So, we went to Thailand for Christmas break. We took an Intrepid Travel tour that took us west of Bangkok, into the mountains, then south to the beaches.

We arrived in Bangkok a day early so that we could see the sights and look around before heading off on our tour. We found Bangkok to be a culturally rich, exciting place to be after Kazakhstan. We visited temples and rode in Tuk-Tuks (tiny, three-wheeled car with an open carriage on the back for customers to sit in), and ate delicious food. Here is a list of the foods we ate in the first 24 hours of Bangkok:
Spring Roles
Pineapple slices
Fried Rice
Mango/Passion fruit smoothie
Green curry with tofu
Mango slices
Egg and chocolate roti
French toast with honey
Coffee
More pineapple slices
Tangerine juice (fresh)
Long, skinny steamed sweet potatoes
Passion fruit juice (fresh)
Sesame crepe with shredded dried fruit
Sticky rice bundles with taro, black bean and banana
Little coconut-milk custards with sesame, coconut, scallions, and dried mango.

Kazakhstan is a bit desolate in the food realm; we do not really partake in the native foods, which are basically roasted meat and strange dairy products. We don’t even drink real coffee at home—we use instant. Thailand seemed like a food wonderland after living in KZ for five months.

The tour was really great in general, but our first day was truly remarkable. We stayed in stone bungalows built on terraces rising from a large lake. Across the lake was a traditional fishing village, and we could hear the gong at the Buddhist temple being rung from across the water. We started the day with pineapple and banana pancakes over the lake and misty village. We then took a longtail boat across the reservoir to look at the village—floating houses and houses on stilts. The longtail boats eventually dropped us off near a village where we rode elephants. The village was remote and small, and Intrepid Travel supports this tourist attraction because they believe it is better for the elephants to be out in the countryside rather than in the cities. It was strange to step up on the elephant. I was afraid I would hurt her when I stepped on her leg and scrambled up her like she was some sort of boulder. She was prickly and massive, but surprisingly unsteady, and we rocked and swayed as her shoulder blades (on which we were sitting) shifted with each step. We rode the elephants through farms, forests, and streams for about an hour and a half. Crossing the streams was especially fun because the elephants would keep their faces under water and use their trunks like snorkels. Eventually the mahut (the guy commanding the elephant) let Dan ride on the elephant’s neck and Dan “drove” the elephant as the mahut became a passenger. When the trip was over we fed our elephant sugarcane. We then ate a lunch of fried rice and pineapple at the elephant village. Next we went to the Burmese border where we looked at Burma from across the border and checked out the small market. Then we went to a long wooden bridge that spans the lake. Next was an orphanage where students performed in a yoga presentation. The production was really impressive, with little kids doing extended handstands and other amazing feats of flexibility and strength, but the little kids sitting with us in the audience really stole the show. They held our hands and wanted to see our cameras. One little boy stayed with Dan for about an hour and insisted on being held by him or on sitting on his lap the entire time. After the performance, we headed back to the bungalows, exhausted.

This was just one of our 16 days in Thailand. We participated in many amazing activities, including swimming in turquoise waterfalls, staying on a tiny Muslim island, visiting local markets, staying in a teak house, taking speed boats to go snorkeling, body surfing in the Andaman Sea, island hopping, playing duck-duck-goose at an elementary school, many massages, riding scooters, and trying many more types of food. All in all Thailand was warm, exotic, and incredibly friendly. A true paradise.

See below for photos.