Bangkok and Phuket

We've returned to Nagoya after an amazing trip to Thailand. This post will likely be long, but I'm also writing it for myself so I won't forget some of the details of our trip. So here goes...

We began our trip in Bangkok. We booked a hotel in the heart of Chinatown and true to the reviews I had read, the hotel was a quiet refuge amidst an overwhelmingly busy neighborhood. Chinatown definitely provided a sensory overload. There were so many strange smells of street food being grilled, exhaust from heavy traffic and occasionally a little sewage stink mixed in. It was a crazy place to be, but there was so much to see and absorb. We had a great time roaming around and taking it all in.

The first night we arrived, we took a tuk-tuk, pictured above, to a Thai restaurant for dinner. Tuk-tuks are everywhere in Thailand. They are typically faster than taxis because the weave in and out of the traffic, which makes for a terrifying ride. 

The next day, we headed to the weekend market, which didn't disappoint. It was very hot and humid, but most of the stalls in the market were sheltered so it wasn't so bad. You could buy almost anything there, quite an eclectic mix. We didn't do a lot of buying, but we did do a lot of looking.

We enjoyed lunch at an outdoor restaurant at the market. The picture above is of the nice lady who made my pad thai. I couldn't get enough of it during our trip.

Soon after, we went to a famous show in Bangkok called, Siam Niramvit. It was the most amazing production I have seen yet. I haven't seen Cirque de Soleil, but it's supposed to be at that level. The show told the story of Bangkok's history and was complete with elephants and an on-stage river with boats. One of the actor's even dove into it. It was way cool.

After a couple of days in Bangkok, we flew to the southern island of Phuket. It was beautiful but quite touristy. We stayed near Kata beach, which is a little calmer than the most popular beach, Patong. Nonetheless, we were vacationing alongside LOTS of other tourists from around the world. Throughout our entire trip, we never met anyone from America. Most of the vacationers were from Italy, the UK or Australia. We were called "Aussies" by almost all of the hagglers we encountered. 

On a side note, if you ever travel to Thailand, be prepared to be harped constantly. As "white people," we were approached repeatedly by cab drivers, store workers, tuk-tuk drivers and people at the airport. Everyone had an incredible deal to offer us. It seems that in Thailand every price is negotiable. In fact, the taxis in Bangkok only recently became metered. Before that, as a passenger, you had to negotiate a price with your taxi driver. Many of the drivers still try this approach unless you insist on them using the meter. It's shady and gets really old really fast.

Back to Phuket...the first evening we were there, Travis discovered we would be able to watch a muay Thai boxing match. I wasn't too thrilled since I hate seeing anyone in pain and can barely stomach UFC fighting on TV, but I agreed. I don't know too much about boxing in America, but I do know the rules are quite different in Thailand. The boxers received points based on how many elbow and knee hits they got. This, of course, made for a very gory fight. We saw lots of blood and even a match between two females and several knockouts. It took a few minutes, but it started to grow on me, and I ended up really enjoying it. I think the reason why I enjoyed it so much was because all the boxers seemed so respectful and had really great sportsmanship. I assume they actually enjoy it. Oh, and we got free t-shirts.

The photograph above was from the craziest match. The boxer you see is 19 and from Australia. We watched his 39 year-old father box right before him.

The next day we we went for an elephant ride. I was a bit concerned because I had heard about the trainers using ear hooks on the elephants, and it sounded a bit depressing. Well, it was a bit depressing, but not because of the ear hooks. Elephants in Thailand are highly revered so the ones we met were well cared for. The sad part was the sights we saw during our ride. Phuket is full of poverty-stricken people, and I don't think I was prepared for how bad it really is. We saw many homes without water or electricity and young children and dogs digging through piles and piles of trash. It was pretty heartbreaking, but it opened my eyes a bit more. I have been so spoiled living in suburbia and Japan. 

After our ride, which provided us with a breathtaking view of Kata, we got to play with the cutest baby elephant! She was so sweet and was trained to give "kisses." It was a wonderful experience to see such an incredible creature up-close.

You might be wondering why I don't have any pictures of this experience. It's not because I made it up. I promise. More on that later.

One of the best parts about traveling to Thailand is--it's cheap! I enjoyed a pedicure for $6. Well, sort of enjoyed. It wasn't exactly spa-quality, but you do usually get what you pay for.

When I decided to get a pedicure, I was just expecting the usual. You know, just ONE color. Well, the pedicurist brought out some nails with all of these designs on them. And, I thought, what the heck, why not? I mean, for $6, can you really turn down any extras, especially when they're already included? So, I picked one thinking she would put a design on only the big toe, which is typical in the U.S. Nope, she proceeded to paint flowers on every single one! Oh my word! It was a bit outrageous, and I felt like I was about 7 years old. Anyway, I'm still wearing it, but it's starting to rub off already. I can't say I'm too sad about it, either. Oh, and excuse my sunburned feet. I never claimed to have cute tootsies.

We spent a couple more days enjoying the beaches. We took a day trip to Phi Phi Island, which is wear the movie starring Leonardo Dicaprio, The Beach, was filmed. I wouldn't recommend watching it unless you just want to fast forward to the beach scenes. We also went to Monkey Beach, which is exactly what it sounds like. It was a small beach filled with little monkeys. We visited Khai Island, which was my favorite of all. The water was crystal clear and the most beautiful I have seen. We did a little bit of snorkeling, and Travis saw a few sharks. I don't think they were huge, but it sounds like they were 4-5 feet long. That probably means about 1-2 feet? :)

After Phuket, we went back to Bangkok. On the way to our hotel from the Bangkok airport, we had an unfortunate camera mishap, which is why I have no beach or elephant pictures to show you. One wrong push of a button cost us all of the pictures on my camera from the first six days. Ouch! 

We spent our last few days shopping and enjoying bustling Bangkok. One morning, we went to the Grand Palace where the following pictures were taken.

One of the most interesting parts about Thailand is the love they have for their king. His image is all over the place-restaurants, shopping malls and streets.

Here is one of the thousands of images we saw.

There are also Buddhist shrines and images everywhere. Here is one near the hotel where we stayed. It seemed a little ironic in front of the Burberry store, but whatever. People were selling items to place on the altar all over the place-flowers, beverages, incense, statues, birds...I was surprised by all of the Buddhist images, too. There was so much gold, and every single taxi we entered was filled with Buddhist regalia.

Traffic in Bangkok is insane.

Lastly, one of the highlights of our time in Bangkok was a dinner cruise on the river. Travis and I celebrated our being together for ten years and Valentine's Day by consuming delicious Thai cuisine while floating down the river on a wooden boat and watching the sun set behind the Grand Palace. Not too shabby if you ask me!

Thanks for reading! Guess you made it through.