Thailand

I know most people don't want to see loads of pictures from other people's vacations, but I figure that you can just close the web page if you get bored. (just make sure you look at the second to last picture before you close it out!) So for those that are sticking it out, here are pictures from our trip to Thailand!! Yes, we just got back from a thoroughly enjoyable vacation in Thailand. We spent 3 days in Bangkok, and then, we went down to a beach resort near Phuket for 3 days. For our first productive day in Bangkok . . . (the real first day in Bangkok was after an overnight flight, so I was totally exhausted and not highly motivated to do the tourist thing. Instead, we spent the day getting massages, taking naps, and eating lots of Thai food!) . . . we saw the Grand Palace and some temples, and yes, once you have seen one temple, you have seen them all. They were very pretty, nonetheless. This picture is in front of one of the buildings at the Grand Palace. It was taken by our fabulous tour guide, the funny Thai man who went by the ancient Thai name of 'Tony' and talked about himself in the third person. We also took a water taxi ride through all of the canals and a river boat dinner cruise. (any excuse to eat more Thai food!) The next day we found ourselves in the middle of Chinatown. Chinatown was about what you would expect . . . fabulously chaotic with stuff anywhere. (If you need to buy an axle for your car, we walked by about 10 shops with millions of them!) And just in case you find yourself wondering if I was the tallest person in the country, I think this picture in the middle of Chinatown should answer your question! After the chaos that is Bangkok, we hopped on a flight down to Phuket for some R&R. (Our life is tough. I know.) We stayed at this beautiful secluded resort right on the beach about an hour north of Phuket. It was wonderful. Jason went diving on the first day, while I stayed behind and took a Thai cooking class! I don't know that I will be able to redo anything that I did that day, but I will probably put Jason through the torture of eating a trial chicken curry at least once. The next day, we became a little adventurous and went out into the jungle. First, we hopped on an elephant who guided us to some beautiful waterfalls. Yes, you heard it right. We rode an elephant. First, it was a camel. Now, an elephant. You are probably thinking the sun has melted our brains over here, but how many opportunities are you going to have to ride an elephant, huh? I must admit that it wasn't the most comfortable ride I have ever been on. We were positioned right on the elephant's shoulders, so every time he took a step, you felt like you were going to fall off. I actually think the driver had the best seat, being on the elephant's head! It was pleasant enough, though, experiencing the beautiful scenic jungle and listening to the guide sing Thai songs for the elephant. After the elephant ride, we hopped on a bamboo raft for a ride down the river. The ride was so peaceful, until the boat driver parked under a tree for a second and pointed up. He was so excited to be able to show us a snake curled up asleep in the tree right above us! I don't do snakes, so it was time for the boat to continue on. To end the day in the jungle, we had a very nice Thai picnic in the middle of nowhere. Once again, anything for more of that Thai food. And yes, we are spoiled. The rest of the time we enjoyed reading on the beach or at our private pool. (did I say we were spoiled?) Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable vacation. Now, I just have to get working on reinventing that curry!