From April 2011
“When you drink the water, remember the spring.” Chinese proverb.
This is a beautiful time in Thailand! Smiles in the faces of Thai people get even bigger. It’s the time of Songkran Festival. Buddhist temples are welcoming locals for a peaceful prayer with monks. Youth is rushing home to get a blessing from their elderly. After receiving their spiritual blessing, everybody goes to the streets with buckets of water.
Elephant splashing with water Thais.
Water everywhere! Roads are wet, people are drenched, but everybody smiling. Usually sidewalks filled with sleeping homeless animals now empty. Perhaps they know it’s time to hide, as no one escapes refreshing Songkran. Armies of Thais come prepared for the celebration. Kids are loaded with water guns, buckets, home made water balloon bombs. The older are smarter – they have hose constantly filling up the tanks by the road. Huge buckets of water sometimes mixed with white talc are being splashed all over passing cars, tuk-tuks and their passengers, motorcyclists, neighbors and strangers. If it moves – it’s going to get wet!
Songkran is incredibly fun tradition! It is a fun way to get back at that noisy next door neighbor, or to meet a shy girl across the street. Even elephants enjoy Songkran. And they should. Mother Nature made them ready for this celebration. One second elephant is by the water tank, the next its running after Thais splashing them with water like some frogs. Everybody wet, everybody happy. You can hear a loud music and laughter coming from tiny streets of very poor looking houses.
All the problems suddenly seem to go away here in Thailand. A new beginning brings peace and serenity and maybe a little bit more love to each other.
Perhaps we all should go ahead and think of a few blessings to our loved ones and renew forgotten goals and dreams for the year of the rabbit?
Ingrida LaMadrid
CEO and Editor-in-Chief
Kawapanga.com
Enjoy a new culture with budget airline tickets
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From March 2011
“The best way to find you is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mohandas Gandhi
The strangest thing happened to me this month. Instead of going to new places, I came back to an old one only to find myself again.
- We donated to help Japan, did you?
After a long time of personal hibernation I was awakened by the aftershock waves of 6.8 earthquake in Burma. Thank God the epicenter was 700km. away from Bangkok. But it was more than enough to understand how fragile our life on Earth is. My head was turning around, and my waist line uncontrollably swinging to sides. Curtains and blinds started making creepy sounds, as the building was swinging soundlessly. Perhaps, it did not help the fact that I was on 24th floor at the time of this event, which made it feel even more frightening.
After experience like this one people tend to reconsider living lost dreams and goals that perhaps were forgotten for far too long. I am no exception.
Earlier this month the disaster in Japan, that took global attention to a once green and flourishing country, now flooded in mud and pieces of personal memorabilia. Japan was always my dream land which I was going to visit one day. Indeed, that day will have to wait now.
I encourage my readers to chip –in little something together in order to help Japan at this dark hour. Think about it – no one is certain about tomorrow. What today is a safe shelter – tomorrow might be no more.
Did you donate to help Japan? If not – here are some legitimate funds that are still waiting for your generosity:
Save the Children Federation, Inc.
This was indeed one sad March… My heart is with you, Japan.
Ingrida LaMadrid
CEO and Editor-in-Chief
Kawapanga.com
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From July 2009
“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me… All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” - Jackie Robinson
I take a deep breath as I watch a big orange sun going down behind the horizon of the millions unfinished buildings in Cairo City. The streets are still jam packed with taxi cars, and I can see many tourist ships starting their routine trips up and down the Nile. This is my last day in Cairo, and I will leave in 3 hours to the airport.
Can’t keep myself from thinking how I want to get out of here. Not because of the July heat and not because I did not like Egypt. I mean, I was dreaming to visit this country since I first learned about Ancient Egyptian culture. It’s the modern Egypt that drains you out.
Cairo sunset
And no article in any tourist guide book can prepare you for Egypt. You have to do it on your own, but not alone. Of course it all depends on whether you fly to Cairo and take it from there on your own, or you simply go on excursions with prepaid bus leaving from the safe walls of resorts in Hurgada. It is absolutely different experiences. But trust me; you cannot really understand the culture unless you try it out yourself.
Many scary and many beautiful stories can be told about Egypt. But I encourage you to take taxi in Cairo, take a walk in Alexandria, fly to Abu-Simbel, land in Aswan and take a Nile cruise down the river to Luxor and Karnak.
And then sit down and watch the sunset before your flight back home. Because this is the time to decide what will you tell about Egypt to other people. Hard to decide isn’t it? I bet it is…
Ingrida LaMadrid
CEO and Editor-in-Chief
Kawapanga.com
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From June 2009
“All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” – Samuel Johnson
Another day has passed and it’s getting sunnier in Ukraine. After a cold and ruff winter and not so warm spring June is the first month you actually feel that the summer is here. Chestnut trees are blooming with white big flowers here in Kiev. Parks are filled with locals walking around and taking pictures with every blooming bush in it. And it seems everybody day dream about coming vacations. Yes, it’s the spirit of Chestnut trees! You have got to love them.
Caves Monastery, Kyiv
It’s also the best timing to visit Ukraine. The cafes begin to set out pavement seating for the warm season as days gets longer. More sun, more smiles. We pack bottles of water and head out to catch a local public transport. Crazy old dirty looking tram with many people already in it. The old lady with a cold face offers newcomers tram tickets as it runs fast down the center of Kiev. There are many things we want to see today: Caves Monastery, St Sophia Cathedral, St Andrew’s Church, Museum of Micro miniature, Museum of Great Patriotic War, Babyn Yar, walk the street next to St Andrew’s to shop for cool Russian dolls, paintings, jewelry and all sorts of other tourist souvenirs.
It’s interesting to walk the streets and observe Ukrainians. Older generation is wearing old fashioned clothes and haircuts from 70s or 80s. It does feel like the time had stopped in here and some locals were left in that weird era of Soviet Union. Sometimes as you come across some soviet stars or flags, or even a huge statue to honor Lenin just sitting there in a middle of some square with red flowers blooming around you start doubting for a moment. Hey, wait a minute!?
Ingrida LaMadrid
CEO and Editor-in-Chief
Kawapanga.com
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From April 2009
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
It’s such a beautiful spring morning. I opened the window to let in some fresh air as I make my cup of morning coffee. Sunrise is the best time to write my articles. My memories are so fresh and it feels like I can hear the street noises around Galata Tower, to smell the mesmerizing scents of the oriental spices at the Spice Market in Istanbul. I sit remembering the warm, lush taste of Turkish apple tea and the greeting smiles of the Turkish people.
B. Obama at reception in Istanbul.
Yes, I have just returned from Istanbul, Turkey. What an exciting ten days it was! It’s been a long time that I had such a busy schedule. I started with European part of the city then took a ferryboat to Princess Islands. I went to the famous Grand Bazaar that is greeting you in all existing living languages that you could ever think of. This truly is the magnificent Constantinople with all its greatness.
As much as I was amassed by the grand feel of the historic city, the other marvelous event took place in it on the time of my arrival. Newly elected United States President Barack Obama was visiting Istanbul, and it was the reason why I decided to come to Turkey in April.
The waiting for the president to enter the meeting hall that morning was the longest three hours in my life. The crowd would keep its breath every time the door was opened by the body guards’ running back and forward clearing the way right before the long awaited President stepped and greeted us. What an amazing person. You have to admire both talent and charm of this man who took over everybody’s hearts with friendly smile and warm hand shake.
I returned home filled with most beautiful memories from Istanbul – the magical oriental city that kept its old tradition to greet all people with love, no matter whether you are a king or just a lonely traveler.
Ingrida LaMadrid
CEO and Editor-in-Chief
Kawapanga.com
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