The Basics:
First Country: Thailand
Cities Visited: Bangkok & Chiang Mai
Family Members: Mom, Dad, Sister, Aunt, First Cousin, Great Aunt, Great Uncle & 3rd Cousin. That makes a total of nine family members (including me).
Time: 5 days
The Highlights:
1. The Chatrium Hotel
2. Eating at our lovely five star hotel, The Chatrium
3. Enjoying the peace, cleanliness, warmth & comfort of our clean, peaceful, warm & comfortable accommodations
4. Starbucks
5. Free wireless internet. Access to paid internet.
6. The Thai names of the hotel employees, such as: Thampon, Pornsak
Okay, on a more serious note, the fun festivities included:
1. Lost in Bangkok with sister and great uncle (Bangkok)
2. Foot massages (Bangkok & Chiang Mai)
3. Morning call to prayer (Bangkok)
4. Shopping at the night markets (Chiang Mai)
5. All day, outdoor, Thai cooking class located by calm, clean, peaceful rice fields with water buffalo (Chiang Mai)
6. Riding in the Tuk Tuks (Bangkok)
7. Lunch by a lovely waterfall (Chiang Mai)
8. Appreciation for the Thai language - 44 alphabets, 26 vowels & 5 tones...kaa
The not so fun festivities:
1. Elephant Camp
2. Tiger paradise - the tiger peed on my dad
3. Traffic & honking (however, looking back, this was nothing compared to Pakistan)
4. Saying good-bye to two family members & continuing on without them...
Ah, where to begin. How about the plane? Well this is where the physical journey begins.
I can't tell you how many times this past month I have heard the redundant safety announcement play in my ears like an annoying fly that just won't go away. Yes, we will put on our seatbelt, stay seated when there's turbulence, use the life jackets stored under the seats, and as for the breathing mask, we will definitely help ourselves, before assisting our friendly neighbour, don't worry. Oh, lest not forget the bonus at the end of the announcement on Thai Airways - they have this little jingle play while two beautiful Thai employees/actors, wearing perfectly pressed purple suits, smile at you from the overhead TV screen. And the jingle goes something like this, "da da daaaa, a touch of thaiii-laaand", the pitch starts loud and high and then softens towards the end. And then sudden silence, as though a classical concert just ended and we are to rise and clap for the amazing harmony. Not a chance, the busy buzz of the plane quickly fills the void and we're off...
This sweet song is passing through my mind as I recall our days in Thailand. So what highlight from above is worthy of elaboration...I must say it was the day of getting lost in Bangkok! The day it was three. Me, my sister and our great uncle. What a pairing for such a surprisingly, unforgettable day! It started off with the entire family at the mall...and here at the mall, I ingested the most delicious, fresh, mango juice I have ever had in my life. After that, no juice could compare and through the whole trip I searched for this authentic flavor, but never did anything match that one and only time. "The first breath [...] is the freest." - a quote I read, it has nothing to do with mango juice, but it seemed fitting. Anyways, after the nine enjoyed the juice, 6 retired for the day and returned to our lovely, comfortable, peaceful, five star hotel, and the three of us, continued on...
Our first stop, foot massages. An hour foot massage for $150 baht...$5 USD, not bad at all! We giggled and snapped pics all the way through it. I wasn't even bothered by the creepy man massaging my great uncle. Every time I opened my eyes from the heavenly bliss of a relaxing massage, he was peeping and smiling, eek. We think he thought something other than what was the case. And the case was two grand nieces enjoying an outing with their grand uncle! Well, you never know, this is the land of the lady boys.
After our massage, we had every intention of returning straight home. We wanted to be a little adventurous and rather than taking a taxi back to our hotel, as we had always done, we decided to take a Tuk Tuk! Our lack of speaking Thai, and the drivers inability to understand English, turned into one hell of a ride. We went in circles, physically and verbally. Our driver gave up on locating our hotel and dropped us off in the middle of no where. The three of us were so giddy from being on this adventure that being lost was hilarious and so fun!
The day developed into asking for directions, over and over again, shopping for silk shirts, taxi ride times two, boat ride times two..and eventually 5 hours, one silk shirt, and hundreds of pictures later, we arrived back at our hotel. Not one of us could stop talking about the calamity we found ourselves in!
Travelling seems to be enhanced by the moments you create while in one place or the other and whom you create them with. Or, it's just the right place, at the right time, with a little bit of luck that creates a surprisingly wonderful time.
"The best times may be measured not by where one wanders, but by the friendships and the relationships that one forges once there. The landscapes then act as mere vehicles for delightful moments."
Remembering Thailand, begins to remove Pakistan. That's a good thing.
First Country: Thailand
Cities Visited: Bangkok & Chiang Mai
Family Members: Mom, Dad, Sister, Aunt, First Cousin, Great Aunt, Great Uncle & 3rd Cousin. That makes a total of nine family members (including me).
Time: 5 days
The Highlights:
1. The Chatrium Hotel
2. Eating at our lovely five star hotel, The Chatrium
3. Enjoying the peace, cleanliness, warmth & comfort of our clean, peaceful, warm & comfortable accommodations
4. Starbucks
5. Free wireless internet. Access to paid internet.
6. The Thai names of the hotel employees, such as: Thampon, Pornsak
Okay, on a more serious note, the fun festivities included:
1. Lost in Bangkok with sister and great uncle (Bangkok)
2. Foot massages (Bangkok & Chiang Mai)
3. Morning call to prayer (Bangkok)
4. Shopping at the night markets (Chiang Mai)
5. All day, outdoor, Thai cooking class located by calm, clean, peaceful rice fields with water buffalo (Chiang Mai)
6. Riding in the Tuk Tuks (Bangkok)
7. Lunch by a lovely waterfall (Chiang Mai)
8. Appreciation for the Thai language - 44 alphabets, 26 vowels & 5 tones...kaa
The not so fun festivities:
1. Elephant Camp
2. Tiger paradise - the tiger peed on my dad
3. Traffic & honking (however, looking back, this was nothing compared to Pakistan)
4. Saying good-bye to two family members & continuing on without them...
Ah, where to begin. How about the plane? Well this is where the physical journey begins.
I can't tell you how many times this past month I have heard the redundant safety announcement play in my ears like an annoying fly that just won't go away. Yes, we will put on our seatbelt, stay seated when there's turbulence, use the life jackets stored under the seats, and as for the breathing mask, we will definitely help ourselves, before assisting our friendly neighbour, don't worry. Oh, lest not forget the bonus at the end of the announcement on Thai Airways - they have this little jingle play while two beautiful Thai employees/actors, wearing perfectly pressed purple suits, smile at you from the overhead TV screen. And the jingle goes something like this, "da da daaaa, a touch of thaiii-laaand", the pitch starts loud and high and then softens towards the end. And then sudden silence, as though a classical concert just ended and we are to rise and clap for the amazing harmony. Not a chance, the busy buzz of the plane quickly fills the void and we're off...
This sweet song is passing through my mind as I recall our days in Thailand. So what highlight from above is worthy of elaboration...I must say it was the day of getting lost in Bangkok! The day it was three. Me, my sister and our great uncle. What a pairing for such a surprisingly, unforgettable day! It started off with the entire family at the mall...and here at the mall, I ingested the most delicious, fresh, mango juice I have ever had in my life. After that, no juice could compare and through the whole trip I searched for this authentic flavor, but never did anything match that one and only time. "The first breath [...] is the freest." - a quote I read, it has nothing to do with mango juice, but it seemed fitting. Anyways, after the nine enjoyed the juice, 6 retired for the day and returned to our lovely, comfortable, peaceful, five star hotel, and the three of us, continued on...
Our first stop, foot massages. An hour foot massage for $150 baht...$5 USD, not bad at all! We giggled and snapped pics all the way through it. I wasn't even bothered by the creepy man massaging my great uncle. Every time I opened my eyes from the heavenly bliss of a relaxing massage, he was peeping and smiling, eek. We think he thought something other than what was the case. And the case was two grand nieces enjoying an outing with their grand uncle! Well, you never know, this is the land of the lady boys.
After our massage, we had every intention of returning straight home. We wanted to be a little adventurous and rather than taking a taxi back to our hotel, as we had always done, we decided to take a Tuk Tuk! Our lack of speaking Thai, and the drivers inability to understand English, turned into one hell of a ride. We went in circles, physically and verbally. Our driver gave up on locating our hotel and dropped us off in the middle of no where. The three of us were so giddy from being on this adventure that being lost was hilarious and so fun!
The day developed into asking for directions, over and over again, shopping for silk shirts, taxi ride times two, boat ride times two..and eventually 5 hours, one silk shirt, and hundreds of pictures later, we arrived back at our hotel. Not one of us could stop talking about the calamity we found ourselves in!
Travelling seems to be enhanced by the moments you create while in one place or the other and whom you create them with. Or, it's just the right place, at the right time, with a little bit of luck that creates a surprisingly wonderful time.
"The best times may be measured not by where one wanders, but by the friendships and the relationships that one forges once there. The landscapes then act as mere vehicles for delightful moments."
Remembering Thailand, begins to remove Pakistan. That's a good thing.
