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November 29, 2004
mae sot, thailand - scraping tender coconuts
a thai border town with burma, three kilometers away, a bridge crosses the river moei; you can walk across to a different land and eons behind; or swim (or paddle in a old tire) as some of the bummah(ese) do when the tides are low to come to the thai side. jade and other stones abound in the border markets with karen, hmong, thai and burmese vendors as well as dried shrimp, dirty crabs, snakes and turtles..some tasty treats for some.
we stayed in really nice guesthouse called bahn thai and are we glad that its not on the lonely planet book :). "aiya" right cross the street had really great vegetarian food..a new place that the owner said; he had named after his daughter..it was right cross the malarial research station.
we visited dr.cynthia's mae tao clinic that serves refugees, border villages and hill tribes, some from burma, some from camps and some from villages on either side. people in these parts are mainly karen and some shan; karen being one of the largest minorities in northern burma. there are numerous skirmishes between them and the burmese junta. karen are also spread across thailand. they have quite a few sub divisions within themselves including some with different religious leanings.
we bought in chiang mai some hyperthyroid medicines, catgut sutures(for surgeries) that we were told was needed before we headed out. didnt know that sutures (stitches) used in surgeries was made out of sheep intestines..ugh!! hopefully they are synthetic..
we couldnt meet dr.cynthia but we met couple of other doctors..one from california and other from italy and quite of medical students who were doing some of their training here. the doctors said that they needed mosquito nets, mats and baby milk powder pretty badly..so we into town and bought about 30 odd pieces of matts and nets. dr.elizabeth also mentioned that malaria is a big problem in these areas with dengue making an appearance as well. overall the clinic was in a rustic shape..they said they do basic stuff and send surgeries to the local mae sot thai hospital which accepts these patients on case by case basis only. they bill the clinic in return which struggles to pay their bills (they havent for over six months)
we couldnt visit the refugee camps which all of us so looking forward to because of new restrictions that the thai govt had placed....bummer.
as i sit looking at the gateway to the bridge; people watching the scenery across the immigration booths on the thai side; i am just wonderstruck with weird fascination to this concept of borders. these checkpoints. some idiot at some point in time drew a line in the sand. and millions live with it..sometimes separated from their extended families..these artifical lines..mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm oh well!
Posted by ananth at 02:44 AM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2004
bangkok, thailand - sipping sugarcane juice
ah~ what a perfect weather this time of the year here. i walk the streets and the river through china town. food stalls eveywhere..so much pork, so many kinds of exotic food...people seem to be eating all the time.
its loy kratong night and festive lights bright everywhere. a tuk-tuk driver beckons me; calls me crazy for walking everywhere, my kind are bad for his business i guess.
after i book my tickets on the night train to chiang mai from hualompong train station; i walk a long one to siam square pass chulalongkong university campus drinking plenty of pollutants.
see advertisements for bird nest and shark fin soup. and read articles how why the latter should be banned for the way the bodyparts are obtained. the sidestreets everywhere are filled with vendors..a vibrant madness..love it..ljust love it!!
Posted by ananth at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2004
room to read
room to read is a charity group started by a ex-microsoftie that works to promote education for children in four south asian countries. 95% of the donations go to building schools, supplies and education. tamara plush presented a film titled in the shadow of himalayasthat she produced about supporting a school in nepal from a sister school here in washington state.
a panel discussion about present conditions in nepal followed. the maoists occupy significant portions of the country. the king appears leaderless while the state is slipping into anarchy.
pat, molly, little B, ryker and i had dinner at bahn thai in queen anne before heading out.
Posted by ananth at 05:09 PM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2004
the vagina monologues
saw the vagina monologues performed for a soldout audience at a small intimate theatre;the stone soup theatre by local artists. the monologues are usually performed on v-day. many of the monologues chosen by the five artists for this performance were serious with a couple of really funny ones thrown in.
tamara, maureen, dawn, christa and teresa and i had some asian fusion at chinoise in wallingford before heading out.
Posted by ananth at 04:45 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2004
a night of thousand dinners
clear path international; a charity group works with land mine and bomb victims along with land mine clearance in south east asia.
m j and i organized a dinner event at my place that benefits clear path international and adopt-a-minefield program. the dinner was on the same night as the night of thousand dinners; dinners organized around the world to benefit the above charities. we saw a video and had a small discussion around land mines still being used around the world.
Posted by ananth at 04:19 PM | Comments (0)