Thailand!

Ok, I'm excited to tell everyone about my trip, but fear I won't do justice to you all via my pictures or the information I will try to give, but I shall do my best.
Firstly, I have to start by saying that it has been snowing here every day since I got back from Thailand, and according to my friend Dana, this has been the most snow that Korea has received since they started measuring depth over 50 years ago. So, within one week I've experienced mid 90s to below 0, and it's been quite a week!
I left Christmas morning, same as last year, so for two consecutive years I guess that's been my Santa gift to myself. The trip didn't start as well as I'd like though...I got to the bus station around 8:30 AM and bought a ticket to catch the 9:20 bus to the airport. After getting my ticket I was starving and decided to run the McD for some breakfast. The bus station is in a large 6 story building which includes two department stores and a movie theater. Well, apparently every person in Cheonan goes to watch a movie on Christmas morning, because the place was PACKED! The elevator line was long, and so I decided since I was loading up on carbs I'd take the stairs. Well, for anyone who knows me well, I am always all about securing my belongings, whether it's patting my pockets 20 times a day to check my wallet and keys, or checking my zipper 5 times to make sure it's still zipped. Well, this particular time I was aloof and put my bus ticket in my back pocket. Well, apparently as I climbed the stairs the ticket fell out of my pocket, which I didn't realize until a good 30 minutes later (BTW, McD hadn't opened yet, so I didn't even get to eat!) So, as I was standing waiting for the bus I patted my pocket...the ticket was gone! ARGH! So, I headed back to the counter to get another ticket from the same girl...well, of course the girl had no idea what I was trying to say (as I spoke in my pigeon Korean) so I just decided to buy another ticket (15,900 Won or about $18) but she said "no seats." I tried to explain that I KNEW there had to be a seat, MY seat, but of course she just kept saying "no seat, no seat." The people behind me in line were ancy, but I KNEW I had a seat on the bus, so finally her manager just came over and said "open seat" and sold me another ticket. So...fortunantly that was the only awful part of my trip, before I even left town. So...caught my plane and had a nice flight to Bangkok. I arrived around midnight, and got a taxi to my hotel, which by the way was wonderful, and got some sleep. I woke up the next day and headed out as soon as possible...I didn't even have a map, but had looked at a map and was sure I could find my way around. Well...if anyone has ever been to Bangkok they can attest that that city is NOT laid out well, and the map I looked at (that was engraven into my brain) matched nothing I was seeing. So...I had no clue, and just started walking. I have to say I was very unprepared for this trip as we've been very busy at the school and I just didn't take the time I needed to prepare. So...finally after some aimless wandering and a tuk-tuk ride I ended up at the Chao Phraya River (which was my destination) I caught one of the long boat rides up the river and I have to say it was amazing to see the temples and other building peering up over the horizon as I headed up the river. The temperature was great and I was enjoying the sun on my face, much different than 24 hours previously. The driver took off up some little canals and was showing us all the different sites along the way. He was very kind and gracious (which, for the price I paid to take his long boat, he should have been!). He took us to a snake pit place which was very touristy and stopped the boat. There were only two other people on the boat besides me and they both went in to check it out. I hate snakes, and felt like it was a rip off, so I just sat out by the boat and soaked in the sun. When the other two came out, I asked them how it was, they said it was great and the guy was milking the snakes and putting them by his face. I could tell that one of the guys had a southern drawl and so I said "you must be from the south!" He laughed and said yes, he was in fact from Tennessee and he was just there for two days, renewing his visa for his job in China. I have to say, travelling alone can be in some ways more fun as I think you are forced to open up and talk to others, unless you just like to sit alone in silence like the weird kid in the corner, and that, of course, is ok too. But, we struck up a conversation and by the end of our boat ride, we were like long lost friends. He was quite a bit older than I was, but a fun guy to talk to nonetheless, plus...he had a map! HA! So, I asked him "what are your plans for the rest of the day?" and he said he just wanted to do some exploring, which of course, was right up my alley. So, we headed off, map in hand, to check out all kinds of sights. We wandered here and there and meandered here and there. We followed the map for a while and then just took off on our own. It was a lot of fun...we checked out some of the famous sites around Bangkok including Wat Pho, the Grand Palace, Wat Saket, and a whole bunch of other places we either meant to bump into, or just got lucky seeing. Now, as cool as Bangkok was, I must say, it was one of the dirtiest cities I've been too. It was a mixture of ancient beauty mixed with today's garbage. I also have to say, if you are a pet lover (like me) be prepared if you ever go there to have your heart broken. I have never seen so many stray dogs just walking around looking for food and shelter. Frankly I really upset me...I hate to see animals that aren't taken care of. But, all in all, it was a cool day, and by the evening I think we had walked about 10 miles at least (no joke). Around noon it had started pouring down rain, so my shoes were wet (even after the sun came out) and I hate hate hate wet socks...more than I hate tomatoes, and that's a lot. So, finally we spotted an A&W Rootbeer, I told him "I haven't had root beer in ages" so we hit that up and I enjoyed a really good chicken sandwich with a big frosty mug of rootbeer! Delicious!
I had all these trips planned when I headed there, and I'm glad looking back that I did them, but I'd not really thought that almost each day of my vacation I'd be waking up several hours early than my normal days here. The next day I had scheduled a trip to Kanchanaburi, which is famous for the Burma Railway which was built by the POWs during WWII. In 1942 the city was under Japanese control and almost 250,000 people were used to build the railroad. Almost 110,000 people died of all kinds of horrible diseases. Of course the railroad was made famous by the 1957 British movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai" which I can still vaguely remember watching at Shawcrofts on one of our movie nights! HA! So, I arrived in Kanchanaburi and went to the JEATH War Museum and then caught a boat up the river to the bridge. It was really fascinating seeing the bridge and it was another beautiful day. After seeing the bridge I went to another railroad museum and checked that out for the while. It was awful to read of the conditions that the forced laborers had to work. After lunch I went to the railroad line and actually had a chance to ride the railway for about an hour, back towards Bangkok before catching the bus back. I was a little disappointed with my pictures, as the train (which is still used daily) was of course quite bouncey...but I think you can still get the basic idea anyway.
The next day I had a trip planned to the Khao Yai National park. It was a nice ride up there, and along the way I was able to see some monkeys just chillin on the road, in fact, cars had to slow down and drive around the monkeys! HA! There was a really pretty waterfall named the Haew Narok Waterfall, and so I got a lot of pictures there. I also met some other teachers that were here in Korea and so it was cool to talk to them and hear about some of their experiences, since I rarely, if ever, try to meet other English teachers here in Korea. Oddly enough there were also a group of four Korean-American kids (well, mid 20s, but I'm old now) that were living in Korea and studying Korean...so, it was a pretty cool group. After stopping off for lunch I had a really cool experience. We got to ride an elephant in the jungle for about an hour, and I have to say, that thing was really well behaved. The trainer would call to him (or her, I have no idea...) and the elephant would stop on command. They took us into a little river and the elephant sucked up some water and blew it out through his trunk. It was really cool, and one of the more amazing things I've had the chance to experience. The National Park was quite a way from Bangkok and by the time I got back I was so tired, but craving some Korean food, so I wandered around and ate some Korean food (I ate there twice, very good!) Oh yeah, on the subject of food, Thai food was really delicious too...I tried several of the street vendors food and all of it was really tasty and cheap, usually less than a dollar (maybe 20-30 Baht).
So, on the next day I had another trip planned to Ayutthaya, which was the ancient capital of Siam (aka Thailand). Along the way I stopped at one of the kings summer palaces, and it was one of the most beautiful places on the trip. I have to say, the Thai people LOVE their king, literally everywhere you go you will see his picture (often accompanied by his wife's picture). I guess he is older now, maybe in his 80s. But, you will see pictures everywhere of the guy, and I could easily identify his picture after going there. Not sure where there's so much love for the guy, I tried to ask some people (maybe rudely, although I didn't mean it that way) why they love him so much, and of course no one knew an exact reason. But, regardless...his summer palace (which had been the Thai king's palace for years) was amazing, and very well kept. After that, headed up to the city of Ayutthaya, and saw some of the ruins of the old city. If I understood correctly, the city was attacked by the Burmese (now Myanmar) around 1765 and pretty much destroyed and was then burned in 1767. There are some really cool remains of the city, and it was a very interesting place to visit. That was another all day event, and so I was worn out once again!
The next day I headed back out in Bangkok, and pretty much just wandered around, looking at whatever I saw. I had really hoped to take a day trip to Cambodia, but not only were the logistics a bit tough, but the kitty was running low...so I opted to just venture around the city, seeing some different minor temples and buildings.
By this point I was pretty wore out, so my last day I opted just to relax (what a novel idea) and hang out by the pool and the area around my hotel. Bangkok has some great shopping, and although that wasn't my intention to go shopping there, how can one pass up some $3 shorts and $1 t-shirts? HA! I didn't do much for New Year's as I had an early flight out the next morning (had to wake at 5:30), plus...hate to say it but I'm one who believes that New Year's Eve is one of the most overrated holidays, but that's just me.
So...I had a great time. The hotel was great, great breakfast buffet that even let you order your food! Amazing! HA! Bangkok was fascinating and like nothing I've ever seen before...but I think I had my fill of the area, at least for now. It was a great trip and I hope you enjoyed (and actually made it all the way to here) reading about it. I'm sure I left out chunks, and maybe some fun stories, but I tried my best to remember everything. I hope you enjoy the pictures!
Thanks to all my friends and family who read this thing and actually care enough to request pictures and a story...