Thailand Video

This is a 10 minute video of our experience in Thailand.... everything from Tuk Tuk transportation, temples, shrines, Buddha statues, street-level and sky-level views, floating market, and a long-tail boat ride down the Phrao Praya river and canals. Take a look!

Ladyboys

Let me start by giving you a moment to ponder the photo to the left. Go ahead. Take your time....

{Cue Jeopardy music}

Ahem. Excuse me. I can hear the questions swirling around in your head. So let's discuss those now. Do you remember the game "Slug Bug?" It was that game where you'd ride around in the car and anytime you saw a Volkswagen Beetle, you'd slug your friend on the arm or in the face until they shouted out the color of the car you had seen. Or maybe you played the game that took you through the letters of the alphabet as you searched for words on billboards and street signs that began with the next letter in the alphabet. A-Austin, B-Bold, C-Car, D-Dog... L-Ladyboy... X- {cue Jeopardy music again).

We created a new game while in Thailand. The game is not called "Slug Bug," it's called "Was that lady really a lady because it sure looked a lot like a dude dressed as a lady." You see, there is actually a prominent 3rd gender in Thailand commonly referred to as "ladyboys"---Men dressed as or converted to women. Bathrooms are marked for men, women, and ladyboys. Okay, not really. That's a joke. But seriously, there are a lot of ladyboys in Thailand. I'd venture to say that ladyboys are about as common a sight as Volkswagen Beetles are in the USA. Although you're much more likely to misidentify a ladyboy than a Volkswagen. Some of the ladyboys have done an impressive job at changing their gender. They actually look like women. A butch voice or a bulging Adam's Apple may be the only clues to her dudeness.

So next time you're in Thailand, please partake in our new game. Be sure to snap a photo for proof and keep a tally of your sightings. The current record for one trip to Thailand stands at 37 and is held by our friend John D. Congrats, John. You've won a coveted DVD of the SNL skits "It's Pat." Enjoy!

The Street Beat

The street beat in Bangkok sounds a lot like squeaking brakes and honking horns. You know what? We have joked about the traffic in Jakarta, but the traffic in Jakarta is a joke compared to Bangkok. Wow. We have yet to discover the time of day in which cars are not parked in traffic. So far we've been on the road early in the morning up until midnight - traffic every time.

Although that's a bit of a drawback to traveling through the city, it's not all that bad when there are so many sites to see. Bangkok streets are lined with shrines, markets, and thousands of people. There's a lot to see here and most of what is seen is pretty intriguing for the first time visitor.

Let's start with the shrines. In such a crowded, busy city, it's pretty amazing to see people push aside their distractions and pray on the street side. Most Thais are Buddhists and they have built shrines on nearly every block in this city. The people will approach the shrines bearing gifts such as flowers and incense. They drop to their knees and go through prayers while holding the offering in front of them. I wonder what the backlash would be in the USA if someone built a place of worship on a downtown street corner and burned incense while openly worshipping. And really, the Thai traditions are modest compared to some of the other countries we've visited. Why are people so critical of public religious displays in America when some countries around the world are so much more "in your face" than anything seen in the USA?

With shrines on many corners, you can really stay busy observing while you're stuck in traffic. But if that doesn't grab your attention, maybe the roadside markets will. Looking for a shirt? No problem. How about a wallet, purse, shoes, or hats? Done. And maybe you need books or food or glasses or magnets or shoe repair or suits or ties or widgets. Done, done, done, done. It's all there on the roadside.

Maybe you just need a cold beverage or a massage. It's all abundant on the streets of Bangkok.

The Floating Market

We have seen some memorable sites this weekend. Sunday is coming to its end here and we are settling in for some rest after 2 eventful days. We'll start with one of Saturday's highlights.

The floating market is one of those sites that comes highly recommended by locals and expert travelers alike. Bangkok has several floating markets and the best way to reach them is by - you guessed it - boat. We set out from the hotel at 9am and caught a "tuk tuk" to the sky train station. A tuk tuk is a 3-wheeled miniature taxi that is common in Asian countries. They have different names in different countries, but the concept is the same. Once we arrived at the train station, we bought our tickets to the river with a plan to travel the river by boat while stopping at markets and Buddhist shrines. We bargained on the riverside and ended up taking a private long-tailed boat ride up the Chao Phraya River and through the small canals to nearby villages and markets.

One of our stops brought us to the large floating market pictured here. The canal widens at this particular spot and a plethora of food and craft vendors line the banks on a combination of air filled 55-gallon drums, boats and good ole' fashioned docks. As you can see, some local food can be had by shouting your order down to boat vendors. They promptly fill your request and pass the bowl(s) of food up to the docks in a basket attached to the end of a broomstick. Drop your money in the basket, take the food and enjoy!

I struggled to select from the local dishes because the waters around the market were swarming with fat, delicious catfish. Look closely at this photo and you'll see the pandemonium in the water. It is here that catfish are released for luck and ignored as food. Instead they are fed and left to grow into hefty, meaty creatures that mock westerners like me that savor the flavor of a freshly fried catfish. For this reason I was forced to flee in hunger to the shoreline's makeshift craft shops. There you may find many local crafts and religious trinkets that capture the essence of Thailand. The entirety of Bangkok differs significantly from what we call home in the USA. But of all the places we've seen in this city, the floating markets and villages alongside the canals are the brightest representation of an historical, tradition-rich land.

His Legacy Remains

This blog has been all about travel. We are experiencing the world and we love that you can follow along with us as we see new places. But as we settle in for 12 days here in Bangkok, Thailand, my mind is drawn to my father.

It has been 15 years. That's a long time. That's the majority of my life. I'm thinking about my dad because he died 15 years ago this month. It makes me sad. But more than that, I find myself grateful for the time I had with him. He created a hugely positive legacy in a very short amount of time. What's amazing about his life is that he made such a lasting impression on the lives he touched that his legacy remains strong today.

I think about his friends, who even to this day are actively involved in my life. They talk about him like he was here yesterday and they have shown that their love for my father lives on. Many of them came to my wedding. In fact, one of my dad's very best friends was waiting in the foyer of the church as Kyra and I exited the sanctuary after our wedding ceremony. This friend was one of my dad's closest. And as the doors opened and we exited the sanctuary, there was this friend, with tears streaming down his face, ready to embrace me and remind me of how proud my dad would be. His emotion and presence reminded me of the friend that my dad was.

There are numerous ways in which my dad's legacy lives on. He's a prevalent part of my life, my sister's life, and countless others that knew him. I'm motivated by him daily. What a difference one man can make in one short lifetime! I have learned that we don't need to be celebrities, politicians or preachers to leave a lasting impression on this world. An ordinary man, my father, moved mountains by making the most of his time on this earth. I look forward to the day when I see him again and can tell him about the ways he guided my life.