The Hippie Trail

source

source

Rick Steves' life-changing memoir recalls his days ‘On the Hippie Trail’

Appreciation

- This was an email to a cousin in August '14.  I was in Bangkok with my wife.  My cousin and I were both raised in small-town Alabama in a fundamentalist Christian environment.

If i remember correctly, we were raised to think of these Buddhas as idols. I think of the golden calf tale and the other Biblical stories of believers smashing idols to bits.  Several years ago, when the Taliban blew up some some ancient stone Buddhas in Afghanistan, it was pretty telling.  What does it say when Southern Baptist evangelicals and the Taliban have a similar mentality?  Even though I am not a Buddhist nor a Russian Orthodox believer, I do appreciate the history and architectural significance of temples and onion-domed churches.  I would say the same for Hindu temples, the Jesus statue overlooking Sao Paulo and the like.  And it never crosses my mind, "Oh, these need to be demolished."  The difference thought between some of the European cathedrals and the Thai temples vs. the average plain jane church in small-town USA is that the former have a museum-like quality, and that appeals to me.

Competitive Advantage

Delightful Durian

Elephant Parade

Queen

 Elephant Parade

Altar

 I purchased this altar in Bangkok.  It was easy to assemble.

Here's the Bangkok business where I bought it.

Rejuvenating Tonic

 

Timour's Father

This is a photo I took of Timour and his father in Moscow.  I had met his father many years earlier, in Tashkent, where I lived for almost a year.  Timour and I had become friends at my university in Alabama.

Timour's father's grave in Vladimir, Russia

Year of the Durian

Year of the Durian

I envy her!  Impressive.

Casa 17

If you're looking for a cool hotel in a more local part of Bangkok, Casa 17 is very nice.  I would only recommend it to people who have experience in the city.

Plans Change

In 2013, I had planned on traveling to Japan.  After arriving in Bangkok and maybe spending a week, I was thinking of flying to Tokyo.  Kade would stay behind with her family in Thailand, and then I'd return there after Japan.  Unfortunately, I got the H1N1 virus and it put an end to the Japan possibility.  I stayed in Bangkok.

This was the itinerary I was considering:

Tokyo, 7 days

Kyoto, 3 days

Fukuoka, 2 days

Nagasaki, 2 days

AI Doll Trend

These Thailand ones are humorous.