That monkey is holding the coconut, while the other monkey tries to get it down.
Woohoo! Snakes! Summer loves them!
Here is a picture of the suit I had taylored and a skirt that Summer bought.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wats, Monkeys, and Snakes (Part Sam)
That monkey is holding the coconut, while the other monkey tries to get it down.
Woohoo! Snakes! Summer loves them!
Here is a picture of the suit I had taylored and a skirt that Summer bought.
Wats, Monkeys, and Snakes (Part Song)
I don't really know the significance of the dragons, but they sure are ornate.
This big guy felt like he needed a hug, so I obliged.
Who'd've thought we'd be giving a giraffe a drink in Thailand from our hands?
Wats, Monkeys, and Snakes (Part Nueng)
Wat beauty (Oh, I could go so many places with this)
I can be a monk. I'm even wearing the required orange... sort of.
They look so peaceful. Wait, they're statues.
I Opened My Mouth and Kissed a Snake Once
Some things are just hard to believe. People who know Summer and I, however, might just think the above caption is true. Sit down a minute, and let me tell you about the adventures of a Christian on a Buddhist holiday. Our adventures start yesterday and really have nothing to do with the fact that we are Christian and we were celebrating a Buddhist holiday. Maybe celebrating isn't the most accurate word, but really, all I'm doing is beating around the bush. Here's the story.
Yesterday, we didn't have school (yet another reason why teaching in Thailand is awesome) because of the afforementioned (I have no idea if I spelled that right) Buddhist holiday wherein Buddha gave his first sermon to a miraculous appearance of 200 monks or something like that. So, Summer and I decided to have an adventure. We, of course, slept in a little, and Summer made pancakes (and yet another reason why Summer is my favorite) for breakfast. Delicious! Since Thursday is market day in Mae Malai (read MEM-uh-LAI), we stopped by there first to see what we could see. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but Summer bought a shirt and a freshly made coconut pancake. We also bought a pomelo and a kilo of oranges. We love our oranges here! They are awesome, and so cheap. They are very similar to Satsumas that we have in the states, but cheaper. We can pay as low as 10 Baht ($.33) for a kilo of them, and the most we'll pay is 20 Baht.
We took off from there shortly after and went north just past Mae Taeng. It was only about 10 kilometers or so until we got to what I am told is the largest wat in Thailand. It is so beautiful! There's a whole complex of temples and shrines and large "steeply" things. It was very peaceful. We explored around there quite a bit, looking at a very large Buddha, sitting in a temple made almost entirely of Teak wood, wanting to hit the very large drum that is used to signal meals and worship and things for the monks, posing as a meditating monk (for a picture-- not for tourists), trying to speak to some of the workers there, wanting to shoot down a very large bees' nest, and playing with lions and tigers and giraffes and even a rhinocerous. There was a little park area with plaster animals that we took pictures with-- it was fun. It was all very beautiful and relaxing. The crazy thing is that they are still building things at this complex. It is already so beautiful and big, and they are probably only half finished with building. I can't wait to see it in its entirety.
After the wat, we wanted ice cream, so we went down the road about 100 meters to a little cafe. It was wonderful! I got this sundae with three scoops of ice cream, and we just sat at our table, loving life. It was so refreshing. The story doesn't end there, though. We took off and headed back to Mae Taeng where we proceeded to stop at the monkey show... Woohoo! It was great! We know a girl that works there, and so she hooked us up. We paid our initial entrance fee to see the monkeys, but then we didn't have to pay for anything else after that.
They have a bunch of cute monkeys in cages, and they gave us a basket of fruits and vegetables that we could feed them. The monkeys just reached their little paws out of the cages and we got to hand them the food to eat. It was awesome! There was one little baby monkey that was 5 months old. Cutest thing ever! Some of them were very hyper, and we were told to be careful about our watches and rings because the monkeys would steal them if they got the chance. So we fed them for a while, then went around to the performance area where we saw a show. The monkeys picked coconuts, grabbed number blocks as instructed, rode a tricycle, jumped rope, and even worked out, doing pushups, sittups, and barbell presses. It was great. After that, we looked around the gift shop, took a short tour of the gardens, saw some other animals they have, and ended up at the snake show. This was crazy! I have to admit, my heart was thumping as I watched. The handlers played with cobras, pythons, and other snakes that are fast and can jump. One of the jumping snakes even jumped out of the area and onto Summer's lap, freaking her out. It was hilarious! It didn't take long for her to realize it was just a rope. But we saw the handlers get struck at, catch the snakes with their bare hands (one of them even caught a snake with his teeth), kiss a cobra, milk the cobra, swing the snakes right over the heads of the audience, and just all around agitate the snakes to where I thought they'd be bitten for sure. It was a great show!
After all this we headed back home and ate some fantastic Phad Thai and Kow Phat at the restaurant across the highway from the school. All in all it was a great day! More adventures and pictures of yesterday's adventures to come. Love!
~M
P.S. I forgot to mention that both Summer and I held and kissed the Python. We have pictures to prove it. :-)
Yesterday, we didn't have school (yet another reason why teaching in Thailand is awesome) because of the afforementioned (I have no idea if I spelled that right) Buddhist holiday wherein Buddha gave his first sermon to a miraculous appearance of 200 monks or something like that. So, Summer and I decided to have an adventure. We, of course, slept in a little, and Summer made pancakes (and yet another reason why Summer is my favorite) for breakfast. Delicious! Since Thursday is market day in Mae Malai (read MEM-uh-LAI), we stopped by there first to see what we could see. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but Summer bought a shirt and a freshly made coconut pancake. We also bought a pomelo and a kilo of oranges. We love our oranges here! They are awesome, and so cheap. They are very similar to Satsumas that we have in the states, but cheaper. We can pay as low as 10 Baht ($.33) for a kilo of them, and the most we'll pay is 20 Baht.
We took off from there shortly after and went north just past Mae Taeng. It was only about 10 kilometers or so until we got to what I am told is the largest wat in Thailand. It is so beautiful! There's a whole complex of temples and shrines and large "steeply" things. It was very peaceful. We explored around there quite a bit, looking at a very large Buddha, sitting in a temple made almost entirely of Teak wood, wanting to hit the very large drum that is used to signal meals and worship and things for the monks, posing as a meditating monk (for a picture-- not for tourists), trying to speak to some of the workers there, wanting to shoot down a very large bees' nest, and playing with lions and tigers and giraffes and even a rhinocerous. There was a little park area with plaster animals that we took pictures with-- it was fun. It was all very beautiful and relaxing. The crazy thing is that they are still building things at this complex. It is already so beautiful and big, and they are probably only half finished with building. I can't wait to see it in its entirety.
After the wat, we wanted ice cream, so we went down the road about 100 meters to a little cafe. It was wonderful! I got this sundae with three scoops of ice cream, and we just sat at our table, loving life. It was so refreshing. The story doesn't end there, though. We took off and headed back to Mae Taeng where we proceeded to stop at the monkey show... Woohoo! It was great! We know a girl that works there, and so she hooked us up. We paid our initial entrance fee to see the monkeys, but then we didn't have to pay for anything else after that.
They have a bunch of cute monkeys in cages, and they gave us a basket of fruits and vegetables that we could feed them. The monkeys just reached their little paws out of the cages and we got to hand them the food to eat. It was awesome! There was one little baby monkey that was 5 months old. Cutest thing ever! Some of them were very hyper, and we were told to be careful about our watches and rings because the monkeys would steal them if they got the chance. So we fed them for a while, then went around to the performance area where we saw a show. The monkeys picked coconuts, grabbed number blocks as instructed, rode a tricycle, jumped rope, and even worked out, doing pushups, sittups, and barbell presses. It was great. After that, we looked around the gift shop, took a short tour of the gardens, saw some other animals they have, and ended up at the snake show. This was crazy! I have to admit, my heart was thumping as I watched. The handlers played with cobras, pythons, and other snakes that are fast and can jump. One of the jumping snakes even jumped out of the area and onto Summer's lap, freaking her out. It was hilarious! It didn't take long for her to realize it was just a rope. But we saw the handlers get struck at, catch the snakes with their bare hands (one of them even caught a snake with his teeth), kiss a cobra, milk the cobra, swing the snakes right over the heads of the audience, and just all around agitate the snakes to where I thought they'd be bitten for sure. It was a great show!
After all this we headed back home and ate some fantastic Phad Thai and Kow Phat at the restaurant across the highway from the school. All in all it was a great day! More adventures and pictures of yesterday's adventures to come. Love!
~M
P.S. I forgot to mention that both Summer and I held and kissed the Python. We have pictures to prove it. :-)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
In the year 2551
Greetings from the year 2551! How are things in 2008? Michael and I had no idea that when we traveled to Thailand, we would also travel about 543 years into the future! Here in Thailand we are currently living in the year 2551. I believe it has something to do with the year that Buddha was born, or received “enlightenment” or girl scout cookies or something… Anyway it makes living in the present future much more exciting! !
One thing that I love so much about here is that there are so many things that you wouldn’t see in the states. Here are a few. In the states you would never see: Teachers teaching in bare feet in every classroom. Dogs walking around in the sanctuary during church. Children running down the aisles catching winged ants during vespers. Cats roaming at will in the school kitchens. Students eating around the bugs (ie fruit bugs, and the occasional grub) missed by the cook and not really seeming to mind. Dogs running around in the cafeteria after meals. Seeing the soy milk man come to your house every Monday and Thursday to drop off your freshly made milk. (It’s a highlight of my week!) Going to markets and seeing all sorts of animals, chopped and unchopped lying un-refrigerated in pools of their own blood all in the Thai heat. (That one is enough to make anyone a vegetarian!)
These are just a few examples. I learned early on that if something looks like a deep fat fried heart valve or intestine, it probably is. Eating food from the street vendors is not as dangerous as we have been led to believe, and having bugs in your food is not the end of the world. After the 2nd bug I found in my rice, I just shrugged and thought, “Eh! Mai ben rai.” And went on eating. It’s all good here. Bugs, heart valves and all.
One thing that I love so much about here is that there are so many things that you wouldn’t see in the states. Here are a few. In the states you would never see: Teachers teaching in bare feet in every classroom. Dogs walking around in the sanctuary during church. Children running down the aisles catching winged ants during vespers. Cats roaming at will in the school kitchens. Students eating around the bugs (ie fruit bugs, and the occasional grub) missed by the cook and not really seeming to mind. Dogs running around in the cafeteria after meals. Seeing the soy milk man come to your house every Monday and Thursday to drop off your freshly made milk. (It’s a highlight of my week!) Going to markets and seeing all sorts of animals, chopped and unchopped lying un-refrigerated in pools of their own blood all in the Thai heat. (That one is enough to make anyone a vegetarian!)
These are just a few examples. I learned early on that if something looks like a deep fat fried heart valve or intestine, it probably is. Eating food from the street vendors is not as dangerous as we have been led to believe, and having bugs in your food is not the end of the world. After the 2nd bug I found in my rice, I just shrugged and thought, “Eh! Mai ben rai.” And went on eating. It’s all good here. Bugs, heart valves and all.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Flowers Flowers Everywhere
Flowers, flowers everywhere!
Summer and lots of orchids (her mom's favorite)
Elephants on a float made of flowers and rice
A large float of Thai culture in flower form
Monday, February 4, 2008
Flowers, Food, and Biting Vermin (Part 2)
The adventure continues. Sunday, Summer and I went into Chiang Mai to see the flower festival that is held annually on the first weekend of February. The festival goes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It is amazing! The inner part of the city (called the Old City) is surrounded by a moat and remnants of the old city wall, and in the southwest corner is where the flower festival is held. It is kind of like a fair and the Rose Parade in Pasadena or Portland combined. Large floats are decorated solely with flowers and other plants/organic material, and they parade down the street. They are beautiful! There are stalls all over with plants that are entered into a judged contest, much like a county fair... only with plants instead of animals. Everything is decorated so beautifully. It is quite impressive. Yet another example of Thai creativity/culture combined with their pursuit of excellence. They also have stalls all over that sell food... all kinds of food from fruit to noodles to octopus (squid, maybe?) on a stick. We even got some cotton candy, it was great!
The street that the festival is on is just inside the moat and partial wall. Just inside of the street is a nice public park that a lot of people rested in when they were tired of walking the street. It was relly neat, because we went into it to eat our mango sticky rice that we bought from one of the vendors, and after we were done we walked around a bit until we saw these three people performing. They looked like gypsies... two guys and one girl. One of them was playing a clarinet, and the other two were walking on a slackline (just rope) between two trees, doing things like juggling and lying down to "sleep" and acting out little funny skits. They were really good. I was impressed! Things like that festival are attended by all kinds of tourists, and it is amazing how culturally diverse they are. You see people from America, Europe, Australia, and other parts of Asia quite a bit. Lots of interesting people come out of the woodworks.
After the festival, a couple who are living here from America, took us to a restaurant that they have been going to almost daily since they got here. It is an amazing restaurant! It is outdoors and kind of tucked away where people who don't know it's there would not be likely to find it. It is totally vegetarian and they get their ingredients from an organic farm, so it is more healthy. They have a wide selection of foods and the cost... dirt cheap!!! Six of us ate full meals there that night for 485 Baht (Approximately $14.70). That's $2.45 for a full meal. Summer and I got some mushroom cakes for an appetizer that came with some kind of sauce that was delicious. Then we shared an amazing salad with a pumpkin sauce for dressing. I should tell you that not only does the food taste good... it looks good too. The chef either used to work in the palace as a chef for the king or his brother worked in the palace and he learned from his brother the recipes they used-- I'm not quite straight on the story. Then Summer and I each ordered a different kind of curry. Sum got the Masaman, and I got the Indian curry. We each got smoothies too. They were the only thing that I was disappointed in. I think it's because there was no sugar in them. Anyway, it was amazing, and we are definitely going to go there again. I hear the flower salad is really good and it looks beautiful too. Apparently, it is made with flowers that are edible. Cool! Well, that's about all I have the energy for. Altogether, it was a great weekend.
~M
The street that the festival is on is just inside the moat and partial wall. Just inside of the street is a nice public park that a lot of people rested in when they were tired of walking the street. It was relly neat, because we went into it to eat our mango sticky rice that we bought from one of the vendors, and after we were done we walked around a bit until we saw these three people performing. They looked like gypsies... two guys and one girl. One of them was playing a clarinet, and the other two were walking on a slackline (just rope) between two trees, doing things like juggling and lying down to "sleep" and acting out little funny skits. They were really good. I was impressed! Things like that festival are attended by all kinds of tourists, and it is amazing how culturally diverse they are. You see people from America, Europe, Australia, and other parts of Asia quite a bit. Lots of interesting people come out of the woodworks.
After the festival, a couple who are living here from America, took us to a restaurant that they have been going to almost daily since they got here. It is an amazing restaurant! It is outdoors and kind of tucked away where people who don't know it's there would not be likely to find it. It is totally vegetarian and they get their ingredients from an organic farm, so it is more healthy. They have a wide selection of foods and the cost... dirt cheap!!! Six of us ate full meals there that night for 485 Baht (Approximately $14.70). That's $2.45 for a full meal. Summer and I got some mushroom cakes for an appetizer that came with some kind of sauce that was delicious. Then we shared an amazing salad with a pumpkin sauce for dressing. I should tell you that not only does the food taste good... it looks good too. The chef either used to work in the palace as a chef for the king or his brother worked in the palace and he learned from his brother the recipes they used-- I'm not quite straight on the story. Then Summer and I each ordered a different kind of curry. Sum got the Masaman, and I got the Indian curry. We each got smoothies too. They were the only thing that I was disappointed in. I think it's because there was no sugar in them. Anyway, it was amazing, and we are definitely going to go there again. I hear the flower salad is really good and it looks beautiful too. Apparently, it is made with flowers that are edible. Cool! Well, that's about all I have the energy for. Altogether, it was a great weekend.
~M
Flowers, Food, and Biting Vermin (Part 1)
Well, this last weekend was an adventure, I'll tell you what! It really started on Sabbath, when Summer and I decided we'd go for a little walk in the afternoon. There's a dirt road that goes up the mountain behind the school (where we cut bamboo a few weeks ago). We were enjoying ourselves and the scenery when we came across a section of the road that had a good number of large red ants on it. We stopped and gawked for a little bit, seeing how they covered a large dead leaf. Cool! Well, we decided we'd leave them to their lunch and head on up the road further. Our imaginations were on overdrive as we walked, and not a half kilometer up the road, Summer realized there's something crawling on my feet. She looked down and there, crawling all over her sandaled feet, were dozens of the same types of red ants we had seen earlier.
"Aaaaahhhhhh! Get 'em off, get 'em off! Michael! They're all over!"
I, of course, being the calm and collected one that I am, coolly reassured her that there was nothing to worry about; just brush them off and get off the part of the road that they were infiltrating. As I said this, I looked down. Lo, and behold, there was no part of the road that the ants didn't cover. Moreover, they were all over my sandaled feet as well.
Picture if you will two innocent farang (foreigners) in the forests of Thailand, dancing around, half tempted to strip off all their clothes as troops upon troops of ants in their little combat uniforms march up and down their legs with swords and pikes and tridents and nunchuckus and fire pokers and bows and arrows and guns, a look in their eyes as if they are hunting blood, and they have just found a cache, singing:
I don't know, but I just might (echo)
bite these farang, cause they're so white (echo)
They just think we're puny ants (echo)
But we'll make them take off their pants (echo)
Sound off! March, march!
Sound off! Bite, bite!
And there you have a small picture of the truth. Just then a Thai man on a motorbike came driving by, and just smiled and said, "ants!" as he drove by, leaving us dancing in the middle of the road. I can just picture him telling the story in his village as everybody laughs at the funny farang. Well, needless to say, that cut our walk a bit short. We didn't actually strip off our clothes, but we probably should have as we had stray ants biting us the rest of the way down the road back to the house. It was quite amazing really... These ants didn't just start munching away. No no... they had to get into position! They stuck their little behinds up in the air and acted as if they were trying to burrow into our skin. They did the same with our clothes too. Anything they could do to get their little mandibles into something. So that was Sabbath afternoon. I'm going to break this blog into two parts so it's easier for you to read. Blessings!
~M
"Aaaaahhhhhh! Get 'em off, get 'em off! Michael! They're all over!"
I, of course, being the calm and collected one that I am, coolly reassured her that there was nothing to worry about; just brush them off and get off the part of the road that they were infiltrating. As I said this, I looked down. Lo, and behold, there was no part of the road that the ants didn't cover. Moreover, they were all over my sandaled feet as well.
Picture if you will two innocent farang (foreigners) in the forests of Thailand, dancing around, half tempted to strip off all their clothes as troops upon troops of ants in their little combat uniforms march up and down their legs with swords and pikes and tridents and nunchuckus and fire pokers and bows and arrows and guns, a look in their eyes as if they are hunting blood, and they have just found a cache, singing:
I don't know, but I just might (echo)
bite these farang, cause they're so white (echo)
They just think we're puny ants (echo)
But we'll make them take off their pants (echo)
Sound off! March, march!
Sound off! Bite, bite!
And there you have a small picture of the truth. Just then a Thai man on a motorbike came driving by, and just smiled and said, "ants!" as he drove by, leaving us dancing in the middle of the road. I can just picture him telling the story in his village as everybody laughs at the funny farang. Well, needless to say, that cut our walk a bit short. We didn't actually strip off our clothes, but we probably should have as we had stray ants biting us the rest of the way down the road back to the house. It was quite amazing really... These ants didn't just start munching away. No no... they had to get into position! They stuck their little behinds up in the air and acted as if they were trying to burrow into our skin. They did the same with our clothes too. Anything they could do to get their little mandibles into something. So that was Sabbath afternoon. I'm going to break this blog into two parts so it's easier for you to read. Blessings!
~M
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