Issan Adventures

I love the Issan...the thai northeast that is historically Lao in culture and language...one major difference? They party waaay harder than thais. And own elephants. Laura and I took a trip to the village of our elephant friends. Here we got to take a bath with the elephant. SANOOK.

Here is a daytime mor lam show. Music. Dancing. Boys. Rice whisky.

Here is the start of a five hour procession, that was inducting/celebrating about 8 20-something boys that were going into the monkhood for a temporary stint. This truck was packed full of instruments, including a drum set, and drove around the village playing music, and the whole town came and danced behind it.

The elephants paraded the soon-to be monks around and danced a little too.

This was another morlam show. Scheduled to start at 10 pm, but it started raining. Our friends told us, when it stops raining the show will start...we were thinking there was some sort of cut off time, like 12 am, but no, the village went into temporary slumber and at 3 am we hear the band start bumping. The boys start hitting the rice whisky and it's a party. It wrapped up at about 9 am and everyone went to work in the rice fields. I held off and started drinking at 6. UGG!

Protest Against Undemocratic Referendum in Burma

Pic from Reuters. Two of my girlfriends on the left. We joined a protest in Bangkok against the referendum in Burma for a new constitution that has been a SHAM for the people of Burma. What do we say? HELL NO!!

http://www.daylife.com/photo/06jf09q4fPdqs

Minority Rights Training in Mae Sot: May 2 to 5 2008

Laura and I did a free agent human rights training session in Mae Sot, focusing on ethnic minority and indigenous peoples rights. It was the best thing ever. Teaching former rebel soldiers about human rights is WILD. Talking about rights to those who have just learned what a human right is after their people have been waging an armed rebel movement for decades. WOW. This is the classroom.

Teacher RA RA. Teaching the "Road Map of Oppression"



During break....breaking boundaries... girls don't squat with boys.

GUN TALK

Songkran: Thai New Year

For the Thai new year, which is also a country-wide water fight, Laura and I went to Chiang Mai in the north, then to the West, to Kampaeng Pet where my Thai boyfriend lives, then further west to Mae Sot, on the Thai Burma border. Here's a pic of the Pa-o temple (a minority in Burma) in Chiang Mai.

A shot of Kampaeng Pet by Laura. It is what Thais call "baan nok".... something like red-neck country life. Indeed. During new years these boys would get up at like 6: 30 am like it aint no thing and start drinking. drink all day. go to bed at like 2 am. Then do it again.

We went to this waterfall with boyfriend and family....I'm the small red-skirted one on the right.

This is Nee. She is the best thing ever.

During election times, trucks like these are used to go around and shout about various candidates. During off times, the trucks just go around blasting music, then they hook up the kareokee and its a rolling party. They start at 6:30 am.

In Mae Sot.... the water fight was in full force. Avoiding water barrages is impossible. I can't believe Laura managed to get this pic without getting douched.

New Room

We switched apartments but it is the same neighbourhood I've been living in for the last 1yr and a half...a Thai Muslim enclave.

Klong

Here is the shot of the canal (klong in Thai) by my old apartment. You can take a boat taxi or hang out with meth addicts.

Amazon in BKK

Sometimes I feel like an Amazonian woman in Thailand...huge and fierce compared to Thai girls. This is a shot by FORUM-ASIA's new office, but I no longer work there.