Happy Politics for Once

Before I launch into the glories of Samoa, I wanted to take a minute and share some amazing things that are happening in NZ government. 

First, click here for a video of our incredible Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, running us through some of the beautiful things she and her administration have done in the two years since taking office.

We also got a Progress Update in the mail recently, and I've taken a picture of it to share with you, as it lays everything out quite nicely. (If you click it and zoom, you should be able to read all the text.)

I am not and will not pretend to be a political commentator, so I will just say that I am always thankful to live in this amazing country, but feel especially privileged to do so right now, under such an inspirational leader.

And in case all that wasn't enough, click here to see some other members of government being rather delightful and supportive as well.

Thailand Part 5: Temples

I had a completely wonderful time in Samoa, both because it in an incredible place and because it was delightful to spend time with Maria. I'll write all about it at some point, but I'm going to finish writing about Thailand first. I'm risking letting it go so long that I don't remember things very clearly, but just looking through the pictures to choose some for this post reminded me of how many stunningly beautiful things we saw there, so here we go!

There are amazing temples all around Thailand (or at least everywhere we went). I don't know enough to go into the details of the specific focus or purpose of each one, but I will share our experiences.

First up: Spirit Houses

Perhaps not technically temples, but I decided that they fit in this post. Most houses we saw have one, and although size and complexity vary, they all looked very well maintained. They are places/monuments dedicated to honouring your ancestors. This seems to be a very strong value in Thai culture, and I think this is a beautiful representation of it.

Next: Wat Phra That Doi Kham (Temple of the Golden Mountain)

Unfortunately, J wasn't feeling well that afternoon and needed to rest at the hotel, but I went with Nok and part of our tour group all the way up into the mountains to visit this amazing temple. As is true with most temples in Thailand, shoulders and knees need to be covered, and skirts are preferred for women. They make some kind allowances for tourists, but I also try to be respectful. The "temple" includes what feels like a whole village, with many small shrines, statues, and sub-temples. This golden tower behind me is what everything else is centered around. 

I thought it looked particularly beautiful from down lower, coming up out of the trees. It was cloudy that day, for which we were all thankful, as it wasn't quite so very hot.

While we were there, the monks who live there came out and chanted and prayed. I was worried that the tourists (of which there were many) might be disruptive, but everyone was quite respectful. 

This is the building in front of which the monks prayed, and where we went to receive a special blessing from a monk. Monks do not touch women, so he had an assistant who tied the symbolic bracelet around our wrists. 

This is on the inside of that building.

My favourite part of this temple experience (and one of my favourites in Thailand) was the bell that Nok bought for our group. She wrote all of our names on it...

... so that our group was all represented.

Then Jona (being the only one tall enough to reach) hung it up in the temple. When the wind blows and rings it, that is believed to bring us all good luck. Also, when they decide to make a new bronze Buddha, they melt down all the bells currently hanging there, so our bell will be "reincarnated" as a Buddha! I love representations of the inter-connectivity of life, and I find this one particularly touching as our little group is represented as a unit in a place where we had such a special time together. Thanks, Nok, for doing that with and for us!

Another highlight was this amazing carved mural. If you zoom in, you'll see all kinds of wonderful picture storytelling.

My favourite part were the images of sacred relics being moved on elephant back. (Elephants don't do work like that anymore, which is good, but I'm hoping that the sacred ones who moved relics were always treated kindly).

Also, we had a good laugh about this statue and why it was labeled "MOM" of all things!

We learned that there is a representation of Buddha for every day of the week, and each person has one, based on the day they were born. I was born on a Wednesday, so this is my Buddha - the Receiving Buddha. Also, each day has a colour, and mine is green, which is fun because that's my favourite colour!

J was born on a Tuesday, so his is the Reclining Buddha. I thought that was completely perfect, as J prides himself on his ability to lay around all day, and sleeping is high on his list of preferred activities. (Unsurprisingly, this representation of Buddha does not, in fact, celebrate sloth, but I still think it's funny). I thought that we learned that his colour was pink, but I may have remembered wrong, as I'm now finding yellow listed online.

If you'd like to read the stories of the Buddhas (and find out what your one is), please click here.

One day, we went on a cycle tour of some small villages near our homestay, and out in the country somewhere (thank goodness we weren't in charge of navigation) was this beautiful temple!

We learned later that there is a story that Lord Buddha wanted to come down to the earth plane, so two dragons made stairs out of their bodies for him, and that's why there are often dragons running down the sides of stairs leading up to temples.

As usual, the architecture was stunning! Only men were allowed inside, so I can only guess at how beautiful it was in there. J went in, but when asked about it, only managed "nice" in terms of descriptions. In his defense, it was a million degrees outside, and he was in the process (we found out that night) of breaking out in a major heat rash. So I'll let him off the hook this time.

In case you haven't noticed, Thailand is really, really good at statues. You can read about the nine-headed snakes, called Naga, (which we saw often) by clicking here.

I noticed this temple near our hotel in Chiang Mai. I don't know anything about it, but isn't it beautiful?

Ditto with this one. It's amazing to be strolling along the street and suddenly come upon something like this!

We did a Riverboat Cruise (separate from our Intrepid Tour with Nok) one day, and were taken to this beautiful temple.

On the side of the building was an incredible stone carving, of which this is only a small piece. But remember the dragon stairs? Well, here they are, with Buddha walking down them. The carving depicted the three planes, with the enlightened plane up high, the earth plane in the middle, and hell (not sure if there's a different word, but I couldn't find one) at the bottom.

Regardless of what it's called, doesn't look like a fun place, does it?

We went inside the temple and got a blessing from a monk again. It is such a peaceful and affirming experience.

At this one, we learned that water is often used to represent the connection between the spirit world (ancestors as well as gods, if I understand correctly). Sometimes you pass over a river or moat to get to a temple, as a way to make that connection and purify yourself. In this case, we poured the water into the bowl as the monks said the blessing, and then afterwards, we used it to water a tree, therefore also making a connection with the natural world. I think that our guide also said that trees are connected to our ancestors, although I found her more difficult to understand, so I'm not sure. But the whole process was very beautiful and again, I love opportunities to see/represent the way the universe is all connected, so this was very special.

I could go on and on, but that's a bit of a taster of our temple experiences. I think I'll do one more post about all the things that didn't fit into any of my categories, and then move on to the next adventures!

Thailand Part 4: Homestay

As part of our Intrepid Tour, we had the amazing opportunity to stay at a local Thai family's home overnight. I was really looking forward to this, as I always love to meet real people and get at least a bit of a glimpse of daily life in a new country, rather than just the tourist parts. I was not disappointed - the homestay experience was wonderful!

We stay at Aoi and her family's beautiful house, with this stunning outdoor living room area, complete with hoses attached around the edge of the ceiling to mist water around us to keep us cool. I think it is so amazing to live in a place where your living room doesn't need walls!

We stayed in a lovely upstairs room on mats under mosquito nets. The mats on the wooden floors were a tad firm for me, but I am rather unreasonably bony, so perhaps the fault lies within in this case. Otherwise it was a charming and pleasant space for a good nights' sleep.

The evening we got there, the family taught us to cook "Nam Prik Ong." Sorry for the blurry photo, but at least it's still legible.

This is our happy group learning to use a mortar and pestle. Our Thai teachers cold turn anything into a smooth paste in two seconds flat, but it's not as easy as it looks. Unfortunately, my injured wrist does not allow for such vigorous exercise, but our hosts kindly prepared a paste for me.

Kirsten had an especially wonderful time with her mortar and pestle!

Many of you will know that cooking is not my forte, but I did have a very good time, and between J and our hosts, I was supported in creating a rather delicious dish. (Also, notice the difference in color between J's and mine - that is due to the abundance of chilis in his and the complete lack of them in mine.)

When we were done, we headed inside for an amazing Khantoke dinner. Every bit of it was delicious and cooked to perfection!

Not sure why J looks like a hunchback here, but the rest of us are excited about dinner!

During the meal, we were treated to a beautiful concert. Members of the family participated, and they are all multi-talented, switching gears effortlessly from teaching us to cook to performing on traditional Thai instruments. For a short video clip of the performance, click here.

Afterwards, we got to try out playing the various instruments. The fact that we didn't speak the same language posed no problem at all, as they simply played simple notes or melodies and encouraged us to imitate them.

It was lots of fun! I had to have a try at all of them, of course!

Then we were treated to some wonderful traditional performances by local children, including this boy, who also hung out with us that evening and played Uno. He was delightful! To watch a short clip of his performance, click here.

The girls did several dances. This one was my favourite. Long, thin fingers are considered beautiful, and for this dance they elongate them with golden, tapering wraps. To see a short clip of this performance, click here. To see the younger girls performing a different traditional dance, click here.

As we hung out in the beautiful outdoor living room (can you tell how much I enjoy that whole concept?) we drank lots of delicious Thai iced tea. I don't know much about it, other than it is milky and sweet and served in nearly weightless metal cups, but I love it! Couldn't get enough! And it's a good idea to keep drinking when it's impossibly hot outside, so I had a good excuse to keep going back for refills.

I know I mentioned it before, but we were so fortunate to have such a wonderful group of people to travel with. Just sitting around chatting, playing cards and trying the many puzzle blocks was a delightful way to spend an afternoon.

This next bit is not a "homestay" exactly, but it was a very special moment. Our guide, Nok, took us to her parents' home, where she grew up. Since we'd already gotten to know Nok a little and learn about what a wonderful person she is, it was really meaningful to get a peak into her real life. We met her parents and learned about their interests as well.

Her father has amazing collections of a variety of things, my favourite of which was the little wooden contraption in the upper right, into which you put a dried ear of corn, and then when you spin the handle the kernels get removed. Many of the wooden tools reminded me of my dad, of course. He would have loved seeing them all.

Nok's mom and cousin design, make, and sell jewelry, and a lot of it is made from this very special stone, called Khao Tok Phra Ruang, which is only found in Sukhothai. They gave us this information about it: "Regarded as a sacred item among Sukhothai residents for centuries, large and small black stones called khao tok phra ruang (literally 'popped rice of Phra Ruang'), also referred to as khao phra ruang, occur in the form of a block or cube. A legend has it that this stone came from the sacred words of Phra Ruang, a ruler of the Sukhothai Kingdom around 700 years ago. During his monkhood at Wat Khao Phra Bat, on the day of Tak at Thewo (representing the Buddha's return to earth after a visit to his mother in heaven). Phra Ruang scattered the leftover rice in his bowl and some flowers on the temple ground. He made a wish for the popped rice and flowers to turn into stones that could last for generations. Those keeping this stone with them and paying respect to it are believed to become wealthy and free from all danger. If the uncut square stone is rubbed with lemon juice, the juice will have the quality of counteracting poison from any animal. Because of this ancient belief, the residents of Sukhothai province, especially those from Muang Kao subdistrict, usually bring khao tok phra ruang, available only in the Wat Khao Phra Bat area, for cutting. They also polish it with sand paper until it becomes shiny, resembling onyx. This stone is used for decorating silver-ware, and it is also used in various forms of jewelry, such as necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, and earrings. They leftover powder from the cutting process is usually turned into materials for making amulets, which are believed to bring good fortune for the owner."

J bought two bracelets made of khao tok phra ruang, which he is still enjoying, and I bought a beautiful turtle ring (pictured here with some turtle friends we met a few days later). It's lovely to have something that reminds us of our wonderful time with Nok, and that is so uniquely from that one special place in the world.

I still have lots to share about Thailand, but I'm leaving this coming weekend for eight days in Samoa with Maria, so... I'll have figure out how to balance wanting to continue to write about Thailand with what I'm sure will be lots of exciting news from Samoa. What a fabulous problem to have! Anyway, I won't post for a few weeks, but keep an eye out for more exciting things coming soon.

Zealandia Article

I still have many things to write about Thailand, but I'm taking a slight break from that because I just saw an awesome thing that I'd like to share with you.

I have written several posts about Zealandia over the years, so it will be no surprise to you that it's one of my favourite places. Well, I discovered today that it's not just those of us who live down the road from it who have noticed. It has been named one of Time Magazine's 100 Greatest Places of 2019, and I believe it is truly well deserved. Click here to read the article.

Also, if you'd like to read my past posts about Zealandia, you can click on the following links:
June 2017
July 2016
Aug 2017
Feb 2018

P.S. A Māori restaraunt in Wellington called Hiakai was also on the 100 Greatest Places list, but as I have not yet eaten there, I will save a post about it for when I can weigh in. But it's still wonderful that it's on the list.

Thailand Part 3: Sukhothai Historical Park

After arriving in Bangkok, we took the bus (a very comfortable one in which you could lay the seats back almost to horizontal) to Sukhothai, a region north of Bangkok. It is the first kingdom of Siam, established around 1250, and the name "Sukhothai" means "dawn of happiness." 

We relaxed and recuperated from the long flights in our beautiful resort the first night, then headed to Sukhothai Historical Park the next day. The park is incredible, and we were very lucky that our wonderful Intrepid group guide, Nok, used to work at this park, so she was extremely well informed. I was torn between trying to jot down notes to share with you all and focusing on enjoying the moment and soaking in all the beauty. I leaned heavily towards the latter, so while I was fascinated with Nok's facts while she was sharing them, I have not retained a huge amount to share here. But I'm hoping that the pictures will be enjoyable and you can forgive me for my lack of expertise on Thai temples, padogas, and ruins. I'll share what I remember.

This is us with Heather and Kirsten, two Americans from our group with whom we became friends. I know I said so in my last post, but just a reminder - we had the coolest tour group, and feel so fortunate!

Anyway, these pillars used to hold up the roof, but now they're all that's left. Also, notice the huge Buddha in the background - not even the biggest one we saw that day!

This is that same Buddha from further away. The whole landscape of the park was strewn with amazing ruins everywhere you looked!

Here's a better shot of that Buddha. My friend Tania had told me about seeing "The Big Buddha" and I was fully convinced that this was it... until we saw the actual one an hour or so later. Don't worry, it's coming.

One of the first things we saw was this amazing four-sided monolith. Nok told us about the writing on it, which is among the first recorded uses of the modern Thai language. She told us that Thai has 44 letters, including 32 vowels, as well as 5 tones. We only learned to say "hello" and "thank you" and probably managed to mess up the tones on both every time we said them. But the language is beautiful to listen to.

 

Nok told us that the standing Buddha is among the most sacred in Thailand.

"Figures of the Buddha walking were first developed by the metalworkers of Sukothai in Thailand in the thirteenth century AD. They stress the active aspect of the Buddha’s ministry and covey his accessibility in the way the Buddha seems to approach the viewer. In his image, the Buddha’s right hand is raised in the gesture of reassurance or the Abhaya mudra." (Quote from buddhastatues.info - please click here to read more of the story.)

This one reminded us of the leaning tower of Pisa. Also, it cast a nice shadow to stand in, which was very important, as it was about 40C (104F).

I kept noticing that the Buddha images were always quite thin and shapely, unlike images we often see in the States. I learned that the fat ones are called "Laughing Buddha" and are much less common in Thailand. 

This set of three shrines was set a little bit apart from the others, and I think it's the most beautiful of all. Nok told us that there are three because one is for Brahma, one for Shiva, and one for Krishna.

Here it is a little bit closer. The area I'm standing in originally had a roof (held up by the pillars you can see in the above picture) and must have been amazing! It still is, of course, but it would have been wonderful to see it the way it was originally designed.

This tree was our favourite of our whole trip, and again, provided some desperately needed shade. Pretty amazing root system, don't you think?

This tree is pretty stunning as well. We think that what look like vines growing around it are actually part of the tree itself.

Alright, we have finally come to the actual "Big Buddha." Can you see how far away I am from that building? And and you see the Buddha's face peeking out of it? That's the best I can do for scale, because it doesn't really fit in pictures. 

 Here he is, in all his glory. Nok told us that the gold on the hand is from people who purchase small pieces of gold leaf and adhere them to Buddha for good luck. It is not allowed, but of course people do it anyway. It is rather pretty, but I wish people would respect the rules.

As an attempt at scale, here is J and I next to Buddha's hand. 

And you can see his face a bit better in this one. He is awe-inspiring!

There are tunnels in the structure around the Big Buddha, some of which lead to stairs you can take up to access to his head. Those parts are obviously off limits to tourists, but J had fun in the accessible parts. 

I think this is a Blue Crested Lizard, and I'm sure that it is very beautiful! And kind, as it let me get rather close.

This park was probably my favourite location in Thailand. It was amazing to see more beautiful structures every time we turned around or cycled around a new corner. If you're ever in Thailand, I highly recommend it! And ask Nok to show you around - she's the best!