Back in Phetchaburi, New Years, Fishing, and Prayers for Pa Ch An

Jan 1

New Year’s Eve is a big deal here, at least in our family compound. Last night relatives came from all over for a big dinner feast. Preparations started the day before with decorations which include some Christmas decorations. Light were strung with garlands. Balloons were filled and streamers added and then they were stuck to the high ceilings. 

Women were cooking all day and Alex andTumm  used a small charcoal

bbq much of the evening to cook grilled chicken and salted fish. Tables were set outside with chairs. We had Asian pear salad with lots of lime juice and chilies. I loved it but choked on those chilies every bite. We had green papaya salad and fried shrimp salad, fried chicken, grilled chicken, and chicken in green curry with noodles (my fave). There was roasted duck and pork and many sauces to go with various dishes.

After this fabulous meal we had a gift exchange. Everyone who came to the party brought a gift. It was to be wrapped and no more than 200 baht ($6.50) was to be expended on any gift. Everyone’s name was put into a bowl. A name

was drawn and that person came up and got the gift they had brought to the party. That person then drew a name and that is who received the gift. Then the receiver drew the next name and so it went. There was lots of squealing and laughter as this progressed.  At the end there was a surprise. Two names would be drawn for a special gift. They asked Ron and me to draw the names. So Ron went first and yikes, he drew my name . I was presented with an envelop containing 500 baht. What a shock. Then I drew the next name and it was Pon, Timm and Tumm’s son.

People partied for a while then we started clean up. Food was left out as people continued to eat for the rest of the evening. Some played cards until 11 when a few of us left for a Buddhist temple. Apparently this is a tradition as well. I have been a lot of temples in the 17 years I have traveled in Asia but I have never been to a ‘service’. The place was overflowing with people.  As we arrived we went to a table where we paid 60 baht, about $2. for a little round decoration with colored flags and two candles to match and some incense. You told what day of the week you were born and that determined what color you were given. Mine was yellow and Ron’s was bright pink. We also were given a piece of string and a necklace with a Buddhist pendant and a booklet about the temple.

 It was the plainest temple I have ever been in: white stucco walls but we were not in the main section. It looked as plain to me when I looked in the window. Plastic chairs had been set up for the overflow crowd in a side room where we were. Loudspeakers piped in monks continuous chanting. The chairs were in rows and above the chairs was a grid of strings about 7 feet above the floor. Each attendee had a string from the grid tied to a string they had placed around their head. The string in our packet was a circle so we placed it on our heads then tired a string from the grid to our head string. We were to pray for (to?)  Buddha until midnight. The purpose of the string was to have everyone in attendance be connected so that the energy was more cohesive I assume. All this made sense. Many had their hands held in a classic prayerful manner. But I was quite surprised to see people looking at their cell phone screens: texting, scrolling and taking selfies. Remember my tirade at the show the other night in Saigon? I felt this was irreverent. I didn’t get upset as I’m not religious and it didn’t distract me. But I am starting to feel like an old fogy. I also am wondering how life will be in the future as more and more young kids become users of cell phones and have constant screen time. Isn’t there the possibility of addiction here? Is that what is going on that we can’t take an hour out of our day without our cell phones? If you know me you know I don’t have a cell phone except when we travel internationally. I will probably be the last person on earth to have a cell. We were almost the last to get a CD player. When we sold our house in June I had to get a cell phone so we could keep our telephone number. Stay tuned to see how I end up on this issue.

After midnight the chanting stopped and we filed outside to light our candles and then put them in a sand box that was about four feet off the ground. It is a real trick to not get burned as you reach over lit candles trying to find a spot for your candles. Then we placed our device that had held the candles on another table. We got home a little after midnight, showered then read until about 1:30, way past my usual 11:30-12:00.

Jan 2

Today Ron went fishing and I stayed home. The photo is of Alex who caught the first fish.  Ron caught two, but sent the firwt one back to the lake as it was too small. This is the first day we haven’t been together for 24 hours since September 6^th. I have loved the time alone. We both needed it. I don’t know any two people who get along as well as we do or who enjoy each other’s company as much as we do but 24/7 for four months is a wee bit too much. When Tui came over tonight when she found out I was here alone, I told her that I was enjoying myself and why. She laughed. 

I started to think about leaving and went through some cabinets and closets to start sorting things that we will take and things we will leave. Unfortunately I still haven’t come across my favorite earrings that I lost sometime since Sri Lanka. Life goes on. I ironed some clothes that I had hand washed, finished reading a book, and wrote some emails. It was real quiet today and very enjoyable. I am eager for Ron to get home and tell me about his day. It’s 7:30 PM and he left a little after 10:00 this morning.

Jan 4 

On Jan 3^rd we were invited to be at the big house at 7:30 a.m. for a blessing for Pa Cha An from a monk. This is a big deal. If I understood correctly you do this for someone who is sick or near death.  The monk was in the bedroom with Pa Cha An and so were Ae, Noi, and Tui. Ae is her granddaughter and Tui and Noi are two of her seven children. The other 13 of us sat on the floor outside her bedroom looking in. It was very touching. The monk chanted and there were responses from those who had gathered. Ae mainly helped Pa Cha An when she got lost or confused. We were all blessed with water being splashed on us using a bundle of reeds lightly dipped into water then shaken over us. The monk was presented with a gift basket and money. We were humbled to be included to such a special event.

Ron and I got fresh coconut milk ice cream for everyone (10) today. While he was getting the ice

cream I got some flowers for Pa Cha An. I have tried to do that at least once a week. She was awake and lively. It surprised me because Tui said she had not slept well last night and Tui of course didn’t either. Pa Cha An told Timm she wanted to give us something to remember her. Timm couldn’t translate it into English so she got Tumm from outside. I told Pa Cha An I would never forget her and didn’t need anything to remember her. She was insistent so I told her I wanted a photo of her with me and Ron. I ran and got Ron and we went up to the house and Tumm look several photos. I wanted to catch her when she was feeling well. She persisted in saying we had to have something from her. So she asked our favorite colors. I am sure there will be gifts before we leave. I hate to burden anyone with shopping but I also know this will make her happiest. At one point Pa Cha An cried then Timm and then me. We all have grown so close this trip. .

We are trying to wrap things up here. I have ironed some of my clothes for Mexico and C America that have been packed since September. We have clothes here that we leave here so what is in our suitcases are clothes for the next three months where it will be cooler: 60-80 degrees. We checked the weather in Mexico City and Houston and it is much colder in those places. I hope I can find another pair of jeans in Houston during our layover because I think I will need them. I will stop writing the blog until we get to Mexico because I want to post what we have here.

We are excited and curious about this next chapter of our odyssey. I think we will both be very sad about leaving on Wednesday. It has been the best trip ever to Thailand and that is saying something because this is our 17^th trip!

Jan 5

Today we ran some errands, getting ready for our departure.  We had the photo printed that was taken of us and Pa Cha An.  One for us and one for her.  While ron was doing the project to clean and organize the tool room we came across a shoulder pole that Pa Cha An had used years earlier to sell fruit.  We thought it would be a fitting way to honor her to mount it on the wall of our little house.