Bangkok, Thailand

Tom had to go to Bangkok Thailand for the AIDS Vaccine 2011 meeting. This was his first visit to real Asia. Japan is to westernized to count. The people were friendly and wonderful. The dollar was worth something so everything is reasonably cheep (except in the hotel). This is a Buddhist temple along the river called Wat Rakhang.


Tom in a Tuk Tuk. A traditional vehicle in thailand which is essentially a motor cycle taxi. Not much headroom, but lots of fun.


Here you can see us next to out Tuk Tuk. Pretty small, but all three of us could cram ourselves in for a ride. I will admit it struggled a bit on uphill stretches.


The giant swing at Wat Suthat.


We visited a marble buddhist that was under renovation. As we arrived, there was a ceremony taking place. Very interesting. Then we took a tour of site.


This was one of the residences where the monks live. I love the bright colors.


Here you can see a part of the temple where restoration is complete. It looks great.


Here I am with some of the hosts at the meeting banquet. I felt very tall in Bangkok. Kept having to duck to avoid hitting my head.


The streets of Bangkok we always pretty busy, day and night.


This is the view of Bangkok out of my hotel room window. Bangkok is a large city with an interesting mix of the old and new. The locals were amazingly friendly and the city seemed very safe.


This picture may seem out of place but it makes perfect sense. This is the future location of a Hope lab microscope that will be involved in a study in Thailand. Very exciting and I will have to return to make sure that everything is working efficiently.