Tokyo Family Photographer ||| Beth Ann Photography Blog

After we arrived at our destination in Old Bangkok, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  We climbed out of the long tail boat and we were literally standing in someone’s personal residence.  The family welcomed us like we were old friends and encouraged us to sit down and spend time at their home.

We spent the morning sitting at the table (seen below) and listened to Artie share stories about his life and the culture of Thailand.

Below is the view of what it looked like to the left of the table we were sitting at.  Yes, the ‘front door’ leads right to the water!

Behind the house were the cooking at bathing facilities.

Artie walked us around the home and told us about ‘life on the river’.  Life definitely moves at a difference speed in Old Bangkok.  Families are away from the craziness of the city and take time to enjoy a slower pace of life.  Several of the residents in Old Bangkok are hard-working farmers.  This family tended to land which stretched well beyond the back of their house.

Artie told us that students in Thailand have a deep respect for their teachers.  Every year, the schools celebrate “Wai Kru” or Teacher Appreciation Day.  This is a day where students will thank their teachers for their hard work and dedication, as well as express their readiness to learn.  The teachers are presented with floral arrangements as part of an elaborate celebration.

Below, Artie is holding an “Ixora Flower” (also known as the khem or kem flower – meaning needle in Thai).   Arti told us they believe the needle is symbolic of the sharp mind the students will gain as a result of learning.

The owner of the residence peeled a freshly picked pomelo and shared it with us.  It was delicious!!

The pomelo is a citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia.  It is the largest member of the citrus fruits and tastes like a sweet, mild grapefruit.  The pomelo has a very thick skin and can be close to 12 inches across and weigh up to 22 pounds!  In Thailand, the fruist is called som-oh (ส้มโอ).

I think I ended up eating the majority of the plate on my own! 

We really enjoyed the stories that Artie shared with us.  As you can see, he is an expressive storyteller!

We are very thankful for the time we spent with Artie.  This was a completely unplanned part of our trip and definitely the most memorable!  Believe it or not, all of this happened on our first day in Bangkok!  Stay tuned…I still have more photos to share!

After we visited Wat Kanlayanamit, we took a short walk to the river, climbed into a long tail boat and headed out to ‘Old Bangkok’.

Artie steered us away from the boats full of tourists, so Shawn and I were able to enjoy the ride all to ourselves.  We bypassed all of the tourist traps and cruised out to a ‘department store’ on the river.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I just enjoyed the ride and the scenery!

There were different vendors paddling along the river selling fresh produce, grilled food and ice cream.  We even saw a the postal service cruising up and down the waterway.

The first stop on our Bangkok adventure was Wat Kanlayanamit, located in the western side of the city.  The statue of Phra Buddha Trai Rattananayok stands close to 51 feet tall and 39 feet wide.

Many, many, many, many, many months ago Shawn and I traveled to Bangkok, Thailand.  Thankfully, we were in Bangkok several months prior to the unfortunate and deadly violence that broke out in the late spring.  We had a fabulous time on our trip and for some reason I never posted the photos.  I look forward to FINALLY sharing the photos over multiple blog posts!

Bangkok is roughly a 7 hour flight from Tokyo.  As crazy as it sounds, we now consider a 7 hour flight to be short!  Since living in Japan, our classification of a ’short flight’ has definitely changed! 

On our first day in Bangkok we were walking around in the morning when we randomly met an older Thai gentleman named, Artie.  Artie was in Bangkok for a ‘teachers conference’.  The train back to Artie’s home in Chiang Mai was not leaving until later in the evening, so Artie was walking around the city to pass the time.  Artie kindly offered to take us to some of the less touristy areas of Bangkok and we accepted his offer.

We grabbed a taxi and we were off for our unknown adventure!  Here are a few sights from my view in the taxi.  All of the photos were taken through the glass window of the taxi. 

Going through the Chinatown area of Bangkok…