About body work in Thailand...everyone gets it. Its on every street (literally out on the street); reflexology, herbal massage, Thai massage. I even had something called Guasha done on my arm. The edge of a coconut shell is rubbed on the skin until the blood vessels rise to the surface and break. No, it doesn't feel good, but I just wanted to see what happened. Although I didn't realize it at the time, the therapy I had on my arm was used to relieve gas...I didn't even have gas...a language barrier problem. The therapist kept asking me how I was feeling during the therapy, I kept saying fine. At least now I know what it feels like.
Okay, Thai massage. A full massage takes 3 hours! In my book, its a lot more like passive yoga then massage. It feels good, but is NOT always comfortable. Having completed my course, its a strenuous procedure for the therapist. It is all done on the floor, and there is lots of lifting, bending, and pulling, for both the therapist, and the client. If you're interested, come and try it at deliver me yoga.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monk Chat and Songkran
Songkran is fun...until you actually have to be dry for something. We spent the afternoon throwing water at strangers and having the same done to us. Some water was murky, some freezing from giant blocks of ice in it. Although it has it's negatives, the festival really brings out the most in the culture...everyone is happy and is having fun...with crazy Hawaiian style shirts and giant water guns wielded by groups of people in backs of trucks. Everyone is a good sport. You walk down a street and see foreigners and Thai's all laughing and dancing to loud music together. Occasionally, you'll get a woman who comes up behind you, pulls back your shirt, dumps cold water down your back, and says, "Happy new year!" It's really quite hilarious. Interestingly, there is no police force in evidence whatsoever. That's pretty much the standard for everyday...cops work from 9-5 and leave a skeleton crew to mand the phone until morning. We haven't seen one police car/ambulance/firetruck since we've been here.
Okay...we assumed that when we needed to go out and be dry, the festivities would simply go away for us. We were wrong. Within 30 seconds of snagging a Tuk-tuk behind the sanctuary of a brick wall, we had been ambushed and drenched by four year olds carrying buckets of water. So, our meeting with Nu, our monky friend, was very soggy. He didn't seem to care. The meeting was interesting. One of the monks actually left our conversation because his robe started ringing! And, just as we were beginning our query about the incongruent behaviors we had observed on the street, a very British 'advisor' sat down and became very defensive about the behavior of the monks. We weren't being disrespectful, but we definitely got the 'back-off' vibe from this guy. Page kept poking me under the table to remind me to keep my cool. Thankfully, right as he was starting to get cocky, he had to leave to take care of something. So, we got Nu all to ourselves. He was very sweet, and answered every question we asked, from meditation to karma, why the shaved head, ect... To him, the most important thing in his life was knowledge, and he was enjoying his life as a monk, but would not be surprised if he woke up tomorrow morning, and was called to do something else. He lives in the moment...and cooks for the pack of stray dogs who live at the temple. He doesn't worry about stepping on ants because he does not have the intention of hurting them. It's definitely complicated, but very interesting, and he willingly spent an hour and a half with us discussing his life.
Nu sleeps only three hours a night, but he looked really rested! He took a ten law vow when he became a monk, he could only remember 7 of the vows though...it seemed like the ones he did remember were pretty important; no killing, no lying, no stealing, you get the idea.
(we got some of our interview with him on film, and will post it when we return)
Okay...we assumed that when we needed to go out and be dry, the festivities would simply go away for us. We were wrong. Within 30 seconds of snagging a Tuk-tuk behind the sanctuary of a brick wall, we had been ambushed and drenched by four year olds carrying buckets of water. So, our meeting with Nu, our monky friend, was very soggy. He didn't seem to care. The meeting was interesting. One of the monks actually left our conversation because his robe started ringing! And, just as we were beginning our query about the incongruent behaviors we had observed on the street, a very British 'advisor' sat down and became very defensive about the behavior of the monks. We weren't being disrespectful, but we definitely got the 'back-off' vibe from this guy. Page kept poking me under the table to remind me to keep my cool. Thankfully, right as he was starting to get cocky, he had to leave to take care of something. So, we got Nu all to ourselves. He was very sweet, and answered every question we asked, from meditation to karma, why the shaved head, ect... To him, the most important thing in his life was knowledge, and he was enjoying his life as a monk, but would not be surprised if he woke up tomorrow morning, and was called to do something else. He lives in the moment...and cooks for the pack of stray dogs who live at the temple. He doesn't worry about stepping on ants because he does not have the intention of hurting them. It's definitely complicated, but very interesting, and he willingly spent an hour and a half with us discussing his life.
Nu sleeps only three hours a night, but he looked really rested! He took a ten law vow when he became a monk, he could only remember 7 of the vows though...it seemed like the ones he did remember were pretty important; no killing, no lying, no stealing, you get the idea.
(we got some of our interview with him on film, and will post it when we return)
Behind the Scenes
Our survey is stunning...but we continue to be thwarted by technology. Some amazing video of inverviews is coming, but we won't be able to do it until we get home. But, this was a huge part of our trip, and we think we'll be very interesting to watch. We met people the girls' age who had never been to school, have no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no technology, and no transportation. We have laughed with them and connected with them on a less superficial level because of our talented guide, Don Wilcox. He was able to create a connection and bring out the real humanity of these people, for us to see.
So please hang in there for the good stuff, it's coming!
So please hang in there for the good stuff, it's coming!
Thai's and Feet
Thai people have a thing about feet; they consider feet the most unclean part of the body, therefore, they don't want to see them, and they certainly don't want to touch them, and by all means, they don't ever want a holy person to see them...that means statues of Buddha or monks. That means you crawl when inside a temple to pray to the Buddha, and you back away.
Because of this, Thai people make an effort not to step over you. They spend a lot of time sitting on the floor. For instance, when we were playing cards in our cramped hotel room on the floor, Honey (our little Thai visitor), politely asked Page to slide over so she could get by to use the bathroom. She wouldn't step between us or over Page's legs.
Even on the most habitual of visits, Thai people arrive with a garland of jasmine flowers...the smell is awesome! I say we adopt this in the US.
Because of this, Thai people make an effort not to step over you. They spend a lot of time sitting on the floor. For instance, when we were playing cards in our cramped hotel room on the floor, Honey (our little Thai visitor), politely asked Page to slide over so she could get by to use the bathroom. She wouldn't step between us or over Page's legs.
Even on the most habitual of visits, Thai people arrive with a garland of jasmine flowers...the smell is awesome! I say we adopt this in the US.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
thoughts
Logan knows the location of every 7 Eleven, KFC, and Pizza shop in Chiang Mai.
We have been dealing with ersatz-type TP here, if there is any at all...and yes, we have mastered the squat toilet.
There are major tuk-tuk scammers here. Page is outraged!
We have been dealing with ersatz-type TP here, if there is any at all...and yes, we have mastered the squat toilet.
There are major tuk-tuk scammers here. Page is outraged!
Movies
Today, the girls and I went to the Chiang Mai Airport Plaza Mall and saw Clash of the Titans. We bought our own DVD for a buck fifty last week, and thought we were getting some black market version early release totally illegal version of the new movie, before it was even released...we felt SO badass. We got it home, popped it in the DVD player, and low and behold...even though the picture on the cover was from the new movie, this was the 1981 movie starring Harry Hamlin. So not okay. But back to the movies...we stood in line for at least 15 minutes to get the tickets, way more time then we would have had patience for at home, considering there were only about six people ahead of us...I mean, really, how long does it take to sell a ticket...even though you do get to choose your seats on a digital screen on the counter before you. A large popcorn here is what Americans would consider a small there. The whole shmeer cost us a little over 10 dollars, including the tickets and 3-D glasses. Deal? I think yes. Before the movie starts, there is a 3 minute tribute video to the king, where everyone stands and sheds a tear or two, for the continued health of their beloved king. There are also about 5 commercials in total all about whitening creams. We see these creams everywhere...seems like Thai women want to be white, where we want to be dark. About the movie, we thought it was about equal to what we paid. Page liked it though, so I have to be nice.
birthday
So thanks for all my great birthday wishes, my day was great! I spent it on the Mae Kong River in a long boat with a spiffy car engine on the back--it goes very fast...so that all that herione can make it across. We went to Laos for about 20 minutes, came back, went to the sitting Buddha shrine, rubbed the belly of an elephant for good luck, and me and the girls were blessed by a monk after we made offerings of money, insence, and prayers. He asked us what day of the week we were born because here, there is a corresponding color for every weekday. We didn't know, so we just chose our favorites...the monk seemed okay with that, and sprinkled us with holy water and admired my goyles. I am very lucky, even without an elephants belly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)