Monk Bowl Village

A few days late. Happy Chinese New Year!

Here are photos of the Monk Bowl Village. This is an area in Bangkok, no more than an alley wide that produces alms bowls for Buddhist monks. This area used to be much larger with several families producing bowls, but has since been reduced to only a few families (apparently, there are only 3 families doing this now). I went here in February on my first day in Bangkok after the snake farm.

This was my first real experience with taking taxis in Bangkok. I hopped in one, attempted to pronounce where I wanted to go and after a blank look, showed the driver the name in Thai. We drove for about 15 minutes through traffic clogged, pollution filled streets. Here's where I started to get a bit of a feel for how lively and active Bangkok is just during the day. The driver eventually stopped on the street, pointed toward a side street and told me to walk that direction. I paid him and off I went.

Now looking back on it, this is probably where the foreign tourist could have been robbed and thrown in the klong (canal). It never occurred to me that I could be in trouble at any time. This lack of fear probably needs to be adjusted sometime in the future. I started off up this side street and after 70yds, I finally saw a sign that indicated the Monk Bowl Village and an arrow pointing in the direction I was walking.

I did kind of think that this could be trouble, but came to a courtyard eventually where the arrow pointed to the left. Now I was a bit confused as to where to go next. Here's where the Thai people are so awesome. A Thai woman saw me looking around and approached me. She asked me if I was looking for the Monk Bowl Village, I shook my head yes and she pointed to a small alley off to the right. I thanked her and walked into the alley...


 

The alms bowl is formed from 8 separate pieces of metal which represents the eight spokes of the wheel of Dharma. Here, the pieces are being formed together.


 

In the past, the pieces would be welded together in a kiln. A little modern convenience is used to speed up the process.


 

This is the guy that sold me two alms bowls. Here, he's showing a bowl that has been tacked together. The bowl now has to be shaped and fired with a lacquer.


 

This woman is shaping the bottom of the bowl and rounding it out. After the shaping is complete, the bowl would be fired with a lacquer and then sold.

This was a great experience seeing how craftsmen use a combination of modern and old technique to manufacture a truly beautiful piece of art. I'll have to photo the completed bowls and post them here. Maybe this weekend.

Aaaah!!! Cobras!!!

Saturday February 5th, 2005 12:48PM Chicago, IL (Happy Superbowl Eve)

Hope those of you that got the Simpson's reference enjoyed it.

Here are a few photos of, well, cobras. Sorry, no posts in the past couple of days, I've been working on the 1060west blog and all the furor surrounding the Sammy Sosa trade. To see updates, check out www.1060west.blogspot.com

The Badger hoops team is about to dump one against the damn Goofers; thankfully, the Badger hockey team won 3-1 last night. NHL what?

On my Thailand trip of last February, one of the things on my list to see was cobras; as long as they weren't crossing my path. I had two opportunities to see them at two different snake farms. The first photos are from the snake farm that is run by the Red Cross. The last three photos are from a snake farm that was part of a canal tour I took. There was a stark difference between the two, especially in the was the snakes were handled. I'm no snake fan, but these animals are used to manufacture anti-venom which helps countless snakebite victims in Thailand which is definitely a good thing. Anyway, on to the photos:


 

This is the entrance to the Queen Soawapha snake farm. Its run by the Red Cross and has shows twice a day. I went here on my second day and was really looking forward to seeing a cobra up close (well, not that close). The farm holds a slide show and an exhibition of milking the snakes for venom. Yeah I know, an educational activity on vacation? Go figures, it was pretty interesting.


 

After the slide show, you're escorted out to a covered set of bleacher seats. I had the misfortune of getting a seat in the top of the bleachers; I wanted to get closer down to get photos, but still got a few good shots. If you look in the background, there is a structure that looks like a hut. This is where the cobras are housed. The whole area is roughly 40 yd x 40 yd with these little structures. One of the workers then went down there, grabbed a couple Siamese cobras, and brought them up. As you can see, they look real happy to be disturbed. Smile for the camera guys.


 

Maybe its better that I'm not too close.


 

After having the Siamese cobras out, they bring out a king cobra. Look at that damn thing. You're not going to really run into one of these unless you're in the deep forested areas of Thailand. That being said, I'm not going out to the forest anytime soon.


 

A close up of the king cobra. These things can rise up about 1/3 of their body length. That's easily a 6 foot snake there. I'd seriously wet myself if I saw one of these in the wild.


 

Anyone want to hold it???


 

This photo was taken from the second snake farm. I had no intention on going here, but wound up getting roped into going. The day I went here I was at Sathorn pier and wanted to go on a canal (klong) and river tour. After agreeing on a price for an hour tour (I think it was around 500 baht), we were off on the river on the longtail boat. We entered one of the canals and after about 15 minutes, the boat pulls up to a pier where the driver told me "snake farm" and urged me to check it out. Well, it was a ploy for the longtail boat driver to make some commission by having me go there. The cost was much more that the other snake farm and the facilities left much to be desired.

I walked around the cages and eventually came up to this stage area where they have the show. Here you can see this guy taunting the cobras. Umm, is that a good idea?

 

Here he picks up the cobra and it makes an attempt to bite the handler. No such luck of seeing someone bit by a cobra.


 

Here he lets the snake go away. One thing that I did not enjoy was at the end of the show this guy grabs the cobra and swings it toward the crowd. Not cool at all. There was a woman sitting next to me (I was standing) who must have jumped 3 feet and ran. It was kind of funny after the fact, but if the guy lost control of that snake, I'd have been right behind her.

11 days to go...

Tomorrow, photos of the monk bowl village.

Disbelief

Monday January 31st, 2005 11:25AM Chicago, IL

Well, here it is the last day of January. Here in Chicago, I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as winter is concerned. I only spend 16 more days in Chicago until I go back to Bangkok and 90 degree temperatures and get back with one day left in the month and then its March.

The weather still stinks and its cold, but there's the NCAA Basketball tournament and St. Patricks Day (which should be the first day of the NCAA tourney).

I've been thinking about what I want to do this time in Thailand and have a few ideas. Since my first trip last year, I've become fascinated with early Khmer architecture and saw the ultimate at Angkor Wat.

Here's where I'm thinking about going:

Lopburi - Has a few Khmer brick ruins and monkeys (just a note, I had seen monkeys walking around wild in Cambodia and avioded them like the plague; I'll do the same here, but will try to get a couple shots of them). Lopburi is only 154 KM (roughly 92 miles for us Westerners) from Bangkok, so it would make a nice day trip (planes, trains, and automobiles part 2)

Kanchanaburi - Kanchanaburi is another day trip that I'm considering making. I think I'll probably go the first weekend I get to Thailand. Its 130 KM (78 miles for us Westerners) so I can get there pretty quickly via train or bus. Kanchanaburi sits along the river Khwae (pronounced "Kwai"), yes that river Khwae. Although from my reading, its not too impressive, I plan to see the bridge on the river (which was bombed several times during WWII and was subsequently rebuilt after the war) and then out in the country to see some of the waterfalls in the area.

I'll post a few photos later today when I get home. Coming up in 16 days Live From Thailand.

Ayuthaya

 


 

Here are a few more photos from Ayuthaya. This is a Buddha head that had a tree grow around it. This was one of the sites that I wanted to see when I went to Ayuthaya. The head itself isn't terribly big, but another example of nature taking over the works of man.

I'll try to be better about getting a photo of the day up. I had a garbage week. Only wish that I could get the hell out and find something that I want to do when I grow up. Anyway, enjoy the photos, 18 days till I go back. Where did the time go?

Photo of the Day - Ayuthaya

I took these photos on my first trip to Thailand in February 2004. These are from the city of Ayuthaya which was the Siamese royal capital from 1350 to 1767.


 

This was taken at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. The structure is known as a 'chedi' which is used to house Buddhist relics and ancient texts. I remember that taking the stairs up to the top left me a bit out of breath, but I had a great view of the surrounding countryside and some of the other temples in the area. I especially remember a large number of stone Buddha images draped in saffron sashes seated around the perimeter of the chedi.


 

This Buddha image was taken at Wat Phanan Choeng. The Buddha image is 19m high (approximately 57 feet high) and was probably one of my favorite Buddha images next to the reclining Buddha at Wat Po in Bangkok. The temple is located on Mae Nam Chao Phraya (the river that runs to the Gulf of Thailand and is a main transportation artery in Bangkok)

28 days to go...can't wait.

Photo of the day

The Big Buddha at Koh Samui 

Friday's Photo of the Day - A Bayon Extravaganza

 
This photo is the front of the Bayon. This structure is most famous for the faces on the pillars (on the upper floor) that face in the four cardinal directions. I read somewhere that is was an image of the king and symbolized his ability to see the kingdom in all directions.


 
These are pillars on the lower floor that sometime ago would have held up a roof of some sorts. Obviously, the roof has long collapsed or rotted away.


 
This was taken on one of the outer walls. These bas reliefs are fairly well preserved as are the ones at Angkor, but these depict more everyday life.


 
A better close-up of a bas relief that shows everyday Khmer life.


 
This was taken at the top floor of the Bayon. Here are the faces in greater detail.


 
Another shot of one of the towers with the faces.

Photo of the Day:


The gate to Angkor Thom

I'm sick as a dog today, but wanted to post something. I'm finally able to load photos, so I'll put one down from my last trip as often as possible. The photo is the gate to Angkor Thom. If you look close enough, you can see the face on the top.


Angkor Thom

An ounce of prevention...

Wednesday, January 5th, 2005 10:40AM - Chicago, Il

Monday I went to the Northwestern Hospital Travel and Immunization Center to get my booster shots for Hepatitis A and B.

http://www.nmff.org/travelmedicine/index.asp

Aside from a couple sore shoulders, I really didn't feel so bad, but by the end of today I felt a few cold symptoms. Probably got it from one of the patients lurking around the office. Thanks a lot.

I did inquire if there were any additional immunizations that I would need if I ever chose to stay in Bangkok on a more permanent basis. The nurse, who has been giving me my shots for the past year now, suggested that I should look into immunizations against rabies and Japanese Encephalitis. Both are a series of three shots which is par for the course as they help to build the anti-bodies necessary to fight the diesase if ever infected. The interesting statement that the nurse said was with the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, I would have to wait roughly 30 minutes after each shot to make sure there were no adverse reactions. A little chilling to say the least. For now, I'll hold off. It wasn't really the chance of adverse reactions that scared me off, but the cost. I think the entire series of both shots would cost in the neighborhood of $900. Not a neighborhood I can afford to go to right now.

Coming up - A new feature until I can think of something more interesting to write: Photo (or photos) of the day...

Happy New Year's

Friday December 31st, 2004 2:31PM - Chicago, IL

With only a few hours left in 2004, every news organization has ben relfecting on the past year. I'll choose not to do the same.

I'll be posting photos of my trip as soon as I get my computer out of the shop. I had an unfortunate deletion error and decided to upgrade my machine to a larger case and have my DVD ROM player re-installed, so that will start to occur during the upcoming week.

What's on tap travelwise for 2005? February, I will go back to Thailand and find out how difficult it will be to get a tourist visa for my girlfriend (wish me luck, since that's all you have against bueracracy)

If I can get Tan to the states, that will probably sometime in May for a month or so.

I'll probably have a return trip to Southeast Asia sometime in the fall, with a trip to Vietnam, Laos, and hopefully the north of Thailand (Chaing Mai and Chaing Rai).

This is of course dependent on the employment prospect in Bangkok. If the job front changes, then I'll be able to make these trips on my leisure. Anyway, I'm off to get my computer and start cocktailing.

Happy New Years, have a great 2005...

Disaster

Wednesday December 29th, 2004 - Chicago, IL

With the death toll at 80,000 plus lives and climbing, the affected areas of Southeast and Central Asia are in a real crisis. The major issue at hand now is the eventual and impending epidemics of disease that are due to follow in the wake of such a disaster.



I've been asked by several people if I had been to this area. I hadn't, but if I had stayed in Thailand after my return date, I probably would have traveled to Koh Phi Phi (the island on which the movie the "Beach" was filmed). Koh Phi Phi from reports was completely destroyed with a lot of those on the island being washed out to sea. Scary.





My condolences go out to those who have lost family members or that have missing family members. I hope those that are missing turn up alright.

This is the kind of natural disaster that will affect the Thai tourist industry for several years to come, not only from lost rooms, but from incomes lost from cancelled reservations and destroyed properties. For those thinking about cancelling your trips to Thailand, don't. Go and help out the economy with your tourist dollars.

Epilogue part 2

Tuesday December 14th, 2004 8:11AM Chicago, IL

The icy wind hit me square in the face as I walked off the porch of my house and up the sidewalk. It was still dark out and wisps of lake effect snow were in the air. Why was I up walking to the train this early? Jet lag. My body thinks its 6PM in the evening and I can’t sleep anymore.

Walking on the sidewalk all I hear are my footfalls. I’m alone with my thoughts and they run wild at this early hour. I’m not exactly sure what the exact thoughts were, but they revolved around the same thought. I need to get out of here; it’s too damn cold here; and why didn’t I put a little more effort into my job search.

So what did I learn on this trip? Anything? I guess a couple things.

Once immersed in a culture you have really two choices – adapt or die. I did a fairly decent job of adapting to eating solely Thai food with only a couple days of eating falang (foreign) food. Honestly after now being back, I'd rather just eat all Thai food. Fresher. Better tasting. No preservatives.

My language skills need to improve rapidly. I need to start getting more Thai language study into my day, at least an hour or two a day before I go back. In seven weeks. I could pick up about every 20th or so word when I would hang out with Tan and her friends. I need to improve this quickly.

I guess the final thing that I learned is that there are a lot of Western influences that I could live without. Would I miss watching sports at a normal time? Of course, but there is such a thing as DVR and VCRs. I figure that if I do pack it up and go to Thailand permanently, the Cubs will wind up winning the world series (this might be a good thing considering how the neighborhood degenerated during the 2003 playoffs. I really don't want to have to face that anytime soon). I'd miss the variety of food also. Getting a good burger or steak would be tough, but I think that the positives by living in another culture like Thailand far outweigh a few minor inconvienences that I'm sure I could overcome.

The return trip to Thailand is now officially scheduled for February 16th, 2005 to the 27th. I'll have updates as they warrant.

Epilogue - What's next for our foolish traveler?

Monday, December 13th, 2004 2:45PM - Chicago

So what's next? Where do I go from here? Jet lag gave me the wonderful opportunity to wake up at 2:30AM. I hate this part of travel. All I wanted to do was sleep and go into work for as long as I can, but waking up that early makes it difficult. It feels like its 3:45PM in BKK on Tuesday.

I decided that making a few phone calls would be a good way to kill some time. I called Kan to say hello since the last night I saw her, I was carrying her to a cab hoping she wouldn't get sick. We talked for a couple minutes and I tried Tananchanok. She called back and we talked for a few minutes. I'll call her later in the week. We have to figure out some kind of reasonable schedule where we can talk during the week. Looks like a lot of early morning calls will take place in the future.

With nothing else to do, I decided to go to the gym and work out. It would kill some time and I wouldn't miss my 9AM meeting. I hate being late for those and 9 out of 10 times, I'm late because of some CTA snafu.

Walking out into the cold and freezing my ass off within minutes, I quickly realized what's going to transpire. I am going back in February. Not just to escape the cold, but to look for a job in Thailand. I needed this trip to see if I was love with a country and a city and not a woman. I found out that I was in love with all three.

I've got a lot of challenges coming in the job search and with this newfound relationship. I'd say I'm more worried about the job search. I sent out my resume to a couple people I met in the bar after I had explained my lack of any response to job ads online in the months prior to my trip and have had it forwarded. I suspect that I will have to make a career change in order to find a job. Is it worth it? Will I be able to make the same amount or a comfortable amount of money and be able to stay in Bangkok?

I'm a bit tired right now, so I'll have to put more in part two of the Epilogue - What have I learned, if anything?.

My shortest entry ever - flight home

Sunday December 12th, 2004 Bangkok; Tokyo; Chicago

I'd like to give info on the flight but can't. I woke up with 15 minutes before I landed in Tokyo; dragged through a 2 hour layover; and slept the majority of the flight back to Chicago (waking up about an hour before touchdown).

My only regret was not being able to get a hold of Tan before I left. It's going to be a very diffucult struggle for us (distance, culture, and language barriers), but I'm looking forward to getting to know this beautiful and amazing woman and as we had said "give it a chance".

Next up: Epilogue - What's next for our foolish traveler?