Thanks again Amelleia for an awesome time. Too bad we couldn't stay longer!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Penang
We made a quick visa run last week to Penang, Malaysia. We chose Penang because we have a friend there and it's our favorite food city. Unfortunately, we don't have many pictures.. we were too busy eating. Seriously. Amelleia is a great food-guide and she took us all around the city tasting new foods and satisfying old cravings. In just one day we ate fruit cake and tea as a snack before hitting the town, followed by Hainan chicken rice for breakfast, ais kacang (a desert) for a snack, roti canai (Indian friend bread), some type of rice noodles, murtabak (savory eggy pancake), Jackfruit (Janet got an allergic reaction), then we went for dinner and had nasi kandar (a rice) with fried chicken, and after we digested dinner we had Penang-style burgers for 'supper.'
Thanks again Amelleia for an awesome time. Too bad we couldn't stay longer!
Thanks again Amelleia for an awesome time. Too bad we couldn't stay longer!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
visa run
we're heading out for a one week "vacation" to Penang (Malaysia) and then Phuket (Thailand) on a visa run....
teh tarik and chicken rice HERE WE COME!!!
teh tarik and chicken rice HERE WE COME!!!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
mistaken identity
i thought this was a miniature lamb who had recently had it's wool coiffed. Turns out it was a scarf on steroids. Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Thai bugs aight
Maria said...
Sorry to blow up your spot Ari but I remember me and Oriana dared you to eat fried bugs in Thailand (I have a picture of the fried bugs cart which is dated during the first week we were in Bangkok at the beginning of our trip) and you refused. I'm insulted that you are excited to eat Cambodian fried bugs but denied Thai fried bugs. I see how it is.
From Defeated
This little guy's grass hopping days are done.
In case you were wondering, it tastes exactly like you'd expect salty fried food to taste. And it goes good with beer.Bangkok.
We've been in Bangkok for almost two weeks now. Good old Craigslist led us to an apartment on the edge of downtown. It's a pretty big flat which we're sharing with a Spaniard for a month while Janet finishes up her grad school apps.
East coasters, I hear you've been devastated by snow. By the sound of it, it's probably worse than anything I've seen in twenty-six Boston winters. It's winter here too, meaning 80-90 degrees with comfortably low humidity every day and no rain, ever. Thai people think its cold. Don't worry, I do feel a little guilty during my daily swim.
Our flat's outdoor pool.
I've been doing a lot of cooking while Janet works on apps, refining my Thai chef skills fresh off of our Thai cooking class. After making pad Thai from scratch over 10 times I think I'm almost a pro..
Pad Thai
East coasters, I hear you've been devastated by snow. By the sound of it, it's probably worse than anything I've seen in twenty-six Boston winters. It's winter here too, meaning 80-90 degrees with comfortably low humidity every day and no rain, ever. Thai people think its cold. Don't worry, I do feel a little guilty during my daily swim.
Our flat's outdoor pool.I've been doing a lot of cooking while Janet works on apps, refining my Thai chef skills fresh off of our Thai cooking class. After making pad Thai from scratch over 10 times I think I'm almost a pro..
Pad ThaiFriday, February 4, 2011
freedom
today, with a small NGO - Speak Up - we visited a local Thai prison that incarcerates refugees.
in thailand, though thousands of people flood over the borders from all over asia to flee the atrocities of their own countries, refugees (even those granted refugee status by the UN) are considered illegal immigrants. If caught, they're put in immigration detention centers (IDC), essentially prisons. However it's a complex situation as Thailand (and many other countries) walks the fine line of accommodating the huge influx of people while trying to deter future refugees from traveling to Thailand.
Speak Up works with refugees but more broadly aims to provide legal advocacy and intervention for the poor and oppressed. Troy is the founder/fundraiser/lawyer and in addition to doing the legal work goes a couple times a week to the IDC to meet with different refugees and ensure that their cases are being followed by the UN.
We spent almost two hours talking to three refugees - two from China and one from Nepal.
Each prisoner wears a bright orange t-shirt which we were told makes them easier to identify if they escape.
Speaking across two metal grid partitions I spoke to the Chinese woman about her situation, why she fled China, and her hopes for the future. She described her former life, the good job she held, the family she left behind and her concerns for their safety. She described her three years in prison, endless waiting and feelings that she couldn't wait any longer. She described the prison and the difficult conditions they lived in, the women and children all living in one large room and the cries that kept her awake at night. She spoke little English, and no Thai. Being unable to communicate to the guards and to the other prison employees she had waited three years for a meeting with a UN official.
Where she now had papers, possible refugee status, and a ticket out of Thailand, her friend continues to wait with no news.
As we left, she thanked us profusely and said "please remember me little sister, all I want is my freedom"
It's a side of Bangkok that you rarely see and was an experience Ari and I will remember.
in thailand, though thousands of people flood over the borders from all over asia to flee the atrocities of their own countries, refugees (even those granted refugee status by the UN) are considered illegal immigrants. If caught, they're put in immigration detention centers (IDC), essentially prisons. However it's a complex situation as Thailand (and many other countries) walks the fine line of accommodating the huge influx of people while trying to deter future refugees from traveling to Thailand.
Speak Up works with refugees but more broadly aims to provide legal advocacy and intervention for the poor and oppressed. Troy is the founder/fundraiser/lawyer and in addition to doing the legal work goes a couple times a week to the IDC to meet with different refugees and ensure that their cases are being followed by the UN.
We spent almost two hours talking to three refugees - two from China and one from Nepal.
Each prisoner wears a bright orange t-shirt which we were told makes them easier to identify if they escape.
Speaking across two metal grid partitions I spoke to the Chinese woman about her situation, why she fled China, and her hopes for the future. She described her former life, the good job she held, the family she left behind and her concerns for their safety. She described her three years in prison, endless waiting and feelings that she couldn't wait any longer. She described the prison and the difficult conditions they lived in, the women and children all living in one large room and the cries that kept her awake at night. She spoke little English, and no Thai. Being unable to communicate to the guards and to the other prison employees she had waited three years for a meeting with a UN official.
Where she now had papers, possible refugee status, and a ticket out of Thailand, her friend continues to wait with no news.
As we left, she thanked us profusely and said "please remember me little sister, all I want is my freedom"
It's a side of Bangkok that you rarely see and was an experience Ari and I will remember.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
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