Parties, Farming, and Perpetual Reincarnation

Route: Phichit to Bang Mun Nak
Distance: 68km
Daytime high: 39C

The big gold Buddha on the hill, the roadside party, rice field irrigation, and a monk’s funeral at the Wat. Travelling by bike is like no other. Things pass by our field of vision slower and we see real life everywhere. Every turn presents new adventure. Today as we were just meandering down a country road, we noticed a big gold Buddha up on a hill. Of course it can’t go un-explored so we entered the Wat to take a look and we were invited to venture up the hill to see the big gold Buddha in all its splendour. Viewing the height of the steps and the length of the trip up, we opted to just let Deana venture upward, and just give us a verbal and photographic report. We are told it was quite grand, peaceful, and stunning up there…

Further down the road we suddenly found there was a full-on street party taking place, occupying most of the two lanes of roadway. Live music at 10am, people bopping and dancing, and they seemed quite welcoming of our curious presence. We squeezed out a few wiggly dance moves, snapped a few selfies and enjoyed the moment. Nothing like a random party!

Agriculture too is fascinating here. We stopped to marvel at this flooded field (likely a rice field) where this Thai farmer was navigating a jet-ski-like-paddle-boat-roto-tiller. Never seen anything like it in our lives before!

Tonight as we headed back from dinner on our bikes we passed the local Wat. There was something glorious, elaborate and fantastical taking place. Our curiosity drew us into the Wat (another Wat experience!) and we learned that we were witnessing the funeral proceedings of an important monk who had passed. The grandeur, the lights and the beauty of the visual that stood before us made the message clear—this was an important individual. His casket was raised very high off the ground, and was surrounded by lights, flowers, and beautifully ornate structures made a scene to behold. There were monks sitting reverently paying their respects, and lots of other visitors filing into the Wat to participate in relevant rituals. We were invited to admire and take pictures if we wanted. Gratefully and respectfully, we quietly did so. Buddhists believe in perpetual reincarnation. We can only believe that this individual has made another progression toward the blissful state of Nirvana.

On a totally different note, let’s talk food. Thai food can be hot. Really gosh-darn-make-my-mouth-burn-hot. Randy tends to score lots of extra food when Deana and I place orders for food waayyyyy outside of our heat-league. We best just stick to Pad Thai….

Every day reveals new adventure, enriching our lives and filling our reservoir of Life.