Random Picture #22

I know, long time, no see. I'll try to find some time this weekend.

Until then...

Bintan, Xindian, Taiwan

Random Picture of the Week #21

The view from my near my office. It's cool to see the 101 every morning.

Random Picture of the Week #20

Another shot from a bus window, Xinyi District, Taipei.

Random Picture of the Week #19

Fake cat, real bird. In front of a shop off of Yongkang St.

Random Picture of the Week #18

Xinyi and Donghua Roads, Taipei 101 Building in the background.

Random Picture of the Week #17

Little birds for sale near the Guting MRT station.

Random Picture of the Week #16

Al, antagonizing the chicken who lives around the corner.

Random Picture of the Week #15

Two girls check out the menu at Grandma Nitti's on a rainy Friday Night, ShiDa.

The first few pics...

Squirrel!

Ximen District

Mmmm... cheap eats. ($3 US)

Punk Trees ??!!!

Seoul deja vu!

From the plane.... islands struck in the light of the setting sun... can't see the divide between sea and sky... loved it!

Nifty cloud scenery from Bangkok to Taipei.

Random Picture of the Week #13

He lives in our backyard.

Random Picture of the Week # 12

Somewhere in Chiang Mai.

Random Picture of the Week #11

Down the road from our house.

2009, Adventure #1!

We took off on a road trip this weekend to Si Satchanalai Historic Park, a 13th century ruined city of the Sukhothai Period, famous for its pottery kilns. This is a fantastic spot if you're into history, archaeology, adventure, and ruins. You can ride around the park on your own through trees and hills, stopping at the various walls, gates, and temples that used to make up this city (the park's too large to walk but you can rent bikes at the entrance). It's very similar to Sukhothai but, in my opinion, nicer because it has very few tourists and it is not as "manicured" I guess, as the grounds of Sukhothai are.

You can go to Si Satchanalai on a day trip from Sukhothai or, as in our case, from Uttaradit. It was a 2 hour motorbike ride straight on highway 102, past the Lotus supermarket. The only trouble we had was as we neared the destination, when we accidentally followed signs for Si Satchanalai National Park--- not the Historical Park. Don't make the same mistake as you can end up going pretty far in the wrong direction.

Anyway, we packed a picnic lunch and took off at around noon, as we had slept in pretty late. It was a wonderful drive. It's sort of autumn here, which is strange, I always thought of Thailand as being perpetually steamy and hot. It's dry now and cool, even cold. Leaves are falling from many of the trees and if you squint your eyes the scenery passing by could almost be upstate New York. Let everything come into focus though and you realize it's all completely different-- the red and brown trees are varieties of bamboo and other monsoon forest species (we are not far enough south for rain forests), the cows are not the hefty black and white dairy cows but the gaunt Brahman cattle of Southeast Asia, and the smell of a wood fire is coming from a stilt home along a muddy river. It's these days-- not when I'm plodding along at my office or sitting at home all day waiting for my internet to get fixed, that I'm really glad I chose this lifestyle.

We passed signs (in English) for more historical sites and a museum which we plan to visit next time. There will definitely be a next time since we only had an hour and a half at the park before we had to turn back to beat the sunset.

Below are some of my favorite pics-- enjoy!

Wat Chedi Chet Thae

Al, Wat Chedi Chet Thae

Wat Chang Lom (back)

Wat Chang Lom (front) The animal statues were elephants, but most of the identifying features have eroded.

Random Picture of the Week #10

Railroad crossing, near Sila-at Station.

Random Picture of the Week #9

Phraya Phichai Dap Hak Monument, Uttaradit City Hall, Uttaradit, Thailand.

(the weird light effect is because of all the incense in the air, this was during a festival)

Random Picture of the Week #8

Wat Kumaran, Koh Samui, Thailand. There is a mummified monk in the glass case.

Random Picture of the Week #7

Snake charmer at the local night market, Uttaradit (cobras!)

Random Picture of the Week #6

We pass this on the way to and from Chiang Mai. I don't know what it is, it just looks cool.

Random Picture of the Week #5

Pork satay (satay moo) with peanut sauce and ginger broth with chicken and noodles (bumee naam gai). One of our favorite meals in town.

Satay Restaurant Location: I find it hard to describe the location of things in town due to my limited Thai, but here goes it. Looking at this map, from the intersection of Inchaimee (Injaimee) Road and Th. Samranruen, go south on Samranruen to the point where the Nan River bends toward the road. The river will be in clear view to your left and down at the bank will be a statue of a woman with long hair. Across the street, facing the river, will be the large, open air satay restaurant. Enjoy.

Random Picture of the Week #4

The entrance to the university library.