happy holiday season, everyone

Phnom Penh

Following Angkor Wat, we spend the weekend in Cambodia. It happened to coincide with the annual Water Festival, and two million other Cambodians arrived in town as well. As many may know, there was a devastating tragedy on Monday. I don't know any more than what I read in the press, as we left on Sunday. Phnom Penh was a mix of fun and sad.
While still in Siem Reap, I was able to witness the preparation for the Water Festival. Groups of people practiced competitive rowing in long boats on lovely Siem Reap river.
And the big races on the Tonle Sap river in Phnom Penh.

Tuk-tuk drivers patiently waiting...

The festival gets going at night.

And fireworks and floats for everyone to gaze at.

The following day we went to the Genocide museum in a former school-turned-prison. The Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979 is an atrocity on the largest scale, and unfortunately frequently absent from western history curriculum. (Or at least mentioned perfunctorily.) Under the leader Pol Pot, 2 million Cambodians were brutally murdered. Seeing the museum, as well as the killing fields (one of the major sites where the executions were perpetrated), was a chilling experience. It has taken Cambodia a while to recover and reflect on its history, but the root of strong memorials are now present.
Back to my original comment that Phnom Penh is both exciting and depressing: the many troubles (economic, political) of the country are well-known. Touts and begging are a frequent experience, something far less common in Thailand. The exploitation of children in these operations was very visible, especially around Angkor Wat. Corruption is extensive here. The first time I experienced blatant solicitation of a bribe was when crossing the border into the Cambodian town of Poipet. Nevertheless, people are super friendly and seem to enjoy life despite the hardships. Poverty and tourism are bound to cause some uncomfortable friction, but people are able to get along with dignity in Cambodia.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat in Cambodia must be seen to be believed. It is vast and intricate. Experts believe it to be the largest existing religious structure in the world.
Because I had to renew my visa, I decided to travel to Cambodia. After a long, dusty and beautiful overland journey, I arrived in the town of Siem Reap. Most of the temples at Angkor Wat are within biking distance, so the following morning I rented a bike and spent the day cruising in and between the temples.
A brief history: The structures were built over the course of a few centuries, starting around 800 AD. This golden age of the Khmer (main ethnicity of Cambodia) Empire coincided with the adaptation of the Hindu belief system, and the sculpture, architecture and reliefs feature Hindu beliefs. The scale of these ruins alone is astounding, but what is even more amazing is how detailed all the surfaces are. They iconography continues as far as the eye can see.
Tha Prohm, where nature has reclaimed great amounts of the structures. In some cases now, the trees are structurally integral to the temples.

A misguided attempt to find the large artificial reservoir that has served the community for over a millennium. This portion of the bike ride did turn into an insightful and comic adventure, with several "guides" who biked along side me and chit-chatted, great glimpses into rural Cambodian life, and basking in the excitement generated by a white man biking through their hood (in the form of endless "HELLO!")

The real highlight came at Bayon, a part of the Angkor Thom complex, when the skies parted and an afternoon downpour trapped several tourists in the ruins. The mood added to the ruins, and it was fun and memorable to wander around endless hallways and corners while trying to avoid the rain.

dancing furries

and the mall folk who love them.
Off to Cambodia for the week: Angkor War and Phnom Penh!

animals

While I generally abide by most of TLC's edicts, I have chosen to spend considerable time in Thailand in pursuit of waterfalls. Here is another great series of falls, Khao Chamao. These falls were rife with wildlife, including:
a. many fish who aren't afraid to nibble your legs

b. toad
c. ants
d. spooky spider
e. butterfly

our Soi, pt. 2

Bangkok is a coffee city. Whether Thai style, with an intense amount of condensed milk, cream and sugar
or modern.
This is Wawee Coffee, one of the first places I frequented on our Soi. Since seventh grade I have yearned for a Central Perk of my own, and my ship has finally come in. How cool is it? Lets just note that your coffeeshop probably doesn't have a koi pond, and move on.
Bangkok is actually so coffee-fueled that many businesses are hybrid coffee shops. Credit card signup location / coffee shop. Language school / coffeeshop. And so on.
Another integral part of the Soi is the fruit vendor cart. Typical carts have four fruits: pineapple, watermelon, papaya and guava.
All are highly delicious.

Pop Culture Circadian Rhythm

Being halfway around the world from 90% of the pop culture I consume changes my daily flow a little bit. Its no secret that I am an unabashed pop culture junkie. Most American shows are a season or two behind here, and ultimately it is not worth paying $40 on iTunes to watch the current season of 30 Rock of The Office. So I have readjusted around some new entertainment. Here's a rundown of the television I watch.
1. The Biggest Loser Asia. Same as the American version, but with a contingent of contestants from anglophone Southeast Asia. One contestant is named Genghis Khan (from The Philippines, inexplicably). My fave, a Malaysian woman named Shakira, just got voted off this week. I have a couple problems with the Biggest Loser franchise. First is that the show is extremely repetitive. I'll admit that the first episode I ever saw was interesting and even inspirational, but after subsequent viewings I realized that basically the same thing happens in every episode. Secondly, the format is needlessly slavish to the reality paradigm. It is completely unnecessary and cruel to vote contestants off on each episode. Isn't there enough drama in achieving life-changing weight loss? Doesn't the viewer root for all the contestants to succeed? Eliminations are not interesting or , it is sad to see someone arbitrarily denied such a unique opportunity. The third grievance is trivial; for all its virtues, BL Asia's use of the metric system makes for less variance in weight loss statistics. Contestants are pretty much limited to a loss of one, two or three kg., the range of pounds makes for better TV.
2. The Amazing Race Asia. TAR is a reality show I appreciate in concept but find pretty dull - its like, here you are at the Sphinx, mysterious and remarkable benchmark of human civilization. Now, jump on these pogo sticks while getting in petty arguments that, although unintelligible to the viewer, will vaguely remind them of some family vacation moments. Again, a collection of anglophone southeast Asians, in this case traipsing about Asia performing menial tasks.
3. Recycled American shows. The Diva Channel shows old Top Chef episodes on a one per day cycle. Whenever Maki comes home, I am inevitably guiltily caught watching Top Chef. There are also many movies to choose from.

Happy Halloween

from Silom Soi 4.
# of different colors that pitchers of Kamikaze come in: 5
# of versions of Bad Romance played: 3
# of mysterious men in monster mask whose behavior was quite fresh: 1

Japan pt. 3: Koya-san and Kyoto

Here are some pictures from two-day trips made via train from Osaka. First is Kyoto. This was the city I was most excited to visit, due to the sheer number of old temples and architecture dating back to the feudal era. I had to teach Japan to my world history freshmen, and it usually ended up being a one or two day cursory lesson on the feudal social structure with a comparison to medieval Europe. To actually see and walk among these structures brings the history alive. Also, Kyoto is famed for having many Japanese-style gardens. I am obsessed with these types of gardens. I think they have replaced the pool table as the unrealistic fantasy feature that my future house must have. I was not disappointed by the gardens of Kyoto. Curiously, the temples dot the outside of the modern city bowl (surrounded by mountains on three sides) making them somewhat difficult to reach.


The other trip was to Koya-san, founding center of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. It lies on a table between eight mountains, and was one of the most ethereal and green places I have ever experienced. The highlight was the Oku-no-in cemetary a huge tract of forest with paths winding between cedar trees and moss-covered gravestones. This is one instance where the photos truly do not capture the atmosphere of the place.

Japan, pt. 2: Osaka

Osaka is Japan's second largest city. Like Tokyo, the residents are very stylish. It was in Osaka when I noticed that everyone here always looks pretty impeccable. Clothing is tailored very well here, and fits people with flattering precision. The color schemes tend to be more conservative, but this makes it even easier to match all the time. OK I'm going to stop now, as writing those two sentences about fashion was exceedingly difficult, despite the fact that I was recycling Project Runway soundbites in a watered-down manner.
Osaka is also known as a food destination. Two of the most famous regional cuisines we sampled were Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki. Takoyaki is a set of fried balls of octopus and batter. Okonomiyaki is a pancake made of cabbage, noodles and various mix-ins. A lot of eating centered around Dotonbori, the district pictured below:
We also did get to see some nightlife. We went to a Takoyaki and beer bar with an incredibly enthusiastic bartender. At a super-friendly and small gay bar, the three patrons and two bartenders wow-ed us with their karaoke skills, so we naturally joined in with a Lady Gaga duet.
Umm, somehow I have progressed this far in the post without mentioning that Osaka is a BIKE UTOPIA! Within a few hours of arriving, I noticed that there were very few cars in the city. There were, however, countless bikes! In fact, there were so many bikes that people life their bikes UNLOCKED on the street.
Rows and rows of unlocked bikes:

For those who ride in NYC, WTF, right? In NYC, you can lock your bike with an inch thick steel chain, and it will still be stolen. What is wrong with people? How is the social contract so strong in Osaka that people can just leave their bikes out in the center of the city all day?
Vending machines. These vending machines are ubiquitous in Japan. After a week, I capitulated and was pursuaded that in some cases, it might make sense to obtain your hot coffee from one.

Adding to the euphoria of a society where cars seemingly play a minimized role, Japan has a superb train system. Trains are convenient, plentiful and reach most destinations. The Shinkansen, a high speed "bullet" train, is required to be on time by law. If it arrives three minutes late, passengers receive ticket refunds. Trains are also well-maintained and clean.
Shinkansen:

Japan, pt. 1

Had an amazing 9 day trip to Japan. Japanese culture is both unique and universal. Here are a couple pictures from Tokyo, where we spent about half the trip. Tokyo is ridiculously dense. There are few skyscrapers because of its geological location, so people live in very small quarters. (The capsule hotels parodied on Seinfeld are very real...as are a certain item found in certain vending machines...)
Bright lights, big city:
Maids: Tokyo seems to have more unique subcultures than a season of CSI. One prominent nuclei was the "maid cafe," a place where anime fans congregate to be served by girls in wacky anime/goth outfits. Our first hotel happened to be in Akihabara, the center of the district where these establishments are popular. We briefly discussed going to a "butler" cafe, but were dissuaded when informed we might stand out from the clientele subsisting entirely of teenage girls.
Here is a typical anime /model trains / etc. store
And here are some maids chilling outside a public park near Harajuku that offered a great glimpse into the Sunday leisure habits of urban Japanese. Observed in the park: jogging, dog-walking, rabbit-walking, bird-watching, middle aged Elvis-impersonating, rock-paper-scissors contests, frisbee, bicycling, being gothy.

Day trip to Nikko, UNESCO World Heritage Site two hours north of Tokyo. Verdant mountains with many temples.

Super delicious sushi at the famous Tsukiji market:
Mmm. I am still salivating looking at this picture.
And finally, a stroll through Hamarikyuteien Gardens. This site dates back to the Tokugaway Shogunate. The harmony of cityscape and naturalistic setting is quite characteristic of Japan, in my opinion.

back to BKK, our Soi pt. 1

Sayonara Japan. Just returned today from an incredible trip. 400+ photos, so I will edit them down for a few posts. In the mean time, here is a post about our street I started before I left.
Our soi (street) has many wonderful establishments. The day before the Japan trip I intended to stroll around and photograph some of them, but was caught in a midday torrential downpour. Luckily, I was in Banana Family Park, a complex I live across the street from that is great for many reasons. Banana is a large, somewhat labyrinth-like complex of corridors and stairways the houses two yoga studios, a language school, a multitude of vegetarian food stalls, and some natural spas. Within a few days of moving here, I attended my first Thai language class here. Now, I go to Banana every day for lunch. The area I go to has four stalls, each with many creative and vibrant vegetarian options. I always go to the same stall, and if you asked me, I'd say the proprietor and I are BFF. In reality, she probably rolls her eyes at the thought of the white guy with the dopey smile who shows up every day to jab his hammy paw at her counter, and is aghast at how little functional Thai I have picked up in my time here. Nonetheless, here is my lunch that particular day. For 30 baht ($1 US), you get two different stir-fries and rice.
Although it looks like meat, it is all crazy textures of tofu.
Here is the downpour:
So the rest of my walk was postponed.

On a side note, I just checked a popular classifieds site, and eagerly applied for this:

Part-time acting job in Hollywood Scorpion King III movie, shooting in Kanchanaburi 25-30 October 2010
Need 200 white males or females for the scenes in Scorpion King III movie. Shooting 25-30 October 2010 in Kanchanaburi. 1,300 baht/day. Contact: (redacted)

in Japan

Quick update: In Japan and loving it. Have you ever longingly envisioned an entire country full of mods? If so, Japan is the place for you. Everyone here is so effortly stylish that I feel as though I am schlepping down the street in a burlap sack. Have been through Tokyo and now in Osaka. More thorough account to come.

Panda Channel

Channel 23 dedicates itself to a 24 hour live feed of two panda bears in the Chiang Mai zoo. I tune in quite often, and Linping and her child are inevitably sleeping. Here is a low tech screen shot, i.e. photograph of the television.
Adorable indeed. Also, for those of you that notice Linping sleeps in the same position I do: bonus points. Feeling left out from round the clock panda-voyeurism? Don't worry, Linping has a live feed as well.

Kanchanaburi

Weekend in Kanchanaburi, two hours outside of Bangkok and location of the famous P.O.W. Bridge over the River Kwae.
Bike ride through beautiful countryside:

Kayak trip on the River Kwae:

Amazing hike up the seven waterfalls of Erawan.

Bang Krachou (and Conizza)

On Sunday, we embarked on a trip to Bang Krachou, a section of the metropolis across the Chao Praya river that has remained largely green and undeveloped. After a short longtail boat journey, we rented bikes and biked around for a few hours. It was amazing to be in a quiet and green area. Highlights of the trip included:
-Happening upon a bike festival and being strongly encouraged to eat as much free pad thai as we could
-Visiting a endless market that ran on a concrete walkway above a swamp
-Biking on a similar narrow concrete walkway over a different swamp
Forgot to take pictures on the bike ride, but here is Bang Krachou from the river:

And of course it was topped off with a Conizza at the mall. So much analysis, but I will let it speak for itself.