Catholic Mass, Thai style

Three weeks ago I attended a church service for the first time in Thailand. The only other time I had attended a mass while traveling had been at St Thomas in Chennai last June. I had heard there were a couple in the area here in Rayong but hadn't found any English masses or spent much time looking, to be perfectly honest. About a month ago though, my coworker Richard found that there was an English mass at a catholic church just down the road. Tonight I attended my second service.

The church is nice but definitely different. There are few churches (at least that I've been to) that have doors that fully cover the sides of the church. During mass they are wide open, giving a much different feel to the church as well as a nice breeze. I have never been to a mass where birds flew straight across the pews throughout the mass. You also take your shoes off at the entrance. This is done at all Buddhist temples in the country, so I'm assuming that carried over to church. Also, when you give peace to those around you no one shakes hands. This took me by surprise the first time. Everyone just stands there with their hands together and bows slightly in all directions to the people around them. Other than that, it was a very nice service with the priests speaking in understandable English. Here's the church from the back: