Thailand January 2020

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

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.

Fresh chicken - really fresh

Some pictures of the flora along the way

I had to ask what this was.

This is สาละลังกา (Sala Langka)

No trip to Thailand would be complete without sampling the food.

Wrapped in the thin egg wrapper are Thai Korat noodles. So good.

I have not figured out exactly how these are prepared, but fried chicken in Thailand is so good.

This ranks in my top five meals of all time.  
The flavors in the seafood mixture were incredible.

This had a pretty good kick.

My breakfast (below) was prepared by this lady at a stall in an alley.
I think it was 80 baht. ($2.50 USD)

Pork, rice, morning glory and duck eggs.

Thailand is definitely the place to visit if you want to eat something a little different.

Philippines and South Korea

Pictures and narratives from my trip to the Philippines with a quick stop in South Korea

Click a photo for a larger view.

In 2017 I posted a picture of a large cube on Facebook as a clue as to where I was located on my birthday.  I did not end up posting this picture on Facebook as I had trouble maintaining a VPN connection while in the Philippines - but my intent was to post a picture of another cube on my birthday.  So - here is the cube.  :-)  

View of the countryside in Cebu

There are coconut trees everywhere. 

They are so abundant that I cannot imagine a person paying for a coconut if they live outside of the city.

The Chocolate Hills in Bohol

There are 214 steps that take you up to a viewing platform at the Chocolate Hills near Carmen, Bohol.

Bats in Bohol.   These are one of the world's largest species of bats. 

They are known as giant golden-crowned flying fox or golden-capped fruit bat.

I have only seen one other bat in my life that came anywhere near the size of these bats.

This is on the road near Clarin, Bohol. 

There is a bit of history surrounding this checkpoint.

Tumalog Falls near Oslob, Cebu.

This lady was cleaning the pool of water at the bottom of Tumalog Falls. 

She started laughing when I told her I wanted to take her picture.

People where extraordinarily friendly and had a great sense of humor.

Magellan's Cross.

The original cross planted by Ferdinand Magellan on April 21, 1521 is encased in this cross.

Cannon at Fort San Pedro

Snacks are referred to as "delicacies".   Really.

This is at Taboan Public Market.

I went on a self-guided foot tour of Cebu City and came across this market.  There were no other foreigners at this market and definitely no westerners.  I got a lot of looks here - but people were friendly and had big smiles for the camera.

Taboan Public Market

Dried fish is a big deal in the Philippines.

I was impressed by the symmetry of how this lady arranged the dried fish.

Taboan Public Market

One of the meat counters at Taboan Public Market.

Taboan Public Market.

The influence of Spain and the Catholic Church is very apparent in the Philippines.

Many towns celebrate "Fiesta" to honor their patron saint.

There were road closures and people and vendors in the streets of some of the towns I passed through - all celebrating their Fiesta.

Simala Church

Prayer candles in Simala Church.

Each color represents a different symbol/meaning.

(Red is love, Green is prosperity, White is purity, Gold is healing....)

Sunrise on the Bohol Sea near Oslob.

Whale shark feeding at the surface.

One of the giant hands at Sirao Garden

Temple of Leah near Cebu City.

This was built by a private citizen as a tribute to his wife of 53 years.

There are several American retail stores and franchises in the Philippines.

This is truly the one and only sign that I saw in the Philippines that was not in English.

In case you are wondering....  This sign is at a pay toilet (aka comfort room).  Three (3) pesos if you need to go pee and five (5) pesos if you need to ....  defecate.  The literal translation if the sign is urine and "poop".   I did not have to ask.  It was strangely self explanatory. 

South Korea

This is inside the airport at Incheon 

This is an extremely modern airport.  Well organized and clean with cultural exhibits and demonstrations.   If you are on a long layover, there is a FREE tour that you can take from the airport to a number of attractions in the Seoul / Incheon area.  It was raining while I was there, so I took a tour that included a cave.  :-)

Housing

Inside Gwangmyeong Cave.  

This is a former mining cave that was been turned into an underground theme park.

It was Korea's Independence Day (August 15) on the day that I visited, so many people were off work and the cave was busy.

Lots of umbrella's.  The tour guide was a bit surprised that I declined to use an umbrella. 

I explained to him that I live in a desert climate and it rarely rains.  The rain felt good.