Notre vie en Thaïlande

With some 95% of Thais being Buddhist & only 1/2% being Christian its little wonder Christmas Day is a work day & a traditional Christmas dinner hard to find! 

 

About an hour north of Chiang Mai lies Chiang Dao a quiet hamlet more famous for its magnificent mountain the largest limestone mountain in Thailand & caves. There's a restaurant nearby run by an Englishman & his Thai wife who worked for many years in restaurants in England. I had an inkling that Christmas would be catered for & that the Christmas pudding & mince pies would be good!  We booked for Christmas eve & knowing we'd be 'wounded' for Christmas Day lunch as well! 

 

Pleased we did; the restaurant has ambience, great food & they know how to entertain. The place was packed & lived up to expectations. Christmas eve was a massive buffet, BBQ, smorgesbord accompanied by much merriment & wonderful 'local' entertainment. One of the hilltribes, the Lisu, sent a group of girls to dance & in turn everyone  joined in. Watching these guys from another era/another world impacts greatly on you, the colour of their attire is nothing short of fantastic, their pride & sence of community quite moving....

 

A couple of tribal elders accompanied the girls & I tested my recently acquired Thai with the old man who played a flute central to the dancing made from bamboo & watermelon. He told me the girls were his nieces & that the woman with them was their grandmother - a usual Lisu configuration as under Lisu custom its highly frowned upon for someone to make a 'move' on a girl in the presence of an older male member of her family. It didn't stop Marc, though, in thanking them for asking him to dance, takng them to the 'Shots Stop' where only a sniff of sambuka & a few vodkas had them all giggling very loudly!

 

Up late & wounded as predicted we headed straight back for Christmas Day lunch, a wonderful family effort, with Santa Claus present, a delicious traditional lunch, some gifts & plenty of entertainment.

Recovery next day was spent looking about the magnificent Doi Chiang Dao. Spectacular, full of caves, some 14klms long & many not yet explored, Wat Tham Pha Pong - a buddhist monastery high up in the hills in one of the caves - what a spot (after over 500 steps up!) Sensational!

 

The views were so good we decided to make a tour around the mountain via a little used road through a national park, & lo & behold we ended up at the village where the Lisu that danced on christmas eve live. This is some of the best mountain scenery in Thailand. I'm looking into the possibility of a 'home-stay' knowing how beautiful it would be to look out high up over a bed of clouds!

 

We were told over dinner of a cave out past Pai where at sunset millions of bats fly in virtually blocking out the light, of how sundry hawks fly in to attack, of bats falling to the waters of the cave where massive carp jump out to devour them, of red, eyeless fish that climbs walls in the waterfalls.....now that's something we have to see!!! 

We're heading to Pai; it was Christmas & not April 1 after all! 

 

 

A Canadian mate asked me to drive his pick-up to the top of Doi Suthep (1676m) yesterday; he bicycled up in just under 35 minutes - not bad for a guy of 63! Its long & steep for those who dont know it. 

 

We headed past Wat Prah That, the huge & impresssive temple that crowns/overlooks Chiang Mai, past the Royal Palace & gardens, out past one of the Hmong hill-tribe villages & onto a small coffee plantation producing its own brew.

 

The Canadian knew of a (very) rough track that descended across & down the northern face of the ranges. He had tried the descent once before on an off-road bicycle in the wet & the mud which had made it a 'hairy' event & was keen to try again in the  4x4.  Its a rough old track winding through the various ranges surrounding Chiang Mai. The views are enormous, the vegetation impressive & the air fresh & clean. I dont think we ever did more than 10klms/hr, & always in 4 wheel drive such is the difficulty, but this is a bike rider's paradise. There's virtually no-one on the 'road'; it serves basically as an access amongst various hill tribe villages, their small plantations, orchards etc. Fantastic to see how these guys live, how they farm. We traversed tiered rice paddies, vegie plantations, orchards, massive trees they climb via permanently attached bamboo ladders to get honey - postcard pictures!

 

You come down from the clouds somewhere out near Mae Rim & arrive out the back of Huay Teung Thao Reservoir - yep, straight onto a bamboo raft with a couple of cold Changs & some 'insect nibblies'! 

A good day.

 

 

Drove up to Pai last week-end; Pai that Lonely Planet heralds as 'a travellers' mecca....a little corner of the world that happens to be in Thailand that seems to attract artists, musicians & foodies'. Its around 130klms from here, out through magnificent mountain scenery & a road with so many corners that it takes 2.5 - 3 hours for the journey. I have yet to see a single speed sign or radar!

 

We were away early to see the monks out collecting alms - always a moving sight to see monks receive from &, in turn, give blessing to the givers. At the same time a spectacular sunrise over the mountains & rice paddies, the reflections on the golden temples. Flying fox was for sale roadside but we'd already had breakfast!

  

Cold it was as we headed from the plain into the hills - the mist, 'steam' rising from the lakes, pedestrians in ski parkas. Lovely drive up through the mountains with at times little vision due to the mist before rising up above it. There's a famous spot looking out over a bed of clouds below, where the clouds are trapped in the valleys with only the highest mountain peaks protruding proudly into the sky.

 

Arriving in Pa we headed down the 'main' road, closed other than to pedestrians for the day. What a stretch - great little shops, restaurants, fashion, cafes, accommodation....& any surviving hippie that happened to miss Woodstock! Wonderful setting on the River Pai with a magestic mountain backdrop. 

 

Speaking of New Year, we're on the lunar calendar here so we move to 2552 & not 2009.....& I dont feel a day older!

  

 

 

Headed out to Loy Krathong last night - not bad, but not a patch on the lantern launch. Chiang Mai along the river (Ping) was humming - lots of action & plenty of ambience. We found a great spot in a resto on the river opposite, & mid-way between, the Gov's residence & the town hall; the 2 places from which the fireworks are launched.

 

Dined with an american who having made millions in various businesses now spends all year, every year travelling the world. He has a pad here in CM & another plus boat in Phuket..... He decided to travel 20 years ago when his wife was operated on for a brain tumour & has been comotosed ever since! Makes you reflect (I hope)!

 

Lots of fireworks throughout the night, plenty of lanterns launced & heaps of wonderful, colourful Loy Krathong - the very reason we were there - floating down the river.

 

Out tonight, dining at the Chedi (nice pub!) to watch events for the large Loy Krathong. More tomorrow.

 

Our thai course is firing, & enjoying it immensely.

 

Headed out last night for Khom Loy to the Lanna Dhutanka Temple in Mae Jo, just north of where we live for the start of the Loy Krathong ceremonies/festivities. We'd been told the event was HUGE! One of the big events for Chiang Mai. We were excited.

 

This is THE BEST; I kid you not, put it on your must do list! Arrived to find this spectacular setting - a long walk along the edge of flowing water lit by candles, past beautiful lakes, well placed fountains surrounded by an unbelievable array of hanging lights strategically set in trees to reflect through the bambo, on to the water......all along there are vendors of all sorts of wonderful snacks, fireworks, &, of course, the lanterns that we have come to see launched. The lanterns come in all sizes up to what's basically a double sleeping bag size! They are white (for the light effect), fabricated from light paper, with a wax lighting device in the bottom. We grabbed heaps.

 

One suddenly arrives in this amphitheatre of sorts, a vast open area, surrounded by tall trees or bamboo shoots, with a slight upward slope to this incredible but simple, always visible "temple". Set on a mound of concurrent circles is this simple, all white, semi-dome houses a wonderful but simple Buddha. In the lighting, one can mistake it for the rising full-moon; so appropraite given Loy Krathong's link to the full moon. Its "gob-smacking".

 

The grounds are set out with thousands of slender stands supporting large candles ultuimately used to light the lanterns but creating an incredible effect for the mantras that ensue. At the foot of the stands devout buddhists, most in lotus position facing the Buddha, hands together in front of their faces, all in devout prayer.  Not kidding, but it hits you, even after a Jesuit education!

 

We were dreawn to an area closer to the temple. On each of the concentric circles sit (lotus position) meditating monks of all ages; all in their robes, all motionless, surrounded by candles, looking out over the most fantastic array of lit symbols & decorations.

 

The ceremony starts - the head monk prays, calls on the monks to chant, he lulls them (& most of the crowd who are following religiously) into meditation.......its a moving experience. We're told he wants the lanterns to be launched to bring joy to the world......everyone is up & lighting their lanterns & then off they go, released in their thousands. You have NEVER seen anything like it, they head up towards the moon then meet with a gentle breeze taking them to the magestic mountains of Doi Suthep. Moving ever higher the lantersn just keep burning, just keep rising; its like a golden milky way, but with 10 times as many 'stars', with the whole sky covered. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The basic idea is that you express regret for any wrong doing, apologise for any ill-meaning during the past year & let all the ill meaning & fortune float away, to have it replaced by goodness. The ceremony is taken very seriously, its moving to see the groups of different people lighting their lanterns, uniting in prayer before launching the lanterns on their way.

As the lanters rise towards the moon they are followed by an orchestrated barrage of fireworks. Its spectacular.

 

The monks remain in place, taking it all in, seemingly motionless. After the initial 'huge launch' they move to the side of the temple & join in.

 

You come away desperate to more deeply understand buddhism, yearning for next year's event to come again, already preparing for one's involvement next year...

 

This is better than the Sydney Harbour fireworks - its not just a spectacle, not just fireworks; its a ceremony that is spectacular, its a spectacle that has significance, its a combination of history & culture that just happens to be spectacular.    

 

With the full moon coming this week, the focus moves back to town, back to the Ping River. On the 12th & 13th we'll witness Loy Krathong on the banks of the river. "Loy" meaning 'to float' & Krathong referring to a lotus shaped vessel that can float on water. We start with the small krathongs, made from a sheaf of the banana tree, banana leaves, flowers, candles & joss sticks, launched by individuals & couples into the river; tens of thousands of them floating down river. Then a day later the huge communal krathongs.....stand by!!!