The adventure continues... but more along the lines that we were expecting, thank goodness! We met with our group yesterday morning around 10 am, and left for the local bus station, bound for the city of Kanchanaburi -- the first stop with our tour. The bus station was interesting... to say the least. I had my first experience with a squat toilet -- how that is considered the "norm" is beyond me! haha. But I'm getting used to them... somewhat. We took our comfortable coach bus the 2.5 hour trip out west to Kanchanaburi, and found ourselves in a smaller, more remote city... much more of what I was expecting in Thailand. Bangkok was... a bit overwhelming, to say the least. I think that once we've navigated our way through the northern regions of Thailand we will be ready to tackle the city of Bangkok.
Our guesthouse here in Kanchanaburi is run by a cute little family, and their kids are ADORABLE! Our group has decided that Thai babies are quite possibly some of the cutest. The rooms at the guesthouse are actually on a barge that floats on the River Kwai... so... they definitely have some character! Julie and I love this kind of traveling, so we are quite happy with the adventurous aspect of it all. I wish I had pictures to post, because I don't think I can adequately describe the set up of this room... but the bathroom is one room about 4x5 feet, complete with toilet, sink, AND shower. hahahaha. We have yet to test out the shower, but we will probably attempt to use it later tonight. I'm sure we'll have stories to share about that...
After settling into our rooms, we took a small speedboat down the river to a local buddhist cave temple, which was quite spectacular, actually. It is cared for by the resident monks and the small boys who are in school there, and we had a personal guide through the winding tunnels -- he was about 6 or 7. The cutest. He LOVED posing for pictures, and had the biggest smile. He felt very important, and had his whole schpeal perfected -- made sure to inform us of each new room and its name (the only words he ever spoke to us) and then alerted us of low ceilings so that we wouldn't hit our heads. SO cute. After our trek through the caverns of the temple, we made our way back out to the boat to ride back up the river to a WWII cemetery, where many English and Dutch POWs were buried after their work on the railway. This whole area is rich in WWII history -- anyone familiar with the River Kwai Bridge and its background? We've been learning a lot about it since we've been in this town. I never knew that Thailand (or Siam as it was called) was involved in WWII.
We were caught in a torrential rain storm last night, so thank goodness we came prepared with ponchos! We walked to a local restaurant for dinner (SO delicious -- I'm loving all this Thai food!!) and then played pool at a local bar. We've really enjoyed spending time with the members of our group, and are quite thankful that we all get along so well. Unfortunately, one of them was sick today (upset stomach.. ick) and so he and his girlfriend couldn't join us. And what a day to miss! We were up bright and early for our breakfast at a local vendor -- Thai style. WOW... that definitely woke me up! It was SPICY (emphasis on the spicy) chicken over rice with pork/vegetable soup... and this is their typical breakfast. Julie and I are insistent on trying everything we can while we're here, so when Chumpooh (our group leader) invited us, we couldn't turn her down. It was an experience! haha. Then I had some amazing fruit called "Jack fruit" -- tastes like a mixture of mango and melon. I'm really loving the cuisine here!
Our group headed out to Erawan National Park to hike up to see the 7-tiered waterfall with the same name. It was beautiful... we swam at one of the levels, and were greeted by small fish that, for whatever reason, thought we were tasty and therefore proceeded to nibble at our legs and feet while we were wading in the pool. It was fun... for a few minutes. haha. Then we made the trek back down to the bottom to head to the River Kwai Bridge. After snapping some photos at the bridge, we made our way back to the guesthouse to relax for a bit.. and now I'm out here at the internet cafe! We leave here tomorrow morning, on a 4-hour bus ride back east to Ayuthaya, a historic temple site, and we are both very excited to explore that!
I'll leave you here, and hopefully I can find a computer soon that will allow me to upload some photos.. I think I've taken over 200 in the first couple days that I've been here. So until next time... lah gorn (goodbye)!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
the adventure begins....
Well.. we survived our first day in Thailand! But not without some pitfalls, of course... haha. We arrived after midnight yesterday morning into Bangkok, and were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to hail a taxi to our hotel... thank goodness for Lonely Planet! The language barrier has been a bit frustrating, but the Thai people have been extremely patient with us... for the most part. We made it to our quaint guestroom and were happy to find clean beds and our own bathroom and air conditioning... this humidity is quite smothering, but a welcome change from the cold, dry air in Utah. We collapsed onto our beds after about 30 hours of traveling, and were happy to finally close our eyes for a few hours of sleep.
Trying to stay on top of the jet lag, we woke up at 8 yesterday and made our way out into the city. It was still pretty early, so many of the locals were just opening their shops for the day. We found Thanon Khao San (Khao San Road) where many backpackers flock for cheap souveniers, and explored the myriad of local products -- from crazy linen pants (of which I am now a proud owner... reminds me of Jasmine's pants from Aladdin) to trinkets to knock-off electronics... it was quite the eccletic mix of products. But fun to look through. Julie and I were a bit too excited to be in Thailand I think.. we went a little overboard on our first day. And finally had to restrain ourselves -- we have 5 more weeks of this!! But it was all in good fun. And I'm happy with the purchases I made... not sure about carrying them around though.
After leaving Khao San Rd, we walked towards the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, and found ourselves in the middle of a sea of red -- there was some sort of protest/celebration... we couldn't quite figure out what it was.. but everyone was wearing a shirt that said "Truth Today" and would randomly start cheering every so often. They didn't seem to pay attention to the two tall white girls walking through their midst (and yes, we are the tallest girls around) so we just pushed our way through the thousands of Thais that had gathered. Unfortunately... because we are two tall white girls, obviously tourists, we are quite the target for scams... and yes, we fell victim to one yesterday. We were walking down the street toward Wat Pho (a famous buddhist temple) and were bombarded with locals pushing bags of corn into our hands to feed the birds. We tried to keep walking, but they were persistent... eventually we gave in and accepted some of the bags. BAD IDEA. They kept forcing more and more into our hands, and took some pictures of us (which, ironically, were pretty funny to look at after) and then expected money! A lot of it too! We walked away about $13 poorer.. but smarter, and now know when to spot a tourist scam.
We found our way into the Wat and explored the peaceful grounds... it was quite serene and I really enjoyed walking around and appreciating the beauty of the buildings. We were able to see the golden "Reclining Buddha" -- it's about 200 feet long, laying stretched out in a building. It was an incredible site. When I find time to post pictures, I will.
After leaving the Wat, Julie and I made our way to Chinatown, but were overcome by exhaustion.. heat, lack of water, walking too much... so we decided to head back in the direction of our hotel. We ended up back on Khao San Rd and had delicious Indian food, and then made our way back to our rooms and collapsed onto our beds. We tried not to nap, in order to keep up with our sleep schedule, but it was no use. We slept until our meeting last night with our group leader and our fellow travellers -- there are 6 of us total, 2 from Australia and 2 from London. I think it will be a fun group. We head out this morning for Kanchanaburi, so I know that I will have more to report on later. After our meeting, we had some amazing Thai massages -- for only $7... mom, I know you're jealous!! haha. One full hour, and I came out feeling so relaxed. I know I'll be taking full advantage of that this trip! But as luck would have it, I really did not feel well, so I passed out... a little too early... and woke up at 3 am. DANG. Oh well, we have a bus to catch, so hopefully I'll get some sleep. But I have to go.. the internet is almost up!
Trying to stay on top of the jet lag, we woke up at 8 yesterday and made our way out into the city. It was still pretty early, so many of the locals were just opening their shops for the day. We found Thanon Khao San (Khao San Road) where many backpackers flock for cheap souveniers, and explored the myriad of local products -- from crazy linen pants (of which I am now a proud owner... reminds me of Jasmine's pants from Aladdin) to trinkets to knock-off electronics... it was quite the eccletic mix of products. But fun to look through. Julie and I were a bit too excited to be in Thailand I think.. we went a little overboard on our first day. And finally had to restrain ourselves -- we have 5 more weeks of this!! But it was all in good fun. And I'm happy with the purchases I made... not sure about carrying them around though.
After leaving Khao San Rd, we walked towards the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, and found ourselves in the middle of a sea of red -- there was some sort of protest/celebration... we couldn't quite figure out what it was.. but everyone was wearing a shirt that said "Truth Today" and would randomly start cheering every so often. They didn't seem to pay attention to the two tall white girls walking through their midst (and yes, we are the tallest girls around) so we just pushed our way through the thousands of Thais that had gathered. Unfortunately... because we are two tall white girls, obviously tourists, we are quite the target for scams... and yes, we fell victim to one yesterday. We were walking down the street toward Wat Pho (a famous buddhist temple) and were bombarded with locals pushing bags of corn into our hands to feed the birds. We tried to keep walking, but they were persistent... eventually we gave in and accepted some of the bags. BAD IDEA. They kept forcing more and more into our hands, and took some pictures of us (which, ironically, were pretty funny to look at after) and then expected money! A lot of it too! We walked away about $13 poorer.. but smarter, and now know when to spot a tourist scam.
We found our way into the Wat and explored the peaceful grounds... it was quite serene and I really enjoyed walking around and appreciating the beauty of the buildings. We were able to see the golden "Reclining Buddha" -- it's about 200 feet long, laying stretched out in a building. It was an incredible site. When I find time to post pictures, I will.
After leaving the Wat, Julie and I made our way to Chinatown, but were overcome by exhaustion.. heat, lack of water, walking too much... so we decided to head back in the direction of our hotel. We ended up back on Khao San Rd and had delicious Indian food, and then made our way back to our rooms and collapsed onto our beds. We tried not to nap, in order to keep up with our sleep schedule, but it was no use. We slept until our meeting last night with our group leader and our fellow travellers -- there are 6 of us total, 2 from Australia and 2 from London. I think it will be a fun group. We head out this morning for Kanchanaburi, so I know that I will have more to report on later. After our meeting, we had some amazing Thai massages -- for only $7... mom, I know you're jealous!! haha. One full hour, and I came out feeling so relaxed. I know I'll be taking full advantage of that this trip! But as luck would have it, I really did not feel well, so I passed out... a little too early... and woke up at 3 am. DANG. Oh well, we have a bus to catch, so hopefully I'll get some sleep. But I have to go.. the internet is almost up!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
sa wat di!
I have begun my final countdown.. 36 hours until I embark on this vacation that I have dreamed about and planned for the past couple years! I cannot adequately express in words how excited I am for this trip. And it really couldn't have come at a better time... I am so burnt out from working nonstop (20 shifts in the past 3 weeks) and stressing about school and the move across the country that I haven't really focused much on just BEING. So that is my goal for the trip (yes, leave it to me to have a goal for a vacation) -- to be PRESENT and appreciate what is right in front of me. It's going to be an adventure... I'm forcing myself to be okay with days left unplanned in order to really enjoy my surroundings and decide in the moment what to do. And for those who know me well... that is HUGE. haha. I am such a planner, and it causes me anxiety to not know where I'm going and what I'm doing. So this is a challenge, but I'm welcoming it :) SO... for those who might wonder "Why Thailand?" -- I can't fully explain my reasons, so I'll let the following pictures explain it for me:
[Grand Palace in Bangkok]
[Historic Temple Site of Ayuthaya]
[Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai]
[Umm.. quite possibly the cutest thing. EVER.]
[Erawan Falls in Kanchanaburi]
[Koh Samui]
[Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi]
[Sunset over Hat Rai Leh West]
[Grand Palace in Bangkok]
[Historic Temple Site of Ayuthaya]
[Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai]
[Umm.. quite possibly the cutest thing. EVER.]
[Erawan Falls in Kanchanaburi]
[Koh Samui]
[Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi]
[Sunset over Hat Rai Leh West]Sunday, March 15, 2009
last day in paradise...
My days in Utah are numbered... only 9 days until I leave for Thailand (!!!) and then when I return, only a few short weeks until I move to Baltimore... It's all happening so fast! Because I have been working non-stop (literally) I have had only one day off the past 2 weeks, and will only have the day before I leave (next Monday) to pack and collect myself before I disappear for 5 weeks... so of course, I had to take advantage of freshly-fallen snow this past Tuesday and made the trip up the canyon with Aubree for a GLORIOUS last day of snowboarding. My last of the season! Bittersweet... I love winter sports, but I really dislike the cold weather :) So we braved the chilly morning weather and were pleasantly greeted with blue skies after our hot chocolate break, which made for amazing pictures! I've posted a few at the bottom... the powder was unbelievable in the back-country runs... we definitely enjoyed ourselves! I will miss having these mountains so close by...
Thursday, March 5, 2009
JHUSON!
[My new home for the next few years!!]
[Love the history behind this neighborhood near campus]
[A local church near my new apartment]
[One of the ships docked in the Inner Harbor]
[One of my favorite cities -- NEW YORK!]
[Sunrise over the Susquehanna River, en route to NYC]
Monday, March 2, 2009
it begins with this:
i offer fair warning that this may not be the most up-to-date blog, because i'm not going to lie -- i'm not the most consistent contributor when it comes to these types of things! but hey, this is somewhat fun, and i'm hoping that there will be a few people out there that will appreciate the stories i have to share :) so with that said, i welcome you and hope you enjoy!
*laura*
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