2002-02-08

Making candles at the wat

I visited Wat Tha Ton this morning. Some monks were making candles by letting the sun soften the wax then rolling and shaping the candles around a newspaper wick.

They allowed me to join them and give it a try. A mound of wax is placed on paper then left in the sun to melt into a pancake. Then you peel it from the paper, double it over twice and stretch it into a curve it so it looks like a little boat. The wick goes in and you close the curve around it. Then you roll it on the table to give it shape.

The boy in the picture was highly entertained by my participation and began laughing. The monk reached over and lightly but sharply slapped his head. Why not let him enjoy himself? Perhaps the monk was annoyed at his undignified behavior in front of the visitor? I felt that the Buddha was more alive in the boy than in the man.

Adjacent to this room is a wall tiled with marble on which is engraved, and painted in gold leaf, the names and amounts of those who have contributed to the wat. It gave me an uneasy feeling that these people wanted others to know how much money they gave. Then again, who was I to judge since, if I'm to be honest, isn't part of the purpose of this journal to serve my own vanity? This thought bothered me for the rest of the day but I reached no resolution.

The wat overlooks Tha Ton and the Kok river.

Another view of the Buddha statue.

Some statues from around the wat.

A hill tribe woman with her baby. I held up four fingers to offer 40 baht for one of the hand-woven bags she was selling. She reach out and grabbed my thumb to open it and make it 50 baht. I closed my thumb. She opened it. I closed it. She opened it. This went on for several iterations and each time we laughed louder and harder until I couldn't take it any more. Ok, ok! I give up! 50 baht it is!

I left Tha Ton for the Chiang Saen and the golden triangle. There are farms all over the mountains with little bamboo cottages the farmers use for storage and to rest during the hottest part of the day.

At Chiang Saen. A long-tailed boat on the Mekong river. Laos is on the other side.

At the golden triangle!