We Have to Work Off the Food
Chiang Mai, Thailand
March 28, 2009
I enjoyed my cereal with raisins! The only thing better would be peanut butter. I will have to find some today.
We walked into the old city to find the Saturday market. I thought the chef told us it was a morning market, but is obviously is not. We did find the Wat that we were looking for the other night - Wat Sri Supan. It appears that a movie is being filmed here. Zee Germans (Lisa Films) are making a movie and we stick around for one shot.
I was able to find a Thai iced tea and Bill used the internet at a Guest House to find out about ultimate.We have no plans, but would like to try to find the pickup ultimate frisbee game that Kara had mentioned Our Monk TeacherComments!. I had emailed someone that I had found an address for, but they did not get back to me. We found out that there is something at Paya U around 4 on Saturday, so we will make our way there later (it is a bit off our map, but we are going to try to find it).
We were just wandering around and a guy starting talking to us. He is familiar with Canada, his sister has lived in Montreal for 30 years. He suggested that we go to Wat Chai Mong Kol, Warorot Market, Wat Ket Karam and try a riverside restaurant on Charoenrat Road. All of these things bring us near the University (more or less), so why not?
We had a bite to eat at a corner cafe - panang curry (it did not have peanuts, so I think it is not correct), iced tea, Chang beer and American fried rice. The American fried rice turned out to be rice with a tomato sauce and sliced ham, fried eggs and chicken hot dogs (this was Bill's order, he only ate the egg whites), so I shared my meal with him.
We watched a bit of Harry Potter and freshened up.
We walked for a few hours to Wat Chai Mong Kol - it must have been special day for donations and offerings. There were nice frescoes of ceremonies or celebrations on the walls of the temple. Outside people were taking pails of water filled with eels and fish and setting them free. You could also set a sparrow free too.
The Warorot Market is filled mostly with clothing, silver and gold jewelery and fabric. We did find peanut butter and Thai iced tea at a nearby mini-mart.
We also passed through a flower market just before the footbridge. You could get a lovely small arrangement for 100 bhat (so cheap).
We crossed the water and went through the museum at Wat Ket Karam. The older gentlemen showed us a picture of his parents - his mother was Thai and his father was Scottish. There was a collection of old China, fabric (silk), tools, statues and photographs. In one corner there was a cat with her kitten. When we came back around I could hear a kitten mewing frantically. As I got close I could see the mother and her baby was stuck in a large plastic bag with some junk in a corner. The mom was not happy to see me and was growling. I called Bill over and he was able to scare her away with the backpack. I was them able to tear the plastic bag so the baby could escape. Both kitten and mom were afraid and we did not see them, so we left. After viewing the photos we came back to find mom nursing 2 babies, so everyone is safe and sound!
We wandered around for a while and found the University and a nearby field that we figured would be great for frisbee. It was after 4 and no one was around... so we did not stick around.
On Charoenrat Road we found a spot on the water to have something to eat and drink, Regina guest house and restaurant. We were both tired, hungry and thirsty. I had the papaya salad and Bill had fried rice with a Spy Wine Cooler (very odd). We are seated across the water from the flower market, only a few boats go by.
We walked back through Warorot Market on our way to the monk chat and I was able to buy some apples for my peanut butter and grilled bananas. They would be better if they were warmer. I guess they had been sitting.
Bill did not think I was taking the most direct route, so he took over. It is hot and we have been walking all day, so in true Bill fashion, we go even FURTHER out of our way. We are now off the map (not only do I not know what direction we are going, but there is less and less English and no more street signs). I am not very impressed. I am reevaluating if he would be a good Amazing Race partner....
Finally, we get back to an intersection that I can find on our map and we have to hurry now or will miss the monk chat for the 2nd time. We head through the Saturday market and see that they have some different stuff. There is clothing, jewelery, handmade stickers, foot massages, silver, wood carvings, purses, dolls, scarves, key chains, t-shirts with Chiang Mai patches and postcards. I know it sounds the same, but most things were a bit different than what we have seen in other parts of Thailand or Chiang Mai.
We were "chatting" with a monk for a bit when 2 young guys from Denmark joined us. They advise us that they are going around the world. At one point they are going across the US from NY to LA.
The monk was able to answer some of our questions and gave us some good information about Buddhism. I don't remember his name, but he is from Cambodia and has been a monk in Chiang Mai since he was 16, for the past 10 years. Bill and I are both learning that it is more fragmented than what we first thought. It is like Christianity - Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, ect. Each Buddhist group has the same core beliefs - avoid/do not kill, steal, lie, commit adultery or become intoxicated.
This monk explained that praying is for giving honour to Buddha (not like making an intention as Christians do). He explained that women can be equal (meaning become a monk) or become a nun. If you are a male or female monk you have to live a monastic life. He also said that in some countries women can not become monks due to the policy of the government, not due to Buddhist rules. Male monks have to live by 227 rule and female monks have to live by 340 rules. He agreed that it is much more disciplined and difficult to be a female monk. So, it is equal, but not...
We have seen monks wearing different coloured robes (some more yellow and some more reddish-brown). The monetary may stipulate the colour of the robe, but it is more likely dependent on what type of donation you happen to receive (monks have no money and depend on the charity of others). Monks are not allowed to wear white, green or black.
He does not believe in reincarnation (our guide in Bagan certainly did). He said that monks in Tibet believe that only the Dalai Lama can be reincarnated. He also said that the goal or meaning of life is morality, living in the present (if you focus on the future, you will never get anything done) and happiness. He also said it is morality that separates us from animals.
He also told us that Buddha and Buddhism comes from an ancient Pali word meaning High or Higher Knowledge. He explained that anyone, not just well educated people can have Higher Knowledge. It is attained by learning from others (reminded of the exec MBA program, learning from the experience of other people with business experience), having pure thoughts, and doing good/friendly actions. It seemed like it was important to be a part of a community and to help make it a better society, not living in a vacuum. He also explained that lay people are not as devout or religious because there are too many temptations when you do not live a monastic life.
After we were done we walked back through the Saturday market. We bought some handmade stickers and a unique postcard that will be good for scrap booking. I finally had some corn-on-the-cob! It was good! We also had some shrimp pad thai. We also had a banana waffle with chocolate syrup. It was really good with peanut butter. Again - too much food, especially sugar. Even the popcorn we bought the other day has sugar on it instead of salt!
