Day 240 - I May Need to Rename this Blog

It's day 240 of Around the World in 240 Days, and we're still halfway around the world. We will be in South Korea until Feb 12, and have decided to continue the blog until we are all the way back in VA (chronicling our visit to Seattle and our quest for a home in NYC) to make it a full circle.

Seoul is an excellent last stop abroad. The climate and atmosphere are all New York, but it is still undeniably foreign. There is a sense of history and of pride in history much stronger than anywhere else we have visted. I think this in part simply because there is so much history - South Korea has had civilization pretty much since civilization was invented - and in part cultural - In no other country we have stopped in are ancestors and tradition as revered as they are here.

This manifests in strange ways. Part of the culture of traditon is a culture of repect and integrity, resulting in Seoul being one of the safest cities in the world - statistically more than twice as safe as NY. I sort of took feeling safe here for granted and let it slip out of conscious thought until I noticed that the subway cars have luggage racks. And people were using them for everything from innocuous boxes to very clearly laptop computer bags. And the owners were actually napping on the seats below. Sleeping. I can't imagine falling asleep on a NY subway, let alone while my laptop sits unlocked and in plain view on a shelf over my head. But here, no one even blinked, no one's stuff was stolen, and the subway system is just as extensive, and nearly as busy as the one in NY.

Lunar New Year has passed, which means that all the museums are finally open. Today we went first to the Seolodang Prison Museum, which we had tried to visit on Thursday. It is a complex of buildings designed to torture and detain Koreans who dared to oppose Japanese rule 1910-1945. The prison was originally constructed to house only 500 inmates, but at times it could be crammed with over 3000.

The museum is clearly intended to detail the atrocities of the Japanese towards the occupied Koreans. Cell blocks are restored to give vistors an impression of what life here might have been like. Everything is carefully oraganised. Long grey corridors with overhead catwalks fan out from a central point with overhead to allow ease in controlling prisoners. Rooms decked out with vaguely cheesy mannequins graphically illustrate the tortures endured by prisoners nearly nonstop.

Perhaps most powerful is the execution room, a simple wooden structure behind a 2m stone fence. The inside is set up like a small theatre house with the condemned on a stool behind a procenium complete with curtains, and the officials seated in rows on risers. When the lever was pulled, the stool dropped, and the prisoner hanged. Behind the building a set of stairs lead to the basement so a guard can secretly go down to make sure he is dead. After that, the body is whisked away via secret tunnels to a public cemetery.

More than the brutality, what struck me most in the exhibits was reverence in which the rebels are held. In every dsplay, they are referred to as 'our noble ancestor' , 'our patriotic ancestor' or even 'our revered ancestor' . I believe it is partly the cultural respect for ancestors mentioned above, and partly national pride/propaganda.

The other thought that struck me was that once again how history is written by whomever is currently in power. No doubt, the Japanese occupation was wrong, thousands of people wrongly imprisoned, and unspeakable violence done. The prison and the history books make that clear. That said, one of the displays was a diorama of a Korean village in which holographic figures act out scenes from the occupation. In one, a Korean scholar lobs a molotav coctail into a trio of Japanese, killing all three. Surely, had the rebellion failed, there would be a very different museum in place hailing the strong rule of the Japanese against the Korean 'terrorists'.

From the prison, we had a banquet of museums from which to choose. We opted for the National Museum of Contemporary Art. Once again we got more than we bargained for. The directions to the museum simply state "take subway line 5 to Grand Park". Grand park, is in fact, a huge park complex comprising not just our museum, but a zoo, a science center, an amusement park, and a park as we think of them (grass, trees, ponds, etc). It was so huge that we opted to use the park's tram system rather than walk the 30 minutes across the park in the cold.

Once we arrived at the museum we were in for another lucky surprise. The 2nd Saturday of every month the museum is totally free! The museum is housed in a 3-storey open-plan building. The review in the guidebook called it dissapointing, saying that there was too much unused space. Personally I prefer museum to give the art a little 'breathing room'.

We whiled away the rest of the afternoon getting an overview of 20th century Korean art. In many ways it did not seem to differ too much from American modern art. Perhaps this is a mistaken conception, as most modern art galleries in the US display works from around the globe, but I suspect that it has more to do with the transfer of information. Before the 20th century, communication was slow and though extensive in its reach (global trade, and hence global communication is not a new idea), it was very limited in scope. By the 20th century, however, communication had become fast and widepread. As a result ideas flowed back and forth across continents and cultures, resulting in a much more homogeonised art scene. That's my theory anyway.

The art museum was a good ride away from home, and as the temperature dropped with the setting of the sun, we were very grateful for the heated subway seats. The MTA could take a clue here!

Day 239 - SNOW!!!!!!

IT'SSNOWINGIT'SSNOWINGIT'SSNOWING!!!!!!!! Only flurries, but still, fluffy white bits tumbling out of a cloud-dark sky. I love snow, and this is my first snow in over a year. SNOW!!!!....And two days ago we were in t-shirts and shorts fighting off mosquitoes.

But that's just this evening. Once we shook off the two hour jet lag, we had a culture-filled day.

One of the plays we designed at UW was Oh Tae Sok's Intimacy Between Father and Son. The play is based on real events which took place in the 18th century during the Choson (Jeoson/ Joson) Dynasty. Documentation of the events ranges from royal papers supporting the king, to the published memoirs of the widow of the son he murdered, and none is even remotely unbiased. The tangled interpersonal relationships within the 18th century court mirror the complicated relationship of North and South Korea, and in fact, the original 1970's production made use of these parallels. All of this would have been valuable information on the project, yet most keys to discovering it remain firmly locked in-country.

Over the centuries, Korea had been invaded, occupied and torn apart. Victors and the powerful write the history books, dooming Korea to a fragmentory shadow in most Westerners' minds. For that show, most of us spent hours combing every library on campus, and coming up with a wealth of images from Japan and China, but virtually nothing from Korea. We have been lucky to uncover some of it in our short time here, but I feel that the full complexity of the play cannot be understood without 3000 years of history and a DMZ at the back door.

Being in South Korea is an interesting experience. There are hoardes of tourists, but mostly from Japan or other parts of Korea. We have seen very few Westerners at all, and of the few we have talked to, most, like us, did not initially plan on coming here. It almost feels like a forbidden kingdom, an unknown place, even though its doors have been open longer than most of the other countries we have visted over the past months.

South Korea is rarely on the front pages, but it is an economic powerhouse, boasting the 34th highest GDP per capita in the world. Among all the modern wealth and bustle, there remains a palpable sense of the past. Ancient palaces and temples rub shoulders with modern high-rise buildings. Rituals and relics of its agrarian past are carefully preserved in courtyards alongside highways teeming with modern SUV's. And lurking behind it all is the memory of repeated invasions by China and Japan, and the ever present shadow of the DMZ and the armies of the North sitting just 60Km from Seoul.

Today we visted Gyeobungkun Palace. As we left our guesthouse, we heard drumming and other music coming from a courtyard nearby. The gate was open, and we were greeted by a group of musicians, and scattered clumps of people trying on traditional Korean dress, and playing traditional games from the countryside. We assumed the merriment was to celebrate the new year (this assumption ws later confiremed at the folk museum - these sorts of games have been played every New Year for at least 1500 years).

As we walked, we passed a restaurant wth pictures of the food in the wndow. In a country that doesn't use the Roman alphabet, and in which English not widely spoken, a pictorial menu is a great invention. We each pointed to dishes what looked tasty, and were pleasantly surprised when the meals that appeared actually looked nicer than the pictures. We've never had that happen before!

By the time we finished lunch, we were too late to catch the tour of the palace complex nearest our guesthouse (which I just discovered is where the historical events of the play actually happened), but instead opted to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace, the largest palace in Seoul. In addition to the Josen buildings, the complex also houses several museums dedicated to preserving Korean art and culture.

We arrived right at 2PM, just in time to watch the changing of the guard. Like the beefeaters in front of Buckingham, the Korean palace guards never change expression as they stand before the palace. The changing of the guard involved all the usual pomp and ceremony, including a large drum, exchanging of secret passwords and identity cards, and salutes with swords. For one moment before the crowd surged forward to begin their palace tours, the guards appeared to stand alone and at attention before the massive gate.

The architecture inside the complex mirrored that of the outer wall and gate. Graceful curved roofs with elaborately painted eaves shelters austere rooms with minimal furnishing. Most traditional Korean homes are heated through ondol, or under-floor heating systems. As a result, life is lived near to the ground, with no need for the glut of furniture found in European palaces.

The finest of the museums was the Museum of Folk Culture. Our experience was greatly enhanced by an enthusiastic English interpreter/curator/volunteer guide who walked us through each exhibit. Through him, we learned that not only is kimchi a tasty snack, but that it is internationally recognised as one the 5 healthiest foods in the world. In previous centuries, Koreans would ferment huge vats of kimchi underground. Today, most Seoulites live in apartments, but they still make their own kimchi, and have even invented a special kind of refrigerator just for that purpose!

In the rural village part of the museum, he explained the symbolism and reasons behind everything from the village totem poles to the layouts of the houses. Had he not been there we would not have learned half as much as we did. There were placards explaining some things, but nothing so good as a some one who really knows and loves the meanings and histories of things walking you through them step-by-step.

I was especially excited about the costume exhibits. Most of the garments represtented different classes and professions from the Choson dynasty. If we did Intimacy Between Father and Son again, I could design the hell out of it!

This evening we ventured out to find winter woolies for Cz. As noted in the title of the post, while we were eating dinner, it began to SNOW. Cz was made doubly happy that we found a woolie hat, sweater, and scarf with minimal hunting.

As we walked the market and tucked into our pizza dinner, we were struck by the similarities between Seoul and NYC. Not just the weather, but the skyscrapers, the lights, even the extremely fashionably dressed couples breezing past in their identical black coats.

In other ways, Seoul reminds me of Europe. Just as 10th century cathedrals loom over modern city blocks in England and France, in Seoul, 13th century belltowers surprise in the shadow of ultra-modern skyscrapers. We took these pictures from the same street corner in our neighborhood. In one direction, a tiny park with a belltower from the 14th century, in another, the Jongho Tower, a monument to modern consumerism.

We have only been in Seoul 2 days, and are already feeling easy and comfortable because it is so like NYC, but at the same time bowled over by the sudden influx of history we never knew. Be prepared for more long-winded history and politics laden posts. I won't be offended if you just look at the pretty pictures.

Day 238 - Seoul of Asia

We left Bangkok in nighttime temperatures of over 30C. We arrived in South Korea to a daytime temperature of -7C. South indeed. I could gripe, but to be honest, I have missed the seasons. It was sort of exhilarating to step off the plane and to feel the cold radiating through the glass of the arrival tunnel. Also because of the cold, despite being a major city with all the attendant traffic, the air is remarkably crisp and fresh-smelling.

After checking into our hostel, our first order of business was to find some lunch. Being Lunar New Year, the restaurant we had planned to visit was closed (along with everything else on its block). We opted instead to go down a promising alley with many signs, selecting a place that claimed on its door 'English Menu". I may need to have some words with Korean restauranteurs on honesty in advertising. There was no English menu. There was no menu. There was no English. Period. Somehow through hand gestures and the collective help of half the other patrons, we found ourselves with bowls of Bibimpap, which we thought only came with beef. Apparently not. This was a salad and tuna sushi affair atop a bed of rice with about 5 different sides. The owners were apparently tickled with our complete ineptitude, and saw to it that we mixed our condiments properly, and even brought us a big bowl of house specialty soup - on the house. We couldn't understand a word of what each other was saying, but it was an entirely enjoyable experience. We will study up the Korean phrasebook section of our Lonely Planet and actually try to order something tomorrow. As we were leaving I saw two young men recieving grilled herring with an entourage of mysterious small bowls. A goal for tomorrow...

In Thailand, Seoul is currently running an ad campaign that goes "Visit Seoul, Soul of Asia". Indeed, it is a neat city. The people here are all phenominally well-dressed. Everyone seems to be slim and beautiful, even bundled up in winter layers. No parkas here - only designer coats and hugely expensive shoes. And everyone wears black or grey. It's really not that far removed from the more posh neighborhoods of NY.

One of the city's best features is the abundance of public art. Every high-rise built after a certain date (I believe late-seventies, but I could be mistaken) is required to have a sculpture in front. The results are sometimes interesting, often easily missed, and occasionally quite charming. This giant traditional ink brush in the summer actually has a flow of water running from its bristles through the 'brushstroke'. Now it is dry, though I think it would make a splendid mini ice rink.

We had planned on visiting the Prison Museum today, as it only has English-speaking guides on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Unfortunately, it was closed for Lunar New Year. As we eventually devised most of the museums in town would be. So we revised our plan.

We instead headed for the Coex Aquarium, only one part of a massive (as in over a kilometer long) underground mall. And we were in luck - not only was the aquarium open, but they were offering a hefty discount on the tickets. We wiled away the afternoon in warm indoor comfort admiring the fishes and oddities.

One room was dedicated entirely to 'Liberating fish from the bowl'. Epspecially clever was the computer whose tropical reef screensaver served as the backround for a school of real tropical fish. There was also a washing machine full of mollies, a refrigerator whose crispers were swimming with goldfish, televisions with screens full of fish, and a traffic signal with a siamese fighting fish in each light.

In a much larger (and more naturalistic) display, huge morey eels gaped, while sharks and rays glided by. Several of the rays seemed quite sociable coming right up to the glass and seeming to smile and wave.

And no aquarium would be complete without the sideshow oddity. In this case, a two-headed turtle, living in apparent comfort in his own private wing of a pond filled with his more conventionally-domed brethren.

After the aquarium, we were reluctant to face the cold. Since all the museums we had intended to visit were closed anyway, we opted instead to rot our brains at the local arcade. There were games for all ages and tastes, from simple match 'em games for the younger set to complex sniper shooting games for the big kids. We joined the throngs of Korean kids zapping zombies, shooting bad guys, playing table hockey, and putting out fires in the White House until our designated game money ran out.

With some reluctance, we left the arcade in the hopes of catching the English Language screening of Charlie Wilson's War (we still weren't ready to face the cold). Unfortunately, it was sold out, so face the cold we did.

We made it home without a hitch. The Korean subway system is far more orderly than the NYC, but the lack of English signs adds the necessary element of adventure. Once back at the hostel, we thawed out with bowls of noodle soup, and the underfloor hearting system, one of the features for which we chose this place.

Most of the museums will probably be closed tomorrow too, though I heard rumors that one of the palaces was open. If not, there is a highrise shopping center downtown with yet another aquarium, an Imax theatre, and a 62nd floor observation deck. These just might be the two days we that we indulge in [observing] conspicuous consumption.

Day 237 - When is a Planetarium Not a Planetarium?

When it's the Bangkok Educational Science Center! Listed simply as a planetarium, the science center actually consist of a planetarium PLUS 4 more science museums. Admission to all four museums plus the planetarium costs less than $3 (As opposed to the $18 for the NYC planetarium and science museum). The guidebook also says to allow at least a half day for the museum[s].

We were there for the reccomended half day and only managed to hit the planetarium and two of the museums.

Our first stop was the main physics and technology museum. Unfortunately one wing was closed, but that didn't stop us from playng with the childrens' exibits, climbing through a giant computer, and checking out the robot exhibit - which featured among other things screening of I Robot in Tai.

Afterwards we wandered through the Ocean Life museum and admired the fish. We didn't understand much, as most of the signs were entirely in Thai, but occasionally the fish names were in written English. I would not want to be caught downriver from this fellow.

Also in the exhibit were several aquariums of corals and reef fish. We were endlesly amused taking pictures of ourselves 'underwater'.

At 2:30, we trouped into the planetarium. It has been ages since either of us had been to a planetarium show, and we had forgotten how much we love the star-making machine. Once again, the dialogue was entirely in Thai, but the displays were great. It was especially neat seeing the Thai versions of familiar (and unfamiliar) constellations. No 'Big Bear' 'Little Bear' here. Thais see in the stars curling dragons, naga, and all manner of mythical half bird, half human creatures.

After the planetarium show, we wandered through the attached space museum looking at model rockets, satellites, and launchers. Who knew that Kazakistan had its own launcher and satellites?

By the time we blinked our way back into the sunlight, it was nearly 4PM and the other museums were closing down. We never even set foot in the Environmental Hall or the Museum of Medicine.

At a loss as what to do with the last few hours we had left in Bangkok, we wandered over to the Foodmall across the street from the museums. I had a huge headache, and was hoping a caffeinated drink would clear it up (it did, along with the tylenol). While there, we discovered that there was an English language screening of Sweeny Todd playing at 5PM. We had our solution of for how to entertain ourselves for our last night in Bangkok!

After the film, we ate a noodle dinner from one of our regular foodstalls, did some last-minute shifting of packs to make them more airline-friendly, and were soon on our way. The cabdriver drove as if pursued, and we made it to the airport in record-time. The check-in process was smooth, but for Cz's very suspicious thermometer, of course buried in the very bottom of his pack. After figuring out that was what had set off the sensors, even the security staff couldn't figure out why, and were very apologetic. Best we can figure is that the heat made the mercury rise and so the thermometer looked like a thn metal rod on the scanner.

In any case, we were soon tucked into our comfy Korean Air seats. As with the other Asian airlines, Korean Air is supremely comfortble, with foldable headrests, and near constant traffic from the stewardesses offering snacks and drinks. We are so unused to the treatment that it seemes almost a pity to sleep through most of it.

Day 236 - Bangkok Hit List

We were not very ambitious tourists the last time we were in Bangkok. Today we decided to make up for lost time, but not before lunch at the fish and soup lady's stall. She remembered us!

We stopped first at the Vimanek Teak Mansion, the largest golden teak building in the world, apparently. Built in 1900, the royal family lived there for 6 years before moving and using the place simply as a storehouse for the royal furniture. In the 1980's the current queen decided to re-open not only the teak mansion, but the surrounding buildings as museums. As a result, the teak mansion is now just one of 14 small museums scattered across the former palace grounds.

The Dusit Throne Room was built around the same time as the teak mansion in a Moorish style. Today it is a crafts center showcasing traditional Thai handicrafts. Especially striking were the little sculptures and boxes 'enameled' with mosaics made of tiny bits of beetle wings.

The grounds also house the grand Throne Hall, a neoclassical beast, approximately 85 metres long. It was getting late in the day, so we opted not to visit, only to take photos from the outside.

Most visitors to Bangkok stay on Kao San Road, the backpackers' ghetto. We felt we would be remiss if we didn't at least visit this most famous street. Stopping there, I can see why so many people we have met have had less than kind things to say about Bangkok. It was crowded, dirty, and oh-so-commercial. Most of the kids there were quite young with fresh sunburns from the islands, or with plans to head to the islands at the nearest chance. Popular with boys were dreadlock extensions - so many clean-cut college kids were sitting under the nimble fingers of Thai ladies having their J-Crew preppy hair transformed into world-traveller ratty dreads. Equally popular with the girls (all white, mostly blonde) were having either braided extensions, or tiny braids put in all over their heads, complete with beads on the ends. Perhaps no one told them that they are on the entirely wrong set of islands for that style.

Feeling sufficiently touristed, we decided to head for home. I figured if we aimed for the sun (it was late afternoon) we would be heading west, and would eventually hit the river, and by extension, the river taxis. This reconing made Cz very nervous, but he had no better idea, so off we went. Sure enough, within a few blocks, we reached a sign pointing towards Wat Pra Kaew, which I knew was right on one of the main ferry stops. From there it was easy as pie to just follow the arrows back to the riverfront and hop on the water taxi back to the skytrain.

Back in our neighborhood, I was disapointed to find that pumpkin custard lady had taken the night off. Cz went for a massage, and I consoled myself with a sticky rice and mango. After his massage and some internetting, we went for dinner at all our favourite street stalls, and then caught the skytrain back out to the night market. Once again I was disappointed - bra lady no longer appeared to have a table - but we did finish up the last of our gift buying.

Day 235 - Happy Chances

The Chiang Mai University which is near our hostel has an attached gallery. Said gallery is usually closed on Mondays, but I had seen a neat exhibit through the window when I passed by after closing on Sunday, and wanted to show Cz. When we arrived, the doors were open. Perplexed, we wandered in, and no one tried to stop us. The exhibit was called "In My Mother's Footsteps", about a woman who goes back to Germany and later Eastern Europe to trace the route her mother took during the Holocaust as a Jewish prisoner. It was a very good exhibit, and there is apparently a documentary film coming out about it if you are curious.

Better though were the exhibits upstairs. Little did we know, but we had stumbled into the last-minute setup of the undergrad thesis shows. Much of their work was far better than even grad level work at home, and we were duly impressed. That said, we couldn't help but feel a little warm and fuzzy nostalgia as we watched the kids frantically painting, stapling, and installing away.

After the museum, we debated having a sushi lunch or visiting the Wat nearest to our guesthouse. Luckily Wat won out - sushi is everywhere, Thai Wats, only Thailand. We were well-rewarded. This was the finest wat so far in Chiang Mai. The golden Chedi housing the Buddha relics sits serenely over a cluster of shining white stupas containing the ashes of departed royal family members. The temple itself had been destroyed over the centuries, but the golden Buddha collection still stands proud ina lovely painted shelter with some traditional architectural details. Best of all, there were only two other foreign visitors. Everyone else there were monks or locals. It was a fine way to end our Chiang Mai sightseeing.

We still had time for a quick late lunch, and indulged ourselves in another round of Mike's burgers before grabbing our packs and heading out to the train station.

When we arrived at our platform, the grimy cars and diesel-belching engines did not inspire confidence. When we purchased our tickets, all the cheap sleepers were sold, so we had to splash out on 2-tier AC (for all of $22 each for a 14hour night train). That was the best thing that could have happened to us. When in seat position, the chairs were soft and huge enough to curl up it. The train flashed through the mountains with nary a curve nor a bump - far better than a bus. We played cards on the nearly full-sized table provided us until bedtime. And then the real treat.

The seats tranformed into two almost twin-size beds one above the other. Not only that, but they came with 2" thick mattresses (on top of the already nice surface), sheets, pillows, a blanket, even curtains to block out light and noise from the other berths.

We should arrive in Bangkok bright eyed and bushy tailed with this kind of service.

Day 234 - White Elephants Cannot Be Trusted

According to legend, when a new Buddha relic was discovered by the king of Chiang Mai, no one could decide where to build a temple to house it. The king decided to put the relic on the back of a white elephant (sacred animal, but not too bright) and release him in the center of town. Wherever the elephant stopped, the temple would be built.

The elephant headed for the hills. Literally. He marched himself about 6km out of town before stopping on a crest overlooking the budding city. So a Wat and Chedi (Thai stupa - where Buddha relics go) were built on the spot. With the advent of automobiles, a winding road was subsequently added. And I do mean winding with bonus ups and downs.

By the time we arrived at the top of the hill all we could do was stare dizzily about and rub our roiling bellies. Dread in anticipation of the ride down did not improve moods.

We did manage to coax ourselves into the cablecar and the rest of the way up the hill to the Wat (That was one ambitious elephant!). The Wat itself was nice, but not any nicer than others we have visited. Same for the view over town - nice, but we've seen better. Furthermore, the whole complex was crawling with people, and the whole thing felt rather touristic. Of course this is probably coloured by the fact that we still hadn't completely recovered from the ride up.

We did meet this fellow guarding one of the entrances. Someone clearly had a 'complicated' relationship with their parents.

The ride down the hill was nearly as bad as the ride up. We didn't toss our cookies, but our tummies made their displeasure known for the rest of the day.

The owner of our hostel was a tourguide before going into hostelling, and so arranges outings for anyone who cares to join nearly every day. Today's agenda was to visit the oldest Wat in town, the first section of the city to be built, adn the Sunday Night Market, the biggest and best in town.

We began at the old Wat which was just as nice as the one on top of the hill, and far easier to reach. The light was perfect causing the old bricks and the saffron robes of the monks sweeping and tending the grounds to glow. The hostel owner was most knowlegeable, giving us not ony a brief history of the Wat, but of Thailand as a whole.

From there, we went into the old city wall where we learned more history, including the story of the ambitious white elephant. Once off the wall, it was only a short hop to the sunday market.

Every Sunday night, the two main cross streets in the old town close completely to vehicles and transform into a 2km by 2km open-air market. Anything and everything is on sale from crafts to mass produced goods to pirated CD's and DVD's. And food. Much of it is conventional (good) street fair - fruit, phad thai, spring rolls, soups - but some of it strays into the bizzare. When I say you can find any meat on a stick, I mean any meat on a stick. Including a giant cockroach. I should have made a video of me crunching him to bits to play in my kitchen in NY. It would be way safer to the cats than roach bombing...though perhaps it could put a dent in my social life...

After the market, we all piled into a shared taxi and headed back to our own quiet neighborhood. Where we had a lovely (and so conventional) soup and rice dinner before walking back to our hostel for another round of TV before bed.

Day 233 - Party Time

Our visit to Chiang Mai just happened to coincide with the annual flower festival. For the festival, several streets are closed to traffic and filled with vendors selling all sorts of plants, flowers, and tasty snacks. Most exciting are the strawberries. In addition to being spring flower season, it is also the peak of strawberry season, and the strawberries from South Vietnam and North Thailand are considered some of the best in the world. We ate a lot of berries and took a lot of photos.

For dinner, the hostel owner took a large group of us to the Thai barbeque. There were so many of us that a few had to (chose to) ride on the roof and watch the city lights stream by. Every weekend, a building like an open-sided airplane hanger is equipped with table-top grills, platters of fresh food, and a live band. Literally thousands of Thais (and the few lucky foreigners who know about it) gather together to cook, eat, and talk. It's good fun.

Afterwards, we all went out for Karaoke. In Thailand, Japanese-style Karaoke is wildly popular. Rather than taking place in an open bar, groups of friends can rent out rooms of various sizes, each equipped with a karaoke machine. Everyone sings together, eliminating stage fright or performance anxiety. The drinks menu might also have something to do with this.

Overall, it was a properly festive day, beginning to end.

Day 232 - Burnin' Down the House...

...Or Cz goes to cooking school.

Chiang Mai is known for its excellent Thai cuisine. As such, almost everyone who visits here takes at least one day worth of cooking classes. Even Cz was not immune.

We began the day with a market tour. Our guide (and cooking teacher for the day) could be a stand-up comedian. I recognised most of the veggies and herbs that he pointed out, but he amused us by making jokes about the 'Thai' names for things, and by calling some of the well-known veggies by their Dutch names, to the surprise of the Dutch in the group, and the amusement of the English-speakers.

Best of all, we learned how to not only make Phad Thai, but to do it with impressive displays of flame-throwing. Not exactly home-kitchen friendly, but loads of fun.

So without further ado....

Some recipes.

Tom Yam Soup

Ingredients: (2 small servings)
1 cup water or stock (veg, chicken, or seafood)
3 thin slices ginger, peeled
3 1" pieces lemongrass
1 shallot roughly crushed (smash it with the side of a knife) and cut into 3 pieces
1-5 small green chilies roughly crushed (smash with the side of a knife)
1-2 Kaffir lime leaf vein removed torn into pieces (1/2 tsp lime zest would work fine)
2-4 mushrooms cut into chunks (we used straw mushrooms, any other kind is fine too)
1/4 tomato, sliced
Protein - can be prawns, tofu, fish, thinly sliced chicken, pork, beef...about 1/4 cup whatever you like
1Tbs fish sauce (soy sauce will do)
Cilantro (coriander leaves) to taste
1Tbs lime juice (fresh squeezed is best)
1 tsp sweet chili paste (optional)
1 clove garlic, skin removed, smahed and cut in half

Bring water or stock to a boil on high heat

Add all ingredients except cilantro and lime juice

Cook until everything is cooked through (1-2 minutes)

Remove from heat

Add cilantro and lime juice

Serve with rice, yoghurt, or beer (all of these things cut the heat)


Phad Thai (The Thai dish that almost all Westerners like)

Ingredients (for one serving)
1c fresh rice noodles (or soaked and drained dried rice noodles)
1 clove garlic smashed, skin on (smash with the flat side of a knife. The pan will be very hot, and the skin will keep the garlic from burning)
1/4c firm tofu, chopped (chicken, prawns, or pork are also fine)
1-2Tbs oil (any kind EXCEPT olive or sesame)
1/3c Bean sprouts
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup water (optional ONLY if you want flames)
2 chives cut into 1" pieces

Sauce:
1tsp fish sauce (soy sauce is fine)
1Tbs white sugar, palm sugar, or maple syrup
1 Tbs tamirind juice (you make by adding boiling water to tamarind paste or powder - fresh lemon juice is an OK substitute)
1Tbs soy sauce

Condiments:
Crushed chilies
Crushed unsalted peanuts
Lime wedge


Place oil in wok and heat over medium until smoking

Add protein (tofu or meat) and garlic

Stir until tofu is brown or meat is nearly cooked

Add noodles and water (water is optional the water is what makes the flames)

Keep stirring one minute

Turn heat to low

Add sauce ingredients

Return heat to medium, and cook for 1 more minute

Push noodles to side of wok

Add sprouts and chives and put noodles on top (the noodles will keep the steam in on the veg, the veg will keep your noodles from burning)

Push veg and noodles to side of wok

Add a bit of oil on the other side

Turn heat up to high and pour in egg to make a thin omelet

When egg is nearly cooked, spoon noodle and veg mix on top and turn off the heat

Fold egg around noodles and veg

OR

After adding a bit of oil to other side of wok, just scramble the egg on that side

Once the egg is cooked, toss together with noodles and veg

This method actually tastes better, it's just not as pretty

Note: Phad Thai, as with most Thai dishes, is best cooked in batches of 1-2 servings, as the key to the flavour is to cook everything very fast at high heat.

Day 231 - East Meets West

The three days getting to Chiang Mai pretty much wiped us out. For our first day in Thailand's 'cultural capital', we did...NOTHING. Well, not much anyway.

We began by waking up late. I updated the blog and surfed Craigslist for apartments. Cz watched movies for what was left of the morning. At 1, we went across town to the train station to book our tickets back to Bangkok. Tickets in hand, we returned to our neighborhood for an oh-so-greasy, oh-so-Western, and oh-so-good burger lunch.

The burger joint is called Mike's and looks like a classic American diner. It's motto reads 'converting vegetarians since 1979'. I can see why. I do plan to go back to my partial veggie ways when I return home, but for now, that was a damn fine burger.

It was nearly 4 by the time we returned to the hostel, where we resumed doing...nothing. The common room is graced with several comfy chairs and floor cushions, a large TV, and American series on DVD. It is an enormous time suck, and our time was effectively sucked.

We had planned on going on a night tour of Chiang Mai with a group of people from the hostel, but unfortunately right about dusk, it began pouring rain. Most unfortunate, especially considering that part of the night tour was to celebrate Spicy Thai (the hostel) being voted #2 hostel in all of Asia. Undaunted, the hostel owner moved the party home, with bucket drinks, snacks and music.

We might not have seen much of Chiang Mai, but we certainly saw a lot of what makes Spicy Thai worth its new crown.