Amphawa Floating Market

New teacher orientation finished yesterday with a field trip to Amphawa Floating Market, about an hour and a half drive SW of the school.  After five days of culture, etiquette, and language training it was a great opportunity to put our new skills to practice.  A few general comments before I get to Amphawa:

• I think I am finally over jet lag- YEAH!! 
• My body is beginning to adjust to the climate as well.  I don't notice the heat or humidity as much as I did the first few days. I still have a nice "glow" all the time though!  
• Yesterday after the market I walked around my neighborhood for a bit with a friend and was pleasantly surprised at the number of little places within easy walking distance.  I love having places I can walk to.  
• I continue to be blown away by just how much the mission and philosophy of the school matches my own heart (more on this another day, as it deserves its own full length post) as well as their incredible organization.  One day this week they had representatives from the bank come to school so we could open accounts and everywhere we go for stuff like that the school has all the paperwork prepared (for all 22 of us!) in advance. 

So, on our way to the market we stopped at a small shop where they make and paint pottery.  It was INCREDIBLE.  They paint in such amazing detail, and on many pieces, using real gold.  I didn't end up buying anything there because the pieces I really wanted were expensive.  Several other people were in the same position, so we decided to save up and come back later to get the things we really liked instead of picking up smaller things that were nice, but not quite what we were looking for.

One thing I wanted was the blue set in the lower left.  Or a similarly colored big vase.  Or a light green tea set.

One thing I really liked about getting outside of Bangkok (besides all the green) was the absence of English on the signs.  Of course I couldn't really read much of it, but it felt more like Thailand and I liked that.  The first thing we did at Amphawa was go to a Thai Dessert Museum.  Yes, it is a museum of Thai desserts.  They had displays set up of the food but also of the ways they would sell it- in a stall, from a boat, in a cart, or on the back of a bike. 

 The actual floating market itself is located on a canal, and while there are some boats out selling things, there are also lots of shops and stalls along the side and on nearby streets.  It was quite a mixture of sights and smells and sounds.

Insect anyone?

A spirit house.  These are everywhere, in lots of yards.

Now we come to the fun part of the story: the shopping bit and events that unfolded after I made my purchase.  I have never attracted so much attention from strangers before!  I was shopping along with my friends Mara and Aimee when I made a lovely find: a woven coconut palm/branch.  It was handmade, a bit big, and beautiful. I thought it would give some nice texture to my big empty cement walls.  It started at 100baht ($3.33), but I bargained it down to 60baht ($2).  The only issue was then that I had to carry this thing through the crowded market, to dinner, and back to the bus.  And thus the stares, comments, questions, and photos commenced.  Mostly people just commented with "wow" or "beautiful" as we walked by (Mara graciously offered to carry it for me and Aimee helped with crowd control) but some also asked me how much I paid for it (they were impressed with my price) or took pictures of it.  One European woman asked how I planned to get it on an airplane.  We were quite the commotion.  Even the Thai teachers from ICS were taking pictures of it.  I had planned to hang it on my wall, but am thinking I will let it dry out first because it will be a lot lighter.  For now it has found a great resting spot above my entertainment center. 

Mara and I carry my coconut palm.  You can click on the picture to enlarge it to see the piece better.

On our way back to the bus after dinner I also bought some Thai capri pants ($6) and a little hanging flower in a coconut shell ($1).  Pretty awesome.