The Last of Thailand

Here are the last pictures from Thailand. I haven't put them chronologically, but I hope you'll forgive me. Maybe for the next vacation.

Fire dancers

We watched fire dancers for our first night on the beach. There were mats laid on the sand with music playing. People came and went as they pleased. I love this picture because you can see the soot marks on his shoulders and clothes. These guys were a little crazy with the fire.

In the video, you'll see a dog wandering around. There are dogs like this all over the island. Some are strays and some are pets. It was a little freaky because they were everywhere and we were really afraid of rabies and other pet diseases. There was one that was terrifying that followed us for a while. His fur had all fallen out and his skin was covered with white scabs. He was begging for food. We didn't really want him around! Some of the dogs, like the one in the video, were o.k., though.

We went to a local Thai branch for church on Sunday. People were so welcoming. It was all in Thai, so we didn't understand anything, but one of the missionaries translated for us. You know, it felt just the same as in China or in the U.S. or in Europe. The same people (some humble, some wealthy, some a little crazy, some fun) are all over the world. And most of all, the same spirit is there, no matter what language.


Jim Thompson's houseJim Thompson was an American who came to Thailand as an expat some time after WWII. He saw the beauty of Thai silk and decided to export it. He built a fortune living in Thailand and selling the silk overseas. One day, he went wandering in the jungle and was never heard from again. No body, no stories. Nothing. But his house is still there. And while he was alive, he filled it with one of the best collections of Asian art in the world. He has pieces dating from the 6th century B.C. (As you will soon see). If you visit Bangkok, visit this place.

This is his living room. He took traditional Thai architecture and art and mixed it with European styles.
And this picture, I had Matt take while we were waiting for our tour. When I was in Europe, I took a lot of pictures with statues. It was kind of my fun thing to do. So, when I saw this figure without a head, I had Matt take a picture. Later, in the tour, I found out it was a 6th Century B.C. Buddha. The head had been removed during one of Thailand's wars. I didn't realize I was desecrating religion and history simultaneously! So sorry!

But, just to let you know, I don't think I even touched the statue when I took the picture.


We passed this little rug shop on the way back to the hotel from Jim Thompson's house. It was full of Pakistani rugs. They were so beautiful I just had to go in the shop. I really wanted to buy one, but Matt was the voice of reason. (Where would it fit in our luggage and our budget?!) *sigh* He was right, but sometimes I wish I could go back and get one. Next time.


The Grand Palace is truly amazing. We were dazzled by all of the glitz. I have been to a lot of places in the world, and this is one of the most amazing. The amount of shining glass is not to be believed. It was a clear day with blue sky and the buildings almost matched the brightness of the sun.
We couldn't take pictures inside this part of the palace, so this is the gilded outside of the temple looking into the Emerald Buddha (which is really jade). You can kind of see it at the very top, middle of the picture. The Emperor of Thailand changes the Buddha's clothes to reflect the season. It is one of the most holy (if not the most holy) places in Thailand.



These two pictures (above and below) are of a building that is completely covered in millions of mirrored gold glass pieces. It is amazing. The sunshine reflecting off the surface was blinding. Sam has my sunglasses on. We all needed them!

This building is covered millions of different colored pieces of mirrored glass. I can't imagine how many people it took to do this. The whole building is covered in intricate designs.


And, in the middle of all the gilded glory, there was a pot with a lotus flower covered with bees. I thought of the scripture: "Consider the lilies of the field."

Sam loves this picture of him running away from the figure at the Grand Palace. He came up with the pose himself. The figures really look frightening, but I think they are just supposed to guard the palace from evil, not 8 year old boys.


I call these Dr. Seuss trees.



We were walking to another part of the temple when someone stopped and asked if we wanted to visit a monk. Sure, of course, we said. We were shown in to this room. The monk, to our surprise, began to bless us. They asked Matt and Sam to hold their hands in this prayer position and then the monk said prayers while sprinkling them with water. You can see the look on Matt's face a little. He's expecting another face full of water. We didn't know when we agreed to see the monk that we would have to pay for the blessing. But, alas, we were asked to put money in the monk's basket. I hope we put enough to earn our blessing!

After our blessing, we all got these our our wrists. I think it shows that we are protected by the monk's blessing.


I love how these Buddhas are all in a row. It is so peaceful.




The two pictures above show Wat Pho (a.k.a. the big Buddha) in Bangkok. It's something like 46 meters long and 15 meters high. Cameras really don't capture the size. On the bottom of it's feet were hundreds of mother of pearl inlaid pictures. This is considered a very holy place.


A view from the Chao Praya River. This is the main river that runs through Bangkok. It is really muddy but it is how many people travel through the city. It's quite cheap and fun. These are people's houses.


Riding on the back of the truck on the way back to Bangkok. It was really fun to get around this way. Not safe, but fun.


This is the biggest gecko I have ever seen! He graced our bungalow our first night. And, yes, our bungalow was called the Lucky House. How apropos.


The beautiful beach where we spent most of our time. I could kick myself for not getting pictures of us at the beach, snorkeling. But the camera was in the bungalow and we were having too much fun. So, the memories will just have to be in our hearts. We took this picture in the truck on the way back to the mainland.


Sam on the beach. We ate at this restaurant for every meal. They had amazing food: hand-squeezed orange juice and pineapple for breakfast, hamburgers for lunch, Thai chicken shish-ka-bobs for dinner.

Sam and Matt didn't put enough sun screen on. They both ended up with pretty bad sunburns. I (ironically--because I always get the sunburn with my fair skin) didn't get a sunburn. I am so paranoid of the sun that I put on sun screen and wore cover-ups all the time. Just look at Sam's face that says, "Ouch!"

The ladies at the restaurant loved Sam and were nice enough to give us an aloe clipping so I could put it on his sunburn. Next time I'm going to be just as paranoid for Sam and Matt as I was for myself. No sunburns for any of us!