Tantalizing Thailand

Thailand has been an adventure.  It was broken up into three different parts as we crossed in and out of this country a few times so we decided to delay the post on this country until we were completely finished.

Thailand part one had us zip lining through the jungle canopy.  This was a lot of fun and definitely got the heart pumping.  The longest zip was just over 300m and we picked up a lot of speed.  The little Thai guy had a hard time stopping me (Dan) at the end of the 300m and I smashed into the tree.  Actually the guide and I smashed into the tree.  We also got an introduction to Bangkok.  This is a very big city with a lot going on. (More on this later as we only had one day to explore the city at this juncture).  On day two of this tour we quickly left Thailand.

Part two of Thailand had us returning to the country from Laos.  We were now in northern Thailand.  The pace here is a lot slower than it is in the central and south.  It might be due to its proximity to Laos.  We stopped at the White Temple.  There are a couple pictures here.  What makes these pictures special is the fact that two days after we left that area the temple was hit by a 6.2 earthquake and the top of the temple fell off.  We definitely lucked out by not being there at that time.  After experiencing Northern Thailand we got onto a night train to Bangkok.  Other than it stinking of urine the trip was uneventful.  Entering Bangkok for the second time with a little knowledge under our belt and a bit more time gave us a chance to really explore the city.  Highlights of the city were going to the sky bar where Hangover II was filmed.  This was exciting and gave us a great view of the city.  Lisa and I explored the various markets, restaurant streets and street shopping areas.  I even tried BBQ scorpion.  It was crunchy and I was told to avoid the claws as they could chip your teeth. 

Part three of Thailand had us meet our new group and head south.  This group was very different from the others in that Lisa and I were definitely the oldest people.   We definitely showed that we could keep up with them with no issues.  Again we took a night train.  This was by far the best train we have used so far.  We headed to the karst island on the south eastern part of the country in the Gulf of Thailand.  The first island was very basic and very beautiful.  The geckos were everywhere including our room.  One of them looked like a baby alligator.  We also had a chance to climb the mountains in the intense heat.  It was here that we had two tough nights sleeping as there was no AC and the temperature was very warm.  The next island was more touristy and the hotel had more amenities.  We have included pictures of the various things we saw and did.

We are still having a great time and the adventures never seem to stop.  Thailand was not that eventful but we did learn a lot.

Thailand Family Robinson

White Temple before the earthquake

Lisa in front of the White Temple

Lisa and Dan at the Sky Bar (Hangover II Bar)

Thailand skyline

Best sleeper train and our new group

View and hike on Koh Panang (Word of advice: don't hike in
38 degree temps if you don't like sweating a lot)

View of our Koh Panang beach 

Playing volleyball with our new group

Our Gecko roommate

One of the numerous temples

Anyone need a hand

The Happy Budda

Covering up before going into temples is a must

Selfie in front of one of the temples

Overlooking the waters of Koh Samui

Mummified Monk

Lisa Ziplining

Typical Asian Toilet and bucket to flush with (notice no toilet paper)
We have stories

Canals of Bangkok (much easier to get around as there is little traffic)

Protest area of Bangkok (we left two days before the protests erupted again)

Human fire display - that is a guy in the middle swinging it around.
(Here is an idea for Putty)