Dharma bums

 

We loaded in a van for our journey to Ayuthaya, a place  with a hundreds temples from every branch of religion, sect and hangers-on all vying for money, attention and space. I suspect they chose this piece of real estate because of water, from which they all drink, eat and cleanses the body and soul.

Our guides were friend we made last year, who suggested we let them show us the history of Thailand through the attraction of religion. The Dharma bums have learned from experience that a gifted horse is good, so on we went.

Bangkok is like Houston, it goes on forever before you sense you’re out of town. Mile after mile of tire places, moto shops, fruit stands and soup kitchen, all sitting next to a bustling and noisy freeway of dirt, soot and grim. No helmeted for most of the drivers of motos and men sitting in open trucks on their way to a job, with shots of whisky in the air.  Work will be easy after a shot of whisky. The resonance of Bangkok was everywhere and anywhere, and before we know it we reached our first temple.

The parking lot was full and the crowds were orderly. It was a simple process of grabbing a bunch of incense sticks and a candle, and then struggle to reach the floor where you fought for space. Smells of incense and sweet oil filled the air and stung the noise hairs. I know the Dharma bums were holding their air because the temple room was not that big, and the best part is after you made your prayers which didn’t take long, your were out the door and on to the next temple. Each temple we visited was of a different time period, different sect, and the same.

 And did I mention the gold?. Ya, the gold. The real story of the temple is the gold. The Burma folks invaded Thailand, burned all the temples because they were covered in gold, and then scooped up the gold and went home. Most of the temples are burnt piles of bricks that use to be covered in gold. It must have been a hell of a sight, with the concentrations of temples, in all covered in gold. Now just the bricks are left.

 

 

Of course the Catholics have their place here too. They heard about the gold, and it fit in their sales plan. They did not want to miss the opportunity. — It was classic to find a Catholic Church sitting in the middle of a field like me and Dorothy had just landed in Kansas.

 

 

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 17th, 2007 at 11:06 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.