Where do I come from?

I posted this quote on facebook a few days back as it struck very closely to where I see myself.  As most know I was born in New Zealand and lived there for 55 years.

A few years ago I moved to Australia and then on to Bangladesh teaching Physics at different secondary schools.In the last year I have visited Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Turkey, Italy, France, Spain and England.  An exceptional travel year made extraordinary but the illness of my wife.  (See earlier blogs if interested!)

I travel on a New Zealand passport but that is really the limit of any real association with that country, outside of my wonderful daughters, a few family members and some excellent friendships.  My money is invested in Australia, I work in Bangladesh and I feel most at ease in South East Asia.  I have excellent friendships in New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, England and other places as well (my disclaimer in case I missed you).  I am not involved in any electoral process and my only affiliations are with world wide organisations in education and community.

Yes, I do support the All Blacks when they play but I also support the Rabbitohs in the NRL and of course Chelsea in the English League.  I follow baseball a little and the Yankees benefit from a small amount of support.

Hence Krishnamurti quote above.  I don't particularly like Krishnamurti as a philosopher/guru.  When a philosopher becomes so self-absorbed he considers himself (or others do) a guru then it is time to look elsewhere.  I think it was Clive James who said "It takes a thousand followers to support one guru burbling on."  But this quote makes sense.  All of the nastiness in the world appears to come from people taking entrenched positions based around nationalism, xenophobia, or religion.  If those three were removed from the world it would be a much nicer place.

I have become interested in the growing movement of internationalism.  My fear of course is it has the potential to become an oppressive movement utilised by the elite to make capital from the poor (goodness me, I sound like Marx).  But the idea of nations working for the good of all humanity rather than just their own nation sounds wonderfully pure.

After all a New Zealander is not better than a Bangladeshi or a Cambodian just because he was born in New Zealand!

So my answer to where do I come from is now going to be "the third planet from the sun".

Cambodia

The Mekong

I have just spent 8 days in Cambodia and have loved it.  While I expected the majesty of Angkor Wat and the sadness of The Killing Fields both were more extreme than expected.
What I did not expect was the friendliness of the people, the value for money, the excitement of both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and the constant delight of being on the street.  Cambodia is a third world country but having lived in Bangladesh (another third world country) the gulf between the two in the day to day (and night) is huge.

Firstly the amazing!

Monks at lunch

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is without doubt incredible and should be on everyone's bucket list.  I saw the first temple and thought that's pretty good.  But it was only a fraction of the whole temple complex.  It is immense and I understand why there are multi-day passes.  Away from the main areas there are some very peaceful and reflective areas with few people.  The Buddhist influence in the temple is obvious and in many parts it is still a living monastery.  There were monks doing blessings and monks having lunch.  Young monks playing games and a baptism of sorts taking place.  Especially away from the package tour group areas it is a very quiet and thoughtful place.  There are also very little signage and a lot of freedom of where you can go.  Can't imagine that in other countries.

Royal Palace

Royal Palace

Other amazing places were the Buddhist temples with their amazing colour and statues.  The people were most welcoming and friendly into their space.  The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh is also an incredible place.  The National Museum also has wonderful examples of Khmer statues and has amazing figurines of Buddha.

Angkor, Anchor or Cambodia Beer

The food is also amazing though the insects and shellfish were a bit much but the local beer is good!

Lunch

Shell fish for eating

The really, really, sad!

The Killing Fields.  This has really affected me!  I have found the dichotomy between such wonderfully friendly people and the most horrific crimes hard to reconcile.  I have tried talking to some local Cambodians.  To them it is in the past.  Sad, but in the past.  None of them were born then.  It is difficult to meet older Cambodians but less than 40 years old they are easy to meet.  There seems to be  line drawn in history around that time.

The Killing Fields

I know the activities of the Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot) were affected by what was happening in the world and South East Asia at the time.  The carpet bombing by US forces produced disarray and disaffection at the time, the Maoist 'experiment' through the cultural revolution in China was seen as a powerful revolutionary and idealistic process, the internal anti-royalist view was dominant in many areas, the encroachment across borders by other nations fermenting nationalism.  All of these were significant!

But to kill a quarter of the population!

Liberation for the Cambodian people from the Pol Pot came from the the Vietnamese.  They seemed to have been very beneficent in their treatment of the Cambodians and were really liberators.  The western powers, including England, Australia, New Zealand, USA and most of Europe recognized Pol Pot as the legitimate rulers for several decades.  Even though the atrocities were known!

For Cambodia it still goes on!  There are trials happening now.  The present government has leaders who were part of the Khmer Rouge.

Buddha images are revered!

If the wonderful people of Cambodia can do this then it is possible anywhere.  We all need to think about protecting ourselves, society and the world from similar events.

Buddha at Angkor Wat

So Cambodia is weird!

• Beautiful people - friendly and fun loving!
• In eight days I never met a negative local person.
• They are so positive even though they have a tough life.
• Wonderful history
• Religiously powerful - nearly everyone is a Buddhist!

But!  Why, why, why!  The Killing Fields still haunt!

I have to come back to this place!

Mission for Kimi

The puppet

A few days back I got a request via facebook from one of the drama teachers at my school.  It went like this
"let me know if you can help me pick up a few lightweight shadow puppets for MYP theatre classes. I saw them last time we were there and thought I'd see them somewhere else on our trip and never did"
My only clues on this were that they were around 250 Baht only seen at Wat Arun and I got a picture sent to me.
Many people may have replied no with an expletive added.  But as y'all know when a Southern Belle requests you to do something the only correct response is "Yes Ma'am".
So my Mission was to travel across Bangkok in 35 degrees temperature with humidity approaching 3000% to get some damn puppets!  Oh I would get to visit Wat Arun as well.

Sky Train

Sky Train inside

So yesterday I journeyed to Wat Arun to find the puppets.  The journey was via two Sky Train journeys, a trip on the river and a ferry across the river.  The return was the same.
The Sky Train is an impressive way of travelling across central Bangkok.  The air conditioning is super cool and things always work well.  From the outside it looks perfect.  From the inside it can be a little crowded.




The boat journey was similar.  A pleasant journey up the Chao Phraya river with a breeze blowing to keep you cool sounds great.  Reality slightly different.

Only seat left

River barge

River boats

Hotel boat

The Chao Phraya river goes right through the centre of Bangkok and is a major transportation link.  There are multiple passenger boats, many riverside hotels have their own boats, small freight boats and huge barges being towed down river.  Accidents do happen!  An accident in 1995 was due to one of the floating piers becoming overloaded with people and sinking into the mud.  The amount of boat traffic is huge.

Monks at the temple

Main temple with scaffold

Wat Arun is impressive.  It is one of the major landmarks in Bangkok.  It has at various times been a Buddhist and Hindu temple.  But with Thailand being overwhelmingly Buddhist the temple is seen as one of the major Buddhist temples in Bangkok.  There are always monks present.  At present the temple is being restored, with the porcelain that has been damaged being replaced and the entire temple complex being painted by hand.  This I would imagine will take years.

Painting the temple

A spire

Buddha in Wat Arun

Detail of painting

Hence much of the temple complex was closed and scaffolding surrounded much of the temple including the central spire.  There are a number of souvenir shops where I presumed those puppets would be found.

The temple is very well cared for with immaculate gardens.  

Souvenir shops - Yay!

Maybe a wall hanging

So after going through the temples I went looking for the puppets.  So after going down rows of souvenir shops (oh the excitement!), I could not locate any puppets.
 I even tried to ask someone which brought out the wonderful Thai smile of bemusement.  I found all those expected souvenir things but no puppets.

A buddha?

Some of these maybe

Lunch

The kitchen

So completely defeated I traveled back across the river and sat at a roadside stall for lunch.  Lunch was chicken and galangal in coconut soup with steamed rice.  Cost 90 Baht.  Invoice coming your way, Kimi.

Boat ride back

 The journey in return was the same only with more people as both the river boats and Sky Train are transport for school children who were now out of school for the day!

Few Singha beers have tasted as nice!

Time to go

Most readers of this rather intermittent blog are aware of my reasons for being back in New Zealand.  My wife, Stella Ford, sadly, succumbed to cancer on May 10 so my return was for the funeral and sorting out all the details.
I then decided to visit family and friends around New Zealand.  Since leaving New Zealand 3 years ago my brief trips back have been pleasant but of not much interest.  I have found New Zealand to be a little parochial and somewhat small-minded.  The media looks inward rather than outwards and I have felt somewhat 'restrained' about what is acceptable to say.
My intention was to leave New Zealand as quick as possible so that I could get somewhere more interesting and warmer!  However my nervousness about coping with my loss on my own, made me decide to stay for a few weeks longer.  So I have been to a number of places around the North Island visiting family and friends and while the weather has been cold, the visits have been warm.
I haven't been able to see everyone as I needed to slow down and take time.  If I missed you, sorry, maybe next time whenever that may be!

Some special thanks;

• To Cathy and Pete and the boys in the Hokianga.  It ALWAYS rains when I visit.  Which is good of course because it means that we have to stay inside and talk and eat and drink more!
• To Sabine (my favourite German) and Chris in Warkworth.  There are always special meals with far too much red wine!
• To the Whangaparaoa crew.  Jo, Larry, Ginny and Debbie (and Maltilda, sorry I didn't see you)!  Always fun and great laughs.  The wine bottle opens early and stays open late.  And I hang out for Jo's cooking!  See you in Bangkok Ginny!
• Wellington Mitzi.  The laughs and smiles that I have with you leave a lot of warmth.  We must plan to make sure it happens regularly.  I don't want to wait years to see you again.  Say hello to Boyd!  Actually you have probably forgotten I was there.
• Havana Helen in Sydney.  A special person with a special heart.  You meant a lot to Stella and you mean a lot to me.  Just love your passion; especially for fatty lamb!
• Lisa, Judith, Craig who just rang me up or met for coffee or wine.
• Ruth for the card!
• Louise for the special friendship to Stella and ongoing friendship to me.
• Michelle, Rodney, Sebastien and Jasper.  Always welcoming and your support is huge.  I hope you have done your chores Sebbie and avoid those distractions Jasper!
• My wonderful daughters Annie and Lucy.  They are something special.  They now pick me up and drive me around, organise a place to stay, and take me shopping.  Somewhat of a role reversal here.  They even organise their boyfriend's places for me to stay.  Thanks Nick and Shaq.

I also need to say thanks to the crew from the 'Desh.  You are all new friends but you have treated me and Stella so well.  The way you all turned up to farewell me when I left Dhaka was something special.

• Greg and Linda.  You two aren't bad for Aussies!  Actually are there any Australian teams in the Super 15 final?  Love the way you two love life.  Will bring some good wine back to share with you.
• To the folk leaving.  Big thanks!  Especially Sandra, Raimey (bestie or beastie, not sure!) & Mamiko (Year 10 rocks) and, Jacob and Helen.  Want to see you all in the future!
• Kim and Craig - Our ANZAC leadership.  You have treated me so well.  Big thanks!  Kim and Philip aren't bad for people from foggy old 'amilton.
• Two couples who have welcomed us so well.  Sonia and Neil!  Charmaine and Eben!  I look forward to many more BHC visits!
• The southern Belle - Kimi.  Early morning blasts of the Atlanta drawl make me wake up every morning at 6.45am.  "Y'all know what I mean!"
• Fellow kiwi Hugh.  Changing Bangladeshi theatre habits one show at a time.

As I reflect on the last eight months, two things hit me hard.  One good and the other maybe not so good.

The not so good; One of the hardest things both Stella and I found was the people who told us what to do to to 'cure' her cancer.  Whether it was smoking marijuana, taking overdoses of vitamin C, coffee enemas, pureed veges, expensive retreats in Australia or Mexico, not eating anything white, drinking and eating red things only. We had all of these and the vehemence became tiresome and sad.  If you were one of those people don't do it!  It hurts!

The good;  There are so many special, special people in the world.  I am privileged to know many and have mentioned a few here.  Two others are the oncologists, Anthony and Roger.  Your description of 'courageously ignoring' hit a real thread. 

As I head off to Thailand and then back to the 'Desh, my thoughts are mixed.  Sad to be leaving friends and family but elated at the adventures ahead.  One of my 'new' goals is to stay connected with important people in my life.  So if you hear from me often then one of my goals has been met!

Dhaka Elections

Today, April 28, there were elections in Dhaka for the council and the mayor.  

Elections in Dhaka are a different sort of event. The dominant advertising consists of paper billboards stretched across the road.  

A CNG just makes it through

Do people read these?

In some cases the road was nearly impassable because of the amount of messages across the road.

In Dhaka it was illegal for political parties to participate in the election.  So most candidates had an image which they utilized to indicate their allegiance.  

Vote for me I am an elephant

The time is now!

Traffic was banned for the day which made walking pleasant but left the city extremely quiet.  Roads which usually are grid-locked had no cars.  Shops, schools, business were all closed.

Weirdly quiet

Security was everywhere.  Armed police on the streets and at polling booths.  

I seem out of place

The very intimidating RAB driving around on the streets.

RAB - avoid!

On the day supporters were on the streets indicating (intimidating?) to people what to do.  They were open about who they supported.  Felt different as in New Zealand there is no electioneering on election day.

Our man is best!

Early on there were crowds around the polling booths but by the end of the day it was very quiet.  

There is a polling station here somewhere

Voting is somewhere in here

Vote here

Voting

Some last observations 

• There are special wards for women candidates and voters



Politics is a male 'thing'

• It will probably not solve the political impasse in Bangladesh