Ronald McDonald offering a standard Thai greeting called the wai. I grew to really appreciate this gesture that can mean hello, goodbye, apologies and thank you. It has an elegance of motion and intent. By the end of the trip I was trying my best to incorporate this motion in appropriate transactions. Speaking of adventure, [...]

This was one of those marathon days. There was the Grand Palace and Reclining Buddha in the morning, and then a half hour of Thai style massage, which is essentially a brutal non-sexual broach of personal space without oils and oddly enjoyable. We were getting grouchy from the heat at this point (you can see [...]

Yaksha stand guard at the entrances inside the Grand Palace of Thailand—the residence of the king. (But it is not the residence of the king right now, as he’s in hospital because he had too much sex and needed an operation, oh, needs protection because the red shirts want to kill him. Or something like that… [...]

If your tour of Bangkok has a trip to the “Floating Market” scheduled, skip it. Seriously. It’s like 2 hours away from the city and you can find all the same goods they’re selling at the mega awesome MBK shopping center downtown or the place pictured here: The Flower & Vegetable Market - Pak Khlong Talat. Rambutan: [...]

If you were hoping for something different, please hold. I’m still clearing out photos from the last few days in Asia, though I arrived safely home yesterday. (Hello lovely Ohio temperatures of autumn!) But thanks to a whacked out internal clock, my 6am feels like 5pm. When’s dinner? And before I delve back into temples [...]

First on tap in Bangkok? A Ladyboy Cabaret (a song and dance show with transgender men). We caught the tourist friendly version at Calypso with no expectations and were thoroughly entertained, dazzled really. What is this all about? Let me have others explain: “Thailand’s katoeys (“Ladyboys”) are some of the most beautiful – and convincing [...]