More Buddhas in Bangkok

Buddha statues surround a stupa at Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol in Ayuthaya 

Jeff is slowly realizing that the number of Buddhist temples in Asia is almost unlimited, and I would be happy to visit them all and examine each and every statue of Buddha contained within them.   My fascination with Buddha statues only grows as I learn more about the significance of the subtle variations between them.  The Buddha's posture, the size of the hair knot, certain facial features and small details about the clothing can all be indicators of both the region and the period of a statue's origin.  Given the geographic spread and ancient history of Buddhism, this means a Buddha statue can have an interesting and sometimes surprising history.

Wat Pho features over 90 chedi decorated with Chinese porcelain enamel

The term Wat is a Sanskrit word that means Buddhist place of worship, and it is typically used in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Wats are basically temple compounds, typically made up of multiple structures, including stupas or chedi (containing ashes of Buddhist Monks or other relics), a prayer room (vihear), a pavillion (sala), an ordination hall, a library, a bell or drum tower and living quarters for Buddhist Monks.  With a population that is 95% Buddhist, Thailand has some of the most elaborate and beautiful Wats to visit and no shortage of Buddha statues to examine.  Last fall, Jeff and I spent a week in southern Thailand, but we stayed at the beach on a remote island and didn't have the opportunity to visit any Wats.  We wanted a chance to see a cultural dimension of Thailand, so we decided to return and spend a weekend in Bangkok.

Intricate sculptures surround the ordination hall at Wat Phra Kaew

On this trip, we only had two days, and we had heard that Bangkok has notoriously difficult traffic. Indeed, when I remarked on the lengthy wait at a stop light, the taxi driver replied: "Madame, no traffic, no Bangkok."  Although there are over 400 Wats to see in Bangkok, we were daunted by the logistical challenges, so we focused our first day on the three most famous Wats sitting along the Chao Phraya River that flows through the city.

Wat Pho's granite sculptures are a legacy of trade relations with China

Wat Phra Kaew contains many elaborate structures, but is best known for the Emerald Buddha, a Buddha statue that dates to 1464, is 26 inches high and is carved entirely from a single nephrite (or jade) stone.  The Wat is located within the Grand Place, a former residence of the Thai monarch.  With over 100 structures spread across more than 200 acres, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew are popular and heavily visited sites.

The reclining Buddha at Wat Pho is over 150 feet in length
and has enormous toes with toe prints on the bottom

Our next stop was Wat Pho which proved to be our favorite.  Dating to 1788 and covering 20 acres, Wat Pho has fewer visitors and a much more relaxed atmosphere.   We were able to get a close-up look at this temple's most famous feature:  a reclining Buddha statue that is finished in gold leaf, extending more 150 feet in length and symbolizing the passing of Buddha into nirvana.  Wat Pho also contains another 1,000 Buddha statues, 91 chedi spires and an assortment of carved granite statues.  The statues, along with the colorful porcelain enamel decoration on the chedi, are a legacy of trade with the Chinese; the granite statues were actually transported to Thailand as ballast in Chinese junks.

Buddhist monks chanting in the evening at Wat Arun

Dating to the mid-1600s, Wat Arun sits majestically on the edge of the river, its famous spire highly visible and beautifully lit at night.  It is currently undergoing restoration, so its intricate Chinese porcelain enamel decoration was difficult to see under the scaffolding wrapped around the spire. Named for the Hindu god Aruna, Wat Arun at one time housed the Emerald Buddha and is one of just a few Buddhist temples that visitors can climb.

Flowers for temple offerings are sold at the Bangkok flower market

We capped off our day of visiting Wats with a nighttime bicycle tour through the city.  Admittedly, we had a brief "what were we thinking" moment as we contemplated riding through Bangkok's chaotic traffic in the dark.  But the group was small - only six of us - plus our leader, and she expertly led us through narrow alleys and small neighborhoods to visit the wholesale flower market.

Jeff walks through stalls filled with Marigolds at the Bangkok flower market

The market kicks into full swing in the evenings when hotels, restaurants and Wat vendors (who sell flowers for making offerings) make their purchases for the next day.  Flower shops spilling over with millions of Marigolds, Jasmine, Lotus and Orchids cram both sides of the road, and the air is filled with a confusion of smells, as the scent of all the flowers mixes with aromas from the food carts lining the road.

The ruins at Ayuthaya

Buddha statues among the ruins
at Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol

For our second day in Bangkok, we decided to escape the city and head north about about 45 miles to Ayuthaya (pronounced "I-you-tee-ah"), a wealthy and important kingdom within Siam from 1350 until the late 1760s when it was invaded and looted by the Burmese.  We visited the ruins of the former capital, which are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol, a temple complex that dates to the 13th Century.  Both sites provided us with numerous structures to wander through and climb, as well as a peaceful break from the busy pace of Bangkok.

Bangkok is a busy place, but filled with many beautiful treasures.  The elaborate architecture and decoration of the Wats are truly a feast for the eyes.  Our weekend there was a great opportunity for me to feed my fascination with Buddha statues and for Jeff to continue to demonstrate his patience as he realizes how much there is to understand about their detail.

A Tale of Two Chinas

Jhushan Village on Kinmen Island, Taiwan dates to 1345 is arranged according to feng shui

As we progress through our second year in Hong Kong, Jeff and I have started giving more thought to our "bucket list" of destinations in Asia to visit before our time here is over.  Two of those destinations are Japan and Taiwan.  While Jeff had been to both for business, he never had time to do any sightseeing, and I had never visited either country. So in April we took a week off and spent a few days in each country.

 

Jeff stands in the entrance of home-stay inn in Jhushan Village

Kinmen's network of civil defense tunnels
offered protection during Communist shelling

Americans typically don't give much thought to the stability and status of our government, so it's hard to imagine what it must be like to be a citizen of a country that is unrecognized by much of the World. The Republic of China (ROC) was established in what is now the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1912, following the end of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Taiwan was known as Formosa and was ruled by Japan.  Following World War II, Taiwan and surrounding islands were returned to the Allied Forces and the ROC.  The Nationalist Party, led by Chiang Kai-shek, controlled the ROC, but had a longstanding conflict with the Communist Party.   The two parties joined forces during World War II to resist the Japanese, only to resume their civil war in 1946.  Upon defeat by the Communist Party in 1949, the Nationalist Party government retreated to Taipei and established that city as a provisional capital.  Chiang resumed his role as President and maintained his intention to retake the Mainland until his death in 1975.  For its part, the Communist Party established the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949 and still actively claims Taiwan as part of its territory to this day.  Until 1971, the ROC was recognized as the sole legitimate government of China by the UN and most Western countries.  However, UN recognition of the PRC in 1971 triggered the ROC's ultimate expulsion from the UN.  Since that time, the "One China" policy has resulted in the reduction of countries recognizing the ROC from 71 in 1969 to just 22 in 2013, while recognition of the PRC has grown from 48 to 172 countries over the same period. 

The Jugang Tower was built as a memorial to the fallen soldiers of Kinmen 

When ROC forces retreated to Taiwan island, they retained control over two islands in the Taiwan Straits: Quemoy (or Kinmen) and Matsu.  Control of these islands, which are located much closer to the coast of the PRC than to Taiwan, proved to be of both strategic and political importance in the standoff.   Quemoy sits less than two miles from the PRC coast and was first shelled by the Communists in 1954.  The U.S., which viewed ROC control over Quemoy and Matsu as critical in containing the spread of Communism in Asia, responded by threatening the use of nuclear weapons against the Mainland.   A second round of shelling by the Communists in 1958 led to another crisis, during which the U.S. military's supply of weapons simply outlasted the Communists'.  Following this, the two sides continued to shell each other until 1979, with leaflets and propaganda replacing explosives in many of the shells. 

Chen Ching Lan Mansion is an example of western architecture on Kinmen

After years as a military reserve under martial law, administration of Quemoy was transferred from military to civilian government in the 1990s.  And as tensions between the ROC and PRC waned, Quemoy eventually became a tourist destination, with direct travel between the island and the Mainland beginning in 2001.

One of the many elaborate temples on Kinmen

Jeff and I traveled to Quemoy on a one hour flight from Taipei.  And although the island's military history is still evident, it does not interfere with its lush, green beauty or the kindness of the 130,000 people who call it home.  The economy is supported primarily by tourism, followed by the production of Kaoliang or sorghum wine, agriculture and fishing.  The surplus of steel left over from the years of shelling gave rise to "bombshell cutlery."  The Maestro Wu steel knife factory got its start making knives from bombshells dropped by the Allies during World War II when Taiwan was occupied by the Japanese.  Today the company uses remnants from the Communist shelling as its main supply of steel for its knives.  Jeff and I visited the factory, saw a demonstration of how the knives are made and did a little shopping.  Maestro Wu estimates that the bomb shells left over from the Communist shelling will supply steel for making knives for another sixty years! 

Steel bomb shells are raw materials at the Maestro Wu steel knife factory

During our visit to Quemoy, we found the island to be very tourist-friendly.  Bicycles are free of charge for up to three days, and we used them to cycle around most of the island. In addition to the knife factory, we visited temples, beaches and the civil defense tunnels villagers used during the Communist shelling.  Quemoy villages are considered to be some of the best examples of traditional, clan-style dwellings in Taiwan.  There is an extensive network of "home stay" inns, and we stayed in one in Jhushan, a 14th Century village known for its houses with elegant swallow-tail roofs arranged according to feng shui.

Now that we have been in Hong Kong for just a little more than one year, we have learned that there are numerous cultures and histories that make up China.  While Taiwan is the China at the center of 20th Century political and military history and the line past which Communism did not spread, it goes without official recognition by most of the rest of the world.  Our trip to Quemoy gave us the opportunity to see up close where much of this history took place.

Nepal Update

Jeff and I had the privilege of visiting Nepal in February, so we are closely following the developments there following last weekend's massive earthquake.  There are just no words to adequately describe the tragic loss of so many lives and the destruction of so many historic and unique buildings and monuments.  But we are happy to report that our friends who live in Kathmandu are safe.

During our visit to Nepal, we met Satish Kharel (9N1AA), Nepal's first native licensed amateur radio operator and his daughter Tejaswita (9N1DX), currently Nepal's youngest amateur.  We have heard from both of them by email.  Satish and his family are safe, and their house is intact.  Following natural disasters, amateur radio operators frequently step up to provide the critical communications needed to support rescue operations.  Satish has been very active since the quake and was featured in an interview on The Weather Channel.  (Stash's interviews starts about 1:45 into the video.)

We have also heard from Father Greg Sharkey, a Culver Military Academy classmate of Jeff's and a Jesuit who has lived in Nepal for more than thirty years.  The Jesuits have a well-established rural mobile health program in Nepal, and they are leveraging that program, along with their partner organizations, to deliver relief in remote villages.   The Midwest Jesuits have established a fund to support the relief efforts, and all of the funds are used directly to provide goods and services in person-to-person operations run by Jesuits.  If you are considering a donation to support the earthquake relief efforts in Nepal, this is a good option.  With their many years of experience in Nepal, the Jesuits will use the funds very efficiently and maximize their impact, no matter how large or small the contribution.  Donations can be made at this website.

Our blog post from our trip in February can be found here.  The video below is from our trip to Nepal in February and contains photos of the beautiful places we saw and the very kind people we met.