I went to Monkey Mountain near Bang Sean Beach in Thailand… I never realized how many things a monkey would eat…. or drink…it was a great chance for some priceless photos.
Monkeys And A Dog
Category Archives: Photography
Fly On The Wall
I took this photo at an art gallery and thought….
If we could only be a fly on the wall in other peoples lives maybe everyone would be a
little more kind to each other.
Destruction
I recently went to Ayutthaya Thailand on a whim. I didn’t know what all was there but I had heard about the old ruins. I figured this would be a great place to get some good photos.
So off I went with my friend Valerie. We found out the van to get out of my town was going to be a two hour wait. So instead of waiting we hopped on the bus to take us to the next town. From there we took another bus to Bangkok. After arriving in Bangkok we took a taxi. The whole way there our taxi driver annoyingly honked the horn. I had never seen anything like it. It’s one thing to honk your horn, but he just pushed the limits. He would honk even when there was no one around!
It took us 2 and a half hours to get there…imagine hearing a honking horn for two and a half hours and theres nothing you can do about it…
We finally arrived around 8:00 p.m.
That night we went out with several teachers that were meeting up. It was a good time. Even went to a club and compared to my town that was a new form of culture shock. Haha
The next day we got a tuk tuk for 500 baht ( around $15.00) and he took us to all the old ruins around Ayutthaya.
The tour was from 12 to around 4 o’ clock and we saw many types of temples. At the time I wasn’t sure what I was looking at but knew I had some great photos. There wasn’t much to see at a couple and they just had a feeling of emptiness. I really wondered what happened back in the day. After arriving home and looking up the past I realized that there was a huge massacre and the Burmese attacked and destroyed everything.
When I was walking I still felt the emptiness. It’s amazing how these feelings can still reside decades later.
Here is what I saw.
These two pictures show the before and after. What is left standing from the Burmese attack. Monks gathered to find the remains of the shattered bodies. The remains still have an impact of the massacre that occurred hundreds of years ago. It was really eye opening to see the pride that the people have for the old and the new.
These photos remind me of the role destruction plays in our life. Whether it’s self destruction or destruction from others you can move on and overcome it. It’s amazing how pictures and history can put life into perspective a little more than before.
I don’t know about you, but I can think of many days that I’ve wasted stressing over things that I couldn’t even change. All I know is that I lost many moments of happiness during those times. Our minds become warped and overwhelmed at times but we just have to try and focus on other things, otherwise we will just drown ourselves and those around us in misery.
Your going to get hurt and those moments of hurt will always have a place in your heart, but like these photos show you can create something better and view life with a different point of view.
I am thankful I had the chance to go to visit Ayutthaya and explore all of its beauty. If you ever have a chance to visit it’s well worth the trip.
One Way Ticket
Leaving is such a broad term. I’m leaving I will see you later, I’m leaving I will be back soon, and I’m leaving I will meet you tomorrow. No matter what the case is there is usually a time frame for the next time you will see someone.
I came home from South Korea in March . The plans were set to leave before even arriving home. I was supposed to Germany to get my masters, but unfortunately that fell through. While the tuition is free and I was accepted; the cost of living wasn’t. I found myself dwelling on something that wasn’t feasible at the time. My thoughts had to change. Instead of dwelling on something I couldn’t do I decided to look for something that I could. So this time leaving was different. I began to search and found a program to get a TESOL certification in Thailand…..SO……….
I bought a one way ticket to Thailand. I didn’t want a restricted time frame. I wanted to be immersed in the culture, and take the time to think about the things I want in my life.
All I knew was that I paid to take the TESOL( Teaching English as a Second Language) course in Thailand.
I was going traveling to a third world country without knowing anything about it…. That’s right, I was clueless.
Researching something too much can make you second guess your decision. So, I chose not to research much and just go with it.
October 26th 6:00 a.m.
The plane descends through the fog and slowly pulls into the airport. This was it, I was in a whole new country by myself again. I start thinking about how fairly easy it was to adjust in Korea. I tell myself “Everything will be fine and I’ll make new friends in no time.” I get in the van and end up at a hotel in Bangkok for a few nights.
During my stay I was placed with a roommate who was also going to be teaching English in Thailand. We mutually agreed to sleep for a few hours, and then get up to explore. We went to the Grand Palace, rode in tuk tuks, went out to bars, and walked around the city. It was very busy in Bangkok so three or four days was enough.
This is my roommate Claire. She is from London.
On the way to the hotel I see something that would be highly illegal in the states. …. at least they are wearing helmets ..I start to think ” What am I getting myself into?” 
Then I saw this… anyone would think “Wow, that is very risky to have four people on a motorbike; let alone to be children and not wearing a helmet!”
As the old saying goes.. “If you can’t beat them, join them.”
This is a tuk tuk…there are 7 people crammed in here….let me show you the actual size. …
That’s right. This is made to fit 2-3 people comfortably, but our driver told us all to get in. So what do we do … pile in like clowns…for forty minutes… Let’s just say we couldn’t feel our legs when we got out!
Here are a few photos from the activities in Bangkok.
The Grand Palace
This is the sky bar where the Hangover was filmed! 
We had to be fully covered to get in ..this resulted in renting Thai clothing.
We took a boat to get to the palace.
The next move was to Hua Hin . Here we were placed with another roommate and started taking the TESOL course.
This was my second roommate Denise from Boston.
Green Heart Travel and Xplore Asia were the companies I went through to take the course. For the short time that we were there we were able to explore a good bit. There were several activities such as; going to a pineapple farm, to see a monk at a temple, visiting an elephants, going hiking, and volunteering at a local elementary school. From there everyone was moved to different parts of Thailand to start their teaching placements.
The hike to the hidden temple was so hot. The beer from the night before was dripping from my pores…great way to cure a hangover… for some…For others it was nap time once we reached the top!
While taking the TESOL course in Hua Hin I volunteered at a local elementary school. It was a good opportunity to get our feet wet…some would probably say that twice!
The school can’t afford to hire a western teacher. Each month the TESOL groups from Xplore Asia get the opportunity to go teach them English a few times. It was a very busy day with a lot of children, but we survived!
That was the first part of my adventures in Thailand. I came through a company this time verses going by myself to Korea. It was a good way to ease into things, make connections with new people, and embrace the Thai culture with others who where just as clueless as me.
I was able to get my certification and move to Ban Bueng, Chonburi.
Stayed tuned for what happens next…you’ll want to know… trust me..
sillylillyblog 