Tailândia - July 2017 - Rosário Louro

 

Playing with Legos

Sunday, July 16, 2017

It's five in the afternoon and I've been playing with Legos since nine in the morning. For eight hours, 45 TAT representatives from five continents were challenged to analyze Thailand's tourism strategy for the coming year using only Lego games. It couldn't have been more fun! I also realized that Lego is currently a game for adults, given that children are only interested in digital toys...

 

Tourism clinics in Thailand mobilize more than 1500 people from around the world

Monday, July 17, 2017

Today was entirely dedicated to the tourism clinic at the Bangkok Congress Center. It goes something like this: TAT representatives from around the world meet with the Thai tourism sector to present the market and the typical tourist profile of their country and to hear what hoteliers (and others) have to offer.

It's a real workshop undertaking, bringing together surely more than fifteen hundred people. At the end of the day we are all exhausted and speechless, but with a sense of accomplishment. These meetings are effective and generate business. And along the way, new friends are always made.

 

My adventure in Thailand continues!

Tuesday, July 1, 2017

Today we spent the day in Lamphun, in the North region, near Chiang Mai. We dedicated our time to visiting temples with fairytale stories and local communities where we participated in several craft workshops.

The cherry on top was the two meals in local restaurants. The cuisine of Northern Thailand is so divine that even the spiciness is quite tolerable. The more time I spend here, the more certain I am that these people received some divine privilege that makes them better than any other. We are always received with such genuine warmth and smiles that it's truly moving. The Thai people's desire to serve well and bring happiness to those they encounter ends up also being contagious and making us better people.

 

Interesting Facts in Mandalay

Thursday, July 20, 2017

I'm currently in Mandalay, Myanmar (formerly Burma) and I'll need some time to process everything I've seen.

Today I'll start by introducing you to Chen, our lovely local guide, who explained that there are no surnames here. When children are born, mothers take them to an astrologer or a monk who chooses their name. Apparently, the day of the week, the month, the year, and the family context are decisive in choosing a name that brings good energy and happiness. In Chen's case, the astrologer must have been spot on because he is the epitome of serenity and happiness.

Another interesting fact: men and women wear the same style of skirts, although fastened differently. As I understand it, this style makes bathing in the river easier because it allows you to lift the skirt as you enter the water, wrapping it around your head while bathing. Finally, the skirt serves as a towel and is put back in its original form. I already bought one! This was just a teaser. I'll tell you more tomorrow.

 

The Buddha's Hygiene at Mahayatmuni Monastery... If you hadn't seen it, you wouldn't have believed it!

Friday, July 21, 2017

In Myanmar, Buddhist culture dominates. The entire society lives immersed in the religion.

On the very first day, we were challenged to visit Mahayatmuni Monastery to witness the Buddha's hygiene ritual. This monastery has the only image of Buddha produced during his lifetime, and locals believe that the Buddha's soul has been incorporated into that statue. About 70 years ago, the monk in charge of the monastery concluded from the scriptures that it is necessary to maintain daily hygiene of the Buddha's face and teeth. From that date, a daily one-hour ritual began, involving monks, assistants, volunteers, many flowers, and a kind of holy water that, at the end of each session, is distributed to those interested in small bottles to take home and sprinkle on their heads. Described like this, it sounds funny, but on site you realize that, even for the Thai people, this is a serious and meaningful topic.

While the ceremony takes place, the women participate with a litany in a space reserved for them. The men can watch further ahead, in the front row. I had to get up at three in the morning to attend this ritual, which religiously begins at four o'clock sharp, but it was worth it!

 

Today we visited the Mahagandayon Monastery, where more than 1000 monks live.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Today we visited the Mahagandayon Monastery, where more than 1000 monks live.

We witnessed the lunch logistics. Impressive! A community of volunteers ensures the food preparation, cleaning, and all the logistics. Hundreds of boys accompany the monks. Those under 10 years old dress in white, the others in the same robes as the monks. It's part of the education of all young people to spend, even if only a week, in a monastery to receive basic initiation into Buddhism. During this period, the parents volunteer in the food and cleaning operations. It's a way of recognizing the education their children are receiving. The monks' only activities are studying, teaching, and meditating. They only eat one meal a day, always before noon. This one was at 10 am. In a society as poor as this, being a monk can be a way to survive. I felt that several times throughout the days.

 

History has shown us that humanity progresses and regresses throughout the centuries.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Myanmar is a poor country, without significant natural resources, that seems to have stopped in time. If it weren't for motorcycles, cars, and cell phones, we would almost be in the Middle Ages.

The roads are a kind of roads, the houses a kind of houses, the shops a kind of grocery stores that sell everything imaginable. The markets are dirty and disorganized, traffic rules don't exist, the people, despite being friendly, have a sad and suffering air. In the midst of this chaos, centuries-old temples of incalculable value emerge. It is clear that a thousand years ago Burma was a culturally developed country, with great political and religious influence in the region. History has shown us that humanity progresses and regresses throughout the centuries and that so-called civilization has no fixed abode.

And now, just to finish! In Myanmar, there are cars with both left-hand and right-hand drive. It depends on where they are purchased. Some come from Japan, others from Thailand, others from China, so there's something for everyone. Needless to say, they have one of the highest accident rates in the world!

 

Rosário Louro