Monday Funday

Monday was Makha Bucha Day, one of the four annual religious holidays in Thailand. For me it means no work! Andy, Brian and I took advantage of having a day off together to check out some Bangkok sites.

A rare moment caught on camera- a quiet sky train (which lasted one whole minute).

Waiting to start our tour at the Jim Thompson House, a museum in the heart of the city.
Thompson was an American who fell in love with Thailand after being sent here with the U.S. Army during World War II. After leaving the service, he moved here to live permanently. At that time, hand weaving of silk was a dying craft. It was Thompson who devoted himself to revive the industry. He helped give Thai silk the worldwide recognition it is known for today. The museum is where Thompson lived. He had a total of six teak houses on the property, which are full of rare Asian collectibles. Many of the Buddhist statues he had on display are missing body parts like a head or arm. In 1967, Jim Thompson disappeared while on a visit to the highlands of Malaysia. No one knows what happened to him. Not a single trace of him was found. Some people believe he was cursed for having broken statues in his house.

Silk cocoons.
 

 

The gardens on the property are a little oasis tucked away in the giant concrete city.

One of the coolest flowers I have ever seen.
 

After feeling like we successfully learned about the history of the Thai silk industry, we took a little walk to a nearby mall.
So many interesting things to see on the way. Like buttered white bread for sale.

 

And a shoe maker fixing a pair of fake TOMS.

The mall we ended up at was pretty state of the art, and fun to walk around in.
We saw a giant wooden horse on sale for $5,000.

And the inside of an escalator.

And a random room with string hanging everywhere.

And comfy sitting areas.

I can't forget about the segway security personnel.

And the end of our day, I enjoyed coming home to some more pretty orchids.

Breathing Easy

Back from a long weekend getaway with some friends.

Four of us rented a car, and cruised 3 hours west of Bangkok to the town of Kanchanaburi, in the province of Kanchanaburi near the Burma boarder. We stayed at a resort just outside the town, in this cute two bedroom 'cabin'.

It was nice to escape the city, even just for a few days. Breathing fresh air again is always a wonderful feeling.

Our resort was right on the famous River Kwai (which I kayaked down again).

The resort really reminded me of the lake- complete with old bicycles to cruise around in, playgrounds, and wildlife.

Flowers adorned the fronts of vehicles. A blessing for the new Chinese year.

As usual, we ate a ton of delicious food.
Pictured here is a traditional Issan (a region in northeastern thailand) dish.

The bridge over the River Kwai.

Advertising for the local zoo.
The leopard was real, and very overheated.



A crazy looking iguana roaming the streets.

I couldn't stop staring.

We went to one of the two war museums.

 

I saw one of the biggest trees I have ever laid eyes on.

Saw crops of all kinds.

Sugarcane.

 

Sheep at our resort. A bit random, but cute.

 

We went to an old Khmer temple. It was not as grand as the temples at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but still quite amazing to see. Right in Thailand nonetheless.
Since we have Thai work permits, we got in for 60% less than what foreigners usually pay. The bonuses of working here.

On the temple grounds, human remains. It was quite surreal.

Had to watch out for crossing goats.

 

We also checked out a Thai temple up in the caves.

 

The last interesting thing we saw was a nun meditating in water. Something I never imagined I would see.



And to end the trip- throw a coin in the Buddha belly button for good luck.