February 24, 2011
I've been to northern Thailand and back to Bangkok since my last entry. The two areas are in such stark contrast. Though Bangkok is modern in so many ways there is still much of Thailand that reveals it's still a developing country with much poverty. The landscape and climate of the north is different as well – being mountainous and a bit cooler. The pace is also a bit slower, which I love.
My adventures in the north began with a “sleeper bus” to Chiang Mai. I use quotes because really the seat just reclined a lot and I've found that despite being more developed than Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos they don't have as good of sleeping buses. Oh, well. I just needed a good nap when I arrived. We arrived at 5:30 in the morning and I had called about the room at one place, but someone one the bus knew of a place with cheap dorms. So I headed there, but found they weren't open until 8am. Fortunately, they had a lounge area I could nap under my comfy blanket. At 8am I was told they were full so I headed off to the place I had called before. But soon I came upon, Diva Guesthouse (how can you resist a name like that?!), and found a dorm bed. It's a cute place with a wonderful owner so I feel like I really lucked out. I also befriended another traveler who was enjoying Chiang Mai so much he'd been there a month.
I walked the old walled city of Chiang Mai that day and found it had much of the charm that Ubud and Hoi An had. They are similar in that there seem to be many expats as well as travelers and there are many fun stores and cafes that cater to western tastes. And these places cater to various budget levels. It's also very enjoyable to just walk about. I just window shopped as I made my way to palaces and temples. In one temple I had a quick chat with a teenage monk who was doing his algebra homework. |I don't know how long he's been a monk or if he'll stay one. Traditionally, Buddhist boys/men would be a monk for a year, but from what I hear many aren't doing it and if they do they might just stay for a month.
One temple was creepy. See the picture of a small green Buddha with a man sitting in front. It's not a man, but a model! Wax maybe... He must have been a leader at this monastery, but he's so life like that it threw me. I kept looking to see if his chest was moving as he breathed. Nope. The green Buddha was fun though and at another place I saw one made of purple crystal. The temple architecture and design was attractive and showed variation, which was fun.
I also made my way to the museum that explained the history of the area. People have populated this area for the past 7,000-12,000 years and the city itself was born in the year of the Monkey (1296 AD) on April 14th at 4am. This birthdate was spiritually deemed favorable. So at 4am on this date digging of the new city was begun. King Mangrai's decision to even build a city here was based on 7 auspicious signs, some practical and others more mystical.
The first sign was 2 albino deer, mother and child, left the forest and came to this sight. Also, 2 albino hog-deers, another mother and child, came and drove off a pack of dogs. A huge mouse was seen with 4 followers coming out of this site. The terrain was also deemed favorable because the highlands were in the west and sloped east. There is a stream that encircles the city and a big swamp to the northeast. And finally, a river flows to the east of the city. The last few signs of course meant this area a good access to water for living and agricultural life. The king seemed to read the signs well because the city has been prosperous through the years and remains so today. The Mangrai Dynasty ruled for over 250 years and then Myanmar occupied the city for over 200 years. Eventually it was enveloped into the borders of Thailand.
Animism dominated religious life until the Sri Lankan school of Buddhism arrived in the 15th or 16th centuries.
The old walled city is surrounded by a moat and that is nice to walk.
In the evening I headed to the night market with my dormmate and enjoyed the tastes and colors it had to offer.
The next day we rented a motorbike and headed to some temples and a current seasonal palace. It turned out to be a busy, but fun day to visit the temples because it was Big Buddha Day. Also known as Makabucha Day, this day celebrates when 1250 disciples gathered to listen to Buddha's Dharma Speech after he reached enlightenment. There are apparently 4 small Buddha days each month, but the Big Buddha Day is just once a year. People visit the temples and earn merit. We walked up some steep stairs (skipped the tram) and walked the monastery. You can see some of them walking around the stupa 3 times. The first time is for Buddha, the second for Sangha (the monk community) and the third lap if for Dharma (Buddha's teachings). People were also praying, offering money, ringing bells, and pouring water into this candle bowl. Lots of photographers were on hand to offer their services to the worshipers who wanted to remember their visit.
We also visited the seasonal palace and the grounds were lovely, but we were disappointed in the buildings. They weren't very royal looking. There were various houses for the daughters and son of the king and they looked like they could be in an upscale neighborhood in the US. And though they have been recently built some of the architecture looks 1960s. We also weren't allowed inside any buildings so that was disappointing. But it was a nice walk and the scent of the flowers brought a smile to my face.
After this we continued up the mountain to a village. After not feeling too safe on a narrow winding road we opted for the closest one. Didn't see much of a village, but saw lots of vendors and paid 10 baht ($.33) to see a pitiful waterfall and a tiny part of a village.
Back down the hill and off to eat at a modern shopping mall. Such contrasts.
The next day I took the non-AC, bumpy local bus to Pai, a bit of a hippie town further northwest. I settled into my little hut (you can see the pic) near the river and felt like I was camping. The town is nice to walk for an evening with lots of street vendors. I was just there for one night and scheduled an elephant ride for the next day. I splurged on a two hour ride – one hour walking in the foothills and another in the river. Because I'm traveling alone and hadn't met anyone to share the ride with it cost me more money, but it meant I didn't have to share the elephant! :)
The mahout (trainer) rode with me at first. It was fun to feel this huge animal walk beneath me. Moonba would saunter slowly along and her bones would first push up one side of me and then the other. Later the mahout got off and walked alongside Moonba and had me sit on her neck. I'm sure my weight is hardly noticeable considering her size! I held on tight with my legs (they're still sore!) and hands. My lower legs were nestled behind her ear and her ears are rather strong so I could feel the pressure as she held them back or batted them. Walking down slight hills was a thrill as I felt more unbalanced, but she kept her footing and I kept my grip.
In the river she first had a big gulp of water and then we waded in. The group of elephants fortunately relieved themselves before we got in the water. I met one traveler whose elephant ducked under the water to miss the floating poo, but it went straight all over her!
I have some pictures on CD, but can't access them now so you'll just have to use your imagination. The mahout had Moonba spray me with water and roll around a bit so I'd fall off. Very quickly I was drenched and trying desperately not to swallow this river water! It was like a rodeo where I tried to stay on, but never could. One throw landed me on another person – but luckily away from the other elephants.
Moonba was sweet and though she likely gets bored of this routine she probably enjoys the cool water and is glad to no longer be working in hard labor. She's 47 and this family has had her almost 10 years. She's there only elephant so probably gets lonely. Several are just a few meters away down the road, but not sure how much she can communicate with them when she's tied up. :( She has a hole near the end of her trunk from a sharp bamboo cane – ouch! Another female elephant lost most of her tail to a male elephant. They tend to only use females for the rides because they're easier to control.
The ride and play was so much fun and I'm so glad I did the two hours with the two activities. I ended the time with a pour bath up at the family's house.
After getting back to town I raced to the bus station to try to get a ticket to Soppong (they were closed in the AM). The bus left at 1pm and I was told to get the ticket onboard. So I rushed back and got my bags, grabbed a bit to go and had a couple of minutes to spare as I arrived at the bus dept. But the bus left early and the driver would stop as I waived him down. There were no available seats of the minivans going later in the day and that was the last bus. So I opted to rent a moto and ride the 1+ hour to Soppong. So I repacked my bags and left my big bag at the tour agency. And off I was zipping through he mountains heading to my village homestay. It was a beautiful ride with good weather.
I had a bit of trouble finding the homestay – even after finding the hill village – but lucked out by running into the homestay owner at a cafe where I was going to ask for help. The homestay had 5 other guests and is run by an American man and his Lisu (the hill tribe) wife. It was a rustic, camp like feel again, but the accommodations were nicer than most villagers had – and we had a fairly modern bathroom.
I took advantage of his yoga mats and meditation sessions. The meditation session I did was where we paired off and meditated while giving and then receiving a hand massage with a partner. Interesting and surprising practice, but worthwhile. I drove around the area and bit and walked the village. Apparently, villagers are getting caught up in the materialism they see on TV so do the “keeping up with the Jones's” thing. Trucks are a big status symbol. Work is hard to come by and combined with material desire many are leaving the village life to go to the big cities and apparently a lot of the girls become prostitutes.
My last morning I did an herbal steam bath with another guest. The shaman gathered herbs in the forest and built a small tarp teepee. He had a fire built outside with a can full of water and herbs. A bamboo pool was then used to funnel the steam into the tent. It was quite hot and wet, but felt great.
After this I quickly showered and hit the road back to Pai. I just was able to finagle a minivan back to Chiang Mai and an overnight bus to Bangkok. So here I am back in Bangkok and heading to Myanmar (Burma) tomorrow for about 3 weeks. I don't think I'll be able to blog while I'm in Myanmar because of the censors and the cost of uploading pictures, but I'll tell you all about it when I get back.
I also start a 10 day silent meditation retreat (not sure how this will go! =P) outside of Bangkok the day after I return from Myanmar so it might be over a month before you hear from me again. I hope you don't forget to tune back into my blog in late March. Best wishes!
Oh, another tidbit. When the movie, “The King and I,” first came out the king banned it. He was afraid the portrayal of their king would greatly enrage the Thai people and he didn't want to hurt relations with America.
No comments:
Post a Comment