Vegan Victuals: The Blog |
Last Days of Wangnoi: In, Out & About/Cast of Characters
Most of the adults in this town work in the many area factories. What a better treat then to be delivered to those factories, by law far from the main highway roads, via colorful tour buses with strobe lights and blasting music? Huge “disco” buses, often covered in unlicensed Western cartoon and comic book characters, [...]
Lil’ Thai Guys
The first grade boys get a bit zany as the morning progresses. Experimenting with different means of grabbing their waning attention, I have found they love to be photographed… that the mere act of taking out my camera congregates them in a excited but orderly line in front of me. After which, they’re calm for [...]
Back to School
I’ll be teaching at Wat Kanham School, in the Uthai district, all week. Like the name implies, the school is on the grounds of a Buddhist monastery. It is also located next to a factory where most of the students’ parents work. Without the Buddhist monastery providing space and resources and the close proximity of [...]
Chatuchak Weekend Market
According to Wiki, Bangkok’s Chatuchak Weekend market is the largest market in the world. That certainly seemed to be the case. I only perused a small portion of its 15,000 stalls and was completely overwhelmed. It is estimated that between 2-300,000 people visit the market each day. If you wanted to buy a mogwai, this [...]
Thailand Foodie!
Urai went out of her way to make sure I was properly nourished. She took great care in learning my taste preferences and dietary restrictions. Below is a partial list of some of the delicious food I’ve tasted in Bangsai: My first lunch: Fresh spring rolls (tarot root, glass noodle and soy tofu wrapped in [...]
The Village People
After a long first day at Bangsai, I wake up to the sound of raucous birds conversing, crowing roosters in the distance and an army of crickets. The village of Bangsai is alive in a way that compliments these noises, even amplifies them. The sun has not yet risen but Urai and her mother have [...]
Bangsai, Daniel Son
Bangsai is a village located 20 kilometers from my Wangnoi homestay. This, my new home for the next 3 days, is situated on the Noi river and is constructed about 8 feet from ground level, as are all the dwellings here, in case of flooding from the Noi. Urai, my host sister, is a 30-year-old [...]
Ayutthaya, Part Deux
My language and cultural lessons continued this morning with Sukanya. Feeling a bit quesy in the stomach this morning, I found it hard to focus. I had to make a conscious effort to slow my breathing and calm myself down. Fittingly, we spoke of the holistic perspective of Eastern medicine versus Western/the body and mind [...]
I Heart Ayutthaya and Sukanya
Considering the dinner of white rice the previous evening, I woke up with a hungry vengeance, thinking satiety or bust. I fed myself an enormous breakfast that included 3 slices of toasted white bread with the reduced sugar rasberry jam that’s been all the rage here at the homestay (Note: This white bread is much [...]
Bangkok: Wat T. F.
Fighting the rush hour traffic into Bangkok reminded me of home. My tour guide, Kai, and who I will refer to as the quiet one and I arrived at the Grand Place about 9 a.m. The compound of 20+ temples and worshipping sights for both Buddha and the King was a mob scene of international [...]
On a Bilingual Keyboard, Without Spellcheck
The concept of two months on the whim of my desires; the abolishment of schedules, routines, familiarity, family and friends is overwhelming. Although I operate pretty well within these paramenters, I am curious to see how their complete alteration will affect my days, thoughts, feelings; life. Who will emerge through such an all-encompassing change of [...]
Valentine Card/Kantina/Were, Are and Was or Is
In celebration of this day of love and Unwound’s 14-minute song conglomerate that still punches me as hard 10+ years later (3 or so minutes below), let us meditate on the absurdity of tradition. Let us create our own, with less pink packaging. Happy hearts.
