Week 4 Pictures

Our amazing beach resort building for the campus leadership retreat.
















Tim and the view from our balcony on the campus retreat to the beach.











Inside the resort room on the retreat.














Me, Pat, Go, and Ying in the amazing van we took to the resort. It had a TV, amazing leather seats, and there were just five of us with room for about 10. Lots of good Harry Potter reading while the Thais watching Miami Vice.









This, my friends, is a rotee. Delicious..."aroy"















A peacock spitting his game.












Me next to a peacock who's opened his tail feathers. According to Wit, this is the largest bird farm in all of Asia. The funny thing was that for the first hour I didn't see a single bird! I thought we'd come to a giant bird farm to see an aquariam and statues. Then we came to the giant peacock enclosure, the ostriches, the emu, the parrots, etc.









An emu at the giant bird farm.















One of the many ostriches at the bird farm.














Inside the tunnel of the aquarium at the bird farm.












These ferries you just drive right onto and they start going - no parking the car and then getting out or anything, just drive the car on and start going - once you get to the other side you just keep driving as though nothing happened.












So, I know I've already posted a video with some crazy fish, but there were more! This other temple I went to with Wit's family had these fish too. There's something about these Thai people and keeping whacko fish.







The dozens of cross-legged buddha images lining one newer temple complex.
















The inside of this temple complex is gorgeous. Ironically, Wit meant to tell me that the temple was not "finished", but in his still growing English, he said it's not "perfect". What a telling slip. :)














The stairs to the temple on top of the mountain near Wit's house. This is a good point in the blog to reflect on how much it has affected me to see the mountains (which I'm normally overwhelmed with love over) topped with temples everywhere. It has really marred my view of the beauty of God's creation to see man's mistaken idols perched right in the middle of everything here.
















Wit's cousin, his sister Si, me, and his dad Phi ("Pee", just a common term of respect for someone older than you) Dhi at the temple.












Me and Wit on top of the mountain where we saw one of his town's most interesting temples.
(I hope to post some of Wit's family's pictures soon, too)















I don't think there was any religious significance to me doing this: this bell hangs at the temple complex and people get to ring it with this giant mallet.












The people believe that it brings you good luck to throw coins into the belly button of this big monk. I'm amazed still at how superstition and spiritism have made their way into the Buddhism of this society.

















Me enjoying a nice armchair massage right in the middle of the mall.














Melanie and Fon following suit. Soon after this picture, Fon got up and left. I think while Melanie and I were perfectly ok with soaking up this relaxation without paying a dime, she felt a little uncomfortable sitting in the middle of an open, 5 story mall in some massage chairs.