Thailand

 Thailand was incredibly special. There was an energy there that I absolutely loved, and the spiritual side of the culture is something you can really feel.

We fell in love with the Thai people—their kindness and the way they approach life. One day we had a driver with us the entire day, and he shared so much about his culture and how much he loves it. He told us about growing up on a farm with very little. Sometimes he would skip meals or eat very little so he could save money and eventually work his way into a better job. Now he’s happily driving for a larger company. He explained that he earns a base income each day if he gets rides—if he doesn’t, he doesn’t get paid.

What struck me most was when he said Thai people are different from Americans because they don’t compare themselves to others. They simply love what is. I had actually been saying something similar to Brandon before that conversation—that there seemed to be a lack of judgment or comparison here. It felt peaceful and refreshing.

On our first day in Thailand, we went to a Buddhist monk retreat for meditation. I had been especially excited about this. The monk taught for about an hour, sharing the basics of Buddhism and explaining what meditation is meant to do for the soul. Then we spent time actually practicing meditation together.

The boys were phenomenal. For three hours they either sat quietly listening or curled up on our laps. When it came time to meditate, they did it with so much focus. At one point the monk even called them out and the whole room gave our family a round of applause.

During a break, a woman came up to talk with me and started asking about our family. I shared that one of our intentions as parents is to teach our kids about many different beliefs and perspectives—to understand different ways of life and live with open hearts. I told her we had been doing an online master class about different religions and had studied Buddhism before coming to Thailand. By the end of our conversation she had tears in her eyes and kept telling us how amazed she was by what we were doing with our kids. It was encouraging to hear—but honestly, we’re just parents doing our best.

Another day we visited the famous “Sticky Waterfall,” where you can actually climb up the waterfall because the minerals in the water create a surface that grips your feet instead of letting you slip. It was so much fun—even though there were hundreds of people there. I’m guessing many were visitors from China on vacation in Thailand.

While we were there, we met a group of friends from Romania who had been traveling the world. They shared some fascinating perspectives about different countries and cultures. What I loved most was when they talked about Thailand and how friendly people are here—that there isn’t the same tension or hostility they’ve experienced in other places lately. They were such a great group to talk with.

Here we went to the Elephant poopoopaper. It was cool! We got to make paper out of elephant poop!

We also tried a Muay Thai boxing class, which is deeply rooted in Thai culture. My friend Jen recommended it after visiting a few weeks before us. The boys absolutely loved it and went  back several times. It was a mix of serious mental discipline along with kicking and boxing techniques. Watching them learn and practice was so fun.

We explored so many night markets and tried a lot of food—but we realized something funny… we really miss Vietnamese food!

We visited several temples, but one of my favorites was Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. It was absolutely gorgeous and had such a powerful, peaceful feeling.

When we went inside one of the altar rooms to pay our respects, Brandon and I noticed a monk sitting to the side of the room holding a bundle of incense and tapping it gently against a bowl. He watched people come and go, almost as if he were offering something. At the same moment, Brandon realized he was offering blessings. Without even talking, we both stood up and knelt down with the boys in front of him.

The monk dipped the incense bundle into water and gently sprinkled the water over our heads and bodies as he gave our family a blessing. It was such a beautiful and meaningful moment. Afterward we spoke with him for a bit—he was a younger monk who spoke English, and it was really special to connect with him.

Once we stood up and walked away, other tourists seemed to realize they could receive a blessing too.

Before we left, that monk encouraged us to visit another altar on the other side of the temple. We went over and found another monk there. Once again we knelt down, received a blessing—this time spoken in Thai—and he tied holy bracelets around our wrists. We all loved it.

Around the base of the temple’s golden spire was a long piece of gold cloth covered with writing. I realized it was like a prayer cloth. I found a marker and wrote a blessing and prayer for our family, our friends, and our community.

Nearby there was also a sign explaining that if you chanted the words written on a page and walked around the spire three times while chanting, it would be a sign of respect and peace. So we each grabbed a paper and did our best to read the Thai words as we slowly walked around the spire together.

It was meditative, meaningful, and completely new to us.

So many beautiful and spiritual moments happened at that temple. It’s an experience we’ll never forget.

I bought watercoloring pocket books for the boys to watercolor certain adventures or thing they thought were pretty.  The goal was to use them as part of art studies and have them draw and write about things that they saw or beautiful, impactful experiences. It turned out to be one of our favorite things to do while we had downtime. And now we look back at each painting and descriptions with so much joy. This photo shows them painting in our hotel table, listening to a class on Buddism. 

Our second hotel was also such a treat. Breakfast there was amazing, and the pool was a big hit with the kids. The room had three different bedrooms, so everyone had space to spread out for a bit—which felt luxurious after traveling. One of my favorite things about being here has been the soups. Pho, chicken noodle soup, and other brothy soups are considered breakfast foods, so we’ve had them for breakfast and lunch many days. They’re so flavorful and comforting. I’m definitely going to miss that.

 We got to visit a silk factory and it was so educational! They had a worm farm there, so you could see the worms eat their leaves, and then start making their cocoon, and then the process of killing the silk worm and boiling it to get the silk from the cocoon. If the worm didn't die and they pulled it out of the cocoon the silk string would break and it would be useless. It was a really cool place to see and I was beyond fascinated to see the process. 

Our favorite dish in Thailand. Kao Soi, it originates in the Chiang mai and it is SO tasty. We had a hard time liking Thai food, but this dish... loved it. 

Brandon was really wanting to try this drink. We went on a date to the night markets, and he decided to order a cup. Lets just say it was a good one and done drink! Ha! The locals all line up to get this drink but it must be a prefered taste. It tasted like a grape mixed with a cabbage with a hint of onion. haha! 

After a lot of striking out with food, we found a place that served Acai and Mango smoothie bowls AND Mediterranean food. We were all so happy. 

We took these red cabs around everywhere, they're like taxis but just pile anyone and everyone in. The boys thought it was the coolest thing to be able to stand outside of a car while in the middle of traffic. 

Another favorite temple. As we walked up to the site there was an intercom outside one of the buildings that had monks chanting. We found the building where the monks were doing their service and sat and listened for awhile. Really amazing to walk up to such an old temple and also hear monks chanting in the background. 

While running Thailand, I'd usually try to find quieter roads which would always be immersive to the culture and I'd could silently observe and take in. Every morning there would be a monk that would walk the streets with some blessed bread and as I understood was looking for homes that would bring him in. He would then bless the home, and the people and give them some holy bread. If I understood everything that I was observing. But it was beautiful to see the exchange and the blessings that was happening. It felt like a sacred moment to take with me while I ran.