"Avatar" same but different

Despite the hype, "Avatar" follows a very familiar movie formula: A member of an invading force learns the defenders' ways, culture and [ahem!] mating rituals; decides to "go native" and instigates an uprising against the invaders -- his own people. We've seen the same story in "Dances with Wolves" and "The Last Samurai" with little variation, and it's a little disappointing that plotwise, "Avatar" puts nothing new on the table.

But the plot isn't really the point of this particular movie. What truly amazes is the leap in movie-making technology that raises the level of immersion into the viewing experience. Viewed in 3D, the effects are truly astounding. Instead of seeing an image that looks composited from several 2D layers superimposed on each other, "Avatar" manages to create a 3D effect that actually looks like depth, or at least a finer gradation of depth such that transitions between different layers are not only possible but look natural too.

And with this new level of immersive reality, the thrills of falling from great heights or being pursued by things with sharp teeth are greatly heightened. At one point, the guy beside me gasped and jumped, and I was lucky not to get a faceful of melted cheese from the nachos he was munching on.

The story isn't the biggest thing for me. I think of "Avatar" as a just a preview of the new kinds of movies that Hollywood will soon be grinding out. Anyway, there's little choice in the matter. There's no way, with current technology, that movie pirates will be able to offer the same kind of viewing experience on our home screens. Take that, Jolly Rogers!

Doin' bidness with the Thai

Thai vendors, especially the ones at the night market in CMX have a simple sales philosophy: never chase away potential income. Having learned from our experiences in Bali, June was out to drive the hardest bargains she could. She picked on quality, colour choice, she even offered to purchase multiple items for a "bulk" purchase rate. At a little stall that sold silver trinkets, she mixed and matched pendants with neck and wrist bands, even though they had to be un-made and re-fitted on the spot. At the next stall she came to, she got an even lower price and asked for a instant custom job which was carried out quite happily.

June's biggest triumph was at a fabrics store where she inquired about a batik sarong and for a demonstration as to how to tie it in a halter-neck fashion. No problem, the sales staff obligingly and painstakingly showed her step-by-step until she got it. When June quoted her price, the sales staff unleashed a torrent of foreign-sounding curses, punctuated by the word, "stingy" a couple of times. We simply walked off to find a tuk-tuk to get us back to our hotel. Just as we were about to negotiate the fare, from afar we heard an exasperated, "ok, lah!" We turned around and saw our batik sales staff waving at us to come back. Score!

This isn't, however, about a people desperate and grovelling for a pittance. We all know there is a game we're playing. We're not there to screw each other over, we're simply negotiating a price both buyer and seller can accept. The process in no way diminishes the pride the vendors have in themselves and their wares. There's nothing to be gained by chasing customers away with displays of attitude. If the customer requires a little more work in order to be satisfied, then just be obliging, smile and do that little more for a win-win.

Their service culture is just something more to admire about the Thai.

Driving in Thailand

To get around Thailand, I've ridden in taxis, tour buses, tuk-tuks, and songtaew (public transport converted from pick-up trucks). Regardless, the driving philosophy is consistent. Unlike drivers on S'porean roads who are fixated on their right-of-way and what "should" or "is supposed to be" and drive so grumpily because road conditions seldom suit them, Thai drivers deal with what's in front of them -- they deal with the "is".

If someone is slow in front, change lane. If lane changing is impossible for the moment, brake. If lane changing requires a bust of ridiculous acceleration and an immediate course correction, hit the gas and manoeuvre accordingly. There is no ill-tempered driving nor curses, raised fists or fingers. The horn if sounded is more for information, "careful, I'm here," rather than imperious, petulant demands to "get out of the way".

Yes, there were hair-raising moments on the winding, often narrow and dark stretches of roads in CMX, but we survived to tell the tale, anyway.

Weekend market

It's Sunday and I've recovered sufficiently to attend the must-see Chatuchak weekend market. Despite my initial apprehension, I really love this place! It's a complete carnival celebrating classical capitalism without crass commercialism. Ever wonder how the "fair" came to be named? It was when traders came together and set up an itinerant market, just like this one, and everyone knew what the best and FAIRest prices were because no trader could price his wares much higher or lower than his competitors. Best place to buy and sell what you needed was at the fair, and that's why fairs are so well loved from way back when. The rides and sideshows that now accompany fairs came much later, hence "funfairs".

The market has everything, including a corner for pets and pet supplies. The merchandise is all well-groomed, fluffy and most importantly, cute! This pix (which I surreptitiously snapped -- "no photos, please!") shows a pup, getting his bath in the process of being preened to perfection. NBS better stay away from this place or she'll be sorely tempted to buy the lot, including the bathwater.

So many sweet treats to eat and beat the heat. June opted for this colourful dessert mostly containing the pink stuff in the middle: some jelly-coated water-chestnut, a staple of most Thai sweets.

Coconut ice-cream served in a young coconut shell cup with tender coconut shavings on the side for me. What a concept!

And after a few more hours mall-pounding MBK, we're on our way home. Bumped into this bunch of crazies at Suvarnabhumi International to pose with for one final pic in Thailand.

Sawadee krup!

Floored

No photos for today. We're back in BKK and have checked into the Paradiso. June's gone shopping. I'm stricken with food poisoning. Maybe raw fish wasn't the best choice for dinner after all. Well, that's the chief suspect, anyway. I ate other crap yesterday too. The Professor who runs the CMX Flora was nice enough to give me two stomach-calming capsules to help me survive the flight back here.

Anyway, of all the hotels we've inhabited so far, the Paradiso has the most comfortable bed to lie in. The mattress is firm, providing excellent back support, while the angle of the wall-mounted LCD TV is perfect for viewing in a supine position. Programmes are terrible, though, but I don't care 'cos they're just on to provide a little background noise while I try to sleep.

Shopping spree

Oops. Caught sampling pork floss snacks at this stall in Warorot market. They're made fresh daily here, and the auntie was thrilled to practice a little Teochew dialect with us. Regular customers, we are -- two days in a row.

Today's tour didn't thrill me so much. We were chauffeured to see some "handicraft" stores, a.k.a. expensive souvenir outlets: a Thai silk factory where June bought a lovely black dress for formal occasions; a lacquerware factory we breezed through; and a gemstone centre which we would have escaped from sooner if we didn't meet the same sales staff who sold us soap the previous night at the night market. The people here work two jobs! Kinda' puts us to shame, that.

Above is part of the big temple at Doi Suthep. Everyone who comes to CMX has to visit this landmark temple if not for religious, historical or aesthetic reasons, then...

for this glorious view of the whole of CMX city. Don't know if we're looking through smog, haze or cloud cover, but I'm sure I could spot our hotel down there somewhere, if I knew where to look.

We made a discovery: The airport mall isn't in the airport at all, but a huge mall complex near the airport. This spread is our dinner at Zen, a deviation from the usual tom yum goong, mango salad, steamed rice affair we've been surviving on since we arrived in Thailand.

June discovered this outlet in the mall that sells fair-trade tribal handicrafts. Since the organization was non-profit, and since our money would go towards helping the tribes directly, we bought a number of souvenirs from here. Assisting us was this obliging salesperson whose high-heel shoe size was... unusually large. I will speculate no further.

Trails and tribes

A full day tour of the Doi Inthanon National Park kicks off with a couple of waterfall views. This one is the Vachirathan (rainbow) falls, so named because the sun from behind creates a rainbow in the spray from the falls.

... like so.

Not too many people find their way to this spot on the falls 'cos the trail is partially hidden by a snack bar. The trail is clearly marked but once people see snacks, they get distracted.

Once again among tribal scarves...

... made by these (non-long necked) Karen women.

We're at the King's Project, a royally-backed effort to bring sustainable living to these Hmong people. The emphasis on agriculture, handicrafts and tourism seems to have brought some prosperity to them -- without compromising too much on their traditions and culture. Their kids are kinda' cute.

The royal twin pagodas top off this trip. That's the King's pagoda in the background. This shot was taken by a Dutch lady who was among the United Nations that our tour bus comprised. There were the Omani couple, the Israeli couple, the Italian couple, the Singaporean couple (us), the two Dutch ladies, and the two guys: a Dane and a local Thai (a couple of indeterminate status, on which I have no wish to speculate). Throughout the trip, while the rest of us were dosing in the back of the bus, there was a Middle Eastern conference going on in front, presided over by our chatty, often hilarious, tour-guide. Nice to see the Arabs and Jews getting along so well under normal circumstances. Politics just spoils everything.

At the Flora

Moving day again! We've now come downtown and have checked into the Rachamankha Flora House. A very pretty, cosy family-run guest house, so new that the tuk-tuks have no clue where it is unless you tell them the posher BP Hotel immediately across the street. So new that the two PCs in the lobby for guest access is running on Win 7. Proprietors are warm, friendly people. Nice place to hang your hat for a few days.

New daily routine is to take a brisk morning walk to Warorot Market and back. It's a local market and not so touristy here. Lots of colour with these flower stalls this side of the market. Inside, there's fresh food (for cooking) and other daily sundries. I need the walk for the exercise, she needs the shopping.

Ah, Uncle Map makes an appearance! This is his tour office where I've returned to meet June who went for a Thai cooking class earlier in the afternoon. She was a bit disappointed with her lesson, though. The teacher didn't give away too many secrets, insisting that the necessary ingredients can be bought pre-mixed at the supermarket. Teacher wasn't expecting an advanced student, I guess.

Comin' round the mountain on an ATV

This activity we arranged with Away since we were just down the road from ATV-Chiang Mai Tours. We opted for the 3-hour tour and this is the starting point. Here, after the mandatory safety and operational briefing, we took our ATVs around the test track (behind) for some practical experience. It was then decided that June should ride pillion with me.

To be honest, most of the tour was on asphalt up the mountainside, but here's where we got our kicks -- off-roading a couple of these tracks that were dusty and at times narrow enough to peer over the side and contemplate falling over the edge into the green unknown below. Fun!

One of a few rest-stops for a shot of the fantastic view of the mountains and the rural activity going on around us. Wasn't as cold as I had imagined, despite climbing to this elevation. Rest-stops were necessary to alleviate sore butts and to calm our hands and feet that were still feeling the vibrations even after we'd got off our bikes for a while. Think I've chalked up enough experience for the full-day tour by now. Next time.

Like I said, the view is fantastic. Oh, in case you're wondering about the lousy quality of today's shots, it's because some idiot (actually, there's only one suspect) previously tried to take some night shots but forgot to reset the ISO to normal day shots. These shots were taken at ISO1600 in broad daylight! Duh.

On tour: Chiang Rai - Golden Triangle

We had booked the Chiang Rai-Golden Triangle tour from the agent in BKK Domestic. Slightly more expensive than what Uncle Map was offering, but we still got quite a lot out of this one-day adventure. First stop, the White Temple. The design is a fusion of traditional Thai mythology and contemporary pop culture. From a distance, the building is quite impressive -- blindingly white in the daylight. The imagery portrayed in the intricate details are quite head scratching. Visions of hell on the outside, and on the inside the walls are painted with incongruous images of technology and modern pop cultural icons, reminiscent of graffiti art with an Asian influence. And acid. Painting was still being done at this time. Wonder what the finished product will look like.

Visited a "Karen village". Actually more like a village facade where the Karen and other hill tribespeople bring their handicrafts to a tourist-accessible location and display some of the more photogenic aspects of their culture.

We watched some young Karen women weave similar scarves on looms attached to their booths. The scarves were fine and colourful, and we couldn't resist buying a couple at 200B apiece.

A boat ride up the mighty Mekong to take a closer look at the Golden Triangle area. No poppy products to take home as souvenirs, unfortunately. Somehow, the authorities seem to take a dim view of people trafficking in such produce. The place looks to be being developed for tourism in place of illegal agriculture. Sadly, development still seems a long way off yet.

We land on the Laotian border: Done Xao, a little village set up to receive Golden Triangle visitors like us. Lots of little shops selling touristy junk which we can already get from the Thai side. And a handful of little urchins like this one begging for a handout. We quietly gave this one 20B. Five minutes later, this same urchin was still holding out his cup to other tourists with just one hand. In his other hand was a chocolate coated ice-cream from which he was taking bites. Ahh, the simple pleasures of life.

The Burmese border. Only 500B to cross over and look at exactly the same market set-up run by Burmese instead of Thai vendors. We remain on the Thai side because there are lots of bedroom socks and preserved fruit to buy for friends and family; fresh fruit and roasted chestnuts to take back for dinner later.

We didn't really need this stop other than just to break the monotony of the long ride back to CMX. A hot geyser around which has sprung a yet another tourist trap. One last photo op for the day.

Street walking

Flew out first thing in the morning to Chiang Mai (CMX). Checked in at the Away Suansawan, Maerim. As the name suggests, the resort hotel is far, far away from downtown CMX. Nice hotel with very friendly, accommodating staff and plush, comfortable rooms, but the distance from town led to... consequences for us later. It's a great place if you want to get away from it all and not bother with the outside world, but if you're an urbanite needing the buzz of city life and shopping, better choose accommodation closer to the city centre.

Downtown CMX: Walking Street, a gigantic pasar malam only open on Sunday nights. From the many street food vendors, we finally pluck up the courage to sample... a mango salad! Spicy and sour, but despite our apprehensions (we live in too clean a city) it didn't kill us.

When the sun goes down, Walking Street erupts into a frenzy of activity. Vendors selling art and handicrafts or cheap souvenirs, itinerant buskers (disabled or otherwise), street food featuring things on sticks all on offer to an ever-growing mob of tourists and locals looking for the best deals.

The distance from our hotel led to consequences, like I said. We (actually, there was only one possible suspect) lost the directions back to Away, so we stopped to make inquiries at Chiang Mai Five Star Tours, a local tour office that said "Tourist Information" on the frontage. Uncle "Map" provided such friendly and helpful information that we purchased a few of his tours around CMX and the surrounding locales. Reasonably priced, too -- better than the tours offered at the BKK Domestic terminal, anyway. Good consequences.

A wedding in Bangkok

First night in BKK was to attend June's colleague's wedding in BKK at the Novotel Airport Hotel's ballroom.

It was an evening of hobnobbing with the Thai personnel, many of whom June contacts by email. Now they finally meet in person.

Win already

Who knew my Windows 7 upgrade would still cost me some mo' money? I did some research, see? I didn't want all the drivers, settings and programs I'm already comfortably running on Vista to be completely wiped out by installing the new OS. It's such a pain to reload everything back the way it was. My research turned up 'PC Mover', a useful little app that saves the old configurations and re-uploads the whole thing onto the fresh install. Quite a lifesaver, that. Only cost US$19.99 to download and use.

Not that the transition was perfectly smooth though. I had to reinstall my Norton anti-virus because it didn't understand how to function in this new environment (PC Mover already warned me about this, so it wasn't a surprise). But my Belkin wireless G USB adapter proved too primitive for the new OS to handle -- even in Win XP compatibility mode. With no Win 7 drivers forthcoming from Belkin, I had to go out to buy a more contemporary Linksys replacement at $59. And now i'm back online again.

So, the benefits of having a fully functional Win 7? Um... programs load marginally faster than in Vista. But other than that, I haven't really tested it yet. Too busy getting my configs customized back to my taste before I go exploring through the new frontier.

In case anyone's interested, my back's mostly recovered. Now there's only a twinge where there was once agony, and it only hurts again when I hyperextend -- not that there's any good reason for one to hyperextend their backs. I just want to see how far I can push myself before the pain returns. Yes, I'll continue to be careful. I'm still in no condition to play hero.

Leaving for Chiang Mai in a few hours time. In-laws will have the run of our place in return for pet sitting duties. Wonder if there are any reputable Internet cafes up there? If not, this could be my last entry until I return.

Xmac is... ON VACATION!

Progressively recovering

Thankfully, my back doesn't hurt as much now. And as the pain is receding, I can flex and bend further... well, enough for me to vacuum the floor with my horrendously expensive vacuum cleaner -- no, not the Roomba, the manually operated one. I've still got a little over 24 hours to recover before I head north for a few days. Will try as far as possible not to do any heavy lifting so as not to aggravate the injury, but luggage inevitably tends to get heavy. Have to see how there.

Anyway, today I had an important decision to make. I haven't yet made use of the $400 our benefactor (who shall remain anonymous) had left for me this year. I needed to make a purchase fast, before the accounts close. Yes, it's a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. I narrowed my choices down to a) an iPhone 3GS or b) a Windows 7 upgrade package. Neither item would I purchase on my own, but since the cost was going to be credited to someone else's account, they became viable choices to drool over. Guess which I picked?

Still mobile

Thankfully, I haven't been incapacitated. I am still mobile, just inconvenienced. Am learning to rely on my knees more and am supporting my weight against sturdy objects like tables and walls if I need to go off-balance, say for changing clothes, or standing up or sitting down. The worst pain comes from standing from a lying-down position, like when I wake up from bed. That now requires some thought to minimize the strain.

The worst case scenario would be that I had slipped a disc. But in the doctor's professional opinion, my back injury is not that serious. More likely to be a sprain because the pain is not directly in the centre of my spine, and because I wasn't doing any heavy lifting when it happened. I got a prescription for a muscle relaxant, painkillers and anti-gastric pills to counter the painkiller's side effects. Need lots of home rest and fortunately (or unfortunately?) it's the December hols when I can rest up without guilt.

Speaking of injuries, it seems more kids are getting injured at play these days. How in the world can that be possible? As far as I have observed, our kids don't play. They aren't allowed to play because they have to be doing homework or 'mug' all the time. Our playgrounds are foam padded, the equipment plasticized with no sharp corners or hard edges. Toy safety regulations are paranoid, to say the least. Hmm... there may be one explanation: more parents are taking their kids for medical treatment over minor scrapes and bruises that in the past we kids just ignored and let heal on their own. These days, any abrasion would warrant an anti-tetanus jab. Parents.

Sore back

I promised myself it would never happen. I was always conscious to take care of myself, always being sure to bend at the knees when lifting heavy objects. Nevertheless, somehow I've thrown my back out. And I wasn't lifting anything.

It probably happened because of some uncomfortable sleeping or sitting position, causing a strain in my lower back which I felt as of yesterday. Didn't think much of it at the time, but today when I bent over to pick up Momo (I hadn't even touched her yet), I felt something give and I had to spend some minutes flat out on the floor hoping to straighten out my spine again.

Been in pain the rest of the day. In-laws were really nice. May brought dinner over 'cos I didn't feel well enough to walk, and Ling brought over a Salonpas muscle relief patch to ease me through my sleep.

Doubt it's the kind of pain that will just go away in a few days. Will seek medical attention in the morning.

TO alumni meet and feed

A day of catching up with friends from TO. Haven't seen Jon for ages. We missed him the last couple of times he's been back to visit, but couldn't pass up this opportunity to finally meet for lunch at least. Jon probably wasn't one of us who used to sing "Please don't send me to Africa", because that's where he worked as a missionary among the Xhosa for three years. Now that he's done with his adventures in the bush, he's returned to civilization with the lovely lady beside him and the wee bairn in arms. Shoutout to Cat and Sam too! Our schedules have been too crazy to meet properly this year(!) until today.

Dinner at Mary of the Angels. Jen invited us and Adrian to attend the Choice 29th Anniversary D&D. Quite a fun evening, opening with a dance-along to Wondergirls' "Nobody", and lots of great musical performances to keep us entertained through the evening. Plus a few table games too, the good thing being that it didn't matter if we didn't want to participate, but just focus on our food and conversation. We let the competitive ones at our table represent us, no pressure for the rest.

Anne's turn

'Tis the season for weddings. It was Anne's today at the illustrious St Iggy's. Compared to the uncomplicatedness of Lynette's, Anne's was a traditional Catholic mass with the full works, right down to the communion. Traditional has its own charm too.

Because of the time of year, I saw more students than staff in attendance. Shoutouts to Faith and Clara: so happy to see that my ex-Presidents are doing well for themselves. On the other hand, it's quite a downer that apart from Gerald and me, no one else from dNYel could attend. Ha. As soon as we are free from the fetters of the timetable, we're all out of town.

Aggregation, not aggravation

Went for some IT course on campus, not knowing who the instructor was going to be. I was under the impression that it was some vendor making a quick buck running courses for teachers on vacation. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the com lab a little bit tardy and met the Shambles guru himself, Chris Smith, face-to-face. Wow. If I had known earlier, I might have signed up for one or two other modules. This one, as it turned out, I was somewhat familiar with already.

The course was about using Internet apps "to save time", and most of the stuff he was showing us were things I am currently using, like subscribing to RSS via a reader or aggregator. From the the number of blogs I'm following, I always get to read the latest entries on a single page in my Google Reader. I get my fill of the most up-to-date web comics on PageFlakes. Yes, I suppose it would be more convenient to stick with one aggregator, but I find text works better on the former, while graphics stand out more via the more visually impactful layout of the latter. Of course, I didn't know what Chris was up to when he got us to sign up for a Netvibes account, so now I have another PageFlakes-like app with pretty much the same functions to play with.

What that all boils down to is that I don't have to go trawling laboriously through every single blog or other content provider looking for new and interesting stuff every day. All I do is subscribe to each site's RSS feed, and anytime the site gets updated I'll be notified via my Reader. So because stuff comes to me now, I need hunt and gather no longer. I have evolved.

Turning my personal fun and games into something useful for the classroom, RSS is also a great shortcut for monitoring each student's subject blog. Say I have about 70 kids to supervise, I'd go crazy clicking 70 blogs daily looking to see if they have done their homework. Instead, I open my Google Reader and only the blogs that have been updated show up automatically -- while the rest is silence. That's just one small example of what I can do with RSS to make my life easier.

What we are ultimately doing is managing information overload. I'm in the midst of learning how to do exactly that using the tools and the skills that allow me to access all the stuff I like to immerse myself with on the 'net -- that will hopefully aid me on my journey to become a better, smarter person. I'll have to figure it out fast, 'cos that'll be what we'll be teaching our kids from now on, and there's no better subject than GP to do it in.

Media balance

I am so glad the "MDA ensures 3,000 hours of wholesome TV content every year". At least the little kiddies' moral and social well-being has been properly taken care of. Goody for them.

But what about for me? Why is my TV still devoid of the remaining 5,760 hours of unwholesome content that they've promised? Fine, we have programmes like "Cosmo & George", "We are R.E.M.", "First Class" and "Polo Boys" but, please, could I have some quality unwholesome content too? :(