Winter Smiles (part 2: Sangkhlaburi and points south)

Sam Roi Yod Beach, Prachuap Khiri Khan province

Here's some more friendly encounters in Thailand from this winter to add to my series of Thai smiles. After spending a little time in Sangkhlaburi with my students (I volunteer teach English) in beautiful Kanchanaburi province, I headed south of Bangkok to Prachuap Khiri Khan, another of my favorite provinces, where I spent a few amazingly relaxed days at Blue Beach Resort on the outskirts of Khao Sam Roi Yod National Park.

Hanging on the school bus

 

Students preparing dinner

Bus ride to school

 

Scooter gang

At my favorite coffee stand in Bangkok

Market outside the park

More coffee at the market

Sam Roi Yod Beach

Beachside entrepreneur 

Winter Smiles (part I: Sangkhlaburi)

Starting the day with a smile at Mo Chit bus terminal (Bangkok)

As a visitor, I have found people in Thailand incredibly welcoming, kind, and ready with a smile regardless of whether I was holding a camera at the time. Here's the latest entrants in my Land of 1000 Smiles series (more posts in the series here) from an all too short New Year's trip. These were all taken in Sangkhlaburi, a small town set on a beautiful reservoir near the Myanmar border in Kanchanaburi Province. The Mon Bridge, the longest wooden bridge in Thailand, connects the town to a sizable ethnic Mon community. It's a great place to watch the sunrise or just observe the flow of daily life as townspeople use the bridge (and boats) to go to work/school, and to socialize with friends and family.

Making new friends on the 7-hour bus ride

On the Mon Bridge

Staying warm on a 75 degree evening

 

Postcard vendors on the Mon Bridge

Going for a walk on the Mon Bridge

Peekaboo!

Selling offerings for monks on the Mon side of the bridge