The Strangest Shrine In Bangkok!

     Hi Everyone!     I am finally back to writing.  I know that it's been a long time, but I took 3 weeks off to go back to the states to visit my kids and family.  Then when I returned, I think  I had a combination of writers block and I started to see things here as "normal".  When I looked at the culture around me I wasn't looking at it with a newcomer's eye anymore.  So I knew that I had to do something . . . something out of the ordinary.  And boy did I do that! 

     My friend Bee and I decided to go see the Tuptin Shrine.  It's kind of a hush hush shrine.  Not one that you'll find in a lot of tourist books, and you'll  soon see why.  This shrine is tucked away behind the Swissotel (formerly the Nai Lert Hotel).  Bee and I had a very, very hard time even finding this thing.  We even asked a few of the employees if they knew where it was, they didn't have a clue!  That kind of shows how hush hush it is. 

     Before I show you the pictures and describe the shrine, there is something about this hotel that you need to know.  When it was called the Nai Lert Hotel it had a famous guest named David Carridine.  This is where he hung himself by a rope in his room after spending the night with a Thai ladyboy.  I found out about that after I had visited the shrine. 

     Ok . . . now for the Shrine.  It is said that years ago a woman came to pray at the shrine asking for help from Chao Tuptim to conceive a baby.  Nine months later she gave birth to a healthy child.  She was so happy that she came back to the shrine and left a large wooden carving in thanks.  Others have followed in her footsteps . . .

 

My first thought was, where are they getting all of these statues?  I haven't seen them sold anywhere on the street!  There must be some underground market for penis statues!!!

It is almost overwelming how many penis statues and carvings there are at this tiny shrine that is really only about 10 feet by 15 feet.

 

 I was amazed to see a picture of Jesus involved in all of this, but you know, he was a man, so . . .

 

This was the spirit house where food offerings were left.

 

A small table where other things were left.  There are 12 million people in this city, so this shrine must be working!!!

 
This dress and 2 others were left as offerings.

These statues of babies greet you as you enter the shrine grounds.  Very sweet, but the shrine itself is a little creepy if you ask me.  If my guests want to see it I will definitely take them here.

After Bee and I were finished photographing this area we went back to the hotel and had lunch by the hotel pool.  What an experience! 

Combined Womens' Luncheon

  

   Today was the biggest event that the American Womens' Club will put on all year.  It was their turn to host the combined womens' luncheon for all of the womens' clubs in Bangkok.  It was held at the Sofitel Hotel. 

The theme this year was the rip roaring twenties.  Women could dress as flappers or just in a nice dress if not as brave.  Most of my table (including me) chose to come in just a nice dress.  Here are some of my other friends in their amazing outfits :

The woman in black is Melanie, I work with her in the consignment shop, she is also the Vice-President of the Womens' Club.  The woman in blue is Naina, she is in my book club.  The lady in blue is Christy, I work with her in the orphanage, she is in our club and in the German Womens' Club!

The flapper on the right is Amy, she lives in my apartment building and is very nice.  The flapper on the left is Yevon, she also lives in my building and is Canadian, but also a member of the American Womens' Club (we'll let anyone in!! ha ha)

This is Bee Laughter.  She is one of the ladies that I go to the orphanage with.  She is very funny and nice.

These were the ladies that sat at our table.  Starting from the left:  Bee, Renee (in green), Vicki (in Black), A Japanese lady that I had just met but now I can't remember her name, me, Sonali, Nancy, and another lady that I had just met.  We had a very fun table, lots of laughter and fun!


     Soon they had a competition to see who had the best outfit.  The best dressed paraded out to the stage.  We clapped for our favorites!

 

 

The 2 ladies in black were from the Brazilian Club.  One of them got 2nd place.

 

The lady in pink is from New Zealand, she got first place.  I was told that she won best dressed 2 years in a row! 

 

Then it was time for the entertainment.  I really wasn't too impressed at first.  Here we are, a room full of women, watching 4 women on stage bumping and grinding.  THEN the Japanese woman next to me whispered in my ear (you know they are girly-boys don't you?)  WHAT???    I could not believe it.  They looked so real!!!  Check it out for yourself:

Then they invited our ladies to get out on the dance floor with them.  It is a sad thing when a real woman looks far worse than a girly-boy!!! 

 

So this is my life.  Think of me as you are going to your lovely jobs in Ohio, Kentucky, California, Washington State, or wherever you are in the world.  I am slaving away here in Bangkok having to go to these damn luncheons.  Oh the life we live . . . ha ha ha

                                                                         Linda

A New Volunteer At the National Museum !

   

  This week I went with some friends to a meeting at the beautiful Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok for the National Museum.  It was an informational meeting for people who were interested in being volunteers and for people who were interested in becoming new members.  Also a time for older members to catch up with others that they might not have seen in a while.

      I went because I love history and I had heard about all of the wonderful programs they had going on there, so I was definitely going to join.  When I told Steve that I was now a volunteer at the museum he asked, "How much is that going to cost?"  Well they do actually charge 1200 Baht to be a member but you get free admission and if you want to go to lectures it costs less than an outsider.  Also, what I am really excited about is that they have a 2 month class that is 2 days a week starting on January 29th which will train me to be a docent in the museum.  A docent is someone who will give a free tour to English speaking visitors.  There are also Japanese, German and French docents.  I will learn a lot about Thai history and culture, meet a lot of people, and at the end of the class, if I feel that being a docent is not for me, I don't have to commit.  I think it's pretty cool. 

     While I was at this open house, my friend Deb introduced me to a Budhist monk she knows.  He originally was American, grew up in Indiana, and by the age of 10 knew that he wanted to be a Budhist.  Kind of a tough thing to be in the middle of the cornfields of Indiana! 


     His original name is Karol, but most people called him Percy.  When he became a monk he took on the name Bhikkhu Kantasilo, but he asked us to call him Bante.  I think "Bhikkhu" is an honorific but I am not sure.  He has been a monk here in Thailand for 32 years and came here just after the Vietnam war ended, sometime around 1979.  He said that at that time white people were still pretty unusual to see and a lot of Thais would stop and stare and point at him.  I won't go into his whole story because he is quite a talker and very personable.  I hope one day to get to tour the Wat that he is at. 

     These children played traditional Thai music for us.  It's very hard for a Westerner to appreciate their music.  At first it sounded to me like my high school band as we were all warming up our instruments at the same time.  Then they played another song where one of the boys sang, and his voice was very sweet.  I suppose the music could grow on me if I heard it enough! 
                                    Linda 

Lost in Translation

     I had to go to the hospital today for a check-up with my doctor.  Last month I decided to try the doctors here since people had told me what great service they had gotten.  Well I have had migraines for well over 20 years and the medicine that my U.S. doctor had prescribed had run out.  The pharmacies here had never heard of that medicine, so that was the last straw . . . I headed to the Thai doctor. 

     My doctor's name is Dr. Theeraporn Thaichinda.  I call him Doctor.  He was educated in the United States and speaks very good English, but still there are many times I don't quite get the gist of what he is saying.  He prescribed a medicine and all was well and good. 

     Which brings me to today's check-up.  He wanted to make sure that the low dose he had given me was working well.  I told him that I was still having slight headaches and that I would like to try acupuncture.  I forgot that someone had told me to be careful about what you ask for because you get it right away.  I thought I would get an appointment to come back to see the accupuncturist.  Oh no, I was marched right up the steps to his door. I sat down opposite him and before I knew it, I had needles in my head!  Then he asked me how I wanted to pay - by the session or a cheaper way was by the package - I said probably the cheaper way.  But as I lay there in the dark with needles in my head, I thought maybe I want to pay each time I come.  So when the session was over I told the nurse at the desk that I wanted to pay by the session.  She marched me down the steps to pay.  I signed the credit card receipt - and low and behold - I had paid the "cheaper way" - by the package - something was definitely lost in translation.  My friends had told me it is too hard to make them give you the money back so I just gave up. 

     It's times like these that I really miss the U.S.!

                                                             Linda

A Shopping Adventure

     I believe that I have already told you about the "food police" - the store clerks that have followed me around the grocery store when I have taken too long to hold a product while trying to decipher what is in it -- I'm sorry -- I still can't read Thai, let alone Japanese, Chinese, or whatever other language these product labels might be written in.  I can barely speak "taxi Thai" -- that is just enough Thai to get you from one place to another around the city, or to say thank you or it was delicious!  But I digress . . .

     I have a new category, or a subcategory to talk about today.  I might have mentioned in the past how there is very little unemployment here in Thailand, they actually have to import people into the city to have enough workers for major building projects.  But in department stores they are way overstaffed.  During a weekday there are usually more staff in the stores than shoppers.  They try to stay busy by dusting or straightening their shelves.  But most of the girls seem to be putting on lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, looking at themselves in the mirror, primping their hair, or playing on their phones.  I have gotten so used to it now that it usually doesn't bother me, until it interfers with what I need to do.

     The other day I went into Boots drug store which is like CVS but a lot smaller.  I really needed some mascara.  I walked over to that area and all they had in one section was "VOLUME" "PLUMPING" "BIG LASHES".  I didn't want that!  I just wanted regular mascara.  Ah ha!  I spied it, but there was a problem.  It was hidden behind 3 clerks who were busy putting on their make-up!  They had no concern at all for customers, their boss or how it looked to be putting on make-up at work!  I shouldn't have been, but I was still amazed.  Anyway, I stood behind them for what seemed like a few minutes until they finally one by one moved away. 

     To top that off, I moved over to the nail polish.  There were 2 other girl clerks standing there just talking.  I said "sawatee Kha" and the tall one who was made up like a China doll said "sawatee Kha" back to me in a DEEP voice!  It was a girly-boy.  I was shocked but tried not to show it. 

     What a day of shopping !!

At the Top of the World !

     Steve and I decided to take a day trip to see the tallest building in Bangkok.  It is called the Baiyoke Sky Hotel.  After getting off the BTS we walked through a crowded clothes market, and when I say crowded, I mean, wow, you could hardly move.  Luckily I had all my money in my front pants pockets and Steve didn't have his wallet on him that day.  I haven't felt unsafe in this city until a few days ago when our driver Somchai told me to watch out for pick pockets and people that will slit your purse to get your wallet.  Now I am very cautious. 

 
     Back to my story . . . All of a sudden . . . there was this super tall building.  The observation ticket counter was right by the front door.  It cost us B300 each which was $20 total.  We made it to the elevator ahead of a bus load of Japanese tourists.  I expected to be crammed into the elevator with them, but the operator let just Steve and I in.  I soon found out why.  A voice began to describe in English how they built the tower - how tall it is - 328 meters, it has 85 floors and that it opened in 1997.  It is Thailand's tallest building and contains the Baiyoke Sky Hotel which is the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia and is the 4th tallest of all hotel structures in the world. 

 

     We first went to the observation floor on the 77th floor.  It was ok.  We took pictures at all 4 points - N, S, E, W and tried to find our apartment building - impossible!  

 

 

 

 

Steve has been working out lately and has really been taking his Thai lessons seriously!  Way too seriously!

 

 

 

Steve says I really haven't changed much, but I have been demanding a bit more jewelry lately!

 

 

     Since we were thirsty and our ticket said were to get a free drink we headed to the elevator to go to the 83rd floor to go to the Roof Top Lounge where our drink was waiting.  We were met by . . . "the elevator police"!  He said we had to go around the whole observation floor before we could go up to the 83rd floor.  We told him we had already gone around the whole perimeter.  He said we should go around the observation floor and when we were ready come back to the elevator he would let us go up to the 83rd floor.  We gave up and walked around again quickly .  He gave us a smile when he saw us - it had been no more than 2 minutes since he'd last seen us.  Then he pushed the button to let us up to the 83rd floor.  He acted very feminine, I think he was one of those girly-boys. 

 

     We finally made it to the 83rd floor!  I had water in a plastic bottle shaped like the tower and Steve had a juice.  The lounge was a GREAT disappointment!  It was so shabby.  This building should have been the jewel of this city but the whole thing felt very old with paint peeling, no beauty, no Thai music playing, just a run-down feeling.  I didn't like it one bit.  We walked up one floor to the revolving floor which maybe is pretty and nice to see at night with all of the lights of the city, but during the day, it was just o.k.  We didn't stay long at all. 

 

 

I wasn't impressed and I really wouldn't bring guests here.  If you've been to one tall building this is just another one.  Sorry about that.
                                                                       Linda

The Friendliest Man in Bangkok

     Someone you must learn about is our driver Somchai.  He tries to keep everything on a professional level and usually when you ask him a question he ends his answer with a laugh.  But I have found that when I am with him, especially when Steve is not around I can get some amazing stories out of him especially about his childhood - about soldiers coming to Thailand from the Vietnam war, his village, and his family. 

 

     One Friday night Somchai picked me up around 5 pm to take me to Steve's plant.  We were going to paint his office.  A huge thunderstorm had already come through the city, plus more rain was to come.  Anyway, just some rain can shut the city down for a little bit, add on that it was Friday night, pay day, plus a huge amount of rain --  well, Somchai and I sat for 2 1/2 hours in traffic.  We had plenty of time to talk.  Here was one of the first stories I got out of him:

 

Movie Night

     Somchai comes from the Northeastern part of Thailand also called Isan.  There are a lot of very poor people in that part of the country and it seems like a lot of the young people come to Bangkok to try to make money so that they can send some back home to help out their families.

 

     His village was very poor and there was not a lot of entertainment to be had, but something special happened once every couple of months.  This was in the early 60's, before his village had any form of television.  A man would come through the village with a megaphone and announce "The movie is coming!  Mamas bring your children, Papas bring your families!"  Over and over he would say this.  The excitement would build.  Finally movie night came and everyone assembled in the village center

. 

     The man would have a microphone, but there was no electricity to power it so they had to pour gasoline into some container to get the microphone going.  Somchai said that you didn't want to be anywhere near that microphone!   I asked, "Was it a Thai movie or an American movie?"  He said "American of course!"  I wanted to know how those poor villagers could possibly understand English words.  He had a solution for that - the man with the microphone would play all the parts!!  He would use a deep voice for the man and a high voice for the woman.  Somchai laughed and said that they never knew if the man was translating exactly word for word, but they enjoyed it just as well!

 

What does the _______say?

 

     I realize that a lot of people don't think the way that I do and that is ok, but bear with me, Somchai and I laughed and laughed over this one.  I hope you find it funny too. 

 

     Ok, so maybe an hour into our trip, we may have gone a mile or two, so I asked Somchai, "What does a dog say?"  He looked at me like I was nuts, which is no big deal to me because Steve looks at me like that all the time.  So I boldly asked him again.  He said "Nurf  Nurf!  I laughed and laughed.  He asked what was so funny.  He laughed when I told him that a dog in English says woof woof or bark bark.  So on and on we went trying to find a similarity between animals.  We finally found two animals that could actually talk to each other in Thai and English and I bet you can't guess who they are. 

                                                    

                                        A Cat  - Meow

                                        A Horse - Naaa

 

Everything had a different sound, very interesting don't you think?

 



 

   

The Jim Thompson House

     Who is this Jim Thompson you might ask which is exactly what I asked when I came to Bangkok.  Well if you are not an interior decorator or a lover of fine silk you might not know his name, but he is someone very important in Thailand, and he just happens to be an American!

     Prior to WWII he was an architect.  During the war he was sent to Bangkok as a military officer and fell in love with Thailand.  After leaving the service he decided to return and live here permanently.  The hand weaving of silk captured Jim's attention and he decided to devote himself to reviving the craft. 

Here are some examples of silk worm cocoons.  The white ones are like the ones we saw in China.  The colored ones are of course already dyed.  The yellow are the most interesting to me.  They are supposedly only found in Thailand and are naturally yellow.  They are all very beautiful. 

Later I watched a man sit on that orange cushion and boil the cocoons.  Then he hooked 10 of the strings together to make one stronger thread.   An amazing process. 

I wish there had been someone spinning or weaving the cloth while we were there, but no such luck.  It was a beautiful old machine. 

Look at the colorful, amazing silk threads.  Can't you just imagine something wonderful being made on this machine?!!

     So the main reason you go to this Home and Museum is to see Jim Thompson's beautiful home and compound that he put together.  There isn't a silk factory here - Steve was disappointed, he wanted to see how the Thai people make silk - but it shows how Jim Thompson brought together six teak houses and combined them into one large house seamlessly.  It is truly beautiful.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but I got a lot of decorating ideas by walking through his gorgeous house. 
 

The red paint that is used on the outside of all the buildings is a preservative often found on many old buildings.

Here is Steve getting ready to go into the compound.  I think he is telling me to hurry up and stop taking so many pictures!  :)

After the tour of the house they have a lovely restaurant which we took full advantage of.  We sat next to the Koi pond.  What a beautiful place.  I can see why Jim Thompson loved living here. 

 

So that is our trip to the Jim Thompson house.  For those of you that are coming out, if you like beautiful houses, silk, fish, or even just eating, we will take you here!!

                       Bye for Now!

                                       Linda