Thailand

Thailand

Hello everyone! As we complete our twelfth month on the road, we continue to yearn for news from home, and to enjoy your responses to our newsletters.

We have now got a couple of months in the English-speaking world to look forward to as we tour New Zealand and Australia before heading back to multi-cultural California. This edition of the newsletter covers our sojourn in Southeast Asia, where we had too little time and were awed by the culture, food, and temperatures!

much love, Adrian and Carrie

Thailand, April 9th-May 1st
by Carrie

We had originally booked our ticket to Bangkok primarily as a port from which to fly to Kathmandu, but in the midst of a trip my parents reconnected with a long-lost friend who lives in Bangkok, and we decided to prolong our stay in order to see a bit of her country with a native. My parents lived in Thailand for a total of over three years many years ago, first arriving to teach English in a town in the south of the country and returning a few years later, with my infant self in tow, so that my dad might do research for his dissertation project while my mom taught English at a university in Bangkok. On their return they hunted high and low for one of my mom's old students, an avid learner whose nickname was Sticky, whom they invited to come and live with us and help with the care of my young self. It was a treat to meet Sticky (again) and to hear her tales of my parents in their youth, and she gave us insights into the country which we have not enjoyed in many places we've visited.

Fact about Thailand #1:Thailand alone among its neighbors was never colonized by a European power.

Bangkok, April 9th-12th, 19th-23rd, and 30th to May 1st

Thanks to a map given us by Sticky, which included bus routes, we became quite adept at maneuvering at least parts of this metropolis by bus, both aircon and ordinary. There were times when the former was essential, as when stuck for seeming ages at this or that intersection when the mercury hovered around 40. We also walked around the city and saw many different attractions both with and without our Thai tour guide. On the very first night of our official visit, Sticky took us to a party at her work to celebrate the upcoming Thai new year. There we were able to view lip synching and karaoke performed by semi-professional "lady boys"--very entertaining! Also on our first weekend, we visited the Burmese-populated island of Ko Kret, in the middle of Bangkok's river, and the "Ancient City," which is actually a sort of theme park of Thailand's history, meant to be toured in an aircon car--ours was courtesy of Sticky and her husband.


The floating market in Bangkok



Upon our return to Bangkok, we esconced ourselves in the center, not far from the notorious Khao San Road, and visited the nearby wats, the Grand Palance, the Vivanmek Teak Mansion, and the National Museum. We were dazzled by the thousands of bits of porcelain and reflecting glass in many colors with which many of the wats and their attending garudas, demons, monkeys, and other guards were decorated, and enjoyed the coolness within each time we removed our shoes and stepped into the temple holding the many buddha images.

During our three weeks in Thailand we came to be quite familiar with the Buddha in his many poses, and even made a fairly comprehensive list at one time. We liked watching the Thais as they brought in their offerings of lotus flowers, incense, and gold leaf and sat, mermaid fashion (so their feet would not point towards the Buddha, feet being considered rather dirty in much of Asia) to speak with an attendant monk. An essential part of the ritual, in addition to "wai"ing (a sign of respect which looks like praying, but different because Buddha is a spiritual leader, not a god), seemed to be photograph-snapping. We liked the monks too, and spotted them throughout the country, glorious in their bright orange robes and equally graceful whether accepting offerings in the temple, stepping out of a restaurant with a bag of cha yen, or sitting sidesaddle on the back of mopeds.


Drinking tea with Sticky. Tea was provided in these small bags.


Rooftops in Bangkok

As we wandered the streets of Bangkok, always in search of the perfect cha or kaffae yen,* we saw everywhere huge photos of the royal family, most often the queen, in somewhat hazy light, surrounded by enormous golden frames of some elaborateness. We had heard that the Thais love their royals, but it's more than that: you can be arrested if you say anything against them! Adrian snorted at what would happen to a portrait of Prince Charles, within a matter of minutes, were his image plastered about London in a similar fashion.


Looking round the temples of Bankok

Two more activities in Bangkok: We visited the touristy but interesting floating market, on the city's outskirts, with its network of surrounding canals and the water crowded with punt/gondola type boats full of overpriced fruit and kitschy elephant purses; We went to Chinatown and purchased our wedding rings, from a man who seemed reluctant to let us into his store for fear lest we a) rob him or b) accuse him of robbing us but who, in the end, let us go with the shiny bands.

*cha yen/kaffae yen: strong brewed tea/coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk, poured over ice, and sprinkled with evaporated milk for extra calories--HEAVEN, but beware the nescafe which sneaks in in touristed areas!

Fact about Thailand #2:Thais drive on the left side of the road.

Chiang Mai, April 13th-16th

Sticky had organized an overnight train trip to the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai to coincide with the most outrageous of Thai festivals, the Songkran New Year festival. We enjoyed our train trip (in comfy bunks which folded back into seats in daytime) and took two other night trains during our time in Thailand. We arrived in Chiang Mai in the morning, a little before the festival broke out, and were able to view a few wats in relative tranquility. At about ten a.m., as we were strolling along the side of the moat which surrounds the old city, we started to see people with trash cans full of water, standing by the side of the road or cruising by in pick-up trucks. A shy little kid came up as we walked past and, with a sense of duty about him rather than one of mischief, poured some water from a bowl over our hands. And that was just the beginning! By noon the party was in full swing, and did not end for three days, only pausing for the night. It was impossible to avoid getting not just wet, but utterly soaked, walking anywhere in the city, or probably the country, and what with the heat, we were happy enough to join in! By buying a water pistol we signalled our willing participation, which made it more fun for us, but when we ventured forth unarmed we were doused all the same. Just as we'd begin to dry off, having visited a wat or stopped on a quiet street, a pick-up truck ful of teenagers would slide by and a bucket of water would be unceremoniously dumped in its entirety over one or both of us. We were perpetually wet, and it was great fun--there was a feeling of shared mayhem, and yet it did not get out of control, as we were sure any such event would do in a manner of minutes in either the U.S. or the U.K.


Our cooking class in Chiang Mai


Prepared for the New Year action

We read a little about the origins of the current festival, and enjoyed a lovely parade of Buddha images which retained some hint of the more tranquil earlier celebrations. As with Chinese new year, the idea is to clean out the house and one's person in time to greet the new year fresh; thus, in the old days the symbolic act of washing the hands of elders and monks with "lustral" water was central to the event. We saw people on the streets selling baggies of special water filled with petals and other lustrous essences, and when the gold-coated Buddhas were carried by on the shoulders of the devout we were supposed to squirt, splash, and otherwise cleanse them. Never has devotion been so fun! We were also reminded of the processions of the Virgin of the Door and other saints and Marys which we witnessed in South America, but the Thai carryings on were a lot more fun!

Also in Chiang Mai, we took a cooking course, and learned to make some of the dishes which we so enjoyed while there, from coconut milk-based soup to green curry.

Fact about Thailand #3:Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai Prime Minister, is in negotiations as of this writing to buy a stake in the British football club Liverpool, and it is possible he will do so with tax payer money!!!!


Elephant feeding


Preparing mango. I got quite good at this, but not good enough not to be covered in mango afterwards.


Preparing tea, or Thai iced tea, which we were quite partial to.

Sukkhothai, Sri Satchanalai, and Ayuthaya, April 17th-19th

Leaving Chiang Mai, we made our way south to three different cities which were each at one time central to the country. We enjoyed walking through the complexes of wats, their dazzling exteriors long since crumbled away, leaving a more tranquil, less resplendent base of bricks, surrounded by trees and overgrown in many cases with vines and moss. We saw many more Buddhas, some of them enormous, in their various positions, and learned about the golden age of Sukhothai, which saw the creation of the Thai written language and a flourishing of Khmer-style stupas and wats. We also enjoyed being in an area less frequented by other farang, and the daily interactions with people who were not so used to tourists but nonetheless eager to be helpful despite the considerable language barrier. We rode around in saeng-taws, which are sort of overhauled pick-up trucks with pleasant breezy open backs.


The Buddha


The Buddha again

The South--Nakhorn Si Thammarat and Ao Nang, April 23rd-29th

We visited NST because my parents lived there during their first stint in Thailand, and though there was not much to see we enjoyed the place, a small industrial city on the west coast. When we were in the south some of the political upheaval between the separatist Muslims and the Thai army was getting more serious, but we ourselves did not see any trouble. Instead we wandered around the streets, visited the town's large wat filled with little white stupas, and sampled the banana roty (a sort of crepe filled with bananas and drizzled with sweetened evaporated milk, made at a streetside cart) which were to become a staple of our diet throughout the remainder of the trip. After NST we were not prepared for the touristy nature of Krabi, which we'd heard was less overrun by farang than nearby Phuket, but which was plenty overrun for us! Once we'd adjusted our expectations we were able to enjoy the beautiful beaches, the warm water, and the spectacular limestone cliffs. Adrian looked longingly at some of the climbs in the area but as we were unequipped (and he had no partner!) we contented ourselves with sea activities such as snorkeling, kayaking, and visiting other white-sand beaches.


Boats near Krabi


Kayaking near Krabi

Fact about Thailand #4:The Thai king is the longest reigning monarch in the world.

Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Bali

Sri Lanka, May 1st-8th (by Adrian)

The visit to Sri Lanka was not one we had in mind for the trip, but when booking the ticket it turned out that we could go there anyway, so we did. We usually think that one week is not really enough to see a place, but as it turned out, a week was probably a bit long!


Vegtables on the street in Colombo


The sea front of Colombo

Sri Lanka, like Nepal, has a serious civil war going on. The feeling on the streets of the capital was not totally pleasant, as there were road blocks, streets closed, soldiers walking about and troops driving along the roads. Also the infrastructure of the country is in a very poor state, and many of the roads, trains and railways looked as though they had not been replaced since the British left over 50 years ago.

Interesting fact about Sri Lanka:the word 'serendipity' comes from the old arab word for Sri Lanka 'serendib' - actually two words meaning "Gem Island".

We wandered around Colombo, the capital, for a couple of days, but other than a pleasant seafront promenade, really found very little of interest. We took a train out of the city, and after a long ride we went to see the "elephant orphanage" which is supposed to care for elephants in need. There were certainly many elephants in residence, though none especially small. We were able to see them being fed milk and swimming in the river. Quite a sight it was to see their trunks doing all sorts of things.

Then we headed 'upcountry' to Kandy, where coincidentally, there was a big festival for the May full moon, during which time the Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment, and died (Carrie's dad commented: "a busy day!"). In Kandy is a very sacred temple containing the Buddha's "left tooth". Allegedly anyway. This relic is venerated beyond belief, and many stories have developed around it. We queued for about an hour to see it, passing through 3 different levels of security and finally shuffling around a corridor to arrive at the tooth room. Inside was mayhem, so we just looked at it from the outside past the thronging masses. The tooth itself is (allegedly) contained within many caskets, in a Russian Doll fashion, so you can't see the tooth. In fact, rumour has it that the "real" tooth is somewhere else for safe keeping. It was stolen many years ago, and on an attempt to crush it, it shot up into the air and glowed (there is a picture of this alleged event). The tooth building is very fancy, and has a museum, a display area of gifts given by tooth pilgrims over the years, groups of musicians and a special elephant who parades the tooth about the town once a year - as well as performing other ceremonial duties. Oh, and the elephant has a museum also.

During the festival, many especially elaborately created paper lanterns were illuminated around the temple and lights were put on every available surface. It made the place look quite nice.


A Buddha, one of the largest in the world, apparently.


Elephants at the elephant orphanage.

We also wanted to visit the ancient fortress of Sigiriya, but it was closed due to a recent attack by hornet on a group of Philipinos, so we went to another, smaller, temple nearby, carved into the rocks. There were hundreds of buddhas (buddhae?) that were carved in caves there, but the millions of people crowding around them made it hot and a cramped push to see them.

Bali (Indonesia) May 9th-16th (by Adrian)

Like Sri Lanka, Bali was another country we had as a bonus. It's in Indonesia, but is a predominately Hindu island. We decided here that we were to have a holiday, before our entry back to the first world, so set ourselves up in one of the many excellent, well appointed bungalows upcountry for the week. It really was a good idea too. The climate is good, and the way of life seems largely untroubled away from the large tourist towns of the coast. The music and dance traditions of Bali and Java were well known to me, and we attended 3 different performances. The music is performed by the gamelan - an ensemble of 24 musicians playing percussions instruments such as gong, drums and xylophones - which can be very loud and is very expressive. The music is very different to western ears, but I loved it. The dance also was spectacular, being very colourful, energetic and frightening at times! It must be great growing up in a place that has so much music around all the time.


Two+2 of the very large numbers of monkeys we encountered.


A complex of buildings that used to be a palace, but now a hotel.


Pesky monkeys again.


A gamelan performance


Cycling through the rice paddies

Other than these excursions, we limited activities to reading by the pool, swimming and sleeping.

Layovers in Hong Kong airport, May 8th and 16th (by Adrian)

Unforunately, it turned out that we were to have rather a long time in Hong Kong on 2 occasions. We laid aside plenty to read and do for these days, but it turned out that they let us out of the airport to look about if we wanted. The airport is on a relatively unpopulated island some distance from the tower blocks, and on the first layover we walked into the forest only a few miles from the runways. And it was very nice, not at all the urban environment that I'd expected to see. In fact we saw very few people, and at times could not even see any buildings either, but just a view of the bay. On our second visit we went to Hong Kong island itself and visited the very interesting 'Museum of Tea Ware', which was indeed a museum of tea pots and stuff associated with teamaking in China. It was a surprise to visit a museum that has descriptions of items and information (something which was not present in any museum we'd been to for many months). Still, I would not recommend spending 20hours in any airport, but HKG might be one of the better ones.


The interior of Hong Kong international, our home for 2 nights


A foggy trip out