To get to Thailand we first flew on Southwest to Los Angeles. Check us out! We are so happy to get going. Our flight left at 7:50pm on October 11, 2016. We were just flying domestic this leg so we didn't have to get to the airport too early right? HAHAHA, You do if your flying with me! We were running a bit late and ended up not getting to the airport until 7pm. I was stressing a bit, as I like to be early. Luckily the lines didn't look too bad. Well that didn't matter because I go through and my medication bag (a small insulated bag with an ice pack) and my Humira Syringes (My Rheumatoid Arthritis med) and all my pill bottles get flagged by security. They pull the bag out and I wait for them to do their further testing. They do an additional swab on my bag and it tests positive for explosives! This isn't good folks. Everyone else was long through security by now, all dressed again and on their way to our gate. Our plane is boarding! So now that it tests positive for explosives they want to do a pat down. Jed comes back over and announces that they just called final boarding for our flight, more for their information than for mine, hoping it would cause them to pick up the pace a bit. The lady comes over for my pat down and asks if I want a private screening. No, let's just get this done. She was very nice and we were joking around the whole time. Apparently ice packs can cause false readings. Nobody seemed overly concerned that I was an actual threat. Finally they are all done and deem I am indeed not a threat to the airplane and let me go. Jed and I now have to hoof it quickly to our gate that of course is at the total opposite end of the terminal. We always tease that Salt Lake is not a real international airport because they have maybe on flight out of the country, but let me tell you right then it felt as big as the Atlanta airport. I am not in shape, at all! Thus my lungs did not do well with the sudden exertion I was demanding on them and rebelled for the next hour. We made it, got on the airplane and took off soon after. When I say I like boarding last (I hate sitting around on the plane waiting and would rather sit in the terminal) I didn't mean like that!
We arrive in LA and thankfully all our luggage made it! A slight concern since we were a late check in. We have a nice long layover in Los Angeles arriving just after 9:00pm. Time to catch our breath, have some food, and play some games. After all, my backpack was weighed down with five different card games, I totally expected to have plenty of time to get through several of them.
UNTIL........
Glad it was right, we did have a very enjoyable vacation, once we were done with the Salt Lake airport security! :) After eating we had about a half an hour were we got some cards in. Jerame and I kicked Jed and Thảo's booties in some Canasta. Then we boarded for our long 14 hour flight. I immediately took some medications. A little pain relief and a little muscle relief. Put on my blackout eye-mask, noise canceling headphones, and some James Taylor and I was out for the count. Now it is an airplane and international flying is not known for their roomy seats so it is not like I was in a total blissful sleep or anything but I was out of it enough to almost ignore the foul smell of seafood when they brought food around. I wasn't hungry and if I was at all, the smell put a stop to that and I just ignored the food. My hubby was smart and didn't let them wake me to try and give me food. Eventually though you can't take it anymore and have to get up and stretch and go to the bathroom. Especially me, I have the bladder the size of a pea, really no joke, ask any of my travel companions or the Thai Uber drivers. Spent the remainder of the time on the plane between watching movies and restless sleep. Oh and eating again. This time I was hungry.
We had our choice between eggs with potatoes and vegetables and whatever Thảo got. I cannot think of what the other option was but typically it seemed she was the one that got the other choice. She is brave like that! The food was pretty good, or I was really hungry by this point and I ate it all up. I thought of Ceaira (one of my daughters) while eating because she would just love the little boxes the food came in. She loves all things Asian, or at least she thinks she does. More on that when we get back from Thailand. HEHEHE
Let me tell you I was tempted to escape the security lines somehow! I resisted though and instead just posed for a picture.
Ahhh... isn't this fire hydrant just the cutest!?!?!?!! Either it really is or I am sleep deprived and easily entertained. Hmm, quite possibly all of the above.
We finally made it to Bangkok, around 6am local time! WAHOO, so excited. We get off the plane and guess what we did? Yup security! HAHA! Off we went to find our luggage. Everything made it, always a bonus. Then we went outside and BAM, the humidity hit us. Wowzers that is warm. We ordered our Uber and waited the few minutes for it to show up. Yup, Uber was our preferred method of travel in Thailand. For a 45 minute ride to our apartment it was about 400 baht which is 12 bucks. Not too bad for four people. The cars are all clean,smoke free, and kind drivers. It is great!
I wouldn't be me without snapping a few photos from the car window. :) We got to our apartment. That's right, apartment. We chose to use Airbnb and VRBO for several reasons. First we enjoy staying off the beaten path and mix in where the locals are. We love eating street food and enjoy the prices of being in residential areas. Second, for the same price or cheaper, I feel we get better accommodations. You can put in your requirements and it will search what is available for you. If you have never used it, you should. Great way to travel. Our requirements were 2 bedroom 2 bath, air conditioning, fridge, washer/dryer where possible, and wifi. We also had a general geographical location we were trying to stay in that we felt would be central to the things we wanted to do. We were not looking for luxury but want a certain standard and then to keep it as authentic as possible from there. We found an apartment in Suan Plu and we ended up loving this area. Great street vendors all over, multiple massage parlors, and great hole-in-the-wall restaurants. It was a really great location. The big draw back of this place is it was on the fifth floor. Most apartments in Thailand don't have elevators so that meant a five floor walk up. They did well to point it out when we were booking, but we might rethink that one in the future. The first day and a half was pretty hard, we were getting use to the humidity (Bangkok has a wee bit more than Utah) and the increased activity, at least for some of us. We payed about $130.00 a night for all four of us at this place, that is including taxes and cleaning fees. That is about $65 a room or couple. Not too bad! And more private and comfortable than a hotel room.
Here is Jed's and my room. The bathroom is through the door you can see open. There is a couch and coffee table in front of me and a shelf behind me. To the left of the bathroom door is a closet with some drawers. Each room had it's own air-conditioner.
Here is the living room with a three sectional couch. Here Jed and Jerame try and
figure out where we are going today and how to get there.
Here is a view from the front door, a table and the little kitchen, there is a full
size fridge to the left. Washing machine is out on the balcony.
Here is Thảo and Jerame's room. Their room's biggest problem was that it didn't have much in the way of storage for clothes. It had a small closet with some hangers but no drawer space. Their bathroom is to the right.
Showering in Thailand is an adventure in itself. Thai bathrooms are open concept with drains in the floor and you just don't worry about where the water goes. Also in Thailand all the toilets are equipped with a hand sprayer (think kitchen sink sprayer). This is very useful when your out in public and they don't have toilet paper! I have a new appreciation for paper products after our trip. Toilet paper or napkins were hard to come by out in public. This is very common in other countries where the sewer systems are not as advanced.
After getting settled, it was time to hit the pavement and see what our neighborhood had to offer us. We quickly found lots of stuff. Little shops lined the street and street vendors selling fresh fruit and ready to eat food were plentiful.
We ended up going to an actual restaurant. None of us are nervous about eating on the street but we found this shop and it looked good and it had air conditioning. Not saying the air conditioning weighed our decision at all but it was a definite bonus as we were still acclimating to the heavy air. The food looked really good and the menu was in English too, this also may or may not have been a factor. Just another bonus. It all looks so good!
We got our food and some soda's and enjoyed our first meal in Thailand. It was wonderful and we were certain we would be back. I mean the whole meal was only 350 baht, for four of us with drinks. If your still working on your baht to dollar conversation, that is just over 10 bucks!
Next we took to the streets to walk further out and see what we could see. We ended up going on quite the walk all the way to Lumpini Park. I think we ended up doing about 5-6 miles total, not counting our five floor walk up!
Lumpini Park dates back to the 1920's and has grown into a center for outdoor leisure activities for locals. On our walk about we found people in swan paddle boats on the lake, taking strolls, and practicing Thai Boxing at the outdoor gym. The grass is good ol' crab grass like my home state of Texas. Stay alert for these slinky reptiles that seem to inhabit all parts of the park.
We saw several of these guys (Water Monitor Lizard) on our walk about the park. Anywhere from the size of small iguana to teenage crocodile! We missed a picture of the big guy as he scampered away too fast. A friend who lives in Bangkok said they recently went in and rounded up a whole bunch of them to bring down the population. Didn't say what they did with them....maybe they are now the meat on the stick that the street vendors are selling. Ahh well, it all taste like chicken anyway. It is advised that while they are not of the man-eating variety, it is advisable not to hand-feed him either! We kept our distance.
While our parks here in the US will have walking paths and some bars or benches here and there for some mild exercising, theirs have full on outdoor gym equipment! I was sweating enough just walking around, so I opted not to try any of it.
This is lake with the city skyline in the background. One building in particular looks like it is not complete and yet it is. It is architecturally designed that way. It is called MahaNakho Tower and is the tallest building in Bangkok.
Bangkok is a big city and we were not sure were we were going so we thought we would consult one of the city bus guides. Yup you may have to enlarge it 20 more times before your able to see anything. WOW, that is a lot of bus routs. Well after pulling out our iPhones and using a magnifying glass app we learned it was all in Thai and we couldn't use the info anyway.
We wound our way around the park and back a different direction to go home and managed NOT to get lost. Yea us! My piggies were starting to bark! The massage parlor was calling my name. There is a lot of traffic in Thailand, lots of mopeds and motorcycles who weave in and out and around. It is always fun traveling out of the United Sates and seeing how they drive. Street lines and signals just a suggestion outside of the US.
Headed back. Look - must be the right way, that is the MahaNakhon Tower in the distance.
We noticed some potential wiring hazards while out walking.
Who are you with because I am Withayu!
We got back and got some water and soda from the local 7-11. MAN they are everywhere here! Took some pictures of the extremely long hot dogs.
Bought some fruit from the street vendors.
NOW, it was time to go get a massage. They cost 200 baht for an hour!!!! That is not even 6 bucks!!!! We went to the place that was by the restaurant we ate at earlier in the day. They only had two women working so Jed and Jerame let Thảo and I stay and get pampered while they went on an additional walk about. I decided to get a foot massage. Thảo went for the Thai massage. When they say foot massage what they really mean is foot, leg, arm, back, shoulder, and head massage. When they say Thai massage it means they twist you into a pretzel. For the foot massage they have nice comfy seats that recline out in the lobby, for the Thai massage they take you in the back to a private area and have you change into some clothes they give you. Since I was in the lobby area I heard the menfolk come back (didn't see because my eyes were closed and I was relaxed and enjoying the magic hands of this elderly Thai woman). They started gabbing and carrying on and I then spoke up and told them "shhh". They left again for another half hour to who knows (and who cares) where.
When they came back we went to dinner. All famished by this point. We chose a street vendor this time. Once again yummy doesn't being to describe the goodness of this food.
Jed and Jerame got some additional meat sticks from the guy across the way. They were very good.
After filling our bellies with the delicious food we returned to sleep. I laid on the bed and complained that it was hard. I would be eating those words in a few days. We slept well. Who couldn't after traveling for 30 plus hours and then walking around all day?
Day 1 = success
No comments:
Post a Comment
We would love to hear what you think, so leave a comment.