Saturday, 30 April 2005
Thai Patriotism
One thing that's surprising about Thailand is the level of patriotism exhibited here. Being an American, you'd think I'd be used to it, but it's much different around these parts. It's not the flag-waving, fist-pumping "love it or leave it" variety like we have back home. It's more of a quiet respect for King and country.
For example, every day at 8 AM and 5 PM the national anthem is broadcast in every public place in Thailand. No matter what's going on or how much of a hurry everybody's in, every single person stops whatever they're doing and stands there until it's over. Yesterday Fiona and I were bustling our way through a Skytrain terminal during morning rush hour, when all of a sudden music started coming over the crackling speakers. For about a minute, we watched as people came to a halt in mid-stride. No one spoke, and the only thing that moved was paper blowing in the wind. It was surreal, to say the least.
Then, last night we went to see The Interpreter in Siam Square. At the beginning of the movie, the National Anthem came on along with a film clip of breathtaking scenery shot all over Thailand. Again, every single person stood up, listened and watched while images of the King and his country flashed across the screen.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 30, 2005 at 05:01 AM in Southeast Asia | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Schapelle Corby's Defence Fails to Convince
Things are not looking good for Schapelle Corby. A few days ago she gave a tearful final plea to the judges, but apparently no one even bothered to interpret her statement for them. The latest news does not leave much room for a favorable outcome:
In an extraordinary interview with The Weekend Australian just weeks before he and two fellow judges hand down their verdict, Chief Judge Linton Sirait said: "From Corby's defence I haven't heard anything to prove she is innocent."
But Judge Sirait refused to say whether he believed Corby - accused of smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali in a bodyboard bag last October - was guilty, nor would he speculate on possible sentences if she is convicted.
Judge Sirait confirmed he had not understood Corby's desperate final plea of innocence on Thursday as it had not been translated in the court, but said it made no difference: "Not enough. He or she has to prove he or she is not guilty. Every inmate would say: 'I'm not guilty'. I'm still looking for something related to the law."
Judge Sirait also revealed he had never acquitted an accused drug offender in the estimated 500 such cases he had presided over in his 15 years on the bench. He, along with two other judges, will determine Ms Corby's guilt or innocence and the sentence that should be imposed.
Prosecutors have demanded she receive a life jail term if convicted, although the judges can still impose the death sentence if they see fit.
...
Marijuana is considered a schedule-one drug in Indonesia, along with heroin, and at least one marijuana smuggler has been sentenced to death in the country. Bali's drugs squad chief, Bambang Sugiarto, said he had only heard of one drugs acquittal.
"But that was a long, long time ago," he said. "The quantity was very small. Nothing like that has happened since I've been positioned here."
A senior lawyer for Ms Corby, Erwin Siregar, said he had only heard of acquittals "maybe in the 80s". He nevertheless remained optimistic the judges would find Ms Corby innocent.
She will face court again next week, when prosecutors reply to the defence's summing up. In a 75-page address, the defence tried to counter all the prosecution's arguments, questioned police handling of the evidence, asked why the evidence had not been fingerprinted, and asked why Ms Corby was questioned at the airport without an adequate interpreter present.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 30, 2005 at 04:52 AM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Koh Lanta Photos
As thanks to all who donated, I've pushed up this photo album so that you can see Tong and everybody else. I hope you enjoy putting faces to all the names of the people you've helped.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 30, 2005 at 04:34 AM in Southeast Asia | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Wednesday, 27 April 2005
Tsunami Donation Totals
Okay, first and foremost the window for making donations to tsunami victims through Fiona and I is now closed. We’re leaving the island tomorrow, so no more donations will be accepted. We wound up staying an extra day, but we absolutely have to be in Bangkok on May 1st to start our CELTA class. I wish we could stay longer, but we simply cannot.
When I sent out the email about Tong, Koh Lanta, and the tsunami, I did it hoping that we'd be able to raise enough to buy Tong some lights and cushions for his bar. My highest expectation was that we'd end up with somewhere around $500, and we'd leave the island knowing that we'd helped out in some small way.
However, less than 24 hours after I'd clicked "Send" it was obvious that we were in the middle of something much bigger than either Fiona or I had anticipated. We sat in the internet café with our mouths open as we waded through email after email pledging donations. The lady who worked there laughed at how we whooped and hollered after we'd tallied up the day's total of $815.
Obviously, we couldn't wait to tell Tong. We hadn't even mentioned the initial letter to him because we didn't want to get his hopes up. We printed out the emails (minus the spicy bits - some of you guys are really sick), and ran down the road to Family Bungalows.
When we got there we went right up to Tong and I laid it on him all serious-like. "Tong," I said, "Do you have a second? We need to talk to you about something important."
We took him out to a table by the beach. Fiona and I sat on one side and he sat opposite us. He eyed the papers in my hand nervously as he fired up a cigarette.
"I just want to let you know," I started, "Yesterday I sent out an email about you and Family Bungalows." I laid the five page email on the table in front of him and began summarizing it. When I got to the end I said that I'd sent it to friends and family back home telling them that if they wanted to give money to help then I would give 100% of it directly to the people hurt by the tsunami.
I paused for a moment and gave him a few seconds to digest what I'd told him. He smiled a broad smile and thanked me. It's all a bit of a blur, but I think he said something along the lines of "It's very nice of you to do that."
That's when I really let him have it.
I whipped all the emails you sent out of my bag and slapped them down on the table in front of Tong. “Today I went to check my mail,” I said as I pointed to the first letter on the page, “And this is what I found.”
"This is from someone I used to work with. She says 'Good luck, Tong' and gives you fifty dollars." I pointed to the next one. "My friend from university gives you $25." I started going down the line one after the other. "This one is from my Grandmother. This one is from my brother. My friend who has no job gives you $20. Here's $100 from my cousin. Another friend gives you $50 and says he's happy he can help."
As I read them off in rapid-fire succession, I heard him say "Oh my God," in the quietest voice I'd ever heard. I looked up at him and he had his hands on his cheeks with his eyes wide open in a surreal Macaulay Culkin impression that I'll never forget for as long as I live.
When I got to the end of the emails I hit him with the grand finale. I showed him the last letter on the page and said "This one is from somebody who works with somebody I know. Obviously he doesn't know you, but he doesn't even know me, and he wants to give you $200."
I sat back with what must have been an absurdly large smile and waited for Tong to react. His face looked like he’d just had one of those throwup burps.
After a few seconds he jumped up excitedly. "This is amazing!" he half-yelled, "Nobody else can help me like this. No waiting for money from government. We can get cushions now!"
"You can get whatever you want," I said, "It's your money."
"No!" he shouted, "We can go get cushions NOW”
Me and Fiona exchanged looks. Fi shrugged her shoulders and said “OK. Let’s go!”
So we all excitedly piled into Tong’s pickup truck. Fiona and I sat in the back and Tong sat in the front with his driver (not that he needs a driver, but it’s an excuse to give somebody a job). We pulled out of the driveway and made our way down the bumpy, dusty road.
After 20 minutes of being bounced around, we pulled up to the market and we all got out of the truck. Tong took one look at Fiona and I and burst out laughing. We were both covered from head to toe with dust from the road. After we’d all had a good laugh Tong told us that he was sorry he’d brought us all the way to the market.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I get too excited,” he said, “I forget that we have no electricity in bar! Have to call electrician tomorrow. But today we can buy a CD case!”
So we marched into the market and bought one of the ugliest, cheapest CD cases I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It was the only one they had, and it’s baby blue with puffy white clouds and cuddly brontosaurii on the cover along with, coincidentally enough, the words “Thank You” in the upper right hand corner. Product designers in China must have access to a wide assortment of incredibly powerful psychedelic drugs.
But hideous as it may have been, it was worth every baht just to have something tangible for Tong to hold in his hands.
The next morning we went to the bank and I wired about $750 USD into Family Bungalow’s bank account. Not only did we hook Tong up with lights, cushions, electricity, and a stereo for his bar, we also gave him enough money to buy a good computer and a table to put it on. He’ll use it to sell internet time to guests, and he’ll also be able to provide services like CD burning and digital picture transfers.
Needless to say, Tong was ecstatic. In one day we managed to raise enough money to give him and everyone who works at Family Bungalow a fighting chance at staying open. That night the beer flowed like wine, and we sat around grinning at each other like a bunch of idiots.
The following day we went back to check our mail and we found that we’d raised another mind-boggling amount. We were up to almost $1500, and Tong had already said that he didn’t need any more donations. Fiona and I hadn’t expected anything like the response we were getting and we started to freak out.
We asked Tong what to do, but he didn’t have any ideas. He said he’s originally from the mainland and it wasn’t directly affected by the tsunami so he didn’t know anybody who needed help. We toyed with the idea of going to a school and asking the principal to point us in the direction of a needy family, but then we found out that the schools are closed for two months for the Thai New Year, and besides the government had already sent financial assistance to the schools, so they didn’t really need any help.
At around noon on the day before we were supposed to leave Fiona and I sat by the beach trying to come up with an idea as donations continued to come in. Time was running out, and we knew there had to be people on the island who needed help, but we just didn’t know how to find them. We had never dreamed that our one email would snowball into something so big in four short days.
As we sat on the beach teetering on the verge of panic, a somewhat serious-looking white guy carrying a clipboard came walking up to us.
“Is the owner of this bungalow operation here?” he asked.
We told him that the owner wasn’t here, but that the manager would be back shortly. He sat down with us to wait and we got to chatting. He told us his name was Steve and that he was working for a Non-Governmental Organization studying the allocation of financial aid to small bungalow owners in the aftermath of the tsunami.
The multiverse is a strange place, my friends. Just when Fiona and I were about to spiral into philanthropically-induced insanity, who should come strolling along the beach but the one guy on the island who knows more about the situation than possibly anyone else in Thailand.
Coincidence? You decide.
After Steve had finished interviewing Tong he told us that he couldn’t tell us the best way to put your money to good use, but that he would get us in touch with someone who could. We walked five minutes down the beach with him and he introduced us to Jaew, the owner of Where Else? bungalows.
She, in turn, told us that the best person to talk to was not her but her brother Wit. I wondered who had flipped the switch on the Infinite Improbability Drive as she explained to us that Wit was the person on Koh Lanta who had helped the fishermen who’d lost their boats fill out the paperwork to receive compensation from the Thai government. He knew exactly how much (if any) each family had gotten in the months after the tsunami had struck, and therefore who was in most dire need of help.
Jaew called her brother and he came to meet with us immediately. In less than 15 minutes he’d told us the names of three different families who had lost their boats and had their houses destroyed by the waves. None of the three families had gotten any help at all from the government or aid agencies because, as Wit put it, “they didn’t have the right friends.”
According to Steve, the average annual salary of a fisherman on Koh Lanta is around 20,000 baht, so we were dealing with relatively massive sums of money. After a few hours of chatting and trying to determine the fairest and most equitable way to divide the funds, we had worked out how to split up the remaining money.
First was Mr. Saksit, a Thai fisherman married to a sea gypsy. Both his house and his boat had been destroyed by the tsunami. He, his wife and his two year old son were living with another family because they couldn’t afford to fix his boat, and, being a fisherman, therefore couldn’t afford to make any money to fix his house. We decided to give Mr. Saksit 10,000 baht ($250 USD), which Jaew suggested could be used to travel to the mainland to look for work.
Secondly was Mr. Yabeh, who owned two boats before the tsunami came. He has six children, and until the tsunami five of the children were living at home with him, but now they’ve had to go to the mainland to try and find work as day laborers. His oldest son, Somnuk, has had to come live with Mr. Yabeh in his small house because his son’s house and boat were both destroyed. There are now 12 people living in Mr. Yabeh’s house, and it’s about the size of a two car garage.
Somnuk is a 32 year old fisherman with a wife and two children, ages 8 and 2. We went to see what’s left of his home, and I couldn’t believe it. The trunk of a palm tree had come crashing through his front wall and completely demolished everything inside. He had lost everything he owned.
We gave Mr. Yabeh and his son Somnuk 46,000 baht ($1250 USD). They said it will probably be enough to get one of their boats fixed, and from that point they can begin earning money for themselves.
Altogether we raised $2,655 (USD) or roughly 98,235 Baht. We directly helped Tong, the seven employees of Family Bungalows, Mr. Saksit and his wife and son, Mr. Yabeh and his wife and five children, and Mr. Somnuk and his wife and two kids. This doesn’t take into account all the ripples this cash infusion will have on the small economy of Koh Lanta either. For example, Tong bought his stereo from another bungalow operator on this island, so that 16,000 baht is now slowly making it’s way around the island. There is no way to measure the countless ripples that will be felt from your generosity and kindness.
All of us have done a really good thing here, and I’d like to thank you for taking this leap of faith with Fiona and I. Getting involved with this spontaneous exercise demanded a lot of trust on your part, and we’re honored that you think so highly of us. As thanks I promise to post pictures and more precise donation totals this website as soon as I get to Bangkok.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 27, 2005 at 10:36 AM in Southeast Asia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, 25 April 2005
Tsunami Donation Update
The response has been incredible. I can't write much right now because internet access is expensive and I've got tons of emails to sort through, but suffice it to say you guys are amazing.
And obviously, I'll let you all know what the final tally is when I finish counting and Tong finishes shitting his pants.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 25, 2005 at 09:17 AM in Southeast Asia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, 22 April 2005
Koh Lanta vs. The Tsunami
The devastation is hard to describe. We saw the footage on the news just like everybody else, but seeing it in 360 degree reality is completely overwhelming because it's inescapable. You can't change the channel, and everywhere you look is a reminder that this thing actually happened to people and it won't just go away with the push of a button.
As you walk along the beach you see things strewn here and there. We passed old, cracked sunglasses, worn-out flip-flops, sun bleached hats, broken CDs, and even a rusty soup ladle. With each one you can't help but think to yourself, "I wonder if the owner of this stuff made it to safety in time."
We also walked by a group of Thai kids playing pool on a pool table that seemed to have been dumped in the middle of a clearing. Only when we walked up to them did we realize that the building around the table had been completely demolished by the waves.
Over the course of a few short minutes, Koh Lanta had gone from being a tropical paradise in my mind to an almost incomprehensible disaster area in reality. I suddenly had the same feeling in the pit of my stomach that I did during my entire stay in Cambodia and during each visit I made to Ground Zero in New York City. It's a combination of loss and sadness that's similar to despair, but with a thin residue of hope that maybe someday things can get back to the way they were before the life-altering tragedy took place.
Over the next two days I walked along the beach and remained in a state of awe. Not only at the amount of damage, but also at the resilience of the people who were doing their best to rebuild their shattered lives. To wake up every day and face the wreckage must take an awful lot of courage.
Eventually, I got to talking with Tong, the happy-go-lucky motorbike driver/manager of Family Bungalows who had picked us up the other day. I asked him what it was like before the tsunami came.
"Oh," he said, "Everything very good! Many people stay here. Christmas, New Year, always full! No bungalows empty! Everybody laughing, laughing, playing volleyball, drinking. Everybody happy."
He pointed over to his right at a blown out shell of a building. All that remained was one wall and a concrete foundation. "Used to be internet cafe," he said, " have five computer. Also have mini-mart and Thai massage school."
He looked at me and shook his head. "Now look. Everything gone. Tsunami come, tourists leave go home. No tourists, no money to fix. That's why we rent bungalow for so cheap. We hope maybe people come stay and maybe eat one or two meals here to make money."
Both of us knew how that was panning out. I'd seen people take off every night to go eat and drink in the bar down the beach that was lucky enough to have salvaged a stereo.
"But nobody eat here," Tong continued, "I don't blame them, I not mad - people like to have music to listen to. But I think maybe take long time to get money to buy stereo and make people want to stay here again."
By this point, he was on a roll. I got the impression that not too many tourists took a genuine interest in the tsunami's effect beyond the normal witness-the-awesome-power-of-mother-nature type stuff.
"And the government no give help. I see on BBC News that countries give Thailand billions of baht. Australia, America, England all giving money, but nobody on Koh Lanta getting money because here tsunami not bad as Koh Phi-Phi. Not even one baht. The government is giving all the money to Phuket, Koh Phi-Phi. But all Koh Lanta need is a little bit! I just need maybe 10,000 baht for stereo and then I make enough to fix everything again."
I was stunned. Ten thousand baht is 250 US dollars. I couldn't imagine that the government was holding out on people who needed such a small amount of money when it would make such an enormous difference.
Tong also went on to explain that in a classic maneuver, the insurance companies are refusing to cover tsunami damage because it's an Act of God. It would have been better for Family Bungalows if it had just burnt down to the ground.
Sometimes it's hard to know the right thing to do. We've all been in situations where we have to think long and hard about what's right and wrong, but this was not one of those situations. It was immediately obvious to both Fiona and I that all signs were pointing in one direction. Despite his easygoing Thai exterior, Tong and his family desperately needed help, and we were in a position to help him.
We went back to our bungalow to check our finances just to be sure, and we decided to sleep on it before saying anything to Tong. Of course, when we woke up the next morning our minds had not changed. After breakfast I pulled Tong aside and told him that Fiona and I had talked about it and we had decided to give him 10,000 baht.
When I told him, I made it clear that we couldn't afford to give 10,000 baht plus the room plus food plus whatever else. I said that the 10,000 baht would have to cover everything, but we wanted him to have a stereo and we were happy to help him get one.
His reaction caught me completely off guard. The momentary look of excitement that flashed across his face was immediately replaced with one of concern.
"I am afraid you not be able to afford it," he said, "This too much money. I like you want to help, but this too much money."
I had no idea what to say to that. This guy had literally lost everything, and he was afraid to take our money out of concern for our financial well-being. And, let's be honest, $250 is really not all that much to Westerners.
"Tong," I said, "We are very careful about our money. We know how much we have. I promise you we can afford to give you money. We want you to have a stereo."
"OK," he replied slowly and calmly, "If you think you can do it then it would be very good. You help me very much."
And that was that. The next day he took me into town and I withdrew 10,000 baht from an ATM and handed it over to him. He accepted it with a quick bow, a big smile, and a very polite and measured "Thank you very much."
In two days we'll go buy the stereo and hook it up. Then we'll have a party and get drunk listening to music on the beach under the light of a full moon. And maybe a few people will come and join us and buy drinks and food from Tong. And hopefully that will be one more step away from disaster and towards renewal for Tong, his family, and the families of the seven people who work at Family Bungalows.
Believe it or not, the purpose of this email is not to tell you what a great and generous man I am. You already knew that. What I'd like to do is extend this opportunity to help to all of you. If you watched the coverage of the tsunami and thought to yourself "My God, that's horrible. I wish I could help but I don't know what to do." Or "I would love to give money to some charity, but where will it actually go?" Then here's your chance. In a few days, Tong will have his stereo, but the bar still needs lights and cushions and board games and all the other things that will make it a place people will want to hang out. This may sound like cheap and insignificant stuff to us, but here they are necessary items that will ensure the survival of Family Bungalows.
Those of you who have been to Thailand know that things here are insanely cheap. Even with Bushonomics driving the dollar down on a daily basis, a little US money goes a long way here. Ten or twenty dollars is a good chunk of change in this country, so even a small donation will make a tremendous difference.
Of course, there's no pressure to give anything at all, but I can personally guarantee that not only will every single dollar help enormously, but also that 100 percent of it will go directly to a family that will appreciate it in a way that hopefully none of us will ever truly understand.
So here's how it'll work. If you'd like to help, you can either click the button below and donate online using PayPal (this is the best option for those not dealing in US dollars):
Or you can mail a check to my parents' house in Connecticut (email me for the address). Then, and this is the most important part of the whole thing, you have to email me and tell me how much you're donating. That way I'll be able to tally up the total amount, withdraw it from my bank account, and go to the market with Tong when I leave the island in four days.
Obviously, I can't give you receipts or any of that stuff. I don't know if it's tax-deductible and I don't care. But I promise you that every cent will go directly to Tong and Family Bungalows.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 22, 2005 at 08:21 AM in Southeast Asia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tsunami Donations
Donations for tsunami victims are now closed. Fiona and I have left Koh Lanta and our on our way to Bangkok to take our CELTA class.
In four days we managed to raise $2,655.00. That's a lot of Baht, and we wound up being able to help not only Tong, but also three other families whose boats and homes had been destroyed.
Thanks to everyone for your generous and timely donations. If you'd like to be notified next time we come across a similar opportunity please leave a comment below and I'll add you to my mailing list.
Thank you!
Posted by flow Frazao on April 22, 2005 at 07:44 AM in Southeast Asia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, 15 April 2005
Off to Koh Lanta
We got our apartment/room/whatever you want to call it sorted out for the month of May while we're doing our CELTA class. It's a bit expensive - around $400 for the month - but it's in a place with a pool and a decent sized room. The difference between that and staying in a shithole was about $100 so we figured we'd just go ahead and splash out.
Now we're in Krabi after an all-night bus ride from Bangkok. We couldn't take any more Song Kran. There's only so much water pistol to the eye you can put up with, I guess. Now we've got a few hours to kill before we catch another bus to a small island called Koh Lanta. Neither of us have been there, but we're hoping to find a quiet place by the beach where we can get some studying done.
I'm not sure what the internet situation will be like there, so posts may be few and far between for the next week or so. If you get bored check out the heated discussion going on in the Schapelle Corby thread.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 15, 2005 at 09:52 PM in Southeast Asia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Schapelle Corby Collapses In Court
After a week-long postponement of the trial due to a stomach bug, Schapelle Corby appeared in court again yesterday. It looks like she's having a pretty tough time (to put it lightly). I can't even begin to imagine what she must be going through.
The collapse forced her trial on drug trafficking charges to be temporarily suspended on one of the most important days of the hearing.
The Denpasar District Court had expected to hear today if prosecutors wanted Corby to get the death penalty if convicted of smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali last October.
The 27-year-old former beauty student from the Gold Coast arrived at the court handcuffed to an Indonesian female prisoner, who fainted shortly after they were let out of the police van and into a media crush.
Corby was dragged down when the woman passed out and Corby's sister Mercedes rushed in to help, yelling at journalists to "Leave her alone, all of you!" before using her handbag to hit an Indonesian reporter over the head.
Police were forced to carry the two prisoners, still handcuffed together, to a holding cell at the court.
Mercedes demanded a doctor be allowed to examine Corby.
She described her sister as "hysterical" and still suffering from stress and diarrhoea which forced the postponement of her trail appearance last week.
"She is still sick, but a doctor has been called because of what happened this morning," she told AAP.
"Did you see her getting carried like a baby, screaming and then being taken to the cell screaming."
Australia's consul in Bali Brent Hall called a medic to the court.
The trial was temporarily suspended while the doctors examined Corby in the court room, as scores of onlookers watched.
Corby was in obvious distress as she arrived at the court this morning, fearing prosecutors might recommend she face a firing squad if convicted.
A general rule of thumb in Indonesia is that judges will not go below one third of what the prosecution demands, and they rarely hand down a harsher punishment, observers said.
The Australian government has appealed to Indonesia for clemency.
In a similar case in Bali recently, prosecutors demanded the death penalty for a taxi driver who admitted possessing 3.9kg of marijuana.
Corby denies smuggling the marijuana into Bali airport in her unlocked bodyboard bag, and says the drugs were planted, probably by a baggage handler involved in a drug ring in Australia.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 15, 2005 at 07:59 PM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, 14 April 2005
So Much For Not Drinking The Water
I'm sitting here on the rooftop deck of my hotel overlooking the Royal Palace. It's not even ten o'clock yet and it's already 96 degrees. Add that to the 82 percent humidity, and you've got yourself the makings of a debilitatingly hot day.
Of course, as most of you know, we landed in the middle of Song Kran, the Thai water festival. I wasn't really sure what to expect - I'd heard a lot of stories about it, but seeing it firsthand is something to be reckoned with. The entire city of 6 million people seems to have taken a week off to have a gigantic water fight.
At 10 AM I'm looking down over streets crammed with people. Each of them is carrying some sort of water gun. Some people are toting small little water pistols, some have those huge super-soakers, and quite a few are packing enormous water cannons that incorporate a backpack reservoir. There are pickup trucks driving slowly down the glistening streets with about 10 people in the back. Whenever they pass each other, both songtaos (as they're called here) erupt in a back-and-forth water fight as they roll down the road.
One thing that nobody seemed to mention in my readings about Song Kran is that it's actually more than a water fight. It's also a mud fight. People can buy little pails of white mud for 2 Baht (5 cents), and they walk down the street with these buckets smearing mud on everyone they pass. And they're really funny about it. One lady I bought noodles from came up to me as I was standing there eating and said "Sorry!" with a mischievous smile on her face. I didn't know what she was talking about until she started pouring ice cold water down the back of my shirt. Then one of her friends ran up and smeared white mud all over my face and in my mouth.
And the best part of it all is that you're not allowed to get pissed off about anything. That would be breaking the number one rule in Thailand which is "don't ever stop smiling." You just have to take it like a bitch.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 14, 2005 at 11:05 PM in Southeast Asia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, 12 April 2005
SmooveJ Productions Presents
The preview for my first feature film!!
On the eve of my departure from Australia, I figured it might be fitting to put some of the footage I shot while I was driving across the Nullarbor desert. As longtime readers will remember (all five of you), I spent three weeks in February driving from Melbourne to Perth with a couple of friends. I brought a video camera along and shot a bunch of wacky hijinks along the way.
I've spent the last couple of weeks editing the video, and I've gotten it down to a respectable one hour movie. Click here for an awe-inspiring two minute preview for "Crossing the Nullarbor".
If anybody wants to see the full thing, leave a comment or shoot me an email. If enough people express interest I'm sure I could figure out how to set something up to distribute some DVDs.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 12, 2005 at 07:53 AM in Australia, Film | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Monday, 11 April 2005
So Close But Yet...
When I drove out to Perth I heard lots of horror stories like this one. It sounds inconceivably retarded that people could head off into the desert without emergency water and supplies, but apparently people do it all the time.
According to Australian Associated Press, police in Western Australia said the bodies of a 42-year-old man and his 21-year-old nephew were found last Friday by a station worker next to their Land Rover on the remote Talawana Track on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert.
They said the men may have died some days earlier. They left the mining town of Newman, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, on March 28. Temperatures in the area have been above 40 degrees Celsius (104F).
Inspector George Putland, of police communications in Perth, said the men were not well-prepared for their trip, with an old vehicle and little water, AAP reported.
Another police officer, Senior Constable Greg Thomas, told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio that tragically, if the men had a good map they would have known that bore water was available another nine kilometers along the road.
He said the men's vehicle was unsuitable for outback travel in extreme temperatures and that they did not have enough food or water or a two-way radio.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 11, 2005 at 11:31 PM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ready for Takeoff
We picked up our passports from the Thai embassy today, so everything is ready to go. I've sorted through my clothes, and I'm down to four t-shirts and two pairs of shorts. Lean and mean - that's my motto when I'm backpacking.
Fiona, on the other hand, was going through a bit of a crisis when she saw me getting rid of old standbys like my Atari shirt and my "George Bush is a big fat fucking dick so fuck him right in his fucking ear" shirt. We compromised and decided to send some of my stuff home instead of donating it to the Salvation Army (the Bush shirt went to our Dutch/Aussie friend Joost though).
Today was also our last day in Melbourne. Kind of sad, but that's the way it's got to be. I'm a little bit worried though because I seem to have hurt my foot somehow. I'm not sure what I did, but by the end of the day I was limping around the city like a gimped-out version of my usually strapping and robust self.
Hopefully it will magically heal itself in the night and I won't have to deal with it in Bangkok. Time will tell, I suppose.
The only thing left to do now is get travel insurance for all our ridiculously expensive crap. It's going to cost us a bundle of money to insure this computer and our various cameras and such, but it's worth it if only for the peace of mind. The less you have to worry about, the less time you have to spend worrying. Or something. Give me a break - I'm tired.
So that's that. Glenys is taking tomorrow and Wednesday off to spend time with us. I'm not sure if we'll be doing anything. A couple of relaxing days sitting around drinking tea and eating Tim-Tams would be just about right. But you never know around here. We could just as easily find ourselves whisked off to some remote mountain top or some secret, secluded beach.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 11, 2005 at 09:29 AM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, 10 April 2005
Moving Into the Songkran Festival
Three more days left until we're on the road again. We're currently in a state of overwhelmed, panicky delirium trying to get everything done. I'm not sure how this happens, but moving seems to catch us by surprise every time.
We've shifted our money around, paid our taxes, and cleaned out our drawers. Tomorrow we go to the Thai embassy to pick up our visas. Really, the only thing left to do is pack our bags, but it still feels like there's tons left to do.
Wednesday night we'll head to Bangkok, or as it's known by it's full name:
Good luck fitting that on a Hard Rock Cafe shirt.
Anyway, we'll be getting there right in the middle of the Songkran festival. This famous celebration is also known as the Water Festival. Basically, it entails an enormous three day water fight where the entire city gives in to the disgusting heat and goes around drenching anyone and everyone with water pistols, balloons, hoses, and buckets. I've heard stories of businessmen in suits stepping off the SkyTrain and having security guards dump pails of water on their heads.
The only rule, from what I've been told, is that nobody's allowed to get pissed off. You have to take it Thai-style, which is with a laugh and a smile.
Of course, there's more to it than just a big water fight. Like everything, there's meaning behind the madness:
The underlying significance of Songkran is the process of cleansing and purification - the purging of all ills, misfortune and evil and starting the New Year afresh with all that is good and pure. Water is symbolic of the cleaning process and signifies purity."
For me, this is a telling sign. Fiona and I are entering into a new phase of our lives, what with the CELTA certifications, and the whole Uncertain Future thing. I can't think of a more appropriate way to see this new chapter in than with a Bangkok Baptism.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 10, 2005 at 09:52 AM in Moving | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Schiavo Down Under
A truly surreal echo of the Schiavo case is unfolding in Australia. A few months ago a guy was arrested for attacking his wife and leaving her for dead in the trunk of his car for five days. Now he's fighting to keep her in a persistent vegetative state so he can avoid being charged with murder:
Joseph Korp, 47, yesterday signalled the legal battle to keep his wife, Maria Korp, 50, alive as a magistrate deferred a decision on whether to grant him bail.
If Korp was granted bail and his wife subsequently died, his charge of attempted murder could be upgraded to murder and his bail revoked because a magistrate cannot grant bail on a murder charge.
Korp and Tania Herman, 38, were charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to murder and intentionally causing serious injury after Mrs Korp was found unconscious in the boot of her car near the Shrine of Remembrance on February 13.
Mrs Korp, a mother of two, remains in a persistent vegetative state at The Alfred hospital. If she survives another month, doctors will classify her condition as a "permanent" vegetative state.
Korp's lawyer Michael Tovey, QC, said his client would oppose any move to turn Mrs Korp's life support system off. He said any ruling to make that decision would be challenged in court and could result in years of litigation and legal argument.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 10, 2005 at 09:29 AM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, 08 April 2005
Al Qaeda Uses $2 Bills?
Best Buy's crack team of anti-counterfeiting cashiers are a little nervous in the post-9/11 world:
For this, Bolesta, Baltimore County resident, innocent citizen, owner of Capital City Student Tours, finds himself under arrest.
Finds himself, in front of a store full of customers at the Best Buy on York Road in Lutherville, locked into handcuffs and leg irons.
Finds himself transported to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, where he's handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service is called into the case.
[...]
"Meanwhile, everybody's looking at me. I've lived here 18 years. I'm hoping my kids don't walk in and see this. And I'm saying, 'I can't believe you're doing this. I'm paying with legal American money.'" Bolesta was then taken to the county police lockup in Cockeysville, where he sat handcuffed to a pole and in leg irons while the Secret Service was called in."
Posted by flow Frazao on April 8, 2005 at 12:11 AM in America | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, 06 April 2005
From The What Could Possibly Go Wrong Dept
Seriously though, what's up with Florida?
- Shuttle rollout under way, crack in fuel tank insulation ruled "minor imperfection and does not need repair."
- Florida legislature passes bill legalizing public shootouts in cases of self-defense.
- Florida school board decides to stick with "Slaughter" High School as name of new school
- Fort Lauderdale approves new robotic parking garage that automatically parks your car.
Also issued today was this news release from the Department of Irony:
- NASA requesting help from Mexico to learn more about aliens
Posted by flow Frazao on April 6, 2005 at 09:21 PM in Random News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, 03 April 2005
Joke Of The Day
Descartes walks into a bar and the bartender says "Hey, Rene, you wanna drink?"
Descartes replies "I think not," and vanishes in a puff of logic.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 3, 2005 at 10:22 PM in Me | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Climbing At Arapiles
This past weekend we went rock climbing at Mt. Arapiles. It's been a few years since I did any climbing, but I managed to do three climbs, and I only fell once. A personal record for me.
Here's a picture of me rapelling down the side of a cliff I climbed:
Posted by flow Frazao on April 3, 2005 at 08:08 PM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Schapelle Corby's Sick Father Rushes To Indonesia
As if the Schapelle Corby Saga wasn't bad enough, it turns out her father is terminally ill and may not have long to live:
Mr Corby said he was distressed when he later saw news footage of his daughter begging for her freedom so she could return home and see her dying father. "The doctors had told me I only have six months to live. But since then, I've responded to treatment they've been giving me. While the damage is now done, this latest medication is keeping me around longer than they expected.
"I could have five days, six weeks, two years left; who knows? But the sad thing is, Schapelle has already lost her gran in the time she's been stuck in jail. She missed the funeral, which was very hard on her because there was no chance to say goodbye. At least that hasn't happened to her with me."
One thing I will say is that I think the Australian government is handling the situation pretty well. A lot of Aussies are freaking out on John Howard (see the comments on this post), but he's in a bit of an awkward situation. All he can do at this point is give Corby's defense team everything he can to help them. He's already let a prisoner out of jail to testify in Bali on Corby's behalf, but it's not like he's going to send MI6 in after her or anything. Australia has to let the trial take it's course and allow the Indonesian court system a chance to try Corby.
Obviously, if Indonesia does sentence her to death it will be a travesty of justice. If that happens I hope the Australian government comes out swinging. Hopefully it won't come to that.
Posted by flow Frazao on April 3, 2005 at 08:37 AM in Australia | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBack
Congratulations, You Are Visitor Number 20,000
Posted by flow Frazao on April 3, 2005 at 08:00 AM in TTSU Maintenance | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack