Wednesday March 11

Oran spotted me before I saw them. I must have scanned a thousand faces waiting by the arrivals gate at the airport before we connected; Colin pushing a luggage trolley with Oran cheerfully riding on top while Sarah walked beside. They looked very good after traveling for almost twenty four hours. We got a taxi and went to our hotel and said goodnight.

We met at breakfast in the morning. Oran, who loves fruit, was excited to have a whole plate full of fresh fruit in front of him. The breakfast, a typical large resort buffet, was good, with both Asian and western choices. After eating we went to the MBK shopping center on the sky train, and after shopping and drinking coffee Nonnie took Oran back to the hotel while Sarah, Colin, and I we went for a foot massage. Sarah was very doubtful at first as she had never had a foot massage, but sixty minutes later she was addicted; so relaxing!

Yesterday morning after breakfast we went by sky train to the Chao Praya river where we took a river taxi boat to Wat Pho, one of the most famous spots in Bangkok, and unfortunately for us one of the most crowded. It was very hot so after seeing the huge reclining Buddha we took an air conditioned taxi to the River City shopping complex, where we had a good lunch with a great view of the river. On the way home in the free shuttle boat the driver picked Oran up and put him in the driver's seat beside himself and let Oran drive the boat. The Chao Praya is a big bustling river and our little boat was all over it, but we made it back fine and Oran couldn't stop talking about his driving experience.

Today we went back to the river and took a tour of the klongs – canals – in a long tail boat, a long narrow boat with an inboard motor and a propeller on the end of a long drive shaft that can be moved up or down – in or out of the water. The ride was fairly smooth and we only got splashed with water a few times. We saw lots of houses, new and old, a huge variety of flowers and fruit trees, birds, and a big Monitor lizard sunning himself on a concrete pier.

Tomorrow we check out and travel to Sangklaburi, on the border with Burma.

March 8, 2015 - Bangkok

Yesterday morning I woke up refreshed after a good sleep. We arrived the night before after a long flight from Seattle to Tokyo to Bangkok. I thought I was going to miss out jet lag but last night I couldn't sleep and today I have been staggering around totally unable to figure out what time it is,

Our 39^th anniversary was on the 6^th, but because we crossed the international date line we essentially missed it. So yesterday, the 7^th, we celebrated with dinner at 22 Kitchen, at the top of the Dusit Thani Hotel, where we stayed the first two nights. The views were great and the food was even better. I had clam chowder and then scallops, both cooked in a unique style. Nick, the young chef from Hawaii, was up checking on how everyone liked their food. We complimented him on his food and his presentation, which was beautiful.

On the flight out we each watched about a half dozen movies, including Mocking Jay (part 1,) Finding Vivian Maier, 300; Birth of an Empire, The Drop, Happy Feet 2, The Equalizer, and more. So what did we do on our first day in Bangkok, after getting a foot massage? We went to the movies. We saw Chapie in a posh theater where they give you a blanket and hot coffee and a muffin from Starbucks as you relax in your private luxury seat. The theater was great, the movie so so, a cross of Wall-E and Robocop.

Today we stretched breakfast time out for a couple of hours then did some errands, packed our suitcases, and took a taxi to our current hotel, The Anantara Sathorn. We have a big room, actually two rooms, on the 19^th floor. After dinner we went to Zoom, the rooftop bar, 39 floors up, where I took in the specatular views while Nonnie kept a death grip on her chair.

Tonight Colin, Sarah, and Oran arrive and I will go to the airport to meet them.  Then we have three days in Bangkok before we go north to Sangklaburi.