Fun signs and flowers

 I fear that in my last post I didn't paint Bangkok in a very good light.  This is not a bad place!  It's just different.  There are plenty of things here that the desert doesn't have.  For one thing, food here is REALLY inexpensive.  M and I can eat in a sit down restaurant for under $3.00 total.  I am not talking about a burger and fries here.  A spicy plate of pad thai for M and a plate of stir fried noodles with chicken or shrimp for me, with drinks.  Spicy, yummy, and not something you could find in Joshua Tree.  Made to order, no less.  It's Good Eating, and the best part is that it involves no cooking or dishes on my part.  Those of you who know me well will understand how much I enjoy this. 

The humidity here is really nice for my skin and hair.  I rarely put lotion on here, and I think my skin looks at least 5 or 10 years younger with the moist air.  It has also rained several times since I have been here, and as a desert dweller, I have enjoyed the rain.  Then, there are the flowers.

This was my first time seeing the lotus flower in person.  These pink ladies were next to an Isuzu car dealership.

One thing about the Thai people that is refreshing is that they rarely raise their voices.  They speak softly and smile a lot.  If I make an effort to use one of the five words I know in Thai, their faces light up.  I read in a guide book that licking (as in eating food or licking your fingers) in public is taboo.  So now when I see I Thai person with an ice cream cone, I watch carefully.  So far, I have yet to see licking of any kind.  (I have also learned how to eat an ice cream cone without licking.)   You are also not to lick the stamps.  An image of the King is on the stamps, and it is disrespectful to lick the King's image.  To the Thai people, only animals lick things.

A restaurant downstairs from M's condo.

The same restaurant downstairs in M's condo.  We can't figure out if it's called "I'm Yummy" or "I'm Fine." 

 In the elevator during Songkran, these signs were reminding people to shut windows, turn off air conditioning, and unplug appliances.  Most of the time, the translations are accurate, but this one got lost in translation.

"please also close your doors and windows to prevent reins from leeking..."

We went to Hong Kong for a day and a couple of nights, so I will be sharing some images from Hong Kong next.   As ever, thank you for reading and for your comments!