[LEMONS] 10.30.2002
The King And I
Just about everywhere you go in Thailand, you see pictures of the King. I've heard from nearly every Thai with whom I've spent any time "King, very good; very good, King." And now, after hearing them talk about neighboring Myanmar (Burma) and Kampuchia (Cambodia), and Laos, I think I understand why they hold that conviction so true.Both Su and Chaiya have said to me at some point, haltingly, wide-eyed, and manifestly serious, "Kampuchia, kill women, kill children, kill bay-bee!" Both also stressed to me that Thailand is free, itsara.
"Navy no come here and make big," says Su about her restaurant. "I'm bigger than Navy here." She went on to tell me how this was not so in neighboring lands, how the military and police did whatever the hell they wanted to. The Thais are proud of their capitalism (or at least the ones I've talked to are), in that they're glad to own property and their own businesses. But moreover they're glad to have escaped the horrors of their neighbors.
The King is, and has been, revered in Thai culture anyway. But as Thailand has *so* avoided the misery of its neighbors (just as it avoided colonization while its neighbors did not, due to the sly political machinations of Rama IV and V. Likewise, it was largely because Thailand was never colonized that it did not end up another Laos, Cambodia, or Vietnam) that you can understand the reverence for the King.
I don't know if it's due to King, or culture, or politics (Thailand is a democracy), or some combination of the above, but this country has been amazingly fortunate compared to its immediate neighbors. And I guess when there's genocide next door, when cities are emptied and 2 million are sacrified to a maniacal vision of an agrarian utopia, when refugees flood your country, when Year Zero threatens to overwhelm your borders as well; it makes you appreciate your own house.
A few nights ago Chaiya and Chulong came by and told me that they (or a dog rather) had killed a 3-meter long poisonous snake, which they cooked and ate. Chiaya told me that if I come visit him at his house, we'll eat a cobra together and drink it's venom and blood. Rad!
We've left Ko Chang, although we'll return. If you visit Thailand, you have to come stay at Ko Chang. I highly reccomend Eden (where we stayed), Sunset, and Hornbill bungalows. Nid and Su run Eden, Lek and Mu own Sunset, and you'll find Oh and Jip down the trail at Hornbill. Bird-watchers may want to try Hornbill, as the trees fill with its namesake bird early in the mornings. Depending on whether you get a room with an attached bathroom, how many people you have, etc, you should expect to pay 80 - 150 Baht for a room. (43 Baht to the Dollar)
Remember, there's no electricity on the island. (No cars either.) No bank. No Internet (obviously). Phone calls are hard to make, and cost 80 Baht a minute to the USA. You may want to consider this before going and take care of your "business" in Ranong, which is what we're doing today before setting off for a neighboring island, Ko Phayam.
To get to Ko Chang, you take a bus to Ranong, the provincial capital and wettest city in Thailand. We took a minibus (minibus=minivan), which only set us back a few more Baht than an air-con government bus would have. Once in Ranong, you need to jump on a Songthaew to the Sapon Pla public pier. A Sonthaew is a converted pickup truck with the bed modified to hold two rows of seats. It should cost no more than 7 Baht, but you'll want to make sure of that with the driver before you hop on board.
At the pier, boats leave regularly for Ko Chang at 9AM and 2 PM every day. Some days there is also a 1 PM boat. If you're leaving for the island for the first time, you'll be asked which bungalow you're staying at and, more than likely, you're going to try to be talked into staying at one place or another. Most all of the bungalows on Ko Chang I saw were pretty nice, but a few were not. One of the three above should suit you fine.
You ride for about 45 minutes in the longtail boat--an open boat about 10-12 meters long--to get to Ko Chang. There's no pier, so the boat just pulls up to the beach and you have to jump out into the surf. This can be rather tricky with a 45 pound backpack, but it's great fun.
When we first arrived, the boatman wouldn't go to the beach because he thought the waves were too rough, or the tide was too low, or something. I didn't fully understand. In any case, we had to jump (literally) onto a different longtail sitting offshore, and then have our packs handed to us. The other boat took us in, and several of the Burmese guys who worked at Eden came out to get our packs. We then jumped off the boat into the surf, which was roughly thigh deep (unless a wave hit, in which case it was butt-deep) and waded in. It was quite a rush, and the best arrival I've ever had anywhere, anytime. Keep your limos. I'll take the longtail.
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10.25.2002
Eden
Last night, I celebrated my 30th birthday on the beach with the Thai Navy. Chiaia programmed his cell phone to go off every ten minutes with the message "Happy BDay Mat!" Phulom folded two 20 Baht notes, origami style, into little shirts for me. Choulong sang me a song, which is apprantly traditionally sung by a man on his 30th birthday. Though I could be wrong about that, the language barrier, are be there it do am me good Thai speak no, khap.The Navy has been coming around drinking with us every evening. Well, three of them have at least. Harper and I refer to these three guys collectively as "The Navy," however, as if they make up the whole of the fleet. most of the Navy you see are kids who look to be 18 or so. But our three friends are all lifers, career Navy between 37 and 40. Harper patched up Phulom's hurt ankle, and I loaned Chiaia my copy of Southeast Asia on a Shoestring so that he could scope out a map of Burma. We've been friends ever since.
The Navy is on the island to protect Thai fishermen from the Burmese Navy, who have a habit of raiding fishing vessels and killing those aboard. I'm told the Burmese army still uses muskets. Muskets! The kind you have to load with a ramrod. Thailand sent in its modern, well-equipped Navy to man a radar station on the island. The Navy arrived several months ago, and the Burmese are now, "no problem." And nothing is a problem on the island. Nothing.
Ahhh yes, but island yuu tii nai, Mat, island yuu tii nai?
We're staying on a pebble in the Andaman sea, at the juncture of the Thai/Burma border, just of of Ranong. It's the kind of place I thought all of the beaches in Thailand would be like, before I discovered there are 9 million Farang touring the Kingdon each year; that there are Starbucks on Koh Samui and moonlight raves at the beach on Hat Rin.
Here there is nothing. No roads. No Cars. No electricity, save for a few hours at night when Nid runs the generator. Except on nights like last night when, for unexplained reasons, he does not. And there are blissfully few Farang. I don't worry for my safety here--there are virtually no people, and the few Farang that are on the island are almost all German. I think this has something to do with the fact that Lonely Planet only gives a passing mention to the place, in "Southeast Asia on a Shoestring," it doesn't even rate its own heading. Furthermore, the diving here isn't so hot; the water's too cloudy.
And so there's not much to do. We swim in the mornings, eat currys for lunch, read or otherwisde hide from the heat in the mid-afternoon, some yoga in the evening, beer witht he Navy at sunset, then dinner, and night spent playing guitar on the beach or at Sunset Bungalows next door. Harper and I are the only ones staying at the adjacent Eden Bungalows.
Yesterday our new friend Josh, a Canadian who has been travelling off and on for the last 21 months, left Eden for Nepal. He spent a few days showing us the ropes, such as they are. He taught us so much about the language, culture, and intricacies of travelling through SE Asia. In return, I attempted to teach him how to hypnotize a chicken (Alabama, yes!), but we couldn't catch one. So we went after the duck instead. But he too, was too wiley for us. Ducks are quite smart, you know. Agile, too.
And that's about it. We learn the ways of the country and listen in to VOA for World Series scores (or I do, at least.)We play backgammon with Mai and Muu, Nid and Su's little girls. Nid and Su own Eden, and live on the island year-round. Like most of the Thai people I've met thusfar, they are profoundly friendly, constantly smiling. I cannot imagine wanting to leave, we think we're going to stay for a few weeks.
Today at the Internet Cafe in Ranong, I bumped into some Yankees for the first time since leaving Tokyo. I was taken aback by how loudly they were talking. Everything has become hushed in me. It's quiet.
Back to yesterday. Su made an incredible birthday dinner for me, and a few of the Germans and an older Canadian couple from Sunset came over to tell me Happy Birthday as well. Harper gave me a pair of fisherman's pants, a coconut cake, and a bottle of Thai whiskey. I watched the sun go down over Burma, and all of the ocean flare pink. I talked to my Mom in the morning. My mother-in-law called at night. It was simple. It was touching, and among the best birthdays I've ever had.
I'm 30 now, and it's not too damn bad. I'd always dreaded turning 30, leaving my 20s. But I've heard again and again (most recetly from Jared) that your 30s are infinitely better than your 20s. I think it's probably true. I've lost the confusion and roiling discontent of my 20s. I've found the complete and unconditional love of a beautiful woman who is also my best friend. And here I am, on a speck of an island, far from wars and bombs and recessions and politics and blathering media know-nothings out to drive ratings by inspiring fear.
It costs $4.65 a night.
But island yuu tii nai, Mat, island yuu tii nai? Oh. Yeah. Ko Chang, but not the one in the Gulf.
To get here we tok a bus first to Petchaburi--where we toured a 100-year-old Watt and the summer palace of King Rama IV (the king in "The King and I"), where we saw not only Rama's magnificent digs, but also a phalanx of monkeys. Monkeys everywhere.
I love monkeys. Love. We watched a monkey grab a Chinese tourist by his shorts, climb up the guy's leg and chest to his shoulders, and snatch a drink out of his startled hands. This was, without a doubt, one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my entire life, and a mental image that will accompany me all the way to my grave. Even now, I can't remember it without chuckling.
Next we went on to Chumphon, where we spent one night, and from there to Ranong. In Ranong we caught a longtail boat (an open vessel with an outboard engine. it's about 10 - 12 meters long from bow to stern) to Ko Chang. It's a 45 minute boat ride to paradise.
Phop Kan Mai Khap
-Mat
PS: I got pictures too!
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10.17.2002
Bangkok!
"One night in bangkok makes a hard man humble..."Okay, so maybe I'm a softie to begin with, but I think one night in Bangkok is about all I need. I've never been anywhere before where you could actually chew the air. It doesn't taste good.
We got in last night at about 11 PM. Our total travelling time from door to door was almost exactly 24 hours. Before we left, I reserved a room at the airport Comfort Suites. At $50 a night, it cost roughly ten times what we will be paying for rooms on average. But it was worth it to not have to fight our way into the city at midnight and then try to find a room. BKK is an orderly airport, and very easy to get in and out of.
Today I woke up early, filed a story, then we got breakfast and headed into town. It was about a 45 minute taxi ride, which cost 300B (exchange rate is slightly over 43B to the dollar). The taxi driver sropped us off in the Banglamphu district, home of the (in)famous Thanon Khao San, or Khao San Road.
Rather than stay on Khao San, we went a few blocks over to Soi Rambutri and found a place to stay at, er, My House guesthouse. (if you're playing along at home, My House is next door to the Merry V.) We got a fan-cooled room with a private bath, sink, window, and used condom under the bed for a mere 300B (which is fairly expensive for us).
After dropping off our gear and locking it to the sink with our pacsafes, we headed out to Khao San to see what all the fuss was about. Harper got a Thai Massage for 80B, while I picked up a new money belt for the same. My other, recently purchased, one having disintegrated mysteriously during the flight (Bad Rand McNalley travel store! Bad! Bad!). I also picked up a step down electrical converter for 300B. Khao San is about what you'd expect: lots of crunchy looking Westerners, a din of noise, shops jammed all together, and a riot of motortaxis.
Here's the thing about Bangkok: you really have to watch where you're going or you'll get run the hell over.
You have to walk in the streets in Khao San because the sidewalks are so packed with goods for sale--everything from, well, moneybelts and electrical converters to fake IDs and bootleg CDs. It's quite similar to The Rev in Tiujuana. Gringo central. OR Farang, as the case may be. I sucessfully avoided at least one, and possibly two cons. We tried to getr a cell phone, but were flummoxed by
the language barrier. If you know how to say "I want Nationwide roaming with free long distance and service that will work in Hanoi," hook a brother up, would you?
After a couple of hours of strolling around Banglamphu, we headed back to the hotel, with me feeling slightly overwhelmed. We decided we'd come back and see more of the city once we've acclimated to the culture a little more.
Tomorrow we're talking about taking a bus down to Phetburi and staying for a few days before heading to Ranong and the Andaman Coast.
Yes. There will be pictures and more updates. No. I do not know when that might happen.
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10.09.2002
thanks for the photo jared!
Hey kids! Sorry. I'm Bisy Backson. Packing and moving and occasionally freaking out is taking up all of my time these days, and I don't think I'm going to have a chance to post regular updates again before I leave for Southeast Asia.
But rest assured, your local electronet HQ isn't going out of business. I'll still post occasional updates from abroad. Just not as regularly, or compulsively. Or. Um. Neurotically. Whichever. But look forward to photos of watts and, er, bhats. And hopefully monkeys. Trained evil monkeys. Wait. No. Probably not evil monkeys. But Watts for sure. (Not Mike. Unless he happens to be there. In which case you betcha.)
Sawatt Dii Khrap. Yo.
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10.07.2002
Go Giants
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10.04.2002
Also see: Googlefight! (via MeFi)
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Friday Flash Fun
Chickenhawks- l i n k -
10.03.2002
Namaste, You Punkass
Harper's gotten me into Yoga. I've been going to classes lately. I enjoy it, and it's particularly nice for getting my mind off of the million and one things we need to do before we split.Now, I thought I was in pretty good shape, but yoga kicks the shit out of me and leaves me feeling like nancy every single time I go to class. A beginner's class. But it is really cool and it does in fact seem to be pretty much everything you hear that it is. I feel like a million damn dollars for days after a class, and I find that I can pop right back (well, nearly) into that mental zone just by breathing. I find myself sitting up straighter, stretching, and focusing on my alignment. I breathe more deeply, and have a better overall sense of well-being. It's subtle, but it's dramatic too.
Look, far be it from me to get all om shanti. But still. Word.
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Wasco has some great new stuff up on Unlikely Stories. (While yr at it. Be sure to check out Wasco's other project, 3 AM Magazine as well, where you can peep some vicious poetry by Mike Watt.)
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10.02.2002
My Dad called me today, he was evacuating himself from New Orleans. I was surprised, unaware that so soon after Isadore a second hurricane was already in the area. Although a hurricane the size of Lili would be disasterous no matter where it hits, some areas are more precious than others For example, "[a]t Louisiana's Avery Island, home of Tabasco hot pepper sauce, the McIlhenny Co. shut down its lone bottling plant." I'm off to buy 100 bottles of hot sauce.
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Nirvana
For me, the sun used to rise and set on Nirvana. Kurt Cobain was a hero. I've been anxiously awaiting the new (or unreleased rather) material, and finally it's all over the electronet. I have to say I'm kind of disappointed with "You Know You're Right," which was rumored to be the killer track. It's a great song. Spectacular piece of pop. But it doesn't do it for me the way Nirvana used to. It doesn't sound like a revolt anymore. It just sounds like a broken promise. I know there are some other N. fans who read this (KBK, Jeffe, & Mac I'm talkin to you). Have you heard any of the new tracks? What do you think?- l i n k -
Could ya give me a hand with these boxes?
We've lived in the same apartment now for over three years. It's the longest I've lived anywhere continuously since I was fifteen years old. When I moved here, everything I owned would fit in my little 1995 Saturn SL1. My couches came from dumpsters, and I took pride in being able to move in a moments notice. Today, the Saturn's been sold, our furniture actually came from a store (well, okay, most of it at least), we've been packing for a week, and we need to rent a moving truck.Right now, I'm taking a break from trying to organize and box up my CDs.
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Not in Our Name
NO War Without Limits | NO Detentions & Round-ups | NO Police State Restrictions
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