Goombaking, a Khmer friend on AF sent me a PM the other day, asking me to translate an article in an Indonesian blog. It turned out the story is about Mekhala and the origin of thunder. Goombaking thought the tale was only famous in Cambodia and Thailand, he's quite surprised to see that it's more widespread than he ever thought. I began to think, there are a lot of similarities between us that we just don't know about. We thought we're so different, but if we look closer we're actually quite alike. I would like to start a series on our common myth and tales, beginning with the Kinnars.
Kinnaras (male) and Kinnaris (female) are mythical half-human half-bird creature found in Hinduism and Buddhism. The kinnars are often depicted of having the head, torso and arms of a human and the wings, tail and feet of a bird or swan. There are a lot of stories in SEA which features these celestial beings. One of the most famous story is about the love story between a kinnari Manohara (Manora in Thailand) and Prince Sudhana (the story is featured on the reliefs of Borobudur temple, Indonesia).
In Thailand and Cambodia, the Kinnars are often used as decorations in temples. In Java, Indonesia the kinnars are often depicted guarding the divine tree kalpataru (kalpavriksha). Burmese depiction of Kinnaris are unique as their breasts are covered. Meanwhile, the Kinnars in Sari temple, Indonesia have their wings on their back which makes them look like the angels in western culture.
Common Myth and Tales Part 1: Kinnari and Kinnara
Vietnamese Cuisine: Our First Experience
Ga Tam Uop NuongMe and my friends love to try out different kinds of cuisines. We live in
Banh Cuon GaAfter Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Thai, we decided to visit this Vietnamese restaurant. Neither one of us had the experience of eating Vietnamese food, so we didn’t know what to expect. This is kind of sad, as we live in the same region and our countries are partners in ASEAN.
It took us quite a while before we ordered, because we have to ask the waitress about the food first. At last (to our waitress’ relief I’m sure), Bayou ordered Banh Cuo Ga and Ga Tam Uop Nuong, I ordered Goi Cuan Rau and Thit Bo Bam Xao La Hung, Julian ordered Pho Bo, and Mel ordered Mien Cua. For the drinks, we ordered Lemongrass Tea and Mint Tea.
Mien CuaYou know what? All of us enjoyed our meal! Although the names sounds foreign and the way they use the ingredients are a bit unusual for us, the tastes really fit our taste. Regardless if they were good examples of real Vietnamese food or not, they were spicy and hot, it suits our Indonesian palate well.
Pho Bo Maybe this experience is not such a big deal for most people, but somehow I think these kinds of small, personal and trivial things that could bring us feel closer together.