Alright so here are some of my pics from the Thailand trip . I ran out of space on my camera part way through, and mom was way more into taking pics than me so I'll post some more later when I get hers. I actually havn't talked to her since I arrived back in Korea. Yeah, I'm a good daughter.
The trip was great. I was so happy to get out of Korea. I love it here but I really needed a vacation away from work and especially, away from children. I actually headed to Seoul with Carey on the Friday and hung out for a little while and ended up spending the night at the swanky hotel we stayed at before. I also got to meet her mom which was cool, especially since it foreshadowed my own meeting with my mother. It was also amazing to see someone she knew who wasn't living in Korea. It's easy to forget that we all have lives at home too. Things seemed a little more tangible.
I arrived in Bangkok after a not so long 5 hour flight, and proposition from a Korean businessman who was on his way to visit his wife. Korea does nothing to restore my faith in the opposite sex. So, I checked into the hotel, and immediately ordered pad thai. I then got all dolled up to pick mom up at the airport. I was early but ended up meeting some cool people who were also waiting to pick up friends. I love the solidarity that you feel with strangers who are just as foreign to an area as you are. This kind of thing would never happen at home.
So, she comes, we hug, it was nice. I did not cry, and either did she. I think she was more concerned with being able to have a smoke after her 26 hour trip. We got to the hotel, and went and got some drinks. I havn't mentioned yet how fricking hot it was there. I'm going to say, much, much hotter and humid than Daegu in August. For those from the West and beyond, that's really really hot. I actually had to strip immediately after exiting the airport.
We spent a couple of days in Bangkok. I was advised by everyone not to linger there and to head straight to the islands. I actually liked Bangkok though. The poverty was terrible, but there's something about a big city. I think that I enjoy the hustle and bustle more than sitting on my ass. Sometimes.
So in Bangkok, we did the things you have to do while you're in Bangkok. We saw the Golden Palace, which was very ornate, big and crawling with tourists. We saw a number of other temples too, and I was dying of heat exhaustion because you had to wear long pants (and I only packed jeans). We also took a river taxi to get a feel for the canals. This was one of my favourite parts of the trip. Though the houses were the definition of shabby, the lifestyle was so relaxed, in the middle of this huge city that I really found it appealing. Also interesting was that though they were so poor, obviously had no airconditioning in nearing 40 degree weather, every single home had satelite TV. You would also see in the midst of these modest homes, a large gorgeous colonial style home. It provided an interesting contrast which seemed to reflect the rest of the country.
From poverty to shopping. I along with everyone who has been to Bangkok, loved the shopping. We went to one of the night markets. I was concerned about my ability to be able to haggle and at first was a little shy. After I got my feet wet though I did fairly well for myself. In fact, I'll say it : I rocked. Mom was pissed because I more than surpassed her in this field. I picked up jewelry, shirts, pants, dvds. I got a lot of things for really cheap. (I actually ended up buying a new suitcase to carry everything home) Shopping in Thailand is more of a dance than anything. They give a price (which is way high), you give a price (which is way low), you walk away and they chase you down and you pay something somewhere in the middle.
After a little over 2 days there we headed to the airport to catch an hour long flight to Koh Samui. Koh Samui is, of course, beautiful. There were a lot of tourists (especially European) but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Perhaps that was because of timing. I spent most of my days on the beach, and the water was so shallow in parts that you could lay down in the sand bar and suntan. The first 5 days I was there I ate exclusively thai food. Unfortunately one evening I had some pad thai, and got food poisioning. It was my first encounter with that, and I hope to never deal with it again. At least when I'm hungover I have a sense of responsibility, like I deserve the pain I'm feeling. It immobilized me for most of a day, but I was ok by the night. I'm so upset that I don't have a better camera because the nights were absolutely gorgeous there. There really are no words, I can only say that the colours were so perfect and vibrant. The sky was this perfect indigo, which was contrasted against the greenest trees, and beautiful aqua of the water.
We did a lot of shopping there as well. I loved the clothes. I enjoyed the public transport, the Tuk Tuks.
We also headed to Koh Tao because mom wanted to do some snorkeling and I wanted to check out a different island. It was HAWT that day. I got a terrible sunburn.. one for the record books, and I'm still feeling to effects of it today. Koh Tao was gorgeous, and I spent hours and hours in the water snorkeling. It was amazing. Mom and I both got sooo burnt though. It was actually pretty hilarious to see us. We couldn't sit down, couldn't move, were fighting over the cream and bathtub.
While we were there in the islands it was actually Songkran. This is the Thai new year and it was fricking fun. To celebrate on the first day the entire country takes part in a water fight. Everyone was on the street with water guns and talcom powder. Everyone was on the streets, drinking, dancing and fighting with water. It was so much fun. When we were in the car later, people actually ripped open the doors to spray us. So Funny!!
Anyways, enough writing for now. Take a look at some of my pics. They are out of order, sorry, my organizational skills are lacking.
Anyways, start off with the pad thai. That's for you Meg.
This is Koh Tao. About an hour and a half on a boat from Koh Samui, just past Koh Phagnon.
Koh Tao again. It was so beautiful here. And hot.
So I took this trip to escape children but once I was away I couldn't stop taking pics of them and talking to them. I can't help it, I think kids are cute.
Just outside our hotel restaurant. Koh Samui.
Our pool which I didn't go in once. Why go in a pool when you have the beach?!
I don't have many pics of me here because.. well it's my camera. So here's one of the few. The Italian food here was really good.
This was our hotel. It was so nice and so were the people.
This is at one of the temples in Bangkok. It was vacation for the kids and the parents sent them to the temple to teach them discipline. Note the kid of the far left, clearly following lessons well :)
Many Buddhas. I saw so many Buddhas on this trip it's difficult to keep them straight.
My favourite pic from the whole trip.
This Buddha was 130 feet long I think.
Thai boy on stilts at a folk village.
Ladies travel down the canal from house to house to sell their wares. You'd think it would be dangerous to have a fire on your boat, but whatever~!
Kids playing in the canal. Hello Hepatitus..
These are the river taxis.
My hand and a jasmine bracelet. You couldn't escape this smell which is OK with me. The flower markets were gorgeous, I have yet to see anything like it here in Korea.
Buddha. People would take gold lief and rub it on the Buddha to make a wish. Students rub gold on the head, businessmen on the hands etc..
This is at the Golden Palace.
One of the guardians of the Palace.
Offerings.
Mom and I just outside the Palace.
This last pic isn't in Thailand at all. It's outside Donga Department store in Daegu. Weirdly, the night before I was leaving for Thailand my Korean friend Jung-Hee who I met at the CCLC in London, Ontario called me to tell me she was in town visiting her parents. So I met her from 9 am -10am that morning. Very early for me, but well worth it.
So all in all the trip was great and I will be returning. It's strange to think that just last week I saw my mom. It already feels like a million days have passed.
So, Cheers all.
