Ubolratana - Lake, Garden, and Dinosaurs

Ajarn Narin wanted to take myself and the foreign teachers to Ubolratana for the day. Ajarn Narin, Ajarn Jojo, Ajarn Jingwu and he girlfriend, Zixi, and I all went to Ubolratana. Zixi has been visiting Udon Thani from Beijing for about three weeks now.

We first stopped at a garden in the mountains of Song Nang where there were also dinosaurs! Now real ones of course but before many years ago there were.

When we got to the lake I was in a way disappointed that it was so muggy. I believe it was due to the fires up north. The day was not clear at all, but a haze...

วันมาฆบูชา....The First Instructions

Do good

Don't do bad

Purify yourself

The first instructions given by the lord Buddha to his followers on this day many years ago. The Thai people remember this day every year with prayer and celebration. My host family took me to a Wat outside of Udon Thani. Many people were there, some slept at the temple while others came just for the night. My host mother, father, and aunt all went this night to pray and later we lit a khom (floating lantern) into the sky.

The instructions given by the Buddha were, as best I can relate it to, similar to the Eightfold Path in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. For those who do not know, I am a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist and the eightfold path, for the most part, is similar to the first two instructions given, Do good and Don't do bad.

Highlights from the Northern tour! LOOK LOOK LOOK!

DANGER! NO POKE! ~ I have no idea why they put that there... This was at a national park outside of Ubon. The hill tribes near Chiang Rai, in North Thailand. The tribe seemed to be more touristy than ethnic. At the zoo in Chiang Mai they had two giant Pandas, on loan from China. I bought key chains made of panda poo at the zoo. ;p They spelled it correct in Thai but in English it is completely wrong! Poor English skills they have at the Chiang Mai zoo.Women have limitations in Thailand....a lot. This picture was taken at a wat in Chiang Mai. The women were not suppost to enter because of their monthly periods. That is what the tour guide told me.

Nakhom Phanom

I went to Nakhon Phanom to visit my friend Suzanne for the weekend. Nakhon Phanom is a small town located on the banks of the Mekhong river. In Nakhon Phanom a person can see Laos and Vietnam! When I arrived on Friday there was a beautiful view of Laos accross the river and further away were the mountains and Vietnam. Sometimes I wish Udon Thani was that close to another country.

BUBBLE TEA!! My favorite drink in Thailand has been bubble tea (cha kai mok) and while I was in Ban Klang (Suzanne's village) we went to a bubble tea shop. My bubble tea was a green tea flavor, very good and not too sweet!
Suzanne, her host brother P' Pong, and I went around the village and stopped at a school, Wat, and the local noodle shop. At the school we made jumping pictures, played with really small merry go round, and took pictures of little Thai children. Suzanne is very tall so when she was on the merry go round it was very entertaining.

Chinese New Year!!!!

Udon Thani has a fairly large Chinese population so there has been a lot of parties, fireworks, and community gatherings for the Chinese New Years. I went to one with my friends from school and another exchange student who was visiting me, Stephanie. A well know Thai singer, Waii, came to Udon Thani that night and preformed.

Thailand...sorry I havent updated in a while...

I went on a two week trip to the north in December, went camping with friends from school for New Years Elephants in Thailand are so loving! When I went to Chiang Mai the Rotary took all the exchange students on an elephant ride and there was also an elephant show. The trip was so much fun. Some of my most memorable moments were on the trip.

Thailand is beginning to get hot again...and it is only January!!! oh no!! I have been told that March, April, and May are the hottest months. Scary...mosquitos.

new years in Thailand with my friends!

The sky lit up with beautiful colors from the fireworks on the night of New Years. I was on the balcony of my room gazing at the sky. For a moment a felt unbelievable sadness, alone on the balcony, no one to share the night with. A sad experience. I miss to mochi, fireworks, and family around New Years night. In Hawaii, I miss being together with everyone and celebrating together. Don't get me wrong, I was very happy to celebrate with my friends a night earlier. We went camping and the next day, hiking. That night before New years we had a party, danced and sang. To be with other to celebrate and have fun is a lot more enjoyable. The hike was intense, we went up a mountain and our goal was to get to the top where there was a water fall and a cave with bats in it. But we never made it. Everyone got so tired about three fourth to the top, so we went back down the mountain. There wasn't even a trail, so it took longer going up and going down. There were however wild orchids growing all the way up the mountain. They were so beautiful, and some of my friends were picking them on the way up and down. The view from the top was beautiful and the nature around us was so calming. It reminded me of the mountains in Hawaii and how I use to go camping for one week up in the hills of Mauna Loa.