by Loti | Feb 15, 2013 | Religions, Thailand
Bangkok. Next to the Grand Palace, where the murder of the king took place, is Wat Po, a Buddhist temple which is home to the reclining Buddha. In addition to the 160 foot long reclining Buddha, the outer cloister of the temple houses over 400 sitting Buddha’s. What is fascinating to me, each Buddha is slightly different. Notice the placement of the hands and the width of the heads. Different. Each posture has a particular significance in the life of Buddha, many of which resemble yoga poses. Coincidence? And in Thailand, there is a unique pose for each day of the week. Some Buddha poses are standing, some sitting and even one is reclining. And Wednesday has 2, one before noon and one after noon. With only 3 seasons and yet 8 poses for a week, it seems Thailand beats to a completely different time clock. So, depending on the day of the week you were born, you have your own pose. Mine (I was born on a Friday) is a standing Buddha with arms crossed in contemplation. Hmmm. Not sure what that says about me. What is yours? ...
by Loti | Feb 14, 2013 | Food, Thailand
A typical fruit plate at The Four Seasons Elephant Camp in Thailand has papaya, watermelon, pineapple, grapefruit, rose apple and dragon fruit (the one with the black specs). Wait rose apple and dragon fruit? Am I on a different planet? Rather unassuming in taste (meaning it had very little in my opinion), the dragon fruit is beautiful to look at with a bright red skin and white flesh with black seeds. And unlike the durian fruit it has no smell. So why don’t we have them in the US? In an interesting twist of nature, the large flowers of the plant, which resemble a vine like cactus, only bloom at night during a full moon. In their native habitat, bats and moths pollinate the flowers. The US apparently doesn’t have the right species of bats and moths needed. So farmers in Southern CA trying to grow them have to pollinate by hand under the full moon (which is expensive and can be dangerous since we all know werewolves hang around during full moons). But, while you are out pollinating, maybe you can quench your thirst with some of the new products being flavored with dragon fruit. Skyy has a vodka, Celestial Seasonings has a green tea and there is a cream liqueur called Dragon Kiss available. So here’s to dragon fruit....
by Loti | Feb 13, 2013 | Animals, Thailand
My elephant, Bounma, responded to my simple commands. The 2 most important being Pai, go forward, and the very most important (at least to me) How, meaning stop. The card around my neck has all the basic commands which I referred to often on our 2 hour jungle trek. But Bounma didn’t talk back. Other than to snort, trumpet and generally make elephant noises. Which made me even more nervous than I already was sitting on this huge, although, gentle animal. But Koshik, a 22 year old Asian elephant, has stunned researchers by imitating human words. And in Korean, no less, which is considered one of the hardest languages in the world to master. He can say hello, sit down, no, lie down and good. I wonder if he knows stop? He places his trunk in his mouth to make the words which has never been seen before as a method of vocal production by elephants or any other species. I am continually stunned by what I learn about these amazing creatures. Falling in love all over...
by Loti | Feb 12, 2013 | Food, Thailand
Bangkok. A fruit described as having a rich custard flavor with a hint of almonds. Sounds delicious yet the durian is banned from most hotels and all public transportation in Singapore including subways and airports. It is illegal to eat in public places in Malaysia. And if the fruit falls on you, it can kill you. Meet the world’s smelliest fruit. Descriptions range from raw sewage to smelly socks to rotten onions. No wonder it is banned from so many public places. But my beloved elephants love it and can smell it from a half mile away. So there must be something to it. Many in Southeast Asia regard the durian, which grows to be 2-7 pounds with sticky thorns all over it, to be the King of fruits. It is native to Malaysia and Indonesia and has quite a cult following. You either love it or hate it. Sadly we did not get (or take) an opportunity to taste or smell it. Used often in desserts, it was featured recently on one of my favorite TV shows, Chopped. Four chefs are given four ingredients from which to make a dish. The worst dish gets the chef eliminated (chopped). For dessert the chefs had durian, won ton wrappers, peanut brittle and Marsala wine. Wish I could have tasted that one!...
by Loti | Feb 9, 2013 | Food, Thailand
Also called the tree of life, the coconut, can be classified as a nut, a fruit and a seed. Here you see coconuts harvested by student monkeys enrolled in the First Monkey School in Surat Thani, Thailand. The tops were hacked off and then offered to us with a straw to sip the coconut water from within (I think the taste must be acquired as it was just weird). Every part of the coconut tree is used so there is no waste, hence the name tree of life. Over one third of the world’s population rely on coconuts for food, shelter, oil, palm sugar, and amazing health benefits (more on these in a later post). A coconut was even integral in the much told rescue of PT 109. In 1943, John F. Kennedy, a Navy Lieutenant, sent a message on a coconut shell to his base. 11 of his men were alive on a deserted island after being sunk by the Japanese. They were rescued the next day and the shell was used by JFK as a paperweight while he was in The Oval Office. Pretty cool. And in World War II and Vietnam, coconut water was used as a substitute for blood plasma and IV fluids on the battlefield. I always thought coconut products were bad for you. Turns out they are almost magical in their healing properties so I am going to have to figure out how to use the pound of coconut oil (in solid form) I bought this morning. Always a new adventure. ...
by Loti | Feb 8, 2013 | Thailand
Three seasons? Not Four? Thailand is unique with only 3 seasons, Summer, Rainy and Winter. The rainy season, when we hear about monsoons, runs from June until Nov, winter runs Nov until Feb and summer is from March thru May. But even the Winter is hot, with a record low recorded in 1951 of only 50 degrees in Bangkok. We were there in Jan and it was 80. The Emerald Buddha shown in the photo resides at The Grand Palace in Bangkok, where the murder of the King occurred back in the 40’s. The Buddha has 3 different outfits which are changed according to the season. Kind of sounds like playing with dolls, although the Emerald Buddha is one of the most revered Buddha’s in Thailand and the world. A ceremony is held each season where only the King of Thailand changes the costume or if the King is not available, his liaison. Note the 3 entirely different seasonal ensembles. All are made of gold as only befitting a Buddha in the royal palace. A very strange custom,...
