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.