Koh Samui, Thailand

One of the great benefits to being part of the military is that you get to see the world (whether you want to or not, actually).  Right now, we live in Okinawa, Japan, which is a small island south of the main island of Japan (where Tokyo is and where they had the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March, 2011).  Okinawa is essentially the vacation spot for 'mainlanders', and hosts 2/3 of the American military based in Japan.  Another interesting factoid about Okinawa is that it is rather expensive to get to and from Okinawa.  But how can we live in this area of the world and not see at least a couple other places?  Or maybe five...  After looking at all of our options, we decided to take a cruise!  Two flights let us visit 5 countries over a span of 16 days - Uh.May.Zing.  Amazing.


As you may have seen in my previous post, we boarded our ship, the MS Vollendam of Holland America Cruise Line, in Singapore.  Bottom line for Singapore?  1.  Get there if you can.  2.  Try Dim Sum  3.  Ride the cable car to Sentosa Island.

From Singapore, we made our way up the coast of East Asia to Koh Samui, Thailand.  In every location we stopped except one, we decided to get off the ship, find a cab, and negotiate a price to get to our destination(s) of choice.  It worked SUPER well.  I highly suggest bartering on your own, rather than using the cruise line for basic transportation to get inland.  We saved a TON of money by doing our own thing!  Our taxi in this case was a flatbed truck that had benches built onto the sides of the flatbed, and a canopy over the top.  The back of the truck even had stairs attached to it!  So there you have it!  An open-air taxi to take us wherever our little hearts desired. 

Koh Samui is where we saw our very first Thai temple and Buddha.  In fact, the Buddha is simply called 'Big Buddha'.  The area has plenty of souvenir shops around for tourists (as this is certainly one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area) if you're looking to buy.  The Big Buddha sits atop a hill, surrounded by pagodas and smaller shrines. 

These formidable fellows stand guard on either side of the courtyard's entrance.  As you can see in the middle picture, one of the characters is being eaten by a crocodile o_O  They are certainly fierce looking!

Guardian of the Big Buddha

Guardian of the Big Buddha

Guy being eaten by a crocodile o_O

 The whole courtyards is filled with small pagodas, statues of various incarnations of Buddhas, and places to get your fortune for a few Thai baht.  There is a station with a Buddha for each day of the week (and two for Wednesday!), and also a little store where you can pay a bit to get your name or whatever you desire written on the underside of one of the roof tiles, in hopes that it will give you good luck, or whatever you wish for.  For me, it is another reminder that things of this world perish.  The temples and even the idols that are being worshiped here are under constant repair because they aren't truly immortal like Jesus is.   

The Courtyard Around Big Buddha

 Wherever there is a sitting Buddha, you usually also see a lying Buddha.  The picture on the left is one of a lying Buddha.  You also see the incense and offerings made to Buddha in hopes of good fortune.  There were stations to buy whole baskets full of offerings so that your prayers might be heard.  The gong is also used in worship.  I particularly like the gongs because my mom happens to have one in her den (no, we're not Buddhist, and yes, I've hit it many a time just for fun). 

Lying Buddha

Sitting Buddhas

Gong

 People will take their shoes off at the entrance of the pagodas (or at the foot of the stairs for the Big Buddha) to go in and worship.  This guy with a mohawk is offering prayers and incense to the fat Buddha.  On a side note, one of our companions occasionally got called 'fat Buddha', and then 'lucky Buddha'...  Usually the person saying it was trying to sell something.  I don't think they helped their case.
 

A man worshiping fat Buddha

 Finally!  After taking off our shoes at the base of the stairs and passing by the many heads of the dragons that guard the stairs (which are actually part of the railing leading up to the Buddha), we climbed to the top to find (woohoo!) the BIG BUDDHA!  It really is a spectacular piece of art, full of detail, vibrant color, and interesting art.  The look of serenity on Buddha's face captures the Buddhist ideals.  

Big Buddha

 Around the edges of the Big Buddha are many other sculptures of Buddha in various positions.  On the left you again see a lying (or 'resting') Buddha.  These smaller statues surround the entirety of Big Buddha.  We found one smaller statue facing inward, toward the Big Buddha instead of outward, toward the viewer.  We decided that Buddha must be in time out.  There were gigantic bells like the one in the picture on the right surrounding the whole terrace on which the Big Buddha was seated.  It was SUPER tempting to ring every single one of them.  In some locations with similar bells, the more devout folks (and the more playful and irreverent folks) would say prayers while going along a whole row of bells, ringing each one in turn.  

 

 After we had seen our fill of the Big Buddha and the area immediately surrounding him/her/it, we headed over to one of the beautiful waterfalls in the area.  We passed many small tables and shops set up to sell typical Thai souvenirs on the sidewalks heading to the waterfall.  They sold items such as carved soap, bugs in shadow boxes, t-shirts, candles, etc.  Just before descending to the base of the waterfall by some rather perilous rocks, we passed a shrine and a tree with scarves tied around it, I suppose for some sort of worship tradition.

Had we come prepared, we could have gone swimming in the pooling water at the base of the falls.  As it was, we rolled up our pants, took off our shoes and socks, and waded on in.  As we enjoyed the beautiful forested area, the sound of the water, and the cool water lapping around our feet (while dodging some large, scary looking ants), we looked down the stream and could see..... ELEPHANTS!  Tame elephants, of course, with riders.  Amazing!  

Waterfall II in Koh Samui

People riding elephants near Waterfall II

So, of course, our NEXT stop was to head over to where WE could ride the elephants!

This is a particularly important moment in my life.  Why, you ask?  This has been one of my bucket list items for quite a while.  In fact, it has been a priority in my life ever since I heard of my great grandmother taking a trip over to India in the 1950's with a bunch of her cronies.  Can you guess what she did there?  She rode an elephant!!!  So, riding an elephant has been on my to-do list for a long time, and I can finally say that I have checked it off!

Our elephant had a seat strapped onto it where Mr. A and I sat.  Getting onto the elephant is really a rather awkward business.  You climb up onto a platform that has ropes hanging down over the little ally where the elephant saunters up and waits for it's passengers.  So, you grab the rope (which is covered in dark grease from the grime on people's hands), and try not to step too hard on the elephant, while also not missing the bench.  Then you're terrified to move out of the dead center of the bench for your partner (in my case, Mr. A) to hop onto the bench because the bench feels like it's tilting precariously to one side.  Our guide sat in front of us on the elephant's neck and guided the elephant once we finally got in place and strapped our little seat belt on.  More importantly, however, we had a special companion come along with us:  a baby elephant!  The older elephant was helping to train the baby elephant, so the baby was tied to our big elephant, walking along with us!  

Baby Elephant!

Riding elephants is a rather scary business, actually.  The seat that we were felt legitimately like it was wobbling precariously from side to side.  We thought it was just us, and that our bench would be the only one that suddenly slid off the to the elephant's side while we were dangling under his feet, unfortunately still strapped in.  Or worse yet, that we would fall 10 feet to the ground!  I've already fallen from 12' tree houses twice, I'm really trying to end the 'falling from great heights' chapter in my life, thank you very much.

Thankfully, we didn't fall.  Halfway through our trek, the guide got down off the elephant and took pictures of us riding the elephant for us.  Then, he told Mr. A to take his place at the helm!  I must admit, I did struggle with a bit of jealousy at that point.  Perhaps one day I'll have another chance to ride elephants, and I'll get to sit on the actual back of an elephant, instead of on a wobbly bench, terrified that I'm about to fall off. 

Our Elephant and the Baby it was Training <3

One of the things that struck me about Koh Samui was that almost every business or house that we passed while driving had a shrine out in front of it.  It seems that worship is an incredibly important part of the daily lives of the people of Thailand.  At the very least, money is most certainly spent on the building and upkeep of, and the offerings to these shrines.  It is a reminder that we, as people, are worshipers because God created us to worship Him.  Romans 1:22-23 says, "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."  Our prayer has been that the Lord would make himself known in that land to those people, so that they would not just claim to be wise (but be fools), but that they would indeed be wise.  As Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  May the people of Koh Samui have true wisdom and understanding.

Aeon Bakery

So, I stopped by Aeon today, which is kind of like a grocery store mall, to exchange some money. You learn over time that Community Bank doesn't give the best exchange rate, and since Aeon is right across the street from me, I often go there. Of course, that leads to browsing the grocery store (which was having a sale today, of course), and then the bakery, followed up with a stop at Mr. Donut for coffee and a donut. Yum!

I thought I would share some of the baked goods I found at the bakery today. Of course they have the normal French loaves, white loaves, wheat rolls, etc. but then you start diving into Japanese sweet and savory pastries!







They must think their hotdog in a bun pastry is similar to the American version, but in reality, they are QUITE different! Japanese bread is sweeter and more doughy than an American bun.


 

In preparation for Valentine's Day, they have chocolate covered, heart shaped, cream filled donuts O.O 

I also love the caterpillar sweet pastry, complete with eyes! 

The fancy dancy pastries were labeled as being foreign style.

I ended up only buying a French loaf, forgetting that I was planning on making BEER BREAD (aka, my newest obsession) for dinner tonight. I suppose I'll have to wait to make cheddar herb beer bread until another day.

After looking at all those delicious pastries, I decided a trip to Mr. Donut was a must! They have surprisingly good (although quite dense) donuts and delicious coffee. It may be my favorite plain old coffee that I've found on island. Love it!

A Post About Posts

I've long known that I am a person who lacks discipline.  However, there are certain occasions that make this beyond evident.  Sometimes, these piercing moments are painful (like when I was informed I hadn't mailed a birthday card to someone in four years), sometimes they're depressing (like when I thought I was eating healthy and being fairly active, but then I step on the scale and realize, nope, still haven't changed those habits for realsies), and sometimes they're just comical.  This last one is certainly the most preferred option.  A month or two ago a friend encouraged me to post on my blog and to be interesting again.  Then again, a few days ago, another friend reminded me that I've had my blog URL as my gchat message, but haven't updated my blog in a year.  Hah!  Oopsies...  I guess some things just fall through the cracks!

Now, certainly my temptation is to beat myself over the head each time I lack the discipline that I desire, whether it's to remember to actually MAIL the cards that I've bought, to stay strong eating healthy and exercising, or blogging.  I know that my discipline is ultimately a matter of worship.  God says, "For I have not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but one of power, love, and self control."  2 Timothy 1:7.  This is one of the verses I've ever been disciplined enough (hah!) to memorize.  And I know that if I truly love someone and have self control, I will remember to send them a birthday card.  I know that God tells me "you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:20.  So, I know that I can't treat my body however I feel like, I need to actually feed it well (whether that means fewer fats and carbs and more fruits and veggies, or whether that means going full-on paleo, who knows!) and exercise.  My body doesn't belong to me!  Jesus paid for my body, along with the rest of me, when he took my sins upon himself on the cross, died to pay the price I deserved to pay by absorbing God's wrath, and then was raised from the dead, signifying the completion of God pouring out his wrath on the sin of those who would put their trust in Christ as savior and God.  And somehow, I can know that, desire to honor Christ's great gift of love - salvation! - and still eat a bag of Doritos (doh!).

Now, blogging clearly isn't quite as important as things like loving people in practical ways, using my body as a gift from God, spending time in the Word and in prayer, getting chores done around the house, etc etc etc.  I mean, really - the list just goes on and on of things that you have to do regularly in order to be a faithful steward of all that God has given you.

And yet, here I am, about to go into the 'woe is me' corner, and the Lord reminds me of the Gospel again.  Yes, I should strive to be disciplined, but for those times that I am not disciplined, Christ has already forgiven me.  I lead a life of grace, and so never have to go into the corner of despair, but can cry out to the Lord of Lords pleading for forgiveness and strength, and he promises to do just that!  God reminds us that "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail, they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23.
Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:6 that, "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Praise God! He promises to give me new compassions each morning, that He is faithful, and that He will continue his good work of sanctification to completion! Even though I am a mess today, what with failed disciplines all over the place, I can trust that one day I will be brought to completion, never again forgetting a deadline, neglecting time with the Lord, or leaving the dishes in the sink so I can watch some silly program on TV.

By God's grace, I can rely on his daily mercies to continue growing in me that spirit of love, power, and self discipline, to do those things I know I ought, and not do those things I know I ought not.

And so, as I resume the discipline of writing in my blog (well, at least for today), I can pray that the Lord would grow me in power, love, and self control, so that I might seek His will over my own daily.

Singapore!

We had the FABULOUS opportunity to see Singapore for a day and a half before departing on a CRUISE to see the area!  Man, if you're looking for a place to visit, Singapore is truly lovely.  We ended up arriving in the airport somewhere around 6 AM.  It is truly one of the most wonderful airports I've been in.  Apparently there's a butterfly garden inside the airport!  Unfortunately, we missed that little perk.  But we did get to see the Christmas trees that were still up (in early January) and statues near the exit. 

We grabbed a taxi to get us to our hotel, and managed to get the chattiest cabbie in town, which was fantastic!  She told us all about the sites to see and gave us information about the city.  As we drew near to our hotel, however, she grew a bit quiet and asked us if we knew where we were staying.  We told her the hotel name again, and she repeated her question.  When we looked confused, she looked at us and exclaimed, "you're staying in the red light district!"  Oops...  Not exactly what we had intended...  The good news, however, is that apparently some of the BEST food in town is in the red light district!  Seriously.  When we visited my friends in the area, they even gave us an article telling us which restaurants are frequently visited by folks who otherwise would NOT be patrons of the area.  So, when we dropped our bags off in the room and set off to find food, we were pleasantly surprised at our dumpling soup that we ate for breakfast - praise God!

Like we said, we were only in town for a day and a half, so these were the sites we decided to see:

- The Botanic Gardens (they are renowned, but have the added bonus of being open super early in the morning)
-  Little India
-  Arab Street
-  Bugis Market
-  the Night Zoo
-  and the cable car to Sentosa Island (and a brief look around the island)

One quick note - we couldn't figure out where we were on a map, but PLEASE don't make the same mistake as we did!  The metro system is robust, super easy to use, and clean.  I highly suggest using the metro over taxis.

Once we finished our dumpling soup and wandered around a bit, we hailed a cab and headed over to the Botanic Gardens, which are open from 5 AM until midnight daily.  As we neared the park, the houses got noticeably more extravagant.  Once we entered the park, we also found that it was more diverse than other areas we'd been to.  We found out later from my Singaporean friends that the area just around the park is mostly for expats, and most folks from Singapore aren't actually able to afford the area.  It is especially known for it's orchid garden, which costs $S5 for an entrance fee.  We opted to not spend the extra $S5, and just wander the park instead, which is -definitely- big enough to enjoy without seeing the orchids.  The park has several restaurants inside it, which looked nice, but we had already had breakfast.  There is a lake with swans and fish in it (so bring a loaf of bread!), and a beautiful statue in the center.  We even arrived early enough to see folks doing Tai Chi on the lawn!

Next, we headed over to Little India!  Little India is an amazing experience if you just want to wander around, see the sights, do some off-beat shopping, even.  They have a huge market at the entrance called Tekka Market where you'll find a huge food market with restaurants, fruits, vegetables, meat, and seafood on the ground floor.  Up above you'll find sari dresses and tailors.  It's fun to just wander through and see all the beautiful fabrics available!  In the food market there are a few folks who will try to sell you their wares, but if you politely decline, they'll generally lay off.  As you continue down Serangoon Rd., you get to see loads of different shops that include 22k gold shops for the high-fashion folks, cheap jewelry stores, used clothing stores, money exchangers, pawn shops galore (we kept thinking the pawn shops were money changers...), and many more!  I got some sunglasses there for $S4, and was tempted by some beautiful gold earrings. We also saw Veeramakaliamman Temple, a Hindu temple, from the outside.  It wasn't immediately clear to us whether it would be completely appropriate for us to enter, so we decided to look at it from the outside.  The architecture was extremely ornate, and quite interesting. 

We walked from Little India to Arab St. where we visited Sultan Mosque.  This Mosque holds regular visitor hours where they provide appropriate clothing for those without enough covering (they weren't too strict, as I was allowed in with jeans and a decently modest shirt - it wasn't necessary for me to cover my head).  They also have people inside who are willing to discuss Islam and the history of the mosque.  We spent quite a bit of time speaking to two of the guides there about Islam and Christianity.

In the Arab area there were some fantastic fabric stores, a store with pure essential oils and beautiful glass perfume bottles and tea sets.  We ate lunch at a Turkish restaurant recommended to us where the power went off twice, the waitress forgot about us, they had to run out to the bank to get change, and the food was expensive (and small portions).  Stick with the red light district for food!  Actually, I'm sure some of the other restaurants in the area would be better, we just happened to hit a doozy (which, of course, now I can't remember the name of - sorry!).

Next, we stumbled into the Bugis Market - SO MUCH FUN!  As soon as we got in, we quenched our considerable thirst with a limeade juice, watermelon juice, and strawberry milkshake - all for under $S4!  Then, we started our quest for t-shirts and purchased 3 shirts for $S10 (not the best deal you can get, but seriously - 3 t-shirts for $S10).  AND, I love mine - it's super comfortable.  There are TONS of things to buy in this crowded street market - souvenirs, cute clothes, shoes, food, drinks, handbags, etc. etc. etc.  Definitely work a look :)

 That evening, we got to have dinner with our sweet friends from back home in the states who are now serving in a local church.  It was so wonderful to sit down with some fellow Christians and hear them talk about their current ministry, get the low-down on what to do, and eat legit Singaporean food!  What a sweet reminder that Christians are meant to be in fellowship with one another!

That evening, our friends joined us at the Night Safari!  When we arrived, we got the rare treat of 5 minutes with the foot doctor fish!  Mr. A and I had never done this before, and it was QUITE the experience.  I'm a bit ashamed to say that when I stuck my tootsies in the water, all the fish left the other patrons and got straight to work...  I suppose I need to do a bit more regular foot care...
We then hopped on a trolley where we got to see wolves, lions, deer, and various other animals hangin' out at night.  It was a well set up zoo with lots of walking trails that you could take (especially if you didn't arrive as late as we did...) to see various other cute nocturnal animals.  My pictures aren't particularly awesome (it was night, folks), but at least get to see the foot doctor fish goin' to town!

The next morning we had dim sum for breakfast (lots of delicious dumplings!), and then went wandering for a bit.  We saw several fruit markets, shrines, and even a pair of big Buddhas outside one building.  My friend bought a durian, a fruit that smells truly terrible, but they say tastes quite delicious.  I have yet to try it as the smell drives me away.  It smells SO BAD that they actually ban it from the metro and taxis!  As we were walking, we even saw a sweet bird shop.  I got a couple pictures in before they told us we weren't supposed to be photographing the birds - oops.

 

Our last adventure before boarding our ship was to take the cable car over to Sentosa Island.  The cable car was SUPER fun, and had gorgeous views of turquoise waters, skyscrapers, and lush forest.  Sentosa Island, one end of the cable car system, is essentially a resort island.  It is absolutely pristine.  The famous Merlion, the main flair of Singapore, is actually on Sentosa Island, and can be seen from afar as you make your way by cable car to the island.  Universal Studios, as well as many resorts, spas, a zipline adventure course, beaches, and other attractions all lie within this small paradise island.  While we didn't stay on the island for long, we did get to see some fabulous parrots and the Merlion up close and personal :)

 

 What an adventure!  We loved Singapore and would do it again in a heartbeat.