I know that it has taken me a while to get this one posted but I hope you think it has been worth the wait! Andrew has finally finished editing the pictures so that I can put them out there for viewing.
It's hard to know where to start to describe our first experience in the far east. Even though I broke out in an aggressive rash the second day we arrived we both enjoyed it immensely. I ended up in the emergency room at the end of the first week and we decided the rash was probably a food allergy. Thankfully it was treated with some steriods and antihistamines so that the second week was much more enjoyable for me.
We had met an American man in Kuwait who married a Thai lady, Bill and Nee, and travels back to Thailand 3-4 times a year so they were full of helpful hints for us. It was really nice knowing how to navigate through the passport and customs section and having someone waiting for us with a sign (Mark was a referral from Bill and Nee) to take us straight to our hotel.
Our first impression of Bangkok was a very big city but you have to remember we had just finished a lot of traveling. We stayed overnight in a place called the Dream Hotel in a busy part of the city. As we were both pretty much exhausted we opted for dinner in the hotel that night. Once we had a great thai meal they cleared the floor for salsa dancing of all things! This hotel host salsa night once a week and we were actually pretty impressed with several of the locals that come out to enjoy the dance floor. I made it to 1 am and Andrew made it to 2 am. That is really late for us but I don't think our bodies had a clue what time it was that night.
We woke up the next morning to some traditional asian food which suited us perfectly. Once again Mark, was waiting for us and loaded our luggage into the taxi to start the two hour trek to Hua Hin. We opted to go by taxi since we didn't want to bother with the train and three suitcases and everything is so affordable there.
Mark stopped about halfway down the road for a cigarette and restroom break. As I had been drinking lots of water I didn't have much choice but to try out the local toilets. For those of you who have been to europe or seen the pictures of some of our bathrooms in Kuwait you are familiar with what Andrew refers to as "squat boxes". That's right it was a whole in the floor but this one was built up on about a 8" platform and there was no bar to hold onto. And of course it was built to accomodate the Thai people so it was considerable smaller than I have seen before. Anyway, when you got to go, you got to go but suffice it to say I made a point of making sure I didnt' drink too much water if I wasn't sure of the facilities where we were going after that.
We had booked the Hilton in Hua Hin with all our free points and what an enjoyable place that turned out to be for us. It was right on the beach with a magnificent view. Each day we woke up to a view of the sun coming up over the gulf of Thailand with the fishing boats just off the coast and then setting over the hills.
For those of you who are still reading here is a link to our pictures. I hope you enjoy them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dani65652003/HolidayPhoto
The only thing I regret about our stay at the Hilton is that we never actually made it to the beach. They had an amazing pool area and Andrew was not convinced he would get in the water at the beach (you know, he's more of a swimming pool person) so we just enjoyed the view from the pool and our room. We didn't spend everyday at the pool as we thought we would because we went exploring a little in the town. We enjoyed some amazing food at the local restaurants and paid next to nothing so we always left a good tip which of course helped the next time we went to the same place. :) We even found a pub/restaurant that had a massage place right next door so after a couple of days we settled into a routine of walking to this market area and having lunch then spending the afternoon getting massages. The foot massage/reflexology was an hour long and out of this world. So some days I started with a foot massage followed by an hour long body massage or went for the two hour body massage. When Andrew joined me we were able to have our massage in the same room which was a really nice touch as well. The first day Andrew's massage lady made us all laugh when she rolled him over on his front and ask if he had a Singha baby (Singha is a Thai beer)! Everyday when I went from then on without him they always asked where the Singha baby was. But he was quite happy to sit next door and wait for me while he enjoyed some cold Singha and ice cream!
From the Hilton we went to the AKA resort which was just on the outskirts of Hua Hin and felt like a totally different place. It was separate villas nestled on a hill and each one had it's own private swimming pool. We spent our days having spa treatments in our villa and playing in the pool. It was a great time and we aren't sure when we go back whether we will stay in town or back out here as we enjoyed both so much.
After four days at AKA we went back to Bangkok for a few days to do some of the touristy things like going to the Grand Palace and to some of the bigger temples that were absolutely amazing. Really mere words can not begin to explain all the beauty we experienced while we were there. We took a boat cruise up the Chao Praya River for dinner one night and that was fun. It wasn't anything like the one we went on in Paris but still very good. It was a great way to see the different landmarks at night.
We both had an amazing time and can't wait for our next trip to Thailand. We loved Hua Hin and the people were just so wonderful to be around. The next trip we are hoping to go north to Chang Mai and visit a different climate.
