The king is OLD

Friday was the King's birthday...and since everyone LOVES the king (I mean they are obsessed), of course there was a HUGE celebration in Ban Phe!
On Friday, everyone had to wear "king shirts". I mentioned them before but basically they are hideous yellow polos (the king's color) with the insignia of the king and a picture on the front, and "long love our beloved king" in Thai on the back. The boy ones are lined with white and have a heart with blue and gold on the front, and the girl ones are lined with pink and have two hands holding.
Friday, we donned our king shirts and were told we had to march in the town parade. We head out to the start, and I immediately feel nauseated. I still haven't fully recovered from the food poisoning in Chiang Mai...so sometimes it comes back at inopportune times. Anyway, I started vomiting on the streets of Ban Phe, so I had to take a motorbike back to the school, where I layed in pain, missing the fun.
I felt better later so I went to meet up with my fellow teachers at the ceremony. Everywhere in Thailand they have the same exact ceremony at the same exact time, with the same music, same procedure, and same clothing. It is astonishing how much these people revere tradition! So the ceremony started with each family or business in Ban Phe making an offering to a gigantic shrine of the King. This took a few hours as you can imagine. Afterwards, everyone was handed a candle, and we all had to sing 3 songs in Thai with our candles lit. Then there was a huge sign that lit up with fireworks, and then a fireworks show. All you could see was miles of yellow shirts. The entire day of his birthday was "dry", in fact it was considered rude to purchase or consume alcohol.
The next day, Saturday, started the week-long festival in Ban Phe. The streets are filled with food stalls, and shops. the stage with the shrine of the king has concerts and dance shows. theres several beer gardens. There are even carnival rides! The whole town has been PACKED. You can't even walk down the street without ramming into people, which is strange because Ban Phe is usually so small and quiet. There's even places to buy pets! Matt and I want to get a little fluffy bunny!!
Anyway, Ban Phe is extremely loud, and I will actually be quite pleased when this all clears out on Friday...even though it is fun and there are finally new places to eat besides the 4 or 5 restaurants we frequent!
The best part about all of this, is the locals out in full force! Living here for the last 2 months, I have made friends with several locals, but had yet to see them partying. I am going to give you a run down of my favorite locals of ban Phe:

Mama: Mama owns a restaurant right outside of the school. Basically I go there every day and she says things like "mama make you noodles". She's really cool, and definitely takes care of us!

Laundry lady: We have yet to learn her actual name, but laundry lady does our laundry for us (and does it REAL good). She also lets us play with her fluffy little dog!

The pirate: This guy is ALWAYS drunk, and ALWAYS dressed like a pirate. He lives at the end of the street and every time you pass by he offers you a sip of his drink, whether it be orange juice, water, or moonshine. He also likes to give creative handshakes, and often freely dances in the street.

Bernie: a British ex pat who lives in Ban Phe, and creeps on everything with legs. He can often be seen downing whiskey and stumbling around the streets of Ban Phe. His accent mixed with the mass amounts of alcohol he consumes makes it impossible to understand a word he says.

Oliver: Oliver is a French ex pat who owns the bar closest to our school. But he's not special...his Thai wife is! Whenever we go in there she makes us homemade western food...for FREE! I swear the other day she made us all spaghetti, which tastes like the most amazing food you have ever had when you have had nothing but Asian food for 2 months!! Maybe she thinks were all malnourished or something.

Anyway, those are my favorites, and there are many more locals which I will write about later! Now, off to take a shower in ice water (I hate showering in cold water and am still not used to it). Love you all! Until next time...look at my photos of the king's birthday!!

photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015880&l=f3400&id=83901952