www.wanderinginthailand.com
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Kolkata Traffic
The ride to the hotel was an amazing experience. I would like to spend a week in Kolkata if I was with an expert in the area.
www.wanderinginthailand.com
Getting our Taxi at the Kolkata Airport
The photograph does not capture the noise of the music, people yelling, and horns of multiple varieties blowing.
www.wanderinginthailand.com
Friday, January 09, 2009
Bihar 7-11! Really
Stores like this, on stilts, are all along the roads of Bihar.
www.wanderinginthailand.com
Thursday, January 08, 2009
On the road in Bihar
The morning color in Bihar is amazing. I have many photographs to organize and share. I will blog them to the Wandering In Thailand web log, because the experience in Bihar was really an extension of my life in Thailand. All the other eight people who accompanied me were from Thailand or Laos. Most of the temples we stayed at were also Thai, although we did stay in a Korean Zen Temple, a Kathmandu Nun's temple, and a Tiwanese temple.
www.wanderinginthailand.com
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Searching for Buddha in Bihar!
We arrived last night from Gaya India. The area we were traveling in, Bihar, is the poorest region in India. To say I visited India after this trip would be untrue, I visited Bihar. It would be like visiting Mississippi and talking knowledgeably about the United States. It was a stressful and valuable trip. There were a few times, actually more then a few, that I feared for my life! I am glad I went, I am glad I had the experiences that I had, and I am very glad to be home! Bangkok seems like Switzerland compared to the area we were in! I have many photographs and many stories but it will take awhile to decompress, order, filter, and share them. I just wanted to let you know that we are safe and back home! We traveled in the area from Kolkata in the West to Bodhagaya in the South, to Varanasi in the East, to Lumbini Nepal in the North. I think my web site will be called Searching for Buddha in Bihar. I might change it later, but that is today's idea. FYI If you asked me today I would say I did not find Buddha yet!
More Later!
www.wanderinginthailand.com
More Later!
www.wanderinginthailand.com
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Packed and ready to go.....
Packed and ready to go, Anchorage, Taipei, and then Bangkok. It will take awhile to get Internet access when we arrive. We will be gone until February.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
The New Thai Politics? | newmatilda.com
The New Thai Politics? | newmatilda.com What is being reported on CNN, about Thailand, is at best superficial. If you want to gain some context on the Thailand situation read this article.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Maybe..........?
Maybe we will be going to Thailand soon, either by China Air through Chaing Mai or using our original plan of Asiana to Bangkok. The sad thing about the whole airport closure is that it was pointless. Everybody knew what the court decision would be. In the past the court had removed the TRT party and the previous prime minister. I think PAD used the court decision as a method of getting out of a bad situation. I hope so, and I hope that emotions will cool down. People who I know and respect were feeling very uncomfortable in Thailand. One step at a time......
Worried about the PAD, mobs, and the people of Thailand.
Thailand is getting more dangerous. Any large group of people, under stress, who have a leader who knows the "truth" and is "ready to die" can end up creating a tragedy. It is like a large storm cloud rising in the afternoon, hopefully it will dissipate, but it is a very dangerous situation.
On CNN they showed some scenes from the Bangkok airport of the PAD people attacking a photographer, they looked exhausted. Sometimes, in Thailand, when people really start feeling angry they do not know how to moderate the emotion. If I have spent my life avoiding feeling angry, when the anger comes it can be like an eruption. People in Thailand are getting angry and mob action could become very violent. A couple years ago a mentally disturbed person destroyed an idol in downtown Bangkok. The people who saw him, beat him to death. When people are arrested for violent crimes, and then re-enact the crimes, random people will come up and hit the criminal. I have seen it on TV. There does not seem to be a way to moderate or limit the behavior. Mob action is very dangerous for all humans. Mobs in every culture and in every religion do evil! Mobs are being created in Thailand!
Somehow the PAD needs a way to back down, or at least for the everyday people who are at the airport to get some rest and a new perspective. It almost seems like a reprise of Jonestown, where there will be a crisis just to end the stress and the anxiety. Many innocent people might be hurt.
Where are the Monks, where are the Buddhist beliefs, where is compassion? Who can give relief? I could see a group of monks walking into the airport to give relief to the PAD members, to help them gain perspective, to help them calm down and rest.
I am worried about the people of Thailand, I am worried about mob action, and I am worried about what might happen to a place and a community that I love.
On CNN they showed some scenes from the Bangkok airport of the PAD people attacking a photographer, they looked exhausted. Sometimes, in Thailand, when people really start feeling angry they do not know how to moderate the emotion. If I have spent my life avoiding feeling angry, when the anger comes it can be like an eruption. People in Thailand are getting angry and mob action could become very violent. A couple years ago a mentally disturbed person destroyed an idol in downtown Bangkok. The people who saw him, beat him to death. When people are arrested for violent crimes, and then re-enact the crimes, random people will come up and hit the criminal. I have seen it on TV. There does not seem to be a way to moderate or limit the behavior. Mob action is very dangerous for all humans. Mobs in every culture and in every religion do evil! Mobs are being created in Thailand!
Somehow the PAD needs a way to back down, or at least for the everyday people who are at the airport to get some rest and a new perspective. It almost seems like a reprise of Jonestown, where there will be a crisis just to end the stress and the anxiety. Many innocent people might be hurt.
Where are the Monks, where are the Buddhist beliefs, where is compassion? Who can give relief? I could see a group of monks walking into the airport to give relief to the PAD members, to help them gain perspective, to help them calm down and rest.
I am worried about the people of Thailand, I am worried about mob action, and I am worried about what might happen to a place and a community that I love.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wandering In Fairbanks Alaska 2008: Stephen Cysewski
I just finished Wandering In Fairbanks 2008. I wanted to complete it before we left for Thailand. If you want to see what our Alaska community is like explore this web site.
Here is the web site URL
http://www.cysewski.com/wif/wandering2008/index.html
Here is the URL for the same photographs on Picasa Album
http://picasaweb.google.com/cysewski/WanderingInFairbanks2008StephenCysewski#
Here is the URL for the same photographs on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cysewski/sets/72157609834478467/
Please share with others if you think it is appropriate.
--
Stephen Cysewski
Professor of Computer Applications, Emeritus
University of Alaska Fairbanks
http://www.WanderingInAlaska.com
http://www.WanderingInFairbanks.com
http://www.WanderingInThailand.com
http://www.WanderingInSeattle.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cysewski/
http://picasaweb.google.com/cysewski
Here is the web site URL
http://www.cysewski.com/wif/wandering2008/index.html
Here is the URL for the same photographs on Picasa Album
http://picasaweb.google.com/cysewski/WanderingInFairbanks2008StephenCysewski#
Here is the URL for the same photographs on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cysewski/sets/72157609834478467/
Please share with others if you think it is appropriate.
--
Stephen Cysewski
Professor of Computer Applications, Emeritus
University of Alaska Fairbanks
http://www.WanderingInAlaska.com
http://www.WanderingInFairbanks.com
http://www.WanderingInThailand.com
http://www.WanderingInSeattle.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cysewski/
http://picasaweb.google.com/cysewski
Friday, November 21, 2008
Bang Nampheung Floating Market
Bang Nampheung Floating Market
Our home area, it sounds like the Market has expanded. We will be back in Thailand beginning the first of December. It will be great to be back at our Thailand home.
www.wanderinginthailand.com
Our home area, it sounds like the Market has expanded. We will be back in Thailand beginning the first of December. It will be great to be back at our Thailand home.
www.wanderinginthailand.com
Bangkok Hysteria©: Book Project - a set on Flickr
Bangkok Hysteria©: Book Project - a set on Flickr
This is an interesting Flickr set on Bangkok. Worth exploring.
This is an interesting Flickr set on Bangkok. Worth exploring.
Friday, November 07, 2008
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