It’s our 20th “Limogesiversary,” as we head home from Phuket, Thailand. On this date, I gifted my wife her first Limoges box and hidden poem, a tradition that has been extended to include many of our special occasions. Her collection now consists of over 314 of these porcelain pieces in the twenty years we’ve been together. It seemed appropriate for this year’s gift to be a Thai temple, so I ordered one on-line and had it shipped to the house for when we arrived.

It took us over 36 hours to get home after numerous delays. As we arrived in San Francisco late for our last leg and missed our connection, there were seemingly no options to get back to Portland because of the massive number of Spring Break travelers. I’ve never seen stand-by lists that long! It was looking likely that we would be spending another night away from “Home Sweet Home.” Instead, we were fortunate to get some seats and be reunited with our pets.

While we were waiting at the airport, I wrote a poem summarizing our adventures in Thailand to accompany the Temple Pagoda Shrine hinged-box. As we posted pictures on Facebook, many of our friends were questioning the pronunciation of Phuket. They jokingly wanted to believe that the resort area was called puck-it (but with an “f”). Instead, it’s pooh-ket and not an offensive expression of “being fed up with, bothered, or uncaring.” However, I guess you could say that while we were there relaxing in paradise we didn’t have a care in the world.

We saw a lot of Buddhas and Shrines in Bangkok, had some great dinners, were teased by a monkey at James Bond Island, reconnected with my cousin, and met some new friends along the way. For my wife, it was definitely a destination to cross off her “bucket list.” I’m just glad to finally get back home for ten days before we head to Chicago and Indiana. After seeing more and more of the world, there’s truly “no place like home.”

Temple Tour

United we fly,
Bangkok destination.
For my working wife,
A ten-day vacation.

Temple Tours,
Dubbed a “ Buddhathon.”
Trying to figure out,
Which Day we’re on.

Vacation Clubs,
Luxurious suites.
Baht conversion,
Crowded streets.

Thanying and Nahm,
Great Thai-kok meals.
Bells to ring,
Bows and kneels.

Palace grounds,
Golden Shrines.
Buddhist monks,
Election Signs.

“Buddha Butt,”
No pictures please.
Embarrassing tips,
Elevator keys.

Taxi Drivers,
We can’t understand.
Thirty-one bucks,
Is worth a grand.

“30 Seconds,
Over Tokyo.”
On the way back,
A stop in Seoul.

There’s no “F,”
In Phuket.
With every run,
Relentless sweat.

Cousin Jim toast,
Under a waterfall.
But had no luck,
Watching basketball.

A favorite spot,
By the pool.
The Andaman Sea,
A turquoise jewel.

Resort dining,
Lights out.
Whiney kids,
Who love to shout.

Soothing massage,
But long delays.
Wonderful weather,
And plenty of rays.

Monkey business,
Inside a cave.
Number Nine,
Your canoe fav.

James Bond Island,
The “Honeymoon Hong.”
On or in the water,
All day long.

Tom and Julie,
Fellow Hoosiers we met.
Dinner with Sinee,
Watching the sun set.

Another Honeymoon,
With my Sweetie Pie.
Time with my love,
In the Land of Thai.

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