Chica-Joey-Asia2018

Although Sri Lanka and India are the leaders in the industry, northern Thailand has ideal climate for tea leaf growth and is a major player in the tea producing nations of the world. We drove to the Mae Tang District, about 60 kilometers north of Chiang Mai. Upon arrival, we received an introduction to the steps of the process of getting the tea from seed form to the drink we drink. Meet Charlie, as in Chan per Charlie:). He guided us through the tea plantation, teaching us the process of "plucking" just the right leaves. Charlie claims to be 130 years old and in excellent health-because he drinks green tea every single day and many cups per day!  We know he is not 130 years old; however, he appears to be ageless in his mind. These beautiful green leaves are leaves of the tea plant. The plants are continually pruned to encourage growth. After leaves are plucked, new growth occurs in only seven days. There is a specific way to pluck the leaves. In the two p...

Today we took a very informative cultural tour in Chiang Mai.  First we jumped (literally!) into a Songthaew, a passenger vehicle in Thailand adapted from a pick-up truck and used as a shared taxi or bus for transportation. On our way to the Kad Thad Payom, our guide PT instructed us on how to participate in the daily ritual of offering food to the monks by the people.  The Kad Thad Payom is a local market close to the Buddhist Temple where the food vendors prepare the food offered to the monks.  At Kad Thad Payom we participated in the tradition of offering food to the young Buddhist monks (called novices). Being careful not to touch the monk’s bowl, we carefully placed one food item in the bowl. Then the monks would recite (in Sanskrit) a blessing of loving kindness for us.   Offering food is one of the oldest and most common rituals of Buddhism. Food is given to monks during the early morning. Offering food is a meritorious act that reminds us not to be greedy or...

We boarded a boat on Tonle Sap Lake to take us out to see the floating village. The boat had a rope on a pulley used for a throttle (gas pedal) and another rope and pulley system for steering.  The volume of the Tonle Sap Lake varies considerably over the course of a year from an area of about 965 sq miles at the end of the dry season in late-April to an area of up to 6,178 sq miles at the later part of the monsoon season in September and early-October.  Many of these homes would be sitting on dry land in April or May at the end of the dry season.  These are normal daily living conditions for all of the people who live in these floating villages. The main source of income is fishing but that is changing.  Over the last few years, fishermen have been less concerned about the environment and more about survival. Although fishing was once done using age old methods, fishermen are now using techniques that not only take the larger adult dish but also ...

On the way to see the floating village, we stopped to see silk being made from the lotus plant. A view of the lotus field... The lotus flower is the symbol of Devine purity in many Asian cultures. In Buddhism the lotus is known to be associated with purity, spiritual awakening, and faithfulness.  There is a seed in the fruit that is very sweet to eat. There is no waste in a lotus plant. All parts which do not enter into the fabric process are edible and offer unique properties.  The spinning stage consists of transforming the lotus fiber into a thread. After cleaning, spinners carefully cut around the stems and pull their extremeties to extract the lotus fibers. Twelve layers of fiber must be superimposed and rolled with precision to produce a high quality thread.  The most meticulous part of the process is putting the different pieces of thread together without visible junction or weakness. The thread has to be very regular or it will break during the ...