It's been way too long since we posted anything...we've been planning to, but with all the stuff we've been up to, it takes a while to get everything up! I definitely have a backlog I want to work through, including things like the World Gourmet Festival at the end of September. But right now I wanted to assure everyone that we are totally okay!
To simplify, Thailand is now suffering what Josh has described as a marked lack of common sense. PAD anti-government protestors have taken over the two Bangkok airports and have refused to move until the prime minister steps down. Things are getting "interesting" and we hope that the situation can be ended without unnecessary violence. To follow the news on one of the better Thai English-language newspapers, check out http://nationmultimedia.com.
Josh and I are currently in Japan-- we came here for Josh's Batto-do tournament on November 24th, and were supposed to return to Bangkok on the 27th, then turn around and fly out a week later for the US, where we will be for the entire month of December. Since the airport shutdown started on the 26th, we haven't been able to get back to Bangkok...but the airline has allowed us to rearrange things so that we will just fly straight from here to the US, a day or two early. We're missing only a couple of important things (driver's licenses, my work computer, Christmas presents) and all of those can be gotten around without much trouble. Plus, Japan is not exactly an unpleasant place to be stuck-- we've been touring some of the more obscure Tokyo historical sites, eating great food, and generally having a more relaxing sort of trip than we otherwise would.
We are in direct contact with our friends (and Josh's coworkers) in Bangkok, and they are completely safe. Indeed, our neighbor told us that in the area we live in, you would have no idea it wasn't business as usual if you didn't read the papers! The foreign community is not a target in any of this-- it is internal Thai politics, unlike the truly horrible tragedy that happened in Mumbai. The important thing is to avoid areas where the demonstrations are happening, as tempers are running high.
One of the ways in which we have been letting off steam is reading an "alternate" account of Thailand's politics at http://notthenation.com, a parody site based on The Nation newspaper. Some of the material will probably only be funny if you live in Thailand, but I suggest you check it out. I hear Bruce Willis is in the Suvarnabhumi Airport vent system right now...and let me quote the best article of all, in case you are worried about us being in Thailand from here on out(here's looking at you, Mom):
(http://notthenation.com/pages/news/getnews.php?id=577)
World Media Insists All of Thailand On Fire, All Thais Dead
BANGKOK - Despite the relative calm following PAD intrusions into several government offices, the world media continue to claim that the country has collapsed into anarchy and chaos. As ordinary Thais go to their daily jobs and lives, The New York Times writes that the “government has been shut down and social order revoked by an organized army of over a million protestors.” Even though only three schools near the Government House have suspended classes, CNN has placed all Thailand-related stories under a flaming banner reading “Civil War in Siam,” with story leaders describing city-wide power outages, roving mobs of homicidal anarchists, and rumors of an inevitable military intervention by “UN peacekeepers.” Even with the actual death toll at 0 and the number of severely injured at 0, FOX NEWS continues to stand by its story that Parliament was burned to death in its chambers, Communists are fighting monks in running street battles using tactical nuclear weapons, and every Thai child is being raped by a foreign pedophile who supports Barack Obama.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Krabi Vacation
So, this past weekend we experienced some of the pleasures of Thailand's western coast along the Andaman Sea, staying at Le Passe-Temps, a boutique bungalow resort run by two French gentlemen, one of whom practices Taichi with Ellen here in Bangkok. They had a chance to practice together out in the surf our first evening there.
The bungalows are out in Ao Thalen, on the western outskirts of Krabi, are truly out of the way, surrounded by tropical trees and jungle foliage. A walk along the beach will find you surrounded on one side by thick mangrove trees, with the deep blue ocean on the other. During low tide, you can walk far out onto the flats, even wading out to the local weirs, if you are up to it.
Just down the road from Le Passe-Temps is a sea-kayak rental and tour company, where we took a breathtaking tour of the mangroves. A kayak or similar craft is required to get into the mangroves, you should go at high tide, and you'd better have a guide or you could easily get lost. The walls of the karst cliffs towered over us, providing views that you only ever see in movies and nature documentaries.
Dappled light falls down through the broad leaves of the mangroves and the towering limestone walls, upon which are inscribed enigmatic paintings from travelers long since past. Within various walls and crevices are stashed the remains of some of those travelers--the sea gypsies who would journey up and down the south-east Asian archipelago.
The trees themselves were teeming with life. From birds, to lizards, and monkeys deep in the mangroves. There are even gibbons, though they are usually too high up the cliff walls to see well. The monkeys--long-tailed macaques to be precise--will actually jump on the boats as they pass by, searching for food. Of course, that's better than the monkeys at our next adventure, where they will jump on you!
The macaques at the Tiger Cave Temple were quite brazen, jumping on people and doing whatever they could to get food, water, or just something shiny. With the steep steps up to the top of the mountain, you are always at eye level with one or more of them, though they do scatter if they see you act dominant. They have, however, learned that young Thai women are easy prey, and seem to figure most other women fall into the same category.
The thieving monkeys can hardly stop you from enjoying the view from the steep sides of the mountain, though. Unfortunately, I only made it up about 3/4 of the 1200+ steps before night began rapidly descending. Ellen had stopped even further below. I wouldn't mind trying it next time, just starting a little earlier. After all, here is the goal:
See the golden spire at the top? From the gray spire at the bottom to the gold stupa at the top--that's the goal. It is supposed to be an impressive view, especially at sunset.
The next day, we got up early. A walk across the flats really can bring you right up to those nets, as you can see here. The birds (I think they might be sea swiftlets--the ones that make the edible nests) also seemed to like to partake of these vantage points.
Walking along the beach, one of the dogs at the resort decided to follow us. Robert enjoys exploring the beach, and really seemed to enjoy digging for crabs.
Of course, once you find it...
...what do you do with it?
This really was a wonderfully relaxing vacation... the only problem is the stress of leaving it all and coming back home. Oh well. The coconuts, the oil palms, the rubber trees, and the mangroves--and everything that makes them their homes--will still be there when we return.
Friday, October 10, 2008
A note about voting!
So last night, Josh and I voted in the 2008 US Presidential Election. We were very pleased at how easy it was, actually-- a week or so ago, we each received an email with instructions on how to print and mail our absentee ballots! It was simply a matter of printing the ballot, filling it out, and wrapping it in the second "envelope" sheet of paper, which then had to be signed and dated and witnessed. Pop it in the APO mail, and voila! (Before leaving the US, we had filled out change-of-address forms and overseas voter applications...it's funny, I don't remember giving them my email address, but I guess I did!)
For some extra fun, the Democrats Abroad in Thailand have come out with a couple of Obama T-shirts: one says "Obama" in Thai letters, and the other says "Bangkok for Barack" in a very Thai (and red, white, and blue) style. Awesome!
Everyone else, remember to vote in November!
For some extra fun, the Democrats Abroad in Thailand have come out with a couple of Obama T-shirts: one says "Obama" in Thai letters, and the other says "Bangkok for Barack" in a very Thai (and red, white, and blue) style. Awesome!
Everyone else, remember to vote in November!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Long time no blog!
So once again we've failed to update for a while. We've certainly been busy! Josh has been traveling in Australia and New Zealand, where he got to cuddle a koala (the pictures are on our Flickr page) While he was gone, I met up with some Internet friends and enjoyed some of the activities surrounding the World Gourmet Fest in Bangkok (I need to put up a post about that).
Some of you may have seen in the news that the political situation in Thailand is heating up again: on Tuesday there were a number of clashes between anti-government protestors and the police, and a number of people were killed. Although we definitely want things to be settled, Josh and I are not in any danger-- the protests are confined to one small area of town near Government House, and that is unlikely to change.
More later!
Some of you may have seen in the news that the political situation in Thailand is heating up again: on Tuesday there were a number of clashes between anti-government protestors and the police, and a number of people were killed. Although we definitely want things to be settled, Josh and I are not in any danger-- the protests are confined to one small area of town near Government House, and that is unlikely to change.
More later!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Mad Science + Budo
Well, been traveling and I need to get some posts up (I know... I sound like a broken record) but I thought first I'd share a small project that took up much of the past three days.
First of all, I think many of you are aware that we have one room dedicated as our 'dojo' for budo, tai-chi, and general art projects.
Unfortunately it has been a little small for some practice, which I tend to take outdoors, including battodo. Besides needing space, however, battodo requires one more thing: cutting. While the focus should never be on cutting for cutting's sake, regular cutting practice is an essential part of the curriculum. But where to find material? Contrary to my initial thoughts, there aren't that many tatami in Bangkok. Nor do there appear to be many tatami repair shops. I could, perhaps, pay $120/tatami mat, but that's a little steep. Finally, I got a chance to head out to the local market.
This is what we found: 10 mats at about 120 Baht each--a little under $4/mat. Not too bad, but I suspect the overall cost will be more than using tatami omote. For one thing, these are more like beach mats, though thicker, but I still suspect it will take more than one to give a good target.
I also picked up one wide one.
It was made of the same material, including the colored weave. This is a problem in some mats, as the cheaper mats use a pretty hard plastic, but these mats appeared to just use colored straw.
Unfortunately, I had misgivings once I saw that it was about as wide as the others were long! And it really twisted, even when rolled as tightly as possible.
The shorter ones were more numerous. So I figured I would roll up a couple as doubles, a triple, and three singles. That way I could get a good feel for the mats. Unfortunately, they had the same problems. Though thicker than a typical 'beach mat', they have a loose weave and uneven fibres that makes it difficult to roll. I tried several different techniques, with little success. Hopefully the water they soak up will fill them out some and perhaps make them a little more substantial. I'm already missing my tatami omote.
I'd been saving rubber bands from the street vendors, but apparently our maid figured they were garbage, because I couldn't find any. Instead, I went with butcher's twine, which shouldn't significantly affect the cuts. Quite enthusiastic about the tests, I started them soaking as soon as possible.
It was about this time I realized I was in a dilemma. What was I going to cut them on? I could already see the potential problems of using a table corner, as most of the tables were under the roof on the lower level, meaning not enough room for a good swing.
I decided the best thing would be to go to the local version of Home Depot and see what I could find.
Turns out, HomePro is not really a Home Depot. No lumber at all. So much for a good 4x4 stand. But I did recall that in Japan they had used some kind of pipe. Hmmm... maybe if I grabbed some PVC pipe bits I could build what I needed, but how?
This pole might work. I just stand it up like this... might have to cut it down a bit later. But just stand it up. Carefully... then let go...
Okay, so we're going to need something to keep the pole from falling over. Let's see what we have here.
Several different T-joints, huh? Maybe I could throw something together.
Yes, I think I could do something with these. I just need to figure out what. These definitely have potential.
Not quite what I had in mind.
You're getting closer.
That's what I'm talking about!
First, saw off a few pieces of the pipe to connect them. Not too big, just enough to help hold them together.
Time to get dirty! I can't really read the warning labels on this glue, as it is all in Thai, so I figure I'll take some precautions.
Here's the finished base. By my calculations, I should be able to put four poles as 'legs' and one central pole as the stand. BTW, if you are wondering about why everything is blue? Because it was thicker and heavier than the white PVC pipe. I figured that a certain amount of mass would be helpful.
But what about the peg? I didn't find any dowels at HomePro, but we did have a thin piece of pipe lying around.
A little bit of sawing to add a good angle, as well as a 1" to 1/2" pipe connector and voila!
The great part is that, except for the base, everything can come apart. That means if I want an iai stand, all I need to do is replace the long, central pole with a shorter pole. Of course, blue isn't my favorite color, but what the heck.
Here are all the pieces laid out, ready to be assembled.
Put it all together and see what you get! It is a little taller than I'm used to, but the mats are also a bit shorter. Besides, it feels nice to not have to reach down to cut. Still, I'll eventually want to get precise dimensions to make a stand at the exact height that the Kakuseikai uses so that I can practice with what I'll be using in Japan.
Claude would like to take this opportunity to remind all the would-be sammyrai out there that nobody should attempt to cut without appropriate training and safety precautions. Do not try this at home!
Mats soaked, and with the rain stopped, it was time to go downstairs to try the stand. Spiking the mats was a bit difficult, but not because of the stand. The mats were just too floppy. Once on the peg, they generally stayed put.
Cutting the short mats was definitely easier than tatami omote. At least two mats were required to give the same feeling as one piece of goza or omote. Also, even though they were 'new', these mats came pre-dirtied. I tried to wash them off as well soak them, but it still felt as though there might be some grime in the weave. Furthermore, I think there is some plastic being using ind the overall structure. Still, the cuts seemed good. I may just want to forego using a Nihonto on these mats any time soon.
Oh, and as I rather thought, the tall mat really didn't work too well. Too soft, and not enough mass to really support itself. It wouldn't go on the peg until it was cut down to size.
After that it cut more easily than certain commercial wara I've tried. Even bad cuts went through effortlessly, while the shorter double did a fairly decent job of showing me where my angle was off on my blade, and wouldn't let me get away with a truly awful cut.
In the end, it looks like I've found something to cut, even if it isn't the best. Hopefully I'll be able to keep in practice for Japan. Still need to find other people to practice with, of course.
Hope this has been enjoyable. Next time I'll try to tell you about the Taj Mahal. See:
First of all, I think many of you are aware that we have one room dedicated as our 'dojo' for budo, tai-chi, and general art projects.
Unfortunately it has been a little small for some practice, which I tend to take outdoors, including battodo. Besides needing space, however, battodo requires one more thing: cutting. While the focus should never be on cutting for cutting's sake, regular cutting practice is an essential part of the curriculum. But where to find material? Contrary to my initial thoughts, there aren't that many tatami in Bangkok. Nor do there appear to be many tatami repair shops. I could, perhaps, pay $120/tatami mat, but that's a little steep. Finally, I got a chance to head out to the local market.
This is what we found: 10 mats at about 120 Baht each--a little under $4/mat. Not too bad, but I suspect the overall cost will be more than using tatami omote. For one thing, these are more like beach mats, though thicker, but I still suspect it will take more than one to give a good target.
I also picked up one wide one.
It was made of the same material, including the colored weave. This is a problem in some mats, as the cheaper mats use a pretty hard plastic, but these mats appeared to just use colored straw.
Unfortunately, I had misgivings once I saw that it was about as wide as the others were long! And it really twisted, even when rolled as tightly as possible.
The shorter ones were more numerous. So I figured I would roll up a couple as doubles, a triple, and three singles. That way I could get a good feel for the mats. Unfortunately, they had the same problems. Though thicker than a typical 'beach mat', they have a loose weave and uneven fibres that makes it difficult to roll. I tried several different techniques, with little success. Hopefully the water they soak up will fill them out some and perhaps make them a little more substantial. I'm already missing my tatami omote.
I'd been saving rubber bands from the street vendors, but apparently our maid figured they were garbage, because I couldn't find any. Instead, I went with butcher's twine, which shouldn't significantly affect the cuts. Quite enthusiastic about the tests, I started them soaking as soon as possible.
It was about this time I realized I was in a dilemma. What was I going to cut them on? I could already see the potential problems of using a table corner, as most of the tables were under the roof on the lower level, meaning not enough room for a good swing.
I decided the best thing would be to go to the local version of Home Depot and see what I could find.
Turns out, HomePro is not really a Home Depot. No lumber at all. So much for a good 4x4 stand. But I did recall that in Japan they had used some kind of pipe. Hmmm... maybe if I grabbed some PVC pipe bits I could build what I needed, but how?
This pole might work. I just stand it up like this... might have to cut it down a bit later. But just stand it up. Carefully... then let go...
Okay, so we're going to need something to keep the pole from falling over. Let's see what we have here.
Several different T-joints, huh? Maybe I could throw something together.
Yes, I think I could do something with these. I just need to figure out what. These definitely have potential.
Not quite what I had in mind.
You're getting closer.
That's what I'm talking about!
First, saw off a few pieces of the pipe to connect them. Not too big, just enough to help hold them together.
Time to get dirty! I can't really read the warning labels on this glue, as it is all in Thai, so I figure I'll take some precautions.
Here's the finished base. By my calculations, I should be able to put four poles as 'legs' and one central pole as the stand. BTW, if you are wondering about why everything is blue? Because it was thicker and heavier than the white PVC pipe. I figured that a certain amount of mass would be helpful.
But what about the peg? I didn't find any dowels at HomePro, but we did have a thin piece of pipe lying around.
A little bit of sawing to add a good angle, as well as a 1" to 1/2" pipe connector and voila!
The great part is that, except for the base, everything can come apart. That means if I want an iai stand, all I need to do is replace the long, central pole with a shorter pole. Of course, blue isn't my favorite color, but what the heck.
Here are all the pieces laid out, ready to be assembled.
Put it all together and see what you get! It is a little taller than I'm used to, but the mats are also a bit shorter. Besides, it feels nice to not have to reach down to cut. Still, I'll eventually want to get precise dimensions to make a stand at the exact height that the Kakuseikai uses so that I can practice with what I'll be using in Japan.
Claude would like to take this opportunity to remind all the would-be sammyrai out there that nobody should attempt to cut without appropriate training and safety precautions. Do not try this at home!
Mats soaked, and with the rain stopped, it was time to go downstairs to try the stand. Spiking the mats was a bit difficult, but not because of the stand. The mats were just too floppy. Once on the peg, they generally stayed put.
Cutting the short mats was definitely easier than tatami omote. At least two mats were required to give the same feeling as one piece of goza or omote. Also, even though they were 'new', these mats came pre-dirtied. I tried to wash them off as well soak them, but it still felt as though there might be some grime in the weave. Furthermore, I think there is some plastic being using ind the overall structure. Still, the cuts seemed good. I may just want to forego using a Nihonto on these mats any time soon.
Oh, and as I rather thought, the tall mat really didn't work too well. Too soft, and not enough mass to really support itself. It wouldn't go on the peg until it was cut down to size.
After that it cut more easily than certain commercial wara I've tried. Even bad cuts went through effortlessly, while the shorter double did a fairly decent job of showing me where my angle was off on my blade, and wouldn't let me get away with a truly awful cut.
In the end, it looks like I've found something to cut, even if it isn't the best. Hopefully I'll be able to keep in practice for Japan. Still need to find other people to practice with, of course.
Hope this has been enjoyable. Next time I'll try to tell you about the Taj Mahal. See:
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Royal Anthem
Not much has been happening here recently...a lot of rain (it IS the rainy season, after all) and hanging out at home. We need to post some info about our recent trips to Singapore and to the beach here in Thailand (Cha-Am, about 80 miles southwest of Bangkok)-- the pictures are up on our Flickr page, if you want to look at them!
One thing I did do today was walk the block-and-a-half over to Bumrungrad Hospital, for the 2008 "Living in Thailand" Fair. This is an annual event geared to expatriates living here, at which exhibitors from clubs, schools, companies, restaurants, etc. all set up booths and stand ready to ply you with flyers and free gifts. It's like a trade fair, only where the trade is being a foreigner. Fun!
(Plus, it serves as advertising for the hospital. I believe I've posted about this before, but all of the major private hospitals actively market themselves much more like five-star hotels or even getaway destinations rather than a place solely for fixing what ails you! We got a brochure in the mail inviting us to join Bumrungrad's "Healthy Living Club", which gets us discounts on inpatient rooms, medical supplies and lab tests, and health screenings, not to mention items at the hospital gift shops and meals at the numerous restaurants. Yes, I said restaurants: we have actually gone over there to eat dinner on a couple of occasions! It's a bit out of the Twilight Zone...)
Anyway, one of the events as part of the fair today was a series of performances by various music groups, including the Bangkok Music Society choir and the Orpheus Choir (which, I believe, serves as the chorus for the Bangkok Opera). Directing these was Somtow Sucharitkul, who I have mentioned before on this blog: he's the artistic director of the Bangkok Opera and a prolific composer AND sci-fi/horror writer. (I got to meet him, which was fun!)
Which brings me (finally) to the title of this post: one of the pieces that all the choirs performed was a new arrangement of the Thai Royal Anthem by Somtow. You can see a recorded performance of it (from another event) here. This is the King's anthem, and it's played before all performances, including movie showings...so we have heard it a lot, probably more than the actual Thai National Anthem, which is played at 8 AM and 6 PM daily on public intercom systems, radio stations, and many TV channels (I guess we just aren't tuned in at the right times for it). That's fine by me, because I think the Royal Anthem is a very nice piece of music- Josh and I find ourselves humming it in unison on random occasions!
(If you're interested, here's the Thai text and English translation for the Royal Anthem.)
One thing I did do today was walk the block-and-a-half over to Bumrungrad Hospital, for the 2008 "Living in Thailand" Fair. This is an annual event geared to expatriates living here, at which exhibitors from clubs, schools, companies, restaurants, etc. all set up booths and stand ready to ply you with flyers and free gifts. It's like a trade fair, only where the trade is being a foreigner. Fun!
(Plus, it serves as advertising for the hospital. I believe I've posted about this before, but all of the major private hospitals actively market themselves much more like five-star hotels or even getaway destinations rather than a place solely for fixing what ails you! We got a brochure in the mail inviting us to join Bumrungrad's "Healthy Living Club", which gets us discounts on inpatient rooms, medical supplies and lab tests, and health screenings, not to mention items at the hospital gift shops and meals at the numerous restaurants. Yes, I said restaurants: we have actually gone over there to eat dinner on a couple of occasions! It's a bit out of the Twilight Zone...)
Anyway, one of the events as part of the fair today was a series of performances by various music groups, including the Bangkok Music Society choir and the Orpheus Choir (which, I believe, serves as the chorus for the Bangkok Opera). Directing these was Somtow Sucharitkul, who I have mentioned before on this blog: he's the artistic director of the Bangkok Opera and a prolific composer AND sci-fi/horror writer. (I got to meet him, which was fun!)
Which brings me (finally) to the title of this post: one of the pieces that all the choirs performed was a new arrangement of the Thai Royal Anthem by Somtow. You can see a recorded performance of it (from another event) here. This is the King's anthem, and it's played before all performances, including movie showings...so we have heard it a lot, probably more than the actual Thai National Anthem, which is played at 8 AM and 6 PM daily on public intercom systems, radio stations, and many TV channels (I guess we just aren't tuned in at the right times for it). That's fine by me, because I think the Royal Anthem is a very nice piece of music- Josh and I find ourselves humming it in unison on random occasions!
(If you're interested, here's the Thai text and English translation for the Royal Anthem.)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Thai protests-- a note
Some of you may have seen news about the protests here in Thailand over the past several days. I wanted to assure everyone reading this blog that we are fine, and not in any kind of danger from this.
Thailand is going through an interesting time right now politically, centering on the figure of the former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra-- he was the one deposed by the military coup in 2006, and he has now fled back to asylum in Britain to escape arrest. The People's Alliance for Democracy, the organization currently occupying Government House, is calling for the resignation of the current PM, Thaksin's supporter Samak Sundaravej.
(ETA: An online acquaintance who has lived in Thailand for over 10 years now posted a link to this CNN blog, which from everything I've heard is an accurate summary of the current situation.)
It's a complex issue and I'm no expert on the situation, but we are all hoping that one way or the other, democracy will prevail-- and no one gets hurt.
Thailand is going through an interesting time right now politically, centering on the figure of the former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra-- he was the one deposed by the military coup in 2006, and he has now fled back to asylum in Britain to escape arrest. The People's Alliance for Democracy, the organization currently occupying Government House, is calling for the resignation of the current PM, Thaksin's supporter Samak Sundaravej.
(ETA: An online acquaintance who has lived in Thailand for over 10 years now posted a link to this CNN blog, which from everything I've heard is an accurate summary of the current situation.)
It's a complex issue and I'm no expert on the situation, but we are all hoping that one way or the other, democracy will prevail-- and no one gets hurt.
Back from Singapore!
Okay, so I'm back from a few days in Singapore. All in all, it was a fun trip-- I got to see the Orchid Gardens, some museums, and Chinatown, and Josh and I went to the zoo and the Night Safari together-- but I was more tired than I expected. I'll put up some photos here later on (they are already on our Flickr page).
For Labor Day weekend, we are off to the beach! Specifically, we are driving down to Cha-Am beach on Saturday, just about two hours outside of Bangkok:
View Larger Map
We are going to be staying at the Alila Resort there, which I am very jazzed about: it's brand-new and has gotten a lot of press because of its cutting-edge design.
For Labor Day weekend, we are off to the beach! Specifically, we are driving down to Cha-Am beach on Saturday, just about two hours outside of Bangkok:
View Larger Map
We are going to be staying at the Alila Resort there, which I am very jazzed about: it's brand-new and has gotten a lot of press because of its cutting-edge design.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Broadway in Bangkok
(I considered back-dating this post, but figured it might get lost in the shuffle...so here it is, a little late!)
On Saturday, July 25th, Josh and I went to see a traveling Broadway show here in Bangkok. Yes, Bangkok does get traveling Broadway shows, in a theater designed specifically for them (more on that later).
The show in question was We Will Rock You, the musical based on the music of Queen, which had been recommended to us by some friends. This so-called "jukebox musical" is in the same category as recent shows such as Mamma Mia! (ABBA), Movin' Out (Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp), Our House (Madness), Good Vibrations (the Beach Boys), and so on. (If they ever make a musical based on the music of U2, I'll be there with my PopMart T-shirt and my inflatable lemon beach ball.* But I digress.)
I'm no huge Queen fan, but We Will Rock You was a very enjoyable, and suitably campy, show. The setting is 300 years in the future, when rock music has been outlawed, and a giant corporation (GlobalSoft) led by the Killer Queen (and her henchman, Keshoggi) controls the world through the copious application of bubblegum pop and reality TV shows. It falls to the young rebel Galileo Figaro, his girlfriend Scaramouche, and the rest of the "Bohemians" (who take their names from past legends and are led by tough-guy "Vic", aka "Victoria Beckham") to follow the Ancient Signs to find the Sacred Instruments stored in the Place of Champions in the Heart of the Living Rock and save the day. Many Queen songs are repurposed as accompaniment, including "Under Pressure" and "Another One Bites the Dust", and the show culminates with a giant sing-along of "Bohemian Rhapsody". There were lots of other audience participation moments as well, which seemed to bewilder the polite Thai gentleman sitting next to us (his children were getting into it, though).
The cast of the traveling company was, interestingly enough, mostly South African and Australian (since I've only seen US traveling companies before, I'm used to mostly American actors and actresses). They did a great job!
The theater which plays host to traveling Broadway shows here is the Muangthai Ratchadalai Theatre, which is brand new (just built in 2007, actually) and is located on the top floor of the Esplanade shopping mall not too far from here (we took the MRT, or subway, to get there). The inclusion of theaters in shopping centers here seems to be much more common than standalone theaters, which makes sense for space-saving concerns. We did end up sitting in the very last row-- my fault for not looking closely enough at the ticket diagram!-- but were still able to see everything pretty well. The language issue was taken care of through four large (but unobtrusive) screens at about each corner of the stage, showing surtitles in Thai.
One definite difference about the shows here: the merchandising. We bought the glossy souvenir program for 100 baht-- approximately US$3. This is the same program that would cost about $15 in the States. T-shirts were similarly priced, at 300 baht! (Moral: if you want show stuff and the show is coming to Bangkok, let me know and I'll get you the goodies, cheap!) The tickets, on the other hand, were a bit more expensive than in the US, but still not bad.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening, and we're going to keep a close eye on what else comes to town...
*Actually, I no longer have the inflatable lemon, because I passed it on to a wide-eyed young U2 fan before coming to Thailand. Oh well.
On Saturday, July 25th, Josh and I went to see a traveling Broadway show here in Bangkok. Yes, Bangkok does get traveling Broadway shows, in a theater designed specifically for them (more on that later).
The show in question was We Will Rock You, the musical based on the music of Queen, which had been recommended to us by some friends. This so-called "jukebox musical" is in the same category as recent shows such as Mamma Mia! (ABBA), Movin' Out (Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp), Our House (Madness), Good Vibrations (the Beach Boys), and so on. (If they ever make a musical based on the music of U2, I'll be there with my PopMart T-shirt and my inflatable lemon beach ball.* But I digress.)
I'm no huge Queen fan, but We Will Rock You was a very enjoyable, and suitably campy, show. The setting is 300 years in the future, when rock music has been outlawed, and a giant corporation (GlobalSoft) led by the Killer Queen (and her henchman, Keshoggi) controls the world through the copious application of bubblegum pop and reality TV shows. It falls to the young rebel Galileo Figaro, his girlfriend Scaramouche, and the rest of the "Bohemians" (who take their names from past legends and are led by tough-guy "Vic", aka "Victoria Beckham") to follow the Ancient Signs to find the Sacred Instruments stored in the Place of Champions in the Heart of the Living Rock and save the day. Many Queen songs are repurposed as accompaniment, including "Under Pressure" and "Another One Bites the Dust", and the show culminates with a giant sing-along of "Bohemian Rhapsody". There were lots of other audience participation moments as well, which seemed to bewilder the polite Thai gentleman sitting next to us (his children were getting into it, though).
The cast of the traveling company was, interestingly enough, mostly South African and Australian (since I've only seen US traveling companies before, I'm used to mostly American actors and actresses). They did a great job!
The theater which plays host to traveling Broadway shows here is the Muangthai Ratchadalai Theatre, which is brand new (just built in 2007, actually) and is located on the top floor of the Esplanade shopping mall not too far from here (we took the MRT, or subway, to get there). The inclusion of theaters in shopping centers here seems to be much more common than standalone theaters, which makes sense for space-saving concerns. We did end up sitting in the very last row-- my fault for not looking closely enough at the ticket diagram!-- but were still able to see everything pretty well. The language issue was taken care of through four large (but unobtrusive) screens at about each corner of the stage, showing surtitles in Thai.
One definite difference about the shows here: the merchandising. We bought the glossy souvenir program for 100 baht-- approximately US$3. This is the same program that would cost about $15 in the States. T-shirts were similarly priced, at 300 baht! (Moral: if you want show stuff and the show is coming to Bangkok, let me know and I'll get you the goodies, cheap!) The tickets, on the other hand, were a bit more expensive than in the US, but still not bad.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening, and we're going to keep a close eye on what else comes to town...
*Actually, I no longer have the inflatable lemon, because I passed it on to a wide-eyed young U2 fan before coming to Thailand. Oh well.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
First Thai Olympic medal
Josh and I have been watching the Beijing Olympics today on the Thai national broadcast station, NBT. Although we can't understand the narration, we are really enjoying it: they are doing a great job with almost non-stop coverage, and VERY few commercials. Although they are focusing (understandably) on events where Thai athletes are competing, they are also showing a good mix of other sports.
(Plus, I watched the Opening Ceremonies the other night with NO commercial breaks! Take that, NBC!)
We just watched the 53-kg women's weightlifting competition, which was won by the Thai contender, Jaroenrattanatarakoon Prapawadee (they have been shortening her name to Prapawadee on the displays, for conciseness). She set a new Olympic record, too-- there is going to be a lot of celebrating here!
(Plus, I watched the Opening Ceremonies the other night with NO commercial breaks! Take that, NBC!)
We just watched the 53-kg women's weightlifting competition, which was won by the Thai contender, Jaroenrattanatarakoon Prapawadee (they have been shortening her name to Prapawadee on the displays, for conciseness). She set a new Olympic record, too-- there is going to be a lot of celebrating here!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Interesting NYT article about our neighborhood
Today, I was pointed to an interesting New York Times article about "Soi Arab", a small street that forms the center for the local Muslim tourist community. This is just around the corner from our apartment.
To get to Sukhumvit Road and the Skytrain, Josh and I frequently walk down through this area. It's a fascinating experience-- a bit of sensory overload, true, but a glimpse of a tourist "experience" different from what we are used to. There are lots of interesting restaurants that we need to try, and quite a few incense shops (as mentioned in the article). The latter shops interest me because they sell agarwood/aloeswood, which is one of the most prized incense ingredients in the world and the major incense material in historical Japan (where high-grade aloeswood is known as kyara). I've often thought about duplicating some of the Heian-period incense recipes, but the price and scarcity of aloeswood held me up. It's good to know that I can at least go around the corner and get a whiff of what the good stuff is like, even if I can't afford it.
Boring historical aside over, we should try and get some pictures of Soi 3 and Soi 3/1 at some point.
To get to Sukhumvit Road and the Skytrain, Josh and I frequently walk down through this area. It's a fascinating experience-- a bit of sensory overload, true, but a glimpse of a tourist "experience" different from what we are used to. There are lots of interesting restaurants that we need to try, and quite a few incense shops (as mentioned in the article). The latter shops interest me because they sell agarwood/aloeswood, which is one of the most prized incense ingredients in the world and the major incense material in historical Japan (where high-grade aloeswood is known as kyara). I've often thought about duplicating some of the Heian-period incense recipes, but the price and scarcity of aloeswood held me up. It's good to know that I can at least go around the corner and get a whiff of what the good stuff is like, even if I can't afford it.
Boring historical aside over, we should try and get some pictures of Soi 3 and Soi 3/1 at some point.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Driving!
Yesterday I screwed up my courage and embarked on a new adventure: driving in Bangkok!
We didn't bring either of our cars with us to Thailand, figuring that we would see how things went, and pick one up if we needed one. It turns out that one of our friends had two cars and was only using one-- so we are now the proud owners of a comfy Toyota Corolla. Hondas and Toyotas and the like are great cars to drive around here, because the parts are readily available and service is cheap. American auto makers such as Ford *do* have a presence here (something I wasn't expecting!) but service is a little harder to come by. Essentially, it's the reverse situation from back in the States.
Thursday and Friday were holidays here, and the traffic was light, so Josh persuaded me that it would be a good time to try getting out on the road. So, I drove over to meet him for lunch. Below is a handy Google Map of my route (from C to B and back):
View Larger Map
Fortunately, no bodily or property damage ensued! I was also able to pick up frozen groceries without having to lug them home by hand, which was nice!
The car is a US car, so the steering wheel is on the left...but here in Thailand, you drive on the left, so that has been the first thing to get used to! Fortunately, traffic tends to be very fluid, so as long as we keep an eye out and "go with the flow", it is really not all that crazy. The hardest thing to get used to are the ubiquitous mopeds and motorbikes that weave in and out of traffic, so "no sudden moves" is a safe strategy when driving a car!
Yesterday we also picked up a new Garmin car navigation system, to make our travels easier. Garmin has a huge presence here in Thailand, and they produce some really excellent and detailed maps for the whole country, in both English and Thai. We ended up buying a nuvi 200 GPS in English (they also have them in Thai), which is identical to one we'd get in the USA, except that the Thailand maps are pre-loaded on the unit. When we travel back to the US we'll get a card with the latest US maps and pop it in. Easy!
We intend to use the car mostly for trips out of town, rather than daily commuting. We are thinking of going to the beach (probably Koh Samet) in a few weeks, and we also want to make some day trips to places like Ayutthaya, the Kao Yai National Park, and similar. Watch this space for details!
We didn't bring either of our cars with us to Thailand, figuring that we would see how things went, and pick one up if we needed one. It turns out that one of our friends had two cars and was only using one-- so we are now the proud owners of a comfy Toyota Corolla. Hondas and Toyotas and the like are great cars to drive around here, because the parts are readily available and service is cheap. American auto makers such as Ford *do* have a presence here (something I wasn't expecting!) but service is a little harder to come by. Essentially, it's the reverse situation from back in the States.
Thursday and Friday were holidays here, and the traffic was light, so Josh persuaded me that it would be a good time to try getting out on the road. So, I drove over to meet him for lunch. Below is a handy Google Map of my route (from C to B and back):
View Larger Map
Fortunately, no bodily or property damage ensued! I was also able to pick up frozen groceries without having to lug them home by hand, which was nice!
The car is a US car, so the steering wheel is on the left...but here in Thailand, you drive on the left, so that has been the first thing to get used to! Fortunately, traffic tends to be very fluid, so as long as we keep an eye out and "go with the flow", it is really not all that crazy. The hardest thing to get used to are the ubiquitous mopeds and motorbikes that weave in and out of traffic, so "no sudden moves" is a safe strategy when driving a car!
Yesterday we also picked up a new Garmin car navigation system, to make our travels easier. Garmin has a huge presence here in Thailand, and they produce some really excellent and detailed maps for the whole country, in both English and Thai. We ended up buying a nuvi 200 GPS in English (they also have them in Thai), which is identical to one we'd get in the USA, except that the Thailand maps are pre-loaded on the unit. When we travel back to the US we'll get a card with the latest US maps and pop it in. Easy!
We intend to use the car mostly for trips out of town, rather than daily commuting. We are thinking of going to the beach (probably Koh Samet) in a few weeks, and we also want to make some day trips to places like Ayutthaya, the Kao Yai National Park, and similar. Watch this space for details!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Cambodia -- Tonle Sap Lake Village
Greetings-- it's Ellen again (finally!)
By the end of our second day in Siem Reap, we were pretty much "templed out"...something that must be pretty common! Our guide, Mr. Vith, suggested that on the third morning we take a boat trip down the river onto the Tonle Sap to visit one of the Lake Villages, Chong Khneas.
The Tonle Sap is a huge freshwater lake/river system. Most of the time it's pretty big, but in the rainy season, the Mekong River actually reverses its course and flows *into* the lake, causing it to grow to over twice its dry season size. At the time we were there, the rains were just beginning, and the floods were a few months away.
The road south out of town started out in good condition, but gradually deteriorated into a rutted dirt track.
The road is elevated a few meters above the surrounding marshlands, and the houses are built on stilts to be at road level. Many of the houses were built by squatters.
We had stopped back in town to pay for our boat tickets (it is organized by a central company). Once we got to the end of the road, our guide located a boat, and we set out on the river.
We passed numerous other boats along the way, and a couple of floating barges holding the local primary school. The water level will rise by several meters in the rainy season, putting all the marsh grasses, etc. underwater-- so having everything float is a smart idea!
There is even a floating "rec center", with an enclosed basketball court:
The river then opened up onto the Tonle Sap itself, and we could see the floating village:
There are several of these floating villages on the lake, but this is one of the most frequented by tourists, thanks to its proximity to Siem Reap. Most of the folks on the lake are actually ethnic Vietnamese rather than Cambodian, but our guide told us that there are pretty well divided "neighborhoods" within the village. (Here, at least it's relatively easy to move house if you don't like your neighbors...)
Life is hard here, and most people are engaged in subsistence fishing, etc. There is a great deal of innovation, with folks creating floating chicken coops, "fields", etc...
We stopped at a floating tourist center, with a great display on the lake's fish and waterbirds (as well as traditional fishing methods), a small shop and a chance to view some local residents:
There is even a church, which attracts many people to services by promising them a free meal afterwards. Not entirely sure how I feel about that, honestly...
All in all, it was a really eye-opening experience to see how differently people lived. The same was true for the entire Siem Reap trip, for me: I felt like an obscenely rich person casting an imperious eye at the "quaint native customs", and that assessment isn't really far off the mark for any Westerner that comes here.
It really is true: how you live is, in great part, a fluke of where you were born. But no matter where you are, people are always finding creative ways of meeting their needs.
By the end of our second day in Siem Reap, we were pretty much "templed out"...something that must be pretty common! Our guide, Mr. Vith, suggested that on the third morning we take a boat trip down the river onto the Tonle Sap to visit one of the Lake Villages, Chong Khneas.
The Tonle Sap is a huge freshwater lake/river system. Most of the time it's pretty big, but in the rainy season, the Mekong River actually reverses its course and flows *into* the lake, causing it to grow to over twice its dry season size. At the time we were there, the rains were just beginning, and the floods were a few months away.
The road south out of town started out in good condition, but gradually deteriorated into a rutted dirt track.
The road is elevated a few meters above the surrounding marshlands, and the houses are built on stilts to be at road level. Many of the houses were built by squatters.
We had stopped back in town to pay for our boat tickets (it is organized by a central company). Once we got to the end of the road, our guide located a boat, and we set out on the river.
We passed numerous other boats along the way, and a couple of floating barges holding the local primary school. The water level will rise by several meters in the rainy season, putting all the marsh grasses, etc. underwater-- so having everything float is a smart idea!
There is even a floating "rec center", with an enclosed basketball court:
The river then opened up onto the Tonle Sap itself, and we could see the floating village:
There are several of these floating villages on the lake, but this is one of the most frequented by tourists, thanks to its proximity to Siem Reap. Most of the folks on the lake are actually ethnic Vietnamese rather than Cambodian, but our guide told us that there are pretty well divided "neighborhoods" within the village. (Here, at least it's relatively easy to move house if you don't like your neighbors...)
Life is hard here, and most people are engaged in subsistence fishing, etc. There is a great deal of innovation, with folks creating floating chicken coops, "fields", etc...
We stopped at a floating tourist center, with a great display on the lake's fish and waterbirds (as well as traditional fishing methods), a small shop and a chance to view some local residents:
There is even a church, which attracts many people to services by promising them a free meal afterwards. Not entirely sure how I feel about that, honestly...
All in all, it was a really eye-opening experience to see how differently people lived. The same was true for the entire Siem Reap trip, for me: I felt like an obscenely rich person casting an imperious eye at the "quaint native customs", and that assessment isn't really far off the mark for any Westerner that comes here.
It really is true: how you live is, in great part, a fluke of where you were born. But no matter where you are, people are always finding creative ways of meeting their needs.
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