Thailand 2010?

Greetings from the Bangkok International Airport! Due to an unexpectedly long layover, we have brought one last blog post. Sadly, we are leaving Thailand, and cannot believe that a month went so fast. On our last day at the Day Care Center, we decided to bring snacks for the 130 children that attend there and have a little party. It proved to be a great success.

Serving the donuts to the kids one by one. They each individually thanked us.

One of our favorites.

The midgets.

Post-donut pass out.

I already miss the kids so much. Sometimes, we would see the kids out at the grocery store with their parents, and the kids would recognize us and wave, much to their parents' confusion. I'm hoping to come back in a year or so to see how the kids are doing, because most of them should stay with the program.

I highly encourage anyone who has 3 or 6 months to spend to come and volunteer at the Father Ray Foundation. They offer so many different programs, so whether you want to work with toddlers, old people, blind children, or orphans, the opportunities are abundant. And all of the work is greatly appreciated.

Stay Strong U.S. Dollar, Stay Strong: 34 Baht to $1

After spending a fair amount of money today buying the finest souvenirs Thailand has to offer, we decided to showcase some of the most incredible and outrageous things we've seen.

The mall that is walking distance from our residence. 7 stories tall, top 2 floors are only restaurants and food courts. Lowest floor is a grocery store. The Thai version of Macy's anchors the place. And next year the Hilton will be finished...on top of the current 7 stories.

How would you like this to span your wall?

Made entirely of nuts and bolts.

Life-sized.

A gold souvenir warehouse.

MBK Superstore in Bangkok.

If these cell phones are good enough for Buddhist monks to buy, they're definitely worth looking in to.

We've been to our fair share of street markets, but the largest one by far was the Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok, where we spent 8 hours of pure craziness. There are over 8000 unique stalls and shops that span miles, and this doesn't include the hundreds of food stands that scatter everywhere. If you can endure the sticky heat and hordes of people, it is truly paradise. You can literally purchase anything on the streets here.

I actually looked into shipping costs for one of these.

There was a sign that forbid pictures to be taken in this shop, which naturally made me want to take if even more.

Custom made LED signs?

Only a few of the gorgeous paintings you can buy.

Trendy Thai mannequins

Sushi off the streets. Safe? We decided not to find out.

One of the few food items on the street that actually had labels. Usually, labels make items more appealing. In this case, it had the opposite effect.

Yes, that is cat skin. I'm only hoping I haven't accidentally eaten the meat yet.

One Night in Bangkok: Takes 1 and 2

Thailand is crazy, and sadly our time is coming close to being over. Luckily we've had the chance to visit Bangkok a couple of times. Here's the details:

Wat Saket Temple

The Golden Mount (A tall temple with numerous Buddha statues)

Some of the numerous statues inside

The view from the top of the place

New friends from Canada, Brazil, and France

One of many awesome streets in Bangkok

Fish Tickling

What is fish tickling? Well you put your feet in a fish tank and these fish eat the dead skin off. You seriously can't make this stuff up. Your feet feel amazing after it's done, however, prepare to laugh your butt off during the entire process.

It's immensely popular here, and it's pain free. Pretty much at least... Check it out:

New posts every night this week! Stay tuned...

The Exploration of Pattaya: Go Big or Go Home

Greetings again from across the pond!  So far life's great, the exchange rate is kickin', and we still have all of our limbs.  Thus, here is some more details of our travels around our home away from home:  

Big sign view from the pier

Big Buddha on big turtle. Naturally.

Big and creepy Ronald McDonald

Big sign stating no skanky clothing near the Buddha.  Easier said than done when it is 80% humidity...

The pathway to the big Buddha

Close up of the big snakes...

...that spew out of the mouth of a big dragon

The big body of the dragon

Big view down from the top

The big millipede we encountered on the journey up

The big Buddha

The big buddha head

Big view of Pattaya

Big fight on Friday night

And a big swing. Minus the swing.

The Truth Shall Be Revealed...In 13 Years

On our latest adventure, we went to the Sanctuary of Truth.  It's this gigantic wooden structure built by a Thai millionaire for the representation of images from the Buddhist and Hindu religion and mythologies of Cambodia, China, India, and Thailand.  If that is hard to comprehend, then check it out:

Probably the more impressive part about this place is that fact that it still is under construction.  In fact, every visitor who enters the Sanctuary of Truth is required to wear a construction helmet, which is amusing in itself.  Each piece of the building has been hand carved from wood and you can see the workers still going at it.  Construction began in 1981 and they're estimating it won't be completed until 2022 at the earliest.

Here's some pictures of the inside walls and statues:

The last picture is the center of the place.  There are 4 halls of the building that represent the four countries, and two sides that represent the religions mentioned above.  All of the halls are or will be lined with various statues of Gods.  The doors you see in this final picture are on all four sides and act as a time capsule and will be opened when construction is finished.

All in all, it was amazing.  The hundred foot tall timbers holding the place up are tied together using basic wooden pegs.  It's hard to believe but the building is expected to withstand time as the wood has naturally produced copper as a protectant, leaving much of the wood green in color.  Need more info?  Check it out here.