Ladyboys, Elephants and Opium Dens

With images of The Hangover 2 in my head we arrived in Bangkok expecting to shelter the kids from Ladyboys, a flourishing sex trade and a dizzying pace. Upon arrival it became evident that in addition to the above, three days in this city was more than enough due to the heat and people.

To take refuge from the heat, we conquered the transit system and made it to one of the largest shopping mall districts in the world. Firstly, the MBK Mall is complete with knock-off goods in a combination of shops and a street market atmosphere. As you proceed along the malls and through each floor, the selection of stores becomes more expensive and luxurious. The final
mall is complete with a Lambourghini dealership, a million dollar Bentley, eye glass frames made from mammoth tusks and name brands we have only heard of. This strip of malls within a few blocks definitely shows the status difference of the population in Bangkok. We did however take advantage of a bit of the luxury at the mall though and took in the release of The Avengers. A movie in Bangkok is quite the experience, for a nominal fee you can upgrade your ticket to "Emperor Seating" which provides you with your own plush recliner, blanket and pillow. In addition, you are served your concession goodies at your seat and have access to the VIP lounge for a free pre-screening beverages. It was awesome!!! The only strange part is that your expected to stand up for the national anthem before any movie begins while watching clips of the Thai King.

From the little we saw of Bangkok, the people in Bangkok are much different than the rest of SE Asia appearing to be less friendly and hardened and we always got the impression a scam was in the works. So it became apparent we needed to leave the city quickly so that we did not only prejudge the entire country but to not ruin our memories of the entire region's people.

We then hopped on the train for a 16 hour journey north to Chiang Mai. Stepping off the train we were immediately back in our comfort zone and at peace again letting our new found inner Buddha's out. Chiang Mai's landscape is very similar to what we saw in Northern Laos with forested mountains, rivers and a relaxed atmosphere but a much bigger center. We rented bicycles to see the abundance of temples and sites throughout the old walled city. This turned out to be a comical affair with Jake's pedal falling off and Jeff's bike having a bent rear tire which may be due to his new found outer Buddha. Next was a day with the elephants, we were able to learn some basic commands, ride the beasts and bathe them in the river. As you can see from the video sometimes these animals are a bit stubborn and preferred to eat rather than what the kids wanted them to do. It may also have been the children's accented Thai commands. But as the old joke goes..."where does a 1000lb gorilla sit?...anywhere he wants!". It was a fantastic day with the highlight giving the elephants a bath in the river and having a bit of a water fight.

After that we dedicated one day to take a trip further north to the Burma border and to take in the Golden Triangle. On the way we visited a modern temple called Wat Rong Khun (The White Temple), where we finally found a temple that Elyssa actually enjoyed. It could be that it had modern pop images such as Angry Birds, Kung Fu Panda, assorted super heroes and even Michael Jackson on a mural depicting the wrongs and evils of modern society. From there we continued north to Mae Sae which is the northern most point of Thailand and is situated on the Thailand/Burma border. Here we were able to take in an actual local market and had lunch with a final bill of $4, proving like anywhere in Asia if you get off the tourist streets one could thrive on a very small budget. It was then east to the Golden Triangle to see the actual geographic location where we also took in a fantastic museum called the Hall Of Opium which detailed the history of Opium, the opium trade and the dangers of drugs relating to today's morphine and heroine. The kids seemed to really soak in the center and we believe they learned a lot...if anything they did learn how to smoke an Opium pipe!

We are now ready for some beach time and are heading south to the Phuket region and a week on Koh Lanta Island. Between last month's tsunami warnings in Phuket and an island off season due to seasonal monsoon winds we are not sure what to expect. I am sure we will manage and the price is right in off season.

Bye for now!