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Archive for July, 2007

It’s Like I’m Chop…Sticks

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

Thanks to my friend Nikki, I learned how to use chopsticks in 10th grade. I wouldn’t say I mastered the skill. But I could eat with them when I had to.

That’s what China was…a had to. And after two and a half months of using pretty much only chopsticks, I’m pretty darn comfortable with them; I also realize that there are some dishes that are just EASIER to eat with my two little wooden (or stainless steel) friends.

However, here in Chiang Mai, almost any time I order in English I’m presented my dish with a fork and spoon in tow, and I have to request the chopsticks. It’s kind of weird. Even my Asian-American exterior doesn’t convince the servers to bring me chopsticks…

Posted in *Thailand, being Asian-American, food/beverage | 2 Comments »

Hello, Americans!

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

I’d read about an apparently really good vegetarian restaurant called “Blue Diamond.” Armed with my map, I eventually found the little place, hidden on a small road behind a cacophony of plants. Approaching it and then skimming the menu, I realized why it was called “Blue Diamond”…it was a reference to the oft-used American Automobile Association (AAA) diamond rating system.

Oddly, though, Blue Diamond also seemed to have a second name: The Breakfast Club. Both monikers seemed to be marketing ploys geared to the American travelers, but I think I was the only American eating there. All the other diners were European or Australian. And for some reason, I doubted most of them had ever seen the John Hughes film.

But I of course had. And by the time I finished my delicious pad thai with tofu, I was stuffed. And happy I’d found the place. It almost made me want to put a lipstick in my bra and try to apply it without any hands.

Posted in *Thailand, food/beverage, media | No Comments »

Oh, What a Beautiful Day

Monday, July 16th, 2007

In a city like Chiang Mai, it can be pretty difficult to find places that aren’t swarming with tourists. Yesterday, though, I found just that. A new friend took me to a quiet park with a wonderfully clean lake. Buoys made of old milk jugs marked off swimming areas, and along parts of the shore, little bungalows stood short above the water. Lounging on beach blankets and hammocks, we chatted and listened to music and hopped up every once and a while to take a swim.

Although the clouds moved in, threatening a monsoon-season shower, they only made the sunset that much more colorful.

Gorgeous day all in all. Made me realize just how lucky I am to be able to travel like this. Even if I do have a cold.

Posted in *Thailand, away from America | 5 Comments »

Thought I’d Thai McDonald’s Here

Sunday, July 15th, 2007

Since arriving in Chiang Mai, I’ve been an uber healthy and conscious eater. It’s not too hard. In fact, I’d say Chiang Mai presents itself as even more earth and body conscious than Los Angeles’ South Bay. So many meals here have been at vegetarian restaurants. Most tout themselves as “organic”. I even have been more thoughtful as to the ingredients in the meals, trying to make sure that what I’m choosing would be grown here and not shipped from overseas.

Then, I go and have my McDonald’s. Um, I don’t think any Mackers has ever lauded its food as vegetarian, organic, or locally grown. The worst part is, I don’t feel at all guilty for today’s dinner. It had been a month (when I had the bulgogi burger in Seoul) since I’d sunk my teeth into any meat…and traveling, I feel pretty confident that McDonald’s is one of the safest (in terms of not getting food-borne illnesses) places I can get my protein fixes.

I definitely needed protein today, too. For the last three days I’ve been ingesting as much zinc and vitamin C as I can, trying to fight off a cold or flu. My other “natural” trick to kick oncoming illnesses is protein, so that’s why I had to have dinner with Ronnie today. And that’s why I spent the big baht and got the double cheeseburger meal.

I don’t know if it was my body craving protein, but I have to say that this was my best McDonald’s meal yet. The burger was good, and the fries had a golden crispiness that I hadn’t had in quite some time. The topper, though, was the BBQ sauce. It was a cross between American BBQ sauce and chili sauce…nice and sweet with a bit of tang and spice. (I dip my fries in BBQ sauce…) Cost? It was 109 baht plus 3 baht for the BBQ sauce. But the regular cheeseburger meal would have only been 85 baht, about $2.79, and the fries and soda were American-sized, too.

While there, I noticed that one of the “local” menu additions was something called a Samurai Porkburger. I honestly love how McDonald’s adapts itself to whatever locale it’s in. Even Ronnie greeted me with a polite little Thai bow. It may not make the meal “locally grown,” but well, I’ll have that tomorrow.

Posted in *Thailand, food/beverage | 6 Comments »

I Found It!

Friday, July 13th, 2007

The heat and humidity of Chiang Mai is heavy. But not as bad as I thought it would be. Still, I thought a good mid-day escape would be sitting in an air-conditioned theater. Unfortunately, the afternoon’s movie choices were only Harry Potter (not sure which one, the posters are in Thai) and Die Hard 4.0. Neither seeming too appealing, I just wandered around the mall instead and was stunned to find one of my favorite pastimes. I didn’t have any change with me, but I’m sure I’ll be back to play the Thai version of Photo Hunt (and if you’ve never played before, it’s basically like the find-the-difference game from Highlights). So much fun. Everyone should play at least once.

Posted in *Thailand, games | 4 Comments »

Now I Ain’t Sayin’

Thursday, July 12th, 2007

A Thai I met yesterday spoke English extremely well. When I asked him where he learned it, he said he’d taught himself as a child, devouring every piece of American media he could.

So, then, last night when I was sitting in a bar/restaurant and Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” came on, I couldn’t help but wonder how many Thai kids today were learning English from Mr. West. Then, I wondered how many would unknowingly use the n—– word because they’d heard it in the song.

Posted in *Thailand, media | No Comments »

One on Every Corner

Tuesday, July 10th, 2007

They are everywhere. I didn’t know there could be so many 7 Elevens in one country. Honestly, I can’t walk more than two or three blocks without running into one.

FYI: Slurpees are much smaller here.

Posted in *Thailand, American living, food/beverage | 2 Comments »

Checking in on the Home State

Sunday, July 8th, 2007

In case you hadn’t heard, in Missouri, people can now shoot intruders without having to try to retreat first. I found this out on my flight from Seoul to Bangkok on Friday. Although most of the news about the US in the International section of Thursday’s Bangkok Post leaned more on the “odd news” than the political, I was still surprised to read that. Do people in Bangkok really care about Missourians and their guns? Or is it just because it’s the English-language paper and there are probably Americans reading it? Or is it because Thais, like most other countries think our gun laws are far too liberal? I have a feeling it’s a combination of all three.

One other thing to note, though. The story right underneath the blurb on Missouri and intruders is about how a woman lay dying in a Kansas convenience store; security cameras show five people stepping around her and one stopping to take a photo with a phone camera. Interestingly, though, this is the only article in the whole US section that doesn’t bear a dateline. Yeah! Go, Kansas (even though nobody cares where you are)! I mean, come on…I bet if a Missourian shot an intruder, he’d still call 911.

Posted in *Thailand, in the news, media | No Comments »

The 4th Day of July

Thursday, July 5th, 2007

I was definitely surprised that Seoul didn’t have a big 4th of July celebration. No, not because I think every place should celebrate it…but there were a gazillion advertisements I saw around the city for places celebrating Canada Day (July 1). And with all the military families and American teachers here, I was sure there would be something. One bar that served cupcakes with sparklers? A little fireworks display at the military base that other Yanks could come to? Or an expat group that grilled steaks at a park? If there was, I couldn’t find it…

Although I had a good day, come nightfall, it was a little sad. So far I’ve made some friends throughout this journey, but I didn’t think about how busy I’d been in Seoul, until I realized I haven’t made any American friends here; this was the first holiday I could recall ever spending totally alone. And the knife-turn of it all is that the 4th is one of my favorite holidays, coming in right after Thanksgiving (geez…how American am I that I only love holidays that no other country celebrates?). Knowing that the past five 4ths have been split between my pals in LA and NY, and I always had a great time — on a cruise on the Hudson River, making my first new LA friends, crashing random parties in Hermosa Beach, catching up with the college crew on an island off Manhattan, or burning to a crisp on the beach — meant that the night of just me and myself was that much more magnified.

Hopefully when November rolls around, I’ll have found some people I can force into eating turkey and dressing with me. I figure American or not, nobody can turn down a free home-cooked meal (however, if I’m in India then, it may be tofurkey and dressing).

Posted in *South Korea, away from America, holidays | 3 Comments »

A Bear-y Good Time

Wednesday, July 4th, 2007

I’ve always looked fondly upon teddy bears. On the day my parents picked me up at the airport, my mom and dad stopped to buy a toy to greet me with. They picked up a teddy bear “because it was made in Korea…just like you,” or so my mom says.

That bear is still around (and in quite good shape, I must add), and it’s always made me like its brothers, sisters, and cousins. And because of my affection for bears, I’ve always known the legend of how they came about: When Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was on a bear hunt, they searched and searched for a bear. Eventually, they came about one (some accounts say an old bear, others a baby bear) and the hunting dogs grabbed into it and those with Roosevelt captured the bear and invited him to shoot. The president said he couldn’t shoot a captive, injured bear, and the incident then inspired a political cartoon with a sad, weak little bear in it. (Some accounts say the president did, however, order the bear be put down to end its painful injuries). So in 1902 when cute cuddly bears made in the US and Germany started sprouting up across America, they were of course called “teddy bears.”
Great story…and one that I wish I could’ve read at the museum. Alas, I couldn’t read much at the museum. Most of it was in hangul and sans translations. And I don’t know if I’d really call the museum a “museum” either. Sure, it did display some teddy bears throughout time — including American favorites like Care Bears, Teddy Ruxpin, and the Beanie Babies — but the majority of the floor was dedicated to bear displays, I guess they could be called. It was much more of a show than a museum. It was kind of like seeing what the world would look like if it had been teddy bears that had been at those historical moments or been those historical figures or been featured in famous pieces of art.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

bears on board the Titanic (note Jack and Rose in the “I’m the King of the World” pose)