Last night in Bangkok- Chinatown

Street vendor cooking my Pad Thai

Back to Cirebon!  Thailand is a beautiful country with wonderful sights and great people and I would love to go back.

Wat Pho

The courtyards at Wat Pho Temple are some comical looking Chinese statutes that were once uses as ballasts on ships and 91 chedis (or stupas) decorated in ceramic pottery flowers and colourful tiles.

Wat Pho- Temple of Reclining Buddha

Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha), or Wat Phra Chetuphon, is one of the largest temple complexes in the city and famed for its giant reclining Buddha that measures 46 meters long (about 151 feet) and 15 meters tall (about 49 feet)  and is covered in gold leaf The Buddha's feet are 5 meters

long  (16.5 feet long) and exquisitely decorated in mother-of-pearl illustrations of auspicious 'laksanas' (characteristics) of the Buddha. 108 is a significant number, referring to the 108 positive actions and symbols that helped lead Buddha to perfection. Unfortunately the feet were under renovation so I didn't get to see the illustrations.

The garden area of the Jim Thompson house and museum

The garden has been significantly reduced since Jim Thompson's time, but there is still enough property to successfully shut out the city. There are rain forest trees that grow white tall.  Below them are palms and flowering bananas.  Hugging the ground are dense plantings of tropical ornamentals.

Silk worm demonstration at the Jim Thompson house

Wild silkworms all make yellow silk, to blend in with dead leaves.

One cocoon is made of a single thread about 914 meters long, or 1/2 mile long.

 This young man is soaking the cocoons so they can release the silk thread.

Jim Thompson House

James Harrison Wilson "Jim" Thompson, was an American businessman who helped revitalise the Thai silk industry in the 1950s and 1960s. He was born in Greenville, Delaware and made Thailand his home.  The house is actually 6 houses combined, with many priceless Asian sculptures and tapestries adorning it.  His Chinese horoscope had foretold that he would encounter trouble when he was 61.  As he took a walk near the Malaysian home of a friend he disappeared- no trace of him has ever been found.

Beautiful building along Bangkok's river

Views from Bangkok's River commuter boat

Chao Phraya River Express Boat

The orange line is the best of the water boats that go along Bangkok's river.  For 15 baht or about 45 cents we were able to glide up the river for an hour and see some of Bangkok's spectacular buildings, both old and new.

Ah, the life

From a delightful pastry shop with macaroons and french pressed coffee and a mai tai at the rooftop restaurant - I basked in the glory of it.  For 24 hours - then we had to change hotels.  But it was worth it!

from the jungles near Chiang Mai to five star luxury in Bangkok

The bed was turned down, slippers placed along side the bed, and the pillows were as soft as clouds

View from my window on the 26th floor.

Regina was able to secure a great deal in one of Bangkok's premier luxury hotels - Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. This is the life I could easily become accustomed to!

Wood, marble, and all these fresh cut flowers great you as you walk in

Chiang Mai - school time

After a great cup of coffee at a lovely cafe I started back to the hotel so I could fly to Bangkok.  It was time for students to arrive at school, so I was able to see different school uniforms, see students playing volleyball and the last two pictures are of the school band.  The school allowed me access into the the school yard so I could take the pictures of the band members. 

Interesting signs and view in Chiang Mai

Early morning Chiang Mai walk

Chiang Mai temples

One of the approximately 120 temples in Chaing Mai

The Temple of the Fortified City (Wat Chiang Man): This temple is the oldest in Chiang Maiand was built shortly after the city’s founding in 1296.  Although not very photogenic, the Temple has a rich history as it was built on the same spot King Mengrai lived while he had Chiang Mai built. 

Tai Chi early in the central square

The instructor

3 Kings Monument: Sitting in the middle of a large courtyard, the Three Kings Monument has a large bronze statue of King Mengrai (the founder of Chiang Mai) and his two friends, King Ramkamhaeng of Sukothai and King Ngam Muang of Payao. The three of them worked together in the late 1200's to design and build Chiang Mai. Residents treat the Monument as a shrine for the three men and replicas of it can be found throughout the city.  

Tai chi is a type of low-impact, weight-bearing, and aerobic -- yet relaxing - exercise that began as a martial art.  Practiced in a variety of styles, tai chi involves slow, gentle movements, deep breathing, and meditation. The meditation is sometimes called "moving meditation."

Last morning in Chiang Mai

 I hadn't seen too many temples (and Thailand has over 40,000 temples) so I got up at 5:30 to walk around the old city.  Many of the temples are open at 6:00 a.m. and I needed to be ready by 9:00 to catch a flight to Bangkok.  It was only the monks and I as well as a few street vendors setting up for the morning.  It was relatively cool and quite serene.

The young monks, mainly 8-20 years old, walk through with brass bowls collecting Alms as Merits that range from money, to fruits, and many other goods.  Collecting the Alms as Merits is believed to lead to a better next life or to lessen the number of times the Monks must be reincarnated before reaching lightened nirvana.