Thai Holiday from Bangkok to Koh Samui

Fuad & I plan to do as much traveling as possible while we're here. We decided to travel domestic for our first trip and explore one of the many islands in Southern Thailand, Koh Samui...but first, a few days in Bangkok.

The view from Vertigo was awesome! Really expensive though, we only had 1 drink.

Our first day on Koh Samui it rained...

The beach at Kamalaya, the second resort where we stayed.

I was able to catch this incredible sunset from our room!

Fuad relaxing on one of our last days of vacation.

Up the Mountain...finally!

I don't think I could live in a place that doesn't hold some sort of natural beauty. I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we can make it our intention to seek beauty everywhere, like choosing to see the good in everyone we encounter... I've always felt that having a body of water or a mountain helps. We've all felt it in one place or another...standing in the midst of something magnificent and having that moment where time stands still and you are struck at the wonderment...of the existence of something greater than ourselves. The moment where "I am small" crosses your mind.

I just finished reading Siddhartha and I'm reminded where at the end of the book, Siddhartha explains to his lifelong friend, Govinda, that once you start to put these thoughts into words, they immediately begin to loose their meaning. "Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish...Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom..." Acknowledging that something greater than yourself exists in nature is the wisdom I'm attempting to convey.

It's how I feel right now, in this moment as I write this blog, sitting near the ocean on Koh Samui, the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the shore, the horizon extends out before me, in the distance there are mountains covered in lush jungle, the gentle breeze caressing my skin, my love by my side.

Chiang Mai is surrounded by a ring of mountains, which is one of the reasons why I decided that I could live there. From almost everywhere in the valley, in all directions, you can see the mountain in the distance. I'm completely fascinated by it. It changes from day to day, sometimes it even changes mood throughout the day and in the evenings, the sun sinks down behind it.

Similar to Lake Michigan, having had the experience of living on both sides I know how it shifts moods, how it can be a place of serene reflection and also tumultuous & filled with anger, it can be cold & icy and warm & inviting.

Back to this mountain in Chiang Mai...the longer we were here and didn't make the journey up this mountain, the more distant and illusive it became. Truth is, I had a fear. Driving up the mountain, just Fuad & I required that we take it on Perry, our scooter. Now I'm comfortable riding the scooter around town, to & from work, which is basically flat land but riding the scooter up a mountain is another story. (Actually, there is another story...we rented a scooter while on our honeymoon in Bali and since I hadn't driven one since I was about 13 years old up & down Desmond Street, I did crash. Fuad on the back, I totally crashed with a group of Balinese men as spectators. Lucky for me, the only injury was my pride & a bloody elbow. I had no choice, I had to get back up on the scooter and get us to our destination, Dream Beach. I also had to get us back to the shop where we had rented the bike. We did have to pay a fee by the way, for damages done to the scooter.)

It took us 3 months to get there, we had a day with beautiful weather, we started the journey up the mountain and after a few minutes I shouted to Fuad on the back, "you know that quote by Eleanor Roosevelt? The one about doing something everyday that scares you?! Now I understand why!!! This is awesome! I'm so glad we decided to do this today!"

It was amazing, the view of Chiang Mai spectacular, the temple at the top was potent, the waterfalls along the way inspiring...and honestly, I can't wait to go back up there and see some more! No longer a fear but an experience of growth & a moment in time spent in wonder.

Here are a few of my pictures from the day and an interesting story about how the temple found it's home near the top of this mountain. Doi Suthep

Hair

When I was a little girl, I was in LOVE with a book called "The Hair Book." My Dad had it in the back room of his salon, Best Impressions, the place where I spent countless hours of my childhood. Yes, my Dad is a hairdresser, so is my Mom. Growing up in a salon made for an interesting childhood, an even more interesting adolescence and if I'm being perfectly honest, it still impacts my perceptions of beauty, vanity, style and goes even so far as to make conclusions about how you feel about yourself.

You may be able to tell that over the years I have spent a chunk of time analyzing this experience of growing up in a service industry which is based on how you look. Spending so much time in front of mirrors during your awkward stages of life is bound to have an impact! But let me share with you what I loved about this unique growing up experience.

My Dad had a crew of regular clients, these woman came weekly for their standing appointments and watched me grow up...they became like family. When I was younger, I brought them coffee made to order & I would walk around with a pad of paper and pen and ask for autographs. I always wanted to be up front, near the cash register where I could pretend to be the shop owner and take money, but when I got too loud & obnoxious, my Dad would come & get me and without saying a word he would pinch & twist my upper arm and lead me all the way to the back room where I would have my "timeout" (although my folks never called it that.) I always had a crew of folks to buy whatever I was selling for band and when I got a little older, (following in my cousin Corey's footsteps) my Dad hired me to work for pay. On Saturdays (his busiest day) I made $20, I emptied trash, cleaned brushes, answered the phone, took out rollers, brought coffee, picked up lunch, made appointments & took money. I know it's these experiences working at Best Impressions that helped give me a strong work ethic & to enjoy the company of people, people of all ages.

I also had the latest hair style! I was getting my hair permed and highlighted before I was out of elementary school! I had it all, asymmetrical hair, big hair, short hair, bangs, no bangs, blonde, brown, red, extensions, the list goes on, just like the characters in The Hair Book!

So I just had my first Thai salon experience with Franck at fan fan salon in Bangkok. (Thanks Nadia for the recommendation!) Franck is actually French and comes to Bangkok via Hong Kong via Sydney via Casablanca and he was amazing! After my consultation with him (I needed to fix my color because I had tried to do it myself and actually made my hair orangish, yuck!) where we discussed color & cut, a small army of Thai folks started the services. I had 3 people putting the color on! I kept thinking about how Dad has done this by himself for 40 plus years! One person held my hair in place, one person prepared the foils and the 3rd person painted the color on my hair. A different person washed my hair, then Franck made his entrance and in a flurry of activity he sculpted my hair, a different person blew it dry, Franck returned to style it & put the finishing touches on & I loved it! I couldn't wait to share this experience with my folks.

It's amazing how good you feel after getting a new do! New country, new job, new life, time for a new hair do!

Doing things Mammie's way

That's my Mammie, my paternal grandmother who grew up picking cotton in the hot sun of Tennessee. I knew her as mule-headed, because she insisted on doing things herself and in her own way. (In Mammie speak, that means stubborn, you know, like a mule, which I have also been accused of being) She lived to be 95 years old...

With the guidance and urging of my Aunt Hilda, I had the honor and privilege (although I will admit at times it felt like torture) of living with Mammie for about 6 weeks in the summer of 2007. Growing up I never completely understood why she did some of the things she did, but I came to appreciate these quirks and even now & here, away from the world that Mammie knew, I appreciate her some more. You see, Mammie grew up a child of the depression, she was born in 1914! She worked hard for everything she had, times where really tough back then. Kind of like now in some ways. People didn't know if they'd have work or where their food would come from, so they spent & saved wisely.

Several weeks ago, while washing dishes, Mammie came to mind...I think I did it because of the ants, I had a tub that fits into the kitchen sink, I would rinse the dishes, then put them in the tub with clean, soapy water for washing. Since ants can't swim, I was able to keep them away from the sink area. I washed the dishes and then rinsed them all at the same time. I saved water and since we pay for our water here (which we never had to do in Chicago) I'm also saving us money. Mammie would approve, especially since this is exactly how she did the dishes.

Mammie also had a green thumb and when she lived on State Street in St. Joe, she had a garden in her back yard, she grew tomatoes, cucumbers & green beans. (As far as I recall..)

So naturally Mammie came up again today when I collected our first, what I call farm share, but here they call community supported agriculture or CSA. There's a group of folks at CMIS (the school where I work) who participate and it couldn't be easier. I paid 200 baht (just under $10) for a box of locally grown produce. On a weekly basis, they drop it off at the front gate of the school, all I have to do is return the box for next week. This week our box had a huge bunch of bananas, several eggplant, a pumpkin, morning glory greens, 2 kinds of green beans and tons of leafy greens which I'm going to use for salad. I was thrilled to come home with my new treasures and while going through the meditative process of cleaning, cutting and preparing I was caught in thought once more about my Mammie and the way things used to be. This produce that I brought home today was probably picked yesterday and I prepared and ate some of it already today. Fresh from the earth at the farm into my belly the very next day. As I prepared the food, I was thinking how simple the meal was going to be, yet how excited I was to eat it. Yes, simple is ok, actually it's more than ok! This evening I ate...sauteed morning glories with garlic & soy sauce, steamed green beans, a hard boiled egg and white rice. It was simple, delicious and filling! I have already made my lunch for tomorrow and have enough lettuce for several more salads, that 200 baht is going to last a long way!

Now, I just need to convince my husband that composting won't attract roaches! Mammie did that too by the way, only she had a different name for it.

Let's all take this lesson from Mammie, take what you need and use it all.

Have I mentioned how much I love Thai massage?

Traditional Thai massage is found on practically every street corner here. I'm not kidding, there are massage places everywhere. Thai massage, foot massage & spa treatments which include aroma oil massages & herbal hot compress and then there's the seedy side as well, perhaps you've heard the phrase "happy ending?" Not that I know from experience, but I've heard they exist.

The setting is different than we think of in a Western style massage business, for Thai massage you wear very loose fitting & comfortable clothes and you may get rubbed in a large room along with several other people or you may have slightly more privacy with a curtain that draws around the bed.

There are foot massage places where you're just out in the open getting your feet rubbed. At the Sunday walking market in Chiang Mai there are practically 100 chairs lined up along one of the roads with the ladies ready to give you your massage. I've never been around a culture of people so open & willing to relax so freely in public, it still makes me smile. One of the best parts all this rubbing & relaxing...most of the services are the equivalent of $10 or less! Whoa!

The catch is this...I really think Thai massage is an acquired taste. Rather than rubbing along the length of your muscles, searching for knots & kinks, it's more like a pressing, sometimes painfully hard along the subtle energy lines of the body. In America, most people prefer to have their backs & shoulders worked on, but here they spend a large portion of the time on your legs and only spend a short amount of time working on the back.

I've found a place close to our mooban that I really like, the price is right, it's clean, you can walk right in...I've built a rapport with a lady there, her name Suenee. If Suenee is not available, I almost feel bad for the whoever gets me, I'm holding Suenee at the top, the standard to which all others are compared. Interestingly, part of what I love about her technique was her rhythm, (something I'm finely tuned into) her touch is so steady and does not vary for the entire process, it has an incredibly grounding effect on both my body & mind. I've been going once or twice a week for about a month. I wanted to see if I could tell a difference in my body. One thing I've learned is that it really depends on who is working on me and what I bring into the room with you from my day. Honestly, I've had a few massages where it feels like I'm pressing back against her as she presses into me, those are the painful ones. When I'm able to relax and breathe, the massage can be incredibly relaxing and I feel that it's a perfect compliment to a regular yoga practice. I'm working on some of the same things while getting a massage as I am during my yoga practice, breathing & whatever the sensations I'm feeling in my body, staying present.

I feel so blessed to be in a position to experience this healing art as a a regular part of my life here.