Thaksin's back

The title is a reference to the fact that the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted 17 months ago by the military coup, has returned to Thailand. There is so much controversy over this man between the Bangkok elite and the other 55,000,000 people in this country that it makes Bush and Obama look like blood brothers. Thaksin, the billionaire owner of Manchester City Football Team and a man full of populist ideas for the rural Thai population, has gained him unprecedented support nationally. Not in Bangkok. Until Thaksin came around, the Thai government had been a competition between wealthy Bangkokians. Wives of politicians, with no political experience, would run for high ranking positions and would win. Thaksin came to power, used his incredible political machine and bottomless bank account to gain the trust of virtually the entire rural population (a population that I am grouping together for both simplicity and to prove how influential Thaksin became, as the many districts and sub-districts are in no way related). Since then, he has been accused of corruption by the wealthy Bangkokians, removed from power, and temporarily exiled from the country. Now he's back, and the country is just waiting to see what will happen.

Part of the reason I came to this country was because of this political situation. I know that it's so far removed from life in America, especially during the primary season, that most of you don't have a clue what's going on here. I don't blame you. Thailand is somewhere in the 30s of the world's biggest countries in terms of GDP, and doesn't have too much of an impact of the rest of the world. That being said, the political situation here is remarkable and complex, with many more factors involved than two political parties with very similar policies as in the US.

Sunset on Koh Phangan

Alright, on to what I've been up to since my last post. I feel like it's been forever since I've posted, partly because I've been so busy lately. I mentioned that I was going to Koh Phangan for the full moon party and then Danny was coming. So yeah, it's been a busy couple of weeks.

Since Danny was coming on Sunday, I left with Abby and few other girls on Tuesday night to make the 17 hour or so trip worth it. We decided to get a sleeper on the train instead of the bus, which can be a nightmare. It was about 200 baht more expensive (a whole $6). The train was incredible; taking it was one of the best decisions I've made since I got here. We each got our own bed with pillows, blankets, curtains, etc. The train took 11 hours, much of which I was able to sleep. Then we had an hour bus ride to the ferry, where we met up with some of the other guys who had left on an earlier train. The ferry took another 4-5 hours and was packed with farang excited for the festivities. Me and Abby chilled outside in the sun while everyone else slept inside. Going through all of the islands is amazing. Southern Thailand is beautiful. Small, barely inhabited jungle islands are everywhere. Small fishing longboats and floating fishing huts litter the water close to the shores before leaving it all behind for endless turquoise seas.

With a Bunch of Farang Outside on the Ferry and a View of the Islands

When we got to Koh Phangan, we found out that the bungalows we booked on Bottle Beach are secluded and difficult to get to. Although normally we all would have been more than happy to stay at a secluded beach away from dirty, tourist beaches, the point of the trip was the full moon party. So we abandoned those plans, and ended up meeting the owner of a place called J Seaview while waiting around near the ferry. Turns out we couldn't have made a better decision abandoning Bottle Beach. These bungalows are set way up in the jungle overlooking the mountain down to the beach. It's everything that I imagined that I would see in Thailand. The owner became our house mom for the weekend, and all she wanted was for us to be comfortable and make ourselves at home. For about 100 baht per day, they cooked us incredible food for dinner. We played poker with baht out on the terrace, Kyle sang and played his guitar, and on the full moon night we painted ourselves. Far away from the wildness that is Hat Rin, the site of the full moon party, we were in jungle paradise.

J. Seaview Bungalows and the Terrace

Transportation was ridiculously expensive on the island, especially by Thai standards. We would pack 12-14 of us into a songthaew and each pay 100 baht for just a few miles. That's about 40 bucks to go 4 or 5 miles. Much different than $3, 10 mile cab rides in Bangkok. Our place was really cheap though, about 10 bucks a night shared between 2 people, so the transportation wasn't too much of a problem. Wednesday night we went to a pool party near Hat Rin. That night, we learned that the king mandates that no alcohol can be served on election days here, which is actually one of the smartest ideas I've ever heard. Unfortunately for us, Friday was an election day, and thus the full moon party was postponed to Sunday night.

Everyone else came the next day, and they heard the bad news. Most of us had to leave either Saturday night or Sunday morning for school. I, of course, had to be back in time for Danny to get in Sunday afternoon and had already booked a plane ticket out of a nearby island, Koh Samui, leaving Sunday morning. We decided to make the best of it and have an amazing trip no matter what. There were enough of us there that even if there was nothing going on at the beach, we could just make our own party.

We tried to go to Bottle Beach both Thursday and Friday during the day, where we were originally going to stay. Both times the water was too choppy for the boat to take us, so we settled for the beach near the ferry around the point. We still had a great time there; played frisbee, football, volleyball, etc. It was just the kind of relaxation that we needed to get ready for the party at night.

We went out Thursday night to Hat Rin, and came upon thousands of people who had heard the same news and decided to do the same thing. It wasn't election day yet, so the bars were bumping and there was plenty of alcohol. It wasn't Halloween in Santa Barbara by any means, but there was a good 5,000-8,000 people there. The party supposedly gets up to 15,000 when everything goes to plan. The night was a blast. Most people there had absolutely no worries or responsibility and were just traveling around the region free from school and work. Everyone lets go on the beach, and it was like we were back in the hippy, sex love and rock'n'roll 60s, just with a few more laser lights and tighter drug laws. Despite the abundance of alcohol, destruction of a formally pristine beach community, and lack of Thais, the full moon party, even just what we got to see of it, truly is an amazing experience.

Friday night we went back for the actual full moon and, not surprisingly, the bars were all locked up with alcohol nowhere to be found. No big deal. There were plenty of people hanging out on the beach and in some bars near the outskirts of the beach. Even though these bars weren't selling alcohol, people were hanging out on couches and mats on the ground, listening to music. Although I'm sure it's much different than normal moon parties, being on the beach at night with that many people under the light of the full moon was incredible.

The next day, I left for Koh Samui by myself because I had to fly out early Sunday morning. Although my night in Samui started out looking like an early night in, it ended up being one of the best nights I've had in Thailand so far. I think I'll leave that story, and the week with Danny here in Bangkok, for the next post. This one has gone on long enough.

Tiger Temple and Thammasat

WHODEYY. Yep, I'm crouching next to a tiger. And yes, he is enormous. Last Saturday we went to the Tiger Temple in Konchanaburi, about 2 1/2 hours outside of Bangkok. There were tons of tigers, deer, peacocks, warthogs, etc. everywhere in the park. It was really really cool. At first it seems kind of sad because the tigers are chained up with hundreds of tourists there to pet them, but many of them are rescued tigers and their offspring are going to be released into the wild and taught how to live by themselves. It actually seems like a pretty good project, and it's so cool to be that close to something that could easily tear me apart. We got to pet baby tigers too, and they were much more playful and they weren't chained up.

That day, we also went to the floating market, which was kind of a waste of time. It's not nearly as cool as it looks because it's allll farang and everyone is just trying to rip you off. The river is packed with paddle boats and sometimes we wouldn't move for 5 minutes or more. I did get a packet of thai spices for a few bucks though, so I guess it wasn't a total waste.

It's been forever since I've posted, and I guess a lot has gone on since then. I'm getting into the motions of Thai life and settling down. For the first time, Thailand is starting to feel more like home and less like a vacation. I'm learning the streets, neighborhoods, and favorite places to go. I'm meeting more Thais and getting more into school and a regular life. Not that I don't appreciate where I am and what I'm doing. I see it as a good thing. I still have a ton of stuff I want to do and see in Bangkok, and I know I'll do it eventually.

So now that I'm settling into life here in Bangkok, I'm taking off to Koh Phangan for about 5 days for the Full Moon Party. Thousands of people (unfortunately, mostly farang) come to this island every full moon for a big party that lasts all night. This month it's on Friday. Me and a few people are leaving tuesday night, the rest of the people are leaving on wednesday. It's a looong way, but me and my friend Abby decided to spend the extra 5 or 6 bucks to get a sleeper on the train, so hopefully I can just knock out and wake up when we get there. The beach we're staying at is supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Thailand, and it's away from the touristy area where the party will be. I'm looking forward to this weekend so much because it's going to have everything from total relaxation to all-night partying. Sounds like a good definition of Thailand in general.

It's probably time I talk about school. I'm sure my family members who reads this are wondering when the hell I'm going to talk about classes and school, and my friends who read this are probably wondering why the hell I need to tell everyone about my classes. But school is definitely a major part of what I do here in Thailand, and of course is important. Maybe not the most important part as my EAP program at UCSB wants to believe, but important nonetheless.

My school is Thammasat University, and is considered the #2 university in Thailand. It's awesome that the UC abroad program has hooked up with them and created this program. Historically, it's been the site of a lot of radical activity, and it was there that the military killed a bunch of students during a protest in the early '70s. Some of the professors relate the school to the Berkeley of Thailand.

I'm taking 5 classes while I'm here. Political Economics, Economics and Law, Thai Rural Development, Thai Economy, and Thai Language. As some of you may know, and most probably don't, I recently decided to add on Business Economics as a second major, so it's incredibly important that I take these economics classes and do well in them. Also, I am focusing on Southeast Asia in my Global Studies major, so hopefully some of these classes will transfer for both majors.

Some of the classes are really good, others are not. My economics and law class and my political economics class are my two favorite economics classes. They are both upper division classes, so they are more serious and the students care more. They aren't too much work, but it's hard to figure out what to study because it's really difficult to find the books that the teachers want us to read. And then, once I do open up a book, the material either isn't really relevant or isn't necessary to understand the subject. I think people in all majors are confused as to what to expect on the midterm.

My Thai Language class is awesome and, as I mentioned before, I'm constantly learning more and more Thai. It's way way easier to learn a language while living in the country than living in the states. Plus, Thai isn't a very difficult language. The tones can be hard to understand, but most things can be figured out by the context. I couldn't imagine being in this country and not taking the language. It's significantly easier for me to get around now than when I first got here, and Thais love it if you can say a few words in Thai. There are some people who aren't taking language, and I always wonder how much more difficult it is for them every day. A lot of people here speak no english, especially the taxi drivers.

Classes here seem easy in general. People who studied here last semester always talk about how easy it is, and it just doesn't seem really challenging. Even though I don't like being in an atmosphere where I'm not challenged academically, it allows me to do a lot of stuff that I might not be able to do if I was busier with school. Not to downplay the school too much though. It's amazing to me that the Thai students are able to take these kinds of classes in their second language, and it's definitely not a walk in the park. There just isn't that cutthroat attitude from the teachers here that you see in America. The teachers here want to see their students succeed, and will do everything they can short of handing out As to see that happens. If the students are willing to put in the effort, they're rewarded.

Well I thought this was going to be a short message, but turns out I had more to say than I expected. Once I get back from Koh Pangnan, I'm going to set up a website for my pictures so you can see more than the few I've put into these entries. Danny's coming in the day I get back, and maybe danshott from webshots can do it for me and help me get thousands of hits. If you don't understand that last sentence, don't worry about it.

Pattaya and Super Bowl

It poured rain today in Bangkok. Big shock. It's barely even drizzled since I got here, and this just came out of nowhere. It didn't rain for very long, but in the cab back from Thammasat we were driving through about a foot of water on the roads. Thailand doesn't quite have the sewer system that the US does, even though it does rain a lot in the monsoon season. It's refreshing though. The little wildlife around Bangkok turns greener, and the smell of smog and pollution is washed away.

Last weekend I didn't go to Ko Samui or Chiang Mai. I went to Pattaya on a boat trip around the islands for a couple of days. A bunch of people are getting SCUBA certified, and this was their open-water dive weekend. A few of us just paid less and went along for snorkeling. The first day was pretty cool. We got to snorkel around the islands; saw coral, fish, etc. But it's such a touristy place that the water's dirty and the beaches are polluted, so it wasn't all that amazing. It was more fun just relaxing on the boat out in the sun, jumping off the top of the boat (maybe 15-20 feet high), and just being out on the water. When we got off the water, the woman who put the trip together, Oolie, had made reservations at a restaurant outside Pattaya, and the van drivers promptly got lost. We spent the next couple hours driving through shipping yards and oil refineries trying to find this place. When we got there, everyone was hungry, a little upset, and wondering why the hell we were at some random restaurant no one could find. The food was cold because they had set out a buffet for our group. It's probably the last time any of us go on a trip organized by Oolie. She and her mom manage the apartment building that some of the other people are staying at.

The next morning we were supposed to go to a turtle farm to SCUBA and snorkel, but the hotel we were staying at was an hour and a half from Pattaya, so me, my roommate, and a girl named Alex stayed behind so we could go out in Pattaya. It proved to be...an interesting night. A quick history lesson. Before the Vietnam war, Pattaya was barely even on the map. During the Vietnam War, US soldiers started go for a little R&R because it's the closest beach town to Bangkok. Prostitution during the war quickly became one of Thailand's largest industries. 50 years later, Pattaya is the sex capital of Thailand, and quite possibly the sex capital of the world. It's the most touristy place I have ever been. There are more McDonalds', KFCs, and Burger Kings than in any city in America, and the only Thais are the ones hustling you to go on a ridiculously overpriced boat tour and the prostitutes. Walking Street is the main, well, walking street at night, and there are old white men with young Thai girls everywhere. There are endless go-go bars and strip clubs, and I think the three of us were the youngest farang in the entire city. It's a disgusting, dirty, sinful place that I'm ecstatic I saw once, and probably will never see again.

We stayed in some random hotel for about 5 bucks each, and it was actually pretty nice. We got up in the morning, checked out, and tried to figure out what to do. We had heard of a bungee jump somewhere close, so we went to an internet cafe and found it online. They came and picked us up in Pattaya, and we drove about 15 minutes outside of town to a lake with a crane-like thing over it. It was a 50 meter jump, about 165 feet, for about 5o bucks. The jump was really cool, but I think the only thing it did for me was fuel my desire to do a real jump off a bridge. 165 feet looked pretty high when I was up there, and I can't imagine what 800 feet over a gorge would be like. Exhilarating is the first word that comes to mind. Maybe I'll make my way down to New Zealand or something before I come home.

We met back up with the group that afternoon and took the bus back with them. Everyone was exhausted, and the Super Bowl was at 6 AM the next morning, so everyone just kind of crashed when we got home. 11 of us got up early to watch the super bowl the next day. I found a place downtown and made reservations. The place was pretty crowded, and it was kind of a culture shock being back in a place with so many Americans at the same time. Americans really can be an obnoxious group of people sometimes. There was a group of older men sitting behind us that thought they were John Madden, but we just ignored them and watched the game. What an unbelievably amazing game. Even though I wanted to see the perfect season, the Giants played so much harder and with so much more passion, they completely deserved it. I hate the Pats anyways, so it's fine with me they lost.

Today is the Chinese New Year as well as my roommate Mat's birthday. We went out to Chinatown last night, but it's more of a Christmas-like celebration with family and gifts, so it was pretty dead. Today and the next few days will be more of a celebration, so we're going to head over there again once the rain stops. Apparently Bangkok has one of the biggest Chinese New Year celebrations in Southeast Asia because of the huge Chinese population here, with lion and dragon dances, firecrackers, and whatever else. I'm excited to see it.

I still have a lot of sightseeing stuff to do in Bangkok, so since I'm staying here this weekend, it might be about time to do it. The floating market, Grand Palace, Wat Arun, and the Emerald Buddha are all on the list. We might go to a Muay Thai boxing match tonight for Mat's birthday. We've been meaning to do it forever, and I've heard it's a lot of fun.