Adventures in Eco-Tourism

This weekend's big adventure was a trip to Klong Klone Mangrove Forest, on the coast about an hour southwest of Bangkok. Some coworkers had gone on this excursion before and had a great time, that, coupled with a great deal on the cost of the trip, encouraged us to try it out.

The trip began with a short boat ride to a "field" of mangroves. We jumped out of the boat and into thick, knee-deep mud. They handed us bundles of mangrove shoots and we plodded out into the fields, planting mangrove shoots where we found empty stakes. Our guides really didn't speak enough English to explain to us why planting mangroves is important, but this website explains a bit. Apparently one of the main sources of income in this area is cockle farming (according to wikipedia a cockle is a "small, edible, saltwater clam"). At one point, the rush on cockles caused over farming and the degradation of their natural mangrove forest habitat. Mangrove planting and conservation efforts have gradually nursed the area back into good health.


The next part of our trip was mud-boarding! We jumped into the waist-deep murky water and got pulled behind the back of our boat on a long board traditionally used in the process of harvesting cockles. This was more or less like wakeboarding on a giant wakeboard. The size of the thing and the slow speed of the boat meant that staying up involved little skill. I still managed to fall in once.


Our main destination was a bamboo house on stilts out in the middle of the bay. These structures are built for fishermen to stay on while on fishing trips. It appears as though you can actually pay to sleep on one of these and have all of your meals cooked for you. Not a bad idea if you are looking for some seclusion! We were fed a delicious meal of fresh seafood-- grilled fish, mussels, and seafood soup along with rice and some fruit (rambutan). After feasting, we all stretched out on the bamboo to enjoy our unique location. It was actually perfect for sunbathing, as our soaking wet clothes prevented us from getting baked in the sun.



The final part of our trip was monkey feeding! We went back into the mangrove forests and threw fruit at wild monkeys! These monkeys are obviously used to tourists bringing them fruit, there were tons of them gathered in this one area, but it was still really fun and a good way to end our trip.


We had rented a car for the day and still had some hours to kill, so we ended up stopping by Amphawa floating market on the way home. This floating market in particular is really busy and touristy since it is so close to Bangkok. I'm not really sure how many "authentic" floating markets actually exist these days. At any rate, the market was flourishing and filled with crowded stalls and boats. The boats on the water serve food. You order your food from a boat and they pass it up to you to eat on the docks. The food looked delicious-- I think it would be worth a visit if you were looking for a unique lunch experience.


Back in Bangkok now, mentally preparing myself for another week with my little munchkins. Last week went well, fewer tears with each day! I'm feeling more and more relaxed teaching... though I have a long way to go before I can feel truly comfortable.

Finished Product!

Finished Product!, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

My pad thai! Step-by-step pictures are on my flickr.

Cooking Pad Thai

Cooking Pad Thai, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

Today my roommates and I got our first cooking lesson from an aunt of a friend. We asked her to teach us how to make pad thai. I'm not a huge pad thai fan myself, but it seemed like a really quintessential Thai dish that it would be nice to be able to make back home. Our teacher walked us through all the steps.

You start by making the sauce, combining fish sauce, tamarind, and sugar on the stove. This is the most complex part. After that, you slice up your ingredients and get to cooking. First in the wok is pickled turnip, dehydrated shrimp (found in lots of things here), and tofu followed shortly by the fresh shrimp. Once they are all a little fried, you add the rice noodles and some water, followed by 2-3 tablespoons of sauce when the noodles are cooked. Then you add an egg to the wok and mix it in. Finally, you throw in the fresh vegetables-- bean sprouts and chopped Chinese chives. Finished!

I'm sure I could replicate it... it just might take some practice. Making sauces can be scary. It was a fun and delicious experience and we'll certainly be doing it again.

Outside Central World

Outside Central World, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

Fences surrounding CentralWorld, Bangkok's biggest mall that was burnt down last spring.

I Ate Jellyfish This Week

In my first weeks here I tried desperately to fill every waking moment of my weekends with sightseeing. Now that work is in full swing and I have been here nearly two months, my desire to relax has overtaken my desire to maximize my potential as a tourist. So, I've spent the past two weekends in Bangkok, traveling no further than the National Stadium skytrain stop (not even twenty minutes from my stop, Ekamai).

(Walking down from the National Stadium BTS stop to the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center)

Last weekend my roommates decided to go with some other coworkers to see the Emerald Buddha. I didn't really care too much about seeing the Emerald Buddha again so soon. I'll go back to the Grand Palace if I have visitors, but until then I'd rather not face the crowds and the obnoxious people trying to scam me. So, I decided to head to the Siam area to shop a bit. Siam is one of the main shopping centers in Bangkok. You can find the Siam Paragon (luxury), MBK (more like an indoor market with tons of super cheap stalls), and the Siam Center and Siam Discovery (geared to the young adult/teen set). Outside of the shopping malls you can find a ton of small stalls and boutiques selling clothes and shoes for a fraction of the price (and the quality) of what you can find inside. As I was planning on buying a jacket I realized that I had only 120 baht on me... about $4. Although that is more than enough to buy some things they have for sale, I decided to save my money and come back another day.

At this point I was hot and tired from walking and decided to search for a cheaper, air conditioned activity. I've become enamored with the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center and it's located right across the street from all those malls, so I decided to pay it a visit. When heading up the escalators to the floors with galleries, I was sidetracked by the 14th Thai Short Film and Video Festival. Fortunately for me, I had arrived right at the beginning of a session and was able to see five of the entrants in the competition. The first film I saw was an Indian film called "Vilay" (Umesh Kulkarni). I was not impressed and pondering sneaking out of the theater when the German film "Times Up" (Marie-Catherine Theiler, Jan Peters) began. This film had more of a point to it and I enjoyed it a bit more. The last three films were really great, making the whole thing very much worthwhile. The third and fourth films were Spanish: "A Box of Buttons" (Maria Reyes Arias) and "Voltereta" (Alexis Morante). The final film was Finnish, "Over the Fence" (Hamy Ramezan), it was the longest and darkest but also very good. I just went and checked the film festival website and found out the winner of their international competition-- Vilay-- the one I couldn't stand! Apparently we have different taste. For the ones I've linked you should be able to download the movies if you are interested. Voltereta will bring a smile to your face. While I didn't end up looking at any of the galleries last week, I actually ended up there yesterday for a little bit and was able to explore. If it's free and convenient, there is no reason why I shouldn't go there frequently!

Also last weekend, I nearly went to see a Thai boxing match. Ultimately, I ended up spending an hour outside of a muay thai stadium, waiting for a friend from Chicago and some of his traveling buddies. They all got stuck in terrible traffic and by the time they arrived none of us had any desire to spend $60 to see only half of the show. On the bright side, I spent a good deal of time talking to the promoters at the area and now will have a better idea of what to expect when I DO go. In lieu of muay thai, we went out for cheap (read: under $4) all-you-can eat barbecue buffet. This was pretty fun. We got to choose from a huge array of premarinated meats and fill our plates with appetizers, veggies, and sauces.


Then we cooked them on this thing:


You grill your meat on the top and throw the veggies into the moat surrounding the grill. That "moat" is actually soup that you eat as well. Though I ate mostly chicken and beef, I also grilled up some jellyfish. Very chewy and salty. There are tons of similar barbecues in Bangkok, many of them are much nicer than this one and charge you an arm and a leg (read: $10-15). Honestly though, as long as the food is good and the place is clean, I see no reason not to go to the cheap option!

Yesterday I went with my roommates to an expat fair. The expat fair was a bunch of booths set up in a hospital conference room. We got many free samples of food and oodles of brochures. There were representatives from schools, insurance companies, banks, restaurants, social groups, tour services, and other organizations of note for recently arrived expats. I didn't find it to be as helpful as I would were I 20 years older, but I'm still glad I went. I may try and get involved in Bangkok community theater if I can manage to fit it into my schedule. The people were nice and encouraging, so we'll see if it pans out. As there are no auditions till January, I'm thinking of trying out an international choir in the meantime. (Aren't you pleased, mom?).

The last exciting thing that I've done was the California Wow mini-marathon. This morning, I woke up before five in order to make it to Lumpini Park to pick up our t-shirts and bags. The race began at six am. When my roommate advertised this race to me, she told me it started at 4:30am to beat the heat. I thought that this was so ridiculous that I had to participate. It turns out that just registration opened at 4:30 am, but still 6 is earlier than any other race I've done! Apparently they do actually have other races that start that early, and another one in October that is done at midnight. It's just too hot in the day to do it any later. Also, the park is already getting crowded by 6, making it difficult to run. I ended up running the 5k... which you were supposed to walk... so I was one of the first people done. They looked at me kinda weirdly, but handed over my prize for participating-- a medal and what appears to be a voucher for a free head and neck massage! The letter is half in Thai, but I figure I'll show up at the place and figure it out. I'm not passing up a free massage.

Finally, I'm starting to plan a trip for my vacation next month. Right now, it looks like I'll be heading with one of my roommates to Vietnam! I'm kinda leaning towards doing just the north, she wants to do north and south... not sure how to fit than into seven days. If you have been to Vietnam and have any comments about what the must-sees are, I would really love it if you could send me an email! I want to buy plane tickets soon and we need all the advice we can get!

First Days!

My week at work was both challenging and very exciting: I finally began teaching! I'm working with the youngest group of preschoolers, all aged around 2.5 years and all still very attached to their parents and nannies. We've opted to gradually introduce them to preschool by having their parents attend class with them for their first two days. On the third day (this past Friday) they attended class by themselves for the first time. After thirty minutes, we let their parents into the classroom to show them that their parents would always be back for them, they weren't being abandoned. Next week will be more of the same, short classes meant to help them get over the tears and get ready for our regular schedule. I was pretty anxious about teaching my first day... rather than teaching a class, it was more like giving a performance for the kids, their parents, and assorted coworkers. I sang songs, introduced them to Mr. Cow and the letter C, and explained to them the difference between big and small with various big and small objects. Everything has thus far went really well! Even after three days I'm feeling much more comfortable with what I'm doing and how I interact with my students. That said, the challenges of my position are also becoming very obvious. I only have five (Yes! Only five!) students at the moment which means I have plenty of time to attend to their individual needs. But that said, these five students are all at completely different levels. While one understands English well, at least two of my students don't understand it at all and the final two are so shy that even if they understand, I have no way of knowing! Also, I've been so fortunate to have had the support of my coworkers in class this past week. On Friday, as my students cried for their parents, my coworkers were all in the classroom, comforting my students as I began to teach them. In a few weeks the other classes in the preschool will start and I won't have so many people to help me keep them under control. I'm quickly realizing the length of the preschool attention span and wondering how to deal with it. However, I'm fortunate enough to have a wonderful Thai teacher in class with me. She's been working with young children for much longer than I am and will be able to speak to them when they have trouble communicating with me. At any rate, I'm excited to keep working with these children and see them grow throughout the year.