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endless floats of intricate sculptures completely covered in flowers. More photos on flickr.
Bangkok is like a whirlwind; just crossing the road you’ve got to get into the flow. The taxis are pink, green, and bright blue, and everywhere the little for-hire motorbikes and wagons are streaming. On every corner are food carts, with savories or fresh fruit. All the fruit is amazing.
Shopping in the city ranged from intensely local street markets, like this amulet market, to metropolitan malls as stylish as any I’ve seen in the west, and filled with all the same brand names (from Hermes, Chanel, Gucci to Abercrombie & Fitch or Starbucks.)
The amulet market was a section of the city, a few blocks, devoted to selling small charms, deity figures, buddhas, and the like. Technically, Buddhas can’t be sold, they can only be rented for religious purposes.
Inside the malls in the other part of town, prices are still lower than urban western cities, but only by about 30%. Renee and I visited a grocery store within one of those giant mall complexes, and it was more elaborate and beautiful than any Whole Foods I’ve ever visited in america: we walked around for an hour marveling at the variety (and entire aisle labeled “Chips, Cuttlefish, and Peas”? how specific) , the piles of mysterious giant and colorful fruits, and the endless sweet samples provided on toothpick by smiling employees.
Renee has the food in Bangkok down to a science, and I like predictability, so we ate every morning at Ricky’s, a french/vietnamese/thai styled place that served western food, good coffee, and fresh fruit. Every lunch and dinner was at one of the two Mai KaiDee locations. Mai KaiDee, the owner, runs a fully vegetarian business, and when she heard from Renee that I was coming to town and mostly ate raw, she was excited to try out new raw dishes with us. So, despite my plan to be flexible about food in Thailand, raw vegan has proved readily available, and amazingly delicious.
Mai KaiDee, who also does classic thai dances, impromptu, during dinner, may be opening up a location in the US- if so, it will be incredible. Her version of thai vegetarian is better than any I’ve ever tried in america.
despite quite a bit of travel anxiety, the trip itself, all 37 hours, was smooth and not over-tiring. eleven hours on a plane (LHR-BKK) passes fairly quickly, when one has good books and movies on demand.
Traveling with Renee, who knows the country quite well, is a treat. She likes to eat the same way I do, and my twelve hours or so here have been nicely bracketed by excellent meals, all within a minute walk of the guest house.
it’s very sweet here.
eating vegan is easy in Bangkok, and I’m not worrying about eating raw (as my typical, I don’t trust raw food in restaurants most of the time.) there is fresh fruit on every corner, and everything is soooo inexpensive.
We had an incredible dinner for two last night- eight dollars. all vegan- hot & sour soup, maki rolls with peanut sauce, veggie rolls with cashew sauce, mint tea, thai tea….
and calling the US only costs 3 cents per minute!
Next week I’m headed to Thailand with Renee from Waterlily Imports. Our plan is to travel really, really light. As usual, my concern with traveling is avoiding being cold (which I can’t stand.) Renee is an experience south-east-asia traveler, and insists that it will be 90 degrees plus all the time.
So, this is the start of my packing: small daypack, easy-wash-&-dry clothing, a netbook, and not much more.
I’ll be posting from the trip.
I wanted a new year’s eve dress that could hold a camera. the front detailing on the skirt is a pocket.
I’m not making resolutions this year.
because every year, I make some, and keep almost none of them.
I think the only one I kept last year was to take a vacation. and start a conversation group for German speakers ( I did get very conversational over the year, though not fluent. and my accent is not-so-great.)
the thing with resolutions is that priorities change. sometimes a goal only makes sense because it’s there to mask some other issue. for instance, like the goal of running 26 miles (which I never did, though I did get up to running ~15 miles. in february. when it’s really cold and icy and unpleasant here.) I don’t particularly like running. exercise is ok, but I’m just as happy with 3-4 miles or 45 minutes of working out. I just thought running was a good way to fill up time and a nice winter-anti-depressant. I could have just as easily gone tanning (vitamin D, not vanity) or traveled someplace warm. A more accurate goal would have been “find someway not to be depressed and miserable in the maine winter.”
This year I made business goals, and, since during the rest of 2009, say, march through september, I didn’t really exercise at all, in 2010 I’m going to start doing at least something again.
but I can say this: 2010 has started out better than any year ever.
small pieces from Hannah Barnes’ show, now for sale at www.thirtysevena.com/small-works/
in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
often people ask me what it takes to learn how to sew.
my current answers:
- a respect for precision. an understanding of why 1/8th inch matters.
- the dexterity and coordination to apply the above.
- good three-dimensional spatial visualization skills.
- visual analytical skills (being able to look at a garment and mentally deconstruct the steps required to copy it)
I also add that it’s quite difficult to make professional looking garments without industrial machines. I personally am not able to, though somebody out there with a really nice home machine might have the technique down.
- Industrial machines almost never have tension problems. home machines constantly do.
- Industrials don’t pull the bottom fabric piece faster than the top one (or at least to the same degree home machines do.)
- Industrials apply really excellent & even pressure through the foot, holding the fabric in place properly when through tight corners or over multiple layers.
- Industrials go fast.
Most people don’t realize it, but an industrial lockstitch (straight stitch, backwards & forward, nothing else) costs about $800. It’s the same price as a decent home machine, and will last forever. The only reason I own home machines is for the occasional zigzag, double-needle, or buttonhole work.
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