BABYMOON: BANGKOK, THAILAND

Thursday, November 30/December 1st

With our time as a kid-less couple winding down, we bought last-minute tickets to Thailand. It was one of our top 5 places to visit in the world. I did as much planning as I could do in a few weeks. We narrowed down our destinations to 3 cities in Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Our plan was to spend a week in Phuket at the end of the trip, since the focus really was to relax. The first week we decided to do 2 days in Bangkok and 3 days in Chiang Mai. 

Nick and I took a one-hour flight from our base to Tokyo. It was super easy! Nick ran into an old pilot buddy in the airport from undergraduate pilot training who is now stationed in Okinawa. His friend was on his way to Hawaii for a meeting. (Lucky guy!) We got a chance to catch up for 30 minutes before he had to leave for his flight.

We boarded our plane to Bangkok at midnight. I got special boarding privileges because I'm pregnant. (yay!) Luckily, both of us got at least 30 minutes of sleep on the flight. 

We landed at 5am the next morning. The sun was just starting to rise in Bangkok. Thankfully, in my little research I had done before our trip I had read that the taxi drivers need direction to most hotels in Bangkok. I came prepared with a map and directions. Our taxi driver still took about 20 minutes to figure it out the map. Oy! I don't know what I would have done if we hadn't printed off that map.

Our room at the Oriental Residence wasn't ready upon arrival. (Even though I warned them we would be arriving early) They upgraded us for free to a suite in a corner room. It was pretty swanky! We set our bags down and napped for a few hours before our tour guide, TJ, arrived.

Our view of the city from our room. It was a little smoggy and VERY humid that day. 

During our stay in Thailand, it was unseasonably hot. I can't count how many times locals and tourists complained about the heat. Then the topic always went to global warming. (Bleh.)

There was a little miscommunication with the tour company. The email I received stated to wait in our room for our tour guide to call us. After 20 minutes of waiting, we walked to the lobby to discover he'd been waiting for us there. I had also warned the company that I was pregnant. My tour guide acted very surprised to see that I was. Since it was just the 3 of us on the tour, he decided to rearrange the day so that I would be on my feet the least amount. It was very thoughtful of him. He explained later that December is the busiest tourist month in Thailand. My emails were likely buried in the masses of emails they get. 

We took a taxi to Old Town to see the Grand Palace. I had seen a few pictures before we arrived in Thailand, but the pictures really didn't do it justice. 

There was so much gold and glitter everywhere! I almost didn't know where to look it was so overwhelming. 

It was also 100 degrees out and 90% humidity. I have never been so hot and sweaty in my life. The thought of stripping down naked crossed my mind more than once. Is public nudity allowed in Thailand? :P

Welcome to our humble abode. This should have been our Christmas card this year. We look right at home don't we? :)

We stepped inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. I was slightly underwhelmed because there were so many people and the smell of feet and BO permeated the air. The actual Emerald Buddha was so far away (we couldn't take photos) that we could really get a good look at it. I sure loved the architecture and all the shiny stuff on the outside of the buildings though!

We had to take our shoes off at the entrance, and put them back on when we left. Leaning over to put shoes on when you're 29 weeks pregnant is not easy. Add to that being hot and swollen. Our tour guide got a pretty funny shot of Nick trying to put my shoes on my feet.  (I'm hoping I can get that photo one day.)  I can honestly say that was a first in our relationship. It was so sweet of him to help me with my shoes. I felt like a swollen Cinderella. :)

Next we stepped over to the Phra Siratana Chedi.

All I could think when I saw this massive building was, "I love gooooooold." :)

Phra Mondo and Prasat Phra Dhepbidorn (The Royal Pantheon)

Nick and our tour guide, TJ, in from of Phra Siratana Chedi.

What I really should have taken a picture of was the massive amounts of people around us. There were Russian and Chinese tourists everywhere. We had 5 different tour guides during our 2 week stay in Thailand. All 5 of them mentioned how much they disliked the Russian and Chinese tourists. They were loud and really rude to the locals and other tourists. I know Americans have that rep in Europe. Hopefully, we won't get that rep in Asia as well. Nick and I tried to be on our best behavior.

Amerindia Winitichai Hall

While we waited in a line to see the grand Hall I had to snap a silly photo of Nick. :)

Chakra Maha Prasat Hall

I had been dodging the crowds to get some decent shots of the Grand Palace. Nick actually asked to take a photo with our camera. I happily obliged. It's nice to not always be the photographer. There was a ladder leaning against a tree for the gardeners that were busy trimming. He spend 10 minutes on the Grand Palace grounds trying to get a picture of the gardener's ladder. Hahahah! He makes me laugh. :) There were buildings dripping in gold surrounding him, and he chose to take a photo of a ladder. Oy!

We were in much need of a break from the crowds and heat. Our tour guide ran down the street after leaving the Grand Palace to get the coldest bottle of water he could find. I drank nearly the entire liter.  It was so thoughtful and kind of him! 

It was a quick 2 minute ride over to the Reclining Buddha in Wat Pho. It's 150 feet long and almost 50 feet high. It's actually only the second largest reclining Buddha in Thailand, believe it or not!

Those are some looooong legs!

We walked around the grounds of Wat Pho for about 15 minutes.

Each member of the royal family has a special Stupa dedicated to them when they're buried. They're like tombstones. TJ, our guide, related them to Egyptian pyramids.  

The royal family has especially elaborate stupas. 

We also learned that each day of the week has a color dedicated to it. If you were born on a Sunday, you would most likely wear or be given gifts in red. Many stupas have colors related to the birthday of the deceased. Here's the colors for the rest of the week:

Monday - Yellow 

Tuesday - Pink

Wednesday - Green

Thursday - Orange

Friday - Blue

Saturday - Purple

I was born on a Thursday, so I'd wear Orange. (Boo. Probably my least favorite color.) Nick was born on a Friday, so he'd be Blue.What is your birthday color?

The flag representing the king of Thailand is yellow right now because he was born on a Monday. His son, heir to the throne, was also born on a Monday, so it will stay yellow when he is crowned king.

We had heard so much about how tourists and locals alike aren't allowed to talk about the king. Our tour guide went on for an hour about the king. Nick and I were shocked! We found out later that you just aren't supposed to speak poorly of the royal family. A history lesson is not off limits. :)

It was the kings birthday that Friday, December 5th. They had posters everywhere advertising to "Bike for Dad." They were going to shut down part of downtown Bangkok on Sunday to have a bike race. The race was promoting a healthy lifestyle and celebrated their king. I was just glad to not be around Bangkok on that day. Traffic is a nightmare in Bangkok; I can't imagine what it would have been like on that Sunday.

Our guide walked us over to the flower market after viewing Wat Pho. We walked passed the oldest girls' school in Bangkok. School had just let out for the day. 

There was a line of food vendors waiting for the students just outside the school. They had everything from pizza and ice cream, to local favorites. We stopped to try a friend banana and cream crepe. It was delicious! TJ also bought us some ice cream. I felt like a kid! And it was nice to sit for a minute.

After about a half mile, we made it to the outdoor fruit market.  

The flower market was pretty spectacular. The Thai's have a flower for every event in your life. Just like in Japan, you can tell a vendor what event you are attending and they will make you a bouquet, or whatever is appropriate.

I really thought I was smiling in this photo. Guess I was getting tired by this point.

We were supposed to catch a boat and then ride the skytrain after the markets, but our tour guide recommended catching the air-conditioned bus back to our hotel since my feet were the size of elephants feet. 

I couldn't have been happier. It took us an hour in traffic to go about 3 miles, but we were in comfy seats on an air-conditioned bus.

Our guide had bought us little trinkets and treats throughout the day. We sat and munched on them on our ride through the city. 

After a long day of traveling, we opted to eat at the restaurant in our hotel for dinner. We ordered Pad Thai and Tom Kah Gai. (Our favorites) It wouldn't be the last time we ordered them on our trip. 

We hit the hay early, so we would be ready at 8am the next morning for our second day with TJ in Bangkok.

Wednesday, December 2nd

We had a few options of sights to see on our second day in Bangkok. We chose to visit the train market and floating market about an hour outside the city. We had an entire 7 passenger van to ride in the whole day with just the driver, our tour guide, and the 2 of us! It was heaven!

The train normally rolls through the market a couple times in the morning. The tracks are currently under construction, so no trains were running while we were there. I can't imagine what that would be like! Look how close the food is to the track!

Here I am in all my glory. Preggo belly and all. 

These stalls were not made for people over 5'5. 

Poor kitty! Someone had a little too much fun with a marker. 

I can't remember for the life of me what these were called, but they were so good! They were piping hot and gooey in the center. 

Our tour guide told us that most tourists don't like the train market because the smells can be so overwhelming. There was a lot of fish out, but how could you not love an experience like that?! Where would you see something like that in the States?

Next we drove about 20 more minutes to the floating market. This was my #1 thing to see in Bangkok. It didn't disappoint. 

TJ had cold water waiting for us in the van, and a cold towel. It was so helpful!

We hopped in our own private boat. An older, local woman at the back of the boat, paddled and navigated through the narrow canals.

Sitting in a little boat while pregnant isn't the most comfortable I've ever been, but it was totally worth it!

This floating market is one of the last real floating markets left in Bangkok. 

I can't tell you how grateful I was for that umbrella! Hello, heat!

Nick and I were happy just cruising and enjoying the view. At one point, the woman paddling pulled to the side to see if we wanted to purchase any souvenirs. We weren't too interested. Our tour guide and the driver went back and forth in Thai. I think they were expecting us to buy something. I'm assuming they would have gotten a kick-back of some sort. Oh, well! This girl won't be pressured into buying something she's not interested in!

After cruising the market, the woman paddled us to the quieter lanes where the locals lived. The homes were made out of teak wood. There's a limit now on how much teak wood can be used each year because teak has been so deforested. Our tour guide informed us that teak holds up with the massive amounts of rain they have in Thailand, and is less susceptible to bugs. It's a sturdy wood!

We went full circle. Our driver was pretty exhausted paddling the 3.5 of us around. Plus, she was sitting in the sun the whole time. 

We LOVED the floating market. The closest thing we could compare it to was the canals of Venice. But this was still so different. You can't buy things from the Venice canals; there you just enjoy the view. 

I'm not sure how they navigate those long boats, in the narrow canals without bumping into each other. 

Next, TJ took us to the market surrounding the floating market. These souvenirs could be used as hats or as fans. 

I had seen many girls wearing elephant pants around. They looked so comfortable. TJ took me to a vendor where I could look at them. None of them were long enough of big enough for my big belly.

I opted to get the same fabric in a dress. It looked a little like a muumuu, but it was comfortable!

Our last view of the market...

Next TJ took us to lunch and then the silk market. He warned us that this market was mostly wholesale; we could look, but we couldn't buy anything. (We were totally ok with that!) 

So much silk to choose from!

You could have just about anything made!

Nick's runway pose through the silk market. 

Just below the silk market is the dessert market! Now we're talking! We had just eaten lunch, so I wasn't very hungry.

TJ bought us a bowl of hot milk tea with balls of tapioca in it. It was like bobba, but the Thai version.

We stepped outside the amazing air-conditioned market, and back out into the heat to wait for our van.

This might be the last time I see my toes. 

Goodbye, toes! See you in March! :)

The traffic was pretty bad, so our van dropped us off near China town. We walked through the China town market, and then over to the Golden Buddha.  

Grilled mango anyone? Yum!

Oh the looks I got being pregnant and walking around. People stare at you like you're a freak of nature. I didn't see one pregnant local or tourist while I was in Bangkok. Maybe they knew something I didn't. 

I am always amazed to see the crazy amounts of wiring in different countries. 

Seafood, anyone?

We finally found a durian. I've been told these fruits are super stinky. Many hotels won't let you keep them in your rooms and airlines won't let you have them onboard. Apparently, these weren't ripe yet because they didn't smell like anything. They are a pretty fruit though!

Last, we walked over to the Golden Buddha. It's the largest golden buddha in the world. It's more than 15 feet tall and weighs more than 5.5 tons. I guess they're not too worried that someone's going to steal it. 

Our tour guide told us to take photos in front of it while we can. Most places won't let you take photos in front of Buddha, but this one does for now.

As we were leaving, he told us that most tourists like to buy little trinkets at the small gift shop, since admission here was free. The money goes to directly to the temple. Nick and I really didn't want any of the junky trinkets they were offering, so we decided to pass. I don't think our tour guide liked that very much. He walked ahead of us and met us at the elevator without talking to us. Oops.

That was the last of our day in Bangkok. We thoroughly enjoyed the sites we got to see. We really loved the floating market the best. 

That night we went to a Thai restaurant down the street from our hotel. After getting lost a bit, we finally walked into a hotel for directions. A woman greeted us, and informed us that the restaurant was actually in that hotel! The woman walked us all the way up to the restaurant! While we were in the elevator she guessed exactly how far along I was and the sex of the baby. That was a first! I was so impressed by her customer service, I decided that I would stay at that hotel if we came back because of my experience with her. She was so kind. When we got to the restaurant we realized we were WAY underdressed. I was wearing my elephant print muumuu, and Nick was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Luckily, we were the first to arrive, and we ate quickly to not embarrass ourselves. I was so glad we weren't turned away.

We were ready to be done with the big city after 2 days, and we were excited to see what Chiang Mai had to offer in the north.