Local Candies...

A slight departure from the Pop Rocks phenomenon, it seems that if you chew sour menthos and drink pepsi at the same time, it'll explode in you mouth.
(Actually, i found that the menthos variation actually does have an origin in Brazil... go figure!)

While the Pop Rocks experiments might be a bit more dramatic, with all the noise, the extra CO2, etc., this experiment did prove a point:

The Difference between an Engineer & a Chemist
One of the engineers in the group stuffed three in his mouth, took a big gulp of pepsi, and grinned as he waited for an explosion. The chemist, however, took a pink menthos, put it in a cup, and poured the pepsi into the cup.

The engineer experienced no adverse effects from his experiment. The chemist, however, removed the menthos to find it completely stripped of its color. Not so harmless, now, is it...? ;)

The canteen in which our experiments were held:

This smaller canteen is located in the girls dormitory, closer than the big canteen...

one of my meals there:


fish is often salted here to preserve it longer - makes it a little more like fish jerky, depending on how long and how much salt they put on it... this one was on the less salted side, but still needed rice - accompanied by tofu and vegetables in a quite tasty light sauce (couldn't say ingredients!)... this plate cost 30 Baht - less than a dollar.

...Speaking of Candies:
A popular sugar fix in class - Jolly Bears! Though the package was carelessly ripped, (by me - what, i needed sugar!), the thai writing on the top is the phonetic of "jolly bears" - which conveniently accomodates bear prints...!



I was also introduced to a completely unfamiliar candy:

These little white tablets are actually made of condensed milk (powder)... so if you chew them up, it the consistency gets a little like caramel - or you can just suck on them slowly, and it tastes like sweet milk! not bad...

i even broke up a tablet and tested it out on the resident cat (cared for at school) and she absolutely loved it...

Weekend photos, some Jatujak mkt

On the way to Jatujak weekend market...


Vendors line the streets between Saphan Kwai BTS station and the market - selling amulets, statues, antiques - stamps (actually very cool - the philatelic museum is closeby - definitely on my list!)...

...sprinkled throughout are vendors with more practical things...shoes, movies, food...and fresh juice vendors like these!

They are fantastic "pick-me-ups" - ready to go...just add ice, blend, and veup! poured right back into the cup...!Another "alley" with antiques, etc (and a resident poodle, not pictured)...

I get the biggest kick out out of the shops selling car parts, like this exhaust pipe guy...

These fine cats sell all sorts of funky movie posters ... (one of my favorite pictures of this bunch)

Within Jatujak Market
It's not easy taking photos in this market - crowded, hundreds of alleys, thousands of little shops... and only open on weekends...it's going to be an ongoing project... but here's a few good one's i've got so far:

From the used books section - there are several isles like this - english, thai...there's all sorts of neat books in there, but if you're looking for something more specific, you'd better get friendly with the dealers...!

These old GE fans are so cool! They do run U$40-80, though - which is a bit tough to justify on my current student budget...but rest assured that this girl knows exactly where they are located...!

A bar in the antiques/textiles section...

Sweets being sold at Jatujak market - love the bright colored coconut jellies...

My lunch in one of a hundred places to eat at JJ market - Yum woon sen with seafood - glass noodles (made from mung bean) + vegetables (including raw carrots, cabbage, cilantro, and onions) + squid/shrimp, all marinated in lime/chili/garlic... a favorite dish of mine!

...That's all, folks! Thanks for checking in... miss my pals!

Vee Chooses a Direction, Gets an Advisor

Alright, this isn't the most exciting post, so i'll keep it short - but i've chosen the research group i'll be linked to - Strategic Environmental Assessment - specializing in life cycle assessments for energy projects. My advisor is a very nice Indian professor who did not give me strange looks or seem confused when i explained what i wanted to do. YEAH!!! I believe my first run will be on the feasibility of algae as a source of biofuel (i'm actually told it's not efficient enough, but it will be good to know why!)

You're not in Kansas anymore...

Being a student again is a bit surreal in its own right, but doing it at a Thai university is like being Dorothy in Oz.

My classmates have been nothing short of unbelievably sweet and welcoming (my very own lollipop gang!). They have such a range of personalities, I keep wishing i could speak the language better, but that is still such a process - and in the meantime, they go out of their way to fill in the gaps of communication - explaining things, translating between myself and others who speak even less English, teaching me new words and phrases (a definite source of amusement!), asking questions...

And there are many - where am i from, why am i here, what do i plan to do, what do certain expressions mean... sheesh, some of those i'm still working out about myself! But the experience i already have with Thais, along with being older than most of my classmates (all grad students, avg. 21-24) both add another dimension of "authoritativeness"... The attention is generally fun - but definitely challenging ... my thai falls so far short!

In general, all of the undergraduates on campus wear uniforms: black (pleated) skirts/pants with white shirts. Most of the girls sport a brown leather belt at hip level that, upon closer inspection, actually has the KMUTT logo on the buckle - so even the belt is standard university issue...

The freshy's, as they are called, are as amusing to watch here as in the States. Large groups participate in coordinated routines - they have senior "drill sargeants" and the activities are clearly viewed as a (bonding) experience/rite of passage...initiation lite. This week, the freshy's all had to wear name tags hanging from their necks - written on large, yellow cardboard cutouts in the shape of gears! It is, after all, an engineering school...

Not all their rites are done en masse. Today, in the large lunch hall, a freshy approached one of my classmates and professed his love for her (the look on her face - a mixture of amused, flippant, and unfazed, like it happened to her on a daily basis - so funny!); another kid (wearing a preppy sweater!) got up and belted out this song with lots of funny hand gestures, backed by 7 or 8 girls cheering him on; still others got up on tables to announce their love of whatever engineering field they were in...

Truthfully, it's been highly entertaining to watch them, even when i have no idea what they're saying. They're always teasing and laughing over things - nothing seems to rattle them!

Thais are notoriously confused by the slightest of "strong reactions" from westerners (like the pasta incident at home a few months back). It actually upset my classmates to see me express frustration over some problems we had for homework (k, haven't had to solve for heat capacities or use differentials in, oh, a decade --and i wasn't much good at them back then either.) I had to explain that i was not angry (and certainly not with them, but rather with my own thick skull!) - but that venting a little was my flawed way of diffusing the pressure, and if they might kindly disregard my sassafrassing, i would be grateful.

I could have apologized, but i think admitting my weakness was perhaps more unexpected - and ultimately shows (i hope!) that i'm a real person, not just an American Doll...

V goes to school!

After a short jaunt to Saphan Taksin station, this is where i wait for the 75 bus that gets me to school...

...The 75 usually comes in a small green bus - and the drivers often weave traffic like they're in the indy 500......it also comes in a larger red bus, often with a blue banner across the front windshield, which means it's Free (normally 6.5 baht)... both are open-air, though - which can be pretty lethal at some of the intersections...!

(inside the red bus)

Thais do some pretty funny (and cute) things, like mold median shrubs into bunnies...

After about 40 minutes on the bus (the further out of the city i get, the more looks i get!)... i know to get off the bus at graffiti across the street from the school...


...a little grooming at the school's entrance...

the road going in...

Signs/Posters on the way in (not sure what they mean,tho!) ...

More student photos forthcoming... :)

Finally, Vanessa Gets a Thai Nickname!

A Good Nickname is Hard to Find...

Most Thais have short nicknames...Noi, Na, Ben, Tom, Tok, Kiet... not only are they meant to be endearing, but also to replace their unbelievably long and phonetically puzzling names.

Now, for thais, my own name happens to be an equal challenge, both in strangeness as well as starting with the "v" sound... so "Vee" won't work... and "Fi" is tough because my sister's name is Sophia, and she often goes by 'Fia...

"Faa sai" was kindly suggested - means "blue skies" - flattering, but perhaps a bit too sunny and cheery for me... and "blue" alone is "sii" - which appears commonly in other words, so it just doesn't sound like a nickname...

And then, do-on mai (Bam!) - the perfect one: Watsanaa - the "t" is actually quite silent - so it sounds more like "wah-sanaa"...

so this scrambled version of "vanessa" also means "Luck" or "karma" - so you can have 'good watsanaa' or 'bad watsanaa' ... Watsanaa, indeed!

My Cheapest Meal Yet...!

The challenge: living under 500 baht/day (~$12) for transportation and food...and i'm getting better at it every day!


* Minor cheat: i bought a Monthly Pass on the BTS (skytrain) which gives me 40 trips at 20 baht each, no matter where i go... prices can run 30-60 baht if you go 3 stations out or more - so in the end, the 800-baht Pass will save me at least that much...

The Record
The cheapest meal i got was by On Nut (at the east end of the train line) - a whopping 15 baht for a bowl of beef noodle soup. I ordered without really knowing what i would get - it was quite tasty (though perhaps a tad salty)... and i certainly did not experience any side effects later...

Safe vs. Cheap
Many people ask me if i trust eating on the street. And i've developed a bit of a theoretical hierarchy.

With regard to street vendors, I will buy cut fruit from carts on the street, but i'm still weary of meat on a stick (due to an unpleasant incident several years ago). Roti's are also fair game - folded crepes drizzled with condensed milk - YUM!

Fruit vendors are cheaper than a supermarket. Notably, mangosteen are in season - 40-50 baht will get you a 2-kilo bag... and they are totally addicting!

I believe the "mobile kitchens" on the sidewalks and food stalls can be cleaned quite thoroughly, and have sat down to have a bite at little tables set up, either on the sidewalk or in a open-air/shared (often tented) space, provided they look clean.

In general, i've noticed that when it comes to food stalls, the food is generally served piping hot here - logically because they hand it to you straight out of the pan/soup tureen (ie, it's not left sitting in a window...) While it's rendered almost inedible for several minutes (at least by my tender standards) - i truly believe the heat would kill anything "unclean" that lingers...

Markets that let you take away are good (particularly if you want to get grilled fish fresh and cheap). Also, the sell great snacks, sweet treats (coconut yummies), little noshes (chinese "bun", or these banana-leaf wrapped things that are the thai version of a tamale)...

The next step up is food courts: a group of stalls that have tables set up in the middle. Least formally, stalls may be under a tent; increasingly permantent structures: bare warehouses, little malls, or in the big malls (the Platinum has anything you can think of, from bites to meals). Clean, plentiful, and you can still eat a meal for 30-60 baht...most of these have a staff to clean up all the messes... clean!

I have found it a little difficult to control what i get exactly - ie, getting a heavily sauced dish rather than a soup...dishes too sweet, too salty, etc. it's been kind of hit or miss! but this may improve greatly, thanks to a crash course in Thai that i'm taking through school...i'll be able to be more specific now :)

Cheap finds: "Noodle Bar" on Silom Rd, right off Saladaeng station (ranging 50-80 baht for a bowl of noodle soup, pretty much any way you want it); and a Vietnamese restaurant in Siam square (Pho came in 2 sizes - 85 baht for the small, yet quite satisfying portion - nice quiet place, pretty colors + jazz!).

okay, more pictures on the next post...! will save culinary faves for another post too...

...and i've got some coconut gummy treat waiting to be polished off before bed...

Thai Biogas Plant Visit, a First...

As part of the WREC (11th world renewable energy congress) conference i've been fortunate enough to attend over the last few days, today i got to visit my first real biogas plant...

One of 4 sites belonging to the Thai Biogas Energy Company, this plant in Saraburi produces 900 kW a day from industrial waste stream piped in from a cassava processing plant (which produces starch).

The biogas plant processes about 3,000 cubic meters of sludgy waste stream per day. The mixed sludge (so that it's more uniform) is basically treated and put into a big "lagoon" (about 9 meters deep), and covered with a black, tarp-like plastic. As the sludge decomposes (ie, "anaerobically digested), the tarp bubbles up with the methane emitted. About 60% of these emissions are methane (which are 21 times the value of CO2 per tonne!). That's quite significant when you start talking CO2 credits...

The gas is sucked through another pipe, then filtered (i'm gonna skip that explanation for brevity's sake, pressurized, and then converted into electricity with an expensive General Electric gas turbine (another explanation i'll gloss over...!).

Of the 900 kW produced daily, the plant uses 100 of it, then supplies the cassava processing plant with 600 kW (100% of its power needs), and sells 200 kW back to the Grid.

For perspective: the average power usage in the american home is 1000kWh per month (= 1 megawatt-hour/mo). If you've got a couple of computers, TVs, etc - maybe you're looking at 1200-1500 kWh/month...

Rounded residential costs:
$.12/kWh in FL;
$.18/kWh in MA;
$.13/kWh in CA and DC.
(source: 1/2009 data release by US govt EIA in 4/2009).

If you've gotten this far without glazing over, thanks - the plant was about 2 hours out of bangkok, next to a lush river, and a little stinky, though not as stinky as municipal waste would ... and now i'll move on...

Feeling out public transport: two weeks

So i arrived in Bangkok just over 2 weeks ago... scrambling to adjust, and on my third weekend here, i think i've reached a more zen place :)

I had orientation the day after i arrive, and i've learned a few things about my new school: it is locally known as "Prajom Gao" - which a helluva lot easier to say than King Mongkut University of Technology - and now i have a near 50% chance of being understood! The school is located in a southern suburb of bangkok, across the river, and getting there from the city, is not so easy! i prefer to live in bangkok and commute to school, rather than the other way around.

I tried several buses and different routes (often recommended)... including the 140, which actually runs from the middle of bangkok (chit lom) straight south - but it's NON-STOP on the expressway...which is problematic if you get stuck in traffic...on a full bus...and i'd STILL have to take yet another bus...every which way, no alternative seemed much shorter than living near the skytrain, and taking the counter-intuitive route...

i ended up finding a studio just 4 stops (15 min) from Wong Wian Yai, the last station on the Silom Line (which opened last week). More on the apartment to come... :)

Riverside Bike Ride for Daily Life Snapshots

My father took me bike-riding from the house to get a better look at the neighborhood along the river...It was the best time, so i retraced our route the next day with my camera - and got a few good "daily life" photos.

Rural roads...when houses were close to the road, kids and adults were keen to smile and say hello as we rode by, particularly if we did...initially, they looked either confused or amused to see us just riding around...

Driveway w/ king's image...

In general, this area is fertile agricultural land...

Rice drying on the roadside...

Som tam (green papaya salad) peddler lives here...

The wheel man in town...

a home veggie garden...

Local Wat Photos...

These are some of my favorite shots, taken at the wat complex in pitchit...the complex actually contains several buildings ...

The original temple is over 100 years old...the newer temple in use is across the way, but i thought this one was fascinating...

The locals believe it is quite haunted... certainly has that quality...

i do wonder what the writing says up top...

Inside, the pidgeons purr from above...notice the photos that used to be there on the back wall...there is actually one still there...

upon closer inspection, it is of the royal family - from what i could gather, i believe the baby in the photo is the current king, so it has likely remained in place out of respect...

monks' quarters to the left of the old wat...

a closer look at the monks' quarters...

the complex is surrounded by a wall with cute elephants walking all in a line (elephants, a symbol of prosperity in Buddhism, are always good to have around)...

a closer look at the cute elephant, with the newer (and brightly painted) wat in the background...

This building is used communally by the monks - mealtimes, collective prayers, etc.

outside the monks' common area (behind the tree), a very friendly thai lady makes the most delicious thai iced tea... notice the two mamie dolls on her cart... where did she get those?!?

For 10 Baht, the tea is served up...
A fantastic place to explore...and a great stop while bike riding along the river...

Grad study in thailand?

I returned to the States a bit early, in part to be there for my grandfather's 90th birthday (and my favorite aunt's birthday the day before). The other part is that i was accepted in a master's program at Thailand's #1 research and engineering school.

Energy technology and Management masters level program. My second masters, incidently.

I hadn't wanted to write much about it, in case i didn't get accepted. If i had to judge from my interview, i thought i really blew it. My father advised me: Don't Talk Too Much.

Generally speaking, it does seem like westerners want to explain themselves and tell their stories, whether or not people want to know or not - we sort of assume they do. Our story is key to our acceptance - key to being understood, being credible. To get any job or into school, explaining ourselves seems critical. But really, who doesn't appreciate the confidence of concise and abridged?

As i sat in front of the panel of faculty (including a nobel prize winner). I felt that by saying less, i was being vague, evasive ... i wasn't sure what i said was enough to convince them that i was serious.

Well, seems i am at the very least a source of intrigue, so maybe being so "mysterious" really did work ... And i'm certain this is a program where i can learn all the elements i need to thoroughly assess energy projects for myself. real credibility without the rejection of MIT or Berkeley... and all the thai food i want!

Orientation is the first week in May. So i'm back home (i missed it!) while i prep for my next adventure: Being a student at a King Mongkut's University of Technology for 4.5 months!

in case you're curious, the program: http://www.jgsee.kmutt.ac.th/jgsee1/index.php

How does a monk become a monk?

How does a monk become a monk?
...as illustrated by Chukiet, mei's 21 year old nephew, who will spend 10 days as a monk.

During this time, he will get up at 5 am to get rice from the neighbors to last him a full day of prayers. (it's generally considered really bad karma not to feed the monks, so they are quite well fed, but it's an exercise in humility to ask for your food every day at dawn... )

On sunday morning, chukiet gets his hair shaved... the ceremony lasts about 2 hours. The extended family and neighbors gather across the street (his grandparents' house), and they get in line to wait their turn to snip off a piece of his hair, which then gets placed in a banana-leaf-lined silver bowl, which his mother holds. All of this with an MC narrating, a camera rolling, and a brass band playing - all over loudspeakers set up in front of the house.




After everyone's had their turn, the monk finishes it off with a straight razor. At some point, amidst prayers, the monks dress him in a white lacey tunic, which he wears publicly until he receives his saffron robe the next day...



Then comes the procession to the local temple, where he'll be for 10 days... it reminded me a bit of a new orleans funeral march - the brass band plays these festive dixie tunes (i swear, one of them was that mockingbird lullaby), fueled by whiskey...and people dancing and cheering all the way...






As i mentioned, it's a festive affair. They ask you to dance with them, you dance! it was of utmost amusement to see my dad joining in...so Chukiet's riding in a truck under a blue umbrella; at the front is another truck with the kiddies and ice cold water...




it takes about an hour to reach the bridge that crosses the river to the temple. As a sidenote, i rode my bike over this bridge...a scary thing. motorbikes cross both ways... there's JUST enough room for both to fit, though i can't imagine getting that close to the side... the bridges are only a few years old - dad says that previously, there was a rope bridge with a pulley alongside, where you could hoist your bike, and it would be pulled to the other side...




The prayers lasted about an hour...i must admit, i got distracted taking photos of an old temple just across the way...


after this, everyone returned home to get ready for the big celebration bash on the house grounds. This part was a real trip - kind of like a big bar mitzvah - about 500 people showed up, and there was tons of food, and a whole stage was built for the entertainment... i'll post pictures separately...

Chukiet would receive his saffron robes the next day (monday)... again led by a procession, this time circling the main temple a few times...

....before praying...

...then going through that archway, and then being hoisted up so that he could touch the top of the door way to the temple...this must mark the moment he becomes a monk, because the crowd cheers.

Once inside, he is presented with his saffron robe, changes into it... and settles in for another hour or so of prayers...

And voila! a monk is born...