Suphanburi: Sea Paradise

People might think that I don't work because of my unending travel posts in Thailand.  I do and part of de stressing is to go around and explore interesting places.  One of them is Bueng Chawark Underwater Sea Paradise in Suphan Buri, around 160 kms. from Bangkok.

I didn't bother going to the adjacent zoo or the vegetable garden as it was at noon.  It was quite sunny and humid so going to an air-conditioned aquarium place was more inviting.

The Bueng Chawark Aquarium was established under a project in honour of His Majesty the King.  There are three buildings to visit where freshwater and marine fish from Thailand and elsewhere can be found.

the sprawling Bueng Chawark Aquarium

There is this 400 metres aquarium tank that greets you as you enter the biggest building.  It is a photo opp but challenging as you need to kneel to get a good shot. 

the tall aquarium

This 8.5 metres long transparent tunnel is home to some bigger fish and sharks.  The addition of a sunken boat adds to the mystery of the deep. 

the tunnel

Housed in one of the smaller buildings, these assortment of marine and freshwater fish was one of the crowded areas that day.  There wasn't any entrance fee to see them unlike in the tunnel. 

sea water species

freshwater species

The view from the entrance of Bueng Chawark Aquarium. It leaves me in awe to see how serene and aesthetically pleasing the area is considering that this was opened in 2009.  

Have a lovely weekend!

Of Caps and Photographs

I have gotten attached to a gift given to me many years ago.  It was a present from Italy, a black cap with a very discreet designer logo.  I adore it the moment I placed it on my head.  This is for keeps and it is! 

This cap had been with me in my many adventures.  While perusing the photos of yesteryears, I have multitudes of photographs with my cap on.  Allow me to post the narcissistic side of me. 

Ancient City, April 2010

Dreamworld, April 2011

Angkor Wat,  February 2012

Bohol,  July 2012

Flintstone Park, October 2013

Rayong Beach,  May 2013

Sarika Waterfalls, August 2014

Khao Kho, October 2014

Coron, August 2015

Hua Hin, August 2015

The cap that went places because I refused to part with it.  Besides, it made me look better in photographs sans the smiles. :) 

Back to the Past

My weekend became a time travel when I visited Khao Yai Floating Market in Nakhon Ratchasima.  When I walked through the wooden floors that creaked and wobbled, I was transported in a past that was quite interesting to reminisce.

When I was young, my grandparents have a small restaurant and during summer days or holidays, I am actually my grandfather's helper.  Not that I was selling drinks, I was in the kitchen helping out.  I was the runner when things needed replenishing. I was also helping out one of our food servers to sell barbecue and it was always sold out.  Our helper was a pretty gal and men were always our customers. 

My mum used to have a small portion of that restaurant as a shop where we sell candies and ice cream.  I remember siting with her while she taught me how to draw, or when I am doing my school work.  

We also had long playing records of various musicians and I remember sitting down on a lazy afternoon listening to the music of Matt Monro and Louis Armstrong, and musicals like Fiddler on the Roof. 

The barber shop I used to visit was manned by a person with a Short Leg Syndrome.  His peculiar walking earned him the name of Litong Pilay, which wasn't offensive at that time.  All four male members of the household went to  to him for our haircut.

The tables and chairs, albeit upside down, were reminiscent of our old and cherished chairs and table in our restaurant.  I recalled doing all my drawings on one of them while my grandma watched me.  She usually gave me some money after I finished one. 

And this photograph reminded me of my father's business as we used to supply petroleum equipment to different petrol stations around manila and its vicinity.  When others came up with the same idea and had more money to invest, ours simply dwindled and was eaten up by neglect. 

Last but not the least, the three characters reminded me that I should not stop being a child, a child of inspiration and wonder in his everyday dealings with the world. My short walk at those old quaint displays was filled with delight, with some tears, but definitely with gladness. 

Of Birds and Men

Right after a day of bird searching and then living in the illusion that all of the birds left their abode, which is my house, came a never-ending debacle with sounds and smell.  Exactly 5:45 of every morning, their cooing continued to haunt me in my sleep and in the early morning.

I had this feeling that they were either still there or were back because of the smell of poop that permeated one of the closed room.  This couldn't be but the birds were definitely back, not lurking outside but nesting inside the ceiling once again.

So on a Saturday morning, a curious walk around the house was needed. Lo and behold, between two wooden slab on the roof's wall was a discreet gap for these stubborn birds.  Though the gap was small, the birds poked their heads in, squeezed their pliable bodies and zoomed in and out inside the ceiling.

Immediately, I called the men who came some weeks ago to cover the window glass but this time, their job was far challenging than the previous one.  From the previous two came four men and they immediately took the pressing matter on hand.  All went up the second floor of the house equipped with nothing but curiosity as well.  Later, one of them borrowed a ladder and later used it to peek his head above the gypsum board.

All he did to probably see the birds was with his shoo, shoo sounds.  It was hysterical because I could do the same.  No amount of shoo shoo will actually shoo them unless it was accompanied by a gun or a blasting stereo. Something has to be done!

So climbed the three men up the ceiling and chased the birds away.  I asked them if brooms could help but they were short and useless. (The broom I mean, not the men.) One of the men walked away and came back with longer sticks.  Now, each man had a stick of his own waving it back and forth and with the constant shouting made all the birds clustered in fear in one corner of the roof, TRAPPED!

Then one of them started grabbing a bird or two and handed them to the next person.  Then the last person in line took them to set them free, outside the house and not inside, LOL!  There were almost thirty pigeons and catching them one by one became more of a feat of balance, stamina, and patience.  It was hot out there under the roof.  I am all giddy to see the scene and be there but I cannot fit in the small gap.  I wasn't strong enough to lift myself, walk on the beam and catch those pesky fliers. Darn, I am getting fat! 

When the birds were being released one by one, I curiously asked if the gaping hole was mended as I have an instinct that the evicted were just returning back by doing a u-turn. Duh! The look on the man's face was telling me to shut up, LOL!

When everything was done and chaos gave way to silence, I asked the lead worker whether the birds could be eaten.  He answered with a yes and looked at the last bird he was holding as he left the door.  So what are you going to do with the last one? I asked.  Then, he let it go!

All Things Dark and Deceitful 2

Looking out from the window at a rented bungalow beside the beach, the man went out to see how beautiful the sunrise is going to be.  He stepped down to have a glimpse of the yellow and orange hues made by that shining star. It dawned on him that the colours reminded him of things that passes and fade.

A little bit of strolling made him realized that he was already walking barefoot as the wetness and coldness of the sand left footprints of uneven patterns.  It was a sort of walk that knows no direction. Just like his mind, the footprints echoed the way of where he was heading.

"Why should I go on with life?" was his persisting question every time he is reflecting or meditating about his existence.  The mere fact that he lost almost everything in an instant gave him utter desperation.  It was his perennial pessimism that was destroying the last strand of hope.

Though there was a time he was to have a vacation to free his mind of the ongoings of his recent past, he took a dive down to depression summoning the evils of hatred to permeate the core of his existence.  All he was thinking was escape and that escape was a walk towards termination. 

The constant communication with friends halted as well as his desire to connect and be heard or understood.  He goes to work with a destitute attitude, concerned only with the 'now' and never with what of 'tomorrow'. There was a monotonous pattern of silence, outbursts, and back to silence.  

A tap on his back jolted him back to reality as he was already drowned in images of unhappy thoughts.  Then a summoning from somewhere near perked him because of its familiarity.  He wasn't alone, in that walk at the beach for he was being followed by those who cared for him.  His tears cannot be camouflaged by his smile and his friends knew him for his inability to hide his feelings.

"Jonathan, hold on and have faith!", remarked one of his friends, "and do not think that you are alone in this journey." While those words were being spoken, the magnificent sun that is now brightly shining over the horizon gave him a glimmer of joy.  And when he mentioned that the colours reminded him of things that pass and fade, he was right.

Sunday Morning in Talan

Sunday is probably the only day of the week where I want to sleep longer but not this certain Sunday. Waking up at five in the morning, I went on a trip to visit a certain temple in Phra Nakorn Ayuthaya province as per invitation.

We visited a temple called Wat Laat Chit and it is about two hours away from the city of Bangkok. Tucked in the outskirt with green fields along the road, Waat Laat Chit is certainly famous to the locals and not a touristy trail.  I couldn't find any articles on the web about this temple. 

As everyone were gathered around a monk waiting for their 'verdicts', I took the opportunity to walk around and shoot some photographs. Later, when I met them again, I heard they were all told that this year is not an auspicious year for all of them and that they need to do offerings for three weeks. There was a certain doubt creeping in my veins as I hear their stories.

Anyway, allow me to walk you through the vicinity of the sprawling temple. 

Altar Galore!

Monks'  Quarters

The temple where prayers are done is surrounded by lotus shaped structure that symbolizes good overpowering evil. And in each single petal of the lotus flower stands a sculpture of a diety or saint. 

The temple ground is not just a haven for monks and Buddhist followers.  It is also home to some trees and flowers with religious significance. 

While I was exploring the bridge that connects the temple to a local community compound, I was mesmerized by the zooming dragonflies that hovered over my head and around me. They were not oblivious of my presence and continued to swirl and fly back and forth and in different directions.

And the wait for the third prayer ceremony to finish came to an end after being there for six hours. Doing nothing but to wait was draining.  I envied the cat who laid down on the empty table to while away its Sunday. 

Happy weekend!

I Spy

Twas a busy Saturday not because of my weekend tutorials but because of something pressing.  For weeks, I had been having trouble sleeping after six in the morning as I was always awakened by cooing sounds coming from the outside, of which I was mistaken.

As I live in a two storey house, I knew that my garden and the trees that surround were perfect for birds to settle in and thus became the home of these pigeons. But the cooing sounds were no longer blocked by the walls but it was emanating from the top.  Lo and behold, they had permanently made my ceiling a nesting ground.  Their cooing and coo-coo sounds were making me cuckoo.

So on this particular Saturday, two helpers came to fix the hole where the pigeons made as their door. A glass window broke thus making it accessible for the birds to go in and out at their wimps.  As the man was about to close the broken glass, I asked whether he can still see pigeons and he assured me that they were gone to probably look for food. 

I wasn't the trusting one so armed with a ladder, I took the liberty of pushing the gypsum boards in each room of the house to take a peek of whether they were still there or not.  I was being the spy one, lurking through crevices for clues or discoveries.  And when I did not see any flying birds, I gave the go signal to finally seal the window. 

I was filthy afterwards.  The dust, the ashes and the whatchamacallit thingies were on my head, my face, my shoulders, and all over my clothes.  And to think that I paid two workers to do the job but they left my house still tidy and clean.  I could have asked them to shower me, LOL!

Lesson learned: Have trust! Ha,ha,ha!