Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Day 50 (Sat, April 2) - SNG: Place Holder
Blog Posting for this date yet to be added; thanks for your patience
Day 48 (Thur, March 31) - BKK: Place Holder
Blog Posting for this date yet to be added; thanks for your patience
Day 49 (Fri, April 1) - SNG: Place Holder
Blog Posting for this date yet to be added; thanks for your patience
Day 47 (Wed, March 30) - BKK: Place Holder
Blog Posting for this date yet to be added; thanks for your patience
Day 46 (Tues, March 29) - BKK: Place Holder
Blog Posting for this date yet to be added; thanks for your patience
Day 45 (Mon, March 28) - BKK: Place Holder
Blog Posting for this date yet to be added; thanks for your patience
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Day 44 (Sun, March 27) - BKK: Place Holder
Blog Posting for this date yet to be added; thanks for your patience
Monday, 4 April 2011
Day 43 (Sat, March 26) - BKK: Palm Reading & Sukhumvit
In the morning, Naew took me for a consultation with her Palm Reader of ten years, Kun Moo. Kun Moo is from Burma, and worked as Naew's boss's assistant for a time; she used to live around the corner from Naew, but recently moved to a gated community about half an hour away. She runs her own consultancy (palmistry business?) full-time now, and her sister acts as her receptionist and takes care of the finances. I arrived as one client was leaving, and the waiting room was full when I left.
Kun Moo invited me to sit down across the desk from her in her small office, with my palms face up on a pillow. She enquired whether I was 'convenient' (ie comfortable), and then asked for my date of birth. Then she talked at me for 40 minutes straight.
And astounded the heck out of me.
She asserted things about my inclinations, my character, my employment history, my relationship history, my finances, and my familial relationships, all of which were uncannily spot-on. She didn't ask me questions or fish for information. She also made predictions about my future which I have 'on tape' (she made an audio recording for me); she encouraged me to think of her reading when they came to pass.
I had an astrology reading done in 2008 which was (similarly?) based on my date (and time) of birth -- but the astrologist had several days in which to prepare her comments, unlike this palm reader who I told my birthday as I sat down. The astrology reading did have similarities to this palm reading -- but I found Kun Moo more forthright in her descriptions, and there were no references to planets ruling this or that house in my chart to complicate the message.
Either this Palm Reader has astounding powers of perception, or much of 'who we are' is in fact determined by the date on which we are born, or she got incredibly lucky. Not having heard the reading, you may add: or I am reading what I want into very vague things she actually said. Perhaps I'll transcribe some exerpts, and let you judge for yourselves ;)
We ran into Awi and the kids on our way to lunch, and we all had Vietnamese together at a little local restaurant.
After lunch I got a ride with Awi to Sukhumvit, where I went to the Citibank and took a wander. I almost bought a bikini at Robinsons for my upcoming beach/diving trip, had a comforting stroll up and down the aisles at Tops supermarket (Waitrose - an upscale grocery store with outlets only in the UK -exports its line of own-brand products to Thailand; who knew??), and noticed farang men discussing prices and times with slim Thai girls, sandwiched between street stalls selling t-shirts and sneakers. Off-duty women in matching outfits relaxed at tables outside massage parlours down the soi's (alleys) off the main drag, while prospective customers lounged at the bars on either side.
To get home, I caught the BTS/Skytrain (45B) to Victory Monument -- the pre-eminent round-a-bout in Bangkok, reminiscent of the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe, or Picadilly Circus maybe, but bigger and more chaotic. There's a walkway 3/4 of the way around it, from the BTS station to the bus stop. There I hopped on a Bus 522 (14B), which turns onto the Express Road immediately and turns off again in Nonthaburi; the first stop - after about 30mins, traffic permitting - is outside Pantip Plaza. The final 1km stretch of road up Ngamwongwarn 25 (ie the 25th road intersecting Ngamwongwarn) to Soi 14 (the lane with Naew's house), I covered on the back of a scooter (10B), driven by a young man in a flourescent yellow vest.
Had a family dinner all together at home in the kitchen, and spent the evening transcribing my reading.
Kun Moo invited me to sit down across the desk from her in her small office, with my palms face up on a pillow. She enquired whether I was 'convenient' (ie comfortable), and then asked for my date of birth. Then she talked at me for 40 minutes straight.
And astounded the heck out of me.
She asserted things about my inclinations, my character, my employment history, my relationship history, my finances, and my familial relationships, all of which were uncannily spot-on. She didn't ask me questions or fish for information. She also made predictions about my future which I have 'on tape' (she made an audio recording for me); she encouraged me to think of her reading when they came to pass.
I had an astrology reading done in 2008 which was (similarly?) based on my date (and time) of birth -- but the astrologist had several days in which to prepare her comments, unlike this palm reader who I told my birthday as I sat down. The astrology reading did have similarities to this palm reading -- but I found Kun Moo more forthright in her descriptions, and there were no references to planets ruling this or that house in my chart to complicate the message.
Either this Palm Reader has astounding powers of perception, or much of 'who we are' is in fact determined by the date on which we are born, or she got incredibly lucky. Not having heard the reading, you may add: or I am reading what I want into very vague things she actually said. Perhaps I'll transcribe some exerpts, and let you judge for yourselves ;)
We ran into Awi and the kids on our way to lunch, and we all had Vietnamese together at a little local restaurant.
After lunch I got a ride with Awi to Sukhumvit, where I went to the Citibank and took a wander. I almost bought a bikini at Robinsons for my upcoming beach/diving trip, had a comforting stroll up and down the aisles at Tops supermarket (Waitrose - an upscale grocery store with outlets only in the UK -exports its line of own-brand products to Thailand; who knew??), and noticed farang men discussing prices and times with slim Thai girls, sandwiched between street stalls selling t-shirts and sneakers. Off-duty women in matching outfits relaxed at tables outside massage parlours down the soi's (alleys) off the main drag, while prospective customers lounged at the bars on either side.
To get home, I caught the BTS/Skytrain (45B) to Victory Monument -- the pre-eminent round-a-bout in Bangkok, reminiscent of the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe, or Picadilly Circus maybe, but bigger and more chaotic. There's a walkway 3/4 of the way around it, from the BTS station to the bus stop. There I hopped on a Bus 522 (14B), which turns onto the Express Road immediately and turns off again in Nonthaburi; the first stop - after about 30mins, traffic permitting - is outside Pantip Plaza. The final 1km stretch of road up Ngamwongwarn 25 (ie the 25th road intersecting Ngamwongwarn) to Soi 14 (the lane with Naew's house), I covered on the back of a scooter (10B), driven by a young man in a flourescent yellow vest.
Had a family dinner all together at home in the kitchen, and spent the evening transcribing my reading.
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Day 42 (Fri, March 25) - BKK: Gao's Dressage Competition & Huub's Birthday
Gao, Naew's youngest sister, started taking horse riding lessons when the family lived in Vienna, and has taken it up again recently at the local stables in Nonthaburi. Today she was competing in the Preliminary-Level Dressage Competition of the Thai Equestrian Association along with 23 others. The test / performance consisted of a 5 minute choreographed routine of walking / trotting / cantering around the field in prescribed circles and diagonals, starting and finishing in front of the judges at a perfect standstill. Most of the competitors were girls in their early teens on ponies; a few were on horses (including Gao); and there was just one man. Gao performed satisfactorily but too 'hollowly' for the judges' liking and she didn't 'impel' her steed sufficiently, and scored average on the twelve or so competencies. She's doing this for fun, and is more concerned with riding in such a way that she and Grazia (that's her horse) have a nice relaxed time together.
Gao's friend Jeet from the stables was there too, and we chatted away while Mr Keshagupta captured Gao's whole performance -- from warm-up to warm-down -- on video. Jeet lived in the UK for two years, studying in Birmingham and London, and we shared our reflections on the English vs Americans vs Thais. She said riding affords her a bit of nature in the city, as well as a social circle. She's 45 and single, and (as is common here for the unmarried) lives with her parents.
We were at the military base watching all 23 riders for the whole afternoon, from 1pm till 5pm. Once home we watched Mr Keshagupta's video.
In the evening I skyped with Huub for this birthday (hartelijk gefeliciteerd Huub!), and had a nice conversation with Jim but only caught Paul for a minute before he was heading out the door. Shin and Shain came to say hello too; it was their first time on skype! Afterwards, I helped Naew and Shin set up and test their new skype accounts.
Gao's friend Jeet from the stables was there too, and we chatted away while Mr Keshagupta captured Gao's whole performance -- from warm-up to warm-down -- on video. Jeet lived in the UK for two years, studying in Birmingham and London, and we shared our reflections on the English vs Americans vs Thais. She said riding affords her a bit of nature in the city, as well as a social circle. She's 45 and single, and (as is common here for the unmarried) lives with her parents.
We were at the military base watching all 23 riders for the whole afternoon, from 1pm till 5pm. Once home we watched Mr Keshagupta's video.
In the evening I skyped with Huub for this birthday (hartelijk gefeliciteerd Huub!), and had a nice conversation with Jim but only caught Paul for a minute before he was heading out the door. Shin and Shain came to say hello too; it was their first time on skype! Afterwards, I helped Naew and Shin set up and test their new skype accounts.
Day 41 (Thur, March 24) - BKK: Crocodile Farm & 'The Last Airbender'
8am It wasn’t raining, so set off to the Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm & Zoo with Naew, Shin, Shain, and Awi driving. It’s right the other end of Bangkok, south of the center. Naew initially suggested going to the smaller & cleaner croc farm closer by – but as I was visiting, we went to the big one. Stopped off at Kasetsart University Laboratory School to pick up the kids’ report cards. Shin was mortified that he wasn’t wearing his school uniform as etiquette required; Naew was at first worried to show her face since she wasn’t planning on going back to her office. Shin got to practice making introductions in English by introducing me to his teachers. Shin got a grade point average of 3.83, above the 3.75 required to get a mention, and his written report-card comments revolved around his being an industrious and participatory student. Shain got a ‘four point zero zero’ for the year in English, P.E. and Music & Thai Dancing, and was praised for his self-confidence and happiness but encouraged to improve his concentration. It’s a very competitive school to get into, with over 3000 applicants for 300 spots, over half of which are reserved for the kids of university faculty staff and a little under a quarter for ‘special favors.’ The parents of mere mortals (albeit with good grades) have to impress the application committee with the right mix of donations and good works – and need to raise their profile with the PTA committee, on which Naew sits. So there’s a lot of ‘Sawadee-ka’-ing back and forth with hands folded and a slight bow of the head anytime Naew is on the school premises. / The Crocodile Farm is the largest in the world. I didn’t count, but there were a helluvalotta crocs. Big crocs, little crocs; well-fed crocs, emaciated crocs; crocs on land, crocs in the water; crocs piled on each other, crocs in solitary confinement. But mostly we saw stationary crocs you couldn’t tell were alive or dead. They hang out scattered across the pavement, sometimes lying across each other, often with their jaws frozen open. / We watched the 10am ‘Crocodile Wrestling Show’ which consisted in two young men dragging crocs out of a moat onto a concrete display area and prodding them sticks to get a snap out of them. The highlight of the show was a tender sticking first his arm then his head into the croc’s maw. They stroked the snout and upper jaw a lot beforehand, which I expect has a de-sensitizing effect; in contrast, when they wanted a sharp snap, they prodded the lower jaw. Naew observed that the show’s slap-stick and tip-begging emphasis was linked to the preponderance of Chinese tourists; last time the she’d seen the show, years ago, it had had more of a spiritual bent. / Afterwards we strolled across the bridges built over the crocodile water-pens, and fed the crocs. Naew bought several buckets of chicken carcasses which we tossed over the railing to the milling crocs below. There was also a ‘Jumping Croc’ station, where visitors could dangle meat over the water with a fishing pole, and the crocs would rise up out of the water snapping for it. / Awi and I walked along the breeding pens, where baby crocs from a few months to a few years were housed, and along the handicapped croc pens where the ‘eyeless’ and ‘humpbacked’ crocs had their home – as well as the ‘dark chocolate covered’ and ‘white chocolate covered’ crocs (now THAT’s what I call a handicap!).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)