Singapore, Singapore

I debated calling this post "The International Language of Shopping," since shopping is what most people come to Singapore to do ... and since the person who greeted us at our hotel asked that we return our key to reception while we are "out shopping." But then I decided that was far too cynical ... and we've had lots of fun during our 2 1/2 days in Singapore to be that cynical.

Most of what I've like about this country/city is how it manages to be a melting pot of so many cultures without diluting any of them too much. When you first get the tourist information they say, "if you want to impress the locals, here are a couple phrases to use" (how are you and thank you) ... and there are the same two phrases in 3 languages, plus they say English is the "lingua franca." I thought, "my gosh! how am I ever going to figure out which one to use?" It turned out, even though there are significant Chinese (76%), Malay (15%), and Arab (don't remember) populations, the British colonial heritage is still strong. They see you have a white face and everyone addresses you in English. It makes traveling easier, at least. ;) But there are still stong Asian and Indian influences. The British colonial thing is kind of funny ... it's like the country is really proud of having been a colony. I'm pretty sure that's what put it on the map and why it's shipping traffic is so developed so it makes sense. But when you hear stories about how some English solider was brought in to shoot a tiger that was hiding out under the billiards room at a swanky hotel, it makes your head spin a little bit.

The most fun part to me has been the public art and the food. You can see photos of some of the sculptures on Andrew's photo page. The food ... it's from all over, is cheap, and you eat it, in large part in "food courts" kind of like at our malls, only the food is better and they're less air conditioned.

We're off to Africa tonight (2:30AM flight from Chiangi International Airport - hoping we can sleep). If there's nothing new for a while, it's because wifi isn't so frequent on safari... ;)

Searching for hot food in Thailand

When you read the guide books about Thai food, the one thing they consistently tell you is to be careful about hot food. Thais like their food spicy, and apparently we Westerners have wimpy tongues and should watch out lest we burn them off on the first bite.

I do pretty well with spicy food from a typical Seattle point of view. On a scale of 1 – 5, I’m a low 4 when it comes to ordering. So I figured I had some good kicky food to look forward to as well as some that would be building my tolerance for hot food.

The hot food warning was repeated by Karis, our new friend in Chiang Mai. Among the phrases she taught us for getting by in Thailand (along with “hello,” and “thank you,”) was the phrase for “not spicy.” It sounds like “MY pet.” I thought that was a good phrase to know and tucked it away in my memory bank for future use.

Unfortunately, I think that future use will be back in Seattle.

I am sorry to report that most of the food we ate in Thailand was bland enough for Swedish palates. Granted, we ate primarily in restaurants. I’m not sure the average Thai person could afford to eat in these places, even though the prices felt very reasonable to us, so the cooks probably cater to what they think western palates will be. Unfortunately, they’ve been very well informed that their customers are wimps. But there are almost always chilies in sauce on the table, so bumping the zing factor up a tiny bit hasn’t been too hard.

I guess next time we’ll have to find more places where Thai people actually eat. The lady who taught our cooking class confirmed that real Thai cooks would put 10-15 chilies in a green papaya salad I put 2 ½ in during our class (and found that the right amount of heat). Then “MY pet” will be useful and I can stop wishing Karis had taught us the phrase for “more spicy” instead.

Hello, Massage!

There is a distinct likelihood that by the time a traveler finishes their visit to Thailand, they will be convinced that their name is, in fact, “massage.” Every day, as you walk down the street, past the many vendors, restaurants, tailors, and massage parlors, they almost all call out to you. “Where you from?” “You want suit?” “Hello, massage!”

Since there are more massage parlors than anything else .. the danger of thinking “massage” is your name.

We’ve had 3 massages apiece since being in the country. Two oil massages and one foot massage each. Neither of us was quite willing to be cracked the way they do in Thai massages. I’m mostly afraid that they’ll adjust my back into the wrong place and that just sounds like a bad thing. Also something my chiropractor would be on my case about when I get home. (Hopefully, he won’t read this and then chastise me the other direction. .) For the most part, they’ve been wonderful experiences, complete with foot washes before and green/Thai herb tea afterwards. Thai masseuses don’t use as much pressure as American ones, but they make up for it in coverage. I’m not sure I’ve ever had my belly massaged before, for example. Or so much concentration on my chest. They’re also very thorough on the legs, and not so much when it comes to the back. Go figure. I’ve also never had the masseuse actually climb up on top of the table and straddle me before. But it has happened twice here and I don’t think we went to skanky massage parlors.

The King's 60th Anniversary

It turns out we have come to Thailand at a very "auspicious" time. "Auspicious" being a very frequently used world to describe the excitement the Thais seem to feel about the 60th anniversary of the crowning of their king, which happened two nights ago.

It's a great time to be here - there is so much celebrating going on, and it appears that it will last much of the tree weeks Andrew, Amy, and I are in Thailand. Everyone is wearing yellow (royal-colored) shirts. The people seem to love the royal family very much. It's really beautiful to see them rushing to honor this leader of their country. The photos from primary ceremony from a couple nights ago are on Andrew's website - please check them out. It's just beautiful. The fireworks at the end were a little frightening ... definitely not far enough away for US safety standards ... but no one got hurt.

It appears that the king is more of an inspirational and moral character leader for the Thais than he is a political one. There is a prime minister to deal with those matters. It is quite amazing to me to see the success the king has had at motivating the Thai people to live well, to treat each other with respect, and to work for the betterment of their country. I wish there were an equivalent in the US ... someone we could all respect, regardless of our walk in life, who could motivate us to love the people around us and to work for the world to be a better place. I know it sounds corny ... but it's a very beautiful thing to see.

Cooking Class

A couple days ago, we took a Thai cooking class. Somehow, I thought this would be a very fun but somewhat impersonal, extremely touristy experience.

It was a very touristy thing to do, but definitely not impersonal. Andrew, Amy and I were the only people in the class (it's low season ... I love travelling in low season, even if the weather is less perfect) ... and it was held at the teacher's home! Her whole family helps out with her business ... helping with prep work, cleaning dishes, making brochures, helping with internet advertising. And they make space in their lives to welcom foreigners into their house and their thai-style (of course, since it's their home) outdoor kitchen to learn to make the dishes they eat (but in a way that is toned-down for western wimpy palates). I felt so privileged to be able to be there and learn.

We got a tour of the food market first. It puts French food markets (the only other outdoor food markets I've been to) to shame. You really need to check out Andrew's photo pages to see what it looks like. The sensations and smells are amazing! Plus, our teacher's descriptions of how it works (along with some help we'd gotten from Karis) make it much easier to figure out and order meals in Thailand ... which doesn't sound that hard with all the Thai restaurants in Seattle but is really intimidating here!

The cooking part was a lot simpler than I'd imagined. Mostly stir-frying with different ingredients, or famililar ingredients that I wouldn't have thought to use that way. Even the curry was mostly a stir-fry. I'm excited to hunt down new spices and cook Thai for people when I get back to Seattle.

Just break the silence!

I've been trying to figure out what to write abotu the time in Thailand, since we've been here almost 2 weeks now. Really, though, I haven't been able to sort through what I think enough to write something coherent.

This is my first time in Asia and the most overwhelming thought is that things are just different from what I know. Not that this is a moment-to-moment struggle or anything ... at that level, life just seems normal but with different food and surroundings. But when I start to understand the world around me and thing about the "activities" we've done, places we've explored ... I have trouble digesting them.

First on the list of things that I have trouble wrapping my head around: Buddhism. I know that most of this is because I've never spent time learning what Buddhists actually believe, so this is the first time I'm trying to figure that out ... mostly through the explainations of tour guides. The language thing is a minor complicating issue but I think the real problem is that I try to find corallaries in my faith. There seem to be some, but I think there are more differences than similarities. I have a hard time getting my head around the idea that they really don't have a god or a heaven, and that so much seems to be about offering money and flowers and good wishes to try to have a better life, now or in a next incarnation. I wonder about that as we wander through temples ... and how to show respect without somehow compromising something that is important to my relationship with my God.

There are definitely things I admire about Buddhism, too. The beauty of the temples (even the ones that are almost ruins) reflects the honor, respect, and worship that God truly deserves but really doesn't get very much in the Western pentacostal world I live in most days in Seattle. We don't spend much time giving that kind of beauty, time, and money for the upkeep of our churches, where we worship a God who made the universe.

Also, you see little momentos everywere here that remind the people to take time out of their day to remember their faith, to be "mindful," and to take a moment out of the day to day reality to think about what it means to be a worshiper and, say, an employee or a friend (at least that's how these things were explained to me).

We met Karis, a missionary here who used to attend our church in Seattle, and she helped us understand that there is an ever-present reality of the spirit world here in the locals' perceptions. The reality is true wherever you go, of course, but more recognized here.

But how does this fit with my faith?

The other things ... daily realities of what fruits are what. Mangosteins are fabulous by the way ... and in Thailand watermelon still has flavor but jackfruit is DISGUSTING and SMELLY.

And then the more surreal experiences you never thought you'd have ... riding an elephant and a ox-cart, for example ... that are very exicting ad so fun!

And the conundrum of being in a country where you bargain for everything ... even when the starting price is so low that if you saw it in the US you'd think something was defective with what you're buying. How much of a responsibility do I have, as a citizen of a much richer country who makes US dollars and someone who wants the world to be an economically and environmentally self-sustainging place, to just pay higher prices because I can? Is is somehow worth the fun of bargaining or is it somehow more humanizing to pay a bit more and increase a real person's livelihood for one day? Or is the whole idea that I can make a difference in that way just egotistical?

I'm going to stop now ... I think you have an idea of what we've been up to (shopping, riding elephants, visiting temples ... the rest is mostly reading and eating) and I"m being much too philosophical.

4 Nights in Bangkok...

Nobody says Bangkok has to be you favorite, right? We just finished up 3 days/4 nights there ... and I feel like I just completed a full-on jungle trek. Concrete jungle, of course.

This is my first time in Asia, and I admit to being pretty freaked out by the idea of going there. I put off reading the guide book until the day before we got on the plane and when I did open the book and start reading, I started crying at the same time. Am I going to be hungry for the next 3 weeks because I can't figure out what to eat? How will I communicate with anyone at all?

As it turns out, the hard part was the size of Bangkok and the pollution there, not the people, or the communication. Amy joined us on our second day in Bangkok and is such a breath of fresh air. She is intrepid! What encouragement to just go for it and experience the culture ... and is an inspiration to me to do the same.

More later...