Lumpini Park

We hadn't planned on being back in Bangkok for our last Sunday, but decided that today was the perfect time to visit Lumpini Park, often referred to as Bangkok's "green lung" in the heart of the city. There were some run down areas but the green spaces and the shade was an oasis from the hot and smelly streets outside. The park was full of joggers and cyclists taking advantage of the paved roads and trails.

One of the children's parks we came across in our wanderings. I only included this photo so I could show the next one.

A park sponsored by Michelin - who knew tires could be so much fun!

Are you seeing this Sam? That's a water monitor, they grow to be the size of a young crocodile and the park is home to hundreds of them. I knew they were here but didn't say anything to the kids. Accordingly, they were pretty surprised when we were entering the park and one of these guys appeared from under the bridge we were on, swimming lazily through the water.

After that, we stayed near the edges of the ponds, counting how many monitors we could see and trying to find the biggest one. There were a couple times that we almost stepped on one before noticing it. The presence of these lizards made something as simple as a park feel exotic and exciting, and is exactly what I would expect from this amazing city.

Another distinctly Thai experience is drinking pop out of a plastic bag. During my mission, this was the most common way for a street vender to serve a soda or a shake, but for some reason, we hadn't seen it yet this trip. Fortunately, we found this lady at one of the entrances to the park, and the cold drink with ice cubes was a perfect remedy to the afternoon heat. The green Fanta is supposed to be pineapple, orange, and banana flavour but the only flavour in the world it resembles is... green Fanta.

I had a surprise planned before we left. After finding a quiet place to sit near the clock tower, I explained that usually a country is dedicated by Priesthood authority when it is first opened for missionary work. I then took out a copy of the dedicatory prayer that was pronounced on Thailand, something that I read once a week during the course of my mission. I shared the introduction which explained that the dedicatory prayer was offered by Elder Gordon B. Hinkley at 6:30 in the morning on November 2, 1966 with a small group of people who "met in a quiet area of Lumpini Park in the heart of Bangkok".

After that, I had to ask Heather to read the prayer. I have always loved it and have always felt the spirit of it, but today was a special experience to visit the actual site where then, Elder Hinkley said, "And now, Father, in the authority of the Holy Priesthood, even the authority of the Apostleship in us vested, we dedicate and consecrate this land of Thailand, this ancient Kingdom of Siam, to the preaching of the everlasting gospel, even the Restored Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Through the benefit of years we were able to look back and see how those blessings that were asked for, have been fulfilled. And I am forever grateful for how the work started that morning in 1962 came to bless my life as well.

- C

My Magic Umbrella

Only yesterday we were in Krabi, so it seems reasonable that I can still do a post about my magic umbrella. It had "Railay Beach Club" printed on it and the number 28 on the handle (our house number).

Cool story El, but it sounds like any normal umbrella. But the thing is, it wasn't just any umbrella, it was magic! I know it was! The way to use the magic umbrella was easy: when it looked like it was going to rain you just had to bring it and then, it wouldn't rain! Then, the times that you had a lovley day, no sign of rain, you wouldn't bring the umbrella and it would rain... :| So I just brought the umbrella, no need to risk the bad weather.

I became very good friends with my magic umbrella. It became a law (sort of) that I was the only one to have an umbrella, and no one else could touch it. It was sad when we learned that we would be leaving, but now my umbrella will have a spot on this blog!

P.S. I made sure to give my umbrella a hug before we left ;)

- E

Our Retreat from Railay

Where do I start - a lot has happened in the last 12 hours. We are currently in an area of Bankgok, three days sooner than we had planned on returning to the capital. So what happened?

Last night before going to bed, I started thinking about dangue fever, something that hadn't crossed my mind since we got here. Before turning out the lights I did some reading and learned that there have been some health advisories for Railay Beach and other areas of Krabi province due to increasing cases of dangue fever. The infected mosquito is the smaller, white and black striped variety, precisely what had been stinging us. I was especially concerned about what would happen if one of us developed symptoms in the evening after the long tailed boats returned to the mainland. In that case it would be very difficult to get to a hospital within the 12 hour window necessary for a positive prognosis.

When we got up this morning, Heather and I discussed it and decided that we would try to leave Railay today and either travel to Krabi town where we would be closer to a hospital, or if possible, travel all the way to Bangkok and out of the high risk area. We woke the kids and told them we were leaving right away (they were bleary eyed and wondering why we were going, so I initially told them it was because "I just killed someone by accident and we need to get out of here". They didnt think it was that funny). Heather and the kids packed while I went to the office and explained our situation. The staff at the Railay Beach Club were amazing and let us check out without having to pay for the next three days, whew.

We carried our backpacks to the restaurant to say goodbye to the friends we have made. It was difficult to leave sooner than expected but they understood our concern. They shared that they had a healthy 12 year old nephew who had passed away suddenly from dangue when it had caused internal bleeding. We are going to miss these people and their relatives at the restaurant. They were so kind and generous to our family. We exchanged information to stay in touch via facebook and left our Dutch Blitz with Baang so he can keep playing. I really hope we will be able to see them again.

As it was our last opportunity, we also ordered two things that Deacon has been requesting, a carrot smoothie and a fresh coconut. To no one's surprise but his own, he did not care for either item.

We had really gone rogue now. We decided to go to Ao Na Mao and found a long tail boat to take us there. Next, we got a minibus taxi to take us to the airport, even though I didn't know yet if the airline would let us fly out today.

It turns out that all we needed was more money. We had to pay a penalty for changing our tickets, and the difference in cost between today's more expensive flight and the "promotional price" of our tickets for the 31st. It felt like I was handing over a lot of money, but it really only came to an extra $230 and three hours of waiting, and we were flying to Bangkok and our final hurdle, ie not having any arrangements for Bangkok.

Thanks to a couple minutes of free wifi for Internet searches, and an understanding taxi driver, we were (amazingly) able to find an affordable hotel, that had room for us, that met my requirements for location. Our hotel, "Lovely House", is a converted home with six rooms and a shared bathroom that appears to be run by a girl named Noon and her older sister. Despite our after-dark, near-emergency booking, we were given their regular rate which is much less than the surrounding hotels. When we insisted that we stay together, they let all six of us stay in one room and gave us the mattress from a neighboring room for only $8 more a night, even though doing so would make the other room unrentable. After dropping our things off, we went out and had an awesome meal at a restaurant Noon recommended after furnishing us with umbrellas for the light rain.

Heather and I felt a strong impression that we should leave Railay today. I don't know if that means that someone may have been infected if we had stayed, or that someone is already infected and needed to be closer to a hospital, or for some other reason altogether. We will miss Railay, it really was a paradise. But if our journey today, which turned out so well despite deviating so far from the playbook, is any indication... we made the right choice.

- C

 

An Illegal Card Game & an Alien

Tonight was the second time that we played cards with Baang at our favorite restaurant. He loves the game even though the kids showed no mercy tonight and Ella won four or five hands in a row. We stopped at a conveniance store before going and got some pop and a couple handfuls of three-pack Oreos for the game. It wasn't much of a gesture, considering that our friends are always giving us fruit and other treats when we come by, but we wanted to contribute something.

During one of our games, Baang made a strange comment about playing cards. After I questioned him further he admitted that playing cards were illegal in Thailand. What?? He assured us that these cards were fine, but his reasons - it was a kids' game and from out of country - seemed vague to me. When we got back to our house I checked some forums on the Internet which agreed that while gambling was illegal here, games that don't involve gambling are permitted. That sounded reasonable and calmed my fears a little. And we saw a lot of blatent gambling at the muay thai match in Chiang Mai that no one seemed to care about.

But... I also came across a piece of legislation from 1943 called the Playing Cards Act which prohibits any form of playing card from being imported into the Kingdom. I imagine under that legislation we could possibly be fined, or deported, or even charged. I'm sure probably overreacting, but I don't want to take the slightest chance of doing something wrong. Plus, how embarrasing would it be if our family ended up being numbered among those foreigners who come here to get involved in illicit activities?!

As we were walking along a dark pathway from our house, Mason spotted a glowing green orb on the ground. It was a little smaller than a pea and I was excited that the kids were seeing their first firefly, something that we missed seeing in Chiang Mai, where our chances were probably best. I crouched down and was about to prod it with my finger but luckily asked Mason to first light it up with a flashlight he was carrying. When the light came on I saw that the bioluminescence wasn't coming from a firefly, but from a large segmented, armored... uh... thing.

It was approximately 8cm long and had two of the glowing orbs, one on either side of its tail. It still gives me the willies to think about touching it accidentally and I wonder if it would have bitten me. I guess it depends on whether it uses the light as a lure for hunting, or for identifying itself to other members of its species (assuming it's not the only one of its kind on this planet). When I tried to turn it over with a stick, it curled up into an armoured ball, like an armadillo. Seeing things like this makes me glad I was a scout in Canada where we have very little to worry about while sleeping outside on the ground. Incidentally, young scouts here are called "Tiger Cubs" instead of our "Wolf Cubs".

Setting the camera on the ground and using a timer to avoid blurring from hand shake, I was able to capture this low shutter speed image that accurately shows how this creature looked with the lights off. As Ella would say, "pleasant dreams".

- C

 

Red White and Blue

One of the many things I admire in the Thai people is their patriotism. Almost every home or shop you enter, displays a picture of the King and other members of the royal family. I remember from my mission that this picture was sometimes the only form of decoration that poorer families had. For me, coming from a place where a national leader can be chosen by a mandate of only 34% (of the 60% who actually vote), seeing and hearing how universally loved the King is, was just as new and unfamiliar as the food.

There is mandatory military service for 21 year old Thai men, and the National Anthem plays over all broadcast media and government public adress systems every morning at 8AM and again every night at 6PM. I have many memories of standing in train stations or public squares while the anthem played, wishing that we did the same thing back home. On one of our evenings in Chiang Mai, our family was fortunate to witness this phenomenon when the entire length of the Saturday Walking Street market, with its thousands of shoppers and stalls, came to a complete stand still and near silence (save for a few disrespectful tourists) as the Anthem played.

The Thai flag with its red representing the blood of the people, white for the purity of their religion, and blue signifying the royalty of their monarchy, can be seen everywhere. Flags fly from traffic lights at intersections, outside home and shops, and are even attached to taxis and other vehicles. Witnessing the Thais' pride and love for their country is every bit as unique and exciting an experience as seeing an elephant in the wild. I hope that as a family, we can take this example home with us and be better citizens where we live.

- C

 

The Dude and The Duke-gae

Finally the moment we've all been waiting for! Drumroll please, TADAA! I have a horrible phobia of duke-gae's! This fact doesn't mean anything till I explain that they are everywhere! In the bathroom, on the walls, once even there was one on the bar-stools outside. Duke-gae's are a nice, house lizard that comes out at night to eat bugs. But they have a powerful bite and to make it better (by which I mean worse) they seem to be able to just sneak up on you and when they scare you they slink away leaving you screaming with terror... Well it doesn't happen quite like that. They sit patiently, awaiting a moth to settle down by them, so they can have a meal. Then you walk by and they rush away to avoid the threat of humans. The problem with this, is that it always startles me.

Ok, this guy really doesn't have much to do with the post. He was rolling around on his skateboard/ripstick/heelies, they were practicaly boards of metal with rotating wheels on the bottom. I guess that the boards gripped his feet the same way it does on a skateboard. He was able to control where he was going suprisingly well. I can definitely see these things catching on back home. A compactable, controllable skateboard. I even think that we should get one and take it home, you know, "trend-starter". Except it won't be cool until someone else uses it! ;)

Tonight dad was able to catch one of these little guys. He growled at us and had his mouth open ready to bite anything he could. Dad put a towel by his mouth and SNAP, he bit the towel, and no matter how hard dad tried to pull the towel out of his mouth, the duke-gae held strong. It only helped us realize that if they bit us, they wouldn't let go (great...). Finally it was time to let him go so dad put the towel on a bench that's by a wall and carefully unwraped it, expecting him to turn and bite at any second, or to run up the wall and disappear. Moments passed and nothing happened. He still was biting the towel, unaware that he could leave any second. We all laughed at him. Dad had to push him off the towel, and as he did the duke-gae spun around and snapped at him. Dad pulled his hand back just in time, and the duke-gae made a quick get-away up the wall, still snarling at us all the way.

That evening right before bed I asked dad if he thought the duke-gae was still mad at us, he replied by saying that he probably was and that he wanted revenge, and during the night he would come in and bite our toes!

Pleasant Dreams!!

 

- E

 

 

Homesick?

Last night for Family Home Evening we talked about how blessed we are to live in Canada and some of the things we have, compared to our Thai brothers and sisters. The kids came up with a list of some advantages we have, such as: clean water right out of the tap, enough money to live comfortably, nice homes that keep out the elements, mosquitos that are only a nuisance rather than a health risk, the Church being so strong and established, being so close to Temples, everything at home smells nice, having lots of opportunity to get good jobs, no wild dogs, and how everything at home is clean.

This discussion also led to everyone volunteering what they missed most:

- our extended family

- Orco

- the weather (or at least being cool at night)

- a washing machine

- cheese, milk, rootbeer, cornbread muffins, and a McDonalds that is the cheapest form of eating out, instead of the most expensive.

- our ward family

- The Fury

- watching movies

Our plan is to have a FHE after we get home, and discuss all of the things we miss about Thailand and the many ways in which people here have been blessed. I already have a good idea of what I am going to add to that list, because I have loved Thailand and missed it ever since my mission ended. But we got raided again by monkeys yesterday and if they keep this up, they will be right off my list.

Bugs, won't be on my list either. This thing was on our ceiling two nights ago and you can't tell from the photo, but it is larger than some of the birds we have back home.

I won't miss the lack of toilet paper that plagues many bathrooms. I will miss the butt squirters which I have always thought are a much cleaner way of doing things than the North American way. In my opinion, the perfect bathroom solution is a butt squirter (sorry I don't have a different name for it), plus toilet paper to dry off with afterwards. Back home our plumbing is reliable enough to flush the toilet paper as well; whereas here the bathrooms that are stocked with paper usually have signs insisting that you deposit it in a basket next to the toilet.

I'm adding a photo of a cooler full of Koi so that the bathroom talk isn't the end of a post that started out a little more enlightened.

- C

Planet of the Apes

This morning we were awoken by another monsoon which kept us house-bound for a few hours. Later in the day we had a really nice Sabbath with a simple service and testimony meeting; but first we were in for a couple surprises.

On the way to breakfast Heather spotted this little lizard on the trunk of a tree. It didn't seem very frightened and I was able to get close enough to catch it. It gave me a little bite for the ignominy of it all, and in the photo is still trying to bite something, but he was actually a pleasant little fellow. In fact; we were able to catch him a second time after we'd walked away and found that Deacon was sad that he hadn't touched it the first time.

If rain and lizards weren't enough nature today, someone spotted monkeys overrunning the two vacant houses beside us. They were in the trees and on the ground and moved from one house to another, going up the steps and stealing whatever they could get their hands on. I was videotaping them and didn't really notice that the swarm was moving in our direction until one of them climbed up our front steps and tried to go into our kitchen while we were all right there. I chased it off but soon another one climbed the stairs and looked like he wasn't intimidated by us at all. By this time I had switched from a pillow to an umbrella and when I pushed the button and deployed the spring loaded umbrella, that awesome display of technology was enough to back him down the stairs.

While I was covering the stairs, three other monkeys climbed a tree next to the house and got onto our roof. Tyson opened the bathroom door and found a monkey stealing a bag of laundry detergent that Heather uses to wash our clothes. It was kind of a scary feeling watching different areas of the house while monkeys walked on the ground below and the roof above us. I have been bitten by a monkey before and wanted to scare them off without making them angry. Because there were so many of them, and because of 'animal strength' which makes them much stronger than their size suggests, our real plan was to lock ourselves in either the kitchen or the master bedroom if they decided they were coming in (those rooms aren't open to the elements like the rest of the upstairs living areas).

Fortunately, our small resistance was enough to convince the marauders to move on through the forest. After they'd left, I noticed Deacon gaurding the top of the stairs, armed with a padded mallet in one hand and a can of mosquito repellant in the other hand. Bless him.

- C

 

Pranang Beach

Today we went on a hike to a beach on the other side of the peninsula (I still think of it as an island). Getting there required going back to the pier we first landed at, and then skirting around the mountains to the side opposite our beach.

Along the way, we had to walk past a group of these guys, which were hanging around on the fence and the vines above our heads. A nearby sign identified them as "crab eating macaques" and a lady on the trail warned us to guard our sunglasses because the monkeys had just stolen a pair from someone. Monkeys are the worst.

There were some really cool rock formations and the waves were more violent on this side. There was a belt of what felt like sharp gravel just below the shore line, and when Ella scooped a handful she found that is was composed of fragments of coral skeletons.

This beach is also the location of "Princess Cave", an area attraction that is a shrine dedicated to a pretty weird subject. I can't even post a photo of the shrine because this is a family blog.

I took this photo because the sky was starting to look more interesting. In this case, interesting means monsoon rain storm and we ended up walking back in the rain while everyone we passed huddled under whatever shelter they could find. We were already wet from swimming and it was nice to get back to the house as quick as we could. We took turns having warm showers, then put on some bug spray and 'prickly heat' powder before laying down with a book for a while.

At supper time, our friends at Wan-A-Rouy restaurant recommended plates of seafood fried rice and chicken and beef fried rice (you can't even buy pork here due to the muslim influence), and a bowl of hot and sour soup. We got a mango lassi, strawberry lassi, and a nampaan made with both strawberry and lime. Because we were eating them in the restaurant, they were served in these fun glasses.

Tomorrow's Sunday so we are planning to take a break from our busy schedule and maybe just take it easy for one day.

- C