In which I'm testing the potential of the New Blogger...
They won me over with a brilliant Battlestar Galactica analogy, so now I'm exploring the much-ballyhooed conveniences of Blogger 2.0, with an eye towards better use of photos and integrating my previous travel blogs dating back to Japan in 2000. Other posting is on brief hiatus until I've done so...
Friday, February 16, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
In which I bow to tradition...
And wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!
Normally one to go all out for the occasion, this year I'll settle for living vicariously through my students, many of whom have never observed the day before. Now, fully apprised of the details, they're in an absolute frenzy, making endless calls to significant others and giggling maniacally in a way that Southeast Asians seem to have a preternatural talent for. At the best of times they're inquisitive, but they've taken Valentine's Day as a license to question everyone they meet about their respective personal life, with an indefatigable curiousity that would shame Mike Wallace. It's fascinating to see, but I'm damn glad it only happens once a year.
And wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!
Normally one to go all out for the occasion, this year I'll settle for living vicariously through my students, many of whom have never observed the day before. Now, fully apprised of the details, they're in an absolute frenzy, making endless calls to significant others and giggling maniacally in a way that Southeast Asians seem to have a preternatural talent for. At the best of times they're inquisitive, but they've taken Valentine's Day as a license to question everyone they meet about their respective personal life, with an indefatigable curiousity that would shame Mike Wallace. It's fascinating to see, but I'm damn glad it only happens once a year.
In which I recounted requested details...
I'll eat almost anything. Not because I'm an indiscriminating consumer, but because I feel it's hypocritical to travel all over the place and yet reject local foods. Hence the camel burgers and pigeon in Cairo, the crab's brains in Tokyo, and various non-endangered antelopes in Africa. But I've previously drawn the line at insects, for reasons of pure visceral disgust. Having never eaten on before, I expected both taste and texture to repel me, so I've avoided them insistently and felt somewhat less the traveller for doing so.
Yet on Monday evening, while relaxing at a patio bar near my apartment with some coworkers (three Americans and two Burmese), the travelling bug man wheeled his little cart up beside our table. The cart was piled high with a distressingly wide variety of dried and pan-fried insects - crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, and a bewildering array of grubs and larvae. Two of the American women in our group bounded gleefully towards the cart and began picking through free samples, munching on crickets and the like, all the while offering the disclaimer "We're from Tennessee!" - which I took to mean that bugs are a staple protein in the American South. While i circled the cart in apprehension and they bought a tray of assorted arthropods, the friendly vendor held a massive metal spoon towards me, laden with insects in an obvious act of charity.
I have no idea how to say "yuck" in Thai, and I didn't want to offend the guy. So, probably facilitated by a curious libation called a "Chinese Eye" (which is, far as I could tell, is neither Chinese nor ocular), I acted before my revulsion reflexes could set in, and quickly picked the most innocuous thing I saw - a mid-sized grub of some variety, most likely a grasshopper larvae.
And I ate it.
I popped it into my mouth, bit down quickly, and swallowed with all haste. It wasn't enough. The texture was grotesque enough, and completely alien - I've never eaten an entire animal in one bite before, organs and all. Gooey and foul. The taste, however, was in an entirely different league - a noxious blend of insect innards that polluted my entire mouth instantly and snidely remained in my mouth despite copious rinsing with Coke and more, erm, antiseptic beverages. I've never tasted anything like it, so my only benchmark to describe it is evil. If racism or global warming had a flavour, that would be it - something so viscerally cruel that it threatens to stomp out even the possibility of ever sampling anything tasty again. For several minutes I was genuinely frightened that my tastebuds would reject all food forevermore. Evil.
It passed, but my loathing for ingesting insects has not. I used to say "No thanks" - now it'll be a principled, vehement "Never again."
Monday, February 12, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
In which I'm back in Chiang Mai...
... after a week in Bangkok and Cha Am (Thailand's most mediocre beach) for a conference with CUSO.
This might sound exciting, but beloved Bangkok was only in transit, and my time in Cha Am is memorable largely for cold showers, long days in overheated conference rooms, and the forced company of an exceedingly surly vegetarian.
However, there were also kleptomaniacal monkeys, lotus swamps under dubious stewardship, a tiger with CP, and some truly fine food. Pictures and more details to follow once I've showered and slept.
... after a week in Bangkok and Cha Am (Thailand's most mediocre beach) for a conference with CUSO.
This might sound exciting, but beloved Bangkok was only in transit, and my time in Cha Am is memorable largely for cold showers, long days in overheated conference rooms, and the forced company of an exceedingly surly vegetarian.
However, there were also kleptomaniacal monkeys, lotus swamps under dubious stewardship, a tiger with CP, and some truly fine food. Pictures and more details to follow once I've showered and slept.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
In which I again explore the depths of my capacity for inadvertent self-mutilation...
Yesterday afternoon, I was cheerfully eating some delicious kimchi while watching TV. A strange turn of events interrupted the fun and left my fork jabbed into the palm of my hand. The injury itself was quite superficial, hardly needing a bandaid - and was entirely out of concert with the level of excruciating pain it inspired. It turns out that the last thing you want to accidentally inject under your skin is a powerful mixture of exotic Korean chilies.
That is all.
Yesterday afternoon, I was cheerfully eating some delicious kimchi while watching TV. A strange turn of events interrupted the fun and left my fork jabbed into the palm of my hand. The injury itself was quite superficial, hardly needing a bandaid - and was entirely out of concert with the level of excruciating pain it inspired. It turns out that the last thing you want to accidentally inject under your skin is a powerful mixture of exotic Korean chilies.
That is all.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
In which I dabble in Thai politics...
Largely because my trip to Burma consisted of: 1. Step across the border. 2. Buy Chinese DVDs. 3. Step back into Thailand. Total time in Burma < 30 minutes. Not exactly the stuff of travel legend, so instead I'll launch into a rambling dissertation on Thailand's political travails.
You're all aware that Thailand's somewhat dodgy civilian government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown in an abrupt but bloodless coup last September, two disorienting days after I arrived here. The coup was greeted by a startling (to me) level of public acclaim from people who were remarkably eager to ditch their hard-won democratic gains. The military government swiftly appointed an ex-general as interim prime minister, and promised a overwhelming flood of evidence into Thaksin's alleged corruption - the presumed preponderance of which was the stated justification for the coup.
Fast-forward to year's end, 2006. The government has been glacially slow to lift martial law, partly reneging on its own promises to do so within 3 months after the coup. Though there have been no harsh crackdowns, normal political assembly and protest remains banned. The military government has provided not one whit of evidence of Thaksin's corruption - supposedly so endemic and irrefutable that it compelled a reluctant military to burn Thailand's democracy in order to save it. And then, as you've surely heard, a series of ten small bombs in garbage cans detonated in Bangkok during New Year's Eve celebrations, killing three. A couple more were set off a few days ago at Bangkok media outlets, apparently without injury.
Awash with the luxury of geographical and cultural distance from the bombings (Chiang Mai is 800km north of Bangkok), I rapidly assumed that southern Thailand's long-simmering Muslim insurgency had finally made the expected migration to the capital. All public speculation has dismissed this option, however, and everyone quickly focused on the idea that members of the police or military were responsible - for reasons unknown to me, but the locals know their politics better than I do, so I'll give them the nod. The coup leadership instantly began insinuating (though not explicitly, nor with any evidence) that some of ousted PM Thaksin's uniformed supporters planted the bombs in order to undermine the military's promise of law and order. Other rumours rapidly began to fly of an imminent coup within the coup - the junta's secondary commanders potentially ousting the higher-ups, not to restore Thaksin but to refocus the coup on its ostensible democratic ideals.
All the while, a ludicrous clampdown on free speech continues. The military government apparently considers Thaksin Shinawatra so infectiously corrupt that they won't allow his words on the Thai airwaves, lest his evil taint the populace. CNN International interviewed him last week, in a session I fortunately caught on satellite TV. No saint he, but he merely insisted that no evidence of his corruption has been produced (true), that the coup has not followed through on its promise to restore political liberties (true), and that the government is unfairly censoring him (ditto). The remarkably innocuous interview was banned on Thai cable TV, and all Thaksin segments were mysteriously replaced by muzak-accompanied still photos of Will Smith, Tom Cruise, and Britney Spears (Huh?!). Much of the press, including the noxious English-language Bangkok Post, has shown astonishing fealty to this denial of free speech. The Post, in particular, seems to contentedly defend every move by the coup leaders and daily denounces Thaksin as evil incarnate. I have no idea if the Thai-language media are so spineless.
The next month will be critical. The dictatorship has offered to allow Thaksin back into the country (he's in exile in London at the moment) provided he remains out of politics. Content not to dispute the obvious illegality of the junta's barring him from office absent any criminal charges, Thaksin seems instead to be biding his time to make sure they're not likely to throw him in jail the moment he steps off his jet in Bangkok. He'll be out the country for a while yet, but rumours of his return could set off a wave of Thaksin nostalgia if the coup leadership doesn't soon liberalize things around here. The attendant confrontations could turn ugly - I stand by my September prediction that men with guns don't willingly give up power.
More critical, the army has promised that in one month's time it will release the results of its inquests into corruption under the old government. The suprising legitimacy of the coup will rest heavily on the results - no corruption, no reason for the coup to be tolerated (except for their guns, naturally). I have no doubt that if it comes to that, they'll fabricate evidence, but I'm pretty sure many Thais are expecting the same sleight-of-hand and will be poring closely over the evidence. I have my doubts they'll come up with anything substantive.
So what then? I expect public discontent with the military to grow, and the military (ever convinced of their own selflessness) to begin feeling slightly pressured and isolated. Without more evidence, I can't put much stock in rumours of a coup within the coup, or of a counter-coup by Thaksin supporters. So I re-ask the same question I raised in September: will there be violence? Well, for starters, there already has - a little sooner than I had predicted, but I'm still claiming points for that one.
Will there be more? Seems likely. If the coup was behind the bombings, then their motive to carry out more attacks may increase - they'll want to appear the bulwark against chaos. If Thaksin's supporters were behind it, then it seems certain that they'll grow more agitated as the military's case against their golden boy falls through. There also remains the possibility of future crackdowns against the protests that are sure to spring up eventually.
So am I safe here in Chiang Mai? Certainly looks that way. Chiang Mai's in a very sleepy part of a very sleepy country (recent turmoil notwithstanding). It's quiet and peaceful up here, without a hint of political unrest. Thais are difficult to rattle - losing your cool means losing face here, so nobody does it... ever. They continue about their daily business, and so do I. There's no reason to expect a rapid disintegration in Bangkok, let alone here in the far North. Don't worry, I've got no martyr complex. If things start to go downhill, I'll leave (pending DFAIT's sage advice). For now, that isn't happening... but I'll keep reading the tea leaves.
Largely because my trip to Burma consisted of: 1. Step across the border. 2. Buy Chinese DVDs. 3. Step back into Thailand. Total time in Burma < 30 minutes. Not exactly the stuff of travel legend, so instead I'll launch into a rambling dissertation on Thailand's political travails.
You're all aware that Thailand's somewhat dodgy civilian government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown in an abrupt but bloodless coup last September, two disorienting days after I arrived here. The coup was greeted by a startling (to me) level of public acclaim from people who were remarkably eager to ditch their hard-won democratic gains. The military government swiftly appointed an ex-general as interim prime minister, and promised a overwhelming flood of evidence into Thaksin's alleged corruption - the presumed preponderance of which was the stated justification for the coup.
Fast-forward to year's end, 2006. The government has been glacially slow to lift martial law, partly reneging on its own promises to do so within 3 months after the coup. Though there have been no harsh crackdowns, normal political assembly and protest remains banned. The military government has provided not one whit of evidence of Thaksin's corruption - supposedly so endemic and irrefutable that it compelled a reluctant military to burn Thailand's democracy in order to save it. And then, as you've surely heard, a series of ten small bombs in garbage cans detonated in Bangkok during New Year's Eve celebrations, killing three. A couple more were set off a few days ago at Bangkok media outlets, apparently without injury.
Awash with the luxury of geographical and cultural distance from the bombings (Chiang Mai is 800km north of Bangkok), I rapidly assumed that southern Thailand's long-simmering Muslim insurgency had finally made the expected migration to the capital. All public speculation has dismissed this option, however, and everyone quickly focused on the idea that members of the police or military were responsible - for reasons unknown to me, but the locals know their politics better than I do, so I'll give them the nod. The coup leadership instantly began insinuating (though not explicitly, nor with any evidence) that some of ousted PM Thaksin's uniformed supporters planted the bombs in order to undermine the military's promise of law and order. Other rumours rapidly began to fly of an imminent coup within the coup - the junta's secondary commanders potentially ousting the higher-ups, not to restore Thaksin but to refocus the coup on its ostensible democratic ideals.
All the while, a ludicrous clampdown on free speech continues. The military government apparently considers Thaksin Shinawatra so infectiously corrupt that they won't allow his words on the Thai airwaves, lest his evil taint the populace. CNN International interviewed him last week, in a session I fortunately caught on satellite TV. No saint he, but he merely insisted that no evidence of his corruption has been produced (true), that the coup has not followed through on its promise to restore political liberties (true), and that the government is unfairly censoring him (ditto). The remarkably innocuous interview was banned on Thai cable TV, and all Thaksin segments were mysteriously replaced by muzak-accompanied still photos of Will Smith, Tom Cruise, and Britney Spears (Huh?!). Much of the press, including the noxious English-language Bangkok Post, has shown astonishing fealty to this denial of free speech. The Post, in particular, seems to contentedly defend every move by the coup leaders and daily denounces Thaksin as evil incarnate. I have no idea if the Thai-language media are so spineless.
The next month will be critical. The dictatorship has offered to allow Thaksin back into the country (he's in exile in London at the moment) provided he remains out of politics. Content not to dispute the obvious illegality of the junta's barring him from office absent any criminal charges, Thaksin seems instead to be biding his time to make sure they're not likely to throw him in jail the moment he steps off his jet in Bangkok. He'll be out the country for a while yet, but rumours of his return could set off a wave of Thaksin nostalgia if the coup leadership doesn't soon liberalize things around here. The attendant confrontations could turn ugly - I stand by my September prediction that men with guns don't willingly give up power.
More critical, the army has promised that in one month's time it will release the results of its inquests into corruption under the old government. The suprising legitimacy of the coup will rest heavily on the results - no corruption, no reason for the coup to be tolerated (except for their guns, naturally). I have no doubt that if it comes to that, they'll fabricate evidence, but I'm pretty sure many Thais are expecting the same sleight-of-hand and will be poring closely over the evidence. I have my doubts they'll come up with anything substantive.
So what then? I expect public discontent with the military to grow, and the military (ever convinced of their own selflessness) to begin feeling slightly pressured and isolated. Without more evidence, I can't put much stock in rumours of a coup within the coup, or of a counter-coup by Thaksin supporters. So I re-ask the same question I raised in September: will there be violence? Well, for starters, there already has - a little sooner than I had predicted, but I'm still claiming points for that one.
Will there be more? Seems likely. If the coup was behind the bombings, then their motive to carry out more attacks may increase - they'll want to appear the bulwark against chaos. If Thaksin's supporters were behind it, then it seems certain that they'll grow more agitated as the military's case against their golden boy falls through. There also remains the possibility of future crackdowns against the protests that are sure to spring up eventually.
So am I safe here in Chiang Mai? Certainly looks that way. Chiang Mai's in a very sleepy part of a very sleepy country (recent turmoil notwithstanding). It's quiet and peaceful up here, without a hint of political unrest. Thais are difficult to rattle - losing your cool means losing face here, so nobody does it... ever. They continue about their daily business, and so do I. There's no reason to expect a rapid disintegration in Bangkok, let alone here in the far North. Don't worry, I've got no martyr complex. If things start to go downhill, I'll leave (pending DFAIT's sage advice). For now, that isn't happening... but I'll keep reading the tea leaves.
In which it's 3 AM...
... and I'm going back to bed in a moment. I've badly neglected this blog of late, for a variety of reasons, but since I'm making a quick run over the Burmese border to get a visa tomorrow, I'd best get back to sleep ASAP. But in an effort to get the posting ball rolling again, I'm making an explicit promise to post when I get home late tomorrow evening, about one or more of the following: work or the periodically frustrating lack thereof, the surreal Disneylandesque grandeur of the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek festival, my minimally successful attempts to find authentic Mexican food in Southeast Asia, my upcoming trip to Laos, my involuntary trip to Cha-am (a seedy beach semi-resort outside Bangkok) next week, and of course, tomorrow's trip into poor wretched Burma.
This I solemnly vow.
... and I'm going back to bed in a moment. I've badly neglected this blog of late, for a variety of reasons, but since I'm making a quick run over the Burmese border to get a visa tomorrow, I'd best get back to sleep ASAP. But in an effort to get the posting ball rolling again, I'm making an explicit promise to post when I get home late tomorrow evening, about one or more of the following: work or the periodically frustrating lack thereof, the surreal Disneylandesque grandeur of the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek festival, my minimally successful attempts to find authentic Mexican food in Southeast Asia, my upcoming trip to Laos, my involuntary trip to Cha-am (a seedy beach semi-resort outside Bangkok) next week, and of course, tomorrow's trip into poor wretched Burma.
This I solemnly vow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)