While I intended my next post to be about the Wai Kru Teacher Appreciation Ceremony we were a part of on Thursday, I was so excited to get out of work and go grocery shopping on Friday that I forgot to upload most of the photos.  Details will have to wait until I can access the accompanying images on Monday.

In the meantime, I did have a wonderful adventure yesterday.

Our wonderful Thai friends took us on a day trip to Bang Saen beach in Chonburi.  The weather wasn’t ideal, so instead of spending the whole day at the beach we drove around looking for adventure.

We arrived in Chonburi and stopped at a beautiful Chinese style temple to look around and take photos.  It was a very cool place.  There were small fireworks going off the whole time we were there.  Not sure of the significance, but it was cool!

After the temple we drove up a smallish mountain to see a bunch of monkeys hanging by the sides of the roads.  I don’t normally care for monkeys, but they are cute when you’re secure in a moving vehicle.

We finally arrived at the beach and sat and ate lunch (homemade crab fried rice, plus papaya salad and Thai barbecue chicken).  I got the chance to put my feet in the water and relax for a little while, but eventually the wind and rain drove us away.  We rode further down the shore to see more of the area.

We then went to walk around a roadside market selling souvenirs and snacks.  We purchased durian chips and sticky rice steamed in bamboo.

Dehydrated squids!

Sweet sticky rice steamed in bamboo!

From there, we went into downtown Chonburi for some fabric shopping.  We parked in yet another beautiful temple.

We then started to make our way to Chachoengsao for dinner.  We stopped at a Starbucks at a rest stop on the way and I had my first real chocolate chip cookie in months (it was blissful.)

The restaurant we went to in Chachoengsao was called Burimaya, and the scenic surroundings were outdone only by the food.  We had stir fried vegetables, deep fried oysters, squid and soft shell crab, and last but not least, my favorite:  Tom Kha!  So delicious!

Lastly our friends took us on a brief  nighttime tour of some of Chachoengsao’s sights including Wat Sathon Wararam temple and the city’s ancient wall.

It was a lovely day filled with good company, delicious food, and the chance to be near the ocean.  Who needs sunshine?