On reality

I will post some pictures of yesterday's gathering when I feel less lazy.

It's back to reality stuff for me, and I guess, for everyone else as well. I've been trying to plan my timetable for school next semester so that I'll get at least one day off. My timetable so far is pretty decent... my days start at 9am or 10am and end by three. I'll be taking

Research Workshop (a Lit hons module)
Women Novelists: 1750-1800
Contemporary Irish Poetry
History and Theory of Western Architecture (which sounds like the most artsy non-arts module there is on offer)

I also have to take one more breadth as I got a U for General Bio the last time around. Any suggestions? I can never get a nice, clean scoresheet. I kicked ass for my three Lit modules last sem; I got three A-minuses, but it was marred by that stupid Unsatisfactory grade for General Bio. Take it from me kids, General Bio is NOT FUN, and there is no way you can pass a module by attending zero lectures, and not flipping through the text until your open-book exam.

*

One of the really good things I got out of the FS trip is new-found motivation to do stuff with my life. Before the trip, I couldn't be arsed to think about my future... I'm the kind of person that ambles through life. I work hard in school, and my schoolwork is one of the few things I truly give a shit about because I love Literature, but my future also always seemed kind of bleak because there is a high chance I'll be stuck doing some dumb office job that I don't care about, where I won't see the end products of my labour. That really sucks. And I know where my talents lie, but for ethical reasons, I refuse to go into the industries where those talents (if I may even call it that) will be put to good use, like advertising or journalism. So what's left for me? I don't know. Like I said, the only thing I'm passionate about so far in my life in Literature... and to pursue the academic route will be a long, tiring and draining task, not to mention expensive. the long, tiring and draining part I can deal with, but not so much the expensive part, because I don't think it'd be possible for me to get a scholarship with my grades. My grades are decent, but not stellar. I guess my family can afford to send me overseas, but I wouldn't feel good about it all the same.

Still, I am toying with the idea of doing a Masters in Literature in the UK. It might not be that expensive since I'll be a full-time student and it would only take a year, but still, a lot of that decision hinges on whether I'll be able to get a TA job in NUS once I graduate with a Master's.

If I don't take the Master's route there is an endless stream of possibilities of what I can do with my life:

1. Travel first, work later. I'm starting to save up to get my ass to Europe for my graduation trip next year. I'll probably go to Eastern Europe because it's cheaper. Probably make a stopover in Germany and some parts of the UK to say hello to Bernard, Dominique and a couple of other friends studying there.

2. Work and Travel UK. This will be a 6-month stint, I think. Also, if I do opt for this, I'll get the chance to check out the English universities.

3. Get a certificate from the British Council to be a certified English teacher and then head off to Thailand to whore hawk put my skills to good use

4. Stay in Singapore and work in some shitty job I don't care for so that I can partially fund myself when I do decide to do my Master's.

Random music recommendation from me to you:
The Fray - Over My Head (Cable Car)

แม่สาย

Hello Shammy,
I wonder how you're doing in Sri Lanka.

We'd already spent two long weeks in Mae Sai, that strange, strange town. A few days before our last night, we walked around the area near the border checkpoint, looking for pi pa gao because you said you had a sore throat and I had recommended it as a remedy (my knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) extends as far as pi pa gao). I recall seeing a TCM shop in the vicinity but in typical Denise fashion, I'd forgotten exactly where it was. We stepped into a shop run by Chinese selling an assortment of daily necessities (as did every other shop in Mae Sai), and I spluttered out what little Mandarin I could grasp at, asking where we could find pi pa gao. We walked on after receiving instructions from the nice Chinese man behind the counter, but as predicted, we couldn't find it because I couldn't figure out the exact directions he referred to.

In the end, we stopped at 7-11 for Strepsils, and you also bought some drink, because you wanted to fulfill your goal of trying every single new-fangled Thai drink they sold. I don't think you ever accomplished that.

*

Some days later was our last night in Mae Sai. Can you believe we spent two whole weeks there without wandering off the main road? That night, after an early dinner, we decided to explore the area. I was hungry, and that's why we left the Germans behind at Monkey Island. You were always so accomodating to my whims. I think it's because you're slightly whimsical yourself. Where did we eat? At the break fast place? I can't remember now. Maybe along the road side. But most likely at the break fast place. After that we wondered into the smaller streets off the main road. We walked for a long time, maybe about two hours or so, wandering up and down the streets. There was one long stretch of road along the back of Tai Thong Hotel... there were no less than 20 hairdressing shops there. Many of them had one or two customers in it even though it was already 7.30pm. I was contemplating cutting my hair, but I was worried about not getting my instructions across with a combination of my shitty Thai and hand gestures. So we continued walking. We chanced upon a clothes store that sold girls clothes. It looked like something out of Far East Plaza. And that's when I decided to buy the skirt that would arouse much astonishment during farewell dinner when I wore it. You thought I looked nice in it, but strange because like everyone else, you'd never seen me in a skirt before. I bought it after the usual amount of haggling and we walked on. Up and down the streets, crossing from one into another. We walked past A&P supermarket where Bernard and I had interviewed the owner with Chen Fye acting as translator about a week before. We walked for ages... you stopped by a provisions shop along the way to buy an assortment of stuff that you needed including razors and Birdy coffee. I needed cigarettes but they didn't sell Marlboro menthol lights as predicted. As we walked on further, the number of shops became fewer and fewer in number, and we saw a road that looked like the road that marked the start of Mae Sai... most likely where our song tiaws made its entry into the town when our whole FS group came for field site visits. You took a photo with me and the sign saying "Welcome to Mae Sai". Was it after that that we came upon a shop selling king's T-shirts and drinks and the owner who said that he came from Bangkok and talked to us for about 10 minutes or so? He cautioned us not to walk on further even though we wanted to because he said it wasn't safe, especially since I was female. He spoke the best English out of anyone else we'd thus far met in Mae Sai. He said we could meet danger in the form of Burmese military police if we chose to continue our sojourn. But he must have been mistaken, or we could have misunderstood him because there was no way Thailand would have allowed the Burmese military police into Thailand.

We turned around and made the long trek out after concluding the conversation with him (he was quite amazed that nak sueksaa from Singapore would choose to do a research project in Mae Sai. Also, he was selling Tesco detergent, remember?). It was time for supper so we stopped by the usual yu tiao and soyamilk place. I wanted a photo with the vendors but they were too shy, so we didn't get one in the end. The lady tending the shop had really pretty eyes, I remember that. And her daughter was laughing at me (or was it you?) one night because I was wearing my FS t-shirt.

We probably returned to Monkey Island to watch more World Cup matches after that... or it was most likely in Bamboo House.

I think if the World Cup wasn't on, we would have gone to the BM-Pub a lot more.

I am really grateful...

...for the firm friends that I've made in FS.

Mambo@Zouk was really fun last night. We should make it a monthly affair! Or weekly til we know all the moves and can go to the podium without shame. hehe.

I hate farewells.

The mambo was good.

(Does Kar Yan look hot or what?! Credit to Bon for the picture)



But the farewell wasn't. Farewells never are. Byebye, Dominique.



Whatever happens in FS, stays in FS, and that includes what happens post-FS. haha! I am being deliberately reticient about it. You may ask the relevant people about it though. But you never heard it from me.

We should go for mambo again.

On farewells

I must say going to the airports 4 times in a month to send dear friends off is a record for me. Bernard, Dominique, Winston and a friend studying overseas who will be leaving in a few days. To me, such sending-offs are always bittersweet affairs; on the one hand, it's always sad to see them go and yet on the other, it's an affirmation of the bond and friendship between yourself and the person you're sending off.

I think I've told Bernard and Dominique that I sometimes wished I didn't choose to do my project with them... there's a world of difference between sending a Singaporean friend off whom you know you will see in half a year's time and between sending off a friend you don't know when you'll see again. Yeah, I know that there's this thing called technology which facilitates ease of communication between people around the world, but still. It's different, and to me, a poor substitute. If anything, I feel that technology has contributed to the impersonalisation of relationships but that's another post for another time.

I wonder how Bernard is doing. I think he's gone back to Leeds from Germany where he spent the past couple of weeks, and if I'm not wrong, he should be embarking on an internship with some company in England doing transport planning.



Oh well, on a happier note, there is the arrival of Shamraz and Chinthaka to look forward to. I don't know how it happened, but I somehow did my projects with all the non-Singaporean people in the group.

Oh, and Chinthaka will only be arriving in Singapore on the 3rd of August, instead of the 22nd of July as initially planned. He's busy doing stuff in Sri Lanka.

Farewell, Dominique

I'm only putting this picture up as a testament to my wonderful artistic skills. I suffer for my art; my hand cramped halfway through squeezing the glitter out of the tube. Also, please note the colour scheme which was subtly done up in the colours of the Deutsch flag. And by the way, it's not yellow. It's gold. (Credits to Edina for the picture)

On field work in Bangkok

I was grateful that I had really good project groups for both the Bangkok project and the Northern Thailand project.

This is Baiyoke Tower in Bangkok, where we did the most amount of fieldwork. Our project was on the African trade enclave in Pratunam, where Baiyoke Tower is. What we found out was that the African traders were essentially "prisoners of space", and that they haven't been able to move out of that particular area to trade in other areas because they have difficulty assimilating into Thai culture.




My Bangkok project groupmates and I during the farewell dinner at Rimkok Resort in Chiang Rai. L-R: Chang Yi, Jonathan, myself, Chinthaka and Cheryl. (Credits to Jonathan for this photo)

(I proceeded to get massively wasted at that particular dinner.)

Dominique's Farewell.

Since I don't have any pictures of yesterday's gathering as yet (but you can find some at JK's blog), I will just talk about it.

Headed down to Golden Mile for an early dinner with Dom, Nora and Daniel before the gathering. I had krapow moo with a fried egg at a different eating place from my previous visit to Golden Mile, and it was a lot better. A lot more basil leaves, and for the same price as the previous place, you also get an egg (though Daniel and Nora insisted that paying $1 for the egg was a bit too much because they got it free in Chiang Mai). Accompanying our meal, we had Singha (of course) and Dom had Spy Red (haha). Spy Red is dubbed a "wine cooler" (I don't know wtf a "wine cooler" is though) and it's like Ribena that's alcoholic. I think you need to polish off 5 bottles first before you can feel the alcohol though, which is something that only Dominique can do because Singaporean tastebuds are not weaned on sugar.

Yesterday's turnout at Prickly Bush was admittedly small, but I suppose it was cozy that way. Yay for Winston who turned up. I distributed copies of the FS soundtrack (henceforth FSOST) which I spent two days burning, til my burner started screwing up on me. I will probably leave the rest of the copies with Songguang at the Geog department when term starts if the rest of you guys who want to pick it up. Liam insists that I need a cover for the OST as well, but since I am deficient in the designing department, I will gladly let someone else design it if they so wish.

So our original plan was to continue drinking in a room at a budget hotel, but suddenly, the "budget" hotels in Little India turned out to be not-so-budget at all and wanted to charge us over a $100 for the night, which was crazy. In the end, Chang Yi, Edina, Dom, JK and myself found ourselves walking past where JK stays at Veerasamy Road, where we parked ourselves at the first open space that we saw near some of the residential blocks. Between Dom, Edina and I, we had 4l of alcohol, which was crazy. I am proud to declare that we showed remarkable restraint and did not finish it all. We were all a little bit drunk by then, I think. With the exception of JK who doesn't drink. We sat there for over two hours just sipping drinks, eating chips and talking.

Dom will be flying off tomorrow at 3am. Before going to the airport to send him off, I will most likely be at Zouk for a little while with Xueying. You're welcome to join us.

Send me pictures...

...of Dominique's farewell gathering. My camera died on me last night and I didn't take any.

Don't believe everything you read in the papers...

...John Lennon is not dead. He's currently residing in Mae Sai.

Or not. But there was definitely this guy who looked exactly like him... from the hair, to the shades, to the purple fisherman pants, ethnic-printed top, and Akha bag.

You don't see authentic hippies like that anymore.

Too bad I don't have pictures as proof.

The Tachileik Edition

According to Dr. Carl, it was a good thing that my group did field work in Tachileik. Other than collecting surveys and conducting interviews, it was really an eye-opener to delve deeper into Tachileik past the farang-ised markets close to the border, particularly since we had Sai Moon, our Burmese interpreter who could offer interesting tidbits about the place. What those tidbits are, I will have to refer to my field notebook to write about (but it has since mysteriously disappeared). What I offer are pictures, which might be interesting to you. Or not, I don't know. And maybe I will caption them another day, but I'm far too lazy tonight.

Denise is bored

Taking requests for mixdics from my (if I may say so) rather extensive music collection... just state preferred genre or if you want me to surprise you.

Also, support local music! Go for Baybeats, a (FREE!) local music festival held at the Esplanade featuring a whole lineup of local and international bands. I'll be going on the last day, Sunday.

Note to self

I have to stop writing in present tense.

The Thai Buddies Edition: Part II

Hello Jake and Haq,
I only have two relatively clear pictures of the two of you. :)

Tom, Jake and Haq, thanks for the memories. Thanks for making the process of doing our project so enjoyable and for being so patient while we did what we had to do. We couldn't have done it without you.


Haq


Jake

Dominique's farewell aka FS Gathering 2, 17th July

Hello everyone,
The time has come for Dominique's farewell cum FS Gathering 2. It will be taking place this coming Monday the 17th of July and it will be held at the same location, Prickly Bush on Dunlop St, Little India. Once again, it is the third lane on the right coming in from the main road. The party starts from 7.30 onwards. Please note that outside food will not be allowed.

Also, I have received feedback that midnight is far too early for the cessation of any party (when the PB closes) and I am inclined to agree. What I propose is that for those who wish to stay on, we can book a budget hotel nearby the Prickly Bush (should be less than $50 a night), so that we can store whatever bottles of alcohol we wish to bring along with us and continue making merry into the wee hours of the morning. The costs of the hotel may be split amongst those who wish to stay on past midnight. It wouldn't cost very much if there are quite a few of us who wish to stay on.

What do you guys think of this plan? Feedback much appreciated, and as soon as possible please, so that the appropriate arrangements may be made. Hope to see you guys there

Thanks!

Love,
Denise

Golden Mile

One of the proven symptoms of post-Thailand hangover is that you take to hanging out at Golden Mile Complex, also known as Little Thailand. I met Chang Yi and Edina for lunch there today... I was craving krapow moo with a vengeance.

Like the truly dorky people we are, we wore our respective (what Bon would call) Thailand tourist uniforms... me in my BKK skyline-sketch T-shirt, Edina in her Singha singlet and Chang Yi in his yellow king's jersey.

Imagine our joy upon stepping inside and being greeted by a paraphernalia of Thai products we've come to know intimately and love... from Singha and Leo, to Clinic Shampoo, Birdy coffee (YES!!!), Vita Soyamilk in a bottle, Mekong whiskey...

After happily being filled up on rather authentic krapow moo and khao pad gai (which could have been better, according to Chang Yi) which cost us $4 each or 100 baht (the travesty!), we headed off to another shop and had... what else, Singha. $7 a bottle (ouch again), after which we took to walking around the complex where we bought Clinic shampoo, Thai music CDs, and Thai FHM.

Hopeless Thailand lovefools, we are.


Yeah I cut my hair.


Lady tending the shop was laughing at Edina when she ordered Singha as she was wearing a Singha shirt.


Singha makes you happy!


And so do hot Thai babes.


Clinic shampoo is pretty fucken good.


Clash is pretty good.
Two reasons why I bought it:
1. They have the same name as one of my existing favourite bands.
2. The lead singer is rather fetching.
But the music is pretty damn good too. You may check them out here.

Hello everyone, a quick search on blogger with "Chiang Rai" turned up this wonderful blog http://doi-tung-chiang-rai.blogspot.com/, on aspects of Chiang Rai, written by a Thai (I think).

Our room in Monkey Island

This is a picture of our room before our (Shamraz and I) combined messiness made walking through our room like going through an obstacle course; virtually a safety hazard. And am also putting up this picture to prove that there is really nowhere for me to hang stuff in the room, hence

"I need to get my underwear from Bernard's room."

(They have a cupboard in theirs)

What were you thinking?!!!

The view from Monkey Island

Of all the rivers we've seen, this is probably the least impressive of them all, but the one I am most attached to, since it's the view I wake up to every morning, and the one we throw lychee seeds into. Hello, Menam Sai, also known as the physical boundary separating Myanmar and Thailand.

When you're in Mae Sai...

...do what MaeSai-ans do, drink Yellow Surprise.

(BTW, am I the only one who thinks that it's a typo and should have been Yellow Sunrise instead? Either way, I guess it doesn't make sense.)

Traces of Singapore in Tachileik

Shammy says that our group wins the prize for "Coolest mode of transport to project site". I have to agree.

This is Tom

He's gonna cut his own hiphop album one day, I can feel it in my bones.

Here's one for the Germans....

...after their valiant and commendable third place win against Portugal. :)



I'm looking to put 10 bucks on France tonight, simply because it personally doesn't matter who wins tonight's game and I'm only sore that the damn Italians cheated their way into the finals.

Last night's third-placing match was a joy to watch... sure, no one will remember it in a couple of months, but I suspect that Schweinsteiger is going to have a brilliant career ahead of him for what he did. The first half was exciting enough, even though no goals were scored. I'm proud of the Germans for playing quite cleanly most of the time (except for you, Frings, tsktsk), and not resorting to bloody Cristiano Ronaldo's diving tactics.

Schweinsteiger's first goal was brilliant, and I'm waiting for the replays so that I can see his second (which I heard was almost like his first) as I was already falling asleep at the time.

Overall, Deutschland, you may not have won in the WC, nor even got into the finals, but I'd say, what with Schweinsteiger's brilliant showing, Klose being top scorer and Podolski being young Player of the Year, you have a lot to be proud of.

And more reflections

Perhaps I might do better in the reflective sections of the grading processes of FS if there was a post-FS segment... I haven't felt so motivated to write so much in such a short span of time in quite awhile.

To me, one of the wonderful things about FS is how it has re-taught us the beauty of face-to-face human interaction in an increasingly technologised, impersonal world. I have learnt how to deal with the quirks and idiosyncracies of others around me; and for me, personally, the straightforward method appears to be the best. It doesn't mean that I necessarily have to be tactless, but I work best with the implicit assumption that others will not hold it against me should I choose to be straightforward about how I feel if something is not done in the most efficient or effective way possible and that they hold will hold no grudges against me if I voice my opinions in the most sensible way possible. So far, this has worked well.

Having said that, I know that there are times when my fuse runs a little short, and I start getting grouchy and irritable especially past 1am in the morning and we're still doing work. I apologise for the times that I've been snappish or irritable to anyone... I've never been good at working late into the night.

Shoutouts to all my project group members both in Bangkok and Mae Sai - Chinthaka, Chang Yi, Jonathan, Cheryl, Shamraz, Bernard and Dominique. You guys were awesome.

And a big hug to my roommates, Wenjie and Daniel.

And another one for those who took care of me when I got drunk during farewell dinner, heh.

Random music recommendations from me to you:
The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go
The Clash - I Fought the Law
The Clash - Police on My Back
David Bowie - Waterloo Sunset
Poe - Angry Johnny

(Let me know if you want them)

Phenomenon you will never see in Singapore

Funny how things turn out...

This picture was taken in Bangkok, by a roadside drinking place. I didn't even have the slightest inkling who my Northern project group members would be yet, and yet here we were. I didn't know any of them at all. It was completely random, our first group photo.

Mad, mad craving for...

...too-sweet-too-thick coffee from my usual roadside vendor in Mae Sai.

...4-baht fresh soyamilk, accompanied by yutiao, at 1-baht each. From another roadside stall in Mae Sai.

...huge-ass 80-baht American breakfast from the shop that my N. Thailand group members and I call "breakfast place" (because of the sign outside that states, very simply, "break fast") ... even though we go there for lunch and dinner quite often as well.

...minced pork omelette with rice.

...krapow gai/moo. pet pet.

...and of course, Singha beer.

What are you craving?

A moment of connection

Wandering through the lovely messiness that is Chatuchak market in Bangkok on my own; I'd lost Wenjie and a few others even though we'd arrived together as I had to go to the toilet. I chanced upon a stall that sold an assortment of pirated "indie" things like Belle and Sebastian CDs. The guy manning the shop had dreadlocks in his hair and greeted me with a friendly smile as I stepped in. I wanted to stay a little bit longer but I had to look for the rest because knowing me, there was a high chance I wouldn't have been able to make my own way to Nana station; as it is, I was miserable because it was rainy and cold, and my orange fisherman pants was splashed with mud and dirt and I badly wanted to go back to Suk 11 to shower. Just before I stepped out of the store, I saw that the guy was reading something with a familiar cover; it was Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, although he was reading the Thai translation of it. Murakami is one of my favourite authors in recent times. It was the exact same book I was reading just after the exams and before I left for Thailand. It was a strange moment of unexpected connection (but what did I expect from the owner of a stall selling pirated Belle and Sebastian CDs?), and I exclaimed in delight that I'd just finished reading the same book. He smiled at my enthusiasm and said, "it's a good book". I wanted to stay and discuss it with him, but it would have been pointless, because of the language barrier.

It was strange. Someone with my taste in music, and my taste in literature, but from a completely different culture. I wanted to ask him what he thought about the book, but I didn't.

Later on, unsurprisingly, I couldn't find the shop again, when I wanted to go back.

Caption this, if you will

On Germany crashing out of the semis

Bernard and Dominique, I feel your pain.

:(

The match was so stressful, I finished all three cans of the Tiger Classic that Bernard gave me just before he left.




(Thanks and kudos to Xueying for the user icon!)

You know what's great about the Field Studies trip being 6 weeks long? It allows you to create so many memories that there will always be one more to uncover. The one I just uncovered is of myself, Bon and Kar Yan having a 100 baht bowl of bird's nest by the roadside in Bangkok's Chinatown. And for some reason, I was feeling terribly, terribly homesick that night. It must be the depressive mood of that particular Chinatown... I don't know why, but that Chinatown is so much less lively than the other ones I've been to.

There was only one other night where I felt homesick, and that was when my project group mates and I spent the first night in Mae Sai. The absence of a significant nightlife in that town came as such a shock to me, particularly since I'd been spending the nights before in the constant company of many people and many beers.

Oh, I'm still looking for the contact details of Thai buddies, Haq, Jake and Tom. If anyone has them, please leave a comment!

Unrecorded and quoteworthy

(Dominique walks into the room I am sharing with Shamraz in Mae Sai)

Dominique: Shammy, where is my stick? I want my stick back.
Shammy: I'm still using it.
Dominique: I want it back. Pull it out and give it to me.





(They mean USB stick. But you'd be forgiven for thinking something else.)

Farewell, Bernard

On Field Studies (1)

You know what the feeling of missing Field Studies is like?

It is remembering waking up to a huge mess on the floor where your backpack is and clothes half-strewn all over the place, spilling out of Ziplock bags. It is remembering sharing a 3-room pub-cum-guesthouse with only one toilet, and it reeking of piss because all your project mates and Thai buddies are guys and naturally, that’s the way toilets smell when all but one of the inhabitants are male and the toilet does not get washed regularly enough. It is remembering working in uncomfortably hot conditions, where hygiene becomes a matter of inconvenience even for the most hardcore hygiene freaks. It is remembering being ripped off by taxi drivers in Bangkok. It is remembering trying not to vomit on the song tiaw, as it is making its way up the narrow, winding roads of Mae Salong.

It is remembering how, after staying in one place for a week, you become a familiar sight to the other residents and stall vendors of the street, and you wave to them like old friends as you walk past. It is remembering the smile of familiarity from the roadside coffee seller when you get your morning caffeine fix. It is remembering making your requests known through a combination of your poor command of Thai and hand gestures. It is remembering riding pillion without a helmet, amongst other unconventional modes of transport, like sitting on the back of a lorry, with the sun on your face, wind in your hair, mountains in the distance (all the while thinking to yourself, I will never experience something like that again, and relishing every moment of it). It is remembering how you got over your fear of deep water when you swam across a lake with a friend next to you all the way making sure you don’t drown.

It is remembering making friends with people, regardless of age, and language barriers. And remembering the amazing camaraderie shared with the rest of your Field Studies mates and Thai buddies. And how you never had so much fun before, just enjoying a few Singhas with a bunch of people who took turns strumming a guitar, and everyone just singing along.

And when the rush is over, even though memories and photographs are the only things you take away with you, they’ll be among the best ones you’ll have in your life.