...Lisa and I saw strange floating lights. A fiery phoenix? Too small. A plane? Too erratic. It fit the definition--it was a UFO. We were perplexed by this for a day or so until we saw Area 51 for ourselves. For a few baht, you too could launch a glowing balloon. We were soothed...until we saw that Spock-eared goblin laughing at us from the cockpit. Then again, that might have been a dream.
I guess the Spock-eared pilot was just a funny-looking tourist.
One of our favorite adventures in Thailand was Monk Chat. At a monastery in Chiang Mai, people can visit and talk with the monks. It helps them practice their English and gave us some insights into their lives. It was a strange experience--there was this odd Englishman who gave the impression of being the monks overseer. He kept babbling on about his own study of Buddhism, but we just wanted to talk to the monks. There is a bit of disagreement amongst Buddhist about how to do it correctly. Some maintain that Thai Buddhism is the purest form, while Tibetan Buddhists think Thai Buddhism is doesn't go far enough and is too focused on only achieving your own enlightenment. After a while, we were able to speak to a 23-year old monk from Cambodia who told us about his life as a young tough before he came to the monastery. It seems like his practice had had a great impact on his life. The place had a peaceful air about it and we enjoyed the chance to look into their world.
One afternoon, Lisa and I rented scooters and explored the area outside Chiang Mai. We stumbled across a lot of soldiers marching around down country lanes. They were fierce-looking from a distance, but gave us smiles as we approached. Further down the lane, we came across this lovely creature. I think it's an elephant. We don't really have them in Kentucky and I didn't have my field guide handy. I do know that it is definitely not a panda.
On a trip to Thailand a year earlier I sat down for a beer on a warm evening and met these two lovely people along with a Scots couple. They kept ordering more and more drinks. This is what my memory of that night looks like. Vacationing in Thailand is like that sometimes.
Nice people, great food, good times.
So, if you have some time, stop by Thailand and enjoy the flowers.
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