Hibiscus

Drawing/photo ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

Dwarfs and coconuts - Merry Christmas 2008

Photo ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

This year Christmas began for me with a gang of Vietnamese dwarfs dressed up as elves and Santa's little helpers. No kidding. They had been hired by the Hotel Equatorial in Ho Chi Minh City to goof around in the lobby. The hotel receptionists and waitresses all wore little red and white mini-skirts and Santa hats and had a great time chasing the dwarfs around. The little people themselves seemed to be having a good time too, giggling and running about with high-pitched screams and kicking balls with all their might at the hotel guests. Outside in the 35° heat the city had put on it's Christmas best with lot's of colored lights and scrawny decorations. Motorcycles zipped by with their drivers hugging Christmas trees. When Christmas actually came around on Koh Chang Santa himself came striding under the coconut trees dispensing cookies and good cheer. Amazing how he gets around the planet.

Geckos galore

©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

One of the joys of the tropics are all the friendly and sometimes not so friendly creatures that want to share your days and nights with you. Geckos are the best and centipedes, spiders, scorpions, mosquitoes and cockroaches are the worst. Here in our bungalow on Koh Chang we have very few mosquitoes, only one poisonous centipede in the bathroom and no cockroaches but oodles of geckos and one big tokay gecko. The geckos make their own sound that is a little bit like their local names ching-chong or chick-chack but the large, colourful tokay has it's own distinct mating call - a tight, high pitched tok - kay, tok - kay, tok - kay from which it gets it's name. The sound is repeated and if you hear it speak 7-8 times some say it means good luck. The tokay gecko is the second largest gecko species, nocturnal and native to SE Asia. They are looked upon positively by most people in Asia, so much so that the Chinese consume them for medicinal purposes. They feed on the many small insects and rodents that might want to pester you, so please welcome them. But they do poop a lot!

Illustration: Drawing of a gecko (with only four fingers, they actually have five) that my son Burton and I did together, painted, then fooled with in the computer. 

Thailand - again

Klong Prao Beach, Koh Chang Photo ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

 

Back in Thailand for a dose of good friends, great food, warm weather, wonderful smiles, holiday shopping and a pleasant place to celebrate the Christmas and New Year Holidays. Winter in Chengdu is bone-cracking cold, dripping wet and depressingly grey so the motivation to flee the city is great. Those living in south-west China and with spare change (and time) are spoiled for choice: Hainan Island, southern Yunnan, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos (no beaches though!), Vietnam, the Philippines, are all warm destinations this time of year. Wintertime in most of south-east Asia is perfect, very little rain, sun, sun, sun and not too hot. The kids love it and we parents are easily convinced. Thailand is still the choice of many even though the numbers of travelers this year is down due to the recent political problems and closed airports.  A perfect time to travel actually as it means less problems getting accomodation during peak season, better rates, etc - but of course, terrible for all who rely on the tourism industry for their daily survival.

For many years the coastal areas of Thailand have sold themselves as a total tourist package where the visitor can thoroughly relax, indulge their every fantasy and forget all worries at home. But every time I come to Thailand it still takes a little getting used to the extent that people throw their cares (and clothes) away. And I'm not talking of topless women here (on the island of Koh Chang), but big, fat men with bulging beer bellies, hairy chests and armpits, frighteningly tight speedoes, butt-crack exposing low-slung Billabongs  and tattoos galore. The average age of the Thailand-tourist is no longer twenty-something so the beach beauties mentioned above (like myself) are way past their prime. Exposing yourself on the beach or around the pool is one thing but extending this fashion to every waking moment of the day and any place you go always makes me wonder what the ever-smiling local people think of us crazy foreigners who often treat Thailand like a disposable commodity with no culture of it's own.  So fellow Thailand travelers, please keep coming to Thailand, but remember to close your shirt or put on your sarong when you're walking through the lobby or eating in a restaurant!