Well there is only one more week left before summer holidays and the teachers and I have started celebrating early. Two of the teachers are leaving shortly after the end of classes next Friday, flying to various places in the world for holidays, so to get us all out we decided to all go out this Friday instead. We made tentative plans to head out for dinner and see where the night takes us, but one by one our group got smaller and smaller. You see, various events kept interfering with our plans: babysitting grandkids, scheduled tutoring sessions, etc. With the teachers dropping like flies I finally said: Look, I am going out Friday with or without you guys, so let me know if you are coming, but Ryan and I are going out! I left school Friday afternoon planning to meet up with James and Brendan (with wife and son in tow) at Vientienne Kitchen at 7:30. Ryan and I had been trying to get out to this restaurant for quite some time, but when I called Ryan to tell him the plans he informed me of the business dinner he forgot about . . . After every training group Ryan has, his company takes them out to a welcome dinner. He would be heading out straight from work, but planned on meeting up with us after. So, a free afternoon to myself, I enjoyed a great Thai massage then came home to a nice cup of tea and my book to pass the time.
Knowing this is Thailand, and no one is ever on time, I began leisurly getting ready around 6:30. I knew the restaurant was close, but wasn't one hundered percent on its whereabouts, so I planned on leaving shortly after seven. Of course shortly after 7 came and went and I was still doing my hair when the phone rang. It was Ryan, his meal was almost done, and if I didn't mind being a bit late why don't I wait for him and he will zip home and quickly change before dinner. Figuring a few extra minutes won't hurt I decided to wait. My phone rang again just after 7:30 and Ryan and I were still getting ready, but (as this is Thailand and no one is ever on time) James called to say he was just stepping on the skytrain and he would meet us in 1/2 and hour. Oh yes, and Brendan bailed on us, his wife wasn't feeling well.
Ah well, off we went and a few blocks later Ryan and I were seated at the restaurant - good thing I didn't leave shortly after seven or I would have had a long, lonely wait.
Vientienne is the capital of Laos, and this restaurant was a quaint building that offered a selection of Laotian dishes in an open air, thatched roof setting. You had a choice of Thai seating (cushions on the floor at low tables) or tables and chairs, and there is nightly entertainment in the form of Thai dancing and music. The food was great, the service was good, but the entertainment was excellent. For most of the evening there was a group playing Thai songs on various Thai instruments. Ryan noticed the man playing the "guitar" (a version of what we call a guitar) was missing his hand on one arm, but was still very talented. There were Thai dancers, and once or twice they came out into the crowd, but it was never intrusive, it really completed the whole experience. The highlight was when the music stopped and new men dressed up in Traditional Thai costume came out, each holding a sword and sheild. They proceeded to stage a mock fight, and they really went at it, sparks were flying everywhere! They were really good. They came out into the crowd and grabbed James - he is a very tall American - gave him a sword and shield and threw him on stage. He looked great up there, Ryan and I really regret not having our camera. So here was this average sized Thai man and this giant (maybe 6'2 or 3 - he seemed very tall up there) American going at it on stage. There were no sparks flying, but James gave it a good go. When he returned to the table Ryan commented that these guys were really amazing and he wondered if anyone ever got hurt; to which James quipped: remember the guitar player?
After a few hours of food, beer and music, we got a call from Mandy who had decided to join us after all. She was not too far away and we decided to meet her at the Dubliner. We tried to steer the conversation away from work as we didn't want to bore Ryan with stories of our kids and somehow got on the topic of accents and typical phrases from different countries. (Mandy is British and always has interesting words that I swear she makes up, but is always backed up by the other British teacher on staff). Most of the conversation stayed with Mandy, she is from East London and speaks very differently than someone from another part of London. We noted how interesting that a country as (relatively) small as England can have people living quite close together speaking in very different tones, yet in Canada and the States you have to travel quite a distance from your home to find your fellow Canadians/Americans speaking with a different accent. To this, I remembered an online quiz that Ryan and I had taken: What American Accent are you? You were asked a series of questions about how words sound to you and then the quiz deduced what part of the States you were from. We each took it seperately so that we couldn't copy the other's answers, but the outcome was still the same. Apparently, the quiz told us, we were from the Northeast and we were able to understand every word uttered in the movie Fargo, or we were Canadian. Now I have seen the movie Fargo and I KNOW I don't sound like that, but it was still pretty funny the quiz knew we were Canadian. Of course this led to the Oot and Aboot issue, and while I still insist that I pronounce these words recognizing that "u", oUt and aboUt, James and Mandy both agree that you can really hear my Canadian accent when I say the word "out". Apparently Ryan doesn't say it, but I "almost" do. Hmmmmmmm. I did have to concede when they teased me about saying the word "house". I guess when I say it in a sentence I drop the "h". "I was over at my parents ouse . . . " Of course I blamed my "accent" on hanging around too many British people!
We all had a good laugh when we compared three particular words: Barry (the man's name), Berry, and Bury. Say them in a sentence, you know you pronounce them all the same! Canadians pronounce all three as though they were the same word. Mandy (our east Londoner representative) emphasizes the "a" in Barry, BArry, but says Berry and Bury like we do. James, our American from Philli, says all three very properly, making each one sound distictly different, and thinks we are nuts because how can you make an "a" "e" and "u" all have the same sound! Of course we were all very entertained by our linguistic differences, but I guarantee the people around us thought we were nuts!
All I can say is, we were having fun. I have noticed a few other words I say particularly "Canadian": I am from Canada, I took a cab, and I used a scanner; same "a" sound for all three. Everyone else around these parts say Canada emphasizing the first "a" CAnada, more like the "a" sound in the city Kanata, same for cab (actually they don't say cab, its always taxi here), but they say scanner like I do.
Now that I have you all prounouncing words in front of your computer screens and provided your water cooler chat for the day, I will finish off by saying after the Dubliner we went out to a Hotel bar for some Kareoke (?spelling?) - Mandy says she doesn't get out much, so she wanted to make the most of her night on the town - before hopping in a taxi for home.
I will note one last thing. Besides learning about linguistic differences, I have also noted that I have picked up quite a few new sayings from my colleagues from various parts of the world. I have had to delete quite a few sentences and start fresh remembering that most of the people who read this blog are Canadian and don't use words like knackered or tinker. I have started saying things like pram instead of stroller; plaster instead of bandaid (why plaster?), Nappy instead of diaper, tissue instead of Kleenex, America instead of The States (you should have heard Ryan laughing the first time he caught me using that one in a sentence!!) and other key British or Australian words. People just don't know what you are talking about if you use the Canadian/American words. It hasn't affected Ryan as much, as he works with and speaks to other Canadians, but I speak to, and am exposed to, a variety of nationalities on a daily basis, and it seems that everyone adapts to use these British/Australian terms. I guess it shows you where the bulk of the expats come from around here. I'll tell you though, if I stay here long enough no one will be able to understand a word I say by the time I get home!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
My First Buddhist Funeral
Well I have some sad news. Lookyee's (one of the TAs at my school) mother has passed away. She was quite ill for some time and Lookyee has told me she was prepared in her heart for her mother's passing, but it is quite sad all the same. There are many different funeral customs it seems, all depending on money and status. I have heard some stories that may appear quite maccabre to our Western conservative tastes, so I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into. Still, I wanted to show my support and I will admit, I was more than a little curious.
We took up a collection at the school so that we could offer the family some assistance for the funeral expenses - the ceremonies can last up to a week and all members of the family are expected to be present each day - and I was asked if I would like to join the other TAs and the owners when they went to pay their respects. Of course all I had on was my casual teacher wear, but they said this would be acceptable. I later found out that it is tradition to wear black and white (I was wearing beige capris and a brown t, so luckily I wasn't too far off). James, the head teacher, had also decided to attend, but the other teachers weren't able to make it - many of them have tutoring jobs on the side.
We got a ride with the owner, not nearly as terrifying as taxi rides, but a little harrowing nonetheless (careening around corners going 140 and seeing the guy in front slam on his brakes could break anyone into a sweat!).
When we arrived at the temple we took off our shoes and were seated in rows of plastic chairs. We had passed the family on our way in, but no one really stopped to say their condolences or share tearful hugs and kisses. Children came around offering water and everyone seemed rather cheerful and were chatting away. We weren't in a room with a Buddha image like the pictures of temples you may see in other blog entries, but in a side building that was open on one side. Despite the heat and humidity it was quite comfortable sitting in the building - there were ceiling fans and a nice breeze coming from somewhere.
Off to one side there were 5 or 6 monks sitting behind a small altar with a small flower arrangement and ceremonial candles. In front lay the casket . . . I am assuming. There was a huge altar that just seemed to keep going up and the different levels were different colours of whites and golds, so I am not sure exactly where the body was being held. The altar was beautifully decorated with a picture of the deceased, traditional offerings, flowers, etc. and on either side were flower arrangements and flower wreaths given by friends, family, employers, etc. I wish I had my camera so I could show you what I saw, my description is not doing it justice. And no, apparently that wouldn't have been inappropriate because more than one person was videotaping everything. I am not really sure what you do with a copy of funeral events, but I had been told that this is quite commonplace.
The ceremony began with some chanting by the monks followed by family members bringing up new monk's robes to the main alter. I am not sure if this is some kind of offering to the monks to thank them for the ceremony or what, I was sitting beside James who was as in the dark as I was.
After the robes were all brought up we were all given a paper lotus flower. The flowers were placed in a basket and each person had to pick their own. We then lined up and went up to the alter one by one placing our flower on the altar and saying prayers or blessings. I followed along what the others were doing and placed my flower delicately down and then gave a Wei (bow with the hands held in a prayer position to the chin. This is a traditional Thai greeting and sign of respect). Stepping off the alter we walked passed the family - again bowing to the family - and then recieved a gift. It is tradition to recieve something from the family, and here we were all given a towel shaped like a crane with candies inside.
With that the ceremony was over. As this was the last day of the funeral ceremonies the body was going to be taken to be cremated. I do not know if they have some kind of wake or something after because we headed back to the school.
When we were out of the temple the Thai women we were with began to explain some of the occurences. When the children were passing out the basket of lotus flowers we had noticed at one point someone giving back their flower and picking a new one. Apparently what we didn't see was that someone else had picked the flower and given it to her. She was a little unsure in her description, but from what I can gather each person must pick their own flower. If someone picks a flower and gives it to you it is "like she cremates you". I guess all the flowers are cremated with the dead so that everyones blessings and offerings are cremated too, and picking your own flower to offer is an important part of this.
Sorry I am not more knowledgable about the events I just witnessed, but I wanted to get them down while they were fresh in my mind. I left the temple with a very peaceful and serene feeling, a quiet heart they would say here. I am very sad for Lookyee, but am thankful for the opportunity of witnessing her mother's funeral. It is very humbling to experience another culture that does not share the same past or the same beliefs and note that at the end of the day the ceremony was not very different from our own.
We took up a collection at the school so that we could offer the family some assistance for the funeral expenses - the ceremonies can last up to a week and all members of the family are expected to be present each day - and I was asked if I would like to join the other TAs and the owners when they went to pay their respects. Of course all I had on was my casual teacher wear, but they said this would be acceptable. I later found out that it is tradition to wear black and white (I was wearing beige capris and a brown t, so luckily I wasn't too far off). James, the head teacher, had also decided to attend, but the other teachers weren't able to make it - many of them have tutoring jobs on the side.
We got a ride with the owner, not nearly as terrifying as taxi rides, but a little harrowing nonetheless (careening around corners going 140 and seeing the guy in front slam on his brakes could break anyone into a sweat!).
When we arrived at the temple we took off our shoes and were seated in rows of plastic chairs. We had passed the family on our way in, but no one really stopped to say their condolences or share tearful hugs and kisses. Children came around offering water and everyone seemed rather cheerful and were chatting away. We weren't in a room with a Buddha image like the pictures of temples you may see in other blog entries, but in a side building that was open on one side. Despite the heat and humidity it was quite comfortable sitting in the building - there were ceiling fans and a nice breeze coming from somewhere.
Off to one side there were 5 or 6 monks sitting behind a small altar with a small flower arrangement and ceremonial candles. In front lay the casket . . . I am assuming. There was a huge altar that just seemed to keep going up and the different levels were different colours of whites and golds, so I am not sure exactly where the body was being held. The altar was beautifully decorated with a picture of the deceased, traditional offerings, flowers, etc. and on either side were flower arrangements and flower wreaths given by friends, family, employers, etc. I wish I had my camera so I could show you what I saw, my description is not doing it justice. And no, apparently that wouldn't have been inappropriate because more than one person was videotaping everything. I am not really sure what you do with a copy of funeral events, but I had been told that this is quite commonplace.
The ceremony began with some chanting by the monks followed by family members bringing up new monk's robes to the main alter. I am not sure if this is some kind of offering to the monks to thank them for the ceremony or what, I was sitting beside James who was as in the dark as I was.
After the robes were all brought up we were all given a paper lotus flower. The flowers were placed in a basket and each person had to pick their own. We then lined up and went up to the alter one by one placing our flower on the altar and saying prayers or blessings. I followed along what the others were doing and placed my flower delicately down and then gave a Wei (bow with the hands held in a prayer position to the chin. This is a traditional Thai greeting and sign of respect). Stepping off the alter we walked passed the family - again bowing to the family - and then recieved a gift. It is tradition to recieve something from the family, and here we were all given a towel shaped like a crane with candies inside.
With that the ceremony was over. As this was the last day of the funeral ceremonies the body was going to be taken to be cremated. I do not know if they have some kind of wake or something after because we headed back to the school.
When we were out of the temple the Thai women we were with began to explain some of the occurences. When the children were passing out the basket of lotus flowers we had noticed at one point someone giving back their flower and picking a new one. Apparently what we didn't see was that someone else had picked the flower and given it to her. She was a little unsure in her description, but from what I can gather each person must pick their own flower. If someone picks a flower and gives it to you it is "like she cremates you". I guess all the flowers are cremated with the dead so that everyones blessings and offerings are cremated too, and picking your own flower to offer is an important part of this.
Sorry I am not more knowledgable about the events I just witnessed, but I wanted to get them down while they were fresh in my mind. I left the temple with a very peaceful and serene feeling, a quiet heart they would say here. I am very sad for Lookyee, but am thankful for the opportunity of witnessing her mother's funeral. It is very humbling to experience another culture that does not share the same past or the same beliefs and note that at the end of the day the ceremony was not very different from our own.
Friday, June 22, 2007
I'm Sorry But Our Lives are Just Not Exciting Anymore
Ok, I know, I used to update this thing every week if not more, but our lives have become pretty mundane and there's not really that much to tell these days. I guess this means, dare I say it, that we have fully adjusted to life in Bangkok?
School has been really hectic - but my reports are finally finished and handed in (what is that they say about starting to sound like your mother . . . ?) and Ryan has been pretty busy with work, so we haven't really been doing a whole lot.
Last weekend we had a date weekend so that we could finally spend some quality time together and it was really great. We went out Friday night for Chimichangas at our favourite Mexican restaurant, and as one Margarita turned into 3 and 4 I realized how great it is to be married to someone that you can spend an evening chatting about nothing and everything with and think that you had the greatest time, even though you didn't really do anything (yes I am still a newlywed!).
Saturday we cleaned our apartment (I told you it wasn't exciting) and then got ready for another date - Shrek 3 and dinner at a pub nearby. While this sounds pretty standard, nothing is "normal" when done in Bangkok. The movie was pretty decent, had some funny lines and was pretty cute. But what was really entertaining was listening to the ridiculously untimed giggles coming from the Thai people sitting behind us. I don't know what the subtitles were saying, maybe the movie is a lot funnier in Thai, but no one laughed at the parts Ryan and I thought were funny, but giggled HISTARICALLY at some very obscure scenes in the film. I also thought it quite curious when I went into the facilities to find a sign reading "Please to not stand on the toilet seat" in big letters on the wall. Now you may think (as I initially did) what on earth . . . but you must understand that many of the toilets here are squatters (low to the ground where you basically squat - hence the name - and do your thing) so I suppose in theory this sign could make sense. Still, the fact that this sign was in English and not in Thai made me wonder what us expats are supposedly doing in the loo . . .
Sunday we got the cat again. Clem and Steph were off to Hong Kong for a hockey tournament so we got to babysit. Now this is the third time we have had this little cat, but man was it BAD!!! In its defence, the cat has contracted some kind of illness and if it gets sick again it will probably have to get put down and so it has been a little spoiled, but COME ON! This cat was BAD!!! Needless to say, Ryan and I had a few interesting days chasing after the cat and trying to get it to stop doing something or other. I came home from work on Tuesday to find the little @#$%^& unplugged our fridge!! I am surprised it didn't electricute itself. It wasn't all bad, the cat did have her cute moments, but instead of calling her my usual nicknames, Jiggers or Snuggy (her name is Jigsaw and she always has a cold) we found our selves more frequently calling her a few new . . . er . . . interesting names. . . We were happy to get our home back under control when her parents got back, but still find ourselves tiptoing around expecting a crazy kitten to attack our feet or spring out from the corner!
Today was Sports Day at school which was pretty entertaining. The kids had been practicing all week and were really excited to show off their skills for their parents. Of course as soon as they saw Mom and Dad many of the events were forgotten! The kids did enjoy themselves though, and our grand finale of scooter races and then kid pushing mom on the scooters went off without a hitch. After a fun (although hot) morning we all gathered in the garden for a pot luck courtesy of the parents and then got to go home early. Not a bad start to a weekend.
Well, I suppose that is it. Not too exciting, but what were you expecting from the title? I guess Ryan and I could try to get out a little more so that all of you can stay entertained back home, but it seems we are needing more and more incentive to venture out into tourist land . . . hmmmm perhaps a little cash incentive would help. Ok if you would like to read more interesting blog enteries, please send your cash or money orders to . . . hee hee, just kidding!
School has been really hectic - but my reports are finally finished and handed in (what is that they say about starting to sound like your mother . . . ?) and Ryan has been pretty busy with work, so we haven't really been doing a whole lot.
Last weekend we had a date weekend so that we could finally spend some quality time together and it was really great. We went out Friday night for Chimichangas at our favourite Mexican restaurant, and as one Margarita turned into 3 and 4 I realized how great it is to be married to someone that you can spend an evening chatting about nothing and everything with and think that you had the greatest time, even though you didn't really do anything (yes I am still a newlywed!).
Saturday we cleaned our apartment (I told you it wasn't exciting) and then got ready for another date - Shrek 3 and dinner at a pub nearby. While this sounds pretty standard, nothing is "normal" when done in Bangkok. The movie was pretty decent, had some funny lines and was pretty cute. But what was really entertaining was listening to the ridiculously untimed giggles coming from the Thai people sitting behind us. I don't know what the subtitles were saying, maybe the movie is a lot funnier in Thai, but no one laughed at the parts Ryan and I thought were funny, but giggled HISTARICALLY at some very obscure scenes in the film. I also thought it quite curious when I went into the facilities to find a sign reading "Please to not stand on the toilet seat" in big letters on the wall. Now you may think (as I initially did) what on earth . . . but you must understand that many of the toilets here are squatters (low to the ground where you basically squat - hence the name - and do your thing) so I suppose in theory this sign could make sense. Still, the fact that this sign was in English and not in Thai made me wonder what us expats are supposedly doing in the loo . . .
Sunday we got the cat again. Clem and Steph were off to Hong Kong for a hockey tournament so we got to babysit. Now this is the third time we have had this little cat, but man was it BAD!!! In its defence, the cat has contracted some kind of illness and if it gets sick again it will probably have to get put down and so it has been a little spoiled, but COME ON! This cat was BAD!!! Needless to say, Ryan and I had a few interesting days chasing after the cat and trying to get it to stop doing something or other. I came home from work on Tuesday to find the little @#$%^& unplugged our fridge!! I am surprised it didn't electricute itself. It wasn't all bad, the cat did have her cute moments, but instead of calling her my usual nicknames, Jiggers or Snuggy (her name is Jigsaw and she always has a cold) we found our selves more frequently calling her a few new . . . er . . . interesting names. . . We were happy to get our home back under control when her parents got back, but still find ourselves tiptoing around expecting a crazy kitten to attack our feet or spring out from the corner!
Today was Sports Day at school which was pretty entertaining. The kids had been practicing all week and were really excited to show off their skills for their parents. Of course as soon as they saw Mom and Dad many of the events were forgotten! The kids did enjoy themselves though, and our grand finale of scooter races and then kid pushing mom on the scooters went off without a hitch. After a fun (although hot) morning we all gathered in the garden for a pot luck courtesy of the parents and then got to go home early. Not a bad start to a weekend.
Well, I suppose that is it. Not too exciting, but what were you expecting from the title? I guess Ryan and I could try to get out a little more so that all of you can stay entertained back home, but it seems we are needing more and more incentive to venture out into tourist land . . . hmmmm perhaps a little cash incentive would help. Ok if you would like to read more interesting blog enteries, please send your cash or money orders to . . . hee hee, just kidding!
Friday, June 8, 2007
Ayutthaya
Sorry I am late, but things have been pretty hectic on this side of the world. School is winding down for the term, and one of our teachers quit unexpectedly, so we were left scrambling trying to organize the end of the term without her. Don’t worry though, things are under control – although you wouldn’t know it on Friday, when another teacher called in sick and there were only 3 teachers for 6 classes! (A bit crazy but we managed!)
Last weekend was our last long weekend before summer holidays and we “planned” (mentally, not quite physically yet) to take a trip to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital city for the weekend. We've been wanting to go up there (approx. 1.5 hrs north of Bangkok) for quite some time, and were excited that we were finally going to see some real Thai ruins.
To get our long weekend off to a good start the teachers and I decided to take our TAs out for a night on the town. The TAs were really excited, and we decided to meet for a few drinks at the Londoner where it was Buy One Get One Free night (that way our TAs wouldn’t need to pay for anything), then off somewhere to go dancing. My TA was particularly excited because I told her Ryan had decided to join us, and she really wanted to meet him. The night was really fun, and it was neat to see our TAs really enjoy themselves. Most of them work 2 jobs and don’t get to go out in Bangkok very often. After a few drinks we headed off to a club in Pat Pong (seedy area, but has some good dancing in “non-girly” clubs). On the way, Ryan and I were quite hungry – neither of us had eaten any dinner - so one of the teachers took us to an outdoor food market where Ryan and I enjoyed our first authentic Thai street food. It is a very popular choice among the locals, but I have been a little hesitant. Ryan eats in a local market everyday, but that is a more permanent structure so we believe it is safe. Oh well, James said this food would be ok, and he’s lived here for two years, so we figured we would be all right (plus we ate Khao Man Kai, chicken with rice, so you can’t really go wrong!) After a quick bite we ventured into the Pat Pong area, if you have heard of the Ping Pong shows than you already know enough, and if you haven’t I will spare you the details. Needless to say, this is one street in Bangkok that you can get anything. As such, I was a little skeptical about heading to a club in this part of town, but I figured if they are suggesting we bring out TAs here, it has to be a nice club. When we finally arrived, we found the rest of our party dancing the night away in an open-air club that had a really great band playing. My only complaint was that when the band was on break the DJ played a lot of the same music, so it was a little repetitive. Nevertheless, everyone had a great time and if I could ever find this place again, I would go back!
Since Ryan and I had “planned” to get away this weekend, but neither of us had actually done anything about it, we decided to book our trip on Thursday and not leave until Friday so that we could enjoy some much needed relaxing. We started searching for our perfect holiday, but we both knew what we wanted. We heard there was a trip you can take that allows you to take a boat back, but it was a little pricier than we had intended, so we were trying to find alternative travel methods. After a bit of searching we decided to go with the trip we originally planned, with a few minor changes. Instead of going for the weekend we booked a guided trip that would take one day - we would take a coach up, stopping at the Summer Palace and the highlights of Ayutthaya and then get dropped off at a pier and have lunch on our cruise back to Bangkok. It meant very little exploring on our own, but it also meant a stress free no planning trip, air conditioning, and we got our boat trip! We booked ourselves in on the Saturday, and not wanting to ruin our Friday off, we planned to take the train up to Canchantabury, where they have a famous bridge over the River Kwai and a number of museums from the Japanese occupation during WWII. It looked like it would be a great day trip, take the train up, rent bicycles to tour the town, and head back on a bus in the evening. (Hee hee, but we didn’t wake up in time on Friday morning, so I guess that trip will have to wait a bit! I guess we just didn’t get in enough relaxing on Thursday!)
Ok, enough of the story telling, I will get to what you all come here for: the pictures.
Saturday morning, with only a little protest, we woke up at the crack of dawn and made our way down to the pier to meet our tour group. In true Thai style, we were immediately ushered onto a bus without giving our names or reason for being there. Just before the bus pulled away, the guide came to ask if we were Mr. and Mrs. Ryan, and then informed us they had put us on the wrong bus! It was the same tour, but they put us on the Thai bus instead of the English one!! After a quick switch, and lots of giggles (Thai people always laugh when something is screwed up) we were on our way.
Our first stop was the Summer Palace.
Like most places in Thailand, the grounds here were emmaculate. Around every corner the shrubs were shaped into different groups of animals.
We didn't get a picture, but near one of the ponds was a series of tiny bushes that were made into little rabbits and squirrls. It is pretty amazing what the gardeners can do over here!
Here is the view out of one side of a Pagoda we climbed up. That building on the left was built for visitors to stay in. Queen Elizabeth was the first guest to stay there.
It is tradition in the Buddhist faith that every man must spend some of his life in the monkhood, so before they are 20, most Thai men spend a minimun of three months at a temple learning about the Buddhist faith and living with the monks.
These guys are feeding the fish in the pond. We had to laugh because instead of breaking the bread into bite size fish pieces, they were just throwing the whole chunk in! What made is worse is watching the fish and turtles fighting over it to get the biggest piece! Picture a swarm of piranhas attacking and that is what it looked like! I think we spent more time watching the fish and turtles fight for food than we spent at any other sight on the grounds!
This is a 500 year old Bondi tree. The Bondi trees are sacred in Thailand as it is said this is the tree that Buddha sat under when he reached Nirvana. Every Wat has a Bondi tree, and they are found near many homes too - often as make-shift shrines, people placing incense, and other offerings (food, Fanta, etc).
After the Summer Palace, we returned to the bus where refreshments and air conditioning were waiting (it was about 40 degrees out!) Our next stop was Ayutthaya and we were excited to see the real thing. (If you remember our trip to the Ancient City, we saw replicas of the ruins we were about to visit).
Our first stop is perhaps the most famous ruins in Ayutthaya. They date back to the 1100s and were destroyed when Burma captured the city. The Burmese set fire to all the temples and many Buddha images were destroyed. We were told that the Buddha images were destroyed by the roof caving in after an earthquake and not from the Burmese, but it seemed rather strange that the head of each image was perfectly sliced.
The head on this Buddha was reconstructed, but the body is the original. You can also see here the line of Buddha's with no heads on the wall along side him.
I had to crouch down for this picture to make sure I wasn't above Buddha's head. In the Buddhist culture the head is the most revered part of the body, and it wouldn't be proper for me to be standing above the head of Buddha.
In fact, we walked by later and saw two men who were obviously not informed. They tried taking a picture with one of them standing up and he was quickly yelled at by a man working the grounds there.
It was really neat to be walking among these ruins. There were a number of people walking about, but it seemed like it had originally been built with peace and quiet in mind. You couldn't hear anyone else as you wandered around, it was very serene. Plus, Ryan and I had the added benefit of seeing the ruins as they once were from our trip to the Ancient City, so it was extra inspiring to be walking around these grounds and picturing how they once stood. We also enjoyed comparing these to the ruins we saw in Mexico, in awe of the similarities despite the vast distance between them. We did the clapping test, but did not hear any bird calls as we did in Chitchiniza (maybe it worked when it was in its original glory!)
Our next stop was to the only temple in Ayutthaya that was left untouched by the Burmese. They used it as a base camp, so it was preserved. Amazingly, this Buddha is 1500 years old!
I had to throw this picture in, because Ryan has decided to start a collection of the various Tuk-Tuks that we have seen. It seems that every city we go to has its own version of the three-wheeled taxis. He was trying all day to find his shot, and then as we stepped out of the temple with the 1500 year old Buddha, there it was: the perfect picture . . .
After a tour through the city, we drove out a ways until we came upon the largest stone Reclining Buddha, and the last stop on our trip. We are not sure if it is as big as the Reclining Buddha in Wat Pho, but it is pretty impressive either way.
If you look at the size of the person in the photo, it will give you a better idea of just how massive this image is!
Heading for the peir, Ryan and I were ready for lunch. We were pleasantly surprised to get on the boat for the ride home to find a nice spread featuring Thai and International cuisine. We were seated at a table with a woman on holiday with her Father. They were Australian, but she is an expat working in Hong Kong. Her Dad was visiting her in HK and they decided to pop down to Bangkok for some sightseeing.
For the next four hours, we enjoyed good food, tasty drinks, good conversation and some neat sights along the river. The buildings along the river ranged from exquisite temples, and mansions, to the standard Thai riverside homes built on stilts to protect them during the rainy season.
We arrived back home in Bangkok around 4:30, with enough time to enjoy our Saturday night and the rest of our long weekend. (Sorry for the poor grammar and spelling, I think I caught most of it, but I was chatting with Amie on MSN while I was writing this!)
Last weekend was our last long weekend before summer holidays and we “planned” (mentally, not quite physically yet) to take a trip to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital city for the weekend. We've been wanting to go up there (approx. 1.5 hrs north of Bangkok) for quite some time, and were excited that we were finally going to see some real Thai ruins.
To get our long weekend off to a good start the teachers and I decided to take our TAs out for a night on the town. The TAs were really excited, and we decided to meet for a few drinks at the Londoner where it was Buy One Get One Free night (that way our TAs wouldn’t need to pay for anything), then off somewhere to go dancing. My TA was particularly excited because I told her Ryan had decided to join us, and she really wanted to meet him. The night was really fun, and it was neat to see our TAs really enjoy themselves. Most of them work 2 jobs and don’t get to go out in Bangkok very often. After a few drinks we headed off to a club in Pat Pong (seedy area, but has some good dancing in “non-girly” clubs). On the way, Ryan and I were quite hungry – neither of us had eaten any dinner - so one of the teachers took us to an outdoor food market where Ryan and I enjoyed our first authentic Thai street food. It is a very popular choice among the locals, but I have been a little hesitant. Ryan eats in a local market everyday, but that is a more permanent structure so we believe it is safe. Oh well, James said this food would be ok, and he’s lived here for two years, so we figured we would be all right (plus we ate Khao Man Kai, chicken with rice, so you can’t really go wrong!) After a quick bite we ventured into the Pat Pong area, if you have heard of the Ping Pong shows than you already know enough, and if you haven’t I will spare you the details. Needless to say, this is one street in Bangkok that you can get anything. As such, I was a little skeptical about heading to a club in this part of town, but I figured if they are suggesting we bring out TAs here, it has to be a nice club. When we finally arrived, we found the rest of our party dancing the night away in an open-air club that had a really great band playing. My only complaint was that when the band was on break the DJ played a lot of the same music, so it was a little repetitive. Nevertheless, everyone had a great time and if I could ever find this place again, I would go back!
Since Ryan and I had “planned” to get away this weekend, but neither of us had actually done anything about it, we decided to book our trip on Thursday and not leave until Friday so that we could enjoy some much needed relaxing. We started searching for our perfect holiday, but we both knew what we wanted. We heard there was a trip you can take that allows you to take a boat back, but it was a little pricier than we had intended, so we were trying to find alternative travel methods. After a bit of searching we decided to go with the trip we originally planned, with a few minor changes. Instead of going for the weekend we booked a guided trip that would take one day - we would take a coach up, stopping at the Summer Palace and the highlights of Ayutthaya and then get dropped off at a pier and have lunch on our cruise back to Bangkok. It meant very little exploring on our own, but it also meant a stress free no planning trip, air conditioning, and we got our boat trip! We booked ourselves in on the Saturday, and not wanting to ruin our Friday off, we planned to take the train up to Canchantabury, where they have a famous bridge over the River Kwai and a number of museums from the Japanese occupation during WWII. It looked like it would be a great day trip, take the train up, rent bicycles to tour the town, and head back on a bus in the evening. (Hee hee, but we didn’t wake up in time on Friday morning, so I guess that trip will have to wait a bit! I guess we just didn’t get in enough relaxing on Thursday!)
Ok, enough of the story telling, I will get to what you all come here for: the pictures.
Saturday morning, with only a little protest, we woke up at the crack of dawn and made our way down to the pier to meet our tour group. In true Thai style, we were immediately ushered onto a bus without giving our names or reason for being there. Just before the bus pulled away, the guide came to ask if we were Mr. and Mrs. Ryan, and then informed us they had put us on the wrong bus! It was the same tour, but they put us on the Thai bus instead of the English one!! After a quick switch, and lots of giggles (Thai people always laugh when something is screwed up) we were on our way.
Our first stop was the Summer Palace.
Like most places in Thailand, the grounds here were emmaculate. Around every corner the shrubs were shaped into different groups of animals.
We didn't get a picture, but near one of the ponds was a series of tiny bushes that were made into little rabbits and squirrls. It is pretty amazing what the gardeners can do over here!
Here is the view out of one side of a Pagoda we climbed up. That building on the left was built for visitors to stay in. Queen Elizabeth was the first guest to stay there.
It is tradition in the Buddhist faith that every man must spend some of his life in the monkhood, so before they are 20, most Thai men spend a minimun of three months at a temple learning about the Buddhist faith and living with the monks.
These guys are feeding the fish in the pond. We had to laugh because instead of breaking the bread into bite size fish pieces, they were just throwing the whole chunk in! What made is worse is watching the fish and turtles fighting over it to get the biggest piece! Picture a swarm of piranhas attacking and that is what it looked like! I think we spent more time watching the fish and turtles fight for food than we spent at any other sight on the grounds!
This is a 500 year old Bondi tree. The Bondi trees are sacred in Thailand as it is said this is the tree that Buddha sat under when he reached Nirvana. Every Wat has a Bondi tree, and they are found near many homes too - often as make-shift shrines, people placing incense, and other offerings (food, Fanta, etc).
After the Summer Palace, we returned to the bus where refreshments and air conditioning were waiting (it was about 40 degrees out!) Our next stop was Ayutthaya and we were excited to see the real thing. (If you remember our trip to the Ancient City, we saw replicas of the ruins we were about to visit).
Our first stop is perhaps the most famous ruins in Ayutthaya. They date back to the 1100s and were destroyed when Burma captured the city. The Burmese set fire to all the temples and many Buddha images were destroyed. We were told that the Buddha images were destroyed by the roof caving in after an earthquake and not from the Burmese, but it seemed rather strange that the head of each image was perfectly sliced.
The head on this Buddha was reconstructed, but the body is the original. You can also see here the line of Buddha's with no heads on the wall along side him.
I had to crouch down for this picture to make sure I wasn't above Buddha's head. In the Buddhist culture the head is the most revered part of the body, and it wouldn't be proper for me to be standing above the head of Buddha.
In fact, we walked by later and saw two men who were obviously not informed. They tried taking a picture with one of them standing up and he was quickly yelled at by a man working the grounds there.
It was really neat to be walking among these ruins. There were a number of people walking about, but it seemed like it had originally been built with peace and quiet in mind. You couldn't hear anyone else as you wandered around, it was very serene. Plus, Ryan and I had the added benefit of seeing the ruins as they once were from our trip to the Ancient City, so it was extra inspiring to be walking around these grounds and picturing how they once stood. We also enjoyed comparing these to the ruins we saw in Mexico, in awe of the similarities despite the vast distance between them. We did the clapping test, but did not hear any bird calls as we did in Chitchiniza (maybe it worked when it was in its original glory!)
Our next stop was to the only temple in Ayutthaya that was left untouched by the Burmese. They used it as a base camp, so it was preserved. Amazingly, this Buddha is 1500 years old!
I had to throw this picture in, because Ryan has decided to start a collection of the various Tuk-Tuks that we have seen. It seems that every city we go to has its own version of the three-wheeled taxis. He was trying all day to find his shot, and then as we stepped out of the temple with the 1500 year old Buddha, there it was: the perfect picture . . .
After a tour through the city, we drove out a ways until we came upon the largest stone Reclining Buddha, and the last stop on our trip. We are not sure if it is as big as the Reclining Buddha in Wat Pho, but it is pretty impressive either way.
If you look at the size of the person in the photo, it will give you a better idea of just how massive this image is!
Heading for the peir, Ryan and I were ready for lunch. We were pleasantly surprised to get on the boat for the ride home to find a nice spread featuring Thai and International cuisine. We were seated at a table with a woman on holiday with her Father. They were Australian, but she is an expat working in Hong Kong. Her Dad was visiting her in HK and they decided to pop down to Bangkok for some sightseeing.
For the next four hours, we enjoyed good food, tasty drinks, good conversation and some neat sights along the river. The buildings along the river ranged from exquisite temples, and mansions, to the standard Thai riverside homes built on stilts to protect them during the rainy season.
We arrived back home in Bangkok around 4:30, with enough time to enjoy our Saturday night and the rest of our long weekend. (Sorry for the poor grammar and spelling, I think I caught most of it, but I was chatting with Amie on MSN while I was writing this!)
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