That's that.....my trip to Thailand

Photos: Random Thailand

swissmis23 — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 01:37:00 GMT

Ditto

Photos: Thailand 2014

swissmis23 — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 00:21:00 GMT

Photos from my trip

Day 1 in Thailand

swissmis23 — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 23:50:00 GMT

Flights went well and I arrived in Bangkok early this morning. Fairly uneventful and surprisingly comfortable trip. The connection in Doha was interesting. The airport is beautiful and was empty and quiet. Except in the food court. That's where all the people were. I had some dinner. Pizza, that tasted like Sbarro. There was Burger King, chinese, and healthy options too. It occurred to me that the cool thing about the world is that while people may have different beliefs, on a base level we are quite similar. We eat, go on vacation, and like to see our babies laugh. Perhaps we are only separated by a love of Tang.

I arrived in Bangkok after a second uneventful flight. Getting through passport control and customs was a smooth process and my bag came out shortly after I arrived at the belt. Not too bad at all. I got into a taxi around 8:45 for a 45 Minute ( at most ) cab ride that took twice the time due to some crazy traffic. I definitely could not deal with that every day! Nevertheless, I arrived around 10:30 and was able to get into my room early which was a definite bonus. So, quick shower and lunch then it was nap time. Slept for a couple hours and then got my things organiced a bit. It's really amazing. I was in the room for maybe 45 seconds and stuff was everywhere.

I ventured out for a quick wander around. I was told that there would be a couple of days of culture shock and I can say that that is truth. Its amazing to look at the small streets and stores that are in these dilapidated looking buildings. From afar, I would not expect that these buiildings supported businesses or people. It definitely forces you to look beyond the outside to get to the good stuff. Life lessons going on here! Just across the street from the hotel I found such a place and had some Pad Thai for dinner. I think I could eat that every day and be happy. It is of course noticeably warm and humid but was not uncomfortable to sit in open air and eat. The place, called Moon Cafe, was small and cozy. I stopped there because it was full of both Thai and non-Thai people. Now, it's time to be sure I stay up until a decent hour before heading to bed. Tomorrow I meet the group at 9:30. I'm looking forward to seeing who's in the group. I may also be getting a roommate tomorrow as well......the first in 10 years. I wish her luck!

Thailand Itinerary

swissmis23 — Mon, 4 Aug 2014 03:38:00 GMT

August 3, 2014

In just 10 days I will be making my way to Thailand for my first trip into Asia. I have been wanting to get to Thailand for some time now and this trip has been in the works for about 9 months. I will be joining a group of strangers for this adventure and I am really looking forward to meeting them and seeing how I get on with them. As is true for most trips, the planning is a big part of it and the time just before departing seems to go the fastest. Just some last minutes things to work out and I'm all set!!!

The itinerary is set and all hotels, transportation, and some meals are all set. I will be trying to use this site to journal my trip as it goes along. I see a lot of blogs out there and wonder if it something that I could do (like a lot of folks, it seems). I don't know that I always have exciting things going on to fill a blog but I think this trip will be something to talk about, so I'm giving it a go!

Itinerary

Bangkok - natural staring point for Thailand. I'm looking forward to this because my impresion is that it can be a bit crazy along with a sense of history and spirituality which is an interesting mix in my mind. We will have dinner at Baiyoke Tower (75 floors up!), see the Grand Palace and Wat Po, take a boat ride on the Chao Praya River, and check out the old city.

Chaing Mai - one overnight train ride and we will be in the north of the country in Chaing Mai where we will spend three days. Here we will see some more Buddhist temples, local markets, the Doi Suthep mountaintop temple, get thai massages, and see the Doi Inthanon National Park for some treking and visiting some villages.

Lampang - Time to see the elephants! We will be visiting the FAE Elephant Hospital to learn everything about this great animals.

Sukkothai - former capital of Thailand, we will spend two days here to see the beautiful countryside, villages, and ruins by bicycle.

Kaho Yai - in the central part of the country we will spend three days in the National Park where there are many activities to choose from - hiking, waterfall visits, caves, and wildlife viewing. This should be a nice place to relax and enjoy nature.

Siem Reap, Cambodia - I guess when you are in the area you have to go to into Cambodia to see the Angor Wat. After a bit of a drive and getting through customs, we will cehck out town for a bit. Over the next two days we will be able to see the sunrise and sunset over the jungles surrounding the Wat and enjoy the Kampong Kliang River's floating villages.

Then, its back to Bangkok. I've got a couple days there before I have to fly back to Switzerland and I'm not sure what I'll do yet.

Any suggestions?

I am truly looking forward to this trip. I have no idea about what to expect and that is a bit exhilirating. I am sure there will be times I am uncomfortable because of the wicked heat and humidity, travel conditions that are not the same as what I'm used to, or perhaps because of the people I'm with. To think of this can be daunting, but I am sure for every uncomfortable moment, there will be numerous amazing memories. And that is the basic purpose of traveling, I think: to get out of your comfort zone and come through it a better person.