Two Thamruat on a Honda scooter

Thailand, Pattaya,
22 jan. 2011.

His name was Siddharthat Gautama, born to a noble family, a prince of a small fiefdom actually somewhere in Southern Nepal, got married and had a harem of concubines as was probably quite acceptable in His time and age, in His personal social standing in life...but at the age of 29, after enjoying all of the little pleasures of life like women, booze and good food, He decided to wander the Indian sub-continent as one of many ascetics in search of enlightenment, on a quest of total understanding, achieving His goal after years of deep meditation under the holy Bodhi tree, becoming known as the Buddha, the Enlightened One, spending the rest of His life teaching and more meditation though according to some He never reached that treasured state of enlightenment untill he reclined and died...

the latter seeming more realistic to me considering the broader ramifications of complete understanding of the inner workings of this planet and the main life form on it...

As watch with wonder, sitting outside the New Star guesthouse drawing my Buddhas with my markers, Miss Nhi waiting for one, how two of Thailand's finest, dressed in their habitual thight fitting dark brown uniforms, arrive on a Honda scooter, obviously keenly interested in poor Moi and my artistic work...

I am aware of seven years imprisonment for insulting the Enlightened One but I find it hard to believe that my colorfull drawings of Lord Buddha will cost me seven years of my life, though incarceration thoughts flash through my Farang mind wile they disembark and stride purposefully toward me...

but no...they wanna know if  I sell my Buddhas, maybe a few for them, the Thai Thamruat for good luck,  a Noordu for thos involved in keeping law and order in this place of high male Farang testosteron...Ay, tricky question here, being a Farang without a working permit I can hardly ask them for Thai Baht though feel ill prepared to be bullied in giving away for free what is rightfully mine...

" Lord Buddha is not all that happy about the paper of Man" , I tell them in my halting Thai, receiving grunts and words I do not understand but the two tatty notes of one hundert Baht landing on the table, right next to my can of Leo does say it all, ignoring the paper of Man I let them choose five paper Buddhas...

Guess this was a tricky one!!!