Places to Explore Clippings 2005

Sabbatical Clippings 2005
Sabbatical Clippings 2004
Sabbatical Blog
For links that can be blogged.

Many links from the Bangkok Post and The Nation do not work for Blogging. Those articles are tracked on my clipping site. A horizontal line separates each of the messages. There is a separate site for IT and Sabbatical Clippings and Cool places I want to visit.2004 and 2005.

Please do not link directly to this page because these articles are copyrighted.

Stephen Cysewski
Professor CIOS/ITS
UAF/Tanana Valley Campus
(907) 455-2816
ffsdc@uaf.edu
cysewski@gmail.com
http://www.tvc.uaf.edu/its/
http://www.faculty.uaf.edu/ffsdc/syllabus/
http://www.wanderinginthailand.com
http://www.wanderinginalaska.com
http://www.cysewski.com

 

 

Inter-Park Bike Path | January 15, 2005

After a lot of thought and a lot of penny-pinching, I have finally started looking for a condo to purchase in Bangkok. Owning the place where I live instead of renting has always been a dream of mine, but Bangkok is the first place I've lived where I think I can actually afford to buy something.

So today I went to a real estate agent near Phrom Phong to see what is available. He mentioned a few places I should check out, one of which was on Sukumvit Soi 10. "The soi is only about 500 meters long, and it ends at the Queen Sirikit Park," he told me. "And there's a very nice bike trail from that park over to Lumpinee Park."

A bike path between the two parks? It would have to be several kilometers long and cross over (or under?) the 10 lane tollway at some point. I found it hard to believe that someone had actually thought of connecting the two parks, let alone actually building a path. Needless to say, I didn't believe him.

It was another cool day today (the weather in Bangkok has been wonderfully temperate lately) so I decided to walk to see this unbeliveable bike trail. Sure enough, at the end of Sukumvit Soi 10 was the Queen Sirikit Park, and to my amazement, there was a walkway wide enough to drive on, elevated above an even wider canal in the direction of Lumpinee.

An hour or so later, I had followed this walkway down the canal, over the 10-lane tollway, along the rooftops of wall-to-wall wooden houses around Soi Ruam Rudee, and was deposited exactly at the northeast corner of Lumpinee Park. I was absolutely amazed.

I continued on through the park to the opposite corner at Rama 4 and Silom. What a hike -- from Emporium to Silom. If you have a afternoon off sometime, I recommend the park-to-park city hike. Better get it done before it gets hot, though!
 

ON TWO WHEELS / MON HISTORY

Biking to Bangkok's seaside

KAMOL HENGKIETISAK

The wooden walkway allows visitors to explore the mangrove forest along Bang Khunthien's muddy coastline.

The area of Bang Khunthien is best explored on a bike _ a ride of just 35km on community roads with very few cars. And recently I did just that on a trip organised by the Tourism Division of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

After a few hours sleep I started the bike journey from my home in Pakkred, Nonthaburi, early Sunday morning. It was still dark and cold as I crossed the Chao Phraya River at Rama VII bridge to the Thon Buri side, and drove along Charan Sanitwong Road to the Ta Phra intersection. I arrived at Wong Wian Yai Railway Station around 6:45am, 15 minutes early. But there were already about 10 bikers who had arrived before me.

According to the BMA's brochure, Wong Wian Yai Railway Station was connected with the second privately run railway, stretching for 33km between Khlong Sarn and Samut Sakhon province. The railway service belonged to Tha Chin Railway Company, which obtained a concession in 1902.

In 1905, the Mae Khlong Company completed the third private railway track, which was 33.8km long. This private railway route, from the mouth of the Khlong Sarn to the Mae Khlong River estuary, is now called the Khlong Dan railway route. The service gradually replaced the demand for cargo barges in Khlong Dan. However, the barges are still essential for some items of heavy or large cargo, and by those people who live by the network of the canals, and have no road access. Of course, railways are now run by the government and there are no privately-run railway services.

Since there were more than 100 bikers who applied for today's ride, the trip leaders divided participants into three groups to board the railway at 7:30, 8:00 and 8:30am. A person pays six baht for the ride, but the bike costs another eight baht _ making the fare altogether 14 baht to Rangpoh Railway Station about 15km down the line.

I was in the first group and we arrived at Rangpoh station about 8am. The group pedalled a short distance to Rama II Road, carried their bikes over the pedestrian overpass to the other side, and set off along Bang Kradee Road to Wat Bang Kradee, a 2km ride.

The BMA guide for the second group of bikers decided to visit the Mon Cultural Centre nearby. It is located at the house of the community leader, a woman, and exhibits tools of ancient Mon people as well as ancient gold ornaments, musical instruments, Buddha images and written scripture in the Mon language. Wat Bang Kradee was built and surrounded by this Mon community.

The temple was built around 1877, during the reign of King Mongkut, Rama IV. Monks' dwellings were built in Thai-Mon traditional style, featuring open space under each wooden building. The temple was originally made of wood, from the contributions of local people who had meagre resources but strong faith.

Although the temple was later renovated with concrete, the original wooden posts still remain. As the temple was built by Mon people in Bang Kradi and Phra Phra Daeng areas, there are two wooden posts mounted with swan models at the entrance of the temple. The swan symbolises "Hongsawadee", the former Mon capital.

The temple and the Mon community is by the Sanamchai Canal. This community is often flooded when water from the sea raises the level of the canal, I was told, and we saw this during our visit.

The community leader told us that when the Mon people migrated to Siam during the reigns of King Rama I and II, after unsuccessful revolts against their Burmese overlord, the Siamese monarchs did not allow them to stay together, but scattered them through several communities for security reasons. Thus, we now see Mon descendants in Bang Kradee, Phra Padaeng, Pakkred and Pathum Thani.

By around 10am, everyone had arrived and we officially began the trip. We cycled along the paved community road, which soon turned into a dirt road lined by a network of canals. After about an hour we arrived at our first destination, Wat Wisuthiwarawat or Wat Klang Khlong (literally, surrounded by canals).

The BMA guide explained that since this community was so far from other temples, they decided to build one. The name signifies the surrounding Khlong Taman and Khlong Hua Krabue.

After about 30 minutes' rest, we headed to the next stop, Pittaya Longkorn School which also houses the local museum. We arrived around noon and had a delicious lunch, courtesy of BMA. After eating, some visited the local museum, while others took a deserved rest out of the blazing sun.

About 2 pm the trip restarted, and we drove to Bang Khunthien Mangrove Forest, the only seaside area inside Bangkok. The mangrove is reserved for public use and houses the capital's only fishermen's village. They fish on the coastal as well as farming molluscs and prawns for a living.

There is a 3km wooden walkway into the sea here, where we biked. Motorcycles are prohibited because of pollution and the weight of the machine.

Well, those are the rules _ when we arrived at the sea at the end of the wooden walkway, there were four or five motorcyles parked, with about a dozen local people enjoying a picnic. No wonder the wooden walkway is in state of disrepair and has a few planks missing.

We rested here for about half an hour, then began the 10km journey to Phanthai Norasing School, another resting and regrouping area. The sun was beating down hard on tired bikers, but after half an hour's rest, we continued to the Phanthai Norasing Shrine.

There is a legend that Phanthai Norasing was a master oarsman, who steered the royal barge of an Ayutthaya king. On one trip he faced a long and winding canal, and steered the royal barge into the canal's bank, breaking the boat's head section. This was a serious offence, demanding capital punishment.

Phanthai Norasing immediately asked to be beheaded. The king was touched by his loyalty and wanted to spare his life, but Phanthai Norasing insisted, arguing that if he were to be spared, the king's power would be diminished. The king was sad but obliged. He then made a shrine in honour of the loyal oarsman.

We don't really know where the beheading took place. A few enterprising villagers have erected shrines to mark what they claim is the spot to pay homage to Phanthai Norasing. We visited one of them.

The last stop was Wat Krokkrak, a feature of the current Unseen Thailand campaign. A legend says that the main Buddha image is sacred, and could cure "pink eye" (conjunctivitis) which was prevalent at one time in the community. So a pair of dark glasses was put on the Buddha image's eyes.

At 5pm it was time to go home. Most rode the 4km to the Mahachai Railway Station to ride back to Wong Wian Yai, while I and five others packed our bikes into a service truck for the drive back, to make our separate ways home.

Monk talk
 

A visit to Chiang Mai can be an education and an adventure

JARUNEE TAEMSAMRAN

Wat Suan Dok in Chiang Mai is one of the many places of interest for tourists visiting the area. Dating back to the 14th century, the monastery has abundant historical significance and admirable architecture.

And for those visitors less enthusiastic about history, the glossy travel brochures also point out that it is probably the best place to see the most beautiful sunset in Chiang Mai.

But that's not all this temple can offer.

Today, visitors to Wat Suan Dok can do more than just watching the sunset, learning of its long history and admiring the temple's architecture.

For more than four years, the temple, by the Chiang Mai Campus of Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University, has provided an activity that appeals to tourists curious about the life of Buddhist monks and the concept of Buddhism.

Called the "Monk chat" programme, it's an informal question-and-answer session with monks for anyone interested in learning more about Buddhism, meditation and the monk's lives.

"It all began with tourists who visited the temple and were curious to find out more about the monks, so they came and asked us many things about our lives," said Phra Phanuwat Rungson.

"As the numbers of curious tourists grew we thought we should probably provide an informal session where they could come and discuss the monk's lives and the concepts of Buddhism," Phra Phanuwat explained.

Since then, the "Monk chat" programme has become a session for monks and foreign tourists to exchange ideas between each other.

Anyone interested can attend the programme which is held regularly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00pm. Participants can discuss any matters of general interests and anything about Buddhism-related issues.

The evening "Monk chat" session is conducted entirely in English and it provides an opportunity for both the monks to practice their English and for tourists to learn about Buddhism and the culture of Buddhist monks.

The programme has been quite popular among tourists interested in Buddhism. It's also recommended by the Lonely Planet guidebook, perhaps the most popular guidebook among budget travellers.

In addition to the evening session, Wat Suan Dok also offers a two-day course for those who want to practice meditation.

The "Experiencing Thai Buddhist Culture and Meditation Training" programme is an extension of the "Monk Chat" sessions that provides opportunities for foreigners to learn more about Thai culture as well as learning about meditation techniques.

The two-day course usually starts every Sunday afternoon and lasts until Monday afternoon. Included in the programme are sessions teaching about Buddhist concepts, meditation practice, yoga practice, alms offering to the monks, chanting and praying, and a session on Thai cooking.

The programme is free of charge, but each course is limited to only 15 to 20 people.

According to Phra Phanuwat, both programmes have been so successful that each year about 5,000 foreigners take part in the dharma discussion and meditation courses.

Both programmes are designed to help visitors to Thailand better understand Thai culture and Buddhism. They are also designed to help participants apply Buddhist ideas and the benefits of meditation to their daily lives.

"Some of them are so obsessed with meditation practice that they go home and decide to come back here again, inviting their friends and relatives to join them," he said.

And as well as any benefits that tourists can enjoy from the programmes, it is a great way for any tourist to get a better understanding of Thailand and Thai culture.

For those interested in joining Wat Suan Dok's Monk Chat programme or interested in information about the meditation course, visit www.monkchat.net or call the temple's office on 05-327-8967 ext 111, or fax the office on 05-327-0452.