Niche Travel Guide

By AARON KAYE

The town of Nanyuki is a small town near the base of Mt. Kenya with a handful of shops that are worth the traveler’s time. As with any town or rest stop in the area, there are dozens of individuals selling carvings and beads galore. But in addition, there are a few shops with slightly nicer items if you’re looking for more than just cheap souvenirs.

While there, I enjoyed visiting a Nanyuki Spinners & Weavers, a women’s cooperative that produces woven mats and rugs. Check out the website here. It is supported by the Presbyterian Church, so find your way there (called the PCEA) and you’ll be taken on a tour of their spinning facility where wool is spun into yarn as well as the weaving facility and a simple shop. Read the rest of this entry →

By GEORGE L. COATES

Thai society is not “individualistic” in the way of most western cultures. Thai rules and habits promote obligation to others. In order to be accepted, one must return and offer favor naturally. Though individual achievement is sought, admired, and even envied, basic respect in Thailand is earned from sharing and giving back. Being considerate gets one ahead in the long run. Thais say “mii nam jai” to say that a person is thoughtful of others in a profound sense. The literal translation: Mii (to have) nam (water) jai (heart) misses the point of the concept which really refers to a person willing to go all out for someone regardless of personal cost and with out being asked to do so. The “wai”

In Bangkok the westerner is greeted with a handshake. But between Thais themselves and in the countryside the “wai” form of greeting is used except that among equals simply saying “sawatdii” is sufficient without the wai. A “wai” is a gesture of pressing the palms together at chest level with the fingers vertical and making a nod so that index fingers touch the forehead just above the eyebrows. Read the rest of this entry →

By GEORGE L. COATES

Thailand is by, of and for the Thai. The word “Thai” means free people. Unlike all other South East Asian capitals, Bangkok was never a colonial city. But neither is it an ancient city. As a result of the Burmese ransack of the former Thai capital at Ayuthaya in 1767, the Thai army moved down the Chao Phraya river to Thonburi, now part of Bangkok. At about the same time the current Thai dynasty emerged with king Chakri as Rama I, or the first monarch of the current Chakri dynasty. Read the rest of this entry →