the king and I

the taxi man ran through the traffic on the route to the railway station.
It was early so traffic wasn't too bad and folk had not woken
yet to begin the hustle of central Bangkok.
As we headed to the train station I saw masses of taxis and
tuk tuks trying to get passengers and expected the inner workings of the
train station would not be dissimilar to India where whole families live and
trade.

After paying the taxi driver I headed inside to be met by nothing.
No hustle, no bustle, no hawkers, no madness, no chaotic food sellers
nor any sign of unordered foolery that I always associate with asia!

I sat down near the very smart looking dunkin donuts
and wondered what was going on.
Everyone was so quiet. So polite.  You could hear a pin drop.
No rats hanging around the bins, ( i have become an expert at watching
rat behaviour over the years!)
Then as if I was in a time warp from 1920's england
someone blew a whistle and everyone stood up.
I followed their lead and did the same
and was immediately greeted by the national anthem and everyone
started singing to the king.  Everything stopped! Sellers, pedestrians
police all took a moment to respect the king.

i looked on bemused and fascinated as this odd throwback to
imperial times carried on.

Thankfully in England this has, at least on the surface,
passed away!

more soon!

Why Chiang mai

some things of interest about change mai

they bars at the side of the road
opening onto the road
folk just sit with small stools and drink

wonderful small sparkle lights tell u where
to ride if you are a bicyclist!

its full of lunatic tourists on scooters
who have never driven before.

there are blind dogs about here!

blind people sing at the night market
and walk up and down with small speakers amplifying there
voice!

haggling with a thai is hard work!

cheap clean water is everywhere with
machines that sell if for virtually nothing.
reverse osmosis.

the small moat, river running around the city is spotless

thais don't like mess, as in garbage! Not often anyway!

Its a common sight to see some crusty old white haired fuck with
a much younger thai lady.

It's not a common site to see me with a nazi german helmet on the bike but i had one on today!

the parks are lovely and clean!

the fish are ever so well feed and do the opposite when
you approach the lakeside.  the have been conditioned with over feeding!

you cannot throw a stick without hitting a watt! buddhist temple and they
are beautiful!

new buildings are going up very quickly so get here soooooon!!!!!

What Wat

Wat

Dusk had passed and i slipped out of my shorts,
put my jeans on and waltzed out of the hotel.
less than two minutes away was one of the most
famous Wats (buddhist temples) in Chiang mai.
All day people had been visiting here to see the beautifully
ornate carving and golden relief that adorns the
inner and outer areas of the building.

I had waited for the tourists to go to slip in and
see the monks before it all closed down.
I have never been mad on the hordes that come and visit these
places and being a buddhist its always great for me to observe
the monks uninhibited!

walking unto the entrance I saw that the large temple was locked
but it was still possible to walk around the smaller temple that contained some ancient relics.

As i dropped off my shoes I noticed that two monks were
sat down in front o the main area giving each other head massages.
I acknowledged them with a small bow and walked into the main area.
The buddhas looked on at me in serene solitude and it gave me the
wonderful feeling to see that here I was not in a minority anymore and so
many around me were part of the sangha and the followers of the
insight and philosophy of the many buddhass.

The temple was adorned in simple pictures and depicted many of the scenes familiar to monks in the area.  some ,magnificent and some super-mundane.
I waled slowly trying to appreciate the moment.  All alone without the
flood of cameras that this scene must see each day.

In the darkness I watched smiled and saw that once again i needed to practice
take note of the remarkable people around me who dedicate their lives to
the search for mental peace.

wonderful!

Cathedrals in the sky

When you walk around the main drag in Bkk
you re hit by the scale and wealth of the place. Or
should that be debt?  Anyway, its got so many shopping
areas that you cant throw a cat without hitting a designer store!
when you do walk through it and into one
of the many vast exclusive ac designer malls you are
greeted by a wave of cold air that welcomes you into
consumer heaven.  Yes folks stretching of for what seems like ever
the cathedrals to possession are some of the largest
and most comprehensive I have ever seen.
They even greeted a bum like me with open arms
and all i bought was some dental floss from boots
which has decamped here from the good lode uk
main street!

as you walk and take in the amazing cleanliness and the
synthetic charm of it all you are aware of the power of this
western idea that has washed the globe in greed.

the rich thais never get to feel too hot
nor do they actually go outside as its all done
in ac splendour and with the white faced
faring looking on and wishing that one day we can be like
them ha ha.!

All so far away from the local tribes near here that have nothing
but smiles in there life that has simplicity and community written
all over it!  Devoid of meaning and purpose we shop till
we drop and the reality of the emptiness of western life
is temporarily suspended….!

more soon!

farang

the farang(foreigners) here in thailand see many things that they like.
you cannot throw a stick without seeing some bald fat overweight 
english man with a young thai girl on his arm!
i can read many things into this but i try not to judge.
on the flipside i chose to look at the thai perspective.
When not serving the farang many of the thai's look at the wealth
and the way in which the white haired farang behave and 
it can produce anger and resentment.  to see strangers
come to the country live like kings and do little but 
sleep and take out young thai girls must be odd.


i can see where the nationalism comes from
even though i dont agree with it


its an odd place


but much more soon!

freeloader

sitting in a 5 star resort
watching wealthy people
using the pool and drinking fine teas
i am reminded of what humanity as a whole
seeks.  


The rich russians who shun 
none russian communication and the 
other folk who are served here by the smiling thai's
make me think of the man who cleans the leaves from near the guest
house in which i stay.


each morning, reasonably early, i can hear the whisper
and whistle of a small thin thai guy who
kneels and squats as he picks leaves that 
have fallen from the nights wind.  he spends some 
hours doing this and always smiles at me.
no a phoney smile nor an obligatory one
for the tourists but one of a man 
immersed in his work and showing solace through
simplicity and mindfullness.  He shows me his smile
i give him the thumb and also my smile and i realise
that he has something that most of us reading the net dont have!
solace balance happiness moment to moment awareness.
the simplicity is remarkable and something that we all
long for as we live multi tasking lives in the west.
so removed from the now I look at him
and appreciate what he has!


so i can sit in the guilded cage of the rich and 
obsersve the people whose minds are overloaded and 
whose wealth sits on their minds like wild monkeys in the 
trees.


i am one of them but i am 
looking at it all blessed at the time i have to observe now.


more soon


namaste………!