My last post was about our second day in Phuket and our trip to Phang Nga Bay. Due to distance and traffic, we ended up being on the bus a total of 3.5-4 hours. It's always interesting as we travel by bus or car to see the sights along the way. We pass by mosques, temples and so many other things that are so "everyday common" in these places that the guide rarely gives them a mention.
One thing I started to notice as we rode along were these small houses mounted on posts that looked somewhat like fancy little wooden birdhouses. I also noticed that they were highly decorated and some had flowers and other small items on the platforms around them. The longer our ride, the more I began to realize how many there were! It seemed that almost every business had one, and most homes had them as well, leaving me quite curious.
There was no mention of these little houses by our guide. So after our return to the ship, I googled to see if I could discover what they were. It only took a few seconds to learn that they are called “spirit houses” and they are very common among followers of Buddha. I also learned that there are over 40,000 Buddhist temples in Thailand, 30,000 in use today.
I had suspected that they might be some kind of little “altars” since they were highly decorated, sometimes with marigold garlands like we saw for sale near the Hindu temples in India. With a bit more googling, here’s what I found. “An important feature of Buddhism in Thailand is its syncretism with other faiths. Buddhism, as practiced in Thailand, borrows elements from Animism and Hinduism. Noticeable manifestations of Animism in Thai Buddhism are the spirit houses throughout Thailand. Often resembling Buddhist temples, spirit houses are small model houses and serve as homes for the spirits associated with the site. It is common for Thais to offer considerations for spirits and ghosts they believe to be present. For example, Thai homes will often have spirit houses to appease the spirits that were disturbed in the building of the house, and daily offerings of food and flowers will be made to these spirits.”
Even our guide had mentioned how superstitious the Thai people are. It made me think of the kolams or Rangoli chalk drawings I mentioned in an earlier post that the Hindus believe will help keep evil spirits away from their homes and businesses. I also read that there are a few rules about where spirit houses can be placed - preferably in front of a tree, not on the left side of a door and not facing a toilet or a road.
Elsewhere I read “Many will give daily offerings to things like spirit houses. Others will sporadically feed the many soi (street) dogs to make merit. By making and gaining merit, many Thais believe they will live longer and happier lives. Some people will also wear Buddhist amulets in order to protect themselves.”
I will also include some random bus window photos taken on our excursion to Phang Nga Bay. As mentioned earlier, just riding around in the back seat of a car or bus gives one a small "taste" of what a city or country is like. However, getting decent photos through the window of a moving vehicle is another matter.
Disclaimer: Oftentimes the windows are dirty, scratched or tinted and many if not most will be blurry. Also, by the time something you want to shoot comes within your view, there's barely time to get your camera or phone up, much less time to focus. The only time I get a good bus or car shot shot is if we're slowed by traffic or stopped for a light. And... if the window happens to be clean and a motorcycle doesn't pass between me and my subject the exact second the shutter clicks. ha! All of that to say that when you see photos that are a bit blurry, oddly shaped or have other 'issues' then you know it was likely taken through the window of a moving vehicle and it's been straightened, cropped or anything else I can do to salvage it. And you won't see the many that get deleted!
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| get a load of this wiring job |
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| Sultan born on Monday (yellow day) |
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| local advertising |
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| notice the spirit house |
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| interesting wiring techniques |
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| their wiring boggles my mind |
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| bus window shot - coconuts, pineapples, bananas (could see from behind) |
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| ??? |
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| notice bus window tinting |
Bharberts: believe it or not, there are areas (away from touristy areas) in Hawaii where the wiring looks like what you showed. It would make Greg so mad to have a photo "spoiled" by a mass of wires. Hollywood films in these places and they have a software to "see" the poles and wires so they can be removed quickly.
ReplyDeleteIn Japan, the Buddhist and Shinto usually have a family altar in the house, but have what I thought were doll houses originally by the front, kitchen and back doors. They are for the Hamakua. Some people translate that as "breath of god", but people in Hawaii who went to our church would hide their Hamakua before other church members came over. Our pastor said it was a superstition that spirits would go to a nice "house" prepared for them and preached to get rid of them. Some were really lovely and detailed much like yours. We had neighbors who had them.
This was an interesting couple of trips. Do most people on your ship take the excursions when you dock? I have friends who get off the ships, go and have a coffee or a beer in each port-but they have traveled to over 100 countries and feel like they have seen all they want in many places. Just curious how long it takes to get a tender boat when you dock.
Great comments! Most of the time we dock, so a tender isn't necessary. But when it is, they run back and forth constantly and there is never more than a 30 minute wait (usually much less). Interesting about the same type thing in Hawaii and I agree with your pastor. I stopped being superstitious when I realized that God is in control of everything, not fate or anything I might or might not do. As for people getting off the ship, we've made friends with people on the ship who take a (ship sponsored) excursion at every port and some who would never take a ship sponsored excursion. The latter are folks (like you said) who have traveled all over the world, sometimes visiting the same places many times and don't feel the need to stick with a group, preferring to go off on their own. So there are plenty of both. This is the 6h world cruise for one guy we know on this ship and others have done it multiple times. Some people just love to travel, including an older lady who negotiated a price to stay on this ship for 3 years!!
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