Thailand

May 18-19, 2015

Bill and I took a flight from Honolulu to Taiwan to Bangkok, a four hour taxi ride, and a charming long-tailed boat ride to arrive at our first destination: a float house on the River Kwai.






Our float house - made of teakwood, bamboo, and thatched roofs - was the most beautiful place we've ever stayed.  We could feel the gentle bob of the river whenever boats passed by.  We swam in the river, had a romantic dinner, and slept soundly.

May 20, 2015

In the morning, we visited Kaeng Lawa, a 200 meter cave filled with bats.  I've never seen so many bats in the wild.  It was very exciting and also kind of creepy.  

We went for another swim in the river, fed the fishes, said goodbye to our float house, and headed out on another pleasant long-tailed boat ride.

The afternoon was spent hiking up a seven-tiered waterfall and swimming in the clear blue waters of Erawan National Park.  The waterfalls are supposed to look like an Erawan, which is a three-headed elephant, but I don't see the resemblance.  

We left Kanchanaburi and headed to Bangkok to meet up with our friends Tran and Quyen for dinner.  It was wonderful to see Tran again, who I hadn't seen since I was in Vietnam 4 years ago.

May 21, 2015

We had our first street food meal in Bangkok and then took a day trip to Phra Prang Sam Yot in Lopburi, which is home to about 500 monkeys.  Monkeys are adorable, mischievous, and hilarious.  





In the evening, we visited Baiyoke Tower, the tallest building in Bangkok, where we enjoyed a buffet on the 83rd floor and then admired the view on a 360 degree revolving roof deck on the 84th floor.  We ended the night with our first Thai massage.

 May 22, 2015

Quyen, Bill, and I went on a day trip to Damnoen Saduak, where we took a boat ride through the famous floating market.  Apparently, this floating market is featured in some James Bond movie that I haven't seen.

At the floating market, I held the cutest animal species in the world: the slow loris.  I was sad to later learn that they are endangered and treated cruelly by their breeders.

Did I mention we love street food?  We enjoyed another street food meal for lunch and then took a night cruise on the Chao Praya river where we ate a multiple course dinner and were entertained by traditional Thai musicians and dancers.

May 23, 2015

This was our only full day in Bangkok, and it was spent visiting various enormous shopping centers, getting another Thai massage, and eating a ton of street food.  Our highlight of the day was experiencing a fish spa, which is just as ticklish as you'd imagine.



 
In the evening, Bill and I saw a  ladyboy show, and then stayed out late admiring some very talented street performers before heading home.

May 24, 2015

Our last meal with Tran and Quyen was an all-you-can-eat conveyor belt hot pot indulgence.  After brunch, Tran and Quyen returned to Vietnam, while Bill and I flew to Chiang Mai.








Luckily, we arrived right in time for Chiang Mai's big Sunday night market, where we ate dinner (a few times) and got another massage.  This dog riding a scooter was a big hit at the market.

 

May 25, 2015

The highlight of the entire trip was spending the day at Elephant Nature Park, where we fed elephants, walked with elephants, bathed elephants, and watched elephants play.  We also went white water rafting and got a 2 hour massage.  It was one of the best days of my life.  

 

May 26, 2015

We spent the day at Thai Farm Cooking School, which basically means we cooked and ate all day.  My favorite part was making our own curry. 

Back in town, we had our last massage in Thailand, which was at a center that exclusively hired female ex-prisoners.  Next door to the massage place was Manu, an extremely adorable 2 month puppy.

 

May 27, 2015 

Our last day in Thailand was both surreal and fantastic.  It started with a hike to the Bua Tong "sticky" waterfalls.  The calcium carbonate deposits make the rocks feel non-slippery, almost like an emery board, so you can actually walk up and down the waterfalls!

Then we went on a hot air balloon ride, crash landed (no joke), and had champagne poured on our heads to celebrate our survival.

Dinner was at David's Kitchen, a fancy French restaurant owned by an English man in Thailand.  To our delight, we were invited by the owner to attend his daughter's birthday party.  I can't describe how much fun we had.  What an incredible way to end our trip.