Goodbye Thailand...it's been real

Well apparently there is a coup going on right now but you wouldn't know it. It's been on the news and in the paper, but if you were here and paid attention to neither, you wouldn't notice any difference. That's today. Hopefully things are just as mellow tomorrow when I leave for the airport.

I can't believe that my three months of travel bliss are coming to an end. I've used these past few days in Bangkok wisely and shopped until I dropped. Today I did manage to get to the Palace (above) and see some Wats (temples)featuring an emerald Buddha and a 45 foot gold reclining Buddha. Yesterday I stopped into the Oriental Hotel, one of the nicest and probably the most famous in Bangkok. Someone had recommended to have afternoon tea in the Author's Room, where many literary greats over the last hundred some odd years had paid tribute. Good thing they didn't catch the fact I was wearing flip flops or I wouldn't have been let in. It's one of those places.

There is a couple pictures that I took while in Thailand that I didn't want to leave out:

First, a picture of my friend Katie and I from the other day. We were at this resort where you paid not to eat.


Although no matter how hungry I got, there are a few things I wouldn't eat. These little guys found at the markets as well as durian fruit which looks like a pineapple but smells wretched, absolutely wretched.


Anytime you walk in someplace in Thailand, the shoes come off. Usually we do it at home if someone has nice carpet, but here it is an age old tradition- no matter how dirty the floor of the internet cafe is.


You wouldn't believe the number of places called either Porn's Resort or Porn's Massage. Porntip is a common female name in Thailand, kind of like Shirley.


Sometimes it's three to a bike. What I wish I got a picture of was two to a bike plus a baby seated up front of the moped, happy as a clam.


Cows just don't seem to care if they are standing of the way of you getting to the next temple in Angkor Wat.


A woman crossing into the next village on the trek in Chiang Mai, where I also saw Thai buffalo.




Traveling on my own was a good experience. I had done it for the first time earlier this year in Costa Rica for three weeks but being gone this long was different. It forces you to be real outgoing at times and other times you enjoy being able to retreat to some peace and quiet. I got up when I wanted (most of the time), ate where I wanted to eat, slept where I wanted to sleep and saw what I wanted to see. But that kind of selfish enjoyment never replaces being able to experience something with a friend or loved one because being with that person is just as important to the memory as the place itself. I won't be able to take three months off to travel for a long time. So I suppose for myself, this time in my life was just as important as everywhere I went and one that I will cherish. I am glad I saved up the money and asked for the time off work. Now for the hard part--- going back.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hope to see you all soon!






THE END