More on Thailand (and a Hong Gil Dong rant).
We are in a brief break between things, so a quick note :)
We have just returned from Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a 14th century Temple that houses a relic of Lord Buddha and is one of the most sacred sites in Northern Thailand. It is on top of a mountain (don't worry, we were driven, not walked up) and the drive was beautiful but nothing compared to the temple itself which gleams with reds and golds and the most gorgeous statuary and carvings, and is full of people worshipping by walking around the stupa with the relic holding lotuses, or lighting up candles, or ringing the bells. It was quite incredible, and I took literally hundreds of pictures. (Didn't see Sanzo and his gang though :P).
Oh, and a quick note. Since I mentioned motorcycles so much in my previous notes, a brief comment about other modes of transport:
(a) bycicles: surprisingly few, though I was in love with seeing a man transport an immaculately groomed dog in the basket of one, the man pedalling for all he was worth and the dog sitting there like the Lord of Creation
(b) cars: many, including pink and other colorful taxis, all driven by people who clearly wish they were on a motorcycle and thus drive the same way, only with more knock-out power
(c) rikshaw-type, person-powered bycicles with a carriage behind. Seen only in Chaing Mai so far. In some sort of perverse joke, are driven invariably by the elderly, frail looking gentlemen who look like a stiff wind would blow them over
(d) tuk-tuks: Those gentlemen (invariably the drivers are male, even if yesterday the girlfriend of one tried to get us to use her boyfriend's, in the change from the norm) haunt every street, parked haphazardly between customers, feet propped up(shoeless. Thais are feet-phobic and would never put their feet on a seat without taking shoes off first). When they see a sucker a.k.a. a farang who will not know the proper pricing and to whom any even a super-inflated amount is cheap, and who thus will invariably and happily pay five times as much as the local, they spring to action with a missionary zeal and attempt every means short of physical violence to get you to ride their conveyance.
(e) open-in-the-back mini trucks. Chiang Mai has little public transport and this is the closest. Provided you can negotiate the price (hard to do with no knowledge of Thai) and provided you don't mind using the conveyance which is run by the mafia (these mini-trucks are all under control of the local mob according to the guidebook) this is supposed to be a good deal.
As you can tell, we walked a lot :P
Oh, and the food is yummy. YUMMY. We broke all the rules of (a) not eating on the street; (b) not eating fruit; (c) not having drinks with crushed ice. But after years of student diet, our stomachs are probably used to severe abuse and we seem to not be negatively affected :P
Now we are off elsewhere...
ETA: I have just spoiled myself for the ending of Hong Gil Dong.
WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!
The hell?
THE HELLLLLL!!!!!
I am SO BOILING MAD.
The FUCK?!!!! (Yes, I am swearing).
How on earth does the drama that start out with dopey jokes and cuteness end up with EVERYBODY I CARE FOR DEAD.
What is this, wuxia????
Gil Dong and Yi Nok, dead???? Fighting the King, a.k.a. Chang Hwe, who Gil Dong put on the throne.
My God.
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It totally makes sense logically, but OMG, the HELLLLL.
When I was thinking this was the best take on Robin Hood since Robin of Sherwood, I didn't mean you should give it the RoS ending (at least of the Michael Praed's Robin). And even there, at least the girl and the rest of them lived.
I hate it. Gil Dong and Yi Nok never got to enjoy life together. Great, they exchange ILYs as arrows fall and kill everyone. Great.
I hate it so FUCKING MUCH.
I hate you, Hong Sisters. It makes logical sense story-wise and is realistic but the hell! I didn't sign up for Damo Mark 2. This drama doesn't start realistic. Come ON. I don't care if it narratively makes sense, I hate this.
I am going to finish it, maybe. I dunno. I prefer to think of a happy AU.
STAB.
STAB.
HONG SISTERS, YOU ARE DEAD TO ME.
We have just returned from Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a 14th century Temple that houses a relic of Lord Buddha and is one of the most sacred sites in Northern Thailand. It is on top of a mountain (don't worry, we were driven, not walked up) and the drive was beautiful but nothing compared to the temple itself which gleams with reds and golds and the most gorgeous statuary and carvings, and is full of people worshipping by walking around the stupa with the relic holding lotuses, or lighting up candles, or ringing the bells. It was quite incredible, and I took literally hundreds of pictures. (Didn't see Sanzo and his gang though :P).
Oh, and a quick note. Since I mentioned motorcycles so much in my previous notes, a brief comment about other modes of transport:
(a) bycicles: surprisingly few, though I was in love with seeing a man transport an immaculately groomed dog in the basket of one, the man pedalling for all he was worth and the dog sitting there like the Lord of Creation
(b) cars: many, including pink and other colorful taxis, all driven by people who clearly wish they were on a motorcycle and thus drive the same way, only with more knock-out power
(c) rikshaw-type, person-powered bycicles with a carriage behind. Seen only in Chaing Mai so far. In some sort of perverse joke, are driven invariably by the elderly, frail looking gentlemen who look like a stiff wind would blow them over
(d) tuk-tuks: Those gentlemen (invariably the drivers are male, even if yesterday the girlfriend of one tried to get us to use her boyfriend's, in the change from the norm) haunt every street, parked haphazardly between customers, feet propped up(shoeless. Thais are feet-phobic and would never put their feet on a seat without taking shoes off first). When they see a sucker a.k.a. a farang who will not know the proper pricing and to whom any even a super-inflated amount is cheap, and who thus will invariably and happily pay five times as much as the local, they spring to action with a missionary zeal and attempt every means short of physical violence to get you to ride their conveyance.
(e) open-in-the-back mini trucks. Chiang Mai has little public transport and this is the closest. Provided you can negotiate the price (hard to do with no knowledge of Thai) and provided you don't mind using the conveyance which is run by the mafia (these mini-trucks are all under control of the local mob according to the guidebook) this is supposed to be a good deal.
As you can tell, we walked a lot :P
Oh, and the food is yummy. YUMMY. We broke all the rules of (a) not eating on the street; (b) not eating fruit; (c) not having drinks with crushed ice. But after years of student diet, our stomachs are probably used to severe abuse and we seem to not be negatively affected :P
Now we are off elsewhere...
ETA: I have just spoiled myself for the ending of Hong Gil Dong.
WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!
The hell?
THE HELLLLLL!!!!!
I am SO BOILING MAD.
The FUCK?!!!! (Yes, I am swearing).
How on earth does the drama that start out with dopey jokes and cuteness end up with EVERYBODY I CARE FOR DEAD.
What is this, wuxia????
Gil Dong and Yi Nok, dead???? Fighting the King, a.k.a. Chang Hwe, who Gil Dong put on the throne.
My God.
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It totally makes sense logically, but OMG, the HELLLLL.
When I was thinking this was the best take on Robin Hood since Robin of Sherwood, I didn't mean you should give it the RoS ending (at least of the Michael Praed's Robin). And even there, at least the girl and the rest of them lived.
I hate it. Gil Dong and Yi Nok never got to enjoy life together. Great, they exchange ILYs as arrows fall and kill everyone. Great.
I hate it so FUCKING MUCH.
I hate you, Hong Sisters. It makes logical sense story-wise and is realistic but the hell! I didn't sign up for Damo Mark 2. This drama doesn't start realistic. Come ON. I don't care if it narratively makes sense, I hate this.
I am going to finish it, maybe. I dunno. I prefer to think of a happy AU.
STAB.
STAB.
HONG SISTERS, YOU ARE DEAD TO ME.