It is located in a quiet neighbourhood and the only foreigners we see here are the ones at KAMA and we have met many wonderful young people from all over the world. Again we are the oldies here!
Chris and his staff, especially Jen are wonderful hosts who love a good conversation and go out of their way to help you. We will miss them when we leave!
Myself and Jen...
When we flew back from Myanmar we stayed a night in Bangkok and then went to the beach about 3 hours south to a town called Cha Am which is a place that the Thais go on holiday. It was really rough around the edges but the beach was nice and our room way under budget and clean so we enjoyed the time there.
We took the bus and as we got nearer to the ocean there were many salt farms along the way...
Since no one on the bus spoke English we were wondering when we would know to get off, well they stopped on the side of the hoghway and indicated this is it. When we got off there were no taxis but some guys with motorcycles who said they would take us to the beach, so they put each of us and our luggage on the bike and off we went...
The beach here is quite long with very low tide and big waves...
At the back there is a row of shade trees with chairs and tables we could rent for 3 dollars a day...
And most of our neighbours were old and older European men with very young Thai women, they were everywhere and seemed to make up the largest group of tourists here. It was interesting to observe and Don and I had many conversations about the situation. One of the men we met from Oslo told us he had been coming here for years and eight years ago he had married a Thai woman and had taken her and her son back to Norway and they were here on vacation. According to him it was much worse years ago but now a lot of the young women work in factories and tourism so they don't need a relationship to survive. Does this exist then because of poverty? Is it a business relationship? Who has the control in the relationship?
We quickly got in a routine and would start each day with breakfast at the French bakery...
Go to the beach...
Always full of Thai families and kids enjoying riding the waves on inner tubes...
And beach vendors like this lady who took a liking to Don and of course he bought a bracelet from her! She came back the next day to see if I would buy one but she declared " you cheap" since I wouldn't pay the price she was asking!
Here we enjoyed lots of local food, especially seafood...
Great night markets...
And I just had to try these...
For us when we are travelling a week at the beach feels like a holiday because we have no schedule, no plans to make and we can both relax.
One of the times we came through Bangkok we were thrilled to be treated to great burgers by Jill and Steve Edison and their children Abbie and Ben. Jill is a childhood friend of our eldest daughter who is living in Bangkok since Steve works here. A bonus was also enjoying the company of her visiting parents, Bill and Judy. A great evening and we really enjoyed catching up with them!
We also did some sightseeing as we passed through so we spent some time visiting the number one attraction in Bangkok, The Grand Palace. It was packed and so hot that we did not stay too long but did get a sense of the place...
The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, not far from the river. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. The present monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), currently resides in the Dusit Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Thailand.
The grounds are quite large with very impressive buildings and temples...
Rather than being a single structure, the Grand Palace is made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards. Its asymmetry and eclectic styles are due to its organic development, with additions and rebuilding being made by successive reigning kings over 200 years of history. It is divided into several quarters: the Temple of the Emerald Budda, the Outer Court, with many public buildings; the Middle Court, the Inner Court and the Siwalai Gardens quarter. The Grand Palace is currently partially open to the public as a museum, but it remains a working palace, with several royal offices still situated inside.
There are the Royal Guards...
Beautiful detailed work...
Places to worship...
To meditate...
It was a overall quite a spectacle...
Being back in Bangkok also gave us another opportunity to ride the River and this time at sunset...
Another day we took the river taxi to Chinatown which is quite large here in Bangkok and very typical of Chinatowns everywhere...
Brightly decorated temples...
Busy streets...
Interesting street food...
Eels on ice...
Don't think I would eat these...
We have enjoyed our time here especially the neighbourhood...
Here is one of our neighbours, Don was tempted to pay him a visit...
This guy serves up some tasty pad Thai, usually a lineup...
Exercise in the park in the evenings when it is cooler...
Drinks on the patio...
But sadly our time in SE Asia is now over, where has 3 and half months gone? We have visited 7 countries and had a lot of adventures for sure. But we have one more country to visit and are looking forward to breathing some cooler air as 40 plus degrees is beginning to get to us!
Tomorrow morning we leave for Japan for two weeks and then back to Canada, will miss SE Asia a lot and Don says especially the cheap and cold beer!
This all looks and sounds interesting Debbie...Beautiful pictures. You have had quite an adventure....Tom K.
ReplyDeleteYes Tom, we have had a wonderful few months for sure! We are now in our last country Japan and will head back to Canada in a couple of weeks. We have enjoyed the trip but are both looking forward to getting home. Thanks for following and commenting. Debbie
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