Month: May 2010

  • Excerpts of Thailand Trip 2/19/10 - 3/5/10

    Thailand 2/19/10 - 3/5/10

      

    February 19 – THE FLIGHT

      

    On this rainy night my mom and I checked in our bags at LAX at 7:15 pm.  We found out that our flight, originally scheduled at 9:30 pm, was delayed until 1:15 am.  Due to this, we had dinner with my brother Van and his wife Konie at Britt’s BBQ in El Segundo.  The food was good as we watched Olympic curling on TV between Canada and Denmark.  I had a quarter chicken and 3 baby back ribs.

      

    Back at LAX, at 12:30 am, we learned that our flight was further delayed.  We finally departed at 2 am.  The nice things about Premium Economy at Thai Airways are the fast check-ins, bigger seats, and personal screens for entertainment.

      

    February 21 – THE ARRIVAL

      

    Due to crossing the International Date Line, we never experienced February 20th.  This was a 17-hour flight.  I fell in and out of sleep.  Any sleep I can get on an airplane I greatly appreciate.

      

    Then I spent most of my time playing games – Asteroids, Sudoku, Hangman Jr.  Due to how long the flight was, I made it a mission to beat Super Mario Bros.  With unlimited continues, it was my chance because I’m not good at this classic game.  After 4 hours, I was getting a bit weary.  However, I’m already at world 7 so might as well finish it off.  It took forever to pass world 8-1.  It took as long to pass worlds 8-2 and 8-3.  Now I’m on world 8-4, the last one in the game.  As I traversed my way through Bowser’s castle, all of a sudden I couldn’t move.  I asked the flight attendant what happened and if there was a way to continue without starting over because to this point I have been playing for 5-6 hours.  She said there was no way other than rebooting.  I felt robbed to have spent that much time and effort only to be denied by a glitch.  I was too physically and mentally drained to start over considering how long it took me to get to this point so perhaps next time.

      

    Lastly I watched Law Abiding Citizen starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler.  It was pretty good but a tad gruesome.

      

    We arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok at 10 am.  My father and his sister, Aunt Ting picked us up.  We stopped off at an eatery for noodles.  The portions were really small.  They also had little satay and really small chicken wings.

      

    Later Ting’s son (thus my cousin) Kongpat dropped my mom, dad, and I at Aunt Taew’s.  Aunt Taew is my mom’s eldest sister.  Aunt Tim, my mom’s younger sister, also joined us.  We dropped off gifts.  They showed us pictures of Lin Ping, the giant panda China lent to the Chiangmai Zoo.  We enjoyed the pastries Aunt Tim brought over from Kanom Fashion Bakery.  It was very good and reminded me of Porto’s.  There were meat pies, sausages in a blanket, and egg tarts.

     

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    Kongpat 

    By this time the jetlag had really set in.  I was tremendously drowsy but resisted going to sleep.

      

    We had dinner at Took Lae Dee, an eatery inside Foodland Supermarket.

      

    February 22 – BIRTHDAY

      

    I slept from 8 pm to 1 am.  I then slept from 2 am to 4 am.  At 5 am, I couldn’t fall asleep anymore.  I just played Wii Sports until breakfast time.

      

    Afterwards my parents and I took a cab to Wat Wachirayanwong.  It’s Aunt Tim’s birthday so we came here to offer food to the monks and receive prayer and blessing.  Aunt Taew was there, too.

     

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    Wat Wachirayanwong

     

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    Mom and Aunt Tim

      

      

    This Buddhist temple is very organized.  The staff has good timing in when to do this or that.  Whoever runs this temple has really thought everything out well.  There were 9 monks present.

     

     

      

     

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    Dad and yours truly

     

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    Mom and Aunt Taew

    We had lunch at Rabiangthong, a buffet inside Narai Hotel.  Most of the food, as expected, is Thai.  It made me think how nice it would be to have Thai buffets in Los Angeles.  Maybe there are some that I simply don’t know about.

     

     

     

     

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    Rabiangthong Buffet

     

     

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    Narai Hotel

      

    My mom went with Aunt Tim to get a new pair of glasses.  My dad and I returned to Aunt Ting’s.  Aunt  Taew was dropped off at the veterinarian to see the progress of one of her sick cats.

      

    I played more Wii Sports for hours.  It resulted in my right arm getting a tad sore.

      

    My primary reason for coming to Thailand these days is to visit my grandmother.  Though her memory is deteriorating each day, she still remembers me.  She probably remembers me clearer than anyone else.  It’s just great to see her considering she has been part of my life for just as long as I have been alive.

      

    We had chicken and rice for dinner.  I went to sleep at 9 pm.

      

    February 24 – LAZY DAY

      

    I went with my parents to take care of some more stuff.  We had lunch at Silom Complex.  I had pad thai and fried mussels along with a watermelon slushie.

      

    From Silom Complex, we took an elevated train and boarded a taxi afterwards.

     

     

     

     

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    On board the train

    In the late afternoon, Mai (my grandma’s personal nurse) and I walked her around the area.  My grandmother was in a wheelchair and we took turns pushing it around.

      

    That evening I played Mario Kart for hours.  In the meantime I was bitten multiple times by mosquitoes.

      

    February 25 – ANOTHER LAZY DAY

      

    This morning I worked on planning MetroRacers, my version of CBS’ The Amazing Race as a new activity for some friends.

      

    Aunt Ting’s place is full of animals.  I went around and snapped some photos.

      

     

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    Unofficial alarm clock and insect controller

     

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    Cooper

     

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    The great voice impersonator

     

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    What’s up doc?

     

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    Turtles

     

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    Fish

     

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    Piano 

    My mom went to the hospital about her arm.  While she was being tended to, my father and I visited Mother Siri, a renowned meditation teacher.  She is over 90 years old and has been hospitalized here for the last two years.  We donated 2 packs of diapers to her.

      

    We then had lunch at Emporium, one of Bangkok’s newer shopping malls.  I had fried chicken and rice.

      

    We went to Chatri’s residence.  It was located in Parkway Chalet, a pretty, gated community.  We’re there to meet with his wife.  She’s a seer and my mom is into those.  Because of the number of people waiting to see her, my father and I waited a long time.  The wait was long enough for us to watch Wall-E from beginning to end.

      

    In the afternoon I took a dip in Aunt Ting’s swimming pool.  Since I cannot get water in my ears, I wore ear plugs and only swam via dog paddle.  It’s very tiring compared to the traditional forms (freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, never could do the breaststroke).  As I was swimming, Mai brought grandma to poolside.  I stopped swimming at sundown because the mosquitoes would start to emerge.

     

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    Swimming pool at Aunt Ting’s.

      

    After dinner, it was more Wii Sports.  What can I say?  I love Wii Sports.

      

    FEBRUARY 26 – SINGBURI

      

     

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    Mom and neighbor’s mango tree

    At 7 AM, an Urvan we rented came to pick us up.  Aunt Tim is also in the van.  We headed north to Singburi.  Once there, we visited Wat Ampawan, a Buddhist temple.  This is where the nationally-renowned monk, Luang Paw Jaran is the abbot.  My parents have the highest respect for Luang Paw Jaran after listening to his tapes describing some of his life experiences.  He is the reason so many people visit this temple.

     

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    Yes, it’s McDonald’s

      

    A loyal regular at this temple, Muai, took us to see Luang Paw Jaran.  This is a rare opportunity because not many people are allowed inside his monastery.  We understand that he does speak much so just to be able to see and bow before him was more than good enough.

     

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    Luang Paw Jaran

     

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    Bell tower at Wat Ampawan

    This temple is full of plants, especially potted ones.  There are also many trees and running among them are these squirrels I have not seen before.  They are black with white undersides.

     

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    Squirrel!

     

     

     

     

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    Dad at Wat Ampawan

     

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    Aunt Tim and mom at Wat Ampawan

    We came to have lunch at a restaurant called Rampeung (which happens to be the name of the owner).  However, the owner hadn’t arrived yet.  We killed time by checking out an outdoor market selling various things like fruits, fish, nuts, clothing, and vegetables.

     

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    Street market

    At last the owner arrived so it’s lunchtime.  They specialize in fish.  My father said that Singburi is known for their fish because it borders the Jao Praya River.  The food was very good.  We had snakehead fish with cashews.  The fish was sweet and crunchy.  Another dish we enjoyed was black pepper fish.  The fish cakes and stew were also very tasty.

     

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    Rampueng

    Next we visited another temple, Wat Chaiyo.  It is most noted for a very large sitting Buddha statue inside a very tall altar.

     

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    Me and Buddha statue at Wat Chaiyo

     

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    Mom and Buddha statue at Wat Chaiyo

    Also here is a large statue of Luang Paw To, one of the most respected monks in Thailand.  He had passed away a very long time ago.

     

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    Dad and Luang Paw To

    A last altar here housed a dhatu.  Dhatus are crystallized remains of an arahanta (one bound for Nirvana).

     

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    The dhatu is enclosed in the little stupa-like thing inside this glass and gold housing

    This temple borders the Jao Praya River.  Despite that, it was very hot here.  I couldn’t wait to get back inside the van.

     

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    Dad next to Jao Praya River

     

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    Me and a bodhi tree

    We got back to Aunt Ting’s at around 3:30 pm.  I discovered a new mosquito bite on my left elbow.  I always get bitten while using a computer or playing the Wii.

     

    All in all, I was happy to have done some sightseeing.  Up to this point, it had been all family time.

     

    FEBRUARY 27 – LOST AND FOUND

     

    Mom and I had lunch with Aunts Taew and Tim at One Rachada.  It’s a Thai buffet inside Royal Mercure Fortune Hotel located on Phra Ram 9 Road.  It was pretty good.  I was stuffed.

     

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    Aunt Tim, mom, and Aunt Taew

    Aunt Taew went home.  The rest of us took a subway to Asok.  We then took the BTS (elevated train) to Chitlom.  There was a mall called Central.  While my mom and Aunt Tim were browsing around, I went my own separate path looking at other things.  I did enjoy reading an issue of The Simpsons comic book.

     

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    Subway

     

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    Elevated train, the BTS

    After finishing my reading, I went back to look for my mom and aunt.  However, I didn’t have the cell phone with me and so we were all looking for each other.  I had customer service make an announcement twice but to no avail.  Finally I asked to call my sister-in-law’s friend Nun.  I told Nun to call my mom and tell her to come to the top floor.

     

    We ate a little more at Central’s food court.  Afterwards, we went our separate ways.

     

    My parents and I had dinner with Nun that evening.  Before we went, I took her to visit my grandma.  My grandmother didn’t remember her.  Nun was happy to have seen her.  Nun stayed with Van and Konie for a year before returning to Bangkok.  We went to a nearby place called Mod Dang (translates to Red Ant).  It is a large restaurant…very fancy with a nearby stage and karaoke area.  The music was very loud.  At least the good food compensated for that distraction.  There was fried fish with fish sauce, papaya salad with puffy fried shrimp, seared shrimps with tamarind, and cha-om (acacia) stew.  My father liked the shrimp dishes.  My mom enjoyed everything.  It was great seeing Nun again.  She is a well-mannered, pleasant woman.

     

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    Mom, Nun, Dad, and I

    Later that evening, I charged my camera battery.  Kong and Keng had friends over (Piak and Wis).  Tomorrow, These two and Keng would embark on a little road trip to Aunt Ting’s house in Khao Yai.  Wis is an expert at the game Batman: Arkham Asylum.  He knew where to go and what to do.  It was like watching a movie.

     

    FEBRUARY 28 – HUA HIN

     

    At 8:45 am, we rented the same Urvan and driver to take us on our new outing.  Aunt Tim and Uncle Singto came in the Urvan to pick up my parents, myself, and the maid’s daughter Wanjan.  We headed for the resort city of Hua Hin which is south of Bangkok.

     

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    Mom enjoying her fresh coconut

    Once there, we first visited Wat Huaimongkol.  It features a very large statue of Luang Pu Tuad, another one of Thailand’s most revered monks from the past.  Man, it was very hot and humid today.  It made my mom, Aunt Tim, and Uncle Singto retreat to a shaded area.

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    Aunt Tim and Uncle Singto at Luang Pu Tuad statue

     

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    Me

     

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    Dad

    My father, Wanjan, and I did the sightseeing.  We took walked around and took photos.  Behind the statue is a lagoon and shaded resting area.  There was also a little manmade waterfall that leads to a little pond with fish in it including a gar.   This temple is surrounded with pretty vegetation.

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    We had lunch at Krua Ganika.  Every dish they have here is a chicken dish.  My father thinks their fried chicken would smash KFC into oblivion.  I wouldn’t go that far but it was good.  It’s different from the fried chicken in the US because it’s very lightly battered.  It’s light, crispy, and salty and juicy inside.  Other dishes we ate were kanomjeen with kiaw wan curry, pad grapow, larb, and three-flavored chicken.  Food was excellent.

     

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    Lunch at Krua Ganika

    We then hit the beach.  There are lots of foreigners here.  The beach here borders the Gulf of Thailand.  The best thing is that there is a perpetual, never-ending breeze.  Also the overcast prevented the sun from being too strong.  That made this day bearable.  My parents, aunt, and uncle relaxed on patio chairs underneath umbrellas.

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    Wanjan and I walked around.  We walked out on a rocky outcropping that extended into the ocean.  Wanjan’s sandal strap came loose and she couldn’t fix it.  I found a plastic rope.  I told Wanjan to tie it to the strap and loop it through the sole and pull it through.  It was tougher than it looked so I tried my hand.  It took a great deal of strength before I succeeded.

     

     

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    Wanjan

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    This beach is attractive because of the rocky peaks nearby.  The beach itself was lined with umbrellas and patio chairs everywhere.  On the water were swimmers, waders, jet skis, and a couple of paraskiers.  It felt good to soak my feet in the water.

     

     

     

     

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    Paraskiers

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    Wanjan...how typical

    We returned to Bangkok.  There we picked up Aunt Taew and went to dinner at Reuan Punya.  There we ate fried fish with fish sauce, hor mok, garlic nam, shrimp cakes and pork rad na.  We finished off with mango and sweet rice and some vegetables for dessert.  There were lots of mosquitoes in this eatery.  That’s because there is lots of water around.  On TV was my mom’s favorite Korean drama Princess Ja Myung.

      

    MARCH 1 – MEETING UP WITH TODD AND MAY

     

    My mother went to the doctor because of nagging eyes and arm.  My father accompanied her.

     

    At 2 pm, Aunt Ting treated me to lunch at Ajisen Restaurant.  It’s a Japanese place known for ramen.  I had ramen, gyoza, ice cream, and sweet iced green tea.

     

    She then went shopping for ingredients for tonight’s burger night.  One thing I found interesting was how small the shopping cart was.  I’m used to the big ones in the US.

     

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    Aunt Ting and her little shopping cart

     

    I didn’t stay for burger night though it was good.  At 6 pm, I was picked up by my friend Todd Nontavarnit and his girlfriend May.  Before departing, they greeted everyone.  Everyone knows Todd because he is my mother’s best friend’s son.

     

    Todd and May took me to dinner at Ko Kun.  They served strips of sirloin, chicken, beef,  and bacon which we cook ourselves on a little flat iron cooker.  We ate it with glutinous rice.  It was very tasty.  I treated.

     

    IMG_0619 Cooking our meat at Ko Kun

    Later we met up with a childhood friend of Todd’s.  We went to blu O karaoke and sang for 3 hours.

     

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    Left: Todd and I figuring out what to sing.  Right: May and Todd

     

     

     

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    May and Todd

    It’s always good to see Todd and May.  It’s too bad we live half a world away.

     

    MARCH 2 – KHAO YAI, DAY ONE

     

    We took care of business pertaining to Aunt Taew’s home and the citizenship card from 9 am to 12 pm.

     

    At 1:20 pm my parents, grandmother, Mai, Aunt Ting, and I took off for Aunt Ting’s place in Khao Yai.  It’s in a gated community called Wood Park.

     

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    Portrait of Aunt Ting

     

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    Me at Aunt Ting’s house in Khao Yai

     

     

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    Aunt Ting constructed this home intending for my grandmother to live here.  The weather in Khao Yai is more pleasant than Bangkok.  It is not humid and the nights are nice and cool.  However, my grandmother was content staying in Bangkok with Aunt Ting so this is more like a nice vacation home for people to get away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok.

     

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    Mom, dad, and grandma

    In the late afternoon, my father, Mai, and I took my grandmother walking around Wood Park.  We took turns pushing the wheelchair.  A lot of Wood Park is still undeveloped.  Basically they sell lots of land for people to build houses.  Many of the roads here are lined with pretty flowers with colors ranging from yellow to red to magenta and purple.  Some are white.  It makes them pretty.  We finally made it back just a little after nightfall.

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    Dad, grandma, and Mai

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    Me, grandma, and Mai

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    For dinner, Aunt Ting took us to Krua Khao Yai.  We had ham, fried eggs, mushrooms, and sautéed lily buds.  Everything was delicious.

     

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    Mom, dad, and Aunt Ting just chillin’

    Here at Khao Yai, my grandmother seemed stronger.  Even her memory was better.  She exhibited glimpses of her old self.  It’s like her brain awoke.  That was great to see and brought back many fond memories.

     

    MARCH 3 – KHAO YAI, DAY TWO

     

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    Mai  and grandma

    We were visited by my mom’s old friend Pong and her adopted daughter Rabbit.  They took my parents and me to lunch at Bahn Mai Chai Nam.  The eating area is scenic as it lies above a creek.  This area, in general, is a mountainous jungle.  It is noisy, however, with the nonstop sounds of the cicadas.

     

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    Dad, mom, Pong, and Rabbit

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    Later we went to Pong’s place located at Puripimarn.  It is nice and quiet as it sits atop a peak.  Pong’s husband, Mandy Goldman, had passed away a little while back.  Though he is gone, it’s nice that Rabbit is around so Pong wouldn’t be alone.

     

    It turned out that my father did not pack enough shirts for this trip to Khao Yai.  We were going to head to a Tesco Lotus to get another shirt for him.  However, he and Mandy were the same size so Pong gave him one of Mandy’s old shirts.

     

    We then returned to our residence.  Aunt Ting toured Wood Park with my mom and Mai via driving.

     

     

     

     

     

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    At 3:30 pm, an Urvan picked up Aunt Ting and my mom to take them back to Bangkok.

     

    My grandmother was asleep.  Once she woke up, my dad, Mai, and I took her to Wat Srimalaisongdham.  It is a temple we saw from our residence from a distance on a hill.  It was intriguing to us so we wanted to check it out.  However, once there, there was no way to get a wheelchair up to the mountaintop altar so we left.

     

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    Wat Srimalaisongdham from Aunt Ting’s place

     

    We then went to Khao Yai National Park.  We arrived at the first viewing point.  However Mai was not well as she got carsick.  We continued on to the visitor center but before we got there Mai lost her lunch.

     

     

     

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    Viewing point, Khao Yai National Park

    Along the way we also saw some monkeys.  One of them came to the car.  My father told all of us to close the windows in fear one might jump in.

     

     

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    Monkey

    My father and I booked a night safari for tonight at 8 pm.  On the way back, Mai regurgitated two more times.

     

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    More monkeys

    We stopped at Krua Khao Yai to pick up some food for dinner.  We got ham, lily buds, and mushrooms.

     

    Once back at the residence, Mai threw up again.

     

    My father and I quickly ate and then returned to Khao Yai National Park. 

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    We’re here for a night safari.  We would ride in the back of a pickup truck as it traverses a trail through the jungles here.  A girl in the back of the truck would shine a spotlight in search of animals.  She’s the niece of the driver.  We got to see lots of deer, a couple barking deer, and a civet. 

     

     

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    Deer

    Later on the trek, the pickup saw another pickup stop at a hillside as the spotlighter/guide suspected they saw elephants.  We then got close and true enough; there was a mother elephant and two offspring.  We were told to keep one hand on the railings.  If an elephant charges the truck, it’s going to have to take off quickly.  Fortunately it did not.

     

     

     

     

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    Elephants

     

    Back at the house, my father spotted a last piece of wildlife as it climbed our window from the outside.  He told me I can still photograph it if I went now.  I grabbed the camera and snapped this gem.

     

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    Just 15 minutes can save you 15%.  Yes, it’s a gecko.

     

    MARCH 4 – BACK TO BANGKOK

     

     

     

     

     

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    Last looks at Wood Park

     

    We left Khao Yai at 11:21 pm.  Two hours later we arrived at Aunt Ting’s in Bangkok.  While walking around the area between the pool and kitchen, I broke a floorboard.  I’m just too heavy for it.  I believe my brother’s friend Kenny also broke one a couple years ago.  He is a big guy.

     

    Back at Aunt Ting’s, I packed my bags for tomorrow’s flight.

     

    MARCH 5 – FAREWELL THAILAND

     

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    Maids Pom and Top

    I went with my parents, Aunt Taew, and Aunt Tim to take care of my matters pertaining to property.  That lasted from 10 am to about 2:30 pm.  Then I got stuff ready for the flight.

     

    I arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 4:50 pm with my folks.  We ate at S&P.  I enjoyed my gyoza, har gow, sui mai, and bread topped with minced pork.

     

     

     

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    Suvarnabhumi Airport

    The flight took off at 7:40 pm.  It lasted 14 hours.  On board, I ate Cup O’Noodle in place of the meal.  I also watched The Blind Side and Surrogates.  I actually fell asleep for about 8 hours so it made this flight feel much shorter.  It was the best flight I ever had.  I credit it to the larger Premium Economy seat.

     

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    My ride

     

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    The hearty traveler

    I arrived at LAX at around 7:20 pm.  I took a Flyaway bus to Union Station where my brother picked me up.  I finally got home at around 9 pm.  It is always refreshing to drench myself in the cool dry air of LA after being in a place as hot and humid as Thailand.

     

    I really enjoyed my trip.  I got a good balance between sightseeing and visiting relatives.  It is always great to see my grandmother.

     

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