Bangkok is quite the sprawling metropolis, a fact best driven home by riding the skytrain or, if one is lucky enough, going to the top of one of the tall buildings. From the train you can see flashes of golden temples, parks, tin housing projects, gated communities, and, in the city, building after building. The … More Bangkok: The Ultimate

On September nineteenth, a lot of people somewhere in Thailand where collectively preparing for an epic hangover. The nineteenth was the full moon, and Thailand is famous for Koh Pha Ngan’s full moon parties. This time around I skipped it and stayed in the North, where it seems I was no less affected by the … More Moon Fever

This morning the damn kid was crying again. For two nights now, a woman and her child (who I would guess is maybe two or three) have been staying in the room adjacent to the dorm room I have been occupying in Chat House. The building was originally a regular house and has since been … More Having Pai, and eating it too

Enough days have passed while being here in Chiang Rai that I have lost track, allowing them to dreamily flow into one another like they did during the summers of childhood. If I had to stop and count, I would say that I have been here for… six days? Consulting my hand-drawn ledger would let … More Chiang Rai

Happily, this post was written before the SD-USB converter went AWOL so there are a few pictures for your enlightenment and enjoyment. I am back “home” in Thailand, but won’t be making it back to Yasothon in the last week (week in the singular… less than two before I leave!) so I wanted to put … More Thai Homecoming Pictures

Yesterday was a Tuesday and quite the ordinary day in Ban Nong Faek. For the elderly women of the village and a few select relatives, the day started around 03:00. I happened to be one of those select relatives. It took awhile for Kuhn Yai (grandma) to rouse me, but she was persistent in rapping … More The end of the rainbow: A typical day in Yasothon

The date May 19, 2011 loomed in my mind for months. Admittedly, sometimes it was a date I looked forward too. But for the most part it was  date I dreaded. When it came, I cried and literally made myself sick; fever, rash, upset stomach, anything my body could do to delay the inevitable. But … More Homecoming

May 19, 2011 was the last time I was in Bangkok. I had left my host family a few days before, hiccuping and in tears, not knowing when I would be back. I cried when I visited a Thai 7/11 for the last time. I cried leaving my AFS friends behind, and they all waited … More Back in Bangkok, baby!