Whew! It's hard to believe it's already Tuesday and I haven't written since last Thursday. The weekend flew by with sightseeing and parties. Here goes:
Friday, we joined two students at a large market that had thousands of beads for sale. Christina was in jewelry-maker's heaven! She purchased some great looking stone beads and is excited to make them into necklaces and bracelets. The market was about two miles long, stretching through what appeared to be an alleyway in the midst of the city. Little by little, we were approaching the Grand Palace, which is where we ended up at 50 minutes before closing - enough time to get a good look at the amazing detail that makes up the many temple and palace buildings. Take a look at some incredible photos by googling "Grand Palace Bangkok." Most of the temple buildings are completely covered in tiny 1" diamond-shaped pieces of glass or porcelain. We ended the day by fitting and purchasing a beautiful opal ring for Christina's 20th birthday, which was Sunday - at an incredible price, thanks to Pat's sister, who runs the family jewelry business.
Saturday, we were up at the crack of dawn, headed with 20 other students and staff to our first ever Santisuk English Center Rachada day trip. We went to a busy but nice beach south of Pattaya, where we had been years ago for AC Conferences. The highlight of the day was a cooking contest, in which the four Americans had to make a traditional Thai salad dish. There was even a good-natured judge for the occasion - a cook from one of the many food stands near the beach. My team lost the contest but had a great time joining in the fun. There was also a banana boat ride for us and a nice swim for Christina and me after the driver dumped us for the second time and we decided to swim in to shore instead of trying to get back on!
Sunday, Christina's birthday brought us out on the road once again to a special cell group activity - biking on the shore of the Chaophraya river at Phra Pradaeng, a peninsula with a 10 mile loop for bikes made mostly of concrete with a railing on only one side and a 4-5' drop into the muddy water on the other! It wouldn't have been so hair raising, except that our rental bikes were either wobbly or had flat tires or both. Add to that the fact that, although I think they're prohibited on the bike path, motorbike drivers were zooming along with their bikes on the path with the many weekend cyclists. Christina was surprised by a beautiful cake following lunch at a restaurant, and her favorite dessert in a cafe on the bike trail - mangoes and sticky rice.
Are you back in Minnesota? How was the end of your mission trip? I was hoping to see a photo of the map Christina made. I am sure you blessed and were blessed by the trip! ~Robin Solid
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