visit to Buddhist Temple in Raynham MA

On Saturday (1/25/14) morning, we spent over an hour learning about the major beliefs of Buddhism from the head monk at a temple about 40 minutes south of Boston.

The temple is called Wat Nawamintararachutis Temple.  It is a Buddhist meditation center.
http://watnawamin.org

There were two things that the monk spoke about that struck me as truthful.

1. Money is not too valuable:  money can buy a bed, but not sleep:  money can buy clothes, but not good health;  money can buy a watch, but not time

2. What you give, you receive:  If you smile, people smile back.  If you are grumpy to someone, they are grumpy back.

It was a calm, quiet place where I was able to learn about the basic teachings of Buddhism.

flight information

We recently got the information about the flights to and from Thailand.  Kids, don't think that this is going to be 2 easy days that you are in school & I am not.  I'll be flying or in an airport the whole time!

We fly out of Logan on Thursday morning at 6:50am.  Anytime you fly internationally you should arrive at the airport about 3 hours early.  Yep, that puts me at the airport around 4am!  Luckily I live only a 15 minute ride from the airport so I'll take a cab there - leaving my place at 3:30am.

After about a 3 hour flight to Chicago, we have 2 hour layover in Chicago.  We have about a 13.5 hour flight to Japan, a 1.5 hour layover in Tokyo, then a 7+ hour flight to Bangkok.  We will have been traveling for about 29 hours if my calculations are correct.   Whoa!  Good thing I sleep well on planes.  When we arrive in Bangkok it will be around 11:30pm so by the time we get to the hotel & settled in, it will be time to go to sleep.  

The flight home will be about a 17 hour flight from Bangkok to San Francisco, a 5+ hour layover in San Francisco, then a 5.5 hour flight to Boston.  I will arrive in Boston at 11pm (if there are no delays) on Saturday night.  I will need Sunday to try to re-acclimate to our time zone! There is a 12 hour time difference between Boston & Thailand.  When it is lunch time on that first Monday back at school, my body will think it is midnight!  

current political unrest

Over the holidays my mother asked me if it is safe for me to travel to Thailand based on the political unrest that has been in the news.

The political issue currently is that the king is in poor health and therefore there is a political group that is trying to affect what will happen when the king passes away.

The King, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was born at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge --just down the street from you!  His father was studying at Harvard at the time (1927).  (Did you know that the princess of Japan graduated from Belmont High?)

The king of Thailand has held the throne for 67 years, making him the world's longest ruling monarch.

The protests involve two political parties -- red shirts (pro-democracy activists & supporters of the ousted former prime minister) and yellow shirts (support the current government).

Here is an article that explains what is currently occurring politically. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2013/1227/Five-questions-you-want-answered-about-Thailand-s-political-tumult

There is supposed to be an election in February that the protesters have vowed to stop.  February, yes that is when I will be there......

Pre trip meeting #3

On December 10, we learned a lot of information about Thailand from a Thai woman named Cholthanee Koerojna.  She covered so much information in her overview of Thailand that I will spread the information out over several posts.

Greeting (wai):  the traditional greeting is made by putting your hands together in front of your face and bending forward.  The more respect you want to show the person, the further forward you bend.

http://www.thailandin1.com/general_information

When greeting a monk or the kings, the bowing is more extreme.

Pre-trip meeting #2

11/19/13

Sa-wa-dee-ka:  Hello

The focus of today's presentation was cultural faux pas (what not to do).  Here are a few:

• never criticize the ruling family

                                          (http://www.telegraph.co.uk-  King Bhumibol)

• don't show disrespect to Buddha images - they are sacred objects
• don't show the bottom of your feet to people when you sit (don't cross your ankles) - feet are considered the most inferior part of the body
• women should avoid sitting next to or touching a monk
• never shout in public - at anyone, in any way
• show respect when the Thai national anthem is played daily at 8am and 6pm - stand still quietly

(tastythailand.com -- stopping for national anthem)

I hope to get a video of this during my trip & will post it.

• remove shoes when going into a temple - there are shoe racks to store the shoes
• wear appropriate clothing - long pants, long sleeves (look nice)
• smile a lot - even if you are not happy

Pre-trip meeting #1

11/12/13

Weather:  The temperature in February will be in the 70s or 80s, not humid/fairly dry, nights in the northern part of the country may be a bit cool (will need a sweater).  There are no earthquakes or typhoons but Thailand gets incredible monsoon rains, primarily from July to October.

Due to Bangkok's antiquated sewage system, the flooding water during the monsoons has sewage in it.

My trip to Thailand

I'm looking forward to my 10 day trip to Thailand during February vacation this year.

I will be blogging before the trip as well as during the trip.

                                                        (National Geographic - Reclining Buddha, Bangkok)