There were quite a few bombings in south Thailand Thursday night and Friday morning.  It is speculated, but not known that this has something to do with the new constitution.  I am nowhere near the south portion of Thailand.  Plus, I live in a very rural area. Overall, I think I’m as safe here if not safer than the US where crazy stuff happens all the time.  So, stop your worrying.

Friday afternoon Noi picked me up to take me to her home in Lampang.  Her family would be planting rice today to celebrate Mother’s day and then the rice should be ready to harvest on Father’s day.  Her family owns several small farms.  As we drove out of town, there were a ton of banana sales on the side of the highway.  They were selling whole branches of bananas, not just bunches.  Apparently there had been such strong wind last night that a lot of banana tress fell over so they were trying to sell the bananas before they went bad.  We stopped at about 8 of the stands.  The second to the last one had a price Noi agreed with so she bought some bananas.

I thought I’d be spending the whole weekend in Lampang and packed accordingly, but halfway there she told me she had to come back early for a seminar.  By the time we got to the farm, they were long done planting rice.  It was still fun to wander around the farm even though I didn’t get to plant rice.  Noi’s family is very nice and welcoming.

We took her daughter and a friend to a building where there was a Mother’s Day ceremony and then we went to the local temple.  I found it odd that to celebrate Mother’s Day, her son was somewhere else, her daughter went to a ceremony and we went sightseeing.  The temple was closed so we just wandered around until it was time to pick her daughter back up.  By the time we had dinner, I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open, but Noi took us for pizza even though she doesn’t like pizza.  She knows that both her daughter and I do.

They dropped me off at a nice hotel in town because she thought I’d be more comfortable there then her house.  In theory, this is probably true, but the hotel just seemed musty and old so I wasn’t real thrilled.  I wish I had just been able to book my own hotel ahead of time.  Oh well, lesson learned.

Saturday we were able to go back to the temple.  It was a big older temple.  It was pretty and there were many buildings, some of which were like mini museums.  We went in every building and my head was spinning by the time we were done.  At the main building she told me about a metal elephant.  You kneel and make a donation.  Then you make a wish and lift the elephant with only the ring finger of your left hand.  Then you make the wish again and pick up the elephant again.  If you cannot lift the elephant on the second try, your wish will come true.  If you can lift the elephant on the second try, your wish will not come true.  I’m now doomed to a life of worry and unhappiness.  Although the elephant was very heavy, I was able to lift him.  There were also long sticks and I saw people trying to stretch their arms out wide to hold each end of the stick in one hand.  Then there was a table with grooves in it and people were trying to balance coins standing on edge in the grooves.  How did stupid human tricks become part of Buddhism?  Why are Buddhists so superstitious?  I don’t think this is what Buddha would actually want.  Oh well, who am I to say, since I failed the metal elephant test?  Maybe if I pray at the temple every day for a week, I can undo the elephant’s decision.

After the temple was coffee, running errands, going to the market and then back to Noi’s to get chickens.  She got a box and cut holes in it and then had me hold the box as she put two chickens in it to take back with her.  She’s selling them to someone back in Sam Ngao.  She said they are not good for eating because they are so small, but they are good for decoration.  I’ve never heard of owning chickens just to decorate your yard/house.  Of course, the whole way home was tons of questions.  I love her questions, but they also wear me out.  I was ready to skip dinner and go to bed at 7:00.

(c) All rights reserved Kimberly Fiore