December 24
Up early at 6 am and out on the street to
pick up some tasty fried doughnuts, sticky coconut cake and fried taro for breakfast.
We
walked a block to 7-11 for several large bottles of water and cold
lemon tea and on the way back there was a Monk with his Alms Bowl
collecting the food he will eat at his only meal of the day at noon.
I reached in my bag and pulled out a
lemon tea, walked to him, knelt down and gently placed the tea in his
bowl, making sure I did not touch him or the bowl with my hand. I
did glance at him as I approached and he had a surprised twinkle in
his eye that told me not many Farangs help out the Monks.
I put my hands together and bowed my head while he gave me a blessing. His words I did not understand, but his deep voice resonated with passion and I was completely overwhelmed when he finished about a minute later. I bowed and without looking directly at him I backed away as I stood up and I walked back to the resort feeling elated.........This was my first Making Merit and Monk Blessing and I loved it!!
I put my hands together and bowed my head while he gave me a blessing. His words I did not understand, but his deep voice resonated with passion and I was completely overwhelmed when he finished about a minute later. I bowed and without looking directly at him I backed away as I stood up and I walked back to the resort feeling elated.........This was my first Making Merit and Monk Blessing and I loved it!!
Monkey Mountain is very close to the
resort but we couldn't walk the beach because the low tide happens to
be a (Plus Low) meaning it doesn't go out as far as if it were a
normal low tide. We walked up the road to the hill where we saw
the large golden Buddha facing the sea. I have seen many pictures
of it and to be standing at the feet and looking up was surreal.
We climbed the first set of many stairs, took some pictures and the found the road to the temple on the hill. These stairs numbered 128 one way! We finally reached the temple grounds where the Macaques live. One tried to climb on Steven and one tried to get in the cloth bag I was carrying my water in. Ages of the monkeys were from infant to very old. It was fun to watch the community dynamics and to see who was clearly in charge and which were banished to the outer areas of the area. http://www.huahin-online.com/hua-hin/monkey-mountain-hua-hin-khao-takiab.htm
After returning to the resort we rested
and napped for several hours and went into town for, what was to be
our first Mexican dinner at Margarita's …..where the sign says....”
Real Mexican food by a Real Mexican” We sat down and the owner
Hugo came over to the table to chat us up. He opened the restaurant
3 years ago and is getting the fever to travel again. He was very
interested in Japan so had a nice conversation with Steve and Lisa.
We climbed the first set of many stairs, took some pictures and the found the road to the temple on the hill. These stairs numbered 128 one way! We finally reached the temple grounds where the Macaques live. One tried to climb on Steven and one tried to get in the cloth bag I was carrying my water in. Ages of the monkeys were from infant to very old. It was fun to watch the community dynamics and to see who was clearly in charge and which were banished to the outer areas of the area. http://www.huahin-online.com/hua-hin/monkey-mountain-hua-hin-khao-takiab.htm
For those of you that know us, the four
of us have been foodies for a long time. We laughed that we had to
come all the way to Thailand to find the best Mexican food we have
ever had! It was so wonderful that we made a reservation to go back
again the next night.
The walk from the restaurant is a few
blocks to the famous Hua Hin Train Station.
http://www.tourismhuahin.com/railway-station-huahin.php
This is for the Royal Family to wait for their train.
Nice finish to another great day!
Looks like so much fun. Glad you all are having a great time, and the best Mexican food! No fair. It looked amazing. Happy Holidays :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lani! We went back two nights in a row. We are looking forward to meeting you for coffee, lunch, dinner or whatever. I brought chocolate!
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