sawasdee bee mai!

That's Happy New Year in Thai in case anyone didn't catch it. I learned the phrase, said it a million times yesterday and may never say it again.

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and ready to ring in the new year and figured what better way to do it than with a blog post? I read my last one and figured I should let anyone who didn't already know that things in Chiang Mai are still fine, although I'm still seeing riot images on the news from Bangkok. I'm just way to exhausted at this point to bother keeping up with the situation. All I have to say is that democracy as a political system only works when the minority that loses a democratically held election is willing to acknowledge a ruling party they didn't vote for, however begrudgingly.

Quick update just before I run out to my thai lesson, the clashes have finally hit the streets in Chiang Mai. I just got a call from the travel agent I was supposed to go see in an hour to say that she was leaving the office and going to take her son out of school and going home because there were PAD/anti-PAD clashes going on at Wat Loi Kroh and at the offices of the Prime Minister in Chiang Mai. The PAD has come here because the Prime Minister flew in from Peru a day or two ago and I guess they're here to speak to him in person.

Also, she said there would be a curfew tonight so I'm going to keep watching tv. I'm going to my thai lesson early so I can be home before sundown. I feel like things are starting to heat up, but I don't think anyone back home has anything to worry about because things really aren't as terrible as they may look in the newspaper or on tv (I don't know how much of this has hit the Canadian Media).

More trouble in paradise

I just wanted to post a short "hey guys, I'm okay!" in light of recent political developments in Thailand. The People's Alliance for Democracy still isn't happy with the Prime Minister and in an effort to get him out they've taken over two airports in Bangkok, and the Parliament buildings. Grenades have been thrown at demonstration groups and there have been shootings in Bangkok between the two groups. The general word is that things are about to come to a head, the pro-government and anti-government groups just can't seem to get along and it is felt that a 'street brawl' style showdown between the two groups is imminent.

Conveniently, the ASEAN summit is coming up in two weeks, as well as a ASEAN leader's summit in Chiang Mai, which are two very high profile events. Some sort of disruption attempt may be attractive to people looking to garner attention for their cause, although the Prime Minister was on telelvision last night urging groups to settle down. He said something about thinking about how this makes Thailand look to the rest of the world but I didn't understand it exactly.

Slightly scarier is the fact that there has been a shooting in Chiang Mai, a PAD supporter was dragged from his car and shot near the airport yesterday, according to news reports that are just rolling in.

I haven't actually SEEN anything out of the ordinary as of yet, no demonstrations or supporters of either group. Just to be safe I think I'll leave my yellow or red shirts at home for the next little while (The PAD wear yellow shirts and the DAAD (pro gov't) wear red).

I did think it was somewhat humorous that the two groups fighting each other are called the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD). It kind of sounds like they're both fighting for the same thing...although in reality they definitely aren't.

Anywhoo, keeping an eye out for trouble, making sure I stay safe, working from home at least until Monday...When I've got to Make the 9 hour trip to Mae Hong Son to interview students for next year's program. 3 Days in Mae Hong Son...that should definitely give me some time to work on the thesis. Good thing I'm not planning to fly. All this airport craziness had BETTER clear up before my family is planning to arrive for Chrismas.

Got to love those deadly holidays

According to this article from the Nation (Thailand's top English News website) , This Loy Krathong wasn't even half as deadly as last years with it's 61 injuries and 2 fireworks related deaths. Somehow it turned from the most serene beautiful scene in the world, to World War 3 in the span of maybe 15 minutes. Link to the article below

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30088462


Looking at my video you realize where those statistics are coming from.

Cottleston Pie

Good morning (or evening...or afternoon, depending on where you're tuning in from)!

It's almost 8AM and I've decided it was time to dust off the ol' blog for an update of sorts on my situation. I thought it might be easier to organize my thoughts if I used headings.

weather!
In my opinion, winter is beginning to get a little bit too enthusiastic. I was on the back of Ying's motorcycle the other day, and she turned around at a red light and said "by the way, it's winter now". I said "oh...okay, cool." And that was that. I suppose the luxury of gradual season transition is a luxury we just don't appreciate enough living in North America. No fall colors, no brisk nippy walks on windy days through fallen leaves, no birds flying south for the winter, just..."it's winter now". Anyway, there were about two or three days when the weather was absolutely PERFECT, cool in the mornings and evenings, sunny warm during the day, and dry all the time (I've had to start watering the plants on my balcony again). But NOW, it's getting kind of...well..cold at night. I was walking home from Tops the other night after a fruitful grocery expedition (no pun intended) and I realized I was uncomfortable. I kid you not, it took me a few seconds to place the feeling. I was COLD! For the first time in literally months. It was bizarre, made even more bizarre by the fact that the feeling was unfamiliar. I mean, buses and movie theatres are usually uncomfortably chilly, but this was outside. Unheard of. Anyway, I just checked the weather report, and the low last night was 14. It's now climbed to 17 (though I think higher because my apartment faces East) I had to close the door to my balcony because it got too chilly. But it's still perfect during the day, so one can't complain too loudly.

food!
Still awesome, next question.

money!
Doing well in the saving department, especially considering that I started this month by dropping the down payment on the family vacation, which has effectively forced me to save a whole ton of money, simply because it wasn't in my accout to spend. I was a little bit worried for a while, but I've calculated I should be able to make it to the end of the month without too much difficuly, so I think I'm home free.

loy krathong and yi peng!
It's here!

Loy Krathong is one of the biggest Thai annual holidays (second only to Songkran) and occurs on the full moon of the 12th month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar (it's a different year here than it is in North America, so if you pick up a Thai newspaper this morning it would read November 11th, 2551. Anyway, the holidy usually falls on November of the western calendar. Loy means float, and Krathong is a small raft, maybe a about the span of a large hand that's traditionally constructed from banana leaves, or part of the trunk (although now you can find ones made of everything from elaborately folded whisky bottles to aluminum coke cans. They're decorated with flowers, candles and incense, and then released on a river.

Apart from venerating the Buddha with light, the act of floating a Krathong symbolizes the relase of grudges, anger and impurities, wiping the slate clean as it were to start afresh. People also cut their fingernails or hair and add them to the raft as a symbol of letting go of the negative aspects of themselves, and for good luck. The rafts are also to thank and to honor Phra Mae Kongkha, the Goddess of Water.

In Chiang Mai, we also celebrate Yi Peng. This involves the release of 'kom', which are these really cool floating lanterns. Let me try to describe them. They're usually made of white tissue paper, which is stuck together to form a large bag-type thing, which is closed at one end, and held open at the other by a circle of wire (ranging in diameter from 1.5 feet to maybe 3.5 feet). At the open end is attached a brick of cloth and parafin mixed together, to provide fuel to heat the air inside the bag. When the brick is lit, the air inside heats up, and the bag expands, and can range in length from 1.5 feet to maybe 6 or 7 feet tall when upright. These lanterns, when released, float up into the night sky, like a huge orange jellyfish, slowly growing smaller as it gets higher and higher. The release of the lanterns symbolizes ridding ones self of bad luck and other troubles. Last saturday night, I went to Mae Jo university with a bunch of friends to release lanterns. It's a HUGE event every year, and there were thousands of people there. I was a genius and forgot to bring my camera, and that's a shame because truly it was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. We were eating dinner, because someone heard that the lanterns were supposed to be released at about 9PM, but at about 8, we were walking down the street, when I looked up and saw thousands and thousands of these pinpricks of light rising into the sky from somewhere far away. We were probably about 1km from the launch site, which in retrospect I think was a good thing because it really let you get the big picture. The sky was literally filled with them, all rising and then floating away on the wind, orange, delicate and beautiful. I've never seen anything like it. Anyway, the path to the launch site was absolutely RAMMED with people, so it took us about an hour to get there, at which time we launched our three lanterns, and headed out. I'm going to have to rely on pictures stolen from others to give you an idea what it was like, but I have to say, absolutely nothing can compare with being there.

This is a picture on Wikipedia taken...whoa, it was actually taken the night I was there, November 8th. I suppose this is what it was like to actually be in it. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

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These other three were taken by my friend Ekk, who was also at Mae Jo saturday night.

visa!
My last visa run was an absolute disaster. Instead of a straightforward trip to Mae Sai and back to get my passport stamped, I ended up being shuffled onto a bus that was going on a sightseeing trip around the north of thailand, a fact i was not made aware of until the bus was already moving. Anyway, an 9 or 10ish hour trip to the border turned into a 14 hour one. We went to Chiang Rai, the Golden Triangle, Wat Chedi Luang, two hilltribe villages and Mae Sai. Although i did get a free (though mediochre) buffet lunch out of it. I booked it with the same travel agent that I booked my christmas vacation with, so I'm torn between going back to have a sit down and a chat with her about why she didn't let me know that this is what she was signing me up for, and assuming she had a good excuse for giving me the runaroud (maybe there weren't enough people going on visa runs that day to organize a van straight to the border and back?).

I just realized today was Rembembrance Day. I will definitely be taking my minute of silence at 11...I wonder if the Canadian Embassy is doing anything.

wedding!
Relax, it wasn't mine, althogh going as Ying's 'plus one' I did get asked a disturbing number of times when our wedding was going to be, but I'm sure it was all good natured...right? Anyway, it was a good time, with good food and good fun had by all.

The girl getting married was one of Ying's co-workers. It took place in the yard of their new house, and the setup was kind of similar to a North American wedding, with chairs and tables arranged in tents outside, and a stage at the front where there were performances later in the evening. The groom's arrival marked the start of the actual ceremony, the video of which is below.



Above: The groom was preceded by a few minutes, by a pickup, who's bed was occupied by a group of women who weren't trying very hard to hide the fact that they were intoxicated. One of them immediately spied me waiting quietly trying to quietly blend into the crowd with little success and made a stumbly beeline in my direction. Holding a full glass of what I later found out to be straight whisky on the rocks. She had a dangerously playful glint in her eye. As she walked over, Ying quickly whispered that refusing a drink from this lady would be rude, but that I could just pretend to have some and that would be fine. With all eyes on me, I was commanded to drink in Thai, to which I politely accepted, lifting the glass and taking a small sip.
"More!" was the response, she wasn't buying my ruse. I took another larger one, and she seemed satisfied and moved on, trying to force drinks on the other wedding guests. After a few other people refused to drink, she whirled back around to face me, demanding I drink some more. I didn't feel so bad refusing after I'd seen others do the same, so I said I was full (quite a useful phrase to know, as it allows the refusal of food without causing the giver or the reciever to lose face...nobody can help being full, and it's not a reflection of the culinary skills (or lack thereof) of the cook). But this lady was having none of it. After three or four forceful reptitions of the command, I gave in. But my sip wasn't big enough, so I was made to take another one. At this point fortunately the groom arrived and the wedding began, but before turning to join the procession, the lady told me not to leave, as she would find me later. This was the procession:



The procession made it's way like this from the road in to the house, stopping at three points, where two people were positioned with chains (I think they were silver or gold) blocking the path (or the doorway).
The groom had to present the people with money to allow the procession to pass, it was all very ceremonial. I liked it.

The ceremony in the house. After the appropriate exchanging of gifts of gold had occurred, this was the groom giving the ring. After this happened, the bride and groom had to sit at an altar just off the left side of the picture, and everyone at the wedding who was older than they were came and tied a white bracelet on each of their wrists (you can see at least one bracelet on each of their wrists already in the picture) and say something to wish them luck in their new marriage.

Anyway, after all was said and done, out came the food, which was tasty and copious, and when it was all over we headed back to town.

work!
Work is still going well. I've been splitting my time between working on the farm and teaching recently (though spending more time teaching). We were able to take the students out to the farm three or four times, which was good, although the rainy season went late this year so unfortunately it was wet which makes it less pleasant and impossible to plant anything. We did dig a huge banana circle for the compost though, and have planted some sweet potatoe along the high areas near the fish ponds. The students have left for home this week, so teaching for this year is pretty much finished. I'm helping to write the curriculum manual, which we hope to finish by the time our contracts expire. This involves taking all the lesson plans, activity outlines and handouts and organizing them into a standardized, easy to use format, as well as compiling background information on the topics covered and resources where further info can be found. It's quite a job. So far I've been given all of the lesson plans, we've done so far and am working away organizing and adding to things where need be.

We're also going through the recruiting process for next year. The students have been asked to provide a picture with their application and resumes (a completely standard practise here (for many jobs, women will also be asked to provide their height and weight along with the picture), something I'm not used to at all), and we've been interviewing the people on the Thai side of the border, and intend to do phone interviews with those we can't see face to face.

There was also a HUGE fiasco last week about an ASEAN Summit planning meeting organized by the Burma Partnership Organization which I was asked to go with the NEED director to the night before, when I had been planning to be interviewing students (I'd already written the questions, sat down with the students to discuss the process and brief them on their right to refuse the interview, written the consent and release of information forms, etc). Anyway, things have worked out now (sort of, i interviewed the students the day after) but (CURSES!) the recorder I used to record the three interviews records in a file format my computer can't read (.VOC), and I couldn't find a program to convert it successfully (this is the summary of a maybe 8 hour ordeal). Anywhoo, if anyone would like to take a crack at converting the files to something you can listen to on your computer, feel free to let me know and I'll send them over, but I wouldn't bother. Thanks to the urgent words of Professor Kepe (Project Management C01), I took careful notes both during and after the interview, so I have all the answers, it's just quotations that will be difficult to use. The interviews were for a potential article for the NEED journal 'Natural Light', which we're also in the process of putting together at the moment.

books!
I've only included this because I've been reading a lot lately (coffee and books were made for each other), and felt like I should share, because I've gone through some good ones.
The Old Man and the Sea - Earnest Hemmingway's heartbreaking classic novel, I read it in grade 8 for a book report, but feel like I got much more out of it
The Interpereter of Maladies - A fantastic collection of beautifully crafted though often gut-wrenching short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Tao of Pooh - My current book-on-the-go, by Benjamin Hoff. It's a really straightforward explanation of Taoism using the characters from the Winnie-the-Pooh books, which is still one of my favourite sets of books.
A Brief History of Tractors in Ukranian - Marina Lewycka's hilarious tale of intergenerational (and intercultural) discourse, also providing an incredibly interesting and detailed history of the tractor in the process.
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho's # 1 bestseller, a fairly short and easy to read story with appeal to both children and grown-ups alike due to it's heavy use of symbolism and its relevance as an allegory for the human condition.
The Little Prince - I haven't actually read this one yet, but from what I read on the back, the description should read exactly the same as that of 'The Alchemist'

Next on my list:
Atlas Shrugged - Far too many people have recommended this novel by Ayn Rand for me not to want to read it. I've seen it at the used bookstore in town, but there's no room in the budget for new books until next month.

thesis!
I still have no idea what I'm doing my Thesis on, if anything I'm farther behind than I was before. I've done a bunch of background research on food security in Burma (which is what I interviewed the students on), and it looks like basically everyone is saying the same things. I also wrote an introductory piece for the journal, the rough draft of which I've included below...Read it, or don't it's up to you. Anyway, after all this research, I feel like researching the issues behind food security or lack thereof in Burma would be like beating a dead horse, I'd end up with tired arms and the world wouldn't really be any farther ahead for it.


My article:

Food Security - An Overview: What is it and how does it relate to Burma?

Access to safe, healthy food is one of the most fundamental human needs, and yet for many this basic need goes unmet. Over 800 million people worldwide lack access to sufficient food, the majority of which live in developing countries (FAO, 1998). As of 2004 in Burma, it was estimated that 2.4 million people lived in chronically food insecure situations (FAO, 2006). It is impossible to determine the accuracy of this statistic (the actual numbers of people without food security are likely far higher than those reported), but it does give a rough idea of the importance of food security within a Burmese context. Before we are able to examine the reasons behind why these numbers is so high, it is important to have an understanding of what food security is and exactly how it relates to Burma.

In November of 1996, world leaders met in Rome, Italy at the World Food Summit to discuss this pressing global issue. It was here that an internationally understood definition of food security was drafted. According to this document, “Food security exists when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” (FAO, 1998). According to this definition, for there to be true food security food must be available, affordable and utilized (AusAID, 2008). This means that food security involves far more than simply production. It also involves the complex issues of food distribution and utilization. Even when sufficient supplies of food are being produced, parts of the population will continue to live without food security if this food is not equitably distributed. This is often argued to be the case in Burma.

One of the major causes behind the lack of food security in Burma is poverty. Without the money to afford adequate food, achieving personal food security is very difficult. Farmers with low income tend to own smaller farms, thus reducing the amount of food they can produce. These farmers are also less able to buy agricultural equipment, or fertilizers and pesticides which further limits food production within a conventional agriculture framework (USAID, 2008). This also places limits on farmers’ abilities to feed themselves and their families, and on their ability to produce food to sell, generating personal income and providing food to others.

Recent economic inflation has contributed heavily the problem. Between 2005 and 2008, average global food prices doubled, rising 43% in the past year alone (USAID, 2008). This rise in food prices occurred while average income stayed constant, which caused the number of people who could no longer afford adequate food to increase dramatically. Many who were living just above the poverty line now find themselves below it, due to higher food prices.

In Burma, the effects of rising food prices were further exacerbated in 2008 by Hurricane Nargis. The hurricane struck during the initial few days of the dry season rice harvest, which meant that it did the maximum amount of crop damage. The affected states, often referred to as the ‘rice basket of Burma’ produce 60% of Burma’s rice and 50% of Burma’s poultry (USAID, 2008). To make matters worse, much of the harvest that could be salvaged could not be distributed because of damaged road and bridge infrastructure. Thus, it is unsurprising that in the 3 weeks following the hurricane, already elevated food prices in Rangoon increased by a further 50% (USAID, 2008). The effects of Hurricane Nargis will continue to be felt in Burma for a long time, mainly due to it’s devastating impacts on key food production areas in Burma.

Government and military programs and policies also negatively effect the food security of Burmese citizens. Military operations greatly increase the burden on rural farmers and greatly reduce their capacity to grow food to feed themselves and their community. These operations include land confiscation, counterinsurgency programs, displacement and forced relocation, crop and livestock destruction and farmer extortion. SPDC structural and economic policies such as crop quotas, genetically modified crop production and unofficial taxes, also worsen the food security situation by lowering farmer income from the food they do manage to produce. Furthermore, government run programs such as national security projects, development projects and agricultural planning projects work to exacerbate the situation due to corruption and an overall lack of concern for human rights by the Burmese government and military.

Because food security is such a basic human need, the effects of its absence are far reaching and very damaging. The most obvious effects are on human health. Without adequate food, malnutrition becomes a serious risk. Increased malnutrition also increases susceptibility to opportunistic diseases (The Peace Way Foundation, 2004). Some of the worst affected victims health-wise, of food insecurity are children. Lack of proper food and nutrition prevents healthy child development, the effects of which are felt throughout the rest of the children’s lives. It also increases infant mortality rates. A lack of food security can lead to increased debt when farmers cannot grow enough food to feed themselves, let alone to sell to pay for food and seed for the following year. This often forces them to seek out money to borrow from loan sharks, the military or the government, all of which have involve incredibly inflated interest rates and can easily trap people in a cycle of increasing debt (The Peace Way Foundation, 2004).

Food security in Burma is an important current issue, the causes of which are numerous and diverse. In the following pages, the different issues pertaining to food security in Burma will be examined and analyzed, and potential solutions offered to the problem. While the causes may seem simple, the solutions are anything but.

Reference List

AusAID. 2008. Global Education: Food Security. Accessed October 13, 2008.

FAO. 1998. Rome declaration on world food security and world food summit plan of action. Accessed October 16, 2008.

FAO. 2006. Food security statistics: Number of undernourished persons. Accessed October 16, 2008.

USAID. 2008. Global food insecurity and price increase update # 1. Accessed October 13, 2008.

The Peace Way Foundation. 2004. The right to food denied: The current situation of food security in Burma. Accessed October 12, 2008.

Leslie bai taambon OR How I ended up on my knees in the street at 6:30 this morning

I just got back from picking up breakfast. It's going to be: Pat fak tawng sai tawhoo gap cao daeng. Fried pumpkin with tofu and brown rice. It's also going to be fantastic. But I thought that before I did I should talk about this morning before it becomes lost in the bends and eddies of my twisted cloudy mind like so many other noteworthy events in the past little while.

This morning I got up to go with Ying to make merit. But lets back up a little bit.

Merit is a concept in Buddhism (especially in Theravada Buddhism which is quite prevalent in Southeast Asia). It can be obtained in a number of ways, most of which relate to doing good deeds for others or having good thoughts. These good deeds, acts or thoughts are thoguht to carry over to help you later in life, or to your next birth. Basically on the quest to reach ever higher levels of purity, merit is a helpfull push in the right direction on the quest for enlightenment.

I've been passively interested in Buddhism for quite a while now (which wouldn't be difficult considering how heavily the religion influences Thai culture and society), which is why I was fairly curious to see what this would be like. I think I've spoken before about seeing the monks out walking the streets barefoot in their brown or orange robes every morning with their copper offering bowls. Giving the monks food is one way to make merit, and from what I'm told, most (if not all) of what the monks eat at the Wats is donated.

I asked quite a few questions on the way to the vegetarian restaurant (one I frequent often because of the cheap food and good eats. I've also been going there every day for the past two weeks or so because of the Jay Festival, which is this big national vegetarian festival that takes place for 10 days at the end of September every year in Thailand. If you choose to be Jay, you can't smoke, drink, eat meat of any sort (eggs, fish and dairy included), or eat any food that is smelly, such as onions or garlic. I was (for the most part) successfull. Unfortunately one of my weekends teaching frisbee in the camps fell during the festival so I requested vegetarian food but I'm pretty sure there was garlic in it...I think it would've been worse overall not to eat the food that had been prepared though though, jay or not) about the proper technique for doing offerings:

You begin by taking off your shoes and waiting for a monk to reach you as he walks down the street. When the monk (or monks) come to you, you use your right hand (supported by your left to show respect) to place food in the offering bowl. We began with the rice, then the curry, then the desert, giving one set to each of the monks. After the food was given, we knelt down and waied (palms together, head (but not back) bent as low as possible, thumbs on the nose, pointer fingers between the eyebrows). As we knelt, the monks chanted a blessing which was somewhat surreal yet hauntingly beautiful. If in a group, sometimes they would be in unison, sometimes one would be chanting and the others silent. We gave offerings to four monks in total. Once the blessing is finished, the monks continue on, and we put our shoes on and went back inside to buy our breakfast.

Anyway, now that I'm up, I figured I would take the time to do some more research while the day is still young. I'm writing an article on food security in Burma for the annual journal published by NEED and wanted to get the rough draft finished by Wednesday. I don't know if this qualifies as "getting published" because it's not peer reviewed or anything, but it is distributed among a number of networks and is growing in popularity, so at this point I'll take what I can get. This research could also serve as background thesis research, and I was never one to pass up a two-birds-one-stone opportunity like this.

And you can take that to the bank.

Ultimate. It's everywhere.

Spent the last two weekends at two different Karenni refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border coaching ultimate frisbee and had an absolute blast and I've got the pictures to prove it.. It was organized through DARE (Drug and Alcohol Recovery and Education), which is the organization my friend Janeen is working with (although I don't think it had much to do with their organizational mandate, it had nothing to do with drugs or alcohol).

The road on the way to Nupo Camp was TERRIBLE

We stayed overnight at Nupo Camp the first weekend, which was my first sleeping on the floor experience. It was pretty chilly because we were high up in the mountains and being a fool I'd forgotten my sweater. Fortunately a sleeping bag was available, so I survived the night.

Ice-breaker games the first day. We played 'Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes' in as many languages as we could. I surprised myself by remember the words in french. Thanks Madame Sisti.

The boys and the girls sat on opposite sides of the building for some reason. In the front there, you can see our translator, Million Gold, who did a fantastic job all weekend

Going over the rules the first day

The field was gorgeous

Janeen and her kids



Some kids were just watching

Others were just fighting

Teaching how to mark

The girls did a FANTASTIC job, and kept up with the boys beautifully. Nobody minded when it began to pour and the field turned to a muddy disaster

Lunchtime!

To wrap things up, we had a tournament at the end of the weekend. The kids played amazingly, I couldn't get over how quickly they picked it up. I took this video the second day. Bear in mind that they had learned how to play less than 24 hours previously.

Exploring the camp in the evening

I couldn't believe how muddy it was.

Janeen has the feet of a poet. A dirty dirty poet. This was just after our walk.


I was told it works


I'm telling you, stunning vista-wise, Thailand definitely knows what it's doing. This was the scene that greeted me when I woke up Sunday morning to go home. It did nothing to ease the 12 hour trip home though. (3 hours from Umpang to Mae Sariang, 4 hours from Mae Sariang to Mae Sot, 5 Hours from Mae Sot to Chiang Mai)

This picture is from the second camp (the weekend just finished). It was also really beautiful (although I don't know if I'd find it so beautiful if I were told I wasn't allowed to leave).

A classroom in the school. You'll notice everything in the camps is built out of bamboo, wood, leaves or other temporary materials. This is because the camps are supposed to be 'temporary living arrangements' so they aren't allowed to built 'permanent' buildings anywhere on the camp grounds. Meanwhile people have been living in them for 20 or 30 years.

All in all, a fantastic experience, I'm looking forward to one more weekend of coaching in November.

what's leslie been up to? a photo-update

A lot has gone down since I've last posted, but I thought it would be nicer to explain using pictures.

Graeme and Hridi(/everyone who participated in the poker tourney over the summer) donated money to the farm, and these new seeds and tools were the result. The guys at the farm were actually really happy, but were far too cool to smile for the photo.

Took a weekend trip to Pai, about three hours from Chiang Mai. It was all kinds of gorgeous, and I'm glad we went in the height of rainy season because although we did end up getting absolutely soaked twice, there were almost no other tourists there. During the dry season it's choked with tourists. This was the hotel. They had one of those neat pools where the water overflows the edges.

This was the view from the window I snapped just after waking up.


We rented a bike and drove for miles through the countryside. There was supposed to be a hike up the mountain as well, but being the rainy season the road to the trail head was underwater. We'd forgotten to bring trunks so we decided to give it a miss.

Also, I've started a second weekly Ultimate Frisbee game Wednesday nights 5PM at Chiang Mai University and it's been a huge success. You should drop by if you're ever in the area. I'm actually ON the poster (courtesy of the artistic talents of my buddy Ekk), I'm the silhouette in the middle of the triangle of guys on the left.

As you can see, football (soccer) is no laughing matter here. This was during a tight match between Man. U and Liverpool. This guy felt the need to remove his shirt in response to a Liverpool goal.


Oh, and I mountain bike now. I finally bought new bicycle tires and looked up trail maps. There are some really cool jungle trails a few kilometers from my place. Living at the base of a mountain definitely has it's perks. I snapped this during my first afternoon ride just before I turned around. Greg wasn't home (he's just picked up a bike as well, so we go riding together) so I went on my own. After about an hour I came to my senses and realized it had been a really stupid idea to go out solo, even though nothing happened.

The noble steed with the giant new tires. I love my bike and she loves me (although she probably wasn't loving me as much after my ride, things get pretty muddy, sand all over the gears and what not...I'm told bikes don't really like riding through streams, but she was a good sport nonetheless).

I have had some bike troubles though. I used to have a bell but it was stolen (as in someone took a screwdriver and unscrewed my bell...), and same with my bicycle headlight (they took the headlight mount as well). I've since replaced the headlight for safety reasons, but take it off and just leave the mount when I'm not using it. The light on the back remained untouched for some reason although it's given me it's fare share of grief as well. It isn't very secure and has fallen off while I'm riding 5 or 6 times, and when it does it EXPLODES (there are about 6 pieces including the batteries) all over the road. I then have to stop, go back and pick the pieces up, assemble them and put them back on my bicycle. This happened once on the highway, so here I was in the dark, running out onto the highway when there was a break in the cars to pick up pieces of my light. Miraculously nothing's broken yet, and it still works, although I've had to replace the batteries three times in the past two weeks. I think someone's been turning on the light at night when I'm not around and letting it run down. I have my suspicions about who's been messing with my bike, but no evidence so I can't really accuse anyone directly (*if this were a speech, I would pause at this point to stare accusingly at the building security guard who likes messing with bikes before continuing*) As of yesterday, I started taking the back light off as well. We'll see if this solves the problem.

There are definitely some talented graffiti artists around Chiang Mai (although I suspect this was stenciled)

Some home-cooked soul food. Panang tofu curry with fried morning glory and a fried egg to top it off. Serve over rice and enjoy.

The first time I saw these guys going through the garbage behind our building I thought they were cops. Further inquiry revealed that they're actually how garbage here gets recycled, even though there's no central recycling program. People go around, going through garbage cans and picking out the recyclables (if you look closely you'll notice he's got all the cardboard and plastic in the sidecar). They take the recyclables and sell it to the recycling plants. Not only does this niche provide jobs, it also means lazy schmucks like me don't have to sort their garbage.

I can't stress enough that weather here is ridiculous. I snapped this picture about 20 minutes before the one below it.

I live in a pretty trendy part of town, right by the university so there's a big student scene. I like this statue.

To introduce the unit on agriculture and natural systems, we took the students to the Chiang Mai waterfall. I hadn't been there before but it's only 20 minutes from my house and made for a great day. We basically wanted to get them to observe and take note of the components that make up a natural system so that they could start to think about how it might be possible to design an agricultural system to mimic nature. The day went well, and I took some really good pictures.

Biodiversity analysis anyone? It felt strange leading this activity considering I was doing the same thing in my Ecology course a year ago.


Of course we ended up getting caught in a downpour during the afternoon and had to take cover. Someone was keeping their pet beetle out of the rain. You see a lot of people with these giant beetles, they're tied to a piece of sugar cane, which I suppose provides food and a home to the bugs. From what I'm told, they're raised, traded and fought. Personally I would stick with roosters (if it wasn't for the fact that cockfighting is barbaric and cruel).

Straight from the horse's mouth

An email from the embassy.

"On September 2, 2008, the Government of Thailand declared a state of emergency
in Bangkok due to ongoing violence as a result of clashes between pro and anti
government forces, making public gatherings illegal and granting additional powers
to security forces. There are reports of casualties. The security situation remains
tense and could further deteriorate without warning. Canadians in Thailand should
exercise extreme caution, follow the advice of local authorities, and are strongly
advised to avoid gatherings and areas targeted by protestors. There have been
significant disruptions and suspensions in air and rail services. Canadians are
strongly encouraged to verify travel schedules and services with local authorities or
travel service providers prior to departure as further disruptions may occur and
delays can be expected. Travellers may encounter additional security measures, such
as road checkpoints, and should exercise patience and plan accordingly."

You'll all be glad to know that I am indeed exercising extreme caution, following the
advice of local authorities and avoiding gatherings and areas targeted by protesters.
There was this really great picture on the front of the Bangkok Post a few days back
depicting a train being pushed down some railway tracks.  Apparently the train car had
been purposely driven there and then abandoned by the rail operators to block other trains
and disrupt service.  It certainly got the point across.

I predict a riot

The current political situation in Thailand is SO INTERESTING. And also somewhat disruptive to everyone and everything.  I don't know how much news is getting through to Canada, but there are currently huge riots in Bangkok.

In a nutshell, the Peoples Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have been staging growing demonstrations over the past three months because they are unhappy with the elected government, which have now swelled to massive numbers.  Recently, those in opposition to the PAD have begun anti-PAD riots in Bangkok, and the two groups have begun to clash.  Yesterday there was the first fatality, which came along with 44 other injuries and the police had to step in to break up the groups (up until now there has been very little police crackdown on the rioting).

I'm reading headlines like this 

"Widespread disruption of public services is expected today as state enterprise labour unions have confirmed they will down tools to press for the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

Most have promised strikes and the disruption power and water supplies to government offices, despite the declaration of a state of emergency. Sawit Kaewwan, secretary-general of the State Enterprise Labour Relations Confederation, said Monday's resolution will not be revoked."

(Bangkok Post, Sept 3, '08)

Though centred in Bangkok, the riots are affecting all of Thailand.  The national rail system has been shut down, as the rail operators (conductors, engineers, technicians, operators) have all walked off the job (they actually simultaneously called in sick, which I thought was kind of genius) in solidarity with the PAD.  In response, the government of Thailand is threatening to fire every single one of them.  There was a huge picture of a train being pushed and there have been threats to cut electricity and water to government run buildings (fortunately mine is private, but it's still a big deal).  Rioters also shut down at least one airport, by blocking runways prevent planes from taking off.    I was watching the news this morning and there was footage of riots somewhere in Bangkok (it was either a train station or an airport, I didn't catch which), but it was literally hundreds of people running through at full speed with flares and other smoky things shouting at the top of their lungs. All very exciting, but somewhat disruptive to 'business as usual' as one might imagine.

Anywhoo, I'm posting partially to say that I'm absolutely fine, nothing's happened in Chiang Mai yet (though there are MASSIVE anti-PAD groups in both the North and Northeast of Thailand on standby waiting for the word to go to Bangkok to join the riots).  I'm not planning to go to any riots or demonstrations.  Thanks to the state of emergency (which was declared yesterday, i got a text message) people are not allowed to be in public in groups of more than 5.

I'm going on a trip to Pai this weekend, but we're taking a van, not a train so travel should be no problem.  Unfortunately we were all planing to go on a trip to the beaches south of Bangkok next weekend for Sam's birthday, but if the trains still aren't running, those plans will have to be nixed.

Sam is especially bummed because he collects records and has this one record store he really likes in Bangkok.  The epicentre of the rioting is located right across the street from his favourite shop which means he won't get a chance to visit until they disperse.

Photos I've been too lazy to post...UNTIL NOW!

That's right folks, the title speaks the truth. Inspired by a stranger with a photoblog that puts mine to shame, I've decided to try to take/post more pictures. I've got a ton on my computer so far that I haven't posted because the internet connection in my building can be infuriatingly slow, and the upload process takes forever (and often aborts for no reason after 15 minutes of doing nothing...I think that's how my computer gets it's kicks). Anyway, enjoy.

I'm looking far too proud of myself heading into Burma (Myanmar) on a visa run

This fine gentleman was kind enough to take my friend Heather and I to a fresh market on our search for a special kind of pineapple that you can get along the border. Our search was unsuccessful, but thanks to him we did got to see way more than the touristy stalls right by the border crossing.

I figured I would pet the end that wouldn't eat my hand

In Thailand they use tigers to control the coconut population.

A massive exhibition grounds built to host the 2006 international flower festival. Unfortunately most of the flowers are gone, but the grounds are still stunning. They've also got a giant parasol out front for some reason.


These pillars were kind enough to line up nicely for a picture

The doorstep of a temple

Young artisans at work

A drive in the mountains

I'm pretty sure my motorcycle helmet was being stolen as I took this picture. We hiked about 10 minutes off the highway to a waterfall, which was gorgeous (there were stands of bamboo everywhere) but the trip was soured when I got back to the bike and found my helmet had been taken.


Hmong children playing in a village in the mountains. I happened to be in the middle of a book about Hmong culture the weekend I went on this trip, and it was kind of cool to put the pieces together. I think they're playing 'farmer', a fact that shouldn't be surprising to anyone who's familiar with Hmong culture.

Lazy Saturday afternoons are the same wherever you are in the world

A village in the mountains

Nothing like the open road
Mountains Panorama
Second mountains panorama

This is how they get down on the dance floor in Chiang Mai

A young entrepreneur greasing the wheels of justice on the dance floor

The fruits of his labour

This guy built his own house...I kind of want to do that one day

This earthen coffee shop was perched at the top of a mountain just above an orange grove, and it had the best view of any coffee shop I've ever been to. That was a relaxing afternoon...

This was the view

Getting into mischief at the reservoir