Selamat petang
I'll begin my blog entry for today with one of my traditional greetings, albeit this time it's in Malay and not English. Selamat petang is the Malay translation of good afternoon, for those of you who didn't catch on ;-). However, that might seem a bit confusing since I'm no longer in Malaysia. I'm currently in Brunei, however, they still speak Malay here (as well as Chinese and English). I wanted to wrap up my time in Malaysia before moving onto Brunei.
I finished up my time on the beach and began the trip back to Kota Bharu for a day and night there before catching my flight to Borneo. The ride back was much more pleasant than the trip out and I was thankful for that (I was dreading the boat ride...really, I almost didn't get back on the boat). I got into Kota Bharu and hit the town running. I had a day to soak it all in and hit the museums first. I went to several and several turned out to be a bust. One (and only one) stood out and was very interesting. It was called the War Museum, however, it touched on much more than that. Kota Bharu was one of the main points of attack during the Japanese invasion and the start of WWII. At the same time that they bombed Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked Malaysia at Kota Bharu. This northern state has traded hands several times since then and I'm going to have to look into this regional history more closely later. Thailand was neutral during WWII and had allowed Japan to launch attacks from her territory and construct the Thai-Burma Railroad. In exchange for this, following the invasion of Malaysia, Thailand was given several of the northern states of Malaysia. They were returned following the Japanese surrender, however, it's a part of the history I'm unfamiliar with and is interesting in light of the current issues facing the south of Thailand. There is much more to tell there and there is much more still to learn, but I'll move onto the more exciting part of the day. I found my way into a market and was shopping around and was looking at the batik shirts. It's a traditional type of shirt and the batik is the way in which the designs are added to the shirt. It's a combination of dyes and waxes and such and to be honest I have only a patchy knowledge of the subject and will have to fill that in later as I wasn't given a real clear description. However, it's beautiful. I looked around and eventually bought one the following morning before leaving. At the market, I ran into Greg and Marilyn and we headed to the cultural center to watch the free (wonderful) shows. There were several different shows and the first one was a type of dancing/fighting. I'm at a loss to describe it (I took several videos and hopefully will be able to post them once I get home) but it's a combination of dancing, theatre and fighting all blended together and set to music. It's really neat to watch and every position (including the hand and finger position) is highly choreographed and full of meaning. The facial expressions and showmanship that the performers has was wonderful to watch and made it very entertaining. After this we moved to a different part of the center and were shown a traditional Malay game called striking tops. There were 5-6 people participating and they all had pieces of wood the size of a large bowl in the shape of a top (the kind you spin) with a piece of rope wrapped around it. One person would throw the top and get it spinning. In a wonderful display they would start these large tops spinning by throwing them. More impressively is that they had to get it to start spinning within a certain area no bigger than a welcome mat. After the top was spinning, another person would use his top to knock the other top. It seemed like there were several objectives. First, you wanted to hit the spinning top and knock it away and second (and the most prestigious result) is to knock the other persons top away and start your top spinning on the welcome mat at the same time! We saw this happen only once, but it was impressive. Next we saw them play a traditional instrument, the coconut husk drum which made an impressive sound but doesn't give much to write about. Lastly, we played featherball. For those of you who know takgraw, it's similar to that. For those of you who don't what they do is they take a piece of leather and make a springy base. To that they attach a handful of feathers. Then they take this contraption and play hacky sack with it and kick it around a circle. All parts of your body are game except you hands. Again, very similar to takgraw. I partook in a little game and then headed off to dinner.
Now this is the story that I've been waiting to tell. Malaysia is a predominately Muslim country. As such, most people are supposed to pray 5 times per day. Helping to enforce this and prevent distractions, the government (or someone) closes the evening market from 7:00 - 7:45 every day so that the people working in the market can go pray. Greg, Marilyn and I went over to the market at about 7:40 and were greeted with an empty market. However, there was one man with a megaphone sitting in the center of the market and several others milling around the edges. We decided to wander around the market and just try to get the lay of the land and the man with the megaphone sprang into action and prevented us from even entering the market! We were told to wait outside and to come in later and he would also us anywhere near the market. So we retreated to the edges of the market and as the minutes ticked by more and more people surrounded the edges of the market. At 7:45, the man with the megaphone sounded a buzzer and the market was re-opened and in an instant the market was transformed from a barren and empty lot into a buzzing center of activity. Literally instantaneously people began selling and buying food. It was incredible. I wish I could have captured it on video. Following the re-opening of the market, we descended upon the food stalls and ate our fill. I hadn't eaten much that day and my stomach was huge and ready for anything and so I gorged myself with delicious Malaysian food. After dinner we went back to the cultural center to watch a shadow puppet play, but it proved of little interest and we called it a night. On our way back into the city we passed by a A&W's and Greg hand a hankering for a root beer float. Now, that's not something I would have thought to order or crave but once he mentioned it I was sold. And so at 10:00 (right before the store closed) we had a good ol' fashioned root beer float. And that was my day.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Fill in your own title...I couldn't think of one
Well hello!
It's been a few days since I've reported in and I blame that on the lack of infrastructure on the Perhentian Islands, but I wouldn't have it any other way (in fact, I prefer it that way). I set out early in the morning and boarded my shared minivan/taxi and set off for the pier. I was riding in this shared taxi with a family and it turns out that they are on a family vacation. Now that's not the interesting part. What's interesting is that it is the first time that the father has come back to Malaysia since he spent five years here teaching. His family gifted him this trip and is now accompanying him throughout Malaysia. He was a science teacher. It's absolutely uncanny that I meet two science teachers in two days and I was astounded. We were able to spend the hour ride to the ferry talking and I'm sorry that I wasn't able to chat with him longer for his stories were fascinating and given the circumstances, I just simply wanted to pick his brain for those little bits of information and wisdom that he picked up along the way. I hoped on the boat and little did I know I was in for the ride of my life. This little speed boat plowed it's way through the sea and would careen off the waves and as it hit the water again I would feel my spine compressing a little bit more each time. I reckon it's about as close to bull riding as I'll ever get and I was grateful when we pulled into the harbor. I've never been so jostled around in my life as on that boat. I would literally be picked up out of my seat and flung back down only to have that repeated over and over again for the next 30 minutes. Next time I'm taking the slow boat. I arrived on the island and found a place to stay right on the beach on Long Beach. It was a decent little place with a nice view and was relatively pleasant (that is until the sun set and the makeshift disco next door started up). I spent the day on the beach reading and relaxing and then wandered next door for dinner. This place looked swanky and was the fanciest place on the island, but it had a decently priced restaurant attached to it. I treated myself to a pan-fried blue marlin with tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, a real green salad and a glass of white wine. I think that's as close to heaven on Earth as I've been in a while (well, since my Singapore Curry Crab and my wheat beers before that...). It was wonderful and I nursed that meal well over the two over mark and throughly enjoyed every minute of it. I head home and went to sleep not to the sounds of the waves crashing on shore, but the throbbing beats of the disco this fancy establishment next door had created. I changed guest houses in the morning. Long Beach is one of two developed beaches on the island and is know to be the louder and more crowded of the two so I headed across the island to Coral Beach and found the perfect place. Nestled up off the edge of the bay in the rocks was Senja Resorts. One would think that the beach front bungalows is what I desired but here, the rooms perched up in the rocks overlooking the bay and the beach is where I headed. It was a great little resort for a decent price and I spent the next three days there. The next few days passed with little to report home about. I read and sat on the beach. I swam and snorkeled. I ate food. There's little more to write about save the couple I met. Little side note - can you tell I've just been reading an English author? I finished Sherlock Holmes the other day and am speaking and writing with a bit of a British twist and I find that 'save' has become a part of my regular speech as it was a part of Holmes'. As for reading, I read Holmes and then moved on to Mark Twain's Roughin' It, which is wonderful. I sure picked perfect travel books, the only downside it that I've almost finished both and am less than halfway through the trip. The couple I met - I met this couple on our snorkeling trip, Marilyn and Greg. They are a husband and wife traveling duo in there mid-50's who are spending six months traveling around SE Asia. They've gone through about five months as of late and are working on their eighth country. We hit is off and spent the entire trip chatting away about this, that and the other thing. A wonderful couple and it's been really nice to have someone to chat with and reminisce about SE Asia, my time in Thailand (both as a teacher and student). We had dinner together that night and the next and have traveling back to Kota Bharu together since our schedules coincided and are going to hit the Night Bazaar together tonight. Our paths will diverge tomorrow, but it was wonderful to have met them.
So far I've been enjoying my time away. It's been really good for me and despite my initial hesitations about leaving and becoming a traveler again, I have really enjoyed it and I feel the flames being fanned. Singapore was fantastic. It was a great first stop and I'm glad that I was able to experience that. I exhausted my resources there and saw most all that there is to see in Singapore (I'm sure that's an exaggeration, but it sure felt like I was everywhere). I also indulged in the culinary experience that is Singapore. There was Chinese, Indian, Malay, Thai, Indonesian, Western - you name it, they had it. I even found a wheat beer (see earlier entry). Fantastic visit (and the country, people and culture were good too :-)). I'm becoming more and more Thai when I judge a country by it's food. Malaysia has also been wonderful. I feel I haven't done it justice yet though as one can't call a beach/island resort a typical cultural experience that differs from country to country. The beach was good. But I've done the beach and this was nothing spectacular. Glad I did, glad to have moved on. So I feel like I've just gotten to know Malaysia and am moving on. I will be back (and in the end I will spend more time in Malaysia than any other country) but that all comes after my time in Brunei. I am excited to go Brunei. But the more I read about Malaysian Borneo, the more time I want to spend there...I'm only seeing a minute amount of it. Alas, isn't that always the case. If only every county were as small as Singapore... Tomorrow is a travel day and then I'm rewarded with a nice four night stay in the Sheraton. My parents booked it for me...living the life of luxury (thanks again Mom and Dad!). I picked up some beautiful watercolors this afternoon (you know me and art...I'm a sucker for it) and will try to get a Malaysian botik shirt (wax painting on silk) tonight (fingers crossed).
So that's life in a nut shell out here. I'm enjoying it and the refections one has while traveling are all a part of this trip and at some points were overwhelming. Thinking is good, but my curse is that I think too much. But my journal has done wonders for me and it'll be good to look back on.
I've taken to treating myself and am spending my alloted budget each day...I fear I should have set my budget lower and limited my spending a bit more, however, I've enjoyed it and it's been nothing extravagant (okay, except for the 200 baht glass of wine I treated myself too...twice). Hey, it was the beach and I was eating amazing fish and it just fit. That's about on par with my 1000 baht crab lunch...absolutely unheard of in Thailand, but somehow I found myself able to justify it in Singapore.
And with that my hour of internet comes to an end and I'm signing off. I'll talk to you later from Brunei.
RM
It's been a few days since I've reported in and I blame that on the lack of infrastructure on the Perhentian Islands, but I wouldn't have it any other way (in fact, I prefer it that way). I set out early in the morning and boarded my shared minivan/taxi and set off for the pier. I was riding in this shared taxi with a family and it turns out that they are on a family vacation. Now that's not the interesting part. What's interesting is that it is the first time that the father has come back to Malaysia since he spent five years here teaching. His family gifted him this trip and is now accompanying him throughout Malaysia. He was a science teacher. It's absolutely uncanny that I meet two science teachers in two days and I was astounded. We were able to spend the hour ride to the ferry talking and I'm sorry that I wasn't able to chat with him longer for his stories were fascinating and given the circumstances, I just simply wanted to pick his brain for those little bits of information and wisdom that he picked up along the way. I hoped on the boat and little did I know I was in for the ride of my life. This little speed boat plowed it's way through the sea and would careen off the waves and as it hit the water again I would feel my spine compressing a little bit more each time. I reckon it's about as close to bull riding as I'll ever get and I was grateful when we pulled into the harbor. I've never been so jostled around in my life as on that boat. I would literally be picked up out of my seat and flung back down only to have that repeated over and over again for the next 30 minutes. Next time I'm taking the slow boat. I arrived on the island and found a place to stay right on the beach on Long Beach. It was a decent little place with a nice view and was relatively pleasant (that is until the sun set and the makeshift disco next door started up). I spent the day on the beach reading and relaxing and then wandered next door for dinner. This place looked swanky and was the fanciest place on the island, but it had a decently priced restaurant attached to it. I treated myself to a pan-fried blue marlin with tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, a real green salad and a glass of white wine. I think that's as close to heaven on Earth as I've been in a while (well, since my Singapore Curry Crab and my wheat beers before that...). It was wonderful and I nursed that meal well over the two over mark and throughly enjoyed every minute of it. I head home and went to sleep not to the sounds of the waves crashing on shore, but the throbbing beats of the disco this fancy establishment next door had created. I changed guest houses in the morning. Long Beach is one of two developed beaches on the island and is know to be the louder and more crowded of the two so I headed across the island to Coral Beach and found the perfect place. Nestled up off the edge of the bay in the rocks was Senja Resorts. One would think that the beach front bungalows is what I desired but here, the rooms perched up in the rocks overlooking the bay and the beach is where I headed. It was a great little resort for a decent price and I spent the next three days there. The next few days passed with little to report home about. I read and sat on the beach. I swam and snorkeled. I ate food. There's little more to write about save the couple I met. Little side note - can you tell I've just been reading an English author? I finished Sherlock Holmes the other day and am speaking and writing with a bit of a British twist and I find that 'save' has become a part of my regular speech as it was a part of Holmes'. As for reading, I read Holmes and then moved on to Mark Twain's Roughin' It, which is wonderful. I sure picked perfect travel books, the only downside it that I've almost finished both and am less than halfway through the trip. The couple I met - I met this couple on our snorkeling trip, Marilyn and Greg. They are a husband and wife traveling duo in there mid-50's who are spending six months traveling around SE Asia. They've gone through about five months as of late and are working on their eighth country. We hit is off and spent the entire trip chatting away about this, that and the other thing. A wonderful couple and it's been really nice to have someone to chat with and reminisce about SE Asia, my time in Thailand (both as a teacher and student). We had dinner together that night and the next and have traveling back to Kota Bharu together since our schedules coincided and are going to hit the Night Bazaar together tonight. Our paths will diverge tomorrow, but it was wonderful to have met them.
So far I've been enjoying my time away. It's been really good for me and despite my initial hesitations about leaving and becoming a traveler again, I have really enjoyed it and I feel the flames being fanned. Singapore was fantastic. It was a great first stop and I'm glad that I was able to experience that. I exhausted my resources there and saw most all that there is to see in Singapore (I'm sure that's an exaggeration, but it sure felt like I was everywhere). I also indulged in the culinary experience that is Singapore. There was Chinese, Indian, Malay, Thai, Indonesian, Western - you name it, they had it. I even found a wheat beer (see earlier entry). Fantastic visit (and the country, people and culture were good too :-)). I'm becoming more and more Thai when I judge a country by it's food. Malaysia has also been wonderful. I feel I haven't done it justice yet though as one can't call a beach/island resort a typical cultural experience that differs from country to country. The beach was good. But I've done the beach and this was nothing spectacular. Glad I did, glad to have moved on. So I feel like I've just gotten to know Malaysia and am moving on. I will be back (and in the end I will spend more time in Malaysia than any other country) but that all comes after my time in Brunei. I am excited to go Brunei. But the more I read about Malaysian Borneo, the more time I want to spend there...I'm only seeing a minute amount of it. Alas, isn't that always the case. If only every county were as small as Singapore... Tomorrow is a travel day and then I'm rewarded with a nice four night stay in the Sheraton. My parents booked it for me...living the life of luxury (thanks again Mom and Dad!). I picked up some beautiful watercolors this afternoon (you know me and art...I'm a sucker for it) and will try to get a Malaysian botik shirt (wax painting on silk) tonight (fingers crossed).
So that's life in a nut shell out here. I'm enjoying it and the refections one has while traveling are all a part of this trip and at some points were overwhelming. Thinking is good, but my curse is that I think too much. But my journal has done wonders for me and it'll be good to look back on.
I've taken to treating myself and am spending my alloted budget each day...I fear I should have set my budget lower and limited my spending a bit more, however, I've enjoyed it and it's been nothing extravagant (okay, except for the 200 baht glass of wine I treated myself too...twice). Hey, it was the beach and I was eating amazing fish and it just fit. That's about on par with my 1000 baht crab lunch...absolutely unheard of in Thailand, but somehow I found myself able to justify it in Singapore.
And with that my hour of internet comes to an end and I'm signing off. I'll talk to you later from Brunei.
RM
Friday, March 23, 2007
Jungle Trains and Science Teachers
Greetings from Malaysia!
I've spent the day traveling from Singapore across the whole of peninsular Malaysia up to the northeastern corner. I'm currently in a town called Kota Bharu and I'm leaving tomorrow for the Perhentian Islands. The train was wonderful. I hopped in a taxi at 5:15 am this morning and was off from Singapore at 6:00 am. I spent all day on the train and only arrived in Kota Bharu a few hours ago at about 8:30 pm which made for about 15 hours of traveling today. But it was a nice break from the walking, I was able to enjoy the beautiful Malaysian countryside, I met a wonderful Malay science teacher and was able to watch the many different types of people come and go as the train snaked it's was through the country. We started out in Singapore under the pre-dawn light and the skyscrapers and made our way into Malaysia where the differences where almost immediately apparent. Despite their proximity, it was very easy to tell where I was. As soon as we had left the city we entered into what were the first of countless oil palm plantations. Malaysia (along with Indonesia) is one of the world's largest suppliers of oil palm and judging from the seemingly endless rows of oil palms along the railway, the produce a significant amount. Now, that's where my knowledge on the subject abruptly ends and is yet another academic endeavor I will embark upon once I return home and will surely relate my findings to you. However, I again want to reiterate the sheer number of trees I observed. They were a consistent and dominant feature throughout the 14 hour ride. There was a short reprieve from the monotony of the oil palm plantation as we snaked through some absolutely beautiful limestone cliffs and formations. The area was scattered with towering limestone cliffs and dotted with caves and each one seemed more picturesque than the last. Unfortunately, no good shots could be had from the inside of a moving train through the trees along the tracks. The train, called the Jungle Line, did seem to be enveloped during several stretches and the amount of light entering the train was significant reduced as if we were going through a tunnel and so the train lived up to its name. About halfway through the trip a man sat beside me and after riding together in silence, we began a conversation that would last most of the trip. He was a teacher at a school about halfway between Singapore and Kota Bharu and is from Kota Bharu. He is a science teacher at a secondary school and so we had much to talk about. He was very kind and shared with me, very frankly I might add, many of the finer details of the Malay education system amongst other things. He was a very kind and insightful man and I was grateful for his company and his insight into Malaysia. I might add that for him this eight hour ride was a twice weekly event. As I mentioned he is from Kota Bharu but teaches 8 hours from there. The Malaysian government can (and does) re-locate teachers all around the country and does so without many complaints. The lack of higher educational infrastructure means that those who get degrees but can't obtain a high paying job due to the lack of them find that they are only able to get a job teaching and so in contrast to the US there is a surplus of teachers and so the threat of replacement if you don't oblige the governments request is real. And so that is why on Friday afternoon, my friend rides 8 hours to his family and then returns by bus every Sunday night. Between him, the views and my Sherlock Holmes stories it made for a wonderful and insightful trip.
And next time I'll be reporting in from the beach.
I'd also like to wish a Happy Birthday to my Dad. I know that I'm a bit early seeing as his birthday isn't until tomorrow (March 24) but I thought I'd put that out there seeing as I might not be on tomorrow. So, Happy Birthday Dad and for those of you who know him, be sure to send him your best.
Always,
Ryan
I've spent the day traveling from Singapore across the whole of peninsular Malaysia up to the northeastern corner. I'm currently in a town called Kota Bharu and I'm leaving tomorrow for the Perhentian Islands. The train was wonderful. I hopped in a taxi at 5:15 am this morning and was off from Singapore at 6:00 am. I spent all day on the train and only arrived in Kota Bharu a few hours ago at about 8:30 pm which made for about 15 hours of traveling today. But it was a nice break from the walking, I was able to enjoy the beautiful Malaysian countryside, I met a wonderful Malay science teacher and was able to watch the many different types of people come and go as the train snaked it's was through the country. We started out in Singapore under the pre-dawn light and the skyscrapers and made our way into Malaysia where the differences where almost immediately apparent. Despite their proximity, it was very easy to tell where I was. As soon as we had left the city we entered into what were the first of countless oil palm plantations. Malaysia (along with Indonesia) is one of the world's largest suppliers of oil palm and judging from the seemingly endless rows of oil palms along the railway, the produce a significant amount. Now, that's where my knowledge on the subject abruptly ends and is yet another academic endeavor I will embark upon once I return home and will surely relate my findings to you. However, I again want to reiterate the sheer number of trees I observed. They were a consistent and dominant feature throughout the 14 hour ride. There was a short reprieve from the monotony of the oil palm plantation as we snaked through some absolutely beautiful limestone cliffs and formations. The area was scattered with towering limestone cliffs and dotted with caves and each one seemed more picturesque than the last. Unfortunately, no good shots could be had from the inside of a moving train through the trees along the tracks. The train, called the Jungle Line, did seem to be enveloped during several stretches and the amount of light entering the train was significant reduced as if we were going through a tunnel and so the train lived up to its name. About halfway through the trip a man sat beside me and after riding together in silence, we began a conversation that would last most of the trip. He was a teacher at a school about halfway between Singapore and Kota Bharu and is from Kota Bharu. He is a science teacher at a secondary school and so we had much to talk about. He was very kind and shared with me, very frankly I might add, many of the finer details of the Malay education system amongst other things. He was a very kind and insightful man and I was grateful for his company and his insight into Malaysia. I might add that for him this eight hour ride was a twice weekly event. As I mentioned he is from Kota Bharu but teaches 8 hours from there. The Malaysian government can (and does) re-locate teachers all around the country and does so without many complaints. The lack of higher educational infrastructure means that those who get degrees but can't obtain a high paying job due to the lack of them find that they are only able to get a job teaching and so in contrast to the US there is a surplus of teachers and so the threat of replacement if you don't oblige the governments request is real. And so that is why on Friday afternoon, my friend rides 8 hours to his family and then returns by bus every Sunday night. Between him, the views and my Sherlock Holmes stories it made for a wonderful and insightful trip.
And next time I'll be reporting in from the beach.
I'd also like to wish a Happy Birthday to my Dad. I know that I'm a bit early seeing as his birthday isn't until tomorrow (March 24) but I thought I'd put that out there seeing as I might not be on tomorrow. So, Happy Birthday Dad and for those of you who know him, be sure to send him your best.
Always,
Ryan
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Singapore Curry Crab!
Afternoon!
I'm hitting the Internet earlier today as it's my last day in Singapore. Tomorrow I head out super early in the morning to grab a train from Singapore all the way to northern Malaysia where I'll spend a night before headed across the straights to the Perhentian Islands and 5 days of relaxation on the beach! The train ride is also known as the Jungle Train and supposedly goes through some beautiful and rugged country in the heart of Malaysia. I'm stoked and will be sure to let you know how it is once completed.
As for today and the subject of the post, I ate Singapore Curry Crab. As my last post mentioned, I was incredibly beat after walking for days and spent the day just relaxing. I took Sherlock Holmes down to the Singapore River and read along the river and then found a restaurant and treated myself to local favorite, Singapore Curry Crab. It was amazing! I've fallen in love with crab since coming out here and this solidifies crabs place in my heart. Fantastic. The price was less fantastic and was about 1/5 of my monthly rent back in Thailand and made a dent in my wallet but since it was a relaxing day without any activities or admissions fees that was my activity for the day. And an activity is was getting at all the wonderful deliciousness that it was. I was a mess and now understand why bibs are usually associated with eating crabs (much less a curry crab). Then a bit more wandering and shopping and I'm back re-packing and reading and getting ready to go.
I'm off now and this might be the last post for a few days as I'm not sure what the infrastructure is like where I'm headed so until then I hope you're all well and I'll be in touch soon.
Ryan
I'm hitting the Internet earlier today as it's my last day in Singapore. Tomorrow I head out super early in the morning to grab a train from Singapore all the way to northern Malaysia where I'll spend a night before headed across the straights to the Perhentian Islands and 5 days of relaxation on the beach! The train ride is also known as the Jungle Train and supposedly goes through some beautiful and rugged country in the heart of Malaysia. I'm stoked and will be sure to let you know how it is once completed.
As for today and the subject of the post, I ate Singapore Curry Crab. As my last post mentioned, I was incredibly beat after walking for days and spent the day just relaxing. I took Sherlock Holmes down to the Singapore River and read along the river and then found a restaurant and treated myself to local favorite, Singapore Curry Crab. It was amazing! I've fallen in love with crab since coming out here and this solidifies crabs place in my heart. Fantastic. The price was less fantastic and was about 1/5 of my monthly rent back in Thailand and made a dent in my wallet but since it was a relaxing day without any activities or admissions fees that was my activity for the day. And an activity is was getting at all the wonderful deliciousness that it was. I was a mess and now understand why bibs are usually associated with eating crabs (much less a curry crab). Then a bit more wandering and shopping and I'm back re-packing and reading and getting ready to go.
I'm off now and this might be the last post for a few days as I'm not sure what the infrastructure is like where I'm headed so until then I hope you're all well and I'll be in touch soon.
Ryan
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Exhaustion
I am exhausted! After spending the past few days walking throughout Singapore and loving every minute of it i finally hit my breaking point this afternoon. My entire body aches and there are muscles in my legs which ache that I didn't even now I had. I'm at the point where a Thai massage sounds perfect, but alas, I'm not in Thailand! I can't believe it! I guess I just have to get several when I get back.
Yesterday I finished without writing about Sentosa. I had mentioned that it's a magical island resort which in some ways in similar to Disney World, but also very different. I took the monorail across to the island and wandered a bit. There was a observation tower, a huge Merlion, a 4D show, the Images of Singapore only to name a few. What was on most interest to me was Fort Silosa - one of three British forts on the island from the colonial period and the only surviving one. I took a tour of that which gave a me a better understanding of WWII in Singapore. This is only one of the fascinating chapters of Singapore's history. While I have an understanding of the war in the Pacific, at least the American version, I am not very familiar at all with the British experience or the battles for SE Asia. I've enjoyed this opportunity to expand my understanding of that and added to that today as I visited the prisoner of war facility in Changi. Continuing with the evening at Sentosa before I get into today, I then wandered along the beach watching the sun set. Just like my first impressions of Singapore from the air, as I looked out onto the water all I could see were boats as far as the eye could see. I slowly made my way to the southern most point in Asia and had my Singapore Sling. Following that I headed to the Magical Fountain show which was a laser and light display with fountains which was neat and then began the trek back to my hostel. As I'm staying in little India, I decided to have Indian food last night and enjoyed a plate of steaming hot Indian food and an Indian beer. At the end of the night I realized that I had consumed a significant amount of liquor that day....but all worth it. Then I hit the sack.
This morning I took off and hit the last remaining sites near the river and headed out towards the northeastern part of the island and the Changi Museum. It was a former POW camp and has been converted into a museum. After just having come from Kanchanaburi and the bridge over the river Kwai and the Death Railway it was interesting to see the numerous mentions of that. This POW camp was the source of much of the POW labor which was sent northward to work on the railway. I then made my way into Changi Village where I met a fascinating man. We just happened to be on the same bus headed to the village - but with different purposes. I was simply visiting a site for the first time while he was returning to the sight where he met his first love while he was stationed on the island while he was a member of the Royal Air Force. We got to talking and pretty soon were engaged in a fascinating conversation about his experiences here and life. He actually has written a book about his time here, A Singapore Rose, and had just come from a book festival in Hong Kong. We had lunch together and continued to chat and he continued to fill in wholes I had about Singapore's history and told me all about his life. He then wandered down to the beach where he had met his girlfriend - who he describes as his first love (she is the main subject of the book). Fascinating man, wonderful afternoon. He had to head back into town for a meeting and I continued to explore and actually took a boat to another island and rented a bike and rode around for a while where I met some other folks. However, my time is up and I have to call it a night.
Until tomorrow,
RM
Yesterday I finished without writing about Sentosa. I had mentioned that it's a magical island resort which in some ways in similar to Disney World, but also very different. I took the monorail across to the island and wandered a bit. There was a observation tower, a huge Merlion, a 4D show, the Images of Singapore only to name a few. What was on most interest to me was Fort Silosa - one of three British forts on the island from the colonial period and the only surviving one. I took a tour of that which gave a me a better understanding of WWII in Singapore. This is only one of the fascinating chapters of Singapore's history. While I have an understanding of the war in the Pacific, at least the American version, I am not very familiar at all with the British experience or the battles for SE Asia. I've enjoyed this opportunity to expand my understanding of that and added to that today as I visited the prisoner of war facility in Changi. Continuing with the evening at Sentosa before I get into today, I then wandered along the beach watching the sun set. Just like my first impressions of Singapore from the air, as I looked out onto the water all I could see were boats as far as the eye could see. I slowly made my way to the southern most point in Asia and had my Singapore Sling. Following that I headed to the Magical Fountain show which was a laser and light display with fountains which was neat and then began the trek back to my hostel. As I'm staying in little India, I decided to have Indian food last night and enjoyed a plate of steaming hot Indian food and an Indian beer. At the end of the night I realized that I had consumed a significant amount of liquor that day....but all worth it. Then I hit the sack.
This morning I took off and hit the last remaining sites near the river and headed out towards the northeastern part of the island and the Changi Museum. It was a former POW camp and has been converted into a museum. After just having come from Kanchanaburi and the bridge over the river Kwai and the Death Railway it was interesting to see the numerous mentions of that. This POW camp was the source of much of the POW labor which was sent northward to work on the railway. I then made my way into Changi Village where I met a fascinating man. We just happened to be on the same bus headed to the village - but with different purposes. I was simply visiting a site for the first time while he was returning to the sight where he met his first love while he was stationed on the island while he was a member of the Royal Air Force. We got to talking and pretty soon were engaged in a fascinating conversation about his experiences here and life. He actually has written a book about his time here, A Singapore Rose, and had just come from a book festival in Hong Kong. We had lunch together and continued to chat and he continued to fill in wholes I had about Singapore's history and told me all about his life. He then wandered down to the beach where he had met his girlfriend - who he describes as his first love (she is the main subject of the book). Fascinating man, wonderful afternoon. He had to head back into town for a meeting and I continued to explore and actually took a boat to another island and rented a bike and rode around for a while where I met some other folks. However, my time is up and I have to call it a night.
Until tomorrow,
RM
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Wonderful wheat beer!
The title of this post says it all. Wheat beer is amazing and I love it and it's not too be found in Thailand, but (and this is a wonderful but) it is to be found in Singapore! I came across a brewery/restaurant this afternoon and ate there solely because they had a wheat beer. It was amazing. The last time I had a wheat beer was when Peter brought one with him when he came to visit in October. Since then I've had nothing but mediocre Thai beer. Well that all changed today. I sat down and ordered a pint and a pork tenderloin (which also was very nice...but I have to say I enjoyed the beer more). That first sip was magical and I thought I was in heaven. It was a great setting - a brewery located right along the Singapore river and the boardwalk along the river. It had rained earlier that morning and had cleared up and the sun was out and the sky was blue and I had a nice cold pint of wheat beer in my hand. Oh man, I love Singapore.
The feelings of love continue as I continue to explore the city. My wallet was loosened today and I really treated myself like I was on vacation and while I can't continue to do that everyday I do have several more days like that in my budget. Following my early morning breakfast and stroll across town I came across the famous Merlion - the national symbol of Singapore. It's half lion, half mermaid and shoots water out it's mouth into the Singapore River. It's a silly little statue and icon that the tourism authority created in the 1960's as the icon for Singapore. While the relationship to Singapore is insightful (Singapore literally means Lion City and being situated by the sea myths about mermaid are inherently present) it is merely a created icon. After the obligatory visit to that I headed towards the other historical sights along the river. The river, historically, was the main trading artery for this bustling port town. The ports have since been relocated and the river re-developed, but many of the historic buildings remain. They are classically European and, in part, this architectural style contributes to this uncanny feeling that Singapore could easily be every place I've ever visited. I don't know if I've mentioned this or not but I've had the sensation that I've been in China, India, Mexico, North Carolina, England - every place I've ever visited - since I've been here. There is a logical explanation for this and I by it, but it's very strange but wonderful and that contributes to my growing love for this city. Following my little stroll through time, it started to rain so I thought a trip to the Asian Civilizations Museum would be wonderful and thus promptly entered. Now this was a wonderful museum. It was dedicated to the nations of SE Asia, West Asia, East Asia and China and provided a fantastic overview of all. It was neat to learn more about this region and re-learn many of the things that I've picked up during my travels around Asia. It is a museum like this which reminds me of both how much I know about Asia and how much more I still have to learn. I loved it. The museums here have so far been a highlight and are vastly superior to Thai museums and even American ones. Following that information overload, I killed those newly acquired brain cells with two pints of beer and a plate of pork over lunch. After lunch I booked my ticket for the next part of my journey which I've actually bumped back a day since I love it here so much. Next, I'm off to the Perhentian Islands in northeastern Malaysia via a train through the Malaysian jungle. There is still a story to tell regarding my visit to the fabulous Sentosa Island, Singapore's own island resort but that'll have to wait until tomorrow or sometime in the future as my 30 minutes are up again. But I will leave you with this. As the sun set, i found myself sitting in Singapore at the southern most point in Asia sipping a Singapore
Sling on the beach. Lets not mention that the drink cost more than a night at my hostel and it made for an incredible evening.
Signing off,
RM
The feelings of love continue as I continue to explore the city. My wallet was loosened today and I really treated myself like I was on vacation and while I can't continue to do that everyday I do have several more days like that in my budget. Following my early morning breakfast and stroll across town I came across the famous Merlion - the national symbol of Singapore. It's half lion, half mermaid and shoots water out it's mouth into the Singapore River. It's a silly little statue and icon that the tourism authority created in the 1960's as the icon for Singapore. While the relationship to Singapore is insightful (Singapore literally means Lion City and being situated by the sea myths about mermaid are inherently present) it is merely a created icon. After the obligatory visit to that I headed towards the other historical sights along the river. The river, historically, was the main trading artery for this bustling port town. The ports have since been relocated and the river re-developed, but many of the historic buildings remain. They are classically European and, in part, this architectural style contributes to this uncanny feeling that Singapore could easily be every place I've ever visited. I don't know if I've mentioned this or not but I've had the sensation that I've been in China, India, Mexico, North Carolina, England - every place I've ever visited - since I've been here. There is a logical explanation for this and I by it, but it's very strange but wonderful and that contributes to my growing love for this city. Following my little stroll through time, it started to rain so I thought a trip to the Asian Civilizations Museum would be wonderful and thus promptly entered. Now this was a wonderful museum. It was dedicated to the nations of SE Asia, West Asia, East Asia and China and provided a fantastic overview of all. It was neat to learn more about this region and re-learn many of the things that I've picked up during my travels around Asia. It is a museum like this which reminds me of both how much I know about Asia and how much more I still have to learn. I loved it. The museums here have so far been a highlight and are vastly superior to Thai museums and even American ones. Following that information overload, I killed those newly acquired brain cells with two pints of beer and a plate of pork over lunch. After lunch I booked my ticket for the next part of my journey which I've actually bumped back a day since I love it here so much. Next, I'm off to the Perhentian Islands in northeastern Malaysia via a train through the Malaysian jungle. There is still a story to tell regarding my visit to the fabulous Sentosa Island, Singapore's own island resort but that'll have to wait until tomorrow or sometime in the future as my 30 minutes are up again. But I will leave you with this. As the sun set, i found myself sitting in Singapore at the southern most point in Asia sipping a Singapore
Sling on the beach. Lets not mention that the drink cost more than a night at my hostel and it made for an incredible evening.
Signing off,
RM
Monday, March 19, 2007
Fabulous Singapore!
Hi!
So as the title might suggest I am in Singapore. I am taking advantage of one of the perks of teaching and am taking a holiday during the summer. I wrote a while ago about my tentative plans, but nothing was solidified until just the other day. So, here I am in fabulous Singapore on the first leg of my little trip. I left this morning at 9:00 from Chiang Mai and arrived at 1:00 pm. Singapore was impressive from the moment I caught a glimpse of it from the air. We flew in over the Straight of Mellaka and the entire coastline and ocean was full of boats - big boats, little boats and tankers. It was an incredible sight and gave a very visual illustration of the importance of this passage way. It's the life-blood of this little island city-state and without it Singapore wouldn't be around and East Asia would be cut of from Europe and India. It's an incredible historic and contemporary trade route that is globally significant. And that's before I even landed. After landing, I jumped on to their super modern MRT (or subway/light rail) and made my way into the city. I decided to stay near Little India in a little guesthouse. One of the first things that jumped out at me once arriving is the incredible diversity here. It is definitely a by-product of its location at the crossroads of continents, but it is truly amazing. While on the MRT, I heard at least three different languages and judging by people dress, habits and accents was surrounded by people of at least half a dozen different ethnicities. The city oozes diversity and I'm loving it. After finding my guesthouse, I wandered. It's been fabulous to escape the confines of my own restrictions in Thailand. Does that make sense? Today it has been made abundantly clear that I spend much energy on ensuring that I do not look like a tourist in Thailand, whether I'm in Lampang or Bangkok. I live there. It's my home and I feel the need to at least act the part. Here, I'm officially a tourist and it has been wonderful to let loose. Now while there has been little actually change in my behavior, my mental state is miles away. I feel much freer and at ease. It's an incredible transition and sensation. It's also something that I didn't exactly notice while I was in Thailand and is something to keep in mind once I return. Anyway, I wandered the streets and ended up at the National Museum. I've read several articles about the museum and how it's incredible and was just renovated so I stopped by and checked it out. Plus I felt bad because I really didn't know much about Singapore and felt like I needed an introductory course. But more importantly, I just enjoy museums and this one was fascinating. Just as I felt like I was gaining a handle on Thai history I come and am introduced to this which is just as fascinating and complicated and I have a whole new challenge ahead of me.
Well, I've now used the 30 minutes of free Internet they have given me with my room so I'll sign off for tonight and catch you up tomorrow and fill you in on the rest of my travels. Bye!
RM
So as the title might suggest I am in Singapore. I am taking advantage of one of the perks of teaching and am taking a holiday during the summer. I wrote a while ago about my tentative plans, but nothing was solidified until just the other day. So, here I am in fabulous Singapore on the first leg of my little trip. I left this morning at 9:00 from Chiang Mai and arrived at 1:00 pm. Singapore was impressive from the moment I caught a glimpse of it from the air. We flew in over the Straight of Mellaka and the entire coastline and ocean was full of boats - big boats, little boats and tankers. It was an incredible sight and gave a very visual illustration of the importance of this passage way. It's the life-blood of this little island city-state and without it Singapore wouldn't be around and East Asia would be cut of from Europe and India. It's an incredible historic and contemporary trade route that is globally significant. And that's before I even landed. After landing, I jumped on to their super modern MRT (or subway/light rail) and made my way into the city. I decided to stay near Little India in a little guesthouse. One of the first things that jumped out at me once arriving is the incredible diversity here. It is definitely a by-product of its location at the crossroads of continents, but it is truly amazing. While on the MRT, I heard at least three different languages and judging by people dress, habits and accents was surrounded by people of at least half a dozen different ethnicities. The city oozes diversity and I'm loving it. After finding my guesthouse, I wandered. It's been fabulous to escape the confines of my own restrictions in Thailand. Does that make sense? Today it has been made abundantly clear that I spend much energy on ensuring that I do not look like a tourist in Thailand, whether I'm in Lampang or Bangkok. I live there. It's my home and I feel the need to at least act the part. Here, I'm officially a tourist and it has been wonderful to let loose. Now while there has been little actually change in my behavior, my mental state is miles away. I feel much freer and at ease. It's an incredible transition and sensation. It's also something that I didn't exactly notice while I was in Thailand and is something to keep in mind once I return. Anyway, I wandered the streets and ended up at the National Museum. I've read several articles about the museum and how it's incredible and was just renovated so I stopped by and checked it out. Plus I felt bad because I really didn't know much about Singapore and felt like I needed an introductory course. But more importantly, I just enjoy museums and this one was fascinating. Just as I felt like I was gaining a handle on Thai history I come and am introduced to this which is just as fascinating and complicated and I have a whole new challenge ahead of me.
Well, I've now used the 30 minutes of free Internet they have given me with my room so I'll sign off for tonight and catch you up tomorrow and fill you in on the rest of my travels. Bye!
RM
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Field Trip with BWS
Hi!
So, I figure that it's about time I uploaded the photos and stories from my recent trip with Bunyawat. In brief, I took a trip with about 10 teachers and 120 students and we headed out on a sightseeing tour of south-central Thailand for five days.
Day 1 - We arrived at school in the afternoon immediately following finals. I spent the morning grading finals and imputing grades and then left school to go home, pack and get my hair cut before meeting the students at school. We climbed aboard three tour busses and were off. The teachers were mostly in the lower level of the bus (the buses have an upper level where most of the seats are and a lower, more private level. The students were upstairs and the teachers were downstairs (for the most part...there were three teachers upstairs). As soon as the bus left, the men downstairs started to drink. It was as much of a vacation for them as the students and that continued the entire trip. I amused myself by chatting with the students and teachers, watching Palmy (a Thai singer) in concert on the TV, reading and otherwise trying to pass the time. We stopped about every two hours for bathroom breaks and such so it was hard to get much sleep.
Day 2 - We arrived at our destination at 4:00 am and went straight to the market to by breakfast before heading to the train station to catch the train. Our destination, I should mention, was Kanchanaburi - home to the famous Death Railway and Bridge over the River Kwai. On our way to the train station we passed several allied cemeteries from World War II. The railroad was built by the Japanese during WWII as a means to connect Bangkok to Burma and southern China. It was mostly built by allied prisoners of war and Thai and Burmese conscripted labors. The railway crosses some very difficult terrain and was difficult to complete and was consistently a target of attack by allied bombers. It took many years to complete and it's said that it cost one life for every railroad tie. So, after a little history lesson we boarded the train and headed off to cross the bridge. The bridge is just outside the city and is surprisingly hard to see from the train. Any attempt to get a picture was foiled, but we did cross it. The ride was wonderful. Since we had boarded the train at about 6 am, we were greeted with the sunrise over the mountains and through the fog. It was really beautiful and made getting up so early worthwhile. The ride was pretty standard at first. We crossed through many rice and sugarcane fields but as we wound up into the mountains it became clear why this railroad was so difficult to build. With steep mountainsides on one side and a river on the other, the railroad was perched up on elevated tracks right up against the cliffs. You could almost reach out and touch them. We wound up into the mountains and got off at the Waterfall station but then ran into bus problems and had to wait for a replacement bus...we ended up scratching the waterfall in order to save time and headed off to Muang Singh Historic Park. This is an old city that now consists of ruins scattered in a beautiful part. It resembled Ayudhaya, but possessed its own unique quality. It was much smaller, but was still wonderful to visit. Here I spent most of my time taking photos of the students and acting as their photographer as they toured the small city. Despite the overnight bus ride everyone was very energetic and excited to be on vacation and away from school and we enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together outside of the class and joke around a bit. After the park we headed to a temple in the neighboring province and continued our southward journey. The two highlights of this temple were a floating nun and a cave. As I translated the itinerary prior to leaving I had translated an attraction as the floating nun and wasn't sure what that meant. Even P' Aoy in the EP office didn't understand exactly what it was talking about. But sure enough, it there was a floating nun. At this temple there is a nun who is very overweight who climbs into a pool of water and floats on the surface and does a sort of meditation while floating in this pool. They charged 10 baht a person to come sit in the little arena around the pool and watch this nun float for a few minutes. It was a bit strange, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. I guess it even made it onto a TV program at some point. The cave was a much better sell in my book and was a pretty typical cave with the entrance filled with Buddhist icons and symbols. It lead back into several small chambers which then after a climb up a ladder through the exit put you just outside of where you entered. After enjoying those two sites and a few popsicles we headed off to see a very large chedi. The chedi is the center-point for the temples and is a large bell-shaped structure which houses Buddha images or relics underneath. Typically people will circumambulate the chedi three times during their visit to the temple. This chedi was enormous. They are typically striking and a famous one outside Chiang Mai is covered in gold, however this one was simply huge and dominated the temple. It's being huge made walking around it a bit more challenging, but there were many people do so. After a quick stop there we headed into our last province of the day and stopped at a market to grab dinner before heading to the hotel. Upon arriving, I showered and crashed into bed watching Back to the Future II on TV. After that was finished I headed over to Laura and Dan's room (Laura is another foreign teacher from Bunyawat and Dan is her brother who came to visit) were we ate sticky rice and mango (amazing!) and drank a few beers while watching the Fantastic Four. It was definitely summer vacation at that point it is was just what the doctor ordered after a long semester and a long day.
Day 3 - We woke up early and hit the buffet that came with the room and gorged ourselves preparing for the long day ahead. The first stop on the tour for the day was the floating market. Now, when I first found out about this I was thrilled. I've wanted to go to these floating markets for a while now thinking that they would be really neat. I wasn't wrong. These are pretty much markets along a system of canals where the shoppers are in boats floating along the canals and the stores are perched alongside the canal or on other boats in the canal. It literally is a floating market. It was wonderful to float through the market shop from a boat...it puts a whole new perspective on shopping. That was thoroughly enjoyable and after that we stopped in a little shop and had the famous old-fashioned coffee and "boat noodles". Climbing back on the bus we headed toward the beach and our ultimate destination of Cha Am. We stopped for lunch at a little beachside market which had a wide assortment of seafood. I ate my fill of squid, shrimp and these little seashell sea critters of some sort. This market was named after them and everyone was eating them so it seemed appropriate. And they were tasty (which isn't always the case in situations such as these). After that we headed to Cha Am where we checked into our bungalow and were given the afternoon/evening to play in ocean and do what ever we pleased - most all headed straight to the beach. We played in the water and the sand and did all your normal beach activities. One unique feature of Cha Am is the banana boats they have just off shore. You hope onto a long air-filled tube which is pulled by a jet ski and as it careens through the water you cling to your little tube and hope you don't fall off (which you do...it's inevitable). After falling off, you climb right back on and do it again. It's wonderful fun and since the tubes hold 5-7 people it's a great thing for groups of friends to do. I was sought out to be the anchor on the back and went for a ride with several students. It was funny because most people in Thailand (especially the north) can't swim. I asked the students before we left and they all said that they had done it before and could swim but as soon as we fell off they were clinging to me and asking me to help them back to the raft. I was definitely sore after several trips on the banana boats. After that excursion we showered and grabbed a seafood dinner at a little restaurant on the beach and called it a night after sipping a few beers on the porch. Another long day, but it was great to be back on the beach again.
Day 4 - Again waking up early we headed off to a large statue of a monk. Much like the chedi, it dominated the surrounding landscape and was very imposing. It appeared like the monk's eyes would follow you as you approached. Other than looking at this imposing statue and paying your respects, there wasn't much to do so we meandered back to the bus and bought some amazing guavas. They take the guava and soak it in sugar syrup and it makes the guava so tasty. Guavas are good to begin with, but add a green apple or strawberry flavored syrup and it's amazing. So we snacked on that for a while as we waited for the rest of the students to return. From there we headed to an aquarium on the ocean. It was a neat aquarium and provided some interesting information about southern Thailand, but other than that it was your basic aquarium. Our last stop of the day was at a border town market. The border towns near Burma are known for their cheap goods and there are several in the north that I've been to and those were actually much better than this one. It was a very small market and mostly had gems and the like so there wasn't much to do there. The neat thing about the market is that it is located at the narrowest point in Thailand. Thailand gets real narrow there as it moves down the Isthmus of Kra and some of that territory is shared with Burma and so at this point, Thailand was at its narrowest. There was a sign. It was neat, but that's just me. We headed back to Cha Am for another afternoon on the beach and after our full on afternoon the other day, this experience was much more relaxed and laid back. We had dinner on the beach and I got more seafood...I'm falling in love with fresh squid and crabs. What'll I do once I'm back in landlocked Colorado? Then we called it a night.
Day 5 - Our last day was filled with a trip north to Bangkok and a day at Dream World (an amusement park in BKK). We drove for about five hours in the morning and arrived at Dream World at about lunch time. After a quick lunch, we hit the park running. I had been to Dream World before when I came to BKK with the Project Citizen group and Yui and so it was neat to go back and the thrill wasn't lost. We hit Snow Land again and that was a blast as we got in several snowball fights with different groups of students. In Snow Land, I was taking lots of pictures and the students wanted their pictures with me and so we were taking lots of pictures. It appeared that several other people thought that I just a nice guy and was taking pictures with just anyone (since they didn't realize that I was these students' teacher) and asked to take pictures with me. For a moment, it seemed like I was more popular than the reindeer. Oh boy. But after a few more snowball fights and a trip down the little sledding hill we moved on to the Grand Canyon Adventure and then on to the roller coaster. We would join up with different groups of students as we say them and hit different rides with them which were fun. After riding most of the rides, we tried our hand at the carnival games. I really have never tried any of those and it was fun to try, but like I thought it's a waste of money and addicting as you think it'll be easy, but always alludes you. We then headed back to the bus and drove to Future Park. Future Park is just a shopping center near Dream World and on the way back to Lampang and so we stopped there for a few hours for dinner and to kill time so we didn't arrive back in Lampang in the middle of the night. We ate dinner and did a little shopping and then headed back to the bus. At this point, I split off from the group. I headed into BKK to get a guesthouse and take the GRE the next day. I grabbed a cab and called it a night once I arrived and then took the GRE on Wednesday and grabbed a bus back to Lampang on Thursday.
Oh, funny story. I was in line to buy my ticket to go back to Lampang and there was a mom and her daughters in front of me. They were buying a ticket for the mom to go back to Lampang since she had come down to visit her daughters who were studying in Bangkok. While we were standing in line, they were talking about me and when I bought my ticket they told the person to sit me next to their mom. I had a few minutes to kill and then wandered to the bus and sure enough I was sitting next to the mom. I sat down and she started a conversation and eventually told me that her daughter told her to ask for my phone number. I gave it to her and she called her daughter and told her and then we proceeded to have a conversation while on the bus using her mom's cell phone. The whole thing was entirely innocent - she just wanted to talk to a foreigner and all that but it was nonetheless funny and weird for me. I've still not gotten used to all the attention that I get here. It started in Phrae with the parade and continues. It's just not something that happened back in the US.
Anyway, I'll wrap up that novel and put in the link for pictures here. So, if you want to check out picture click on the pictures and it'll take you to the website. Enjoy!
This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog
Thanks for reading!
Ry
So, I figure that it's about time I uploaded the photos and stories from my recent trip with Bunyawat. In brief, I took a trip with about 10 teachers and 120 students and we headed out on a sightseeing tour of south-central Thailand for five days.
Day 1 - We arrived at school in the afternoon immediately following finals. I spent the morning grading finals and imputing grades and then left school to go home, pack and get my hair cut before meeting the students at school. We climbed aboard three tour busses and were off. The teachers were mostly in the lower level of the bus (the buses have an upper level where most of the seats are and a lower, more private level. The students were upstairs and the teachers were downstairs (for the most part...there were three teachers upstairs). As soon as the bus left, the men downstairs started to drink. It was as much of a vacation for them as the students and that continued the entire trip. I amused myself by chatting with the students and teachers, watching Palmy (a Thai singer) in concert on the TV, reading and otherwise trying to pass the time. We stopped about every two hours for bathroom breaks and such so it was hard to get much sleep.
Day 2 - We arrived at our destination at 4:00 am and went straight to the market to by breakfast before heading to the train station to catch the train. Our destination, I should mention, was Kanchanaburi - home to the famous Death Railway and Bridge over the River Kwai. On our way to the train station we passed several allied cemeteries from World War II. The railroad was built by the Japanese during WWII as a means to connect Bangkok to Burma and southern China. It was mostly built by allied prisoners of war and Thai and Burmese conscripted labors. The railway crosses some very difficult terrain and was difficult to complete and was consistently a target of attack by allied bombers. It took many years to complete and it's said that it cost one life for every railroad tie. So, after a little history lesson we boarded the train and headed off to cross the bridge. The bridge is just outside the city and is surprisingly hard to see from the train. Any attempt to get a picture was foiled, but we did cross it. The ride was wonderful. Since we had boarded the train at about 6 am, we were greeted with the sunrise over the mountains and through the fog. It was really beautiful and made getting up so early worthwhile. The ride was pretty standard at first. We crossed through many rice and sugarcane fields but as we wound up into the mountains it became clear why this railroad was so difficult to build. With steep mountainsides on one side and a river on the other, the railroad was perched up on elevated tracks right up against the cliffs. You could almost reach out and touch them. We wound up into the mountains and got off at the Waterfall station but then ran into bus problems and had to wait for a replacement bus...we ended up scratching the waterfall in order to save time and headed off to Muang Singh Historic Park. This is an old city that now consists of ruins scattered in a beautiful part. It resembled Ayudhaya, but possessed its own unique quality. It was much smaller, but was still wonderful to visit. Here I spent most of my time taking photos of the students and acting as their photographer as they toured the small city. Despite the overnight bus ride everyone was very energetic and excited to be on vacation and away from school and we enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together outside of the class and joke around a bit. After the park we headed to a temple in the neighboring province and continued our southward journey. The two highlights of this temple were a floating nun and a cave. As I translated the itinerary prior to leaving I had translated an attraction as the floating nun and wasn't sure what that meant. Even P' Aoy in the EP office didn't understand exactly what it was talking about. But sure enough, it there was a floating nun. At this temple there is a nun who is very overweight who climbs into a pool of water and floats on the surface and does a sort of meditation while floating in this pool. They charged 10 baht a person to come sit in the little arena around the pool and watch this nun float for a few minutes. It was a bit strange, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. I guess it even made it onto a TV program at some point. The cave was a much better sell in my book and was a pretty typical cave with the entrance filled with Buddhist icons and symbols. It lead back into several small chambers which then after a climb up a ladder through the exit put you just outside of where you entered. After enjoying those two sites and a few popsicles we headed off to see a very large chedi. The chedi is the center-point for the temples and is a large bell-shaped structure which houses Buddha images or relics underneath. Typically people will circumambulate the chedi three times during their visit to the temple. This chedi was enormous. They are typically striking and a famous one outside Chiang Mai is covered in gold, however this one was simply huge and dominated the temple. It's being huge made walking around it a bit more challenging, but there were many people do so. After a quick stop there we headed into our last province of the day and stopped at a market to grab dinner before heading to the hotel. Upon arriving, I showered and crashed into bed watching Back to the Future II on TV. After that was finished I headed over to Laura and Dan's room (Laura is another foreign teacher from Bunyawat and Dan is her brother who came to visit) were we ate sticky rice and mango (amazing!) and drank a few beers while watching the Fantastic Four. It was definitely summer vacation at that point it is was just what the doctor ordered after a long semester and a long day.
Day 3 - We woke up early and hit the buffet that came with the room and gorged ourselves preparing for the long day ahead. The first stop on the tour for the day was the floating market. Now, when I first found out about this I was thrilled. I've wanted to go to these floating markets for a while now thinking that they would be really neat. I wasn't wrong. These are pretty much markets along a system of canals where the shoppers are in boats floating along the canals and the stores are perched alongside the canal or on other boats in the canal. It literally is a floating market. It was wonderful to float through the market shop from a boat...it puts a whole new perspective on shopping. That was thoroughly enjoyable and after that we stopped in a little shop and had the famous old-fashioned coffee and "boat noodles". Climbing back on the bus we headed toward the beach and our ultimate destination of Cha Am. We stopped for lunch at a little beachside market which had a wide assortment of seafood. I ate my fill of squid, shrimp and these little seashell sea critters of some sort. This market was named after them and everyone was eating them so it seemed appropriate. And they were tasty (which isn't always the case in situations such as these). After that we headed to Cha Am where we checked into our bungalow and were given the afternoon/evening to play in ocean and do what ever we pleased - most all headed straight to the beach. We played in the water and the sand and did all your normal beach activities. One unique feature of Cha Am is the banana boats they have just off shore. You hope onto a long air-filled tube which is pulled by a jet ski and as it careens through the water you cling to your little tube and hope you don't fall off (which you do...it's inevitable). After falling off, you climb right back on and do it again. It's wonderful fun and since the tubes hold 5-7 people it's a great thing for groups of friends to do. I was sought out to be the anchor on the back and went for a ride with several students. It was funny because most people in Thailand (especially the north) can't swim. I asked the students before we left and they all said that they had done it before and could swim but as soon as we fell off they were clinging to me and asking me to help them back to the raft. I was definitely sore after several trips on the banana boats. After that excursion we showered and grabbed a seafood dinner at a little restaurant on the beach and called it a night after sipping a few beers on the porch. Another long day, but it was great to be back on the beach again.
Day 4 - Again waking up early we headed off to a large statue of a monk. Much like the chedi, it dominated the surrounding landscape and was very imposing. It appeared like the monk's eyes would follow you as you approached. Other than looking at this imposing statue and paying your respects, there wasn't much to do so we meandered back to the bus and bought some amazing guavas. They take the guava and soak it in sugar syrup and it makes the guava so tasty. Guavas are good to begin with, but add a green apple or strawberry flavored syrup and it's amazing. So we snacked on that for a while as we waited for the rest of the students to return. From there we headed to an aquarium on the ocean. It was a neat aquarium and provided some interesting information about southern Thailand, but other than that it was your basic aquarium. Our last stop of the day was at a border town market. The border towns near Burma are known for their cheap goods and there are several in the north that I've been to and those were actually much better than this one. It was a very small market and mostly had gems and the like so there wasn't much to do there. The neat thing about the market is that it is located at the narrowest point in Thailand. Thailand gets real narrow there as it moves down the Isthmus of Kra and some of that territory is shared with Burma and so at this point, Thailand was at its narrowest. There was a sign. It was neat, but that's just me. We headed back to Cha Am for another afternoon on the beach and after our full on afternoon the other day, this experience was much more relaxed and laid back. We had dinner on the beach and I got more seafood...I'm falling in love with fresh squid and crabs. What'll I do once I'm back in landlocked Colorado? Then we called it a night.
Day 5 - Our last day was filled with a trip north to Bangkok and a day at Dream World (an amusement park in BKK). We drove for about five hours in the morning and arrived at Dream World at about lunch time. After a quick lunch, we hit the park running. I had been to Dream World before when I came to BKK with the Project Citizen group and Yui and so it was neat to go back and the thrill wasn't lost. We hit Snow Land again and that was a blast as we got in several snowball fights with different groups of students. In Snow Land, I was taking lots of pictures and the students wanted their pictures with me and so we were taking lots of pictures. It appeared that several other people thought that I just a nice guy and was taking pictures with just anyone (since they didn't realize that I was these students' teacher) and asked to take pictures with me. For a moment, it seemed like I was more popular than the reindeer. Oh boy. But after a few more snowball fights and a trip down the little sledding hill we moved on to the Grand Canyon Adventure and then on to the roller coaster. We would join up with different groups of students as we say them and hit different rides with them which were fun. After riding most of the rides, we tried our hand at the carnival games. I really have never tried any of those and it was fun to try, but like I thought it's a waste of money and addicting as you think it'll be easy, but always alludes you. We then headed back to the bus and drove to Future Park. Future Park is just a shopping center near Dream World and on the way back to Lampang and so we stopped there for a few hours for dinner and to kill time so we didn't arrive back in Lampang in the middle of the night. We ate dinner and did a little shopping and then headed back to the bus. At this point, I split off from the group. I headed into BKK to get a guesthouse and take the GRE the next day. I grabbed a cab and called it a night once I arrived and then took the GRE on Wednesday and grabbed a bus back to Lampang on Thursday.
Oh, funny story. I was in line to buy my ticket to go back to Lampang and there was a mom and her daughters in front of me. They were buying a ticket for the mom to go back to Lampang since she had come down to visit her daughters who were studying in Bangkok. While we were standing in line, they were talking about me and when I bought my ticket they told the person to sit me next to their mom. I had a few minutes to kill and then wandered to the bus and sure enough I was sitting next to the mom. I sat down and she started a conversation and eventually told me that her daughter told her to ask for my phone number. I gave it to her and she called her daughter and told her and then we proceeded to have a conversation while on the bus using her mom's cell phone. The whole thing was entirely innocent - she just wanted to talk to a foreigner and all that but it was nonetheless funny and weird for me. I've still not gotten used to all the attention that I get here. It started in Phrae with the parade and continues. It's just not something that happened back in the US.
Anyway, I'll wrap up that novel and put in the link for pictures here. So, if you want to check out picture click on the pictures and it'll take you to the website. Enjoy!
This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog
Thanks for reading!
Ry
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Just a pretty face
Hey!
As many of you know, it's the end of the school year. Several weeks ago I accompanied my director and several students on recruiting trips to several off the primary schools in Lampang trying to recruit new students for our M1 class next year. These trips were very informal but were at the same time very formal. There was little preparation or organization on our part, but we were received very formally by the schools we did visit. The first day we visited two primary schools and brought along six current students. The entire grade 6 class (what will become next year's M1 class) was gathered in the school outdoor auditorium seated on the floor. We introduced ourselves and then the guidance counselor from Bunyawat took it from there bringing up students as she needed them. It was funny listening to her presentation as it was revealing as to the true selling points for the English Program. The two most important points that she made during the presentation was that the class sizes were 25-30 students per class instead of the typical 60-70 student and that the classrooms were air conditioned. She did mention that the courses were taught by foreigners and that your English skills would improve, but the biggest selling points was the class size and air-con. I guess I should have expected that, but it didn't hit me until then. When we went to the different schools we were sure to bring along alumni from those schools and we would always point out that there are students from this school in the English Program right now and that you could join them next year. The whole thing was a bit strange and I felt like I was brought along simply to be the pretty face (hence the title) as I didn't really say or do anything. But it was interesting. From the recruitment trips we had 70 applicants for 30 spots and then this week we had our parent/student orientation meeting. The director of the school and several other high level administrators made an appearance (as did the pretty foreigners) and the students received all the forms and such that they needed. I guess this is as good of a place to talk about the school system briefly. There are several different levels of school (like in the US). Here there is prathom (primary school or grades 1-6) and matayom (secondary or grades 7-12). There are also numerous technical schools which start after grade 9 or 12 and then there is university. For each school, the students have to test into the schools and be accepted. Bunyawat is a secondary school and so all of the new M1 students must take a test at the end of grade 6 prior to the summer holiday (meaning the students just took that test). The students take the test at the school that they wish to study. If they pass, they can study there. Bunyawat is a very famous school and so many students want to test into school here and so the examination period last several weeks. Following their admission into a school they have secured a place for the next three years (until grade 9). After grade 9 (or M3), they have to test again at their school of choice. Most students continue to study at the same school, but others will go to different schools, technical schools or other more specialized schools. But at each school, there is an entrance exam that the students must take and pass. Then after complete M6 (grade 12), the students test again in order to be admitted to university and to graduate from school. So, at those different points in a students life, life becomes very stressful for them as they often have one shot at it - you don't test for more than one school. Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent, but I thought it was appropriate. It relates in that before being accepted into the English Program the student had taken and passed an entrance test to Bunyawat and then passed an entrance test for the English Program. I guess I'm glad I only had to go and be a pretty face ;-)
Ryan
As many of you know, it's the end of the school year. Several weeks ago I accompanied my director and several students on recruiting trips to several off the primary schools in Lampang trying to recruit new students for our M1 class next year. These trips were very informal but were at the same time very formal. There was little preparation or organization on our part, but we were received very formally by the schools we did visit. The first day we visited two primary schools and brought along six current students. The entire grade 6 class (what will become next year's M1 class) was gathered in the school outdoor auditorium seated on the floor. We introduced ourselves and then the guidance counselor from Bunyawat took it from there bringing up students as she needed them. It was funny listening to her presentation as it was revealing as to the true selling points for the English Program. The two most important points that she made during the presentation was that the class sizes were 25-30 students per class instead of the typical 60-70 student and that the classrooms were air conditioned. She did mention that the courses were taught by foreigners and that your English skills would improve, but the biggest selling points was the class size and air-con. I guess I should have expected that, but it didn't hit me until then. When we went to the different schools we were sure to bring along alumni from those schools and we would always point out that there are students from this school in the English Program right now and that you could join them next year. The whole thing was a bit strange and I felt like I was brought along simply to be the pretty face (hence the title) as I didn't really say or do anything. But it was interesting. From the recruitment trips we had 70 applicants for 30 spots and then this week we had our parent/student orientation meeting. The director of the school and several other high level administrators made an appearance (as did the pretty foreigners) and the students received all the forms and such that they needed. I guess this is as good of a place to talk about the school system briefly. There are several different levels of school (like in the US). Here there is prathom (primary school or grades 1-6) and matayom (secondary or grades 7-12). There are also numerous technical schools which start after grade 9 or 12 and then there is university. For each school, the students have to test into the schools and be accepted. Bunyawat is a secondary school and so all of the new M1 students must take a test at the end of grade 6 prior to the summer holiday (meaning the students just took that test). The students take the test at the school that they wish to study. If they pass, they can study there. Bunyawat is a very famous school and so many students want to test into school here and so the examination period last several weeks. Following their admission into a school they have secured a place for the next three years (until grade 9). After grade 9 (or M3), they have to test again at their school of choice. Most students continue to study at the same school, but others will go to different schools, technical schools or other more specialized schools. But at each school, there is an entrance exam that the students must take and pass. Then after complete M6 (grade 12), the students test again in order to be admitted to university and to graduate from school. So, at those different points in a students life, life becomes very stressful for them as they often have one shot at it - you don't test for more than one school. Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent, but I thought it was appropriate. It relates in that before being accepted into the English Program the student had taken and passed an entrance test to Bunyawat and then passed an entrance test for the English Program. I guess I'm glad I only had to go and be a pretty face ;-)
Ryan
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Paying rent
Evening folks!
Well, it's that time of month and the other day I headed over to the owner's house to pay my monthly rent. The owner of my house is a really funny guy and a real nice guy. He's been wonderful to me and I can't ask for a better place to live, but our interactions are interesting and I thought that they were deserving of an entry on the good ole blog. I wish I had a picture of him (and I'm sure I'll eventually get one) but he's a very cheery looking man. He has a nice belly and a great smile and whenever he speaks to me he speaks in Thai/English and I can't hardly understand anything he says. So, our conversations are drawn out because he insists on speaking in English and I speak to him in Thai and we sometimes go around and around, but that's part of the fun of it. He's married and his wife is really sweet and very different from her husband. She is often times over here watering the plants and taking care of things and is always asking me about school and were I am traveling to over the weekend. They also have a young son (who I would guess is about 8 or 9 years old) and is already taking after his old man in terms of the belly department. Anyway, I've paid rent several times and now have developed an understanding of what exactly this whole process is. You might be thinking that this is very simple. I pay him. He says thank you and I'm on my way. Guess again. Thais are world-renowned for their hospitality and service and nothing is done simply. After being caught in a awkward predicament the first couple times I paid rent, I prepared appropriately this time. You see, paying rent is a about a four hour process that inevitably involves several beers, peanuts, us laughing at something that really isn't that funny and general conversation that seems to go in a big circle. But despite all of that, I really enjoy it (that is, if I don't have anything else I need to be doing). You see that was the predicament I found myself in the first few times I paid rent - I had other things I needed to be doing and he wanted to chat and socialize. One time is was school work and the other was dinner cooking at home. So this time, before I paid rent, I cleared my schedule and made sure I had the whole night free. I headed over and was greeted by his wife who ushered me into the living room where I the owner with a towel around his waist sitting on a stool in front of the TV with his son. We exchanged the necessary pleasantries and asked the inevitable question if I wanted a beer. Now, to be more precise, he asked me if I wanted a Leo (Leo being a type of beer here). He is under the impression that is my favorite beer and as such always offers it to me. So, having previously cleared my calendar I accept and we begin the evening. Conversation shifts from school, extra classes and my general life to his son, work, the gardens around my house and other extraneous topics. After a few beers, the amount of laughing increases not because we are drunk but because as the conversations evolve away from those easy topics into harder, more complex topics we laugh to cover up the fact that we don't know exactly what the other is saying. But, hey, that's why it's fun. And so that's how the evening goes. Us shooting the breeze with him in his towel and his wife and son watching Harry Potter in the background. Several hours later, we call it a night and at this point I finally accomplish what I've come to do and pay my rent and I call it a night and feel a strange sense of accomplishment.
Well, it's that time of month and the other day I headed over to the owner's house to pay my monthly rent. The owner of my house is a really funny guy and a real nice guy. He's been wonderful to me and I can't ask for a better place to live, but our interactions are interesting and I thought that they were deserving of an entry on the good ole blog. I wish I had a picture of him (and I'm sure I'll eventually get one) but he's a very cheery looking man. He has a nice belly and a great smile and whenever he speaks to me he speaks in Thai/English and I can't hardly understand anything he says. So, our conversations are drawn out because he insists on speaking in English and I speak to him in Thai and we sometimes go around and around, but that's part of the fun of it. He's married and his wife is really sweet and very different from her husband. She is often times over here watering the plants and taking care of things and is always asking me about school and were I am traveling to over the weekend. They also have a young son (who I would guess is about 8 or 9 years old) and is already taking after his old man in terms of the belly department. Anyway, I've paid rent several times and now have developed an understanding of what exactly this whole process is. You might be thinking that this is very simple. I pay him. He says thank you and I'm on my way. Guess again. Thais are world-renowned for their hospitality and service and nothing is done simply. After being caught in a awkward predicament the first couple times I paid rent, I prepared appropriately this time. You see, paying rent is a about a four hour process that inevitably involves several beers, peanuts, us laughing at something that really isn't that funny and general conversation that seems to go in a big circle. But despite all of that, I really enjoy it (that is, if I don't have anything else I need to be doing). You see that was the predicament I found myself in the first few times I paid rent - I had other things I needed to be doing and he wanted to chat and socialize. One time is was school work and the other was dinner cooking at home. So this time, before I paid rent, I cleared my schedule and made sure I had the whole night free. I headed over and was greeted by his wife who ushered me into the living room where I the owner with a towel around his waist sitting on a stool in front of the TV with his son. We exchanged the necessary pleasantries and asked the inevitable question if I wanted a beer. Now, to be more precise, he asked me if I wanted a Leo (Leo being a type of beer here). He is under the impression that is my favorite beer and as such always offers it to me. So, having previously cleared my calendar I accept and we begin the evening. Conversation shifts from school, extra classes and my general life to his son, work, the gardens around my house and other extraneous topics. After a few beers, the amount of laughing increases not because we are drunk but because as the conversations evolve away from those easy topics into harder, more complex topics we laugh to cover up the fact that we don't know exactly what the other is saying. But, hey, that's why it's fun. And so that's how the evening goes. Us shooting the breeze with him in his towel and his wife and son watching Harry Potter in the background. Several hours later, we call it a night and at this point I finally accomplish what I've come to do and pay my rent and I call it a night and feel a strange sense of accomplishment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)