Tuesday
The Jim Thompson Story
Hill Tribes of Thailand
Traditional Thai Massage
Friday
The Moon Festival
Chinese Mooncakes and Legends Usually baked, consisting of a thin tender skin enveloping a sweet and slightly oily filling, mooncakes used to exclusively be enjoyed throughout the Mid-Autumn Moon Festivities. Today, however, they seem to be a part of Chinese confections, year round. While mostly loved by children, mooncakes are also favored by grown-ups in the late afternoon with several cups with jasmine green tea. Moon cakes are intended to be shared with friends and family in honor of the moon festival and should never be eaten alone. Plentiful in the autumn months, the time for moon cake sampling has already begun in Bangkok. This year’s Moon Cake Festival ends October 6 which is the 15th day of the eighth moon in the Chinese calendar. In Asia as well as in other parts of the world, the moon, sun and stars have been the foundation of many a fable and myth.
Akin to many agricultural societies, the Chinese regulated their sowing and harvesting by the phases of the moon. Once the harvest season came to its end, festivities to commemorate and revere its fullness and influence over people’s lives became a symbol of harmony and luck celebrated with special foods and colorful lanterns. One myth tells the story of a time during the Yuan Dynasty when China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and tackled the coordination of a rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. A message was baked into each moon cake with an outline of the ambush. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government, thus instituting the Ming Dynasty, distinguished for the establishment of a strong army and navy; the printing of books; the construction of the Great Wall and exquisite porcelains. Nowadays, moon cakes honor this legendary Ming Dynasty story.
To honor the Harvest Moon, cakes shaped like moons are sold in Bangkok and other communities with large Chinese populations throughout Southeast Asia. Celebrating the Festival, families gather in buildings, hike up hills, or camp in open beaches and fields to gaze at the wondrous, rising deep yellow moon believing their wishes will be granted. They also carry candlelit lanterns adorned with traditional designs prepared for the occasion. It is a wonderful sight as the hills, and open spaces alight with thousands of lanterns in the cool darkness of evening. Today, lanterns come in colorful paper-shaped carp, butterflies, rabbits and goldfish. In Chinese mythology, carp represent health, power and wisdom; butterflies are a symbol of longevity and goldfish embody fortune and wealth.
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According to a traditional Chinese tale, a fine-looking girl named Chang E worked in the Jade Emperor's palace in the kingdom of heaven, a place where everyone lived among immortals. The kingdom was an idyllic place, and nonviolent. After accidentally breaking a porcelain jar, however, an angered Jade Emperor banished Chang E to Earth to live among mortals. Once there, she was transformed into a member of a poor farming family. Approaching her teenage years, her beauty flourishing, she abandoned her childish ways, embracing womanhood. Admiring her beauty from afar, a hunter discovered Chang E viewing herself in the reflection of a pond. The two soon became lovers. One day, ten suns were rising in the sky instead of one, casting scorching heat across the land. The hunter stepped forward and shot an arrow into the sky, through the nine extra suns sinking them into the oceans. Instantly becoming a hero and the source of great admiration, he soon married Chang E. The two lived happily, but eventually the hunter became a tyrant, ruling with a cruel and oppressive hand. He sought great power and ordered that an elixir of immortality be created in order to extend his life. Chang E came upon it and inadvertently consumed the elixir, infuriating her husband. Attempting to flee him, she jumped from the window of her palace bedroom, yet rather than falling, she somehow floated through the sky towards the glowing moon. Today the moon is revered by the Chinese and viewed at its fullest during the Autumn festival in order to make wishes and to catch a glimpse of the dazzling maiden residing within.
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Saturday
Sixty Years on the Throne
For several disturbing decades, Thailand was hindered by turbulent clashes, offenses and military dictatorships. In the mid 1990’s, however, Thailand managed to be re-born from its ashes emerging into the reasonably stable and economically thriving nation it is today. His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej -- Rama IX -- along with his consort, Queen Sirikit, have shared Thailand’s royal throne for the past sixty years. They stand as the longest reigning sovereign monarchs in the world conveying unwavering harmony while infusing the kingdom with compelling vitality pertinent to current times. This past June, massive celebrations to commemorate the 60 years of the King’s ascension to the throne, clearly illustrated the extraordinary outburst of public pride, personal emotion and affection for the 79 year-old, much-revered monarch. Much loved by his people, the king has shown personal affinity for rural and urban issues, maintaining that agriculture will always be the basis of this land.
World dignitaries and royalty from twenty-nine countries gathered in Bangkok for the Monarch’s Diamond Jubilee and were treated to view the Royal Barge Procession along the city’s major waterway, the Chao Phraya River. The unique Thai Royal barges cruising along the “River of Kings”, is an ancient tradition revived by King Bhumibol in the late 1950’s. This type of barge procession is reserved for very special occasions and the one in June 2006 was the grandest and most regal of all; 2,000 Royal Navy rowers and 52 royal barges were included in the special ceremony. King Bhumibol Adulyadej succeeded the throne of Thailand in June 1946, at the age of 19, being the ninth ruler of the Chakri Dynasty established in 1782. Called the “Builder of the Nation”, King Bhumibol -- who has shown deep concern for his country’s inequalities -- has worked tirelessly to guide Thailand into the 21st century with an approach that is eco-sensitive and fair to the rural population. Multi tasking on his agricultural projects, His Majesty’s astute vision has been recognized internationally and has carried Thailand into an important manufacturing mode.
King Bhumibol has sponsored infinite projects and overseen experiments in re-forestation, irrigation, land development and farm technology; He calls these projects “Living Museums”. Deforested areas a decade ago have now given way to arable farmland; restoration of the ecological balance is the country’s most urgent priority in rural development. The King of Thailand is an avid reader and is also known as “The Literary King” because his works provide observant principles and philosophies akin to his “Living Museums” reflecting his ideas for technical innovation and rural development. Providing inspiration to millions, the published royal literary works often discuss aspects of gratefulness, kindness and perseverance as essential values for living. Most of the royal stories offer motivation to a society burdened with increasingly expanding disparities in economic and social status. King Bhumibol is viewed as the “Father of the Country” and accordingly, Father’s Day in Thailand is celebrated on the monarch’s birthday, December 5, every year.
Offering assistance through the network of various charitable foundations under His sponsorship, His Majesty the King has provided moral support and encouragement to people in rural expansion projects designed to improve their livelihoods. Wholly devoted to a democratic kingdom, Bhumibol Adulyadej is a loyal defender of its principles in the government of Thailand. His tenacity and devotion for his subjects’ welfare have greatly added to the political stability and economic growth that Thailand has enjoyed over the past six decades. The King’s observations clearly reveal him as a caring, rounded humanitarian who fervently voices that … “I cannot impose my ideas on the people, I can only suggest”. “Persuade, never impose. And while pursuing material security people need to strive for inner peace of mind through spiritual purification; development must respect the diversity of regional geography and different ways of life”. The people of Thailand regard their beloved King Bhumibol as the soul of the Thai Kingdom, a man who has truly earned their reverence. Long Live the King! @Edie Wilcox, 07/06
Latest: September 25 2006
Unfortunately, one week ago, on September 19, the Royal Thai Army staged a coup against the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The coup, which was Thailand’s first in fifteen years, followed a year-long political crisis involving Mr. Thaksin and political opponents and occurred less than a month before elections were scheduled to be held, on October 15. These elections had however already been postponed, and were likely to be held late in November. The military cancelled the upcoming elections, suspended the constitution, dissolved Parliament, banned protests and all political activities, suppressed and censored the media, declared martial law, and arrested Cabinet members. The coup was bloodless, with there were no casualties. It has been reported that King Bhumibol has endorsed the coup because the political state of affairs was about to spark off into aggression. With the military government in place and no demonstrations permitted, the feeling is that much violence has been averted. Life goes on as usual here and except for a few military tanks and some soldiers on the highways, nothing seems out of the ordinary.