Caps on? Cameras ready? Shoot!!!

Caps on? Cameras ready? Shoot!!!, originally uploaded by ShonC.

Lots of photography last weekend. Wohooo!

A long day at Ayutthaya (including a lunch cruise back to Bangkok) followed by a blues night at the Saxophone bar and a Thai movie on the history of Ayutthaya on Sunday to finish off a weekend soaked with culture and history.

Some interesting factoids:

Only a dragon that belongs to a king can have 5 claws. A high up official may have a dragon with 4 claws, but a common man can only have a 3 clawed dragon. So check any image of a dragon you might own and tell me how many claws it has. You might by royalty in the making!

A meditating Buddha image usually has folded legs, eyes closed and one palm on top of the other. At one point some evil forces tried to distract him so he opened his eyes and pointed his right hand to the ground, summoning mother earth. Mother Earth to the rescue!!! (I'm imagining a heavy set woman, wearing a sari and lots of gold jewelry! That might have something to do with an overdose of commercialized Ramayan and Mahabharat while growing up.) She simply wringed out the water in her hair, which formed a river around Buddha, creating a barrier against the evil distractions. Mother earth rocks! Go Buddha!

Charcoal Skyline

Charcoal Skyline, originally uploaded by ShonC.

That's exactly what it feels like sometimes.. a dream.. or a sketch.. I don't really get to live as much as I'd like to. Some people talk about a runners’ high, others do drugs, for me work seems to do the trick. The more stressful the situation the harder the adrenaline flows in my body and the more productive I get, until I reach that optimal efficiency like a robotic production line. And then it suddenly crashes and parts go flying in all directions, my body retaliates.

Talking about dreams, what language are your dreams in? Especially if you're someone not living in your native country. That is probably the true test of complete adaptation. I’ve met some very interesting people this weekend, mostly farangs as the local would refer to them (French, German, Scottish and more.) Strangely the same word used in India, would have exactly the same meaning but a different connotation all together. You can see the dependence of this economy on tourism through the tiniest of details like the “I heart Farang” stickers on cabs and stores!

I gathered all my courage and ventured out yet again to buy some clothes. Yeaaahhh!! Success at last! I'm not a giant!! Oh by the way, you know those eye masks that you get in air planes to block out the light if you want to sleep, those are called bras in this country! I have to give credit to a very close friend for that line. Couldn't resist sharing it :)