Me Day

No pictures from today!

At around 10:30am this morning, I finally got out of bed and showered. I decided to splurge one last time and ordered a Western, in-room breakfast. I watched tv and putzed around on my computer. After breakfast, I packed and searched the room to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything, and then I was off. Honestly, I didn’t leave the hotel until around 1pm, and I took a cab to Khao San Road. I took a cab because there’s no direct sky train or subway to that area, and I didn’t have the energy to figure out the buses. My taxi driver was pretty cool and ran an honest meter, and he dropped me at a hostel he recommended. I have no idea if he got commissions for dropping folks there, but it helped me out, so I was happy!

I checked into Rambuttri Village Inn for 600 baht a night (about $20USD) for my own room with AC and a bathroom. I dropped off my stuff and then wandered the area, stopping first at a 7-11 to get a cold bottle of water and a SIM card for my cell phone.

I bought a Motorola phone from a guy off of Craig’s List a few days before I flew out of the US and just haven’t gotten around to getting the SIM card until now. The guy who sold it to me didn’t include the US SIM card and didn’t unlock the phone, but it turned out not to be a problem. For around 500 baht ($13USD), I got a SIM card, about an hour of call time and I got the phone unlocked by someone. Woo! I now have a cell phone! My Thai number is 0860760807, which I think includes the country code.

Since I had to wait for my room to get cleaned at the hostel, and I had to wait for the guy to unlock my phone,, I went to get lunch at Sawasdee House, which is the place I’m going to meet some couchsurfers tonight for a weekly get-together and Halloween party. I had some chicken, curry and rice, people-watched and read a book on my iPod touch. It was really fun seeing backpackers stagger down the road in front of the restaurant, and to watch the absolutely variety of people eating around me. I couldn’t even name all the nationalities, but there were all kinds of people: party boys, cool kids, loners, girls with dredds, guys with aviator glasses, people with glazed looks in their eyes and other talking animatedly about where they’d been or where they were going.

I didn’t get into any conversations, needing some quiet me-time to soak it all in. I’m reading “The Count of Monte Cristo” on my iPod, and that was nice to get back to a familiar story.

After lunch, I went and got my unlocked cell phone (which is really just for emergencies and to contact couchsurfing hosts, etc) and then headed back to the hostel. I got my room key and have just been relaxing in my room, catching up on my blog postings and just… being.

Here are a couple things I’ve been meaning to mention in this blog, but just haven’t gotten around to until now. It’s a hodgepodge of thoughts with no real common theme except, perhaps, travel.

1. The weather. The day we arrived in Bangkok, Jan, Jeff and I were completely destroyed by the hot humidity. It felt like a wet blanket settled on us each time we went outside and for me, it was a real energy-sucker. Our first two nights we were all three awakened by thundering rainstorms and lots of lightning. The day Jan left, though, Thursday, something broke in the weather pattern, and now the humidity seems to have lowered permanently. It’s still hot, but not as unbearable, and sometimes it gets into the high seventies, which is a nice relief. Jeff and I both commented incredulously on how nice it was several times in the past few days. I hope it stays this way!

2. “Suffer lonesome living in the forest.” That was my fortune from my visit to Ayutthaya and this phrase sticks in my mind. It’s funny, because right now that is how I feel. Jan left, Jeff left, and now I’m back to my solo travel. When I ventured off on my own in South Korea, I was excited and felt good about being on my own. This morning, however, I was fighting off fear and loneliness and a bit of self-doubt. Why am I traveling solo around the world? Will I really be ok? There are so many things to be afraid of: robbery, violence, getting lost, rape, etc. All of this started to press in on me; had really started pressing in last night, really. I can’t say that I’m completely rid of it yet, but I am hoping these feelings will go by the wayside as I forge ahead. Deep down, I know that I can do it, and that I’ll have a great time, but it’s pretty hard going from having a constant companion to being completely alone and, my own fault, having no plan. Luckily, today has gone well so far and I credit that partly to allowing myself to have a slow, no-sight-seeing, no expectation kind of day, with my only goals finding a bed and getting a SIM Card accomplished really easily.

3. Time to get my mindset back on being frugal. Not to say I haven’t done well so far, but traveling with Jeff and Jan was a different kind of travel than I plan to do on my own. Not better, not worse, just different. It’s difficult when I know I’ll be on the road for a year, and travel with people going home in a few days. Jan and Jeff were both more than generous, paying for the hotel rooms and taxis and some of the more expensive stuff, but knowing that you’re on a different budget than others can be stressful, especially while traveling. And in the past week I’ve fallen back into the “oh, it’s just a few extra dollars” mindset, which I need to shed if I want my travels to last. Also, it’s a challenge I want to meet, to be able to travel as a backpacker for an extended amount of time. I realize that this isn’t defined anywhere, but I guess I want to rough it and enjoy roughing it. Coming from two weeks of nice hotels and nice restaurants, though, that experience is harder to “want” now, although I think I’ll ease back in quickly.

4. Plans for the immediate future. I am going to hang around Khao San road for two days and then take an overnight train or bus on Nov 2 to Chiang Mai, where I have a confirmed host through couchsurfing. Hopefully I’ll meet up with the Aussies I met at the Blue Elephant, and I would love to go to an elephant sanctuary. I would also really like to go to the Mekong River Valley and explore some of the villages there. I have a flight to Hanoi, though, on Nov 10, and my visa for Vietnam is only for the month of November, so I don’t want to delay that flight. Some other considerations have come up, too: Indonesia has recently experienced three natural disasters, so I’m not sure that I’ll be going to Bali as planned. Right now, I’m thinking that I’ll go to Chiang Mai, couchsurf for three nights, either do a program at an elephant sanctuary OR find a trip to the Mekong River Valley, and then head back to Bangkok on Nov 9, to make my 6:55am flight on Nov 10. Then I’ll take twenty days to explore Vietnam, generally heading south via train or bus, and cross the Cambodian border on Nov 30th. I’ll take some time to cross Cambodia, visiting Phnom Pen and Angkor Wat, and then overland back into Thailand. At that point, it will be at least a week or so into December. Instead of taking a train from Bangkok to Singapore as originally planned, I may just enjoy my time at Thailand beaches, slowly overlanding south. I need to find out the fare to New Zealand from either Bangkok, Singapore or maybe Kuala Lumpur or Phuket, and pick the cheapest fare to make it to Dunedin, New Zealand, by New Year’s eve.

5. Malaria pills: To take or not to take?! I haven’t decided yet.

6. What to Wear: I’m sure you’ve heard of the political unrest in Thailand, and even I, who rarely keeps up with politics around the world, knew that there were two main factions that seemed to be highlighted in the protests and sometimes violent uprisings: the red shirts and the yellow shirts. It was highlighted to us  - I can’t remember now by who or what – that we should not wear strong red or yellow colors, and even orange should be avoided. We were all fairly careful, but one morning I just threw on a shirt and headed down to meet Surin for one of our tours. He stared at me and then shook his finger, saying, “Not to wear red. Please to change.” Jeff, Jan and I looked at my shirt and then blanched: it was, indeed, more red than anything else, and we just hadn’t paid any attention. I went directly upstairs and changed. Since then I always check myself in the mirror to make sure I’m not “declaring” for one faction or another with my clothing. For the most part, I haven’t seen much of either color around Bangkok, with just a few exceptions that don’t seem to have been politically motivated. It’s something else, though, that reminds me that I’m indeed in a foreign country with some pretty serious political happenings.

--Z

Jim Thompson House, Chatachuk Market and Saying Good-Bye

Photos: Thailand: Jim Thompson House and Chatachuk Market

Needless to say, this was a sleep-in-Saturday for both Jeff and me. We did eventually get out of the hotel around 11am or so, but even that was pushing it a bit. It was perfect, though, giving us the sleep we needed and the relaxing beginning to Jeff’s last day in Thailand. Our first stop was Starbucks, which Jeff adores in any country. We looked at a copy of The Bangkok Times, which had been left on our table by a previous coffee-junkie. We took our time and, much refreshed and revived, began the day’s sight-seeing: first stop, Jim Thompson’s House.

Jim Thompson had been a US architect before going into the Army. He visited Thailand briefly as part of a tour during WW2, and fell in love. In 1945 he came back for good, a bachelor who collected Thai art and, realizing that Thai silk should be noticed by the world, introduced some samples to Vogue magazine. That began a world recognition of Thai silk which continues to this day. His home was primarily Thai-inspired, with houses on stilts and gardens, but with some Western influences, like an indoor bathroom and rooms connected by a corridor. Jim Thompson disappeared in 1967 in Cambodia and no one knows what happened to him.

Our tour (visitors have to do a guided tour) was about thirty five minutes long. Jim Thompson was quite the collector and his house is full of statues, tapestries, paintings, ceramics and other antiques which make up an incredible collection. And then, of course, is the gift shop. I agonized for awhile, thinking of several people who would really like and appreciate Jim Thompson labeled Thai silk products, but the prices were completely out of my range. I couldn’t leave without something, though, so I bought myself a beautiful gauzy scarf for around $50USD. Sorry, everyone, but that was the cheapest, useful but still beautiful thing I could spend my money on! You’ll have to come yourself to browse the selection, which is wonderful. Jeff had a harder time resisting than me, but he did get some magnificent things.

On our way back to the sky train,we passed a little shop selling rubbings of Buddha engravings from Wat Pho, which we’d been to several days before, and so I bought two of them. I almost bought several other things but refrained. Thailand makes shopping far too easy!

Our next stop was Chatachuk Weekend market, renowned for being the world’s largest open-air market. Somewhere between ten and fifteen thousand booths sell all sorts of things – food, clothes, trinkets, etc – to an estimated quarter million people each day. Whoa! We found our way there easily enough, and got a map from the tourist information center. Then we were awash with smells and crowds and sights. There were covered areas with stalls crammed one next to another, and then we broke out to a main outdoor corridor. This is where we stayed, both feeling a bit overwhelmed by the cramped alleys. Our first objective was food, and I zeroed in on a Turkish kebab place pretty quickly. We each got one and gobbled it down quickly. We wandered a bit further and separated. Jeff was off to get a frozen, chocolate and nut covered banana, and I got in line for small meatballs on a stick with a sweet and spicy sauce. We found a patch of curbside to sit on and gnawed away on the foods.

At one point, a man with a long wooden pole across his shoulders was standing in front of us, facing away from us and towards the crowds, selling some kind of flatbread in bags. He had a little boy with him, who held a bag in each hand and shouted something in Thai to passersby. Everyone once in awhile, the boy’s big, dark eyes would turn to Jeff, who was attempting to eat the frozen banana gracefully. I watched as the eyes became forlorn and desperate, darting back to Jeff every few minutes before he would determinedly turn away and shout out his sales cry. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore; we’d seen so much suffering so far, from flood victims to poverty to likely prostitution, and I was tired of feeling like I couldn’t do anything for anyone. I went and bought another banana, this one with sprinkles, and gave it to the father, pointing at the little boy. He looked slightly confused at first, but that passed quickly. I wasn’t sure if it would be considered rude to do this, but I passed the point of caring. The kid wanted a sweet and so I got him one. It was fun to watch as the father held out the banana and the kid tried to figure out how take a bite from it. There was no acknowledgement, or thanks after the initial handover, but that was fine with me.

Maybe it happens a lot, but I felt a little better. Sometimes it’s nice to just do something. Maybe the man and the boy weren’t destitute or wanting for food, but in that moment of time, that little boy wanted something that he didn’t have and I desperately wanted to give it to him, and so I did.

After an hour and a half at Chatachuk, Jeff and I were completely done with shopping. I ended buying a shirt and a little wooden elephant, and Jeff didn’t buy a single thing! So, we wangled our way out of the market and back onto the sky train, heading for the silk  store where my two-piece suit awaited me. I was pretty tired by this time, but when I tried on the finished product, I felt great! It is such a beautiful blue and in a Thai style. The sand-washed silk felt so nice on my skin. I paid the second installment on it (the entire price was about $238) and then the lady gave me my choice of a silk scarf. I think I was supposed to pick something to go with the suit, but I wasn’t sure how a scarf would go with it, since it’s a high-neck garment, so I just picked the prettiest color, which was a jewel-green. On reflection, the dark purple one would have been a better choice, but seeing as it was a freebie, I’m not complaining. It was really nice of the woman to give it to me!

I was getting hungry, so we headed for the next stop on the sky train. Jeff had looked at several options for dinner his last night in Thailand, and picked the Blue Elephant, a mid- priced restaurant. We showed up and were promptly received and fitted out with appropriate skirt and pants (we were both in shorts), then seated. At the promptings of the hostess and since we were too tired to protest, we accepted a promotion where we got unlimited Australian bubbly champagne. It ended up doubling the price for our dinner, but oh well – we had a good time! The restaurant was beautiful, the wait staff very attentive and polite, and the food was to die for. I got lamb massaman and Jeff got a chicken curry. Both were exceptional! They were served with two different kinds of jasmine rice, one white and one brown, which were also really tasty. We each got a dessert, too: lychee and another exotic flavor of sorbet for me, and a coconut creme brule for Jeff.

Partway through our dinner two guys sat at the table next to us. Of course, we got to talking, and found out they were friends from Australia who were taking a holiday in Thailand. They’d been once before, back in February, and liked it so much they came back. It turned out they were planning to go to Chiang Mai the next day, and so I exchanged e-mail addresses with them, since I’m planning to head that way in the next few days. Later that night I got an e-mail from one of them, so it should be fun to see some semi-familiar faces when I get to Chiang Mai!

Neither Jeff nor I have any idea how many glasses of bubbly we enjoyed, but it was enough to make us giggly and giddy once we left. We headed for Body Tune and got one last Thai massage, this time opting for the hour-long aromatherapy massage. My fatigue and the champagne joined forces, because I fell asleep and apparently amused my masseuse greatly with soft snores. I quite literally stumbled on the way back to the hotel and both Jeff and I fell asleep within an hour of getting back to the room.

Jeff had a flight out quite early on Sunday, so just four hours later we were up again, him packing and me trying not to fall back asleep before saying good-bye. At about 4:45am, he was out the door with many hugs and a last, “I still think you’re nuts!” in reference to my year of backpacking, and then he was gone. I won’t lie: I went directly back to sleep.

--Z

“Suffer Lonesome Living in the Forest”

Photos: Thailand: Ayutthaya

On Friday, Jeff and I met Surin, the guide from a few days before, at our hotel in the morning. We had scheduled the day with him to go to Ayutthaya and see the ruins of the ancient capital city of Thailand. At 8:30am we were out the door and on our way. Surin told us that it would take about an hour and a half to get to Ayutthaya and that we had a few stops to make on the way.

Our first stop was an art school started by the Queen in the late 20th century, in order to preserve Thai crafts and to train people into an occupation. Today, as Surin told us, people must apply and it is difficult to get in. We walked around and since it wasn’t a weekend, we were the only tourists there. It was pretty incredible: glasswork, woodwork, metalwork, weaving, sewing, all sorts of crafts each had their own section of the vast compound. We saw several people working in the stained glass area on individual projects. Some of the students were young, maybe high school age (15-18), but others were older. Some were handicapped and some were not. There seemed to be a real mix. Surin spoke to several of them to find out where in Thailand they were from, proving to us that students came from all over the country.

One of the most impressive shops was the weaving area. Not only were there huge looms for cloth sewing, but a room just for basket weaving with – I think – bamboo. We watched how they stripped pieces until they were as thin as thread but still stiff; weaved, with just their hands and maybe a hook like a skinny crochet hook, to pull strands around and through other strands; and created amazing works of art (purses, baskets, hats, small containers and large ones too) using different colored woods. One woman was working on a small enclosed container and there were so many different “threads” that I couldn’t even imagine how she could create patterns as she was doing. It was really amazing and made me reflect that I don’t often even consider how things are made. I just see a product and don’t think about the fact that someone made it, possibly with just their own two hands and nothing else. Pretty cool!

It’s an incredible social project. If selected, a person comes and is paid a small sum each day and given free room and board. When their six or seven month training period is over, they have a craft and an accredited or well-known school name to cite as their background training, and so are immediately employable. The grounds were pretty and as I said before, pretty big. Included on the grounds were the lodgings of the Queen for when she visited, a huge, beautiful building housing two huge showrooms of the best work to come from the school, and another showroom of goods for sale.

There was also a separate part of the grounds that was a lake, surrounded by examples of Thai architecture from all over Thailand. We went into one house, climbing up since it was on stilts, and seeing how each room was a separate building surrounding a central, open air area. Surin assured us it was representative only of a very rich person’s home, but it was still fascinating. This part of the Queen’s project reminded me of Williamsburg, where you can go to see colonial-style buildings and foods and goods. The same kind of feel went with these houses and I could just imagine a flood of tourists and locals coming through to enjoy the beautiful grounds.

Tourists have the option of buying from the individual showcases in each craft’s work area or from the main showroom. I wasn’t clear, but my assumption was that buying the student’s work was like buying from an apprentice as opposed to a “certified” artist, and this assumption was supported by the fact that I bought two glass elephants for 60 baht ($2) direct from the glasswork workroom and it would have cost quite a bit more from the main showcase.

After Jeff and I made a few purchases, we were off to Ayutthaya and lunch. Surin had chosen a very specific route to drive, however, and so it took a bit longer than Jeff and I had expected. It was completely worth it, however, because we saw – as Surin had hoped – the effects of the flooding, firsthand. The temples, homes, cars, shops, restaurants… all under several feet of water. We saw areas that had been sandbagged, but the water submerged them. Even the road had been blocked off, so that there were actually three bodies of water: to the west, flooding from the river; the road was it’s own stream of muddy water; and to the east, a dam had been opened so there was a lake where no lake had ever been before, and it went on and on and on. We saw roofs  go by, not floating but just peaking out above the waters. People had gotten plastic boats to row themselves to and from their homes. There were homes that had obviously been built on stilts to protect from the annual flooding, but even the elevated parts were underwater.

We passed many people wading through the water, some up to their chins, doing who knows what. Some were swimming, others seemed to be gather up items washed away, one lady was even washing her dog. It’s hard to remember, sometimes, that natural disasters have victims who keep on living and struggling long after the TVs and newspapers have tired of blaring the bad news of their situation. We drove for about an hour through flooded areas, sometimes having to wait as a vehicle, stalled out, was pulled out of a particularly deep section of road. At one point, a Buddhist monk was working his way off a little plastic boat – much like the saucers that Walmart sells as sleds – and Surin stopped and offered him a ride. The monk took him up on the offer and we drove him about half a mile down the road to where he departed and headed towards the flooded temple there.

After this hard look at reality, Surin took us to a roadside sit-down food vendor and ordered us up some noodle soup. Jeff got the spicy one, which while not crazy spicy was the kind of spicy that just heats up your mouth and doesn’t cool off. I got a beef one. For 30 baht apiece, or $1, we ate our fill.

Next up was Wat Yai Chai Mongkol, where there is a reclining Buddha and several huge chedi (or stupas).

There was also a part of the temple where there were several Buddha images and along one side, several poses of the Buddha with a flame in front of each. Surin explained that depending on the day of the week you were born, the Buddha was in a specific pose. In this 

same place, you could make a donation and received an open canister filled with sticks, which you shook while kneeling in front of the Buddha shrine area. If you shook it a certain way, one stick would work its way out and fall to the ground. You then looked at the number on the stick and used it for whatever purpose you had in mind; some people, Surin told us, would use the numbers for their lottery tickets, which is a big thing in Thailand. In our case, however, we went to the back part of the shrine and took a piece of paper corresponding to our number, and read our fortune from it. Mine was a little depressing:

“Just like an unmated dove, life seems cheerless and sorrowful. No one pays attention. Suffer lonesome living in the forest. Good fortune is not in sight. Lose favor with friends and relatives. Beyond this year, long happiness approaches. Legal case is not defensible. Wait for favorable circumstances before making decisions. Better not rush.”

Oy! I guess my face reflected my dismay at reading my fortune, because Surin reassured me that this was just for fun. Still! Lonesome living in the forest?! I say again: oy!

Well, we walked a bit more around Wat Yai Chai Mongkol and Jeff and I climbed to the biggest chedi there to see a few more Buddha statues inside and surrounding it. Along the outside square, life-size stone Buddhas sat all along the wall, each with his own yellow cloth draping his body.

Our next stop was a bit of a surprise as well: an elephant park! That’s the best name I can come up with, anyway. There were maybe eight elephants, most adults but a few young ones as well, just wandering the area where were were sitting or walking. Surin bought a basket of fruit and we got to hand this to the elephants, who took it in their trunks. We actually saw an elephant drinking from a Coke can through a straw! It was pretty amazing being around these huge animals as they just roamed around. Some were in an area with ladders, all decked out in finery and awaiting tourists to give rides to. We didn’t end up doing this, but it looked like fun!

Just nearby was Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit, were there’s a huge Buddha statue housed. Jeff and I walked in to take a look and admired the fact that this Buddha was preserved from several hundred years ago, although restored several times since then. When Surin joined us after parking the car, we wandered over to the adjacent park, which was the runs of Wat Phra Si Sanphet. There are still the three massive chedi there; each houses ashes of an Ayutthayan king.

We walked around here quite a bit, exploring the ruins of the ancient royal palace. In case you didn’t know (and as I learned), Ayutthaya was the capital of the region from 1350 to 1767, when it was attacked and torched by the Burmese. What remains is reminiscent of Greece, to me, with its temples and partial stone statues. There are eroded walls and statues. Surin pointed out many stone Buddhas which had been purposely beheaded or otherwise desecrated by the Burmese. Some areas were still recognizable as common features of a royal palace, such as the ordination hall. Nothing remained of the hall itself besides foundation stones and some steps and wall fragments, but there were still recognizable marble tablets at each corner, which signifies the ordination hall.

I think it was there that we found the puppies. There must have been a dozen little guys, yipping and whimpering and being very cute-puppy-ish. They were all on an elevated pedestal, peering over the edges or playing or curling up. We spent probably ten or fifteen minutes petting and playing with them, before assuring ourselves that they could get down by themselves and that their mother was somewhere around.

Next, and lastly, we headed to Wat Phra Mahathat, which had once been one of Ayutthaya’s most important temples, with high prang (towers) and a huge compound. It’s all in ruins now, although some of the smaller towers remain in ruined fashion, leaning precariously. One of the neatest things here, besides seeing how sunset was making everything take on a whole different hue, was a stone Buddha’s head that was somehow  encased in a banyan tree’s roots. It’s pretty creepy, especially because the Buddha and the banyan tree have significance in relation to each other (I think he was sitting under it when he achieved enlightenment, according to Buddhist belief).

After this day of seeing ruin, both current and historical, and experiencing Ayutthaya, it was time to head back. Surin did not take us back through the flooded area, opting for a cleared highway instead, and we got back to our hotel around 7pm. We said good-bye to Surin, nabbing another if his business cards so that we could recommend him to others. Hey, if anyone’s planning on coming to Bangkok, let me know – Surin is a fun tour guide full of good information and interesting, off-the-beaten-path places to experience. His prices are good and his heart is too. When asked, he gave us his perspective on the current political situation, which I only partially understood, but it was fascinating nevertheless.

After relaxing in the cold hotel room for a bit, and satisfying our computer addictions, Jeff and I headed out for massages at Body Tune again. We both got one hour traditional Thai massages, which consisted primarily of stretching every part of our bodies. I liked it, although it was a far cry from the type of massages I’ve experienced in the US. I felt more limber and stretched, though, which felt really good. And it cost something like $10 or $15! Afterwards, we meandered back through Patpong, determined to see some of the not-seedy nightlife. We picked a restaurant on the street with many ethnic choices and each picked a Thai dish. I don’t recall what we got, but I know we both enjoyed our meals. We each had a glass of wine with our meal and watched the people passing by, taking guesses and which ladies might be lady-boys.

We switched to a different place more central to the area and each got a mixed drink, for the purpose of continued people watching. It was fun, although one image stays with me that is not a pleasing one: just below us on a crowded sidewalk filled with tables and people, were two older, portly white men and, between them, an incredibly young looking Asian boy. Now he may have been in his high teens or low twenties, but I can’t believe he was any older than that. He looked slightly pained and out of his depth, as one of the men patted his knee a few times, or rest his hand on the kid’s thigh. He smiled and nodded and spoke when spoken to, but otherwise looked subtly terrified. Maybe Jeff and I were reading the situation wrong, but it really seemed as if this was a situation where the kid had been ‘hired’ by the two men. It made my stomach go into my throat and I tried to think of a way to extricate the guy from the situation, but before my plan was formulated, they all got up and walked away down the street, one of the white guy’s arms around the young man’s shoulders.

After that, we decided to head back to the hotel. It was pretty late – maybe one or two in the morning – so we couldn’t take the sky train. I convinced Jeff to take a tuk-tuk with me. Tuk-tuks are the open-air, three wheeled dealies driven ruthlessly through traffic. We were pretty close to our hotel, so it was only about ten minutes of exciting, frightening and fast weaving through traffic before we stumbled into the hotel and, exhausted, fell asleep.

--Z

Dirty Dancing in the Elevator

Photos: Thailand: Dirty Dancing

On Thursday morning, Jeff and I joined Jan for breakfast, waited with her for a taxi and then waved her off. Jan was headed home, with an eight hour layover in Hong Kong and an overnight layover in Los Angeles. Whew!

Jeff and I promptly went back to bed once Jan was gone. Well, ok, not really. But we did laze around for several more hours, taking our time with updating blogs, surfing the internet, answering e-mails, pondering our plans for the next few days, and showering. Finally, we got our butts out the door and into a cab to Wat Pho (pronounced “Po”). Traffic was pretty bad, so it took awhile to get there, but we eventually did. We hired a guide who offered up a decent price, but he was terrible! The Wat was wonderful, and we saw the actual reclining Buddha, which is huge, but our guide pretty much commandeered Jeff’s camera and kept telling us to “Please to go here, please to go stand there, please to get in the light” every three seconds. Jeff now has about fifty pictures of me and him standing in various places in the Wat. We learned very little about the actual Wat or anything, though.

One interesting part of the tour was where we exchanged a fifty baht note for two little cups of small coins. The idea was to walk along a wall which had large pots filled with coins all along it. There were probably thirty of the large pots and we were to walk along, putting a coin in each pot and making a good wish. Something like, “I wish for good luck” and so on. I know it may be hard to believe, but it was hard to make thirty-odd good wishes without repeating! Especially under pressure (the line was moving along at a good clip). Jeff and I talked about it later and I found it strange that in general, people can sit and complain all day about the things they don’t like or the things that are wrong, but it’s really tough to actually wish for thirty-something good things!

The highlight of Wat Pho was the reclining Buddha. He’s 40-something meters long and pretty high as well. His toes are pretty intricate and the soles of his feet are inlaid mother-of-pearl in various designs and pictures. It actually takes a full minute or two to walk along the length of him and his golden head and body just seem perfectly at rest there. It was a neat look at another aspect of the Thai belief system.

After our hour-long photo shoot in Wat Pho, we started looking for lunch. We wandered past the Grand Palace, which is just across from Wat Pho, and eventually picked a place. It ended up being Rub Arun, which was mentioned in Jeff’s “Top 10 Bangkok” book, even though we didn’t do that intentionally. The meal was good, but the highlight for me was the coconut juice, served in a coconut. Yum! We then decided to catch a cab and head to Jim Thompson’s house, a museum centered around the man who made Thai silk famous. Unfortunately, traffic was just a total crap shoot, and we were in that cab for over an hour. We diverted him to our hotel since the museum closed while we were in the cab, but we did discover that there’s a Jim Thompson Silk store, which we hadn’t known.

After a break relaxing in our room and cooling off, we headed out and took the sky train to near the silk place where Jeff had to pick up his mom’s dress and I tried on my sky blue sand-washed silk suit. There were a few adjustments that needed to be made to my suit, but luckily nothing major. We made arrangements to pick up the final garment on Saturday and then headed to the Mango Tree, a restaurant nearby that was well-reviewed in Jeff’s guidebook. It turned out that the food was good, but not spectacular. However, the price was right and the ambiance of the place was top-notch, with water-reflected light playing over a pretty stone wall, palm trees, misting sprays and a general sense of a high-end fancy restaurant. We had a nice time talking over life issues that aren’t issues yet and just enjoying the live jazz being played in the indoor part of the restaurant.

Then we headed home and relaxed and crashed, tired from our overly lazy day.  Well worth it! All day we were being silly. For example, we decided to make up an elaborate story if our guide asked us about being a couple or getting married, since he kept making references to this. Also, the name of this blog entry owes mostly to Jeff, who, on our way back up to our room, began dirty dancing, grinding against me in the elevator.

Boys are silly, don’t you think?

--Z

Rush Hour on the River

Photos: Thailand: Bangkok Arrival and Day 1 and Thailand: Daytrip West of Bangkok

Jeff and I arrived to Bangkok on Monday after an uneventful flight. The only thing worth mentioning is that as I was attempting to learn some basic Thai phrases from Jeff’s “Top 10 Bangkok” book, the ladies sitting in front of us were peering through the gap between the seats. I waved at them and they giggled, then asked if this was my first time to Bangkok. Of course I answered yes and they then helped me with my pronunciation and gave me a few helpful hints.

We met Jan at the airport once we had passed customs (quick and easy) and picked up our checked luggage (loooong wait). The air was wet and hot, which was a pretty drastic change from Hong Kong. She had been there for just over an hour and looked pretty tired. Her flight had left pretty early from Hong Kong, so she’d been up since 4am. Ick! So, we managed to wander most of the way towards the airport taxi stand, when suddenly Jan was accosted by a man who looked to be a Thai policeman. At first I thought a limo tout was pulling her aside to sign up for a limo into Bangkok, but then the man starting pulling her back towards the customs counter. She told him she’d already been through and he responded with something about alcohol and cigarettes. Jan started to panic and looked about ready to scream, so I headed towards her with Jeff right behind me. Jan insisted that she didn’t have alcohol or cigarettes and opened the bag the guy pointed to, but as soon as Jeff and I approached and started speaking in her defense, he said “Ok, ok,” and walked away. Unnerving first encounter with Thai authority!

Finally we got a cab, hopped in, and began the harrowing experience of weaving, zooming and honking through traffic. Suddenly, the driver veered off to the side of the expressway and parked, prompting Jan to get that “about-to-scream” look on her face again. Luckily (?), it was just that the car seemed to be overheating; not a big surprise, really, since it seemed to be a sauna outside. Five minutes later, we were on our way again and besides nearly hitting half a dozen motorcyclists with small children standing between their two parents on one seat, we made it to the Hotel Marriott with no problems. There we were treated quite well, quickly checked in and air conditioned back to a normal temperature.

Once we had all cooled off, unpacked and gotten comfortable, we decided to explore our surroundings and find some lunch. Off we went, sweating the minute we stepped out the door. The concierge recommended a place in a department store, but none of us felt that it would be a good first meal in Thailand, so we just wandered along the main street. My impressions were of an inner city: dirty, broken sidewalks, millions of cars, tuk-tuks, motorcycles and buses, smelly smog and overwhelmingly wet air.

We had a vague destination in mind, with the name of a street as our guide. Eventually I  made the decision to turn down a side street, because I’d hit that traveler’s wall of hunger, fatigue and saturation. We saw a few street vendors but weren’t feeling quite that adventurous yet, and then I chose a place called "Monsoon.” The food turned out to be awesome. Jeff got massaman curry, which he describes as “ecstasy on a plate.” Jan got Celiac-friendly pad thai. And I got sweet and sour chicken, which was tasty and NOT fried. We each drank a large bottle of water, too. As we ate, we checked out the older white gentlemen (one of whom was paler than Elmer’s glue) who had young Thai ladies with them at the restaurant. There were really some characters there!
The food was wonderful and really calmed all of us down. We tried out our BTS legs on the way home; BTS is the name of the Thai metro system. There’s also a sky train, but I haven’t figured out the difference between the two yet. It was easy and pretty self explanatory once we got our bearings. We got back to the hotel and cooled off for a bit. I can really feel myself overheating here, on a regular basis. Anyway, Jan was ready to be done for the day, so we all just relaxed in the room for a bit. Lunch had been pretty late in the day, so none of us were hungry when dinnertime came around.

Jeff and I decided to go explore Patpong, a notoriously gay area that also is known for having some seedy streets and a fantastic night market. We went with the intention of skipping the seedy areas, but didn’t completely succeed. I learned after two or three occurrences not to even look when someone shoved a laminated sheet of paper in front of me. At first I thought they were menus, but upon closer examination they were sex show information papers. It was pretty disturbing to have men saying, “Open pussy show, miss?” or “You come see good pussy, madame?” Ick, ick, ick.

We did find one “soi” or street that had restaurants and bars, including a Greek place and two Spanish tapas-style places. We chose one of the latter that was offering two-for-the-price-of-one sangrias and sat our butts down to watch the foot traffic go by. The small street was a gauntlet of restaurant and bar staff, all stepping forward and attempting to entice passersby to step into their establishments. I had some gazpacho which was delicious and cold, and Jeff and I had two rounds of the sangrias, which were tasty and cold. After that, we were both pretty fried and so we made our way back to the BTS/sky train and headed “home” to the Marriott.

On Tuesday, all three of us got up, prepared for the day and had breakfast in the lobby. We discovered and tasted two new fruits: a honey apple and a rambutan, which has a red/pink and green spiny exterior and, once opened, yields a lychee-like meat inside. The apple wasn’t quite as good, in my opinion. Then we were off to the Grand Palace and Wat Phrao Kaoew via taxi. When we got there, we overheard some other tourists saying that they’d been told the Palace was closed. Luckily, we decided to check for ourselves and found that they had been told wrong. Later, we learned that some taxi drivers or tour guides will frequently stand outside a main attraction and tell tourists that it is closed, but they can take the tourists somewhere else (for a small fee, of course).

In any case, we found the main entrance wide open for tourists and in we went. Even outside the Grand Palace walls, we were wowed. The chukas, or spires, of the temples and palace buildings are pretty impressive: gold or reflective and always soaring high, the buildings are just incredible! Inside the walls, it’s even more so. Before I get to that, though, I would like to tell you about Surin, nicknamed Tony. Surin set his sights on us right as we walked into the Grand Palace entryway, showing us his tour guide license and his backpack full of appropriate wear for the temples (pants, skirts, long sleeved shirts). We gave in pretty quickly to have him guide us for the price of 500 baht, which equals about ten US dollars.

It turned out to be a good decision for us. Jan and I were wearing shorts, not being able to bear being in pants for the whole day. Jeff was also in shorts, and so all three of us were given  something to cover our legs. All three of our outfits were quite colorful, too! Then we paid our way into the Grand Palace and Surin guided us around, giving us interesting factoids and directing our attention to the different architectures and decorative details. We went to see the emerald Buddha, which isn’t emerald at all, but jade and incredibly impressive. The statue is up on an almost pyramid-like dais, wearing a cloth robe. Surin explained to us about how the Buddha’s dress is changed by the Thai King each time the season changes, with much ceremony. The King or his representative (he’s currently 84) must climb up to the Buddha to change his dressing, with much ceremony surrounding the whole affair.

Jan, Jeff and I sat in that temple for quite some time, admiring the hand painted pictorial histories on the walls, the ornate Buddha-shaped angels with their elegant stances and hand positions all leading up to the emerald Buddha and just the incredible ambiance of the place. After awhile, we headed out to buy some souvenir postcards and then let Surin guide us to the other buildings and stupas to learn and admire. 
As our one-hour tour came to an end, Surin gave us his card and told us if we’d like him to be our driver and tour guide another day, even to go outside of Bangkok, to let him know by 8pm the night before. We said we’d think about it and then followed him to a canal boat pier, where we boarded our own boat and went for a one hour ride through the main river and into an offshoot canal to see the sights. This was a bit depressing for me, because there were flooded homes that were probably dilapidated before the typhoon sent more rain here. Lots of shanties and poor shops, and with the backdrop of sky-high hotels and fantastic temples, the class differences were noticeable and sad.

The canal ride lasted about forty-five minutes or so, and then we disembarked to visit Wat Arun, which we explored for awhile on our own. Before we began seeing the Wat, though, I was grabbed by a woman who said something about taking a picture and pointed at another woman, a Westerner, who was just taking off a Thai costume. I nodded and before I knew it, I was trussed up in a blue wrap, golden cuff bracelets and some heavy pendants. Then the two ladies who were dressing me peered at my fingers and laughed as they widened the finger coverings in order to fit my fat little Western fingers. Then on with a heavy ornate headpiece and I was ushered to stand in front of the Wat Arun entrance, with the main structure inside towering behind me. The gestured and posed their hands, which I copied, feeling list an awful American pretending to be Thai royalty. It was kinda fun, though, so I hammed it up a bit and had a few onlookers smiling at me.

After playing dress-up, we headed on into the Wat grounds. Without any explanatory information via signs or a guide, we just wandered around and admired the architecture, artwork and alien-ness of it all. Jeff and I climbed to the highest open landing, which was a steep climb, and viewed the area around the Wat, including the river. After a short time, we decided to check out the souvenir market. Jeff and Jan bought some bells with leaves as the clanging part, and a few other knick-knacks, and then we were all in sensory overload and ready to go.

We caught a boat to cross the river, which took about fifteen minutes and it was a bit scary for me. The wooden planks of the boat kept clattering and banging, loudly, each time we hit a wave… which was about every five seconds. I’m not afraid to say it made me a bit uncomfortable, but soon we disembarked and wandered our way through a few streets and alleys until we arrived at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which a friend of Jan’s had recommended for lunch.

Talk about disparity! After our canal ride, seeing the opulence and richness of everything was a bit of a shock. The restaurant was lovely, however, with a nice view of the river, and the food was fantastic. Our desserts were fun too: Jeff got water chestnut jewels in coconut milk, which was completely new to us all and delicious. I got sticky rice with mango, which was just right for me. And Jan got a creme brulee which was out of this world.
After the Mandarin, our plan was originally to head over to the Jim Thompson house, which is a museum centered around the man who made Thai silk famous. Instead, we got sidetracked by a sign advertising shops of various kinds, and we ended up spending the next hour at a silk shop. First, Jan admired a dress they had on display in the window. Jeff convinced her to ask more about it and then to get fitted for her own dress. Jeff then saw some silk shirts he liked and got fitted for them in two different colors. Finally, I found some sand-washed silk that just blew me away, along with a shirt style I really liked, and so I got fitted for a two piece suit, trousers and the shirt, in a sky blue which I just adored.

By that time, we were all pretty exhausted, so we took a cab back to the hotel. We relaxed and chatted about our day, and then decided to take up Surin, our tour guide at the Grand Palace, on his offer to take us west of Bangkok to see several places we were interested in. Try as we might, though, we couldn’t seem to dial his number from our room. Nor could we seem to call the massage place Jan’s friend had recommended. So, we went down to the lobby and the concierge called for us. We made our plans with Surin and then appointments for the massages. Jan and I were getting a one-hour reflexology and shoulder relaxation mix massage, and Jeff reserved an aromatherapy massage for himself.

An hour later, we arrived to the spa via sky train. The place, called Body Tune, was awesome. Jan and I were led to a darkened room with twinkling pinpricks of light all over the ceiling. We sat in reclining chairs, with a towel over each of us, just soaking in the darkness and quiet. Eventually, we each had a woman come in and start working away on our legs, soaking our feet and massaging. All in all, it was a well-deserved and well-received massage which relaxed both of us immensely. Jeff also enjoyed his and we all fairly floated back to the hotel and promptly fell asleep.

On Wednesday, we were up early to be ready for Surin, who had said he’d pick us up at the hotel at 8am. We ate our buffet breakfast with exotic fruits and then met him in the lobby. Our three goals for the day were to see a floating market, the Tiger Temple, and the Kwai River bridge. Our first stop, the Damnoen Saduak floating market, which was about sixty-two miles and an hour’s drive southwest of Bangkok. Surin, however, had a couple stops in mind before that.

First we stopped at a coconut sugar “factory,” which had a few stations set up out front to demonstrate how different products were made. The coconut sugar process is a pretty cool one. First they take the coconut seed pods and hack them from the tree, hanging them in bamboo tubes for a set amount of time to allow the liquid to drip from them. Then they boil that liquid until it turns thick and dollop the thick liquid into small saucers that are covered with a kind of cheesecloth or something similar. The result is a wonderful candy much like maple candy but with a much more subtle sweetness. This small pavilion also showed other uses of the coconut, such as scraping out the meat inside for various uses, as well as the wood from both the coconut and the tree itself for carving into an assortment of tools and trinkets. We managed to shop for a bit there, buying unique items (or refraining from buying things, as the case was for me) and admiring the handicrafted work that the people had created.
Surin ushered us back into the car and off we went to the Damnoen Saduak floating market, which was an absolutely awesome adventure. First you arrive and walk through a long hall of very insistent vendors. One woman grabbed my arm and wrapped one of her lovely scarves around me, chattering prices and special price drops just for me. It was actually hard to give her back the scarf! Another woman snaked her arm through mine to show me her shirts. I have a hard time ignoring these people because it feels rude, but I’m starting to get the hang of it. If you give them even a polite smile and say no, they never stop! Finally we made it out to the canal and bam! There was the floating market. Jan’s first words upon seeing it was, “Wow, rush hour on the 

river!” It truly was, too. Boats going opposite directions filled the width of the canal, with the floating shopkeepers using cleverly shaped hooks to pull boats closer to their goods. There was fruit and cooked food, clothes and Buddhas and postcards and shirts, bracelets and toys and magnets. Anything! Everything! There were several motorboats (called long-tail boats because the motors stick out far behind them) as well as hand rowed boats. We took a boat that was rowed and began our tour of the markets.

I bought only one thing, which was really tough for me. It’s a collection of about twenty different kinds of

 spices, which I thought would be fun to bring with me as I couchsurf or maybe stay in hostels that allow cooking. Jeff had gotten the last set at the coconut sugar factory, and I was able to use the price he’d gotten to bargain my spices down from 750 baht to 250 baht (about $20USD to $8USD). I was very proud of myself, but later Surin got yet a third set of spices for Jan for just 100 baht! Anyway, we all had a wonderful time taking it all in, admiring wares and avoiding people’s insistence that we buy their goods.

“Yes madame, chopsticks for 500 baht! 400 baht! Ok, madame, 350 for you, special price!”

“Lady, yes, shirt for you! Beautiful for you! You must have, give me just 1200 baht! Ma’am! LADY!”

Geez. It got to be a bit much but we all had a lot of fun. There were also a few men with huge snakes wrapped around them. For a fee, we could hold the snake and take pictures. None of us tried it, though I did take a picture of one guy who tried to get me to pay him 50 baht for the privilege. Luckily, we were floating off along the river already. By the end of our canal ride, Jeff and Jan had several bags full of wonderful goodies to bring home. We found Surin eating some fried bananas, which he offered for us to taste, and then we were off to the next attraction.

One thing I forgot to mention. Before we got on our boat to start shopping, we were walking through the pier shops and I managed to twist my ankle a bit when I didn’t look where I was going and half stepped over a downward stair. Luckily it was just one step, but down I went, feeling almost like it was in slow motion as my ankle folded, then my leg, and then plop! There I was, in a pile on the floor. My ankle was sore but seemed to be working just fine, so we headed out to the boats.

Once we left he floating market, Surin had another surprise stop for us: a handicraft showroom, where works of wood workers were on display. These were magnificent things, teak or rosewood carved or crafted into the most amazing three dimensional pictures or objects. There were, of course, many carved Buddhas, but also all sorts of animals and platters and murals. Out front of the showroom was an entire pavilion of wood-workers with their tools, working on projects so that we could see how they did everything. It was really pretty amazing, the things they could do with their chisels and hammers!

At the showroom I sat down for awhile because my ankle was bothering me. I stretched and prodded it, checking for swelling or bruising, but nothing showed up and soon I was up and about again, admiring all the beautiful woodwork. Not long after that, Surin ushered us out (after Jeff bought a beautiful piece) and we were off to the Tiger Temple. None of us (except Surin) realized how far a drive it was, so for the next hour and a half we all talked about all things Thai. I actually fell asleep for quite awhile, being suddenly tired for no reason at all.

The tiger temple was a little disconcerting. It’s really a wildlife refuge for all kinds of animals, but since the last 1990s has begun a tiger rescue program. It’s still in its infancy, apparently, with no successful releases into the wild yet, but we ran into several volunteers who were very positive about the future of the program. There was no real temple that we saw, but of wildlife and tigers, we saw plenty. The tigers we could pose by were understandably chained, but it was still a bit sad to see them, lazy and magnificent and chained. It was pretty scary to kneel behind them and touch them, although the staff and volunteers all urged us to. We also saw a peacock, some huge boars, dogs, cats and a few other animals. The experience was less incredible than I’d hoped, but still pretty neat. I would like to do some research to find out how well this tiger restoration project is received world-wide.

Our next drive was yet another hour drive away, but we passed the time and soon arrived at the Kwai River bridge, which is something like 100 meters upriver of the where the original was once built. We ate at a restaurant with Surin that was out on the river with a perfect view of the current bridge. While we ate some delicious prawns, soup and spicy chicken, we discussed the history (which I was ignorant of, for the most part) and  surroundings a bit. We were going to see the war cemetery and I think a museum, but we started to worry that we wouldn’t get back in time for Jan’s fitting for her dress. She had a flight out the next day, so she really did have to make the fitting that night and her appointment was for 6:30pm. After our lunch and dessert, it was 5pm and Surin ushered us into his car to head home.





Unfortunately, we hit some major traffic. Some flooding has been occurring north of and near Bangkok, and we actually ran into backed up traffic because water had gotten onto the main highway. Luckily, there were no accidents or major flooding, but it still took us over two hours to get back to the city. Again, luck was with us and the silk shop had stayed open for us. Jeff’s shirts were ready and fit him perfectly, Jan got fitted for her dress (which looked amazing on her) and I was able to try on the trousers of my suit. It needed a few slight alterations.

After the fittings, we headed back to the hotel, deciding to avoid the street traffic and take the sky train home. You can imagine that we were all completely beat once we arrived, but Jeff and I were hungry and so we went downstairs and ate in the hotel restaurant. My beef soup was pretty tasty and very satisfying, although my stomach didn’t seem pleased about an hour later.

It was a full day, but seeing the countryside and hearing Surin talk about his family, his views on the current political situation in Thailand, and a host of other topics was really worth it. Jan was out like a light when Jeff and I returned to the room, both because of the long day and because her trip home started with a flight at 11am the next morning.

Fantastic first full day in Thailand!

--Z

Guest Blogger: Day 4 in Macau

October 24, 2010

While gambling in Macau is indisputably the main scene, it is definitely NOT my scene, and while I was not so excited to go, Jeff, Zoe and I decided that we would not stick with the group for the afternoon in the casinos! As a former Portuguese colony, this island has an amazing culture. It lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.

Our first stop was the Museu de Macau…an amazing place that really sets the cultural stage. It aptly depicts the traditions, art, cross culture and religion of this tiny island of half million people. Macau is considered a “Special Administrative Region (SAR)” of the People's Republic of China since December 20, 1999 with its own constitution-like charter (the Basic Law).

 

As we exited the museum we headed to the featured attractions of the city: Ruins of St. Paul's, a former screen wall of St. Paul's Church and the Monte Fort, one of the best-preserved forts in Macau. The façade and intricate mosaic floor are all that remain of Macau’s grandest church, perched atop a steep flight of stone steps and propped up by viewing platform at the rear. In its heyday, the Jesuit-designed Cathedral was hailed as the greatest monument to Christianity in the East. This Catholic façade is the only one to have Chinese characters on its face. The church caught fire in 1835 during a massive typhoon and only extensive structural work in the early 1990s stopped the façade from crumbling to rubble!

After wandering in the downtown area for an hour, our stomachs started to rumble and it was lunchtime. Thunderbird alumni recommended Fernando’s and what a great recommendation it was! Despite the fact that we had to travel (by cab) to Coloane, which is the most southern island, it was soooo worth it! Coloane is considerably less developed than the other regions due to its mountainous terrain. It does have two beaches, several hiking trails and a resort. It is also the location of Macau's first golf course.

Fernando’s food was outstanding...we started with a pitcher of Sangria, cheese and bread as we waited for our table. Our lunch was a two-hour love affair with garlic prawns, a platter of roasted chicken and spiced greens.

After lunch/dinner we wandered down the Hac Sa Beach and collected shells and stones and ended up at the Macau Country Club where we purchased souvenir golf balls, shirts and hats. We made it back to the pier to catch the 5:00 PM ferry back to Hong Kong.

Guest Blogger: Day 3 in New Territories

October 23, 2010

Zoe didn’t think I had enough climbing the day before, so she suggested we go to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery—yes, 400 more steps up (and then, of course, I had to navigate down as well!!).

But, oh, my it was well worth the trip! There were actually well over 13,000 Buddhas, everywhere…big ones, small ones, in niches, along the path, but I get ahead of myself.

When we arrived on the subway, we could see the monastery up on the hill in the distance, so we headed in that direction. We made a wrong turn and ended up at a mausoleum with thousands of niches with remains. There was incense burning everywhere and it was a very hot day. We also witnessed a couple of burial ceremonies. It was very touching and an incredible cultural experience. No one seemed bothered by our presence. We ended up going back down the hill and finding the right path to the temple…

The Ten Thousands Buddhas Monastery is on the hillside sanctuary at Pai Tau Tsuen, Sha Tin. It was built just 60 years ago by Yuet Kai, a monk, poet, and lyre-player whose mummified remains now form the centerpiece of the monastic temple.

We began the long climb, but how entertaining as we encountered all these incredibly expressive life-sized statues! There were thin Buddhas, chubby Buddhas, bald Buddhas, hairy Buddhas, Buddhas with walking sticks, Buddhas with dogs and dragons and frogs and little children, macho Buddhas. The entire climb was a lesson in Buddha diversity. The only Buddha I didn't see, though, was a sweaty, exhausted Buddha, which is exactly how I felt like by the time I reached the top of the hill! Okay, I’ll admit, about half way up this hill, my knees starting aching! However, this dramatic sacred site in Hong Kong was so worth the long climb. Again, I was amazed to see people with canes and walkers taking this journey. The monastery itself contains a beautiful giant pagoda and a temple with many more small buddha statues lining the walls.

At the top is the nine-story pagoda for which the Monastery is famous. The pagoda earned recognition when it was printed on HK$100 bills.

We navigated yet another several steps but the prize at the end was absolutely spectacular! The white Buddha (see right) is beautiful and a testament to the incredible spirituality of the Buddhist religion.

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is definitely off the beaten path; but I'm really glad I took the time to visit. This was a really interesting glimpse into the recent history and religious life of the Cantonese.

Guest Blog: Day 2 in Hong Kong

October 22, 2010

Despite level 3 typhoon warnings, Zoe and I planned a trip to Lantau Island and the Po Lin Monastery via subway and, we were hoping, the tram. Upon arrival, however, the tram was closed because of strong winds…the typhoon was reportedly headed toward Hong Kong. That, however did not stop us and we opted to take the bus over the two-lane, twisty turny highway and it was well worth it!

The monastery was founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu and was initially known as "The Big Hut." It was renamed to its present name in 1924. The main temple houses 3 bronze statues of the Buddha representing his past, present and future lives as well as many Buddhist scriptures.

Tian Tan Buddha, a Giant Buddha statue completed in 1993, is an extension of the monastery and soars nearly 85 feet tall. We will come back to the Giant Buddha.

We initially wanted to get away from the crowds and wandered past the Giant Buddha toward the “Fun” Path. This place was amazing…peaceful and surreal. We ended at what appeared to be a prayer place for the Monks and probably people who were lucky to find their way to this area. But the best was yet to come! We backtracked from the “Fun” Path and followed the path toward the Wisdom Path and the “Heart Sutra” pillars.

The Wisdom Path is a wooden version of the famous 260-word prayer, “Heart Sutra.” It is made up of 38 wooden rectangular beams or obelisks varying in height from 26 to 33 feet in the shape of a figure eight to represent infinity. It is impossible to describe this place, but the photo to the right gives a sense of the enormity of each of the pillars. Each obelisk bears a portion of the prayer, which is written in the traditional Chinese characters.

This unique attraction is based on calligraphy by the renowned Chinese scholar, Professor Jao Tsung-I who first saw the Heart Sutra at Mount Taishan in Shandong in 1980. This inspired him to do a calligraphy of the prayer. Once this masterpiece was completed, Professor Jao presented it to the people of Hong Kong in 2002.

The Hong Kong government decided to reproduce this artwork in the form of a large-scale outdoor wooden display at the foot of the Lantau Peak near Ngong Ping on Lantau Island, the home of the Giant Buddha at the Po Lin Monastery.

But WAIT, there is more…always more with Zoe and me. We couldn’t resist at least walking toward the steep path that worked its way up towards Lantau Peak. Despite the clouds and a threat of rain (and maybe even the typhoon!), up we went, and up and up and up! It felt like we climbed to the top of the world but nothing like the Fourteeners! Lantau Peak is the second highest mountain in Hong Kong at a mere 3,064 feet above sea level! From our vantage point you could see the Giant Buddha off in the distance (see below). No one else was there…again the tranquility of this place was awesome. We could see the storm clouds and felt the mist and sensed the shear magnificence of this place.

We climbed up for about two hours and came to a bench…we thought we had reached the top, and with the impending storm (and what we thought could have been typhoon sirens), we decided to make the climb down to the bottom. We will never forget this part of our trip, and knew we had experienced something most people don’t even know about…how lucky are we!!

Lunch was an experience, and while we were turned away from the vegetarian meal because of my gluten restrictions, the deli ladies were more than happy to read (in Chinese) what I couldn’t eat and hand picked a variety of interesting dishes including a warm tofu with honey syrup (yum), a couple of bean cakes and nicely spiced rice noodles. This was more than enough to refuel, and off we went to complete our day of exploring.

Even though we had climbed about a million steps up Lantau Peak, we still decided to climb the walk to the top to experience the sheer size of Tian Tan Buddha. I was humbled by the elderly who made the trek up the 260 steps to the top.

The bus ride back to the main station on Lantau lulled us both into a serene state. It was, indeed an exhilarating and fulfilling day!

--Jan Mueller