Melbourne, Australia
The aid effort is quite amazing. Australia just put on a benefit concert around the country that raised 15 million Australian dollars. But you have to wonder where all that money is going. I just read that Meubaloh in Indonesia is barely receiving any aid:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsunami/story/0,15671,1386303,00.html
If you can, forward this story so that people know what is actually happening. Also, in my previous post entitled "156,000 dead and rising" is a link to an Indonesian specific relief organization that my friend Jess (who works with people in Aceh) forwarded. Please give money if you can. It's groups like Doctor's without Borders and Greanpeace(funnily enough) that are actually getting through to the truly devastated towns. The bigger organizations seem to be keeping to safe zones and the UN is dragging their feet when it comes to Indonesia. I just read in the Australian paper that the ONLY airport in Aceh has to shut down for 24 hours every time a VIP dignitary comes in (like Powell)for security reasons. This leaves the entire region stranded without supplies for an entire day just so some power elite can "see for themselves" the devesation. That's insane!!!!!!!!!! It's important the west doesn't think that because all this money is flowing in that people are actually being helped. It's going to take a world of witnesses to make sure corruption doesn't consume that flow of good will.
Leaving Chaing Mai was an adventure unto itself. I opted for the 12 hour bus ride as it was New Year's eve and I knew it would be empty plus the $7 price was appealing. I decided to get one last Thai massage for the road. It was all going so well until the therapist did that one move (that would be illegal in the states) of bending your back towards the ceiling. I screamed in pain as she popped something out of my lower back. She didn't understand and sat there, on my back, like a confused puppy. Eventually she got off and in broken English I explained to her that she threw my back out. She was very apologetic and kept saying "4 years of westerners....this never happen". I felt terrible, she felt terrible...I couldn't move...it was 5:30 and my bus left at 6. I crawled around the room for half an hour as she insisted on rubbing tiger balm on my lower back (It actually worked). I eventually was able to stand and hobble over to the travel agent to catch my bus. It was a great reminder how we are all at the mercy of our bodies.
By the next day I was feeling fine. Something in my back just said "enough" with that thai massage move. I think it was rebelling against the 6 hour a day sitting positions for meditiation.
I arrived at 6:30 am on New Years Day into Bankok. As we drove in, the town was covered in white celebration lights. January 1st is just one of three New Years that the Thais celebrate (Chinese and Thai being the other two).
As I walked through Bankok, I caught the dregs of the evenings celebrations. Young Thais staggering drunk. Food stalls packing up. Westerners arm and arm with "Lady Boi"(transsexual) prostitutes. The Lady Boi is an amazing thing in Thailand. They are totally accepted (unlike the west) and many Lady Bois are former Thai Boxing champions. It's no secret that the best way to afford "the operation" is to be a champion Thai Boxer. One great story I heard was of a lady boi in Phuket who was being harrassed by some young western guys. With great skill she simply spun around mid air and kicked them in the head like Bruce Lee. After that point the harrassment stopped and the westerners ran away (having wet themselves I'm sure). Lady Bois are very visible in Thai society. Many massage therapists are Lady Bois. I got a haircut in a salon where a lady boi sat at the reception desk. It made me appreciate Thai culture even more to think that transsexuality was so accepted. Mind you, I did not run across any female to male transexuals so I don't know what the acceptance level would be from that perspective. I do know that Lady Bois are somewhat deified in Thai culture, in that it is widely accepted that they have "two souls". Interesting that Thailand is one of the few countries that was not colonized in the region. I wonder if it was, would such tolerance still exist?
It was odd seeing the remnants of all this celebration considering the catastrophe that had just happened in Asia. I certainly didn't feel like celebrating, but the Thais (and drunken westerners) did. I overhead conversations, people who just came from Phuket and phi phi islands and had lost everything. On the flight, I came across a guy who was on the Phi Phi islands. He lost all his belongings, including his passport, but was glad to head home. I can't imagine what the locals lost..at least those who survived. The surviving tourists came out of this fairly lucky in that their homes and communities weren't devestated. They have something to go back to.
The strangest thing was by far people in the airport who were heading TOWARDS Phuket. I asked this guy why he would want to go and vacation there, and his answer was that he had friends he wanted to visit. I don't know, it seemed odd to me. I even saw pictures of westerners sunbathing only a few feet away from rubble. How could people go and vacation in an area of so much devestation where the bodies haven't even been recovered? I told this guy that I'm sure he would be welcome. The Thais are terrified of their travel industry collapsing, and I could see that would be somewhat of a catastrophe into itself. So many people seem reliant on it.
I arrived in Melbourne and was greeted by my pals George and Deanne. George is an old friend from Edinburgh and both of them stayed with me in Gueneville when they travelled around the world last year. It was their trip that partly inspired me to do this. They were travelling for over a year and decided to settle in Melbourne for a bit. It has been great to see them and be treated with such hospitality. Both of them work in restaurants (George is a chef) so they love food as much as I do. As a result they decided the best way to show me Melbourne was through food....Yeah!!!
The first day they drove me along the "Great Ocean Road", a beautiful coastal drive that reminded me a lot of the one along California's coast. We stopped at a famous golf course where Kangaroos hang out regularly. It was quite bazaar seeing wealthy Australians putting around a herd of Kangaroos on the green.
The next day I caught up with my old friend Carey who is now a school teacher with two kids. She lives in Belgrave, near the Dandenong Ranges in a beautiful house overlooking rainforest. Her house is hooked up to a rainwater well. Interesting side note, Australia is in the 7th year of its worst drought in history. Many folks who are not in the city must collect rainwater viea wells. The way it is done is water runs from the roof to the gutters, to a well. The water is then stored and filtered as needed. The well is the size of a small above ground swimming pool and adorns everyone's back yard in the country.
Back in Melbourne I did the musueum thing and walked around ( saw an Edward Munch and awesome Bug exhibit). George and Dee took me to the park to see a lesbian band "The Blue House". It was a free concert, part of a series of events the city sponsors over the summer. The only problem was the summer in Melbourne, so far has been littered with rain storms (good for the drought though). So of course, hundreds of us with our wine and picnics were doing it woodstock style, keeping dry under blankets and whatever extra clothing we brought along. Everyone stuck it through...which was quite impressive. When the concert was over, the announcer asked us "not to feed the possums". I thought this was obsurd...what possoms...we aren't going to see any possums. But sure enough, as dusk set in and the giant fruit bats came out (which was quite a spectacle unto itself) the possums descended from the trees, little kangaroo like beings. George immediately went up to one like she was going to feed it and it was completely tame. The possums in Australia are much more cuddly and cuter than the pink faced fang weilding rat tailed species in North America. Dozens of them came out, slowly descending from their trees, all looking for food. It was quite a site. Evidently every park has its population of possums. I went to another park the next night and watched them come out after dusk. One tree had a possum, and as I sat there three more slowly descended, shaking the tree as they came gently down. One was a baby and they looked at me with those big eyes like I was from Mars. I must admit, I did what you are not supposed to do. I fed them. They were slothlike and sweet. Very mindful little creatures. In the tree next to theirs, the fruit bats were landing and feeding on figs. The entire tree was shaking with hundreds of giant fruit bats. I was in heaven. I love bats!!! I must have sat there for three hours watching these amazing creatures.
Melbourne is a lovely, diverse and clean city. Australians are laid back and seem to enjoy food, beer and just a good barbecue (which are everywhere by the way). George goes to the park around the corner to cook all the time, like it's a second kitchen.
Tomorrow George and Dee and I will be going to midnight movies in the park (another city sponsored event) and then I'm going to visit Carey one more time before heading to the Barrier Reef next week. Part of me really misses Asia though. It's so stimulating and wonderous. Western Culture feels so depressed and closed in comparison. I want to return soon to Asia. I really did love it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tsunami/story/0,15671,1386303,00.html
If you can, forward this story so that people know what is actually happening. Also, in my previous post entitled "156,000 dead and rising" is a link to an Indonesian specific relief organization that my friend Jess (who works with people in Aceh) forwarded. Please give money if you can. It's groups like Doctor's without Borders and Greanpeace(funnily enough) that are actually getting through to the truly devastated towns. The bigger organizations seem to be keeping to safe zones and the UN is dragging their feet when it comes to Indonesia. I just read in the Australian paper that the ONLY airport in Aceh has to shut down for 24 hours every time a VIP dignitary comes in (like Powell)for security reasons. This leaves the entire region stranded without supplies for an entire day just so some power elite can "see for themselves" the devesation. That's insane!!!!!!!!!! It's important the west doesn't think that because all this money is flowing in that people are actually being helped. It's going to take a world of witnesses to make sure corruption doesn't consume that flow of good will.
Leaving Chaing Mai was an adventure unto itself. I opted for the 12 hour bus ride as it was New Year's eve and I knew it would be empty plus the $7 price was appealing. I decided to get one last Thai massage for the road. It was all going so well until the therapist did that one move (that would be illegal in the states) of bending your back towards the ceiling. I screamed in pain as she popped something out of my lower back. She didn't understand and sat there, on my back, like a confused puppy. Eventually she got off and in broken English I explained to her that she threw my back out. She was very apologetic and kept saying "4 years of westerners....this never happen". I felt terrible, she felt terrible...I couldn't move...it was 5:30 and my bus left at 6. I crawled around the room for half an hour as she insisted on rubbing tiger balm on my lower back (It actually worked). I eventually was able to stand and hobble over to the travel agent to catch my bus. It was a great reminder how we are all at the mercy of our bodies.
By the next day I was feeling fine. Something in my back just said "enough" with that thai massage move. I think it was rebelling against the 6 hour a day sitting positions for meditiation.
I arrived at 6:30 am on New Years Day into Bankok. As we drove in, the town was covered in white celebration lights. January 1st is just one of three New Years that the Thais celebrate (Chinese and Thai being the other two).
As I walked through Bankok, I caught the dregs of the evenings celebrations. Young Thais staggering drunk. Food stalls packing up. Westerners arm and arm with "Lady Boi"(transsexual) prostitutes. The Lady Boi is an amazing thing in Thailand. They are totally accepted (unlike the west) and many Lady Bois are former Thai Boxing champions. It's no secret that the best way to afford "the operation" is to be a champion Thai Boxer. One great story I heard was of a lady boi in Phuket who was being harrassed by some young western guys. With great skill she simply spun around mid air and kicked them in the head like Bruce Lee. After that point the harrassment stopped and the westerners ran away (having wet themselves I'm sure). Lady Bois are very visible in Thai society. Many massage therapists are Lady Bois. I got a haircut in a salon where a lady boi sat at the reception desk. It made me appreciate Thai culture even more to think that transsexuality was so accepted. Mind you, I did not run across any female to male transexuals so I don't know what the acceptance level would be from that perspective. I do know that Lady Bois are somewhat deified in Thai culture, in that it is widely accepted that they have "two souls". Interesting that Thailand is one of the few countries that was not colonized in the region. I wonder if it was, would such tolerance still exist?
It was odd seeing the remnants of all this celebration considering the catastrophe that had just happened in Asia. I certainly didn't feel like celebrating, but the Thais (and drunken westerners) did. I overhead conversations, people who just came from Phuket and phi phi islands and had lost everything. On the flight, I came across a guy who was on the Phi Phi islands. He lost all his belongings, including his passport, but was glad to head home. I can't imagine what the locals lost..at least those who survived. The surviving tourists came out of this fairly lucky in that their homes and communities weren't devestated. They have something to go back to.
The strangest thing was by far people in the airport who were heading TOWARDS Phuket. I asked this guy why he would want to go and vacation there, and his answer was that he had friends he wanted to visit. I don't know, it seemed odd to me. I even saw pictures of westerners sunbathing only a few feet away from rubble. How could people go and vacation in an area of so much devestation where the bodies haven't even been recovered? I told this guy that I'm sure he would be welcome. The Thais are terrified of their travel industry collapsing, and I could see that would be somewhat of a catastrophe into itself. So many people seem reliant on it.
I arrived in Melbourne and was greeted by my pals George and Deanne. George is an old friend from Edinburgh and both of them stayed with me in Gueneville when they travelled around the world last year. It was their trip that partly inspired me to do this. They were travelling for over a year and decided to settle in Melbourne for a bit. It has been great to see them and be treated with such hospitality. Both of them work in restaurants (George is a chef) so they love food as much as I do. As a result they decided the best way to show me Melbourne was through food....Yeah!!!
The first day they drove me along the "Great Ocean Road", a beautiful coastal drive that reminded me a lot of the one along California's coast. We stopped at a famous golf course where Kangaroos hang out regularly. It was quite bazaar seeing wealthy Australians putting around a herd of Kangaroos on the green.
The next day I caught up with my old friend Carey who is now a school teacher with two kids. She lives in Belgrave, near the Dandenong Ranges in a beautiful house overlooking rainforest. Her house is hooked up to a rainwater well. Interesting side note, Australia is in the 7th year of its worst drought in history. Many folks who are not in the city must collect rainwater viea wells. The way it is done is water runs from the roof to the gutters, to a well. The water is then stored and filtered as needed. The well is the size of a small above ground swimming pool and adorns everyone's back yard in the country.
Back in Melbourne I did the musueum thing and walked around ( saw an Edward Munch and awesome Bug exhibit). George and Dee took me to the park to see a lesbian band "The Blue House". It was a free concert, part of a series of events the city sponsors over the summer. The only problem was the summer in Melbourne, so far has been littered with rain storms (good for the drought though). So of course, hundreds of us with our wine and picnics were doing it woodstock style, keeping dry under blankets and whatever extra clothing we brought along. Everyone stuck it through...which was quite impressive. When the concert was over, the announcer asked us "not to feed the possums". I thought this was obsurd...what possoms...we aren't going to see any possums. But sure enough, as dusk set in and the giant fruit bats came out (which was quite a spectacle unto itself) the possums descended from the trees, little kangaroo like beings. George immediately went up to one like she was going to feed it and it was completely tame. The possums in Australia are much more cuddly and cuter than the pink faced fang weilding rat tailed species in North America. Dozens of them came out, slowly descending from their trees, all looking for food. It was quite a site. Evidently every park has its population of possums. I went to another park the next night and watched them come out after dusk. One tree had a possum, and as I sat there three more slowly descended, shaking the tree as they came gently down. One was a baby and they looked at me with those big eyes like I was from Mars. I must admit, I did what you are not supposed to do. I fed them. They were slothlike and sweet. Very mindful little creatures. In the tree next to theirs, the fruit bats were landing and feeding on figs. The entire tree was shaking with hundreds of giant fruit bats. I was in heaven. I love bats!!! I must have sat there for three hours watching these amazing creatures.
Melbourne is a lovely, diverse and clean city. Australians are laid back and seem to enjoy food, beer and just a good barbecue (which are everywhere by the way). George goes to the park around the corner to cook all the time, like it's a second kitchen.
Tomorrow George and Dee and I will be going to midnight movies in the park (another city sponsored event) and then I'm going to visit Carey one more time before heading to the Barrier Reef next week. Part of me really misses Asia though. It's so stimulating and wonderous. Western Culture feels so depressed and closed in comparison. I want to return soon to Asia. I really did love it.
posted by Mr. Sophie at 10:41 PM
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