Songkran Festival

Last week was Thai New Year, which in our corner of the world is the biggest and most beloved holiday of the year. It falls in the hottest, driest time of the year so accordingly, in order to celebrate Thais have a nation-wide water fight. This is a water fight like none we have ever seen before.
First of all, the entire city participates in the mayhem. The streets are filled with people who are equipped with water guns, hoses, buckets, and anything else that will hold water. People waiting on the streets with water are often dancing to music as they wait to drench people going by on foot, scooter, or car. Those in cars keep their windows up. Those on scooters are completely soaked. Those in trucks fill their truck bed with water and soak those waiting on the side of the road. It's a whole lot of water!
Secondly, the festival lasts for an entire week and for at least three of those days, you cannot go outside during the hours of 10a.m to 10 p.m. without expecting to get drenched.
Third, the water festival is no respecter of persons. The elderly, babies, professionals in suits...it's doesn't matter. If you choose to go outside during this time, you are choosing to get soaked. And, you CANNOT get upset about it (since it is all in good fun).
Without further ado, we give you the Songkran Water Festival. Keep in mind, cameras don't really mix well with big water fights, so these shots are a bit distant and very mild compared to the areas where the guys with the really big hoses were located.


The dousing of an unfortunate biker



Luckily this picture was taken within the safety of our own car.



We decided to head out to the street to try our hand at water throwing. Maisy is refilling her plastic Tupperware out of our trash can (which was full of water). Needless to say, our supplies looked pretty meager comparatively.



I love the look on this man's face...it's so sweet, especially when considering we were coming towards him with a bowl of water.



The classic water gun to the head approach.


And last, but definitely not least, a picture captured by Shaun of a couple of Thais showing off some pretty sweet dance moves to pump themselves up for hours more of water-throwing. (These guys were on our corner for three days, all day long, singing, dancing, and throwing water. I'm not sure how they did it, but I think beer and the sweet sounds of Thai hip-hop had something to do with it.)

Our trip to 'Nam

Last week the Odell tour of Asia rolled on--this time to Vietnam. We never anticipated having an interest in visiting Vietnam as it is always portrayed as a war-torn, depressing country. However, we kept hearing fellow travellers and friends talk it up, so we decided to give it a shot. As it turned out, Vietnam was probably the most vibrant and culturally distinct country that we have visited thus far, as well as one of the most beautiful.

We started off in Hanoi, the capitol city located in the North of Vietnam. One thing we noticed first off was that Hanoi was a crazy-busy city. About 90% of the vehicles on the road are motorcycles and they literally drive every which way with seemingly no respect for traffic laws, sidewalks or pedestrians. Another charming part of this was that Vietnamese drivers LOVE their horns and will keep one hand on the wheel and one hand on the horn, honking almost continuously. I think they feel it is their patriotic duty to ensure that someone is always honking a horn. Any self-respecting Vietnamese person has also installed a souped up horn, such as a friendly melody, or my favorite, a horn that gradually fades away (although sadly horns that play 'la cucaracha' have not yet made it to this corner of the world). Crossing the street was a little terrifying at first. Basically you step out into the road and the motorcycles swarm around you as you cross. It took a couple of days for us to get used to the method behind this madness.


One of the highlights of our stay in Hanoi, was a trip that we took to the Perfume Pagoda, a complex of pagodas and Buddhist shrines built into the karst cliffs of the "Mountain of the Fragrant Trees"(sounds like a place straight out of Princess Bride, right?--"behold the cliffs of insanity"). We took a small row boat along a river that was nestled between limestone cliffs and rice paddies.

Maisy loved the hour long boat ride, especially when she found that if she waved and smiled at boats passing by, they would throw her a choco-pie.















The pagodas/caves were really busy, as we happened to be there during the second lunar month which meant that thousands of Buddhist pilgrims were also there for some type of festival. We stopped at one of the many thousands of food stalls/restaurants that lined the way up to the pagodas. Nearly every restaurant had a large array of skinned and dried animals there to welcome you. I'll let you use your imagination to determine which animals are shown below (and yes, skinned cat was one of the favorites--seen here on the far left).


After three days in Hanoi, we headed East to the coast of Vietnam and went on a traditional Vietnamese 'junk' (boat) cruise of Halong Bay. Halong Bay is one of those amazing places on earth that is impossible to describe in words. We are finding that pictures just don't do it justice either. Imagine 3000 or more limestone karsts and islands jutting out of the peaceful bay as far as the eye can see. We cruised on the boat for two days and admired the scenery as it stretched on and on before us. The overcast weather (which is typical year round) made it a little misty, adding to the magical and ethereal feel of the landscape.




The "Junk" we stayed on was beautiful, and despite it's name, very fancy...complete with rooftoop lounge chairs, delicious seafood, and massages for all (even for Maisy who convinced her Dad that she too needed one).

These are some pictures of the locals who live in Halong Bay. I can't imagine a more picturesque place to live! Below is a picture of a floating village that we stopped at.

After two days at sea, Maisy proved that she was "sea-worthy" and the captain let her try her hand at the wheel for a while. The video below makes us think that Maisy may someday pursue a career as a pirate, judging by how natural (and maniacal) she seemed behind the wheel.


As the final part of our cruise we stayed a day and a night on Catba, the largest island, and one of the many national parks located in Halong Bay. We went on an amazing hike through the jungle when we first arrived to a tower located on one of the tallest of the islands many mountains. Our guide was a local islander who may just have been the Vietnamese Tarzan. Maisy loved him because he was constantly doing something really funny like creating musical instruments out of branches and leaves or suddenly swinging 50 ft in the air from the vines.


View from the top of Catba National Park

The beautiful views from the summit seemed like a fitting climax to our trip. Shortly thereafter we were driven back to Hanoi, from where we returned to Chiang Mai.


Hey Dan...Jellyfish, by Shaun

Sook Sun Wan Gerd Dianna!

In the Odell household we get the two biggest holidays of the year out of the way in March--St. Patrick's Day and Dianna's birthday. While normally we devote blog space to completely meaningless material (like ranting about flagrantly foul fruit) I'm taking a step back in honor of the latter of these important days. Today being Dianna's birthday this seemed like a good chance to list some of Dianna's qualities that Maisy and I have the privilege of having in our lives. Without further ado some of our favorite things about Dianna, displayed pictorially:

Just so we're clear, amongst the many God given gifts with which Dianna has been blessed, the one that initially kicked off the process of me 'wooing' her was the fact that she was smoking hot. I know that isn't politically correct, but just to get that out in the open it was the hotness people, the hotness.


Along with good looks, she is also ridiculously smart. She graduated with a 4.0 from her Masters program at the University of Illinois after receiving a full ride scholarship. She is the Albert Einstein of the Social Work world.


Regardless of what we're doing, or in what corner of the world we find ourselves Dianna always has a good time. Being around someone this upbeat is always contagious.


She's also just plain likable. It's very common for me to come home from work and hear a story about how Dianna and Maisy made some new friend at the park, or at a restaurant. People just like her.


While this has led to an embarrassing number of setbacks in our personal racquetball competitions, Dianna is really athletic. In my defense she did play on the racquetball team at our undergrad (Brigham Young University)


See the picture regarding 'hotness' above.


Dianna is also really adventurous. Even well into her pregnancy she was still scaling rocks at Acadia national park (see below), or biking, or kayaking, or braving Chicago's subzero temperatures on her way to restore order to the dialysis unit at Mt. Sinai hospital.


Seriously, even pregnancy didn't cause her to miss a beat. The night before she went into labor we walked 6 miles through a winter's night in Chicago.


One of things that I appreciate most is how good a conversationalist she is. We haven't been married an extremely long time, but 4+ years has been long enough to get through a host of important topics ranging from who she thought would win in a death match between Walt on 'Lost' and our crazy Korean neighbor here in Chiang Mai, or whether or not it would be good for Maisy to learn to ride a motorcycle. Here's to many more years of good conversation.


This post seemed like a good time to catch up on events that occurred before we started blogging. A little over a year ago, in a 30 hour labor-a-thon that left me marveling at just what an incredible wife I have, Dianna became a mother. Newborn Maisy weighed just a shade below nine pounds (which seems even heavier when you factor in Dianna's 100 lbs plus small change normal weight).


Mothering has come to her naturally and all of the sweet characteristics of our little girl I attribute to the time and effort that she puts into making sure that Maisy is well taken care of. On the other hand I am proud to report that it was me that taught Maisy just how funny it is when people burp.



Dianna has without a doubt been the MVP and the glue that has kept our little family so happily stuck together. Whether walking the beaches in Ireland or at home going on bike rides she is always looking out for the two of us.


I also can't imagine a more ideal wife. She has always been cool about taking Maisy to a late night ball game, or letting me take up some random new hobby like learning to play the banjo. As we have gone through the experience of three intensive years of medical school and a year living abroad she has not only never complained, but has always loved and supported every new experience.


Maisy and I also have the privilege of enjoying Dianna's great sense of humor on a daily basis. Wherever Dianna is, and whatever she finds herself doing doubtless hilarity is sure to ensue.


Both Maisy and I count ourselves blessed beyond measure to have Dianna to hang out with all the time. I can't imagine a more perfect companion, or a more devoted mother. Happy Birthday Dianna, we love you.

Malodorous "fruit" and Maisy's Seal Kiss

Continuing with my regular theme of utter randomness, I thought I'd take some time to decry the cultivation and misinformed consumption of one of the most disgusting objects present on our beautiful planet--durian. Durian is a "fruit" the size of a basketball, with a rough spiky exterior, and extremely pungent odor that can be enjoyed by anyone passing within seven miles of one that has recently been opened. I have lain awake many nights wondering what genius decided to classify this blight on South East Asia in the same category with bananas, strawberries and mangoes. Feeling very strongly about this, and hoping to edify and educate, I have presented my arguments on this pressing subject pictorially and verbally below.

My first line of reasoning as to why durian was not mean for consumption by our fair species begins with my initial exposure to this monstrosity. We were in Chicago's Chinatown with some friends for dinner, when one of them asked me if I had ever tried durian. "It smells like garbage, but really it tastes much better" my friend informed me. I don't know where to even start my analysis of this statement, but I think it is safe to say that any fruit that smells strikingly similar to human refuse was probably not meant by God for us to eat.



To continue my argument I quote directly from the list of hotel rules given us when we checked in to a room on this last trip. Amongst the other do's and dont's (like DO check out before 12pm, or DON'T use the provided hairdryer while showering) was this statement: "For the comfort of all guests, please DO NOT BRING ANY DURIAN in the Hotel". This statement was not only written in caps and bolded (as shown here) it was also underlined (which I am apparently incapable of reproducing here). "Huh", I thought "this must be important". It goes without saying that if the consumption of any "fruit" has the power to discomfort other guests, even from several floors away, then it was probably not meant for mankind to partake of.
Fruit stand in Singapore selling Durian. I am not sure what type of heinousness is required to score a job here, but in my personal view of the afterlife Hitler, that Ben guy from 'Lost' and Tom Cruise will all be working alongside this gentleman.


Thirdly I refer to a sign posted on a subway on which we recently found ourselves. I had my camera on hand, so that I could share this gem with all of you:

I personally glean several things from this. First, durian is not considered to be a food or a beverage (otherwise how do you explain its reception of its own warning square complete with glowing red 'don't even think about it' symbology).

Secondly, I find it interesting that it is placed right next to flammable goods, as if to say "if you're really stupid enough to consider bringing a stick of dynamite, or a gas can on the train, then we have another important piece of information to share with you".


Well I didn't intend to belabor this subject, but I can't resist one final anecdote that supports my arguments as spelled out above. Several months ago Dianna and I were attending our Thai language class downtown, which on that occasion included just the two of us. We were learning the words for Thai fruits and vegetables, and went through all of the all-stars: papaya, watermelon, green mango, mangostine, passion fruit, etc. Suddenly our teacher held up a picture of a basketball sized spiky object. Of course this immediately set off a rant on my part on durians and their lack of fruit-like qualities. Our teacher, either sympathetic to my view or at the least sympathetic to my ravings shared the following story.

Apparently not long before a newspaper had featured an article on the sudden death of an important Thai magistrate. When the details of his demise had been investigated it was concluded that there had been no foul play, but that prior to his death he had consumed "an unhealthy amount of durian" (which I might add actually could be considered 'foul'). I rest my case on this note: amongst the sources of human death in this world, a list that includes guns, AIDS and hunger, we can now also include consumption of durian.

To close, I am including a short clip of our zoo trip in Singapore. They have a water mammal show for which Maisy was chosen out of the audience. As a bonus I have also included one of Maisy's developing talents shown directly after the zoo clip.

Maybe it goes without saying but, Maisy learned all of these sweet moves from her Mom!

Malaysia/Singapore

Of the many reasons that we have enjoyed this year (more time for hanging out together, interesting research, mangoes, no Chicago winter, the banjo) one of the most pleasant has been my research mentor's suggestion that we explore this unique and beautiful part of the world. With that in mind our tour of South-East Asia rolled on to Malaysia and Singapore during a holiday last week.

We began the trip in Kuala Lumpur, then headed south through Melaka, and finally to Singapore, so the overabundance of pictures will roughly follow in that order.


Probably not the best view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline, but this is what it looked like from our hotel room. The Petronas Towers (which just recently slipped to the second tallest building(s) in the world) are on the right.

They kind of look like corn cobs to me

One of the greatest parts of Malaysia is that not only do they have 'mother's rooms' but so-called 'family lounges' in all of the major buildings. So while Maisy ate in a private nursing cubicle (complete with lazy boy), I played a quick game of skee-ball.


They have a free ranging aviary in Kuala Lumpur full of all kinds of exotic birds that roam freely throughout the park. Dianna and Maisy loved this....

...while I was less convinced. This little guy descended out of nowhere to attack. Thereafter I could not get rid of him, which Maisy and Dianna thought was a riot. To add insult to injury it is illegal to throw rocks at the birds, so I was left defenseless against the parakeet version of Bruce Lee. Dianna says he was just trying to be friendly, but it is my understanding that healthy relationships do not involve the indiscriminate use of one's talons.

Thean Hou Buddhist Temple. Chinese New Year was still ongoing, so things were pretty festive: fireworks, parades, a group of teenagers running around in a Dragon costume. You know, the usual.

The 272 stairs behind us lead up to Batu caves, a religious shrine to the deity whose statue is also pictured here. Maisy climbed 145 of the steps by herself.

The caves from the inside.

Batu caves were inhabited by a gang of ruffian monkeys. As karma would have it one of them tried to wrestle Dianna's shoulder bag away from her, presumably because of the sour cream and onion chips she had just deposited inside. To Maisy this was the funniest thing she had witnessed since the infamous bird assault.

Downtown Kuala Lumpur. Rumor has it that this is the Supreme Court building.

After a couple of days in the big city we headed South to a historic coastal town called Melaka. During different time periods Dutch, English and Portuguese settlers all left their mark on the city. The Odells in turn left their mark on the city when Maisy climbed into the fountain on their main city square (pictured behind us).

Islam is the primary religion of Malaysia, so it was interesting for Dianna and I to witness firsthand some of the things we had learned about in the Islam class we took together as undergraduates.

The Melaka river at dusk

South of Melaka there is a small island called Palau Besar located five kilometers off shore. It boasts beautiful and deserted beaches. Getting to the beaches was a little bit of an adventure, but it was a pleasant time once we arrived.

Possibly because they are a little bit hard to get to (and possibly because it was a monday afternoon and most people are gainfully employed) the beaches were completely empty. For hours we didn't see another soul.

This proved to be our last day in Malaysia. The next morning we took a bus further south to Singapore. Singapore was like something out of a sci-fi movie to me: there was no garbage or grafitti, no apparent slums, the trains ran eerily on time, and even all of our Singapore dollars looked like they had just come straight from the mint (or wherever bills come from). It was an interesting and odd little Utopia that took some time to grow on us...



...on the other hand Carl's Jr. was just as amazing in Singapore as in Logan, or anywhere else. We also consumed an amount of saturated fat in one sitting equal to the previous year.

Orangutans at the famed Singapore zoo.

Maisy and her new friend checking out the baboons in the Ethiopian village exhibit.

This group of Chinese tourists was fascinated with Maisy. Picture taken at the 'synthetic' beach on Sentosa island (Singapore's Orlando). Rumor has it all the beautiful white sand is trucked in on a regular basis.

By whatever means the sand got there, it did provide beautiful beaches