Bangkok- It's a small world after all.

It's a small world after all. I visited two temples today. The first was Wat Pho, a huge temple in Bangkok that houses over 1000 golden statues of the Buddha, is the home of the Reclining Buddha and also known as the birthplace of Thai Yoga massage. It was lovely and reverent and although it was 872 degrees outside, I felt a little closer to that which is sacred. From there I took a boat across the river to Wat Arun. I noticed a large family trying to cram in for a group selfie so I offered to take the picture for them. I think they were relieved not only to find another American on the boat but also since we were already on the water they felt fairly certain I wouldn't run off with their camera. We got to talking about who's from where and when they asked where I was from I told them N. Carolina. One of the sons put his hand on his heart and said "I just graduated from Duke." Cue, the song. They asked what I did and why I was traveling alone. When I told them I was a yoga teacher the dad put his hand on his heart and told me he was building an ashram in Florida and would love my input. Cue the song, again. We walked off the boat together and into the next temple. The wife asked if I was a a vegetarian and when I told her yes she put her hand on her heart and asked if I would please come to Florida and she would cook for me the best veg. Indian meal of my life. One of the reasons I love to travel... Sure you could end up in a sketchy cab or get over charged for a souvenir. But for the most part people are good and they'll show you their good if you show them yours. I parted from the family and went inside one of the prayer rooms. I had been in several over the course of the morning but this was the first one I felt called to sit. I sat in front of a golden Buddha and said a silent prayer. I then moved a few feet over in front of the monk and bowed to him. He gave me a beautiful prayer, and with a wand made of bamboo sticks he blessed me (read, wacked me on the head) with holy water. He placed the golden foil on my third eye as you see here and ended his prayer with, "OK, good luck." #bangkok #thailand #travel #travelyogi#monksgettingtheirkicks