Over Thai Mother’s Day weekend, I went on a bpai tiao to Nong Khai. The bus ride there passes through Udon Thai, where there is a small village that is well-known for its textiles. Of course, my friend Jill and I had to stop and check it out. There were so many gorgeous fabrics, particularly the traditional kidt and mut mee styles. Check it out!
Recently, I went on a bpai tiao to Nong Khai with my friend Jill. The main thing we did was bike to and visit the Sala Keao Ku sculpture park. One of the pieces that I found particularly intriguing was once that represented the cycle of life. There are sculptures representing various stages of life arranged in a circle, and near the death part there is a Buddha climbing out of the circle. I made this as my own interpretation of the piece.
The border between Thailand and Laos is very frequently the Mekong River. With lots of bends and twists in the river, there are many different vantages for the sun to create beautiful vistas. Nong Khai is a province in Isaan and a busy border crossing, due to its proximity to Vientiane. It also has some wonderful spots to watch the sunset over the river.
Some time ago, I shared with you some of the sounds of rural Thailand. However, what I wasn’t able to include was some of the sounds from after dark. Luckily, I found a good representation of what happens nearly every night in my village on YouTube.
Recently, I needed Bangkok and I stayed in a very nice hotel overlooking the Chao Praya river. My room was near the top, and so I had great view out across the city, so I made a sunset time lapse. I hope you enjoy it!
Just before I left the US, my grandma told me about a movie she saw on TV about Peace Corps volunteers in Thailand. It’s called “Volunteers,” and it stars Tom Hanks, John Candy and Rita Wilson. Obviously, it’s a movie and heavily fictionalized. However, some parts of it ring very true to life and some enterprising volunteer cut together the most relevant clips. Check it out!
*Update: It appears the video has been taken down. I still enjoy the whole film though.
Recently, I came home from a day out at the park and saw my host yaai with a bucket of snails. I asked her what she planned to do with them, and she said she was going to cook them. Nothing like a little escargot! I was intrigued by this, and thought you might be too, so I made a video. She thought it was hilarious that I want to record her. Anyway, check it out!
Teachers are among the most respected professionals in Thailand. Every school year, there is a day called Wan Wai Kruu, which loosely translates and “Day to Pay Respect to Teachers.” The students spend days practicing, preparing the school grounds and creating the small offerings they give. On Wan Wai Kruu, the students gather in an assembly, and each student, class by class, comes up to the teachers on stage, kneels and wais to the teachers. They give them the flower offerings they prepared and the teachers give them blessings and encouragement for the coming school year. Check out the video to see what Wan Wai Kruu looked like at my school this year.
I live in a pretty rural part of Thailand. While there are some local shops around, most of them only have shelf stable food items. Fresh produce is available at the market, which is only there two days a week. Curious what this market is like and what’s sold? Check out the video!
Thai people are exceptionally friendly and once they find out that you can speak Thai, the questions start flowing. It can be kind of overwhelming at times, but luckily, nearly everyone wants to know the same things. These are the top five questions.