Not Busy, Just Thai'd Up

I apologize for my tardiness on posting.  It’s been hectic lately, especially since my time in Thailand has come to an end. As I post, I sit in the kitchen in one of my many homes, this one is in Hawaii!  I’m back in the States, y’all!   But, although my trip has ended, this will not be the end of my posts.  I have a few more things to catch up on, and I want to end my blog with some flowery last words summarizing my experience.

A couple of weeks ago, my Economics of the Sex Industry in Southeast Asia class went on a field trip to Empower, an NGO that aims to help improve rights for sex workers in Thailand.  Certainly, you’ve heard of people trying to rid of sex work, but this is not always the correct solution.  Some view prostitution as the oldest profession in history; there is then a certain degree of acceptance of the job, and so they believe that prostitutes should have the same amount of workers’ rights as any other worker.  Why shouldn’t they?  There could potentially be fewer issues if prostitutes had medical healthcare, some insurance, and other such rights. 

 

Empower does not abuse or exploit workers. They must fill out a resume and then become accepted for the job.  Empower offers many benefits such as classrooms/study rooms, sex education, clothing swaps, hangover rooms, and free internet.  The bar does not require a bar fee for someone to take a girl out, and they do not give into the practice of bribing the police.  There is a high degree of self-respect and good practice that happens at this establishment. Twelve of the women have actually written a book, Bad Girl’s Tales, about their personal views on sex work.  I would recommend the read- I only got to read one chapter, but it was a great introduction to an entirely different perspective on sex work.

After the field trip, I headed out to Cambodia! Before arriving in Thailand, I was very keen on the idea of being able to travel to Angkor Wat, one of the Seven World Wonders, and a very beautiful temple complex.  There are also several other ancient temples surrounding this complex- and all of them are absolutely amazing.  I warn you, my vocabulary at the moment cannot describe how beautiful and wonderful that place is.  But first, I suppose I must describe the events leading up to the temple tour!

Much of the trip was spent trapped inside of vans and buses, travelling from Chiang Mai to the border, and then to Siem Reap.  We spent about fifteen hours on the road going one way.  Even though Cambodia is only one country away from Thailand, crossing the border into Cambodia felt like entering a completely different world.  Perhaps my mind was influenced by the stories of my friends who had recently returned from Chennai, India, but I felt as if that particular part of India was a mix between India and Thailand in terms of the things that I witnessed.  Everything involves manual labor, the roads are disorganized, everything was tinted with a dusting of dirt, and it was much more colorful than Chiang Mai.  I can’t make overgeneralizations about the country after seeing so little of it though.

After dropping our bags off at a fancy hotel, we made our way to a fishing village.  That place was a total tourist trap, and basically pointless.  They sought to show us how people live at these fishing villages, but the funny point here is that they rely upon the tourists for money.  As we rode a boat through the gentle waters, two small children gave people unwanted massages while demanding $1, another small boy jumped onto the sailing vessel from a small motorboat with a basket of sodas and beer for sale, and several parents sailed their motorboats close to our boat gesturing to their children who were wearing snakes for the tourists to touch for a small fee.  The end of the village tour happened to be a small market, and a lady selling plates which had our faces printed on them.  We were wondering why a random lady was shoving a camera in our faces without warning at the beginning of the village tour.

 

Many markets were to be scouted that day because apparently all tourists want to do is buy stuff.  Cambodian markets have basically everything that a Thai market has, but the people are less pushy. 

But then! Many temples were to be explored the day after! Our first stop was Banteay Srey where I learned that the fortresses often had moats built around them.  The moat represents the cosmic waters that make up the universe, or made up the universe, and the temple or fortress within the moat is a sort of representation of heaven.  I am missing a lot of information in this description, but I couldn’t understand the guide’s accent.  (click on this link to listen to one of our tour guide's stories)

Next stop, Angkor Wat!  The world’s largest Hindu complex and religious monument!  I could have explored that place for at least three hours, but we only had less than one.  I was really disappointed in the fact that I was rushed a lot and could not marvel at what I went to Cambodia to see for as long as I wanted.  But, I will one day go back when the weather is a little cooler and the tourists are fewer; and then, I will sit my butt atop a fallen stone.  I will sit, and I will admire, observe, and examine.  My heart will burst with love and joy and admiration of a people I never knew, and gods I will never worship.  Look upon my quickly taken photographs and let your eyes rest upon the intricately made patterns. It almost convinces me that there really was something otherworldly present in this world.

On to Ta Prohm, where some scenes were filmed for the movie Tomb Raider! I’ve never seen the movie, but hot diggity dog is this place amazing.  Much of the building was reconstructed so that it was more convenient and safe for tourists.  It looks amazing! And the fallen ruins are fun to climb on.  The trees are unbelievably tall and they seem to glitter in the sun.  It looks like a dreamscape, except for all of the annoying tourists.

The last temple that we got to see for half an hour was…well, I don’t remember the name, but it was absolutely breahtakingl.  I should also mention that my friends were filming a video about Owen Atkin’s yo-yoing skills.  Check out the video! (and see if you can spot lil ol me!)

 

The tour ended with a buffet dinner and a display of traditional Cambodian dance.  And then, the long drive back to campus and studying for finals.

Speaking of finals, Ajan Gai let Alex and I reschedule our final Thai exam so that we could go complete a basic mahout training course, learning how to direct elephants!  That day was one of the most magical days I’ve had in my life- I could not stop smiling.  For 1800 baht, or about $60, the people at the camp transported us to and from campus, gave us lunch, gave us a basic training course, let us wear mahout clothing, let us ride the elephants around the place, and had us bathe the elephants in the river.  They also filmed the entire experience so that we could have it on DVD for 500 baht.

Learning how to mount and dismount the elephants was the hardest and most grueling part.  One way is to grab the elephant by the ear, step atop the leg, and tell the elephant to raise its leg high enough to let you pull yourself onto the back.  Getting down is the reverse of this process. The second way we learned was to have the elephant lower its head and then you either jump over the head (if the elephant is not strong enough) or hug the trunk and have the elephant lift its head so you can scramble up.  I got to practice all of this atop the elephant Sangdee.  She was really sweet. 

 

Next, we were handed bamboo canes which were used to help us give directions to the elephants.  Say we wanted to turn left- we would scratch the right ear, and say “sai”.  To reverse, we’d scratch the nose and say “toy.”  To go straight, we’d lay the stick across the head and say “bai”.  It was very easy and the elephants are so well trained that half the time, you only need to use the stick.

 

            After that, we took an elephant stroll around the camp to end up in the cold river, bathing the elephants, and playing a good ol’ game of throw buckets of water at the person next to you.  AH! How many people can say they’ve bathed an elephant?! I don’t know, but Iiiiii can say it!  Also, in case you were wondering, elephant poo is very stinky, but it is quite dry and hard.

            Well, that concludes two of the most exciting things that happened during my last week at Payap.  Please stay tuned for my blog post on the Community Mural Project that I led at Paradornparp International House. I know not exactly when this will be posted now that I’ve got family to chill with and a video project to finish before I can post.  But, Imma get to it within the month.