The Y Rock Movement

2010 Year in Review

2010-12-06T14:09:00.000+07:00

Saying good bye to this American life in January was difficult for us - we left our part-time jobs in Spokane, and with the assistance of Derek's family, moved all we owned to a storage unit. We spent two weeks in Colorado with Kendra's family and finally flew the coop to Thailand, where we were set to be volunteer English teachers for six months.

We had a wonderful start, amazed by the beaches and the kind people we met at Step Ahead. The community center where we lived is also where we taught, and was right off the main road running through little Khao Lak, Thailand, a favorite beach getaway for German vacations. We learned quickly that there were jelly fish in the water and crashed a lovely resort for their chairs, shade and pools. We didn't waste any time getting started with teaching - our students were adults in the community, most of which worked in the tourist industry. We taught about God's love through Bible stories and writing practice. We became very close with our students.

When we weren't in the classroom, we kept ourselves busy with community projects. Derek worked on setting up a village garden for Sea Gypsies in the town. I spent mornings at the preschools our organization ran, playing with the kids and teaching them English words for fruits and animals. On the weekends, we watched movies and read and painted. When the rainy season came, we were often stuck inside, but inside there was air conditioning, for which we were very grateful.

My parents came to see us in March, and we experienced scuba diving and snorkeling with them. We visited Bangkok and Singapore, and they were able to visit Khao Lak, where my father's insatiable need for ice cream landed him in the hospital with food poisoning. In case you believe this is an indication of the poor conditions that others in the world experience, keep in mind that both Derek and I were never seriously ill in the 6 months we were there, and we didn't have medication or shots. Thailand is the cheaper, more Eden-like version of Hawaii. Go, if you ever get the chance.

We spent our last month in July backpacking to Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. We lived very cheaply but saw many incredible things and met many nice people. The beauty of the land and the unique lifestyle of Southeast Asia is truly life-changing. We both agree that it's one of the greatest things we've ever done in our lives, and would do it again in an instant. Thank you all for your prayers and financial support. We're better people for that experience.

We returned to the states in August and enjoyed Craig's 60th birthday party and Craig and Ranae's 25th Anniversary in Colorado before driving our little purple bug and Avery the pig back to Spokane. We picked up a new addition to our family on the way - Paprika, who was later re-named Bernadette because of the Four Top's song. We settled in to a two bedroom apartment and Derek started Medical school with 20 first year students for the University of Washington's School of Medicine.

Kendra was hired at Jigsaw, a Salesforce company, in their Customer Success department, where she trains new clients and manages accounts for the organization. As her department is being restructured, she plans to move to the Operations department to assist with automating the new account set-up process. She loves her job and is doing very well, though she is still undecided about her chosen course for her future career.

We will be fortunate enough to see both of our families for Christmas this year and are very much looking forward to time off and time together. God bless you and yours this holiday season!

~ Derek, Kendra, Bernadette and Avery

Irra-what?

2010-08-24T07:11:00.001+07:00

When we got back into Phnom Penh, we bought bus tickets for the following day to head north to Kratie (pronounced "krachay") to see the endangered and infamous Irrawaddy River Dolphins. We ate at the night market where I stumbled upon the perfect ornament for our future Christmas tree, a mini fishing catcher which they use in the fishing dance and also, ironically, in REAL life, for fishing.

The bus rides, at this point, are nothing. We crammed our stuff under the seats and had our typical rations of water and bread ready for the hours ahead of us. Derek made a funny comment that the kid next to us "killed Winnie the Pooh" as he had a backpack of his likeness hanging by the neck around his seat. The family to our left let their kid run in the aisles with his toys. We watched some strange picture on tribal fighting in Cambodia, with a very annoying woman who talked like Hello Kitty. ALL Cambodian women featured in movies speak this way - only dogs can make out the pitch they find appropriate. I think they believe it makes them sound innocent and sweet, but instead, you want to bust your own eardrums to keep from hearing the siren's call to throw yourself over the nearest bridge.

A nice American woman, who had married a Cambodian man, told us when to get off. We enjoyed the scenery and switched seats to have more room as people got off. The bus was freezing, and I put on Derek's socks and extra clothes to keep myself conscious until we arrived.

When we got there, we were dropped off in the middle of a street and began to pick our way along to a $5/night hotel. A man walked next to us the whole way, telling us he had just the place for us to stay - and it turned out, that he was pitching the same place we'd already chosen. He came all the way up to our room with us, telling us about the rates to see the dolphins (that's all this town is living on). We told him we'd think about it, and left for dinner when we finally kicked him out.

We had dinner (after a failed attempt to find the night market - if we found it, we didn't know it, it was probably that small) at another hotel where we ended up booking a driver for the next day - the rates were half of what our little "friend" quoted. He wasn't happy the next morning when he found out we "cheated" on him, but we had a splendid drive with a French couple out to meet the dolphins.

This Irrawady River dolphin, closely related to the Orca, is a round-nosed entertaining character that lives in the Mekong river and its delta waterways. The water is muddy brown, but the dolphins surface for air every few minutes, giving you a priceless opportunity to see them for yourself. There are only 100 or so left in the world, and about three quarters live in the river near this Cambodian town.

We sat for an hour out on the water, filming them whenever we could manage to catch them in the viewfinder. We didn't see them jump, and pictures were hardly possible, but it was a really fantastic opportunity. We stopped by a hill temple on the way back to town that isn't even really worth mentioning, and packed our things. We were harassed all the way to the station by our little "friend" from the day before, who told us we could get discounted tickets from him, and he reserved them for us, and we didn't want them. He had a few VERY unkind things to say to us, and for the second time on our trip, we were told by a local never to come back to Cambodia. Of course, the other 99% were charming, so we indeed would come back, in spite of his rude comments. We waited for much longer than promised for the bus, which was loaded with tourists when it finally arrived ("only 30 minutes more"...."you sure? you said that 30 minutes ago"..."yes, i'm sure, only 30 minutes more") and we had a surprisingly white-filled, peaceful time watching some sequel of The Mummy until it skipped itself into stop mode, and we watched as our driver tried for a half hour to maneuver the bus over a very narrow and rickety-looking bridge while a hundred onlookers sat by to see if he'd hit the edge and end us all, into the muddy ravine.

I wouldn't mind so much, as long as the bus didn't kill one of those dolphins in the process.

Snicker Doodle-Ville

2010-08-24T06:36:00.000+07:00

We took a bus down to Sihanoukville on the southern coast. Boasting a first-rate slot as the nation’s most fantastic beach area, we arrived in the pouring rain to a town with trash-filled streets. We avoided the mob of taxi offers as usual and determined to walk to our guest house. On the way, we found a small restaurant called Holy Cow, where we enjoyed some comfort food on warm couches. It was getting dark, so we headed to our guest house, passing by a massive golden lion statue in the center of a roundabout. Our first try for a room struck out, so we stayed a few doors down at a mellow hangout, called Mick & Craigs. After a shower, we played pool and ordered drinks.

The next day, we walked towards the shore. We didn’t have much time, so we got an early start and bought bread and jam at a convenience store to save on breakfast. Down at the waterline, workers slaved away building up a boat port. We were swarmed by girls selling bracelets and sunglasses and women giving pedicures, for only $2! But, our feet had a longer way to travel, so we denied their pleas. Some of them got quite friendly and offered that we could sit at a restaurant’s beach chairs without buying anything. They showed us how they “wax” women’s legs – with a piece of floss, worked on your hair. As the string twists, it pulls hair with it. My legs weren’t bad, considering I had recently shaved after a very long stint of neglect (hey, it’s backpacking!), but they still wanted to show how their method was better than anything else, and that the results would last up to three weeks (for the record, it lasted about one).

We met an unfortunate shoe salesman who hit us at our point of irritation with the constant requests to buy things, even as you try to relax. He responded to our blunt denial to his product by telling us that we shouldn’t come to Cambodia if we don’t want to be bothered. We’ve met so many amiable people; it was a shame to run into an attitude like that.

The sky was very cloudy and it dribbled a bit, so we got very little sun, but we were glad to see a bit more of the country. We left that afternoon after a quick meal in a local restaurant, and headed back to Phnom Penh. That night in Phnom Penh, we hit the night market where we scored a local noodle dish that we like, Lat Char. The place was brimming with noise and people, so we didn’t stay long. I did buy an ornament for our tree – a mini version of their woven fishing tools.

The next morning, we took off for Kratie (pronounced Krachay) where we would view the endangered Irrawady Dolphins. We stayed that evening in a very nice $5 hotel and got a nice dinner at a place where we managed to book a boat and tuk tuk for our touring pleasure. We were picked up the next morning and met a young French couple who would ride with us, out to the boat docks a half hour north, where the dolphins stay. We got in a little motor boat and set out for the center. No one else was out that morning (not much else is in the area, so it’s not nearly as touristy as some places), and after a minute we were able to see the dolphins surface. For an hour, we just sat quietly, waiting for them to come up. You could track where they’d resurface after a bit, and we got some of our time on film (thanks, Derek!) because pictures were useless with such little notice and very little idea of location. It was a very incredible thing, seeing these creatures living in their natural habitat, with no one else around, and with only 100 left in the world (75 live in this area, the other 25 or so near the delta). When the other boats started coming out, we headed back, and grabbed ourselves a hand-carved wooden souvenir of the dolphins before heading to a hill (it’s not worth mentioning – the views were mostly hidden by tree growth, and we saw more temples, a very common thing at this point, unless they’re unreasonably spectacular, which they weren’t).

Then, onward to Siem Riep, where we would conclude our trip. I was looking forward to not moving around for a few days, as we were on a bus every day for a week. But, no one can say we didn’t use our time well, and we certainly saw more of Cambodia than most visitors.

Democratic Republic of Kampuchea

2010-08-03T21:08:00.001+07:00

Taking a slow boat into the capitol and back in time, Cambodia has much ado about not developing. Despite this, the kingdom remains a wonderful place to visit for its amazing people, alternately beautiful and terrible sights, and of course, the food.

During the reign of the extreme marxist Pol Pot in the 1970's, millions of the country's citizens were killed and the entire population was enslaved into agrarian work camps. Dreaming of a one-class society where all workers fueled agricultural production, Pol Pot slaughtered any academic or dissenter his genocidal party could find. We shared a morning tuk-tuk to the Choeung Fields killing fields with Tanya and Eugenia, the Russian-Canadian sisters turned awesome traveling companions we met on our way into the country from the Mekong Delta.

Upon arriving at the fields, you're greeted by a beautiful stupa that towers over a peaceful orchard. Butterflies flit about and the ubiquitous southeast Asian chickens cluck along peacefully. You think to yourself how lovely it is until your foot steps on a skull fragment.

Housed inside the stupa on 17 shelves are nearly 9,000 skulls recovered from the roughly 20,000 people that were slaughtered here. Organized by age (from children up) it's a frightfully somber reminder of how horrible humanity can be. As you tour the sight, you see depressions in the ground where the seemingly innumerable mass graves were/are. There are terrible things here, and most of you would be better off not having your day and mind so afflicted by such atrocities. It's a strange feeling, a powerful mix of sadness, shock, and disgust. For anyone wondering why this wasn't stopped when it happened in just the 70s, well, look at Burma right now. . . and support the Free Burma Rangers.

Not yet sufficiently depressed, we continued on to Tuol Sleng, a school that was, quite symbolically, turned into a prison-torture center. Some of the rooms are still stained with blood, and large portrait photos on the walls showed the bodies found in them when the detention center was liberated. Other rooms showed the brick and wood barriers built up to house prisoners in tiny cells formed within the larger classrooms. Exhibitions with photos of the detained also added an all-too-personal reminder of the human cost of genocide.

Having seen enough after walking through the section on the torture that occurred here, we left to find lunch and a little sanity outside in the capitol. Happily, we found our way to Friends restaurant, a wonderful organization that serves Cambodia's street youth. We are always happy to be patrons of organizations like this and greatly enjoyed our delicious, if overly American-priced, lunch. Kendra, still feeling the effects of our morning's festivities, opted simply for a lemon-soda, adding soda water to lemon and sugar mixture. I thought that was neat.

Continuing on, we found ourselves freed from the horrible sights of the morning to view the better half of Cambodia's history. If you were to listen to a conversation in the Kingdom of Cambodia, 1 out of every 4 words spoken would probably be "Angkor." They're phenomenally proud (images of its main temple adorn just about every vertical surface) and rightly so, the temples, as we would later see in person, are incredible. After being refused entry at the Royal Palace for not being dressed in a sufficiently respectful manner (it's okay, it's basically a small carbon copy of Thailand's Grand Palace anyway), we would catch our first glimpse of Angkorean ingenuity at the National Museum, housing a multitude of the Khmer Kingdom's finest stone masonry all surrounding a gorgeous central courtyard.

After filling up on the beautiful carvings, we sought to fill our tummy's at an authentically Khmer, and authentically delicious, food market outside the Psar O'Russei market-center. It was a full day in the capital, and what better way to prevent burnout then to take a trip down to Cambodia's 'premier' beach destination at Sihanoukville.

One Night in Chao Doc

2010-07-23T12:49:00.000+07:00

We spent one night in Chau Doc, at the edge of Vietnam, and it was by far the sketchiest place we've been. Swarmed by the legion of taxi and moto drivers at the bus station, we stuck up our noses at their ridiculous offers and donned our ponchos to venture out in the rain for better prices and less obnoxious people. One of the moto drivers ran into my leg and left a nice tire mark on the back of my calf. We were bothered so incessantly by one driver and he offered such an incredibly low price that we consented to a ride to our hotel. It was a good choice because the center of town was quite a ways off, and without a ride, it would have taken us forever to get there. We each had a driver and we kept our eyes on one another until we reached a guest house which wasn't at all the one we had asked for. Finally, we had gotten to experience the too-well-known gig of being taken somewhere that gives the drivers commission. We were very loud in our complaints and they offered to take us now to the destination we had requested. "Don't waste my time," I told my driver, "or you don't get paid at all." They brought us to the hotel which was cheap and clean, and we were glad to finally be at the border.

We walked down dark, dirty alleyways in search of cash and water and kept our eyes open for the night market. We returned to our hotel immediately, and there we enjoyed dinner at a floating restaurant, held up in the water on short stilts and accessed only by uneven hand-made wooden ramps. We booked our boat for the next day and as we fell asleep, with a request to be woken up early enough for breakfast, Derek fought to kill the mass of gnats that had invaded our room. We slept with a light on that night to keep them drawn away from us...the town was FULL of bugs, everywhere you looked. Really a crummy town. If you go through here, don't stay longer than you have to.

The next day, our internal alarm clocks kicked in, and as is usually the case, we had no clock. No one had woken us, though we had reiterated our request til we were blue in the face, and we threw our stuff together, scared that we'd end up missing the boat and having to remain here another day. Fifteen minutes after we were supposed to get up, a woman opens our door and sticks her head in (our wake up call, we think), and immediately leaves. Not two minutes later, she comes in again (no one knocks...be dressed at all times if there's any way they could have a duplicate key) and in broken Vietnamese yells that I have to get out. I haven't the faintest idea where Derek is, and I'm pissed that the woman would have woken us up and given us only 2 minutes to get out of the room to meet our ride which was 15 minutes early. Derek met me downstairs with bread he had picked up from a street vendor, and we sit to wait for our driver. A man with a cart is asking if we want a ride, which we routinely reply that no, we don't need a driver. Turns out he was our driver, but no one told us and he certainly didn't speak enough English to let us know that we were supposed to go with him. Surrounded by three others with the same vehicle, wanting to take us wherever we wished to go, he blended in so well that it took us five minutes to figure out that we were, in fact, waiting for him.

We met up with a massive group of foreigners in a cafe, where we ordered butter and jam for our dry bread, but we didn't get to use even half as we set off directly, separated from our bags, and walked to the pier. The boat ride went smoothly, and we met some very nice people. We visited a fish farm, which is common in this area set up under the house. We went to a village to visit the Cham people, who are known for towel weaving (the towels are almost the same as all the other scarves around, but they use them as towels) and found them to be very happy and photogenic. Some kids selling waffles rattled off their rehearsed pitch in very monotonous voices, so much so that we wondered if the Cham people might have built robots to look like children to sell their wares.

* Side note - I have yet to see actual "syrup"...pancakes come with honey, which they call syrup

The ride began very pleasantly. We didn't expect it to take more than a few hours. People along the river waved as we passed, which I thought amazing, since they must see foreigners every day pass by, always taking video and pictures of them in their daily routines (washing clothes, dishes, brushing their teeth, bathing, washing their cattle) and would think after awhile they'd get sick of waving. But they always did. Then, we sat at the border for forever while our visas were worked out by our guide. He also offered to change our money for us, but we were too guarded because we didn't trust his exchange rate and figured we'd trade in town.

Note to fellow travelers - when entering Cambodia from Vietnam, CHANGE YOUR MONEY RIGHT AWAY. No one in Cambodia would take our Dong, so we had $100 in useless currency and still do now. Hindsight is 20/20, naturally, but if the boat driver offers to change your money, take him up on it, if only in this instance. We used US Dollars for everything while in Cambodia (their money is the Riel, but they only use it for 20% of transactions, usually as a replacement for US coin).

It began to pour, so we traveled in a tarp-covered boat, but though this kept the rain out, it made it very stuffy inside and since we were all right on top of the engine, I opted for fresh air and water than to suffocate from the fumes. It was a VERY long rest of the way there...we underestimated our travel time by at least 5 hours. After awhile, sitting on the hard boards and trying to avoid the line of ants running behind you gets very old. When we finally stopped, we weren't in the city center yet, and had to get into a van which dropped us off at a Phnom Penh guest house, where we took the bait and opted to stay because we were tired and hungry. We hadn't eaten almost at all, anticipating getting in early enough for a late lunch, and at 8:30 we headed out to finally fill ourselves up. Vietnam was now behind us, and a very packed week or so in Cambodia was ahead.

Bygone Saigon

2010-07-19T11:33:00.000+07:00

After two days of recovery for colds we had developed from general uncleanliness and no sleep, we left the room one evening to see a water puppet show (I went with some friends from Britain, Derek didn't come) and to visit the Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake, where a giant turtle is "embalmed" but is not a very convincing specimen. The water puppet show was created in the Hanoi area in the 11th Century by rice farmers. The puppet masters control the figures by poles that run under water, and they stand behind a curtain to run the show. The stage is all on a square, lake-like surface. If you're in Vietnam, it's a must.

We took a flight the following day to Ho Chi Minh City, and on the way, we experienced attempted extortion by our cab driver, who tried to have us pay 1/4 the price of the already expensive drive as a reimbursement for "toll fees" that he had supposedly paid. We didn't pay it, but he was pissed.

Ho Chi Minh City, known still by the locals as Saigon, is a much more relaxed place than Hanoi despite its doubled population (7 million; Hanoi -3.7 million). On arrival, we met with a group from a global outreach for Habitat for Humanity and they gave us a free ride to downtown! We had lunch at Sozo, a Christian organization that trains street kids in Vietnam for culinary employment. The staff was friendly and the internet was free - we were in a good place. We found some excellent street food (Bun Cha) and an overpacked grocery store. Our room must have been 7 floors up. All the buildings in Vietnam are narrow and tall. The front is the width of a strip mall shop, but they build back and up as far as they can, so most of our rooms have been a painful climb.

We visited Reunification Palace, where we saw the digs the south Vietnam "President" was setting up for himself before the northern army brought a few Russian- and Chinese-made tanks through their front gate, ending the north-south conflict for Vietnam on 15 April, 1975. We enjoyed the underground bunkers and the old equipment, all frozen in time. They had tanks and a jet on display in the lawn, copies of the ones that had ruined the gate and bombed the building, respectively, and a US helicopter on the roof.

We walked to the War Remnants Museum, whose front lawn area was filled to the brim with US military equipment left behind (too bad - we could probably still use them) and had many pictures of people harmed by the war. The tone of the museum was decidedly propogandist - the US was an evil conquerer bent on destroying civilized humanity, wanting to rip Vietnam apart for its own purposes, against the wishes of all Vietnamese people. It was very tough to see, as an American, and the pictures themselves bespoke atrocities that should never have occurred, but the government-run museum certainly didn't post pictures of any of the atrocities that they were responsible for, so in the end, you left feeling sorry for the whole mess, and sad for anyone who fought, only to have their efforts later portrayed in such a poor light. Ah, well, such are the politics of war.

Insert - I'm sick of Asian TV. Whiney female voices, all of them, and cheesy karate films, which are entertaining as an accidental comedy, and not for their intended purposes.

We saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, where mass was being held. We ate at a posh, but very cheap, restaurant called Quan An Ngon where we enjoyed Bun Bo Nam Bo. We left the next morning on a two day trip to the Mekong Delta region. Our first stop was Mytho, where we saw a coconut candy "factory" (some machines, just as many people, but the assembly line concept was in effect), rode horribly broken-down bikes through the countryside, dodging donkey-pulled carts and trucks stuffed to the brim with chickens. In Ben Tre, we took a small boat paddled by an older woman in a rice hat through very narrow canals in the mangroves to a fruit orchard, where we sampled local fruits until overrun by bees.

We had honey tea (soooo good) and held a python at the bee farm, where I hid in plain sight from the swarm that didn't seem the least bit interested in anything but our drinks. A boat back to the bus which took us on to Cantho ended our first day. We met Michael and Marion Milch of France and dined with them on questionable chicken dishes on the water. It was a beautiful region, but the bus ride was violently bumpy as we crossed more bridges than there are characters in this message.

Hell Bus

2010-07-15T12:08:00.001+07:00

I woke up in the middle of the night having to go to the bathroom desperately, and after crawling over the sleeping bodies in the aisles, I managed to share my growing concern with the driver's assistant. Repeatedly, we stopped and I wasn't allowed off. Finally, we stopped to pick up a woman, and I dashed into the alley...never gone so fast in all my life! Another two women followed me, and we were back on the bus in a flash.

About 3:45 am, the bus stopped at a dark lot, and some people slowly unloaded their things. The driver turned the bus off, and we're all thinking that he must be taking another cigarette break. A half hour later, unable to fall asleep again and sweating from the lack of circulating air, someone asked the driver when we'd be off again, to which he replied that he was no longer driving that night. No, he wasn't being replaced...he was just done. He got a chair and some other Vietnamese joined him outside the bus, lying down in the street or smoking. We were stunned, and very out of it. As the morning light began to rise, we got off the bus to find some moving air, and realized we were in a dump, with other busses, nowhere conceivably near Hanoi. The driver laughed at our request to turn the air back on, and someone managed to get him to tell us, an hour later, that a local bus would come and pick us up. We got so sick of waiting, we paired up with an Israeli girl traveling alone and got a taxi back into town.

A Rice Paddy For Your Thoughts

2010-07-14T21:10:00.000+07:00

Growing exhausted by the alternating 'this-is-wonderful-wait-it's-terrible-ope-now-it's-amazing' nature of life in Hanoi, we journeyed north to the remote mountain station of Sapa close to the border with China. After taking a taxi to the train station and arranging for the cheapest sleeper ticket on a train we hoped was heading to Sapa, we set about our day in the city and then returned ready to sleep it off in the train.

An entire Vietnamese family was prepared to sleep it off with us, however, as we were situated on the top, coffin-like bunks in a cabin shared with the rambuncious (and noisy bunch. Glad to have finally found the train- given that Vietnamese public transit is the transportation version of a chicken with it's head cut off - we found sleep anyway despite the lack of head room and noise emanating below.

   We awoke to the mass departure of everyone around us and, in the well-established tradition of venturing out without knowing if we'd made it there yet or not, we got off anyway. A legion of shuttle bus drivers met us with offers of plush seats available for the drive up into the mountains. '150,000,"they said. "30,000," Kendra returned. They immediately accepted, and so we were off.

   The gorgeous drive heavily featured rice paddy terraces framing steep mountain ridges and cliffs framed by absent -inded water buffalo chewing the day away. The views were so beautiful they could've made a Swiss person cry, and the cool mountain air, pine trees, and stunning views instantly reminded me of back home.

   Walking to the guest house we'd planned on staying at, we were met by Mah, a local woman dressed traditionally and carrying an adorable baby strapped to her back. She spoke excellent English and asked us about where we were from and what our plans were. She offered for us to spend the night with her after hiking the 4.5mi into her village, and, feeling adventurous, we accepted.

    With a homestay, we purchase the food for dinner and breakfast while the family provides us lodging. that way we get a wonderful experience for a very low cost and they get an expensive meal they normally couldn't afford. After resting in a nearby restaurant - changing and cleaning up in the bathroom - we began the insanely beautiful trek down into the most picturesque valley in the world.

    After talking at length during the downhill hike, and splitting a massive cucumber which we ate like a watermelon, we arrived at Mah's home. The modest accomodations were framed by the beautiful scenery, and we were instantly welcomed by her extremely friendly family. Another local woman shoed me to her house, where she prepares garments by hand, stripping, sewing, and dying hemp cloth then weaving it with a wooden loom. Jin, mah's husband (they're both 20 and have 3 children) helped with a dinner that was fantastic. After lots of conversation, we retired to our bed but not before many games of "Go Fish." Despite having just taught Mah and Jin, they did a great job and scored several wins.

    Our night's sleep was eventful, as our mat over straw on the dirt floor afforded little protection from an army of curious insects. The many farm animals were also bent on destroying our hopes of consistent rest, but we endured and wouldn't change the experience for the world. After a wonderful breakfast, more photos, and a long goodbye with the family, we hiked to a nearby village and caught motorbikes back up into the city.

   We rested the remainder of the day in the city's peaceful park and found lunch at a restaurant with an impossibly gorgeous view. We would then catch a night bus back to Hanoi, and little did we know what that bus would bring. . .

High Highs and Low Lows

2010-07-08T13:51:00.002+07:00

Our first day in Hanoi, we checked out of our room with the intention of taking a bus to Nin Binh, but our late departure and our hotel receptionist held us up just long enough to make traveling that day a waste of time. So, when a taxi was called for us, we took it to the train station instead and bought tickets on the local train to Sapa, where hilltribes are settled in the north. We went to the Temple of Literature, set up by a Vietnamese king in 1070 to honor Confucius and was soon after converted into Vietnam's first university. Here, stone turtles hold the names and birth places of 1306 men who were awarded doctorates from the triennial examinations held here at the Quốc Tử Giám ("Imperial Academy") between 1484 and 1780.

We had lunch at KOTO (*Know One, Teach One), a nearby non-profit restaurant that trains street kids in the culinary arts and helps them to get jobs all over Southeast Asia. Then, we caught a cab to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and spent the afternoon looking at model houses, costumes, tools and handicrafts of the various hilltribes and subcultures of the Vietnamese people. We managed to catch part of a water puppet show outside, which I'll elaborate on after I've seen a proper show tonight.

We tried to get to Hoan Kiem Lake to see Ngoc Son Temple before closing, but the rising taxi fare and traffic forced us to bail early, and we ended up at a Botanical Gardens park. We watched the runners with some amusement...a video alone could describe their unconventional dress and form. We saw a cage with peacocks and another with monkeys. At one point, we realized my sunglasses were no longer on my shirt, and we searched after them for a half hour in vain. A few tears (on my part) and a serious rest on a park bench brought us some perspective. We were tired and thirsty and frustrated...one of those times when you hit your limit but you're nowhere near any place that can make it better. So, we caught a cab to JoMa, a favorite cafe from our time in Luang Prabang, and stuffed our faces with milkshakes and pizza. We washed our feet and brushed our teeth in the restroom and drank all the free water we could get our hands on. We had carried our things with us, on our backs, all day long, and it was so nice just to sit away from the traffic and the people, if only for an hour.

After a hurried day of covering all the "must see" spots in Hanoi, we purchased sleeper train tickets to the northern city of Lao Cai, a border town with China. Our sleeper was a very tight fit, to say the least, and the Vietnamese family that shared the car with us was amused and a bit irritated that we would be joining them. Since the train left pretty late, we went straight to bed, but not before snapping some pictures of our cheap predicament.

Some time around 8 am, everyone started unloading, but no one mentioned which stop we were at. We have struggled here more than in any other region with communicating with the locals. Most often, no one attempts to help you, and they laugh when you ask questions and sometimes just walk away. It's a very frustrating cultural "lesson" to learn. Here, we caught a minibus into Sapa, and we held out on our lower rate of 30,000d when they threw prices like 150,000d at us - we were groggy and sleep-deprived, but we knew we were too stubborn to bend to their demands, and we got what we wanted.

The drive up takes about an hour and a half, and most of the way, we just gawked at the beauty outside the windows. The mountains were almost all cultivating rice, down steep slopes of the greenest green you've ever seen. We were blocked at times by massive water buffalo that sauntered along the skinny roads without much care for our schedule. We sped along, barely missing massive busses coming from the other direction, and never really sure which side of the road we were "supposed" to be driving on (they drive on the right side, like in the US, and like in Laos). Hilltribe women and children sat alongside the road in their colorful costumes - a preview of what we were sure to see in town.

For Lucky

2010-07-01T20:44:00.004+07:00

We've been in Luang Prabang, Laos, for the past few days and absolutely love it here.

Everything is just amazing- the contrast of the decaying French Colonial architecture with the Lao culture and numerous temples, to fresh-baked baguettes accompanying each meal... it's extraordinary! There's far too much to write about given the short amount of time that we have here in a little internet cafe, but a few highlights:

- Hiking up alongside Kuang Si waterfall and climbing up a section of the falls to reach a secret lagoon so impossibly beautiful that it's beyond description. We kept remarking that it seemed fake it was so stunning!

- Perusing the night market that forms on the main road each evening with gorgeous silk scarves and all sorts of incredible items, framed by lights reflecting off the nearby temples.

- Meeting excellent new friends from England and the United States that we've met up with a couple times since sharing a tour with them to the Buddha Cave (a remote cave above the Mekong River filled with discarded Buddha statues), and learning about their lives and experiences here in Asia.

- Sharing a cup of fruit (mango, pineapple, banana, apple, dragonfruit, and piya) while waiting for a french crepe from one of the roadside carts.

"For Lucky" is the phrase vendors at the Hmong night market use to let you know that you are receiving a special discounted price for being their first customer. We doubt it's authenticity because we hear it every time we reach a new vendor, but we've taken them up on the well-wishing once or twice in exchange for beautiful Lao handicrafts.

We love it here and are sad to move on in the next few days, but we're perfectly safe, very happy, and taking lots of pictures (which have just been uploaded), so look for some exciting additions in the next few days.

Also, we're in Hanoi, Vietnam - just arrived this afternoon. We'll be heading out tomorrow to take a bus to a nearby village that is closer to some natural beauty we want to see...thanks for your continued love, support, and prayers.

40 Hours of Continual Travel

2010-06-30T11:50:00.001+07:00

Last Thursday, we said our tearful good-byes to our friends at the center, and before we even knew it, we were on the top of a double decker bus flying down the road towards Bangkok.

We had some business to take care of there, but after catching up on some rest at the Quinley's, we caught the overnight train from Bangkok to Nong Khai on the northeastern border of Thailand.

We took a tuk tuk from the train to the bus station and avoided paying double what the man asked for. We went through customs and successfully obtained visas at ridiculous prices (even if they were reasonable, any price to just enter a country is ridiculous). We took another tuk tuk to the northern bus station and waited several hours to get a 10-hour bus from the capital, Vientiane, to Luang Prabang. The drive was breath-taking, and we enjoyed ourselves, until around 6 pm.

The mountain vistas were breath-taking until darkness set in and the bus driver sped crazily down the switch-backing mountain roads. It was dark, and we could've fallen into a precipice (<-- Ace Ventura line).

We finally got into LP around midnight and flopped into a nice roadside guesthouse (he didn't speak a word of English - it's incredible that we managed to get what we wanted) and slept off our trip until the next morning...stay tuned!

To Lao, and Beyond!

2010-06-24T00:22:00.003+07:00

This blog is called "The Y Rock Movement" for a reason...and again, the Weyhrauch's are moving! We're off to Bangkok today on an overnight bus, and tomorrow evening we'll catch another overnight train to Nong Khai on the border to grab our visa and head into Vientiane, Laos. Blogs from here on out will be dependent on internet access, but I'm sure you won't see much of a drop from us anyway - we do love to tell stories!

These past two weeks have flown with all the activity here - I was a photographer for a Thai wedding, we've finished very successful rounds of classes, we've said our good byes over dinner with friends and a final mango roti before we shove off.

We love and miss you all so much! Our time here has flown by, and we're sad to leave Step Ahead. This organization is such a blessing, and we're excited to pass on our knowledge to Christy, the new volunteer teacher here for the next two months. Pray for our health and safety, as we are daily praying for yours.

July 28th will be here before you know it - then it's time for med school, cell phones, car insurance, jobs and expensive food again ;-) Ah, America!

Coffee Crappers

2010-06-18T13:17:00.006+07:00

Just one hours' drive north of the center is the beautiful Khao Sok National Park where Derek, Sarah and I spent last Saturday. After breakfast, we followed a rough map on their website through Takuapa and managed to find ourselves without any road signs. We pulled over and asked a local how to get to Route 401, and the old woman responded with a heavy dose of directions in Thai. I nodded along (I told her I didn't speak it, but that didn't stop her) and remembered the hand motions...we figured, at least we could round the corner and speak to someone in English without offending her. She followed us right back into the car, speaking through the doorway. We drove, and somehow, we found the right road, following only the memory of her vague hand gestures.

Khaosok is the oldest evergreen rain forest in the world. This park is home to some very unique animals, like the clouded leopard, the Malaysian tapir and sun bear, and the mouse deer. We parked the car and paid our 200 THB fee (about $7) to enter the park. We crossed on foot to the entrance of the first of three possible sight seeing places. Many areas were roped off due to the dangerous rivers that worsen with the rainy season. We looked at the horrendously overpriced list of tourist activities and snubbed it - we were doing this one ourselves (to be fair, we usually do them ourselves).

We started up one trail to see a "panoramic" view of the jungle. We climbed many steep stairs that were in disrepair and quickly stopped pulling off to the side to read the barely legible, rusted signs in Thai. We saw an army of massive ants, with big black bodies and big red heads. We think they were giant fire ants, and they were at least a half inch long. They were all over the hand rails and when you looked at them, they reared up and tried to check you out to. *Shudder*...disgusting.

We wandered over a suspension bridge with boards missing and broken support cables. It was like in the movies, where they walk over this nothing of a bridge, and at a key moment, the rotting boards break out from under them. Yep. It was like that.

We got to what seemed like then end of the trail, but we could see nothing like a panoramic view, so we kept going. I mentioned at least twice that I was pretty sure we weren't on a path anymore, but Derek and Sarah were determined. I peeked at the ground around the time they began agreeing with me about us having gone too far, and saw a worm moving like a slinky. When we got back to the trail, I looked down and saw the worm stuck to my ankle. I slapped it, and the back end came off, but it held tight. I smacked it again, and still another chunk broke off, but it was resilient. Finally, the third strike broke the sucker off. I wasn't bleeding, but I was hysterical, and Sarah took my hand and walked me down the path, telling me that it was probably nothing. But, I knew it was a leech. I had gotten them on the bottoms of my feet in Wash Park, Colorado while playing in a stream. And they're on my ultimate hate list. Derek had one on his sock, but it was brushed away easily. And Sarah was clean...we thought.

On our way to lunch, Sarah took one of her shoes off. Something that looked like a rock rolled out. But, it wasn't a rock. It was a fat leech which had just filled itself to the brim and had detached itself from her toes. It struggled to move its overfilled body along the ground, and while we filmed it, Sarah dared to check her other foot. Low and behold, another was stuck fast to her big toe, and a first attempt at removal failed (they're slippery buggers). She pulled it free and Derek squished them both into oblivion on the pavement, squirting Sarah's blood on my shoes...don't worry, she promised me she was free of any blood borne diseases ;-)

We ate at the only restaurant we could find, and they gave Sarah napkins to stop the bleeding. When we were done, she walked to the side to adjust her makeshift bandage, and two women from Ireland came to the rescue with "plasters" (bandages) and water. We thanked them and took off for our second hike, because Sarah's a trooper, and we wanted our money's worth on the park. The latter half of the hike was quite easy as the dirt path was more like a road. We walked along without seeing anything of consequence while Derek looked in vain for the Malaysian Tapir and elephants he was sure were just out of eyesight. To navigate a particularly skinny pathway, I led the way. As we came around the bend, we saw a Civet cross the road just up ahead. We rushed excitedly to the spot where it ascended into the trees to see it climb out of sight. Just then, a Thai guide and two farangs came up, asking what we had seen. We told him. The guide smiled at our naivety and told us it was a monkey. Stupid guide...like we haven't seen a hundred monkeys and we're hallucinating from blood loss.

I have never seen a civet before, even in pictures, but Derek's spent WAY too much of his life learning otherwise useless facts about very "irrelevant" animals that one could never hope to even see...except this ONE time, when it came in handy. I described the animal to him and he determined what it was, and I affirmed this when we got back and looked it up online. They are very difficult animals to track down, and it's a miracle if you see one at all...it was pretty cool. We didn't take this picture - the animal was much too quick. Civets are known for producing the most expensive coffee in the world (watch The Bucket List), called Kopi Luwak. The stuff sells for $100-600 per pound! It is made from coffee cherries that have been eaten by the animal, partially digested, and are then harvested from its feces. Mmmm, GOOD!

We detoured down to a swimming hole, but none of us were interested in getting in the lake after the leech attacks, and none of us have ever watched the ground so carefully as we did now. It started to rain, but we moved on to see a very beautiful river filled with smooth, giant boulders. It was very peaceful, and we were all in awe that we were here, in the middle of this massive rain forest in Thailand by ourselves. We felt pretty grown up...that, and we just bought our first car insurance policy ;-)

We hiked further to see the waterfall, and you might say we were disappointed by their definition. This was no waterfall...it was a rock with some river "water falling" over it. But, it was pretty and the walk back was pleasant.

It's Not Nepal, But I'll Take It!

2010-06-13T23:56:00.001+07:00

We spent this last with Sarah Hendrickson, a friend of mine from High School. She joined us for a week of relaxation after trekking in Nepal and doing research on tuberculosis in Velore, India for 9 months.

We had quite a time getting her reeled in. I drove to the bus station early Monday morning and when the bus stopped, I could see her sitting in the top level (double decker) as the bus drove off again. Unsure whether or not she had spotted me, I ran back to the car and followed the bus until it let someone else off. I ran and spoke with the bus driver, telling him that my friend was on the bus and that he needed to let her off. He pointed ahead and I assumed he'd pull over up the road, but he just drove on and I followed him right out of town. As we rounded the final curve out of the mountain pass, I saw what he was pointing at: another identical orange bus ahead of him, the one that Sarah was on. And it was flying. I went back to the center to wait for her call.

Meanwhile, Sarah HAD spotted me at the station, but the bus only stopped for a moment and when she had gotten to the lower level, the driver's assistant refused to let her off until they reached the "downtown" area, where she did, in fact, get off. I must have passed her driving through the area after the bus that she wasn't on in the first place. She waited to see if I'd catch up and then took a taxi back to the station to wait. The taxi driver didn't know where the station was (it's not that big of a town) and dropped her off past it. She insisted on being let off and a lady on a motorcycle offered to take her the rest of the way there. Sarah waited at the bus station for two hours for me to return, while I waited by the phone for her to call. Finally, she got a taxi to drop her at Step Ahead (which he miraculously recognized) in the middle of my class, and we finally got her to her room.

This week, Sarah and I lounged at the beach, had many Nutella Rotis, snacked on popcorn and M&Ms while watching Supernatural and The Big Bang Theory and got massages. We made several runs to Thai Totes and shopping trips downtown. We found gorgeous shells at our private Shell Beach and sipped on Derek's mango shakes. I watched her pull the exoskeleton off of jumbo prawns and pull leeches off her toes. We had fun with a fancy camera and enjoyed cocktails at Chong Fah Resort and visited the beached police boat from the tsunami. We looked at her pictures from Nepal and listened to her hum the official song of the World Cup. It was an excellent week.

Phi Phi Don (pron. Pee-Pee Don): Not like it sounds

2010-06-13T23:46:00.007+07:00

Imagine a beautiful tropical island. Still, translucent waters gently lap at powder-soft white sand and slowly fade into a memorizing crystal blue. Can you picture that island? Well, when that island needs a vacation, it goes to the phi phi islands.

The view from the main beach on Phi Phi Don

Arriving with a throng of tourists on a ferry from Railay, we were immediately hit by the nearly overwhelming array of options for activities and accommodations greeting us at the Ton Sai Bay pier on Phi Phi Don. Checking out a wall listing places to stay, we settled on 'The White,' a very pleasant yet budget-friendly hotel that occupies a corner in the middle of the tiny, highly concentrated island community. The hotel was aptly named, with a white decor serving as the central theme for our small but very comfortable room. As we prepared for a relaxing trip to the beach, I had no idea how much fun and adventure was lying in store for us in the Phi Phi islands. It's far too much for a single entry, especially given the propensities of a writer as long-winded as myself, but I'll do my best to give a recap of some of the highlights.

Same beach as above, viewed from the kayak at high tide

Phi Phi Don is the largest and only inhabited island of the small phi phi chain. Lying on a narrow sandy isthmus, the Ton Sai Bay Pier monopolizes one side of the isthmus while a beautiful beach lays claim to the other. We found ourselves here for part of the first day, relaxing on the sand and taking in the view. After resting up, we put together a picnic lunch of some baguette sandwiches and chips, rented a kayak, and began paddling out of the above bay to Monkey Beach.

After battling our way to the small beach, we pulled the kayak up onto the incredibly soft, pure white sand. We then set up our beach mat and began enjoying our lunch.

That's when they came.

The noise of movement over the leaf litter of the jungle floor behind us came to my ears and I immediately knew what had happened. Drawn by the smell and noise of our meal, the monkeys descended on us to demand their fair share. What follows is a very interesting experiment in the male and female approach to conflict resolution. Kendra stood peacefully among the monkeys, holding her sandwich without experiencing any harassment, while filming me in a protracted battle with several of the vicious demonic beasts.

A happy portrait taken at the site of 'The Battle at Monkey Beach'

   Rage and malice consuming their soulless monkey bodies, the little devils made vicious charges at me, hissing and glaring with monkey lust at the sandwich I was holding. One problem- it was my sandwich, and I was prepared to do as much yelling and ineffectual kicking as was necessary to keep it that way.

   With growing boldness, the monkeys charged at me and I settled on the obvious solution of retreating into the shallow surf to kick sand and salt into their monkey faces. The most daring of the several that were attacking me even tried to venture into the water, but a blast of wet sand had them in quick retreat. And so we danced...and I made those monkeys watch me eat my sandwich.

   Despite my dramatic description, I was quite surprised at how vicious the monkeys were but never considered myself in any real danger. Only towards the end did I start to get actually angry, and by that time I'd finished my sandwich and they had set off for the greener pasture of the white bread a boat of tourists offered them.

   Picnic over, we kayaked back into Phi Phi Don and rested up for an incredibly fun evening of fire shows and various other promotions the elaborate bars all showed off. Our favorite was the Banana Bar, a rooftop bar with neon paint patrons can use to decorate as they please.

   For dinner, we had 'the best phad thai in the world,' as recommended by a passing couple who would actually become good friends. Lane and April Perry are ex-residents of Oklahoma come denizens of New Zealand, where they are continuing their work in their graduate studies focused on higher education. We'd see them many times throughout our stay and always greatly enjoyed the wonderful conversations that we had. We're excited to keep in touch and hopefully visit them sometime in the future.

   The next day promised a tour of the Phi Phi islands with a discounted price from a local company. After the frustration of a very late start, we set off towards Phi Phi Ley.

Approaching Phi Phi Ley

The first stop was in a beautiful inlet formed by a channel into the center of the island complex. The islands rise straight out of the water, no beach or even inhabitable surface save for the Maya beach area we'd later explore. The inlet itself was beautiful, with the gorgeous limestone cliffs frosted in greenery rising straight up from the water below. We were able to swim about for an hour before heading to a cove on the opposite side of the island.

The cove in the center of the island complex

Our next stop was a cove on the other side of the island. To our surprise, we would depart the boat and make a short but surprisingly difficult journey to the infamous Maya Beach. Jumping off the boat into the rough water of the cove, we swam to a network of ropes directly in front of a less-than-structurally-sound ladder. Battered about by the rough water, we finally were able to make it up the ladder before climbing down the other side and hobbling over sharp rocks as surf from the rushing tide did its best to knock us onto them.

Making our way off the rocks onto the sand, we hiked through a short patch of beautiful jungle, with the steep cliffs above opening up as we approached the beach. The trees gave way to tall fronds and your excitement built as you got closer, until all of a sudden the view pounced on you. Despite its notoriety, Maya Beach easily came in behind Railay West and Phi Phi Don in terms of beauty, but it was quite striking. Soon enough, we found ourselves called back to make the journey to the boat and continue our tour around the Phi Phi islands.

The rest of the day's tour would explore Phi Phi Don, Mosquito Island, and Bamboo Island (easily my favorite for the beautiful view from its understated beach). We would also meet an extremely nice Israeli couple, on extended vacation after their service with the military. Speaking with both, I was very impressed by their perspective and they each sold us on interest in visiting Israel.

Kendra Interjects: Our last stop on the boat tour was Shark Point, where we were "guaranteed" to see Reef Sharks, a fairly large but not "particularly" dangerous shark off the coast. Either way, there were sharks in the water, and they were on record as, at some point in history, having attacked humans before, so I'm still putting them in the "large fish with teeth that I never want to meet" category. But, we both got in anyway. We spotted some long, white fish that looked like distant sharks in the shadows (my fears were causing me to hallucinate and hyperventilate, a bad combination while snorkeling in shark-infested waters), but we saw nothing of the sharks and Derek managed to get himself stung by jellyfish...twice.

After viewing the sunset from the boat, we would have another wonderful night in the crazy fun party that is Phi Phi Don, with some more excellent encounters with Lane and April, and time spent with Bailey and a friend of hers she met on a trip to South America and coincidentally ran into here (small world indeed).

A morning ferry would take us away from Phi Phi and begin our trip back to what would be a very busy next week at the Center, but the memories we have of the tropical beauty of Railay and Phi Phi will be hard to wash away.

Railay Relaxation

2010-06-11T18:44:00.001+07:00

We were anxious to get started on our weekend getaway Thursday, and after our classes ended, we were already packed and ready to go. But, the truck needed to get checked out and we ended up having to wait for the shocks to be replaced. It was a bit awkward leaving once we did because it was the last day for our co-worker who wasn't talking with us, so I anticipated an uncomfortable exit. She wasn't around, though, so we said our goodbyes and drove the three hours to Krabi Town.

We parked at the pier and worked our way through the bossy long tail boat owners who laughed at us for wanting to pay 1/3 of their asking price. We got a very decent rate (better than they were offering - who's laughing now?!) and carefully made our way into the long tail boat via the bow with several other visitors. We were on our way to Railay, a part of Krabi that is only accessible by boat because tall cliffs make traveling by land impossible.

The waters got a bit rough in the afternoon and I threw on a life vest...I spent the last part of the boat ride wondering, if we capsized, how I would save the video camera from being ruined. The vests were strapped to the side of the boat and weren't required for passengers. I thought of how very useless they would be if we sank...and how pathetic it would look for the rest of the passengers to be floundering around in the water (I didn't take them for the swimming type) and me trying to save the electronics.

We arrived and walked on an underground plank through the shallow waters to the shore. The tide had receded quite a ways, and most of the beach was now mud. The waters were much too shallow for boats, so you had to walk into shore with your bags. Our first move was to check out the western shore, which is known to be more beautiful than the eastern shore. It is only a short five minute walk from one side to the other. A huge resort, Railay Beach Resort, has primo real estate in the entire midsection of the "island." We checked in to Ya Ya Resort (everything is a resort, but not everything is a resort). For about $10, we got a small fan room with no sink, but we are used to cheap options and didn't think we'd have any problem with it.

We had a nice dinner at the Diamond Cave Resort, but the mixture of cocktails and pain killers left me quite tired and a little woozy, and we went back to the resort early. On the way back, I dropped my camera case in the dark and in the mud, and we had to go back and look for it. We danced on the beach too...by beach I mean mud that used to be under water, and by danced I mean Derek held me up while I wobbled home.

Neither of us slept. He had tonsillitis and I had cramps...we were both hot and sweaty and in the morning, we woke up to ants making homes on our things. We decided - that's IT. We've had it. We're checking in to someplace with a real sink and windows. So, we got our stuff, had breakfast at Ya Ya Restaurant and checked in to the Railay Beach Resort. We spent the day lounging on their beach chairs with their fluffy towels, right on the edge of the western bay. I got a small sting from a jelly fish on my leg (a baby one - it looks like a huge water droplet), but otherwise we had a spectacular time. We swam in the pool and took many pictures. It was overcast, so for once Derek wasn't sweating like crazy. We had appetizers on a candle-lit mat on the beach and Bud's Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (heaven in scoop form). We ate at the Railay Beach Restaurant where they carved tomatoes and cucumbers into flowers.

That night, we lived a life of luxury. We soaked up every possible benefit of spending 10x the amount that we did on the room the night before. We got free soaps, tooth brushes, sewing kits - we took them all, even if we already had it. We used the whole thing of bubble bath and I got to BLOW MY HAIR DRY. I remembered days when my hair looked good, if only for a brief moment. We watched television and walked around in the free bath robes and slippers. We slept very well.

The next morning, breakfast was free, and bountiful! Derek loves hotel breakfasts, so he just about wet himself when he saw the spread in front of us. We both ate way too much, but we were getting our money's worth.

We met Bailey at the docks to board the ferry for Phi Phi Don, and we were on our way to further explore the beauty of southern Thailand!

Back from Paradise

2010-06-01T22:33:00.001+07:00

Hello! We're back from our 5 day trip to Krabi and the Phi Phi Islands, and we've got a lot of catching up to do here at the center. So, until we can write a proper blog, please enjoy these pictures of our trip, and we'll write up the story as soon as we've got an hour to spare...

Railay Beach Resort

Railay Limestone Formations

Railay Eastern Beach

Monkeys on Monkey Beach at Phi Phi Don

Kayaking in Phi Phi Don's Loh Dalam Bay

Loh Dalam Bay at low tide (That's Derek out there)

Maya Bay at Phi Phi Lay Island

Jelly Fishing and Drinks at the rooftop Banana Bar

Sunset off of Ton Sai Bay, Phi Phi Don

Thai Style Cookin'

2010-05-27T12:01:00.000+07:00

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

2010-05-23T15:27:00.005+07:00

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

2010-05-17T13:39:00.004+07:00

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

2010-05-15T17:26:00.000+07:00

"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

2010-05-13T22:19:00.003+07:00

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

2010-05-10T12:53:00.003+07:00

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

2010-05-07T19:00:00.001+07:00

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

2010-05-06T16:31:00.003+07:00

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

2010-05-04T13:50:00.001+07:00

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

2010-05-02T17:44:00.001+07:00

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!

2010-05-01T18:52:00.002+07:00

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

2010-05-01T12:08:00.003+07:00

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.

Elephant Parade

2010-04-26T14:55:00.004+07:00

Our next stop was the elephant camp. We drove up into the mountains and below we could see many different camps with many elephants. I thought Bailey would pee her pants with excitement and had to practically hold her down for fear of losing her out the window. I had been close to elephants in India, though when given the option to ride one, I opted for a camel, since that seemed more unique to me at the time. We stopped off a small dirt turn-off at a hut where lunch would be served. While we waited for it to be re-heated, I took some shots of the two elephants that were lunching themselves, waiting to ferry us to our next destination an hour's ride away.

We picked our elephant - the biggest one, of course! Bailey said she had a "special connection" with him. She bought some green baby bananas to give as treats during the ride. We got up on a bamboo platform and hopped on. I gave my camera to Bob, who was on the other elephant alone, and asked if he would take pictures for me of the two of us. Frankly, none of them turned out. Bailey sat beside me and the elephant's owner/trainer hopped on the elephant's head to sit. We must have been quite a site! We began lumbering down the dirt path into the countryside. When I say "lumbering," I mean it. If you've never ridden an elephant, the experience is rather rough. The thing has no shocks, and you get tossed from side to side, though not violently, with each step. You're right above his shoulders and you feel every move. The guide was enamored with my video camera and jumped off to film us (we'll see if he was successful, as he spoke no English and had never used one before). He took some pictures with Bailey's camera, which again, were mostly failures. Not much you can do about it, since you're busy actually having the experience! After awhile, the guide prompted Bailey to slide off the seat and sit on the elephant's neck. She looked like a kid in a candy store :)

We rode for awhile like this, with the trainer hopping off and on the elephant's face and shouting directives in Thai. The elephant clearly understood that he really meant it when his voice rose! Periodically, the elephant would stop completely and raise his trunk above his head demanding a banana. Usually, he wasn't satisfied with just one...

When we began heading up a hill, I got my turn riding bareback. I was a bit shocked at the prickly hairs on the elephant's head that poked me through my pants - didn't expect that one! When you ride on the neck, you use all your core muscles keeping your balance as you ride. There were two loops that we could hold on either side behind us that were rooted in the seat. It was difficult re-adjusting, as Bailey crawled off the head and up, we traded water bottles, cameras, etc. Then, I slid down with the elephant still walking, and at once I could feel my stomach muscles compensating for my being tossed from side to side. I actually was quite proud of how well I balanced and had relatively little difficulty sitting comfortably. The elephant's ears, as they flop to and fro, actually grip your legs to its head. We had a nice ride and finally had to get off onto another bamboo platform. We mourned the loss of our leathery friends as we recognized that the end of our ride signified the beginning of our hiking. And, they were cute!

We went down a path (let me clarify: this wasn't a path in the sense you're thinking...because it's a "Thai path," which means it's used a lot but probably shouldn't be, for safety reasons) to the water. We had to have someone help us because we were basically sliding down loose dirt and walking down very steep rock faces. When we got to the water, we were sent across in a cage on a zip line. The man in charge of it was so excited for our glee over the concept that he sent us early, without closing the door.

When everyone had crossed, we started walking up a fairly steep hill. The dirt was dry, dusty and red and quickly coated our feet and stuck to our sweating bodies. We weren't feeling too bad, though! We'd had a nice ride, knew we had to walk a bit, and actually were sharing our path with a naked, freshly washed elephant who walked beside us. But then, we started feeling the sun, as it was 2:30 during the hottest part of the year, and the hill got steeper. I made the mistake of asking how long this walk was - 2.5 hours. All straight up. Now, I'm usually a smart person, but when I saw the word "trek" and looked at the brochures, I was thinking we were going to walk a lot through the jungle, but as it was family friendly, it couldn't be that difficult. I was sooo wrong!

Only a half hour in, I could tell my calf muscles had been overextended and began to be concerned about the ever-increasing steep hill ahead. To add to my dismay, I began to recognize that this hike was going to force me into continual overly-strenuous exercise and I'm asthmatic. I didn't have an inhaler, because we were winging this trip and everything we were doing on it (when we left, we thought we'd end up in Laos or Cambodia...you see what I mean). "Thankfully", Robert had had two heart attacks previously and had been given an inhaler to help with his exercise. He shared it with me, and my airways loosened a bit.

I can't remember a time when I've been so hot, so sweaty, so very...miserable. Every step was a challenge. When we'd rest, we'd sit in the dirt on the roadside where the elephant poop often landed, and tried to catch our breath while dung beetles and cockroaches hopped around us. People passed us on motorcycles, making the hike feel unnecessary. Our water was warm, and we were soaked. Robert and Bailey were way ahead of me, and Robert was at least 60, so you can imagine how I felt! I was very out of shape and he was very "in shape", and I felt horrible making them wait for me. The bugs love you when you're sweaty, and I swear they can feel your annoyance, so they swarm around your head as you walk. To top it off, there was no end in sight, and every time I talked myself into getting to the top (that I could see), I'd get there only to realize that there was an even steeper part ahead.

When the road finally leveled off, after two hours, I was so relieved I almost cried! Finally, road that is walk-able. Nope. We left the road and went up the hill next to it, where we walked on another "Thai path" with loose stones and overgrown trees, and it was the steepest climb yet. I slipped in my flip flops and landed on a broken stump, and though it hurt like a *#&$^ to walk, we were close, they told me. We got out of the woods and back on to the road, and we saw a house seated on the very top of the mountain, just 100 yards away. We made it! our guide said. We made our way sluggishly to the house and collapsed on the seats outside. No, actually, he told us, we are staying on the other side of the village, so we needed to get up and keep walking. We did make it to our building and when we did, I sat on a broken bamboo beam and stared straight ahead, not moving for an hour. There's my complaining...I'm done. But I was justified - believe me.

When I finally came around, we sucked down the drinks they had for us and took turns "showering." The bathroom was a hut down the hill with an Indian-style (hole in the floor) toilet and a container of water. You dump the cold water on yourself with a bowl. The bathroom door was held closed by a rubber band, and the walls were so slatted that I could see all the chickens outside the bathroom clearly. We had only one bar of soap among the three of us, but this was not the time to be picky. We took a gander around the tiny town of the Lahu people of Burma, a hill tribe situated on one of the peaks of the Mae Tang mountain region where we would be staying tonight. It's incredible how quickly you can forget serious effort when surrounded by distracting new things. My body didn't let me forget that climb for days, but I was quite entertained with my new surroundings.

These people raise a lot of livestock, and every person's house was surrounded by at least 10 roosters, 15 chickens, and a dozen or so chicks. They had a few pigs too. I saw one unlucky chicken get plucked from the pack for dinner, and later saw a woman pulling feathers from the bird. I was glad not to have seen what happened in-between. We made dinner in our house and sat by candle light as the sun went down (there is no electricity here). Women came by to sell their jewelry and massage services, but none of us were awake enough to notice. We played logic games with twigs and learned how to blow bubbles out of leaf stems, which the village children had discovered (a video of this is posted on our shutterfly site). We clinked our plastic glasses with a local whiskey, made of rice...it was terrible! Our guides finished it off.

As the night closed in, the village children came by and sang us songs. Dressed in traditional clothing and singing Christian songs in Thai, they were a sight for sore eyes! The missionaries have told the people about God, and they are collectively a Christian group. We played cards until we couldn't keep our eyes open, and whoever lost had to be drawn on by the others with the soot from the kitchen pan (not my idea!). We slept under mosquito tents and it was a restless sleep...the roosters can't tell what time of day they are supposed to crow, so they do so, all together, at 1, 3, 3:30, 4, 4:15, 5, 5:20 am....you get the picture.

Asia's Golden Girls

2010-04-24T13:37:00.001+07:00

Give me one good reason why you wouldn't sign up for a three day trek in the Mae Tang mountains. You don't have tennis shoes or socks? No problem - I didn't. You want to get a good night's sleep? Eh, you can sleep when you're dead. It's expensive? No, actually, we got an unbelievable rate to do this (no, this isn't coming out of funds donated for our support). So? You'll go? Great!

We headed out early the next day to join the Cool Man Tour guide, a Thai named Non, in a three day adventure that promised many entertaining moments. We met the only other man on the trip, Robert, from Australia. After two heart attacks, he stopped working for himself and travels for fun. He's been to Thailand ten times and hasn't ever done a trek, so he figures he'll go for the gold. Three days is the longest trek we'd been able to find, and it was scheduled to end only hours before our return bus to Bangkok, so we signed up.

We were dropped off first at the local orchid garden and butterfly pavilion. We loved watching the 10 or 15 butterflies they had in there, but having been spoiled by the orchids in Singapore, I had less appreciation for the garden. We anxiously moved on to a local market where Non would buy our food for three days. We held off the anxious mountain village women selling their wares as they were quite aggressive. Their clothing was phenomenal, though, all made by hand of very colorful material.

We rode off to begin our adventure with the 7 Mountain Tribes, the most famous of which are the Long Neck Karen Tribe of Burma. The Thai government has granted them permission to reside in Thailand as the Burmese government is "not friendly" towards minority groups. These tribal people come together to sell their hand-woven scarves, metal bracelets and wood carvings in an area where many live. As we entered the tribal area, we met a woman who was busy weaving. Our guide sat beside her and told us the sad tale of her people.

The women of this tribe are made to wear gold rings around their necks as early as age 3, which are added to throughout their lives until they reach 35. When they marry, they can stop adding rings, but no one can ever remove them, both by tribal tradition and through necessity, as the rings make the neck muscles and bones weak from the spreading. If removed, the women would be unable to hold their heads up. The rings are very heavy and are put on in a spiral fashion over time.

We were told many different reasons why they put these rings on, none of which make too much sense: to protect from tigers biting the neck, to make them ugly so other tribal men won't steal them away, etc. The rings hardly make them ugly...they all smile so nicely, and the sparkling gold and multicolored clothes they wear hardly detract from their natural beauty (though I'm not condoning the practice). They also wear rings around their legs, right below the knees, as the picture shows. As this is naturally the fattest part of the calf, their leg growth has been severely stunted, but they walk fine. I don't know why those are necessary. Some have the rings around their ankles as well.

The girl in this picture is only three years old, but you can see that she's already been adorned with her neck rings. Her mother beside her, has an exceedingly long neck, and plays a hand-made guitar and sings to passers by. They are a joyful people, always smiling, happy to tell us of their traditions. Each woman has a hut with a front that acts like a store. They live behind it in the same place. I saw a husband wasting the day away, snoozing on his back. Long Neck Karen certainly is a patriarchal society.

The woman in this picture told me her story. She's my age - 23 - and her husband is still in Burma. She has been in Thailand for four months without him and wants children, but can't have them with him being gone (hopefully obvious). She let me try on some "practice" neck rings, which had been sawed in half for easy application. They were very heavy, and the number of rings in the one she gave me stretched my neck out just from wearing it for a minute.

The tribe shared the area with several others, including the "Big Ear" tribe. The women gauge their ears with metal loops. Try not to lose your lunch...but here's a nice shot of the ring removed.

Now, we had an incredible time at this place, though we recognized the unique challenges it left us with. We felt bad that these people were so very...available. Their homes are in a village designed by the Thai government to welcome and encourage visitors, which is both educationally enlightening and invasive. We were glad they are safe from the danger of the Burmese government, who is daily wiping out the minorities in their country, but were disappointed that their cultures may be reduced to entertainment for curious travelers. We recognized that we were a part of this, and from all this I've come to the conclusion that I'm better off for meeting them, and they're better off for not being in Burma.

Our journey continued that day at the elephant camp, which I will describe next. Stay tuned...

Kendra Goes to Chiang Mai

2010-04-22T18:52:00.000+07:00

Lured by cheap overnight bus prices, Bailey (a new volunteer) and I decided we'd leave town on the eve of the first day of Songkran and head north, to Chiang Mai, where the festival is legendary. We took a 12-hour bus to Bangkok from Khao Lak, where we crashed with Step Ahead's CEO and his family for the day. We had some new fruit for breakfast (red with green hairs, pictured below, called Rambutan, and very sweet "grapefruit") an unbelievable dinner (quiche! mmm) with their friend, who is a tailor, and her husband. No rest for us - we ran around the whole day, learning that because the holiday is very popular for traveling, we couldn't get back by Sunday and we'd have to wait until Wednesday to return. Kim took us to two bus stations and finally we landed return tickets home (we were really winging this trip) and tickets to Chiang Mai.

That night, we got on another overnight bus, and ten hours later landed in Chiang Mai, drugged from sleeping pills that didn't do their job well at all, and somehow managed to wake up enough to get ourselves to a cheap guest house. We paid $5 apiece to share a room at Mountain View Guest house and had no air conditioning and rock-hard beds, but somehow the experience made this feel like a real backpacker's dream. We slept for 6 hours. After playing a bit of catch-up, we headed out on the town to experience Songkran in the city that does it best. The canal out front was lined on both sides with giddy Thais on Holiday, scooping river water out with their buckets and hitting anyone foolish enough to come near. The water wasn't, *cough*, very clean, so we walked by in the street.

We wandered around town, getting water gunned down by every ten year old and grandfather in sight, and people have an extra sense of humor, it seems, when they slowly pour ice water down your back while you stand there, helpless. Where can you go? If you run, you're only running towards another kid with a hose! So we spent the day soaked through, wandering through the streets with a makeshift parade. We would steer clear of the crowds when we'd find an interesting temple to see- a statue of Donald Duck out in front of one made for an entertaining picture. In Chiang Mai, there are more Buddhist temples than in any other city of Thailand (300+). We did visit Wat Phra Singh, the center area for the Buddhist part of the Songkran festival (see Derek's blog previously on the history). Even at the temple, we were not safe from the water.

We wandered around the whole day like this, stopping for ice cream and ending at El Diablo's Heavenly Burritos. We sat far inside the little restaurant as the crammed street outside held overly-excited citizens loaded up with water, which they had no problem shooting inside the shop. By now, my thighs are getting rashes from the wet clothes and all the walking, so we headed back and slept...well, Bailey slept. I wanted to sleep.

The next day, the streets, to our surprise, were almost deserted. We had expected from all we had heard of this festival in the south, that Chiang Mai would throw down for a week after the "official" holiday had ended, and found that everyone was suddenly MIA. Not sure what to do with our time, we wandered out to get water and ended up in a Song Tao (Means "two rows") headed up into the mountains to check out the cities best-known temple, Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. We got the driver to agree to a low price if we'd only stay an hour. "This temple dates from 1383. By tradition, its site was chosen by placing a relic of Buddha on an elephant's back and letting it roam until it trumpeted, then circled and died." (Wikipedia) Of course, in the true "European" style, the temple was under construction during peak tourist season, so we got our pictures next to it covered in cloth and bamboo scaffolding, but this is what it looks like when it's not compromised.

We headed back to town and headed to the east side of the city, where we enjoyed some Indian food and met some boys at a local spa. They were having their feet treated with...fish. You stick your feet in a fish tank and let the fish eat the dead skin off. Mmm! This is not unique to Chiang Mai, and is quite popular throughout Thailand, but I hadn't mentioned it and thought it was high time to share!

We stopped at a few shops and had a drink at a local bar, called Kafe.We hit the night market where I found nice silver earrings for $2 and bartered for boxers. We decided to check out the night life and followed the Lonely Planet's directions to a night club for young adults, called Warm Up. The place was crawling with "rip roi" (well-dressed) Thai kids, the girls all sporting high high heels and short skirts, the boys with their popped collars and spiked hair. Bailey and I were disgusting, as we hadn't been back to the hotel all day. We danced in our street clothes with our backpacks, and attempted to make our hair not horrific in the bathroom with the other primping girls. We were the only foreigners there. There was no dance floor - the barely legals had little tables that they all crowded around, bounced up and down in place (since they could hardly walk in their unreasonable shoes), and sent text messages. Everyone was texting...texts in Thai symbols look funny.

We did find some other foreigners to cling to, but it turned out the girl (clearly the alpha-female) from Texas was a jerk and we decided we'd be better off alone. We danced in place to the American music after grabbing a Coke at the bar. Alcoholic drinks were too expensive, and we're too cheap anyway. We danced with some Thais for awhile until the band came on, and they were so horrible that we turned in early. Besides, we had to be up early...we had signed up that morning to leave the next day on a three day trek through the Mae Tang Mountains! To be continued...

Songkran Festival

2010-04-21T17:32:00.000+07:00

Imagine a nation at civil war. The bloodiest battle imaginable, with every man, woman, and child engaged in combat. Now, within your mental picture, replace the bullets with water and welcome to the Songkran Festival.

Celebrating Thailand's New Year, the country-wide water fight is derived from the practice of sprinkling others with the fragrant water used to bless buddha statues. Given that it's the hottest part of the year, what I can imagine started out as delicate flicking has now degenerated into the rabid desire to absolutely soak any person or inanimate object that crosses your path. And it's a blast.

On the first day of the three day festival, we loaded up the back of Step Ahead's pickup. Pastor Dton was behind the wheel and several young, local children that Step Ahead works with were overjoyed to ride in the back along with two garbage cans full of water. Well water and a healthy dose of food coloring. We were dishing out orange, but we had more than enough purple, red, green, and blue thrown back in our direction. There's also the widespread practice of 'chalking' people, which is based off the Buddhist monk's use of chalk. I would end the day painted in the stuff, as the Thais will run up to you and either assault you with makeshift-chalk in the form of baby powder or outright plaster you in dyed paint-chalk mixture.

So it was without delay that we took off, the smiling kids, Bailey, Kendra, Gai, and I all stationed in the back ready to rock. Our plan was to head into town and drive down the strip of buildings that constitute Bang Niang and Khao Lak. You would see a smiling group of people waiting along the roadside up ahead, armed with some buckets, chalk, a hose, and a small arsenal of squirt guns. Pastor Dton slows the truck and it is on. Both sides battle, each trying to leave the other more saturated then themselves, and after a short altercation we drive on to the next ambush. The process of forcefully exchanging water then repeats itself with just as much exuberance.

That's when we felt it. What did you feel, you ask? The joy of communal festivity? The cross-cultural unity and companionship of the holiday?

No. Ice water. Lots and lots of ice water.

The most dastardly had laced their water with icy coldness and it was like bringing a gun to a knife fight. I soon realized that, exposed as I was in the bed of the pickup truck, there was nowhere to run and left it up to fate as I engaged in a wet version of Russian roulette. On our pass through Khao Lak, much louder screams than normal led me to turn in Kendra's direction to see a young man, smiling maniacally, pouring a massive bucket of ice water down on top of her. I immediately knocked the bucket away with a quick jab and we pulled away at the same moment, but I flashed the guy a quick smile so he'd know it was alright.

For me, at least.

After our pass through town we headed out to Bangsak beach, where a big festival was brewing with lots of food carts and many people camping out in the grass or playing out in the surf. We hopped out of the truck, rung out our soaked clothing, and snatched up some delicious, very inexpensive treats for lunch. We then went down to the beach to play in the ocean.

As mid-afternoon hit we loaded up in the truck to make our way back. Riding in the bed of the truck, cheerful cries and laughter all around you, looking at the forest of beautiful palm trees and feeling the warm sun and cool breeze fight over which can make you more comfortable, you realize that home can be anywhere and you finally feel ice-water-to-the-crotch! Oh! Oh no! How could they simultaneously hit my inner thighs and down my back?! Ah man, that's cold.

Spring Cleaning and Spider Combat

2010-04-21T16:58:00.000+07:00

Sad to see Craig and Ranae leave after an exceptionally enjoyable two-weeks, we returned to southern Thailand and set about our prior activities of teaching and special projects. I also drove into Phuket to pick up a new volunteer, Bailey. Kendra thought from reading Bailey's emails that they would get along quite well, and her thoughts would seem prophetic as they hit it off instantly. It was an enjoyable week for me and a long week for Kendra, as she balanced a children's summer camp on top of teaching her course while also formulating and polishing Step Ahead's annual report. She definitely earned a relaxing Saturday, and Sunday found us driving about 30 minutes outside of town to go to Church.

Churches in the area are definitely things to be treasured. Amidst the sea of Buddhism, we really find a sense of family at the church services we attend and this experience epitomized that. We were at the church of Pastor Dton, a young man who we've had lots of interaction with at the center. Dton would lead the worship and sermon for the day within the small church building.

Overhead fans did their best to fight off the heat and humidity as Dton took care of the spiritual side of things. I augmented listening to Gai's translations of the sermon with reading through Mark and what was actually quite a long service seemed to pass by quickly. At one point, Bailey, Kendra, and I each got up to introduce ourselves to the congregation of about 12 people, and we were greeted quite warmly with smiles all around. The tiny size of the church only put more emphasis on the importance of the work we're doing supporting Christian networks here in Khao Lak.

With the final prayers, announcements, and offering concluded, we set about getting things ready for what would be a delicious lunch. Served in the standard 'family-style', we each received a portion of white rice and added different entrees to our plates from the large communal dishes. A spicy beef dish and tofu vegetable mix were my favorite, while Kendra's fish allergy once again left her playing it beautiful. I mean, safe.

For a special post-lunch desert, our hosts brought out a fruit tray and you should have seen us with that mango. It was fantastic. Spectacular. It was everything every mango dreams it could be and more.
Craig and Ranae were astounded by the quality of the mango during our trip here (and we were happy to oblige them with fresh cut mango and mango roties each day), and I think Craig would have literally passed out from sheer joy if he had been there to sample these ones.

Stuffed to the brim with mango, we helped clean up and then cleaned up even further. One of the reasons for our visit to the church was to 'clean house,' cleaning up the grounds around the building and cluttered rooms inside. I was mostly tasked with raking leaves and debris from the area behind and alongside the church, while Kendra and Bailey did their best assist things indoors and collect trash with me outside. Kendra would have involuntary reflexes fighting imaginary insects for days due to the mental trauma inflicted upon her by the legion of ants and other bugs that we faced during the onslaught.

At one point, I was inside helping move a heavier object when all of a sudden we collectively noticed a large (about 6 inch wide) spider on the wall. I couldn't tell if the massive specimen was safely inside the jars or behind them. Turns out he was behind them.

The girls screamed, but I remained cool, and immediately engaged in intimidating tactics. My prepared routine of flexing in various poses had little effect, however, so I determined that it would have to come to blows. At the behest of my wife, I engaged the beast in combat. What was his crime? Existing near Kendra, apparently, but she gets surprisingly upset when I refuse to kill things for her so I guess it's part of being a husband.

In keeping with the theme of monstrous beasts, let's now discuss tokay geckos. Here in southern Thailand, the geckos running around on the wall are only outnumbered by taxi drivers at the Phuket airport. They are, to my continued delight, running constantly about and feeding on the bugs that I've come to despise so dearly. I was in the main room of the building, ironically looking at a gecko on the wall, when one of the women called me to help remove a gecko from the kitchen area. I found this to be a strange request, as the slim little 4-6in guys are everywhere and run in and out of doors at their leisure. Then I looked under the desk where they were pointing.

A tail and monstrous gecko foot greeted my gaze, with the tail being itself the size of what I was expecting to see. A fairly large Tokay Gecko was hiding back there, and I tell you he was 10 feet long if he was a foot. [actually he was about 15in]. But that's huge by gecko standards, and tokays have a reputation for being 'the bulldog of geckos' (which I know doesn't sound impressive, it's like being 'the lion of penguin species'), biting with little cause for it and holding on tenaciously. After trying in vain to get a good photo, I kept patting his tail until he took the hint and bolted outside.

These were the highlights of a very rewarding day working at the church doing some very authentic work for Christianity here in Thailand. We got back to the center sweaty, exhausted (at least Kendra was, I was of course fine), and seeing ants everywhere. It was a great day, and we had an enjoyable, well-earned rest that evening.

Singapore Sling

2010-04-11T16:19:00.000+07:00

We flew to Singapore early Saturday morning. The taxi driver that picked us up pointed out everything he thought may be of interest to us, and then some. My dad bet us that we couldn't find any trash on the streets, which I took as a personal challenge. The roadways were beautiful, shaded by twisty trees and lined with miles of potted flowers which acted as a median.

We reached the YWCA, which was to be our home for the next few days. As in Bangkok, the rooms had twin beds which we smushed together, but since they were on rollers, our attempts were rather unsuccessful. We headed out to lunch in the basement of the nearby mall, which took some searching. I think it was Japanese food, but it's hard to draw the line sometimes. We spotted a van that goes to China Town for free, so we hopped on and visited the heavily populated area known for its markets. Chinese are Singapore's largest "minority", making up over 70% of the population.

We were getting warm and tired, so we waited for a long time where we were dropped off by the van for it to come again. We gave up and walked for some ways to a taxi stand. Even here, we couldn't get anyone to agree to take us back. They wouldn't answer questions. They'd just shake their heads, roll up their windows, and drive away, with you still hanging onto the car. We found out later that they can be fined for picking up people within the city center.

Singapore is known as The Fine City. It's appropriate, because it is, to date, the finest city I've ever seen. It's clean, orderly, technologically updated, and bustling with energy and innovation. Its law enforcement is also very harsh on violators of their many, MANY regulations. Drug traffickers are punished by death. Urinating - $500. Spitting or Smoking (in an unauthorized area) - $1000. No Durian (smelly fruit), no unusual sex acts (?), no flammable goods, no eating or drinking on the subway, and if you're caught with gum (illegal), fork over $1200. My mom brought gum in and chewed it in her room, hiding it well in the trash. With the money they make from these fines, Singapore has built its city on a gold standard - even the sidewalks shine. I didn't see a slum anywhere.

We finally took the subway home after being very frustrated as to whether the ticket machines would give change, and not knowing how to get out again. That night, mom stayed in, and Derek, Dad and I went exploring.

We walked downtown and into the Fullerton Hotel. Strings played in the background and carp swam in the fountains. We walked along the little canals and saw a unique sculpture of boys jumping into the water, some on the edge, some in the air, some with their clothes half off. We wandered finally into the Merlion area. Now, Singapore created a half-lion, half fish creature for publicity reasons in 1966 and it stands at the entrance of Marina Bay, spewing water from its mouth.

That evening, we happened to walk by a group doing a program for Earth Hour, where the blue building in the picture counted down to a one-hour block of time where people from around the world turned off their lights to save energy. Many lights went out, and for that hour, people at the demonstration ate and sang in the dark. We found food finally in a nearby mall, where we had pizza.

The next day, in an effort to preserve funds in such an expensive city, we took off to the Botanical Gardens, where we could wander around for free. We loved the pond, with turtles and swans everywhere. We were impressed by a certain tree that grows backwards (branches drop and grow into the ground).

We went next into the jungle area, and were so overwhelmed with the heat and humidity that we escaped for a park bench where we could finally breathe. We found the ginger garden with a nice waterfall and watched some other tourists feed the catfish bread.

We stumbled upon the National Orchid Garden, which did have an admission fee. Mom stayed behind in the air conditioning, and I was a bit jealous of her as we got on further. I've never seen so many types of orchids in my life! All brilliant, with unique markings. You could grow anything here!

The yellow orchids in this picture were used at our wedding, mostly in the centerpieces. They grow like weeds here. We found a special place where they display hybrid species - you can see our favorites on our Shutterfly site.

That evening, we took the subway to Clarke Quay for dinner at Tapas Tree, a Spanish-inspired restaurant where you enjoy small portions, like appetizers. Mom picked it - three cheers! We wandered down the pier and found The Clinic, a new-age concept for a bar of which we all approved. It is set up like a doctor's office, with drinks in IV bags and take your shots in plastic syringes and test tubes. You sit in wheelchairs while you drink. At $50USD a pop, we didn't sit down. We also enjoyed watching a man selling Turkish ice cream. He worked the ice cream with something that looked like a crow bar, to keep it from sticking to the sides (dry ice), and wore a funny hat. He could take your ice cream away from you by keeping it stuck to the bar and would ring bells with the backside of it before handing it out. He loved his job.

We took off for the famous Raffles, Singapore's most well known hotel that was built in 1887. The Long Bar is where the Singapore Sling was invented, and we found it had been moved since my dad had last visited. We were sent to the second floor when they learned we were not staying with them, which was fine, since the second floor seems better anyway. We split two Singapore Slings among the four of us (courtesy of Craig - thanks, Dad!) because they are famous and high in demand - economic term for EXPENSIVE. One Sling costs $25 SIN ($18USD). They were very pink and very good. A band played while we sipped, and I got up and danced. Amazingly, they all followed me, but my dad was mortified that he had to get up, and when I ran to get the camera, they all sat down.

The next day was pretty tame - we took the subway all the way around, to the very edges of the country. All we saw were very orderly apartment buildings. We got off at Little India (Indians make up 14% of the minority population) but were only there a minute. I realized all the restaurants were southern Indian food, which I don't care much for. My Hindi was useless too - they only spoke Tamil. We rode the subway to the mall and had lunch at McDonalds/Subway. That night, we wandered down Orchard Road, the "Rodeo Drive" of Singapore. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant, with blueberry cheesecake for dessert. Derek and I dropped our heads at the prospect of walking away from so much development, so much sugar, such a clean city. But, we're trading them in for lower prices, friendly people, and work that will actually bring Thailand closer to Singapore's developed position.

The morning my parents left, we wandered out for "donuts", cream-filled sugared bread and an attempt to use the internet without paying, which was useless. We took a cab to the airport and dad took pictures out the front window the whole way; my mom sighed louder with each shot taken. I had a hard time letting them go - it's a unique thing indeed to get to know your parents when you're older, and to have so much time to yourself...no work, no activities, no television. Just you and them, traveling together. I wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world. We miss them very much, but consider ourselves very blessed to have had them here for a time. We miss both our families very much, but are enjoying life in Khao Lak, sure as ever that God has a plan for us here.

Mango Fever - Vacation in Khao Lak

2010-04-06T14:18:00.000+07:00

" Taxi?! "

"You already asked me! Like 5 minutes ago."

Things were getting out of hand. An early-morning departure from Bangkok had us waiting for a late-morning pick-up in Phuket and I was slowly losing control.

" You want taxi?! "

Their name is taxi driver and their number is legion. Surrounded by a throng of smoking Thai taxi drivers and smoking European tourists, Kendra and I searched diligently for our pickup. Thai sunlight apparently missed the memo on having a 'hottest part of the day' and just goes for broke throughout daylight, so we looked out into the crowded parking lot from the shade of the Arrivals area. Tragically, Pastor Dton had been there for 40 minutes before we spotted him and gained salvation from what is now, along with Houston, TX, one of my least favorite places in the world.

Pastor Dton very kindly drove us back the 60miles to Khao Lak, whisking us away from the Bangkok portion of our trip and delivering us to tropical paradise. The familiar sights and smells of Khao Lak now had the added complement of Craig and Ranae, but we would wait to enjoy the combination until after resting at the center.

Wanting ice cream from a road-side vendor, Craig and Ranae stopped for a cone. Mistake #1 - never eat ice cream or any other frozen food from a vendor in any country that is not developed. Bad things happen. Dad's mint chocolate chip tasted like Vick's VapoRub and toothpaste and cough syrup. Not the right flavor of mint. Mistake #2 - if you pay for something, no matter how much it was, it is a sunk cost. You've already lost the money. If it sucks, it makes no difference if you finish it or not. Cut your losses and get away with your health. Mistake #3 - don't listen to your daughter (who has had her fair share of food-borne illness) and finish the cone anyway. Who cares that you can hardly stomach the flavor? You paid almost $2 for it. Even animals know that if something tastes bad, it's probably poisonous.

Now, Craig has been all over the world and should not have made even one of the above mistakes, but he made all three, and in the middle of the night, groaning and shaking, we rushed him to the hospital, which was a sickening 20 minutes from our house. My mom was unaffected, thank God, but my dad had to stay overnight for IV fluids (he also wasn't drinking enough, and he knew it) and food poisoning. Now, he ate all the same things we did, except that disgusting cone, so you do the math. Fortunately, the unbearable pain subsided after an hour or two and his hospital stay was rather pleasant, and certainly inexpensive. He was back to his old self the next day, when we took them to see the preschool where we work after flying around looking for an ATM that worked to pay for his treatment.

Now in Khao Lak we have certainly been living the life of a missionary. Pulling the skin off of the chicken within our 90cent rice bowl was par for the course around 6pm before Craig and Ranae came. But, with their arrival, we were now able to enjoy a more indulgent side of Khao Lak.

This began at Chong Fah, a boutique mini-resort right on the beach. 2-for-1 cocktails at sunset were the occasion, and Craig was certainly up to the task of capturing the moment on digital film. For more photos, you can of course check out our photo site at kendraderek.shutterfly.com .

Our awesome vacation companions

Don't let the fact that I look like I'm 12 fool you- I'm actually much older

Fortunately, without haze on the horizon, the sun would make it all the way to the water

One of many very cool artistic shots by Craig

Several of the very friendly staff at the beautiful Chong Fah resort have learned English at Step Ahead. Kim first turned us on to the place and we couldn't recommend it more highly. The owner is also quite nice and has done a wonderful job rebuilding after the tsunami.

The next morning, Kendra would take Craig and Ranae on a short scooter trip to the nearby market. Lots of meat and produce are on offer, with exotic fruits and pig faces making for some interesting memories.

For the rest of the day, we would retire to Bangsak beach (which we've posted pictures of before) to take in the sun and powder-soft sand. Relaxing on the beach was just what the doctor ordered for us, and during lunch we were blessed with the company of two puppies.

Testing the waters

Atlas of Anatomy on the tropical beach? Hello 'Perfection,' my name's Derek Weyhrauch

One of the rare moments during the trip when Craig actually rested

One of our pensive lunch-time puppy companions

Dinner would find us at the nearby national park, where a short hike would show Craig and Ranae the towering trees, curious plants, and small lizards of the jungle (giant spiders were absent, but the threat of their attack was imminent). We then had dinner in the jungle restaurant while the sun went for a swim on the horizon.

The remainder of our time in Khao Lak would quite wonderfully prove to be much the same. Dinner on the beach (pineapple fried rice served in the hollowed-out pineapple is so choice), a seashell scavenger hunt at a northern section of Bangsak beach, and another round of cocktails at Chong Fah (Ranae's mango daquiri owned my standard daiquiri, but mine was delicious nonetheless). Khao Lak's finest fresh mangoes proved to be a huge hit, and quite a few would be sacrificed. The same look of pure bliss that I saw on Jordan's face years before as he ate a gourmet cheeseburger at a restaurant in Lahaina, Maui was evident on Craig's with each bite into a mango roti.

Finally, I remember joking during the trip that, given the frequency with which Craig snapped photos, we'd end of with a flip book of the trip. Well that's almost literally the case, so I'd again invite you to check out shutterfly. I will, however, leave you with one of the best shots of the trip- Craig's tequila sunrise at Chong Fah. I believe it's been appropriately re-named, "Tequila Sunset."

Cabbages & Condoms

2010-04-05T21:17:00.000+07:00

This is no clever title...it's the name of a restaurant in Bangkok where we dined during our trip. A little background....

From their website: Our restaurant was conceptualized in part to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and to generate income to support various development activities of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA). Their motto is "our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy." That's excellent. I was just going to say, waiter, I'm concerned about just that!

The gent that started this restaurant wanted to make condoms as easily accessible as cabbages (which are VERY accessible). Instead of mints, they give each person a condom! They have lights and decorations and costumes all created from condoms. It's a very fun, lighthearted environment that has actually done a lot of good for Bangkok.

Naturally, as Christians, we believe that sex shouldn't occur until marriage, so we're not supporting their cause as one of sinful indulgence. Rather, this restaurant's goal is to teach the community about safe sex practices so that diseases won't spread as quickly and so adults would have less children (the founder was concerned about the prevalence of AIDS and overpopulation problems). Especially with a sex trade as well "developed" as Bangkok's, this restaurant's plight is light in deep darkness. But, on a lighter note...

We thought it was a riot! What an entertaining restaurant! Right up there with Casa Bonita...(that's for you, Colorado!)

Venice of the East

2010-04-03T15:26:00.000+07:00

The last day in Bangkok, we took a tour of the Chaopraya River. A private boat owner took us around for over an hour to see the canals. We had met the gentleman a few days before and agreed on a fair price. We stopped at a floating market but asked him to shove off immediately when we realized that all the boaters were simply docked, cooking in their boats, waiting for you to walk by to eat...and it was too early for that. Floating markets are unique here...Bangkok was once known as the Venice of the East, because people would sell their goods in their boats, floating up and down the river and coming up to your boat. We did have one woman come up to our boat to do just this, but we couldn't settle on a price and didn't want anything she had anyway, but it was cool to barter with someone on another boat in the middle of the river.

The boat driver stopped at a stand alongside the river. He didn't pull up to the bank - instead, he waited for the women to send a bucket out to him on a string by pulley, filled with bread. We put 10 bhat in the bucket (about 30 cents) and threw chunks in the water. Catfish came out of the woodwork. There were so many, some of them were actually not in the water at all, flopping on top of the many fish below them. They had huge, gaping mouths. I figure, if I could eat fish, and if I were desperate enough to eat one from this filthy river, I'd come here and take one of these catfish, because these bottom-feeders are stuffed each day with primo bread. This river is best measured alongside the Hudson for cleanliness - actually, the Hudson might be cleaner (never thought I'd say that). We did see boys swimming in this water and another woman doing her dishes in it, ...someone, gag me to DEATH, was brushing their teeth in it. Shoot me in the face. I can't even deal with it.

It was actually quite fun; the juxtaposition of dumpy houses that must flood every time a boat drives by too quickly, and the gaudy, super elaborate temples in between, certainly made it an interesting journey. Sometimes we'd pass other boats that would kick up waves, and the water would splash us over the side - my mom stuck her face in my dad's shirt, thinking she could get some sort of disease from the water...she probably was afraid of contracting some water-borne disease. But, hey, let's ask the man who brushes his teeth in it each day!

We took a cab to the Weekend Market, where our hearts were broken in pieces at the sight of the sales of animals. It wasn't a row of pet stores. Sting rays in bags of water, overheated albino frogs, baby squirrels in tiny cages, water-deprived kittens...in bags as far as the eye could see (see below). There were signs on the aquatic tanks that you couldn't take pictures - probably because they had gotten the fish illegally. Same with the baby owls. We found solace in a very western food court where we collapsed from the heat. Pineapple fried rice was the pick of the day, and we wandered around to find cheap, over-sized bottles of water to keep us alive until we could reach air conditioning.

Dinner that night was at Kim and John's house. We waited for John to pick us up at the BCGH. I wasn't as tired as everyone else and spent a lot of time in their gift shop, where they sold goods made by all kinds of Christian organizations - leper colonies, children's shelters, women rescued from the sex trade, etc. I found little hand-sewn elephant ornaments to send to everyone that is financially supporting us...they'll be mailed when we get back. John brought us to their home, which is beautifully decorated. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed cakes and chocolate chip cookies for dessert (manna from heaven!).

We headed to the night market afterwards, where I accidentally got a woman to drop her prices unbelievably low on a silk dress that I wasn't actually interested in (I'm not cruel...she just wouldn't take no for an answer. Afterward, I felt bad about it, but I really wouldn't have worn it). We didn't stay long, with an early flight the next day. Headed back to Khao Lak, to share our home with my parents. Mangos, beaches, air conditioning, here we come!

Culture Shock

2010-04-03T12:50:00.000+07:00

This entry is more meant to be entertaining than a serious reproach to life in Thailand so I'm not being entirely serious.

But really I am.

We've been in Thailand for two months, and as I reflect on our time here I come again and again to a sort of 'best of times, worst of times' revelation. Only, the worst of times really aren't that bad.

Back in the States, Kendra would save us some money by giving me haircuts. We do the same here, only instead of sitting in the comfort of our apartment bathroom, we're... outside. To paint a depiction of what it's like being outside, imagine the surface of the sun. Then, to incorporate the humidity, imagine being underwater. Basically, being outside during the daytime is like being in superheated water. I recently joked to my family that, given the humidity, Kendra or I will jump in the shower to dry off, and that's only something of an over exaggeration.

So to sum up the haircut experience- Kendra is a saint. Our hair trimmer, previously quite tame while using the American 110V electricity, has now hulked-out into practically a weed whacker while running on Thailand's 220. Haircuts for me become counter-productive as the trimmings simply fall off my head and immediately stick to the overly sweaty body below. It's more like a hair re-location than a cut, and I come out of it looking like a heat-exhausted Robin Williams.

Yet, despite these difficulties, we endure. But living in another country has additional challenges. Take driving.

I pray daily for the pedestrians who will be anywhere near the car I'm driving when I return to the States. I've now totally adjusted to driving a manual with my left hand, sitting in what used to be shotgun, while driving in the opposite direction. For anyone curious, driving in Thailand is like a video game that becomes more complex for each 20 seconds of driving.

Let me explain- for the first twenty seconds, you drive along smoothly paved roads with no traffic and not a care in the world. Enter scooters. If the Buddhist belief that spirits are reincarnated is true, then the WWII Japanese Kamikaze pilots are now existing in the bodies of every scooter driver in Khao Lak. I've never seen such disregard for one's own life as I have with each scooter that pulls in front of me without looking going half the speed I am while carrying two toddlers. It can be infuriating. Then, 40 seconds in, we have the next level- cars traveling in the opposite direction pull into your lane to pass the slower car in theirs and always justify doing so because, "Hey, that oncoming pickup can just pull over into the shoulder. I'm not gonna waste 5 seconds of my life waiting for a safe moment to pass. That's ridiculous." And it's made even more ridiculous by how blindly it's done ("Blind curve ahead? Dip in the road hiding possible oncoming traffic? No problem!). Then the small army of tourists in the city, each suffering from the Western delusion that 'pedestrians have the right of way' always engage you in a game of high-stakes frogger. I never thought I'd say this but I really miss traffic cops.

This pretty much sums it up.

But you can always get a fitful night's sleep in tropical paradise, right? Maybe. If you're immune to noise.

The local roosters here have collectively thrown circadian rhythms out-the-window and jointly decided only to crow under two conditions: 1) when it's dark out, or 2) when it's light out. Subsequently, the dogs decided to bark only when there's a noise of any volume level within a five-mile radius of their position, especially if it's a rooster crowing or another dog barking at a rooster crowing. Then the laxative you took because the last 5 days have been rather uneventful decides that it will actually work after all. At 2am. Then at 3am. And then at 5am. Sleep indeed.

While we're on the topic of food, and we nearly were, let's discuss it's entry. Thai food is excellent and I've greatly enjoyed the culinary moments of our life here, but if you can't handle spice watch out. As far as Kendra's concerned, some of the dishes she's been served may have looked like food but actually consisted of pure fire. Traversing a menu for her is like walking through a minefield only there's a mine every square foot. It's been actually quite humorous at times, as she quickly learned the phrase, 'mai ped', meaning, 'not spicy.' The dish is then made 'not spicy', but it's not spicy to a Thai, meaning, it's still really, really spicy. So it escalates. She learns 'mai sai prick', essentially, 'absolutely no spice', and come serving time there are 5 red peppers in her meal. You can't escape it, you can only take Tums.

And that's the thing of it- regardless of any differences in cultural mentality, you ultimately have to embrace the Thai perspective of 'sabai sabai', which essentially means a combination of 'relax' and 'oh well.' It's too hot to care and there's too much good food yet to be eaten to be bothered by anything in Thailand.

Bangkok Dangerous

2010-03-31T13:56:00.000+07:00

You may know Bangkok from Nicholas Cage's terrible movie flop Bangkok Dangerous, but most know it as an economic and cultural center of Thailand. It was our first stop on our trip with Craig and Ranae, the first two days of which Kendra wrote about below. By the way, there was nothing dangerous about our trip to Bangkok (other than the Thai drivers in the city), I just think it's a funny term.

On the third morning of our stay in Bangkok, we ventured from BCGH to the Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson revived the Thai silk industry following World War II, and with the revenue generated from his substantial success, he built an excellent house in Bangkok. Consisting of six antique Thai teak houses, the complex, now run as a museum, has excellent grounds and is replete with antiques from Thompson's collection. Mysteriously, Thompson disappeared without a trace while on a trip to the Cameroon Highlands in Malaysia when he was 61. People suspect foul play or CIA involvement in his disappearance, but nothing's been proven. The House-Museum is Bangkok's second most popular tourist attraction (surpassed by the Grand Palace) and we greatly enjoyed the tour.

My favorite part of the Jim Thompson experience, however, followed the tour. Kim Quinley gave us directions to an old, out-of-the-way factory that was one of Thompson's original facilities and still makes silk the old fashioned way. We took a single-track concrete footpath along the canal adjacent to Thompson's house down to a little bridge and crossed over. Boats sped down the green water and cramped shops and tiny homes lined the opposite shore. We pressed onwards until we saw the sign leading us down a narrow alleyway to the shop. What we saw inside was incredible. Two men were pulling on silk strands looped around a pipe and warmly welcomed us inside the tiny factory. We went into a stiflingly hot room to the left that had 4-foot tall cauldrons bubbling with deep red and pure black dye. The fibers being dyed hung above above the cauldrons and an old man eating his lunch greeted us kindly. We then went on to another room where a woman was using a big wooden machine to make fabric from the silk threads. It appeared to be quite complex and required her to coordinate all four limbs while managing the spools of thread. There was also a little shop area where they sold the products made from the wonderful fabric. It was incredibly authentic and I loved our visit to the little factory.

The next stop on our tour of all things Bangkok came in the form of the country's museum. I was, to be honest, underwhelmed by the experience but there certainly were highlights. Tales of the country's history wrought with stories of elephant combat were definitely of interest, as were the sections showing musical instruments, weapons, and ceramics. Our admission fee certainly wasn't used for maintenance, however, as the facilities (other than those visible from the street) were lacking in upkeep. If you're a history buff I think you'll find it interesting, but probably wouldn't recommend this stop to visitors myself.

Following our trip to the museum, we retreated for some rest in our air-conditioned rooms at BCGH. Craig, Kendra, and I then ventured out for a most enjoyable experience- high tea at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Following our very low-budget lifestyle in Khao Lak (Craig and Ranae thought our outrage of having to pay more than $1 per meal at a Bangkok restaurant was quite entertaining), such an occasion as this was an incredible contrast. Craig very generously treated us to the experience and I must say that I recommend it highly if you: 1) love expensive things and enjoy gorgeous high-rise views of the river and Bangkok skyline, 2) greatly enjoy tea and value the history of the tea room as the Author's Lounge, where numerous greats came to reflect and write (Merideth Jeffries- this place is made for you and we thought about you while we were there), or 3) hate your money. The decadence of the experience certainly came at a price, and we're extremely grateful for the experience. I'd also like to just quickly clarify that we're doing our best to be good stewards of the money we've been blessed with by our supporters- thank you again for helping us and making this trip (the mission to Khao Lak) possible.

The evening also had its adventures: joining the parade of Red Shirts (thousands of supporters of the previous Prime Minister who want the dissolution of the current government and an open election), $1 dinner of noodle soup from one of the legion of noodle carts along a busy Bangkok street, and a trip to the Night Bazaar at Lumpini Park, where we looked at the army of merchants selling all sorts of items.

All of this was just one day in Bangkok- a crazy city with destitute slums, luxurious tea rooms, and everything in between.

Bangkok Bound

2010-03-23T13:24:00.000+07:00

We decided to stop being so cheap and got a taxi to the airport last Wednesday. We were on our way to Bangkok to meet my mom (my dad's passport "expired" and he was delayed). Of course, we determined this after standing in extreme heat and moisture for 45 minutes on the road side and knowing that it could be a very long trip for just a little bit less green. We had cocktails with John and Kim on the beach instead of roasting in the bus station, and our flight was on time. Air Asia has a reputation for being "Air Delay-sia" but this time, our prayers were answered and we met my mom almost immediately.

We stayed at the downtown Bangkok Christian Guest House. With an excellent location near both a station on Bangkok's efficient elevated-train system and Lumpini Park, BCGH affords its guests a convenient place to find a respite from the constant activity (and heat) of the city. We definitely recommend it to everyone reading the blog.

Bangkok is called Krung Thep Mahanakhon by the Thais. Thailand used to be called Siam, which I have heard before (Siamese cats). We spent our first day visiting Tae, a friend of the Quinley's who has her own tailor shop. Derek and I each ordered a suit and Derek put in orders for his dad and brother. The material they use is very nice, and the creation of suits are quite inexpensive here. We toured the Step Ahead site in the Klong Toey slums, where we met some of the people who are benefiting from the center's loans. We met a man who's job it was to pull the nails off chicken feet...not sure why I felt that needed to be shared. Sorry!

We took the rest of the day to rest and had dinner at Bu Restaurant, where for the millionth time, they forgot to keep the chilies out of my basil chicken. That evening, my mom and I met my dad's cab. We were glad to have only lost 24 hours with him. By the way, if you have international travel plans any time in the future, you need to make sure that your passport is valid for at least six months after your scheduled departure. You are welcome!

We spent the next day running around the Grand Palace area. We saw Wat Po (famed "reclining" Buddha that is ENORMOUS) and we climbed Wat Arun (the steepest stairs you've ever seen...my backside is still burning!). The Grand Palace covers a ton of space, and all of the buildings are hand painted inside and decorated with mirrors and gold and tiles on the outside. It's overwhelming how ornate they are. We met a monk there who sat with us for quite awhile - his name is Dipak, and he is from Bangladesh. He told us he is very lonely and even had me talk to his sister on his cell phone (for the novelty of it, I suppose?). We've promised to write him, and have done so already, in the hopes that we might foster a relationship that shows him that, when you know our God, you're never alone.

We took a canal boat to and from and did some market shopping on the streets. Dad left his hat at a little dive where we ate and bought another two minutes later for $3. Gotta love Thailand markets! Mom found a teapot she loved but we didn't buy it, hoping we could find another later, and when we didn't, we went back and bought it anyway. The seller was an old Thai woman with blue eyes...a very unique thing, indeed.

I got a steal on a traditional Thai hat from a woman who was rewarding my efforts with the Thai language. She told me that most sellers give the hats to "farang" (foreigners) for 450 bt (about $14) but to Thais, she gives them for 100 bt (about $3). There is a lesson here...put some effort into basic bartering phrases and you'll be less likely to be ripped off. Besides, you gain their respect speaking to them in their own language, and still more if you even attempt it.

Toilet Paper is GOLD

2010-03-15T12:41:00.000+07:00

It's unbelievably beautiful here. We spent yesterday at the beach after church, and even in the shade, we burned. We didn't care. I'm going back today, just to read, fully clothed, but it sure beats reading inside.

There were wasps building a mud nest under our towels that were drying on our porch. Derek went out and got the towels, and killed one with a bottle. He said it was a shame...apparently, they're "pretty." I hid in the room and watched from the window. Call me a coward, but I'm alive!

There's also a GINORMOUS spider living in the Thai Totes building. Gai wouldn't kill it because of some mumbo-jumbo about the "circle of life." Whatever. That thing was the size of my hand, and brown and fuzzy. The worst part was that I was sitting next to it for half an hour before I moved a few bags and discovered it on the wall. I thought, for some reason, that it was fake, because in my mind, there is no such thing as a spider that big in real life (outside of the rain forest, as we have learned). It's still there. Eww.

Last night, we had spaghetti and ice cream and french fries...mmm, home-cooked food and sugar! We watched an incredible clip about Burma. We were both blown away at the atrocities the people there continue to suffer. Burma is never in the news, but still maintains the third most brutal dictatorship in the world. Many of the Burmese are Christians, and they are hiding out in the jungles to avoid the government military. It's an unbelieveable tragedy. Please pray for the people and their country.

It's not a good idea to eat something with a TON of cheese in it when you haven't had dairy in almost two months. Let's just say missing half of the church sermen to spend time in the bathroom with the ant colony, without any toilet paper, was better than the alternative. Toilet paper should be treated like gold, because it is...hoard it!

Kim took us out to dinner Saturday night to celebrate a successful seminar. We had 50 teachers and mothers over to hear teaching on Positive Discipline for Children. The seminar was led by two Thai teachers who got their PhD's in America. They teach 101 principles that the people traditionally believe will not work in Thailand (no spanking, positive reinforcement, etc), but they have implemented the program here and have proven that it works. While the seminar was going on, I babysat two little girls for mothers downstairs. One mother gave me a little pink elephant satchel to thank me for helping. They watched cartoons and colored most of the time, but it was a long day, so Gai and I took turns. By the way, Felix the Cat is a demonic show, and it's even scarier in Thai...especially if you're watching it for 5 hours!

Our parents will be here on Wednesday, and we are getting so excited for their arrival!

Children of Takuapa

2010-03-11T15:31:00.000+07:00

My mother-in-law is a teacher, and as such she had a strong desire to hear more about how kids learn here in Thailand. So, this is a short entry about the children of Takuapa that we are helping.

Step Ahead Khao Lak helps four child development centers in the area, and the Tapdawan Preschool is one of the farthest from our home base. Anne and I would take a motorcycle out there several times a week. It's a half and hour out, but the kids are always so happy to see you - the drive is more than worth it. They always point at me and say "Cheu Dao!" which means, "your name is Star"...they are always careful to reaffirm to themselves which of us is Dao and which is Fa (Sky). We each join different groups, each with about 12 children, that are led by two teachers each.

They sing songs and do crafts. We learn to count and I review the English words for fruits and animals with them. This helps the teachers, too, because their pronunciation needs some polishing. This is especially important when they are teaching the English words to kids, who will remember the word as it is said, right or wrong. They have very hyper Thai songs with movements, which the teachers lead with more enthusiasm than I could ever manage. They are getting very good at their ABC's (always with a rush through the "LMNOP" part, just as kids in the US sing it) and they love to watch themselves on video and on a camera screen.

The kids have "uniforms" which don't seem very strictly enforced. Most of the kids wear a light purple button-up shirt and red shorts or skirts. They also sometimes wear a dark purple cover over it, the purpose of which is a bit lost on me. One day, they were wearing what looked like blue soccer shirts, shown above. The younger kids don't seem to follow the dress code and show up in all kinds of outfits, many of which have English words on them that their parents probably don't even understand. However, Micky Mouse is a universal symbol, and there's no need to understand the language with something so very recognizable.

We have been told that these children come from families with very little, but at the center, they are treated with respect and loving kindness. The teachers are bright, wonderful, God-fearing women who clearly enjoy their jobs. They are creative, letting the kids show the fruits of their imaginations all day long. In turn, they teach me patience (regardless of their adorable faces, they are still 3 and 4) and a little bit of Thai. Anne once said that the best way to learn a language is to work with a child, since no matter how many times you ask them to repeat it, they will, and gladly.

After playtime, English lessons and songs, the kids have a snack and are showered outside. They are very funny, running around naked two or three at a time, but because I thought it inappropriate to capture those moments, there are no pictures of such events. Then, they lie down for nap time, and that's when we scoot off. You can view more pictures of the kids on our Shutterfly site, the link to which can be found to the right of this post!

Sea Gypsy Village Secrets

2010-03-09T15:05:00.000+07:00

Right outside of Tapdawan Village, where we do many Step Ahead projects, there is a brillant beach with NO TOURIST TRAFFIC. After helping other volunteers attach an extra nozzle to the source for water to our Seed Project, we met them at the beach, which you can only get to by a very narrow and bumpy road by motorcycle. There is an abandoned resort there from when the tsunami hit in 2004, and Derek explored inside.

We walked to the sand and discovered immediately that the tsunami had also dumped tons and tons of broken coral and beautiful shells on the beach. The tide continues to bring in incredible specimens, the likes of which I have only ever seen in pictures. We rooted around for the best ones, but there were so many, it was hard to be selective.

I had something like "beach burnout" with the shells - if you've seen a hundred perfect shells, the next perfect one doesn't seem like that big of a deal. So, we had a field day and stuffed my cotton pants full of delicate treasures. What Derek's mom would give to see this place (she is a big "shell" fan)! We had to be careful not to step on them, but they were everywhere, all the way up and down the shore.

This is a little-traveled portion of Bang Sak Beach (view video on our Shutterfly site), and though there were some fishing boats parked off the shore on this side, on the other side, there is nothing but beach and silence, as far as the eye can see.

Tacos, Thongs and Donut Thievery!

2010-03-06T12:09:00.000+07:00

There is a baby gecko living somewhere in our room. I saw him run under the table, and went to yell "Je-!"...so to save myself from almost taking the Lord's name in vain, I named him Gippetto. I haven't seen him since, but he's welcome in here, to keep Derek entertained and to eat the bugs, if there are any. There is a big toad that lives in the kitchen too. He's yellow and black and bumpy. According to Anne, he comes out each morning, though I've only been up early enough to see him once.

Yesterday, we said good bye to our friend, Anne, as we dropped her at the Phuket airport. We're hoping to visit her again later in the year in Taiwan, where she'll be in school with two of our other new friends, Brandon and Zach. To celebrate her departure, we made tacos with homemade tortillas. We even took the extra dough and made sopapillas! She's an excellent cook. Then, we watched a "questionably acquired" Sherlock Holmes (an excellent movie, if you can stick with it until the end) and "borrowed" some other movies from her vast collection.

We struggled with directions from Gai to get to the massive grocery store in Phuket where the center does its shopping once a month (Tesco Lotus). Derek offered to drive, bless him, because I get so frustrated driving in cities. While shopping, I got a sample of a mini donut they had set out, and grabbed one for Derek too. Like the Garden of Eden, when we walked passed the area before leaving, we took one more sample apiece, complete with frosting, while the girl stared at us in disbelief. We learned from Gai at lunch while recounting our adventures that those were NOT samples, and that we had just stolen 4 donuts - and done it right to their face! We were horrified. In line to check out, I got scolded for not getting bar codes for our fruit, so I had to run back to the area and have a gentleman show me how to weigh the food and print the receipt. Who'da thunk?!

We went to the mall and I finally landed some painting supplies. We saw a tourist with a VERY see-through dress and a very visable thong underneath. It was a bathing suit cover up that she was wearing without anything under it...unbelievable! Did I mention that our more recent trips to the beach have revealed very topless older German women? I'm wondering, especially at that age, what benefit it could be to tan your breasts? Ugh...I shudder to think!

Most tourists here are from Germany and the Nordic states, with very blonde hair. They are ALL a red-tan color, where they've either pushed their tans over the limit, or they all burned sooo badly when they first arrived and by the time their vacation is about to end, they finally turn a sort of red-tan.

And, lastly, I have a huge crush on the mannequins here. They have electric colored hair and the SCARIEST faces you've ever seen. They're like dainty clown women. Observe:

Bus Crashes and Man-Eating Spiders (We're Fine, Promise!)

2010-03-01T18:17:00.000+07:00

This weekend was an interesting one, to be sure. We planned to take a trip to Phuket Friday morning, but we overslept, so we decided to go to Khao Lak National Park and trek down to a beach about 1.5km away. To avoid paying the "farang" (foreigner) tax to get in, we went to the restaurant and bought a Coke, then hiked out from there. Coca-cola is the unquestioned Dominator of the beverage market here, and their aprons and cardboard cutouts are in every restaurant we've visited.

We started through the rain forest, and maybe 10 feet in, I see threads of a spider web going across our path. So, I duck down and slide under it. As I turn to wait for Derek, he has a terrified look on his face and can't spit out what's wrong. I'm thinking he's seen a ghost, or a giant snake, but for awhile he just gawks. Then, he points right above where I have just crossed to the biggest spider I've ever seen in my life (including TV programs). The spider, which we later learned is called a Golden Orb Web Spider, is about 8 inches from leg to leg and has bright yellow and red coloring on its body. There are yellow balls of color on the joints of its legs, and it has very beady eyes. We considered turning back, but to avoid wasting our trip, we nickname the spider "The Gatekeeper" and duck and run under him to continue. This is the best picture we could manage, but keep in mind, this is not life-size. It also dropped down a few inches while Derek was trying to get the picture, but thankfully climbed back up.

So, I give Derek the pleasure of leading purely out of self-preservation. It was a very long hike, and after the first 40 feet or so there was no longer any concrete path. Some of the path didn't look like a path at all, and it was difficult to do because I was in flip flops (having not realized that there would be no path after awhile) and when we'd make our way over the tiny path of sliding dirt over the edge of a hill, we were both sweating so profusely that if we tried to hold on to support the other over an obstacle, we'd slip trying to hold on to skin. It was immensely humid (duh! rainforest) and was a bit of a trek. We found 2 more Golden Orb spiders on our way. I think the second one we spotted placed himself there on purpose, because we were too far at that point to want to turn back for our efforts, but we weren't exactly ecstatic about crossing under another to get to the beach that may or may not even be at the end.

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Additional commentary from Derek:
I need to take a moment and mention something really quick. These aren't the spiders that you see in your house that are almost 2 inches across and you're afraid to hit with a magazine. I wouldn't go after this beast unless I had a shotgun, and even then I would put the odds of surviving at just about even. As I told Kendra at the time, when the spiders from Arachnophobia all get together to watch a scary movie, they watch a nature documentary on these spiders. The spiders from Jumanji were based on these spiders. Kendra starts down the path and I go to take the camera out of the backpack, absently letting my gaze follow the lines of a web above the trail as I reach back and holy-hell-there's-a-spider-the-size-of-my-face! In the Book of Daniel, there's a prophesy about 'the abomination that causes desolation.' I think it's about this spider. The body of it was easily the size of my thumb and our estimate that it was 8in long with legs fits with the size we found when I looked it up. And there were 5 along the trail- 5 of the big ones, at least; I thought it best to let the ones Kendra didn't see go undetected.
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We got to the beach and enjoyed swimming. We brought goggles and saw a few fish. There were virtually no shells on the beach, and when I'd find one, I'd discover that it was always still occupied. The pretty shells are always taken by the hermit crabs and what I think is a clam, because it has a foot that looks like a loogie that it sticks in the sand to suck it further down. We see a lot of white sand crabs, which are becoming very familiar. They live in holes in the sand and run to the water's edge when the tide rolls in to gather their dinner. They roll the sand around their holes, probably while processing it for food.

We hiked back, which took almost no time at all, now that we were determined to get out of the rain forest by night fall. We were careful to avoid the big spiders that we knew of, and tried to film them for the folks back home with no luck - apparently, Khao Lak's citizens don't want anyone to know how big these spiders really are, for fear that it will scare toruists away (sorry, Jordan). That night, we baked more sugar cookies from dough left over from the Valentine's Day party. The next day, they were all gone, which means between the three of us (Annie included), we ate over 100 cookies in 24 hours. Unbelievable. So much for the "Thai Diet."

The next day, we planned to go to Phuket, but (shock!) we slept in and decided to bag it.

Sunday, though, we actually got up in time to go to Phuket, and we stood outside our building waiting for the bus, which comes every hour. Forty minutes in, we flag the bus down and ready ourselves for what we thought was an hour ride. Once we reached Phuket, the bus was unable to slam on its breaks fast enough (which happens every so often) and hit a van, shattering its rear window. As far as we could tell, no one was hurt, and we only slid forward in our seats with the stop. WE ARE UNINJURED and suffered almost no inconvenience from this wreck except to spend 45 minutes sitting on the bus, waiting for another. After a few minutes, we were approached by a German couple sitting behind us. They wanted to know if we'd be interested in splitting a taxi with them, so that we wouldn't have to wait around. We agreed, but when we tried to get off, the little bus boy made us turn around. No one could leave until the policeman was finished assessing the accident.

We finally got on another bus, ended up in the bus depot, and found out we had 5 hours to spend before our bus returned to Khao Lak. The only problem was, we had misjudged where the bus station was and were nowhere near any markets or malls or beaches. The city is the undisputed King of Tourism in Southern Thailand, and here we were at the bus stop, unwilling to spend the money for a cab to the water. We walked a ways and found some sidewalk shops. Eventually, we found a mall with coy in the fountain. And, we found a Mister Donut!!! Not exactly the same as back home, but highly anticipated! We were happy. We headed back early, because the hour long bus ride is actually two hours long, and we had run out of things to do.

Pretty good weekend overall!

Seeds Project: Coconuts

2010-02-27T16:04:00.000+07:00

Sand confers two principal disadvantages when one considers planting crops- it holds neither nutrients nor water. The obvious answer to this problem is coconuts.

Coconuts are like nature's tootsie roll pop- it's very difficult to get to the delicious center. The reason it's so difficult is because of the thick outer husk surrounding the coconut shell containing the white meat. This husk may be thick, but it's also light and feels kind of spongy. The spongy characteristic is what makes it valuable to us as that will retain water, and the husk itself will add nutrients to the soil (as a form of mulch).

Maew, Anne, and I went to gather some a little while back. A local landowner offered us access to a massive pile of husks located behind his house. We backed the little, white pickup truck up alongside and went to work, filling it to the brim. We then went and dropped them off at Bong's house and made another run. Bong will take the pile and, using machetes, chop the husks into mulch which we'll then mix in with the sandy soil beneath the shade shelter. The husks will also be used to serve as planting pots beneath some of the vertical poles for vines (as shown in my previous SP post). I'm very excited by how the Seeds Project creatively uses the available resources and am glad to be a part of it.

It will take more than the sun to sap Anne of her energy

Maew caught a shot of me topping off our first truck load

Our Online Thai Photo and Video Gallery!

2010-02-25T16:35:00.000+07:00

Love the pictures but hate having to sort through my (Derek's) annoying writing? There's an app for that. It's called Shutterfly, and we've posted a gallery of most of the pictures taken so far along with the video of Bangsak beach. We'll be posting more albums as we fill up our cameras so stay tuned. I'll try and post an entry here each time we add a new album, but feel free to check it out if you ever need to kill some time. Kendra's done a great job setting the webpage up and there are plenty of photos that haven't yet been shared in the blog.

Just visit http://kendraderek.shutterfly.com/

Reflections from Kendra

2010-02-25T15:39:00.000+07:00

I feel sorry for car grills. What I mean by that is, until today, I didn't know how much they suffered from flying bugs. I was on the scooter coming back from the preschool today, and in order to keep my pants from continually whipping my thighs in the wind, I rolled them up. Then the bombing began. Bugs came from out of nowhere, splatting against my skin and leaving a trace of their instantaneous death behind for me to wipe up. It felt like needles, and then I knew how cars must feel after long rides.

While sitting at lunch, we saw a lizard that was quite large. It had bristles up its back and was a bright salmon color. It did little push-ups on the tree beside us, and Derek suddenly became a kid in a candy store. He jumped up to get a better look, again regretting that our camera was in our bedroom. He has a similar reaction when we see any gecko-like creatures. There is a clear-colored (if that can be a color) gecko that lives in the hallway: his name is Frederick. He has been hiding recently - maybe he found a girlfriend ;)

There have been a few dishes and products here which have successfully piqued my interest/disgust and which, were I a braver traveler with a stronger stomach, I might try - if for no other reason than to one day brag about the experience at a party thrown by someone important. They are:

* Soft-shelled Crab flavored Pringles

* Dried water bug soup

* Roasted pig cartilage

* Seaweed and Grilled Shrimp flavored Pringles

* Shrimp crackers

* Dried cod snacks

* Cow tongue

These are just the ones I can recall from memory, but don't be fooled. Thailand has an array of healthy and delicious food on which we dine daily. The farthest I've ventured was to have seafood fried rice, which contained squid. It was cooked, but it was still purple (no batter or anything) and it still had all its tentacles and suckers. I ate it all and didn't die, which I figure is great news!

When fish is served, it's served WHOLE - eyes looking at you and everything. One strange thing I've noticed is that they dry these fish until there seems to be nothing left that is eat-worthy, and somehow, they sell them. I don't know exactly what dish takes on these dehydrated swimmers, but someone's got to be eating it, and I sure hope it isn't us!

The Seeds Project: Shade Shelter

2010-02-23T12:03:00.001+07:00

In Kendra's post she introduced you to our five new friends who, following an intense outreach project in Indonesia, are trekking across Thailand. While they were with us here in Khao Lak (staying in the Homestay houses, providing valuable feedback and financial support for the program), they did a great job helping with the Seeds Project. Joining Maew and Anne, they drove to a bamboo forest and chopped down some bamboo to use as the structural framework for the shade shelter we're building. The shade shelter will serve as a protective shield against the blazing sun that hits the Taptawan village. Not only is the soil sandy, but trees are sparse and this results in direct sunlight that's too intense for the more fragile cash crops we're trying to develop.

A shot of the skyline from the Seeds Project Site. This is why we need to create shade.

I arrived at Taptawan (the sea gypsy village) to find the framework almost fully built, with a pink plastic ribbon material being used to lash the bamboo poles together. Larger poles were used for the vertical and horizontal beams, while smaller poles were laced between them to support the roof of coconut palm fronds.

Lashing the bamboo pole framework. The Thais, out of a cultural preference for light skin and self-protection, often wear long sleeves when outside

Doing some lashing myself. My height makes it much easier to reach. Comically, I can easily see over the aisles in the local grocery stores.

One of the lashes frames Maew, Jai, and Bong working in the background

After lashing some remaining pole segments together, we drove to collect the dried fronds.

View of the jungle where we gathered some of the fronds

Using the machetes as necessary, we cut and collected 6-12 foot long fronds and transported them back to the Seeds Project (SP) site. The site itself is a clearing next to the house of Bong, the local woman who Step Ahead is assisting in developing this little agricultural area. Step Ahead works towards empowering the local community to work towards bettering their situation and so we're working alongside the villagers in getting the SP established. The hope is that, as the villagers see the success of Bong's site, they'll incorporate similar agricultural sites at their own houses.

But that's the long-term goal. The task at hand is to lay some coconut tree palm fronds. The surprisingly heavy fronds were carried from the truck and laid alongside the shade shelter, where they were then placed on top of the bamboo pole roof framework and lashed in place. Small fronds were then added as necessary to keep a nice smattering of dappled sunlight on the ground below.

Cutting a notch in the stem of one of the large fronds to facilitate lashing it to the roof framework. And an excuse to use a machete.

Kendra always reprimands me for being obscured by shade in photos. In this image, that's the whole point.

Working in the direct sun with your hands constantly at head level wasn't exactly strenuous but it also wasn't quite a party either. A break in the shade with an icy glass of coca cola was quite refreshing, though, and had me ready to hit the shelter again.

A refreshing coke in some shade. I'm kneeling in this picture, using a cup cleverly cut from a plastic bottle.

The finished result, for now at least. This shot includes about a quarter of the roof.

We ended the day with about 40% of the roof covered in fronds. We'll need to collect some more to cover the remaining segments and then lace smaller sticks between them to keep the frond strands from hanging down. The result should be a sturdy, organic structure that will protect the little crops as they grow.

One other aspect of the shelter that I think is interesting is the coconut husk basin at the base of some of the vertical poles. The husks will retain fertile soil that will be added and the pole will provide support for vines that will be planted. The vines will havce two main benefits- they'll produce fruit that can be used for consumption, and they'll add a nice spritz of green color to offset the tan of the structure.

After the couple hours of work in the heat, we had some fun driving over to one of the villagers houses and following some local women down a long path to the beach where they were gathering clams. The remote beach was well away from the reach of tourists and low tide made for long sections of clear, shallow water. Taking my shoes off and walking through the warm-water on the soft, white sand was a pleasant reward for an afternoon of hard work.

A beautiful meadow we walked through on the long walk to the beach. (Shout out to Jordan- "Don't go into the long grass")

My view down towards my feet as I walk through the shallow tidal flats. The light refraction made a mesmorizing pattern on the soft sand below.

A picture perfect shell resting on the beach

A trip to Bangsak Beach

2010-02-22T16:27:00.000+07:00

The juxtaposition of hard work with heavenly beach retreats will apparently be a common theme of our stay here in Thailand. While we work hard on teaching English and assisting local projects during the week, the weekends award time to explore the area and discover some of the incredible sights Khao Lak has to offer.

One of these is just a 20-minute scooter ride up the road from the center. Driving north, we took an unmarked left and reached a narrow street that closely parallels the coast. We drove along just a quarter mile (passing over a bridge where Kendra took the below shots), all the while having our gaze continually distracted by the turquoise water visible between the palm trees.

A shot from the bridge that led to the beach

The view immediately left of the above image. Note the straw-thatched huts.

We parked the scooter along the street and set up shop on some comfy, padded lounge chairs in the shade along the beach.

The beach itself has powder-soft, light-tan sand with turqoise water and is framed by pine and palm trees along its length. Numerous shells of all shapes and many different colors litter the beach and the bath-warm water is an inviting retreat from the heat of the sun. After a short dip, cooling off in the shade with a warm, gentle breeze coming off the sea is a very inviting place to read a good book or just nap and soak it all in.

My terrifyingly accurate impersonation of a tourist as I stand along the walkway adjacent to and just above the beach. Those little huts seat guests of the restaurant on the opposite side of the street. We had lunch there- just 40B (~$1.30) for a delicious fried rice dish

Rows of colorful benches complemented the scenery while some local residents rest in the shade beneath. Kendra and I have both noticed that there are fewer dogs here than in India and Guatemala, and just about all of them have appeared to be in excellent condition.

Walking down to the beach. I'll let most of the rest of the photos speak for themselves.

Here my backside ruins an otherwise beautiful shot.

My view as we rest in the lounge chairs. The Andaman coastline is a very gracious host. Kendra and I were praising God and thanking all of our supporters continually during our visit to the beach. It was gorgeous and very rejuvenating.

Thanks for your prayers

2010-02-19T12:02:00.000+07:00

Just to give a quick update: Kendra got fairly sick during the middle of the week with Heat Exhaustion. She was dehydrated and anemic and ended up having to rest for a few days. She is feeling much better now ... thank you for your continued prayers for our health!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T20:58:00.000+07:00

This weekend was filled with celebrations for Valentine's Day and the Chinese New Year. Fireworks were going off outside while I was in the shower, and I thought it was our toilet, about to explode! While sitting at dinner the other night, Annie pointed out a red star in the distance. They were "wishes", miniature hot air balloons that people send into the sky with their hopes and dreams...and the first was followed by several others. If we find them here, I'm sending one up (naturally with no indended recipiant). My Valentine's Day gift was so very romantic...Derek surprised me with Calamine lotion!

We visited one of the preschools that Step Ahead supports on Thursday. We spent the morning with about 25 Thai children, helping them to make paper flowers for Valentine's Day. After the project was completed (completely by the 4 teachers and ourselves, since the project was too difficult for the kids), they took turns bowing in front of Derek and myself to say "please" in Thai so that we could give them each a flower and a candy bar. Half of the kids proceeded to shove the candy into their mouths, and the other half felt sorry that they hadn't, because no sooner had all the children received their prize than the teachers promptly collected them to keep until the end of the day.

They sat in a circle in the middle of the room and sang us the ABC song. About half of the kids wore a type of uniform, red shorts and a light purple shirt. I'm not sure what the policy was about dress, because the others were wearing all sorts of random things. We attempted to teach them the Itsy Bitsy Spider when prompted to teach a song (it's the first thing that came to mind), and although they had NO idea what the song was about, they enjoyed teasing us as we tried to make the spider crawl with our fingers. I know there's a trick to it, but I couldn't remember how to do it properly, so we just mangled our fingers until they were satisfied. We were both reminded why Christ was so drawn to children in their innocence...they were adorable!

We had to leave to visit Thai Totes to meet the women that Step Ahead employs. Outside the structure probably 20 monks had gathered, which surprised Maew. They usually aren't found in the villages and rarely leave the temple as a collective. They had gathered to lead the locals in prayer/chants, which we've recorded for your viewing enjoyment.

We met the women who make the bags for Thai Totes and one of them taught me how to sew the leather cuffing on to the bottom of the bag. It is much more difficult than it seems, since you have to stick a very long needle into the bottom and feel around for it inside without jabbing yourself. Then, when you turn it around, you have to stick it through until you get it in the right place, which isn't easy since you're shoving it through thick "straw" strips.

We recently met a group of five men who are visiting. They are all trekking through southeast asia until they either head home or go to a Bible school in Taiwan in March. They are friends of Annie and have added an exciting dynamic to our little group. They work for YWAM (Youth with a mission) and are coming from extensive volunteering in Indonesia. They have been given nicknames by the locals: Crab, Fish, Ocean, Squid and...the last one is escaping me. They're staying at one of our home stays in the local village and are waiting on God to know how long they will be with us. We were given nicknames as well, two days after arriving, since they couldn't pronounce our names correctly. Derek's is pronounced "Da-won" which means Sun, and mine is pronounced "Dao", meaning Star. So, you see, they gave our guests names that were along the same theme...

We held a Valentine's Party yesterday, which was supposed to begin at 4 (that means it actually began at 5) and during the party, the power went out for a good half hour, the longest period we've seen so far. We ate by candle light and enjoyed all the things we had slaved over all day. Derek had helped to roll spring rolls and Annie and I baked a bazillion sugar cookies in our tiny "easy bake" oven, which had one rack and only one small pan that would fit inside. The hot pads were so warn through that it was like grabbing the pan without one, so I let Annie get the cookies out :-) We were struggling to keep the cookie dough cold enough to roll out and the extreme heat was melting them to the counter tops. They turned out well, and helped to satisfy my longing for something with real SUGAR in it. We hid a few away in our little fridge and I'm going to slowly work away at them...I'll save them for a rainy day. That is, unless Derek gets to them first ;-)

Step Ahead- Integrated Community Development

2010-02-10T17:46:00.000+07:00

Kendra and I are three days into our first work week here at Step Ahead and I can't tell you how excited I am about being able to serve with this amazing organization. But I can blog about it.

English and German Language Instruction.

As the number of Speedo-clad tourists painfully demonstrates, the local economy of Khao Lak is heavily dependent. upon tourism. Having the ability to speak English conversationally or even fluently is a significant advantage. As advertised on the front of the center, Step Ahead offers English and German instruction to members of the community in order to assist them in greater utilizing the tourism segment of the local economy. Kendra and I will be serving as English teachers throughout the duration of our stay, operating as the instructors for month long English courses of various levels of proficiency.

We began this Monday with our first course. We will be teaching 2 two-hour courses each day, but with the tourism season in full swing, we're just at one course for the moment. Our students are adults and currently at level 2 of the program. Each lesson consists of grammar, pronunciation, reading comprehension, and conversation and is taught out of our Step Ahead course book.

Our favorite part of the course is how it incorporates the Christian faith. The reading selections that we have are excerpted sections of Scripture. Engaging parables from the Gospel are not only at the proper difficulty level for the students, but also expose them to the life and teachings of Christ.

The time passes quickly in the classroom and I'm glad to not only be able to assist community members in enhancing their skillset, but also share Christ with them.

Special Projects

Thai Totes

The Thai Thotes program, managed and supported by Step Ahead Khao Lak, allows women from a nearby village the opportunity to maintain a successful means of support in the wake of the devastating 2004 tsunami. The women handcraft tote bags of exceptional quality and sell them in the United States. On Tuesday, we were afforded the opportunity to visit each of the special projects and we stopped first at Thai Totes.

Sign above the door at the Thai Totes Project Building in a small village north of the center.

The sign adjacent to the street.

Pulling up to deliver some fabric and leather for the tote bags just arrived from Bangkok, we were greeted warmly by one of the women from the door into the building. Kendra and I had met her at church just a few days prior when we'd attended with a small congregation (15 or so people) in a chapel nearby. We walked into the single-room work area and were able to see the bags (in various states of completion), supplies, and equipment placed about. Beautiful red tile was framed by the brick wall and served as a cool respite from the 90 degree heat outside.

Maew and Jai from Step Ahead Khao Lak begin sorting and processing the new shipment of supplies.

A white board inside the room has 'Thai Totes' written along with a page sharing the following quote (in both English and Thai):

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."
-Mother Theresa

Finished totes adorn one of the walls.

The work continues. Some of the supplies are the wrong color and will have to be returned.

I'm happy to be surrounded by Totes. My shiny face may be the source of my new name. As 'Derek' is hard to pronounce for Thai speakers, I have been dubbed 'Dawan,' which means, 'Sun.'. And here I thought it was for my sunny disposition ...

Wrapping up processing the new order.

Anne Briggs, on the right of the image, is another volunteer at Step Ahead arriving just after Kendra and I. Arriving fresh from China, she'll be here for 8 weeks. Here's a fun fact if you don't believe in coincidences - Anne's a member of Kendra and my class from Whitworth. We both knew her at Whitworth and she arrived completely separately from us. She caught Kendra on Skype and mentioned that she was in Thailand and Kendra responded, "Really? Where are you staying?" To which Anne replied, "Downstairs."

I don't need to tell you that that's an insane coincidence. But we're glad to have her here to work alongside. She's awesome.

The Seeds Project.

An elderly man carries a satchel down a narrow sandy path that serves as one of the roads in this village of 600 people. Extremely close to a gorgeous beach with lazy palm trees overhanging the powder-soft, white sand, one wonders how life could not be perfect in this idyllic setting. But the answer to why it is lies in the roead itself. The sand, which makes frollicking on the beach so enjoyable, also makes the land inarable. Without sufficient nutritients or the ability to retain enough moisture for crops, the village is without a way to sustainably produce food.

Enter the Seeds Project.

Step Ahead Khao Lak provides the knowledge and support to assist members of the village in converting the land into one which can produce viable crops.

Take this picture, for example. Step Ahead has not only brought in the proper crops to grow in the area's idiosyncratic soil, but also devised the means by which renewable fertilizer can be produced and incorporated into the earth. Water laced with remnants of food (like the ground bones of fish-many of the villagers are fishermen), compost formed by compiling vegetation, and chopped up coconut husks (the 1 "- 2" husks are spongy and retain moisture while also fertilizing the soil), are all means by which Step Ahead has helped these villagers develop an agricultural system. I am extremely excited by this project and will be quite heavily involved in it throughout the next 6 months.

A new plot of fertilized land begins to sprout some crops.

These plants being grown are very similar to green onions and will be valuable at the local markets.

This plant may seem like a benign frond, but beneath its appearance lies a unique taste that's described as being like a spicy lemon - it's lemon grass, a very valuable plant in these parts.

While we were touring one of the plots, a whacking noise drew us to the other side of the house where two little girls were using long bamboo shoots to dislodge cashews from a cashew tree. The girls should be in school, but its too expensive for the parents to transport them. "Everything changed after the tsunami," Maew told me. It destroyed many elements of the local infrastructure and made a difficult life much harder. But projects like the Seeds project will not only provide food, but also financial support to allow for the education of the village's children.

The Home Stay Project

The Seeds Project is inextricably linked to this project. My photos hardly attest to the fact that the village is a virtual recreation of the Garden of Eden. The tropical vegetation, gorgeous weather, proximity to the beach, and beautifully built huts and houses make for a seemingly utopian environment. But the difficulty of life causes a reduced emphasis on the aesthetics of one's property, and garbage and 'scrub brush' regions are scattered throughout the otherwise gorgeous area.

The Home Stay Project is an effort by Step Ahead to have the community develop a service wherein tourists visiting Khao Lak can elect to live the life of an authentic Thai. They will reside in a beautiful little huts, lifted off the ground on stilts, with a straw-thatched roof and intricately woven walls. They'll accompany the fishermen as they work at sea and take a nap in a hammock slung in the cool shade beneath their hut above the sandy floor.

To make this a viable project, however, the aforementioned aread need to be cleaned up. The arable plots produced by the Seeds Project will turn areas that were previously unsightly grassy areas into neatly arranged rows of vibrant crops.

I'm excited to say that I'll be able to take on the Home Stay Project firsthand as I live the life of a Thai, if only for a day or two, and photodocument my experiences. I'll then be able to use the material that I generate to help develop a website for the program.

One of the huts for the Home Stay Project where visitors will sleep.

Kendra walks through the village.

While we were touring the Home Stay site, we came across a villager using his three trained monkeys to retrieve coconuts from the tops of the tall palm trees. You can see one of the little monkeys backlit by the sun partially up the trunk of the tree near the center of the image (on the right side of the trunk).

Kendra and I are extremely excited to begin and continue our work here with Step Ahead Khao Lak. We don't know what the next few months unfold, but we are honored and thrilled to be able to have this experience and serve God in Thailand. Thank you to everyone for supporting us-we couldn't do it without you.

Traveling to Thailand

2010-02-07T17:58:00.000+07:00

"See you in China," I said cheerfully to Kendra as I watched her slip into the jetway. Once she was safely around the corner, I was finally able to succumb to the sweet siren call of the chocolate-covered granola bar in my backpack. The granola bar would sustain me through the remainder of my 5-hour tour of Denver International Airport before boarding my flight to LAX. Kendra was flying to San Francisco and would catch a flight to Hong Kong, arriving about 50 minutes ahead of me.

It finally came time to board and, wonder of wonders, I was situated in the very back of the plane. Sitting painfully far back in the aircraft cabin would be a consistent theme of my journey to Thailand. Compounding upon my impatience to depart the aircraft was the knowledge that I had the bare minimum amount of time needed to hoof it across LAX to the international terminal, check in to my flight, go back through security, and make it to my gate. Also. , I hate LAX. I had a bad experience barely making it to my connection flight on a return trip from Hawaii and I've held a grudge ever since. I would rather overdose on laxatives then fly through LAX. I would rather have flown the entirety of my flight across the Pacific sitting next to a hypercaffeinated Rachel Ray than catch a connection through LAX. But I had to take the hand that was dealt me, and this hand led me through an airport that I'm pretty sure was designed by an angry chimpanzee.

My frustration with LAX melted with its disappearance into the haze that sits like a dirty halo above LA as the massive airplane took to the night sky. We were served dinner at 1am (as the flight was operating on Hong Kong time), and I was to dine on the "salmon served over Ziti pasta with asparagus spears, eggplant, accompanied by salad and a cheesecake for desert.". Let me assure you that my meal was quite tasty, but it did not fully represent what I'd envisioned based on that description. The pasta was excellent, as was the asparagus, but there was a strange, tri-colored wheel of paste. The orange, green, and cream colors were, I think, the salmon, eggplant, and cheesecake, respectively. Kendra swears that she was served her desert separately and that it was delicious. I ate my colorful paste wheel with my salad.

A recreation of the mysterious tri-colored paste wheel.

I slipped into a paste-induced slumber as the plane flew 40,000 feet above the Pacific. When I awoke (for the fifth and final time), I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I'd slept for 7 hours. I would occupy my remaining time with watching a movie (District 9), two nature documentaries, and episode of Man vs. Wild (Bear was in the Dominican Republic), and studying anatomy from my new atlas. Kendra is quite jealous of my new atlas of anatomy, and I enjoyed having the opportunity to study without needing to dodge household objects thrown at me by a neglected wife.

A highlight of the flight occurred somewhat near the end when, looking out the window, I saw Japan. I'm used to seeing Colorado or Idaho from a plane window, so I just found it funny that I was looking at Japan.

Also, the nature documentaries are of honorable mention. They were two episodes of the 'Life' series and had absolutely incredible cinematography. I don't know about you, but if watching three cheetahs take down an ostrich doesn't make a transcontinental flight for you, then I don't know what will.

The plane began its descent into Hong Kong. All of a sudden, cargo ships appeared as the plane broke through the clouds and I could suddenly see the emerald water framed by the mountainous islands. During the flight, I'd browsed through the 'infotainment' section and learned that the minimum amount of time recommended by my airline for catching a connection through Hong Kong is 50 minutes.

I had 40.

So after everyone and their brother departed the plane before me, I swam (it was humid enough to) to security and made it to Kendra at the Gate with a surprising amount of time to spare. I smiled widely when I saw her and got an excellent hug, but Kendra soon developed a strong headache (strangely, her headaches seem to be correlated to my being present. Specifically, to my being present while talking). It was nothing some medication and rest on the plane couldn't fix, however, and we were soon on our way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

I was enjoying myself. I loved the movies and time to read on the plane, enjoyed the food, loved traveling through new countries, and was just drinking the experience in.

This shot of KL Inernational Airport's interior doesn't do justice to one of the indoor jungle sections.

After getting our bags at KL International Airport (which has incredible indoor jungle enclosures, shown just above), we needed to catch a bus to LCCT, another airport where our Air Asia flight to Phuket would depart after a generous layover. Unfortunately, we didn't have the RM 5.00 fare or anyway to convert our American dollars into the Malaysian RM.

Enter Karen. Karen, as we learned, is a Dutch traveler who is both an excellent conversationalist and quite generous. She was on an extended trip through SE Asia and was currently on her way to LCCT to catch a flight to Singapore after island hopping off Malaysia. She not only paid for our fare, but also gave us RM 10.00 to grab a drink and snack in the airport during our 9-hour layover. We're extremely grateful for her generosity.

The bus to LCCT was quite interesting as it was quite long. An approximately 20 minute trek gave us a nice view of the extensive palm forests of the interior and made us quite excited for our stay in Thailand. That is, until the layover from hell took effect.

We would take up residence in various locations of LCCT for 8 tedious hours. Malaysia (which is who we are ultimately blaming for our layover) would break me of my travel excitement as sleep deprivation took effect and kept me from enjoying my study of anatomy or any of the quirky things I care to occupy my time with.

Stare at this picture intently for 10 hours and you'll know how we felt. LCCT has all of the excitement of the DMV but without the option of leaving.

Kendra and I did tour the duty-free shops (complete with cigarette cartons displaying graphic photos of organs debilitated by smoking), and I had a very tasty sandwich from Cafe Expresso. Two interesting things of note were two 'interesting' young women near us and two Indian men who would take candid pictures of the other walking by women they deemed attractive.

After waiting an additional 2 hours due to our flight being delayed, we suffered through a game of 'musical gate' as the LCCT staff rapidly changed our gate from T8 to T5 to T8, then back to T5 again.

We did, against all odds, finally make it to our seats on the plane and were rewarded with the company of Tim Gird. A South African teaching English in Phuket, Tim was returning from a border run to Malaysia to refresh his Visa. We had a great time with him on the flight and hope to catch up with him and his girlfriend in Phuket.

Departing our flight into Thailand, we managed to stagger drunkenly through customs and into the open arms of Maow and Gai, two staff members from the Step Ahead Khao Lak center who were gracious enough to pick us up. We threw our luggage in the back and prepared for an hour long drive north along the Thai peninsula to Khao Lak. Maow and Gai - who you'll here more about in future entries - are wonderful and were very gracious company and quite accomodating of our exhausted state. Several times I found myself startled to wake up and see oncoming headlights as I kept drifting off to sleep while sitting upright. Driving on the opposite side of the road kept adding to my confusion. Looking back on it, it would've been quite funny to see the expression on my face each time.

When we made it to the center, we were directed upstairs to our wonderful room and the fresh sheets of a large bed that we haphazardly fell into, reaching unconsciousness on contact with the pillow.

Despite the minor difficulties of the trip here, if these last two days have been any indication of the quality of the next six months, I would gladly make it again and again to be able to serve, live, and travel throughout Thailand.

An Introduction to Step Ahead

2009-12-17T01:59:00.000+07:00

"Give a man a.fish., He'll eat for a day. Give a woman microcredit, she, her husband, her children and her extended family will eat for a lifetime. "-.Bono.

When Kendra asked me to search for mission opportunities in Southeast Asia, I myself turned to. missionfinder.org.. Utilizing their search function, which lists results by compatibility with the selected vocation, I found Step Ahead under the Business section.

As you can learn from their excellent website,. stepaheadmed.org., Step Ahead promotes development of the local community through providing: assistance to women and children at risk, micro-finance loans and business counseling, instruction in the English language, and offering various skills-based seminars.

From their location in the beautiful Christian community of Khao Lak and perfect compatibility with Kendra's personal mission, to the genuine sincerity, enthusiasm, and humility of CEO John Quinley, I knew that we'd found the perfect place to serve God in Southeast Asia. If you would like, please take a moment to peruse Step Ahead's website and learn more about their mission and how they are serving God through assisting others.

As Kendra and I prepare for our journey, we're excited to share further about the specifics of our roles in Thailand and where we'll be serving. We just wanted to introduce you to the organization that's been kind enough to allow us to serve God with them.

-Derek.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.".
-Philippians 2:3-4.