Round and About the Rabbit Hole

Round and About the Rabbit Hole

This post is just an excuse to show you a few pictures I’ve taken near where I live in Ban Rang Krathai (=Rabbit Hole), Kanchanaburi

King Naresuan

These pictures were taken at an education center near our district’s PESAO (Primary Education Service Area Office).  In the photo below left, Ms Krongthong Pothong, the PESAO supervisor, and I are taking a break from talking with students who were there for an English camp. The second picture is of me next to a crumbling column, the only remnant of a temple that used to stand here.

 The students had just heard a lecture and watched a video about the history of the area, which is not complete without King Naresuan. Below we see him on his elephant, ready for battle. Born in 1555, he reigned as King of Ayuthaya from 1590 to 1605. He is most famous for defeating the Crown Prince of Burma in an elephant duel in 1592. 

The duel between King Naresuan and the Burmese prince is reenacted in January of each year in the neighboring province of Suphanburi, where the battle was thought to have taken place. In recent years, excavations have uncovered many bones of elephants, horses, and men at a site in Kanchanaburi – evidence that the battle may have been fought here and not there. I watched the reenactment of the elephant duel in 2013, soon after arriving in Thailand, but didn’t get any decent pictures. Maybe I can remedy that in January 2015.

Fields in November

Riding my bike one November afternoon, I decided to take a picture of this field with some patches of ripe rice flattened by wind.  When I rode the same route the next day, the rice had been combined. All that was left was the straw in neat rows.

Before

After, with shadows

Meanwhile, nearby vegetable fields were being sprinkled.

And the cane was as high as an elephant's eye.

Or maybe higher . . .

I've been told that when the sugar cane is tasseled out like this, it's past the best time for harvesting. I'll try to keep an eye on this field to see what happens.

Chinese Cemetery

This cemetery is located on the same road as the rice fields in the "before and after" pictures above. Cemeteries with graves are uncommon in Thailand, since Thais practice cremation. However, there are many ethnic Chinese in Thailand -- about 14 percent of the country's population. They are well integrated into Thai society while continuing to practice some Chinese traditions.The graves in this cemetery are all alike, in a horseshoe shape, presumably to protect the spirit of the deceased person.

The sign simply identifies the site, in Thai and Chinese, as the cemetery (Su Saan) of Pra Thaen, a town about two kilometers away. In the other picture you can see how the graves are constructed, with a little hill or embankment partly enclosing the gravestone. All the graves in this cemetery face the west -- the picture was taken with the sun starting to go down behind me.

Orchid Farm

On a bike ride in a different direction, I saw this sign for an orchid farm. It was very early on a Sunday morning, so I didn’t go in, just took a few pictures at the entrance.

I haven’t been back to the orchid farm because to get to there, I have to ride my bike past a dog that bit me several months ago – I know he hasn’t forgotten, because he chased me when  I rode by very fast a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I’ll try again before I leave Kanchanaburi.

That's all for today on sites and sights round about the Rabbit Hole.