food shop, hunched over a bowl of rice soup and a cup of

coffee. He is tired; he's been at the wheel all night, driving

through steady drizzle. But as he eats, he enjoys the

warmth of the early morning sunshine; the cloudless sky

says it's going to be a fine day — at least until he reaches

Bangkok with his load of merchandise in another couple

of hours or so.

He finishes his breakfast and goes over to inspect his

truck parked nearby. Heavens — what a mess! Every-

thing is coated in mud except for the semicircle of clear

glass left by the windshield wiper.

Being a man of neat habits who takes pride in the

appearance of his truck, he fishes out a rag and a duster

and sets about cleaning things up a bit. He has neither

the time nor the facilities to get rid of all the mud, so he

concentrates on the important parts. Carefully he wipes

the front and rear number-plates clean, then the wind-

shield. After that he cleans the accessories of which he is

most proud — the truck decorations.

Like every truck in the land, and almost every mini-

bus and 'look-took' or mini-taxi too, this truck is profusely

decorated in designs of the driver's own choice. A long-

distance truck driver's job is a tiring and unrelenting

one, and most Thai truck owners feel the least they can

do is let their drivers choose their own truck decorations

to travel around the country with! Like most truck

drivers, this particular man loves bright colors; he is also

a sincere Buddhist, and he loves the quiet farm where he

grew up. He has never seen the sea, since his journeys

never take him south of Bangkok, but he hopes to do so

one day.

All these facets of his life gradually emerge as he

wipes the mud off his truck decorations. The front of the

overhanging cab roof has an elaborate stainless-steel

image of the Buddha in the centre. Vivid colored angels,

hands clasped in homage, also decorate the front.

The truck's wooden sides are covered with a variety

of other decorations, in polished chrome steel and in

colors. There are long metal panels painted with fantasy

seascapes: a beach with a nipa-thatched sun-shelter,

birds in the sky, distant mountainous islands, a huge

orange setting sun; a couple of white rabbits frolicking in

a field with flowers near the seashore; a monkey leaning

against a palm tree drinking whisky from a bamboo

container or 'grabork', with pink lotus-blooms floating on

the sea beyond. There are legendary gods and goddesses;

fish, dragons, a war-chariot with teams of horses driven

by a monkey; the Royal Barge. The rear end of the truck

is decorated with the scenes this driver loves best — a

thatched house on stilts in a romantic countryside

setting, a lotus-pool, and a rice-boat.

The oldest-established centers for ten-wheel truck

decorating are at Chonburi between Bangkok and

Pattaya, and Ban Pong in Ratchaburi Province which is

well known for producing a fine job. There are also two

popular centers in Bangkok. Originally sheet iron was

used, but this has now been replaced by the cheaper and

more malleable stainless steel. For bas-reliefs, the sheets

are hammered on a wooden mold. For painted designs

the surface is first roughened so that the paint will "take",

and ordinary oil paints are used. Full decoration of a ten-

takes a month to complete two trucks. The newer trucks,

however, are no longer made of wood, so the sides are

not decorated. Prices are lower for individual designs: a

Truck decoration has been popular for over twenty

years, but is on the wane now that people are becoming

more economy-minded. But these vivid and picturesque

vehicle decorations can still be seen on every street and

road in Thailand. They are a reminder of earlier times

when Thailand's only means of transport was by water.

With the gradual increase in road transport, the tradi-

tion of decorating spread from boats to trucks as well.

Traditionally, only royal boats were fully decorated,

dating from as far back as the Ayudhaya period. The

prows portrayed mythical Thai animals such as the

'hongsa' or swan, Phya Nahk or the serpent, and dragons,

richly decorated with lacquer, gold and fragments of

colored glass. The sides and stern were also decorated.

Gradually the idea of boat decoration spread from

royalty to the public, mainly for one of Thailand's most

popular upcountry sports — boat racing, accompanied

by special songs which even have their own verse forms.

Boat races between different villages or districts have long

been held all over the country, usually in October. The

village long-boats or 'reua yao', made from special tree-

green, pink and yellow cloth and with jasmine garlands,

lotus blooms, joss-sticks and candles.

In the south of Thailand, where men spend much of

their lives fishing, boat decorations have traditionally

been much more vivid; the craft are decorated all over in

brilliant colors with designs mainly from the Ranvikien

Narathiwat in the far south, the local boat races have

been revived on a province-wide scale as a demonstra-

tion for Their Majesties the King and Queen during their

annual visit to the south. The ordinary local fishing craft

are used, and the mass of colored boats make a rich and

beautiful sight.

But with the increasing cost of living, those who

paint the southern fishing boats so beautifully have now

had to supplement their incomes by making model 'kor