Thailand - Part 4

We were sad to leave Phuket but Bangkok was waiting. The airport was much busier, bigger and international than Phuket's touristy one.

Carli's dad had business in Bangkok later in the week so his Thai colleagues had offered to give us tours of Bangkok. And pick us up at the airport to take us to the hotel.

Last year there were riots in Bangkok and the increased security and number of checkpoints at the hotel were a lasting result. The staff were very polite about everything. The hotel was completely different from the tropical one in Phuket. I definitely felt like I was in a big city.

The business associates (BA's) took us to a dinner cruise that night. It was pouring rain and we had to run to the boat under one umbrella which would have been okay if we'd gone in a couple of groups. Amidst all the bustling everyone huddled under the one umbrella and we all ended up on the boat with at least one body part soaking wet. My back was completely wet. It was like I'd just had my hair washed.

The appetizers were great (lots of fruit) but the main course was not to my liking. I'm really picky about how seafood is prepared...

The river at night. It was really hard to get a non-blurry shot.

Towards the end of the cruise there was a Thai dance performance.

Ahh, fruit.

Since it was the Queen's birthday, and therefore Thai Mothers' Day, we got to see fireworks in her honor.

The next day two BA's, Boy and Mam (English nicknames), drove us an hour or so outside of the city to see the water market. I don't know how we would have managed to get there on our own so I was so grateful for everything they did for us. They were very nice people and their English was skills were great as well.

At the water market, vendors have stalls lined up next to the river and the BA's rented us a boat. We had someone paddle us around while we looked at the merchandise. It was like nothing I'd ever seen. Great experience. Plus, haggling with the vendors was fun.

We saw an elephant being led down the street as we drove to lunch. It was surprising and sad. I think in general they're not treated very well. This one was just walking though.

We had lunch here:

The decor was vintage-y in a really western way.

The BA's paid for everything. They also bought us lots of fruit at the water market- mangosteens, pomelos and things that looked like green lychees and kind of tasted like grapes. I was so happy to eat so much fruit. I think over the course of the trip I may have eaten my body weight in fruit... It's really expensive in Japan. I once saw a melon priced at 4000 yen. That's more than $40!

The next day we went to the palace with the BA, Opas, who picked us up from the airport. He also got us an English speaking guide to take us around. There were a lot of Buddhist references in the statues and artwork and our guide was able to explain all of the stories to us. Opas even said he learned some things. It is a beautiful palace.

The palace is heavily guarded.

Opas and I with the Lettrich family, posing like mythical castle guards.

Our guide told us that one of the Kings of Thailand wanted to see

Angkor Wat so he had a small scale replica built of it.

More silly posing...

A mural of one of the stories of Buddha.

Us and our lovely guide.

It was, however, really hot and we were dripping sweat by the end (ew, gross. I know). We went to lunch directly after and were feeling the intense dehydration. I was not feeling the least bit hungry. (We were still enjoying buffet breakfasts at the hotel minus the coconuts...).

After lunch we went to a museum which housed some really decadent and elaborate pieces made from gold and diamonds and beetle wings. Yes, beetle wings. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures. I thought the collection was an extended period of time in the making but it turned out that they'd all ben made within the last 5-10 years. They were commissioned for the King and Queen's various royal anniversaries. While they seemed somewhat self-indulgent to us that didn't make them any less spectacular.

As for the rest of Bangkok, we wandered around and haggled some more for souvenirs, explored a mall and went to the 5th floor outdoor pool in our hotel. It's decorated to look like it's in a tropical setting and was fairly convincing except for the skyline of high rise buildings visible over the walls and the sound of cars and heavy traffic coming from below.

And then it was time for us to go home. The rain poured as we left for the airport. It seemed to mirror our feelings. We definitely did not want to go back to work.

We got some pomelo in the airport, trying to hold onto the vacation feeling but it already tasted blander than the fruit we'd had at the water market.

Well, at least I've got my pictures.

That's it for Thailand. What an adventure, huh? Now I'm off to Bali, Indonesia this coming week so I'll keep you posted on that!