Sent Tim off to India, after having him home for several months straight - I'd gotten spoiled! The day after he left, our nephew, Richard, arrived. Poor Rich was stuck with Aunt Liz for a few days until Tim's return.
I explained to our driver that Rich is a Catholic priest, similar to a monk, and our driver was full of questions before he arrived. Some of his questions: Can he marry? Can he drink? Can he talk to ladies? Can he eat with you? These are all things a Buddhist monk may not do (although they can speak to women as long as other people are present). Mick and his wife were so curious, the both came to the airport to pick him up. They were astonished to find a guy in regular street clothes who looked a bit like Ted.
Rich had arrived from Florida at the hottest time of the year in Thailand, so it felt a bit like home to him. His first day here we walked along Beach Road - I have never seen the water level so low there. It was Wednesday, which is No-Umbrellas-or-Beach-Chairs Day, so the beach seemed enormous.
We escaped the heat by popping in to an ice cream shop on Second Road just outside of Mike's Mall. These are their small dishes! Usually, a large here is equal to a small in the U.S.
Kept it pretty low-key. The next day, we visited the Sanctuary of Truth, then stopped at Baba House for lunch. We had Mick drop us up at the lookout point on Pratumnak Hill, and hiked back to the condo in the muggy afternoon sun. Rich celebrated daily mass in our guest room, with a congregation of one. (Wherever two or more are gathered...)
The restaurant was quite far, and when we arrived, it was merely a couple of tables set up in front of a little clothing shop. The space in the back is shared, and that is where they did the cooking. After we sat down, they asked if we wanted some beer. We said okay, so they went next door to the Family Mart and picked us up some beer. We enjoyed a simple, very inexpensive meal and chatted with the owner's wife, who was the waitress and the cook. She seemed very grateful for our patronage.
On Saturday, Tim and Rich went ATVing - I declined this time.
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| "Money shot" |
Sunday we walked next door for dinner. It was no longer the Sheraton, but on April 1st suddenly became the Intercontinental Hotel. The restaurant was still Infiniti, but the menu was a bit different, with less variety.
Monday Tim headed back to the office, so Rich and I took a trip out to Silver Lake to see Buddha Mountain (Khao Chi Chan). This giant image of Buddha was etched into the hill in 1995 in honor of His Majesty King Bumibol's Golden jubilee. The limestone hill was being used to supply the construction industry, so the image was also intended to preserve what was left of the hill. The image was designed using computer software, then etched into the mountain with a laser. The etching was then filled in with gold. We shared the viewing area with many Chinese tourists, and didn't linger because of the heat. Rich enjoyed his first fresh coconut at the concession stand.
On our way to Khao Chi Chan we passed a very colorful, eye-catching temple, and decided to stop there on our way back. For just a 50 THB entrance fee (less than 2 USD), we marveled at the beautiful, colorful artwork and artifacts housed in this beautiful edifice. It is located on the grounds of Wat Wansangwararam, a huge temple complex just outside of Pattaya. Viharn Sien, or Anek Kusala Sala, houses one of the largest collections of Chinese art in Thailand, and was built in 1987 for Rama IX's sixtieth birthday. Dedicated by the large number of Thai-Chinese, it celebrates Chinese philosophies and the religions of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism.
The colors beckon all visitors with bright reds, greens, blues and golds in intricate and elaborate sculptures of dragons, pagodas and emperors. The outside courtyard alone has impressive statuary and plants, and inside the castle-like structure are many more examples of Chinese art, including vases from different dynasties, and even a model of the Terra Cotta soldiers site.
Two upper rooms on either side house many fine examples of Thai art: puppets, musical instruments, elephant art and Buddha art. Shoes are removed in this area, and the walk across the hot roof from one room to the other was challenging in bare feet! From above, one has a good view of the many statues below, looking somewhat like a giant chess board. This place was an amazingly pleasant surprise.
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| The spire of Wat Wansangwararam |
Cattle grazed at the side of the lake as we headed out, and we stopped for lunch at All Senses. Rich's take: "a hipster place;" my take: "delicious."
For Rich's last day, we went to Nong Nooch Gardens, where he got his picture taken with a tiger, and we enjoyed a cultural show of dancing, boxing and traditional Thai fighting. When I came before, the show was in a hot, outdoor pavilion, but now takes place in a huge, brand new, air-conditioned auditorium. Afterwards, the crowd moved to the elephant show, where we enjoyed elephants playing soccer, bowling and basketball, and showed off their "painting" skills on T-shirts that were then offered for sale. Rich enjoyed a refreshing coconut before we left.
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| Richard and the Monk |
Tim and Rich squeezed in one more Chinese checkers battle in the evening. We enjoyed our visitor.
