Free Bird

Last week I attended a party. A party here in the Isan region basically means that one sits around on straw mats on the ground and drinks whiskey sodas or a beer with ice, cooks meat on a fire and listens to blaringly loud music. This party was a goodbye party for a teacher leaving Wangasae to teach at a new school. The party was being held next door to my house and when I arrived I was handed a big bowl of “moo” (Thai for pig) that had just been pulled off the fire. They then gave me a glass of beer, with no ice per my pleadings, but seemed to think it was strange I did not want my beer on ice and kept offering it to me. I proceeded to eat my “moo” and pantomime/ talk with my friends. Loud Thai music was playing and occasionally someone would jump up and dance or enthusiastically start clapping and going “uh uh uh” to the beat. It was a fun time, everyone was relaxed, things were good and bellies were full…or so I thought.

I then heard a horrible shrieking, screaming noise by the fire. There is a baby, named Telephone, who lives with her parents at my school and I thought perhaps it was her, restless at being held for so long. Yet when I turned around it was a chicken, being held upside down by the flames having its feet tied together. The bird was shrieking and clucking, objecting fully to what was happening to it. My fellow teacher, who was holding the poor creature, looked at me and said,

“Kate! Fried chicken!” He looked incredibly pleased with himself. He then placed the chicken upside down in a plastic bucket at the edge of the gathering and put the lid on. The chicken continued to shriek and scream in the bucket. I told people that this was somewhat hard for me as in America we never really see the meat before it is meat.

Fifteen minutes passed and the chicken grew silent. I assumed he had suffocated and said a little chicken pray to myself for the poor bird and tried to think of an excuse to walk away so I wouldn’t have to watch them pluck it, drain it of blood and chop it up to put on the fire. I thought that putting the thing in a bucket to kill it was pretty inhumane and contemplated briefly becoming a vegetarian as I nibbled on my remaining “moo”, which was delicious!

Next thing I know the bucket EXPLODES! The chicken somehow kicked the lid off and threw itself out of the container. Everyone had had their fair share of alcoholic beverages so at first no one could do anything but look on in surprise and make shocked exclamations. The chicken madly kicked around on the ground and somehow got its legs untied and took off, running faster than I have ever seen a chicken run, into the night. People started yelling and trying to catch the bird, flailing wildly at it as it ran past them towards the woods. I started screaming “wing ghai, wing!” (Which translates to“run chicken run!”) I seemed to be the only chicken cheerleader of the group, as everyone else was running after it or getting flashlights to try and find it in the woods. They looked for that chicken for the rest of the night, but never found him. Needless to say we did not dine on fried chicken. That was one free bird and one unforgettable party.

New Year, New Adventures

It was a great adventure. Ten days off with good friends to explore a new part of Thailand. It started off with a bang. Patricia and I headed into town together to catch our Bus to Pattaya. Usually it’s fairly easy to catch a ride into town. One can either flag down one of the large buses that travel between provinces or wait for a baht bus; often time’s people stop just because you are white, or they are the friend or a friend of someone who knows you so therefore by extension they know you, and give you a ride. However, Tricia and I walked along the side of the road for 45min to no avail. Eventually two old men grew bored watching us wait and decided to offer us a ride on their motorbikes. Worried we would miss our bus if we didn’t take the ride we said yes and each jumped on the back of a bike and took off. We wore our packs on our backs and let the wind whip our hair as the men whipped in and out of traffic, beeping at everyone we passed so that they could show off how fortunate they were to have young white girls on the back of their motorcycles. Twenty minutes later we arrived at our bus stop safe, though a little upset the men decided to charge a ridiculous amount upon arrival at the bus…but it was well worth it for the story…

Pattaya was a whole crazy, different story. It wants so badly to be like Las Vegas, yet it only is similar in its neon signs. During the day the city is full of shoppers or those just back from the beach. At night it transforms into a giant brothel. Go-go dancers show their best moves in windows on the street, prostitutes stalk the hordes of tourists for their next customer and men try to convince you to go see “best ping pong show”. One bar advertised “lady drink specials”, being innocent and naïve I assumed they were having a ladies night sort of thing, or having a special on a fruity cocktail with umbrellas. However, when I enquired it turned out the “special” was a discounted rate for “working girls” who wanted to come in and take a break with a cold one. Needless to say we spent our days on the nearby islands that were just a ferry ride away, and as far away from the sex tourism as possible. One day we also went to nearby Jamtien Beach, a more family friendly area, with little shops and the best bakery I have seen in Thailand thus far. It was heaven to float in the water and lie in the sand. The ocean is gorgeous here and I cannot wait to explore the more secluded beaches and islands in the south.

On the Streets of Pattaya

ahh..the beach..

Bangkok was a giant after living so long in our sleepy Nahkon Phanom. It was almost shocking to see so many giant buildings and so many people, plus the city stayed awake! In NKP the city is dead by about 9pm, but Bangkok was never quiet. Plus there were many, many foreigners there so no one pointed, stared or shouted at us as we walked by. Our first day there all us girls searched for fun dresses to wear for New Years, we wanted to embrace the freedom of a city that didn’t shudder at the sight of shoulder, after which we went dancing on Khao San Rd. Khao San Rd. is an area that caters to the back-packing crowd and penny pinchers. The street is lined with small merchants, restaurants, cafes and bars. We found ourselves lost in a sea of other white travelers out on the dance floor and almost forgot we were in Thailand for a few minutes.

On New Year’s Eve we splurged on an Italian restaurant and it was delicious! We then went to a big Club to dance the night away and ring in 2010 (or 2553 if you are Thai!) and were among only a handful of other foreigners and had a really good time. However, there was no real dance floor! Shin height tables littered the floor and people danced in place around them. The bar (in typical Thai fashion) only sold with full bottles of whiskey or vodka, or bottles of beer, that was it! The bar also had about ten people standing behind it, but only one person working; I guess the others were there for moral support. It was a fabulous evening and it was thrilling to get dressed up and be out on the town. Getting home was a little crazy though, no cab was willing to turn on their meter (a common scam to get more money) so we ended up all having to cram into one cab. Eight people in one cab was ridiculous but luckily we all though it was hilarious, especially the cab driver who bumped american pop music, giggled the whole ride, and posed for pictures with us.

New Year's

Our crazy cab ride

The next day I settled into the New Year by going to a movie! It was my first time at a Thai movie theatre and it was spectacular. The seats were amazing; I almost feel asleep they were so comfortable. For a few extra baht you can also sit on giant, plush sofas in the back row…hilarious! Before the movie started there was a slide show of the King, pictures of him at all ages, and everyone in the theatre stood to sing the national anthem. The movie was in English so for two hours I soaked in the sounds of my native tongue and left the theatre rejuvenated and ready…to eat a giant burrito! Yes that’s right...we found Mexican food...and it was amazing.

Saturday the 2^nd we took a boat ride down the river to see the sights, such as the Grand Palace. It was beautiful! We also took some time to stock up on little souvenirs to bring back for our fellow teachers, as it is Thai custom to bring small gifts to friends when returning from a journey. I only wish I had more time to explore Bangkok, but I will be back. We headed back to NKP that evening and arrived on the morning of the 3^rd.

Since returning home I have been settling back into my teaching routine and have be scolded many times by my roommates and fellow teachers for letting my skin get black and “ugly” while at the beach. Ah, good to be home!