Bangkok Temples

Largest reclining Buddha in Thailand - Wat Pho

Lotus, the beginning of one, and the end of another

There are countless temples in Bangkok, but the most famous ones have to be Wat Pho and Wat Prakaew where the Emerald Buddha and the Royal Palace reside.


Between the two, I much prefer Wat Pho where you can actually find some peace and quiet in one of the remote courtyards. More importantly, it is also the place to get the best Traditional Thai massage of your life, or at least I did!


Wat Prakaew is gorgeously adorned, with gold, ceremics, giants and of course the infamous emerald buddha (that is actually made of jade). But you risk being amongst hundreds of tourists, and being in other people's pictures, or having them in yours.

Ayuttaya

Meditating Thai Dog

If you would like to get a glimpse of Thai civilization before what Bangkok is today, Ayuttaya is a good start.  Just about 80 kilometers north of Bangkok, Ayuttaya was the former capital city of what was then Siam.  Many Thai-Burmese wars occurred here in the 14th and 15th centuries, on elephants, no less. Temples and palaces were burned and buddhas and other valuables stolen... The remnants of that time reveal the prosperity and importance of Buddhism in this country.

Our friends Case and Maude were visiting for a few days after Christmas, so we had a good excuse to go there for a day excursion. The kids did not quite get what we were up to, but they were happy to get to ride more elephants at the end of the day!  

Saraburi

Sometimes I feel like Bangkok is its own country, and then there is the rest of Thailand. It takes a while to get out of this huge, congested city... But once you do get out, there is still nature, and space, and fresh air...

Tropical Scenes

Rayong is a little over an hour further east from Pattaya, but the peace and beauty there is worth the extra drive. For some reason, our family is not used to vacationing here in the past. After a few days of glorious beach and sun and seafood, we are sure to return!

Tropical Fun

We are not in California anymore

We are warm, dry, and safe in the land of the Smiles (with a new Priminister!).

In a few days...

We will be here...

It's been a while... I will look forward to seeing a peaceful country with peaceful people!

Winter Sunset and Long Live the King

Tomorrow, December 5, is the King of Thailand's birthday. Exactly a year ago, I was lucky to be in the same building where His Majesty was born 81 years ago. Now, I am sending good thoughts to His Majesty who is recovering from an illness.

Long Live the King! And also, Happy Father's Day to my very own father!

Turning Five

The Majestic Albatross

One of the amazing creatures we saw today... a relative of a seahorse, but much more fancy

They did it. They turned five today!

Even though the world seems to be in turmoil (including my native land -- can't everyone just try to get along? And please open up the airports again so that we can visit and others can go home!), our little family can still find happiness.

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium today to celebrate the occasion, perfect place for a rainy birthday like today. We got lucky and saw a real albatross presentation (and no, it's not just a big seagull). I will bet that the Wright brothers got their idea from these amazing birds. We of course saw countless numbers of amazing sea creatures that I never thought existed...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. May everyone find something to be thankful for, despite what is going on around the world, economically, or otherwise.

We sure are thankful that we have two wonderful, healthy, happy children to call our own! Happy Birthday to you, our dear ones.

Birthday Art

Claire's house

Momo's Ocean

The kids had their first official birthday party today. They will not turn five until Wednesday, but today was their day to celebrate with some of their school friends.

We chose to go to Blue Apple Studios to create some art before devouring in cupcakes! The kids had a great time, and all created masterpieces that I hope they will cherish for a long time!

Thanks, Cayce, for a great time!

One More

We couldn't resist another warm day at the beach!

Another Day at Home...with a friend

Not just any friend...her name is Princess! And no, she is not ours...

Warm November Day

We don't forget that we are lucky, in more ways than one. For one,we live in a place where it can be 80 degrees in mid November, and it happens to be by the beach. Add young children and low tide, and you get the best day on earth!

The day started out with Claire trying out a new Ballet class. We showed up surprised to learn that the class this morning was Ballet II, for children between 6-12 years old. Our little girl was barely half the size as the other students, but she stood right there with them, at the barre doing plies, as well as leaping across the floor. We were proud of her!

We also went swimming in a heated pool, though they didn't need to really heat it today since the air was so warm it felt like we could have been in Thailand!

The best part of the day, arguably, was the beach. The low tide, the warm sun, the crisp clear blue sky, made all the beach goers so giddy it was palpable.

We said goodbye to the big orange sun as it disappeared from the horizon. What a lovely day this was!