From Hua Hin to Home

After Erawan Waterfall, we took the Magic Bus back to town, hopped another bus (which appeared to be the local school bus) to the town of Ratchaburi and the got a train from Ratchaburi to Hua Hin, the beach resort town not too far from Bangkok.

There is really not too much to report on Hua Hin, other than there are an absurd amount of elderly Europeans in speedos here. A cyclone was brewing out in the South China Sea, so the winds were really picking up. Though, it was cloudy and cool, Jason and Joanna both managed to get sunburned in only one day at the beach. Another noteworthy part of Hua Hin is the great sales pitch that Jason received to buy a suit: "FRIENDSHIP!" he cried, grabbing Jason's hand, not letting go. Needless to say, we did not buy any suits, despite the advice from our friends.

The next day, we went to the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park just south of town. Unfortunately, this is the point in the trip where the camera died and we didn't have spare batteries, so you will just have to live a thousand words, instead of the picture. First we walked through a mangrove forest, then we hiked up a mountain side to a cave at the top of the mountain, and then we took a boat ride through the marshlands where there were spectacular views of cliffs and rocky mountains jutting out of the water. We got got got to see some crazy looking lizards and egrets. It was a beautiful park.

The next day, after getting pelted a little more by the sand picked up in the high winds, we had had enough, and took the bus back to Bangkok. The following picture is of Khao San Road, close to where we stayed in the backpacker district. It was absurdly busy with tourist shops and bars where you can get everything from tee shirts, to fake IDs, to "stong cocktails real cheap", and as always, don't forget-- suits.Finally, the last day of our trip, we took a cooking class in the morning with a vegetarian restaurant owner, who calls herself May Kaidee. (Apparently, in Thai, Kaidee means "good sales." This is not a joke.) Here we are at the market buying some basil and eggplants.

We had a lot of fun cooking with May. The food was some of the best that we've eaten on the trip. As soon as we find a local source for ganlangal, keffir lime leaves, and lemon grass, you all reading this will have to come over for some Thai food. But, don't hold your breath.

That afternoon, we took a last walk around the city, and went to the Golden Mount with some remarkable views of the city.

To end a truly amazing trip to Southeast Asia, this is about when Jason got pooped on by a bird, Joanna started to come down with the flu, and we got onto a plane for about 24 hours.

The End.

Like a Bridge over Trouble Water: Kanchanaburi, Thailand

After flying back to Bangkok, we immediately did our best to get OUT of that city, having seen enough of it already. So, we took a train to Kanchanaburi. On our way out of town, most of the streets were closed down for the funeral pyre of the sister of the king. This picture doesn't even do justice to the incredible throngs of people dressed in black.

In Kanchanaburi, we checked into a hotel that seemed cool enough at first. It was a floating hotel on the River Kwai with beautiful views of a pagoda and a few lillypads and lotus flowers just down stream.Little did we know that it was ridiculously moldly and gross. We only stayed here one night.

The following day, we got bikes and toured around a few museums on the WWII history of Kanchanaburi and the Siam/Burma Death Railway. (Same railway we took to get to the province.) It is a remarkable and sad history that we, in the west never hear too much about. Then we biked down to the Bridge over River Kwai. You can walk across the bridge, which seems cool enough at first, until Joanna realized that it was 30+ feet above the river, nothing between her and the edge of the railway, the possiblity of an oncoming train (which happened), and a mob of tourists all pushing and elbowing to get on and off the bridge. Needless to say, Joanna got a little grumpy....

The next day we caught a bus to the Erawan Waterfall outside of town. The seven-teired waterfall is named after the myth of the three-headed elephant because it supposedly looks like the elephant, although we could never figure out why. The falls were beautiful, the hike was great, and the water was cool and refreshing.

Be careful of getting cramps while swimming! Wait an hour after eating! Careful! You're gonna shoot your EYE out!

Hello! Tuk tuk! Day three of Angkor

On our third day of the Angkor Park, we decided to splurge and go for the tuk-tuk. Riding in style, we covered more ground, but inhaled approximately the same amount of dust, if not more. This day, we saw the monuments occupying the back section of the park, including:

Preah Khan, with its similarities to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom-

Neak Pean, which used to be an island and had functioning fountains-

Bantey Kdei, atop a hillside with spectacular views-

After finding this, we just had to click our heads three times and say, "There's no place like home!"





That's about it for Angkor. The next day we packed up and headed out, after going to a museum (price for foreigners, including special Obama "discount" $12; price for Cambodians: $3). And another FYI about Cambodia making money off of tourists-- it's the only country I've ever heard of where the exit fee is greater than entry. There goes another $25 to get out.