Thailand

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Hello Shake-A-Leg! Hello ECC kids! Hello Project Bridge! Hello Skyline! ...and everyone else who reads this blog! We have begun our travels through the continent of Asia. We are currently in Thailand, which has 62 million people. The people in Thailand are called Thais and they speak Thai. They have a different alphabet than the one we use for English. We have been learning to say a few words in Thai so we can speak with the people and find our way around the country. Here are a few of the new words we've learned (they are written how they sound, but not how they are actually spelled!):

Thank you: khop kun ka (if you are a girl), khop kun kop (if you are a boy)
Hello: Sa-wat-dee ka
Water: Nam
Yes: Chai
How much? Tow rai

Almost all Thais practice Buddhism as their religion. Many boy and men Thais become monks for at least a few months of their life to show their devotion to their religion and to bring good fortune to their family. Instead of churches or temples, there are many Wats found around Thailand. Buddhists go to Wats to meditate (their form of praying) and consult monks, their holy men, to decide upon the most auspicious (lucky) dates for important events.

The biggest city in Thailand, and the capital of the country, is Bangkok, which has 6 million people. It is like our Washington D.C. The city is very large and very crowded. There are lots of different ways to get around the city. Most people use public transportation instead of driving their own car as we do in the United States. In addition to regular taxis, they have tuk-tuks which can only fit two people. Also, they have many rivers and canals, so many people take water taxis (boats) instead of buses.

We spent the first few days of our trip in Bangkok, expoloring the city and visiting important sites such as the Wat of the Emerald Buddha, the Grand Palace, the Chatuchak weekend market and the Mae Nam Chao Phraya (the biggest river in Bangkok). Then we took a train from Bangkok to the north of Thailand to a place called Chiang Mai. The train ride took 14 hours, but we rode it overnight, so we got to sleep for most of the ride.

The northern part of Thailand is very mountainous and has dense jungles. On our first day in the north we visited a national park where the jungle is protected because in many parts of northern Thailand it is being destroyed by people cutting the trees down to use for wood or to clear space to plant rice. The national park had the highest peak in all of Thailand, called Doi Inthanon, which is 2595 meters high.

Today we went to the Elephant Conservation Center. Elephants are indigenous to Thailand and the Thais used to use them as laborers for logging. Now the Conservation center is rescuing the elephants from having to work and are using them to educate people about their importance. They are also trying to breed them because elephants are now endangered in Thailand. We got to watch the elephants bathing and got to touch them too. Their skin felt very rough and they liked to play tug-of-war with their trunks.

That is all from Thailand. We will write again when we get to our next country. If you have questions about our travels or what we are seeing you can write us a comment!

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Photos

Wat Pho
A statue in front of one of the Wats in Bangkok. A Wat is like a church.

Tuk-tuk
This is a Thai taxi, one of their many forms of transportation!

Matt with a Thai boy
This boy was playing soccer with his friends after school. (He's earning all his positive attitude points).

Waterfall
This waterfall was in the national park that we visited.

Elephants bathing
At the conservation center they bathe the elephants three times a day. It is good for their skin. There are two types of elephants: Asian and African. The ones in Thailand are Asian elephants. The Asian elephants are smaller and have smaller ears.

Buddhist Monks
Two young monks (male Buddhists spend a few months of their life as monks, studying their religion). Some are monks for life. They all wear orange robes like the ones in this picture.

Environmental Signs
Thai people are trying to protect the environment as well....just like us! They have posted signs in downtown Bangkok to educate people about recycling and global warming.

A water taxi
We rode down a canal on one of these boats to get from one side of the city to the other.

A Dragon Fruit
They have many fruits and other foods that we don't have in the United States. This one is called a Dragon Fruit and tastes sort of like a kiwi. It is delicious.

Thai food
Their food is delicious and very spicy. A lot of food is sold from stalls on the side of the street rather than just in restaurants. Food is very cheap here. We usually pay 35 baht (1 US dollar) for an entire dinner.

Rice Paddie
This is what rice looks like when it is being grown. Thais eat rice every day. It is a staple of their diet.

Elephant mom with her baby
Baby elephants are born at the conservation center. They are trained to perform in a show which educates people about elephants. This mother elephant will help to teach the baby elephant.

Comments

[Andrew]

money
What does the money (baht) look like? Could you take a picture of it for us?

[Mr Shake A Leg]

Andrew
When we get back to Thailand we will try to take a picture of the Baht for you to see. Thank you for all your comments!