i did something on friday night that i would like to do more often. a friend and i went to the bus stop planning to go to kanchanaburi to go hiking, but then we found out we had just missed the bus by fifteen minutes. rather than returning home and having another bangkok friday night, we walked around the bus stop, picked a random place, and went there. i went to ayutthaya when i was in thailand the first time, and i went back with jess.

ayutthaya was the capital of thailand until the burmese marched through and burned much of it a couple hundred years ago. the name ayutthaya is still a part of the capital's name today...the thais do not call this city bangkok but rather krung thep mahanakhon amon rattanakosin mahinthar ayuthaya mahadilok phop noppharat ratchathani burirom udomratchaniwet mahasathan amon phiman awatan sathit sakkathattiya witsanukam prasit (krung thep, city of angels, for short).

enough for my poor, brief account of history. the temples in ayutthaya are beautiful and inspiring. i can't help but wonder what it would be like to walk around there when they were built...

loy krathong

road running

when i was here in bangkok the first time in 2008, i ran the bangkok quarter marathon (10K) with my friend leslie. it was a lovely, quick run through a beautiful part of the city, including crossing two bridges over the chao praya river.

after i decided to come back to thailand, i knew i had to do run this race again. on sunday, i ran with jess. to my surprise, i had the same crew of cheerleaders as in 2008: the hua hin nature preserve. they ran as a pack and never stopped cheering. they helped me conquer my sprained ankle and keep running during the second half of the race. if i'm in bangkok for another november, i hope i will be lucky enough to hear "hua hin huh! hua hin huh!" coming up behind me for another road race.

life update, first in pictures (words to come soon...)

i see this dog on my way to work most mornings. he is always taking a nap on the same table, although i have no idea how he gets on the table. in korea, one might think it's dinnertime, but here, it's just a morning snooze.



touristic cultural adventures with jess: sunday afternoon at the grand palace





halloween on khao sarn road...it's like every other night but with pirate hats!