Date: April 22, 2003
Subject: living in the land of smiles
Hello folks!!
I wanted to let everyone in on my latest life news.
This summer I had a big trip planned...ya know, 9 paid weeks off during the summer as a teacher and ya gotta go somewhere! So, my original plan was to spend 4 weeks in Thailand, then 5 weeks in Nepal (my ultimate “vacation” destination). But as everyone knows, things change.
Well, being the curious person I am, I started looking in to some things...new jobs and such. I am not as happy as I wished I could be teaching here in the Santa Cruz area. I’m not sure what I want to do with my career or maybe this isn’t the right place to be teaching. However, things just aren’t jiving. What I found was a new teaching job abroad...just north of Bangkok Thailand. Not knowing when something like this may come along again, I am unable to turn this opportunity down. I’ve accepted a new teaching position which begins in August. I will be teaching photography and yearbook full time at the International School of Bangkok (www.isb.ac.th). I begin with a one year contract and will take it from there as to whether or not I stay longer. I can’t say that this is what I want to do with my life, but it sure sounds like an extraordinary plan in the meantime...while I figure it all out.
I leave the States at the beginning of June to spend a couple weeks relaxing on the beaches of Southern Thailand with some great friends, then off to Nepal solo for a month to trek around the Annapurna region and live life as simple as I possibly can. I will arrive in Bangkok (Nonthaburi to be exact) the last week of July to get settled into my new apartment and ready for school to begin in August. I have 2 weeks of inservice days prior to the students’ return.
Please email me with your mailing addresses/phone numbers so I can put them into my little black book, or if I have used an old email account and would like it updated. I plan on keeping in touch via email, but the random phone call may come. It’s a 9 hour difference from the west coast (12 east coast), so phone calls will be tricky. Visitors are always welcome...I will even have a spare bedroom in my apartment.
Look for further emails with info about a possible going away shindig (tentatively mid-May), as well as random ramblings from abroad and up to date contact info.
I am definitely going to miss many great things happening in all of your lives, which makes me sad. I will be with you in spirit, love and laughter. Please keep me up to date in all the fun things you do...heck...send pictures!!!
In love and light,
elise
p.s.- I will be getting rid of all of my stuff...furniture and car.
If you might be interested in any of it and are local, please feel free to email me and I’ll tell you exactly what I have to be rid of. :)
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2003
Subject: The eagle has landed
Hello!!!!
Just wanted to drop everyone a really quick note to say that I have arrived safe and sound in Thailand.
I arrived last night after 2 very long flights...9 hours from SFO to Tokyo, then 6 more to BKK.
I spent the day at my new school, getting introduced and aquainted. This place is a city within itself. A self sufficient community which should be interesting.
Tomorrow I start my travels north towards Chiang Mai, then back south to the beaches.
Ok...off to lunch.
Much love to you all!!!
- elise
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003
Subject: fun in the sun....
helloooo out there!
well, i’ve only been here a week, i think. i’m having a hard time keeping track of the date and time since my watch broke on the flight over here. i think it drowned in the hot tub the night before i left but i still think it was a sign :)
my first couple of days here i spent with the family of the teacher i’m replacing which was oh so wonderful. we felt like we’ve known each other for years. it was so comfortable. a great way to get over jet lag, though i didn’t experience any. i got the inside scoop on alot around school and the town.
then i hopped a bus to ayutthya and spent a day or so there riding a bike around touring the wats and temples and town. riding a bike on the left hand side of the road is quite a new experience, especially making right turns and going through roundabouts.
after that, i hopped a 6 hour train north to pitsanulok. the train ride was an adventure in itself. it was an “ordinary” train not an aircon first class one. people walked up and down the isle selling all sorts of food. each stop brought new and exciting things to watch coming up the isle. anything from drinks in a bag to meat on a stick to bugs. yes...bugs. this one lady had a bag of giantic bugs. it made me and the peanut lady squirm! i quickly caught a bus to new sukhothai where i’m at now.
i spent today riding a bike around the sukhothai historical park. you can rent a bike here for 20baht, which is about 50 cents. the weather here has been pretty nice. clouds in the sky covering enough so the sun isn’t pounding and it’s just hot enough to break a nice sweat. i’ve taken about 6 rolls of film so far, but you’ll all have to wait until i get back to bangkok and for school to start to see any of them. i’m still analog in the photography department.
i’ve been here just about 24 hours and will be leaving first thing tomorrow for chiang mai... a 5 hour bus ride from here.
one of the craziest things about thailand is that it’s easier to get on to the internet than it is to make a phone call at the payphone. everyone here has a cell phone. it’s a crazy mix of “american” culture and the old world. the hardest thing for me so far has been eating...there’s meat in everything and i have the hardest time remebering how to say “i’m vegetarian.” it’s a meat lovers delight!
much love to you all...even the meat eaters ;)
elise
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003
Subject: monks cooking leeches and elephants on a bamboo raft
hello...it’s me again. this is a long email and parts are not for the faint at heart ;)
i’ve been in the chiang mai province of thailand now for about a week. i’ve been having a great time doing all sorts of things.
the first thing i did was check out the area of town i was staying in. walked up and down the streets and found lots of cool shops to go into selling all sorts of things. then i went to the night bazaar and there was more of the same, cheap things to buy.
the second day i was here was sunday. when i decided to go check out the rest of the old city, i quickly realized that almost everything was closed. i decided to walk the entire perimeter of the city, following the old wall and moat. this only took a few hours but was a great way to see the city of chiang mai and to get my bearings. when i got back to where i started, thapae road gate, i saw lots of vendors setting up for the sunday festival. as the day progressed more and more vendors set up and pretty soon all of thaepae road was closed to all but foot traffic. by 4pm, the festival was in full swing. i saw all sorts of live music, even thai bluegrass! little boys playing with fire and drums.
then on monday, i took a cooking class with a thai man of the name chai who was a monk for 8 years. he taught me how to cook about 5 or so thai dishes while we taklked about buddhism, vegetarianism and california. it was a great way to spend the day, especially since i was his only student. i can’t wait to try these dishes out when i get back to bangkok to live.
the past 3 days, i’ve been on a trekking trip a few hours north west of here. we started out by hiking past some hots springs and up a mountain going for about 8km. the rains have just started and the forests feel like rain forests...very hot and muggy. as we were walking, our guide told us to be careful of the blood suckers...leeches. as we hiked along, we kept looking out for them. we saw them along the trail, but hadn’t yet found one on our bodies. then we stopped at the top of the mountain to check out the view. we could see over to burma, which was quite a ways west of us. we also stopped to pick some wild mushrooms to add to our dinner and because Goo, our guide, thought he had a leech. he did not. we hiked on and stopped at a white karen village. white karen are one of the hilltribe people here in thailand. here we rested for a bit, then began to hike to the next village.
as we hiked on, we stopped again to check for leeches.
this time i decided to pull up my pant leg past my knee. blood was streaming down my leg mixed with the rain but there was no leech insite. Goo helped me clean up my mess and the rest of the group realized that they too had been biten by leeches as well. we were all a mess. leeches don’t hurt when they bite but it itches a bit when they have released themselves when they are full. they also go right through your socks and clothes.
so we hiked along stopping again to pick some more mushrooms. we again checked for leeches and for some reason i decided to pull up my shirt and there a leech had attached itself to my belly button and was wriggling around! Goo swatted the leech off me. i think it had just attached itself because there was only a small mark left and the leech was still very small. leeches look like small earth worms that move very fast when they sense body heat. i think that one got one my belly when i set my bag down to clean up from the last leech. needless to say, i had visions of leeches as i tried to sleep that night.
in matter of minutes, we were at larger (3 family) white Karen village. this is where we stayed for the night and were fed the most scrumptious meal i’ve had since being in thailand. the soup we made from mushrooms we picked and lemongrass found in the village was incredible! our meal also had rice that was grown from the hilltribe people in their paddies. the chicken that the rest of the group ate was one of the village’s chickens.
staying in the village, even for one night was an amazing experience. living so primitive, without the influence of the outside world. the white karen are called that because the girls wear white until they are married and after that, they wear colorful, beautiful clothing, much of which they weave themselves.
the next morning we woke early and hiked only for about an hour to the next village where we were put on elephants to take us through the forest. riding an elephant is a strange experience. they are such huge yet graceful creatures. i had trouble determining if riding an elephant through the forest was the most humane thing i could be doing for this animal. along the way, the “driver” of the elephant, was extremely gentle to her and you could tell that they had a wonderful relationship. once we arrived at our destination, we were given bananas to feed them. they were soooo happy and you could see their eyes light up at the site of the bananas.
where the elephants brought us was to another village where we got our raft made out of bamboo. when we arrived, they were still building the raft. bamboo is such a great building material. it’s incredibly strong. once it was finished being built we put on our lifejackets and rafted down the mae tang river. it was a mellow ride and possibly one of the more relaxing rafting trips i’ve been on to date.
after cruising down the river, we stopped at another village for the night. these rafts are only used one time and once you “dock”, they are quickly taken apart, the bamboo split up and recycled. most of it is sold by the village we stopped at to other villages as building material. this new village we stopped at was of the akha tribe. these are the hilltribe people that wear elaborate head dresses made using silver and the woman have black teeth from smoking tobbacco all the time. we stayed there the night and this morning through the afternoon, Goo took us to visit a few akha villages set farther back in the hills.
our guide, Goo, was incredible. he taught us all about the plants and flowers we saw along the way, which i was totally thrilled at learning. we learned about the various tribes and their customs. Goo is originally from Laos but grew up in northern thailand in what is called the golden triangle...where china, burma, laos and thailand meet. he knew how to speak to everyone we met and not all of these people speak the same language as there are many different dialects throughout thailand as well as through the hilltribes.
i could easily say that this trekking trip could was as uncommercial as it could have been, though it sounds like all of the trips advertised around town. i think that the choice of villages we stayed in by our guide made all of the difference, not to mention we didn’t see any other trekkers on our entire trip.
so now i’m back in the city of chiang mai, all showered and clean. tomorrow i will do some more things here around town, then head off north to Pai for a few days of hiking, reading and relaxing.
thanks for all of the wonderful responses to my last email. please keep me up to date to what is going on in the homeland as i do miss it and everyone...believe it or not.
much love to you all!
Elise
hey folks!
it’s me once again. just wanted to say hello even though it’s only been a few days.
i spent one more day in chiang mai where i met this great group of people. we only got to hang out for a day but we had a blast! it’s been a very sad thing to meet all these wonderful people and then see them go almost as quickly. it’s a new thing for me as i’m very used to having the same people always in my life...i like that constant and am having a hard time adjusting.
i hopped a bus to the town of pai yesterday. it’s a very small town and i think there are more guesthouses in this town than there are people. i couldn’t even imagine what this town would be like if they were all full. there are also more foreign people in this town than i’ve seen in my entire travels. from what i hear, people come here expecting to stay a couple of days and end up staying for weeks, months or longer. many of them that i’ve seen seem very settled and comfortable here.
today i spent on a motorbike...my first motorbiking experience. what fun it is getting around of one of those things! crashed in to some bushes getting used to turning it around. also, when i rented it, the lady was very kind to remind me to drive on the left hand side of the road. i actually found myself driving on the right down this one country road. oops. i drove all around pai, through the valley and up the mountains. went to a hot spring or two though they are way too hot to even imagine getting in to, especially when it’s already hot as heck out. saw some more temples too.
other than that, the rest of my evening will be spent watching a movie a the movie house...which is actually on a tv...dvd’s are pirated here so matrix 2 will be showing.
off to mae hong son tomorrow...i think...to see the long neck people, then back to chiang mai to possibly meet up with those wonderful people i met from the UK and off south to the beaches.
much love to you all!
Elise
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003
Subject: pics of me at cooking school
hey folks-
almost forgot that Baan Thai cookery school took these of me.
pretty silly....
http://www.cookinthai.com/photo/160603/index.htm
much love,
elise
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003
Subject: singing in the rain
hello!
it’s me again. i think the last time i wrote i was in the town of pai, ready to venture to mae hong son. i did indeed make it there after a long, rough bus ride where a hilltribe person made the driver stop so she could vomit. what a wonderful experience that was ;)
i met some people on the bus to mae hong son and we made our way to a guest house. we then rented some motorbikes. at this point, i’m a pro at the motor bike ;) and it was their first time. pretty funny experience. the next day we made our way to the longneck karen village, about an hour away. these people are refugees from burma (myanmar) which is only a few kilometers over the mountain. the women wear brass coils aroung their neck, calves and knees starting at a young age. i could go into a very long email about why they have to wear these...maybe another time but essentially it is to chain them up so they can’t escape and to weigh them down. so we walk in to their village and i immediatly feel like a voyeur and in the twilight zone. i felt very out of place though this ethno-tourism is how they make a living in thailand. we walk around and eventually come to an elder woman and a young girl, her daughter.
i start asking the older woman about what she was chewing, beatlenut. i aks her what was in it. before we knew it, we were sitting in their house making beatlenut (a gross combo of tobacco, nuts, silt and leaves). they chew it like tobacco and it produces bright red spit and lips while it rots your teeth. it is banned by the king here but the hilltribes still use it. we were also sipping “whiskey” from a jar through a wooden straw. “whiskey” is really fermenting rice and more or less is sake. we ended up staying in their home for about an hour chatting away. the young girl speaks pretty good english as she has learned it from the tourists. the good thing about travelling now, is that there aren’t very many tourists and you have the thai people all to yourself.
it was definietly a good experience.
we visited some waterfalls, hot springs and caves while in mae hong son as well.
the next day, we caught a bus back to chiang mai (9hours) and then i hopped an overnight train to bangkok (11 hours). i was supposed to catch another bus down south but me bum couldn’t take it and i caught a flight to the south.
i spent my first night in the south in krabi town. the only thing to do in krabi town is to go see this cool wat/temple that sits in a limestone cave. it was really beautiful and hope that my pictures turn out.
the next day i caught a long tail boat to rai leh beach and have been in this area for the past 3 or so days. the beaches are beautiful and the water is amazing. i was going to go kayaking this morning but felt too tired from doing a whole lot of nothing. i’m glad i didn’t because as a friend and i were sunning ourselves, we could see this huge storm coming in. i really wanted to see the storm so i ducked under a limestone cave and watched the rain pelt the ocean, then i braved it and ran back to the guesthouse. my nights here have been spent putting on fire performances at some of the bars and restaurants with these crazy thai staff spinners, but i’m the only poi person on this beach.
and here i sit, as the rain just stopped. i plan on hitting one of the islands tomorrow, then i’m off to malaysia for a visa thing that i messed up on when coming here. no biggie...i get to see a bit of malaysia for a few days. then i head back north to some more islands, then it’s off to work i go.
i hope this finds you well and that you have been enjoying your summer!
much love to you all!
Elise
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003
Subject: from the deep south
hello, hello, hello!
yes, it’s me again. hummm...where did i last leave off?
i think the last time i wrote i was in rai leh beach and heading to ko phi phi.
i spent a couple days in ko phi phi and to say the least, i didn’t like it much. there are too many people there (even for the off season) and it’s way to commercialized. there are so many westerners working there at diving companies and almost every restaurant is geared towards scandanavians. the thing i really liked about phi phi island was there was this group of thai guys that put on fire shows every night and they really liked me joining them. but, the island was expensive and i had to go.
so back to rai leh beach i went, which was kind of a strange way to head towards malaysia since ko phi phi is south of rai leh beach. but oh well...sometimes you have to go the wrong way to go the right way. another day in rai leh was just what i needed. peace and quite and sunshine!
then it was off to malaysia to take care of my visa issue. well...this was a bit of an adventure. first thing, i hadn’t seen a car in just over a week and it was a very weird feeling to see them again once back on the mainland. i booked my way in a mini van to head south. things went really well until we hit the border crossing. we all got out of the mini van with our bags and headed in to the building. almost immediatley as i got into line, i was pulled out and taken in to another room. and for what? a stupid SARS check! being the only westerner at the border crossing, i was a huge target. it was basically this form that i had to fill out and have the health guy stamp and back in line i went. i waited and waited in the line and finally reached the immigration guy. he looked at my form and told me i had to go back to the health guy and have him put his stamp on a new form because he stamped it in the wrong place. at this point, i was a little peeved. i did it all but wouldn’t get back in to that line which was now out the door and went staight to the front and passed through just fine. when i got the mini van where everyone was waiting for me, all i could say was “because i’m american” and they all laughed.
made it to penang just fine after that. penang is a large island of the western coast of malaysia. it’s a pretty large island with it’s population consisting mainly of chinese, then muslim and indian. at first i thought i would “blend in” a little better than in thailand, but nope. not a big deal. every man i pass on the street is sure to say hello to me while stairing straight at my chest. at first it bothered me, now i just laugh to myself.
almost everyone speaks english here and the bus system is great! however, it’s kind of dirty and McDonalds are everywhere. it’s not nearly as cheap as thailand and more like living on the east coast of the states. for example: a meal in thailand would cost me about 40 - 120 baht ($1-3) and here it’s about 7 - 25RM ($3-8).
but, with the diversity comes some great shopping! and needless to say, i think i have most of my christmas shopping done :)
going to the movies was even an experience. they assign you a seat and still people rush the ticket guy and run to the theater. then, they cut the credits at the end. oh well, c’est la vie.
unfortunately, i only have time enough to see a small part of the island, georgetown and a bit farther north, and want to head back to thailand either tomorrow night or first thing the next morning. my visa was no problem...easy as pie.
so that’s that. i’m looking forward to getting back to thailand and making my way back north, meeting up with some people along the way that i met earlier in my journey. the last part of my adventure is to do some island hopping in the gulf of thailand. i’m actually getting anxious to start teaching and have been thinking about some new lessons and such.
i hope everyone had a splendid fourth of july. i missed being in the states and missing high sierra music festival. i’m pretty certain that i won’t be missing it next year :)
much love to you all!
elise
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003
Subject: these shoes were made for walking
Hi folks!
I made my way from Malaysia pretty easily, though it was a more expensive trip than I had wanted. Picking up my visa was not a problemn and i had to show my machismo a bit. I got to the thai embassy a bit early so i could secure my spot in line, get my passport and truck it out of there lickity split as i had to catch a minivan pretty shortly after. at the embassy, as the time approached for the window to open and people began showing up, most of the polite people realized i had been there and even the security guard knew i was there first. as he opened the window, he made sure i was first to stand in line. as the emabassy guy approched the window with me standing right there, this other guy (one serviced by others to take care of their passports for them) tried to shove his little pick up slips infront of me. well, i was to have none of that and made certain the guy in the window took mine first. i was off lickity split then and made my mini van on time.
we made our way without any problem through the border..no SARS check this time. heck, they didn’t even check any of our bags. but as we started heading towards the town of had yai, this one guy headed in the same direction as me, realised that there was no way we could make it in time to catch the connecting mini van or even the government bus. when we got to had yai, the two of us and 2 others ended up hiring a private mini van to take us to the town of suratthani so we could catch the night ferries to our respective islands. this was a bit pricey, but saved us having to spend a night in had yai which is not the greatest of towns. this minivan ride was one of the most gut wrenching drives i’ve had yet. the driver was absolutely crazy and i’m honestly surpised we didn’t have an accident. but he got us to our boats with a half hour to spare. enough time to drink a beer and wind down from the rollar coaster ride we just had.
i then boarded a night ferry to koh tao. i’ve never slept on a boat before, let alone one like that and of that size. it was strange. you sleep in the upper portion of a boat which looks like a huge tugboat on thin mats with everyone right next to each other. walking in there was nearly impossible and you have to walk almost bent in half...even the short thai people.
you wake up and you’re at your island...which for me is koh tao, the northern island off the east coast in the gulf of thailand.
i’ve been here for a few days and have been in paradise. this is by far my favorite place thus far, though i think that everytime i go to a new place. tomorrow i leave for the southern island, koh pha ngan. did a bit of yoga the other night under a thatch roof hut. it was what i needed to strectch my muscles and clear my head a bit. yesterday, i kayaked from the beach i’m at, sairee, and went out to this little island nguyan nan (or something like that). it was by far the thoughest kayaking experience i’ve had thus far but very rewarding. the ocean was a bit rough and my arms are feeling it today. this little island is beautiful...well, it’s actually 2 islands connected by a beach. i kayaked around it and saw little blue fish jumping through the water and the biggest jelly fish that i’ve ever seen in my life. it must have been the size of a basketball and had little star fish attached to the top. well, i think it was a jellyfish and could have been a man of war. i don’t know my sea life very well. all of this water activity has inspired me to take a diving course which i will do when i come back next week since this is a great place to dive. i will be in koh phag ngan for a week, then i’m back here for another 5 days.
last night i saw one of the craziest things i’ve seen in thailand so far. i was walking home from a bar and a great night out with some people i keep running in to along the way. up from behind me a mototbike flies past. the next thing i see is the headlight of this motorbike fly through the air. i run ahead to see if the driver was ok and all. i checked him over trying to remember my cpr stuff etc. and meanwhile am trying to ask the thai people that have gathered to get help.
the guy driving was drunk beyond belief. as he passed another motorbike he clipped the womans arm, throwing him off the bike. she was ok but made things out to be just manic. screaming and yelling saying she was going to call the police and meanwhile this guy is out cold. a british woman went to get help who lives on the island and speaks thai. she told all of the thai people gathered to leave. as she left she told me to watch over him and that we needed to get him out of site fast because of politics...westerner vs. thai. so he finally comes to. bad bash on his head, no blood, and appears to have broken his collar bone and going into a bit of shock. and meanwhile this thai lady is still screaming her head off. finally, a friend of the guys passes by, we get the lady to go away. as she’s leaving, we’re trying to get the guy to stand up and she shoves him. i just couldn’t beleive it. help finally comes back and he’s taken off on a motor bike. i know it doesn’t sound that bad in writing but man, it was a horrible situation. the morale of this story is never drink and drive anything, and being in a foreign country is not exception to the rule. i’m going to stick with my two feet.
thanks for reading this as i know i tend to ramble on in my travel logues.
take care and i hope that everyone’s summer has been glorious!
much love,
elise
Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2003
Subject: flip floppin’ around
hello beautiful people!
just an update from the other side of the world...well...for most of you.
I’ve been here on koh pha ngan for the past week or so just relaxing and not doing too much of anything. i have 5 days left on this island then one week in bangkok before orientation starts at school.
i spent about 6 days in haad rin here on koh pha ngan.
i met up with a friend of a friend which quickly made me realize how much i truly love to travel alone. the freedom to do as you please and not have to worry about anyone else is such a great thing. needless to say, i made a brave move and left her behind. i’m just a few beaches north at this place called the santuary where i’ve been doing yoga for the past few days, twice a day and eating great veggie food..and thanks darren for telling me about this place! i’m in debate with myself as to whether or not i should stay here for the next 4 days and keep up with the yoga or if i should move on and see some more of the island. picking up my bag again just doesn’t sound appealing.
since i’ve been here on koh pha ngan i’ve met and remet lots of lovely people...made friends with some folks that live here from san francisco and remet up with some great people from england. and thanks to patrick for putting it in my head that the truly special people you meet along the way always come back around. so very true!!!
i’ve come to love the flip flop life...now i know why all of my students at aptos high wear them.
off to enjoy the beach before the rain comes.
thanks for all of your replies as i love hearing about what’s happening in your lives!
much love,
elise
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003
Subject: hello from “little america”
hey folks!!
last i left off i was on ko pha ngan at haad tien doing yoga at the sanctuary. as i last wrote i was in lieu of whether or not to stay and do more yoga or to venture off and see some more of the island. well, i ended up staying there at the sanctuary and continued my yoga practice. i’m really glad that i stayed as learning more about yoga helped me further my interest in the subject. i’ve been practicing yoga everyday since leaving there as well. i’m also glad that i stayed because i met so many beautiful people in the final days of my vacation. to tell you how small a world it is, one couple lives in cali not too far from my stomping grounds, plus one of them grew up in hershey pa! i also met some great international teachers and was able to swap stories.
i made it safe and sound to my new apartment. i was greeted very cordially by a staff member at the airport. upon arriving to my new “home”, i couldn’t believe the lengths they went to to make it comfortable...stocking the fridge with essentials and such. i’ve made my way aroung nonthaburi quite successfully, practicing my thai all the time. tonight a fellow staff member and i met up with some other international teachers (teach in cairo) for a dinner at a korean bbq place. i had lots of squid to eat while avoiding all of the other meat. many of you would have shuddered if you would have seen me there...way out of character for me. i actually cooked my squid right where all of the other meat was cooked. i’m learning that sometimes you have no choice or you go hungry.
i’m about to go see a movie as well, then back home to do a little decorating with the few items i have.
ran around our little lake today...baan rim lake. baan means home in thai. all around the lake is kind of nice housing. this area i live in is sometimes called little america because of the amount of westerners that live here...especially americans. i’m quite out in the suburbs of bangkok but it’s a quick hop in a cab on the highway and you’re in the city pretty fast. there’s also a sky train here which can get me most of the way home.
i’ve also spent some quality time doing laps in the pool as it’s been bloody hot here...like 100 and full on humidity. every few days the sky bursts and we get rain. the full monsoon season will be here shortly where it rains much much more. should make for an interesting bike ride in to work.
i guess that’s it for now.
much love to you all!
Elise
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003
Subject: the daze...
hey folks-
well, i’ve been living here for about 3 weeks and it feels like a year. Anticipation of school starting...school started...and 2 days have gone by. The anticipation was gut wrenching...literally. I had a pain in my tummy for days waiting for the first day of school to start. Our first day was yesterday and it went well. Flew by infact. the students here are well mannered but I can tell that I have some which are very independant and individualistic...which i’m very happy to see. Day 2 has come and gone by very quickly as well. only 183 more days to go! haha...
running in to ISB students is a frequent thing here. the other night a bunch of us we getting a snack at 4 in the morning downtown after going out and we ran into a bunch of ISB students. they didn’t recognize us and neither did we them. but yesterday, one of my students asks me what i was doing there? i said eating and what were you doing there? he didn’t have a response. was just the first and won’t be the last.
living in a third world country gone industrial still brings on health risks. and no, i’m not immune to them...darn. found out yesterday that i have a few...well, parasites living in my body. apparently from eating something raw...not sure if it’s from raw fish or salad. but anyway...one’s living in my foot of all places. it’s weird to see a little “worm” like thing in your foot. we have a good doctor here and he gave me some great medicine and it’s knocked it out of me, as well as knocked me out for the night last night.
Nothing else is new here. It’s very hot and humid, everyday, all day. It’s the monsoon season, but sure doesn’t feel like it as we only get rain every few days. looking forward to the cool season in november...cool being 80.
I’m looking forward to a weekend away this weekend...going to spend it in Bangkok proper with some friends. explore a bit more without worrying about transportation.
hope this finds you well.
much love,
elise
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003
Subject: Laughing away...
Sawaat dii Kha! (Hello!)
My friend Cam has inspired me to write a little message, though my life hasn’t been anywhere near exciting as it was over the past 2 months.
Life has settled down enormously. With settling, I’m able to have some time to read, create new pages on my website (will send the link when I’m done) and plan a winter trip to Nepal...since i didn’t make it there this summer.
I’ve made some new friends here on the staff of new teachers and a few of us have had some fun bonding experiences, like treading through the flooded streets of Bangkok (Krungthep as it is in Thai), seeing a dog devour a rat the size of a cat in the middle of the street, and shopping our hearts away at all the fun markets Bangkok has to offer.
I formed a Thai study group and got us all a Thai tutor. Hopefully I will be able to chat away with the taxi drivers as they haul me bum into the city instead of sitting there in silence or saying mai khao jai (i don’t understand) or puut thai nit nawy (speak little thai).
This is a short one and just wanted to say hi...I’ve attached some a sneak preview of some photos. Full portfolio of the summer should be up and running shortly. The one pic is of kayakers at sunset off the island of koh Tao. The other 2 are from a fancy tuk tuk ride we had a few weekends ago in Bangkok...not sure what i’m laughing at and i really don’t have a double chin like that ;) The other girl in the pic is one of my new veggie friends here, Melanie.
Have a great weekend and I hope this finds you well.
much love with a jai dii (good heart),
elise
Chiang Mai
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 2003
Subject: on the road again...
hello! Greetings from the north of Thailand, again.
My first three day weekend at school has come and gone. I was able to escape Bangkok and travel north to Chiang Mai for the weekend and man...does it feel great to be back out travelling again!
The moment I got on the plane to fly up here, I was overwhelmed with the feeling of freedom...it was an amazing feeling that I have been longing for for the past month. I began to feel a bit trapped in Nonthaburi. I almost wish i didn’t have to go back to work, but...alas i must.
I spent the weekend eating great veggie thai food at my favorite restaurant and meeting wonderful people. My communication skills with Thai people has improved immensely...once they find out that you can speak just a litte bit of Thai, they want to talk your ear off! so i got some real life practice. I met a great Thai couple here and they spent a day taking me to see some stuff in the outskrits of Chiang Mai.
I ran in to a fellow music lover at my favorite restaurant...a Coloradian...we chatted about music all weekend and even went to see some live music last night, which was actually really good. This thai guy performed Eric Clapton songs almost to the t and whaled on the guitar.
I also picked up my first hitch hiker on my way to see this temple on the mountain, Doi Suthep. A scottish Lad who was waiting for a ride from the taxi drivers but they wouldn’t take him because there weren’t enough people to go. I was in that same situation over the summer so I gave the sad bloke a ride up the mountain on the back of my motor bike i had rented. It was a perfect day to go up the mountain as the weather here has been fantastic and the view from the top was amazing!
I had my first custom tailored dress made. mom, these ladies sew faster than i’ve ever seen anyone sew before! I went in on friday afternoon, they measured every inch of my body, came back saturday evening to try the dress on and voila! it fit perfectly! and...it barely cost anything. I have a school ball to attend in a few weeks and there just isn’t any way that i’d be able to find a dress off the rack in thailand to fit me as thai women are super tiny. so a full length thai silk dress cost me less than my plane ticket up here.
Well, I hope all is well in your part of the world!
I’m off to the sunday market to finish off my vacation, then fly back to bangkok.
much love to you all!
Elise
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003
Subject: Sabaay Dii!
Hello everyone!
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written. Not too much in life has happened and then again, life changes daily.
I’ve been here in Thailand for over 4 months now...time has flown right by. I packed my shipment at the end of May and it arrived via sea on the Belgium v118 about 2 weeks ago. It’s been nice to have a few familiars around though my flat still feels rather empty, and not just for a lack of schlock. Maybe it’s because I don’t have Christopher’s wonderful singing anymore to fill the air ;) I guess I should take pictures of where I live and send them off...one day I will...
I still can’t speak the language fluently though in my Thai lesson last night I realized that I’ve come a long way and have certainly noticed my comfort level when out and about trying to communicate with folks.
I went to the British Club’s Rugby Ball, the Pink and Black ball, over the weekend where I was able to sport my new tailor made dress. Was able to make a few heads turn, though they were mostly all toothless men...yes...toothless old rugby players so nothing to write home about ;) Felt like I was at a prom for adults...never will I attend a ‘ball’ again. There was a reason why I never went to these silly things in high school.
I have yet another long weekend here only due to APEC being in town and half the city streets will be closed for motorcades and what not seriously affecting the routes our kids take into school. Oh well...I get to get away and have a great weekend with my co-worker and friend Melanie. We’re heading west to Kanchanaburi to see the River Kwai and Erawan falls, live in a house boat for the weekend and of course, practice our Thai.
I’ve attached a few pictures..one of a monk in Chiang Mai, one from the Chatuchak weekend market, and one of me with some coworkers dressed up for the ball. Enjoy!
Take care and I hope this finds you well.
Much love,
elise
Date: Sunday, November 09, 2003
Subject: Loi Krathong - festival of lights
Hello!
I wanted to share with everyone the cultural weekend I had.
This weekend was “Loy Krathong” which is a Thai celebration that takes place annually on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month (which is always in
November in the present calendar system). It fell on
Saturday, November 8th this year. This tradition is somewhat like a Thanksgiving because in the past the
Thai people depended a lot on the river (mae nam) and canals (klong). If the water was plentiful, their farm yielded good crops. Then people would be happy. Loy
Krathong was the way to express their thanks to the
River God.
Literally in the Thai language “Loy” means “to float” and “Krathong” means “leaf cup”.
The floating of a leaf cup on water is the symbolic act performed during the festivities. The leaf cups are traditionally made of banana leaves and are used to hold a candle, flowers and incense sticks. It’s stated in Thai literature that Miss Noppamas, a young lady who worked in the palace early in Sukhothai era, was the first one who originated the present form of “krathong”.
How the festival “Loy Krathong” started is still a topic of discussion among scholars. Some said it was started as an act of worship for the three Hindu gods. Some mentioned a legend concerning Lord Buddha’s footprint on the shore of the nammada (namrata) River.
In general the Thai people believe that “Loy Krathong” is a way of asking the Mother of Waters (Mae Kongka)for forgiveness for having polluted the waters during the year, and also, in a sense, asking for the forgiveness of sins. Kind of ironic how they float a bunch of stuff down the river in forgiveness of polluting it? hummmm... It is also believed that in floating a krathong, you can float away your bad luck, trouble, bitterness as well as sick ness.
Some people put coins (1 or 5 baht) in a krathong to represent “giving and sharing” which is a form of merit making. The coins are usually collected by the children swimming or wading out in the water...and old men too.
Nowadays “Loy Krathong” has also become a fun family night for all family members to go out, float a krathong, watch beautiful candle lights and krathongs and have nice dinner together.
Some coworkers and I started our festival evening by taking a boat from our local pier down the river to
Wat Arun. Wat Arun is a beautiful wat which is very ornate and decorated with glass, mosaic and paint.
We then went on to the Banglampoo area of town to eat a yummy thai meal and float our krathong down the river as well to enjoy the celebration.
I’ve attached 3 pictures. One is of Wat Arun lit up that night. The second is of Katherine, me and
Sheona. You can see they are holding their krathong, though mine got cut from the picture. Sheona’s was made from baked bread and Katherine’s and mine were made of the traditional banana tree and flowers. You can buy ones made of styrofoam but they don’t biodegrade in the river and just make it yucky. The third picture is of the krathongs floating down the river with the Rama 8 bridge in the background.
All is well otherwise and living life as much as I can and making time pass quickly. Been here for 5 months now...whew. I’m ready for winter holiday and some cold weather...that’s for certain.
Hoping all your bad luck floated down the river with mine! Much love to you all!
elise
December 19, 2003 - January 9, 2004
Namaste!
Where to even begin sharing the last 3 weeks? So much has happened...so many things seen, heard, smelled, felt...full sensory overload. This will be the longest set of emails I've written to date and I'm writing in journal format. No need to read it all, as I can’t seem to leave any details out.
I'm breaking my Nepal experience in to 2 emails. The first is my trekking experience; the second is all the rest after.
Dec. 21, 2003
Where I left off was that we were leaving Kathmandu and heading west to Pokhara. Beth, Darren and I hopped a bus around 7am...a regular old tourist bus jam packed with people. It was so full that Darren opted to sit on the floor, as there wasn't nearly enough room on the backbench for all of the people. We arrived in Pokhara and had a few hours to chill and stroll the streets. This town is much more relaxed than Kathmandu. Cows and goats freely roam the streets and cars still whiz by honking their horns. We met that evening with our guide for the trekking trip and made all of our decisions and such. Darren and I began to have a few feelings of reservations with having a guide for our trip but decided to toss those feelings aside. That night we went out for some yummy Indian food and got to experience first hand the energy problems attached to living in Pokhara, who gets their power via the river. The power kept going on and off, but it was still fun nonetheless.
Dec. 22, 2003
Darren and I woke fairly early and ran up to the rooftop of our guesthouse to take pictures of the sun rising on the mountain range. We could see the mountains so beautifully from here, though we froze our tooshies off. We then did a few sun salutations to warm up and stretch our bones. Later we met with our guide and porters. Obtained our trekking permits and purchased our return flight tickets. From the get go, we were told to lie about our nationality because of Maoist issues along the trails and throughout Nepal. So from this point on, we were now from Australia. More on this to come. We started our trek in the town of Nayapul, not but an hours drive from Pokhara. Since we started out pretty late, this was an easy day of trekking through a small valley and over a few streams. We stopped for lunch part way where I had my first Dahl Baat experience...lentils and rice. Yummy!!! It was the first and not the last of wonderful Dahl Baat meals as that was what Darren and I had for nearly every meal along the trek. During this lunch we also met a little local boy who walked miles to school everyday and talked about getting off the farm and wanted to get a "real" job. He was on his way home from school and his day still had chopping grass for the cattle and his homework to do. Along the trek this day we saw many walls painted with sayings such as “We don’t like US socialists.” This gave me the feeling for what is going on out here. We also saw a man being carried in a basket on the back of anther man’s back. This is how they take the sick to hospitals from along the trail. We arrived in the town of Tikhengunda for our evenings stay. A small, simple town.
Dec. 23, 2003
Today we hiked from Tikhegunda to Ghorepani (Horse water)…6 full on hours of hiking, and all up hill! This part they call the Steps of Ghorepani…all 4000 or so of them. They aren’t really steps but are little rocks that you climb up. Some of it was through a Rhododendron forest, which in the spring would be spectacular! For me it was a great challenge and never once along the way did I feel like I wanted to give up. The entire way we passed through little villages and herds and herds of donkeys carrying goods from up north down. We passed many of these donkeys all along our trek. The trail we trekked is really called a road, though no cars or motorized vehicles can go on this trail and it’s merely for people and animals of the trade route and trekking. Shortly after stopping for lunch, where we were told Maoists had a checkpoint just up ahead, we had to stop at this checkpoint indeed. Here we had to pay 1000 rupees each to the Maoists and we were still from Australia. Luckily, the only words we had to say were “Australia” and “ok” when we paid the money. Anyone would have known that we weren’t from there if they would have spoken to us for longer as our accents would have given us away. The rest of the day was all uphill and not as hard as the beginning. We stopped for the night in the town of Ghorepani. A bigger town than the night before and they had HOT water at the guesthouse. We all indulged in this, then sat by the fire for the rest of the night.
Dec. 24, 2003
Darren and I woke VERY early this morning for a 1000-meter hike up to Poon Hill for the spectacular sunrise over, across and all around the Annapurna range. Amazing!!! That little hike was the hardest hike for me the entire trek. Hiking up to 3000 plus meters at 5:30 in the morning was quite the challenge, but I did it and it was well worth the effort. The rest of the day was spent hiking down the other side of the mountain and we went through the deepest gorge in the world. We passed through many villages along the way and as we hiked farther, the villages got older and older and many implore natural building techniques, which was great to see in use. We arrived after a full day trekking in the town of Tatopani (Hot water)…, which to our chagrin had a hot spring! We quickly got our swimmies on and headed for the hot spring to relax. This place, compared to anywhere else we stayed along the trek was amazing and had great food taboot! This was probably the only meal I ate that wasn’t Dahl Baat ;) After dinner, people from each direction began to appear for some Christmas Eve cheer. Bottles of beer chaeng (Tibetan beer which is much like a lemon wine) came out and singing around a little fire started. Darren and I stayed up late and met this wonderful couple from Santa Barbara who were trekking the circuit. Upon leaving for the trip, I was hoping that some clarity would come to certain life decisions that I have bottled up in my mind. Upon chatting with Heidi, I realized that I do indeed want to join the Peace Corps upon completion of teaching in Thailand and after traveling for a bit, and maybe even going back to school in New Zealand to learn a more about organics, permaculture and community planning…yes…that would mean I’d do the Peace Corps around June 2007…but that’s ok. Better late than never! So thanks Heidi for the inspiration!
Dec. 25, 2003
Christmas day was a short trekking day. We hiked only for a couple hours to the tiny village of Kapchepani. Nothing spectacular to report on this day…a few big bridges to cross and a few landslides to hike over. I learned this day that I don’t like bridges at all because of being able to see what’s below my feet but don’t mind being able to look over the edge of a cliff and seeing the ground below. Thanks to my dad for the vertigo! Much of the rest of today was spent watching the children play in the “street” and drinking Chaya tea. We spent the night playing cards with the locals and went to bed around 7:30.
Dec. 26, 2003
Today was a long slow hiking day to Kalopani (Black water). 7 hours both up and down and all around. We passed Dhawlagiri and could see the icefall that you can take as a little side trip. Dhawlagiri is the tallest peak in the Annapurna range…8167 meters. We passed through more old villages and even through a couple military checkpoints. The place we stayed at had these little hot coal pits under the tables where you ate. Very nice to feel the heat on your legs. This was the night where I think my true feeling for our guides and porters came about. Each evening, when we would arrive at the guesthouse, they would drop us off and quickly disappear for the night. This night, we found out where they went and what they did. No matter what they were doing, but it was that they left us. It was this day that I truly realized that we probably should have not hired guides and porters and we could have easily carried our own gear and they didn’t really tell us much along the way. Also, the trail is so clearly marked that it would take a blind person to get lost. I guess the lesson was learned and next time I decide to do the Annapurnas (yes, the entire circuit is in the future) I will go without guide and porters.
Dec. 27, 2003
Another easy trekking day. We walked up the Kaligandaki riverbed all day collecting Saligrams…little fossils inside black rocks. About half way, we stopped and had tea and biscuits inside a little hut like house. It was cool too see how the people along the river live. A one room, simple house built of earthen materials…what a great way to live! We made it to Marpha in the late afternoon and it had begun to snow. Marpha is a great town and a fairly larger one at that. The streets are very narrow and the buildings are fairly tall. Most of the village seems to house Tibetan refugees and the shop owners are also mostly refugees that walk to Marpha from the refugee camp about an hour away. On our way in to Marpha, we spotted Himalayan Griffins…BIG birds that look like condors. Thanks to Beth for bringing the binocs! Marpha also has a Monastery where there are tons of prayer wheels and monks study there.
Dec. 28, 2003
It snowed quite a bit the night before. Darren and I woke very early as the child inside of us wanted to go and make some fresh tracks the snow. This was the first snowfall that Marpha had seen for the season. It was so great to be out wandering the streets and alley ways, taking pictures, seeing the locals popping their heads out the windows to get a view. We even saw local girls heading out of town wearing flip flops as they trekked through the snow…brrrrr. The guide and porters were unwilling to start our trekking day in the snow and felt that we should wait for it to stop. Finally, after much prodding, we were able to start our day and only made it as far as Jomsom. When we finally did get out trekking, the sun started to shine and we realized that not starting earlier was a big mistake as there was much to do about nothing. The trek from Marpha to Jomsom was a quick one. Jomsom is the town where you fly in and out of. Our plan was to go further, to Muktinath, then turn back to Jomsom to fly out. Beth decided that Jomsom was her last stop and Darren and I wanted to go further. Since Beth didn’t want to go on, we thought that it was unnecessary to have the guide and porters. It was hard to break this news to them but in the end, they decided to head back, B eth was to stay in Jomsom til the next flight out and Darren and I were to hike onwards. That day if we would have headed out when we were supposed to, we would have been able to make it to Kagbeni.
Dec. 29, 2003
Darren and I set off for Kagbeni today. A mild 3-hour hike up the riverbed. Kagbeni was probably my favorite village/town of them all. The village borders on Mustang, a forbidden area to foreigners unless you have the very expensive permit to enter. The town is a Tibetan feeling town with prayer flags all around, old buildings made of earth and stone and a monastery that sits up on the bank of the river. As we ate lunch there, I realized that I screwed up my knees at some point as was having horrible pains…like someone had taken a baseball bat and whacked me in the knee caps. OUCH! Not to mention gale force winds and it was really cold out. So Darren and I made the decision not to trek onward to Jharkot that day, and then on to Muktinath. Our trekking journey would only take us as far north as Kagbeni. We spent the rest of the day walking around the town and checking out the spectacular sites this little town had to offer. I can’t wait to share my photos of this place. Mountains surround this town and a huge river runs next to it. Mountain goats sit perched on the steep mountainside as it drops abruptly to the river. But then all hell broke loose!! Attack!!! Little village kids decided that we were a good target for their snowballs. From three different groups of kids, we became the bullseye…you’d think we were painted red. We, I guess with our white skin, we were. This was the down side to our little trip in this town and it really brought our every level low.
Dec. 30. 2003
We spent the morning at the monastery and checking out the view from way up on top of it. What amazes me is this monastery is over 500 years old, is perched right on the river, and never once has it been damaged by flooding. After this, we headed back to Jomsom for the evening and to try and book a flight back to Pokhara for the New Year’s festival.
Dec. 31, 2003
New Year’s Eve
We woke at the crack of dawn to see if our standby seats were available. We did not want to stay another night in Jomsom. The big excitement for this town is what comes off the planes each day…and only a few flights happen each day, if that. So after waiting just a short while, we were able to confirm our seats on the plane. Then, because of fog in Pohkara, we waited until about 10:30 for the plane to arrive. 10 days of trekking, 4 hours of waiting and the flight was maybe 25 minutes long. It was all very worth it! We made it to Pokhara for the NYE festival, had some yummy food that wasn’t Dahl Baat and fell asleep around 11 in the evening. Oh well.
And so the journey continues….
Nepal Experience part two:
Dec. 31. 2003
New Year’s Eve in Pokhara. We checked in to a nice and cheap guesthouse not too far from where we stayed before. There is a nice play area for Darren to play diabolo and to watch the local kids play soccer, not to mention the view of Fishtail in the Annapurna range. There was a street festival going on since the 28th. Mainly this festival is for westerners but it appears that since tourism is down, there are more locals here than anything. So we grabbed a bite to eat, walked around, relaxed, ate more good food and went to bed by 11 pm. Didn’t bring in the New Year with a whole lot of hoop la, but it was about as late as I could stay awake. Mind you, we’ve been hitting the hay around 8:30 every night. Saw a few local bands performing in the streets as well as a few local cultural stages with performances.
Jan. 1, 2004
Today was a very chill day in Pokhara. Didn’t do much of anything except a little shopping. Today was the last day of the festival and I found this little area where there are rides such as a Ferris wheel and a train. I had lots of fun taking pictures of some of the local kids and I think they really enjoyed giving me their attention as they were very interested in seeing their photo.
Jan. 2, 2004
For some unknown reason, Darren and I decided that we weren’t finished with our fitness training. We took a boat across the lake, Phewa Tal, and hiked up what felt like 1000 meters to the World Peace Pagoda. The hike up is through a little forest where there are supposed to me monkeys, though we didn’t see any. So up, up we go and Darren comments “wish all we had to do was hike up this hill for world peace” or something to that effect. We get to the Pagoda and it’s actually kind of loud up there as there was an obnoxious group of girls there. Soon they were gone and we were able to enjoy the view of the Annapurnas once again, the full view of the lake and the entire town of Pokhara was in site. The Pagoda is a large Buddhist stupa that sits up here. We started hiking down the other side of the hill we just climbed and I quickly realized that my knees are still messed up and Darren is feeling like absolute poop too as he came down with a horrible cold. Between the two of us, we were a motley crew. We were going to see Devi’s falls at the bottom of the other side and check out the Tibetan refugee camp as well but opted for a taxi ride back and for a rest.
Jan. 3, 2004
Today was a super fun and funny day. Darren and I rented a motorbike so we could see all around Pokhara on our own time and not have to rely on a taxi. What fun this was! We made our way over to Devi’s Falls to see the water fall that goes through a hole. Then went across the way to enter the Gupteshwor Mahadev cave, which took you to the under side of the falls as well there is a shrine of some sort. We had some little kid follow us the entire way and hadn’t a clue why, but he was there. We then walked up the road a bit to the Tashling Tibetan Village. Here we basically walked around, looked at things to buy. I wanted to buy a rug there, but since it was Saturday, a holiday, the rug shop was closed. So no rug for me this trip. The village wasn’t all that interesting but they were using reflective solar discs that look like satellite dishes to heat up water which was cool to see. We get back on the bike, find some grub to eat then head north and west to conquer the winding roads on our little put-put motor bike and find our way up to the local peak, Sarangot. Was this ever hilarious! Two, not so small westerners, on an automatic motorbike trying to get up the mountain. Our little bike smoked and at one point just wouldn’t go anymore with the two of us on it. I nearly rolled off the bike in laughter. Some locals walking their bicycles up laughed with us, or possibly at us. I walked up the steep part as Darren went ahead, then met me where it leveled out and we were able to make our way to the parking area. We got a tad lazy and just couldn’t see walking up the rest of the way, yet another hill and decided the view was good from there. We drove back down the mountain and cruised around the outskirts of Pokhara for a bit, then returned the bike. Darren started to play diabolo outside of our guesthouse and this attracted the attention of the local boys. When they found out that he could toss it up in the air pretty high, all they could say was ‘”up to the sky!” and this is all they wanted him to do. Got some video of this interaction, which is just precious. We had an amazing meal this night of, no not dahl baat, but chaat, which is chick peas and lots of other veggies, samosas mashed in there and just plain yummy! Then desert of fried honey things. This meal for the 3 of us was the cheapest meal we had yet…maybe $2 total. We sure wish we had found this man and his little street food cart earlier. Between this guy and the man down one of the alleys selling dahl baat (lentils and rice) you could eat for under $2 a day! Beth and I then had a fun experience of trying to return some pashmina shawls we had purchased earlier. When we bought them, we didn’t know what we were buying and were tricked into buying not real ones. In the end, they gave us what we had wanted and somehow, I ended up with a better deal.
Jan. 4, 2004
Today Darren and I hopped the bus back to Kathmandu. Beth decided to fly back. The bus ride was uneventful and we got there safe and sound. The buses weren’t running in the days prior supposedly because of the Maoists putting up road blocks but when we read the papers the following day it said the road blocks were because of the bus entrepreneurs striking. At this point I didn’t know what to think and who to believe. On our way, we did get in to a mighty large traffic jam, but it was fun to look out the window and see all the people getting their food goodies out to sell…peanuts, popcorn, and fruit all for sale out the window of the bus. Was almost like a traffic jam for a concert! Also, the trucks here are decorated to the T! They are all glitterfied and snazzy. Makes the western world’s trucks look rough. Back to Kathmandu we make it and meet up with Beth at the guesthouse. Went for a snack and all along the way, we kept running in to people we had met along our travels. I realized how small Nepal really is or how small the tourist areas are that you see all these people over and over again.
Jan.5, 2004
Today we spent the day in the town of Bhaktapur which is 13 km west of Kathmandu and an easy, cheap bus ride…as long as you can find the bus. Bhaktapur city is also known as Bhadgaon, home of medieval art and architecture. The city was founded in 889 AD by King Anand Dev. The town of Bhaktapur is a world historical site and costs about $10 to enter. When you enter, you are immediately harassed by Thangka painting students. Thangkas are a Tibetan religious paintings on cotton and often depict a god or goddess, the wheel of life or a mandala. They are meticulously painted and very beautiful. The town is filled with winding cobblestone streets and old temples, monasteries, courtyards, and shrines of all sorts. It was very beautiful to see this town but we were told is was going to be vehicle free, but it was not. There was a potter’s square, many wood carved doorways and windows and even erotic art is carved in to their buildings. The bus ride back was very crowded, though I still managed to fall asleep.
Jan. 6, 2004
Darren came down with a pretty bad case of the flu or something and stayed in bed for the day. Beth and I had a fun time trying to find the Royal Nepal Airlines office to make certain we still had seats on the plane. In the process, we found a parade for the mayor and Beth somehow got pulled in trying to cross through it. We then hoofed it to the post office and then through Durbar Square, following the parade once again. We meandered to find our way towards ‘home’. In the process, we came across a shrine to check out. I saw a big trail of blood at my feet and said to Beth, “let’s follow this.” We follow the blood behind the shrine to see that a goat was just sacrificed and they were getting ready to take it off to prepare it and chop it up, They let me take pictures and take a little video of it. As we were leaving the area, we noticed that they put little bits of the goat on the shrine as an offering to the gods. Pretty neat experience to come across, even for this vegetarian. We some how found our way back to the guesthouse, as we had wandered astray, and spent the rest of the day shopping around Kathmandu’s Thamel area.
Jan.7, 2004
Today was pretty much a solo day for me and I really enjoyed my time alone. I headed up to Syambhunath, which is Kathmandu’s most recognizable temple…the one with the big eyes on it and also known as Monkey temple. The stupa is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal, listed as a world heritage site, and said to be more than 2000 years old. I walked the 3 km there, then up the hill of 450 steps. When I got up to the top of the hill, avoiding eye contact with the monkeys, as well as avoiding all the tour guides on the way up, I realized that something was going on and that the temple looked a bit different form pictures I had seen. Because it was the day of the full moon, they were redressing the temple. They were in the process of whitewashing the large part, the stupa, and putting up new prayer flags. I sat and watched this go on as well as many witnessed many people making offerings around the temple and to the many shrines that encompass the temple. After they finished whitewashing and hanging new flags, they have to put the yellow stuff on, which I tried to find out the significance of. The yellow stuff (made of saffron) is put on in a deliberate manner…in an arc pattern with a dot at the top. After they completed this, they continued to dress the temple at the top with fabric. I can’t say how many times I walked around the temple but it was over a dozen, not to mention spending 3 or so hours there. I ran in to Beth and we headed to back to the guesthouse to check on Darren as he was still pretty sick. I then headed to Bouddhanath to see the Ancient stupa said to be one of the biggest in the world and focal point of Tibetan Buddhism. Bouda lies about 6 km to the east of Kathmandu and an easy taxi ride. No dealing with the bus today. The stupa is surrounded in a circular pattern by buildings. People come here to walk around the lower part of the stupa is part of their Buddhist practice. When I first arrived, there didn’t seem to be very many people there and I went directly through the big gate and walked on the stupa itself (where you’re allowed to of course). As the sun began setting, I noticed that more and more people were arriving. When the sun was completely set, there were so many people…various typed of Tibetans, monks, westerners and more…it became nearly impossible to walk around, never mind actually stopping to take a picture or crossing over to the other side. As I walked around, I saw many beggars and these aren’t your typical beggars seen in San Francisco. These people were mostly blind, limbless or bodily deformed. Welcome to a third world country! This hit me hard, not to mention people are all walking like zombies in a clockwise fashion around the stupa. It was an experience that completely had me awe struck. I wanted to get out of there but I knew there was a full moon Buddhist monk ceremony that I was told about. For this ceremony, outside the gate of the stupa, they make a gigantic pile of rice and put all sorts of food donations on the top as well the leftovers in a big bin behind. They roped the area off and eventually 4 monks came out to chant, blow on conches, drum and play large cymbals. There were also 4 other men there playing wind instruments of some sort. I watched this for a little while, walked a few more laps taking in the candle light from the vegetable ghee lamps surrounding the entire stupa. I returned back to the guesthouse to share my experience with the others but was lost for words and still have a hard time transcribing my experience there. Mentally taxing and overwhelming to say the least.
Jan. 8, 2004
My last day in Nepal. Today I spent the day leisurely wandering, meandering the streets of Kathmandu. Nothing exciting to report. Beth and I had Punjabi suits made and for the most part they turned out ok. I have a few alterations to make to mine. We all ventured out to dinner at this wonderful vegetarian restaurant and met up with our friend Thomas there. Beth and I packed our bags hoping that we aren’t over weight as we shopped a lot in Nepal.
Jan. 9, 2004
An early morning to catch the plane back to Bangkok. The airport was an experience in itself. All of the exporters rush you, pushing in to you all trying to get ahead just to sit and wait. Felt like being in Baltimore…in a hurry to go nowhere. Our bags were not even looked at twice and I think we could have brought back so much more than we did. So back in Bangkok, hot and humid and feels icky coming from the cold weather.
My adventure is officially over. I miss Nepal and can’t wait to go back though there are so many more places that I think I need to see first. I think the next trip back will be September 2005 and I hope to spend as long as I possibly can there, do more trekking and see the parts that were missed this time around. You can only see so much at one time and not regret seeing what you missed.
Thanks for reading all of this…if you made it this far. When all of my pictures have been digitized and online, I will shoot out another email.
I hope this has found you well and helped you envision my latest adventure.
Much love to all of you! Namaskar…I bow to the divine in you.
elise
Russian and Finland February 20-27, 2004
Hei! (greetings in Finnish)
Many of you may have not known about this little side trip i just went on but I took a group of 30 kids to finland and russia with 2 other teachers. my school has a week long program called week without walls where they choose a trip or an activity. our trip went from bangkok to northern finland to st. petersburg russia, back to helsinki finland.
all in all the trip was really fun with the kids...a great bonding experience. i'm kind of sad to be going back to work tomorrow and wish i were still out and about traveling around. just when we were in the swing of things, really comfortable with each other, the trip was kaput.
finland was great and i really want to get back there. i think i'm going to go there for a bit next summer when i'm done working here...that's when i'll have fresh money too as it's quite expensive there and it will be white nights (24 hours of light). we went north to roviniemi and crossed the arctic circle, rode on some sleighs pulled by reindeer and went to a place where they breed huskies for racing. then went to santa park which was a rather creepy under ground park and we were the only ones in there. santa kept apying on us poking his head around the corner. the next day we went for a snowmobile ride down the river, went ice fishing and showshoeing. then had a traditional lappi lunch in a tee pee house. that evening we went to dinner in an igloo, the kids could disco outside and then we all ended up in a tee pee around a big fire. no northern lights though as there wasn't wany activity in space.
we went to st. petersburg the next day and were pooped, called off almost all of the plans for the day. upon arriving at the airport, it felt like russia. grey, drab and stress filled the air. later, i took a group to the ballet in the evening while others went to the opera. that evening we had dinner at this place called the idiot which was a little underground kind of joint. upon getting there, as with russian tradition, they served us shots of vodka. since these are kids, i had to be the adult and quickly pulled the shots away from them. i don't think they really wanted it anyway. but this place was great, very bohemian and what i expected every restaurant to feel like, though that wasn't the case. the food in both russia and finland was pretty drab.
the next day they raced us around town...we boarded the st. pete's metro, which is the best metro in the world. when there, a student took a photo of her friends and a group of russian army-like men approached her and yelled at her in russian. she didn't see the sign on the way in that said no photos. going down the escalator of the metro was a trip. you get on this really fast moving escalator that drops about 500 meters. on the otherside, the people all coming up looked like zombies. no smiling and all dressed in grey. we almost lost a student in the metro as he didn't get off fast enough, but he managed to pry the doors.
my group saw the peter and paul fortress, went to the hermitage museum for a few hours (you need years to see everything in that place), then to st. isaac's cathedral, which we were staying across from. that evening we went to a russian folk show which was more fun than i thought. saw traditional russian dancing and comedy.
the next day we went to see the outside of the church of spilled blood which is just amazing and too bad we couldn't see the inside as it was closed. the inside contains enough mosaics to fill a football field. then back to the hermitage for a tour of the treasure room (lots of jewels), then drove south to pushkin to see catherine's palace. then, back on the plane to helsinki.
our last day in helsinki was fun. all of us were supposed to go to suomilina island but when we were all boarding the ferry, me and one of the other teachers were trying to buy the ferry tickets and the ferry left without us. 30 kids went with one teacher. while they were there, i walked around helsinki and saw a couple cathedrals, went in to a museum and did some light shopping. when the kids came back, we went on a little bus tour, then came back for more shopping...at this point, i was bored off my butt as i'm not into shopping. then ran into my group of kids and had a great dinner with them. they asked me if i could be their friend. i told them i would try though i am their teacher. it was really nice to think that these kids trust me enough to share what they did and i respect them in return.
we boarded the late night plane back to bangkok. it was way too short of a trip and too many cities/countries to do in one week. i didn't even have time to stop and take photos much of the time. next year, i think i want to create just a finland trip as there is sooo much to do there that we didn't get to.
i have a long weekend coming up as it's a thai holiday but i don't think i'm going anywhere. then there's a super long weekend at the end of the month and i'd like to go to angkor wat in cambodia but for some reason i don't think it will happen. starting my planning for spring break and i think sri lanka is where it's at. cheap to fly there and super cheap when you get there...plus, i'm up for a little indian flare.
i'll be back in the states this summer and i hope to see many of you there.
take care and i hope everyone has been enjoying winter! i've attached some photos...one of the church of spilled blood, one from the reindeer ride and one group photo. i'm way in the back...the little gray dot as i actually had snowgear to wear.
much love to you all,
elise
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 2004
Subject: Happy New Year!
yes...happy new year! This past week was New Year’s both in Thailand and a few other places over here. This past week we had our spring break and I decided to escape Thailand’s New Years and see what Sri Lanka was all about. In Thailand, the New Year is celebrated by batheing all of the buddha images and YOU as well! One gets doused with water and I’ve heard it can be rather unpleasant. But a way to cool off as April is the hottest month in these parts until the monsoon starts.
I hopped a jet airplane to Sri Lanka which is a mere 3 hour flight from Bangkok. I arrived Saturday and stayed in the town on Negombo but on Sunday, I had to wake early so I could make it all the way south to Mirissa. This meant catching multiple forms of public transportation. I wanted to catch a bus from Negombo to Colombo, about an hour ride, but every bus that passed by had people hanging out the doors. I just couldn’t do that with a back pack on so I hailed a 3-wheeler (tuk tuk) and went to the Negombo railway station, waited what seemed ages and finally caught a train to Colombo which was also pretty packed. Everyone was heading to see their family for the start of the New Year.
On the train to Colombo, a woman and her 3 children befriended me. The oldest girl, 7, wanted to practice her english with me, as did her mom. They asked me all sorts of questions and I did my best to answer them. The little girl dug through her mom’s purse for a little gift to give me, a hairtie. I dug through my bag and found a postcard I was using for a book marker. It was of some buddhist stupas. I hesitated giving this to them as there are many religions in Sri Lanka but it turns out they were buddhists so I was in the clear and it pleased them to see this card. From now on when I travel, I’m bringing postcards as people love to see photos of where you live. The little girl said one thing that I will never forget. She said something to her mom in Sinhalese and they both giggled. I asked her mom what she said. The little girl said that I’m very white. I held my arm to her’s, touched both of us and said “not so different.”
She touched mine and smiled.
We soon departed the train and the little girl didn’t want to let go of my hand. It was precious. I waited for the train south for again what seemed ages. It finally came and the rush to get on the train was incredible. People running, pushing and shoving. People saving seats on the train and such. I finally found a seat with a nice family heading to Galle to see their family. They befriended me, asked me lots of questions and made me feel very comfortable. They ended up singing me songs in Sinhalese for about 2 hours. By the time we got to the next big stop in Galle, the entire rail car was singing and clapping their hands. Another moment I will never forget. They made sure I caught my next train south which again, was packed to the gills. This third train was a quick one hour south where yet again, I was befriended by a young man. The Sri Lankans are very curious people.
Finally, I arrive at almost the southern tip of Sri Lanka, the sleepy town of Mirissa...6 degrees north of the equator and darn HOT! I finally found a guesthouse with rooms available as most workers went to see their families for the New Year and heaps of places were closed. I threw down my bag and ran out to the beach to catch the sunset. I hiked up this big rock and sat for a bit. Then quickly realized I was starving and hadn’t eaten all day. I found a nearby restaurant and sat down with a woman who now lives/works in Colombo, though recently moved here from Kathmandu Nepal after 15 years there.
The next 2 days were very mellow as the entire town (and country) pretty much shut down. I spent 2 days consumed in the book, the Davinci code, relaxing on the beach, playing in the waves and watching fantastic sunsets. I befriended a physicist from London who recently finished doing some Mars research work. There are some fascinating people you meet in strange places. It was nearly impossible to find food for those 2 days as everywhere was closed and on New Years day, they wait for the “auspicious time” to cook with gas/fire. That time came at about 7 pm and all over the place firecrackers and fireworks let loose. It was neat to see the beach light up after the sun set...and finally they lit their stoves and cooked a bit of food. My first Sri Lankan meal! I had been eating nothing but fruit for 3 days, which was good nonetheless. But this meal was sooo yummy....one of the best dhaals I’ve ever had, some other SPICY veggie dishes, and papadum.
From Mirrisa, I made my way slowly north. I caught a train to Galle, a big fort which was first settled by the Portugese in the 1500’s, then captured and rebuilt by the Dutch in the late 1600’s, then passed hands to the British in the late 1700’s. Basically, it’s an old town, on a harbour, with beautiful views of the Indian Ocean and all walled in. I walked the walls with a British couple who were “saving me” from being followed by this Sri Lankan man. Apparently they follow foreginers for the fun of it and to annoy you....which worked. Anyway... While I was there, it felt like a ghost town, everything was still closed, as Sri Lankans were still celebrating New Years. Though at sunset, everyone came out to walk the wall, socilaize and play beach side cricket. I purposefully chose this one guest house where the owner, Mrs. Khalid, was said to be an amazing cook of Morrocan food. Thank goodness she was open and making food as there weren’t any options. The only reason why she was open and cooking is because her family is Muslim and the New Year is the buddhist New Year. She made terrific veggie Morrocan food and had ginger beer taboot! Tastes just like Reed’s stateside.
I departed the next day and headed north to the area of Hikaduwa where great surfing happens from October through April....some surfers stay the entire 6 months there. I’ve never seen waves so huge and they really give you a beating as well. I decided that if the country was closed for New Year’s, I was going to spend my time beach side. My last 3 days, I spent lazily hanging out at the beach, chatting it up with other travelers. I did make it a bit north one day to the town of Ambalangoda, where there are amazing mask carvers. These masks are used to show various characters in their traditional dances...of which I did not see any of :( I missed out on alot of cultural things while there but I’ll return one day. so..I went to the museum, watched a mask carver and chatted with the owner of a shop and ended up buying the Queen of Flowers mask...very appropriate for me :)
Slowly over my last 3 days, shops and restaurants began opening back up but it was time for me to leave.
I made my way via a packed, air con...or was it?...bus to Colombo. Next time I travel and have the more expensive option of taking a private taxi at any time I want to the airport, I’m going to take it. The 6 hours I could have spent remaining at the beach versus the airport would have been money well spent. Though...while at the airport, I met these 2 Aussie guys, which I completely schooled them in why I’m a veggie/vegan and why I make the choices I do. They were flabergasted and had so many questions for me. So in a nutshell, in our 4 hour conversation on the environment and my lifestyle, I can only hope that they make certain life style choices down the road with a little more thought than before.
Which brings me back to Bangkok. Feels good to be “home” and amongst the familiar though I’m not sure I’m ready for work tomorrow.
I must appologize to some of you as it seems my addresses have been truncating and some folks haven’t been getting all of my travelogues...my appolgies and I have not forgotten a single one of you out there! Hopefully I’ve fixed the problem.
In 2 weeks I’ll find myself hanging out with Dana down south for yet another Thai Holiday weekend. Boy, can these Thai people celebrate! Then...believe it or not, I will have been here one year and on a plane back to the states to see all of the shining faces I have missed so dearly. 2 months stateside will go very fast but I will savor ever moment of it for certain.
Thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far.
Much love to all of you!
elise
Date: Thu, 6 May 2004
Subject: last getaway & summer plans
hello hello!
i hope this finds you well and i think this will be the last travelogue from abroad until august. i had one last getaway before the school year ends here. dana, amanda (friends from the states) and i went to ko pha ngan for a long weekend. we ended up going back to where i ended my 2 months travelling last summer. it was kind of fun to see my thailand adventure come to a bit of a full circle...being at the sanctuary before starting my job for the year, and being there just before the school year is over.
we stayed in a house in haad tien on ko pha ngan up on the hillside, tucked in to the jungle a bit. the house was interesting and certainly gave me ideas for how i want my “dream” home to be one day...an outdoor/exposed bathroom (my favorite part) and eating area, a mainroom above and a sleeping area up top. the house was nice though the mosquitos were treacherous. if i come out of this without dengue fever or malaria i praise gaia! well, i praise her anyway ;)
basically, the long weekend was spent doing some yoga, relaxing on one of the beaches, snorkling a bit in the reef, celebrating dana’s birthday, eating excellant veggie food, sitting in a hammock reading while the rains watered the earth and meeting new people...i even saw faces there from my last stay and met a fellow wandering santa cruz soul. i gave poi some lessons beach side to the girls and to some random strangers. all in all, it was quite relaxing and just what the doctor ordered.
though getting away is great, for some reason towards the end of this little adventure, i really wanted to get back to bangkok. i think maybe i’m done with traveling for a bit. are roots starting to grow? or maybe i’m highly antipicating my return to the states...so the sooner i got back to bangkok, the sooner i’d be on a plane home. 4 weeks to go...but who’s counting? ;)
I attached some photos of us at dinner, the flash bathroom and of the house. i tried to make them small enough as to not clog up anyone’s mailbox. please let me know if you don’t want pics and i’ll refrain from sending them.
i also finally put photos on my website from sri lanka, finland and russia...so take a look if you dare... http://www.n8trgrl.org/SriLanka.html http://www.n8trgrl.org/RusFin.html (mostly of the students)
In case anyone is interested in my stateside existance, read on...or skip this next bit if you’re not...
If i didn’t already mention this...i’m getting very excited to come back to the states for a bit. I’ll be...
east coast june 6-june 20
santa cruz and sf june 20-june 30
high sierra june 30 - july 5
northern ca july 5-9ish
then a week of not sure what...any takers?
july 17-aug 1 in pescadero taking a permaculture certificate course and doing a work trade with them
-aug 2-4 in LA
aug 5 sf for a day
aug 6 return to bangkok.
it’s going to go by sooo fast but i hope to see as many of you as possible! so let’s get together if we can...dance a little, munch a little, smile alot!
MUCH LOVE,
elise
Summer in California
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004
Subject: summer revisited...LONG
Hello!
It’s been quite some time since I’ve sent a travelogue out. I’ve spent the last 2 months wandering about the States, mostly California. I don’t even know where to begin it’s all such a blur at this point and my head has been spinning ever since I stepped foot back on this soil and I’m sure it’s going to keep on spinning even when I return back to Thailand.
After the longest flight in the world, I was greeted by Brian at the airport nearly 2 months ago and I was quickly sucked back in to the life I once knew at the Fillmore. It was so great to see a bunch of lovely faces and feel familiar hugs...not to mention hearing such lovely sounds coming from the stage. We missed seeing Jazz Mandolin Project but were able to catch Vida Blue play...and even see old Vida Blue himself toss a few balls to start the show. After the show was over, we had a wonderful conversation with John, aka Fishman from Phish.
The next day I hopped another flight across the country to Pennsylvania to see my family. It was wonderful to see all the familiarities of my very old stomping grounds, to see family I’ve know for 28 years, to meet the newest arrival Bennett, and to celebrate new marriages of some of my oldest and dearest girlfriends. Nothing of great excitement happened event wise in PA, just hanging with the families, reconnecting and enjoying each others company. My second to last night in PA was spent watching Phish via simulcast with those who first introduced me to the music over 10 years ago...out to dinner and see a movie.
After 2 weeks of recovering from jetlag, I was on another plane headed west back to CA. It’s hard to even remember what has happened as so much has happened in the last 6 weeks. First and foremost, I have to thank a few people for allowing their homes to be mine for extended periods of time: Brian at Hotel Hayle, Freda for her fabulous futon and the Walsh’s at Seahorse Crossing. All of you ROCK! Again, thank you so much for letting your home be mine...my home is yours as well, so please come visit!
My first night back in CA was spent with many wonderful friends at a bonfire at Seabright beach...heck, the last time many of you were at that very spot was when I left a year ago! The following week was spent in Santa Cruz hiking, doing yoga, eating wonderful veggie food, and seeing all of the wonderful people of the Cruz. The smell of the redwoods will linger in my olfactories...umm.
After the Cruz, I headed north to spend some time with the city folk. Theresa and I walked the entire length of the Golden Gate bridge and I met Sean, Mara and Alex on the other side. Eating punjabi burritos in the canopy of the redwoods was a wonderful prelude to the events to come ;)
The journey was about to begin up to High Sierra Music Fest. Steve and Beth picked me up in the city and I got to see their lovely new home in Oakland. The next day after being awoken by jackhammers, we scurried out of the house and went to pick up more folks for the ride up. After getting the van all packed we hit the road, but didn’t get very far. A few miles down the road we heard some noise and realized we blew the tread on a tire. To make a long story short...4 break downs and a ticket to fix finally got us to Quincy. It was a long, yet amusing journey. I think Bear (the dog) was in the highest spirits as each stop meant he got to go for a walk :)
High Sierra was wonderful and I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend and be a part of the magic. Once again, I had the pleasure to be a part of the decorating crew and we made the place sparkle! The music was good, the vibe was mellow and it was so great to see the many faces there. I’m not sure if I will make it there again for quite a few years as other things need to be attended to in life...other places to be seen. But Quincy will always be a magical part of my heart.
After High Sierra, I recovered from much lost sleep in Berkeley. Here I hung out with Maya the super dog and her owner Freda ;) Hiked a bit on some familiar trails and even managed to squeeze in a photoshoot.
Then it was back to Santa Cruz for Max’s 28th, then to the city to celebrate Noah’s 30th, then up to Mt. Tam to celebrate Freda’s 40th...too many Cancers! But such fun times!
Finally got to spend a few days in the city doing city things like watching movies...Farenheit 9/11 it was. Such a moving documentary and if you haven’t seen it yet for whatever reason or political stance you may have, please make sure to see it.
Back to Santa Cruz for a few days..more yoga (Bikram this time..thanks Bea!), hiking the redwoods and yummy food.
Now up to Pescadero for a permaculture course I took. 2 weeks of living in a tent and being on 60 acres of land...it’s hard to beat! My head is currently spinning the hardest from these 2 weeks. I’m truly inspired to do ALOT I just don’t know where to begin. Well, I do know where to being, I just haven’t gotten there yet...Bangkok. I hope to implement some of the things I learned in this course in an Urban setting and at the school I teach at. One of the things that has bothered me about my job is that I pour chemicals down the drain. I learned a way to filter these chemicals with water hyacinths so that the plant eats out the hard metals and leaves the water clean. That’s just one of the inspiring things I learned. Feel free to ask for more inspirational discoveries....
After the course, I hopped another plane to LA to see the Godard family and finally meet the little man, Noah. Seeing all of the love they have for their child is truly wonderful :) It was a short stay with a kids musical and a trip to Hollywood.
I’m back in San Fran as I write having one more night here and then tomorrow evening I leave to head on a very long flight back to Bangkok. At this point, I have one more year there with little side trips around Asia as usual. The decision will come around November as to if I stay longer or not, or if I go travel for a bit before returning to the States to change my path. Right now I’m at a 4-way intersection deciding which way to go. I plan on spending the next year or so reseaching what it is that I will be doing after teaching in Bangkok...looking for a little clarity.
In summary, my trip here this summer has left me wondering about the state of this country, about how we live our lives with little connection to the Earth, how communication between people seems to be failing and that consumption is consuming us all. Maybe you don’t feel the same way as I on that last bit, but it’s been a hard reality for me to face. Living in a very different culture for the last year has opened my eyes to what I was not able to see before. I encourage you all to take a stance this coming election, to make change in your life to help the Earth as she won’t be here for our ancestors if we keep at this pace and learn to love those who you thought you could not.
In love and light,
elise
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004
Subject: summer part 2...short :)
Hello again...
After rereading my LONG email, I want to make sure it doesn’t end on such a sour note.
I truly did enjoy my time in the US and I’m going to miss everyone and everything more than I can even imagine.
I know I will be missing many weddings, births, children growing tall and people passing on...those things only happen once. So please share with me what you are doing, even if it seems small to you, it’s not to me...even if it’s just a sentence or two.
again...
In love and light,
elise
Thailand
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 12:58 AM
Subject: Trick or treat?
Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat...
Yes...Halloween happens here in Bangkok too! Though over the past few days, the question “what is the holiday really?” has been asked over and over. Try explaining Pagan rituals vs. commercialization.
Anyway...I thought I’d send out a little..well, long...hello from this side of the world since I haven’t spammed you all in a few months ;)
Life has been very much the same as usual here in Bangkok. Work is work, the kids are still the same kids and the weather has been hotter than I remembered it last year. The humidity and rain have finally reached tolerable levels and I no longer have to sleep with the AC on though I still find myself sweating all the time.
I got a kitten a couple months ago while at one of the local markets. I felt pity on her as I walked by and saw her panting in the heat of the day. I didn’t give it a whole lot of thought at the time but she’s brought me much joy and fun and is a great kitty to come home to every day.
My mom and second cousin, Diana, came to visit for about 10 days. They just left a couple days ago and the silence here has...well...hehe...just kidding)
It was great to play tour guide. We had a few days tromping around Bangkok and they even made it out successfully on they’re own one day. We then went up to my favorite city, Chiang Mai, where we rode some elephants, saw more Wats in one day than I’ve seen in a year, shopped out hearts out as well...then we made our way a little south to the ancient ruins of Sukhothai. I didn’t ever think I’d get back there again and it was really fantastic to be able to share this experience with them. Back to Bangkok where I had to work so I sent them off to one of the islands, Phuket. They came back with fun stories to tell and I wished I could have been there with them. I was able to take a personal day on Friday to show them around the ever crazy Chinatown part of Bangkok, then made an attempt to go to the US Embassy as I need more passport pages, but they were closed, then back across town to Wat Arun. They packed their bags and we were off to the airport. It was a whirlwind of a trip for them...and me...but I’m glad I was able to share some of my Thailand life with them.
In the past months, especially after going home this summer, I’ve been reflecting deeply in to what my life is about and what I’m doing with it. It’s a hard question to ask of one’s self and I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who thinks these thoughts. After much going back and forth on what to do: to stay here and keep teaching, to move on to another school elsewhere, to go back to school to learn something else or even learn about another way of teaching? What to do, what to do? Thanks to all those folks out there that I’ve been pondering my life’s questions on. It’s been wonderful having feedback from some wise and dear ones :)
After many months of racking my brain, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to learn from the biggest classroom that we are offered as humans...the world. I will finish my job here in June, hang out for a bit until my visa expires, then head out on a big adventure. I will see more of Asia while I’m here: Cambodia, Laos, China and Tibet. Return to Bangkok for a brief bit before heading elsewhere which has yet to be decided but at the moment it looks like New Zealand and Australia are on the top of the list. Europe is far too expensive while other countries seem a bit daunting...but there’s plenty of time in life, right?
I was doing much research in to Waldorf/Rudolf Steiner education which is something I’ve been considering since before I ever began teaching. To keep it short, I’m not yet giving up on this idea. I’m just putting any career options on the back burner as I reassess what education in today’s society is all about and where it is headed.
In other news...I attended a Vote for Peace concert at my favorite park in Bangkok yesterday. Not that I could completely understand what they were saying, the point was taken by me and by all. Many Thai people got up on stage and sang how they felt about what is going on in the world today. As well there were artists who gave speaches and people created art to express themselves. The world is waiting for Tuesday’s election. I’ve already cast my vote to California and I hope that everyone out there casts a vote on Tuesday as well. Just one thing on this...please, which ever way you cast your vote, Please make sure you do it for the right reasons, with concern and thought about the future of the country as well as the future of its citizens.
I’ll sign off now as I’ve kept you reading for some time now and thanks to those of you who made it this far ;) And now comes my plea to hear about what it going on in your life. Nothing too big or too small is insignificant.
Have a wonderful fall season!
big hugs!
elise
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004
Subject: namaskar!
Namaskar meri dost!! Hello my friends!
Greetings from Dehli India!
This year, for winter break, I decided that India was were it’s at....and thought it would be a good test for coming back in the future for a longer period of time. This has always been the country that I was most scared of...but alas...I’m doing fine and it was all much ado about nothing...so far anyway.
We, Max and I, had an easy flight out of here from Bangkok. We were told that once you land in Dehli, you get can get scammed right off the bat at the airport.
We weren’t sure what was going to happen so we had arranged for our hotel to pick us up the first night and we booked a hotel too in advance. Well, I think we could have handled it all fine as there was hardly a soul there to try and scam us. Next time I will know.
We got settled in to our room in the Paharganj area of New Dehli and went for a wander. The moment I stepped out of the alley, I felt like I was back in Thamel Nepal...it had a familiar feel, smell and sound...it almost felt like a second home. We wandered a bit taking in the sites, sounds and smells of our new area in which we would call home for the next 2 days. We dodged auto rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws and cows. I even managed to find my first cow paddie :)
Our first full day in Dehli, we switched from our “hotel” to a guesthouse for half the price with the same amenities, maybe even better, just down the street. Then we took an auto rickshaw over to the Red Fort in Old Dehli. The weather has been a bit on the chilly side with a covering of fog...and smog. Unfortunately, I think the weather wasn’t lending to the beauty that could be displayed in this fort. The fort itself was built in the late to lid 1600’s and was once a Mughal place of living. You can only see some of the buildings there. It was an ok place to visit for our first tourist stop. There’s much more to come...that’s for sure.
We then managed to cross the busy street after trying to be sold fake mustaches and beards from some guy...pretty funny :)...and made our way down Chandni Chowk, which is a massive street bazaar. Dodging more people and moving vehicles we made our way trough managing to buy nothing. We asked to be taken to a specific movie theater as we were going to catch a flick but somehow were taken to another and we quickly realized we were HOME! We then walked to where we wanted to be, a mere 30 minutes or less walk to the Connaught Circle area.
Here in Connaught Circle, we quickly realized how much of a contrast there is between the poor and the rich. It’s basically a giant out door mall where all the wealthy people of Dehli shop, while the poor remain begging at your feet.
We had to use the loo so we made our way to...McDonalds...a place you can always count on to use their bathroom. While waiting for the loo, we noticed the menu and I tried to take a photo of it. Lots of veggie options and NO cow...this is India after all. A young boy quickly stopped me and I explained that in America, there are NO veggie options on the menu. He quickly came back with a menu for me to take home! He was our first true interaction with a local who made us smile larger than we could. He wasn’t trying to sell us anything and just wanted to talk. I said “awesome” when he handed me the menu and he smiled even bigger and asked “that means it’s great, right?” We chatted with him for a little, even asked him where a good place was to buy local clothes.
We made our way back to our new hood and went shopping a bit for some new clothes. In a store where I was trying on a tunic, Max started singing with the boys in the shop and by the time I was finished, they were all dancing around! He even taught them how to dance the Meatstick!!! It was a classic experience and I hope we have many more like this.
Today we are going to try and catch that flick we didn’t see yesterday, do a little more shopping now that we see what the area has to offer and hop on a bus
