Five Years in Thailand

Today marks my fifth year in Thailand. When I arrived here I knew for sure I'd be staying for a year as my first work contract stated. And then when my first contract expired I was given two years and then another three years. (My current contract expires in 2013.)

It's surprising how the years piled up, and true to the cliche, I hardly noticed time passing by. Probably it shows how much I like my life here. Well, I can't complain about most of my experiences and I owe it to Thailand that the past five years had been nothing short of great.

Everyday I still find many fascinating things about Bangkok... its small streets, its ever changing landscapes, and the kindness of the people... basically the same things that have enamored me since I arrived in Bangkok.

Rock Arts in Northeastern Thailand

I was away on an official trip to Northeast Thailand where we brought a pack of archaeologists and heritage management professionals to rock art sites.

It took us over twelve hours to reach Pha Taem National Park in Ubon Ratchatani province. The park has the longest rock art site in the country. The huge paintings are on a huge side of a tall cliff overlooking a tributary of the Mekong River and across it is Lao PDR.

It's my firsime to see rock paintings, and their size at Pha Taem made the experience very awe-striking. There are various subjects like fish, humans, livestock, turtles, tools, and a variety of geometric shapes scattered all over the rock walls. These remnants of the work of pre-historic men are tantamount to having a glimpse into their imagination as well as interpretations of the world around them.

We then moved to Udon Thani province to Phu Prabat Historical Park. Along the way we stopped by Ban Chiang, a World Heritage Site known for its red pottery. Some artifacts found in burial sites have been dated to about 2100 BC.

I've always wanted to see Ban Chiang because one of the chief archaeologists of the site was my former boss. In fact there are many pictures of him all over the beautiful museum.

At Phu Prabat we saw rock art on the magnificent rock shelters dotting the landscape. The paintings are Phu Prabat are smaller, thus less striking. The rock shelters are definitely the main highlight of the site. These natural rock formations were supposedly carved millions of years ago by glacier movement. It has also evidence of pre-historic and historic human activities (but not settlements).

Aside from the rock paintings, the site also has sculptures in various styles and periods, namely, Dhvaravadi, Buddhist Khmer, and Lan Chang. Some of the rock shelters have been converted into Buddhist monastic sites and these still serve as places of worship to this day. Because of the historical, natural, and cultural importance of the area, it is in the process of being nominated as a World Heritage Site.

The trip was definitely a good chance for me to spend time with my colleagues who again proved to be such a very hard-working lot. I also did a bit of shopping for pots, baskets, and woven textiles.

Castaway in Koh Lipe

A few days after arriving from Seoul I went down south for a short beach holiday with Lara Stone. It's about time I take a break as I haven't been on a holiday since May.

Our destination was the island of Koh Lipe in Satun. We stayed in the charming Castaway Resort on Sunrise Beach.

I loved Castaway! It was tastefully done and it does not have any of the tacky frills that one sees in regular beach bungalows in Thailand. The most admirable part of their operation is they try to go green. For instance, they recycle your bathwater to be used as water for flushing the toilet. And the people manning the resort are completely nice, on top of the wonderful food (we certainly got hooked on the fried somtam salad).

Koh Lipe is rather tiny. If I remember it correctly it's only like six kilometers square. The Chao Lay are the indigenous people living on the island, however since the boom of tourism, many people from the mainland have been living there, thus stressing the island's resources. Add to that the large number of tourists.

Koh Lipe's tourism is the only obvious industry on the island, with many construction projects going all over the place. We also saw heaps of garbage in some parts of the island, a common sight in many of Thailand's beaches. I hope somehow the residents and tourists of the island would get their act together to save it from becoming yet another beach that's victimized by unchecked tourism.

Other than that, Koh Lipe is quite a paradise. The views of the nearby island of Koh Adang, with its towering peak brimming with thick forest (most of the area is part of the Koh Tarutao National Park), is majestic. One afternoon Lara Stone and I kayaked from Koh Lipe to Koh Adang.

The green waters of Koh Lipe open up to a beautiful world of corals, fish, and other marine life. We snorkeled a couple of times, including a snorkeling day-trip, which brought us to a few nearby islands.

Other than that, it was a completely lazy holiday for us. We sat on hammocks facing the water, read, drank fruit juice, and took lots of nap. In the evening we had a few occasions of romantic walks on the beach or just sharing a hammock while watching the moon hover the water.

Some Notable Films from Thailand

Thailand is celebrating Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives winning the Palme D'Or in Cannes a few weeks back. Apitchapong Weerasethakul certainly brought international acclaim to Thailand at a time when most of the recent news coming from the country had been negative. I couldn't wait to see the movie but some people doubt it would be shown in Thailand pretty soon.

Apitchapong's films have been labeled as inaccessible by local audiences, at least that's what I read in one blog. Many allege his movies are made for festival circuits instead wherein only the serious cineastes could understand his often times surreal films.

Thanks to torrent, I have seen Blissfully Yours (2002), which won Un Certain Regard in Cannes; Tropical Malady (2004), which won the Jury Prize in Cannes; and Syndromes and A Century (2006), which won the Golden Lion in Venice.

Despite all these accolades, I could not pretend I like any of his films. I find these movies' story lines rather vague... I don't even know where to begin in describing them. Their technical aspects, however, are very clean and unobtrusive, but other than that, I find his movies incomprehensible. But that's me.

While I haven't seen many Thai films yet, there are three standout Thai movies, however, that I come to mind.

The first is Citizen Dog (2004) by Wisit Sasanatieng. The movie tells the story of a country boy who goes to Bangkok and discovers its eccentricities, including a woman who is stuck with "reading" an Italian book, for whom he develops a fascination. It's a rather quirky movie: people sing in the bus, helmets fall from the sky, and a cute stuffed bear is addicted to cigarettes. The movie is surely going to put a smile on your face as it unravels a boy-meets-girl tale told in a non-conventional way.

Another Wisit Sasanatieng film is Tears of the Black Tiger (2000). Thailand's countryside is the backdrop of this pseudo-cowboy film shot in lush, saturated colors and employing over the top acting. Add to that the uber fashionable cowboys (pink scarf anyone?) as well as the hyper-realistic set, giving the film a good dose of exaggeration and fantasy. Ironically, the film's very gory, but you can forgive the director for that. The violence is a parody of sort, making it an element of the film that's funny rather than repulsive.

Lastly, I also admire Pan-Ek Ratanaruang's Moonrak Transistor (2001), which is a good-old love story between a country lass and a naive boy who adores her. While that part is cute and sweet, the hero is drafted into the army, which eventually led him on the run in the city, only to end up corrupted by it. Despite making a dark turn, the humor of the film saves it from becoming a cliche. The acting, cinematography, and solid pace makes this movie engaging, which makes it my favorite Thai film so far.

While I find notable the three films above, I'm still waiting, however, for a Thai film that just completely blows me away. I heard the documentary Agrarian Utopia is one of a kind, but I cannot get my hands on it and it has not been widely distributed here either. (But then, I haven't seen old Thai movies, and recommendations from the readers are welcome.)

With Uncle Boonmee's win in Cannes this year, I'm crossing my fingers Thai filmmakers would be encouraged to produce more meaningful works, especially in a country that has a rich culture and history that could be inspirations for the younger filmmakers.