Part-time Ramblers

Bill and Dorothy

Part-time Ramblers

We are starting up a blog so we can give friends and family updates on our upcoming trip to Thailand.



Asia » Thailand March 26th 2011

I have to confess we forgot to bring the fraction packet to Thailand,but I am reading a different book genre (Arabian Nights) And Im so close to finishing it!!!I only have to stories left!! -Anna ... read more

Asia » Thailand March 26th 2011

This is it! Though undeserving and not having made enough merit, I have reached Nirvana. I love this place. Arriving at our hotel in chiangmai after sunset with lanterns all aglow in the banyan tree and the hostess so beautifully dressed in silk and dainty sequined shoes was enchanting. We awake to incredible bird song and the hum of cicadas. A few dozen mosquito bites seems a small price to pay. Thais in the South warned us not to go to chiangmai saying, "It is very cold there - winter". I don't know if they were joking with us or serious because it is probably about 80 degrees :) There is so much to see and do here I wish we had 3 more weeks instead of 3 more days. we are really looking forward to ... read more

Asia » Thailand March 25th 2011

Hi all, We've been too busy to blog. Khao Lak was pure pristine beach paradise. 3 days and it was still sad to leave. Down to Phuket, busy and crowded, ah paradise lost, but we had a great afternoon body-surfing in perfect waves then a truly awesom tour of pha ang bay -- limestone cliffs, rafting through caves, monkeys, etc. We just flew up to Chiang Mai for our last 3 days. A couple of earthquakes struck up here but very little damage and all is well. Bill... read more

Asia » Thailand March 23rd 2011

Hi family and friends, We took a speedboat ride out to the andaman islands today and went snorkeling. Our fellow passengers were from Germany, Sweden, and Japan. Very international crowd. I swam for a bit with a hornbill? turtle and saw a couple of moray eels poking out of their nasty holes. Beautiful yellow and blue finned schools of fish swirling all about us. we didn't spend the night on the island, but they have tents set up so you can camp. I guess a lot of divers do and go out on multiple day dives. Reportedly one of the top diving sites in the world. still raining - always raining. I have been continuosly damp now since we got off the plane in singapore. I expect to start sprouting moss and little ferns anytime. Due ... read more

Asia March 22nd 2011

Well folks we've now arrived at Khao Lak and I no longer have to rid my sheets of scorpians, however I do have to shake off my pillow for little purple orchids that the house keeper put there.As soon as we reached civilization I spotted a small plastic bottle labeled FOAM BATH I happily made use of the object and dove in to my much desserved bubble bath!!!All I could say was HALALUYA,no more leeches,mosquitos,scorpians,or spiders just relaxation!Now we've just finished swimming in the infinity pool,and to top it all off dad brought home some tasty belgin chocolates carved like shells!In the end mom was the only one who regretted leaving the jungle.Me and dad happily said good bye to the jungle and warmly welcomed the good life. - Anna... read more

Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Khao Yai NP March 20th 2011

Oh my God! That is a much overused expression among young people today, but is perfect to describe our experiences in Khao Sok national park. We are staying in a tree house deep in the jungle. We awake to the sound of mated pairs of gibbons singing duets to one another to mark their territory. Their voices carry a great distance so we haven,t actually spotted them yet. I am going on a night safari, so remain hopeful. Torrential downpours every day, but usually not lasting for more than an hour or two. I wonder if like the Eskimos, Thai have many words for rain. Certainly "rain" does not begin to describe what we are witnessing. Because of the rain, leeches which normally hide in wet leaf litter, are everywhere on the trails. They are more ... read more

Asia March 20th 2011

Sawadee krap, We went to a great night market on Bophut Beach. Fantastic food, good music, and a guy shaking mojitos with an elaborate martial-arts inspired dance. Anna Grace bought Aladdin-style baggy pants and afterwards practiced cartwheels on the beach saying "I'm Aladdin, I'm Aladdin." The next day we took a ferry to the mainland and drove 3 hours into the jungle of Khao Sok where we immediately embarked on an elephant trek. We waded through rivers through rubber and palm trees for about an hour until we arrived at a waterfall and spring where we went swimming. As we were swimming the heavens opened up and a deluge began. Dorothy dawned a rain poncho but Anna Grace and I rode back on the elephant's heads in our bathing suits amid thunder and lightning. Epic. We ... read more

Asia » Thailand March 18th 2011

Well it is bizarre to be on holiday sipping sweet drinks with orchids draped over the rims while southeast asia is preparing for a NUCLEAR MELTDOWN. We are like innocent babes over here with no access to tv news or radio, but we do sometimes see an english speaking newspaper in hotel lobbies. Our flight home still has us going thru Tokyo, so we are trying to re-book. The weather here has been freakishly cold (for Thais anyway, who don't know what cold is). we are the only ones sitting out by the pool or walking along the beach. our waitress did not want to serve us at the beach side cafe because it was so stormy. We saw a camp of sea gypsies today with their brightly painted boats and fishing nets spread out. For ... read more

Asia » Thailand March 17th 2011

Sawadeeka Everbody (Hello in Thai) Today was spent relaxing at the hotel,you know, the basic knocking coconuts out of trees,sippin mango smoothies,and hosting hermit crab races.We went to town to get some lunch,while we were busy licking up the last of the mango sticky rice we were accompanied by constant rain.Im still soaking!After that we took a little detour to massage shop me and mom got manicures well dad got a body oil massage.So far life a been treating us well. -Anna ... read more

Asia » Thailand March 15th 2011

Hi All! Bangok is a wild place with street vendors lining every avenue so that you can barely pass on the sidewalk. Baskets of dried squid. A man with a machete slicing into a mountain of pineapples unloaded at the curb. Skinny cats and dogs scrounging for fallen tidbits. A tuk tuk driver took us all around at dizZying speed. Better than any thrill ride I ever went on at disneyland. The reclining Buddha is so awesomely huge it did make me want to drop to my knees. Monsoon season is supposedly over but it could not pOssibly have rained harder. We had dinner aT an open air restaurant right on the river covered by a large tarP. The lightening flashes and thunder provided the most dramatic dinner show ever! The live band's equipment blew up/shorted. ... read more




Tot: 0.153s; Tpl: 0.005s; cc: 5; qc: 84; dbt: 0.0776s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb