Pray for...

Normally when a tragedy happens I see and post about "Praying for...." but with events of the last few days let alone the month and year I am at a loss of what to say and do. Prayers and thoughts are all well and dandy but what else are we and can we do to help? Everywhere needs help and thoughts, no where has been immune to tragedy.

This year alone we have seen Flooding in Chennai India, Earthquake in Chile, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Argentina, Fiji, Mexico, Tonga, Greece, New Zealand, and many more. There have been a total of 13,370 earthquakes in 2015 alone ranging on the Richter scale from 4.0-8.3 with the deadliest being in Nepal with over 8,000 people dead. (source Wikipedia list of earthquakes 2015)

Refugees from Syria, Mass shootings around the world most recently in Paris, & California.
Some ask, "is it safe to travel?" after some thought my answer is no. Even within our own communities we are taking that risk, however it is so needed. By traveling we represent our country in a way politicians cannot, we show the true American spirit rather then the Hollywood stereotype.

All of these disasters present an opportunity for the human race to step forward and show their better side. We have all seen the worst of humanity with terrorist attacks both domestic and international, now is the time to have the best of humanity come forth and show good still does exist in the world.
Smile at your neighbor stop to help someone as they are struggling, any little act goes a long way. We can fight with kindness. It is time to see the beauty in the world again, both in the culture & beliefs of others as well as in the natural beauty all around.

"I don not agree with what you say but I will defend your right to express it to the last"- Voltaire

Day2 in Phuket Paradise

I love lazy mornings, Jamie... not so much. She did pass the time by playing Bejeweled and letting me sleep, since jet lag finally caught up to me. So Sunday morning, after sleeping in, we headed over to the weekend market, just down the street from where we were staying. However, turned out that is was a night market, so we jumped on the back of a motorcycle taxi and headed to Wat Chalang. 

Wat Chalang is a Buddhist temple, and it is amazing. There is a mixture of tourists, drivers, worshipers, and even a wedding couple. The bride is beautiful in her traditional wedding wear, and the groom looks like Prince Charming. As we enter the temple, after removing our shoes, we are stunned by the beauty of the murals and the many statues of Buddha.

 

My Favorite part are all the elephants!

As we continue on we are assaulted by the sound of loud popping, like gun shots. Our eyes quickly scanned the courtyard, via the window, searching for some chaos, but everyone was calm as day (never got that expression.. maybe days were calmer back in the day??) So we attributed it to a one time occurrence someone light the firecrackers in celebration of the Bride and Groom who looked like they were straight out of a fairy tale, the classics, you know? Like Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty.
Anywho, I've gone off topic, back to Firecrackers. The rest of our time spent there we heard Firecrackers probably 7 times!

**come to find out, according to Phuket.com, & Justluxe.com  the act of Lighting Firecrackers is to show gratitude for an answered prayer and thus celebrating their good fortune**

 

The Lovely Gardens

All in all I loved the simple elegance of this Buddhist temple, complete with all the minor details. If you are traveling thru Phuket I would definitely recommend stopping by Wat Chalang, if for nothing more then a good healthy heart pounding start to your day, when you find yourself a little to close to the oven meant for Firecrackers.

 

From Wat Chalang we hailed a motorcylce taxi and headed up to Big Buddha, which completely lives up to its name. It was quite the hill for our motorcycle to climb with 3 people, but once at the top the view was gorgeous, and the was monks reading scripture over the speakers completed the scene.

 

Heading back home, proved to be quite the feat. Our driver got lost several times, despite his original reassurance that he knew the street we lived on, in "old" downtown Phuket.
We eventually made it after help from some very helpful ladies at one of the resorts, and another kind soul at the market near our place where we were eventually dropped off. 
Times like this I realize how much we are at the mercy of others, and rather then being upset, it is better to roll with the punches and realize we will eventually make it, but at the moment we are having an adventure, and there is nothing I can do, so enjoy. 
I LOVED traveling by motorcycle and would encourage anyone else who is brave enough to trust a complete stranger with their lives, to travel this way as well. 

The Sunday Market was a blast, located on Walking Street, along Thalong Road, the street is closed for the day while everyone sets up for the evening. It was so fun just to wander around and experience the carnival like atmosphere with the food, the dancers and the vendors. (we found more 'handmade' unique things here, then any other shopping in Thailand) The Market doesn't open till 4pm so the vendors all bring lights and make it a night market. The street also has a network of colored changing lights.

 

Such Cute Performers!

Another place I suggest, that we didn't go is The Point by Patong beach, it is the last place the sun sets, and has some gorgeous views. 

We also researched Memorials from the December 26, 2004 earthquake and resulting Tsunami. One that seemed more prominent is an underwater plaque near Tonsai Bay/Krabi. Do your research on this one. It has some cool significance. 

Khao Lak/Phi Phi Island Police boat- another notable memorial is the Police boat that was washed a shore, at the time it was on duty for the Royal family. It was never moved and has since been set up as a memorial.

Buddhism Weekly Holy days are based off the Lunar Cycle, Full Moon, New Moon, and the 2 half moons. Important to know, since many shops, and restaurants are closed on those days... (Info found on http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/147862-what-is-buddhist-holy-day-of-the-week/) 

Little acts go a long way

As I have worked with and gotten to know the locals here in Hyderabad, I am amazed at their openness and kindness. I realize and have experienced that not all are like this, but so many are, especially in the poorer areas.

When we took a wrong turn in the slums on our way to our mural project we started asking around if someone had a phone we could borrow. Even though some of them just laughed and informed us "they were street bums, so no they didn't have a phone", one family took us in, let us use their phone and cared for us while we waited 2 hours for Bindhu (our Indian partner for murals) to come.

They gave us food, water, offered to wash Lydia's feet, and go safer shopping with us, so we wouldn't get ripped off. They gave us 100% hospitality asking if people in India were kind to us, it was so important to them, that their countrymen were treating us right.

On the flip side I have realized there is also the selfish side in people as well, and having experienced both sides here is a bit overwhelming at times. I have realized that being open (to an extent) and loving is necessary but trust needs to be prove. Just when I believe that most people have an innate desire to do good & help out their fellow man, I get a slap of reality when twice in one day the auto drivers decide to rip us off. We agree on one price (the foreigner price most of the time) before we hop into the auto, on top of that once we get to our destination they demand more money saying they didn't know it was 1 min from the club we told them, or that there was traffic... Blah blah blah whatever happened to being honest and a decent human being who keeps their word. I get they are living in a third world and need to make money, but I get upset when people try to take advantage of us.

It is annoying that they think they can rip us off in everything (autos, shopping, food etc.) and think we don't know better. 

Nevertheless I love that people come out of nowhere to help us out, focusing on that helps me to stay positive and love the place I am. 

3 things I love about India 

-mango milkshakes=heaven in a glass

-people love to shake hands ask my name and then run off. 

-women are blank faced until I smile and wave & then they give a beaming/shy smile

Today Andrah Padesh was officially broken into two states. Everyone was out  celebrting the newly formed Telengana state, some added lots of color to their otherwise white doorstep murals!

Our trip to Sharmenar bazaar and Mosque

Taken from inside the Mosque looking at the bazaar below

Peace & happiness