Lhasa, Tibet

On September 6 we flew to Lhasa.

I was preparing myself for the altitude

Even the airport was pretty!

We got a traditional Tibetan welcome with these white scarves

The drive from the airport to the hotel was very scenic

It was a beautiful day

After settling into the hotel, we decided to take a walk around the area to get our bearings, find some water, and food. I was feeling pretty good before leaving the hotel but the altitude's effects crept up on me.

This is a supermarket

Walking around town

Lots of yak meat for sale and no, the meat was not refrigerated and yes, it was warm in Lhasa

I started to feel a bit off right around now

The doors were really cool

The next day, we visited the Potala Palace which was built in the 7th century. In the 17th century, the 5th Dalai Lama extended the palace to its present size. It also became the Dalai Lama's residing palace until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959. The palace is divided into two sections - the Red and White Palaces. It is 115.7 meters with 13 stories including living quarters, temples, funerals, stupas, and monk dormitories.

You know it's important when there's a stone inscribed with stuff on it

It was quite impressive

It was quite steep so we were in for a nice walk

Some cool doors along the way

Paul isn't affected by the altitude at all

The views were amazing though - I especially like the bank signs against the mountain range

We had to keep climbing

Got some good views of the mountains

It really was quite steep

Paul was enjoying the view

All the black curtains are made of yak hair

The black curtains are see through from the other side

This is one of the entrances to the White Palace 

Another captivating view

Walking down

Looking up

Bye bye Potala Palace

Local Tibetan walking by with a prayer wheel

Stationary prayer wheels

From afar - you can see the Red Palace in the center; the White Palace flanks it

We then stopped for some lunch and walked around town before our next stop.

Our view during lunch

Yam seller

Cool looking building

Paul + monks = Punks

After lunch we headed to the Sera Monastery, the second biggest monastery (covering an area of 114,964 square meters) in Tibet. Sera monastery was founded in 1419 by Jamchen Choje Shakya Yesh, a disciple of Tsongkhapa. It has an assembly hall, three colleges and 33 houses. Se ra means wild roses in Tibetan - the monastery got the name for where it was built - surrounded by wild roses.

Entering the monastery...hm, that's an odd hat...

Walking up and down

A painting of the wheel of life

Monks debating philosophical topics

The monk standing asks the question and the monk sitting retorts; the monk standing then claps to signify he's won the debate.

They really get into it

We did not understand what they were saying

But I'm convinced they were debating how Breaking Bad was going to end

This monk doesn't care

This monk likes to wear jerseys under his robe

It looks like the monk on the right recently watched the dance scene in Kickboxer

Leaving the Debating Courtyard

Still on the Sera Monastery grounds

Nice door

The scenery doesn't even look real! 

Bangkok had us...

On April 22 we took a short flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. We decided to stay for 4 nights since we had laundry to do and errands to run (we had to get our Myanmar visa before our flight on April 26). We arrived in the evening and just took it easy since the plan was to get up early to head to the Myanmar Embassy. It was morning rush hour on the train so it was packed...

Crowded doesn't quite describe the scene

Paul was the tallest guy there...some were staring

Here's another person looking at Paul

Paul needs more room...

Finding The Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (what a mouthful!) wasn't too hard and the line was thankfully not too long. We were in and out within about 1.5 hours. But before we got in line, Paul needed to get photos for the visa since he looks a bit different from the photos we took back in November 2012..since Capt'n (his scraggly beard) came into our lives. I still can't stop laughing at this photo - there are so many things about it that make me laugh but what stands out the most (which I'm sure you will all agree) is the image of his floating head.

My son, you do not remember me, I am Jor-el. I am your father. 

Now, was a white t-shirt a good choice against a white background? The answer is YES! because of how much joy this photo gives me. Surprisingly, the Myanmar embassy accepted it and we were scheduled to pick up our passports in a couple days.

After a lazy afternoon, we were excited to meet up with our friend, Kelly from New York (a fellow Westside Tavern patron) who moved to Bangkok on a 2 year teaching assignment. We had dinner together and then headed to watch some Muay Thai at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium!

Excited about muay thai

I tried to take a picture of the 3 of us but just got Paul and Kelly

Here is the 2nd attempt...you can kind of see us...?

One of the many matches we watched

There were many supporters for the blue corner here...

Paul was very excited

Me and Kelly

More muay thai

These guys started young

The guy in red was KO'd. He was out for a good 10 seconds and then put in a wheelchair.

Afte the match, we strolled through Soi Cowboy (Cowboy Street). There are no words to adequately describe it...but this is the street they filmed the fight in Hangover 2 if that helps.

Paul was afraid walking down this street

After Soi Cowboy, we went back to the hotel...along the way, these VW bar vans were set up

So, we stopped to have a drink!

Yes, it is a VW bar van!

Then we had a nightcap at our hotel bar

The next day we took it easy - did our laundry and had a nice dinner. Our last day in Bangkok we finally did some sight seeing after dragging ourselves out of bed. And the only motivation we used was the fact that we had to pick up our passports between 3:30 and 4:30pm...

So, on April 25, we made our way to the Chao Phraya River for a boat ride along the river and within the canals - including a stop over at the famous temple, Wat Pho. We felt like JCVD in Kickboxer.

You can't quite see the engine in this picture but trust me, it was hefty. 

I love Paul's hair in this shot

Along the way we were able to see all the residences along the river

It was a nice boat ride

P-Rex pointing out the different highlights of the river

Floating Market

Floating Market making a sale to Paul - a beer for our already drunk boat driver

Another shot of the river

Wat Arun from the Chao Phraya River

We made it to Wat Pho!

To see the reclining buddha

5 meters high and 43 meters long with his right arm supporting the head.

Can you tell it was hot that day?

With Buddha's feet in the shot

And, a shot from behind

With his right arm holding his head up

Heading back

For our last night in Bangkok, we met up with Kelly for dinner. It was great to see someone we knew since we're closing in on 4 months away from the states. Plus, Kelly was nice enough to let us do our laundry at her place not to mention provide great travel tips for Thailand and Myanmar. Thanks Kelly for making us feel a little bit at home on the road!

We ate at Zaks Wine Bar two nights in a row - the chef is from New Hampshire!

The next day we were back on the road again - headed to Myanmar!