Culture

It's 6am here and I had a nightmare I can't shake so I figured I'd come and write a bit about the rich culture here in Bangkok (seeing as my last post was quite rushed and sloppy due to that damn beer!).

Well, well, where to start... the culture here is undeniable and deeply entwined with customs and daily living. Bangkok is a literal melting pot of people from every part of the World and the city has areas where followers of each religion can pay respect to their higher beings. So far we've encountered Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Sheiks, Muslims, Christians... and I'm sure there is more, but like I said, it's 6am and I just woke up from a bad dream :p

There are temples, mosques and churches everywhere and scattered throughout the city are little shrines of elephants, temples, sculptures, deities, Gods etc etc where people can go and make an offering to whomever it is that they worship. It seems that most people leave either little ceramic carvings of various deities... or cans of soda-pop with straws sticking out the top :)

We learned a valuable lesson yesterday (and semi-embarrassing too!) while riding the skytrain in regards to the multitude of Buddhist monks, donned in their orange robes going here and there and everywhere. When we entered the sky train we observed that everyone got up and shifted where they were sitting by a few seats in order to give the monks a place to sit. Jesse and I, ignorant Westerners that we are LOL, sat down right beside the two young monks to be promptly told by a local that we had to have at least one seat separating ourselves from where they were sitting. Okay, done, no problem! However... there was a problem. We ALSO learned that regardless of how many seats are between the monks and yourself, women are still not allowed to sit adjacent to a monk (Jesse had to switch seats with me so he was closest to them and I was on the other side). It was a bit embarrassing, but the locals were very kind in explaining to us that it's a custom and not to worry that we weren't aware (they had a good chuckle at our expense) LOL. Another thing I noticed about the monks is that some of them have cellphones!! I don't know what I was expecting but it caught me a bit off guard to see these holy men in their orangey-brown robes chatting away on a blackberry while waiting for the skytrain to arrive :p

Last night we treated ourselves to a traditional, full-body Thai massage and HOLY MACKAREL was it ever amazing!!! They apply intense pressure with the weight of their body and do all kinds of things like ramming their foot into your back while they grab your arms and pull your spine upwards in an arch (think intense yoga "cobra" move)! From foot to skull, front and back, their technique was flawless and Jesse and I left feeling like a couple of rag dolls (I'm moving my back around right now and I think it's safe to say there's not a knot or tense muscle... ANYWHERE).

After the massage we headed out to one of the many night markets for some exploring and food searching. I noticed that there are quite a bit of Deaf market vendors signing with one another and gesturing with customers, I didn't feel comfortable engaging in conversation in my zombie'ish state, but we're going to head back there today so I'll give it a try!! I noticed that most of the signers I saw were using ASL, which was interesting as I was expecting to see Thai Sign and have to try my hands at gesturing to hold a conversation. Like I said in my last post, the people are SO warm and friendly, so hopefully whomever I try to strike up a conversation with will be open to having one.

Today is our 5 year anniversary <3>

Well, I suppose I should give sleeping another try, 'till next time!!!