Family Reunion

Sheesh, is it February already!?! Last week we were back in Thailand but this time there was an added treat for Michelle as her Uncle Steve and Aunt Angela joined us. Her relatives hail from Ipswich, England. It had been about 7 years since she had seen them so she was very excited. We had one day in Bangkok so we caught a taxi and headed off to take in the city's greatest treasures!

We first took a long tailed boat tour of the Chao Phraya River. We weaved through homes built on stilts as well as zoomed past downtown high rises.

Despite it's grandeur, the Royal Palace is no longer home to the royal family. Their home, the Chitlada Palace, is in the northern part if the city. Still the Royal Palace is a must see for tourists. It was the order of King Rama I to build this dwelling in 1782. Adjacent is also one of the most revered holy sights of Thailand, Wat Phra Kaew and boy-oh- boy was it shiny! It's prized jewel is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Emerald Buddha was carved from a block of green jade and was first discovered in Chiang Rai in 1434. It was interesting to discover that emerald relic changes his costume 3x per year depending on the season. Just remember even though Bangkok is hot and humid year around you cannot have exposed skin when entering holy sites. This includes skin from the knee down, shoulders, and midriffs. Fortunately they had a place where you could rent clothing so we were able to enter.

View from the outside entrance

Mich with Aunt Angela in front of Emerald Temple

Painting outlining the entire,  inner temple walls 

Me in my temple-approved fancy pants

The Royal Palace

Not quite up to the standards of the guards protecting the Queen of England as these 2 were checking out Michelle!

We then made our way to Wat Pho, Bangkok's largest and oldest surviving temple. It's main attraction is the reclining Buddha, but costing 100 Baht to take a look was money best spent elsewhere. I googled it instead. We finished the evening with a round of Leos Beers on khaosan road. Since it was the Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon) we faced little to no traffic.


The next morning we all met with Mich's parents and headed for some nature. Khao Yai National Park is 50 km of trekking trails and 2167 sq. km. of sprawling monsoon forest. It is the 2nd largest national reserve in Thailand. The entry fee was 400 Baht. The weather was not in our favor that day but that did scare off the wildlife. We motor- biked to the Suwat Waterfall which was featured in the movie, The Beach. We made our way to a viewpoint that overlooked the entire park. The park is perfect for camping and was littered with several backpackers and locals.

Beautiful view overlooking the national park

:)

Suwat Waterfall - NO Swimming Allowed :(

Deers were a common sight, people were feeding them bread earlier

Monkey pictures never get old

At certain points during our trip we would ask ourselves, "Wait a sec, are we in Thailand?" One of those occasions was when the entire family headed off to wine country in neighboring vineyards of Khao Yai. There we had a picnic and sampled wine. While wine tasting is fashionable both Michelle and I can't stand the taste of it regardless the color, age, or flavor. The only time I enjoyed drinking wine was when I had to race to finish a jug of Carlo Rossi. It was a friendly competition among Fraternity Gentlemen and I have no regrets!! :) Still it was a very enjoyable time on a nice day. After a few more days of lounging around the pool we said goodbye to Mich's aunt and uncle. They were off to New Zealand for several weeks, but we planned to meet up again in Malaysia in mid-March.

After effects of wine - crazy photo pic

Merlot '86, please

Vineyards

Khao Yai Gardens Hotel - 200 Baht a night

Our stay in Khao Yai and the neighboring city of Pachong was primarily due to the balloon contract Michelle's father had been assigned to. The deal allowed her parents free stay at one of the finest resorts in the country, The Kirimaya. One night alone can set you back $500 and that doesn't include a tee time on the links or the nightly wine tasting. The place has an infinity pool, massage lounge, gym, 18 hole golf course (designed by Jack Nicklaus), bar and restaurant. Yet, their room did come with a admittance to a breakfast buffet. I'm not only talking toast and jam here more like an omelette bar, bacon, sausage, whole wheat baguettes, fresh fruits, baked beans, an assortment of teas/ coffee, currries, cheeses, salads, meats, rice soup.... So you could imagine the saliva pooling underneath Michelle and my faces when her parents offered us the breakfast experience one morning. They had 28 more mornings to enjoy it and they were fearful that a weight gain was inevitable! We were very thankful!

I can see you drooling now!

We ended our stay in Thailand just as we had started it, with some local food and a round of Leos. We said our goodbyes and got a good night's rest before our border crossing into Cambodia the following morning. From what we had heard the Thai- Cambodia border is full of crooked scam artist who bamboozle unsuspecting travelers into paying inflated rates and unecessary fees. Good thing Michelle and I are seasoned backpakers who don't take any riff-raff from poachers. All we can say is "Bring It!"

Mich, myself, and her parents enjoying some well deserved brews. The border patrol won't know what hit them!