A Journey Across Three Borders

Written by: Eunice Phang.

With my fellow alumnis, I took a day trip to visit the Golden Triangle. Considering it would be a long ride with the total of 600km, with no haste, we headed north of Chiang Mai at 7.15am while other pathfinders were still deep in their sleep. Along the trip we made a few stops, namely Laos, Myanmar and Chiang Rai.

First stop was the White Temple (Rong Khun Temple) which is said to be a symbol of holiness and purity. The temple is ornamented with white glass as a symbol of Buddha’s wisdom shining all over the earth and the universe. This temple is owned by Chalermchai Khositpipat, a famous artist from Chiang Rai. The artist used his savings from selling painting to build his dream “Art for Land Project” where he used his interpretations of Thai Buddhist art and culture to form the White Temple; it was his way of giving thanks and contributing to his home country. Situated along the highway, it is indeed an opulent sight from a far. Strolling in and around the temple, one would discover that the landscape design of the temple and sculptures had been given underlying Buddhist meanings and values.

As if descended from the heavens, the White Temple

But what I think was the highlight of the temple (and which I found pretty amusing) was the murals in the temple which unfortunately were not allowed to be photographed. Unlike classical Buddhist murals that show the Buddha’s path to enlightenment, these murals portrayed the context of human history; depictions were aided through the use of popular comic characters and weapons of mass destruction. This juxtaposition of modern symbols and discourse against ancient Buddhist story-telling tries to emulate the “reality” of the modern society which would normally be seen as a threat to traditional Buddhist values, or even to the future of humanity. It is very interesting to see characters such as Neo from Matrix, Darth Vader from Star Wars, Marvel heroes such as Spiderman and Batman etc. These post-modern art works requires the viewers own interpretation for the work to be meaningful; to some it might give an impression of the lack of seriousness, but it could also be a reflection of the modern world affected by globalization and capitalism.

Hands that speak of repent? Or of redemption?

After enlightening ourselves with Thai artwork, we made our move on the Mekong to Laos. There, we visited the local bazaar that sold all sorts of trinkets, silk scarves, wooden carvings, and, much to our surprise, COBRA WHISKEY! Obviously a tourist would have a rage with this exotic drink; the whiskey came in a variety of other flavours from Gecko to Scorpiono, there was also a combination of all poisonous reptiles, but this apparentlt reserved only for the brave. However as these whiskeys are known to be somewhat of a traditional aphrodisiac to make men … strong in places unspoken, it then does not take a brave men to drink the whiskey, but a pretty insecure one! Out of curiosity, I sought for a reaction frommy fellow tourists who tried a few sips; unfortunately, the claimed effect was yet to be felt, but they did feel their body heat rise.

Reptile whiskey

Our next stop was to the border of Thailand and Myanmar where a fellow traveler and I were fooled into illegally crossing borders to Myanmar only to be greeted by Burmese officers who extorted 500 baht from us each because we did not have proper visas; the haunting and evil laugh of the lady officer who found amusement in our cross-border misery added insult to injury as we all knew if we did not pay, we would risk becoming border refugees. And so with the last of my Bahts, I bailed us out.

Of awkward borders

Moving on, and never wanting to look back, we headed to the Karen village situated in Northern Thailand to visit the hill tribes. Honestly, the place has become to tourist-like to the point where all the villagers are already dressed up, made up with flower garlands on their hair, ever ready to be photographed. They make a living from selling crafts to tourists, yet most tourists were just snapping photos away as if at a zoo. The village ladies and little girls are indeed very professional and camera sensitive, posing every time they sense a flash with a “botox” smile as a way of initiating the tourist to buy from them. Indeed they were satisfying the tourist gaze in us.

The price of beauty

The most memorable tribe would be those of the long neck Padaung which has garnered lots of interest in anthropology and feminism. The Padaung women are subjected to wear heavy brass rings around their neck, ankles and arms at the age of 5 onwards. According to ancient myth, it is to protect them from tiger attacks. Some say it is their definition of beauty. The reason that these women still practice this traditional culture could be to preserving their cultural identity or to capitalize on their way of living for the tourism industry. In fact, there is much discussion that these “cultural villages” likened to human zoos, where mistreatments are rife as some of the “villagers” are illegal immigrants or refugees. When asked if the process of adorning the brass rings were painful, they all gave a much scripted answer of it being a painless process and that they are used to it. As much as it should be a cultural heritage, deep down I do feel sorry for the girl who carries such physical burden in their daily lives.

This marks the end of the Thai-Laos-Myanmar exploration. An honest review on the trip? Eye opening but not worth the money, it felt a lot like a scripted reality show throughout and even the guide’s jokes appeared rather unnatural. It does give legitimate bragging rights that you have spanned three countries in one day, but I would rather spend on Thai massages. Enough said.

Alumnis and former student guides unite

Cultural Diversity in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Written by: Jamestar Matani Ruwisi.

Thailand’s recorded history dates back 5000 years ago. Thailand has was never been colonized and for this reason the country has never been detached from its culture making it unique. The country’s heritage is emulated on their, palaces, shrines and ancient sites that define exclusive Thai architectural styles and amazing designs and these designs have existed from the period 1782 to present day.

Chiang Mai is located approximately 700 kilometers from Bangkok, it is one of Thailand’s famous and commonly visited provinces. Chiang Mai is an amazing state within Thailand and is one of the most historically significant provinces in Thailand. Chiang Mai accounts for numerous temples and ancient sites; Chiang Mai becomes an important site to experience Thai history in the present.

A temple! OMMMMMMMMM…

Chiang Mai has a distinctive unique culture which encapsulates, historical sites, temples, cultural shows and cultural centers, Thai traditional ways of life, museums, theatre and dance festivals, some of the temples include Doi Suthep, Wat Phra Sing and Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Borommathat. Chiang Mai and the entire Thailand population hold a strong culture based on what it means to be an ideal Thai citizen. Chiang Mai’s vibrant culture is one of the key reasons why tourists visit the country. The culture plays a pivotal role on keeping the people together and tourists are mesmerized by the overwhelming state of art performances which are characterized by massive wave of utopian enthusiasms.

Chiang Mai has three dominant religions which encapsulate Buddhist, Christianity and Islam. Buddhism is however the widely practiced religion in Chiang Mai.

Three Kings monument in front of the city’s Museum; commercialism for cultural preservation

The world has become transnational and global movements of people and diffusion of cultural values and the ensuing interdependencies make it necessary to live together regardless of the nature and form of differences and how people respond to them. Mrs. Moi of the Muslim community alluded that diversity exists amongst different religions “In Chiang Mai, all three religions work and leave together in the communities without discrimination”, in other words the people of Chiang Mai have managed to successfully engender peaceful coexistence regardless of differences that exists in religion and this can be acknowledged as a remarkable achievement as religion is usually a factor for fractions in societies. Chiang Mai is also well known for the unique existence of copious tribal people and their villages are frequently visited by tourists; addding to the place’s uniqueness.

Of commemorating the invisible

It also important to note that Chiang Mai’s distinct cultural significance has staged a massive show of prowess on cementing the constant and continuous presence of tourists. This has created a solid platform for constant existence of diversity in Chiang Mai that is people from all walks of life coming to experience the amazing cultural performance of the Thai people. Thailand has a unique hygiene system, shoes are regarded as dirty and it’s unacceptable to wear shoes inside the house. This exercise is also prevalent in some business centers, and in temples.

Chiang Mai has a lot to offer. It is also often referred as the “Rose of the North” due to its compelling sites and views that make it culturally strategic and an economic focal point for tourists across the northern region of Thailand.

Diary Entry: Day 7

Written By: Shafira Sahara.

Do you know how the beginning of something always feels so long and the end always too fast?

Signing up on this latest 'In Search of...' Trip, we were cleverly given seven days to spend in Chiang Mai. Today is day seven. I opened my eyes this morning thinking "where has day one to six gone?"

However I did not think for long. At 11 am we all met at the guest house lobby to have our final practice for the cultural performance. At first, the Saman group started. Our pace was growing faster and faster as our confidence increased. I was smiling proudly until I heard Cici and Bats whacking each other during the windmill segment. Everything is fine though. We knew the consequences when we agree to do this Acehnese dance.

The result of keen Bhangra practice for the last two weeks

  

Afterwards, the Bhangra group practiced. When the Indian music started playing everybody jumped around. It's the first time the Bhangra group had practiced with the music on, so their pace was increasing as well. A fan was highly required then because the weather was burning hot. In fact, some of us actually dominated the fan by sitting right at the front of it. Sweat was dripping like the impending rain.

After the practices, some of us went to lunch. It was quite funny though, because we all went mad about the food. There was a kind of nostalgic taste to the sweet and sour Tom Yam, the deep fried crispy garlic fish and even to the mouth-watering Thai Ice Tea, shanom. It might be the fact that we were extremely hungry; or the fact that this taste would be the last one we have in this beautiful city.

The beauty of the city and the food faded when we got back to our guest house. Reality kicked in. We had tons of work to do. Most of us spent the day working; writing our pieces, editing our videos and choosing photos to go with the articles.

The clock struck six and our lut dengs were ready to take us to our farewell dinner. All of us were dressed more culturally than when we attended the cultural dinner. On the one hand, the Bhangra dancers were wearing long scarves around their necks and everything was very colorful and alive. On the other hand, the Saman dancers were dressed in black shirts and dark pants with colorful sarongs. The leader of the pack, Dr. Yeoh, was wearing a Batik shirt. Although we had rushed to reach our destination in order to welcome our guests, it turned out to be an unspoken rule in Thailand for guests to arrive an hour after the invitation. In complete excitement with pre-performance nerves we waited.

 A collage of people that this year's episode of In Search Of brought together

The guests started to come, one by one. The first to arrive were from EMPOWER--which is understandable since they work just across the street from the restaurant. After that, a steady flow of guests continued to arrive and the show began.

Hosted by our student guide Jutha Srivatananukulkit and our very own Cyren Wong, the programme was packed. It started with a performance from the student guides, a Thai dance. This was followed by an energetic Bhangra performance by Monash students. After that, a series of performances lighted the stage, including a Taylor Swift rendition by Juree, the slapping performance of Saman dance, a lady-boy dance performance by Cyren and Juree and two photo slide presentation by Joe and Dr. Yeoh.

Rapid, intricate movements of Saman

Before the end of the night, Dr. Yeoh grabbed the microphone and went up to the front of the stage. As much as we hoped for him to do a rendition of AC/DC or Simon and Garfunkel, he was there for a speech. He emphasized the importance of opening our hearts and minds, in that it would be the key to our understanding things beyond our comfort zone. He also emphasized the need for us to be careful because these study trips can change our lives.

 Dr. Yeoh switching gear from his usual wittiness to a wise old man

We wrapped up the night with a performance of Dikir Barat, a traditional Malaysian dance. In the dance, everyone sang a couple of verses and chants while we moved in synchronized movements. The air, then and there, felt like it belonged to us. The past seven days that we've spent together seems to have been both long and gone too fast all at the same time. It's long because every day was productive. Even on a free day like day seven, we woke up early for practices and breakfast. But it was also short because there were still places to see, things to do. The days passed-by too fast and we were at the end already.

We came on this trip smuggling different cultural background into one tuk tuk (or maybe more than just one tuk tuk in this case). We met new friends, embraced new cultures and maybe even found a new dance partner. We've eaten worms, gotten sick, did not sleep and made our own experiences. We laughed a lot and cried a bit. Yes, we made our own experiences and loved them.

As we finished the Dikir Barat, we sang the famous song Rasa Sayang. And I really felt it. And I think everyone felt it as well. The love. The Rasa Sayang.

 Weiyan and Sze Jia expressing their Rasa Sayang to our pathfinder

This has been a great trip, overall. Chiang Mai, may your beautiful city and your welcoming people be blessed. We have learned a lot, things that people learn in a lifetime we have learnt in seven days.

Now we go back to our hometowns, with open minds and opened hearts.

Video: Heroines in Flight

The Lady of Yourhouse

Written by: Paulista Bunga and Nadhiya Najab.

“Welcome to “Yourhouse Guesthouse”! Take off your shoes and treat this as your own house as this is no longer my house” was what greeted us as we arrived at our destination in Chiang Mai. “Yourhouse” guesthouse was where we would be spending our nights and whatever free time we had and because of Aunty Sin it was a place we called home for the duration of our stay in Chiang Mai.

Miss Sunanta Thakas, fondly referred to as Aunty by most of us became an integral part of our visit to Chiang Mai as she was more than just our land lady but also a friend and a primary go-to person for anything we could possibly need from breakfast to telling us about places of interest, helping us get tickets and most importantly discounts for almost everything we could want via her impressive connections within Chiang Mai.

Auntie Sin: All smiley at work

Her warm personality and her perpetual smile each time we met her left a definite impression on us, making us wonder what put that smile on her face. So we sat down with her to find out more about her past, her present and her plans for the future.

Coming from a very poor farmer’s family, she was determined to have a better life than if she had remained in her hometown of Lamphun and so she came to Chiang Mai at the age of 20 to help her cousin run the guesthouse. She was involved with almost every aspect of the operations from the restaurant to reception, provided her with enough experience and confidence to open up her very own guesthouse in 1990. Starting small with only 6 rooms, she has gradually expanded to three properties with 44 rooms in total. The guesthouse we are currently occupying is “Yourhouse” 3 the latest addition to her operations, coincidentally the only one belonging entirely to her.

According to Aunty Sin, down the street from where “Yourhouse” guest house is situated used to be quiet and full of greenery but today when we walk down the street we find a number of other guesthouses and eateries, all catering to and competing for the patronage of visitors. The increase in competition together with the political situation earlier in the year resulted in a decrease in the number of foreign tourist to Chiang Mai with room occupation rates dropping to as low as 5%. However, after having experienced the hospitality and her friendliness we have no doubts that once the dust settles around the political situation “Yourhouse” will be back in business and she will hopefully have to fight off the customers wanting a slice of heaven at the hand of Aunty Sin.

The fluency of her English and her occasional use of French words when conversing with us had us wondering what influenced her to learn the languages. She told us about only having had four years of formal education but her interest in the hospitality trade increased her enthusiasm to learn different languages to be able to better communicate with her guests. Her French was further improved when she married a French man in 1989. This marriage however did not last very long as they separated after 8 years because the differences in work ethics which made it difficult to maintain their relationship. This had not stopped Sin from achieving her goals in life. The end of her marriage with her husband who was also a friend and business partner had reinforced her determination to never mix business with pleasure.

Auntie Sin coming to show support for our cultural performances

Attending to the needs of her guests is a full time job which leaves her with very little free time. Aunty Sin however does not see this to be a shortcoming because she enjoys the opportunities available to her to meet new people and considers this aspect to be the highlight of her job. When she does get the opportunity, Sin likes to meet up with her girl friends for a “ladies lunch” where they talk, gossip and catch up with each others lives. Though she spends little time outside her work, there is a connotation that her work is her life, both social and personal.

In terms of her plans for the future, they are not definitive. Realistically, she would love to expand her business to include a Thai cooking school conducted in French and also a swimming pool. Presently however, she lives for the day, as it provides enough fulfillment to better prepare her for the future.

A warm, bubbly and welcoming person, Aunty Sin has definitely made an impression on each of our travelers ensuring that if we were to visit Chiang Mai again a stay at “Yourhouse” would definitely be high on the “to do” list.

In front of Yourhouse, no, Ourhouse.

Photo Album: Day 7

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