Standing Taller

A by-election Sunday resulted in small gains for the new prime minister’s party, which may make him less vulnerable to challengers and people throwing eggs. The country hasn’t forgotten the troubles of the previous couple months, but with a little luck, governing will become easier.

Frankly, I’m amazed that anybody else would want his job at the moment. The crummy world economy spells tough times for every country. Tourism-dependent places like Thailand face special challenges as people cut back on air travel. Large numbers of Thais continue to show their loyalty to the previous government by wearing red shirts and demonstrating loudly at events where the prime minister is on the agenda.

Instead of guessing why a person would voluntarily take on headaches like those, I’ll just repeat what I’ve admitted many times before: although what I know about Thai politics might fill a volume, what I don’t know about Thai politics would definitely fill a warehouse.

Abhisit has been in office for roughly a month. I’m crossing my fingers that his standing will continue to improve and the sound of squabbles will grow quieter.

You Can’t Make an Omelette Without Breaking a Few Eggs

During the recent visit by our Seattle friends we often made dinner at home. Eggs featured on the menu nearly every time. One day Laura brought home a dozen, planning to scramble them.

Surprise! She’d bought a local delicacy known as salted eggs. From the outside, it wasn’t easy to tell that this dozen had soaked and toughened up in special brine. When she tried to crack them, it was obvious right away that they weren’t destined to become her evening meal.

The caregivers were delighted. They watched from the side of the kitchen with expressions that seemed to say, “More for us!”

Color of the Day

Good friends from Seattle have stayed with us over the holidays. As always it’s been fun for me to remember what Thailand looks like through the eyes of newcomers. The 13-year-old daughter in this family has paid special attention to the local custom of assigning a color to each day of the week.

Our apartment building has a weird quirk that makes this custom hard to miss: the rug on the floor of the elevator gets changed every day to match that day’s color. It only took Dana about 48 hours to master the cycle. On Sunday she commented on the rug. Monday, she noticed the predominance of yellow shirts, and right away started asking about the rest of the week. Eventually she even created this handy what-to-wear-when guide. You may want to print it out, should you be planning a trip here.

Death-Defying Dog

I’ve seen some unlikely loads on the backs of motorcycles here—tall canisters of propane gas, newspapers stacked higher than the rider, dozens of cartons filled with fresh eggs. But they’re always held down somehow, usually with tightly stretched bungee cords.

Today I rode in a taxi that followed a motorcycle driver whose passenger was a full-sized dog. (Not the same one as in the picture, but it gives you some idea.) This amazing pooch wasn’t harnessed or buckled at all. Somehow it remained standing on all fours behind the rider, despite swerves and sudden stops. Perhaps they were on their way to a high-wire competition, or a log-rolling event?

Now What?

Although the airports are open again, and the previous government has been dissolved by a court ruling, tensions remain high. Yesterday parliament named a new prime minister, the third in four months. Seen as a uniter, known to friends as Mark, he has been dubbed "Obamark" by the press.

Like Obama, he’s a fairly young politician, and so doesn’t bring along the baggage that his predecessors did. But he had to make some deals with the devil in order to put together a majority, so his hands may be tied in other ways.

Time will tell how many folks he can win over in what has become a country pretty deeply divided along class and geographic lines. But at least he can count on Jip’s support. She likes him because his dad is a respected neurologist who specializes in her disease.

Angkor Re-Run

Strange times in Thailand made a quick trip to Cambodia pretty appealing this past weekend. I’d been planning to go anyway, to again join the annual Angkor Wat road race. Not that I really need an excuse to go back to that cool place. This was my third trip, and won’t be my last. Every time, I find a new favorite temple.

The race itself might turn into a tradition too. I keep surprising myself at how important running has become in my life here. For several days before this event I was careful to get to bed on time, eat right, and stay out of the path of motorcycles—things I don’t always pay close attention to.

But those things paid off. I shaved four minutes off last year’s time. If I keep up that kind of improvement I could easily win my age bracket by the time I’m, say, 75.

Reputation Problem

The Land of Smiles has come in for some pretty harsh criticism over the last few days. One longtime observer, a former NY Times Bangkok bureau chief, wrote this: “Add Thailand to the list of countries that are giving democracy a bad name.”

Human rights organizations described as farcical a situation where “Thai security forces can engage in battles over trifles with neighboring countries but not responsibly protect the Government House or international airport.”

Americans who had registered their names with the U.S. Embassy to receive news updates during emergencies got text messages that said, among other things:

Beyond the airport situation, there is uncertainty as to what will happen next on the political front. Again, we will share confirmed information as we get it but in the meantime all personnel and their families should, as we discuss frequently, use good judgment.

Britain’s Daily Telegraph even included Thailand on a list of the world’s twenty most dangerous places. You know you’ve got a reputation problem when you’re mentioned in the same breath with Afghanistan and Haiti.

Based on what I see for myself while traveling around, I still have never felt the country to be unsafe. When people from outside Thailand write me concerned emails, I reply that motorcycle drivers continue to be the most dangerous people here.

The protest leaders do seem to be challenging the motorcycle dudes for the title of biggest thrill seekers. Lately they made headlines by calling the seizure of Suvarnabhumi Airport “the final battle.” The next few days should tell whether their noise is just empty rhetoric, or rather the sound of a country self destructing.

Smiling Moon

Rumors are flying about the airport closures. While we were in the South last week, having flown to Trang on what turned out to be one of the last flights out of Bangkok, we each phoned people we knew in the capital. We were hoping to hear that things were back to normal and we could catch a return flight home from our island trip.

Of course there were as many stories as there were phone calls: “My mom says they’re going to allow domestic travel only”… “international carriers can start landing at military bases next week”… “I hear that from noon to 5 Saturday afternoon, stranded airplanes will take off empty for their home bases and anybody holding tickets on a Thai airline can fly in”….

Naturally, we ended up taking the bus back.

In itself, our change in plans was a minor annoyance. But multiply our uncertainty by 70 million Thais, and you get some idea of how stressed out the country is feeling.

Which is why it was so cool to walk in the door from work last night and find Jip’s caregiver jumping up and down on the balcony, urging me to come look at the sky. A few minutes later, my phone starting ringing off the hook. What was the fuss? Venus, Jupiter, and the moon were lined up in the shape of a smiley face.

In itself, this happy configuration is a minor event. But in the context of recent events, people here can’t help thinking that the country’s path to self destruction is about to turn around. One of the people who called me about the moon even said I would personally receive good luck if I called five more people with the news. And today I read that only in Asia did the moon form a smile. Other places around the planet saw the same grouping as a frown.

Giving Thanks?

This Thanksgiving, I ate mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce on an island in the middle of the Andaman Sea, surrounded by good friends and big waves.

But to be honest it was hard to feel truly thankful, because the protests in Thailand have suddenly gone into high gear. For months they have been low intensity affairs that have dominated headlines without really affecting many lives here. Now the politicians and VIPs behind them have ratcheted things up several notches, and nobody is untouched by their actions.

The protestors’ closure of the Bangkok airports means that mail doesn’t arrive from abroad, Thai exports don’t leave, and thousands of people are scrambling to make alternate travel plans. The stuck tourists, businesspeople, tour operators, and hotel owners will never forget how much hassle these protests caused them.

Most frustrating of all for me is the seeming lack of a master plan beyond the protests. The goals are as unclear as those of Bush’s war on terror. The only certain outcome I can see is a big mess left for whichever government follows this one. Even if the protestors get the regime change they say they want, the benefits won’t outweigh the damage done to the country’s reputation.

This week the courts are supposed to rule on a case that could end up disbanding the ruling party. One group of protesters would be delighted by that outcome, and agree to vacate the airports. But another group would be incensed, meaning no net gain for the country. Or the king might weigh in Thursday evening, when he delivers his annual birthday speech. If he told people to calm down, they would.

Meanwhile, the vibe around here is pretty odd. Half the Thai people I talk to are anxious for a coup—“just so we can move on, put this behind us.” The other half are doing a variation of self-flagellation—“our country has such lovely land, lovely food, lovely weather; too bad we have to spoil it with such lousy people.” The papers say that more than half the population supports neither of the two main groups holding rallies.

Bedtime Story

The story I’ve been reading aloud to Jip for several months now is a Thai classic known as Four Reigns. She read this historical novel on her own many years ago, but doesn’t remember much beyond the broad outlines. Most nights it holds her attention for about twenty minutes.

The main character is a girl, Phloi, who is raised in the palace and lives to see four different Thai rulers. Whenever Phloi wrestles with sudden change—an unexpected death, an arranged marriage, a revealed secret—Jip pricks up her ears and asks that we read a little further.

We’re roughly halfway through the book. Despite a few anxious moments, so far Phloi has managed to handle all the challenges thrown her way. Like Jip, she understands the Buddhist teachings about impermanence, and remains optimistic. No matter what comes up in the rest of the story, I have no doubt that we shall overcome.

Forty-Five Week Funeral

Just when you think political squabbling will send Thailand into a death spiral, along comes a reminder that the country can in fact unite. This weekend’s cremation of the king’s older sister, an event that involved more than eleven months of preparation, slowed things down and made everybody proud to be part of a country with a distinctive culture.

TV channels showed nonstop footage of the parade and pomp, gluing lots of people to their sets and leaving the streets quiet. Protestors too seem to have taken a break, in order to watch the tunics and the trumpeters.

I caught only a few minutes of the broadcasts, while eating a late breakfast in a restaurant. Reports I read in newspapers today told of the king lighting the funeral pyre, accompanied by traditional funeral songs, while the nation collectively hushed.

Thaksin Loses British Visa, Divorces

The tale of Thailand’s most influential expatriate took two weird twists recently. After leaving on a short trip from England, his home in exile, Thaksin learned that his British visa had been revoked. A few days later, he and his wife announced their divorce after 32 years of marriage.

Of course it’s never wise to assume we understand what’s going on in somebody else’s relationship, but speculation is widespread here that the couple split up only to unfreeze as many of their assets as possible.

The anti-Thaksin protestors who continue to occupy government buildings around Bangkok are unlikely to feel much sympathy for his recent life changes.

Obama Victory in Bangkok, Part 2

Despite getting calls from Brits quoting Churchill—“Americans can be counted on to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the other possibilities”—I’m still floating from the results of the election. It’s so nice to celebrate something political. After several years of crazy leadership we now have a chance to do a few things right. I wish the same outcome for Thailand.

But don’t think it’s all gonna suddenly get better overnight. Time to roll up your sleeves, folks. Everybody pitches in now. No fair sitting back and saying that he’ll take care of everything.

Obama Victory in Bangkok

We can all throw back our shoulders now and walk down the streets without feeling somehow ashamed of being American. Tear off those Canadian flags we sewed on our backpacks!

On Wednesday morning here, just before the polls closed Tuesday evening in the U.S., I joined about 200 other Yanks at a restaurant to watch the countdown on TV.

A big cheer went up at 8pm California time, when CNN’s high-tech graphics flashed that the long campaign was over. Some people started ordering drinks right away. Others slipped off to a late but guilt-free arrival at work, knowing that nobody at their offices would have been doing anything besides monitoring the results anyway.

I happened to have an errand to run at the train station. The place seemed quieter than usual when I walked in to the huge open waiting room. But the number of people waiting for trains looked normal. Then I noticed the huge screen above the ticket windows and saw that Obama was giving his victory speech.

Probably his words were lost on the majority of the passengers. (Who can understand public address systems in train stations anyway? The words are always unintelligible, even when they’re in your own language.) But the crowd seemed riveted nonetheless. This victory truly is a victory for the world.