Mar. 26, 2008

Grand Palace in Thailand:

Ankor Wok in Cambodia:

If it were not because my nephew was getting married in Thailand, I probably would never visit there. I have nothing against the country. It's the heat and humidity that I like to avoid. Of course, the long flight bothers me too.

When I found out my daughter was interested in going to Cambodia, I was terrified. Once I saw a TV program showing some Cambodia soldiers were caught by Pol Pot's people. One second it showed those young Cambodia soldiers talking and smiling. The next second, the camera was focusing on the forest and the reporter said those soldiers were beaten to death. I can still see their faces and feel their pains. I was afraid of going to Cambodia.

My daughter told me if I didn't feel safe, I shouldn't go. She would go by herself. She didn't understand that I was worrying more about her than myself. If she wanted to go, then we would all go!

Well, it turned out Cambodia is pretty safe ;-) And I am glad we went.

Mar. 27, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip - Water/Ice cube

Before the trip, we went to get a couple of immunization shots. The clinic suggested (1) don't drink tab water (2) don't put ice cubes in our drinks – they could be frozen tab water (3) use bottled water to brush teeth. The clinic also suggested to get some over the counter diarrhea pill and prescribed us some antibiotic pills just in case.

I packed the diarrhea and antibiotic pills. I had an intention, and a habit as a matter of fact, to follow the instruction that I was given. So, there I was, many hours later, standing in front of the mirror inside of the hotel bathroom at 2 am in the morning, holding a water bottle in my hand.

I couldn't do it. As much as I wanted to brush my teeth with bottled water, I just couldn't do it.

It had taken me several years to get use to the idea of drinking bottled water - what's wrong with the free water? Brushing teeth with bottled water is like throwing money on the street!

I remembered those diarrhea pills I'd brought with me. Come on, what's there to worry? I could afford a little risk, couldn't I? Slowly, I walked to the refrigerator and placed the water bottle inside.

At noon, my nephew's fiancée and her friend Poy took us to the Grand Palace. It was 90+ degrees and very humid. As hot as the place was, I was surprised that there weren't many trees (at the Palace.)

Later, at lunchtime, I ordered a glass of iced tea. Wait a second! I wasn't supposed to take any ice cube. I hesitated. The heat was powerful. The next thing I knew was my glass became empty. The only protection I had left, other than those pills, was to pray.

You bet I did.

Mar. 28, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – A $200+ Lesson

Soon or later, I will have to write about this unpleasant experience; I may as well get it over now.

One wedding guest wanted to make a Chinese dress for her daughter, so we stopped at a tailor shop in Bangkok. The owner didn't waste a second; he came over and handed me a catalog. I shook my head; He kept talking. He said he would give me a good deal. He said that I would save $75 on a jacket and pants, and I would get two blouses free.

I said no. I didn't plan on buying anything; it was easy to say no.

For a reason that, even today, I couldn't figure out, W started asking if they had light wool and W said he didn't mind if I got a jacket made. I told W that I really didn't want any. The owner found the fabric. W asked him to drape it over my shoulder. W said I should have it.

Not wanting to argue anymore, I caved in. I told the tailor that I didn't want my blouses to be fitted. I also like to have a little room for my jacket, not tightly fit. The tailor said, "No problem." He said with a big smile on his face.

He asked me to changed into shorts so they could do a better measure. I did and for a long time the tailor didn't show up (he was busy talking to other customers.) I thought of walking out of the deal, walking out of the door. Frankly, I probably would if I didn't have my sister's family there. I didn't want to make them feel bad. I wasn't mad; I just didn't want to deal with that guy.

So, trying not to upset anyone, I made a mistake to stay. Eventually, the tailor remembered that I was waiting and all the measurements were done. We were told to go back on the next day a fitting.

When I went there the next day, the pants were too tight; the jacket was too tight; the blouses were too tight. The tailor didn't say a word. After I repeated three times, he finally agreed to fix them. Within 15 minutes, the pants were done. It was still tight, but I didn't have any energy to argue with him anymore. I told him it's perfect in a satiric voice and asked him to shorten them. He insisted the length was good for me. After I shouted 10 times that I didn't wear high-heels, he finally agreed to shorten them.

Next day, another fitting. More argument. This time Karin joined me. "This is bad. This is really bad," she repeated.

The part that bothered me the most was how his attitude had changed before we paid the money and after. Before we paid, he was extremely warm and friendly (there was no need to be that way). He did everything he could to please us. After he got the money, he wasn't interested in doing much.

Some people say things happen with a reason. I believe there is a bright side in every seemingly bad situation. However, tossing my jacket, pants and blouses (there goes $200+) in a trashcan, I have a hard time to find anything good to say about this experience… except, maybe, the writer part of me can use him as a character in one of my stories. Let's see… a dishonest man who put up a warm face just because he wants your money.

Mar. 31, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – Taxi and Taxi Drivers

The tour book said we should always use a metered taxi. Otherwise, we could be overly charged.

My immediate question was: how do you know if a taxi is using a meter or not? It didn't take me long to find the answer – A sign on the rooftop said so.

On my nephew's wedding day, the ceremony in the morning ended a little after 8 am, and we were supposed meet at 3:30 pm to go to the afternoon ceremony. My family decided that we had plenty of time to do a little sightseeing. We took a taxi to downtown Bangkok, walked around and ate at a Tai restaurant, which my daughter had picked before the trip. After lunch, we visited Jim Thompson, Thailand's silk king, house. Our tour started at 2:30 pm. We planned to leave there at 3 pm.

At 2:55 pm, my daughter whispered us to leave. One taxi parked right in front of the Jim Thompson's house. The driver said "no meter". We walked away, decided to get a different one. Before walking out of the alley, we saw a taxi came in to take someone to the house and it had "metered taxi" sign. My daughter was happy. She ran back to the house to get the taxi when the guest got out of the car. Then the taxi came to pick W and me.

As soon as we got into the car, the driver said, "I will only charge you 30 Baht (about $1). We have a promotion today. I will charge you 30 Baht."

"Okay," I said.

"Do you understand? I will only charge you 30 Baht," he said again.

I didn't know what he expected us to say. Was it possible that he just wanted us to show some excitement?

"That's great!" I pretended I was so thrilled.

"I will charge you only 30 Baht," he repeated. "But you have to do me a favor. You have to stop at this gift shop so I can get some gas money from my company."

We finally understood. I read that from the tour book too. They always wanted to take you to a gift shop or a jewelry store. Sometime, they took you there without asking you.

"Sorry, we can't. We are late for a wedding. We have to go back to the hotel now."

"You'll only pay 30 Baht to me, do you understand?" He didn't give up easily.

"The wedding is at 3:30. We are late! We have to go!"

He looked at me for a while and finally said, "100 Baht. No meter."

His sign said, "Metered taxi". How could he do this? But we didn't have time to argue. I muttered some unpleasant words and agreed with his price.

That was the first time we met a driver, who didn't use the meter. Several days later, W and I were at downtown trying to find a taxi back to our hotel again. We got smarter. We made sure if the driver was going to use the meter before getting into the car. The first driver said 150 Baht, no meter. We let it go. The second driver said 100 Baht, no meter. We let it go again. Finally the third driver agreed to use the meter, and it only cost 61 Baht. I was so willing to give him 150 Baht. It's not about the money; it's about the principle.

* * *

Most of the taxi drivers drive fast and change lanes often. It's amazing that they don't have many accidents. One of our drivers, a young driver about 17 or 18 year old, made a U-turn on a narrowed busy street. Cars in both directions had to stop until we completed the turn. I didn't dare to look how other drivers reacted to this.

* * *

But there is some nice driver too. The driver took us to restaurant on the day before we left asked us if he should come to pick us up. When he found out we were leaving at 3 am to go to the airport, he said he would come to take us to the airport. And he did.

Apr. 3, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – To Tip or Not to Tip

Tour book says traditionally, tipping is not common practice in Thailand, though in Westernized establishments it's fast become so.

W was hungry when we arrived at our hotel at 2 am. The lady at the desk told us their 2nd floor restaurant opened for 24 hours. When we went there, someone was sleeping on the chairs – using 3 chairs as a bed; two were sitting there talking.

"We would like to have something to eat," W said.

"Closed. It's not open," the shorter guy said.

"But the lady downstairs told us you are open."

He shook his head. "Not here. Fourth floor."

We went up to the 4th floor; the door led us to a parking ramp. W wasn't happy. I struggled to stay awake, but I knew if W didn't find anything to eat, he wasn't going to sleep. We went downstairs again. This time, a manager greeted us. Again, he told us to go to the 2nd floor.

"We came from there. A guy told us it was closed," W raised his voice.

The manager picked up the phone and started saying something; we didn't understand a word. When he was done talking, he told us to go to the 2nd floor again. "It is open," he said.

We did. This time, the short guy seated us. He said he thought we wanted to check-in, so he told us to go downstairs. (He forgot that he sent us to the 4th floor!)

We have a bowl of soup and some fried noodle. The food was decent. I convinced W to leave 10% tip. It was 2 am after all. The guy smiled. It was the first pretty smile we saw on him.

* * *

I don't know where the culture of tipping came from. When I was a poor graduate student, I didn't have too much money myself. Leaving a tip was painful (I went out to eat probably once.) I remember there were a couple of times when I went out with my sister that I complained she left too much tips. I remember thinking I could use that money (I was borrowing money to go to graduate school at the time.)

When the tip-percentage jumped from 8 to 10, I boycotted all the places that required tipping. I did again when it jumped from 10 to 15 percent. My daughter told me it's 20 percent at big cities now.

I'm no longer a poor graduate student, I don't mind tipping anymore. Some people, not all, really deserve the tip, in my opinion.

When we visited Hawaii a couple of years ago, we had take-out food for lunch one day, and there it was - a tip jar on the counter.

I hesitated for a minute and decided to ignore it. If taking my order qualified her for a tip, everyone else also should get a tip, including me doing my work, I think. My daughter snatched a couple of dollars from my hand and stuck them into the jar.

"Wait a second. Are we supposed to tip everyone?" I asked.

"Well, when I work at the coffee shop, I appreciated every quarter I got," she said.

I guess it makes sense. Had I ever experienced the joy of receiving tips, I, too, would snatch a couple of dollars from my mother to give them away.

Someone had tipped my daughter, I kept thinking. That's probably as good as tipping me. I changed my attitude. Finally, I was willing to embrace this tipping system.

Then I took a trip to Paris. I asked the guy at front desk what was the proper tip percentage. He told me tipping wasn't necessary. He continued to say that people hated how Americans left tips here and there. "Huh?" I said. They don't like our tips, I thought.

He said because people knew American tourist always left tips, so they prefer serving Americans. And that created problems for local people. He said sooner or later, they will be forced to give tips and he certainly was not looking forward to that. "Unlike waiters in U.S., waiters here get a decent pay. They don't need tips," he added proudly.

Later, one day, W dined with his nephews in a small village in Taiwan, same topics came up. He was told not to tip.

* * *

I was in the room when the cleaning lady came. She apologized and was going to leave. I told her it was okay. I didn't mind watching.

When she was done, I had my hand in my pocket. There was a small bill that I would like to give to her. Should I?

I remember the guy in Paris. He was serious when he told me how we spoiled his people, even though he seemed very happy when we left unused bus tickets to him. Should I give her a tip?

The cleaning lady left before I made a decision. It was harder not to give a tip! Much harder! I found out that a couple of dollars in exchange of a smiling face was a pretty good deal. Not giving a tip, on the other hand, required discipline and courage.

A day later, my sister Karin told me I was supposed to give 20 baht for each day I stayed. "Leave the money on the last day, that's what I am going to do."

"20 baht tip. Are you sure?"

She gave me a disappointed look. "It's not that much money, Helen."

I took time to tell her what the guy in Paris told me. "It's not about the money," I said. "It's a serious, complicated social issue."

"I think you think too much," she said.

"Okay. Okay. 20 baht. Why do you wait until the last day?"

"I don't know. I always leave the tip on the last day."

"That's why I get a better service. I leave tip every day (when I do leave tips)," I said. I paused and then I added, "Sometime I skip the last day because I don't need any service anymore."

To be honest, since we were trained to leave tips, doing so made our life easier. If anyone (like the guy in Paris) had any complaint on this, please direct it to Karin.

One last thing I wanted to say about tipping was when they (most of them) received tips, they pressed their hands together in front of them, bowed a little, and said "thank you." They looked sincere. I was touched.

Apr. 6, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – Hotels

One morning, I stopped at Karin's room, and saw a sign hanging on the door says: "Please clean the room." W and I never bothered to use the sign. We were out most of the day and we knew they always cleaned your room.

When we went out sightseeing on my nephew's wedding day, between the morning ceremony and afternoon one, my daughter told us that she had decided to tell housekeeping people not to wash the towels, bed sheets…etc. But there wasn't a sign saying, "Do not wash towels". The only choice she had was a "Do not disturb" sign.

She was going to hang the sign after the morning ceremony. "Most hotels don't clean your rooms early in the morning," she said. But when she got back from the ceremony, her room was cleaned.

My "green" daughter was frustrated. If you don't wash your bath towels everyday at home, why do you need them to be washed every day at hotels? By using the same towel for a couple of days, you can save the electricity, water, and time. She went on and on. We nodded.

Next day, we had breakfast early – around 7 am. After breakfast, when we met to go out, my daughter said, "Guess what? They cleaned my room again… while I was having the breakfast. I just can't win!" She thought for a while and continued. "I bet as soon as you step in the restaurant and tell them your room number, they immediately call the housekeeper to clean your room."

That night, my daughter hung the "Do not disturb" sign on the door. She left it there for the whole day next day. Later when we met for dinner, she told us she received a note from the housekeeper, saying that because she had the "do not disturb" sign on the door, her room was not cleaned for the day.

My daughter sighed. "I bet they had checked my room many times, waiting for the sign to disappear. They didn't sound happy."

* * *

The first thing we noticed at the Grand Tower Inn was: no hairdryer. Then we found out there wasn't any Kleenex. I bought a new purse the day before the trip and forgot to put a pen and a piece of paper inside. And I couldn't find a pen or a piece of paper in the room. We were disappointed.

Next morning, the free breakfast was okay, but not that great. "What kind of hotel is this?" we thought.

When we checked out the room, we found out it cost $40 per day. Then we remember how clean the room was and how nice the people were.

Later our hotel in Chiang Mai had a hairdryer, pen and paper and Kleenex. Their breakfast was excellent. It cost more than double.

Our hotel in Cambodia not only had everything our hotel in Chiang Mai had, but also had a toothbrush, a razor and a comb. The breakfast was simple, but nice. It cost twice as much as the Grand Tower Inn.

We suddenly realized how much we liked Grand Tower Inn! ;-)

Apr. 11, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – Floating Market

My mom's family lived on a boat, I heard. They sold cigarettes and some small goods to make a living. When Karin planned to take several of us to the floating market, she told me Mom's story again. She said she had visited Mom's family's boat when she was very little. "It's a small boat," she said.

I think of my mother that night; a couple of times, my eyes became wet. I worried if I would spoil everyone else's fun at the floating market. I wondered if I should go.

To my surprise, I was ready for the trip on the next day. My only problem was there were so many salesmen right in front of my face, and I had less than 30 seconds to make a decision if I wanted to buy something or not. Those who have read my blog for a while know that I always have to think before buying an item: Do I really want it? Do I have a place for it? Will I miss it if I don't buy it? Hats, postcards, clothes… so many to think about.

Of course, there were fresh fruits and drinks too. Fried banana, mango and sticky rice… I worried about my weight and my stomach; I hesitated.

That's why God gave me a sister! Karin, who rode the same boat with me, didn't have any problem that I had. She wanted to try everything! So, she bought them and I helped her to eat them. What about diarrhea? If I got it, hey, my dear sister would too!

Karin is a kind person. Seeing that I had no intension to open my purse, she said to me, "These people could use some money, you know."

She was right, as usual.

But, what I really wanted was to talk to them. I would be glad to pay them to talk to me. I liked to know more about their life.

If and only if I could speak their language.

Apr. 17, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – The Wedding

The main purpose of going to Thailand was to attend my nephew's wedding. So far, I was trying to dance around the wedding day. It was indeed an interesting day. Interesting and confusing. Very confusing. (I apologized for not taking a better note on this. Without someone explaining what was going on to me, I felt I was totally in the dark!)

The cafeteria in our hotel opens at 6 am. On the wedding day, we hurried down to have a quick breakfast. Before 6:30, we crammed in a minivan and less than 20 minutes later, we arrived at the building where the Monk Blessing Ceremony would take place.

We thought 6:30 was early and found out the huge room was already packed. Twelve (I think it was 12) couples attended the ceremony that morning. Every family occupied a table in the room and the only available table left was the one outside of the room. We had no choice but taking that one!

Walking around, I saw that every family brought flowers and food. We didn't bring any! I stopped at one table, trying to find out what was going on. An old woman smiled at me. "English?" I asked.

She stared at me, didn't make a sound.

Okay, I got it. She didn't speak English. "Anybody speak English here?" I asked loudly, looking at one after the other around the table.

No one responded. Other than that old woman, no one bothered to look at me.

"Okay, no English," I muttered.

I quickly found my nephew's fiancée. "How come every family has brought flowers except us?" I asked.

She told me her family had brought flowers too and the flowers were for the monks to thank them for their blessings.

While waiting for the ceremony to start, we were busy taking pictures: bride's family, my sister's family, and cousins… Did we miss any one?

Suddenly, brides and grooms started entering the room. At one corner of the room, I saw several monks sitting around a table. And there was a small table nearby, which had several cups of tea and dessert dishes on top. Each couple took turns to bring tea and food to the head of the Monks' table. As soon as one couple left, the other filled in.

After all couples had a chance to thank monks, all the monks moved to a stage. The stage looked like an upside down U. Near the stage, 12 sets of tables and chairs were arranged in a U shape. The monks started chanting. Each couple took turns walking to the front to pray, light a candle and receive blessing from monks. More chanting. The ceremony ended with each couple carried some water to the yard to water a plant.

That was the ceremony in the morning. In the afternoon, again, we entered a huge room. There were several sofas placed in front of the room. The key people, including bride, groom, their parents and bride's uncle, (Bride's uncle is the most senior person so he was the leader of the event) sat in the front. I don't remember all the details. All I know is the bride and the groom bowed to their parents, and the amount of dowry was announced.

After that, the bride and groom walked to the front stage and sat close together at a table. Bride's uncle placed a string (a flower chain?) to connect their heads. One by one, families and guests went up to the stage to pour water over the hands of the couple and give them their blessings. The water passes through the hands of the bride and groom and into a flower filled vessel beneath. I later learned that this is called Water Blessing Ceremony.

Well, if you don't think I did a good job to describe the wedding, the last part was even more confusing. After the banquet (I don't remember the exact time) we went back to our hotel room. Suddenly we were told the bride and groom had come back to the hotel, and we were supposed go to their room. When I arrived at their room, I saw the bride and the groom lay down on the bed and the room was packed with people. Apparently they had to lie down like that for maybe 30 minutes (I don't remember for how long.)

* * *

I have mixed feelings about the so-called traditional wedding customs. On one hand, I find the ceremony interesting and like to preserve it. On the other hand, it's not practical. My own wedding was done in 15 minutes at court. We invited 10 of our friends for lunch and that was it. I like to attend those traditional weddings, but if I can be honest, a simple and practical wedding would still be my choice. However, the older I get, the more I realize how different each of us is. If someone wants a fancy wedding, I would say, "Go for it!"

Apr. 27, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – Thai Airways

On Mar. 19, we got up early. Five minutes before breakfast buffet was scheduled to open, we were at the restaurant already. Karin told me domestic flights in Thailand didn't serve any food. "They don't even give you water. If you want it, you have to pay for it!" she repeated a couple of times. So, it made sense to eat as much as we could before heading to the airport.

When we checked in our luggage, the airline lady told us there was a complimentary Thai Airways lounge near our gate, and we were welcome to use it. W was a member of NW World Club before. At that time, whenever we flew, we would make an effort to stop at the World Club to enjoy their drinks and food. After W retired, he doesn't travel as much, so we terminate his membership. We don't miss the payment; we miss the drinks and food.

Thai Airways' lounge had pastries, Chinese dumplings, different kind of cakes and even lotus leaf wrapped rice dish. Even though we already ate our breakfast, since the food and drinks were free, we decided that we might as well enjoy them. After all, according to Karin, we wouldn't get anything on the flight.

Other than food and drinks, there was free Internet for us to use. My daughter and I took turns checking emails.

Well, I ate so much that I could hardly move. I was happy when we finally got on the plane. I would take a nap, I figured.

The plane took off on time. I almost clapped my hands.

It turned out Karin's information was totally wrong. As soon as everyone got on the plane, we were served with drinks. One lady walked up and down the aisle to make sure we had plenty to drink. Ten minutes later, they brought us breakfast. I don't remember what it was; I remember it was so good that I swallowed the whole thing.

I could easily give Thai Airways an A for their service. The price for the tickets, well, that's a totally different story.

May 5, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – Chiang Mai (part one)

Several people told me Chiang Mai is a pretty city. We spent a little over a day there. For a while, I tried to keep my mouth shut; whenever I heard "Chiang Mai is such a pretty city", I nodded, without uttering a word. But curiosity is a powerful force. I finally asked Karin why did she say Chiang Mai is a pretty city? What had I missed?

(Don't get me wrong. Chiang Mai is a nice city. The problem is I've failed to recognize it as a "special" city like many has indicated.)

Karin told me it has the best temple there (Wat Doi Suthep?); she thought Doi Inthanon National Park is pretty. She was impressed with the hotel that one famous Chinese singer had stayed and died there. She also mentioned some villages that she had visited.

I confess there are things that I don't like to admit. I've told myself many times that it's not a good idea to let people know every single thought I have. But, sometimes, I can't help it.

While I was amazed at how each of those temples was constructed – the beautiful mosaic of colorful tiles, the shining glitters, and the rich gold - I often got lost in there. To be exact, my soul was lost, leaving my body walking by itself, staring at every shining object I could see. If monks are living in a simple life, what make us think Buddha wants to reside in such an elaborate temple? Maybe temples are more for people than for Buddha. Maybe an elaborate temple will help to convince people to believe Buddha. Then wouldn't you want the believers to keep their eyes open? Why blind their eyes with all those intricate decorations?

Maybe it has something to do with their culture. In that case, I should study more about their culture.

(Doi Inthanon National Park is nice. More later.)

* * *

Yesterday, on our way to Red Wing, I saw green grasses, trees with a touch of green, farmlands… "Isn't this pretty?" I asked W.

He was busy looking at the scenery, didn't respond.

"Do you think Chiang Mai is a pretty city?" I asked.

He frowned. "Why do you ask?"

I told him people said Chiang Mai is a pretty city and I didn't understand why. I pointed at the scenery out side of the window. "Isn't this prettier?"

He nodded. With a profound look on his face, slowly, he said, "We are spoiled Americans. If we live in other country, we may think differently."

May 10, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – Chiang Mai (part two)

We arrived at Chiang Mai at early afternoon. Our taxi driver Mr. Lo, a Chinese asked if we would hire him to show us around. "Sure," we said. We felt lucky having someone who speaks Chinese as our tour guide. Mr. Lo wasn't as excited as we were. He must have seen a lot of Chinese touring Chiang Mai.

After checking in the hotel, we discussed our plan (actually, my daughter's plan) with Mr. Lo. Since we were leaving tomorrow, we thought we probably should visit Doi Inthanon National Park first. "By the way, we have to come back before 4," My daughter said.

"Why?" W and I asked.

"I signed us up for a Thai cooking class and they will pick us up at 4."

"What?" W said.

"Cool," I said.

Mr. Lo didn't think we had enough time; he suggested Doi Suthep instead. He said we could get up early on next day to visit Doi Inthanon National Park.

At the bottom of the mountain, there is a statue. Mr. Lo, a devoted Buddhism, told us everyone who was going to the temple had to buy flowers to give to this statue. Both W's parents and my parents were Buddhism, so I didn't have any problem to buy flowers to place in front of the statue. Still, I was a little unhappy how Mr. Lo made us do it without asking us what our own religion was.

Other than flowers, we also got a small piece of golden paper, which we were suppose to apply onto the statue.

Wat Doi Suthep is on top of the mountain. One can either walk 304 steps to get there or take the funicular up to the temple. We took the funicular.

Central Chedi, a striking gold-plated structure is a 16th-century extension of the original.

According to legend, in the 1390s King Ku Na's elephant selected the site of the Chedi by marching up to the spot, trumpeting and turning three times.

The gold Buddha images in the 16th-century Wihan are the most important Wihan within the temple complex.

The murals depict scenes from the Buddha's life.

One thing that surprised me was the number of contribution boxes in the temple - one in every corner. I didn't want to carry my purse for the long walk, so I had left my purse in the car. When Mr. Lo hinted that I might want to donate some money, I told him I didn't have my purse with me. He pulled some money out of his pocket and said, "It's okay. I can lend you some." I shook my head. "I don't think that's a good idea," I said.

Visitors can ring the temple bells for good luck.

I was surprised to see a Duran tree in front of the temple.

May 6, 2008

Actually, the main thing that contributed to my minor disappointment with Chiang Mai was my own unreasonable expectation. I heard it was a pretty city; I had dreamed of how pretty it was. And I had a beautiful dream.

More about Chiang Mai later ;-)

May 16, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – Chiang Mai (part three)

Before we went back to the hotel, we asked Mr. Lo to find a place for us to have a light lunch. I was thinking of a good restaurant, but we ended up at a place for street food. I worried if we would get sick. My daughter was excited. "My friend recommended some street food," she said.

On top of a cart that parked on the roadside, there were dim-sin style dishes ready to cook. Seeing cars driving by and dust flying all over, I frowned. Since no one else raised an issue, I decided to keep my mouth shut. We ordered pork dumplings, tofu dish, and several others. The food was all right. Not very special, but all right. Mr. Lo is a vegetarian. He ordered a snow cone like ice dish with red-bean in it. I liked that red bean ice dish when I was little. It was particularly attractive in a hot day like that.

The cooking class place sent a car to pick us up. It was like a mini pickup truck with two benches on each long side. The road was bumpy. I hit my head on the rooftop a couple of times.

By now, we had been in Thailand for four days. The hotel we stayed only had one full-size bed in each room. Whenever I was about to fell asleep, W's restless legs woke me up. I was totally exhausted.

The cooking class started with a trip to the market. I thought of skipping the market and taking a nap in the classroom instead, but I didn't want to disappoint my daughter. After all, she had spent a lot of time in planning the event.

On our way to market, I would close my eyes whenever I could. At one point, I even considered to nap at a street corner to wait for them. My energy level was dangerously low. I worried if I would drop dead there.

I was relieved when we finally reached the market. The instructor took us from store to store, to buy necessary ingredients for cooking our dishes. Whenever I had a chance, I would turn my head away from all of them, pretending I was looking around, but using the chance to take a 10-second nap.

The market reminded me of the one we had in Taiwan. I knew them so well that I didn't need to see it. All those 10-second naps seemed to help. On my way back to the classroom, I was in a little better shape than before.

Thai uses grinders a lot. We used a wooden grinder, a metal one and a stone one to prepare the meal. It did make sense since the grinding process brought the flavor out. Other than that, Thai cooking is similar to Chinese cooking.

While we were eating our meal, mosquitoes had theirs too. And theirs were free.

May 31, 2008

Thailand/Cambodia Trip – Chiang Mai (part four)

Mr. Lo picked us up at the hotel around 7 am. The destination was Doi Inthanon National Park – the highest point of Thailand (2565 meters height above sea level).

As soon as we got into the car, Mr. Lo asked us if it was okay to listen to Buddha script for a while. My immediate reaction was: "Hey, I'm the customer. And I'm on vacation. Why can't you listen to it before you come?"

He probably sensed that I wasn't delighted on his idea, so he explained to me that he read those scripts every morning and he didn't have enough time to do so this morning. "It's very short," he said.

I remember when Mom passed away my siblings and I sat around her picture taking turns to read those scripts. Mom was a devoted Buddhist. None of her kids has adapted her religion, but we all have great respect to it. But we wanted to do it right for Mom, so we read the script night after night. I remember having a hard time to pronounce the words. They were translated from India language based on the sound and a lot of words didn't mean a thing in Chinese.

I suddenly realized that I wasn't quite happy about Mr. Lo's suggestion not because I didn't want to listen to the scripts (I actually liked to), but because I didn't like to be forced on listening to it. I nodded. "Sure," I said.

It turned out he had four different pieces on the CD. The first two I was familiar with, but not the last two. Whenever the traffic was light, Mr. Lo would read along.

I was relieved when it ended (so I could talk to my daughter freely). To my surprise, it started over again. I thought for sure Mr. Lo would turn it off, but he didn't. A couple of minutes later, I finally built up enough courage to ask him if he knew the "tape" was automatically rewound.

"Oh, no. We have to listen three times. I listen 3 times every morning."

We might as well. Looking at the map, we thought we could reach Doi Inthanon Park within 20 or 30 minutes. We forgot how long it would take to climb up a mountain. It was cooler on the top. My daughter lent me her jacket.

One interesting place we visited was Ang Ka Nature Study Trail. It is a 360 meters walking trail built in the moist hill evergreen forest. Along the rim of the swamps are mossy. Some people called it a "Coat-wearing forest."

Of course, there is a temple.

And waterfalls.

After seeing the waterfall, we rushed to the airport. W and I would fly to Cambodia directly. My daughter had to fly back to Bangkok first and then fly from Bangkok to Cambodia since our flight was full. It turned out her flight was canceled and she had to take a later flight. That meant she wouldn't be able to connect to her next flight. The best thing they could do was to put her on the standby list. Needless to say, this mother was very unhappy.