Wat phai Temple

The Temples in Thailand are nothing short of awe inspiring. The shear size of the structures is unbelievable. The intricate detailed carvings, sculptures and murals both in and out of these bulidings is a testiment to the reverence that the people have to their gods and beliefs.








The pigeons loved this giant Jigsaw Puzzle . . . the pictures don't even do this amazing masterpiece justice.















The inside of this temple had these amazing sculptures and pillars pictured.
Nui and Es stand in the tower. The view of the other temples from this one . . . too cool.













These are just a few of the many sculptures around the grounds




I heard the monks melodically praying and shot a photo of this monk as strolled the path afterward with this surreal backdrop.






Nui took time out to climb on one of our parties back and get some really sour pea pods out of a tree for a snack.






Each of the points on this burial temple house the ashes of someone . . . it felt like they were at peace. What a wonderous world.

POOL PARTY!!!

We had an impromptu pool party last Friday and it was pretty fun . . . so we decided to have another one this weekend as a "coming to America" send off for the team.
We had a good time - music, drinks, swimming . . . the works!




Jahm, Fah, Ying and . . . (sorry Ji, I forgot your girls name) lounging.




Skateboarding coaches putting their heads together in an effort to make one good brain cel.




C-Zar does an Axl Rose impersonation while Note shows off his sixer.






P A R T Y!




Far east levatation trick




My posse!

Caught in the act

Wasuat is one of the guys in the association who takes care of things like flight Itineraries, scheduling problems and many other things . . . basically he is the goto guy.
Wasuat recently gave me some cool pictures of different aspects of our daily routine.






We are ALWAYS stretching. We basically stretch before and after anything physical that we do. The benefits of being well stretched are obvious right away . . . It feels great making it a part of everyday life.















Although I totally love to skate with my team . . . I generally reserve it for the weekends or in the evening. In order to make an impact on the calibur of my skaters technical ability, I have to see exactly what is happening. I always try to pay close attention to each of my skaters in order to have an understanding of their specific needs. It's weird at first to focus on watching and analizing instead of skating, but it is so fulfilling to see the progression that comes from the ability to give wise insight.











6:30AM football is best played barefoot. Unfortunately, we had so many toe jams that we had to go back to shoes.

There is such a feeling of exhileration to wake up early and go to bed exhausted . . . it truly gives some better perspective to what a day can be . . . speaking of which have a great one all!

Odds and Ends . . .

I haven't done much documentation lately, but in an effort to keep this blog from stagnating . . . I figured I should just throw some odds and ends up.




I've been away from my friends, family and girlfriend for a while now . . . sometimes the separation anxiety causes mild mood swings.






These were just a couple of photos taken at the doctors office prior to health check ups for the event in Macau.










This was a trip through Bangkok with our fearless Tuk-Tuk driver after a long day of outdoor market shopping. Good Times.
There is an upcoming trip to the U.S. for some of our atheletes and coaches . . . as soon as we sort through some political red-tape . . . pictures and words to follow . . .

Fashion Boy Hotel's debut album

So this weekend a few of us went to Bangkok to do some gift shopping and sight-seeing. Upon arrival to our goto Hotel, we found to our dismay that Bangkok was the sight of an International wheelchair tennis tournament and that it was next to impossible to get a room . . . I kid you not!
Eventually, we found what will probably end up being the funniest hotel of the trip . . . the "My Lady Fashion Hotel"!








After many failed attempts to find a reasonably priced room . . . we happened magically upon the "Fashion Hotel", a place with themed rooms where you take your girl, guy or whatever for a romantic evening. Well to make a long story short, we bit the bullet and got two rooms. All of the ladies at the front desk were giggling and I am fairly certain that they thought we were "couples" - awesome.






Sweet shots of our room layout . . . there is a window from the bathroom to the bedroom - can we request drapes!!?




The next morning we decided to create a fictional boy band . . . Fashion Boy Hotel.
Above is our debut album cover.

Fire in SuphanBuri!!

On Monday during training, we saw a pretty mammoth billow of black smoke coming from some not so distant spot in the city. I came to find on my way home that it was right across the street from my hotel. Twenty four dwellings and shops were burned down in the fai (fire) which started from an electrical fire in a lumber business.
People were flocking to the scene . . . a big deal in this town. I took some pictures which are somewhat surreal. I couldn't get over the ominous sky. Today I shot some pictures of the aftermath.
They have set up rescue tents with food and water, etc. Here are some pictures;




Locals and Mike viewing the fire squelching efforts.




Emergency and police finishing up a long day of fire fighting.




An ironically enchanting photo considering the subject.










The aftermath.

It is hard to see all of these families displaced, but everyone is helping each other out and the spirit is still warm. Suphan Buri is a tough and resilient town and that's just how they roll . . . with the punches.