Blood Spilled in Bangkok

The city has erupted, and now that blood has been spilled it seems far fetched that things will go back to the nonviolent protests that have occurred over the last three weeks. The UDD is aggressively moving forward in their demand for the PM to step down and dissolve the parliament. Yesterday they seized several government vehicles and the Pinklao Bridge, witnesses say they saw weapons being removed from the Army trucks.

With twenty dead and more than 800 wounded the atmosphere in Bangkok is tense. The government denies the use of live rounds, though eyewitnesses have seen evidence to the contrary. Amateur footage from students in the area show a flash fire of violence from both sides.

"I thought it was okay, the paper said the army was using rubber bullets. But when the people from the front pushed past us they were covered in blood." Said one student who was on KhoSan Rd when the violence broke out. KhoSan Road is one of the main tourist streets in Bangkok.

"I realize just how lucky I was. We were going to stay for Songkran but now I think we will leave the city." The same student said. The sentiment is echoed by many students at Thammasat University who are out for New Year's break. With the University resting in the middle of several hot protest zones classes have been cancelled. Student's are being urged to check in frequently with university officials as well as family and friends back home.

Daily Dose of Arsenic

That's right, TTM takes self medication to a whole new level by using arsenic in its recipes. Traditional Thai pottery has to be coated in an arsenic solution before painting. When the bowl is boiled with various herbs the arsenic begins to leach out. TTM recipes take advantage of this, by timing how long the bowl remains in the pot before removing. After the designated time the bowl is removed leaving trace amounts of arsenic behind. The trick is to leave the bowl in long enough to get the required amount without exceeding it.

It seems a rather risky business to me. There is no way to judge how fast the arsenic is leaching out. And what if the bowl is cracked or chipped? Either way, I think I'll pass.

Lion of Love

A long time ago a Thai king was barging two Singha lion statues up the river to line his palace gates. But huge wave came and the barge broke and the two lions sunk to the bottom of the river. Some time later, one lion was recovered and placed near the river facing away from the water.

The next day when the men returned they were shocked to find that the Singha had flipped around and was facing the river. They had no idea how it had managed to move. So with much effort they turned the lion around again and left him.

Another night passed and when they returned, the lion was once again facing the water...and they came to realize that he was looking for his mate, who is still lost.

To this day, hopeful Thai boys and girls leave offerings of gold leaf, food, marbles and statues to this heartbroken lion in hopes that he can help them find their mates. When he is successful they return bearing gifts of disco balls to hang above his head.

Blood Play in BKK

Eight months ago when I stepped off the plane I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore. But after a short period of starvation and a monsoon season I adapted and the differences between East and West didn't seem so big. But every now and then a sucker-punch out of left field reminds me that they're still worlds apart.

The ritualistic bloodletting that has swept through Bangkok and Chiang Mai this last week and a half has been a vivid reminder that there is still a strong belief in the darker arts. I'm not an expert on Thai politics, actually if I'm honest, I'll admit that I don't know squat, but when the UDD (red shirts) decided to start pouring, and tossing, blood all I could think of was "eewwww."

So far over 500,000 ccs's of blood has been spilt, tossed and painted with in Bangkok alone. The UDD has not commented on the blood that has been spilt in Chiang Mai.

Photos from the Bangkok Post:

Oops...

It's been a while since I last posted, sorry about that. I'm beginning to realize that having a blog is a lot like journaling, you always start with the best of intentions but you always get side tracked...

Life here in the big city continues on much as it always does, humid and hot. Mid-terms have kept me up late the last couple of weeks studying for subjects that I'll probably never think about again after I leave here. I mean it's not like there's much opportunity to use Thai in little ole E-burg. (Even if I could my teachers tell me that my accent is horrid :D )

I hate mid-terms, and it's not just the studying. It's all the time that's required to prep to go, ironing uniform skirts and shirts, attaching huge silver buttons, dusting off those uncomfortable shiny shoes (which you have to kick off as soon as you go into the exam room anyways), and digging out various forms of ID. It seems like a lot of pomp and circumstance for a two hour test. Kind of reminds me of the SAT actually.

Luckily, there almost over just one more tomorrow morning at the Rangsit campus. Coincidentally enough it's for the once class that I may actually end up using, Introduction to Advertising and Public Relations.

So wish me luck!!

Lessons with Missionaries

On the train up to Chiang Mai I was seated across from an older Thai gentlemen and his friend. They looked at me oddly as a woman traveling alone then politely ignored me as seems to be the custom. At least they did until I pulled out my Introduction to Thai Writing Book. Then they approached me, perching on the side of my bench and leaning across the rickety card table to look at it.

They were a couple of Thai Christian Missionaries heading up to the jungles of Chaing Mai to talk to the hill tribes. They were a great help showing me the proper way to draw the swirling Thai characters. My handwriting needs some improvement and they laughingly referred to children doing a better job. But Thai characters at best look like squiggles to me.

They helped me for a good hour, correcting my grammar, tones and my writing. It seems like just about anyone will stop and help you learn Thai if you make an effort. My taxi driver on the way to the train station kept teaching me words like traffic, bridge, left, right, bus, etc. etc.

When the train was delayed it was the missionaries who told me about it. And when I slept through the lunch stop they appeared with sweets, milk and news paper wrapped phad thai refusing to accept the money I offered. When we finally arrived at the station, a good 6 hours after the scheduled arrival time they made sure that I had a ride to my guesthouse before going there own way.

Lunch with Expats.

So as many people know there is a huge American expatriot culture in Thailand. Today I just happened to meet two interesting italian/american expatriots who've been here since the late sixties. They were an interesting pair of Vietnam vets, who had gotten frustraited with the States and left one day to never go back. They didn't offer an explaination as to why, and I didn't want to pry.

But they were an interesting couple of gentlemen who seemed amused by my 'young indepent liberaltarianism,' I'm not really sure what that means let alone if that's what I am. All I said was that I'd prefer not to talk politics and that it should be about the person not the party.

I made them laugh, and aparently that was enough to earn me a free meal of cheeseburger and fries. They kept stalling me from leaving, asking questions about how life back home was and comparing it to the states that they left behind. I think that in the end they were just two lonely old men, eager to catch news from home even though they had left along time ago.

And tomorrow morning at o'dark thirty (like 6:30am) I'm heading back to that bar becaue it's the superbowl... and they promised me free breakfast.