Hiking and Travel Photos: 2020

Photos from my hike to The Wave in Coyote Buttes North in the Paria Canyon / Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area in October 2020.

Click on a photo for a larger view.

My hike started well before October.
I applied for a permit in the online lottery in July.
My permit arrived the first week of September.

The materials sent with the permit included a description of how to hike
to The Wave along with photos for reference.

I spent the night before the hike at the Stateline Campground.
The campground's claim to fame is that it is the northern terminus of the Arizona Trail.

View of the campground area from a short ways up the Arizona Trail.

The scenery on the hike to The Wave is as impressive as The Wave itself.

This is the "Mini Wave". It is just before The Wave.

The entrance to The Wave.

The pictures that follow are all at The Wave and immediate surrounding area.

The look at the route back to the trailhead from The Wave.

I created videos show the route to and from the wave:

Pictures and narratives from my trip to the Thailand in January 2020.

All photos with depictions of Buddha are presented in respect.

Click a photo for a larger view.

This blog post should be titled December 2019 / January 2020 because I arrived in Thailand on New Year's Eve and made it to Chiang Mai in time to participate in the lantern lighting at Tha Phae Gate (the east entrance to the old city).

There were thousands of people in the areas around the old city in Chiang Mai on New Year's Eve. This picture is at Tha Phae Gate. The ground is covered with candles that spell out various messages (like Happy New Year).

As the night went on, more and more lanterns filled the sky.

It was a moving spectacle in more ways than one.

I posted a video of the lanterns including a lantern that I released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbNeANoCNuw

Despite Thailand being predominantly Buddhist,

there were many references and decorations related to Christmas.

This three-story Christmas tree was in a mall in Chiang Mai.

Street decorations in Chiang Mai.

Thailand is filled with beautiful Buddhist temples.

One of the many temple buildings at Wat Ban Den north of Chiang Mai

Reclining Buddha at Wat Ban Den

Wat Ban Den

An important part of a visit to a Buddhist temple is to "make merit". At some temples, there are prepared packages of various goods that the monks need. These packages can be 'purchased' for any donation and offered to the monks.

The above photo is an offering from myself and my friend. My friend made the offering to the monk while I stayed near the back of the offering area. The monk noticed that there were two names on the paper attached to the merit offering - one written in English and one in Thai. In Thai, the monk asked my friend where the other person was (referring to me). The monk then looked at me and in perfect English asked me to come closer. He then blessed me in English and sprinkled blessed water on me.

The gold plated chedi at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

Some things in life are worth doing twice.

On my first visit to Thailand in 2019 I traveled to Phuket. I went back and once again visited Phang Nga Bay. Truly one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Koh Tapu (aka James Bond Island)

View from the canoe at Koh Phanak

This picture and the one below are of the same spot at Koh Phanak

The macaques are pretty well camouflaged at a distance.

Phang Nga Bay

Wat Chalong in Phuket

This enormous statue of Buddha is on a mountain overlooking Phuket.
This is most commonly known as "Big Buddha".

The view at Big Buddha

About an hour's drive north of Bangkok is Ayutthaya. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam (Ayutthaya Kingdom) and has historical sites of city and temple ruins.

Wat Yai Chaimongkol in Ayutthaya

At Wat Yai Chaimongkol

At Wat Maha That

At Wat Maha That

At Wat Maha That

At Wat Maha That there is a stone sculpture of a Buddha head in a Banyan tree.
It is a popular photo spot.

So few people take a picture of the back of the tree.

If you climb the steps and go inside Wat Yai Chaimongkol, there is a place where you can drop a coin a few stories into a bucket waiting below. It is said to be good luck if the coin goes in the bucket. I dropped one coin and it landed in the bucket. My friend looked at me in semi-astonishment. I attribute my luck in hitting the bucket as function of having long enough arms to reach the center of the opening to make my drop.

Bangkok is home to the world's largest weekend market - Chatuchak Weekend Market.

Over 15,000 vendor stalls.

At Chatuchak market

There was a vendor hand painting shoes at Chatuchak market

This is in China Town in Bangkok.
With the exception of some packaged noodles on the far right side of the photo, these are all fungi (mushrooms). I did not get any.