New Years With A Splash

April means summer and with it comes a new year here in Thailand. “Songkran”, as it’s called, is the Thai New Year celebration that lasts for three days. During this time, people visit their temple to pray for health and prosperity, spend time with family and friends, and then wash away their sins in a nationwide water fight. The custom is to splash water and smear a paste of talcum powder on each other. If you venture out on the streets you’re bound to be drenched, and it’s a welcomed way of cooling off in the hottest season of the year.

The custom of celebrating New Year’s by splashing water on this grand scale is not only observed in Thailand, but also in the other primarily Buddhist countries of Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. After visiting the temple, and spending quiet time with the family, the merry making begins in earnest. The neighborhood that we have called “home” here in Bangkok is no exception.

Squirt guns began appearing in shops weeks before April 13, the first day of Songkran. Children, especially, have been waiting for the “first soak” for days on end. Adults are not exempt from the fun, and are often the masterminds behind the large buckets of ice-cold water lining the streets. They have stocked up on food and drink, anticipating the celebration with friends and neighbors.

At the Democracy Monument in the center of Bangalumpu, the city erected a beautiful fountain display, lit up at night to create a spectacle of lights, color and music. The theme is the Naga, a sacred snake god and the protector of water, surrounded by a garden of lotus flowers. With fanfare music blasting, colorful lights beaming and the fountains spewing water all in the center of a major intersection, traffic slows down as everyone wants to have a look at the festive sight. Bangkokers gather on the streets and a general feeling of excitement fills the air. Other events are organized city wide, promoting traditional thai culture, including culinary delights, dance and music.

April 13th dawned quietly, but by noon our neighborhood street was filled with the excited screams and laughter of citizens in the midst of full on water attack. Karaoke machines were set up and adults in various stages of drunkenness sang their hearts out to Thai and Western pop songs. Others had their boom boxes at full volume blasting heavy metal, folk, or top 10 hit tunes. The street vibrated with every imaginable sound. Water hoses at the ready, the liquid ammunition flowed freely into large containers that were constantly being refilled. Tables set up in front of residences overflowed with an abundance of food and drink.

Everyone was soaked, and I thought, at first, that nobody would be spared. We braced ourselves for an ice cold shower from every direction. Initially we thought that things could easily get out of control, but the Thais knew better, and were very respectful in their celebration. From the safety of the guesthouse dining room, we watched the mayhem unfold, and to our surprise people were much more courteous that we had expected. They bowed and wei’ed (hands in prayer position) to elders and monks and asked their permission before splashing them with a tiny amount of water upon their hands. Often the victims thanked their attackers for offering them the traditional New Year greeting. Travelers who arrived carrying backpacks were also spared until they settled in. The water and talcum paste were strictly an outdoor affair and the insides of the residences and food stalls were respected.

Throughout the neighborhood, most everyone got into the spirit. Truckloads of assailants from other neighborhood slowly made their way down our street, and launched bucketfuls of water from their moving position. These friendly attacks prompted laughter and cheerful screams from all. At first, we were hesitant to dive in, but we simply couldn’t resist. We found ourselves fully soaked, and launched our own attacks on those who came within splashing distance. Our neighborhood friends ambushed us, gently smearing the cool and fragrant talcum paste on our face and skin. Other pedestrians walked the street completely drenched, and in the end, we all looked liked rain-soaked tribal warriors.

Cultural Insights

"The Greatest King Ever," reads the huge banner that spans the whole width of the large office building along busy Phayathai Road in the heart of Bangkok. Along side the huge letterforms sits a handsome photo of King Rama IX, gazing down upon his subjects with his eyes full of pride for his Kingdom's bright future. In fact, all around town huge portraits of the King and Queen are situated at major roads and busy intersections. In some, he is dressed in a crisp white uniform – indicating his service to the country, in others; he appears in polo shirt and casual trousers, with his beloved camera hanging from his neck – appealing to the common citizen. With each visit to Bangkok, we can't help but notice how much the Thai people love their King.

And it's not just here in Thailand; Thais living abroad continue to hold deep affection for their King. Anyone who has ever visited a Thai restaurant, anywhere in the world, has most likely noticed the honored photos of the King and his Queen hanging upon the wall. With his genuine concern and love for his people, it's easy to understand the love they hold for him.

The King no longer holds political power, as Thailand became a democratic society slowly, after two decades of unstable political situations. The King handed his governmental power over to Thai citizens, in order to avoid further turmoil and bloodshed. This sincere gesture to serve the will of the people is one of the many reasons his is so respected.

Along the outer walls of his palace complex are buildings, stables and greenhouses, all strangely out of place within in the midst of a royal estate. It is here that the King invests in research, studying new technologies ranging from agriculture to modern industry. When a new development is found to have a positive impact for the people of Thailand, he then makes a recommendation to the government and Thai citizens through royal administrative groups. The King has been quite successful in many such projects. For example, his research in irrigation and land use (one field that the King is an expert) suggested construction of reservoirs and canals in outskirts of Bangkok. This project resulted in better control of water running through Bangkok, where people had suffered numerous floods due to reclamation of canals that used to run through the city. He promoted profitable plantation of fruits and vegetables among minority tribes in northern Thailand, so that tribe people would not have to earn their livelihood from opium. Another example of his suggestion that has been put to practice among citizens is aerobics exercise conducted at parks around the country at 6PM everyday.

The Royal Family is held in such high esteem, that Thais have little reason to speak ill of them. Gossip of the likes of Britain or Japan does not exist; instead, the King and Queen are worshiped almost as gods. While there is a formal law prohibiting any disrespectful act against the Royal Family, it would be difficult to find a Thai willfully breaking these rules. All objects bearing the Kings likeness are considered to be enshrinements, including printed materials and money. The Thais would never think to treat their money like we witnessed in India, with bills ripped, tattered, and stained beyond recognition. Instead, Thai money is treated with a special respect, as each coin or bill bears the likeness of the King or Queen. I once asked a Thai man who the female image was on the 10 Bhat coin, he affectionately exclaimed, "She is my Queen!"

With each visit to the Kingdom of Thailand, we continue to be reminded of, and to gain further insights into, the complexities of the Thai culture. In a recent week, we had the pleasure of meeting two researchers staying in the same neighborhood, both of them studying Thai language, culture and history. Their wealth of knowledge on the customs and traditions of the country made for fascinating conversations over drinks late into the hot and humid evening.

We learned, for example, that you would never want to give a gift of cutlery to a Thai friend, as it would signify the cutting or ending of the friendship, unless, of course, that was the intention of the gift to begin with. Equally troublesome would be to write a letter in red ink, as writing in red is reserved only for the dead. Greetings have their own set of unobvious rules. For instance, the common Wei greeting (hands in prayer position) could be uncomfortable for the recipient when used in the wrong situation. To avoid possible embarrassment, perhaps it's best to follow their lead and Wei only in response to their greeting.

One afternoon, as I skirted through the thick crowd, a young boy veered into my path. I gently put my hand to his head to let him know I was behind him. Looking up at me with a puzzled expression on his face, I was reminded that this was taboo. A person's head is the highest part of their spiritual body and life force, and, therefore, is sacred. Days later, when the young Michigan man, on his first visit to Asia, sat cross-legged at a restaurant table, pointing his big, bare feet towards the Thai hostess, I saw her expression stiffen as she got up to move out of his foots' direction. I was reminded again that pointing your feet (the lowest part of the spiritual body) at another person, or, worse yet, a monk or Buddha statue is considered ill form.

There are other unique cultural insights found in Thailand. One, for example, is the tolerance and lack of discrimination for alternative sexuality among young men. The young students from the technical collage nearby our guesthouse crowd the streets during their lunch breaks. They sit in groups at tables lining the sidewalk eating pad-thai noodles, grilled meat on a stick, and drinking fresh juice. As we sit and watch the mixed groups of men and women, it becomes apparent that several of the young guys are cross-dressing as girls; their slim tall Thai bodies fitting convincingly into female uniforms, with nothing but their large feet in high heals or the size of their hands to give them away. The tradition of cross-dressing, or Katoy, is well-established and acceptable form of entertainment in Thailand, therefore, creating an open and tolerant environment for these young men to freely express themselves.

Thailand is one of the few countries in the world where we have made repeated visits, this being our fifth. With each journey we continue to seek out new knowledge about the country and its culture. Each new nugget of information is a reminder to us that there is always more to learn about this culture, and in fact, each of the cultures throughout the world. This also means, in turn, that we must keep our eyes and minds open in getting to know any culture. There is no such thing as "I got it all figured out."

"Mr. Sit-Down"

I don't know his real name. Someday I will find out. But for now, I call him "Mr. Sit-Down". His beat-up black truck pulls in and parks on the street corner in front of Seven-Eleven, his spot, around 6pm every single day. After few minutes of organizing and preparations, he starts making bowls of noodle soup, one after another, from the back of his truck, feeding the hungry mouths of the Thai neighborhood. This is our neighborhood when we come to Bangkok. When he sees me walking towards his stall, or walking into Seven-Eleven, he smiles and says in his sweet Thai laced English, "Sit Daaoowwwn." That's how I have come to call this loveable old man "Mr. Sit-Down" and to learn of his incredible Thai Noodle Soup.

The cooking starts by boiling some noodles and wontons. Most of the food stalls serving noodle soup in Bangkok offer a choice of noodles; vermicelli rice noodle, wider rice noodle, egg noodle and (for some reason) instant noodle. Mr. Sit-Down uses only egg noodles. His wontons have pork-based meat balls inside. He lays out some condiments at the bottom of a bowl; fresh Thai spinach, chopped green onions, cloves of roasted, crunchy garlic still covered with skins, a small amount of pickled vegetable with salty flavor, some deep-fried pork fat, and loads of roasted pork meat chopped into bite-sized pieces. Then he adds some fish sauce and vinegar. When the noodles and wantons are ready, he drains the water and adds them to fill the bowl. On top of this he adds his incredible pork flavored soup and the finishing touch of some deep-fried wanton skins. Customers add additional condiments to their liking; crushed red peppers, fish sauce, hot pepper vinegar, and sugar.

It was love at first bite for me. And, as I keep asking around, others exclaim that Mr. Sit Down has the best noodles in town. The key is the soup. And, he is proud to point out that he doesn't use MSG to get the full-bodied, satisfying flavor. This pork extravaganza in a bowl is was what I missed most in India, where I hardly ate (and really didn't want to eat) meat for three months. The noodles are good for dinner, or a mid-night snack, or even some days, both for me.

I happened to meet a Westerner who has been visiting Thailand for the last 16 years, doing research in Thai language and Southeast Asian study. The man asked Mr. Sit-Down, on my behalf, how long he has been in the business. His reply was that he has been making the same noodle soup at exactly the same spot for 30 years. The neighborhood hardly had any houses when he started, only a local market and few huts. No cars or motorbikes were running then. Seven-Eleven wasn't here of course. And the price for his bowl of noodles was 2 Baht. Times have changed, and now a bowl of his mouth-watering soup is 30 Baht (75 cents in US dollar), and his grown daughter is now helping him on busy nights. But the noodle soup has not changed, and he has a steady flow of satisfied clients everyday.

There are usually a few late night hours when there are no customers at Mr. Sit-Down's stall. He takes a break and sips a beer, sometimes resulting in sleepy eyes. Truck drivers arrive at the market early in the pre-dawn hours to make deliveries, and they are hungry when they get here. There are definitely a few foreigners who stop by after a night of partying. I've met few who come here just to eat Mr. Sit-Down's noodles. Some even choose a bowl of his noodles as their last meal in Thailand before they move on or head back home, and that says a lot for how delicious his noodle soup is. A few more late-night customers stop by before he closes up shop at 3 a.m. to get some rest before coming back to serve us again tomorrow.

Lanta's Low Season

Ko Lanta is preparing for the start of tourist season, though the island is still getting a lot of rain. It's located south of Phuket and east of Ko Phi Phi, both famous resort areas in southern Thailand. The beaches of Ko Lanta are concentrated along the west side of the island, with formal hotels and more casual bungalows lining the shore. There are only a few tourists now, as this is still the low season.

The high season is from November to May. Some of the accommodation businesses on the west side are doing renewal and repairs right now. While it's not sunny all the time, it is not always raining either, and this is probably the best time to be working on such tasks, before the tourists start coming in droves in a few weeks time.

There are no beaches to speak of on the east side. Instead, mangrove forests face the ocean and small fishing villages dot the coastline. The biggest of the fishing communities on the east side is Old Town Lanta. For fishermen on the east side, there is no tourism high season, but they too renew and fix their boats and houses. The weather pattern is hazy sun in the morning, with a high possibility of showers or thunderstorms from the afternoon into the night. Winds shift their directions, so rain and storms can come from any direction.

In the evenings in Old Town Lanta the clouds increase as the sun begins its downward decent into the ocean. Everything takes on a magical rose-orange hue. The clouds, ocean, off-shore islands, the villagers' faces, the leaves of the coconut, banana, papaya trees, the houses, and even the tropical air itself, all seem to glow with red, pink and orange light. Frogs and insects begin singing in the coconut forest nearby.

Sunsets on the west side of Ko Lanta are absolutely breathtaking. The cloud formations offer gorgeous effects, creating the illusion of the sky on fire. Our eyes follow the clouds that reflect the sun, and we loose our words watching this golden drama acted out on the horizon. It's around this time when the fishermen in Old Lanta town launch their boats for an evening of squid fishing, casting their silhouettes off in red and orange before night falls on the island and the dark sky begins to twinkle with starlight.

The locals seem to be welcoming the weather, saying "this is a cooler time of year. " For us, the beautiful sky filled with a changing palette of color each day was a pleasant surprise and we felt that the rainy season on a tropical island isn't so bad after all.

Kaosan Now

Kaosan Road. Any traveler who visits Bangkok has been there at least once. Those who have not visited may know the street from Alex Garland's novel "The Beach" or the Hollywood flick by the same name staring Leonardo DeCaprio.

The bustling two-lane road stretches for just a few blocks in the heart of the Banglamphu district. At night its lanes are blocked from traffic, making it into a pedestrian-only open-air club of sorts. The travelers are mostly Westerners and Japanese, walking, shopping, eating, and just hanging out.

Hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, clubs, convenient stores, travel agencies, internet cafés, bookstores, clothing shops, photo processing and any businesses that cater to travelers pack both sides of the road. More vendors selling souvenirs, street food, and drinks, fake hair implants and instant dreads line the sidewalks and overflow into the street itself. So many are vying for the all mighty tourist dollar that they have even began setting up shop on the neighboring roads around Kaosan.

Once upon a time, the street was a restful and relaxing spot to come before or after traveling around Thailand or other parts of Southeast Asia. It was a well-known backpackers' haven, an excellent place to trade information and to replenish necessary travel items. In recent years it has become a major tourist spot where vacationers visiting Thailand come to enjoy the hip shopping and partying while staying in Bangkok for a few days. Fortunately, the group bus tours haven't glommed on to Kaosan yet.

There isn't much difference between the average tourist and the backpacker. They all walk Kaosan dressed in their Thai, Indian or Nepalese style clothing and accessories. The standard uniform, especially for men, is the Fisherman's Pant, the traditional wrap-around pants that were made famous by, you guessed it, Thai fishermen. It seems as if everyone on Kaosan are wearing the fisherman's pants in various colors. Of course, the vacationers always look neat and clean, no matter how they try to look like experienced backpackers.

Some backpackers may lament these recent changes, but I, personally, have no attachments to the past history of Kaosan Road. These days, even the local young Thais come here with friends and lovers to enjoy the party atmosphere. Now, the standard formula of Thai serving the Western or Japanese traveler is breaking down and a genuine cultural exchange between people of all kinds is taking place.

Bangkok Smiles

Thailand is not only one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, but also a place that provides a resting space for travelers who visit nearby nations. It shares borders with several Southeast Asian countries and offers a mature tourist industry for all the necessary arrangements. It's easy to travel inside Thailand, and is still comparatively inexpensive. The culture and atmosphere are relaxed and puts the traveler at ease. It took only a few hours after arriving from China for our shoulders to relax and for us to feel at home again in Bangkok.

It wasn't our original plan to come to Thailand in October. Instead, we expected to be entering Nepal overland from Tibet crossing the Himalayas, and then traveling south into India. We adore Nepal, and were looking forward to a return visit. However, the current political situation is unstable, with nightly curfews, closed borders and random Maoist strikes. We decided not to ruin the fabulous memories of our 1999 trip.

This is our forth visit to Bangkok. Our first experience was in 1996, and our last was five years ago when we stayed in the city for a week on our way home from Nepal. Then, we could feel the makings of a world-class city, and so much had changed in this direction since our first visit.

Cars, trucks and Tuk Tuk (Thailand's trademark three-wheeled taxi) used to spit black smoke, choking pedestrians in their tracks. Since our last visit, a requirement for new mufflers has been imposed, and breathing is much easier. The taxis are mostly new with air conditioning. There is still thick pollution that hangs in the air at rush hour, but it seems much lighter than before.

In the past, we didn't see many stores selling genuine brand name goods, instead, most were knock-offs of designer names. To our surprise, we are now seeing major shopping centers offering the "real deal", with Thai customers being the primary shoppers. (This does not mean bootlegged brand name products have disappeared.)

Modernization and high-rise constructions are also progressing. The sanitary situation is much improved, and I would even say it's superior to that of many of the cities we visited in China. The bad traffic congestion is still the same all around the city, but the overhead surface trains called BTS are now operational and a new subway system began running in August this year. We still see evidence of a developing country, such as shanty neighborhood markets and street food venders, but somehow, they now seem charming.

The progress in this city is not one of overnight development, compared to the worldwide global face-lift taking place in many cities we've visited. Bangkok has been slowly remaking its image, has staggered during the Asian crisis, and is now back on track. My impression is that the changes in Bangkok have been over several years.

In any case, modernization and the associated stress level apparently have not translated to nervous expressions on its citizens. Thais who live in this cosmopolitan city still show their large, white-toothed smiles today just like we saw back in 1996. The warmth of the Thai smile is a big reason we continue coming back.