Putting on the Easter Thai

Easter morning arrived, with a beautiful fog over the mountains. What does one do for Easter in Thailand? Well, I played in the din dang, red clay. The Easter bunny failed to find me under my blue mosquito net and I didn't find any candy or Easter eggs. This means he hid them well into the jungle, was eaten alive, or saw my note. I didn't find sweets, but I did find a bent-over rusty nail. It was no match for the flesh of my foot. Yes, thankfully my tetanus is still good. Minor injury, slowed me some but I am now back in the game.

Easter morning around 7am.

My Easter Chicks.

Spotted, 1 Chocolate Bunny.

Freshly made, exotic dark chocolate bunny

Shared Thai Easter Cuisine - take it over ham any day!

Din Dang

For the past week or so I have been working among not one, but two nonprofit organizations.  Interestingly I was searching online for a couple of days in Chiang Rai looking for nonprofit work, sadly most came with a hefty cost.  I then turned south, giving up on the experience in volunteer work and low cost accommodations.  

I looked online for a cheap place to stay, there were two places to choose from in the Ranong area.  I booked two nights at TCDF Eco Lodge in Pak Song, knowing only that it was in the jungle and that the money funded children and education.  Originally staying as a guest and looking more for a job, I was blindsided by the beauty around me.  After I was offered my teaching position, life took hold and pulled me closer to nature.  For the past week and half I resided in a small dorm among a handful of volunteers from all over the world in a large, vibrant tropical jungle.  The dorm has a shared (shared with people, lizards, and geckos), community bathroom with a squatter and shower spout made of bamboo, a Styrofoam-like mattress, and a mosquito net. The shower water is a cool as the mountain streams.

Each night I went to sleep to talking geckos, bugs chirping, lizards shadowing the windows, and the ever so seldom cool mountain breeze under my blue mosquito net.  I closed my nights with some evening yoga and some delicious locally grown Thai food. Every morning I was kicked in the face by a convulsive  or two with raging vocals.  Within time I would make my way up from the valley and  where my rhythm was reconciled by clouds of fog slowly un-curtaining the day with breath-taking views of vegetation, tree blossoms, birds, hills, and skyline. Every shower is shared with at least one giant gecko blue-grey with orange spots.

 

Each day was around 90 degrees with some humidity, but plenty of jungle shade.  A river winds through the trees.  The eco-friendly environment has an organic farm, a compost system, clay work, water filtration, a recycle bank, environmental education projects, organic and local Thai food, several compost-based gardens, pond-raised fish, an educational library, and more.  All money that comes into TCDF stays, I have witnessed it.  There are more volunteers than guests.  A few beautiful guest bungalows are there for those interested in staying for more relaxation in the deeper jungle.

Over the past 10 days, I have slowly explored the premises.  I have seen snakes, several hundred lizards/geckos, butterflies, crimson red dragonflies, palm trees, pineapple plants, a giant toad that cuddles with a teddy bear, a scorpion, and have been chased by a pack of wild dogs. Best of all, I discovered Din Dang.

In Thai, Din Dang means ‘clay red.’  Within a minutes of just watching and observing a few workers in a small clay village in the valley, I felt as though I was family.  From then on I was ‘in.’ My skin is still patched with orange-brown tones of color and my fingers are in need of stronger soap.  The founder, a guy named Bow, started Din Dang to promote sustainable living though eco-friendly living.  He has an interesting history and is only 33 years old.  He was a monk, in the military, part of the 2004 tsunami rescue, and a self-taught eco-engineer, and has dedicated his life to educating and helping others.  He has a two other young Thai men that also work with him casually. Each of them make me smile several times everyday.  They each have a great sense of humor, work ethic, charity, and drive.  Bow’s started the project in 2007, with a specialty in the engineering of clay homes.  His effort also extends into gardening, purposeful farming and gathering, and bringing peace to others.

Day by day, brick by brick I am taken back by natural beauty and the passion of others.  It’s so hard to put into words, but each day my crush on life gets bigger and bigger.  Some of my favorite moments are just, jumping in.. Jumping in a pit of clay! I made my first imprint by landing myself in earthy clay, water, and coffee hulls and mixing it with my feet. It’s cool, it’s sticky, and it’s filled with goopey-sloppy sounds.  I have made so many bricks.  I may have stealthy laughed wet clay wods at those standing still or walking way from the site - those that were too clean for the setting (the explosion makes me laugh, it's a giant splat upon impact and I never got caught). I love it.

 

We had one big rainstorm, my first real rainstorm experience - lightening and thunder included.  Some clays was washed from the drying bricks, some salvageable, others not. Picture on R: post rain.

How does the brick process work? The bricks made are for the building of a 2 story dormitory for future volunteers.  An 8’x5’x4’ pit is filled with clay and coffee bean hulls.  A hoe to mix the coffee hulls into the clay (Picture on the Left with Bow). A small pit is made in the center of the clay and coffee mixture, water is then added.  This is where I came in and mixed the chocolaty earth with my giant feet.  Getting the clay to the right consistency is a matter of mixing water if it’s too dry and stomping around if it’s a bit too soupy - to create air pockets.  Buckets were then filled with the fresh clay and lodged into a wet 3-brick frame. Quick packing and smoothing the surface of the brick is acted on.  Water is splashed on the top of the bricks, the bricks are then smoothed once more, and the frame is slowly lifted parallel to the ground to release the red clay brick. The last efforts are left to the sun. 

The bricks are used more for stability.  The actually walls to the dorm will be made with the bricks by placing wet clay between the pre-made brick.  The walls will be finished with clay slathering and sculpting.  The result, a cool and sustainable home made with the hands of hundreds of passerby volunteers. The great thing about the building is that after the bricks are made, the homes can be build during the wet season.  The reason being that the pre-made dried bricks will pull the wet moisture from the surrounding wet clay.  The goal is to spread clay home living and sustainable agriculture across Thailand.  Other volunteers are currently working on gardening projects.  Beautiful!

Friday morning I headed down the road, about a mile from the accommodation for the weekly Friday market of Pak Song.  It was cute and quaint.  I rather enjoyed it.  The only farang were the volunteers, all others were Thai.  There were foods such as the famous coconut waffles, fresh meat cuts, fruit, vegetables, had tools, coffee, tea, herbs, soups, noodles, curries, and more.  I bought a small waffle for 10 baht, it was so good.  There was fresh coconut in the waffle. Ready for a little more market action?

  

Over the rest of the weekend, I visited the deeper jungle a couple times.  I simply made the comment that I hadn’t seen a coffee tree and one guy said, let’s go now. I quickly learned about palm oil harvesting (two types of palm here – black and green), bananas, papaya, berries, and the coffee production in my own private tour.  There weren’t a lot of coffee trees in the area.  The trees were recently cut-down and pruned to improve production, typical practice. I still enjoyed every moment of it.  Saturday after work, a group of us volunteers went out with Bow to the jungle to gather a leafy fern-like vegetable.  I didn’t try the outcome as I don’t stay in the Din Dang camp, but heard it was tasty.

Young rubber tree. The latex is tapped from the bark of a mature tree. Latex is collected weekly, early in the am. In the picture you can see latex seeping from a pulled leaf.

 Coffee Tree - this one was cut down to improve yield.

BLACK PALM

Unripe Black Palm - harvested when it reaches a crimson red color. 1-2 clusters harvested at a time, taken from the lowest branches first. 

Ripe Black Palm - notice the red coloration. Ready for drying and then the crushing mill.

You can see where lower cuttings have been taken from on this tree.

 

Green palm - when mature, turns orange-red color.

 Medicinal plant, used for food. The pulpy part can be dried and eaten, appreciated in some SE countries for it's hallucinogenic effects.

As far as food, I have had some of the most amazing Thai food in Pak Song.  I eat one cooked meal a day here. It’s so good!  I have been doing vegetarian, I have never had some many great dishes, day after day! Yes, EVERYDAY! I wish I could share it with you.  Each dish has so much color and unique flavor, I am amazed and inspired. Unfortunately I don’t have many pictures to illustrate the experiences; it’s often too dark at night to get a good shot (7pm supper). The great things about the food at Echo was that you could eat as a group for cheaper, more of a buffet of 3-4 dishes, so I was able to try lots of new foods.

     

I have a SECRET. I may have found the recipe book.. I am particularly excited about finding the recipe for Thai-fried pumpkin with egg. Thai pumpkin is different than pumpkins in the US. Sawadee, ka!

The Extra

And so the story goes. The hunt for adventure; the hunt for that perfect job.  Late last week, I learned that the job I wanted or at least thought I wanted was previously filled.  Keeping on a daily search for new job postings, I have been cautiously and slowly submitting a few applications to worthy schools or facilities.  On Sunday, I noticed a job that was published 6 days prior.  The job looked too good to be true. I dug deeper into the job posting and decided that it was worth a shot to apply.

27 March 2013, morning in Pak Song

On Sunday night I sent in my resume with my photo, a cover letter, and a brief questionnaire.  In the questionnaire I was asked to put down a potential date/time for an interview.  I said 3/25 or 3/26.  By Monday morning I received an email saying that my resume was reviewed and that I should confirm an interview Monday night, 7pm. 

I went into my interview via Skype, the interviewer’s name was Holly G.  She introduced herself and followed it by saying that we had the same birthday.  The connection wasn’t the greatest so she called me on my prepaid phone and we kept the video streaming.  She asked me several questions, wanting specific example of real life experiences versus hypothetical situations.  At the end she allowed me to ask questions.  She wound up the interview detailing the classes I would teach, how the school is set up, what the location is like.  In addition she briefly talked about benefits of the job. I was well aware of the benefits, hence my interest in this particular job, but let her explain them.  Benefits to this job were much different than other job postings I had seen.  As the interview trailed to a close, she left me with some less than thrilling news and an assignment.  She went on to tell me that the two positions I was applying for has already been offered to two other teachers and that neither had confirmed the job offers.  As for the assignment, by this time it was 8pm and she asked me in her sweet British accent to put together 2 lesson plans for two different age grouping, at different learning levels.  This occupied much of my night.  By morning I submitted my lesson plans, hoping there was a chance. Within an hour I received an update that one of the teachers had accepted the position but had falled ill.

 By 11am Tuesday I was told that she had reviewed my lesson plans and that they were very detailed and creative. It was then that I was offered the job. I accepted, after calling Nick, keeping him up a little later. So there you have it, job hunt complete. 

As for my position, I will be teaching bilingual K1, 4.5 days per week.  The semester starts in June.  I was also offered a position teaching in the summer camp in April for a couple of hours a day.  One of the greatest assets, free fully furnished housing (may have a roommate) with Internet access and a KITCHEN (Most apartments and homes in Thailand do not have kitchens)! I’m not getting my hopes up on the kitchen just yet but knowing that I can cook and experiment with Thai food has me in the clouds. It has to be more than a toaster and microwave, right? I can be creative.  In addition I will get some free Thai language lessons, global teaching education, continued teaching education, paid holidays, paid visa, overtime, etc. 

As for me at the moment, I am waiting to hear about signing my contract before I head to Malaysia to get my visa.  My Thai tourist visa expires 4/10. In my mind this means the exploration of a new culture, a new country, and new cuisine!

Surf South

Last Wednesday, I left Chiang Rai via bus, heading south to Bangkok. I believe it was a 12 hour bus ride.  I had a great seat; spacey, right up front and by myself.  The bus took off and there was an "interesting" Thai movie playing.  The movie title I am unsure of. The language was Thai and about it was about two men and their crazy road trip adventure, lots of slapstick humor.   The plan, spend a couple of days in the Bangkok area.  Why not, lots of history (temples, floating market) right?  The bus had several mini stops, while police checks at each province.  All Thai passports were checked, I was never once asked to show mine.  I actually feel asleep for a couple hours, awoke to a woman yelling in my direction, in Thai.  Apparently I was to get off the bus, the only one.  I was then sent to hop on another bus around 3 am.  The only words we exchanged were, me: Bangkok? and the stewardess nodding. On I went.

My bus arrived around 6am in Bangkok.  I stepped off the bus into the morning city air.  I felt like I was slapped in the face.  I left chill, northern Thailand for a dirty, urban, busy, city? Nope... I thought to myself, Holly give Bangkok a chance, first get out of the terminal.  Not many people spoke English, what I expected.  But there I was, a tall gangly white girl literally towering over everyone in sight, likely showing the expression of.."now what?" With my next year in my hands, a backpack, a carry-on size suitcase, and a larger suitcase on wheels, I maneuvered over curbs and around people. Pictured: Drink and snack provided on the bus to Bangkok - ice-cream flavored Oreos and a berry yogurt drink. 

Where to start. I had a slip of paper from a girl I met in the dorm, during my last night in Chiang Rai.  She told me about a place to stay, The Lucky Duckling Guesthouse.  There was a hand drawn map, I knew it was on a popular street, Khaosan Road. That was what I kept repeating to people, and they would say, “Bus #3.” So I made my way through the busy terminal saying, “bus #3?”.. about every 30 feet.  In turn they would point in a vague direction.  I weaved my way through vendors, food stalls, and people and found bus #3.  The bus is a public bus for transportation, and there I was loading my next year of life onto a bus. All eyes on me.  10 baht latter, I chose a seat and hugged my luggage against my body as others climbed aboard.  Once I was on the bus, I realized that I had no idea what Khaosan Road looked like or where it was, nada. I then decided I should look for someone who might know...nobody. Just monks and Thai business men.  Soon enough a Thai woman boarded and sat next to me.  She filled me in and told me that she would be getting off near my stop.  I got off the bus and she told me to go to the corner, take a right and walk.  She also said that I may need a song taw with all of my luggage.

I took the corner and headed down the streets.  One man saw me and directed me towards Khaosan Road, telling me that I should take a taxi.  If there’s one piece of advice I will give other traveling, avoid the taxi. If you are in a bus station, airport, or traveling innercity, the taxis are overpriced.  I knew that it was probably not far to walk and I can maneuver luggage well.  Once I found the street I noticed lots of canals and a river.  I followed the hand drawn map, which led me up a steep bridge and down, down stairs, and to a narrow alley.  The alley looked off but it was clearly correct.  There were a couple of older Thai men in the alley way, and a elderly Thai woman carry a cup of tea.  I passed them and continued to dead end.  A Thai man saw me coming down his street and asked where I was heading, I told him the name of the guesthouse and he said, yes, wait here.  He then walked away in his bath towel and sandals. Yes, a bath towel at 7am.  5 minutes later he returned and motioned for me to go to the front side of the guesthouse. Normally that’s fine, but I was then lugging my things up and down hills again, up stairs, and around narrow sidewalks crowded by vendors and people more interested in mingling then making room on the sidewalks. Not to mention that I was dripping in sweat.  I found the guesthouse.  I was then told that the owners are not there until 9am. I was a bit frustrated, and the current guests were outside looking hungover and let’s just stay not my ideal crowd.  




I decided that Bangkok wasn’t for me now or in the near future, perhaps better in the right company.  I made it back to a main road with one thing on my mind, leave Bangkok ASAP.  I decided that I would try to find somewhere to buy a ticket.  I came upon a bus travel stop.  I saw a map on the wall, walked into the shop.  The lady said, “where you go?” I said, I don’t know. She laughed at me.  I literally looked at the map, looked south, and my eyes directed me to Hua Hin. I said, Hua Hin.  She yelled up the stairs, and a young man came down.  He made a call and said, “you leave now?” I said, “sure, yes, now is good!” He said, "ok" you leave ten minutes.  A minibus showed up (more of a what we would call a big van, in the US).  I hopped in with several others, wedged against my luggage.  Off I went.  I’m not going to say it was a pleasant ride, but it wasn’t awful.  I could have done without the sick woman in front of me.

I arrived in Hua Hin around noon.  I found a hostel/hotel called King’s Home.  I asked for the cheapest room.  The owner, a large Dutchman in his boxer boxer (noon), said I could stay in the 'treehouse.'  He then asked me my name and if I was Dutch within the same breath.  I said yes, my grandfather.  He responded, "ah yes, blue eyes, light hair, and light skin, you look Dutch."  He asked me about my family name and such.  The treehouse was fine by me. It was 250 baht a night, wifi, fan, window, mattress, and an above ground pool mini pool in the backyard. My room was next to the alleyway, taken by ladder from underneath the front porch – I forgot to take a picture.  The bathroom was shared with the people the owner and his family.  This Dutchman was a world traveler, a man of many languages, and a man of a few wives and several children.  He was quite the talker and an interesting decorator.  His house was a mini version of the 'House on the Rock', random odd collections of things stapled and placed all over the home. It’s safe to say that the man was or is rather wealthy, retiring in a tropical city.  I learned his entire life story in little time.

Hua Hin is on the western coast of the Thai isthmus, more recently known for its kite surfing waters.  Kite surfing is new of the last 15 years, so I am told.  It's become popular in Uraguay and Brazil as well. I met a fellow guest (the only guest I saw), a young Chinese man now living in Japan, James. He too a world traveler, just ending his one year cross-continental traveling in the tropics of Thailand.  His last destination, Hua Hin for some kite surfing.  He toured me around the city, through the night markets and to a local eating place for supper.  How to tell a good eating place in Thailand - look for a lot of Thai's eating there. I ordered panang red curry with tofu. , cost 70 baht. Very good dish, eating with or without rice.  As we waited for our food we talked about traveling, places to see, and Chinese and Japanese food. 

The next day, I followed James to the beach to check out the kite surfing scene. I know I chose the right location, Hua Hin. The beach was white and sandy and colorful kites were filling the coastline.  I watched those in training, amateur surfers, and professional/competitive surfers.  This was quite fascinating.  The training starts with simply learning to control the kite with your hands, using a stirring rod.  Little effort is needed as the wind does most of the work, the surf board comes later.  The largest part of the cost in the sport is getting the appropriate equipment and lessons if you need them.  Attire typically includes super-sunblock, swim pants to avoid potential jellyfish, swim shorts, sunglasses.

While practicing with his kite technique, I watched James angle his kite as he was pulled parallel to the coastline.  The surfing direction is much different than surfing itself.  I watched professionals do 360s, flips, and all sorts of crazy moves.  The longest hang-time I saw was around 7 seconds, but I was told that you can be airborne, floating, flying for 15 to 20 seconds with the right wind.
What a beautiful and peaceful sport. So cool, and looked like so much fun. People were friendly, the beach was clean, and there were more kite surfers than tourists.  At one time I counted 50 surfers, each minding their own and enjoying the day.  I spent most of my Friday watching the kiters and walking/swimming out with the tide. A beautiful day, even after my run in with a jellyfish. 

I have some great video of the kite surfing but there internet where I am currently at is quite slow, so I will try to upload them to YouTube as soon as I can. Until then, you can use your imagination with the photos below.
 




 In the evening I had a meals at another local restaurant. The food was good, 70 baht. The meal consisted of a nice sauce with, baby corn, carrots, two types of mushrooms, asparagus, red pepper, pea pods, carrots, and chicken.

My plan for the next day was to head further south, to head towards my desired destination for work, the deep southern area of Thailand. On Saturday I bought a ticket to Ranong via megabus at midnight.  Just before I was about to go see a little more of Hua Hin, the wife of the Dutchman, Thai woman, approached me and said there was a change with my bus and that I must leave in a half hour.  I quickly headed to the station, where I waited an hour and a half for my bus.  I hopped on the bus and headed for Ranong.  I arrived in Ranong around 7pm.  I walked down the quiet street until I could find someone to get me to the public bus station to take me to Pak Song, where I booked two nights in Pak Song, 1 hour from Ranong.  I found an outdoor restaurant with some locals.  After much translation and language barrier, I was told that the last public bus had already left and that I should find a place to stay in Ranong.  A lady chef sent her brother my way.  He spoke little English.  I was told that he would take me to his sister's hotel and bring me to the bus station by 10am the next day.

The next thing I knew my luggage was loaded in his motorbike side-cart, he said for 40 baht. Off we went. We drove, drove, and drove some more.  I noticed we were going outside of the city. I was not a fan and rather disappointed.  I told the locals that I wanted to stay near the public bus station, yet here I was leaving the city.  I had a moment of, where is this guy taking me? I told him several times, "too far, too far. I want to be near the bus station." He just kept saying, "yes, yes I take you to hotel and bus station tomorrow." I was clearly getting no where with him.  I was really starting to question my decision of getting on the side-cart with him.  Soon we were up a gravel mountain road, not much of anything anywhere.  Finally we got to a destination, a beautiful, quaint hotel resort in the mountains.  I crossed a swaying bridge to get to the grounds where I was led to a small bungalow for 200 baht.  The room had a fan, window, twin bed, pillow, and a small bathroom.  I think I was the only one staying there, maybe 1 or two Thai families.  I went to sleep to crickets, swaying banana leaves, cool mountain air, and quiet music in the distance.  I made an agreement to be ready by 9am to head to the bus station in the morning. 

At 7:30am I had a knock on my door, luckily I was up with roosters yet again.  We headed out via pickup - I saw the pickup and knew that there was a catch.  I knew he was going to ask for more money beings he had an actual vehicle.  I will just say that this man was definitely a player and a 'scammer' and I would not do business with him again. He ended up taking money from my hands, conversing with me in Thai, and then took off with my money.  All in all it was about the equivalent of 8 dollars, but it really upset me as I have been rather frugal with my money.  8 dollars here is the equivalent of a decent nights stay, or maybe a meal and an 'ok' stay, or 3 really good meals. In other words he took adventure time from me - my hope is that he takes that money and puts it towards one of his kids' education. Off I went on the bus, arrived near my current location, TCDF Eco Logic, a non-profit organization.  Any money that comes into the resort is used on its own grounds, funding education for children, children with disabilities, families with financial constraints, and those that need to learn new skill sets.  The organization is almost completely run by volunteers. Quite beautiful. It's a tropical jungle.  It's where the wild things are.