To sit or not to sit

Coming soon - Japan

Soon the tourist season will start again and I can wake up from my winter sleep.
This year I will mainly work in China. I also got the possibility, which I grabbed with both hands, to accompany groups in Japan. This is quite thrilling news as Japan is a very expensive countries and not many tourist go visit this country.

So I am very excited, but I know I will have to refresh a lot of my old knowledge and study some more. But that's what this winter sleep is all about.

So soon (well my first tour would be in April) more news and pictures about Japan!

新年快乐!

Happy Chinese New Year!


According to the Chinese moon calendar today is the first day of the Chinese Year.
Nowadays Chinese have the same calendar system as Westerners, which means it is also 7 February 2008 in China. In the imperial days years were counted by the reign of the appropriate emperor. For example "the 7th year of reign of emperor Qienlong of the Qing dynasty".
The moon calendar is the acient form of Chinese calendar and used nowadays to locate the main Chinese festivals!


The Chinese horoscope is always associated with Chinese New Year because the animals change yearly, not monthly as in a Western calendar.

12 animals are used in this cycle and every twelve years the same animal comes back.


Rat 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008 Yang
Ox 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997 Yin
Tiger 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998 Yang
Rabbit 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999 Yin
Dragon 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000 Yang
Snake 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001 Yin
Horse 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002 Yang
Goat 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003 Yin
Monkey 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004 Yang
Cock 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005 Yin
Dog 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006 Yang
Pig 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007 Yin


According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarrelled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.
All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore, the rat jumped off the ox's back, and won the race. The pig, who was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second, and the pig last.


Every animal is associated with different qualities and Chinese people believe very strongly on those qualities.
2006 was for example a bad year because it's the year of the dog. The dog is a noisy and barking animal, dog people are said to be bully. So the dog year is a year with a lot of quarrels and fights.
2007 was an excellent year. The pig is associated with fertility and wealth. So this was the year there was a huge baby boom in China, because it is such a prosperous year and of course Chinese can only have one child so it is very well planed when it is born.
Girls born under the sign of goat (or sheep) will not easily find a partner. Because for girls it is seen as a bad symbol.


But this year is the year of the rat 鼠. For Chinese people it is a very good year associated with good business and wealth. But watch out for overdoing, it might end up just the other way.
The rat is a clever animal as can be seen from the story above and he is the first animal. Stands for order, aggression, wealth, charm and in extremes stands controlling, bossy, power-driven.
Rats are hardworking, charming and intelligent. Perfect professions for them include; politics, psychology, espionage, accounting, acting, ...


People in the year of rat have to be aware of Horses, these two are not compatible at all.
Rats tend to have good relations with Dragons, Monkeys and Oxen.


Rat is very easy to breed, so the rat reproduction speed is very fast. In Chinese astrology, Rat is a Romantic Star. Rat is the Romantic Star only for people born in year of Rabbit, Sheep or Pig. If Rabbit, Sheep and Pig people look for the love, they have more chance to meet the opposite sex. If they are already in love, they have chance to talk about the marriage in 2008. (Hmm I am a sheep, who knows).

So I wish you a very Happy Chinese New Year! It should be a prosperous year for us all. If you plan to have a baby this year, you are a year too late for the Chinese jackpot, but the rat is still a good sign for your baby!

Minority people (Thailand)

On this page a picture of every major minority group in Thailand can be found. The six big groups of minorities are the Akha, Yao, Hmong, Lisu, Lahu and Karen.

Each of these tribes have their own clothing, languages and culture. In every main category subgroups exist. For example the Karen Long Necks are a branch of the Karen population.

Whole books can be written about each minority and they are very interesting to study indeed, most of all for their typical culture.

The population of those minorities can be set upon 1 million in Thailand. They live mostly in the mountainous North of Thailand or near the border with Myanmar. But most of these ethnic groups are quite widespread and can also be found in Myanmar, Laos, China, Vietnam,...

1 October 2005

Akha lady showing some beetle nut

The Akhas are a Sino-Tibetan tribe and would have migrated through China all to way to Thailand. This tribe is also found in China and is called Hani over there. The Akha ladies have a special costume embroided with a lot of silver. In the past these ladies carried all their possessions on their hats while working in the fields.

Akhas are the less developed minority of Thailand and old beliefs still are an important part of their life. For example Akhas will ritually kill black dogs and stew them so as to get magical powers.

8 June 2006

Yao lady selling her trades

The Yao tribe in Thailand is a descendant from the Yaos in China. Nowadays they are well-know for their excellent broidery. Normally the Yao women will work several weeks and months to refine their trades and for their own ceremonial dresses they can work op to one year! In the past they Yaos were one of the tribes which produced the most quantities of opium in China, Thailand and Laos.

Yao people are very well integrated in Thailand and live a quite modern life. Yaos can even be found in the U.S. because they became recognised fugitives during the Laotian civil war.

9 March 2006

Older Hmong ladies chatting

The Hmong tribe is a very widespread one and can be found in Vietnam and Laos, they are a sub branch of the Miao in China. The Hmong ladies also produce fine pieces of broidery. Most of the Hmong in Thailand are polygamist, which means the man can have different women, if he can sustain them.

9 December 2007

A Lisu woman working

The Lisu are Sino-Tibetan tribe and have their origins in Tibet and migrated through Yunnan to Thailand. In Yunnan, China, a lot of Lisu can still be found. The Lisu are probably one of the most colourful tribes and their bags sell very well to tourists. Most of the Lisu are Catholic as they were converted by Christian missionaries.

4 April 2007

Red Lahu in their shop

Same as the Lisu the Lahu also come from the Tibetan regions and Lahu can be found as a minority of China. In Thailand these people are called Muser, which means "hunter", obviously the man are good at hunting. Lahu don't work with the systems of tribes but with kins. So the kin is formed by familial relations.

10 October 2006

Karen Long Ear

The Karen are fugitives from Myanmar, where they have their own state and fight against the government. It is the biggest minority in Thailand and has a lot of sub branches. Karen people live in close harmony with nature and most of the elephant camps in Thailand are run by Karen.