Monday, October 24, 2011

Nam Too-wom (high water)

Every morning I go downstairs and hang out with Tong.
This globe is particularly scary for Tong
And no day would be complete without a stop to the Keang Ba' Cafe.  Today we made a donation of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and bars of soap here that would be taken to residents of the flooded areas of the city.




She sold us her sticky rice treats wrapped in banana leaf, and she's such a sweetheart :D



Pink eggs... not sure what the difference is on the inside.  I'll let you know when I find out.

We ended up walking around parts of Lopburi that we hadn't seen before.  I felt like I got a much more raw and indigenous view of the city and its wonderful people.  Lots of flooded areas which was really sad to see, but the residents seem to take it in stride, and go about their business.   


Upon leaving this area, and older woman popped her head out a second story window of this building and happily greeted me!




Temporary housing for those evacuated from their homes just outside of a community center

The King

The people under the awning were sharing a bottle of whiskey, and the duck coming towards us is a paddle boat.  Given the difficult conditions, this is truly the "land of smiles"

No accidents yet on this construction site yet!



Amazing Thai necklace for the equivalent of 6 USD... you know I'm in love.

During our roam around town we happened to catch a part of a Thai military funeral with some traditional music and dance performance.

The casket is inside the shrine


Not sure whether she was making fishing nets or hammocks...

Ling stick - don't leave home without it.

Delicious-smelling BBQ by the river.

Ice cream truck!


When life hands you lots and lots of water, go fishing.

 
This house was meant for floating.  It was tied to the dock like a row boat would be.




The kids really seemed to enjoy certain parts of the flooding experience


Live eels

Dead cockroaches

Beautiful prayer wreaths

Seaweed flavored Lays chips
 Then we head back to the Keang Ba' for a beer.  We're starting to make some good friends here :D
 
The best thing on a hot day in Thailand

7-11's are popular and abundant.  I bought these earrings at the night market a few days ago because they are awesome and hilarious.

It might be hard to tell, but this girl had 7-11 earrings too.  We were both pretty excited about that.  But we hear from the Keang Ba' staff that this chick is a little crazy and huffs fumes of sorts.  I didn't know that at the time of the picture.
Had to stop by the night market for deep-fried meat on sticks and coffee.
Iced lattes with to-go handles are waaay awesome.  Thanks night market for being badass.

 

ATV awesomeness at the lake

The other day we went to the lake near Lopburi to eat and swim.
This is the entrance and not the lake itself BTW.
But what Matt, Brandon and I ended up doing instead was renting ATV's across the street...













The first track we did was a windy obstacle coarse with hairpin turns and some small jumps!

We didn't know it at the time, but the second track (led by the lake security guard) took us in a big loop and inlcuded a stop at a mountain temple that we went to previously.


Mountain face

Bats!


Our tour guide



Such a beautiful (but hot) day!

Secret entrance from bat cave into the temple

An image of the monk whose body is covered in gold leaf here.


We only know nit-noy (little) Thai, but people love talking to us.

Badass!


Matt throws children in the lake from the trampoline