Return from Chiang Mai

via Fashion Frolick

I'm back from Chiang Mai, Thailand, and what a short, exhausting, inspiring week it was. I met several people from the region doing incredible things, and, on more than one instance, I was blown away by the creativity of lawyers who do work outside the traditional practice of law. Besides meeting lawyers and law students working on rule of law issues in Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and Thailand, I also met a fellow US lawyer who is initiating lawsuits to break patents in Thailand in order to increase access to affordable, generic HIV/AIDs drugs, which are often outside the reach of most Thai residents, despite the universal healthcare provided.

My colleague, Tourist (yes, that is his name), an intern at my organization accompanied me. It was his first time out of the country, and he took so many pictures, of the shiny Bangkok airport, of escalators and elevators, and all the fancy shops, of everything on the trip. The first time the plane landed, he beamed such a huge smile across the aisle at me, over the French travelers who were assisting him with his Thai visa paperwork, that I could do nothing more than laugh aloud. To be forced to see things through his eyes, through constant awe, cut away any jaded outlook I may have. It forced me to stop and look at things, and to consider.

And the small city was, indeed, lovely and peaceful: the old quarter with its decaying fortress, the moat surrounding it; the fried chicken lady situated just outside the moat, who, for 50 Baht (the equivalent of $1.75), sold you five pieces of chicken, sticky rice, and sweet chili sauce (seriously, yum); the ice cream shop I frequented; the green hills that greeted me every morning; the crazy-cheap food malls; the relatively clean streets; the order.

On the way back to Phnom Penh, I went a little nuts at the beauty counters in Bangkok international airport, and some of the results of that jaunt were a NARS Heat Wave lipstick, an orangey-red matte shade that will likely scream hooker in Cambodia (highlighted in J. Crew's S/S 2011 lookbook on all the models) and YSL Touche Eclat, which I swear by.

A feast.

I've been in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, for a few days, and I'm loving the change of scenery. I'm staying at the office/house of a partner organization, which has a lovely courtyard covered with green grass, where I've participated in early morning yoga sessions. The house also comes with two resident (plump) dogs who are veterans at begging for food. They sit on the cool floor most of the day.

Two nights ago, we were tasked with contributing a dish to a potluck. A trip to the local market followed, as did hours of cooking and cooking in the hot kitchen. At one point, as I was chopping up vegetables for the soba salad, the burn of chili and oil permeated the kitchen, stinging my eyes and those of others and forcing us to stop for a while. Too many cooks in the kitchen.

The Americans and French worked on their mango and sticky rice and bruschetta dishes, respectively. Outside, the Vietnamese team constructed and fried salad rolls, while the Thai and Laotian team barbequed pork, which I could not stop sampling with sweet chili sauce. I have no idea what the Australians contributed. Mountains of noodles and huge pots of curry were also welcome additions.

Chiang Mai

via Travels in Paradise

I should be packing for my trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand. My plane leaves in 3 hours. I'm spending a week there for work, and the idea of modernity and civilization excites me -- that and the NARS counter at Bangkok International Airport!

Lateline on the Railways

ABC Lateline News finally aired the piece on the Railways Project! The community highlighted is the one I visited for two hellish days of legal aid assistance.

Zoe Daniels, Australian Broadcasting Corp. Cambodian Rail Line to Displace Country's Poor. A Cambodian rail line project involving AusAID and Australia's Toll Holding is under fire for offering meagre compensation for houses in the way of the tracks.

Transcript and news video here.

Tonight

A few things on my mind tonight:

Thank goodness for Skype, which has allowed me recently to chat with friends across the ocean, as I turn in for the day and they begins theirs.

My insane, non-stop-talking family, I do miss you.

I went to the gym tonight, for the second time since I moved to Phnom Penh. Afterwards, I had a papaya apple ginger shake. I feel so healthy. Could I, should I make this a habit?

Views from the South China Sea

I am far from beach bum material. Nonetheless, our time there was too short. And why is Malaysian food so yummy? More later.

Travel Legs

via e-Borneo

We returned from our short holiday last night, and not until I stepped foot in busy, chaotic Phnom Penh did I fully appreciate the air of calm and peace that has enveloped me the past week, a tranquility that has stayed despite the rather hurried travel schedule. There was a lot of movement on this trip. It went something like this:

-Flight from Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur (Peninsular Malaysia)

-Flight from Kuala Lumpur to Brunei Darrusalam on the island of Borneo

-Ferry to the island of Labuan

-Ferry to Kota Kinabalu (Malaysian Borneo)

Strangely enough, and I forgot that this tends to be the case with me, the constant movement and exploration just feels right. It puts me at ease and there are a few things that feel more natural to me.

There were, of course, many quiet, still moments, many of which were spent sampling local cuisine, staring at the lapping waves of the South China Sea or the encroaching mist on Mt. Kinabalu.