Primitive man

Posted under Southeast Asia 2009

It amazes me that when safely ensconced in a warm climate, with a roof over your head, that we resort to the base instincts of primitive man — the need to forage for food. Fortunately for us, there is ample supply within walking distance from our shelter and thus we survive yet another day.

On the subject of food, it would seem that since fresh dog has been removed from the menu here in Thailand, the old faithful pet has become just that, the old faithful pet. With careful selective breeding brought about by the animal husbandry skills of the Thai people, they have managed to raise the genetic profile of the basic dog to that of a mutt. These canine creatures are the most non-descript animals that bark and wag. They bear absolutely no resemblance to any recognizable species known to man. This is with the exception of the favorite pets of the King, with whom he is often photographed. It is possible that only the king is allowed to have a dog that looks like a dog, just as only he is allowed to own a white elephant.

The sole purpose of  “mans best friend” now, would seem that he must take up sidewalk space. I come to this conclusion in that they can generally be found anywhere; most frequently sprawled across a sidewalk or in the walkway of the shelters of the sidewalk vendors, sound asleep. Having to no longer fear the cooking pot must have driven all semblance of energy from their bodies, as they are able to hold this position for long periods at a time. On a positive note, they must also be too pooped to poop, as I have seen more doggy scats on the docks at Port Sidney than are found on the streets of Phuket.

Bonnie and I decided to splurge 30 bucks on a taxi to drive us up to the big Buddha on the mountain behind Kata. Actually we have to travel over to the Chalong side of Koh Phuket (Phuket Island), which is the east side. When Troy and Chad were with us last year, we made the same trip, and this year we wanted to see how the work had progressed. This statue of Buddha will be the biggest in Thailand, standing approximately 150 feet in height and about 80 feet across the base. The construction was all by hand, and the general form was brick and concrete. Over this, concrete was applied like stucco until the actual, desired shape was reached. All this was done while the workers were balanced on rickety-looking bamboo scaffolding. When the concrete work was finished, the entire statue was covered with white marble, which had been cut into 6-inch squares. The marble was then ground smooth, by hand, to remove all of the rough edges. This does make for one impressive structure. The tourists, and the faithful, could purchase one of these tiles and write your name on the back, later to be cemented to the statue. Somewhere on the beast are four tiles with Chad, Troy, Bonnie and my names on them. At least that is their story and we will certainly never know the difference. They have only the lotus flower to tile and that portion will all be done. They are then going to make the interior of the statue into a Buddhist museum, as the structure is hollow. Quite impressive!!

Time to meet Bonnie down town and see if we can scrounge up another bite to eat. Can’t miss that.

Take care of yourselves!