This is a pictureless blog because mom and dad went home with the chip so I don’t have any of the pictures. I have given two web pages to visit to see pictures of two places we went to. I hope you will check them out.
4-25-11 The final week of my parents visit. We departed northeastern Thailand on an airplane headed to Bangkok. It was my turn to pass over tour guide to someone else because I was almost just as new to the area as my parents. We landed in Bangkok and had to find a ride to a hotel. The line for the taxi at the airport was a mile long and there were no taxi’s coming by. We walked across the street and made our way onto the sketchy city bus that brought us to the BTS train station. Fortunately when dad flew into Bangkok he took the BTS so was able to be the tour guide for the evening. We made it to our hotel (Dad had stayed there when he flew into the country) fortunately because once we were there Dad admitted the entire time he was thinking of the place he stayed in Germany before Thailand. Silly Daddy!
Our first full day in Bangkok we took the BTS to the river where we jumped on a cheap river taxi that brought us up river to Wat Poh, my 3rd visit. Mom and Dad went in and I waited for them. Then we went to the Grand Palace, which is quite GRAND if you ask me. You may remember Heather and I didn’t go in with Michelle and I am really glad I got to share the visit with mom and dad. It has some of the most intricate detail in the buildings with little squares of mirror and silver dollar sized flowers made out of clay and individually painted. Dad was particularly in awe by all the hedges that were perfectly trimmed and shaped into animals, only because Uncle Tom is such a pro hedge cutter. Mom and I were a little frustrated with him by the end of the day at how many pictures he had taken of hedges or people trimming the hedges. Inside the Palace is a Wat that now holds the Emerald Buddha, we saw it’s old location in Chiang Mai. After we enjoyed lunch at Au Bon Pain. Then spent the afternoon doing some shopping and then crossed the river to Wat Arun. I’ve been there before and had to show mom and dad the spectacular view of the city! They LOVED this Wat too and like me can’t get over the massive size of the city.
To conclude the day Dad got his wish of taking our own private long boat down the river. We got off at the Oriental Hotel, the place where many well known authors came up with their greatest ideas for books. It is quite fancy, a place only pinky up people go except for when the Farrell family decides to crash the scene with our mountain attire. We were only going to have a drink there on the river but were enjoying ourselves so much it turned into a wonderful dinner, I got ravioli, so nice to eat real Italian food. Although Mom and I were a little uncomfortable there at first we settled in and really enjoyed our fruity drink and fancy dinner on the water.
4-27-11 We made our way across town by taxi to a place where we could rent a van to take us to Kanchanaburi. Mom and dad were over the bus rides after our long ride from Chiang Mai to NKP and to be honest the break from bus rides was a nice treat. Once in Kanchanaburi we had a heck of a time walking around the town trying to find a place to stay since the tourist area and the sights to see are so removed from the area of town where the locals live. Not to mention it was a sweltering hot day and all we were looking for was a place with a pool to cool down. We found a guest house with a pool and when we committed to staying there the lady told us the pool was empty for repairs. BUMMER!
4-28-11 The owner of our guesthouse set us up with a tour of Kanchanaburi and the popular sites of the town and surrounding area that is full of history. Kanchanaburi is where the Bridge over the River Kwae is located. There is a lot of rich history in the area about the POW’s that worked to build the railroad from Ban Pong, Thailand to Thanbyuzayat, Burma as a supply route for the Japanese during the Pacific War. The tour first took us to a beautiful waterfall area that had 7 different falls and pools that you could hike to and go swimming. Mom, Dad and I made it to the 4th fall where there was a rock waterfall. We enjoyed our time going down the slide into the refreshing pool where we got a free pedicure from the feet nibbling fish. It was hard not to pull our feet away because their nibbles were ticklish and strange feeling. It was and experience I am glad I had but will never go to a place and pay for that kind of pedicure! We had lunch at the national park before heading off to our afternoon at the Hell Fire Pass museum. (go to http://www.hellfirepass.com/museum_hellfire_pass.html to see pictures of the museum/pass). I will admit I never really knew the story about the Allied POW’s that were enslaved by the Japanese to build the railroad. It was a most spectacular place to visit and learn about the brutal lives the prisoners lived. Next we went to the train station where we saw a cave that was once used as the hospital before boarding the train that continues to travel along part of the tracks that were built as part of the railroad. We passed through the beautiful Thai countryside and miles of farm land that grows corn and tapioca plants. The final destination of the tour was the River Kwae Bridge. We got to walk along the track as we thought back to the hundreds of people that lost their lives to build the bridge that collapsed so many times on them. To end the day we ate at an elegant restaurant on the river that looked out to the impressive bridge.
4-29-11 We spent the morning touring the other museums in the town: the JEATH War Museum and the Thailand-Burma Railway Center (www.tbrconline.com) that told more information about the story of the Railway. It was truly a breath taking experience and I am glad I got to tour the museums and town with my parents and learn about the lives and families that were crushed all due to the Japanese search for a quicker and better supply route to India. That afternoon we were picked up by a van that brought us back to Bangkok. We got off just north of the city and took the water taxi down the river back to the Glow Trinity Hotel. We tried to get a drink in the fancy Sky Bar but failed due to our open toed shoes and our skirts and long pants that aren’t good enough for the fancy upscale city scene. It was fine with us and we enjoyed the tapas restaurant in our hotel much more that trying to act like we are ritzy people. We enjoyed a final night having a quaint dinner of $2 entrees of tuna and other decadent sushi plates.
4-30-11 We took a walk through our section of town in search of the Catholic Church that was supposed to be near the hotel. Instead after walking around the same block 3 times we finally made it to another Church, St. Louis. Dad believes that is the church that is the Archdiocese of Bangkok. We wandered the peaceful grounds and entered the church that had a similar feel to St. Michael the Archangel Chapel at SMC. We then found ourselves in the hospital on campus and had one final lunch together at Au Bon Pain in the hospital. We wrapped up our time together by taking an hour to stretch out in the refreshing pool of the hotel before saying our tearful good byes. Mom and dad left around 4:00 to take the BTS train to the airport to catch their evening flight home.
It was a wonderful 3 weeks with mom and dad and we go to see and do so much. From testing our limits and flying through the jungle like the Gibbons Monkeys, to having a taste of village life in Chok Amnuay, to learning about the rich history of POW’s and ending our time in the massive hustle and bustle of Bangkok we managed to see just about every corner and way of life of the Thai people. I am a fortunate girl to be able to teach in Thailand this year and I am even luckier to have had the opportunity sharing it with two of my most favorite people in the entire world! THANK YOU MOM AND DAD for the wonderful memories we made together and for wanting to take part in my life here in Thailand, it WAS A SUCCESS!!!!
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