The King's Birthday

Hello, Well to everyone's relief especially the tourists that were stuck here, the airport is now open. Apparently all the political problems are over for a while. Yesterday was the King's Birthday, a huge event in all of Thailand. Bangkok has a huge parade, concerts, fireworks, and in general total chaos. Anyway, we took a boat taxi down to the parade.

After the parade we walked around for about three hours in the biggest crowds I have ever been in. I mean to say there were people everywhere doesn't really explain it. Basically there is someone touching you on all sides. We did manage to eat some good street food and we finally tried the fried bugs. Here is some video of that.





After walking around forever, we finally found a little free space to sit down on. So we sat in the grass in this area right by Grand Palace to wait for the fireworks. All of a suddent the Thai people started standing up, so naturally we stood up to. Then, they started singing, we unfortunately could not participate. Then, the fireworks started. It was pretty cool. I have video of this too, it's the best video by far.




After the fireworks we decided to walk around some more. Basically they had four stages in which you could hear all four at one time. Not to mention the fact that there are people everywhere. So one stage has dancing and singing, one stage has a band playing, one stage/ring was Muay Thai Boxing, (really cool), and the last stage was someone screaming (we could never figure out that one) Here is a video of what it was like.

Hua Hin

Hi all,
Jana and I just took our first trip (in Thailand) outside of Bangkok this past weekend. We went to Hua Hin, a beach town about 3 hours south of BKK that Lonely Planet describes as a "beach resort that priveleges luxury over hedonism"--a fairly apt description. There are several upscale hotels and condominium buildings, much of Hua Hin looks very similar to Florida: palm trees, tons of sun, and elaborate condominium buildings. I'll forego more general descriptions to give you all a day-by-day account.
Day 1
We left Bkk about 630 in the morning. We left early in order to move through traffic quickly. This plan worked well until we ran into--of all things--a marathon running through downtown Bkk. Needless to say, we were stuck in traffic at this point for over an hour. Finally, we arrived at the bus station about a little after 8 and got on our bus shortly after. We arrived in Hua Hin about noon. After a quick bite we headed to our guesthouse--450 baht a night, or about 13 $. (In this case we got we paid for, fortunately we didn't spend much time in the room itself.) We quickly evacuated our room and headed to the beach. The beach at Hua Hin is quite nice, the sand is white and fine, though the ocean was a little murky just coming off of their wet season. (The pictures make the water look clearer than it actually was.) We hung out at the beach for several hours and then after the sand, travel, and fatigue started to cause a little turmoil we decided it was time to get cleaned up. We ran home, showered, and then headed to a seafood restaurant a couple of our friends recommended.
I've had some good meals in Thailand (I've had some great meals in Thailand) but I think Jana and I would agree this was the best we've had. We ordered bbq prawns and a whole steamed fish with a side of steamed rice. The prawns we're huge (see the pics)and very delicious and the fish was--according to Jana: "The best fish I've every had." The dishes were served with garlic/chili sauce and sweet/sour sauce that were more savoury than seeing Brad Martin fail. The food was so good we decided to go ahead and order two more entrees. After dinner we headed to "downtown" Hua Hin--a small area full of al fresco bars--hung out here for a little while and went home.
The next morning we headed to Khao Takiab, a large cliff overlooking Hua Hin. This was one of the more diverse and rich experiences we've had in Thailand--combining incredible natural beauty, beautiful shrines, and a million half-wild, half-domesticated monkeys. Besides the food, this was my personal highlight of the trip, very Thai and very rewarding. After this, we headed to our tuk-tuk driver's personal hook-up (all the tuk-tuk drivers are connected to some store that offers them a comission for bringing tourists to their site), an elephant/horse/atv adventure camp. After some haggling with the Thai workers there, we decided to go ahead and ride an elephant. The elephant rider took us through a swamp and around a winding (sometimes steep path). You basically feel like you're falling off the giant at all times so Jana was screaming accordingly. After a while, our guide hopped off and invited me (I think he knew this would be a little much for Jana) to climb down onto the head.
This was about enough excitement for us for the day so we headed home, changed and went to the beach for a few hours. After the beach we cleaned up, went "downtown" and celebrated Jana's birthday (one day early) at a pizza restaurant. Good pizza is surprisingly hard to get in Thailand, and we were both pleasantly surprised by the price and quality of our pizza. After dinner, we stopped by the al fresco bar we went to the previous night, met a British couple that we talked to for a while, and eventually headed back to our guesthouse. The next morning we left Hua Hin at noon.
My overall impression from Hua Hin is of a more laid-back and relaxed Thailand. (It's often said that there are two Thailand's, Bkk and everywhere else.) Though Thais in general are best characterized as more laid-back than their Western counterparts, in Hua Hin this outlook is definitely more pronounced.

Lately

Hello Everyone,

So, we started Thai classes yesterday!!! It was great fun, and we know more Thai than we thought we did. All the words that we hear all the time now have some meaning. We take classes two days a week, Tuesday and Thursday. The classes are only one hour and a half, so no stress. Sean is the star of the class of course. He answers all the questions. Then, when Jum, our teacher, calls on me, I look at Sean like, "what did she just ask me?" You can take the student out of Truman but you can't take the Truman out of the student.

Last night we went to a coffee and dessert party. Everyone brought a dessert and a liquor to got with the espresso, which the host made. Sean nor I drink coffee so we pretty much felt like our hearts were going to beat out of chests with the combination of sugar and coffee. However it was a good time and we got some good tips about Hua Hin, which we are going to on Sunday.

Thanksgiving. Things were looking good for a nice big turkey dinner at this American Restaurant. We, however, have to work Thanksgiving night from 6:30 to 9:30. Also, a couple of our other friends have to work those hours as well, so we are not sure what we are going to do yet. We will be with our friends so that is what is important. Although, we both wish we could be with our families.

We are finally going to the beach. We will be leaving on Sunday, so look for pictures and updates.

Loy Krathong

Last night was Loy Krathong, a festival to celebrate and thank the Goddess of Water. Loy means to float and Krathong means raft. Loy Krathong is originally an Indian tradition that the Thais have adopted. Basically everyone goes down the the water, so in Bangkok it is Chao Phraya River and sets afloat a Krathong made from banana leaves and is decorated with flowers, candles, and incense sticks. You light the candles and the incense and then put it in the water, making a wish for something bad in your life to float away and saying a prayer of thanks for water.

We decided to do a dinner cruise, so that we would be on the water the whole time. First we went down the the river, and it was total chaos. There were people everywhere, which is normal but this was madness. We finally figured out what boat to take in order to get to the pier that our ship was leaving from. Once we got to River City Pier we took another smaller boat in order to get to the Chao Phraya Princess which was the name of the big boat we were cruising on.


When we were on the boat a woman walked us to our table. First she took us to the upper deck and we were so excited because we really wanted to sit in the open air outside. Then, she kept walking further and further to the point of the ship. When she finally sat us, we literally had the 2nd best table on the boat. We could see everything, it was amazing.

The cruie served dinner, they had an international buffet. So, there were mashed potatoes, which we have not had for a long time. They had lots of Thai food, seafood, desserts, and fruit. The food was okay, the Thai food was actually not that good and the farang (foreign) food was better. Usually it is always the opposite, most farang food here is not that good, especially American food.

The cruise went up and down the river, showcasing Wat Arun and Grand Palace. It also stopped in front of the Oriental Hotel for a fireworks show. The Oriental Hotel is the best hotel in Thailand and ranked second as the best hotel in the world. Anyway, the fireworks show was great and it was awesome because all of the boats were floating out in the middle for the show.

The cruise also had a singer, who was a bit crazy. She acted like she slammed about 10 red bulls before taking stage. She was all over the place, and desperately trying to get people to dance. They played some real hits: "Tequila", "La Bamba","Hero". Basically all the classics. All in all it was one of our best nights here.

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya was the former capital of Thailand until the Burmese set fire to pretty much the whole town. The city was famous for its lavish temples and Grand Palace. Most of trip was spent viewing the ruins. There is nothing left of the Grand Palace except what looks like a few scattered stones.

Sean and I took the train to Ayutthaya, which is about an hour and a half. The price of the train is 30Baht for both, so it was one dollar for us to travel there. The train ride was an amazing way to see rice fields, the shrimp farms, and the many huts that people live in.

After we saw everything in Aytthaya we started the bargaining tactics to try to get a Tuk-Tuk to Bang Pa-in Palace. The Palace is known as the Summer Palace for the King and Queen and also many other Royal Families. It is more of a campus than just one palace, as you can see from our pictures. So, we finally bargained with a man to take us there for 200 baht which is six dollars. He tooks there and back to the train station, a total of an hour and a half driving time.

Wat Pho and Wat Arun

Yesterday we went to two temples: Wat Arun and Wat Pho. Both are temples by the Chao Praya river and both are popular destinations. The area by the river is my personal favorite area in Bangkok so far. The river offers a nice view of the Bangkok skyline and you can see numerous chedis (the name for the spiral towers that you'll see in lots of these pictures) from the river.
The steps up Wat Arun start steep and get steeper. We walked up only 3 flights of stairs, but on the last flight the steps were at almost knee level. (Walking down the stairs can give a serious feeling of vertigo.) I found myself wondering how something like this could have been constructed. Even now, it appears as though the top of the main tower is maintained by a single ladder draped over the top of the tower.
The top floor ot the tower offers an even wider view of Bangkok. The feature of the temple complex is a large tower that overlooks both sides of the river. To the East lies the Bangkok we're most familiar with--impressive skyskrapers strewn in no particular pattern. To the West, Bangkok is far less developed, you look out and see modest houses for miles and miles. I could see only one skyscraper on the West side of the river.



After Wat Arun, we crossed back to the other side of the river on a ferry (after paying 7 baht, or about 15 cents) and then went directly to Wat Pho. The reclining buddha is massive; I just happened to glance through one of side windows and saw these 40 foot high golden thighs. The building barely holds the figure but Jana thought this added to the presence of the figure, made it more Thai somehow. The effect is frustrating but rewarding (kind of like Bangkok sometimes). You can never see the whole statue at once--except at the very end by the feet--but because you're right up next to him the whole time you're forced to see the statue in ways you wouldn't otherwise, forced to appreciate its immensity from up close.


Hope this post finds everyone well and hoarding precious, precious gold.

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An Interesting Thailand Fact

In Thailand, the day of the week you were born is very important. Each day has a color, a buddha image, personality traits and so on. The King of Thailand was born on a Monday and the color for Monday is yellow. The people wear yellow on Mondays to honor the King. So, when you are on the skytrain, or walking in the street it looks like a sea of yellow. I have listed out the other days of the week and corresponding colors for those of you that are curious. I just thought that this was interesting, because I don't even know what day of the week I was born on.

Monday-Yellow
Tuesday-Pink
Wednesday-Green
Thursday-Orange
Friday-Blue
Saturday-Purple
Sunday-Red

Dusit Walking Tour

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for your comments, especially Charlie's on our bamboo apartment. Kimble, that was very nice of you to think of Sean's career. Anyway, yesterday we went on a walking tour of the Dusit Area, which is located within Bangkok.

The book John gave us before we left had many walking tours in it, so we decided to try one. I think it is safe to say that Sean and I each lost at least a few pounds due to the amount of walking in the walking tour. However, it was very fun and provided us with many new experiences.

All of the pictures of our walking tour are up or will be up, but we wanted to make comments about a few of them on here. Also, if you want to view our photos larger, and the comments we have posted on them, just double click on a picture and it should open in a new window.

Comments on photos

Dusit Park Area

This entire area was built mostly by King Rama the V also known as King Chulalongkorn. He spent a lot of time in Europe so much of the architecture in the area reflects European style. The streets in this area are also much wider than most areas of Bangkok. Most of our students go to Chulalongkorn University here in Bangkok, named after the King, and it is widely considered the best University in Thailand.

Government House

Government house cannont actually be seen in any of our pictures because of all the protesters that are surrounding the building. This building is where the Vice President lives, and is equivalent to our White House. The prostesters have been there for over a month now, it is not violent. The people have tents that they have been living in there, it was actually quite amazing to see how many people are staying in one living space. Outside of the tents would be fifty pairs of shoes or more. Throughout this entire area you can hear the PAD (peoples alliance for democracy) leaders talking over loud speakers.

As we were leaving this area there were two men, sitting guard for the entrance or exit of the area. They asked us where we were from, and we said America. They welcomed us to their country, which is pretty standard. Then, they pointed to a door mat they had at the entrance and asked, do you know who that is? (The door mat was of a mug shot of Taksin and his wife) Sean answered who it was. They seemed impressed, and then they asked, good or bad? Sean said, "bad" and they laughed and smiled.

It was an amazing experience to walk through that area. There were so many people, and so many tents. They have been there for over a month, and a week ago, it was raining all day long almost every day. It was just a very new experience.

Vimanmek Mansion

This mansion was the best thing we have seen so far. It is off the beaten path. The building itself only took 18 months to build. It it made out of teak wood, which is common in Thailand, also the sturcture has no nails, only wood pegs.

The building has been preserved by the current Queen, in the 1980's. It was disregarded for many years, but now is more popular. There were many more Thai people visiting this than there were Europeans or Americans.

The Mansion had very strict security with pictures, we had to lock our cell phones and cameras in a locker before we could go in. They also searched us with their hands, and then we walked through a metal detector. They do not want you taking pictures of the inside.

It was an amazing tour and we saw many interesting gifts the Kings have been given over the years. We saw the first toilet and shower of Thailand, made from copper. We also saw a dinning room table, where the chairs are made from aligator skin. Each chair took three alligators.


Sorry this post was so long, and John thanks for the book. We will continue to keep you updated. Love you all, Jana and Sean.

A Sort of Funny Story

The day that we went to see the Grand Palace, we also wanted to see the Sitting Buddha and the Standing Buddha, but we knew we would have to use a Tuk-Tuk to get to both locations. Luckily, a Thai man helped us bargain a deal with the driver. The tuk-tuk drivers are difficult to deal with. So, the deal was that the tuk-tuk would take us to each of the Buddhas and then back to the Grand Palace for 50 baht, which is less than 2 dollars.

As we were coming out of the Sitting Buddha there was a police officer on a motorcycle, and he appeared to be writing our driver a ticket. She motions us to get in to the tuk-tuk. Sean and I are sort of looking at each other like, is she really getting a ticket? Then our driver says, "Exuse me, my husband" pointing to the police officer. He smiles and says, "Right, her husband." It was funny, because everyone tries to get out of a ticket, no matter where you are from.

Welcome to our Blog

So this is the first version of the blog, I hope you enjoy. There are more pictures that I have to put on, but this is a start. Also, I will take pictures of the front of our building and the pool. We will start posting written descriptions of our adventures and day-to-day life. Thanks for all the encouraging e-mails, and all the thoughts. Love, Sean and Jana