So here I am in Thailand typing on a thai keyboard... I can´t find punctuation... things like question marks and it is killing the English major in me- so I apologize now for any reading inconvenience.
The three of us have now made it to Thailand, the land of smiles... we really were not prepared for this leg of the trip- no book, not much research, not knowing if we needed entry visas and no hotel until I used expidia online to book one night at Boonsiri Place - in old town - at midnight the night prior to departure seeing as we were arriving in Thailand so late (about 11 30pm). It has all worked out brilliantly, though. We landed and to our relief found out that Canadians and Americans do not need visas unless staying more than 30 days, everyone spoke English, there were WESTERN TOILETS everywhere... with paper towel in the bathrooms! and it truly was the land of smiles... the Thai are almost too helpful if that is possible.
Before we exited the airport I bought myself the Lonley Planet Thailand and immediately felt more comfortable. We then got in a taxi and came to the hotel. Now, we were saying in the cab that we could honestly be in any major city in the world... Bangkok was modern, sprawling with high rises and busy... We said that until we saw a man riding an Elephant on the shoulder of the express way! If only I had my camera out and it wasnt the dead of night! We arrived at the hotel and they had my reservation! It is in a convienient part of town and clean... and the beds much softer than china! All was well... it was 130am in Bangkok, which felt like 230 to us as thailand is an hour behind where we had just come from. We passed out.
This morning we had a slow start... understandibly. We had a good hearty breakfast (included in the rate... awesome!) we did some email- 30 bhat for 30 minutes... which converts to less than one dollar a minute! But no pics for the blog unfortunately, as they are all on my computer... We then headed out to expolore our neighbourhood.
We are in the heart of old town, and the grand palace, the river, many markets, vendours and ko shan road (a backpaker haven full of bars, restaurants etc) are all within easy walking distance... and walk we did. We were all kind of out of it from our travel day the day before, so we meandered aimlessly, got driven around town in a tuk tuk for a bit and ate dinner on the street - the best way... just sampling the different street fare... when food is 10 bhat or about 33 cents... the world is your oyster... and you could eat those too if you wanted. I opted for a lot of fresh pineapple, some amazing pad thai, some spicy eel concoction with rice which was extremely tasty but had a lot of bones... odd. I had other stuff too, but cant remember now.
Following our day of meandering and orienting ourself in the city, we headed back to the hotel for a nap.... you see, David´s friend Jarred is joinging our group today and is on almost the same flight as we were yesterday... so when he arrives at 1230 - the plan is to head out to the bar street and get our drink on, dance a little perhaps and celebrate a new country and new experience...
We are in Bangkok until the weekend is over and then are heading to Ko Samet - an island with swimming and beaches! The prices drop dramatically during the week, so we are on the island from monday to friday and then return for one night to Bangkok to catch our flight to Beijing the next morning. It is going so fast. Only 9 days and I will see the fall leaves of Toronto... I am excited for that.
I am also excited that I am an uncle for the 2nd time! Congrats to Aimee and Ben on Oliva... can´t wait to meet her! You said you would wait until I got home though! Oh well. Thanks to everyone that has been leaving comments and emailing. I love news from home and now I need it more than ever. I was thinking the other day that with Costa Rica, Vancouver, Vegas and now my Asian Adventure I have been gone for Five months (almost continuously)... I miss all of you, but will be home soon! Will keep you posted as much as possible in the coming days.
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John your niece is over now for a visit,. She is not very talkative. She just sleeps and makes faces. i have yet to see her with her eyes open. Grandma can't get enough of her. I am trying to protect Olivia from being loved to death.
looking forward to seeing you when you get home. I go to Florida on the 24th so we ned to get together right after you land. Love Dad
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