Spiral in Ulm, Freiburg Cathedral, Bebenhausen, Germany, Europe 2008, pt2

Here are three memorable sacred spaces and art from Germany. One of my favorite churches from the trip was the the minster at Ulm, Germany. The spiral makes it the tallest church in the world! and it's pretty amazing:
Inside is also very nice, and the 14th century stained glass above is notorious for being some of the first to be so colorful, with scenes from creation to crucifixion. This was my second favorite stained glass I saw on the trip.
The Cathedral in Freiburg, Germany, and a piece by Cranach.
Bebenhausen is a great little former monastery near Tubingen.
The halls of Bebenhausen ...

Welcome to Tübingen, Germany, Europe 2008, pt1

Prost! Enjoying a day with Silivren and Bjornstjerne inside the renaissance Collegium building.
Above is a view of the city from the castle below.

B and S live right in the center of town, it's great. The market in the old town sits right in front of the Rathaus (townhall).

More coming up from lovely western Germany soon ...

Phu Chi Fa and Siam Gate: One Foot in Thailand the Other in Laos

"Phu Chi Fa" is this dramatic cliff on the border with Thailand and Laos in the Chiang Rai area. As we saw when we went up, there is no clear border demarcation. The Lao and the Thai have been arguing about this area for some time. The Lao insist they should have some share of the revenue brought in by visitors. Clearly, Thais don't agree with this. But the border remains extremely porous; when you walk up there, one step down the ridge of the mountain or cliff and you're in Laos. So there's a good amount of movement into Thailand, particularly of the Hmong who are pretty much being hunted down by the Laos government while Thailand turns a blind eye and sends them back. With all the craziness in Burma this atrocity gets completely overshadowed. You can see various villages from the cliff--and a Laos army base too.

Below is a picture of "Siam Gate." Unlike Phu Chi Fa, this is not a known spot at all. It is an entry way the Lao used especially during the Vietnam war to get into Thailand. Nowadays, you can just walk right into Laos! Pornsak and J did it a few weeks before; when we went, some men from a nearby Lao military base (supposedly) hammered some rickety bamboo together and blocked the 'gate'; no more gallivanting in Laos without a visa! But, hey, anyone would be able to just jump over of crawl through it if they really wanted to.

Songkran Holiday in Pai, Thai New Year

The rolling mountains, chilled out huts, and lazy river of Pai, above. Wobbly bridges like the one below get you over the river. During Songkran holiday a car-full of us went up to the sleepy town of Pai for a few days. Songkran is the Thai new year that lasts for days, and is also a custom in other South East Asian countries. It has many religious roots, one being of cleansing and renewal, where people pour water over the hand, shoulder or head of someone respected; often people also oo to temples to make merit in various ways. Nowadays, polite water pouring has turned into water wars, where you douse anyone you see with water. I'm holding a water-gun below.
From the inside of our car we took this picture of poeple on side streets singing and dancing and throwing water. Last year and part of this year, I spend the big songkran in Chiang Mai, the center of Songkran festivities in Thailand, and everybody seemed to be out on the street 'playing water' as they call it (sorry no pictures, my camera would not have survived the soakings!). But as in much of northern Thailand, in all of the towns we went to in Pai and on the way there people were playing water like crazy as well.

There are many ethnic minority groups in and around Pai. The most prominent are the Shan (tai yai) and Chinese--both Muslim Chinese and nationalist who fled China during the communist takeover. The architecture that stands out most in the town are the Shan style buildings, with structures up on stilts, the first floor having a large open hall and getting smaller on top, with distinctive silver trimmings on the roof, like the Buddhist monastic residence below.

The place where we stayed was managed by a nice Shan family. The women who checked us in below sits next to Shan memorabilia, including pictures of her ancestors who have been in Pai for several generations.

In the temple below we also got the chance to speak to a monk about the Shan take on the tradition of bringing sand back into the temple grounds and forming a stupa. The monk told us this represents bringing back what one took from the temple.

The stupa is adorned by colorful paper flags having animals from the 12 year cycle Zodiac.
Below is one of the Chinese villages nearby. This picture is from the village-run guesthouse. I recommend it for those who would rather be outside of the town and prefer giving money back to the locals.

We made a day trip to one of the waterfalls, jam packed with villagers. English translations are a constant laugh in this part of the world: Caution, "Be Slip Down." There are many cute little places in Pai to eat, drink and just relax. The art above by children (including a portrait of the King), is from a great spot called 'All About Coffee.' The building is a 150 year old teak structure taken care of by a Thai family; they make great coffee, bake their own bread, and play funky jazz music. Above is one of many cozy little night spots you can go to listen to decent live music.

Not too far a drive from Pai is an old World War II Memorial Bridge built under the Japanese occupation. Apparently they used this windy route to get to Burma. After the bridge the homeward journey began on the curviest stretch of road I've ever been on. Two dramamines and a few hours later we made it back.

The AsiaNetwork Conference 2008

Last month I went to the AsiaNetwork conference in San Antonio, Tx. It's a small network of liberal arts colleges primarily in the US promoting Asian studies, and the university I work at is an affiliate member. Pornsak and I went as representatives to built ties with other schools and to present a paper we've been working on for the past year and a half. The title of our presentation captures the main point well: "Oblique Intervention: The Role of US Missionaries in Siam’s Incorporation of Lanna—1867-1878." In addition to looking at the missionaries part in the how Siam came to incorparate the Lanna Kingdom of which Chiang Mai was the capital, we also looked at the strong relationship the missionaries had with the Siamese monarchy and government. They came to be quite trusted and were heavily involved in projects to improve the country such as health care, education, urban planning, printing, advising the King, and so on. It was great to get some feedback, and meet people interested in this part of the world. We really appreciated having the opportunity to participate in the conference and share our work.

I've enjoyed all of my trips to San Antonio. The conference was right on the Riverwalk, which is a great place to be. You really feel like you're right in the heart of Mexico in San Antonio, and the Tex-Mex mix is still very much alive. Trinity University president hosted us one afternoon his house with Tex-Mex food, drinks, and a mariachi band. At one point I got a bit excited about the band and started requesting songs and singing along loudly--all the academics were loosened up enough by then to really appreciate that! Luckily for us the city was also having a cultural festival that same weekend, so we got to enjoy that as well. As conferences go, this one had minimal academic ego-tripping, and was very congenial. Couple that with a fun location, and family visits we got to do, made for a really nice trip. Plus, I think we must have gained at least three pounds from all the Mexican food we ate while we were there!

Easter Sunday Prayer for Burma

Happy Easter Sunday to all. March 9th was Global Day of Prayer for Burma. The Cross above, 'New Moses for New Israel in Myanmar' was presented by a student Tn in one of my classes, and captures the hope and struggle of many Christians in Burma. They have really been on my mind and in my prayers today.

I thought I'd also share about two Christian based organizations, The Free Burma Rangers and Farthest Corners, working for positive change within Burma for internally displaced people, particularly the Karen. The majority of NGO's based in Thailand focus on alleviating the refugee situation (this is absolutely necessary but fails to address the source of the problem). I have spoken extensively with the the leaders of FBR and FC who are brave enough to help people inside have the resources and training to continue the struggle against the military government, so they don't have to resort to leaving their country. On this resurrection day, they deserve our hope and prayers.

Boat Ride from Siem Reap to Battambang, Cambodia

Since I just posted on Cambodia, I can’t resist saying a little bit about our river boat trip from Siem Reap to Battambang. It remains one of the most incredible traveling I’ve done. Above is one of the two chug-a-lug boats going that way. We weren't exactly expecting to get on the 'speedboat,' but nothing could have prepared us for the 30 minute ride that led to the pier. The poverty I saw there with people living in open bamboo huts, their every move exposed, naked dirty children everywhere, rivals anything I've seen, even in Honduras. But evidently this was the worse of it, and things got better when we started our journey across the Tonle Sap lake toward the river.
Here's a map of the route.
There was a lot of natural beauty on the lake. First we passed through the lake, a protected bird sanctuary area with sunken forests (above). The lake also housed a number of floating fishing towns.
As always, I'm interested places of worship. I love the colorful blue of the small floating church above; below is what looks like the top of a Buddhist temple.
After the lake we steered into the narrow and windy slip of the river; throughout it we got a glimpse into the lives of some of the fishing families who live on small boats, were going about their daily chores.
These kids were quite friendly. I imagine that some of the children have yet to touch solid ground apart from the river banks. After 8 hours of maneuvering the narrow river, we arrived in Battambang. It was nice to visit Battambang, a small, quite little city on the economic rise with only a few foreign visitors, most en route between Bangkok and Phnom Penh. We enjoyed just walking around the city along the river banks and exploring the little shops before we headed off to Phnom Penh by bus. If you come this way and can stand the discomfort of a wooden boat, I highly recommend it!

The Angkor Wat Complex, Cambodia

A while ago my uncle Joe asked me to post pictures of my trip to the Angkor Wat complex outside of the town of Siem Reap, Cambodia. One of the restaurants near my hotel was called “Angkor What?” which was also my question before I came to South East Asia. Angkor was the ancient capital center of the Khmer Kingdom that lasted from the 9th to 15th century. The ruins of Angkor were abandoned for many years, being cared for at times by a few monks, and fortunately spared from the Khmer Rouge’s destruction. Being abandoned for so many years, nature entwined herself into many of the buildings. Nature spills into the city of Angkor Thom above, and below trees grow out of a building.
Angkor Wat is the name of the main temple. Like many others, Angkor Wat are dedicated to Khmer Kings, who are understood as ruler-gods, following the Hindu mythology that was the dominant religious tradition. There’s symbolism all over. Angkor Wat is designed to evoke the temple-mount Meru, home of the gods; there are also sculptures of god/desses and mythical animals; carvings linings the wall that tell sacred stories, like the Ramayana, and the Churning of the Sea; along with many other carvings that tell historical narratives of the time. Yitaudl stands in front of it here.
Another interesting temple was the Bayon for the huge faces built into the structure. It seems it could be faces of one of the gods, Vishnu or Shiva; or, perhaps King Jayavarman VII himself who commissioned it; or, a few say maybe the face of the Buddha when the dominance of Hinduism give way to Buddhism toward the end of Khmer rule. The Khmer kingship system follows the Hindu tradition of the devaraja, or literally god-king, whose rule is by nature sacred and absolute. The current dynasty in Thailand follows the Theravada Buddhist system of the dhammaraja, literally the dhamma-king. The dhammaraja's rule is effective and sacred insofar as the monarch exemplifies dhamma (or dharma, the Buddhist truth).
The Khmer were in Thailand at one point, and Siam has adopted some of the Khmer kingships practices from them. For instance Thailand uses Hindu Brahmins and rituals and even much Khmer vocabulary associated with the devaraja tradition, which makes sense given the supreme reverence given to the monarch here in the kingdom.

Since Buddhism became the dominant religion, many Buddha images find a home in the temples, and they are sacred to many Buddhist visitors. Yet, given the Hindu context of the ruins, it’s not a surprise to find a host of Indian travelers, some on half pilgrimage half vacation. We made friends with a few of them, and they are as useful as a tour guide, being familiar with all symbolism and stories, and being very excited to share about their own religion. It was so much fun to talk with them and discuss the theology together!
Banteay Srei was my favorite site for the wonderfully elaborate depictions and floral details of the carvings that have a red tint—never a bad color. Widely considered a Goddess temple, it is also possible that the intricate cravings may have been done by women. It was also nice because it was away from the bigger temples and you could really take the time to enjoy it.
We were there for 5 days, three full days exploring temple sites. I was ecstatic, I love ruins! But as Yitaudl put it after the day 3, she was “Wat-ed out,” and all of them started to blur together. It was a really great experience, and I would love to go back. Not only to retake pictures of some of the sites we trekked to, like the River of a Thousand Lingas with ruins scattered through a river, but also see some of the others farther out and even more enshrouded in jungle! This is the remains of the female principle that contained a Linga now lost or stolen.

Saigon, Vietnam Trip

At last, the Ho Chi Minh City blog. Speaking of Ho, here is a fine portrait of him watching over the exquisite interior of the central post office. Mary with Child below also watches after the faithful surrounded by traditional mythical animals.
Last time I went to Vietnam I was so happy to leave I thought I’d never return. It wasn't because of the food, which was remarkable. It wasn’t the beauty of the human hand on the land, creating rice fields of all shades of green. Or the smells. Or the remnants of colonial architecture. Or the temples. Or the governments take on history. All these things were wonderfully fascinating. (You can read about my previous trip in the July-Aug 2007 posts of a friend's blog here)The Catholic Cathedral and a Buddhist Temple.But I could do without the constant NOISE. Everything being SO LOUD ALL THE TIME (even in caps, computer language for being loud it’s annoying, isn’t it?) Or if I had to put my finger on it, the fact that many people are downright rude, stubborn, combative, and sometimes understandably hostile to foreigners. This time though, I went with a band of colleagues, including the dean and president, for two weddings and to visit alumni and churches in order to built closer ties. And because the students are so amazing, hospitable, loving, thoughtful, and many other positive adjectives, I wanted to venture back again. It was also great to visit so many churches and get the know more about their situation. I would love to say more on this but it is a sensitive issue. We also got the chance to see some of the sights in the city. Below is a wonderful painting inside the old headquarters of the Southern government building still very well preserved.On to the weddings! The first thing we all noticed was that everywhere we turned people were getting married and taking wedding photos in the nice public parks. The countless wedding celebrations were not a coincidence. As it turns out, 2007 was the year of the Pig, an auspicious year for getting married. So many couples were in a rush to get official before the Chinese New Year February 7th. Our weddings were a huge hoopla. And as with more and more Vietnamese weddings these days, They were also an interesting mix of cultures. In both the vows and actual ceremony were quite western, but the celebration very Vietnamese. The mix also meant the couple changed clothes a few times; the groom twice, and the bride having the pleasure of sporting three dresses: for the ceremony a typical western white poofy dress; right after that emerging to dine in a festive and colorful party dress; and finally, changing into a traditional Vietnamese outfit to see guests off. The couple in the middle below wear blue and red traditional outfits.As part of the celebration there was an open mike for anyone who wanted to sing a song for the new couple. There were people hired to dress up as traditional characters too. The food that I could eat (there’s a lot of pork in southern Vietnamese food!) was really quite amazing. Needless to say, when the celebration got going, the band, the singing and the m.c. announcing things at the top of his lungs, were so LOUD some of us had to plug our ears or go outside. Yet it was all very fun. And if some might see the hearts and roses everywhere as overly romantic, they were not without a playful undertone.

I stayed in the city a few days after the others left and I was privileged to hang out with the locals. What do many people do in Saigon for fun? Sit around and drink coffee, of course! The best part about Saigon was discovering the many charming coffee shops hidden behind dilapidated neighborhoods off the main boulevards, and advertised by word of mouth only. Being the only foreigner at every single one of them, I asked jokingly if they were hard to find to keep tourists away. No, they joked back, it’s probably more a getaway from work to keep the bosses away, and to pass the time undisturbed. We also saw some famous singers lazing around the coffee house below.

Besides the indisputable fact that Vietnamese coffee is very tasty—whether it’s from a stall on the side of the road, or in a hip coffee shop—I also found a wonderful new drink that seldom appears outside these shops. It’s fresh yogurt with milk and a little this and that. (The name I can't remember.) So typical of Vietnamese cuisine in its delicious simplicity.
All was very good for a few days. Above is a pic of an elaborate water puppet show we went to together. The first part of the trip I was with the group, in well organized excursions. I was also able to watch, with half horror half fascination, the legendary Saigon traffic from the window of a comfortable and shielded minivan. Motorbikes where everywhere. Traffic signals are not so common, and in roundabouts you just have to inch your way forward. When there’s an intersection with no signals, just keep going ... eventually you’ll cross. Somehow it works, or it’s forced to by necessity. How pretty some of the women looked, riding their motorbikes with their traditional colorful silk Ao Dai’s flowing in the wind.

Being in the middle of the traffic on a motorbike is an entirely different experience. This is how I got around after the group left. Oh, the pollution! The constant ROARING noise of the bikes that crescendos when the traffic lights turn green. It was a concrete adventure. We only got hit by other motorbikes twice in three days! I gathered that getting hit is common, so best not make a fuss if there's no damage.

But then, I got mugged. Two guys had followed us on a motorbike, and when we were about to get off they attacked, knocking me off ours and stole my bag with my camera, etc. I got some scrapes, bruises, and a sprained finger, but nothing serious. It really shook me up because somehow I thought I’d be protected, being with locals. Turns out these kinds of things happen to them as well, very recently to one of them. Oh, well. Unfortunately, it’s more and more common. I’m coping better with it now, thank God. The pictures on this blog I've slowly accumulated from others, but I've lost some of my family Christmas pictures and all the churches in Saigon. And the students were sorry it happened, and so nice about it. I don’t know what I would have done without them: MsB., MrT, and TL, and Ng especially. I was so happy to spend time with them and their friends and family afterward. We had a good time eating some of the best food and fish dishes I’ve had and going around town just relaxing. I've been told I should return, and be whisked straight away to some of the small towns, especially in Central Vietnam. That seed of hope of ever going back to Vietnam may grow in the future, we’ll see! I certainly would like to visit some of them in their hometown.

Birthday Celebrations: Picnic, Chocolate Feast and More ...

Yes, I am officially an ‘adult’ now! It's the big X0 ... Actually, it was remarkably fun. These are some pictures from the birthday picnic.Although there have been some tough and painful moments, and not without mistakes, this year especially the last few months have been I real blessing, thank God. Work has been going well, but my colleagues, friends, and my wonderfully joyous students have really enriched my life here in Thailand. And I’m happy to have been able to see my family twice in the past year!

As for the celebrations … there were many, I’ll just mention some highlights. There were of course many individual dinner treats, all involving wonderful food which seems everlasting here. My fabulous friend UJean and I share the same birthday, and our friends took us to one of my favorite outdoorsy spots, the Huey Tong Tao reservoir for some picnicky fun over the weekend for eating, swimming, badminton and all kinds of relaxed fun.

Some people had the famous live 'jumping shrimp' in a spicy paste.

On my actual birthday I invited all the international students in my program over along with a few friends for a dessert feast. Um, I guess I went a little overboard …

In addition to fruits, and starters, we had: fruit cocktail cake (an island recipe from home) with ice-cream, then chocolate cupcakes with some cream cheese frosting, fudge brownies, a chocolate birthday cake, and finally strawberries dipped in dark chocolate. This all came in stages and lasted for many hours. Finally, the remaining few went to meet up with Ujean at a friend's lounge. To our surprise he started playing a happy birthday song, and brought out yet another cake—flowerless chocolate! and served us champagne. Believe it or not we ate that too! I may have had “fat Tuesday” a little early this year. There might be some giving up to do for the Lenten season.

On another subject, I had a little 'incident' in Saigon (more on that later), so there's not a whole lot of pictures. I also plan to blog this weekend about Saigon, as I'm finally not so busy at work, and been given pictures. Thank you for your patience!