Treats

YZ Asian Market

Mavens Creamery

DoiTung Coffee

 

DoiTung Coffee is a premium, single-origin 100% Arabica coffee cultivated in the Golden Triangle of Northern Thailand, specifically within the Nang Non mountain range. Grown under shade by local communities as part of the sustainable Mae Fah Luang Foundation project, it is known for its balanced taste with fruity, caramel notes, offering light to dark roasts, drip coffee, and capsules.  - source

Since we purchased our new Breville espresso machine, we have been sampling a huge variety of coffee beans.  You can check them out here.

Just got finished posting my 2025 Thailand photos.  You can see them here.

Singha | The Original Thai Beer

Kade first sent this photo to me - stocked on the shelves at Whole Foods.

More Sake

Kade bought this sake at Whole Foods.  The shot glasses are obviously from Thailand and Russia.

The Elephant Trail

This is from a WMS (Women's Missionary Society) meeting.

The Wiregrass Farmer

Sept. 15, 1955

One Big Thing

We are very eager to travel to Thailand for an extended visit/vacay.  You can count on this in 2022!

Bangkok To-Dos 

Rooftop Bars - Octave, Char, Tichuca, Above Eleven

SkyWalk - Mahanakhon Bldg

Ancient City - largest outdoor museum in the world.  1/2 day or full day experience

Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen - Giant Buddha, built along canal

Benjakitti Forest Park - already open, but still being completed

Green Bridge - connects Lumpini Park and Benjakitti Park, being redesigned now

Rama IX Park - largest green space in Bangkok

Chao Phraya Sky Park - unique urban park that stretches over river

Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park

Royal Turf Club Rama IX Park - under construction

Hua Lampong Canal Promenade - under construction

Klong Chong Nonsi Linear Park - under construction

Ong Ang Canal Walking Street

ICONSIAM - arrive by BTS, depart by boat

Lhong 1919 - restored 19 century mansion and warehouses along the river, shows Chinese history in Bangkok

Bang Sue Grand (Railway) Station - just starting to fully open

Santa Cruz Church - founded by Portuguese

Bang Kachao - Bangkok's Green Lung, a park for riding bikes, exploring, eating

Rot Fai Night Market - behind Central Plaza Rama 9 Mall, open daily

Wat Yannawa - a temple near State Tower

Charoenkrung - a neighborhood that's gotten more popular

Ari - digital nomad, artsy spot

Soi Nana (Chinatown) - popular new spot for drinking, dining

In addition to these activities in Bangkok, I'm going to the Durian Festival in Chanthaburi and possibly to the islands, Samui and Pha-ngan.  In the next few months I will share more details about these activities on my travel blog.

Twenty Years Ago

Kadesarin Topratheep

2000

Sacred Fig Tree

The Wiregrass Farmer, July 1925

Headland, Alabama

Little Edith was seven years old.

She fell from that fig tree into a freshly plowed garden and got all that dirt in her eyes.  - Mary Owens (Vann) Bryan

This is the full page where that news story was.  Might be blurry.

Click here to learn about Thailand's sacred fig tree.

My Thailand Travels

Blue = places already visited

Orange = places on the horizon

You can click on the markers for names of cities, towns and islands.  For best viewing, open it in a new window and use the categories bar (legend).  Those very southern island and beach destinations would require a couple of weeks minimum, and you can knock out a few of them on an island day tour.  People do that, and it looks fun.  In the very north, it's mountains and jungle.

If you are interested in seeing highlights from places we've already been, go to my travel blog Ballyhoo @ www.majorjourneys.blogspot.com.  If you open on a larger device (laptop or iPad), it's easier to navigate around using the right sidebar.  Enjoy!

Shout Out to Headland & Asheville

This was in Bangkok in 2013, in one of their fancy shopping malls.  I put my parents & Kade in lights as well.

Although we had met earlier at the Jim Thompson House, Siam Center was actually where Kade and I had our first date....year 2000.  And believe it or not, our meeting place at the mall was Starbucks!

Bangkok Bunch

Bangkok, Thailand

circa 2001

One of Kade's friends posted this photo on Facebook.  Kade is second from the left.  Maybe you can spot me?!?  The cap I'm wearing makes it look like I have a funny hairstyle.  

Early Years, Thailand

Dinner On The Beach 

Koh Tao, Thailand

Click here for our Thai beach experiences.

A Shocker

source

I made this video in 2011 when Anthony Bourdain was on the speaking circuit.  After his entertaining talk, Bourdain went over to Curate (a top restaurant in Asheville) for a book signing.

Like many, I was a big fan of  Anthony Bourdain and his travel/food shows.  In fact, virtually every person in my phone contacts has gotten a text from me, at some point, alerting them to an upcoming episode of  No Reservations or Parts Unknown.  And whenever Bourdain was interviewed on TV or a podcast (The Joe Rogan Experience, for example), I was there!  

Anthony Bourdain's stories and experiences were very inspiring.  By chance, and fittingly, my wife and I were traveling when the news broke that Bourdain had died by suicide.  I was on the Internet, researching things we were doing that day.  I called Kade up to the den and told her.  Stunning.  And sad.  We just never know, do we?!?  Rest in peace.  You are missed!

1:47 talks about Andrew Zimmern, 3:36 words to vegetarians, 5:40 mentions Thailand, 10:36 favorite city to wake up in, 11:24 what he'd cook for his friends and family if his last day on earth, 12:10 favorite BBQ, 12:49 favorite countries/regions for eating

Joe Rogan Experience #138 - Anthony Bourdain, Brian Redban

Memorable Bourdain Quotes on Thailand (source)

On tasting Thai food for the first time: "It was like discovering a color I never knew existed before. A whole new crayon box full of colors."

On what he loves about Thailand: "It wasn't the girls, it wasn't the beaches, it was the noodles, the greasy bottle of fish sauce, and the smell. That's it."

My plan is to pin this one at the top of my blog for a while, as a tribute to Mr. Bourdain.

Thai King (Rama IX) Cremation

This is an amazing "production."  A year after the Thai king's death, the cremation took place.  It just ended, in fact.  Kade watched the entire 11 hours, but I skimmed through it.  The whole year of mourning, followed by this funeral, truly showcases the potential we have as individuals, and as a group, to get big things done, using the highest levels of planning, precision and devotion.  It also helps to have unlimited amounts of power and money at your disposal.   The crematorium, the square where it is, the buildings right around it, etc. have all been constructed in a year, and will be dismantled one month after the funeral, believe it or not.

I have cued a few spots of interest for you, but feel free to do your own exploring.  One place I had trouble cueing was the drone footage of the Royal Crematorium with the Grand Palace and expansive Bangkok city skyline behind.  It was stunningly beautiful.  Maybe you can find it.

2:24:00 temple where king's body and royal urn have been for the last year.  Kade and I went inside to see the urn in March.  

2:36:00 loading the urn onto a platform

2:57:00 carrying the urn through the palace walls out to the royal chariot

4:15:00 raising the urn to the chariot

6:25:00 arriving at the royal crematorium

Newborn Kade

These are the very first photos of baby Kade after she was brought home.  The back of the photos is also interesting - I will add a scan later.  Handwritten on them is the year 2500 and something, which is the year since the Buddha's birth.  Thailand uses the Buddhist calendar, in addition to the calendar we use.  You could ask my wife, for example, for her mother's birth year, and she likely will pause because her brain is trying to convert it into our calendar year.  However, if you are traveling around Southeast Asia and see their calendar, you might just think you have been transported 500 or so years into the future!

Adorable

In March this year, Kade visited several old friends in Bangkok.  Two of them had adorable babies.  

Photo Mash-up

These photos were the inspiration for the drawing below.  One was circa 1986, and the other is from March of this year.  What do you think?

This drawing was done by Helen Nagan in Asheville, NC.  She's pretty fabulous!

 

a perfect spot

I would definitely recommend Frugal Framer in Asheville.  Done lots of work for me.

High School Years