Thailand 2016 Trip anecdotes part 2

• T playing with a 4 year old Thai girl. They do not have a common language, but one of their games is to whisper in each other's ear. 
• Realizing that said 4 year old has never colored (with crayons) before.
• Said 4 year old trying to quiet down A's tantrum by shushing her. 
• We think that she likes the fact that there is someone in the family compound that is younger than her. 
• Our go to method for shortstopping a two year old tantrum, get her singing. A sang alot this trip.
• People on the BTS train offering us their seats because we have young children with us. This happened every single time. (Except Christmas Eve, which is why A singing was so exceptional that night.) 
• I got a lot of exercise carrying around A in a ring sling.
• The boys went to see Rogue One. This is T's third movie in a theater.
• At my father's one year remembrance, T was told to watch the door and greet (wai) everyone who came in, and he did. 
• T going to the street market on his last morning to give food to the monk, and chatting with the monk after the blessing. 
• I don't think I'll get used to being greeted by 'sawasdee pii' from professional adults ('pii' refers to someone older, I'm used to using it to refer to older kids, not adults)
• A likes to pass the time by singing songs she knows from daycare or YouTube videos. Our soundtrack from the vacation is highlighted by Everything is Awesome, the LEGO Movie theme song by The Lonely Island 
• T passes time by singing songs from school. We are starting to suspect that he is making up lyrics for the songs. 
• On the trip back, we had to walk a long way between gates to catch a connection, A saying to T "keep walking" (they had been watching Finding Dory on the plane, Dory's catch phrase is "keep swimming") 
• Waiting at O'hare for the last leg, A was singing and dancing in the waiting area. Completely inappropriate for a 2 year old who left grandma's house over 24 hours ago. 
• A woke up around 2 AM for her morning concert. Which is when I am writing this.

Thailand 2016 trip Part 1

• T 6yrs old.  On encountering turbulence.  "This is fun!"  By the end of a flight which included an aborted landing due to a wind shear alarm, he threw up. 2yr old sister was not far behind.
• By the end of the D.C. -Tokyo leg, commentary from other passengers, if they are this agreeable when tired and uncomfortable, they must be wonderful children from day to day.
• Tokyo airport play area. We meet someone we know and our kids play for a while.
• 5:30 in the morning wake up to roosters crowing. 2 yr old had been awake since 3 and thinks she has company in her morning concert. She knows that roosters say Cock-a-doo-doo 
• First of many trips to the next soi (small street) market over to get morning breakfast. T learns to give food to the local monk. The next day we find out that the monk we picked can speak English. Wai phra becomes our daily ritual and we are usually not rushed by others waiting their turn so we can talk with the monk.
• Cousin has a piano. That means T has daily piano practice. 
• Visit great-grandma. T is getting the wai for hello thing down.
• By the third morning T and I have made the first trip with just the two of us. T has learned to wai and say sawasdee khrab to every vendor we buy something from. We have gotten a discount from one vendor who knows that a 6 yr old boy is learning how to wai phra. People ask about his mother. Random people want to say hello. We get freebies when we buy things in the morning market.
• Take train and boat to go to Museum of Siam. They are closed for renovation for the month. Major fail. T thinks that the boat trips on the river express boat were really cool. Maybe not so bad.
• Go to Kasetsart to give a talk. The guy picking me up from the train station asks what am I wearing so he can recognize me. Thailand is in morning so everyone is wearing white or black, including me. I suggest my green bag is more identifiable.
• Change the morning workshop based on the conversation over the drive. Three hour workshop, with two hours created as we go. It did not completely fall apart. Everyone learned a lot. 
• Faculty member teased because we were talking about exchange programs, and she is thinking about what her daughter will do. Said daughter is currently 5.
• Conversations at a couple of universities focusing on the difficulty in teaching programming to engineers. Everyone is relieved to know that they are not the only ones. Conversation then moves to how some places are trying to improve it.
• This morning's market run was with grandma and granddaughter, but without grandson. Everyone asks what happened to grandson. We do not get our usual freebies. We can now put an economic value on the difference in cuteness between a very well behaved 6yr old boy vs a shy 2 yr old girl.
• T and I go without mommy and sister to Siriraj medical Museum. We get to see actual hearts, lungs, etc in various states of health, including smokers, gun shot victims, stabbing victims. We are pretty sure that is unique in his first grade class.
• Shop girls love T. Museum staff girls want pictures with him.  Maybe we should charge for the privilege.
• 2 yr olds having a get home by __ spell means we can define an effective radius that we can have dinner if we want to go out.
• Go out for a late dinner that involves taking a boat. We get recognized by a family that was on the boat with us this morning.
• Lunch, I find a table with a sleeping A while everyone is finding lunch at a food court. Lady comes over and tries to help wake up and feed A. (If you did not know, Thai girls rival Japanese girls in their attraction to things cute, and my kids count when they are with us)
• Christmas Eve on a very crowded BTS system with lots of tired and cranky people. A is sitting in a sling and is singing away happily. Most people are too tired to appreciate how cute that is, but there were a few.
• Tired T, very happy to take a trip in a Tuk-tuk. Includes laughing at another family who was also crammed in another tuk-tuk and a motorcycle riding Santa Claus.

Parenting month 62: Culture, community, and raising children

The major milestone this month was the passing away of my father.  As the funeral was in Thailand, I had gone without the kids. We also had a small memorial service in the city where I grew up, so we took a week there.  It is probably the most intensive exposure to Thai culture that my kids have had to date. (My son had gone to Thailand as a infant, so he would have been too small to remember anything.)

Robes for an offering

One problem with living in Pittsburgh is a relative lack of diversity compared to other big cities. And one consequence is that there are not many Thai.  One estimate I heard at one gathering that there were about 40 Thai families in the Pittsburgh region. (Not counting students, who are considered transient) and only about half interacted on a regular basis. So we have been essentially raising our kids as Chinese, where we would have a reasonable number of other Chinese kids around for our kids to learn Chinese together.

To prepare for the service at the Thai temple, we subjected our kids to a crash course in Thai greetings and courtesy via YouTube. One thing my son (an introvert) can handle is curtesy, so he picked up on that and handled himself as well as can be expected for a Kindergartener who does not spend time in a Thai environment. He greeting people with a wai, and when it was time to perform his role in the service, he did his part (doing things alongside daddy is also something he can do). My daughter is also well behaved toddler in public, and performed admirably for a toddler girl, presenting a charming and well behaved face to the world.

Wai before pouring out water

Watering a tree

The main result of the trip was a lot of time spent with old friends, mostly a mix of Chinese-American and Thai-American families, now with children.  And we talked about the raising of children (and sometimes grandchildren). We talked about choices that we make, our kids personalities, and how they are different and lead to different challenges and opportunities. While I do have conversations about parenting in Pittsburgh with other parents at our kids school, day care, activities, and with others in community organizations I'm active in, the big difference with living in the place you grew up and being part of the mobile generation like I am is that those conversations are lacking in much of the context that comes from growing up in a community.

The conversations I have with other parents tend to be about immediate issues.  Getting in school, participating in activities, dealing with health issues. But the things that I talk with my wife, long term issues of guiding our children's growth in the context of their specific personalities, affinities, and strengths is done just with ourselves. But returning home, the conversations include how the personalities of the children compare to the personalities of the parent (current and past). And the conversations are more long term. How our children's personalities will help or hinder them in the future, and how it impacts how they deal with the world around them. And how to prepare them, not just what can be done now, but over the years to come.

Add caption

Shooting black & white

Last week was my sister's wedding reception in Asia. Hence my trip to Thailand, to go for the reception. And since I don't like trips where I spend very large portions of time transiting from place to place, I skipped on the Taiwan segments and went straight to Thailand.

It has been a long time since I went on a pure photoshoot, where the goal was to take good pictures. A lot of what I've taken recently has been record shots (I was ... with ...) pictures, only little artistic value. One principle in artistic development is forced constraints, place restrictions on the technical aspects and use creativity and skill to compensate. The last time I went to Thailand I took a manual SLR, three lenses and a single-focal length P&S (because I need some record pictures, this is a vacation). On this trip, I took along a compact digital zoom (again, I need some normal pictures), but for fun, I took the rangefinder, used one lens, and two rolls of B&W film.

Now, there is this massive list of things to do. So not really much time for simple shooting. But there were a few times where I could practice (I suppose I could have done the PJ thing as well when going around town, but I only brought two rolls of film, so I saved them for the wedding.)

I had a big break in the schedule one morning when my sister and fiancee were getting studio pictures done. So, I took his parents and brother to Lumphini Park. Which is so different then my usual view of Bangkok (lots of loud traffic, shopping malls of various flavors, Buddhist temples).

This picture is of a bridge in Lumphini park by where we had lunch. I should have taken a couple of shots of the food cart where we got our lunch as well. This shot is probably not framed all that well. I should have moved it either left (to get more of the bridge) or right) to put the focus on the pond) where it is (with the right edge of the bridge in the midpoint of the frame) makes this almost one picture trying to be two.



This is of Silom Center, taken from across a pond. It would have been better if I underexposed a stop, and made the buildings darker. I would have lost detail in the leaves, but the vegetation is only for framing anyway. Also, I should have taken this from a few feet to the left, as I could have avoided having a branch come down in the middle (if I really cared, this is easily removable in digital form).



For the wedding pictures, like all weddings nowadays, there are many people running around with digital cameras taking hundreds of pictures. Including two of my cousins and my brother-in-laws brother (who all had instructions to take lots of pictures.) So my ~50 shots are not too important as far as quantity is concerned. I think I'm the only one to get this, and having a rushed bride and a slightly worried mother (probably thinking of all the things that have to be done) I think works.



The odd thing is, this is not completely posed (not from want of trying by the couple and the other photographer). When they got the couple-on-the-bridge picture, B mentioned something about looking at a tree, so they could get a nice classic picture of the hopeful couple looking off into the future while standing at something. And I asked "which tree?" So he pointed out the tree.



This almost worked. There were several photographers taking pictures of them and this little building at the Wat. And I had found this little break in the shrubs to the side. My sister is stepping down from posing, and B just noticed I was there.


I liked this one. My grandmother (grandmother of the bride) is placing on the dots for a blessing on the groom. But my sister's eyes make the shot. It's nice using tools that get the picture exactly when you want it.



I thought that the people preparing the food should be photographed with their work. Just professional courtesy.


Standard repertoire for PJ style wedding photography. Couple taking a break talking to each other.


And they actually had time to eat (after distributing party favors. There, they take a basket around to the guests instead of having the party favors sitting at each seat)


My grandmother was so happy that week. Yes, she sees her great-grandson about weekly, but I think she is this happy every time.


Another of the standard repertoire, child at end of wedding completely exhausted.


This is not at the wedding, but I thought the jackfruit had a nice texture that the black and white would bring out. And the film is not quite as completely washed out in the bright sunlight as the digital version.


All pictures here taken with Voigtlander Bessa R with 35mm/2.5 compact lens and Kodak T400 CN Max film.

Birding in Thailand - 2007

On this Thailand trip, I brought binoculars as well as a couple of field guides. Primarily I used Craig Robson's Birds of Thailand, Princeton University Press. This is based on another work, A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia, which is a bit bulky for carrying around in the field. I went birding in in Cha-am, Bangkok, and along the Chao Phraya River.

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
Rock Pidgeon Columba livia
White Stork Ciconia ciconia
Little Egret Egretta Garzetta
Oriental Magpie Robin Copsycus saularis
Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala
White-vented Myna Acrdotheres grandis
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Slender-billed gull Larus genei

And some pictures

Coppersmith Barbet


White-vented Myna


Cattle Egret

Thailand Travel notes 2007 2/2

Day 5 was the actual wedding. We went to Wat Benjamabopit where the monk who supervised one of my cousins time ordained was. An aunt had gone the night before and set up preparations for the wedding. At that point we found out that the monk in question was very engaged with the preparations, and had made plans on showing us around to the best spots to take pretty pictures.

Quotes
J (brother of groom): Wow, he is really involved. I thought monks were supposed to renounce worldly things like marriage.
Me: Yes, but that is just for themselves. If religious people are not involved with important things like marriage, births and deaths, what society will support them? And weddings are much more fun then funerals. (there was a funeral on the grounds as well)

Cousin: Noone goes to the Wat (temple) for weddings anymore.
Me: That's why they are being so helpful, they are trying to associate coming to the temple with fun things like weddings and nice pictures, and maybe people will come more often.

We got there around 9, and the monk came and met us, and took us on a tour of the grounds to take, well, pretty pictures. There were some side building that were well decorated. Sides of temple buildings. A room with pictures of some historical leaders and statel wood fixtures.

The actual ceremony was next. 9 monks at the front. They had the chanting in Bali. The presentation of the triple gem as well as the five precepts. Then the feeding of the monks. Last, the blessing and the splashing of holy water. After the monks left, we had the water ceremony. One of the things that got noticed is J and I seemed not to have any duties as groomsmen. Although the two bridesmaids had their time to stand and look pretty (they prepare water for use by the many participants in the water ceremony, namely everyone present who was married. As there were only ~70 people present it was not too bad. At my other sister's wedding with 200+ people the girls were platooning this duty.) There were a few more pictures and lunch. And that was it. B (sister's now husband) was very happy. So was the bride (a good thing).

After getting back to the house, we changed, rested a bit, and B, my sister and J wanted to go shopping. But not the high end luxury shopping (which they saw in Taiwan), they wanted real "ghetto" shopping. I had brought them down a nearby Soi (side street) the night before that was still active. So I brought them to Mahboonkrong (MBK). MBK is an older mall, but nearby the really nice malls like Siam Paragon, Discovery Center and Siam Center. When you start at Siam Paragon and walk through, it is really obvious that each mall is aimed at a different audience. MBK is divided into zones. The first zone is like th other malls. As you go further, it becomes more old fashioned. And the last zone is like a bazaar, and we went at it. They enjoyed the haggling over everything. So did I. We got back on the BTS (train). Oh, first time B and my sister used the train system here.

Last day here we went to the floating market and the Samphram Elephant Grounds. Very touristy and not really remarkable in any way. But now on my way home.

Thailand travel notes part 1

Random, discombobulated travel notes

Early morning flight from Pittsburgh to LaGuardia Airport. First major task, getting from LaGuardia to JFK (where internationa flights originate). This was actually real easy, because I was pointed to a door, outside of which was a dispatch agent for the buses, who sold me a ticket for the bus that just pulled up. The bus driver was pretty new (I think). But the real highlight, I had a whole coach bus drive me to JFK all to myself. Personnal door-to-door service.

At JFK, while waiting for check-in, there was a guy with two women in front of me. The guy had run past me on the way in the terminal. It turned out that he was a pastor who was helping a member of his congregation and her mother. Her mother was heading back home to Thailand. But she does not speak english. So he asked "she can ask you if she needs help, right." At this point people who are aware of my command of Thai are laughing. Let's see, getting through security was fun. But the real fun thing was the survey that the New York Airport Authority was conducting. So here I am, trying to walk her through an 8-page survey. Which goes well beyond my Thai vocabulary. We actually got through 2/3 of the survey. At this point, we get the attention of a student from Mahidol university who was visiting the states. Between the three of us, we got it.

It was a very long flight, direct from New York to Bangkok. Something that probably was not even possible not all that many years ago (prior to the Boeing 777 and Airbus 340). The flight was to Suvarnabhumi, the new airport. The place is huge. The basic form is like an open tent over hallways and rooms. Think the new Denver airport, but about four of them put together. High ceilings (which probably helps a lot with the temperature control.) with lots of soft light (from the white, slightly translucent ceilings.

I saw my new friends while getting our luggage.

"Who is waiting for you?"
"My mom"
"How long are you going to be here?"
"___days"
"I hope you meet a nice Thai girl."
"Thank you, but I already have a girlfriend."

Birds so far:

Barn Swallow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Common Myna
Rock Pidgeon
White Stork
Little Egret
Oriental Magpie Robin
Coppersmith Barbet

One of the pleasures of the trip was visiting college friends. I met with N and her son S at Emporium Mall by Phrom Phong station. And we used the easiest of landmarks, Starbucks. We went to a children's play area while N and I talked about all sorts of things of life. And we shared pictures. We met with her sister for lunch at the mall food court. At the time N and S went to the bathroom. So eventually this lady coming through just stops near the entrance (where I was) and starts looking around. After staring at each other for a few minutes we introduced ourselves. N was impressed that we figured out who each other was by ourselves. We had lunch (ba mii moo daeng). Afterwards I went to Siam Discovery/Center/Paragon/MBK to do some shopping and went home.

I met with my grad school classmate J Thursday lunch at Siam Paragon. We had dim sum at a plce that was to nice for dim sum. But it was good. In addition to the normal things, and some things that you hope for but are not always on the menu, there a durian pastry, that I had to get once I saw it. Very enjoyable catching up, talking about our socioligical observations of how Thailand has changed in the past six years, various aspects of marriage/divorce/relationships, lots of talking about advice we've gotten. And lists of things to do here. All the things that make us act as if we are human beings :-)

My sister and her fiancee + family came in that day. Today, while my sister went for photo studio pictures (it would take someone from Taiwan or Korea to properly appreciate what this means) I took J (his brother) and his parents to Lumpini Park. Bangkok in general is a loud and dirty place, but Lumpini Park is the city park, occupying the same relationship to the city as Central Park. So, in the middle of Bangkok, we went via BTS to a nice stroll in the park around a nice little lake. We also got lunch. So, not knowing where to get food we asked. In Thai. And the first person we asked was a foreigner who did not speak thai, and did not know anything about the area. At the same time, J struck a conversation with another expat couple out for a walk, and they also did not know anything about the area. Third time the charm, I spoke with a guy who ended up pointing us to a gate were there were hawkers (I think his daughter really wanted to jump into the conversation to practice her english) and so we went. There were a number of food stands. We used two of them. One was pretty easy, one of the people working the stand spoke english. The other was a little harder, especially since the one cook was busy. With two people working and a couple of young office ladies who were there helping us we figured out how to make an order. We brought the food to the park to have a nice lunch. Some of the people who we had asked for help walked by and we rejoiced in our success.