Turning Thai Culture On Its Head
November 9th 2009 04:42
:
Category: No Category
Yesterday, while I was walking to the Mut Mee Guesthouse, I chanced upon a group of young Thai boys and girls dancing to American hip hop music by the Mekong. In a sharp contrast to the smooth, flowing hand movements of tradtional Thai dance, where every movement is slow, graceful, deliberate and restrained, the Thais were putting together their own individualistic, hip-hop-inspired movements, which featured dramatic body twists, sudden and expressive hand movements AND rapid realignments of posture. Some of the guys broke into break-dance-inspired moves, and they all improvised with the music and each other as inspiration.
I was particularly surprised to see one of the young men balance his body on one hand and his head, because in Buddhist culture the head is the most prized/holy part of the body, and the feet are the lowest/dirtiest. Therefore to place your head (even though he had a hood) where the feet would normally be is, I assume, a no-no for most Buddhists.
Nearby, a trio of very femininely dressed guys were dancing more traditionally.
The Mekong River itself is growing on me - it has a subtle kind of beauty which inspires the words 'tranquil' and 'scenic'... walking along the promenade close to E-San Guesthouse, it's hard not to be charmed by the majestic beauty of the views. I'm not completely sure that it is Laos across the border, but it would make a lot of sense.
I will not be going to Vientiane on this trip, as I am finding that being a solo traveller is taking its toll on me even in Thailand, where the conditions are better than its even less developed neighbours. Oh, I am curious (especially about Luang Prabang), but I don't want to be hassled, and if Laos is anything like Cambodia, it would not be the highlight of my trip.
My plans are to explore Nong Khai some more, then spend a day or two in Udon Thani, before heading back to Bangkok for my flight back to Sydney. When I get back "home" I will be just in time to commence an online degree with Macquarie University, have a belated birthday party and read Deleuze's Cinema 1 & 2 with my friend Matthew. Next year it's off to Western Europe (including Scandinavia, finally) and Bulgaria... hopefully by way of someplace new in Asia that I haven't been yet. Seoul? Osaka? Kuala Lumpur? Beijing?
The first person I talked to in Nong Khai was a Texan man who had worked in Baghdad, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Africa and other places in the Middle East. He had a troubled air, as if constantly agitated. He had come to Nong Khai to be an English teacher (I believe he said he has seventy students?) as a way of retiring.
The E-San Guesthouse was made out of teak wood, with a luxurious bathroom which I loved. This room lacks the charm, but the Pantawee does have a nice outside area where you can lounge about and listen to soothing Thai music, on your choice of four different seating arrangements. There are two Western-Style black leather reclining armchairs, a wooden bed-like chair, a simple bench and a more ornate wooden bench with black, red and beige cushions. I wonder if the eclecticism is deliberate or due to a lack of funds.
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I was particularly surprised to see one of the young men balance his body on one hand and his head, because in Buddhist culture the head is the most prized/holy part of the body, and the feet are the lowest/dirtiest. Therefore to place your head (even though he had a hood) where the feet would normally be is, I assume, a no-no for most Buddhists.
Nearby, a trio of very femininely dressed guys were dancing more traditionally.
The Mekong River itself is growing on me - it has a subtle kind of beauty which inspires the words 'tranquil' and 'scenic'... walking along the promenade close to E-San Guesthouse, it's hard not to be charmed by the majestic beauty of the views. I'm not completely sure that it is Laos across the border, but it would make a lot of sense.
I will not be going to Vientiane on this trip, as I am finding that being a solo traveller is taking its toll on me even in Thailand, where the conditions are better than its even less developed neighbours. Oh, I am curious (especially about Luang Prabang), but I don't want to be hassled, and if Laos is anything like Cambodia, it would not be the highlight of my trip.
My plans are to explore Nong Khai some more, then spend a day or two in Udon Thani, before heading back to Bangkok for my flight back to Sydney. When I get back "home" I will be just in time to commence an online degree with Macquarie University, have a belated birthday party and read Deleuze's Cinema 1 & 2 with my friend Matthew. Next year it's off to Western Europe (including Scandinavia, finally) and Bulgaria... hopefully by way of someplace new in Asia that I haven't been yet. Seoul? Osaka? Kuala Lumpur? Beijing?
The first person I talked to in Nong Khai was a Texan man who had worked in Baghdad, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Africa and other places in the Middle East. He had a troubled air, as if constantly agitated. He had come to Nong Khai to be an English teacher (I believe he said he has seventy students?) as a way of retiring.
The E-San Guesthouse was made out of teak wood, with a luxurious bathroom which I loved. This room lacks the charm, but the Pantawee does have a nice outside area where you can lounge about and listen to soothing Thai music, on your choice of four different seating arrangements. There are two Western-Style black leather reclining armchairs, a wooden bed-like chair, a simple bench and a more ornate wooden bench with black, red and beige cushions. I wonder if the eclecticism is deliberate or due to a lack of funds.
If you're on Twitter, please follow me - I am EpiphanieBloom.
I also recommend the following Twitterers:
stephenfry
LolaAkinmade
pinknews
EdwardNorton
ThisIsRobThomas
Pink
ladygaga
TreyRatcliff
paulocoelho
nytimeskristof
thelittleidiot (that's Moby)
robynkonichiwa
worldhum
aplusk (that's Ashton Kutcher)
Quotes4Writers
zizekspeaks
EverywhereTrip (that's Gary Arndt)
DAVID_LYNCH
alyankovic
yokoono
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