Ayutthaya

After spending far too many consecutive weeks (months?) in the concrete jungle of Bangkok, Sean and I decided to get away from it all for a weekend. Our destination? Ayutthaya - the ancient capital city of Siam (basically Thailand before it was called Thailand - side note - in Thai the country is not actually called Thailand. It's called Krung Thep. Why does it have a different English name? Apparently Japan isn't really called Japan in Japanese either! I find that so strange...).

We had heard that this small city was very beautiful. It's home to many very old temples that exist partially in ruin (since an attack and sacking by the Burmese in 1767) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To make it even better we booked two nights at a resort and spa on the outside of town. It turned out to be perfect! Our big balcony had a jacuzzi and overlooked gorgeous rice paddy fields - definitely a perfect antidote to smog and traffic.



On Saturday morning, after eating breakfast outdoors on our balcony, we took off to explore the city. The first thing we did was rent bicycles. We'd read that it was a great way to see the city and enjoy the fresh air - so $3 later we were not-so-comfortably riding down the road on much-too-small bikes. But we got used to them quickly and had a blast.



Our first temple stop was at Wat Phra Mahathat, a complex at the center of the city that was built in the 14th century. Most of the grounds were blissfully deserted, except for the area that is home to a large tree with a Buddha head embedded into it. This combination of the sacred image and nature is considered very auspicious and thus, this site is very famous.




Afterward, we biked through a nearby park and found a place to stop for lunch. It was extremely hot and we could tell it was just getting hotter so our next adventure was to find a hat for Sean so he didn't burn his newly short-haired head.



We spent the afternoon seeing more temples and just enjoying the quiet city. Sean's favorite spot was Wat Ratburana...you could walk right to the top of the huge chedi and look down into the crypt where a family's treasure was once buried with two of their sons (much of this gold was later stolen and sold on the black market - but we did see some of it in the museum).



In the evening we rented a tuk tuk to show us around at night - many of the temple complexes are illuminated in the dark and we wanted to see the effect. At one point we could see bats flying from the towers and there was lighting striking all around...it was reeeeealy creepy.

The next morning we were booked into the spa for some massage and relaxation before the trip home. After our two hour session (ahhhhh) we took a last minute dip in the pool (anything to prolong our time in this paradise) before packing up and hitting the train station.



At one point I asked Sean if we could move to Ayutthaya - I figured he could commute to Bangkok every day, right?! It's only an hour and a half!!! He wasn't quite so enthused by the idea ;) But either way, we had a great weekend and were glad to get back to nature for just a few days.

Happy Birthday Tui!

Our close friend Tui celebrated her 27th birthday on Sunday, August 24th. We all decided to head out for glow bowling and dinner. Tui was in perfect form...except for the one time when the ball kinda slipped out of her hand and flew in the opposite direction. Angus dominated the scoreboard and his theory of "drinking improves your bowling game" was backed by the strong correlation between my score versus alcohol consumption. I fear I will have to retire from bowling else I develop a drinking problem. Also, it deserves mentioning that Meg beat me in our first game...pre-alcohol, I might add. :)

Aunt Marion departs

After 4 busy but fun-filled weeks, Aunt Marion has departed for home. She is at Bangkok International waiting to board her flight at the moment and has 41 hours of travelling before she touches down in St.John's. For the last week, she was hopping all over Thailand and even managed to make it to Malaysia but I won't get into the details of here trip as I'm sure she is eager to tell everyone herself. I will say that she has some great stories, pictures, and souvenirs. Honestly, I'm quite sure she cleaned out some of the vendors. :) Oh, and her dresses look fantastic! If only she can make it through LAX without someone riffling through her luggage and stealing them...which she is very concerned over after the jewellery theft at LAX in '95. :)

It was a real pleasure having Aunt Marion stay with us and I think she really enjoyed her adventures. Hint, hint to anyone else interested in visiting....

Anyway, I will add one picture, Aunt Marion captaining a river raft (literally, a "raft") near Chiangmai. I hear there were no survivors when the captain suddenly abandoned ship (just kidding).

A Familiar Face

I spent a couple of hours today with an old friend of mine from high school who happened to be passing through Bangkok (ok, "happened to be passing through Bangkok" is a weird thing to say). It was SO great to see a familiar face and catch up with an old friend. One of the strangest things about living here is that you just never, ever run into people you know - not like at home. So it was great to have as much of a "run in" as is possible in this gigantic, crazy city!

It was by sheer luck that I found out she would be here. Thank gawd for Facebook ;) We both kept saying how strange it was to be meeting up after all these years in a faraway country that neither of us had ever expected to be in. But however it happened, we were happy to be catching up. It was really great to hear all about her travels and to tell her about mine. Also, she was able to commiserate with me about some of the annoying things that happen while traveling so far away from home!

In the end I wished she was staying longer - although just having her here was making me even more homesick! And a little nostalgic for those long ago high school days ;)

Anybody else want to drop in for a visit??? We have an extra bedroom! :)

Mother's Day in Thailand

Yesterday, Thailand celebrated Mother's Day which coincides with the Queen's Birthday. What better way to show our appreciation than to tag along with Angus and Oh on a road trip to visit Oh's family. We drove an hour east of Bangkok to where Oh's family lives. It is a quiet fishing village, located next to the ocean and surrounded by amazing mangrove trees. All the homes are built on stilts, the traditional Thai architecture, since flooding is very common. It was great to meet Oh's family who are all extremely friendly. We then drove to a nearby temple - visiting a temple on Mother's Day is a common tradition. It was built on top of the water, beautifully decorated and crowded with people.




After spending a little more time with Oh's family, we departed for Pattaya. For all its hype, Pattaya is overrated. The beach is crowded, you're constantly assaulted by people trying to sell their wares, and there exists an element of sleaze that would make Patpong (Bangkok's famous red light district) blush. Nonetheless, Meg hadn't been there before so we decided to stop by for supper. To celebrate Mother's Day, the main street that runs parallel to the beach was shutdown for a parade.



Finally, it was time for the drive back to Bangkok. On the way, we stopped by a food stand to buy snacks. All we had to do was pull over to the shoulder of the highway. That is one thing I love about Southeast Asia, no matter where you go, it is easy to find fresh fruit.

Sex and the City on Oprah

Second most exciting Sex and the City moment from the past 3 months: today was the Asian premiere of the Oprah show that aired many months ago in N.American (you lucky jerks)with ALL 4 lovely ladies + Mr. Big. So. Exciting. (if you can't guess, the first most exciting moment was the actual movie). If I had known it was going to be on, I would have prepared myself with Cosmos (although, coincidentally, I did have a Cosmo last night on top of the State Tower with Sean and Marion...first one I've had in months...I should have known The Ladies were somewhere nearby). Drink or no drink, it was pretty awesome.

A personal note to Mark, Adam, and Crystal - can't wait for our Christmas movie screening! Many many cosmos and laughs to come!

Rediscovering Tuk Tuks

Since moving to Bangkok, both Sean and I have learned to be weary of the very many ways local scam artists try to trick you out of your money. One of the tried and true methods is for tuk tuks and taxis to charge exorbitant amounts of money for transport. While the taxis have a meter than you can insist upon, there's no real guidelines for tuk tuks...you just have to go by what you think is fair.

Because of all the unfair attempts to part us from our money, usually followed by eye rolling and/or angry Thai muttering when we turn our backs, we've pretty much given up using tuk tuks. They're also really smelly and bad for the environment. Oh and the drivers drive like maniacs. BUT despite all this, I thought I'd better give Marion a try on one. You know, so she could get the real Bangkok experience.

So this is when my rediscovery occurred. We approached a tuk tuk driver and I told him where we were going and asked how much (all in Thai which is bound to result in a little more respect from him). To my surprise he gave what seemed like a fair price, so we hopped aboard and took off for home. Once we arrived he eagerly gave me my change (without me having to hassle him for it) and then happily let Marion take a few pictures. Turns out, not all tuk tuk drivers are mean scammers. I'm sure MOST are, but not all :) So thank you to our happy tuk tuk driver for helping me rediscover the fun of this crazy and unique method of transport!

Here are a couple of the pictures!

Aunt Marion is finally here!

After months of anticipation, Aunt Marion (one of Dad's sisters) finally arrived in Bangkok yesterday evening, having flown in from Hong Kong where she'd been touring for the last four days. Immediately, Meg and I took her out for her first Thai meal at one of the first restaurants (and still one of our favorites) we went to when arriving here. It was delicious - Aunt Mare was not disappointed and took an instant liking to the spicy cuisine. Aunt Mare proceeded to tell us about her luxurious executive class flight from Toronto and the exciting adventures in Hong Kong. Basically, she was one of those "first classers" that Meg and I would glare at from our economy seats during our 16hr flight from Toronto....grrr. :)

This morning, we took Aunt Mare to the heart of tourism in Thailand. After a short boat ride up the Chao Praya river, our first stop was Wat Pho, a temple housing Thailand's largest reclining Buddha (depicting the passing of the Buddha). Here is a shot of Meg and Aunt Mare just inside the main building where the reclining Buddha is located.



Next up, the Grand Palace. This former residence of the monarchy is also known to house the Emerald Buddha. According to local tour guides, it is made completely from a single piece of jade. The grounds of the Grand Palace are quite amazing, with beautiful architecture dating back a couple of hundred years. Dress codes are very strict - no sleeveless shirts, shorts, or sandels.



Finally, with a quick walk through the amulet market, which sells numerous holy talismans, we grabbed a cab back home. We've had some crazy cabbies before and none have ever been bothered by the police but this guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got busted for reckless driving - honestly, there is no other kind of driving in Thailand.