Islands in the Stream

One of the tourist attractions listed in the Pattaya guidebooks is the Floating Market ("Tha lak nam" in Thai).  My friends and I were looking for something to do, so we decided to give this a look.  Our driver warned us that it is "very expensive" and has "many Chinese tour buses."  I told him we were just going for "sanook" (for fun).

I expected a floating market to be out in the bay somewhere, but it isn't.  It is actually inland, in a man-made "lake" of muddy water with rows and rows of shops up on stilts.  There were some vendors in boats alongside the walkways as well. Luckily, there were no big tour buses when we arrived, so the market was pleasantly uncrowded.  (There was a cute little "chang" (elephant) out front).  My friend, Mika, had been here a few weeks earlier, and told us it was free to get in.  So we confidently walked past the ticket counter to the turnstiles, only to be turned back.  You see, there are two entrances - one for Thai and one for foreigners.  Thais get in free, foreigners have to pay 200 baht (about seven dollars).  I guess they thought Mika was Thai when she came last time - she doesn't look Thai, but I guess she could have blended in better than us two white girls.  We blew her cover big time!

The market is vaguely set up in four regions, supposedly representing the four regions of Thailand.  But in reality, we saw basically the same kinds of things being sold everywhere we went.  Perhaps the food selections might have been regional - didn't sample anything.  I was tempted to try one of the fried crickets from the insect vendor, but not on an empty stomach ;)
You should have the seen the size of some of those bugs!

Just inside the entrance is a little Buddhist temple.  Mika walked in, so we followed, removing our shoes as is the custom.  Ladies were selling items to offer up to Buddha, and Mika jumped right in.  She said she'd never done it before, but wanted to see what it was about.  They gave her a cup of red and a cup of white liquid, a chain of flowers, and some sticks of incense.  They showed her how to circle the Buddha, then place the liquid offerings in front of the statue.  Then they instructed her to kneel and pray in front of the Buddha after lighting the incense, holding the incense in between her praying hands.  Lastly, she was to place the flowers in a container in front.  I must say she was quite a sport through the whole thing, and I appreciated seeing how it worked.

Next we haphazardly followed the winding paths with little idea where we were heading or where we should be heading.  (Those of you who know me know how difficult this is for me - I like to know where I am and frequently have to be the one carrying the map).  There was supposed to be entertainment, but I had no idea where to find it.

Enjoyed the graphic nature of this sign :)

  At one point we came upon a little area where people could feed the goats with little baby bottles of milk - just like in the States, right?  Well, then it got weird.  Next to the "feed the goats" booth, was a "feed the koi" booth.  Not weird, you say, we have "feed the fish" places, too.  However, this particular booth seemed to be feeding the fish the same way they were feeding the goats - with baby bottles of milk.  I kid you not!  This was mind-boggling - these are not mammals, so how is this even possible???  People are given a "baby bottle on a stick," which they hold down to the surface of the water, and the fish drink from the bottle!  I could not look away - my friends had to drag me away.  Just when you think you've seen it all...

We sat down for a beverage at one point, and the other Ford wife, Jen, told us about how their house was broken into while they were away for the holidays.  (A story for another blog).  We eventually drifted back to the front of the market, retracing our steps as our collective recognition of landmarks guided us.  The ladies wanted to go elsewhere for lunch, somewhere that Mika had been before and recommended to us.  

The restaurant was called "Livv," and I think the owner was Scandinavian.  It was full of farang women just like us, so we fit right in (a little too perfectly for me).  The food was tasty, the decor was pretty and new, and the conversation was good.  (My two companions had not met before today and had a lot in common - both mothers of toddlers, "trailing spouses," as spouses of internationally-relocated employees are referred, and both looking for social connections here in a new country - I was glad to have introduced them).

Our driver was kind enough to pick them both up so we could ride together.  Mika lives just behind Foodland, so we both ran in to pick up a few quick things.  In my continuing quest for tortilla chips, I read about using corn tortillas, and I was able to find a package of those at Foodland.  (Haven't tried making them yet.)  Then Mick had to zip me back home and head out to collect Tim from work.

We received a wonderfully mysterious package in the mail, with a return address from Greece!  With great difficulty, I waited for Tim to get home before opening it.  It was a beautiful, hand-made backgammon set - a Christmas present from the other Tim.  He knew we had been looking for a replacement for the one we lost to the flood last year, and this one is a beauty.  We enjoyed our inaugural "best of seven" match on the deck (ain't sayin' who won).  Thanks, Tim!!

Our game as reflected in the deck doors

Who's winning??

What I'm reading:  Just finished "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman.  An absolutely fantastic book, so well-written and mind-expanding.  It tells the true story of a Hmong child with epilepsy and the struggles of trying to blend Hmong beliefs with western medicine.  The greatest accomplishment of this author is her completely balanced and unbiased, but still enthralling narrative.  Excellent study on the value of accepting cultural differences.  Everyone should read it.