Khim Makes It Home

The store where I bought the khim never opened before I left. I had to essentially steal it back. Had paid for it - just needed to grab it when they weren't around (remember - boom boom Bangkok). Bringing the khim back meant I had three carry-ons - which worked just fine until the LA to Boston leg. Something had to go. Couldn't be my laptop. Couldn't be my knapsack with our hard drive inside. Khim returned with the casing broken - but the instrument in perfect shape. Isabelle and her cousin, Anika, did this duet:

Boom Boom Bangkok

We're just back from Burma, and return to an uneasy Chiang Mai. The State of Emergency has intensified now that the violent protests in Bangkok have spread here. Red shirt protesters have set the Governor's mansion on fire, and there are lots of rumors about trouble at the bus and train stations. An 8pm to 6am curfew has been imposed, although the streets are still pretty busy.



The unrest is causing one particular nuisance for me. The store where I bought the khim instrument is closed, and I was going to ship it back to the States. I stopped to pick it up on the way back from Burma, and a policeman shooed me away from the shopping center entrance. When I asked him why everything was shut down, his only words were, "Boom boom Bangkok."

Panda-monium!

Thailand's first baby panda just celebrated her first birthday! Her name is Lin Ping and I visited her at the Chiang Mai Zoo today. Unfortunately, she was taking a nap the whole time I was there.



Pandas spend 16 hours a day eating!



And look what happens when a panda wakes up... people (I'm not naming names) go a little nutty.



Isabelle, I have enough supplies for a SUPER panda-monium party!!! And I even bought us matching panda jammies. Wait 'til you see them...

Live Firing Zone

The U.S. Embassy is closed... journalists are getting shot up... and the Thai government has announced a live firing zone--the area where Thai troops will open fire against anti-government protesters. "Closer to civil war than ever before," is how one expert puts it.

There's a state of emergency here in Chiang Mai, which means there's increased police presence on the streets, and they're able to crack down on gatherings of more than five people.

Lizards Everywhere!

There are lizards running all over the place in Thailand. House lizards come inside and climb up the walls in your kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Outside, the lizards run through the grass, swim in the ponds and scurry up the trees.

I met a lizard today. I named her Baby Blue. She's a blue-headed tree agama. She has lots of adventures in Thailand!

Making Music

When we came back to the hotel last night, there was a talented musician playing the khim (yup, pronounced just like the girl's name). The khim is a traditional Thai stringed instrument that's played with two, thin bamboo sticks. The musician gave me and Uncle Sean turns to play it. (I warn you - this is an incredibly pathetic attempt to nail down Jingle Bells.)



Obviously I need lots of practice! That's why I'm bringing a khim home with me! I bought one tonight so that you can enjoy playing it, too.

At a Buddhist temple the other day, we also had a chance to play a special temple gong - one that has 8 gongs. You can play all 8 gongs at the same time by moving a small wooden lever up and down. The gongs are used to call the monks to prayer and for meditation. We recorded our gong playing because we might use it as part of the soundtrack when we're editing this video.

Mornings With The Monks

It's morning here in Thailand... which means you are fast asleep! When you look at the globe, you can see that I'm on the other side of the world - which means that when the moon is out and you're dreaming, the sun is out here, and I'm awake.



Every morning when I wake up, I go for a run, and I see some pretty interesting things! There are people here called monks... they're like priests at church, rabbis at temple or mullahs in the mosque. The monks are Buddhist, bald and barefoot! Here, even kids can be monks (as long as they're boys and at least 10 years old).

The monks all wear bright orange robes (which are like dresses), and early every morning they walk down the street holding big bowls. The monks are hungry! At first their bowls are empty, but there are lots of other people on the street who want to feed them breakfast. When you feed a monk, it's called "making merit" which means doing something really nice. And when people are nice to the monks, the monks are very happy--which makes the people happy, too!

Men and women stand on the street and fill the monks' bowls with foods like orange juice, water, sticky rice and sweet fruits. Monks only eat one meal a day, so they are very grateful for this food! After receiving the food, the monks say "thank you" by saying a prayer as the people kneel on the street.

People also give the monks flowers - specifically lotus flowers. The lotus flower is a very beautiful white flower that grows in water. It's hard to believe that before the lotus becomes such a gorgeous flower sitting on top of the water, it is growing out of yucky, goopy mud. The monks believe people should be more like lotus flowers--and rise above the muck. I took a picture of this lotus flower while I was exercising on the "playground" at Chiang Mai University.