Memories of Thailand

It is the time of year again when I start preparing for another an adventure of a lifetime. This is now my fourth year teaching summer study abroad courses for Broadreach and every year has brought new challenges, opportunities for growth, exploration, and inspiration. As I get ready to set off with a new group of students to a new and exotic corner of the world, I can't help but reflect on my experiences from last summer. Last summer's Thailand trip was really special in many different ways for me. The trip started with an opportunity to do some scouting for future programs and explore in the northern part of the country. I then went back to Bangkok and took a very slow public train to Ayutthaya to check on the accommodations and activities for my group there. In Ayutthaya, I went on a private boat tour of the major Wats and learned a lot about the history of Thailand. Back in Bangkok, I met my students and set out on an epic experience with some great kids. The program brought us in contact with many interesting people and places and I am quite sure we all learned a fair bit about fish, Thailand, and ourselves. After my students set off for the US, I met up with one of my favorite girls on the planet and I got to see yet another part of the country. Before traveling in Thailand, I had never stepped foot on the Asian Continent. After crisscrossing the country over the course of the summer, I was completely enamored with the country, culture, food, and people.

Since Thailand was my only experience in Asia, I somehow imagined that all Asian countries would be similar in someways. I know that this is absolutely ridiculous, as Asian cultures are extremely varied and diverse, but a little part of my brain expected life in Japan to be similar to life in Thailand. Now that I have lived in Japan for 2 months, I still catch myself comparing it to Thailand all the time, when really Thailand and Japan are as different as Japan and the U.S. Although the comparisons are not warranted, my new home has kept Thailand on my mind all the time. It probably does not help that I have been reading Thai detective novels and some very poignant short stories about life in Thailand. It probably also does not help that I was quite set on teaching in Thailand again this summer, but the Thailand programs were cancelled due to the political unrest.


Since I absolutely cannot get Thailand off my mind, I thought I would revisit my travel journal and share some of my memories. I think the major reason that Thailand has stuck with me in a way unlike any of my other travel destinations is the mystical feeling that pervades everything in the country. In exploring Chiang Mai, my first destination last summer, I was overwhelmed by the abundance temples, or Wats, that seemed to be present on the corner of every intersection. The Wats are like compounds with a main temple, dorms, teaching spaces, and administration buildings all walled in by a high, solid wall and gates that are closed at night.  The variation in style of the Wats is as impressive as their number. Some of the temples are gilded in gold and are so shiny and luminous it is almost painful to look at them in the summer Thailand sun, while others are humble straw thatched buildings, and some are huge stone ruins that were literally built ages ago. Bustling among the buildings and statues of the Wats are men and boys of all ages dressed in flowing, deep orange robes. The monks live at the temples with no possessions. Every morning, they go out into the streets with giant bowls and collect food from whoever is willing to donate. They live completely at the mercy of the people of the community, who also donate the money that is used to build and maintain the Wats. This charitable system works because of the intense superstitious nature of the Thai people; they donate to the Wat whenever they are in need of some good luck.

The Monks were one of the most fascinating part of Thailand. They are so peaceful, calm, and beautiful in their saffron robes. I was obviously insanely curious about their lives, their meditation, their life after monkhood - but it is not easy to talk to Monks. For one, females are not even supposed to walk next to them on the sidewalk. Proper protocol is to step off the curb, so the Monk can pass you without getting too close. One of my favorite experiences was therefore the "Monk Chat." Wat Chedi Luang, one of the biggest in Chiang Mai offers a sit and chat from 1-6pm everyday. During this time, several monks sit out in an open area and you can sit down and ask any questions that you have about Buddhism or being a Monk. The Wat is the location of the Buddhism University, so there are Monks there that visiting from many different Wats around the country. The Monks are studying Buddhism, but are also working on their English. The chat lets them practice their English and allows tourists to gain a better understanding of the religion. The monk I chatted with was very open and outgoing and was eager to answer my questions. I asked what the different shades of orange robes signified and learned that the colors represent the Wats that the Monks come from. I mentioned that I had assumed that the colors were a type of ranking system, like the number of stripes on my husbands shoulder. The Monk smiled and explained that in Buddhism there is no ranking, no castes, everyone is equal and the same. I like this idea, but there is one glaring exception: women are not allowed to be monks. The Monk's answer to this was quite interesting, but I am not sure how widely believed it is: there once were many women monks, but before the temples were built, Monks lived in the forests. Women are not as fast or strong as men, so all the women Monks were eaten by tigers and snakes. Only women Monks can teach other women Monks, so the lack of women Monks precluded any women from becoming monks in the future. I was not totally convinced by this response, but I let it go. An important note is that women can become Monk in other countries; in Chinese Buddhism, for example, women are welcome to ordain.

Fat Buddha

Another great story that the Monk relayed to me had to do with Buddha's appearance. When visiting all the Wats, I saw statues of Buddha in many different positions and I also saw fat Buddhas and skinny Buddhas. I learned that the different positions represented the different meditation positions and that there are prescribed meditation positions for all sorts of things - your birth day of the week (M,T,W,Th, F, S, Sun) is one of the most prominent. The fat and skinny Buddhas came with a rather comical tale. The skinny Buddha was a very, very handsome man, but, in order to be happy and live a pure life, he practiced celibacy. His pleasing appearance impressed the ladies and women were constantly trying to seduce him. In order to remove the temptation and live more peacefully, Buddha ate gluttonously and purposely reached obesity to keep the women at bay. This story might be slightly sexist as well, but it did make me laugh.

Skinny Buddhas in a walking meditation room at a Wat in
Ayutthaya

The superstitions of the Thai people go beyond donating food and supplies to the Buddhist monks and temples. While driving though Thailand, it is impossible to miss the vendors at every single traffic light that weave between the stopped cars to sell beautiful flowers strung together to be hung on rearview windows. When I first saw these vendors, I expected they would be ignored just like the people who walk between cars in NYC and try to wash windshields for a couple dollars. The vendors selling the flowers, however, were definitely not ignored. Practically every time I was in a car, whether taxi or airport transfer van or personal vehicle, the driver reached out the window with some money and then hung the flower garland over their rearview window. Apparently, these garlands grant drivers the necessary luck to survive driving in Thailand. And, driving in Thailand is no joke. While glancing through my journal from last summer, I stumbled upon this quote: "The most overwhelming thing, however, is crossing the road. Drivers do not yield to pedestrians and do not stop at crosswalks. There are no signs to "walk" or "don't walk." One day of walking has told me that I do not want to drive here." I did eventually drive, a motorbike at least, but I never did purchase a flower garland for luck.

Honestly, I could go on and on about Thailand forever. And I will more in the future. As much as I wish I was going back to land of smiles this summer, I am getting really excited about Fiji and teaching a course all about sharks. I am sure Fiji will be magical in its own way, It is just hard to imagine anywhere being as magical as Thailand.

Castles in the sky

View from Nakagusuku Castle Ruins

Welcome area to Nakagusuku Castle Ruins

I have to admit that before moving to Okinawa, I knew very little about the history of the island and its people. I still don't know much, but I am learning more with each adventure. One of the most striking visual reminders of the history of Okinawa are the beautiful castle ruins found on hilltops throughout the island. These castles are relics of the feudal days of the Ryukyu Kingdom before Okinawa was designated a prefecture of Japan. Shuri castle, near the city of Naha in the south end of the island, was the home of ruling family of the Ryukyu kingdom and the center of its government for centuries. This castle was built in the 1300's and although damaged several times throughout history, was most recently demolished in WW2. Shuri castle was rebuilt in 1992 and is now a park and museum (I have not visited this castle yet, but I will soon). The rest of the castles around Okinawa were homes to lords and the seats of local government. The Ryukyu kingdom was first invaded by the Satsuma Domain (now the Kagoshima Prefecture - the island of Kyushu and the island group that stretches from Kyushu to Taiwan) in 1609 and was taken as a tributary state of Japan. As a tributary state, Okinawa continued to be governed by its royal family. In 1879, Okinawa was officially made a prefecture of Japan and ruled by the central government of Japan. Today, the restored Shuri castle and the smaller castle ruins throughout the island have been dedicated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The second enclosure at Nakagusuku Castle.

Okinawa is mostly a very busy, very urban place. The majority of the middle and southern part of the island is coated in cement with many-story apartment buildings everywhere you turn. The castles of Okinawa are separate from the hustle and bustle of the city; they are above and away, and are surrounded by green jungle. It sounds cliche, but visiting the castles really feels like stepping back in time. There is an overwhelming sense of peace and enchantment at the top of the hills encircled by ancient castle walls. I have visited two castle ruins so far, and I have experienced the same sense of calm and peacefulness while wandering along the impressive structures at both sites.

Rocks are perfectly smooth on the outside,
but crudely cut on the inside.
Each side of the wall is separate and
the gap is filled with rubble

The first castle I visited was Nakagusuku Castle (gusuku means castle in the Okinawan dialect), which is just north of Camp Foster. This castle is the best preserved of all the ruins on the island and was quite expansive. Because it is large and well preserved, it is one of the most visited, and requires a 400 yen fee to enter the ground. The ruins consist of 3 large enclosures, each a little higher than the one before it, and 3 small enclosures along the side of the main structure. The enclosures are essentially large courtyards surrounded by massive stone walls that organically rise up from the cliff sides. The walls were created by piecing together giant limestone bricks. The bricks are not held together with any sort of mortor or cement, they just fit together perfectly. In one enclosure (technically the 3rd, but the first you reach from the visitor's center), the bricks are hexagonal and the wall looks like a turtle shell or a soccer ball. The face of the wall is perfectly smooth without any gaps, which is so impressive considering the walls were built in the 1300's without modern machinery. It is obvious that a lot of time, energy, and attention to detail went into perfectly shaping and stacking the rocks, but it is still hard to imagine how exactly people were able to complete such a formidable project.

Nakagusuku castle walls

Old foundation of palace at Katsuren.

Sacred cave site at Katsuren. Cement box with sand for incense.

It is fun, however, to imagine what the castles looked like in their glory days. Inside the walls, there were once houses and offices. These structures were built of more temporary materials, and have been destroyed and rebuilt many times throughout history. Nakagusuku was the home of the city offices until WW2 when the buildings were destroyed for the last time. I was obviously not alive during WW2, so that may be one reason that I did not know about the battle of Okinawa. But, I also feel like I received a very European centered education. I have read countless books and seen many movies about World War Two in Europe, but I know much less about the war in the Asian arena. In Okinawa, the effects of World War Two can been seen everywhere. Besides the fact that that war was the impetus for U.S. military bases dominating the island, there was also a huge loss of life and property and the landscape and appearance of the island was forever changed.

Informative plaque about baby skeletons.

Another interesting feature of the castles are the "sacred places." Throughout the structures, there are many seemingly random piles of rocks, or group of bushes, or just a tree that is labeled "sacred place." The south enclosure of Nakagasuku is called holy ground and has 3 sacred places or places of worship. People still come to pray at these sacred places. I am a bit unsure about how and why a place is designated as sacred and do not know the rituals that surround praying and worshiping at a sacred place. I do know, however, that if there is a sacred place in Okinawa, it seems right that it would be in the castle ruins. It has to do with that sense of calm and enchantment that I mentioned earlier, it just feels right that the castle ruins would be a place to come to be quiet and pray or meditate.

I visited Katsuren castle about a week after visiting Nakagusuku. Katsuren is located in a quieter part of the island - on the Yokatsu peninsula, on the way to White Beach. The castle, and the hill it is built on, are smaller and less grand than Nakagusuku, but the structure fits in perfectly with its surroundings. If the two castles switched places, they would be less beautiful. Katsuren is built in much the same style as Nakagusuku, with limestone walls making up 3 main enclosures, each being a little higher and a little smaller. There are many sacred places at Katsuren as well, and some especially interesting archaeology finds. Near the interior wall of the third enclosure (largest, and lowest- the first one you enter), there are many infant skeletons buried in the fetal position facing the wall. Anthropologists are not sure what to make of this find, but it is certainly interesting and a bit creepy.

View of Katsuren as you approach from below.

Katsuren was a bit less impressive, and took less time to explore, but is special in its own ways. This castle does not have a welcome center and there is no fee to visit. When visiting, one kind of feels as though they discovered a secret, enchanted space - even if there are other visitors. Between the baby skeletons and a sacred cave, Katsuren is well worth the visit.

View from midlevel Kasuren. 

View of the first enclose, from the third enclosure of Katsuren.

Farms surrounding Katsuren. 

Me at the base of Katsuren.