Happy House; The Blessing Ceremony

We have been eagerly settling in to our temporary home by the moat for the last few months and we can't believe how fast time is going. Good times always pass faster than bad times, but I wish time would simply cooperate with me and slow down a bit. In the words of Aerosmith, "I don't want to miss a thing" ;).

We moved in to an apartment here in late November and we are in love with our temporary new home. Most apartments we looked at were furnished, but they were soulless and completely void of any character. They also tended to be like 5 Star hotels--which is great--but we came to experience Thailand. The hotel-like condos are bubbles of Western comforts, and I can see the appeal, but it just wasn't the experience we wanted. What we wanted was an authentic experience.

So, we opted for an apartment building down a typical side street...with school children yelling and playing badminton in the streets, dogs (and puppies!) running around, a Temple in the distance, and a Church choir that starts singing early Sunday mornings. It's noisy, chaotic and totally lacking in any privacy. We love it. At the end of our day, we often stand on the balcony looking out and about, taking it all in. As Alain put in an earlier posting, it's like a cross between Pig Sty Alley from Kung Fu Hustle and a Thai production of Rear Window.

We were lucky to find it. Besides fitting our quirky taste, it is owned by a lovely couple, who recently completed the renovation, so we were the very first occupants to live here. Our neighbors are a blend of people from all over. They come from Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, Wales, Germany and a few from the States. Some are here teaching, others are learning and we all moved in at the same time, so there is a true sense of community among us. The owners, Andy and Dee, have helped to encourage that by building a community roof deck for us to enjoy, overlooking Doi Suthep Mountain. (Did I mention how lovely they are?)

Of all the things I have experienced since moving in, this last week was one of the most memorable. Our Landlords hosted a Blessing Ceremony for our building. An alter was set up in the hallway, along with three blue cushions for the Monks to sit on. Three Monks arrived and with a ball of string running between them and everyone in the room, as they proceeded to pray and chant. If you have never heard Monks chanting, I urge you to go to youtube. The sound is beautiful, deep and hypnotic. We continued to hold the string as the prayers were recited for about half an hour. Candles were lit, incense was burned and there were offerings of food and clothing made to the Monks.

After the ritual was finished, the string the Monks held as we prayed was broken up into sections and made into purification bracelets for everyone to wear. Then the Monks asked if you wanted your apartment blessed. They went through the building throwing Holy water around, chanting more. I was fascinated. The day ended with a communal lunch for everyone on the street. That evening, we gathered again, this time on the roof, for a proper party. Our Landlords invited the community to join us and celebrate the "happy house." It was like a housewarming party meets a Baptism. We had a beautiful night and we felt so lucky to have found this place and met these people.

It was kismet.

We leave tonight on the night train to Bangkok. I love a long train journey. We will spend time visiting our friends Andy and Pia, before taking off for Cambodia.

Lucky Charms travels continues!

BTW, we have posted two new photo albums: Chiang Mia and Happy House. EnJOY.