One of the phrases we learned in language class was “bpai tiao.” Thais are a big fan of the “bpai tiao.” There isn’t really an equivalent in English. “Bpai tiao” can mean a trip to the city to go to the department store or it can mean a trip that is a couple days. Most often it means a day trip to some place of importance. I was lucky enough to spend a whole weekend going on “bpai tiaos.”
As part of our cross-cultural training, the entire group of PCTs went on a “bpai tiao” around Suphan Buri on a Saturday. We went to two different wats, the National Museum of Suphan Buri and finally to Samchuk Market (aka the 100 Year Market).
At the wats we made merit by lighting incense sticks, wai-ing three times to the Buddha statues and rubbing gold leaf on the statue. The gold leaf is meant to signify the light that emanated from the Buddha after he achieved Enlightenment. There is also often a cup with numbered sticks in it and you shake the cup until one falls out. The number on the stick corresponds to a fortune. Here’s the thing about the fortunes though, if it’s not good, the Thais won’t take it. If it’s good they will take a copy of it. I like this.
At the museum there were some neat pottery artifacts from the province and kind of terrifying dioramas depicting traditional Thai life with life-size mannequins. I think I liked the video about Don Chedi the most. It finally made the performance that I saw when I first moved in with my homestead family make sense since the video had English subtitles.
The market was pretty neat. I got myself some fisherman pants which look like pants that are 10,000 sizes too big, but there are ties that you tie around your waist and then let the waist hang over top up. I went to the house of the man who started the market that has since been turned into a museum. I ate “fried ice cream,” where the liquid cream is poured on a cold stone like thing which then freezes it and you scrape it off and eat. Definitely enjoyable.
Then on Sunday, my host family took me on a “bpai tiao” to Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand that saw it’s period of prominence during the 1700s. We went to the ruins of the temples and city center. I got a book in English that explained it all. I really enjoyed it. There was lots of picture taking (my host father shoots on film!). I’m glad I got to go with my Thai family instead of as a farang tourist.
Later we went to a wat with a giant Buddha statue. Like 150 meters tall giant. I think. I don’t remember how tall it was, but it was huge.
I definitely slept well that night.