, rather than the simple 'all-in-one' anti-viral pill from earlier. That's part of the problem, Nay would tell me. The information is out there and guidelines exist, but without consistency in how they're enforced or implemented. This too often leaves it up to the idiosyncrasies of the physician in charge of that individuals care, and in this case, the difference between a thoughtful, proactive doctor and an ill-informed, disinterested one could mean years of life for the HIV+ patient. It's a powerful testament to the importance of educating not only the general populace, but the health-care providers who also face this disease.

As I finished looking over the medication, I asked of any ill-effects from taking them. The drug cocktail itself can have some powerful side-effects that compound upon the difficulties of living with HIV. In this case, the mother was suffering from what's called 'lipodystrophy,' where the body's fat deposits are drastically changed in shape. In this case, she had the classic signs of the body fat having drained from her appendages and cheeks and deposited in her abdomen, resulting in an enlarged midsection. It's quite sad to see the physical effects of the illness, especially to someone so kind and welcoming to a complete stranger.

Kindness and hospitality would be a very consistent theme among the families we would visit, as we headed to the last household. Arriving at the woman's house, I was soon told, "You're the first foreigner that's visited her home. She's excited and is going to make us a meal." I was quite honored to receive such a welcome. Papaya salad was prepared in a mortar and pestle, consisting of a unique tree fruit, having a water-chestnut like consistency, mashed together with sugar, garlic, and chilis. Just one chili, I was assured, as my American heritage makes me no match for the level of spice preferred by the Thais.

The woman also went out and bought some sticky rice, pork strips, and sauces to augment the papaya salad, and we all shared the small feast. Though I forewent partaking of the pork, vegetables dipped in the spicy sauce that accompanied it was delicious. Afterwards, Nay and I went back into the house to sit on the floor and discuss the woman's treatment.

When she first learned of her status, she told me as Nay very kindly translated, she thought about hanging herself. But it was her husband that convinced her to fight, for the sake of her life and for their young children. She's currently working as a fisherman, no small task for a woman of her tiny stature. The ocean, especially at this time of the year, can be extremely rough, and just a month ago a friend of theirs had his boat sunk by a collision with another vessel, forcing him to swim to shore. She can't swim, she informed me, but the work is vital to pay for the rent in their small home and for their children's education. To think of how brave she must be to fight such a terrible disease while having to work in such a physically rigorous environment was inspiring.

As we kept talking, she noticed a bead or two of sweat on my forehead and immediately jumped up to adjust the fan slightly further in my direction. It was incredible that someone in such a difficult situation can be so hospitable and considerate. I told her that I would do my best to visit her again when I return to Thailand after medical school, and she promised me that I would always be welcome in her home.

Such an outpouring of kindness was only exceeded by the incredible deluge of rain that greeted us upon returning to Khao Lak. It was an inspiring day to say the least, and I'm extremely grateful to Nay, Ying, and Em for letting me accompany them on the home visits. Please feel free to again check out their website, and I would certainly challenge you to consider supporting their very noble efforts here in Thailand.

A Day with Siam Care: Part 1

Today I was blessed with the opportunity to accompany the Khao Lak Siam Care team on a string of home visits to local families affected by HIV.

Siam Care is a Thai organization with the mission of, "Taking a biblical approach to caring for and supporting disadvantaged and HIV-affected families, individuals, and communities to improve their quality of life." As you can learn from the history section of their excellent website, siamcare.org , Siam Care was developed in response to the dual need for addressing the human casualties of the 1990s Thai economic recession and sudden explosion of HIV. After developing their first center in Bangkok, Siam Care has since expanded into Mukdahan and Phang Nga (Khao Lak), while also increasing their scope of projects beyond those serving HIV/AIDS afflicted individuals to include homecare, prison outreach, women's craft groups, workshops and training programs. 

Nay, Em, and Ying picked me up in the morning and we drove north to Takuapa. A wonderful group of women, they're the staff of the Khao Lak center and I was quite fortunate to have their smiling and gracious company throughout the day. During the short car ride, we introduced ourselves and spoke about the first family we were to visit.

Visiting the families is an important part of the homecare and HIV/AIDS ministries. Not only do the visits provide a social encounter and emotional support for the often ostracized HIV+ individuals, it allows Siam Care to assess their physical, social, emotional, mental, financial, and health needs. As I would learn and experience firsthand throughout the day, Siam Care is an incredible source of support for these individuals. They'll assist with anything from clothing to counseling, and should a health emergency arise, they'll drive to the hospital to provide support and help coordinate their care. I looked forward to seeing this all come to pass in person as we drove to the first stop. 

The pick-up truck pulled up to the curb, and I was excited and somewhat anxious for what awaited me. I dedicated an intensive one month course at Whitworth to the study of HIV/AIDS and retained a very strong interest in it afterward. I was about to face the impact of the disease firsthand, and it was fitting that what awaited me in the house's entryway, partially hidden by the frame of the door, was a 2-year old little girl. 

The little girl, disinclined to part with her pink Disney princess backpack, is not HIV+ but both her mother and father are. The mother was out of the house, but we were able to speak at length with the father about the aforementioned aspects of his life. He seemed to be a very gentle man, and had his eyes trained downwards towards the floor during a majority of the conversation. His 2-year old and 4-year old daughters would periodically interject, alternating between requesting assistance with a snack or testing the hypothesis that his sitting form constituted a jungle gym. Each time he'd gently stroke their hair back, pat their cheek, or make another kind gesture. Currently estranged from his wife, the conversation mostly followed the resulting emotional struggle he was having. 

Nay very kindly translated for me as we spoke with him. She asked me what questions I might have and I inquired about the regimen of medications he was taking. Frequently referred to as a 'drug cocktail,' the medication for HIV is a toxic blend itself and can be both hard on the body and a difficult regimen to follow. My very strong interest in medicine came to the surface as I asked about his treatment and medical history. 

Each day he takes several pills at 7am and 7pm. An Anti-RetroViral (ARV) pill is supplemented by an anti-biotic to  protect against infection and vitamin B. Having lived with HIV for the last 6 years, his principal complications have been a Tuberculosis infection and a struggle with a cytomegalovirus. He has regular access to a physician to monitor his treatment and is able to keep a close eye on his CD4 count through regular testing. Fortunately, his current count is at an only slightly depressed level of 400 (good is 500-1500, bad is anything below 400).

I was quite impressed by the way Thailand is caring for its citizens living with the virus. Once learning of their positive status, individuals can register for monthly government support (500 baht, or, ~$15) and free ARV medication. After extensive research and development when the virus first surfaced, pharmaceutical corporations in India effectively stole the medications that were developed and began producing their own at greatly discounted prices. Thailand then inherited the ability to produce ARVs and is certainly putting that capacity to good use for the betterment of its society, allowing continued access to the absolutely vital treatment. 

In regards to the incidence of HIV in Thailand, 98% of the cases here are derived from sexually-based transmission, and it appears that most families only learn of their positive status upon becoming pregnant and having a blood test performed on the mother. The fetus then has a significant risk of contracting HIV, but quite wonderfully in this instance, neither of the daughters are HIV+. 

Concerning the little girls, I was quite glad to hear that the 4-year old is a recent graduate of the adjacent Step Ahead Child Development Center and the 2-year old is just 3 days into her time there. It was a wonderful and unexpected -though not surprising- affirmation to the extent Step Ahead is also assisting the disadvantaged members of the community. 

After a long, cathartic conversation, our friend bid us farewell and we left the house in search of some lunch before a visit to the next family. Stopping at a nice, air-conditioned restaurant, I elected to try the chicken spaghetti, which I was surprised to learn was tangy and spicy. It was quite tasty, though, and the boiled noodles were a welcome respite from the fried flat-thin noodles and rice to which I've become so accustomed. 

The spicy spaghetti would just serve as the intermission following part 1 of my day with Siam Care, and I had no idea that even more profound experiences awaited me in the hours ahead. 

Food Cravings

Yes, Thai food is wonderful. Yes, we enjoy it every day without getting tired of our options too often. However, we've been keeping a list of the American foods that we're pining for since we arrived, and we figured, since we're half way through our trip, that we'd share it with you. If you're a 23-year-old abroad for six months, these are the things you miss the most:

February:
Veggie bagel sandwiches (K)
Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies (K)
Bison burger and French fries (D)
Deluxe nachos (D)
Thin Mint Blizzard (D)
Chocolate chunk brownies (K)
Chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich (D)

March:
Umpqua dairy ice cream (K&D)
Safeway chocolate chunk cookies (D)
Orange juice (K)
Plums (K)
Cool Ranch Doritos (D)
Bagels and cream cheese (K)
Sour cream (K)
Lucky Charms (D)
Red Robin Salmon burger (D)

April:
Cupcakes (K)
Hot dogs (D)
Dip 'n Dots (D)
Mountain Dew slushy (D)
Tuna (melt) sandwich (K)
Cheddar cheese (K)
Mu shu pork (K)
Crispix (K)
Butterfinger Blizzard (K)
Perogies (K)
Apples (D)
Protein smoothies (D)
Guava & Mango shaved ice (D)

May:
Eggnog with nutmeg (D)
Applesauce (K)
Cherry coconut donut (D)
Homemade almond chocolate chip ice cream (K)
Mashed Potatoes (K)
Mexican food (K)
Blackberry Preserves (K)

So, please enjoy these tasty treats on our behalf, and appreciate the foods you take for granted! Meanwhile, we're having all your favorite Thai dishes for about $1 apiece and not cooking or doing dishes, so really, we don't have it that bad ;)

I'll never eat Corn Flakes or toast again once I'm back. For sure!

Bond, James Bond

Monday, May 3, we took a holiday for "International Labor Day." We set off in the morning following a car crammed full of friends from Bangsak church and headed to Phangnga Bay, where the legendary James Bond Island is situated. We split the cost of a big boat, as there were 14 of us, and for just under $5 a person, we made a very inexpensive day of it!

This island was featured in Roger Moore's 1974 movie, "The Man with the Golden Gun," which is unfortunate, because he's NOBODY'S favorite Bond, or even a second favorite. I'm a fan of Knick-Knack, though, who was featured in the film. Despite Connery's absence, if you're ever in the mood to put up with sub-par acting to view this ancient beauty on the big screen, then it's worth a watch. Check out the video clip below...



We sped along the water front and enjoyed the stunning natural rocks jetting from the water. The sun was hot, but we had a little roof on the multicolored wooden boat, and there were puffy white clouds above. We stopped at an island that our friends insisted was NOT James Bond Island, but was called "Ko Tapu" which means "nail" as it sticks straight out of the water. There was a National Park fee, but only if you were white, so we decided to stick it to the man and wandered onto the beach without being stopped. I don't feel sorry for it, if you're curious. We took some pictures on the beach and swam in the bay.

We wandered back to find caves (we could hear bats inside but it smelled like a sewer, so we didn't venture further) and a slanted wall of rock that must have been 80 feet high. There were booths selling massive shells, the likes of which I've only ever seen on my dad's bookshelf - a huge conch he bought in Hawaii. Momentarily I considered buying one, but Derek was concerned as to the method used to collect them, and the women were grabby and pushy. I ripped my hand away and sharply responded in Thai (I don't know much, but I know enough). Nobody pulls me anywhere, and immediately they lost a chance at my money. Of course, I also gave up the chance to buy one of these incredible shells. We saw post cards and gifts that said "James Bond Island" on them, but when we asked the Thais we were with, they denied that this was the island. James Bond was somewhere else, apparently. Once we got back home, we looked it up, and our pictures matched every advertised version identically...we were on James Bond Island. We're sure.

We stopped at another island for lunch where we took pictures of the basketball-sized jelly fish that were in the bay. These were visible from the boat even at high speeds. There's nothing in the picture to give you a size comparison, so just know that I'm not exaggerating when I say it was as big as a basketball. And basketballs are not small.

On our way back to shore, we slowed near a cave where ancient writing could be seen. Pictures drawn 2,000 years ago on the rocks could be viewed today. Naturally they weren't crystal clear, but they were a very cool part of Thai history that we felt blessed to witness.

Chasing Aquariums: Our Day in Phuket

Life is continuing on here as usual (teaching English and typing up annual reports), so we thought we'd write about a previous adventure. The week of Songkran, Kendra, Bailey, and I made the short trip down to Phuket for a day of adventure. The first stop? The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project.

The GRP is an initiative maintained by the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand. They receive, maintain, and rehabilitate Gibbons, in addition to slowly reintroducing them back into the wild when possible. I was as giddy as a schoolboy as we drove to the National Park wherein the whooping noises made by the territorial Gibbons could be heard from far away. After paying a pointless entry fee to the park, we made it to the GRP site.

Gibby, shown here in a thoughtful pose, was especially rambunctious 

After walking up some stone steps, visitors can see the phenomenally acrobatic gibbons swinging and leaping about their chain-link enclosures. A small shop with gibbon related items sits to one side, while the path among the enclosures leads off to the other. You first come across a long billboard with photos and back stories of the GRP's gibbons. Many of them have quite sad tales as to how they came to be at the center. A common practice is to take gibbons from the wild, often the babies from slain mothers, and maintain them for the purpose of taking pictures with tourists. One such gibbon was playing with the 'owner's ' daughter, when it mildly bit her. The man beat the gibbon so furiously that she had to have a hand and foot amputated (a terrible blow for such an active animal), and was given up to a collector. The ignorant collector, however, just threw her in with a cage of other gibbons, and since the others were quite territorial, she was attacked and lost all but two fingers on the remaining hand. She was apparently in the most pitiful condition of any they'd received, but she's paired up with a male right now and was able to swing about her cage with her "good" hand.

The separation between the path and the enclosures, combined with a request to not use a flash, made it difficult to take photos but we got excellent video of the little guys pulling of moves that even an under-aged Chinese Olympic gymnast couldn't touch. After speaking with two volunteers in the shop, we headed up a 300m path into the park to check out a waterfall.

We made it up the picturesque jungle hike to reach a shallow creek with a sandy bottom fed by a 50 foot waterfall (though it was reduced to a near trickle). Locals swam about and even dove off the cliffs into the narrow pool of water, but Bailey and I were content to simply swim at the base and climb up beneath the falls. Kendra and I then had an impromptu photo shoot.

Refreshed from our time at the waterfall, we made the hike back down and set about driving into Phuket Town. On the way, we spotted a local market and were able to grab a simple chicken and rice dish for lunch, adding some delicious sauces to the mix to spice things up a bit.

One of the vendors at the market

We then undertook one of the greatest quests since Lewis and Clark explored the American West- we tried to find the Phuket Aquarium.

That damn Aquarium. It was so far south of Phuket Town it might as well have been the Malaysian Aquarium. Knowing they closed at 4:30, we raced through the city, following directions locals gave us as the website directions are a very descriptive, "go South." As the clock ticked closer to 4:30, the excitement reached fever pitch as we grew nearer to our elusive goal. Finally we reached it!

But they were closed. After such great lengths to find it, the moment was highly anti-climactic. We immediately pronounced it 'lame, anyway' and, upon driving back to Phuket, decided to journey off the beaten path to a nearby beach. This would be a wonderfully relaxing stop, as the shallow water of the sandy beach cooled our hatred of the Aquarium, while two retrievers owned by a beach-side bar owner taught us how to love again.

Hungry tummies soon led us to seek fulfillment and an evening's entertainment at Phuket's mall, where cheap eating and good times are easy to come by. It was a wonderful day experiencing some of what Phuket has to offer (other than speedo-clad tourists), and we certainly rested well that night.

Three Girls find Thailand in Washington

This is a quick shout out to Mrs. Weyhrauch's reading group! Katie, Sarah and Chloe, we're so happy to hear that you're interested in learning more about Thailand. We really appreciate that the country is getting some exposure "in our honor" with these three girls and wanted to say "sawadee" (hello) from your friends in southern Thailand, Derek and Kendra. Keep learning!

Rambutan

To play video, hit the pause button and allow to buffer for a few minutes before playing to avoid pauses.

White Water Rafting? That's a Stretch!

The next morning, I awoke to find Bailey ready to take pictures of the gigantic spider that was mounted just across from the bathroom door. The horrifying thing was that I had passed very near it several times in the dark and had no idea it was there. It was about 6 inches across and had a green body and orange fangs. I have not yet identified what type of spider this is, despite my efforts, but I was told by our guide that it was poisonous. Ya think?!

We were ready to head out, but before we did, the guy who owned the shack we stayed in went ahead of us with a machete. Non told us that we were going to walk through the lair of a king cobra they had seen before, so the other guy would go in front of us just in case. Great. I'm sure if someone were attacked by a king cobra out here it wouldn't even make the news. Worse than that, they decided to inform us when we were entering the area so I was nice and panicked...they couldn't have just let us pass through and told us later that, clearly, we had nothing to worry about.

We walked until we reached a clearing, and to my surprise, a truck was waiting there to pick us up. We got in the back and as we rode (it was unbelievably bumpy), we determined that we must be going to the white water rafting. We backed down a hill and left our things in the car, including our shoes. We were given life jackets (somehow I managed to put mine on inside-out, to the elation of the guides, who had a good laugh over it) and helmets and went down to the water. I left my camera for fear of getting it wet, but I would soon learn that the danger of that happening was extremely minor.

We were held up by every boulder we hit. The water was low, and we were backed up behind five or six other rafts, packed full of 'farangs' on treks that ended here as well. Because they were heavier, they would get hung up on everything, and since the water was hardly flowing fast enough to push us along, we'd get stuck behind them, and just wait. While we would wait in line, hung up on the boulders, we were learning Australian slang and having fun calling the Brits in the other rafts names. We heard only two commands from the raft's "captain" - forward, and stop. He would get quite frustrated with us if we didn't mind his commands, as we were too busy chatting to be much concerned with them. Either way, regardless of his direction, we'd always end up hung up on a raft, having to jump up and down and move side to side to get over it. During the ride, Bailey and I decided that we had reached the point where the magical nature of this trip was fast disappearing, and all we could think about was lunch. At one point, we stopped near a shore and a family of Thais got in the boat. I was shocked, confused at how they were all to fit in with their baskets and bags, and upset that we had no idea why these people were boarding, or how far they would go with us. We ferried them to the other side, and the ones who couldn't fit in just walked. I don't know why they needed to be carried such a short distance, especially because the water was hardly 2 feet deep. Ah, Thailand.

Not long after this, the raft pulled to the middle of the river and parked itself on a sand spit, which had risen from the lacking water. He told us to give him all our jackets and helmets and to get on to a bamboo raft. I had been quite thrilled about this part of the trip and was looking forward to floating down the river with only a long bamboo pole to steer us, but was surprised at the transition. An older Thai man, who accompanied us on our raft ride, kept splashing us. We were very hungry, and he was giggly, like the Mad Hatter (long-term exposure to mercury). We were SO done, but it wasn't over. He tried to pull me in, and I yelled at him in Thai. He just giggled. A girl from a nearby raft motioned for me to stick his head under water, as he was swimming next to us...I seriously considered it. Then, the need to take him out was gone, as the Aussie flew off the raft and took him out, wrestling him under water. He kicked us off after that.

We didn't feel too bad at the loss, and finally got lunch! We changed and headed back to town in the back of a truck (called a "Song Tao" meaning "two rows") and suddenly, before we knew it, we were back in Chiang Mai, standing on the sidewalk. We took a bus that night back to Bangkok, and spent the day with the Quinleys, then left that night after an unbelievable dinner for another all-night bus. I didn't sleep at all, and when we finally walked in the door the next morning at 7 am, we felt ill-equipped to begin our classes for the day...but was it worth it? Oh yeah!

Star of my own Shaving Commercial

On the second day of my journey, we woke up for breakfast and met earnest questions of whether we had slept well. I chose not to answer. I just ate my toast and quietly mourned the sleep that could have been mine had I not been in a mountain-top village with noisy poultry.

We started off, and after gaining rest from hiking, I felt a great sense of accomplishment at having done what I wouldn't have thought my body was capable of the day before. I reveled in the unique situation I was experiencing, visiting a village such an uncomfortable jaunt away, high in the mountains of Thailand, where so many will never go. I can do this! I can hike a bit today. We were told that, although today's hike would be twice as long as before, it was much easier - mostly down and horizontal, with a little uphill. As we started, we would stop to look at the water reserves or the lychee trees. Some kids were picking lychees and gave us each one. This fruit is not found in America but is quite popular in Asia, especially in India. It has a rough, red exterior but it's thin and easily peeled off. The fruit is white and translucent, and quite sweet. The brown, glossy nut in the middle is poisonous, so you eat the fruit from around it and spit out the nut (why would you want to eat the nut anyway?!). It's like a grape, but not as moist.

To my great dismay, the first part of our trek was all uphill, just as steep and just as hot before. I was ready to quit almost right away and had immediate flash-backs of the painful day before. My muscles reminded me of what they had done, and what they were unwilling to do again so soon. Thankfully, for me, Bailey was struggling today alongside me more often, so I didn't feel so far behind. Then, it really did even out, and to bring our spirits up, our guide's friend "Ping Pong" made us bamboo walking sticks and fern crowns. We learned how to say "I am the princess of the forest" in Thai (wish I could remember now) and marched in high spirits through the woods. We came across a termite mound, about 4 feet tall, where a pile of leaves were held on top by a big rock. We learned from our superstitious guides that hikers believe they will be spared from danger if they add leaves to the pile, so we put two leaves each on top of the already fairly substantial pile.

Bailey and I got to talking and most of the morning went almost without notice as we focused on our footing. At one point, we hiked along a ridge the width of our feet, and we held on to a pipe running along the hill parallel to us. We headed down a very steep hill and ended our morning hike at another village for lunch. While we waited, we taught Thai phrases to two other hikers waiting for food too, so we taught them to say "kiss" (jupe) and "honey" (tirak), which they playfully shouted at us as we ran into one another along the same trail throughout the day. The women and children were sitting below a house that was built up on stilts, pounding away at twigs that they had collected and bagged from the woods. Their hands were dyed red. I asked what they were doing, and I was amazed when I heard that they were busy knocking bug dung off of twigs to sell in the market for a mere 75 cents a kilo. It's used as a sealant because it's sticky.

We changed into our suits and gave our princess ferns to two girls in the town, then headed off for a nearby waterfall. Walking out of the village, I complemented a man on his hat, and immediately he took it off and offered it to me. I insisted that he keep it, amazed at the response to my complement, though I'm not sure why I was surprised. People will offer you the shirt off their backs if they think you would want it.

The waterfall was very beautiful, and I got in. It was cold, which was so nice after the hot hike. It was dark and I couldn't see the bottom, which is one of my weird fears. A little boy from the village swam naked with us - he wasn't more than 4, and enjoyed sliding over the algae-covered boulders and splashing us. We walked a little further to the next waterfall where we ran into other hikers, and where we were asked to 'shower.' After the others left to make camp farther down hill, I got out my shampoo and our shared soap and  cleaned up in the waterfall (clarification - still in my bathing suit). The Aussie shaved his face in the water and complained that the razor wasn't dull enough, and that his wife usually used it a few times before he did to take the 'edge' off. He asked me if I would be so kind as to dull it up for him. I objected pretty strongly, as a razor is a very personal item, and told him how gross it would be to have to use it after I was done, as my legs hadn't been shaved for at least two weeks. But, he was insistent, so I shaved my legs on a rock in the waterfall, feeling quite a bit like a Skintimate model on a commercial shoot. One of our guides gawked at the process, having never witnessed a girl shaving her legs :) He said that Thai women have very little body hair, so many of them never shave at all.

We were very reluctant to leave the quiet waterfall - it was perfection, with a sandy, shallow bottom, and cool but not frigid water. We had a great dinner and sat by our fire, singing loudly the American songs we could (sort of) remember the lyrics to. That night, we slept very soundly as there were no roosters in this part of the jungle, and their squawking was replaced with the sound of water running over the rocks to the valley below.