This was a lot of fun to do, as it had me looking at the pictures quite seriously, remembering places and people and in general putting myself back into a country that is half a world away. What an incredibly beautiful country it is in many ways!

Here are some samples of the pictures:

Technorati Tags: calendar, photos, Thailand

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He tried to buy my camera, insisting that I mail it to him when I got home. I never did. I did not want to and never promised it to him, despite his insistence. I suppose I could send it now, since I have a camera that is much nicer and have not used that particular one in some time.

Gak had spent six years as a monk during his younger years and seemed to know all the chants by heart, even though probably 20 years had passed. He meditated often, as did Nut, but Gak’s age and experience seemed to translate into a different type of meditation with a different intensity.

Nut’s youth seemed to keep him in the mindset of always striving for the still point in his mind, pushing forward until he finally achieved it. Gak, on the other hand, was more calm, peacefully allowing the concentration to develop. He seemed to watch his mind’s actions, while Nut pushed his mind in different ways.

Traveling and meditating with these two was definitely an eye-opener, allowing me to see where I was a little better and also where I was going. I recognized both styles and appreciated seeing them in other people as a confirmation of what was familiar on both ends.

Technorati Tags: travel, Thailand, Phramaha Nattapong, meditation, still point

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What do you think? Thai on the inside, maybe?

I’m the white guy with the pen in his pocket. I still look like that, except with less hair, more gray and a different pen. The others in the front row are Phramaha Nattapong’s nephew and niece and his older sister. In the back row are Phramaha Nattapong, his father and mother and younger sister.

This younger sister, Chikoo, was almost a problem between us. Phramaha Nattapong kept warning me not to be a rooster with his sister. “She very beautiful but she my sister. Don’t be a rooster.”

The talk of roosters, it turns out, is a Thai phrase about promiscuity, referring to a rooster’s sexual behavior and appetite. If you have never seen how roosters act, go visit a chicken farm and see how loyal they are. They madly hump their way across the yard, going from one bird to the next, with no thought of anyone’s needs but their own. Such selfish humpers they are.

Phramaha Nattapong was afraid I might take advantage of his sister and was being a good older brother by protecting her. She was very beautiful but not enough to be a match to the loyalty I felt toward my wife and marriage. Once I vowed not to be like a rooster I was finally allowed to meet his sister. The two of us visited a nearby temple and then went to see the giant catfish in the Chao Phraya.

All the people at the river urged me to stick my hand in the water and touch the fish heads for good luck. I smiled and said no but was polite about it. I had smelled what flows into the Chao Phraya and was certain I didn’t want to come anywhere near it.

The whole family was warm and friendly, welcoming me and trying to talk to the strange, huge forigner who had arrived with their son. We had lunch, visited, took the picture above and left. No fuss, no muss, no roosters.

Technorati Tags: farang, Thailand, Phramaha Nattapong, Nonthaburi, rooster, sex, catfish, Chao Phraya

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3. Ashes to Ashes

This all reminded me of Thai funerals. Almost every temple is equipped with a crematory and smokestack so the locals can be cremated when they die. This practice really serves two purposes. First of all, it reinforces the Buddhist doctrine of nonattachment by stressing that clinging to the physical is fruitless, as it becomes a small scattering of ashes relatively quickly.

The other functional purpose for cremation in Thailand is that it takes care of the typical body disposal problems. This is a country that has many floods each year and much of the land is close to sea level, so burial can be quite a watery process.

Cremation reduces the public health hazards associated with dead bloated bodies, freshly popped out of their graves by floods, floating down the river that used to be a street. If the cemetery, full of cremated remains, gets flooded, it just looks and acts like mud. In fact, that’s really what it is. No extra disease on account of rotting corpses and no psychological trauma from seeing such things.

Funerals in Thailand are strange affairs from an American viewpoint. The family may have monks come and chant for the deceased person, spreading blessings for all to hear and absorb, especially the decedent. The one funeral I got to attend was held at Wat Thep Surin in Bangkok and had four or five monks in attendance to chant the blessings.

While it was far from being a festive occasion, it was also far from somber. There was no expectation to show grief and many people carried on conversations during the ceremony. Young boys brought around refreshments – water, orange juice and steamed buns – and made sure that nobody sat too long without something to consume.

After all the blessings, the body was cremated. I did not stay that long, although I have to admit that I was curious. The heat from the crematory was evident and the fire glowed from around the door to the furnace.

I once read an account of a Thai funeral that was more of a bonfire with a body on it, likely for a less wealthy family who could not afford to rent the crematory. During the cremation, the body’s muscles constricted in such a way that the body sat up. The monks in attendance thought that was a sign of good luck and an indication that the person was going on to a better life. I think it’s a bit creepy, myself.

Technorati Tags: Thai funeral, crematory, cremation, Thailand, monks

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Here is a list of cities and towns I spent some time in well enough to get to know them relatively well:

• Bangkok
• Udon Thani
• Chanthaburi
• Chiang Mai
• Sukhothai (both new and old)
• Prachin Buri

In addition, I got to visit lots of surrounding areas enough to get a feel for them, but was not able to spend lots of time there, such as Khon Kaen, Nong Khai and Nakhon Ratchasima. These were also great places but I just did not have a lot of time to spend there.

I think of all these places I liked Bangkok the most, which surprised me. That’s a very high-level statement, as I enjoyed all the places I visited for very different reasons. Bangkok has all the culture that you could want from a city, all the beauty and graft, joy and frustration. It’s like New York City but cooler and with both friendlier and fiercer people.

In Bangkok you can see a gorgeous sunrise over a stinky, fetid river and see the beauty of golden temples and turn to see a leper or someone suffering from elephantiasis. It’s a city of extremes and for the tourist not knowing to look, can seem like a place of few gradations, much like the Thai economy.

Believe me, though – there are gradations along the continua you do not see at first glance. Between the extremes is where you find the normal human interaction and I would argue that is right where you find the richest of experiences. It is easy to visit Bangkok and talk of the extremes of beauty and ugliness, but in doing so you only describe the physical characteristics.

The real beauty of Bangkok, and any city anywhere, for that matter, is in the people. The worth and beauty in the palm trees, golden chedis and floating lotuses is certainly striking but between that and discovering the hidden secrets of the human spirit, there is no comparison.

I have never received so much from people who have so little as I did in Thailand. For a group of people who could have easily taken advantage of me, I was treated more than fairly, sometimes given what they could barely afford, all in the name of graciousness and assisting someone along their path.

And as they helped me along my path, the goodness that flowed from them made evident that they were already far along their own.

Technorati Tags: Bangkok, Udon Thani, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Prachin Buri, culture, New York City, beauty, Thai economy, people, human spirit

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