I've been home for exactly a week now, and despite sleeping twelve hours a night I'm mostly over the jet lag. Have already cooked Thai food for family - chicken coconut milk soup and pad thai. Both turned out delicious - fortunately there's a grocery store near my house that has an acceptable stock of Thai staples (though for some I had to go into NYC). Planning to do green curry and fried rice next weekend.
Posts will be more sporadic now, as I'm sure you've guessed, but I do have a number of pictures and stories left to share. I'll update once a week until further notice.
About Me
- Casey
- I'm a junior engineering major at Dartmouth College, currently studying at the International School of Engineering at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Try saying that three times fast.
Current List
Monday, May 18, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Goodbyes
A very hectic last few days.
On Thursday, Charnice and I officially finished all our school work with the completion (finally) of the accursed CAD project at noon. After lunch with some friends we ran into at the Chula cafeteria, we wandered around MBK for a little while before returning to our apartment to start packing. That night, we had dinner at Sunrise Tacos with Dolly and her friend Jah, saying goodbye to both of them afterwards.
On Friday, we got up early (ish) and went to Dusit Palace. It was incredibly opulent - built in the style of European palaces with marble and high frescoed ceilings, but filled with gilt, enameled, diamond-studded artwork. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside - huge shame, because there were some beautiful pieces in there.
After our sightseeing was done, we went home so Charnice could finish packing. Then we went to Blue Elephant for dinner (finally!) with Salilla and Kiao. It was far and away the fanciest restaurant I've eaten at. Dinner can only be described as cuisine - food is far too plebian a word for the magnificent fare we were served. I felt like I was on an episode of Top Chef.
We went to the Sky Bar afterwards, since Charnice had still never been there, but since Kiao was under-dressed (they let him in with flipflops to Blue Elephant but not the Sky Bar), Charnice and I went up for just one drink and some pictures before rejoining Salilla and Kiao. Then, the four of us went to Khao San.
We ended up at Gazebo - it seriously became our club, we love it there - and danced for hours. At 2 in the morning we said good bye to Salilla and Kiao and went back to our place. I fell asleep, but Charnice woke me up to say goodbye at 4:30 AM. I was barely awake, and staggered back to bed for another 4 hours afterwards.
This morning, I woke up too early for the amount of sleep I'd had last night and went to join Pin, In, and Prajakta for lunch and "taking pictures." When they told me that, I thought they meant taking pictures of each other. What it meant, however, was going to a photo studio and having group photos taken. So, I got a series of shots taken of me wearing a mismatched T-shirt and skirt because everything else was packed or in the laundry. But it was a blast nonetheless. When I get the digital copies I'll post some online. Then the four of us had lunch, and said farewell. Prajakta will be in New York for an internship this summer, so we're planning to meet up in NYC at some point, but Pin and In are going to London.
While I was saddened to say goodbye to so many friends I've made here...I feel fairly sure we'll keep in touch. Facebook makes it laughably easy. And as Salilla said, we're all young. We'll see each other again in the years to come.
And now I just want to nap, yet I'm meeting up with one last friend to say goodbye tonight. Then when I get back to the apartment, I need to finish packing. And then, tomorrow at 8:30 AM, I fly out of here.
On Thursday, Charnice and I officially finished all our school work with the completion (finally) of the accursed CAD project at noon. After lunch with some friends we ran into at the Chula cafeteria, we wandered around MBK for a little while before returning to our apartment to start packing. That night, we had dinner at Sunrise Tacos with Dolly and her friend Jah, saying goodbye to both of them afterwards.
On Friday, we got up early (ish) and went to Dusit Palace. It was incredibly opulent - built in the style of European palaces with marble and high frescoed ceilings, but filled with gilt, enameled, diamond-studded artwork. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside - huge shame, because there were some beautiful pieces in there.
After our sightseeing was done, we went home so Charnice could finish packing. Then we went to Blue Elephant for dinner (finally!) with Salilla and Kiao. It was far and away the fanciest restaurant I've eaten at. Dinner can only be described as cuisine - food is far too plebian a word for the magnificent fare we were served. I felt like I was on an episode of Top Chef.
We went to the Sky Bar afterwards, since Charnice had still never been there, but since Kiao was under-dressed (they let him in with flipflops to Blue Elephant but not the Sky Bar), Charnice and I went up for just one drink and some pictures before rejoining Salilla and Kiao. Then, the four of us went to Khao San.
We ended up at Gazebo - it seriously became our club, we love it there - and danced for hours. At 2 in the morning we said good bye to Salilla and Kiao and went back to our place. I fell asleep, but Charnice woke me up to say goodbye at 4:30 AM. I was barely awake, and staggered back to bed for another 4 hours afterwards.
This morning, I woke up too early for the amount of sleep I'd had last night and went to join Pin, In, and Prajakta for lunch and "taking pictures." When they told me that, I thought they meant taking pictures of each other. What it meant, however, was going to a photo studio and having group photos taken. So, I got a series of shots taken of me wearing a mismatched T-shirt and skirt because everything else was packed or in the laundry. But it was a blast nonetheless. When I get the digital copies I'll post some online. Then the four of us had lunch, and said farewell. Prajakta will be in New York for an internship this summer, so we're planning to meet up in NYC at some point, but Pin and In are going to London.
While I was saddened to say goodbye to so many friends I've made here...I feel fairly sure we'll keep in touch. Facebook makes it laughably easy. And as Salilla said, we're all young. We'll see each other again in the years to come.
And now I just want to nap, yet I'm meeting up with one last friend to say goodbye tonight. Then when I get back to the apartment, I need to finish packing. And then, tomorrow at 8:30 AM, I fly out of here.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Disturbing News
This is a personal blog, and so I have avoided linking to news stories except in the case of those that directly affect my situation. But I came across this story:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/laos.british.woman.drugs.trial/index.html
It is about a 20 year old British woman who was detained in Laos for allegedly trafficking drugs, faces execution by firing squad, and has not been allowed a lawyer. She is also pregnant, possibly as a result of rape while in prison.
The reason I am linking this from here, though, is because while it is receiving a lot of British press, for obvious reasons, the US news hasn't picked up on it yet. Too busy panicking about swine flu, I suppose. A google news search turned up one result, from FOX (of all places). So, it's up to the new media, this grand blogosphere, to inform the public. (Incidentally I also learned of it on a blog, Shakesville, a progressive collaborative blog I've started reading.
It's a little scary to me personally, as many exchange students I've met here have or are going to travel to Laos. And while I'd hope none of them would get involved in anything even questionable, the lack of due process in evidence scares me on their behalf. So anyway, that was...a news story I just thought you all should be aware of, that I don't think you've come across before.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/laos.british.woman.drugs.trial/index.html
It is about a 20 year old British woman who was detained in Laos for allegedly trafficking drugs, faces execution by firing squad, and has not been allowed a lawyer. She is also pregnant, possibly as a result of rape while in prison.
The reason I am linking this from here, though, is because while it is receiving a lot of British press, for obvious reasons, the US news hasn't picked up on it yet. Too busy panicking about swine flu, I suppose. A google news search turned up one result, from FOX (of all places). So, it's up to the new media, this grand blogosphere, to inform the public. (Incidentally I also learned of it on a blog, Shakesville, a progressive collaborative blog I've started reading.
It's a little scary to me personally, as many exchange students I've met here have or are going to travel to Laos. And while I'd hope none of them would get involved in anything even questionable, the lack of due process in evidence scares me on their behalf. So anyway, that was...a news story I just thought you all should be aware of, that I don't think you've come across before.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Final Exams Completed
Still have to finish a project, due next Thursday, but my finals are finished as of yesterday!
I am also in a new apartment as of yesterday, and said goodbye to all the other exchange students except Charnice as of yesterday. A group of about twenty of us went to Khao San last night to go out with a bang. We hung out at one of the open air bars for awhile, then went to Gazebo to dance the night away. At the end of the night I said goodbye to my friends, which was sad. Yet with the miracles of facebook and availability of international travel, I feel sure I'll see some of them again. Especially Nathalie and Joyce, since I promised them I'd go to Sweden and Amsterdam, respectively, within the next five years. So, I've got a destination and goal to start planning for.
Today, Charnice and I were going to go to Koh Samet for one night, but we ended up not waking up until noon. So the plan now is to chill the rest of the day, then leave very early tomorrow morning, spend Sunday on the beach, and then come back early Monday morning so I can keep working on the project (due to the insane policy of closing the computer lab on the weekends, I can't work on it today or tomorrow anyway). Koh Samet is an island about 2.5 hours away by bus...not the weeklong sojourn in Krabi and Koh Phi Phi we had originally envisioned, but one last day of beaching it up in Thailand before we leave will be lovely nonetheless.
And, because I discovered today that I have 1,389 pictures (i.e. >1 GB) from Thailand on my hard drive, here's some for your enjoyment:
Khao San Road last night
The bridge we had to walk over every day to get to Chula from the old apartment.
Professor Kennedy, Charnice and I in front of the engineering school at Chula.
The Bangkok skyline at dusk, from the rooftop terrace at my friend Salilla's apartment building.
I am also in a new apartment as of yesterday, and said goodbye to all the other exchange students except Charnice as of yesterday. A group of about twenty of us went to Khao San last night to go out with a bang. We hung out at one of the open air bars for awhile, then went to Gazebo to dance the night away. At the end of the night I said goodbye to my friends, which was sad. Yet with the miracles of facebook and availability of international travel, I feel sure I'll see some of them again. Especially Nathalie and Joyce, since I promised them I'd go to Sweden and Amsterdam, respectively, within the next five years. So, I've got a destination and goal to start planning for.
Today, Charnice and I were going to go to Koh Samet for one night, but we ended up not waking up until noon. So the plan now is to chill the rest of the day, then leave very early tomorrow morning, spend Sunday on the beach, and then come back early Monday morning so I can keep working on the project (due to the insane policy of closing the computer lab on the weekends, I can't work on it today or tomorrow anyway). Koh Samet is an island about 2.5 hours away by bus...not the weeklong sojourn in Krabi and Koh Phi Phi we had originally envisioned, but one last day of beaching it up in Thailand before we leave will be lovely nonetheless.
And, because I discovered today that I have 1,389 pictures (i.e. >1 GB) from Thailand on my hard drive, here's some for your enjoyment:
Khao San Road last night
The bridge we had to walk over every day to get to Chula from the old apartment.
Professor Kennedy, Charnice and I in front of the engineering school at Chula.
The Bangkok skyline at dusk, from the rooftop terrace at my friend Salilla's apartment building.Thursday, April 30, 2009
Moving Out
We have to leave Evergreen tomorrow, so this afternoon was spent packing. Charnice and I are moving in with a Thai freshman, Tim Tim, who lives across Bangkok. It's going to be a bear to move all this luggage tomorrow - and I definitely don't look forward to having to condense everything down to two suitcases to fly home.
It's so strange...in the past four months, Evergreen has been home. Not real home, but...close enough. The next nine days will be an interesting transition.
In good news though, am now totally done with 1 of 3 remaining classes. After tomorrow, it'll be 2/3.
It's so strange...in the past four months, Evergreen has been home. Not real home, but...close enough. The next nine days will be an interesting transition.
In good news though, am now totally done with 1 of 3 remaining classes. After tomorrow, it'll be 2/3.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Chiang Mai - cooking class
First off - I was informed this evening by Professor Kennedy that there is a link to this blog on the Thayer website under the foreign study information. So, a shout out to anyone who actually explored the Thayer website enough to find it!
In recent news, this evening Charnice, Vincent, Geraud, Professor Kennedy and I had dinner with the director of ISE as a farewell party. We went to a lovely seafood restaurant and talked about the differences between Chula, Dartmouth, and the French universities, and about the political situation. Good company, good food, good times.
Finals start next week. The schedule has gone crazy, but basically - it's become as stressful as Dartmouth. I don't think I will sleep for the next week - I'll just set up a caffeine IV drip.
Despite the looming dark clouds, I feel a duty to at least begin posting about Chiang Mai. So here is the first installment of that adventure (picking up, naturally, from where I left off while up there): Cooking Classes!
On Saturday of our trip, Charnice and I took a class at The Greatest Thai Cookery School. I don't know if it lives up to its name, having nothing else to compare it to, but it was quite an experience. It began with Perm, the teacher, taking us to the market near our guesthouse. He showed us the produce used most in Thai cooking, how to tell if you should buy a lime (it should be soft), when to buy a pineapple (the top should be able to twist), and how to make coconut cream (you shred the white bits inside, then squeeze them. To make coconut milk, you add water). We also saw eggplants that are ACTUALLY shaped like eggs. Remarkable.
Then, we were driven to the school itself, which was about thirty minutes outside of the city center. Cooking stations were set up in a square, each of us getting our own burner, chopping block, apron, and wicked looking knife.
We began with soups. For each course we had a choice of what to make. First course was either Tom Yum or Chicken in Coconut Milk. Charnice took the former, I took the latter. We had actually learned to make Tom Yum from our friend Salilla, but there we had been mainly in charge of chopping things. Here, we got to cook the whole dish ourselves. Both soups have the same three ingredients for flavor - ginger, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves. The difference is the base - Tom Yum in water based, the other is obviously coconut milk based. I'll spare you all the details - mainly because for many of you, I shall cook this when I next see you - but it was delicious.
Next, we took part in cooperative cooking. Papaya salad, mango sticky, and deep fried spring rolls - the entire class of 15 all did different parts of this, which was a little disappointing, but still fun. We ate as we cooked, and quite enjoyed all three dishes (though the papaya salad was excruciatingly spicy).
After that, we moved on to the last three dishes, of which we again had a choice. I made green curry, pad thai, and sweet and sour chicken. The last was especially fun, because we did it in such a way that the vegetables flamed up as we tossed them in the oil. Charnice has a wonderful picture of me leaping away from the fountain of flame in my wok, but I haven't gotten it from her yet. But this picture is the immediate aftermath.
After we finished those three dishes, we took them out front and ate as a group. We got to talking with two Californians who were working in the finance industry, got tired of "taking it in the chin for two years," quit their jobs and left on a vision quest in Southeast Asia. Very cool guys.
Then, it was time to go home. We got loaded onto the trucks and driven back to Chiang Mai. Along the way, the first of the water throwing had begun. We got doused by buckets thrown in the open sides of the pick up, and then it started pouring down rain. Definitely a sign of what was to come - it was impossible to stay dry after that.
In recent news, this evening Charnice, Vincent, Geraud, Professor Kennedy and I had dinner with the director of ISE as a farewell party. We went to a lovely seafood restaurant and talked about the differences between Chula, Dartmouth, and the French universities, and about the political situation. Good company, good food, good times.
Finals start next week. The schedule has gone crazy, but basically - it's become as stressful as Dartmouth. I don't think I will sleep for the next week - I'll just set up a caffeine IV drip.
Despite the looming dark clouds, I feel a duty to at least begin posting about Chiang Mai. So here is the first installment of that adventure (picking up, naturally, from where I left off while up there): Cooking Classes!
On Saturday of our trip, Charnice and I took a class at The Greatest Thai Cookery School. I don't know if it lives up to its name, having nothing else to compare it to, but it was quite an experience. It began with Perm, the teacher, taking us to the market near our guesthouse. He showed us the produce used most in Thai cooking, how to tell if you should buy a lime (it should be soft), when to buy a pineapple (the top should be able to twist), and how to make coconut cream (you shred the white bits inside, then squeeze them. To make coconut milk, you add water). We also saw eggplants that are ACTUALLY shaped like eggs. Remarkable.
Then, we were driven to the school itself, which was about thirty minutes outside of the city center. Cooking stations were set up in a square, each of us getting our own burner, chopping block, apron, and wicked looking knife.We began with soups. For each course we had a choice of what to make. First course was either Tom Yum or Chicken in Coconut Milk. Charnice took the former, I took the latter. We had actually learned to make Tom Yum from our friend Salilla, but there we had been mainly in charge of chopping things. Here, we got to cook the whole dish ourselves. Both soups have the same three ingredients for flavor - ginger, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves. The difference is the base - Tom Yum in water based, the other is obviously coconut milk based. I'll spare you all the details - mainly because for many of you, I shall cook this when I next see you - but it was delicious.
Next, we took part in cooperative cooking. Papaya salad, mango sticky, and deep fried spring rolls - the entire class of 15 all did different parts of this, which was a little disappointing, but still fun. We ate as we cooked, and quite enjoyed all three dishes (though the papaya salad was excruciatingly spicy).
After that, we moved on to the last three dishes, of which we again had a choice. I made green curry, pad thai, and sweet and sour chicken. The last was especially fun, because we did it in such a way that the vegetables flamed up as we tossed them in the oil. Charnice has a wonderful picture of me leaping away from the fountain of flame in my wok, but I haven't gotten it from her yet. But this picture is the immediate aftermath.After we finished those three dishes, we took them out front and ate as a group. We got to talking with two Californians who were working in the finance industry, got tired of "taking it in the chin for two years," quit their jobs and left on a vision quest in Southeast Asia. Very cool guys.
Then, it was time to go home. We got loaded onto the trucks and driven back to Chiang Mai. Along the way, the first of the water throwing had begun. We got doused by buckets thrown in the open sides of the pick up, and then it started pouring down rain. Definitely a sign of what was to come - it was impossible to stay dry after that.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Situation in Bangkok
The protest is officially over, I'm officially back in Bangkok after an exceedingly uncomfortable bus ride (our uber-comfy 1st class train got cancelled - jerks), so I'm officially tired.
I was going to post a long explanation of the current political situation, but then I discovered Bangkok Post had a handy short article detailing the events, which I'll post below (copy+paste because sometimes that website takes forever to load)
Actually, now that I've started writing, I might as well finish my long political discussion. Might be edited in the morning when I'm more conscious.
For those who don't know, Thaksin is a former prime minister of Thailand who was ousted by military coup in 2006, has been in self-imposed exile because he was convicted in his absence for breaking a conflict of interest law and faces extradition.
Thaksin is a complicated character; from my understanding, his government was fairly corrupt, he was the head of a huge telecom company and exploited his political power for his company's gain, and was at the least unethical in some dealings if not illegal (not sure laws in Thailand nor exactly what he did), was accused of vote buying...now that I'm clicking through Bangkok Post links, seems like there's a whole lot more he and his government were at least suspected of doing. Also, according to wikipedia, Amnesty International has criticized his human rights record. On the other hand, his government spearheaded significant rural development, hence his huge support base amongst the rural poor, and waged a war on drugs (though the method of this was probably what Amnesty International was condemning).
In general, the political opinion of Thaksin is incredibly divided. People either love him or hate his guts - the former mainly being in the rural areas of Thailand, the latter being those in Bangkok. The UDD, United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, are the red shirts, Thaksin's supporters, and the ones protesting this past week. The opinion seems to be that Thaksin or supporters financied many of these protestors getting to Bangkok, since they are mainly from northeastern Thailand. Interestingly, the other side, the yellow shirts who occupied the airport last fall, call themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy, and allege that while Thaksin's party wins on votes in a general election, vote buying is too rampant for it to be a real election.
Anyway, here's the timeline of the most recent events:
I was going to post a long explanation of the current political situation, but then I discovered Bangkok Post had a handy short article detailing the events, which I'll post below (copy+paste because sometimes that website takes forever to load)
Actually, now that I've started writing, I might as well finish my long political discussion. Might be edited in the morning when I'm more conscious.
For those who don't know, Thaksin is a former prime minister of Thailand who was ousted by military coup in 2006, has been in self-imposed exile because he was convicted in his absence for breaking a conflict of interest law and faces extradition.
Thaksin is a complicated character; from my understanding, his government was fairly corrupt, he was the head of a huge telecom company and exploited his political power for his company's gain, and was at the least unethical in some dealings if not illegal (not sure laws in Thailand nor exactly what he did), was accused of vote buying...now that I'm clicking through Bangkok Post links, seems like there's a whole lot more he and his government were at least suspected of doing. Also, according to wikipedia, Amnesty International has criticized his human rights record. On the other hand, his government spearheaded significant rural development, hence his huge support base amongst the rural poor, and waged a war on drugs (though the method of this was probably what Amnesty International was condemning).
In general, the political opinion of Thaksin is incredibly divided. People either love him or hate his guts - the former mainly being in the rural areas of Thailand, the latter being those in Bangkok. The UDD, United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, are the red shirts, Thaksin's supporters, and the ones protesting this past week. The opinion seems to be that Thaksin or supporters financied many of these protestors getting to Bangkok, since they are mainly from northeastern Thailand. Interestingly, the other side, the yellow shirts who occupied the airport last fall, call themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy, and allege that while Thaksin's party wins on votes in a general election, vote buying is too rampant for it to be a real election.
Anyway, here's the timeline of the most recent events:
March 26: Thousands of Thaksin supporters in trademark red shirts begin rallying in Bangkok, calling on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government to resign and allow fresh elections.
They are spurred on by Thaksin Shinawatra, who starts a series of almost nightly addresses to the crowd by telephone and video link.
March 27: Thaksin accuses Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda, privy councillors Surayud Chulanond and Charnchai Likitjitta of being behind the 2006 military coup that toppled him.March 28: Gen Surayud rejects Thaksin's claim, saying privy councillors are not involved in politics.
April 2: Red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan says a mass rally planned for April 8 is aimed at pressuring Mr Abhisit, Gen Prem and the privy councillors to resign.
April 3: Thaksin refuses an invitation by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban to negotiate with the government, and calls on his supporters to come out in force for a mass rally on April 8.
April 7: Mr Abhisit's car is attacked by red-shirts in Pattaya as he heads back to Bangkok after a cabinet meeting. Thaksin's three children and ex-wife leave Thailand.
April 8: More than 30,000 red-shirts rally at Government House, their main protest site.April 9: Taxi drivers block main roads and Victory Monument, bringing the city to a halt. Mr Abhisit vows tough action against red-shirts who break the law, but no action is taken.
April 10: Thaksin's supporters, already spread out across Bangkok, launch a separate protest in the beach resort of Pattaya, where 16 Asian leaders are to meet for a major Asean-sponsored summit, with Asean chairman Thailand as the host.
April 11: Thousands of protesters storm the venue of the summit, forcing its cancellation. A state of emergency is declared as foreign leaders are evacuated - some by helicopter from the hotel roof.
April 12: A state of emergency is declared in Bangkok and surrounding areas as new anti-government demonstrations spring up. Pattaya protest leader Arisman Pongruangrong arrested in Bangkok. About 50 protesters force their way into the Interior Ministry grounds while Mr Abhisit is inside. He escapes. Thaksin says he will lead an uprising if there is a coup.
April 13: Army cracks down on protesters in Bangkok. Two people die and 123 treated for injuries in army assaults on groups of protesters and several ugly confrontations between red shirts and local people who formed neighbourhood militias.
April 14: Thousands of demonstrators who had retreated to their main camp outside Government House agree to disperse in the face of an overwhelming military operation to close down days of protests.
Government extends the three-day Songkran holiday for two more days.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/140563/red-shirt-revolution
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