Don't freak out Mom!
So we had a little incident in our building . . . one of our darling neighbours decided to throw out something flammable into the communal trash room. Ryan and I were relaxing just before going to bed when we smelled something a little strange. This is actually not a strange thing in our building as the vents for the air conditioners seem to be connected somehow and we can sometimes note a hint of some unpleasant odour coming from our vents. In this particular occassion, however, the smell was quite strong. We knew something was definitely up when we heard what sounded like someone dousing a fire with a large amount of water. We peaked out our door and the hallways were quickly filling with smoke. We grabbed our essentials: passports, wallet and purse, and headed for the door, praying that our belongings wouldn't reak of smoke upon our return.
After about an hour of hanging out in the foyer, and seeing the local police officer and fireman (yes, only one - wearing a tee-shirt claiming he was a Thai Firefighter) we were allowed back upstaris to air out our apartment. The fire was not serious and was put out before any damage could be done, but our hallway still holds the faint hint of smoke. What was really funny is that the day after the fire, someone decided to 'hide' the smell of smoke in the hall with some wonderfully scented cologne. So for a week our hallway stunk of smoke and cheap cologne.
Our trip to the hospital was totally unrelated. We are quite well as a matter of fact. We needed to have a doctor write a letter stating we were healthy and that they should extend our visas. So off we went to spend hours in a dank waiting room, waiting for the nurse to call our names, watching all the people come in and not get served . . . oh wait, this isn't Canada!
Our hospital trip was nothing like either of us had ever experienced before. We showed up early for our appointment, it was a lot closer to our place than we thought, and were greeted by a lovely Thai man whose job it was to make sure we went to the right area. He showed us to the admin desk where they asked us to please fill out some paperwork, and would we like some water or cold tea while we waited. The waiting area was more like the lobby of some resort than a hospital, with big comfy chairs surrounding small coffee tables with an assortment of newspapers and magazines. No sooner had we finished our paperwork, when we were escorted to the next area where we waited about 5 mins before the doctor called us in. After a quick check it was decided that we were not alcoholics or drug addicts, and no, we did not suffer from elephantitis or leprosy, and we were the picture of health and should be recommended for an extended stay. Again we were ushered to another area where again we were asked politely to wait while they wrote up our letters. After about another 5 mins we were called to the desk, given our letters and asked to pay a small fee for their services and we were on our way.
All in all a pleasant experience.
Friday, January 26, 2007
The National Museum
Ok. Next lesson for the new blogger: when writing seperate blogs in order of how they occurred, one must publish in reverse order as that is how they show up. I guess you will all just have to figure the order out on your own!!
OK. Sunday (we had a big weekend!) we headed off to the National Museum. This is up by the Royal Palace (probably our next tourist destination - not to be confused with where the king currently resides) and involves a lot of travelling. So up the river we went and after a short walk we arrived at the museum. Unfortunately, they did not let us take pictures, so we only have a couple (before we knew the rules . . . oops!). The National Museum has one of the largest collections in Southeast Asia, and while the exhibits were a bit . . . different, it was really quite impressive.
This last picture is a diaramma - there were lots of these at the museum, which was a little . . . shall we say . . . different . . . but we did see a lot of really neat things as well.
My favourite room was the Royal Funeral Chariots Gallery which held several lavishly decorated teak chariots used in royal funeral processions. They were absolutely beautiful and absolutely huge! Apparently one of the is still in use, but I am not sure how they intend on getting it out of that room.
Ryan's favourite was the war room. It featured an array of weapons used throughout Thai history. It was pretty neat, as the Thai's used to use elephants in warfare - riding on top of them with spears and clubs, although we weren't too sure how effective the clubs were . . . or the elephants either for that matter. It seemed that the men didn't get close enough to do any real damage from on top and we are quite sure that the poor elephants took the brunt of it all.
The museum also had lots of art, tools, pottery, etc dating back to pre-historic times. It was neat to see the different styles in Buddha statues and art, but it made us glad we were not art-history majors as there is no way we could learn all the names for the different styles!
We also got to see the Dvaravati Wheel of Law, an 8th century stone wheel and deer that smbolizes the Buddha's first sermon in a deer park in Sarnath, India. While this feature is in all of the tourist books of 'must see,' it did not make it on my highlight reel.
The museum also featured The Red House, which was originally one of the old private residences of King Pinklao, and Issaretrachanusorn Hall, which provided another example of the Royal Thai life back in the day. The Hall only got a quick scan from us though as it was near the end of our day and we were roasting - the National Museum needs to work on its air conditioning!
OK. Sunday (we had a big weekend!) we headed off to the National Museum. This is up by the Royal Palace (probably our next tourist destination - not to be confused with where the king currently resides) and involves a lot of travelling. So up the river we went and after a short walk we arrived at the museum. Unfortunately, they did not let us take pictures, so we only have a couple (before we knew the rules . . . oops!). The National Museum has one of the largest collections in Southeast Asia, and while the exhibits were a bit . . . different, it was really quite impressive.
This last picture is a diaramma - there were lots of these at the museum, which was a little . . . shall we say . . . different . . . but we did see a lot of really neat things as well.
My favourite room was the Royal Funeral Chariots Gallery which held several lavishly decorated teak chariots used in royal funeral processions. They were absolutely beautiful and absolutely huge! Apparently one of the is still in use, but I am not sure how they intend on getting it out of that room.
Ryan's favourite was the war room. It featured an array of weapons used throughout Thai history. It was pretty neat, as the Thai's used to use elephants in warfare - riding on top of them with spears and clubs, although we weren't too sure how effective the clubs were . . . or the elephants either for that matter. It seemed that the men didn't get close enough to do any real damage from on top and we are quite sure that the poor elephants took the brunt of it all.
The museum also had lots of art, tools, pottery, etc dating back to pre-historic times. It was neat to see the different styles in Buddha statues and art, but it made us glad we were not art-history majors as there is no way we could learn all the names for the different styles!
We also got to see the Dvaravati Wheel of Law, an 8th century stone wheel and deer that smbolizes the Buddha's first sermon in a deer park in Sarnath, India. While this feature is in all of the tourist books of 'must see,' it did not make it on my highlight reel.
The museum also featured The Red House, which was originally one of the old private residences of King Pinklao, and Issaretrachanusorn Hall, which provided another example of the Royal Thai life back in the day. The Hall only got a quick scan from us though as it was near the end of our day and we were roasting - the National Museum needs to work on its air conditioning!
Wat Benchamabophit
After the Zoo, Ryan and I walked around the Dusit area a bit. The Chitrlada Palace, where the King and Queen currently reside, was right next door, but unfortunately all we could see were a bunch of security guards and high walls. Apparently they train the royal white elephants there, but we didn't see any.
We walked further down Ratchadamnoen avenue until we turned down a large soi (street) and found Ananta Samakom Throne Hall, pictured here.
It was originally made for King Rama V, out of marble, and has spectacular art throughout the Hall, but since we didn't know this at the time, we didn't go in. It was made with the intention of receiving guests and conducting meetings about state affairs. It was converted into the Parliament Building in 1932, but a new Parliament Building (relatively unimpressive) was built behind it and the Hall is now used for royal and state ceremonies.
Continuing our walk, Ryan and I came across Wat Benchamabophit. This was a lot less touristy than Wat Pho, and we were able to see some monks milling about. Supposedly, this is the place to go for witnessing monastic rituals, but I guess we weren't at the right time, because the monks we saw appeared to only be walking and chatting.
This was the last major temple to be built in central Bangkok, and is nicknamed the Marble Temple from the type of marble used on the walls.
Here is a shot from the outside . . .
The pic below shows the guardians at the doorway - they are always found at Temples, and we have spotted guardians at restaurants, hotels, and numerous other buildings.
Above, shows a line of Buddha images. They are castes of the images found in temples throughout Thailand.
Below, is the main Buddha image of this Wat. Ryan thinks my photography is quite phenomenal in this one, as the Buddha image appears to be glowing, but I am putting it off to pure luck!
We walked further down Ratchadamnoen avenue until we turned down a large soi (street) and found Ananta Samakom Throne Hall, pictured here.
It was originally made for King Rama V, out of marble, and has spectacular art throughout the Hall, but since we didn't know this at the time, we didn't go in. It was made with the intention of receiving guests and conducting meetings about state affairs. It was converted into the Parliament Building in 1932, but a new Parliament Building (relatively unimpressive) was built behind it and the Hall is now used for royal and state ceremonies.
Continuing our walk, Ryan and I came across Wat Benchamabophit. This was a lot less touristy than Wat Pho, and we were able to see some monks milling about. Supposedly, this is the place to go for witnessing monastic rituals, but I guess we weren't at the right time, because the monks we saw appeared to only be walking and chatting.
This was the last major temple to be built in central Bangkok, and is nicknamed the Marble Temple from the type of marble used on the walls.
Here is a shot from the outside . . .
The pic below shows the guardians at the doorway - they are always found at Temples, and we have spotted guardians at restaurants, hotels, and numerous other buildings.
Above, shows a line of Buddha images. They are castes of the images found in temples throughout Thailand.
Below, is the main Buddha image of this Wat. Ryan thinks my photography is quite phenomenal in this one, as the Buddha image appears to be glowing, but I am putting it off to pure luck!
Dusit Zoo
This weekend was another fun filled, sight-seeing adventure. We have learned that we need to get all the touristy stuff out of the way, because you get harrassed a lot by people wanting to sell you things when you are a tourist, so we need to limit our camera carrying time. Saturday Ryan and I found ourselves at Dusit Zoo. This is situated directly beside Chitrlada Palace, which is where the King and Queen reside. Unfortunately, other than military police, and high fences, we could not see much of the Palace.
An interesting thing about the Zoo was that it contained a Bomb Shelter. Apparently during WWII, the Thai government had a number of Shelter's built in various public areas so that if need be people would be able to seek shelter - although I am not sure how many people actually would have fit in this thing. They had a whole exhibit surrounding it noting Thailand's involvement in WWII with all sorts of pictures and memorabilia.
We saw a lot of your run of the mill Zoo animals, but we saw some interesting creatures as well - many I am hoping never to run into while we are over here! We saw some very unusual nocturnal animals that I would be terrified of! The animal anclosures were relatievly small, and sometimes housed a strange mix of animals, but you could get closer to the animals than in Toronto. Also, we noticed that the animals here were a lot more active, even though it was the middle of the day and 40 degree heat, and they got really good looking meals! At least they get fed well, maybe it makes up for the cramped quarters.
This is an Asian Black Bear. We were pretty impressed at how close we were able to get to this guy. He and his buddy were seperated from the public by a moat, but if you went around the corner you hit a rock wall with a big window with fairy large bars on it that let you get within 10 feet of this guy. I am pretty sure he could swipe at you from there if he really wanted to, but we have noticed that safety is not as strict in these parts.
The reptile exhibit was the most interesting for us. I don't remember what this little guys name is, but he (she?) appears to be sporting some sort of red lipstick, so we had to throw this picture up for you all to see.
We learned that the large lizards that we have been seeing in the water here are Monitor Lizards, and they grow lots bigger in the wild than at the zoo.
An interesting thing about the Zoo was that it contained a Bomb Shelter. Apparently during WWII, the Thai government had a number of Shelter's built in various public areas so that if need be people would be able to seek shelter - although I am not sure how many people actually would have fit in this thing. They had a whole exhibit surrounding it noting Thailand's involvement in WWII with all sorts of pictures and memorabilia.
We saw a lot of your run of the mill Zoo animals, but we saw some interesting creatures as well - many I am hoping never to run into while we are over here! We saw some very unusual nocturnal animals that I would be terrified of! The animal anclosures were relatievly small, and sometimes housed a strange mix of animals, but you could get closer to the animals than in Toronto. Also, we noticed that the animals here were a lot more active, even though it was the middle of the day and 40 degree heat, and they got really good looking meals! At least they get fed well, maybe it makes up for the cramped quarters.
This is an Asian Black Bear. We were pretty impressed at how close we were able to get to this guy. He and his buddy were seperated from the public by a moat, but if you went around the corner you hit a rock wall with a big window with fairy large bars on it that let you get within 10 feet of this guy. I am pretty sure he could swipe at you from there if he really wanted to, but we have noticed that safety is not as strict in these parts.
The reptile exhibit was the most interesting for us. I don't remember what this little guys name is, but he (she?) appears to be sporting some sort of red lipstick, so we had to throw this picture up for you all to see.
We learned that the large lizards that we have been seeing in the water here are Monitor Lizards, and they grow lots bigger in the wild than at the zoo.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Creatures of the Green Lagoon
After a lazy morning, Ryan and I decided to head out and explore the city some more. We headed off to Bangkok's largest and most popular park, Lumphini Park. It boasts 58 hectares of land, and in the centre are two artificial lakes where you can rent paddle boats and head out on the water, so that's what we decided to do.
The paddle boats were definitly not made for farang (expats) legs - and especially not mine! But we made do. I had just finished telling Ryan not to dangle his fingers in the murky waters - who knows what might have a nibble, when we spotted the creature . . . a massive Iguana!
He must have been at least 6 feet long! We followed him across the lake until he disappreared into his home.
We also spotted a few other smaller (4 footers) iguanas, some turtles, huge catfish, and lots of interesting birds on our 1/2 hour tour of the lake.
After our paddle we wandered around the park. I don't know if you are up on your Thai parklands, but they are work-out havens. People come in the mornings and evenings to run, do group aerobics and tai chi, or do the circuit training or weights that are found throughout the park. The park by our place is a smaller version, but after seeing what Lumphini has to offer Ryan and I have decided to travel the extra 20 mins on the skytrain and do the circuit one evening.
Anyway, here's some more pics from the park:
The paddle boats were definitly not made for farang (expats) legs - and especially not mine! But we made do. I had just finished telling Ryan not to dangle his fingers in the murky waters - who knows what might have a nibble, when we spotted the creature . . . a massive Iguana!
He must have been at least 6 feet long! We followed him across the lake until he disappreared into his home.
We also spotted a few other smaller (4 footers) iguanas, some turtles, huge catfish, and lots of interesting birds on our 1/2 hour tour of the lake.
After our paddle we wandered around the park. I don't know if you are up on your Thai parklands, but they are work-out havens. People come in the mornings and evenings to run, do group aerobics and tai chi, or do the circuit training or weights that are found throughout the park. The park by our place is a smaller version, but after seeing what Lumphini has to offer Ryan and I have decided to travel the extra 20 mins on the skytrain and do the circuit one evening.
Anyway, here's some more pics from the park:
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Our Condo
Our condo is a large Expat building that definitely has all the luxuries. The building has a laundry service, a massage clinic, and a store on the main floor, an outdoor and indoor swimmingpool (although they are both pretty chilly), squash courts, putting green, indoor driving range (wall?) and our personal favourite, the gym. There is also a sauna and jacuzzi's somewhere, but we have not put them to use yet.
Our apartment is a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, open concept living/dining/kitchen area and an office. It is way too big for the two of us, but it gives us lots of storage, and a place for company. The only thing we are missing is an oven, but I suppose we will get by somehow!!! Our balcony is a bit crowded with our washing maching and two air conditioner units, but it offers an interesting view. To the right we get to see the beautiful building next to us, and the corner of the building next to it! However, to the right we get a nice view of Bangok - although during the day it can look pretty smoggy! We do get to see a nice sun set over the city though.
All in all we feel pretty safe in our building and are just about feeling like home.
Our apartment is a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, open concept living/dining/kitchen area and an office. It is way too big for the two of us, but it gives us lots of storage, and a place for company. The only thing we are missing is an oven, but I suppose we will get by somehow!!! Our balcony is a bit crowded with our washing maching and two air conditioner units, but it offers an interesting view. To the right we get to see the beautiful building next to us, and the corner of the building next to it! However, to the right we get a nice view of Bangok - although during the day it can look pretty smoggy! We do get to see a nice sun set over the city though.
All in all we feel pretty safe in our building and are just about feeling like home.
New Year's in Pattaya
Instead of a Christmas holiday, New Year's is the big one here. Ryan had a number of days off work, so we decided to take advantage of the time off and head out on our first Thailand Adventure.
We decided on Pattaya, a small Beach town 2 hours away that sounded like an interesting place to ring in the New Year. We went online and managed to find some vacanices, hopped on a bus (115 baht each way = $4 CDN) and went on our way. As it was a big tourist town, we were quick to note the hike in prices. 100 baht for the taxi to our hotel - wait a minute, didn't we just pay that to take a bus 2 hours to get here? But it was New Years and we wanted to celebrate.
Our first hotel was perfect. The room was decorated with Teak Wood furniture and had a small balcony overlooking the pool and some of the town. We dropped off our bags and headed for the beach.
There is 15km of beach here, but that doesn't make any difference with the crowds, both in and out of the water. The ocean was a pretty aqua colour, but we weren't about to jump in - too many boats and jet skis ripping around, we were surprised there weren't more injuries! All along the beach were shops and vendors selling their knock off designer clothes, shoes, sunglasses, and anything else you could want. To add to the mix was a selection of bars, discos, and nightclubs that attract all walks of life. The food was pretty great here, and the servers understood whiskey cola (some places have difficulty with this) and Singha (Ryan's beer of choice) so we were happy. At night the crowds really picked up, and then you really could get anything you wanted from the street vendors!
Our second hotel held a New Years Gala Dinner and Dance, so come New Years Eve, we dressed up and headed for dinner. There was a delicious mix of Thai, Indian, and Seafood to gorge ourselves on, and we were entertained by a Thai singer, and some traditional Thai dancers - it was quite a spectacle. Shortly after dinner, I discovered that the Indian food was perhaps not the best dinner choice, but we were able to make it out to enjoy the fireworks at the pier. There was wall to wall people by the beach, but everyone was enjoying themselves in true New Years Eve fashion. As soon as it was dark, random fireworks started going off across Pattaya - from the beach, hotels, homes, you name it. From where we stood at midnight we were surrounded 360 degrees by fireworks, it was pretty incredible. Definitely a New Years to remember.
We decided on Pattaya, a small Beach town 2 hours away that sounded like an interesting place to ring in the New Year. We went online and managed to find some vacanices, hopped on a bus (115 baht each way = $4 CDN) and went on our way. As it was a big tourist town, we were quick to note the hike in prices. 100 baht for the taxi to our hotel - wait a minute, didn't we just pay that to take a bus 2 hours to get here? But it was New Years and we wanted to celebrate.
Our first hotel was perfect. The room was decorated with Teak Wood furniture and had a small balcony overlooking the pool and some of the town. We dropped off our bags and headed for the beach.
There is 15km of beach here, but that doesn't make any difference with the crowds, both in and out of the water. The ocean was a pretty aqua colour, but we weren't about to jump in - too many boats and jet skis ripping around, we were surprised there weren't more injuries! All along the beach were shops and vendors selling their knock off designer clothes, shoes, sunglasses, and anything else you could want. To add to the mix was a selection of bars, discos, and nightclubs that attract all walks of life. The food was pretty great here, and the servers understood whiskey cola (some places have difficulty with this) and Singha (Ryan's beer of choice) so we were happy. At night the crowds really picked up, and then you really could get anything you wanted from the street vendors!
Our second hotel held a New Years Gala Dinner and Dance, so come New Years Eve, we dressed up and headed for dinner. There was a delicious mix of Thai, Indian, and Seafood to gorge ourselves on, and we were entertained by a Thai singer, and some traditional Thai dancers - it was quite a spectacle. Shortly after dinner, I discovered that the Indian food was perhaps not the best dinner choice, but we were able to make it out to enjoy the fireworks at the pier. There was wall to wall people by the beach, but everyone was enjoying themselves in true New Years Eve fashion. As soon as it was dark, random fireworks started going off across Pattaya - from the beach, hotels, homes, you name it. From where we stood at midnight we were surrounded 360 degrees by fireworks, it was pretty incredible. Definitely a New Years to remember.
Christmas in Bangkok
I know I told you all that we were not expecting too much in the way of Christmas over here, but man were we wrong! Although most of the decorations are more to do with the commercial value of the holiday than any religious undertones, it is nice to see Christmas Trees and lights all over the city. It is a bit strange to see advertisements hanging from the Christmas Trees instead of ornaments though!
We spent Christmas Eve out for dinner at an Australian owned BBQ Restaurant called Tenderloins. We had quite a feast with Ryan's work colleagues, enjoying champagne, wine and lots of tasty food. After that it was off to a unique Japanese club for drinks before heading home for the night.
Christmas morning was spent sleeping in for me, and getting ready for work for Ryan. Not a holiday here! It was a little odd, but Ryan got off work early and we got ready for Christmas dinner. We managed to get into a British Pub down the road and ate a five course Turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Not as good as home, but it did the trick!
We spent Christmas Eve out for dinner at an Australian owned BBQ Restaurant called Tenderloins. We had quite a feast with Ryan's work colleagues, enjoying champagne, wine and lots of tasty food. After that it was off to a unique Japanese club for drinks before heading home for the night.
Christmas morning was spent sleeping in for me, and getting ready for work for Ryan. Not a holiday here! It was a little odd, but Ryan got off work early and we got ready for Christmas dinner. We managed to get into a British Pub down the road and ate a five course Turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Not as good as home, but it did the trick!
We're Here!
Well, after what seemed like forever in the air we are finally here! The flights were all good, and we made all of our connections easily enough (with a little running through the Hong Kong Airport). Ryan's perscription worked surprisingly well, and he slept most of the way here - a huge improvement from our previous flights, as those of you who had the pleasure of flying to Mexico with us can attest to!
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