June's Monsoons

It is officially the Rainy Monsoon Season, although we had a lot of rain earlier in the normally drier Hot Season of March-April-May.  (There is worry that the dams/reservoirs up-country are dangerously brimming full with water and that predicted heavy rains in September-October threaten us with floods down here.  Government mismanagement and stupidity.  If we get flooded again, I will be pissed.) 

I got caught in one hell of a rainstorm a week ago while out in the neighborhood.  I had a small compact umbrella in my pack, but it was not nearly enough protection when the heavy gusty rain hit.  I came home drenched.  I now pack a rain-cover designed for daypacks, and if it looks like the rain may be heavy then I tote a bigger umbrella.  But the rains are deliciously cooling, if only temporarily. 

For the last week the weather reports call for thunderstorms, but weather is not an exact science.  Each day with predicted rain has had mostly sunny and breezy weather, perfect for drying clothes outside.  One still must have an umbrella handy when venturing out, because a thunderstorm can come quick without warning. 

In other news, I have been reading a lot but not writing enough.  I have many book review drafts yet unfinished.  My first priority is exercising, so I often spend the most productive part of the day out sweating in the intense heat.  Feel the burn!  I hope to post reviews on Zenwind soon. 

-Zenwind.
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Beltane 2018

It is Beltane in the northern temperate zone, with the full-blooming of May ready to explode into full Spring.  A landmark time of year up north.  I miss its radical changes.  

A few days ago we completed our annual Immigration Bureau Nightmare.  Every late April I must appeal for an Extension of Stay due to Retirement, with extensive bank guarantees of having a bit of money at hand (to prove I’m not a complete bum) as well as new requirements about proof of residence in the Kingdom from the “House Master” (owner of the house, my father-in-law) of the address I live at.  They hit us with new surprises every year (I think they like fucking with us), and it’s always a stressful ordeal.  After a full morning of tension from being at the mercy of these bureaucrats, right up to the last minute, I finally got permission to stay for another year.  Although it’s been several days since this ordeal and its lead-up, I am still feeling effects of its extreme stress and tension, with sleeplessness and now quite debilitating physical pain knocking me out.  Relax – heal, and psych up for next year. 

We’ve had unusual rains for this time of year that have tempered the usual horrible heat a little bit.  It is still humid, but if the sun is clouded over it is somewhat of a relief.  I ventured out for a long walk today, but the clouds parted and the sun boiled me.  I returned drenched in sweat. 

Please take note:  I have made major changes to my personal communication routines, because I’ve been trying to increase the battery life of my phone and tablet, which are my main devices.  (I am sick and tired of always replacing worn-out devices.)  Therefore, I have deleted the social media apps that notoriously devour battery life, even when they are only downloaded to the device and only running in the background and rarely ever used.  The main culprits here are LINE, Facebook and Facebook Messenger.  To me, they are always mainly “chat” apps, and I’ve always hated chat format because I am more of an email or SMS text guy.  (Slow and deliberate with time for delayed thought and response.) 

LINE has long been the premier social media app here in Southeast and East Asia, one that allows all sorts of calls, etc, for free over an internet connection such as WiFi.  All Thais and farangs here that I know use LINE.  Facebook Messenger has copied this exactly and has recently been a big hit in America.  But, since I don’t use them much at all, they are a waste in that they deplete my batteries by running continuously in the background.  And I don’t like their intrusiveness into my privacy. 

Asian friends and family members are pissed at me for deleting LINE from my mobile devices.  I think the same goes for my Western friends that use Facebook and FB Messenger.  But I don’t like these platforms.  (I’m not sure but I may have FB Messenger access still on my old laptop, which I rarely use, but I think my access to my LINE account is lost even there.)  To contact me, use my email address or use SMS text messages to my phone number. 

My current personal task is to balance my reading/ writing projects with my exercise routines.  I am behind on all fronts.  I did complete my Zenwind review of Ready Player One – which unfortunately required that I sit around too much.  I urgently need to exercise much more, or else I decay.  I’m currently reading a very intriguing biography of a controversial contemporary, and I’m taking careful notes in case I want to review it later.  Reading and writing are addictions, so I must counter that by getting out and about much more. 

Find the balance.  Aristotle’s Golden Mean.  The Buddha's Middle Way.  

-Zenwind. 

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Songkran 2561 BE /2018 CE

Songkran is going strong, and it ain’t over yet.  It is the biggest holiday of the year.  Technically, it is a three-day festival starting on 13 April, the traditional Thai New Year, but since two of the days fell on the weekend this year they have extended the holiday to include Thursday the 12^th and Monday the 16^th, making it a five-day weekend.  Bangkok sees a mass exodus as people head up-country to be with relatives in the provinces, as well as folks flying out of the country to many places.  The highway lanes heading north were jammed Thursday and Friday.  Our neighborhood is deserted. 

The roads are incredibly dangerous.  Thailand’s highways are recognized as the most dangerous in the world, with more fatalities per capita than anywhere else.  (Libya had been number one in this dubious distinction for years, but their civil war has eased a bit and thus many of their road deaths.)  TV news has coverage of the carnage, with dash-cam shots of accidents as they are happening as well as the aftermath wreckage. 

We also see TV coverage of the water-throwing in the city.  This tradition has evolved through the years.  Because it is the most uncomfortably hot and humid time of year, sprinkling of small amounts of water on the hands and/or head of elders was a gesture of respect.  Now it is a free-for-all.  Venturing outside may get you drenched.  In the farang and tourist parts of the city there are the most chaotic mass water fights, but even in our neighborhood one might anticipate getting wet. 

In the last several years I have seen a lot less water and have usually returned home dry from trips to the neighborhood store.  I never take my daypack at these times, and I put any valuables in Ziplocks.  Yesterday, the 13^th, I went to the store and passed two groups of kids with water hoses.  They looked at me but let me pass by without hosing me down.  Maybe they feel compassion for the old guy (or, Tuk suggests that I look menacing when I wear shades). 

Today I walked the same route.  The only water-throwers were some very young kids (with parents nearby) on the corner just outside our house.  The deserted sidewalks didn’t give them much action, and when I walked past them they didn’t dare to wet me with their squirt guns or bowls of water.  When I returned I stopped and said some of the few Thai words I know.  “Hello.”  Then I held out my hand and said, “Please, water.”  They carefully poured water on my hand, and I then wet the back of my neck with it.  Then I thanked them.  Smiles all around. 

We don’t go anywhere.  Tuk would rather spend her five days off at home.  Myself, I would like to go into the city to see some movies that will be discontinued soon and then catch a gig at the Rock Pub.  But I don’t want to get doused with water and then sit in a cold a/c venue like a theater or pub.  Also, the holiday highways scare me. 

The neighborhood is quiet and peaceful. 

-Zenwind.
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Hot Season 2018

Our “winter” Cool season was brief, and we are now into our Hot season.  Unbelievable humidity.  Heat Index over 100*F.  I think it is important to regularly get out into the heat so the body and mind stays conditioned to it, so today I did a four-and-a-half kilometer forced march in the noonday sun.  I try to do this two or three times a week.  I wear shorts, short-sleeved shirt, sport sandals, a sweatband, broad-brimmed hat, and shades.  I return drenched in sweat.  I then have some protein, stretch, shower, and then turn up the a/c. 

I am into week 5 of a re-started weight training program with my set of dumbbells.  The saying goes that this is that week when one feels “power”, and it is true.  I don’t work with weights that are that heavy, but, using them three times a week with adequate protein and rest, I feel the results and it feels good.  Walking my 4k neighborhood route today, I felt new spring in my step and felt like a healthy animal.  I am sleeping very well. 

But I haven’t been writing much, continuing the slump I’ve been in for a long time.  I have drafts of book and movie reviews that are barely started, as well as drafts of correspondence.  I definitely need a new laptop, but I keep putting off the purchase. 

Tuk said yesterday that at the end of April – after Songkran holiday and then our annual Immigration Office ordeal for my extension of stay – she would help me with getting air-conditioning in a second room, our third-floor one.  This would make a great study for me.  I have the money saved for it, but I need her to have time to navigate the purchasing of the unit and the supervision of the installation crew.  We need a very powerful a/c unit up there, because it is the top floor of our flat and has a flat roof directly above it that soaks up heat from the sun.  It is a hot room.  (Between you and me, I think Tuk wants me to have that room as a retreat because she thinks I turn the a/c far too low in the one room where we have it.  I turn it down while wearing only swim trunks and sitting directly under the a/c unit’s blower; she sits away from it and wears a fleece jacket!) 

Songkran festival is coming up, mid-April.  Hottest time of the year.  

-Zenwind. 

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Eve of Magha Puja

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Tomorrow is the Full Moon of Magha Puja, marking one of the Buddha's early speeches, distilling his main message:  "The non-doing of any evil; the doing of what is skillfull; the cleansing of one's own mind. This is the teaching of the Awakened."
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-Zenwind.

Burns Night 2018

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It is the 259th birthday of Robert Burns, the great Scottish poet.  Burns Night is celebrated in the dark of winter (either on his actual birthday or on a near weekend night).  Friends are gathered, favorite poetry is read (of Burns’ or of any other favorite poet), and toasts are raised.  A nice fire can take the chill off and give light to a cozy gathering. 

I am dusting off my book of Burns’ collected poems and will browse.  (I don’t have the winter chill here in Siam, but I relish that great northern tradition just the same.) 

Raise a glass to Mr. Burns!  To the spirit of great poetry. 

-Zenwind.

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Mid-Winter Solstice

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Ah!  We finally got really cool and comfortable weather just this week.  Down to 60*F at night and not even reaching 80*F during the sunny days.  And the humidity feels nonexistent, with dewpoints down in the “very comfortable” range.  The wind, which usually prevails from the South, has been coming down the river from the North. 

This cold snap will end later this week with normal “winter” temps in the 70s, 80s to low-90s, and the dewpoint will go back up into the uncomfortable ranges. 

The sunlight is crystal clear bright.  I went to the Immigration Office yesterday, and I noted the sunlight glittering off the colorful pieces of glass imbedded in the facades of many temples along the way. 

I am still not writing much.  I have put off shopping for a new laptop, but now I have a general idea of what type I want. 

The mid-winter solstice is tomorrow.  I will have a full day in the city, and I attend my libertarian group in the evening.  I will check out the new movie schedules for before the meet up and afterward hit the Rock Pub at midnight. 

-Zenwind. 

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Loi Krathong 2560 BE/2017 CE

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Loi (Loy) Krathong festival is celebrated on about the Full Moon of November, after the Rainy Monsoon season has ended.  Little baskets are floated on waterways with lit candles.  It is a long tradition going way back into pre-history. 

Tonight has been the biggest local Loi Krathong celebration in my neighborhood in many years.  The Great Flood of 2011 temporarily killed the tradition here for half a dozen years.  But tonight it was revived completely to its pre-2011 levels.  Crowds of people, many with infants in their arms and small children in hand, completely block the sidewalks in my neighborhood.  Young couples on dates stroll through the crowds.  It is supreme festivity.  Brilliant lights are everywhere, lighting children’s rides and attractions.  People hawk great-smelling foods and various wares, including Krathong baskets woven out of banana leaves with candles and decorations. 

After dark I entered the crowds and walked my very shortest normal walkway route around by the river and the Rama 7 Bridge and then on around to the nearest “flyover” elevated pedestrian bridge over the highway to near home, about 2 km roundtrip.  But it took me a long, long time because the normally open sidewalks were absolutely packed with people.  I anticipated this, so I wore no backpack and had minimal valuables in my pockets (pickpocket precautions).  I squeezed slowly through the crowds – and Thai people are usually extremely polite and pleasant in such circumstances.  It was a joy to see the happy benevolent faces of these people, and I was the only farang in the area. 

Under the bridge is a renewed tradition of a temporary stage with loud music and Thai folk dancers.  In other years past, I would climb the stairs to the Rama 7 bridge’s pedestrian walkways to see the people below floating their candle-lit krathongs on the river.  But tonight there are too many people on these stairways and I could not even get close to the river.  I just moved on through the crowds until they thinned out up near the flyover.  As I walked back toward the traffic intersection near my home soi, the crowds again became packed, with motorcycles parked everywhere on the sidewalks.  I finally broke through the jam and into my quiet soi and on home. 

It is really good to see festivities return to our neighborhood, even if temporarily once a year. 

-Zenwind.

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Farewell to a Great Monarch

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On Thursday 26 October, the entire kingdom of Thailand came pretty much to a stop for the Royal Cremation Ceremonies for the late King Rama IX, Bhumibol Adulyadej.  Cinemas were mostly closed.  Most markets and stores were closed, as were all banks, etc.  (The Rock Pub was closed for at least four nights!)  Television programming covered only the ceremonies. 

I had stocked up on food the day before, and Tuk and I watched the proceedings on TV all day into the night. 

Although the King died a year ago (13 October 2016) his mourning period was for over a year.  His body lie enclosed in an urn or coffin at the Grand Palace for this time, and thousands of people came to pay respect.  A special temporary crematorium was built at a nearby royal ceremonial ground.  The structure was huge and elaborate, with incredible artistic touches, and built to represent Mount Meru, the heavenly center of the world in Buddhist and Hindu mythologies. 

On Thursday the 26^th, the urn was moved, via an ornate traditional cart in a huge procession, from the Grand Palace to the crematory site.  It was a slow march. 

The music:  A military band marched along in the funeral parade.  Since King Rama IX was a musician and a composer, some of his own compositions were mixed in with the more somber dirges.  There was even a bit of Jazz played early on in the march.  Taps played after dark at the cremation site. 

Attendees at the ceremonies:  There were dignitaries and folks from all over the world there.  There was royalty of all sorts. 

Late in the evening, toward the time of lighting the pyre, the mood lightened up a bit, with performances of traditional Thai dance and music out in front of the crematorium.  Then a Thai symphony orchestra started a live concert that went on until dawn.  As well as Classical standards they played many of the late King’s own musical compositions. 

I think the entire kingdom was exhausted the next day, Friday, from the breathless events of the previous day. 

King Bhumibol, Rama IX, will be remembered as “Father.”  The Moral Father of modern Thailand.  He reigned for 70 years, and although without any political power he had immense moral authority.  He fathered the people by his caring example.  

As I have written before, he never expected to be king when the monarchy was thrown into his lap by the death of his older brother, King Rama VIII.  Born in Cambridge, Mass., USA, he had been a student in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he grew up, majoring in French literature, Latin, Greek, and the sciences.  He was contentedly into photography and jazz music.  There is a famous photo of him as king in the late '50s/ early '60s sitting, with his queen, and in conversation with Elvis Presley (Elvis was in US Army uniform at the time).  I have seen this photo in Bangkok's Hard Rock Cafe and in The Saxophone pub.  

He is irreplaceable and will be sorely missed. 

-Zenwind. 

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October

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It has been far too long since I last wrote in this space.  (As if anyone ever reads it anyway!)   Writer’s block, I guess.  I have been reading constantly, reading randomly, reading everything, and previously there hasn’t been any real news here to report.  I have also been trying to exercise regularly, and this often takes up most of my energy reserves and my most productive hours of the day. 

But today in Thailand it is the one-year anniversary of the death of our beloved long-reigning King Rama 9 (1927-2016; r.1946-2016). This October is a full month of mourning.  Royal cremation will be this coming 26 October.  Everyone has been wearing black all year, and I have worn black clothes every day since returning to Thailand in December last.  I was in the USA last year when the King died, and I bought up a lot of black clothing then.  I have great respect for the late King.  He had no political power but he had immense moral authority. 

Today Thai television has had extensive coverage of the ongoing royal ceremonies.  The bars are all closed, and the country has shut down in many ways.  The ceremonies involve harmonic chanting in Pali by the senior monks, and it is very soothing. 

One movie that was shown on TV today was of special significance to the memory of the late King:  Hachi:  a dog’s story (2009), starring Richard Gere and Joan Allen.  It is depicted in contemporary America but based on a true story in early 20^th century Japan, about the loyalty of a dog to his deceased master.  The late King had a special love for dogs and the bonds they often have with humans, often adopting homeless dogs himself.  He wrote an inspiring book on just such a homeless dog.  This movie was especially appropriate today.  Although I had never seen this movie before, and we watched it in Thai language only and without English subtitles, the story was clear, and it was a tear-jerker. 

The remainder of this month will be somber, and the days around the cremation on the 26^th will see a shutdown of all normal revelry.  The entire nation will pause. 

In other news:  there is a bit of a flooding threat at present, but I don’t see our neighboring national electric company taking any special measures, such the intensive sand-bagging they did before our Great Flood of 2011 disaster, so I’m not terribly worried at the moment.  The most we could lose is my new heavy treadmill on the ground floor, too heavy to move up.  Many communities up-country have been flooded, but as this is considered to be “normal” not a lot has been done about it.  The government only freaks out completely when Bangkok itself is flooded, and even then they don’t know what the hell to do about it.  (“Government:  What is it good for?  Absolutely nothing!  Say it again….”) 

I will try to post here more often. 

-Zenwind.

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