Monday, February 27, 2017
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Extra day in Bangkok
Yesterday was a fly day from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. The original itinerary was to be just a plane change and go on to Hanoi, Visa issues caused a change so we had a day to do nothing and I planned an all day trip to the Erawan National Park and a waterfall walk on our second day.
The park is about a 3 hour trip from Bangkok, but this was great for us because we had a chance to see some of the countryside. We would have loved to do a few extra stops as Dan is dying to go into a Home Depot type store to "just look" or it might be an unidentified addiction since it has been 2 weeks since he has been in one. He would also like to wander around a plant nursery. We have several more towns to visit so perhaps he will get a chance in the near future.
Today's adventure was again a slight miscalculation on my part. I forgot that if you want to see the waterfall you have to get up to the falls portion. This was a series of 7 tiers each one getting to be steeper than the prior tier. The guide book said most people get to tier 3, we did make it to 4. Swimming was an option but there are "huge" fish in the pools at the bottom of each falls and I don't swim with the fish. The amazing thing was that the water was actually quite warm which you would not expect of waterfalls
The park is amazingly clean and at the second tier there is a check station. You are not allowed to bring food past the second tier and if you bring a water bottle you have to pay a refundable deposit. This insures anything you bring in you will bring out. A great way to keep the park clean
Today's tour was just Dan and I. This is the norm in Asia unless you are booking a tour through a bigger company. Our guide for the day was Nes. She also works for another company that specializes in 2 week "adventure " type trips with trekking, hiking, and biking. I am sure she was surprised at the slow poke group she got today. On the was back to Bangkok we stopped at the Bridge over the River Kwai. At this time they are still using the tracks but it is pretty much a tourist stop and photo opportunity. We did not opt for the speed boat ride up the river. There is a lot of WWII history in this part of Thailand.
We are back at the hotel and will pack tonight as our International flight leaves at 7AM tomorrow and we must check in 2 hours or more early.
The park is about a 3 hour trip from Bangkok, but this was great for us because we had a chance to see some of the countryside. We would have loved to do a few extra stops as Dan is dying to go into a Home Depot type store to "just look" or it might be an unidentified addiction since it has been 2 weeks since he has been in one. He would also like to wander around a plant nursery. We have several more towns to visit so perhaps he will get a chance in the near future.
Today's adventure was again a slight miscalculation on my part. I forgot that if you want to see the waterfall you have to get up to the falls portion. This was a series of 7 tiers each one getting to be steeper than the prior tier. The guide book said most people get to tier 3, we did make it to 4. Swimming was an option but there are "huge" fish in the pools at the bottom of each falls and I don't swim with the fish. The amazing thing was that the water was actually quite warm which you would not expect of waterfalls
The park is amazingly clean and at the second tier there is a check station. You are not allowed to bring food past the second tier and if you bring a water bottle you have to pay a refundable deposit. This insures anything you bring in you will bring out. A great way to keep the park clean
Today's tour was just Dan and I. This is the norm in Asia unless you are booking a tour through a bigger company. Our guide for the day was Nes. She also works for another company that specializes in 2 week "adventure " type trips with trekking, hiking, and biking. I am sure she was surprised at the slow poke group she got today. On the was back to Bangkok we stopped at the Bridge over the River Kwai. At this time they are still using the tracks but it is pretty much a tourist stop and photo opportunity. We did not opt for the speed boat ride up the river. There is a lot of WWII history in this part of Thailand.
We are back at the hotel and will pack tonight as our International flight leaves at 7AM tomorrow and we must check in 2 hours or more early.
Chiang Mai or how to part with US Dollars
Today we made arrangements to have a driver take us to other parts of Chiang Mai. We were in search of flowers and Dan wanted to find a teak wood screen for the garden. The hotel we were at arranged a driver for the day and we are off. First stop the "Royal Park". This large garden was created by the King 10 years ago and it is truly spectacular. Well laid out several beautiful green houses both cool and hot. Display gardens from other countries and big expanses of green. There is a tram that travels around the entire garden. We spent 2 hours there and could have spent more.
The next stop was a teak furniture shop. It took lots of sign language picture drawings and a tape measure, bottom line more money than we planned although the piece would be beautiful probably not what the garden needs. We then head back across town to an area of handicraft and touristy goods still looking for the screen. Of course custom made is looking more like the answer. I am still amazed that Dan is up for all this shopping.
Ice cream for lunch and our driver says you need to see a couple places. The Thai silk factory. There is a 5 minute tour and they are still using wooden looms. The little Thai ladies move the shuttle by flexing and bending their elbow all day. Working 40 hours a week, all I thought of was imagine the tendinitis, guess I haven't been away from work long enough. Of course we needed to buy a piece of silk and plans to make a dress for Tali.
The last stop is Oriental Artifacts company. This has possibilities for some fun garden artifact that could find a home inthe US. No artifacts but Dan all but purchased an area carpet of Thai silk. Thank goodness we like to mull over decisions and the high pressure sales after a bit of time become annoying. This is only country one who knows what we will find in country four.
Our long day has produced an intact wallet; a very good thing. We head to the front desk to get advise on what to do Saturday night in Chiang Mai. After much giggling at the front desk we were to cross two major roads and walk to the next street. I am not sure what were going to find but that was what we were to do on Saturday night. I was protesting since on our other nights out no one was attempting to cross this road and there are no traffic lights. We saw no one walking or crossing.
Low and behold it can be done. You just wait for cars to stop and dodge between them, the entire time praying no little motor scooter is whizzing by. We complete this process and find a "street fair ". Great place, you can find anything from food to massages. Thousands of stalls (or seemingly so) selling much the same and many different items that I had never seen. All the street food you can imagine
The amazing part of this trip has been Dan's ability to shop. Someone must've taken his body and left this "shopaholic " in it's place.
The next stop was a teak furniture shop. It took lots of sign language picture drawings and a tape measure, bottom line more money than we planned although the piece would be beautiful probably not what the garden needs. We then head back across town to an area of handicraft and touristy goods still looking for the screen. Of course custom made is looking more like the answer. I am still amazed that Dan is up for all this shopping.
Ice cream for lunch and our driver says you need to see a couple places. The Thai silk factory. There is a 5 minute tour and they are still using wooden looms. The little Thai ladies move the shuttle by flexing and bending their elbow all day. Working 40 hours a week, all I thought of was imagine the tendinitis, guess I haven't been away from work long enough. Of course we needed to buy a piece of silk and plans to make a dress for Tali.
The last stop is Oriental Artifacts company. This has possibilities for some fun garden artifact that could find a home inthe US. No artifacts but Dan all but purchased an area carpet of Thai silk. Thank goodness we like to mull over decisions and the high pressure sales after a bit of time become annoying. This is only country one who knows what we will find in country four.
Our long day has produced an intact wallet; a very good thing. We head to the front desk to get advise on what to do Saturday night in Chiang Mai. After much giggling at the front desk we were to cross two major roads and walk to the next street. I am not sure what were going to find but that was what we were to do on Saturday night. I was protesting since on our other nights out no one was attempting to cross this road and there are no traffic lights. We saw no one walking or crossing.
Low and behold it can be done. You just wait for cars to stop and dodge between them, the entire time praying no little motor scooter is whizzing by. We complete this process and find a "street fair ". Great place, you can find anything from food to massages. Thousands of stalls (or seemingly so) selling much the same and many different items that I had never seen. All the street food you can imagine
The amazing part of this trip has been Dan's ability to shop. Someone must've taken his body and left this "shopaholic " in it's place.
Saturday, February 25, 2017
A busy few days
We left Phuket and travelled to northern Thailand. Chiang Mai is base and we planned a day at the elephant sanctuary. The elephant sanctuary's focus is on rescuing elephants that may have been mistreated or injured. It is a non profit organization and visits and elephant interaction can be as short as 4 hours or as long as a week. We opted for a one day experience.
Our day started with preparing food for the 4 elephants our group was assigned. This consisted of washing and cutting up hundreds of pounds of watermelon. We were then able to feed the elephants. Our day also allowed us to walk to another camp and continue to hand feed them. Next up was bathing which consisted of throwing water onto the elephants which sometimes got the person standing on the other side of the elephants very wet when the bucket of water sailed over the elephant.
We then changed locations and went to the main park to see the baby elephant and observe some of the workings in the main part of the park. Our group consisted of 10 people and of course Dan and I are the oldest. It makes you wonder
Technology wise I am still having issues with the blog and getting photos to upload. It seems one at a time is best
Our day started with preparing food for the 4 elephants our group was assigned. This consisted of washing and cutting up hundreds of pounds of watermelon. We were then able to feed the elephants. Our day also allowed us to walk to another camp and continue to hand feed them. Next up was bathing which consisted of throwing water onto the elephants which sometimes got the person standing on the other side of the elephants very wet when the bucket of water sailed over the elephant.
We then changed locations and went to the main park to see the baby elephant and observe some of the workings in the main part of the park. Our group consisted of 10 people and of course Dan and I are the oldest. It makes you wonder
Technology wise I am still having issues with the blog and getting photos to upload. It seems one at a time is best
Friday, February 24, 2017
One more item off the bucket list
Today we had another organized tour This was to Phang Nga bay to see some of the limestone uplifts and kayak. I always wanted to tryout kayaking and today was my chance. We are picked up at the hotel last morning then drive to the bay and take a larger boat to the area of limestone pillars
For this excursion we have a guide who is in charge of the kayak. My biggest concern was getting in and out of the kayak and this was actually fairly ease especially when compared to the taxi boats in Bangkok when I almost fell in the water
The day was great as we spent over 3 hours on the water. I did get to try my hand at paddling and have decided probably not my sport. The up side is I am now able to cross off kayaking on the bucket list.
The bay has openings in the island uplifts that you can paddle through and into the center of what appears to be a solid land mass and you are within a closed lagoon. The area has over 150 of these formations and on one of the other islands the James Bond movie "Man with the Golden Gun" was filmed. The water was extremely warm but not clear since the bottom of the bay was muddy.
This was a great day and a new lesson in packing for me. Pack your own sunscreen, Dan only has SPF 50 in his bag. This does not help me getting a suntan
For this excursion we have a guide who is in charge of the kayak. My biggest concern was getting in and out of the kayak and this was actually fairly ease especially when compared to the taxi boats in Bangkok when I almost fell in the water
The day was great as we spent over 3 hours on the water. I did get to try my hand at paddling and have decided probably not my sport. The up side is I am now able to cross off kayaking on the bucket list.
The bay has openings in the island uplifts that you can paddle through and into the center of what appears to be a solid land mass and you are within a closed lagoon. The area has over 150 of these formations and on one of the other islands the James Bond movie "Man with the Golden Gun" was filmed. The water was extremely warm but not clear since the bottom of the bay was muddy.
This was a great day and a new lesson in packing for me. Pack your own sunscreen, Dan only has SPF 50 in his bag. This does not help me getting a suntan
Thursday, February 23, 2017
A trip into the Khao Sok Park
Today was a planned excursion into Khao Sok. This preserve is famous for its limestone spires, animals, hiking, camping and now catering to tourists there is canoe rafts and bamboo barge rides. It was a long van ride approximately 2 hours. Canoeing was first then a trip back to have lunch. We had several more stops including the "monkey temple". The monkeys are so use to the humans that they will take nuts and food out of your hand. There is no fear or shyness on their part.
One of our last stops on the day was to the elephant encounter for a ride on the big land mammals. Elephant riding is being frowned upon in Thailand based upon the strain on the animal's spine. The animals seem to respond to verbal commands, they were not chained and didn't need prodding. After the ride you were able to spend $100 baht to feed the elephant fresh bananas.
Then the long drive home. There were 10 of us all together and we were able to appreciate much of the park along with the elements of touristy activities
One of our last stops on the day was to the elephant encounter for a ride on the big land mammals. Elephant riding is being frowned upon in Thailand based upon the strain on the animal's spine. The animals seem to respond to verbal commands, they were not chained and didn't need prodding. After the ride you were able to spend $100 baht to feed the elephant fresh bananas.
Then the long drive home. There were 10 of us all together and we were able to appreciate much of the park along with the elements of touristy activities
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Fly Day
I am now 2 days behind in posting. I may catch up we will see. The move from Bangkok to Phuket. We are traveling with Air Asia a lost cost airline in Thailand. We get to the airport 2 hours early since the walk to the date can be a lot longer than planned
The airport supports attendants to help create boarding passes etc, then in their "helpfulness", take you to a tour desk to help you get a room or tour in your destination location. An interesting practice for sure. Unfortunately I have prescheduled most things. I don't think we will miss the "great" bargains they have to offer.
On arrival in Phuket we have transportation arranged. I should probably note at this point we are really not in Phuket Town where all the action, bars, night life and cheap hotels are we are staying at an upscale resort in Nai Yang Beach close to the airport and about 45 minutes from Phuket Town. Plan A is to hire a cab for the afternoon and see some of the island. We are here any 2 full days and in my craziness have 2 tours booked back to back. Today will be the only day to really explore. After we check in to our hotel. Use the term loosely since it is a resort, on the beach with large pool, deck chairs, beach cabanas etc. Dan, "Mr." I don't lay by the pool suggests we go to plan B and spend the day in the sun. This is a great voice in my book, but means we will need to return to Thailand in the future to actually see Phuket. I did let Dan know from here on out our accommodations are not as beautiful as these. Next post should be of photos😃
The airport supports attendants to help create boarding passes etc, then in their "helpfulness", take you to a tour desk to help you get a room or tour in your destination location. An interesting practice for sure. Unfortunately I have prescheduled most things. I don't think we will miss the "great" bargains they have to offer.
On arrival in Phuket we have transportation arranged. I should probably note at this point we are really not in Phuket Town where all the action, bars, night life and cheap hotels are we are staying at an upscale resort in Nai Yang Beach close to the airport and about 45 minutes from Phuket Town. Plan A is to hire a cab for the afternoon and see some of the island. We are here any 2 full days and in my craziness have 2 tours booked back to back. Today will be the only day to really explore. After we check in to our hotel. Use the term loosely since it is a resort, on the beach with large pool, deck chairs, beach cabanas etc. Dan, "Mr." I don't lay by the pool suggests we go to plan B and spend the day in the sun. This is a great voice in my book, but means we will need to return to Thailand in the future to actually see Phuket. I did let Dan know from here on out our accommodations are not as beautiful as these. Next post should be of photos😃
Monday, February 20, 2017
The street shoppers
Today's post is of our day yesterday. It was Sunday so we are off to the "weekend market". You can find anything from used clothes to live animals and plants not to mention several other weekend shoppers looking for a bargain. The most surprising thing of this trip is that Dan agreed to go. This is a guy who won't go to anyplace other than Home Depot. The weather continues to be hot and sunny although there is a cloudiness to the sky not like the blue sky we normally see. No rain.
We take the sky train and follow the crowd when we get off. It is about thirty acres of stalls and shops with most of it covered. Walking around with the sun beating down is draining There is no air conditioning so you are at the mercy of a vendor that might have some sort of fan. About 45 minutes into our exploring Dan finds a stall selling some sort of wooden objects he plans to use in the garden. We continue our exploring to see if there are any other great treasures that need to relocate to the US. Here I make a costly mistake I did not take a picture of the nearest section marker so we can find our way back. We stop at a bar in the market. Dan tries Thai beer and I opt for a fruit smoothie while listening to piped in Maroon 5 classics and people watch
We covered most of the sections that interest us and attempt to find the stall selling wood plant things. Here the fun begins, we even spent 2 cents and bought a bottle of water to get a map and directions. About the time we were going to give up we start seeing things that are more familiar y a success is ours. The seller would have done better if we purchased when we first saw the display. Poor Dan was too tired to negotiate and my friend Lorraine the expert negotiator isn't with us. Just think it is only day three and we are buying things to take home. This could be a problem since we were at max weight in our suitcase when we left the US
Tomorrow is a travel day. Off to Phuket
We take the sky train and follow the crowd when we get off. It is about thirty acres of stalls and shops with most of it covered. Walking around with the sun beating down is draining There is no air conditioning so you are at the mercy of a vendor that might have some sort of fan. About 45 minutes into our exploring Dan finds a stall selling some sort of wooden objects he plans to use in the garden. We continue our exploring to see if there are any other great treasures that need to relocate to the US. Here I make a costly mistake I did not take a picture of the nearest section marker so we can find our way back. We stop at a bar in the market. Dan tries Thai beer and I opt for a fruit smoothie while listening to piped in Maroon 5 classics and people watch
We covered most of the sections that interest us and attempt to find the stall selling wood plant things. Here the fun begins, we even spent 2 cents and bought a bottle of water to get a map and directions. About the time we were going to give up we start seeing things that are more familiar y a success is ours. The seller would have done better if we purchased when we first saw the display. Poor Dan was too tired to negotiate and my friend Lorraine the expert negotiator isn't with us. Just think it is only day three and we are buying things to take home. This could be a problem since we were at max weight in our suitcase when we left the US
Tomorrow is a travel day. Off to Phuket
Sunday, February 19, 2017
On our own
We only had a guide for 1 day in Bangkok and I don't think we would have survived 2 days at the same pace. So after breakfast we had for the train. We had been there yesterday so felt comfortable. I learned how to operate the ticket machine. We had another errand and that was to find a pharmacy seems seems I always bring everything and a back up of everything forgot his allergy medications. I guess he didn't think it would be a problem or it is still at home on the bathroom counter. We also want to find something to glue the crown back where it belongs. Good news is there is a "mall" across the street from where we need to go to visit the Jim Thompson house. There is also a pharmacy on the 4th floor of this particular mall. What we didn't realize was that the 4th floor housed the largest collection of electronics sellers in all of Asia It is like a giagantic swap meet of retailers with each having a 5 x5 space and some a little more. All of these guys took lessons from the swap meet sellers in Mexico. The quick trip to the pharmacy took 3-4 hours but then we head off to our planned destination. Of course Dan's backpack is much heavier tha when we started the morning, and I am wondering why I bought a phone before we left on vacation it looks like I could have purchased an I phone 7 for about $170 dollars. You have to wonder if it will work in the US.
Our sense of direction turned us around and in typical Dan and Ellen fashion, we needed Dan's phone since he has internet and access to maps To go the 2 blocks. Enjoyed the garden at the house but was dismayed when we needed to take off our shoes to enter. I really didn't want to put them back on.
Back to the hotel. The plan is Happy Hour and dinner. Dan isn't in to exploring and said he wants something he can identify (picture to follow). We even stayed up late 10PM considering our first 2 nights were 8 we felt like we were living dangerously. I did mention going to one of Bangkok's Sky Bars and he just laughed at me and told me it is still happy hour
Our sense of direction turned us around and in typical Dan and Ellen fashion, we needed Dan's phone since he has internet and access to maps To go the 2 blocks. Enjoyed the garden at the house but was dismayed when we needed to take off our shoes to enter. I really didn't want to put them back on.
Back to the hotel. The plan is Happy Hour and dinner. Dan isn't in to exploring and said he wants something he can identify (picture to follow). We even stayed up late 10PM considering our first 2 nights were 8 we felt like we were living dangerously. I did mention going to one of Bangkok's Sky Bars and he just laughed at me and told me it is still happy hour
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Dew the Great Tour Guide
In order to see Bangkok, I hired a guide from Thai Tour Guides. I was originally going to use Tours with Tong but had issues with email and went with Thia Tour Guides. This was a great choice. Dew our tour guide for the day had all the sights planned out in addition to ones "I read about in the tour book and had to see". Unfortunately, she attempted to keep us on schedule. We started at 10AM and didn't stop until after 6PM and Dan and I said enough it was time to go back to the hotel. It may have been that we were unable to keep up the a 29 year old tour guide. Needless to say the next time I will ask for a "mature" guide.
The day in a nutshell. The Buddhist Temples. We started at the Imperial Palace and worked our way down including the "Reclining Buddha" and former home of the Emerald Buddha. Dan and I both agree we could have never made it through the Imperial Palace without a guide. Good choice on my part. The good news was we can follow directions and dress appropriatley, which meant "jeans for me". Think how warm it is to be in jeans with 95 degrees and 90% humity. The sun was out all day and we proceeded to go though the water we brought and a bottle from "the floating grocer".
We were on all types of transportation, some of which I do not want to repeat and those are the canal boats. I seemed to have the worse time stepping up and then on to car tire bumper and then the dock. I mirrored my attempt of "getting off a ski lift when they had to stop the lift and that was 33 years ago" I am sure the people of Thailand will be laughing at the tourist for many weeks to come. What I really don't understand is the 2 girls in slim tight skirts that were able to board the boat and load their luggage, not carry on by any means.
We stopped for lunch at about 3PM and ate at picnic tables in the food court adjacent to the wholesale food market and the flower marker. It is an amazing sight. I was unaware of all the different types of peppers and ginger available. I was tempted to buy some saffron as the price was dirt cheap. Then I realized it was still only day 2 and we have 60 more to go. Lunch was good but I think I just needed the calories because between the heat and walking it made last year in Venice seemed like a temporate zone
We spent the day taking on and off our shoes. I did get a flat shoe for walking which helped today. They seemed to be off mire than on. Dew ran interference for today so although we paid all the enterance fees she was able to count out the money and negotiated some of our fares. The most exciting ride of the day was in the "Tuk Tuk". A great way to. zip in and out of traffic. The driver is fearless and stops for no one. It is amazing to see school children being taken to and from and not even bothering to look up. It was like being in Tiajuana traffic on the equivalent of the back of a motorcycle.
We went to the Baan Bat area. This is a street where there are a lot of woodworking stalls or stores as the case made be. We were after a had made Alm bowl". It is amazing what goes into creating a finished product. We now are proud owners of garden art. With this purchase I have begun to start doing the math. At the end of today we have less than a 1000 baht. Guess we will be going to the ATM tomorrow. Dan didn't have to negotiate they actually lowered the price a little. He is not the negotiator and would have paid full price.
I started doing the math and things can be pricy in Bangkok. We have been to the pharmacy and will go again tomorrow since "prepared for anything Dan, forgot his allergy medicine. My evening wine is $7.00 a glass cheaper at home but we figured out when happy hour is so will be done exploring by happy hour time tomorrow.
After our day with Dew I just want to rest up. We will go by the bank again seems we are out of baht, and attempt to find a pharmacy and tour the Jim Thompson house. As for Bangkok nightlife don't ask us as the jet lag still has an impact. We were up at 4:30 so tonight were in bed by 8:10. Us crazy kids just don't stay up late.
The day in a nutshell. The Buddhist Temples. We started at the Imperial Palace and worked our way down including the "Reclining Buddha" and former home of the Emerald Buddha. Dan and I both agree we could have never made it through the Imperial Palace without a guide. Good choice on my part. The good news was we can follow directions and dress appropriatley, which meant "jeans for me". Think how warm it is to be in jeans with 95 degrees and 90% humity. The sun was out all day and we proceeded to go though the water we brought and a bottle from "the floating grocer".
We were on all types of transportation, some of which I do not want to repeat and those are the canal boats. I seemed to have the worse time stepping up and then on to car tire bumper and then the dock. I mirrored my attempt of "getting off a ski lift when they had to stop the lift and that was 33 years ago" I am sure the people of Thailand will be laughing at the tourist for many weeks to come. What I really don't understand is the 2 girls in slim tight skirts that were able to board the boat and load their luggage, not carry on by any means.
We stopped for lunch at about 3PM and ate at picnic tables in the food court adjacent to the wholesale food market and the flower marker. It is an amazing sight. I was unaware of all the different types of peppers and ginger available. I was tempted to buy some saffron as the price was dirt cheap. Then I realized it was still only day 2 and we have 60 more to go. Lunch was good but I think I just needed the calories because between the heat and walking it made last year in Venice seemed like a temporate zone
We spent the day taking on and off our shoes. I did get a flat shoe for walking which helped today. They seemed to be off mire than on. Dew ran interference for today so although we paid all the enterance fees she was able to count out the money and negotiated some of our fares. The most exciting ride of the day was in the "Tuk Tuk". A great way to. zip in and out of traffic. The driver is fearless and stops for no one. It is amazing to see school children being taken to and from and not even bothering to look up. It was like being in Tiajuana traffic on the equivalent of the back of a motorcycle.
We went to the Baan Bat area. This is a street where there are a lot of woodworking stalls or stores as the case made be. We were after a had made Alm bowl". It is amazing what goes into creating a finished product. We now are proud owners of garden art. With this purchase I have begun to start doing the math. At the end of today we have less than a 1000 baht. Guess we will be going to the ATM tomorrow. Dan didn't have to negotiate they actually lowered the price a little. He is not the negotiator and would have paid full price.
I started doing the math and things can be pricy in Bangkok. We have been to the pharmacy and will go again tomorrow since "prepared for anything Dan, forgot his allergy medicine. My evening wine is $7.00 a glass cheaper at home but we figured out when happy hour is so will be done exploring by happy hour time tomorrow.
After our day with Dew I just want to rest up. We will go by the bank again seems we are out of baht, and attempt to find a pharmacy and tour the Jim Thompson house. As for Bangkok nightlife don't ask us as the jet lag still has an impact. We were up at 4:30 so tonight were in bed by 8:10. Us crazy kids just don't stay up late.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
First Night in Bangkok
We arrived without incident. Even had time to check out the airport lounge feel like we are doing okay with jet lag since we were each able to sleep on the plane. Okay in the capital city get through immigration and customs although we were at the end of our group and glad we had an express pass from the airlines, pick up the bags and off to find a SIM card for Dan's phone. We are bound and determined to get the electronics working for us this trip. I changed my carrier to T mobile because of red international data so we think I am set. Oh how wrong we were. Purchased Dans SIM card although he doesn't quite understand how it works. Perhaps more jet lag than we thought
Our first Bangkok challenge because there will be more, used the ATM to get local money. That only took 3 tries and with 10000 baht we think we just might have enough to get through. We now proceed to the taxi stand a great system you wait in a line get a ticket and wait for the driver to come. Except our driver had little English and it took several minutes to find the hotel name although we had a street address that he didn't understand. He did fine with the hotel name once we communicated. I just hope we get there. Now the money changing issues come into play. We decided to tip the cab driver the smallest bill we had was 100 baht so we gave him the 100 to determine it was $2.85 in US dollars. I am not sure if it is an insult or not. He did seem happy for the tip but not sure of the 57 cents we gave the bell hop person. Guess we need to get the conversions down. pat before start parting with the money so as to not insult.
Off to explore a little before dinner. I am after street food and to see what is about. We have 2 major shopping centers around the block from our hotel not to mention several "really good street food vendors " according to the hotel staff. Dan's answer to which vendor to go to was I am Leary to eat street food on my first day in Bangkok. He has no sense of adventure so back to the hotel dinning room. Okay maybe we can venture out tonight, dinner and 2 drinks he is passed out and I am not far behind him. So the first night in Bangkok is an early one for us old folks. I guess there is always tomorrow
Our first Bangkok challenge because there will be more, used the ATM to get local money. That only took 3 tries and with 10000 baht we think we just might have enough to get through. We now proceed to the taxi stand a great system you wait in a line get a ticket and wait for the driver to come. Except our driver had little English and it took several minutes to find the hotel name although we had a street address that he didn't understand. He did fine with the hotel name once we communicated. I just hope we get there. Now the money changing issues come into play. We decided to tip the cab driver the smallest bill we had was 100 baht so we gave him the 100 to determine it was $2.85 in US dollars. I am not sure if it is an insult or not. He did seem happy for the tip but not sure of the 57 cents we gave the bell hop person. Guess we need to get the conversions down. pat before start parting with the money so as to not insult.
Off to explore a little before dinner. I am after street food and to see what is about. We have 2 major shopping centers around the block from our hotel not to mention several "really good street food vendors " according to the hotel staff. Dan's answer to which vendor to go to was I am Leary to eat street food on my first day in Bangkok. He has no sense of adventure so back to the hotel dinning room. Okay maybe we can venture out tonight, dinner and 2 drinks he is passed out and I am not far behind him. So the first night in Bangkok is an early one for us old folks. I guess there is always tomorrow
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Day 1
We are not even to Hong Kong but having breakfast on the plane and Dan says "oops". What happened?? Apparently when using the Chinese floss toothpick combo he managed to loose a new porcelain crown. The good news is unlike the last time when he swallowed it things are improved Now we need to see if we are going to venture to try out Asia dental work or just wait another 62 days. Poor Dan he loves each trip to be an adventure
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Countdown zero
So the last 2 days have been crazy busy. Completing all the trip details. Attempting to be paperless but poor Dan worries so we have an excel spread sheet of hotel stays and flights that was emailed to Brian and Scott so they will know immediately if we are hijacked or missing, of course Dan wanted us to have a hard copy so it is printed. The next data source is a "one note" file. My first experience and it came highly recommended. It is really pretty easy to use and that is why I found the missing hotel reservations. Which after 2 days still has not been confirmed. If all our data works I can call when we get to Thailand the third place we have data stored is in my email and everyone knows how secure that is. Of course 2 electronic files and one skeleton file was not enough and I spent the day printing confirmations.
Our last knob and we realize Dan's phone has no international access. He was a little miffed last time so I promised him access this trip. So on the way to LAX I was on the phone with Verizon. Good thing we were driving as it took 60 minutes to pick up. All is good. Through TSA precheck and found the gate and still have time for a glass of wine before we have to be at the gate. Well we head to the gate for our midnight flight tomorrow we will be in Bangkok
Our last knob and we realize Dan's phone has no international access. He was a little miffed last time so I promised him access this trip. So on the way to LAX I was on the phone with Verizon. Good thing we were driving as it took 60 minutes to pick up. All is good. Through TSA precheck and found the gate and still have time for a glass of wine before we have to be at the gate. Well we head to the gate for our midnight flight tomorrow we will be in Bangkok
Sunday, February 12, 2017
3 days to go!
Counting today I have three days to get everything done. This shouldn't be a problem since we are only going to be gone 9 weeks total. Last evening while putting in the itinerary I noticed the entire 9 weeks we will stay an average of 2 nights in each place, what was I thinking? There will be no need to unpack. This trip will truly test our marriage as Dan hates the whole getting to the airport activity. He is okay once on the plane but the whole process before makes him nervous and irritated. Just think only 17 separate flights in the 9 weeks an average of 3 a week
We have had 2 small crisis in our trip and we haven't even left yet. First small bump was our Vietnam visa came in with the wrong dates. The solution was easy. Rebook our flight to Vietnam and change our hotel reservations, then pay double and get new reservations back in Bangkok. The next surprise came when I was collating our hotels and noticed I have a 2 night stay and no hotel...back to trip advisor.
Here's to the start of our next adventure
We have had 2 small crisis in our trip and we haven't even left yet. First small bump was our Vietnam visa came in with the wrong dates. The solution was easy. Rebook our flight to Vietnam and change our hotel reservations, then pay double and get new reservations back in Bangkok. The next surprise came when I was collating our hotels and noticed I have a 2 night stay and no hotel...back to trip advisor.
Here's to the start of our next adventure
Sunday, February 5, 2017
9 Days and Counting
Well the blog has been created. The lists have been started. What happens if everything doesn't get done... We conquered the first problem last week our Visa into Vietnam was for 2 days after we were scheduled to arrive. The solution another night in Bangkok, and the cost of completing the change is only$248, not a bad bump and I am sure this will be the first of many.
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