Last weekend Wat Mongkolratanaram in Palm River (Tampa) held its Songkran festival. Because of that, there have been a number of recent comments on the Inkwatu post, Wat Mongkolratanaram — Palm River Thai Temple, including one with some excellent photographs of this year’s Wat Mongkolratanaram celebration. I encourage you to visit that post, read the comments, and look at the reader’s pictures.

The Songkran celebration and the recent political events in Thailand reawaken rich memories of my only trip (so far) to Thailand. I hope the friends I made in Thailand weathered the situation unharmed. Tourism was adversely affected by the 2004 tsunami in Koh Phi Phi near Phuket, Thailand; it was important for visitors to return, unafraid, because tourism is the lifeblood of Thailand. For there to be rebuilding, visitors needed to return. Fortunately, they did.

The same is true now. Thailand and its people are kind and beautiful; please visit. I hope to return as well. They need our support if their economy is to heal. (Thailand is still one of the places an American can afford to visit.) These thoughts and memories prompt me to offer, in this post, three (not too lengthy) slideshows of snapshots I took in Bangkok.

I remember, only too well, being a little kid and having to endure my parents’ friends showing us their interminable slideshows of their most recent trip somewhere. Pure agony for a kid (remember 35mm slides?). If you don’t click on the slideshows, I do understand. If you’re willing to brave them, remember that you can manually flip through the slideshows, quickly, at your own pace–you don’t have to wait until the slideshow automatically advances to the next picture. Also, the little symbol in the lower, right-hand corner of the slideshow makes the slideshow full-screen.

One thought: one looks at pictures of cultures that live close to the earth, whether they be folks living on a Bangkok canal or along a Mississippi or Louisiana backwater bayou, and thinks, “such poverty.” Well, yes…of course; and, we must do all we can to alleviate such suffering. But, also one can also see how, despite such very meager means and difficult conditions, people preserve a sense of beauty, community, perseverance, dignity, and personal ownership. Human creativity is inextinguishable.

• BANGKOK’S GRAND PALACE, WAT PHRA KAEW, THE VIMANMEK TEAK HOUSE, AND THE JIM THOMPSON HOUSE
  
• BANGKOK FLOWER AND FOOD MARKETS
  
• BANGKOK CANAL RIDE