What fun we have had the past few days in Bangkok. We met up with my old advisor from UNH, Dr. Larry Harris, and his former PhD student/now professor at Chulalongkorn University, Dr. Suchana Apple Chavanich. Larry was over in Bangkok to work with Apple on various projects and it just worked out that we were in Bangkok the same time as Larry! So the other night we headed over to the Dept. of Marine Science at CU and met up with them for dinner and long chats about coral reefs and overfishing, among other things. It was great to see familiar faces again and so fun to eat at a Thai restaurant with Apple because she could explain the menu to us! She could also explain the language to us and answer all the questions I had about Thai customs. A very informative night!
On a different note - for people that don't know me - Larry Harris has had a HUGE influence on my life. His invertebrate zoology class inspired me to see beyond the whales and turtles to a whole new world of things without backbones - and what a sweet world it is! The neat thing about Larry is that he has influenced countless marine biology undergrads in a similar fashion. I believe there are many great scientists out there in this world. Larry is one of these, but he is also an amazing teacher. That is a rare and exceptional quality. I think UNH undergraduates taking his invert class will continue to be corrupted into loving nudibranchs until he retires.
On a totally different note - today we visited an icon of Thailand. The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. This market is about 2 hours west of Bangkok and is visited by hoards of tourists as a day trip from the big city. We wanted to avoid 
the big crowds, so we spent the night in the town and got up at an ungodly hour to see the market as it really is.....beautiful old women dressed in indigo shirts and wide-brimmed straw hats paddling long wooden canoes piled high with exotic fruits. I didn't think we would see that iconic image because tourism has influenced the market to the point that most vendors target the travellers with souvenirs rather than fruit. But I was pleasantly surprised to see exactly what I hoped for - the women, the fruit, the morning light. It was an unforgettable moment in my life.
the big crowds, so we spent the night in the town and got up at an ungodly hour to see the market as it really is.....beautiful old women dressed in indigo shirts and wide-brimmed straw hats paddling long wooden canoes piled high with exotic fruits. I didn't think we would see that iconic image because tourism has influenced the market to the point that most vendors target the travellers with souvenirs rather than fruit. But I was pleasantly surprised to see exactly what I hoped for - the women, the fruit, the morning light. It was an unforgettable moment in my life. 
1 comment:
I love the floating market pics
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