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Published: November 26th 2005
Bangkok Cafe
Our Thai friends and us at a Bangkok Cafe. We arrived in the Bangkok airport on Friday morning and tediously cleared customs. Waiting outside Tim found his friend from Class 53 of the US NAVY basic SEAL training who went on to become an Admiral in the Thai navy. Mr. Thumchira and his neice Nan piled us into their truck and off we went on our day of adventure.
Our first stop was our hotel, The Gold Orchid. After freshing up, we crammed back into the truck and rode to the King's Palace. This beautifully decorated area consists of a series of buildings with their walls tiled in millions of tiny gold/mirror tiles. Inside tall walls stood the temple of Wat Phra Kaeo, or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It was mind-blowing. Unfortunatly, no pictures were allowed of the inside.
After traversing through a busy market place with a million new smells and sights, we boarded a long river boat on the Chao Phraya River and set off through a series of canals. Homes bordered the canal tightly and their inhabitants use the waterways as we would a road. Small children waved and laundry blew in the breeze.
An hour and a half later, after
Canal Trip
Us and Nan on the canals. visiting Wat Arun, or the Temple of Dawn (this is where, as legend goes, a bone-chip of Buddha lies), we sat down to experience a very interesting dinner in the private lounge of Thai Navy officers. Our guides, Mr. Thumchira and Nan, were very helpful in ordering foods they thought we should try. The new tastes were... diverse and at times, very spicy.
The car ride back to the hotel was long and although we (Malia, Rebecca, and Krista) tried to stay awake, we fell asleep at least three times. Bed felt very very good.
This morning, we will eat breakfast then Mr. Thumchira courteously agreed to give us a ride to the airport to catch our flight to Kathmandu. We'll hopefully find another computer there. Wish we had more time in Bangkok!
With Love...
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ChrisGeorgeandMom
non-member comment
from the peachtree state
We are sitting here in the middle of nowhere Georgia reading about your adventures so far. Everyone looks great and we look forward to reading more dispatches. Mom especially is relieved to know you made it okay. How is Tim's head cold?