Journey to Peace Village

I took the train up to Chang Mai from Ayutthaya. It took about 12 hours and cost less than 20 US dollars. A beautiful trip ascending through mountains. We went passed rice paddies, green green, rainforests, rivers and mountains under mist. I arrived at Chiang Mai at 8:30 pm in a rainstorm. The guesthouse was by the bustling nightmarket, but I was too tired to go out.

The next morning, I did some business, visitng the university and some language schools. Chiang Mai University is a huge, bustling campus very similar to UWM. I had some time finding the language department, but finally met Khun Sriwilai. The Thai language department is small, but the students get personal attention from an experienced teacher. The campus is interesting, a large group of students were doing exercises in the courtyard as I arrived. The Thai school year is just starting!

Later, I did some visits to the temples. Chiang Mai is a historic city full of Buddhist temples. It was the home of the first Royal dynasty of Thailand (well before Ayutthaya). The name Chiang Mai means "elephant city." Elephant motifs are everywhere.

At nightfall I went to the market. This is a fantastic experience. I saw a fantastic puppet show, see: http://www.youtube.com/user/maryecroy
It brought together a variety of people, Muslims, Buddhists and foreigners such as myself. Everyone was enchanted by the spectacle.

I bought some clothing and some food for the students. It's a fun place, except some of the women dressed in Hmong clothing are pretty aggressive. They follow you trying to get a sale.

There is a wide variety of tourism in Chiang Mai. Many restaurants are geared toward the Japanese, but there's also German, Chinese, Indian and Pakistani restaurants. Roaming the nightmarket is like visiting the UN.

I went past some rather dodgy looking "Karaoke" places fronted by women sitting "on display" in miniskirts. The places, with plenty of Japanese writing, featured pictures of the women in even racier clothing and provocative poses and bragged of special "VIP" rooms that could be rented for some private "singing time."
To end the evening, I found a massage place and got a traditional Thai massage. (Right next door to one of the karaoke places). You might think that the massage places would be sleazy; but most in the night market area seemed "legit." The place I went to was typical-- there are a group of masseuses from young to middle aged dressed in yellow polo shirts with the royal emblem and loose fitting pants. You can get a good massage for about 10 dollars an hour. Thai massage can get rough though as they do a lot of chiropractic type pulling and manipulating of the limbs and put the full weight of their hands and elbows on the back to get rid of tension. I chose one with "an herbal compress" which is a ball with herbs. It's steamed and put on sore spots and the joints of the body. After the full treatment I got a great night's sleep.

Labels: Chiang Mai, medicine, Thai culture

I stayed in Ayutthaya an extra day because it was so interesting. There are many, many temples and historic sites. I spent the morning at a royal temple that had been destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. Then I walked around the public park and wound up at the local museum. It has a small museum with modern interactive exhibits on the history of the island of Ayutthaya. On the second and third floors there is an art museum. Although small I lingered for a long time, listening to the blues music being played over the internet as a Thai man painted. It shouldn't have fit the scene but somehow did. The most fascinating piece was a minature that you view through a big magnifying glass. This is a scene of a hillside flled with tiny elephants and matchstick bridges....

Later in the afternoon I went to the ruins of another Wat. This had been built in 1364. A few cavings were visible in the remnants of the towers, but the dominant figure was a headless Buddha facing west. The eternal song of birds was everywhere.

Labels: Thai culture, Thai history

Today I arrived in Ayuthaya, the old royal city. This place is fantastic! I'm going to extend my booking one more day. Everywhere there are old palaces and temples. Today I visited a temple that commemorates I Thai King who fought in a battle that ensured peace in Thailand for 200 years. Right in the middle of my visit, I found myself surrounded by soldiers. This particular temple is dedicated to soldiers and there were about a hundred there to learn all about the site. Many took pictures, others took notes. Then a flood of school children came and they were very friendly. They wanted to know my name and nickname (most Thais have a nicknamed based on some characteristic). I was embarassed to say my nickname is Bulldozer so I wouldn't own up to it.

I've seen something here I haven't seen much of in Asia--wildlife (except for fish). I saw a small squirrel type animal climbing around at the shrine and I've seen a lot of wild birds, including some ducks and geese. The shrine was very serene and I was able to sit by the water and relax, something I haven't really done since I left the States.

I'll post pics when I can, but the USB port isn't working here.

Labels: Thai culture, Thai history, Thai royalty

I had an extraordinary day in Bangkok yesterday. It went all the way from the frustrating to the sublime. Upon arriving at the airport, my taxi driver got lost trying to find the hotel and it took about two hours! After a short rest, I decided to explore the neighborhood and head for Panthip Plaza.

Panthip plaza is an electronics supermall in downtown Bangkok. I always go there to get videos and for any other needs. It also boasts an AW root beer, so I treat myself to this. This time I bought a Thai Sim card, a karaoke cd and dvd of "The Man from UNCLE."

Leaving the mall, I wanted to find the Brahma statue of the Erawan shrine. From the map given by the hotel, I knew it was somewhat nearby. Wandering through the neighborhood, I found a Dunkin Donuts! This was a treat, so despite the heat I had two jelly filled donuts and coffee. Where else could you get donuts and coffee while sitting by a Buddhist shrine?

I continued my walk and found "Central Mall." This is one of the most upscale malls in Bangkok. Inside it has real designer made clothing for US style prices ($100 and up). It even has a "doggie spa" with special treats, houses and toys for dogs.

What was suprising was what was outside. There was a pair of shrines and people praying and lighting incense. One was to a goddess and the other to a "Ganesh" (Hindu elephant-man) type spirit. So, with the background of %50 off signs there was the smell of incense and the atmosphere of prayer:
And then we are found
in between the whistles of the traffic cops
"Big Sale" background
and the screaming fonts "%50 off through June 1"
,
so this shrine, why here?
can you make the sacred any Where?

Alone she rises
Golden Woman
Seeker of all our dreams
One for whom no change is necessary
here is love, here is truth and above all
a clear patch of sky

After leaving central mall, I had given up on finding the Erawan shrine. Then I heard the clanging of bells across the street. The Chinese community was giving a dragon dance and acrobatic performance. It was the Erawan shrine! A fantastic place. Like the shrine at Central Mall, it is tucked in among the shops. It was put near a hotel because an Thai Admiral who was also an astrologer said that the ground needed to be sanctified when the Erawan hotel was built in 1955. Now it's a center for many different ethnic groups in Thailand. Along with the Chinese, I saw a wonderful Thai dance performance to traditional music. The Thai dancers were given gifts of fruit by an Indian woman. The shrine itself has elephants donated by the Chinese community in Singapore and the shrine is to a four faced representation of Brahma, so I saw many Indians as well as Thai praying there. It was fantastic to watch the dancers among the swirl of incense, in the rain with the occasional clang of the Skytrain overhead. This is why I love Bangkok!

Labels: religion and culture, Thai culture, Thailand

On April 30, Victory Day here in Viet Nam (the fall of Sai Gon), I went to King Hung's temple in Phu Tho. Phu Tho is about 50 miles from Hanoi and it was an adventurous bus ride over two hours to get there, topped by a motorbike ride down heart stealing steep drop roads.

This is a very special place in the history and culture of Viet Nam. It honors King Hung, the mythological first King of Viet Nam.

King Hung is the subject of much folklore in Viet Nam. He was one of the children of Prince Lac Long Quan and Au Co, a fairy queen. After they married, Au Co gave birth to a pouch containing 100 eggs. The eggs hatched children. The prince and Au Co cared for the children on the grounds of the current temple. Eventually, 50 of the children went to the sea, and 50 to the mountains. These were the ancestors of the Vietnamese people. One of the children who stayed in the mountains was Hung, who became the King.

The temple has five separate shrines on the mountain. You have to ascend a series of steps to go to the temples. Eventually, you go down to the bottom most shrine, which is a well where Au Co bathed the children.

It was a fascinating insight into Vietnamese culture and belief. I was the only foreigner there. My student Chien took me and Huy's mother Huyen also came (she had never been there before either). Chien's friend, appropriately named Hung, also came. It was very interesting to hear their reactions to the shrine. A fascinating museum is next to the shrine and the museum features many archaelogical finds going back 5000 years.

Labels: Buddhism, Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese history

I'm just getting around to it now, because I have a day off for International Worker's Day. In February, I had the most fantastic vacation ever. I visited Eastern Thailand with my friend Tracy from TEFL school. Specifically we went to Koh Chang, which is about six hours by bus from Bangkok.

The main island is Koh Chang, which is about 45 minutes by ferry from the mainland. Tracy and I stayed in a bungalow at a place called "Boutique Spa." The rooms were bungalows about five minutes from the beach. They were very quiet and included a porch. The spa offered a restaurant and massage therapy. Hiking on the island was actually more interesting than the beaches. The interior is almost untouched and we hiked through a natinal park to a small waterfall. The trails were in classic rainforest. The actual island of Koh Chang was kind of touristy, so we moved on to Koh Wai.

This was truly paradise. It's a very small island with only two or three resorts. The waters were clear, blue and sparkling with tropical fish and coral. I went snorkeling and Tracy taught me how to Kayak.

Nicky, one of the staff at the resort, actually visited Milwaukee! He had been to the US a few years before and very much wants to go back. WE talkedto him while munching on ice cream from the States. At night, we played a "stacking game" popular in Thailand. It's a game where you have blocks and take out one at a time while trying to keep the stack intact. The person that makes it collapse is the loser.

I really felt sad to leave the island and wished I had more time in this obscure paradise.