Last weekend was fun, crazy, and interesting. We're tired this week, but it was worth it.
Friday
We had a very interesting cultural experience on Friday night. We were invited over for dinner by some of John's students' parents. There were four kids there, and at least one parent to go along with each one. John has a few parents that really care about how their kids are doing, and they often come to him with questions about the homework and tests. Anyways, they were very kind to invite us to their house for dinner.
But when I say house, I should really say mansion. They have a media company right across the streets that is also asking to borrow the house, not to photograph mind you, but for company parties and things.
After dinner, we were thrown into another Thai ritual: Karaoke... Did I mention they have a whole room dedicated to Karaoke and, like most Asians, they are very serious about it. They kept putting the microphone in front of us, as well as song after song that we did not know. it reminded me of French "Boom", dance parties where everyone else looked like they were genuinely having fun, while I was wondering how much longer it would last... But, in the end, it was fun, and everyone was so kind to us. They invited us to do something again later, and I'm sure we will accept. In a way, I wish the 11th grade parents would also get involved in their students' educational lives.
Saturday
On Saturday, we drug ourselves out of bed at the early hour of 9 am (we have made it our habit to stay in bed until 11 am, catching up on the sleep we missed during the week), and met some friends for an adventure.
The destination: Lopburi, 2.5 hours North of Bangkok by train.
The occasion: The annual monkey festival.
We decided to get a true Thai cultural experience and take the 3rd class, non-airconditioned bus to Lopburi. We waited an hour and a half for the train to finally make it to the station, and then climbed into an incredibly packed car to begin our journey North of Bangkok.
We stood for the beginning of the trip, until a few people got off and we were able to pack 3 bodies into a seat. The aisle was crammed with people standing and bags hanging, but this created a fascinating dance when the vendors selling various food items passed through, about every 20 seconds. They sold their goods in a beautiful chant-like tone, repeating themselves again and again as they walked up and down the train. There were beggers sliding up and down the aisle, and people falling asleep on my shoulder. It was so hot, we started sweating almost instantly, even with the windows open and the fans on. The most irritating part was looking around and seeing the Thai people wearing sweaters all around, looking cool and comfortable. It is their winter after all, with chilling temperatures descending to 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrrr!!!! :)
We did eventually make it. It was an experience worth having, especially for 24 Baht (the equivalent of a little less than $1), but we opted to take the air-conditioned mini-van home...
Lopburi is a small, quiet, little town that is famous for its old temple ruins and its mixture of traditional and French architecture. There was a King (or a Prince, I'm not sure which) of Thailand that became friends with Louis XIV of France back in the 1600s, and wanted Thailand to become more friendly with the Western nations. We visited his palace in Lopburi: it was very beautiful, but a completely different style of architecture than everything else here. Apparently, he entertained many foreign dignitaries there. Eventually, he was executed, and that put an end to the friendship with France.
We chose the same day to visit the Lopburi palace and museum as all the schoolchildren in Central Thailand, I think, because as soon as we stepped foot inside, we were literally mugged by a huge number of kids, all wanting to shake our hand and practice the three English phrases that they knew. We felt like Rock Stars.
From there, we walked to the monkey temple. I'm not sure how the monkeys got there in the first place, but they are now the main tourist attraction for the town. To thank them for all the money that they bring in, the people of Lopburi host an annual monkey festival. On Sunday (we missed it by one day), they set up a beautiful table with every kind of food imaginable, and then let the monkeys eat to their hearts content. We missed this amazing culinary experience, but we walked by the temple where they were already laying out some food. Literally, there were monkeys EVERYWHERE: up every street, on every building, walking all the power lines, stopping traffic, and covering the temple grounds.
Everyone warns tourists to put their valuables at the bottom of their bags, so that if the monkeys get into a backpack, they only steal a water bottle. It was crazy!! and a little bit scary! If you'd stop and look up, there were always at least two monkeys sitting right above your head, staring. We were almost attacked by a territorial monkey, but remembered at the last minute that we were supposed to look it in the eyes or smile at it. Yikes!
The ruins of another temple. The statue is actually John.
On Sunday, we visited a Thai church that our friends attend. Some people say that God is really starting to do something in Thailand. We have noticed that Buddhism is not providing any answers, and that Thai people are searching for more and seem pretty hopeless. Those who enter the Church have such a hunger for God. Just to give you an idea, the service lasted 4 hours. There was a "pre-sermon" that lasted an hour, like a warm-up, if you will, then an hour of worship, an hour of preaching, and an hour of prayer. We were very glad to have a lady sit beside us and translate, so that we caught maybe half of what was said. It was really nice to have songs that we knew, so that we could sing along in English while everyone sang in Thai. It was just what we needed after a tiring week. God was very good to take us there.
After church, we went upstairs for a post-dinner lunch, and had a really great talk with the couple that we came with, a Thai couple, and one of the pastors. They told us about how many Thai people are afraid to hope because they have heard so many people promise to bring change in the government, but things never get better. They told us about all the corruption that they see, and how it is easier for a Thai person to ignore it then to deal with it. And they told us that many people are coming to the Lord because they see that He actually changes lives and offers that hope that they desperately want. We pray that God will use us to be a part of what He is doing in Thailand.
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