My Favorite Muslim Holiday and Why it Gives Me Hope

Eid Mubarak!

Good Food and Good Company

What a spread!!

This is a great time of the year to reflect on how much the predominately Christian and Jewish West has in common with the Muslim world which extends from Mauritania in West Africa to Indonesia in Asia.  With so much talk about a "clash of civilizations" and the supposedly fundamental and irreconcilable differences between societies, it is sometimes helpful to reflect on what we all have in common.  Of course, that assumes we actually have something in common.  So do we?

Many of my American friends (especially the religious ones) are shocked when they first hear about Eid al Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice.  Eid al Adha is the Muslim holiday that commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to G-d.  That's right!  Muslims have a holiday to celebrate the events which are unfolded in Genesis 22 (of the Old Testament) and Surah 37:99 (of the Quran).  In both versions, Abraham is called to sacrifice his son, takes him to the appointed location, binds him, and lifts a knife to slay him when he is stopped by G-d at the last minute.  A test of faith.

To celebrate the miracle of Abraham's faith, Eid al Adha is celebrated each year on a set date on the Islamic lunar calendar.  It is a joyous holiday (except for livestock) during which families slay a cow, goat, or sheep and then share the food with family, friends and neighbors, and the needy.  That is why it is my favorite holiday - lots and lots of food and happy people. It is also a great opportunity to talk about common ground and common beliefs and is an annual reminder of the foundation that exists for real dialog between those who believe they are the descendants of Abraham.

Two cows in Kabul in blissful ignorance the day before Eid al Adha

Pizza Hut Celebrates Eid in Karachi

Abraham as Father of Three of the World's Largest Religions

Just a quick refresher for those of you that have not curled up with your bibles recently.  Abraham was not Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.  In fact, he really didn't have any religion at all. Since this is probably being read by more Jews and Christians than Muslims I will tell the rest of the story from the perspective of the Old Testament. He was raised in a community that worshiped idols but was called by G-d (Genesis 12) to travel to the land of Canaan where he first established monotheism.  Initially, his wife Sarah was unable to bear him a son and Abraham conceived a child with Sarah's servant Hagar.  His name was Ishmael.  Later, Sarah bore Abraham a son who was named Isaac.  After Isaac was born, Sarah tells Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away.  Abraham is not happy about it - but eventually relents after G-d tells him that they will be taken care of and that, like Isaac, Ishmael will also be father of a nation (Genesis 21:13).  

Hagar and Ishmael depart as instructed and end up in a harrowing situation in the desert after running out of food and water.  At the edge of death, Hagar left Ishmael alone and sat a short distance away as she could not bear to see him die.  At that instant, G-d spoke to Hagar and told her that he would make Ishmael "into a great nation (Genesis 22:18)".  When she opened her eyes, G-d had provided her with a flowing well and their lives were saved.  Muslims believe the exact same story with a few additional details.  Muslims believe the well (called the Zamzam Well) is located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and it is considered one of the holiest sites in Islam.  Millions of Muslims drink from the well each year as they perform their Hajj.  Anyone traveling in the Islamic world quickly become accustomed to seeing hundreds of containers of Zamzam water in the checked luggage of pilgrims returning from the Hajj.

Zamzam water at the baggage claim in Dubai, UAE

So let me end this blog entry with a trivia question:  is there any site in the world where Jews, Christians, and Muslims all worship G-d side by side that is specifically dedicated to Abraham?

**Author's note:  There is some disagreement between Islamic religious scholars about whether Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac or Ishmael.  I am NOT a theologian and as far as I can tell there seems to be acceptance in the Islamic world that he was going to sacrifice Ishmael.  Other than which son was going to be sacrificed, the test of faith is the same.

A Different Kind of Riot

Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

So what are these rioters doing in Benghazi ?

There was some interesting news out of Libya today.  Just ten days after the savage attack on the U.S. Consulate resulting in the death of four Americans including Ambassador Chris Stephens, angry crowds were once again in the streets, attacking facilities, and burning down buildings.  This time a crowd of approximately 30,000 was in the streets of Benghazi to protest the violent attack against the U.S. Consulate and specifically the death of the four Americans.  This crowd was large and organized.  The New York Times reported that people in the crowd had signs saying things like, "We want justice for Chris," and, "The ambassador was Libya's friend."  According to the press reports, a large portion of the crowd assembled in the main square of Benghazi while other groups split off and systematically attacked the facilities run by both militant Islamic and armed rebel groups in the city.  The photo above is of the rioters destroying the headquarters of Ansar-al-Sharia, the militant Islamic group believed by many to be behind the attack against the Consulate.  The group raided the building, evicted its occupants (some of whom were armed), destroyed most of it, and then turned it over to government forces.  The same types of activities took place throughout the day focused on other armed rebel groups in Benghazi including some of the militias that helped overthrow Gaddafi.  According to press reporting, as the crowds took control of the buildings and confiscated the weapons belonging to the groups, the facilities were then turned over to government forces as well.

As this new era in the Islamic world continues to unfold, I think it is important to keep careful track of the data points like what happened today in Libya.  I used the term "Islamic world" only because I could not think of a better way to describe the extremely diverse area that extends from Mauritania (under Morocco on the west coast of Africa) all the way to Indonesia.  The danger of using a term this general is that it tends to oversimplify what is actually many different countries and regions, each of which we must come to understand on their own merit.  The situation in Libya is different than the situation in Egypt.  

Take a look at this letter to the editor of the Washington Post dated September 22, 2012 from Mustafa Abu Shagour, the Prime Minister of Libya.  His letter is titled Don't Give Up on Libya and expresses extreme regret for the attack on the American Consulate as well as strong support for the United States.  Read the letter - it is interesting and perhaps a good basis for comparison to what we are hearing (or not hearing) from the leaders of countries such as Egypt and Pakistan. 

I am not going to say much more about it as the purpose of this blog entry was not to give my opinion but encourage the reader to develop their own.  I would be interested to read your constructive thoughts about any of this.

- Abu

Libyans Attack Extremist Groups and Protest Violence Against America (NY Times Article 09/21/12)

Lady Gaga Cancels Show in Jakarta Due to Protests

There is a quite a scandal brewing in Southeast Asia this week surrounding Lady Gaga's concert tour. It seems religious hardliners in Indonesia object to her material and her presence and see it as a corrupting influence.  Before the concert was cancelled today, 52,000 people bought tickets to the sold-out event.  Lady Gaga was not the first western pop star scheduled to perform in Jakarta.  The Pussy Cat Dolls and Beyonce have performed there in the past as well.  In both cases, the artists agreed to wear slightly toned done attire as to not offend the local culture.  Earlier this week, Indonesian Police refused to issue a permit for the concert after Islamic-extremist groups demonstrated against the event.  Groups like the Islamic Defenders Front called Lady Gaga a spokesperson for the devil and declared her presence in the country a sacrilege.  It appeared a deal had been worked out but then the same group claimed to have purchased 150 tickets to the concert and promised to disrupt it if the show went on as planned.  Today, the producers of the show announced the concert was cancelled but promised a full refund to all 52,000 ticket holders.

School girls competing for free tickets to the Lady Gaga

concert in Jakarta

Pro-Gaga flash mobs broke out in Jakarta today expressing support for the artist and rebelling against the Islamic extremists who objected to the concert.  The situation really highlights the conflict between  the globalized, progressive, and liberal segment and more traditionally and religiously conservative elements in the world's most populous Muslim country.  There is plenty to object to in Lady Gaga's performance including skimpy outfits, simulated sex acts, and lengthy monologues between songs about a variety of topics including homosexuality.  In fact, this week Catholic hardliners in the Philippines are also objecting to Lady Gaga's scheduled concerts in that country.

Indonesia is most definitely a progressive country, however, this situation clearly highlights a conflict between religious conservatism and individual liberty (including the freedom of speech and expression).  Do the 52,000 ticket holders and Lady Gaga have the right to expect protection from the local authorities in a country run by a sectarian government? Do the protestors below have the right to object to her performance or even her existence?  It seems to me that the line was crossed (from an individual freedom point of view) when the anti-Gaga protestors threatened violence by claiming they held 150 tickets and would disrupt the concert.  In the end, that was all it took to get the show cancelled.  Should the Indonesian authorities have reassured the 52,000 concert goers they would be safe?

AFP report on protest against Lady Gaga concert in Jakarta

For a better sense of the conflict and what the sides look like, watch both videos on imbedded in the blog. The juxtaposition is really interesting.  What do you think?

Interesting Op-Ed from today's Jakarta Post:

Read the Op-Ed 

The Killing Fields of Cambodia

Skulls of Khmer Rouge victims in Buddhist Stupa at Cheon Ek

 I recently had the opportunity to visit the Killing Fields at Cheong Ek which is located about 17 KM from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.  Cheong Ek is a memorial honoring approximately two million people killed during the genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.  The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, were in control of Cambodia from April 1975 until January 1979.  Roughly speaking, the Khmer Rouge (translated as the Red Khmers) took over Cambodia and forced its population to move out of urban centers into the countryside where the masses were to live in camps under a communist agrarian system.  Not only did the Maoist agrarian adventure fail royally resulting in a severe famine, Pol Pot's regime systematically detained and executed individuals not fitting the ideal profile (students, intellectuals, former government officials, anyone who disagreed, etc).  

The term "killing field" refers to hundreds of locations throughout Cambodia the Khmer Rouge used to exterminate those who did not meet its standards.  Like the Nazi's, the Khmer Rouge also kept excellent documentation of all of the people who were detained and eventually executed.  This included detailed records of their alleged offenses and their photos.  The spouses and children of the offenders were not spared as the Khmer Rouge did not want to leave anyone who behind who would want revenge. According to the Yale University's Cambodian Genocide Project, there were 158 prisons run by Pol Pot and 309 mass grave sites containing over 19,000 grave pits.  These sites and their pits are referred to as the Killing Fields.  Much more detailed information, including access to the Khmer Rouge records are available of the Cambodian Genocide Project web site (linked below).

The depressions in the ground are empty grave pits

Cheong Ek was only one many killing fields but it has been preserved in memory of the victims.  Prisoners from the Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Penh were brought to this orchard on a daily basis and were then slaughtered at night.  The Khmer Rouge did not waste bullets on the victims, instead they hit each individual with a blunt instrument, slit their throats, and dropped them into a grave pit.

The grave pits were wide open with trails between them

The killing field was wide open and visitors are able to wander around the site.  It did not seem like it had been sterilized in the sense that one was distant from what happened there.  In fact, in part due to the huge number of remains and in part due to the methods used to uncover the site, bones continue to surface on a daily basis (especially in the rainy season).  The bones are all treated with respect and are quickly moved to a Buddhist stupa at the location which contains all of the different bones found at the site organized by type and size.

There was one particular fenced off area at Cheong Ek that was specifically marked as a location where bones and teeth were still resurfacing.  Here some of pictures of the remains found around the memorial area.  I am not posting the pictures for shock value but more just to try to give a sense of how somber and real it feels there.

A femur on the ground

Visitors respectfully placed some femurs, teeth, a jaw, and a pair of pliers on top of one of the displays

One of the worst things I saw at Cheong Ek was a grave pit which had been filled with the bodies of over 100 naked women and babies.  When the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in early 1979 ending the Khmer Rouge genocide, the first visitors to the killing field found large amounts of blood and brain matter on a tree next to the grave pit.  According to witnesses and survivors, Khmer Rouge members killed babies by hitting them against the tree.  The tree is now adorned with ribbons and is one of the saddest places to visit at Cheong Ek.  As with every other mass killing I have thought about, it is unfathomable to even imagine being in the position of having to watch your baby being killed or to try and understand how the people who carried out the executions could have thought what they were doing was justified in any way.  Unlike ethnic cleansing that took place in Europe or Africa, there was no demonized ethnic or religious groups that needed to be exterminated.  Instead, these people were suspected of undermining a utopian communist agricultural scheme.

Visitors moved about quietly in small groups with local guides

 There were not too many visitors at Cheong Ek and those present were a mix of Asian tourists, Cambodians, a few westerners, and school kids.  As part of the $5 admission fee, there is an outstanding audio tour in which survivors of the killing field explain what happened there and give short explanations of each area at the site.  All of the bones collected when the site was excavated in 1980 were respectfully placed in a tall Buddhist Stupa which is now located at the center of the fields.  Stupas are structures that generally contain some sort of holy relics or remains of the Buddha.  So placing the bones in a stupa is a respectful way of handling them locally.

Incense and flowers outside of the stupa

The stupa at Cheong Ek

For Additional Information:

Cambodian Genocide Program at Yale University (authoritative and very detailed information on the genocide)

February 2009 Article from Time Magazine on History of Khmer Rouge

Forcing Women to Marry Their Rapists

A 16 year-old Moroccan girl named Amina Filali killed herself recently by drinking rat poison after being forced to marry her rapist.  According to extensive press reporting, Amina was raped by a 26 year-old man and eventually informed her family two months later.  In many parts of the Islamic world (which spans from North Africa to Southeast Asia), a raped woman is considered dirty and a dishonor to their family.  At best, a victim of rape cannot find a husband, and at worst, she faces murder (sometimes at the hands of their own male relatives).

In this case, Section 475 of the Moroccan Penal Code allows men who commit crimes against young women to be pardoned from their prison sentences (and any form of justice) if the victim and her parents allow her to marry the perpetrator.  If you watch the Al Jazeera video in this posting, you will see that Amina's parents claim the judge handling the complaint they filed against the rapist basically told them they had to pursue the marriage option.  According to Amina's mother, after marrying the man who raped her, she was mistreated and beaten by her husband and his family until she ultimately decided to commit suicide.



While Morocco is unquestionably one of the more progressive countries in the Islamic world, this case has drawn a massive amount of public outrage from women's rights activists in Morocco and around the world.  Unfortunately, this type of situation is not limited to North Africa, in fact, women being forced to marry their rapists is common a third of the world away in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where women frequently attempt to commit suicide after being forced (or sold) into violent and abusive marriages from which they have no ability to escape.

The CBS news video embedded below is a story about a 19 year-old Afghan woman named Gulnaz who was allegedly raped by her cousin's husband.  She initially did not report the rape as the consequences for her doing so were severe (including the possibility of being shunned or even killed by her family).  However, when she learned she was pregnant, she had no choice but to report it.  Despite the fact she reported she was raped, she and the attacker were both prosecuted for having sex outside of marriage.  She was sentenced to 12 years in prison for allegedly having consensual sex with a man she was not married to.  Later, when the Afghan Government accepted that she had been raped, it reduced her sentence to 3 years and changed the charge to not reporting the rape expeditiously.  She was also reportedly given the option of marrying her attacker to legitimize her child and gain her release from prison.  How the story ends is so bizarre and twisted that I won't even bother to try and summarize it here.  Just watch the video...




Obviously, this type of "justice" is absurd, ignorant, immoral, etc.  It is 2012.  While cultural sensitivity and political correctness are en vogue, the world also has to do its part to defend the rights of those who cannot defend themselves.  This is not meant to be a diatribe against Islam or any culture or country in particular.  For every outrageous story I could list here about some similar absurdity, I can also list things being done by people in the same countries to address the situation (frequently at great personal risk to themselves).  I am talking about acts such as the protests in Morocco about this story, the people who allowed CBS to do the story about Gulnaz (or Gulnaz herself), the heroism of a Pashtun woman dancing on the second season of Afghan Idol (even though she received death threats for doing so), women in Saudi Arabia driving under the threat of arrest, or dozens of other examples that are reported in the news daily.  We all just need to do our part to support them when and where we can.  Which is why I decided to write this blog.

Here are some more links if you are interested.  Please let me know what you think of the post.

Al Arabiya Article With a Picture of Amina's Rapist/Husband
Amina Falali Facebook Page (In French but interesting)
Saudi Women Suing For the Right to Drive
Setara Dances on Afghan Star

What The Heck is Sorghum Anyway???

"I wouldn't recognize sorghum if it was stuck to my shoe!"

- Abu Haroun, March 2012

The U.S. helps support the daily feeding of tens of millions of people worldwide...many of whom would die without the help.  Some of the food we provide costs less than $1,200 per metric ton!

This week, I learned a lot about the Food For Peace (FFP) program which is implemented by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  Each year, the U.S. spends around $1.8 billion on food aid to help the hungry and malnourished around the world.  One common myth is that the U.S. Government purchases excess agricultural commodities from American farmers and then gives them away overseas.  In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture actually buys the commodities off the same market as companies do and then provides it to USAID to send overseas.  In that respect, it is not a subsidy program for American farmers.  On the other hand, the international food aid program is funded by the Farm Bill which otherwise has nothing to do with international relations, diplomacy, or the State Department.  Its largest proponents are American farmers and millers, NGOs that distribute the food, and the U.S. shipping industry.  The Farm Bill requires that 75% of the commodities be milled and bagged in the U.S. and that the majority of the commodities be transported using U.S. shipping companies.

Trucks lined up to drop off food commodities at the WFP Warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan

The U.S. Government does not directly distribute the goods overseas, instead it works through international NGOs and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).  The U.S. also does not ship sandwiches, or candy bars, or other forms of finished foods.  Instead we ship various types of flour and grains, rice, beans, powdered milk, peas, lentils, and vegetable oil.  These commodities are either shipped in huge bags which are packed in the U.S. or are literally dumped into the hold of massive ocean liners and bagged once they arrive at their destination.  Once the items arrive they are transported to huge warehouses where they are then stored until they are ready to be distributed.

Just one of several massive warehouses full of food in Kabul maintained by WFP

In addition to the bulk items described above, the U.S. also provides specialized food for mothers, infants, and young children at high risk for malnutrition.  These include some specialized corn-soy and wheat-soy blends as well as fortified cooking oil with added nutrients specifically for pregnant and nursing women, infants, and young children.

Vitamin A fortified cooking oil

One great program the U.S. sponsors around the world is called Food for Education.  In these programs, families who allow their young children to attend school full-time for a month receive a tin of fortified cooking oil like the one in the picture above.  In many countries, this has significantly increased child nutrition and also ensured that girls are allowed to stay in school even during periods of economic distress.  One of the saddest things I learned is that 25,000 children die daily of severe malnutrition.  The great news is that the U.S. also provides Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) which are small toothpaste sized packages containing miracle food for severely malnourished children.  Each packet contains 1,000 calories worth of tasty paste containing the most important vitamins and minerals malnourished kids need.  As long as the child is strong enough to eat, two packets a day can reverse severe malnutrition in a month or so.

RUTF for malnourished children donated to WFP by the people of Japan

So one question that comes to my mind is:  what the heck do people do with a 100 pound bag of flour provided by the people of the US?  People dealing with natural disasters, refugees, and displaced persons generally don't have a robust kitchen or access to quality food (or they wouldn't be eating bags of flour).  Generally, if they have access to clean water and a heat source, they can convert the flour into porridge or breads which can be eaten to provide valuable nutrition.  After seeing thousands of bags of various types of flour stacked up in different places around the world, I was curious how to cook with it.

Lots of flour!

I chose to cook with sorghum flour since according to the U.S. Grains Council it is the third largest cereal crop in the US and our country is the #1 exporter of the commodity worldwide (link below if you must know more about sorghum).  If you are not a recipient of U.S. food aid or on some sort of special diet, you probably don't know that there is an aisle at Whole Foods dedicated to special flours like sorghum.  So I went to the store and bought some!

Sorghum flour from Whole Foods ($3.50)

I enlisted the help of my daughter and we decided to cook using the only ingredients that people in an emergency situation were likely to have:  flour, water, and salt.  We used the cookbook for sorghum flour provided by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) which was broken out by country and explains how to prepare meals using sorghum flour.  The link is below if you want to experiment yourself.  Since we were not in the mood for porridge and we already knew how to make pancakes we went with that option first.

Adding water to the flour

Flour, water, and salt mixed by hand into a ball

Dough flattened on a flour covered surface

Cooked on a hot surface with a bit of oil

The first piece of sorghum flour bread/pancake was fairly dry and flavorless (possibly bordering on bitter).  We ate it with a bit of water and it was fine.  While it was certainly not anything I would order at a restaurant it would certainly do the job if I was starving.  So we decided to deviate slightly (cheat) from the original constraints and decided to crush a banana into the next batch and even dropped about 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar in.  While the U.S. does not supply sugar (or tea or chocolate) as international food aid, other countries do, so we figured a bit of sugar would be OK.

Adding a banana and a bit of sugar

We cooked the second batch of sorghum flour pancakes and were pleasantly surprised!  They actually tasted pretty good and they were very filling. 

My sous-chef happily eating the second batch

The more I learn about the food assistance the more impressed I am.  It is a logistically nightmarish scenario to get food to the folks who need it; however, the effort results in saving millions of lives per year including preventing children from literally dying from hunger.

Here are some links with additional information if you are interested:

U.N. World Food Programme Web Site
Information on Child Malnutrition

More information on lifesaving RUTF for severely malnourished children

All about sorghum

U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization Sorghum Cookbook

One Night in Bangkok!

First of all, the 1984 song One Night in Bangkok by Murray Head was actually composed for a musical called Chess about a T.V. commentator who was in Bangkok to announce a chess tournament.  The video is interesting as it does not appear to actually feature any Thai people or any scenes in Thailand.  Then again is was the mid 1980s.  This blog entry has nothing to do with chess, or the 1980s.  It's about a walk I took through the Sukhumvit Area of Bangkok around midnight one night this week.

Sukhumvit Road is one of the main drags through Bangkok and actually runs over 200 miles from the city along the coast almost to the Cambodian border.  In Bangkok, Sukhumvit Road is a business and tourist center, a residential area, borders several red light districts and night markets, and features five star hotels and some of the seediest hotels in Asia.  The interesting thing is that all of these features can be found within 10 blocks of each other making this a prime spot for people watching and a nice midnight walk.

Sukhumvit Road around midnight on a Wednesday

 

Even at midnight, the traffic on Sukhumvit Road is very heavy.  The raised structure above the road is the BTS Skytrain which is an elevated train system that runs throughout the city.  One the far side of the road, you can see the canvas backs of the street vendor stalls and some upscale hotels in the distance.  Along the sides of Sukhumvit Road are small Sois (Thai word for sidestreets).  The sois are full of hotels, restaurants, apartment buildings, massage parlors, and more street vendors.

Tailor shop selling custom made suits and shirts

One of the most ubiquitous sights you see on Sukhumvit Road are dozens of tailor shops staffed by South Asians (Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, etc).  The shops sell custom-made suits and shirts of varying quality.  You can get a couple of suits and shirts for less than a $200.  If you know a good place to go, you can get some great deals (or you can end up with a total piece of junk).

A street vendor selling durian fruit on Soi 4

Street vendors sell all manners of food along Sukhumvit Road and the sois.  Durians are huge prickly fruits about the same size as a medium watermelon.  They have a pungent odor and are banned from many hotels, airports, and other establishments in Thailand.  Here, a lady is buying sliced durian along Soi 4 after midnight.

A small restaurant on Soi 8

Down the sois on either side of Sukhumvit Road are hundreds of "hole in the wall" type places where you can get outstanding freshly cooked Thai food.  Many have tables and chairs out front (sometimes in the actual street) where you can eat.

Ronald McDonald giving a Wai or traditional Thai greeting 

For more modern cuisine, there are two McDonalds on Sukhumvit Road along a two-block stretch between Soi 2 and Soi 4 on either side of the J.W. Marriott Hotel.  One of Bangkok's most notorious red light areas, Nana Plaza, is just behind the Marriott on Soi 4.

Street vendor selling fresh fish

One of my favorite sights are insect vendors which can be found along the sois, especially in the red light areas.  Locals and tourists alike seem to enjoy eating the insects.  These vendors sell fried crickets and many other types of cooked and raw insects which people generally eat with soy sauce.  As I was snapping some pictures of one such vendor, an American guy and his sister walked up and he asked her if she dared him to eat one very large green bug.  I didn't wait for a response and instead I dared him.  He at the bug with some soy sauce.  Very impressive.

Cart full of insects. Notice bottle of soy sauce in the center!

The large green bug that the American guy ate!  The vendor took its back off first...

Prepping the green bug for consumption!  He ate it too!!

 In addition to being a heavily trafficked street, Sukhumvit Road is also home to many beggars and homeless people including numerous women with young children.  It is actually very sad, especially to see woman sleeping with babies on pieces of cardboard box on the sidewalk.

A man with leprosy begging on the sidewalk (I gave him 20 Baht)

Adjacent to the red light areas (Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy) you can find street vendors selling a rich variety of sex toys as well as counterfeit Viagra and Cialis pills as well as oral jellies that apparently do the same thing.  Other than Cuban cigars, male performance enhancers are one of the most counterfeited items in the world.  I don't know about you, but I certainly would not want to take fake or altered drugs that affect my circulation and heart!

Table of sex toys and counterfeit male enhancement drugs!

Located on Soi 4, the Nana Entertainment Plaza is one of the three major red light areas in Bangkok.  The Plaza is a horseshoe shaped building with three floors of go go bars.  Four or five of the bars are dedicated to Khatoeys (ladyboys) and their fans.  There are outdoor bars on the ground floor and even a small Buddhist stupa.

The entry to Nana Plaza on Soi 4

Three floors of go go bars in Nana Plaza

Nana Plaza is exclusively frequented by tourists (mostly male) from the U.S., Europe, and Australia.  The dancers in the go go bars can all be taken out for the night by paying a fine to the manager of their bar.  Whatever else happens between the customers and dancers is between them.  I was not quite confident enough with my camera to get any good pictures of the typical sex tourists that frequent these areas but may try to do so on a future trip.  The red light areas are also tourist attractions and it is not unusual to see Western couples, and even families, walking through and taking pictures.  Very interesting.

Believe it or not there is a Buddhist shrine in the middle of the Plaza!

Some of the go go bars in Nana Plaza

In Thailand, transsexuals (or transgendered people) are more commonly accepted than in the West and can be seen on T.V. shows, modeling competitions, and in everyday life.  While they are more readily accepted, they by no means live an easy life and are almost certainly treated poorly by many including their own families. In Thailand, they are referred to (mostly affectionately) as ladyboys.  Nana Plaza has several go go bars with ladyboy shows and there are also numerous bars and restaurants along Sukhumvit Road that are fully staffed by these individuals. 

A very friendly Nana Plaza regular gladly posed for this picture

There must be thousands of massage parlors in Bangkok and traditional Thai massage is an important part of the culture.  Unlike soothing massages with oil, Thai massages are given to customers wearing clothes and consist of heavy stretching and manipulating of the legs, arms, neck and back.  Basically, during the course of the massage, every joint in your body is cracked.  Massage parlors are located on every street and in all hotels.  The vast majority of these establishments are legitimate with a smaller number providing "extra services".

Massage technicians eating a huge pot of clams!

Traffic in Bangkok is so heavy that a motor scooter is the most efficient way of getting around most of the time.  It is not unusual to see several people on one scooter or to see a scooter being used to haul large amounts of materials.

A couple sharing a motor scooter with all of their purchases!