Welcome to Oxus
Oxus is the ancient name for Amu Dariya, a river originating in the lofty Pamir Plateau in Central Asia and weaving its way through Afghanistan and eventually into the large Aral Sea in Russia. Legend has it that when Alexander the Great was conquering the world, he arrived at the Oxus and thought that he had reached India.
The Oxus River of the Greeks has been known to historical record for literally thousands of years. Its present-day name is the Amu Darya (or Amu river) and its course can be traced in any atlas. Turn to the map of Western Asia and find it: the river springs up in the Pamir mountains, runs west through what was once Baluchistan, and forms part of the border of what is now Afghanistan; here, along its banks, were once lapis-lazuli mines famous throughout the ancient world. It runs, gradually curving northward, between a desert marked Kizil Kum (or, the Red Sands) and another marked Kara Kum (or, the Black Sands). Along the way, it supplies irrigation-water for the ancient oasis kingdoms of Khiva and Khwarism. Eventually it empties itself into the southern tip of the Aral Sea.
Further Research: The Course of the Oxus River
The Oxus treasure is the most important surviving collection of Achaemenid Persian metalwork. It consists of about 170 objects, dating mainly from the fifth and fourth centuries BC. This was the time of the Achaemenid empire, created by Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC), when Persian control stretched from Egypt and the Aegean to Afghanistan and the Indus Valley.
The Oxus Treasure
There are very few facts or certainty attached to the story of the Oxus Treasure. The find spot for the Oxus Treasure is in doubt. There is no catalogue for the original treasure, and the historical facts surrounding the final collection of the treasure are few and far between. The story of the Oxus Treasure is perfect matter for a movie or historical novel. The back drop of the Great Game is a perfect one full of intrigue and political machinations.
The Oxus Treasure consists of 170 gold and silver pieces from Achaemenid Persian culture along the Oxus River. The Achaemenid Empire (c. 550?330 BCE) was founded by Cyrus the Great. At its height the Parsa Empire stretched from Thrace in Macedonia to Egypt to the Indus River. The empire reached its zenith under Darius I. The Empire’s borders waxed and waned until Alexander the Great finally murdered Darius III and declared himself the new leader of the Parsa.
Greek civilization owes much to the older Achaemenid culture. The artifacts of the Oxus Treasure are thus vital in charting the development of civilization in both Persia and Europe.
The story goes that the Oxus Treasure was uncovered in the Nineteenth Century. A group of merchants acquired the treasure. They were travelling on the road between Kabul and Peshawar when they were attacked by bandits who stole the treasure. The merchants later ran into Captain F.C Burton who was a ‘political officer’ in Afghanistan. Captain Burton somehow managed to recover the treasure from the bandits. In their gratitude the merchants sold Burton an item of the treasure which today is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
This was not the end of the treasure. Burton no doubt alerted his superiors of the importance of the treasure. Most of the pieces now belonging to the Oxus Treasure were bought by the British in the bazaars of Rawalpindi and other cities in India.
Now most of the extant Oxus Treasure is on display in room number 52 of the British Museum.
The Great Game lasted from 1813 to when it dwindled out at the start of World War II. Originally the expansionist ambitions of Russia worried the British. They feared for the security of their ‘jewel in the crown’ namely India. The British sent many spies and pundits north of India to map the regions of Central Asia that were composed of many fiefdoms. The British fought 2 wars in Afghanistan to create a buffer state between British interests in the subcontinent and the rapidly expanding Russian forces.
In the end Russia got to Afghanistan and a shaky agreement set the Oxus River as the border between the two countries spheres of influence. The pact had the effect of shifting the Great Game East and West.
Perhaps the end of the Great Game can be seen as the Soviet Era control of Afghanistan and the American connivance to train the Mujahedeen who bought down the Russians but then morphed into the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
This website is not about the complex politics of Central Asia, the Persian Empire or the Oxus River. Rather this website is concerned with bringing the reader the best available information; it is designed as repository for information. We intend to contextualize and explain in order to let the reader gain a clearer insight of the issues involved. Unlike the Oxus Treasure we intend to bring all the pertinent pieces of the puzzle together. And rather than leaving them in a post colonial museum to share them with all.
Further Research: The Oxus treasure
Origins of Moon Parties no comments
Those religions that are now regarded as ‘pagan’ came before the main organized religions of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Hinduism is slightly different as it has evolved over thousands of years and still contains traces of religious beliefs that probably go back to the very dawn of man.
Many of the main religions around the world have interesting regional differences that reveal lot of local culture. For example, Tibetan Buddhism still aspects of the earlier Bon religion. In Japan people don’t see the contradiction of worshiping both Buddha and Shinto gods. In Buddhist temples you can often see statues of Shinto gods, often as ‘guardians’ to the Buddhist temple.
In China there is a strong ‘pagan’ aspect to Taosim. The Tao or way is often equated with a force of nature as well as an ideal to aspire to. Pagan religions tend to pantheistic and to also invest significance to primary apsects of nature such as the sun and the moon. In Chinese symbolism the sun is the male and the moon is the female. The sun is the ying and the moon is the yang.
In other countries literature reveals that the moon is associated with inconsistency. It constantly changes. It fits the rhythm of female menstruation. In Western culture the moon is a force that can incite madness. The word lunacy is a good example of this cultural vestige. The Romantic poets also invested the moon with the association with the much vaunted imagination.
In Thailand spirit worship is mixed in with Buddhism in common forms of worship. They have taken the worship of the moon a new step forward by inventing the Full Moon Party. There are moon parties now all over Thailand where tourists gather. The first and still the biggest is the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan island. It is held on Haad Rin Sunrise Beach and often attracts over 20,000 people who go a bit mad under the full moon. This madness, however, is probably caused by alcohol rather than any lunar influence.
It is likely that moon parties were common in the world pre-history, and it should come as no surprise that they are making a come back. At the same time the ideology of environmentalism is growing in importance. This ideology fits in very well with the reverence that paganism afford to nature.
Further research: the Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan
About Koh Samui in Thailand no comments
Koh Samui is an island located in the southern part of the Gulf of Thailand. It is one of Thailand’s most visited beach areas. The island has white sand beaches, excellent accommodation, an airport, Western style supermarkets and modern hospitals. It is the developed nature of Koh Samui’s facilities and amenities combined with its beautiful beaches that attracts thousands of tourists every year.
The main tourist beach is Chaweng. It is a long stretch of white sand with a smaller beach just to the north called Chaweng Noi. Along the beach are many resorts and guest houses. Next to the beach is an extensive urban area that has everything a visitor could need including bars of a disreputable nature.
Just south of Chaweng is Lamai. It is smaller and attracts a younger crowd. It has a couple of popular nightclubs, two Muay Thai shows and several ‘beer bar places’. The beach is equally as good as Chaweng and has a few more budget options.
For those seeking something more sophisticated there is Bophut beach and Fisherman’s Village. This is an area that has converted the original Chinese fisherman’s houses into bars, cafes and expensive dining options. Bophut is free of sex workers and has a boutique atmosphere that is largely missing in Chaweng and Lamai.
On the north coast is Maenam. This is a small town with a 4 km long beach with plenty of tree cover. Maenam doesn’t have much of a nightlife but does have some bargain accommodation.
Generally the beaches on the south and west coasts are not as good for swimming. Beaches such as Taling Ngam, Baan Bang Kao and Lipa Noi have a few mid-range and luxury resorts that attract those looking to escape the crowds of Chaweng and Lamai. Prices for accommodation in Koh Samui range from $30 a night for a small air-con bungalow to $1,000 a night for private pool villas at brand resorts like Hilton and Marriot.
There’s diving and snorkeling sites near Koh Samui. It is also possible to rent kayaks and sailing boats. Laem Set offers kite boarding. Other attractions include an aquarium, a tiger show, a snake farm, a butterfly garden, waterfalls and beautiful wats.
Koh Samui is blessed with great beaches and plenty of entertainment. There are things to do both day and night. While not the cheapest place in Thailand, it still offers good value and bargains can still be found.
Lux Products TX500E: A Review no comments
The great thing about the Lux Products TX500E Smart Temp Programmable Thermostat is that it is cheap but has a good range of functions. Moreover, it is a thermostat that has the Energy Star seal of approval and that is capable of saving the home owner $500 a year on heating and cooling bills. That is amazing considering it only costs $28.
The Lux Products TX500E is a 5+2 thermostat. This means it allows the user to set up 2 separate programs – one for weekdays and one for the weekend. However, it also has a programmable vacation mode that can be used for another day of the week such as Saturday when people are likely to get up later and go to bed later. If the residents of a home keep fairly regular hours this thermostat is powerful enough to meet the needs of energy efficiency.
The thermostat is quick to install and easy to program. It has a speed dial system to quickly set up programs. The default settings on the thermostat are designed to provide optimum savings and act as a useful guideline for people new to programmable thermostats.
The Lux TX500E Smart Temp features a display that can show the temperature in either Fahrenheit or Celsius. It also tells the user when it is time to change the batteries or the filters. The only drawback of the Lux TX500E display is that it doesn’t have a back light.
For under $30 consumers would not normally expect many functions on a programmable thermostat. However, the Lux Products TX500E has swing control, temporary hold, vacation mode and keyboard lockout. Swing control is particularly useful as it lets the user set up a range of up to 5 degrees within which the thermostat doesn’t activate the heating or cooling. This is a good function to stop damage caused by short cycling.
Notable functions not on the Lux Products TX500E Smart Temp are auto change-over (to automatically switch between heating and cooling) and adaptive intelligent recovery. This is a pity but with a bit of forethought the user can manually change the thermostat with the seasons and also can program the heating/cooling to come on a few minutes early.
If the reader is looking for a good programmable thermostat that doesn’t cost much but that is reliable and capable of delivering reductions in bills then the Lux Products TX500E is worth finding out more about.
Review of Thongsala in Koh Phangan no comments
Thongsala is the principal town on the Thai island in Koh Phangan. Unlike the neighboring island of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan doesn’t have an airport (and seems unlikely to get one in the future) this means that most people arrive by ferry and disembark at Thongsala. As is commonly the case with port towns in Thailand, most tourists immediately get off the boat and jump in a taxi to take them to a beach. For many the only time they see Thongsala is when they arrive and depart.
This is a shame because Thongsala is an interesting town with plenty of facilities that can make a good base from which to see the rest of the island.
The second biggest town in Koh Phangan is Haad Rin. This is where the world famous Full Moon Party is held. It is a commercialized area full of bars, restaurants, travel agents and hotels. Haad Rin has the most expensive prices for everything and is largely geared towards catering for those who want to party 24 hours a day.
In contrast Thongsala has more of a Thai feel to it. There is a small night market and several cheap roadside restaurants serving authentic Thai food. The road running parallel to the main road is called ‘walking street’. It is also China town. Here there are a few old wooden Chinese style fishermen’s houses still intact, and it is here that you will find the best sea food restaurants.
It is convenient to stay in Thongsala. There is the main post office, banks, DVD rental shops, book stores, travel agents, jeep hire places and the newly opened Tesco Lotus Supermarket. For people intent on self-catering Thongsala has the best variety of foods on offer.
Thongsala also has some good restaurants and bars. There’s the Bangers and Mash pub that has live music every Monday and Thursday night. For western cuisine there’s A’s café and the Food Factory. For Mexican food there’s the Ando Loco on the road out to Ban Tai. On the Hin Kong road there is the Mason’s Arms that is in a mock Tudor style and serves a wide array of imported foreign beers.
Near Thongsala is Koh Phangan’s oldest Temple, Wat Phu Khao Noi. It marks the first settlement of monks on the island more than 600 years ago and has a great view of the area.
Thongsala is the access point for the west coast of Koh Phangan. It is a little explored part of the island. There are the mud flats of Hin Kong that are a haven for wild life at low tide. There is Laem Son, Koh Phangan’s largest lake and a national park. There are also the diving and snorkeling beaches of Haad Yao, Mae Haad and Haad Salad.
Thongsala is also just 10 minutes away from Bantai Village in the south of the island. Bantai has a long stretch of white sand and is famous for holding the Half Moon Party and the Jungle Experience party in the jungle nearby.
And of course, Haad Rin is just 20 minutes away from Thongsala. There are regular taxis between the two towns.
There are several hotels in Thongsala itself to stay in. The best accommodation in Thongsala is just out of town: A’s Beach Place and the Grand Sea Resort. The former offers comfortable air-con beach bungalows; the latter is a big resort with swimming pool and bungalows featuring Thai architecture.
In short, it is a pity that more people don’t stop to explore Thongsala when they get off their ferry. They would surely discover a whole new side to Koh Phangan.
Further research: Thongsala
Research Your Food Purchasing Choices no comments
The foods we eat play a huge role in our health and well being, this we know. Therefore it serves us well to take an active interest in where our foods come from. Are they produced with organic principles in mind or do chemical fertlizers and pesticides play a role in their production?
Meat eaters should be aware of the huge role that chemicals play in the manufacture of meat today. Animals are often fed genetically modified feed, grown using intensive farming practices. The feed is laced with anti-biotics and growth hormones to ward off disease and promote growth respectively. All of these chemicals build up into higher concentrations the higher up the food chain they go. Therefore eating this kind of meat, wrong on moral grounds, is also very dangerous for our health.
This is why we have to investigate the foods we are eating and where the come from. It’s in our own best interest.
Further reserach: What is Organic Food and is it Good for Us?