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...)