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The Stemarch's Landing

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You have reached your destination.

Not quite. This is just a waypoint for you. A reststop from your pursuers, the tyrannical Doom Scrawller-Howler and their minions.

Here is the one-hundred and twenty first vahnigṛha and ārogyaśālā, hearth and dispensary, Vimaya1. It is also the 54th Station of the Tōkaidō, the Stemarch own shukuba2

Digital Vimaya has a tavern where you can find sustenance after undefinite hours of reading hort form content, but you have to take the menu as it is. There are stinking stables, and fresh vegetables and simples, out of the patch. The table d'hôte has a filling meal, with a set menu.

It is also the Stemarch home, hosts their library and private garden. House rules apply.

And don't forget to read the small characters.

In About, you can hear from the Stemarch's voice a historically (near) accurate story of their professional life. Everyone is the hero of their own story.

Thai L2 is a collection of resources visible in the Stemarch's Library, for learning to learn.

Pastimes From a herber, a small patch of simples, source of the pot-au-feu, the caul, the perpetual stew, to more noble pursuits in the englightenment salon, lieu of exalted 'discussions' monologues.

The Diaries continues the time-honoured tradition of gentle●wo●manly journalling.

Footnotes, written by hand

Both Tōkaidō and the high road from Angkor Thom to Vimaya are of importance to the Stemarch, either because he lives in one of these stations or because he wrote a historical novel about them.

Two other historical analogs are of lesser immediate relevance to the Stemarch. In the Mongol Empire, a highly efficient system of way stations was known as the yam. In the Achaemenid Empire of ancient Persia, similar relay points were called chapar khaneh.

  1. From the sixth century onwards, the Khorat Plateau (in modern Thailand) was part of Dwaravati kingdom. During the reign of King Jayavarman VII —late 12th to early 13th century, roads radiating from the capital, Angkor Thom, to major provincial centers like Phimai and Preah Khan were extended and ways turned into highways.
    Vahnigṛha វហ្និគ្រឹះ "House of fire", or Hearth, were built at regular intervals (approximately every 15-25 kilometers, or a day's journey) along the network of roads. 121 Hearth connect the capital and its major regional centre, the city of วิมายะ, Vimaya, พิมาย in modern times. one rabbit hole and another In addition to the Vahnigṛha, the king also had Ārogyaśālā អារោគ្យសាលា, Hall of Health, freedom from sickness —hospitals, built, many had small chapels associated with them, establishing a network of care and control across the empire's main routes. Angkor Wat, was a culmination of centuries of temple building, design innovation and artistic refinement, which was first experimented on smaller temples. One such temple was located at Vimayapura, a frontier town. next rabbit hole and another ↩

  2. The Tōkaidō was one of the Five Routes established by the spider shogun. The haiku poet Matsuo Bashō (2nd half of 1600s) travelled along the Five Routes. The Tōkaidō, "eastern sea route," had 53 stations, immortalised in by the artist Hiroshige. He made woodblocks for each of the Stations —shukuba in his masterpiece 'The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō' (c.1833). Shukuba 宿場 were post towns that provided lodging, food, and fresh horses for travelers. Onsen, spas and other services were also often offered. ↩