When you buy a new car in Thailand, the first thing you need to do is have a Buddhist monk bless the vehicle. This involves a ceremony where the monk creates a yantra, or yan as it's known in Thai, by drawing lines and dots, as well as adding squares of gold leaf on the ceiling or other surfaces in the car. Each yantra contains certain magical spells that protect the driver and the car, and each design is unique. I don't mean to sound blasphemous, but this one in the taxi today reminds me of the famous Disney castle with fireworks going off above it.
