Magical Moment 626, "Thailand

Magical Moment 626, "Thailand - The Leftovers!"

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks! Since my last post, I have made a trip home to Nebraska, quit my jobs, and moved with Eddie to southern Georgia! We are here temporarily until Eddie completes a training course. While he is hard at work with training, I am exploring the music scene down here and have high hopes for our 7 month stay. :) So, I apologize for not getting around to as many posts as I wanted.

I wanted to finish up sharing about our Thailand trip with some "leftovers." These are pictures I wanted to share that made me smile, that really didn't fit into any other category of religion, elephants, etc.

~~~

On our plane ride to Bangkok, I excitedly read the electronic tour guide on my airplane screen. I was a little bummed to find out that at a little over 5'8, I may have trouble with the shopping.... "Unless you are a tall western woman." Hmmm.

One late night, our exhaustion forced us to have pizza delivered to our hotel room. It came with no less than 16 packets of ketchup...apparently a local necessity!

In Thailand, the action of putting your hands together and bowing slightly is done with pretty much every hello, goodbye, and thank you. Many statues and religious symbols are show doing this.

And so is Ronald McDonald.

Dogs and cats (most of them stray) fill the streets of Bangkok. This one didn't budge as we stepped right over him twice on our way in and out of this 7/11.

I've never seen such a graphic restroom sign!

And finally, I really got a kick out of this one. How would you like a spa day where tiny fish nibble all the dead skin from your feet? I passed on that one. :)

Thailand - the Journey!

Thailand - the Markets!

Thailand - the Temples!

Thailand - Music and National Parks!

Thailand - The Elephants

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le...

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-...

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