Bangkok is a vibrant city with more than 8 million people. Despite the cities chaos of heavy traffic consisting of buses, motorcycles, cars, songtaews and tuk tuks, the people are so courteous. I live in a nice apartment in a residential part of town. One day, we took a songtaew (a red pick-up truck with two benches in the back) to a busier part of town. While riding on the songtaew, I complimented a lady on her shopping bag she was carrying. After getting off at our stop and walking a bit, I feel a tap on my shoulder . . . it was the lady from the songtaew who was frantically emptying the contents of her shopping bag in to a plastic bag so she could give it to me!
I teach English Monday thru Friday at Wat (Temple) Worachanyawat. Some places reference it as Wat Vorachanyawas. The temple is about a 20 minute walk from my apartment and is located on the iconic Chao Phraya river. I am referred to as “teacher” by my students who consist of Buddhist monks, nuns and adult lay people. They are all so eager to learn English with proper pronunciation. Inside the temple grounds, there are golden shrines and statues adorning Buddha, Hindu and Daoism beliefs. Smells of incense, massage tiger balm and tropical flowers used to worship Buddha permeate the air. Most mornings the monks are chanting and wild dogs and cats chime in. They say that the Buddhist monks do not believe in killing any living thing, so many stray cats and dogs find there way there. The temple also houses a crematory and mortuary and provides funeral services. Some of the cheapest massages may be had within this temple since it is not popular with tourist. My first massage there was wonderful! After class each day, the missioners all have lunch together on the pier. The conversations are lively and thoughtful – Sometimes I feel a bit intimidated by my company of worldly scholars but I so enjoy listening and learning.
I so often heard from travelers to Thailand that the food is amazing. I am here to say . . . it is AMAZING!!! The street we walk down to the Wat where we teach is my favorite. It is a local neighborhood so it’s not popular among tourists. Depending on the time of day, the array of street vendors and variety of foods change. I typically buy some new culinary delight from the street vendors each day and bring it back to my room to eat. I’ll let the pictures do the talking . . .
One day after lunch, I ventured out on my own to see some famous sites in Bangkok. I took the express taxi boat on the Chao Phraya river, and yes, they are express – they stop at about 20 docks along the river. You better be ready to jump on or off at your stop because they maneuver those boats in and out of the dock in less than a minute! I intended to visit Wat Pho, Bangkok’s oldest temple, home of the stunning reclining Buddha and famous school of massage, but I got off the boat too early and landed at the famous Wat Arun instead. This temple, known as “The Temple of Dawn” was beautiful with it’s intricate mosaic work made from tiny porcelain shards shaped into flowers, a technique from the Ayutthaya era using recycled pottery that had been smashed during merchant voyages from China. Afterwards, I hopped on the ferry to go to the other side of the river to see Wat Pho and the reclining Buddha. Then made it back to the apartment successfully on my first singular voyage.
View from my apartment deck 
Embracing Gray 