On the road to Mandalay

My grandfather was a great fan of Rudyard Kipling, and one of his favorite poems was The Road to Mandalay (although it was mandatory in our family to substitute "Wild Bill Robie" for "British soldier" in the 4th line).  My son had a Kipling fixation when he was six or seven, and memorized every word of "Mandalay"-- you might say that it has been an undercurrent in our family's collective memory for many years.

So when we visited Thailand recently, Kipling's words couldn't help but run through my head at every point along the way.

......from the "tinkly temple bells":



.....to the hathis "piling teak":

" .....If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else.

                                                          No! you won't 'eed nothin' else  
                                                          But them spicy garlic smells....."

"...For the temple-bells are callin', an' it's there that I would be —

By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea."

(all photos processed with The Coffeeshop Blog's "Butterscotch Vintage" action)