Bayon is in the same area as Angkor Wat but I was completely unfamiliar with it besides I guess seeing it on Tomb Raider trailers… Very different feel from Angkor Wat. I enjoyed exploring among those big smiling sculptures more than Angkor Wat.

We biked to Angkor Wat early so that we could be there at 5:30am for this amazing sunrise.

Exploring this temple ruin in the rain. We visited after Ko Ker.

In Siem Reap there is a program designed for training and employing local village people in the arts: carving, silk making, and ceramics. We visited their silk farm to learn more about the process.

Just going to talk this one time about $$… This beach resort cost us per night about the price of two NYC cocktails. Going from NYC to Thailand, one can live like royalty. Just look at that free all-you-can-stuff-in-your-face breakfast. The island, Koh Samui, was pretty uneventful so not too many reasons to leave our little resort haven.

These two temples were by far the worst temples we saw in Thailand. Cheaply painted plaster figurines, trash, and shingles falling off. They felt more like tourist traps… It was something to do though since Koh Samui was an island mainly about beach bumming and drinking.

Maya Beach became famous when it was featured in Leo DiCap's “The Beach”. It is a protected island with a controlled number of visitors. We (and most people) arrived by long tail boats and were sheparded to the beach and allowed two hours of beach bliss. It is no doubt the most besutiful beach I have ever seen.

Koh Phi Phi Don is a small island off of Phuket in the Adaman sea. It is notable for its big rock cliffs jutting out of an emerald sea. Just look at that photo of us flying in… Unlike any coast I've ever seen. There are no vehicles on the island so goods are brought in by boat and carried. That sunset!

Staying in Phuket Old Town was actually a happy accident. We arrived by plane to Phuket with hopes to take the ferry to Koh Phi Phi (island) that day but we missed the last ferry so we last minute booked a cute hotel and decided to make the best of it. This little part of the city was very different than other Thai cities we've seen. It's style of building is Sino-Portuguese dating back to the 18th century. We loved the colors and the complete lack of tourists.

We spent a bit of time creeping around the local school. Like other Thai buildings the school was more of a collection of different buildings connected by breezy outdoor spaces. I would have loved to go to school here.

I'm still not sure what the original purpose of this place was (definitely deserves some research). But it was especially great seeing it in contrast with the White Temple. It was filled with tribal artifacts: bones, wicker, wood, skins, and carvings.

This temple is really more of an art piece than a functioning Buddhist space. It was started in 1997 but is stilll being added to now. These complexes take decades with the number of buildings they add. The landscaping and approach to the main temple space was really nice, but really all you notice is just the ridiculous amount of white ornament that is in your face. It has a really quirky side too with skulls, hands popping out of the ground, and colorul murals of modern events. I don't think I even need to say that I loved it.

PS – the gold building is the toilet room. #glamour

The Mae Hong Son loop is a beautiful highway trough the mountains of northern Thailand. Slow, winding roads with amazing overlooks unlike any I've ever seen. You can't really tell from the photos just how enormous this landscape is. The clouds hang low and the fog creates this amazing dreamy quality (when it's not raining). We spent a lot of time watching people work on almost vertical rice paddies with hand tools. And then chased around their chickens, pigs, and cows. I'm sure they loved us.

Finding this wat was just a happy accident. We noticed in the northern parts of Thailand, the temple ornament uses thin applied metal cut outs and intricate wood carvings. Seeing it with the beautiful hills in the background and the dozens or chickens in the foreground just made the place seem even more unreal O, I should also note wats are EVERYWHERE and you just wander in and often don't see anyone besides the occasional monk. It feels very private, yet sneaky.

We are really interested in the differences between Eastern and Western peoples' mindset and to get at the core of the differences, religion is a great place to start. We stayed at this monastery for 3 nights. They welcome anyone and everyone to stay for free as long as they would like. They provide bedding, food, and meditation guidance. So it was pretty great.

The site itself was amazing. The monastery is nestled between two rock faces that have their own caves. The grounds have two koi ponds and dozens of fruit trees: mango, jack fruit, and pineapple. I got my own kuti to stay in. Yes, the bed is a wood platform with a thin piece of padding so not the best night's sleep, but don't worry, there was plenty of “lying meditation” we practiced during the day.

We stopped very briefly in Mae Hong Son at this wat. Not our favorite but you kind of have to love the giant wicker Buddha.

Pai was kind of a joke. A gimmick-y tourist trap. But the scenary was absolutely beautiful so I'm glad we went! There was also a really nice natural hot spring that we went to in the morning rain. I saw sign “80 degree celcius pool” and put my foot in like an idiot. And remember “No Boil Egg”.

Alex is hanging out on the porch or our “villa”. Also nice. Also tourist-y. But if you want to get a cheap tattoo… Pai is your place.

Great views from this temple. Pai is a beautiful city once you get away from the white hipsters and tattoo parlours. The funny thing about Thailand is it's hard to tell what's old and what's new. The Buddha and the stairs up were under construction. I've been really surprised by the sheer number and variety of temples in this country.

A mahout is the person who trains, feeds, watches, and generally takes care of the elephants. At Woody Elephant camp, one mahout has one elephant. They go wherever the elephant goes. Every. Single. Day. You can tell, because there's this quiet bond between them. They grunt at each other all the time like their own language. When we interacted with the elephants, we could tell the elephant had the mindset it was “working”. But when the mahout spoke, the elephants reacted more empathetically.

At the camp we husked corn for the elephants (even though most of the elephants could do this themselves using their trunks). Pictured below are the farmers working on the crops used to feed the elephant's enormous appetites.