My day at the park - 7 March 2010
I got inspired the other day because I figured out that the bus that passes our apartment is the very same bus that goes to the IDC (Immigration Detention Center) AND it's only 14THB. Before I had to walk 10 minutes to the BTS (sky train), go one station & then switch to the MRT (underground), to 5 stops to Lumpini & then either walk 20 minutes or take a taxi or motor bike. So this would take about 45 minutes & cost about 70 or 80THB. WOW! Not sure why it took me more than 4 months to figure this out, but I think it's just transformed my life. I was so excited about the bus that I decided to get a bus map & try some other routes. I've found a new adventure in Bangkok!!
I thought I'd found a new freedom & independence with my trusty bus map. It's written in English & Thai, so how could I go wrong................easy...........seems most Thais don't have a clue how to read a map & seems the ones i encountered went one better & couldn't read Thai either - though my adventurous spirit has not been dashed, just dialed down a notch or 2.
In Hong Kong the bus system was wonderful & as long as you had a map, you could get most anywhere. If you got lost, you just showed your English/Chinese map & they would steer you in the right direction, no problem! But this isn't Hong Kong!!
Today I decided to test out my bus map skills & after much studying it looked like I could get to this park that a friend had taken Jesse to when he was here. He'd told me it was really nice & I was wanting to see some green. I walked the 1/2 block to the main road above our street & found the bus stop. In a few minutes bus 11 came by & I jumped on.It wasn't air conditioned, but I had a window seat, so the breeze was good. Realize that it rarely gets below 90F here & today was no exception & the humidity is always up there.
Of course the challenge is to know where to get off the first time around, since there are no signs at the stops (like in Hong Kong). I tried to follow along on my map, but once we started making turns & there were no road signs I was lost. BUT a group of Africans got on & wouldn't you know it, I knew them from the Refugee Center. We had a good chat & then they asked where I was going. They looked at my map & decided that this bus was not going where I thought it should. In the general direction, but not to the route I was counting on. They told me to get off at the end of the line & walk to the main street & get another bus from there. I thanked them & the kids gave me big smiles & lots of waves! I think they thought it was pretty funny to see me on their bus.
I took their advise, but couldn't really locate where I was by now. Too many twists & turns. So I walked about 15 minutes & then went to a 7 Eleven to get a cold drink, cool off & ask directions. The guy seemed to know where I wanted to go & pointed in the direction I was walking, but he spoke no English. The only Thai I could understand him saying was "go straight & turn right". Couldn't figure out if it was close or far. I walked another 10 minutes along a built up city street. Hadn't succeeded in getting out of the city at all. Lots of car dealerships & used industrial machinery shops. Finally I was just too hot & sweaty & broke down & hailed a taxi.
I showed the taxi driver the map & said where I wanted to go. Of course he said he knew & once he started driving I could only tell that he was asking me which street he should turn down, so he really had no clue where I wanted to go. Apparently couldn't read a map or Thai!! So I broke down again & called my personal 911 rescue worker, Lisa. She's the Thai friend who took Jesse to this park in the first place. She had a very long conversation with the driver & then told me he was initially very confused, but she straightened him out. Indeed after about 15 minutes of driving (SO glad I didn't keep walking) we were at the park!
It was a lovely park, lots of water & trees & flowers. I took along the good camera & had a really good time snapping nature photos. This park seems to be an escape from the city for many people. There were families & friends everywhere, enjoying the shade & greenery. There are several gardens in the park, including a formal English Garden, a rainforest type enclosed area & a US Geodesic dome filled with cacti. There were even swan boats to rent, so I'll have to bring John back so we take a ride together (although in this heat, it might not be that much fun).
I walked around for about 2 hours, then decided I'd better work on getting home, since getting there had not worked so well. I went out the other entrance since it looked like there were more buses that way. As I exited the park, the driver of a Songtawang (not sure of the spelling, but it's a large pickup truck with two long seats in the back running along the side of the truck bed - the name literally means 2 seats) waved to me to get into his truck. They take multiple passengers & act as a small local bus. He indicated the fare would be 6THB & I asked some other people where it was going & pointed up the road to the main street. From my trusty map that at least I could read - the main road with the buses was a good ways down the street. So I hoped aboard. I've wanted to try one of these little buses, but have never known what the fare was or how to tell where the heck they are going. Now I had my chance. I'm really glad I didn't walk as it was a good distance. Paid my 6 THB upon exiting like the rest of the group & chalked this up to another new transportation experience!
Now for the bus back to the city challenge! I crossed the road fairly sure that was the direction I wanted to be going. At the bus stop a woman saw me looking at my map & she spoke to me in English. It wasn't good English, but bless her heart to take pity on me!!! She confirmed that I was indeed headed in the right direction & that bus 206 would pass by here. I figured that would get me closest to home. I would need to get off before it made a turn & then take the klong (canal) taxi the rest of the way (only 2 stops). There were several of these Songtawangs stopping & she began reading where they were going. One of them she read & said, "You should get onto this instead of the big bus, it will take you to the sky train & that will get you home." I really wanted to take the big bus in hopes that it would be air conditioned, but decided to trust her. So I hopped aboard. I figured I'd recognize the sky train better than the klong taxi stop anyway. The ride took about 40 minutes & I wondered if I'd made the right decision. I asked a teenager sitting next to me how my the fare was & he said 6THB. I guess that is the standard fare for these trucks.
Turns out I did indeed recognize where to get off, but it didn't matter, because that was the end of the line anyway. It was in front of a big department store & there was a KFC right there in front of me. KFC has a good reputation for ice cream & I've not tried it, so I decided that I'd earned myself a good soft serve ice cream cone in an air conditioned building! It was YUMMY!! I got to the sky train & found my way home quite nicely.
So I can now add another mode of transportation to my list & did manage to get to the park. I've studied the map again & after seeing the buses that were out there, I think I can make it without the taxi next time. John comes home on Wednesday, so we'll see if he's game to give it a try next weekend!!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Sunday, October 4, 2009
My WINGS Talk about my time in BK
WINGS Talk 2 Oct 2009
WINGS - Women Investigating & Nurturing their Gifts & Talents
I was asked to give a 5 minute talk about how I have been able to nurture my career during my time in Bangkok.
5 minutes about myself, WOW, that's a tough task for me, since I love to talk. The only way I could manage to come close to 5 minutes was to write it all down & read it to you. This is not my usual style, so please forgive me, but only way I could do 5 minutes.
If anyone had told me 9 months ago that I would be sitting here in front of you as an expat success story, I would have laughed at you or more likely cried. But I certainly would not have believed you. But here I am & how did I get here?
My professional background is in teaching & nursing. I'm a registered nurse having worked most of my career in community health as a school nurse, HIV/AIDS case worker, women's health, child health, maternity & childbirth educator. I was also very involved in my children's lives as a hockey, soccer & lacrosse Mom, helping to run & manage several of their teams & leagues. In my US life I was a very active & involved person.
When I learned we were moving to Asia, I was excited. This would be our first venture outside of the US & something we had always wanted to do. The timing was perfect. I dropped our youngest son at University & the next week boarded a plane for HK. Like most expats we didn't know if we would be here for 6 months or 6 years. I chose to take the 6 month mind set. I figured this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I wanted to take full advantage of it. I became an experienced tourist & learned my way to places in HK that many natives had not seen. In less than 2 years I visited the Big Buddha more than 12 times, a fact that amazed the HK staff, since some of them had never been there. I was loving this new life!
After about a year the honeymoon ended. My 2 best friends left, my husband was traveling more, & I'd seen most of HK. I became lonely & depressed, spending way too much time wondering what my purpose on this earth was. I wouldn't say I was suicidal, but I think I could have been close.
When I learned we were moving to BK, I knew I had to change if I wanted to survive. I needed a different mindset. Instead of the 6 month mind set, I needed to take on the 6 year mindset. Instead of being a tourist, I needed to be a resident. Now I had to think, what do you need when you live somewhere? For me the answer was friends & meaningful activity. The friends part turned out to be relatively easy. I joined the AWC (American Women's Club) & immediately had 250 new friends from all over the world. I joined every activity they offered & as I met more people I learned about other groups & activities, like WINGS. I very quickly developed a group of wonderful friends.
To find meaningful activity (I'm not a shopper or coffee drinker) I had to step out of my comfort zone & do some begging. I let anyone who would listen to me know that I needed to find voluteeer work that in some way related to nursing. I was amazed at the number of great suggestions I received. But the one that grabbed me was the health center at the BK Refugee Center. I began working there 2 days a week last Spring. I didn't do much that required my nursing skills, but just being around the people there gave me a different perspective on life. These people who had so little I found to be inspiring & accepting. They made me feel so good. They actually were doing much more for me than I was for them. Now I had even more friends. As an extention of my work at the BRC, I recently started visiting a Somalian family at the IDC (Immigration Detention Center), but that's another story.
Around the same time last spring, a pregnant friend asked me to be her doula, childbirth support person. This was something I had thought about doing years ago, but with my kids & work had never followed through on. There happened to be a doula training class starting so I enrolled. I now discovered another group of friends through this wonderful group of women training to support other women. I was now embarking on a new but related career, something I could take with me where ever we live. Thru this group I am now teaching childbirth classes at a local hospital, I've assisted with some births, & regularly get calls from dads (got one last night) with questions about labor & breastfeeding. I feel needed & helpful.
In looking forward, I have a vision of combining my 2 new passions. Finding a way for the doula group & possibly other expat women to assist & support the refugee community. I believe that if expat women feel alone & in need of support, then certainly refugee women with far less resources must feel the same way. I'm working on connected pregnant refugee women with support people. This is just in the beginning stages, but I sent out a request for maternity clothes last week to help an African woman who is pregnant as the result of rape & was able to bring her a bag of clothing yesterday. Her smile of gratitude filled me with warmth & joy that she could feel a connection between herself & other caring women in BK. The feeling that she is not alone in this strange & foreign land. A feeling we all need & which I feel I have found.
Recently a Catholic friend whom I introduced to the IDC asked me if I was trying to gain sainthood through my activities. The thought of this made me laugh, I said NO, I am actually very selfish, I do these things for me, because they make me feel good, they give purpose & meaning to my life. These people have rescued me, I am not resuing them.
In closing, I want to give my deepest thanks to the many people who helped me be in this seat today. Your support & caring also rescued me. Kup Khun Ka!
WINGS - Women Investigating & Nurturing their Gifts & Talents
I was asked to give a 5 minute talk about how I have been able to nurture my career during my time in Bangkok.
5 minutes about myself, WOW, that's a tough task for me, since I love to talk. The only way I could manage to come close to 5 minutes was to write it all down & read it to you. This is not my usual style, so please forgive me, but only way I could do 5 minutes.
If anyone had told me 9 months ago that I would be sitting here in front of you as an expat success story, I would have laughed at you or more likely cried. But I certainly would not have believed you. But here I am & how did I get here?
My professional background is in teaching & nursing. I'm a registered nurse having worked most of my career in community health as a school nurse, HIV/AIDS case worker, women's health, child health, maternity & childbirth educator. I was also very involved in my children's lives as a hockey, soccer & lacrosse Mom, helping to run & manage several of their teams & leagues. In my US life I was a very active & involved person.
When I learned we were moving to Asia, I was excited. This would be our first venture outside of the US & something we had always wanted to do. The timing was perfect. I dropped our youngest son at University & the next week boarded a plane for HK. Like most expats we didn't know if we would be here for 6 months or 6 years. I chose to take the 6 month mind set. I figured this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I wanted to take full advantage of it. I became an experienced tourist & learned my way to places in HK that many natives had not seen. In less than 2 years I visited the Big Buddha more than 12 times, a fact that amazed the HK staff, since some of them had never been there. I was loving this new life!
After about a year the honeymoon ended. My 2 best friends left, my husband was traveling more, & I'd seen most of HK. I became lonely & depressed, spending way too much time wondering what my purpose on this earth was. I wouldn't say I was suicidal, but I think I could have been close.
When I learned we were moving to BK, I knew I had to change if I wanted to survive. I needed a different mindset. Instead of the 6 month mind set, I needed to take on the 6 year mindset. Instead of being a tourist, I needed to be a resident. Now I had to think, what do you need when you live somewhere? For me the answer was friends & meaningful activity. The friends part turned out to be relatively easy. I joined the AWC (American Women's Club) & immediately had 250 new friends from all over the world. I joined every activity they offered & as I met more people I learned about other groups & activities, like WINGS. I very quickly developed a group of wonderful friends.
To find meaningful activity (I'm not a shopper or coffee drinker) I had to step out of my comfort zone & do some begging. I let anyone who would listen to me know that I needed to find voluteeer work that in some way related to nursing. I was amazed at the number of great suggestions I received. But the one that grabbed me was the health center at the BK Refugee Center. I began working there 2 days a week last Spring. I didn't do much that required my nursing skills, but just being around the people there gave me a different perspective on life. These people who had so little I found to be inspiring & accepting. They made me feel so good. They actually were doing much more for me than I was for them. Now I had even more friends. As an extention of my work at the BRC, I recently started visiting a Somalian family at the IDC (Immigration Detention Center), but that's another story.
Around the same time last spring, a pregnant friend asked me to be her doula, childbirth support person. This was something I had thought about doing years ago, but with my kids & work had never followed through on. There happened to be a doula training class starting so I enrolled. I now discovered another group of friends through this wonderful group of women training to support other women. I was now embarking on a new but related career, something I could take with me where ever we live. Thru this group I am now teaching childbirth classes at a local hospital, I've assisted with some births, & regularly get calls from dads (got one last night) with questions about labor & breastfeeding. I feel needed & helpful.
In looking forward, I have a vision of combining my 2 new passions. Finding a way for the doula group & possibly other expat women to assist & support the refugee community. I believe that if expat women feel alone & in need of support, then certainly refugee women with far less resources must feel the same way. I'm working on connected pregnant refugee women with support people. This is just in the beginning stages, but I sent out a request for maternity clothes last week to help an African woman who is pregnant as the result of rape & was able to bring her a bag of clothing yesterday. Her smile of gratitude filled me with warmth & joy that she could feel a connection between herself & other caring women in BK. The feeling that she is not alone in this strange & foreign land. A feeling we all need & which I feel I have found.
Recently a Catholic friend whom I introduced to the IDC asked me if I was trying to gain sainthood through my activities. The thought of this made me laugh, I said NO, I am actually very selfish, I do these things for me, because they make me feel good, they give purpose & meaning to my life. These people have rescued me, I am not resuing them.
In closing, I want to give my deepest thanks to the many people who helped me be in this seat today. Your support & caring also rescued me. Kup Khun Ka!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Asian Grocery Store Aisle Signs
You know you are in an Asian store when the signs above the aisles have the following (this is the high end, fancy grocery store in the mall):
Pickled Green Mustard
Religion Goods - incense stick & candle
Fish Sauce
Instant Curry Paste
Coconut Milk
Bean Thread
Exterminate Rat
Bird's Nest Beverage
Essence of Chicken
Cuttlefish
Seasoned Seaweed
Yakisoba (have no idea what this is)
And down one aisle there was Smuckers, Hershey's & Campbell's soup & right across the aisle was all the food from Japan - seaweed, fish snacks, miso - just seemed amusing to have different stuff in the same aisle, but I guess it was the international aisle.
I was actually looking for pie crust & pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie for one of the women at the office. It is her birthday on Monday & she asked if I'd make pumpkin pie. So I went to 4 different allegedly "Western" grocery stores, but no canned pumpkin & finally found pie crust at the last one (I just hate making pie crust from scratch). So I bought a Japanese pumpkin & cooked it up - a lot cheaper & probably will be just as good if not better. Doesn't seem as strong a flavor as USA pumpkin. Found a good recipe on foodnetwork.com by Paula Dean that has cream cheese in it, so should be good.
Pickled Green Mustard
Religion Goods - incense stick & candle
Fish Sauce
Instant Curry Paste
Coconut Milk
Bean Thread
Exterminate Rat
Bird's Nest Beverage
Essence of Chicken
Cuttlefish
Seasoned Seaweed
Yakisoba (have no idea what this is)
And down one aisle there was Smuckers, Hershey's & Campbell's soup & right across the aisle was all the food from Japan - seaweed, fish snacks, miso - just seemed amusing to have different stuff in the same aisle, but I guess it was the international aisle.
I was actually looking for pie crust & pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie for one of the women at the office. It is her birthday on Monday & she asked if I'd make pumpkin pie. So I went to 4 different allegedly "Western" grocery stores, but no canned pumpkin & finally found pie crust at the last one (I just hate making pie crust from scratch). So I bought a Japanese pumpkin & cooked it up - a lot cheaper & probably will be just as good if not better. Doesn't seem as strong a flavor as USA pumpkin. Found a good recipe on foodnetwork.com by Paula Dean that has cream cheese in it, so should be good.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Sun Suk Wan Mae - Happy Mother's Day
Mother’s day in Thailand is Aug 12, which is The Queen’s Birthday. It is a national holiday! Each day in Thailand has a color, for instance Monday is yellow & The King was born on a Monday, so yellow is The King’s color. The Queen was born on a Friday which is blue (for all my southern friends – it’s a Carolina blue); thus, today most people were wearing blue shirts to honor The Queen. There are large photos of The Queen at various ages posted all over the city with blue ribbons surrounding them. Some of the main streets are lit up with white lights like we have a Christmas.
For lunch I met up with an Aussie friend of mine who works full-time, so only time we can meet is on holidays. She brought a friend with her that she’s just met (he’s staying in the same building & visiting Bangkok for 10 days). He’s an American, on vacation from Afghanistan, where he works in the police headquarters as a lawyer. He couldn’t share a lot about his work, but he was very glad to be away for a few weeks. We met at the ferry pier & took the ferry up the river to the last stop. This took almost an hour since it stops at all the stops along the way – 30 in all. I was surprised that we were still in an urban setting this far from the main city. Being a holiday, there were huge groups of blue shirted people on the ferry enjoying their day off. We enjoyed a simple lunch by the river & then headed back.
For dinner I was invited out with my Thai friend, Pam, who is also the Thai language teacher I’ve worked with before. She is the one who last spring invited me to her nephew’s 2nd birthday party at her brother’s home that was like a wedding. So the family sort of knows me. She was meeting her family for a Mother’s Day dinner in Chinatown. She had found out that John as out-of-town & didn’t want me to be alone. I told her I would go, but she had to let me pay for my meal & she agreed & said it would be about 1,000baht ($34).
Pam has 7 siblings & all but 1 was there. There were 2 sisters-in-law also, so 12 people at the “adult” table. At the other table were her nephews & nieces & their various spouses & the one grandkid (the one whose birthday party I went to), another 12 people. I felt right at home with this big noisy family.
Pam told me that Chinese restaurants like this serve a 10 course meal. They were very impressed that I could use chop sticks so well, because some of them asked for forks & spoons (that is what Thai’s use for eating). After some appetizers, we had shark fin soup, a Chinese delicacy & had I known that is what it was I might not have eaten it (just feel sorry for those poor sharks). Next came fried soft shell crab, scallops, crab & egg & onion mixture. Then another delicacy called sea cucumber, that is not actually a plant, but also not a fish. It is very difficult to clean & cook, which makes it a delicacy – it was delicious. There was fried river prawns (shrimp) which are gigantic, almost like lobster. Some vegetables were brought out next, then a whole fish that was cooked & cold with gelatin surrounding it. Next they bought fried noodles. The last thing was Peking Duck – but there was no actual duck meat, just the skin, which you wrap in a small flour pancake, add some onion & cucumber slices & special sauce & eat with your hands. Peking Duck is another delicacy because it takes so long to get the skin brown & perfectly crispy.
Finally we were at dessert. They brought out some sweet dumplings with yellow bean curd in the middle. The dumplings are white & have red Chinese writing on the top of each one. They are for good luck. The mother went around the table & made a ceremony of giving each of her children & me one & saying “Good luck to you, may you be happy, healthy & wealthy in the coming year.” Then the other mother’s went to their children & did the same thing. It was really nice & the dumplings were delicious. The final thing was a thin sweet cold soup with tapioca & beans & coconut slivers.
There was certainly plenty of food, but I didn’t feel stuffed, just very satisfied. It was nice to be around a family having a fun meal. I did get to talk to one niece who graduated from Duke with her MBA. So we talked North Carolina a bit. Most of the young people spoke English well, but I only was at the table for a short time. The older folks had limited English, but they tried very hard to include me in the conversation & Pam was good about translating. They gave out buttons that said “I (heart) Mom” (in English) & flowers to each of the Moms. When we left the restaurant gave each Mom a traditional flower bracelet made from jasmine (the Mother’s day flower) tiny red roses & love flowers. I love these bracelets because the smell so wonderful. They are sold along the street for people to buy to take to the temple as an offering. Whenever I pass a vendor I always take a deep breath to get the full aroma of the jasmine!
So that was my Thai Mother’s Day!
For lunch I met up with an Aussie friend of mine who works full-time, so only time we can meet is on holidays. She brought a friend with her that she’s just met (he’s staying in the same building & visiting Bangkok for 10 days). He’s an American, on vacation from Afghanistan, where he works in the police headquarters as a lawyer. He couldn’t share a lot about his work, but he was very glad to be away for a few weeks. We met at the ferry pier & took the ferry up the river to the last stop. This took almost an hour since it stops at all the stops along the way – 30 in all. I was surprised that we were still in an urban setting this far from the main city. Being a holiday, there were huge groups of blue shirted people on the ferry enjoying their day off. We enjoyed a simple lunch by the river & then headed back.
For dinner I was invited out with my Thai friend, Pam, who is also the Thai language teacher I’ve worked with before. She is the one who last spring invited me to her nephew’s 2nd birthday party at her brother’s home that was like a wedding. So the family sort of knows me. She was meeting her family for a Mother’s Day dinner in Chinatown. She had found out that John as out-of-town & didn’t want me to be alone. I told her I would go, but she had to let me pay for my meal & she agreed & said it would be about 1,000baht ($34).
Pam has 7 siblings & all but 1 was there. There were 2 sisters-in-law also, so 12 people at the “adult” table. At the other table were her nephews & nieces & their various spouses & the one grandkid (the one whose birthday party I went to), another 12 people. I felt right at home with this big noisy family.
Pam told me that Chinese restaurants like this serve a 10 course meal. They were very impressed that I could use chop sticks so well, because some of them asked for forks & spoons (that is what Thai’s use for eating). After some appetizers, we had shark fin soup, a Chinese delicacy & had I known that is what it was I might not have eaten it (just feel sorry for those poor sharks). Next came fried soft shell crab, scallops, crab & egg & onion mixture. Then another delicacy called sea cucumber, that is not actually a plant, but also not a fish. It is very difficult to clean & cook, which makes it a delicacy – it was delicious. There was fried river prawns (shrimp) which are gigantic, almost like lobster. Some vegetables were brought out next, then a whole fish that was cooked & cold with gelatin surrounding it. Next they bought fried noodles. The last thing was Peking Duck – but there was no actual duck meat, just the skin, which you wrap in a small flour pancake, add some onion & cucumber slices & special sauce & eat with your hands. Peking Duck is another delicacy because it takes so long to get the skin brown & perfectly crispy.
Finally we were at dessert. They brought out some sweet dumplings with yellow bean curd in the middle. The dumplings are white & have red Chinese writing on the top of each one. They are for good luck. The mother went around the table & made a ceremony of giving each of her children & me one & saying “Good luck to you, may you be happy, healthy & wealthy in the coming year.” Then the other mother’s went to their children & did the same thing. It was really nice & the dumplings were delicious. The final thing was a thin sweet cold soup with tapioca & beans & coconut slivers.
There was certainly plenty of food, but I didn’t feel stuffed, just very satisfied. It was nice to be around a family having a fun meal. I did get to talk to one niece who graduated from Duke with her MBA. So we talked North Carolina a bit. Most of the young people spoke English well, but I only was at the table for a short time. The older folks had limited English, but they tried very hard to include me in the conversation & Pam was good about translating. They gave out buttons that said “I (heart) Mom” (in English) & flowers to each of the Moms. When we left the restaurant gave each Mom a traditional flower bracelet made from jasmine (the Mother’s day flower) tiny red roses & love flowers. I love these bracelets because the smell so wonderful. They are sold along the street for people to buy to take to the temple as an offering. Whenever I pass a vendor I always take a deep breath to get the full aroma of the jasmine!
So that was my Thai Mother’s Day!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Hunting for Cedars
I have just returned to Bangkok after a wonderful 3 months in the states, visiting with family and friends. I seem to have adjusted to the time difference pretty quickly, John is not having as much luck with that. It can be a problem. My secret is sleeping pills for the first week, does wonders.
This blog is a bit different from my usual blogging. My brother, Hubs & good friend, Reed, have been encouraging me to write some poetry, so here is an attempt. It is about a day that I spent with my father & have recalled it fondly & just wanted to get my feelings about it down. The photo is from Dad's 88th birthday party & I gave him a fly swatter crown, flies & squirrels are his his constant enemies.
Enjoy:
HUNTING FOR CEDAR WITH THE WISEMAN
Summer 2009
The Wiseman, my father, creates furniture from cedar trees.
It is a family tradition, passed down from his grandfather.
For some reason, in the past, it’s only the boys who get the “training”.
Is it because they are the ones who show the interest or just how it’s always been?
I feel sad I was not more interested in the past, I decide to make an effort.
I go to the workshop hopefully to learn, but at the least to spend time with the Wiseman.
I watch his aged hands pull the drawshave along the raw wood that will become a leg for his table.
I observe as he measures, sands, fits the pieces together.
I note the joy and sometimes frustration on his face as he works the wood.
I regret not having observed these things before & not having learned this from him.
I am selfish when I ask that the next table be for ME,
I crave some legacy of his craft, his knowledge, his loving touch of the wood & his creation.
I am thrilled when he asks me to be his assistant in a hunt for new cedar.
“It is the season”, he says, “this is when the bark will peel easily.”
We choose our weapons – a bow saw, loppers & his trusted cane.
I follow him, feeling like a young child filled with trust & admiration.
I have images of a young Native American child following the wise elder into the woods to learn the craft of creating something from nature’s bounty.
He studies each tree with a trained eye.
He points with his cane, “this one is too thick, this one too narrow, that one too crooked.”
His cane follows the trunk up along with our eyes “this one is just right, cut it!”
I, the apprentice, cut the tree.
It is not easy work, but I know this will one day be a table, I visualize it.
We cut more trees until he decides it’s enough.
We drag them from the woods.
Together we peel the thick bark from the slick wood.
He is right, they are easy to peel.
We enjoy this easy task after our hard work of cutting & dragging.
We carry the wood to its drying place.
We smile at each other, a good days work!
I wonder at this Wiseman, who at times seems so frail and fragile,
But who managed the woods with energy & enthusiasm.
I wonder, will he make another table, will I get my legacy?
Then I realize, I don’t really care,
I’m satisfied to have just spent the time with him,
Sharing his wisdom, enjoying his presence, feeling his love.
This blog is a bit different from my usual blogging. My brother, Hubs & good friend, Reed, have been encouraging me to write some poetry, so here is an attempt. It is about a day that I spent with my father & have recalled it fondly & just wanted to get my feelings about it down. The photo is from Dad's 88th birthday party & I gave him a fly swatter crown, flies & squirrels are his his constant enemies.
Enjoy:
HUNTING FOR CEDAR WITH THE WISEMAN
Summer 2009
The Wiseman, my father, creates furniture from cedar trees.
It is a family tradition, passed down from his grandfather.
For some reason, in the past, it’s only the boys who get the “training”.
Is it because they are the ones who show the interest or just how it’s always been?
I feel sad I was not more interested in the past, I decide to make an effort.
I go to the workshop hopefully to learn, but at the least to spend time with the Wiseman.
I watch his aged hands pull the drawshave along the raw wood that will become a leg for his table.
I observe as he measures, sands, fits the pieces together.
I note the joy and sometimes frustration on his face as he works the wood.
I regret not having observed these things before & not having learned this from him.
I am selfish when I ask that the next table be for ME,
I crave some legacy of his craft, his knowledge, his loving touch of the wood & his creation.
I am thrilled when he asks me to be his assistant in a hunt for new cedar.
“It is the season”, he says, “this is when the bark will peel easily.”
We choose our weapons – a bow saw, loppers & his trusted cane.
I follow him, feeling like a young child filled with trust & admiration.
I have images of a young Native American child following the wise elder into the woods to learn the craft of creating something from nature’s bounty.
He studies each tree with a trained eye.
He points with his cane, “this one is too thick, this one too narrow, that one too crooked.”
His cane follows the trunk up along with our eyes “this one is just right, cut it!”
I, the apprentice, cut the tree.
It is not easy work, but I know this will one day be a table, I visualize it.
We cut more trees until he decides it’s enough.
We drag them from the woods.
Together we peel the thick bark from the slick wood.
He is right, they are easy to peel.
We enjoy this easy task after our hard work of cutting & dragging.
We carry the wood to its drying place.
We smile at each other, a good days work!
I wonder at this Wiseman, who at times seems so frail and fragile,
But who managed the woods with energy & enthusiasm.
I wonder, will he make another table, will I get my legacy?
Then I realize, I don’t really care,
I’m satisfied to have just spent the time with him,
Sharing his wisdom, enjoying his presence, feeling his love.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Bangkok Refugee Center - 1st posting
11 Feb 2009
Yesterday I went back for a 2nd "interview" with the doctor and learned more about what the needs are from a medical standpoint.
I feel that I have to explain a bit about refugees & asylum seekers in Thailand. Refugees are those who have been accepted as refugee status by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commision for Refugees). The reasons for being accepted as a refugee is fear of persection for race, religion, nationality, social or political associations. Once they are accepted by the UNHCR a refugee gets certain benefits (small amount of money & sometimes housing & medical care). Before being accepted the people are called asylum seekers and they get no benefits at all. It can take sometimes years to get accepted as a refugee, so the asylum seekers are really in a tough situation. Neither group is allowed to work.
The situation is worse in Thailand, because the Thai government does not recognize refugees or asylum seekers, to they are considered illegal immigrants. So at any time these people can be picked up & detained (in horrible conditions) & sent back to their home country, where most likely they will be in even greater danger, because now their home government knows they are trying to escape. It's really complicated & sad.
In Bangkok there are 1,373 refugees. These people are just waiting for other countries to accept them as residents. This can take years & some people are never accepted, so they live the refugee life always. Those who have been involved in the government or military in their home countries are likely not to be accepted. There are 570 registered asylum seekers in Bangkok, but likely many more they just don't know about. These people are from 45 different countries.
The Bangkok Refugee Center does not provide housing, but a place for these people to come during the day. There are classes for the children, a library, medical clinic, computers, a small cafe and space for people to socialize. Each time I've been there it is a very busy place. It is interesting to observe these people, laughing & talking, they seem happy. I don't see the desperation that they must feel, but I guess it is better than what they would be facing in their own countries. We can complain about our country, but let's face it, we are the lucky ones.
I'm sure I will learn a lot more as I begin working there. I'm going to go 2 days a week. The doctor would like help teaching family planning classes. The challange is the different cultural & religious beliefs related to family planning. There is a need to respect these values, but also make them realize there is no place for newborns in this situation. I am also going to help with the immunization program, to make sure people are up-to-date & if not remind them about getting their shots. This will be mostly paper pushing, but a necesary thing. Since my interest is in public health, this should be a good experience for me.
Yesterday I went back for a 2nd "interview" with the doctor and learned more about what the needs are from a medical standpoint.
I feel that I have to explain a bit about refugees & asylum seekers in Thailand. Refugees are those who have been accepted as refugee status by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commision for Refugees). The reasons for being accepted as a refugee is fear of persection for race, religion, nationality, social or political associations. Once they are accepted by the UNHCR a refugee gets certain benefits (small amount of money & sometimes housing & medical care). Before being accepted the people are called asylum seekers and they get no benefits at all. It can take sometimes years to get accepted as a refugee, so the asylum seekers are really in a tough situation. Neither group is allowed to work.
The situation is worse in Thailand, because the Thai government does not recognize refugees or asylum seekers, to they are considered illegal immigrants. So at any time these people can be picked up & detained (in horrible conditions) & sent back to their home country, where most likely they will be in even greater danger, because now their home government knows they are trying to escape. It's really complicated & sad.
In Bangkok there are 1,373 refugees. These people are just waiting for other countries to accept them as residents. This can take years & some people are never accepted, so they live the refugee life always. Those who have been involved in the government or military in their home countries are likely not to be accepted. There are 570 registered asylum seekers in Bangkok, but likely many more they just don't know about. These people are from 45 different countries.
The Bangkok Refugee Center does not provide housing, but a place for these people to come during the day. There are classes for the children, a library, medical clinic, computers, a small cafe and space for people to socialize. Each time I've been there it is a very busy place. It is interesting to observe these people, laughing & talking, they seem happy. I don't see the desperation that they must feel, but I guess it is better than what they would be facing in their own countries. We can complain about our country, but let's face it, we are the lucky ones.
I'm sure I will learn a lot more as I begin working there. I'm going to go 2 days a week. The doctor would like help teaching family planning classes. The challange is the different cultural & religious beliefs related to family planning. There is a need to respect these values, but also make them realize there is no place for newborns in this situation. I am also going to help with the immunization program, to make sure people are up-to-date & if not remind them about getting their shots. This will be mostly paper pushing, but a necesary thing. Since my interest is in public health, this should be a good experience for me.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Hash House Harriers
So am I the only person in the world who has never heard of the Hash House Harriers???? If I'm not & you've never heard of them, they are a drinking group who does runs. I guess their motto is I try not to let my running problem get in the way of my drinking!
I met a woman last week & she called me this afternoon just after 3pm & said "if you can be at Noregea's Pub before 4pm, you can join us on a Hash tonight." I had no idea what a Hash was, but knew it involved running, so figured, what the heck. So I put on my running shoes & clothes & headed out. The pub was just a 10 minute walk from our apartment. We loaded into cars & drove about 45 minutes outside of the city. There were about 30 people who obviously all knew each other. Very friendly group. In our car there was a couple visiting for just 4 days from Spain & they are Hashers there, so looked up the Bangkok Hashers & join in the fun.
The way it works is that someone plots out a trail & everyone runs or walks depending on their ability. It is not competitive & everyone supports each other. This trail was about 7K & snaked through rice paddies & around local homes (shacks) out in the paddies. It was very beautiful watching the sun set over the rice paddies. I was with the last group & one guy convinced us to try a shortcut, which ended up taking an extra half hour because we got lost!
When the run it over there is lots of beer & food. They form a large circle & call different people into the circle for different reasons & they sing this Hasher's song & the people have to chug their beers. I got called in 3 or 4 times. I was the only "virgin Hasher", which I guess is a big deal. Then I got called in because my husband was out of town, then because I was not wearing a Hashers t-shirt (I guess that's a rule) & then just because! Then we all went out for dinner afterwards to an outdoor Thai restaurant & drank more beer & had more fun.
What an unexpected & lively evening. When we got back to the city our driver dropped the visitors from Spain & myself off near the subway station & I showed them how to get back to the hotel & walked home. Just as I was going into my apt, this woman whom I met in Cambodia last weekend called to say she was in Bangkok & at Mc Donalds' just around the corner from me. So I went out & met her & this young guy she'd picked up at the airport. We hung out for a while until I finally told them I HAD to go home.
Now I'm not tired, but going to hit the sack anyway. This is a strange place sometimes!!
And people worry about me when John is away.......................
For those who have not heard of the HHH, here is a little history of it from Wikapedia:
Hashing began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1938, when a casual group of British colonial officers and expatriates began meeting on Monday evenings to run, in a fashion patterned after the traditional British Paper Chase (game), to rid themselves of the excesses of the previous weekend. This original group consisted of four members: Cecil Lee, Frederick "Horse" Thomson, Ronald "Torch" Bennett, and Albert Stephen (A.S.) Ignacious "G" Gispert. John Woodrow was also an original member of the group, but is rarely credited as a founder, having left Malaysia soon after the war and returning to Scotland.
After meeting for some months, they were informed by the Registrar of Societies that as a "group," they would require a Constitution and an official name. A.S. Gispert suggested the name "Hash House Harriers" in homage to the Selangor Club Annex, where the men were billeted, so named the "Hash House" for its notoriously monotonous food. The final word, "Harriers," refers to the role of those in the chase, where the "hare" was given a head start to blaze a trail and mark his path with shreds of paper, and then pursued by a shouting pack of "harriers." Apart from the excitement of chasing the hare and finding the "true" path, harriers reaching the end of the trail would be rewarded with beer, ginger beer, and cigarettes.
The Constitution of the Hash House Harriers is laid out in the following philosophy from a KL city club registration card dated 1950:
To promote physical fitness among our members
To get rid of weekend hangovers
To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel
I met a woman last week & she called me this afternoon just after 3pm & said "if you can be at Noregea's Pub before 4pm, you can join us on a Hash tonight." I had no idea what a Hash was, but knew it involved running, so figured, what the heck. So I put on my running shoes & clothes & headed out. The pub was just a 10 minute walk from our apartment. We loaded into cars & drove about 45 minutes outside of the city. There were about 30 people who obviously all knew each other. Very friendly group. In our car there was a couple visiting for just 4 days from Spain & they are Hashers there, so looked up the Bangkok Hashers & join in the fun.
The way it works is that someone plots out a trail & everyone runs or walks depending on their ability. It is not competitive & everyone supports each other. This trail was about 7K & snaked through rice paddies & around local homes (shacks) out in the paddies. It was very beautiful watching the sun set over the rice paddies. I was with the last group & one guy convinced us to try a shortcut, which ended up taking an extra half hour because we got lost!
When the run it over there is lots of beer & food. They form a large circle & call different people into the circle for different reasons & they sing this Hasher's song & the people have to chug their beers. I got called in 3 or 4 times. I was the only "virgin Hasher", which I guess is a big deal. Then I got called in because my husband was out of town, then because I was not wearing a Hashers t-shirt (I guess that's a rule) & then just because! Then we all went out for dinner afterwards to an outdoor Thai restaurant & drank more beer & had more fun.
What an unexpected & lively evening. When we got back to the city our driver dropped the visitors from Spain & myself off near the subway station & I showed them how to get back to the hotel & walked home. Just as I was going into my apt, this woman whom I met in Cambodia last weekend called to say she was in Bangkok & at Mc Donalds' just around the corner from me. So I went out & met her & this young guy she'd picked up at the airport. We hung out for a while until I finally told them I HAD to go home.
Now I'm not tired, but going to hit the sack anyway. This is a strange place sometimes!!
And people worry about me when John is away.......................
For those who have not heard of the HHH, here is a little history of it from Wikapedia:
Hashing began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1938, when a casual group of British colonial officers and expatriates began meeting on Monday evenings to run, in a fashion patterned after the traditional British Paper Chase (game), to rid themselves of the excesses of the previous weekend. This original group consisted of four members: Cecil Lee, Frederick "Horse" Thomson, Ronald "Torch" Bennett, and Albert Stephen (A.S.) Ignacious "G" Gispert. John Woodrow was also an original member of the group, but is rarely credited as a founder, having left Malaysia soon after the war and returning to Scotland.
After meeting for some months, they were informed by the Registrar of Societies that as a "group," they would require a Constitution and an official name. A.S. Gispert suggested the name "Hash House Harriers" in homage to the Selangor Club Annex, where the men were billeted, so named the "Hash House" for its notoriously monotonous food. The final word, "Harriers," refers to the role of those in the chase, where the "hare" was given a head start to blaze a trail and mark his path with shreds of paper, and then pursued by a shouting pack of "harriers." Apart from the excitement of chasing the hare and finding the "true" path, harriers reaching the end of the trail would be rewarded with beer, ginger beer, and cigarettes.
The Constitution of the Hash House Harriers is laid out in the following philosophy from a KL city club registration card dated 1950:
To promote physical fitness among our members
To get rid of weekend hangovers
To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel
Friday, January 16, 2009
Photos of Lumpini Park
Here are some photos I took at Lumpini Park yesterday.
This of the exercise group. Really doesn't show the entire group, but it gives you an idea of what it's like. And this is just one of maybe 4 going on. I guess they have them in the morning as well.
These are the lake (pond)in the middle of the park. The water wheel apparatus is an invention of the last King & it is used to airate the water prevent pollution.
These are of the Duck Boats - you can rent for about $1 for 30 minutes.
And the fish being fed. One actually jumped clear out of the water to get some bread. They sell bags of bread at the entrance to the park. A nice family place to hang out.
This is the entrance (well I'm leaving), but you can see the statue of one of the Kings & also the Sky Train (BTS) in the background.
This of the exercise group. Really doesn't show the entire group, but it gives you an idea of what it's like. And this is just one of maybe 4 going on. I guess they have them in the morning as well.
These are the lake (pond)in the middle of the park. The water wheel apparatus is an invention of the last King & it is used to airate the water prevent pollution.
These are of the Duck Boats - you can rent for about $1 for 30 minutes.
And the fish being fed. One actually jumped clear out of the water to get some bread. They sell bags of bread at the entrance to the park. A nice family place to hang out.
This is the entrance (well I'm leaving), but you can see the statue of one of the Kings & also the Sky Train (BTS) in the background.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Some funny things around town today
Since I've been in Bangkok I've not been able to find just a regular post office. There was a large post office near our other apartment, but you had to take a number & wait like 20 minutes just to get stamps. There are lots of little places like Mailboxes Etc... at the subway stations, so I've been using them, but of course they charge you a bunch extra. I've found this very frustrating and nobody seems to be able to give me a good answer as to how I can find a post office. Before Christmas someone told me there was one behind the Bangkok Bank building, so I circled it twice & all I found were lots of stalls selling everything BUT stamps. So today I asked the manager of our apartment & he said, "behind the Bangkok Bank building, just go down our street and you will see it". I was not very hopefully.
I walked down the street (1.5 blocks) & noticed a sign "Thailand Post Office". I got the attention of the security guard & pointed to the sign & he pointed into the parking garage, under an overpass. No wonder I didn't see it last time! So now I'm happy, I've found a post office & it's only a 3 minute walk from the apartment.
This is a photo of a 2 car garage, Thai style. This is just around the corner from our apartment.
This other photo is along the street next to us. The guy is setting up his "restaurant". Honestly, they have entire restaurants on these little carts. They will have folding tables & plastic chairs for about 20 people. The cart has a propane tank & most everything is cooked in a wok, whether it's deep fried or stir fried. It is amazing the variety of foods you can get from these street shops. I don't eat at them often, but when I have they are very good. I mostly get fruits & veggies from the street vendors. It is jack fruit season right now - I'll get photos.
We needed a few more things for the apartment, so I decided to make the trek out to Carrefour (Thai version of Walmart, I think it's French owned). I got as close as I could on the subway & then walked about 20 minutes to the store. The area I walked through was definitely not the tourist section of town. There were lots of car & motorcycle repair shops. Shops for reupholstering cars seats, buying car supplies, and installing car sound systems. I guess this is car/motorcycle servicing neighborhood. The funniest thing was motorcycle washing station (like a car wash, but for motor cycles). They drive up onto these raised cement areas & spray down the bike with a hose. There were 5 cement raised areas & all were full. I should have taken a photo.
At Carrefour there were employees skating around the store on roller blades. I guess it's so big that this is the best way for them to get around. It was pretty funny.
Tonight I went back to the park and participated in one of the aerobics classes. Good workout. Luckily it was not one of the hip hop ones, so it was pretty easy to follow & fun to be there with the throngs of locals working out. It's nice to do this now because the weather is so "cold" (it actually has been getting into the 60s at night). Most people were in sweat pants & jackets working out. I've moved to wearing short sleeved shirts instead of sleeveless. It'll be hot soon enough!
On my way home from the park, I saw a motor cycle taxi driver with a can of beer drinking it with a straw. Glad I was walking & not riding!!
That's it for my random observations for today.
I walked down the street (1.5 blocks) & noticed a sign "Thailand Post Office". I got the attention of the security guard & pointed to the sign & he pointed into the parking garage, under an overpass. No wonder I didn't see it last time! So now I'm happy, I've found a post office & it's only a 3 minute walk from the apartment.
This is a photo of a 2 car garage, Thai style. This is just around the corner from our apartment.
This other photo is along the street next to us. The guy is setting up his "restaurant". Honestly, they have entire restaurants on these little carts. They will have folding tables & plastic chairs for about 20 people. The cart has a propane tank & most everything is cooked in a wok, whether it's deep fried or stir fried. It is amazing the variety of foods you can get from these street shops. I don't eat at them often, but when I have they are very good. I mostly get fruits & veggies from the street vendors. It is jack fruit season right now - I'll get photos.
We needed a few more things for the apartment, so I decided to make the trek out to Carrefour (Thai version of Walmart, I think it's French owned). I got as close as I could on the subway & then walked about 20 minutes to the store. The area I walked through was definitely not the tourist section of town. There were lots of car & motorcycle repair shops. Shops for reupholstering cars seats, buying car supplies, and installing car sound systems. I guess this is car/motorcycle servicing neighborhood. The funniest thing was motorcycle washing station (like a car wash, but for motor cycles). They drive up onto these raised cement areas & spray down the bike with a hose. There were 5 cement raised areas & all were full. I should have taken a photo.
At Carrefour there were employees skating around the store on roller blades. I guess it's so big that this is the best way for them to get around. It was pretty funny.
Tonight I went back to the park and participated in one of the aerobics classes. Good workout. Luckily it was not one of the hip hop ones, so it was pretty easy to follow & fun to be there with the throngs of locals working out. It's nice to do this now because the weather is so "cold" (it actually has been getting into the 60s at night). Most people were in sweat pants & jackets working out. I've moved to wearing short sleeved shirts instead of sleeveless. It'll be hot soon enough!
On my way home from the park, I saw a motor cycle taxi driver with a can of beer drinking it with a straw. Glad I was walking & not riding!!
That's it for my random observations for today.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Evening in the park
I've been trying to be better about exercising & have been pretty good about using the equipment & pool at our new apartment building. When John is away, like now, it is easier because it's a good way to occupy my evenings.
Today was a beautiful day, it actually was in the 60's this morning, but I'm sure was up in the 70's or low 80's this afternoon. It's been great the past week, I can actually walk around outside without being soaked with sweat.
I know all you folks in the north who are suffering with too much snow & subfreezing temperatures are not feeling very sorry for me right now...
It was such a pleasant evening that I decided instead of using the treadmill inside, I'd go to the park that is near our apartment. It's only about a 15 minute walk to the park & it's the largest park in Bangkok, so ridiculous that this is the first time I've been to it.
I found out that Lumpini Park is the place to go in the evening if you want to exercise. This place was hopping. There is a 3km road (no cars) that circles the park & it was full of runners & walkers. I joined in as a walker. Walking the perimiter allowed me see all that was going on in this venue. There were tennis courts, a bilding with ping pong tables, volleyball, basketball, a pool. An area with weight equipment that was under some big banyon trees with lights, like an outdoor gym (a bit strange looking). Another area for stretching that had some special stations set up. There was a group of 10 people doing yoga on the grass. There were families playing badmitten. And of course a group of older people doing Thai Chi.
But the most fun thing were the aerobic hip hop sessions that were going on. I could hear the music from a distance & was not sure what it was. Then I rounded a corner & saw maybe 200 people all doing a routine together that included lots of clapping & shouting. I tried to join in, but they went to fast for me to catch on, so I continued my walking. Then I came across a 2nd group, probably 150 in this group, also doing an aerobic hip hop routine in a different part of the park. There were a total of 4 different huge groups, all rocking & bopping to the music & getting their exercise. The groups had all sorts of people - equal numbers of men & women, mostly young, but in one group I noticed an older woman right up front who didn't miss a step (I imagined that would be the Thai version of my mother). I finally couldn't resist & joined in with one of the groups in time for cool down & stretching, so it wasn't that hard to follow.
I don't know if this is typical of city living, group activities in the park, or if it is unique to Asia, but it sure is a fun experience. There were very few Westerners, so I guess this is how the fitness conscious locals get their exercise. You can be sure I'll be going back again for exercise & I'll bring my camera one of these times.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, there was one non-human sighting. Near the canal that runs around the park there was a big monitor lizard (at least I think that is what it was) that had to be about 3 feet long. he was just standing there & sticking his tongue out, not very close to where the people were. I was mad I didn't have my camera, but hopefully he'll be back when I do.
So that was my fun evening! You don't have to worry about me being bored, I always find something to do.
Thanks Karin for the encouragement! Hope you enjoyed my wanderings.
Today was a beautiful day, it actually was in the 60's this morning, but I'm sure was up in the 70's or low 80's this afternoon. It's been great the past week, I can actually walk around outside without being soaked with sweat.
I know all you folks in the north who are suffering with too much snow & subfreezing temperatures are not feeling very sorry for me right now...
It was such a pleasant evening that I decided instead of using the treadmill inside, I'd go to the park that is near our apartment. It's only about a 15 minute walk to the park & it's the largest park in Bangkok, so ridiculous that this is the first time I've been to it.
I found out that Lumpini Park is the place to go in the evening if you want to exercise. This place was hopping. There is a 3km road (no cars) that circles the park & it was full of runners & walkers. I joined in as a walker. Walking the perimiter allowed me see all that was going on in this venue. There were tennis courts, a bilding with ping pong tables, volleyball, basketball, a pool. An area with weight equipment that was under some big banyon trees with lights, like an outdoor gym (a bit strange looking). Another area for stretching that had some special stations set up. There was a group of 10 people doing yoga on the grass. There were families playing badmitten. And of course a group of older people doing Thai Chi.
But the most fun thing were the aerobic hip hop sessions that were going on. I could hear the music from a distance & was not sure what it was. Then I rounded a corner & saw maybe 200 people all doing a routine together that included lots of clapping & shouting. I tried to join in, but they went to fast for me to catch on, so I continued my walking. Then I came across a 2nd group, probably 150 in this group, also doing an aerobic hip hop routine in a different part of the park. There were a total of 4 different huge groups, all rocking & bopping to the music & getting their exercise. The groups had all sorts of people - equal numbers of men & women, mostly young, but in one group I noticed an older woman right up front who didn't miss a step (I imagined that would be the Thai version of my mother). I finally couldn't resist & joined in with one of the groups in time for cool down & stretching, so it wasn't that hard to follow.
I don't know if this is typical of city living, group activities in the park, or if it is unique to Asia, but it sure is a fun experience. There were very few Westerners, so I guess this is how the fitness conscious locals get their exercise. You can be sure I'll be going back again for exercise & I'll bring my camera one of these times.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, there was one non-human sighting. Near the canal that runs around the park there was a big monitor lizard (at least I think that is what it was) that had to be about 3 feet long. he was just standing there & sticking his tongue out, not very close to where the people were. I was mad I didn't have my camera, but hopefully he'll be back when I do.
So that was my fun evening! You don't have to worry about me being bored, I always find something to do.
Thanks Karin for the encouragement! Hope you enjoyed my wanderings.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Christmas dinner, Bangkok style
We didn't go back to the states for Christmas this year (2008), so we decided to invite the Thai office staff over for a traditional American Christmas dinner. Meenawat, our Thai friend who works with John & lived in the States until he was 12, put the idea in my head because he said he hadn't had one of these dinners since he'd left the US (he's 29 now). He's request was for turkey, stuffing, gravy & candied yams with lots of marshmallows. John's only request was mashed pototoes.
As you can see, I got creative (desperate really & cheap) and made my wreath & a tree out of wrapping paper. I couldn't find colored construction paper & it was darn hard to even find the green wrapping paper. On a side note, it is pretty funny to see how a Buddhist, tropical country decorates for Christmas. There are loads of decorations - lights drapped on palm trees, rhiendeer flying through the mall, but my favorites are the Christmas trees of every imaginable color. There is a huge blue one at the plaza near our apartment. I've seen gold, yellow, pink, red and even one green one!
Since we have a small oven and we were going to need a turkey for 12, we asked a friend of ours,Hermann, who owns a professional kitchen, if he'd do the turkey. He does deep fried turkeys & to die for garlic mashed potatoes, so I was spared the agony of producing a perfect turkey. Hermann also said he'd throw in some veggies as well.
I made the stuffing, gravy (I cheated & bought jarred gravy), candied yams (actually 2 different ones - there's a story), green bean casserole (I know it isn't really vegatable, but I like it), apple pie & pumpkin pie. I also made my traditional pumpkin bread & roasted peacans to give as gifts. For beverage we had spiced apple cider (but could only get apple cider with pomegranate juice - it was interesting).
When shopping for a large meal you really miss not having a car. I had to make several trips to the grocery store & of course had to hit several stores as I couldn't find everything in one place - this is when you know you are not in Kansas any more Toetoe! I was pretty happy that eventurally I found everything except the crispy onions for the green bean casserole. I asked Hermann about this & he said I wouldn't find them & to just make my own. Which I did & it was very easy & they were SO much better than the canned ones.
I had 2 recipes for candied yams & one used fresh yams - which it said are red skinned sweet potatoes. The only red skinned sweet potaotes I could find were Japanese sweet potatoes (I didn't realize this until I went peal them & they were white inside). I had to rush back out to try to find the right yams & when I did they were going to cost around $10 (imported from the USA). I decided that since they were going to be filled with sugar & butter & marshmallows it wasn't worth spending that kind of money (believe me an American Christmas dinner doesn't come cheap in Bangkok). Fortunately they had canned yams & they did the trick. I've never made this dish before & probably will never make it again, unless Meenawat asks me - food doesn't get much sweeter than candied yams (yuck).
Besides the problem with the sweet potatoes I discovered that Thai frozen green beans aren't very good & for green bean casserole you don't use Annie's Organic Mushroom Soup - only Campbell's will do. It was pretty funny, because I used the organic soup first & it was terrible, so I rinsed it off the beans & started over with Campbells (didn't have time to go get new beans). I think I was the only one who really ate this dish anyway.
Since this is a Buddhist country they don't have Christmas off, so I was told that they would be over around 7 after work. The turkey was supposed to arrive at 7 or before. John went off with our friend Meenawat to the driving range for some Christmas relaxation. So I had everything ready & went up to take a shower around 6.
When I got out of the shower I heard voices downstairs & they were female voices. Well I guess the ladies decided to leave early so they were downstairs putting up the Christmas tree that I'd bought for the office. The ladies were cute, they had brought Santa hats for everyone to wear. I called John to let him know everyone was here, except Meen & him & he said they were stuck in traffic, but he'd heard from Hermann & the turkey had left the kitchen at 5:30 via taxi.
Apparently Hermann was making several turkeys & the ones that were to be delivered early in the day were hours late because his courrier's truck broke down, thus we were getting taxi service.
John & Meen finally arrived around 7:30, and still NO TURKEY. We called Hermann & he said it should have been there. About 8pm we get a call from Hermann saying the traffic is so bad that the taxi driver gave the turkey to a motorcycle taxi so it wouldn't be any later.
WOW, now I'm envisioning this 25 pound turkey on the back of a motorcycle that is dodging around traffic on these not so clean Bangkok streets. I wasn't feeling very good about our Christmas dinner. Around 8:30 the turkey finally arrived & it was in one piece. Fortunately Hermann does things professionally and the turkey & mashed potatoes where safely stored in a large styrofoam container. Everything was still nice & hot & none of my other dishes had suffered the delay.
We had our dinner & I think it was delicious. Everyone had several helpings so I guess they liked it too. I had warned them ahead of time that American Christmas dinner will not be spicy, no chillis used in my cooking, so if they want spicy, they'd better bring their own chilli sauce. Only 2 of them added tabasco to the dishes to they could "taste" it. So I think it was a success!
I sent everyone home with left overs & a loaf of pumpkin bread & some homemade cookies & nuts - so they really get Christmas American style. AND Meenawat, who wanted the candied yams, was very very happy. In fact he didn't even eat desert, he just had a 4th helping of yams instead! He took his desert home with him.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Thanksgiving in Pattaya, TH
Thanksgiving 2008
We had great plans for our Thanksgiving week. John was going to take off a few days & we were going to Borneo, leaving Wed & returning on Tuesday. I had worked out with a friend who knows the Executive Manager of the Shangri-la Hotel in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Borneo to get a good deal on a room. If you don't know Shangri-la hotels - they are 5 star & really really nice!!
As you already know, the PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) or Yellow Shirt people, took over the airport on Tuesday night, so our vacation got canceled. Just a side note - the PAD are fighting to have only 30% of the government officials elected democratically & 70% to be appointed by the King, so they are actually against democracy.
We had really set our minds on getting out of the city for a few days, so we changed plans & decided to head for the beach that is closest to Bangkok, called Pattaya. Pattaya has a reputation as being the red light city of SE Asia, but with the airport closed our options were limited.
We were told there was a bus that went from Bangkok to Pattaya & where to get it. We tried taking the sky train, but were not allowed on with a suitcase. So we hailed a taxi & asked him to take us to the bus station. He said because of the bad traffic it might take 1 to 1.5 hours to get to the station (this happens a lot here, which is why we like to take the sky train or subway). We asked him how much to just take us all the way to Pattaya? We negotiated a price (about $50) & in 1.5 hours we were at the beach!!
We had not booked a hotel ahead of time so ended up at a rather seedy place our first night. It was close to the main strip so we enjoyed walking the street & seeing all the Go Go Clubs (they still call them that here) & girly bars. Most of the bars are open sided so you can see what is going on inside without having to go in. There was one that had Thai boxing, but it didn't look like they were very serious. Another had an Elvis impersonator. Most of them had poles for dancing & it looked like something out of Austin Powers - 1960's Groovy Baby!!
On Thanksgiving day we ate at a Russian restaurant. There are lots of Russians vacationing there. It wasn't very good. We moved the 2nd night to a resort type hotel that had nice grounds, a pool & a beach. We stayed there the rest of the time, it was very relaxing. We rented a motorscooter ($10/day) which was lots of fun. We got massages, manicure & pedicure on the beach ($3 each). It felt very decadent.
We did find an Irish Pub that had a carvery dinner on Sunday night, so we even got to have turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing & cranberry sauce. It definitely was not home cooking, but it satisfied the craving. We found some nightlife away from the Go Go bars & pole dancers - pubs showing English football. We saw a few tourist sights (Sanctuary of Truth) & went go karting (john was much faster than me, but I did OK).
It was a nice get-a-way, but we sure missed not being with family & friends. We have rescheduled the Borneo trip for Christmas, so hopefully nobody takes over the airport this time!!
We had great plans for our Thanksgiving week. John was going to take off a few days & we were going to Borneo, leaving Wed & returning on Tuesday. I had worked out with a friend who knows the Executive Manager of the Shangri-la Hotel in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Borneo to get a good deal on a room. If you don't know Shangri-la hotels - they are 5 star & really really nice!!
As you already know, the PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) or Yellow Shirt people, took over the airport on Tuesday night, so our vacation got canceled. Just a side note - the PAD are fighting to have only 30% of the government officials elected democratically & 70% to be appointed by the King, so they are actually against democracy.
We had really set our minds on getting out of the city for a few days, so we changed plans & decided to head for the beach that is closest to Bangkok, called Pattaya. Pattaya has a reputation as being the red light city of SE Asia, but with the airport closed our options were limited.
We were told there was a bus that went from Bangkok to Pattaya & where to get it. We tried taking the sky train, but were not allowed on with a suitcase. So we hailed a taxi & asked him to take us to the bus station. He said because of the bad traffic it might take 1 to 1.5 hours to get to the station (this happens a lot here, which is why we like to take the sky train or subway). We asked him how much to just take us all the way to Pattaya? We negotiated a price (about $50) & in 1.5 hours we were at the beach!!
We had not booked a hotel ahead of time so ended up at a rather seedy place our first night. It was close to the main strip so we enjoyed walking the street & seeing all the Go Go Clubs (they still call them that here) & girly bars. Most of the bars are open sided so you can see what is going on inside without having to go in. There was one that had Thai boxing, but it didn't look like they were very serious. Another had an Elvis impersonator. Most of them had poles for dancing & it looked like something out of Austin Powers - 1960's Groovy Baby!!
On Thanksgiving day we ate at a Russian restaurant. There are lots of Russians vacationing there. It wasn't very good. We moved the 2nd night to a resort type hotel that had nice grounds, a pool & a beach. We stayed there the rest of the time, it was very relaxing. We rented a motorscooter ($10/day) which was lots of fun. We got massages, manicure & pedicure on the beach ($3 each). It felt very decadent.
We did find an Irish Pub that had a carvery dinner on Sunday night, so we even got to have turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing & cranberry sauce. It definitely was not home cooking, but it satisfied the craving. We found some nightlife away from the Go Go bars & pole dancers - pubs showing English football. We saw a few tourist sights (Sanctuary of Truth) & went go karting (john was much faster than me, but I did OK).
It was a nice get-a-way, but we sure missed not being with family & friends. We have rescheduled the Borneo trip for Christmas, so hopefully nobody takes over the airport this time!!
Bangkok Gecko Wrestling
Gecko Wrestling !!
If you've ever lived in the tropics this will not be any surprise to you, but if you haven't, well this is how it is. You know what a gecko is (those cute little lizard type creatures they use to advertise for the insurance company - Geico??). Well when you live in a tropical climate they are all over the place. You don't always see them, but you can hear them. They make a loud repetivite clicking noise. They are not very talkative, so they generally aren't much of a problem. They usually stay up near the ceiling. They are small enough to be able to get in to your home no matter if you have screening or closed windows, they get in. There is one that I know lives up in the study who sort of keeps me company when I work up there. I rarely ever see him or her (how could you tell?), but the periodic "talking" let's me know he's there watching me.
BUT today when I was looking for my address book, I went in to the study & there were 2 little geckos locked together rolling over & over on the floor. They were obviously fighting or wrestling or something. It was really funny to see. They didn't even stop when I went over to get a closer look. I ran to get my camera, but when I got back up there & pulled the curtain aside to get a better shot, they let go & ran up the wall.
My Thai friend told me a story about geckos that makes me glad the only ones I've ever seen are the small ones. He said that if you get too close to the big ones, they will jump onto your face & suck on your skin & will not let go. So you can pull & pull, but they lock on. He never told me how you can finally get them off, but it makes me think they aren't so cute any more. The other night I heard something scurrying around our bedroom & all I could think of was "it's a big gecko & it's going to jump onto my face & I won't be able to get it off". So I searched to see what was making the noise, but didn't see anything. I lay there for a long time until something that felt fairly large ran across my legs (they were covered by a quilt). I left John in the room (he never heard or felt anything) & went to sleep upstairs. In the morning I checked out the room again & found droppings that I knew to be mouse droppings (of course I have no idea what gecko droppings look like). A day later there was a dead mouse curled up in the corner of the kitchen. I guess the maintanence guy had put out some poison. And I haven't heard anymore critters in the bedroom since then.
The joys of living in a tropical country!!
If you've ever lived in the tropics this will not be any surprise to you, but if you haven't, well this is how it is. You know what a gecko is (those cute little lizard type creatures they use to advertise for the insurance company - Geico??). Well when you live in a tropical climate they are all over the place. You don't always see them, but you can hear them. They make a loud repetivite clicking noise. They are not very talkative, so they generally aren't much of a problem. They usually stay up near the ceiling. They are small enough to be able to get in to your home no matter if you have screening or closed windows, they get in. There is one that I know lives up in the study who sort of keeps me company when I work up there. I rarely ever see him or her (how could you tell?), but the periodic "talking" let's me know he's there watching me.
BUT today when I was looking for my address book, I went in to the study & there were 2 little geckos locked together rolling over & over on the floor. They were obviously fighting or wrestling or something. It was really funny to see. They didn't even stop when I went over to get a closer look. I ran to get my camera, but when I got back up there & pulled the curtain aside to get a better shot, they let go & ran up the wall.
My Thai friend told me a story about geckos that makes me glad the only ones I've ever seen are the small ones. He said that if you get too close to the big ones, they will jump onto your face & suck on your skin & will not let go. So you can pull & pull, but they lock on. He never told me how you can finally get them off, but it makes me think they aren't so cute any more. The other night I heard something scurrying around our bedroom & all I could think of was "it's a big gecko & it's going to jump onto my face & I won't be able to get it off". So I searched to see what was making the noise, but didn't see anything. I lay there for a long time until something that felt fairly large ran across my legs (they were covered by a quilt). I left John in the room (he never heard or felt anything) & went to sleep upstairs. In the morning I checked out the room again & found droppings that I knew to be mouse droppings (of course I have no idea what gecko droppings look like). A day later there was a dead mouse curled up in the corner of the kitchen. I guess the maintanence guy had put out some poison. And I haven't heard anymore critters in the bedroom since then.
The joys of living in a tropical country!!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A City in Black and White
28 Nov 2008
Just in case you didn't know, the royal family in Thailand is HIGHLY revered. The King is the longest reigning monarch in the world (62 years) and the people absolutely LOVE him. For example, yellow is the King's color and Monday is yellow day. Each day has a color associated with it & people generally wear that color on the assigned day (Tuesday is pink). On Mondays you will see at least 1/3 of the population of Bangkok wearing yellow polo shirts, most with the King's logon on the breast. Also, before any movie at the theater, everyone stands up & they play the King's song & photos of the King flash on the screen. Not that many people would wear pink on Tuesday, until the King got sick & the day her wore pink he got better, so suddenly there were pink King polo shirts for sale everywhere & everyone was wearing pink on Tuesday.
Last March the King's older sister died. She was 86 and very beloved by the people. At that time large photos of her went up along the streets & they were drapped in black & white ribbons. The country morned! I asked about her funeral & was told that it would not happen immediately as special items needed to be made with special wood from certainly remote locations in Thailand. Nobody could tell me exactly when she would be buried. I saw an article in the newspaper in June, that the cremation building for the King's sister was on schedule for her Nov 16 funeral. So that is 8 months from her death.
As mid-November approached people began talking about the King's Sister's funeral. It was to last from November 14 to 16 I was told. There would be ceremonies at the
Grand Palace (the former residence of the Royal Family) & a park near there. I got a call from my Thai friend on the 13 telling me to be sure that I wear black for the next 3 days & if I don't have all black it is OK to wear black and white. She said it was very important. I like to be respectful of other cultures, so I dragged out the few black & white things I had.
When I ventured out on Nov 14 into the city, I could not believe that EVERYONE was wearing black & white. There was the occassional tourist who obviously didn't know
better, but everyone else was dressed in mourning. It is amazing to me that a city this large can have such a singular devosion to their royal family, I think it is very refreshing. Too bad they don't think as highly of there government (last night the airport was taken over by government protesters - we were supposed to be going to Borneo today, but here I sit still in Bangkok).
John & I watched the funeral prossion on TV (it was in Thai so I don't know what it was all about). The pomp was amazing. There were over 600 people involved, miltary & religious. They were dressed in traditional clothes. The structure that the King's Sister's casket was carried on was fantastic, covered with gold and gems - it shimmered in the sunlight like something surreal. It took one day to get her casket to the palace. Then the next day it was moved to the cremation building - specially built for this purpose (that is what took almost 8 months to build). On the 3rd evening the King arrived and lit the fire that would cremate his sister. There were more ceremonies on the 4th and 5th days as her remains were moved from one place to the next to the final resting place.
Through all of this the people of Bangkok wore black and white. We went to the mall one day & almost every dress on display was black and white. Black & white banners
were draped all over the city. Thousands of people came out to see what they could of the ceremonies. We attempted to get close one day, but it was impossible. Better to watch on TV. I was showing a friend from India around during this time & we could never get anywhere near the Grand Palace until her last day, 20 Nov. On that day our taxi happened to go by the park where the cremation building was (they don't burn it down, just burn the body), I thought it would be fun to get some photos, then I noticed the probably thousands of people in line circling the park waiting to get close to the building. It will be up for a few months, so I'll make that another journey.
I was impressed that an entire nation could come together & be so united in this occassion. One can only wonder what it will be like when the King dies!
28 Nov 2008
Just in case you didn't know, the royal family in Thailand is HIGHLY revered. The King is the longest reigning monarch in the world (62 years) and the people absolutely LOVE him. For example, yellow is the King's color and Monday is yellow day. Each day has a color associated with it & people generally wear that color on the assigned day (Tuesday is pink). On Mondays you will see at least 1/3 of the population of Bangkok wearing yellow polo shirts, most with the King's logon on the breast. Also, before any movie at the theater, everyone stands up & they play the King's song & photos of the King flash on the screen. Not that many people would wear pink on Tuesday, until the King got sick & the day her wore pink he got better, so suddenly there were pink King polo shirts for sale everywhere & everyone was wearing pink on Tuesday.
Last March the King's older sister died. She was 86 and very beloved by the people. At that time large photos of her went up along the streets & they were drapped in black & white ribbons. The country morned! I asked about her funeral & was told that it would not happen immediately as special items needed to be made with special wood from certainly remote locations in Thailand. Nobody could tell me exactly when she would be buried. I saw an article in the newspaper in June, that the cremation building for the King's sister was on schedule for her Nov 16 funeral. So that is 8 months from her death.
As mid-November approached people began talking about the King's Sister's funeral. It was to last from November 14 to 16 I was told. There would be ceremonies at the
Grand Palace (the former residence of the Royal Family) & a park near there. I got a call from my Thai friend on the 13 telling me to be sure that I wear black for the next 3 days & if I don't have all black it is OK to wear black and white. She said it was very important. I like to be respectful of other cultures, so I dragged out the few black & white things I had.
When I ventured out on Nov 14 into the city, I could not believe that EVERYONE was wearing black & white. There was the occassional tourist who obviously didn't know
better, but everyone else was dressed in mourning. It is amazing to me that a city this large can have such a singular devosion to their royal family, I think it is very refreshing. Too bad they don't think as highly of there government (last night the airport was taken over by government protesters - we were supposed to be going to Borneo today, but here I sit still in Bangkok).
John & I watched the funeral prossion on TV (it was in Thai so I don't know what it was all about). The pomp was amazing. There were over 600 people involved, miltary & religious. They were dressed in traditional clothes. The structure that the King's Sister's casket was carried on was fantastic, covered with gold and gems - it shimmered in the sunlight like something surreal. It took one day to get her casket to the palace. Then the next day it was moved to the cremation building - specially built for this purpose (that is what took almost 8 months to build). On the 3rd evening the King arrived and lit the fire that would cremate his sister. There were more ceremonies on the 4th and 5th days as her remains were moved from one place to the next to the final resting place.
Through all of this the people of Bangkok wore black and white. We went to the mall one day & almost every dress on display was black and white. Black & white banners
were draped all over the city. Thousands of people came out to see what they could of the ceremonies. We attempted to get close one day, but it was impossible. Better to watch on TV. I was showing a friend from India around during this time & we could never get anywhere near the Grand Palace until her last day, 20 Nov. On that day our taxi happened to go by the park where the cremation building was (they don't burn it down, just burn the body), I thought it would be fun to get some photos, then I noticed the probably thousands of people in line circling the park waiting to get close to the building. It will be up for a few months, so I'll make that another journey.
I was impressed that an entire nation could come together & be so united in this occassion. One can only wonder what it will be like when the King dies!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Loy Krathong Water Festival
The Loy Krathong Festival -
Nov. 12, 2008
Last night (Nov 12) was the Loy Krathong Festival here in Thailand. It is a major festival here. The ladies from the office invited me to attend with them.
The festival involves small krathongs (floats traditionally made from a slice of the trunk of a banana tree & decorated with folded banana leaves, flowers, lighted incense sticks & candles) being set adrift on the rivers & klongs (canals) & any body of water to honour the water spirits & wash away the previous year's sins (this from my guide book). The ladies explained that it is the festival to honor the water, because water is so important to Thai way of life. They use it for transportation, to grow their food (rice mostly), to drink. As you fly over Thailand you can understand the importance of water, as most of the "land" is covered with water, it's a very strange sight.
We took the Sky Train to the main river that runs through the city (Chao Phraya River). There were tons of people milling around & in true Asian fashion, tons of stalls set up to sell stuff. Mostly people were selling the krathongs (floats) & they were all shapes & sizes. Some were made of banana trunk, but many were made from bread & dinner rolls. I guess these are good for the fish to enjoy! The krathongs were decorated with flowers & flags & candles & incense.
We purchased our krathongs & boarded a ferry (after much confusion as to which boat to get on). Normally the ferries do not run after 7pm, but tonight they made special
trips up the river so that people could release their krathongs. Normally the fare for the ferry is 15THB (about 25cents), but tonight it was 60THB ($2) to go up the river & turn around & come back - 40 minute ride.
It was a beautiful night. Cool by Bangkok standards (low 80's & not much humidity) & there was a full moon in a clear sky. The river was full of boats, most lit up with white lights. There were dinner cruise boats & smaller ferries & personal water crafts all buzzing around the river. It was an extremely festive feeling. Most of the buildings along the river were also lit up with special lights for the occasion. When we got to the krathong drop off point the ferry stopped & everyone began lighting the candles & incense on their krathongs. Many people had sparklers also & we lit these & stuck them into our krathongs also. Unfortunately for the krathong viewing there was a nice breeze blowing, so nothing stayed lit for very long. I had imagined that there would be hundreds of lit "lanterns" floating atop the water at once, but this was not the reality of it.
There are different beliefs about the krathongs. They told me that if lovers put their krathongs in together & they remain floating together their love will last, but if the krathongs float apart the love will not last. John stayed home, so not able to test that theory.
We headed back to the pier & had dinner at a steak place. I tried to order Thai food, but each thing I ordered they said "not available". Finally they said, "no Thai food tonight, only Western". I guess that is a treat to everyone else. So I had chicken salad, they all had steak & french fries!
Next we went back to the main pier area where there is a bridge crossing the river. We shoved our way onto the bridge with hundreds of others & waited about 20 minutes
until some fireworks began. They were quite beautiful over the river & there were 3 different areas they were going off. By this time it was 9:30 & the ladies have very long commutes (up to 1.5 hours). They told me the fireworks were over, but I knew they weren't, but I also knew they would never leave me there by myself (even though I'd be fine). They are extremely protective of me. So we left. On my walk from the train to the apartment, I did see flashes of light coming from the direction of the river, but at least I got to experience it with my Thai friends.
Unfortunately the camera I brought took horrible photos. It was our more complicated camera so the shutter speed was really slow since it was dark & everything came out
blurred. I didn't want to bother with a tripod. So there are photos of the krathongs & of my Thai buddies - enjoy!
This weekend is finally the funeral of the King's Beloved Sister (she died in March). They have erected a building for the funeral which is supposed to be amazing. I'm hoping to get over that way to see it, before it is torn down next week. I've been told that we need to wear black from Nov 14 - 16 in respect for the Princess. They have been selling black or white rubber bracelets all over the place this week to raise money for her charities. I'll let you know how it all goes. We have company visitors coming to town, so should be doing some fun things!
Nov. 12, 2008
Last night (Nov 12) was the Loy Krathong Festival here in Thailand. It is a major festival here. The ladies from the office invited me to attend with them.
The festival involves small krathongs (floats traditionally made from a slice of the trunk of a banana tree & decorated with folded banana leaves, flowers, lighted incense sticks & candles) being set adrift on the rivers & klongs (canals) & any body of water to honour the water spirits & wash away the previous year's sins (this from my guide book). The ladies explained that it is the festival to honor the water, because water is so important to Thai way of life. They use it for transportation, to grow their food (rice mostly), to drink. As you fly over Thailand you can understand the importance of water, as most of the "land" is covered with water, it's a very strange sight.
We took the Sky Train to the main river that runs through the city (Chao Phraya River). There were tons of people milling around & in true Asian fashion, tons of stalls set up to sell stuff. Mostly people were selling the krathongs (floats) & they were all shapes & sizes. Some were made of banana trunk, but many were made from bread & dinner rolls. I guess these are good for the fish to enjoy! The krathongs were decorated with flowers & flags & candles & incense.
We purchased our krathongs & boarded a ferry (after much confusion as to which boat to get on). Normally the ferries do not run after 7pm, but tonight they made special
trips up the river so that people could release their krathongs. Normally the fare for the ferry is 15THB (about 25cents), but tonight it was 60THB ($2) to go up the river & turn around & come back - 40 minute ride.
It was a beautiful night. Cool by Bangkok standards (low 80's & not much humidity) & there was a full moon in a clear sky. The river was full of boats, most lit up with white lights. There were dinner cruise boats & smaller ferries & personal water crafts all buzzing around the river. It was an extremely festive feeling. Most of the buildings along the river were also lit up with special lights for the occasion. When we got to the krathong drop off point the ferry stopped & everyone began lighting the candles & incense on their krathongs. Many people had sparklers also & we lit these & stuck them into our krathongs also. Unfortunately for the krathong viewing there was a nice breeze blowing, so nothing stayed lit for very long. I had imagined that there would be hundreds of lit "lanterns" floating atop the water at once, but this was not the reality of it.
There are different beliefs about the krathongs. They told me that if lovers put their krathongs in together & they remain floating together their love will last, but if the krathongs float apart the love will not last. John stayed home, so not able to test that theory.
We headed back to the pier & had dinner at a steak place. I tried to order Thai food, but each thing I ordered they said "not available". Finally they said, "no Thai food tonight, only Western". I guess that is a treat to everyone else. So I had chicken salad, they all had steak & french fries!
Next we went back to the main pier area where there is a bridge crossing the river. We shoved our way onto the bridge with hundreds of others & waited about 20 minutes
until some fireworks began. They were quite beautiful over the river & there were 3 different areas they were going off. By this time it was 9:30 & the ladies have very long commutes (up to 1.5 hours). They told me the fireworks were over, but I knew they weren't, but I also knew they would never leave me there by myself (even though I'd be fine). They are extremely protective of me. So we left. On my walk from the train to the apartment, I did see flashes of light coming from the direction of the river, but at least I got to experience it with my Thai friends.
Unfortunately the camera I brought took horrible photos. It was our more complicated camera so the shutter speed was really slow since it was dark & everything came out
blurred. I didn't want to bother with a tripod. So there are photos of the krathongs & of my Thai buddies - enjoy!
This weekend is finally the funeral of the King's Beloved Sister (she died in March). They have erected a building for the funeral which is supposed to be amazing. I'm hoping to get over that way to see it, before it is torn down next week. I've been told that we need to wear black from Nov 14 - 16 in respect for the Princess. They have been selling black or white rubber bracelets all over the place this week to raise money for her charities. I'll let you know how it all goes. We have company visitors coming to town, so should be doing some fun things!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Becky Moves to Bangkok
Nov 6, 2008
First off, the reason I chose this color (purple) is because it's sort of the national color for Thailand. They acutally have lots of colors for different national things, but purple is the orchid color & it is used a lot to represtent Thailand.
I guess from my emails you all know that I spent the summer (until Oct 22) in NY. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my parents & John's mom. It was a very special time for me! I also DID make it into the lake every day that I was home, from June 23 until Oct 21! Those last few days were tough, but my Mom joined me & if she could do it at 86, then I HAD to go in also!
On my way back to Bangkok, I made a stopover in HK. My buddy, Karen's grandmother died & the funeral was Oct 28, so the return trip worked out perfectly. I spent 6 days in HK & it was nice to return to a familar place. The funeral was very different & very interesting. I did a blog on it in my other blog site (JBinHK).
I returned to Bangkok last Thursday & on Saturday we went to Laos for a long weekend of relaxation. I'll definitely be doing a blog about Laos - what a great place! We returned yesterday (Nov 5), so I'm just settling in to Bangkok - still haven't gotten my bags unpacked.
It was snowing when I left Burlington, VT on Oct 22 & it is still hot here (in the 80's) and the humidity is still bad. Can't really do anything without working up a sweat. So I'm dreaming about that ice cold lake right about now.
Just wanted to touch base with everyone & start out my new blog spot for my newest adventure.
Cheers to you all
First off, the reason I chose this color (purple) is because it's sort of the national color for Thailand. They acutally have lots of colors for different national things, but purple is the orchid color & it is used a lot to represtent Thailand.
I guess from my emails you all know that I spent the summer (until Oct 22) in NY. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my parents & John's mom. It was a very special time for me! I also DID make it into the lake every day that I was home, from June 23 until Oct 21! Those last few days were tough, but my Mom joined me & if she could do it at 86, then I HAD to go in also!
On my way back to Bangkok, I made a stopover in HK. My buddy, Karen's grandmother died & the funeral was Oct 28, so the return trip worked out perfectly. I spent 6 days in HK & it was nice to return to a familar place. The funeral was very different & very interesting. I did a blog on it in my other blog site (JBinHK).
I returned to Bangkok last Thursday & on Saturday we went to Laos for a long weekend of relaxation. I'll definitely be doing a blog about Laos - what a great place! We returned yesterday (Nov 5), so I'm just settling in to Bangkok - still haven't gotten my bags unpacked.
It was snowing when I left Burlington, VT on Oct 22 & it is still hot here (in the 80's) and the humidity is still bad. Can't really do anything without working up a sweat. So I'm dreaming about that ice cold lake right about now.
Just wanted to touch base with everyone & start out my new blog spot for my newest adventure.
Cheers to you all
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