For Spring Break this year we headed to Thailand. Our first
stop was Bangkok, where we stayed at the Banyan Tree.
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| View from our room on the 55th floor! |
We were exhausted after our overnight flight, and decided to
eat breakfast before taking a nap. We were surprised with all you can drink mimosas
and BACON! True story: I’ve never really been that big of a bacon eater…I
usually prefer turkey bacon. But put me in the Middle East, take away my pork
and I crave the stuff!
After a nap, Mom, Dad, and I decided to brave the humid,
sticky heat and set out to explore Bangkok.
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| Street temples |
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| Bangkok traffic |
After some sightseeing, we had an
early night and woke up the next morning for a road trip to Kanchanaburi.
First, we visited the Jeath War museum, which shows how life
was in Thailand during the construction of the Death Railway, the railroad that
was built to connect Thailand and Burma. Jeath stands for the primary
nationalities involved in the construction of the railway: Japan, English,
Australian, American, Thai, and Holland.
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| Dad was asked to stand between me and the monks |
After, we took a boat ride along the River Kwai, enjoying
the peaceful and serene landscape. We finished our ride at the Bridge on the
River Kwai, made famous by the movie of the same title. We explored the area,
sweating along the way, and finally ended with lunch on the river with a nice
cold Chang, Thailand’s local brew.
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| Boating down the River Kwai |
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| Bridge on the River Kwai |
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| Where we ate lunch |
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| Chang! |
Next, we visited the War Cemetery where many of the POW’s
from the Death Railway are buried.
Finally, we ended our day at the Tiger Temple, a Buddhist
monastery that serves as a sanctuary for wild animals, namely tigers.
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| The entrance and our van |
Visitors
are only allowed into the temple during certain hours for safety reasons. In the morning, the tigers have playtime and then they have
a big meal of chickens.
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| Dad's tiger was fierce! |
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| Baby Tiger |
We visited in the afternoon, after the tigers had
already eaten
J We were allowed to pet many of the different
tigers, and we even got to walk a tiger (with a monk’s supervision!)
We headed back to Bangkok for the night, and Karmen arrived
from NYC later in the evening.
On our last day in Bangkok, we took a long-tail boat ride
along the Chao Phraya River. We visited Wat Pho, one of the oldest temples in
the city. It holds the largest reclining Buddha statue in the world, and is
also the birthplace of Thai Massage.
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| Largest reclining Buddha in the world |
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| Big feet! |
Next, we headed to see the Grand Palace, which has been the
official royal residence since 1782. On the way, we realized that a funeral
procession was being held in front of the palace. One of the members of the
royal family passed, and we were able to see the celebration of her life.
After, we put on our sweaters (you have to cover to enter
the temple) and almost died. It was so miserably hot…and we were all dying. It
was a beautiful palace, but we had a fairly quick tour because of the heat!
We explored some of the stinky Thai street markets, did some
souvenir shopping (Karmen’s favorite pastime
J),
grabbed some cold Changs, and boated it back to our hotel.
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| The Royal family |
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| Stinky street food |
We had some yummy sushi for dinner, and then had our “One
night in Bangkok” adventure…
Talk about heaven on earth! Our last vacations we have
hopped from town to town, never having a chance to unpack our suitcases and
relax. Krabi was all about soaking up the sun and relaxation. We were definitely
on “island time!”
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| Our room |
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| Thai jungle |
While in Krabi, we had several adventures. One day we went
elephant trekking, where we rode elephants through the Thai jungle. I was
especially excited for Karmen, because elephants are her favorite animals
J
Another day, we took a speed boat over to the Phi Phi
Islands, one of the most beautiful locations in the world! We visited Bamboo
Island, Viking Cave, Phi Phi Don, Kho Phi Phi Leh and Maya Beach (where The
Beach with Leonardo Dicaprio was filmed), Monkey Beach, and several other
gorgeous spots.
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| Maya Beach |
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| Viking Cave |
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| Chang, please! |
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| Just in case... |
We went snorkeling a few times, and saw some amazing
tropical fish!
On two different days we took a long-tail boat over to
Railay Beach for the day. There are no cars or anything besides some beach bars
and resorts, so the atmosphere was very natural and quiet.
One of the days we
decided to try out sea kayaking. It was TOUGH!
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| I could live there... |
The views were amazing…but our favorite thing about Railay
Beach was the frozen Banana Coladas…YUM!
We visited the Tiger Cave Temple, considered one of the most
sacred Buddhist sites in the region. The temple is set at the top of a
mountain, and over 1200 steps to the top. What we didn’t realize beforehand is that
the steps are straight up…and each step is at least 2 steps…maybe close to 3.
WOW!
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| Before... |
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| How much further?! |
I was dripping sweat before we were even a third of the way
up. We passed some younger monks who wanted their picture taken with Karmen (guess
I was too sweaty, haha!) After finally making it to the top (there were a few
times I almost lost my breakfast…seriously), we took off our shoes to enter the
temple.
Karmen and I were busy cooling off, enjoying the view, and
taking pictures when a man ran up to us and said, “Excuse me, but a monkey has
taken your shoe.” Turns out the monkeys weren’t too friendly and stole one of
my tennis shoes. Luckily, a nice man fought off the monkey and reclaimed my
shoe!
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| They may look cute... |
Mom and Dad had an encounter with the monkeys during their
ascent as well, witnessing one of them attack some girls who were carrying a
snack to enjoy at the top. Crazy monkeys.
The views from the top were stunning, and made me forget
about the climb up…momentarily.
The climb down went a little faster, but my legs
were shaking uncontrollably when we reached the bottom. We climbed over 2400
steps to the top and back…but I think that number is probably closer to double at
least!
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| After! |
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| Goddess of Compassion |
One of our favorite pastimes in Krabi was eating! We had
some great Thai food, but amazingly we ate German food more than anything! We
discovered a great place right across the street from our resort, and by the
end of our stay we were considered regulars. I’m definitely ready for some more
German food this summer!
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| Our front porch |
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| Happy "Bird Day" to, Karmen! |
Another favorite pastime was pampering! Karmen and I had
our first “Thai” massages, and from then on we were hooked. Mom and Dad both had
pedicures and their very first massages EVER! By the end of our stay I had at
least 5 or 6 massages. I sure do miss those Thai prices!
While in Krabi, we also did some souvenir shopping, and enjoyed
bartering with the local street vendors over prices. Karmen definitely wins the
title of shop-a-holic J
Our trip to Thailand was awesome, and I only wish that Cory
had been there as well. I’m certain we will be visiting again in the future!
Amazing views, beaches, food, massages, prices, fun, and memories!
