Thailand

On the way to Pattaya, we met three people from Iceland, who commiserated with us over the overcrowding and pitiful air conditioning in the minibus. Four unpleasant hours later, we got out of the van in Pattaya and took our first Bangkok bus to the hostel. These are little pickups that have open air canopies on the back. The sides of the bed each have a bench seat, and you can either ride them along set routes or use them like a taxi. Our hostel was on Jomtien beach, which is a little south of Pattaya, and has slightly less crazy nightlife. We really liked our hostel, but were only there for 12 hours, as our parents would be arriving by 8:00 the next morning. We went out and found a nice, authentic place to try some Thai food. By the time we got back, it was time to go to bed to prepare for tomorrow's early morning.

On June 29th, a Monday, our parents arrived at the Rabbit Resort in Jomtien. We met them there around 9:30 a.m., just in time to catch the last of the breakfast buffet. My mom had picked this resort because it consisted of 1 or 2 bedroom villas instead of a giant building with hotel rooms. There was plenty of greenery between the villas, meaning that there was

quite a bit of privacy. We had rented two condos, a two bedroom on the first floor and a one bedroom on the second floor. This gave us quite a bit of room to spread out. All this space, right on the beach, for a little over $200 per night. After breakfast, we had a relaxed day so that my parents could relax after traveling for the last 36 hours. We showed them all the souvenirs that we had bought and eventually went out to get a lay of the land. They weren't used to the heat, so we stayed pretty close to the hotel. After that we went to the pool and had an early 'dinner' around 4:00 p.m. After that, my mom went to bed by 6:00 p.m. and my dad followed at 8:00 p.m. Chad and I wandered out that night to find some kind of snack and a place to drop off a massive load of laundry. We turned in early that night with plans to go on a temple visit the next day at 9:00 a.m.

Alas, my parent's biological clocks would not wait that long, and I was woken up at 3:00 a.m., 5:00 a.m., and 6:00 a.m. as they came down into the downstairs condo. I was determined to sleep until 8:00 a.m., however, and got up in time for breakfast before we left. We were going to the Sanctuary of Truth, a temple made entirely of wood that has been under construction for the past 30 years. It was a pretty cool place, with a workshop on site where you could see craftspeople chiseling out new pieces to add to the structure. No one knows when it is going to be done, but it is a lot closer than the Sagrada Familia. We had an

English-speaking guide who very well might have been one of the lady-boys that Pattaya is famous for. That said, he knew quite a bit and had good enough English to understand. It was a good way to spend a morning and by noon we were heading back to the hotel. Mom and Dad weren't hungry, but Chad and I took the laundry out and found a place for lunch. That night, Chad and I took the parents to a night market that was maybe a mile from our hotel. I thought it was a very cool place, where you can get street food and souvenirs for cheap. I think it was a little much to bring my parents here for dinner on the second night, however. We didn't eat much.... but we did walk around and see the shops, which was good. On the walk back, we also found a Thai 'pancake cart'. These yummy desserts are egg mixed with toppings (like banana and strawberry) cooked and wrapped in a pancake dough, which is then cooked and drizzled with chocolate, condensed milk and sugar. YUM. We ate these and turned in at 10:00 p.m., a marked improvement from the night before.

On July 1st, we had the morning to ourselves but would be spending the evening in a cooking class. Around 11:00 a.m., we took a Bangkok bus into Pattaya, arriving about 1.5 hours early. We went across the street to a bar for smoothies and diet cokes (guess the gender divide there...) and to pick out which dishes to cook. In the end, we tried 12 dishes between the four of us. The class was run by a middle-aged American man who had retired from high

school gym teaching and volleyball coaching to move to Thailand. He met a Thai woman there (following the footsteps of the 100's of other white men before him) and was now living happily with her and running a cooking school. He did all the talking- entertainment and instructions, and she did all the prep work. We cooked things like Tom Kha Gai soup, Pad Thai, Green Curry, Red Curry, Steamed Fish, and Mango with Sticky Rice. I thought it was great! We had about twice as much food as we needed and wound up with a lot of leftovers to bring back to our hotel. We decided to go to the pool again that afternoon, preferring to go after the sun was most of the way down. Dad, Chad, and I went to a bar that night, marveling over the number of middle-aged white men who appeared to be for the sole purpose of finding Thai partners.

The next morning, we left bright and early for a snorkel trip. We

would be going on a dive boat, but everyone decided to just snorkel (partly because Chad and I had both developed head colds on entering Thailand). Most of the ~25 people on the boat were there to dive- only 8 were snorkeling. The visibility was ok, the fish were good, but the water was unbelievable. Normally I have to quit snorkeling before time is up because I get cold. Not here! The water hovered around 90 degrees and in some places it was almost uncomfortably warm. I tried to do a small skin dive, but couldn't get one of my ears to pop, so no luck. I did end up blowing blood out of that side of my nose for the rest of the day, however... maybe not the smartest idea with a cold. It was a good day of snorkeling, and afterward we decided to get a drink at the resort's beach bar and watch the sunset. From there, Mom cooked up the leftovers from the cooking class and we had a nice little homemade meal. That was about it for the day and we went to bed without big plans for the next day.

We went to breakfast a little later the next day. After breakfast, Dad and I braved the heat and walked around the town a bit. We came back without anything more than a fruit smoothie, but it was a good walk! Mom and I went to the pool after that while Chad and Dad played computer games in the room. Eventually they came out and wandered away to get a haircut. They came back in time to see Mom and me leaving for dinner at the resort restaurant by the beach. Dad eventually joined us and we got more sunset pictures. Soon after that, Chad wanted to go in search of food, so he and I walked around to a place we had spied the other day and thought looked good. We were right, and resolved to come back for dinner the next day with our parents.

Saturday, July 4th was our last full day in Pattaya. To celebrate America's birthday, we went to the Elephant Reserve for some trekking. We started by buying bananas to feed to the elephants, which was fun. In return, they gave Chad a kiss with their trunk and put a cowboy hat on my head. After that, we loaded up on the elephants in two-person seats strapped to their backs. The driver sat directly behind the elephant's head and steered with foot pressure behind the ears. Elephants have the big, rocking cadence of a very powerful creature moving at a slow, steady pace. The ride started with a walk through a small pond, deep enough that the elephant had to hold its trunk up to breathe. From there, we went on a trail ride. Our elephant was a little bored, and made several pit stops on the side of the road to grab a snack. Once, it visited multiple bushes in order to create a sort of salad that it held in its trunk as we continued to walk. After the ride was over, we saw a few more animals, like oxen, swans, geese, catfish, etc. They also had a demonstration of how silk is made and woven- the cocoons are boiled and then unraveled, maybe 12 at a time, to form a single strand of raw silk. We

caught a ride back to the entrance, where we had some fruit and drinks. Then it was back to the resort for lunch at a nice place on the beach. We got some ice cream and went to the pool one last time before dinner. Dinner was at the place where Chad and I ate the day before. It was a good last dinner in Pattaya! Chad and Dad went back to the hotel, but Mom and I went to explore the night markets. We were looking for a suitcase to pack all our souvenirs. The first night market we found was for locals and had things like clothes and shoes and some electronics. Not what we were looking for. We gave up and made our way to another night market, which we knew was full of souvenirs. We got several new souvenirs and a cheap suitcase to carry them all. Around 10:00 p.m., we finished up and came back to the hotel to hit the sheets.

The next day, July 5th, we were checking out of Rabbit Resort and heading to Bangkok for a couple of days. We didn't leave until noon,

however, so Dad, Chad, and I found a mini-golf course to go to in the morning. This was an INTENSE mini-golf course. On hole five, you climb to the roof of the kitchen and chip your ball across a waterfall covering the 6 foot gap to the roof of the bar. Chad's ball ended up in the pool below. On hole 6, you returned to ground level by chipping off the kitchen roof to a green 20 feet away at ground level. We finished just in time to catch a nice minivan to Bangkok, 2-3 hours away. Instead of getting two rooms, my Mom had paid the same amount for a two bedroom suite that was absolutely enormous with beautiful hardwood floors. Soon afterward, we left to find food in the basement of a department store hooked onto the hotel. We found a Korean BBQ-type restaurant and clumsily ordered some meat and veggies to cook. I thought it was fun, but I think the rest of the table thought of it more as an adventure. After lunch, we roamed up and down the department store, buying a belt for Dad and t-shirt for Chad. Before heading back, we bought four pieces of cake from a bakery - chocolate banana, blueberry cheesecake, Thai iced tea cake, and a layered crepe cake with strawberry sauce. This last was very interesting as it was about the height and texture of an angel food cake, but was made with layer after layer of crepes. We hung out eating these in the hotel, then Dad and I took a stroll through the streets to look at some of the shops and food places. This was his first time in an Asian city to see how they eat and shop, so I'm glad it was Sunday and not too crowded. After that, we rented a couple of DVDs from the hotel and watched Maleficent, followed by Bangkok Dangerous (starring Nicolas Cage).

July 6th, Monday, was my parents' last full day in Thailand. My mom had planned a canal boat tour with an English guide who would take us to temples, markets, etc. So at 8:00 a.m. that morning, a good-natured, middle-aged Thai woman named Nui showed up to take us to the boat. Our boat was a narrow skiff, maybe 15 feet long. We sat on little benches maybe two feet above the bottom of the boat and the driver stood at back, wielding an overlarge motor with a 10 ft. long shaft with a tiny-looking propeller on the end. This boat was perfect for the little canals that we would be navigating through. The canal itself was maybe 25 feet across, with small houses or shacks lining either side. In the morning, it was full of yellow garbage boats collecting trash from the houses and out of the canal. The water itself was absolutely vile. It doesn't smell, exactly, but you certainly wouldn't touch it if you didn't have to. Luckily the boat didn't splash badly, except once at the end when we hit another boat's wake. This splashed all of us, and Mom and Chad showered immediately on returning to the hotel. Worse than the water were the creatures living in it- ugly black fish, snails, and giant monitor lizards. You heard me.....don't fall in. On the other hand, the people living in the houses along the canal all had a smile and a wave for us, even though we were tourists.

Our first stop was at a local "floating market". However, there is no longer anything that floats in the market. Since the government started to control the water level in the canals, it has been beached on an established street. Our guide was able to tell us all about the strange fruits and vegetables, and introduced us to Mango Steen, a tropical fruit that Mom and I liked. She told us what normal people buy at the market and spent time talking about the lives of the vendors. She said that this is the real Thailand- normal people happy with their normal jobs, making enough money to have all they need. On the way out of the market, we got noodles from a little boat like ours that had been set up as a one-man noodle shop. She said that he has been making the same noodles for nearly 40 years. They were excellent.

The next stop on our tour was a brand new temple. After removing our shoes, we entered the first floor, which was an open area in which to assemble or pray. The columns and walls were all decorated in red with emblems of dragons. The second floor was a museum housing a collection of items that had once belonged to monks. There were innumerable small Buddhas, pocket watches, canes, and everything else. There was also a collection of large fans, maybe 3 feet tall, which lined the room. Apparently, monks hold this between themselves and the class they are teaching to avoid being tempted by the beautiful lady in the front row. One the next floor were some very impressive gold statues of Buddha and other famous monks. One monk that is particularly revered by the Thai people was cast in 250 kg of pure gold. On the top floor, there was an incredible replica of the temple, 10 meters high and made out of green glass. It had taken a team of 30 workers over 3 years to construct it. The orb at the top is said to encase ashes from one of the famous monks. This floor also had a wrap-around deck that provided a view of the surrounding area, including two very large Buddha statues just across the river.

The next stop was a Forest Temple, which I preferred. The monks lived among trees and vegetation, without very large temples. After that, our last stop on the tour was an orchid nursery. This was nice, but the most interesting part was learning about the enormous flood that had come through the area about the years ago. Due to mismanaged

water levels, the entire area remained flooded for two months, devastating people's homes and the orchid farm. Around 1:00 p.m. we left the garden to go to lunch. We went to a restaurant on the canal, and our tour guide ordered rice with duck and pork. The last thing after lunch was to attend a traditional Thai puppet show. These very large puppets are operated by three people simultaneously, all of the same gender as the puppet. Soon after that, we took the boat back to the Sky Train and said goodbye to Nui. Quite a bit accomplished before 3:00 p.m.!

When we got back to the hotel, Dad and Chad wanted to stay inside, so Mom and I went to the pool. After a while, Dad and Chad came

down looking for action, and we mobilized toward finding drinks and food. We ended up at a nearby restaurant for Mom and Dad's last dinner in Thailand. Miraculously, everyone ordered something they liked! Finally got it right on their last night. We spent the night packing and watching Avatar, staying up til 1 on their last night they were in Thailand.

The next day, 7/7, was my parents' 36th wedding anniversary, and they were going to get plenty of quality time on the plane. We had until noon though, so we went to breakfast, Dad got two Starbucks, and all the sudden it was time for them to go! I was sad to say goodbye, but Chad and I would both be back in two weeks, so it wasn't for too long. After they left, Chad and I decided it was hot outside and that we wanted to watch movies. We started with Despicable Me, then a movie I had picked out based on a three

sentence description- The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Guess who that stars? Nicolas Cage! Two Nick Cage movies in two days means that we made it a drinking game. After our movies, we packed up and headed over to our new hotel- no more suite living for us. We found somewhere to eat and ended up at a nearby sports bar, watching Serena vs. Venus in Wimbledon. Later that night we went out in search of a night market the front desk lady had recommended. This market was apparently only open on weekends, so it was a bust. Luckily, we found an authentic place on the way back that had some awesome fried rice. After that we went back and passed out.

7/8, a Wednesday, was my last day in Thailand. Chad's friend Ellyn was arriving that day and would be going into Laos with Chad for the next 10 days. I was going Bhutan and Switzerland before heading back home. We started this day off in what we considered the best possible way- sleeping in til noon. We then went out in search of food

and found some pizza, which we demolished, along with a couple of sodas and smoothies. We got back to the room and hung out for another 45 minutes or so before Ellyn arrived from the airport, tired, hot, and excited. By the time she was settled in, it was near 3:00 p.m., and we needed to get going if we were going to see anything touristy that day. We headed off to Wat Pho, home of the Reclining Buddha. After an unfortunate hour spent being conned by tuk tuk drivers, we finally arrived at the temple. The reclining Buddha is huge! Maybe 50 meters long and 15 meters high, resting his head on two large blocks of gold. There was more to the temple than this, but Ellyn's jet lag was catching up with her. We made our way home, arriving around 6:00 p.m. She wanted to stay up until at least 8:00 p.m., so we went to dinner before going back to the room. We picked Van Helsing as a possible way to keep her awake, and she made her goal. I'm not sure that all the vampires and werewolves in the world could have woken her up at 8:01, though... I packed for my 4:45 a.m. wake up time and we put on a final Nick Cage film, Wind Talkers, to round off the three nights in Bangkok.

The next morning dawned very early, and I arrived at the airport three hours before my flight. A bowl of ramen and a plate of sticky rice later, I was loading up on the plane and saying goodbye to Thailand. On to the next adventure!