Sunday's Adventures

Okay, some have been asking about last Sunday's adventure. We have already posted some of the pictures from it, but let me tell you the rest of the story.

We (and by "we" I mean "I"-- Summer wanted to go, but not quite as badly as I did) had been waiting for about a month to go to the Ratchapruek Gardens. They were created a couple years ago in honor of the king's 60th year of reign. This should tell you how much they love their king. These aren't some dinky little gardens either. The whole complex is huge! It takes several hours to see everything. Anyway, we planned to go every Sabbath for the last 4 or 5 Sabbaths before we actually went, but there was always something that came up that kept us from going.

But Finally, Sunday, we left the school with David and Annabelle heading towards Chiang Mai. We decided we'd take the scenic route (yes, mom... it's true) and went the back way. The drive was beautiful, albeit a bit narrower and more curvy. The houses along the back way seemed to be a bit more upscale. We even saw a neighborhood! That's not typical here. We have villages and stuff, but neighborhoods like you see in the states-- not too common. The sights were so exciting that even David, who was driving was looking over his shoulder. Meanwhile, the car started drifting into oncoming traffic. Annabelle screamed, "Look out!" and David swerved back into the left lane. Whew! That got all our hearts racing. I was impressed that Annabelle didn't say anything more to David about that. Many people berate their spouses when things like that happen. I felt sorry for him... I think he was embarrassed. He's normally a good driver. So that was the start to our adventure.

We eventually got to Ratchapruek gardens, where the Bells dropped us off. This time of the year (I think) is the low season, so the entrance to the gardens is free. Summer and I made our way in and paid 20 Baht each for the little tram ride around the gardens. You could get on and off these trams whenever you wanted and walk around to explore-- the next tram comes every 15 minutes or so. The gardens are big enough, that almost everyone who goes rides the trams. There is a big section of the park where representatives from different countries all around the world built small gardens themed for their respective countries in honor of the king. A lot of this section was closed off, I'm assuming for upkeep and repairs and such things. There were all kinds of other places to explore, though, and different things to see. The Thai creativity was definitely not lacking when they built these gardens!

It was kind of a hot day that day, and we were tired after we were done with the gardens. When David and Annabelle came to pick us up, though, they were ready to go to the Sunday Walking Street to get massages. Summer and I didn't object. :-) I was actually energized by going there. I didn't think I would be. I got a great foot and calf massage from a lady named Yai. I was kinda scared to try to strike up conversation with her because I was thinking... I don't want to try to talk to someone who doesn't understand me... but I felt like God was calling me to make a connection with her, so I started asking her if she spoke any English. She told me a little bit, and I told her I knew a little bit of Thai. Through that we actually conversed (although it was a bit labored at times), and she told me she wanted me to come back. I'm looking forward to the next time I get to chat with her.

After we got our massages, Summer and I decided that we wanted Italian food. So, we went to a restaurant on the Walking Street and got a nice little table outside. It was fantastic! The guy who owns the restaurant (we're assuming anyway) came and took our order, and we were pleased to find out that he is full-blooded Italian. Cool! Summer got to order her "Pizza Margherita" in Italian, which gave her fun memories of her stint in Italy this last summer. And I had a veggie pizza. Oh, it was so good to taste cheese again! You can't get it here very cheap, so we never buy it. It was at this time, though, that some hill tribes' women came up to our table and started accosting us... trying to hawk their wares. Summer and I figured after a few "No thank yous" and "Mai ows" ("I don't want any"), the two women would give up and leave. But no! They were persistent! They were going to sucker these farangs into buying something if it was the last thing they did. We sat there talking to them and trying to get them to leave for close to 15 minutes (mind you, we were sitting down at our table at the restaurant and had already ordered). Summer finally broke down and bought a bracelet from one of them for 100 Baht just to get her to leave. My stubbornness kicked in, and I was not going to let this woman win. So I didn't! She left muttering to herself... no doubt something to the effect of, "stupid, cheap foreigner." Summer and I just sighed a big sigh of relief. That was the worst we have experienced here! We enjoyed our meal though, feeling only slightly defeated.

So, those were the adventures of last Sunday-- The time we almost died... and The accosting of a farang. Some of you have been asking for pictures of our house, so I am going to post some here for your viewing pleasure, provided everything works okay. Love to you from us.

~M

Okay, so the blog is not cooperating with us trying to post pictures. We'll try again tomorrow. Love!