Our family left our home promptly on Tuesday morning at 6am from Layton for the Salt Lake airport. I say promptly because Juice (Jon C.) was nice enough to pick our entire family up with our one backpack each on our shoulders. The temperature outside was only 19 degrees and it was very dark. I don't think Kristin and I slept very well because of all the last minute things you do the night before getting ready for a family trip....of 2 months. Not to mention we had a lot of nervous excitement as we had anticipated this trip for a while. We flew from Salt Lake to San Francisco (90 minutes) without incident. We then transferred to our Asiana flight to Seoul Korea which took about 14 hours. The kids did well on the flight as they did some homework, listened to their Ipods, read and ate food. Lexi and Adam decided to get the Korean lunch instead of the US lunch....their first try at fishy tasting soup. It wasn't their favorite and I didn't have the heart to tell them it wouldn't be their last. The food and service on the flight was quite good as it is a step up from flying coach on US airlines.
Our flight from Seoul to Bangkok took about five hours as we arrived on Wednesday night around midnight. We decided to take a private car directly to our hotel which cost us about $35 for a 40 minute commute. Didn't seem too bad since I have taken taxi's in NY for $70 from Laguirdia to Manhattan on business trips. After five days in Bangkok when we returned to the airport we took a public metered taxi for $6 (part of the learning curve, I guess!) The hotel was very nice as we rented a spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, living room, kitchen apartment for about $60 a night. It had a great pool which we swam in each day on the rooftop overlooking Bangkok. The weather during this time of year is PERFECT. About 85 degrees each day, 70 degrees at night and it is very tropical.
Each day we were out exploring the city. We had very low expectations for Bangkok, and yet we became very fond of this city. It has one of the most modern subway systems we have been on called the BTS or Skytrain. It is very easy to use and we found ourselves hopping on and hopping off in about every part of the city. The first day we rode it to the Chao Phraya river and took a boat ride up and down through the city, stopping at 30 different ports. People rode the boat like a taxi and it was fun to see the temples and different architecture along the way, not to mention all the activities along the river. The people are so friendly here. It turns out that tourists are elevated to the very top of their simple caste system so we are treated almost too well. We receive very polite stares and smiles from many of the people in Thailand. It gives you almost a celebrity status feel. It is rare to see kids with light colored hair and with all of us having blue eyes, and Kristin being so tall for a woman, there is no hiding the fact we are tourists. (No blond jokes over here....they look at the blond hair kind of like the luck, rarity, and royalty of a white elephant!)
We found Bangkok to have the nicest of nice (malls that would top any mall in Utah or Beverly Hills), five star hotels and restaurants as well as the lower end of the economic ladder. However, we love the people and have not been intimidated even once. There is a sense of order here everywhere you go. They also dress very modestly......no gang looking people, tattoos, long hair, etc.
The food has been great. We have eaten at nice restaurants - Italian food, Chinese food, American food, and of course the local Thai food. Adam wants to eat everything. He has had chicken gizzards on a stick, quail eggs, etc. I have joined him as well, but in smaller portions. The girls are all a little more picky.....probably a good thing. One of our favorite items to buy off the street is fresh squeezed and chilled mandarin orange juice for fifty cents for a large bottle. It is the sweetest orange juice we have ever tasted. I need to figure out a way to bottle this stuff and bring it back home....business idea number one.
The crocodile farm and zoo is a must see for any tourists. We had a chance to feed by hand - hippo's, huge crocodiles, elephants and baby white tigers. Lawyers would have a hay day over here with no safety regulations or concerns anywhere. They also have many different animals that we don't see at the Hogle zoo....komodo dragons, large local pythons and viper snakes, rare monkeys, and amazon fish about 7 feet or longer swimming in a pond. The crocodile show has men in a pit of crocodiles sticking their hands and heads inside their mouths. I was glad when the show was over, because I know accidents happen. Anyone remember the famous Siegfried and Roy show right....animals are still animals.
We went to church on Sunday and met Angie Rands cousins - Rob and Michelle Gibbons. They have been living over here for about 5 years and love it. They attend the Bangkok International Ward which was designed for anyone who doesn't speak Thai as their native language. The ward is represented by many different nationalities including people from London, Ireland, America, Africa, France, Norway, Canada, China, and many other countries. We were warmly welcomed by everyone. The kids did well attending, primary and young mens. After church, we were graciously invited to the Gibbons home for dinner - great family with kids ranging from 7 to 19. Their oldest son is serving a mission in California. Inside their home we had a great chicken enchilada meal and the kids played rock band on their television. For half a day, we felt like we were back in the US which was nice. Rob is currently a colonel in the Army, a physician working on research. Very fun, nice, warm and outgoing family and we sure enjoyed their hospitality and friendship!
Some of the things we will remember about Bangkok include sitting around the pool in the evenings. The sounds of Bangkok are interesting. At 6 pm each night we would hear the sounds of the monks singing at the nearest wat (temple). The streets are busy...you need to be careful in looking both ways and running across streets as pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here. The right of way always goes to the larger objects, so mopeds and cars are before people. Like most of Asia, the dogs here have no aggression here. You won't find any of the street dogs looking at you, showing their teeth or ever growling. You just step over them on the sidewalks. Cesar Milan would be happy AND out of a job here because all the dogs know their place and none even think they are humans.....they are just dogs.
There are not a lot of bugs or mosquito's in Bangkok. Haven't seen any mosquito's or been bit which is nice. I know that December through March is the absolute best weather of the year as it is dry season. Due to the amount of trees and plants it doesn't seem like dry season. However, it hasn't rained a drop here since last November.
We left Bangkok feeling like we weren't through seeing this great city. We still need to see the Grand Palace, Jim Thomson's home (famous US silk exporter), a Muai Thai kick boxing fight, and a puppet show that has won international awards. We can't wait to come back in 10 days and to see more of this great city!
Our flight from Seoul to Bangkok took about five hours as we arrived on Wednesday night around midnight. We decided to take a private car directly to our hotel which cost us about $35 for a 40 minute commute. Didn't seem too bad since I have taken taxi's in NY for $70 from Laguirdia to Manhattan on business trips. After five days in Bangkok when we returned to the airport we took a public metered taxi for $6 (part of the learning curve, I guess!) The hotel was very nice as we rented a spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, living room, kitchen apartment for about $60 a night. It had a great pool which we swam in each day on the rooftop overlooking Bangkok. The weather during this time of year is PERFECT. About 85 degrees each day, 70 degrees at night and it is very tropical.
Each day we were out exploring the city. We had very low expectations for Bangkok, and yet we became very fond of this city. It has one of the most modern subway systems we have been on called the BTS or Skytrain. It is very easy to use and we found ourselves hopping on and hopping off in about every part of the city. The first day we rode it to the Chao Phraya river and took a boat ride up and down through the city, stopping at 30 different ports. People rode the boat like a taxi and it was fun to see the temples and different architecture along the way, not to mention all the activities along the river. The people are so friendly here. It turns out that tourists are elevated to the very top of their simple caste system so we are treated almost too well. We receive very polite stares and smiles from many of the people in Thailand. It gives you almost a celebrity status feel. It is rare to see kids with light colored hair and with all of us having blue eyes, and Kristin being so tall for a woman, there is no hiding the fact we are tourists. (No blond jokes over here....they look at the blond hair kind of like the luck, rarity, and royalty of a white elephant!)
We found Bangkok to have the nicest of nice (malls that would top any mall in Utah or Beverly Hills), five star hotels and restaurants as well as the lower end of the economic ladder. However, we love the people and have not been intimidated even once. There is a sense of order here everywhere you go. They also dress very modestly......no gang looking people, tattoos, long hair, etc.
The food has been great. We have eaten at nice restaurants - Italian food, Chinese food, American food, and of course the local Thai food. Adam wants to eat everything. He has had chicken gizzards on a stick, quail eggs, etc. I have joined him as well, but in smaller portions. The girls are all a little more picky.....probably a good thing. One of our favorite items to buy off the street is fresh squeezed and chilled mandarin orange juice for fifty cents for a large bottle. It is the sweetest orange juice we have ever tasted. I need to figure out a way to bottle this stuff and bring it back home....business idea number one.
The crocodile farm and zoo is a must see for any tourists. We had a chance to feed by hand - hippo's, huge crocodiles, elephants and baby white tigers. Lawyers would have a hay day over here with no safety regulations or concerns anywhere. They also have many different animals that we don't see at the Hogle zoo....komodo dragons, large local pythons and viper snakes, rare monkeys, and amazon fish about 7 feet or longer swimming in a pond. The crocodile show has men in a pit of crocodiles sticking their hands and heads inside their mouths. I was glad when the show was over, because I know accidents happen. Anyone remember the famous Siegfried and Roy show right....animals are still animals.
We went to church on Sunday and met Angie Rands cousins - Rob and Michelle Gibbons. They have been living over here for about 5 years and love it. They attend the Bangkok International Ward which was designed for anyone who doesn't speak Thai as their native language. The ward is represented by many different nationalities including people from London, Ireland, America, Africa, France, Norway, Canada, China, and many other countries. We were warmly welcomed by everyone. The kids did well attending, primary and young mens. After church, we were graciously invited to the Gibbons home for dinner - great family with kids ranging from 7 to 19. Their oldest son is serving a mission in California. Inside their home we had a great chicken enchilada meal and the kids played rock band on their television. For half a day, we felt like we were back in the US which was nice. Rob is currently a colonel in the Army, a physician working on research. Very fun, nice, warm and outgoing family and we sure enjoyed their hospitality and friendship!
Some of the things we will remember about Bangkok include sitting around the pool in the evenings. The sounds of Bangkok are interesting. At 6 pm each night we would hear the sounds of the monks singing at the nearest wat (temple). The streets are busy...you need to be careful in looking both ways and running across streets as pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here. The right of way always goes to the larger objects, so mopeds and cars are before people. Like most of Asia, the dogs here have no aggression here. You won't find any of the street dogs looking at you, showing their teeth or ever growling. You just step over them on the sidewalks. Cesar Milan would be happy AND out of a job here because all the dogs know their place and none even think they are humans.....they are just dogs.
There are not a lot of bugs or mosquito's in Bangkok. Haven't seen any mosquito's or been bit which is nice. I know that December through March is the absolute best weather of the year as it is dry season. Due to the amount of trees and plants it doesn't seem like dry season. However, it hasn't rained a drop here since last November.
We left Bangkok feeling like we weren't through seeing this great city. We still need to see the Grand Palace, Jim Thomson's home (famous US silk exporter), a Muai Thai kick boxing fight, and a puppet show that has won international awards. We can't wait to come back in 10 days and to see more of this great city!
