Well, I woke up and had instant coffee. I am beginning to enjoy it more now since I discovered adding just a touch of sugar makes a huge difference. Joe and I went out to a driving range the night before and then a local late night spot called Chili, like the red pepper. So we both woke up a little late. I felt bad for Joe because he had to go to work the next morning. It was not like we tied one on or something, just stayed up late lamenting about old times and new times.
I arrived at his parents house around 1030 and then went across the alley to his aunts house. Joe left me and went to work. It was a special day here, there were 6 Buddhist monks performing a ceremony siting in the first room. I call it the first room because I dont know what you would normally call it. They were doing some type of chant in unison, of course I did not understand a word but it was fascinating to witness. All the adults were kneeling/ sitting on the floor with the their hands together as though praying. There were bowls of rice, dishes of pork, cut mango's, glasses of water and various other foods on the floor. The monks are there to bless the house and wart of evil spirits that may be lurking around. In return Joes mom cook all this food and feeds the monks after the prayer session is over. Most every house I have been in the floors are marble, most of the house unless there is a second story then is hard wood. I can tell you that sitting barefoot on your bum on a hard marble floor is not easy for this Fa Lang (foreigner). They had not finished the ceremony but Joe's mom and aunt were like you look uncomfortable, come over to the other house and eat. So I scarfed down larb, rice, broth soup with pork and a few other dishes. The larb was a bit spicey, tell you about that in a minute. I was called back over to the house after eating where the head monk showered my head with blessed water. Then Joe's female cousin, Boop, led my to another house next door were we sat and tried to chat. She does not speak much english and I do not speak much Thia, so we struggled through some short conversations. Luckly I had my phone and could show her pictures worth a thousand words. She then would be my driver for the day.
After an hour Boop then took me to have Thai massage at a local parlor around the corner. First you have your feet washed by a girl who washes feet. You take off your flip flops, put your feet into a tub and she uses a scrub brush to thoroughly clean your dirty feet. You then trade your sandals for a pair of house slippers and are escorted to a massage room. The room must be like 12 by 20 foot room that has a raised area where there is a futon type mat. You then disrobe and put on the house pajamas and go lay down on the mat. Then your massage person comes in and uses her body weight to massage you. Thai massage is a type of massage in Thai style that involves stretching and deep massage. This form of bodywork is usually performed on the floor, and the client wears comfortable clothes that allow for movement. No oils are used in Thai massage. The thing was I had just eaten all that food back at the house and that spicey larb was not really settling well. My stomach sounded like a pack of rabid dogs, growling at anything that moved. Then the growling moved past my stomach and you know what the means, clinch and breath, clinch and breath, just don't let one go. The massage was great other than feeling I was about really make my massage therapist very unhappy. Well, I made it through until the end were I darted for the bathroom when it was over. Trumpets is all I can say.
Ok, so Boop waited the two hours in the lobby for me and she paid, Thai people are so loving. We then went to a place called The Mall, a mall, go figure. This is the fifth or sixth mall I have been in and they have all been gigantic, atleast 5 to 8 stories, no less and full of places to buy stuff. The mall to day looked like the traditional western mall but much much bigger, some of the malls look like flee markets. O yeah, then there is always another market outdoors that is a flee market of sorts. Anyway, we walked around a bit and then ended up on the like 6 or 7th floor and found a Futsol tournament that was free admission. We sat and watched a game then left. Turns out that Boop is a Liverpool FC fan, hmm..... It is fun driving with Boop as well. She is less than five feet tall driving this Honda CRV pushing through traffic just as well as Joe, she is the best girl I have have ever driven with, for real.
She dropped me back at Joe's moms were I ate again, this time a omlette and rice. Joe's dad gave me a ride home, now I am thinking of taking the bike to the store and get some Chang. I dont have a lot of pictures to show for the day since I spent it with the family. I dont really feel right about snapping a million photos like some wanna be tourist. I will take some photos of the family to remember them by soon enough. My interaction with the family becomes more interesting since they are trying to converse with me more and more. One of the Aunts and her husband speak a little English but they are not around all the time, so I am struggling with my crappy phrase book to communicate in Thai. Boop spoke a little but it is still hard, not just for me but them as well. It is a fun culture shock to say the least.
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