More Phuket, return to Bangkok, and train ride to Aranyaprathet

Since the last time I posted, we went back to Phuket for a little over a week, returned to Bangkok for about a week and then took a train ride to Aranyaprathet, a border town on the Thai side of the Cambodian border.

Our time in Phuket was spent in Patong, a "beach town" in Phuket (I use the term "beach town" lightly, as it was insanely crowded and you actually had to pay $3 to even sit on the beach. It was pretty miserable). Still, in Patong we found some fun things to do, and walked along the main street and beach street many times looking for book stores, good restaurants, and small souvenirs to take home. We have been reading a LOT, so any new (preferably cheap) bookstore that we find is usually worth stopping in. The cheaper the better, so that we don't feel guilty when we leave books behind!

We also found a great all-you-can-eat BBQ restaurant, where you choose your own meat (you can pick anything - shrimp, beef, pork liver, bacon, chicken, squid, bass, etc) and vegetables and cook it at your table. This was one of the best meals we had, even though we were a little worried we would go down with food poisoning in the middle of the night due to under-cooked meat. Luckily, we did not :) The best part of this diner was that it only cost us 120Baht, or $4USD. AWESOME! Finally, we had a chance to rent a scooter one day, and visit the largest Buddha in Thailand. Pictures of a few lookouts and the Buddha can be seen here: http://picasaweb.google.co.th/bridgetholmstrom/MoreThailand

After returning to Bangkok, we decided to stay in a more luxurious place and spend some time at the pool. We explored the streets in the district around us, as well as checking out Khason Road and some more touristy parts of Bangkok that we didn't try the first time around. We also spent some time figuring out our upcoming trip across the border to Cambodia.

The train ride from Hua Luomphong train station in Bangkok to Aranyaprathet took almost 6 hours, over an hour longer than expected. For a third class, non air-conditioned train, it cost 96Baht for two people (3USD total). After 7 weeks in Thailand this was our first time truly seeing inner Thailand, as our other trips were all by ferry, plane or overnight bus.

We saw many things: huge farms, irrigation systems and pools of water, pigs, water buffalo, men fishing with nets, very few large towns (mostly just farms and open land), smaller sheet metal shanty towns, random beautiful Asian style Buddhist temples in the middle of nowhere, people on scooters meeting the train to pick up friends and family, students riding on the train for over an hour just to get home from school, people selling fruit, meals wrapped in bags to take home, vegetables for cooking (no need to go to the market!) and drinks, and varied small houses in the middle of the plains. It was different than what we had seen before - the train was a great way to see more of the country.

As I am running out of time, I can't add pictures to this entry...but check out the link above! Send me an email if you have a chance, and hope everything continues to go well at home :)

Phuket and on to Singapore

First of all, I am sorry I have been so slow with updates! I just realized it has been about two weeks. To make up for this, I have added pictures from both Ko Lanta and Phuket, and also from Singapore. These albums can be seen here: http://picasaweb.google.com/bridgetholmstrom. Please check them out if you have a few minutes!

We spent about 5 nights on Ko Lanta, where I was able to take my cooking class. I learned to make homemade Chili paste, Coconut Chicken Satay, Stir-fried shrimp and vegetables in chili sauce, Tom Yum (a really good seafood soup!), and Red snapper in Chili paste. We got to eat everything we cooked, and it was all delicious! I have a lot of other dishes I am looking forward to trying at home as well. My cooking class also went over the major and minor Thai spices, herbs and flavoring agents, so I think I will be well=prepared to try new dishes :) Below is a picture of me with my dish of Tom Yum.

Here is the sunset our first night on the Ko Lanta beach

We went to a snake show the day we rented a scooter to explore Ko Lanta. Below is a picture of me posing with a snake. Yuck!

James and I liked Ko Lanta, as it was more of a town (there were real cars on the island, not just scooters! And a paved road!) and our hotel also had a beautiful infinity pool and a tv in our room. When we moved on to Phuket for 3 days, we were able to watch a lot of inauguration coverage on TV. We had three news channels - BBC, Fox News, and Aljazeera, so we switched between them. Needless to say, we were happy we were not in DC to witness the crowds. Aside from the 5am bar nights, it would not have been fun to be there!

We went on to Singapore and spent our time in the city while there. As it had been about 5+ weeks since we were in a well developed city, we ended up seeing 4 movies in theaters. Singapore was much more expensive than we originally realized, but we tried to see a lot of monuments and famous areas such as the fort, Orchard shopping district (The Champs Elyse's/Spanish steps area/Rodeo Drive of Singapore), National Museum, Little India (where we stayed), Chinatown, etc. Beer was surprisingly expensive unless you drank it during happy hour, as was food. Restaurants ran $10-20USD per meal, but in Singapore there are things called "Hawker centers" which are areas filled with low-cost food options. These typically ran $2-5 USD, so we were able to try traditional Singaporean dishes and also had some good Indian and Chinese meals.

Below is a picture of Parliament (long building to the right) and the City Hall (domed building).

Here is a picture of James (Stanley), standing under the "Stanley Street" sign! The picture was my idea of course, not his :)


I hope that everyone at home is having a good winter and enjoying the snow! I almost miss it... almost! Email me, and don't forget to check out the pictures!

-Bridget

Ko Jum and Ko Lanta

Hello all,

Yesterday, James and I left Ko Jum and came to Ko Lanta by ferry. We had a great time in Ko Jum, spending 15 days in all there - lying on the beach, monkey watching, eating amazing food, running, and meeting many new people as well!

We are enjoying Ko Lanta so far, and plan to move down the beach tomorrow. I am going to sign up to take one or two cooking classes - when I get back I hope to make curry, Phad Thai and other Thai specialties, so book me now! :)

The trip is best told in pictures. After some difficulty, I was finally able to upload pictures to my picasa album. These can be viewed in the Thailand album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/bridgetholmstrom/Thailand (I hope to add captions sometime soon!)

Below, the pier at Krabi town, from where we caught the ferry to go to Ko Jum


Our first day on Ko Jum, using the swing at Freedom Bar on the beach!


Beautiful sky

James and I sitting on the porch at bungalow #1, Joy Bungalows

Gorgeous beaches...

Bungalow #2, Sun Smile

Monkeys on the roof two doors down from us!

Me on the pier at Ban Ko Pu

Sunset from our balcony

E-mail me, I miss hearing from the real world back home! bridgetholmstrom@gmail.com

Finally - GO EAGLES! I have a feeling we are gonna go all the way!

Koh Jum = Heaven

Hello!

We have been enjoying our time so much here on Koh Jum - we moved bungalows the other day and are now on a much more secluded beach about halfway down the island. Our walk to town is a little further now, about 2.5-3 miles, but we made the trip today to buy a snorkel, a notebook exchange some money and also use the internet and eat at our favorite restaurant, Kungnang Seafood.

Our new bungalow, Sun Smile, has gorgeous views (will post pictures from Phuket or Singapore in a week or two!!) The only negative is the the food at the restaurant is lacking. Luckily, we walked down the beach to Jungle Hill restaurant (5 min walk) and the food is AMAZING! So, we have a great place to stay and a good restaurant to eat at. Food is typically $1.50-$2.00 for a large meal that would be about $9-15 at an American Thai restaurant...and it is better!

We have also seen monkeys three different times!! If you talked to me before the trip, you know how excited I was about the prospect of wild monkeys. We woke up yesterday to a pack of Monkeys on the roof two bungalows away from ours! They were in trees, climbing and going crazy everywhere!! We guessed there were maybe 20-25, including babies and a few big male monkeys watching the group. We have also seen a lot of crabs, a large black scorpion (which we were close to stepping on!), a banana spider, an octopus, star fish, many sea creatures and fish in tidal pools, and so many birds and other creatures.

We have loved it here so far, and I will try to give an update soon. Hope everything is going well back in the states :)

Koh Jum

Hello! We made it to the island on Dec 30 and are staying in a bungalow with no power, fans or AC! We have been having a great time sitting on the beach, exploring the island and eating amazing Thai food! We walk to town usually once a day, and walk on the beach. Aside from the fact that the mosquitos love me, everything is great and we are really enjoying it! This computer doesnt work well so I'm signing off. Hope everyone is doing well at home!

Heading to the island :)

Before I start my blog, I would like to take a minute to say to everyone who laughed at us because we tied (ahem specifically skins and cowboys fans): EAGLES ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS! Here is some light reading for your enjoyment...

And on to life in Thailand!

After 5 days in busy, polluted Bangkok, we are ready to go to the island and relax! Like I mentioned before, I'm not sure how Internet will work out there so I might be m.i.a. for a while!

Yesterday, we went in to Chinatown and it was pretty crazy! It was so busy - in some parts of the streets and alleyways we could barely move through the crowds. We did a little shopping here, and afterwards we took a boat up to our next destination. We didn't get to see the solid gold Buddha, but we did end up going to a huge temple, Wat Pho, which held the World's largest reclining Buddha in a building made just big enough to fit it. I have some great pictures of the temple complex, which I will post when I can. After this we just walked around the amulet markets, bought souvenirs, ate some delicious street food, and took another tuk-tuk ride through the streets of Bangkok.

Tonight, we are leaving at 8pm for Krabi. After a 12 hour bus ride, we will take a ferry towards Koh Lanta, and halfway to Koh Lanta we will catch a long boat that meets us in the water to get to our bungalow on Koh Jum. Here is the island website if anyone is interested - it gives weather updates and has some basic info: http://www.kohjumonline.com/ Also, this is our bungalow's website! http://www.kohjum-joybungalow.com/

Have a Happy New Year if you don't hear from me! (and of course, go eagles!!!)

Bangkok...

After taking it easy on Christmas day, we have spent the last few days seeing things in Bangkok. We bought our bus tickets to the south, which was a small adventure as we needed to find the bus terminal and deal with the language barrier. We did get to take a long tuk-tuk ride to get there, which was pretty crazy! Drivers in Bangkok take way too many risks :)

Aside from that, we explored the city and also went to the huge weekend market slightly to the North of the city (a 20 minute walk from our hostel!) The market is made up of 26 main sections, plus about a dozen sections on the outside. This thing was huge. It was filled with tourists and Thai people alike, and sections included everything from clothing to jewelry to housewares to woodwork to pets. The puppies were so cute....we saw a lot of people buying them and taking them home. We also saw some rare animals, such as a little lemur. We were able to try some different Thai foods from the street vendors at the market. This was so busy and crazy, but we were able to get a few souvenirs to take home with us! Side note: Street vendors are EVERYWHERE in Bangkok! You can't walk a block without seeing one along the side of the road or seeing a vendor riding by with his food on the front a bicycle or motorbike.

Today we are heading to Chinatown to look around and also see the world's largest solid gold Buddha statue, and then we will head to the Temples. I am not able to put pictures up here due to our connection, but hopefully I'll be able to soon!

Merry Christmas!

It is Christmas morning here and we arrived at our Hostel in Bangkok last night. This place is awesome... it has free internet, a pool!, free washer and dryer for use, a pool table, a bar downstairs, and a restaurant. No tv or AC, but we will live! :) It is going to get to about 90 today; I haven't had a warm Christmas since visiting my grandparents in Florida growing up! So this will be very different than what I am used to :)

The final days of our trip to South Korea were enjoyable - We went to a fortress south of Seoul, along with a village, and ate a lot of Korean food. South Korea was clean, friendly and so easy to get around in...I would recommend visiting to anyone!

I am going to go each some breakfast and enjoy the day here. I hope everyone reading this has a great Christmas! Email/post a comment if you have a second, I already miss hearing from people back home!

Gyeoungbokgung, Insadong, Jogyesa and more Markets

On Sunday we once again woke up early (still aren't used to the 14 hour time change!) and went to Gyeongbokgung, translated as "Palace of Shining Happiness." The palace was gorgeous, and covered a great amount of land.

I took a lot of pictures (which can be seen on Picasa) but here are some of the best ones!

The main gate of the palace

A throne inside of one of the main buildings

A side walkway leading back to the main gate of the palace

A Palace Guard

Right next to the palace sits the National Folk Museum of Korea. This was a great escape from the cold -1 degree Celcius temperature! There were some pretty interesting things to see here as well, and the building itself was impressive in its own right - there is a good picture on the site linked above!

After walking through the entire Palace complex, we went to the National Palace Museum of Korea. This housed many more artifacts from Korean history, but the thing I thought was most interesting was the large water clock inside. My pictures did not turn out well, but here is a link that explains it. We were there for the 10:59-11:00 time changing, and it was pretty cool to see that this huge (and very advanced for the time it was created in 1436AD) clock worked on schedule!

After our morning at the palace we went to Insadong, a market area filled with great deals and also a lot of street vendor food. We came here in search of a good authentic Korean restaurant, and found one! We ate bulgogi and a seafood/noodle dish, along with the provided norm of kimchi and other small appetizers. We also tried some new Korean beers, OB and Kass, and decided Kass was definitely the better of the two. Below is a picture of the main street in Insadong.

After lunch we went to the Jogyesa, Korea's largest Buddhist temple. The temple compound was flooded with people on Sunday afternoon, and there were lines waiting to make donations, buy calendars, and enter varied buildings at the temple. We looked in at the three large Buddha statues inside, and the smell of incense was potent all around the temple complex.

The above picture is a view from the outside of the Jogyesa. Directly to the right was a makeshift temple, also facing the Buddhas, which was also filled with people praying (shoes left outside the temple, of course!) This is also where the lines of people I spoke of earlier were. The side doors each had signs posted like the one below:

Finally, we took a walk down to the market close to our Hotel. I noticed that these are usually full of older Koreans rather than younger. We ended up buying dinner, splitting what I can best describe as a potato/veggie/onion fried pancake with a soy sauce-like sauce; it was delicious! Old Korean men walked by and smiled at us as we ate our dinner on the steps of a closed shop. One of them gave James the thumbs up sign... they loved seeing us enjoying traditional Korean food.

The DMZ

Today we went to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), the 4 km of divided area between North and South Korea. We were actually able to step inside North Korea, so I can add another country to my list! We took a lot of pictures, so these are probably the best way to describe the day. Check it out below!

First, we got a briefing by an Army Sergeant and had to sign a form saying that we were not representatives of the UN or South Korea and anything we did could not be linked to them. This was basically to protect them in case we did anything wrong or caused death/injury/anything that could be interpreted as insulting that could cause problems during our visit.

We were then able to continue on to the JSA, the most fascinating place in the DMZ in my opinion. The pictures below show the view of the North Korean side, looking out from the South Korean side. The blue building (T2) is the one which we entered.

This is me in North Korea! The cement line seen on the ground out the window is the line which crosses between the North and South Korean sides of the buildings here, dividing the country. South Korea has three buildings built across this line, and North Korea has two.

Here is James standing next to a South Korean guard

Being here was very odd. The South Korean soldiers seen in the above pictures in the traditional Judo pose come out only when tour groups or others are visiting the DMZ. The North Koreans have watch towers positioned in order to watch the South Koreans and those on the South Korean side at all times. We were warned not to point, jesture, or try to communicate with any North Koreans while there. It was a very strange place, and you notice when you are there just how inappropriate the name "demilitarized zone" is for this place...both countries are ready for war at any second, with guards and soldiers stationed nearby at all times.

This is a view of North Korea from one of our stopping points. I am sure on a clear day this would be an even better picture!

The below picture is of "Propaganda Village," which was built on the North Korean side shortly after the DMZ was created in 1953. Until 2004, loudspeakers would play propaganda messages about Kim Jong Il and other North Korean messages for 6-12 hours a day. The strangest part of this is that the town is mostly deserted. It was built mostly as a show for the South Koreans. The North Korean flag seen in the picture has a weight of 600pounds, and our guide explained that if soaked, the flag pole would not be able to hold the weight of the flag. We were lucky to catch it on a windy day! The flag pole seen in the picture is the largest flagpole in the world, at 160M tall. The South Koreans previously had one larger at 100M, but shortly after that went up, North Korea built this flag pole to display their flag more prominently.

The bridge in this picture goes across the DMZ line...I was able to get a pretty good picture and on a dreary day like today, this bridge and entryway into North Korea looked pretty desolate.

Finally, our last stop was the Third Tunnel, where we were able to walk 350 meters underground at about a 15 degree incline through a South Korean tunnel to the end of a huge tunnel the North Koreans had built, reaching from North Korea under the DMZ line to the South Korean side. This tunnel was built around 1972, 19 years after the treaty between the two countries. It showed that the North Koreans had plans to attack, and would have allowed for an army to travel from North Korea to South Korea in one hours time. Pictures weren't allowed here, but this was a pretty cool part of the tour too.

At the Tunnel stop, we also went to the DMZ tourist information center. Here, we were shown a video created by the South Koreans, capitalizing on the fact that the two countries were working on reunification. It described the DMZ as a happy place full of growth and beauty, and no longer a sign of war or separation. We found this interesting simply because after a day of seeing and hearing about nothing but North Korean propaganda and the separation of the two countries, we were told that everything we had seen wasn't correct. This video was another piece of propaganda, and I decided to include a picture of the statue outside the center (at left).

Our day on the DMZ tour was awesome, and we had a great time! Just being there and seeing this was so cool. I have added a few more pictures on picasa if you would like to check them out. Hope everyone is doing well back in the US!