Back from Thailand

We arrived back in Kathmandu from Bangkok on Saturday, and although we were screened at the airport, we still managed to get swine flu!! That is not the only souvenir that we got from Thailand. We collected lots of great memories and a few purchased items as well...

So, how was Thailand? It was great! A really nice holiday from Nepal. While it is true that Kathmandu has pretty much whatever you need for daily living, Bangkok has whatever you want. Jenn and I both marvelled at the modernity of Bangkok and the tropical beauty of the island Koh Chang. So what were the highlights? Here is a list in no particular order.

1) Going to see the movie "Up" in 3D. The Siam Paragon theater in Bangkok is the nicest movie theater I have ever been in.

2) Relaxing by the pool at the Siam Beach Resort in Koh Chang.

3) A night on the town with Craig, Kristin, Paul and Emily on our first night in Bangkok. We had a wonderful meal and a great time just hanging out...

4) Shopping and more shopping. Bangkok has great markets, from the tourist area of Khoa San Road to the Suan Lum night market, to the grocery store in the Siam Paragon mall! It was nice to be somewhere where everything is at your fingertips. The grocery store at Siam Paragon was unbelievable (better than any Canadian grocery store I've seen!)

5) Wat Po. An amazing complex of temples. Jenn and I went in the evening and were there pretty much all by ourselves. Peaceful, relaxing and beautiful!

6) Cobra Show in Kanchanburi. This was fantastic. People were kissing cobras on the head, capturing snakes with their mouths! Crazy stuff!

7) The Tiger Temple. A group of monks are operating a tiger reserve where you can go in and actually hang out with the tigers! You can only pet the young tigers, but the experience was really cool.

8) The food!!! The food in Thailand is really good and we had some excellent meals and some indulgent ones as well. I must admit, after 8 months in Nepal it was nice to see some of the familiar fast food chains. We had lots of sushi and was introduced to the Japanese Mos Burger. Yum!

9)Minime.. We were at the Patpong night market and an entourage of people walked past us. One of those people (riding on an electric wheelchair), was Vern Troyer or Minime from the Austin Powers movies. We were a bit stunned, but he did say "Hey" to Jenn. Kinda creepy actually, we think he was on his way to one of those infamous Bangkok "shows".

So that about sums it up. Our first time in Thailand was way back in 2001, and I don't think we enjoyed it as much last time as our most recent trip. Perhaps it is about perspective. Having spent time in Nepal with load shedding, burning garbage and dogs barking all night, Thailand was a breath of fresh air and a step into modernity.