Day 4 - Thailand (11 March 2020)

Okay, round three. I’ve finished half way through the post twice now, and then it somehow doesn’t save. I’m hoping third time’s a charm!

After a good breakfast, we met our tour guide, Kris, in the lobby. He said we would be in the van for about six hours today. I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. We got to experience some great things, but it made for a lot of travel in one day!

Our first stop was driving out to see the floating markets. I thought they were in Bangkok, which they are for the locals. They are kind of a farmer’s market, but the tourists don’t go there to shop. 

So, we drove out into the countryside about an hour and a half to go to the first floating market. We saw all sorts of interesting things, including where they cultivate their own salt and men holding down bamboo by sitting on it in a truck on the highway. 

When we got to the town where you get on the long tailed boats to go into the floating market, we saw pretty colored buildings and pictures of the King and Queen. 

I think the written Thai language is really pretty. It has its origins in Sanskrit. 

We drove to the place where the long-tailed boats shuttle you to the outskirts of the market. It took 10-15 minutes by boat to make it to the outskirts. I was glad I didn’t know about the snake warnings before we were in the boat, but the scenery was beautiful. 

When we arrived, there were a lot of things to see!  We walked through some of the stalls to get to the main area of the floating market.  There weren’t very many people there, which seemed surprising to me. 

We decided to rent a paddle boat for 900 bhat (around $30). Kris explained that anything that was purchased on the water wasn’t taxed, while anything that was brought on to the land was.  So the floating markets were born. 

It kind of felt like valet shopping. We sat inside the boat while were brought to each vendor. Each vendor had a long plot with a hook on the end of it to help catch the boats and guide them towards their stalls. 

Kris recommended that we try the coconut ice cream. While we were in the boat, they had umbrellas to block the sun. However, since I was sitting in the front, I had to sit with my legs straight out, which didn’t have any shade. So, my first purchase was the coconut ice cream. 

It was served in a coconut shell and was delicious, with a capital D!  It was sweet, smooth, and was garnished with peanuts, green sticky rice, and an orchid. (Which my mom later put in my hair). 

As we were directed to all of the stalls, we used the phrase ,’peng’ that Kris taught us. It means, ‘expensive.’  You’re supposed to barter for goods sold. After listening to my mom buy something without bartering, I helped her out. 

When we wrapped up at the market, we met Kris to be shuttled to lunch at a restaurant. He said in his 20 years of guiding tours, he had never seen the market that slow before. Wow. 

The lunch was really tasty!  They knew we needed the food to be mild, so we could feel our tongues for the rest of the day. It was served family style in a pretty restaurant. 

We climbed back into the van to make the long trek to Muang Sing Historical Park. There was a lot to see as we drove for a few hours west of the market. 

The Muang Sing Historical Park is one of the oldest temple complexes in Thailand. It was built between the 12th to 14th centuries, in the Cambodian style. It felt a little like Angkor Wat. 

It was HOT. But we had a good time exploring the grounds and the temple together. 

We got to explore the temple and learn about how the Hindu and Buddhist religions coexist here. 

On our way out of the temple, we learned about the current dynasty of the King. All of the current Kings have the same name. The 4th King was the one in the King and I. 

We reluctantly got back in the hot van, after foolishly not bringing water with us to the temple. All of us drank a lot of water upon our return. We then drove for another hour and a half to get to the Bridge over the River Kwai. 

I didn’t remember anything about the bridge. However, I learned that 100,000 prisoners of war were killed here after helping to build the bridge. 

We walked right along the active train tracks, over the current bridge. Kris did tell us if a train comes, we have two options, to either run or jump into the water. Whoa. 

After our final adventure for the day, we gathered ourselves into the van for the few hour drive back to Bangkok. It was extremely hot, but also an insightful day. 

After a quick pit stop at a gas station, we finally figured out to carry our own toilet paper, as the bathroom stalls don’t have any.  Though they do have a helpful hose that doubles as a bidet. 

We gathered in our room upon returning to the hotel for a picnic dinner of yogurt, fruit, granola bars, and whatever else we had. It was fun to share our favorite parts of the day together. If the pool would have been open after 8 pm, we would’ve jumped right in to cool down. There’s always tomorrow!

We had three very different experiences today. It was impressive to see some of the countryside and experience a little of the culture. Thailand is an amazing place, that’s for sure!