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Published: August 7th 2006
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If Africa is the land of Savannah's, big game, and endless horizons...then Thailand is home to the world's wats (Buddhist monastery's), Buddha's, and spicy, hot curries!
my first week was spent in Bangkok, the country's capital and home to 9 million of the 62 million or so Thai residents. Bangkok is a unique blend of culture, religion, and modernity. supposedly 90% of all cars in Thailand can be found in Bangkok, and its not hard to believe after spending a few minutes in the traffic and congestion of the city streets. skyscrapers and modern buildings populate both sides of the chao phraya river and an efficient sky train system connects the main neighborhoods. nestled in between the urban structures are colorfully mosiaced monasteries (wats), with their spiral chedi's poking up into the horizon, and gold, emerald, reds, and yellows, glittering in the sunlight. animated and dynamic demon gods stoically guard the surrounding gates. saffron robed Buddhist monks grace the streets and parks, reminding one of the religious and cultural roots of the region. market and food stalls line the streets, selling silk, clothing, endless knic knacks, and steaming, hot & spicy curries and soup.
it was initially a bit
demon gods guarding the palace gates
chinese influence with ying and yang elements to 'balance' the posts.
of an adjustment from the rural landscapes of east Africa, and i spent the first week nestled into a cute little guesthouse called suk11, located in the trendy, tourist neighborhood of sukhumvit. each day i ventured out to do moderate touristy activities, see the main wats, the grand palace, and a few of the museums that house a good collection of thai art, Buddhist sculpture and historic artifacts. the jim thompson house was a favorite. Thompson, a former CIA agent working in the far east, is famous for reenergizing the cottage industry of thai silk and bringing its popularity to the western world. his traditional thai home of raised teak wood houses (no nails) has been preserved in the center of a bangkok neighborhood and is filled with historic asian arts and antiques.
bangkok's oldest temple is the 17th century Wat Pho, home to the enormous reclining buddha (45 metres long). it was here that i stumbled upon the wat pho massage centre and experienced my first thai massage - a blissful 90 minutes of yoga-esque kneading that instantly had me hooked!
my taste buds and stomach lining went threw a harrowing "thai spice" boot camp during those
in search of the emerald buddha
the crew getting ready to brave the searing sun and spend the day exploring bangkok's grand palace first few days, but by the end of the first week i was only going through 1 liter of water at each sitting and had adjusted enough that only moderate wiping of the face and brow were necessary to complete a meal. but the curries and soups are worth it! very tasty and healthy culinary adventures, leaving you energized and satiated.
the second weekend brought good friends and family of friends into town and we had a ball exploring and touring some of the city sights. it was a treat for me to 'upgrade' to the Marriott spa & resorts for a few days - an south-east asia oasis - and one of those places where you really do feel like you don't need to leave the hotel all day! we explored the grand palace, paid tribute to the emerald buddha - the most famous and important Thailand image, learned about thai art and history, sampled some great thai food and curries, and even got in some power shopping before having to say goodbye. it was a fabulous few days and a welcomed 'adoption' for the weekend!
i then traveled up to the northern thai town of chiang
sun protection
on tour with the energetic jackie - who smartly supplied us all with umbrellas to help with the impending heat exhaustion mai, a backpackers haven and the starting point for many of the hillside treks around the northern region of the country. chiang main is a more low-key town than bangkok, but still a buzz with shops, entertainment, restaurants and a full tourist smorgasbord of activities and adventures that could keep you busy for weeks. i choose to spend 5 days studying the art of thai massage, which was a fun and humbling experience! thai massage is known as the 'lazy man's yoga' and is a combination of yoga stretching and massage that is an "active treatment" for both the recipient and giver. its also know as the massage that never ends...as there are over 250 'points' that can be Incorporated into a session. the intro week thankfully only covered about 50 - but that's enough to fill almost 2 hours of massage and gave us plenty to work with. myself and about 14 other travels, a mix of massage therapists wanting to add to their repertoire and people just doing this for fun, spent 30 dedicated hours learning and practicing the stretching, pulling, pushing, pressing and twisting involved in this ancient art. the week culminated in a "graduation" ceremony, where
they love their king!
this year is the 60th anniversary of the king's corronation, so their are huge tributes and picture everywhere....plus a sea of canary yellow shirts, sympolizing the king's celebration.
we were all presented with our certificates and sent off to 'practice, practice, practice'! i have not decided yet if i enjoy giving a massage more than getting one, but i figure its always nice to have an extra trade!
taking full advantage of the variety of fun courses that are offered in chiang mai, i was also able to sneak in a full day of thai cooking before having to leave. set in the countryside house of a famous thai chef, the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School (www.thaicookeryschool.com) professionally instructed us through 7 complete thai dishes and one dessert through the course of the day. we learned about all the basics of thai ingredients, flavors and spices and each had our own little cooking station to toss around the sizzling ingredients in the woks, splash and sprinkle in the herbs & spices, and chop up chilis, lemongrass, roots, and basils. i would recommend this experience to everyone, although a day of fasting prior to class my be a good idea. we were all rolled home at the end of the day to snooze away the day's accomplishments!
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rick
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will test your culinary skills
i cant wait to try your thai skills! great blog, i look forward to trying some myself.