Playing with Tigers

We are safely home and recovering from jet lag.  Hopefully one more good night's sleep and it will be history.

We've had lots of people ask us for more pictures of our experience at the tiger reserve.  I think we are all fascinated by big cats and many of us long to touch them.  I feel really fortunate to have had that chance.  So here is a video of me and a couple of the 2 month old cubs.  You can see there are actually 5 of them and 7 people (Derrick and me, a couple from Germany and a mother, father and daughter plus Nami, the Japanese cub-keeper.)  We played with the cubs for fully 45 minutes, fed them then said our goodbyes.  It was awesome!!

In this second video, we (meaning the guests) were enclosed in a "cage" while the tigers were allowed to play in their pond with the Thai handlers.  You'll see that one of the handlers has a long bamboo pole with several plastic bags attached that make a nice noise.  Watch as the kitties play :-)

Last Day in Bangkok...for now

We got up late this morning - maybe postponing the inevitable for a while.  Time to choose what we will do for our last day in Bangkok.  We thought about going to the Jim Thompson House, but decided not to go there in the end.  We considered one last shopping trip to Siam Paragon or MBK, but rejected that as well.  We ended up going to one last palace museum - the Dusit Palace.  This is a complex of royal residences (no longer used of course) and museums.  Again, there are no pictures allowed inside but I found a few on the internet.  One of the most interesting mini-museums was the Royal Elephant National Museum.  In here we found out all about the royal "white" elephants and what makes them be considered "white" (because they looked grey to us!)  In a nutshell there are seven characteristics that make up a white elephant including eye color, inside their mouth and some of the hair.  Who knew?  Anyway, the white elephants belong to the king and they are highly revered.

Tusks of deceased royal white elephants (taken only after they passed away)

From there we went to the textile museum.  This houses a spectacular collection of Thai silk and cotton and explanations of the different types and regions.  There was also a collection of tools used in silk and cotton making, spinning and weaving.  We thought often of Derrick's mom during this visit.  She would love this - and would probably understand it far better than we did!

The Throne Hall, completed in 1915, was open, but no shorts are allowed and we didn't feel like renting sarongs, so we skipped it, but we did take this picture of the outside...

Since we couldn't get in here, we went back to the mini-museums and checked out one more - the Royal Carriages.  In here were several palanquins (Hey, V, you and I each need one of these!!)

But our favorite was - wait for it...  The Royal Tuk-Tuk!!  Okay, so maybe it's not quite a tuk-tuk, but it sure looks like one!! It's awesome.

We'll have some final thoughts on this marvelous adventure when we get home.  I have a file of "Just Weird Stuff" that I am saving and then we have a 12 hour layover in Seattle, so we are looking into a short adventure there.  So, I'll bug you with a bit more in the next week or two, then settle back into the routine of choir, school, home and work.  For now the adventuring goes onto the back burner, but wanderers are we and our next adventure will be here before ye know it!

Royal Barges and Royal Funeral Carriages

The Thais are certainly artisans.  Today we went to the Royal Barge Museum (the trip alone was a, shall we say, and experience) where 8 of the several dozen royal barges are on display.  Originally, they were used by the Royal Thai Navy for going into battle.  Now they are only taken out on very special royal occasions like the current king's jubilee celebration.  They are really spectacular and our pictures really don't do them justice...

Barge just for the Buddha image that goes with the procession

Seat of the barge

Incredible detail

Just to show the size of the barge

After we left the Barge Museum we headed to the National Museum of Thailand.  There were many very impressive things there NONE of which we were allowed to get pictures of.  However, I did find a picture and several links of the exhibit that is probably the MOST spectacular and that is the Royal Thai Funeral Carriages.  Oh my - these are not to be believed.  They are carriages that are carried through the city (presumably) with the ashed of the member of the royal family member that has died and been cremated.  The ashes are in a HUGE urn on the seat of this GI-NORMOUS golden carriage.  Here's a picture I found of one of them (not the biggest one which is for the king) used at the funeral of the King's sister a few years ago...

A picture from the Princess' funeral

There was more to the day, but this'll do for now... it's time for bed.  Tomorrow is our last day here.  We have a few more things we want to see if we can.  Then it will be time to pack up, add up our stuff for customs and get a few hours of sleep before we head to the airport at 2:30AM.  TTFN.

Buddhas and Street Food

Today was super-uber normal touristy.  We went to see two of the most famous Buddhist wats (temples) here in Bangkok - Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) and Wat Po - Bangkok's first "university" and home of the most famous school of Thai massage in the country.

Wat Arun is home to the largest Reclining Buddha - some 49 meters long

Front side of Reclining Buddha - don't know the blue shirt guy

Back of the 49 meter long reclining Buddha

Bottoms of the feet - made of Mother of Pearl

From there we saw the other Buddha image - the Golden Buddha.  I don't understand why they are so adamant about NOT taking pictures of SOME of the images and so "could care less" about others... So we took pictures.

Golden sitting Buddha

Entrance guarded by giants

Giant guardian - pretty cool looking!

There's actually a boatload more, but I'll spare you for now. 

For some reason the heat and humidity sucked the energy out of me today and we headed back to the hotel about 3.  We used the river taxis (public boats that hold 100 people or so - costs about a $1.50 for both of us to ride.  We got off at the stop that is the end of the Skytrain line, hopped on the Skytrain and took it two stops to our hotel.  That costs about another $1.50 or so.  So for between $3.00 and $3.50 we hopped all around Bangkok.  World travelers, we!! :-)

The best part, though, was finally getting the courage to eat street food.  Tonight was our "street food" dinner night. You have to understand (and I will get some pics) there are food vendors EVERYWHERE selling EVERYTHING you can imagine and some you can't and some you don't want to!  But right near our hotel there is some pretty yummy stuff.  So we first picked up a bag of fresh corn OFF the cob (he cooks it right there, then cuts it off the cob and sells it by the bag).  That cost 10 Baht (30 cents) and there is enough for both of us.  Then Derrick went across the street and found chicken (at least we think that is what it was), sticky rice and hot sauce for 30 Baht (90 cents) and finally what looked (and tasted) like little hot dogs on a skewer for 5 Baht (15 cents).  So do the math and our street dinner cost under $1.50.  Now, we added some cucumber and carrots from the store that we had already and that made it a bit more, but you get the gist.  It was fun and very yummy!

A Casual Stroll with the Lizards of Thailand

Today's adventure started out as a casual stroll to the huge and beautiful Lumpini Park. Up until 1925 it was part of the area only the king and his family had access to.  But in 1925, the king gave it to the city and the people.  Our time there showed that the people use, take care of and really love this space.  There were may lovely buildings where picnics and gatherings could take place.  Exercise equipment and playgrounds are placed in certain areas and there is an Elders Building for older Thais to gather, do Tai Chi and visit (we saw many seniors throughout the park).

There was some elephant shaped topiary:

A few Siamese kittahs (well, Siamese in that they live in Thailand - formerly Siam).  Locally, they are called Mow-mow (don't know how they spell it - I will find out...)

And some pretty buildings like this one - the Chinese-Thailand Friendship Building

But we were not quite prepared for this:

We were strolling near the water when we spotted a VERY large lizard-like reptile in the water.  Whoa - double take - WHAT is that?  Tried to ask a passing Thai that spoke a little English - he didn't know the name in English, but seemed familiar with the creature that we had just seen.  We kept walking.  Got to a place they call the Floating Island.  Oh my gosh - there's another one sunning itself on a tree trunk.  Then two or three more in the water water... WHAT is that? It looks sort of like a Komodo Dragon I saw in a zoo once.  Just not as big.

A local sees our surprise and motions for us to look in another direction because he can see one we haven't noticed.  While Derrick is taking the picture, I try to talk with this nice gentleman - he speaks little English and I speak one word of Thai (Sawadee ka - means hello - I think).  So we use sign language.  He "tells" me they swim, walk in the ground and indicates they can climb trees.  I "ask" him if they bite by using one hand to "bite" my arm.  I am shocked when he says No, they no bite!  What? Some of these guys are HUGE!  The one in this video is pretty small compared to ones we saw later.

I found out tonight from my friend Google that they are called a Water Monitor and ARE related to the Komodo Dragon (which is from Indonesia). We also found out they really don't bother the people - and saw one chowing down on a fish - which is about all they eat.  There are upwards of 400 in Lumpini Park (the attached article says 200.  The ranger told me around 400) and are pretty much harmless to park visitors - but we did notice a definite lack of squirrels...  Nowadays their job is to shock the tourists.  They do their job well. So there you go - another typical day in Bangkok!

Lunch with Jib

We made a new friend today.  First some background.  About 10 years ago, Derrick's cousin, Valerie, sponsored a Thai high school student named Jib for a year.  They became fast friends and Jib returned to the US several times.  She has now graduated from college and teaches yoga here in Bangkok.  Before we left Derrick and Val communicated and we got her email address.  Long story short, we met for lunch today.  What a delightful young woman!!  Her English is perfect and we were able to ask her many questions (and got great answers!).  We went to a restaurant called Faces that has 4 different ethnic areas - Thai, Indian, Chinese and maybe Japanese?  We went to the Thai section, so I am unclear as to what the others were.  It was very fun and we are looking forward to spending Friday with Jib on another excursion to an island in the river not far from here.

Peggy, Jib and Derrick at Faces Restaurant, Bangkok

Statues of Thai kings?  Not sure, but they were cool looking

Replica of ancient Thai house that is part of the restaurant

Siam Niramit

Saturday night we went to Siam Niramit - a big dinner show here in Bangkok.  We got picked up at the hotel by a Siam Niramit van (stopped at a couple of hotels along the way) and taken to the theater.  Dinner was at 6:30, so we had a few minutes to wander around the grounds.  They had shops (of course), several really nice replicas of ancient Thai homes, food tasting, silk making and musical instruments.  This first video is a little "band" that performed on a stage in the middle of the grounds.

We continued on through the grounds and came on this young man.  He was playing a khene (pronounced "can").  It is a big harmonica-like instrument that has a really cool sound.  I keep thinking that Daron Bradford should have one of these.  Maybe the OTC and Tab Choir could come up with a Thai version of El Novio?

The show was at 8pm and was very good.  We had a nice evening.  Torrential rain on the way home (it is, after all, monsoon season!).

The Tiger Temple

I am sure if I died today, I would die happy.  How often do you get a chance - REALLY - to "fulfill a lifelong dream"?  Well, I got it today.  We heard about the Buddhist monks that have a tiger retreat before we left and we determined we HAD to go.  So, with reservations made, Jom and Eye (our LDS taxi drivers) picked us up at our hotel this morning at 8am.  It was about a 3 hour or so drive - 4 if you count the stop for lunch.  We arrived at the Tiger Temple right around noon and walked up to a place where we were immediately able to see tigers.  There were several right in front of us ready to have their pictures taken.  So we were able to get a few right away

After that, we lined up single file to follow a huge 11/2 year old male tiger with several handlers down to the Tiger Canyon (where several well-fed tigers were already working on naps after their breakfast of cooked chicken and cat and dog food).  On the walk down, each visitor is able to walk beside the tiger, put your hand on his back and hold onto the leash.

Once everyone was down in Tiger Canyon, they started taking pictures again.  However, we had an appointment with some babies!  More on that later...

Adventures at the Golden Palace

Well, today was a learning experience.  We decided to head to the #1 tourist attraction - the Golden Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  We took the Skytrain to the pier, then the public water taxi to the dock where we could (ostensibly) walk to the Golden Palace.  The instant we got off the boat, we were accosted by men wanting to set us up for stuff.  It was pretty wild.  Eventually, though, we made it to the palace.

Derrick with one of the many bonsai trees

The temple complex dates from about the late 1700's or so.  

We spent a few hours in and around this area.  It is pretty wild with tuk-tuk drivers, taxi guys, tourists, sidewalk food of everything you can imagine and a lot you can't and cheesy trinkets all in 1000% humidity.  So far, no monsoon rain, though.

On to the next adventure.  

With my new Lion Guardian friend

We're not really sure what these guys are - some kind of bird head guardian with 3 headed snake...

Siam Paragon

Oh my gosh!!  I thought I'd seen a big mall.  No, sorry - there is NOTHING I have EVER seen (mall-wise, here) that even comes close to Siam Paragon.  It is jaw-dropping.  There are six levels, each one with a different theme.  Our favorite floor has to be the one with the car stores - "Oh yeah - let's go to the Siam Paragon and pick up some dragon fruit, some bread, couple of pairs of Jimmy Choos and maybe a Mazurati while we're at it!"

In addition to the car stores (We're not talking Fords, here, we are talking Mazurati, Lamborghini, BMW, Lotus - pictured above right next to a shoe store), there is the hugest (is that a word?) grocery store I have EVER seen bar none (sorry V, this eclipses Wegman's).  

Like all malls, it had a event going on.  The Queen's birthday is the 12th, so the Thai Mother's Day is her birthday.  In conjunction with that, there is an Orchid show at the mall.  Again, absolutely amazing.  Row after row of incredible "air orchids" grown in air, not soil.

Yeah, we'll be going back before we come home - I wonder if they can put a Lamborghini in the cargo hold?

Salt Lake to Bangkok - the Adventure Begins!

We got here in one piece about 1AM Monday morning - having left Salt Lake Saturday morning. That's just weird.  Here's how it all went down...

Our flight was set to leave at 8:30 for Portland - then on to Tokyo and then Bangkok.  Right away the fun started when our Portland flight got canceled and we got put on a plane to Seattle.  The times to catch the Tokyo and Bangkok flights were okay, but they would only give us seating assignments for seats twenty rows apart.  You can imagine how well that set with me (I'll spare you the drama and just say it worked out).

We made it to Seattle, then boarded for Tokyo - a 10 hour flight.  Once there we had a short layover and then boarded for Bangkok.  The pilot came on and said (matter-of-factly) "Our flight time to Bangkok will be 6 hours" SIX HOURS???  AFTER JUST FLYING 12?? Had we comprehended that when we signed up??  Uh, no, clearly not. 

In retrospect, what we should have done and probably will do next time, is stay a day or two in Japan.  It would have been fun to see an additional country and it would have allowed us to rest a bit.  So, that's a good lesson learned.

We landed in Bangkok right on time (early, in fact) and boarded these airport buses that took us to the customs place at the airport.  In the picture if you look at the sign carefully you can see the Thai lettering.  There was lots of English, though, so we didn't have any problems (course it helps to just follow the crowds that know where they are going...See the pic to the right) 

We had arranged to be picked up by a taxi driver that is a member of the Church.  It turned out her husband is the one that came, but that was very fun in that he is one of the branch presidents in the area, so we talked church all the way to the hotel.  We will see them several times over the next two weeks, so we'll get pictures.

It was 1:30 AM or so by the time we got to the Marriott at The Empire Place.  We were greeted at the door and shown to a lovely one bedroom apartment/suite.  This morning I got up and found my way to the Fitness Center and passed this lovely pool on the rooftop of the hotel. 

I'll get some better ones and get them posted, but it gives you an idea.  We are in the middle of a huge city.  Our plan is to regroup today and get a fix on how to best proceed for the next few days.  Should be fun!!

Leaving on a jet plane...

...and going to spend hours and hours on them (three to be exact).  We have a 4 hour layover in Tokyo - wow! Who ever thought I would be excited to have a 4 hour stay in an airport!!

Our friend Dom at the Thai Drift Restaurant in Orem got in touch with his aunt who owns a taxi so we have someone that will be at the airport to pick us up.  He husband is in the mission presidency there in Bangkok.  She doesn't speak a lot of English and, of course, we don't speak a word of Thai - but we all speak Church! I think we will communicate just fine!

I am planning to post pics and stories, so feel free to email or comment.  I am hoping this will be a fun way to share this really unique trip.

See you in Thailand (or maybe Tokyo...)