Makha Bucha

Makha Bucha (มาฆบูชา) is an important religious festival celebrated by buddhists throughout South East Asia. It's a day in which they honor Buddha and his teachings. Yesterday, on the full moon day of the third lunar month, we we're able to experience our first Thai holiday while living abroad! Makha Bucha is a highly ceremonial event, in which the spiritual goals of the day are to not commit any sins, do only good, and simply purify one's mind. This was pretty easy for me since I'm practically an angel everyday! But in an effort to be more Thai, I really made a conscious effort to cleanse my spirit and be the best gosh darn doxie I could be!

Reflecting back on previous heinous acts, perhaps the biggest sin ever committed was ripping the squeaker out of a brand new toy mommy got me. I thoroughly enjoyed tearing both of his eyes and nose off, and after passing through a thick layer of stuffing, I finally reached the inner goodness. I tell ya, as soon as I got that squeaker in my mouth, it was like something came over me...I couldn't control myself!!! Bouncing it around in my mouth and feeling the soft texture of extruded plastic was beyond satisfying! Nothing is more exhilarating than munching hard and hearing it go “BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.” It makes me salivate just thinking about it.

Actually I correct myself, I think my worst sin was dropping a deuce in the bathtub while my parents were out grocery shopping. They weren't even that mad, since it was quite an impressive task. As you can imagine, a lot of logistics, planning, and cat-like balance went into that production. I'd like to think it was comparable to a human pooping off the 10 meter high-dive. Anyways, sorry about all this potty talk...you probably think I have IBS or something. Thinking about all of my past mistakes makes me look like a pretty naughty pup! Hopefully all dogs really do go to heaven.

OK, back to the holiday! Last night I was left at home to reflect on my spiritual being and attempt to achieve complete zen while my parents ventured out to the temple to partake in the evening's festivities. The temple they chose to visit was Wat That Tong, located right off the BTS station in our soon-to-be neighborhood of Ekkamai. Once they arrived, they purchased some flowers, candles, and incense sticks. They made sure not to pass up on the street food and grabbed some khanom buang (ขนมเบื้อง) to snack on while walking around--crispy little pancakes topped with coconut cream and golden egg yolk strands!

khanom buang (ขนมเบื้อง) = YUMMERS!

Daddy tried each kind...just about every part of a chicken!

When they finished the sweet, tasty treats mommy and daddy proceeded inside to join the festivities and participate in the candlelight vigil. After lighting their candles and incense, they mingled in with the large group that was circling the temple three times clockwise, stopping each time to pray. Apparently, each lap represents one of the Three Jewels – the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

With the third lap completed, they then placed the flowers, incense, and candles in front of the temple and stood there for a few minutes just admiring the mesmerizing scene. The expressions on the temple-goers faces ranged from serious prayer to playful interactions among family. A sweet perfume of incense and fresh flowers hung thick in the air. With the golden temple truly lit up as the full moon reflected against it's walls, it must have been a spectacular sight to see. I really wish I could have been there!

Since mommy and daddy aren't the most religious of people, you'd think this new buddhist experience would've felt awkward. Surprisingly, even though they had no idea what they were doing, it was quite natural and very refreshing. It's not like they're going to try and become monks or anything, but who knows, daddy's already got the haircut for it!

Notice the gorgeous full moon? 

To finish off their perfect evening, they decided to grab a pizza and call it a night. On the way to the bistro mommy rode her first motorcyle taxi. Daddy watched mommy hop on and whiz away into the distance, while he lagged a bit behind on the second bike. I think his bike didn't have the horsepower for such a big load! Before I knew it, mommy and daddy were home safe-and-sound with a piping hot pizza. When daddy looked away for a minute, I thought about swooping a piece of the parma ham on top. But on such a religious day my conscience knew better, so I drifted off to sleep with a belly full of dry kibble instead.

That parma ham would probably go straight to my thighs anyway....