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 1945th.
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?
No comments:
Post a Comment