Blogs from Bangkok, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 18

Happy Birthday to me.......to be honest after the hectic day we had yesterday I had given zero thought to the fact that it is my birthday today and had Todd not reminded me first thing this morning I would have forgotten completely! But here it is, another year older, but we had such a cool time I managed not to dwell on my decrepit aged state one bit the whole day :) Ok, so continuing on from where I left off this morning......we managed to get Kalyb out of the bathroom and then also discovered that the reason we couldn't get hot water in the second bathroom's shower was because the cold tap is the hot tap and vice versa......go figure because in the ensuite the hot is hot and the cold is cold, so the ... read more

Ah Bangkok. Despite the seedy reputation, it’s still one of my favorite cities! To be honest, we pretty much stay in the one square mile around the infamous Khao San Rd, legendary in the backpacker circuit and made famous in the movie The Beach. Within a few hours of arriving, we’d visited our dentist of ten years and done a bit of necessary shopping. We also got haircuts the next day at a fraction of the cost back home, and it even included a head and neck massage - bonus! The only time we actually leave the Khao San Road area is to visit Mission Hospital, the height of efficiency. We ended up getting a slew of routine check-ups done in five hours at the hospital, something that would have taken about five months in the ... read more

Arrived in Bangkok this morning, early. They got us up at six'ish and the train got in Bangkok central Station at 7:10. Took my time to hike ~ an hour to the Dutch embassy and got some breakfast at diverse stands and a bakery. At first, I found d the sewery smell a bit overwhelming, but I got used to it. Made some pictures. Even saw a crocodile or lizard swimming in one of the cana.. Make that open sewers. Dutch embassy was not too helpful, due to the fact that the passport was not really 'lost'. I had to take my own council. Nata, by this time, had already offered to send it to me today, so I decided to try to get a train ticket to kanchanaburi without it. The railway is not connected ... read more

I write this missive standing at the counter at the Bangkok Airport aka, Don Mueang Regional Airport on our way to Chang Mai, a port of call north of Bangkok. Let me begin catching up from last night before I start on today. As you may recall we, that is Rick, Richard and myself, planned on dinner and a cruise on the river on the White Orchard. I took little nap before the cruise so I would be well rested for the evening. At the appointed hour, 7:50PM, the trio met at the cruise desk and were escorted the short walk outside the hotel to the boarding pier. There we met about 250 fellow cruise dinners, all pushing and shoving as is the norm when people come together to have fun. It looks like Asians have ... read more

One really gets a sense of how big the world is when you sit on a plane for 14 hours, traveling at 425 miles an hour, aloft at 35,000 feet only to learn you are still not at your final destination. Such was the case when we left LAX airport at midnight Friday November 3. Flying west, we crossed the international dateline so we got to relive Friday all over again. Believe me it was not a day I wanted to relive. We left Toledo for the drive to Detroit, the plan was to depart at noon or so, but one of our party was 30 minutes late. He forgot his shaving kit, so he returned home to get it, after traveling half way from his house to mine! Glad to know he will be well ... read more