Kanchanaburi

It's been a few weeks since we've managed to escape the city for a weekend, but we finally managed to get away on Saturday and Sunday to the mountains in the nearby province of Kanchanaburi (about a 3 hour drive)

Our resort was along the River Kwai Noi, not far from the boarder with Myanmar.  It was quite close to the Sai Yok Noi waterfall.  We've been to this waterfall before, about 3 years ago, but it was during the dry season and there wasn't any water.  Seeing it again after the recent rains was much better.  The Thai people in the pictures are our friends Nun and Yo who we were traveling with.  Nun is featured in the top middle picture below shortly before she took an unintended bath.

Just a typical Sunday riding elephants around the mountains:

On the way back to Bangkok we made a short side trip to the Sri Nakharin Dam.  We may need to make another weekend trip here sometime for kayaking and fishing.

We're back to the city for now; refreshed and looking forward to the next time we can get out and explore more of Thailand.

Lost in Translation

We are lucky to live in an SE Asia city that caters to the tourists and expats. When going to restaurants in downtown and in the Bangkok area, there is usually a menu in English. We can usually tell immediately if they just used Google translator or had a person/company help them accurately put the Thai into English.

When you happen upon a restaurant using a word-by-word translation method you can end up with some... let's say unique... menu items.

Here is a list of menu items all from one Thai restaurant that was located in the neighborhood we stayed when we first came back in July. Some of them you can figure out... some of them you just have no idea!

• Prison Break Trailer
• Topping
• New Octopus Garden
• I hope the Lemon
• Plaza Forum
• A Golden Needle Mushroom Butter
• Stir in Spagetthi Drunk
• Dip Fish Balls Roughly
• Ancient Fish
• New Items in the Chicken

Slum Fires

One of the unfortunate realities of life in Bangkok is the threat of slum fires.  Bangkok's shanty town slums are tightly packed with makeshift houses allowing fires to spread rapidly.  The lack of streets through the shanty towns also makes it difficult for emergency vehicles to access these areas.  Recently there have been two different slum fires close to our condo.  Those affected by the fires are some of the poorest people in Bangkok to begin with, and many people lost their homes and all their belongings in the these fires. Fortunately nobody was killed.

The first set of pictures is from the Pai Sing Toh slum fire.  This is about a 15 minute walk from our condo.

The second fire was in the Rum Gao area of the Khlong Toey slums.  This was a much larger fire, but was also farther away from our condo.  The close up photos are from Coconuts Bangkok news site while the distant photos are taken from our condo.

Keep those affected by these devastating fires in your prayers.

Eid Al-Adha

One of the inquiry themes for the Year 1 students at AISB is Celebrations. Instead of taking 6-8 weeks to learn about different world/religion/family traditions in isolation, we take them as we come and make it an integrated part of our year.  At Meet the Teacher Night, I encouraged parents to let me know when their families would be celebrating different holidays or events. Today was the first day someone has taken me up on it.

Today was the Muslim Holy Day, Eid-Al-Adha. One of my Muslim student's mom thought it was important for her daughter to understand about the day in her own setting. The giving of gifts is very common as part of this celebration as well as a shared meal so, we had a special Eid-Al-Adha cake for lunch. It was a teachable moment for me for a few reasons: 1) I was able to explain that it was not a birthday cake, but a cake to celebrate an important day. 2) Celebrating Eid-Al-Adha fit right into our week's theme of studying Egypt, where today is a national holiday. 

 My student was quite proud to share about the day and I think her mom deserves credit for helping her celebrate at school. 

Our Cake
Eid Mubarak is the traditional greeting for today. It translates as, "Have a blessed Eid"

Here is a good article I found that helps explain how this day is celebrated and why. Link

However, the celebration did not stop there. At the end of the day I was brought a special treat of Beef Curry for Greg and I to have for dinner. She explained that this would be on the table for their big celebration tonight with friends. She also explained that in Muslim areas that there is no beef, camel meat is a good substitution. Can't say I've had Camel Curry before. I confirmed this was beef.

Greg and I served it on top of rice, along side string beans with bacon and street food sweet corn. It was amazing! I'm hoping that the mom bought it from a local restaurant (as opposed to making it homemade) because Greg and I would love to have it again.

To any Muslims reading this blog, Eid Mubarak. 

The Flood of 2013?

A number of concerned people have emailed me recently after hearing that Thailand is once again experiencing flooding.  I'm not a flood expert, but I have been paying close attention to flooding situation in Thailand and may be able to offer some useful insight.  First I'd like to say that I do not expect Hutchinson Technology's factory in Ayutthaya to experience any flooding in 2013.

Background:  It was almost exactly 2 years ago that we experienced a major flood in Thailand.  My factory was inundated for months with nearly 2 meters of water after waters breached the flood wall surrounding the industrial estate.  As a result Mary and I moved back to the US for a year and a half.  The pictures below are from 2011.

Thailand is experiencing flooding again, but not to the same extent as it did in 2011.  There has been a lot of rain lately filling local rivers and canals to the brim, and flooding many of the rice fields around Ayutthaya province.  I've even driven through standing water a few mornings on my way to work after heavy rains flooded local roads.   The pictures below were taken near the Rojana Industrial Estate during the last week.  The pictures look similar to early October 2011, but fortunately there is more to the story.

The big difference this year compared to 2011 is the water levels in the major dams north of Bangkok.  In 2011 two major dams maxed out capacity and had to release massive quantities of water into already flooding rivers.  Water levels in the Bhumibol and Sirikit dams are actually quite low in 2013 compared to recent years.

Water levels in the dams are under control this year.  The figures below come from the Thailand Irrigation Department.

http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_lgraph.php

Bhumibol Dam

Sirikit Dam

Less water in Ayutthaya province in 2013 is a very good thing, but even if there was as much water as 2011 the Rojana Industrial Estate is much better prepared.  In the last two years the flood wall surrounding the industrial park has been significantly upgraded..  Previously there was a 2 meter high simple earth berm around the industrial estate. The old earth berm was not high enough or strong enough for the floods in 2011.

The new flood barrier is built with steel reinforced concrete at its core.  The concrete barrier extends 2 meters into the ground, and 3 meters above the ground with a 2 meter high earth berm around it for additional support.  Even if another flood similar to 2011 were to come, this wall is designed to keep the water out (although you'd still have to take a boat to get to the industrial park).

There is still some concern about localized flash flooding due to heavy rains, but the monsoon season is quickly coming to an end.  There could also still be some impacts from Typhoons Nari and Wipha which are heading towards southeast Asia now, but I do not expect anything like the flooding we saw in 2011.

Parts of eastern Thailand are seeing significant flooding this year, but most of this water will not drain out through Ayutthaya or Bangkok.  The map below shows the areas that have been hardest hit by flooding from the monsoon rains in the last few weeks, and approximately where the water is headed.

In Summary:

• Will Thailand flood in 2013? Yes, it floods every year.
• Will the Rojana Industrial Estate flood in 2013? No

Koh Mak

Mary had a four day weekend from school this weekend, so I took some vacation and we decided to check out an island we hadn't been to before.  It's the rainy season in Thailand now, so not many tourists come to visit.  This means good prices and minimal crowds.  This was our first time to Koh Mak, in part because it's not easy to get to.  It's far from major population centers, and airport, so it is not a common tourist stop.  The trip was difficult, but well worth it.  Koh Mak is by far the most unspoiled island we've been to in Thailand.

Getting there:
We packed our bags into our car early on Friday morning and headed southeast out of Bangkok.  There is only one speed boat per day to Koh Mak from the mainland this time of year, so we didn't want to be late.  We allowed our selves some extra driving time, and we were glad we did.  Bangkok traffic, heavy rain, and even some road flooding turned what could have been a 4 hour drive into 5.5 hour drive.  The boat to the island was a large speedboat, and was packed full with over 50 people.  The same tropical depression that made driving a hassle in the morning, turned the boat trip into an hour long thrill ride with 3-5 meter high waves.  I enjoyed it, although I think Mary was rather glad when the trip was complete.

Yes, 50+ people fit on this boat.

We stayed at Ao Kao White Sand Beach Resort, one of a handful of resorts on the island that is open this time of year.  We stayed 3 nights, and the last night there were only 2 other guests at the entire resort.   We had a beach front bungalow and miles of beautiful beach almost entirely to ourselves.

On Sunday we rented a motorbike for the day to explore the island.  Although we have both taken motorbike taxis regularly in Bangkok, driving one was a new experience for me (Mary chose to ride along, and didn't drive).  Although the roads on the island are crude, there was very little other traffic to worry about.  We checked out some other beaches, explored winding roads through the jungle, and got a good look at the rubber, coconut, and pineapple plantations in the interior of the island.

We found this rather interesting statue while cruising around the island.  It seems out of place in the middle of the jungle.  Then again, it would probably seem out of place in most locations.

Like most places in Thailand, Koh Mak had plenty of dogs running around.  For the most part the dogs here were quite friendly and well taken care of compared to elsewhere in Thailand.  We even allowed a couple of them to come sit by us on our porch in the afternoon while we did some reading.  This curious pup was our favorite.

Sadly we couldn't stay forever.  Monday morning we were back on the speedboat at 8 AM.  The boat was less crowded and the sea was much calmer.  This made Mary quite happy.

Hopefully we can go back some time soon!

TGIF

Highlights from my week at school: (Inquiry Theme: We are Unique; Week's Theme: Our National Anthems)

Throughout this week we have been listening to everyone's national anthems. With the help of YouTube, you can find videos playing the song with images from around the appropriate country rotating in the background. It was a great way to take a virtual field, hear the languages kids speak at home, and learn how to show respect when you hear these songs.

Here is Thailand's National Anthem. It's played everyday at 8am and 6pm in public train stations. Most schools play it before the day begins as well. Click Here!

Yesterday during show and tell one of my Japanese students made an origami whale. She did it with the whole class watching- it was amazing. Then with the paper she brought- everyone got their own try.

On Wednesday one of my Korean students brought in a Korean drum he made from Cup-of-Noodles containers, a shoe string, and chopsticks. This was after I suggested in a newsletter that they could email me a picture of a traditional instrument. His mom did email a link to a video of someone playing it.


In other news...

1) Our sea shipment has cleared customs and our things arrive on Saturday. No more sleeping on an air mattress!

2) Next weekend (long weekend with Friday and the next Monday off) we'll be headed to the beach, Koh Mak. Click here for images and to know why YOU should come visit us!

3) Missing the beginning of fall and Hawkeye Football Lots! Go Hawks!

Now off to school....TGIF!