Quiz: Name the Object

Answer posted below (as of July 10)

A very common object in Isaan. But a complete mystery to the outsider. It's handmade from an Asian hardwood, carved from one piece of wood. It folds into a fairly compact form in order to toss into your backpack or farmer's satchel.

Your best guess? Please put your guess in the comment section. After some of my readers take their best shot, I'll add another picture which will reveal all.

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Answer, July 10

And behind the curtain....is our answer-photo which will.... put an end to your sleepless nights!


A pillow, of course! Some of you came close, for example...

• a seat = pillow for the derriere

• a bed = pillow for the entire body, a sleep-related object, etc.

Surprisingly, a pillow made from Thai hardwood is quite comfortable, given it's perfect contour for the back of the head, and perfect height from the flat surface it sits on. I actually fell asleep on it.

Definitely better than a standard Japanese pillow--which is like laying your head on a bag of noisy, rolling marbles.

My Personal Encounter With a Cobra

I've heard that the area where I live has a very high concentration of Cobra snakes, including the King Cobra, which is reputedly one of the most venomous of snakes. One species of the King Cobra can actually spit blinding venom into the eyes of its victim up to 10 meters (30 feet) away with remarkable accuracy. I've heard reports of it happening to local farmers in my area. No thanks. Fortunately near my home, I have never had the joy of meeting one of these reptiles. Instead, I had to travel about 600 miles to a southern island (Koh Lanta) for my own personal encounter.

I was with a group of friends who decided to hike to a popular cave in the jungle, led by a local Muslim farmer-guide. After a great adventure through a cave system with battery-powered headlamps, we started hiking back to the main farm at dusk. I wanted to get some photos without people in it, so I hung back a bit, until the party ahead was out of sight, and began shooting pictures.

In just a few moments I heard something in the underbrush about 1.5 meters (5 feet) off to the left side of the trail, going in the opposite direction. Realizing I might be facing an opportunity for a good shot of some wildlife, I did an about-turn and followed the sound. It picked up speed, and so did I. Of course, I was thinking naively that I'd be catching a photo of maybe a lizard, a rodent, or some other fairly benign animal.

Suddenly, the sound in the underbrush ceased as the object of my attention crossed the trail about 1 meter (3 feet) directly in front of me. It was a quite long snake--about 2 meters (6 feet) in length. I had the good fortune to have my camera ready, and shot the above picture. The snake's midsection is very prominent, and the head can be seen on the far left of the picture between leaves which surround it on three sides.

Happy with my prize photo, I turned around and rushed back up to the group which was beginning to wonder where I was. I showed the picture on the LCD screen of my camera to our guide and asked him what kind of snake he supposed it was. Immediate recognition in his eyes. He pointed to the red marking on the back of the hooded head (I hadn't noticed any of the tell-tale sure markings of a Cobra) and then he exclaimed: "Oh! You very lucky foreigner!"

I thought, "He must be admiring my luck for getting such a great photo!"

But then he added--"Lucky you not die! BIG Cobra!!"

Realizing I had chased this thing for 30 feet down a forest trail, and then to have it cut me off by crossing my path a few feet in front of me (and thankfully continuing on it's journey), suddenly left my knees turning a bit weak. I had been chasing sure death. Had I accidentally cornered it next to a stone, or even stepped on it's tail (shudder) in my open sandals, my hiking buddies might have been prying my camera from my cold, dead fingers in the jungle.

"Hey look at this last picture on his camera! It's something with fangs! Cool!"

Oh, talk about Babe in the Woods. Or better yet, the Bible reminds us, "The Lord preserves the simple." Guilty as charged.

Tasty Time in Thailand

Burst of color in JD's Garden Restaurant

Tonight I outdid myself in the kitchen. I created this unique, healthy dish, and it turned out so good, I decided to write it down and share it with you. I could probably lose more weight if I didn't like my own cooking so much. High-society calls this "Fusion Cuisine," in East meets West. I call it "Time-To-Use-Everything-In-The-Fridge-Night."

Thai-Polynesian-French Chicken Over Rice
(Or, "Around the World Chicken")

Ingredients

1 tbsp fresh black pepper (unground, still green)
2 large cloves, fresh garlic
1 leaf Thai herb (your choice)
1 orange, peeled, cut into 1/2 segments (the Polynesian part)
1 cup cubed fresh pineapple (the Polynesian part)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (the Polynesian part, optional)
1 diced tomato (optional)
1 diced onion
1 chicken leg, 1 chicken thigh
2 cups cooked rice
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce (the Thai part)
1/3 cup red wine (the French part)

Steps:


1. Start rice in a rice cooker
2. In a mill or blender, finely chop garlic, fresh black pepper and Thai herb; set aside
3. Put a teaspoon of the garlic/pepper/herb mixture in a skillet with ollive oil and heat just before oil smokes. In this mixture, brown both sides of chicken
4. Remove chicken and saute onion in chicken drippings and olive oil
5. Put chicken in microwave for 2-3 minutes to insure the inside is cooked thoroughly
6. Combine chicken with pineapple, sauteed onion, orange, and rest of garlic/black pepper/Thai herb mixture in skillet and simmer on low.
7. After 5 minutes add red wine and oyster sauce.
8. Simmer for 15 more minutes. Just before turning off heat, add diced tomato (optional).
9. Serve chicken and sauce mixture over rice.

Best served hot on a picnic table right outside your kitchen door amidst tropical flowers blooming in your garden in January (picture from my garden). Makes enough for two. Call up a skinny Thai student or teacher to share with you. However, be prepared for a mild complaint about combining sweet tastes with chicken--until they try it. Then, you'll have to pull 'em off of it to get your share.

Toughing it out in Thailand,
JD

Thailand and Cambodia Teeter On War

When troubles erupt in Bangkok (protests, coups, etc.) I often jokingly complain that "nothing ever happens in Isaan," Thailand's laid-back Northeast.

Well, I lied.

After months of standoffs and skirmishes at a flashpoint on the Thai-Cambodian border (about three hours' drive from my town), Thai troops moved in closer to a position held by Cambodian soldiers. As a result, the Prime Minister of Cambodia yesterday rattled his saber, and declared there would be full-scale war if Thailand didn't withdraw its troops from the disputed territory. The deadline was noon yesterday. Apparently, the withdrawal didn't happen and fighting broke out today.

The territory involves a pitiful little patch of 1.8 square miles. The disputed area, near an ancient temple ruin, "Khao Phra Vihan" (or "Preah Vihear" in Cambodian) is comprised of what looks like burnt rock and dead scrub brush on a high, dry, exposed ridge. The BBC , calls it "scrub land." Quite fitting. See my photo below (taken about 2 years ago).


What really is at stake is national pride fueled by a super-heated nationalism on both sides.

Thailand is upset that Cambodia pushed for the temple ruin itself to become a UN World Heritage Site. Indeed, after you walk a mile or so through the miserable scrub land, you come to the edge of an escarpment on which sets a spectatular 1,000 year-old temple ruin. Thailand controled the temple itself until 1962 when the World Court awarded control to Cambodia. However, the exact demarcation lines were left somewhat vague--hence, the ongoing tensions.


Cambodia is hanging onto what they feel is their national pride as well. Until the tensions heated up this year, about 90% of the tourists at Preah Vihear were Thai. One of the first signs that greeted them on the temple grounds was this....


On the sign, "Khmer" is the word Cambodians use when referring to themselves. In fact, the ancient Cambodian empire which built Preah Vihear was called the "Khmer Empire."

So, as usual, seldom is a spat a one-sided affair. It takes two to tango (or tangle, however the proverb goes).

So, I take it back. Sometimes things do happen in Isaan. The last excitement we had in our area was in the 1970's when these jungles were the refuge of many a Communist rebel--some of them fathers and grandfathers of my students! Just a generation or so ago, they were fighting the central Thai government.

So, anyone looking for a laid-back utopian paradise where everyone and every thing is at peace? I thought maybe it was spelled "I-S-A-A-N." I guess it's time to revert back to the original spelling: "H-E-A-V-E-N."

Advice from a Watch Expert....

I bought a cheap "utility" watch in Pratunam (a low-end outdoor market in Bangkok) last month. I proudly put my cheap bargain on my wrist, took two steps and heard "clink." The glass crystal fell to the sidewalk.

My thoughts: "It's Thailand, and no one ever takes anything back, especially a cheap watch. I'm screwed (again)."

My Thai shopping friend and a couple vendors standing around encouraged me to take the two steps backward and return it to the sales lady. I handed her the watch and crystal separately and waited for her response, which was...(with a straight face)...

"This kind of watch doesn't need a crystal."

She wrapped the crystal in a tissue, put it in a bag, and handed it back to me with the now bare-faced watch. My Thai shopping companion gave me that typical look often given to red-faced foreigners that said "Please, don't create a scene."

So now, I change the time by moving the watch hands with my fingers, just like I did on the big grandfather clock at Grandma's house. I try to keep it out of the rain, and I also cover it with my hand when someone sneezes. A month later, it's still running, and I think I'm now making a fashion statement with it. When people ask about it, I tell them I bought a special watch that offers a "tactile experience," and then I feel the bare face and hands like a blind person trying to tell the time.

I give the Thai sales "expert" one point for quick thinking.
Score: One for her. Zero for me.

UPDATE: August 2009. Unbelievably, the watch is still running. I have stumbled onto a new secret to keep watches running in Thailand: fresh air!

Driving me Batty.....

While jogging at the soccer field tonight at twilight I was suddenly engulfed by a swarm of several hundred bats chasing insects.

Thanks to their excellent radar bouncing their funny little squeaky sounds off my body, I didn't get thumped in the forehead by the proverbial Bat out of Pergatory with an errant flight plan, like I fully expected to.

Very weird experience.

Just when things settle down to normal I have one of these tropical experiences that reminds me I'm not in Kansas/Washington anymore.