Day 3 Thailand

So here we are at 7pm on Day 3 in Thailand. We are sitting in an internet cafe and the sun has gone down. Our train doesn't leave until 10pm, so we thought we'd post now, and add pictures later. We've taken so many pictures and videos today that our cameras are completely out of battery! That says a lot about how exciting our day has been!!!!

So, we woke up early again this morning after our exciting romantic boat cruise last night, and enjoyed our VIP breakfast on the 15th floor before our 8am pick-up. We actually had to check-out (which Jeff is not used to) and they called up to make sure our room was left in "ok" condition! We headed to the train station, where our driver bought our train tickets for us, and we waited for about 30 minutes until our train started boarding. Jeff went and got me an iced coffee while we waited and we enjoyed doing a bit of people watching.

We hopped on a non air conditioned train and enjoyed a 2 hour train ride through the country to arrive at Ayutthaya. Riding through the country-side was very eye-opening for me. You have the oppulence of the temples (even in tiny towns), and next to them, small huts/shacks on stilts. In the small villages, you often see little shacks on the side of the road with women and men cooking authentic Thai food out of carts.

Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand when it was Siam. It is an ancient city and was the capital until 1783. Although there are still people living there today, it is famous for its ruins. Upon arrival, we stowed our bags in the storage room at the train station, and we were approached by a tour guy who offered to show us the town. He informed us that he was sanctioned by the police, and was official! The first ruins he took us to were absolutely incredible. It was a temple built in the early 1300's! Jeff and I were absolutely amazed by the beauty. It stood right on the river and we enjoyed walking around looking at all the miniature Buddha's (all of which were headless! They told us their heads had been stolen.)

After this, we headed off (no pun intended) to the next temple, but Jeff saw a soccer game at a military base, and asked if we could stop and watch. It was nice to see that no matter where you are in the world, there are some things that are universal! Today, for me, it was soccer, and little kids waiving at trains.

We then were taken to a secluded restaurant on the river where we enjoyed a beautiful relaxing, and very authentic lunch.

Our next stop was a HUGE surprise to me ( I guess Jeff had set it up with the Tuk Tuk truck driver without me knowing!!!) Ruins with ELEPHANTS!!! That's right....ELEPHANTS!!!!!!!!! Even BABY ELEPHANTS!!! Jeff and I both fed them corn, touched them, took pictures of them. It was an experience of a lifetime! Mom...We bought a baby elephant and we're having it shipped home. Please make sure to have a cage waiting for it! I finally had my childhood dream come true!! (ha!!)

So, after the elephants (WOW), we headed to one last ruin before catching the 4pm train to Lop Buri where we are now. Our travel agent told us that this is a great place to visit that not many tourists come to. It was another hour train ride, and upon arrival, we went to a street vendor and each had ramen soup. It was DELICIOUS!!!!

The reason we were told to come here was because there are monkeys here. We kept looking and looking, but didn't see any. Finally, Jeff said, "hey, there might be one off in the distance on the fence over there." Then all of a sudden, we looked up, and saw them EVERYWHERE on the building above us, on the telephone wires, on the light posts. Live monkeys everywhere! We headed toward the ruins here in this town, and there were literally thousands of monkeys on the grounds. We purchased some sunflower seeds, as that is what the monkeys like, and we learned that we could hand feed them. These monkeys come up to you and hold your hand and eat them right out of your palm. It really was incredible. Old monkeys, baby monkeys, moms, dads....I can't wait to add pictures so we can show you how incredible it was!!

So, that brings us to now! I think Jeff and I might go grab another bite to eat and head to the train station. We have a 10pm train to catch. It's an overnight train and in the morning we'll arrive in Chiang Mai- a city in the north of Thailand! We're looking forward to this part of our trip!

Keep posted, and we'll soon post pictures of day 3!

Love,
Nina (and Jeff)

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