Thailand, Part I

November 25 - December 5

dara / What a fabulous place! Jim & I arrived in Bangkok on Thanksgiving day, and we met an English friend who gave us some great recommendations on travel and where to stay in Bangkok. Our hotel was on Khao Sam Road (a hip neighborhood with lots of backpackers everywhere). It even had a pool on the roof, and the view of Bangkok at night was great! It was the perfect place for cocktail hour. :)

We arrived in Thailand during the Full Moon Festival. Men were all dressed-up in traditional Thai clothing dancing with make-up and the longest nails that I have ever seen. There was lots of singing, dancing and fun to be had! The festival was on the river, and the Thai people sell floating floral arrangements with candles. Once the candle is lit, the candle is placed on the river. They float along and outline the edge of the river. All the boats and the main bridge were all decorated with colorful lights too. It was a fun time to arrive in Bangkok!

We also spent about four hours seeing the city by tuk-tuk. We went to alot of the temples, and we saw the Big Buddha, the Lucky Buddha and the Sleeping Buddha. We also checked out tailor-made clothes, and both purchased suits. The prices are reasonable, and from what we have heard, Vietnam has even cheaper prices for tailor-made clothes.

From Bangkok, we took a sleeper train to Chang Mai in Northern Thailand. We found a good guesthouse for about $4 per night with hot water. Not a bad deal, huh? We went on a three-day trek through the jungle. That was fun! We did alot of hiking, cooled off in a waterfall, drank around the campfire, slept in grass huts on bamboo mats, rode an elephant, floated down the river on bamboo rafts and met some fabulous travelers from England, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan. We are hoping to do a trek in Vietnam too!

Chang Mai has the best prices too! Great prices on skirts, tops and pants. Jim found some cool wooden puzzles. If you are looking for a little pampering, massages, pedicures & manicures are about $2.50. Definitely looking forward to ending on the beaches with a little pampering!

We are off to Laos tomorrow. We are floating down the Mekong River on a slow boat. It takes about two days to arrive in Luang Prabang (a World Heritage site). We are looking forward to it!