I tried to make an escape today, but the lackadaisical atmosphere sucked me. I wanted to leave mid-afternoon but they were just going to make me pay for another night if I did that, so it goes.
I've been on vacation now for 2 1/2 weeks and I think I've just about reached my threshold. Money issues aside, it's just difficult for me not to be working. I just seem to do better when my time is occupied and my free time subsequently more valuable leading to me using it better. I've always accredited my having better grades to when I'm working one or more jobs on top of school. Well, I've got about two weeks left roughly. I'll make it back to Bangkok and try not to spend very much money, the following day I'll catch up on laundry and then get a cap in the late evening to the airport. I'm not entirely sure how long my flight will be to Greece with the time zones and all that. I'm estimating about 11 hours so I'm hoping to stay awake the first few, drink the free drinks and then try to crash out. As it's a late night plane, and I've yet to meet a single Greek here, I might get lucky and there might not be too many people on the plane.
We've run into people who have been here for months. Sleeping through life in this tropical environment likely forgetting about the world and what goes on entirely. I hesitate to think that they may not have even heard about the Tsunami, Bush's re-election, Arafat's death or anything of semi-importance. They seem too wrapped up in mastering their fire-dancing and shagging (damn the Brits and their influence!) the newcomers, enjoying those temporary relationships that can only happen when on holiday no matter how long that holiday may be. I shouldn't fault them though. There are young Israeli men who have just finished their mandatory military service who are trying to escape the hell that they have had to endure for two years. Lots of kids enjoying a few weeks or months of abandonment before being pushed into the mediocrity of the modern working world who will revel in their memories of this place that are tattooed on their bodies for years to come. Then there are the surviving hippy minded people, clad in braids, dreads, and piercings with bronzed bodies who have given up entirely on the rest of the world and have etched out their own simple existence here which leaves little to be desired and caused harm to no one. I guess it's a mixture of admiration and resentment that I've been guilty of just about everywhere in my life every time I paused to look out a window or down the street. At one point I want to be the person who finds something simple in life and digs deep inside to find that soft place, usually in the company of someone else and returns to the world only on occasions to smile and express how they have this little piece of heaven just to themselves. I think those people are rather few, but most people passing through the streets like to think that is what they are after. I'd probably get lost trying to find that if I tried. In fact, what I just said is a little misleading, I guess what I was trying to get at was a "simple-life" and somehow it changed into some mixture that maybe I am really looking for. The other half of me though, thinks that I will be an utter failure unless I do at least one thing that at least resembles greatness. This is probably the biggest source of fear in my life. What could that be and is either attainable (for me) or really important? Or, am I capable of doing something great, whatever that might be, but the fear of failure simply prevents me from trying? I have to admit that this has been the case in the past, but at the same time I made it here and survived, no conquered, my first year of teaching abroad. Time will tell.
I just want to say, the Iron and Wine has been my savior this evening. For those of you who know, awesome, for those of you who don't, well, get with it.
Next time from Greece I hope.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Monday, February 21, 2005
Still on Ko Chang Island
Ko Chang Picts here: Ko Change pictures
I guess I got sick of moving around. I'm still at the same place I've been since I got here. I'm still hanging out with the Brits that I met. We rented scooters today which was a blast. They really don't care much who takes them, give them 300 Baht and you have it for 24 hours. Can't beat the price, the thing is, they'll rent them to people who can't even ride a bike let alone a scooter or motor-bike (small manual but cluchless motorcycle). There is basically one road that wraps around the island yet doesn't quite connect for about 20 km. We only made it about half way, I have to admit being a little nervous. The road is only two lanes, we drive on the left, it's hilly and there are curves everywhere up to 300 degrees at some points. I was careful and never had a moment where I felt I was going to lose it, but I still never really got my confidence up like the young kids in front of me who sped off with nothing to fear.
We rode up to a waterfall together and hiked up a ways. I guess I had seen a smaller, more punctuated waterfall in Korea, but never one that reached such heights. Admittedly, tons of water was not rushing over saturating everything, it was a bit more gentle and all the rocks were worn soft from ages of gentle wear. The pool it fed was cool, much cooler than the ocean water here and I felt relaxed, laying between two rain forest mountains where among the 12 people present I heard no less than 5 languages: French, German, Russian, and of course Thai and English. I have no idea if I'm getting darker, but by the lobster sheen of my skin I'm definitely changing color in some way.
During the course of the nightly party last night someone ran off with my flip flops and left me with identical ones about 3 sizes too small. The only shoes I have here are flip flops and I have to say my feet are a bit worse for wear because of it, the size change didn't help very much. My bungalow is steadily turning into a shallow beach on the inside as it seems no matter how hard one tries it's impossible to remove all the sand from you feet and legs. The mosquito net over my bed seems to be working though, no major bites so that should help with the Malaria risk. Everyone else here has gotten a dozen shots for different things and several Swedes have me feeling paranoid but I feel there isn't much I can do about it at this point except not do anything stupid and stick with the insect repellent.
I might move on tomorrow, not sure, it really depends on how motivated I get, but this place is much like Austin, it sort of sucks you and dismisses the notion of time unlike I've ever known before. People here pretty much don't need clocks, the sun acts as alarm clock and you sleep when you get tired. Even the nights you stay up late you find yourself waking up more refreshed than you would in your home. There are several foreigners working at bars hotels around here, I can see how easily it can be to be sucked into this tropical lifestyle which really is unique unto itself. Even having not visited any other of the worlds tropical places, from what I've read and who I've talked to, the heat and ocean promote an atmosphere different from the rest of civilization. Worries are shed like unneeded sweaters and jackets to the nearest dustbin to hopefully be forgotten about entirely. I don't know how long I could stay here before I would start to feel incredibly guilty that the real world is passing my by outside of these floral gates. Then, I see the 10 year old bus boy, who even if the smile and carelessness in which he carries himself is genuine, makes me sad to think of what he is missing out from with limited education, options and dreams dictated (albeit, beautiful ones) by this fantastical world he lives in.
hope everyone is well.
I guess I got sick of moving around. I'm still at the same place I've been since I got here. I'm still hanging out with the Brits that I met. We rented scooters today which was a blast. They really don't care much who takes them, give them 300 Baht and you have it for 24 hours. Can't beat the price, the thing is, they'll rent them to people who can't even ride a bike let alone a scooter or motor-bike (small manual but cluchless motorcycle). There is basically one road that wraps around the island yet doesn't quite connect for about 20 km. We only made it about half way, I have to admit being a little nervous. The road is only two lanes, we drive on the left, it's hilly and there are curves everywhere up to 300 degrees at some points. I was careful and never had a moment where I felt I was going to lose it, but I still never really got my confidence up like the young kids in front of me who sped off with nothing to fear.
We rode up to a waterfall together and hiked up a ways. I guess I had seen a smaller, more punctuated waterfall in Korea, but never one that reached such heights. Admittedly, tons of water was not rushing over saturating everything, it was a bit more gentle and all the rocks were worn soft from ages of gentle wear. The pool it fed was cool, much cooler than the ocean water here and I felt relaxed, laying between two rain forest mountains where among the 12 people present I heard no less than 5 languages: French, German, Russian, and of course Thai and English. I have no idea if I'm getting darker, but by the lobster sheen of my skin I'm definitely changing color in some way.
During the course of the nightly party last night someone ran off with my flip flops and left me with identical ones about 3 sizes too small. The only shoes I have here are flip flops and I have to say my feet are a bit worse for wear because of it, the size change didn't help very much. My bungalow is steadily turning into a shallow beach on the inside as it seems no matter how hard one tries it's impossible to remove all the sand from you feet and legs. The mosquito net over my bed seems to be working though, no major bites so that should help with the Malaria risk. Everyone else here has gotten a dozen shots for different things and several Swedes have me feeling paranoid but I feel there isn't much I can do about it at this point except not do anything stupid and stick with the insect repellent.
I might move on tomorrow, not sure, it really depends on how motivated I get, but this place is much like Austin, it sort of sucks you and dismisses the notion of time unlike I've ever known before. People here pretty much don't need clocks, the sun acts as alarm clock and you sleep when you get tired. Even the nights you stay up late you find yourself waking up more refreshed than you would in your home. There are several foreigners working at bars hotels around here, I can see how easily it can be to be sucked into this tropical lifestyle which really is unique unto itself. Even having not visited any other of the worlds tropical places, from what I've read and who I've talked to, the heat and ocean promote an atmosphere different from the rest of civilization. Worries are shed like unneeded sweaters and jackets to the nearest dustbin to hopefully be forgotten about entirely. I don't know how long I could stay here before I would start to feel incredibly guilty that the real world is passing my by outside of these floral gates. Then, I see the 10 year old bus boy, who even if the smile and carelessness in which he carries himself is genuine, makes me sad to think of what he is missing out from with limited education, options and dreams dictated (albeit, beautiful ones) by this fantastical world he lives in.
hope everyone is well.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Ko Chang Beach - Thailand
Well guys, I made it I'm here. I'm doing what I set out to do I guess. As I glance around, I realize I haven't been around this many white people in over a year and I'm not sure how I feel about it, I don't feel like one of them but I'm also a big minority being American. Most people come from Europe or Australia and I've yet to reach that toasty flavor they all have in their skin.
Yesterday I met a couple young brits, 18 to be exact, who are on a round the world holiday before they start college. Really good kids, younger than my sister but they don't seem like it, or maybe she's the same and I don't realize it (very likely). We were on the same bus from Bangkok to That in order to catch a boat to an Island the following morning and started to talk. They had only been traveling for less than a week and were full of questions. We decided to go ahead and try to stick together since we were going to the same place. We found a little guest house that cost 60 Baht, which translates to about 2$. The guest houses here don't seem like hostels in the traditional sense, at least not this one. It was called "Friendly Guesthouse" and was hosted by a small and inviting old man sitting on his porch. Really, it's like they had tacked on a couple small rooms made of cardboard with a fan to invite travelers to. This is a small port town, mainly a layover to get onto the island and not a destination in and of itself. I wandered the streets a bit while Thom and Harriet (yes, Harriet) showered. The walk was a beautiful series of alleyways lit by an occasional palm branch of a fluorescent light. The perriodic rush of a small scooter lighting up the hidden passages and dancing by with kids or adults or combinations of them all on top and alert. To my right Bob Marley beckoned me into a bookstore where french voices overpowered the music. The owner had moved here a couple years ago and decided to open it up, I imagine the 2 year old 1/2 Thai and French little girl had something to do with it as well. I wandered on, discovering numerous other guesthouses with one night stays checking email and drinking beer and even a posh little cafe blaring from a corner with palm branches, full of light and wine glasses. The weather is what you would imagine, tropical, and everyone seems slowed by it in comparison to Bangkok, the streets are wider and less cluttered by cars and taxis. The homes resemble store fronts, and usually are. They welcome the street and the occasional passer by. Mattresses are laid simply on the ground, a tv on the floor provides a hum to what is otherwise are streets that seemed turned off. Wandering through the streets and later sharing a beer with my two companions on the street reminded me of part of why I came here.
So this morning, we awoke and began our journey to the Island Ko Chang. It's the northernmost island in the gulf between Thailand and Cambodia. After being crammed into the back of a modified pick up truck/taxi to the dock, a ferry took us on a slow trip to the island which never seemed very far and seemed not to grow as we approached. From there, another truck taxi for about 45 minutes until we reached the location we had semi-decided on, Lonely Beach. Now 4 of us hopped off having added a brutally serious Swede named Matias (not a typo) on the ferry over who had a couple days before been bitten by a street dog in Bangkok and had to stick around a couple extra days to get the necessary shots.
The housing here, for the backpackers, are small huts or beach bungalows. Some are made of bamboo or wood with thatched roofs. Nicer one on other parts of the island are more heavily constructed of wood and glass and air conditioned. At first I decided to crash with Matias in one of the huts at the end of the beach but found only one bed, no electricity nor fan. Wanting cheap, I needed those two things if only to charge my electronic addictions. I decided to defect to the place the other kids went to next door and pay out the 300 Baht (about 7$) for my own place that has an enclosed outdoor shower and toilet in addition to the fan and electrical outlet. Even though this is insanely cheap, it's actually out of my price range at the moment, In fact, I don't have much a price range, I'm sitting drinking instant coffee while everyone is out socializing and having real drinks because I don't think I can really afford it. I have a tad bit more in the bank, and a little in travelers checks but Japan killed me, largely the 500$ computer repair I had to shell out when my iBook logic board suddenly died. Anyway, I feel so lame talking about money so I'll stop it, it will work itself out.
The water is beautiful, you get waves of slightly cold tickling your feet and warm water massaging the rest of your body. I've never been in this environment, I've never been to Cancun or anywhere in the Caribbean or any of those places people go on spring break or summer holiday with these kinds of waters. It's all so incredibly new for me. I used to joke about not being much of a beach person because so much of my experiences were of tar covered Texas beaches littered with beer cans and jellyfish with showers holding industrial soaps in the showers to scrub off the remnants of oil tanker spills. Here, the sand is postcard powdery soft, coconuts do grow on trees and there are four small islands that seem close enough to swim, one of which might actually be. The water is still only chest deep a hundred yards out and the blue/turquoise color simply doesn't seem real. The meats have all just been grilled over a huge charcoal grill by two performance minded tattooed Thais and are served with pieces of pineapple and a Thai lime pepper sauce. My meal, which was actually more than I needed, cost about 3.50, less than a high school kid spends in the cafeteria. Beer is about a buck a bottle and juice drinks and "backpacker buckets" are popular here which contain a fifth of Thai whisky, a red bull and then topped off with coke, something I haven't indulged in. There must be at least 6 different languages I've heard spoken in addition to another half dozen English accents. So far, I'm the only American.
Each little settlement of cabins has it's own restaurant. The music of choice is chill down-tempo and the one I'm sitting at now has a little dance floor set up for later in the evening. Everyone is sitting on pillows or mats as their food is served. I've seemed to have nabbed the only chair and am sitting in a corner. Things will work out, I can hear the ocean behind me and I should go study some Japanese. Pictures as soon as I can hook up my laptop for a period of time.
__________________________________________________________________
"He had often felt anguish before, and it wold be no wonder if it came at such a moment, when he was preparing , the very next day, having suddenly broken with everything that had drawn him there, to make another sharp turn, entering upon a new, completely unknown path, again quite as lonely as before, having much hope, but not knowing for what, expecting much, too much, from life, but unable himself to define anything either in his expectations or even in his desires."
- Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karmazov
Yesterday I met a couple young brits, 18 to be exact, who are on a round the world holiday before they start college. Really good kids, younger than my sister but they don't seem like it, or maybe she's the same and I don't realize it (very likely). We were on the same bus from Bangkok to That in order to catch a boat to an Island the following morning and started to talk. They had only been traveling for less than a week and were full of questions. We decided to go ahead and try to stick together since we were going to the same place. We found a little guest house that cost 60 Baht, which translates to about 2$. The guest houses here don't seem like hostels in the traditional sense, at least not this one. It was called "Friendly Guesthouse" and was hosted by a small and inviting old man sitting on his porch. Really, it's like they had tacked on a couple small rooms made of cardboard with a fan to invite travelers to. This is a small port town, mainly a layover to get onto the island and not a destination in and of itself. I wandered the streets a bit while Thom and Harriet (yes, Harriet) showered. The walk was a beautiful series of alleyways lit by an occasional palm branch of a fluorescent light. The perriodic rush of a small scooter lighting up the hidden passages and dancing by with kids or adults or combinations of them all on top and alert. To my right Bob Marley beckoned me into a bookstore where french voices overpowered the music. The owner had moved here a couple years ago and decided to open it up, I imagine the 2 year old 1/2 Thai and French little girl had something to do with it as well. I wandered on, discovering numerous other guesthouses with one night stays checking email and drinking beer and even a posh little cafe blaring from a corner with palm branches, full of light and wine glasses. The weather is what you would imagine, tropical, and everyone seems slowed by it in comparison to Bangkok, the streets are wider and less cluttered by cars and taxis. The homes resemble store fronts, and usually are. They welcome the street and the occasional passer by. Mattresses are laid simply on the ground, a tv on the floor provides a hum to what is otherwise are streets that seemed turned off. Wandering through the streets and later sharing a beer with my two companions on the street reminded me of part of why I came here.
So this morning, we awoke and began our journey to the Island Ko Chang. It's the northernmost island in the gulf between Thailand and Cambodia. After being crammed into the back of a modified pick up truck/taxi to the dock, a ferry took us on a slow trip to the island which never seemed very far and seemed not to grow as we approached. From there, another truck taxi for about 45 minutes until we reached the location we had semi-decided on, Lonely Beach. Now 4 of us hopped off having added a brutally serious Swede named Matias (not a typo) on the ferry over who had a couple days before been bitten by a street dog in Bangkok and had to stick around a couple extra days to get the necessary shots.
The housing here, for the backpackers, are small huts or beach bungalows. Some are made of bamboo or wood with thatched roofs. Nicer one on other parts of the island are more heavily constructed of wood and glass and air conditioned. At first I decided to crash with Matias in one of the huts at the end of the beach but found only one bed, no electricity nor fan. Wanting cheap, I needed those two things if only to charge my electronic addictions. I decided to defect to the place the other kids went to next door and pay out the 300 Baht (about 7$) for my own place that has an enclosed outdoor shower and toilet in addition to the fan and electrical outlet. Even though this is insanely cheap, it's actually out of my price range at the moment, In fact, I don't have much a price range, I'm sitting drinking instant coffee while everyone is out socializing and having real drinks because I don't think I can really afford it. I have a tad bit more in the bank, and a little in travelers checks but Japan killed me, largely the 500$ computer repair I had to shell out when my iBook logic board suddenly died. Anyway, I feel so lame talking about money so I'll stop it, it will work itself out.
The water is beautiful, you get waves of slightly cold tickling your feet and warm water massaging the rest of your body. I've never been in this environment, I've never been to Cancun or anywhere in the Caribbean or any of those places people go on spring break or summer holiday with these kinds of waters. It's all so incredibly new for me. I used to joke about not being much of a beach person because so much of my experiences were of tar covered Texas beaches littered with beer cans and jellyfish with showers holding industrial soaps in the showers to scrub off the remnants of oil tanker spills. Here, the sand is postcard powdery soft, coconuts do grow on trees and there are four small islands that seem close enough to swim, one of which might actually be. The water is still only chest deep a hundred yards out and the blue/turquoise color simply doesn't seem real. The meats have all just been grilled over a huge charcoal grill by two performance minded tattooed Thais and are served with pieces of pineapple and a Thai lime pepper sauce. My meal, which was actually more than I needed, cost about 3.50, less than a high school kid spends in the cafeteria. Beer is about a buck a bottle and juice drinks and "backpacker buckets" are popular here which contain a fifth of Thai whisky, a red bull and then topped off with coke, something I haven't indulged in. There must be at least 6 different languages I've heard spoken in addition to another half dozen English accents. So far, I'm the only American.
Each little settlement of cabins has it's own restaurant. The music of choice is chill down-tempo and the one I'm sitting at now has a little dance floor set up for later in the evening. Everyone is sitting on pillows or mats as their food is served. I've seemed to have nabbed the only chair and am sitting in a corner. Things will work out, I can hear the ocean behind me and I should go study some Japanese. Pictures as soon as I can hook up my laptop for a period of time.
__________________________________________________________________
"He had often felt anguish before, and it wold be no wonder if it came at such a moment, when he was preparing , the very next day, having suddenly broken with everything that had drawn him there, to make another sharp turn, entering upon a new, completely unknown path, again quite as lonely as before, having much hope, but not knowing for what, expecting much, too much, from life, but unable himself to define anything either in his expectations or even in his desires."
- Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karmazov
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
One Night in Bangkok
First off, pictures here, descriptions will follow.
As I'm writing this I'm listening to some right-on Thai Hard-Core music. A comp CD I picked up for cheap near the fine arts university. I haven't really listened to stuff like this in a while but I have to say they nailed the sound and I feel like I'm being taken back a few years. I have mixed feelings about Bangkok. In many ways I feel like I'm back in Las Vegas multiplied by 100. There are lots of beautiful things about this place, but there is also a lot of desperation even if it doesn't show through so easily on all the sunned and smiling faces. God, I've only been here a little over a day and I feel like I need to get away. While I was picking up my baggage at the airport I noticed another foreigner looking desperately for his luggage which had not appeared. I asked him where he was staying thinking he might be going to the same place and we could share a cab. Turns out this Brit had just ran away from an unhappy job in Korea and had come over here to relax and look for some temporary work. Well, he hadn't decided where he was going to stay yet and decided to go with me after we located his bags. He had been here before so that made me feel a bit more comfortable going into this all alone. This would be the beginning of a long and unexpected day and night.
The hostel turned out to be fine. I have a small private room but I think I liked the one in Tokyo a bit more if only because the atmosphere was a bit better. I think this is as much a result of the type of people Thailand attracts as opposed to a place like Japan. I also can't bring in my own drinks here like the other place which sort of sucks but I guess I understand since he's trying to run a restaurant out of here as well. Anyway, onto the other stuff.
So we checked in and got cleaned up. The first priority was to find some Thai food which we did and shared a couple glasses of beer and talked about our similar situations and current events involving our two countries and Europe. This guy, Peter, is 30 but looks a bit younger minus his receding hairline. Well, after we ate he thought we should go down to Khaou San Road which is one of the main tourist streets, it also tuns out to be one of the big red light districts as well. I wanted to go down to check out the shops and pick up a pair of flip-flops since my cat had successfully destroyed my last pair. Anyway, I didn't have any objections and having not researched this part of my trip at all had nothing else to offer. It was great getting down there. We first flagged down one of the local buses (for this type there are not bus stops) and jumped on, it was moving before I had a even fully jumped up and there was a kid of about 15 who was half hanging out of the bus the entire time who was in charge of collecting the 4 Baht (@ 11 cents) to get us down to the boat taxis. For lack of a better name, the boat taxis were really interesting. We were both pretty much just playing it by ear and jumped down with all the other commuters. There are plastic sheets hooked up to pull ropes that the nearest passenger pulls on to raise up and block the thoroughly foul water from splashing aboard. The entire time there are 2 or 3 workers standing on the ledge of the boat to help people on and off and collect fare (9 Baht). This is entirely a no frills business and it would be very easy to miss the dock or the boat if you're not careful (I almost did). We transferred once but it was a fun experience, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But, it works, there are several rivers in the city and the boats of whatever sort act as good methods of transportation.
We got off and had to ask around for directions but our path took us past the Democracy monument and some monolithic and busy streets teeming with several types of transportation and hundreds of people. We eventually made it to the street, which I felt sort of mixed about. This was the big street for foreigners, particularly the younger ones. There were bars set up on the street, tons of food stands and lots of flip-flops, just none in my size. Peter stopped for a drink, I wandered a bit. There were bars and restaurants everywhere, some of them looked quite nice. I was entirely confused by the prices coming from three different currencies in the last 72 hours. Before the night was over I'd be a bit more drunk than I was planning on and had spent more than I would have liked without realizing. We bounced around from place to place, trying to hit cheap drinks and eating in between. We finally happened across a small little local bar, meaning that we were the only foreigners there, that attracted me because I heard some rock music blaring inside. Turns out one of the guys hanging out there, a university student studying cinematography, spoke a bit of English. Peter is a very forward fellow and jumped at the opportunity and pretty much invited us to their table. very nice guys though and it definitely turned into the highlight of the evening. We shared some beer (which some Thais drink with ice) and talked about things, Top (his nickname) being pretty critical of his own country. My cowboy hat was a big hit and passed from head to head in out small group. Lots of pictures were taken, many cigarettes smoked and a few stories told. It was a good time and we left feeling a bit high from such a good random experience. Honestly, we should have called it a night there, but feeling freshly invigorated we stopped by a couple more places socializing this time with a couple brits, swedes and Aussies. It was also about this time that I realized Peter had the British affinity of being a bit of an ass when he was drunk, but many people here are so I didn't let it bother me and just gave him shit when I could.
When we left the final bar, I began to see the dirty truth of this place beginning to rear it's head. I mean, the whole night, everyplace on the street, is all about vice, mainly drinking. But it is later in the evening that the sex and desperation starts to wander through the streets from the eyes of the locals and foreigners. Men, many younger than me, walking through the streets shirtless, tanned, overly drunk, looking for their next drink and a girl, usually both. Then, all these beautiful young women who are waiting for them. I still not sure how I feel about it all. On the one hand, prostitution has always existed and probably always will, but the sex industry is probably about as important as all the other tourist industries here and it's not very pretty. While sitting down for a beer on a bench I ended up talking to one who approached me. She was very cute and said she was 21. I told her I wasn't interested but if she had time we could talk. I felt weird interviewing her in a way, but I just wanted to know a bit. Before she left I got a little information, that she was in fact 21, came from a small town a couple hours south of here and was a finance student in university. Her English was not bad but very limited. I gathered that she had initially come up here for school but was trying to make money to help her mother who she seemed to worship. She had older syblings but they had their own families and didn't seem to be able to help. She clammed up when I inquired about her father so I didn't press her on it. I really wanted to know how she ended up doing what she was doing but I felt awkward going into that and how she felt about it. She ended up having to leave but I couldn't stop thinking about her situation and feeling for her. All the restaurants here have many people working, often too many and all the food and drink is cheap so I can't imagine that these people see very much of the money, in fact I know they don't. I know cost of living here is very low, but it's obvious that these people can't make very much money to lift them out of their situations. With that consideration, it is easy to see how women fall into that life where they can likely make several hundred percent more than with other type of employment. But god it's sad. Like I said, it's not that I think prostitution in itself is evil, it's not good but it will always exist and it might even serve a purpose in that it allows some men to have a release sexually. But, it shouldn't be the only option. It's depressing to see all these kids on holiday here in this adult amusement park choosing to ignore its realities in place of their desires. I just couldn't separate the two as I walked through the streets thinking of how I was going to get back to my hostel. It seemed to me like a very simple and beginning solution could be for all the restaurants and bars to band together and raise their prices a slight bit. It would still be incredibly cheap comparably, but possibly make those kind of jobs more desirable. At the same time, they might not be able to afford to take on any more workers as most already created additional jobs, like the guy at one place whose entire duty was to track the sign up sheet for the pool table and let people know when it was their turn.
I don't know, I have to think about it more. I'm hoping to get out of here tomorrow at some point and make it down to an island for some long wanted privacy and swimming. I'll be digesting this place for quite a while to come, and I'm sure that I'll write more about it.
As I'm writing this I'm listening to some right-on Thai Hard-Core music. A comp CD I picked up for cheap near the fine arts university. I haven't really listened to stuff like this in a while but I have to say they nailed the sound and I feel like I'm being taken back a few years. I have mixed feelings about Bangkok. In many ways I feel like I'm back in Las Vegas multiplied by 100. There are lots of beautiful things about this place, but there is also a lot of desperation even if it doesn't show through so easily on all the sunned and smiling faces. God, I've only been here a little over a day and I feel like I need to get away. While I was picking up my baggage at the airport I noticed another foreigner looking desperately for his luggage which had not appeared. I asked him where he was staying thinking he might be going to the same place and we could share a cab. Turns out this Brit had just ran away from an unhappy job in Korea and had come over here to relax and look for some temporary work. Well, he hadn't decided where he was going to stay yet and decided to go with me after we located his bags. He had been here before so that made me feel a bit more comfortable going into this all alone. This would be the beginning of a long and unexpected day and night.
The hostel turned out to be fine. I have a small private room but I think I liked the one in Tokyo a bit more if only because the atmosphere was a bit better. I think this is as much a result of the type of people Thailand attracts as opposed to a place like Japan. I also can't bring in my own drinks here like the other place which sort of sucks but I guess I understand since he's trying to run a restaurant out of here as well. Anyway, onto the other stuff.
So we checked in and got cleaned up. The first priority was to find some Thai food which we did and shared a couple glasses of beer and talked about our similar situations and current events involving our two countries and Europe. This guy, Peter, is 30 but looks a bit younger minus his receding hairline. Well, after we ate he thought we should go down to Khaou San Road which is one of the main tourist streets, it also tuns out to be one of the big red light districts as well. I wanted to go down to check out the shops and pick up a pair of flip-flops since my cat had successfully destroyed my last pair. Anyway, I didn't have any objections and having not researched this part of my trip at all had nothing else to offer. It was great getting down there. We first flagged down one of the local buses (for this type there are not bus stops) and jumped on, it was moving before I had a even fully jumped up and there was a kid of about 15 who was half hanging out of the bus the entire time who was in charge of collecting the 4 Baht (@ 11 cents) to get us down to the boat taxis. For lack of a better name, the boat taxis were really interesting. We were both pretty much just playing it by ear and jumped down with all the other commuters. There are plastic sheets hooked up to pull ropes that the nearest passenger pulls on to raise up and block the thoroughly foul water from splashing aboard. The entire time there are 2 or 3 workers standing on the ledge of the boat to help people on and off and collect fare (9 Baht). This is entirely a no frills business and it would be very easy to miss the dock or the boat if you're not careful (I almost did). We transferred once but it was a fun experience, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But, it works, there are several rivers in the city and the boats of whatever sort act as good methods of transportation.
We got off and had to ask around for directions but our path took us past the Democracy monument and some monolithic and busy streets teeming with several types of transportation and hundreds of people. We eventually made it to the street, which I felt sort of mixed about. This was the big street for foreigners, particularly the younger ones. There were bars set up on the street, tons of food stands and lots of flip-flops, just none in my size. Peter stopped for a drink, I wandered a bit. There were bars and restaurants everywhere, some of them looked quite nice. I was entirely confused by the prices coming from three different currencies in the last 72 hours. Before the night was over I'd be a bit more drunk than I was planning on and had spent more than I would have liked without realizing. We bounced around from place to place, trying to hit cheap drinks and eating in between. We finally happened across a small little local bar, meaning that we were the only foreigners there, that attracted me because I heard some rock music blaring inside. Turns out one of the guys hanging out there, a university student studying cinematography, spoke a bit of English. Peter is a very forward fellow and jumped at the opportunity and pretty much invited us to their table. very nice guys though and it definitely turned into the highlight of the evening. We shared some beer (which some Thais drink with ice) and talked about things, Top (his nickname) being pretty critical of his own country. My cowboy hat was a big hit and passed from head to head in out small group. Lots of pictures were taken, many cigarettes smoked and a few stories told. It was a good time and we left feeling a bit high from such a good random experience. Honestly, we should have called it a night there, but feeling freshly invigorated we stopped by a couple more places socializing this time with a couple brits, swedes and Aussies. It was also about this time that I realized Peter had the British affinity of being a bit of an ass when he was drunk, but many people here are so I didn't let it bother me and just gave him shit when I could.
When we left the final bar, I began to see the dirty truth of this place beginning to rear it's head. I mean, the whole night, everyplace on the street, is all about vice, mainly drinking. But it is later in the evening that the sex and desperation starts to wander through the streets from the eyes of the locals and foreigners. Men, many younger than me, walking through the streets shirtless, tanned, overly drunk, looking for their next drink and a girl, usually both. Then, all these beautiful young women who are waiting for them. I still not sure how I feel about it all. On the one hand, prostitution has always existed and probably always will, but the sex industry is probably about as important as all the other tourist industries here and it's not very pretty. While sitting down for a beer on a bench I ended up talking to one who approached me. She was very cute and said she was 21. I told her I wasn't interested but if she had time we could talk. I felt weird interviewing her in a way, but I just wanted to know a bit. Before she left I got a little information, that she was in fact 21, came from a small town a couple hours south of here and was a finance student in university. Her English was not bad but very limited. I gathered that she had initially come up here for school but was trying to make money to help her mother who she seemed to worship. She had older syblings but they had their own families and didn't seem to be able to help. She clammed up when I inquired about her father so I didn't press her on it. I really wanted to know how she ended up doing what she was doing but I felt awkward going into that and how she felt about it. She ended up having to leave but I couldn't stop thinking about her situation and feeling for her. All the restaurants here have many people working, often too many and all the food and drink is cheap so I can't imagine that these people see very much of the money, in fact I know they don't. I know cost of living here is very low, but it's obvious that these people can't make very much money to lift them out of their situations. With that consideration, it is easy to see how women fall into that life where they can likely make several hundred percent more than with other type of employment. But god it's sad. Like I said, it's not that I think prostitution in itself is evil, it's not good but it will always exist and it might even serve a purpose in that it allows some men to have a release sexually. But, it shouldn't be the only option. It's depressing to see all these kids on holiday here in this adult amusement park choosing to ignore its realities in place of their desires. I just couldn't separate the two as I walked through the streets thinking of how I was going to get back to my hostel. It seemed to me like a very simple and beginning solution could be for all the restaurants and bars to band together and raise their prices a slight bit. It would still be incredibly cheap comparably, but possibly make those kind of jobs more desirable. At the same time, they might not be able to afford to take on any more workers as most already created additional jobs, like the guy at one place whose entire duty was to track the sign up sheet for the pool table and let people know when it was their turn.
I don't know, I have to think about it more. I'm hoping to get out of here tomorrow at some point and make it down to an island for some long wanted privacy and swimming. I'll be digesting this place for quite a while to come, and I'm sure that I'll write more about it.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Punk Rock Night Out in Tokyo
This will be short too because it's late. I just haven't had the free time to sit down and write So I wanted to check out some music and that is what I got. There is a Canadian and an Aussie staying here at the hostel who found out about a show and wrote me out a map. We got there about 1/2 way through and walked down into the basement bar/club into a scene that was completely familiar, if not a bit cleaner. This crowd was decked out straight out of '79. Everyone was friendly if not a bit curious about how the foreigners who happened into the place. Just to give you an idea about cost, this show cost 20 bucks to get into even if it did give you a free beer. The music was straight punk, not scream-core or anything new, but everything was played well and the energy was amazing. The whole thing reminded me of a day back at the Blue Flamingo but everyone was dressed like Punk Rock Jason but with even more difficult and creative haircuts. My favorite was the girl with the fushia mane of a mohawk falling the leapord print, shaved sides of her head. Very nice and spoke good english, unfortunately the picts didn't turn out as well as I would have liked.
After the show ended we hiked back up the stairs lined with no less than 12 guys handing out flyers to various shows. Great experience which I hope to have more of in the future. Anyway, for those of you interested, pictures can be found HERE.
More soon, more picts too.
PICTURES!!!
After the show ended we hiked back up the stairs lined with no less than 12 guys handing out flyers to various shows. Great experience which I hope to have more of in the future. Anyway, for those of you interested, pictures can be found HERE.
More soon, more picts too.
PICTURES!!!
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Northen Japan picts
Hey, I'm too tired to write but here are some picts from Northern Japan. I'll write details soon.
Northern Japan
-c.
Northern Japan
-c.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
it's almost over
Oh my god. I have only 1 teaching day left and I forgot to mark a huge X through the last couple of days on my calendar. This is a mixture of both how busy I've been and how the unexpected anxiety of leaving. Today I've received cards written from 10 year olds in extremely broken but guided English, a possible taker for my lovely cat Zoe, and a great dinner with my favorite student Belle, courtesy of her family, which gave me the rare opportunity to share a bottle of wine and European travel experiences with a 15 year old.
The last aspect was the best. Not only for what a beautiful young women this person is, but also for the realization of how old I've become (no negative connotations here). I think of my beloved Trishelle and Sherita who discovered me lingering, where was it? Somewhere, maybe at Brazils or at a bar in downtown Houston that I would slink into to enjoy the music of DJ Sun and the occasional jazz line up. I was 16, wait, I remember everything now. It was at a Tears for Fears concert (no jokes please, Songs From the Big Chair still rocks), I was 16 and my best friend Joel drove us down to the show. Hell, it was probably even a school night, what rebels! Not hardly, at least me anyway. We waited after the show to try and meet Roland, who was the only original member in the band at the time, and these two girls were there doing the same thing. Roland gave a quick wave and jumped into the tour bus, Olivia Adams, the backup singer was kind enough to talk to us for a minute and give us an autograph. Regardless, waiting in line at that time gave us an introduction to a couple of older kids who I still keep in contact with (at least one now, the other is married). They both were like older sisters to me. We became friends, turned each other onto different music (more them to me than the other way around). And for a brief moment tonight I felt myself like I might be able to be that for someone else. I remember the first (and only time during those years) that I tried a real drink. I was recently in love with the image of a Martini. The atmosphere of a couple jazz musicians and Solstice added to the moment and allowed me to hide my loathing of alcohol in this place where no one new me from my home. Trish felt the same so we ordered a drink to share. You can imagine the shock of a non-drinkers first sip of a Gin Martini, immediate disgust and the image of a barely touched drink left to die on a bar counter as she felt the same way. Who would have guessed that it would have turned into one of my favorite drinks that I crave here but can't find. Alas, time flies.
The point is, that although there are many students who deem me the "mean" teacher (or more commonly the monkey/gorilla) because I give a lot of work and demand a lot, that somewhere, somehow, I managed to touch a couple of them and that they will continue to remember me. God knows that I've not always been the best teacher in this first year, but I've learned a lot and with every passing week have tried to be more affective and funny in my approach. I'm going to miss a lot of them. I feel like I'm running out on them right when I might be able to help them the most. I mean, this is not regular school and sure as hell not university where teachers can change your life forever, but I think there are times when I've helped some kids over the one of the largest hurdles in language, the inhibition of speaking. I've definitely not been 100% successful, but enough to feel like I've accomplished something. Tonight, having one of my favorite students, the one I used to refer to as my 15 year-old friday night date (when we used to have a "free-talking" class with only 2 students for 3 hours), take me out to dinner and talking to her like a friend, or at least an older brother, made me realize that leaving is going to have more of an effect on me than I realized.
I'll part now, I feel like I'm being sentimental. The world awaits.
And I'm going to miss Minnie much more than I expected....
Music: Bright Eyes, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
The last aspect was the best. Not only for what a beautiful young women this person is, but also for the realization of how old I've become (no negative connotations here). I think of my beloved Trishelle and Sherita who discovered me lingering, where was it? Somewhere, maybe at Brazils or at a bar in downtown Houston that I would slink into to enjoy the music of DJ Sun and the occasional jazz line up. I was 16, wait, I remember everything now. It was at a Tears for Fears concert (no jokes please, Songs From the Big Chair still rocks), I was 16 and my best friend Joel drove us down to the show. Hell, it was probably even a school night, what rebels! Not hardly, at least me anyway. We waited after the show to try and meet Roland, who was the only original member in the band at the time, and these two girls were there doing the same thing. Roland gave a quick wave and jumped into the tour bus, Olivia Adams, the backup singer was kind enough to talk to us for a minute and give us an autograph. Regardless, waiting in line at that time gave us an introduction to a couple of older kids who I still keep in contact with (at least one now, the other is married). They both were like older sisters to me. We became friends, turned each other onto different music (more them to me than the other way around). And for a brief moment tonight I felt myself like I might be able to be that for someone else. I remember the first (and only time during those years) that I tried a real drink. I was recently in love with the image of a Martini. The atmosphere of a couple jazz musicians and Solstice added to the moment and allowed me to hide my loathing of alcohol in this place where no one new me from my home. Trish felt the same so we ordered a drink to share. You can imagine the shock of a non-drinkers first sip of a Gin Martini, immediate disgust and the image of a barely touched drink left to die on a bar counter as she felt the same way. Who would have guessed that it would have turned into one of my favorite drinks that I crave here but can't find. Alas, time flies.
The point is, that although there are many students who deem me the "mean" teacher (or more commonly the monkey/gorilla) because I give a lot of work and demand a lot, that somewhere, somehow, I managed to touch a couple of them and that they will continue to remember me. God knows that I've not always been the best teacher in this first year, but I've learned a lot and with every passing week have tried to be more affective and funny in my approach. I'm going to miss a lot of them. I feel like I'm running out on them right when I might be able to help them the most. I mean, this is not regular school and sure as hell not university where teachers can change your life forever, but I think there are times when I've helped some kids over the one of the largest hurdles in language, the inhibition of speaking. I've definitely not been 100% successful, but enough to feel like I've accomplished something. Tonight, having one of my favorite students, the one I used to refer to as my 15 year-old friday night date (when we used to have a "free-talking" class with only 2 students for 3 hours), take me out to dinner and talking to her like a friend, or at least an older brother, made me realize that leaving is going to have more of an effect on me than I realized.
I'll part now, I feel like I'm being sentimental. The world awaits.
And I'm going to miss Minnie much more than I expected....
Music: Bright Eyes, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
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