Travel Blog

Rocking a scooter helmet and folding bike (single-speed)! I think I look like pretty cool riding down the road to the market like this! Water monitor lizard right in the middle of the city!  Do they bite? I'm told "no" but would prefer not to find out. This was was three to four feet long There are several canals within the city of Bangkok so these guys pop up once in a while. I was impressed with the two guys who caught it using an umbrella and traffic cone, and then picked it up and carried it back to the canal very gently. Don't step on the toilet seat! Many areas of the world, including Thailand, use squatting toilets and some people may have not encountered a "western-style" toilet; in the past I have seen footprints on toilet seats. When in a Buddhist country, design your church to look like a temple! It's not an uncommon sight to see a church in this way, but it is always interesting to me to see how something so familiar as a church can take on t...

"Wat Lan Boon Mahawihan Somdet Phra Buddhacharn". Sponsored by a Thai actor who recently passed away , and the site of several films. There are  over 30,000 (active) temples  in Thailand, so I have some work to do. Covid remains a concern and many people wear masks in public, even outside. Rice growing season! I'm glad I can fall back on working in the rice fields. Me and Pishcha's mother weeding one of the fields. Despite having caffeine withdrawals and eating too much durian , it was quite a peaceful afternoon! Minions!  Temple #2 for the week. Giant Buddha over a temple below. The "sugar apple". Yet another fruit I've never heard of! About the size of my fist. Per Wikipedia, it's native to tropical America, brought to Asia by Spanish traders. Interestingly, the Thai Government has  published standards  for its cultivation and shipping to "gain recognition in domestic and international trade". In northern Thailand it grows in peoples'...

  Eating beef and noodles at 40k feet. I've now crossed the Pacific eleven times. Is that too much? Not enough? Just right? I don't know, but I recommend it if that's where you want to put your resources. Be sure to practice sitting for 11-13. I'm glad I made it in time for this flight; Delta's list of entry requirements to Thailand was not up to date and I was held up in MSP to confirm that I had all the necessary entry documents (which I did); I actually had to show them the US and Thai government websites to help convince the attendant, which I thought was funny. I'm told that airlines get a fine if they allow a passenger to travel without all the necessary documents. They check each passenger's documents before departure to make sure they don't get stranded in a foreign country.  Flying over Washington State is beautiful. It's beautiful from above and a shame not to walk it! I love Minnesota's flats, but it will be great to trek in those moun...