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Published: January 28th 2007
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Lazy Weekend in Bangkok
Saturday…a Day for Doing Nothing and Loving It 1/27/2007 When we woke up on Saturday morning, Kel was in a very uncomfortable state. While we lay on the couch the night before, watching a bootleg copy of Casino Royale (one of the best James Bond movies of all time), a mosquito or two had made dinner out of Kel. During the night her legs had become swollen due to the number of bug bites (we counted 50 between the knee and ankle of both legs). Serious misery.
Jack put some anti itch cream on the bites for her and I gave her a Benadryl which, of course, made her pass out asleep. She spent a large part of the day sleeping which was probably merciful because when she was awake she was, and I quote, “in agony.”
While Kel slept or scratched in agony I read or watched TV while Jack and Diane worked on school stuff. Jack had to catch up on some grading while Diane did grading and prep work for the next week.
For dinner that evening Jack cooked us an incredible pasta.
We watched some movies before bed and then called it an evening. All around it was a pretty dull day which was fabulous. When traveling like this a day of laying around someone’s house is a welcome change. It was really nice.
Sunday: Ko Kret, and the Sunday Market 1/28/2007 - Today Kel was a little better off but her legs still looked as if she was a plague victim who had a serious rash. I keep reassuring her that each day, maybe each hour, things will be better. She is holding up very well…I’m always amazed at how strong she can be under these circumstances.
Diane suggested we head over to an island nearby that has a few Wats (Buddhist temple) and is inhabited by a group of people who are renowned for their pottery. The cab ride to the docks only took about ten minutes which was nice because we had started to believe that every cab we could possibly step into would take more than an hour to go anywhere. The 30 second ride across the river cost us 15 baht for all three of us (about 40 cents) and
let us off right in front a Wat that looked pretty old.
We spent the next few hours walking around the island which was really nice. There were a lot of tourists there but almost all of them were Thai due to the location away from the farang (foreigner) tourist areas.
The pottery that the local inhabitants make is insanely intricate. We stopped in one store which was obviously one of the better shops due to the pottery and prices. All of the pottery is made out of terra cotta but the designs are unlike anything you’ve anything. One piece we looked out was a large pot with a Buddha on top with incredibly intricate scroll work. The master craftsman told us that it took two months to design, build and carve. The piece was probably 3.5 feet tall and design so detailed that even the smallest of characters carved into the design had clearly defined fingernails. It must have taken hundreds of thousands of small knife cuts to have created the design. Wild.
While in the area of the potters we came across one man working with a potters wheel. As we stood there we were
asked if one of us wanted to try the potters wheel out. Diane had thrown clay before so we volunteered her to try it out. She made a small bowl which was pretty good. I managed to get some great pictures of her working. Check them out!
We stopped at a small restaurant and had pork noodle soup and a Pepsi. The food was really good and the view out on to the water kept us occupied. Many Thais travel by these thin long boats that fly up and down the river. They look dangerous as any boat travel you can think of but, of course, Kel thinks they are probably fun.
After walking around for another hour we headed back to the house figuring that Jack would be done with his golf game soon. One the way back around we stopped at a local market to get a cab. It is wild to see some of the things that are sold in these markets, flowers, clothes, turtles, fish, pretty much anything you can think of.
The Sunday Market Once Jack had rested a little bit we headed back out to go to the
Chicken Sales
I know its kinda gross but those yellow objects were eggs that were forming... local Sunday market which is held about 8 blocks from Jack and Diane’s house. This market, which is held every Sunday (another one is held on Wednesdays), is a place for all the locals to sell food and produce.
Kel and I could have spent hours at the market because it was all so fascinating. At each new small stand there was something being sold that was completely foreign to us. I was taking pictures as fast as I could think which I think amused some of the locals. Imagine shopping in your local grocery store and having some idiot walking around with a huge camera taking pictures of everything he sees. A very funny picture, no?
While Jack and Diane bought their produce for the week we looked at everything around us. There were fried fish stands, a guy selling whole chickens (some cut up into feet and things, some not), vegetables of every variety imaginable along with some you’ve never seen before, seafood sold raw such as huge shrimp, calamari, and whole fish. The list goes on and on. It was all amazing and beautiful at the same time.
Sometimes it is hard for Kel
and I to remember that we are half way around the world from home (Bangkok is exactly 178 longitudinal degrees around the globe from Richmond). Moments like these, when we are confronted with images that are amazing yet foreign, remind us how lucky we are to get a chance to experience what we are experiencing. Sometimes I wish I could do a better job of conveying my thoughts to all of you so that you too could experience the things we get to see. Instead you will have to suffer through reading my ramblings and try to imagine for yourself.
We only spent about 30 minutes at the market before Jack and Diane were done shopping. After the quick drive, we unloaded the car and had leftovers for dinner. Thanks to Jack’s pasta dish and Usa’s cooking (Usa is Jack and Diane’s maid who cooked egg rolls for dinner for Friday night) we had more than enough food for a leftover night. Despite the mixing of foods from different countries, dinner was superb.
Now I’m sitting here writing this while Jack and Diane watch a movie and Kel works on a budget spreadsheet for Diane to use to
manage the household expenses. While it is Sunday night here (9:30pm) I hope you are all having a great Sunday morning (9:30am). Enjoy your last weekend day before work tomorrow. We miss you all!
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Don and Lindz
non-member comment
the good and the bad
Mikey looks quite sexy with his new camera. Po Kel's legs not so sexy with bug bites. Po Kel-Kel. Hey Mikey, want to open up the new travel photography office of Don Mears Photography?