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Published: December 23rd 2008
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I am still having a wonderful time. Just had a fantastic dinner at a seaside restaurant... would be like a top restaurant in the states, and my whole dinner cost about $12 including a beer, soda and two en trees! The seafood is so fresh you can pick out which fish you'd like.... I had a spicy thai salad of prawns, lemongrass and mint... and shared a bowl of spicy tom yum with coconut milk and mixed seafood with Toon, our trip leader! It was great! One group member, a 40 yr old UK guy named Stephen, picked out his fish and gave us all a bite. It was showered in garlic and peppers and was possibly the best fish I've ever had. It came out "Mexico style"... the whole fish
Earlier today was a "free day"... four of us went to a seafood lunch (PS. I ordered crab and missed Tim miserably as there was no one there to open the crab for me!) and decided to head off on a longtail boat to Railay, a "must see" beach in the Lonely Planet guide... We hopped on a boat (like $5 round trip) and took the 15 minute ride
Thailand One
We climbed up Wat Arun.. then took a ferry across the river behind me to the Grand Palace (Bangkok) on the longtail boat to the beach. It was beautiful. I noshed on a Pineapple Fritter (deep fried sweet pineapple) and coconut ice cream. This is b/c I hardly ate any crab at lunch as it was so hard to eat!! Penny and I enjoyed watching the Gibbon monkeys jumping on the trees around us. Yup, monkeys, ocean, gorgeous limestone towers everywhere, jungle, a rock style swimming pool... It was so picture perfect! The colors here are so vibrant and the landscape is everything I hoped it would be! Such a refreshing change from the drab miserable weather of winter in Nashville!!! The trees are such a luscious shade of green, healthy, fresh and the water is very blue (but not like Caribbean blue!) and the sky is clear. Oh, and the weather is seriously the most comfortable weather imaginable..Never too hot or two cold... (sigh) have I mentioned how fresh and gorgeous the fruit is here?? Mangos are pineapple are nothing like the sour crap we get in Nashville, LOL!! I'm also getting a little more adventurous with the food I try b/c so far I haven't gotten anything more than mild stomach cramps (last night).
I'm
Afternoon at Railey
Spent a lovely 4 or 5 hours here today. What did you do today? so happy to be here and the idea of going back home is sort of tough!! But I'm taking it one day at a time and enjoying my time here very much and trying not to think that in a week and a half I'll be back at the office. Anyway, we're staying at a guesthouse, J. something... the lobby is completely open air and you have to remove your shoes before entering...my room is great.. I have a TV but don't plan on using it at all!!! I haven't once felt scared crime-wise in my hotel rooms or on the overnight train (though I have been using my locks all the time and the cable to tie the luggage down )
I did have to travel for about 16 hours to get here! 13 on an overnight train and then another 3 on two different buses and a van. Felt yucky this morning and was the crankiest I've been this whole time, but my stomach bug passed quickly!!!SO anyway I just wanted to give some perspective-- it's not all fun and games as there is a lot of long travel time too!!
The past few days were
Wat Arun
That's Toon. This is a special style temple, china plates are on the walls... and yes I realize I look dorky in Bangkok, I hung out on Khao San Road one night.. this is like the popular street in New Orleans or Memphis... (ie. lots of young people and bars) The other girls had "buckets" of drinks, but I just had a few beers and walked home. It felt really good to feel confident just walking myself home even though it was at night. There were so many people that I felt very safe. I look so not attractive lately-- no makeup and really boring clothes, so I suppose that helps... So BIZ, it feels incredibly safe here. The only think I am afraid of is spiders and bugs. My tour leader is great though, and is helping make sure I don't have to stay in a bug infested room!! She's nice and sometimes I wonder if I'm a little high maintenance 😉 (doubt that comes a as a surprise to you!)
One neat thing was that two of us headed out with Toon to the big temples in Bangkok-- the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. They were really incredible. We saw the "emerald buddha" and a few royal thrones, but they don't let you take pictures in there (and
Smiling Teacher
don't think I've ever smiled so much as when I met the happy kids! you have to take off your shoes upon entering) I was a little hesitant of this as the sign read "We are not responsible for any lost shoes," but seems that everyone is really respectful here and my shoes were safe.
The day before that I spent the day solo at the famous weekend market in Bangkok. It was the biggest market you've ever seen-- alleys outdoors, a maze of stores that kept me busy for literally 5 hours.... I had lunch at a little cafe and met a nice couple who were just finishing up their 4 month honeymoon!! lucky them! Anyway I bought lots of good little things and once again enjoyed being by myself. It's quite empowering lately, not to have to rely on any one and getting to do exactly what I want, when I want. I left the market, hopped in a cab, and then joined back up with the group for dinner. Perfect 😉
Ok, well even though that I'm not especially excited to come back to Nashville, I am very excited to come home and see you guys! You know who you are 😉 Love you and hope you have a
Merry Christmas. We're spending Christmas on a Muslim island, Ko Yao Noi... it's the island with the most potential for a buggy room, LOL... we're staying in bamboo huts.
Apparently, in Australia people traditionally get really drunk on Christmas day and have a big BBQ party, so the group is really hoping that we can escape the non-alcoholic Muslim territory and have a good time. Hope so!! Love and kisses!
PS. Haha these photos are mostly all from different days and I am wearing the exact same thing! Opps! I have been sending stuff to laundry and cleaning stuff in my room...but guess I need to switch up the clothes a bit for my next photo blog.
Love,
Chelle
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susana
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Yo quiero ir
Yo he escrito comentarios pero no los veo. Espero los hayas recibido. Your trip looks awsome!!!!Please keep sharing it!!! Gracias