April 13-16: Songkran, Thailand

Happy Songkran! Every year on April 13-16, the Thais (and Lao, Buddhist Indians and Burmese) celebrate the annual water festival, which coincides with the sun crossing Aries and the hottest time of year - when getting doused with water is really quite refreshing.
I had to good fortune of witnessing Songkran festivities in Chiang Mai and Bangkok, and can attest that the best party is definitely in Chiang Mai, as the whole city , and people of all ages, participate in the water festivities.  A traditional part of Songkran is to give merit (offerings) to the monks and to wash the Buddha statues in a ritual of cleansing. It is also a tradition to pour water of the hands of the elderly as a sign of respect; or as one friend put it, "We wash our parents for the New Year!".  But the most memorable Songkran tradition is the water fights.  Thai families set up a large wading pool or buckets filled with water outside their homes and kids and adults take pleasure in hosing down passerbys.
This reminded me of a mix between Carneval and Halloween... as it is a kid centric holiday (children are the most enthusiastic participants in the water fights) but people also dress in colourful clothes and some even wear masks. 
I and my backpack got totally drenched leaving CM on my way to take the train to Bangkok but luckily I had anticipated the cold showers and put every last item in a plastic bag (thanks mom for the bags!).

I am writing from the Don Muang airport awaiting my flight to Yangon, Myanmar!
Hugs,
Mia

(Français)

En résumé... Je viens de fêter Songkran, le festival de l eau en Tahilande qui est aussi célébré au Laos, au Myanmar et dans certaines regions de l'Inde. C etait toute une occasion! C est le moment de se "purifier" et le pays au complet prend plaisir à s arroser d'eau. Les enfants adorent cela!  Quel plaisir de pouvoir arroser les passants... surtout lorsqu on les surprend avec de l eau glacée! Super rafraichissant ;)
Je pars maintenant pour le Myanmar. Je vous embrasse!

Chiang Mai Favourites

Bonjour!

I find it hard to realize, but I am at my half-way (3 month) point in my Asia trip !  The second thing that I find hard to believe, is that I will have spent nearly one month in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  I didn't expect to spend so much time in this city but it's definitely one of those places that gets nicer over time - as you start to discover your favourite secret cafes, explore the sois (small side streets), and generally feel like a local.  Chiang Mai at first gave me the impression of a noisy and somewhat uninteresting city, so I'm pleased that I have managed to re-evaluate my assessment. (Ah, the evaluator language comes out. Next I will begin to discourse on indicators. ;) )

So, let's see, what have been to date my favourite places in Chiang Mai?

1. Patara Elephants

Going to play with elephants at Patara was an absolute definite highlight of my time in Chiang Mai. The elephants-for-tourists industry can be a little shady and it was definitely nice to know that Patara takes its elephant care seriously.  In addition to taking care of elephants, they focus on reproduction, knowing that the elephant population has drastically declined in the last few decades. We got to spend a half day being an "elephant baby-sitter", learning how to feed elephants, check for signs that they are healthy or not, etc.

2.The pool at Deejai Gardens

I landed in Chiang Mai at the hottest time of year (Helloooo 40 C daily), so the pool was an absolute essentiel. Deejai's has a decent salt water pool,  AND has hammocks, AND is located down the street from the hostel where I ended up moving to get A/C.  A bit of a party place but lovely nevertheless.

Enjoying the pool!

3, 4, and 5. The coffee shops of Chiang Mai (3 favourites)

It's a toss up to date between:

• Into the Woods (a cute Disney-themed cafe that serves overly sweet drinks but has fantastic wifi and A/C)
• Boon Som Sa (?) cafe, which is gorgeous and located just outside a Buddhist temple, Wat Pansao I believe.  (Can't beat the sight of monks drinking coffee, but unfortunately it's just a little too hot these days to sit outside all day). 
• Wawee Coffee, which is the Chiang Mai equivalent of Starbucks or maybe Tim Hortons.  FYI there IS a Starbucks in Chiang Mai, but with so many lovely options to choose from, it would be sort of insane to have coffee there. 

The Coffee Shop Outside the Buddhist Temple (Just Outside Chiang Mai's West Gate)

6. Food-wise, my favourite vegetarian places were Taste Of Heaven and Morning Glory. 

I got to meet lovely people, including a Torontonian female muay thai boxer, while eating at both places, so bonus points to both. Taste of Heaven is right next to the Lost Books Used book store, so that was even better!   Honourable mention to Beetroot Stories, located in the courtyard behind Wawee Coffee on Rachamanka Road, for having the most amazing coconut drink.

7. Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh

A visit to Chiang Mai wouldn't be complete without a stop at both these impressive buddhist temples, or wats. My pics aren't great because I mostly went there to soak in the peaceful atmosphere at dusk. Wat Phra Singh dates from the 14th century and actually has several buildings including a "mini Wat Po" (reclining Buddha statue) and an impressive old temple behind the more modern one.  It is also where many young monks are instructed in Thai language, script, and Buddhist teachings. I saw a parade of about 30-40 monks going to 'school' one evening - they are just boys but at the same time, they look like they have learned a few things about meditating and so forth.

Wat Phra Singh buddhas

Next time I visit Chiang Mai, I will try to come in December-Jan when it's not so hot, and enjoy more of its outdoor adventures such as hiking and zip-lining. But for now I'm grateful for cool coffee shops and nice jazz bars.  Oh yeah forgot to mention the North Gate Jazz Bar, which is also a good spot to enjoy live music with friends.

Voila, my little compilation of Chiang Mai essentials.  If you have any suggestions to add, please comment! Thanks.

Til next time,
Mia 

Eating bugs

This has been the most culinarily adventurous weekend of my trip! Yesterday I did a cooking class with Asia scenir school where we leaned to make pad thai, kao soi( a typical chiang mai noodle dish make with egg noodle) and spring rolls. It was so much fun and pretty easy! the thais called pad thai their "fast food" because it takes only 5 min to make once all the ingredients are assembled.
I also went to the Saturday night market with my friend S who is a thai language instructor. We sat down for some serious eating, including an appetizer snack of fried silk worms and grasshoppers as well as omelette with ant eggs (they are small and white, look like larvae which is basically what it is). My friend enjoyed the look on my face as i steeled myself to swallow the bugs. They are actually pretty nice, especcially grasshopper although it looks the worst when you re not used to eating bugs. We also had spicy papaya salad, chicken and sushi washed down with mini ice cream cones. Quite a night for the taste buds.

Have a great week. xx
Mia

Pai + A note on Thailand's Deep South

I spent the weekend in Pai, a small town located about 146 km north of Chiang Mai, towards the Burmese border. My goal was mostly to get out of Chiang Mai for two days and to find a pool to cool off.  Mission accomplished in both cases... As you can tell from the picture above!

Pai is an "interesting" place to visit, and I use the inverted commas because I wasn't a huge fan in the end.  It is a very hippie-culture sort of place... very popular with backpackers of the dreadlocked variety.  I enjoyed the small-town feel of Pai, but it's always a little strange to me to be in a foreign country but in a place where there is so little interaction between the 'locals' and the 'farang' (foreigners).  Case in point:  I went to the pool with two nice girls I met at the hostel, and well... it was all foreign tourists with the only locals being behind the bar.

Maybe I should nuance or explain by quoting the Lonely Planet here:

"Unlike Khao San or the islands, Pai (pronounced more like the English ‘bye’, not ‘pie’) is just as popular among Thais as foreigners. During the peak of the cool season (December and January), thousands of Thais from Bangkok crowd into the town, making parts of it feel more like the Chatuchak Weekend Market than a village in Mae Hong Son. Traffic jams aren’t unusual during this time of year, and accommodation becomes so scarce that many are forced to rough it in tents.Despite all this, the town’s popularity has yet to negatively impact its nearly picture-perfect setting in a mountain valley. There’s heaps of quiet accommodation outside the main drag, a host of natural, lazy activities to keep visitors entertained, a vibrant art and music scene, and the town’s Shan roots can still be seen in its temples, quiet back streets and fun afternoon market."

From: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thailand/mae-hong-son-province/pai/introduction#ixzz449xJOll9

I think I would have enjoyed Pai more had I stayed longer and gotten to know more people. I was definitely intrigued by the religious diversity there (I saw at least 3 Muslims including a woman wearing a full burka). And there was a lot to do in Pai, including climbing 400 steps to the White Buddha, and visiting the caves, canyons and natural hot springs nearby. 

One thing that I did enjoy was walking up to spend the afternoon at the Pai Circus School, a small circus-school-cum-resort with lovely views of the valley. I pretty much just lazed at the pool, watching other guests try out the hoola-hoops, jester/devil sticks and juggling.  I had to leave at the end of Sunday afternoon to catch the bus back to Chiang Mai, but had I stayed, I could have attended a fire show!   (No worries... as I have plans to attend a muay thai competition later this week. Entertainment is not what's lacking in CM!)

A note on Thailand's Muslim minorities

I've had some conversations about the conflicts in southern Thailand with my friends at Oxfam and with some expats I've been working with in Chiang Mai. I still know very little about politics and religious diversity in Thailand but here are some facts or impressions that I've cobbled together:

• About 5-6% of the Thai population adheres to Islam. However there is an enormous diversity of "Islams" in Thailand... from Chinese Muslims in Northern Thailand, to Malay Muslims in the 'Deep South" provinces of Patani, Yala and Narathiwat. 

• The Thai government wishes to project an image of a unified country, but in fact there are many separatist groups in the Deep South, who do not identify strongly with Thailand as a whole.  As one article in Asian Correspondent noted,  "The Thai-Muslim sense of identity will need accommodation within existing narratives of what is ‘Thainess’ today. “Thainess’ will have to allow some plurality in the future."  Southern-Malay Thais speak mostly Malay, are Muslim and share more cultural affinities with Malaysia than with Thailand. 
• I was frankly shocked to hear about the conflict that has been raging in Thailand's southernmost provinces since about 2004-2007.  It seems that no-one outside of Thailand has heard about this...but it is a very real and devastating conflict, with roots going back to the annexation of Pattani and the division of the area between Thailand and Malaysia, under a 1909 deal between Britain and the kingdom of Siam. Since 2004, estimates show that more than 6,300 people have been killed.  It's an all-too-familiar story of "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" with insurgents saying that they are struggling to restore their homeland, and the Thai government on the other hand vowing to stamp out terrorism and separatism.  What's most tragic in my opinion is the level of targeting of the civilian population... 89% of the victims have been civilian casualties. Schools, teachers, monks and imams are often victims of insurgency bombings.   In 2013, the Thai government and rebel factions began peace negotiations but these have amounted to nothing to date.  Perhaps the government feels it has bigger fish to fry with the deep political divisions between royalist elites and middle-class rural voters from the provinces... 

• I wish there was something to do about this conflict, but for now, I guess all I can do is talk about it, and encourage my friends to find out and support campaigns such as Oxfam Thailand's campaign to support business opportunities for poor women in the conflict-affected provinces. It's not enough but hopefully things will change in Thailand and the country can begin to heal itself. 

Other Resources on Thailand's "Silent War" in the South: 

http://newirin.irinnews.org/forgotten-conflicts-thailand-a-silent-war/ 

http://thediplomat.com/2014/05/thailands-deep-south-living-in-conflict/ 

Report on torture (Cross Cultural Foundation and Patani Human Rights Network): https://voicefromthais.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/press-release-launching-torture-report-pattani-full-report/

Digital Nomads

Alors...il semble que j ai etabli une genre d alternance voyage-travail.... Apres un mois de voyage a Bali et en Inde, j ai fais trois semaines de bénévolat à Delhi. Voilà qu apres trois semaines a Bangkok-Sukhothai-Chiang mai- Luang Prabang , je me retrouve consultante pour trois semaines a Chiang mai! Premiere journee de travail aujourd hui et ce fut fort agréable. Je recherche des definitions et indicateurs de "soutenabilité / durabilité" pour un petit rapport d une trentaine de pages en lien avec un client international. Nous sommes allés travailler cet apres midi dans un café a côté d'une rizière avec les vaches qui beuglaient en prime (accompagnement musical en sus).  Pas mal la vie, quoi!!  Cette semaine j ai fait du yoga et mangé des smoothies au bleuet en grande quantité et je me sens très "santé- grano". Je serais vegane aussi, si seulement le porc lacqué n etait pas aussi bon! ;)

(English version) Hey folks just enjoying the vegan-granola- hippie lifestyle of Northern Thailand. I had smoothies and went to yoga class this week... and would be vegan if only the bbq pork wasnt so delicious.  Oh and I ve started a short term contract to research sustainability definitions and practices for a small consulting firm... true to what seems to be my schedule of one month vacation/travel and one month volunteer or paid work. Life is good... today I spent my afternoon working in a little café next to a rice paddy with cows providing a soothing musical soundtrack. See pictures below ;)  La vita è bella as they say.   Hugs and kisses   From Mia the digital nomad

Hostel Story: Dinosaurs!

I'm beginning a series of Hostel Stories.  Here is one :)

Teddy and his baby brother Leo (not their real names) are two adorabe half-Dutch-half Chinese children. Teddy's papa is Dutch and met Teddy's Yunnanese mama when they were both living in Kunming, China. Teddy speaks Dutch, German, Mandarin and English.  He really likes dinosaurs. He is six years old. 

When I met Teddy in a medium-big size town in Thailand, he and I immediately become friends.  He tells me all about his love for snakes and T Rex!  The Hostel has an old snake-skin so we discuss the snake's process of transformation.  Teddy is afraid that the Snake will come back for his old snake-skin.  I say, "Teddy, a snake sheds his skin just like you shed your hair when you get a haircut!"   We watch The Land Before Time (one of my favourite dinosaur movies when I was a child) together.

Teddy's papa tells me that his job is to lead bicycle tours for German tourists in China.  The family recently spent 6 months living in Germany, and Teddy picked up German very quickly even though he did not know the language  (the papa speaks Dutch to him while mama speaks to him in southwestern mandarin). 

I think of my little Norwegian cousins - this little boy reminds me very much of them.  He, like the youngest Norwegian cousin (when I visited them in 2011), thinks it only natural that everyone should speak the same languages he does, and can't understand why I don't respond to his commentary in Mandarin.   Nonetheless, despite the language barrier, we bond over Dinosaur Lego. 

Palace Demons and Monitor Lizards

Sawasdee!!   Je suis a Bangkok et je rencontre des demons et des lezards  (Varanus salvator ou Varan malais) partout !! haha.  D'abord j'ai vu plusieurs 'demons' statuettes recouvertes d'or et de bijoux, qui servent de 'gardes' du Palais Royal de Bangkok.  Le Palais est assez impressionnant et il y avait une grosse foule en consequence.
Pour quelque chose de plus tranquille je suis allee au Parc Lumphini aujourd'hui... mais quelle etait ma surprise d'apercevoir l'animal ci-dessous, en train de tranquillement gober son poisson tout rond.  Le Varan malais est inoffensif mais c'est tres drole d'en voir un qui se balade et qui fait aller sa langue en forme de fourche, surtout quand on ne s'y attend pas!  Les Thais n'y pretent pas plus attention, c'est comme les Quebecois et les ecureuils... "Bein quoi? Ah bon, Ca vous semble anormal, ces petites betes la?"

(English).  Hi all, Sawasdee!  I am in Bangkok and meeting demons and lizards at every street corner. I went to the Grand Palace on Sunday and saw the Dvarapala Yaksha or Door Guardians which stand at the entrance of the Emerald Buddha and all the other gilt-covered buildings inside the Palace. It is quite a sight to behold and I am glad I went to see it, despite the heat and throngs.
For a quieter excursion, I went to Lumphini Park today after getting my local SIM card... and saw the water 'monster' below, the giant Monitor Lizard, which was leisurely enjoying its fish lunch. These animals are pretty harmless but seeing them gave me quite a start! The Thais of course dont pay them any attention, much like us and squirrels.. "What these funny things? Oh they are a dime a dozen you know".

Giant Monitor Lizard Eating Fish- in the heart of Bangkok (Lumphini Park)!!

Been enjoying the food in Thailand of course!! Street food a plenty and lots of good 'modern' Thai cooking as well.  

Recommendations:

• Passport Books on Phra Sumen  (They have a lovely alcove cafe and are open until 8pm on fridays). 
• Taking the river boats!
• Eating in Chinatown
• Getting a haircut-  In Thailand I've discovered that they even wash your ears when giving you the usual shampoo prior to cutting your hair. 
• The Royal Barges Museum and Grand Palace

The Royal Barges Museum was another little hidden gem, wish I had snapped some pictures! 

This is where they keep the 'reconstructed' royal boats that the King uses for special events. There are four types of royal barge, including one type which is for the King to change into his ceremonial clothes - basically an over-water changing room, if you will.   The building and use of Royal Barges fell out of use after the fall of Ayuthaya , and most of the old ones were damaged when Siam was fighting its neighbours.  However they have restored this ages-old tradition.  The barges are quite formidable.  Each one even has a cannon to fend of any enemies that should venture in its fluvial path. 

I am off to Northern Thailand to hopefully see some elephants.  Until next time!

Mia