Top Ten List

After 30 days, 13 flights, 10 immodium, 3 near death experiences, 1 coup, and countless good times, it's almost time for this blogger to logoff and hug trees in the Sierra Nevadas for a few days.  

As a final sign off, here's a Best Trip Ever Top 10 List:

10. Pat, the movie star

9. The Pee Pee Phu Pai Surprise Cocktail (keep an eye out, errr mouth open, for it in Schwab)

8. Never have I ever?!

7. Beards

6. Tattoos

5. Tiger Beer

4. "Same same, but different" (also acceptable: "same same, but better than yours")

3. Pho

2. Dong

1. "Why not?  Hehehe!"

This list is just one perspective of 12.  Pls feel free/encouraged to add your own lists as blog entries/comments.  You know how to do it.

Radio silence to commence in 5... 4... 3... 2...  Ok wait, one more time.  DONG!  1... Giddyup!  See you in Palo Alto!

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"I wanna thank y'all for coming out tonight.  You could've been anywhere in the world, but you're here with me."

Sticks and Stones...and Slingshots???

Did anyone else catch this lead photo on NYTimes.com today.  Holy crap, things are really heating up in Thailand.  

We've followed the news closely, and it's not easy to wrap your mind around the situation.  So, here's a brief overview:

- The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have been occupying gov't buildings in Bangkok for the past two weeks, protesting against corruption in gov't and demanding the resignation of PM Samek Sundaravej. PAD protests briefly shut down operations of airports in Krabi, Phuket, and Bangkok (domestic, not BKK international) last week.  Samak has suffered public criticism as of late for attempting to amend the constitution in order to help billionaire former PM Thaksin Shinawatr evade corruption charges.  

- Despite their peaceful nature and hippy dippy name, the PAD aren't staunch supporters of democracy.  In fact, they believe democracy can't thrive in such a corrupt state and that people aren't smart enough to elect honest politicians. They also believe Samak and his People Power Party (awesome band name, btw) are a continuation of Thaksin' regime, which was ousted in a 2006 coup.  PAD support/funding comes from the wealthy Bangkok business community and some modest rural folk too.  

- Today, Samak has declared a State of Emergency, outlawing public gatherings of 5+ people and speech/actions intended to incite violence.  Protesters have ignored the ban, and Army Generals are refusing to enforce it with force.  Fun fact, Thaksin lost power when the Army refused to follow his orders in 2006.

- Thai Unions, including those of Thai Airways and many railway companies, are striking, bringing a halt to most local transportation and leaving commuters and tourists stranded.  Tourism is huge for Thailand, and the protests are really bad news for the industry.

>>What's next?  Samak resigns, a new government is elected, the constitution is rewritten, and life goes on.  OR, Samak resigns, the PAD takes power without elections (ironic, yes, but not an atypical event in the subcontinent), and life goes on.  OR, Samak convinces the army to quash protests with force, video of bloody melees floods the news cycle, the Thai economy tanks, and life gets less awesome in Thailand.  OR, Samak forces the military t show their cards, they leave him in the lurch, the PAD grabs power, and life goes on a la 2006.

On a less heavy, tangentially related related note, this blogger just read the Unbearable Lightness of Being.  Milan Kundera, on the idea of "eternal return":

If the French Revolution were to recur eternally, French historians would be less proud of Robespierre. But because they deal with something that will not return, the bloody years of the revolution have turned into mere words, theories, and discussions, have become lighter than feathers, frightening no one.  There is an infinite difference between a Robespierre who occurs only once in history, and a Robespierre who eternally returns, chopping off French heads.  

Let us therefore agree that the idea of eternal return implies a perspective from which things appear other than as we know them: they appear without the mitigating circumstances of their transitory nature.  This mitigating circumstance prevents us from coming to a verdict.  For how can we condemn something that is ephemeral, in transit?  In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine.  

So...   Hmmm...  Would Kundera's perspective be different if he ever lived or traveled in SE Asia, which has a long history of border disputes, occupations, imperialism, colonialism, and coups in quick succession.  Are SE Asians just used to it?  Is this a way a life for them, the only familiar constant?  Sure, the PAD are passionate and likely believe their cause is noble, but everyone else in Thailand was business as usual.  On the other hand, SE Asians are proud and nostalgic, fiercely defending their territory whenever a new sheriff walks into town.   Or maybe there's a middle ground - they just want to live happy and peaceful lives, picking their battles carefully and letting all else float on.  Who knows?  "Not I," said the malarial fly.

On a much lighter note, who knew that Jonathan Safran Foer lifted the title "Everything is Illuminated" from Kundera?  

Ko Phi Phi, Yeah You Know Me

For our final week, we vegged out on the Thai islands of Ko Phi Phi and Koh Samui.

KPP is tiny and picturesque. No cars, no motos, not shirts or shoes required! Our hotel was on an isthmus, and panoramic views from the rooms covered an inlet beach on one side and the harbour on the other. We tanned, fire danced, fire limboed, and rented a speed boat for a day. Twas glorious. We were sad to leave.

Also, we found Nemo! No joke! While snorkeling, we saw a clown fish chilling out in sea anenome. It was inspiring. Not surprising someone saw such a sight and made the movie. Due to a lack of underwater cameras, here's an artist's rendering:

Koh Samui is much larger and more heavily touristed. We're too tired, sick and sun burnt to take any pictures. It's time to go home...hopeful Bangkok International will not be closed by PAD protests :)

Cool Pix, Hot Times v2.0

It's easier for Rebecca to go pass though the eye of a Dong than for an HBS student to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

A macaque monkey at Angkor Wat. [Insert pun here.]

Rush hour in Ho Chi Minh City:

Causing trouble in a Ko Phi Phi restaurant.

Rooftop cocktails in HCMC.

Swinging dinner table in Cambodia.

Tiger Beer does strange things to a man. Well, you really just make the tiger face in pictures.

DANGER: EXTREME MAXIMUM WATTAGE

As Wat enthusiasts, Angkor Wat was the climax of our travels, the apex of our odyssey, the culmination of everything we've ever done our short lives, and...ok, you get the idea.

For this blogger, the trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia and the surrounding ancient temples (Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Phrom of Tomb Raider fame, and many more) meant adding a second check on my list of man-made Wonders of the World visited.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words and an hour of internet costs 80 Baht, let's cut to the chase:

Angkor Wat at sunrise:

School kids at a local monestary in English class.

Our intrepid guide in Cambodia, "T," aka Mr. T, aka Iced T, telling us a "mani-pedi-botox" joke.



Ok, these silly pics are only worth 990 words apiece, so let's add silly captions

Who's got a sweaty orange shirt and a beard? These handsome chaps!

One of them used to be a ballerina, and the other a wrestler. Bet you can't guess which is which!

One of them was Harvard Dance Team '04, and the other was '05. Bet you can't guess which is which!

It's good to be the king!

The element of supplies!

Get over here...finish him!

All Quiet on the Eastern Front

FYI, we're following the regional news closely and are confident that our departure plans will not be impacted. The airports we're using have remained open, and the protests have been peaceful, for the most part. The US Embassy in Thailand did not suggest that we hasten our departure and said that life in Bangkok is business as usual.


'Critical' weekend
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=130153

Escalated anti-government demonstrations were in their fifth day on Saturday, with the prime minister losing support from the Army amid signs of an increasing government dilemma.

"This weekend will be critical," said academic political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak.
"The government is in a dilemma. If they crackdown, that may cause a boomerang, but if they don't, they look weak," said the director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University - who also is an Oped contributor to the Bangkok Post.

The French news agency AFP reported on Saturday afternoon that about 45 protesters used bolt cutters to break into Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's abandoned office at Government House, occupied for days by the anti-government group.

One of the activists told AFP that protest leader Chamlong Srimuang had ordered them to force open the doors so that he could use the offices himself, the report said.

On the street on Saturday, and particularly from Government House, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) continued its call for the resigination of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and the entire government. The court ordered protesters out of Government House last Wednesday but on Friday stayed the injunction indefinitely in an order to promote a peaceful solution.

Meanwhile, protesters agreed on Saturday to lift their siege of two of the three airports in the South. But the international airport at the important tourist centre of Phuket remained blockaded, after PAD allowed flights to resume for travellers at Krabi and Hat Yai.

On Friday, army commander Gen Anupong Paojinda rejected a call by Mr Samak to declare a state of emergency and call out troops. He suggested the use of police instead, or the resignation of the premier to cool tempers. Mr Samak repeated he would not resign.

"If the PAD succeeds in ousting Samak, it will be a huge setback for Thai democracy," Prof Thitinan said. "It will be the crowning success for the right-wing conservative contingent who are against election-based democracy."

PAD leaders, such as retired Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, have said the Thai electorate is too uneducated to vote in honest politicians and continues to sell its votes to the highest bidders.

Pho for thought

Forty years after our parents' generation faced the decision to fight in Vietnam, dodge the draft, linger in academia, or... and almost thirty years after Saigon fell to communism and was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, our group of twenty-somethings visited HCMC as tourists.

At the Notre Dame Basilica in HCMC

Aside from the War Remnants Museum and the Cu Chi Tunnels, there aren't many reminders of the Vietnam War (err, the American War) around HCMC. There's Starbuck's and Burger King, Gucci and Prada, wealthy neighborhoods and slums, and tons of traffic. Very much the L.A. of the subcontinent.

You can't help but wonder what Baghdad will be like in 2043, forty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq. Will there be fast food and luxury goods? Will the population welcome American visitors? Will our kids visit during a pre-business school adventure? Does mixing Malarone and Cipro do funny things to your inner monologue?