Jan 8 Too Much Shopping for Jewelry Elements
Our hotel staff welcomed us like old friends, and we were so relieved to finally stop traveling and be here. The monks at the temple across the street have added a loud speaker, so that we hear their chanting even better, twice a day. They have been saying sutras for the King of Thailand who passed away in October.
We have been running around, getting shopping and fabricating work done. The money goes so fast! Always on the hunt for something interesting, I scored some very old and unusual shaped glass earrings from Nagaland. They are modern looking in the way of blocky, ancient rock axes, suggesting a much more ancient design idiom. These earrings are from present-day northeast India and western Burma, and are destined to become pendants. We have also spent some time in the Afghan and Indian shops looking for rock crystal beads. And of course I have been visiting the many silver shops looking for new jewelry findings. Between the pieces I am having fabricated and what I am finding, I feel excited about my direction. Today at the Chatuchak market I found a plastic cell phone cover with a scatter print of realistic brown roaches. Very proud of my score.
As I mentioned, Thailand has lost its beloved King. The country is in deep mourning and the mood is somber. People are dressed in black, gray, navy, or small quiet dark and light patterns. We see black and white bunting, sometimes black with silver. There are vignette portraits floating on a black ground. There are billboards of the King, studies in gray surrounded by paintings of soft gray clouds. There are huge billboards with Buddhist themes and reminders to aim toward heaven, that life is a cycle of death and rebirth and to remain steady in uncertainty. I am reminded of the passing of my father often- he died a week before the King. People say the mourning here can continue two, maybe three years. While there is this mood of adness, it is not uncomfortable being here. Below, Evening chants at the temple.
Our hotel staff welcomed us like old friends, and we were so relieved to finally stop traveling and be here. The monks at the temple across the street have added a loud speaker, so that we hear their chanting even better, twice a day. They have been saying sutras for the King of Thailand who passed away in October.
We have been running around, getting shopping and fabricating work done. The money goes so fast! Always on the hunt for something interesting, I scored some very old and unusual shaped glass earrings from Nagaland. They are modern looking in the way of blocky, ancient rock axes, suggesting a much more ancient design idiom. These earrings are from present-day northeast India and western Burma, and are destined to become pendants. We have also spent some time in the Afghan and Indian shops looking for rock crystal beads. And of course I have been visiting the many silver shops looking for new jewelry findings. Between the pieces I am having fabricated and what I am finding, I feel excited about my direction. Today at the Chatuchak market I found a plastic cell phone cover with a scatter print of realistic brown roaches. Very proud of my score.
As I mentioned, Thailand has lost its beloved King. The country is in deep mourning and the mood is somber. People are dressed in black, gray, navy, or small quiet dark and light patterns. We see black and white bunting, sometimes black with silver. There are vignette portraits floating on a black ground. There are billboards of the King, studies in gray surrounded by paintings of soft gray clouds. There are huge billboards with Buddhist themes and reminders to aim toward heaven, that life is a cycle of death and rebirth and to remain steady in uncertainty. I am reminded of the passing of my father often- he died a week before the King. People say the mourning here can continue two, maybe three years. While there is this mood of adness, it is not uncomfortable being here. Below, Evening chants at the temple.
Jan 9 Our Neighborhood
Hi All, it is about 6:30pm and the monks at the temple and monastery across the street from our hotel have been chanting for thirty minutes already. They will end around 7pm or so. I am really going to miss the beautiful, moving chanting.
I thought I'd tell you a bit about our neighborhood. Our hotel is our hive In the midst of a neighborhood that is one of the world's gems, silver, jewelry and beads epicenters. Unless we are going out to the sprawling weekend market by Sky Train get most of our work done within a mile up, down and off the small sois (alleys) on either side of New Road. Our peregrinations by foot and rarely by Tuk Tuk take us as far up river as The River City Mall and then back down to our modest hotel.
This neighborhood is dense and seriously overbuilt. There are a few trees but mostly this is as urban as you can get. Electrical and telecom wires hang low, tangles of squid ink pasta. During the day, the traffic is horrendous. You are endangered just crossing the road. People hesitate and wait to cross, forming small herds for that "safety in numbers" mentality. It's a game of chicken with two distinct yet very different strategies. Either just walk out and hope they stop, or defiantly stare them down and cross. Either way, we are never certain they will stop. And now even the unevenly paved sidewalks are not safe. Today I was walking slightly ahead of my husband and suddenly a blazing motorcycle on the sidewalk!!! buzzed past us. If I had turned to say something or even shifted my market bag from the left to the right it would have been all over.
Anyway the reason we seemingly risk our lives is to visit the many shops that infest this area. Even though we walk past many of these, you have your Indian tailors, the Euro beer and coffee shops, the many massage parlors with the bored staff sitting out front on the steps checking their cell phones. You have all the food carts selling grilled wieners and cocktail sausages on sticks, satays, fruits, rice sweets, fresh squeezed juices, and tempting grilled chicken. Then you have the lottery ticket sellers, the stamp enthusiasts and amulet sellers, the post office, the arrangers of flowers and garland offerings, stores that have been closed and shuttered for years, the bronze and stainless cutlery shops, the Muslim kabob and halal food stops, the bazillion Thai and Indian silver sellers, the numerous Indian precious and semi precious gem bead sellers, and the many Afghan shops selling all the same hand hewn beads, concocted instant artifacts that were supposedly dug out of the desert hundreds of years ago, as well as exquisitely crafted enameled and silver show pieces, alongside slightly junky clunky jewelry made in Nepal. They even have faked Native American Navajo turquoise necklaces and faux Moroccan amulets, “coral” and “amber”, and suites of CZ diamond jewelry. And they have great stuff too! Like crossing New Road, you just can't be sure what's going to happen next. You have to go out and hunt for it.
The Afghan guys are mainly related, many distant cousins or married to cousins, etc. And they have incredible memories. I can go in a shop and a totally different salesperson will show me more of what I looked at two days before, shown to me by someone else. I can go into a shop and they remember what I bought four days ago, or even four years ago, and they remember the price I paid! And we have the fabricator of my designs and the little cafe where we love to eat lunch. We always miss our daily, often hot and sweaty, tiring roaming about here. Like bees we always return to our hive to escape the commotion and sensory assault.
Below, the Beach Bar in the rain
Hi All, it is about 6:30pm and the monks at the temple and monastery across the street from our hotel have been chanting for thirty minutes already. They will end around 7pm or so. I am really going to miss the beautiful, moving chanting.
I thought I'd tell you a bit about our neighborhood. Our hotel is our hive In the midst of a neighborhood that is one of the world's gems, silver, jewelry and beads epicenters. Unless we are going out to the sprawling weekend market by Sky Train get most of our work done within a mile up, down and off the small sois (alleys) on either side of New Road. Our peregrinations by foot and rarely by Tuk Tuk take us as far up river as The River City Mall and then back down to our modest hotel.
This neighborhood is dense and seriously overbuilt. There are a few trees but mostly this is as urban as you can get. Electrical and telecom wires hang low, tangles of squid ink pasta. During the day, the traffic is horrendous. You are endangered just crossing the road. People hesitate and wait to cross, forming small herds for that "safety in numbers" mentality. It's a game of chicken with two distinct yet very different strategies. Either just walk out and hope they stop, or defiantly stare them down and cross. Either way, we are never certain they will stop. And now even the unevenly paved sidewalks are not safe. Today I was walking slightly ahead of my husband and suddenly a blazing motorcycle on the sidewalk!!! buzzed past us. If I had turned to say something or even shifted my market bag from the left to the right it would have been all over.
Anyway the reason we seemingly risk our lives is to visit the many shops that infest this area. Even though we walk past many of these, you have your Indian tailors, the Euro beer and coffee shops, the many massage parlors with the bored staff sitting out front on the steps checking their cell phones. You have all the food carts selling grilled wieners and cocktail sausages on sticks, satays, fruits, rice sweets, fresh squeezed juices, and tempting grilled chicken. Then you have the lottery ticket sellers, the stamp enthusiasts and amulet sellers, the post office, the arrangers of flowers and garland offerings, stores that have been closed and shuttered for years, the bronze and stainless cutlery shops, the Muslim kabob and halal food stops, the bazillion Thai and Indian silver sellers, the numerous Indian precious and semi precious gem bead sellers, and the many Afghan shops selling all the same hand hewn beads, concocted instant artifacts that were supposedly dug out of the desert hundreds of years ago, as well as exquisitely crafted enameled and silver show pieces, alongside slightly junky clunky jewelry made in Nepal. They even have faked Native American Navajo turquoise necklaces and faux Moroccan amulets, “coral” and “amber”, and suites of CZ diamond jewelry. And they have great stuff too! Like crossing New Road, you just can't be sure what's going to happen next. You have to go out and hunt for it.
The Afghan guys are mainly related, many distant cousins or married to cousins, etc. And they have incredible memories. I can go in a shop and a totally different salesperson will show me more of what I looked at two days before, shown to me by someone else. I can go into a shop and they remember what I bought four days ago, or even four years ago, and they remember the price I paid! And we have the fabricator of my designs and the little cafe where we love to eat lunch. We always miss our daily, often hot and sweaty, tiring roaming about here. Like bees we always return to our hive to escape the commotion and sensory assault.
Below, the Beach Bar in the rain
Jan. 12 The Beach
Bangkok is an intense place- a densely packed city with layers of shops, sidewalk stalls, high rises, and serious traffic. We walk miles in a day going through our rounds. After 5 or 6 days of this, plus employing the degree of scrutiny that I use in selecting my purchases, and the sleepless nights from a combination of jet lag and jewelry designing imagination and excitement, I need a break. So we get our running around and initial buying done for this leg of the trip and go somewhere to give my fabricator time to make up my designs. I also need to spend time thinking about exactly what I want to make and also carefully consider what other elements I might need to purchase when we head to Chiang Mai and return to Bangkok. We travel to a small, undeveloped part of Phuket that is off the beaten track. There is not much here - a few hotels and condos, one outdoor restaurant, no shops, clubs or tourist attractions. In this serene environment I am able to iincubate my designs and plan my next jewelry line. Our main activity is to head to The Beach Bar everyday for some really delicious fresh Thai seafood.
The huge Buddha still looks down upon us on the mountain high above Phuket town harbor. White puffy clouds, layers of gray, the jagged black-green hills and dull turquoise sea. Buddha becomes camouflaged against the rising clouds - a dragon, three pandas and a lion in a canoe, a poodle lying on its back, dissolving into blue. Buddha returns, surrounded by a luminous pale gray mist.
There are some changes here. The large and medium-sized are gone. What has happened to them? And no hermit crabs either. Last year we saw so many good sized crab holes and trails, and at night so many pretty good sized ones scuttling about. Now- none at all. This worries me.
There are plenty of international travelers here. Some who speak English ask us how we feel about the US election result. The Thai are too polite to ask. We drink our beers and eat quietly. I feel like I am wearing a scarlet letter. A for American.
Jan. 13
Now I know what happened to the crabs. Up the beach past the Beach Bar, a new hotel has been under construction for over a year. Now the work is in earnest and the workers are laboring late into the evening. You can see the welding flares and hear the heavy clang of steel beams from the bar.
When we sauntered down to the Beach Bar for dinner, the tide was unusually low. All the low lying volcanic rocks and dead corals were exposed. About 50 blue-shirted construction workers were crawling over the rocks as far as our hotel and beyond, to left and right, with their sticks and bars prying up the rocks to expose any little creatures - small shrimp, shellfish and crabs.
These workers make about $8 to $9 a day. Small clumps of workers walk back to their beach camp with plastic bags containing their booty. The bags are mostly empty after an hour of searching. Maybe 4 or 5 people share a bag. They have been collecting and eating anything they can find off the beach for about a year now. Almost nothing is left. Their hunger, their need, their impact on the natural environment has changed this beach for a long time. One question answered, many more arise.
Jan. 17 Big Run For It at the Beach Bar
As usual we sauntered up to the Beach Bar for a beer and dinner. Oh my, the crispy panko-crusted pounded shrimp cakes were divine, served with pickled cucumber and thin, diagonally-sliced big red Thai chili as a relish. Then we had a new-to-me version of Panang red curry with super fresh, barely cooked prawns. The legs were partially trimmed but still attached so the body juices added greatly to the dimension of flavor. That was garnished with thinnest sliced kaffir lime leaves. Along with that we had a fried rice in pineapple, again a wonderful version with plenty of curry aroma without the overbearing flavor.
The sky became dark and heavy clouds loomed, moving menacingly in our direction. Surely it was going to be a pelting rain any minute. The stocky, general-like owner of the Beach Bar predicted we had some time and no need to shift to his open aired, raised platform palapa-like covered area - just yet.
The light from the setting sun was fantastic, then suddenly the wind shifted and we got rain. You have never seen his staff move in such practiced maneuvers to get everything inside- small square boxes of Thai Kleenex masquerading as napkins, the oilcloth covered tables, plastic condiment containers, and of course the patrons, their chairs and food. We sat near the steep steps up into the refuge. The owner's 5 year rapidly produced a plastic semi-automatic weapon and plastic helmet, then started his imaginary assault, obliterating every boat and catamaran in the harbor. In a few seconds the heavy visqueen window shades had been rolled down, the one next to us dripping onto a live power strip. Just as quickly as the rain and drama all started, it ended. But the party atmosphere rolls on, although the storm moved on.
Below, Shopping at the Bangkok Chatuchak weekend market
Bangkok is an intense place- a densely packed city with layers of shops, sidewalk stalls, high rises, and serious traffic. We walk miles in a day going through our rounds. After 5 or 6 days of this, plus employing the degree of scrutiny that I use in selecting my purchases, and the sleepless nights from a combination of jet lag and jewelry designing imagination and excitement, I need a break. So we get our running around and initial buying done for this leg of the trip and go somewhere to give my fabricator time to make up my designs. I also need to spend time thinking about exactly what I want to make and also carefully consider what other elements I might need to purchase when we head to Chiang Mai and return to Bangkok. We travel to a small, undeveloped part of Phuket that is off the beaten track. There is not much here - a few hotels and condos, one outdoor restaurant, no shops, clubs or tourist attractions. In this serene environment I am able to iincubate my designs and plan my next jewelry line. Our main activity is to head to The Beach Bar everyday for some really delicious fresh Thai seafood.
The huge Buddha still looks down upon us on the mountain high above Phuket town harbor. White puffy clouds, layers of gray, the jagged black-green hills and dull turquoise sea. Buddha becomes camouflaged against the rising clouds - a dragon, three pandas and a lion in a canoe, a poodle lying on its back, dissolving into blue. Buddha returns, surrounded by a luminous pale gray mist.
There are some changes here. The large and medium-sized are gone. What has happened to them? And no hermit crabs either. Last year we saw so many good sized crab holes and trails, and at night so many pretty good sized ones scuttling about. Now- none at all. This worries me.
There are plenty of international travelers here. Some who speak English ask us how we feel about the US election result. The Thai are too polite to ask. We drink our beers and eat quietly. I feel like I am wearing a scarlet letter. A for American.
Jan. 13
Now I know what happened to the crabs. Up the beach past the Beach Bar, a new hotel has been under construction for over a year. Now the work is in earnest and the workers are laboring late into the evening. You can see the welding flares and hear the heavy clang of steel beams from the bar.
When we sauntered down to the Beach Bar for dinner, the tide was unusually low. All the low lying volcanic rocks and dead corals were exposed. About 50 blue-shirted construction workers were crawling over the rocks as far as our hotel and beyond, to left and right, with their sticks and bars prying up the rocks to expose any little creatures - small shrimp, shellfish and crabs.
These workers make about $8 to $9 a day. Small clumps of workers walk back to their beach camp with plastic bags containing their booty. The bags are mostly empty after an hour of searching. Maybe 4 or 5 people share a bag. They have been collecting and eating anything they can find off the beach for about a year now. Almost nothing is left. Their hunger, their need, their impact on the natural environment has changed this beach for a long time. One question answered, many more arise.
Jan. 17 Big Run For It at the Beach Bar
As usual we sauntered up to the Beach Bar for a beer and dinner. Oh my, the crispy panko-crusted pounded shrimp cakes were divine, served with pickled cucumber and thin, diagonally-sliced big red Thai chili as a relish. Then we had a new-to-me version of Panang red curry with super fresh, barely cooked prawns. The legs were partially trimmed but still attached so the body juices added greatly to the dimension of flavor. That was garnished with thinnest sliced kaffir lime leaves. Along with that we had a fried rice in pineapple, again a wonderful version with plenty of curry aroma without the overbearing flavor.
The sky became dark and heavy clouds loomed, moving menacingly in our direction. Surely it was going to be a pelting rain any minute. The stocky, general-like owner of the Beach Bar predicted we had some time and no need to shift to his open aired, raised platform palapa-like covered area - just yet.
The light from the setting sun was fantastic, then suddenly the wind shifted and we got rain. You have never seen his staff move in such practiced maneuvers to get everything inside- small square boxes of Thai Kleenex masquerading as napkins, the oilcloth covered tables, plastic condiment containers, and of course the patrons, their chairs and food. We sat near the steep steps up into the refuge. The owner's 5 year rapidly produced a plastic semi-automatic weapon and plastic helmet, then started his imaginary assault, obliterating every boat and catamaran in the harbor. In a few seconds the heavy visqueen window shades had been rolled down, the one next to us dripping onto a live power strip. Just as quickly as the rain and drama all started, it ended. But the party atmosphere rolls on, although the storm moved on.
Below, Shopping at the Bangkok Chatuchak weekend market
Jan. 19 Update from Chiang Mai
After a few days at the beach, we fly up to the northern city of Chiang Mai. Our fabricator needs two to three weeks of working time, so we still have days to go before heading back to get my finished work. We stayed at a new to us place with a name meaning place of the spirit or peaceful spirit. A great place to think and design, when not out looking for design elements. The gardens are every bit of beautiful serenity, lush with fountains, koi ponds, tall bamboos, banana trees, intricate pink ginger plants, all sorts of bushes, vines and everywhere orchids in small baskets wired to the timber bamboo and banana trees.
Chiang Mai is a critical stop in our shopping trip, for here we get new silver and antique silver from Southeast Asia. Every year the pickings for old treasures are slim, with the prices much fatter. One of our dealers of many, many years introduced us to a new person- an intoxicatingly beautiful and exotic Akha woman with her long, thick black hair upswept into a twisted bun and fastened with traditional heavy, antique silver pins. Oh how I wish I could look like her with her smooth caramel skin, that amazing hair and charismatic soulfulness that so many tribal people possess. I found some stunning pieces from her. There was so much more I could have bought, but my wallet is getting empty.
It has been years since we went through the bustling night markets. Endless rows of little stalls and hawkers spill out all over, making the "sidewalk" areas quite sparse. From hill-tribe woven and stitched handicrafts to t-shirts of all kinds, to minute paper shade lamps and paper-covered string lights, handmade woven mat shoes and slippers, luggage and backpacks for over-shoppers of all ilk, or even bottles of honey, and hand-made soaps. And the many massage places, fish tank pedicure places, bars, restaurants and food stalls. And the lady boys handing out handbills for the evening show. You name it- it's here somewhere.
Jan 25 Back in the Hive
Yesterday we arrived back in Bangkok from Chiang Mai. Ahhh, back at the hive. The mission is to collect all the work started three weeks ago and to buy anything I thought about after time to reflect and design. And of course we are in Bangkok to work our way back home. Procrastination is rampart at the fabricator's workshop. And of course we will be leaving soon which makes getting the work done even more urgent. The completed work I saw looks great but he has an all-nighter coming.
The next day the rest of my work was delivered, minutes before we departed for the airport. It all looks so great! I am so full of enthusiasm to get started on my new White Light collection. If only I could work on the plane!
After a few days at the beach, we fly up to the northern city of Chiang Mai. Our fabricator needs two to three weeks of working time, so we still have days to go before heading back to get my finished work. We stayed at a new to us place with a name meaning place of the spirit or peaceful spirit. A great place to think and design, when not out looking for design elements. The gardens are every bit of beautiful serenity, lush with fountains, koi ponds, tall bamboos, banana trees, intricate pink ginger plants, all sorts of bushes, vines and everywhere orchids in small baskets wired to the timber bamboo and banana trees.
Chiang Mai is a critical stop in our shopping trip, for here we get new silver and antique silver from Southeast Asia. Every year the pickings for old treasures are slim, with the prices much fatter. One of our dealers of many, many years introduced us to a new person- an intoxicatingly beautiful and exotic Akha woman with her long, thick black hair upswept into a twisted bun and fastened with traditional heavy, antique silver pins. Oh how I wish I could look like her with her smooth caramel skin, that amazing hair and charismatic soulfulness that so many tribal people possess. I found some stunning pieces from her. There was so much more I could have bought, but my wallet is getting empty.
It has been years since we went through the bustling night markets. Endless rows of little stalls and hawkers spill out all over, making the "sidewalk" areas quite sparse. From hill-tribe woven and stitched handicrafts to t-shirts of all kinds, to minute paper shade lamps and paper-covered string lights, handmade woven mat shoes and slippers, luggage and backpacks for over-shoppers of all ilk, or even bottles of honey, and hand-made soaps. And the many massage places, fish tank pedicure places, bars, restaurants and food stalls. And the lady boys handing out handbills for the evening show. You name it- it's here somewhere.
Jan 25 Back in the Hive
Yesterday we arrived back in Bangkok from Chiang Mai. Ahhh, back at the hive. The mission is to collect all the work started three weeks ago and to buy anything I thought about after time to reflect and design. And of course we are in Bangkok to work our way back home. Procrastination is rampart at the fabricator's workshop. And of course we will be leaving soon which makes getting the work done even more urgent. The completed work I saw looks great but he has an all-nighter coming.
The next day the rest of my work was delivered, minutes before we departed for the airport. It all looks so great! I am so full of enthusiasm to get started on my new White Light collection. If only I could work on the plane!
Antique Akha earrings on hand made foxtail chain, Akha hair pin and triple strand hand made foxtail chains.
Food cart in Bangkok
