Breathrough via Mr. Biggs...?

Mr. Biggs is a grizzled veteran of Isaan life. Many details about his life and his understanding of Thai culture shared with me this afternoon/evening may be inappropriate for those who worry about my safety, but he may prove to be the most invaluable resource to achieve sharpenedly original insight through examination of the interweaving intrigues of the vicious sport of muay thai and the harmonious worldview that the lens of Buddhism is supposed to reflect on believers and hangers-on.

Looking up, edging forward

1. I knew it would take a long time to get around to a new post, but sitting here in a leather recliner in a internet place on campus, I realize that I am the only person out of one hundred that is not either killing wizards and mutated elephants or shooting balloons and killer fish with sharpened coconuts (from what i can gather, the thai youth love their video games). Adults seem to be more into karaoke and generally subdued Thai-style mayhem in between world cup matches.

My chameleon-like skin is thick and calloused(i just remembered that i could have bought one at the weekend market in Bangkok for $50), so i am able to successfully transition between demographics, which makes for a more interesting (if more perilous) experience.

I feel very safe now that I have secured a luxurious apartment with hot water, western-style bathroom, hi-speed internet, cable, and apparently a couple of foreign teachers down the hall (my sharp spanish wit will come in handy even here! goofing off and eating candy seems to be a global past-time (sorry Jimmy Carter, you're not the only one)) for only a little more than 100 dollars a month. considering that the price i will be paying for accommodation is more than the annual salary of most people in the region, i feel a little guilty (maybe i will remember these times fondly when i go broke and consider a career as a cane-harvester to support an ever-expanding family, but hopefully my education will pay off somewhere down the line!).

_-4 hour break in writing and final realization that the rain is not going to stop any time soon (no pictures this time, i WAS going to get my camera)-_

Today is Wednesday (soon to be Thursday(or Wan Pardoohaht in Thai(incidentally my favorite day to say emphatically))), which makes it 5 days here in Khon Kaen(I think), something like almost 2 weeks in Thailand, which has been enough time to realize that the logistics of my research are no longer worrisome(the execution of which will require the most energy).

The more time i spend with the Thais, the Laos (which is most often the 'true' ethnicity of Isaan people(the regional dialect is pretty much the same as Lao), the more i realize how strong the sociocultural mores really are. The Buddhist culture is strong throughout the country, especially in Isaan where some groups throw animism into the mix with tattoo and rice whiskey driven ceremonies ( i read it in a book and it had pictures to back up its claims), and even the deep south where there is a long running crisis being mismanaged by the central government due to a resurgent wave of violence by muslim separatists that is partially a reaction to the officially mandated predominance of Buddhism. need to do more research on the issues, but Thailand annexed the territory in 1902.

The rebels tend to kill police officers, government troops, and anyone involved with the central government (understandable), but some of their favorite targets are elementary and secondary school teachers (not cool) who now need to be escorted by the military to and from school. The reason why i bring this up because there was an article in the paper today about the murder of 4 local volunteers and one soldier who were killed while patrolling the highway to protect and escort schoolteachers. A roadside bomb blew their truck up, but they survived the initial impact only to be cut down by a hail of 300+ bullets (one volunteer survived and is in critical condition but the m-16 rifles and handguns carried by the volunteers and the soledier were stolen(probably going end up in hands of a 15-year-old, the preferred age of 'martyrs'(or disaffected, angry teens?) in this area)).

*unfortunately, i expected to talk about what i've been doing, but i digressed severely from my discussion of the northeast of country(Isaan). but I will published the list that i had previously made to include in my next discussion, and will modify it slightly now that i have my housing situation sorted out and am becoming acquainted with KKU's sprawling (by Thai standards?) campus.

I promise I will write more extensively tomorrow, i need to finish moving in or at least get on a more regular schedule (i could have just moved into this internet place, its open twenty-four hours and the plush recliners go back to parallel with the floor!) it looks like the rains slowed down so I'm going move like a fullback and make my cut before the window closes (i'll probably end up with a face full of mud regardless).


1. Watching World Cup (2 am kickoffs not going to be routine)
2. Sri Koon people drinking all morning/afternoon/night (muay thai sparring, rotating cast eating around a table with whiskey soda and water)
2. Whats with karaoke?
5. Going to see Mr. Pinyo(confused by directions, making stops at condos)(finding apartment)
6. Need wheels
7. finding monks and kickboxers (use force(Xtreme loving kindness) if necessary)
8. Friendliness, patience, (in)tolerance> of Thais?.
9. Immensity of Khon Kaen campus (freshman hazing)
10. It's going to take a while to achieve familiarity

sticking around

Taking a break from checking out puppies for sale at the central bus station, I must first state that I doubt that I will be able to keep up this daily consistency, but the equivalent of 30 cents I have in my pocket will buy me an hour + on the internet with enough money left over for a public pickup truck or songtaeow to drop me back off from where I came. I arrived in Khon Kaen at 1:30 am last night, just in time for the second half of Argentina's overtime victory over Mexico, after an inexplicably long 10-hour bus-ride that allowed me to escape the flooded streets of Bangkok(apparently, the monsoonal flooding has become a deadly problem in the northwest). Arriving on the street after having spent 2 hours inside, arriving off the Skytrain after eating lunch and typing my previous post, I was greeted by over 2 feet of water on the Bangkok streets, and watched the otherwise speedy motorcyclists walk their bikes through the water, struggling to get their engines to start while the 4-wheeled taxis floated by unharmed. Nervous and scared that plans would be ruined, I realized my best chance of getting to the bus station was by boat, but none was to be seen this far from the river. Fortunately, I was able to squeeze onto the Skytrain, heading to higher ground nearer the bus terminal, where i squeezed into a tuk-tuk(3 wheeled taxi(see the chase that features them in the movie ong bak:muay thai warrior for a better understanding of how cool these automobiles are)) with my 3 bags where I purchased a ticket for the northeast and was hustled onto a bus, unsurprised that i was the only foreigner in sight.

I was told that the trip would take 5-6 hours, but apparently I got onto a 2nd class bus that seemed to stop every 50 feet and made 3 seperate stops of nearly an hour as we inched nearer khon kaen. fortunately, the bus was comfortable and semi-air-conditioned so i was able to nod off for several hours, each extended stop allowing me to refuel with random thai snacks that I couldn't initially identify, and could only tell you now whether they taste good or bad or are just plain odd. considering my experience with the Redbull XO, which is found at nearly every convenience store, there are some native tastes that I don't see myself ever acquiring. in any case, by the time i got to khon kaen, my belt was loosened a few notches.

Khon Kaen seems like it is much cooler than Bangkok, but the smoggy intimacy caused by the motor and foot traffic in Bangkok ratchets up the discomfort factor by at least 10-30 degrees. i like these wide open spaces in a city with a non-existent skyline. Because of my experience on the bus yesterday, I decided to stick with my feet today because I could choose when to stop and when to speed up.

I estimate that I have walked at least 8 miles today, walking to and from Khon Kaen University from my hotel in the morning (which will cost me 5 dollars a night with airconditioning and a tv until i find more permanent living quarters), which was deceptively far, a trip made more hazardous by the discontinuity of the sidewalk along the highway.
After surveying the campus(which is large and very nice-looking), i took a little rest and decided to walk into central khon kaen. I soon realized that the university was quite a ways out of town(i think I walked at least 6km(it tooked me over an hour)), but the walk was manageable because the heat was selectively oppressive(i found shade along 7 percent of the way) as compared to the totalitarian brutality of a stroll through Bangkok (there is no escaping the misery of the outdoors there). In any case, I picked up a little of the Isaan dialect on the way up and realize i have a ways to go before I can productively conversate with the people I want to study, but i know how to make them laugh. Whenever I mention I interest in muay thai, everybody has lit up and sung praises about Somchai Kuamsing, a homegrown champion and national star. this is good news. Perhaps a translator is in order as soon as I figure out how to use my camera.

on the move

i'm now at the Siam Paragon, a mall that opened 8 months ago in central bangkok, featuring an aquarium, an Imax theater, and pretty much any store that rests at the pinnacle of western material culture, and although i resent paying 1 dollar an hour for internet access, the air conditioning and fast connection is a plus. my bags are packed where im staying, but i thought it would be wise to check my email, baseball standings and whatnot before i take the 6 hour busride to khon kaen where i will seek shelter from the weather, a combination of fire and rain that leaves me shaking my fists at the sky (wet from perspiration or monsoon residue, usually a combination of the two).
this morning i woke up and took a sip of a Caribou(red bull, pronounce Carib-Ouw) 'XO' (i've heard that the concept of the energy drink originated in Thailand) and got a little more of a wake-up call than i was looking for. The one fateful swig i took from the medicine bottle had the consistency of cold canned gravy, and tasted like a soiled ashtray filled with hard liquor. these energy drinks are ubiquitous at the equally ubiquitous 7-11 that dot nearly every corner of bangkok, and come in medicine bottles that cost about 25 cents. unfortunately, i am a sucker for flashy advertising (shiny foil and bright colors) and took the bait on this particular bottle (XO caught my eye), thinking it was an edgier version(and thus cooler version) of a trusted brand. it definitely did the job in terms of aking me up, but i will not forget the taste (that took 20 minutes to wash down) any time soon. i later inquired about what on earth could produce such a horrible flavor, and i found out that it had all the vitamins and caffeine of the normal thai concoction, but this one was special because there was an added kick of nicotine, and although it tasted and smelled like something that could knock you into the gutter pretty fast, it didnt contain any liquor. I'm sure there were a lot more strange ingredients, but i'll have to find out later, but the thing that really got me is that it was Whisky flavored! nothing like artificial whisky flavor, real nicotine, and wholesome vitamins and caffeine to get you started in the morning.
I bought my video camera, a nice little panasonic 3ccd digital with spinning rims, after having made 3 trips to an electronics bazaar where i managed to slash the price, utilizing a trapist wit to bargain 2 extra batteries, 5 mini dv tapes, a tripod and bag, for 150$ US less than the asking price. I have to thank Mr. Nakorn, formerly a teacher at Ampawan Suksaa(they are always looking for foreign teachers if interested), who seems to be unemployed after having spent 8 months in Iceland of all places working in a Thai restaurant, having to come back with his wife(or did she even go? she wasnt in any of the pictures they showed me and still taught at the school) due to visa problems. All i can say is Nakorn is the man, he cant even go back to Ampawan for fear of being mobbed by throngs of cheering supporters. The whole Iceland story is funny, but I'll have to save it for another time because I gotta keep on moving up to Isaan in the next couple hours and manage to keep my camera from being stolen in the process. i also need to make some more kickboxer friends up there to protect it, and quick.

Entering the Thunderdome

Don't get them started or you will never be able to leave. Today I checked out the American Embassy to try and find out what goes on there, and it was pretty cool to skip the hundreds of Thai nationals that were waiting for days and walk directly up to a window located in a small room adjacent with no particular agenda in mind. Apparently the Bangkok embassy is our country's largest, but I was unable to tour the campus due to the cage-like atmosphere of the consular office. After that, I got some photos put onto a CD and printed some out for the teachers, particularly for Krue Tiwawan, who I also gave a 'Michigan Mom' shirt and a Thai-English dictionary that I bought at a 7-11 around the corner from my hotel that I hope to leave shortly. Tiwawan and the other teachers don't want me to go to Isaan because they think that I can keep coming back to the school every day, but I will be back in the capital again. The kids there amaze me every time, and I feel bad about skipping town because they go crazy every time I come and the teachers are some of the most generous people I have ever met. Tiwawan takes her job very seriously even though she is paid next to nothing, and the rewards can be seen when students address her as a 'Khun Mae' (Mrs. Mom) as they wait patiently for her approval of whatever task they have been assigned (homework, getting me drinks, getting me food). She wants me to stay at the temple, but I am on the move. I will let her know when I am coming back because she told me I will always have a free place to stay in Bangkok as well as highly knowledgable interview subjects. Wat Ampawan is what sparked the interest that got the ball rolling on my project, and the richness of the culture in and out of the school and temple can be felt even by just scratching the surface (even in a coarse American style).

Welcome to Mueang Thai

Long overdue, I am finally making my first post from within Thai borders. I arrived in Bangkok Sunday night, having been diverted to Chiang Mai for several hours to allow a storm in the capital to pass. I questioned the pilot's claim as we refueled in the provincial capital in the northwest after having flown 17 hours nonstop, but sure enough, the runway at Don Muang was a mess of puddles when we finally arrived at our destination. 5 o'clock does not seem to be a good time to travel here as the rainy season lives up to its name with monsoonal authority at regular intervals. I guess the rain is helping people around the country, especially the farmers of the Northeast, but it has no positive effect on the traffic-choked metropolitan mess that is Bangkok. Disregarding the temporary relief from Bangkok's stifling jungle heat that is amplified by exhaust fumes and the pungently intimate congregations of street vendors and pedestrians, you can do just fine if you know where you are going. So far, I am just getting settled as I prepare for my proposed endeavor, but have managed to completely drain myself before 10 pm all 3 days that I have been here. My improvised itinerary consists of errands and visits throughout the city in the afforementioned heat/downpour that takes a toll on the mind and body. I consider the heat exhaustion fortunate because a 7 am start really gets me ready to stare down what can be a both intimidating and stressful city, and will prepare me further for the potential physical and mental challenges that I expect to be infinitely more difficult when I make my way to Isaan and into the Muay Thai culture and monastic asceticism. Most of the energy that I am still struggling to recover was lost during a visit to the elementary school where I volunteered as an english teacher last summer, which would not have occurred had I not found my NCAA approved football in perfect condition in teachers office. My surprise visit was punctuated by an extended lunch recess a session of orchestrated madness that I credit to myself as the students failed to grasp the concept that American football is not rugby or UFC. Even in rugby constant kicking and punching is not encouraged, especially if you choose to dive headfirst into human piles 0n a concrete playground. Despite the students' displine in the classroom, the Thais really know how to let loose and have a good time, although the violence of some of their favorite activities would not be acceptable on American soil. Even the teachers wanted to play. Needless to say, I picked up where I left off last summer and if my budget becomes more of a concern, I will always have a free room at the monastery at Wat Ampawan, the Buddhist temple adjacent to the school with a permanent teaching vacancy. I have a lot more to say about my plans and my new impressions of Thai culture and my experience thus far, but I accidentally ate Thai-style American food, which is a BIG mistake that many people seem to make when they dont pay attention. All I can say right now is that this is definitely going to be an interesting summer, and I look forward to a final product, a goal that I came one step closer to as I scouted Panasonic 3CCD Digital Video cameras at Pantip Plaza, an enormous electronics mall not far from where I'm staying for now. One logistical problem that I expect to encounter, is finding time to get to a computer, remembering what I have done since my last post, not to mention staying within 200 miles of a place where computers and/or the internet are available. This will be easily achieved if I maintain my self jai yen-yen(heart cool-cool), a Thai expression for 'take it easy' and remember that no matter what obstacles present themselves, with the correct mind-set one can eventually say, if not immediately, 'mai bpen rai' (no problem). This post is probably too long already so I'm going to stop.