What a place!

I have decided that I love Thailand. I sort of thought I would given my love for Thai food, but I love everything else I have encountered about it too.  People are friendly, the weather is hot and humid, but there is also a breeze to mitigate it.  Air conditioning is everywhere.  The streets and sidewalks are spotless.  People have really tried to be helpful.  The architecture is AMAZING. I have visited three different wats and the temples inside them and they are all very beautiful.  Thai's tell me the economy is sagging a bit here, but you would not know it.   The infrastructure here is impressive.  There is no begging, the citizens seem happy and well cared for by their government and their king is loved universally.  He still has real power here and he appears to be doing a superb job.  Proof a monarchy can work.   

On Sunday I decided the look for a spirit house which is an essential item in countries where animism is practiced.  Found in many homes, a spirit house is a place for spirits to live inside a home, especially if you have displaced any.  There are a number of nice young folks (20-25) who work at the hotel and they told me to go out to the weekend market which takes place every Saturday and Sunday.  They were certain I could find what I wanted out there.  Were they ever right!  The market was a vast complex of shops and stalls that literally covered square acres, most of it indoor, but parts also open to the air.  The goods are arranged in areas.  You can find furniture in one area, housewares in another, clothing in still another, etc. and there is a food court, but food is prepared fresh on the spot.  You can have an excellent lunch of Pad Thai for under one dollar (excluding beverages).  Throw in fresh spring rolls for 40 cents and you are good to go.  There are so many interesting foods to try, it is hard to resist (more on that later...)

As it began to get dark, a man walked through the market with two elephants!  One was a baby (like Sam in Portland), maybe 400 pounds.  The other was MUCH larger, maybe closer to 4,000.  They were gentle and people wanted to touch them.  They made various grunting sounds as they came near.  Thailand has an intimate relationship with elephants and they are very much part of the history of this nation, both as work animals and in military campaigns in previous centuries.  My guess is that it was probably not "OK" for these elephants to be there, but the police did not seem to mind and they were very gentle.  For 20 baht you could get a bag of some type of food (it looked a bit like bananas) and the elephants would walk up to you and take the food.  OK-I had to try it.  They came over and were very enthusiastic!  Both trunks were coming at me and I was giving them food as fast as they could take it and put it in their mouths!  Soon I could not keep up.  Two trunks were searching my face and shoulders.  The big elephant grabbed my camera and yanked the strap, then let go. I was laughing as they ran their trunks over me.  One grabbed the plastic bag with the food, took the food out and handed me the bag thank you.  It was charming. Stinky, but charming.

Later that evening, I was able to attend a Buddhist service with one of the men who works here and the temple of the sun is the temple he usually attends.  We walked the short distance and discussed Thailand's version of Buddhism.  Thai's practice Theravidic Buddhism which is based on a Sanskrit text called the Theraveda.  This is also combined with elements inherited from Hinduism so that privately many Thai's also have images of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and especially Ganesh in their homes.  This creates a rich blend of the two religions with a does of animism thrown in for good measure.  Hindu's also accept Buddha, but interpret him as the 9th incarnation of Brahma and the two faiths share many elements.  Adherents of Buddhism often worship at home as Hindus also do, but unlike Hindu's, Buddhists can attend prayer "services" which take place in the evening (around 7pm here) where they can chant the sacred Sankrit texts together under the leadership of monks.  

The temple itself is a marvel with one of the largest "sitting" Buddhas in the city. It is a popular temple and it was full.  I was able to sit outside the inner temple with Tong on a large granite platform.  Many people were outside with us.  We all took our shoes off.  The chanting rarely stopped, when just a few words were spoken and then the chanting resumed.  The smell of incense and flowers filled the air.  The incense represents the prayers ascending to Buddha, the flowers symbolize the purity of the monks and as you listen, a rhythm starts to emerge in the text as it is sung.   

On our way back I noticed a food place absolutely brimming with young Thais.  Tong told me it was a "toast bar".  You go in, get in line and order toast.  You can get it two ways; toasted toast as an intact slice, or steamed toast cut up in cubes for dunking!  There were eighteen different sauces you can have on the toasted toast, or in a cup for the steamed variety ranging from butter and sugar to coconut, orange and even peanut butter!  To go along, you can tea of some sort, iced tea, sweet tea and even bubble tea. Custards and puddings are also available!  It was a new experience to step up to the bar and order some toast which was puffy and delicious with some coconut custard!  I washed it down with icy green tea and I was good to go!