November 25, 2006

After a rather strange but good breakfast we were off the see the archaeological dig at Ben Chiang Museum. First we went to the pit where a student from a study group accidentally tripped over a tree stump and fell and his hand grabbed some broken shards of very ancient pottery. A dig was started and they were able to date the broken pots from 4,000 – 7,500 years old.

The museum is divided into two parts. The first part stores antiques, old artifacts, ancient Ben Chiang cultural tools and utensils that showcase ancient technology and surroundings as well as earthenware pots.

Then after a somewhat long drive we visited the Naga Palace. The Naga is a spiritual snake said to have powers. A long winding “snaking” path with the naga (snake) on both sides was under construction and wound to a small temple made of while plaster. The interesting part of this trip was the large gong-like circular noise makers. The gongs hung from frames and they were played by little 10 year old girls that had the nack of making them work. These were not struck but rubbed by hands and created a very unearthly sound when rubbed correctly. We all tried to work them but only the kids were able to make them work.

We bought a few trinkets for Grama, bracelets, and things and then took off for the next place. The drive was long and finally we got to back to the hotel, worked on the blog, unsuccessfully, while Aek and Allen napped, and had dinner at a local street-side barbeque restaurant and went home early.