Sukhothai

     I have not been in Bangkok for almost two weeks now, but was hosted be a great family in Sukhothai, Thailand some of that time.  For several days, I was living on a rice factory.  How many people can say that?  "I was living on a rice factory".  Every single day, I am just blown away by the experiences I am having.  Just so lucky really.  This family is friends with my aunt and their son Chin really wanted to meet me because he'd like to come to America in the next year or two in order to improve his English.  They are the owners of the rice factory and their house sits on the factory grounds.

     This city is considered the historic town of Sukhothai and has a Historical Park.  This place was very similar to Ayutthaya with a few variations in architecture.  I enjoyed Sukhothai a little bit more because they had more ruins. Chin, my cousin Jut and I rented bicycles and road around seeing all the ruins.  Wonderful experience!  Please do not be insulted by any of the pictures, we were just having a bit of fun, but were very respectful of the ruins and the Buddhist religion.  2/3 of our party is Buddhist and I love many Buddhist teachings.

     While touring the ruins, we ran into a bunch of kids that wanted to interview me in order to improve their English.  I was asked "What is your name?", "Where are you from?", "Do you like Thailand?" and several other questions at least a dozen times.  It was nice to help out.  These kids were so cute!

     After this day, Chin had to finish up some tests and graduate high school!  Congratulations to Chin!  Jut and I decided to spend 4 days and 3 nights in Chiang Mai while we waited for Chin to finish school so we could all travel together.  Chiang Mai is a nice city with good weather, not as hot as Bangkok.  We spent our time eating good food, spending time with friends and I spent a few hours one day at the spa.  Very relaxing, easy going mini trip and so I don't really have any pictures, just this one of me enjoying the rain that was a little bit chilly, super rare for Thailand.

"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves." 

-Buddha