I finally was able to take my winter vacation. Since I am teaching teachers, and because there were courses during their traditional winter break, I had to wait for school to start up again. In Korea, the school year starts in March. With the busyness associated with the beginning if the school year, no classes are offered for teachers = winter break for me.
I left for Thailand on Sunday morning. After a taxi, a subway, a flight, a layover, another flight, and another taxi, I finally made it to Bangkok...18 hours later.
I stayed in Bangkok for just 1 day. In hindsight, I wish I would have stayed one more day here and one less on the island, oh well. During my day in Bangkok, I tried to see as much as I could. In the morning, I walked along several of the steets to see the many venders then ended up at Lumpini Park. This is huge park in the middle of the city. It kind-of had a Central Park-type of feel to it. After walking around, I decided to hit the more touristy area so I took the sky tram to the river then grabbed a ferry. You could get on and off the ferry at any dock, so you could see the sites that were of interest to you and stay at them as long as you wanted. I went to the Wat Arun Temple and the Grand Palace. Click the links to learn more about them. Other enjoyable parts of Bangkok included Mexican & Indian food, $10 hour-long foot massages, fresh fruit served on every street corner, and amazingly friendly people. Here are some pictures from the day.
I left for Thailand on Sunday morning. After a taxi, a subway, a flight, a layover, another flight, and another taxi, I finally made it to Bangkok...18 hours later.
I stayed in Bangkok for just 1 day. In hindsight, I wish I would have stayed one more day here and one less on the island, oh well. During my day in Bangkok, I tried to see as much as I could. In the morning, I walked along several of the steets to see the many venders then ended up at Lumpini Park. This is huge park in the middle of the city. It kind-of had a Central Park-type of feel to it. After walking around, I decided to hit the more touristy area so I took the sky tram to the river then grabbed a ferry. You could get on and off the ferry at any dock, so you could see the sites that were of interest to you and stay at them as long as you wanted. I went to the Wat Arun Temple and the Grand Palace. Click the links to learn more about them. Other enjoyable parts of Bangkok included Mexican & Indian food, $10 hour-long foot massages, fresh fruit served on every street corner, and amazingly friendly people. Here are some pictures from the day.
The next 7 days were spent on the island of Koh Samui. It was absolutely beautiful..starting from the time I stepped off the airplane. What a cute little airport. During the time on the island, I split the days between chilling-out on the beach and taking some tours.
Tour #1: Explorer Kayaking at Angthong Marine Park. After a light breakfast aboard the boat and a 2 hour cruise, we arrrived at Angthong Marine National Park. At Tai Plao Island in the northern region of the Park, we were lead in exploring the ancient limestone caves and bizarre rock formations along the coast by kayak. After, I had an opportunity to snorkel amongst the diverse marine life. The fish were so colorful! We returned to the boat then cruised through the magnificent scenery of the Park while a delicious buffet lunch is served. We then got back in the kayaks and headed to Koh Mae Ko. After landing the kayaks on the beach we climbed the steep steps through the dense tropical forest up to the Talai Nai or the 'Green Lagoon'. It was beautiful. We had one more opportunity to relax at the beach before heading back to Koh Samui.
Tour #2: Full Day Jungle Safari Tour. This tour included a viewing of grandfather & grandmother rock, a demonstrations of monkeys helping pick coconuts, elephant trekking, a baby elephant show, a fantastic waterfall, a mummified Buddhist monk (still in the meditation position), Buddha's secret garden, a demonstration of how rubber is collected from trees, and trip to Big Buddha. A fun-filled day with lots of adventure.
Tour #3: A 4-in-1 half day adventure. (Elephant trekking, waterfall swimming, ATV ride, and Jungle zipline). Unfortunately, it turned out to rain this day. So, I skipped the elephant trek and the waterfall...I figured they would be very similar to what I had seen the day before. When the rain did stop for a bit, I jumped on the ATV then went to the zipline. Since it had JUST stopped raining, the ATV ride turned out to be a bit of a muddy mess...but SO MUCH FUN! I'd do it again in a heatbeat. The zipline itself was also fun. However, walking across the swaying suspension bridge, that had huge spaces between each slat, while holding on to a wire above, and seeing the drop below totally freaked me out. I was totally shaking when I finally made it to the other side, but I tell myself it's good to be scared every now and then. And yes, I'd do it again! Here are some pictures from my time in Koh Samui.
Tour #1: Explorer Kayaking at Angthong Marine Park. After a light breakfast aboard the boat and a 2 hour cruise, we arrrived at Angthong Marine National Park. At Tai Plao Island in the northern region of the Park, we were lead in exploring the ancient limestone caves and bizarre rock formations along the coast by kayak. After, I had an opportunity to snorkel amongst the diverse marine life. The fish were so colorful! We returned to the boat then cruised through the magnificent scenery of the Park while a delicious buffet lunch is served. We then got back in the kayaks and headed to Koh Mae Ko. After landing the kayaks on the beach we climbed the steep steps through the dense tropical forest up to the Talai Nai or the 'Green Lagoon'. It was beautiful. We had one more opportunity to relax at the beach before heading back to Koh Samui.
Tour #2: Full Day Jungle Safari Tour. This tour included a viewing of grandfather & grandmother rock, a demonstrations of monkeys helping pick coconuts, elephant trekking, a baby elephant show, a fantastic waterfall, a mummified Buddhist monk (still in the meditation position), Buddha's secret garden, a demonstration of how rubber is collected from trees, and trip to Big Buddha. A fun-filled day with lots of adventure.
Tour #3: A 4-in-1 half day adventure. (Elephant trekking, waterfall swimming, ATV ride, and Jungle zipline). Unfortunately, it turned out to rain this day. So, I skipped the elephant trek and the waterfall...I figured they would be very similar to what I had seen the day before. When the rain did stop for a bit, I jumped on the ATV then went to the zipline. Since it had JUST stopped raining, the ATV ride turned out to be a bit of a muddy mess...but SO MUCH FUN! I'd do it again in a heatbeat. The zipline itself was also fun. However, walking across the swaying suspension bridge, that had huge spaces between each slat, while holding on to a wire above, and seeing the drop below totally freaked me out. I was totally shaking when I finally made it to the other side, but I tell myself it's good to be scared every now and then. And yes, I'd do it again! Here are some pictures from my time in Koh Samui.
The Chaweng Beach area of Koh Samui had lots to do at night. One of the must-see nighttime attractions were the Ladyboy Cabaret Shows. There were some very entertaining constumes, songs and dances. Enjoy...
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