China Town

The smell of incense and the rythmic beating of drums and gongs attracted me inside a Buddhist temple. From the outside, it was very inauspicious, but as you progressed further and further inside this labyerinth room after room unfolded. I was hesitant to be sacriligous and take photos which is why they are blury on the picture site.

In the room closest to the street, people came in, lit an incense candle and meditated ( or prayed), not sure which, in front of a shrine. There were about 10 or so shrines in a rather large room. It was quite proper for people to walk in or out and move around. In the second room, if you look closely enough, you will see a number of orange robed monks at the front praying and at various times the congregants "waiing" and bowing. There were gongs playing, a Chinese stringed instrument and another instrument.

This is one of the advantages of travelling alone. You can get just wonder around and not have someone keep bugging you asking where we are going. I also walked down two interesting dark sois. In one, there was a gorgeous temple and about 20 young monks had a huge fire going outside their wat or shrine. I think they were cleaning up the debris of the day in front of the temple and they were sweeping it into the fire. Another very dark alley I went down is where people actually live at the back of their stores or in their apartments. They sleep on the ground or a mat, eat cross legged and spend a lot of time sitting outside, probably because it is cooling then there sweltering room. When I think of the comfort I am living in in Bangkok or Toronto I certainly realize how lucky I am to have had middle class parents who gave me every privilege and opportunity to succeed in western terms.

Chinatown seemed to be all about eating. As I made my way from the train station to the main street, there were street stalls and restaurants galore. I decided to try soup and stood behing the cook and pointed to what I wanted in the soup. It was probably the best meal I had in Thailand so far because it tasted exactly like Chinese soup I would have on Spadina...and I thought it was only for westerners cooked that way!

There were many chestnut sellers and I had some chestnuts but naturally I could not open them so it was a bit of a waste. I tried to get Lichee nuts but either I was mispronoucing it or they simply did not have them.

Taking the subway and BTS home to my fashionable apartment in the Yorkville of Bangkok was like going to a different planet.

Off to bed. Tomorrow I am teaching grade 5, perhaps a grade 9 and certainly playing golf after school. My firends are still out to beat me and they just may one of these days!