Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tet and Thailand
It comes around but once a year, well…no actually. Here we celebrate New Year twice. We do the usual 31st of December then according to the Chinese calendar, we celebrate again at Tet. This year it was in January, Australia Day to be precise.
Here in Hanoi the preamble was a little more subdued than last year in Ho Chi Minh City, but there were still a few flower displays to herald in Spring and the hustle and bustle of locals that can be akin to Christmas Eve in the shops at home. But of course there are millions more people and they possess no shopping trolley etiquette.
We had fun at school with the kids in the lead up to Tet. One day we all sat on the floor making rice cakes, a mixture of rice, beans and pork wrapped in banana leaves, tied with reeds and boiled. Not on the top of my yummy list, but lots of fun to make and I guess the equivalent to mince pies at Christmas. We had a branch of a peach tree in the front foyer and that was slowly bursting into fine pink flowers. This is the year of the buffalo, so my artistic talents were challenged as I was given the job of decorating the front door with a traditional image of a boy riding on the back of a buffalo.
As a work break-up, James and I were invited to dinner toward the end of the week. Everyone sat on the floor around some boiling pots of beef stock and bits and pieces were added and cooked. This was yum! Except the eggs, fertilized duck eggs are off my menu.
Tet is a time for family, so most of the city dwellers return to their country towns to share food and fun with all the family. For Ex-pats it is a chance to travel. We had a week off work so booked a trip to Thailand, hoping to catch the sights of somewhere different.
At Bangkok airport we met our good friend Darryl. Arlene, a Queenslander that we have met here came with us, and the four of us had a great time exploring Northern Thailand. First challenge was a taxi to the hotel. After some haggling, we all piled in and chatted, catching up on news from home as we made our way to the hotel.
Bangkok is busy, but clean and friendly. The drivers show much more respect for pedestrians on the road and we were delighted at their lack of use of the horn, something Vietnamese drivers seem to think is compulsory. We got around town either by taxi or Tuk-Tuk, a motorbike with open cabin seating two on the back. They zip in and out through the traffic, quite an experience, but you are open to the fumes from buses and trucks. Another popular mode of transport in Thailand is the ute. Some have cabins with bench seats on the back, others are open with ropes tied at angles for people to hang on. We traveled in the one with more comfort. They are a sort of cross between a bus and a taxi. You tell the driver where you want to go, agree on a price and he picks up or drops off others along the way.
Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, about 90% of the population following this way of life. So there was an abundance of temples to see. We went to The Grand Palace, a huge complex of regal buildings that also incorporates several religious buildings. It is here that a sacred Emerald Buddha is housed in a beautiful jewel encrusted temple. Also here is a big gold building that looks like it has been squeezes through a cake icing nozzle. It features in most photos related to Thai tourism. Within this structure is a piece of the Buddha’s breastbone, so the guide books tell us.
After a few days we flew to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. We were expecting it to be cooler but found the climate just right. A smaller and originally walled city, this was found to be a beautiful place with a slower pace than Bangkok. Again there were temples and religious buildings everywhere but, for me, the most exciting adventure was riding on an elephant.
We lumbered through the jungle atop this huge beast, splashing through flowing rivers and ducking under trees. Occasionally the elephant would stop and swing its trunk back for a reward of bananas. Then it was off again, the handler sitting just behind the elephant’s ears and shouting something every now and then to keep him going.
After the elephant ride, our next mode of transport was a bamboo raft to float back down the river. We were met by our guide who then took us on to a tiger park. Here we were in the cage with these rather docile beasts. I think they slip them a valium in their morning porridge because they seemed far too tame and sleepy to be in a natural state. I felt quite safe in there with them because they were really just lounging about, rolling on their backs to have their tummy rubbed, just like a big cat.
On one of our trips around we visited a small village which has quite a well organized governing group who charge tourists an expensive fee to visit. It was here we met some of the minority groups of the area, the most fascinating the Long Neck Tribe. The women start at a young age to stretch their necks with a series of brass bands. While the practice now is not encouraged, there were still some young girls wearing the neck bands, obviously to keep the thriving tourist trade alive in the future. Another group of women had earrings that would be about 3-4 cms in diameter making holes in their earlobes, surely would make the wind whistle on a breezy night. Obviously the fee charged here goes back into the community because we saw a school, evidence of good dental and health care and running water and electricity.
Temples are everywhere and early one morning the boys and I took a car with driver to the top of a mountain to see yet another. Here, on the highest point in Thailand is the most fantastic garden surrounding two temples dedicated to the current King and his wife. I was in awe of the gardens and the view. Mind you it was cold but well worth the trek. From the temple we moved on to a waterfall that was a true spectacle of nature. It was a day well worth the early morning start, and we teased Arlene for missing it.
We took a tour to the Golden Triangle, a meeting place of the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). Part of the visit included a boat ride across the river to Laos and on the soil for about 30 minutes, just long enough to get our passport stamped. Life here is depressing. Children were fighting to get some biscuits and sweets I had taken with me, begging from the tourists for coins and looking as though nobody cared for them. I wonder if any of the fee that we paid to disembark finds its way back to the community or if it is all swallowed by the officials, probably the latter.
Back in Bangkok, our holiday was making its way toward the end. Our last cultural adventure was to Vimanmek Mansion, previously home to the Royal Family but now a museum. Even though the Royal family is not in residence we still had to show respect and the boys needed to cover their legs with some borrowed, unflattering trousers. I just walked ahead pretending I didn’t know them. This house is built of white teak, a wood with a golden hue and really quite beautiful. The craftsmen who built the place didn’t use nails, it is held together with dowels. It houses a centuries treasures, gifts and personal effects of those who lived there. Still present is some fire damage from bombs dropped during WW11. Considering the house is made of wood, it was a miracle that the fire burnt itself out without too much damage.
All too soon the holiday was over. We were all going our separate ways. Arlene took a morning flight and we left Darryl with a tour group to continuing traveling south. Our plane brought us back to Hanoi feeling disappointed that the holiday was so short. But we are hoping to get to Thailand again, maybe see the southern beaches and experience a little more of Thailand’s beauty and hospitality.
Here in Hanoi the preamble was a little more subdued than last year in Ho Chi Minh City, but there were still a few flower displays to herald in Spring and the hustle and bustle of locals that can be akin to Christmas Eve in the shops at home. But of course there are millions more people and they possess no shopping trolley etiquette.
We had fun at school with the kids in the lead up to Tet. One day we all sat on the floor making rice cakes, a mixture of rice, beans and pork wrapped in banana leaves, tied with reeds and boiled. Not on the top of my yummy list, but lots of fun to make and I guess the equivalent to mince pies at Christmas. We had a branch of a peach tree in the front foyer and that was slowly bursting into fine pink flowers. This is the year of the buffalo, so my artistic talents were challenged as I was given the job of decorating the front door with a traditional image of a boy riding on the back of a buffalo.
As a work break-up, James and I were invited to dinner toward the end of the week. Everyone sat on the floor around some boiling pots of beef stock and bits and pieces were added and cooked. This was yum! Except the eggs, fertilized duck eggs are off my menu.
Tet is a time for family, so most of the city dwellers return to their country towns to share food and fun with all the family. For Ex-pats it is a chance to travel. We had a week off work so booked a trip to Thailand, hoping to catch the sights of somewhere different.
At Bangkok airport we met our good friend Darryl. Arlene, a Queenslander that we have met here came with us, and the four of us had a great time exploring Northern Thailand. First challenge was a taxi to the hotel. After some haggling, we all piled in and chatted, catching up on news from home as we made our way to the hotel.
Bangkok is busy, but clean and friendly. The drivers show much more respect for pedestrians on the road and we were delighted at their lack of use of the horn, something Vietnamese drivers seem to think is compulsory. We got around town either by taxi or Tuk-Tuk, a motorbike with open cabin seating two on the back. They zip in and out through the traffic, quite an experience, but you are open to the fumes from buses and trucks. Another popular mode of transport in Thailand is the ute. Some have cabins with bench seats on the back, others are open with ropes tied at angles for people to hang on. We traveled in the one with more comfort. They are a sort of cross between a bus and a taxi. You tell the driver where you want to go, agree on a price and he picks up or drops off others along the way.
Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, about 90% of the population following this way of life. So there was an abundance of temples to see. We went to The Grand Palace, a huge complex of regal buildings that also incorporates several religious buildings. It is here that a sacred Emerald Buddha is housed in a beautiful jewel encrusted temple. Also here is a big gold building that looks like it has been squeezes through a cake icing nozzle. It features in most photos related to Thai tourism. Within this structure is a piece of the Buddha’s breastbone, so the guide books tell us.
After a few days we flew to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. We were expecting it to be cooler but found the climate just right. A smaller and originally walled city, this was found to be a beautiful place with a slower pace than Bangkok. Again there were temples and religious buildings everywhere but, for me, the most exciting adventure was riding on an elephant.
We lumbered through the jungle atop this huge beast, splashing through flowing rivers and ducking under trees. Occasionally the elephant would stop and swing its trunk back for a reward of bananas. Then it was off again, the handler sitting just behind the elephant’s ears and shouting something every now and then to keep him going.
After the elephant ride, our next mode of transport was a bamboo raft to float back down the river. We were met by our guide who then took us on to a tiger park. Here we were in the cage with these rather docile beasts. I think they slip them a valium in their morning porridge because they seemed far too tame and sleepy to be in a natural state. I felt quite safe in there with them because they were really just lounging about, rolling on their backs to have their tummy rubbed, just like a big cat.
On one of our trips around we visited a small village which has quite a well organized governing group who charge tourists an expensive fee to visit. It was here we met some of the minority groups of the area, the most fascinating the Long Neck Tribe. The women start at a young age to stretch their necks with a series of brass bands. While the practice now is not encouraged, there were still some young girls wearing the neck bands, obviously to keep the thriving tourist trade alive in the future. Another group of women had earrings that would be about 3-4 cms in diameter making holes in their earlobes, surely would make the wind whistle on a breezy night. Obviously the fee charged here goes back into the community because we saw a school, evidence of good dental and health care and running water and electricity.
Temples are everywhere and early one morning the boys and I took a car with driver to the top of a mountain to see yet another. Here, on the highest point in Thailand is the most fantastic garden surrounding two temples dedicated to the current King and his wife. I was in awe of the gardens and the view. Mind you it was cold but well worth the trek. From the temple we moved on to a waterfall that was a true spectacle of nature. It was a day well worth the early morning start, and we teased Arlene for missing it.
We took a tour to the Golden Triangle, a meeting place of the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). Part of the visit included a boat ride across the river to Laos and on the soil for about 30 minutes, just long enough to get our passport stamped. Life here is depressing. Children were fighting to get some biscuits and sweets I had taken with me, begging from the tourists for coins and looking as though nobody cared for them. I wonder if any of the fee that we paid to disembark finds its way back to the community or if it is all swallowed by the officials, probably the latter.
Back in Bangkok, our holiday was making its way toward the end. Our last cultural adventure was to Vimanmek Mansion, previously home to the Royal Family but now a museum. Even though the Royal family is not in residence we still had to show respect and the boys needed to cover their legs with some borrowed, unflattering trousers. I just walked ahead pretending I didn’t know them. This house is built of white teak, a wood with a golden hue and really quite beautiful. The craftsmen who built the place didn’t use nails, it is held together with dowels. It houses a centuries treasures, gifts and personal effects of those who lived there. Still present is some fire damage from bombs dropped during WW11. Considering the house is made of wood, it was a miracle that the fire burnt itself out without too much damage.
All too soon the holiday was over. We were all going our separate ways. Arlene took a morning flight and we left Darryl with a tour group to continuing traveling south. Our plane brought us back to Hanoi feeling disappointed that the holiday was so short. But we are hoping to get to Thailand again, maybe see the southern beaches and experience a little more of Thailand’s beauty and hospitality.
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