emily's life in hong kong...
A narrative of my life in Hong Kong and in other parts of Asia
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Bangkok





We started off in Bangkok, touring the city, which mostly meant seeing the temples and doing some shopping. We had a whirlwind day, weaving our way through street vendors selling fresh fruit, glancing up at the scorching sun, and taking in all of the sights and smells and sounds. Bangkok's traffic was the most frustrating part, and another low point of the trip was seeing a rat. The temples were so ornately decorated, and even though we made it to only a fraction of them, we were awed by the detail and care that are put into maintaining them.
The third night there, we took an overnight bus ride to Krabi, down in Southern Thailand. This bus ride was filled with European Lonely Planet backpacker types, and we spent the night in a fog, as we were woken up several times, asked to switch buses, stop in the middle of the night for an hour food break, and were made to listen to early 90's rock music all night long. Definitely a unique experience.
From Krabi, we took a ferry to Ko Phi Phi, a small island with no cars and relatively little development.It was also one of the places most affected by the tsunami, and damage could still be seen in the midst of rebuilding. This was the highlight of the trip for all of us, and we spent three nights and days on the beach, snorkeling, boating, kayaking to the limestone cliffs, diving (well, not me), dancing, watching a fire dancing show, playing cards, listening to music, drinking fresh fruit juice, and eating more delicious Thai food.
From there, we took a ferry to Phuket, another major tourist destination. We spent a few days on the beach, shopping, and relaxing. I tried parasailing for the first time...would definitely do it again. This is also where we took our standard elephant ride...this was one of the goals of the trip. Quite different than my last ride of 8 years old at the Denver Zoo.
We made it back to Bangkok for one more night on Easter Sunday. Thailand is definitely a place I would like to visit again...it's pretty easy to get used to the island/beach lifestyle.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
woah...bangkok!
I am currently sitting in an internet cafe in Bangkok, waiting for our overnight bus to take us to Phuket and Ko Phi Phi down South. Woah...what a great month.
2 unexpected highlights so far:
1. Seeing 2 elephants in the first 2 hours of being here, right outside of a Subway and Dairy Queen, just strolling down the street.
2. Going to the Night Bizarre and talking music with a CD vendor...excellent selection and choice. I bought a few for 2$ each.