Day 106 - 108 Phuket II

This past week my neighbor, Tom, from Chicago was on business in Malyasia, so we decided to meet in Phuket for the weekend. We stayed at Kamala Beach on the West side of the island. It was a quieter area than my mom and I were at a couple weeks ago but still very beautiful. On Saturday we went up to Similian National Park (about 1.5 hours North of Phuket) with a tour to snorkel in 4 of the 9 islands that make up park. These islands have the best dive spots in Thailand, but I am not certified yet so we settled for snorkeling. However, the snorkeling here was fabulous. We could see at least 20 - 30 feet down and swam through dozens of schools of fish. I know I keep saying this, but the water here was just breathtaking. Blue/green and clear... Even Tom who has been many places around the world diving was thoroughly impressed with just the snorkeling. The islands that we stopped at were truly paradise. On one island we could hike, actually scale the rocks, to a viewpoint that looked out across the other islands. It was a wonderful day of fun in the sun!

On Sunday we just hung out at Kamala beach and at the pool in the resort. It was nice to see a familiar face again and spend the weekend in Phuket. I don't think Tom really wanted to go back to cold winter in Chicago....

*** Here is a link to more pictures from the weekend.. http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/PhuketWithTom?authkey=Gv1sRgCObh563cx6eQJQ#

Day 100 - 101 Kanchanaburi

Wow I realized that this weekend marked my 100th day of traveling. I can't believe how fast everything has gone. I have been blessed to see many things and meet some wonderful people. If the rest of this trip is anything like the first 100 days, I have a lot to look forward to in the next months!

This weekend I traveled with a group of friends to Kanchanaburi, which is west of Bangkok and only about 100 km from Buhrma (by bus it took about 2.5 hours). We arrived Friday night and stayed at a floating guesthouse on the river. It was a first for me, every time a boat would come by the whole place would rock back and forth. The room had one light and no running water (we could shower on land and was 150B ($4/night)). Kind of like camping with a water bed!

Kanchanaburi is home to the most famous waterfall in Thailand at Erawen National Park, so we traveled by bus to get to the park on Saturday. The falls are not the largest falls but they have perfectly clear mountain water flowing through the seven tiers. My friend, Lindsey, is from Hawaii and she said she has never seen water like it. In fact, they were filming an American movie (suppose to be based in Hawaii) at the falls that day. We didn't have access to two tiers, because of the film crews were shooting different scenes. We hiked up the whole thing in about one hour, swam in the lagoons and slid down the rocks to get back to the bottom. We ended up spending the whole day there! It was gorgeous and fun! This was one place I would definitely come back to in Thailand if I return.

On Sunday, we stayed in Kanchanaburi to tour the city, which is famous for its ties to WWII. During the war the Japanese tried to take over all of Indo - China and the easiest way for them to do that was by building a railway system. So they captured Thai men and women, as well as, POW's from different countries (Europeans and Austrilians) and worked them to death building the railway system into Buhrma. They would work 14 - 16 hour days in the excruciating heat without proper portions of food, water, or medicine. Over 100,000 captives were actively involved in the project and over 16,000 died building the 300 km railway. We visited the JETHRO museum which documented the history of the war and the "death railway" and walked across the River Kwai bridge that was built by the captives (there is a famous movie called the Bridges over River Kwai, which also documents the tragedy). After seeing these two sites we went to a WWII cemetery in the middle of the town where over 6,000 men are laid to rest. I did not realize that Thailand had such a connection to WWII before today.

Day 93 - 95 Magha Puja

Monday was another Buddhist holiday here in Thailand called Magha Puja. It is celebrated on the day of the full moon in the third lunar month. It was a day in their history when 1,250 enlightened monks came to respect the Buddha without arranging the visit. I think they believed it was sign of some sort.... I am trying to learn about this religion.

Anyway, this meant a three day weekend. I traveled back down to Hua Hin to meet some friends and enjoy the beaches, biking, hiking and relaxing time away from Bangkok! We visited Wat Khao Takiap where monkeys had overtaken the entrance. I thought they were pretty cute... How often do you see a monkey trying to make an international call??

Day 91 - 92 Sports Day at Nantawan

Just like in America the kids at Nantawan have a Sports Day, aka "field day." The kindergartens had their Sports Day on Thursday morning with events like a ball toss, soccer kick, and relay race. Friday the elementary students had their Sports Day, which included events like running, relays, swimming, soccer matches, and basketball games. Each day included a traditional marching ceremony where the teams (red, blue, green and yellow) marched onto the field and presented their colors. They also had a cheer leading competition. It was a busy, hot couple days. I was the emcee of the event on Thursday morning and on Friday I coached my red team girls and boys basketball teams and they each took 2nd place. Unfortunately kids here only get P.E. once a week and hardly get a recess so it was good for them to get some physical activity in their schedules.

Day 85 - 87 Around Bangkok II and Ayuttaya

On Friday afternoon Mom and I headed back into Bangkok and took the water taxi, which is a cheap way to travel to different locations in Bangkok on the river/canal system. First we stopped at Wat Po, which is located near the Grand Palace, and is known for the large, golden reclining Buddha that lies inside the Wat. Then we walked through some smaller Wats and monuments before we ended at the Golden Mount (have blogged about before) to get a good view of the city before the sun set.














On Saturday morning we got up early and joined another tour that took us an hour north of Bangkok to a city called Ayuttaya, which was once the capital of Thailand. There is a lot of history associated with the city as it endured many wars during the 15th - 17th centuries. The city is famous for the Khmer style Wats (similar to what I saw at Angkor Wat in Cambodia) and the ruins that now remain due to the wars in the country. Again we saw lots of Wats so I'll just give a quick overview of the day....

• Bang Pa In - This city is located between Bangkok and Ayuttaya and is known for the King's summer palace that was built in the 17th along the river. The European designed summer residence is surrounded by influences of Thai and Chinese culture on the royal grounds. We were able to walk through the beautiful parks early in the morning before the big tourist buses arrived. (pic 1)


• Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon - The Wat is famous for the 7 m reclining Buddha that was built in 1357. Although the large Buddha is impressive the smaller Buddha's that have been restored around the chedi is even more picturesque. (pic 2 and 3)


• Wat Mahathat - The Khmer style Wat was built in the 14th century and now has been taken over by forest trees and roots that have grown among the ruins of the structure. It makes for a spectular sight of man and nature. (pic 4)


• Wat Wihaan Mongkhon Bophit: The Wat is famous for the 15m bronzed Buddha, which one of Thailand's largest Buddha images, built in the 16th century.


• Wat Phra Si Sanphet - The Wat is comprised of three eloquent bell shaped chedi's that were also built in the 14th century. The chedi's were once covered by gold until they were melted down by the Burmese. (pic 6)
  
  
  
  Sunday morning we enjoyed a nice leisurely morning in our pool at our hotel and then headed up to Chatuchak market which is the largest market in Bangkok and has goods for both tourists and Thai people. It is usually pretty crowded and gets warm quickly on a mid 90 degree day, but fun to explore if you are looking for "stuff." That night mom took me out for the first steak dinner I have eaten since coming to Thailand and then we went back to place to get her packed up so she could head to the airport :( (picture: Mom and me enjoying 30 baht ($1) Pad Thai at the market)
  
  I am so thankful that my mom was able to come and visit me in Thailand. As much as I can try to explain through words and photos what life is like here you really need to see it first hand! Now she wants to visit me everywhere I go in the next 9 months....