Lucky Buddha

After a jet lagged sleepless night following my arrival in Bangkok, I decided to get myself out of the D&D Inn and do some exploring before my travel companion arrived that afternoon. I was walking along with no particular purpose when a persistent salesman (of which there are many s I have recently discovered--no surprise there) caught my attention. He was offering a tuk-tuk ride to a number of city locations for 20 baht (abt 65 cents) I was savvy to this ploy--tuk tuk drivers offer you a tour and then bring you to stores to shop and get a cut of your purchase. I explained that I did not want to spend any money or go shopping and the little man (yeah he was maybe 5 feet) assured me that there would only be one stop for shopping and it was only because a government promotions allowed the driver to get free petrol. I did not have to buy anything and then we'd be on our way.
"20 baht right? only 20 baht total?"
"yes yes"
"okay okay"
and I hopped in, and off we went.
My driver's name was Dotan--he wore a big smile and encouraged me to take my time at each stop, we got along well. The first place we went was the Lucky Buddha. Dotan showed me that\e way--through a scholl yard jumping withkids round to the other side of a small ornate building to the entrance. After slipping off my shoes, I entered just behinde a middle-aged thai man who waved me in and patted the ground next to him. I knelt beside him in front of the big gold buddha and he showed me the proper way to bow three times and then told me a wish and then we bowed together three more times. I think its okay to reveal that I wished for health and happiness for my friends and family; I figure big lucky buddha can probably handle a big wish. After making our wishes, us two sat on the floor in front of lucky buddha and got to talking. He was a teacher at the school I'd just passed and gave me tips on visiting Bangkok and explained that today was a special holiday--buddha's birthday! So everything was cheap--the tuk tuk ride included--taxes were lifted and petrol was free. My encounter with this lovely man made my day completely--lucky buddha seemed to bring me luck on the spot, so my 65 cent ride was worth every baht. (However, me and Dotan did stop at 4 tailors where I spent a fair amount of time refusing offers for handmade suits and by the fourth I'd learned my lesson well--I suppose I deserved that one.)