Author Archives: jkmarsch

While visiting one of the temples, we saw a table with a display of little statues and painted canvases for sale. To the right of the art was a price list, a book to record what you bought and a bowl to put the money in. We bought the small canvas that Em is holding in the photo. A sign said that any money collected would be used to re-paint the inside of the temple. The bowl was full of money! I love how trusting these people are, but I can imagine if you did take anything- you’d probably get some pretty bad karma coming your way if you steal from monks!

Here is us walking to a little portal. Signs all around say that it’s Buddha’s footprint inside- he must have been a huge dude because the size of the foot is about as tall as Emerson. I don’t want to be a negative Nelly- so you’ll have to travel here and judge for yourself whether or not you think it’s the real deal. We all had our doubts.

When we walked down into this one- it scared the heck out of us. The guy in front looked pretty real and there was fake blood on his cheeks. I thought we walked right into one of those hidden camera shows and he was going to jump at us any second. Freaky!

The kids usually humor me when I try to direct them in the photos!

At the base of the steps- a woman was selling tiny birds in little wicker cages. You take them all the way to the top and let them go while making a wish. We bought a cage with two little birds and released them at the summit. 🙂 They thanked us by flying around over our heads for awhile. So cool.

Monks can have very few possessions in life. They are: 1 toothpick, an umbrella, a belt, a razor, three robes and an alms bowl.
Centuries ago -robes were made from “pure cloth” – meaning cloth that no one else wanted anymore. The monks would collect old rags, wash them, then dye them by boiling with vegetables and spices like turmeric and saffron which gave the robes the bright orange/yellow colors.
Monks in Southeast Asia still wear the spice colored robes today in shades of curry, cumin, paprika and saffron.

Good gravy! Over a month in and we’re still dealing with picky eaters! “I’m starving! I’m starving!” Then after they order food “Ew! I don’t like it.” We keep telling them that if they were truly starving, they would eat ANYTHING! Maybe by the end of the trip they’ll be eating pig’s snouts and chicken feet…

Feet are considered the dirtiest (lowest) part of your body – so you must always remove your shoes before entering anywhere (temples, restaurants, stores, hotels, homes.) At some temples, they have shoe, shorts and tank top “police” that will ask you to leave and come back when you have taken your shoes off and/or covered your shoulders/legs (or you can always rent some hideous getup!)