http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog . . . in thoughts and photos Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:30:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One week ago I was on a plane home with weeks of memories swimming through my head and unknown times ahead of me. After having settled back into life here in Rochester, here are my thoughts. First, the memories of Thailand aren't disappearing. In fact if anything they're stronger now than ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=257 Once Mike and Lek left for Bahrain, I tried to figure out what "Buddhist-Casual" clothing was and prepared for my day of meditation. At 9AM Holly picked me up and we drove to a Buddhist Spiritual Center near the Emporium where we were going to meditate with Ajahn Brahm, a ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=241 We got back to Bangkok this afternoon and I spent time in Mike's shop while they were working on the plane. We came up and had a nice quiet dinner with Lek -- more great and interesting food! Lek's mother showed up in time for dessert. Lek brought in a ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=237 Late night last night, trying to send out several important emails. The Internet connection here at the River is almost nonexistent, and it took about 90 minutes to do 5 minutes of work. Ughhh. My last dog training session this morning, and I got a chance to see my pup's mother, ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=233 So far my final weekend has been spent back at the river. I'm glad I got to come back here, it's a special and beautiful place. Part home, part resort, part dog kennel. From hour to hour the role of the property changes and it becomes interesting in different ways. This ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=219 Yesterday was a restful day. I chose not to join the Flying Kikkerts on their second day of tourist activities and allowed myself to sleep in!! It's a good thing -- When their van reached the floating market they were stopped for having a tour guide in an unauthorized vehicle ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=217 Last night Lek let the guys crash her monthly party night with the girls. There must have been more than a dozen of her friends over. They had a feast on the terrace under a clear sky and comfortable breeze. There was a karaoke machine set up complete with DJ, ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=203 Today was a day trip with the Flying Kikkerts to the last capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is an interesting conradiction -- the history that is represented by magnificent temple and palace ruins is almost completely encased within the lowest standard of living I have experienced. The word slum came ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=192 Today was a walking and shopping day. I got up and after working out, I walked about a mile around Mike's apartment. The pollution is terrible, the streets are filthy. It's a very dirty city, without much sense to the layout. A block away from the apartment we came across ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=183 We just got back from 2 days in Pattaya on Mike's boat, the Jantana. Pattaya is a waterfront city about a 2 hour drive SE of Bangkok. It's a very seedy place, a stronghold of the Russian mafia and a good place to look if you need some penicillin. It ... http://macnmotion.com/thailandblog/?p=162