Takraw

The other day in Pai we stumbled across a school sports day at which teams competed at football (soccer), volleyball, pétanque and a game called Takraw which is the game of ‘keepy uppy’ taken to a different level.

Basic rules and scoring are similar to volleyball. Each team is allowed a maximum of three touches of the ball to get it back over the net to the other side without letting it touch the ground. The big difference is that the ball can’t be touched by the hand or arm

At the highest level this makes for some spectacular rallies with the top players demonstrating amazing agility and technique. Even at village level they’re not too shabby!

 

Becoming a Monk

Monks in Thailand begin their careers by serving as ‘Dek Wat’ or ‘Temple Boy’. The primary reason for becoming a Dek Wat is to gain a basic education, particularly in reading and writing. Historically temples served as the primary form of education for most Thai boys and, until very recently, service in a temple was the only form of learning available to most rural peasants

Temporary ordination has now become the norm among Thai Buddhists with the period of ordination lasting up to three years. At this point the novice monks can choose to stay, and continue their education, or return to ordinary life

In theory a novice is sponsored by his parents in his ordination, however in practice, in many rural villages, the entire village participates by providing the robes, alms bowl, etc. that will be required for the period of ordination. This is the case in Pai where the ordination of Dek Wat is preceded by a celebration lasting three days, the highlight of which is a procession through the village with novices, adorned in elaborate costumes and make up, being carried on the shoulders of their proud parents

A slice of Pai

We arrived in Pai, Northern Thailand yesterday. It’s accessed via Route 1095 from Chiang Mai which is notorious for having 762 bends in its 132 km. We decided to take the plunge and hire a motorbike to make the journey. After several ‘numb bum’ stops, a Thai army checkpoint and a flash roadside fire, we arrived about 4 hours after leaving Chiang Mai

Pai has quite a chequered history having previously been being a Kuomintang-controlled area and an important opium transit centre. In addition it became notorious in 2008 when one of the local police shot two Canadian tourists, killing one and seriously wounding the other. Fortunately the necessary steps have been taken to address these issues and Pai is now one of the tourist hotspots in Northern Thailand

The area is filled with fascinating and beautiful flora and fauna, from beautiful plants and flowers to large multi-coloured butterflies and lizards

The latest urban development is the installation of the third set if traffic lights in the centre although judging by the manpower involved it’ll be a while before we see traffic light number four!

All things considered, it’s easy to see why visitors find themselves staying far longer than they initially intended. We’ll have to wait and see whether we fall under its spell as well!

 

Election Fever

The local election is coming up this weekend in Chiang Mai. Candidates are not very active in getting out and about to meet and greet and inform their electorate about their policies and manifestos. Instead a series of election posters are put up round town showing candidates dressed, for some unknown reason, as lab technicians

These is supplemented by scooters riding around playing loud music, presumably to attract attention and make voters aware of the forthcoming election

 

Essentially it boils down to a beauty parade with voters having to make a decision based upon who has the most honest face. Ironically there is a real beauty pageant running alongside the election for ‘Miss Chiang Mai Election’. Perhaps first prize should be a seat in local government!

 

We love Hot Dogs (and cats!)

One of the things you can’t help noticing in Chiang Mai is the number of dogs on the streets

At first you’re wary, thinking that you’re going to get bitten or worse, but soon you realise that they’re very friendly and in most cases too hot and tired to give anything more than a half hearted tail wag!

 

There’s a few cats roaming around as well, but these too are very friendly and seem quite willing to have their photos taken!