Wednesday, 24 July 2013
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Friday, 2 September 2011
a boy and his elephant
At Chiangtao, the first of two elephant camps we visited this summer, I watched this boy watching the elephants. He stood there for a long time. We were waiting for one to have the howdah put on his back and be led up to the platform where we would climb aboard, and ride for about three quarters of an hour through the jungle.
The ride culminated in a visit to a Lisu village, part of which was arranged for the sale of crafts to the tourists who rode in. I bought a belt, John a small stringed instrument the name of which I sadly did not learn. Then we rode back to the camp and moved on.
Unfortunately, the battery in my camera ran out during the ride up to the village, so I did not take any photos of the village or, especially sad to say, of the man who sold us our loot. He had a great smile. With luck, the Dutch couple who rode up in convoy with us will eventually send some photos. (Are you listening, Anne?)
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
the temple tree
One finds these trees scattered around Thailand. The bodhi tree represents both the tree under which Siddhartha Gautama was sitting when he attained enlightenment, and the buddha himself. The branches and poles leaning against the tree represent the followers of the buddha, leaning on or being oriented toward him, seeking to find enlightenment under his aegis as he found it under the tree. On some trees the poles are carved, decorated with ribbons, scarves, and other embellishments such as this origami dragonfly, or painted bright colors, seeming to seek attention to their devotional role; on others they are simple branches, simply leaning for support.
The base of this tree was also home to a clay figure of a chicken, and a hen and her chicks were weaving their way among the poles and roots.
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