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Published: August 22nd 2004
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Grand Palace Guardian
This is one example of elaborate tile craftmanship. Sawadee Krap/Ka!
The Huddleston family recently visited Japan. It was a lot of fun, but we decided that we needed a vacation afterwards. So we went to Thailand! I have a friend from high school who lives in Bangkok so April and I were able to stay at her family’s VIP guest penthouse (no really, that was the name of the floor). Other floors had a gym, massage parlor, travel agency, and a foreign luxury car dealership. The building was all family owned and operated, so we got the red carpet treatment.
Bangkok was definitely an experience. We couldn’t believe how different it was from Japan, while it was only a few hours away. There are definite, obvious social classes in Thailand. On the streets, there were many poor and homeless people who were selling anything they could find to sell. All over the streets were stands with fruit, clothes, pirated dvd’s and cd’s, lottery tickets, and religious figures and trinkets. Being a foreigner there attracted all kinds of attention. One of many examples was the time we crossed the street from the Grand Palace. About 30 people came rushing toward us trying to sell goods, food, or services. They
Spencer and the Laides
Yes it is true, Spencer has a way with the ladies! wanted to know where we were from, where we were going, and how much would we pay them to show us around the city. If for some reason we did not need a tour around the city they continued to ask and follow us for several minutes until they found another target. This is also true for the taxi and tuk tuk drivers. Generally, there are not prices listed for transportation so you have to bargain. This is true for everything on the streets. When the Thai merchants see foreigners they ask for double the price that the locals pay. Once April was bargaining with a woman who began to cry and beg when she was not satisfied with April’s offer. Finally, she sorrowfully agreed to April’s price. As we were leaving, remarkably, her tears disappeared and a big grin covered her face as she exclaimed, “Thank you, bye bye!!!”
In Thailand, the king and queen are very important to the people. Everywhere you turn you see pictures of the royal family, even on the street vendor’s carts and the taxi cab’s dashboards. One afternoon when we were exhausted from walking around the city all day long, we decided
The Queen's Birthday
We had the privilege of being in Thailand on the Queens Birthday which is also Mothers Day. This is a picture of my friend's father telling his mother he loves her. to catch a movie. After the movie previews, music began playing and everyone instantly stood. On the screen it said, “Please stand and pay homage to The Royal Highness his Majesty the King.” I immediately placed my right hand over my heart and began paying homage until I noticed I was the only one paying homage in this way. Discreetly, I removed my hand and looked at April who was trying to contain her laughter. On the screen was a short video of the king’s life and good deeds.
We spent a couple of days in a tropical paradise called Krabi. To get there, we had to take an overnight bus, motorcycle taxis, tuk tuks, and a boat. The entire journey took about 15 hours, but it was well worth it. Our island was very secluded with only about 100 people staying in the island bungalows. Once we woke up at about 8am to look for shells and we were the only people on the beach. Also on the beach, we got a one hour Thai massage for about $8. This is actually a little expensive. A good dinner costs around $3, our overnight bus was only $13, and
It's Raining . . . It's Pouring
Here is a picture of Mo and Ake at Boy's birthday party taking a break from the rain. a night of accommodation was $12. But even though it was so cheap, we still managed to spend all of our money.
After extending our trip from 4 days to 9 days, we finally had to come home. Now we are getting back into the daily Japanese routine and we’ll keep you posted…keep checking!
“Stay classy, America!”
April & Spencer
* If you want to check out the rest of our Thailand pictures then please click this link. If it is not a hyperlink then please cut and paste this link into your browser and then click on "View Photos."
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=7ujdxmnd.a4fnoo41&x=0&y=-8m89ul
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anonymous
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Kansai Gaidai
Hey, I ran across your journal, and I\\\'m also studying at Kansai Gaidai this fall. I have one at http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Alvin/ I am leaving for Japan tomorrow from Dallas.