It’s a sight both timeless and touching, a reminder-despite the motorbikes and hotels-of this area’s unshakable belief and age-old rituals.Īn ethnic group specific to this part of Asia-created by the mostly Hokkien Chinese merchants and traders who arrived here and married Malay women-the Peranakans flourished from the 15th through the early 20th centuries. As you descend the hill after spending an hour so exploring the temple, you’ll see a chain of young monks walking along with their begging bowls, accepting food from the penitent locals who line the streets early in the morning to receive a blessing. Bring (or ask your guide to bring) a packet of food for you to give to one of the monks, who will receive it with a chant. At Wat Sri Soda, as across the region, this quest can manifest in spectacular ways-remember Jayavarman VII and his prolific temple-building?-but it is often done in a more quiet, quotidian fashion, such as donating an offering of food to one’s local temple. Even Thai men who aren’t active-duty monks try, in small ways, to “make merit” for themselves. Each country in Asia has its own relationship to religion, of course, but it’s fair to say that the Thai relationship to Buddhism is unusually vivid.

The layover with anthony bourdain