I'm a Seoul (Wo)Man!: The Land of Smiles

It is official. I am a BAD blogger.

BUT as promised in my last post, I would update you on the "recent" happenings in my life away from the United States. I say "recent" because it was almost 2 months ago I was in Thailand celebrating Christmas/New Year.

Here is the breakdown of the week spent out of Seoul.

We left on Christmas Day, just as the snow started to fall. As stated in other posts, this Christmas did not seem like Christmas for many reasons. But as we pull out of Incheon Airport, I could see the white flurries starting up, giving Seoul a white Christmas. Spending Christmas in 90 degree weather is not typical for me and my Minnesota blood, though it was quite enjoyable.

The popular backpacker's road right by our hotel... there is a tuk-tuk on the right!

We (Mike, and 3 of my co workers) got into Bangkok late on Christmas night to a humid night. We got to our hotel for the evening and headed to bed. Next day, we started out Bangkok adventure with a ride in a tuk-tuk. They are like taxis, but you can bargain with them for desirable fares. Also, they are a little more exciting than taxis given that they are essentially motorbikes with an area for passengers on the back, with open sides. Our tuk-tuk took us to the river where we took a river boat tour. It was very interesting to travel by longboat, seeing parts of Bangkok that we would have missed had we not taken the ride. This very first experience was one of many where I noticed just how friendly the Thai people are. As we sped along the canals, passing people bathing in the water or just looking out from the banks, many would smile and wave at us. It was as if we were their long lost friends speeding by in our long boat. During the trip, if I made eye contact with any Thai person, anywhere, they would immediately smile. This is so different than my Seoul experience. Here, if I caught eyes with anyone, the last thing they would do is smile. They are so busy in their own lives to acknowledge my presence, let alone smile at me. The most I get here in Seoul is the incessant stare, which I have JUST about gotten used to. Just this week though, I caught a younger guy staring at me, and just to clarify when I say staring, I mean not in a friendly, curious way. I mean more in a scrutinizing way. I was just fed up with it, maybe just having one of those days which I so often seem to have here, and I said WHAT?! and shrugged my shoulders to him. Yep, no response to it. So long story short, I really extremely enjoyed the Thai people's friendliness. They made me feel welcome in all situations. No wonder it's called the land of smiles.

The whole group on the long boat trip, WOO I got us all in with a self-vacay!

A bridge over the river

An example of the houses located RIGHT on the river that we went by

After our boat trip, we tuk-tuked around a little more, visiting different temples and landmarks around Bangkok. We really had no agenda and just let the tuk-tuk drivers suggest places for us to see. Another note to make about my experience in addition to the smiles is the amount of English spoken. I know that Thailand has a lot of tourists visit the country so that could very well be the reason for the great amounts of English around the city but I could not get over how well the average Thai person could speak English. From my personal experience here in Seoul, this is not like what I have seen in Seoul. Often when shopping here, I find myself stuck in the language barrier and this sometimes discourages me from looking at things or trying things on. However, when in Thailand, everyone was so inviting with their wonderful smiles AND English skills that I found myself looking at everything and actually talking with the people selling things. I really do love Thailand and would love to return for so many reasons.

Just one of many pictures of the king and queen around town - taken out the back of the tuk-tuk

The first temple we visited... the only rain we saw all trip as well

Typical sight in Bangkok... yes that is two adults and two children sandwiched in there, adults with helmets, children without of course

The BIG Buddha

The Good Luck Buddha... we saw MANY Buddhas..

Bangkok, The Grand Palace at night

The next day in Bangkok, we headed to the Grand Palace, the reclining Buddha, and Wat Arun. These three locations are all very popular and famous tourist destinations as well as must see's in the capital city. This day was extremely hot, but we had to wear modest clothing, covering our shoulders and legs so we could be let into the palace. The palace was beautiful and very ornate. It is amazing the work that has gone into creating such extraordinary structures.

The Grand Palace daytime

Me at the Palace

Pics from the Palace

The Reclining Buddha

Buddha! Oh Jesus, I love you and I love Buddha too!

Wat Arun

The view after climbing up

The people who climbed to the top! Missed you Mike!

Prayer flags @ the top

Had to throw one self-vacay pic in the mix

After our two days exploring Bangkok, we hopped a plane to Phuket, then took a bus for about 1.5-2 hours to an island called Koh Kho Khao. It was remote and very private and as you can imagine, relaxing! The resort we stayed at was amazing. Good food, great beach, nice staff, gorgeous rooms.

On our first day on the island, we signed up for a couple of tours through the resort later in the week. The first tour we took was a snorkeling one. We went out in a boat to an area where we could snorkel and see fish around a reef area. It was very fun and we saw many fish. On the same tour, we were taken to a "deserted" island which was a large spot of sand really. There were many hermit crabs on this island and many tried to sneak into my bag to come home with me. We relaxed for a bit and were taken back to our resort where we spent the rest of the day laying in the sun, developing our bronze tans.

On our island... the boat we took to get there.

Hermit crab heaven!

Truly deserted.

Hello Crabby!

Enjoying paradise with M Demps

The second tour we went on, (this was probably the highlight of the trip for me) was riding elephants!! We were able to ride the elephants, 2 people per elephant, through the jungle to a waterfall, took some pictures there and hopped,literally, back onto our "ride". We each took turns riding on the elephant's neck. I found this to be quite difficult and thought I was going to fall many times. However, I think my little friend realized I was a bit unsteady and he continually would lock his ears back as to hold me on in a way. I was thankful for that! Riding the elephant in shorts was NOT the most comfortable. His body was covered in short, stiff hairs that poked a bit, just a bit of chafing occurred. Though, it was all worth it. The next part of the trip was a relaxing canoe ride down a river. It was beautiful! It reminded me a bit of Montana as well as Costa Rica. Costa Rica more for the greenness, the trees and Montana for the mountainous landforms surrounding the river. Not to mentioned, we didn't have to paddle ourselves. :)

Hello Babar! :)

They were so cute!

Waiting for our elephants to come get us...

Through the river and into the jungle we go..

The waterfall the elephants took us to see

Mike and I, Mike is riding on the neck

Giving Babar some snacks after carrying Mike and I's big butts around

MORE PINEAPPLE PLEASE!

the view before the canoe ride

Relaxing down the river in the canoe

The pretty scenery

The last part of this particular tour was to the Monkey Temple. Here were monkeys literally EVERYWHERE. We stopped on our way there to buy bananas and peanuts from some old ladies on the side of the road. We were able to feed the monkeys and they would grab the peanuts RIGHT from our hands. At one point, I had my hand held out with an offering of peanuts and the little monkey decided it to be good idea to take a seat in my hand. It was cute and definitely an experience I won't forget.

Yummy Bananas!

We're having a moment here.. he's holding my hand and gazing into my eyes

Baby Monkey

The Monkey Fam hanging out in the trees

The last highlight of the trip was of course New Year's Eve. Our hotel had a party with buffet dinner, shows, and games. We took part in all of the games we possibly could and had a blast, winning many good prizes, and by good prizes I mean Chang. Chang is one of popular Thai beers. :-) We were also able to buy some low grade fireworks, silly string, and party poppers to help celebrate.

The New Year's Dinner/Show set up

Our Dinner Table

The full moon through the palm trees

The boys playing one of the silly games

knock the beer cans over with the zucchini tied to your waist

Then they had us girls play the game up on stage!

definitely provided the entertainment

Each person was given a paper lantern to light and send up into the night, sending their worries far, far away for the new year. It was a beautiful sight watching the lanterns rise high over the sea, until they were so far away they looked like little lights in the distance.

One of the paper lanterns

Everyone on the beach, letting their lanterns go

Goodbye worries!

The entire trip was amazing and Thailand now has a special spot in my heart. It has been place on my list of places to return to sometime in life. I have nothing but good things to say about my experience there.

Hope your enjoyed the pictures.

Here are a few last ones of the beach and beautiful sunsets.