stepping over shoes and chickens as I followed the canal to the
guesthouse. I ducked under bridges and through markets, past
crooked houses and intriguing restaurants. Bangkok never fails to
amaze.
A few days later, I returned to the bike shop to see how far they had
progressed, but they were closed. I continued past the bike shop and
discovered a host of fascinating things. First, I came upon tradesmen
crafting monks’ alms bowls - I understood they’ve been doing this
continuously since the 1700s!
I strolled through traditional markets and modern shopping malls
until reaching the Goddess Tubtim Shrine. At this shrine were
countless oversized phalluses of all shapes and sizes standing tall,
proud, and dare I say, erect – proof that size does matter even in the
spirit world! The shrine honours Chao Mae Tubtim, a female fertility
spirit. Women visit this shrine when trying to conceive. And, if
rumours can be believed, the shrine has a tremendous success rate.
Women will return if their wish is fulfilled and place yet another
phallus at the shrine in gratitude. How weird!
Afterwards, a canal water taxi took me back to my place, an
experience in itself, and not for the faint-hearted. It required jumping
on board rather quickly as the boat barely came to a halt before
moving on. It's not an easy task, camera in hand.
The ferry terminal was a few kilometres from my guesthouse and the
last few kilometres were by motorbike taxi. It’s best not to look, as
my driver weaved through the traffic at high-speed ignoring all traffic
rules.