My Thai

I booked my flight from India to Korea so that I could enjoy a one week layover in Thailand. So many of the staff at TCIS have visited and raved about many areas of Thailand -- from Phuket to Chiang Mai -- that I thought this would be a good opportunity to select a destination and experience it firsthand.


Fortunately for me, friends of mine -- Barry and his family -- moved from Perth Australia to Chiang Mai last April so I could reconnect with them and see the sights at the same time. Barry continues to work with a division of YWAM called Create International whose purpose, according to their web site, is to "communicate the message of Jesus Christ in ways that people can understand from their cultural and linguistic background, using all media tools possible". The organization is based in southern Asia since they primarily work with people groups in Asia.


I sure appreciate Barry and Donna taking time from their regular routine to show me the behind-the-scenes view of the Chiang Mai area. Besides traveling the streets of Chiang Mai from the front seat of their car, I got to see where they live, work, go to church and taste from some great restaurants off the beaten path. It is evident the king of Thailand means a lot to the people of this country, having images of him on billboards throughout the city and even having to stand as they played Thailand's version of "God Save the King" when I went to a movie one afternoon.

Periodically we also visited tourist destinations, like today's visit to the most popular Buddhist temple in the area named Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. This most important temple of Chiang Mai is located on Doi Suthep mountain, which is about nine miles of winding mountainous highway from the city. Apparently Buddhist pilgrimages regularly descend upon this temple during religious holidays. Besides the many vendors lining the streets and walkways, those making the pilgrimage encounter a 'guardian monk' statue and steep 309 step stairway that leads to the temple itself.





Once arriving at the temple area visitors notice spectacular views of the city of Chiang Mai and well-preserved buildings covered in gold leaf and ornately decorated. Ancient Buddha relics from when the temple was originally built in the 14th century are housed in the giant golden Chedi along with beautiful murals and bells hanging along walls.







For those who practice Buddhism there is opportunity to light incense sticks to purify and create a meditative environment as they pray either to a Buddha or try to radiate loving-kindness. There are many places in this temple area to meditate and pray, including opportunity for monks and followers to perform a water pouring ceremony -- pouring water into water.

Although I appreciate their attention to the spiritual world and desire to better themselves, I wish followers of Buddha would accept they can not achieve salvation or betterment on their own. It is not a matter of hopefully one day becoming self-enlightened or awakening to the truth or conjuring up certain feelings but finding the answer in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Our Living God not only provides instruction for us through His Word (the Bible) but offers each of us opportunity for a personal, immediate, current-day relationship with Him! Consequently, the peace and sense of purpose we all desire deep within is attainable right now, through this relationship with Jesus Christ.





I keep going back to what God says in Habakkuk 2:18-20 and in Acts 4:12 whenever I see statues and rituals of this nature:

If someone carves a statue of a god, what is it worth?
What value is there in a god that teaches lies?
The one who trusts in another god worships his own creation.
He makes statues of gods that can’t speak.
How terrible it will be for the Babylonians!
They say to a wooden god, ‘Come to life!’
They say to a stone god, ‘Wake up!’
Can those gods give advice?
They are covered with gold and silver.
They can’t even breathe.
But I am in my holy temple.
Let the whole earth be silent in front of me.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Barry mentioned something about visiting a waterfall on our way to the temple but I had no idea how beautiful it would be. A perfect place for locals to picnic and simply unwind. I know if I were to live in Chiang Mai this would be a popular destination for me along with many of the mountain hiking trails found nearby.

The Brainy Elephant

This may sound like a strange statement from me but I have a new-found respect for the elephant. I knew the elephant was strong and hard working but never knew it was as intelligent and talented as I witnessed today.

Intelligence tests conducted on the elephant reveal that it exceeds all other herbivores and possesses remarkable powers of learning -- Dr. S. U. Deraniyagala, Sri Lanka

Barry, Nikola and Dana were wonderful tour guides at the Maesa Elephant Camp here in Chiangmai Thailand on this, the second day of 2010. Since Christmas and New Year is the height of the tourist season in Thailand, the crowds were heavy at times but not enough to interfere with my enjoyment of the park. From the trails where people ride elephants to the talent show and areas of elephant care, I got to see elephants up close and in all their glory.


I also got to witness the incredible connection the elephants have with their trainers. Seems there is a bond between man and elephant, much like there is a bond between man and horse in the west and, undoubtedly, as there is between man and camel in the middle eastern countries. Sure, westerners use the horse for riding and work-related tasks, but my guess is most horses are considered part of the family by their owners and I doubt it is any different here. After all, how can you work with an animal so much and not grow attached?

Elephants must have a high level of brain activity and versatility because I witnessed them challenging a person from the audience at throwing darts, coordinating with each other to stack fallen trees, playing soccer then doing the 'goal-dance' by twirling its trunk around, and even painting pictures! It just seems to me that their small eyes couldn't take in all the details they do or that they would be able to move their (on average) 12 ton body the way they do.







Imagine these elephants holding paint brushes and actually, unguided, painting incredibly accurate and proportioned pictures. They can sure maneuver those trunks to pin-point accuracy, like taking a small banana from our hands. A couple times we made the mistake of holding the whole bunch of bananas in one hand while trying to feed an elephant a single banana from the other. Obviously, the elephant was thinking, "why settle for one banana when I can hit the mother-lode?" Well, I can't prove the elephant was thinking that but it sure went for the entire meal deal.

One of the highlights of the visit was riding Jumbo – the name of our 33 year old male elephant. Here I got to see elephants in action up close! Apparently Dana, who was sitting beside me, had taken off her sandals and placed them on the seat beside her. When one of her sandals fell to the ground, Jumbo must have heard it drop because he stopped, turned his head, picked up the sandal with his trunk and swung it around to give to the trainer! Since we were climbing a fairly steep slope at the time, I think Kaittisok (the trainer) wondered whether Jumbo was tired and wanted to rest until he realized it was Dana's shoe that he held in his hand. Needless to say, we were all pretty impressed.




I was a little less impressed when Kaittisok asked whether I wanted him to take a picture of us. I thought he would simply turn around from where he sat and take the picture, but no, he takes my camera and slides down the elephant's trunk to the ground! While he is focusing the camera on us, Jumbo decided to move toward some food on the down-hill side of the trail we're on. All I could think was that here I am on an elephant without anyone in the driver's seat. Fortunately Kaittisok got Jumbo back on the trail and climbed back onto his head to direct him. I missed a few heartbeats but that's about it.

After our ride, I slipped Jumbo a 20 (baht) as a tip. He thanked me by shaking his head, took the 20 with his trunk and shared it with Kaittisok since they work as a team.

On our way to the Elephant Camp we also stopped at Tiger Kingdom where we had an incredible Thai dinner while watching camels and tigers roaming the grounds. I didn't quite have the time (or nerve) to walk inside the cages with the tigers; perhaps next time. Those who did have the nerve got pictures sitting and laying beside these cute little kitties.

Smooth Operator

On the outskirts of Chiang Mai is a silk factory where they not only produce a variety of silk products but the fabric to make these products.  I've always wondered how silk was made and I guess I could have Googled it but never did.  No need to anymore because I got to see the process first-hand: from preparing the cocoons to spooling the fiber to weaving fabric.

I guess the silk worms have got it made in these factories.  The animal rights activists would be thrilled, for silk worms are treated to a luxurious life to produce cocoons. For instance, their environment is kept at controlled temperatures through all life cycles and the worms are fed crushed mulberry leaves around the clock, allowing them to multiply their weight 10,000 times within a month. 

Each silkworm cocoon is made up of a single fiber that is 600 to 900 meters long. Five to eight strands of the filament that are unwound from a silk worm cocoon are used to create silk thread. The silk thread is then used to create silk fabric.

 

Did you know that Thai silk is usually soft but has a relatively coarse texture with uneven, slightly knotty threads? It has a magnificent, rich, exotic beauty and, with proper care, can last a century or more. Chinese silk, on the other hand, tends to be smooth and satiny. Indian silk tends to be softer but more crinkly and uses richer colors. Italian silk tends to strive for a refined and elegant look but this can easily be accomplished anywhere using mechanized weaving.

After witnessing every stage of creating the fabric, visitors are escorted into a store housing thousands of handmade items made right on the premises. The store seemed to go on and on displaying everything from clothes to home linens and even home furnishings.

An outdoor cafe is conveniently located on the way to the parking lot for those who simply must have an espresso after a strenuous afternoon of shopping. Now if this cafe were in Korea, I would say that silk worm in lava would be on the menu as a snack item... but then again, maybe they wouldn't have it on the menu because that would eat into their profits =)