SUMMER IN SIAM

Written by: T. P. and A.M.J.

Photos by: A.M.J. and T. P.

When it's summer in Siam

And the moon is full of rainbows

When it's summer in Siam

And we go through many changes

When it's summer in Siam

Then all I really know

Is that I truly am

In the summer in Siam

Pogues

These lines tell us all. When you are in Siam , changes are inevitable. They come spontaneously and you are not even aware of what is happening to you. Once you return home you realize that you changed your point of view of events, of people, of everyday life. You have changed. The small things start to matter to you.

You will start to notice that boring old men on the road that always begged you for money, but you never stopped to talk to him before. Now you’ll feel the necessity to sit by this beggar and hear his life story.

You will see that homeless dog who slept in the street on the cold winter nights in front of your building and he looked at you like he wanted to say something . But you did not have time for a dog, because it is a big commitment. Some would say, bigger than having a child. But now you've changed.

You'll take the dog to your warm apartment, feed him and you will feel happiness for that selfless act.

Your friends will become strangers. Simply , you will not share the same views anymore . You will have more topics to talk about with a stranger than with people with whom you grown up. Travel will become your meaning of life. You will easily recognize good and evil. You'll become more reliable, more responsible and  happier. You'll start to love yourself again. The New, Adventurous, more Mature yourself.

People probably won’t take you for serious, maybe they’ll say,” Who does he/she thing he/ she is? “, but it doesn't matter what people say. It matters how you feel inside. Remember, it‘s not the great things that matter, nor great people nor the great power because they destroy the soul. As Goethe once said: " The gold can buy  you the votes of the crowd , but it can’t obtain you a single heart."

If we go back to the beginning of this report and the name of Siam, some of you might be wondering, what Siam means? Simply put, Siam is the ancient name for Thailand. The name change was made 1939th year as a result of nationalist aspirations(the same happened in Croatia) when the Thai name has become synonym of nation, citizens and the state. Of all the countries in SE Asia, Thailand is the only country that had avoid the conquest.

Our journey began in Thailand, Bangkok from where we visited the ancient city - the temple in Cambodia (Angkor Wat) and the Mekong River in Laos (Luang Prabang) and returned via Chiang Rai in Bangkok. We spent two wonderful weeks on the shores of Ko Samui , Ko Tao, Krabi and Phuket. And we swore that we would come back here again.

ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK MAKES A HARD MAN HUMBLE ...

Thais are wonderful people. Always smiling, talkative, amiable and hardworking. Okay, here and there, the taxi drivers will try to fool you about the price, but even when  you convert the price into your currency, it will not turn out expensive, around 15 kn (2€) for a half-hour drive.

We were situated at the Asok Montri Hostel at the beginning. Please do not go there. Firstly, you can find a superb hotel for a cheaper price than a hostel. Example : Nasa Vegas hotel  - if you book online you’ll get a room for two people in this beautiful and luxurious hotel for € 10, and earlier mentioned hostel costs 15 € . But you have to book online, cause if you arrive without a reservation you’ll pay 50 % more.

Bangkok is a beautiful city. The buildings and the landscape are similar to those in Vietnam or Cambodia or Indonesia.

You have  a lot of things to see there : the Grand Palace, home of Thai kings, founded by the first Thai King Rama I of the Chakri family. Today's King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX.), a descendant of this line in Thailand is considerd to be  a semi -god for his noble deeds. Among other things, the king funds development projects in the Thai villages from his own wealth. One day Ana and I went to the movies, and we were surprised when we saw an anthem movie clip who depicts the royal family:

Exept Grand palace, you can see Wat Arun(Temple of Dawn), Floating Market, nearby Pattaya Beach, Chinatown and Wat Pho. And in case that you get tired of  too much walking, you will find a label Thai Massage on each footstep where you can get one hour massage for  40 kn (€ 5) and re- train  yourself for further efforts. Apart from this, you can eat seafood and all sorts of exotic dishes for a cheap price, especially if you visit a shopping mall Arsenal 21, where the entire menu with seafood costs 7 kunas (€ 1). Be sure to try Singha beer, which is in my humble opinion, one of the best beers I've tried. Even better than the Turkish Efes beer.

Southeast Asia has had in the past a very developed culture before Chinese and Indian influences. India and China left a lasting imprint on the culture but not in a negative sense, as this mixture of cultures created a new one. Chinese influence is higher in Vietnam and the rest of the region is marked by Hindu influences from India. Today's cities in Southeast Asia have evolved from ancient temple towns that were former political centers of the state. An example of one such temple - is the city of Angkor Wat in Cambodia - more popular than the capital Phnom Penh. It was built by Khmer King Suryavarman II in the 12th century and was the capital of the Khmer Empire. It was originally a Hindu temple that eventually became a Buddhist. It is dedicated to the god Vishnu, and represents the culmination of the classical style of Khmer architecture and is a symbol of Cambodia(on the flag).

As most people know 6th century BC is the time of Confucius and Lao - Tzu in China, Buddha in India, Zoroaster in Iran and Pythagoras in Greece. The question is why and how did so many different religions incurred on different parts of the world at the same time?

The oldest is Hinduism, which literally means, the one who belongs to Indu. Components of Hinduism are vegetarianism, asceticism and meditation. Buddhism, unlike Hinduism is missionary religion which developed as a movement within Hinduism. Who yet does not know the story of the Buddha, the Indian prince who renounced his position and experienced nirvana in his meditation?

In Bangkok there are a large number of Indian temples as well as Indian people , while in the south of Thailand and the islands can be found mainly temples dedicated to Buddha.

Trade routes have spread these religions - merchants, soldiers, travelers , rulers - they all contributed to the spread of religion ,who were upgraded and shaped according to the customs of every nation.

"They talk to me about progress, about "achievements;" diseases cured, improved standards of living. I am talking about societies drained of their essence, cultures trampled underfoot, institutions undermined, lands confiscated, religions smashed, magnificent artistic creations destroyed, extraordinary possibilities wiped out.”

Aime Cesaire , Discourse on Colonialism

From 16 century onwards continental monarchies Siam, Burma, Cambodia and Luang Prabang began to employ the Dutch and the Portuguese as mercenaries. But, little by little they wanted to take over the government, which led to intolerance. France began to come between the countries, but in the end all foreigners were expelled from the country. Today, the majority of tourists in these parts are British, French and Dutch origin. However, residents told us that in the last two years the Russians went crazy for their beaches. Well that’s the reason they don’t visit our country anymore. I guess they are not mad to pay visa and expensive vacation when they can enjoy for a cheap price in SE Asia.

During the second World War II in these areas ruled discomfort and restlessness. Japan turned t all of the mongoloids against white people under the guise of racial discrimination from their side and in this way entered  China, Vietnam and SE Asia. But the biggest riots began after the surrender of Japan 1945^th.

In 1975. SE Asia is divided between the Communists who were supported by China and the Soviet Union and the anti communist who were supported by United States. Communist ruled in Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos. In Cambodia were on the throne Red Khmers led by Pol Pot who implemented a policy of terror. He died in 1998, and that’s when the guerilla wars and instability finished. In 75th Laos has practically become a colony of Vietnam and today the communists are still in power.

The landscape of Southeast Asia is a like a beautiful dream. You can find everything there: green plains , rocky mountains, turquoise sea, sandy beaches... You can ride elephants, cuddle with tigers, play with monkeys... You can eat shrimps by the sea and drink all kinds of exotic fruit juices... You can drink coconut milk and harvest bananas while you walk down the street... Oh, you can do whatever you want! And the most important is that  you can afford  all of this.

Another small detail at the end. Walking along the streets anywhere in Southeast Asia, you will surely come across a lot of puppies. Asians are really treating them nice and take care of them. So they serve them every day in front of the houses a small tray, with rice bowl and sauce. Beside this they leave a Fanta bottle with straw in it. I admit that this has surprised us, so we decided to ask residents, why do they leave Fanta with straw for dogs?

"Neither Fanta or food is for the dogs, but for the Buddha - when he arrives in the evening tired from work so that he can drink and eat, if the dogs don’t eat it before."

This answer satisfied me, however, I must admit that I still do not understand one thing.

Why on earth Buddha only drinks Fanta with a straw?

Россия это я (ROSSIYA ETO YA)

When I think about Russia, a thousand thoughts go through my head. They come to me as images of Swan Lake, Stravinsky, Borodin, Rachmaninoff, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Gagarin along with the famous faces of Russian history which is large and rich just like Mother Russia. Large and rich... but cold.

Russians are the largest Slavic group (followed by Ukrainians and Polish). They are most similar to the Ukrainians and still enter with them in various controversies like those - who founded Kiev Russia in the 9th century. 

After the Russians accepted Christianity, and after the disintegration of this state in the 12th century there were created three nations: Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians.

If we look back at the recent turmoils that erupted in Ukraine because of the conflict of the EU and Russia (both have an interest towards Ukraine), we can conclude that Europe has, in this case, lost the game because Russia has literally bribed Ukraine. However this is not the first time that Russia recruits Ukraine by her side. Ukraine suffered for it's whole history a Russian dominance, allowing it to destroy it's history and to seize all it's merits for itself. During the Russian Empire in the 17th century, Ukraine was fighting for autonomy within the Russian Empire, but declared independence only in 1991. I guess that more than 300 years under Russia was a good reason for Ukraine not to take any risks with Europe. Or is she just greedy for money?

I FOLLOW THE MOSKVA DOWN TO GORKY PARK…

If we exclude politics, Russia is a wonderful country with a rich cultural and historical heritage. If you go to Moscow, you’ll always need an hour more, especially if you are traveling from the airport. The crowds are huge. I can¢t think of anywhere we traveled to be so crowded as in Moscow. Also be prepared for expensive prices. The taxi from the airport to town cost € 50 in one direction. But to see this fairytale town again, I wouldn't  regret a penny.

There are lots of things to see here - must visit - the famous Kremlin, Red Square, St. Basil’s Cathedral, which seems to have fallen out of a fairy tale, Gorky Park, Lenin's Mausoleum, Theatre of the Bolsheviks and many other.

Russian culture is a blend of various Germanic, Scandinavian, Byzantine and Oriental elements, but also the ancient Slavic - Russian heritage.

So today's Shubara, babushka, balalaika, Snjegurochka and borscht belong to specific Slavic culture. Russian culture has experienced a boom during the reign of Peter I the Great, who moved Russia closer to the achievements of the West. In the 20th century, a new art genre called social realism took place in this country. After World War II it became the official ideology of art in the Soviet Union. The artist needed to promote new ideas from contemporary political practice. Ideology has become more important than aesthetics, and art has become a medium of political propaganda.

Although the Russian aircraft has a bad reputation(the most dangerous), because it recorded the highest number of accidents, we did not get that kind of impression. Moreover we highly recommend the Russian airline Aeroflot, which offers great prices and quality service during the flight.

If we imagine Russia as a person, in short, its description would be: arrogant manipulator with severe inferiority complex whose whole history is the history of warfare, concluding alliances, countering, manipulating, brutal scooping of the land, and only to prove to West - "if you can do it, I can do it even better." The entire Cold War between the United States and the USSR was competition. Who will gather more weapons, who will build more spacecraft, who will have more spies, who will be first to drive another crazy, who will be first to psychologically manipulate another. Why? What for? Lenin would say, "Can a nation be free if it oppresses other nations? It cannot!" Period.

A society that does not have the courage and ability to learn the truth about herself  is not a healthy society.

Lenin

Do I need to mention who was Vladimir Ilyich - Lenin?

He was a man who managed to succeed something that no one before him succeeded. Not only that he rejected achievements of the West of that time, but he also opposed the West by establishing a completely new ideology - communism - "in Russia. After this, nothing remained the same. The Soviet Union began to devour the entire eastern hemisphere and West did the same with western hemisphere - with the one and only goal - to wipe out communism. Lenin was against colonial policy of the Western powers, he was against the annexation, he wanted to build fair and democratic peace based on equality. Unfortunately pressure from all sides was too great and this system proved weaker in front of western block. USSR collapsed completely in 1991. But as always, there will remain two sides - to ones Lenin will always be a hero, and to others he’ll remain villain. – as well as Tito in our countries.

Today's Russia, with its announcement of the establishment of the Eurasian Union, has shaken the entire European Union. Giant of the East is again up to something. The EU only hopes that they are not planning to bring the USSR back from the deaths. Another secret is which countries will enter inside (maybe Ukraine). And while the "emperor" of Russia Vladimir Putin publicly and proudly declares: " Russia is the most powerful country in the world," Alexander Pushkin responds to him:

 “ Woe to a country, where only slaves and flatterers are near to the throne. And the poet, chosen by heaven, stands silent looking at the ground.”

INCREDIBLE INDIA

By: Tina Paunovic

Photo by: Ana Maria Jakopanec and Tina Paunovic

Although India was not the first country  we visited this year, (we started from London through Arabia to India and continued from  Southeast Asia to Australia) it is certainly a country that we’ll remember for a long time. There are so many things that happened to us out there, that the only thing I can say after returning home is: "Thank God I'm safe and sound and in one piece."  

So let's proceed to our Indian adventure. The only question is: With which things do I start ? The good ones, which can be counted on the fingers of one hand, or the bad ones which are numerous...

Before we left on our trip we read a lot about India, the news, travel books, personal experiences of other fellow travelers... So actually we knew that we were going to a third world country and that we will experience a culture shock, but as we had experience in traveling, we were confident in ourselves.

 " Oh, That’s a piece of cake for us..." Ana repeated few times.

When we arrived  at the airport we still couldn’t  feel or imagine what might be waiting for us out there , despite that  customs officers tossed a silly grin, " Good luck ! You will definitely need luck here."

But it was the point of no return.

Outside of the airport, there was the driver of the hotel where we had booked accommodation, waiting for us with his car. We had no idea that this will soon become the most traumatic ride of our lives. There were no signs of speed limitations on the road, instead of three lanes for cars they are using six lanes and their way of driving is just indescribable. Buses, cars( Suzuki Swift, Toyota and a few TATA) and countless rickshaws are competing among themselves who will be first to reach the next traffic light. Beside this, there are oxen running in these lanes, and  what is the most interesting, they stop when the red light is on. It took us a few days to get used to the constant irritating noise of the car horns which is pretty loud even at night or on weekends.

If you are traveling alone to the Indian capital, without any agency, be carefull cause you’ ll  probably get deceived wherever you go. If you want to travel anywhere outside of New Delhi - you need a ticket for a train or a bus. But they do not sell tickets at the bus or railway station but at the government branch that usually carry the name: TOURIST OFFICE. So before you go anywhere you need to go into this office. They will  try to convince you here that India is a very dangerous country and  that you are not likely to survive if you go somewhere alone by train or bus so they  will immediately try to organize the entire route with private driver for you  and charge it at european prices. We didn’t have so much money for a  personal driver for all the places we wanted to visit, and we asked for only two train tickets to Agra. However, an official who works in the office told us that the tickets for the train and bus were sold out and told us that the taxi is the only option we have left. We knew he was trying to cheat us. We were already at the exit, when he changed his mind and sold us two tickets for the bus to Agra. This negative experience was on one hand an unpleasant cognition what awaits us on our onward journey, but on another, we also learned how to behave in an endless debates with Indians.

The trip to Agra lasted 5:30 hours. We have seen so many bad things from the bus. Poverty is huge. People are living in unsanitary conditions in small huts, without water, electricity, toilets, anything ... Families live together with cows, oxen, wild pigs, goats . They all sit in front of the huts as if waiting for something to fall from the sky. You can sense in the air all sorts of smells - smoke, automobile gas, incenses, sewage... And the air is full of dust that is constantly rising in the air and the weather seems to be cloudy all the time although it isn’t.  There are mosquitoes flying everywhere, mainly infected with malaria. We did not buy any anti-malaria tablets, although we were aware of the risks. The problem is that the price is too expensive in our country. Useful information is that these pills contain quinine - the same ingredient that is found in tonic and has the same effect if you regularly drink tonic water. Another option is to buy anti-malaria tablets in India at much less cost.

Size of the indian capital is 24 million people, and of the Uttar Pradesh province is nearly 200 million. India is the second most populated country in the world ( after China ), and seventh in the area. In the state there are 23 official languages, and the largest number of religious groups are Hindus and Muslims.

NAMASKAR  TAJ MAHAL

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.

Shah Jahan

In Agra people are more sociable and I would say wealthier and better speaking english. It is logical to conclude that they have a much larger number of tourists than Delhi because of the Taj Mahal. As I recall, we have seen  in Delhi a single tourist on the road. Here were  buses full of Brits and Germans passing every few minutes.

While climbing up the Taj Mahal, Ana and I have nearly forgotten all the trouble that happened to us in India since we arrived. The area around one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen in my life radiates positive energy. That day was very hot and it was so crowded at the entrance of the Taj Mahal that I thought to myself: " This will not turn out well. " But when we went inside, the hot wind blew us with smell of incense, sandalwood, flowers and wax and it drew a smile on both of our faces. And although everything was full of people and over 37 degrees yet in all that crowd we found peace and tranquility. Family where we stayed in Agra was very good to us.

They told us about the love story of the Taj Mahal.

Mughal empire in India was  founded by the Mongol leader Babur in 1526 year. One of the heirs of that monarch, Shah Jahan ordered a tomb to be build - a mosque Taj Mahal in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, which was greatly loved by him. Tomb was built by 22,000 people over 22 years. It was built from 1631^st till 1653^rd year.

Thousands of people do the pilgrimage to this World wonder. They are mostly Indians, but you can find also the British, Germans, Americans and even Bosnians. We met a Bosnian family in the middle of the Taj Mahal! We stayed in Agra longer than we have planned. Probably because of the good people and fine food or we just felt security and serenity close to such a magnificent building, especially since we had a direct view on it from our hostel.

“If we Indians could only spit in unison, we would form a puddle big enough to drown 3,000,000 Englishmen”. M. Gandhi

We have visited also Jaipur and Manali, and we returned back to Delhi. In Delhi there are a lot of things to see, such as the Hindu Akshardham Temple, Lotus Temple, India Gate and Raj Ghat memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian leader in the struggle for independence which was known for its tactics of disobedience and non-cooperation towards Britain, which finally led to the independence of India in 1947. Gandhi resolutely resisted the Hindu - Muslim clashes and massacres that led to the struggle for independence of India and Pakistan. He was killed by a Hindu fanatic.

The overall impression after this journey is that India is truly incredible. As if  you’re watching a movie in which everything rewinds in advance and the whole day passes in five minutes time. 

While you are in India you arrive to think about anything except on mere survival. Will riksha run me over ? Or bus ? Or an ox ? Will I get ripped off and sold into slavery ? All the senses are at a maximum. So many sounds , so many smells , so many pictures... 

Maybe this way of life is too stressful for us, but anyway it is worth of trying. There is a nice quote that Croatian writer Ivo Andrić said: " There are so many things that we were afraid of in our lives. And there was no reason for fear. There is only reason to live." 

Maybe the Indian people are inconceivable, unpredictable, incomprehensible, but they know how to live, because they don’t know for better. Their way of living has reminded me in some segments of my childhood, during the war. But then again I think to myself: "By God, it was never so bad in our country ". 

And yet they will smile to you and greet you on the street not like most of our fellow citizens. Maybe because they do not know any better. Maybe it would be better for us if we did not know any better.

Indians would advise you:

" You are the creators of your own happiness. You cause suffering to yourself, you do good and evil things to yourself and to others,and you are the ones who close their eyes and say that is dark. Get your hands off your eyes and see the light! "

And then they would ask you to pay for that advice.