The Vintage Diplomat: November 2018

For our final full week in the region, we decided to travel to Thailand and explore just one more country before returning to the U.S. for French language training. Since arriving in Islamabad, I have visited the United Arab Emirates, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, India, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Japan, and now Thailand; R has been with me for all but the India trip.

As my time in the region comes to a close, I can say that I did my absolute best to make the most of being here. I volunteered for TDY to Lahore and I was able to travel to Peshawar for work. I requested, and was granted, the opportunity to work in the Immigrant Visa unit, the Nonimmigrant Visa unit, and in American Citizen Services. I made good friends among my Pakistani and American colleagues. I upheld U.S. immigration law, uncovered fraudulent applicants, and denied visas to suspected terrorists. I kid you not. The work a Consular Section does is meaningful and critical to national security.

A few photos from our Thailand trip:

The view from the Sirocco restaurant, on the 64th floor.

The Loy Krathong festival was held on November 22, 2018. These floating flowers are set adrift in the river to pay respect to water spirits and ask for luck and success in the coming year.

Even monks take photos to capture memories!

At the Golden Mount - Wat Saket.

The bell symbolizes Buddha's voice, and calls for the protection of heavenly deities. These are at Wat Saket.

Riding along in a tuk tuk.

We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental - a jewel of a place.

Having a beer in the 90+ degree heat.

A street scene.

Water taxis are common and a very efficient way of moving around.

At the Ayutthaya - the ancient capital city of Siam (former name of Thailand).

Ayutthaya.

Reclining Buddha. The guide told us that because the Buddha's eyes are closed,
this was meant to symbolize that someone had died. Ayutthaya.

Ayutthaya.

A close up of the reclining Buddha.

These structures house the ashes of former kings.

Ayutthaya.

Ayutthaya had fallen into ruin until "rediscovered" in the 1950s when preservation efforts began. Before it was protected, looters would come and dismember the many Buddha statues and sell the parts to foreign museums. Some believe that a thief was interrupted when trying to steal this Buddha head and dropped it near a tree - over the next 20-30 years, the roots grew around it, until it became what you see here.

Wat Arun. The decoration was made using chinaware that had been broken during its sea voyage to Thailand.

A close up.

Wat Arun.

I had a very nice conversation with this Buddhist monk - he spoke fluent English and told me he had visited the United States many times - NY, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Minnesota. Interestingly, becoming a monk is not a lifelong commitment. One can choose to become a monk for just a week, for example. I don't know how long this man had been a monk, or planned to be one. After this photo was taken, he asked to take a selfie with me. :)

At the Grand Palace, with a palace guard.

At the Grand Palace. This character is a demon - thought to be strong, so a good candidate to protect the king.

Demons (with shoes) and monkeys (without shoes).

Another demon.

Really amazing decoration.

Worshippers (and tourists, me included) can buy a small bowl of coins and then distribute the coins into these many pots while asking for their loved ones to be protected and to have good fortune. At Wat Pho.