The Wheel: Travel

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in a classroom in the Karen ("Long Neck") village near Chiang Rai, Thailand. School wasn't in session, but these two girls were in attendance anyway.

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: Long Neck Karen Village

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in the Karen ("Long Neck") village near Chiang Rai, Thailand. The Karen people are indigenous to Myanmar, but, according to Wikipedia, "Due to the ongoing insurgency, hundreds of thousands of Karen fled to refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border...Approximately 400,000 Karen live in Thailand, where they are by far the largest of the hill tribes."

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: Rong Suea Ten Temple (Blue Temple)

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at the Rong Suea Ten Temple (Blue Temple) in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. According to Wikipedia, "Its final design was realized by Chiang Rai folk artist Mr. Phuttha Kabkaew. He gained skills and learned from Chalermchai Kositpipat while working on his famous Wat Rong Khun, just outside the city. Wat Rong Suea Ten's main building was completed on 22 January 2016. It took 11 years to complete the construction...It follows in the unconventional 'neo-traditional' style of Buddhist art pioneered by Chalermchai, employing lavishly ornamented sculptures and psychedelic visual imagery."

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: Lunch in the Golden Triangle

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken outside our lunch spot in the Golden Triangle of southeast Asia. According to Wikpedia, "The Golden Triangle is a large, mountainous region in northeastern Myanmar, Northern Thailand and northern Laos, centered on the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. The Golden Triangle has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s. Today, the Thai side of the river confluence, Sop Ruak, has become a tourist attraction with no opium cultivation."

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: The Golden Triangle

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at the Golden Triangle of southeast Asia. According to Wikpedia, "The Golden Triangle is a large, mountainous region in northeastern Myanmar, Northern Thailand and northern Laos, centered on the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. The name "Golden Triangle" was coined by Marshall Green, a U.S. State Department official, in 1971 in a press conference on the opium trade. The Golden Triangle has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s. Most of the world's heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when opium production in Afghanistan increased. Myanmar was the world's second-largest source of opium after Afghanistan up to 2022, producing some 25% of the world's opium, forming part of the Golden Triangle. Today, the Thai side of the river confluence, Sop Ruak, has become a tourist attraction, with the House of Opium Museum, a Hall of Opium, a Golden Triangle Park, and no opium cultivation."

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: Choui Fong Tea Plantation

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at the Choui Fong Tea Plantation in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. It's a family-owned and operated tea producer founded in 1977.

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: Architecture Imitates Nature

From 2025 03 20 Sukhothai

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at a temple complex in Sukhothai, Thailand, the ancient capital of the first Siamese kingdom in north-central Thailand. The kingdom expanded to its greatest extent during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng the Great (1279—1298).

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: Monkey Mountain

From 2025 03 20 Sukhothai

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at a roadside stop by Khao No (Monkey Mountain) in central Thailand. A roadside stop where hundreds of monkeys gather in hopes of getting a free meal from tourists who stop. For the physically fit (a category in which I no longer include myself), there's a steep trail with stairs and ladders to the top of the 300 meter mountain, which despite its modest height offers impressive views.

Bonus photos are after the jump.

POTD: Ratbamrung School Assembly

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at an assembly at Ratbamrung School north of Bangkok, Thailand. Our tour group stopped here to visit the school, where we were treated to a musical performance and where we donated school supplies. Kids are kids all over the world.

"North of Bangkok’s hum,
the schoolyard blooms with rhythm—
every grin a song."
h/t ChatGPT

Saturday, November 8, 2025

POTD: Wat Chaiwatthanaram

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at the Wat Chaiwatthanaram, a Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya north of Bangkok, Thailand. I could bore you with a bunch of photos of the old temple. Or hopefully catch your interest with a photo of a young woman who was visiting the site on the day we were.

Now the boring stuff. According to Wikipedia, "The temple was constructed in 1630 by the king, Prasat Thong, as the first temple of his reign, as a memorial of his mother's residence in that area. The temple's name literally means the Temple of long reign and glorious era. It was designed in Khmer style to gain Buddhist merit and as a memorial to his mother, however Prince Damrong believed it was built to celebrate Ayutthaya Kingdom's victory over Longvek."

A bonus photo of a tourist photobombing the temple is after the jump.

POTD: Wat Mahathat Buddha

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at Wat Mahathat, the Temple of the Great Relic, a Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand, north of Bangkok. Age and benign neglect resulted in this Buddha statue getting enveloped by tree roots, making me think of the patience of Zen meditation.

A bonus side view of the Buddha is after the jump.

POTD: Wat Mahathat Monks

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at Wat Mahathat, the Temple of the Great Relic, a Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand, north of Bangkok. The young monks, perhaps even without knowing it, recall a detail from the temple's origins.

According to Wikipedia, "The history of Wat Mahathat starts in 1374 when King Borommarachathirat I erected a temple at this place, bearing another name. ... His nephew and successor Ramesuan (1369-1370, 1388-1395) expanded the site in 1384 to build a great temple, while he was here as a monk between his throne offices. During this time the temple got its present name."

"Young monks in saffron,
walking where kings once knelt down —
Centuries converse."
— h/t ChatGPT

Monday, October 20, 2025

POTD: Bang Pa-In Royal Palace

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at the gardens of the Summer Palace north of Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River. According to Wikipedia, "King Prasat Thong constructed the original complex in 1632, but it fell into disuse and became overgrown in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until King Mongkut began to restore the site in the mid-19th century. Most of the present buildings were constructed between 1872 and 1889 by King Chulalongkorn."

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: The Death Railway

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at Hellfire Pass on the so-called Death Railway, a railroad built to connect Thailand with Burma during WWII, using POWs as forced labor. I learned of the railway, as many did, from the 1957 Oscar Best Picture, "The Bridge on the River Kwai." There is still a museum and memorial to the men who were worked to death in service of the Japanese Empire's war effort.

According to Wikipedia, "More than 250,000 Southeast Asian civilians and 12,000 Allied soldiers built the railway line, including Hellfire Pass. The pass is noted for the harsh conditions and heavy loss of life suffered by its labourers during construction. It was called Hellfire Pass because the sight of emaciated prisoners labouring by burning torchlight resembled a scene from Hell."

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: Bangkok Floating Market

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on one of the canals of Bangkok, the city once called the Venice of the East. Today, the city is paved with highways and has some of the worst traffic in the world, but there are still a few places where the old way that commerce was conducted in Bangkok can still be seen. The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is one such place.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: Quiet Spot on the Chao Phraya River

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, the city's busy water thoroughfare. I don't know the man's story, nor the story of the place behind him. This sight was more typical in Bangkok's past. More commonly seen today on the busy Chao Phraya River are longboats speeding up and down the river, powered by modified automotive diesel motors connected to a long drive shaft and a propeller at the rear.

A bonus photo is after the jump.

POTD: Tourist Strikes Pose at Grand Palace

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a Western tourist striking a pose in front of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. I think it makes a good bookend for the photo of the young Buddhist monk snapping a photo in about the same place. Both photos, taken only moments apart, bring me joy.

"Royal palace gleams,
tourist stretches arms held wide,
snapshot of Bangkok."
— h/t ChatGPT

Saturday, October 11, 2025

POTD: Monk Strikes Pose at Grand Palace

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a young Buddhist monk snapping a pic at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. I found it charming.

"Shining saffron robe,
snap of joy in sacred place,
peace caught in pixels."
— h/t ChatGPT

Monday, October 6, 2025

POTD: No I.C.E.

Today's photo-of-the-day is of a sticker posted to a light post in the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. I think it speaks for itself.

"Texas to Thailand,
Sticker's global defiance,
Under golden spires."
— h/t ChatGPT

Sunday, October 5, 2025

POTD: Emerald Buddha