El Lluvar
Current mood: relaxed

El lluvar
5 Aug 07

It rains every day in Nicaragua in this time of year. It is very nice for keeping the dust down, and keeping things clean. As well, it makes for interesting conversations with strangers caught together under awnings. This morning I met a kid who at 17 was working full time as a trash collector. He told me that he had an Aunt in the US and he, himself, had been to Canada. As well, he showed me his new shoes from the US, and was very interested to know why the gringas wear bikinis. Too funny. I told him it was because one did not need a lot of clothes in in the water, and that bikinis were very common in other countries, simply not so common in Nica. Funny. Funny. Funny. Anyway, after about 10 minutes the rain let up, and he kissed me on the cheek as if I were a long lost aunt and returned to work. The Latins are a charming bunch.

Today our trip to Laguna de Apoyo was canceled, so I am going to Volcan de Masaya later today, instead. All good. Laguna is for next time. I took a walk then, and saw the Mass for a bit. Hard to follow the accent of the priest, but the church was awesome. It has a blue facade, and was the Convento de San Francisco, and now is just a church. The Convento is painted ocher yellow and is now the Museo Antiguo Convento founded. I also walked around the square, and there was a foot race going. I was thinking that would have been fun to do, had I known about it in time. But, not this time, not for me. I looked at the souvenir stands, and the souvenirs were pricy, so I left. Mas tarde chicos!

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Las Isletas de Lago de Nicaragua
Current mood: awake

Las Isletas de Colciboca
4 Aug 07

It should be noted that I am actually writing this on 5 Aug, but all the action happened on 4 Aug. Sometimes the thoughts don't always come in order.

Saturday started early, which was no small feat, since Friday had ended late. I got into Granada on Friday afternoon around 5pm with my new friend Lisa, and the hotel we had booked had already sold out, so we wound up at another hotel, which was okay. It had a fabulous tiled pool. However, the street was all torn up in front of the hotel, making entry and exit quite perilous. Nevertheless it was good for one night. We went to Tercer Ojos, recommended by another classmate. It was quite tasty and full of ambiance. We got a bottle of wine, appetizers and meals, and a banana chocolate crepe for dessert for a total of $25 each (including tip). Sweet! Then we went to the disco and it was really something. The place was called Discotec Cesar, and they had kareoke for the first hour--it was awful. Then the music started and people danced. It was nice, although for Latinos, the dancing was not too advanced. It is funny, my expectations were such that I thought the Latinos must all be great en vivo, but no, pretty average, for the most part.

But, back to Saturday. My plan was to get up early and head to Ometepe, but as it turns out the boat only goes on Monday and Thursday, so change in plans for me! I headed over to the hotel that we had tried to book for Friday night, and was able to get a room for Sat and Sun after all. The place is called Casa San Francisco, and it is lovely. Very tastefully decorated, comfortable, and pleasant. The staff have a definite pro customer service attitude. As well, there is wireless internet, and that is GREAT! I slept great in the room, and the breakfast was also very delicious. Casa San Francisco has the best pinto gallo that I have eaten to date. This dish is served with breakfast every day in Nicaragua, and consists of black beans and rice stir fried together. I think it is probably what traditionally was left over from dinner, but it is nice with scrambled eggs and avocato and chile sauce. At any rate, the pinto gallo here has got some great spices in it, and it was really yummy.

So after I checked into the Casa San Francisco I went in search of a tour of the Isletas and found one very quickly for very cheap ($20 for four hours, completely chaperoned). The Isletas are an archapelago formed from the eruption of Mombacho Volcano some time ago. There are rumored to be over 300 of them, and I have seen quite a few. Our guide spoke Spanish and English, so that was nice. We had people from all over Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and me. Some spoke Spanish, some spoke English, and it was a good vibe with the Europeans. In order to get to the lake, we rode in horse drawn carriages, which was totally over the top, but cool.

First we had to wade out to get into the boat, and the water was so hot, that I almost could not get in it at first. Then, we went to see the Fortaleza San Pablo, which is an island where the Spanish built a fort with the primary goal of fending off pirate attacks. It was groovois, and still in tact from like 500 years ago. Then the next stop was Monkey Island, where we got to visit with the monkeys for a few minutes. The guide had brought bananas for us. It seemed that the monkeys had already eaten other boats' bananas, so we wound up eating them ourselves, and that was good. Then, We visited Isleta Escondido (the hidden island) and saw where they keep the retired boats. We also went to a restaurant, and went swimming in the Lago de Nicaragua. It is crazy because it is hot hot hot when you get in near the shore--like almost too hot to get in hot--and then you get out and swim, and it is cold cold cold. The guide says it is the sun. The sun warms the water for about one meter of depth, and it is then cold underneath because the lago is very deep.

After the tour I made plans with Diego de Venice for dinner. We met up later and had a nice Thai dinner. After that we met up with our other boat mates at a place called Cafe Nuit. It was a nice place, but kind of crowded with westerners and too much reggaeton. I got home around midnight and went right to sleep. Bon nuit. ;-)

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Mi companos de esquela y las playas
Current mood: relaxed

Getting out and away
4 Agosto 07

Hola mis amigos. I have not written in a few days. I have been pretty busy with the escuela. There is just a whole lot of cramming las palabras todo el tiempo. And, then there is a significant problem with the electricity in these parts, so internet access is limited, and well, it is an adventure! Lots has been going on this week, so just a few highlights.

First, I finally got out in the evening on Wednesday with my classmates for happy hour at Pelican Eyes--the fancy hotel on the hill in San Juan del Sur. 2 for 1 drinks. I had 2 watermelon margaritas and was quite pleased by it all. We went to dinner at some fancy dinner that was a record spending high at $21 US for each of us. Never mind that it included 2 pitchers of sangria, appetizers and dinner for five. However, by Nicaraguan standards, that is muy caro. It is interesting that most of the people here will never eat at a restaurant like that. Word on la calle is that our professors make about $40 a week, and that does not go very far... especially with a family to feed. In any event, we had a great time out, and we all enjoyed the chance to compare our experiences with our different professors.

Thursday we had another beach outing, to Playa Majahuel--la nombre lo mismo de el dia de tequila en mexico! Muy bien! It was a beautiful beach, and perfect for swimming. Several of our party were hit by the stinging protozoa, and two girls got jellified by the local jelly fish. No one seems to have info on these perils, but all parties recovered with only minor dolor. As well, five went surfing at the beach next door, Madera. Muy bien. After the beach, I had a couple of beers with a couple of my classmates, Claude the Canadian, and Lisa from Marin. Lisa and I decided to leave on Friday and go to Granada in hopes of better nightlife. ;-)

By Friday morning, Montezuma had hit me, so estoy una poca infirma en mi estomago a Viernas. I cut class, and missed graduation (why does this sound so familiar?). I have always been one to cut class and miss graduation. I always wonder how I got so far in school, being that I am such a hack student. Nevertheless, I believe I profitted greatly from the school. I learned so much, and intend to continue to pursue my studies. I would like to come back to Nicaragua for another couple of weeks of school. Perhaps one week in Granada and another week in San Juan del Sur. I would strongly recommend the school. All accounts suggested that all students had a very positive experience. 

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San Juan del Sur
Current mood: relaxed

Reader note: I may have posted bits of this already... lo siento. No recuerto. Muchas palabras de espanol estan fritando mi cerebro.

San Juan del Sur
29 Jul 07

It is beautiful here. The sun is shining, and there are gentle clouds. The breeze is lovely. There are people out, on account of it being Sunday, but still not so many people. And the people are all the locals. Fantastico.

The school, San Juan del Sur Spanish School, is in a restaurant, Lago Azul, and it really is right on the beach. As it turns out there are several Spanish Schools here, so finding the one that I had registered for was a bit of a trick. When I found it, they had no record of my registration. I was not entirely surprised by this, since I had never heard back on email requests for more information. Nevertheless, they took my money, and I am enrolled.

I seem to be remembering a lot of words that I evidently had forgotten that I knew, and this is very good timing, since really very few people speak English here. I guess it is possible that they do speak English, but no one is giving it up for me. Even the tourists all seem to be speaking Spanish. The other thing that is so striking is that this is not a country that has been screwed over by tourists, at least not yet. The people are happy to feed you, give you the keys to your room, and generally take you at your word that you will pay them later: "No, targete de credito no esta necessario." And off you go, see you later, and I guess we will just pay later. It is pretty amazing. And amusing.

San Juan del Sur is a relatively low tech place. It looks like any smallish beach town in any underdeveloped country anywhere. There are a lot of fishing boats off the coast. I imagine the fish here is amazing. There are lots of people swimming, playing on the beach--always soccar, of course--but also vollyball, and other kinds of running around catch this catch that catch me. It is great. There are about 8-10 restaurant/bars on the beach. I am at the last one on the north side. It is all locals, and local music, or so it seems. I am drinking a Tona beer, and it is quite nice.

My hotel is very clean, but mimialist. The price is very good, and the location is excellent. The nice hotels are all located up on the hill, and that is far from the water. I am just a block from the water, and the school (on the beach). Muy bien.

First day of school
30 July

Today is the first day of school. I did not, surprise, sleep well. I kept worrying that my lab was going to implode while I was away, and a day without internet did not help to inspire confidence. Hopefully I will find email today and stop worrying. Plus, my little brain has started doing that thing where I try to figure out how to say everything in the second language, regardless of whether I need to. It is just something that seems to happen when I get into the immersion environment. Same thing happened in France.

Crazy thunderstorms this morning, also.

I am at the school. There is a distinct dearth of students. The beach is muy bonita. Calm Quiet. :-) Ok, mi professora is Margarita. La nombre de mi bebida favorita. Que buena!

--

End of the day.
30 Jul 07
Today was the first day of class. We studied many, many verbs, and a bit of vocabulary. But mostly verbos verbos verbos. Anyway, we both were quite exhausted by the end of four hours of intensive study. I was happy for the lunch break. Each teacher has one student only, so it is pretty much super intensive. Muy Bien.

Today we went to a beach for our activity, and that was delightful. There was no one there but some of our class and professors for a total of 8. Fantastic. I tried to practice my verbos on la playa, but then I fell asleep. Go figure.

I got to talking with Claude the Canadian, and told him about my spartan accommodations. Turns out he had stayed at my hotel also, and did not like it. The rooms really are smaller than Japan hotel rooms. He suggested that for 20 dollars more per night, I could stay in this great hotel overlooking the ocean with a MUCH larger room, and a balcony--a wrap around balcony--if the room were available. And in fact, my room was waiting for me. The ladies who rented it to me were quite delightful, and I am so much happier in this room. I was feeling a bit like Harry Potter under the stairs at the Gran Oceano. Oh and the bar/restaurant has started playing ABBA just now! Things are getting better all the time! Should just have stayed here form the beginning, but you know what Randi says, Live and Learn!

Tonight I am headed for the restaurant whos name I can't remember. Actually, I don't know the name of the hotel I am in now. More excitement to be revealed in uno momento!

Ah ha! La nombre de hotel es lo mismo de restaurant. Hotel Buen Gusto. The hotel is lovely, with a great view, and very friendly hosts. The downsides are that they do not clean the rooms unless you ask them to, but then happily--kind of a different sensibility, perhaps.
 
Adios fair readers.

Langostina
30 Jul 07

No se. I don't know quite what is wrong with me but I just ordered the Lobster. I yi yi yi. Yesterday I almost felt like I wanted to smoke a cigarette. Something weird is happening. I just don't know what to make of it!

I have now finished the Lobster, and I have to say it was not nearly as great as I was thinking it was going to be. I also had a side of vegetables--mostly squash, and french fries, and a salad. I actually enjoyed by $3 tostones con queso y frijoles de la noche hier mas. I mean, last night. I think that maybe fine dining has yet to be revealed in Nicaragua. However, the salad was quite nice. I think it is good that I did not smoke that cigarette. :-)
 
No more meat for me for a while.

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The most refreshing swim of your life = Nicaragua
Current mood: relaxed

Yo estoy aqui
28 Jul 07

Here I am. Yo estoy aqui. It was all quite efficient at the airport. I arrived (doors of plane opened) at 8:29. I was quite amused, and rather dizzied by the reality that I had got through immigration, baggage collected, duty free booze purchased, customs verified, and had been scooped up by the Hilton shuttle by 8:39.

My darling "sister" Michelle M, arranged for my safe passage to this weigh station of sorts, the Hilton Princess Managua, and it is indeed wonderful. Safe, well located, and boasting a very appealing swimming pool. I expect coffee, a swim and perhaps a trip to the grocery across the street... and my next leg of the journey tomorrow will be just a few moments away. Evidently everything is easy here. There seems to be no end to the possibilities... of course, having money, a big smile, and enough Spanish to communicate helps. But, the people here are still excited to see the Americans, and that is a refreshing change of pace.

The most refreshing swim of your life.
29 July 07

Today is Sunday, and I got my swim this morning. It was so refreshing and lovely. And the sky was blue!! The skies have been so rainy and cloudy in Houston that it is a wonderful change of pace to have blue skies.

I am traveling to San Juan Del Sur for the Spanish Language School right now as I write this. I am in a taxi, and that alone is pretty amazing. They just bag you up and put you in the taxi and off you go. There is not much in between cheap bus ride and deluxe taxi. Fortunately the prices are CHEAP. The journey went through Masaya, and now we are on the Pan American Highway. It is great; we are flying down the countryside. I expect the road to get much worse on the journey from Rivas to San Juan del Sur. Word on the street is that the street is very bad--not paved, washed out, etc. I hope to report a smooth landing at the Hotel Gran Oceano, where I will be for a week.

Then, for my gentle readers wondering where in the world is Rebecca... I plan to take in the sister volcanos on Ometepe Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Then a day or two in Granada. And... If I am very good, I might take myself on a plane trip to the Corn Islands (Caribbean Coast) for a couple of days of Caribbean sensibilities. It is a bit of a departure from the mission of this trip (in that there really would be nothing to do there but snorkle and drink beer... and they speak English on that side of the Country... still, I think I will regret it if I don't check it out.

San Juan del Sur
29 Jul 07

It is beautiful here. The sun is shining, and there are gentle clouds. The breeze is lovely. There are people out, on account of it being Sunday, but still not so many people. And the people are all the locals. Fantastico.

The school, San Juan del Sur Spanish School, is in a restaurant, Lago Azul, and it really is right on the beach. As it turns out there are several Spanish Schools here, so finding the one that I had registered for was a bit of a trick. When I found it, they had no record of my registration. I was not entirely surprised by this, since I had never heard back on email requests for more information. Nevertheless, they took my money, and I am enrolled.

I seem to be remembering a lot of words that I evidently had forgotten that I knew, and this is very good timing, since really very few people speak English here. I guess it is possible that they do speak English, but no one is giving it up for me. Even the tourists all seem to be speaking Spanish. The other thing that is so striking is that this is not a country that has been screwed over by tourists, at least not yet. The people are happy to feed you, give you the keys to your room, and generally take you at your word that you will pay them later: "No, targete de credito no esta necessario." And off you go, see you later, and I guess we will just pay later. It is pretty amazing. And amusing.

San Juan del Sur is a relatively low tech place. It looks like any smallish beach town in any underdeveloped country anywhere. There are a lot of fishing boats off the coast. I imagine the fish here is amazing. There are lots of people swimming, playing on the beach--always soccar, of course--but also vollyball, and other kinds of running around catch this catch that catch me. It is great. There are about 8-10 restaurant/bars on the beach. I am at the last one on the north side. It is all locals, and local music, or so it seems. I am drinking a Tona beer, and it is quite nice.

My hotel is very clean, but mimialist. The price is very good, and the location is excellent. The nice hotels are all located up on the hill, and that is far from the water. I am just a block from the water, and the school (on the beach). Muy bien.

Everything but the bars and restaurants are closed today, Sunday, AKA Domingo. More manana.

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Price for a feel
Current mood: amused

Tonight I ran into this dude at the club whom I see every time. For a long time he insisted that we had to get married. Now I call him my fiance. This is good because I don't actually remember his name. Tonight I was a bit overheated from too much dancing, so I was standing in front of a giant fan at Sky Bar. He came up and kissed my sweaty cheek (sneak attack). I grabbed his arm, and said, "Hey how are you darling?" He said, "Good, I feel good." I rubbed his chest gently, and said, "You do feel good." He immediately bought me an extremely overpriced, but delicious bottle of water. I wonder what I would have had purchased for me if I had felt a little lower?  Seems like an empirical question...

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Vietnamese Coffee
Current mood: horny

Coffee is like a lover. In the morning, the alarm rings and is silenced angrily. Reprieve arrives with the realization that coffee is imminent. "Coffee! Coffee! I must have coffee! Better than a thousand kisses. Sweeter than muscatel wine." Bach really knew what he was talking about. It is an amazing substance. The coffee I got in Vietnam last year is strong. It reminds me of a Vietnamese lover... strong, tough, and deceptively genuine. I remember the Coochi, and their crafty ways. Yet, the Vietnamese men give the softest, gentlest pedicures. The coffee is the same. It is strong, acrid and the fiercest fighter in the grinder, but once brewed, the smoothest, richest, kindest welcome to my morning. I must go to sleep now to dream of my Vietnamese lover.

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Children are most important at Christmas
Current mood: thoughtful

I have had the revelation that children really serve their purpose as entertainment during the holidays. This is, just to be Very Clear, not to say that I am interested in any of my own...quite the contrary, in fact, No Thank You. (You breeders go on and keep on having all the fun, I am sure the rest of us will muddle on somehow.) Children are absolutely hilarious around the holidays.

The older nephew and I have had an ongoing, hourly count of how many days till we get to open presents. This has also worked very well with the stunning revelation that if one goes to sleep, one wakes up, and tomorrow is ONE DAY CLOSER to Santa! Hooray! The hourly count is really good, because we can do it in English, Spanish, and of course, Japanese. The trilingual child is a wonderfully invigorating experience for the slightly imbibed Auntie during the holidays. (No more eggnog in the coffee for me, thanks.)

As well, the preponderance of presents for cute, unsuspecting children who have been living overseas for all of their previous years (sum of 5 between them), and really did not have a clear idea of Christmas In America, the Land of Walmart, is overwhelming. Overwhelming, not only for the children, but also for nearby adults. The presents have been loaded up in available cargo vehicles (primarily toy trucks, trains and cars) and delivered throughout the house to all individuals. Presents with tags that may have fallen off during the courier activities have had new tags fashioned out of any available sticker, some of which really have no name or other english symbols on them. These many transports of presents to and fro have launched many conversations about the veracity of the standardly accepted calendar used in modern times, and isn't it possible, that Christmas is really, well, right now?

Mummy and Daddy have done their best to stick to schedules, but the appearance of Mummy's actual given name on packages has launched an exciting debate between Mummy and the oldest nephew about the veracity of "Mummy" as a proper name for Mummy, and shouldn't maybe this other, more "exotic" sounding name--the way it rolls off the toungue, all multisyllabic and Asian sounding--be a better name for Mummy than, say, "Mummy?" Mummy believes that this is still the appropriate name, and all adult members of the household have taken to calling the said mother, "Mummy" for the duration, however long *that* may be.

Perhaps what is most amazing, to me, an unsuspecting Auntie, having lived most of my days in Grown Up Land, is the enduring belief that if you continue to repeat, again, and again, what you want, it will happen. I must have been a champ at this in my childhood, as I seem to be incredibly adept at getting my way as an adult. To wit, the children state and restate, again, and again, what it is that they most want, and are Very Clear on what they do not want. For example, "I want a green toy tractor," and "I do not like salad," have been so commonly stated in the past 48 hours, that I feel as though this must be some song cue that I have somehow missed in the song and dance version of the recounting of my lifestory. Whe the Life and Times of Dr. Diva make it to Broadway, you better expect two incredibly cute boys under 5 of vaguely Asian descent to come out and do a song about tractors and salad--strangely both green...

More later. But for now, rest well and don't eat too many cookies.

9:16 PM - 2 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment

Palace, Temple, Chinatown and Weekend Market
Current mood: awake

It is interesting how fantastic the experience in Bangkok is while at the same time uncomfortable and wretched. It is truly a city of contrasts. The people are living in abject poverty, and then they are using some of the most technologically advanced transportation and electronics in the world. The place smells to high heaven, but the shopping is great. The sex shows are legendary yet the rates of HIV are astronomical. I was grateful to have the Shangri La as a respite from the urban insanity.

I spent my first couple of days primarily doing conferencing activities. There was a lot of conference to see, and I had to give my talk. This was all good and everything went well with that. The biggest issue with the conference was that it was a 45 minute commute from the hotel where I was staying, involving two trains and a taxi ride. I did try to walk it from the train to the hotel one time, and that is about a 40 minute walk involving crossing major roads and cutting through malls and parking garages. I think that the hotel choice for the conference was bad, because it was so far away from public transportation, and not centrally located in Bangkok.

After the conferencing became too big a chore, I spent my time doing touristy things, lounging by the pool, and of course, working. There is always a lot of working. Among the touristy things, the most fabulously beautiful was the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This was also very crowded and hot, but worth checking out nonetheless. The entire structure is very large—covering several square blocks, and everything is covered with mosaic pieces of multicolored glass and mirrors. There is also lots of gold and marble everywhere, with ornate accents on everything. The effect is quite spectacular. I was also interested to learn that you have to wear long pants or a long skirt, a shirt that covers your shoulders and armpits, no shoes and hat in the temple, and generally a reverent attitude everywhere. This is probably good for keeping the crowds in line, and adds to the mystique, and perhaps increases the expectation for an entrance fee, which there was: 250 Baht—about $7 US? 

We also had some time in the crowds at Chinatown and the Weekend Market. Chinatown was pretty intense—it is hot, crowded with people, stalls, motorscooters and cars everywhere. There was often only space for one person to get by on the sidewalk at a time. Every square inch was taken up by vendors, and this often extended out into the road so that only one car could get by at a time. This made for slow going as there were also scooters and lots of people everywhere. I did not last too long there. It was too much, too many, overkill.

The Weekend Market was better, primarily because it is much better organized. There were blocks and blocks of vendors, but they were mostly in designated stalls, so it was not so much of a pedestrian fear for your life vigil. Anyway, I did not buy too much, but there was lots of cool stuff for sale. We happened into the pet area also—weirdorama. There were the usual puppies and kitties for sale, and also lots of other "pets": lizards, turtles, snakes and small furry critters, including bunnies, gerbils, rats, mice, etc. I think one guy was selling minks—they had beautiful coats. It was very hot, so we found the poor puppies panting in the heat a bit too much and got outta there.  We probably walked around for an hour and a half, and decided that was about enough. 

The food in Bangkok is very tasty, although the smell of the city sometimes makes the experience less than appetizing. The food is a lot of noodles, rice, vegetables and fish—pretty much what you would expect. The chilis are wonderful. I was also relieved to find many dishes that did not include coconut, and lots of good things to eat in the restaurants that we went to. I also found a great Indian food restaurant, and that was a nice departure from all the noodles.

I have not had any of the mishaps that the books warned about happen to me in Bangkok, and I am grateful for that. All taxis were taxi meter and straight to the destination, and no one has tried to swindle me out of a temple and into a "gem and jewelry" shop. Thank goodness!

They have just started the descent on my flight, so I am going to sign off for now. I hope you are having an exciting start to your December. I hope that we get to see each other soon, and that you had a nice Turkey day! I am thankful for you!

2:37 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Dance Party at the Shangri La
Current mood: amused

Well it is Sunday, time for me to leave Bangkok. I have got about one more hour in this city, and I happened upon a moment of fabulousness. I KNEW there had to be some redeeming qualities to this town! Ha, perhaps that is a bit harsh of an assessment. In fact there are several redeeming qualities, but as we say on the Study Section, the limitations outweigh the strengths of Bangkok.

But, to the dance party... It is every Sunday from 3 to 6 pm in the lobby of the Shangri La Bangkok. There is a live band playing all your favorite dance tunes. So far I have witnessed a tango, a waltz, a fox trot and now a paso doble. The dancers are all ages, as per usual with ballroom, but unusually talented. I considered giving it a go but without any proper shoes… it is kind of hard to do anything with grace in a pair of flip flops. It is marvelous and leaves me longing for the familiar dance parties and ballrooms I love in the US cities. There is something magical about the dance. Partner dance should be a requisite skill for all world leaders to know… perhaps with some more dancing around the world we would not be in such dire straights. Or as Elvis says… A little less conversation, a little more action!"  Oh, they have just launched into a rousing redition of Qui Sas (sp?) mocked up as a classic cha cha… that tune that has been made over a million times and always sounds fantastic, warming the hearts of even the most desperate Latin men. Believe me, I have been a witness on more than one occasion. ;-)

But… to Bangkok. I think that song from the '80s, that goes, "One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble, not much between despair and ecstacy,"  really hits the nail on the head. Bangkok is far and away the dirtiest, smelliest, most crowded, city I have ever been, and this is really saying something. At the same time, the place has many striking similarities to major US cities. There are the usual traffic problems, pollution, and overcrowding and poverty. The people wear the identical clothes to those in the US, and the gear is essentially the same—everyone has got a celly, an Ipod, and some kind of chic bag to carry it all around in. There are a sizeable number of people who are overweight, although the obesity epidemic is not here yet, but I give it 5 years, and BAM! One difference is that you really can get anything you want, including Alice, usually at a very reduced rate. The women are beautiful. And the men are even prettier than the women.

(oh my god! It is the all Latin line up, the band is now playing Perfidio! Fantastico!!)

The traffic is insane along with the resulting air quality issues. The air quality is insane. I pretty much can only be outside for about 2 hours before I can't breathe and start to feel sick. It is so hot and humid, and that, combined with the traffic, open sewers, and people people everywhere, and wait, did I mention the river—right so it is a recipe for asthematic nightmare.

(I have to share with you that the band is now playing the Girl From Ipanema.)

Some good bits include the river, which smells and is probably lethal if contacted with an open sore or ingested, gives rise to a lot of very festive looking boats that include the heavily decorated tourist and hotel boats, along with the commuter boats, and the barges going up the river taking all manner of cargo to points further on down the line. I rode in a couple of the commuter boats going to see the sites, and it was fun, if loud, hot and smelly. Still, pretty exotic, and at 13 baht (this is about $.35), it is an interesting way to get along as long as the novelty is there.

Then there is the sky train, which is a wonderful innovation. The sky train is some kind of mass transit, and I am unclear as to whether it is a train or a monorail or what, but it is above ground, and seems to often follow along highway routes. It goes to many good places, including the conference hotel, the coolest massage shop, and the weekend market (more on all those to come). The sky train is something less than $1 US for each trip (which includes transfer from one line to the other), and is air conditioned and crowded full of Thais and other people too nearly all hours of the day and night that I have been on it. Did I mention there are a lot of people here? Whew!

More to come from me soon. I have to go check out and get to the airport for tonight we slumber in the islands!

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