Buddha: " Whenever you see things, just see. Whenever you listen, just listen. Whenever you know, just know."Thailand Souvenirs - Son of The DragonWe don't buy many souvenirs and when we do they are usually something we have looked for for a while. Not necessarily a typical item from that country but representing a culture or feeling for the country.
We had been looking at carved 'Nephrite' sometimes refered to as 'Jade' but a less expensive option to the very expensive Jade. Essentially though any stone, to us, is preferable to the cheaper resin compound creatures we have seen in the night markets and tourist souvenir shops of Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
We obtained our sons of the dragons at around a 15% discount off the marked price of 6,500 Baht for the pair, for the asking we paid 5,500 Baht. If you don't ask, you don't get! |
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We have been looking for a 6 to 8 inch long 'dragon' style mythical beast, seen around temples, hotels and family shrines, ever since we arrived in Thailand and after looking at dozens of little critters over a ten week period we finally found one that shouted 'buy me!'
We found our stone carved 'Son of the Dragon', a five in one, mythical beast, with the head of a dragon, wings of an eagle, feet of the lion, body of a deer and tail of a cat in a specialist shop selling 'auspicious items' of an oriental or eastern religious nature.
It was explained to us that we should buy the pair; the male has his left foot forward and the female her right. We should position them with the forward facing paw on the outside, with the bodies at an angle (preferably with a glass or crystal ball between the two beasts, to 'focus the power of the light'. We should stroke the Sons of the Dragons every day and make an offering to them of fresh water and fresh food, say an orange or other piece of fruit, (they apparently like fruit). We were told that in return for our care and due reverence we will receive good luck, mostly in the form of money! We hope. 
The shop name given to us as a verbal indicator is 'Sap Sili Mong Khun', to be found at 49 Bamrungburi Road, the inner ring road, about half way between the old Chiang Mai Gate and Suan Prung Gate on the south side of Chiang Mai old city. 
The shop is well worth a visit in our opinion as it is not full of the usual 'tourist tat' but things that local Thais would purchase for decorating their houses or business premises with items that traditionally bring good luck and are 'auspicious indicators'.Items annotated (TAT) |
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