It doesn’t need to be.

To help us get over this hump, beyond this seeming contradiction, a video. The main character in today’s episode of “you can do it, too,” is Dao. She runs a humble little kitchen on the island of Koh Pha Ngan in the Gulf of Thailand and she cooks up a storm — a storm so perfect that we asked her if she would be kind enough to let us film her working her kitchen magic. She agreed.

As you watch the video, you may also recognize Dao as the savior from a recent post about people — some sour, some sweet. She was the sweet one — and, Like Water for Chocolate, her sweetness continually found its way into her cooking.

Together with Dao, you’ll learn how to make two of our favorite Thai dishes: Panang Seafood Curry, and Pla Muk Gra Pow (chili-basil squid stir-fry). Before we roll the video, a little secret: if you can get your hands on a few of the key ingredients (becoming more accessible by the day), the rest of this Thai cooking thing becomes easy. Sense the flow and surrender your need for kitchen precision and you will begin to unlock the beauty that is Thai cuisine.

Watch the Video: Into the Kitchen with Dao

Forgive us for the imprecision in the recipes below, but we drafted these from watching Dao at work. As you see in the video, she doesn’t measure anything. The idea is to experiment with small amounts until you arrive at the perfect combination.

Dao’s Panang Curry

1. Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan or wok.
2. When the oil is hot, add a spoonful of panang curry paste and a smaller dab of shrimp paste (you can find each of these in little tubs in Asian food stores in the U.S.)
3. Heat the pastes for a minute or so until their essence is released. (Mind it so it doesn’t burn.)
4. Add the coconut milk. Start with a small portion, you can add more later to taste and thickness. Stir. Let the mixture simmer and bubble for a few minutes.
5. Add your meat (in this case seafood — or you can use chicken, pork, beef etc.) and stir evenly for a few minutes until the meat is cooked through.
6. Add a teaspoon of palm sugar (substitute brown/raw sugar) and a dash of salt (we tend to use fish sauce instead of salt).
7. If you’d like more sauce, add a bit more coconut milk.
8. Add vegetables (baby corn, non-spicy red pepper) and thinly scissor-sliced kaffir lime leaves (the magic ingredient!).
9. Add a little water if mixture is too thick, or if the pan is too dry.
10. Cook and turn for a few more minutes until everything is cooked through.

Dao’s Chili Basil Squid Stir-Fry

1. Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan or wok.
2. When hot, add finely chopped garlic and hot chili peppers (the small, deadly kind). Note: if small and deadly isn’t your thing, cut the amount of peppers back, remove the seeds, or skip the peppers altogether (no fun!).
3. Add the chopped squid (or chicken, fish, shrimp, or pork if you like) and stir fry for several minutes until the meat is cooked through.
4. Add a few dashes of soy sauce and a small sweet onion and pepper cut into thin strips.
5. Add a teaspoon of palm sugar (again, substitute a little brown/raw sugar) and a dash of salt.
6. Sprinkle a little oyster sauce (teaspoon or two) into the mixture.
7. Stir well and let cook for a few minutes.
8. Add a bunch of Thai basil (or holy basil). This stuff is truly amazing.
9. If necessary, add a bit of water during the cooking process to prevent sticking and to thin the sauce.

Serve both dishes over your favorite plain white rice (we recommend jasmine rice) and enjoy.

Late last year when we retreated to Haad Yao beach on the northern side of Koh Pha Ngan in the Gulf of Thailand for a return visit, we noticed that the area had seen even more development since our previous visit in 2007. At first we were disappointed by the Thai food options. Many restaurants muted their dishes in spice and flavor in favor of what they believe foreigners prefer. Then we found Dao at her little road-side restaurant with a simple chalkboard menu of classic Thai dishes. We chatted, asked questions. She was up for making just about anything.

This was easily some of the best, high-value Thai food around. Each dish cost 60 BHT ($2).

We ate at Dao’s almost every day (we don’t even know the name of her restaurant, if it even has one) and never tired of her cooking. If you visit and show some interest, she’ll even make off-menu dishes from Isan, the area in northern Thailand where she comes from originally. Her fish larb with sticky rice was fabulous.

We’re on Koh Samui (the island next door to Koh Pha Ngan) for a few more days and one of our friends has offered to take us into her kitchen to learn how to cook some more Thai food.

Which Thai dishes would you like to learn how to make?

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 25 comments

For this week’s panorama we share exactly where we are right now: a little house on stilts on a beach between Nathon and Bang Po on Koh Samui island in the Gulf of Thailand. If you open the panorama and look closely, you’ll notice we’ve settled in already – laundry and towels hang on the balcony.

This is where we’ll be for the next three weeks. But rest assured, we’ll continue to confuse you by posting articles and photos from our travels around the world.

Panorama: Our House on Koh Samui Island in Thailand

For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.

Special thanks goes to our friend, Tony Pappa, for his help in finding this place.

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Koh Pha Ngan

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 26 comments

As for us, we’re enjoying Christmas with a good friend who lives on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand. We’ve exchanged snow for monsoon rains and reindeer for chirping geckos.

Embracing the goofy, we also picked up some classy flashing Santa hats for a motorbike ride across the island today. Loved the surprised looks and laughs of locals.

Wherever you may be, we wish you and your family happy holidays and all the best in the new year!

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 13 comments

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

We often share stories of ordinary people who humble us by showing resilience and kindness in the face of challenges. In doing so, we highlight the positive — so much so that you might be thinking: “Do these guys only run into good people on their travels? Is the world really like that? Are all people around the world really that good?”

Not always. Sometimes you meet people who grind you to the edge.

And then, you must find your way back.

In the Lion’s Den
From the moment we met the woman running our guest house at Haad Yao beach on Koh Pha Ngan island in Thailand, we felt like an inconvenience. Her uncle owned the resort and it seemed as though whenever her office had customers in it, her face would find itself caught in a tug-of-war between anger and disgust.

When I encounter someone who takes to life with such a negative tack, I can’t help but think: “Maybe she’s had a rough day or perhaps even a rough life.” Or in this case, “Maybe she just can’t bear the weight of her privilege, her family’s success, her good fortune.”

Towards the end of our stay, the internet went out. After six hours and exhausting all possibilities that it might be due to something we had done, I decided to pay a visit to the office. Maybe she could help.

“The internet doesn’t seem to be working,” I tried. Uncertainty is diplomatic, right?

“It works for everyone else. You the problem.”

The conversation continued like this for the next ten minutes, until I decided that even the world’s highest bandwidth connection wouldn’t be worth a shower of excuses and abuse.

Audrey’s Turn
I often joke that Audrey is the one we send out to meet and greet people. If you’ve ever met her, maybe you’ll understand the sentiment. Regardless of where I stand on the affability continuum, she’s easily a few clicks further in the direction of the smiley face.

The next morning, the internet was still down. “I’m not sure whose day it is today, but I know it’s your turn to deal with this.” Maybe Audrey could be today’s magic dust.

We walked into the office. I hovered by the door.

“Hello,” Audrey tried to break the ice while petting the dog.

I have to tell you there is no misery like that drawn on the woman’s face.

“The internet is not working today. Is it possible to call someone to check on it?” Audrey asked.

“Sometimes it doesn’t work. You leave Tuesday. It won’t work before then.”

Then a deluge of excuses: “My brother is on the other side of the island. He was at the restaurant until 4 AM. Auntie is at the temple.”

“Internet is not included. You get for free. You Americans. You come here because it’s cheap. You should go back home.”

She was like one of those automated tennis ball machines.

I tried to help: “We don’t mean disrespect. We just asked about the internet. And now you are yelling at us. I don’t understand.”

Audrey made one last attempt to extract something productive from the conversation: “Can we have the password for the other network?”

“You can use it there,” she pointed to the next room. Then she yelled at Audrey, “Get out. I don’t want to see your face.”

Stepping Back and Reflecting
We emerged feeling a little agitated. Puzzled, too.

Justifications and rationalizations circulated between us about how something as insignificant as internet access could have precipitated such anger. There’s the situational: this is a tourist area and she probably has to deal with her share of tourists – not all of them pleasant and respectful — day in and day out. The linguistic: she doesn’t possess the range of English vocabulary to explain herself fully; worse yet, we don’t speak her language. And finally, the cultural: confrontation in Asian cultures is a no-no, saving face is the goal.

But then I stopped.

Sure, all those things might be valid. But they don’t excuse how she behaved. We’ve known countless interactions saddled with similar challenges that never yielded disrespect or venom. In fact, it’s heartening how pleasant most of our interactions are on the road.

And to think, this was something as insignificant as a problematic internet connection. Heaven forbid it had been something serious.

When we encounter someone like this, our approach: let it roll off our backs so as to not let the anger seep in and then extricate ourselves from the situation as quickly as possible.

Then we move on.

The Flip Side: Kindness Without an Angle
Later that day, we took a stroll up the street to our favorite little restaurant, a makeshift kitchen in a thatch hut with a few tables outside. Not only was it the best Thai food around, but the woman who served it up: sweetness incarnate. Her kindness was like sunshine, so broad you sometimes wondered what you’d done to deserve it.

And to the skeptical, her kindness was not just because she runs a restaurant and wants our money. We’ve been on the road long enough to recognize perfunctory and strategic kindness, the sort that spills out as a method of doing business.

Nope. Hers was a kindness without an angle.

She emerged from the kitchen, apron on, and gave us a big smile and a warm “Hello!!”

Damn, I wanted to give her a big hug. The warmth of her greeting brought us home for the moment — no matter how far away from home we might have been.

We sat together, enjoyed lunch and chatted about her nephew who was about to become a monk in a ceremony the following day.

We savored that moment, and in that moment, we relished the simplicity of being with kind people.

And it’s for them, I’d like to believe, the world turns.

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 24 comments

Perhaps.

But we missed being near water and having the space — both physical and mental — that comes with looking out over long, wide horizons. There’s a certain calm it affords, a certain clarity.

Open up the panorama below to see why.

Panorama: Thai Beach

For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.

What about you? Do beaches and horizons have the same effect on you?

Oh yeah, any guesses as to which beach in Thailand this is? A mango shake to the winner.

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Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 15 comments

Sound like fun? We thought so.

Watch the video below to find out.

A Dip in a Pool of Flesh-Eating Doctor Fish

So what kind of fish are these? When we asked the woman at the spa, she said “Hungry.” Further research tells us they are Garra Rufa Fish, also referred to as Doctor Fish. (When I was a kid, my pediatrician was named Dr. Fish, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.)

If you think that having the surface of your feet feasted on by schools of flesh eating fish sounds like fun, here’s some practical advice to maximize your fish spa experience:

1) Go solo: This may sound selfish, but try to keep the tank to yourself. More feet and limbs in there at once means less fish attention on you.

2) Go early: As the day wears on, the fish lose their appetites as they fill up on the flesh of other clients’ feet. Try to get your limbs into the tank in the morning when the fish and their appetites are at their peak. (If anyone knows of a spa where the fish remain unfed for days, please send details.)

3) Spread your toes: OK, this may be more information than you really wanted. Spread your toes apart and the fish will love it…as will you.

Cost: A cheap thrill for the bucket list. The spa where we took a dip is located across from Phra Sumen Fort on Phra Athit Road near the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. 15 minutes in the tank costs 150 BHT ($5) with $1.75 for each additional 5 minutes.

In case you are ever considering opening a fish spa of your own, think about the business model: you don’t really need to feed the fish. You can rely on your clients’ flesh to do that for you.

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 24 comments

In contrast, many people in this world do not have this choice. Simply put, they cannot go home. Because of their political or religious beliefs, they face persecution and the threat of injury or death if they do.

We met two such families this past weekend in Bangkok. While speaking with them and getting a glimpse of their lives, we began to comprehend what it really means to be a refugee: a life in fear, a life of prolonged uncertainty, and a life of fighting for survival.

Note: Because of the sensitive nature of this topic, I have used false names and I have attempted to provide context without unnecessarily exposing the identities of the people involved.

Yeng: Five Daughters and a Detained Husband
Down a narrow alley, we found ourselves in a one room concrete house about 200 feet square. Donated clothes, toys and various belongings were piled into the corner. We sat on the floor as Yeng held her youngest daughter — a fussing 18-month old just recovering from being sick. Yeng’s four other daughters — none older than 11 — slowly emerged with a little coaxing.

The girls were shy, but with a little effort we managed to draw a few smiles, a few words. They looked like so many little girls – laughing, curious, adorable – that we’ve met in our travels throughout Southeast Asia.

But their future, as it turns out, is much more uncertain.

Photo courtesy of Dwight Turner of In Search of Sanuk

Yeng, her husband, and their children are ethnic Hmong from Vietnam. They are Christian and fled because of religious persecution. Over a year ago, after crossing the border into Thailand, the family was refused official refugee status (a decision that is rarely overturned). They didn’t feel they could return home, so they remained in Thailand hoping to find a way.

The father was eventually arrested for working illegally and has been held in Bangkok’s International Detention Center (IDC) ever since. Because his wife and daughters are effectively in hiding, they cannot visit him. They haven’t seen him in almost a year. His release is unlikely and the family lives in continual fear of being caught.

For them, the threat of permanent uncertainty hangs in the air. They are stuck.

Yeng cannot work to provide for her family. The risk of being picked up while working illegally is too great. Some of their Thai neighbors help them out by providing the family with extra clothes and portions of food — when they are available. To pay for additional food and rent, Yeng’s family receives additional aid from a local church, the refugee center and an organization called In Search of Sanuk, run by Dwight Turner.

For much of our visit, Yeng was quiet. The stress of her situation ran through the lines in her face. You could literally see the concern in her eyes.

As our visit drew to a close, Dwight gave her some bags of food and some money. Amidst both the tension and the relief, Yeng broke down — she will just be able to make rent this month.

An Activist on the Run
Back home, Roshan had been a director in a human rights organization. He was active in raising awareness about issues that rubbed the government the wrong way — corruption, misdirected aid, religious freedom. He was an advocate, but he was also a lightening rod.

Last year he organized a rally that drew 25,000 people. This proved the final straw. Roshan was warned and realized he needed to do something to protect his family. With a few important papers and valuables in hand, he and his wife, daughter and mother-in-law fled to Thailand.

Photo courtesy of Dwight Turner of In Search of Sanuk

Through a meticulously cataloged binder of credentials, he recounted to us his life back home. ID cards, newspaper articles connected with his activities, and degrees all spoke of an active yet seemingly secure existence: a nice house, extended family gatherings every weekend and a respected profession and position.

These days, Roshan, his wife, mother-in-law and 18-month-old baby all live together in a one-room apartment. They’ve even had to sell their wedding jewelry to make ends meet. Upon Dwight’s asking, Roshan opened his wallet. No cash. Only business cards, notes and a few slips of paper from the pawn shop. “This is my money these days,” Roshan joked in a matter of fact.

Without a hint of self-pity, Roshan focused instead on how this has been a learning experience, about how he and his family have grown through these challenges. He is a connector within the community and helps new arrivals.

For them, the future is more hopeful, the path to resolution clearer than most. They had recently been given official refugee status by the United Nations, and now they’re playing the bureaucratic waiting game to find out where they’ll be resettled. In the meantime, Roshan remains in limbo, unable to work legally. Recent raids and arrests of other refugees from his home country means that he must remain vigilant. Although he receives a small stipend from the United Nations that covers his rent, his church and others help to make ends meet.

In spite of all that, Roshan’s mother-in-law prepared a veritable feast — including chicken curry — especially for our visit. So even as we enjoyed eating, we also felt somewhat guilty that they spent some of their precious few resources on us.

But hope, hospitality and kindness all run deeper than financial means.

How we ended up here
Last Saturday, Dwight (the founder of the organization In Search of Sanuk) invited us to join him on this week’s visits and distributions of food and money.

Both families we visited came from countries I had a personal connection with — in one case, a place we visited during this journey, in another case, a childhood home. As a result, I could imagine the land, the culture, the places from which these refugees had fled.

Most importantly, our visits illuminated for me how insufficiently the topic of refugees and human rights violations are substantively addressed in mainstream media.

Photo of Dwight and kids, courtesy of In Search of Sanuk

Because of the delicate legal situation of refugee families in Bangkok, it’s difficult to find or stumble upon families in need. Over the last few months, however, Dwight has built a network of nine refugee families that his organization supports and that he visits regularly.

While NGOs, churches and the UNHCR are able to help some refugee families, their assistance is often not sufficient to cover rent and food. That’s where Dwight and his organization come in — to help fill the financial gaps. More importantly, the emotional gaps — he is there, he is present. To families that can barely leave the house or neighborhood, to know that there’s someone outside the only walls you know – someone who cares, someone who shows up regularly, someone who is constantly asking you to call if you need help (he means it) – is priceless.

The Refugee Catch-22
One of the things struck me during these visits is how the models for sustainable community development that we often promote (e.g., microfinance) don’t apply to refugees.

Even families who have been granted official refugee status are not allowed to work while awaiting their resettlement details. For those refused refugee status, the situation is even worse. How can you give a small loan to a woman to start a business when she might be arrested if she and her children leave the house?

Without security and protection under the law, even microfinance cannot work.

In the case of refugees, what’s needed is basic humanitarian aid – money, food, clothes, medicines – to enable refugee families to survive from month to month. If the basics are provided for (a big if), one can look further to other programs such as skills training.

Regardless, many refugees may live in limbo – in between lives and in a no-man’s-land of legal status – for years on end. And for the lucky ones who are resettled, the challenges of reshaping a new life in a completely foreign land cannot be overstated.

So although Thanksgiving came and went, this past weekend reminded me to be thankful for something I had previously taken for granted: the ability to go home.

—————–

Interested in learning more about refugee issues and getting involved?

1) In Search of Sanuk and refugees in Thailand: If you are interested in learning more about the families we visited and others like them, check out the links below and connect on Twitter with @insearchofsanuk
- Read: Helping the Hidden for the Holidays
- Sponsor a family for a month or more (usually around $100). Information on how to donate can be found here.
- Read: The Best Way to Go to Jail in Thailand
- Volunteer: If you do find yourself in Bangkok, check out these volunteer opportunities.
- Check out the Bangkok Refugee Center for additional information and ways to donate or volunteer.

After spending a day with Dwight – first in the morning with Thai children from a disadvantaged community and then in the evening visiting refugee families – we can attest to his dedication, compassion, and resourcefulness.

2) Awareness and education: Spend some time online or at the library researching refugee issues to understand the reasons why people are fleeing, the process refugees must undertake to be officially recognized, the impact of international agreements, and the challenges associated with it all.

Here is something interesting I found in an overview of refugee issues that definitely makes you think about where the greatest needs are:

3) Be Curious, Ask Questions: We don’t often think to ask — respectfully, of course — recent immigrants how they ended up in the country. If you do so, you may learn something and perhaps you’ll be in a position to help someone adjust to their new home.

If you’ve traveled, you are in an especially unique situation. You just might have knowledge of where a family is from, giving you an advantage in comprehending what cultural challenges they may be experiencing. Think of it as being a cross-cultural mentor of sorts.

4) Find Local Organizations, Volunteer, Donate: When we were in Scranton, Pennsylvania this past summer, we met a group of refugees from Bhutan who had spent the better part of 20 years in Nepal and India waiting to be resettled. A local organization in Scranton had sponsored them and volunteers were engaged, helping them learn about and build a life in the community. If Scranton, Pennsylvania features such organizations then your community may, too.

If you’re not up for being a sponsor, consider teaching English, raising money, or taking up a collection of in-kind donations.

- For more ideas on how you can help as a volunteer or in raising awareness of refugee issues, check out this post on World Refugee Day from Got Passport.
- Finally, from the International Red Cross, a list of organizations working with refugees.

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 16 comments

That is, in Bangkok at least.

It was Loi Krathong, a Thai holiday where young and old come out in force. They send their wrongdoings afloat on colorfully adorned lotus leaf rafts down the Chao Praya River and they fire up paper lanterns to carry their misfortunes into the sky.

Then they party like it’s 1999.

The Frenetic, The Solemn
Evening began, as so many evenings in Bangkok often do, in a crowd. Farangs (foreigners) and Thais ogled boats and barges drowned in neon lights and dancing electronic animals. Strobe lights and fireworks — lit from the boats and the bases of bridges — added additional bling to the nightscape.

Although the crowds and boats gave an impression more casino-worthy than temple pure, the spiritual energy at the edge of the river, on the docks and in the lagoons, was profound. Beyond the bling, families and couples crouched together in prayers, cupping their krathongs one last time before their transgressions were to be symbolically carried away by the river.

Our craft was a rather beautiful, but simple, one of sculpted lotus leaves filled with orchid petals that we purchased from a woman on the street for $1 (the going price for a entry-mid level krathong). We borrowed candles and lit the incense sticks stuck in the center of our krathong. Then we engaged one of the entrepreneurs armed with giant spoon-like oars with strainers at the tip (there’s a word for these things, we’re certain) to set our raft safely adrift, flame intact — for a small tip.

Beyond the docks, we found an area with steps leading down to a little protected inlet. It was a similar scene, but more subdued, peaceful and deliberate. Some couples read prayers printed out on small pieces of paper before they set free their krathong. Parents guided their children to let theirs go.

Up to the Sky
From the docks and lagoons to the streets where music, food, and crowds took over once again. If you looked up, the the sky was filled with tiny little lights — not stars, or moons or planets — but paper lanterns alight, like hot air balloons slowly making their way skyward until burn out.

All roads in our neighborhood seemed to funnel people to the Rama VIII Bridge. Just about everyone had his hand on a paper lantern. Some couldn’t even wait to climb the stairs to the top of the bridge, but set theirs aloft under the bridge — with surprising success. Light, paper and fire, seemingly a sure way to calamity in the midst of mobs. But nothing burned but lights in the sky.

Beautiful. Fun. We watched a few families and groups of friends set off their lanterns and followed suit. Watch the video below to see how we did.

Lanterns in the Sky: Loi Krathong Festival Thailand

And once those misgivings were released, people took to the streets and partied like rock stars. We asked a local whether the next day was a holiday.

“Holiday? No, tomorrow is a regular work day. But tonight is a festival.”

And this is how Thais party on a school night.

Photo Slideshow: Floating Rafts, Lanterns and People of Loi Krathong

If you don’t have a high-speed connection or you would like to read the captions, you can view our Loi Krathong photo essay.

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 12 comments

But first, an explanation of why we chose this image.

Bangkok, the hub of Southeast Asia — for us, it’s like a magnet. We’ve visited or transited through the city about a dozen times in the last few years. Bangkok is like our home in Asia. There’s a level of familiarity and comfort. We have certain rituals when we first arrive. We revisit our favorite street food, fruit shake, and iced coffee stands. Then there are the errands: stocking up on passport photos (8 pics for $3), replacing our river sandals ($8), visiting the dentist and stopping by the palace of all things computer, Pantip Plaza.

At Pantip, almost everything electronic you can imagine is under one roof, jammed in — from memory to camera gear to mobile phones to DVDs to software to plug adapters. It’s not the sort of place to peruse and enjoy the process of shopping. It’s more a functional shopping experience — the type of place you go when you have a specific need. Get what’s needed and get out.

On Friday we made our ritual visit to Pantip Plaza. Open up the panorama below and move around it to find out what it’s like. Note: this is what you can see. Underneath and behind it all are the nooks, crannies and secret warrens that are key to the old world-meets-new world Asian shopping experience.

Panorama: Pantip Plaza in Bangkok

For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.

A question for you: If you’re a frequent Bangkok visitor, is Pantip Plaza part of your ritual? Or is MBK more your speed? Or do you avoid them both like the plague?

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Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 12 comments

Meanwhile, the situation continues to simmer in Thailand. In response to a recent U.S. State Department travel warning for the country, one Twitter user indicated she would “…tread lightly in Thailand.” Some travelers in Bangkok were almost upbeat, claiming that the situation is almost back to “normal.” Another traveler who had seen both peaceful and violent protests in Bangkok was less convinced. Point is: Thailand is not dropping off travel lists anytime soon.

Differing Branding, Different Perceptions
We’ve been to both Thailand and Kyrgyzstan and we love them both. Not to make light of the situation in Thailand, but if I were forced to choose a country to visit in the midst of protest, Thailand would be it.

But why is it that Kyrgyzstan’s recent developments indicate a country that has “turned” or is on the edge of an abyss, whereas Thailand’s protests represent a blip on the return to normal? Sure, Kyrgyzstan has been a corrupt political mess for a while and its economy has suffered, but it’s not as if its streets have a recent history of running blood red.

Despite its recent coups and troubles, Thailand is a known quantity. More people have traveled there and know it as the “Land of Smiles” and white sand beaches. Don’t get me wrong – that image matches what we experienced. We recommend it heartily and have even considered it as a potential home base one of these days. But the perception of Kyrgyzstan suffers disproportionately because it is relatively unknown and located in Central Asia, a region few outside international relations departments and think tanks know much about.

Stereotypes and Prejudice
Prior to recent events in Bishkek, relatively well-seasoned travelers we spoke to tended to express concern when we recommended Kyrgyzstan and highlighted it as one of our favorite countries. As with the rest of Central Asia, the common response: “But is it safe there?”

We even sang the praises of Kyrgyzstan, its people and its community tourism infrastructure to a well-traveled American when she asked for new destinations to consider. She responded with: “But, isn’t it Muslim?”

Need she say more?

So where is all this coming from? Media plays a part, for sure. Feeding on the value of reporting crisis, media outlets usually only give airtime to certain countries when there’s violence or a natural disaster to report. Add to this the insidious mechanism of hyperbole which leads to the perception that the political mayhem or earthquake in question swallowed the entire country whole.

The Kyrgyzstan We Remember
What usually never makes the news, especially in today’s era of dwindling budgets for international coverage, are the human interest vignettes and images that capture the life of ordinary people in these countries.

There’s a reason we spent close to two months in Kyrgyzstan. The people there continually reminded us of the meaning of family and they often illustrated how communities could work together. During our travel throughout the country, we were plied with kindness, food and offers for help in markets, on public buses, and in the middle of nowhere. Kyrgyzstan is where we learned about nomadic, pastoral cultures; it’s where we first slept in a yurt. It’s where we ate our first goat and it’s where we continually were awed by mountain vistas, which in retrospect are rather underrated.

In thinking about Kyrgyzstan and assembling our best photos into the photo essay and slideshow below, we are reminded once again of the beauty of this country and its people.

Photo Slideshow of Kyrgyzstan

Note: If you don’t have a high speed internet connection or you would like to read the photo captions, check out our The Kyrgyzstan We Know photo essay.

The Future?
We are uncertain as to what the future holds for both countries. If we had to guess, the road forward for Thailand is a bit smoother than the one for Kyrgyzstan. As one of Audrey’s friends responded from the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek today, “It was horrible…but everything is OK now. But I fear that the former president will not let go of power easily.”

In any event, the public perception hole Kyrgyzstan has dug for itself is made that much deeper by sensationalism, prejudice and fear of the unknown.

As a traveler absorbing more and more of the world each day, I have what might seem like a rather naïve question: How do we overcome this?

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 22 comments