FeedMe travels the world, working on organic farms and eating her way through nine countries


October 15, 2007

Grey Auckland

After South and SE Asia, New Zealand is empty and colorless, at least in the big cities. So strange to finally be back in a land where I understand everything, have all the modern conveniences, and long for the mess and bustle of Calcutta. I arrived yesterday, and set out last evening in the cold drizzle to find a cell phone service, do some quick shopping for essentials, etc. Everyone is wearing some shade of black or grey, the 10 people on the street I see, that is, and the shops have all closed at 5:30 pm! Dorothy, we're back in Kansas. Definitely not the tourist ghettos I'm used to staying in, and this is the neighborhood with all the hostels! I'm going to have to get used to life in the modern world all over again. And I hate black, grey, and tasteful shades of tan or beige! Even the backpackers are wearing neutrals.

Rode to the top of the SkyTower last night (the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere is shorter than the Eiffel tower) and watched the rain storms roll in off the bay as the sun set. Beautiful, and since there's so little people, even the cheesy tourist attractions aren't crowded. Looked down on 4 lane streets with maybe 5 cars per block, and caught some of the charm of a modern big city with no people. 30% of New Zealanders live in Auckland, but it only has 1.3 million people . . .

On the plus side, food in the grocery store is cheap (about the only thing that is, and the business section of the paper today said the NZ dollar will continue to rise against the USD. Damn currency markets have recently become an obsession, as I watch my savings buy less and less.) The sun is shining today, and I found the local equivalent of TJ max and bought a bright yellow fleece. I'm staying in Auckland until Thursday, with local trips out do a dormant volcano and the Bay of Islands.

October 12, 2007

Boat Rides

This post is dedicated to Dad, who taught me that you should always do anything involving a boat ride. Though this didn't work out in Lyon, France (the best part about the river there are the bridges . . . ), Dad's advice has been perfect for Thailand: the cheapest, fastest and most likely place to spot locals has definitely been boats.

The canals retain the old Bangkok architecture (in the form of wooden and congregated metal slums that line the canals) while the modern concrete high rises start just a few yards in, the houses over hanging the canals look like they've been in Bangkok for a while. The water itself is fetid and black, probably even deader than the Ganges, and no one seems to be bathing in it or drinking the thick soup. It's plied by long narrow ferries that take commuters to and from various Bangkok neighborhoods. When it's raining, they become strange plastic enclaves hurtling through the dark, and it's easy to get completely lost. If you ever have a chance to get on one, they don't stop unless you stand up and get the attention of the assistants clinging to the sides of the boat. . . The main river is more touristy, but still transversed by a crazy mix of tour boats, Thais on dinner cruises, Royal barges (I witnessed a practice run where acres of boys in red baseball caps, instead of ceremonial headdresses, stood at attention by the oars), passenger ferries and long tailed boat taxis. Definitely my favorite part of Bangkok.

Since this trip is partly about food, my thoughts on Thai cuisine: I find Vietnamese more complex, but Thai food has two very important things going for it. 1) it's absolutely fresh, as I've yet to see anything that wasn't made to order, from the street stalls to the fancy restaurants. 2) it's everywhere. Unlike DC, where satisfying a food craving in the tourist areas can feel like a hunt for buried treasure, the Thais have thoughtfully places something to eat at least every 50 feet. High on too much coffee with sweetened condensed milk, the afternoon is mostly a game of what don't I want to eat, as everything imaginable is on display.

And in case anyone was wondering, after what felt like a stay in five star hotel (except for they part where they stick needles in you and administer large electric shocks . . . ) I have been diagnosed with drop foot. A completely compressed nerve in my left knee, and partially compressed one in my right has left me unable to lift my toes easily. I have settled into a kind of lurching gait, and the doctors tell me that everything should be back to normal within six months. This means minimal hiking in New Zealand, but I should still be able to work on farms. If you ever go to Nepal, don't sleep on your side, or spend long hours squatting!

October 8, 2007

The Beach

Had time between tests at the hospital, so went to the beach! Met a friendly German in the taxi in a small town called Trat on the Thailand/Cambodia border. We were in one of the pickup taxis (they hold about 10 people in the back of a pick-up truck) and he asked we where I was going. I responded I didn't know (don't have a guide book for Thailand, and had come to Trat on the recommendation of a guy on my flight from India who said that it was the quickest point to the beach from Bangkok), and followed the German to his hostel. We set out to the night market to find some food (love the Thai take on food: everyone must always be hungry, so there's great, cheap street food everywhere), and I confessed I hadn't drunk liquor for months. Since Andorra in July actually. So we proceeded to get smashed off of one bottle of the local rum, SongSang (sp?). It's actually quite good, they give you a bottle, two glasses, a bucket of ice and some cokes, and it feels pretty dandy going down. I managed not to kill myself heading back to the hostel, politely (I hope, I'm not known for my tact when drunk) turned down his offer to travel with me to the beach, and woke up the next morning feeling absolutely horrible. The two hour ferry ride through the remains of Typhoon Lekima didn't help, but the beach resort was heaven. I was the only foreigner there, probably because I found it by climbing into a random taxi after the ferry ride and following this cute Thai couple to their destination.

The Beach Natural Resort www.thebeachkohkood.com/indes.php for pictures. My camera had run out of batteries, and no where to buy more at the hotel, so no pictures of my own.

Was able to bargain for a great beachside hut, and spent most of my time dozing by the waves. Imagine swimming alone in a tropical bay, coconuts behind you bobbing in the surf, before heading up to your thatched beach hut. Though since I had purposely avoided the backpacker party spot, and turned down the German, was surrounded by Thai couples so it was a little lonely. Fell asleep each night to the surf though, and read trashy books left by previous english speaking tourists.

October 5, 2007

Comfort Food

I think Bangkok is supposed to have some of the best food on earth. Brought a Lonely planet guide to the city just for the restaurant reviews, and am scrolling through for a good place to eat dinner. The word Vietnamese jumps out at me from the page, and I can't stop dreaming of fish sauce . . .

My first real resturant meal in Thailand (have been frequenting the street carts) is the DC version of comfort food: vermacelli bowl, lime soda, the fish soup with the tamarind and pineapple, and banana fritters. I blame Thuan.

October 4, 2007

Bangkok

I feel like I'm back in DC, though the transvestite prostitues have been replaced by sleazy old American and British men walking around with young Thai girls. The concrete buildings and traffic jams feel like home. I'm going to try and take a boat down the canal to the post office and the Golden Mount, just to remind myself I'm in a foreign country. Though there's more asians than in DC, there's a lot of Middle Eastern and Ehtiopian immigrants in the neighborhood where I'm staying, as well as tons of American and European tourists, so it really does look like home in some ways.

I'm here getting some care at Bumrungrad Hospital, and so far the experience puts the American medical system to shame. I simply emailed the hospital the day before I arrived with a description of my problem, and they had me set up with an appointment for the day after I arrived. They had me immediately see the correct specialist, and the tests he ordered are all scheduled for the same day less than a week from now. And it all comes to less than a tenth, maybe 1/20th of the US cost. Amazing what life is like when I have money (as compared to the local population). I wonder what the standard of care is like for the average Thai citizen?

October 1, 2007

Nepal - Setti Valley Organic Farm (I)

Nepal is in the bronze age, people use so few tools. The farm is organic, and the director very progressive about trying new farming theories, but they use local laborers, who really seem to prefer doing everything from a squatting position with their hands. I have only seen four tools in use in my time here: a small hoe, for plowing the fields by hand while bent over, a scythe used by women for cutting grass, a hammer to break the local rocks that the buildings are built from, and a saw for cutting bamboo, the main structural support for anything and everything. Modern conveniences do make an appearance, like the satellite telephones and the bio-gas that we use for cooking, and the ever useful plastic sack, but in general, this farm is human powered and the products dug of the land.

I'm here as a "volunteer", but compared to the village women I'm pretty worthless as a laborer, so I have more the status of eccentric guest. I do a little light work, enjoy the beauty around me, and learn from the SADP Nepal director who runs the farm. A truly enjoyable experience. The food is amazing, the people are so nice, and remarkably happy. 80% of Nepal is engaged either directly or indirectly in agriculture, so I think I'm getting a real feel for the country. I have more in my backpack than most of them own in the world. A grand statement on the materialism of our rich countries.


Last Friday I went on a small hike, joining one of the farm workers who was headed back to his village to pick up his wife. We were 1 hour on a motorbike, then walked for 1/2 hour and crossed a river by cable bridge. Then a two hour jeep ride (everyone was very pleased when the jeep road was built), with a good 20 people plus goods crammed into the back and top of an extra large land rover. Then a three hour walk along the terraced rice fields and forests, with frequent pauses to climb over the landslides that were the results of the recent heavy rains. I didn't make it all the way to the worker's village, so stopped in an earlier one only 2 hours walk from the road head. I have now been to a place completely inaccessible by car or horse. Incredible scenery, though it's been too rainy most days (as it was that day) to see the high mountains, but when you do catch a glimpse of the high peaks, and realize how close you are to the tallest mountains in the world, it's soul stirring experience.

Nepal is pretty clean, and we drink only boiled water, so I've been good except for the raging case of conjunctivitis (endemic in Nepal, though they've managed to eradicate Malaria). It's also a completely different cleanliness standard. The farmhouse is basically a three walled, dirt floored shack, where the farmer and his wife, I, and any guests sleep back against the main wall. The front is open to the bio-gas pit (where we dump the cow manure, collected daily by hand) and the hose where the water for washing, cooking and drinking ends. There is a small kitchen area in the back of the shed, three large wooden chests for storing food and possessions, two tables for eating, a bench and some chairs. In the back, kept dark without windows to avoid flies, is the kitchen: two shelves and a platform for the single stove burner. All of the food itself is prepared on the ground. In terms of cleanliness, the feeling is: if you rinse it with running water (and sometimes give it a good soaping), things are pretty clean. I haven't had any problems yet, and we eat with our hands in Nepal, so the system works pretty well.