Some Photos from Kathu Shrine - Vegetarian Festival

The vegetarian festival is underway, there have been a couple of the street processions in Phuket Town already, I have been eating the special Jae diet for 4 days now and driving home last night past the Phuket Brewery I was gagging for a beer.. but part of the festival is purification, cleaning the body.. so no beers until next week.

Would have uploaded a few photos earlier, but the Gremlins struck twice this week. Our wireless internet modem at home suddenly stopped working, and then.. as I was taking photos at Kathu village shrine on Saturday 17th October for the opening ceremony of the festival, my EOS 20D decided to **** up. I got some photos of the people as prayers were said, incense was burned and the Go Teng pole was blessed, and then just as I hoped to get some action shots of the pole being raised, I got "Error 99". Won't bore you with details... looks like a lens issue, so the lens will need fixing. Oddly, it was working just fine a couple of days later.. but can't be 100% trusted, so I have now been and bought a new 75-300 zoom which will see action at the weekend!

The opening action of the vegetarian festival is the raising of the Go Teng pole, a 20 meter high wooden pole - this happens at all the participating shrines. Later at night the gods are invited to descend the poles into the shrines. So here's some pictures around the shrine just before the pole was raised...



Images of the gods were being carried to the shrine as I arrived, and plenty of people were carrying large bunches of incense to say a prayer before the pole was raised.





The Go Teng pole is rather large - it's attached to ropes, and a long line of people were waiting to pull while others were waiting to help push with long forked sticks. Meanwhile the pole was blessed with incense and sprinkled with water.







I imagine the guy below to be one the "village elders". He said a final prayer at the small shrine next to the pole before the pole was hoisted to the sky. It's a big piece of wood - took a while to get it fixed into place... It's held steady by a wooden peg and guy ropes attached to several points around the temple grounds.





The festival is now in full swing - I will get to at least one of the street processions at the weekend, hopefully on Saturday (Jui Tui Shrine) and Sunday (Kathu Shrine). Been too busy this week to get to any of the early processions.

I took another walk in Kathu village and into the shrine with my daughter on Tuesday evening. This evening will take a walk in Phuket town near Jui Tui Shrine which is a very busy area compared to the relatively quiet Kathu. But since Kathu is our "local" it's convenient to head there to get some food and photos!

It was a rather drizzly evening on Tuesday as we headed to the village. Every year at festival time they erect a fancy entrance outside the municipality offices:



We just reached a little Phad Thai stall as the rain fell more heavily. Good place to stop - had a tin roof and tasty Phad Thai (vegetarian, of course). The owners little baby granddaughter kept her big dark eyes on the big foreigner...





Next stop - fireworks. I promised to buy some for the kids. We spent about 100 Baht on various firecrackers, fountains, small rockets etc... Guess we'll get some more today! All the very best in cheap Chinese fireworks. I am careful not to let the kids too close, but they are a bargain. Rockets for 10 Baht!



I find the Chinese shrines fascinating at this time of year. With firecrackers going off all night, everyone (almost) dressed in white, the incense and rituals, it's like another world. Plus for a week the whole area converges on the temple to sit and have a chat. All the old dudes sit on benches in the temple. All the kids throw firecrackers outside. And I love all the lanterns...





Candles and incense were still being lit and prayers being said next to the Go Teng pole...





Also outside the shrine is the burner - a place where people burn prayer sheets and "money" which is to wish good luck in this life and the next. If anyone reading knows more about why people burn things and say a prayer do let me know!



Inside the shrine, expect plenty of noise, banging drums, lots of smoke from the incense, if you are visiting try to keep out of the way of the locals who wish to pray. Oh and dress properly if you visit a shrine. It's not the beach. My daughter and I watched one of the Ma Song as he said prayers inside while kids banged away at drums and a black flag was waved around his body. It's in the shrine where the spirits of the gods are said to enter the bodies of the Ma Song. This guy (with no shirt, see photo below) seemed quite exhausted when he finally left the altar. It's all quite intense and is certainly no show. I mean, if it's a show, who's it for?!





I hope to be at street processions on Saturday and Sunday, plus find time for some firewalking somewhere in the next few days. Work does get in the way, though! For now, here are some tasty spring rolls (vegetarian).

New York day 6: Day Trip to DC

On the Friday morning I woke up at Officially Too Early^© Hour and by 6.30am I was standing at Penn Station bus station waiting to catch a coach to Washington DC.  I was tired and my inner body clock was mutinous, claiming to officially not know whether I was coming or going.

The New Jersey Turnpike

While so much of my trip to the States remains crystal clear in my mind, that morning certainly doesn’t and everything I had tried to cram into 7 days was finally catching up on me.  Good thing I had no idea what was lying ahead of me then!  The only thing I remember about the coach ride to Washington DC was how awesome the New Jersey Turnpike was, that there was no one sitting next to me or in the rows before or after me and that it took 4.5 hours.  Oh, and we rode through New Jersey and Maryland to get there and I might even have touched Pennsylvania and Delaware too but it was all a bit of a haze!

7.08am Friday 26 June 2009

Think I’m on the New Jersey Turnpike.  Wow.  What a system.  I’d heard of 9-lane highways before but wow.  That’s just one direction.  On way to DC.

Listening to Tracy Chapman, Angie Aparo and Cat Stevens.  Major iPod FAIL – no Albert Hammond.  That’s impossible.  I’m sure I had him on CD.

Oh, and packed a long-sleeved shirt today for warmth.  Thank goodness.  No umbrella though.  We’ll see how that pans out.

As you can see, I’m just the queen of eloquence and witty repartee when I'm tired.

The bus arrived in Washington DC sometime at 11.15am.  I made my way down 10th Street NW to the Washington Welcome Center where a nice lady gave me a brochure for a sightseeing tour which doubled as a free map.  I then went into the diner next door and had a big old American breakfast and then I felt human again and ready to tackle the day!

Phuket Vegetarian Festival Schedule 2009

Looking for the 2010 Vegetarian festival schedule? Look here:

• 2010 Phuket Vegtarian Festival Schedule October 7 - 17


2009 Festival - some of the best photos here:

• Vegetarian festival 2009 - Street Procession Photos

It's nearly here! My favourite festival in Phuket - the amazing vegetarian festival. If you are in Phuket between the 17th and 26th of this month, you'll have a chance to see something special. BUT here's a hint.. you will not find anything much going on near the main tourist beaches. No, this is a local event with a rich history going back almost 200 years, this is not a tourist show. Want to see something? You need to make a bit of effort. The festival is centered around Phuket Town and the many Chinese Shrines in Phuket that reflect the Chinese ancestry of many of the people here. Most of the shrines are in or near the town, with a few around other parts of the island. The main processions take place early morning around the town - if you want to catch one, best to stay in town, or you'll be needing an early morning ride from the beaches, as processions start around 7am.

It all kicks off on Saturday 17th in the late afternoon when the "lantern pole" is raised at each temple down which the gods are said to descend. I'll be having a look at my nearest shrine in Kathu village a few km outside town. The street processions take place every morning from the 20th to 26th. There are events in the afternoons and evenings too and in town and areas around the shrines, food stalls galore selling the special food that is eaten during the festival. There are some stalls and restaurants doing this food at the beaches but not many. If you head into Phuket Town around the market area near the Jui Tui shrine, that would be a good place to sample the food.

This blog has featured the Phuket vegetarian festival a lot in past years, and there are many pages devoted to the processions, lots of photos, information about the shrines, the food... you can find a lot more information and links here:

• The Amazing Phuket Vegetarian Festival

Not too much happens for the first couple of days after the raising of the lantern poles, but any evening is a good time to visit one of the shrines. Things really kick off on the 20th with the first street procession. Here's a listing of the main events during the festival:

Saturday October 17th

All shrines, starting around 5pm - raising of the lantern pole. Events at the shrines will go on all evening. The lanterns are hung from the pole at midnight, signifying the start of the festival. There will be plenty of firecrackers and fireworks too. Well worth a visit on Saturday evening. Not sure if I will be awake at midnight, but I will be at Kathu shrine for the pole raising ceremony.



18th - 19th October - no big events, but you can visit any shrine at any time, and now the food is available too. I will again try to stick to the special diet for the duration of the festival.

Tuesday October 20th

Street procession starting 7am for Sapam Shrine - this shrine is a few km north of Phuket Town. Photographers and TV news always cover the first procession, as everyone wants to get the first photos for the paper, and local TV always covers the festival.

Wednesday October 21st

Street procession for Sam Kong Shrine - it's not far from my house - see more here: Sam Kong Shrine. They will walk from the shrine in the north of town down through the old town. I might try to catch the start of this procession, but note that the street around Sam Kong shrine is very crowded and if you go with your own transport you may need to park some way from the shrine.



Thursday October 22nd

Street procession for Ban Tha Rue shrine which is in the Thalang area of Phuket in the center of the island - this used to be the main town in Phuket a few hundred years ago and there are several historic temples in the area as well as a museum of Phuket history.

In the evening the schedule shows "Oil bathing and bladed-ladder climbing" starting 7pm at Kathu shrine. Now, last year we went to see these events but they were not being held.. and a brochure I have from the Kathu municipality does not show these events in the schedule.

Friday October 23rd

A big day! Street procession in Phuket Town for the Bang Neow Shrine, which is in the south of the town on Phuket Road, one of the biggest shrines participating in the festival. There is also a procession for Cherng Talay Shrine in Thalang district.

Later in the day the schedule has Fire Walking at several locations including Sapam Shrine, Sapan Hin (for Jui Tui shrine) and Sui Boon Tong shrine (couple of blocks to the west of the market in Phuket Town)

Saturday October 24th

Street procession for Jui Tui shrine, which is the biggest one of all, found just west of the market in Phuket Town. Since Saturday is normally my day off I do believe I will be in town for this one!

Later there are lots of events at various shrines including bladed ladder climbing at Sam Kong and Bang Neow shrines and something called "nail bridge crossing" at Sapam Shrine.



Sunday October 25th

Street procession from Kathu shrine to Phuket Town. It's a fair walk this one, about 5km from Kathu Shrine all the way to town, around the old town and ending at Sapan Hin. Kathu is my "local" shrine, I will aim to be at the shrine before 6am to witness the piercing rituals as I did last year. The procession then heads out of Kathu village around 6:30am.

Later in the evening - fire walking at Bang Neow and Sam Kong shrines.



Monday October 26th

The last day of the festival. A final morning procession for Sui Boon Tong shrine, then events such as firewalking at Kathu shrine at 3pm. Then, in the evening/night a big procession around Phuket Town, carrying statues of the gods to Sapan Hin. Lots of firecrackers and fireworks. Ends at midnight with the "farewell" to the gods. I do hope to summon up energy enough to be in Phuket Town in the night for this event - I have seen it on TV, looks mad!


Tuesday October 27th

Around 5pm the lantern poles are lowered at the shrines marking the very end of the festival.


Now, I would happily go to see all processions and events every night at various shrines, but of course have to work and have a family too.. If you are lucky enough to be in Phuket during the vegetarian festival, DO make an effort to see something. This is a special time of year. And don't be afraid of the food! I am (almost) looking forward to a week of tofu and beansprouts :)

New York day 5: The Museum of Modern Art

It may have taken me a short while to find myself in The Met but the minute I set foot in The Museum of Modern Art, I was in heaven!  I walked through the doors and immediately found myself surrounded by pieces of art that I have known and admired for my whole life. Art is extremely subjective of course and I am sure that not everyone will be impressed by seeing the pieces that I found to be outstanding.

I have always found a strange connection to abstract art or perhaps that should be “lack of connection”?  I love everything to do with the Sixties too and in my mind that extends from the Doors to Velvet Underground to Andy Warhol to Pop Art.  I love Pop Art and was in raptures the first time I visited the Tate Liverpool and saw Warhol’s Marilyns.  My absolute favourite has to be surrealism though and Dali’s works have been my favourite for many, many years.  On to the art then… (click the photos for larger images).

Painting and Sculpture II

Drowning Girl, Roy Lichtenstein, 1953 // Campbell's Soup Cans, Andy Warhol, 1962

Even as I try to diligently type up this blog post, I find myself staring at the Drowning Girl.  I really love this piece!

Equivalent V, Carl Andre, 1966-1969 // Untitled, Robert Ryman, 1965 and 1961

I swear, I am not trying to insult anyone’s intelligence by including Equivalent V!  I studied the Philosophy of Art module as part of my Philosophy II course at university and I had to write an essay on whether or not this was a work of art.  Given the excruciating pain of writing that paper, I just had to pay homage to the actual piece itself.  The Robert Ryman pieces also take me back to my philosophy days and those never ending arguments about nothing being real and whether art is more than the sum of its materials.

Once I had done my time in the abstract department, I turned the corner and fell in love…

 Flag, Jasper Johns, 1954 - 1955

“While this image is something "the mind already knows," Johns acknowledged, its execution complicates the representation and invites close inspection”.

It should be no surprise that I fell in love with this piece.  I knew of it of course but seeing it during my crazy week in New York, while I was falling in love with a city and a country, put it in a whole different perspective for me.  In any event, no photograph could adequately convey the texture and surface of Flag as it is made with strips of newspaper dating from 1955 and 1956.  It was a sight to behold!

 No. 16 (Red, Brown and Black), Mark Rothko, 1958

"We favor the simple expression of the complex thought. We are for the large shape because it has the impact of the unequivocal. We wish to reassert the picture plane. We are for flat forms because they destroy illusion and reveal truth." – Rothko and Gottlieb, manifesto reaction to New York Times, 1942

My best friend Heather loves Mark Rothko and it was lovely to see his work

One: Number 31,1950, Jackson Pollock, 1950 // Agony, Arshile Gorky, 1947 & Man Looking at Woman, Adolph Gottlieb, 1949

 Dive Bomber and Tank, José Clemente Orozco, 1940

This was my biggest surprise of the day because of the sheer size of it and what it depicted.  Commissioned by the museum, Orozco painted it in front of the viewing public and claimed that it had no political significance.

“I simply paint the life that is going on at the present—what we are and what the world is at this moment. That is what modern art is.” - Orozco

Dive Bomber and Tank consists of six panels which are intended to be arranged in any order and its overall size is a whopping 9 by 18 feet (2.75 by 5.5 metres in English!)

If I was impressed by what I had seen so far, it was nothing compared to my glee on reaching the upper level.

Painting and Sculpture I

The Migration Series, Jacob Lawrence, 1940-41 // Hirondelle Amour, Joan Miró, 1933-34

 The Menaced Assassin, René Magritte, 1927

"I immediately like this upper section more. The paintings remind me of Orwell, then Kafka and Sartre.  Magritte’s paintings in particular are… soothing.  They make me want to escape into an absurd Sartrean novel”.

Seated Bather, Pablo Picasso, 1930 // The Empire of Light II, René Magritte, 1950

Dance (I), Henri Matisse, 1909 // The Enigma of Day, Giorgio de Chirico, 1914

I'm sure they've used The Enigma of Day on the cover of an edition of Philip Pullman’s Subtle Knife before because that is precisely how I expected that alternative world to look.

The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh, 1889

Seeing The Starry Night in person was an absolutely amazing experience.  I stood really close to it for the longest time and just traced the brush strokes and whirls with my eyes.  It is a fabulous work of art.

I and the Village, Marc Chagall, 1911 // The Sleeping Gypsy, Henri Rousseau, 1897

The Sleeping Gypsy is one of my favourite pieces of art.  It reminds me of the strange world I lived in when I was four years old as an expat in Nigeria.  I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember!

 Project 90, Song Dong, 2009

And suddenly it was time to go home! The museum was only open until 6.30pm and so I began to make my way outside through the Lillie P. Bliss Garden Plaza. 

 

The Museum of Modern Art (or MoMA) was definitely one of the best places I visited in new York and I would absolutely go again.  Considering how awesome the rest of New York is, that is saying something!

It has been the most amazing day but I had a massive day planned for the next day and so I headed back to the apartment and willed myself to fall asleep in preparation for waking up at 5am the next morning.

Click here to read all posts from my trip to New York or click on the label below.

New York day 5: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

After the brief interlude in Central Park I made my way over to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I’d tried to go through there on the Monday but it had been closed.

When I first got into “The Met”, I was quite overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do with myself.  There was just so much to see and so many iconic and important pieces of art and I must have flitted about aimlessly for at least half and hour.  I wafted through The Pictures Generation (1974 - 1984) exhibit and an area with Rodin sculptures before doing a u-turn and briefly looking at an exhibition of art from Afghanistan.  I just couldn’t settle down though.

Rodin's Adam, The Thinker, Eve and The Martyr

I then wondered into the stunning exhibition The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion.  This was a fabulous tour through fashion photography and the modelling world since the 1960’s. 

The exhibit featured photographs, magazine covers and stories of the designers and the models and was complete with actual dresses starting with the geometric shapes of the 60’s mini dresses right up to the fashions of the last couple of years.

It was fascinating to walk through the exhibit and see the iconic rise of the mass fashion and supermodels.  It was quite sad that no photography was permitted.

The last stop in my tour of The Metropolitan Museum of Art was the phenomenal exhibit Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective.  I wasn’t really familiar with Francis Bacon before I went into this exhibit and it made such a great impression on me.  Once again, we weren’t allowed to take photographs but I wrote pages and pages in my notebook about what I saw.  I’ll try my best to describe my experience with images of my favourite pieces of his work taken from the internet. 

Francis Bacon was born in 1909  and hence the centenary retrospective.  His first major piece was the 1944 triptych Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. 

Head VI, 1949 [source]

Study after Vélázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X, 1953 [source]

He had several images that appeared to be caged and apparently he was trying to portray the corrupting influence of power. 

Man in Blue IV, 1954 [source]

He did a series of “Man in Blue” painting which were quite impressive in their message and the feeling of dread that they conveyed.  They represented the cold war anxiety and the threat that Bacon experienced at a personal level due to his affair with Peter Lacy. 

Three Studies for a Crucifixion, 1962 [source]

This piece made me stop in my tracks and stare for quite a while.

“Absolutely disturbing and essentially powerful.  Reminds me of the imagery of [the film] The Cell.  It was no doubt influenced by Francis Bacon. 

I wonder if he saw death?  Because he imagines it close to photos I’ve seen of gunshot victims.  I could never have imagined the actual damage of those – what an imagination!” (from my notebook)

Triptych, 1976 [source]

His paintings following the suicide of his lover George Dyer in 1971 were really powerful.  In these paintings, he exorcised his grief and guilt.  His guilt was evident in the holes and the emptiness.  He was painting a man that was withering and destroying himself. 

The central figure is surrounded by vultures and alludes to the Ancient Greek legend of Prometheus, a figure whose liver was perpetually plucked out each day by an eagle only to have it grow back again. 

Having dealt with the suicide of a friends some years back,  identified so strongly with these paintings and with his process.  The idea of Prometheus was especially disturbing as I remembered waking up each day only to live through what had happened again until I finally came to accept it. Such is the power of this art that it took me right back to that time.

Francis Bacon's studio [source]

Towards the end of the exhibit there was an entire wall imprinted with a photograph of Francis Bacon’s studio.  My poor, ordered, near-obsessive mind struggled for ages to comprehend such absolute mayhem and then I remembered my rather peculiar method of writing essays at university! I used to do all my reading and then write random, inspired paragraphs on little scraps of paper.  Then I’d sit in the middle of my bedroom floor and arrange the scraps of paper in a circle around me in a structured order.  I would then type out the essay, write an introduction and conclusion and finally, I’d consult my reading material and randomly slot in the required two references per paragraph.  This crazy performance was unfortunately perpetuated by really high marks and praise from my lecturers.

Jet of Water, 1988 [source]

After the oppression of the previous section relating to George Dyer’s suicide, I found the final part of the exhibit to be surprisingly open and liberated even though a lot of his work was motivated by the death of those around him.  This was the section on Francis Bacon’s final decade from 1981 to 1991. 

It is a pity that it took me so long to post about this (bad blogger!) because both the “Model as Muse” and the Francis bacon exhibits ended in August.  They were excellent exhibits though and as you can see, they left a lasting impression on me!  Perhaps next time I undertake a big tour, I will post about the temporary exhibits first.

Restaurant Tip: The Coffee Pot

I don't know about you, but .. as a long term resident here in Thailand I am still learning to appreciate different Thai foods. When I first came here, I think I ate fried rice or green curry about 50% of the time and was a bit scared to try new things especially anything too spicy. These days I love spicier foods and can eat just about any Thai dish. Nevertheless, sometimes my English stomach says "hold on, enough chili, enough rice, enough weird spices... I want proper food". No offence meant, but now and then I get that need for something from the old country, something simple, meat and veg, potatoes or a big English breakfast. I have touched on this before, and during the high season, the Pineapple Guesthouse near our diveshop does some good English food.

The Coffee Pot has been around for years, owned by an Aussie guy called Tony who can sometimes be seen outside fixing up big bikes. Somehow I had never been in there until a few weeks ago. Many people had told me that the Coffee Pot was good for big breakfasts, for steaks and for coffee of course. The restaurant is on Patak Road (the back road in Kata and Karon) just north of the PTT gasoline station on the same side of the road, just opposite the turning into Thaina road (see location on Google Earth).



Inside there is a lot of space, room for at least 50 people. I have been a few times at lunchtime, but it's low season and there were never more than a few people seated. Tony says in high season, especially in the evenings, it can be pretty full, as his BBQ is famous throughout the land!



The decor includes photos of John Lennon, James Dean, Motorbikes and Marilyn Monroe. I reckon I will have to go sometime in high season for a meaty dinner. First time I had a late breakfast as advertised on the front of the restaurant - 2 eggs, toast, bacon, tomato, beans and fresh coffee - 120 Baht. I was surprised by the size of the plate and impressed by the use of proper thick crusty bread to make the toast. And the coffee was good too...



So having had this breakfast special, I had to try the Full Monty breakfast - 220 Baht including extras - orange juice (fresh), hash brown, mushrooms and sausage. Surely enough to sink a boat? And a very good cure for that well known Changover. I am not sure if the Full Monty was worth the extra 100 Baht, as the 120 Baht breakfast is very good value and very filling. Breakfasts are served all day. Here's the Full Monty:



I checked out the BBQ & Grill menu while I was there - click the photo below to enlarge. People tell me that Tony's steaks are fit for a giant, which would suit me, thank you... I reckon that after the coming vegetarian festival, a big steak at the Coffee Pot might be in order!



Check out that Mixed Grill - 2 eggs, bacon, mushrooms, onions, sausage, pork chop, lamb chop and a steak and chips and salad - 690 Baht. During the vegetarian festival I try very hard to stick to the special "cleansing" diet. I think this mixed grill might be the way to get all dirty again :)

Nearby hotels:

• Boomerang Village Cottages
• CC Blooms Hotel

New York day 5: Interlude in Central Park

I never intended for my tales of New York to continue into October but then I don’t think I could ever have predicted that I would take over 500 photos and do so much or that I would be moving house again so soon!  I have about 48 hours left of my New York trip to report and then I can start planning my next trip in earnest!  I am not entirely sure I want it all to end though!

The Lake, Central Park, 25 June 2009

After the Natural History Museum, I took a walk through Central Park and got slightly lost!

 
Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, 25 June 2009

Which is not a bad thing because I got to see the beautiful Lake and the stunning Bethesda Fountain.  I could move to New York just for Central Park alone!

One day I will take the time to boat across the Lake or take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage.