superstition in thailand

At the moment I'm on my way to China. Before, we visited the ruins of Angkor and took a spoonful of Bangkok. In the next weeks, I will post about Angkor, but it will take a lot of time, because I plan to do a little documentation.

Bye, bye beautiful Thailand!

Now I'm writing about another interesting topic: Superstition. Superstition in Thailand is very common and widespread. Here some examples:

Believe in ghosts

There are a lot of good and even more evil ghosts. They live in trees, lakes, on mountains and in houses. The relocation of the German embassy in Thailand was planned month before. Not because they had a lot of bulky interior, but because the resident ghost had to accept his new home. Therefore, Magaichat, an expert in terms of ghost, had to find the right place for the new ghost house (1).

Ghost house at River Inn Resort in Sappong, Thailand

To make sure, the ghost joins the relocation, offerings are crucial (1). Everywhere in Thailand you can see soft drinks or fruits at the entrance of ghost houses to please the inhabitants. Ceremonies should be finished at 11 AM, so that the ghosts can enjoy their dinner (2).

Ghost house at the Chinese village in Pai, Thailand

But what will happen with all the food? You rarely see ghost houses with rotten food. Well, my mom read about a Western man living together with a Thai woman. When the family offered more than 5 bottles of whiskey, the grandpa would secretly take one bottle for himself (3).



Underneath the elephant's stomach

There are many other believes, such as that pregnant women should crawl underneath an elephant's stomach to have an easy birth (2).

Elephants from the sustainable Elephant project saveelephant.org

Ugly children

"Thai children are not beautiful, they're ugly" (4). When you call a children beautiful, it will draw attention to evil spirits. So if you want to make a Thai mother happy, point out how ugly her children are (2) (4). At least in theory.

Beautiful children. They are Cambodian, so it's ok.

All pictures were taken by my mother.

List of reference

(1) GÜNSCHE, KARL-LUDWIG 2012, Aberglaube in Thailand, URL http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/aberglaube-in-thailand-wie-geister-das-leben-der-menschen-bestimmen-a-872769.html, (accessed by 15th of August 2013).

(2) RAINER, TOM KRACK 2010, Thailand-Handbuch: Reiseführer für individuelles Entdecken, Reise Know How Verlag Peter Rump GmbH.

(3) on request - brock.greta(at)gmail.com

(4) JAMES, CASSANDRA 2009, Thai children are not beautiful, they're ugly, URL http://www.examiner.com/article/thai-children-are-not-beautiful-they-re-ugly, (accessed by 16th of August 2013).

impressions of northern thailand

Ich werde meine Blogeinträge ab jetzt auch auf Deutsch veröffentlichen, einfach nach unten scrollen, um die deutsche Version zu lesen. // From now on I will also publish my posts in German, just scroll down to read the German version.

We had to leave beautiful Northern Thailand behind, to go to Cambodia. I made a little video to show you the beautiful green of Pai and Sappong in Northern Thailand during the rainy season.


In Northern Thailand there are also a lot of animistic hill tribes. Every village has a shaman, who has healing powers and performs rituals to worship the ancestors and keep evil spirits away. One of those hilltribes is called "Lisu". The Lisu are among the 56 official ethnic groups of China and also live in Burma and Northern India. In Thailand, there are around 55.000 Lisu (1). That's about the population of Sukhotai, Thailand, or Cuxhaven in Germany (2).

I personally didn't want to take pictures of them, because I feel that there are way to many tourists interfering with there way of life. Some of the tribes even stopped working, because they can make more money with modelling. If you want so see some pictures of the Lisu people, I found an amazing travel blog named "Surfdog" with a lot of pictures:

- Lisu village (includes a picture of a shaman ritual)
- Lisu New Year celebration & dancing in the day


PS: If you are interested in the hill tribes, also check out the Lahu people. They live matrilocal (3), so a couple lives at the house of the wife, and not in the husband's house.

- general information about the Lahu people 
- interesting article about genes and matrilocal behavior

Natur und Kultur in Nordthailand

Wir mussten das wunderschöne Nordthailand hinter uns lassen, um weiterzuziehen nach Kambodscha. Ich habe ein kleines Video gemacht, um euch das wundervolle Grün während der Regenzeit in Pai und Soppong in Nordthailand zu zeigen.


In Nordthailand gibt es außerdem viele animistische Bergvölker. Jedes Dorf hat einen Schamanen mit Heilkräften, der Rituale durchführt, um die Vorfahren zu ehren und böse Geister fernzuhalten. Einer dieser Völker nennt sich "Lisu". Die Lisu gehören zu den 56 offiziel anerkannten ethnischen Gruppen in China und leben auch in Burma und Nordindien. In Thailand gibt es ungefähr 55.000 Lisu (1). Das entspricht ungefähr der Population von Sukhotai, Thailand oder Cuxhaven in Deutschland (2).

Ich selbst wollte keine Fotos machen, da ich finde, dass bereits viel zu viele Touristen sich in ihr Leben einmischen. Einige der Stämme haben bereits ihre Arbeit niedergelegt, da sie mit dem Modeln einfach mehr Geld verdienen. Wenn ihr Bilder von den Lisu sehen wollt, seht euch die vielen tollen Bilder vom Reiseblog "Surfdog" an:

- Lisu Dorf (es gibt auch ein Bild von einem schamanistischen Ritual)
- Lisu Neujahrsfeier & Tanz in den Tag


PS: Wenn ihr euch für die Bergvölker interessiert, informiert euch auch über die Lahu. Sie leben matrilokal (3), ein Pärchen lebt also im Haus der Frau und nicht des Ehemannes.

- allgemeine Informationen zu den Lahu
- interessanter Artikel über Gene und matrilokales Verhalten








List of Reference

(1) WIKIPEDIA 2013a, Lisu people, URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisu_people, (accessed by 9th of August 2013).

(2) MONGABAY 2004-2007, World cities with 50,000 to 55,000 people  in 2005, URL http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/2005_world_city_populations/2005_city_population_20.html, (accessed by 9th of August 2013).

(3) WIKIPEDIA 2013b, Lahu people, URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahu_people, (accessed by 10th of August 2013).

caterpillar in pai

Quick facts about Pai

Location: Northern Thailand
Highlights: hot springs, sleeping in quiet cottages in the middle of nowhere
Sustainable activities: broaden your horizon with some courses and workshops, enjoy vegan food, go to the waterfalls
Unsustainable activities: stuff like elephant riding (they pull at the elephant's ear to lead them) or giving money to the hill tribes


Today we went saw a stunning caterpillar close to Mo Paeng waterfall, Pai.




Also, Pai is a very alternative place. There are several meditation and Reiki courses and we also saw some ad for a permaculture workshop. You can even have vegan food here. At dusk, the town starts to be very charming and relaxed, with a lot of good bars.

Still, I feel that this town is not developing in a sustainable way. The center of Pai is bursting at the seams, because there are sooo many people and motorbikes during daytime.  Although the town attracts so many tourists, there are only 2,248 inhabitants in Pai (Wikipedia 2013). This is approximately the population as in Arnbruck, my hometown. I think my parents would move to another place, if Arnbruck was that busy, noisy and polluted.

In the end, I just wish for Pai, that the nature won't be spoiled and the inhabitants will be happy. 

chiang mai temple mania

Quick Facts about Chiang Mai

Location: Northern Thailand
Highlights: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Wat Chedi Luang, Night market
Sustainable activities:
- Sustainable elephant project: Elephant Nature Park, they are also looking for volunteers.
- Yoga: The Yoga Tree, Yoga Mind Yoga Body



In Chiang Mai we visited three temples and accidentally bumped into 10 other temples. That wasn't very difficult, as there are over 300 temples in Chiang Mai (4). I think, the temple density is even higher than the church density in Roma. (Approximately 150.000 people live in Chiang Mai, so 1 temple for 500 people. 2.600.000 people live in Roma and according to some estimations there might be up to 4.000 churches in Roma, so 1 church for 650 people.)

Wat Chedi Luang

One of the most significant temples in Chiang Mai is Wat Chedi Luang. In the 15th century it was 82 m high, but after an earthquake the structure collapsed. Now it's "just" 60 m high (6). I find it thrilling, that there are statues and banners of the Thai zodiac signs. They are closely related to the Chinese zodiac signs, but follow the Thai lunar calendar (2).

I'm a snake.

Click here for further information about the Thai zodiac signs.

Since the 23th of July (1), Buddhist monks have been practising Vassa, the three-month retreat during the rainy season (6). It is said, that Buddha came up with this rule, because the plants on the fields grow during the rainy seasons and he didn't want the monks to step on the plant sprouts (5). During Vassa, monks stay at their temple to study, meditate and teach (3).

Thai zodiac banners

Still, other daily duties have to be fulfilled, e.g. restoration. At Wat Chedi Luang we were able to watch a young Buddhist monk restoring a golden statue. With a plastic glove on his hand and an observing old lady in his back, he was rubbing some gold paste on the statue.

Monk restoring statue

(All photos were taken by my mom.)

Click here to learn more about the daily life of a Buddhist monk in Thailand.




List of Reference


1 RATANAGIRI, ARUNA 2012, 2013 Buddhist Calendar, URL http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma6/2004cal.html, (accessed by 5th of August 2013).

2 ROSE, MIKE 2013, Thai Zodiac Signs, URL http://www.thaisignlanguage.com/thai-zodiac-signs/, (accessed by 6th of August 2013).

3 THAI WORLD VIEW, Rain retreat, URL http://www.thaiworldview.com/bouddha/ceremon8.htm, (accessed by 5th of August 2013).

4 WIKIPEDIA 2013a, Chiang Mai, URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Mai, (accessed by 6th of August 2013).

5 WIKIPEDIA 2013a, Khao Phansa, URL http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khao_Phansa, (accessed by 5th of August 2013).

6 WIKIPEDIA 2013b, What Chedi Luang, URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Chedi_Luang, (accessed by 6th of August 2013).

7 WIKIPEDIA 2013c, Vassa, URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vassa, (accessed by 5th of August 2013).

butterfly dreams

I will miss you, beautiful butterflies in the garden! Tomorrow the journey will start.

"Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly.

I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou. 

Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. 

Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man (...)" (Zhuangzi).

Zhuang Zhou or Zhuangzi (365 BC - 290 BC) was a Chinese philosopher and poet. His writings are very important for Daoism (Wikipedia 2013). The quote continues, also there are different translations, for further information I suggest you to start with Wikiquote: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zhuangzi

List of reference:

WIKIPEDIA 2013, Zhuangzi, URL http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi (accessed by 1st of August 2013).

WIKIQUOTE, Zhuangzi, URL http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zhuangzi, (accessed by 1st of August 2013).

looking forward to cooling off in thailand

In Germany it is extremely hot at the moment. According to the World Meteorological Organization the daily temperature in Germany should be between  12°C (minimum) and 24°C (maximum) in July and August. So opportunities to wear fancy summer dresses are usually quite rare in this country.

This year, things seem to change. Let's see the weather forecast for Bavaria and Northern Thailand:

Amberg Bavaria, Germany	Chiang Mai Northern Thailand, Thailand
click here for a larger picture	click here for a larger picture

So at the moment we have siesta all day long, which is wonderful, but you can't be really active. So we are really looking forward to go to Thailand to cool off a little ; ).





List of reference:

The two graphics are cropped screenshots of google's weather forecast.

GOOGLE 2013, Amberg, Deutschland, URL http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=de&tab=iw#safe=off&hl=de&sclient=psy-ab&q=weather+forecast+amberg&oq=weather+forecast+amberg&gs_l=hp.3..0i13j0i13i30l2j0i30.1504.4687.0.4974.23.15.0.5.5.0.311.2812.0j8j6j1.15.0....0...1c.1.22.psy-ab..3.20.2798.Q8LYkIZBzs0&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.49784469%2Cd.ZWU%2Cpv.xjs.s.en_US.MpiVkF51mpA.O&fp=811b8b950d18b&biw=1366&bih=706, (accessed by 28th of July 2013), keywords for the search: weather forecast amberg.

GOOGLE 2013, Chiang Mai, Thailand, keywords: weather forecast chiang mai, URL http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=de&tab=iw#hl=de&gs_rn=22&gs_ri=psy-ab&pq=weather%20forecast%20amberg&cp=21&gs_id=38&xhr=t&q=weather+forecast+chiang+mai&es_nrs=true&pf=p&safe=off&sclient=psy-ab&oq=weather+forecast+chia&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.49784469,d.ZWU&fp=811b8b950d18b&biw=1366&bih=706, (accessed by 28th of July 2013), keywords for the search: weather forecast chiang mai.