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| Sunday, April 22, 2007 |
I never would have guessed that when I left America I would be away for 3 years. I expected one year but now it has been three. Thos years have flown by. The year of the pig was only 3 months! Confused about what I am talking about? I'm talking about how it is another new year- welcome to 2551! Last week, was the Thai new year, marking the 3rd new year's celebration I've had since I've left home. It was also by far the best. While I had considerable fun ringing in the Western New Year, I have never seen anything like Songkran, the Thai New Year.
It's hard to describe the sheer craziness that is involved during this 3 day (yes, 3 days!) celebration. Songkran is about renewing yourself for the New Year and washing away the sins of the past. So for 3 days everyone has a huge water fight and then covers you with flour. Imagine a country where everyone stops so they can have a national water fight and you still wouldn't even be coming to close to the madness that is Songkran.
I live in the tourist area of Bangkok and it also happens to be the major area for Songkran. During this 3 day festival, streets are shut down, sidewalk vendors told to move and 100,000 people flood in to take part in the most insane spectacle I have ever witnessed. Everyone, young and old, is on the streets spraying you with water and occasionally wiping your face full of flour. You can't walk in this area and not get wet. If you are dry someone will get you. The all day water fight carries on into the night as people have dance parties in the street and major roads are shut down to accommodate them. Trying to make it through these parties is near impossible.
What is truly amazing about this holiday is how friendly everyone is about it. Everyone is so polite about covering you in water and smearing flour all over yourself. Many will say "sorry" while they do it. As you get involved in big water fights, everyone is all smiles. Walk down the street, spray stranger, and they just laugh and spray you back and go on. You could never have this type of festival in the West- people would get drunk and start fighting each other or riots would break out. "Hey man, don't get me wet!" we would say. Here it is all smiles.
But then, like always, there are the cops. I was walking down the street firing people and I hit a cop. After speaking some Thai to his fellow officers, three of them started moving towards me with looks on their faces. Now we all know what happens when cops get involved so I was unhappy to seem them, especially as they began walking closer to me and drawing their weapons. I was shit scared to be honest with you, especially when they started yelling at me in Thai. They came closer and fired so I did what I one would do in a situation like this- I fired back. They got me good but I managed to soak one of them pretty bad before one snuck behind me and cover me with cold water. Three against one in a water fight is tough. But we all had a good laugh and I got photos with them.
Overall, it was a blast and it is truly hard to convey the insanity that is a 100,000 person water fight but rest assured it is a crazy scene. I can't wait to return to it next year. I had some pictures on my friend's camera but her memory card got a virus and all the pictures were erased. There were some good pictures there too- classic "Myspace" photos if you will. Next year. Next year.
Bangkok City Highlights:
Restaurants of the Week: Zen. This is the other major sushi restaurant in Bangkok. It is not as good as Fuji but they have Toro so I tend to go there when I want to treat myself to that. Other than the Toro, it's a good restaurant but not the best. Like I said before, Bangkok has awful sushi. I would say it reminds me of Takeshima back in Boston. The miso soup is decent. The edamame is really good though.
Illegal Bootleg Movie of the Week: Little Miss Sunshine. I can see why this was Oscar nominated. This was a great movie and hilariously funny. Steve Carrell is great and the heroin smoking, cocaine snorting, horny Grandfather is even funnier- I think he was the best part of the movies. I highly recommend this movie.
Mall of the Week: MBK Center. Need a cell phone? Come here for some nice stolen ones. In fact, the cell phone I got stolen during Songkran has probably ended up there by now. You can get anything little electronic accessories here. Cellphones, batteries, video games, etc. It's a good place to buy things cheap- mostly because everything is stolen!! I also love this place for the food. There are about 4 sushi bars, and an amazing food court. It has awesome food from everywhere- India, the Middle East, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Western, a juice bar---awesome. The dining room is super fancy too with people come by to clean your plate. It makes me wish for that kind of dining back in America. I'd probably go shopping more.
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posted by Nomadic Matt @ 6:29 AM  |
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| Wednesday, April 11, 2007 |
In the beginning, there was the word. And the word was God and so God created all the people and he cooked them. Some of them came out too raw (whites), some of them came out too burnt (dark skinned Thais), but the rest came out a perfect golden brown (everyone else)- a color everyone should aspire too. Or so goes the story taught here (and I do mean taught in schools here!).
Thailand is a nation that has never been conquered by anyone. They gave away a lot of land in order to prevent that from happening. This history of independence has given the Thais a superiority complex. If the Japanese are the snobs of East Asia, the Thais are the snobs of Southeast Asia.
As a tourist who spent nearly 3 months here between two visits, I learned quite a bit about Thai culture. It's hard not to when you stay in someone's country for so long. I picked up some Thai, learnt about the "Wai", about their history, and countless other things. Yet as a tourist one can only learn so much. Without settling into a culture, there is only so much you can see moving about. You see the big traits but the ones down the side streets elude you.
When I moved here, I expected I'd see a lot more of those side streets. Sometimes I explore side streets to my delight, sometimes I can't wait to turn back. This is one of those things that makes me want to turn back but yet keep looking over my shoulder.
Thais are very racist against people of dark skin. To them it's a sign of being poor and low class. In the West, we love to get dark or tan for it means we have time enough to take a holiday, to relax. We compare tans and are jealous of those with them. We go tanning. Overall, tan is good.
Not here. Thais avoid the sun at all costs. Thais are always shielding their face and skin. Outside workers will cover every part of their body even if the weather is a cool 100 out. Light skin is prized a bring possession here. (As it is in most places in Asia.) I understand the historical context behind it but it's amazing that though so much of Thailand has changed yet this one thing has yet to move forward too. Thais pride whiteness so much, it takes about 10 minutes in a 7-11 to find a brand of sunscreen or lotion that doesn't include some form of skin whitener. The Thai women love farang men because it means that their children will be light skinned. My students often comment to me about how dark they are and how sad it makes them, how they get picked on, and how they have spent thousands of dollars trying to bleach their skin. I saw a woman who had blonded her hair and bleached her skin so much it looked raw.
Thai racism goes beyond just an obsession with whiteness. For example, I wasn't the first in line for my job. My boss had interviewed another guy before. A British guy. A British Indian who she says was more "English than the queen." But the Thai management didn't want him because he was "too dark." Heaven forbid a DARK skinned person teach you English! Moreover, all the actors in Thailand are pale skinned. You'll never see a dark skinned TV as a famous TV or movie personality- or at least I haven't yet.
I love Thailand. Thais are a great people. They are friendly, happy, and interesting. I was told this story last week and it made a lot of little things make sense. Don't get me wrong- the racism here is not like what it is in the West. There are no lynchings, no ghettos, and no Thai version of the KKK or Nazism. Here it is more subtle. A general preference to being white and holding "whiteness" on a pedal stool as something to aspire too. It's more of snobbery, a holding onto a time when a select upper class lounged indoors, while the rest labored in the fields. Old habits that die hard.
-Matt
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| posted by Nomadic Matt @ 6:25 AM |
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| Tuesday, April 03, 2007 |
I'm not very happy about it- the realization that my travels are over for now. I've been here a month now and it's finally hit me that I'm here for awhile. I'm pretty depressed about it. It's not that I don't like living here or that this won't be an interesting and fun time, it's just that I'm sad to be in one place for awhile. I don't think I realized how tough it would be to stop traveling. It's even worse that I live in the traveler area of Bangkok and am reminded of all things traveling all the time as I watch people go to and from places, meeting exciting fellow travelers, and still living free. Then there is me who sits there and thinks..shit, I have to be at work in the morning. If I feel like this now, I wonder what it will feel like when I finally stop traveling next year. This is just a temporary break and if I can't cope with this, I don't think I'm going to be ready for a permanant one.
I keep thinking about moving on and how it's 9 months away. Everyday gets me a little closer. I know I need this job to keep traveling but the long and short of it is that I'm sad to be done traveling for awhile. I want to keep going. There are so many places to see! So many people to see! Right now I have friends at the full moon rave and I had every intention of being there but I had to cancel my plans because I have work tomorrow. I'm not cut out of the working world anymore. These 9 months are going to go slowly!
Speaking of work, I got a second job. Now I am working 40 hrs a week, 6 days a week. BUT on the plus side the second job pays double what the other job pays. Now I am making serious money....if I keep working like this and if the rest of the months follow like they are, I may never come home! HAHA. or I'll be able to take a nice holiday to Japan and afford a few nice things in Europe.
Other than my feeling of sadness over getting back into the work force and my new job, nothing is going on. All my travel friends have finally fled the scene. Except for a few random visits in May, that is it until the end of the year. That makes it even sadder. At least when people kept visiting I still felt like I was traveling and now all my connections to the last 8 months are gone. sigh. I know some people here though so it isn't all bad.
Now, this week in Bangkok:
Restaurant: Taste of India. The best Indian food I've had in Thailand. The vindaloo was amazing, the nan yummy, and the sauces very flavorful. And surprising this place is located on Khao San Rd! Who would have thought the best food would be in the tourist ghetto?
Charcoal Grill. Another Japanese restaurant. This was awful. The quality of the fish, the selection, the variety of rolls was just awful. A lot of Thais eat here but but I think it is more for the Korean BBQ than the sushi. I won't becoming back here again! O and their miso soup was basically just water. The service was decent though.
Movies of the week: Date Movie. So bad it's not even worth talking about.
Friends with Money. This movie is about 40yr old women who are in the midst of mid-life crisis's of varying degrees. It stars Jennifer Aniston as a maid with "problems." It was actually pretty good. Jennifer Aniston does a good job at playing the troubled soul like she did in the movie The Good Girl. She isn't the best actress but in these dramas where she has to be the sad soul, she nails it perfectly. Probably has something to do with the fact she can relate these woman to her life. :)
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| posted by Nomadic Matt @ 6:22 AM |
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