OznAsia

I have been asked by a friend for information on my experience with traditional medicines. As there are a few, I decided to write it as a blog. May be useful information for others too.

As a traveller I try to keep the weight of my packs down as much as possible. So I don't carry this stuff unless I believe in it. There are medicines I started using in Australia that I can't easily find in Asia so whenever I return to Australia I top up my supply.

Cold sores don't seem to bother me much these days but if they do, I always have tincture of calendula handy. Even in Australia this is not easy to find. I pick mine up from a pharmacy in Stones Corner, a Brisbane suburb. The pharmacist keeps it in stock for his wife (and me). Tincture of calendula is antiseptic but apparently has healing qualities too. If I get it onto a cold sore as soon as I feel the first itch it doesn't go any further. It's also good for mouth ulcers if you can stand the taste. I use it on any little skin sores or cuts too. When I was first working at Mahasarakham University a few years back I had friends teaching in the pharmacy department. They checked to see if it was available in Thailand. It wasn't.

If I have dry lips or any other minor skin irritations I dab on some pawpaw ointment. Never seen it anywhere but Australia.

I also carry tea tree oil as a general disinfectant for cuts and scratches.

I use citronella oil as an insect repellant. You have to reapply it regularly but it doesn't do any harm as far as I know. In the past I've brought this from Australia too but recently I picked some up in Penang at a much better price than I pay in Australia. I can also get it here in a spray pack for household use but I've never been able to find out if this product contains any other ingredients.

Years ago I started using rock deodorant in Australia. It too is an antiseptic and can be used in the early stages of cold sores or on other cuts such as from shaving. I've discovered I can pick up this product more cheaply in Asia than Australia. It is readily available in markets in Thailand. It's cheaper still and in a much rawer form in Cambodia.

I sometimes get skin rashes which seem to respond to nothing. Once when travelling with some friends in the southern part of Thailand we visited a hospital where they offered natural therapies to outpatients—mainly traditional Thai massage. They were selling a preparation that was suggested might help my rash. It did but somehow I lost the container. In those days I couldn't read Thai and I never knew what it was called. I've never found it again.

I have tried traditional Thai massage myself. Another Westerner teaching at Mahasarakham recommended a masseuse who practised it. My colleague highly recommended this person so I had her come and work on me many times until I had eventually to acknowledge that the treatment gave me more pain than I had without it. This made me quite wary of traditional massage (as against Western style massage). Recently while in Cambodia I was suffering from backache. There were a few massage places near where I was staying. I decided to give one a try. I thought I'd be able to explain that I wanted a Western-style massage but they spoke no English and my Khmer was very basic. The treatment was in some ways similar to what I'd had in Mahasarakham but in many ways different. The young woman who performed it was quite small and she even walked on my back. Yes at times it was a little painful but the end result was that I felt much better. I returned a few times. I've since had another massage in Thailand and this was something between what I had in Mahasarakham and what I had in Cambodia but no walking on the back. I'm pleased, she was quite a large woman. And once again it was OK. I felt better after the experience. Maybe the first woman was not doing a standard traditional Thai massage. Perhaps I'll approach traditional massage with a more open mind in future.

Other than as mentioned above, I have had very little to do with traditional medicines here in Asia. I know they are quite common and it is one of the courses available to students at Mahasarakham University.

Labels: Asia, Mahasarakham, pain, thailand

The way my chosen lifestyle has developed over the past (almost) eight years, I have learned to live with little. Because I move on fairly regularly I have to accept that when I do I have to cull many of the possessions that I have accumulated. If I'm looking to stay somewhere for a while, I do start to accumulate things—speakers for my computer, a microwave oven, bedding, etc—but sooner or later I move on and if I can't carry it, I have to leave it behind.

I spent most of last year in Mahasarakham and I was seriously thinking at the time that I would like to stay there semi-permanently. When circumstances took me back to Australia, I put my stuff into storage with an expectation that I would return sooner or later. When the time came to return to Asia, I decided there were other fish to fry so it was time to let go of all that stuff. In Mahasarakham I sorted through my stuff, carried off what I reasonably could and left the rest behind. MSU is setting up a house for scholarship students from Cambodia to live in. We agreed that what I left behind could be put into that house.

For much of 2008 I lived in Jirapong Apartments on the outskirts of Bangkok. That time too I accumulated a few possessions. At the end of the year I returned to Australia via India. I was running out of time when I was sorting and packing. I suggested that if I left stuff in the room for them to clean up they could have anything of value for their trouble. They agreed.

Now I'm back in Bangkok but will stay for only three weeks. I returned to Jirapong. There's not a lot of point in investing in things for the sake of a three-week stay but I do appreciate some basic stuff like an electric jug. I asked if they would have a spare jug lying around, then I went off to the store to buy some of the more disposable things I would need. When I returned to my room, inside was a jug, an iron, various bowls, dishes and other things. I thought they look familiar. It seemed they'd kept much of my old stuff and now I get to use it once again.

Labels: Asia, Bangkok, Mahasarakham, thailand, travel

Next to Talat Noi on the MSU campus is a parking lot. I walk through it on the way to buy my dinner. One evening I noticed a small bunch of kids on the back of a ute/pick-up leaping about noisily and waving toy guns in the air. As I passed, one of them must have noticed me and called out 'farang' ie Westerner. I ignored them and kept walking. Then my mind ticked over what I had seen, some of these kids were wearing red shirts. I already had my camera in my hand. I was planning to take some shots of the market. So I turned around and walked back to them.

'Tai roop mai khap?' May I take your photograph?

They were most happy to oblige. I would loved to have got them in action as I'd seen before but didn't know the Thai to make that request so had to settle for the posed shot you see here. How subdued they look in contrast.

I can only guess what was going on. This is just a bunch of kids playing with toy guns. Sadly, that's what kids do. They don't know any better if some adult is prepared to buy the toys. Was there any significance in the red shirts? Perhaps it was just a coincidence that two of them happened to be wearing red. Or perhaps not. Their parents are probably stall holders at the market and so would be members of the poor class that the red-shirt protesters claim to represent. I don't know the answer but I have to wonder if this is perhaps some subtle form of indoctrination of the young.

Labels: Asia, kids, Mahasarakham, politics, thailand

As I write this I'm back staying in the Ajahn's Condos at Mahasarakham University in the building next to the one I lived in last year. Some things have changed around here but in many ways it is easy to slip back into the life I had before.

It was my regular practise to visit Talat Noi, the little night market on campus, to buy my dinner. Talat Noi had, I believe, grown organically over the years. As new stall holders came, they fitted in wherever they could in the area around the canteen. Since I've been gone, they've moved it to an open area and now the stalls are all in neat rows. To me, it's lost a little of its charm and there are so many stalls now it hardly deserves to be called noi, ie 'little'.

Still, I was able to find the stall where the young couple make Pad Thai and got back into that routine quite easily. I also recognise many of the other stall holders but there are many new ones too.

It was my Saturday morning routine to take my laundry to a young woman who lives about 100 metres behind the Ajahn's Condos. Perhaps I was a little early this time because her shop was not open. Another one was and I delivered my dirty clothes there. I went across the road to where I used to regularly get my haircut but the barber shop was not open either.

At lunch time, I had to change my routine. I didn't have my bicycle. I couldn't ride to the restaurant where I would usually buy gai yang, BBQ chicken, and sticky rice. But there was a street stall selling it just behind the Condos so I still got my treat.

Before I went back to collect my laundry I went back to the barber shop. My barber was there. When he saw me his eyes lit up. I could see he was smiling behind the surgical mask he was wearing. When I sat in the chair he asked 'Bai nai ma?' Where have you been?

I told him I'd been to Australia. I've been letting my hair grow lately to keep my ears warm in the Australian winter. He pointed at it and made some comment suggesting I'd not had it cut since the last time I'd visited him. It didn't take long for him to restore my monk-like hairstyle. I asked if I could take his picture (for this blog) but he declined. Unlike most Thais he is apparently camera shy.

I went back across the road and there was the young woman who had usually done my laundry. She was beaming. I waved and went on to the other laundress. On the way back I stopped and chatted with my regular laundress. She asked where I'd been and I told her. 'Kittung' she said, I missed you.

Labels: Asia, Mahasarakham, thailand

There must be more stray dogs in Thailand than in any other country that I have ever visited. It is an aspect of Thai Buddhism that people take care of stray dogs. If you feed a dog, that is considered to make merit (good karma) for you. I have not seen this, at least not so commonly, anywhere else.

When I was in China there were stray dogs on the campus where I was staying. I never noticed anyone feed them until some Thai students came to stay. I was having dinner with them one night and when we finished they collected all the scraps off our plates in a plastic bag. 'What's that for?' I asked. 'To feed the dogs.'

Mahasarakham University has grown since I was here in 2003. There are twice as many students. And it seems there are at least twice as many dogs on campus. They (the dogs) are not aggressive, at least not towards me, but at times they can be noisy. Often that's early in the morning when I'm trying to sleep. As I ride my bicycle around the campus I notice there is also a lot of sexual activity going on among the dogs. I decided something has to be done before they multiply more and more.

My friend and boss was recently appointed as a vice-president of the university. Prior to this, it was easy to see him. I could walk into his office for a chat just about any time. Now it seems he spends most of his life at meetings and going backwards and forwards to Bangkok. I mentioned to his secretary how hard it is to see him these days. She suggested that she would make an appointment on my behalf. By time we met the list of things I needed to discuss with him had become quite long. But right near the top was the dog population issue.

I suggested to him that it would be a good project for the veterinary science students to catch the dogs, sterilise them and release them. He was inspired and immediately picked up his phone and rang the head of the veterinary science department who was also enthusiastic about the idea. It's nice. My friend has a lot more sway as vice-president and indirectly it gives me a little more sway.

The MSU veterinary science department is quite new. They only have first-year students and they do not have the experience to be able to handle this project. But no problem. They'll borrow a few final-year students from Khon Kaen University and our students will work with them. A decision was also made that our department would chip in some money to buy some drugs to immunise the dogs against whatever canine diseases are prevalent here.

They felt sure the students would be enthusiastic about the project too. They would see it that they are improving the dogs lives and thus they too would gain merit from the exercise.

Labels: Asia, Mahasarakham, thailand

I do like to have a few plants around me but I don't have much opportunity where I'm living now. Well, there is a tree outside my bedroom window which attracts birds to wake me in the morning. I would love to have a few potted plants inside but this place is so tiny, there just isn't room.

Then I moved into a new office. There is room in the office for a few plants. That inspired me to start looking around. When the stalls turned up on campus for the Science Fair there were a few that were selling orchids. As they were in hanging pots it dawned on me that I could hang them on the window grill in my flat.

The woman who sold them to me was quite keen that I look after them properly and between her lousy English and my lousy Thai I got to understand that they needed to be watered morning and night. Trust they'll survive when I head off for Khon Kaen for the root canal treatment.

They've been there a few weeks now and as you can see they're looking quite healthy, even have a few new shoots.

Labels: Asia, Mahasarakham, thailand

I have a note in my diary that Tuesday August 18 is Science Day in Thailand. No, it's not another public holiday but apparently King Mongkut predicted a solar eclipse on this day in 1868 and now we acknowledge the father of science in Thailand. Keen to promote science, the Thai government has now declared the whole week as Science Week.

I knew something was happening because on the weekend a whole heap of stalls sprang up on the road outside the science buildings but no one told me why. I had decided to go and do some stuff on the old campus this morning. It wasn't a commitment, just a plan.

There were many sorngtheaus and big buses parked along the road that I was walking towards the local sorngtheau stop—and more still arriving with kids of varying ages getting off and heading towards the science area of campus along with their teachers.

I took a few photos and asked a friendly kid where he'd come from. He gave the name of his school but that gave me no more clues. As I got to the bridge that crossed the canal and led towards the science faculties, I decided to change my plan.

Most people were heading into the biological sciences building and so did I. I discovered that there was a science fair with displays from the various science-related faculties and also many of the high school students from schools around the region, that would be MSU's feeder schools, had set up poster sessions based on experiments they'd done. There was a lot of stuff there that would make an environmentalist proud on topics such as natural pest control, paper recycling, composting, earthworms, biodiesel and alternative electricity generation.

One section was attracting quite an audience. I managed to get close enough to see that one of the nursing students was testing male students to see if they knew how to put on a condom. She had a wooden erect penis on a table. This guy had to open the condom packet, remove the condom and place it properly on the wooden penis. But that wasn't all. She gave him some tissues and he had to remove it in a manner that would not allow any fluid to escape. He must have got it right because all his friends cheered.

Just past this was a room that most people coming from were holding their hands, a tissue or a cloth over their mouths and noses. I wondered what could be in there. I saw groups of people gathered around tables.
It took a while before I could see what was on the table—some sort of dead animal I guessed. There was lots of meat and organs exposed. As I looked more closely at the shape of the legs and then the rest of the body I realised that this animal was in fact human. 'It can't be real,' was my first thought. When I got close enough I asked the student who was taking care of it, running her bare hands through the various organs, picking them up for everyone to see, 'Jing reuh?' (Is it real?)

'Jing jing,' she replied. (It sure is.)

'Ma jark ti nai?' (Where did it come from?)

'Khon Kaen University.'

I asked if she was from the faculty of medicine. Nursing, I discovered. I was told that on the other side of the room were students from the faculty of medicine. There were several tables on each side of the room and on each was a similar body, cut up sufficiently that the gender was not obvious. The skulls on most had been sawn open. They weren't newly dead. They looked like they'd been preserved in some chemicals. Perhaps that is what was giving off the smell that many found offensive.

There were kids in the room, perhaps no more than ten, and no one was bothered to protect them from this sight. I was having a mixed reaction. On the one hand I was fascinated and got a few photos. On the other, I've been known to have bad reactions to this sort of thing in the past. I checked myself and decided that I wasn't about to pass out but that perhaps I'd feel more confident if I got out of there.

It was an interesting exhibition. Now I'm wondering if I should go back tomorrow.

Labels: Asia, children, Mahasarakham, science, thailand

When I was a kid if I needed dental treatment my mother took me to the dental hospital at South Brisbane. Some of my friends went to private dentists. But my family could not afford that. At the hospital you did not get to choose your dentist. Some were good with kids. Some should have been banned from working with kids. I remember when water drills came in. They were so much easier to handle than the old mechanical ones we used to be subjected to. I also remember one cranky old dentist threatening that he would use the mechanical drill if I couldn't keep my mouth open wider. As a kid all of my fillings were done without an injection.

At the age of 18 I went to live in Sydney. When I needed dental treatment I discovered Dr C. He was wonderful. I know it is not common to hear people say they think their dentist is wonderful but compared to what I grew up with I found him to be a kind and gentle man. He would take time to explain what was needed and give me choices about how that was done. He seemed to be impressed that I didn't need an injection for a normal filling. I remember one time he got his nurse (he always had cute nurses) to take a look at how much drilling he'd done without an injection. I had tried injections and I decided I preferred the short-term pain of the drill that stopped as soon as he stopped drilling to the longer-term discomfort and numbness created by the injection.

When I moved away from Sydney I tried other dentists. None of them came up to Dr C. One refused to accept my decision to not have an injection and immediately injected me without waiting for me to disagree. I never returned to him. Nor did I return to others I tried for one reason or another. When I was living in Brisbane I had to go to an annual conference in the Sydney area. I would usually arrange to go a week early so I could visit Dr C for a check up and any work needed. Eventually he said I didn't need to keep coming as at the stage I had reached my teeth should stay good for some time.

When I decided to retire and move to Asia over six years ago, I had one or two little problems with my teeth. I decided to visit Dr C and get them fixed before I did. I didn't know if he'd still be practising but he was. By this time he was about 70 years old. I expressed surprise that he was still practising. He said he had fewer patients these days and it suited him. He'd slowed down rather than retiring. 'And what would I do if I retired?' he asked. I could think of a thousand things but obviously he is happy with dentistry.

He refilled one tooth for me and recommended I get a crown on another. I had a choice of a post and crown or just a crown. He said the post should be better but there were no guarantees. As it turned out I did not have time for the post before my flight to Asia so I settled for the crown.

It didn't last. It fell victim to some sticky rice in Thailand. I didn't do anything about it at the time. I was still able to chew and I found I had less trouble with food becoming trapped. Some time later, when I was living in Cambodia a filling came out. This one was causing some problems so I decided to have it fixed. You can read the story here.

I got the same dentist to replace the missing crown too. I was wary at the time about getting such work done in Cambodia but that was September '06 and I'm happy to say that it is still there and in that time it has been responsible for assisting in the chewing of many kilos of sticky rice.

Having had such success in Cambodia I was not concerned about finding a good dentist in Mahasarakham. The dentist I was referred to was recommended by several people. His practice is clean and appears to be professional. I assume you've already read my previous two posts. Now I'll carry on from where I left off.

Since the first root-canal treatment the tooth stopped hurting and has given me very little trouble. Last Sunday I made my final visit to the lady dentist in Khon Kaen. (Lots of Khon Kaen pics now on my flickr page.) She gave me the final treatment which lasted about an hour and was done without an injection. But I still had to return to my dentist in Mahasarakham to get the crown added. I got someone to ring and make an appointment for me. It can be a little frustrating communicating via someone else who may not understand fully what you want. I usually make an appointment for 6 pm and don't often wait too long. She made the appointment for 5 pm. I made it there by 5.20 knowing that there was no way I'd go in straight off at 5. I waited until 6.40 before I finally got into the dentist chair. I thought they'd forgotten me. Before I left to head into town I noticed that if I bit down on the problem tooth there was a slight twinge there. I tested this a few times on my way to the dentist and sometimes it twinged and sometimes it didn't. I mentioned this to him when I got into the chair. He just said 'Hmmm.' After he removed the temporary crown he stuck his drill into my mouth. I guess he was polishing the tooth but whatever he was doing it was quite painful. 'Relax. Relax.' he said. 'I can't,' I answered. 'It's hurting.' He said it shouldn't be hurting as there was no nerve left in the tooth. I understood that but I know pain when I feel it. And it was painful. So, he put another temporary crown on it and told me to come back in two weeks. I'm not impressed. I wanted to be over it. I've had enough of this. I want to be able to eat whatever I feel like instead of having to eat omelettes and curries all the time. I want to eat sticky rice again. But it seems I have to wait another two weeks—at least. It has been sore to bite on since then but today, not quite so bad. Let's hope it gets better this time.

Labels: Asia, dentist, health, Mahasarakham, pain, Phnom Penh, thailand, tolerance

Fruits are one of the delights in my life. I like so many fruits it is hard to decide which one is my actual favourite but I'd put both mango and lichee on the shortlist.

A few weeks ago sweet yellow-skinned mangoes started to appear on the market stalls. I was happy to get them at 50 baht a kilo. That's about A$2. Since then I got some lichees at 30 baht a kilo. They weren't the best I'd ever tasted but at that price I wasn't complaining. Since then the price has come down to 20 baht and the quality has gone up—such beautiful texture. Mmmm mmmm. Mangoes have also come down. They put little bundles on the stall—probably around a kilo each bundle—and sell them for 10 baht. I'm in ecstasy.

I've been watching the price of durian. I look for it to be sold in a single serve because you're not supposed to eat too much at one time. It's been selling for quite a bit more than I was paying in Bangkok last year but last night I got a serve for 30 baht. I'm happy with that. It made a nice dessert after the BBQ fish I had for dinner. I saved the lichees for breakfast.

Labels: Asia, fruit, Mahasarakham, market, thailand

Thailand has been in the world news once again in the last week with protests coming to a head. These protests coincided with Songkran, Thai new year, which this year was a five-day weekend. Here in Mahasarakham I was oblivious to what was going on in Bangkok for several days. This is how it all looked to me.

The university organised some celebrations on Friday commencing with a parade. They sure love their parades here in Mahasarakham. Many of the floats could have been for any celebration with people in various forms of traditional dress. Some were specifically Songkran, a utility/pickup with barrels and revellers throwing water on the onlookers.

Outside the gymnasium there was a talent show with singing and dancing. Awards were given by the university president. Later people queued to wash a Buddha image and then to pour water respectfully onto the hands of elders from local villages. As the afternoon moved on there was a local band and dancing and some revellers got around to throwing a lot of water around. But generally it was kept for those who'd come to enjoy that aspect of the celebration. I caught up with some old friends, made some new ones and generally had a good time.

My biggest challenge during the day was keeping my camera dry. It survived. I'll be uploading the most interesting of my Songkran pics to my flickr page (see sidebar). Hopefully they'll be there by time you're reading this. If you read it some time after I post it the photos will have moved back through the photostream. You can find them quickly by searching 'songkran', alternatively take your time and enjoy the newer photos on the way.

After that I knew it would be pretty quiet around Mahasarakham. On Saturday morning I took a sorngtheau into town specifically to buy a Bangkok Post, so I'd have something to read over the long weekend. I tried two paper shops and found none. At the second I asked if they had the Post and was told 'mai ma', it didn't come.

At lunch time I went out to get something to eat. There were very few eating places open and those that were had few customers. Sunday I took a longer ride on my bicycle to buy some fruit and got wet several times by Songkran revellers. Apart from little pockets of people with barrels of water the area around the university was unusually quiet.

Before I went out for lunch on Monday I got a call from Nathanon. He was ringing to check where I was and if I was OK. I had not watched any TV over the weekend and until this time I knew nothing about what had been going on in Bangkok. I turned on the TV to catch up. Bangkok was big news on the BBC. I also watched a few Thai channels but with my limited Thai I wasn't able to discover much more than I got from the BBC.

To put it in perspective, yes it was probably worse than what was going on last year. It might have affected me if I was still living in Bangkok and needed to go into the city. I often used to catch a bus from Victory Monument to get home and that was one of the areas targeted by the protesters. It looked pretty bad for people living where it was all happening but for those who live out in the suburbs where I did I expect there wasn't a lot of change provided they stayed close to home.

In Mahasarakham there was nothing happening so far as I could see. In fact Mahasarakham couldn't have been much quieter. I went into town again on Tuesday morning and this time I did manage to buy a Bangkok Post. The reason I couldn't get one on Saturday was that the roads out of Bangkok had been blocked by the protesters.

On Wednesday I took a look at the TV again. Thailand had ceased to be of interest to the BBC and the Thai TV stations were showing the Songkran revellers. The protesters had deprived Bangkok of four days of celebrations. It looked like they wanted to make the most of it for the one day left.

When I woke up Thursday morning I had a text message from an unknown number saying that the holiday had been extended for two more days. I figured this was a gimmick from the phone company so took no notice. But on my way to the office Thursday morning I noticed that the campus was unusually quiet. The office was locked and the guard advised me to come back on Monday. The quietness has continued since but at least I've stayed dry.

Labels: Asia, festival, Mahasarakham, Songkran, thailand

When I first lived in Mahasarakham, six years ago, I befriended a couple of guys who ran a milkbar close to the university campus. If I had nothing else to do of an evening, that's where I'd hang out. There was a restaurant next door. Both had tables in the open. In fact, everything was quite open in both these places. Not much separated them.

One evening there was a horrible (to me) smell coming from the restaurant. 'What is that smell!?' I asked the guys.

'That's barrarh.'

'What is barrarh?'

'Fermented raw fish.'

I discovered that barrarh is one of the ingredients in a very popular dish, somtam or spicy green papaya salad. I had no desire to try this dish but I found it hard to avoid in this area. Another popular dish here is gai yang or BBQ chicken. This is one of my favourite Isaan dishes. The chicken is marinated in local spices before cooking. It doesn't taste like the BBQ chicken we might get back home. Gai yang is usually eaten with khao neeow (sticky rice) and somtam. Every time my friends ate gai yang they ate somtam too. And they would encourage me to try some.

'I don't want barrarh.'

'OK. You can have somtam Thai. Only somtam Isaan has barrarh.'

'What else is in it?' The list included peanuts and prawns to which I am allergic. It also included lots of chilli.

In time I learned how to order a tolerable somtam for myself. 'Somtam Thai, mai sai goong, mai sai tooah, pet nit noy.' That's somtam without barrarh, prawns or peanuts and only a little chilli. I even used to order it when I was eating alone. I was making a commitment to participating in Thai culinary culture.

One day I was eating with a group of both new and old friends. One of the new friends enquired, 'John, can you eat somtam?'

'I eat somtam Thai,' I said.

One of the others butted in, 'No, you eat somtam John.' In other words, as far as they were concerned, what I was eating was not the real thing. I asked myself, 'Why do I eat this stuff? I don't really enjoy it.' So I stopped.

But don't let me influence you. From time to time I meet Westerners who actually enjoy somtam Isaan. Maybe you will too. If you get a chance, give it a try. BTW, Our Japanese visitors seemed to enjoy it.

Labels: Asia, Mahasarakham, thailand

At Mahasarakham University there are programs for people who want to spend a week or two (or perhaps longer) studying Thai language and culture. A group of ten Japanese university students come for a visit last week. On Sunday we took them for a tour of some interesting parts of the district. There are also Chinese students at the university. A couple joined the trip. With them, me, the Japanese and the Thais we had four different nationalities represented on the bus.

First we went to Bahn Nong Khuen Chang, a village where they still weave silk and other fabrics by hand to traditional patterns. They gave them a weaving demonstration and the students who wanted to could then sit at a loom and have a go. There is a shop in the village where they stock a huge range of hand-made goods that are typically Thai—lots of cloths and clothes and a few other things too. The Japanese students enjoyed browsing and bought a few souvenirs.

We took a long drive then to Bahn Pang where we stopped for lunch on the edge of a dam. All local food. I was enjoying talking to the Japanese because some of them spoke little or no English and we each got to practise our Thai. Sticky rice is a popular local variety. One guy was taking his time tasting a little bit. I asked him if they had 'khao neeow' in Japan. They do but he said it is different. A girl was cautiously trying out some dessert. I like this Thai dessert. It's like a thick green jelly (don't know what it's called) served with shredded fresh coconut. I asked the girl if she liked it. 'A little bit,' she answered.

At Bahn Pang they dry, dye and weave a particular kind of grass. They mostly make it into mats that people sit on on the floor to eat their meals and some still use them to sleep on. They had some foam backed ones that would, I guess, make it a little more comfortable than the plain ones. I have slept on the plain ones, once or twice, back when I was in Cambodia. They have developed a range of products made from this grass: place mats, coasters, hats that I can think of. Almost the whole village is devoted to making these products. As you wander around you can observe people under their houses weaving or sewing or working in some other way with the grass. You also see grass spread out on the edge of the road to dry.

Later we went to the home of a university staff member who has a small acreage. He is a music teacher so has a little museum of traditional Thai instruments. They were pumping water from one dam to another. They keep fish in the dams and for some reason were emptying one out. They had a guy down in the mud catching the last fish as the water got lower. A few of the students joined him. They seemed to enjoy being up to their knees in mud. We had the fish bar-b-qued for our dinner.

It was a delightful day. This is not a touristy area but it's a pity, if you go to the tourist areas you see lots of bars and overpriced hotels. I think this is the real Thailand but don't tell anyone. I don't want it to get too crowded.

I took a lot of photos during the day. I'll upload the best of them to my flickr page over the next few days (or weeks). See the link on the sidebar.

Labels: Asia, Mahasarakham, silk, thailand, travel

Over the past six years I have been fortunate to have had some input from time to time into the lives of young Asian people from disadvantaged backgrounds. As an English teacher in both Thailand and Cambodia I have made many friends and I believe made a difference in their lives. The number involved is relatively small compared to the many who desperately want to improve their lives through education. I wonder if people in developed countries such as Australia realize the joy they can receive while contributing to the lives of others. I can think of two groups in particular who might like to think about doing something like this. First is the young person who might have recently completed their teacher training. Why jump straight into a job that you might stay in for the rest of your working life? You could defer for a year and spend that time in Asia gaining a different type of experience; likewise teachers who have reached the end of their career and might not be ready to retire quite yet. A year of teaching in a developing country could give you much joy as well as helping others.
I have been told of an opportunity for such a person. The university at Mahasarakham runs a demonstration school. This school is quite innovative, has a good reputation locally and is therefore in demand. They are, I believe, selective in choosing their pupils. At the moment they are looking for an English teacher for the primary school. The contract will last until September this year. Pay is not what you would get in a Western country but would be sufficient for living a Thai lifestyle while you are here. Travel expenses would not be paid. The person should be a native English speaker with teaching qualifications. Mahasarakham is an interesting place to live. It is in the northeast of Thailand which is not a tourist area therefore Thai culture is still alive and well. Like to know more? Then email me at johnshield (at) optusnet.com.au.

Labels: Asia, English, Mahasarakham, teaching, thailand

When I lived in Mahasarakham, back six years ago, I remember I had to go to the dance department of the university to meet one of the dance teachers who also helped teach the English students drama. When I got there he had a class and I was invited to sit and chat with him while his students practised their dance movements. 

Students at Thai universities wear uniforms. Mostly they are plain black and white. Some departments have their own uniforms. These dance students were wearing theirs which included a sarong that somehow wrapped back between their legs and connected again at waist level at the back turning the sarong into a baggy pair of pants. That's what these students were wearing on the day I visited. I felt I was very lucky to be able to sit and watch them practise. It was like I was getting my own performance and it was very beautiful to see.

During that year I had many opportunities to see the dance students perform, not in the uniform but in beautiful traditional costumes. One night I was asked to be MC for a night of performances of traditional Thai dance and music that was presented for visiting palaeontologists. I've always enjoyed these performances. It's part of what makes it special for me to live in Mahasarakham.

On Friday night I was wandering around the night market when I noticed some students in the baggy sarong uniform. I knew they must be from the dance department. Later I could hear some announcements being broadcast from the amphitheatre which is right next to the night market. I went to look. In fact, there's been something happening there almost every night of the past week. It's getting close to the end of the semester and I guess the various departments have special presentations to make. This looked like it might be a performance of those dance students I'd just seen. I decided to wait and see and it was.

First there were some group performances like the one you see in the photo above. This was followed by solos from each of the students. Perhaps they were being assessed. I'm not sure but I got to sit in on some wonderful performances and had a delightful evening.

My only regret was that I only had my little camera with me. It's OK for day-to-day shots but doesn't handle the night-time action shots so well. Still I got one or two half-reasonable shots that show some of the intricate and often colourful costumes. You can see them by following the link to my photo page on the sidebar. To see the pictures larger click on them. If you are visiting this page some time after I post it you might find I've added many new photos. You can go straight to the dance photos by clicking this link and then clicking through the photostream by clicking the thumbnails of the photos both before and after the one that opens. Enjoy.

Labels: art, Asia, camera, dance, fx3, Mahasarakham, performance, thailand

When I arrived in Bangkok less than two weeks ago my flight arrived early in the morning. Thai Airways served breakfast on board. But Ead had to get up quite early to meet me at the airport. He had not had breakfast so on the way home we stopped at a street market a few blocks from his house. It was so busy we had to park a block and a half away. Ead's comment was 'They can build a big air-conditioned shopping mall with underground parking but Thai people still prefer to park in the street and walk a couple of blocks so they can do their shopping in an open market.'

When I reached Mahasarakham last week I was surprised to see that since my last visit in the early part of last year Big C (so what does the 'C' stand for?) had built a new shopping mall - strategically about halfway between the university and the centre of town. This mall comprises one big shop that sells just about everything from electrical goods, sporting equipment, furniture, clothing to typical grocery items such as fresh fruit and vegetables and a wide range of packaged goods, plus there's a range of specialist stores and a food court. You'd think this would attract many of the university students but my observation was that while the place is busy it is not all that crowded.

On the other hand each evening an open-air market appears on the university campus surrounding the canteen. I often go there for my dinner and to pick up some fresh fruit or other items. A huge range of goods is available such as clothing, watches, hardware, etc, etc and generally at competitive prices. The students vote with their feet. This place can be quite crowded.

Six years ago there was quite a good restaurant in one of the Ajahn's Condo buildings. It was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was very convenient for me, especially for breakfast. But they've closed it now. I've learned that for my simple lifestyle a really easy and healthy breakfast, provided I can boil some water, is instant oats. But oats aren't all that popular in Thailand. You can't buy them at the night market. So, last Saturday morning I took a sorngtheau to the shopping mall to pick some up along with my favourite Thai soymilk that I pour onto my oats each morning.

After I'd made my purchases I crossed the highway to pick up a sorngtheau to take me back to the campus. There was a young woman waiting with a couple of shopping bags on the side of the road.

'Lor sorngtheau mai khap?' (Are you waiting for a sorngtheau?) I asked.

'Ka. Bai nai?' (Yes. Where are you going?')

I assumed she was a student familiar with the university and simply replied, 'Ajahn Condo'.

Shortly I could see a sorngtheau approaching and asked if this was the right one. She said it was so I waved it down. We both got on. It was quite crowded. She got inside but I had to stand on the step at the back.

Off we went, crossed the river and after the river I was expecting we'd turn left but we didn't. I didn't let that worry me because there is another way to get into the university and I figured we would go that way. It is a couple of kilometres further on. But we sailed past that turnoff too. 'Bai Mor Mai?' (Do we go to the new campus?) I asked the girl. No we didn't. She realised I was on the wrong sorngtheau and rang the bell for me. He didn't stop for another 200 metres or so. And then I had to walk with my shopping bags back to the second turnoff. From there I had only another 2 km to go. It was about midday and a hot day.

I had walked about one kilometre. Quite a few cars had passed. In Australia I would have stuck my thumb out. Thai people would happily give a stranger a lift but I don't think they would know what an extended thumb meant so I just walked. I'd gone about halfway and was passing a driveway. A woman was coming out on a motorcycle. She said 'hello' and asked where I was going. I told her and she offered to take me. So I got home safely and not quite so hot and bothered as I might have been. Next time I'll eat some oats first to ensure I have enough energy for a long walk.

Labels: Asia, Bangkok, Mahasarakham, thailand

When I lived in Ajahn's Condos six years ago, security was very tight. You had to have your fingerprint scanned to open the front door. Sometimes you pressed too hard or too soft or on the wrong angle and it would refuse entry. Then you had to find a security guard and if he knew you, he would open the door for you. All visitors had to sign the visitor's book on the way in and out. One of my friends resented this and used to give the guards a bit of cheek. (Not a typical Thai) They did not appreciate this and gave my friend a hard time in return.

This has all gone now. The front door seems always to be open but security doesn't appear to be an issue. The place is still crawling with guards 24/7. As well as the regular lock on the front door of my little flat, I have my own padlock. The lock on one of my windows won't work but I'm not concerned. Someone might be able to push it open if they manage to get past the guards and scale the wall to my level but there is a grille covering the window that no human could get through. All but the front windows have insect screens. I leave the screened windows open at night to let the cool air in. But not the front windows. The intruders I most fear are small six-legged, winged creatures that bite and may carry disease. The screens are kept shut at all times.

You can imagine my surprise yesterday evening when I opened my front door and was immediately aware of an intruder. No, not a mosquito nor a human but something in between. There was a sparrow perched on the curtain rod of my living room. But not for long, it panicked when I came in and fluttered over behind the refrigerator. I closed the door, went to the bedroom which faces the front of the building and opened both the curtains and one of the unscreened windows.

I went back to the living room and made a bit of noise to try to chase it towards the bedroom. I could hear it fluttering around behind the fridge but it didn't come out. When I searched, I found it had somehow got itself inside a cellophane bag that happened to be lying there. I picked up the bag containing the nervous wriggling little creature and let it fly out through the grille on the front window. It took off and kept going in a straight line for about 100 metres. Guess it was happy to be free.

How did it get in? I searched all the windows. There was no gap anywhere, not even big enough for a sparrow. I wonder if there will be another visitor when I get home this evening. Another sparrow I can cope with but if I find any of those aforementioned six-legged creatures, I won't be happy.

Labels: Asia, housing, Mahasarakham, thailand

On the day of my flight back to Bangkok I checked the weather report in the Bangkok Post. On Friday the temperature range was 25 to 35.

Today Ead and I took a trip in his car that necessitated it being parked in the sun for a couple of hours. Fortunately he had a screen covering the inside of the windscreen. He has a cube-shaped device that sits on the dashboard and gives a reading of the time, date and temperature. You can see for yourself what the temperature was.



Just checked the Thai Meterological Department for today's temperature range. It says 26 - 36 for Bangkok. Humidity at 4 pm was 56%.

Tomorrow I'll be heading for Mahasarakham. It reached 37.5 there today and they're expecting 39 by the end of the week. The humidity, however, will only be 44%.

I hope to stay in Mahasarakham for a while. Drop back to read the latest hot news.

Labels: Asia, Bangkok, Mahasarakham, thailand, travel

A couple of years ago I was fairly settled in Mahasarakham. I left at that time to return to Australia for family reasons. I left quite a lot of my stuff in storage. Recently I returned to Mahasarakham and brought a suitcase-full of my things back with me to Bangkok. This included many backup disks of photos from the past. These are photos taken with my first digital camera, a 2MP Kodak DC265. Most are of Australia but also included are photos from my first trip to Thailand in 1999 and trips to England and California.

These photos remind me that memory was more expensive in those days so I was more economical in taking photos. I didn't have the luxury of filling a 1GB card as I occasionally do now. I had to make every shot count or perhaps delete the duds. Now I almost never delete a pic because you never know when it might serve some purpose.

I joined the photo-sharing site flickr not long before I bought my current camera, a Panasonic Lumix FZ20. The first photos I added to flickr were of Angkor Wat and were taken with the DC265. Since then I have added thousands of photos taken with the FZ20.

I've decided to process and upload some of the earlier DC265 photos as I have time. I find it interesting to compare the busy-ness of most of my Asian pics with the emptiness of so many of the Australian shots. I hope you'll take a look soon and come back again as there'll no doubt be more added later. I'll perhaps add some to this blog also when I feel there is a story to go with them.

Labels: Australia, DC265, flickr, fz20, Kodak, Lumix, Mahasarakham, Panasonic, photography, travel

The rainy season in Thailand should end by the end of this month. When I arrived in Mahasarakham more than a week ago there was a storm. At the bus station water was right across the road. I stepped off the bus into 10-15 cm of water. It's rained on and off since.

The other day I took a walk in the rain with my umbrella to my favourite BBQ restaurant. The rain was pouring down. It was still quite heavy as I walked back after lunch. Water was several centimetres deep across the road in places.

It's been raining like this on and off for about six months. You'd think people would be sick of it by now. I observed the students coming up the street from the university on their motorcycles with umbrellas, two or three on board. They were getting wet and most of them were smiling or laughing.

Even when the weather is uncomfortable Thailand is still the land of smiles.

Labels: Asia, Mahasarakham, smile, thailand