Tropical Powers

Crystals & Dragons at work in Phuket

In these worrisome days of corporate take-overs, rising unemployment, world-wide unrest, not to mention how next year's school fees will be found, many are turning to the more esoteric sciences for guidance and relief from daily burdens. One such 'science' is that of feng shui, considered by the Chinese to be a system of laws that govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy, and whose effects are taken into account when siting and designing buildings.

In Chinese culture, the practice of feng shui has been passed down among generations for over five thousand years. It is based on the Taoist concept that everything is comprised of energy called Chi. When the Chi in an environment is not flowing properly, it can cause disharmony. Feng shui works to balance this energy in order to achieve greater productivity, happiness and health.

If you're planning to build a new house - your dream retirement home, perhaps - and are considering the use of feng shui to harmonize everything that will happen in it, then it's definitely best to begin from ground zero, as it were. Beginning with a drawing of a barren plot of land, your friendly local feng shui expert will draw up a basic plan of how things should be oriented, both in relation to the compass points and to each other. In order to do this properly, the owner or owners' birth details will help to get things just right. Here in Thailand, with its not inconsiderable ethnic Chinese minority, not only house owners but big businesses will frequently employ the use of such an expert to map out and assist in new ventures.

Bearing the above in mind, it was with some trepidation that we took Thailand's well-known feng shui master, Sin sae Kim Sia, to the magnificent pavilion-style house of retired Englishman Chris Hill, in Baan Kata, on Phuket's west coast. We made what was almost a dawn raid on the Baan Kata house and Sin sae lost no time in getting a feel for the place. I had earlier given him Chris' birth data, thus enabling him to have made notes about Chris' destiny and other essential information.

Sin sae began by making notes as to the house's geographical location and quickly assessed that the west-facing aspect was not perfect for Chris, though it might be quite OK for someone of a different birth sign. However, this rather startling initial diagnosis was cushioned by the fact that facing west, and thus towards the Andaman Sea, was a portent of much good fortune. Brows were duly mopped. The all-important pool, pool bar and lawn areas were glossed over and declared to possess "no problem". Well, not a bad start.

In feng shui, the bedroom seems to play an important role - perhaps because of the amount of time one spends there - and it was Chris' bedroom that next came under the spotlight. His south-facing bedhead brought a nod of approval from Sin sae , since the element of fire lacking in Chris' charts would be readily replenished by facing the 'fire' direction. On the slightly negative side (and this was true of other bedrooms) was the relationship of the bedhead to the adjoining bathroom; or , to be more exact, that part of a bathroom on which you sit. Yes, the toilet bowl. It seems that Chi is unnecessarily drained from us if our heads should rest too close to such drainage areas. Happily, in this case, Chris' energy could be restored by moving the bed just slightly to one side. Easily done. Sin sae also suggested a simple screen be placed between the bed and the bathroom door, also for energy conservation purposes.

The main guest bedroom (there are two) then came under the master's gaze. The attractive wooden floor in here was not as important as the furniture and layout. Once again, the point of contention was the adjoining bathroom & toilet, over which Chris had experienced some grief during a stage in construction in which he was not present. It was mutually agreed that the centrally placed toilet bowl, visible to onlookers from within and without the bedroom, would be moved to where the shower stall currently stands. In turn, the shower would be moved to a convenient outdoor location. Heads nodded in mutual agreement, almost as if the building contract might go to Sin sae himself.

Moving across the central outdoor stairway, on this second level, and into the main dining and lounging pavilion, Chris' wife Taa produced an enormous plate of sandwiches. They were readily gobbled up and accompanied by thirst-quenching juices while we chatted generally about the changes that would make a positive difference to Chris' existence.

Suitably refreshed, Sin sae declared his general approval of this area and we moved outside to admire the enormous 'deer ears' tree rising up from below the central stairway.

Ah. For some reason I couldn't fathom, trees placed centrally in a building are not a good idea. This, of course, is where the esoteric often battles with the practical. Despite the fact that the tree affords very useful shade to this area, Chris did complain that the leaves were a 'damn nuisance' and that the tree's days might anyway be numbered.

Moving down to swimming pool level - the lowest on the steeply sloping plot - our advisor informed us that the wide and vaguely Romanesque waterfall stretching across from Chris' bedroom to his office was OK but, er, would be better without the water. In fact, more of a wall than a waterfall. This seemed a bit strange, but the reasoning was that water flowing is alright, but it should first flow up before it eventually finds its way down again. This feat could be achieved by placing a set of twin urns either side of the waterfall, having water flowing up through the urns before cascading down over the side. If the urns, or the water flowing from them, were to resemble pumpkins, then this would bring nothing but good luck. To my amazement, Chris fairly readily agreed to this alteration, along with the suggestion that some kind of glass or crystalline lamp be hung above the adjacent walkway - for more of that energy-enhancing stuff.

It was now time to inspect the heartland of Chris' palace - the office. Placed conveniently close to this amenity was Chris' ample cold-beer store. "This could be a bit closer to the kitchen," declared our sage. However, since the kitchen is on the next level up, Chris was politely adamant that the beers would be staying put. So - - - into the office, where Chris idles away many a late hour enjoying the odd movie or trying to fathom out the intricacies of the latest super-hi-tech computer game. Yes, life is tough as a retiree in Phuket. Sin sae deemed very little to be off kilter in here, though a screen between Chris' computer terminal and the main door was considered a good 'energy-saving' idea, along with some adjustment of the main computer desk. Other than that, the only other advice was to hang a five-sided crystal or glass chandelier from the ceiling. Since Chris claims no direct links to any royal family and wasn't keen to have his office looking like Buckingham Palace, an alternative was to place a pink or red multi-faceted crystal on the shelf above his desk. It looked like some serious crystal-shopping was in the stars for Chris.

To complete the tour, we ventured outside and back up the central stone staircase to

the entrance pavilion. Sin sae was delighted to see the large blue ceramic urn, within the water garden at the second-level terrace, merrily gurgling out water from its rim. Lots of good Chi there. The only suggestion was to replace the catfish, swimming happily in the accompanying pool, with nine carp; one black and eight red or gold. The resident turtles could remain where they were.

Just before leaving, Sin sae had a thoughtful look around the spacious entrance pavilion at the upper level. Because 2003 was deemed to be a rather insecure year for property belonging to people of Chris' birth sign, the master suggested putting a pair of ghii laen, or horse dragons (with the face of a dragon and the body of a horse), atop two pillars conveniently supporting a rather splendid wood carving. These gold-painted horse dragons, only about nine inches tall, are readily available in local Chinese stores. It was deemed that a pair of these, facing a strategic westerly direction, would protect the house from any potential hurricane, tidal wave or earthquake. With that very reassuring final judgement, the master of Chinese astrology, of which feng shui is just one branch, slipped quietly away to the remainder of his working day, leaving Chris to ponder on the extent and expense of any shopping trips and building alterations he might - or might not - want to make.

Clearly, if one is considering the use of feng shui on any new house, it is better to start thinking about it from the drawing-board stage. Interestingly enough, almost all Chris' assumed 'problem areas' could be balanced out by swapping the designation of the lower level rooms with those of the middle level rooms. It was deemed that if Chris were to do this, great health benefits would ensue. But best of all, perhaps, is that those pesky cold beers would be right where they belong; near the kitchen.

 Benjarong Magazine - April 2005, Volume 8 Issue 4