Bangkok

Thailand: A brief Ode to a Magical Place.


Ahh Thailand, how exotic you are!

You shine like a….morning star!

Albeit your peoples can be a bit bizarre,

But you’re beaches are the best by far!



Ok. Those last two lines weren’t really true…


Now for the real blog. And my computer thinks that “blog” isn’t a word…interesting. Anyway, Thailand! I'm writing the blog about Bangkok before Micah can make a crude Confucian joke. Last month we went to Thailand after a brief jaunt to China. We had a week in between to rest because of the “swine flu scare”. (The school district said that if you went abroad you had to take a week off, no complaints there). So the flight on out to Bangkok was fantastic! Free cocktails with top shelf liquor! (Something which cannot be found in Korea, where only flavored water (reminiscent of beer) and ethanol (soju) can be readily found). So the plane ride was luxurious by our menial standards.

We made it to Bangkok safe and sound (which is obvious, really, seeing as how we are still alive and writing this blog) and got to the hotel after wandering around for a little bit, because we didn’t know where we were and Thai people can’t read maps (even if it’s in their language).

The breakfast was great! (As we espoused on the video) Banana pancakes, get in my belly! We had what 4 days in Bangkok? So we weren’t as rushed as in Beijing because we had more time and there was less to see. But let me tell you that the Grand Palace is exquisite! It was incredibly intricate and immaculate. I think Micah would agree it is the most exotic site we’ve seen. Check out the photos if you don’t believe me. After this cocaine injection to the eyes we sauntered over to the “Reclining Buddha” for a more subdued fun. It was massive! (Again, check out the pics.)

Sadly, the food was not the greatest. In China, the food was amazing everywhere! But in Thailand…it was below what we find in Denver. EXCEPT the awesome cooking class we went to! The owner/chef taught us how to make 12 different dishes! I think on the whole it was about 4 or so hours of stuffing ourselves. It was great. All vegetarian food too! Healthy yet delicious. I almost considered thinking of thinking about giving up meat. Almost.




Those were the main highlights of the trip to Bangkok. Although the Jim Thompson house was really neat architecturally and decoratively speaking. And navigating through the massive outdoor market where we got some neat souvenirs and gifts for bottom dollar was really fun. And Thai massages and foot massages for 3 bucks for half an hour was an unequivocally unmatched bargain. We even interjected a leisurely float down the (I don't know what the river was called) river, aboard a buoyant restaurant. The "authentic" Thai dinner came in multiple courses (all of which were surprisingly pleasing to the palate), interspersed with traditional Thai music and dancing. (Again, check the Flickr pics.)

Hope that slaked your thirst for info (if you’ve even read this far). The trip to Koh Samui is a whole different adventure in and of itself and deserves its very own blog.

author: Stephanie