After visiting the temple in Chiang Rai we drove to the villa of the king’s late mother. My ears popped several times as we climbed higher and higher through the mountains. When we arrived I could hardly see more than 3 feet in front of me because of thick fog. Once again, I was in a cloud.
We walked around the exquisite garden, full of foreign flowers, as the fog cleared and sun came out. The Villa itself was large, made of wood and seemingly simplistic. In the main room there was a large photo of the king’s mother. Everyone on the tour bowed, and did the wy (hands clasped with head bowed) three times. I did it incorrectly at first, so I had to do it six times. In every photo of the king’s deceased mother she was wearing red because she was born on Sunday.
In Thailand there are certain colors to wear for each day of the week. Sunday: Red, Monday: Yellow, Tuesday: Pink, Wednesday: Green, Thursday: Blue, Friday, Black, Saturday: Purple. Every morning that I get on the song tao to go school at least two thirds of the occupants are wearing the color of the day. Wearing the color of the day, however, tends to be a tradition to which only the older generations adhere. The daily colors started as something that only members of the royal court paid attention to, but the lay people have adopted it as well.
The most impressive part of the king’s mother’s villa was the balcony that looked out over the most beautiful mountain range. The view took my breath away. I could see mountains beyond mountains with low-lying clouds in between. Walking through the gardens I looked out over a ledge and could see into a cloud. Looking up I’d never felt so close to the sky while firmly standing on the ground.
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