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On this particular orbit around the sun, I decided to visit some friends from my mission. We started out the day in the city of Sakon Nakhorn in northeastern Thailand. I was there as a missionary over a decade ago, and it is one of my favorite spots on the planet.

Of course things have changed as Thailand has continued to develop economically; I didn't pay too much attention to it on this trip. One thing I did notice, though, was that they renovated one of the major temples in town.

Lots of new colored shingles.

Here's what it looked like 13 years ago. Yep, that dashing young fella is me. I should have recreated this picture, but I couldn't remember where I stood back then. Maybe next time.

Along with the fancy new colors, there are some delightful new Phayanak (water dragon) Statues in front of a renovated chedi (or stupa) next to the old temple.

Here we are, posing together. The bright hues really bring the temple to life. Our churches could really use a little sprucing up with some cool statues and colors. We always seems to stick with neutral color palettes; it gets a little boring. While I understand the reverence aspect of design, I also think that a little color wouldn't hurt.

After a few photos, it was East-ward ho. We journeyed to That Phanom, one of the most sacred sites in Northeastern Thailand.

It's a major chedi on the banks of the Mekhong River. The structure was built to house some Buddhist relics, and locals believe that the Buddha visited the area at one point. People in northeastern Thailand make regular pilgrimages to the spot to make merit. Apparently I do as well, since I have been there on at least four occasions.

Politicians from Bangkok even attend the site regularly to make merit and to signify their presence to northeasterners. While I was there, a number of military officials were visiting to make merit, likely on orders from the military junta. Security was a little tight, but I took pictures anyways.

Once we finished at the stupa, we made our way to the river and gazed at Laos. That's the right way to enjoy a birthday, sipping a red Fanta slurpee, lounging on the banks of the Mekhong.

As rain threatened, we climbed back in the car and traveled north to Nakhorn Phanom.

The city sits across from the Laotian town of Tha Khaek and a mountainous nature preserve. I've been there before, and I love the location. Unfortunately we didn't have time for a cross-border trip. The rain was chasing us anyways, as seen on the right side of the picture.

I think Nakhorn Phanom is one of the most charming towns in Thailand. A few expatriates have retired there, including one man I knew from my mission. Unfortunately he's suffering from cancer now and unable to receive visitors. I kind of regret not insisting on a visit, but my friends assured me that we couldn't get in to see him anyways.

Once we returned to Sakon, my friends prepared a wonderful dinner of one of my favorite Thai foods - Nam Tok and sticky rice. I helped, but I'm fairly hopeless in a Thai kitchen.

One of my friends had remembered that it was my birthday, despite me not mentioning it. She surprised me with a cake. Here we are posing for a picture. She insisted that I kneel, so that I wouldn't tower over her.

And here is the cake with me looking a little worse for wear. In my defense, it was extremely hot and humid. I'm always jealous of how little Thais sweat compared to me.

Anywho, it was a good birthday as far as those things go. I'll leave you with a final picture from my recent Idaho trip, which I thought fit the occasion.