Sunday-a trip to the floating market

Sunday morning at 6:30 am we crawled down stairs to meet our tour guide for our trip to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. We loaded up into the mini bus and proceeded to pick up other tourists for our trip. The mini bus then took us to a large Holiday Inn where several other mini buses meet to load into one large, double decker tour bus. Melinda, who has a lot of experience on the buses told us to sit on the bottom of the bus. Most people think the view on the top deck is better, but the is more swaying motion and people easily can get car sick. Our tour bus had a lounge on the bottom. There were 4 regular seats and a crescent shaped couch with a table in the middle. Similar to a motor home. A man and his two teenage daughters joined us on the bottom. They were visiting from Rancho Palos Verdes to attend a Thai and Hindu wedding. We speculated at how marvelous it must have been. 
About 45 minutes into the bus ride the tour guide joins us on the first level and tells us our tour itinerary includes a stop at the Elephant Village, the floating market, and the cobra show. Everyone thought the tour was only to the floating market. Turns out this is a common Thai scam. The tour guides are paid by various tourist attractions to take the buses off the original plan. Riding elephants was on our must do list, so we took it as a sign to just do it now. The elephant ride at the Elephant Village was 600 Baht for a 25-30 minute ride through the jungle including crossing a deep stream. We had a good time, took a lot of good photos, and made friends with the trainer and elephant. It was a magical experience. Elephants are truly majestic animals and we were happy to see that this venture did not appear to mistreat their animals. 
After ride we loaded back into the bus and headed toward the dock to take the long speed boats to the markets. The boats were long, skinny, and our driver took off in a flash. We sped along the canals. The ride reminded us of splash mountain, including getting wet! Once we got to the floating market, we paid the 150 Baht each to load into the gondolas. It was a VERY busy day at the market. I have never seen such a tangled mess of boats before. However, our gondolier was motivated to get us shopping. We used Melinda's Thai bargaining techniques and purchased some very cool items. After an hour on the boats we returned to the pier, met up with our group and loaded back onto the bus. 
Many of us were hungry, and did not have a chance to eat at the market because of the boat traffic jam. Our patience was wearing thin and we were eager to return to our hotel. However, we discovered that our bus was going to the Cobra show. Out of a large bus of 70 people, one family of 8 saw the show. Everyone else chose to save their Baht and sit on the air conditioned bus. After a long delay at the cobra show, our tour guide said we were now headed to the coconut farm where our groups would split up. Those who signed up for the full day tour would eat lunch and then proceed to their next stop on the tour. Everyone else, including us, who had signed up for the 1/2 day tour would return to Bangkok. 
So we begrudgingly switched buses. This time we were stuck on the top deck. After an 90 minutes of driving back to Bangkok we were told that we were being dropped off at the Gem Factory, where we would have an opportunity to purchase gems before returning to a mini bus and then our hotels. Most of the people on the bus were upset and voiced this. We were over an hour behind schedule, were dragged to locations not on the itinerary we signed up for, and were tired of being charged for all of the extras in what was supposed to be and all inclusive trip. 
We eventually made it back to our hotel around 3 pm. Hot, tired, and feeling taken advantaged of we told the girls at the front desk what had happened. Who knows of they relayed it to the boss, but they seemed shocked at our experience. After leaving our purchases from the day in our room, we ventured out into the neighborhood to have lunch. We ate at a local Japanese resaurant. Melinda and I had a delicious salmon rice bowl while mom and Allison had the tempura rice bowls. With full bellies we headed back to our rooms for an air conditioned nap. 
Melinda and I awoke from our nap around 7 pm. Melinda had the genius idea of getting a Thai massage to forget about our misadventure. BEST. IDEA. EVER. Initially we went to the little massage parlor next to our hotel, but it was full. So we just walked up the street to the next nice looking one. For 300 Baht ($10 USD) we got hour long oil massages. It was wonderful. My outlook on the day had changed and my tension melted away with the massage. After a quick shower we met a teacher friend of Melinda's at a local pub for dinner and drinks. It was quite fun. We bar hopped up our street and returned jovial and ready for a new day, which was good because Monday was New Years Eve. 

I forgot about the train station...

On Jan 2 we are leaving Bangkok for Chiang Mai. In Thailand there are 3 ways to travel long distance, the First Class Overnight bus which is how Melinda and most Thai's travel, the propellor plane that only flies when a full flight is booked, or the train. We decided to take an overnight train and see some of the countryside. To purchase train tickets, you HAVE to go directly to the train station. So we hailed a taxi and set off for the Hualumpong Train Station. It is the Thai version of Grand Central in New York. It is noisy, the architecture is beautiful, there are food stands all around the main hall and long tunnels that head in all directions to the various platforms. 

We made our way through the crowd watching some sort of concert, and found the information booth. There was an English speaking information assistant who informed us all of the trains to the Chiang Mai were booked because it is winter (the high season) and the flower festival. But, in Thailand there is ALWAYS a way around. He told us that if we booked a hotel or excursions with the travel group they could get us tickets on the train, so up to the big office we went.

We got tickets on the 2nd class car which is a sleeper car and air conditioning. We leave at 6pm on 1/2 and arrive to Chiang Mai at 6am on 2/2.We have planned outings to the high country to see the mountain people and ancient tribes on the afternoon of the 3rd and a cooking lesson on the 4th where we begin at the market and learn how to pick the best ingredients. Also, we are going to visit our Uncle Rick and his wife Konnika who is Thai. They are vacationing in Chiang Mai at the same time we are. 

at train station

starbucks on the way home

bargaining thai style

Day 1 and Melinda's arrival

Once we were settled into our hotel, we took a long walk around the area to familiarize ourselves with our new home for the week. We grabbed some delicious Thai food at a fancy local hotel, the bill was around 680 Baht, or $23 USD. We were beginning to feel the effects of jet lag, so with full bellies and our air conditioners turned full blast we went to bed at 5pm local time.....
Melinda arrived at 6am. She rode the overnight bus from Roi Et to Bangkok. Once we caught up and exchanged gifts, we met mom and Allison down stairs for breakfast. I must be a glutton for bad coffee, because I again ordered the coffee and was served undrinkable black lava.Over a Western style breakfast of fried eggs and toast, Melinda gave us an introductory lesson in Thai that covered Hello, Thank You, No, and Not Spicy. She also provided a lot of insight into the culture and answered all kinds of questions ranging from her experiences as the ONLY white person at her school to "lady boys."
We set off to take the sky train. Along the way we stumbled across 1 of 2 Starbucks within walking distance of out hotel. Iced Teas in hand we headed off to the Chatuchak market which is the worlds largest flea market. It was amazing! We must have only seen 1/4 of it, but we did some MAJOR shopping. We ate lunch off one of the vendors, chicken shwarma in lavash. There are a lot of Indians and people from the Middle East in Bangkok so a lot of food is familiar. Melinda taught us Thai style bargaining, and we soon discovered that she could use her status as a English teacher to get better prices. We have LOTS of treasures from the market. Once we shopped till we dropped was attempted to hail a cab home with no luck.
  The taxis here are very interesting. They never want to use the meter and instead attempt to make a deal upfront to take you to your destination. The streets are wild and un-drivable to anyone who is not native to Bangkok, and the motor bikes are terrifying. We were not able to find a taxi willing to drive us  back to our hotel, so back to the sky train we went. It was not that busy and we were back at the hotel within 30 mins.
After a short rest, we ventured out to dinner at a local seafood restaurant. Allison and I both ordered soups, which we requested not spicy and they had NO SPICE. I guess that is better than burning your mouth off. Mom had grilled sea bass with sauteed spinach, and Melinda enjoyed a steak sandwich with fries. Apparently most restaurants serve a menu of thai and western food. Melinda says spaghetti Bolognese is ALWAYS on the menu, and English LOVE it.
We were pretty exhausted from the day of shopping in the heat and headed to bed around 9. We scheduled a tour with the hotel for the Floating Market on Sunday, boy did we get taken for a ride!!

Walking to the sky train, which runs on the track above the trees.

Shrine to King Rama IX

Pay Phones! 

Thai love KFC!! 

Street Food

High schoolers performing

Coconut Ice CREAM yum yum

Motor bike parking

Fruit on the street. So Delicious. We ate pineapple for breakfast. 

Tom Yum Kai for dinner 

Langan (bye)

Our Trip Begins...

Our trip began back in August. Melinda accepted a position to teach English in Thailand. I wanted to visit her in her soon to be new home, and my mother said let's all go to Thailand. Fast forward to December 26, after months of planning and anticipation we were off for an adventure. I have never flown internationally, so leaving LAX through Bradley made me anxious. I anticipated long lines of holiday travelers but instead was greeted with little to no line at the ticket window and security. Unsure of when our next meal would be, we picked up a quesadilla at the food court. Our first flight, which was 15 hours, was on an Airbus 380 which is HUGE. It is a double decker plane that seats over 600 people. To load the plane, the staff queued lines for the various sections of the plane, check our tickets ahead of time, and filed into plane. Within 25 mins everyone was loaded and the flight attendants began the safety speech, in Chinese.
Even though we were in coach, each seat had their own TV screen with unlimited movie, TV, e-books, games, and a live map that tracked our journey. Within an hour we were served refreshments, and then dinner. We had the option of chicken with rice and steamed vegetables or beef bourguignon with mashed potatoes and peas and carrots. Each plate also had a fruit cup with cantaloupe and the most delicious pineapple, and a strange side of chicken salad and two slices of turkey deli meat. After dinner number 2, we all pulled on our eye masks, put on our neck pillows and attempted to sleep with some success for the next 8 hours.
The second half of our flight included watching some movies, reading, and breakfast. Each meal on our journey was progressively more Chinese. We had two options for breakfast: Western or Chinese. The Western breakfast included a slice of egg fritatta, roasted rosemary potatoes, and a slice of basil steamed tomato. The Chinese selection was Shrimp Congee, I can only describe it as rice cooked with too much water to make a porridge topped with 3 shrimp and a few slices of carrot and ginger. Each breakfast was served with a strawberry yogurt, a fruit cup, and a croissant. The Chinese idea of bread is not what I consider good eats. We didn't eat the rolls the night before and the croissants were terrible. Also coffee should be avoided. It is way to strong and bitter and the only cream is weird non dairy powdered creamer. The tea is delicious. Always choose the tea.
We landed in Guang Zhou at 5am local time and very cold. China was clearly in winter and the weather was similar to back home, 50 degrees and foggy. We went through Chinese immigration which included passport inspection as well as a brief health inspection to ensure that no one had a fever or any visible signs of contagious virus or infection. Our layover was 3 hours and our tummies were signaling that it was time for another meal. The food in the terminal was limited. Allison found and coffee and noodle shop. We ordered coffee (which of course was terrible) and a chicken mushroom noodle soup and a beef brisket noodle soup. Both were delicious, however most of the beef pieces were fatty so we only ate the noodles and drank the broth.
Our second flight took us from Guang Zhou to Bangkok. The plane was much smaller, more like a Southwest flight from LA to Phoenix. The plane did not have fancy TV's in the headrests, and the staff knew little English. The flight was a three hour flight and included yet another meal. Lunch was a "Chinese Snack" of a dried out Shi Boa (pork sticky bun like at dim sum) with red bean curd or a "Muslim meal" of spaghetti with a cream sauce and shrimp. Neither were good. But again we were offered a bread option, fruit cup consisting of kumquats and a steamed veggie cup with carrots, green beans, and cauliflower. Again the tea was delicious.
There was some turbulence on the second flight, and the landing was not as smooth as our first one, but we had safely arrived. After disembarking, we headed to a water fountain for clean drinking water and then stood in line to go through immigration. We noticed a lot of Russians and Indians visiting on winter vacation. Claiming our bags was easy enough and we wheeled our way out to the taxi pick up. The taxi at the airport was very well organized with an English speaking woman who inquired about our destination, number of people and size of luggage. Our bags were large and required an SUV taxi. The fare was only 700 Baht from the airport to the front door of our hotel, and it was quite the ride. Our driver did not speak any English but let me tell you hand gestures and smiles work wonders here. He artfully drove through the heart of Bangkok, taking us on the highway, the toll roads, and short cuts through other hotels and businesses to avoid the busy streets.
Within 25 mins we were at our hotel, Heaven @ 4 in Sukhimvit Rd Soi 4. Our hotel is considered boutique, so it is not of the traditional british style and is fairly similar to an hipster or modern hotel back home. All of the rooms are various colors and the staff is extremely accommodating and helpful. Upon entering your room, you must stick your room key into a slot on the wall for the lights and air conditioning to work. This is one of the many green features of Thailand. They are very conscious of their energy and water consumption and have developed interesting methods to prevent wastefulness.

Waiting for our first flight

Chicken and rice

Beef Bourguinon

Mom and Allison's Green and Orange hotel room 

I will update further with more about Melinda's arrival and our journey to the Chatuchak Market Place. Lang An (bye)