Monkey business

This time our visit to the monkeys with Alexis and Lacey was way more orderly. This time we were well prepared with bags of sunflower seeds and peanuts along with the big bags of corn. By spreading out the seeds and peanuts the mob of monkeys were content to sit quietly nibbling while we passed out the larger pieces of corn at our leisure .... the last two times we only had 50 pieces of corn to try and share with the 200+ monkeys.... and monkeys don't like to share nicely.... It would probably have been more fun for us to give Alexis the bags of corn and watch the monkeys mobbing her.... which was our original plan.... but shrieking monkeys are one thing... a shrieking Alexis another....

Alexis and Lacey

Alexis and her friend Lacey arrived from Canada on a day where it was almost 40 degrees, so they were quickly wiped out in the heat and the walking.... so we took a break and went for a foot massage to get out of the heat and relax our feet a bit. Alexis and her friend will be traveling with Aja and me for about a week as we go to the beaches in the south of Thailand. It is nice to share this country with Alexis and her friend as so much of our journey here is strange to us but normal to the locals. To see others see the unique fun treats offered by this great land through the eyes (or feet) of people who are used to what we are used to is lots of fun.... besides the Thai's were entertained with Alexis who kept jumping and twitching as they massaged her feet....

Life is a riot

As we went to Kho San Ro which is the favorite place for the travelers (as opposed to tourists) to hang out in Bangkok, the rent is cheap, the goods are great, there is lots to be had and there are few questions are asked if you want to buy a diploma, or a drivers license or an international press pas, or most anything. As we were going there to hang out and buy software and shirts, the shop owners seemed to know trouble was coming, so the shops were quickly packed up and closed, then the troops rolled by. Aja and the kids held back as I went down to take a closer look. At first it seemed a little less hectic than the riot in Israel that we got caught in. At first everything seemed normal, for a gathering mob, but as everyone seemed to be getting more and more agitated, I remembered how quickly things got out of hand in Jerusalem, so I wandered back to the kids and we headed three blocks in the opposite direction and watched a miss Thailand parade that was also taking place in the area. Bangkok is one of those cities that has seen it all, and you can too if you are in the wrong place at the right time, or is that right place at the wrong time.

River

On our journey some of the best teachers we have had are the earth and sky the mountains and lakes, the sea and the rivers themselves. Most days we stand beside the river and contemplate life's lessons, wondering about things like how the individual drops of water find each other to make the river. But today was more like a field trip. We rented life jackets, and spent the day driving for 10 min up river by truck to spend 40 min floating back to our camp.

Floating along the river can teach you way more than you can learn from books. Anyway that’s my story and I am sticking to it. Because I am hoping that Aja's school believes it when we return to Victoria and try and enroll her straight into grade 8. Otherwise we could be heading up river without a paddle and today we learned how hard that is. But we will have to cross that bridge when we return. I will of course support my arguments with what I learned in school about rivers.... that 'denial' is not a river in Egypt.

Hair cuts

Sure it seems more like a facebook thing than a blog thing to talk about going and getting a hair cut. But when your in a different country with different ways of doing even the simplest of things becomes an exciting adventure. This is actually an older picture of Aja getting her hair cut about a month ago, but I did not just want to put up a picture of me just sitting in the chair. Anyway for $2.00 I got a haircut, beard, eyebrow, nose hair, ear hair trim along with a shoulder and neck rub. It was exciting ....oh well, perhaps I have been away from video games, tv and movies and the glitter of western society so long that that is why it is exciting. Tomorrow I am going to wash our clothes, so stay tuned for more exciting adventures....

Offerings

At one amazing sunset we were having dinner next to a Catholic church. So as I was walking around taking pictures of the sunset I came across this statue of Jesus. In Thailand people light candles and incense to the Buddha statues along with offerings of flowers, food and drink, I was surprised at Jesus having a hat. Then I realized that Buddhism was brought to Thailand by wandering priests and holy men from China, Korea and as far as India so I think there was an attempt to make a connection to the concept of Christ as a spiritual guide. But even more surprising is the fact that they were offered him regular Coke because I sort of had him pegged for a diet Pepsi kind of a Lord. I also noticed that there were only two straws instead of three. So not sure who is going without the Father, the Son or the Holy Ghost.

Siamese Twins

Chang and Eng were born in 1811 in the same province of Thailand where my brother is now living. Their unique birth gave Siam (what Thailand was called then) the original Siamese Twins and the English language a new phrase. Their perfect English and their kind, thoughtful and open personalities made them adult stars and a small fortune in the traveling circus shows. They married a pair of American sisters, lived together, had 21 children, 11 with one wife and 10 with the other. Over time the sisters had trouble getting along so the twins bought separate houses and moved between both every 3 days. Like most Thai's they found it very hard to deal with conflict so to cope Chang turned to whiskey and Eng to playing poker for a short period of time before going back on the road.

On January 17, 1874, Eng woke to find his brother cold as the queen of spades. When he realized Chang was dead, Eng began to sweat and feel faint. He died a short time later. They are buried in the White Plains Church Cemetery in Surry County, NC. The strange part is they shared no vital organs and today would have been separated in a very simple operation. People have been fascinated with the brothers and their lives and they are still national heros here in Thailand.

Of course it got me thinking that basically Aja and I have been together for 24 hours a day for almost a year now, her mom would kill me if I left her alone. So traveling the world for a year with a child we should have some kind of special English phrase too... like the Victoria-twins, Or the traveling-twins.... ok so give me a better phrase.... Anyway It has been interesting and delightful getting so connected to Aja. Besides we have had no troubles so far, which is good, because I would not want to choose between turning to whiskey drinking or poker playing like the twins did, and as well Aja's mother would not like her doing either either.