The comings and goings of the Minsky's in Thailand.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Best of Friends

Jules comments:
Playing host to our best friends was a job that we really relished. Franzman & I have done so many things together, had so many adventures, that we had to make sure this trip would be worthy of that history. I am happy to say that I think we succeeded. We did a great variety of beautiful & exciting things; elephants, tigers, monkeys, bats, orchids, The Grand Palace, waterfalls, beaches, islands & ... The cherry on top was provided by having the Goldmans and Urana join us for the last few days.
I encourage everyone to seek out some good friends and plan a little "outside the box" adventure together.
With this as a backdrop, we can't wait to see what the future has in store.

Eleanor's comments: We had waited and waited--the day was finally here--our dear friends, Steve and Diane, came to visit for three weeks and we were to be their guides to see Thailand, north and south. For us, it was a darn good excuse to see all of the sights again and to lay on the beach for ten days--what could be bad? During the final weekend of their trip, Dickie and Susan Goldman from Woodstock, and Urana coming in from Bangkok, would join us in Chiang Mai.
Seeing everybody brought home how much we missed our dear friends and family. Seven months is a long time to be on the road. We have enjoyed it thoroughly and have had a great time. We have discovered that this life-style can be repeated anywhere in the world so our horizons have been expanded considerably. We learned that Jules misses his teaching a lot--it is part of who he is--and he wishes to continue to teach. We learned that I can find a million and one things to keep me busy and happy, as long as the list doesn't include the practice of law. But that doesn't mean that I won't enjoy doing something legally-related to help the elderly or disadvantaged.
We have learned that life is unpredictable. So we are truly going with the flow. Surprised to hear that from me? Well, I guess I've mellowed with age. But, we know our air ticket gets us home on May 1--we will be in Saugerties house-sitting for six weeks--and we have air tickets to visit our West Coast friends and family from July 17 to Sept 5. The rest is unknown--the right path for us will reveal itself in due time.
But back to the fun time that was had by all. Tigers and monkeys, oh my. Stephen especially enjoyed the sign at Erawan Falls, which said: "Beware: A monkey steal your belonging." A metaphor for life, perhaps?
Diane and I stayed out of Tiger Canyon, located outside of Kanchanaburi, but the guys made the trip down. Diane and I had valid excuses, but, to tell you the truth, I was not enthused about being in the presence of unchained wild animals--think Siegfried and Roy. The guys loved every minute of it and have the pictures to prove it.
Phang-Nha lived up to its reputation. We took an all day boat trip there from Phuket. It was billed as a "canoe trip". Its real name should have been: "trip where young thai men paddled the inflatable canoes"-- the Minskys and Franzmans laid back and enjoyed the ride. It was really something--one of the highlights of the trip.
But the beach towns of Phuket left something to be desired. I thought of the old saying: Be careful you don't kill the goose that laid the golden egg. That is exactly what has happened. Thai people serve the tourists but, other than that, there is no evidence of Thais--the beach towns are devoid of the rich cultural texture of Thai life--it's just not there and the beach towns are charmless to me. However, that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy reading on the beach and swimming in the warm water--just the right temperature.
The current smoke in the atmosphere of Chiang Mai presented a real problem to us. Should we go there or change our plans? Those darn "slash and burn" farmers. For centuries they have burned their fields every March. I wonder if it is the same every year--complaints until the first rains wash away the particles from the air--then everyone forgets the problem until next year. Well, everyone says that this year it is especially bad. We saw the pictures on TV and started the canceling process. We thought we would go to Hua Hin instead. But we called our friends in Chiang Mai one more time and were assured that the situation, while not perfect, had improved enough to warrant coming there. So we reinstated our flights and came home to Chiang Mai. We were glad we did. We had a great time as shown by the pictures at Mae Sa Elephant Camp. We took a tour up the Ping River, saw a lot of Thai dancing and shopped til we dropped. We had some great meals, one of which at the "Bake and Bite" prompted Dickie to say: "this is the best roast vegetable sandwich I've ever eaten"--this is very high praise! I was busy eating the "hash browns" which tasted like the best potato pancakes I'd ever had.
We said our goodbyes--we were happy that we would see everyone again soon--Urana at Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year, from April 13 to April 17, and the Franzmans and Goldmans on May 1. This is the official end of our blog. Any comments are appreciated. We hope you've come along on our travels by way of this blog and have enjoyed it as much as we have enjoyed writing it.

The Best of Friends

Monday, April 02, 2007

Good Luck, Cambodia

Jules:
Vietnam is prosperous, healthy & growing. Cambodia is hanging on by the skin of its teeth. Why are these 2 countries, right next to each other, so completely different. Here are some obvious answers: Cambodia was bombed by the US during the war as part of the expansion even though it was not really involved. It was devastated and then as a result of the horrible conditions created by the bombing it allowed a world class homicidal maniac like Pol Pot, which is not a real name but stands for political potential, to come to power and kill several million fellow Cambodians. To this day I do not think that the Cambodians themselves really know why Pol Pot was able to convince so many Cambodians to kill their fellow countrymen. The Pol Pot regime was ended, not by the UN or the US but by Vietnam. So Vietnam, having resisted the colonial aspirations of China, France & the USA, was able to see that what was going on in Cambodia was a threat to its own security and was able to put a stop to Pol Pot and the Cambodian genocide. The Vietnamese people know they are winners, they were able to resist and throw out 3 major world powers.
Cambodia is a small country that has 2 major assets, Angkor Wat in a town called Siem Reap and Lake Tonle Sap which is a very large lake full of fish. Ankgor Wat is an amazing collection of beautiful temples, built about a thousand years ago, originally Hindu but converted to Buddhism by King Jayavarmann VII (the big J), the first Buddhist King of Cambodia. Whereas the temples in Thailand are covered with colored pottery, glass & stones, Angkor Wat is covered in carvings and bas relief figures & designs with very little color.
I do not know if these 2 assets are enough to support the country. The major problem faced by Cambodia is corruption, at every level of society.
Another asset that Cambodia has is Dr. Beat Richner, who has built 2 world class children's hospitals in Cambodia. He is also a cellist who gives free concerts to raise donations to support these hospitals, which treat all children for free. If ever there was a guy who deserves a Nobel Prize in Medicine, Dr. Richner is it.

Eleanor's comments

Cambodia was very difficult for me. I have never experienced such utter poverty and despair. On the one hand, there are the exquisite temples of Angkor Wat, and the five star hotels nearby; on the other hand there are people who try every day to cope with rampant corruption at every level of their society (Even the teachers are on the take). No one is paid a living wage, so everyone rips off everyone else to eke out a living. Seeing tiny children under 5 years old working on the streets selling postcards for one American dollar is very hard to take. We went to Dr. Richner's cello concert and learned that 75% of the children tested positive for pediatric tuberculosis. Dr. Richner runs the only hospitals for children in Cambodia. They are supported by donations. The big funders do not want to provide him with funding because the care in his hospital is above the standard of living of the population. He translates this as the powers that be want him to provide substandard care to the children and he will not do it. His personnel are forbidden to take bribes and are dismissed if they do. Dr. Richner is one of the unsung heroes.
At the memorial, skulls from the killing fields are on display, as are the names of some of the victims. But the more telling thing is the lack of understanding displayed by our guide and anyone around the site. It happened--either they know and aren't saying or they don't have a clue about what really happened. We see the result but not what led up to it--we are supposed to accept that it occurred without further explanation.
Juxtapose this information against the luxury found in the five star hotels. Tourists from all over the world come to Cambodia to view its treasures, which, in all candor, should not be missed--the temples are glorious. They stay in their hotels and probably never see the poverty right outside the door.
Our pictures reflect this dichotomy. The beautiful temples and the sad poverty. Remnants of a glorious past and the uncertain future. Should it keep you from going to Cambodia? I say "no." Angkor Wat should not be missed--it is truly a wonder of the world. The Cambodian people have little else. Their economy depends on tourism. Enjoy our pictures of the beautiful temples but they are tinged with sadness.

Good Luck, Cambodia

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Good Morning, Vietnam

Jules' input: For people of our generation, one of the defining events was the War in Vietnam. It affected almost everyone, whether you went or like me, you were able to avoid going. I have heard many stories from ex-servicemen, who went to visit Vietnam and were welcomed by the Vietnamese people rather than reviled. This is a curious situation and it made me want to find out what was really going on.

Good Morning, Vietnam is the title of this blog because that is what we found, a country being reborn & revitalized after the insanity of the war and what happened in its aftermath. The policies put in place in Vietnam after the end of the war combined with a drought and the war to get rid of the genocide of Pol Pot in Cambodia all combined to hamper the rebuilding of the country. Now all of that is history, just like the war, and Vietnam is on the move with the same resolve they used to get out from under occupation by the French, then the US. You come to realize that they have been fighting for their independence for hundreds of years, from China, from France & finally from the US. You see a beautiful country with moderate weather, beautiful beaches, mountains, a plentiful ocean full of fish and rice growing everywhere. Finally the people, half of whom were born after the war, who seem to have no time for grudges or animosity. The children with smiling faces jump at the opportunity to practice their English with you and shake hands.

Like most developing countries, some parts develop faster than others. The big battle in Vietnam & especially Cambodia is corruption and control by the government. Next is infrastructure, like places to park other than the sidewalk, traffic laws & controls, garbage cans for refuse collection, environmental awareness, adequate schooling for all students and on and on. A later blog will describe life in Cambodia.

Eleanor's input: We recently returned from Vietnam and Cambodia. Before I tell you about our photos, I think it's time for a status report. We left the states seven months ago. At that time when friends asked various questions about our future we said that we felt we were beginning a process--we would go to Thailand and depending on what we found, we would decide what we would do in the future. Little did we know that we would also be finding out a heck of a lot about ourselves during this process. For me, I found out that I love retirement--time to read books--time to visit with new-found friends for a two hour lunch without looking at the clock--time to travel--just plain time to do what I want, when I want to do it. Jules, on the other hand, found out that he misses teaching and doing something productive. This is not a static thing--perhaps I'll feel differently in a year; perhaps he will change also. As for the place, surprisingly enough, we found out the most about Thailand when we left it to go to Vietnam and Cambodia four weeks ago. Vietnam, and especially Cambodia, provided us with a great deal of perspective. It may come as a surprise, but not all Southeastern Asian countries are alike. In fact, there are very great differences between them. These differences are across the board: infrastructure--level of corruption--health facilities--educational opportunities--people's attitudes, etc. Travel in Vietnam and Cambodia made us appreciate Thailand so very much more. From the simple joys of life like being able to cross the street without getting run over by a motorbike (no joke: you take your life in your hands every time you cross the street in Vietnam) to more complex needs like having government garbage collection remove bags of household waste from the sidewalks and gutters. We love living in Thailand and we especially love living in Chiang Mai. It is so easy to live here! It's not perfect--no place is but it's pretty darn wonderful. But-- there's always a "but"--we miss our family and friends an awful lot and Jules misses teaching. That is where we are and if life and its vagaries allow us to continue to follow our dreams, that is what we will be doing for the foreseeable future.

My one word to describe the vacation in Vietnam is "surreal." Yes, it was beautiful; the people, especially the youngsters, were friendly; the traffic was crazy; the sights and entertainment were great but being in places like Hanoi, the Hanoi Hilton, Danang, China Beach, Saigon--places I heard about every day for years--places associated with terrible things happening--was difficult. Fortunately, no one I loved was killed in Vietnam. But just like visiting the Vietnam Memorial is an emotional experience, so too is visiting Vietnam. And all the beautiful palm trees and oceanfront did not wipe away the past associations I had made in my mind. The undercurrent was there--I could not divorce the past from the present--it was something I had to deal with on a very personal level. It all happened a lot of years ago but when you are there, the memories flood back.

As you can see from our pictures, the present is a wholly different matter. We saw almost no evidence of the war outside of the war museums. Vietnam is still an emerging country--most of the economy is based on agriculture and fishing. We saw so many farming and fishing villages that they all run together in my mind. Our pictures show the sights of Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Dalat, and Saigon (Ho Chi Mihn City--HCMC)--ancient ruins, beautiful bays and beaches, street life, village life, life on the water, museums, temples, orphanages and schools, and the present celebration of Tet, the lunar New Year, in Saigon.

I strongly recommend that you go to Vietnam sooner rather than later because change is in the air--pretty soon the tourists will transform it and progress will wipe away the vestiges of the old Vietnam--see it now.
Good Morning, Vietnam

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Count Gerry's Garden Party

Early on Sunday, January 13, Jules and I traveled to Chiang Rai with a group of 10 people from the Chiang Mai Ex-Patriates Club. Chiang Rai is about three hours north of Chiang Mai. The Club hired a van and driver to take us there over winding mountain roads. The ride was great fun since our traveling companions were lively conversationalists from all over the world. One couple in their late 70’s are still on the road enjoying life and recently returned from an ashram in India where they spent a couple of years on their spiritual path. Maude, a French woman who has settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is an expert in conflict resolution and lives in a shared housing community. They were our seatmates and made the ride go quickly.

We were on our way to a garden party hosted by Count Gerald van der Straten Ponthoz (Count Gerry) in order to launch the book he authored. The book retraces the work and achievement of Count Gerry’s relative, Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns, a Belgian politician, who was the General Advisor of King Chulalongkorn in the late 1890’s. He was instrumental in negotiations with European powers to keep Siam independent and free from colonization. (Thailand, unlike its neighboring countries, has never been a colony of a foreign power.) Count Gerry was a featured speaker at one of the Ex-Pat Club meetings. He told us that, while the book commemorates the achievements of his relative, the meaning of the book is “to bring the past back to help the future.” Instead of purchasing the book, it can only be acquired by making a donation of 3000 baht to provide a scholarship to help the education of the hill tribes children attending Suksa Song Kroh Maechan. The Maechan Hill Tribes School is a government boarding school caring for 950 children, most of whom are from a dozen different hill tribes. These children are from very poor families. 3000 baht is enough to send one child to school for one year.

The party was fabulous. The pictures below were all taken on the grounds at Count Gerry’s beautiful teak house during the party, which lasted for several hours. The school band played. The children donned their beautiful native dress and performed traditional dances. There was lots of food, wine, Thai desserts, and fruit. After dark, we were treated to a violin concert and the evening ended with a huge display of fireworks.

The next morning, Jules set off early to tour the school (the last five pictures are pictures of the school and its grounds), meet the teachers, and actually teach a math class using colorful manipulatives, which he made. The rest of us traveled to the Golden Triangle on the Mekong River, about a half hour north of Chiang Rai. We visited the Opium Museum, a world class museum built under the auspices of the Queen Mother. I learned everything I could ever want to know about the history of opium in the Far East. Did you know that you can flunk a drug test if you consume a poppy seed bagel prior to the test? Did you know that Flander’s Field poppies and California poppies do not produce opium? It took us two and a half hours to tour the museum.

After lunch, we headed back to Chiang Mai. Jules loved his time at the school. Could there be a stint in Chiang Rai in our future? Only time will tell.


Touring Chiang Mai sights with Claire and Jonathan

Visitors from home are one of the best things about living for an extended time in Thailand. Our first visitors from the states were Claire Vernon and her boyfriend, Jonathan Smith, from Reno. Claire is our God-daughter and we have known and loved her since she was a tiny baby. Now she was here visiting us right after Christmas on her break between graduating college and starting graduate school. I had spent some happy hours planning the trip with her and Jon. Our first outing was to the Mae Sa Elephant Camp about 30 minutes outside of Chiang Mai. There are at least three elephant camps located near Chiang Mai; this is the closest one and I had read reports that the show was very good. None of us were disappointed—we had a wonderful time there and spent the whole morning at the Camp. Several elephants were outside greeting the crowd. Vendors were selling bunches of bananas and sugar cane for 50 cents and the elephants performed for these treats. They took off your hat, held it for a minute, then put it back on your head, giving it a final tap. They allowed you to pet them and posed for pictures. It was very up-front and personal. The elephant’s mahout remained at his/her side at all times. Every elephant has a mahout and responds to the commands of only his mahout. A backup mahout also works with the elephant but for all intents and purposes it is one elephant and one mahout for life. The mahout lives at the elephant camp with his family. There are also cleanup people who follow behind the elephants to sweep up their dung. This dung is made into white paper. Since there are over 75 elephants at this camp, it is a good-sized community. The first event was watching the elephants bathe in the stream. They take baths three times a day and looked like they enjoyed splashing and spraying each other in the water while their mahouts scrubbed them down. We then took our seats to watch the show. In addition to the tourists in attendance, many Thai people were at the show. Elephants are the national symbol of Thailand and the Thais were introducing their children to the majestic animals. We loved the show. It was very unlike any elephant show I had ever seen at the circus. These elephants were not wearing colorful costumes and accompanied by beautiful women in sequins—they did not twirl around on little stands. They demonstrated teamwork and showed how they moved huge logs and maneuvered them into stacks. They showed agility with their trunks by having a dart contest with a member of the audience. They did a bunch of other things but, most remarkably, they painted pictures! I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Five or six elephants were given paintbrushes and were positioned in front of their easels. We watched as they all painted pictures in their own styles (see pictures below of their work). Later, we went to the art gallery on the grounds and saw a huge mural done by several elephants for their successful attempt to be in the Guiness Book of Records. It was a jungle scene and it was beautiful—no pictures were allowed to be taken of this mural but take my word for it, it was very impressive. We had hired a private van, guide, and driver so we could take our time and visit the baby elephants in the nursery and tour the elephant museum with its detailed displays about elephant anatomy and common illnesses. We wandered around visiting and posing with the various elephants walking everywhere with their mahouts while Claire and Jon waited their turn to ride the elephant. Ever since my ride on an elephant several years ago when we were in Thailand, I have been fascinated by these wise, gentle animals. This visit expanded my knowledge and respect for them. From here, we went to have lunch at the orchid farm and then visited a shopping market. It was a full fun day.

The next day we went to the number one, “can’t miss” site in Chiang Mai—Doi Suthep Temple. This is the same temple that you will recall seeing in our first set of Chiang Mai pictures—we can see it from our balcony, way off in the distance, on top of the mountain. Now we were winding up the mountain road with hundreds of other pilgrims in every mode of transportation imaginable—motorbikes, cars, SUVs, vans, buses, and songtaews. What a crowd! Doi Suthep was especially crowded on this day because it was New Year’s weekend when Buddhists traditionally visit the temples and walk three times around the chedi (the golden tower). There are two ways to get up to the Temple, by walking up hundreds of stairs on the Naga Staircase (Claire and Jon walked down this staircase after our visit) or by waiting for one of the elevated cars to take you up. We opted to wait for the car. We amused ourselves by playing peek-a-boo with the babies waiting in line with their parents. Finally, we made it up to the top and were greeted by traditional music played by students. We toured the grounds of the Temple. Since it is located on top of the mountain, on clear days you can see the entire valley. In the temple complex, there are many murals, statutes, a big Buddha, and monks who give New Year’s blessings. Our van then wound down the mountain in a slow crawl. After lunch, we visited Bo Sang, famous for its colorful, hand-made umbrellas, and then we went to see the silk and jewelry factories.

We spent New Year’s Eve that evening at the Galare Market across the street from the famous Chiang Mai night market. The Galare Market has many food booths, an outdoor stage, and several beautiful Thai dancers performing traditional dances. We then went down to the Ping River to see the launch of the paper lanterns—five foot high hot air balloons. Hundreds of them floating in the air are quite a sight! Claire and Jon launched one of their own. By midnight, Jules and I were back home and watched several fireworks displays from our balcony—one of which was launched from the parking lot two streets away from our building. We had a front row seat.

The next day Jules, Claire and Jon took an all day, hands-on cooking class to learn how to make Thai curries and popular Thai dishes like panaeng curry with pork. They were able to eat their creations. An all day excursion to the Royal Flower Show the following day capped the Chiang Mai portion of their trip. This show began a few months ago and will end on January 31. It is a special event in commemoration of the King’s 60th year anniversary of his ascension to the throne. People from all over Thailand have crowded into Chiang Mai for this event, filling up every available hotel room. Many countries had pavilions at the flower show but the US was not one of them. In the evening we had dinner with Peggy Lombardo and her friend, who were passing through Thailand on their way to Myanmar (Burma). It is great to have visitors who bring a little bit of home with them.

Jules had planned all along to accompany Claire and Jon the next day to Bangkok to get them acclimated to the very big city. We were especially glad that he was with them in light of the New Year’s Eve bombings in Bangkok. There are two theories floating around. One is that it was done by Thaksin’s people (he was overthrown in the popular coup several months ago); another theory is that the southern Muslim insurgents, who have been fighting in the very far south, had expanded their fight to the capitol city. Rumors abound. The only good thing to say is that the bombs were confined to New Year’s Eve and security has been tight since then.

The deluxe Minsky tour of Chiang Mai has been beta-tested and is online ready to go. Will there be a trip to Chiang Mai in your future? Why not? Check out EVA air, the national airline of Taiwan, for cheap fares. Claire and Jon took China Air and were satisfied with its service. Yeh, it’s 17-22 hours away and that’s a lot of flying at one time; but it’s worth it! Once you get here, you can eat a good meal at a restaurant in Chiang Mai for 60 to 100 baht ($1.66 to $2.78) and stay at a very nice motel, including breakfast for 1150 to 1500 baht ($32 to $42), a night. You’re a little late for the best weather in Thailand—November to mid-February—but there’s always next year.