There and Back Again

We've been to the movie theater a few times since arriving in Thailand.  The first time we wanted to see "Interstellar," but discovered that the time listed was for the "First Class" theater.  If I understand it correctly, you arrive one hour before the movie, and you get complimentary drinks and snacks.  The chairs are like la-z-boys and they give you pillows and blankets.  (I cannot confirm this, as we didn't go in).  So we went to see "Gone Girl" in the regular theater instead.

Our second visit was to see "Interstellar" (which I talked about in an earlier blog).  Last week, we went to see the last "Hobbit" movie - "The Battle of the Five Armies."  The movie listing had a "P" after it, and I had no idea what that meant.  They often have an "E" to indicate an English movie, or a "T" to indicate a movie in Thai.  It might also say "T/E sub," indicating Thai with English subtitles.  And the "F," we came to learn, meant the movie was showing in the First Class theater.  But a "P?"  We hadn't a clue.

Well, we soon learned that the "P" stands for "porch."  Huh?  After further investigation, we discovered that one of the theaters is actually outside on a "porch!"  This was too intriguing to pass up, so we bought our tickets, ordered our complimentary beverages and snacks, and waited to be called in.  (Honestly, we weren't sure what we were going to get.)  The theater has maybe five levels, each with four to eight double-wide lounge chairs or round beds (!) on each level.  It really is outside, up on the seventh level of the big Central Festival mall.  We entered and the usher showed us to our lounge chair, where our food and drinks were already waiting for us.  It was quite bright inside, and we wondered how well we would be able to see the screen.

  But after everyone was shown in (maybe a dozen people in total), a big, heavy curtain was drawn and the theater was dark.  The lounge chair was really quite comfortable (if you don't think about who was on it before you), and we had settled in nicely, when the tribute to the King came on, and we all had to stand up again.

I really enjoyed the movie, but it was a bit of a struggle not to fall asleep, since we were basically lying down.  (Those of you who know me well will not be surprised by my struggle.)  The familiarity of the characters made the experience feel a bit like being home.  I thought the casting of Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch and Evangeline Lilly was perfect.  The guy who played Alfrid was perfectly scummy, but the younger Legolas was kind of weird for me.  Azog under the ice was a really cool effect.  I even actually enjoyed the battle scenes (Mark, aren't you proud of me?)  Long, drawn-out battles usually bore me (I have fallen asleep during the Battle at Helm's Deep).  It is sad to see the franchise ending with Peter Jackson at the helm.

Wouldn't mind taking in another movie on "The Porch" sometime!

A Christmas Carol

Pattaya is home to a large orphanage - it was founded in the 1970s by Father Ray Brennan, a Redemptorist priest, when an abandoned infant was left at the steps of St. Nikolaus Church.  During the Vietnam war, Pattaya was a popular place for American servicemen to take their R & R.  This resulted in a large number of abandoned children.  The bishop at the time agreed to the establishment of an orphanage, and asked the American servicemen to provide the initial capital.  Today the orphanage cares for approximately 160 children, ranging in age from infants to university students.

The last Sunday before Christmas, at the end of mass, we were treated to a little Christmas concert by the children from the orphanage.  I was amazed at the range of ages, and charmed by their beautiful smiles and their enthusiastic caroling.  Some of the girls were dressed in traditional Thai costumes (right side middle row).  The children began with a very upbeat rendition of "Jingle Bells," and ended with a peppy "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."  It was very heart-warming.

The church's nativity - complete with blinking lights and Santa Claus

Although many people here don't celebrate Christmas, they definitely get into the costumes of the holiday - nearly every clerk in every store, every waitress in every restaurant, and people zipping by on their scooters were wearing santa hats, reindeer antlers or various other whimsical attire.  The grocery stores have displays of gift baskets and boxes of Christmas cookies (they just don't have them out the day after Halloween like Americans).  Most of the cards I saw were "Happy New Year" cards, with wishes for prosperity and good fortune in the coming year (either 2015 or 2558, depending on which calendar you follow!)

Our Christmas activities were blessedly simple this year - a string of lights around our "tree," (which I quickly unplugged when half the lights suddenly went out), a few Christmas knickknacks in the front hall, and not a single gift was wrapped.  On Christmas morning, our doorbell rang, and Mick, our faithful driver, appeared with a gift basket for us.  I had seen these baskets in the store, and wondered what exactly was inside, as the labels are all in Thai.  So I was glad to have the chance to explore the contents.  Here's a picture - can you guess what's inside?*

We went to mass Christmas morning (I enjoyed the repeated greeting of the priest wishing us a Merry Kiss-mas), then to our new favorite, the Coffee Club, for Christmas breakfast.  It was odd to see the children on their way to school and people going about their daily routines, because for them it was just another day.  I thought about how different the day would be at home, but I can honestly say I didn't feel blue about missing all the festivities.  I did regret the missed opportunity to spend time with our families.  And I was a little sorry to miss decorating the tree with our boys while watching "White Christmas."  Thanks to my awesome sister, Barb, I didn't have to miss our favorite holiday cookies, Hello Dollies (some of you might know these as "seven-layer cookies").

We enjoyed talking to family members over the phone, and skyping with our boys.  I was so pleased to see that they went out and got a tree, put up some decorations, and filled the stockings.  Nice to know the traditions are meaningful for them.  And they were able to enjoy a traditional Christmas feast, thanks to their awesome Aunt Peggy in Michigan, and their awesome cousin, Liz, in California.  In fact, the boys had several offers for dinner from their various aunts and uncles.  It makes me so happy that our families are looking out for our boys - love you, family!  Tim and I are blessed with the best families anyone could ever have.

Had a fine Christmas dinner at Casa Pascal.  They offered a special Christmas set menu - five courses, including a surprisingly delicious pumpkin soup and roast turkey with cranberry sauce. While we dined alfresco on the front terrace of the restaurant, we saw an elephant go by in the back of a truck.  (No, alcohol was not involved).  An elephant crossing your path?  Sounds like a good omen to me.

*Answer: What was in the gift basket?  Twelve little bottles of "Brand's Essence of Chicken."  Really!  Is that what you guessed??  Apparently this is a common health supplement in Asian cultures - supposed to help with mental fatigue.  From the website:

What exactly is BRAND'S® Essence of Chicken?

• BRAND'S® Essence of Chicken is an all natural health food supplements that is made from extracts of fine quality chicken in an easily digestible form. It is hygienically processed in high temperature to give it a unique flavour and vacuum sealed to preserve its freshness. It's aready-to-drink product, free of fats and cholesterol and does not contain any preservatives.

 Ummm, Honey, you go first...God bless us, every one!

Siddhartha

Where to be driven?  I'd gone to the grocery store, then back to TukCom for a curling iron.  I didn't bring mine from home because I figured I needed one with the Asia-compatible plug.  To my surprise, the curling irons here were very expensive - $70 or $80, much more than at home.  Well, the last time I was in TukCom, I noticed a kiosk with curling irons, only about ten dollars!  So I went back to buy one - I'll let you know if it works.  As we were leaving, we saw police directing traffic and the road was quite clear.  Mick thought perhaps a member of the royal family was in town.

 I also decided to try the Home Depot-type store to look for a few things we still needed for the condo, like light bulbs and floor mats.  There are two stores like this that we saw - Home Mart and Home Pro.  Home Pro was a little closer to home, so I asked Mick to go to that one.  Well, when we pulled up to the entrance, it became apparent that the store was brand-new and not even open yet.  (Mick later told me he saw a commercial that said it will be opening on January 1st).  So we turned around and went back to Home Mart, the store we'd passed to get to the Home Pro.  (When you're driving yourself, you are the only one that knows about a screw-up like that.)   Home Mart was a great source for home supplies - found some much better quality items, like microwave dishes, paper towel holders, etc., that I hadn't been able to find at Big C or Tesco-Lotus.  Every day is like a little treasure hunt...

Well, I'd done about all the shopping I could stand, so I looked on the web for something I could go see that was fairly close.  It was a beautiful day, so I was also looking for something outside.  I decided to go see "Buddha Hill," a shrine up on the hill at the south end of Pattaya.  The first thing you see when you first arrive is the vendors lining the walkway on either side.  Most of them were selling items people might use as offerings at the shrine - flowers, incense, etc.  The most interesting one was a woman with little bamboo cages full of birds.  You could purchase a cage of birds, not to take home, but to release up on Buddha Hill to bring you good fortune.  I am very curious about how they catch the birds in the first place - do they raise them? - and wondered if the birds return to the vendor to be sold again.

The approach to the hill is a stairway, and along either side of the stairs is a long, seven-headed serpent, the Naga, a protector of Buddha. The steps were very shallow, and I found it difficult not to raise my foot up high enough for a normal step each time.  (This reminded me of a fact I'd recently read about the Hmong people - they are a mountain people, so when they descended from the mountains down to the plains, people were able to identify them easily by how they lifted their feet up high when they walked).

At the top of the hill is a circle of various images of Buddha surrounding the big, three-story Buddha that looks over and protects the city of Pattaya.  We found these multiple images of Buddha at the Sanctuary of Truth as well.  Each image is associated with a particular day of the week, and whatever day of the week you were born on indicated the image with which you were aligned.  Each image is also representative of a different event in Buddha's life.  The Thai frown upon the tradition of rubbing the Buddha's belly, but clearly many farangs have visited Buddha Hill, as the Buddha with the big belly has all the gold rubbed off around its navel.  It wasn't a particularly reverent atmosphere here, with many tourists snapping photos, smoking, and talking on their cells.  I felt a little disappointed about that.  It is a nice view of the city from up there.

looking south toward Jomtien beach from Buddha Hill

Right next to Buddha Hill is a Chinese garden called Wang Sam Sien.  It has several figures from Chinese history and folklore.  The twenty-four Stories of Gratitude are illustrated on a long wall of paintings, and a statue of Confucius stands at the back of the park.  I know my sons would especially like the illustration of "son's absolute devotion to his father."   The place is a bit neglected, but is a nice little side attraction.

Mick said this is a statue of "King number five"

Lest any of you worry that I am not being taken care of properly, Mick offered to run ahead to get the car so I wouldn't have to walk.  He is a very conscientious, attentive person who I trust would never let anything happen to me.  We consider ourselves very lucky to have him, as some of the other co-workers complain that their drivers are not so good.  He seemed a little disappointed that I wanted to walk back to the car - very sweet.

Tim came home Friday, and I was so happy not to have to go anywhere!  We did end up going back to Tree Tales for dinner, then stopped for coffee at a place called "The Coffee Club," with the most excellent, attentive server we've ever had.   We will absolutely be back.  They put a pretty snowflake on the foam of Tim's espresso - you kind of hate to mess it up by drinking it.  Then we hurried home so Mick could go watch Thailand win the Asian Cup football (soccer) tournament.  Thailand, Thailand!

The Mistress of Spices

I have been wanting to take a Thai cooking class for a while, and this week seemed like a good time to do it.  With Tim working in India, it was a good activity to help keep the driver busy.  I'd read a few reviews online, and one particular cooking school got some pretty good reviews - the Happy Home Thai Cooking School, Restaurant and Guesthouse.  (Trip Advisor has been a great resource since we've arrived - restaurants and activities are rated by their customers).  So I sent an email asking if any classes were available this week.  They were very willing to do any time I wanted, even if I was the only student!  They did have a couple of times where other groups were coming, so I decided to join one of those.  (The emails were written in extremely good English, from someone named "Harvey."  I found out later that Harvey lives in Japan, but handles the Happy Home correspondence!)

apartments at the end of the alley

Well, I'm never sure how long it will take to get somewhere in Pattaya - traffic can easily double or triple your drive time - plus you never know how hard it will be to find a place.  So I arrived around 8:45 a.m. for a 9 'clock class.  The "school" was really just a little home that had been converted for the school, tucked away at the end of a little alley just off a busy central Pattaya road.  (Pattaya has three main roads that run east/west:  Pattaya Nua (north), Pattaya Klang (central), and Pattaya Tai (south) - this was off Pattaya Klang).  The woman who runs the school, Sheri, just arrived as we pulled up, and unlocked the gate to go in.

While I waited in the little courtyard, a curious little boy from a home nearby came strolling by, followed by his grandmother (?) who coaxed mouthfuls of rice into him as he played.  He decided I was alright when I applauded the well-placed kick of his little soccer ball into the courtyard.

The wait had just started to get a little awkward, when two other women finally showed up around 9:10.  They were both Japanese - one woman was now living here because of her husband's work.  They have only been in Pattaya a month or so longer than we have, and her husband works at the same huge industrial complex where Tim works.  Her friend was here visiting her on her way back to Germany from a job in Australia.  They'd both lived and worked in Germany for a few years.  They spoke excellent English, and probably excellent German as well!  As you can see, we had quite a lot of time to get to know one another over the course of the morning.

The cooking school teacher (the Japanese women called her "sensei"), was a lovely Thai woman with very good English and Japanese skills, but better teaching and cooking skills.  We were presented with a pretty comprehensive list of dishes and were allowed to choose four dishes each.  I had expected that we would all learn the same dishes, but she tailored each lesson to each student.  I chose Phad Thai, Spring Rolls, Spicy Noodle Salad and Mango with Sticky Rice.  

(Have I told you my sticky rice saga?  I bought rice without being able to read the label, and it turned out to be sticky rice.  The first time I cooked it on the stove, it came out a big glob of rice, which Tim valiantly ate anyway.  The second time, I went online to see the best way to cook it - so, as instructed, I thoroughly rinsed the rice, then put it in the rice cooker that was left here in the condo.  Rice cookers are supposed to cook rice perfectly, so I've heard.  Well, it came out another big glob, some of which Tim valiantly ate.  There was a lot left, so I decided the best way to make things palatable is to add chocolate (Nope, I haven't changed much).  So I cooked up some fudge the way we used to make it when we were kids, especially brother Bob and I, then stirred in the globs of rice.  (Bob, remember how we used to add Rice Krispies to the fudge?)  Well, it came out a more chewy, globby version of that, so I dropped spoonfuls onto saran wrap and froze the lot.  I've been popping one or two into the microwave when I need some chocolate.  Please note: I am not recommending this as a recipe any of you should try - it is palatable, but that is all!)

a prepared plate of ingredients

Anyway, I thought I should find out how to use up some more of that sticky rice, hence the last selection for my lessons.  The kitchen is set up with about eight portable gas stoves with little prep areas to each side.  For each course, Sheri disappeared into the back, and came out with dishes piled high with the ingredients we needed for that course.  She patiently went through each ingredient, and instructed us how to prepare everything - "chop fine," "chop big," etc.  Nearly everything started with chopping some garlic cloves.  There was also a lot of other fresh ingredients, some I knew - tomatoes, carrots, shallots, green onions, bean sprouts - and some I didn't - rice noodles, glass noodles, palm sugar, fish sauce, preserved turnip, red bird's eye chilies, Kaffir limes, and galangal (Siamese ginger).

Phad Thai with prawns

Spicy Noodle Salad

Me, Teacher Sheri and my Spring Rolls
(something about her reminds me
of my Mom)

Mika, Me and our Mango with Sticky Rice

 After preparing each dish, we could sit down and eat it.  There was far too much food to eat, however.  Fortunately, one of my cooking partners had done this once before, and came prepared with lots of baggies, which she generously shared.  We all sampled each other's dishes, and enjoyed each other's company along the way.  Everything was delicious, and the sweet mango and sticky rice was a nice end to the morning.  The class ran a little long, so I ran a few samples out to Mick, who was waiting patiently outside.  The cooking was fun and pretty easy.  I think the hardest part will be finding the correct ingredients.  The Thai spice aisles in the grocery store are overwhelmingly full of a hundred different varieties of I-don't-know-what, with labels I am unable to decipher. 

In the afternoon, I went to Tesco Lotus to see what ingredients I might find.  I found a few things, but I will have to continue the hunt for others.  I don't know if I mentioned this before, but some of the escalators here do not have steps;  they are just big, moving ramps.  The first time I shopped with a grocery cart, I asked where the elevator was to take my cart to the lower level where the car was.  But the guard pointed me to the escalator.  I was certain I would have to hold onto it for dear life, but somehow the wheels of the cart lock into place when on the contraption - cool.

Try a new recipe for dinner tonight, eh?

Soul Music

Tim had to go to India for a week, so I'd been looking for activities to keep myself (and our driver) busy while he's gone.  I feel a bit responsible for making sure our driver gets his hours in while the Big Boss is away - he doesn't get paid if he doesn't drive.  At the same time, many of the "events" happening in Pattaya are not exactly my idea of fun.  So, imagine my delight when I came upon a news article detailing the upcoming visit of the ZHdK Strings Orchestra on Monday night in Pattaya!  "The ZHdK Strings are a string orchestra consisting of young and highly motivated fulltime students from the concert and soloist course of the Zurich University of Arts."  I'm way in!  (This was my consolation prize for having to give up my Andrea Bocelli ticket, whose concert was the night before at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit).

Well, I didn't realize that Tim was not leaving until Monday night, so we had to play a game of "Musical Car" - he went to work for half-a-day (anyone who has lived with this man knows what a "half-day" really means), walking in the door after four thirty.  Mick then drove me down to a hotel in south Pattaya where the concert was to take place.  This put me there a little more than an hour early.  Then Mick zipped back up to our condo, grabbed the "Big Boss," and shot out to the airport, which is more than an hour away.  He then hurried back to south Pattaya to pick me up, arriving just as the concert finished.  The poor guy was driving for about seven hours straight!

Anyway, when we arrived at the Siam Bayshore Hotel, we discovered what a huge complex it is.  We came to one entrance, but saw another sign indicating the lobby in another direction.  So I asked Mick to drive me around to the other side - quite a majestic entrance.   Once inside, I had to keep asking for directions to the "music," some employees helpfully pointing me around the next corner, some employees smiling but not comprehending.  Well, I wove my way through hall after hall, at one point walking along a boardwalk that went through lush vegetation and over smelly waterways, finally arriving at a table where two women were seated with a money box in front of them - eureka!  This table was right inside the first entrance we came to when we first arrived - natch.  I purchased my ticket, then went to look for some dinner.  I wound up having to go all the way back to where I started, where I found the "Sunrise Sunset" cafe, and had a delicious curried chicken salad, served in a hollowed-out pineapple, with big banana leaves for decoration.  I was undaunted by the earwig that appeared from the leaves of the pineapple, and enjoyed my tasty dinner.

Back again I went, over "hill and dale," to the site of the impending concert.  (If you ever need to find your way through the Siam Bayshore, I'm your girl).   It was general seating, so I found myself the perfect seat in the second row.

This concert was another great example of the international nature of this city - many expats in attendance.  As this was a Swiss group, there were many Swiss in the audience, but I also heard German, Dutch, British, Japanese and Thai conversations.  The orchestra itself was very international - sixteen students from sixteen different countries, led by one Rudolf Koelman, a Dutch violinist who was born in Amsterdam, studied with Jascha Heifetz, and was concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.  He founded the string orchestra in Zurich in 2005.

The program was lovely - Mozart, Vivaldi, Bartholdy, Elgar and Grieg.  And the students were immensely talented musicians from 16 different countries: Holland, Germany, South Korea, Sweden, Latvia, Japan, Switzerland, Iceland, USA, Poland, Romania, Thailand, Israel, Greece, Slovakia, and a double-bass player from Monaco!  So many cultures coming together to create some magic.  I was in heaven.

It was a sublime, soul-feeding pleasure.

The Road

We were finally able to wander out from our condo and explore the immediate area around us.  This part of the city is called Naklua or Wong Amat beach.  I read that "naklua" means "salt fields," which the website said used to be the primary occupation in this area before tourism took over.

We are at the very end of our "soi" (road), a lovely little secluded spot that has very little foot traffic.  The people we see here most often are the fishermen who frequent the long stone pier at the edge of our condo's property.  These fishermen (and women) are casting their lines from early morning until after dark.  We know they are on the pier at night because of the little lanterns they use.

The most amazing display of their tenacity, however, is not their nighttime activity, but the persistence of their endeavor when the tide comes in.  When the water is at its highest, the pier is completely covered, and yet their angling continues.   A few may clear off temporarily, but they are soon back to check their lines, having left them wedged into the rocks along the sides.  Frequently one angler will have several lines set up, and they are continually casting, reeling in, and casting again.  It looks like he's walking on water, don't you think?

So, the first thing we reach on upon exiting our little alley is two very large construction sites - condominium towers being erected by what our driver tells us are "Myanmar" - pick-up truckloads of these workers arrive daily and crowd the street at mealtime when the street vendors are open for business. We are pretty unaware of their presence in our condo, but our driver tells us it's not safe to walk alone here because "these not Thai men."  They pretty much ignore us, though, as we pass.  I suppose a pretty young lady might need to use some caution here.

The next thing to hit us is the sewer smells - again, we are unaffected by this in our condo, but the walk along this part is a series of "breathe in, hold your breath, breathe out" exercises.  We pass several rather opulent-looking condominiums, an outdoor gym, a couple little restaurants, and three or four Family Marts (two of them are right next door to each other!).  This is just the first stretch of road, before we come to the turn.

At the turn is a little Swiss restaurant with a pretty little setting, or so it might have been in better days.  The owner told us he has been in this location a little over two years.  The first year was great business, but this year business has fallen off quite a bit, since "many Russians have left because of the military action."  (Not sure if he was referring to the military coup here in Thailand in May, or the military action in the Ukraine).  We are learning that Russian tourism has been a pretty big part of the economy here since Russia and Thailand reached an agreement to allow easier travel between the two countries.  Many restaurants and hotels in this area have menus and signage in Russian, some with no English.  We looked at more than a couple of menus posted outside that we were unable to read - not because they were in Thai, but because they were in Russian!  One restaurant was called "Uncle Boue" with a Leninesque face - I wonder if this is the Russian version of Uncle Sam, or was it a nickname for Lenin?  Maybe it's just the owner's name...

There are quite a few big, fancy hotels along the beach side of the back road as we wander to the south.  Here's something we didn't expect to find - King Kong hanging out between the two towers of the Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort.  Our curiosity got the better of us, so we ventured inside to have a look.  This place is a five-star resort that is going for a "Lost World" vibe, so I guess the giant jungle creature fits.

As we wandered further, we passed many street vendors, taxi drivers hoping for a fare, and massage parlors (the ones in our area seem more legitimately offering just massages - no extras).  Enjoyed a nice pineapple smoothie (not a smothie) - our first time trying something from a street vendor, and it was quite refreshing, made with fresh pineapple.   We found that there are plenty of things within walking distance, should we decide to stay local for dinner.  We ended up returning to the Swiss restaurant for dinner - the owner seemed a little surprised to see us. We did enjoy a nice dinner here, and may return at a later date.  Nice to get to know the neighbors.

The Light Between Oceans

Saturday, December 6th - Today I was determined to get to mass at St. Nikolaus, the Catholic church here in town.  When you don't drive yourself, the logistics can be challenging.  You think when you have a driver at your disposal, you'll be able to go where you want, when you want, but somehow it just doesn't always work out that way.  Finally being out of the hotel, it was a good time to try and establish a routine.

The store where we bought our printer was out of the black ink cartridge we needed, so they said they would call us when it came in.  They called Saturday morning, so I arranged for Mick to pick me up a little earlier so I could run in and pick up the ink before mass.  I had just enough time to stop on the video floor and grab a few videos to have for the weekend - very interesting setup, with empty cases on the shelf, and a clerk that goes to get the DVD from an undisclosed location.  No cellophane-wrapped assurances that your getting what you think you're getting.  But they do have a player, and will pop your DVD in to show that it's the right video.

When I got back in the car, Mick said what I thought was, "OK, tempo."  It took me a couple minutes to realize that he was saying "temple," which is the word that makes sense to him for "church."  Going to church for the first time was kind of surreal.  Since neither one of us had been there before, we weren't sure which driveway to pull into, and we nearly went into the Islamic Mosque that is right next door.  The call-to-prayer rang out from the mosque as people took their seats in the church, so the six o'clock mass actually started a few minutes after six to allow the call-to-prayer to finish.  St. Nikolaus church looks so elaborate and fancy from the street, but the actual church is quite simple and quaint.  It is completely open on the sides, with about 14 rows of pews on either side of the main aisle.  So you step directly into your pew from the outside.

The church looks fairly empty here, but every pew was full by the time mass started.  You can see the picture of the king
displayed prominently at the front right.

I was surprised how many Thais attended this English mass (they have a few masses each week in each language - Thai and English).  The priest's English is pretty basic - it's clear there will be no complex discourse for the homily - "the first candle of advent is hope.  The second candle of advent is love."  Most of the farangs in attendance were 60-something men.  I think this is because many Vietnam vets settled here after the war.  The musical accompaniment was just a couple of acoustic guitars - it was pleasantly-simple spirituality.  Thais are very respectful of personal space - they do not hug or even shake hands in public, so I wondered how the "Our Father" and the "Sign of Peace" would work.  They did not hold hands for the "Our Father," but rather just held their hands supine.  For the "Sign of Peace," people give the "wai," hands pressed together under the nose and a slight bow.  I appreciate this reverent version - and no germ-sharing!

Darkness comes quickly here - an explanation I found on the Cornell University website:

The simple answer is that at low latitudes, the sun sets perpendicular to the horizon, while at higher latitudes, the sun can set at a more oblique angle, allowing it to remain close to the horizon after sunset for a longer period of time.

http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=121

It was daylight when I went into church, and quite dark when I came out an hour later.  If you want to catch a beautiful sunset, you must look quickly!  The owner of our condo told us we will have beautiful sunsets six months of the year.  Right now the angle of the setting sun is just past our line of vision.  We look forward to fabulous but fleeting displays of Thailand's evening splendor.

Taken from in front of our hotel in September

 

The King in Yellow

Friday, December 5th, was the King's birthday.  His Majesty King Bhumibol turned 87, though sadly he spent this national holiday in a hospital room and did not make an appearance.  I asked our driver if Thai people have big parties for the King's birthday, and he responded very seriously that they don't have big parties, but sedate, respectful gatherings with lighted candles - more reverential than festive.  The king is much loved by his people, and his image is seen everywhere - as plentiful as the Buddhas in the spirit houses.  The display here is at the entrance of a hotel, and it is representative of the size and grandeur of similar displays throughout the city.

  The King's color is yellow (I later learned this is because he was born on a Monday, and yellow is the color for Monday), so we wore our yellow shirts to honor the king.  The king's birthday is also their national Father's Day, but it doesn't seem to have the same meaning here as it does in the US.   Our driver explained that all the bars are closed on the king's birthday, and no loud music is supposed to be played, although we learned that some restaurants would still serve you a bit of wine in a tea cup if you wanted it! Our driver also let us know that everyone had the day off for the King's birthday, so I said we should probably do grocery shopping the day before.  Oh, no, the food store was still open.  In fact, it is open 24 hours a day, every day.  So I did my grocery shopping on the holiday.

This was my first time going to Foodland, the grocery store I'd heard about from others, and one that was highly touted by our driver that "it have everything for you"(meaning farangs!).  The store was full of farangs, and a few Thais. The grocery store was small, maybe twice the size of Yorkshire Market, and had very much the same feel to me.  Not a huge variety of choices, but things you mightn't find in the other, bigger stores - things like Campbell's soup, or Lawry's seasonings.  The best part is that most of the items are labelled in English, so I didn't have to guess what I was buying.  It still had its share of mystery fruits and vegetables - labelled, but unrecognizable.  I was happy to find a loaf of bread (not a big part of the Thai diet), and a head of lettuce.

On our way to the store we pulled up behind a pick-up truck with six monks in the back!  When Tim and I headed down to Central Festival, we found some sort of "Namaste" celebration going on.  Not sure if it was related to the king's birthday or not, but there were many monks in gold and saffron robes (some playing music and singing), as well as many Indians dancing in their colorful saris.  We had time before the movie (we were determined to see "Interstellar"), so we went for a bite to eat at a restaurant called the Hippopotamus up on the fifth level of the mall with a fantastic view of Beach road.  (This restaurant provided us with our favorite "Thai-English word of the week - "smothies"). As we were eating, we heard music and chanting, and looked over the railing to see a mini parade of the colorful Indians we'd seen earlier, and a large decorated cart being pulled by about twenty people.  This is just another example of the pleasures of living in an international city!

We were still quite early for the movie, so we bought our tickets and joined the crowd of people waiting in the lobby.  When it got to be about 15 minutes before the movie time, 6:30, we decided to go in and find our seats.  The "ticket nazi" manning the entrance had other ideas - she politely but firmly instructed us to go back and wait until 6:30.  Well, we were sure she didn't really mean 6:30 exactly, so after seven or eight minutes, we casually approached the entrance again - no admittance, no way!  So, here, whatever time is listed for the movie is the time you may go into the theater.  Once you are seated (in your assigned seats), you may enjoy nearly 30 minutes of previews, commercials, and of course the tribute to the king.  Then, and only then, may you enjoy your movie :)

Good movie - worth the wait.  This is one I definitely want to see again when it comes out on video.

• What I'm reading:  my hold for Grisham's newest e-book came in, "Gray Mountain."  This is really my first reserved e-book I've gotten, and I gotta say I'm feeling a little pressure to finish it before the two weeks is up,  Can't say I don't have time to read it, though - I've got nothing but...

Temple of a Thousand Faces

Dec 7th - Our first full day in our new place - lots of unpacking, cleaning, putting away.  I've found that we have an overabundance of linens, and nowhere to store them.  I brought lots of towels and some sheets, and the owners left lots of the same.  They were very thoughtful - leaving new linens for us along with their own stock.  They used the closet in the second bedroom as a linen closet, but we needed to use it for clothes, as the closets are quite small and can accommodate only one person's stuff. We have already filled both closets, then traded closets once the logistics were examined.  There is the matter of doors opening into other doors (where one door must be closed before another one can be opened), an issue one doesn't have to deal with in a larger house, but one we are managing in our little condo.  It's like those games where you have to slide the tiles in just the right order to get them arranged correctly.  We shall adapt.

After some morning meetings, we were able to slip out for a little sightseeing - a close-up look at the beautiful edifice that adorns our view to the north, the Sanctuary of Truth.  This was difficult to convey to the driver - the place has a Thai name (Prasat Satchatham) of which we were unaware.  But we managed, as we often do, to convey just enough direction that we finally understood one another. Tim and I were a short way into the gate when Tim wondered if we shouldn't bring our driver along. The driver usually stays with the car, and I assumed he wouldn't want to come, but Tim went back for him, and I'm glad he did.  Our driver had never been inside to see this amazing place, having lived here his whole life, and seemed to enjoy the opportunity.

You can't see the place from the entrance, as it is hidden back away from the road.  The approach itself is quite amazing, with fascinating twists of wood and a long, beautiful wooden staircase leading down to the structure itself.  A couple of elephants and some horses await for those looking for an alternate means of travel.

"Big Boss" and our driver, Mick

The brochure describes the Sanctuary of Truth as a "towering castle, intricately carved in teak, rising to the supreme heights of Far Eastern heritage.  The magnificence of heaven recreated on Earth."  The ground breaking was just in 1981, a modern-day Taj Majal.  "From the ground-breaking in 1981, the objective was to build a wooden structure, in order to preserve and revive Ancient Knowledge.  Owing to our history's evidences from the 17th century, Thai artists could build a wooden structure of more than one hundred metres high ...From various forms of art, no matter what nationality or religion they are, to reflect the thoughts and spirits of eastern cultures...the relationship between human beings and the universe, which are the father, the mother, the earth, the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars."

You have to wear hardhats, as there
are still artists at work

If you look closely, you can see drawings on the flat pieces,
plans for additional carving

Artists still carving

The ceiling above some relics from Buddha

It is truly admirable in its effort to respectfully represent different religions and the universal values espoused by all.  The main representations are Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism and the mythologies of Cambodia, China, India and Thailand, but others are honored as well.  It really is an architectural marvel - completely made of wood, no metal or glue.  Because the entire structure is made from wood, it appears that sections are continually being replaced and enhanced.  Everything is open to the elements - the wind, the salty sea air.  The structure is the brainchild of the millionaire Thai businessman Lek Viriyaphant.  He deliberately used wood to demonstrate the Buddhist belief that nothing in life is permanent.

After our sightseeing, we opted for one more dinner out - a cute little cafe called "Tree Tales" that has an awesome 70s and 80s pop music soundtrack playing, fresh food and delicious fruit drinks.