I used to think that the shape created by the physical layout and borders of Thailand lent itself to a kite- the body of it full and shapely, the string narrow and lingering. Following my sojourn in Thailand, I realized that Thailand is instead a bleeding heart.

In the Thai language, na-an jai is a noun that means "bleeding heart"- it is a type of person that all Thais can only hope to be. Being a na-an jai is almost like reaching Nirvana for the Thai Buddhist who derives their sense of accomplishment and self-worth by how much they can give of themselves and help others. Calling a Thai person na-an jai is the ultimate compliment.

In English, "bleeding heart" is a noun generally used as a slanderous weapon for one who is "excessively sympathetic" to the needs of others. It is not by any means a form of flattery nor is it generally a laudation.

Quite by irony does the form and function of Thailand fit the bleeding heart. Yes, they catered to my every need (and even needs that I didn't really have) but it was all done with the best intentions. From my American perspective it sometimes seemed overwhelming and perhaps even overbearing, but from the Thai perspective it was their duty and honor to help and please me. Had they not gone to every length possible, they would have thought themselves rude and unkind.

What a difference a culture makes.

I had my first experience with Thai massage. It was incredibly intense but left me feeling so relaxed and stress-free. The style of it involves applying deep pressure with the fingers, elbows, and forearms, as well as stretching and pulling. Tonight, my hour-long massage was given by an excellent masseuse- she was the teacher for all of the masseuses at the spa that I went to. Ma told me that her monthly base salary is 500 baht (that is less than $20 per month) in addition to 20 baht per hour of massage (less than $1!). I asked her if she wanted to come back to the US with me as my massage therapist. She laughed kindly.

Reality Nights
Before our long drive home, we stayed at the house of a friend of Ma's friend. It was military housing as her husband is in the army. The house itself could probably be considered lower-middle class for the rural areas as it was concrete with a corrugated tin roof and running water. They had a stereo and a computer, and as most Thais do, a TV.

The second story had a bedroom big enough for a twin bed frame with a very thin mattress (where I slept), a bookshelf with old magazines, and a cloth "armoire" as a closet. The master bedroom had a queen sized bed with a mosquito net, a desk, and a similar armoire for clothes. The "family room" had a tv, a wooden bench, an old computer, and a picture of the king. Downstairs was a bathroom with the "floor" toilet (it doesn't have a bowl as it is built into the ground) and a spicket at about hip-level with cold water to fill the tupperware bowl for a shower. The kitchen table was outside under the porch (created by the master bedroom which was directly overhead) where it was protected from the rain. The wooden shutters on the window covered the ill-fit screen and mold was everywhere as it is impossible to keep it from growing on concrete, inside or out of the house, in such a wet, rainy environment. And the mother and son who lived inside the house were, of course, amazingly generous and so rich in spirit; they were very happy to have the four of us visiting, even though we used every clean towel and blanket that they had.

In giving this description, as with any of my blogs, I hope only to share as many details as possible of the circumstances that I have come to know. I don't have a picture of the house to share with you, as I didn't feel it prudent to be keeping that as a memory. Instead, here is a picture of the group of us in front of a sculpture of a lotus flower before it flowers at the local dam that we visited together.

The lotus flower is known in many cultures, (especially in Buddhism) as modeling the human attempt of reaching up to the divine, with roots in the mud and murkiness of material life. The lotus bud, untouched by impurity, is often helpful with meditation as it symbolizes the purity of heart and mind and represents long life, health, honor and good luck. In this respect, out hosts mirrored the idea of the lotus blossom as their beauty and grace were projected out from the status of their material world.

After the dam, we visited the oldest teak tree in the world.


On Tuesday, we visited a temple outside of Chiang Mai.


Picture of the week- Eating dinner at the river's side.

On the way back to Udon Thani yesterday, we stopped at a quaint riverside restaurant complete with background Thai music . Each "table" was a small, open-air room built over the water. The mosquitoes and ants were nice enough to take a break from me as their dinner (the big red ants are gnarly here!) and we had a relaxing feast of fried chicken bits with seaweed, som tum (spciy papaya salad, which became standard fare once they found out that I really liked it), sticky rice, and fresh cabbage, green beans, and a leafy veggie that tastes like black licorice. I also tried a new fruit that looked like grapes from afar, but had a thin, rough shell around the fruit along with the best dessert ever- fresh coconut pieces in gelatin inside of the coconut.

I'm now up in Chiang Mai in the north-west part of Thailand. The night before leaving, we went to "Paragon" which was a huge shopping mall in Bangkok. Unfortunately, Gucci was closed (open for appointment only) so I couldn't get another suit made there. Riiiight....Anyways, since I'm not much of a mall person or even a window-shopper, I got bored pretty quickly although I did enjoy the gourmet supermarket.

The drive up here was not bad. We drove half-way and stayed the night in a guest house before heading to a hot spring today. I got good and dirty with a mud scrub and now my skin is smoother than ever (price=150 baht or about $4). I love how low the prices for health-related goods and services are in Thailand. People really emphasize their health here. (Whenever we eat anything with garlic in it, Ma always says "for health!").

Now I'm trying to finish up my shopping at a market before going back to our guest house. Tomorrow we will do some sort of Thai-herb something or other... (I didn't really understand but I get the impression that it might be like a sauna or something else health-related).

From here, plans are (I think) to go back to Udon Thani before flying to Bangkok on Saturday morning for my flight on Saturday night. It will be a long 36 hour journey home, as I have a 12 layover in Seoul. Maybe I'll venture out of the airport for the day...

My stay in Phuket was short but sweet. The fabulous picture of me at the pool that overlooked the beach was my only two short hours of relaxation, as the next morning we left that hotel and went in to the town of Phuket for Rotary duties all day long.

First, we helped deliver 885,000 baht to 11 local fishermen who were affected by the tsunami (about $22,000).
They will get brand new boats or repairs done to old boats which will enable them to get back in business. This was made possible by four Rotary clubs- Laurie Beach Sunrise, East Idaho Falls, Magkang, and Phuket.

This is a picture of me introducing myself to the group (in English of course and then translated by Ma)-

Afterwards, we went to lunch with the District Governor (DG) and several other leaders in the Rotary Club of Phuket at the "Islamic" restaraunt of the President. I was surprised to learn that about 80% of the Thai population on this island are Muslim, which explains why I see so few Buddhist shrines here. Many women use the traditional head scarves to stay covered up, which is such an interesting contrast to the flood of tourists who walk around in shorts and a tank top.

Afterwards, we went to a ceremony for the change in leadership for the Interact Club (a Rotary-sponsored service club for high schools).

I was so pleased by the presence of so many Rotarians- three of the 6 clubs had their presidents their, as well as the DG, and about 10 other Rotarians.


That evening, we went to the installation ceremony for all 6 incoming presidents for the Rotary clubs on the island. This is a picture of me with some Rotary Youth Exchange high school students. You can tell by our jackets that are covered with pins that were gifts from Rotarians or other exchange students from around the worl that we get to meet a lot of people!


One of the clubs, in Patong Beach, is comprised of mainly foreigners and conducts their business in English. It was amazing to see the slide show of all of the work that these 6 clubs have been able to accomplish on the island since the Tsunami struck.

The following photos are from Kamala Beach. It is a smaller area and not damaged as much as some other beaches on the island, but almost all of the building that were here were obliterated and had to be rebuilt.

Although many of the shops, schools, and houses have been rebuilt, empty lots or newly beginning construction sites are pretty normal to see around the island.

This plaza is only finished halfway-

One of several monuments on the island-


While talking with the new president of the Patong Beach Club, he said that rebuilding the infrastructure on the island is pretty much complete and that luckily, the hilly geography of the island kept many parts of it undisturbed. One thing that the club has identified as a source of need which will be ongoing, is to offer educational scholarships to young children who lost one or both of their parents in the tsunami and cannot afford the low cost of education. His club is currently sponsoring about 250 children which will guarantee them schooling throughout grade 12.

Yes, these are my feet!



I'm in Phuket! We left Bangkok this morning and arrived here mid-day and ate lunch near Bang Tao Beach, which was destroyed by the tsunami a year and a half ago. All of the buildings were new, as well as the four-lane road, which replaced the old two-lane street. (This is much safer, considering the way that the Thais drive!)

Tonight we will stay at the Aquamarine Resort and Villa (http://www.aquamarineresort.com/), which is owned by a local Rotarian, and tomorrow we will go into the town of Phuket in order to take part in a celebration to give a new fishing boat to some local fisherman who lost their boat in the tsunami. The boat was made possible by a Rotary Club in Idaho.

As usual, I was a bit confused about the plans. We came down to the beach for dinner and ended up eating in the mall. This was a bit of a strange decision to me considering where we are at, but dinner was great nevertheless, mostly because the travel companions for Ma and I are the President of the Magkang Rotary Club (my host club in Thailand) and another member.

Right now, I'm waiting to go back to the tailor because I am having a suit made for me at a shop owned by a local Rotarian. I placed the order two hours ago and the jacket, trousers, and skirt will be ready for me when I leave on Saturday morning. Total cost= $150. Not half bad for a tailor-made suit.

I think that today was the most beautiful day yet in Bangkok. Instead of smoggy, cloudy skies all day, we enjoyed an afternoon of Reno-like clouds and breeze. It was still very hot and muggy, and besides sweating a liter, it was great.

We woke up before 6 and were out of the house by 6:30 in order to go to a temple in Bangkok. What a difference it was from the forest temple, as about 50 people showed up with food to share. Instead of offering all of the food to the monks, we put a spoonful of rice into their alms bowl (which they mostly dumped back in to a big pot because they had too much) and then they got the rest of their food from the buffet line. Literally.

After the eldest monk blessed the food and all of us, he blessed some water in a pot/chalice-like cup that we each had as an offering so that "all people, dead or alive" would have food.

Ma and I then went on a bus for two hours to get to the other side of Bangkok to get to the Emerald Buddha Temple, which is probably the most revered temple in all of Thailand. It's main relic is a jade Buddha statue that was discovered in the 15th century (hence the name of the place, as all Thais call any green stone "emerald"), but there are many building, including a royal residence, a meeting area, pagodas with the ashes of former rulers, and a museum full of royal regalia and old coins.

At the museum, I learned that the king who is reigning in Thailand is the longest reining king that they have ever had (60 years this year!) and is currently the longest reigning monarch in the world right now. And let me tell you- the people here loooove him. Since I am from a country where democracy decides a new figurehead every 4 years, I don't easily identify with the regard that they have for him but actually I find it quite intriguing. Their dedication to him, however, was exemplified when Ma wanted to spend two hours in line to be one of fifty people allowed to buy two comemorative coins produced to celebrate His Majesty's 60th anniversary of his accension to the throne. Well, the two hours paid off, as we were the 50th people in line. She was so excited she screamed!

After that, we went to Chinatown and then I went with Tee to a Rotaract meeting which was very interesting mostly because their club is a university-based club and structured much differently than ours in Reno. Although it was unofficial, this was the first meeting of the new Rotary year. They are planning their first camp of the year (they have three every year- the 1st one is the shortest at 3 days, the 2nd is a week, and the 3rd is 14 or 16 days). They are in the first stages of deciding what their service project is going to be (most likely planting a mango farm in a nearby province) and will serve as a major recruitment tool in August.