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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Hammock Accident

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I had put a hammock out on our second floor veranda, thinking I could catch some breezes.  It has a good mosquito netting sleeve that can be drawn over it and zipped closed once you’re in.  But the hammock body’s fabric is made of nylon parachute silk and is thus too hot for the tropics.  It does not breathe well enough, and the breezes do not penetrate.  

The only times I could really enjoy it were when a full-out rain storm was blowing through.  The veranda roof kept most of the rain off me, but the windy spray could still blow in on me – very refreshing.  Blessed coolness, Zen delight! 

The hammock is not old, and has never been in the sun, but it failed me a week ago.  Our cat Pinky was out on the veranda so I decided to sit out with her.  I carefully sat into the hammock.  Then, Pow!  The nylon parachute fabric split apart and dumped me a full meter onto the concrete floor. 

I landed on my ass, hard.  I didn’t break anything, but I’ve been sore ever since.  I can still walk the several klicks of my neighborhood walking route, but I’m certainly not stepping out as vigorously as normal.  It hurts most to sit for a while, such as at a computer.  So I will cut this short. 

What will such things be like when I one day get old? 

-Zenwind. 

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Midsummer in America

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Summer solstice, Midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere.  I miss the bonfire nights there. 

Here the differences between daylight hours and dark ones are always small, still almost half-and-half.  And there is no twilight.  Dark falls quickly, and dawn springs up suddenly. 

At noon this time of year, the sun is north of us!  That is confusing – if one doesn’t have their compass at hand! 

I did my 90-day-report of address to Immigration in person yesterday.  We hire an old retired taxi driver to take us there.  He is a happy friendly guy and a real treat to ride with.  When Tuk is along they jabber and laugh about things in Thai. 

There was just him and I yesterday, and we have quite a language barrier.  I used the Thai/English talking dictionary on my phone to communicate a few key words to him.  I explained that my hearing is not good, due in part to Vietnam experience.  He tried to tell me something about himself related to Vietnam, but I couldn’t follow.  (Tuk will straighten that out at some later time.)  He did somehow communicate that he valued my Vietnam service, as Thai people generally appreciated the US help to keep communism at bay.  They knew what horrors their neighboring countries experienced. 

I told him that my father was a farmer – something that most Thais really relate to and respect.  He was curious about our farm, and I told him we always had two dozen head of dairy cows and 200 chickens.  We traveled through miles and miles of countryside to and from Immigration, and I so enjoy seeing the rice fields, farms, and tiny villages.  I don’t get out much, especially to the countryside. 

I have not been into the city much either.  But I did get in to see two movies of the Bangkok Silent Film Festival.  (I wanted to see more films, but travel kicks the shit out of me, and I was just too much in pain to go more often.)  I saw the master filmmaker Fritz Lang’s 1921 Destiny, which was amazing in its drama and visual imagery. 

The 1920 The Mark of Zorro was one I especially wanted to see, and it was worth the effort to get into town for.  Douglas Fairbanks was an astoundingly acrobatic actor – jumping, climbing, riding, swashbuckling, outclassing numerically superior adversaries at every turn, and laughing in their faces!  He defined Zorro in that film. 

Zorro was one of my earliest heroes, in the 1957-58 Disney TV show.  He was a lone individualist with a strong sense of justice, and he was always against tyranny.  He accepted outlaw status and bore his illegality with pride.  He loved the night and the full moon. 

Ayn Rand, as a teenager in Russia’s Bolshevik slaughterhouse, saw Western films such as this 1920 The Mark of Zorro, and she said these romantic movies saved her from having her spirit extinguished by the brutal horror all around her.  When I read Rand’s novels and then found out she was a Zorro fan like me, I thought, “Of course!”  A kinship of a heroic “sense of life.” 

I will stop here and post this.  A big windy rainstorm has just hit at the fall of darkness, and I’ve been tying down windows blown open.  I need to inspect the rest of the house. 

-Zenwind.

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