Monks and ruins

We loaded into the vans and drove ~2 hrs north of Bangkok to Ayuttayah, the ancient capital that was destroyed by the Burmese in the middle 1700s.  Many ruins of temples of the ancient capital have been preserved and collectively are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We visited two of them today.  Afterwards, we checked into our hotel, got dinner at the night market in Ayuttayah, and the students thought karaoke would be a good idea.  The ajarns kept their distance from the latter.

Note to parents and friends:  Thank you very much for posting comments!  I look forward to your comments as much as you look forward to the blog, and because it takes a reasonable effort to do this (usually late night), I will focus on featuring your kids in the pics.  Also, you might not realize that you can click directly on a photo and it will enlarge.

Before we left our hotel in Amphawa, we had a unique opportunity to offer alms to a monk.  Buddhist monks make their rounds collecting alms from nearby people every day.  They take these provisions back to the temple and share with the other monks.  All food should be eaten before mid-day.  Here is one of two monks approaching our hotel at 7:30 in the morning.

These two monks paddle across the Mae Klong River from the temple on the opposite bank, then go up the shoreline to houses and hotels.  We had food for each of our students to give to one of the monks.  Here is Anna giving alms to the second monk.

Katie.

Moose.

Alyssa.

Abby.

Blaire.

Emily.

Luke.

Max.

Colin.

Kyle.

...  After the monk received all the alms, he faced the entire group and chanted blessings for 2 minutes.  With a full load of provisions for the day, he paddled back to the temple.  This was a wonderful, rich cultural experience.

On the drive to Ayuttayah, we stopped for gas and of course many of our students bolted to a nearby McDonalds.  Although it was expected, the craving for Macs disappointed the ajarns.  Abby and Blaire wai'd with Ron. 

In the late 1700s, the Burmese invaded Thailand and destroyed the temples around Ayuttayah, the former capitol of Thailand.  In Buddhist countries, the head is considered sacred and not to be touched.  So by decapitating the Buddha statues, the Burmese committed an even greater grievous offense.

Our students giving a polite and respectful wai at Wat Chai Watannaram.

 Not so much.

At each venue, we have two students give a briefing about what we are about to see.  Here are Colin and Emily providing background information about Wat Pra Mahatat before we entered the ruins.

The boys: Colin, Luke, Max, Kyle.

55% of the students posing with a Buddha statue at Wat Pra Mahatat.

The boys shot an album cover photo... Now all 3/4 of them need is musical talent; Kyle already is a quasi-professional drummer!

We were celebrities yet again:  I was mildly concerned when the police wanted to talk with us, but when I told them in Thai language about our study abroad class and that we are Americans, they wanted their pictures taken with us!  L-R: tourist police woman, Luke, me, Katie, Moose, Alyssa, Colin, Kyle, Gabby, a Thai cop, Max.

New Year's Eve

After the mangrove activities, we drove to Amphawa, a small nearby fishing village that comes alive on December 31.  Lots of Thais come here for the celebration and floating market.  We are just about the only farangs (white westerners) in town.  We checked into our hotel and had the evening to enjoy the Amphawa Floating Market before the midnight New Year's Eve countdown.  Unfortunately, because of the shrill, abrasive voices of the female singers, we couldn't stay with the crowd until midnight.

Dressed to kill, our group ventured out to the New Year's Eve activities in Amphawa.

Amphawa features a floating market where vendors are in boats as well as along the street sides.

The canal is lined with vendors.  They prepare food in the boats and pass the meals up to the boardwalk to customers.  There is a famous floating market closer to Bangkok, but it has gotten unbelievably touristy and is no longer even close to authentic.  The Amphawa floating market is the real deal.  We were just about the only farangs here... only the wonderfully friendly and welcoming Thai people otherwise.

This woman is selling massive shrimp and other seafood.

The street beyond the canal is lined with vendors selling all kinds of food, clothing, trinkets, and souvenirs.

The ajarns' favorite is phad Thai nachos.  Sooooooo good, and served on a banana leaf which is always a nice touch.  Crispy won-tons, with bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, egg, phad Thai sauce, and Thai chilis.  Wow!

All kinds of goodies in the market, including dead fish in baskets.

Cute coconut treats.

These were once alive, although I'm not sure what they were.

HUGE shrimp.

Longkongs and mangosteens.

BBQ squid and another dead fish.

They tell me this is the most popular singing group in Thailand, although we have difficulty believing it.  They travel all over the country but are from this area, so they perform here every New Years Eve.

Our students always get out on the dance floor, and true to annual tradition, they become near-instant celebrities.

Annie and Gabby in the foreground.  Katie, Max and Colin behind them.  Moose is in there too, but you can't see her (she's in the photo above).

Notice the newspaper photographer taking pictures of our group, while Max does the "worm."  I understand we were on the January 1 TV news and in the newspaper.

The terrible shrieking by the female singers reminded me of a cat whose tail was being stepped on, or maybe like Alvin and the Chipmunks on steroids.  Anyway, we couldn't take it any longer so we returned to our accommodations and welcomed in the new year on the patio over the Mae Klong River.  Here's Anna and Alex saying Suk sahn wahn pi mai!.