Today I will include photos from our trip back from Mukdahan and from yesterday when we attended my five year old granddaughters recital at her school. The recital was in honor of Mothers Day. In Thailand The Queens Birthday is celebrated nationwide as Mothers Day. I had to do some serious system cleaning as I am running out of space with the photos and videos I am loading on my Mac.
On the 5 ½ ride back from Mukdahan we stopped at large Buddhist Temple in Sakon Nakhon. The Temple is "Wat Phra That Cherng Chum Worawiharn” and is very special to the Thai people. Within the temple is the most sacred, ancient structure that is the pride and joy of Sakhon Nakhon, Phra That Cheong Chum (Cherng Chum Relics), kept within a whitewashed, square-shaped, brick chedi with a golden cap, built during the Ayutthaya period. Also within the 24-m, Laotian-style chedi are 4 of Buddha's Footprints. Most people do not realize that their are multiple Buddhas. Buddha refers to anyone who has attained full enlightenment. Within this temple are the footprints of four Buddhas.
That is a huge metal bowl you can toss coins into and they make a loud noise.
I love the colors they use.
Amazing colors and intricate details all around.
Inside that white “Stupa” is the ancient Buddha statue and the footprints of four Buddhas.
Phai teaching her granddaughter what to do.
The family lights incense and places flowers.
The entire family gets blessed by this monk who ties a string around their wrists. He also sprinkles water on their heads. After I took these photos Phai told me to come forward. So I knelt in front of the monk and he said “where are you from?”. I told him and he said he lived in Alaska for a year. He spoke good english and when it came time to “sprinkle” my head he gave me a triple helping of water and said “a special blessing for you”. Then he laughed. Made my day. Too bad no one got my photo with him.
Son in law views the most sacred part of the temple which is behind those bars. It is a Buddha statue from probably six hundred years ago. Women are not allowed to go in where son in law is.
Phai rings the gong three times for good luck.
Phai, Fa mai, Ning and son in law
Ning, me, Fa Mai and son in law
Fa Mai, Phai, Me and son in law
Just one alter inside the temple.
These ladies are selling lottery tickets outside the temple. It is the only legal gambling in Thailand. I bought two for the drawing August 15th. I will let you know if I strike it rich.
Those are flavored Ice Teas and have sweetened condensed milk added. They are really refreshing. I like the handles made out of the same material as plastic bags.
That yellow object she is carrying is a baby. Look closely above her arm to see the babies head.
I knew where to find the urinals when I saw this sign.
I know we are getting close to home when I see this sign.
Phai with Fa Mai as they wait for the dancing to start.
A pretty good crowd of parents for the mother’s day dance recital
Parents are the same everywhere as the rush the stage to photograph their kids.
Proud Mom and Grandmother use their iPhones to video tape Fa Mai dancing.
Fa Mia is at the head of the line as they wait their turn. You will see the video of their dance at the bottom of this page.
Each of the mothers came on stage and the daughters honor them by kneeling in front of them. Ning is in the pink pants.
Fa Mai (on the right) dancing for Mothers Day. The song they are dancing to is about cleanliness and using soap to wash themselves.