I Rode a Water Buffalo...

This morning we met my accounting class at Mercy at 7 am. It was pouring rain so I was a little nervous about going to the market, but then I was told it is two hours away. We hopped in a rental van and off we went. After driving for about two hours we stopped at a temple. While the others paid their respect, one of my students talked to me about certain things going on.

When you enter a temple you are never to step on the …………… as it is disrespectful. Of course you must also take your shoes off before you enter. Some people shook a cup filled with sticks with numbers on them. They shook it until one number fell out, and then looked at the number and went to the wall to pick their horoscope sort of fortune. It was usually either really good or really bad.

Before you enter a temple there is a place of worship. People can buy a sort of gold film to put on the Buddha statue. This is mostly just to make the statue look nicer. Also, there are bowls for the monks which people put one baht in. There is a bowl for each monk from that temple for every day of the week.

Once someone has finished paying their respects, they hit the bell to tell the Buddha, “I am here.”

One will also notice that there are always two lions outside of the entrances to the temple. These are to scare off evil and to protect the temple and the Buddha.

After our first stop we ventured down another road to another temple. This one is a very special one in Thailand as the Buddha is sleeping on his back. The only other temples with a Buddha sleeping is lying on its side. The temple was very peaceful and relaxing. My students made fun of Misty, saying the Buddha was like her…sleeping all of the time.

Along side of the temple there was a river with thousands and thousands of large fish. People feed the fish, but cannot fish them. They believe that if you fish around a temple you will go to hell as it is very evil.

Throughout the day we told each other funny stories. I would like to share one with you. As we were walking back to the van one of the women noticed an advertisement to a resort that she once stayed at. Apparently she was there with her friend. At about 10:30 pm, they were outside by the pool and noticed that no one else was around. Her friend told her that the water was deeper than it really was, so she stripped down to nothing and jumped in. She soon found out the water was very shallow when she cracked her head open. So much for trying to sneak a swim…

We went to the market place in …… This market has been around for over a 100 years. One can see in the structures of the shops and houses that most of the village is still left in the same way. The market takes place every day. Some of the houses have been turned into museums so you can go inside and have a look.

We had lunch in what looked like an old barn. My students know how much I love rice, so they ordered me a rice dish. The rice came wrapped up in a lotus leaf. Inside was sausage, rice, egg and vegetables. It was absolutely delicious. All 8 of us ate for 280 Baht.

The girls really enjoyed the market, and were pretty stocked up with foods by the time we reached the van. I enjoyed trying everything and just looking around. The market was what I picture when I think of a traditional market. This one was not staged and not geared towards foreigners, so I enjoyed it very much.

On the way to our next stop we had a pit stop at one of the local gas stations to use the washroom. There I faced a squat toilet yet again. I don’t think I could ever get used to these.

After making several wrong turns, and back tracking a little bit we arrived at the Buffalo Farm. I think my students selected this one especially for me as I told them I missed the country life. We got to explore farm houses. Many of them were quite old, but apparently people still live that way today. We also got to look at a rice field and see some water buffalo. My students requested that I sit on top of one for some pictures….so yes, today I rode a water buffalo. Next time I should plan to dress a little more accordingly.

We also had a good laugh when one of the women went to sniff a flower in a tree and fell in the bush. Also, as we were leaving the buffalo farm a big lizard came out of a bush, sending misty running and one of the other students standing on a large rock behind everyone else. We all had a good laugh at that.

We also watched a Buffalo Show. However, Misty and I found ourselves as participants in the show when some of the Thai children selected us to go in the ring with them. We played some traditional Thai games. I will keep them in mind when planning future recreation activities at home.

On the way home we made one more stop at a specialty Thai food store. Some of the things offered in this store are not available in Bangkok, so our girls stocked up. Once again we got to sample everything. Our class paid for a lot of things throughout the day and when we offered to pay them back for things they would not accept our money but instead said that we need to come back on our honeymoon and we can pay them back then. Everything some how linked up to us getting married and bringing our husbands back. Misty and I both think they will be waiting a while.

When we arrived back at Mercy Misty and I got a tour of the apartment that her mother and sister will be staying in when they arrive tonight. It is quite nice. I wish we were staying in that the whole time we were here.

We took a songtheaw to dinner and then walked home. On the way through the slums a large crowd of people were gathered, blocking traffic from both directions. It was not until we were closer that we saw a man beating someone in the back corner of a garage. Everyone was crowded around watching from a distance. Two people were trying to protect the victim, but it did not look good. I don’t think I will ever forget this. I have seen fights at home, but I have never seen so much real anger shown on someone’s face before. I spent the rest of the ride wondering: what was he mad about? Why were the bystanders not doing anything? Where were the police? What is going to happen to the victim (at the time we saw them they were on the ground…I could not make out if it was a male or female, adult or child.) I pray that this ended quickly and that things were resolved in a more humane manner.

This is life in the slums. Although I know things like this happen all of the time, I never thought I would see it first hand. I cannot even imagine what was going through anyone’s head. I know this scene will never erase from my memory.

Misty and I thought it was interesting that the price of the Buffalo farm was 50 baht for Thai people, and 150 Baht for foreigners. Inside the farm there were a few signs that were translated into English, but the main show was all in Thai. You would think that if they overcharge foreigners, there would be a reason for it.

Oh I forgot to mention that there was a dwarf buffalo there that is the only one of it’s kind in Thailand. We also saw a buffalo with three front legs. I wonder if these things are a result of being inbreed.