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30 July 2003 - Global Cowboy Connection
Thursday, July 31, 2003 (106 reads)
Hello again from Bangkok! I hope all is well wherever you are as BKK continues to maintain the hot temperatures although the skies have been quite clear for the rainy season now upon us. I have been on the move recently traveling to various provinces in Thailand and surrounding countries. In the past two weeks, I participated in a biotechnology conference in Pattaya, a beach/resort city two hours southeast of BKK; Ayuttaya, Thailand’s historical city and previous capitol dating back to the thirteenth century; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, home to Petronas, the world’s tallest building.
There is so much to see in this part of the world ranging from the most primitive villages of the rural countryside to the fabulous architecture and altitude of downtown design. Interestingly enough, the same variety exists in the type of people that live and work in BKK. In the past two weeks, just as before, I have been meeting interesting people from all over the world in various sectors of business many of who share a special link to Oklahoma State University. I visited the Thai Parliament as a guest of a Senator whose friend I met at a Rotary luncheon. He explained his involvement in the Thai political system and gave me a grand tour of the Palace grounds including the Chamber and office of the Senate’s President. A few days before at the Rotary luncheon, I also met President Bhichai, the former worldwide leader of Rotary International that finished last month in Brisbane at the annual Rotary International Convention.
This past weekend I journeyed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or KL as the world knows it, to see the many attractions in and around the city. However, I was most interested in visiting the Petronas twin towers that are recognized by organizations that measure this stuff as the tallest building(s) in the world. As you can see, the design and image of Petronas will leave you gasping for air every time you think about there massive structure and shear size. Guests (tourists) to the building are only permitted to reach the 41st floor, 170 meters high, where the sky bridge connects the two candlestick shaped giants. The elevator inside Petronas travels at a rate of one floor per second, as announced by the attendant on the ride up, which is equivalent to 5.5 meters per second! Another highlight of the KL skyline is the Medera Communications Tower that I believe is the fourth largest communication tower of its kind. The top floor presents a beautiful birds eye view of the city and a clear perspective of greater KL.
After traveling this past weekend, I discovered that Thailand and Malaysia are two very different countries. To fully understand the meaning why requires a visit to each of these places. The most apparent difference is of course that the majority of Thai people are Buddhist whereas Malays are mainly Islamic. In the city, an enormous Islamic site for worship that is called the National Mosque of Malaysia has a capacity of up to 8,000 people. This was my first visit to a Mosque and it was a great experience. The floors are kept extremely clean and no shoes are allowed.
As far as food in Malaysia, curry, very good curry I might add, dominates the menus. The food in Malaysia is also very spicy, just as Thailand, and quite delicious. I enjoyed several meals at very local Malaysian restaurants.
Next week I will be traveling to Burma for a crop tour, as the USDA refers to it, in order to assess the production, supply, and demand situation and forecast mainly for Burma’s rice production. The Agriculture Attaché is scheduled to also travel, but it seems unlikely that his diplomatic visa application will be approved after the recent action by the US government to ban Burmese imports to the United States and regulate the issuing of visas for US travel by the junta leaders. I, of course, applied for the visa with my regular passport and therefore, was not considered a government employ although still very lucky to have this opportunity in the heat of the debate. As you may recall, a group of military generals has seized control of the country and holding captive Aung Suu San Kyi, the democratic elected leader that was captured after her envoy was attacked when visiting a major city in Burma.
In October, President Bush will visit Thailand first on an official State visit with the King and then as the US delegate to the upcoming APEC meetings. It is absolutely incredible the preparation that precedes a Presidential visit none of which seems to be in line with reality. I was able to sit in on a meeting last week with the APEC planning liaison from Washington, D.C. who discussed the only “freeze” that has ever hit Thailand. I was exposed to many interesting facts about the Presidential envoy and the capability of the US Government to do anything and everything in order to make a schedule operate and do so safely.
I have an evening dinner meeting and so will talk to you soon. I hope you enjoy the pictures!
Bye from Bangkok,
Brady Sidwell
bradys@okstate.edu
To read Brady's earlier installments, http://www.orangeconnection.org/cgi-any/newspages.dll/teasers?sitename=OKTMP&pagegroup=cowboynews&htmlfile=newspages2_archive_cowboynews.htm&archive=YES"click here" for archived stories.
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Thursday, July 31, 2003 (113 reads)
The Tulsa Chapter of the OSU Alumni Association is sponsoring 'Celebrate State' - a fun picnic style get-together for all Tulsa area (and beyond) alumni and their families. The picnic will be held on Tuesday, August 19, 2003 from 6:00-10:00 PM at Bell's Amusement Park in Tulsa. Registered Legacies will receive a FREE pass! For more information, or to RSVP online, http://www.orangeconnection.org/cgi-any/reg_event.dll/show?sitename=OKTMP&template=event_main.htm&type=event_reg"click here."
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2003 Orange Peel Announced
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 (119 reads)
2003 Orange Peel is scheduled for 7 p.m., Friday, September 5 in Lewis Field. Performers include Sinbad, "Better than Ezra," Ben Folds, and "Barenaked Ladies." The Orange Peel website is: http://osunet.okstate.edu/orangepeel
General admission tickets for Orange Peel 2003 will go on-line Monday, July 28, 2003.Only general admission ($25) tickets will be available for on-line sales. Reserved ($30) and field ($40) tickets will be available from the Orange Peel Ticket Office located across from the Student Union Bookstore on the first floor of the Oklahoma State University Student Union. (This ticket office will be open Monday, August 4.) Field tickets are available only to current OSU students. A valid Student ID is required for purchase and is limited to one field ticket per student. You can get more detailed ticket information by calling 744-8393.
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Link for Cowboy MVP program coming Tuesday
Friday, July 25, 2003 (123 reads)
In cooperation with the Athletic Department, Alumni Association members will be able to get a discounted rate of $75.00 for the Cowboy MVP premium section of the Athletic website. The link for current Association members registered on this website will go live on Tuesday, July 29. Look for the link in the lower left corner of our home page.
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Monday, July 21, 2003 (116 reads)
15 July 2003
Hello again from Southeast Asia and the fast and furious BKK! I often refer to this time of the year as summer although summer in Thailand has since passed. In this part of the world, seasonal changes occur only three times yearly: winter (Nov.-Feb.), summer (Feb.-May), and the rainy season (RIGHT NOW). This past week I visited several Rotary clubs in the BKK region to enjoy the company of Thailand’s leaders across various sectors. On Wednesday, (the same day I booked my ticket for my weekend trip) I had the opportunity to command a few minutes of the meeting from the head table and home of Rotary International’s President for 2002/03. I proudly exclaimed my soon-to-be alma mater of Oklahoma State University to the nearly forty-five members in attendance. At the office, I have been reading and researching the agriculture and food situation in Burma, Thailand’s northwestern border country, where a junta has taken control of the government despite the democratic election of Aung San Suu Kyi. It seems likely that I will again be traveling with USDA to Burma (or Myanmar according to the Generals) in early August for data collecting surveys and fact-finding.
This past weekend I visited Chiang Mai, Thailand’s second largest city due north of BKK approximately one hour by plane. I flew the affordable fare on Thai Airways to arrive in the mountainous city by 9:00 p.m. A friend of an OSU alumni was waiting for me and very kind to take me from the airport to a restaurant and finally, to the condominium of my new OSU alumni friend. I settled in to the roomy apartment and headed off for an evening out in Chiang Mai.
The next morning I phoned my Italian friend who had mentioned a few days before that she would be leaving on a trekking tour on Saturday morning. I packed my bags and met her at Libra’s Guest House, the departure point. A very cosmopolitan group of three Americans, four Aussies, and one Italian boarded a small pickup-taxi for a one-hour drive outside the city. When we arrived at our destination, we unloaded our gear and headed for the huge, sattled elephants to begin our trekking adventure. After approximately one-hour, six bananas (for the elephants), several pictures, we again boarded the bus and drove further up into the mountains. We stopped at a small, seemingly endless hiking trail and disappeared into the trees.
The first stop, after nearly three hours of walking through rice paddies and mountainsides, was a long awaited waterfall that our group quickly enjoyed to escape the hot sun. The water pressure was the best I have experienced yet as we attempted to withstand the resistance. We then trekked through the labyrinth network of paths leading to the next oasis.
That night we hiked to a small village on the side of the mountain, home to Burmese refugees, for dinner and accommodations. We toured the village school, neighborhood, and church where we watched a short game of Takraw, a type of foot volleyball, before the rain began to fall. We then returned to our campsite where we indulged in a traditional Thai dinner and drank small portions of the local rice brew while talking with the village people, some of who spoke broken English.
The next morning we awoke to the sound of, what seemed like, two hundred roosters. We finished breakfast and said our goodbyes. The next stop was another waterfall that we again used to cool us from the hot, bright sun. Finally, we arrived at the bamboo dock where we jumped on to bamboo rafts and floated down the river and back to our original starting point. We experienced several narrow, rocky, and steep slopes that only added to the excitement and adventure. I must admit that bamboo rafting is now next to my favorite pastime. We saw many Thai people soaking up the sun on an extended holiday weekend for the Buddhist Lent.
When we reached the end of our journey, nearly three hours later, we loaded into the taxi headed for Chiang Mai. I said adios to my friends and walked to the Sunday Market and Night Bizarre, evening shopping that completely closes the street to any traffic except shoppers, after arriving back in the city.
I then visited a Buddhist temple named Wat Srisoda at the foot of the mountain where over 200 monks reside. When I found myself at the top of the stairs, I realized that I had interrupted a worship ceremony where every monk dressed in their orange garments, holding two flowers, two pumps, and two candles were singing the rituals. A Thai man presented me with this paraphernalia and pulled me into the crowd. After walking around the temple three times following the deep tone of the monks and the thundering sky, we presented our gifts to Buddha. It was really incredible and quite indescribable. In fact, it is probably the most unusual yet exhilarating experience that I have ever before witnessed.
At this point in time, I was REALLY late, as I had to leave on the last flight back to BKK in exactly one hour! I hopped on a taxi, met two Belgium girls who where just in a wreck after driving (and then tumbling) a jeep off a 50 meter cliff, arrived at the condo, met my Thai friend, grabbed my belongings, and checked in at the airport fifteen minutes before the plane departed.
On Monday night back in BKK, I met with an OSU alumni family for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The father and mother are both graduates of OSU in hopes of their children someday following in their footsteps. I put in a good word for the programs we offer and would be quite excited to see them again in Stillwater.
Today, I had lunch with an OSU alumnus from Oklahoma working with Cargill in Thailand. We are in the same department and so it was quite interesting to talk about the past versus the present. Many things have changed, but many more have stayed the same.
Well, I hope your Tuesday is just as good if not better than mine already has been. Enjoy…
Best wishes,
Brady Sidwell
bradys@okstate.edu
To see more pictures, http://www.orangeconnection.org/cgi-any/newspages.dll/pages?sitename=OKTMP&record=852&htmlfile=photo_newspages.htm"click here."
To read Brady's earlier installments, http: //www.orangeconnection.org/cgi-any/newspages.dll/teasers?sitename=OKTMP&pagegroup=cowboynews&htmlfile=newspages2_archive_cowboynews.htm&archive=YES"click here" for archived stories.
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8 July 2003 - July 4th, Tigers and the River Kwae with our Global Cowboy Connection
Wednesday, July 09, 2003 (106 reads)
Well, welcome back to reality after a long, exciting weekend celebrating yet again another anniversary of the United States. All around the world, Americans take pride in waving the symbolic red, white, and blue to commemorate the strength and perseverance of our grand country that has survived two hundred twenty-seven years of success and distress.
Here in Thailand, the seen has been much the same. On Thursday evening at the JW Marriott in downtown Bangkok, the United States Embassy hosted an official red carpet reception to share the anniversary of our independence day with top leaders from around the world representing the political and private sectors of their respective countries in BKK. In fact, I was able to meet several political and business leaders including our very own U.S. Ambassador, Darryl Johnson, a native of Washington State. Approximately eight hundred guests attended the extravaganza from the nearly sixteen hundred invitees. In the colonial decorated reception hall, the scene was crowded and colorful draped with every state flag creating a quasi-interior border that effectively demonstrated the sheer size and layers of our great nation. After hearing Thailand’s national anthem and toasting to the King, Ambassador Johnson raised his glass for the singing of the Star Spangled Banner followed by a spine-tingling toast “To the President of the United States of America,” as he boldly affirmed to the instantaneous sound of colliding wine filled glasses. So, if you are wondering what ex-patriot Americans do for the 4th of July (realizing that this is just another day to everyone else in the world), I assure you that the fun and beverage selection is quite the same. Actually, it gets better. On Saturday, July 5th, a collaboration of several American organizations sponsored an afternoon/evening “party” complete with a live band, the Ambassador on the trumpet, and fireworks to redirect, for a short time, the attraction of Bangkok’s skyline.
Earlier last week, I met several OSU alumni leading some of Bangkok’s renowned institutes. At one of the campuses, I had the pleasure of witnessing and participating in the dedication of a new building conducted by several monks from a local temple. During the ceremony, I failed to remember the sacredness of water to the Thai people, but was quickly reminded when the elder monk bestowed his blessing by drenching me from head to toe in what they referred to as “good luck.” It was rather exciting and a great cultural surprise. In fact, in the month of April, the Thai people celebrate the Songkarn Festival to welcome the New Year paying their respects to elders and the water gods. I am told that it is not uncommon to be completely soaked by passing cars or people that enjoy sharing a bit of “good luck,” especially with foreigners. So if you travel to Thailand during the Thai New Year be alert and bring extra socks.
On Friday, July 4th, the Embassy offices were closed for the 4th of July, as we often refer to it, so I ventured to Kanchanaburi, approximately 200 km west of BKK and home to the infamous Bridge over the river Kwae, a strategic transport route for Japanese supplies and soldiers connecting Thailand and Burma in WWII built mainly by Australian P.o.W.s held captive at a nearby camp. You may also have heard of the Death Railway that is also located along this railway passage. You may have seen the movie or history documentary about this historical marker and if so, you know there were actually two bridges over the river Kwae, one wooden and one steel. The U.S. Air Force destroyed the wooden bridge in battle, I believe, and so only the steel bridge remains that was originally sent prefabricated to Thailand from Bali, Indonesia. Nearly 16,000 prisoners lost their lives in constructing the bridge in only sixteen of the sixty months expected for the bridge’s completion. Quite fascinating…
In Kanchanaburi, I also visited the Tiger Temple, a few miles out of the city where monks maintain numerous breeds of mammals and reptiles. I captured some great shots of a few of the locals as you can see from the picture.
On Sunday, I joined an ABC tour company on a Bangkok biking adventure with several families from Holland. We departed BKK in the afternoon and visited a government environmental protection reserve outside the city accessible only by long tail boat, as the name suggests is a traditional style boat stretching about 40 feet in length. On the island, we enjoyed a network of elevated concrete paths about five feet in width and 6 feet high with a fabulous view of native plants and animals. At our final stop we paid a short visit to a Thai boxing camp where young Thai boys are sent for champion training.
Finally, it is noteworthy to mention that the food in Thailand is AROI MAAK (Thai for delicious) and I will without a doubt frequent the Thai Café in Stillwater once I return. One of the best and most surprising fun facts about the food however, is the price. Every afternoon I enjoy a sufficient amount of Thai cuisine for less than $1.00! It is amazing!
That’s it for now. Have a great week and stay tuned…
Brady Sidwell
bradys@okstate.edu
To read Brady's earlier installments, http://www.orangeconnection.org/cgi-any/newspages.dll/teasers?sitename=OKTMP&pagegroup=cowboynews&htmlfile=newspages2_archive_cowboynews.htm&archive=YES"click here" for archived stories.
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Thursday, July 03, 2003 (93 reads)
Ninety participants from Oklahoma, and as far away as Florida, Virginia and Maryland traveled to OSU to participate in the first-ever Grandparent University, where legacies and their grandparents got to enjoy the college life for a couple of days.
However, these new “college kids” didn’t get to relax like most college students. Instead, they designed a city, produced a commercial, participated in a land run and mingled in the midst of creepy crawly creatures, all in two days. And when that was all over, they graduated.
Needless to say, the first-ever Grandparent University was a huge success. Forty eight legacies and their grandparents enjoyed the activities provided by OSU faculty in four different majors and an amazing chemistry show of experiments by Dr. John Gelder. In addition, they ate, slept, made friends and developed a true taste of what the orange spirit of OSU is all about.
To all of those who attended and made Grandparent University the success, we say “Thank you and hope to see you next time.” To those who want to know more, give us a call at 1-800-433-4678.
Click here to view the Grandparent University faculty http://www.orangeconnection.org/cgi-any/newspages.dll/pages?sitename=OKTMP&record=843&htmlfile=photo_newspages.htm"photos and biographies."
Coming soon -- a link to a Grandparent University Photo Album!
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30 June 2003 - Global Cowboy Connection
Tuesday, July 01, 2003 (94 reads)
Live from the “Rainy City” in Southeast Asia, as I now call it, and the busy streets of Bangkok. I have just returned from a weeklong conference in tropical Phuket, located in the southern region of Thailand. While in Phuket, I had the gracious opportunity to explore the surroundings a bit, which I found extremely beautiful. Aside from the late night excitement near Patong Beach, I managed to find my way on the crystal clear waters of the Andaman Sea to experience the ever-extraordinary Phi Phi Islands, home of Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie The Beach. The radiant sun was relentless in toning my Oklahoma complexion, but I managed to survive after spending the majority of the time from the fish’s eye view perusing the colorful scene of land down under through my snorkeling gear.
On the opposite side of Phuket, I traveled to Phang Nga, a national park area of amazing scenery with a group that was quite cosmopolitan with two Americans, one Burmese, and one Thai. We were beginning to follow in the footsteps of Hollywood after visiting the James Bond Island, which of course was named from a recent movie setting. We then sputtered on a small wooden boat to a remote floating village named Phee Yee that sits approximately fifteen feet above a murky, muddy, yet stable base where a sign at our docking point read “Well Come to Phee Yee!” It was amazing to discover that 2,000 people inhabit this “small” community complete with schools, hospitals, temples, stores, and yes, even a soccer team. We watched several rounds before the ball went out-of-bounds and into the water.
Back in Phuket, I stayed in the JW Marriott Resort & Spa with conference rooms, health clubs, a spa, and bike trails. One evening, my Thai co-worker joined me for an off-road bike touring adventure that took us off the beaten path to a magnificent temple maintained by donations from the locals. The gleaming colors and strips of gold were typical of a Buddhist temple. At the temple, we met a young man studying to be a monk. In fact, the next day he was to be officially declared a monk when his head and ear brows would be shaved during a musical and sacred ceremony. I discovered that once a man becomes a monk, he can leave the temple, but is not permitted to touch or marry a woman. Monks usually stay at the temple and seldom leave, however, this particular situation is different because this young monk is also a university student.
I arrived in Bangkok on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed a “quiet” evening in an extremely exciting place with a few new friends. The Thai people really know how to have fun, or as they say in Thai, san-nuk. I have been taking Thai language lessons during the week in hopes of more easily communicating with the Thai people. I really love speaking Thai and the Thai’s really enjoy listening to me try to speak Thai. I refer to it as mutual entertainment and I am usually not laughing with them.
That’s all from Bangkok. Stay tuned… Sawatdee krup (good-bye)!
Brady Sidwell
bradys@okstate.edu
To read Brady's earlier installments, http://www.orangeconnection.org/cgi-any/newspages.dll/teasers?sitename=OKTMP&pagegroup=cowboynews&htmlfile=newspages2_archive_cowboynews.htm&archive=YES"click here" for archived stories.
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