vaga #1/25 PA/PA/PA/PAN
PART XXV
photo: Magda's mother from the Man ethnic group, cooking for the great festivity of her 21st year, and above all for obtaining her Diploma "technician in administration", she’s the only one in her hamlet with a diploma. A great party was held where the whole hamlet participated in a lunch in which everyone contributed and cooked together and then went to the Protestant church for a couple of hours for her blessing, where she was treated like a bride, with live music, many decorations, speeches in her dialect and songs. It was an extraordinary experience. Only one friend from her class and I were the only Spaniards, almost no one speaks Spanish in the village. Ostuncalco, Altiplano Maya, Guatemala. 2017
"PA-PA-PA-PAN" AND SHOULD BE READ BY SINGING THE MUSIC OF THE OVERTURE OF
"BEETHOVEN'S FIFTH SYMPHONY"
PA-PA-PA-PAN
pa/pa/pa/pan: there are several topics grouped in "PA" and all are in process, that's why their first letters go, their process is not yet finished, as if to complete the word. It goes from the personal to the global.
(IT IS SUGGESTED AND THE TRUTH THAT THE BLOG IS WRITTENAND DESIGNED TO BE READ ON A COMPUTER, NOT ON A CELL PHONE, PHOTOGRAPHS THAT GIVE VISUAL SUPPORT, NOT ONLY AS INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS, BUT ITS COMPOSITION IS DESIGNED ON THE BIG SCREEN TO GIVE STRENGTH TO THE TEXT, AND VISE VERSA).
This chapter is dedicated to all my friends, I want to express my gratitude to those friends who deserve to be recognised
with their faces. I am not "a selfie", I hate them and when they tell me to take one, I grit my teeth, there will be many photos of me with them, I am not to put photos of my person in my writings, only when it merits it. A chapter without temples, nature, adventures, but an important part of my life that is this, the people and the one I appreciate the most. It also goes hand in hand with what is written.
The most relevant: Catarina, (Guatemala), Magda (Guatemala), Dang (Thailand), Gopal, (Nepal), Thia, (Thailand) Nang, (Thailand) Lama, (Nepal), Waew (Thailand) and missing is Moy, (Thailand) I only have photos of her in groups.
We are accompanied by images of parties, trips, ceremonies. The photos taken with my cell phone are spontaneous photos, of the moment, without intentions of being a photographer,sometimes I am too ashamed i feel shame to take it and I do them quickly, or I simply do not take them, and they are recorded on my hard drive. Some are repeated, and new ones will go without explanations which I will give you at the time that corresponds to the story, otherwise the chapter would be very long.
The time has come to dust off the keyboard and an update is required after so many months in silence. In July, I had to leave Koh Tao Island (my paradise in southern Thailand, where I dispatched the previous post) in search of medical treatment for my paw. I will explain my current reality, "not romantic", but without drama. Health has always been my "Achilles heel, and in this case it is literally my "Achilles heel" of the right foot and something I have referred to before, the point is that I remain the same. After a pilgrimage through cities, hospitals and doctors searching for treatments, I ended up in Bangkok in search of the best specialist in the country. This took a month and a half and I finally have a diagnosis, it is a biochemical and not orthopaedic problem, a side effect, very rare post-operative (it only occurs in foot and hand operations) so it was difficult to find the problem and its treatment is only with medicine for a couple of months. At the end of October I was finally able to return to my island. I found an empty island, but not depressed, like Koh Samui and here I can finish my recovery. How much more pleasurable returning to what is longed for. The situation of the foot has been an exercise in patience, resignation, hopes with each treatment and that were only punctures to the balloon of hope again and again. More than 14 months have passed since the beginning of the difficulty and a few more are missing. The most difficult, more than the pain, has been the uncertainty sustained over a very long time and that determines your life from the slightest. Fight not to lose hope of recovering your foot and your old life and permanently drive away uncertainty. Maintain temperance, calm spirit, always managing oneself and reinventing oneself at all times. One grows deeply, the spirit is strengthened. And growing up gives more tools for new adversities, more certainties and the healthy part of one is appreciated. Regardless of the unhappy situation, punctual and the reason that took me away from the keyboard due to lack of tranquillity and excess of worries. I have a positive side to this, if I had to stop more than a year because of the foot, much of it turned out to be at the same time as the pandemic and gave relief to the Vagabond's soul. I imagine being forcibly stopped by the paw, unable to travel, the taste would have been bitter. The other thing to leave my life of wandering for a long time and installed in the same country, has been very pleasant, the tranquillity of being in a place, every day the same, not being "on top of the ball" as it would be said in Chile, meaning to be permanently in a state of excitement and movements with intense emotions. I am surprised that the tranquillity and lack of excitement as the previous years were lived equally in a rewarding, enriching and fully enjoyed way. However, due to my misery , I have not stopped knowing, learning, surprising myself in another way. With a routine I have been able to make friendships in the longer term, and see each other as many times as we want, no longer do I leave anywhere, locals, some farangs (foreigners in Southeast Asia) who have been here for a long time, or tourists who were stranded and given long visas, others who work in tourism and are unemployed or with jobs without activity, they have all the time to talk, cook and eat together. I returned to Chiang Mai for treatments for two months and have friends who wait for you or look for you or leave you at the airport, to run away together for a few days to travel, talk without haste and enjoy so many signs of affection that you received. On Koh Samui, (The big island near Koh Tao) where I spent a little over a month, and on Koh Tao they will pick you up or drop you off at the airport, or the pier. They are gifts that I enjoy. Another advantage of a routine and sedentary lifestyle I have been able to take care of my weight that went to "hell" even more so with the lack of walking and exercising (apart from swimming) I have been able to strive with strict diets, (without beers and many cigarettes, haha) the belly has disappeared. Happy because I have achieved it in spades. I have physically renovated, and entertained to renew my summer "closet", (I haven't seen a winter in a long time) with several sizes less, 'the closet' lol consisting of two skirts, a pair of shorts and two dresses... . I have been positive in every aspect and being rejuvenated by the body is very rewarding.
with some of them I was only there for a moment, with others we shared a trip and meals. It doesn't matter what country they are from, or what they are called, just the smiles they gave me.
I am very fortunate to be in Thailand, here the pandemic is nothing itself, a little more than 3.8 thousand cases throughout the year, during the writing of this blog. The fifth-safest country in the world, it is lived with full freedom and without restrictions, however, out of respect and conscience; subways, airports, ferries and hospitals, everyone wears masks. The borders have been closed since April and there is panic in reopening them because the virus could enter there and the great controversy with the tourist sector that is bankrupt and is not minor, but the government watches over the whole country and not for a branch of business that could risk the whole country. There is a lot of internal debate about it. I've been able to renew my visa for another year and won't leave here until I have the vaccine. I have not travelled much in the country, I had reserved to do it with my male children during the winter holidays, (July-August) as we had scheduled it. The pandemic got in the way, and it will be difficult for the three of us to travel in the future at the same time... a tremendous pity, we were so enthusiastic, but it is minor in comparison to anything that has happened in the world. I have been in Thailand for more than a year and a half with several getaways, (Italy, Indonesia, Laos and Cambodia and all while crippled) this country fits me wonderfully, I like it, I enjoy it. Its people, their joy, their kindness, their simplicity of carrying things and even in times of pandemic, almost no complaints are heard from those who lost their jobs. The coexistence with the locals is so welcoming, their displays of kindness are daily and are countless. To give an example of something, at the time I am writing this text, in the morning I had seen the masseuse who helped me with my foot, she and several others were preparing special meals, food that was wrapped in banana leaves, another mixing mysterious things for the holiday of "Loy Krathong" and out of nowhere they invited me to eat with them in the afternoon and to prepare the offerings of flowers and then in the evening to go to the pier where the whole town is located to deliver the offerings to the sea, in a few more days it would be the birthday of Chu Chu, the daughter of some Burmese friends, and I was invited. Nor is it paradise, the political and democratic problems are very bad, and reform of the monarchy is called for, coups d'état are frequent here have been 12 in recent decades, problems in the South with the Muslim community where the International Red Cross is intervening. In other things the relaxation and flexibility of leading life is affected when one has to do paperwork, deal with the bank and very complicated laws, a tremendous bureaucracy that leaves you heartless. However, my daily life is an exquisite quality of life.
The names of these men I do not remember, they are complicated, with all of them I shared parties, beers, cigarettes and a lot of joy and almost zero language.
Finishing my update we go to vagabond conversations. Many people ask me which is the best country I can recommend or which is my favourite. About my favourite I always say Chile, and I say it honestly, without patriotism. I have already stepped in different ways more than 50 countries, I counted them the other day in the list of contaminated countries, it came out easy, but a pity, in the list where I found them. I started young on this "journey" and living in 3 continents and in 5 countries (Chile, of course, USA for 9 years, Thailand is clear for more than two years, Paris and Florence the latter were shorter stays like 8 months in each). What brings more perspective, breadth and depth, the baggage is not minor and uncommon, so the appreciation is in proportion to all that life experience. So answering the question of which is the recommended or favourite country other than Chile gave me something to think about. I came to the conclusion that there are many factors that combine and because of that diversity of factors, there is no country or a specific place that determines it as the top, 100% recommended.
I elaborate on what I was analysing. Let's start with the National Parks, all the countries have several, and their beauties are indisputable, they are particular to their geography, or beautiful landscapes that do not belong to "national parks". Yes, there are certainly some outstanding ones and there are less attractive countries in their geography. Within the national parks ranging from deserts to the Himalayas and everything in between through maritime reserves with their amazing colourful corals and fish. There are those who protect animals from extinction, as an example, the Serengeti in Kenya. Here comes the first point; What do you like within nature?. They usually look for what they don't have in their country. So there is no single answer.
the many signs of affection by giving me some fruit, food or drink
The tastes; for my travels I separate in general in the cultures, their histories: the European classics, the millenary ones like Japan, or those that disappeared like the Aztecs, Krem, Incas, the pharaohs in Egypt, ...., the ultramodern and frantic as in New York. Primitive cultures of Africa, the Masai of Tanzania, in Asia, the Warebo of Indonesia or ethnic groups in remote areas such as "Hill tribes" North of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, the Mayan highlands in Central America. Architecture, with its castles, temples, lost cities such as: Angkor in Cambodia or Machu Pichu, in Peru, to say the least. "World Heritage Sites", religions, handicrafts, sports in places where geography does not exist in your country, (a mountain trekking in Holland, skiing in Brazil or diving in Switzerland, … ... ) The list is long and many times there are particular combinations between these aspects and each one seeks its own combination. Subject to consider the very poor countries with great attractions such as Nepal, Myanmar, Tanzania, Kenya, and definitely you have to have "thick skin", because it can be unpleasantly impressive, and distressing and depressing, they are usually dirty and many want to run away from there to not see the harsh reality in which they live, because it definitely affects one to see them. .
Motivations; these are the very variable and perhaps opposite to name a few when looking for the place for a holiday. Some go for the rest to a paradisical beach, in silence, warm weather, well-deserved time after a year of full work stress, even more so the weather for those of Nordic countries where the sun is so elusive, or those who prefer adventure, extreme sport as a way to get rid of the same stress accumulated during the year with adrenaline at the top. The level of education, age, as well as those travelling with family, as couples, with friends and solo travellers all have very different interests. The time available is an absolute key factor. When you have little time, a couple of weeks, it is often better to make sure you see the essentials in tours or for lack of language, without English in the country of other languages it is very difficult to move independently. And of tours I have no opinion, it is not my thing.
Expectations; they are usually high, and grow even more as the well-deserved holiday date approaches. High expectations are not good, it's better to be surprised by things when travelling, because expectations are rarely given in their entirety. Whether it is because that wonderfully chosen place that sold you the tour or you read it on Google, or it was recommended by a friend, today it is full of tourists and is unbearable. For example, I have been shown photos of the Chinese wall, saturated with tourists, where you can hardly walk any less look if you're in the centre of the agglomeration. The wonderful landscape of Halong Bay in Vietnam ranked among the most beautiful in the world, and if you get awful rain every day or cloudy without being able to see those "milestone" rock formations that are a fantasy of nature (usually seen in the background of the computer). The Torres del Paine, Everest and the Annapurna chain in Nepal, it was cloudy every day, and I didn't see them. The orangutan reserve in Borneo, Indonesia, we went especially to see them with Peter, my son, and it turned out that "fruit season" had begun, the orangutans do not approach the food areas that the guards put on them and one sees them free when they pass to pick it up. In those weeks they find it in the trees and do not approach the expected places, thank goodness there is a large zoo and where you see them semi-free, and it is a pleasure to see them, one laughs at the nonsense they do like any human child. But we wanted to see them in their natural habitat. Or, the heat for 8 hours of 40 degrees, and you are not used to it, not to mention the mosquitoes in the tropical areas (malaria, dengue and others), because those do not appear in the tourist guides, and so many examples. You knew it was cheap, and it was, since the tourism trade has been so prosperous, then they think why are we not charging more, "totally always pay what we ask" you travel from afar for a few days, planes, hotels, sometimes crossing a good part of the world, and you find that they charge to take photos, to say, in Sri Lanka to photograph the fishermen on the sticks, it causes anger because they are in the ocean, on Koh Tao to go to a "Point View" they charge you, (I have my local friends who let me go through for nothing haha) as well as certain beautiful beaches further away and without anyone, and you will not miss it because it is unique, you travelled to see it, and let's keep paying more. In several places the prices of medication, beers, transport, etc ... they are different for locals. This is not widespread and certain parts of the world are definitely correct, but more and more this trend is added, because the tourism business is around. In the expectations are not the loss of suitcases that take up to days to solve the problem, plus the bad time, a cold, diarrhoea from those, a theft ........ Expectations deflate and become a bad time. Sharing with other travellers about a place visited by both of them we often have totally opposite opinions, for one, fantastic and for the other the opposite, for example, some don’t like Kathmandu, dirty, poor, very polluted, and I love it. It is personal, it is the expectation of the other, it is the experience, moods, age, time that is counted on in the place; in 3 days to only see the superficial of the above, I instead was there for about two months, and you see deeper, you know its inhabitants and habits, lives, families, and more remote places that you can not see in 3 days.
It's just reality, things happen and things don't happen, you don't know in advance. And it's better to gain the beautiful experiences than to lose the expectations.
photos of friends, some have been left out or already shown are parties, trips, birthdays, marriages, even honeymoons (not mine, for that matter haha), the last two photos were when I was invited to make improvement works for Thailand, one planting a tree and the other making a dam with Thais. More involved when ?
The Personal; Another edge for an answer is the aspect in what state you are personally, how the beauties of temples, spectacular national parks, beautiful beaches and islands, nor the best trekking in the Himalayas is what you lived but in what state of mind and mentality you were in, because it influences the final appreciation of the country. For example, it happened to me with Sri Lanka, I did not like it for objective reasons of banished abuse of tourists and sexual harassment, and personally it was a time of complications which manifested itself in my mood, they are indivisible things. I realised while I was going through it that I did not get many things right, I could not remember where to get off the train, and I was wrong again and again, I did not retain any names, the money was entangled, in short, I was disoriented, and I was scared. I realised the brain damage I was left with, this was the month after the last stroke. Difficult, begin to understand it, digest it, assume it and little by little I got to know myself again. My short-term memory is weak, and I must know how to live with it, what measures I have to take. So it was months of learning how to make up for that. I started by writing everything on the yellow 3M papers, (today I have the cell phone, meaning I know how to use it and has been my saviour and if I do not use it to save some information most of the time I made mistakes). Then the computer screen collapsed, and I lived through more than 10 days of nightmares to fix it. After a year of paperwork, the sale of my plot where my house and my cabin rental business are located was completed. I bought a vacant piece of land, near Santiago, without water, or a road, and it ended up being a wonder that allowed me in addition to living with a fixed income. I made that land with my hands, all that energy that I put in for more than 30 years, so many projects, my workshop, my animals, the raising of my children. It wasn't selling a house and that's that !!!! ..... It was a duel. Everything was known, and I wanted it to be like this, but when I made it concrete and said goodbye to all that past of mine, it affected me and I knew that it was irreversible. I thought I had dealt with it emotionally, but I hadn’t I also stopped having income, because I still perceived the rents, although everything was planned, but realising that for the first time in my life since I was 17 years old that I worked, and I supported myself I stopped having income, was another thing to digest. So I can not speak well of Sri Lanka, the objective experiences, plus the subjective ones added up and nothing good to share from there. Now if they are countries travelled as a happy couple or the opposite, everything changes colour.
Interests; mine are so different from others, the way I absorb things. As I live the countries, I do not travel as a tourist, I weigh things differently, and it mainly goes with the experience with their people, it’s in my favour to have the time in my favour and be alone, because it is easier for them to open their doors. When I remember a country I remember what I lived with them, being invited to share, to get to know their lives, to eat together, to make trips together. I keep more of that than the wonderful temples and amazing national parks like the ones I've seen. What I have left are the things that are not found in google, nor in the "National Geographic". Their lives, families, customs, timeshares, with many great friendships have been developed, and we are still in contact, I am aware of their lives and families, and I will forever have a welcoming place with them. Speaking of the subject last night looking for local news about the demonstrations of students against the government and the monarchy I came across a ranking article by "Choice Awards by Condé Nast Traveller." Thailand placed seventh place in the world, Chiang Mai, the second best among small cities, after San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, that I have visited, and it is beautiful and then Koh Pha Ngan Island, within the 3 most beautiful islands and I live at the moment in Kho Tao, and it is the closest island to mine, an hour and a half by fast ferry, so it is the same in everything to Koh Pha Ngan, the one I have visited, but I stay with this one because it is small about 6.5 x 2.5 km, and has everything as beautiful as the other and for me only its size makes it more cosy. Meaning, I move and live for the moment in Thailand between Chiang Mai and Koh Tao the most awarded within the most beautiful in the world "according to the article". What can I say? What more can I ask for? I was amazed at the coincidence of the moment when the article crossed my way, just as I was writing this text and I could not ignore it. I did not probe the things and virtues for which the prize is given and how it ranks statistically. But I wonder if the happiness and well-being of its inhabitants is considered. It is relevant whether the country is blatantly corrupt, or democracy is a mask, the social injustices that are daily bread at least in this area of the world. They are considered only for their geographical beauties, benign climates, and favourable dollar? ignoring and without considering their inhabitants and their conflicts of daily life. I follow my own way of seeing places and countries. So there is no recommendation for everything I described above.
!!!!!! Each trip has its own history, they are not transmissible and are not repeated !!!!
some meals shared are important occasions for them and for me to participate.
Why Chile is my exception and recommendation?, and how I said without patriotism, because I have never had it, I do not salute the flag, but its land and its people. And if I talk about Chile in this chapter it is not to promote it to non-Chilean readers to visit it, but on the contrary, for Chilean readers who appreciate what we have, I summarise it in a saying because many says or think "the grass is greener on the other side"
Its land: Its geography, the most remarkable is its variety from the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world with its Valley of the Moon, salt flats and flamingos, the flowery desert that occurs only in very few places in the world and is of undoubted beauty. The Andes Mountains with their snowdrifts and volcanoes active and passive by the hundreds of them. The longest country in the world, a thousand kilometres of fjords, thousands of islands and islets to end in Patagonia. The central valley and its riches in agriculture with a favourable climate. Chile is the only country that belongs to three continents: America, Antarctica and Oceania, with Easter Island. All this hanging from a thread between the sea and the mountain range, literally a corner of the world where the huge Andes Mountains make a barrier, and leaves us hidden. The Pacific that has us in the open field, the desert isolates us from the north and Patagonia finishes us off, being at the end of the world and all this gives a magical touch this isolation, for something they say the land of poets. There is a "saying" perhaps many in Chile know it, and I repeat, it says "when God created the earth on the seventh day he left a little of everything and threw it into a corner". Obviously, we do not have the Amazon jungles, ruins, castles, or so many other wonders and neither with those warm and placid seas of Southeast Asia. But our cold and furious sea produces the tastiest seafood and fish, which do not occur in warm waters. Chile, is about its geography and is still very virginal and above all things it is not yet contaminated by tourism. It is not a country of universal history, nor of its own architectures, nor temples, nor important ethnic cultures, nor of handicrafts compared to the rest of the world. Chile is a new country.
these families made me part of them, either as "grandma, mom or aunt", as they call me, never by name.
Its people: It is ranked number 20 as the happiest country, and it is not minor and now this will improve with better social laws that have to come. A simple, friendly and generous people. I captured an anecdote that land and people come together. With my 3 children, the youngest being 6, 7 and 11 years old, we travelled the austral road, the beginning of Chilean Patagonia. We saw the most amazing places I have seen in my life, all virgin. The number of inhabitants 000000.1 percent of the earth or close to that haha. Transport is infrequent, bus services are scarce, since there is not enough population to justify it, perhaps one day a week a section and then wait another day for another section, or wait for the ferry to cross some of the fjords that must be crossed. This was more than 15 years ago, today I do not know its connectivity, yes, I know that they are working at this time with intentions of developing tourism. The entry and exit point of the austral road since it does not connect with the rest of the country, is by ferry of more than one day’s sailing. The great part we did it by "hitch-hiking", it is the normal way of moving in the area, but it also speaks, and this point is extraordinary, it is secure. Security of its people, security of taking my children on a big trip "by hitch-hiking", knowing their kindness and their welcome, that you will not be turned away, there will always be a family that will give you a place to sleep, or a freshly baked bread from their precarious existences. Here I am not talking about my boldness, but about its people. Naivety, lack of distrust, simplicity, kindness.
"Solidarity"; it is part of the Chilean gene, it is our identity. Perhaps the earthquakes that we have been victims of for centuries stirred our hearts forever. And I say that quite rightly. How many boxes of solidarity food in times of pandemic have been distributed, it is an exorbitant number and made by their compatriots, not from the government. Knowing this did not catch my attention it has always been like this in Chile with its spontaneous support food boxes whether natural disasters, or Christmas, etc ... Now I have had the opportunity to talk with Peruvians, Argentinians, Nepalese, Thais I have learned that there is no idea that among their compatriots they help each other, if there is any help it will be from the government or from a religious group or the Red Cross, but not amongst themselves. Not to mention the nearly 800 foundations that were created to assist those most affected by the pandemic. A "roof for Chile" foundation that gives a small house to people who do not have a roof, it's minimal, but it's a roof for shelter and from there a way to start to in search of something better to measure their possibilities, this covers the first step. This foundation was created by the priest Felipe Berrios with university students and has been copied in Argentina and other countries. How many college students give away a couple of weeks of their holiday to volunteer for jobs in different ways across the country. This does not happen anywhere that students in a "massive" way dedicate part of their holidays to social work. Maybe it exists somewhere in the world, but the "massive" part, I seriously doubt it. I also learned that there was a Telethon that took place between April 3 and 4, 2020. At the beginning of the Pandemic, Chile in semi "lockdown", with prohibition of crowds of people. It was done through Zoom, and how much social network available, all kinds of shows and interviews for 24 hours, "online", until the final big night with the last computation that gave just over 40 million dollars. Where in the world would this happen? (being a developing country) ? Not even the United States has gathered this figure in its Telethon in good times. Where?
the blessings whether Buddhist or Hindu, those in these photos are not received for free, they invited me to their ceremonies to be blessed, either by a monk, or a type of Hindu priest (they have neither monks, nor monasteries) or simply a suitable person for some reason. I feel with that an appreciation for myself, I am not religious, but I take it with great respect and even grateful because I tell myself: "a blessing is always welcome". In some photos Peter appears, on the same very particular day in the Kathmandu valley, we had Buddhist and Hindu blessings. In many you have to follow the ritual that is not simple. I have two personal cell phone numbers of monks, heads of monastery. It just means a rapprochement on their part. This is the most intimate thing that can be shared.
The other thing, to achieve a change of Constitution, not change of president, but of Constitution and constituent. The government's hand broke it within a month. October 2019. Yes there was vandalism and death, and we’re not proud of that, a great pity and only happened when the last drop of water overflowed in the glass. Every social revolution brings confrontations and deaths, as they are not heard by other means and tired of the abuse. Unfortunately, it was necessary to make the drastic break, now if you look at it with perspective in time, it was a low cost and a tremendous achievement. This in Chile was minimal collateral damage. Historically in the world social revolutions take years and hundreds of deaths. And let someone enlighten me if there has been a deep social break in the world achieved in a month.
Chile, with all our limps that we have as a country with its imperfect land of earthquakes (we have registered one, as the strongest in the world), eruptions of volcanoes, the fearsome tsunamis, with its imperfect inhabitants, when observing them from the other corner of the world, with distance, perspective, years of baggage inevitably compares to it. Chile, it gets (more) bigger for me. She says the vagabond with her eyes that observe everything, or almost everything, I have nothing left to say, proud and with cause.
not only do I receive, when it is the case, I contribute with a roast, I pay for a dinner and in these photos it is two Christmases (December 25) with "my families" they do not celebrate it, and I shared my culture, they have only seen it in movies. The first photo in Kathmandu 2018, Gopal invited us to his house and cooked for us with Peter, knowing of our festivity, we arrived with a cake, small gifts for each one and for humour some Father Christmas hats. Happy children played with gifts and hats, it was a "Christmas" atmosphere to see them. The following year I cooked or tried, since turkeys are not found, and I have to make baked chicken, there are no ovens, here they are not used, I settled for "grilled chickens" bought on the street, and it was with "my family" from Chiang Mai, "my home", all were invited, from the housekeeping, the receptionists, Ron, the manager and the owner Moy (Moy joined us with Thai food, to the festivity to thank the year of work for their employees). as is the tradition, I gave an envelope with some money to each member of staff and the others a small gift as symbols of the Christmas of the West.
I end with this Buddhist blessing outside my house in Chiang Mai, during the Songkran holiday, she is the masseuse on the block who knew me in passing to the blessings with sacred water and a prayer, on the pavement. The whole neighbourhood came to seek her blessing. My friends on the block insisted that she bless me, and you can not refuse, it would be a rejection of their welcome, they make you feel like a part and not an outsider.
PA/PA/PA/PAN
PA pata/paw, in the process of recovery....... PA Panza (belly), I still have a few kilos to lose..... .. PA paises (countries), recommendations and I will continue to add others..... PAN pandemic that we continue to suffer through.....