My Birthday

On my birthday, we biked around the ancient city of Ayutthaya, Thailand.  We looked at temples and various other buildings while our tour guide taught us about the history of the kingdom of Siam.  In the afternoon, we were free to bike around the city and look at whatever we liked.  It was the perfect way to celebrate a birthday!

Halong Bay

Seeing Halong Bay has definitely been a highlight of this trip--the bay was beautiful!  A ship took us around the bay and it stopped at various beaches for us.  We also went in a cave and climbed a mountain.  The meals we ate on the boat were also fantastic--we ate an endless amount of very fresh seafood! I hope to return to Halong Bay, Vietnam someday.

Monkeys!!

This past weekend we went to Siem Reap, Cambodia, a city where Monkeys can easily be found.  People can give the monkeys bananas and (attempt to) pet them.  The monkeys were really friendly and really interesting to watch.  It was very strange--I couldn't get used to the idea of monkeys outside of a zoo!

Angkor Wat

We recently went to Angkor Wat! Angkor Wat is a series of temples that are thousands of years old.  The temples are full of intricate carvings that depict daily life and some famous ancient tales.  I really enjoyed climbing around the temples, looking in all of the various rooms, and imagining what the temple would have looked like thousands of years ago. 

Weaving

In smaller villages, the women use portable looms to weave their clothing--this weekend I got to learn how to use one! It was very difficult--you have to use your whole body when you use a smaller loom, but after a couple of mishaps, I finally got the hang of it!

Me Weaving

Giant Bobbin!

The Final Product

Visiting an Organic Farm

This weekend we visited an organic farm.  While at the farm, we learned about building eco-friendly houses and about farming without pesticides.  The farm was beautiful and relaxing--I learned a lot too!

Me in my garden hat

Veggies

Picking Star Fruit

An Eco-Friendly House

Relaxing! :)

Visiting Northern Thailand

My Bed

This weekend we stayed at a Buddhist novice camp in Northern Thailand.  While we lived there, we helped make bricks, we taught the novices some English, and we observed a Buddhist Longevity ceremony.  Overall, it was a great weekend and I learned a lot!

A Typical Meal

A Picture of me after I made bricks

The bricks I made