“The monks are coming over”

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Michael

Traveling from Chaing Mai, Thailand, Brooke and I headed to Luang Prabang, Laos, for about a week. Upon arrival, we found our guesthouse-Vilay Guesthouse-and settled there for three nights.

On our third night, Vilay graciously invited us to a celebration of sorts: “the monks were coming over that night”. Not really sure what was in-store and always with a curious mind, we accepted blindly without asking any questions.

We make our way down to the family room as the time nears. Three monks are already seated. We seat ourselves deep in the back. Six more monks arrive. And  “the monks were coming over that night” has begun. Lacking insight and research, and much ignorance, we listen as the monks chant or hymn or sing in unison for about 40 minutes and attempt to make sense of what is unfolding before us.

It was beautiful.  It was electric. It was confusing. It was baffling. We were clueless.

People in the audience seemed to carry on there own conversations, yell at misbehaving kids, share jokes, etc. while this celebration happened. Sometimes they participated. Sometimes they spoke and the monks were silent. Sometimes they bowed.

The monks rose after an hour, sprayed water on the house and its congregation and departed. The monks dispelled the bad spirits of the house of the previous year. After some more in-house rituals, the formalities finished and the confusion continued.
Now along with everyone else in the crowd, older women began to tie white rope around our wrists. I received six, Brooke nine. These symbolized good luck.

And then the meal came and then the famous “lao lao” whiskey. And then like any other gathering of sorts, we recognized that it was a joyous occasion and now we ‘understood’ (using that term loosely) why ” the monks were coming over.”

It turned out to be a grand ‘party’ (baci is one term I heard used, just not sure which part of the ceremony this referred to). We met some great people and had a fabulous time, all the while being quite intrigued and honored to be a part of this ritual.

Now, if only we could get an interpretation of what happened…or maybe we found out at some point in the evening, but could ‘lao lao’ have hurt our learning curve?!

Posted in Celebrations, Laos, life lessons | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Flight of the Gibbon

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Brooke

A gibbon is a primate found in Southeast Asian forests. There they swing about the trees using powerful little ape arms. While in Chiang Mai we were offered the opportunity to be part of a touristic adventure called Flight of the Gibbon. The pitch was to fly through the treetops, from platform to platform, although not exactly like the gibbon as we would be secured to a harness and zip line.

Brooke and Michael on treetop platform

Sound like fun, right? Wrong. Did I mention I’m petrified of heights? Really it’s not the heights so much as the falling from great heights that terrifies me.

Seth hangs in mid-air

But I tried to reason with myself. I’d be strapped into a harness. This is probably much safer than the other crazy things we’ve done, like driving unfamiliar scooters on the left side of the road with wild traffic zipping all around us. And eating random sea creatures that turn up in the bowls of soup around here. And flying Laos Air.

Scampering up a net. This guy can really scamper!

This was pretty far out of my comfort zone, as many things in the past few weeks have been, but I’ve told myself it’s time to get a bigger comfort zone already. So I tagged along and tried to stop my legs from shaking as we approached our first platform.

Our guides, Mao and Jit, sensed my trepidation and tried to accommodate me as best they could. And by accommodate, of course I mean they made my first few times down the zip line the fastest, bounciest, most gut-wrenchingest trips possible. Thanks for the hospitality, Mao and Jit.

I tried to pretend I wasn't terrified. Fake it 'till you make it, right?

But after those first few screaming flights, it actually became less horrifying, and maybe even… fun. And so we jumped. Repeatedly. And zipped, and hung suspended, and flew some more, and dropped from heights previously unimaginable. And it was amazing! By the last few, I was springing from the platform, no longer hanging on for dear life (after all, that’s why we had the harness!), doing the things Michael and Seth had done from the start.

I think they were secretely as scared as I was. Ok, maybe not quite as scared.

Now that I’m officially over my fear of heights (or at least, zip lines) I figure we can  move even further into the adventure sports realm. Next up? We just booked a skydiving trip. (I’m kidding, Mom!)

Whew! We made it!


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Thai Farm Cooking School

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Brooke

A major action step on my Chiang Mai wish list has been learning about the food culture, and naturally, I couldn’t resist signing up for a Thai cooking course. Michael and I have tried our hand at various curries, Pad Thai, and spring rolls back home, to mixed results. So we couldn’t wait to find out the hidden secrets of these mysteriously delicious dishes.

We stumbled upon the Thai Farm Cooking School while taking care of other business in an internet cafe. Turns out, pretty much anyone who’s minding any store in Thailand can and will sign you up for something. So the woman who sold us our internet also sold us a day at an organic farm in the countryside. *shrug*

The songtaew picked us up around nine with a promise our first stop would be at the market. This is where our friendly guides began explaining the building blocks of what we know as Thai food. They went through the processed ingredients: Various rices, noodles, coconut milk, and oils are the mainstays of pre-packaged foods around here. The rest is fresh, and usually involves some combination of eggplant, morning glory, mangoes, onions, carrots, papaya, mushrooms, bananas, and eggs. These, along with rice or noodles, make up the bulk of the meal and are accompanied by slivers of seafood, chicken, pork, and beef – this composition  is quite the opposite of meals as we know them back home.

The distinctive flavor profile comes from the addition of the little fellows (don’t tell them I said that). Chilis of all sizes, shapes, colors, and Scoville ratings add heat that can make or break your day. Galangal adds gingery depth, while lemongrass lends its unmistakable twist. Shallots, garlic, multiple varieties of basil, kaffir lime, and parsley play supporting roles, and limes are usually included, too. They call them lemons – we were told this is because native Thai speakers have a hard time pronouncing the word lime.

Prepare to get smooshed

Following the market excursion, we loaded back into the songtaew toward the farm. Our new teacher put embarassing hats on us and walked us around the garden where many of our yet-to-be discovered ingredients were grown.

Michael rocks the embarrassing hat

On the way in, we had selected what we’d like to prepare. We chose between curries (green, red, and yellow), soups (tom yam, coconut chicken, or Thai vegetable), another dish (chicken with cashews, basil chicken, or papaya salad), ANOTHER dish (spring rolls, Pad Thai, or stir-fry), and a dessert (bananas in coconut milk, mango sticky rice, or pumpkin in coconut milk). This, my friends, was not an easy series of decisions.

Brooke and the unwitting chili that will soon become green curry

Then the cooking commenced. We cooked, and cooked, and cooked some more. I went with green curry, tom yam, chicken with cashews, Pad Thai, and mango sticky rice. Michael opted for yellow curry, chicken coconut soup, papaya salad, spring rolls, and bananas in coconut milk. We had each chosen five dishes, and you’ll notice that Michael and I selected strategically so that our selections were mutually exclusive. After the cooking marathon,  we had a lot of eating to do. This wasn’t easy either, but we worked through it.

At the end of the race, our hard-earned prizes couldn’t have been better – full bellies, leftovers, and a recipe book to boot. Since I can’t wait until I see everyone to share these, here’s a link to some of them on the Thai Farm Cooking School’s Web site. Let us know if you try anything! I hope you can enjoy these as much as we have.

Posted in Chiang Mai, food, life lessons, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

An Assault of Water That Never Stops!

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Michael

We thought the Thai New Year was crazy on Day 1, Tuesday. But then, we realized that in fact the festival goes on and on. And what a better way to get involved with the festivities and see what the hysteria is all about.

We had to take a break on Wednesday because the onslaught of water was too much. We tried to rationalized how a water fight could be irritating in 105 degree heat. People could say that we are ludicrous to not enjoy it.

But let me tell you the difference between the water fights that we know (or think we know from our childhood jokes or our adulthood ‘immaturity’): you and the ‘other’ person(s) eventually grow wearisome of slinging water on each other…maybe it might take 20 minutes, maybe an hour. It will stop. It is fun in the ‘moment’ and that is why we enjoyed it.

Now, put yourself in Songkran. That ‘other’ person never stops, not from 9 am to 8,9, 10 p.m. As the hurler, you get tired of throwing water. But guess what? There are new ‘other’ persons each and every step you take, ready to douse you with water.

So with the new mentality, we hit to the streets on Thursday, the last day of the festival. And we went straight to the source. The town’s moat. Brooke, Seth, and I flinging water and having a blast. Over and over and over. Each time a new person came by, we were the ‘other’ person and enjoying every moment of it!

One bucket on Brooke is funny. Two buckets on her and she gets fired up (with enlistment from Seth).

Seth and I hitting the scooters driving by. It was my favorite part and I chuckled every time.

After much practice all day, I perfected my delivery.

We made friends with some people that parked their truck on the road. They let us refill our buckets in the barrel on the back of their truck rather than run to the moat each chuck. With moat water cooled by chunks of ice, we could refill as much as we wanted….on one condition:

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Things I’m Thankful for… in Chiang Mai

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Brooke

I’ll be taking a few minutes now to share a few of the greatest things about being in Chaing Mai. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but in no particular order, they include:

  1. The locals are so incredibly nice! These folks are constantly smiling, just walking down the street. Whether sweeping their storefront or hurling a bucket of water on you, these people always appear happy to be there.
  2. My fiancee is an experienced and skilled traveler, unafraid to rent a motorbike or eat almost anything that doesn’t eat him first. Whether he’s negotiating with tuk-tuk drivers, memorizing maps, or flagging down food carts attached to motorcycles, this guy is unflappable and incredibly handy to have around.

    3. Michael and Brooke, pre-Songkran (notice that we're still dry)

  3. Our guesthouses have been handy, safe, and the owners have been very kind. We have my brother to thank for the first one, Joe Guesthouse. Upon arrival in Chiang Mai, Seth got us settled, acclimated, and hooked up with an air-con room right off. Coincidentally, the new one is called Uncle Joe’s Guesthouse, and it’s a gem too.
  4. Seth! It had been over a year since I’d seen my dear brother. He’s been up for our daily adventures even though he’s trying to crank out some work. Seth has tipped us off to some of Chiang Mai’s highlights, and has been such a good sport – even taking our pictures like regular  ol’ tourists.

    Michael and Seth - such handsome devils! Good thing I'm here to keep them in line.

  5. Learning to say “Thank you” (khorb koon), “Hello” (sah wat dee), and “Delicious” (a-roi). These tiny phrases, which I’m sure to be both misspelling and mispronouncing, have been invaluable. Follow everything you say with kah if you’re female and khrab(p?) if you’re male – this shows respect.
  6. Sunscreen. Dear heavens would my skin be roasting without it! And bug spray… The biting bugs here are very, very hungry. Thankfully Seth hooked us up with some mosquito coils, too.
  7. Tips from back home and our fellow travelers. Without Gee’s recommendation of Khao Soy, we might still be eating Pad Thai every day – not that this would be such a bad thing. Michael’s sister, Suzanne, tipped us off to a place where we could find this northern Thai specialty, and it’s quickly become one of my favorites.

Khao Soy, the fancy variety. The accoutrements don't often come in little ramekins as shown - usually they're in big bowls from which everyone shares.

Posted in Chiang Mai, life lessons | 6 Comments