Tourists, pig sacrifices and Giant Buddhas
So last weekend teacher Nui, a very sweet and spiritual man, who is in charge of the boys’ hostel (115 boys in one building, who all stay in one big open room, while new dorms are being constructed) led us on a day trip to the city of Ayuddhya. Those of you familiar with India, or The Ramayana might be familiar with Ayodhya (I am reading a version of the Ramayana now, but admit that I’m finding it very difficult and hard to relate to, with all sorts of battles with demons etc. so, because I can barely make it through a few pages, I can’t write much about the Ayodhya of Rama). But, to get to the point, before Thailand was Buddhist, it was Hindua, and even many of the Buddhist statues are of Hindu gods, or else combinations. Our trip was almost cancelled due to some reported Bird Flu in the area, but I was assured that you needed contact with live poultry, so we went ahead.This is a picture of one of the sites, information to follow —
The first temple was of this famed giant Buddha. Tour busses crowded up to the temple surrounded by food stalls and gift shops. I separated my sandals in the entrance to the temple ( you must remove shoes, but in such a touristy place I feared that someone might be all to happy with a pair of Tevas). At first I snapped pictures of everything, embarrassed but resigned to be a tourist taking pictures in a sacred place (obviously not embarrassed enough to not do it, anyway it didn’t feel too sacred. Some people were actually praying, many were just milling and it seemed meant for tourists, so I clicked away). Giant wads of incense and tons of statues led up to the highly anticlimactic statue – which was being prepared to have a fresh paint of gold coating on it. I witnessed the “dressing of the Buddha” in which large sheets of orange clothe were spread of the audience, chanted over and then thrown up over the statue.I started to get slightly claustrophobic as the crowds of gawkers, prayers and weird European tourists (do I stand out as much?) milled past me. I headed for some fresh air when I realized why I felt so nauseated – on the alter, amongst flowers and idols sat mounds and mounds of dead animals – unidentifiable piles of flesh, but also pigs heads. I looked away as fast as I could but still the image of pink flesh, with the skin peeled away to reveal indents for eyes, mouth and snout, all rubbery and shiny, stuck in my head. This sight, combined with the smell, crowds of gawkers, noise and more smells, helped me to flee to the exit without hesitation. A fellow student, a Buddhist from Malaysia also appeared shocked by the meat. She explained to me that in Malaysia, Buddhist Monks don’t eat meat, but in Thailand they do. Still, even they could rationalize their personal consumption, we couldn’t believe they would bring flesh into a sacred place. After a few more such sites, including a museum on the history of Ayuddhya (actually very interesting) and a few more Buddhas I started feeling so completely drained by the sensory overload or something, I started to worry about going to India. I could barely drag myself out of the bus to haul my way past one more line of trinket sellers, ice-cream in hog-dog buns-with condensed milk sellers or giant holy statues. India, I thought, is ten times more intense, there the vendors do not wait for you to stop, but actively pursue their sales. The entire day here in Thailand I saw one child labourer, gloomily selling trinkets, in India there would be hundreds, all clamouring not just for money, but attention often too. So, I resolved, (or reaffirmed) that what I want in India, and what I’m loving about Thailand is anything but tourist sites (of course, these things attract visitors because they are so wonderful, and often very sacred, at least in the beginning – still I won’t miss seeing the Taj). Things got much better when we saw the ruins of palaces (destroyed in a Burmese invasion) and beautiful, open air gardens:
Here’s a Buddha statue that is now part of a tree, in case that’s not immediately discernable from this tiny, crooke picture.
On the way out of one of the more oppressive sites we saw these white-people-touting elephants:
At first I was embarrassed, for everyone involved: animal, passenger and mahout. I still don’t think I could pay to ride one, but Nui told us not to worry that it is good, and the money enables them to feed the elephants. I guess, given that elephants are mostly unemployed, and often homeless, this is a better profession that none (or extinction).
Tags: Thailand, Travel
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