Life in the Kingdom

Sabai de mai kha ?( Are you well? ) - Sabai is translated as "happy" but its use is closer to "comfortable" "relaxed" or "well". To Thais, happiness is not a state opposite that of sorrow... rather it is more like tranquility. Sitting by the seaside with the wind blowing in your hair is sabai. Winning the lottery is not.

I'll stay away from much talk of the political situation here as I expect you've had your fill with the recent Canadian election. I will say that it appears that anti government demonstrations and pro democracy groups in the streets of Bangkok will force this government to resign. We'll wait and see! We're trying to sift through the news reports and messages we've received and find the reality underneath.

I finally decided to start using the motorcycle taxis. It's amazing what one will do when the temperature is 35 degrees, the traffic is horrendous and there is a need to be at a work meeting for a certain time. For 10 baht ( 0.33 cdn) one can get to a destination in no time. These taxi stands and friendly drivers can be seen on almost every corner donning their orange vests. And actually it wasn't as scary as it appeared. Perhaps I've been lucky to get drivers who manouver through the traffic with some caution:)

I'd like you to meet Ben, one of the children at the Orphanage. I hope you'll understand the importance to me of introducing you to these children in this blog. I have come to know such life- giving beauty there - and although many have been abandoned and have major disabilties , the personalities and spirit of these children continues to inspire and touch me. They have so little, yet are filled with so much graciousness.

Ben is three years old and is blind. He does not speak orally, rarely eats solid food and still drinks milk from a baby bottle. He was abandoned by his mother . Her circumstances did not provide her with the ability to care for a disabled son. Ben is a "live wire". Although he doesn't have sight he has been able to use his other senses to function quite well. He loves to be held and touched and relishes the brief moments he gets outside of the ward.

We continue to leave the hectic pace of Bangkok behind on the weekends and travel to rural villages where we can walk about and mingle with locals.

Recently we visited a Karen tribe. They are commonly known as the "Long Necks"-signifying the practice of adorning their women in multiple brass rings around the neck, the arms and the legs. The rings are a prominent sign of female beauty and status. This neck ring adornment begins when the girls are 5 or 6 years old and the neck grows longer as additional rings are added with each passing year. They have a long history and their customs and traditions come from an ancient medium , the details many Karen themselves have forgotten.

A small fishing village in the south captured our attention on our travels. In areas where the children don't see many foreigners, they're always keen to say hello and check us out. The girl in the photo below was keen about trying out the little bit of English she learned and engaged me in some English banter in which I was happy to share.

Blessed with over 2500 kilometers of fertile coastline, Thailand has emerged as one of the world’s leading suppliers of seafood products to the world. Thailand ranks as the world’s leading producer and exporter of shrimp products.

In a developing country such as Thailand we observe many sites that would not pass any safety code in the western world. The country is developing at such a rapid pace though and in the year we've been here we have observed small noticable improvements in safety standards.

Near one of the popular beach towns is the Sanctuary of Truth, a gigantic wooden construction. Every square inch of the building is covered with wooden carve sculpture. The purpose of decoration with wooden carve sculptures are to use art and culture as the reflection of ancient vision of Earth, ancient knowledge, and eastern philosophy. Within this structure visitors go on a journey in an attempt to understand life, human responsibility, basic thought, cycle of living- overall the relationship between human beings and the universe. It's a phenomenal piece of work.

This sanctuary of truth was conceived out of the vision that human civilization has been achieved and nurtured by religious and philosophical truth. This sanctuary was created from goodness drawn from religion , philosophy and art. Walking througout this building is a reminder of this and whisks us away from the world filled with materialism, devotion to money and advanced technology. It offers reflection and hopefully some other truths to people who are after only happiness in this life, and those that believe that there is no life after this.

Approximately 100 kms from Bangkok is Koh Si Chang island. We took a 40 minute boat trip to reach the island. We spent a leisurely day- rented a motorcycle and enjoyed the day exploring the island and enjoying the local food. The geography of the island consists mostly of hills and a few small beaches. There is no resource of fresh water on the island. The locals have water transported by boat from the shore. The main source of income of islanders comes from fishery and we saw simple and traditional lifestyles of islanders here. The most important attractions on the islands are old European style buildings that are remnants from the early 20th century when King Rama V took refuge here during summer. Nowadays, there are a few small hotels on the island. Our first stop on the tour was the nearby Khao Yai Spirit Shrine which was situated in a Chinese Temple. This temple becomes very crowded during Chinese New Year. There are steps behind the temple that lead up to a viewpoint which houses a replica of Buddha’s Footprint. This was made during the reign of King Rama V from a sacred stone that was brought from the birthplace of the Buddha. The extra 300 hundred or so steps will pass by wild monkeys and there are wonderful panoramic views of the township below and the hills beyond.

The women in the Canadian Club of Thailand showed their stuff recently as models in a fashion show. All for a good cause, as the Canadian women walked the catwalk to support the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer a medical facility who assists underprivledged women get the care they need to heal or die with dignity from Breast Cancer . There is no universal health care here and woman who cannot afford the private hospitals are often not able to access quality health care.

Kelsey is getting much exposure to Thai family life through her relationship with James. James will be doing a few weeks in the monkhood on his 21st birthday- this being a traditional Buddhist custom for every boy and young man. He will have his hair and eyebrows shaved and wear the orange robe as he learns more teachings about Buddhism. They are however mourning the future loss of his "corn rows" hairstyle :) Her Thai is improving ( much better than mine) as well as James' English. Her school although small, provides her with an opportunity to make friends with people from other countries. On the balcony of our condominuim pictured below is Kelsey and her Norwegian friend Frieda.

Michel is off to China soon on a work trip. Sadly his father in France has been diagnosed with advanced bone and liver cancer. For now, we keep regular contact and hold him in our thoughts and prayers.

I began my French classes and have begun teaching a Conversational English class to French women once a week living in Bangkok as well as on occasion teach ESL to Thai children . Practicing using Thai is important to me and I continue to hilariously struggle with the tones. Future work with the refugee camp staff will require some more travel to the north in December. With her high school graduation soon to be a reality, Kelsey is now considering options for post secondary education next year.

This country and people still "wows" us. The paradoxes and beauty both in the landscape, culture and the people creates in us teachings that continually mould us.

It's a school holiday next week and we're off to Vietnam for 6 days. I'll share a bit about our trip in our next blog update.

Until then..... With love and blessings

Go well.

Dorothy, Kelsey and Michel