Our trip to Thailand included a 5 day stop in Bangkok where we celebrated New Year's (asleep...), saw some awe inspiring temples (Wats) and beautiful Buddhas, took public transit (train and boat), visited Chatuchuk, an enormous outdoor market where we bought great souvenirs at amazing prices, people watched, ate great food, and loaded up on Thai iced teas and tapioca ball drinks. The second half of our trip, we flew north to Chiang Rai in the Golden Triangle area of Burma/Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand for a 3 day, 2 night trek to experience hill tribe living among the Akha and Lahu tribes. We fished, tried our hand at using a machete, cooked in bamboo, used bamboo walking sticks, played with bamboo flutes, made bamboo cookware, slept on and under bamboo, and trekked through bamboo forests. Thankfully, we saw very few insects of the biting variety. Below are some of the pictures that tell the story of our trip to beautiful Thailand where the people are friendly, the beds are uncomfortable, the food is excellent, and the streets are clean...enjoy...
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| our train stop in Bangkok |
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| figuring out the train in Bangkok |
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| our happening street in Bangkok (5 Suhkumvit Rd) |
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| Bangkok train, clean and convenient! |
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| construction street scene from the train in Bangkok |
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| long boat on Chao Phraya river in Bangkok |
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| engine on long boat |
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| tourist boat on Chao Phraya river |
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| another pic of the beautiful long boat |
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Madeline's camisole was prohibited at Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the
Emerald Buddha), so she ended up in line here to borrow a proper shirt |
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| Enormous Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok- Thailand is 95% Buddhist |
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me, beside the Reclining Buddha which is
46 meters long and covered in gold leaf |
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| statue at Wat Arun in Bangkok- Wat means temple in Thai |
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| Wat Arun-Temple of Dawn |
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| Hair on the Reclining Buddha-thought this was cool! |
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| Wat Arun |
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| Buddha figures everywhere... |
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| hawker stall selling fruit near Chao Phraya river |
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| getting some pomegranate juice to rehydrate |
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| Gabe with the setting sun at Wat Arun, necessitated a step scary climb & descent |
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| Wat Arun |
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| Chatuchuk Market in Bangkok-the best outdoor market I've ever visited, it had EVERYTHING! Thai iced teas being made for us here-very cheap, but way too much sugar! |
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| cooking sunny side up quail eggs at Chatuchuk |
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| Madeline even found ukeleles at Chatuchuk! |
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| massages at Chatuchuk (if you can find some room...) |
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entrance to Chatuchuk Market, open only on Saturdays
and Sundays is just 10 minutes by train from where we stayed
http://www.chatuchak.org/clothes.html |
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| even Ronald Mc Donald gets into Namaste in Thailand! |
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| jack fruit hawker stall-eww, smelly! |
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| Buddhist monks waiting for a taxi |
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| street market |
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| Chinese herbs, dried fruits and mushrooms, noodles at a street stall in Bangkok's Chinatown |
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| Classic Gabe-bet you haven't seen bottled coke in a while... |
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| walking saleswoman |
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| the promised tuk-tuk ride in Bangkok |
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| Madeline, enjoying her ride ; ) |
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| our room in Chiang Rai at Akha house before our trekking trip |
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| morning vista from our Chiang Rai room |
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| steps up to Akha House office & meal area |
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| our guides, Ako, Win, and Ja'u standing in front of tea plantation |
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| market in small village |
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| day 1, beginning our trek-3 guides, 6 guests |
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| a new experience-fishing by digging, not with hooks! |
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| did you find anything, Joe? |
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| preparing lunch on banana leaves with machete |
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| cooking our lunch in bamboo-look, Joe's got tiny crabs to contribute! |
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| Ako with lunch prep-cabbage and carrots being stuffed into bamboo for cooking |
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| making cups with machetes from the ever useful bamboo |
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they look so easy to make, but we tried and they aren't!
it takes a skilled hand to work the machete :/ |
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the bamboo, filled with water, cabbage, carrots, and
plugged with leaves gets heated over the fire for lunch |
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| bamboo leaves to cook the noodles in for lunch |
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| Madeline, finding rest wherever she can on the road |
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| there's our lunch, nearly ready... |
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| Gabe holding his newly made cup and chopsticks made from bamboo by our guides |
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| lunch! |
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Gabe and Ja'u with machetes-guides made
Gabe bamboo gun, flute, and bow/arrow for him to take home ; ) |
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| Thai rice wine with bamboo 'shot glass' |
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Joe placing a banana leaf on top of our
bamboo shelter the first night of trekking |
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| Gabe balancing his load while trekking |
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| part of the bamboo forest that provided stalks for our walking sticks |
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| bamboo shelter with banana leaf roof and fire pit |
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our breakfast set up (hard boiled eggs, white toast,
margarine, and marmalade) on banana leaf and tarp |
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| our bamboo shelter with bamboo floor and very thin mattress and no pillows :((( |
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| bamboo cooking containers stuffed with leaves and bamboo toaster below |
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we cheated a little-the structure was already there; we just
put some new leaves on top and added the blue tarps |
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| glad we only saw one of these... |
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| Gabe with his homemade bamboo flute |
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| forest fungus |
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the talented Ja'u making our bamboo containers for eating and drinking
out of-he also made most of the instruments, chopsticks, and weapons |
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| Madeline trying to make music |
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| lots of construction going on in various hill tribe villages |
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| hanging banana with edible banana flower |
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| storage portion of hill house shelter |
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| trek consisted of lots of ups and downs and despite the look of our protective clothing, it was hot |
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| here is the banana & flower hanging over our trail path |
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| piggies lazing about our home on day 2 of the trek |
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| pig and trough |
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| village view from our Lahu hill tribe home on day 2 |
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| Joe and Gabe playing cribbage on homemade board w/homemade cards |
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| our home, the second night |
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lots o piggies enjoying their slop-day 3, we were woken
early by a cacophony of roosters, dogs, cows, and pigs |
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| our picturesque view from home, day 2/3 |
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| Lahu hill tribe village home |
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| indoor kitchen for our hill tribe guest house next door |
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| village dog |
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| village children with puppies |
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| one of the village bathrooms ('toilet' and shower all in one) |
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| bamboo slingshot |
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| darling children-loved seeing their faces on my camera |
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| lots of nursing animals |
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| babies! |
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| the common place slingshot as toy-the kids are good shots! |
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| wandering cow |
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| adorable |
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| breakfast |
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| washing station for rich family who own the guest room we stayed in |
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| shopping on our balcony after breakfast before last trekking day |
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| the government provides solar panels to hill tribes for lighting in each home |
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| Ako adopted one of the puppies from the last village where we stayed |
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| ride on the long boat across a river channel to ride the elephants |
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Madeline and Joe enjoying their elephant ride (it's challenging getting in focus
shots when riding an elephant and taking picture of someone else riding another elephant) |
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| Gabe and I, having fun |
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| can you believe how deep they go in the water? |
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| beautiful, gentle creatures |
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| Akha hill tribe salesperson |
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| is that coke??? |
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| buy an egg and boil it in the hot springs... |
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| boiling eggs in sulfur springs |
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| hot springs-nothing special! |
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| eggs in baskets ready for boiling |
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| Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) in Bangkok |
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| Madeline got her wish granted to ride in a pink taxi car also ; ) |
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Gabe's new favorite drink-anything with
tapioca balls makes drinking a new experience |
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| Ja'u with a small fish |
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| Gabe with bamboo gun |
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| Madeline with bamboo walking stick |
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| down the trail |
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