More than four inches of snow today......more than we had TOTAL during all of last winter!! Enough though that they closed school early today and we just received a call that there is no school tomorrow. There goes Martin Luther King holiday as a school vacation.....oh well....I don't teach anyway.
It was quite nice watching the snow come down....and at times it was really heavy. The snow covered ground and trees now makes it look like Christmas, but.......I hope this is the last snow. We have one....so that is plenty.
Did some reading today as the snow fell outside the windows. What a nice quiet day. It was also a time to reflect on more of my memories of terrific Thailand. I have had more comments and emails after last night's post than on any other subject I have written about!! Soooo....
"My" tuk-tuk driver always had a smile....as do almost all Thai citizens, even at that particular time when there was a long -ongoing war right next door in Viet Nam. I can't remember just how little he charged me to drive me around every evening....but it was a small enough amount that I could certainly afford it. And......no matter where I wanted to go, he ALWAYS waited for me to finish shopping, eating, or whatever....and there he would be ready to take me someplace else.
Jewelry shops were everywhere......Thailand has soooo many rubies and other precious stones. I found myself purchasing gifts for people back home in the states, along with several cuff link sets and a black star saffire ring for myself. Once again.....entering a shop I would be offered some refreshments to drink as I looked around and shopped in the store. I found one particular shop that I used most of the time and the owner and I became "friends". In fact, he and I often had dinner together in various cafes around the city.
The stones/jewels were always displayed in small bowls.....like a cereal bowl. If I was interested they would bring the bowl of rubies, or any other stones, out from the glass counters for me to look through so that I could pick out the stone that I liked.....specific color, weight, shape, etc., etc. Then I could design the setting, or pick out one from a catalogue/magazine that I specifically liked. An example of prices during those days: I bought a ring that had several....believe it was eight....rubies and eight small diamonds set in gold and in a "princess" design. Cost??? It was $12.00!!!!!! Hard to believe, I know. I had a pair of cuff links made out of solid gold and imported light green Chinese Jade stones.....and I paid only $25.00 for them....and when I returned to the states a few months after purchasing them,I had them appraised and they worth over $800!!!!
I almost went broke saving money over there.....haha.
As the days became hotter.....and I mean HOT......often over 110 degress with high humidity, I found myself seeking cooler places in the late afternoon or early evening when I left my work station. So, one day I had my driver stop at a large and beautiful Buddhist temple. I always enjoyed observing the architecture and the designs of the temples with all of the solid gold roof tiles and religious items inside the temple, along with the many precious jewels that would be set in the walls, etc. of the temples. As I became acquainted with a couple of the Buddhist monks at this particular temple we oftentimes would sit in the coolness of the temple and talk and discuss various topics. The grounds of the temples were always neat with exotic landscaping using the various palm trees and colorful plant materials that are available everywhere in Thailand.
In all due respect to the Buddhist religion and its teachings, I still remember how terribly upset one of the monks became one day while he and I were strolling through the temple grounds. He was, as always, in his orange saffron colored robes and we had stopped walking and were looking at some of the flowers. I saw an elephant going down the street with very colorful decorations on it and so I turned to look a bit more and I suddenly realized that something was under my foot. Very quickly the monk became quite upset........and began speaking in his native language as he "lost his cool", if that is possible for a monk!! I looked down and saw that I had squashed a native gecko......a lizard...by accident as I had turned around. Of course......the killing of anything within the temple grounds was NOT something that is to ever happen!!!!! Needless to say.....I made my apologies and bowing in the traditional custom, I left the grounds and quickly got into the tuk-tuk and left the area. In retrospect, I am certain that the monk probably thought that I had squashed someone's soul that resided within the gecko!!!
One non-working day I decided to hike out of town going down this gravel road through the rice fields. Off in the distance I could see a very modern Buddhist temple......a totally different kind of architecture for a temple. So.....as always, it was much farther away than I thought it was when I started walking down the road. While headed toward the temple, I saw some movement not too far in front of me....about 5 feet...and then going across the road was a very large king cobra.....moving rather slowly! Obviously, I froze....and then without any problem, the cobra moved on off the road and disappeared. Cobras were seen frequently and it was necessary to always be on the lookout for them!!
Sooooo, a bit more of my Thailand times......and there is more to tell as I write each day. It has been a good day........in fact:
Life is Good......and I hope for all of you, also!!!
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