After a lot of paperwork and planning we did it, we traveled to Thailand. Upfront, it was an excellent trip. We are so glad we were able to take the kids. It was a rich and wonderful experience.
First off, Thailand is a monarchy whose King (Rama the 8th) was about to have a birthday. So while there is much in Thailand that celebrates him, there were even more celebratory decorations at every turn. Here is a picture of the highway with Queen's picture presented (oddly enough I don't think I ever got a picture of the King)
Excited to be there.
Mr. Mana came recommended by a friend. He was fantastic. Zachary did take a liking to him (not in this picture as they had just met) and the two often spent large chunks of time together. Each morning he would pick us up in his car and bring local treats for the girls and new cuisine for me to try. Like I said, fantastic.
The first stop after the hotel was a dinner and a show which demonstrated the history of Thailand. Here we are at the buffet.
And of course, Zachary was loved by all.
A long day of travel? Can't get everyone to smile.
Charlotte next to one of the mythical monkeys which served as warriors for Buddha
After the show with some of the actors. The girls asked if we could go back to the hotel after every section of the show (mostly because they were tired and wanted to sleep). However whenever we talk about Thailand, Hazel always talks about this show. So while expensive, it was worth it for her memories of Thailand.
Day 2, back in the car.
Entrance to Wat Pho, the largest Buddhist temple in Bangkok. This is a sculpture of the physician who treated Buddha.
And the rock at the bottom was supposedly used to grind medicines for him. What follows is a ton of pictures we took of the various buildings.
The little hook things are heads of various mythical creatures that are there to protect the building.
Pants are a requirement while on the temple grounds. Luckily our tour guide had some pants for me to borrow.
The temples are gold-plated.
Cannot remember what is inside each building but some house the remains of Rama's (Kings) past while others house various status of the past kings as well.
Cambodia was once part of the Thailand kingdom so this sculpture is here to depict that.
Five dragon heads coming from a larger dragon. More about that later.
Mythical creature from the next life
Demons holding up a temple, all bound/under control by a single monkey who serves Buddha
One temple holds a 2 foot solid Jade Buddha. Pictures are not allowed. This small statue is worth several million dollars we were told.
Palace guard
Part of the palace was built in the 1800s when colonial influences were present and it shows in the architecture
After Wat Pho, we went on a boat ride which the girls really loved. To what end? To feed giant catfish!
Later on, we were able to see the giant laying down Buddha. Really big!
One night, Charlotte was begging for Pizza. I told her we were in Thailand and were not going to be able to find Pizza. Then, while looking for yummy street food (not hard to find) we stumbled across a Farmer's Market where we met Antonio from Italy. He had recently opened a restaurant called Pizza Roma and was there to attract new customers. Not only was the Pizza great, but it called for a second visit but this time to his restaurant which was fantastic! He was loads of fun to talk with and very accommodating! Would recommend the Ravioli to anyone!
Day 3: Open Zoo. It was a traditional zoo where you can walk through and see animals but is unique in that you can drive through a separate section like you are on a safari. Really cool. The kids were able to unbuckle and crawl around looking at things out the windows.
Here they are feeding a group of Tigers
Once inside we made it on foot. Very beautiful walking paths. Loved the greenery.
Oddly enough the birds attracted much of our attention. Here we are in a giant cage where the birds are so used to humans they get really close.
Even Zachary wanted to check them out.
Charlotte making a nest
One of the greatest parts of the zoo was the Giraffe feeding deck. As you can tell by the photos, we got to walk right up to the animals and touch and feed them.
The girls loved it! And clearly, I did too because I think I took about 50 pictures here. I had no idea giraffes had such long tongues. Loved this part of the park.
One unexpected animal interaction was the lemurs. Charlotte found some green leaves then while we were not looking started to feed them through the fence. She then started to laugh and told us what was going on. Not sure if they were OK to feed them this way but it was really fun to interact with them.
A suspension bridge we found.
Quick picture with this lovely lady.
All good things come to an end. For Hazel, that end came around 1-2 pm when she would normally be napping. Too much fun for her.
Refusing to walk, just wanting to be held and sleep.
Loved the forest and plant life here.
While Hazel was napping back at the Hotel (Jari too), Charlotte pretended to braid my hair.
While others were sleeping, Zachary, Charlotte, and I went for a walk and found some local vendors selling little cakes and other treats. We purchased a few, got rained on, then made it back in time to order room service (not great food but made it easy). Lots of fun.
Day 4: Siam City Park is a large water park and theme park which are combined. We spent most of the day at the water park where they had a floating river, a splash pad of sorts, and the world's largest wave pool.
Random side note. Our tour guide was really great and brought me new foods to try each day. This time it was a bag full of dried and salted bugs. Crispy, and actually pretty good. The girls cannot confirm this as they refused to try any. Their loss.
Back to Siam City.
Because of the size of the park, we had to walk a ways into the water park.
Hazel is ready to go.
Another fun treat. These were gelatin-like treats made with coconut milk. Really delicious.
Charlotte was not thrilled with her sandwich.
Hazel pounded hers. I think it had potatoes, carrots, peas, and some sort of mayonnaise-like sauce. Not sure what it was but Hazel ate it.
Leave it to Charlotte to made friends with someone who does not speak her language. I guess imagination fills in the gaps in communication as she just walked right up to this girl and they started playing. Really awesome.
Two rides we will remember - the Jurassic Park ride and Big Double Shock.
Jurassic Park: We piled in a rusty truck (1960s built) which was then driven through a plastic and real plant jungle where large steel and foam dinosaurs with one or two moving parts moved back and forth. It was so terrible but for some reason, the girls loved it and begged us to go again, so of course, we did.
Big Double Shock: This was a large building with a demon on the outside that had red-colored water pumping out its mouth. I explained to Charlotte it was a scary building and probably should not go in. She heard "This is a scary building and if you don't go in your life will never be complete and you will hate your father for the rest of your life if he does not take you right now because it is the coolest thing here in Thailand and you will be forever saddened if you don't go in!" So after some begging and promises that she would not be scared we went in. It was a large building, lots of black lights, caution tape, thin walls that took you back and forth like a maze, with an occasional stationary spooky scene. At one point a door slammed open on a highly pressurized hinge. Anticlimactic would not even begin to describe Great Big Double Shock. How did Charlotte do? She clung tightly to me, made me carry her, told me we should go back about 10 times, nearly cried, then when we finished, was so excited she talked about it every day, multiple times, for the next several weeks.
Day 5: Floating market. This is a tourist trap but an iconic part of Thailand so we checked it out.
Not sure what this is about. Just Hazel being Hazel.
Basically, you cruise down these really busy canals and there are vendors in boats or on the side of the canal selling stuff. Mostly touristy stuff, but we did find a new painting that we liked.
As I got out of the boat it started to drift forward. Hazel kind of freaked out as she thought I was being left behind. Thanks, Hazel for loving me!
The sad part is that I lost my sunglasses here. I bent over and off they came and into the canal. I bet they fished them out and sold them later. Good thing they were only $30.
We eventually met back up with Mana, and after some photos, did some more shopping. Again, tourist trap but very iconic and lots of fun.
After the markets, we moved on to Elephant riding!
Charlotte loved it.
Hazel as well.
Near the end, the drivers pulled us over, and after checking to make sure no one was watching they pulled out necklaces and bracelets that they claimed were made from elephant teeth and ivory which they said were sold to help feed the animals. Purchasing Ivory is against the law so I politely said no. Not that I believed it was actually ivory. My doubts were later confirmed when our tour guide said he bought some things a year to two ago and when he had it checked they told him it was made of plastic. He has been looking for the guy who sold it to him ever since then. Funny.
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