Thailand - Phitsonlok Temple Run

Right then, here we go.

Back in Phitsanulok, Thailand, we were staying with a beautiful couple near the city's river. The husband, Mark, owns a very well managed English conversation classroom for students after school and on the weekends. He must be doing alright since he is able to support his newly born daughter. Yes, so, building a business in Asia, from all people who have done so successfully that I have had the pleasure to stay with, is no sure way to get rich, but seems to be enough to live comfortably. At the very least, owning your own business here is an appealing way to own your own life, if you know what I mean.

And so, as business owners do, Mark took the day off to spend with us. He took us to one of Phitsanulok's best temples. To be quiet honest, I wasn't too excited. Temples are really great. They are. They can be. The first ten are cool. But then, somewhere between the fading admiration of broken bricks and standing in the presence of historical wonderment, you begin to get board the tenth time around. I held my breath when answering, "yes, I'd love to see some of your town's temples." 

The whole event took the whole day. Fortunately for my sanity, this outing actually had a lot of character going for it. Enough to warrant its own posting. Here we go.

This picture symbolizes the entire plaza we visited. Old mixed with new. Its no wonder really. Phitsanulok is just outside of the old capital so the city has received lots of attention of decades - the transition in old/new architecture, food, and traditions permeate all public space.

Here we are again with some lovely floral pictures. I really cant get enough of them and I do enjoy looking back at these pictures because the camera I use does really capture a great amount of detail.

To see rows and rows of flowers like this was not uncommon. One great thing Thailand has going for it among many, is that the flowers are always in bloom. Be sure to wear flowers in you hair.

You can see the temple garden here with one of the building in the back. Notice the shiny roof dead center? Yes, the top of the building is and remains to be made of gold plates. 

Mark and Mint overlooking the temple pond. What, of what, could be capturing their attention so?

Maybe it has to do with this albino carp! Wow, cool. Monks sell bread at the entrance of the pond to raise money. The tourists get a kick out of feeding the fish, as I do. What can I say? I grew up on Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park with my mom. 

The gold plated temple from another angle. To be honest, you could see this thing from very far away. I am sure this was the architect's point

This picture was taken for the tile texture alone. At the bottom you can see some loose plates that serves the reminder: everything wears down eventually.

Rajiv cheesing at the camera by the pond. 

A quintet of beautiful flowers by the edge of the water. Mom? Where are you? Have any info on these?

The entrance to this temple is an introduction to the many other detailed pieces of art I snapped shots of. Intricate patterns and contrasting colors are up next! 

A portrait of a famous elephant battle depicting an important victory for the then King of Thailand of the then Myanmar army.

The temple complex itself housed five or six buildings to explore. All of the screen shots you've seen come from inside one of these temple buildings. However, the structures themselves are not connected. And so as we moved between them somewhere along the way, I stopped to watch these people - literally digging in the dirt. A dialogue between Mark and I continued something like this;

Andres: "Wow, look at that. Do you think they're prepping construction for a new addition?"

Mark: "I don't think so. I believe they are excavating."

A: "No way. Excavation is detailing process. One that requires trowels, and grids, and shifters! They cant be excavating."

M: "Look, they are.'

A: "F**k me, you're right. They are digging for artifacts. I don't think I can watch this too much longer."

Its not that the scene was explicit or gruesome. It wasn't that there was some huge corpse being unearthed and the smell overpowered the senses. No, you must remember that although it wasn't my focus at Uni, archeology is something taken very seriously by Berkeley anthropologists. Never, never for one second would an excavation be carried out so...unscrupulously. It was actually a little hard to watch - and I don't even practice archeology.

Archeology, like most other things here, is more relaxed, at a more lenient posture in terms of regulation and control. No plastic gloves, no trowels, no documentation. This is a straight dig and find job.

You can see the extent of the "dig" here. And, one might easily forget, that the workers are continuing the excavation over an uncovered patch of field in a country that rains, a lot.

The workers as seen from inside one of the adjacent temples.

Unlike the museums we might be accustomed to visiting, these temples are largely do-it-yourself gigs. No entrance fee and no one to explain or elaborate on the art captured on the walls. This particular image is only one small piece of a much larger wall that I would assume at first glance illustrates a historical tale or lesson.

Again I wish I had more information to with you here. Make your own interpretations.

Coming from America, I don't remember caring to look up when I enter buildings. Its been a habit I have slowly been developing. If I had not, there would be much missed because unlike home there just as many intricate details above you as there are in front of you.

An old storage box of some kind. Looks to still be in use. I wonder what is inside?

Oh wow. They look to be ancient prayer scripts and chant lyrics. I didn't want to touch one in order to unfold one completely. They appear fragile.

Back outside, Mark took us to see the biggest gong I have ever seen. Correction: this is not a gong. A gong is something you would bang or hit with a, in this case, a huge mallet. No, this is something different. I tried flicking it with my finger; nothing. I tried a little harder with my fist; nothing again. How do you play this thing?...

As Mark does an excellent job of showing us here, the massive instrument is activated my...rubbing it gently. Yes. That's right. And let me tell you, this thing can get LOUD!

Next up in our Phitsonulok temple was this magical tree (house). In Thai, three is a lucky number. Accordingly, it was good luck to pass through this tree three times. It was also a monk custom. 

Inside the tree, rays of the Sun shown in majestically.

Many Buddhist statues lined the inside of the tree structure. The tissue you see on their face are actually gold leaflets

And so we continued to walk, and walk. At this point we had walked for two hours; talking, admiring the art and the architecture. The Sun was out (surprise) but I really didn't mind. Even as we continued to walk, the was at least more beautiful flowers to occupy my attention. Like this one:

What an odd looking tree....are those flowers, growing from the bottom?

With the help of my dear mother, "The tree and flowers look like Couroupita guianensis, common name is cannon ball tree. Look in the Internet for pictures so you can look at the fruit, they are large and brown like round balls.  The flowers come out directly from the truck or branches and the low branches is just its habit.  This is an ornamental tree native to South America but is planted all over the world."

And kept walking we did, until came to this statue. His cool sunglasses signaled that we were walking into something I would want to be apart of.

Ha! Of course; we walked right into a temple that, very surprisingly, housed a vanguard of old bicycles! Score!

I want it, I want it, I want it!

Wouldn't you know it, a Brooks saddle! Chris and Raj are riding Brooks, I don't hear any complaints. Me? You know me, I don't opt for these high end luxuries. I have no idea what my seat name is, or what it is made from. But you know what? I also don't care if it gets wet like Chris does, nor do I care if it gets stolen. If you don't know, the Brooks leather saddle molds to your butt print. This also makes it impossible to resell the seat; your kind of stuck with it. And I too have no complaints, my butt rides just fine in the seat I have. However, obviously, Brooks is made to last. Mine will maybe only last another couple of years.

And so another due blog post comes to an end. What can I say? I am having the time of my life and I wish you were here to see all of this with me.

Now it is time for me to return to the world and jump off this computer screen; my eyes are beginning to bleed. I love talking with you and getting updates from back home and the places I have visited. I might be back one day, so keep in touch.

Love,
-A