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Archive for March, 2008

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A Coincidence

Sunday, March 30th, 2008

Last night I opted for a foot massage at a place where the strong Isan masseuses from NE Thailand are trained at Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha). Dating from the 16th century, this monastery in Bangkok began as an open university and is still the national headquarters for the teaching and preservation of traditional Thai medicine including Thai massage.

While zoning out in my reclining lounger, an older American couple walked in. Happens that although they are living in Singapore…he still working for Caterpiller Tractors…they are waiting to retire near Klamath Falls Oregon…the city of my birth and where I went to high school!

Sukhumvit Soi 22 Bangkok

Sunday, March 30th, 2008

You hardly find a mention of Soi 22, where I usually stay in Bangkok, in the travel guides. Interesting. Not anything here for sightseers really. But good if you live here long term.

The well-dressed tourists in the high end hotels and serviced apartments here must just head off in a taxi because you don’t often see them on the street. The men in the high end hotels are mainly businessmen…many of them Korean or Japanese. Most of the farang (westerners) that live around here and are married to Thais or farangs. Some of them have lived and worked here for 30 years and just retire here. Hardly ever see female farang tourists by themselves, although on this trip I did meet a young Frenchwoman who missed her flight on a layover and was stranded. So here I am with the “boys” and the Thais.

I’m staying in a lovely refurbished room above the Bourbon St. Bar and Restaurant, a family restaurant owned by an American…in Washington Square…behind the Mambo Cabaret.
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The guesthouse is small and they keep good track of me. If you stay a month they give you 25% off the room rate so I am paying 1000 baht (about $31) a night with free breakfast. Most of the people frequenting the restaurant are the male guests upstairs who are here on business (I’m the only woman) or farangs and Thais who live around here. The restaurant serves great Thai and western food including a whole menu of Canjun, Creole and BBQ dishes. Last night I splurged on one-half kilo of the biggest crawfish I’ve ever seen.
[read on]

What Now For Thailand?

Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who took over after Thaksin Shinawatra, the former PM, was ousted by a military coup after charges of corruption, claimed yesterday that he is being threatened by yet another coup...the result no doubt of political ... [Continue reading this entry]

Josh In Beijing

Friday, March 28th, 2008
Wanted to post some pictures of menu items created by my son Josh at the One East On Third Restaurant in the Hilton Hotel Beijing where he is the Chef de Cuisine but am despairing of getting menu descriptions from ... [Continue reading this entry]

Speaking Of Hope

Friday, March 28th, 2008
Mexican journalist and author, Gustavo Esteva, in writing recently about the wrenching repression and resistance in Mexico and the world, draws an analogy:
    The Pot and the Vapor
In the midst of the daily struggle, an image attempting to express what ... [Continue reading this entry]

News In SE Asia

Friday, March 28th, 2008
China, Cambodia, the Philippines, India and Burma are banning or reducing their rice exports in order to conserve enough supply for their local populations. Reasons for supply and demand are complex and theories abound. Iran and Indonesia are expected ... [Continue reading this entry]

Bang Phra Fishing Village

Thursday, March 27th, 2008
This week I went to Bang Phra fishing village near Chonburi on the Gulf of Thailand with my friend Jiraporn, Professor of Fisheries at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, who, with some of her students, are conducting a population study of ... [Continue reading this entry]

A Question I Asked Myself

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

How did China learn how to spin Tibet?

From Salon.com

By Andrew Sullivan
"Trust a public relations professional living in Beijing to write by far the best analysis I've seen of the Olympic-size mess that China has created for itself through ... [Continue reading this entry]

Hmmm…

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
I must be getting old. Came across this shocking article in Newsweek describing teen sex taking place openly in public parks in Santiago Chile. Actually I remember being agape at the couples in public parks in Guadalajara Mexico ... [Continue reading this entry]

In And Out Of Bangkok

Monday, March 17th, 2008
Have become familiar enough with Asia that the usual things you notice on the surface aren't so eye-catching now. Am learning to adapt to surface cultural differences with less frustration. But adapting for a traveler briefly passing through is ... [Continue reading this entry]