Tropics in January

We were very blessed and very happy to visit G's parents in Thailand during the dreary, winter month of January. It had snowed two or three times so far in our city and the skies remained heavy with clouds for days by the time we left. We were definitely looking forward seeing G's parents and to the sunny climes of Thailand.

We took an overnight trip to Thailand, stopping over in Dubai, UAE (Middle East). The trip back home was during the daytime so when we came through Dubai again, we were able to see the tallest building in the world, rising out of the cityscape like a toothpick in the hazy desert. Since that is the main attraction in Dubai and we have already seen it, I guess we could check that city off our list of places to see, even though we never left the airport. Well, maybe not. It stays pretty warm there during the winter so it might be a good vacation spot to escape to and it's only 4 hours away by plane.

We met up with G's parents in Bangkok where we stayed for three days to recover from jet lag. We were in a beautiful, gated compound with tropical trees and plants all around, in the middle of Bangkok. It was there when I first started to feel the stress seep out of my bones as I absorbed the sunshine, the foliage (my favorite part), and the temperate weather. I mean, look at the picture below:

Doesn't this look idyllic?

Compare this view with the views from my apartment (see this post for pictures). Wouldn't you pick this any day? This picture doesn't even do justice to the profusion of trees and flowers around the compound.

There is a store about a 10-minute walk from this compound that carries a lot of American treats, including gluten-free stuff. We walked through the aisles and our jaws just dropped at the variety there. We started pouncing on things like crazed and starved people before we realized that we didn't need any of it so we just got what we needed for breakfast and snacks.

After three days in Bangkok, we flew south to Krabi and headed in a van to Lanta Island, taking two ferries. We checked into the resort which consisted of bungalows, a nice alternative to hotel rooms. We stayed in a duplex-type of bungalow: two connecting rooms in a bungalow. The resort was just gorgeous with the trees, flowers, and the beach. We enjoyed the view of the beach but we didn't spend a lot of time on it, surprisingly. A preferred the pool over playing in the sand, which was new to us, but she did play a bit in the sand when it was cooler in the evening.

Beach

Rigged up lights over a raw seafood bar, ready to be cooked

Islands

Tropical

The main pool area, the second pool is at the bottom of this picture, out of sight

Our bungalow, two connecting rooms

Sunset on the Andean Sea

Taking pictures with his other wife, the Diana F+ camera

I did a whole lot of this - sitting around and relaxing

I could post a ton more pictures of all the wonderful Thai details like the dragon motif, Buddhist spirit houses, variety of flowers, scenery, the strings of Christmas lights in the palm trees, different sunsets, etc., but it would make for a long post already.

In Bangkok, on the tail end of our stay in Thailand, we did some sightseeing and also spent time with a co-worker of ours. She was gracious enough to take us to a couple of sites. We saw a shrine and a wat where the reclining Buddha is. For some reason, when I heard about the reclining Buddha, I thought it would be the size of an ordinary man. When I went into the temple, my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe how enormous it was. It was like two stories high! It is made of stone and covered with gold paint. Crazy! The soles of Buddha's feet are inlaid with designs in mother of pearl.

We were sad to end our stay there and return to our wintry city. It has definitely made for some wonderful memories and we always enjoy new experiences in traveling. Besides the great weather, we loved the food, the tropical trees and flowers, and the smiling Thais. Thailand is called the Land of Smiles and it has lived up to its nickname.

We're mostly over the jet lag - for now. We get to suffer jet lag all over again when we go to the States for a conference at the end of March through the beginning of April. We will tack a few vacation days on that trip to see family briefly but apart from that, we won't go on another trip solely for vacation until July so stay tuned for that.