Spirit Houses:

Every good Buddhist home in Thailand has one or more spirit houses, where the spirits reside. Not sure if these spirits are previous occupants who have passed onto to the next dimension or--more likely--ancestor spirits of the families who live there.

Our home base has two such houses and may even have more. None of us have really walked around the property to check since we were warned about the cobra that lives somewhere in the front yard. And last year, a python supposedly took up residence among the banana trees. (I keep wondering if staff members are just putting one over on us, especially since a couple of the volunteers are still jumping whenever they see a gecko.)

Offerings are placed at the spirit houses four times per month, full moon, new moon and twice in between. Even the poorest homes have comparatively elaborate spirit houses.