An Adventure

I am beginning an adventure that will keep me from posting for A time, but expect to post from SEA before too long. Perhaps I'll have something worthwhile to say about Buddhism.

On the 6th of February I expect to land in Bangkok tired and jet-lagged. I'll arrive without a visa. That's a bit like me showing up on your front porch unannounced and expecting to stay. Still, I have high hopes that the Thais will let me stay awhile. Without leaving BKK I intend to get a flight to Chiang Rai and begin to get comfortable there.

I think that Chiang Rai area gets smoky in March and stays that way for over a month. Might go as far as Vietnam to get better air during that time.

Sold my nice little Suzuki and expect to get a rental car today. This JT house is just about empty of furniture and belongings. I've sold and give away much, but will still leave a lot in storage. I'll probably put this computer there tomorrow.

I don't see much beautiful adventure shinning through that which I have just written. Could I have begun to doubt my capacity for adventure? Whatever my writing or my capacity, I feel satisfied and energized. I feel pleasant anticipation know how likely it is that I will soon be surrounded by the novelty and beauty of Thailand and the rest of SEA.

The prospect of shopping for used first grade(or kindergarten) textbooks with which to begin to learn to read and write Thai pleases me.

I wish you pleasure, energy, and satisfaction. I also wish you health, love, money, and time to enjoy them.

Top 12 Destination Countries

It may be getting close to time to consider destination cities.
However, below I'll list the top 12 destination countries.
Top choice is #1:

1. Uruguay: 27
2. Ecuador: 24
3. Argentina: 17
4. India: 16
5. Malaysia: 16
6. Panama: 16
7. Colombia 15
8. Brazil 13
9. Thailand 12
10. Honduras 11
11. Iceland 11
12. Ireland 11

First Notions of Thai Beginings

I'm trying to start a conversational exchange. So far I have had small success. I'll try to find more popular topics as I proceed.

Grain farming began in the Thai area before 9000 BC. Other very early farming included betel, bean, pea, pepper, cucumber.

There is strong evidence that the Spirit Cave near Mae Hong Son Province of NW Thailand was occupied from about 9000 BC to about 5500 BC.

Bronze appeared in Thailand in the 5th millennium BC. A very advanced metalworking culture was wide spread and flourishing before 1500 BC. Iron was worked as early as 1500 BC.

Early Thai peoples included Lao, Lanna, Shan.

The Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai founded in 1238 AD is often considered the first Thai state. I'd guess that by 1440 it was know throughout South East Asia and well beyond.

However, before the 13th century a Tai kingdom existed in the northern highlands, centered on Chaing Saen, a predecessor of Lanna.

A good way to begin to learn more of Thailand is to learn more about Lanna past and present.

SEA?

You ask about what countries make up Southeast Asia. Check a map. www.periplus.com
makes some good ones.
Indonesia is the largest SEA country. Thailand and Malaysia are perhaps the most representative. Some might include the the south China island Hainan and probably the Andaman Islands. The Philippines and Brunei should be included as should Mayanmar.
Some decades ago we'd have included Siam and Burma.

Southeast Asia

The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia is likely to be appreciated by those interested in background for SEA countries.The four volumes of this set deal with the region from earliest times through the 1980's. I've enjoyed Volume One which deals with earliest times to c. 1500.
It was published in 1992 by Cambridge University Press.
The "Viet Nam War" may have been a motivating factor for it being published.

The five scholars writing Volume One let show a bit of their excitement at being early researchers in the field. The work, of course, covers the maritime countries as well as the mainland nations.
Volume one is laid out in five sections:
1. a review of the writing of SEA history
2. pre-history of the region
3. the early kingdoms
4. economic history
5. religion and popular beliefs

Barnes and Noble has vol. 1 available online for $37
Amazon.com has it for less than $30. Amazon now lists 80 books as citing this Vol!

Affirmations Tie to Thai

I was just posting some affirmations to my Affirmation blog form the notebook I am making use of today. The first part of this particular note contains notes of mine on Thai vocabulary and very rudimentary pronunciation.
I has taken me a little over a half a century to learn my ímperfectismo´Spanish. Thai writing and pronunciation both seem much more difficult to try to learn than does Spanish. It seems more difficult than pronouncing in French or writing in Japanese. The culture comes with the territory. I have slowed a bit so I expect that it would take me well over a half century to get a good grasp on the Thai language. A man could run out of time!

I hope that you have checked out my "Affirmations" blog. May not excite immediate interest, but there is good stuff there. I have learned something about making my kind of affirming pay. You may find something there to make yours pay more systematically. My affirmations are aimed at me with goodwill and honesty. An interested party might learn a great deal about me not otherwise available and perhaps a bit about mankind in general. I try to include a bit of wisdom.
You could benefit. Click on: htt://afirmationsofmine.blogspot.com

I will offer elementary Thai vocab notes below:
The word "mai" (in my phonetic spelling) may be used in the place of 20 or so English words. Great, one for 20! It is true that "mai" may be used for most of the verbs used to initiate questions in English and to ask for yes and no answers in Thai. However I write it as "mai" which is close to its pronunciation in accord with Latin phonetics, but there are, at least, four other variations; inflections one might say. For example, "mai" for "new" is not inflected like the question "mai." And, the "mai" for "no" or "not" is not inflected like the proceeding "Mai"s. Then there is the "mai" meaning "wood" which is bit like a strongly defined English diphthong.

Travel Where?

I've been thinking.
I've kind of decided "what." Now seems like a good time to consider "where."
Being awake, alive, alert as I follow my nose or toes is a way. I've enjoyed and learned that way.
It's not the way I have been thinking of.
Recently I have been thinking of attractive ways of looking for a home. That has led me to think of Thailand. Thailand is a place of helpful, beauty loving people, who respect their elders. They give value for value. The food is tasty and wholesome. One may find an elephant in ones alley or ones seat in peculiar temple. The dollar goes far and there a lots of fine things to learn. I enjoy the wide variety of interesting people one can find there.
Looking for a home has also led me to think of Uruguay. Uruguay is a land of farms and ranches and people willing to let you be. They are also willing to help when asked and they speak pretty good Spanish. There is plenty of fresh air and clean water there.
They have lots of meat, plenty of vegetables, and they're mostly organic. It has a compact stately, bright, cosmopolitan capital. I like the hot water spas there.

More recently, I have been thinking or Europe. I admit that the thought of the prices there brings a film of perspiration to my brow. Still there have have been reasonable flights to London from NY. I remember one very inexpensive flight from NY to Luxembourg via Iceland. Took a very nice layover in the unspellable capital of that country.

I could go to Portugal from England and from there on to Holland and up to Denmark. If the weather seemed warm enough I could head on to Norway and from there to Russia via Finland. If the weather were turning cool when I got to Denmark I could heat to East Germany and from there rapidly south to Turkey and beyond.
I'd like to check out a lot of old Prussia and a lot of the hot water health spas of Eastern Europe. With days in hot water I could handle cold weather.
If the weather were already getting cold when I got to Portugal I could head to Morocco and then overland to Egypt and then on south as far as necessary.

Ah, well.

Don't Have Another Puppy Photo

Maybe you''l like the elephant. If you do, you might enjoy the following sites:

Http://www.eleaid.com

http://elephantnaturepark.org

http://www.thailandtopsites.com

Enjoy.