Archive for May, 2004
Beijing
In Beijing, I took a class and ate some nice food, had too much of Bai Jiu (White Wine), met some old friends and made some new ones. Last but not least, I finally went to the Great Wall.
Working hard in the class
Working hard after the class
This Bai Jiu was really potent. I forgot the last couple of hours of this evening
Finally, the great wall. I have been going to China for three years now, but I always kept skipping Beijing and the Great Wall.
Lopburi, Thailand
The next time you land at the Don Muang airport in Bangkok, you may want to skip heading to the city. Just cross the bridge to the Don Muang train station and take the train to Lopburi. There are several trains a day and it takes about three hours to get there. The city is small enough to walk around and explore the temples and ruins. This picture is from the Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahatat just outside the train station.
Funny India
At the end of St. Marks road (in Bangalore) is this lovely cafe housed in and surrounded by some of the oldest buildings in the city.
I was in a street nearby called the MG Road, the most hip address in Bangalore. One of the movie halls was showing “The Passion of Christ”. Two local girls were stopping passer-bys and distributing brochures of a Christian group. A little distance away, there were two young foreigners, shaven heads and dressed in traditional Indian “kurta” and “dhoti”, distributing brochures of a “Hare Krishna” like Hindu group. India is always funny.
A house on the hills
Hills are lovely, Chikmagalur district in Karnataka state in India. Can you spot the little house in the hills?
Narathiwat - Deep South of Thailand
Narathiwat is a town in the deep south of Thailand. It is a nice sea side town with friendly, smiling people. It was nice walking the quiet lanes watching the bird cages and little children playing about. One little girl was teaching another little girl how to do a “wai” - the gentle thai bow used to greet people. A mom was combing the hair of another little girl. Families, camped out by the sea were enjoying the relaxed Sunday.
The little fishing village by Narathiwat. The village is just 10 minutes walk from the city centre.
The kids enjoying a swim in the lagoon. It was a hot day.
Kites for sale at the beach.
Drying beetle nuts. As you see here, the city is really clean and has many such two storied wooden houses.