They build spirit houses to house the
spirits who have been misplaced. Temples sit in farm fields, bathed
in gold with their exotic steeples. Here in Thailand, people believe
in ghosts, bad spirits, who haunt their lives.
Never before in my adult life, had I
ever felt this close to the supernatural. I had never seen a ghost
before (though I thought I had heard the footsteps of one once) but
here in Thailand, anything is possible. The Thai people are very
superstitious and they believe in curses, evil spells and restless
grudges. Buddhism is only part of what they believe, the real
religion lies in their beliefs, old beliefs that never die, like
their ghosts.
A bad event, flood, or catastrophe is
still blamed on ghosts (PHI ผี), witches, evil spells and unsatisfied
ancestors who look down upon the people in their daily lives.
This was such a change for me. Here I
was, a Christian (though a non-practicing one), thrown into another
world, a world where my previous realities did not exist. Maybe it
was my over-active imagination, or the fact that I had just seen one
of the numerous ghost movies the Thai people watch.
But here in Thailand, you may see a
ghost. You're more likely to see a ghost here than in Japan or
America, simple because Thai people live with ghosts always in their
daily lives. People here have seen ghosts and they fear them more
than the poisonous snakes that can kill a person with one bite.
More than the ghosts they fear, I
believe Thai people are most afraid of becoming ghosts themselves. A
restless spirit beyond salvation or chance of enlightenment through
re-incarnation, a ghost is trapped on this earth forever, and lost.
It was here in Thailand that I felt I
would see a ghost.
I was biking alone, through the winding
dirt roads, past coffee shops, internet cafes and roadside eateries,
to the deserted countryside on the outskirts of town. Here in this
small town, nobody spoke English, I had to speak awkward Thai phrases
to them. If something were to happen to me, I would have no way of
contacting anyone. Cell phone service didn't always work out here
either. I hoped I wouldn't come across any of those poisonous snakes.
I had already heard of someone who was bitten and had been in a coma
from it. Luckily, I had only seen one snake in the fall season that I
was here.
It started to rain lightly. In
Thailand, it rains often, though not as much as in the spring monsoon
season. The rain is warm and doesn't last long.
One time I was caught in a heavy
downpour and I had to stop at a roadside eatery where I bought a raw
young coconut that a man cut with a bloody hatchet he was using for
the meat. Cleanliness isn't a big concern in Thailand and I had
gotten a terrible stomach illness twice.
All of a sudden, it got dark while I
was riding my bike. "Uh oh", I thought, "it's going to
thunder soon." No one else was around. The streets were
deserted. I realized I was totally alone. Not even a pack of stray
dogs were barking, which I knew was very strange. There were always
dogs around (Thai people don't believe in spaying or neutering
either). It was eerily quiet, not even the sound of birds chirping.
If I was going to see a ghost, now
would be the time. What would the ghost look like? Would it be pale
gray with blackened eyes, the kind they show in the movies? Or would
the ghost look like a normal person, except for the fact they would
disappear as soon as I turned around? Would it be possible for me a
Falung (foreigner) to see a Thai ghost? Could belief be that strong?
I wondered then how much the Thai
culture had influenced me. Here I was, biking along the streets,
expecting to see a ghost any moment. I was thrown into a society
where anything was possible. Seeing a ghost was not an abnormal event
but an everyday occurrence. Especially up in the countryside where I
was, near the Burmese border (Myanmar to some). For the Thai people,
ghosts are real. Whose to say ghosts aren't real? Which reality is
the truth? I didn't know.
It started pouring.
I pulled over to stop at a roadside
shop. Nobody paid much attention to me, they just watched their TV
and drank their beers. When the rain stopped, I biked back to where I
was staying, still feeling that at any moment I would see a ghost.
The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, though it could've been
the weather change. I had a strange feeling I was being watched,
though when I looked around, no one was near.
Finally I biked down the hill, to where
more people lived and sure enough, other people were in the street,
driving cars and motorcycles (always without a helmet) and the
feeling of being watched (and creeped out) had faded away. I must've
imagined the whole thing.
I never told anyone what I had felt
when I went out that day on my bike. I didn't think anyone else
would've understood. If I told a Thai person, they'd probably just
smile and nod. An American person wouldn't really understand, not
unless they've lived in Thailand and felt what I felt then.
It's hard to say now if I believe in
ghosts. I still haven't seen one, and my once brief encounter with
the paranormal (those strange footsteps I once heard) could never be
proven. The truth is, I'd hate to think a trapped soul actually
exists and whatever grudge they carry is not something I want to be
involved in.
Perhaps I should buy a charm, to keep
the bad spirits away, just in case...
