Thailand - Part 2

Two words that describe Thailand: It's hot.
Now, for a few hundred more words that describe Thailand (or a few thousand...if you count the phrase 'a picture is worth a thousand words').












Would you like to walk down this sidewalk? My mom says biking missionaries fall off sidewalks like this all the time...then they have to start taking antibiotics, cause who knows what kinds of bacteria are lurking in those waters! As for the telephone pole - what more is there to say?








What would it be like to live in that house? And the cart of brooms - amazingly, not uncommon!








This is one of my favorite fruits in Thailand (not the taste, so much as the look). It's called a Gna. Pronunciation: say the word 'sing'...now take the last sound of that word (ng), add an 'ah' sound, put a staccato mark on it, and there you have it. Gna!








This lizard-like thing is called a Duka (Doo-Kaa). I guess they're nasty little buggers - if they bite, they don't let go. The vehicle in the next picture is called a Tuk-tuk (Took-Took). They're the taxi of choice if you're going fairly short distances, and so fun to ride in! This one struck me as cool because a Monk is riding in it.

Luggage Problems
We've had a little trouble with our luggage here...when we first arrived, none of our SEVEN bags made it. It took 2 days to get them delivered, and on the same day of the delivery, I decided to pull out my camera to get a few shots. Problem - where's my camera? We searched and searched and searched until Brian finally found it on the lost and found website for Korean Air. Yep, I had left it on the airplane from Korea to Bangkok. Frustrating! Thankfully, we'll get it back, and until then my parents are generously letting me borrow their camera!

As if that weren't enough, the first weekend we were here we flew up to Udon Thani (in the northern part of Thailand) and, as fate would have it, one of our bags was mistakenly taken by another passenger. I do realize that our bag is black and very similar to many others, but COME ON FOLKS! Check the tag! Luck was in our favor, however, and the hotel we were staying at offered not only complimentary shampoo and soap, but laundry detergent. So, Brian became our washing machine and washed our underwear out in the tub that night so they would be clean and dry the next morning. Thankfully, the accidental thief realized his mistake and returned our bag to the airport the next day. I can't help but wonder, what did he think when he opened up our bag?

Driving to Laos







After a couple nights in northern Thailand, we crossed the border into Laos - where they've come to their senses and drive on the right side of the road. :) (Thailand drives on the left)










We had lunch on a boat as we floated down the Mekong river. Do you really want to know what Brian is eating? Egg soaked in horse urine. Yes, he really did eat it. I'll leave you for now with a couple more of my favorite pictures from the lunch boat... but since I'm sure you're not sick of hearing about my vacation, I'll be posting much more!