by Loti | Mar 11, 2013 | Animals, Art, Thailand
Thailand. What are all these intricate patterns on the beach, I wonder? Where did they come from. Aliens? Reminds me of the mysterious corn maze circles. But on closer observation, there are tiny little sand colored crabs scurrying around. Every time I get near they descend into their burrows. It turns out, the sand balls shown in the photo, are made by sand bubbler crabs native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The crabs take sand into their mouths, sift thru it looking for organic materials washed in by the tide, and then spit the sand out into a ball. They can make 360 balls an hour (I am not sure who sat and counted) forming the most amazing patterns radiating from their burrow holes. At high tide, the balls are washed away and the crab starts all over at low tide. The longer the tide is out, the more detailed the pattern. Quite the little artists in nature....
by Loti | Mar 11, 2013 | Uncategorized
Thailand. Traveling to the southwest corner of Thailand, we flew into Krabi. The waters around Krabi and Phuket, about a 2 hour drive between the 2 cities, is known as the best all season sailing waters in the world. On a private longboat ride we were able to visit some of the numerous limestone karsts (a great scrabble word) in the Andaman Sea, located off the southwest coast of Thailand. A karst is a unique landscape found all over the world, including in Indiana (go figure), formed by the underground erosion of rocks such as limestone. And these are indeed limestone karsts. This area of the world has no winter and an average temperature of 82 degrees for both the water and air temperature. There are no hurricanes or typhoons (this place is looking better and better), however….. Isn’t there always a but? The 2004 tsunami devastated the entire region which lies on the ring of fire where 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur. Oh my. We didn’t see signs of the devastation and I am very glad I didn’t read about it in detail until we got home, but it is a real threat. Funny, no one mentioned it at the resort we stayed....
by Loti | Mar 5, 2013 | Food, Thailand
Thailand. I always heard Pad Thai had too many calories, too much salt but I never really investigated it until arriving in Bangkok. This is the way Pad Thai is served at The Oriental Hotel where we stayed. Really delicious. So what is in it? Well fish sauce, tamarind paste, red chilies and rice noodles, with cilantro, lime juice, chopped peanuts, bean sprouts and maybe some protein and dried shrimp thrown in. All things I regularly have in my house. Not! And Pad Thai was voted the #5 food in the world by 35,000 people in a CNN poll in 2011. Interestingly, Rendang was voted #1 and cheeseburgers were way down the list at #30. Rendang??? I have so much to learn as I have never even heard of this exotic food from Indonesia and I consider myself to be fairly well travelled. So I tried making Pad Thai at home, finally locating the tamarind paste at Whole Foods, and it was really good. A restaurant portion of Pad Thai comes in at a whopping 900 calories, but my at home version was about 350 calories. The American Heart Association even recommends Pad Thai as a healthy option when eating Thai food. So just watch the portions and enjoy....
by Loti | Mar 4, 2013 | Animals, Thailand
Thailand. With the opening of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) yesterday in Bangkok, Thailand has announced they will move to ban all ivory trade including domestic trade. (I like to think my signature on the petition last week really moved this along). This is potentially good news for the elephants depending on when and how it is enacted. So what is CITES? Having never heard of it until last week, it certainly has been in the news recently. Well it is a treaty signed by 197 countries (called parties) with a goal to ensure the international trade of plants and animals doesn’t threaten survival of the species in the wild. Over 34,000 species are covered. Wow. Plants and animals are categorized into 3 categories with Level I addressing plants and animals faced with the threat of extinction. Included in this list are Asian elephants, some populations of African elephants, jaguars, gorillas, red pandas, tigers and manatees. Woah. Manatees? Yep. Manatees are an endangered species. And even more interesting (to me) is DNA evidence suggests manatees are related to elephants. So that sweet manatee you see in the coastal waters of Florida may be related to the baby elephant I am feeding in Northern Thailand. Once again, the world comes around in a full circle. Absolutely amazing! ...
by Loti | Mar 2, 2013 | Religions, Thailand
Thailand. I admit I don’t know much about Buddhism, but I am learning, a lot. And there is so much to learn. With over 350 million Buddhists worldwide, there is great debate – religion or philosophy? Well, it depends on who you ask. The Dalai Lama says “From one viewpoint Buddhism is a religion, from another viewpoint Buddhism is a science of mind and not a religion. Buddhism can be a bridge between these 2 sides.” OK, so it is neither or both? Not really sure. Some of the tenants of Buddhism are: Lead a moral life Be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions Develop wisdom and understanding Sounds pretty peaceful. In fact, while Buddhists have fought in wars, there has never been a war in the name of Buddhism. Hmmmm. So, while I have no idea whether it is a religion or a philosophy, nor am I sure it really matters, I do know it is a fascinating way of life. One I sure want to know more about! ...
