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Posted by: joelkling.

girl at wedding

rather long photo descripton

This is a little girl who was at a traditional Thai wedding that Natalie and I attended a few weeks back in a rural province Buriram. We left Siracha at 10pm on a Friday night for a 6-hour drive out to N. East Thailand in a 12-passenger van occupied by Nat, myself and eleven Thai Mariani employees, all girls, save me and the grooms’ cousin. The ride was a head bobbing, sleepless daze through the pitch-black countryside roused to consciousness every couple hours by the rush of hot air entering the van every time we pulled over to gas up. We arrived at what I thought was our destination at around 3:30am. Keep in mind only one of our fellow travelers could speak “English,” and her abilities were limited, and needless to say our Thai is ten times worse. We arrived at a little house situated in a mud field. The green glow from a fluorescent light inside a back room is the only way we can see where we’re going. Escorted into a…back room that would have been a laundry room if they had a washer and dryer, the walls and floor crawled with bugs and a species of winged beetle bent on suicide missions, diving into the fluorescent light. Confused, but too tired to really care, we sat on the floor. I thought we would sleep there for the rest of the night. Nope. Soon a guy on a motorcycle rocks up and we’re back in the van following him further down the dirt road. 5min later – we arrive at another house/shack/compound thing. It sits further off the road down a mud driveway. It’s about 4am now, and an old man is taking my backpack and telling us to follow him. As we make our way down the driveway, trying to avoid slipping into giant mud sinkholes on either side, music begins to BLAST from the house.
Recap: It’s 4am, dark, we’re in the middle of nowhere and Thai pop-techno is blasting at full volume from a surprisingly elaborate set of concert style speakers and amps situated on a trailer beside a dwelling that we’re now tromping through mud to get to. Any hopes of a nap vanished at this point. The music was serving as a wake up call to the residents, who began stirring upon our arrival. Children were being bathed, family members we setting out mats, elders were preparing food. The party has started, kicked off at 4am with the sappy vocal stylings of lovesick Thai crooner backed by a thumping beat that now echoed throughout the dark countryside. Our stuff was set in a room that was formerly a place of slumber for three children. The group of 12 settled here, and the girls started putting on makeup. After a quick face wash and tooth brushing at a concrete trough in the back, we were told we could change clothes. Assuming it was a formal-ish affair, Natalie had packed a dress and I nice pants and a button collar shirt. Aside from the bride and groom, we were severely over dressed. The girls we came with remained in their jeans, and at best changed into a different t-shirt. The sun was quickly rising, casting a beautiful orange glow over the green landscape that surrounded us. The morning light placed us in the middle of vast rice fields, as far as the eye could see. Oh, I should mention that we’ve already been served three glasses of beer.
Recap: It’s 5am, we’re at a house/shack in the middle of a muddy rice field, I’m overdressed by wearing pants and a shirt with buttons, and I’m almost drunk. This is my kind of wedding. The ceremony started at 9:09am. This being a special time in Thai tradition, so until the magic time rolled around we hung out, ate rice (surprise-surprise,) and drank beers. It wasn’t unlike Rush week in college. The wedding itself was a cool spectacle. We joined the groom’s family out at the road and walked in with them, symbolic of the joining of two families. Down the muddy driveway (again!) we went, dancing and singing until we reached the house where the bride’s family welcomed us, also dancing and singing. The groom made an offering of…beer, of all things, and we were accepted into the family. Yes, it truly was like joining a fraternity. The groom and bride sat side by side before a golden tree that looked like a Christmas gift straight from Who Ville. There was a lot of chanting by the MC., who I guess was a monk but wore a white leisure suit. Unlike the typical weddings in the states – the spectators, walked around, talked, drank; it was like a back yard BBQ that had an accidental wedding. The ceremony wrapped up with family and friends tying blessing strings around the wrists of the new couple. After that we left. There is no reception, no send off. In the van and down the dirt road we went, piecing together the somewhat surreal experience we’d just had, and thinking…I really need to get the number of that wedding planner!

egg head

Posted by: joelkling

egg head
My head meets natalie's after being tossed by a banana boat in Pattaya - this is the result.

Indian market

Indian market
Posted by: joelkling.

Natalie at the "Indian market." Not quite sure what she's looking at. Deep in thought I suppose. Probably deciding if she should get another chaa-yen or not.

Nat's self portrait

Nat's self portrait
Posted by: joelkling.