Preparing for the Candle Festival

After another whirlwind catch-up in Australia (this time 2 weeks), I landed back in Thailand and almost at once resumed life here as per normal.  Not, however, before picking up a new camera in Bangkok.  It's just another portable automatic but it's been taking some much clearer photos and videos.  Horray!

I brought back some gifts from Australia for my 'Thai mothers', one of which was a jar of mango-mint chutney.  I explained as I passed it over that chutney is generally eaten with cooked meats or curries.  It could be my fault - perhaps my meaning didn't quite get conveyed as successfully as I had thought.  The next day when I found them, they were sitting around the lunch table smearing thick mango-mint chutney on slices of bread and murmuring how delicious it was.  I guess it does look like jam...  They were so pleased with themselves I didn't have the heart to correct them.  But I did watch with much great amusement and decline when they shoved some towards me.

Now for some random snaps:

A balloon man I saw on my way to work

Being force-fed, as always

Surprise hug!

The kids take their shoes off to go on the playground
(though half the time they walk around the school just in their socks anyway)

Last weekend was a long weekend in celebration of Hae Tian, the Candle Festival - Ubon biggest and most famous festival.  On the first morning I joined the other teachers from school at a temple, where people were finishing decorating one of the enormous wax sculptures that is paraded through the city.


In typical Thai fashion, some worked while others sat back eating breakfast and morning tea.  Nothing is ever so serious in Thailand that everyone must work on something at the same time.  So although my presence was kind of compulsory (I even had to sign my name off), I did nothing more than take some photos, chat, then go home.  And that was perfectly fine.


I was only there for an hour or two but it was excellent to see one of the wax sculptures up close and personal before the parade.  These things are massive, costing 200,000-300,000 baht each (6000-9000AUD), with an amazing level of detail.  It's no wonder this festival is one of the biggest in Thailand.