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!).
Friday, 25 March 2011
Day 40 (Wed, March 23) - BKK: Blogging Day 3: Flooding! & The King's Speech
Woke up to a wet drizzly day -- only to discover the street outside, and the whole neighborhood, had flooded in under an hour of heavy rain around 7am! Awi left to pick up a friend to help him with his taxes, and didn't return for several hours; apparently the flooding was even worse in other neighborhoods...
Blogging.
The Nanny offered me some noodles for lunch, with Shain translating for us.
More blogging.
Watched The King's Speech with Shin, and Naew and Awi and Shain popping in and out.
Played some card games with Shin and Shain -- Halli Galli (a card game based on adding or subtracting to five), Snakes (a game with magnets) and Aquarius (like dominoes but with more permutations).
Ah! Found some contemporaneous notes I'd made off-line, and am adding them in here:
9am up. Yoghurt and cereal for breakfast. Awi just leaving to pick up Phong. Street was flooded, took pix. Blogging in study. Awi returned with Phong to do his taxes in the study. Moved downstairs. Nanny came over at noon and Shain asked me if I wanted something to eat; she served me a bowl of noodles. Awi & Phong came down around 1.30pm and went to lunch. Upon return, they played a card game with Shain in the living room, then went back to work. Naew came back from work early (about 4pm) and surprised Awi. Awi gave everyone a ride to the garage or to pick up Shin or something. Came back with Phong, got changed, and left for work. House quiet and I moved back to the study. Called to dinner at 7pm. Naew WAS home, and dinner was on the table. Somewhat quiet meal. (Is she pissed at me? I feel guilty). Afterwards assembled the two fans she’d bought. Then played cards with Shin and Shain: 5 Fruits, Snakes, Cosmic Cards. Shain to bed; Naew uploading photos to FB; Shin practicing Speed Stacking; me blogging. Shin went to bed. Neew was posting pix of me at the temple and asked, ‘Is your Mom religious’ and we got talking about fanatics and Christianity & Islam vs Buddhism, and Buddhism being a dying ‘religion’ (Thailand is the only Buddhist country today). I took the opportunity to say I felt bad about staying so long, I felt guilty, was there anything I could do to make it up to her, I could imagine she might just like to come home and have the house to herself, was I getting in the way of anything. She didn’t say anything and I couldn’t tell if she was nonplussed or too reserved to let it rip. She said she was not a very chatty person, so it was normal for her to come home and go straight to her room. She was also not ‘service-oriented’ (she doesn’t cook and such for the family), so isn’t that way for guests either. She was psyched Shain is speaking English to me; and she’s also psyched that I read Shain some bedtime stories in English and that I sometimes play games with the boys. Anyhooo. She went to bed about 10.30pm, then popped back in and announced that Elizabeth Taylor has died as she collected some papers. Figured out how the scanner worked, and blogged till midnight. She went to bed about 10.30pm, then popped back in and announced that Elizabeth Taylor had died as she collected some papers. Figured out how the scanner worked, and blogged till midnight.
Blogging.
The Nanny offered me some noodles for lunch, with Shain translating for us.
More blogging.
Watched The King's Speech with Shin, and Naew and Awi and Shain popping in and out.
Played some card games with Shin and Shain -- Halli Galli (a card game based on adding or subtracting to five), Snakes (a game with magnets) and Aquarius (like dominoes but with more permutations).
Ah! Found some contemporaneous notes I'd made off-line, and am adding them in here:
9am up. Yoghurt and cereal for breakfast. Awi just leaving to pick up Phong. Street was flooded, took pix. Blogging in study. Awi returned with Phong to do his taxes in the study. Moved downstairs. Nanny came over at noon and Shain asked me if I wanted something to eat; she served me a bowl of noodles. Awi & Phong came down around 1.30pm and went to lunch. Upon return, they played a card game with Shain in the living room, then went back to work. Naew came back from work early (about 4pm) and surprised Awi. Awi gave everyone a ride to the garage or to pick up Shin or something. Came back with Phong, got changed, and left for work. House quiet and I moved back to the study. Called to dinner at 7pm. Naew WAS home, and dinner was on the table. Somewhat quiet meal. (Is she pissed at me? I feel guilty). Afterwards assembled the two fans she’d bought. Then played cards with Shin and Shain: 5 Fruits, Snakes, Cosmic Cards. Shain to bed; Naew uploading photos to FB; Shin practicing Speed Stacking; me blogging. Shin went to bed. Neew was posting pix of me at the temple and asked, ‘Is your Mom religious’ and we got talking about fanatics and Christianity & Islam vs Buddhism, and Buddhism being a dying ‘religion’ (Thailand is the only Buddhist country today). I took the opportunity to say I felt bad about staying so long, I felt guilty, was there anything I could do to make it up to her, I could imagine she might just like to come home and have the house to herself, was I getting in the way of anything. She didn’t say anything and I couldn’t tell if she was nonplussed or too reserved to let it rip. She said she was not a very chatty person, so it was normal for her to come home and go straight to her room. She was also not ‘service-oriented’ (she doesn’t cook and such for the family), so isn’t that way for guests either. She was psyched Shain is speaking English to me; and she’s also psyched that I read Shain some bedtime stories in English and that I sometimes play games with the boys. Anyhooo. She went to bed about 10.30pm, then popped back in and announced that Elizabeth Taylor has died as she collected some papers. Figured out how the scanner worked, and blogged till midnight. She went to bed about 10.30pm, then popped back in and announced that Elizabeth Taylor had died as she collected some papers. Figured out how the scanner worked, and blogged till midnight.
Day 39 (Tues, March 22) - BKK: Blogging Day 2 (& Pond & Unstoppable)
Continued blogging. With 3 weeks to catch up on (not including posting photos to the early existing entries, which I'll do at some later point) at, say, an hour a post (involving captioning and organizing photos in Picasa, and adding text), that's 21hrs of work (not including internet outages).
Awi, who was home as well, asked if I wanted to join him for lunch, and we drove to another of the small local restaurants in Nonthaburi he frequents for a cheap but filling rice or noodle meal. Afterwards we drove around looking for the 'ice-cream sandwich' man with his cart, but failing to find him, Awi took me to an ice-cream parlour / restaurant he's visited since he was a kid when the family was back from Vienna on home-leave. I got to sample 'the usual': a dollop of vanilla ice-cream with a mould of red jello. Two desserts in one!
After more blogging in the afternoon, I joined Awi on Day 1 of his new exercise regime: walking five 500m laps around the pond, and doing some weights on the stationary machines there. Shain joined us at the last minute, and lost interest in walking after two laps. I joined him trying out all the exercise machines until Awi was done. Passed by some guys playing a highly athletic game of soccer-volleyball -- where you can touch the ball, with your feet or head, just three times before it has to reach the other side of the net.
Shain's energy level picked up again once we got home, and he showed me how he can ride a two-wheeler, before crashing and reverting to his tricycle.
Popped through the gate to Naew's sister's house. Api lives next door with her family; they finished their house last year, and the family bought the empty plot between the two houses so that now they're connected through the garden. Api has two beautiful Thai ridge-back dogs, one frisky at 5 months, and the other adorable at just 1 month old.
After dinner, watched 'Unstoppable' with Shin and Shain, the story of a runaway train disaster averted (based on some true incident in Pennsylvania not too many years back).
Then blogged some more.
Awi, who was home as well, asked if I wanted to join him for lunch, and we drove to another of the small local restaurants in Nonthaburi he frequents for a cheap but filling rice or noodle meal. Afterwards we drove around looking for the 'ice-cream sandwich' man with his cart, but failing to find him, Awi took me to an ice-cream parlour / restaurant he's visited since he was a kid when the family was back from Vienna on home-leave. I got to sample 'the usual': a dollop of vanilla ice-cream with a mould of red jello. Two desserts in one!
After more blogging in the afternoon, I joined Awi on Day 1 of his new exercise regime: walking five 500m laps around the pond, and doing some weights on the stationary machines there. Shain joined us at the last minute, and lost interest in walking after two laps. I joined him trying out all the exercise machines until Awi was done. Passed by some guys playing a highly athletic game of soccer-volleyball -- where you can touch the ball, with your feet or head, just three times before it has to reach the other side of the net.
Shain's energy level picked up again once we got home, and he showed me how he can ride a two-wheeler, before crashing and reverting to his tricycle.
Popped through the gate to Naew's sister's house. Api lives next door with her family; they finished their house last year, and the family bought the empty plot between the two houses so that now they're connected through the garden. Api has two beautiful Thai ridge-back dogs, one frisky at 5 months, and the other adorable at just 1 month old.
After dinner, watched 'Unstoppable' with Shin and Shain, the story of a runaway train disaster averted (based on some true incident in Pennsylvania not too many years back).
Then blogged some more.
Day 38 (Mon, March 21) - BKK: Full-time Blogging Day 1
Determined to bring my blog up-to-date, I spent the day "curating" photos and figured out how to post a slideshow to my blog via Picasa (inspired by Alec's example). At dinner with the family in the evening, Chaisak expressed disbelief that I hadn't left the house all day.
Chaisak was leaving for Panama on the 9pm KLM flight, and has a 5hr stop-over at Schiphol. He asked me about 'typical Dutch foods', and I wrote down stroopwafels, spekulaas, drop, hagelslag, gestampte muisjes; too bad he doesn't like cheese.
Chaisak was leaving for Panama on the 9pm KLM flight, and has a 5hr stop-over at Schiphol. He asked me about 'typical Dutch foods', and I wrote down stroopwafels, spekulaas, drop, hagelslag, gestampte muisjes; too bad he doesn't like cheese.
Day 37 (Sun, March 20) - BKK: Chinese Temple to pray & Siam Paragon Mall to shop & Rango at the movies
In the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Rabbit is a 'clash year' for the Rooster, Rat, Dragon, and Horse. I joined Naew and her family at Wat Khanika Phon in Chinatown today to pray and donate and generally mitigate negative energy. This involved making meritorious donations (like, quite practically, buying oil to refill the burners at the temple, and shrouds to be used by the police at crime scenes; as well as donating towards the cost of funerals for people without means), and praying both for forgiveness and for guidance, with candles and incense and garlands to help transmit the intention. We migrated through various 'stations', bowing to the Buddha while asking forgiveness, kneeling on the patio while asking for guidance, lighting incense from the incense burner, and candles from the oil burner, and placing them to burn in the appropriate places. There is a power to prayer that is intensified by physically going through prescribed motions.
The area where people burn incense etc has been moved across the street from the temple proper, which is an oasis of calm. There we bowed to the Buddha, and took the opportunity to read our fortunes: you shake a cupful of numbered flat red sticks until just one shakes itself out. You read the number on the stick, and find the leaflet with the corresponding number on the shelf: this is your fortune. I'll have to ask Naew to translate mine again, but broadly speaking it wasn't positive. I suppose that fits with the fact that as a Rooster, this is a 'clash year' for me...
Afterwards I got my face read on the street outside the temple. My ears don't stick out enough (which indicates I'm not rich), my eyebrows and my cheek bones are too low (which indicate I'm not supported and will always have to work for my money), but my eyes and chin are good (I'm a strong and kind person). The rest of the reading was based on my birth date and time. Wood and water figured prominently -- and apparently from a business perspective, import-export is one interpretation of water, as is the restaurant business. Perhaps exporting teak furniture from Thailand is in my future, or running that Italian deli in London with Susan will become a reality... or maybe I'll just head to the beach ;) Chaisak, meanwhile, had his cards read (the fortune-teller used a regular deck of playing cards) and from the bits translated for me it sounded like she was wide of the mark.
We went for lunch at Naew's favorite French-Fusion cafe-restaurant in Siam Paragon mall (the teriyaki cod was delectable), and then the family visited Ocean World downstairs while I explored the five levels of fancy shops above (Salvatore Ferragamo, Apple Store, etc). Got caught up browsing in what I later learned was the largest English bookstore in Bangkok.
Got home in time to join Awi for the 6pm showing of Rango, showing at a mall in Nonthaburi I've not been to yet. Parking was scarce, and it's normal here to 'double park', leaving the hand-brake off so someone needing to leave can push your car out of the way. Rango was a quirky adult-oriented animated movie about a chameleon wanna-be-screenwriter and his life-changing adventures in the Wild West, with the tag-line, 'Why blend in when you can stand out?' It playfully took off on all sorts of tropes from Spaghetti Westerns (the music, the baddies, even Clint Eastwood himself) -- smart and funny.
The area where people burn incense etc has been moved across the street from the temple proper, which is an oasis of calm. There we bowed to the Buddha, and took the opportunity to read our fortunes: you shake a cupful of numbered flat red sticks until just one shakes itself out. You read the number on the stick, and find the leaflet with the corresponding number on the shelf: this is your fortune. I'll have to ask Naew to translate mine again, but broadly speaking it wasn't positive. I suppose that fits with the fact that as a Rooster, this is a 'clash year' for me...
Afterwards I got my face read on the street outside the temple. My ears don't stick out enough (which indicates I'm not rich), my eyebrows and my cheek bones are too low (which indicate I'm not supported and will always have to work for my money), but my eyes and chin are good (I'm a strong and kind person). The rest of the reading was based on my birth date and time. Wood and water figured prominently -- and apparently from a business perspective, import-export is one interpretation of water, as is the restaurant business. Perhaps exporting teak furniture from Thailand is in my future, or running that Italian deli in London with Susan will become a reality... or maybe I'll just head to the beach ;) Chaisak, meanwhile, had his cards read (the fortune-teller used a regular deck of playing cards) and from the bits translated for me it sounded like she was wide of the mark.
We went for lunch at Naew's favorite French-Fusion cafe-restaurant in Siam Paragon mall (the teriyaki cod was delectable), and then the family visited Ocean World downstairs while I explored the five levels of fancy shops above (Salvatore Ferragamo, Apple Store, etc). Got caught up browsing in what I later learned was the largest English bookstore in Bangkok.
Got home in time to join Awi for the 6pm showing of Rango, showing at a mall in Nonthaburi I've not been to yet. Parking was scarce, and it's normal here to 'double park', leaving the hand-brake off so someone needing to leave can push your car out of the way. Rango was a quirky adult-oriented animated movie about a chameleon wanna-be-screenwriter and his life-changing adventures in the Wild West, with the tag-line, 'Why blend in when you can stand out?' It playfully took off on all sorts of tropes from Spaghetti Westerns (the music, the baddies, even Clint Eastwood himself) -- smart and funny.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Day 35 (Fri, March 18) - BKK: Palang Chakawan & Nonthaburi Temples
Got up after the family had left, and took a walk down to the Family Mart to get some bananas, but they had none, and the woman frying hers for sale on the street would not sell me any uncooked ones. Picked up some yoghurt instead and had that for breakfast with toast. Read yesterday’s Bangkok Post Life section and thought about going to some ‘alternative’ theatre and/or a lecture somewhere and/or an art gallery; inspires me more than visions of tourist traps (even if ‘cultural highlights’). Apparently pensioners are replacing backpackers in Southeast Asia, and have their own acronym, SKIERS: Spending their Kids’ Inheritance. Stomach nominally fine but the yoghurt passed through me straight away. My period is probably past its heaviest now, which is just as well coz I’ve run out of tampons.
At 10am Awi and Shain appeared, and after some commotion I only vaguely followed around whether Shain had or had not dealt his cousin next door a life-threatening head blow, we drove to Naew’s university building for a Palang Chakawan consultation with her colleague, in an office overflowing with papers in Thai and hand-made Happy Birthday Mom! cards stuck to the walls. Shain went first and I watched as this woman somewhat older than me placed one hand on his head and one on his lower back, her eyes closed; he too had his eyes closed and looked like he was concentrating. She next touched his neck and shoulders, and he soon lost concentration and started looking around, even more so after Naew appeared at the door and hovered over the séance. It lasted 5 minutes, and then Shain folded his hands and thanked the healer, and it was my turn.
I took my place on the stool, and she asked what my ailment was, and concluded ‘food poisoning’ when I’d described my vomiting and diarrhea. ‘We’ll see if it helps,’ she said, and proceeded to lay one hand on my head and the other on my lower back and closed her eyes. I closed my eyes too, and felt a powerful heat and energy where her hands were and along an imaginary line in between, as though her hands were magnets and I was feeling the attractive force between them running through my back. When she placed her head hand on my stomach, the ‘magnetism’ wasn’t as strong, but I focused on her hands and on her breathing and on breathing with her. After a little less than 5 minutes she took her hands off me and that was it. ‘Can you describe what you do? I felt an energy.’ She said she channels energy from the surroundings to the chakra pertinent to whatever is ailing you; this involves visualizing the color related to the chakra. She added that what she does when she has food poisoning is to not eat for 24hrs, just drink water. (Naew has since told me her colleague went to Catholic primary and secondary school, then got her BA and MA in Electrical Engineering in the US. And started practicing Palang Chakawan after she returned to Thailand).
Drove the two or three campus blocks to the Friday Market (the market held on campus every Friday) where there was a plethora of food treats awaiting my not-to-be-indulged stomach; what a shame! Naew did some household shopping (mandarins and pomelo, fish paste and mushroom broth, some new wash cloths) and got take-away lunch for Shain (chicken and yellow rice, and some hot red syrup mixed with ice to keep him sweet as we wandered around) and Awi (sticky brown rice and spring rolls) and me (bananas). She herself left us to have lunch at the outdoor Electrical Engineering ‘canteen’ by her building.
Shain was bouncy in the car, turning his tongue red with his drink and puzzling over the meaning of ‘last name,’ and identifying flags. The three of us had lunch together at home, me some watery rice specially prepared by the housekeeper, with some dried shredded pork (it looked like carpet fluff) and some cracker (also pork-based; much better texture and flavor). Shain could hardly sit still, talking with his mouth full, eager to give the maid (Naw, as opposed to Naew) the bean-paste sweets he’d gotten for her at the market, fetching his sword as soon as he’d finished his chicken leg. Awi threatened him with withholding (or withdrawing?) ‘stars’ if he didn’t behave, and that got him to quiet down. Apparently the kids are awarded stars for good behavior; each star is worth 10 Baht (or something) and the kids can trade them in for stuff they want (toys, mostly) once they’ve accumulated a sufficient amount. The maids also get some kind of reward for good work, in the form of going somewhere with the family.
After lunch Awi took me to see the Chinese Temple in Nonthaburi, sister to the large temple in Chinatown. It was new and ornate and the first temple I’ve seen with an upstairs. Then, inspired probably by my appreciation and photo-snapping, he took me down the road to see the largest reclining Buddha in Nonthaburi, at Wat Ratprakongtham, another new-ish temple complex along the canal. There I also saw a Burningman-worthy cluster of miniature Buddha’s and other ‘dolls’ huddled around the base of a tree; Awi informed me that if a Buddha or spirit statue breaks, you must get rid of it immediately or it will bring bad luck, and one of the places you can dispose of it is at a temple under the Buddha-tree (the one with leaves shaped like the one in Lello’s Buddha sand-painting). Then we drove next door to an older temple, much more ‘authentic’ feeling, with three-faced-Buddha reliefs repeating around the walls. An orange-robed monk who was clipping the hedge outside let us in; a bonus, as Awi had never seen the temple open before. Inside it was similar in size and décor to the Chinatown temple I’d visited with Raf: large golden Buddha (this one seated as in a Western chair, unusually; and plastered with gold patches, also somewhat unusually), and murals on the upper walls.
We returned down the narrow road that hugs the square confines(yes, right angled corners) of Wat Ratprkongtham, over the canal by hump-backed bridge, and back to the Pantip part of Nonthaburi. Awi commented the road out to the temples had been widened to 4-lanes in the last year. Previously it had been one lane, with trees arching over it. Must have been a beautiful shady approach to the canals and the temples. The trees have been sacrificed to the city’s expansion. The BTS Skytrain is also being extended Westward along this road; the pillars destined to support the rails are already in place. Last time I was in Bangkok, in 2004, there was no Skytrain or Metro; next time I’m here, this new line will be finished, and who knows what else. Already the property prices along the new line have sky-rocketed.
Picked up period pads (no tampons) at the supermarket in Pantip with assistance from Awi (got the kind he always gets for his sisters), and he looked for a paper with the most recent interview with his father (who, as a former IAEA power plant inspector, gets consulted on nuclear matters) but with no success. Also bought a Rittersport bar for 76 Baht - the equivalent of two bowls of noodle soup; no wonder Awi has stopped eating chocolate.
Shortly after we got home, Naew called Awi from Pantip saying she was having dinner there with Shin; did we want to join. Awi drove me and Shain back to Pantip and we went upstairs to Black Canyon Café – a chain restaurant which serves steaks and club sandwiches as well as Thai food. Turns out Naew had bumped into the owner’s wife on the way home, who’d insisted she come eat at Black Canyon. Shin hadn’t wanted to, but needs must.
After dinner Shain wanted to catch a tuk-tuk home, so Awi drove back and the rest of us piled into a tuk-tuk. Squeezing is part of the fun, right?
Once home we watched The Blind Side (2009) on DVD, the uplifting story of a rich white woman (Sandra Bullock, who got an Oscar for her performance) and her family who adopt a homeless black boy (Quinton Aaron) who, with the family's support, becomes an NFL star. Naew commented that in Thailand adoption is not a common practice at all.
At 10am Awi and Shain appeared, and after some commotion I only vaguely followed around whether Shain had or had not dealt his cousin next door a life-threatening head blow, we drove to Naew’s university building for a Palang Chakawan consultation with her colleague, in an office overflowing with papers in Thai and hand-made Happy Birthday Mom! cards stuck to the walls. Shain went first and I watched as this woman somewhat older than me placed one hand on his head and one on his lower back, her eyes closed; he too had his eyes closed and looked like he was concentrating. She next touched his neck and shoulders, and he soon lost concentration and started looking around, even more so after Naew appeared at the door and hovered over the séance. It lasted 5 minutes, and then Shain folded his hands and thanked the healer, and it was my turn.
I took my place on the stool, and she asked what my ailment was, and concluded ‘food poisoning’ when I’d described my vomiting and diarrhea. ‘We’ll see if it helps,’ she said, and proceeded to lay one hand on my head and the other on my lower back and closed her eyes. I closed my eyes too, and felt a powerful heat and energy where her hands were and along an imaginary line in between, as though her hands were magnets and I was feeling the attractive force between them running through my back. When she placed her head hand on my stomach, the ‘magnetism’ wasn’t as strong, but I focused on her hands and on her breathing and on breathing with her. After a little less than 5 minutes she took her hands off me and that was it. ‘Can you describe what you do? I felt an energy.’ She said she channels energy from the surroundings to the chakra pertinent to whatever is ailing you; this involves visualizing the color related to the chakra. She added that what she does when she has food poisoning is to not eat for 24hrs, just drink water. (Naew has since told me her colleague went to Catholic primary and secondary school, then got her BA and MA in Electrical Engineering in the US. And started practicing Palang Chakawan after she returned to Thailand).
Drove the two or three campus blocks to the Friday Market (the market held on campus every Friday) where there was a plethora of food treats awaiting my not-to-be-indulged stomach; what a shame! Naew did some household shopping (mandarins and pomelo, fish paste and mushroom broth, some new wash cloths) and got take-away lunch for Shain (chicken and yellow rice, and some hot red syrup mixed with ice to keep him sweet as we wandered around) and Awi (sticky brown rice and spring rolls) and me (bananas). She herself left us to have lunch at the outdoor Electrical Engineering ‘canteen’ by her building.
Shain was bouncy in the car, turning his tongue red with his drink and puzzling over the meaning of ‘last name,’ and identifying flags. The three of us had lunch together at home, me some watery rice specially prepared by the housekeeper, with some dried shredded pork (it looked like carpet fluff) and some cracker (also pork-based; much better texture and flavor). Shain could hardly sit still, talking with his mouth full, eager to give the maid (Naw, as opposed to Naew) the bean-paste sweets he’d gotten for her at the market, fetching his sword as soon as he’d finished his chicken leg. Awi threatened him with withholding (or withdrawing?) ‘stars’ if he didn’t behave, and that got him to quiet down. Apparently the kids are awarded stars for good behavior; each star is worth 10 Baht (or something) and the kids can trade them in for stuff they want (toys, mostly) once they’ve accumulated a sufficient amount. The maids also get some kind of reward for good work, in the form of going somewhere with the family.
After lunch Awi took me to see the Chinese Temple in Nonthaburi, sister to the large temple in Chinatown. It was new and ornate and the first temple I’ve seen with an upstairs. Then, inspired probably by my appreciation and photo-snapping, he took me down the road to see the largest reclining Buddha in Nonthaburi, at Wat Ratprakongtham, another new-ish temple complex along the canal. There I also saw a Burningman-worthy cluster of miniature Buddha’s and other ‘dolls’ huddled around the base of a tree; Awi informed me that if a Buddha or spirit statue breaks, you must get rid of it immediately or it will bring bad luck, and one of the places you can dispose of it is at a temple under the Buddha-tree (the one with leaves shaped like the one in Lello’s Buddha sand-painting). Then we drove next door to an older temple, much more ‘authentic’ feeling, with three-faced-Buddha reliefs repeating around the walls. An orange-robed monk who was clipping the hedge outside let us in; a bonus, as Awi had never seen the temple open before. Inside it was similar in size and décor to the Chinatown temple I’d visited with Raf: large golden Buddha (this one seated as in a Western chair, unusually; and plastered with gold patches, also somewhat unusually), and murals on the upper walls.
We returned down the narrow road that hugs the square confines(yes, right angled corners) of Wat Ratprkongtham, over the canal by hump-backed bridge, and back to the Pantip part of Nonthaburi. Awi commented the road out to the temples had been widened to 4-lanes in the last year. Previously it had been one lane, with trees arching over it. Must have been a beautiful shady approach to the canals and the temples. The trees have been sacrificed to the city’s expansion. The BTS Skytrain is also being extended Westward along this road; the pillars destined to support the rails are already in place. Last time I was in Bangkok, in 2004, there was no Skytrain or Metro; next time I’m here, this new line will be finished, and who knows what else. Already the property prices along the new line have sky-rocketed.
Picked up period pads (no tampons) at the supermarket in Pantip with assistance from Awi (got the kind he always gets for his sisters), and he looked for a paper with the most recent interview with his father (who, as a former IAEA power plant inspector, gets consulted on nuclear matters) but with no success. Also bought a Rittersport bar for 76 Baht - the equivalent of two bowls of noodle soup; no wonder Awi has stopped eating chocolate.
Shortly after we got home, Naew called Awi from Pantip saying she was having dinner there with Shin; did we want to join. Awi drove me and Shain back to Pantip and we went upstairs to Black Canyon Café – a chain restaurant which serves steaks and club sandwiches as well as Thai food. Turns out Naew had bumped into the owner’s wife on the way home, who’d insisted she come eat at Black Canyon. Shin hadn’t wanted to, but needs must.
After dinner Shain wanted to catch a tuk-tuk home, so Awi drove back and the rest of us piled into a tuk-tuk. Squeezing is part of the fun, right?
Once home we watched The Blind Side (2009) on DVD, the uplifting story of a rich white woman (Sandra Bullock, who got an Oscar for her performance) and her family who adopt a homeless black boy (Quinton Aaron) who, with the family's support, becomes an NFL star. Naew commented that in Thailand adoption is not a common practice at all.
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