Here I am, downloading photos, reading notes, and recording dates and places, as I recover from my jet lag, trying to savor every little detail of our amazing two week trip in fascinating Thailand.
The trip home was almost uneventful. The taxi picked us up at 0530 am on Sunday morning and we were at the Bangkok airport half an hour and nine US dollars later. Suvarnabhumi Airport, opened for business in 2006,sometimes called Bangkok New Airport, is a very impressive and organized structure. Checking in, and going through security was a piece of cake.A short layover in Taiwan, and 14 hours later, we landed in Honolulu at 0540 am, still Sunday morning.(What a long Sunday that was!), then the doors to the airplane won't open. Actually, the problem was the runway not moving properly at that gate, so ten minutes later, they try another gate, nope, not working either. The plane had to move to the other side of the airport, and finally,about 40 minutes later, the plane door opened and we are out! Not a minute too soon, the last thing one needs after a nine hour flight is waiting forty minutes for the door to open.
Going through passport control and customs was another quick process, and we managed to get on an earlier flight to Maui, instead of waiting couple hours for our booked flight. We were finally home at about nine a.m.There are so many blogs, events and news to catch up with, I am glad I don't have to go to work for another couple days. The Air France missing in the Atlantic is very scary and tragic, I feel for the families. GM filing for Chapter 11 is sad too, all the jobs that will be lost. As someone, who left Michigan in 2004, and it was a bad financial situation then, I can't imagine how horrible it will be now. I can only hope and pray for good solutions for the people affected directly by the bankruptcy,and for our nation as a whole.
Ok, about Thailand, simply put, it was amazing! I would not hesitate to go back right now if I could.As I was planning the trip, I was excited about all the possibilities, and could only imagine what it would be like. It has exceeded every expectation I had. It was a trip of a lifetime, and I would love to repeat it again in the future. I would even follow the exact itinerary, maybe cut the Bangkok visit shorter, or not go to Bangkok at all if I don't want to shop.
I am still trying to get my head around blogging about the trip, but for now, I will try to point out some of the highlights, and try to paint a big picture of our trip.
Here are my notes,listed in no particular order:
Money Matters: I am not sure why this came first to mind, maybe because after we calculated our expenses yesterday, we were shocked to see that the low budget we hypothetically set for this trip was miraculously met, unheard of after a European vacation. The currency exchange was 34 Baht for the US dollar. An hour foot, shoulder,neck and head Thai massage was for 120 Baht, less than $4. A delicious lunch was for $1-1.25 a plate. Nice dinner with drinks was always less than $20, if not $10. Even cab rides in Bangkok were cheap, other than the airport, we always paid less then $5. Bottom line is, the exchange rate was great, and the prices were way below average American or European prices.
Cuisine:It is not the country to pair wines with foods, or dress up for a fancy dinner, the food, however, is delicious. Street food, and small kitchens on the side roads are popular in both Chiang Mai and Bangkok. And for good reasons, food is yummy, and served with smiles. I had the best Pad Thai dish in a little hole in the wall cafe, that had no air condition, just inside the East Gate in Chiang Mai. In our two week trip, we ate Thai food for every meal, except couple dinners where we had pizza,Chinese in Chinatown, and one Suhsi lunch.
First vegetarian Pad Thai in Chiang Mai,delicious!
Fruits:Fruits in Thailand will get a post of their own. I love fruits, and eat a lot of them at home, but never have I seen such varieties of fruits anywhere else. All so colorful, juicy and delicious. I have learned about so many fruits I did not know about, and will post about it later. Fresh fruits juices and shakes were to die for, especially during the heat of the day. Ah,so refreshing!
Orange shake for Bill, Watermelon shake for me, YUM!
A note about ice in Thailand: Tap water in Thailand is not safe to drink. Locals also drink bottled and purified water only.Restaurants use purified water to make ice and not tap water, therefore, despite warnings, we did have ice in our shakes and drinks if we felt we needed to. We were assured it was purified and not tap water that is used for ice. I remained hesitant about having ice in Bangkok from street food vendors though.
Thai people: They have to be one of the most friendly and kindest nation in the world. Although less obvious in Bangkok, Thai people do everything with a smile. They understand the concept of customer service and apply it fully. Bill said to me yesterday:" They(the Thai) are all involved in the service business, they serve God, their Buddha, their King and Queen, their country, and customer service is no exception". Coming from a country,where customer service seems to be nonexistent sometimes, I was pleased by what I got, and it added greatly to our enjoyment and fascination of Thailand.
Language: There are those in Thailand, who spoke English well, and communication with them was easy. But there were also many people, who did not speak hardly any English. Everyone knew numbers though, and we never had any problems with the language, because there was always someone who spoke English, and everyone was friendly to try to find alternative ways for communication. So, if language difference is what worrying you about visiting Thailand, don't let it,we were on our own for all but three days, and we speak no Thai, and we had absolutely no problems.
Weather: The end of May is supposed to be the beginning of the rain season in Thailand. There were couple times when it rained, but only for an hour or less, so it did not interfere with our plans at all. Chiang Mai did not feel hot to me,nor did the Elephant camp, hiking and Bangkok felt hot though.Our budget accommodations and most restaurants we've been to were air conditioned.The best time to visit Thailand is supposedly between November and January,it is the 'winter' season. I guess we'll have to try that:)
Temples:We have seen many temples everywhere we visited in Thailand. Some of them I knew about and had planned to visit, but some of them we just happen to stumble upon walking around. Unfortunately, I have so many photos of temples that I can't recognize, mainly because they had no sign in English, and we were not sure where we were(love getting lost in a new city).But I also have many photos of beautiful temples that we visited and learned about that I will be writing about in future posts.
Here are few photos of an unknown, to me that is, temple in Chiang Mai:
Elephants: Elephants are a big part of the Thai culture. Symbols of elephants are seen everywhere. And of course real elephants can also be found in many places. It was a great pleasure getting to meet, play with and ride elephants in the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang. They are truly the gentle giants.
Elephant statue in front of a temple in Chiang Mai
Bill's favorite beer in Thailand, Chang in Thai means elephant
I think this green elephant in Chiang Mai is cute:)
Bill and Candi after bathing elephants at elephant camp
Landscapes:Landscapes in Northern Thailand were simply breathtaking. From fields,to hills, to mountains, landscapes were absolutely gorgeous.
Northern Thailand Hills
A rice field in Northern Thailand
There is so much more to share, and I will be blogging more about our trip for days to come.Hopefully jet lag will wear off soon.
Comments (7)
Hi Candi, welcome home! I'm glad to hear that you had fantastic trip and that Thailand exceeded all of your expectations.
Sorry to hear about the 40 minute plane delay but very glad you had a safe flight home. Thank you for such an excellent summary of your impressions of Thailand and highlights from your trip. I love your photos. It looks like you saw some pretty amazing people, had some great adventures, met some wonderful people and ate and drank very well. Love the photo of you and your husband on the elephants.
Get some rest and I am looking forward to reading more about your amazing trip!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | June 2, 2009 6:00 AM
Posted on June 2, 2009 06:00
Awesome! And welcome home!
Thanks so much for blogging while you were there; it was really a lot of fun to travel along with you. I know what you mean about trying to get your head around blogging post-trip; I felt the same way when I got home from Venice in December (and I'm still blogging about that trip, LOL).
Love seeing these photos. The elephants are just magical and amazing creatures. Love the cute green one too. And that temple is gorgeous! I like Bill's quote about the Thai people and service. It's a great way to live, I think.
$4 for an hour massage is incredible!!!
Wishing you a fast recovery from jet lag!
Posted by Annie | June 2, 2009 7:19 AM
Posted on June 2, 2009 07:19
Welcome back! Loved reading your observations and seeing the fabulous photos. I’m going to send the link to my brother; I’m sure Rafi will be delighted to read them.
Posted by María I. | June 2, 2009 11:35 AM
Posted on June 2, 2009 11:35
Welcome home!! Glad your trip back went well (except for the 40 min wait for the door to open). Loved reading about some of the highlights of your trip. Hope Bill survived his first day back at work. Cool photo of you and Bill on the elephants. Can't wait to read more about your trip!
Posted by girasoli | June 3, 2009 10:56 AM
Posted on June 3, 2009 10:56
I'm glad you are home safe and sound.
Your whole trip (well, maybe not Bangkok) is something I would love to do.
Thank you for sharing your travels with us. I look forward to the rest of your posts.
Posted by nancyhol | June 3, 2009 12:24 PM
Posted on June 3, 2009 12:24
Welcome home. You had an amazing trip. I really want to go back to SE Asia now.
I'm looking forward to hearing more and seeing pictures.
Posted by Marta | June 4, 2009 1:55 PM
Posted on June 4, 2009 13:55
Thanks all for the kind comment, jet lag is wearing off, slowly.
Posted by candi | June 4, 2009 9:22 PM
Posted on June 4, 2009 21:22