Sa-wat-dee ka! ("Hello!" in Thai)


I had an amazing time in Thailand! Delicious and cheap Thai food, inexpensive shopping, and

I learned two very useful Thai phrases:
"Sa-wat-dee ka" = Hello!
"Khop khun ka" = Thank you!
Here are flashbacks and highlights from the trip...
* CHIANG MAI (4 days)



Chiang Mai was my favorite city. I liked how it was a big city with a small-town feel, and people were friendly. There were charming cafes, restaurants, bars, used bookstores, and wats (temples) throughout the streets. The weather was hot during the day, but it cooled down in the evenings. The first 3 days we stayed at a mid-range hotel, Montri Hotel, just inside the Old City gates. The 4th day, we splurged and stayed at D2, a very trendy and modern hotel that had just opened.
~ Highlights:

-A 2-hour Thai massage at Oasis Spa - so nice...
-Sunday Street Market in Old City - We bought some nice decorations for our new home.
-Discovering a noodle dish called khao soi (chicken with soup noodles and noodle crisps in curry soup) at Si Phen Restaurant. A Chiang Mai specialty! Yum!
-Thai Boxing (Muay Thai) - I usually hate


* SUKHOTHAI (1 day, via a comfortable 3-hour bus ride from Chiang Mai)

~ Highlights:
-Biking around Sukhothai Historical Park was one of my favorite experiences. So fun!! We rented bikes and spent 5 hours leisurely biking around the park from one historical site to the next. The sites were simply amazing to see upclose. Even though the wats (temples) and Buddha statues were in ruins, they were breathtaking, and it was easy to see how beautiful and grand they once were. I highly recommend going to see this if you have the chance. Pictures don't do it justice, but here are a few anyway...






* PHITSANULOK (1 day, via a 1-hour bus ride from Sukhothai)
Basically a stopover. We ate dinner on a floating restaurant and strolled through a street food market. The next morning, we flew to Bangkok, where Larry would stay the rest of the week to work, and Julie and I would continue onto Ayuthaya.
* AYUTHAYA (1 day, via a 1-hour train ride from Bangkok)

~ Highlights:
-Ayuthaya Historical Park, another World Heritage site, where the wats were scattered throughout the city. Wat Chai Watthanaram, whose architecture was said to be similar to that of Angkor Wat, was breathtaking! Another impressing ruin was Chedi of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, with its three identical chedis (spires).




-Chillin' at a local bar restaurant while listening to a live band perform Thai songs and covers of American songs by Coldplay and Maroon 5.
* BANGKOK (3 days, via 1 hour train from Ayuthaya)

~ Highlights:
-The Grand Palace - Very grande and beautiful, with many ornate decorations and statues adorning the exterior walls of the wats and buildings.


-Suan Lum Night Market - Located near from our hotel. I bought a peasant skirt, capri cargo pants, and a pair of sandals there for a nice, low price.

-Bars/Clubs - RCA (Royal City Avenue) is a stretch of bar/clubs with tables and seats spilling out onto the street. Many of the clubs played great hip hop music (which I love), but the problem was there were NO dancefloors, and we wanted to dance! Instead, there were tables (without chairs) everywhere and people stood around drinking and only a few people danced in the space between tables. After several club-hops (all overcrowded, none with dancefloors), we ended up at a club with a local Thai band doing an awesome rendition of Linkin Park.
*SIDE STORY: During our trip, many locals mistook me for being Thai. Many locals spoke to me in Thai and were surprised when I told them I wasn't Thai. The real kicker was when I was mistaken for being a Thai prostitute... two nights in a row in Bangkok!! The first night, a hotel staff stopped me, Julie, and her friend Thomas (who's Caucasian) as we were walking back into our hotel, and spoke to me in Thai. Apparently they took down the ID's of "working girls" who are brought into the hotel, so he probably just asked for my ID. Thinking he wanted proof of being hotel guests, I showed him my room card key. When he saw the card key, he apologized that he didn't know I was a guest. Um, if not a guest, what did he think I was!? The next night when we strolled into the hotel, I was next to Larry. A hotel staff stopped us and spoke to Larry in English, something about ID's. He then turned and spoke to me in Thai. I didn't say anything, expecting him to translate in English... but he didn't. When Larry said, "She doesn't speak Thai", the guy gave me a confused look. Larry then said to him, "She's my wife!". At that point, the guy started apologizing profusely to me and later told me that he thought I looked Thai. What, all Thai girls are hookers??! I didn't think I was dressed like I could be mistaken for one... hell, I was wearing a long skirt and flip-flops! I was definitely NOT hoochied up or anything! Maybe because we stayed in a business hotel and they saw working girls being brought in a lot. I'm not taking it personal, but just shocked at being mistaken as a working girl twice ,and found it disturbing that in Bangkok, when someone sees a young Asian woman (who they think looks vaguely Thai) walking with a guy, they automatically assume that she's a hooker. And the sad thing is that in many cases, that's probably true.
Anyways, I still had a blast in Thailand, and I can't wait to go back again! :)
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