Ask and You Shall Receive

I was thinking that I wanted to find a Buddhist temple to go and worship. Today after the rains I was returning from a store where they sell facial products that they make on the premise, very high quality, I found the store one of the first days I was out exploring beyond Kamala I stocked up on bath products however I did not at the time need any facial products, I do now. So I went up the road to buy a facial mask. I noticed the facial mask when I was there the first time, I opened the sample jar and based on my experience determined that this was one strong mask the kind that if you need to have instant results, like when you have one of those big ass….let’s just say blemishes beginning to form on your nose; you can apply the mask and over night it will suck out the threatening life form. Well I am sure you have guessed by now, this morning I discovered that I needed just such a mask, enough said. I also wanted to buy some Aloe Vera to help my feet heal from the sores I got my first day here wearing my new flip flops. Today is a market day; market days are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from around 4:pm until people go home sometime around 9, it is also Ramadan. It is around 4:30, I am not sure if this is normal rush hour, I have not been cruising on any major roads at this time of day until now. During Ramadan many of the workers get to go home early and this is definitely rush hour; a rush hour with very loose traffic laws and full of hungry people. Remember that Ramadan is a time for fasting from sunrise to sunset. Rush hour here is a real free for all of Motor Scooters and cars jockeying for position on the roads. This is not the sort of traffic that one takes casual in fact you need to drive just like them or I think you may die. I am now very comfortable on Rhonda’s Motor Scooter and really had fun doing the traffic dance with the rest of the gang. Don’t worry Rhonda I learned how to ride a Motor Scooter (Vespa) when I was living in Rome, I could be called an Italian driver so therefore have experience with aggressive driving. In all this chaos I have my point and shoot camera hanging from my right wrist (this is of course the hand you use to activate the throttle and the front break) ready to take any instant shots that may call out to me. As I am going around a bend in the road precisely the point where the road goes from two lane to one and all the traffic is converging together silly me I look up and see this Buddhist Monk bald head just like me and in the traditional orange robe, sitting on some sort of a deck directly above the road; he looks me straight in the eye and waves. I found my temple it practically jumped into the middle of the road and hailed me in, ask and you shall receive, and all thanks to this big ass (blemish) that is threatening to become a growth beyond compare. Tomorrow I will go to the temple and see if it is open to the public for worship. I am excited too as you say Axel with intent “fall on my knees.” After the other night when the rains came it has continued to rain, raining most of the time. Last night it rained the entire night harder than I have ever experienced. There is a little fountain a decorative pool next to my Bungalow it has was empty and dry when I arrived this morning when I went outside I noticed that the rain had for the most part filled it up, to a depth of around 5 inches so I can say it rained 5 inches in 8hrs. My front yard along with the neighbors is a lake and still the rain kept coming. I was effectively rain locked. I could walk somewhere but where are you going to go that when you get there you are drenched to the bone. So I settled in and went about by business. I bounce from writing to playing guitar to reading to studying to working. I do not do well focusing for and long periods of time so this was a real challenge for me within hours I was getting pretty jumpy. I had some fun with my camera trying to capture the rain. I was able to get some shots that were fast enough to actually stop the rain, this was most effective taking pictures of the rain running off the roofs because the drops were big enough to focus on. As much as this journey is about self-exploration and as much as I embrace this process it is still easy for me to wander and avoid. When you are rain locked in a one room Bungalow for an entire day it is difficult to avoid. My mind begins to reel and my heart right along with it. This made for an emotional and moving day. Moving from now to then to next. At around 4:00 the rain had reduced to a drizzle and I decided to make a run for the facial mask. By the time I was on my way home it had effectively stopped, enough that when I passed the soccer field the boys were out in full force. I decided to go home and get my camera. I have the perfect lens for sports shooting a long lens 70-200mm. This is not a casual looking camera set up by any means it always attracts attention, today was no different. When I walked out onto the field the boys all began to laugh and pose and push each other around and I began to click away. They settled down quickly and got back to the game. There is nothing like a camera to bring out the best in people; the boys were playing hard. This camera is new for me and I still have some apprehension with going around and taking pictures of people in particular, I feel invasive. Well yesterday proved me wrong in this regard. The boys loved having me on the sidelines, their own team photographer. This was my first time shooting sports of any kind, I found it to be quite a challenge, it is all about anticipating where the ball is going and getting there first. I did Ok for my first time out. I was able to capture some fun moments, and some glorious ones. I will print off the best ones and take them to the field for the boys to take home. After the soccer game I was having so much fun I decided to venture into the Market. It was now dark and the market is lit by bare light bulbs dangling from cords here and there. This makes for very interesting lighting and dramatic photo opportunities. Still I am reluctant as I try to be a respectful person and I feel a bit invasive sticking a camera in someone’s face. Well my fears were quickly put aside. The people at the market like the boys on the soccer field loved having their pictures taken. The market proved to be a photographers playground. I was able to take many very beautiful pictures of the scene but my favorite pictures are of the people. The Thai people are so beautiful their eyes sparkle and when they smile their faces light up like the face of a child. They have huge hearts and they are a simple people who wear their hearts on their sleeves and you can see it in the light that surrounds them. I think I need to begin taking my camera with me everywhere. I only wish I had bought that 50mm 1.2 lens I was looking at in Bangkok instead of the diamond ring I bought Debbie for Christmas, opps........