This Is Thailand - Thankfully!

One of my objectives, actually my last objective, for our trip to Nakhon Pathom last month was to visit a special institution.  According to the e-brochure, "Khlong Tour, Cruising the Majestic Waterways", issued by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in 2007 near Khlong Maha Sawat there was the Palace College And Museum of Ten Schools of Thai Crafts.

The e-brochure described the college as an institution where visitors could observe the training of Thai craftspeople for traditional arts of mother-of-pearl inlay, painting, sculpting, fruit and vehetable carving.  My Internet search for additional details yielded a contact phone number and an address of "Salay-Bang Phasi Rd, Tambon Salaya"  Unfortunately I was unable to determine further details from the "Salay-Bang Phasi Rd, Tambon Salaya" - maps that I accessed either on the Internet or purchased at local 7-11s, more often than not, referred to roads and highways by their number or gave the name in Thai.  Our driver did not speak English and the specific details that I had was only in English.

I had Duang call the phone number and she ended up speaking with some manager at an apartment house!  I had determined from the Internet that the school was open from 9:00 A. M. to 4:00 P.M. It was getting fairly late on our last full day in the area.  The next morning we were going to the airport to fly back to Udonthani.  It appeared that we would not get to visit the school.  We stopped at a gas station to refuel the car, and get some snacks.  Duang and our driver spoke with some people and seemed to make a connection for the school that I wanted to visit.  Surprisingly it was very close to the hotel where we were staying.

We arrived at "The College of Dramatic Arts: Fine Arts Dept" at 2:45 P.M.  The guard at the main gate directed us to a seven story building located at the corner of a modern university complex.  Duang and I entered the building and found ourselves amongst a couple of sculpture studios - studios with sculptures in various stages of completion but no people.

After walking about the studios, we returned to the lobby and went to the elevator.  I suggested to Duang that we go up to the seventh floor and work our way down to look for some people.  We went up to the seventh floor and exited the elevator to find ourselves in a sterile lobby.  Behind a glass partition and a locked door, we saw some people in what appeared to be an administrative office.  After telling them, through a glass section that had some small holes in it for better communication, why we were there, they electrically unlocked the door for us to enter.

This was very reminiscent of our experience at my former junior high school two years ago in America.  Duang was going there to learn English (reading, writing, and speaking) at night school.  One night she apparently left her pencil case with her prescription glasses at the school.  The next day we returned to the school to see if the case had been found.  I had gone to the school in the early 1960's, a time when you or anyone could and would go inside the school, walk about 25 feet inside to the school office and transact your business.  Not any more!  We approached the school and found an entryway very similar a high security entrance to a bank - once you clear scrutiny, you are allowed into a small sterile area where you are subject to additional scrutiny and questioning before being admitted to the office to deal with people face to face.

Our experience in Nakhon Pathom was similar but more pleasant.  Once we got past a single door we were in the office speaking with some very pleasant and friendly people.  We told them that we had learned on the Internet of a place, perhaps this place, where people were trained in the arts.  They told us that they were preparing for a large public exhibition at the end of the week.  We told them that we were leaving to return to our home the next day and would not be able to attend the exhibition.  It was no big deal for me.  I know things like that happen - unexpected situations and circumstances - part of life. As I thanked them and was turning around to leave they asked us to wait and brought us each a glass of cold water.  After a short while we we joined by a very pleasant young woman, a woman obvious with some authority.  After repeating our story to her, she asked us to follow her.  This was the start of our personal tour of the facility - all seven floors with the woman who was an important professor.

A Student Finishing Up Her Painting For the Upcoming Exhibit

We were fortunate during our tour to speak with the few students that we encountered along the way.  Duang was kept very busy interpreting for me and all the other people.  I was encouraged to take as many photographs as I wanted to.  Our tour guide willingly answered all the questions that I had regarding which made for a very pleasant experience.

A Student's Sculpture of Mythological Creatures Central To Thai Culture

Floor by floor, art by art, and craft by craft we toured the facility with our personal guide.  It was a very entertaining and enlightening experience for us.

An Example Of Traditional Thai Painting By A Student

A Student Working On Her Pottery

Wire Sculpture In First Floor Lobby

First Floor Studio Sculpture

Outside Courtyard Sculpture

Our personal tour of the facility lasted approximately one hour.  Looking back at our experience the term TIT (This Is Thailand) comes to my mind.

TIT, This Is Thailand, is an expression often used by expats in reaction to an experience or situation that they have encountered here.  The expression is typically not meant to be complimentary.  It often stems from frustration from falang (foreigners) who have observed or experienced some  aspect or idiosyncrasy of Thai culture or life that is very different than what they are accustomed to or familiar with in their home culture.

I am using the expression in this blog entry as a compliment and expression of gratitude for our experience at The College of Dramatic Arts: Fine Arts Dept.  The kindness and friendliness of the staff was a pleasant surprise.  The staff's concern over our situation and the action that they took to help us was beyond what I normally would expect.  They very well could have saved themselves some time and effort by just telling us "Sorry, we are closed.  We are busy preparing for the exhibit"

But this is indeed Thailand - a place where you will frequently encounter friendly and accommodating people.  These are some of the people who add greatly to the quality of life here.

Unexpected Pleasure, Beauty Is Where You Find It

Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol, Roi-Et Province

Yesterday I wrote that our trip to Roi-Et ...  "As is the case for all wonderful trips, our expectations, as well as anticipations were exceeded.  We got to meet face to face for the first time my Facebook friend.  The first night we witnessed a wonderful presentation of the Vessantara Jataka by local university students.  We met a very nice local couple who invited us to spend Sunday night at their home."
Our new friends in Roi-Et wanted to take us Sunday morning to a special place about 80 km from their home.  It turned out that this special place was a very special place - an unexpected pleasure for Duang and me.  Our friends brought us to view and experience Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol, "The Great, Victorious and Auspicious Pagoda" - also known as Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkhon .

In Thailand, chedi is the same as a stupa.  Chedis and stupas are Buddhist structures containing Buddhist relics - often the ashes of Buddhist Monks.  Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol is built to house some very special Buddhist relics.  Besides the relics of the Monk most responsible for its construction, Luang Phu Sri Vi Ro, and other Monks, Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol contains relics from Buddha that arrived from Sri Lanka on May 3, 1997.

The decision to build Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol and to create a sacred place for the relics was made at a meeting of the clergy on 25th of November 1985.

That was almost thirty years ago.  I do not know if the chedi is still under construction or if it undergoing extensive renovation.  No matter the case, we found the facility to be incomplete.  I estimate that the facility is about 60 percent complete.  However the 60% completion state is pretty much universal.  No matter where you go in the facility you have a clear indication from the construction or restoration to date what that area will look like when it is completed.

Ground Level Portico

Portico Partially Completed

Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol is rife with symbolism.  The symbolism starts with the dimensions of the complex.  The facility is located in Roi-Et Province ("101 Province").  Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol is situated upon 101 rai of land - 40 acres.  The chedi is 101 meters wide by 101 meters long and 101 meters tall.

Main Pagoda Flanked By Two Of the Eight Smaller Pagodas

The chedi is surrounded by eight smaller pagodas.  Pagodas?  Pagodas are chedis that can be entered and may have a secular purpose.  The large chedi is also a pagoda since it can be entered.

Naga Exiting the Mouth of A Dragon

The main pagoda has five floors each having a different purpose and motif.

The first floor is for meetings and conferences.

First Floor - Shrine to Luang PhuSri Maha Vi Ro

The beams and columns of the first floor are covered with intricate designs with a pink and gold color palette.  It is very beautiful and, in my opinion, rivals the opulence of Versailles.  Several paintings adorn the perimeter wall of the first floor with many to be added to complete the decor.

First Floor Painting

Another First Floor Painting

First Floor Staircase Decoration

Statue Adorning First Floor Staircase

The second floor of the pagoda is meant for clergy meetings and has a blue along with gold color palette.

Second Floor Ceiling

Second Floor Shrine

Second Floor Shrine

As we walked about the pagoda in awe of the beauty as well as the complexity of the decor, we came upon a section where a man was working on adding decorations to a wall panel.  We learned that it took him three days to complete each wall panel.

Worker Adding Decorations To Wall Panel

The third floor of the pagoda is an ubosot - ordination hall, the holiest prayer room.  Ordination of Monks takes place in the ubosot which is often referred to by laypeople as "bot".  The ubosot of this pagoda is red and gold.

 

 

Ceiling Panel of the ubosot - Third Floor

 



Ceiling Detail Of Ubosot

Ornate Columns Descending From Ornate Ceiling

Ubosot Shrine



Part of Ubosot Shrine - "Reclining Buddha"

Ubosot Ceiling

The fourth floor has access to an outside viewing deck which provides grand panoramas of the surrounding countryside.  The wall of the fourth floor, to me, seemed to be a hall of fame for Monks.  There were many statues set pedestals along the perimeter wall.  Each statue had a name of a different deceased Monk.

Fourth Floor of the Pagoda

The fifth floor is supposed to be a museum related to Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol.  The museum must be also under renovation because other than the walls containing relics from many Monks, there were no articles on display.  However the fifth floor is the base of a marvelous spiral stairway containing 119 steps leading up to the sixth floor where the Buddha relics are stored.



Spiral Stairway Connecting 5th Floor to 6th Floor

Looking Down At the 4th Floor From the 5th Floor

Relics from Buddha - 6th Floor

The access to the sixth floor, where the relics of Buddha from Sri Lanka are kept, is by climbing a spiral staircase from the 5th floor.  There is elevator access between all the other floors - when the elevator is not being renovated.  However much like reaching enlightenment or Heaven, the way to the 6th floor requires some effort - climbing 119 steps - ever decreasing width threads as you get closer and closer to your goal - a challenge for me with size 11 feet.  Towards the top of the staircase I was climbing with my sock covered feet just about parallel to the stair threads after having jabbed my toes several times earlier.  Descending the steps is much easier with the stair threads getting wider and wider with each step down.

Ceiling of the 6th Floor

The exterior of the pagoda outside of the 6th floor is a tiered King's umbrella (Sa Vhet Tha Chut) fabricated from 60 kilograms of gold.

Upon arriving at the 6th floor, I was sweating profusely.  The pagoda is not air conditioned and the outside temperature was around 36C (97F).  Although the exterior of the pagoda is white, the natural chimney effect the hot air along with the increased humidity caused by respiration of its visitors rising up through the building to the 6th floor - not to mention the physical exertion of climbing up 101 meters (331 feet) through the building.  Fortunately, there were a couple of large fans circulating the air at the sixth floor.  After Duang had completed her worship, we commenced our journey down through the building.

Our visit to Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol was a quite unexpected pleasure.  I had never heard or read of the place.  Our new friends had definitely made a memorable experience for us by bring us to this special place.

Just as I have found many of the world's wonders overwelming upon first encountering them. I found that one visit to Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol to be inadequate to fully appreciate its magnitude and beauty.

It was only starting with my second visit to Grand Canyon National Park that I began to comprehend its magnitude and the extent of its beauty.  After six visits to Yellowstone National Park, I still discover more of its beauty and grandeur with each visit.

The same is true with Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol.  One visit is definitely not sufficient.  I was told that it will take five years to finish it.  With 5 years of construction or renovation to come, the place will be continually evolving  and changing - states to be celebrated, cherished, and ...photographed.

Our journey to Roi-Et started with a series of expectations and anticipations.  Just as with life, we encountered many opportunities to realize our expectations but it was the changes to our original plan that provided the greatest happiness and the realization of beauty that we did not know existed along our planned route.

I look forward to returning to Pra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol to better understand, and appreciate it.

Banana Roses

Lay Worker Making A Rose From A Banana Leaf

On our visit to Sakon Nakhon to attend the Wax Castle Festival we ended up hiring the same car and driver that we had hired last year.  Upon our arrival at our hotel on October 17th we informed the very helpful people at the registration desk that we would like to hire the same car/driver that we had the previous year.  We gave a description of the man and they immediately recognized who we wanted.  We told them we wanted the car driver for the next day starting at 8:00 A.M.  While I filled out the registration forms and gave them my passport, they called the man.  They spoke with the man and gave me his charges for the day.  The charges were the same as they were last year so we readily agreed.

Gave my passport to the hotel staff?  Yes.  As Duang sometimes explains to me. "Thailand not same as America"  In Thailand as well as other countries in Southeast Asia, you have to establish your identity when renting a hotel room.  Thai nationals in Thailand show their national identity card.  Foreigners have to submit their passport to the reception staff who xerox the relevant pages.  By law the hotels have to have a record of who has stayed in their establishment and confirm that the foreigners are legally in the country - proper unexpired visa.  Private citizens are also supposed to report to local police any foreign guests that are staying in their home but I suspect that this is not fully complied with.

We were a little taken aback the next morning at 8:00 A.M. when a young man showed up rather than the elderly man that we were expecting.   The young man had a nice 4 door pick up truck and he seemed like he had a "good heart"  "Good Heart" is very important here in Isaan.  It means roughly a good and nice person. The young man quickly demonstrated that he was a good as well as safe driver.  After a while in a conversation through Duang, we determined that he was actually the son of our driver from last year.  Now I understood what was going on and everything was fine.

Our first stop of the day was at Wat Suwaneen Gindalam.  We had spent quite a bit of time at the Wat last year - even stopping by on our way back home.  The Monks as well as lay people had been extremely nice and friendly during our visit.  A major component of the wax castle floats are hundreds of small solid wax figurines of mythological creatures of the Himmapan Forest.  Last year the kind people of Wat Suwaneen Gindalam gave us two of the extra figures to bring home.

We were quickly recognized upon our return to the Wat this year.  We found out that the Wat took third place last year and they were striving to win first place this year,  While we were able to watch the completion of the large floats this year, we arrived this year after the two main floats had already been transported into town to a staging area for the night's procession.  Although the main floats were not at the Wat, there was still some work going on.  The tractor trailer truck that would pull one of the main floats still had to be decorated.  A bamboo structure had been erected around the truck but only about 50% of the decorative panels had been attached to the bamboo substructure.

This year the Wat had created a grand wax castle float and a more organic float sort of like a float you see in the Rose Bowl Parade.  It seemed to me that this year there was a different theme for the floats.  Rather than being wax some of the floats were created with fibers and banana leaf materials.

Twisting and Turning A Banana Leaf Into a Green Rose

During our stay at the Wat, one of  the men showed and tried to teach Duang how to make the roses in the float out of banana leaves.

Teacher and Student

Here in Isaan, banana trees are used for many purposes.  I have seen banana stalks used to create a "money tree".  Banana leaves are used to cook food in.  Banana leaves are used as plates.  Banana stalks are used as a substitute for wood to create small houses associated with funeral rites.  Banana leaves are skillfully manipulated to create centerpieces for baii sii rituals.  However this was the first time that I have seen a banana leaf used to create a rose albeit a green rose.

The man quickly created a nice green roses which he presented to Duang as a souvenir of our visit.

Shortly after we arrived, many of the workers left to go into town to freshen up the floats.  We followed them into town to watch them freshen up and repair their floats.

Sakon Nakhon Wax Castle Festival

Completed Wax Castle at Wat Suwaneen Gindalam, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand

As I have written before, October this year has been a very busy month for us.  One of our planned activities for October was to attend the Sakon Nakhon Wax Castle Festival here in Isaan.

The festival was held from October 26 to October 30 in Sakon Nakhon, an agricultural center of approximately 60,000 people 160 Km east of our home in Udonthani.  The Wax Festival is held to commemorate and celebrate the end of Buddhist Lent also referred to as Buddhist Retreat.

Buddhist Lent commences the day after the full moon of the eighth lunar month (July) and ends 90 days later on the full moon of the eleventh lunar month (October).  I will be writing more about the end of the Buddhist Retreat in my next blog.  For now the important point is that during the period from Khao Phansa to Ok Phansa, the Monks are restricted to their home Wat to focus on meditation and scripture.

We had attended the Ubonratchathani Candle Festival in July 2010.  That festival which commemorated the start of Buddhist Lent included both a day and night procession of large wax sculptures of scenes from the Ramakian.  After viewing and inspecting the sculptures, I wanted to return the next year but at an earlier time to witness how the large sculptures were made.  As often happens in life, events prevented us from returning in either 2011 or 2012.  There is a saying that goes something along the lines of "When one door closes, another door opens".  We returned to Thailand in July of this year, too late to go to Ubonratchathani but, thanks to the Internet I learned of the Sakon Nakhon Wax Castle Festival in October.

Due to a commitment to attend and requests to photograph Ok Phansa celebration in Tahsang Village, we were not able to attend the procession in Sakon Nakhon.  However, we could attend the early days of the festival - specifically to witness the castles being constructed.  I figured that the first day, the 26th, was too early.  After researching and finding a hotel for $21.64 a night in downtown Sakon Nakhon, we decided to drive the 2 hours on Saturday, 27 October, spend the night and return home on Sunday the 28th.  We could have planned on doing it all in one day, but I like to have flexibility built into our travel arrangements.  For $21.64, including taxes, a night, there was not much additional cost to have a possible second day at the festival.

The drive out to Sakon Nakhon was great - Highway 22 all the way.  Not much traffic, very few slow vehicles, very few traffic lights, wide and smooth paved highway, hardly any motorbikes, and no police - such a great way to start a holiday.

Our hotel, The Dusit, was a pleasant surprise.  The staff was great - very friendly and extremely willing to help.  The hotel is located downtown very close to the central market.  The exterior is rather nondescript but I knew that from my research.  Inside the hotel was very clean and the lobby was pretty as well as comfortable. Since I had no idea where the castles were being constructed, or where the long boat races were being held, I decided to hire a car and driver for the day.  We spoke with the staff at the hotel, and shortly a man with a nice car arrived.  We agreed to pay him 2,000 Baht ($65 USD) to take care of us from 11:00 AM until 5:00 PM.  With a car, I was able to bring some equipment such as a light stand, small octagon light modifier, and tripod to use in photographing the castles.

We have been fortunate in our travels relying upon local people to take us to the photographic opportunities.  Our trip to Sakon Nakhon was no exception.  Through my wife I explained what I was interested in. The driver understood and wrote down 6 places that we could go to.  Our first stop was Wat Suwaneen Gindalam on the outskirts of the city.

Wat Suwaneen Gindalam is located on a dirt road in a forested area.  The two wax castles were being constructed under an open sided shed.  The shed resembled a boat shed back in Connecticut with a corrugated metal roof and myriad plastic tarps to shelter the sculptures from the sun.  It has gotten cooler here in Isaan, but it is all relative.  The hot days of April when it can go up to 100 to 105F have cooled down to days of 85-90F - in the shade.  Care must be taken to protect the sculptures from melting in the sun.

The Wat grounds were filled with activity.  Besides people working in the shed, there were women outside of an auxiliary building preparing and cooking food.  Next to them some men setting up tables and chairs for a celebration the next day. Between the groups at the auxiliary building and the shed, a small group of teen aged boys were busy cutting banana stalks into fancy designs, making flower buds out of flower petals and decorating a small woven bamboo house to be used in conjunction with towing the wax castles.  As we entered the shed, we saw four young novice Monks busy cutting Styrofoam disks and  covering the disks with banana leaves.

Using A Speaker As A Table, Young Man Works on A Castle Component

Inside of the shed, beneath the metal roof and tarps, there were several workstations - tables to cast wax elements for the castle, equipment to melt wax, and tables to assemble wax components.  I guess they were short a table because a large speaker was being used as a table to assemble a house type component for the castle.

Worker Pours Wax to Create An Ornamental Casting

Wax Strips Are Prepared to be Melted

A combination of young men and young Monks were occupied in the shed constructing the wax castles.  The only female that we saw, a teen aged girl, was busy attaching a fabric skirt around the base of the smaller wax castle.  She was surrounded by two long unfurled rolls of fabric, pink and white, that she was creating a bunting over the yellow pleated fabric skirt of the float.

Bunting Being Applied to Base of Wax Castle

The people were very friendly and also very informative.  Our driver, who did not speak any English, kept telling Duang that all the people there were his friends,  Later we found out that he lived near the Wat.  I joked with him through Duang that I didn't care if they were his friends or not, I was getting some good pictures!  The Lao Loum people have great senses of humor and enjoy joking with each other or with a foreigner.  Duang and he went off to bring back some cold drinks for me - and the shed workers.

We spent two hours at this location.  It satisfied all my needs and exceeded my expectations.  In that first stop, our driver had earned his fee and I was happy.

Worker Uses Soldering Iron to Install Decorative Wax Casting

We learned a great deal talking with the workers and observing them.  First of all, the wax castles are not sculpted or carved from wax. The castles are first constructed of wood and 1/8" plywood - as in cabinet making.  Melted wax is poured into molds to create the decorative panels, statues, decorative elements that are attached to the wood base.  Soldering irons are used to fuse the various wax components together.  In some places, nail guns are employed to attach elements.

Cast Wax Panel Along Base of Float

Secondly, these exquisite works are not built during the three days leading up to the procession.  The construction of these castles actually starts with the beginning of Buddhist Lent/Buddhist  Retreat.  Hmmm ... that makes quite a bit of sense.  For the 90 day period of Lent, the Monks are supposed to stay at their home Wat.  Although they are supposed to concentrate on meditation and the scriptures, I suspect that working on the wax castles helps pass the time.

The castles at Wat Suwaneen Gindalam had been under construction for 2-1/2 months. The castles cost between 200,000 Baht to 250,000 Baht ( $6,666 to $8,333 USD) to build.  HRH The King provides funding to build the wax castles.  Some of the people are paid to work on the wax castles.  The man in the photograph above has worked on wax castles for 9 years.  Each year a new wax castle is built.  The Abbott of the Wat designs the wax castle.  The castles are mounted on a trailer which is towed by a tractor trailer truck that is completely decorated.  Florescent light tubes line the edge of the float to illuminate the castle at night during the procession through the downtown area.

Melting A Decoration Into Place

Young Man Works On Details Of Wax Statue

The wax castles are very detailed.  The architecture of the wax castles reminds me greatly of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.  Just as in the Grand Palace, mythological creatures such as the Garuda, and Yakshas from the Thai epic Ramakien (Ramakian) are used as structural and decorative elements.
When we left Wat Suwaneen Gindalam, the workers gave us a wax Garuda and a wax Lion statue as mementos of our visit.  The statues are now kept in our bedroom.

Novice Monk Making Flower Buds from Petals Spread Before Him

Binding Petals to Create A Flower Bud

 

The Smaller Wax Castle At Wat Suwaneen Gindalam

 

Our next stop was at Wat Sapansee which was even further outside of the city.  I was now in complete relaxed mode - the first stop had satisfied my needs so from then on it was "icing on the cake" for me.  I may have been more relaxed but I had not lost my focus.  There were the championship long boat races in town at 2:00 PM but we had seen them before in Kumphawapi and were planning on seeing them once gain on 3 and 4 November so we decided to forgo the races for more wax castle building.  Foreigners in Thailand often make light of a popular Thai expression "Same Same but different!"  Well our stop at Wat Sapansee was just like that expression - It was the same but it was different.

 

Tractor Trailer Truck Being Decorated At Wat Sapansee

Wat Sapansee was even busier than Wat Suwaneen Gindalam.  People were busy decorating the tractor that would pull the wax castle some 20 Km into Sakon Nakhon for the parade. Three boys were spraying the wax castle with water to keep it cooler as we arrived.  Many people were installing bumper pads made from rice stalks along the trailer frame where the wax castle would be mounted while others were attaching blocks of water soaked florist's arrangement media and chicken wire to the trailer frame. Monks were braiding strips of banana leaves into Nagas (mythological snakes) for decorations.  Some Monks and laymen were working on a special bamboo and wood castle off to the side.  Three women were working on making a long garland from string and plastic jasmine buds.  One of the old ladies with red stained lips from betelnut chewing started to flirt with me.  I told in Thai "Excuse me, I am sorry.  I have a Lao wife"  Without missing a heartbeat she replied "That's OK, I don't mind.  I can be your mistress"  We all had a big laugh.  I do appreciate and cherish the Lao Loum sense of humor.

 

Monk Braiding Banana Leaf Strips to Create "Nagas"

Off to the side there was another large group of women working on banana leaves and cutting Styrofoam for some kind of decoration.  Beyond them was yet another group of women preparing food - the ubiquitous "pauk pauk" - spicy papaya salad.

 

Making Wax Lotus Flower Decorations

The biggest group of people, a mixed group of all ages, was occupied making lotus flower decorations out of wax.  They dipped molds into orange melted wax to create an open flower cup.  A woman was slicing turmeric root which resembled a carrot to place in the center of the flower cup.  The slice of turmeric root was held in place with a simulated stem by using a splayed sliver of bamboo which another woman was creating by shaving bamboo with a knife.

 

Wax Lotus Flowers

We spent 1-1/4 hours at this location.  We bought ice-cream for everyone and I am still trying to figure out how 100 Baht ($3.33 USD) ended up feeding everyone, including me, a cup of ice cream from the motorbike ice-cream man.  There had to be more, much more than 20 people.  I guess it was just one of those mysteries of the universe or ... perhaps a modern day miracle?

 

It was very impressive to observe the sense of community and purpose exhibited by the people as they worked.  Monks, old women, young women, old men, young men, and children were all cooperating and having a great time as they worked on the wax castle. It was also reassuring to see the culturally unique arts and crafts being retained as well as passed along.  The fabric of Lao Loum life here in Isaan is a very rich tapestry.

 

A Hard Working Yai (Grandmother)

 

Making White Lotus Flowers

As we were preparing to leave the production of lotus flowers entered the final stages.  A young man arrived by motorbike and broke three good sized white candles into a pot over a charcoal fire (charcoal as in "homemade kind" and not a commercial hydrocarbon briquette product).  When the wax melted, some of the women dipped actual scored lotus bulbs into the wax and then into water to create a small diameter white lotus flower.  The previously assembled orange lotus flowers were then disassembled and reassembled to create the final lotus flower - orange outside, white inside, with a yellow turmeric slice in the center - gorgeous.

 

Four Completed Wax Lotus Flowers

Wat Sapansee Wax Castle

It was getting late in the afternoon and had become obvious that we would not get to all six Wats on our driver's list - not that it really mattered.  We had been to two excellent places and had become wet, thirsty and tired.

 

Our driver took us into town to Wat Phra That Choeng Chum which is a listed tourist attraction for Sakon Nakhon.  It is located at the edge of the lake where long boat racing was still going on at 4:00 PM.  It was noisy and very crowded so we did not take in the races.  Instead we went in another shed type structure to observe their wax castle.

 

Wat Phra That Choeng Chum Wax Castle

 

 

Wax Panel Detail - Scene from Ramakien

The Wat grounds were so inviting that decided to explore them first before returning to the car.  As so often is the case, a pause to relax was well rewarded.  The Wat structures, Chedi and Bot were beautiful.

 

 



Lao Style Chedi at Wat Phra That Choeng Chum

 

Lan Xang Era Bot at Wat Phra That Choeng Chum

 

Exterior Column Detail of Bot

Duang Prays At Wat Phra That Choeng Chum

We returned to our hotel at 5:00 PM; both of us exhausted and happy.  After a little rest and very nice dinner for less than $20 total, we were off to bed. It was a very quiet night's sleep.  We would definitely return to the Dusit Hotel.

 

The next morning on our way back to Udonthani we went back to Wat Suwaneen.  At the Wat we found out that the people had worked until 3:00 AM to complete the wax castles.  The castles were beautiful with fresh flowers and plastic jasmine blossom fringe arranged along the edges of the trailer.

 

Completed Wax Castle Float

 

Completed Portion That Was Under Construction The Day Before

 

An added bonus to our stop at the Wat was the people had completed installing the lights on the float and were checking them out.

 

Illuminated Wax Castle

 

 

Our return home was just as pleasant as our drive to Sakon Nakhon. We hope to return next year to witness the procession.  This short trip had been just as educational and enlightening as any of the other travels that we have made here in Southeast Asia and specifically in Isaan.