Friday, November 27, 2015

Feb 23-27th 2015 Bankok, Thailand and then heading home.


Evening Riverboat Cruise in Bankok 

Budhist monks are easy to identify--barefoot in their orange robes.


This is a floating market in Thailand.  You just stay in your boat as you shop along the river.




Riding elephants in the river in Thailand was an experience never to be forgotten.  The elephants sprayed us with their trunks and successfully bucked us off their backs and into the water.  We tried to hang on tight to their ears to stay on, but it was no use, even for Adam.







After almost 2 weeks of travel and visiting, we flew back home.  We did encounter some icy weather in Dallas and our flights were cancelled and delayed all day long.  Instead of arriving at 8:20 in the morning, we got in about 8:30 in the evening on Feb 27th.  We did have some family members at the airport to greet a very tired and happy returned missionary.



Feb 21, 2015 Zipline in the Cambodian jungle of Angkor

More pictures from Siem Riep

Soup served in a coconut






Our driver, SauPawn took us to see his house when we were close by visiting the ruins. When he and his wife first joined the church, they were kicked out of his wife's family's house and forced to move into the chicken coup in the backyard.

After some time, SauPawn built this home that was completely made out of scrap tin, given to him by a friend.  His most prized area of the home was his outhouse bathroom that he received through the help of church funds.
It is very common to see a whole family on a motorcycle--often with a baby and groceries, too! Many people do not own a car at all and there aren't any car seats either.


Another common site is a car or pickup loaded with local people.

An elephant ride in the park and a stray monkey running around.  





 We did a zip line adventure high in the tree tops of the jungle while enjoying an amazing view.




You can't even see the ground from where we are.  That is the top of a tall tree in the jungle.




The following day was Sunday and we took a 3 hour bus ride to Batambong to attend church meetings in the last area where Adam served.  We met his last companion and made a short visit to his missionary apartment to pick up his remaining luggage.  We were asked to speak in church again!
All of the members were so excited to see Adam and meet us.  Visiting the Cambodian saints was a highlight of our trip!  The bus ride to Batambong was very long, bumpy, and stopped every few minutes for hours.  We decided to take a taxi back to our hotel that evening.

Feb 20, 2015 Siem Reip, Cambodia

After Vietnam, we flew back to Cambodia to tour the ancient ruins and temples of Angkor Wat. Adam called the missionaries in the area to ask if there were any members who owned a tuk tuk and would like a job driving us around.  They gave us the name of a man in the bishopric, SauPawn.  He picked us up the following day and on the back on his cart were painted the words of the scripture from Mosiah 2:17 "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God."
Our hotel room is very nice





Touring the Ruins



These temples are amazingly preserved



The ruins were super interesting.  There were temples everywhere and it was fascinating to learn about the time period and the talented people who built these amazing buildings.


Feb 16, 2015 Ho Chi Menh City and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

The following morning we boarded a plane for Vietnam and spent 2 days in the South and 2 days in the North--in Ha Long Bay.  We went to the Vietnam War Museum, took a Vespa motorbike tour around the big city, took a short 2 day cruise in the bay.  Vietnam is very green and beautiful! We were there during Chinese New Year so people were busy preparing for the holiday and buying lots of flowers!


Flower market
                                                     Temple of a Thousand Budhas



Vespa Tour


Post Office

Hotel Lobby in Ho Chi Menh City

Decorations for Chinese New Year--we were there during the festivities




Vietnam War museum

Rice fields

Ha Long Bay





Monkeys running around everywhere

Offerings to Budha