Rain drops keep falling on my head

Weird weather, right after the hottest Songkran festival, now comes the Rain.

The Rain Storm reminded how little I heard thunder and seen lightning in Bangkok. Not to mention what kind of impact does it bring to the slum communities.

Slum houses are fragile. Leakage, electricity, stability problems occur during the rainy season.

While I was enjoying the night of rhythms with the rain, I heard news that one grandmother has passed away protecting her grandchild from a tree that has smashed into their wooden house. She was found dead hugging the crying child.

Street vendors, who form a large majority in the slums, will have trouble hiding from the rain. Business will be affected.

Nowhere to go to , people have to hide in their little box...I am just making all the problems up by myself, I am sure there is more.....

Water war!(click)

What could be more lucky to celebrate the Songkran Festival ( Thai’s New Year) in Chiang Mai? The most famous spot for tourism during this period, you see people rushing in from all around Thailand, including the foreigners, getting ready for action. “A chance to get hold of all the best looking boys in Thailand!” commented a girl friend.

• First, you had a choice, land or at the back of the truck, then you choose your tools. For land, you just need to find a spot along the busy road next to the Klong (river that was filtered, cleaned specially by the government) , and buy a 20 baht bucket with the string;
• For the back of the truck, you need to get a driver( to stop for water refilling and who is not tempted to play) , then a big bucket of water or ice water, and small pails.
• Procedure: you grab the string and throw the bucket into the Klong as fast as you can, fill up the bucket and start splashing on whoever you see( well, you usually look for the good-looking ones, or handsome foreigners!). For maximum effect, wear a sexier top, or light color shirts and shorts that can instantly revealed your body shape!
• Well, the actual meaning of the Songklan is of course not to soaked into a water war, but more like a new beginning, washing away all the bad lucks or wrong doings and start new. At the beginning of the day, a trip to a temple to ask for forgiveness and make donations (make merit) is a must!
• It is a day to loose all your guards towards people, a day to only allow happy emotions flow in, a day to give the biggest smile to a person worth giving, even you have not seen him or her before, the only effort to grab his or her attention is just as simple as a water war!

Another New Year?!(click)

• The initial plan was to visit Yushan in Naan one week before she returns to Singapore, turns out that there are third parties who were doing the same! Flew in from the familiar part of the north hemisphere, Somlak made her connections with Game’s and Mee’s parents, and surprised me and Yushan with a RCN gathering in the middle of the Naan jungle!

• Yushan’s volunteering work is very different than mine; it was more on the development and preservations on the environment. For the first time, I found out complicated process of agriculture and also how people avoid long hours of work by just burning the remaining of the plants after harvesting.

• Took ten hours or more to reach Naan, the province very north of Thailand, ( read a good book: Mister Pip) then the very next day, Game’s father brought us south to the Sukhothai Province, the oldest city/kingdom of Thailand, or so it was speculated.

• Besides taking all the MTV shots with the Historical Park of Sukhothai, acknowledge by the World Heritage of UNESCO, we had endless conversation in the car, during meals, in the park; I only got to know Somlak so much more besides the fact that she was the House Mentor of Finland House, not to mention all the juicy memories she has about all the Finland House members back to the time beyond my existence there!

• The most beautiful golden Buddha in Pisanulok, the province next to Shukhothai, stood right infront of me- it was believed that the god has sent a craftsman from heaven to make this golden statue and he disappeared once it was done! I wish I could have a longer glimpse on it for we had to catch a train which was scheduled half an hour later, only to find out that it has been delayed for 4 hours~!

• An actual road trip. I hopped in my colleague’s car half way in Kam Peng Phet from Sukhothai and there I was, taking on a road trip, stopping in every province along the way to see the most-talk-about-temples, food stalls, fruit stalls, and local snacks. Hey, that’s what Thailand is made out of- temples and food!

• Wat Rong Khun, an outstanding temple designed by the contemporary artist, which related me directly to the Sagrada de Familia in Barcelona. A pleasant surprise in Chiang Rai. How come it has not gotten as much attention as the Cathedral?

• On the other hand, Bangkok has turned into a strange city. A city so quiet and slow. The smooth traffic and the unfamiliar accent from the ticket collectors all showed signs of the huge change of crowd. The city was abandoned for home, and the outskirts find job slots to fill in during the peak period of traveling, half of the city is gone.

• One place to another takes only half of the regular timing, and the ticket collector’s friendly outskirt’s accent reexamined the distance between the attitudes of the Bangkok citizens. This temporary friendliness of the city only last for a few days, and it’s a bit annoying, because you know the familiar smoky, nosy, noisy Bangkok will be back again.

Meeting the 'Cownadians'

Being the only Malaysian among the Thai is sort of like adapting. But being Malaysian in a group of Canadian is another story.

Saturday was the day when I have met the largest group of Canadian gathering in one place, Bangkok. I think it was the same situation for Jodie and Misty too.

From initially the connection from Jodie where her neighbor’s nephew is working in the Canadian embassy, we ended up mingling with all the diplomats who has been traveling half the globe and have tones of different cultural experiences.

Listening to their story is like one of those career talks that you can imagine what is like to be in their working field. Dangers, negotiations, bureaucracies, decisions…Especially when Chuck, a Lebanon born Canadian described his facing of the Tsunami attacks and how he walked on the beach to identify corpses and dying Canadians back to their country.

Singapore, Japan, South Korean, Pakistan,

Friends who have been colleagues in different countries gathered to celebrate the fellow colleague’s birthday. A party which was not exactly how I imagine, there were more talking than dancing or loud music, and all three of us ended up thirsty and leg soured.

I have always been interested in a work where traveling is a requirement, to face the different challenges and also to solve problems which I may never handle before. Then there is a problem of identifying the term “Home” and “Settling down”. What if you have a spouse and children, how will they adapt to your work and situation? Will they have to quit their job and follow along or you will commit into a long distance relationship?

We chatted about all those problems and questions that just popped up in my head, and of course about those funny encounters when you meet the locals. But that night, neither of us are locals.