Last Days in Thailand
I have been living and working in Bangkok for two years. Tomorrow is my last day of work at The American School of Bangkok - is it possible two years could go by so quickly? Some fun things:

Spencer and I sold our motorcycle but he rented a *super big* 600cc Honda Shadow (giant by Thai standards) and we took one last trip to Koh Samet.

I will miss eat dinner with my toes in the sand.

hey mom, look familiar?!


Sad...on the ferry back to the mainland!

I will also miss the bike ride to school, where you have to ride, ducking down, along a small walkway under a bridge on the Bangna Trad. In the wet season the klong overflows and you have to wade a bit.

Hannah biking home from school

And I will miss all the klongs to explore on bikes (this one was with Hannah).

Spencer, Jessica, and I leave for Sulawesi, Indonesia on Sunday - Two weeks of diving and Tarsier hunting - before heading back to the States for the summer.

Cyclone Nargis - Disaster in Myanmar



(unknown photographer)

(unknown photographer)

In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, more than 60,000 people are dead or missing in Myanmar and over 1 million are without shelter. Nobody will ever know the real extent of the damage because there has not been a census in Myanmar since the 1930's. On-par with the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, most victims of the cyclone did not know it was coming even though the Indian Government had sent warning messages to the government in Myanmar. The greatest damage was in lowlying areas in the south. Spencer and I were on a motorcycle roadtrip to an island in the Gulf of Thailand, Ko Chang, last weekend, and left a day early because it was "just raining all weekend." We had no idea.

The disaster has been compounded by the oppressive military regime which controls the country. The junta has been making international headlines for their massive human rights violations; thousands of Burmese refugees have been pouring into Thailand. They suffocate in refrigerator trucks; we see them packed in the back of police paddy wagons being taken away to....
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=127025

The junta has been slow to respond to foreign aid agencies which is waiting at the gates, literally, to help with the disasters. They refused all international aid during the Tsunami, but seem to be more willing to accept outside help now. Some foreign aid agencies have been allowed to begin sending shipments of relief supplies into Myanmar, but the government is restricting foreign visas and travel within the country (as they have before the disaster struck). Lack of infrastructure due to negligence of government and widespread poverty are also huge issues - many of the worst-hit areas were only accessible by boat before the cyclone hit and have been inaccessible due to loss of so many boats in the disaster.

Almost a week after the disaster, this is a critical time, with so many people lacking food, water, and shelter. The US is considering parachute drops and other methods of sending shipments. Some fear that foreign aid will be funneled through the junta and never make it to its intended sources.

Spencer, Jess, and I have been trying to volunteer with the relief efforts, but so far, very few foreigners have been allowed visas into the country. Here are some news articles:

Bangkok Post: http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=127562

http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSSP64081

New York Times: "A Challenge Getting Relief to Myanmar's Remote Areas." 7 May 2008.

BBC: "Will Burma's leaders let aid in?" 6 May 2008.

India's Economic Times: Indian meteorological department advised junta 48 hours in advance, 6 May 2008.

BBC: "Disaster tests Burma's junta." 5 May 2008

Times Online: "Aid workers fear Burma cyclone deaths will top 50,000." 6 May 2008.