After about eleven days in Kansas City, it was time to begin the return trip, a lengthy journey that would take me more than 56 hours from door to door.  The first leg was from Kansas City to Los Angeles, cashing in some credit card points I had for a one way ticket on American Airlines.

It has been nearly a decade since I’ve flown American.  Now that they are in bankruptcy, the last of the major carriers (other than Southwest) to have gone through that process, I was curious to see if there was a perceptible air of distress among the employees.

I have to say, while none of the employees were spectacularly friendly, they didn’t seem to be any worse for wear than the employees of any other major US airline.  They did their jobs, tried to smile from time to time and be pleasant, and got me safely from point A to point B.  Knowing many people in the airline industry, and being a former employee myself, my sympathy extends to them during this uncertain time.  The only thing that is certain is that they’ll not make it through bankruptcy without some amount of pain.  Most likely, this will include losing a large portion of their pensions.

There was some holiday spirit in the air, though, despite the bankruptcy.  This gate at Kansas City was decorated for the season, ready for a charity flight they do for disadvantaged children.  I’m not sure if it is an actual flight – that’s become quite expensive to do anymore – but they board the children on the plane, let them visit the cockpit, have them sit down and enjoy snacks and a drink, etc.  All in all, a nice treat for children who may otherwise never get such an experience.

Flying into the greater Los Angeles area, we were treated to clear skies and great visibility.  Here’s a shot of the city of Riverside and, smack in the center (to the right of the freeway), the University of California, Riverside campus.  I actually attended UCR for six months in the first half of 1990, before moving back up to Santa Clara University to finish my studies.

Video of our landing in Los Angeles.

A shot of my plane after arrival in Los Angeles.  The construction for the expansion of the Tom Bradley International Terminal is in the background, the new saw-tooth roof clearly visible.  Also, two Boeing 747s, the one on the left from Fiji Air and the the one on the right from China Airlines.

My cousin Jackie, Alex’s younger sister, picked me up and helped me kill several hours.  We ran errands to Trader Joe’s and a few other stores.  We stopped for In-n-Out burgers, where we saw a family of three who had dragged their suitcases all the way from the airport to get a burger.  That’s about a two-mile walk, depending on which terminal they came from.

In the evening, we met Gary and William for dinner at Lukshon.  I’ll share pictures from that fantastic dinner tomorrow.

Of course the biggest reason for heading to the US was to visit family.  My two nieces are growing up quickly and it won’t be too many years before they decide they’d rather play with their friends than hang out with their uncle.  Thankfully, that point has not been reached, yet.  I’m also fortunate to have two of my grandparents still going strong in their 90s, giving me two additional reasons to make a visit.

I tried to fit in several different activities with the girls, sometimes with both of them and sometimes just one-on-one.  I’ve observed that their behavior is a lot better when they are separated.  When they are together, the level of antagonizing skyrockets.  Here we made some Christmas cookies.  I prepared the dough, refrigerating it, then they helped roll it out and cut out the individual cookies.

After the cookies were baked and cooled (“Are they cool yet?” every three minutes for a half-hour) we were able to ice them.  The only food coloring at the house was a set of neon colors, which produced pastels very suitable for Easter eggs but not quite spot-on for Christmas.  Nonetheless, they happily iced away, adding prodigious layers of sprinkles on top.

Emily seemed to be busy much of the time while I was in town, what with her two soccer leagues and a basketball league, too.  Thus, I ended up with more photos of Ava than I did of Emily.  On the left, Ava and her mother talk while at my grandparents’ Sunday School’s Christmas luncheon.  On the right, Ava (with Emily hidden on the sofa behind her) watches TV and drinks some hot chocolate I made for her.  Something about this picture makes her look very adult to me.

As an added bonus, my uncle Dick flew into town while I was there, with his eldest daughter, my cousin Alex, and her first son, Tommy.  Here, Tommy, Dick, and my grandmother enjoy a pancake breakfast with Santa at my nieces’ school.  Tommy, who is going on two, had a blast playing with his older cousins.

Here’s the visit with Santa.  Alex had to join the picture as there was no way Tommy was going to sit on Santa’s knee by himself.  Tommy held it together just long enough for a few pictures, then left his two cousins to bend Santa’s ear with their wish list.

Whether because I’m getting older or just because I’ve lived out of the country for a half-dozen years now, I find that I feel the family ties tugging more strongly at my heart.  While I don’t know that I want to move back to the US, I certainly wish I could spend more time there and, by extension, more time with my family.

Near the end of my trip, I drove up to Omaha to spent a night with Andy and Sugi.  It is normally about a three-hour drive form Kansas City to Omaha.  After about the first hour, I started to encounter snow which grew heavier the further north I went.  By the time I hit the Iowa border, I was passing cars that had spun off the road and took that as a clear warning to slow down.  Arriving in Omaha to sluggish and slushy late rush hour traffice, my trip took about an hour longer than normal.

Sugi and Andy at the Mexican restaurant they took me to, Cilantro’s.  Sugi managed to order the really good dish, a mixed fajitas that included some tasty chorizo.  Andy had some tamales that were decent.  My fish tacos totally missed the mark.  Using tilapia, the tacos had a muddy flavor that I couldn’t get past.  All in all, I decided not to post pictures because the dishes pretty much looked like American style Mexican food from just about any American style Mexican food restaurant.  That said, the company was fantastic.

Now, I’m not totally unfamiliar with snow.  But at the same time, I live in Bangkok so it isn’t something I have to deal with very often.  Here’s a short video capturing my impressions.

View of Andy’s street the morning after my arrival. My poor little rental car really wasn’t up to the task.  I wasn’t able to get it all the way up the driveway without it slipping on the ice.

The culinary highlight of the trip to Omaha was a drive across the river into Councli Bluffs, IA, where Tawn and I were married a bit more than two years ago.  In the downtown area, just a few blocks from the courthouse, is Dixie Quicks, a combination restaurant and art gallery, which just recently relocated from Omaha.

The space is fairly large, much more so than their previous space, and features an eclectic style of decorating.  Chef René Orduña’s menu is a hodge-podge of southern, Mexican, and Cajun, done to good effect.  It was featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” although you shouldn’t hold that against them.  The staff is friendly (ask Andy about his new nickname) and the food is good. 

A vintage toy robot stands guard on the beautiful terrazo counter.  The restaurant definitely has a retro-chic vibe.

A real stand-out item on the regularly changing menu is the cornbread crab cake.  Loaded with plenty of lump crab meat, the use of cornbread gives the cakes an added dimension.  The sauce is a tomato butter which is made, interestingly, using the steamer on an espresso machine.  If I had it to do over, I’d just have ordered three of these and called it a day.

Chicken Tortilla soup with a wonderful mixture of vegetables.  Good flavor and the avocado was a nice touch.

Sugi ordered tortas, which were filled with avocados and lots of other tasty things.  Served with a side of pickled collard greens.  I’ve never had pickled collard greens which were, as you might expect, vinegary.  Made for a pleasant contrast.  While I liked the tortas, I do think that a crustier bread would have been nicer.  Just my preference, though.

My breakfast was chilaquilles, a first for me. A common Mexican breakfast dish, chilaquilles makes use of leftover tortillas, which are fried then simmered in salsa.  In this version, tomatoes and peppers are used to create something that is reminiscent of lasagna but with Mexican flavors.  Served with black beans and two soft fried eggs, this was a really tasty treat and something I look forward to seeking out at other restaurants. 

We managed to get on really well with one of the owners, the one who gave Andy his nickname.  Before we had even finished our main courses, two types of French toast had been sent out for dessert, compliments of the house.  The chocolate and banana is on the left and fresh berries are on the right.  The bread is the same as is used for the tortas and while I still maintain that a slightly crustier bread would be better, it was hard to fault this French toast.

The gallery next door was open for browsing, getting ready for a three-artist show that was debuting that evening.  Here, a giant inflatable black squirrel holds an acorn.

All in all, Dixie Quicks was a highlight meal during my trip to the US.  A drive up to Omaha is worthwhile if for no other reason that to visit Andy and Sugi. But having this restaurant there provides an added incentive.

Now that I’m safely back in Thailand, let me share some highlights from my recent trip to the United States.  This first portion covers the trip from Bangkok to Los Angeles and San Francisco on my way to Kansas City.

Self-portrait on the Flight Information Display Signage.  Thankfully, I scheduled a 12:40 pm departure which meant I didn’t have to get up too early or rush to get to the airport.  Instead, time for a leisurely breakfast before hailing a taxi.

On the climb out of Bangkok, I could still see some lingering effects of the flooding.  While these rice paddies normally have water in them at this time of year, you can see how the vertical boundaries between many of the paddies have been erased.  The water is still high enough in this area to the northeast of the city that water flows across dikes and roads, combining multiple paddies into small lakes.

The connection through Taipei was smooth and we landed about thirty minutes early in Los Angeles in the mid-afternoon.  Here, I snap a photo of my plane before boarding a bus at the remote parking area.  Winds were very high and were blowing offshore, the opposite of the usual direction.

Los Angeles is a great place to see the world’s largest passenger airplane, the Airbus A380.  Qantas sends multiple planes there daily, one of which is hidden behind the other in the picture on the left.  Singapore Airlines also sends an A380 to LAX (above right) and Korean Airlines and Air France will soon join them, too.

I connected to Southwest Airlines for a flight up to San Francisco.  Had I realized that my 6:00 departure was going to be delayed, I would have hustled over from the international terminal and tried to make the 3:30 flight instead.  While waiting for my flight, a teenager practiced his violin, playing very well for an appreciative crowd of passengers.

A young girl gets her start as an aviation enthusiast, watching the planes as her father “flies” her through the air.

My high school friend Ryan, pictured above with his 2-year old son, picked me up at the airport and we were able to catch up over dinner – Vietnamese noodles! – before I crashed on an air mattress at his house.  While I was only in the San Francisco area for about 12 hours, it was very nice to be able to see Ryan and his family again.

After some coaxing, Elliot decided it would be okay to pose for a picture with Uncle Chris before heading to the airport.

The weather on Friday morning was crisp and clear, allowing for a beautiful view of San Francisco as we took off to the north, climbing towards Oakland. 

After buying Midwest Airlines, Frontier adopted their practice of serving fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies onboard.  A nice touch at an airline that is hard to distinguish from all the other domestic carriers.  After a tight connection in Denver, I arrived in Kansas City about 5:45 Friday evening.

Today I start tracing the reverse of the course I traveled twelve days ago, heading from Kansas City, where many of my relatives live, back to the west coast, then on to Taipei where I connect back to Bangkok.  It has been an exciting and busy twelve days.  While I initially thought I would have a lot of free time on my hands, in reality I find myself not having blogged since the day of my departure and with a list of friends I have not had time to visit.

My grandparents with my cousin’s son and my two nieces.

Most of the time was spent with family.  My two nieces are here in Kansas City.  They are now 5 and 8 and as they mature a bit (especially the older one), spending time with them is more interesting because we can do and discuss a wider range of things.

We had time to bake Christmas cookies.  I was a “mystery reader” at their school, going to talk to their classes about life in Thailand.  I cooked several meals and had the extended family over.

I had to spend a few days working.  Anytime I’m in the US, my boss can’t resist the urge to meet me!  That’s actually a good thing as it reinforces that I provide value to the organization and am worth a special trip.

I also had the opportunity to meet a Xangan – Ruth Ann – who lives near Kansas City – and her husband Pat.  They lived in Thailand for a few years in the late 1960s and Pat is fluent in the language.  They are a wonderful couple and full of great stories about their experiences.

Anyhow, my resolution upon my return is to re-engage with Xanga.  There are lots of things I do that I document (photographs) but never take the time to write.  And there are a lot of online friends whose blogs I have not been following faithfully.

In early November, a new mall opened in Bangkok.  Terminal 21, located adjacent to the Asoke Skytrain station along Sukhumvit Road, is a 9-story mall with 20 stories of serviced apartments and office space above the mall.  What sets this mall apart is that it is themed as an airport.

By an “airport theme” I mean that there are many airport motifs throughout the complex.  These range from information boards that looks like the digital “arrivals” and “departures” flight information displays you see at an airport, to the escalator signage looking like they indicate the directions to different gates, to each floor being themed after a different international city.

“Departure for Level 3″ reads the sign above the long escalator that ascends from the mezzanine floor to a point halfway up the mall.  Given its fantastic location, the mall has been crowded since its opening several weeks ago, filled mostly with local sightseers, much like the international airport was when it first opened.

Floors include Tokyo (left), Istanbul, Rome, and Paris (right) with each floor decorated in a manner meant to evoke the feel of the city.  Lots of visitors are stopping to take pictures with these decorative items, leading to the likely chance that you will walk through the frame of someone’s picture at some point or another.  Even the mall security and cleaning staff are uniformed appropriately for the floor on which they work.  Yes, that means that on the Paris floors the staff cleaning the toilets are dressed like French maids.

The San Francisco floor has a miniature Golden Gate bridge spanning an atrium.  The only shops on this floor are restaurants, which seems appropriate for a city well-known for its food.  I’m not sure that the selection of restaurants would necessarily do the City by the Bay proud, though.

With its location adjacent to both the Skytrain and subway stations, Terminal 21 is positioned at a literal crossroads of Bangkok, accessible to customers from many corners of the city.  The mall looks like it has targeted the middle of the market: there are many popular stores but no high-end ones and there are also a large number of smaller boutiques featuring local independent businesses.  Compared to other malls in the city, it is not nearly as fancy as Central Childlom or Siam Paragon but is much nicer than Platinum or MBK.  I suspect it will be a winning formula.

The thing that I find terribly ironic, though, is that in a city with an airport that has been criticized for being too much of a mall (the picture above is of the actual airport, not Terminal 21), we end up having a new mall that has an airport theme.  To compare the two:

At one point in time, mine was the exciting life filled with ever-changing adventures and Tawn was the one who went to the office every day, living a life of nine to five drudgery.  Nowadays, as he is moving towards his dream of being a fashion designer, his life is the eventful one and I’m fading to a quiet support role.  The latest big event was a photo shoot of the first collection on his own label, Tawn C, to create a “look book.”

As I understand it, a look book doesn’t necessarily have to display every outfit in the collection.  Instead, it is meant to convey the overall feel of the collection, to tell the “story” of the woman for whom the collection was designed.  Tawn will use the look book to pitch his collection to prospective vendors including some of the large department stores here in Bangkok.

Tawn called in a half-dozen people with whom he has worked on other events, assembling a talented but reasonably priced team to assist with styling, make-up, and hair.  Our “annex” – the studio unit adjacent to our main condo, was turned into the backstage area.  Needless to say, there wasn’t a lot of work I could do other than to prepare the snacks to keep the talent satisfied.

The setting for the photo shoot was out unit, which not only saved money but also matched the style of Tawn’s collection.  Above, photographer Siwanat Phangbunkumlarp directs the models. The model on the left is a Russian with whom Tawn worked at his student fashion show.  The model on the right is Thai-German and was added later when the Russian woman’s twin sister was no longer available to do the shoot. 

Khun Siwanat did a very detailed job, having scouted the location in advance, discussed the overall themes with Tawn, and plotted the look and feel of different shots.  It ultimately took something like 10 hours to shoot the entire sequence, but the results were very nice.  Here are some of my favorite shots.  These are pre touch-up, as the versions that Tawn will use on his website underwent modest Photoshopping.

Stay tuned for more updates on the adventures here in Bangkok as Tawn pursues his dreams and Chris supports him.

With the US Thanksgiving holiday just a few days away, it seems fully appropriate that I was able to recently celebrate my first harvest from my balcony garden.  It was a limited harvest – one beet, one radish, and two cherry tomatoes – but at least it is a start, right?  For those of you who have missed my videos, I filmed and edited a new one to mark this momentous occasion.

The harvest was a small one, but I was excited with it nonetheless.  On the left is a golden beet, on the right is a type of heirloom radish called a watermelon radish.  It is supposed to have a light green skin with a pink interior.  The skin was kind of a pinkish white instead.  Behind the two roots are my carrots which are slowly growing.

Raindrops on the leaves of my third tomato plant.  Once we hit the start of October – the end of rainy season – the weather rapidly changed.  We’ve had significant rainfall only two or three times since then and my south-facing balcony has been bathed in direct sunlight for about 7 hours a day.  The plants have definitely enjoyed the sun, although I’ve had to be diligent about watering.

One curious thing is that my tomato plants – both cherry and beefsteak – have had a problem with pollination.  So far only two fruits have grown.  I’ve not seen any bees around my plants but according to my online research, tomato plants are self-pollinating.  One technique recommended in some videos is to give the plants a good shake to encourage the pollinating.  So far that hasn’t seemed to help.  Plenty of blossoms come and go, but few ever become fruit.

And there they are, my two cherry tomatoes.  Organic, homegrown, and mighty tasty.  Now if I could just get a few more of them off my plant, which is nearly three meters tall!

Inside of the watermelon radish.  It had a nice flavor, less sharp than the conventional red radishes you see at the market.

Golden beet.  I have only seen red beets sold in Thailand so was very excited to have golden beets.  What I’ve decided, though, is that root vegetables are a poor use of limited container space.  I need to focus on vertical plants – tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc. – where I can get more yield per square meter of soil.  Of course, I guess the tomato plants haven’t really panned out yet, have they?

Here’s the video of the autumn 2011 harvest.

The healthy salad I made from mostly store-bought vegetables and my few container garden vegetables.  The shredded golden beet is on top, some sauteed beet greens, and the radish.  Success!  Stay tuned for more gardening developments.

Previous entries on this subject:

How Does My Garden Grow - Part 1: Defying Gravity 
How Does My Garden Grow – Part 2: A Move to the Sunny Side
How Does My Garden Grow – Part 3: Back to Seedlings

Quick (and hopefully final) update to the flooding situation here in Bangkok:

While the waters have started to slowly recede, many areas on the northern, western, and eastern edges of the city continue to be under a meter or more of water.  This water has been there for, in some cases, nearly a month and has stagnated.  Needless to say, residents of these areas are furious and have taken to tearing openings in some of the sandbag barriers to enable some of the water to more rapidly drain away.

In the past few weeks, what had just been piles of sandbags in the Sukhumvit area (where I live) has turned into more extreme defenses against the likelihood of flooding, a vote of no-confidence in a government that has continued to be incapable of communicating useful information in a timely manner.  Thankfully, by this point it seems unlikely that we will see any water but nobody is removing the defenses yet.

Outside an office building in the Ploenchit area, two rows of sandbags with a wall of boards sealed at its base with silicone or tar to hold back water.  Of course, vehicles are unable to enter or exit this building so, like many buildings around the city, business is being impacted.

Along the road leading up to the international airport, mega-sandbags were laid out and pumps installed in case the road itself needed to be turned into a canal to channel the water out of the city.  The airport’s retaining wall was increased to 2.5 meters (almost 9 feet) and, despite having been built in the midst of a natural flood plain, the airport has thus far remained dry. 

Photo courtesy Bangkok Post

Not so the old airport, Don Meuang, which before the flood was being used as an air force base and for limited domestic service.  It is still closed with more than a meter of water covering the entire airfield.  It will cost millions of dollars and take at least two months to bring this airport back into service.

As of last week, walls and other barriers were still being constructed.  Here, a view from the inside of the Villa Supermarket near Sukhumvit Soi 33, looking outside to the street.  A wall of concrete blocks and sandbags was built, necessitating a climb over the wall with your groceries.

The subway stations, exits at a few of which were closed because of the flooding, had flood barriers installed.  These were new additions but were added very quickly that I imagine they must have been prepared in advance and stored for such an event.  I’m unclear why there’s a gap at the corner but I guess they would close it with sandbags?

Finally, while at Bangkok Hospital this past week, off Phetchaburi Road, I noticed the wide range of flood protection they had put into place, including concrete walls around the base of escalators so water wouldn’t damage the machinery.  Kind of awkward to climb the wobbly wooden steps to get over the wall.  Perhaps it is part of their plan to treat more slip-and-fall patients!

Here is a short video showing some of the other flood preparations at Bangkok Hospital.

As mentioned above, I’m hoping this is the last entry I write on this subject.  The amount of damage and suffering in Thailand has been immense – 594 deaths as of this morning - and yet I’m not sure that there’s anything more I can add to the subject after this point.  I’ll return to other subjects from this point onwards including an update on my attempts at container gardening.

Today I turn 41 years old.  This seems to be a popular time for birthdays.  Two friends here in Thailand share my birthday, two other friends have birthdays the day before, and a dozen other friends have birthdays within plus or minus a week.  Perhaps St. Valentine’s Day provides a good explanation for this mini-bubble of mid-November Scorpios.  That’s speculation, though, and beside the point.

I’ve heard of “peak oil”… does “peak hair” also exist?

To give you a brief update, life is going quite well.  Yesterday, as part of a habit I would like to create, I visited the doctor for an annual physical.  By chance, I was seen by Dr. Nina, an Indian-born doctor whom I had seen a few years ago for a suspected case of Dengue Fever (which, thankfully, it was not).  I’m glad I reconnected with her as she has a wonderful manner and I will make it a point to have her as my regular physician.

In any case, the general conclusion is that I am fine, health-wise.  My cholesterol, which had dropped from about 260 three years ago to only 165 a year ago, has since climbed back to about 250.  We’ll have to monitor this and see if some diet and exercise changes can bring it back under control.  Other than that, a clean bill of health.  If I can lose a few kilograms over the next year, we’ll all be happier at next year’s check-up, too!

Celebration-wise, I don’t think Tawn and I will do that much to celebrate.  We had a large sausage making, cooking and eating dinner this past weekend with some friends (see “lose a few kilograms,” above), so that was probably enough hoopla to celebrate.  Instead, a quiet evening at home with Tawn should be celebration enough.

From a general happiness standpoint, I realize that despite the few gripes and frustrations that arise in life, I have very little about which to be unhappy and a very large amount to be thankful for.  Yesterday, in what I interpret to be a nice bit of serendipity, a university friend of mine posted a quote from poet Gunilla Norris that I think should be my birthday prayer:

“Guard me against the arrogance of privilege,
against the indulgence of feeling that I don’t have enough,
and the poverty of spirit that refuses to acknowledge what is daily given to me.”

Beautiful and timely, isn’t it?  When I think of all the wonderful people, experiences, and opportunities I have had thus far in my life, I can’t help but be grateful to everyone and everything that has played a role.

After our lunch of southern style dishes, Tawn and I did some shopping at Bangkok’s famous Chatuchak Weekend Market.  With thousands of stalls and vendors, you can find most anything for sale and the people-watching is entertaining, too.  Along the way, I stumbled across some disturbing signs: swastikas.

First off, some of the interesting sights.  We encountered this cute Jack Russell terrier who was dressed in full kit including shoes.  He was nearly as stylish as his owner!

We also encountered a fortune teller (in the bandana) who was giving a reading to the young man in the (potentially offensive – sorry) black shirt.  Based on the shirt’s message, I can only imagine what questions he is trying to have answered about his future.

Actually, as an aside, his shirt is an example of something I see often here in Thailand: Thais wearing shirts with English language messages that would broadly be seen as offensive or not particularly appropriate for wearing in public in an English-speaking country.  I always wonder to what extent the wearers understand the message and its meaning.  Would they wear the equivalent message if it was in Thai?

Which brings me to the swastikas.

In a number of shops, I encountered buttons, t-shirts, and other items that featured swastikas.  Now, the swastika has a history that extends back a few thousand years before the Nazis came along and appropriated it.  Even in contemporary Buddhism, you see the swastika as a sacred symbol.  I feel comfortable, though, concluding that the use of the swastikas in this commercial context was not religious, but was meant to evoke the perceived “revolutionary” feel of the Nazis.  Witness the Mao Zhe Dong buttons as a similar “statement”.

This sighting of swastikas brought to mind an incident from September, when a private Roman Catholic school in Chiang Mai (in northern Thailand), had a sports day in which a group of students dressed in a Nazi theme and marched carrying swastika banners and wearing swastika arm bands.

There was widespread outrage and several foreign consulates as well as the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles denounced the event, citing it as insensitive and inappropriate.  The school authorities, no surprise, claimed they had not been aware of the students’ plans, even though their protestations seemed a bit thin.

What followed (before the floods) was a lot of discourse about how poor the Thai education system is and how the teachers and administrators had failed to educate their students.  There were others who pointed out that students in western countries are often just as unaware of similarly significant events in Asia’s history and are sometimes even equally unaware of the details of the Holocaust.

I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and denounce the students or the teachers.  There has been enough said to that effect already.  Suffice it to say that I was disturbed that in a short period of time, I saw several signs that the history of the Nazis and the Holocaust is not very well appreciated by some people in Thailand and the symbols of that history are seen as benign fashion statements.

There are probably countless examples in other countries where locals appropriate words and symbols from other languages, cultures, and countries, without fully understanding what the meanings are, sometimes causing offense.  I guess that more than anything, this is a reminder that we need to be aware when we adopt things, whether they are words or symbols, that are not originally our own.  Meanings are not universal and it is easy to be insensitive to others’ feelings.

The first IKEA store in Thailand, and the largest in Asia, opened this past week in Bang Na – the eastern suburbs of the city.  I went with some friends to check it out.  Here’s the video:

720p HD version here

Bangkok’s Chatuchak Weekend Market is popular among locals and visitors alike for its almost endless maze of vendors selling everything from fashion to frogs, souvenir trinkets to silverware for your dinner table.  Shopping isn’t the only reason to visit the market, though.  Hidden amongst all these vendors are several restaurants that are worth a trip, even if you have no plans to shop.  A few weekends ago, we ate at Prik Yuak, a popular place whose good food and convenient location makes it worth a visit.

Prik Yuak is a Southern Thai style khao gaeng place.  Khao gaeng refers to the prepared curries (and other dishes) that are served with rice.  I shared a bit about this type of food in the third volume of my “Great Eats in Bangkok” series. 

Ordering at Prik Yuak is both easy and hard: easy because all you need to do is point and they will plate the dishes up for you.  Hard because you have to figure out what each thing is.  My advice: so long as you have no allergies, religious dietary restrictions, or adverse reactions to chilies, go ahead and point away!

Portions are small – think “Thai tapas” – and this allows you to try many different tasty dishes even if you come to the restaurant by yourself or just one other person.

The restaurant itself is modest, located next to the edge of the market, immediately adjacent to exit 3 of the Kamphaeng Phet MRT station.  In fact, make a u-turn to the right as you exit from the station and then continue back as far as you can go (40 meters or so) and you’ll have reached the restaurant.  Grab a table after ordering and they will bring the food to you.

Plaa kem tod – The name of the dish refers to the salty fried fish that is the main flavoring ingredient.  In this case, it is being served along with broccoli, although it is also served with other greens.  Salted fish is a popular ingredient in Thai food, especially in the south, where it is an easy method of preservation for a region that is close to the sea.  For foreigners, the taste can take some getting used to because it is very salty.  The saltiness is balanced by the clean, unseasoned flavors of the vegetables, though.

Kai palow - This dish of stewed eggs and pork belly is often prepared with a Chinese five spice sauce.  In this case, Prik Yuak uses a palm sugar caramel and soy sauce.  This dish is ordered to accompany spicier dishes, as the sweet richness of the dish helps to counter the spice.

Kuag gling moo – Shredded pork fried with spices, most notably turmeric, with a garnish of thinly sliced kaffir lime leaf.  This dish, which is spicy hot, has very assertive flavoring, making your taste buds come alive.  The texture is also very fun to eat, small shreds of slightly crispy fried pork and fried shallots.

Gaeng tae po – This vegetable dish features something known locally as “morning glory” – not related to the flowers – a tubular green that grows near the water.  It is served in a curry and is quite spicy but in a way that is very pleasant.

Panang moo – Panang style pork curry, which is milder than many other Thai curries.  It has a heavy dose of coconut milk which provides some richness on the tongue, countering other spicier dishes.  What makes Prik Yuak’s version of this dish unique is that they braise the pork first before cooking it in the curry.  The result is a bowl full of very tender pork.

Pad prik king gai – Shredded fried chicken, cooked southern style with a dry curry (i.e. no coconut milk).  At first glance, this appears similar to the kuag gling dish, above.  But the flavor profile is very different.  Instead of having turmeric and lots of spices, this curry is made mostly of chilies, ginger, galangal root, coriander root, and lemongrass.  It is much more herbal and has a kick to it.

Kai tom yang matoom - A common condiment for the khao gaeng shops is boiled egg.  Here we have boiled duck eggs done to a soft, creamy yolk.  Again, the richness of the egg helps counteract the spiciness of several of the dishes.  It is also an easy source of protein.

To provide some more veggies, a little crunch, and some cooling relief to your mouth, a platter of crudité is served.  From left: kamin khao (white turmeric), long beans, and cucumbers.

And to drink?  How about a coconut bowl of the favorite local cola: Pepsi.  While I normally don’t drink sodas, it is a very refreshing accompaniment to a meal like this.

Conclusion: The food at Prik Yuak is first rate in terms of quality, price, and flavor.  Best of all, the small servings allow you to try so many different things.  I hope that as you read the descriptions, you noticed how varied the dishes are and how they complement each other.  Something spicy, something sweet, something salty, something rich, something astringent – this is the quality of a balanced Thai meal, a feature that is lacking in a lot of western cooking, particularly in fast food America.  When I go for too long without Thai food, I find that my palate is bored from the lack of different flavors in a single meal!

With all the grief and anxiety surrounding our watery circumstances in Bangkok, I feel the need for a laugh and a smile.  Perhaps you do, too.  For our collective good mental health, let me share with you a picture of my friends Chris and Antony’s son, Archer.

Isn’t he cute?

Sunday morning, the city quiet as many residents have fled the flooding, I rode my bicycle for a first-hand look at the situation in the old city and along the river.  What I found was not as bad as flooding further north, but it left me with the realization that our relative dryness is a tentative state, one that could easily change.

My ride took me west into the old city, around the Grand Palace, and then north along Sam Sen Road to the Rama VII Bridge.  Most of the way, I was on the road closest to the river, giving me a chance to evaluate the neighborhoods.  Like a checkerboard, some neighborhoods had water while adjacent neighborhoods were still dry.  The dry neighborhoods were taking no chances, though, with walls of sandbags or brick and cement erected in front of shops, buildings, and homes.

Location 1: The Emporium

These photos were actually taken Friday night, when Tawn and I drove to the Emporium shopping center at Sukhumvit Soi 24 to watch a film.  Both parking structures were packed, not with shoppers’ cars but with cars that had been parked there for safekeeping.  Cars were double parked, left in neutral gear so they could be pushed out of the way.  To park in the only available space, we had to push six other cars out of the way.  I can tell you from this experience that classic Mercedes are very heavy and do not roll easily.

We noticed that someone had parked a pale yellow Rolls Royce Phantom with an auspicious license plate with the numbers 9999 on it.  (The current king is Rama IX, so nine is considered a lucky number.)  Inquiring with the guard, I understand that the car’s owner is someone very high up in one of the government’s ministries.  The guard also shared that this person has parked 26 cars in the lot.  Perhaps the government’s scheme to encourage car ownership is working too well?

All of these cars had a notice placed on them (after they were not moved at the end of the night) asking the owners to contact the management office before leaving the car park.  Presumably, there will be some sort of a fine for unauthorized long-term parking.  I would guess some people probably won’t have to pay that fine.

Location 2: Phra Nakhon District

The ride to Phra Nakon, the oldest district of Bangkok, was smooth as so few cars were on the road.  Along the way, streets were dry and canals were at close to their normal level.  When I came up to Khlong (canal) Khu Meuang Derm near the back side of the Ministry of Defence, I encountered the first flooding.  While not deep – about 10 cm (4 inches), it covered most of the blocks adjacent to the canal.

I rode around the north side of the Grand Palace where the street had moderate flooding (the far two lanes in this picture) in some areas.  The entire road around Sanam Luang, the large field to the north of the Grand Palace, was flooded a bit more, with the entire road under about 15 cm (6 inches) of water.

The Grand Palace was open for business (tourists note: the Grand Palace is open every day, no matter what any scam artists may try to tell you) but there were few visitors.  The entry gate, pictured here, was under about 30 cm (1 foot) of water, requiring visitors to balance on sand bags as they made their way inside.

Around the corner from the Grand Palace, closer to the river, is Maharat Road leading to Thammasat University.  Flooding was more severe in this neighborhood and a barrier had been built in the street to contain the water.  Vendors were still working on the sidewalks and residents (and monks from the adjacent Wat Mahathat) were coming and going as best they could.  One vendor explained that the area had been flooded for the past four days.  When asked whether the water was still rising or was falling, he replied that it depended on the tides.

One block away from the river, Na Phrathat Road runs along the west edge of Sanam Luang, passing the National Theatre and National Museum.  It was closed to through traffic and has about 15 cm (6 inches) of standing water.

Location 3: Sam Sen Road, Dusit District

Heading north from Phra Nakhon, I rode along Sam Sen Road through the Dusit District.  There, I found the same checkerboard pattern of flooding.  Some stretches I rode through the water that reached the bottom of my pedals, about 15 cm (6 inches) high, although waves caused by passing vehicles left me with wet shoes.  There were points where the roads were impassable, so I cut east one block, rode a few blocks north, and then returned to Sam Sen Road to find it dry again.

The dry areas looked like they might not be dry much longer.  Here, I passed through an otherwise dry neighborhood and found water bubbling up through the manhole cover.  Passing motorbike riders gazed warily at the water, which ran across the road and into the storm drains.

Location 4: Bang Sue District

Underneath two railway bridges just south of the Rama VII automobile bridge in the Bang Sue district, the river threatens to spill over its banks and an extra layer of sandbags marks a last line of defence.  The bridge belongs to the State Railways of Thailand.  Just to the right of the frame is a second bridge (to the right of the crane) for the under-construction pink rail transit line.

To the left of the previous picture (of the bridge), the road comes immediately adjacent to the brimming river, right at the entrance to Khlong (canal) Sung.  The water gate for the canal is shut in order to protect the district from flooding.  Soldiers from the army were on hand monitoring the situation and adding sandbags as necessary.

Just a short distance north, I rode across the Rama VIII Bridge and stopped to take pictures.  There were several people fishing from the bridge, but I noticed this man who was fishing from the waterfront park underneath the bridge.  Because of the flooding, it is hard to tell where the river ends and the park begins.

In the same waterfront park, a boy ran through the water as buses passed on a moderately flooded frontage road.  After having pedaled about 30 km, I headed inland past the closed and sandbagged Chatuchak Weekend Market (which I’ve never seen closed on a weekend!), taking the Skytrain home from the Mo Chit station.

Conclusions:

While I didn’t travel further north into the more severely affected areas of the city, what I saw was enough to make me realize that even though we’ve passed this week without flooding in many of the central parts of the city, those areas that are still dry, remain so only because of luck and limited rainfall.  Water is bubbling up through the drains and seeping through the sandbags and dikes; it seems inevitable that some of those defenses will fail before the excess water is moved safely to the Gulf of Thailand. 

I suspect that the risk to the area I live in is relatively minimal, but I think we have another week or two before the city as a whole is out of the gravest danger.

Updated - Third video added.  This is the last time I’ll time stamp this!  Tawn shared this very cute and informative 4-minute video clip with me, which explains what is happening with the flooding and why the risk to Bangkok is severe.  It is done with clever animation and is actually quite useful… which leads me to believe that the Thai government had absolutely nothing to do with it.

The best part is how they compare the flood waters with blue whales, which makes the whole thing much more comprehensible.  There are English subtitles, so please enjoy.

A second video was released Thursday, which further explains the situation and gives suggestions about how to assess the actual risk your home is at for flooding.

The government has announced that the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok will peak around 6 pm Saturday, so that is expected to be the point at which flooding, which has now spread into 5 districts in the city, will explan further.

The third video is out, this one listing the three steps you should take to prepare for the flood.  It really is so simple, right?

For more than a week, residents of Bangkok have been bracing for the floodwaters, stacking sandbags and stocking supplies.  With the exception of a few districts which have been hit, most of the city waits in a sort of suspended animation, frustrated by a lack of information and an abundance of government incompetence.

To be certain, Thailand’s worst flooding in fifty years has affected parts of the city, especially in the north and northeast near Rangsit, Don Meuang, Sai Mai, and Minburi districts.  But the majority of the city is still dry.  We are told every day that the next few days will be critical.  Each day, the anxiety increases.

Throughout the city, flyovers and expressways became car parks as clever residents decided to park their cars on the only high ground they could find.  The effect, predictably, was that traffic came to a standstill and the movement of emergency vehicles and supplies was hampered. In the picture above, two of the three lanes on the left are actually parked cars.  Yes, I know it looks like a normal traffic jam but in this case the cars are empty.  The government has been pleading with people not to park on the roads, but for some unknown reason has been slow to actually tow the cars.

Each morning I trade text messages with a friend who lives in the Sathorn district.  “You have any water yet?”  “No, not yet.  You?”  Our messages are a microcosm of the confusion that is frustrating residents across the city.  While the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has done an admirable job and has communicated effectively with residents, the national government led by Yingluck Shinawatra, who wants to be in charge of the flood response, has been a disaster. 

The FROC (Flood Relief Operations Command – they even chose an English name for it!) is accurately depicted in this cartoon.  Different people are working at cross-pusposes and the announcements from different department and ministerial heads contradict and confuse.  A Tweet that has spread like wildfire reads, “The intellectuals fill sandbags while the buffaloes make the plan.”  As you might imagine, the government is seen as the buffaloes, and the comparison is very unfair to buffaloes.

Sunday afternoon I explored my neighborhood, to see how people are preparing.  The number of sandbags have increased markedly since Friday.  I would estimate that about 80% of shops and buildings have built some sort of barriers.  Others (like the one with the blue doors) have not, but that may be because the doors are either watertight or the goods inside are raised off the floor.

Grocery and convenience stores are out of many supplies, including bottled water.  The only bottled water on sale at the local market was Evian, as everything else was sold out. 

I also noticed several buildings taking even more extreme measures, building temporary walls of brick and mortar.  This picture is along Sukhumvit Road between Ekamai and Thong Lor, not an area that I thought was particularly prone to flooding.  I like that they have added steps.  Interestingly, they did not build steps on the other side.  Presumably, once the threat of flooding subsides, they will remove the wall.

Sunday afternoon, I heard that the water gates for Saen Saeb canal, a major east-west artery that is near our condo, had been opened to help ease the flooding in the river and move the water towards the Gulf of Thailand.  Curious, I rode to the canal, only to find the water at its usual level, or perhaps even a little lower than normal.  Canal boat service, which a few days ago had been reported suspended because of high water levels, was running.  Again, another example of lack of clear information.  And this is happening in both English and Thai, mind you.

Back at our condo, a sandbag barrier has been in place for the past ten days.  Our soi (alley) is prone to moderate flooding when there are heavy rains, so the chance of flooding seems higher just by virtue of that fact.  Thankfully, we’ve had four consecutive days of dry weather, but the water elsewhere in Bangkok is presumably still a risk for us.

A view from the inside of the car park, showing how the street is about two feet (70 cm) higher than the car park floor.  Actually, more accurately, the street is only about one foot higher.  The driveway is built to provide a natural barrier, rising a foot from the street before descending two feet into the car park.

Inside the car park, the elevator and electrical room are barricaded with sandbags.  The maintenance team built a brick wall about 40 cm high just inside the electrical room.  I’ve observed that people keep adding to the defenses already in place, leading me to conclude that they know something I don’t.  When I ask them, though, they explain that they don’t know if or when the water is coming, but assume that since there has been no good news (“Water recedes!”), this must be the calm before the storm.

As we wait patiently for updates as to the flooding risk in Bangkok…

It has been a while since I’ve done an entry about food, so I thought I would share with you the plate full of Thai desserts that Tawn brought for me a few weeks ago when I was slaving away all afternoon on the computer.

The full plate – from left: rae rai, khanom tuay, khanom khii nuu (in the cup), and gluay bing.   First off, the term “khanom” is an all-purpose word used for snacks or sweets.  

Item 1:This is khanom khii nuu.  I’m not sure you want me to translate the name as the literal meaning is pretty unappetizing.  This dessert is almost like a sweet cous cous made of rice flour instead of wheat flour.  The rice flour is mixed with jasmine water to make a paste, then it is pressed through a screen to make small granules.  These are then wrapped in a cloth and weighted to press out any extra liquid, then steamed until cooked. 

A simple syrup is made with more jasmine water, sugar, and (if desired) food coloring, which is then mixed into the cooked flour granules.  Finally, the whole thing is placed in a container along with a jasmine candle, which is allowed to burn to impart additional aroma.  It is served with a little bit of shredded mature coconut.  The flavor and texture are delicate, almost a bit too delicate.

Item 2: Rae rai are basically rice flour noodles.  They are made by mixing two types of rice flour (regular and glutinous) with coconut cream and jasmine water until it forms a dough.  The dough is stirred over medium heat for about ten minutes until the flour is cooked.  Food coloring is added and the dough is separated into small balls (about the size of ping pong balls) and then extruded through a device that looks a bit like a garlic press.  The resulting noodles are steamed and then served with a combination of sugar and sesame seeds and a little bit of salted coconut cream.  Also a delicate flavor but a bit more substantial than khanom khii nuu.

Item 3: Gluay bing, grilled bananas.  A semi-ripe starchy type of banana is grilled at a low temperature and then flattened.  It is then soaked in a mixture of coconut milk and palm sugar.  I’m not a big banana fan, so this wasn’t a particular favorite of mine.

Item 4: Khanom tuay, literally a “cup snack”.  The dough is made of rice flour, flavored and colored with pandanus leaf.  These are steamed in small cup molds and, after being removed, are served with a palm sugar caramel with sesame seeds.

Inside view of the khanom tuay, which has a consistent texture throughout, something similar to mochi, the pounded sticky rice that is common in Japanese cuisine.  This was my favorite, especially because of the texture.  I like the chewy texture of mochi, caramel, taffy, etc.

So there you have it – Thai desserts to tide you over while we wait for news about the flooding.  “The water is coming tonight,” said one of our guards as he inspected the wall of sandbags in front of our condo.  Let’s hope when I wake up tomorrow, everything is still dry.

You have perhaps heard that since August, Thailand has been coping with the worst flooding the country has experienced in 50 years.  From the far north in Chiang Mai and other mountainous provinces, through the central plains, and now down to the region closest to the Gulf of Thailand, the country has experienced widespread destruction.  At least 297 people have died, 700,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed, and estimates are that the waters could wind up costing the country US$5 billion, or about 1% of GDP. 

The region currently affected is the southern half of the Central Plains, the rice bowl of Thailand.  Nearly 15 million acres have been flooded, of which 3.4 million acres are farmland.  The above graphic shows flooded areas in light blue.  As you can see, the province of Ayutthaya, home to the ruins of the second capital of the Kingdom of Siam, is the most severely affected.

Many of the major ruins, temples, and historical sites in Ayutthaya have been affected by flood waters, some areas more than 2 meters deep.  The United Nations is sending teams to help survey the UNESCO World Heritage sites and offer assistance.

The muddy waters of the Chao Phraya river cannot easily be contained, sweeping into cities and villages along its banks.  Most of central Thailand is low-lying land.  There are signs that those who live upriver from Bangkok feel that their land has been sacrificed in the name of keeping Bangkok safe.  Since the last major flooding in Bangkok in 1995, extensive measures have been put in place to reduce the risk of flooding for the capital.  One of those measure is the deliberate flooding of farmland in the provinces north of the city, the so-called “monkey cheeks” approach.  Without a doubt, the impact of flooding farmland is much less than the impact of flooding major cities.  Nonetheless, that is cold comfort for the familes directly impacted by those policies.

Unfortunately, the flooding has not been limited to farmland.  Between Ayutthaya and Bangkok lie many industrial parks, home to manufacturing centers for companies from around the globe.  As an example, Honda’s factory, which accounts for some 5% of its global production, was flooded.  Pictured above, new Honda cars sit in the factory’s parking lot, some submerged and others partially floating.

Fortunately, most of Bangkok has thus far avoided the worst of it.  Some of the northern districts, near the old Don Meuang Airport and Rangsit, have been affected, although not nearly as bad as elsewhere in the country.  Our neighborhood, which is near an area at risk for flooding, is bracing for the next five days or so, until the surge that is coming down the river has safely passed the city. 

A knee-high wall of sandbags has been erected around the base of our condo building.  We have stocked up on bottled water, canned food, and other necessities.  Supplies in the stores are low with many thinly-stocked shelves, a situation caused both by people stockpiling essentials but also because of disruptions in the supply chain.  In fact, Tawn reported today that Starbucks has run out of espresso beans, some cups, and napkins.  That, if anything, must be a sign of how bad it is!  (Only kidding…)

Fortunately, there was no rain today.  But there is an 80% chance of thunderstorms tonight and the rest of week looks stormy.  I hope it gets no worse and, for the more than half of Thai provinces affected by the flooding, that the situation rapidly improves.

As I had mentioned in a previous entry, Tawn had the good fortune to be invited by Khun Kai, owner of Thailand’s longest running couture house, to design the Spring/Summer 2012 collection for his streetwear label, K and I.  After nearly a month of frantic work, the 48 looks were presented on Saturday October 7 at Bangkok International Couture Fashion Week, sponsored by Harper’s Bazaar.

Behind the scenes, Tawn adjusts the fit of one of the finale dresses on his model.  A group shot of his models, one of whom used to be the tenant of the second condo we now own.  Below are the 48 looks, roughly in the order in which they appeared on the runway.  The only comment I’ll provide in advance is that Tawn designed the outfits, but collaborated with Khun Kai on the selection of fabrics (Kai does a lot of lace).

Tawn walks down the runway with a model who is wearing his final look, a beautiful lace dress with body suit.  K and I’s mother brand, Kai, is famous for its elegant lace and custom bridal gowns. 

Afterwards, Tawn stopped for interviews with several journalists.  I’m looking forward to the next round of magazines to see what the critics have to say about his collection.  The next step is to translate these designs into actual rack-ready garments.  At the same time, Tawn is finalizing his first collection of his eponymous brand, Tawn C.  The photo shoot is Monday and hopefully those will be ready for production soon, too.

It was less than a year and a half ago when Tawn decided to go part-time with his job in Public Relations and follow his passion, starting with attending fashion design classes.   He has had some amazing breaks and I’m proud, too, of all the hard work he has put into this.  Without a doubt, he has much more passion for this line of work!