A WRITER'S LIFE

Wrote an article last week about the new Mo Rooms art hotel in Chiang Mai for art4d, an art/architecture/design magazine out of Bangkok. It was nice to visit with the art4d gang, who were up from bkk for this and a few other projects.

The Mo has twelve rooms themed around the animals of the zodiac - Fee and I decided to spend our complimentary evening in the Snake room, our shared totem.

In all, the Mo is an interesting place, and I am a fan of Thaiwijit, the artist behind the venture - but, whooee, it is priced like a work of art.

VISAKHA BUCHA

Visakha Bucha is the holiest day on the Buddhist calender - celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and entry into nirvana of the Buddha. A big day, indeed.

So we decided to celebrate in high style. We swung by a family that Fee has been working with, picked up Wandii, and rode three on the motorbike to their neighborhood wat (which now takes some u-turns and underpass action to negotiate the new ring-road that was built between their house and the temple).

Wandii lives with her older sister's family, and they care for their mother who has been lying in a coma for 2 years. Wandii is always full of energy, and this carried over to the temple celebration.

We did it all - made flower offerings, sat, chanted (always fun), joined the wiang thian - three ceremonial clockwise laps around the ancient chedi, bathed the chedi with fragrant water (aided by a clever system of pulleys), fished for prizes (we won a roll of toilet paper), and shot pop guns (winning two bottles of orange drink - still in our fridge).

The combination of candles and stand-alone flourescent tubes made for some magical lighting, with the full moon rounding out the effect. And we learned, again, that carrying incense and candles in clasped palm during the wiang thian is not without the small perils of hot wax on the feet and hands. A good reminder that life is suffering :)

AN AULINO ABROAD

Above, showcasing the subtle humor and commitment to cultural sensitivity that remain hallmarks of the Aulino clan.

OK, for those of you on the wrong side of the Pacific a few weeks ago, mired as you were in 24-hour Swine-Flu news coverage, I’ve finally sat down to document the whirlwind that was aunt Peggy’s visit. So peek your head out of quarantine and come along for the ride...blog style.

Now, settled back into normalcy, we do miss our auntie Peg. Though, while a good (read: fantastic) time was had by all, the end of the trip was a bit of a pain in the ass for Peg (you can ask her for details… :)

HERMIT MONKS AND CONTINENTAL SOPHISTICATION

Ahh, Chiang Dao!

One hour north of Chiang Mai, home of towering redwoods and an impressive mountain range, Chiang Dao proved a fabulous warm-up to our actual roadtrip, which began a few days later.


We called Chiang Dao Nest home for the night – enjoyed a dip in the pool, a walk up the hill, and a Michelin-worthy Euro dinner. (Delicious and oh-so filling - western food sure is heavy!)


The walk included several hundred stairs, which ascend to the old cave redoubts of a hermit monk. The place is beautiful, and now is a bit of a retreat center for the worn-down urban Buddhist. The shrine to the late monk (header photo) contains all his worldly possessions – including his false teeth.

THE VIEW FROM ABOVE

Elephants are wonderful creatures. Sadly, they’ve been getting laid off for years, due to near universal ban on logging in Thailand. That’s where the Elephant Conservation Center comes in – giving a home to pink-slipped pachyderms, and making people happy while doing it. Very happy.

After an early morning drizzly drive through the mountains south of Chiang Mai, and within 15 minutes of our arrival at the Center, we were each (wide-eyed) atop an elephant. We were there for two days as ‘Mahouts-in-training’- bathing the elephants, feeding them, showing off their skills to the ogling public.


Here we are, mahouts and mahout-wanna-be's alike, heading into the mountains the second morning to greet our pals with a morning snack.


Peggy even made a friend during a visit to the maternity ward.

SUKHOTHAI

There’s nothing quite like low-season tourism. After a magnificent drive – we followed a green mountain ridge down to the central valley of Thailand - we were greeted in the drive by the staff at the swanky Ananda Museum Hotel who asked, “Are you Fee?”

Turns out we were basically the only one’s there, which explains the 80% off deal we scored (not to mention the free pre-dinner massages for Fee and Peg).


Woke refreshed and ready to site-see. We drove to the World Heritage Site, the epicenter of Thailands hey-day about 700 years ago, and geared up. A little sunscreen, fetching straw hats, and off we went on our rental bikes. Nothing like a little Buddha-spotting to start a morning out right.

THE TOWN THAT TEAK BUILT

Phrae, highly recommended little burg that time forgot. The northern train line bypassed it, and the teak trade has been caput going on 20 years now. So old Phrae, huddled snug inside its medieval ramparts, offered plenty of charm and was overflowing with small town hospitality.

We stayed a couple nights and were known entities by the time we departed.


Just outside of town, while beginning to make our way back to Chiang Mai, we passed a military base that was followed by what was presumably the temple associated with the base. Made for some strange adjacencies, like the war monument in front of some new, garish, standing buddhas. The place oozed money and more than a touch of tackiness - making it a perfect roadside attraction.