Fetishes by the Ocean

Groggily riding my bike along the ocean-front road today I noticed someone had put a beautiful fan of red coral in the spirit house set up in front of the beach. Spirit houses cover the entire country, most houses and plots of lands here in Thailand have them. This particular one was probably set up after the tsunami to placate the sprits that, in the minds of some, probably caused the destroying wave to come. It is a bit like a small shack on stilts, with a Chinese idol inside, along with incense and food offerings. Down the sand bank a bit is another offering, plastic grocery bags full of now rotted rice hung on poles.
Across the road, tall poles topped with coconut and seed decorations are used to fly strips of white cloth, another fetish, this one probably from the nearby Sea-Gypsy village.
In placating the spirits, they hope there will never be another tsunami disaster.