Another picture

here's another picture from the King's Palace.

Our last day in Thailand

On our last day in Thailand, we got a one hour foot massage with reflexology/pressure points for $8. The person giving Mark his massage looked at his feet twice and jokingly said she might have to charge him extra.
In Thailand, they really know how to relax! I think we could get used to this...

We also went to a restaurant that had a Thai "honkey tonk" band. The food was amazing and the music was incredible. I had not seen many of the instruments that they used and would like to find out more about them. I did my best to ignore the fact that there were a herd of black cats running through the eating place...

In front of our hotel

This is the shrine in front of our hotel. Thailand is a predominantly Budhist nation and there are shrines in the streets and in the middle of shopping areas.

Various forms of Transportation

 

Today I visited a school called The City School, which has an amazing approach to learning. They follow the Reggio Emilia approach to learning, which emphasizes building relationships and gives students the opportunity to guide their own learning collaboratively. On the way back, we could not find a cab, but there were motorcycles for us to take. It was a bit frightening and I don't know if I would advocate this form of transportation for the weak at heart. I was terrified as he zoomed through traffic and up the side of a driveway at one point! Anyway, we made it to our destination...

Lumphini Park

 

 

 

 

This morning, we went walking at Lumphini Park, a park near the hotel we are staying at. It's in the middle of Bangkok. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but they have an outdoor gym (that's the first I've heard of that!). We wanted the kids to see that there is a playground here. They also have groups of people exercising together.

 

 

My pictures today are not going to be as exciting as yesterday's pics. Today we went to a school - the Pataya British School which was just amazing. Unfortunately, the kids were out on holiday, so I toured it, got copies of the curriculum, and spoke with the director.
Then we looked at some different apartments. This is a view from the roof of one of the places which has an amazing pool looking over all of Bangkok.
We finished up our day meeting with Mark's colleague at an amazing restaraunt that was set up like a traditional Thai house. They served Indian food on one side, Thai on the other, and had a spa in the middle. Spa treatments are a big deal here - much more important than in the American culture.

Evening Boat Cruise

 

 

 

 

We went on an evening boat cruise tonight and had a Thai dance performance. I enjoyed it, but the jet lag started to kick in and I felt like I was going to fall asleep at the table! Fortunately, as I began to "head bob", we pulled in at the pier. This was a great day! We saw a lot of the city and learned some lessons about the culture!

Tuk-Tuk

 

 

Just say no to Tuk-Tuks.

I should have read the guide book more carefully. We decided to get in one of the tuk-tuks and the driver took us around to several temples, but also wanted to take us shopping. We didn't buy anything (although I had to talk Mark out of several suits at a tailors that they dropped us off at) and after wasting an hour (is any time shopping a waste?) we got off of his tuk-tuk and walked around on our own. We did get to see a lot, but felt frustrated later when we realized that we wasted a little bit of our precious time.

It's interesting - it's almost like most of the locals were helping the tuk-tuk driver. One person convinced us it was a special holiday where the tuk-tuk drivers were operating with very low rates. They tried to tell us that the stores that they took us to were tax free - just today! That's where I started feeling weird. He explained to us as he tried to take us to another shop that he gets gas coupons for taking us places.

There's lots to learn about the ways of life in Bangkok!

Boat Trip through Canals

 

 

We went on a boat trip today through some of the city's canals.

Boat Trip

 
 
 
 
Here are some sights from our river boat trip that took us through some of the canals of the city. You can see that we got a glimpse of day-to-day Thai life as well as seeing some sights on the river. I have views of Bangkok (although it is just a part of the city - it's large and spread out) as well as the homes we went by that looked like they were about to fall into the water.

Wat Phra Kaew & Grand Palace

 

 

 

 

We went here today. The pictures do not do it justice - both Mark and I agree that it is the most ornate, beautiful and detailed palace we have ever seen. This place is considered the core of Thai Buddhism and the monarchy. Attached to the temple is a formal royal residence.

Wat Phra Kaew & Grand Palace

 
 
 
 
Here are some more pics from our sightseeing.

Here's a Familiar Face...

 
Yes, even Ronald McDonald is here with a bit of Thai influence! He greets people at the restaurant with his hands folded showing respect.

BTW, I did look at the menu. Although they do serve many of the same burgers that they do in the States, you can also get a shrimp burger there...

Our First Day in Thailand

We just arrived in Thailand a few hours ago. We made a mad dash to Chatuchak Weekend Market and wandered around there. These pictures are from there. You can buy anything there - it has over 15,000 stalls and they sell anything from livestock to electronics. We had great Pad Thai and melon juice.

We went through the shopping center near our hotel. It's amazing! All high-end brands.

Our new cure for jet lag - a massage! We had a "jet lag" massage and are feeling relaxed and hope that it helps us sleep soon.