we got up early and called our friend troy, who lives and works in bangkok. he gave us some recommendations for the day. we went to the robinson's food court for lunch, where we ate basil chicken with rice and egg, a papaya salad, watermelon and a taro pastry.
then we headed for the grand palace, which is where the thai king used to live, and is the national jewel. bangkok has a subway system, which was nice to be back on after cabs and boats. we took the train to the river, and took a river boat to the palace. we noticed all the tourists took a tourist boat that cost 150 baht, per person but w found the boat the locals take which cost 15 baht per person.
the palace is pretty amazing. it's huge and you could spend the whole day. we took a quick walk around as it was really hot, then left for lunch. we ate lunch at the koreatown plaza, which holds about 20 korean restaurants. it was pretty good. i was impressed that the korean lady who owned the restaurant we ate at spoke thai pretty well, from what i could tell.
we went home for a nap. then took off again for siam, where we went shopping at the street stalls of local thai designers, although i found many clothes made in korea. then we went to mbk, a mall. we were pretty overwhelmed and didn't end up buying much. then we went to the suan lum night bazaar, where we ate fish with ginger and walked around - they have traditional stuff there.
i think one more day in bangkok would've been good. we were exhausted at the end of the day trying to cram everything in.
7/20/10
thailand: day 5
after breakfast at the hotel we packed our bags and got on a speedboat back to ton sai, the main pier on phi phi island. we dropped off some laundry, ran some errands and picked up lunch. after getting our laundry back we got on the boat to krabi. our diving instructor, champ, is thai and he happened to be on the same boat. w had a good chat with him about life in thailand and his upcoming marriage.
we arrived at the port in krabi, and took a taxi to the airport. we had time to kill so we got thai massages there. then we got on a plane to bangkok. from there we took a cab to our hotel. we were hungry but too tired to go find food, so we slept early.
we arrived at the port in krabi, and took a taxi to the airport. we had time to kill so we got thai massages there. then we got on a plane to bangkok. from there we took a cab to our hotel. we were hungry but too tired to go find food, so we slept early.
7/18/10
thailand: day 4
we had breakfast early and w went diving in the morning to complete his open water certification. he said he saw a shark and 2 barracudas. he also learned more skills. meanwhile, i took a nap, read a book and got familiarized with the area.
when he returned we had lunch and went snorkeling around the island. then we went swimming at the pool, went back to our room, washed up and relaxed until dinner time. we had a pasta buffett dinner and regretted not getting thai food instead.
when he returned we had lunch and went snorkeling around the island. then we went swimming at the pool, went back to our room, washed up and relaxed until dinner time. we had a pasta buffett dinner and regretted not getting thai food instead.
7/17/10
random trip photos
i finally burned a CD of some of the images. here are a few...
i was going to post more but i'm running out of time on the internet. more later.
my favorite meal in korea (icheon, famous for good rice)
sapa, mountain country in vietnam
w picking veggies from my aunt's garden in namhae, korea
i was going to post more but i'm running out of time on the internet. more later.
thailand: day 3
by now we were wishing we had planned more time in thailand. the weather is slightly cooler than vietnam, and everything is a little nicer, but still different. the food is amazing.
we got up early and got on a boat to go scuba diving. we were to do 2 dives that day in two locations. i was feeling nervous. the boat was rocky and i started feeling a little nauseous. we went down for our first dive. it was pretty amazing - saw tons of fish and a barracuda.
then the not so fun part began. we came out of the water and breaked for lunch. before eating, we were to do more tests: swimming around the boat twice and floating in the water for 10 minutes. i completed the swim but during the float i started feeling nautious. i got back on the edge of the boat and began puking. i puked until all my breakfast came out. the fish loved it and all came to eat the "food". sorry, i know this is tmi!
i didn't eat lunch. i wasn't going to go back down but the instructor encouraged my to go down just for 20 minutes. i reluctantly agreed and went down. we ended up staying down there for 40 minutes. i'm glad i went because that second dive earned my completion of the PADI scuba diving certification.
we got back to the island and chilled. we ate gelato, did some shopping and ate phad thai. w went back to the school to continue on with the Open Water certification, which i decided not to get. this means you can dive alone, but i don't think i'd ever want to go down without a guide. w loves scuba diving, because he loves animals and you really do get to see a lot of cool stuff down there.
while he finished class i walked around, got some gifts and chilled at a bookstore. lots of used bookstores here where travelers buy and sell their books.
w and i ate a grilled fish for dinner, then took a long boat to our second hotel, which was about a 30 minute boat ride.
we got up early and got on a boat to go scuba diving. we were to do 2 dives that day in two locations. i was feeling nervous. the boat was rocky and i started feeling a little nauseous. we went down for our first dive. it was pretty amazing - saw tons of fish and a barracuda.
then the not so fun part began. we came out of the water and breaked for lunch. before eating, we were to do more tests: swimming around the boat twice and floating in the water for 10 minutes. i completed the swim but during the float i started feeling nautious. i got back on the edge of the boat and began puking. i puked until all my breakfast came out. the fish loved it and all came to eat the "food". sorry, i know this is tmi!
i didn't eat lunch. i wasn't going to go back down but the instructor encouraged my to go down just for 20 minutes. i reluctantly agreed and went down. we ended up staying down there for 40 minutes. i'm glad i went because that second dive earned my completion of the PADI scuba diving certification.
we got back to the island and chilled. we ate gelato, did some shopping and ate phad thai. w went back to the school to continue on with the Open Water certification, which i decided not to get. this means you can dive alone, but i don't think i'd ever want to go down without a guide. w loves scuba diving, because he loves animals and you really do get to see a lot of cool stuff down there.
while he finished class i walked around, got some gifts and chilled at a bookstore. lots of used bookstores here where travelers buy and sell their books.
w and i ate a grilled fish for dinner, then took a long boat to our second hotel, which was about a 30 minute boat ride.
thailand: day 2
we got up early in the morning, had breakfast at the hotel, then got picked up by a truck to head to the port. from there we took a 2 hour boat to phi phi island. immediately we headed for the diving center to sign up for scuba diving.
we had classroom instruction while enjoying really good fried rice and pastries from local vendors, and then went into the water for skills learning. i panicked at first but was able to complete all of the skills. then we went back for more classroom instruction.
then we checked into the hotel and explored the town. had dinner (green curry, chicken and papaya salad) at a place called papaya. the food was really good. we already started falling in love with thailand.
we went back to the hotel and went to bed early.
we had classroom instruction while enjoying really good fried rice and pastries from local vendors, and then went into the water for skills learning. i panicked at first but was able to complete all of the skills. then we went back for more classroom instruction.
then we checked into the hotel and explored the town. had dinner (green curry, chicken and papaya salad) at a place called papaya. the food was really good. we already started falling in love with thailand.
we went back to the hotel and went to bed early.
vietnam day 11 / thailand day 1
so the night before we took a van from sapa to laocai. then we took the night train from laocai to hanoi. we took a taxi to the airport. we then waited 5 hours at the hanoi airport for our flight. i saw 2 rats at the airport. by this point we were tired and ready to leave vietnam. we finally got on a plane from hanoi to bangkok. we waited 4 more hours at the airport, then flew from bangkok to krabi. then took a cab to our hotel.
after checking in we went to the night market where we had really good phad thai, mangosteen, honey chicken on skewers and durian for the first time. we went back to the hotel and went to bed.
already we could see a big difference between vietnam and thailand. thailand is much more developed and even the street food is cleaner.
after checking in we went to the night market where we had really good phad thai, mangosteen, honey chicken on skewers and durian for the first time. we went back to the hotel and went to bed.
already we could see a big difference between vietnam and thailand. thailand is much more developed and even the street food is cleaner.
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