weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

A few more quite different tidbits from our drive through the countryside and villages. Spirit houses in Thailand are quite an interesting subject and they are often beautiful little pieces of art. Here I am presenting a spirit house that was standing in an auspicious corner of a highway rest stop, in close proximity to another one of the not so small but impressive delights in this country: a colorful fan palm. In the second part of this presentation, I present a few images of the different transportation modes we are surrounded with as we travel on the road, be that the ever present, colorful motor bikes, frequently loaded with three or even four passengers, or a simple flat-bed truck with a wooden lattice enclosure, loaded with goods as well as passengers and powered by an "iron-buffalo engine".

SPIRIT HOUSE - A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that is found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The spirit house is normally in the form of small roofed structure, and is mounted on a pillar or on a dais. They can range in size from small platforms to houses large enough for people to enter. Spirit houses are intended to provide a shelter for spirits that could cause problems for the people if not appeased. The shrines often include images or carved statues of people and animals. Votive offerings are left at the house to propitiate the spirits. More elaborate installations include an altar for this purpose. The proper name in the Thai language for a spirit house is "San Phra Phum" - meaning House of the Guardian Spirit.


Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction to THIS SERIES on SOUTH & EAST ASIA. See it at
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-724330-1.html

THAILAND COUNTRY INFO in set # 143: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-755664-1.html

EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list at UHH, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105

Thanks for visiting, for improved clarity please view the downloads. I look forward to your comments and questions.

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1 - Ornate spirit house

(Download)

2 - Closer view at the upper part

(Download)

3 - Look at the main platform

(Download)

4 - Adjacent to the spirit house part of a colorful fan palm

(Download)

5 - Colorful intricate center section of the fan palm

(Download)

6 - Local traffic, all on motor scooters, waiting behind our bus at a traffic light: The use of helmets is definitely the exception

(Download)

7 - Riding a motor scooter is without any doubt a family affair …

(Download)

8 - Father and daughter on a motor scooter near a food stand

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9 - A "modern" 3-wheeled carriage for local transportation

(Download)

10 - Rural transportation truck with an "iron-buffalo" engine (so named because it replaces a live buffalo)

(Download)

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

For your reference:

11 - Trip map of the Thailand segment of our tour, bottom to center: Ayutthaya to Sukhothai

(Download)

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

Great set, Joe.

Wasabi

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Neat set.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Architectural detail and people in a fun mix, Joe!

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Another great set. So many memories. Samlors are another big way of getting around. That's what I used because the trip is slow and time to look around.

angler Loc: StHelens England

Excellent set Joe.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Earnest for your nice comment.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Wasabi for looking in on the tour and for all these appreciative thumbs, glad to see that liked this set.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Bill!

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Happy to hear you enjoyed the fun mix, Mike!

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Great set. The Spirit house is beautiful and the people riding scooters meant for two were fascinating.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Frank for the thumbs and your nice comment. I had to look up "Samlors" as I was not familiar with the expression - thank you for teaching me something new today, as I understand it now, Samlors are the human pedalo version of the Tuk-Tuk. That would certainly give you more time to have a look around while moving slowly. Actually, coming to think of it, I even sat one of these in Chiang Mai, I will show a picture in about a month or so when we get there.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Jim, always happy to hear from you!