Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya, an ancient city in Thailand founded in 1350 by King U Thong. In late 1700s, the city was destroyed by Burmese army. The ruins of Ayutthaya are still standing and they tell the stories of a once prosperious city. Unfortunately due to the recent floods in Thailand, the ruins underwent further damag and we weren't able to see the Grand Palace of Ayutthaya. On our way to Ayutthaya, we saw what the flood had done to the villages. Telephone poles showed that the water was at least 5 feet high and garabage where everywhere. It seemed not much has changed since the flood receded.

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Apparently there were lots of elephant rides for tourists around the area. After the flood, only a few has returned.

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Best snacks on the road: fresh coconut juice and sweet pineapple.

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Siam

Siam now known as Thailand today is heavily influenced by Buddhism. Today we visited the Grand Palace, home to beautiful Thai buildings covered in gold sheets and thousands of Buddha statues. Past and present kings of Thailand had dedicated much of the Thai infrastructure in devoting into the Buddha. The whole Grand Palace was covered in gold, the view was even more magnificant when the sun was out.



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After the Grand Palace, we went on a boat tour on Chao Phraya River. The wooden platforms are homes to some Thai, who depend their means of living on the river.


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A long day of walking and wandering down the streets of Bangkok. When my mom heard that there was a shop that only served mango dessert we were on a mission to find it. We walked around for more than 30 minutes in a hot and humid afternoon trying to find this place. The effort was well worth while.

Mango three ways with fresh mango, mango pudding, mango ice cream, and sticky rice.


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Bangkok

Happy New Year! Greetings from Bangkok! My family took an early flight on new years day to Thailand. So here I am, starting off my new year in Bangkok and more non-stop eating.

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The last time I was in Thailand was when I was seven years old. The only memory I have from then was I mistakenly held a random man's hand in a crocodile farm thinking it was my Dad's.

Our first visit was to Jim Thompson Museum, not too far from our hotel. It was a house built by American architect Jim Thompson in 1959, who contributed substantially to Thailand textile industry and introduced the famous Thai silk to the world.

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The house demonstrated the best in trational Thai architecture with some Western influences. For example, the houses were elevated a full story above the ground, a precaution to avoid flooding during raining season. Meanwhile traditional Thai houses would be separated into individual housing quarters, like a house for kitchen, one for living room. The Jim Thompson house was contructed with all the quaters connected.

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The interor of the house was filled with Budda statues as early as 7th century, as well as antique furniture from China. Of course, like all house museums no photography was allowed inside.

We continued our day with an adventurous short trip on the water taxi on the river canal. The canal had an unpleasant smell because that's where all the waste goes, including human's. Yet, the river canals that run through the city are an important mean of transportation.

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I was a little bit grossed out when the water splashed into the boat. Good thing it had these blue plastic sheets that passengers could pulled up. The man in helmet is the ticket collector/sailor.

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Tomorrow's agenda: The Royal Palace (not Buckingham palace, the Thai Royal one)

Hong Kong

I flew back to Hong Kong the day after Christmas, where I grew up and where my parents are.
Everytime I am home in Hong Kong, this is what I do: Eat, Sleep, Shopping, Hiking, and Eat. Repeat.

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My parents live on Lantau Island, which is one of the many islands surrounding Hong Kong Island. The other day my mom and I took a little ferry to a different side of Lantau Island and we hiked back.

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The view was amazing. The pictures may look hazy, it's not because I did something with the camera, that's just the way the sky has became due to the pollution. Even on sunny days, it is still difficult see the coastline clearly.  Note the airport in the horizon, that area was once ocean and it has been filled to create that flat land.

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During our hike, we passed by some little fishing villages. Here a family is drying mustard green on their front yard.

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The village house reminds me of the scenes in the movies like Armagenddon and Deep Impact when the asteroid hits Asia. All is missing is the saipan boats, in reality I hardly see saipan boats in Hong Kong.

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Tomorrow my family is flying somewhere Southeast Asia for vacation. I promise to write once I am there, and let's see if you can guess where I am.

Merry Merry Christmas

Sunset in the Fields

I have been staying at my future-in-laws' house in southeast Wisconsin country side. Before meeting Jake, I did not know what silo was and I thought the red barn off the driveway was their house. What a city girl I was. As I spend more time in the country, I begin to appreciate the nature and openness. On Christmas Eve, Lola and I took a walkabout around the fields at sunset.

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Everything outside is brown, tan, maroon, and dark brown. The weather has been around freezing everyday, but I still enjoy the nature. Lola loves chasing the little critters and rolling around in poop.

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When we were driving up north, the land got flatter and flatter, until we were on one straight interstate that took us all the way to Wisconsin. That's the Midwest, flat, endless field, farms, haystacks, and cows. Don't call me a city girl anymore, because I love everything about the Midwest.

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Madison

Last December I moved out of my apartment in Madison, Wisconsin and moved down to Lexington to start another chapter of my life. A year later, I revisited Madison. Even though at the end of my six years stay I was ready to move on to a new place, sometimes I still miss the city. Madison was where I went from living in dorms to in an apartment by myself, it was where I met Jake and where we had our first date, where I adopted Lola, and where I had my first job.


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In Madison, I had lunch at my favorite pizza joint.


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I went to the Wisconsin Statee Capital.


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I passed by Lola and my first home together.


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I miss the biking trails and beautiful lakes, but going back to Madison made me realize that it was a good decision to leave the city. I was ready to move on start something fresh. I love where I am right now in life.


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p.s. I apologize for the poor/ weird photo quality because I don't have my computer with to edit the pictures. I will update again when I am back.