Thanks again!

This has been yet another short week.  Today is Thursday and this is our first working day of the week.  Reason is that Tuesday and Wednesday were Buddhist holy days and then the military government declared Monday as an extra holiday to make a five day weekend.  This happens so often now, with the government declaring an extra holiday when able so as to make an extra long weekend.

Military governments, I discover, are great for holidays.  It is a real gift they have.  To be honest, I think this holiday thing is being overdone but I can't do anything about it.  So just smile and accept the gift. 

Meanwhile, yesterday was a holy day in the Buddhuist calendar as it was the first day of Buddhist Lent which coincides with the rainy season.  Actually it is pretty smart to coincide Lent with the rainy season as this fits in well with the annual farming calendar.  While Thailand may appear these days to be an industrial and tourist based economy, it is traditionally an agriculture based economy and society, with agriculture still playing an important role in Thai society and economy. 

During rainy season, the rice crops are growing.  While during Lent, monks are to stay in their monastery confines.  The smartness is that with monks staying in their monasteries, they are not going to be walking through rice fields inadvertently spoiling crops.   Now I think that smart and practical, if nothing else.