Gazette Article on Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand, in Southeast Asia, nestled next to Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Myanmar was not on my list of must see places. My view of the country was primarily what I remembered from the movies The King and I or The Bridge on the River Kwai. A few years ago, I started to have Thai massages to help me stretch out my aging joints and that led to a new interest in Yoga were I saw a flyer about going with a group to do Yoga in the hills of northeastern Thailand in January and February 2007. I took one look at the Farmer’s almanac for upstate winter weather and another at the world map and average temperature for Asia in winter in the low 90’s and I was packing my bags. Thailand is the oldest monarch in the world and one of the few countries never colonized. It is not a good place to go if you don’t like rice since that is the staple food for every meal, including fish rice soup for breakfast, sticky rice and mangos for desert and whisky rice for forgetting why you are eating the rice. The people are gentle and honest, preferring not argue or raise their voice.. While there are about 7 million people driving scooters, tuk tuk (a modified scooter with a covered metal back seat for three), cars or vans in a bumper to bumper line that turns and twists in all directions like a bucket of snakes, there is little to no road rage. I spent a week in the Bangkok and lived in the happening backpack area of 24 hr action and walked or took water taxis or Skyway to get around. You can eat on the street with local vendors cooking morning glory hot salads, fish soup, chicken and rice, bananas etc. for about $2 a meal. In order to get a feel for the country, I also spent some days in a midsize city of Chiangmai, and the rural area of Chiang Dao as well as a visit to the Hill tribe villages. I flew to Cambodia for a few days to see the old temples of Angkor Wat and the disturbing living quarters of floating villages of Vietnamese living in Cambodia. There were many highlights of my Thai experience but two most notably were the children at the small school where we did our Yoga practice. Every child was healthy and happy full of energy and enthusiasm but lacking arguments and rivalry. At noontime, without a prompt, they took their toothbrush and brushed their teeth. Young pre-school children played with clay for hours without destroying another’s work or being fidgety. The other high point was my trip to the rescued Elephants. There are still some wild elephants walking in the rice fields but most are used for tourism or logging. The elephants at the nature park were rescued from cruel owners or because they were ill. Walking in the jungle next to a blinded elephant will be a memory that I will hold dear until I return next year to volunteer at the camp, study Thai, and spend my winter in the land of smiles.