The Muslim holy month of Ramadan came to an end in Islamabad Tuesday a week ago, and that day and the next were a two-day long Eid, or holiday, where, like Christmas in the US, folks spend time with their families and things pretty much shut down.  Jules' office closed for the week, so Jules decided that if she had that much time off we ought to get out of Pakistan.  Get out we did, to Thailand, where US passport holders can get in without a visa.  Only purchased our tickets the day before we left, but were thankful that waiting meant we were able to get tickets direct from Islamabad and not have to connect through some other city.

Because we didn't even know if we were going for sure until the day before we left, we did little planning.  But that was ok, because it was more of a get-out-of-PK-to-somewhere-'normal' than a hey-let's-go-see-Thailand vacation.  So we spent lots of time relaxing, drinking coffee in funky little coffee shops (something Islamabad does not really have), walking the streets, enjoying the freedom to imbibe in public whenever we chose to.  Even went to see a movie at a real movie theater (Islamabad has no movie theaters at all), and found a great vegetarian restaurant just like you might find in the US.  (While I'm not about to let go of my meat-chawin', people, I can tell you that vegetarian cookin' done right is so much more interesting than your usual meat dishes that I could almost be a convert...)

Out of our week in Thailand we spent most of the time in Bangkok, but did get out of the city for two days to a little island called Ko Samet, where we got a cute little beach bungalow and ate good Thai food and watched sunsets over the ocean.

Home again this week, I've been slowly chipping away at writing.  My driving need to get out and explore has settled down now that I've been here for two months and have some idea of what this place is all about.  Replacing that is a drive to write this book I'm working on about Kenilworth, though I always wish at the end of the day that I'd put down more words.  Am beginning to feel here like I did in Kenilworth, that  I have a lot to do.  That's a good feeling, mostly, since it means I won't get bored and the drive to create is still there even in this place far away from the usual.

So here's some pictures of Thailand:

Left: A typical street scene in Bangkok.  There are so many 7-11's there it made Jules and I wonder what the history of the franchise is, and if there's some connection between the proliferation of them in Thailand and the many Asian store owners in the US.  Anybody know?

Below: I was fascinated by the jumble of electrical wires everywhere.  It appears that many folks string their own, and probably tap into the grid without paying.

Above right: In a big park a sort of festival altar was set up honoring, as far as I could tell, the Buddha and the king.  Bright colors abound in Bangkok.  I loved the little collection of helium balloons in the middle of the picture.

Above left: The roofs of some government buildings poke up underneath the fringe of one of the small umbrella booths set up at this festival altar.  The roof shapes and patterns of the traditional buildings are quite distinctive, and gold is an ever-present color.

Above left: It was the anniversary of the king's coronation, so there were pictures of king and queen up all over the city, and it seemed about half the population wore yellow shirts in honor of this holiday.

Above right: Outside a temple I found street sellers peddling their small clay Buddha figures in heaps on sidewalk blankets.

Right: Flower garlands adorn the gate of a temple.

Above left: Unusually high tides brought a few hours of flood to the city as the river that winds through Bangkok overflowed its banks.  Early morning boat commuters walk the sandbag trail laid out from the flooded riverside pier to the dry inner streets.

Above right: These mermaids almost needed to use their unique aquatic abilities.

Left: A street vendor with his king-honoring yellow shirt sells roasted bananas despite the two feet of water submerging his stand.

Pictures of the island, Ko Samet, that we spent a couple nights on.  A three hour bus ride and thirty minute ferry will land you there, where you can hire a green pickup taxi to bump you over the rutted dirt road to any one of the numerous small towns - basically collections of beach-side 'resorts' - that you desire.  A bungalow on the ocean, with AC and a make-do bathroom but no hot water, is twenty-five bucks.  Then you can snorkel, eat good Thai food, sit on your porch and read, take a nap to the sound of the waves...

A few random photos with no need of captions.

 And finally (on the way to the airport with pictures left to take), Bangkok in a blur, which is, perhaps, how it's meant to be seen...