Semester Slump

It's the week of final exams, and I am in the semester slump.

I'm very ready for a vacation! We teachers have a few more weeks of work left, but soon it will be October and I will be on holiday!

Until then, I'm working on my work, my online classes, my books, and my blogs as best as I can, in true tropical style.

Just a normal day at the office!

Ice Cream Mooncakes

It's almost time for my favorite Chinese holiday, the Mid-Autumn Festival! I love it, because it means that it's time for...

MOONCAKES!

 

three little mooncakes

And this year, we are trying something different! I like the Moon Cake Festival because it gives me the chance to try all sorts of cool, modern, and unique moon cakes from all over Bangkok. Every hotel, bakery, and tea house tries to outdo the rest by having the most special type of moon cake available. Sure, you can find plenty of traditional moon cakes, but it's fun to try to find other types as well. This time, we are trying some ice cream "snowy" mooncakes. Snowy mooncakes are made with a soft skin made from mochi - Japanese sweet pounded rice dough. These particular ones were filled with ice cream and had to be transported with dry ice. Very cool! Each one is tiny and delicious.

ice cream moon cakes

One was served in its own little box. This one was the most uniquely "Thai" of all of the ice cream mooncakes: a durian ice cream mooncake!

Durian ice cream mooncake

The Mid-Autumn festival is on October 4 this year, which will be the full moon. Until then, I'll be enjoying as many delicious mooncakes as I can!

Siam

My Saturday took me all over the Siam neighborhood of Bangkok, a nearby downtown area within walking distance to my apartment. This district, full of malls, shops, restaurants, and cafes backs up to Chulalongkorn University, and is sort of a trendy and upscale student area.

elephant at Central World

It's a cool area, and it feels very modern and urban. Sometimes, it's amazing how different Bangkok can feel from one area to the next.

new Siam Discovery skywalk

I've been trying to appreciate my surroundings more. Sometimes, I get so used to where I live that Bangkok no longer feels exciting like it once did. After a while, it just sort of becomes a city like any other. Well, that's no good!

skytrain lines over the Siam skywalk

Bangkok is a cool city! It's exciting, vibrant, and modern. I remember visiting the Siam area on my first weekend in the country and being surprised at how it looked. This wasn't at all what I expected Thailand to look like!

wooden spirit houses at MBK mall

I'm trying to see the city with new eyes. I want to discover new places, but I also want to re-discover the cool places around me that I've gotten too used to. Bangkok is a great city with lots to see, and every neighborhood feels completely different from the next.

Bangkok Museum of Contemporary Art (Art and Culture Center)

A Weekend in Ao Nang

Krabi... it's good to be back!

Krabi is one of my favorite provinces in the kingdom. Located far in the south of Thailand on the Andaman Sea, Krabi province is small, quiet, peaceful, and beautiful - just what I needed for a weekend away.

view from the pool

Last year for Christmas my former boss and good friend Geoffrey gave me a gift voucher for two nights at a resort in Ao Nang, a lovely town in Krabi. It had been given to him by a photographer friend of his, Dek, who also drive us to and from Mae Sot whenever we go. The voucher was going to expire in October, but it couldn't be used during a holiday weekend. Finally, Pinky and I decided that we couldn't let it go to waste! Two weeks ago we found a great deal on Thai Smile Airlines, and now... here we are in Krabi! It's not a long weekend or anything, just a nice weekend out of Bangkok in Thailand's far south.

enjoying the pool

There wasn't enough time for us to book an island trip this year. The last time we visited Krabi, we visited the Phi Phi Islands, which were great! This time, though, we spent some time at the beach, but mostly relaxed at the resort. I had a lot of reading and writing to do for the classes that I'm taking this semester, and since my work schedule is a lot busier this year, I have to do that on the weekend. I'm not complaining though! This is a perfect place to relax and study! After a weekend away, I feel refreshed and re-energized already.

Ao Nang Beach

The south of Thailand is beautiful, and I have only very rarely been to this part of the country. I wish I had more time to travel and explore outside of Bangkok. There's so many amazing places to see in this country! I'm hoping that after this school year ends I will be able to take a week to hop a train and head back to the south to see some new parts of Thailand. An advertisement for a tour to the Hong Islands really caught my eye... That's one of my new goals!

the beach

Krabi is famous for its dramatic karst cliffs and formations. I'm not sure what geological phenomena caused it, whether it was tectonic movement or erosion, but they sure look impressive! The beach is Ao Nang is really quiet, especially compared to somewhere like Pattaya or Phuket. It really is one of my favorite destinations.

karst cliffs

An interesting thing about the south of Thailand, is that it really is a completely different region of the country. Not only is the landscape different, but so is the culture. As we get closer to Malaysia, the culture of the southern provinces become more Malay. Southern Thai food is different; there are more curries and roti. The women working at my resort are mostly Muslim and wear headscarves as a part of the uniform. Whereas in the rest of Thailand you'll find Buddhist temples on every corner, here, they stand alongside mosques.

Masjid Ao Nang

NIght Flight to Krabi

It's long past time for a vacation, and long past time to visit Krabi again.

So, on Friday, after an exhausting week of work, I found myself in a small Thai Smile Air plane, taxing towards the runway at Survarnabhumi Airport, as the sky turned a brilliant pink outside.

I'm in Krabi now, for the second time. It's one of my favorite places in all of Thailand! The flight was short - just an hour or so - and now I'm getting some much-needed r&r in Thailand's south.

It's not a long weekend or anything, just a normal weekend, but so nice to get out of the city!

To be continued!

The Hungry Ghost Festival 盂蘭節

盂蘭節

Tuesday was the Hungry Ghost Festival, a traditional Taoist festival that has made its way into the culture of Bangkok's Chinese-Thai community. The Hungry Ghost Festival is a bit like "Chinese Halloween".

My first sign of the festival was when walking home from work on Tuesday afternoon. There was a small makeshift shrine set up on the curbside along the road.

offerings

Well, I picked up a translation of Pu Songling's classic 18th-century collection of Chinese ghost stories, and have really been enjoying them!

Of course, this isn't really the way that the Chinese-Thai celebrate the festival. The Hungry Ghost Festival is believed to be the one time in the year when the gates of the afterlife are opened, and ghosts and spirits are allowed to visit the earth.

It's a time to remember ancestors, but people also follow a number of traditions to protect themselves from ghosts! The most important part of this festival is burning "joss paper" or "ghost money". It is believed that burning paper goods can transport them to heaven as an offering to the Chinese gods or as a gift to one's ancestors.

ghost money

Traditionally, joss paper was squares of bamboo paper painted with silver and gold rectangles. In the 20th century, joss paper began taking the form of "ghost money", which look like banknotes, and depict the Jade Emperor, the Taoist god of heaven.

In Thailand, ghost money is in the form of Thai baht. In other countries, you can find ghost paper emulating the local currency. Often, these go up to insanely high denominations, billions and trillions of dollars! It makes me wonder what inflation in heaven must be like!

fifty-baht ghost money

 Ghost money also comes in the form of paper coins and gold ingots.

Besides that, however, it is very common nowadays to find joss paper in the form of luxury goods!

joss paper for sale at my local supermarket

For example, you can send your ancestors the latest iPhone, a nice watch, or jewelry.

You could even burn a nice paper suit!

I think it's quite interesting how an ancient tradition has been brought into the modern day!

The Hungry Ghost Festival isn't really just about ghosts though. In reality, it's kind of like All Saint's Day, in that people are called to remember their ancestors and spend time with their families. It's common to share a family feast together.