Bangkok River Ride & Flower Market

On Monday Heidi took me to Bangkok via a river boat.

At 10 days into my trip, my impressions of the Thai people have been overwhelmingly positive. They're happy, welcoming, warm, helpful, and did I mention happy? I've traveled many places where the locals seemed less than thrilled to have tourists and other foreigners around. I've even been made to feel unwelcome by locals in my own town.
Not the Thais though. Whether they be neighbors, street vendors, our driver, the lady lady giving me a pedicure, or the random strangers we pass on the street. Everyone is friendly.

However, they have no problem littering. So that made the river ride a bit depressing. The various bits of garbage floating in the water surprised me... like, how do barbie dolls and broken dog food bowls even find their way in there? Almost seems like it'd be easier to drop it in a public trash bin. But, it is what it is... and aside from the trash, this is a great place.

Our ride:




Heidi on the ride:




Some of the sights along our way to Bangkok:















Now, for some of Bangkok:



This blurry picture sums up Thailand pretty well. Thais zooming by on motorcycles, and a "peace to all who enter here" sign with monks strolling past.




The Thai people genuinely love and respect their royalty. Pictures of their king and queen can be found everywhere, though most often displayed in elaborate shrines outside of major businesses.
This tattered photograph, however, had been adhered to a dark and dirty alley's wall with masking tape. While Thailand does have its problems, a secluded picture of royalty would have been defamed if it was anywhere else in the world.



The highlight of my day? Visiting the Little India area of town and eating some WONDERFUL food:




Oh, and forget about to-go boxes. Chicken? Pepsi? There's a bag for that.



After dinner we took a took-took(?Took-toot? I'll have to clarify with Heidi on the spelling/pronunciation) to the flower market. That little thing was wild.







(I love their HOT PINK Taxis here!)


Me in the crazy vehicle:






Aaaaand we arrived at the flower market unscathed:





The flowers were SO beautiful! I couldn't get over ALL THAT COLOR!






















Hmmm I wonder if I can talk Donald into applying for an embassy job here. ;-)

Hup Two Three Four!

Keep it up, two, three, four!





The same day we visited the monkey temple, we also spent some time with elephants.

ELEPHANTS!

Big animals have a special place in my heart (which might explain why we have such large dogs), and I would gladly raise a baby elephant in my back yard if the home owners association allowed it.






Look at his cute little tongue! :



Heidi was so cute feeding him!




Then I fed some of the big boys:




And then I RODE ONE!









Now, I felt a little bad after finishing the elephant ride. Surely, these sweet guys would be happier in the wild...

And then I realized that this is Thai culture. Elephants are a HUGE part of their national identity, and always have been.

It was fun, plain and simple. I loved every second of it, especially my time with the wittle baby elephant.

I can't believe I've already been here 6 days. Only one week left in this beautiful place!

Monkeys Everywhere! (Thailand)

Ya'll know how much I love critters, and yesterday was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. I played with monkeys!

Heidi and I went to an old Buddhist temple where the monkeys have taken over, and it was AWESOME. They roam free, doing whatever the flip they want!

Not the best picture, but here's one little guy jumping onto me:

And another, while climbing up me:

The monkeys were all so cute. You could find them doing the silliest things, and sleeping in the most random places. :-)

Evidence of their distinct personalities:

More of me with the monkeys:

See the little turd with me here? The fat monkey who already has a piece of corn cob in his mouth?

...yeah, he border-line attacked me! He jumped on me and stole the bag with remaining cob in it, right out of my hand!

And here the filthy bugger is, enjoying his spoils:

As you can see, the monkeys own the town:

Not only were the monkeys a blast, but the temple was stunningly beautiful.

There's a certain magic about old buildings that we just don't get in the Unites States, where we're sadly lacking in architectural evidence of ancient history. Sometimes it seems like the West Coast suddenly sprang into existence 150 years ago. It's one thing I've really missed since moving back from Germany, and I'm definitely enjoying it again in the old Thai structures here.

In conclusion: