45. What about harvesting rice?
The farmers begin their work as early as 5 a.m. Breakfast may consist of curry, namprik, vegetables and rice. Then the whole family gathers in the rice fields, tilling the soil or sowing the rice, often working until nightfall, then taking the water buffalo home, cooking and sleeping. “It’s an endless cycle dictated by the rains and by the sun, oblivious to events in the outside world. When harvesting is finished, planting begins anew, and the rains once more begin. That it has been for centuries, thus it will remain.” (Davies 1993 : 136)