5/1

We started off the day by visiting Fulldome.pro, a company that specializes in portable fulldome projection systems that function as visualization theaters. Fulldome’s office is located in a small rural district in Chiang Mai called Baan Pong. Its office is hidden among tall bamboo trees, situated far away from the main city. The peaceful and quiet environment of Fulldome.pro, combined with the office’s cozy interior, makes this location an excellent and ideal place to do work and bond with one another.

The team at Fulldome.pro invited us to view several art films and documentations done by them using their full dome projection. We were extremely eager to watch films using the dome, and readily took our seats in the cozy chairs and cushions provided for us. Prof Ben Shedd accompanied our group today. He passionately explained the wonders of the full dome theatre, animatedly describing how it has the ability to suck you into another dimension and travel through time and space- places you’d never dream you could travel to. It was indeed a magical experience being able to utilize the full dome theatre to watch films… We lay under the dome projection, keenly watching abstract pieces of art float across the screen that seemed to stretch endlessly across the dimly lit room. In that moment, I couldn’t help but feel so intimate with my group mates. We enjoyed the artworks presented to us, and we enjoyed each other’s company. And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

We stuck around to interview the Fulldome.pro team. The team had generously provided a huge feast of snacks, fruits and drinks for us in their work room. It was fascinating to learn about their views on Chiang Mai’s heritage, and the reasons why they love working in Chiang Mai. It was a truly a gratifying afternoon!

After lunch, we toured a local museum with the help of a local translator. I learnt that Thai people still observe the lunar calendar, and that every Chinese zodiac symbol has an official temple in Northern Thailand. Locals aspire to make a pilgrimage at least once in their life to the temple that represents their birth year. If it proved inconvenient to do so, the locals were encouraged to create works of art that symbolized their zodiac temple and worship from home. My group had the privilege of visiting Wat Ketkaram, the temple for people born in the year of the Dog. I don’t know whether it was a coincidence, but I saw many dogs at the temple too! (Fun fact: Dogs in Chiang Mai seem more relaxed than those in Singapore.)

My group had the honour of interviewing a monk at the temple. He shared about his daily routine as a monk and how the number of men becoming monks have unfortunately dwindled over the past few years. In the past, many were eager to become monks because the temple provided a basic access to education and food. Formal education proved to be very expensive, hence the way of the monk attracted many individuals from poor households. However, due to the technological advancement and modernization, many now perceive monkhood to be ‘uncool’ or irrelevant. There was a glint of sadness in his eyes as he responded to our questions. Indeed, modernization is a double edged sword that has both advantages and disadvantages.

It has been yet another interesting day in Chiang Mai and I already feel like one week here isn’t sufficient to truly delve into the beauty of Chiang Mai’s culture!