Light Snacks Will Be Served

Escape To My Kitchen

Spices for massaman curry. 

My wife and I live in Yannawa. This neighborhood is tucked away in a southern fold of Bangkok, in a crook of the Chao Phraya River that is said to look like the belly of a dragon. On most days, it's a peaceful neighborhood, and one that I've become emotionally attached to in my 16 months living here. Our neighborhood has a pleasant mix of working class and white collar people; it has outdoor fresh markets and an expensive grocery store; street food and ice cream parlours, whiskey bars and kindergartens. It's a neighborhood where people welcome you with warm smiles when you head out in the morning to buy fruit and eggs, and where the beer and chicken wing vendor knows your name, even if she can't pronounce it. 

But lately my neighborhood hasn't felt very safe.

That's because we're hemmed in by the conflict on Bangkok's streets. There is fighting due north of us, on the usually quiet alley of Soi Ngam Duphli. Taxis have barricaded the area around Klong Toei, and tire fires stain the skyline from my eastward-facing kitchen window. Grenades explode not far away to the west, in Silom. When I leave the hum of my air-conditioner, I can hear the Army's gunshots poking holes through the tropical night. I wonder what they hit. It's more unsettling than scary. 

A heavy despair hangs in the air in my neighborhood. Last night I strolled around. "Where are you going?" my neighbors asked with concern. "Be careful." And, of course "Stay safe." This being Thailand, everyone smiles with grace. But smiles can't hide the sadness in their eyes. 

To escape the madness unfolding around us, to ignore the potentially disastrous outcome of urban war, I escape to my kitchen. I am so lucky to have a wonderful wife and a goofy dog and a fridge full of food and a stove and a home that's safe. And to pass the time I cook: chicken with garlic, white wine and bay leaves, or spaghetti bolognaise, and later maybe a roast of pork. I pounded my own massaman paste and slowly braise pieces of beef in coconut milk, then fold in the fragrant spices, tamarind and peanuts. 

These times when I cook I can clear my head. There is only food. I can ignore the never-ending twitter updates, and the faces of death on the news channels, and the frantic calls from journalist friends who just squeaked out of another shootout. But as we sit down to eat, in the comfort of our air-conditioned home, with a cold beer or a bottle of wine, we can hear the gunshots peppering the air. There is so much suffering on our doorstep, and yet we sit and eat a meal, watch television, and try to take our thoughts to another place. We feel guilt, and helplessness. We love this country, and hate to see what's happening to it.

It's a very strange time to be here, indeed. 

Update: Tonight, as I cook chicken soup, I'm staring out my window, waiting for a tanker full of gasoline that has been hijacked to explode. It's about a kilometer away - close enough to hear when it goes, but far enough to remain safe. I'm listening for the bang, searching for the smoke, and stirring the pot. I watch the drama unfold on the internet, and head to my window to witness it. And life goes on, strangely.  

Further note: That photo above is not of the tanker, which was empty, apparently. It is just another fire, in a city with more than a few of 'em.

 

Cause it's Friday: Political Calculus Edition

On Sunday, I'm off to Nakhorn Si Thammerat and Sunday couldn't come sooner. Bangkok is awash in politics. Last night, a few servers at my favorite Isaan restaurant were decked out in red. On the television behind me a General chatted with reporters. Mid-meal, a friend left. He had lost his appetite. The worst part about all this is the expedient and cyclical nature of discontent. Without the yellows, the reds would have nothing to fight against. And as Democrats complain about Bangkok grinding to a halt under the pressure of demonstrations, many ignore the real reason that they're happening. Meanwhile, the silent majority suffers. 

Two nights ago I was wandering down Rama 4 in the dark, wondering what to make of all this. Would this be happening today, if the opposition party didn't shut down Bangkok, and its airport about 15 months ago? And as I walked beneath the elevated highway, I saw this scribbled on the concrete in chalk. It said Suvarnabhumi.

  

All We Need Is Soup

It's hot - literally and figuratively - in Bangkok at the moment. So I'd like to treat everyone to a steaming bowl of ginger soup, with chewy glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with black sesame butter. 

"I've always said this is like eating peanut butter from heaven" said my friend and dining companion Bob H, who has weathered many a political maelstrom here. And then for a moment, after discussing the situation here for much of the night, Bob and I forgot about all the bullshit. And there was just that dark and sharp soup, and creamy sesame, with a hint of salt behind the sweet. 

This particular vendor is on Yaowarat, opposite Soi Texas but one street further north. But there are plenty more in the neighborhood.
 

Thailand's Growing Pains

Last week, I took a swing at presenting the upside of the chaotic political situation in Bangkok here. In that entry, which I hammered out in the morning after a late evening of reading and a little sleep, is kinda scattered. 

Today, I read this piece by Denis Gray in the Washington Post. It's a succinct piece of journalism that captures the point I was trying to make. What we're witnessing here isn't mere civil disobedience or rabble rousing; it's the emergence of a proper democracy in a country that hasn't gotten all the way around the bases yet. And no matter what happens, as Gray points out, Thailand will never be the same again. And in the long term, that might not be such a bad thing in terms of development, stability and respect on an international stage. 

While much of Thailand (and the rest of Asia, for that matter) shakes its head at these events, tut-tut, I feel lucky to be witnessing them. Maturing -- politically or otherwise -- is a painful and necessary process. 

Pink Shirts, Pork Rinds...

People in pink, peacefully protesting against the Red Shirt protests and their demands for dissolution, this Friday afternoon in Bangkok. A protest against protests, and even a protest against protesters protesting against protests, is something one can experience here these days. As I walked into a meeting across the street, in the Dusit Thani Hotel, I spoke to one of the doormen about the gathering. He smiled and sighed, simultaneously. 

"Mueng Thai," (Thailand), was all he said.

 

Down, and Almost Out

Today just before lunch I got caught in a traffic jam at an unlikely time, and stumbled upon a convoy of Red Shirts moving down Sukhamvit Road in Bangkok. They were on their way from Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjejiva's house to the US Embassy. The crowd was -- like most over the last few days -- much smaller than anticipated. 

It looks like protesters are already returning home in large numbers. These past few days have been a definitive defeat for the red movement, and an embarrassment to Thaksin personally. It's a shame to think that messages about inequality or undemocratic principles will be overshadowed by the grotesque symbolism of spilling liters and liters of blood on government buildings across Bangkok. Politics is a circus in this country, and this is not the reds' last act. But they seem to be growing weaker.  

On Isaan, Bitterness and Politics

 

Here in Bangkok, our city awaits an uprising, a showing of great strength, a sudden burst of violence, a failure to mobilize, or just an inconvenient weekend. People could die, or cocktail parties could be cancelled. It all depends upon who you talk to. 

I have been learning as I go here, trying to explore the intricacies (and they are endless) of Thai politics. In doing so, I've mostly kept opinions about what is right and wrong, and which side might prevail, to myself. Each camp has a story to tell - each side is right, and often wrong. Plus, this is not my country, and it's not my struggle.

But there is one thing that I often want to say to people, but don't: That much of Bangkok is way out of touch with the rest of Thailand. This electoral majority of Red is treated dismissively, written off as a dangerous liability, or a puppet army paid to protest. It's far more complicated than that, and these people deserve better. Until the reds get the consideration they demand, and the ruling elites realize that these people deserve some respect, the divide can only grow wider.

On that note, here's a story I wrote recently about cooking upcountry. It's about food, but it's also about the perceived divisions between Thai people. 

It's impossible to cook a meal these days in Isaan, and not discuss politics. It seasons everything these days.  

Wait --- Is That a Pig Foot Popsicle?

It is, right? 

Forget politics. Feet in ice cubes. That's something. 

From The Nation.

 

Judgment Day at the Mall

Today, the verdict regarding Thaksin Shinawatra's  76 billion dollars baht of frozen assets will be read in Bangkok. Many pundits view this as a major turning point in the Rubik's Cube of Thailand's shape-shifting, color-coded politics. It seems to me that things will remain mostly calm in Bangkok, and the Red Shirts - Thaksin backers - will air their (significant) grievances at another date. They seem to be moving beyond Mister T as a figurehead, and that's a certainly good thing. Plus, I've got to meet someone for coffee at the mall.

So I was relieved to read this story in the Bangkok Post, that assures readers that no matter what happens in our restive capital, malls got their shit under control. Thank goodness. I wouldn't want to see the hallowed halls of Paragon and Central World play host to political mayhem just yet - plus, they've got some great sales going on at the moment.

Amazing Quotes Dept, V2

It's been a roller coaster month in the world of Chinese politics. And today I was shocked, and quite proud, to read this piece by Yang Yao of Peking University  (I'm an alumni!), in Foreign Affairs. It seems risky in the extreme to write this, but his argument is dry, measured and intelligent. Do read it all. Here's a teaser:

Popular resistance and economic imbalances are now moving China toward another major crisis. Strong and privileged interest groups and commercialized local governments are blocking equal distribution of the benefits of economic growth throughout society, thereby rendering futile the CCP's strategy of trading economic growth for people's consent to its absolute rule.

Wow.