"Thai" Will Always Love You (Part 1): Phahurat (Little India) and "Indian Diaspora in Asia" Conference at Mahidol University

- July 17-19, 2024, Wednesday to Saturday.

- I really really missed Thailand and I'm glad I had the chance to go back after 8 years! My third time in Thailand was a work trip; I had to present a paper at a conference held at Mahidol University on the Indian diaspora in Asia.

- After arriving in Bangkok on the 17th, I immediately checked in the hotel provided by the conference in Nakhon Pathom (the province right beside Bangkok), and immediately set out to inhale some Bangkok air! My first agenda was to visit Bangkok's "Little India", a neighborhood called Phahurat/Pahurat. It is closest to Sam Yot MRT station, though these days, getting a Grab in Bangkok is not only cheap, but comfortable too (compared to the Philippines, the same price can go twice as far in Bangkok more or less; traffic is far better there too!). 

- I passed by some notable establishments in the area, including Old Siam Plaza mall and its Siamese-European architecture, and Nightingale-Olympic department store. I wandered the streets of Phahurat, and realized that this is one of the places to buy Thai traditional costumes and accessories.

Old Siam Plaza, opened in 1993. The site used to be an old market.

The ground level was made to replicate a market.

Not the biggest fan of mango sticky rice, but I guess it is a must in Thailand.

Nightingal-Olympic, the oldest department store in Thailand. It opened officially in the 1960s, but its earlier incarnation opened in the 1930s. 

- I later ventured to the Sri Guru Sabha Gurudwara, opened in 1981, though its roots go as far back as the 1910s when the first Indian Sikhs went to live in Bangkok. 

Gurudwara facade.

Main prayer hall.

Facade from across the street.

- I also peeked inside India Emporium beside the gurudwara, a mall that sells Indian clothes, accessories, and fabric. It is a modest-looking mall with great finds!

Inside India Emporium.

Mall facade.

- From the gurudwara, I walked a few blocks to Yaowarat, at least the part closest to Phahurat, and looked around Wat Chakkrawat Rachawat Woramahawihan (Wat Chakkrawat for short). It was built probably in the 1700s, and is not only known for its golden Buddha in the ordination hall, but also its crocodile pond based on a legend concerning a wild man-eating crocodile that was caught and taken care of in the temple.

One of the smaller halls.

At the ordination hall, overlooking the other halls.

Outside the ordination hall.

At the courtyard.

Real crocodiles at the pond.

The ornate ordination hall (I actually had to take a photo of this on another day since the hall was already closed when I first visited the temple.)

Such detail!

Golden Buddha.

- I was so tired from all the walking in Bangkok's humid heat that I had to return to the hotel afterwards to cool off and work on my research. (Honestly, this was one hectic trip!) At least I was able to maximize whatever time and energy I had on my first day!

- The next days were devoted to the Indian Diaspora in Asia conference in Mahidol University. I appreciated Mahidol's campus: it's really big but cozy, or maybe that's just the building where we had the conference. I presented a paper on how Indians in the Philippines use malls for their cultural events - and what malls mean to the Philippine society.

Conference ready, with my new Indian vest from Phahurat!

At the Prince Mahidol Hall, one of the newest buildings in Mahidol University, built in 2014. It was patterned after the United Nations building in Bangkok.

This was one of the snacks prepared in the conference. I initially thought it was something like tanghulu, but the outer coating is like jelly with the sweet mung beans inside.

Mahidol University is home to some....wildlife. This is one of the few monitor lizards I saw on campus. I don't know why it's carrying a stick.

Dressed nicely for the day, and at the same spot. It was the day I was presenting. Coincidentally, it was also my mom's birthday. I wore the colors of the flag of India because of the conference, but the shawl and my necklace are Thai, honoring the location of the conference. (Yes I really thought that out.)

Conference ready once more.

My conference presentation.  think I did a good job.

- I had an eventful first few days in Thailand, and I couldn't believe how time flew so fast because of my hectic schedule (+ other work after going back to the hotel). However, this was just the start of many things to experience in Bangkok! 

- Check out my other adventures for this Thailand trip!

Part 2 (Nakhon Pathom): here

Part 3 (Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Kudeejeen): here

Part 4 (Chinatown, Wat Saket, Giant Swing): here

Part 5 (Ancient City, Erawan Museum, Terminal 21): here

The 2nd Junior Chinese Studies Conference: Chinese in the Southeast Asian Countries

- Nov. 16, 2015, Monday.

- The Ateneo de Manila University's Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies held its second Junior Chinese Studies Conference in the Ateneo de Manila University. This kind of conference was initiated last year as a chance for student-presenters to be exposed to the world of academic conferences, and for the students to learn from their panel reactors in order to improve or develop their current/future research papers

Conference program and my golden Chinese fan as the background.

- Since this was a junior conference, the participants are all undergraduate (college-level) students. Most of the presenters were students from Ateneo de Manila University who are currently in the AB Chinese Studies program, taking a minor in Chinese Studies, or taking a Chinese/China-related class for the semester. Other schools such as the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University - Manila, University of Santo Tomas, and the University of the Asia and the Pacific also sent paper presenters to support the event. The number of papers this year totaled 45, a bit more than double of last year's conference. All papers submitted were more or less about the contemporary Chinese communities/societies in the Philippines, or about preserving the Chinese heritage in the contemporary age. Most papers were backed up with conceptual frameworks from Chinese philosophies, usually, Confucianism. After all, Confucianism is one of the backbones of Chinese and sinicized societies (i.e. Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese) today.

- I was invited by the Chinese Studies Program (via Prof. Sidney Bata, director of the Ricardo Leong Chinese Studies Program) to be a panel reactor for some panels in the conference. This excited me a lot because I've never been a panel reactor before; I mostly present in academic conferences, and I have also moderated (but not reacted) in one panel in Hong Kong last year (click here to see). In addition to this, this is also the first time that I attended a purely Chinese Studies conference; I've mostly attended Asian-Studies conferences (general Asian Studies, usually multidisciplinary,) and a few on Korean Studies (particularly on "hallyu" or the "Korean Wave.") However, the experience and feeling of taking part in this junior conference was "not new" to me, since all academic conferences on Asian Studies that I've been in are almost always concentrated on China, Japan, Korea, in that particular order. Papers on Southeast Asia (usually on ASEAN affairs) are sometimes noticeable (or papers on the Philippines in case of local conferences,) while papers on Indian Studies, West Asia, and Central Asia are usually rare. I'm usually one of the rare beings to present papers on India, particularly Indian popular culture (i.e. Bollywood.) Hopefully, more academic papers on other Asian geocultural regions will be written and presented, to add diversity to "Asian Studies" conferences everywhere.

- Going back to the junior conference, the event started with a keynote lecture by Dr. Diana Mendoza on the (political) influences of China in Southeast Asia. Dr. Mendoza is a professor in the Political Science Department of the Ateneo de Manila University, and is also the director of the Southeast Asian Studies program of the same university.

Mr. Charles Joseph de Guzman, Chinese Studies instuctor and my friend. 

Dr. Fernando Aldaba, dean of the School of Social Sciences, and his welcoming remarks.

Dr. Diana Mendoza and her keynote lecture.

- Throughout the day, four major panels on different themes were held - philosophies and ideologies; tourism, migration, and social mobility; culture and family life; and emerging trends: technology, social media, and education. I was assigned to be a reactor on three succeeding afternoon panels - one on culture and family life, and two panels on technology, social media, and education.

Tarp.

My friend Kat as a panel reactor in one of the morning panels.

Charles, Kat, and me: 2 China Studies majors, and a misplaced Indian Studies major (wearing a Mongolian top.)

Before having lunch.

Mr. Harold Diokno, history teacher from La Salle Greenhills and a China Studies major as well. 

Paul Yiu and his paper on the mixing of Chinese philosophies and Filipino traits among Fil-Chi adolescents. 

Paul's paper, according to his reactors, was one of the "most developed" in the conference; I thought so too. Paul's also a friend of mind by the way.

- The presenters in my panels had really relevant topics ranging from changing language pedagogy in Chinese schools in the Philippines, exploring the Fil-Chi senior society, to the proposing the change Chinese words connoting gender inequality, and presenting the different uses of the Chinese cleaver. Though the students had a long way to go in terms of presenting and writing proper academic papers, they were still able to present a lot of interesting facts on contemporary Chinese, and diasporic Chinese issues that I may not have known or didn't notice before. This is the reason why I strongly feel that schools and universities should continue to push their students to think more, and to participate (not just as a spectator/observer) in mind-feeding activities like this conference.

With Dr. Yugioksing.

Trying to sound professional but I end up saying my comments with a lighter, comedic tone. Well, that's me.

My first panel. I didn't have more photos of the succeeding panels since my "photographer," Eugene Andojoyan, had to leave.

- After surviving three succeeding panels (and I was able to since they were all fun to listen to,) Prof. Daisy See of the Chinese Studies Program formally closed the conference. The bonus of the day was getting to hitch a ride with the Chiang Kai Shek College school bus on the way home (way better than taking the LRT of course.) The bus was there since a lot of Chinese Education majors from the college department went as observers in the whole-day event. I enjoyed the conference very much, and I hope that I'd get to serve as a panel reactor again in the future junior conferences. I also hope that more junior conferences will be held, not only by the Chinese Studies Program, but also in other fields, to allow more students and potential experts to "go out there and shine." Perhaps, later on, a junior conference on Indian or South Asian Studies can be held, to boost this important-but-"forgotten" field in the Philippines.

Prof. Daisy See.

With Chiang Kai Shek alumni (high school) Paul and Austin, and Ryan in the middle is currently taking his Chinese Education degree in the college department of Chiang Kai Shek College. 

Me.

With yet another China-Studies-major friend, Ivy, who also happened to be with me in my recent Asian Studies conference in New York (click here to read.)

The Star-Spangled Sojourn (Part 4): The Quiet Part of Poughkeepsie and The NY Conference on Asian Studies 2015 at Vassar College

- Oct. 15-18, 2015, Thursday (afternoon) to Sunday (morning.)

- Taking off from directly from Part 3 (click here,) my friend/colleague Janus and I rode the Metro-North Rail train to the City of Poughkeepsie. Both of us, and two other friends/colleagues from UP Diliman, were to present our papers in the New York Conference on Asian Studies, held at Vassar College. The Metro-North Rail is one of the commuter lines, and these commuter lines are economic options to go to nearby places out of whichever city - in this case, the Metro-North Rail is a good option to go to nearby cities and towns outside New York.

- The City of Poughkeepsie is located in New York State, but outside New York City. I always found the need to explain this, since people automatically equate New York "STATE" with New York "CITY." New York CITY, which was the content of Parts 1 (click here,) 2 (click here,) and 3 (click here) of this blog series, is a tiny tiny dot within New York STATE. New York State has other cities, many being less urban than NYC. Poughkeepsie is one of those cities. The rather unique name of  "Poughkeepsie" was derived from the native American Wappinger language "uppuqui-ipis-ing," which in English would be "the reed-covered lodge by the little water."In addition to this, the Town of Poughkeepsie, where Vassar College and Days Inn are located, is surrounded by the City of Poughkeepsie, where the train station and the main businesses are located.

-  We were on the train for a bit more than an hour with a nice view of the Hudson River, Bannerman's Castle on Pollepel Island (will talk more about this later on,) and West Point (The United States Military Army; more about this later too.) The farther away we were from the city, the less houses we saw, and the farther north we went, the trees became redder and "autumn-like." Of course, it also meant that the weather would be significantly cooler than NYC (the spaciousness and lack of tall buildings in Poughkeepsie also gave the wind more space to play.)

Hudson River, telephone lines, railway.

Bannerman's Castle; there will be a better photo later on. 

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.

Mid-Hudson Bridge.

- Janus and I arrived at Poughkeepsie around 3-ish in the afternoon, and quickly looked around the small Poughkeepsie train station, which was historical itself; it was opened in 1918. We then hopped on a cab to Days Inn Poughkeepsie where Janus, me, and our two friends would be sharing a room. Days Inn Poughkeepsie is located farther east of Poughkeepsie, and is located near Vassar College. Because we were tired, and it was late in the afternoon, Janus and I decided not to go to the downtown area anymore. The downtown area is busier and closer to the train station, and some of the places of interest in Poughkeepsie are located there. It's far by foot from Vassar College and our inn, so we decided to walk around our inn, and possibly see how to go to Vassar College from our inn.

With Janus and uneven lighting.

Our train.

Inside the station.

Our nice room in Days Inn Poughkeepsie. Two big beds good for four people.

- Both Poughkeepsie City and Town are a historical, and are part of the "Dutch County;" this means that the Dutch settled in that area before. During the cab ride to our inn, we saw many old buildings, now used as stores and offices. Fortunately, we did see a handful of these old (and old-style) buildings in our little quiet(er) part of the Town of Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie actually reminded me of the paper town "Agloe" in the novel/movie "Paper Towns." We also saw some shops along the way, including the Vassar College store, located outside the university, but near the entrance of the school; Janus and I bought some academic books there.

Red tree!!

Autumn leaf.

A school.

Post office.

Holy Trinity Church.

Friends tell me that this looks like Manila, but not, it's Poughkeepsie.

Memorial for those from the Dutchess County who fought in the big wars.

- The surroundings in Poughkeepsie, as can be inferred, differed a lot from NYC, and I was quite "freaked out" at some point, because while there were quite a lot of houses within the vicinity of our inn, but I rarely saw the people living in those houses (and with full knowledge that there are people in those houses because the houses were well-decorated for the upcoming Halloween.) After sunset, the houses would have little to no lights on, some of them flickering. I would sometimes ask Janus what we got ourselves into. That part of the town was too quiet, and a bit dark as well, although I did feel safe (and it helped that Janus and I accompanied each other.)

- To keep our minds off the seemingly eerie ambiance of the town at night (it is a nice town though,) we had dinner in an American diner a few steps away Days Inn Poughkeepsie. It's called "Acropolis," and as the name suggests, the restaurant was owned by American-Greeks. I could also tell since half the menu was American food, and the other half, Greek food. (Compare this to the latino-owned diner I ate in in NYC, with half of the food American, and the other half, Mexican; click here to see.) Acropolis had great food by the way. Janus and I also had the attention of the latino waiters, because we'd speak Spanish to them.

Dinner!!

Shrimp cocktail.

My cocktail, Janus' dinner-no-more, and my "Happy Waitress" sandwich.

- Janus and I went back to rest in our inn while we waited for Ivy and Nica to arrive from Manhattan - Ivy from another part of the country, and Nica straight from Manila (to Shanghai) then to New York. Both of them arrived around midnight, and since they hadn't eaten dinner, Janus and I accompanied them to Acropolis, which was a 24-hour diner.

-  The next morning we headed to Vassar College and were welcomed by more fiery-red-leafed trees. There was one tree with a giant pile of red leaves underneath, so I didn't think twice of lying down an using the pile as a pillow; it was quite comfortable if you ask me.

These welcomed us in Vassar.

It's autumn!!

I intentionally inserted that leaf in the hold of my zipper.

UP represent.

Covered myself in leaves.

- Vassar College was established in 1861, and is one of the prominent colleges in the country. Most of the buildings are made in the gothic style, with the remainder of the buildings built in other architectural styles. The main icon of the college is the gothic Thompson Memorial Library, which looks like a little castle.

Thomas Memorial Library.

Rockefeller Hall.

- The four of us later got our conference kits, and attended some panels. This was the first conference I've been to where there was no formal opening, and where the keynote speech was done later in the day, rather than the keynote speech being the first speech. I was slightly confused. However, the organizers and the staff were all exceptionally accommodating. I also liked how there was a book sale of academic books and journals from different universities; all books were discounted at 30%, though I could still get them the day after. I got some books on Bollywood, Asian history, and Buddhism.

Janus' presentation in his panel.

Our conference kits.

Lovely autumn trees.

- After lunch we had to go back to the inn to leave some things, and went back to Vassar afterwards. We visited Vassar's Loeb Art Center, which is sort of like a "teater" for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters (the Met) (click here for my visit to the Met,) and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (click here for my visit to the MoMA.) It has Asian, Egyptian, European, and contemporary artworks in the small museum. It also has a special gallery on paintings and artworks dedicated to the Hudson River Valley.

A cat.

On the way back to the inn.

Halloween.

Back in Vassar.

Japanese Kannon.

Roman art.

Egyptian pharaoh. 

Hieroglyphics.

Picasso.

Joan Miro.

Krishna on a mythical elephant.

Ukiyo-e blockprint art.

Byzantine art.

Can't believe it's made of stone!!

Conference poster.

- We later listened to the keynote speech on the preservation of Asian art by Dr. Lauren Kendall of the American Museum of Natural History (Anthropology.) Later on, we had wine and cheese and fruit; this was probably the highlight of the afternoon (mainly because I was really hungry.)

- After listening to a piano performance by Ms. Ariana Barkeshli, Iranian pianist and music educator, we had a grand dinner in another faraway hall; we got lost going there. Nighttime at Vassar was as eerie as the streets of Poughkeepsie, since it was too dark (though there were some street lamps here and there) and quiet; there were no students then, so the college was more or less deserted during our visit. Us getting lost made dinner all the more delicious because we became hungrier. Ivy and Nica were quite sad to know that what they thought was rice, was actually couscous.

- We walked back home after dinner and rested for the next day.

- I wore my ikat-fabric shirt to Vassar, as I was going to present my paper on that day. We attended a panel before lunch, and after which we listened to the second keynote speaker, Mr. Liu Jianqiang, deputy editor of China Dialogue, and his talk on Chinese art.

Lying on the same pile as I did the day before.

Vassar.

Leaves on top, leaves at the bottom.

If Elsa were male, and had autumn powers instead of winter powers.

My clothes matches the leaves. I was supposed to be a fat elemental emerging from the ground like a phoenix.

- I made it in time for my panel on politics of identity in film. My paper, or rather, my thesis, was about the role of post-1990 Bollywood films, and how they affected the Indian identity of the second-generation Indian transnationals in Metro Manila. The 2 major classifications of post-1990 Bollywood films include the films targeted to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs,) most of which are loaded with aspects of Indian cultures and traditions, and films with less overwhelming Indian elements that are targeted more to the international non-Indian audience. As Metro Manila does not have many cultural and language institutions that can help the overseas Indians preserve and learn about their culture and heritage language, unlike in other countries with a more sizable Indian population, I found out that Bollywood was indeed a good tool to help these second-generation NRIs to know more about their ethnic culture and heritage language. Even when they are away, and even when they are more or less assimilated to the Philippine society, Bollywood films help them feel proud to be Indians, and it is because of Bollywood that they feel more connected to other Indians.

My turn!!

Our panel. 

Thank you Janus for the artsy shots.

Our panel presenters.

- After my panel, I attended the last panel for the whole conference, and I also got to get the books that I reserved in the book sale the day before. After the last panel, I met up with Janus, Ivy, and Nica, together with another Filipino whom we found out was also a paper presenter in the conference. Jan was a student in the Asian Center as well before going to Korea to pursue another master's and now, his PhD. We invited him to have dinner with us in - where else - Acropolis. It was out last dinner in a great diner in the middle of nowhere.

- The next morning, Janus, Nica, and Ivy left really early in the morning, and took the first train to Manhattan to maximize time. They'd be going around Manhattan before Ivy and Nica come back to the Philippines the day after, and Janus back to New Jersey to continue his vacation. As for me, I had bought my train ticket online early on; this time, I'd be riding the Amtrak, which is another train company, and is a better (though more expensive) option for longer and farther journeys across states. Amtrak trains are more comfortable than the Metro-North Rail, and Amtrak trains have in-cabin free wifi. Great, right? Since my Amtrak train was scheduled at 9 in the morning, I had more time to rest.

- I later called a cab to pick me up (since public transportation apart from taxis is almost non-existent, at least in my part of the town,) and my chatty driver who couldn't stop murmuring about bacon and turkey sausage to me drove me to the Poughkeepsie Train Station. Since I had time to spare before my Amtrak train arrives, I took some more photos of the station.

The tip of the Holy Light Pentecostal Church.

Poughkeepsie Train Station, at the platform. 

Goodbye Poughkeepsie.

Not my train.

- I was on my way to Washington D.C., but since there was no direct line, I had to ride the train back to New York City. Instead of stopping at the Grand Central Terminal at the eastern side of Manhattan, the Amtrak lines stop/meet at the New York Penn Station, which si at the far western side of Manhattan. During the train ride, I could somehow anticipate when the nice places like West Point and Bannerman's Castle would show up, so I had my camera ready.

- Bannerman's Castle is built by Frances Bannerman VI, a military weapon trader in the ate 1800s. He started the construction of the castle in 1900, and is used as a storagge room for his supplies, as his storage room in New York City could not accommodate all supplies. Today, Bannerman's Castle - or what's left of it after explosions and the collapsing of certain parts of the castle - is a popular tourist site.  

Inside the train.

Hudson River.

Factory.

A nicer view of Bannerman's Castle.

Closer.

Trees are slowly blocking my view.

- Later on, I was fortunate enough to take a photo of West Point, as tall trees can get in the way if timing is not right. (One American passenger in the train was waiting for the right moment to take a photo of West Point, but the trees and a tunnel prevented him from doing so.) West Point is a military academy, and one of the Philippine's former presidents, Fidel V. Ramos, was a student of West Point.

West Point.

Better view.

My train.

- After an hour and a half, roughly or more, I reached Manhattan once again, though I mostly stayed inside Penn Station. To see photos of the station and my onward journey to Washington D.C., click here for Part 5!! (Please also read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here. 6 here, 7 here.)