That’s right, I am in steamy Thailand.  Left half my luggage and Santhi’s mom’s cooking in Kuala Lumpur and flew to Bangkok on a whim last week to see friends.  One was participating in the Rotary Peace Fellowship at Chulalongkorn University and I wanted to see her graduate.  The other friend is the director and a former colleague.  I used to work with this program in my old job, so I wanted to see them, and get some inspiration from the participants.  The first thing I noticed at the airport were the other foreigners.  There were millions of them waiting to get their passports stamped.  I looked… what are they doing here?    What is it about Thailand that is drawing hundreds of overseas visitors every day?

I stayed with my friend, the participant, on campus in her dorm, which looks more like a hotel.  The universities is one of the best in Thailand, and they own lots of land, in the area, which has become very commercial and a good investment for them.  A maid comes everyday with clean towels and bottled water, and mops the floor.   When I arrived by taxi from the airport  (and what an airport, wow!) I was hungry so found my way to the student cafeteria across the street.  It was full of young students in white blouses and blue pants or skirts eating all sorts of interesting Asian looking food.  Turns out it is not so easy to be a vegetarian here as I expected.  Seeing the only dishes I know are curry and pad Thai, I am in for some exploration.  Seven different kiosk counters offered everything from meat or fish in sauce (similar to what I saw in Malaysia) to Chinese looking green vegetables and noodles.  I ordered rice (a given on each plate), greens and two omelets, which was a safe bet and tasty.    The drink section had  colorful jars of fruit juice and you just point to one and they scoop it into a glass filled with ice.  If you want it to go, they put it into a plastic bag and give you a straw which is very common here.  The food can indeed be very spicy, particularly the curries.

It’s the warmest month of the year and days are no less than 95 degrees. This also causes me to get sick with all the air con.  My glasses steam up when I walk from inside to outside.  Imagine what my insides go through.  I’ve been sounding like a frog since I arrived and have been drinking lots of water, eating garlic, and trying to rest.  I think it’s on its way out, but the cough is still around.   I hear this is pretty common.  But I am glad it’s not only foreigners think it’s hot.  Locals look like they are sweating gallons too and some carry umbrellas which is very smart once you try it.  I guess it’s like Chicago in winter.  We all know it’s cold and feel the cold, but we put up with it even though our teeth chatter.

The night I arrived my friend and I went for a walk around  the city.  The campus is nice and leafy, I assumed we were far from any action, but I was totally wrong.  A mere 10 minute walk brings you to mega shopping central, and it seems like much of Bangkok is commercial with malls and street vendors selling everything you didn’t realize you needed.  Fortunately, this made it easy to get a local SIM card, so I can add that to my pile of Indian and Malaysian phone numbers.  The city is loud and urban, more busy than Kuala Lumpur, and the trains are very modern.  There are bars full of foreigners.  We stopped to get a Thai foot massage which means pain.  It’s not soothing, rather they poke at the pressure points on the bottom of your feet and on your toes with their fingers and sharp wooden instruments.  wimper wimper wimper.  But they say it’s good for you.  Fortunately there was no time for a full body massage.  They way they were moving people’s limbs around looked like a cross between yoga and physical therapy.  This makes you pause whether you really want it because the price is so low so you hope it can’t really be that painful. Continue reading “KUL to BKK” →

I’ve been here almost three weeks and have loads of first impressions.  When I arrived I couldn’t help frequent comments starting with, “Oh, in India they do x.”.  When people would ask where I was from, I’d pause, unsure if I should say USA or India, so I’d say the former and codify it by saying I’d spent 4 months living in the latter.  I don’t know if it was to show I had some travel muscle and wasn’t just off the boat or that I was feeling less wanting to be a representative of all things American.  One participant at the conference I attended started talking about Obama’s healthcare plan, which I know very little about, so I said I didn’t know what he’s proposing but that I hope he can start to implement a plan so I get heath care when I return.

Here is what I think of Malaysia, a country I never expected to visit:

• Heat.  It is soooo hot here!  Even the Malaysians think it’s hot but maybe they don’t sweat as much as me.
• It’s not India, and I miss India.
• The flag is very close to the American flag, so I often think they really like the USA til I notice they have a crescent where we have stars.
• Many smoke clove cigarettes and they stink so bad.
• Quiet.  No one honks even when I think they should.
• KFC and 7 Eleven are everywhere but they don’t sell coke slurpees, only fruity flavors
• Not very colorful in many ways
• Rainstorms
• Ice in drinks that won’t make you sick
• There are traffic rules and people seem to follow them
• Streets seem relatively empty of people
• Clean
• Very modern compared to India, for example, the above ground subway had an escalator and debit card tickets, and it’s more expensive
• TV and AC on the city bus.  I saw a “Rotary: Humanity in Motion” ad on the bus tv.
• Very few 2 wheelers:  mopeds, bicycles, motorcycles
• Cars, lots of them.  I am told this is a recent phenomena since cars are now made here, making them affordable to the masses.  Highways everywhere and no potholes
• High rise apartment buildings and high rise fancy looking offices downtown
• Petronas Towers which once rivaled the Sears Tower
• Asian-y
• Snatch thieves.  In India I was warned to be careful with my purse, but here is far worse, and everyone knows many people who were victims even in nicer or normal neighborhoods.
• Lots of Chinese businesses
• Western dress
• Mosques everywhere
• Malay women wear headscarves for religious reasons (they are Muslin) but otherwise no traditional dress

 Malaysia exemplifies multiculturalism, but it’s not a utopia, rather seems to be a challenging work in progress.  The three main ethnic groups are Malay (whose ancestors hailed from all parts of SE Asia generations ago), Chinese, and Indian – in order of population.  The lesser groups are Baba Nonya (Portuguese and Malay), and Orang Asli (indigenous people).  Each retains a distinct cultural identity and children can attend the National/Government School (taught in Malay), Tamil (grade 1-6 then transfer to National School), Chinese (most are grade 1-6 then transfer, some go to grade 12).    A sort of affirmative action plan was enacted in the early 70’s for 2o years to give Malays a leg up on university admissions, but the plan didn’t end 20 years later.  As a result, many Indians are forced seek higher education outside of Malaysia or attend private (read: expensive) colleges.

Continue reading “M is for Malaysia” →

Hi All,

Sorry I’ve been such a slacker blogger over the past month.  I promise to do a better job so I still have friends when I return home!

As you may know, my 3 month consultancy and one month of travel in India have ended.  I have arrived in very hot and humid Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Although I thought India was hot, here is even more so.  My near future plans are to help out at and attend the Initiatives of Change conference in KL this coming weekend: http://www.my.iofc.org/PiCSSO。After that, I hope to land a new job anywhere in the world.  If you know of any, leave me a comment!

Below is my post I worked on last week but never posted.

Hi from Mamallampuram (2 hours south of Chennai)!

Since I last wrote I’ve covered a lot of territory in Southern India; some new, some I’ve seen before, but all interesting.

My sister and two friends and I (otherwise known as the Ooty Wooties) traveled for two weeks.   We had a lot of fun, and I think they enjoyed themselves, but this did not turn my sister Megan into an Indian food lover, but she still found things to eat like lots of chicken biryani.  Jessica loved the food, and I think Julia liked it.  I still love it.

First I showed them my neighborhood and the tricks of bargaining and rickshaw riding in Bangalore.  They were very good sports following me around the city and meeting everyone I had ever met!  It was nice to be able to share these experiences.  We got a great temple tour, thanks to the temple guide I met on Christmas.

After two days, we, along with Nikkie, went to Mysore, where I got a nice ayurvedic massage while they all went to the palace which I saw in November.  We (except Nikkie) continued to an eco-spice farm near Coorg, and stayed in tents on the farm, but it looked more like a jungle.  They grew banana, cardamom, coffee, vanilla and pepper.  I learned that banana is a plant, not a tree, vanilla is so expensive b/c it has to be pollinated by hand, and cardamom plants produce pods many times during the 3 month picking season and therefore get picked during the monsoons many times on steep slopes (think about that next time you make Christmas cookies!).  The food was Indian home cookin’ and I couldn’t get enough of it.

From here we made our way to Cochin with the help (?) of a driver who became so lost when we were This Close to getting to town, that we hired a taxi to lead us, or we would have been lost for another 2 hours, after a 12 hour drive.    While the gals went to Jew Town (yes, that’s the name), I went to try to get my local cell phone reconnected and visited a great souvenir shop I visited when I was in India 5 years ago, owned by a Rotarian.  Same great musty old place.  Bought my friend in Malaysia a small gift.

We drove 45 minutes down to Allepy which is full of “backwaters” or wide canals.  We took a local boat for 10 cents which serves like a city bus, to the end of the line and back, each way about an hour.  People lived along the canals and we had beautiful views of palm trees, rice paddies, and a magnificent sunset.  I felt like we were in Thailand or Vietnam.  It was one of my highlights of India. Continue reading “Indo-French Fusion” →

Let me first introduce myself: I’m Nikkie, the ‘Little Dutch Friend’ of Michelle. And yes, I’m from the Netherlands, but I’m not ALWAYS making parties (for people who have this stereotype .. )    

I’m 21 years old and in India for 3 months for volunteer work (I’m a social worker; first I did volunteer work with disabled kids, now I’m volunteering in a theatre company), traveling and having a ‘new experience’. We are writing on each other’s blogs as celebrity guest authors.

I met Michelle when I went around some houses, in Bangalore, where I was with some sisters (nuns) where I stay with. Because of her ‘white skin’ she paid attention on me that evening. I only said ‘hi’ to her and we asked each others names, where we are from and what we are doing in Bangalore. After that evening, I saw her again with X-mas, in the church.

Again we said hi, took a photo, but then we both moved in an other direction.  Around New Year, I sent her a note (happy her window was open ), and the same day, she sent me a note back. The day afterwards, we went together to the ‘Shiva temple’ (which was actually more ‘business’ and ‘commercial’ than a real temple), had lots of nice talking, went to a strange grocery store and discussed together with the rickshaw driver (as usual .. :-S).  Since that day, we were a lot together; did yoga-class, went out, had nice talks, went to a wedding etc. etc.  We started to call each other ‘friends’, were I was really happy with
 
We went also to a workshop (with the name Interplay) where we had lots of fun again. Specially these exercises, dancing (on the roof!), and going out together is something we both really like to do.
 
So we also made the decision to travel a little bit together; first Mysore (together with Megan, Julia and Jessica, which was really fun -> Thanks Ooty Woodies!), then Hampi and now we are in ‘Pondy’. Michelle has a lot of skills I don’t have and which are great to have, and I have some qualities which are really nice for her. We are a good team!
 
Let’s tell a bit more about Hampi, which was lots of fun. I had big, big blisters on my feet, but with my nice company Michelle and with all the real helpful Indians, I did it!   

We decided not to take our guest house, we booked earlier, because of crossing the river (with all the luggage and my blisters :-S). We found another guesthouse, which was also nice. Already before that, we found a nice rickshaw driver (Anand, which mean happiness or coffeeboy: he gave us lots of happiness by driving us around but the coffee we still don’t have .. ), who took us from the railway station in Hospet to Hampi. In the afternoon, he drove us around Hampi. We also had a nice guide with us (Santu), which gave us lots of information about all the places we saw. Specially, there was a lot of nature and a lot of rocks in Hampi, which really gave energy and power. Also, there were stones which had music inside!

Continue reading “Lassi-foam” →

Wedding day essentials:  sari, petticoat, blouse, bangles, bindi, bejeweled necklace, fancy gold earrings, makeup, and anything else which could make me look Bollywood. 

Sari wrapping 101:  The petticoat has two purposes– to hold the sari in place and to provide coverage in case your sari is transparent.  Mine is stiff cotton in the same green as my sari, and has a draw string on the side which is pulled tight.  The blouse is also a matching color and clasped in front so the visible back is smooth.  Agnes Pricilla is 20 years old and was elected by her family to wrap my 5 meters of sari.  It would have been quicker had I been on a Lazy Susan and she held the fabric and spun me round and round til I was wrapped like a mummy.  Instead, she wrapped the fabric around me once, measured out the amount to be draped over my shoulder from the end of the sari and tossed it there, and with the remaining middle fabric (about 3 meters) made pleats in front and tucked them into the petticoat and pinned it securely.  The fabric draped over my middle and shoulder is pleated, tightened, and pinned in place.  That was easy.  The hard part was not looking like it was my first time wearing one.  I couldn’t help but think my Dutch friend Nikkie was wearing a toga instead of a sari, as there is an incredibly likeness in the garments.

The Ceremony:  The invitation said it started at 3:00 so Nikkie and I arrived at the church at 2:57 worrying that we may be late.  [We were later told by random people that they saw us in saris walking down the street, and they seemed impressed.]  There were some junior bridesmaids milling about outside, but the church was completely empty.  Not a person in sight, not even a priest.  Helloooo, anyone getting married today?  People started to slowly trickle in, no one running around looking frantic or nervous.  The ceremony finally got started at 3:40 with only ¼ of the church full.  The Sunday choir provided musical accompaniment.   It looked nearly like any American church wedding with a very long mass during which the couple was told that the third person in their family was Jesus.  The only differences I noticed was the exchange of flowered garland leis, and no photographer in sight.  None of the wedding party wore a sari or Indian clothes.  My elderly morning exercise teacher came to the ceremony just to see me in mine, but proceeded to tell me the style was old fashioned, but otherwise was quite happy about it.  Everyone seemed proud that I wore a sari actually.  I think foreigners feel that we will be perceived as somehow fake if we wear one, but that is not the case at all, it’s really appreciated which is nice.

The Reception:  The invitation said it would start at 6:30.  We arrived at 7:20 with some of the groom’s family.  The Continue reading “Wedding Bells Are Ringing” →