I wish I could capture more of the lifestyle of the Thailand I have seen on camera. It is hard to take pictures of people without feeling a bit like a voyeur or radical tourist. If I can sneak a shot, I might try. I got caught by a monk at the top of Tiger Temple and I was horrified. I need to pray to the Apologetic Buddha.
After sitting around lazily by the pool and at the beach, Molly and I finally decided to move…..we headed to the Tiger Temple Caves to climb the 1,257 stairs to the top of a hill. Not just normal stairs. Steep, big stairs. At some point, the monks put in concrete stairs on the side of the hill. In the past, they had climbed only with the aid of ropes to the top of the hill, where they prayed and meditated. The monks in training live in the area in nearby caves. No wonder they were all so skinny and dark, as they climb the stairs daily as a part of their routine.
Great views from the top of the climb. Shoes off, quiet, respectful and a beautiful, natural setting for worship. Almost makes me want to be a Buddhist. I would miss Christmas though….
Molly and I contributed to the local color ourselves that night. We met two young men at the resort from Sweden that we befriended….Bjorn and Tobias. They came as white as snow. We all went to dinner that night at a sushi restaurant. There was a trio of musicians playing guitar and singing~they were cousins from the Phillipines. They played familiar music and we sang along and guessed the names of the artists and had a great evening. I think we became more entertaining than the band and we were certainly having more fun!
By the morning, Bjorn and Tobias were quite red. Sunburned. BBQ. “Tourist tattoo” they call it. I call it “local color”.
