Captivating Places: February 2012

29 February 2012

Making merit in Luang Prabang

Our travels brought us to the lively yet serene town of Luang Prabang in north central Loas. The town of 45,000 was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995 to protect its rich, but fragile monastic culture and traditional architecture.

In her carefully researched book, Ancient Luang Prabang, Denise Heywood observes that, "populated by monks -- although increasingly by tourists -- the town resonates with a spiritual aura. Yet, in spite of the growth of tourism, it still has an atmosphere of seclusion, a place apart from the the modern world."

The experience that best captured this spiritual quality for us was the early morning offering of alms to the monks. This offering is a way of earning merit. The Lao people believe that making merit regularly will bring them happiness, peace and other good things. It is through the gaining of merit that a person strengthens their ability to overcome life's obstacles, and ultimately, reach nirvana or divine peace beyond this world.

The giving of alms is one common way to gain merit. At 6 am we gathered on the main street with other local people and tourists to offer alms to the monks. In Luang Prabang there are about 300 monks living and studying in the many temples and they depend on alms for their two daily meals.

Silently we placed sweet sticky rice in their alms bowls as they passed. The rice sticks to itself and easily forms into a ball, but it doesn't stick to your fingers. It is very rich and sweet-tasting. The sticky rice was prepared for us and stays surprisingly warm in the small round rice box, if you keep it covered.

It is customary for men to stand to offer the alms. It is acceptable to glamce at the monks, but but out of respect you are not supposed to make eye contact. I stepped away from our place to take photos. Only the novices, would accept alms from me, a woman tourist. All seemed happy to accept alms from Rob, that very tall tourist!

The monks cover themselves fully with their saffron-colored robes, while the novices are bare-armed. The youngest novice brings up the rear of the line. The giving of alms is repeated every day.

28 February 2012

Temples of Chiang Mai

The city of Chiang Mai, 700 km north of Bangkok, is a very old city with a rich cultural heritage. Nestled in the Ping River valley below some of the tallest mountinas in Thailand, the city was founded by King Mangrai as his "new capital" - Chiang Mai - in 1296.

With our guide, Mr. Chai (below), we were able to see and do a lot in our three days in the city. Chiang Mai has many temples and centers for monastic learning, as evidenced by the number of monks we saw walking about the city. Our touring was enriched with visits to some of the important temples and Chai's patient explanation of the basic tenets of Buddhism as practiced in this region of Thailand.

According to legend, "King Ku Na invited the venerable Sumana Thera, a very pious monk from Sukhothai to bring the Buddhism of Sri Lanka to Chiang Mai. The King offered him the royal flower garden (Suan Dok) as a place to build a temple. The temple was established in 1371. Wat Suan Temple is famous for its golden chedi which houses a relic of the Buddha.

The temple itself is very large and is used for royal ceremonies as well as everyday worship. The monk in this picture receives gifts from two young women. Chai suggested that they may be sisters who came on the date of a family occasion in remembrance of parents who have passed away. It is an opportunity to remember and receive a blessing. The gifts offered are practical things like detergent, shaving cream and razors. The monk receives them, but they are shared within the monastic community.

We travelled the mountain highway above the city to visit Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. The steps led us to a golden temple complex filled with Sunday visitors. Legend has it that the relic of the Buddha that was honoured at the Flower Garden temple was divided in two and gifted by one king to another as a gesture of peace and brotherhood. The second relic was placed on the back of a white elephant. The elephant was let to roam and climb the mountain freely. The elephant died and where his body lay, the king ordered that a temple be built. In Thailand, there are apparently special ways to divine the sacred.

Doi Suthep has become an important relgious site for Thai people. Many people were saying prayers as they circled the chedi that is said to house the relics of Buddha.

The holy site clearly belonged to the people. These monks were among the visitors and they were taking pictures of the same things we were.

This monk offered blessings to anyone who came to him.

The last temple we visited, Wat Chedi Luang, was our favorite. King Saen Muang Ma began building the chedi, according to the Chiang Mai online guide, "to enshrine the relics of his father at the end of the 14th century, but King Tilokarat completed it. The chedi used to be 90 meters high before it was partly destroyed in an earthquake in 1545; it was to remain the tallest structure in Chiang Mai for over 500 years. The present restored chedi is about 60 meters high." The second picture below shows a detail of the elephant statuary that would have surrounded the upper level of the chedi.

I liked the reclining Buddha resting in a beautifully painted temple off to the side.

As we listened to Mr. Chai's explanation of the life and teachings of Buddha, we agreed that there is wisdom to be found in the precepts of Buddhism. While there are many more temples in this ancient city, we had some other places to visit in our last days in Thailand. We did take time to photograph the restored moat that surrounds the old city and the ancient city walls that stand vigil today even as the tuk-tuks (motorcycle taxis) and cars of a busy modern city hurry by.

23 February 2012

The Grand Palace

They say that no visit to Bangkpk is complete without seeing the Grand Palace, the golden palace complex of the Thai kings. We took a half-day tour with some other tourists and the palace was worth seeing.

Established in 1782 by King Rama I when he ascended the throne, the palace complex includes government offices and the renowned Temple of the Emerald,Buddha as well as the royal residence of earlier kings. The current Thai monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej or Rama IX, came to the throne in 1946 and is the longest-serving head of state in the world.

The palace complex is a madhouse to visit with tourists, school groups and temple worshippers all milling around the various buildings. You have to get into the chaos of it all and not worry about capturing pristine photos. Besides, the really famous artifact -- the Emerald Buddha -- is not something you can photograph from inside the temple.

The beautiful building that houses the Buddha -- the Royal Monastery -- is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand where people come to pay their respects to Lord Buddha and his teachings. We saw people trying to pray amid the tourists and the security guards inside the noisy temple. The Emerald Buddha is, in fact, carved from a piece of green jade. It was held in Laos for 226 years before being repatriated to Thailand by the Thai army of Rama I in 1778. When the king established Bangkok as the capital, the Buddha was placed in the monastery.

One building that appealed to me was the reliquary in the shape of a golden chedi or stupa. The tiles on the structure are real gold. It is too big to photograph completely, so I offer part of the building at an artsy angle.

The Chakri Maha Prasat was built by Rama V in 1882. It represents a unique blend of Victorian and Thai architectural styles. It you study the building, you can see that the lower portion has the look of Buckingham Palace in London, complete with a reviewing balcony. Look up and you can see that the roof structure is Thai in design. The bonsai trees are old, much older actually than the building behind them.

I was taken with the fascinating details in the buildings and the statuary.

By the end of our tour of the palace, we felt we'd had a short introduction to Thai royal splendor. We are ready for more palaces, temples and treasures as we travel north to the Thai city of Chiang Mai and then on to Laos.

22 February 2012

Bangkok, our "Emerald City"

Remember the part in the movie, The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy and her companions reach the Emerald City? And remember how they get the full spa treatment, washing away all the travails of their journey? Bangkok has been like that for us.

Our four-star high rise hotel is air conditioned and everything in our room works, especially the hot water! On our first afternoon we went to a made-to-measure shop and selected some new clothes. Rob's new sport coat and pants will be lovely. Here he is during the fitting; I took these pictures for Rob's Mom. Nice hair cut, eh? That happened after the massage ...

Yes, we went for a Thai massage. Here we are waiting our turn, so this is a "before" picture.

Aahhhh, the massage was wonderful. Thai massage techniques are somewhat different from those applied in Canada. The masseuse frequently climbs up on the massage table to get more leverage and to "walk" on parts of your body. I wasn't quite sure when the petite masseuse said, "Can I stand, on your legs?" It felt kind of intense, but beneficial too. After two hours, during which I felt a bit like a well-oiled pretzel, all the muscle strain from our lemur hikes began to dissolve. I realized that my tight shoulders were actually loosening. About his massage experience, Rob commented, "I never had anyone crawl up my body with their knees and elbows before. It was good." We both felt like we could float afterwards.

A crazy, busy city that is famous for "anything goes" paid sex, drugs, gemstones and silk, Bangkok has been, for us, an intense contrast to the basic rural life we experienced in Madagascar. Stay tuned for more Thai posts.

21 February 2012

A last look for lemurs

Our itinerary change meant that we had a couple days to explore a little further for lemurs. So we headed east again, using Grace Lodge inthe village of Andaribe as a base. On the way, we stopped at a private reserve where we were able to see these brown and white lemurs at close range.

By this point I admit I was feeling travel-weary so I took a down day while Rob hiked with Dorique and a local guide in the nearby park. We have some work to do on naming the lemur species accurately, but here are some wonderful shots, courtesy do Dorique (who quite enjoyed using my Lumix FZ150 with its 24x zoom).

Yes, that is Rob with a lemur on his head! Rob and Dorique went to Lemur Island which is a sanctuary for orphaned lemurs that truly is an island.

The lemurs are fed so they cannot be returned to the wild, but they are breeding successfully which does help protect their numbers. It's better than no action at this point, but our travels in Madagascar revealed one painful truth: natural habitat for all wild animals is being eliminated at a catastrophic rate on this island. The protected forests that remain are critical to the survival of these intriguing and unique primates, but they too are under threat. Mining, farming, logging for charcoal production and fires (both natural and deliberate) all impact on the viability of the forests and the creatures who inhabit them.

We feel blessed that we were able to come and experience rural life, the animals and even the environmental complexities of Madagascar. Below, Grace Lodge in the morning mist will stay with us as a parting image.

Faces of Madagascar

As our travels have expanded, I have grown more brave with my camera. I love to get close-up candid shots of the people along the way, but it can be tricky. People don't always appreciate being photographed; with practice I've become a little more adept at using my telephoto. I thought I would share some of my portraits.

The woven caps serve to stabilize the baskets and other things the women carry on their heads. They can also turn the cap over and use it as a small basket, again of the head. Excellent if you just need to buy a few tomatoes or plums.

The zebu meat seller offers his wares. He whistled and this young mother came to check the quality and make a purchase.

Her little one carries home the meat. Children learn to participate in household activities at a very young age.

Joey, on the right, explains a landmark to Dorique during a "photo stop". I know we were their clients, but these were two very kind men. By the end of our journey together, we were sorry to say goodbye.

The children are my favorite subjects.

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