Temple Grounds
(Temple grounds by C Morley)

This morning, after checking emails over a pot of tea, I turned off my computer, tucked it into the towel closet, then took off with friends. Two expat females, our Thai teacher, our Thai driver and me. So really, it’s like this. Bloggers have jobs. Bloggers blog. Bloggers also have time outs, and this was mine.

After driving for under an hour, we stopped to pray at a country temple (Wat), in Nakhon Pathom Province (about 30ks from Bangkok). Praying at a Thai temple was a first for me (this trip held a number of firsts).

It was almost like being in western church really. We had scripts to read from, offerings to give, advice to receive, and butts to ache from sitting too long on hard wood (remember that?).

Only, the wood was the floor, the scripts were in Thai, and the offerings included toilet paper and cleaning products.

Oh, and you could interrupt the monk in the middle of advice time to speed up the service. What a thought, yes? Imagine being able to stand up in church and say, “Hey! I’m in a hurry here. So, could you like, move the service on a little faster?”

We even got to pour our own holy water. The idea is to think wonderful thoughts about the world and loved ones (while trying not to mumble about sore rears).

Market temple
(Market temple by C Morley)

Leaving the beautiful country temple, we drove about ten minutes to another, the Wat Rai Khing, located right on the Nakhon Chai Si River. This temple has a market on the grounds, the Don Wai Market.

Since coming to Thailand in ‘94 I’ve done a lot at temples. I’ve played a tourist waggling a camera, I’ve driven through temple grounds to eat, as well as driven around the grounds to avoid temple monkeys. But, this was the first time I’ve shopped where monks work.

Fish chef at Thai temple market
(Fish chef at Thai temple market by C Morley)

They had the full menu - food bought fresh, food cooked, candy in bags, candy made while you wait, clothes, plants and plastic toys - all under connecting roofs.

Candy maker
(Candy maker by C Morley)

They even had a large shiny jewelers behind glass, as well as a Chinese temple tucked out back. How great is that?

Chinese temple
(Chinese temple by C Morley)

It was a needed time out and well within a bloggers budget. Lunch for four people? A mere 220 baht. Pad thai, duck noodle soup, hor mook, fried rice, morning glory and drinks. That’s roughly 7 US dollars or 3.50 British pounds. Scenery included.

Nice.


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