Thailand, Getting to Know You

There is so much to tell about Thailand that I am going to have to break it into smaller parts. Please have some patience with me as there is tons of information and over 1000 photos to go through. I'm working on it!

The beginning:

The first day in Bangkok, we went to the flower market, the fish market, and we rode the ferry across the river to Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. Taking a boat through the locks (like the Panama Canal), we went to the beautiful home of Jim and her husband. She showed us how to make red curry. In the afternoon, we went to see the Royal Barges Museum. Almost everyone attended a dinner theater with a traditional puppet show.

Walking through Chinatown was fascinating. They had black chicken (the meat is literally black). We toured the Jim Thompson house. Mr. Thompson was a British man who brought the silk trade to Thailand. He suddenly disappeared in 1964, just walked into the jungle and never came out. We rode the Sky Train back to our hotel. Later that night we went to the famous Pot Pong night market.

Driving to Kanchiburi, we stopped at a salt farm and a sugar factory. We were impressed with the teakwood carvings. One of my favorite parts of the trip, the Floating Market at Damnern Saduak. Walked across the Bridge on the River Kwai. Learned about the horrors of the POWs there at the war museum and the cemetery. We followed the train tressle to a large cave with a temple to Buddha. We stopped along the road to see how tapioca grows. That night we stayed in the remote resort, Yoko, lovely and isolated.

The next morning, rode the local train and then we hiked to Hellfire Pass, carved by the POWs there. Later rode a boat along the River Kwai, spotting brilliant turquoise kingfishers and lapwings. The afternoon was spent at a local school, Baanpuongka, with children 6-12 years old. They sang songs for us and performed traditional dances. We were treated to local foods and taught how to make little fish by folding bamboo leaves. Then we went to see a lovely waterfall. After dinner, were taught how to make floating kra tong. It rained hard in the night.