While spring break is best known for college students making poor life decisions, it is also an opportunity for me to break away from my dimly lit office. This year, fortunately, spring break fell right after Chinese New Year, giving me a few extra days away.
Initially I had planned on spending the week working. This plan happily fell apart when one of my friends from England asked if I could help him find his way around Thailand for a few days (during my free time). It wasn't difficult for me to put aside my research... this semester has been particularly stressful, so the time off was necessary.
So here's what we did:
Half the week was spent in Chiang Mai.
As they say in the region, you haven't been to Chiang Mai if you don't visit the temple on Doi Suthep mountain. So we did.
Since I've been there so often, I focused on different things this time around... such as taking pictures with statues around the city. Many local businesses have taken to advertising by putting tacky statues in front of their business, which creates a wonderful opportunity for pictures.
See the resemblance?
Silly you, Mr. Penguin.
 |
| February 2015 |
They've repainted this one pink... it used to be yellow. I have photographic evidence.
 |
| March 2012 |
See? I'm not crazy.
Well, that's a nice smile. I could fit my head into his mouth.
By this time I was hot, sweaty, and tired. That didn't stop my from trying my best to look excited.
Here's my friend. I wish I had taken a picture with the panda. Missed opportunities, I suppose.
It wasn't all fun and statues, though.
Some of it was fun and elephants.
Elephants are real show-offs. This one is making me feel bad about my own artistic talent.
This monkey looks much better with an umbrella than I do.
I also spent a little time with a tiger. Don't worry, he was just yawning.
Guess he was all tuckered out. What do tigers dream of when they take a little tiger snooze?
I don't know, but they kinda purr.
We also went to a great dinner show called Khan Toke. My friend took some amazing pictures, including this one of the dancer portraying Hanuman (a mythical white monkey who was the hero of many stories).
Beyond Chiang Mai, we also hit some of the sites in Bangkok.
The Grand Palace... a perennial favorite. Even so, it's getting ridiculously expensive. 500 baht per entry now. When I first went in 2000, it was about 200 baht.
It's still pretty, but it gets extremely crowded.
We also spent a day at Ancient Siam, a park south of Bangkok that contains reproductions of many of the country's monuments.
Because the reproductions are not considered sacred, you can take sillier pictures with them than in the real locations. I'm not one to pass up an opportunity for a silly picture.
We're all smiles around here.
Selfie!
Why so serious?
Legolas! What do your elf eyes see?
Me with my best Asian pose.
The reproductions look bigger than they are.
One should never pass up the chance for a jumping pose. I meant to look like I was doing a ninja kick... but I'm less flexible than hoped. Ended up with.... this. Not really sure what I'm doing there.
Also took a high school senior pose because, well, why not?
Anyway, Thailand's fun. Just fyi.
No comments:
Post a Comment