Unusual Thai food

Thailand - as I see it.

We have visited many outdoor markets which can be set up for a day and then taken down or some of them stay going 24 hours a day. There are fresh fruit markets and stalls where you can buy papayas, strawberries, durian - stinky fruit, huge grapefruit like fruits that are sweet and crisp, bananas of all shapes and sizes.  There are little stalls where you can buy the fruit all packaged in a little clear bag that is closed with a long toothpick.  There are mangoes cut into slices, cups of fresh strawberries already sweetened and stalls with fried bananas.

One can see fresh meat all out and ready to be taken home to cook.  There are all types of organ meats, fish and poultry.  Pigs heads, snouts, knuckles, and head cheese can be purchased by the kilo.  There are  all different sizes of eggs which can be bought fresh or cooked.

Many stalls on many streets have food to buy that is all prepared for a meal.  They have curries, rice and noodle dishes of every kind.  These meals cost from one dollar to two dollars.

Many kinds of bugs are sold to eat.  There were grasshoppers, crickets, beetles and many other insects.

Master Craftsmen at Work in a Wat

Thailand - as I see it..

I took a walk from my son's home to a nearby Wat.  It was so interesting I had to write a third blog on Wats.  The groundskeeper showed me all around the inside of the Wat.  He explained the paintings on the wall were depicting the birth, life and death of Buddha.  Each mural was approximately 8' by 5 ' and they surrounded the entire inside of the Wat. The panels for each of the 12 signs of the calendar were below the murals and had drawings of animals all looking like demons.

He showed me 10 sticks in a case that the monks use to sprinkle water on good Buddhists, a cane for walking, a stick with a flower on the end for chanting, a stick made into a sword for protection, and a stick with an umbrella on the end.

There were three large Buddhas facing east all in gold.  They were very impressive.

But the most interesting part was a serpent dragon that was being made from cement and every part was sculpted by hand.  The craftsmen were molding the scales of the animal about 4'' by 4'' and making hundreds of them.  Others were molding words in Thai, and all of the fancy scroll work by hand.

More Clothing for the Refugees

Thailand - as I see it.

Rob and On's full time housekeeper, Maban, took some of the clothing from the BJPT Thrift Shop to some Hill Tribe refugees from Burma.  There is fierce fighting in Burma so they escaped to Thailand.  They are living in the hills with the Hill Tribe people since they were from the hills in Burma.  They only came with the clothing on their backs so these clothes were very much needed and appreciated.   I am enclosing a picture of the mountain they had to climb to get to Thailand.  I am also enclosing the picture of the group with the clothing from the BJPT Thrift Shop.

What's What in a Wat

Thailand - as I see it.

Yesterday we attended the Expats Monthly meeting and the speaker, Carol Stratton gave a talk on What's What in a Wat.  I learned quite a bit from her talk.


There are 350 Wats inside the moat which is around the city in Chiang Mai. Mosaics and mirrors are very important parts of a Wat's decoration.  Every opening, doors and windows of the Wat has a protector.  There are two kinds of guards.  The demons are holding swords to keep the bad people out.  The other demons are holding roses to welcome the good people.

The monks have 227 rules to live by.  The four main are abstinence, poverty, obediance, and celibacy.  They not only shave their heads, they shave their eyebrows.  They get up at 4am and beg for food from the townspeople and are back by 6am.  They do not eat after 12 noon and fast until the next day.

Massage Pictures

Thailand - as I see it.

A Day of Pampering

Thailand - as I see it.

 

A  Day of Pampering

For many years I have had pains in my lower back and legs which traditional medicine has been unable to heal. Recently the pain has gotten so bad that I can only walk short distances before having to sit and recover. For the first time this has begin to change. Today I went to my massage parlor for another day of pampering.  First I had a full-body oil massage. The therapist mainly concentrated on those areas which have caused me the most distress. In addition to the normal massage oil she used Counterpain to help relieve the knots and tension in my sciatic which has caused so much trouble. Amazingly I have been able to walk further and longer each day with less pain since I started getting these massages. Luckily my son Rob found an amazing massage therapist for me who not only gives a wonderful relaxing massage but can begin to help me get better.

Next, I had a facial.  It was an hour of massaging and cleaning.  First they cleaned my face with a wash cloth and sponges.  Then they put a very cold cream on my face and neck and massage it for 10 minutes.  Next they massaged my face with a grainy cleanser and washed that off.  Then they put on another cream and gently massaged again.  After cleaning that off, they painted on a heavy clay mask and put cold cucumbers over my eyes.  Then while the clay mask dried they gave me a complete head, scalp, neck, and shoulder massage.  To remove the clay mask, they cleaned my face with real warm water followed by cold water and lastly they placed icy towels on my forehead, face and neck.  To finish it all off, they put on a final layer of face cream followed by a light powder. 

I also had a pedicure while the massage was taking place.  There were two therapists working on me at one time.  Wow, it was great.  Oh yeah, when it was all over, they brought me a delicious cup of ginger tea and combed my hair.

Now for the good part, each of these treatments cost $5 for a total of $15 and I gave a $5 tip.  $20 to feel like a princess.

Scenery and houses in and around Chiang Mai

Thailand - as I see it.

As we drove to Chaing Dao, we passed many interesting sights.  From my son's house, which is brand new and very well built, to older houses which need power washing and painting.  The Wats, Buddhist temples, for the most part have a lot of walls that need painting.  However, on the inside of the courtyard, the buildings are all nicely painted, and have gold on the roofs and spires.  The houses, on the other hand, in the Hills are very sparse, have little to no windows, and some don't even have doors.

The scenery in the city consists of many buildings, high and short, malls with many stores and individual homes.  The hotels tend to be very well taken care of and have beautiful statues, flowers and decorations.  There are    markets that dot  the landscape all over the cities as well as the countryside. In the center of Chiang Mai is also the Night Bazaar with all the stalls full of interesting items to buy.  There is an old wall around the interior of the city and a moat with sprinklers to clean it as well.  The King's picture is prominently posted all over as well as on bridges and over the street walkways.  We saw trucks full of garlic and live cows piled on top of each other. We also saw trucks full of workers with hats, gloves and heavy coats.

A modern mall all decorated

An elaborate wat with a lot of gold

A Lisu Hill Tribe House

A scene of plants, trees and houses dotted up the hill

Rob Cutler's new house

A truck full of cows on top of each other

 Rob Cutler and his Mother, Marcia Weis on his motorbike

An ox cart ride for Marcia and William Weis

A house on stilts built in the woods

One of many red taxi cabs that continually cruises the streets

A lady carrying her baskets and brooms to sell

A Field with man working

One of many billboards of the King

Marcia and William Weis on a river raft

As we leave the city, we see many pictures and billboards of the King.  There are spirit houses and wats every few miles.  There are fields of corn, garlic, rice, papayas and bananas as well as many unusual fruits and vegetables that  I have never seen.  People are walking on the roads with heavy bags of grain, fishing poles made out of  a branch of a tree. We have seen tuk tuks, motorcycles, cars, red taxis, double decker busses, bicycles with sidecars, river rafts and trucks.

Thailand - as I see it.

Our Second Annual Trip to Chiang Dao

Thailand - as I see it.

Our Second Annual Trip to Chiang Dao
We went to Chiang Dao from Chiang Mai which takes about two hours.  We took two suitcases full of clothing, 100 pounds,  from the BJPT Thrift Shop in Ft.Myers.  As you will see in the pictures, there were many children.  

Marcia Cutler Weis handing out clothing to the Lisu children

Lisu Hill Tribe Children Singing.

We handed out the clothing for over one hour and the children were very pleased to receive the clothing. 

I am also enclosing some pictures of the Hill Tribe homes, and scenery, and the gift of food we received.   In one of the pictures, the children are thanking the BJPT Thrift Shop for the clothes.  They are also singing the A,B,C’s.  After we gave the clothing, some of the parents brought us food they had grown as a thank you.  They brought us vegetables, papaya, bananas and some lettuce wrapped in a palm leaf.    

William Weis and On Cutler showing the food thank you gifts

 

Monks and Wats

Thailand - as I see it.

Monks, Naens and Maechi

I was awakened this morning by the monks chanting.  They chant at least twice a day. The male monks wear bright orange robes and the female monks wear white robes.  

 

A monk dressing to go out

The female monks are called,  “mae chi”, which means mother spinster. Young monks are known as naens and they often live and study in the wats.

 Two young monks (naens) out for a walk

The monks live in Wats which are Thai Buddhist Temples.   The Wats can be very elaborate, many times they are made of gold.  There have beautiful grounds, flowers and statues. The Wats also can have dragons and mythical creatures on the roofs and at the entrances. 

 

 The front entrance of a wat

Every morning the monks go around the streets and people place food in their monk bowls.  Monk bowls are the one worldly item monks can own. The official monk bowls are hammered metal and come in many sizes.  There are various stores where you can buy gifts wrapped in cellophane for the monks.  Most Thai Buddhists worship as monks, with shaved heads, for at least a few months.

Tyler Dawid Cutler, Marcia's Grandson.

Thailand - as I see it. 

I am enclosing some pictures of Tyler, Rob and Tyler, and On and Tyler.  Tyler is 5 months and is so large that he wears clothes sized for a 2 year old.  He is a very happy baby, smiley and friendly.  He loves when we hold him and it is fun to watch him walk all over the house in his little walker.  He also loves to ride on his dad's chest in a little carrier and go for rides on his Dad's motorcycle.  On and Rob are wonderful parents, calm and very loving.  On is nursing him and he is thriving. His middle name is Dawid which is the Lisu people's way of saying David.  The Thai words for grandma and grandpa are Boo Yah.

 On carrying Tyler in their house

Tyler sitting with Rob his dad while we had lunch

Rob and On's House from beginning to completion

Thailand - as I see it.

Rob and On started building their home in February and completed it in August.  It is located in the center of Chiang Mai and conveniently located near the airport, night bazaar, shopping centers, the American School and a local swim club.

The front view of Rob and On's house

The house is constructed of concrete and reinforced steel with four bedrooms and four bathrooms.  The entire house is in shades of green with  matching tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms. It has large windows with beautiful handmade curtains and elegant tie backs and screens. The kitchen is well equipped with a large refrigerator, large drawers and cabinets. The living room and dining room are large and directly connect to the kitchen.

 The flower garden in the back of the house

From the kitchen window you can see a four level flower garden with rows and rows of plants and flowers.  There is a front gate and four walls around the property. Our bedroom suite is on the first floor with our own bathroom. Upstairs are three large bedrooms, one a master suite with huge closets and connected bath. They have done a beautiful job with the railings,stairs, fixtures and beautiful granite on the counter tops.

The front of the house lit with candles