Kanchanaburi Part 3: Mueng Singh

The next morning was an early one. P'Ja wanted to get an early start. Breakfast was at 7. It was simple, just toast and coffee. We all drove to the temple in the village. It was Sunday, and a pretty important day. The reason we had a holiday from school was to celebrate the beginning of the rainy season, and the three month period if fasting and prayer known as Buddhist Lent. Monks return to their home monestaries and can't travel during this period, so locals bring them food and supplies to see them through.

early morning

We sat cross-legged on the floor while the monks sang and chanted for a while, then our family brought plates with food forward for the monks to eat. We got lots of stares while we were there. Two or three people took pictures of us, and some even sent their kids forward to do it for them. P'Ja suggested that we might have been the first three westerners the younger kids had ever seen.

the monks eating their meal at the temple

After we left the temple, P'Jo and P'Chai went back to hang out at the bungalows. P'Ja and her son, Boom, drove us around to show us everything. We were pretty far out in the country at this point. The first place they took us was Mueng Singh Historical Park. Mueng Singh means "City of Lions", and was an old fortress hundreds of years ago. Now it's just a ruin, but we got to walk around and climb up over the crumbling walls.

It was sprinkling lightly, but not enough to cause any trouble. We spent an hour or two at Mueng Singh, and P'Ja bought us watermelon to share.