Chine vs blog (fr/engl)

Je m'envole pour la Chine pour un mois. Je ne sais pas si j'aurai acces a ce blogue, puisqu'il est base chez Google. Si je ne peux pas me brancher, pas d'inquietude, je me rattraperai dans un mois.

Merci de me suivre sur le blogue, ca me permet de partager mes petites histoires puisque je ne saurais quoi repondre a "Et puis, ton voyage??" :)

A bientot!
Magali :)

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I'll be in China for a month as of tonight. I'm not sure I'll have access to this google based blog there. If I can't log in, no worries, I'll catch up in a month. 

Thanks for following me, it helps me sharing my stories as I'd never know how to start answering to "So, your trip?" once back home :)


Cheers, 
Magali :)

Thailand - Elephant Nature Park

In Chiang Mai, there are elephants everywhere, under one form or another: pictures, statues, bas-relief or miniatures in little shrines. Statues of Ganesh, the elephant god, are scattered around the city. Not that people are Hindu here, but the elephants are the symbol of the city and Ganesh is a lucky god. And people here believe in luck as much as (if not more) in religion :)

A flower is now where a hook used to be

My last day at hand, I thought I would go for another elephant outing, but felt uneasy about the camps. I had seen enough blood in my first elephant trek not to want to encourage that practice again.

Elephant clinic

The Elephant Nature Park is a conservation park where injured and mistreated elephants are brought to live better days. The founder is Sangduen "Lek" Chailert, a little woman who won numerous awards throughout the world and her work has been featured on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, BBC and other medias. So I expected a great day!!

Bathing time for the babies

I got plenty of observation of these enormous beasts roaming around in a stunning environment. The camp is set in a valley surrounded by little mountains inhabited by hill tribes. Beautiful pictures. Nothing to compare to the chained elephants in smaller camps.

In the mist

Adoptive herd, not necessarily the same family

Friends... One of them is blind by mistreatment, the other one helps

Hand feeding was also fun, even though it didn't last very long. They eat SO MUCH, SO FAST!!! Gluttons :)

I didn't have the chance to give a good scrub at their tough but sensitive skin. We (about 60 people) happily splashed the elephants with buckets instead. Yeah... 60 people is quite a lot... But since there are 37 elephants in the camp, we still did enjoy their presence in relatively small groups.


This camp survives with visitors and donations. And, like me, these visitors want their money to go to a good cause, not to some money-making-mistreating-elephants place. So we end up being quite a few fans in there.

Feeding time!!

To me, even if I childishly would still have loved to give a nice scrub at their great bellies, seeing elephants roaming free (and mating!! WOW, the size of the thing!!) in a stunning location was worth it, and made a great goodbye to Thailand.

Couple in intimacy

Thailand - Small stories and random things (fr/engl)

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Fleur dans les cheveux... fourmis plein la tete!!!

Flower in your hair... ants on your head!!!

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Si vous sentez un doux chatouillement, ce n'est pas votre amoureux... ca a probablement des antennes et tout plein de pattes!

If you feel a gentle tickle on your skin, and you think it's your lover, think again... it usually has antennas and many legs!

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Sunday Market, Chiang Mai

Le marche durant la saison des pluies: apparition instantannee de kiosque a parapluies!

Market in rainy season: Instant set-up of umbrella and raincoat kiosks!

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Un "roti", c'est une crepe a qui on a fait boire de l'huile. Ca absorbe encore? Ca a besoin de quelques pelletees de plus...

Saw a man splashing his "roti" with as much oil as he could manage. Can still absorb? Needs more!

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Ah... les effets de l'eau de coco...

Coconut water... toilet paper!

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En Thailande, tout se guerit avec des boules d'herbes chaudes et du Tiger balm. Mettre de la glace sur la peau? Quel etrange concept!

In Thailand, everything is cured with herbal balls and Tiger balm. Putting ice on your skin? What a strange concept!!

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Dans le temple

- Meditation dans un temple bouddhiste: ... inspire... expire... inspire... "splat" ...maudits moustiques...
- Un chat qui se fait les griffes sur un tapis de moine durant la meditation, c'est drole!
- On peut etre moine pour 9 jours. Serieux! Pas mal loin de mes idees d'hermite en connexion avec la paix interieure... En fait, c'est courant que les jeunes hommes de la famille fassent un petit tour au temple pour prier pour leur parents, afin qu'ils aient acces au paradis, ou au moins a une meilleure vie.

In the temple

- Meditation in buddhist temple: ...inner peace... inner peace... "Splat" ...bloody mosquitoes...
- A cat scratching its claws on monks carpet during meditation, it's funny!
- If you become monk, you are requested to do so for at least 9 days. Seriously! It's far from my foreign concept of wise hermits, but it's a way for sons to make a good deed for their parents and helping them go to paradise, or at least a better life next time.

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Mon gardien de securite prefere a quitte sa job aujourd'hui. La raison: un passant mecontent lui a crie apres.

My favorite security guard left his job today. Reason: he got shouted at.

Unplanned greenery

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La mode devient plutot redondante quand on voyage...

Fashion can be kind of limited while traveling...

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Traductions interessantes...

Interesting translations...

Thanks Carolina for the picture :)

Thailande - Expat temporaire (version francaise)

J'entame enfin la version francaise de l'expatriee temporaire dans un cafe internet "service a l'ordi". En effet, un gentil monsieur vient de passer avec un grand plateau rempli de patisseries et de "Trous de beignes!!" Je l'encourage (par pure bonte bien sur!! haha)

Ceci fait partie de ma nouvelle vie a Chiang Mai. J'ai vecu plus d'un mois chez une famille juive, ou je m'occupais d'une dame agee qui avait besoin d'exercices et de compagnie. C'etait un quartier assez chic pour Chiang Mai, avec des cafes partout, des restos branches et des boites de nuit. Un peu genre Plateau Mont-Royal, a Montreal. Je vis maintenant dans un quartier plus populaire, avec beaucoup de vie et de petits kiosques a nourriture (c'est assez pour me rendre heureuse!)

Etude

Durant le jour, j'etudiais une ancienne forme de massage Thai, aussi nommee yoga passif (ou yoga pour paresseux!) J'aime le style, et je crois en son potentiel, assez pour rester aussi longtemps en place.

Passer de la vie de nomade a un brusque arret a ete assez difficile, et j'ai eu une petite deprime la premiere semaine. Je m'attend a vivre la meme chose au retour a Montreal. C'est normal. Heureusement, ca n'a pas dure longtemps. J'ai commence assez vite a developper de petites habitudes salutaires. J'adore les gens, et une ecole est un excellent endroit pour en rencontrer!

Voici ce a quoi une journee pouvait ressembler:

7h30
reveil avec l'alarme de la montre
8h30
marche ou velo jusqu'a l'ecole. La marche implique 30 minutes a refuser des "rides" de tuk-tuks. Personne ne marche ici, donc si on marche, c'est qu'on n'a pas encore trouve de transport :)
9h00
lavage de pieds (essentiel dans un pays a gougounes!)
priere au fondateur du massage, Dr Shivago Komalaparj, qui traitait le Bouddha dans son temps
exercices genre fusion yoga/tai chi/Chi Gong.

Priere au fondateur

10h00
cours et demonstrations du massage
12h00
lunch, souvent riz et curry, ou le fameux Pad Thai
13h00
"same same" que le matin
15h00
pratique
18h30
visite de Gloria, la dame agee dont je prennais soin




Les vendredi, nous faisions nos exercices dans le parc. De jeunes gens comme des personnes agees nous regardaient faire nos tentatives de yoga/Tai Chi/ Chi Gong.

Policier chantant au Marche du Dimanche

Les weekends etaient le temps ou je pouvais faire du tourisme, de l'escalade ou prendre des cours de cuisine. C'est vrai que la vie d'expat est plus lente, moins trippante que la vie de nomade. Mais comme le disais une amie, c'est aussi plus profond. Je n'ai presque pas de photos de Chiang Mai. J'ai des tonnes de photos de gens. J'adore la petite famille qui tient le guesthouse ou je vis, les delicieux smoothies, les noix de coco a boire, les amis de l'ecole de massage, les hippies du resto vegetarien, l'accent londonien du prof de yoga,  les jeunes qui jouent aux jeux d'ordi and les cafes internet... et les services de beignes a l'ordi!!

Le sourire de Chiang Mai va me manquer.

Mais maintenant, la Chine m'attend!

Thailand - Temporary expat life (version francaise a venir)

Me, trying to cook...haha exactly like at home!!!

Back to Chiang Mai, Thailand. I have been living here for about 8 weeks, on and off, and have a few more to go. I study Nuad Bo-Rarn, or Ancient Thai massage, also called passive yoga. Super interesting, and really full of potential! Or so I believe, to stay here that long for it :)

I live in a house in a completely secluded group of street, which used to be a village but has been swallowed by the growing city. Instead of fields and forests are now trendy coffee shops and shopping places similar to our plateau Mont-Royal in Montreal. The village itself has only one entrance, and is a little enclosure of peace and green in this fashionable neighborhood. Many expats live here, and young Thai with money hang out in this area, close to the university.

Doesn't it look incredibly interesting??

Even with this interesting neighborhood, I needed some adjustment. I had been traveling for months by then, and staying in places with new people to meet all the time, and there were more activities and distractions than time available to do them.

Now, with this commitment to studies, to homecare of an elderly lady, and living in a house instead of a hostel, I felt quite isolated and I became depressed and restless during the first week. Fortunately, it didn't last more than a few days. I love people, and a school is a place full of them :) I started to have little habits, interesting conversations and started going out now and then. Just like real life :) Not as intense as the backpacking, but worthwhile none the less.

Here is what a day looks like:

7:30
wake up with watch alarm (yeah, still like traveling)

8:30 
walk or bicycle to the school. Walking implies 30 min of refusing tuk-tuk offers as NOBODY walks in Thailand (or in Asia, for that matter) So if you’re seen walking, it is because you haven’t found someone to transport you yet!

9:00 
Feet washing (yes, very important in a flip-flop country),
Prayer to the founder (who treated Buddha back in the days), Yoga or Tai Chi/Chi Gong at the school, and coffee break after all this effort (life's hard!)

Prayer to the Teacher, who treated the Buddha

10:00
Start of lessons. My friends and I are there to demonstrate movements after the teachers have explained them.

On a cultural note, it might be kind of frustrating to be a Western student in a Thai school, as "face" (equivalent as social respect) is everything in this culture. Anything that might make anyone "loose face” (equivalent of embarrassment) is to be avoided. And here we are, Western students, with very precise questions about an art that has a lot to do with intuition. But you’ll never know if you bothered your teacher, as they will still smile at you, even if they are annoyed with you. Hard to gage, really, but if you keep smiling and stay humble, everything is ok :)

My group Level IV

12:00
Lunch, usually rice and curry

13:00 
Afternoon lessons, “same same” as the morning.

15:00 
Practice

17:00 
Socialize with other students in coffee shop, or Yoga (yes, I know, a second time the same day... I just can't resist the teacher's London accent :))

18:30
Home care of elderly lady, my host's mom

19:30 or 20:00
Back home

Every Friday, the school organizes Yoga at the park in the old Chiang Mai. There, some old people walking about just stop and watch this whole bunch of "Farangs" trying out their Tai Chi/Chi Gong moves on Chinese music and counts.

Larry, my host

Gloria, the lady I do home care for

Also on Friday, my host and his guests makes a Sabbath dinner. It’s an evening of stories and prayers, and Jewish bread served with Thai food! I got confused with the numerous rules Jews have to follow for 24 hours, from Friday at sunset until Saturday night. I didn't know that of the 39 things they are not allowed to do, one prevents the use of electricity… So I was completely dumbstruck when Larry expressed “how hot it was in here”. When he repeated “it’s REALLY HOT here”, I just stared at him! Why on Earth was he telling me that? Of course, it is hot! It’s April in Thailand, the hottest month of the year! He passed the "hint" to his Thai partner, who is Buddhist, so she would turn on the A/C... I learned later you can’t ask directly assistance from a non-Jew to break one of the rules of Sabbath. AAaaahhh (light bulb turning on!)

Saturdays and Sundays are the tourism days. That is when I can enjoy walking around the old city, enclosed in its walls and its moat, book an excursion in an elephant camps or go rock climbing on the nearby porous mountains. 

Ok, it's not as exciting as moving around all the time, and yes, I am often restless. But the life (and the coffee) is good, and there is something about people starting to recognize you in a place.

Something like home.