Thailand Gold
As it rose over the horizon at Prachuap Khiri Khan, the moon was a golden ball which reflected off the calm waters of the bay. The golden reflection was wide near the shore and narrowed to a pinpoint out on the horizon. Gold because the light of the moon passed through an atmosphere of the humid haze in the area. Gold to match the color of the many Buddhas in the Wats of the city. It is now the beginning of the rainy season and so the air is fairly saturated with moisture. This morning we drove for a couple of hours in the rain. Kids walking to school along the streets of Nakhon Si Thammarat (where we spent the night) scurried a little faster to keep from becoming soaked. Most motorbikers just got wet but many produced an umbrella or raincoat. Riding a motorbike while holding an umbrella apparently places some serious limitations on speed. During a particularly heavy shower, one biker placed his arm in front of his face to keep the water out of his eyes. Don’t know how he could see anything. The windshield wipers on our Honda strained at full speed to handle the deluge.
Two of the last three night have been spent at fairly inexpensive, beachfront hotels. Two nights ago, at the city of Songkhla about 36 miles north of the Malaysian border, we chanced upon a beach hotel under construction. “Looks closed,” Pat said. But being the obstinate fellow that I am, I did not mind Pat and drove to the covered entrance of shiny new tile anyway. Not only was part of the hotel open, but we also got a four-star, quality hotel for half price ($33/night) because of the construction. Our fifth-floor room overlooked the southern end of the Gulf of Thailand and the Cat and Mouse islands. A statue of a large golden mermaid perches on the bare rocks on the beach under our window. At daybreak, we woke to the sounds of music as locals use the paved area by the mermaid for organized exercise. Later a couple of companies of young Police Cadettes do their pushups and stretching exercises there too.
This area of southern Thailand is known for its bullfights. Not bullfights of man against bull, but bullfights of bull against bull. It occurred to me that all the healthy and heavily muscled Brahma bull that we were seeing staked out along the highways were some sort of advertising for their owners. A sort of challenge to other bull owners. The bulls are allowed to fight until one is forced to his knees. The other bull is declared the winner. Seems off that such peaceful and friendly folks as the Thais would enjoy such a violent sport. Also seems to run counter to the “respect for life” that is such an integral part of the Buddist faith. Like large ghosts from another time, we often see very large roadside trees that dwarf the coconut palms and rubber trees. Evidently, these are remnants of the old native forest that once covered this land. Around the base of these trees is wrapped red and gold cloth signifying that this has been selected for protection by the Buddist monks of the area. Sometimes, the Buddist Wats are good areas to look for wildlife because wildlife is offered some protections by the Buddhists.
There were 411 steps up to the top of the mountain and Wat. Macaques (monkies) migrate to the top in the evening to feed on frangipanies but only females and young found there. Males and other females mostly found at the base of the mountain, receiving handouts from the locals – rice, bananas, etc. One bared teeth at Pat when she got too close to a female and her plastic bag of steamed rice. Don’t think these macaques evolved eating steamed rice – wonder what it does to their digestive systems? Seems to work well with the digestive tracts of the Thais. There are very few overweight Thais in the countryside and only a few in the cities. Thais seem to be eating all the time but they don’t get fat. They also seem to be fairly healthy – but maybe the sick ones are not out on the street.
Although the furnishing of the room was first-class, there was a faint smell of sewage the waifed up from the drains in the bath. Also, the staff was still in training so they lost my order two meals in a row. Spend lots of time there waiting for food – but the cook knew his job well.
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