Songkran in Bangkok

When we last talked, I was staying in Tailek's house, and mentioned something about a water fight. Now I have pictures to prove it.
This is Tailek (with Bee). He's not super happy about people rubbing clay on his face, but he's at that age where the horrible tribulations of daily life reduce you to tears for a minute, but then you find something new and wonderful to play with. Like a fork. (No one would let him play with those for long. He's got a rough life.) Tailek really liked that hose. This was a problem, because the water barrel kept running low, and we needed to throw water on people. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
For myself and many others, the festival began on Tuesday night on Khao San Road. Normally, this is a touristy street, full of bars, Western food, and backpackers. On this particular night, however, several anxious young Thais gathered to start Songkran. Most of the farangs (foreigners) joined in, although a few were only arriving, and (judging by their lack of waterproofing) hadn't gotten the memo that everything was subject to inundation. My fellow couchsurfers and I armed ourselves with water guns and entered the fray.
The cavalry.
Your typical Thai troop.
I love this guy.
Having a camera WILL NOT keep people from shooting you. A waterproof camera is necessary.
I don't know where this girl was getting her water, but she refilled roughly 80x faster than we did. As we were there, helplessly out of water, she demolished us.

For the next three days, I used a ziplock bag to hold my phone and money. We were staying in a Thai neighborhood, so the festivities were in full swing from the morning to dusk. Everyone got involved, from the youngest kids to the grandparents. We threw water, which symbolizes cleaning and renewal. Many also spread clay on people's faces, which I'm told wards off evil spirits. Some choose to take it up a level, adding ice to the water and tiger balm to the clay. The motos, tuk-tuks, and pickup trucks often circle the block. And even at 10 pm, when the streets are mostly quiet, someone may walk up behind you with a bowl of water to dump down your back.
We set up in front of Tailek's house with a barrel, a hose, buckets, and water guns. In fact, over half the houses on the street were set up with a barrel, a hose, buckets, and water guns. You couldn't make it to the corner dry. A few places set up snacks, beverages, and stereos. And it stayed like that for three days. And forget driving down Khao San Road. Even if it hadn't been closed to cars, there were so many people shooting (iced) water that driving would have been impossible.
For my money, a pickup's the best way to see Songkran.
Adorable. Don't you want to just sling a few liters at them?
This is why you couldn't pay me to ride a moto during Songkran.
Heavy battle.
Pulling out all the stops.
Water from multiple directions.
Matias, Céline, and Petr, with the older couple from across the street. They also danced together, and I later saw Céline teaching the woman how to use her water gun.
Tuk-tuk wheelie. Yeah, it's THAT kind of party.
Petr and his Thai friend, cutting a rug.
Bangkok's finest, hard at work near Khao San Road.
The nights were filled with amazing food. Bee is a great cook, and she's learning how to bake. Ovens aren't popular in most of Asia, so things like homemade banana bread and cookies are a new and wonderful challenge to Bee. Eating them is not too painful either. As seen above, she can cook almost anything. Our Turkish friend Meltem also cooked an amazing meal one night. My day there, Bee decided she wanted a massage. So she called up some friends, and a little after midnight, they turned the living room into a massage parlor. Two hours, 300 baht. That's ten US dollars. Go ahead. Be jealous.
Unfortunately, every New Year celebration must come to an end. I should know, I've seen three come and go already this year. On Saturday it became safe to walk outside with electronics, and on Sunday I caught the early train to the border. The train was less than two dollars, and the truck to the border crossing was less than a dollar. Then, to get from the border to Phnom Penh, I took my first shared taxi to Battambang. I shared the front seat with someone half the way, but still managed to sleep through most of it. The cost? $10 (300 baht). Then I caught the night bus to PP for $11. The moral of the story? It's easier to leave a country after a major festival than to enter one. Also, overland travel in southeast Asia is inherently challenging.
I'll leave you with a short video, to give you an idea about what it's like to take a moto or tuk-tuk during Songkran. Enjoy!

BKK 1

So I'm taking a break from Songkran to compare Bangkok and Phnom Penh. I can't tell you about Songkran because it's not over, but I'll have some photos and a video for sure. I'll just leave you to debate, which is better, Songkran or Halloween?
I spent the first night at a cheap hostel. Boring, but that's what a 15 hour bus ride will do to you. The next afternoon, I went to Tailek's house.
Tailek is about 15 months old. His mom is Bee, from Thailand, and his dad is Scott, from Utah. They have opened their house up to almost anyone. I think there are about ten couchsurfers here at the moment. I've been out with two lovely Swiss girls, an American working in Geneva, a slew of other Europeans (a Czech, a few Germans, a Brit, and maybe someone else?), and an Israeli girl living in Canada, just to shake things up. Tailek's interesting, and only cries sometimes when I play with him.
It's been a blast. We went out with Bee to explore some of the finer points of Bangkok nightlife (I've been missing that much neon since I left China), and the owner of the coffee shop and Halal restaurant remembers me, as I've been there three days in a row now. Also, his name is James too, and he's spent some time in Cambodia (I get to show off my three Khmer sentences!). We went to Chinatown last night, then to Khao San Road. Something about Sangkran... but that's a whole post unto itself.
I like the city. It's bigger than anywhere I could see myself settling in (six times the size of Phnom Penh), but it's a nice change of pace. It's also much greener. Some of that is the climate, but I'm sure they're also growing and watering more. I've missed Thai food and night markets too. Bee's going to teach me a little about cooking. The CSers are going out every night, and right now I'm going to try to take a nap (which will be hard with the festival raging outside). And there seems to be a water fight somewhere... I'll try to get some pictures.
Happy Buddhist New Year!!!! Don't leave house without a plastic bag!!!

Happy birthday!

Last Thursday, I stumbled across a birthday party, quite by mistake. I went out to eat with some friends, and we realized the restaurant was quite crowded. After some time, they asked us to come inside to sing "Happy Birthday" with them. What do you do when asked such a thing? If your answer was anything less than enthusiastic, we need to talk about your sense of adventure.
So in we went. There were about forty of us, and almost everyone had sparklers. I never figured out whose birthday it was, mostly because at the end of the song the Khmer enjoy silly string. A lot. Sometimes in your face. Fun fact: you know when a can of silly string is almost dead and is half liquid, half sputtering bits? If that hits you square in the eye, it doesn't really hurt. Also, if you go to the store after, the security guard will remind you of the silly string you've left in your hair.
If I'd had my camera, I'd post pictures. These things never happen when you bring your camera. Or maybe they would, if I ever brought mine out. If I had, I'd also have bat picture. There were dozens in the intersection in front of that store. I'll go back this week and snap a few.
Aside from that, I'm just getting ready for the Buddhist New Year. Payday is tomorrow, and then I'll decide where I'll be running off to. Thailand for the water festival? Could be a plan. I'll keep you posted!

Early rains

It's been raining a little here. By a little, I mean for short intervals, but sometimes with great intensity. For the first hard rain, two nights ago, I was finishing a homemade curry. Emily and Erica, my Canadian friends, went to a cooking class with me a few weeks back. It was lackluster, but then I discovered that I have at my disposal a pestle and mortar. So, armed with said class in our distant memories, we descended upon my kitchen. Mostly the girls, as I was almost an hour late. (I was on the other side of the Mekong from the truck that was taking me home. It happens.) It was a huge hit, and the roommates and other friends said it was good and that I made it too spicy. It was a really great night Sunday night.
Monday was the rain I mentioned. I was finishing of the curry, and ate it on the balcony in our hammock, watching the storm. It was a peaceful way to get ready for bed. Today, however, was a different story. The rain hit in the afternoon, fairly hard, as I was biking to work. Have you ever taught a class with wet socks? It leads to a short class.
Then, later tonight, we went out for Erica's birthday. The rain on the way there was light, but I was on the back of a motodup, with a driver who was not happy with me. But the hard rain fell during the dinner (fresh quail and quail eggs). I have a short video where you can hopefully see the wind and how rainy it was.



I'll try to get some more pictures up soon.
Also, I'll try to post more. I've started doing a quiz night (we took first my first week, and last this week). I met an "African Chief" on St. Patrick's Day, and drank a wonderful green mint-lime smoothie. I'm finishing my public speaking class, and starting a culture class (I'm not sure what qualifies me for either, but I've never let a lack of credentials stop me before). I'm sure I'm forgetting some wonderful stuff, but the point is that I'm having an absolute blast. In other words, I'm in the right place for me right now.

Settled In

I've been teaching for two weeks now. It's a lot less exciting than it was two weeks ago, but I am glad to be working again. Also, the money will be nice. I'm teaching 15 hours now, including 6 on Tuesday and 6 on Thursday. I have a thirty minute break. It's quite a day, but it's the same class four times. I'll have the two new classes caught up in a week or two, and then it'll be the same lesson plan.
I've also been battling my computer quite a bit. A shop reinstalled Windows for me for $15, and saved all my files (yay for not losing my pictures!). A few days later a friend installed Linux for me. It was a bad plan, but I'm getting better at it. Don't worry, in a week or two I'll just throw the thing into the open sewer. I apologize in advance for what this will do to my contact with you. Anyway, knock on wood, it seems to be working more smoothly. I'll tell you if I ever get Skype running.
Life is becoming normal. I don't worry about dying on my bike constantly. I'm learning (slowly) who to buy from at the market for the best prices. I'm finding good restaurants, and I got that bank account I mentioned. I still don't speak Khmer, but I'm starting to pick up a few words in French. I've accepted that I'll speak better French than Khmer when I leave here. So maybe I'll move to Morocco. They speak French there, when they're not speaking Arabic. Party in Tangier, anyone? (It's that or Istanbul, I think.)
Speaking of Africa, I do want to mention how excited I am about what's going on in the Arab world right now. I'm a fan of reform, and I hope that the region is a better place when the dust settles.
Okay, I'm going to go experiment with the idea of left-over dumplings. Cross your fingers and hope they're not too soggy!

Part-time Phnom Penh Professional

Yes, it's true! I have a job! It's six whole hours a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 8:30. We can call this part-time job #1, and the job hunt will continue (at an equally leisurely pace) until I have a full-time schedule (and yes, "full-time" is a relative term).
Aside from that, there's nothing much going on. I'm extending my visa today, which means I've almost been her a month. I'm also picking up my ID badge from the university (Pannasastra), and probably opening a bank account. It's giving me that wonderful feeling of residing here, getting settled. I've also been riding a bicycle around. So, in summation, the things that make me feel like I live here and I'm not still traveling: apartment, job, renewed visa, transportation, job, local phone number, friends. Also, the parking guy at Top Banana recognizes me. It's important to have a bar you go to too often, right?
Also, I've discovered hashing. http://www.p2h3.com/ It's basically jogging, with the added bonus of false trails and no shade. Also, after you're supposed to drink beer for various reasons. If you explain that you can't drink beer ("on medication"), they make you chug a strawberry Fanta. It's probably worse. The course was about 10 kilometers (6 miles), but when you factor in getting lost it's about 1-2 km longer. If you're not sleeping well, that should help. Also, you get to ride to the course (usually just outside of town) on the back of a flatbed truck with 20-30 other hashers, Cambodian style. I highly recommend it as part of the Cambodian experience.
Okay, I'm off to run errands, like an adult! Bye!

I just had a peanut butter banana sandwich. Jealous? You should be.
So, I have an apartment now. It's three bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, 4 baths (although one has a washing machine in it), and a huge living room which has been divided into two bedrooms. Guess where I sleep? In the living room, in a king size bed, on the other side of the curtain from Ranie. She's French, as are Sophie and Mathilde. Christian has the third bedroom, and he's Haitian and speaks the best English of the four. They're studying here through a French university, and they each have an internship/job working with a local business. They also all speak some Khmer, which is nice. I'll be speaking French and Khmer in no time. Okay, probably not French. Even if I study French for the six months that I live here, their English will still be better. But with a little luck, I'll pick up something, because isn't it great to have an extra language bouncing around in your head?
So, as my roommates have been at school and work, I've been (slowly) searching for a job myself. I'm getting more serious. I own a necktie now. I promise I'll take some pics and put them up soon, because I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I even remember how to tie it. I should have something concrete on that front in the next week. Hopefully not so soon.
This may beg the question of how long I'll be here in Phnom Penh. Good question. I've promised the roommates six months, barring an inexplicable inability to land a teaching job. Even then, I could probably find something with an NGO. That puts me here through July. After then, I have no idea. I may stay through the end of the year, and I may head west. How far west, you may ask? Man, you ask a lot of difficult questions. No further west than the Gambia, where I plan to spend some time with Casey around next January. So what's in between here and the Gam? Turkey, Morocco, southeastern Europe (Romania maybe?), and India, to name a few. And Egypt, if no one in Iran is hiring. (insert rim shot here.) In other words, don't worry about getting me a birthday present, because I can't tell you what country I'll be in, but it won't be the States. Plans after the trip to the Gambia? I was lectured at length this morning about how "plan" is a four-letter word.
Now that we know each other a little better, I should mention that I miss you. I really do. I'm not avoiding you because I don't like you. There are things that I am avoiding (e.g. everything involved in the popularity of Sarah Palin), but you're not one of them. But that's not my real motivation. And it's not about pure travel and passport stamps and photos of famous places. It's not about the fact that they pay crazy money here for English teachers (by local standards of course). I've been sitting here for half an hour trying to put my finger on it, and I can't. I just know that I have to spend some time abroad now. So we should skype!
Okay, it's dinner time. The food here is great, but I question the cleanliness sometimes. Mostly because I keep eating street food. I still haven't tried any insects, but like chicken feet, it's only a matter of time. And when I do, I'm sure I'll come bragging. With a little luck, I'll get to the point where it's something that I'm not even disgusted by anymore. Like congealed blood: I never order it, but when it came in the soup yesterday I enjoyed it. Times change, I guess.