Spatafora Family - The Thailand Sabbatical

Jan. 7th

Koh Kret is a very small island in the middle of the Chao Praya River. It is one of the OTOP projects and from what we saw it is a very successful area. To get to Koh Kret we rode the BTS to Mo Chit to meet our friend, Game, who had the entire day planned. From the BTS we took a taxi to the dock. You cannot drive a car all the way to the island because the island has a strict no car rule, so instead of a bridge there is a ferryboat.

Once on the island a cement walkway circles the island, making walking and riding bikes around the island a perfect pass time. The villagers of Koh Kret have a long market surrounding a long stretch of the walkway where you can find just about anything you could ever want at a reasonably cheap price. The village’s OTOP project is pottery and they so they have a wide selection of pottery to buy from. Once you get tired of walking rest areas are everywhere and restaurants serve delicious food like, ping gai (Thai BBQ), sum tam (spicy papayya salad), and lot of other yummy treats.

Food surrounds you as you walk down the market road. If you are still hungry you can sit down at a desert bar and have five steamed coconut desert things made in cups smaller than a shot glass, for 10 baht for five cups. Thirsty? Well all of the drinks come in clay cups. The crowded market seems to stop abruptly as if at the end of a cliff that plummets into farm land amazingly quickly. Conveniently the last real shop before drink stands is a bike rental. When we got there we all had to check all of our bikes especially carefully, riding bikes in Thailand is very different than riding bikes in the U.S. The most noticeable difference is helmets, there are no such thing as helmets here, unless you bring your own from home. The ride through the countryside is relaxing and you can hardly tell that you are near Bangkok.

Once we returned our bikes a boat was waiting for us to circle the island. We made four stops all together, two of them were at candy shops, one was at a temple/park, and the last was to eat more food at Daily Queen, not to be mistaken with Dairy Queen. The first two sweet shops were over flowing with salty sweets. I my self do not like most of them, but they have something for everyone. The temple/park is a fancy temple with a very large park next to it. The park is on the river and is a spacious green park with miniature temples and giant koi ponds. The park is virtually a smaller version of Lumpini Park, but with a bigger play ground. When we were there we fed the fish at the docks. The catfish we fed were nearly as long as Nick's legs and were fed often by people like us. Our last stop on the boat trip was at Daily Queen. Daily Queen as we found out we to go home is a giant restaurant! It is gianormous and we only saw the first floor! Not only is it giant, but you can also get anything including sushi.

As we stumbled out of our taxis at Bann Yoswadi dead tried from constant eating and exercising we all realized that Koh Kret is a very nice place to spend a day.

--Gioia Spatafora

Jan 1st

Last night was an eventful night in Bangkok, one that included at least seven bombs. At approximately 6:30pm, seven small bombs were detonated nearly simultaneously around Bangkok. They were relatively small and we did not know they had occurred until after the fact. One was about 2 km north of us and one was about 2 km south of us. While we were never in any danger, three people did die from the explosions.

We left the apartment around 6:45pm and went to a restaurant, Tee Sud, which is near Victory Monument where one of the bombs was set off. There were numerous police but we still did not know what had happened. You have to remember that it was New Year's Eve, so plenty of fireworks were going off and there were people every where. We arrived at Tee Sud Restaurant which was owned and operated by our friends Doug and Yim. I said "was" as Dec. 31, 2006 was the last night of the restaurant and we were meeting some friends (Nigel, Rung and Ray) there for one last meal. Tee Sud has been a renowned eatery on Soi Rang Nam and will be dearly missed by all. We wish Doug and Yim all the best in whatever 2007 holds in store for them.

At the restaurant we learned about the bombings. It was quite strange and unsettling. No one really knew how big they were, how many there were, or who was responsible. The first two questions were eventually answered but the question of responsibility still remains. Some say the Muslim insurgents in the south, although these bombs were small and not characteristic of their style. Some say the ousted Prime Minister, or the current government itself, or may even the police. The reality is no one has been brought to justice and it seems unlikely that any one will be.

We had originally planned on going to some of the New Year's fireworks ceremonies, but all major public gatherings were canceled due to the bombings. So after dinner we eventually made our way back to the apartment and glued ourselves to the BBC and CNN. After realizing the news agencies really did not know anything either, we watched some fireworks from our balcony for awhile and then called it a night.

An auspicious start to 2007.

Christmas Day
by Gioia

(Due to the hard drive crash, there are no pictures for this story.)

Christmas morning we all woke up earlier than usual so that we could open our presents and say goodbye to Jeff. A plot had been hatched before to wake Jeff up with something we had come across in the grocery store: Silly String! So, around 6:30am, three hooting children used a cold rush of plasticised, artificially multi-colored Silly String to jolt Jeff awake to celebrate Christmas with us. The shock made Jeff so wide-awake that he was plenty prepared for his 14 hour flight back home to Washington state! (You're welcome, Jeff.)

Since Jeff was set to leave our apartment around 11am for the airport, we opened our presents early and had a nice breakfast of tropical fruits and phad Thai from across the street. The presents were very different than in years past because there were not really many surprises this time. Since we are together nearly ALL THE TIME, we have usually been with each other when we were shopping. It was kind of fun to open things and remember where we were or what we were doing when they were purchased. We had also forgotten that some things had been bought so long ago. Our favorite gifts were the iTunes cards Jeff had brought us from the U.S. and new books.

Before Jeff took off, a "Christmas Swim" was called for. We had a nice dip in the pool and soaked up some sun. We took some photos to put on this site and to remember our sunny Christmas. We were going to take some pictures of Jeff at the pool with the Brazilian models to send to a jealous Bill, but they were not around that early in the day.
After putting Jeff in a cab around eleven, the rest of the day was spent reading the books and building the Legos we had gotten. Once we were finally dragged away from our new toys, we realized that lunchtime had passed by unnoticed and now the house smelled of Christmas dinner. The long-awaited turkey that we had missed at Thanksgiving was eaten with enough left over for sandwiches later. Our long, loved Christmas Day was almost over. The food had been devoured, the ice cream eaten too. We just had to watch a Christmas movie and head off to bed. All together, it was a rather lazy day and was a bit nippy at 85*F, (some Thais even put on their scarves and mittens!), with some smog instead of snow.

Hey Everybody!

We had a computer hard drive crash on New Years' Day and that has caused us a lot of trouble and time to recover our electronic communication. As a result, we have taken a long break from the blog postings. Luckily, due to the brilliance of our friend and IT specialist Chris Sullivan, I am happy to report that everything from the old hard drive has been recovered and will be waiting for us when we get home. For now, I will try to catch you all up on what we have been doing for all of January over the next few days, so stay tuned. Also, if you have not heard from us this year, please send us an email to spat19@comcast.net so we can rebuild our address book. That would be very much appreciated!

Although I am in a deep state of denial, our time here is rapidly drawing to an end. We have about 3 weeks before we head to Australia for some fun and sun and then on to Oregon on March first. We are looking forward to seeing all of our friends, neighbors, and our dog, but we are sad to be ending this amazing adventure. I hope you have all enjoyed reading about our escapades and have maybe learned a thing or two about Thailand or perhaps will plan a trip of your own to visit this fascinating place!

Elizabeth

Goodbye to Cambodia

Today we traveled back to Bangkok but luckily our flight was not until the afternoon. That gave us the opportunity to check out the local morning market which is always a fun thing to do. The morning market in Siem Reap is located near the river and consists of about 3 blocks of covered stalls and shops. They had everything from cheap T-shirts to nice silk fabrics and from inexpensive trinkets to fancy jewelry. We bought a little of everything, so look closely and you may see your next Christmas present.

The morning market is the traditional "supermarket" for most smaller SE Asian cities and towns. Although real supermarkets have become commonplace in large cities like Bangkok, the traditional market is alive and well too. It is quite fun wandering through the food stalls. They have everything, and I do mean everything. You name it! From fresh fruits and vegetables, to flowers and fresh meats. We always play the game - "Guess the wacky food item?" It happens a lot. We have become good at identifying the many types of egg plants and peppers – but the fruit is much harder. It seems every time we go to a market we learn a new fruit. Most of them we like once we try it. Granted, they can keep the durian and I can only take jackfruit in small quantities, but so far everything else has been wonderful. The incredible diversity and abundance of fresh tropical fruit is something we will miss dearly in Oregon. However, we are looking forward to blueberry season.

After a fun morning of exploring the market and supporting the local economy, we headed back to the hotel and checked out. It was short trip to the airport, but a long wait due to a delayed flight. We eventually made it back to Bangkok and had one final Thai meal at our friend Doug's local restaurant before putting Bill Genne on a plane for Japan. Jeff Hannibal will visit us for another week and will get to see a bit more of Thailand. We all bid a fond farewell to Cambodia!

Day 5 – Angkor Thom

Today we visited Angkor Thom. This is the major city site of the Khmer Empire and includes many famous temples, including Bayon. To enter Angkor Thom, you must first pass through one of the gates in the massive walls that surround the city. These are arched entry ways big enough to fit an elephant comfortably, but not much wider. At the top of the arches are the famous faces of Angkor Thom that are especially prevalent at Bayon. Each of the entries has special symbolism to it and we entered through the south gate. This is the main entrance and, once past the gate, there is a large causeway lined on either side by large statues depicting the Hindu story “Churning of the Milk Ocean”. This is the Hindu's creation story and is also famously depicted in the reliefs of Angkor Wat. We know that people from Sri Lanka visited Angkor Wat in the 1200s because they write of seeing this causeway. It is really cool because the figures are positioned and carved with faces on both sides such that you see the same thing either coming or going through the gates. I guess this is an instance in which being "two-faced" is a good thing!

We drove through Angkor Thom to get a lay of the area and our first stop was at Preah Khan, just outside the north gates. Preah Kahn was built as a Buddhist shrine at the end of the 12th century. It not only included a monastery and shrines to Hindu deities and ancestors, but it also included a university. Interestingly, this university was centered around a large columned building that is strangely similar to the architectural style of the Roman Empire. It is unclear what influence, if any, these cultures may have had on the Khmers, but it certainly led us to believe that there may have been some interaction between the two cultures that was not recorded. Regardless, it represents an unusual style of structure for this area at this time.
In the Preah Khan complex is the "spa" called Neak Pean. It is a manmade island in a small reservoir that represents a mythical lake in Hindu mythology, the waters of which are able to cure all illnesses. I am not sure how well this one works, but it does have four divisions with fountains around the lake poured water on worshipers based on which of the four elements they were lacking for balance. At left is the fountain with the human head, representing "earth", under which you would sit if that was what was prescribed to you.


In the center of Angkor Thom is Bayon. This is possibly the most unique and enigmatic of all the Khmer temples. It was built in the late 12th century by the king Jayavarman VII. (J7 for short.) The most characteristic features of Bayon are the large faces carved on the four sides of all the 33 towers of the temple. They all appear to be slightly smiling, as if they know something you don’t. It is a feature not seen outside of this temple except for on the towers on the gates into the city of Angkor Thom. There is some disagreement about who the faces represent. Some say they are of the Buddha, some say of J7 as a god-like being, and some say that each of the towers was built for one of the 33 city-states in the Khmer empire and the faces are for the individual city. Regardless, they add an element to this temple that is truly unique.

Bayon, like Angkor Wat, is one of those places that you cannot get enough of on a one day visit. (At least I did not get enough of it.) It consists of a labyrinth of hallways and galleries, and around every turn is another beautiful relief carving and through every window is framed another face. Although we wandered around it for hours, when it was time to leave, it was too soon.



This was our last full day in Cambodia and our last day of touring the temples, so to end it we did a quick tour of the Elephant Terrace and then went back to Angkor Wat for one last sunset. We sat on the wall of the moat and watched the sun set against Angkor Wat for one last time and talked about all we had seen. This trip was one that we not only thoroughly enjoyed, but one in which we learned so much. At the end of the day we were a little sad for it to end, but it did. We arrived back at our hotel and said goodbye to our guide Sophoan, who we felt had become part of our group.

Tomorrow we have a half day in Siem Reap and we will hit the morning market and do a little shopping, but the Angkor part of our trip is over. What a trip! I can not wait to return and visit Angkor and Cambodia again. It is one of the most special places on Earth I have ever been.

Dec. 11th - Banteay Srei, River of a Thousand Lingas, and Ta Prohm.

Today we visited some areas outside of the central area of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. First we visited Banteay Srei which was completed in 967. It is a small temple northeast of Angkor Wat and is considered by many to be the finest example of Angkor art and architecture. Sophoan said that this temple is studied by every Cambodian and is used as the example of the epitome of their art history. The legend is that Banteay Srei was made by women artists because men could not do such delicate, fine artistry. It is true that the carvings are more curvy and refined and that the entire temple has a more feminine quality to it. In addition, the sandstone almost has a pink hue to it and the relief carvings lack the classic "war and battle" scenes of most other temples. The temple was also dedicated to Uma, the wife of Shiva, and she plays prominently in the relief art.

It is easy to get templed out, so today's activities were designed to offset that. However, one of the things about these temples is that they are so different from one another. After being here and seeing how different each of the temples are, it would take some time (at least for the adults!) to get tired of touring the temples.

After Banteay Srei we began the drive to Kbal Spean, or the River of a Thousand Lingas. The drive along the way was beautiful. We passed several areas with sugar palms where they tap the trees and cook the sap down to make sugar. We stopped and watched some women making sugar and, of course, bought some sugar and assorted woven baskets. We also passed numerous rice fields with large water buffalo that were nothing short of bucolic. It is so peaceful around here that it is hard to imagine that not long ago much of this area was engulfed in war.









The River of a thousand Lingas is a located in a tributary of the Siem Reap River. This is the most sacred river in Cambodia and the carved riverbed is meant to represent the sacred Ganges River in India. Made during the 11th century, numerous scenes and images were carved into the river bed. These that we visited are very near the head waters. A number of the carvings are these palisades of lingas, (a linga is a stylized penis, which is a sign of strength and fertility in Hinduism), and many of the reliefs show other fertility gods or scenes. I have been several places where there are carvings or paintings along a river, but I have never seen carvings actually in the rock of the river bed. Experts speculate that much of the carving had to have been performed during the dry season and that they must have had a water diversion plan. This was no easy feat.

At the river is a small waterfall. Water fall. Water. You know we are going to get in! Jeff, Bill, Nick and I enjoyed a nice swim, and man, did it feel good. There was even a hollow in a rock below the falls that was exactly bathtub size. What a great experience to be in the middle of the Cambodian jungle and swim in this small river at the base of this waterfall. After our swim, we had a picnic at the waterfall and just sat around and talked about our experiences so far. It could not have been a better moment for our friends visiting and our family. Fun, fun, fun!



Although we did not want to leave, we had one more stop to make for the day. It was certainly worth leaving the river in order to see Ta Prohm, or "the jungle temple". When Angkor Wat was "rediscovered" in the 1860s, most of the temples were overgrown by the jungle. While most temples have had the trees and vines removed from the grounds, the big trees at Ta Prohm have been kept. You can see from the photos that this was not so much a wise decision as a necessary measure! The strangling figs have invaded the structures so stealthily that it is impossible to discern whether they are splitting the structure apart or holding it together. It gives you a bit of a feel for how it must have felt to stumble upon these ruins in the 1860s. It gives a very "Indiana Jones"-like quality to the experience.




Even the kids were quite taken by the numerous very large fig and dipterocarp trees tha have taken over Ta Prohm. What is amazing is that these huge trees have taken root on the structures of the temples and not growing into or out of the earth. Their roots are enormous, most are larger than a human's waist, and run for 100s of feet across the courtyards. Around every turn you are more excited and more impressed by the battle between nature and Khmer architecture. Nature is certainly in the lead at Ta Prohm!

Needless to say, we had another incredible day. Banteay Srei inspired, the River refreshed, and Ta Prohm left us in awe. None of this would have been possible without our guide Sophoan, who is simply the best! She is very knowledgeable about the history and architecture of the Khmer and taught us so much about Cambodia and her people. (And she is really nice!) We noticed several other groups that did not get the attention or wealth of information we did from our guide. Thanks Sophoan for an incredible day!

Dec 10 - The Roluos Group and Angkor Wat

Today we began our tour of the ancient Khmer temples. This morning we packed into the van and visited the oldest set of temples, the Ruluos Group. These temples were built in the 9th century and are considered to represent the start of the Angkor Period. The Ruluos Group consists of three main temples, Bakong, Preah Ko and Lolei. Bill is shown above at Bakong halfway up the steep stairs. For such tiny people, the Cambodians sure built awfully steep stairways with very large steps.

Bakong was dedicated around 850 and is the first, (or at least the earliest still in existence), temple of the Angkor Period. All of the earliest temples of the Angkor Period were Hindu temples and most were dedicated to the gods Vishnu and/or Shiva. As the Angkor kings established themselves as god-kings, the temples also took on a role in ancestor worship. Much of the architectural style we associate with temples in SE Asia (e.g., bas reliefs, naga balustrades, etc.) can trace their beginnings back to these temples.

Preah Ko was dedicated to the gods Shiva and Gauri. As you can see from these pictures, the structures are considerably weathered from the years. Much of the construction material is sandstone and almost all of these temples were abandoned when the Khmer abandoned Angkor in the 14th century. (More on that later.) The result was that the jungle reclaimed many of these structures and sites and most of the stucco that covered the sandstone was lost to weather. The temples were "rediscovered" in the 1860s by French archaeologists, and since that time there have been numerous campaigns, repeatedly disrupted by wars, to preserve the temples and Angkor architecture. You have to remember that, during its heyday, this was the most sophisticated city architecture on the planet. It is not difficult to recall this when you see the magnificent, ornate structures up close. Some ancient writings hint at the extravagant use of color and/or gold on these temples which is harder to imagine. It is hard to imagine anything more decorative.

Lolei is the last of the three main temples of the Ruluos Group. It is located on a manmade island in the middle of the first of a series of reservoirs. The Khmers built several large reservoirs that they used for irrigation purposes. Their ability to manage water so well allowed their empire to grow, but some have speculated that the failure of the reservoir system (silting up) contributed in large part to the fall of the Khmer Empire.


After visiting the Ruluos group we headed back to the hotel for lunch and a rest. Then it was on to the temple of temples, the largest religious complex in the world, Angkor Wat. It is hard to convey the size and magnitude of Angkor Wat in a description or even a photo. In fact, when you first walk up its massiveness does not dawn on you. That is, until you keep walking and climbing, and walking and climbing. It is simply huge and we did not even see the whole temple in the several hours spent there. Part of that is the sensory overload that one experiences trying to take in the structures and the complicated bas reliefs, and part is because it is just so big.

At its peak, it is estimated that around 1,000,000 people lived in and around the Angkor Wat temple complex and in the neighboring city of Angkor Thom. This was at a time when London and Paris had approximately 50,000 residents each. I do not know about you, but I have been asking myself, “Why wasn’t I taught this in school?” This society was so advanced for its day and most Westerners know nothing about it.

Angkor Wat was built by King Suryavarman II (1113-1150) and was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, one of the three main gods of the Hindu trinity. Like many Hindu temples, it was designed to represent the universe in Hindu mythology. The central tower is the highest and represents Mt. Meru where the major gods live. The smaller towers represent the smaller mountains and the moat surrounding the temple signifies the ocean surrounding Mt. Meru and the universe. It is not unlike Mt. Olympus of Greek mythology, but to me Hindu mythology is much more complicated than Greek mythology with respect to the number of gods and their numerous incarnations.

I can not even begin to capture Angkor Wat in words and images. Not only is it massive, but it is perfectly symmetrical. It is comprised of three levels, the first consisting of columned galleries housing incredibly detailed bas reliefs that depict eight main events from the story of the Ramayana from Hindu mythology. The friezes are 2000 ft. long and 6.5 ft. high all the way around! The complexity and the detail of the reliefs are amazing and represent an artistry and skill that is all but lost today.

The second level mainly consists of the four smaller towers, hallways and galleries, and associated buildings/rooms of the temple. The third level includes the main central tower representing Mt. Meru. Wow!!! I really hope these pictures convey some of the grandeur of the complex. This place is simply amazing! Except for Anna and Sophoan, we climbed to the upper section where you can see the people in the photo. This also required a long wait in line to descend the cliff-like staircase on the side with a handrail. This was a major feat for Elizabeth especially as she has a fear of heights. Bill was more impatient than fearful and went down the other, rail-less side. He made it look easy!

One of the most notable features of Angkor Wat is that the temple faces west which is very unusual. The reason is that it was constructed partly to serve as a royal mausoleum for the great Angkor king Suryavarman II. Facing the west, facing the sunset, symbolizes death. This feature also makes Angkor Wat a great and immensely popular place to catch the sunset. We watched the sun set along with several hundreds of other onlookers and it did not disappoint us. What a day! We all realized how fortunate we were to be here and have this opportunity to visit such an incredible and important piece of human history.