Khob khun – (that’s thank you in Thai) for reading another blog post! We left Japan and are now in Thailand! We are staying in Bangkok and our tour guide is our friend, Ploy, who was an exchange student last year back in Sacramento with our friends, the Colby family.  My Mom taught Ploy how to swim at the Natomas Racquet Club last summer. We arrived late at night and had a peaceful sleep in our Renaissance Hotel.  In the morning, we had one of our many delicious breakfasts in the concierge lounge. They had many things to choose from because so many people from different countries stay there. Then we met Ploy in the lobby and started today’s adventures. We took the Sky Train and walked for a little bit and got on a boat which took us on a tour by temples, houses on stilts, and farms.

These are the “long tail” boats. It was a great fun ride

Life along the river is very interesting.

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I was amazed to see what a different lifestyle people have in Thailand. Many houses are made out of wood and metal sheets and everyone has to cook, clean, and work.

They use boats to get around.

After the boat ride, we arrived at a floating market.

It was awesome – everyone was cooking, eating, and trying to stay cool!

They prepare the meals on the boats parked along side the market

There were many shops and stands with food I didn’t really recognize, like spiky fruits called Durian. And this fruit called Rambutan or Ngor.

I loved the rambutan.

They also had an interesting way of keeping Popsicles frozen in this burning hot weather – they used a tool that they turned with ice water so each popsicle would freeze.

We enjoyed a few of these to help us cool down

After the floating market, we got on a cool motorcycle-car-thing, called a Tuk-Tuk.

They weaved in and out of the taxis and got us there in no time.

Aren’t the tuk-tuk’s fun?!

By the way, this is why we decided not to drive in Bangkok!

We took the Tuk Tuk to the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is where all of Thailand’s kings and queens have lived over the centuries.   It was beautiful!  The current President has been ruling for over 60 years and I learned he is very popular.

The rooftops are pointed up high in the air and were shining with gold. Everywhere you look there is gold, green, or orange buildings and beautiful mosaics.

My Mom’s had to wear these skirts to cover their skin.

In one temple where royalty prays, there is an amazing Emerald Buddha.  Long ago, this Buddha was covered in plaster and was thought to be just like any other Buddha, until one day, a man noticed the plaster was peeling off its nose. They took off all the plaster to reveal what they thought was emerald for a long time, until it was discovered as actually being made of Jade. That’s the story of the Emerald Buddha.

We were also hot that we decided to go back to our hotel. I hope you like this post.  Hope to hear from you soon.

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