Tim in Thailand

Driving on the footpaths

I do wonder whether this is still in place - I do not know but I wouldn't.

3 days in Luang Prabang - day 2

We were up very early for the monks walking along the road outside Dennie's Guest House - at 5am!!! We were eagerly received by a local lady and her child and we purchased some sticky rice...

Then the monks arrived and received the sticky rice from us.

After the offerings were made I searched for a local coffee - but there were not any open (only Western places). So returning back we visited the Zurich Bread Cafe and Restaurant. Then into a Van and a Day trip.

First we stopped where there were the local people weaving and making paper - at the Xangkhongposa Weaving and Paperhandcraft Village.

After this it was the Ban Xanghai: Liquor and Silk Village - this stuff was supposed to help a man and his personal bits (well the jar with the snakes in).

Then the highlight of the trip was the Park Ou Caves. A wonderful cave which we reached in a local boat and then climbed the stairs into an area full of Buddhist statues.

We also walked up to another enclosure - a truly amazing place to be found.

But it was full of children who wanted money from us.

We also released a bird.

Then it was time to visited the Bear Rescue Centre which was a very good idea

and the Kouang Si Waterfall where there were a plethora of tourists who did spoil the area.

Lovely if it was peaceful.
Then lunch at Carpe Diem - a French Restaurant nearby - it was very nice.

There was a Butterfly Farm nearby where my wife daughter visited and I had a cup of green tea and waited for them. Back into the van - stopping at a Cafe Amazon for an iced coffee and where we could see the airport.

Then back to Dennie's Guest House - stopping off to look into some shops

- Ock Pop Top was very nice but expensive. After a shower we had a wander and found a restaurant serving local food - Khaiphaen.

I had the sausages which were okay but not spicy enough and Chuen had the crispy pork and pumpkin which was delicious...

Then off to the Night Market - with an enormous amount of things - but not unlike many local markets in Thailand.

Apart from things made from the bombs of the 'secret war'.

Previous Visits to Laos

- Visa Run

- Day One of Three

- Day Two of Three

- Day Three of Three

Thankful for - Gratitude Diary (App)

Are you looking for something special to read?

Description

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah Winfrey

When was the last time you stopped to really acknowledge the things you're thankful for?

Studies show that people who regularly practice giving thanks are happier. There's a whole host of reasons why we should make gratitude a daily practice -- research has shown that being thankful confers a whole host of health benefits, from improved immune systems, to feelings of connectedness, even higher team morale.

"Thankful for..." helps you pick up this healthy habit with a curated list of hundreds of things to be thankful for. Pick the ones that adjust better to you, get reminders throughout the day and share your gratitude with the world.

Well I assumed it was a Buddhism App but it wasn't - but it may be something for you?

Cost: $1.99

Ease of use: very simple but you can make it more complicated
Comment: not sure it was useful after a while

Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/thankful-for-gratitude-diary/

財神廟

財神廟 was a Chinese Shrine that I came upon when I took a walk to the Bangkok Doll Museum and the Talad Neon Night Market.

The Chinese Shrine is next to the Berkeley Hotel (Pratunam), a pleasure finding places like this - but I could find no further information about it BUT it was a peaceful beautiful place.

There was a lot of space around the Shrine and two more places to pay respect - but there did not seem to be anything happening to 財神廟.

Upstairs there was a view of the road running alongside

adjacent to a place to respect.

and downstairs a place to pay respect - wonderful. On research I think that it is next to a very popular market - Salad Neon Night Market.

3 days in Luang Prabang - day 1

I only knew the day before that we were going to Lao again - this time it was Luang Prabang and not for a visa (last time).

Luang Prabang airport was old style and very small - I got a visa on arrival (not been asked about my race recently) and then got a new SIM card for the telephone - for Swarm and Instagram.

Our first stop was the Lunagprabang River Lodge and we went out for a walk after having a quick shower - on returning we found that the safe was not safe.