Up until now the posts have been about all we have seen. Tonight's post will give some of the background of what we have experienced. We are not the best travelers as you will soon realize, hopefully we are not the worst.
Thailand: inquiring minds want to know why they are insistent about making stair risers so tall. For peats sake most of the people in Thailand are under 5'2. Their legs shouldn't be long enough to climb all the steep steps. An example is the sky train. One has to climb approximately 5 flights of steps to get from street level to train platforms. Once in the train the overhead hand holds causes you to stretch. If anyone has a shoulder problem they aren't going to be able to hang on. There is 1 elevator in the train station that we observed but you need some sort of key to access the elevator. Riders just have to carry luggage up the stairs if they have any. Maybe most of the Thai are taking the bus so all of the above is just for the tourist.
In Thailand, the dress is very proper. You never see men in shorts or short pants and most of the time they are wearing long sleeve shirts doesn't matter the temperature. The Thai people are very respectful and the customs of bowing ones head when greeting a person or if the person is leaving is a show of respect. Bangkok is a very clean city at least the parts we saw. There are attempts at recycling but not as great as in the US. Black is the predominant color of dress and every business, home, or property has a shrine to the great Buddha. There are announcements at several business stating how saddened by the death of the last King, including announcements prior to the safety information on airplanes
Food and eating will always be an entertaining event. Dan does not plan on risking his health with street food and I really don't do spicy. Most of our meals were in the hotel in Bangkok unless we were on an excursion. While on excursions food served tended to be multiple courses starting with soup then appetizer or two then main courses usually 2-3 different items then fruit for dessert. If we are out Dan states he is "not hungry" rather than risk any questionable location for food. Remember we don't usually eat Thai food so are unsure of what we are getting or should choose Maybe by the time we get to Japan we both will be better travelers although we don't do Sushi.
Bangkok overall I feel is a very modern city with lots of new road construction. Wide roads and freeways several lanes across and stopped traffic at certain times of the day. The traffic eases about 45 minutes out of the city. There are areas in the central city that are congested and the shopkeepers live above the stores. In the congested inner city area where there are lots of stores you find the food vendors of course all bets are off in the night and weekend market where there are food vendors everywhere. Bangkok was our first experience with crazy drivers. The Tuk Tuks have you fearing for your life as they pass on the right or left and just merge in if no space
In Phuket we did not see the city but spent time in a resort on the north part of the island. The Thai resorts for the price you are paying are a great deal for US dollars. This is why we chose to stay there because it won't happen at home. It was great to be near the sea. The resort was interesting. Several buildings 3 stories high and no elevators. Going to Thailand is like a stair stepper work out.
Chiang Mai or my body found all mosquitos anywhere near me. We were expecting cooler weather and it was actually hotter. We went from resort to boutique hotel with 12 rooms. We are within the old city wall. We did find a fun night market and wall to wall people
Every hotel we have stayed at greets you with a glass of juice or smoothie and often a wet washcloth this is a different type of hospitality than we are used to seeing. If you purchase food from a street vendor it is bagged up in a "to go" bag. Everything is packaged or bagged separately a big difference from home where we are getting rid of bags
In summary, Thailand is a very clean country at least in the cities, we didn't do a Thai massage, would we return yes although I think I like the pampering part the best.
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