That's as nearly as I can make out the name of the holiday today. Many times I am so in the dark around here. Last night Ji called and asked if I would join her at the temple today at 7 am (Monday.) I have no idea why, but the thought of going to the temple that early didn't appeal to me so I begged off.

This morning at 7 am, there is loud bass coming from huge speakers and loud rock music pierced by some man laughing maniacally into a microphone. (I think maybe he was supposed to be the devil - body painted red with horns.) I grabbed my camera and ran out to the street but since I hadn't used it in over a week, the battery was dead.

I've been told it's Ok pensa, OOk pensa, Open sa, the first day of the Buddha, and Buddhist Lent. Pick one. Or pick all. And my auditory discrimination for Thai is so bad that I can't find anything even remotely close on the Internet.

But it was a lovely parade, whatever the reason. Little kids with bodies painted, sporting arm shields with targets painted on them and undulating their arms as they walked up the street, stopping to dive for the coins that people threw. Bigger kids with bright red mask/hoods and horns. Gorgeous tiny Thai girls in beautiful gowns and gold stupahs on their heads, throwing jasmine and flower petals to the crowd. A "royal" looking couple holding court in traditional gold lame' costumes. Some girls dressed in feathers and fur dancing provocatively to "Conga" on a jungle themed float. Flowers, flowers, and more flowers. (They even rolled a palm tree up the street on a dolly - you were supposed to take a silver aspen-type leaf from one of the beautiful girls, attach a bill to it and stick it in the trunk of the tree.) On one flatbed were several more of the large bellied Thai men (imagine!) painted red with horns. But first, of course, came the saffron robbed monks with their alms bowls. We 'wai'ed them first, then handed them Ramen noodles, individual packs of cookies, candy bars, little packets or rice or sugar, water, juice boxes, toothpaste, all the things a good monk needs. The line seemed endless and as each alms bowl filled up, the monks dumped their booty into a big wash basin held by men behind them who transferred it to the back of a pick-up truck. Sort of like Monk trick or treating.

I seem to have been the only Falang out there so I now appear in many Thai family pictures.  Watch for me on You Tube.

I did a dry run to Rayong yesterday to pin down this illusive bus to Nong Kai, since I had such dismal luck on the phone. I'm estimating that I asked a minimum of 7 people plus a phone call to Ji to ask her to please ask this man (in Thai) where the bus to Nong Kai is. (He just gestured wildly, pointing down the street and shouting at me.)

But good news! I found it! It's not at the bus station at all, as one of the 3 phone calls had stated, although I don't know why. It's about 4 blocks away and leaves several times a day. I intend to take the 8:20 pm bus tonight so that I will get to Maha Sarakham in the late morning on Tuesday. Otherwise, if I left earlier, I would arrive in Khon Kaen at 3,4,5,6 am - probably no taxis around and where do I hang out until I can check into a hotel? My biggest fear now is that if I fall asleep (10 hour ride, what are the odds?) I may miss my stop at Khon Kaen and wake up in Laos, the terminus. Oh, well, I'm sure there's a return bus, isn't there?

And more good news! As I walked away from my bus success, the next building had a beauty salon with a sign "L'Oreale' and swatches of hair colors. Blonde! They have blonde hair dye - and not just blonde, ASH blonde by L'Oreale'! Could this day get any better? My dark roots were seriously hanging out and I had been trying to devise a way to get Joe to send me some hair dye express delivery.  

A lovely young man (OK, so he did walk with a lilt to his step) handled my case with utmost consideration - you lie down here to get shampooed and they massage your head for the longest time. Viola! He did a great job and I now look almost normal. I want to take him home with me.

Remembering that hair debacle in Kenya, I had been living in fear that my hair would turn out that bright orangey blonde that some Thai kids have adopted.  

So today I leave Ban Phe after one month. It seems like it has been so much longer.