Silk Factory

The day after the candle festival, Jiu and Nid (two of my Thai mothers) took me to a silk factory - though it was more of a small workshop - in Warin Chamrap, the town conjoined to Ubon and just on the other side of the river.  It was a really nice spot and we got to watch how silk threads are made and then woven.

Some of the workers were eating big fat maggots and offered us some as a snack.  It wasn't my first time so they were pretty surprised when I threw some in my mouth right away and began chewing.  Don't believe me?



A few monks were decorating candles with fancy wax patterns, which was interesting as I hadn't seen monks doing this sort of activity before.

We also got the chance to make some wax shapes of our own by dunking a specially-cut cucumber in wax, then dipping it in cool water for the wax to set.  It created flower-type patterns like these:

Snack time came around again very quickly.  In addition to some kind of green tea, I had tea made of flower, and a gooey purple snack covered in coconut and wrapped in a banana leaf, that was apparently made of banana.  Yum!

As we were eating, the lady opposite us suddenly recognised Jiu and Nid.  Turns out they were friends some 30 years ago, before the lady (I forgot her name) headed overseas.  She now lives in Hong Kong and was only visiting Thailand briefly.  She was there with her daughter, who studies in Bangkok, and both of them spoke very good English - which was great for me, because they joined us on a tour and were able to translate for me much more easily and succinctly than Jiu and Nid.

It was a really interesting spot: there were other things going on as well, such as a band, and these dancers.  Their dance was really interesting so I was taking photos, but there was no way for me to be discreet about it: I was the only foreigner around and I stood out.  They got a bit giggly, not least because I kept giving them grins every time they glanced my way.  I feel like such a ladies man in Thailand...

The owner of the factory also spoke excellent English, and he explained that the workshop is only open for a short time once a year.  It was great hearing him speak about how dedicated he was to preserving these aspects of Thai culture, even if he wasn't making much money out of it.

Before we left, a lady was showing people how to fold lotus flowers.  Lotus flowers are commonly folded and offered in arrangements to the temples.  As I started folding, somewhat unthinkingly, I realised a small crowd had gathered around to see if I could actually do it.  That made me get a bit cheeky - I told them all it was my first time, even though I'd done it two or three times before.  It's a very precise skill that I've enjoyed learning, even if it'll be useless to me outside Thailand.  The people around, including the lady who gave me the flowers, were stunned.  A success for foreigners all around!

Jiu, Nid, their friend, her daughter and I headed to a restaurant afterwards, where we feasted on delicious Vietnamese food and chatted extensively about the differences between Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong.  I call that a good day!