A Quick Stopover in Taipei

A few weeks ago I made a short stopover in Taipei, Taiwan on my way back to Thailand for a quick visit and to say hi to a couple I know who work on the island.

Besides a few of the temples, public spaces and parks, the aesthetic of the city - crowded, with functional architecture and drab, if any, decor - is not too exciting. So on a Sunday when most people take a day off their hectic and packed East Asian schedules, the spaces around museums and parks make for some absorbing people-watching. It seems that everyone who can be out, is out. Around several of the places we visited, packs of teenagers practiced their dance moves and competed for space with the yellow shirt Falun Gong (or Dafa) followers meditating. The photo above shows teenage girls staking out there spot next to Falun Gong followers, who were making their cause known especially to Chinese mainlanders visiting tourist hotpots. Today, May 13, is the "World Falun Dafa Day" set aside for the religious movement to commemorate the spreading of the message to the public. Below are a few more photos from the trip.

Wedding in Danang, Vietnam

A wedding was the occasion of my third trip to Vietnam. My first trip was to Hanoi and the north, and second was to Saigon. Both times I met with some unpleasant encounters. But time, distance, and reassurance from friends who said they would watch out for me prepared me to go back again. This time was to the city of Danang in the central region.

October is rainy season, so it poured torrential rains to the point of major flooding. Our outings were somewhat limited, and two days of running around in half a foot of water gave me a nasty cold - which I passed on to my travel buddy, JLoh. We did get to visit the beach (above), with a white Quan Yin statue on the mountain. Mostly we hung out at coffee shops and ate scrumptious local dishes at fun restaurants. One place we got to enjoy great food was in the quaint town of Hoi Anh, where we ate at one of the oldest establishments in town. The cao lau noodles are particular to this area and the water has to be drawn from a special blessed well. Parts of Hoi Anh still maintains narrow, cobble stone streets where cars cannot threat, so as you can see in this picture, it was quite an adventure to get around in the rain!

As for the wedding....
Let me say that my observations are colored not only from me being an outsider, but as someone more than a little suspicious of the capitalist love story that is the wedding industry and the kind of gender cliches much of it plays into. But you can take what I say in a light, fun-loving manner, and in all honesty, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and am very happy to have joined and contributed to this celebration. But enough by way of prologue.

The wedding unfolded in three main events: an intimate morning blessing with breakfast and coffee, a larger church service mid-morning, and finally a huge reception over lunch. The groom is from a big Christian family, and the first part of the celebration was held at the girls orphanage his family runs.

About the reception - wow. The reception was held in one of the many huge event halls that line the riverfront. We were in a place called "Golden Palace," but I secretly hoped it would be at the "4U Palace" next door, just to say I went to a place with that name. There were at least three other wedding receptions occurring in the other halls, and several more evening weddings the same day. I'm still trying to figure out how so many people in Vietnam are getting married; if tying the knot is in decline in Europe and North America, it is as robust as ever in Vietnam! With all the weddings going on at the same time, it's easy to imagine that people might sometimes walk into the wrong hall, and worse, put their monetary gifts in the wrong basket. A misfortune, I'm told, is not uncommon! We knew it was our friends' wedding because there were huge photos of the couple at the entrance. JLoh and I got a kick out of these because some were the most hilariously contrived poses we'd ever seen. I'm not talking about the typical western white wedding dress-tux photo, or the Thai bride in Vietnamese garb. I'm talking about the bride serenading her man with a violin (knowing, for certain, it was the first time she'd ever touched that instrument!), or the groom riding a bicycle on the beach while the passenger bride held a bouquet to the sky as the flowers flowed in the wind. After perusing the photos, we made our way to the huge and nicely decorated hall for the 650 attendees.

To give a better feel for the events at this colorful reception, I will retell things as they happened. We immediately sit down to start our seven course lunch. Everything is absolutely delicious, and I tried everything, everything! Except for the cow-tongue. People are eating and talking when the MC comes up and begins announcing something in a very official, excited tone - of course I have no idea what he was saying, everything is in Vietnamese, and I'm one of exactly two non-Asians there.

Suddenly, a thunderous blast comes out from the speaker, there is smoke everywhere with flashing red lights, they play the opening music of Carmina Burana, and a mechanical catwalk comes out of the stage. Oh, the anticipation! Is this the bride and groom coming?! Not yet ... A young man and women make their way up the steps singing a love song. On the stage, three women and a man ballet-dance to the duet (below).

A little while later, after pyrotechnic and confetti explosions fly all over the stage, the bride and groom enter the hall. Their parents join on stage as well for greetings and thank you's. I shouldn't forget to mention the cake boys who usher in the five pieces of wedding cake, and stand guard as the newlyweds light candles and make the first cut. After the party leave the stage there are some minutes of eating and talking as the newlywed go around from one table to the next greetings guests. Then, in unison, people suddenly stand up to leave, and the father of the groom quickly takes the microphone to say a short goodbye, as people file out. The place was near empty in five minutes, except for our table, with JLoh and I still holding our chop sticks, confused about what to do next, and really, waiting for a piece of wedding cake. We came to discover that the cakes were fake. Disappointment! After a mini photo-shoot on the stage, we get ready to head back to our hotel and are quite surprised to hear the newlyweds announce: "be ready, we're coming to pick you up in about 2 hours, we're all going out." Their priority was taking care of their families and friends that came to the wedding, and they didn't even sleep in the same house until they left Danang three days after their wedding.

On our way back to Thailand we stopped in Ho Chi Minh City. It was a pleasant visit, and I owe that entirely to friends and former students, who accommodated us in the most hospitable and gracious way possible. It was so good to see many of them. Some are involved in all kinds of exciting projects and ministries like media, theological training schools, and working with Vietnamese migrant workers newly returned from labor exploitation in Malaysia. Outside of the safety of the city, some Christian groups struggle much more to launch ministries. In the central region of Vietnam, where "house churches" are not officially recognized by the government, Christians are periodically persecuted and oppressed. One of the bridesmaids had to leave right after the wedding to deal with the recent wave of harassment of Christian teenagers from her church. While we were discussing this, I was so touched by her perseverance, optimism, and faith that God would open the way. "Despite all of this, I feel so much joy." How remarkably inspiring! Many thanks to all the Vietnamese who made the trip for us.

A Long Weekend at Ayuthaya Ruins

Ayuthaya Historical Park was a recent long weekend trip. We decided to hop on the night train, and after four lovely hours as the center of entertainment for the workers in the food cart, we were off to our bunks and woke up in the morning at our destination. The old city is actually a natural island formed by the convergence of two rivers, so a short short tuk tuk ride over the main bridge and we were at our hotel, and in no time off to explore ruins. Ayuthaya was the capital of the largest and strongest kingdoms prior to modern day Thailand, from 1350 to 1767 before being taken over by the Burmese. It is not as manicured nor as aesthetically pleasing as Sukhothai (way to much garbage, way too many mangy dogs, and more crowded as the city spills into the ruins), but it is still quite impressive, and is more important in terms of Thai royal history. An interesting anecdote from the locals is that the the current Queen Sirikit had a vision that she was the incarnation of queen Suriyothai of Ayuthaya, and what emerged from her initial vision is a well-produced movie trilogy which includes The Legend of Suriyothai (Francis Ford Coppola), King Naresuan, and a third movie now in production. But we didn't spend too much time with the royal history, preferring instead to explore the ruins, temples, and Buddha images. The picture above is from a Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the most distinctive Ayuthaya style architecture, since most other structures borrow heavily from others in the region, especially Sukhothai and the Khmer. The reclined Buddha is one of the most visited of the old city.

We went during the most important two days for Buddhists to visit temples: the end of the Rain Retreat, or Buddhist Lent as it is commonly known to foreigners. Thais come from all over to visit some of the more important temples and monasteries, like the one here, Wat Mongkhon Bophit. This houses one of the largest bronze cast Buddha images in Thailand. Since this is the most auspicious two days to visit temple, in Buddhist terms, we made a ton of merit. There was no organized service, so everyone going to the temple were doing his or her own thing. It was interesting to try to get my head around how many things were going on at once. First, a whole service sector of food and refreshments cropped up, and well as an entire market selling all kinds of items and products, some religious - like candles, incense and Buddha amulets - some not. Then there were people praying, lighting incense, getting blessings from monks, and some buying and selling of lottery tickets (!?).

Like many other major city states, Ayuthaya prides itself in acquiring important Buddha images from around the region as a testament to fortune, power, and prestige. Wat Phra Mehn (Meru) is home to one of the most beautiful images I've seen in Thailand (apart from my all-time favorites of the Sukhothai period, which I hope to write about next month). Below is thought to be a 1300 year old sitting image in Dvaravati style originating in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
Two distinct aspects are the facial features, particularly the nose and lips, and the sitting posture, very rare among Siamese Buddha images.

I don't include very much of Ayuthaya Buddha images because many of them were destroyed. When the Burmese took over, they sometimes cut off the heads of Buddhas or melt them down for the gold. Others just deteriorated with time. Left is what remains of a Buddha image after the tree roots get the best of it at Wat Phra Mahathat (this temple built by King Naresuan 14th Century).

We had a pleasant time riding around parts of the old city on bicycles, until we had to cave in to the heat, at which point we took respite in the lovely coffee shop and pool of one of the nicest little boutique hotels I've ever stayed in, The Iudia. Yes, feast your eyes below on our wonderful view, right on the river and facing the ruins!

Hua Hin Beach: Noon, Dawn and Dusk

Noon, dawn, and dusk photos from a recent weekend in Hua Hin, favorite getaway of the King and Queen of Thailand. Hua Hin is popular with the Bangkok crowd, as it's only a few hours drive away. At Dawn: Monks back from the alms walk toward the Buddha Image (above).

At Noon: We stayed away from Hua Hin in Takiap, 5 kilometers south. Within walking distance is the little hill with the standing Buddha, and nearby is the fishing center, fresh fish markets, and net weavers. In the midday hours the tide was low enough and the sand solid enough for us to bike the entire length of the beach up to Hua Hin, refreshing ourselves with food and drink along the way. Of course the fresh seafood is amazing, better than any I've had in Thailand so far.
At Dusk: The rising tide prepares the fishing and squid boats for a night outing, while boys play football.

Alba, Wine Country

Alba, in Northwestern Italy, was a nice place to unwind and uncork from the intensity of my few days in Rome. And what an uncorking it was, literally! The area around Alba is known for wine and its gorgeous countryside that still maintains the feel of the small city-states of old: each hill having a town, topped with a castle, with a sea of vineyard fields flowing out to the foot of the next hill town. Some of the wines we tried in the area included dolcetto, barbera, barberesco, nebiolo and barolo.The Corkscrew Museum with the Barolo castle shown in the reflection.

I can't talk about Italy without mentioning food. Italians have one way and one way only to eat: their way. One evening when I asked for coffee along with dessert I was curtly informed of the Italian eating sequence by the waiter: "Absolutely NOT. No drinking espresso with gelato! I will bring it after you finish ..." But I am happy to eat and drink by the rules: dress up when you go out, order vino spumante first, then several courses, dessert, have coffee (after!), and take a really long time dining. All fine by me! I'm happy to abide by any rules that involve more food, drink, lounging and looking good!









The little dog above is excited about the cheeses and ice cream. That's pretty much how I felt! except I was a little better, I hope, at not showing it quite so much.

Total weight gained on the trip from the Islands to Italy: 4 pounds. It was worth every single bitty ounce of goodness! I even as much as ventured to try carne cruda (and that was my first and will be my only time).

Thanks to DrH and many others again for making the trip possible.

At Last Italy, We Meet in Rome

Rome: amazing food, drink, art, churches, ruins. What could be better? My friends and I have known for a long time that Italy and I are soulmates of sorts who'd never met. We've finally gotten a chance to meet for the first time, starting in Rome. Starting in Rome is a myriad of wonders. Rome is at once romantic - at every corner, history; behind every nook, beauty - and, like the old days, a circus spectacle, a clash of tourists and charged locals that is inevitable once a city has become the numero uno most visited place on earth. And who wouldn't want stare in awe at the Colosseum? And stand inside the sheer enormity of it, imagining when almost two thousand years ago, people inside cheered on gladiators or the latest Christian being torn apart by a lion?

There's no way to describe Rome, I can but give a taste with my impression, and hope people aren't sick of hearing about the plazas and the Caravaggios and Da Vincis and the crypts. Here are a few favorites.

The Pantheon (above). I was impressed by this great concrete dome that stood alone for so long, and how they pulled off such a huge and ambitious architectural project. It was later taken over by Christians of course, and is used to house tombs - like Raphael's.

Some things in the Vatican Museum worth mentioning. In terms of classical sculpture, The Laocoon and his Sons, and Apollo in the Belvedere garden of the Vatican Museum (above). All photographs posted are taken by me or DrH, so this shot doesn't capture the full frontal complexity of the Laocoon, but you can see how amazing it is. You can also understand from the sensitive facial expressions why there is controversy about whether it is in fact classical or whether Michelangelo is the real secret sculptor after all.
There are two Raphael paintings I want to share. The first is Raphael's The School of Athens. I've been waiting to see this painting for a long time now. I preached one of my first sermons at the Boston Temple using it as an illustration, with Plato and Aristotle's argument about where to find truth. I changed that be where to look for God: Plato pointing up to the forms, and Aristotle pointing to down around us.
The other is Raphael's painting of The Ascension which I couldn't stop looking at. With two centers, what is most moving to me is the woman. my eyes go right to her pose and her blue robe, blue being the most expensive paint, a sign of importance. She exemplifies faith by being calm, bold and courageous through the confusion of doubt and fear.

Then there is the Sistine Chapel, which needless to say, is amazing. I know because if it weren't so, the crowd of people would have driven me insane (so many people! so loud!). Below is the most famous anthropomorphic creation story, The Creation of Adam, God touching fingers with Adam to bring him to life. (My favorite character representation is the oracle of Delphic Sibyl.)

On to St. Peter's Basilica. St. Peter's is so loaded with art of all kinds, relics, and tombs of great leaders at every corner wing and on every wall as far as your neck allows you to look up, you hardly even notice its interior magnitude. It's hard to imagine worshiping inside a church with 60,000 other believers (its capacity!).

Two more sculptures that I'm still thinking about: one is in the Basilica, Michelangelo's La Pietà. The Virgin looks so young and natural, yet powerful holding her son's body (below, left).

The other is Bernini's The Ecstasy of St. Theresa in the little church of Santa Maria della Vittoria (above, right). Those facial expressions, an almost mischievous angel, and well, the Ecstasy of Theresa! Need I say more? I'll go back in a second and just visit churches and ruins, and of course eat and drink. Soulmates!? A very special thanks to DrH for making it possible.

2009 New Year in Singapore

So I spent a few days in Singapore to pass the new year. This was my first time, and I'm glad to have also met up with friends of friends and my housemate Jloh and her family. This picture is with the "durian dome." Doesn't it look like a huge durian?
The diverse cultures that makes Singapore special was really something for such a small place. Although the majority of people are from Chinese backgrounds, they really try not to give preference to one ethnic group or language. I like to navigate the diversity through sacred spaces and, of course, food!
Here is a Chinese temple, and the rubbing of the belly of a Bodhisattva for good luck. Naturally, with the coming new year, the temples were crazy full of people praying, giving offerings, and burning incense.

This is a statue of the Hindu God/dess Kali in little India doing her destroyer thing.
The little place I stayed in was a family owned spot (they were so warm!) near Bugis station in the Malay-Muslim side of town. Right down the street was this beautiful mosque (below).

There seems to be two big things to do in Singapore: eat and shop. Now every big city has a variety of food choices. But compared to other cities in the region, Singapore excels and is unique for the restaurants and food joints that specialize in and master a specific dish. And locals go out to the many restaurants and eateries to eat a particular dish or two. It goes something like: "We'll go to this place in Chinatown for the best chicken rice," and "To this noodle stand for the best seafood soup," "let's go to Zam Zam's for the best moktabar and biryani." (Which was fortunately right in my neighborhood so I went twice. As for the chicken rice, I tried a few pieces, the best I could do, and yes, it was amazing! I decided to emphasize the 'flexible' in my flexitarianism and be let by locals for this trip. Below are JLoh's pics of Zam Zam's biryani, and Chinese rice chicken, veggies and sauces.)

As for the second big pastime, shopping, well, I'm not a big fan! That IS a problem, since there are more malls and shopping centers crammed into the city than you can imagine. Really. Malls in the lobbies of hotels, malls in the subway, malls every other building! And all as air-conditioned and as interconnected as possible, which after three days made things feel artificial.

I should mention that I was starved for art so Jloh and I went to some decent museums. Notable was a powerful and sober photo commentary by Chien-Chi Chang. One part documented the explosion of 'buying' brides through marriages of Taiwanese men and Vietnamese women. Others included looking at migrant workers in Chinatown New York.

Luckily, the crowds and shopping centered-ness didn't burned me out until just before I left for the airport, so the trip was really fun, and its always nice to meet new people.
Happy New Year to all. Bring in the Year of the Ox!

Christmas in Phang Nga

My mom, step-dad and I spend the Christmas holidays in Phang Nga bay area and Phuket on the Andaman Sea of Thailand. Phuket was ok, a few nice beaches, very developed and all that; but it was mostly a way for me to get to Phang Nga province and visit some of the gorgeous national parks and hang out in the many mostly Muslim fishing villages and islands.
And to kayak! through the many beautiful collapsed limestone caves. You have to basically lay down to get under some of the small entrances, and you can only do it at the low tide point of the day, but its really a great experience. Above we explore one of the caves. From pictures I've seem of Halong Bay in Vietnam, Ao Phang Nga is Thailand's equivalent with hundreds of limestone islands and formations jutting out of the emerald colored sea. It also has many species of birds, plants, mangroves, and coral formations.
I would definitely recommend a few days, a few weeks if possible, in Phang Nga province. I noticed that there was some boats that take people on day trips from Phuket going just to the Phang Nga park, but it is not worth it; plus the bay is too shallow for them to get into the more interesting parts of the park like the mangrove canals and to get good kayaking in. These two pics are the views from our balcony. Needless to say, I keep the curtains open to watch the sun set and rise.

These are some views from the bay of islands and caves - some of the caves contained ancient paintings.

The people that live in and around the national park are ethnically Javanese or Malay of Islamic faith that migrated to the area as much as two centuries ago. As was the case on the island of Panyi where we stayed for a night (below).

The first thing my mother when we arrived at Ko Phanyi was that it was reminiscent of where we're from, Bonnaca Cay on the Bay Islands of Honduras ... a small Cay with many of the houses on stilts and connected by bridges. Yes, mom! I was a bit homesick and that was part of the point :)

The mosque in the center of Panyi above is one among the many cute and brightly painted ones around Phuket and Phang Nga provinces, familiar sights in the south of Thailand where Islam has a strong presence. Everywhere we stayed on this trip (even when in Singapore for the new year) was within a block of a local mosque. So we could enjoy the solemn yet beautiful Call to Prayer alerting us to new morning, greeting us throughout the day, and welcoming the evenings. Listen to one call to prayer here:

[Listening may require Quicktime plug-in and settings]