Geeks in Asia

Our trip through India

2010-12-13T19:40:00.002+07:00

Early this month, Ellen and I had a chance to tour the "Golden Triangle" of NW India--Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. We were, of course, looking for any and all things pre-1600, but that didn't deter us from enjoying the post-SCA period Mughal and Rajasthani art and architecture.

We started off the trip in Delhi, where we visited Humayun's tomb, built in the 1570--the first "garden tomb" in India, bringing in the Persian "charbagh" style gardens, and a template for designs that you continue to see developed throughout the Mughal period and later. The charbagh style garden was supposed to represent the gardens of paradise, depicted as a square divided by the four heavenly rivers.

The local red sandstone is a feature that will be popping up time and again, and is one of the things that makes this and other constructions in the area so eye-poppingly unique.

The complex builds on traditional Persian and Central Asian architectural styles, showing a remarkable appreciation for mathematics and geometry, particularly in the way it uses perspective. As my wife said, "It is great to photograph a building that knows how to work it!"

Humayun is actually buried beneath the central dome. There are 150 cenotaphs scattered around the tomb complex, indicating later burials. However, there is no indication as to who is actually buried under any of them. It is assumed that they were Mughal nobility, but nobody seems certain.

There is another large tomb in the charbagh for, of all people, his barber; or so tradition states. We don't know who is there, but the tomb can be dated to the 1590s. The common story is that it was built for Humayun's barber and confidant--after all, you had to trust the person whom you allowed with a razor that close to the royal throat!

Humayun's tomb is part of a larger complex was built next to (and inclusive of) the octagonal tomb of previous Delhi sultan Isa Khan Nyazi, which has been on the site since 1547.

The complex was meant to be visited; a portion was set aside with quarters where travelers could stay, known as the "arabserai" ("serai" indicates a location to stay--whether inn, fort, harem, etc.). This is a common feature of many Indo-Islamic complexes.

From the tomb for the second Mughal emperor, we headed back in time with the Qutb Minar complex. This World Heritage site was built in 1192 by Qutbu'd-Din Aibak to celebrate Mohammed Ghori's triumph over the Hindu rajputs.

It reused stones from various local temples that were dismantled by the conquering Islamic forces. The images of deities were often defaced except where they would not be seen--of course, with the subsequent erosion of the temple, many of those have come to light.

Besides being one of the oldest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture, the minaret is the highest stone tower in India. It was built in stages. After the first storey, the next three were added by Qutbu'd-Din's successor, Samsu'd-Din Iltutmish. After the top storey was destroyed in a lightning strike, it was replaced and a fifth storey added by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1368. Later repairs were conducted in 1503 and 1803, with some further back-and-forth renovations during the period of the British Raj.

A second tower was begun by Ala ud din Khilji in 1311 which would have exceeded the original minaret, but it was never completed.

The congregational mosque (Qubbat-ul-Islam) that was built as part of the complex is not in such great shape, but the borrowed stone is great for a sample of traditional Hindu (specifically Jain) temple architectural features.

In addition, there is an iron pillar erected in the center of the mosque that was brought from elsewhere. It is dated to the 4th century and mentions a king "Chandra", generally thought to be Chandragupta II. It is remarkable in that it has not rusted away--experts are unsure of how it was made, given its size and apparent metallurgical consistency.

Next up, Agra and Fathepur Sikri!

Interesting times

2010-05-15T10:02:00.002+07:00

So, anyone who watches the news in Thailand knows that we are going through some interesting times out here. I prefer not to comment on the political situation, but we are safe (though the protests start about a half mile from our apartment), and we can neither hear nor see anything that the news is telling us about. Most of the activity seems to be happening in other places (we can't even see the barricades from here).

For more information, we recommend:
Bangkok Post
The Nation
Tulsathit's Twitter Page

For the official information for US citizens:
U.S. Embassy in Bangkok
NOTE: If you are living in Bangkok you can sign up to get messages from the embassy for all US citizens. I recommend that all US citizens abroad register with the local US embassy in case of local emergency.

Growing the SCA in Thailand

2009-07-23T22:17:00.004+07:00

So how does one become responsible for starting a new branch of the SCA in a foreign country? I'm not 100% sure, but we're going to try to find out!

As many of you know, our new friend, known in the SCA as Saito Takauji, moved into the area back in January, and we've been hanging out and talking about things SCA. However, in contact with the Barony of the Far West, we learned of a group of Thai larpers that are interested in going from foam swords to something more substantial. And look at how they came decked out!

We had our first meeting the other day, and started getting them some basic practice in what needs to be done. We need to get some rattan, now, and some armor, clothing, and, well, figure out where we are.

The closest group is in Japan. However, that's a baronial group, and if this really gets going, we need to figure out what is best for our Thai compatriots. If they want royalty, honors, etc., then is it better for them to be a part of the West Kingdom, based on the West coast of the US, or the Kingdom of Lochac, based in Australia. Lochac is definitely closer, but there aren't any groups near us. On the other hand, I don't know when the last royal visit to Japan was--not a problem for people who travel to the US regularly.

Of course, this may not be in our hands, so we'll see what the BoD says. In the meantime, we'll just do what we can to get our soon-to-be incipient Canton of the Golden Plains up and running!

Seoul, Korea

2009-05-10T22:08:00.002+07:00

Pop music, video games, green architecture, and centuries of history, all packed into 21st century city--that's what we found in Seoul, Korea.

Although we had both been looking forward to it, we had no idea what to expect in Seoul. It is definitely a city on the move, with a blend of history and technology.

One of the palaces we checked out was Deoksugung. It was built as a mansion sometime in the 14th or 15th century, and was used as a royal residence after the Japanese invaded and burned down the palaces in the late 16th century.

They still do the changing of the guards at several palaces; this practice has actually been resurrected based on documented evidence. They do it several times a day, and, since there is no more Korean royalty, it is done mainly as a cultural exhibition.

Another palace we visited was Changgeonggun. There, we were treated to a reenactment of a royal banquet, complete with the "king" coming in on a litter born by his servants.

We even got into the act. There were stations set up on the weekends where you could try historical Korean costume, or hanbok, and have your picture taken.

Besides this historical displays, we also found modern performance arts groups, like the one below. This martial arts comedy was performed in front of the National Museum, and its slapstick comedy is pretty self-explanatory.

Food is also a draw in Korea. This is, after all, the home of Korean BBQ; plates of raw meat and possibly other items) are brougth out to your table, where you have your own grill. It cooks right in front of you, and you have a variety of choices as to what to eat it with, once it is ready.

Of course, it isn't all about meat. In fact, since Buddhism had long had a strong presence in Korea (and is still the official religion of the state, though many Koreans are Christian), there are are many vegetarian restaurants that recreate the food from Buddhist monasteries. Of course, it isn't in the meager portions one might expect in an austere religious institution.

After dinner, Seoul is still wired, and people might go out for coffee or alcohol. Our friends took us out to a wonderful little hole in the wall that served dongdongju, a Korean unfiltered rice liquor. It is not uncommon for people to go out drinking and stay up so late that, rather than going home, they will just go into work. There are plenty of stories of people having beds in their offices so that they can be at work on time.

That, in brief, was Seoul. We spent plenty of time taking it in, and didn't have nearly enough time. There was a breathtaking sense of history in all of the palaces, museums, and reenactments; and yet there was also a sense of the modern, future city. There were examples of new, green technology in use in architecture that were really incredible in their scale. This is definitely a city that has one foot in the past and the other firmly planted in the future.

Pi Mai in Laos

2009-05-03T22:32:00.003+07:00

Laos. A country shrouded in mystery. Though briefly during the Cold War its name was splashed across the headlines, I doubt most people remember it today. Nestled along the Mekong valley beneath verdant carst peaks, it rests chiefly between Vietnam and Thailand, sharing borders with Burma, China, and Cambodia. A communist country, still pock-marked with unexploded ordinance left from bitter fighting, it would hardly seem like the ideal vacation spot.

Yet Communism seems to have done nothing to dull the open friendliness of the Lao people. Perhaps, as has been said, Communism was just not designed for the agricultural lifestyle of the average Lao. Whatever the reason, Laos is an amazingly relaxed country, even in the "big city" Luang Prabang.

The ancient capital city of Laos is today an ideal spot to just unwind. Most of the people still make their living in an agricultural economy, though commercialism is coming in along with the "falang" as word of Laos spreads. Still, there is plenty of traditional culture in Luang Prabang, which is a city of temples--the oldest founded in the 16th century.

We were there with friends whom Ellen had met online. Peter had been to Luang Prabang several times before, and two years ago made reservations for his own family and friends at the Apsara, a cozy little place on the Nam Kan river-side. He then asked friends to join him--and a few of us did.

The reservations were deliberately made for Pi Mai, the Lao new year (their version of Songkran).

As in Thailand, Songkran is a water festival. Water fights erupt everywhere, and going out means getting wet. Not that this is an objectionable thing in the heat of the day. Still, we were rotating through clothes to keep dry.

Everyone gets involved in the water fights in Laos, which started early--there were already kids hitting passing tuktuks and motorcycles as early as Friday before the official festivities.

Foreigners, including Westerners ("falang," the Lao term for the Thai word "farang," but used more amongst foreigners themselves than by the Lao), Thai, and others were everywhere. Thai tourists often came as much for the merit making activities as anything else--such as getting up early in the morning to give alms to the monks as they parade through the city.

In both Thai and Laos, where the people are intimately connected with the rivers, streams, and canals, water holds an especially prominent place. This seems doubly true along the Mekong, where it seems that ancient practices are mingled with Buddhist ritual.

For instance, instead of building the sand chedis in the temple grounds, along the Mekong the people build sand (or mud) chedis along the river. It is a busy family gathering, and many of the chedis are built directly on the riverbank, with a small channel dug between the chedi and the water. This apparently allows for the spirit of the river, usually envisioned as a naga, to come or go from the chedi.

There is also a festival of salting the clouds. Handmade rockets are launched from a bamboo platform. They are supposed to help encourage the rain. Here you can see one going off:

Pi Mai lasts for much longer in Luang Prabang than in Thailand, and there are numerous little festivals. One of the local villages, known for their silk, had a small ceremony and festival.

Local or regional worthies were invited as guests of honor, who were welcomed in style. After a long speech (in which I have no idea what was said), there were various dances performed by men and women, apparently from the local area.

Despite the local atmosphere (it was mostly Lao there), the tourist papparazzi were there in force.

Besides the local festivals, people also take the time just to go out. We spent some time up at the local waterfalls--a beautiful area.

They even have an Asian bear rescue center.

The waterfall itself is beautiful, but the smooth cascades below were even moreso.

Granted, the hike to the top was probably more than we had bargained on, but the view was incredible.

Unfortunately, going down wasn't nearly as peaceful! A steep gradiant with little to no real trail. We started leapfrogging down--the person in front helping the people in back, etc.

After coming back down, we headed towards some of the pools where swimming was allowed. The best had a tree leaning out that one could swing from before splashing into the pool below.

Back in the "big city," there is a carnival atmosphere on the outskirts, complete with dart games and bumper cars. Although perhaps driving around in a vehicle connected to an electric grid in the middle of a thunder storm might not have been the best idea ever.

Later in the week, there is a beauty pageant, followed by a parade with all of the contestants and anyone else who wants to join in.

The real center of the festivities, though, is the Prabang (or Pabang)--the royal Buddha.

It is taken to a local temple, where it is installed so that people may pour water over it in a ritual of cleansing. It is believed that this will help make merit for the people doing it, allowing them to get closer to their goal of attaining Buddhahood themselves.

Unfortunately, that ceremony was to take place the day after we were to leave. Still, we had a wonderful time, and I definitely look forward to returning some day, even if it is just to sit by the river and watch the sunset.

DON'T PANIC :)

2009-04-13T08:00:00.004+07:00

Okay, I'm not sure if those are "large, friendly letters," but I just thought it might be a useful phrase to reuse these days.

For all of our friends and neighbors reading about the current situation in Bangkok, I just want to tell you not to worry about us. We are actually quite happy here in Luang Prabang, Laos, where we are celebrating "Pi Mai" with some friends. Pi Mai is the Lao and Thai New Year (also called Songkran in Thailand), with a huge water fight everywhere.

Pictures are going to take a while to load due to the connection speeds, but we'll do what we can. As soon as we have them, pictures will be up at our flickr page: http://flickr.com/photos/tatsushu.

More info as we know what is happening.

Just an update...

2009-01-24T09:05:00.002+07:00

Not much going on, but I thought I'd try this whole updating thing.

Ellen's parents are in town, and we're going to be taking them around for the next couple of days. We'll probably visit the Grand Palace and Wat Po, but everything else is rather up in the air. It is great to have them, though.

Oh, we have another SCAdian out in Bangkok. Yay! If we can find two more, we could have an actual Canton, which is one of the smaller groups you can have in the Society. We are also all Japanese personas, which is rather an interesting stroke of luck. This is motivating me to work on a new set of armor for the SCA as well. We'll see how that turns out. Part of the problem is finding the correct materials.

We also went down to the fabric market recently. Wow! 3 meters of nice fabric (i.e. not muslin) for 100THB, which is under $3 USD, and in good widths. Silks for maybe 100THB/meter. Lots of dance costumes, Thai fabrics, etc. Didn't quite find what we need for SCA stuff, yet, but I think it probably is in there, somewhere. Lots of good Chinese silks that we could use for some Chinese stuff.

I also picked up some pearls in Bangaladesh. I'm thinking of making one of the Chinese Imperial mortarboard caps, with the dangling pearls. My only problem is that it would not be something I could use much. The Japanese don't seem to have used pearls too much (mother of pearl they used a lot), but I may be able to do something Elizabethan. Perhaps a nice doublet, studded all over with pearls? I picked up some white, pink, and black pearls there for incredible prices.

That's about it for now. We'll have pictures up about our trips with Ellen's parents around Thailand and Japan, just as soon as we finish taking them!

สวัสดีปีใหม่ (Sawasdee Pi Mai!)

2009-01-01T06:40:00.001+07:00

Happy New Year from Thailand! One of our New Year's Resolutions will be to try to update this thing more often... Well, we'll see how that goes!

Here's wishing all of our friends and family a Happy New Year!

We're all okay (a long-overdue update!)

2008-11-30T17:40:00.002+07:00

It's been way too long since we posted anything...we've been planning to, but with all the stuff we've been up to, it takes a while to get everything up! I definitely have a backlog I want to work through, including things like the World Gourmet Festival at the end of September. But right now I wanted to assure everyone that we are totally okay!

To simplify, Thailand is now suffering what Josh has described as a marked lack of common sense. PAD anti-government protestors have taken over the two Bangkok airports and have refused to move until the prime minister steps down. Things are getting "interesting" and we hope that the situation can be ended without unnecessary violence. To follow the news on one of the better Thai English-language newspapers, check out http://nationmultimedia.com.

Josh and I are currently in Japan-- we came here for Josh's Batto-do tournament on November 24th, and were supposed to return to Bangkok on the 27th, then turn around and fly out a week later for the US, where we will be for the entire month of December. Since the airport shutdown started on the 26th, we haven't been able to get back to Bangkok...but the airline has allowed us to rearrange things so that we will just fly straight from here to the US, a day or two early. We're missing only a couple of important things (driver's licenses, my work computer, Christmas presents) and all of those can be gotten around without much trouble. Plus, Japan is not exactly an unpleasant place to be stuck-- we've been touring some of the more obscure Tokyo historical sites, eating great food, and generally having a more relaxing sort of trip than we otherwise would.

We are in direct contact with our friends (and Josh's coworkers) in Bangkok, and they are completely safe. Indeed, our neighbor told us that in the area we live in, you would have no idea it wasn't business as usual if you didn't read the papers! The foreign community is not a target in any of this-- it is internal Thai politics, unlike the truly horrible tragedy that happened in Mumbai. The important thing is to avoid areas where the demonstrations are happening, as tempers are running high.

One of the ways in which we have been letting off steam is reading an "alternate" account of Thailand's politics at http://notthenation.com, a parody site based on The Nation newspaper. Some of the material will probably only be funny if you live in Thailand, but I suggest you check it out. I hear Bruce Willis is in the Suvarnabhumi Airport vent system right now...and let me quote the best article of all, in case you are worried about us being in Thailand from here on out(here's looking at you, Mom):

(http://notthenation.com/pages/news/getnews.php?id=577)

World Media Insists All of Thailand On Fire, All Thais Dead

BANGKOK - Despite the relative calm following PAD intrusions into several government offices, the world media continue to claim that the country has collapsed into anarchy and chaos. As ordinary Thais go to their daily jobs and lives, The New York Times writes that the “government has been shut down and social order revoked by an organized army of over a million protestors.” Even though only three schools near the Government House have suspended classes, CNN has placed all Thailand-related stories under a flaming banner reading “Civil War in Siam,” with story leaders describing city-wide power outages, roving mobs of homicidal anarchists, and rumors of an inevitable military intervention by “UN peacekeepers.” Even with the actual death toll at 0 and the number of severely injured at 0, FOX NEWS continues to stand by its story that Parliament was burned to death in its chambers, Communists are fighting monks in running street battles using tactical nuclear weapons, and every Thai child is being raped by a foreign pedophile who supports Barack Obama.

Krabi Vacation

2008-11-04T17:32:00.005+07:00

So, this past weekend we experienced some of the pleasures of Thailand's western coast along the Andaman Sea, staying at Le Passe-Temps, a boutique bungalow resort run by two French gentlemen, one of whom practices Taichi with Ellen here in Bangkok. They had a chance to practice together out in the surf our first evening there.

The bungalows are out in Ao Thalen, on the western outskirts of Krabi, are truly out of the way, surrounded by tropical trees and jungle foliage. A walk along the beach will find you surrounded on one side by thick mangrove trees, with the deep blue ocean on the other. During low tide, you can walk far out onto the flats, even wading out to the local weirs, if you are up to it.

Just down the road from Le Passe-Temps is a sea-kayak rental and tour company, where we took a breathtaking tour of the mangroves. A kayak or similar craft is required to get into the mangroves, you should go at high tide, and you'd better have a guide or you could easily get lost. The walls of the karst cliffs towered over us, providing views that you only ever see in movies and nature documentaries.

Dappled light falls down through the broad leaves of the mangroves and the towering limestone walls, upon which are inscribed enigmatic paintings from travelers long since past. Within various walls and crevices are stashed the remains of some of those travelers--the sea gypsies who would journey up and down the south-east Asian archipelago.

The trees themselves were teeming with life. From birds, to lizards, and monkeys deep in the mangroves. There are even gibbons, though they are usually too high up the cliff walls to see well. The monkeys--long-tailed macaques to be precise--will actually jump on the boats as they pass by, searching for food. Of course, that's better than the monkeys at our next adventure, where they will jump on you!

The macaques at the Tiger Cave Temple were quite brazen, jumping on people and doing whatever they could to get food, water, or just something shiny. With the steep steps up to the top of the mountain, you are always at eye level with one or more of them, though they do scatter if they see you act dominant. They have, however, learned that young Thai women are easy prey, and seem to figure most other women fall into the same category.

The thieving monkeys can hardly stop you from enjoying the view from the steep sides of the mountain, though. Unfortunately, I only made it up about 3/4 of the 1200+ steps before night began rapidly descending. Ellen had stopped even further below. I wouldn't mind trying it next time, just starting a little earlier. After all, here is the goal:

See the golden spire at the top? From the gray spire at the bottom to the gold stupa at the top--that's the goal. It is supposed to be an impressive view, especially at sunset.

The next day, we got up early. A walk across the flats really can bring you right up to those nets, as you can see here. The birds (I think they might be sea swiftlets--the ones that make the edible nests) also seemed to like to partake of these vantage points.

Walking along the beach, one of the dogs at the resort decided to follow us. Robert enjoys exploring the beach, and really seemed to enjoy digging for crabs.

Of course, once you find it...

...what do you do with it?

This really was a wonderfully relaxing vacation... the only problem is the stress of leaving it all and coming back home. Oh well. The coconuts, the oil palms, the rubber trees, and the mangroves--and everything that makes them their homes--will still be there when we return.

A note about voting!

2008-10-10T10:10:00.002+07:00

So last night, Josh and I voted in the 2008 US Presidential Election. We were very pleased at how easy it was, actually-- a week or so ago, we each received an email with instructions on how to print and mail our absentee ballots! It was simply a matter of printing the ballot, filling it out, and wrapping it in the second "envelope" sheet of paper, which then had to be signed and dated and witnessed. Pop it in the APO mail, and voila! (Before leaving the US, we had filled out change-of-address forms and overseas voter applications...it's funny, I don't remember giving them my email address, but I guess I did!)

For some extra fun, the Democrats Abroad in Thailand have come out with a couple of Obama T-shirts: one says "Obama" in Thai letters, and the other says "Bangkok for Barack" in a very Thai (and red, white, and blue) style. Awesome!

Everyone else, remember to vote in November!

Long time no blog!

2008-10-09T13:34:00.003+07:00

So once again we've failed to update for a while. We've certainly been busy! Josh has been traveling in Australia and New Zealand, where he got to cuddle a koala (the pictures are on our Flickr page) While he was gone, I met up with some Internet friends and enjoyed some of the activities surrounding the World Gourmet Fest in Bangkok (I need to put up a post about that).

Some of you may have seen in the news that the political situation in Thailand is heating up again: on Tuesday there were a number of clashes between anti-government protestors and the police, and a number of people were killed. Although we definitely want things to be settled, Josh and I are not in any danger-- the protests are confined to one small area of town near Government House, and that is unlikely to change.

More later!

Mad Science + Budo

2008-09-15T23:14:00.002+07:00

Well, been traveling and I need to get some posts up (I know... I sound like a broken record) but I thought first I'd share a small project that took up much of the past three days.

First of all, I think many of you are aware that we have one room dedicated as our 'dojo' for budo, tai-chi, and general art projects.

Unfortunately it has been a little small for some practice, which I tend to take outdoors, including battodo. Besides needing space, however, battodo requires one more thing: cutting. While the focus should never be on cutting for cutting's sake, regular cutting practice is an essential part of the curriculum. But where to find material? Contrary to my initial thoughts, there aren't that many tatami in Bangkok. Nor do there appear to be many tatami repair shops. I could, perhaps, pay $120/tatami mat, but that's a little steep. Finally, I got a chance to head out to the local market.

This is what we found: 10 mats at about 120 Baht each--a little under $4/mat. Not too bad, but I suspect the overall cost will be more than using tatami omote. For one thing, these are more like beach mats, though thicker, but I still suspect it will take more than one to give a good target.

I also picked up one wide one.

It was made of the same material, including the colored weave. This is a problem in some mats, as the cheaper mats use a pretty hard plastic, but these mats appeared to just use colored straw.

Unfortunately, I had misgivings once I saw that it was about as wide as the others were long! And it really twisted, even when rolled as tightly as possible.

The shorter ones were more numerous. So I figured I would roll up a couple as doubles, a triple, and three singles. That way I could get a good feel for the mats. Unfortunately, they had the same problems. Though thicker than a typical 'beach mat', they have a loose weave and uneven fibres that makes it difficult to roll. I tried several different techniques, with little success. Hopefully the water they soak up will fill them out some and perhaps make them a little more substantial. I'm already missing my tatami omote.

I'd been saving rubber bands from the street vendors, but apparently our maid figured they were garbage, because I couldn't find any. Instead, I went with butcher's twine, which shouldn't significantly affect the cuts. Quite enthusiastic about the tests, I started them soaking as soon as possible.

It was about this time I realized I was in a dilemma. What was I going to cut them on? I could already see the potential problems of using a table corner, as most of the tables were under the roof on the lower level, meaning not enough room for a good swing.

I decided the best thing would be to go to the local version of Home Depot and see what I could find.

Turns out, HomePro is not really a Home Depot. No lumber at all. So much for a good 4x4 stand. But I did recall that in Japan they had used some kind of pipe. Hmmm... maybe if I grabbed some PVC pipe bits I could build what I needed, but how?

This pole might work. I just stand it up like this... might have to cut it down a bit later. But just stand it up. Carefully... then let go...

Okay, so we're going to need something to keep the pole from falling over. Let's see what we have here.

Several different T-joints, huh? Maybe I could throw something together.

Yes, I think I could do something with these. I just need to figure out what. These definitely have potential.

Not quite what I had in mind.

You're getting closer.

That's what I'm talking about!

First, saw off a few pieces of the pipe to connect them. Not too big, just enough to help hold them together.

Time to get dirty! I can't really read the warning labels on this glue, as it is all in Thai, so I figure I'll take some precautions.

Here's the finished base. By my calculations, I should be able to put four poles as 'legs' and one central pole as the stand. BTW, if you are wondering about why everything is blue? Because it was thicker and heavier than the white PVC pipe. I figured that a certain amount of mass would be helpful.

But what about the peg? I didn't find any dowels at HomePro, but we did have a thin piece of pipe lying around.

A little bit of sawing to add a good angle, as well as a 1" to 1/2" pipe connector and voila!

The great part is that, except for the base, everything can come apart. That means if I want an iai stand, all I need to do is replace the long, central pole with a shorter pole. Of course, blue isn't my favorite color, but what the heck.

Here are all the pieces laid out, ready to be assembled.

Put it all together and see what you get! It is a little taller than I'm used to, but the mats are also a bit shorter. Besides, it feels nice to not have to reach down to cut. Still, I'll eventually want to get precise dimensions to make a stand at the exact height that the Kakuseikai uses so that I can practice with what I'll be using in Japan.

Claude would like to take this opportunity to remind all the would-be sammyrai out there that nobody should attempt to cut without appropriate training and safety precautions. Do not try this at home!

Mats soaked, and with the rain stopped, it was time to go downstairs to try the stand. Spiking the mats was a bit difficult, but not because of the stand. The mats were just too floppy. Once on the peg, they generally stayed put.

Cutting the short mats was definitely easier than tatami omote. At least two mats were required to give the same feeling as one piece of goza or omote. Also, even though they were 'new', these mats came pre-dirtied. I tried to wash them off as well soak them, but it still felt as though there might be some grime in the weave. Furthermore, I think there is some plastic being using ind the overall structure. Still, the cuts seemed good. I may just want to forego using a Nihonto on these mats any time soon.

Oh, and as I rather thought, the tall mat really didn't work too well. Too soft, and not enough mass to really support itself. It wouldn't go on the peg until it was cut down to size.

After that it cut more easily than certain commercial wara I've tried. Even bad cuts went through effortlessly, while the shorter double did a fairly decent job of showing me where my angle was off on my blade, and wouldn't let me get away with a truly awful cut.

In the end, it looks like I've found something to cut, even if it isn't the best. Hopefully I'll be able to keep in practice for Japan. Still need to find other people to practice with, of course.

Hope this has been enjoyable. Next time I'll try to tell you about the Taj Mahal. See:

The Royal Anthem

2008-09-13T20:59:00.002+07:00

Not much has been happening here recently...a lot of rain (it IS the rainy season, after all) and hanging out at home. We need to post some info about our recent trips to Singapore and to the beach here in Thailand (Cha-Am, about 80 miles southwest of Bangkok)-- the pictures are up on our Flickr page, if you want to look at them!

One thing I did do today was walk the block-and-a-half over to Bumrungrad Hospital, for the 2008 "Living in Thailand" Fair. This is an annual event geared to expatriates living here, at which exhibitors from clubs, schools, companies, restaurants, etc. all set up booths and stand ready to ply you with flyers and free gifts. It's like a trade fair, only where the trade is being a foreigner. Fun!

(Plus, it serves as advertising for the hospital. I believe I've posted about this before, but all of the major private hospitals actively market themselves much more like five-star hotels or even getaway destinations rather than a place solely for fixing what ails you! We got a brochure in the mail inviting us to join Bumrungrad's "Healthy Living Club", which gets us discounts on inpatient rooms, medical supplies and lab tests, and health screenings, not to mention items at the hospital gift shops and meals at the numerous restaurants. Yes, I said restaurants: we have actually gone over there to eat dinner on a couple of occasions! It's a bit out of the Twilight Zone...)

Anyway, one of the events as part of the fair today was a series of performances by various music groups, including the Bangkok Music Society choir and the Orpheus Choir (which, I believe, serves as the chorus for the Bangkok Opera). Directing these was Somtow Sucharitkul, who I have mentioned before on this blog: he's the artistic director of the Bangkok Opera and a prolific composer AND sci-fi/horror writer. (I got to meet him, which was fun!)

Which brings me (finally) to the title of this post: one of the pieces that all the choirs performed was a new arrangement of the Thai Royal Anthem by Somtow. You can see a recorded performance of it (from another event) here. This is the King's anthem, and it's played before all performances, including movie showings...so we have heard it a lot, probably more than the actual Thai National Anthem, which is played at 8 AM and 6 PM daily on public intercom systems, radio stations, and many TV channels (I guess we just aren't tuned in at the right times for it). That's fine by me, because I think the Royal Anthem is a very nice piece of music- Josh and I find ourselves humming it in unison on random occasions!

(If you're interested, here's the Thai text and English translation for the Royal Anthem.)

Thai protests-- a note

2008-08-28T14:26:00.003+07:00

Some of you may have seen news about the protests here in Thailand over the past several days. I wanted to assure everyone reading this blog that we are fine, and not in any kind of danger from this.

Thailand is going through an interesting time right now politically, centering on the figure of the former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra-- he was the one deposed by the military coup in 2006, and he has now fled back to asylum in Britain to escape arrest. The People's Alliance for Democracy, the organization currently occupying Government House, is calling for the resignation of the current PM, Thaksin's supporter Samak Sundaravej.

(ETA: An online acquaintance who has lived in Thailand for over 10 years now posted a link to this CNN blog, which from everything I've heard is an accurate summary of the current situation.)

It's a complex issue and I'm no expert on the situation, but we are all hoping that one way or the other, democracy will prevail-- and no one gets hurt.

Back from Singapore!

2008-08-28T14:21:00.003+07:00

Okay, so I'm back from a few days in Singapore. All in all, it was a fun trip-- I got to see the Orchid Gardens, some museums, and Chinatown, and Josh and I went to the zoo and the Night Safari together-- but I was more tired than I expected. I'll put up some photos here later on (they are already on our Flickr page).

For Labor Day weekend, we are off to the beach! Specifically, we are driving down to Cha-Am beach on Saturday, just about two hours outside of Bangkok:

View Larger Map

We are going to be staying at the Alila Resort there, which I am very jazzed about: it's brand-new and has gotten a lot of press because of its cutting-edge design.

Broadway in Bangkok

2008-08-17T14:50:00.001+07:00

(I considered back-dating this post, but figured it might get lost in the shuffle...so here it is, a little late!)

On Saturday, July 25th, Josh and I went to see a traveling Broadway show here in Bangkok. Yes, Bangkok does get traveling Broadway shows, in a theater designed specifically for them (more on that later).

The show in question was We Will Rock You, the musical based on the music of Queen, which had been recommended to us by some friends. This so-called "jukebox musical" is in the same category as recent shows such as Mamma Mia! (ABBA), Movin' Out (Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp), Our House (Madness), Good Vibrations (the Beach Boys), and so on. (If they ever make a musical based on the music of U2, I'll be there with my PopMart T-shirt and my inflatable lemon beach ball.* But I digress.)

I'm no huge Queen fan, but We Will Rock You was a very enjoyable, and suitably campy, show. The setting is 300 years in the future, when rock music has been outlawed, and a giant corporation (GlobalSoft) led by the Killer Queen (and her henchman, Keshoggi) controls the world through the copious application of bubblegum pop and reality TV shows. It falls to the young rebel Galileo Figaro, his girlfriend Scaramouche, and the rest of the "Bohemians" (who take their names from past legends and are led by tough-guy "Vic", aka "Victoria Beckham") to follow the Ancient Signs to find the Sacred Instruments stored in the Place of Champions in the Heart of the Living Rock and save the day. Many Queen songs are repurposed as accompaniment, including "Under Pressure" and "Another One Bites the Dust", and the show culminates with a giant sing-along of "Bohemian Rhapsody". There were lots of other audience participation moments as well, which seemed to bewilder the polite Thai gentleman sitting next to us (his children were getting into it, though).

The cast of the traveling company was, interestingly enough, mostly South African and Australian (since I've only seen US traveling companies before, I'm used to mostly American actors and actresses). They did a great job!

The theater which plays host to traveling Broadway shows here is the Muangthai Ratchadalai Theatre, which is brand new (just built in 2007, actually) and is located on the top floor of the Esplanade shopping mall not too far from here (we took the MRT, or subway, to get there). The inclusion of theaters in shopping centers here seems to be much more common than standalone theaters, which makes sense for space-saving concerns. We did end up sitting in the very last row-- my fault for not looking closely enough at the ticket diagram!-- but were still able to see everything pretty well. The language issue was taken care of through four large (but unobtrusive) screens at about each corner of the stage, showing surtitles in Thai.

One definite difference about the shows here: the merchandising. We bought the glossy souvenir program for 100 baht-- approximately US$3. This is the same program that would cost about $15 in the States. T-shirts were similarly priced, at 300 baht! (Moral: if you want show stuff and the show is coming to Bangkok, let me know and I'll get you the goodies, cheap!) The tickets, on the other hand, were a bit more expensive than in the US, but still not bad.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening, and we're going to keep a close eye on what else comes to town...

*Actually, I no longer have the inflatable lemon, because I passed it on to a wide-eyed young U2 fan before coming to Thailand. Oh well.

First Thai Olympic medal

2008-08-10T16:14:00.001+07:00

Josh and I have been watching the Beijing Olympics today on the Thai national broadcast station, NBT. Although we can't understand the narration, we are really enjoying it: they are doing a great job with almost non-stop coverage, and VERY few commercials. Although they are focusing (understandably) on events where Thai athletes are competing, they are also showing a good mix of other sports.

(Plus, I watched the Opening Ceremonies the other night with NO commercial breaks! Take that, NBC!)

We just watched the 53-kg women's weightlifting competition, which was won by the Thai contender, Jaroenrattanatarakoon Prapawadee (they have been shortening her name to Prapawadee on the displays, for conciseness). She set a new Olympic record, too-- there is going to be a lot of celebrating here!

Interesting NYT article about our neighborhood

2008-07-31T00:08:00.002+07:00

Today, I was pointed to an interesting New York Times article about "Soi Arab", a small street that forms the center for the local Muslim tourist community. This is just around the corner from our apartment.

To get to Sukhumvit Road and the Skytrain, Josh and I frequently walk down through this area. It's a fascinating experience-- a bit of sensory overload, true, but a glimpse of a tourist "experience" different from what we are used to. There are lots of interesting restaurants that we need to try, and quite a few incense shops (as mentioned in the article). The latter shops interest me because they sell agarwood/aloeswood, which is one of the most prized incense ingredients in the world and the major incense material in historical Japan (where high-grade aloeswood is known as kyara). I've often thought about duplicating some of the Heian-period incense recipes, but the price and scarcity of aloeswood held me up. It's good to know that I can at least go around the corner and get a whiff of what the good stuff is like, even if I can't afford it.

Boring historical aside over, we should try and get some pictures of Soi 3 and Soi 3/1 at some point.

Driving!

2008-07-19T15:42:00.002+07:00

Yesterday I screwed up my courage and embarked on a new adventure: driving in Bangkok!

We didn't bring either of our cars with us to Thailand, figuring that we would see how things went, and pick one up if we needed one. It turns out that one of our friends had two cars and was only using one-- so we are now the proud owners of a comfy Toyota Corolla. Hondas and Toyotas and the like are great cars to drive around here, because the parts are readily available and service is cheap. American auto makers such as Ford *do* have a presence here (something I wasn't expecting!) but service is a little harder to come by. Essentially, it's the reverse situation from back in the States.

Thursday and Friday were holidays here, and the traffic was light, so Josh persuaded me that it would be a good time to try getting out on the road. So, I drove over to meet him for lunch. Below is a handy Google Map of my route (from C to B and back):

View Larger Map

Fortunately, no bodily or property damage ensued! I was also able to pick up frozen groceries without having to lug them home by hand, which was nice!

The car is a US car, so the steering wheel is on the left...but here in Thailand, you drive on the left, so that has been the first thing to get used to! Fortunately, traffic tends to be very fluid, so as long as we keep an eye out and "go with the flow", it is really not all that crazy. The hardest thing to get used to are the ubiquitous mopeds and motorbikes that weave in and out of traffic, so "no sudden moves" is a safe strategy when driving a car!

Yesterday we also picked up a new Garmin car navigation system, to make our travels easier. Garmin has a huge presence here in Thailand, and they produce some really excellent and detailed maps for the whole country, in both English and Thai. We ended up buying a nuvi 200 GPS in English (they also have them in Thai), which is identical to one we'd get in the USA, except that the Thailand maps are pre-loaded on the unit. When we travel back to the US we'll get a card with the latest US maps and pop it in. Easy!

We intend to use the car mostly for trips out of town, rather than daily commuting. We are thinking of going to the beach (probably Koh Samet) in a few weeks, and we also want to make some day trips to places like Ayutthaya, the Kao Yai National Park, and similar. Watch this space for details!

Cambodia -- Tonle Sap Lake Village

2008-07-14T20:30:00.002+07:00

Greetings-- it's Ellen again (finally!)

By the end of our second day in Siem Reap, we were pretty much "templed out"...something that must be pretty common! Our guide, Mr. Vith, suggested that on the third morning we take a boat trip down the river onto the Tonle Sap to visit one of the Lake Villages, Chong Khneas.

The Tonle Sap is a huge freshwater lake/river system. Most of the time it's pretty big, but in the rainy season, the Mekong River actually reverses its course and flows *into* the lake, causing it to grow to over twice its dry season size. At the time we were there, the rains were just beginning, and the floods were a few months away.

The road south out of town started out in good condition, but gradually deteriorated into a rutted dirt track.

The road is elevated a few meters above the surrounding marshlands, and the houses are built on stilts to be at road level. Many of the houses were built by squatters.

We had stopped back in town to pay for our boat tickets (it is organized by a central company). Once we got to the end of the road, our guide located a boat, and we set out on the river.

We passed numerous other boats along the way, and a couple of floating barges holding the local primary school. The water level will rise by several meters in the rainy season, putting all the marsh grasses, etc. underwater-- so having everything float is a smart idea!

There is even a floating "rec center", with an enclosed basketball court:

The river then opened up onto the Tonle Sap itself, and we could see the floating village:

There are several of these floating villages on the lake, but this is one of the most frequented by tourists, thanks to its proximity to Siem Reap. Most of the folks on the lake are actually ethnic Vietnamese rather than Cambodian, but our guide told us that there are pretty well divided "neighborhoods" within the village. (Here, at least it's relatively easy to move house if you don't like your neighbors...)

Life is hard here, and most people are engaged in subsistence fishing, etc. There is a great deal of innovation, with folks creating floating chicken coops, "fields", etc...

We stopped at a floating tourist center, with a great display on the lake's fish and waterbirds (as well as traditional fishing methods), a small shop and a chance to view some local residents:

There is even a church, which attracts many people to services by promising them a free meal afterwards. Not entirely sure how I feel about that, honestly...

All in all, it was a really eye-opening experience to see how differently people lived. The same was true for the entire Siem Reap trip, for me: I felt like an obscenely rich person casting an imperious eye at the "quaint native customs", and that assessment isn't really far off the mark for any Westerner that comes here.

It really is true: how you live is, in great part, a fluke of where you were born. But no matter where you are, people are always finding creative ways of meeting their needs.

The Temples of Angkor: Part II

2008-07-05T17:40:00.000+07:00

Although Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat are the most famous of the monuments, if you are really going to see everything you will need to have a driver and a guide. We hired Mr. Ou Niv Vith (Tel: (855) 12 97 26 11) to take us around. His English is excellent--he used to be a school teacher, but by taking the test to become a guide he could make more money. It is still highly recommended that you do your research ahead of time--it will make it much more interesting and, not entirely unsurprisingly, the latest research is not always in the hands of the local guides.

Much of the temples near Siem Reap remain covered by jungle--some are still inaccessible due to mines left over from the Cambodian civil war and, later, their war with Vietnam. In the coming decade, who knows what more will be revealed?

Banteay Samre, shown above, is not so hidden in the jungle, but is off the beaten track--though not so much so that there weren't people there catering to the tourists. Still, it is deinitely one of the less well-known beauties of Angkor Wat.

And the beauty isn't just in the temples. This rainbow showed itself--we saw it 360 degrees around the sun, apparently filtered through the moisture in the atmosphere. I'd heard of pilots seeing this kind of phenomenon, but was taken aback when we saw it here. Fortunately, one of the buildings at Banteay Srei helped to block out the sun so that we could take this picture.

The temple itself was carved with myriad delicate carvings, in a distinctive red sandstone that really brought out the light and shadow of the haut relief carvings throughout. That they have survived since the 8th or 9th centuries is absolutely incredible.

Nearby Banteay Srei is a less decorative but no less impressive monument--Preah Rup. Built as a funerary temple for the king and the royal family, it still stands today--the black smoke of ancient royal cremations can still be seen on inside of the two crematoriums.

For your truly 'jungle' temples, you really can't beat Ta Prom. It was actually used as a set for "Tomb Raider", and is one of the most distinctive temples with the trees having overgrown so many of the walls. Although the trees are continuing their slow process of tearing down the temple, conservation work is very careful of the fact that today the trees are as much a part of the heritage of this site as anything else.

The ruined temple of Preah Khan is also secreted within the jungle. It is actually the yang to the yin of Ta Prom, having been built for the king's father, while Ta Prom was built for his mother. The dilapidated ruins still give voice to the king's filial piety, for as you approach the center where his father's coffin was placed, the doorways grow smaller and smaller, until you are forced to bow before him, no matter how noble you may be.

But for all the searching around in the woods, we still come back to Angkor Wat as the most impressive single religious complex in the area.

Inside, the complex is just as impressive, with carvings around the lower galleries showing famous stories, including the story of Ramayana and the Churning of the Sea of Milk.

The towers of Angkor Wat are perhaps the most famous view, however. It is used on the Cambodian flag, and has been so since the mid 19th century. Oddly, for all of its stature, we know very little of why the temple was built--and why it differs from so many other temples, facing west, towards the setting sun, rather than east, towards the rising sun.

The most important structure in Angkor, however, contains the least decoration. The west baray was the largest of several man-made reservoirs that supplied water to the city and the fields. It was their ability to tame the waters in these large reservoirs that gave the early Khmer the ability to grow three crops of rice a year and thus support their flourishing civilization. Unfortunately, much of the canals and aqueducts have been lost to the jungles, and people are only now figure out how to recreate them and hopefully reinvigorate the agriculture in and around Siem Reap.

To be continued...

The Temples of Angkor: Part I

2008-06-22T11:59:00.004+07:00

Nestled deep in the jungles of Southeast Asia lies one of the largest religious compounds ever created--the temples of Angkor, popularly known as Angkor Wat.

Angkor comes from an ancient word meaning 'capital', and this area was, in fact, the capital and center of the great Khmer empire. The largest palace and temple complex is called Angkor Thom, established by King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century. You may recall his visage from our trips in Thailand, as he had his face carved everywhere as the face of the Buddha himself.

A Chinese explorer, Zhou Daguan, described his visit to Angkor in the late 13th century. He describes these figures pulling on a naga, or serpent. They represent an important Hindu story: The churning of the sea of milk. Supposedly, the devas (angels) and ashura (devils) pulled on naga, wrapped around an upside-down mountain in the sea of milk, to churn it to produce the elixir of immortality. The story is quite involved and serves as a creation myth for many different things.

The Bayon is the primary temple of the city complex. It is a 3-level Buddhist mountain temple, with nearly 200 faces of the Buddha (or, as I mentioned, Jayavarman VII). However, while impressive, that is not the most important feature to archaeologists.

Around the galleries are an impressive array of bas reliefs--and besides the written account of Zhou Daguan, this is some of the only records we have of how the Khmer people lived.

Less impressive, but no less important, is Phimeanakas. This is believed to have been the seat of Khmer kingship, where the ruler would ascend every night to ensure peace and tranquility throughout the realm by appeasing the naga who was the spirit of the land. Behind this structure was the royal palace, but it was made of wood and nothing significant remains.

Other stone structures remain as well, but little or nothing remains of the wooden buildings that were once located within these walls. At 3km at a side, the city was huge. Protected by a moat which was part of an ingenious hydrological system that helped keep the fields of Angkor fertile. In its heyday, Angkor could raise three crops of rice a year. Now, that is only possible for those living directly on the river. However, recent discoveries may allow better irrigation once again, and the past may hold some clues for the future of Cambodia.

To be continued....

2008-06-22T11:55:00.000+07:00

I've been reading anything I can get my hands on about Thailand recently, and one thing that caught my eye was the story of Tongdaeng (Copper), His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's pet dog:

http://www.belovedking.com/tongdaeng_eng/index_eng.html

A fascinating read and a great story. Good for Tongdaeng!

Cambodia , and a preview

2008-06-21T14:55:00.003+07:00

Wow! Sorry everyone, but we've been really bad about keeping up. A lot has happened, so here's a preview of what's to come:

Angkor Wat -- Angkor Wat is massive... and so I hope you'll understand that it has taken us some time to get around to posting about it. Like the Ancient Thailand posts I think we'll have to break it up into several different posts.
Japan and the Mugai Ryu tournament -- Information on my trip to Japan.
The Temple of Literature -- A look at an ancient Confucian temple in Hanoi.

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh, capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, is probably not one of the world cities most Americans think about when they start listing off the capitals of various foreign powers. You may get Tokyo, London, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Beijing, etc. (and probably 'Sydney', too), but I doubt you'd get Phnom Penh in the top ten.

The people of Cambodia have a long and impressive history in the Southeast Asian penninsula. Originally centered on the northwest shore of the Tonle Sap, the ancient Khmer capitals near Angkor date back to the 8th century, and their occupation continued up until 15th century, when the forces of Ayutthaya conquered the Khmer and put their own puppet on the throne. The Khmer king and his court escaped to Phnom Penh, further downriver and away from the Siamese.

Wat Phnom had been built in the 14th century (Phnom means 'hill' and it is the only one in the city, apparently). It became the center of the new capital. Eventually the Khmer pushed the Siamese out of their country, and now the town near Angkor is known as Siem Reap, or 'Defeat of Siam', but we'll save that for another post.

Phnom Penh continued as the capital of the Khmer kings. Eventually, they came under French colonial rule, and remained so until the mid-20th century. They obtained their independence from France and had Independence Monument built in 1958. In throwing off the yoke of European colonialism, however, many turned to Communism. An extreme form of the socialist doctrine was behind Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, who instituted a bloody revolution. Its goal was 'Year Zero'--which included as a goal the complete extermination of all scholars, even those who only wore glasses. The bloody reign of the Khmer Rouge was eventually countered by the invasion of Vietnam, which itself set off a wave of conflicts throughout the region.

Today, Cambodia is one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia. Phnom Penh is a mix of the old colonial wealth and modern poverty in a milieu of an economy that is on the rise, though still hampered by widespread corruption. The people, however, are some of the friendliest people in Asia.

This is a country with a proud past, and has the potential for a bright future. In the days of Angkor, the fields of the Khmer were so fruitful they could grow three crops of rice a year. There are still landmines in the forests, but they are being slowly cleared. Currently, I believe that Cambodia is definitely a hidden jewel of Southeast Asia.

Some notes on weather

2008-06-03T17:08:00.002+07:00

Greetings, all. I'm once again holding down the fort by myself this week, as Josh is in Japan for some martial arts goodness. (No, he's not evil: I had the option to go with him, and decided not to, because he'll be going again later in the year and I want to wait for better weather!)

On the subject of weather, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about weather here in Thailand.

The seasonality has so far been (and will continue to be, I think) the hardest thing to get used to. I miss cool weather! Thailand has essentially three seasons, instead of four: 1) a cool season, November to early February; 2) a hot season, February to May; and 2) a rainy season, the rest of the year (May to November). The cool season only gets to what we would call "springlike" weather in the US, and often hotter than that, but the humidity is more manageable. We arrived at the end of the cool season, in February. The hot season has little rain and can be very uncomfortable, especially around mid-April-- which is why the Thai New Year, Songkran (which we've mentioned before) features so many water fights!

The rains started right after Songkran this year-- the day we got back from Chiang Mai, in fact. This is pretty early, which many people are commenting on as a sign of global temperature change. There was also more rain during the cool and hot seasons than this area is used to.

Right now, the temperatures during the day have varied between really hot and more comfortable (see Weather Underground for more details if interested-- the current temp at the airport is listed at 88 F, but I was just outside and it actually felt cooler than that), but at least one major rainstorm a day (and often two) is par for the course, often in early afternoon. I've also noticed a lot of lightning late at night, for the past couple of nights. (We've had a lot of problems with electricity in our neighborhood, too, once because the driving rain got into one of the transformers-- BOOM!-- but they are pretty speedy about fixing it.)

Towards August and September, the rain will really pick up, we are told, and we also may need to schedule our activities around some flooding! Bangkok is a very low-lying city (and is sinking) and is built over an old network of canals, so any sudden influx of water can seriously back-up the storm drain system. We are told to be prepared to wear flipflops and roll up our pant legs if necessary, as some areas can get up to 1.5 feet of water for a short time before it drains away. Our neighborhood is known for floods like this: along the major streets along Sukhumvit (and elsewhere in the city), shops often either have a raised entrance, or a low wall between the street and the shop door to block the water. Just as we arrived in Thailand, they were doing some work on the sewer systems along Soi 11 to prevent this happening in the future-- and some neighbors have told us that it seems to be working so far, since we haven't seen really deep water yet. Time will tell, I guess!

All in all, although I really miss US spring weather, it's not so bad right now. Many people do get their "fix" by using the summer as the time to travel back to the States or to cooler climates. Come fall, I know I'll really need a break!

Ancient Thailand, Part II

2008-05-26T13:20:00.003+07:00

For those who didn't see it already, you might want to scroll down to see the first part of our Siam Society trip.

(Continued from below...)

The second day of our trip started in Kanchanaburi, where we headed north towards U-Thong, another Dvaravati site. Before we got there, though, we turned down a small side road until we came to a school with a small building off in the corner.

The small building turned out to be a museum, however it was locked. The key was, fortunately, with a person at the school on the same grounds. It turns out that there had been an excavation, and a small museum had been erected to house the artifacts found. Unfortunately, it is unclear just who is responsible for the museum, so it has not been kept up very well. However, we were able to handle some amazing artifacts that the man from the school simply handed around. One was a bracelet approximately 2,000 years old. While the decrepit state of the facilities was lamentable, the opportunity to be that close to history was incredible.

(Ellen adds: It's hard to see from the picture, but the bracelet is a solid piece of stone-- probably agate. The white markings were actually made by heat-treating the stone so that it changed color. Amazing!)

We next traveled to U-Thong. Like many Dvaravati sites, it was surrounded by an irregular moat. The ruins of this chedi (above) were actually on the outside of the moat, surrounded by urban development (as it probably had been for centuries). There is more to be discovered here, but most of it is occupied by squatters, making it difficult to access.

The museum at U-Thong is very much worth the visit. I was doubly impressed because they allowed us to take photos. They have excellent examples of Dvaravati art, including some incredible rare bronze Buddha statues.

Continuing on our tour is like moving forward through the centuries. In Suphanburi, the moat around the old city is almost rectangular, much like later moated cities. Wat Pra Si Rattana Mahatat was once the central temple of the complex, with a Khmer style prang still visible at the back of the current temple complex. Much of the complex relief work can still be seen on the visible plaster.

While at Wat Pra Si Rattana Mahatat, we were fortunate to be able to view an ordination ceremony--one of the happiest moments in a man's life. The entire community comes together for these festivals, and it is a joyous occassion. This parade was traveling clockwise around one of the temple buildings--I believe it was the viharn. The ordination candidate was being carried around beneath a large umbrella, throwing out candy and lucky coins (little 1 Baht coins with a ribbon tied on).

We continued our journey to two temples: Wat Pratu San and Wat Makham No. These temples both contain excellent examples of Lao, Thai, and Chinese influences in the murals all along the inside walls. The primary artist was a displaced Lao brought back from wars in the east in the late 18th, early 19th centuries. He was brought here to work, where he found his brother was also working nearby. Together they both created works that are still admired today.

Our last visit was to Wat Pa Lelai Worawihan, an ancient temple still in use. Much of the temple is new or reconstructed--including this seated Buddha which was built where, it is believed, an ancient Buddha statue once sat. It is, today, one of the most recognizable symbols of this region, and draws a plethora of pilgrims and tourists at all times of the year.

Carved into the plaster of the walls to either side were this monkey and elephant, reverencing the Buddha. These two animals are apparently a common symbol in Buddhist temples.

With nothing more on the itinerary, we returned to Bangkok and the modern world. This has truly been an incredible trip, and I am sure you will here of many more in future posts.

Ancient Thailand

2008-05-26T01:19:00.000+07:00

Where do you get a chance to visit the ruins of an ancient 6th century civilization, and handle a 2,000 year old bracelet? A Siam Society weekend trip, that's where. Siam Society trips are organized around Asia and elsewhere, and can be simple daytrips to 3 week tours.

The first stop on our tour was the ruins of Wat Phra Men in Nakhon Pathom. Likely built in the 7th century in the Dvaravati style, it was later abandoned, along with the rest of Nakhon Pathom. The four seated buddha statues that would have adorned four alcoves in the central prang, or tower, appear to have been moved to other temples. Bricks were later taken to rebuild the chedi or Wat Phra Pathom, and much of it was looted by robbers. Still, a considerable amount of artifacts were uncovered by archaeologists in the early 20th century, but they were removed from the site and now reside at various museums.

Next we went to Chula Pathon Chedi, near the center of the old moated city of Nakhon Pathom. There were actually two Pathon Chedis--this was called 'Chula' because it appears to have been much smaller than 'Phra' Pathon Chedi. It has been built and rebuilt several times, and the additions, usually extending the base, can clearly be seen in places. While researching this chedi, a series of bas reliefs were found that had survived the ages--some had been covered by later additions, while others had been simply been covered with dirt and sediment over the centuries. This is still an active archaeological site, and there had been a dig going on only a week before we had arrived.

Phra Pathon Chedi has long been in use, but only recently 'discovered'. The old structure was covered in earth and hidden, and only the new prang-style chedi at the top was visible. Excavations have uncovered the actual brickwork, and in some instances you can clearly see where the newer brick was laid over the old.

Our last stop in Nakhon Pathom was Wat Phra Pathom, one of the oldest Buddhist sites in Thailand and now one of the tallest chedi in the world. The current structure was actually built by King Rama IV, and is built over the old chedi, like a shell. Because of its size, engineers had to build a slight slope into the rising walls to support the weight, and beneath it all are support beams linked with a giant iron chain to help spread the load evenly in all directions. This is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Thailand, and it houses a museum of archaeological artifacts from around the region.

Next, we continued up the road to Pong Tuk, in the Tha Maka district. This unassuming site, with its remains of a laterite brick structure, has yielded some important--if potentially controversial--finds for the understanding of Thai history. One such find are these:

They have been called 'stone bells', and have been hung like this for display. Some archaeologists--our guide among them--posit a different theory. You see, in the 6th century, much of inland Thailand was actually part of a large bay. Slowly the bay silted up through deposits left by the rivers flowing in from all sides. In its day, however, there would have been major shipping lanes throughout what is now inland Thailand. Charting out the various Dvaravati sites on top of this extended bay, one sees that most of them sit along the edges of the water--likely for the obvious purposes of fishing and trade. These large stones, left over when the waters receded, were likely boat anchors, similar to ones found in the Mediterranean. The concept of drilling a hole through a stone and then using it as an anchor or anchorage point is not new, and may explain these large stones.

This was also the site where archaeologists found a rare Roman or Byzantine lamp (experts disagree, though the 6th century Byzantine provenance seems much more likely, in my opinion). Apparently it was found in two separate pieces by villagers, who didn't Together with evidence such as 3rd century Roman coins, marked with Victorinus, it shows the extent of trade in the early centuries of the first millenium. We saw a replica of the lamp in the treasure storeroom of a nearby temple.

Our final destination on the first day is at Prasat Muang Singh, in the modern province of Kanchanaburi. After passing through one more archaeological site and museum at Ban Kao we hit the westernmost outpost of the Angkorian Khmer Empire of Jayavarman VII. Built in the Angkorian style of laterite stone during the 13th century, it was probably built to express the power of the Khmer kings on their western frontier.

King Jayavarman VII spread Buddhism to all corners of his empire, and is responsible for perhaps building more Buddhist temples of the Khmer style than any other king. It was not, however, an entirely altruistic gesture, for Jayavarman VII used himself as the model for the statues of the Buddha which he sent out. Thus, he used these constructions to express his power and rule throughout his kingdom.

While Khmer structures often used laterite, the buildings in Angkor, at the heart of the kingdom, covered most exposed sections in carved sandstone. The structure at Prasat Muang Singh was more likely covered in plaster. The relief above would have been the rough carving, with the plaster used to create a more detailed image. I would guess that plaster would have been cheaper--being on the edges of the empire, it would not be expected that the king would exert as much time or resources. This is shown in tremendous detail with a later structure behind the main complex:

While Khmer structures were usually very symmetrical, this later structure shows obvious errors, with many of the rooms being offset slightly--possibly due to an error on the part of the engineers. Such lapses are probably indicators that the knowledge of the building techniques were being lost on the fringes of the empire, corresponding with a general decline in the Khmer empire's power in the outlying regions. Soon, the local Thai people--the Siem or Siam--would begin to carve out their own kingdoms in places like Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai.

That evening we returned to Kanchanaburi, to a hotel on the Kwai river--yes, the one from the movie. The famous bridge was just down the river (Ellen went down to get the shot the next morning). From there we headed up to U-Thong and Suphanburi, but that will have to wait for another post.

Elephantastic

2008-05-26T00:18:00.005+07:00

(This is a terribly late post. I've been intending to post about our elephantic experience in Chiang Mai for quite some time...but it was a powerful experience, and I haven't quite been able to figure out how to talk about it, so previously I've taken the easy way out and avoided it. Sorry, and here is the long-awaited account!)

One aspect of our trip to Chiang Mai last month that I haven't told you about yet is our day at the Elephant Nature Park. The park was founded several years ago by a lady named Sangduan Chailert, nicknamed "Lek" (meaning small) to present a different type of elephant experience than is typically available here. Instead of a typical elephant camp which gives tourists the opportunity to ride elephants or see them painting or playing soccer, Lek has created a place where one can interact with elephants as they are "just being elephants", spending their days eating, sleeping, taking dust baths, and playing.

We were picked up from our hotel by our park guide, a young Akha man (the Akha are one of the hilltribes from northern Thailand/Laos) nicknamed "Mammoth" ("I'm not extinct!") He proved to be an expert guide, providing us with tons of elephant information and lots of truly awful elephant jokes.

(Why didn't the elephant go to university? Because he didn't graduate high school.)

Our first stop was at a local fruit market to pick up lunch for the elephants:

(Don't worry, the puppy was not a snack-- it was just teething on the bananas.)

We then drove about an hour and a half to the park itself, located in the beautiful Mae Tang Valley northwest of Chiang Mai. The park is an open space through which the Mae Tang river runs, surrounded by banana plantations (which occasionally the elephants get into). There is a collection of buildings at the center, including huts for visitors and volunteers, and a main kitchen area and feeding platform where the elephants have their meals.

A day visit to the park involves feeding and bathing the elephants in the river, as well as learning their stories. It is also possible to stay overnight or volunteer for a week or more (indeed, the volunteers have been responsible for raising the money to rescue many of the elephants here).

Around 11 AM, a bamboo knocker is "rung" and the elephants all come to the feeding platform for lunch:

That's Mammoth on the right, and Mae Boon and Aura (I think) on the left.

Lunch is fruit-- bananas, watermelon, and so on-- which is all fed by hand by the volunteers and visitors. The elephants are quite adept at handling the fruit. Josh and I found ourselves feeding Mae Boon, mainly, while nearby her 3-year-old baby, Aura, was practicing her coordination (she was more likely to drop her treats). Mae Boon is rather picky-- she would "reject" pieces of fruit that weren't to her liking, at least until they were the only ones left!

After the elephants ate, it was time for human lunch (yummy Thai food), signaled by the ringing of a bell.

After lunch it was time to bathe the elephants. This happens twice a day: the elephants are taken down to the river by their mahouts (handlers) and get thoroughly scrubbed, to keep their skin in top condition.

The elephants really enjoy this and will get into the spirit of things by splashing water about themselves. It was Songkran, so there was even more of an excuse for a full-scale water fight!

This was also an opportunity for the mahouts to reinforce the babies' training: although they are never expected to work, the babies are still trained in many of the most common commands, including giving "kisses". Baby Aura kissed me about 4 times over the course of the afternoon. I have no illusions, though: she was doing it for the slices of Wonder bread she was getting in return!

When the elephants have had enough, they get out of the river and wander over to the mud pit where they cover themselves with dust again. This was our opportunity to sit in the elevated "Beach Hut" and hear Lek, the park's founder, speak to us about her goals.

In the afternoon, we watched a National Geographic video about the park and the situation of elephants in Thailand, then we had time for more exploring, elephant-watching, and even a nap:

(Not only elephants, but many stray dogs and cats have found a good home at the park.)

Finally, we bathed the elephants one last time, and then piled back into the van for the trip back to Chiang Mai, tired, happy and thoughtful.

But our day at Elephant Nature Park wasn't all fun and games. I debated for a long time how to talk about this-- in fact, I had a very long and "sermonizing" post all planned out-- but I finally deleted it. Instead, I invite you to take a look at the park's website, which says everything I was going to say. I think the following pictures instead say it best:

This is Medo. She was employed in illegal logging, where a runaway tree trunk broker her ankle-- and an encounter with a berserk male left her with a dislocated pelvis. She is a young elephant, but she will never walk normally or without pain. Lek brought her to the park, where she can relax with other elephants, and spend lots of time in the river, which helps her feel better.

This is Max, or Maximus, one of the tallest elephants in Thailand. He's quite old and has worked in logging, tourism and street begging, before he was struck by a semi and badly injured-- his leg has never quite healed properly, and he continues to walk with a limp.

Another of the park's elephants, Jokia, is blind in both eyes from abuse. She spends her time with her best friend, Mae Perm, who is never far away and gently leads Jokia to and from the river and the feeding platform.

Sadly, most of the elephants at the park have similar histories. Elephants have little to no protection under Thai law, and so these situations of abuse are common and there is no legal recourse when it happens. The park staff and volunteers do what they can to rescue the most needy elephants, going to great lengths to fund the purchase (one young lady from the US asked her parents if, instead of giving her a car for graduation as they were planning, they could use the money to rescue an elephant).

Many other elephants suffer not out of outright malice, but lack of resources: elephants are expensive to keep, and now that logging has been banned in Thailand, they must find work where they can, in tourist camps, illegal logging, or street begging. Many of these elephants are still well-kept (treated as part of their owners' or handlers' families) but when resources are scarce, they can still be overworked or underfed, or go without medicine. The "Jumbo Express" project run by the Elephant Nature Foundation serves as a mobile elephant medical service, traveling deep into the interior to help elephants in need by providing medications and elephant husbandry information.

Ignorance is also a huge problem: one of Lek's main goals with her elephants is to prove that the brutal "traditional" training methods for elephants are not necessary, and are in fact counterproductive. There is a widespread belief than a young elephant's spirit must be forcibly broken through a ceremony called the pajaan, which involves confining the elephant in a cage, depriving it of food and water, and subjecting it to physical and psychological abuse. None of the babies at the Elephant Nature Park are subjected to this-- they are instead trained through gentle, positive-reinforcement methods with plenty of treats and cuddles available. To drive the point home, Lek forbids the mahouts at the park to use the ankus, or "hook" typically used to direct and control the elephant; although it can be used responsibly, she wants to show that it is not a necessity. The mahouts instead lead their elephants around by voice, or occasionally will tug on an ear to get the point across.

The message I brought away from our visit to the park was not that elephants and humans should lead separate lives-- but that there are better ways for elephants and humans to coexist than are commonly seen nowadays. I invite you to find a better way to interact with an elephant than to watch this:

All in all, it was an incredible experience, in many ways. I plan to head back to Elephant Nature Park at some point as a volunteer for a week, and I would strongly recommend that you plan to visit for a day or more if you find yourself in Chiang Mai. It is a life-changing place.

Ayutthaya

2008-05-02T19:40:00.004+07:00

Ayutthaya. A city shrouded in mystery to most of the West. Despite being one of the largest trading ports in Southeast Asia, and capital of Siam until 1767, most Westerners would probably never know what you were talking about. Home of kings and the locus of power for much of the Chao Phraya river valley, it was long forgotten by outsiders, who from the latter half of the 18th century rarely went beyond the new Siamese capital of Bangkok. Even the local Thai put it aside, and have only recently begun to see the ruined temples and palace grounds as an important part of their cultural heritage.

Our journey to the ancient capital of central Thailand began in the modern capital--Bangkok. We started out of the Shangri-La hotel for the ride up to Ayutthaya. On our way up, our guide gave us some brief notes about the Ayutthaya period, though there was also time to catch up on a little lost sleep for those of us who got up earlier than usual.

We first stopped on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river, across from the ancient city of Ayutthaya, at Wat Chai Wattanaram. This ancient temple is in the Khmer style, and was the model for Wat Arun in Bangkok. Prior to Thai dominance, the area of Ayutthaya was under Khmer control, but as their grip loosened, the Thai people formed their own independent polities, with Ayutthaya as one of the capital cities. Ayutthaya continued to vie with the Khmer kingdom in Cambodia, and Wat Chai Wattanaram was built in 1630 by King Prasat Thong to celebrate a victory over the Khmer.

One prominent feature of the Khmer style Buddhist temples is this central prang--the prominent 'mountain' in the center.

...It is definitely easier going up than down. If only because when you are going up you don't have to look down.

Situated at the confluence of several rivers, with the Chao Phraya leading out to the sea, this was an important place for trade. In addition, the rivers provided a natural defense. By digging a single channel the city was made into an island. Furthermore, smaller canals were dug to provide both irrigation and transportation; most Thai houses of the time had one side facing the water and the other facing the land, and boats were one of the most common forms of transportation.

Despite its defensive position, Ayutthaya finally fell to the Burmese in 1767. Although it had suffered defeat before, this time the Burmese wanted to remove it as a threat, permanently. All that is left of the Grand Palace are these foundations. When the Siamese fled the Burmese invasion, they created a copy of the Grand Palace, first on the west bank of the Chao Phraya at Thonburi, and then again when they moved across the river to Bangkok. At that time, they also came up to Ayutthaya and removed stones from the wall that had once surrounded the city to help rebuild the capital in its new location.

The only temple that survives intact from the Ayutthaya period is Wat Na Pramain (or Wat Na Prameru Rachikaram). The Burmese general used this as his headquarters, and so it was spared the fate of most of the 400 some-odd temples recorded within the city limits.

When the Burmese left, they also left behind an image of the Buddha in the Burmese style. The current image is actually a reproduction to replace the original. It is generally assumed that people make statues of the Buddha in their own image, and this is how many connoisseurs determine a statue's provenance.

The last place we visited on the island of Ayutthaya was Wat Maha That. Also built in the Khmer style, it is said to have been started in 1374. During its heyday it was the temple of the Supreme Patriarch--the highest ranking Bhuddhist priest in the country. After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese, it was ruined, and in the later centuries it was vandalized by people who would cut the hands and heads off the Buddha images to sell to tourists and antique dealers.

The fate of one head was not to be sold. While it is unclear exactly what happened, this head was apparently left by vandals after it had been cut off. The roots of the Bhodi tree then closed around it, and now it is one of the more popular symbols of Thailand and Ayutthaya in particular.

From the island of Ayutthaya we traveled south, past the sites of the old Dutch and Japanese settlements, to the Summer Palace. This is still a Royal Palace, and it was built by King Rama V of the current Chakri dynasty. This pavillion is the only fully Thai building on the property. Other buildings are inspired by mostly European architecture.

The crown jewel of the Summer Palace is supposed to be this Chinese palace--built by Chinese immigrants for the King. While it is impressive, it was almost too much, and I think I preferred the more sedate Western style buildings, which I felt had a more stately elegance.

Personally, I found the Western style buildings, such as this stately Italian influenced mansion, to be more elegant. Perhaps it is simply an ethnocentric preference for European buildings--though I think it has more to do with the Chinese palace just being too busy. I find I occasionally have the same issue with the aesthetics of Thai temples--though as I grow more accustomed to them I find them not quite so jarring. Perhaps it is just that my mind is no longer being overloaded in an attempt to classify all of the 'new' information and is coming to grips with the style in general.

We got on the boat just in time--as we were eating lunch on the boat, the skies opened up and it began to rain. Despite the wetness, there were still people out working, however, such as this scene we captured floating downriver.

It is truly amazing how many people live along the river, which can rise as much as 20 feet when it floods. It is also amazing just what kind of engineering went into it to straighten out some of the curves, providing 'shortcuts' that turn a half-hour into five minutes. I still wonder how they did it.

The towering prang of Wat Arun indicated we were almost home. Soon we would alight at the Shangri-La dock, head over to the BTS Skytrain station at Saphon Taksin, and ride home. The rain had lifted, and we were able to give some thought to the trip. Overall, it was well worth it--for a day trip, it was quite reasonable, and well organized. We definitely plan to head up, again, to Ayutthaya--there is still too much history there for us not to go back. There are museums and temples to visit, not to mention several towns nearby that are still known for producing traditional products, such as swords and the like. Plenty to keep us busy for many weekends to come!

Doi Suthep and Our Mountain Adventure

2008-04-30T18:24:00.002+07:00

An expedition which starts at a mountain temple and results in an unexpected detour through the wilds of Northern Thailand.

A long time ago the ruler of Chiang Mai and the Lanna Kingdom, King Nu Naone decided that to raise a new temple. To find an auspicious location, they placed a chedi with a holy relic on the back of a royal white elephant and let it roam free outside the city. The elephant wandered up a nearby mountain, Doi Suthep, and when it reached the top it trumpeted three times and died. Deciding this was an auspicious sign, the King founded the temple of Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep on that spot, overlooking the valley and the city of Chiang Mai.

That was back in the 14th century. Today, throngs of worshippers continue to make the trek up the mountain to worship at the temple. Of course, most of them drive up (or take one of the songthaews), and once you reach the bottom of the temple complex you can now take a tram up and skip the approximately 300 steps.

At the foot of the stairs, merchants have set up, selling various Buddha images, offerings, and refreshments. There are even dancers and musicians.

The musicians play while young girls in traditional hilltribe costumes offer to let you take their picture for a small price. To western eyes, it seems quite commercial. As the musicians played, we made our way up the steps to the main temple complex.

At the top, there is an inner and outer courtyard. After passing through the gates, you take off your shoes before entering the inner courtyard, where a golden chedi sits in the middle of galleries of Buddha images. Worshipers make offerings to Buddha images, choose lots for fortune, and receive blessings in the galleries and side chapels.

Around the central chedi, worshippers carry lotus and incense offerings. They walk clockwise around the chedi, praying for good fortune.

Around the outer courtyard were bells, which people ring in succession to help build merit. Small chapels surrounded the outer courtyard, eaves flaring upward in the distinctive style of Thai roofs.

On a clear day, the view from Doi Suthep is amazing. Regrettably, there was a thick haze when we were there, though you can barely make out the runway of the Chiang Mai airport.

After paying our respects at the temple, we continued into the mountains. We went passed the royal Phu Ping Palace, and decided to continue on and see what we could find. A sign informed us that there was a Hmong village only 7 km from where we were, so we decided to follow the sign and see what we could find.

Note: When traveling mountain roads in Thailand, distances are farther than posted on any nearby sign. We aren't certain, but we think that the signs might only be telling you how long before the next sign. Regardless, as we went farther and farther along the single track road, we kept going forward, assuming that around that next bend would be the village we were looking for. We almost gave up when we reached a national park area, but pressed on when we found another road leading out (with another sign, too).

Pavement gave way to dirt, and soon we were out of rang of any roads on the GPS. Still, we saw signs of habitation and pressed on. The mountain road was barely wide enough for the 4WD SUV we were traveling in. A sheer drop on one side with a corresponding rise on the other meant that if we came upon any other vehicle we would be required to pass one or the other would have to back up--not a fun proposition.

Finally, we came to a small group of houses hanging precariously on the mountainside overlooking rows and rows of coffee plants. A small sign offered coffee to travelers (in English, even) and a red songthaew was stopped outside. We decided to go in and have a cup.

Oh. My.... I should tell you that I am not typically a coffee drinker. This was excellent. It didn't have that characteristic 'burnt' quality of coffees in so many other coffee shops. It was fresh and delicious--if I could find more coffee like this I might be tempted to drink it more often. The lady running the little roadside shop was also kind enough to let us know that the Hmong village was only another kilometer down the road. This close--we figured we would give it a shot.

Three or four kilometers later, we finally found a village (we think it is the village we had been looking for, but we don't know for sure). As we rolled into the village we stopped and asked directions--turns out everyone was out in the fields working. We did find a couple of people operating stalls--apparently expecting some little traffic to come through. We purchased a few items, fed some biscuits to the dogs, and then asked for directions to Chiang Mai. After all, we had just come down a one lane dirt road. There had to be a better way back, right?

Be careful of assumptions. Although we were told we could go through the village and the road would eventually take us back to Chiang Mai, we were in for quite the adventure. At forks in the road we generally took the one that looked more traveled. Although there was evidence of farms on the hillside, mostly we looked out into trees and forest. We were nowhere near anywhere on the GPS, and some of us were experiencing vertigo with the sheer drops.

At one point the car was at such an angle, we had someone spot while only the driver maneuvered the car. We then had to ford a small stream. A local family, who was no doubt quite amused at our situation, told us we were going in the right direction. Of course, going in the right direction and being anywhere close to civilization are two very different things.

Two hours after we had begun our journey to the Hmong village, we reached pavement once more. We came around a lake where throngs of people were gathered for picnics and parties. Eventually we hit a main road and headed up towards Mae Rim.

We ended our adventure with a late lunch at the Four Season's Resort, overlooking idyllic rice fields. After our trip through the unknown wilds of the mountains, it was nice to be catered to for a while. While rustic charm has its place, a touch of elegance--even if the rice paddies are sculpted for our pleasure--is a nice change of pace.

PS: Ellen says that we won't be doing that once we get our own car--especially if it doesn't have four wheel drive. Oh well...

A Night in Northern Thailand

2008-04-27T14:42:00.003+07:00

Lanna and Northern Thailand's long internal autonomy and self-governance, as well as the proximity of various hilltribe people, has made Chiang Mai a mecca for traditional Northern Thai culture. Capitalizing on this, several dinner shows have sprung up to showcase Northern Thai culture. We went to one of them and it was rather enjoyable, if predictably kitschy.

When you approach the Khum Khantoke dinner show at the Lanna Cultural center you are greeted by several female musicians and artists carving fruit and arranging flowers. There are several shows at once in different pavillions. The shows are similar, but slightly different (according to our host, anyway).

We went to one of the largest pavillions--in a graceful Thai style but much larger than any traditional building we've seen here. We were led inside to small, low tables. You could sit on the floor in traditional style or you could stick your legs into the depression under the table.

You had to take your shoes off before entering, like with a traditional Thai house or temple. There was a large stage at one end of the hall with an ornate relief mural that depicts numerous traditional Thai themes. Performers were on stage playing traditional Northern Thai music.

Dinner was served on a large tray with several smaller dishes, representing traditional Northern Thai food (though I don't know whether or not they were mellowed for tourists). Everything was quite delicious, and there were fried bananas as a palate cleanser. If you finished off any particular dish, you could request more from the wandering servers.

(Ellen adds: Because I am certified-- or certifiable!-- as being obsessed with food, I will tell you what the above consists of. In the center is a dip made of mild green chiles with fresh vegetables for dipping. Starting from the lower left and going clockwise are: fried chicken, pork rinds-- a Northern specialty, sauteed vegetables, fried rice noodles, and a Chiang Mai dry curry with pork-- the same one I learned to make in my cooking class!)

The opening dance was similar to another we had seen previously at the Night Bazaar. A processional moved towards the stage with paired dancers and then a man and a woman, and finally what appeared to be offerings of some kind. I don't know what the significance behind this dance was, but it seems quite ritual in nature and I wonder if it isn't a traditional opening ceremony of some kind.

Dances apparently came from various different cultures of Northern Thailand. I have no idea of the antiquity of any of them, and very little to compare them to, yet. These peacock dancers were quite entertaining, however.

These umbrella dancers were also fun to watch, though I couldn't help but have thoughts of Miss Saigon going through my head. Can't quite say why--just an association that must be back there somewhere.

These drummers were highly active. Much like Taiko drumming, the beats reverberated throughout the hall. They were also extremely energetic, and they danced as they played.

Khon is another form of traditional dance, although it is hardly relegated to NOrthern Thailand. This was a scene we had watched before in Bangkok--it is from the Ramakien (or Ramayana) where Hanuman, the Monkey King, attempts to woo the Queen of the Mermaids. You see, Hanuman has been attempting to build a causeway to the city of Lanka, where the immortal demon king Totsakan has captured the wife of Hanuman's liege, King Rama. As Hanuman commands his monkeys to throw rocks into the sea to build the causeway, however, the rocks mysteriously disappear. Hanuman discovers that the Mermaid Queen, who is a daughter of Totsakan, is having her mermaids and the creatures of the sea carry away the rocks. Hanuman decides to woo the Mermaid Queen and convince her to let him build the causeway. It is an extremely active scene, though I believe the Bangkok theater felt more rehearsed and professional. Still, it was a lot of fun and probably a good thing for all of the tourists gathered round.

Next, there was a dance that seemed very similar to English country dance in the overall movements, with different couples dressed to represent different hilltribe people.

A sword dance followed. There was a lot of twirling going on--it was hard for me to pick out if there were martial implications in it or not (though the announcer claimed it was based on traditional swordsmanship). At one point the dancer danced while balancing all the swords in a precarious position. Unfortunately he did drop a sword twice, which visibly affected him. Some of the feats he performed for the crowd seemed more like gimmicks, to my mind, but I don't know enough about traditional Thai martial arts yet.

The last dance of the evening was a fusion of traditional and modern music and dance. Eventually, the progressed into a circle dance, inviting members of the audience to participate.

The circle dance is definitely part of a tradition--the tradition of bringing up audience members to embarrass them in front of their friends. Of course, this is much easier if said audience member is a ham to begin with. The moves were fairly simple as long as your fingers are double-jointed. I have no idea how they get their fingers to actually bend backwards like that. It's just not natural.

After the evening is over, you head outside, where you can have your picture taken with some of the dancers, or participate in traditional Thai rituals (for a small fee).

(Ellen adds: The above guys are dressed for the Khon dance-drama: Phra Ram, or Rama, is to the left of me, and Phra Lak, Rama's brother, is on the right. Rama is evidently the role model for the strong but sensitive Thai guy. Lak, or Lakshaman, is Rama's right-hand man, an appropriate role for him as he was apparently Rama's throne in a previous life!)

We let off one of the traditional (paper) balloons, which are a part of an annual balloon festival every year in Chiang Mai.

That's all for now--more still to come.

We're still here.

2008-04-25T20:06:00.002+07:00

Sorry for the lapse in posting-- Josh has another one of his encyclopedic posts in progress, but hasn't finished it yet. After he's gotten that one up I'll post something about the elephants we met in Chiang Mai...

In the meantime, a few fun things have happened to us:

- Our main shipment from the US arrived. Hooray! Our apartment is now a bit cluttered, but we'll get everything stowed away soon.

- We got a chance to see "Forbidden Kingdom", the new Jackie Chan/Jet Li flick. Fun! It had some nice inspiration from some of the more fun Chinese legends, particularly the Monkey King, Sun Wukong.

- Tomorrow we are going on a day trip to Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand (from the mid-1300's to the mid-1500's). This is a trip run by the Shangri-La Hotel, down by the Chao Phraya river: we take a bus upriver to the site (a trip of a couple of hours), tour around, then hop on a boat to have lunch and cruise back to Bangkok. Hopefully we'll get some good pictures.

That's all for now, but watch this space for details...

Chiang Mai -- An old New City

2008-04-22T20:35:00.005+07:00

Chiang Mai.

The glorious capital of the northern Lanna Kingdom, it's name means 'new city'.

According to Thai history, Chiang Mai was founded by King Mengrai in 1291. It has long been an important city, continuing into the modern age when it is the second largest city in Thailand. Our trip to this ancient city corresponded with one of the most popular festivals:

Songkran is the celebration of the Thai new year. Although they currently operate on the western calendar, the 13th-15th of April is still the celebration of the traditional New Year. People take time to clean out their houses, make merit and wash the temples, reverence their elders, etc. Some of the most common traditional practices involve water, pouring it over the hands or head of an individual as a blessing. Chedis and statues of the Buddha are also blessed.

(Ellen adds: Below is the main chedi at Wat Phra Singh, which Josh will talk about later. The gold object is a water bucket in the shape of a sacred swan or "hongsa", which can be filled with water and pulled up to the top in order to "bathe" the chedi.)

While the old traditions can still be found throughout the city, one of the most visible aspects of Songkran today are the constant water fights. In Chiang Mai, these seem to take place mostly near the old moat, where water and targets are plentiful.

Songkran is officially the 13th-15th, but Chiang Mai is known for having one of the largest celebrations anywhere, and things had already begun to get started Friday evening. By Saturday morning, vendors and celebrants had set up around the moat, preparing for later in the day.

We started Saturday with an attempt to hit the National Museum, but apparently when they said 'closed for the Songkran holiday', they meant Saturday as well--so instead we started the day like many others and went to a nearby temple.

Wat Jed Yod, or the Temple of the Seven Peaks, was founded by the Lanna King Ti-Logaraja when Chiang Mai hosted the 8th World Buddhist Council in the 15th century. It was modeled after the Maha Bodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, India. The seven chedi on top of the largest structure, from which the temple gets its name, were said to come from India, and they represent seven sacred mountain peaks.

Worshippers were at Wat Jed Yod, making offerings for the coming new year, including these 'sand chedi'. The origin of this practice was the symbolic return of sand that worshippers had inadvertently carried off in their sandals back to the temple grounds. Now you can find them everywhere during Songkran.

Leaving the temple we had our driver pick us up--we had hired a driver for the morning rather than trusting to finding one of the red, omnipresent songtaew headed our way. Taxis are still rather rare in Chiang Mai--most hired transportation are converted pick-up trucks which carry multiple people at once. If you flag one down, they'll ask where you are going. If they are empty or already headed your way, they will quote you a price and take you along. If not, they'll waive you off.

Fortunately, our taxi driver had been paid for four hours, and stuck with us. Knowing our museum trip had been canceled, he took us on a brief tour of the four corners and five gates of the city.

King Mongrai planned the layout of the city from the very beginning, and the spirits of the four corners are supposed to work with the spirit of the center to protect the city. The city walls have likely been repaired over and over again, but the basic layout of the city has remained the same, and the impressive walls are still there--or at least parts of them.

Our driver dropped us off at Wat Phra Sing, which was hopping compared to Wat Jed Yod on the outside of the old city. Inside the main prayer hall (where we had to remove our shoes but they did allow pictures) we saw worshipers being blessed by monks, making offerings to the Buddha, and praying for good fortune.

(Ellen adds: It's hard to see in this picture, but the statue of the monk holding the fan is covered with often-raggedy bits of gold leaf. A common way to make merit here is to buy some small squares of gold leaf and apply them to the various Buddha images, etc., to help "restore" the glory of the images. The intent is more important as the result, as it's very hard to get an even application! The gold leaf squares typically cost about 10 baht each, and there is a little pot of resin or paste sitting by the statue. There is an entire industry devoted to pounding out the gold squares less than paper-thin for this use-- the American Women's Club magazine had a very interesting article about it recently!)

We walked around the temple grounds--people were pouring water on the chedi behind the prayer hall (above) and there was a garden full of various words of wisdom for people of any religion.

After Wat Phra Sing we went to the Chiang Mai City Art & Cultural Center, which has an excellent museum (where you can take pictures!).

Afterwards, we went to a little 'Chinese' restaurant. They served chicken. That's about it. You could have it about four ways. That was it. If you wanted something else, you should go next door. They had four dishes of pork, etc. Despite the limited menu, these little shops are packed with people.

(Ellen adds: This was a "Hainanese" chicken rice stall-- a Singapore delicacy that's very popular here, especially as a street food. It consists of simmered chicken served over rice that's been cooked with the chicken fat, plus chicken broth flavored with garlic and ginger on the side. It's a nice all-in-one meal. In the above picture you can see our two plates of chicken rice + two bowls of broth, plus a plate of pork satay, which they were also grilling up, and a dipping sauce and cucumber salad that came with it. The yellow-green juice I'm drinking is guava juice, and we are also drinking weak jasmine tea, of which pitchers can be found on each table for free. All-in-all, it was a very tasty lunch!)

Next, we went to the center of the city: Wat Chedi Luang. Built as part of the founding of the city, this temple was to be the center pillar. It has fallen into disrepair, but has also been repaired--and is still under repair. I'm not sure how much they plan to do, but the ruined chedi, which still houses a precious and sacred jade Buddha, is incredible.

(Ellen adds: There are no steps on the side of the chedi in the picture above-- there were only steps on one of the sides. No doubt this symbolizes the difficult path to enlightenment!)

Well, there's more to say, but I'll leave that for another time. You've waited long enough for this... now to get working on more. Hope you like it!

Learning to cook, Thai style

2008-04-17T21:21:00.004+07:00

The first week we were in Chiang Mai, I had some free time and decided to do some exploring on my own. In recent years, Chiang Mai has become something of a center for "hands-on" tourism: you can take short (or long) courses in all kinds of difference activities, from Thai massage, to jewelry crafting, to batik painting, to cooking. Since I always think with my stomach, the cooking option sounded just fine to me-- so I decided to attend the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School for two days, Wednesday and Thursday.

There are dozens of cooking schools in Chiang Mai, but this is the oldest, and still reputedly one of the best. It was founded back in the early 90's by Sompon Nabnian and his wife, Elizabeth (who is English). Today they teach courses both at their office in the old city (just inside the Thapae Gate, one of Chiang Mai's five old gates) and at their house outside of town, where they have a dedicated teaching area. (Class sizes are larger at this school than at some of the others-- we had 28 students one day, which is the max-- but everyone still had a lot of fun and there were plenty of teachers to help out.)

Wednesday started with a pickup at the hotel around 9:30 AM, and a trip to the school office in the center of town. There I and the other students signed in. On Wednesday, I was the only American out of about 15 people: the rest were from Australia, Britain and Germany. The course cost approximately 900 baht per day. The full "beginner" course runs for 5 days, but you can sign up for as many as you want, and each day is independent-- you don't have to start at the beginning of the cycle. I was lucky that my first day also happened to correspond to Course 1.

We then piled back into the vans to head to Sompon and Elizabeth's house outside of town. Once there, we picked our individual cooking stations on the porch (each with gas stove and a work surface with a cutting board and knife) and donned our snazzy aprons.

We then filed into the classroom where Khun "Ou", one of the assistants, proceeded with the morning's activity: a hands-on introduction to Thai ingredients. (Each course starts with a "metacooking" lesson like this, from how to pound curry pastes to how to carve vegetables into flower shapes or shop at a local market. On my second day we pounded our own curry pastes from scratch.) The classroom was well-equipped with a cooking area and a mirror above it that let us get a top-down view of what the instructor was doing.

We then proceeded to the cooking. Each day we made six recipes, and for each recipe, the instructor demonstrated the process in the classroom before we filed outside to cook individual-sized portions for ourselves. While the demonstration covered the entire process, a lot of the prep work was done for us when it came to our actual cooking (for example, ingredients were already portioned out, shrimp were peeled and deveined, etc.) A lot of culinary purists would probably object to this, but I can definitely see the benefit to this approach. After we finished cooking each dish, we then carried it over to the tables to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

The first day's dishes were:
- Tom yam goong (hot and sour prawn soup)
- Tod mun pla (deep-fried fish cakes)
- Gaeng kheo wan gai (green curry with chicken)
- Pad thai (the famous Thai noodle dish)
- Larb gai (minced chicken salad)
- Tab tim grob ("crunchy rubies", or sweetened water chestnuts in coconut milk)

The second day's dishes were:
- Panaeng muu (panang curry with pork)
- Plaa nin laad prik bai horapa (deep-fried fish with chilli and sweet basil)
- Gaeng hanglay gai (Chiang Mai-style "dry" curry with chicken)
- Phad prio wan phak (sweet-and-sour vegetables)
- Yam woon sen (spicy glass noodle salad)
- Khao neow dam piak (black sticky rice with coconut milk)

I found each day's dishes to be a really nice blend of ingredients and cooking styles, so we got to try out a lot of different techniques. Overall I liked the second day's dishes better than the first, one of the reasons being that they provided more opportunity to tweak the spices and overall hotness of each dish for individual preferences (and I'm a wuss when it comes to chilies!)

I'll try to label the pictures on Flickr, but here are some snapshots:

A trio of friends from England pound their curry pastes.

My own panang curry paste in progress, and finished.

My fried fish and panang curry with pork. Very pretty and tasty, if I do say so myself!

My larb gai and "crunchy rubies". The latter were really fun and easy to make-- you cut fresh water chestnuts into quarters, add a few drops of red food coloring (for the "rubies"), then dip them into tapioca flour and boil them until the tapioca attains a jellylike consistency. You then mix them with sugar syrup, coconut milk, and crushed ice, and voila! A nice, traditional, Thai dessert that is really tasty on a hot day.

(Random Cultural Note: Tab tim, "rubies", is also the Thai name for pomegranates, for obvious reasons!)

Students trying the official "sample" to know what their salad should taste like.

Behind the house is a nice garden where many fresh ingredients are grown, such as kaffir limes, mangoes, and geckoes.

All in all, this was a really fun experience and I'm glad I did it. It's not the most in-depth introduction to Thai cooking, but it was certainly enough for a newbie farang like me to gain some confidence! I plan to take my handy-dandy cookbook and inflict some new Thai recipes on Josh over the next few months.

I did not escape entirely unscathed from the experience, however, as I got hit in the head by a low-flying mango. No permanent harm done, fortunately.

Not your typical hotel

2008-04-11T13:58:00.002+07:00

Josh and I are staying at the D2 Hotel in Chiang Mai right now. The hotel was booked for us, since he's working in Chiang Mai this week, and evidently this is the place where his coworkers stay when they come here (as they offer good service and rates).

We were told that it was "modern", but we weren't quite prepared for something out of a high-end design magazine...

(Sorry it's so dark-- I was avoiding the flash to be polite.)

The place is very contemporary-- dark woods, beige stone tiles, basketry, metal, and highlights in a bright orange color tying it all together. There are interesting carpets and plexiglass boxes full of (artificial) pears, plus there are fresh tropical flowers all over the place (changed daily).

On checking in, we were presented with glasses of an ice cold ginger+lemongrass drink. Yum!

We then proceeded to our room:

The interior is really beautiful-- more dark wood, golden wall panels, interesting carpet, and lots of textures.

The space in the center with the Venetian blinds is actually the shower! It's a glass box separating the bathroom and bedroom, with the blinds for privacy.

There's a huge window seat which is big enough to serve as a second bed:

An added bonus was the wall-mounted flatscreen TV + DVD player for our entertainment:

Not to mention the large, friendly tangerine that was waiting on the bed to greet us.

Why am I blogging this? Because I LOVE this kind of design. I've been boring Josh silly this week discussing how some of these ideas might be adapted for our apartment, or eventually our house back home. (I plan to do a lot more shopping at West Elm from now on...)

In some places, "cutting edge" design like this would be intimidating-- and that's where this hotel really wins. Every single person who works here has been unfailingly nice, cheerful, and helpful, and seems to genuinely enjoy their job (if that's a front, it's a darn good one). Thailand is a friendly country but this goes above and beyond the norm-- and more importantly, the attention here is not oppressive as it can be elsewhere, as in shops where people sometimes follow you around to "help" you browse.

In each hotel room there is an interesting orange box:

Each day, the housekeeping staff leave a "surprise" in this box for you. On this particular day (yesterday), the box contained two herbal balls for traditional Thai massage. On other days it's been local rice crackers, tiny elephant keychains, or fresh-baked shortbread cookies.

Yesterday there was a knock on the door and we were presented with this:

You can click through to Flickr to see a larger size and read the note, but it was from one of the guest relations "Gurus" making sure we were enjoying our stay. The chocolate was very yummy!

I sound like an advertisement, but that's okay, because this place deserves one. If you ever come to Chiang Mai, I'd highly recommend the D2 for amazing treatment. It *is* more expensive than most other hotels here in Chiang Mai or Thailand in general (the "Best Rate" right now is 4100 baht/night for the type of room we're in), but it's still relatively cheap by US standards, and the treatment is top-notch! We'll definitely consider staying here again (although exploring some other places would be fun too).

Change of location!

2008-04-07T22:24:00.002+07:00

Well, right now I'm writing to you from the D2 Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

Josh had a business trip up here, and I decided to accompany him, since this two-week period is FULL of Thai holidays and thus a great time for traveling. Today (April 7th) is a day off for Chakri Day (which was actually yesterday), and next Monday to Wednesday (April 14-16) are holidays for Songkran, the Thai New Year/Mardi Gras celebration.

While Josh works this week, I'll be working from the hotel and also doing some fun activities like a Thai cooking class. From Saturday until Wednesday, we'll be visiting museums, taking a trip to the Elephant Nature Park, and trying not to get TOO wet from the water fight on the streets!

More later...

Jakarta

2008-04-04T23:58:00.003+07:00

For some reason this post came out (at least in my head) as being narrated by Tony Bourdain, except that he tends to be much more eloquent. Not sure where that came from—doesn’t he have a travel show to be doing?

Indonesia. Coming here I thought "What do I really know?" Okay, so there's East Timor, Jamaah Islamiyah... but I hear Bali's nice. What does any American really know of Indonesia? I guess its related to India, right? And it is somewhere in those islands between mainland Asia and Australia. Oh, and I think I have a shirt from there.

So what did I know? Pretty much nothing. I might have seen a Travel Channel show on it at some point. So its one of those countries that makes our clothes. You know what I mean--India, China, Thailand, Indonesia. Places where you typically think of people working their fingers to the bone for the shirts we buy of the rack at $10 a pop, and probably getting paid that much a day, if they're lucky. A place where you don't drink the water and you watch your wallet. I geared myself up for a grueling experience where the weather was hot, the air was foul, and danger lurked around every corner.

Okay, so I didn't go to 'Indonesia' as much as I went to Jakarta. The capital, yes, but mainly a city on West Java, only one of the many islands that make up this equatorial island nation. Prior to this trip I had been doing some reading on Southeast Asia, or the "Land Below the Winds" as it was known by many outsiders. So, I thought, maybe I'll get lucky and at least see some part of
traditional Indonesia. Perhaps some dancers or a puppet show.

Flying into Jakarta International Airport I looked down at the oil rigs off the coast and some sort of aquaculture--I couldn't really tell at that height. We start coming down and I see fields all around with houses under the trees with motley roofs--the kind you expect some wholesome peasant family to be living in. So far, things were living up to my low expectations. It was hot, and the airport hardly impressed, coming in as I was from Thailand's newest International airport. Making it through customs my colleague and I followed the directions we'd been given and grabbed a Silver Bird cab for transport to our hotel.

As we drove down the road, I saw more fields--at the entrance to the Sheraton, just outside the airport, someone was even herding their goats along the waterway by the side of the road. There were flooded fields, and rickety looking piers jutting out into a lake or river, for who knows what purpose.

Then, the city.

It sprang up around us with the quiet stealth of a stalking cat. Buildings here and there, and fewer and fewer trees. As we went over a raised bridge I could see it, stretched out all around. All the trappings of many people living and working in an area that was never really meant to hold them in the first place. Buildings rose up around us, reaching for the sky as we drove onward, into the heart of the city. I saw the highway across the way turn into a parking lot as cars clogged the road like a hairball in a drainpipe.

As the buildings grew taller, the scenery grew more pleasant, if only in that glitzy industrial way. Hitting a larger traffic circle around a large fountain we had reached the nicest part of the city so far--and I have to say I was impressed. This wasn't just some backwater country; there was business, commerce, and trade going on. New buildings could be seen going up all over the place--this seemed a happening place.

At the hotel room, I was pleasantly surprised--I was taken up to the 15th floor, where I had to use my room key just to access the floor itself. I was led to a palatial room, decorated in classic black and white. On the wall hung a piece of fabric art that should have been in an art museum. I was quite taken aback. I was just getting relaxed when the phone rang:

"Excuse me sir, it seems there has been a slight mistake..."

Turns out the palatial digs were not my room. As I trudged with an apologetic bellhop down to my room with the rest of the hoi-polloi I gave a quick thought to seeing what it would take to upgrade me--but I've never really needed princely treatment and a bed and a shower would be fine enough for me.

First night out in Jakarta we went looking for food. I thought this would be great--a chance to experience something new! Was I in for a surprise. The hotel had several restaurants; one was offering Mexican fajitas, and another was a Japanese sushi/steakhouse. In the lobby was an Irish pub. Next to the hotel: Burger King and Starbucks. Looking around, we found Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's as well. Nothing like International Cuisine! Hungry and unwilling to spend too much time wandering around in unfamiliar territory, we made our way to that exotic bastion of American cuisine--Chili's.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of American food, and a good hamburger is just what the stomach is calling for at times. And not some gourmet burger specially prepared with expensive seasonings, but something that was cooked on a griddle for 5 minutes, slapped on a toasted bun--maybe some mayonnaise so the grease doesn't soak in too badly--and topped with American cheese product. A real man-burger!

Still, I was expecting an exotic experience, and Chili's just wasn't doing it for me tonight. I did heartily enjoy their version of deep fried onion--one of the better ones I've tasted. But still... where were we? Had we even left the States?

Breakfast the next day I was determined to get a Real Indonesian morning meal. Something that they just don't have anywhere else. Rice--okay, that's an Asian staple and common enough. A chicken and a fish dish. Now we're cooking. Then, wait, knackwurst? And isn't this a Chinese noodle dish? And over there they have sushi and a pot of miso boiling. Once again I was thwarted in my attempts to have an Indonesian experience by the mass intrusion of all of these OTHER cultures. I ate my muffin and drank my tea like a good hotel patron, but inwardly I was dreaming of finding the true culture of Indonesia out there, somewhere.

The next night we went out with local celebrity to the Hard Rock Cafe. An expat regular whom we’d met during the day. They shouted his name as we came in A good meal--better than Chili's, but still something of a standard. A few drinks did not go amiss, however I was beginning to notice a trend—where was the culture? Still, 15% off and 2 for 1 drinks at happy hour do help satisfy the soul—or at least squelch the conscience.

Night after that we decided to try something different and headed for the Japanese restaurant, thinking at least it was Asian. Not a tremendously marvelous experience for me--the 'gyu yakiniku' tasted of fish (it's beef if you don't know), and only made me crave the real thing that much more.

The weekend was upon us before we noticed. Breaking up for the day I decided to walk around. I was surprised at the relative cleanliness of the city--a major improvement from Kathmandu. And there were street vendors, but not too many--I almost wish there had been more. Those who were selling, I was wary of--food that had been sitting out under Plexiglas in that heat of the day for who knows how long. I decided I'd wait to take my chances when I think I can afford to not get up the next day.

I walked down the street, taking my life into my own hands each time I came to an intersection. I've already grown somewhat accustomed to braving the streets here in Thailand--judging the distance between cars, and trusting that they don't want to have to pay to scrape a stupid American off of the front of their grill. Still, a harrowing experience. Add to that the Indonesian version of the tuk-tuk and motorcycles that felt that the rules of the road were really only for four-wheeled vehicles, and disaster seems iminent. I also found that the lights for the crosswalk don't necessarily mean that it is really safe--some times one side will be green, while the other side is red! What the heck is that supposed to mean?

Like Odysseus I timed myself and made it between the Scylla and Charybdis of the city streets, eventually coming to the gates of Monumen Nasional (that's the 'National Monument' for those who don't speak Indonesian). I went past the 'Halte Busway' (Bus stop) to the Museum Nasional (I'll let you guess this one). Sorry, the guy at the gate said no pictures (in contravention of their website). Go figure.

Let me point out right now that things in Indonesia are not on the same kind of time schedule as the West. In the West you'd expect a museum to be open on the weekends, maybe 9-5? Hah! Here's the schedule:

Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, 8:30 am - 2:30pm; Friday, 8:30 am - 11:30 am; and Saturday 8:30 am - 1:30 pm. They close on Mondays.

Despite these annoyances I went in--and was impressed. There are two parts to the museum, apparently, an older wing and a newer one. The old wing is filled with ancient artifacts, including numerous stone statues and steles littering the courtyard. One long room was given over to the various cultures of Indonesia. There are over 17,000(!) islands in Indonesia, and just about every one of those had its own culture, art and radition. On top of the indigenous religions came the organized proselytization of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity each adding their own, further flavour. I caught here a glimpse of what I had been searching for--the common people; their lives and traditions. It was refreshing.

But in the same breath, there were almost more non-Indonesian artifacts on display. Thai and Chinese ceramics, and East Asian bronzes. There was even a Japanese-styled sword supposedly made in China as a gift to one of the Indonesia sultans. I caught an inkling here that there may be something I'm missing about all of this, but I just couldn't place it.

That evening, we hit one of the malls--Plaza Indonesia. This was no quaint little marketplace, either, but a happening scene with the latest in fashion and design. Here, you get out of a cab and are treated as though you are one of the rich and famous. Yeah, I could get used to this.

That night we still didn't eat Indonesian, but I didn't care. We dined at a place called Gyu-kaku. Oh. My. Gyu-kaku is a yakiniku restaurant. For those of you not initiated into the wonders of yakiniku, it is basically Korean BBQ, Japanese style. You sit down around a table with your own grill and they bring out trays of raw (sometimes marinated) meat. With a few vegetables to keep your conscience appeased, you throw it on the fire and eat it right off the grill. Pre-cut into mouthwateringly bite-sized pieces, it is something of a family tradition at our house. The way the hot meat just melts in your mouth is one of the closest feelings to perfection I have ever come. This is what yakiniku is supposed to be—not some bland cut of beef tasting slightly of seafood! That night we were truly satisfied.

The next day, however, we were in a quandry--how do we top that? We started at Ratu Plaza--one of the most notorious open piracy markets anywhere. A many-stories tall building with probably any kind of electronic media you could want. Any show you could think of, even ones that hadn't even made it to disk, were available. They'd even tell you if the quality was any good or not, and I saw several people urged away from a sale because it was "no good!"

Okay, for everyone out there fretting over it, I was good. I didn't buy any of the USD0.50 DVDs, tempting as it was. Frankly, I know I have a near Catholic sense of guilt and wished to make it back through customs without causing an international incident. Yeah, I'm a wuss, deal with it.

After a night like that, where do you go? How about Grand Indonesia? A brand-spanking new mall with an interesting concept: some of the floors are themed. The entertainment floor is like a walk through the Moulin Rouge, where another floor is like walking beneath the streetlights of Paris--streetlights and all!

We explored until we felt the faux sand and rock of a Zen garden beneath our feet. Beneath the red and pink of cherry blossoms and maple leaves, mixing in a bizarre dance of Autumn and Spring, we found a classy looking place called 'Duck King'.

The facade was imposing--an austere black marble that shielded the dining room from the outside. Hesitantly we glanced at the menu outside and decided it seemed within our meager price range. We entered through a small corridor made all the more impressive by the black floor and mirrored walls and ceilings. We walked past a room of live seafood, waiting for a hungry diner's call, and around a bend into the restaurant floor itself.

The decor was elegant. Sparkling beads fell like a frozen waterfall, separating spaces. Tables were well spaced, with a view of the kitchen without being distracted by it. Service was excellent, with floor managers directing service to whoever might need it.

In a place like 'Duck King' what else are you going to order? Their Peking duck came in two flavours: you could choose a half or whole duck and the crispy skin would be used to prepare the classic Peking duck rolls--done at your table by someone with obvious experience so that you don't have to show off your own inadequacies in front of your dining partners. The meat would then be prepared in one of several ways--we took our waiters' suggestion and went with minced meat and vegetables on small circles cut from a lettuce leaf. Each mouthful was such a pleasant experience I deliberately avoided eating it too fast so that I could savour them throughout the meal. We also ordered individual soups, and a plate of mabo-dofu, as it is known in Japan (I believe it is Mapo-dobu in Chinese). This made for first class dining two nights in a row. And this second meal? Only about $15/person for the entire thing, including drinks and a small dessert.

The next night was relatively uneventful--we were unsure how we could really top that, so we went back to the Hard Rock for a quick drink before getting to bed a little early.

The last night, I was on my own. I had just the day before gained a line on a batik shop in a nearby department store. Two floors of batik and Indonesian crafts, I looked through the keris knives, some wayang shadow puppets, and others. One entire floor was devoted to just batik, the traditional fibre art of Indonesia, and their substitute for Western 'fancy dress'. Everything from business working clothes to high-end, hand painted silks were available; $10~$500, and probably more. And it wasn't just foreigners here--there were plenty of Indonesian people looking through the racks as well. I like to imagine they were there looking for something for a wedding, or some other such celebration.

Before I headed up to the store and spent what money I had left--barring taxi and airport fees--I decided to try one last look for a good Indonesian meal. I had seen one of the classic restaurants earlier--dishes piled high in the window, but it was now out of my way. Instead I decided to head down one of the back streets behind the batik store. Passing stands selling groceries and more DVDs, I saw a promising little place in the corner--a place I later learned was called Saung Gading. The menu showed several 'paket' meals, but nothing was in English, or even in the pseudo-Western pidgin I'd seen on signs elsewhere. I hesitated at the door, and was about the try something a little less intimidating, when a man, speaking broken English, welcomed me to come inside.

The small tables were not classy and ritzy like in the malls. Some 'renovasi' was taking place so half of it was curtained off. There was a small grass eave along one wall to give it some character, but in many ways it seemed like any neighborhood diner around the world, other than the quiet emptiness. Perhaps it was the wrong time of day, or perhaps they had a bad location--I couldn't tell, though it did worry me more than a bit. Maybe this is why they were so eager to welcome me inside? I prepared for the worst.

An incomprehensible menu was placed in front of me. Surrendering my free will, I explained I had no idea what Indonesian food should be, and asked my host to choose something. He picked out three dishes--fried shrimp with a sweet chili sauce, a sweet and sour soup, and a dish that reminds me of Pad Thai, but with no noodles and a heavy peanut sauce. Oh, and potato chips (or some other fried starch) on top. I did ask for a soda, the one thing on the menu I could read.

As I hesitantly tried the food, I was amazed at what I had discovered. The shrimp was so light that you could eat the entire thing, tail and all, without incident. The soup reminded me of a Vietnamese dish I had eaten once, but this one was filled with potatos, corn, and other vegetables that gave it a feeling I could only describe as 'comfort food'. The greens with the peanut sauce--fantastic! It had been spiced just to my tolerance--a little below Thai spicy, which is probably a little below Indonesian spicy. I ended up being unable to finish the whole thing, and heartily thanked my host for a most excellent meal.

As I departed the next day for the airport, I felt somewhat cheated. I'd spent way too much time in the city. Where was the Real Indonesia I'd been hoping for? But then it hit me: This is Indonesia, all of it. Indonesia has always been a crossroads, where cultures have come together and mixed. Their traditional culture is heavily influenced by India, China, and their surrounding neighbors. Now they are adding western and Japanese influences as well. Yet through it all they still have their batik, their wayang, and other traditional crafts.

I don't claim to have uncovered the heart of Indonesia by any stretch of the imagination. My encounter was but a brief glimpse into their realm. There are still many issues that face their nation: Sanitation, over-population, and prejudice between city-dwellers and the people in the villages. They have their own brand of terrorism that they are trying to subdue, and their position places them in a place where cultures, religions, and ethnicities are bound to collide. What I have done, to some extent, is remove, at least in part, some of the cultural blinders I had about what makes up Indonesia. Sure there is history and culture, but there is also the living Now, where people are working to make their way onto the world stage. That is the Indonesia of today, where East and West meet on their own terms, and continue to shape the culture of these islands.

Funny Thai commercials

2008-03-31T20:33:00.002+07:00

I haven't posted much recently, but there hasn't been much to tell! I do have some pictures that I need to post-- but right now, I'm feeling lazy, so I thought I would introduce you to the world of Thai commercials, as seen on YouTube. These are a couple of years old, rather than current, but they're still funny as anything.

Ghosts and spirits are a major part of life here-- but they are more threatening at certain times than at others!

(Transvestites, specifically male-to-female or katoey, are also far more common here-- or at least more noticeable-- than other places I've been; Thailand is very open-minded in that regard!)

A series of three commercials for Cheers Beer (which I haven't seen around here).

Cultural Note: "Crab" in Thai is poo, which makes the last commercial that much funnier to this American.

I'll let you figure out what these are promoting...

Disturbing, but funny!

That's some strong hair gel!

This one is a parody of Chinese historical/martial arts dramas, which are big here (so are Korean soap operas!)

Going to the movies in Thailand

2008-03-29T18:17:00.002+07:00

On a whim this afternoon, I went to see a movie. Josh and I have already seen one so far-- The Spiderwick Chronicles-- and the experience confirmed for us that Thai movie theaters are crazy awesome. But more on that later.

I took the Skytrain down to National Stadium to go to the EGV Grand Cinema at Siam Discovery Center. The movie I wanted to see was a Thai one, Pidtermyai Huajai Wawoon (which gets translated simply as "Hormones" on all of the movie posters I've seen). Here, Thai movies are commonly (but not always) subtitled in English, rather than dubbed over. I paid 120 baht for a ticket in one of the standard theaters, plus an extra 80 baht for a bag of popcorn (sweet, not salted and buttered; they serve multiple flavors here) and a bottle of lemonade. (As before, I leave the currency conversions to the reader.)

The theater itself was comparable to a very nice stadium-seating setup in the US, with comfy chairs with movable armrests. When you buy your ticket, you always pick your seat ahead of time off a monitor or a diagram.

Like the US, the movie was preceded by quite a few previews (for both US and Thai movies) and a bunch of commercials. Given the previews we've seen, it seems that "band of adorable scamps getting the better of adults in a particular setting" is a common plot outline for comedies here. There was one in the theaters a while back about a bunch of kids kidnapped by pirates, and the two I saw trailers for today were 1. a bunch of young boys become monks, as is common here, and raise havoc in the monastery and 2. a bunch of young boys form a competitive tug-of-war team for their school sports competition. Invariably, hilarity ensues. There are also several movies that seem to revolve around a priest or spirit medium who is responsible for quelling ghosts and has bumbling assistants that get into trouble (if you've seen the unspeakably awesome Hong Kong action movie Mr. Vampire, you know the kind of thing I'm talking about, only this is the Thai version).

The trailers are always followed by the King's Anthem, which everyone stands up for and which is played over a montage of images and scenes (the content of this depends on the theater chain). I really liked the one shown in the EGV theater, actually-- it made me feel patriotic and this isn't even my country!

The movie itself was better than I expected-- a romantic comedy about a series of highschool and college kids having "adventures in love" over their school's summer break. There are four interlocking stories: a pair of best friends compete to win the same girl, a shy kid gets up the courage to talk to his secret crush, a girl prepares for her favorite Taiwanese pop star to come to town for a concert, and a college guy struggles to stay faithful to his girlfriend while she is on an internship down south. I thought the quality of the acting was very good, and the writing was excellent (the subtitles must have been as well, since I found myself laughing at the same points as the Thai audience!) There were some interesting cultural aspects but overall it was very accessible to a Westerner like me-- and there was none of the raunchiness I've come to expect from American movies about "teenagers in love". I hope it comes out on US DVD, but I plan to get a copy when it comes out here, at least.

Now for why Thai movies theaters are awesome: the theater I was in today, which was equivalent to a nice US one and which was VERY comfortable, is actually on the low end of the amenities scale here. Most large theaters have one or more "extra" levels of comfort ("Gold", "Premium", etc., depending on theater and chain) that might involve things such as smaller screening rooms, cushier and more varied seats, special food options, and other goodies. When Josh and I went to see Spiderwick, the next available showing was in something called the "Friendship" Theater, the "intermediate" level of service. We were given three choices of seats: 1) a block of four chaise-lounge type sofa seats, allowing four people to stretch out, for 1200 baht per block; 2) a loveseat-type thing with built-in recliners and footrests for two people, for 600 baht total; or 3) big overstuffed beanbag chairs for 300 baht each! We went for one of the loveseats-- they were ridiculously comfortable, and almost put us in danger of falling asleep during the movie. Our 300-baht-apiece tickets also included a popcorn-and-drink combo for each of us, which was delivered to our seats before the movie started, as well as some blankets to cover up with in case the air conditioning was too much!

Remember, this is only the "middle" level of a nice but not top-of-the-line cinema. I'm really looking forward to what the fanciest options include. I think there is a more extensive food menu that is served to you in the theater-- there was assorted nice international food and an extensive selection of wine and beer available at the theater itself for before or during the movie.

I don't know of anywhere else in the world that is reputed to have a movie-going experience this nice, not even Japan. The USA seriously needs to get on the ball here. We're going to be thoroughly spoiled by the time we head back...

All by my lonesome!

2008-03-27T22:38:00.002+07:00

Sorry I haven't done much posting the past week, but Josh has done such a great job (and he actually beat me to the Jim Thompson house post!)

Josh is in Indonesia for the next week, so I've got the place to myself. I'm trying to get onto a regular schedule as far as work and play are concerned. I'm now thinking that I'll work in the afternoons, since most events happen in the mornings (the temperature is better, for one thing).

I was originally worried about not having enough to do, but I think the opposite may be the case: there are an enormous number of activities to enjoy! There is sightseeing and shopping, but there are events at the American Women's Club (which I've joined), the Siam Society, the Embassy, and any number of other places-- plus there are Thai language classes, art classes, and so on. Three years is now seeming like too short a time!

This week I've been trying out some assorted things: on Monday morning I went to an "Adjusting in Bangkok" coffee meet-up held by the American Women's Club at the "Au Bon Pain" down at the Emporium shopping center (two stops down the Skytrain line from where we are). This evening, I went to the Siam Society to check it out and see a talk on "Birds in Chinese Art". It was incredibly interesting and right up my alley (I now know how to tell a boy phoenix from a girl phoenix, which I'm sure will come in very handy in the future!) I think Josh and I are going to spring for Siam Society memberships, as they are always having events and trips, plus that will give us access to a fantastic library on Asian history and culture.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to an "Armchair Anthropology" lecture on the Thai approach to the spirit world, and Saturday morning I am going to a craft fair which is held monthly at the Ambassador Hotel, just down Soi 11 from us. ThaiCraft is a fair-trade organization which sponsors numerous Thai artisans producing all kinds of products, and they have a fair like this at the Ambassador once or twice a month. If you are looking for anything specific, let us know and we will look for it!

Jim Thompson House

2008-03-24T21:26:00.002+07:00

So this past weekend we hit one of the typical European tourist spots--Jim Thompson's house. Jim Thompson was an officer of the OSS, who apparently retired to Bangkok where he helped revive the hand-woven silk industry. While here he built a house made from six other teak Thai houses from around Bangkok, and collected a wide array of antiques. He died 'mysteriously' in Malaysia, and his house--now owned by the corporation that bears his name--is open to the public.

At least, that's what the brochure tells you. Some local informants have leaked that Jim Thompson was apparently hit by a car on a road in the back-country of Malaysia. The driver was supposedly frightened that he had hit and killed a white man, and so it went unreported, with Jim Thompson simply 'disappearing'. This story, too, has some holes, but it seems a reasonable explanation.

Regardless, we got a lot more than we bargained for here. I imagined that this would be pretty kitchy, but there were a lot of good things to see. First of all, there is the house and outbuildings:

I'm not sure about all the buildings on the property, but the main house is definitely a conglomeration of several Thai houses. Underneath the pillars is a stone-floored area that is almost like an open-air museum, with some exquisite pieces. Inside is a kitchen, dining room, living room, office and bedroom.

There are steps everywhere, as the entire house is on stilts. The front entrance used to face the klong, or canal, to the north. To the south was the garden, with other small outbuildings that currently hold various artifacts.

Some of the buildings date to the Ayutthaya period. This one was a storehouse for rice and grain. It currently holds some of the antique paraphenalia used for the weaving of silk

They won't allow pictures inside the house, but they will allow it outside in the garden and in the outbuildings. They would even allow pictures from outside of the inside--so I'm not sure entirely what the policy was all about, really.

This Buddhist statue and another one one the other side of the house were quite old--the other is apparently famous, but we didn't get a picture. Sigh. We did get a lot of pictures of other pieces of art, though.

These two panels come from the Ayutthaya period--probably 17th century.

One small outbuilding was filled with pictures (click on any of our photos to see our complete gallery on Flickr). Unfortunately there was no information on them, so trying to classify them into periods remains the task of the observer.

This turned out to be a place we would definitely take people if they are in town. The tour is brief, and the garden is wonderful. We may even post more of the photos here, unless Ellen wants to talk about our trip to Chatuchak some weekends ago. However, it is getting late and I am getting tired, so I will sign off for now.

Indian food in Bangkok

2008-03-23T21:26:00.002+07:00

Not a great big post, but I wanted to share with folks a great little Indian restaurant we found here in Bangkok. It is just off of Sukhumvit Soi 8--once you start down you'll turn into this dingy little alley on your left and it is towards the very end on the right. It is called Namuskaar, and it was wonderful. We both had the non-veg thali and it was served rather plainly, with no great pomp. There was a chicken curry, vegetables, yoghurt, rice, papadum, and naan. It came with gulab jamun for dessert, and we finished it off with masala chai. Including a separate water, lassi, and soda that we ordered the meal came to a very reasonable 805 baht--about USD $26. That's probably about what we'd each pay at a restaurant in the states; the thali themselves only came to about $8 a person.

We recommend it to anyone visiting Thailand looking for a nice Indian restaurant with a family friendly atmosphere.

A Nepalese Holi-day!

2008-03-22T17:14:00.003+07:00

Hello everyone, Josh here. I know I've been somewhat silent--and I'll probably let Ellen do most of the talking anyway. Still, I thought I'd share my trip last week to Kathmandu, Nepal. Most of the time was spent at work, but I did get out a little bit to walk around. Next time I will definitely be taking Ellen for some real sight-seeing.

My first impression of Kathmandu was definitely that of a third world country. We came in through a haze of smog, and then the city sprawled out beneath us. We disembarked directly onto the tarmac and then were ushered inside. Immigration was quick and simple, without much fuss, and outside there were throngs of people. The weather was nice, however--hot, but dry. Dry is good.

Driving is hair-raising, to say the least. Lanes are more like guidelines, if they are indicated at all. If you are going to turn right (they drive on the left), then you first get into the right lane--with on-coming traffic!--and then turn right. Sometimes people will do this 50 yards or more ahead of where they are turning, and the people in the right hand lane are expected to get into the left lane to go around them. It is absolutely crazy! Our driver was also passing motorcycles--not sure I want to know how fast he was going in these winding streets. Pedestrians are just as likely to be on the road as on the sidewalk (if there is one). Same goes for motorcycles.

Horns are also used often. Even though all of traffic is obviously gridlocked, drivers will honk their horns mercilessly in a futile attempt to move traffic. These same drives will then stop in the middle of the lane and let people out to do shopping, waving traffic to go around. Apparently if you stop on the left side of the road and turn on your right blinker, it is to tell others to go around you. If you stop in the middle of the lane and turn in on, you are signaling a right turn. If the lane isn't wide enough to tell, the driver behind you decides what he thinks you are doing and acts accordingly.

Sanitation seems almost non-existent. Trash is often removed from the street by sweeping it into piles and setting it on fire. This can be done right next to a house or other structure, in some instances. Men will relieve themselves on the street, and the two toilets I had to experience did not have toilet paper (one I didn't use, the other I had an alternative). There is a reason in many Indian and Islamic cultures one does not eat with the left hand.

Meat is kept fresh by keeping it alive. I saw many butchers starting in the morning--most of them preparing goats or boars. The meat was freshly cut and then just lying on a table--in one instance it had been thrown on the seat of a taxi for transport. I also noticed a house that had a small 'pit' made apparently for the meat, so the blood wouldn't drain everywhere. The folks hacking up the boar meat were particularly interesting--they left on some of the bristles, especially the mane, and otherwise coated the carcasses in an orange preservative of some kind--it may have been iodine or something similar. They cut them up as-is and sold them right there. Once an animal is slaughtered, the meat may sit out for the day. Though I did not see it, I am fairly certain as much as possible of the animal is used.

Vegetables are also sold on the street, with cars, bikes, and pedestrians kicking up dust all around. I've heard that food preparation can be a lengthy process of washing the food, soaking it in an iodine solution for 20 minutes, then washing off all of the iodine. And you still probably want to cook most of your vegetables just to be sure. That said, there are restaurants in Kathmandu that can be quite tasty.

This was Anatolia, a Turkish themed Indian and Tibetan restaurant. It was awesome! Some friends and I had chicken biryani, mutton rogan josh, panak paneer, chicken tika, and mutton shish kabob. We ordered regular, garlic, and butter naan. We finished it all off with Nepali (masala) tea. It was excellent. The Nepali tea here is almost like the Butter Tea we had at the Bhutan booth at the Diplomatic fair (where we met the Bhutanese princess that Ellen still hasn't elaborated on).

I have to admit, most nights we ate at our hotel, the Radisson, at the Olive Bar and Bistro:

They offered steaks (something you can't always find in Nepal or India), including chateaubriand, rib-eye, filet mignon, etc. It was fairly tasty, too. If you really wanted, though, you could order a Nepali thali--a Nepalese meal with an assortment of dishes, either vegetarian or non-vegetarian. The non-veg consisted of rice, naan, roti, gulab jamun (pronounced almost like glab zamn), lamb rogan josh, chicken in a creamy yoghurt, paneer in a sweet tomato sauce (I think it might have been paneer khadai), dhaal, and fried saag. There was a side of raita which we were told you can eat with things or, as our server likes it, straight. That was definitely one of my best meals.

This was much better than my first lunch, where I ate a whole chili--yikes! I thought it was a peapod, at first, based on the color and, frankly, the fact it was by itself (who would take chilies to eat them whole? I guess some people...).

I was warned not to drink the water, but the hotel gives out complimentary bottled water in the rooms.

The Radisson is nice--I would definitely stay there again. There are a lot of backpackers here--especially tour groups. You can see them getting ready to get on their buses--everyone has the exact same colored luggage--I'm guessing most of it is equipment provided by the tour company or some such. It is also close to the Royal palace and the Thamel district, where most of the tourists hang out.

Thamel is quite the happening place at night--and apparently all day, though I'll get to that later. Watch your wallet--make sure you have taken precautions because there are pickpockets about. Also, Nepalese do bargain--I know I ended up buying two hats that were at least twice what I was quoted at the next stall over! Oh well, live and learn. In the end, bargaining comes down to finding a price that you and the seller think is fair--beyond that, it shouldn't matter. Caveat emptor, however--it is really up to you to decide the provenance of any given item as the seller may or may not give you the real information. Oh, and I have to wonder if some of the shops are 'authorized' vendors:

Friday morning I went back to Thamel. I already knew it was going to be interesting; you see Friday was the Holi festival in Nepal--the festival of colors. Celebrated in most Indo-Asian nations in one form or another, some of the largest features are: 1) Throwing water, and 2) colors. These often combine in the tradition of throwing colored water.

Somehow I missed getting any of the colored water on me--though I did get splashed with a few regular water balloons. Here they are small, plastic bags that are filled and tied off. People especially like to throw them from the upper stories of multi-storied buildings. The height of Holi day is apparently after 11am, when things really kick into gear.

Fortunately, things were pretty quiet early in the day--I went down to Thamel to look around and there wasn't much going on yet. First I came through the main entrance, past a pagoda/bank on the right side of the road:

I got up around 5:40 in the morning and was out of the hotel just a little after 6am. The tourist district, centered on 'Thamel', was pretty sleepy in the early hours, so I did a lot of walking, taking pictures of the architecture, shrines, and daily life.

The buildings here are quite amazing. I took a lot of pictures so you can see what I mean. Some of them almost look ready to fall apart, yet there are details such as the wood carvings that are exquisite. Wood is quite prevalent in their construction, and I noticed that it was common for there to be wooden ladders, rather than stairs, connecting the floors. Many doors were also below street level, with a very small entrance that you have to duck into. Store fronts aren't large, open fronts, but rather multiple doors that are all opened up. All sorts of businesses have this same structure.

Sacred spaces were omnipresent. From temples:

To large shrines:

And small shrines:

Trees:

And even what appears to be a hole in a set of stairs:

(Not sure about the last one, but it makes a good story...)

Apparently a lot of people make offerings of a sort just outside their doors--I'm not sure if this was because it was Holi or not, but I had been seeing the after effects and finally found one in progress.

I eventually came upon a large temple area called Kathe Simbu, at least according to my maps. It was pretty impressive--a large square with many small shrines and a large stupa. There were several temples around the complex with monks chanting and performing rituals with fellow religionists. Around the stupa you can see a common item--prayer wheels. Inside each prayer wheel is a copy of a mantra, prayer, etc., which is also printed around the outside. Each turn of the wheel is as though you had said the mantra, thus increasing merit.

Another common practice is to put some paint or dye on the image of a deity as a kind of offering. Red is a common color, usually placed upon the head, though sometimes (as you can see above) it is used all over. I have heard that Ganesha, in particular, is fond of red, but I don't fully know its significance otherwise.

Walking down the street, I felt somewhat out of place, but not overly threatened, even in the relatively abandoned side-streets I occasionally walked down. I was on the lookout for water balloons--though one did catch me by surprise. I had on a jacket for the occasion, though, and a change of clothes waiting back at the hotel. I did get accosted a few times by people who were trying to sell something and would keep after me for a block or more.

As more people showed up, you started seeing more people with the water balloons. At one point I heard a commotion and turned around. I saw another tourist running around a corner towards me, and soon a parade of men, all of them doused in red dye, came after him, turning up the street away from us. I decided that my best course of action was to move from store to store, in case a large group of colored water-throwers happened through. They never did, though.

Kathmandu is an interesting place. Religious icons are everywhere, and despite all the issues (Maoists, Tibet, and a lack of fuel which must be imported from India) I did not feel any oppressive sense of doom. Holi day, especially, was a time when complete strangers were laughing with one another and enjoying themselves. Smiles were everywhere, even in horrible conditions, proving the resiliency of the human spirit. I believe it was Anthony Bourdain who pointed out the symbolism of my penultimate photo. Something that I believe encompasses a human ideal found throughout the world that keeps all of us going, whatever reasons we may have to quit: Hope. Here we have the class third-world icon; a building, occupied and in business, with girders sticking out of the roof. It is as if it is saying, "I may have only one floor today, but one day..." It expresses, for me, a feeling that the owners have not given up, but are looking forward to better times. That is a powerful message.

But if that's my penultimate photo then what, might you ask, is the ultimate? A monkey of course!

And that concludes my slideshow. Thank you for reading. (And now you see why I don't post much--this has taken up way too much of my time and yours)

Overhead, without any fuss, one of the stars went out.

2008-03-19T14:40:00.004+07:00

Sir Arthur C. Clarke has passed away at age 90.

He was my dad's and my favorite sci-fi writer, and the first one who I really grew to appreciate. I remember borrowing my dad's copies of Clarke's novels and short story collections, and the incredible sense of possibility they engendered.

I'm sure Sri Lanka is a fascinating country on its own merits, but I always knew it as Sir Arthur's adopted home, and nursed a quiet fantasy that if Josh and I ever got to visit the country (which we probably will) we would be able to stop in and enjoy a cup of tea with him.

Rest in peace, Sir Arthur. You were my hero.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-18T09:57:00.001+07:00

Not Thailand-related, but this brought a tear to my eye...

Skytrain

2008-03-17T20:33:00.004+07:00

I've mentioned the BTS Skytrain in previous posts, so I thought I should actually post some pictures of it!

The Skytrain is a relatively new elevated railway that provides quick and easy transportation around central Bangkok (along with a single subway line, the MRT, and an extensive bus system). Generally, *anything* that allows you to avoid traffic is desirable, because the traffic jams can be horrendous here!

This is what the Skytrain line looks like from street level (actually, slightly above street level, since I was standing on a pedestrian bridge). The large street here eventually becomes Sukhumvit Road, and the Skytrain follows this road (one of the main drags in Bangkok) for much of its length. We live near the start of Sukhumvit.

(ETA: I realized after I posted this that I talked about the horrendous traffic, yet showed a rare picture of Sukhumvit/Ploenchit with almost no cars! The reason is that the police were stopping traffic a little ways behind where I took the picture, for a Royal motorcade of some kind to go through. As it was passing they wouldn't even let people up on the walkways, because being elevated above a member of the royal family is a no-no. This photo was taken after they waved us on but before the traffic had been released yet.)

Where there is a station, there is a platform about halfway up, where you buy tickets (and buy DVDs/VCDs, get a snack at the little shops, etc.) This is the entrance to one of the platforms. There are also certain areas (especially downtown) where this extends into a sort of "Skywalk" for pedestrians, from which there will be bridges to the different shopping centers, department stores, etc. This is a much more convenient way of getting around than trying to walk at street level!

This is the platform itself, at Nana station (the one closest to us). The train on the left is just leaving this station (Thais drive on the left and so do their trains!) and there is another train at the next station which will shortly arrive. I don't have any pictures of the trains proper because I'm always busy trying to get on, but the Skytrain site I linked to above has some pictures, plus route maps if you're interested.

Our building

2008-03-17T20:31:00.001+07:00

Bangkok Mar 15 2008 200, originally uploaded by tatsushu.

This is our building, seen when looking up from the entrance area. I meant to add this to the previous post but couldn't locate it at the time.

2008-03-16T18:35:00.002+07:00

Well, I promised some pictures of the neighborhood-- so FINALLY, here we go! (Plus I figured out how to post multiple pictures from Flickr...click on an image to get the full version!)

This is the entrance area to our apartment building. The first few floors there are the parking garage, and on the right is a 6-story block of offices and such (on top of which is the swimming pool). The umbrella marks the security guard's stand: he checks non-residents going in or out. The guy on the bike has just delivered a pizza (and his particular pizza chain is pretty good, we're eating it for dinner tonight).

This is the small, unnamed street our building is on. You are looking east to west, and the building is on the right about halfway down (you really can't see it from here). This is a very busy lane and there are no sidewalks, so it can be a bit hair-raising walking around.

The building on the right with the "Penthouse" sign is an hourly hotel. There is actually another one on the other side of the building called "PB", for "Playboy". You can guess from the names what general clientele they are catering to!

We were a bit surprised at first, but this is actually a very safe neighborhood-- "adult" businesses aren't really "undercover" here, and seem to coexist peacefully with other, tamer things. I really haven't seen anything out in the open in our neighborhood (so you can bring your kids to visit, no worries!)

This is another part of the street connecting us to Soi 11. The building here is one we find very interesting because of the design. During the day and into the evening, there are several food vendors that regularly set up here-- we haven't eaten at their stalls, but I believe that they serve red roast pork, which is a common street food and supposed to be really good. There are small tables set out for people to eat at, and they seem to be always busy (and taxis and other cars often pull alongside and park so folks can grab a meal). In Bangkok, this translates to a high recommendation!

The orange banner is actually for a tonkatsu or Japanese pork cutlet restaurant on the other side of the building. We've eaten there a couple of times, and I have to say I think it beats anything we had in Tokyo! It's mostly patronized by Japanese visiting Bangkok (they were a bit worried at first when two Americans walked in, but they warmed up when they found out we could speak Japanese...)

This is a stretch of Soi 11, which runs all the way to the main road, Sukhumvit. We regularly walk down here to eat, shop or get to the Skytrain (the station is down at the end of the soi). This is actually one of the more boring stretches of Soi 11-- I'll try to get some more interesting shots next time, but I have problems with trying not to be too much of a tourist! At least you can see some food vendors, a taxi, and one of the famous tuk-tuks (three-wheeled open vehicles).

Trivia Contest (part 1) - the results!

2008-03-16T18:11:00.002+07:00

Thanks to those of you who responded. The winner is Peter, who was the only one to get all the answers correct:

1) What is the full, official name of the city Josh and I are currently living in? What does it translate as, and what is noteworthy about the name?

The full name is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit (Thai: กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยามหาดิลกภพ นพรัตน์ราชธานี บุรีรมย์อุดมราชนิเวศน์มหาสถาน อมรพิมานอวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะวิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์). It translates to "The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukam". (from the Wikipedia article)

The distinction of this name is that it is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest place name. Peter also pointed out that the words making up the name are a "Thai-ized" combination of two ancient languages, Pali and Sanskrit. (I would also have accepted that Bangkok is the "other City of Angels" after Los Angeles.)

Nowadays people refer to the city as Bangkok or Krung Thep Mahanakhon.

2) Particularly hot Thai chilies are known as phrik khii nuu. What does this translate as?

"Mouse shit chilies" (phrik = chili, khii = dropping, nuu = mouse). These are small, green chilies, hence the name. (The general rule here is the smaller and greener the chili pepper, the hotter it is.)

3) Which Thai author won a World Fantasy Award in 2002, and what is his other job?

S. P. Somtow, or Somtow Sucharitkul, won a World Fantasy Award in 2002 for his novella "The Bird Catcher". He is a prolific author of sci-fi, fantasy and horror fiction and has directed a couple of movies. His other job, for which he first became famous, is as a composer-- and he is the current artistic director of the Bangkok Opera. (His blog is at http://somtow.blogspot.com.)

Peter wins a copy of Dragon's Fin Soup, a collection of eight of Somtow's short stories! It is really, really excellent and is out of print in the US.

Thanks for playing!

Trivia contest! (part 1)

2008-03-12T15:37:00.003+07:00

Okay, just for fun (and to see how many people are reading) let's have a trivia contest!

Email me the answers to the following three questions (flyingrat42ATgmailDOTcom), and I'll pick a random winner from the people that get all three correct. The winner will receive a small present (less than USD $10) in the mail.

Ready? Here goes:

1) What is the full, official name of the city Josh and I are currently living in? What does it translate as, and what is noteworthy about the name?

2) Particularly hot Thai chilies are known as phrik khii nuu. What does this translate as?

3) Which Thai author won a World Fantasy Award in 2002, and what is his other job?

ETA: I'll leave the contest open until 12 PM Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday, March 15.

Same old, same old

2008-03-11T19:53:00.002+07:00

Still no pictures. Ack! By hook or by crook, I will take the camera with me tomorrow and get some pictures of the neighborhood to show you.

Josh and I had a relatively fun weekend. We attended the annual Diplomatic Red Cross Bazaar at the Siam Paragon shopping center (http://www.siamparagon.co.th/. If you're viewing the page now, you may get a splash page which is a memorial tribute to HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, the King's older sister who passed away recently; the country is observing a 100-day mourning period, and lots of Thai websites have similar tributes.) The Paragon is an amazing mall with an aquarium in the basement, an IMAX theater, an exhibition hall and lots of shops and restaurants (including a huge Kinokuniya bookstore, which Josh and I love!)

The Red Cross Bazaar is an annual event which most of the foreign embassies in Thailand (as well as lots of shops, restaurants, etc.) participate in to raise money for the Thai Red Cross. Each country typically sells characteristic products: clothing, food, wine, cosmetics, handicrafts, you name it. I volunteered at the US's booth (run by the Embassy's ACSA/Commissary) on Saturday evening: we were selling American candy and soft drinks, cosmetics and household goods, but the Igloo coolers were most popular and were selling like hotcakes, especially the big wheeled ones! (Coolers like that are hard to find in Thailand and are typically marked up a lot-- the ones sold at the Bazaar were still more expensive than the US, but cheaper than you can find elsewhere.)

We both went back on Sunday and spent some time wandering around. I was able to find a refill for my Dermalogica skin-care products (hooray!) and we bought a really nice inlaid chess-set/backgammon board from the Syrian booth for only 2000 baht, which is a steal! (I leave the conversion to USD as an exercise to the reader.) We also bought a beautiful ceramic ewer from the Pakistani embassy (which happens to be practically next door to our apartment, near the hospital) that will look appropriate for our reenactments.

We also took the opportunity to be served yak butter tea by one of the princesses of Bhutan, which was a cool experience!

We aten't dead!

2008-03-08T22:40:00.003+07:00

Sorry, still getting into the swing of blogging....

Anyway, the past posts haven't given much of a realistic impression of what we've been actually up to the past couple of weeks! We certainly have not been sitting around the apartment the whole time (speaking of which, I need to post some apartment pics soon). We've been spending quite a bit of time exploring our neighborhood (Sukhumvit Sois 3-11), and going a little further afield. Last Saturday, for example, we took a trip down to the river to see the National Museum.

This weekend, we are sticking a bit closer to home, because Josh is getting over a sinus infection. We've been taking advantage of a service called Food by Phone (http://foodbyphone.com/), which delivers from a whole bunch of local restaurants. Last night we had Thai food from a well-known place called Cabbages and Condoms (it was started by the PDA, Thailand's equivalent of Planned Parenthood, and all profits from the restaurant go back to the organization. The food is "guaranteed not to make you pregnant"!) Tonight we ordered from an excellent Lebanese restaurant down the street. Over the past week we've actually gone out a whole bunch, from German to Indian to Tex-Mex places, and we've enjoyed trying some foods from the street vendors as well, from chaa nom yen (known in the US as "Thai iced tea") to fresh sliced guava.

Thailand's food culture is really unique-- the street food is some of the best eating in the country! I knew that when we came, but I didn't expect the huge range of really good restaurants of other types as well. The German Bierhaus just around the corner rivals Das Waldcafe (for those of you from Newport News). Best of all is the price-- a meal on the street will cost 25-30 baht (about $1), and an "expensive" meal out will cost a bit under 1000 baht (around $30) for both of us together.

We'll try to get some pictures of the neighborhood up soon-- we just keep forgetting the camera when we go out!

Back at work...

2008-03-03T20:58:00.002+07:00

So, today (Monday) was my first official day back at work (I'm working half-time from home). I'm really glad to be back on a regular schedule, actually, and relieved that everything is working out with our high-speed Internet connection so far! I'm still pinching myself that it's even possible for me to continue my job from halfway around the globe!

We signed up for our Internet service through our apartment building, which is standard practice here in Thailand: each building will have an agreement with a particular cable, Internet, etc. provider, and you can simply arrange things at the front desk. Our building fortunately works with one of the better service providers, TRUE Corp.; I've heard that other companies can leave much to be desired in terms of their service and the speed of their connection. Getting started was simple: we picked up our modem once it arrived at the front desk, followed the easy English instructions, and we were set to go! Our connection is ADSL (through the phone line), and is limited to about 1 MBPS, mostly because there is a connection bottleneck for international traffic going into/out of the Kingdom.

Last week I was apprehensive about the Internet thing panning out, because we were having issues with our Linksys wireless router (brought from home). Turns out that we think the router was damaged in transit, because it kept dropping the connection. After calling the Internet provider's help line (which provides excellent English support!) I ended up going down to Power Buy, the Thai equivalent of Best Buy, and purchasing a wireless router specifically for ADSL. It's worked like a charm, and I am able to make the VPN connections I need to be able to telecommute. Uploading/downloading is still slow, but we can deal with that. We've even been able to get our Nintendo Wii online again, and have downloaded some Virtual Console games to add to our library of one Wii game...so we've been reliving the past and playing Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Brothers over the past few days!

Khlong San Saeb (a closeup)

2008-03-01T21:56:00.001+07:00

Bangkok 020, originally uploaded by tatsushu.

Here's a closeup of the canal as seen from our window. I didn't get any of the canal boats in this shot, but we do see them going up and down regularly.

The canal boats on Khlong San Saeb have been described, and not inaccurately, as the world's only transportation that runs on toxic waste: the canal is very polluted, and it's not worth thinking about the ramifications of falling into the water. The boats have plastic sheeting along the sides that can be raised to protect against splashing as you're going down the canal at high speed. Best to keep your mouth closed instead of gawking at the sights!

We've only ridden the boats once so far, but it was a fun experience: you wait at a rather makeshift floating pier, and when the boat comes alongside, you jump down inside, to find a seat as quickly as possible. The boats only stop for a few seconds, so you have to be quick! You then purchase a ticket from one of the crew, and prepare to hop off again at your destination pier. The boat from the pier closest to our building (Sukhumvit Soi 3, or Nana Nua) doesn't go all the way to the final stop at Phan Fa, so we had to change at an intermediate pier, which was pretty straightforward.

There is a larger boat service that runs up and down the Chao Phraya River, and I'll try to post some photos of those boats later on.

Our neighborhood (4), the highway and canal

2008-03-01T21:47:00.001+07:00

Bangkok 016, originally uploaded by tatsushu.

This is the view northwest from our bedroom window. You can see the superhighway in the background-- this is the way we arrived from the airport. At night, the highway is brightly lit and we can see the billboards and signs very clearly (it's spectacular!)

The tall building in the back left is Baiyoke Tower, the tallest building in Bangkok.

Immediately to the right of the white building at left center is Khlong San Saeb ("khlong" means "canal"), which runs east-west and serves as a means of transport. Canal boats run up and down the waterway, stopping at certain piers to pick up and discharge passengers. It's an interesting ride!

Our next-door neighbors!

2008-03-01T21:41:00.001+07:00

Bangkok 019, originally uploaded by tatsushu.

This is what we see looking straight down from our bedroom: the residence of the Japanese Ambassador to Thailand!

The house and grounds are quite beautiful (from above, anyway-- we really haven't looked much at street level). The pond is filled with large koi (Japanese carp), and the "fishing pavilion" evidently provides a great place to feed them from, as I've seen the fish swarming around there at certain times!

Our neighboorhood (3), looking west

2008-03-01T21:38:00.001+07:00

Bangkok 011, originally uploaded by tatsushu.

This is the view from our bedroom window, looking due west. The octagonal building is another apartment building next door. Right behind it is Bumrungrad Hospital, a very large private hospital that will probably be our main place for health care while we're here in Thailand.

Bumrungrad is quite a place: I went there the other day to get patient registration cards for Josh and me, and to get a prescription refilled. The lobby looks more like a 5-star hotel than what we would expect of a hospital-- there is even a food court! After signing in, I went to the appropriate specialist's office, spoke with the doctor within 5 minutes, and went to the cashier and pharmacy to pick up my prescription. The hospital fees came to a total of about 1000 baht, or around US $30.

The hospital, and Thai health care in general, have a great reputation: many Thai doctors train in the US or Europe, and Thailand has become a huge spot for "medical tourism" in recent years, because costs are much less expensive (although you generally do have to pay out of pocket, with certain exceptions). I hope we won't need to visit the doctor much, but we should be well taken care of.

New look for the blog

2008-03-01T21:25:00.001+07:00

I changed to a simpler blog format because the pictures from Flickr were getting cropped. Hopefully I'll figure out a way to make it work with the original template.

Another aside: please feel free to make comments, and if you have questions to ask, I'll try to respond!

Our neighborhood (2), the Skytrain station

2008-03-01T21:14:00.001+07:00

Bangkok 025, originally uploaded by tatsushu.

This is a (slightly fuzzy, sorry!) closeup of the area to the right of the central building in the previous photo. The lighted platform is the Phloen Chit Skytrain (elevated railway) station. The Skytrain is relatively new and a nice, fast, and most importantly airconditioned way to get around Bangkok. Right now there are only two lines and a limited number of stops, but there are plans to expand it soon.

We've ridden the Skytrain a lot because it is a very convenient way to get around, and not too crowded. This station is actually the next one down from the station that we use (Nana), but that one's not visible from our apartment. The trees behind the station mark the start of Wireless Road (Thanon Witthayu), which is where most of the Embassies are located. This station actually is only about 15 minutes walk away for us.

Our neighborhood! (1)

2008-03-01T21:10:00.001+07:00

Bangkok 024, originally uploaded by tatsushu.

Now that I've finally gotten some photos uploaded to Flickr, we can start showing you what the view looks like from Casa de Geek (aka our 21st-floor apartment)!

This is the view looking southeast towards the central shopping area. The American Embassy is in this direction. Most of these buildings are office or apartment buildings.

Whew-- we're here!

2008-02-27T12:33:00.000+07:00

Finally, some content!

Well, after a grueling pack-out and journey, we've arrived at our new home in Bangkok. We've actually been here about a week now, but our home Internet connection is just now up and running (and not too reliably, yet). So far our time has been taken up with getting checked in at the Embassy, setting up our apartment, exploring our neighborhood, and (last but NOT least) getting over jet-lag AND being sick. (Evidently it's not uncommon for new arrivals to Bangkok to come down with some sort of respiratory "ick" in the first week, because the city is more polluted than we are used to, albeit not as bad as someplace like LA!)

I'll soon be posting some pictures of our new home and our neighborhood, so watch this space for details!