Scatterlings of Africa: Amazing Trip: Eating our way through Bangkok

After 15 hours of flying and several more hours in the airport, we arrived in Bangkok, Thailand in the rain. We stayed with friends and fellow alumns from San Francisco Theological Seminary, Kaz & Naomi Nakoaka, who are serving a Japanese church in Bangkok. There's a night market down the street from their apartment, so we were able to start off with a bang--spicy green papaya salad and some sort of sweet and spicy pork with sticky rice.

First rainy dinner with Kaz & Naomi.
Thais are well known for their food and their love of eating, and we soon became enamored of the street fare.

Molly sipping a coconut in front of a Buddhist shrine, in front of a shopping area
(btw, I chopped off my hair before leaving for South East Asia)

meat on a stick!

roasted bananas with a buttery coconut sauce--Ryan's temporary favorite

"Nam nam" (sp?) not sure what this was called but it was all these things (on the right side, including a huge spoonful of chili!) mashed together, eaten on a lettuce leaf.

cross-cultural communication..."I eat it like this?"

The strangest food ever-- a hotdog & 2 quail eggs in a thai-pancake (like a crispy crepe). You put tamarind sauce or ketchup on it. All your breakfast foods together--so maybe not so strange after all!

Bangkok, City of Life

Bangkok Art & Culture Center (BACC)
There was a great exhibit on called "Masks of Asia," along with lots of contemporary Thai art
it was all free!

View of the City from the BACC

The BACC is designed like the Guggenheim, where you start at the top and spiral your way down.

Bangkok Arts & Culture Center (BACC)

Siam district (downtown Bangkok) at night

We were impressed at how everyone queued up for the elevated train!

We met with the inimitable, indomitable, indefatigable, effervescent Rev. Dr. Sirirat Pusurinkham, a pastor in the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) and moderator of the Christian Women of CCT. She is the founder of Prachakittisuk Church & Orphanage in Chiang Rai (north of Chiang Mai). We had hoped to visit her in Chiang Rai, but she was going to be in London for a meeting of the International Prison Chaplains Association while we'd be there. Fortunately, she was in Bangkok for a meeting of the Christian Women, so we met up with her one night there. She got her Master of Divinity at the seminary at Payap in Chiang Mai (where we will visit) and Doctor of Ministry at San Francisco Theological Seminary (Molly's alma mater). She also works with the indigenous hilltribe people, and addresses issues of HIV & AIDS and human trafficking. She is currently wanting to do something more for elderly people.

She is truly doing incredible work in Thailand. She has achieved above and beyond what is typical for a Thai woman, suggests one of our hosts here. Thailand has had 51 years of women's ordination, however. Sirirat thinks she was about the 12th woman ordained. Today there are about 30 women pastors out of around 1,000 in the CCT. Meanwhile, 70% of members are women.