The White Temple

During our Thailand trip Matt and I visited one of Chiang Rai's most famous attractions, Wat Rong Khun, otherwise known as the White Temple. While most other buddhist temples are gold, seemingly Thailand's favorite color, this building is unique by being stark white. While Wat Rong Khun is a functioning prayer site, it is also a privately owned art exhibit. The views expressed by the artwork seemed to more from the artist's point of view than the Buddhist religion. Although Matt and I had previously visited Buddhist temples in Japan, we were left constantly confused about the rites and customs witnessed in this specific Thai temple.

Me in my church-appropriate dress thinking I was ready to go!

Our confusion began with simply attempting to enter the temple grounds. There were turnstiles, but no apparent ticket booth. There were people at the entrance who stopped us, indicating we needed something else. They spoke to us in English, so we nodded and walked away. Matt asked - "Did you catch what they said?" Me - "No, I hoped you did!" We were flummoxed, what were we missing? We tried entering again, only to met by yelling "Too short!" We figured out the problem- my dress was too short! In order to enter the temple grounds we first had to rent a scarf that would cover more of my legs. We were not the only ones with this problem- many foreign women also rocked the white skirts. We easily found the booming business of scarf rental across the street and were able to finally progress closer to the temple.

NOW I'm ready to go!

Not only were the buildings and sculptures bright white plaster, they were also inlaid with mirror pieces to produce a glimmering, mirage-like effect. The message seemed to be that that modern, pop culture led to hell, and that guardians protected heaven from their influence. I could be completely wrong - but we absolutely saw Batman's decapitated head and Wolverine's hand emerging from a pit of hell.

Although there were some creepy elements, the buildings were really a thing of beauty with insane amounts of detail. We admired as much as we could before the hazy heat got to us and we had to find our taxi again.

The Thailand Trip

A temple-guarding dragon we passed in Chiang Rai. 

Since Matt and I received orders to leave Okinawa in May, we knew we only had the time to go on one last trip. We wanted to go big, so we took three different plane rides to end up in Chiang Rai, a small town in northern Thailand. We wanted to see the White Temple (which will be the next blog post), and the cost of living in the rural part of the country was very low. As a result we were able to afford a very luxurious resort for our three night stay. Before I describe all of the luxury and fun we experienced, I want to remember that no matter where you stay travel always is accompanied by unexpected surprises. Matt and I had to sit in separate rows on the full flight to Thailand, my luggage reappeared wet and smelling of fish at our final destination, and though I packed for the appropriate number of days I had to find laundry services after I sweat through all of my outfits days early. After the heat and smells and strangers I was ready for our resort, and it was so worth the trip!

We stayed in a villa at The Legend in Chiang Rai. They greeted us with flower necklaces, a cold towel, and juice from an unknown fruit. Inside our room we had water and fruit and flowers everywhere. They even replaced the daily flowers in the soap dish. I didn't even know soap dishes required fresh flowers! Outside we had a PRIVATE POOL that we used every day due to the sticky heat. I think I'm forever spoiled now  - "What do you mean I don't have a private pool and soap dish flowers!?"- me at every other hotel I stay at from now on.

We did occasionally leave the resort. We went shopping and sight-seeing which was always interesting not speaking a lick of Thai. The hotel would book a taxi for us and tell the driver where we wanted to go. The taxi driver would show us where they parked at our destination so we could find them when we were done. We paid per hour for the taxi. I'm sure the driver would have preferred we sight-see longer, but after a few hours Matt and I would be red and sweaty and have to retreat back to the pool. The taxi was necessary for longer trips, but just going to the city center for dinner our favorite way to travel was by tuk-tuk. It's basically a motorbike with a covered two-person seat in the back. It roars and putters down the back streets, and the wind through my hair from the crazy driving was always refreshing.

The view from the back of the tuk-tuk. 

The walking street where I purchased floral Thai pants and an embroidered clutch.

The clock tower that performed a musical light show on the hour. 

Our favorite cafe on the Kok river. 

Our visit to the Choui Fong tea plantation on a hot, hazy day. 

Honey lemon iced oolong tea!

We loved our resort and all of our short trips in and around Chiang Rai!

The Sunday Snapshot

Recently returned from Thailand- a nation that loves their king and the color gold. Seen on a back road in Chiang Rai.

The Sunday Snapshot

My first Dining In! A confusing combination of formal dining, alcoholic beverages, and mandatory shouting.

The Search for Sea Glass

One souvenir I plan to keep from Okinawa is different colors of sea glass displayed in clear jars. My jars are currently only half-full, so we took a trip to add to my beautiful, free collection. Next to Camp Schwab where Matt works is a cove known as sea glass beach. I assumed there would be sea glass available, but I was amazed by how many pieces littered the sand among the coral even though we were not the only visitors that day. As Alex said, "It feels like cheating," the finding of colorful pieces was so easy. Matt and I don't usually relax on the beach, and you would not want to here as the sand is rough with coral and glass. We all really enjoyed combing the beach and listening to the waves that make a silvery, tinkling noise when they roll in and out from all of the glass.

Blue, amber, green, brown, clear, and yellow glass in just one spot!

Alex found a rare purple piece!

Light turquoise is my favorite color of sea glass. 

"What did you find?"