In the Oriental or Asian countries, people are very superstitious. They believe in spirits and ghosts. In Thailand, there is a spirit house in almost every single house there. A little house is for the spirit of  the land where the house sits on. The family makes a food  offering to  the spirit house daily. They believe that the spirit will keep them safe and protect them. The spirit house has to  be put  up right and has to be straight and level. If they do any damage to the spirit house, they have to make  a food offering and apologize right away. Of course they have to repair it  right away. If they don’t do that, they believe the spirit will come to see them at night and will break their neck. The spirit will kill them instead of protecting them.

Thai people believe in fortune telling. At the temples, they have bamboo sticks to tell their fortune. There are many flat bamboo sticks with numbers on them. They are about 12 inches in length inside the round bamboo container. Thai people make a wish and shake the bamboo container until one of the bamboo sticks falls out of the container. They look at the stick to see what the number is. Once they find out about the number, they go to the wall of the temple to see what  fortune is written. There are hundreds of written fortunes on the wall. You just match the number on the stick and written fortune paper. After that, they make a donation to the temple so that their wish will come true.  Some Thai people go to the palm reader to seek their fortune. The palm reader has their booth set out side the temple. They really believe the palm reader even if they have to pay the money for it. Some people go to see  the man or woman which has been possessed by some spirit. It is the same way  in the movie ” Ghost ” in USA. They ask about their loved ones that passed away or what their future  is that lies  ahead. I didn’t know if they really had been possessed or not. I was very young at that time. Their voice had changed so much and was  different from their own voice. Sometimes it was a man’s voice and sometimes it was woman’s voice. I just observed and kept it to myself.

There is a true ghost story in Thailand. The story of Mae Nak Phra Khanong is  well known in Thailand. This story is based on actual events that took place during the 19th century. The story is about a beautiful young woman named Mae Nak ( Miss Nak ), who lived by the Phra Khanong canal in Bangkok, and her husband, Mak.

With Nak pregnant, Mak is called off to war, and is severely injured. While he is being nursed, both Nak and the child she is carrying die during childbirth. When Mak eventually returns home, he is cast under a spell and finds his loving wife and his new child waiting for him. Neighbors, who try to tell Mak of the death of his wife and to warn him that he is living with her ghost, meet with grisly ends.

One day, while Nak is preparing a meal, she drops a lime down to the cellar. In her haste, she extends her arm to pick the lime from the upper floor through the floor’s hole, not knowing that Mak saw the whole event. Terrified, Mak realizes she is a ghost, and tries to find a way to  be free without her becoming aware.

At night, Mak lies to Nak by saying that he needs to go to the rest room. He then breaks a little hole in an earthen jar which is filled with water, so that Nak will think that he is urinating, and runs away into the night.

After discovering Mak is leaving, Nak pursues him. Mak sees his wife’s ghost, he runs to the temple of Wat Mahabut, where Nak cannot enter the holy area. In grief and despair Nak terrorizes the people of Phra Khanong, venting her anger towards them for helping Mak to leave her. Eventually, Nak’s ghost is bound by a powerful exorcist. After confining her within an earthen jar, he throws it into the canal.

Mae Nak’s story is popular because her true love and devotion for Mak inspires many people. There is a shrine dedicated to Mae Nak at Wat Mahabut. The shrine is located by Phra Khanong canal, at Wat Mahabut, a large temple down a small soisoi ( side road ) off Sukhumvit soi 77, also known as On Nut Road. I did visit and gave  respect to her on my last vacation in Thailand.

My parents told me that there are so many unknown things in the world. Some are very powerful. It is better off for us not to go challenge them, no matter you believe it or not. The story of Mae Nak, you should pray for her and wish for her and her family to rest in peace. If you believe in after life, you should pray for her and her husband to be able to see each other again, and have an ever lasting love together to eternity.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this article. I see you later. Bye for now.

Besides the Thai silk factory in Chiang Mai, there are two more  interesting places to visit.  ( There are so many things to see and do in Chiang Mai, but I just want to recommend only two places ).  One is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, dating back to the year 1383. It is 3520 feet above sea level, accessible via a steep naga staircase comprising around 300 steps.  The Temple has a huge Golden Chedi, within which lie some Holy Buddha Relics.  On the Temple grounds, you can smell many fragrant flowers and  there is a breath taking view of Chiang Mai.  Any visit to this city is not complete without stopping by this Temple.

Kantoke Dinner Show is another tourist attraction, combining great food with cultural entertainment.  The low tables on which the food is served are called Kantoke in Thai.  Diners sit on the floor, propped up by cushions where they can sample a variety of unique Northern Dishes.  Accompanying the traditional food is a performance of traditional Lanna ( Northern Thai ) music and dance.  Kantoke Dinner Show will be one of your unforgettable experiences.  At night  in Chiang Mai, there is a night bazaar.  This is a good place for shopping.  Merchants bring out their goods and set them up to sell on the  sidewalk.  The price is cheap but don’t forget to bargain.  You can make it an even better price.  There are so many things to do and see in Chiang Mai. Let me mention some to you:- orchid farms, silverware factory, painting umbrellas, shrimp farms, elephant trekking, river raft at Mai Ping River, etc.  I almost forgot to mention that the most beautiful girls in Thailand are from Chiang Mai.

Well let’s go down to the southern part of Thailand.  There are many romantic and  beautiful beaches in Thailand.  Some of them made it to the silver screen around the world.  One of them is the James Bond Island in the movie – The Man with the Golden Gun.  The other is Pi Pi Island which is where the movie  Paradise took place.  The main character is Leonardo  DeCaprio.  Phuket Island is ranked among the top five beaches in the world.  All the above beaches that I mentioned are very nice with white soft sands, crystal clear water and are very clean.  The price of a bungalow on the beach front is a very reasonable  price that is about the same as what a nice hotel room costs in the U.S.A.  The food is very good and cheap.  If you like night life, all of these beaches have all kinds of music and a lot of good times to give.  They also have a night bazaar there.

The other day I ran into somebody and they asked me,  “Where are you from?”  I told them that I came from Thailand. ” I see, you are from Taiwan.”  No! no! I am from Thailand, I told him.   It is the country that Siamese cats come from, also Siamese twins, Thai kick boxing, the most beautiful fish fighting, Cat Eyes stone, etc.  Today some people are still confused between Taiwan and Thailand.  I really can’t see it, but it does happen.

I love traveling to many different countries. I like to learn and see many cultures and traditions. I took vacations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Cancun, Bahamas, Mainland China, etc., but I found Thai culture is the most nice and polite of them all. If you all have a chance to visit Thailand, you will see what I am saying.  Like the old Chinese say, “You read to learn from the books for 10 years, but you still can not compare it to seeing it yourself   just one time.”

Goodbye for now,

Mana

When I was growing up, my Mama’ taught me not to waste anything including food.  My parents always encouraged us to eat a lot, but do not waste the food.  Rice was one of them, if we were still hungry, do get a  second serving but just get only what you can finish.  Mama’ explained to me that rice farmers worked very hard to grow rice and they were low income people.  They used  their blood, sweat and tears to grow rice.  All the Chinese family will tell their children the same, because rice is playing a big part of Chinese culture.  Mama’ did not waste anything at all, she saved all the Chinese newspapers so that we could use them to start the charcoal to cook.  I was growing up with the left over food.  When we finished the meal and had left over, Mama’ always saved them in refrigerator.  She would add one or two more new dishes to go with the left over.  When we had a lot of left over rice, she would make a fried rice dish.  In case you did not know that this is the history of fried rice- the left over meal.

Mama’ showed me to love and care about the other people.  She got a busy schedule at home, but she always made the time to visit our relatives on both side of the family.  She would buy oranges or tangerines to give to our relatives.  Mama’ told me that we should  not wait until they got sick to see them.  You should make the effort to see them while they are healthy and cherish the time of happiness with them.  My Mama’ is a loving and caring person.  She was always giving, not taking.  She was a kind of person that anyone will feel love  and care whenever they meet her.  One day, she took me to the thai temple to worship.  She gave money to a few beggars in front of the temple.  I said to her ” Mama’ don’ t give the money to the young beggar, he is young and strong enough to find job and make money.  I think that he is a fake to make an easy money.”  Mama’ said to me that ” we are here to do a good deed, we are not here to judge people.  You don’t really know about him.  He might fall in a hardship right now.  Look at his clothes how dirty it is.  Do you think people will hire him the way he look?  Of course not, they probably scold him and beat him up with a stick.  You always help the other people if they need the help.”  I will never forget what she taught me.

At home, I saw how much my Mama’ really love my Papa’.  She didn’t have to tell anyone about that, it showed.  When Papa’ came home from work, she would  greet him with a smiling face and asked how the day go.  She would bring him something to drink and took his socks and shoes off.  At the dinning table, she put food on his rice bowl from different dishes with her chopsticks.  She said to him that I want you to taste this dish to see if you like it.  When Papa’ ate it, she would give him more without his asking.  She served the meal to him with love.  When Papa’ worked around the house.  She always wiped his face with a cold towel.  She always took care of him.  Today some Oriental ladies are still doing it.  You can see this kind of love only in ancient Chinese movie.  In today society we should give more unconditional love and understanding of each other.

Goodbye for now,

Mana