Our time in Thailand is speeding by us. Nicole and I have been slowly moving north to Chiang Mai with a few stops along the central railway. We spend a couple of evenings in Lopburi which is rampant with adorable, mischievous monkeys. They are fed twice daily by the city supposedly to diminish their aggressive behavior towards people, but this seems to have altered their lifestyle to the point of extreme laziness. I suppose I wouldn't do much with myself either (and I certainly didn't when I was living with my parents way back in... 2012). I just find it odd. Don't feed the birds. Do feed the monkeys. Do feed the homeless but don't give them money. I even described the monkeys as cute, but for some reason it's difficult to feel the same way about a homeless person. A pack of filthy monkeys crawl all over you and it's somehow endearing. Is it a result of cultural conditioning that we can sever an empathic link to our fellow humans, but not monkeys? I imagine it's pretty easy to do this in any configuration. Valuing life forms is pretty arbitrary after all. Even insects that can't possibly harm you typically get lumped into the Smash Without a Doubt category. I imagine a lot of the locals think of the monkeys as pests, too (considering the stories I hear about how brazenly they steal things). Here are some pictures before I start ranting.
Of course people care about homelessness, but when you're confronted with it daily it seems to just become the acceptable norm. It seems so chronic and systemic and insurmountable. That's a huge challenge with a lot of our cultural problems. We become so jaded to sexism and racism in their more clandestine forms that a lot of seemingly innocuous problems fly under our radar. The glaring issues stand out but there is so much going on behind the scenes. For instance, we know that rape is a horrible thing but why do we have trouble addressing why it's still happening all around us. What are we teaching our kids (or not teaching) about sex that perpetuates rape culture. And so on.
Things of this nature are icebergs, and whatever is under the surface can be as insidious and detrimental. Just because we address the glaring issues doesn't preclude other problems from emerging. So the questions become a little more difficult to identify. How do we determine what's worthy of our time when the problems are numerous and our resources limited. It takes a lot of time and energy. But at the end of the day, you could easily be the one sleeping on those dilapidated stairs just because you didn't have some simple necessities like education and health care. If you had just been born on one side of a national border. You could be anybody in the world, but if you're reading this then we both know how good we have it. It's easy to say I am not homeless so it's not my problem. I am not a woman so sexism doesn't affect me. I am not a person of color so I could care less about racism. This is all false thinking, but it's easy and automatic for a person who is blind to these things. A lot of us will coast through our lives without ever being a victim in any severe manner, but we will certainly witness others being affected. It is my conviction that we are morally obligated to extend that freedom to everyone around us. It won't even cost much to create social freedom on a small level. Just letting people open up to you without fear of judgment is a small but crucial piece. And of course, dismiss or shoot down the bullshit as you see it.
While in Bangkok I had the good fortune to be talked at by a gentlemen on the subject of gender equality in... America? England? Asia? Maybe everywhere. It was of this man's opinion that societies favor women over men. Some small treasures include:
Have you ever noticed how men are expected to move out of a woman's way on the sidewalk? (When I responded that I likely move for all people regardless, he suggested that I wasn't paying attention closely. Okay, I'll try harder next time.) Why is it that there are more men in prison? How come women in these two particular cases received lenient sentences compared to men? (I don't know dude, maybe the judge wasn't doing his job. But what about all those people that get away with crimes entirely? Maybe it's not about gender favoritism?) No no, the gender bias is written into the law! Don't you know about these unfair child protection laws came to be that favor the mother over the father? Anyways, there was this one time that I used to have well-defined abs, and I was walking around without a shirt, and I noticed this young attractive woman ogling me (complete with an impersonation of this woman involving slobbering sounds for effect) because women are insatiably attracted to older men with power (not really sure how this was relevant, but I lost all faith in this guy pretty quickly anyway).
Oh, how rude of me to only ask rhetorical questions and dismiss your answers outright! Now that we have a solid rapport, tell me, fellow traveler, what do you think about gender inequality? (This part never happened.)
And so on. There was never a moment in this ninety minute lecture when he stopped to question all the male favoritism in society. I guess anything that benefits him is alright. Unfortunately there was little room for any actual discourse in this scenario. I politely told him that he sounded bitter at the world, which he denied, but he wasn't really listening to me anyway, just wanting somebody to validate his insanely skewed perspective on things. Strange to meet someone so lonely in a backpackers hostel. It fills me with pity and frustration and confusion. If I ever produce such drivel I heartily encourage you to call me on my bullshit.
So what was I talking about? Traveling? Hmm... doesn't sound familiar... ah, yes! To Chiang Mai!
The train from Phitsanulok was delayed for at least an hour, which is becoming a new standard for our expectations dial. Keep that thing turned down! It's fairly dark by the time we board, but too early to sleep. We open our window wide and stick our heads out to capitalize on the cool air blowing by. It feels wonderful. Even though I feel pretty acclimated to the heat, cooling down every night is a highlight. Or stepping into a freezing cold 7-11.
I feel a few drops of water on my neck and ears and I get excited about the chance of rain. Moments later the trickle has been upgraded to a steady rain, and the adjacent frontage roads are suddenly void of life, save for a few motorcyclists caught in the growing storm. Water is coming in through the window and saturing Nicole's bed so we are forced to withdraw into the cabin.
We see flashes feebly light up the sky around us but can't make out any thunder over the clunking steely noise of the train. Was *that* thunder this time? How far away is that storm from us? Kchunk, kchunk, the train responds in its powerful rhythm. Must be pretty far away, but the rain persists.
We make out the lightning and our paths seem to be converging. We are treated to a dancing display of geometrically skewed lines and arcs. It appears to striking within a few miles of us, but it's virtually impossible to judge the distance without any visual reference. Sound travels at about 768 miles per hour or 0.21 miles per second. Roughly one mile every five seconds. But I wonder *where* exactly the sound is created from the lighting. Is it at the ground or closer to the cloud ceiling? In the latter case we'd have to find the hypotenuse to get a more accurate reading.
I start counting out of habit. About 7 seconds later, the immense bellow of the thunder ripples through the air around us. Approximately 1.4 miles. That was definitely not the train this time. Ktink, ktink, it says, tail between its caboose.
The train slows down as the lightning picks up, striking within 10 second intervals. Rain is now pelting the metal boxcar relentlessly and the bathroom door swings and creaks ominously from down the aisle, adding to the eerie aural cacophony that is filling our ears. Water starts bleeding into the aisles as many sleeping travelers couldn't be bother to close their windows. The fact that people sleep through the storms here says a lot. I continue to count the time between each strike and sonic boom. 8 seconds. 10 seconds. 14 seconds. Miles away, distance growing. Wait, was that just from the last strike or the one before it? It's quite far off now.
A straggling bolt, perhaps catching up to the herd, fires from the heavens. The fractured white spire of lightning pierces the sky, bisecting our view at a perfect right angle before coming to a single point and exploding loudly in a shower of sparks. I assume the target to be some sort of electrical transformer.
One second away, we are treated to a mind-numbing blast of thunder. Nicole and I exchange glances that read of generally Holy Shit amazement. The mostly obliterated transformer sends out more buzzes of sparks before catching fire. The train keeps moving and the aftermath is out of sight, but fresh in mind. Nature is one powerful beast.
Arrive Chiang Mai in the early A.M. We sleep on the couch at our hostel, greeted by Tipsy the Beagle. She snorts at us a few times but eventually settles near Nicole's head and we all take a hearty power nap before starting our day.
Things about this city:
There are clean water stations in front of most mini markets. 1 baht gets you 2 liters of tasty, UV-treated, reverse osmodized water. I've had the tap water here, but just as a precaution we still using the SteriPen to treat our own when consuming large quantities. Until we realized that we could just fill up pretty much anywhere. This was a pretty liberating upgrade coming from India.
The layout of the city is simple and it's so easy to get around on foot. On top of that, the heat isn't as brutal so you can walk around quite a bit longer before you're zapped.
It's westernized enough in the old town district to easily find vegetarian food (it is often advertised as such). I've already found a nice little restaurant that serves up amazing fresh fruit dishes as well as standard fare Thai food. I like to eat spicy food, but it's often hard to be certain you're not getting a meat dish or something cooked in fish sauce when you're checking out the street vendors. I've tried to learn enough Thai to order vegetarian food, but if I don't see tofu on a menu and the stall is filled with meat, I tend to keep walking. There have been a few times that I'm able to specify no meat or no fish sauce, but most of the time you just point at the menu and that works just fine!
There's a lot of night life options. Fun bars and clubs and all that jazz when I feel social (I'm retracted into my shell for now, of course). We had the good fortune to make a new friends at a rooftop bar called THC, an establishment featuring very danceable electronic music and walls riddled with blacklights and psychedelia. Upon entering we were immediately invited to a table with a bunch of random travelers. The gentleman acting as social ringleader, who I called Ray for the evening, was dripping with charisma. He facilitated a great time, buying us all drinks on account of his birthday. Another traveler, Kiersten, had just met Ray on the train and they decided to travel together. She is of the Go Where the Wind Takes Me philosophy. Ray takes the gang to another venue where we dance the nigh away, bringing us even more alcohol. Unfortunately this is when I lose my mental faculties entirely, and I'm told the next day that I was quite sick and threw up all over myself and the dance floor. Nicole and Kiersten take care of me and we eventually make it home after I take us in the wrong direction for over an hour (this city is so easy to navigate! says my drunk ass). The following day we learned that, during this time, Ray separated from the pack, headed back to the hotel he and Kiersten checked into, took her laptop and disappeared.
Well shit. The whole night was premeditated. Gather strangers together. Hang out with them long enough to ensure they get super drunk. Take them to a new bar by tuk tuk. Depart silently when the moment comes. No wonder he was buying everyone drinks so liberally. We later found out about little tactics he used to specificity build trust with Kiersten, such as asking her to hold some of his valuables. In retrospect everything he did was suspect, but we just didn't know any better to be alarmed. Fortunately this wasn't a huge setback for Kiersten and she's receiving help from the hotel owner and the tourist police to file a report and claim the insurance on it. She says she still had a blast despite the mess.
What a bastard, though.
Of course people care about homelessness, but when you're confronted with it daily it seems to just become the acceptable norm. It seems so chronic and systemic and insurmountable. That's a huge challenge with a lot of our cultural problems. We become so jaded to sexism and racism in their more clandestine forms that a lot of seemingly innocuous problems fly under our radar. The glaring issues stand out but there is so much going on behind the scenes. For instance, we know that rape is a horrible thing but why do we have trouble addressing why it's still happening all around us. What are we teaching our kids (or not teaching) about sex that perpetuates rape culture. And so on.
Things of this nature are icebergs, and whatever is under the surface can be as insidious and detrimental. Just because we address the glaring issues doesn't preclude other problems from emerging. So the questions become a little more difficult to identify. How do we determine what's worthy of our time when the problems are numerous and our resources limited. It takes a lot of time and energy. But at the end of the day, you could easily be the one sleeping on those dilapidated stairs just because you didn't have some simple necessities like education and health care. If you had just been born on one side of a national border. You could be anybody in the world, but if you're reading this then we both know how good we have it. It's easy to say I am not homeless so it's not my problem. I am not a woman so sexism doesn't affect me. I am not a person of color so I could care less about racism. This is all false thinking, but it's easy and automatic for a person who is blind to these things. A lot of us will coast through our lives without ever being a victim in any severe manner, but we will certainly witness others being affected. It is my conviction that we are morally obligated to extend that freedom to everyone around us. It won't even cost much to create social freedom on a small level. Just letting people open up to you without fear of judgment is a small but crucial piece. And of course, dismiss or shoot down the bullshit as you see it.
While in Bangkok I had the good fortune to be talked at by a gentlemen on the subject of gender equality in... America? England? Asia? Maybe everywhere. It was of this man's opinion that societies favor women over men. Some small treasures include:
Have you ever noticed how men are expected to move out of a woman's way on the sidewalk? (When I responded that I likely move for all people regardless, he suggested that I wasn't paying attention closely. Okay, I'll try harder next time.) Why is it that there are more men in prison? How come women in these two particular cases received lenient sentences compared to men? (I don't know dude, maybe the judge wasn't doing his job. But what about all those people that get away with crimes entirely? Maybe it's not about gender favoritism?) No no, the gender bias is written into the law! Don't you know about these unfair child protection laws came to be that favor the mother over the father? Anyways, there was this one time that I used to have well-defined abs, and I was walking around without a shirt, and I noticed this young attractive woman ogling me (complete with an impersonation of this woman involving slobbering sounds for effect) because women are insatiably attracted to older men with power (not really sure how this was relevant, but I lost all faith in this guy pretty quickly anyway).
Oh, how rude of me to only ask rhetorical questions and dismiss your answers outright! Now that we have a solid rapport, tell me, fellow traveler, what do you think about gender inequality? (This part never happened.)
And so on. There was never a moment in this ninety minute lecture when he stopped to question all the male favoritism in society. I guess anything that benefits him is alright. Unfortunately there was little room for any actual discourse in this scenario. I politely told him that he sounded bitter at the world, which he denied, but he wasn't really listening to me anyway, just wanting somebody to validate his insanely skewed perspective on things. Strange to meet someone so lonely in a backpackers hostel. It fills me with pity and frustration and confusion. If I ever produce such drivel I heartily encourage you to call me on my bullshit.
So what was I talking about? Traveling? Hmm... doesn't sound familiar... ah, yes! To Chiang Mai!
The train from Phitsanulok was delayed for at least an hour, which is becoming a new standard for our expectations dial. Keep that thing turned down! It's fairly dark by the time we board, but too early to sleep. We open our window wide and stick our heads out to capitalize on the cool air blowing by. It feels wonderful. Even though I feel pretty acclimated to the heat, cooling down every night is a highlight. Or stepping into a freezing cold 7-11.
I feel a few drops of water on my neck and ears and I get excited about the chance of rain. Moments later the trickle has been upgraded to a steady rain, and the adjacent frontage roads are suddenly void of life, save for a few motorcyclists caught in the growing storm. Water is coming in through the window and saturing Nicole's bed so we are forced to withdraw into the cabin.
We see flashes feebly light up the sky around us but can't make out any thunder over the clunking steely noise of the train. Was *that* thunder this time? How far away is that storm from us? Kchunk, kchunk, the train responds in its powerful rhythm. Must be pretty far away, but the rain persists.
We make out the lightning and our paths seem to be converging. We are treated to a dancing display of geometrically skewed lines and arcs. It appears to striking within a few miles of us, but it's virtually impossible to judge the distance without any visual reference. Sound travels at about 768 miles per hour or 0.21 miles per second. Roughly one mile every five seconds. But I wonder *where* exactly the sound is created from the lighting. Is it at the ground or closer to the cloud ceiling? In the latter case we'd have to find the hypotenuse to get a more accurate reading.
I start counting out of habit. About 7 seconds later, the immense bellow of the thunder ripples through the air around us. Approximately 1.4 miles. That was definitely not the train this time. Ktink, ktink, it says, tail between its caboose.
The train slows down as the lightning picks up, striking within 10 second intervals. Rain is now pelting the metal boxcar relentlessly and the bathroom door swings and creaks ominously from down the aisle, adding to the eerie aural cacophony that is filling our ears. Water starts bleeding into the aisles as many sleeping travelers couldn't be bother to close their windows. The fact that people sleep through the storms here says a lot. I continue to count the time between each strike and sonic boom. 8 seconds. 10 seconds. 14 seconds. Miles away, distance growing. Wait, was that just from the last strike or the one before it? It's quite far off now.
A straggling bolt, perhaps catching up to the herd, fires from the heavens. The fractured white spire of lightning pierces the sky, bisecting our view at a perfect right angle before coming to a single point and exploding loudly in a shower of sparks. I assume the target to be some sort of electrical transformer.
One second away, we are treated to a mind-numbing blast of thunder. Nicole and I exchange glances that read of generally Holy Shit amazement. The mostly obliterated transformer sends out more buzzes of sparks before catching fire. The train keeps moving and the aftermath is out of sight, but fresh in mind. Nature is one powerful beast.
Arrive Chiang Mai in the early A.M. We sleep on the couch at our hostel, greeted by Tipsy the Beagle. She snorts at us a few times but eventually settles near Nicole's head and we all take a hearty power nap before starting our day.
Things about this city:
There are clean water stations in front of most mini markets. 1 baht gets you 2 liters of tasty, UV-treated, reverse osmodized water. I've had the tap water here, but just as a precaution we still using the SteriPen to treat our own when consuming large quantities. Until we realized that we could just fill up pretty much anywhere. This was a pretty liberating upgrade coming from India.
The layout of the city is simple and it's so easy to get around on foot. On top of that, the heat isn't as brutal so you can walk around quite a bit longer before you're zapped.
It's westernized enough in the old town district to easily find vegetarian food (it is often advertised as such). I've already found a nice little restaurant that serves up amazing fresh fruit dishes as well as standard fare Thai food. I like to eat spicy food, but it's often hard to be certain you're not getting a meat dish or something cooked in fish sauce when you're checking out the street vendors. I've tried to learn enough Thai to order vegetarian food, but if I don't see tofu on a menu and the stall is filled with meat, I tend to keep walking. There have been a few times that I'm able to specify no meat or no fish sauce, but most of the time you just point at the menu and that works just fine!
There's a lot of night life options. Fun bars and clubs and all that jazz when I feel social (I'm retracted into my shell for now, of course). We had the good fortune to make a new friends at a rooftop bar called THC, an establishment featuring very danceable electronic music and walls riddled with blacklights and psychedelia. Upon entering we were immediately invited to a table with a bunch of random travelers. The gentleman acting as social ringleader, who I called Ray for the evening, was dripping with charisma. He facilitated a great time, buying us all drinks on account of his birthday. Another traveler, Kiersten, had just met Ray on the train and they decided to travel together. She is of the Go Where the Wind Takes Me philosophy. Ray takes the gang to another venue where we dance the nigh away, bringing us even more alcohol. Unfortunately this is when I lose my mental faculties entirely, and I'm told the next day that I was quite sick and threw up all over myself and the dance floor. Nicole and Kiersten take care of me and we eventually make it home after I take us in the wrong direction for over an hour (this city is so easy to navigate! says my drunk ass). The following day we learned that, during this time, Ray separated from the pack, headed back to the hotel he and Kiersten checked into, took her laptop and disappeared.
Well shit. The whole night was premeditated. Gather strangers together. Hang out with them long enough to ensure they get super drunk. Take them to a new bar by tuk tuk. Depart silently when the moment comes. No wonder he was buying everyone drinks so liberally. We later found out about little tactics he used to specificity build trust with Kiersten, such as asking her to hold some of his valuables. In retrospect everything he did was suspect, but we just didn't know any better to be alarmed. Fortunately this wasn't a huge setback for Kiersten and she's receiving help from the hotel owner and the tourist police to file a report and claim the insurance on it. She says she still had a blast despite the mess.
What a bastard, though.
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