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| Sawasdee krup everyone, We have officially been in Thailand for 10 days and this is the first place I have actually been able to get on our website. so... Day 1 - 3: Bangkok Kita and I arrived at midnight on the 18th to a sea of travellers looking for the cheapest way into town. We were looking a lot less haggard than the rest because of our FANTASTIC first class seats (Pat - There aren't enough thanks for that - it was greatly appreciated) Our first few days were a chance for us to settle in and get used to our surroundings. We managed to try out almost every form of transportation in Bangkok and stilll put about 40 kms on our feet in 3 days (seriously). The two of us tried desperately to stay away from the tourist traps but were inexplicably drawn to Kao San Road - 3rd ring of toursist hell. Everything you could possibly imagine - at first glance the knock offs seem dirt cheap. but... After a few more towns, a dozen or so markets and a few thousand street vendors we realized the prices on Kao San were EXTREME. Day 2 we decided to play tourist and see a few temples... who knew it was a national holiday and none of them were open... karma!! Bangkok managed to take it's toll after a few days so we boarded a train to Ayuthaya and on to Chiang Mai. Our stop in Ayuthaya found us wandering aimlessly for hours looking at Wat after Wat (wat = temple), even though we had paid for bikes to ride... YES - we saw the traffic, chickened out and parked them. maybe too soon for that bravery (stupidity)). After hours in the heat we sat our weary bodies at a great little place called Tony's (authentic I know), we met a traveller from Portugal named Rui and spent the evening eating and swapping stories (hi Rui) Back on the train for the night ride to Chiang Mai - going well until we were about an hour out of Chiang Mai... Has anyone ever experienced what a train feels like when it derails - Kita and I now have... Damn good thing we had just stopped earlier and were not going fast. We took some pics and hailed a truck to take us into Chiang Mai. Best plan actuallly as the smell from the toilets was rising (the toilets empty onto the track -see pic) Day 3 - 8 Chiang Mai and the Hilltribes We just had time to settle in for a night and look around , then were whisked off to trek through the jungle to a hilltribe. It was interesting and we met some amazing people yet both of us couldn't help but feel like we were in a human zoo - look at the hilltribe people, buy their crafts, stop at a store in the middle of a jungle to buy a coke and some oreos... To end our 3 days we rode out on elephants and bamboo rafts to civilization. All things aside, a fantastic time. Our stay in Bangkok had made us realize how beautiful Chiang Mai was so we booked for a few more days, hooked up with our hilltribe buddies and watched the All Blacks kick some Scotish ass (at an english Pub in the middle of Thailand - yes Morgan, they had Guiness! too expensive to drink though) This brings us to today, we hopped a bus and rode with the monks in the back to Chiang Rai (have to vent for a sec - seeing the monks is part of the enchantment of the east - kind of loses it's luster when they are on cel phones and carrying laptops...can you say "disapointing"!?) we found a fantastic little guest house for the tidy sum of just under $4 per night (giggity), and a market where nikes cost about $5 and soccer jerseys even less!! Have to run but I will hop on tomorrow and add an itinerary, pictures and a list of what can be bought with $1 US. Love you all, take care in the cold... |
| November 28, 2548 |
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| More to come... |
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