Well today is our last day in Bangkok. I have enjoyed it but I do miss Chiang Mai. There were so many things I loved about it:
- the many smiling monks.
- our accommodations, a beautiful open air bed and breakfast. It was surrounded by lush vegetation, swing chairs, hammocks, places to meditate, do yoga and get a massage. And the lovely organic breakfasts were to die for.
- the zen like quality of the town itself. It was wistful, old and simply magical.
- the cheap and delicious food!
Yesterday was filled with temple hopping and water taxis. Some of the temples and the Buddhas within were spectacular so I am grateful for that. But yesterday I also encountered another spell of homesickness, so that was tough. GRUMPY - one word used to describe me yesterday, but I am certain Matt has many more adjectives! ;o) We made it through though and today we are just going to mail some books home, go to a park and relax and read and simply just enjoy our last day here without rushing around.
Next stop on our list is Kanchanaburi, our last stop in Thailand. It is famous for the "Bridge over River Kwai" - so we are going to travel on the "Death Railway" and check out this VERY small town in Thailand. Something I know we will both enjoy. I am excited for what is supposed to be a beautiful waterfall and I am just excited to get back to nature!!!!
I am also reading a fantastic Dalai Lama book called "The Art of Happiness", which Matt kindly bought me. Thought I might as well get in some good Buddhist reading while here and I am loving it already! I will be sure to lend it to any interested on my return.
Missing you guys, so so so much! Hope all is well back home!
xxxooo
Hi there world travellers!
ReplyDeleteSorry not to have written for a few days. My only excuse is that I am at present an olympaholic! I am getting to bed real late after watching great curling, skiing and skating. I even watched the US-Canada hockey game - least said about that the better! Last night my dream came true when our ice dancers won the gold medal with a spellbinding and totally romantic performance. There was no question they should be number 1. Unfortunately our woman skater lost her mother the day before yesterday and her grief is apparent even though she has decided to skate tonight. I feel so sorry for her.
Lynda left this morning via Dallas and her plane has arrived in Toronto only a few minutes late. Not bad considering there was snow in Dallas! It was a lovely day here with great walking conditions on the beach. Today was the day I led the yoga class at the Senior Centre and it seemed to go very well, even if I was very nervous at the beginning. It didn't help that the CD player would not play my CD. Anyway everyone seemed to enjoy it and seemed to want me to do it again! Apparently someone fell asleep during the meditation. It seems that I have finally found a good use for my quiet voice! After I went to my drawing class and sadly it was our last class today. The teacher is teaching an acrylic painting course starting next week at the college and I am considering doing that.
I think Sharon and Dave are on their way down although they were waiting to see whether the weather was going to be OK on Monday. They will arrive on Friday afternoon.
I understand you not loving a city. I feel that way when I travel now. I also think when you are travelling that one has hiccups on a long trip when one just gets tired of the travel process. Then our curiosity kicks in again and we are once more entranced and intrigued. You will probably find, as we did when we got back from our Australia trip, that we missed going somewhere new each day. We were quite down for about a week before we got back into the routines of home.
On Saturday we went with Lynda to Liza's to an evening where Mike (the owner) cooked a wonderful four course meal at a station in front of about 30-40 people and then we were served with what he had prepared. Cat, his wife, is a sommelier and she paired wines and two champagnes to go with the 4 courses. The theme of the evening was aphrodisiacs. It was fantastic. We bought two bottles of the white wine she served, which is the white alternative to Malbec and one bottle of the raspberry champagne. Delicious. On Sunday night we went to "Canada Day in PCB" at the Boardwalk convention centre. There were 1000 people there dressed in red and white with red and white ballons everywhere. There was a parade of flags, a slide show of Canada and a turkey dinner. There were lots of prizes and dancing after dinner. We came home early though and did not really find it a greatly interesting evening, even if it was novel.
Tonight we are going to play bridge with a couple here and then come back to watch the women's skating. The Canadian men just won their curling match against China which means they have a perfect record going in to the final round.
Anyway I will away as it is nearly dinner time. Lots of love to you both. Hope this has been a better day for you especially for little Ms. Grumpy!
Heaps of love
Mom