Sacred Compartment

It's not often that you see sacred monk writing on the glove compartment of Bangkok taxis.  Usually, it's on the ceiling.  For some reason, the monk who blessed this taxi thought this was a good place to add the curly script. Maybe the driver keeps a sacred relic inside this little chamber.  Or maybe the monk wrote on the glove compartment because the ceiling is already completely covered with stickers.

Yoo Hoo!

You! Yes, you! Come over here! I'm the Thai goddess, Nang Gwak. Give me your money! Patronize my business! Take a ride in my cab! Please? 

Fuzzy Wuzzy Pillow

Thais love to accessorize. And Bangkok taxi drivers are no exception. Not only do they adore fancy embellishments on the dashboard, but they also have a weakness for furry head cushions.  Ranging from fuzzy pillows decorated with American or British flags to fluffy pink pillows with Hello Kitty emblazoned on them, they're a common sight in the cabs of this city. In the case of this cab, the single pink furry head pillow was not enough for the driver. Oh no. It was only a small part of a larger collection of furry items in the back window, including a giant Hello Kitty pillow, two Piglet pillows, and a hot pink fuzzy tissue holder.          

Good Goddess

Robed in pure white and sometimes depicted on a lotus flower, the goddess Guan Yin is worshiped throughout Asia, including Thailand. Admired for her kindness, mercy, and unconditional love, many believe she can relieve suffering. And due to her compassion toward all living things, she's associated with vegetarianism. This particular goddess doesn't appear in Bangkok cabs very often, but when you see her on the dashboard, you can usually trust that the driver is good-natured and kind-hearted just like Guan Yin.

Deva of the Sea

If you're planning on sailing the seven seas, you might consider praying to Jatukam (pictured on the left), as this compassionate deva protects seafarers and the oceans. In addition, he is known to watch over his followers, bring respect from others, and increase wealth. I wonder if he can help prevent seasickness, too.    

Jealous Devil

When I snapped this photo in a Bangkok taxi a while back, the cabby told me his brother had brought this devil back from Japan for him. At the time I had never seen anything like it, but when I was in Tokyo I saw similar ones for sale. I found out that it's a Hannya mask from Japanese theater based on a female character whose jealousy turns her into a demon. I've known a few jealous devils like this one in my lifetime. Do you know any?    

Chupa Chups Buddha

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but Buddhas made out of translucent resin remind me of hard candy or lollipops without sticks.  Even their colors bring to mind flavors such as tart lime, cherry red, and tangy orange.  My taxi driver with the juicy yellow Buddha would have been shocked if I had given his statue a big lick.                

Reverse Culture Shock

I'm back in the good 'ol U.S. of A. for a visit and I knew I wasn't in Bangkok anymore when I queued up in Passport Control at Chicago O'Hare Airport. When I moved toward the line, a crabby airport worker came over and bellowed at me to quickly move forward. I guess I've grown accustom to soft Thai voices and polite greetings. And most Thai people aren't usually in such a big rush.

Tokyo Taxi

Taxi drivers wearing white gloves, glass partitions between the front and back seats of the cabs, and car doors that automatically open and close. Welcome to Tokyo taxis. Last week I was in Japan and I took a few cabs while I was there, but coming from Bangkok, it was hard to adjust to Tokyo's expensive cab fares. And it just wasn't as fun taking cabs that don't have Buddha and monk statuettes on the dashboard.                 

Cautious Driver

I tried not to take it personal when the taxi driver quickly slipped on his face mask as he saw me, the foreigner, approaching. When I got in the cab, one of the first questions the cabby asked me was where I was from, and even though this is an inquiry I regularly get in Bangkok taxis, I couldn't help thinking that he wanted to check to see if I'm from North America, home of the dreaded swine flu. For a little harmless fun, I faked a couple of coughs. At least now he can believe he protected himself from a contagious foreign customer.

The Gang's All Here

Today, my taxi driver told me he and his father have been collecting Thai statuettes and amulets of Buddha, monks, and other important figures from Thai history for forty years. According to the cabby, every famous monk and style of Buddha is represented. What you see in the photo is only part of the collection. There are more on the dashboard and in the front, and he was wearing an amazing collection of amulets around his neck. Some of them are worth a fortune; the driver told me one is even valued at a million baht. As I stepped out of the taxi, the driver asked me if I wanted to buy one. I told him I need to take out a loan from the bank first.    

Taxi Visors

Turn down the sun visors inside Bangkok taxis and you're liable to find an image of Buddha or a monk hanging from them. This is yet another place inside the cabs where religious images are displayed. Of course, the visors also help to block out the intense and scorching sun rays of Thailand, and sometimes the visors work well enough that you don't even need to wear your Ray-Bans.       

Taxi Driver License

I always glance at the photo of the driver on the dashboard. Somehow I feel more comfortable knowing what the cabbie looks like head on, as I usually only get to see the back of the driver's head or the side of their face. Today, as I studied the driver's portrait and then looked over at the cabbie, I didn't see much of a resemblance. I assumed it was his co-worker who shares the cab with him, so I decided to ask him about his fellow cabbie. For a moment, the driver didn't say a word. But then he told me that it was his own photo taken 30 years ago.  

Patience, Patience

Most Bangkok taxi drivers don't complain much about traffic. In most cases, Bangkok cabbies will patiently sit back and tolerate long delays. Part of this behavior can be attributed to the belief in Thai culture that an outward display of impatience is a personality weakness. And anyway, I'd imagine that it gets boring complaining about the same thing day in and day out. My driver today, however, was extremely frustrated with the traffic. On several occasions, he let out loud sighs and "hmmph" noises. For the first time in years, I felt like I was in a taxi in the States.     

Buddha-in-the-box

In Thailand, we don't have many genies in bottles, but we certainly have a lot of Buddhas inside bubbles and boxes. I can understand the need to secure larger Buddha images inside glass cases, especially if they're encrusted with real gold. But I don't get why smaller Buddha statuettes need to be placed inside containers. In this taxi, it looks like Buddha has been kept inside the original canister from the shop where the cabbie bought it. At least the driver took off the lid to give Buddha a little fresh air.

Swirls and Squiggles

Hanging from many Bangkok taxi rear view mirrors are these swirly and squiggly things that represent Buddha's enlightenment. Sometimes you can find this same design drawn on the car's ceiling and other times you see it printed on Buddhist incantation cloths. I especially like this version made out of string. I'm not exactly sure how they made it - perhaps it has a bendable wire inside. In any case, it reminds me of a project I did in grade school. The only difference is that mine was in the form of a snowman and was made from pipe cleaners.   

TaxiPod

I'm starting to think that every part of every plant can bring good luck in Thailand, including these pods hanging from the taxi's rear view mirror. When I asked the driver about them, he pointed to some trees on the side of the road and told me they're easy to find. He went on to explain that they protect him from danger and they bring him more business. I used to think good luck charms had to be something rare, such as four leaf clovers, but apparently that's not the case here. Just hang some roots, leaves or pods in your car and you'll immediately feel lucky.

Filling the Niches

In Bangkok taxis, every part of the interior can contain decorative religious and secular objects. In the taxi today, the turn signal switches had strings and beads hung from them, the windows were covered with decals, the rear window shelf contained a hand-knit tissue holder, the back seat had silky pillows, the rear view mirror had a "phuang malai" jasmine flower garland, the ceiling had "Yan" drawings by a monk, the lower dash board had a menagerie of amulets and a statuette of a monk riding an elephant, and the steering wheel had a Buddha sticker. There was barely enough space left for the driver and myself.              

Thai Hermit

No, that's not some kind of sneaky elf or Kris Kringle with a sack full of gifts on the yellow incantation cloth, I think that's a Thai hermit yogi.  In the past, these hermits were spiritual guides known for their knowledge of ancient medicinal practices.  I've heard there are still some of these hermits living in the northwoods of Thailand.  And I've even seen some creepy foreigners in Bangkok who look like that guy. 

Plaa Tapean

One of my favorite decorations in Thailand are fish woven from palm leaves. Sometimes they're painted with glossy enamel paint and other times they're left unpainted.  The plain ones have a natural simplicity about them, but on the other hand, the ones with painted designs are nice, too.  Apparently, they're supposed to be tapean fish. Besides the palm leaf variety, the real "plaa" are pretty tasty when they're prepared Thai-style with a spicy and tangy sauce.     

Reflection

There's nothing quite as ethereal as the image of Buddha reflected in the windshield of a taxi.  Rather than displaying statuettes or other religious objects on the dashboard, the cabby had created a mirror image in the window using a photocopied picture of a Buddha amulet. The effect was modest, minimal, and otherworldly.   

Jalopy Taxi

I have to admit I normally look for newer taxis when hailing a cab in Bangkok because I've have some bad experiences in dilapidated taxis here, including one time when a beat-up taxi broke down half way to my destination. But today I ended up taking an older cab because all the newer ones were already hired. As we drove along, the car made loud squeaky and screechy noises. Inside the taxi were piles of old papers, books, magazines, half full water bottles, and several amulets in plastic bags. The driver was quite a character, too. He could barely see over his leopard print steering wheel and he was laughing maniacally to himself during most of the drive. I was happy when I finally arrived back home in one piece without the taxi breaking down or losing a wheel or something. But the driver should really get that squeak (and maybe himself) checked out.   

Visakha Bucha Day

This past Friday was Visakha Bucha, the day which marks the birth, the enlightenment, and the passing of Buddha. Devout Buddhists observe the day by walking around a temple three times, carrying a lighted candle, incense sticks, and lotus flowers. Those who don't go to the temple walk around the mall or the beach until they get tired.   

Lucky Ganesh?

I wonder what it would feel like to be Ganesh, the elephant-headed deity. Apparently the job involves reclining on a chaise lounge and being shrouded in gold. Not a bad life, with the exception of having to hang out with a rat and potentially spending eternity stuck in a taxi.  

Dessert and Main Course

I don't care much for Thai jelly desserts, but the other day I was hungry in the taxi and the green gelatinous-looking jade Buddha in the silver dish made me think about how tasty one of those desserts would be.  Later on, I stopped at a local market and bought a few traditional Thai sweets along with a few things for dinner.  For the main course:  grilled pork neck.               

Buddha Trio

The three most revered Buddha statues in Thailand can sometimes be found together as miniatures under a glass dome in Bangkok taxis. The images include the Emerald Buddha, the Buddha whose legend involves mysteriously floating downriver to a temple, and the bronze Buddha with the flame-like halo from Phitsanulok, one of Thailand's oldest cities. If the statuettes were based on their real proportions in relation to each other, the Emerald Buddha would be tiny compared to the Phitsanulok Buddha. But then they wouldn't look very good together under the dome as a three-piece set. 

Turn it up!

Bangkok taxi drivers and Thais, in general, have two settings on their volume control: inaudible and ear-splitting. This must be cultural as Thais are usually soft-spoken, but at the same time, associate loud noise with having fun. The other day, the cabby cranked the volume so loud I thought the glass on Buddha's dome was going to shatter into pieces. And the music wasn't even opera.   

Green Aura

I've noticed lately that Buddha is often depicted with a green light or aura around his head. It's obvious that the illumination represents his enlightenment. But I've been curious about the significance of the green color, so I did some research and discovered that Buddha's green aura indicates that he's balanced, harmonious, and peaceful. Do you know the color of your aura?

Wise Words

"In a controversy, the instant we feel anger

 we have already ceased striving for the truth, 

and have begun striving for ourselves."  

- Buddha

Happy New Year!

It's Songkran Festival in Thailand, the traditional Thai New Year and the biggest holiday of the year, when many people who live in Bangkok return to their homes in other provinces or head out of town on vacation.  Those that stay in the city will grab a squirt gun and take to the streets for one giant celebratory water fight.  If you want to stay dry longer, I suggest hopping in a cab.  But even the taxi will be "blessed" with water as you drive through the streets. 

Hello Kitty

In addition to the Thai goddess, Nang Gwak, who lures customers with her gesturing hand, Bangkok taxi drivers love the Japanese waving cat named Maneki Neko. Based on a real historical feline pet that lured a wealthy patron to a poor temple, this happy cat beckons customers with one paw and holds a gold coin to represent prosperity with the other paw. You might have seen this feline if you eat out at Asian restaurants. Or you might be familiar with the pink and white version of this cat known around the world as Hello Kitty.  

Plastic Monk

Welcome to the city of knock-offs. Here you can buy fake designer sunglasses for a fraction of the cost of real ones. You can even get cheap imitation plastic statues of Buddhist monks for your dashboard. Never mind that the religious icons don't seem as sacred and precious as the ones carved from wood or cast in metal. And the best part is that they're non-biodegradable and will last hundreds of years (that is, unless your statue melts in the sun first).