We've spent the last couple of days in search of some sort of special antique or old thing to bring back with us. The search has been yet another sign of the changing times in SE Asia. By 2000 the Thai antiques had all but disappeared. In 2004 you could find some nice things from Cambodia. In 2007 we picked up some special pieces from Laos & Burma. Now as we approach 2013 these items are all but gone. Most of what's left here comes from China & Indonesia, and it's impossible for us to discern what's real & what's a reproduction designed to deceive. Our last ditch effort will be tomorrow at the weekend market in Bangkok. Or maybe it's me that's wrong to want to bring home such special pieces that should stay where they were intended to spend their forever.
We've been surprised at what a comfortable vacation this has been - "comfort" not being a word we've ever really before associated with our SE Asian adventures (save those few glorious days at the FCC hotel in Cambodia in 2004). We haven't wanted for anything - each little craving can be easily met and paid for at some modest price.
I'm not sure why the comfort weighs a little heavy on my heart, but it does. The more familiar the SE Asians have become with the West, the less able we seem to be able to get to know them. It was a good thing to radically accept nescafe in lieu of a latte and abandon most hope of finding Western food - surrendering instead to whatever Thai delights could come from rice, fresh veggies, and kaffir lime leaves. An friend sent me a recent NY Times article about Thai monks struggling to stay relevant in an ever Westernizing nation. Consumerism in the new Buddhism. The mall is the new Wat (temple). And sex sells & sells & sells. (But that has always really been the case here.)
Yes, the unfortunate blight that has not changed is the sex tourism industry, the blatant exploitation of women who have had few or no other opportunities in Thailand. Our most recent hotel is situated on a soi (side street) overrun with butterfly bars and massage parlors that are nothing more than brothels - packs of desperate women sitting out front all sexed up - waiting for some white guy to come along and pay her enough for sex so that she can send some money home to care for her children and aging parents. And the white men show no shame in their exploitation - flaunting it, wearing the women like Rolex watches on their wrists.
We have not regretted a moment of the last month (save the food poisoning in Laos) - and even that gives us a bit of a story to tell.
Seems unfair to end this post o such a somber note, so I've decided to add in some photos from the last month that didn't quite make it into previous blogs.
We must pay some more homage to Cabbages & Condoms:
And of course Buddha & precious ancient holy places:
These are more from Ayutthaya
We've been surprised at what a comfortable vacation this has been - "comfort" not being a word we've ever really before associated with our SE Asian adventures (save those few glorious days at the FCC hotel in Cambodia in 2004). We haven't wanted for anything - each little craving can be easily met and paid for at some modest price.
I'm not sure why the comfort weighs a little heavy on my heart, but it does. The more familiar the SE Asians have become with the West, the less able we seem to be able to get to know them. It was a good thing to radically accept nescafe in lieu of a latte and abandon most hope of finding Western food - surrendering instead to whatever Thai delights could come from rice, fresh veggies, and kaffir lime leaves. An friend sent me a recent NY Times article about Thai monks struggling to stay relevant in an ever Westernizing nation. Consumerism in the new Buddhism. The mall is the new Wat (temple). And sex sells & sells & sells. (But that has always really been the case here.)
Yes, the unfortunate blight that has not changed is the sex tourism industry, the blatant exploitation of women who have had few or no other opportunities in Thailand. Our most recent hotel is situated on a soi (side street) overrun with butterfly bars and massage parlors that are nothing more than brothels - packs of desperate women sitting out front all sexed up - waiting for some white guy to come along and pay her enough for sex so that she can send some money home to care for her children and aging parents. And the white men show no shame in their exploitation - flaunting it, wearing the women like Rolex watches on their wrists.
We have not regretted a moment of the last month (save the food poisoning in Laos) - and even that gives us a bit of a story to tell.
Seems unfair to end this post o such a somber note, so I've decided to add in some photos from the last month that didn't quite make it into previous blogs.
We must pay some more homage to Cabbages & Condoms:
And of course Buddha & precious ancient holy places:
These are more from Ayutthaya
And lovely, lovely, Laos:
The Wat across from our hotel
The house we could maybe buy for $30,000
Laos Buddhas...
The best part of all of this, the most important part is that I have had 15 years of hunting & pecking, of thinking, of challenging myself, of traveling, of joy, of frustrations, of learning, of falling down, and of love to share with my favorite person ever.
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