Christmas dance..

a bit late I know... but a nice dance done at my kids school here in Fang.

in six parts....


Rangsee Wittaya Dance 1 of 6 from fabianfred on Vimeo.

We are lucky.....

...here in the north of Thailand........ to have a large number of Shan (Tai Yai) coming to live. The world feels sorry for their plight, forced to flee their homeland by the evil regime in place in Burma, so it is good that at least some of them find shelter here.
They are more devout Buddhists than many ordinary thais, who have become infatuated with the Western plague of consumerism, even to the extent of becoming Christians because it is yet another import like McDonalds and Jeans.

Dance of the Birds

Dance of the Birds.. from fabianfred on Vimeo.

Flame of the Forest

I love the flame trees which bloom at this time of the year...they look so colourful against the greenery...

Thai language

I've been learning and using the Thai language since I first started learning it 18 years ago. My most favourite word in the whole Thai language is krengcai (grengjai)....
There is no simple direct translation for it into English....I don't know about other languages.... and it requires several sentences in explanation to try and give people the correct meaning.

For me it means the opposite to selfishness, but is not adequately explained by merely unselfishness........

Consideration for others........concern for others.....how your actions will affect them. It is all bound up in the Thai mentality and culture, and especially from their Buddhism.

Someone driving fast and dangerously in a busy area, near a market for example, is definately mai krengcai. Not to be confused with merely impolite behaviour....mai supaab.

If you are on the path to enlightenment with nirvana as your goal, then you must definately be krengcai at all times and to all beings....yes even to animals.

A good example of krengcai would be the custom of lowering one's head and stooping whilst walking in front of other people, especially when their attention is on something like a TV or similar.

Poy Sang Long

Here in Fang there is a large Tai Yai community, so we get the Poy sang long processions and ordinations of the 'luk geaw' (crystal children??)...where they are dressed and made-up as princes to copy the life of the Buddha before he left home to the ascetic life......
The temples and ceremonies of the Tai yai peoples have more in common with the Burmese customs than those of the Thai....