Carpe Diem

      Recent questions from nomadsally blog readers:

                                              1.  How do I plan my journeys?

                                              2.  What resources do I use?

1.  Of course, my first step in the planning process is deciding the destination and the goals of the trip.

Then, I go online to Amazon and order the Lonely Planet guide for the country or region (Lonely Planet Laos).  Studying the guidebook, I decide a loose itinerary for the journey and keep refining it as the days pass.

2.  Sometimes I need additional information, especially in regions that are experiencing rapid changes (Laos, for example).  Trip Advisor was particularly helpful in recommending guest houses.  I paid special attention to the most recent travelers' comments on accommodations.

3.  Also, for in depth information of a region, I consult books of my specific interests such as Peoples of the Golden Triangle by Paul and Elaine Lewis.            

Back in the Fiber Studio

     Settling into the Yakima life is taking time.  Right now all I want to do is reflect on the journey and start the creative juices in my studio.  I want to finish the apron gifts for daughter, Katie, and her two daughters picitured above.  But, first let's look at the loot from SE Asia.

Treasures of the Journey

Thai and Lao Fabric Purchases

Antique Sam Neua Weaving in Silk

      As you can see the treasures found in Thailand and Laos and are now in my studio fit in a small package -- nevertheless, they are incredible pieces of weaving and embroidery.  The piece in the right hand corner is an antique silk brocade woven mosquito net border from the eastern part of Laos called Sam Neua.  Each design section ( there are at least 20 of them) is a unique pattern and color.  The colors are soft and of natural dyes.  The silk is worked from the silk worm and mulberry tree leaf diet and then processed for weaving ( a huge undertaking). 

Thai Dam Weave Design 

     The cotton fabric piece (sarong length) is from the Thai Dam ethnic minority group which lives in northern Thailand and in Laos.  These weavers combine the ikat design which you see in the indigo blue sections.  The other geometric designed panels are created from a complex supplemental warp design (also called brocade weaving).   Having worked at a loom  in the Andean region during the Peace Corps (50 years ago), I thought that I would be able to manipulate their looms. Unfortunately, with four additional heddles which change at every row, the task was way beyond my experience.   Of course, these weavers started at an early age helping their mothers and learning the techniques and patterns.  And, they have spent many days of their lives at the loom. Observing them at work, I felt a certain meditative atmosphere as they create their fabric.  I loved watching them perform such beautiful work.

     Unfortunately,  this art is changing fast.  Young girls go to school, explore the internet instead of learn about the art of weaving.   I saw only two younger women working on looms during our entire journey. Change is inevitable!  It is comparable to sewing in our own western culture.  Very few people sew anymore.  In fact, many of our young people don't have the slightest idea about sewing on a button.  With the schools eliminating sewing and home skill classes, we will have even fewer people with knowledge and skill of sewing.

     I am so delighted that I learned the technical aspects of sewing at a young age.  And then to have discovered in my 40's  that I really love creating and playing with all kinds of fabrics in my wonderful studio.  What joy!

      Today, I am finishing the Christmas aprons for the Boston girls (daughter, Katie and her daughters, Winona and Delila).  Note the hand print of each little girl embroidered on the apron. Almost every fabric and trim that you see is in the pix below has come from the little girls' Great Great Grandmother Black (Jim's Grandmother) who was a fabulous quilter.

Thank you, Gram Black!

Delila's Apron

Winona's Apron

Farewell For Now

On the Mekong River in Laos

     Going home was hard, particularly when we read about sub-zero nights at home.  But, here we are back in Yakima dreaming about our wonderful journey to Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia.
     As a result of this trip I have fallen deeply in love with the Mekong River and its kind people, diverse lands and  rich cultures.  Born in the Tibetan Plateau, it flows through Southwest China ( by lovely Dali in Yunnan Province), Burma, Thailand, Laos. Cambodia, and Vietnam.

     If you have any interest in exploring these regions, go now.  You will not be disappointed.

                                            Good-bye for now my Mighty Mekong!

November 23-Talat Sao Market in Vientiane, Laos

                                                                Hmong Embroidery


Talat Sao market in Vientiene, Laos

    Everything one could imagine is available here in the largest market of Laos.  Of course my focus was to zero in on the older beautiful textile pieces of the region.  It didn't take me long to make contact with  a tiny shop that featured weavings of Sam Nauea (eastern Laos and with a reputation for great weaving).  There were some fine small pieces there and some beautiful expensive sarong size weavings.   Then, there were many shops featuring the Miao (Hmong) ethnic minority group.  I found some of their colorful embroidered folk stories with English descriptions.  The Miao seem to always be the most active and well organized ethnic group.  Not only in textiles but also in their silver and metal work.  Their exquisite textile work is what has inspired me to start these Asian explorations and I'm still awed.
     The market is relatively new and indoors with air conditioning.  We met people from all over the world there- some were former Lao who had migrated to Australia and other countries during the war.  They commentated on how much better life is in Lao now.  And, one sees many projects (cultural centers, water services in minority villages, bridges, roads, museums) developed throughout the country with the help of other nations: Germany, Australia, USA, France, China, Thailand.
     
     That night we walked to to an exceptional dining place for dinner was the French restaurant called La Silapa, which means in Lao - art. Gorgeous and delicate salads of tomatoes and eggplant, a fish plate called St Pierre La Crois which was served on a bed of Lao broccoli and wild rice.
  En route we came upon a wonderful ethnic arts shop and I found my treasure of the year -an antique silk mosquito cover strip woven in Sam Nauea in the most wonderful colors and
with such a variety of designs.  What a treasure!  
    Another day of delights.

December 1-Angkor Thom Complex

                                                        Terrace of the Leper King


                       Angkor Thom Complex , a City State which includes
                                Bayon, Terrace of Leper King. Terrace of Elephants, Baphuon


     In order to get great photos at sunrise, beat the heat and the crowds, we started our day at 5:00 am which turned out to be the best way to visit this magical place.

     A kilometer beyond the Angkor Wat temple we pass along the Avenue of Victory, which features on each side of the road a series of 54 massive stone faces, on one side the demons and the other the gods riding astride a long naga (a multi-headed serpent with many mythological connections-fertility, creation, rainbows)  After which is an elegant archway (one of five) which opens to a huge multi-towered complex that is covered with embellishment.  We have entered the fortified city of Angkor's greatest king, Jayaravman VII (1181-1201), who came to power just after the sacking by the Cham (from Vietnam area) of the previous Khmer capital.  The population of this city state could have numbered a million at one time and occupies 10 sq km closed by a wall 8m high and 12km in length encircled by a moat 100m wide and said to have been occupied by fierce crocodiles.

         The Bayon

                                                                  The Bayon

    
 Archaeologists are unsure of its purpose and symbolism.
     It's a place of superlative-54 gothic towers decorated with 200 coldly smiing, gargantuan faces of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
    The site is filled with extremely steep stairways and narrow corridors.  The glory is it's decorations-1200m of exquisite bas-reliefs in sandstone ( collected 50km from site and floated down river) incorporating over 11,000 figures.  We were most awed by the vivid descriptions of everyday life of 12th century Cambodia.  There were the activities of fishing, farming, music, families together, childbirth.  Of course a major part of the murals dealt with the military exploits and conquests.
     An impressive aspect of much of the sculpture in Angkor was an evidence of  human warmth and expression that emerged from within the stylization.  I was totally enchanted and inspired to see such beauty displayed, particularly in stone.

         Terrace of Elephants
    Served as a review platform for King and was identified by its extensive wall of carved elephants.

         Terrace of Leper King

                                                           Terrace of the Leper King
   
      Inside this structure, whose name's significance is  a mystery, lies a corridor only recently uncovered where the bas relief are almost in their original condition.  I was thrilled beyond words to view wall upon wall of beautiful apsaras (celestial dancers who entertain the gods), kings, nagas, and other figures in such perfect condition that date from the 12th century.


          The Baphuon
     This structure, a pyramidal representation of the Hindu mythical holy mountain, Mt.Meru, was constructed begun by Udayadityavarman II (1049-1065) and marked the center of the city before the construction of Angkor Thom.  It is in poor shape and in the process of being restored by a French team.  On one side of the structure is a reclining Buddha 40m in length which was added in the 15th century.


     The temples of Angkor were definitely the highlight of our incredible journey.  But, it seems that everyday was remarkable and amazing.  How fortunate to be able to explore our world.

November 30-Banteay Srei, Angkor, Cambodia

                                              Pink Sandstone Sculpture of Banteay Srei


      Banteay Srei was for many years kept off the visitor map by Khmer Rouge activity.  It is now under government control and possible to visit this jewel.  The temple contains the finest pink sandstone bas relief of the ancient world and is the most beautiful of all Angkor. The fine bas relief carving measures at times from two to five inches in depth in many areas.  The work is particularly well preserved even though it was built in the 10th century ( contemporary with the Maya and a little earlier than Notre Dame Cathedral) as a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva.  
     The temple, not particularly extensive, is square with the entrance via a causeway at the east side.  Of particular interest inside are the three towers decorated with male and female divinities of beautiful filigree work. 
     I am so glad that we took the time to travel the extra 15-20 km to view this gem!  

   After lunch we visited Preah Neak Pean , a 12th century Buddhist temple by Jayavarman II.  It consists of four small pools arranged on each axis and in the center is an island encircled by two nagas intertwined.  It was used for ritual purification and was once in the center of a huge 3km  by 900km lake, now dried up and overgrown.

November 29-Angkor Wat, Cambodia

                                    

Nov 29- Angkor Wat, Cambodia.  East Mebon and Neak Pean

                                                 Muslim group at Angkor Wat

   Sunset visit to Angkor complex located in the beautiful jungle near Siem Reap, a tourist boom town.  It was unbelievable to encounter kilometers filled with beautifully sculpted stone temples, monasteries, hospitals, etc.   The immensity of the area and the exquisite detailed work thrilled me.  They were built between the 9th and 14th centuries, when the Khmer were at the height of extreme creativity in Southeast Asia.  At this time, the Khmer were followers of Hinduism, thus the temples reflect their Hindu universe.

    The Angkor Wat Temple is the most accessible and impressive and the vista that is known the world over with its extensive decorative reliefs, stone carving, and bas relief.  
   Exiting our tuk tuk we crossed an extensive moat by means of a long stone causeway, passing through outer and inner doors and finally into the courtyard of the massive central towers, known throughout the world.   They are dedicated to Vishnu of Hinduism and the site is thought to be a funerary location for the builder and King Suryavarman II (1112-52).
    On the four outer walls are murals of fine and deep bas relief that relate stories of great battles, religious themes, and scenes from daily life. One scene portrayed the struggle of the devil and the gods called The Churning of the Ocean of Milk.  The work is done in sandstone, but appears to be black marble because of the many hands that have passed over it.  It depicts a Hindu epic of the struggle of the devils (asuras) and the gods (devas) who are churning the waters trying to make a mixture for immortality.  Many of the Hindu deities are depicted, Brahma, Shiva, Hanuman, and Lahkshmi.

    East Mebon, a smaller temple nearby is three tiered and characterized by elephant sculptures at the four corners of its first platform. was formerly surrounded with a huge reservoir and was considered to be under the protection of Ganga, the  goddess of India's holy river.  It was built in the early 10th century.  Of special interest is a bas relief covered with circular holes which were made for binding the stucco to the bricks. 

    Neak Pean is a small monument made up of a cruciform of ponds with a Sanctuary tower on a circular island in the center.  Built by Jayavarman VII.  Its stele gives its name as " the fortune of the kingdom".
    It is of interest for the hydraulic engineering in the service of Buddhist symbolism.  The Khmer were advanced in their water distribution system.

November 28-To Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Nov 28-To Angkor Wat, Cambodia

    From Khong Island at 9:00am departure via long boat to mainland bus, border crossing, bus onto Siem Reap.
    The Projected VIP journey turned out to be filled with more adventures than I wanted to handle-flat tires, running out of gas, strange $1 health checks at the border,  charges demanded for extra pages in passport and no toilet on bus.  Duck tape enclosed the thrown .  But at midnight we (about 18 from Western European countries, primarily France) rolled into the station at Siem Reap.
    Checked into Hotel 89 and welcomed sleep.

November 27-Khong Island

Nov 27-Khong Island

  Several days of relaxation staying here at Pon's Guest House on the Mekong river.  Fish is the specialty restaurant food and most delicious served in coconut milk or steamed in banana leaf.
    Today up at 4:45 am to see fishermen come in with their catch of the day and to visit the market. We walked for several hours and finally found the market, but never did locate the picturesque fish landing.  
    The market was filled with many varieties of fish, frogs, rice and greens.  Most of the women wore sarongs of the Indonesian machine cottons- a few older women wore the Lao sarong.  A beautiful morning.
    Motorscootering around the 45km island provided views of the very fertile rice paddies which were in full harvest.
    Khong Island seems to be a fairly prosperous place.  According to Lonely Planet the communities tend to be self-sufficient, growing most of their own rice, sugar cane,
coconut and vegetables, catching fish, and weaving textiles as needed.  I wonder about the textiles.  Traveling the entire island I didn't see any weaving supplies in the stores, nor did I observe any homes with looms or other equipment. Most of the clothes seem to come from the used clothing sources.
    Lovely place to be. It will be hard to leave for the long bus trip to Siem Reap tomorrow.

November 25, Pakse, Laos

                                                         En route to Khong Island

     The ViP overnight Bus King journey from Vientiane south to Pakse,  in Southern Laos was both a challenge and a new adventure.
    The early morn arrival provided the opportunity for a short visit in the area.  There just happened to be a silk weaving village nearby called Ban Saphai, only 15 kilometers away.  So we found a driver and a van and were on our way.
    It was a prosperous village of attractive homes with large weaving  looms fully dressed and in full production. The 5 women weavers I talked with were doing fairly simple ikat designs of two colors with warps of synthetic yarns and their boats that carried the yarns for the weft combined purchased chinese silk and synthetic yarn.   They wove about 1 1/2 meters a day receiving about 80,000 kip or $10 for each piece and generally all their work was  contracted.  
    As we left town, we stopped at a small village market and there I found many weaving supplies which included the ikat dyed yarns for the village ikat designs.  So these women buy most of supplies prepared for them!  No more tie-dyeing the threads!     
    Back into Pakse, we visited the market and museum, then boarded the jumbo tuk tuk (light truck with side panels)  and set off in a southernly direction.  
    Three hours later we arrived at the crossing to Four Thousand Islands in the most southern part of Laos in the Mekong River.  The ferry was a veritable antique operation, but it did manage to carry us across the mighty Mekong.
    We were dropped off a block from our Pons guesthouse with a comfortable room and veranda.  The mattress was good and hard!  We settled in with a grand shower, dinner on the peaceful riverside of fish steamed in coconut milk with steamed vegetables, laolao (the local whiskey) cocktails and a game of gin with a new deck of cards.
    There are large groups of Italians and Spanish (Catalan) staying in our area.  Always fun to share stories.

November 21- Festival in Muang Sing

November 20- Muang Sing Villages, Laos

 Nov 20-Muang Sing, Laos villages



   All the villages we visited had electricity, a primary school, all except 1 had a community water spigot, a couple had a medical clinic and a store. Most of these villages have been relocated to their present sites in the last 25 years.

    THAI NAU- noodle village. So many homes were engaged in making noodles.  These rice noodles are sold locally, nationally and also sent to China for domestic use and for exportation. The village seems to be thriving economically.

   HMONG village -these villagers came from the region of the Plain of Jars area 25 years ago.  Their main sources of income are rice, animals, and chickens.

   LOLO village - traditional clothes still hang on the clothes lines and  older women still seem to wear them. Older women grow cotton, prepare yarns for looms, dye it dark indigo blue for woman's outfit and a slighter lighter blue for men's pants, and then weave the cloth.

                                                          Thai Dam Weaver

    THAI DAM- looms everywhere, at times 2 in the family compound.  Women show such pride in their work .   I noticed for the first time a young girl weaving an ikat pattern very rapidly on her loom.   Signs of higher income were evident everywhere.  It is said that the women make more income than the men from their weaving here.   Unfortunately the quality is ordinary, the yarn they use is from China and the colors often garrish.
    Children were better cared for in this village . Homes were better equipped, Jim saw a refrigerator in one home.  The primary school  was larger and in better condition, more established, than in other villages.

                                                                 Akha village

     AKHA village was filled with only children who were in very unkempt state .  Jim called them the young savages.   No parents or adults were visible. Our guide finally located a village officer who accepted the school writing books that we had gifted them.  I asked the children if they could sing a song and with help from the guide they sang some songs. 
    Walking around the village we observed the traditional "boy's rooms",  kept separately from the main village settlement.  It was sad to be in this village setting.
    Throughout our visit The Aka children were most persistent in marketing their little bracelets with metal and bead embellishment.   It  was discouraging to see the children run wild with no guidelines or adult help.  That village seems to have problems.

    YAO village.  No men were visible, they probably working in the rice production activities.  Children were determined sellers of needle- point trinkets, well made.  Had I not been so tired, I would have purchased many pieces, especially that adorable hat!  
   Yao minority group was located directly next to the Aka people and share the same primary schools.  The Yao children were on the path to meet us and sell us their fiber items which featured the traditional Yao needlepoint designs.
    We first meet at the school with the teachers and the young people to gift notebooks that we had brought.  The  four teachers seemed competent and involved in the school life. 
    Walking around the village we saw several groups of women doing their embroidery in some shaded areas.  One older woman was in need of some glasses and asked me if I could help her,  I would have loved to!  The children kept at the their sales promotion throughout our visit.   Their haranguing is too much.
     An unique Yao tradition that seems to be dying is the killing of twin babies.  Formerly, twins were considered bad fortune for the community and they were killed at birth and the parents had to leave the village.  The government is now convincing the Yao to change their thinking and let the twins live.  Significant inroads have been made recently and twins and parents do not have to endure that rejection.
    A fascinating and exhausting day.

On bus to Muang Sing

On bus Muang Sing

    The 3 hour journey was a beauty. A roadway full of horseshoe turns and enchanting lush hillsides.  We saw many new plantings of the rubber trees that have been planted to replace the poppies. There were few vehicles on the road and a short trip - perfect for motorbiking. 

November 16-Luang Nam Tha Villages

Lantan Village indigo fabric

Lantan Weavers

Nov 16-Luang Nam Tha villages

   Xia, our tour guide and owner of the Minority Village restaurant, escorted us to the villages of the Lantan, Akha, Thai Dam. Kalom (lunch), Thai Deung, Thai Dam, Hmong, and the Thai Lu.  Most of these village homes were of a wooden structure built on stilts with either a thatched or metal roof.  All the villages welcomed our visit and were  open to sharing their lives with us.  Only one village was Buddhist, the rest were animists or followed ancestor traditiions.
   
     LANTAN.   The women of the Lantan village, Ban Nam Di,  with indigo fabric pieces hanging on the clothes line, still grow their own cotton, prepare the yarns, dye if in their vats, and weave it in 14 inch widths.  We saw a loom with traditional bag fabric in process and stored above  the loom were six large bags of cotton ready to be spun.
     We saw only 5 older women in the village (the rest were harvesting rice) and all said they are active in these fiber activities .  I observed that all of them were wearing their traditional blue dresses with pink trim, blue fitted pants and white leggings.  I love their deep blue cotton and bought a roll (7 meters)  for 160,000 Kip ($20).
   Xai  mentioned that the village is well known for its bamboo paper making  activity but due to rice harvesting, we would not be able to observe these activities.   The Lantan use the paper to record religious literature in a script based on the Chinese language. They migrated from southern China and their religious belief combines animism and ancestor worship.
   


    AKHA.  The Akha are known for their spirit gates and ceremonial swings made annually to offer the village protection during the year.  The structure is of rudimentary branches, stars and other symbols which are most sacred to the Akha.  Both structures are not touched after the initial ceremony and the swing is actually cut at this time.  Another cultural tradition of the Aka is the "boy's house" which provides a  sleeping privacy for a young boy when he reaches puberty and allows him to to be alone with a young woman, if he so desires.  I'd like to know more about this tradition.
   The Akha grow rice on the hillsides using the slash and burn method and have a few pigs, chickens and dogs. They migrated here some 25 years ago and in the last 3 years have opened a school. Their main handicraft is making bracelets adorned with metal trinkets and beads which they force on every tourist.  Almost everyone in the village was on their hillside area harvesting the rice.  The family we did see seemed very poor with few resources .
    
     THAI DAM.  We then visited a Thai Dam minority whiskey making operation.  The old fashioned still used rice to produce a palatable whiskey drink.  They don't wait seven years either!  They sell it as soon as it is made. 
    The Thai Dam weaving village, nearby, was filled with women working at their rather sophisticated looms.  The are known for their complex design which combines both a supplemental warp (brocade design) and ikat (tied and dyed yarns to create a pattern before the dressing of the loom).
     The loom has additional warp options which the weaver has to constantly control as well as the ikat pattern and tension. These women grow up learning the patterns of their villages and maintain the same basic patterns with variations their entire lives.  I have seen absolutely beautiful older pieces of their weaving when they preparing all their own yarns of silk and cotton and making their own dyes.  Some still do raise silk worms and prepare the yarns, but they also combine synthetic threads with the silk,  buy commercial dyes from China, and weaver much simpler patterns.  Change is everywhere and I can't blame them for using labor saving devices. 

   KOTAM.  Lunch was prepared by two ethnic Kotam women and included: sticky rice, rattan shoots, bamboo shoots, local fish in herbs, dried beef, pickled broccoli, locally made noodles with a tomato sauce, and laolao.  An incredible lunch.

    THAI DUENG.  Thai Dueng village is another great weaving village which uses the supplemental warp weaving technical.  The materials for making silk threads from the silkworm were evident.  Their patterns don't seem to include as much ikat .  I need to find out more about the Thai Deung people and their weaving.  Most of the residents were in the rice paddies.
 
   THAI DAM.  Another Thai Dam village, Ban Pa Sac, seemed to be more engaged in all elements of the weaving world.
    We watched the silk making process from which the silk threads emerged from the boiling of the silk balls. It is amazing how the silk thread comes out of the cocoons as one single continuous strand from the many cocoons in the boiling water.  The village's primary source of income is from the rice production.  But, the women's weaving contributes significantly.
    An interesting funerary tradition of the Thai Dam is the highly decorated area where the body is laid to rest. Colorful flags and fabrics mark the area and in the past all the friends of the deceased wove special cloths to help that person in the afterlife.
   
    HMONG.  The Hmong village seemed much more affluent due to the rubber tree based economy.  Formerly the Hmong were the major poppy seed growers for the region until the Lao government. with aid from US and others, helped them replace the poppy production with rubber trees.  The trees are in full production, after waiting seven years, and bring considerable income to all the village.  I appreciated the shade and comfort of those rubber trees.

    THAI LU.  The Thai Lu were the last village of the day.   They are Theravada Buddhists and support a Wat in their own community.  The are known as successful traders and we saw many large trucks they use for transport.  There were also many family vegetable gardens.  The Thai Lu came here from Yunnan China.