Dec 2008

Here's the first of my posts picking up where I left off in China.

From Guangzhou, China where we were treated to a delicious seafood lunch courtesy of my mom's friend, we flew an uneventful flight on Kenya Airways to Bangkok. My mom and sister spend a lot of time in Bangkok so it worked out well for us to meet up with them there. After a month in China it was great to have a comfy place as a rest stop. It was nice to be pampered by mom – home cooked meals, delicious Thai snacks & various tropical fruits all ready for us to eat all day, laundry done for us, etc. - mom's are the best! We also got a chance to get caught up on bills, etc. Oh, and of course it was nice to spend some time with them too!

View of Chao Phraya River near mom's apartment in Bangkok:

We've both been to Bangkok before, so there was no pressure to do any sightseeing. Instead, we focused on the food (what else). Thailand is one of the best places for really good, yet cheap, street food. For those worried about the sanitary conditions of street food stalls, the same food can be found in food courts of shopping centers. For $1.5 for a dish you get great Pad Thai, fried rice, papaya salad, noodle soups, etc. etc. Our meals here are averaging $5 for both of us. Love it! The other thing to love about Bangkok is the cheap massage – a 2 hour massage... 120 minutes... for $10! Of course, Bangkok is also great for people not on a budget. For very little money one can live a very luxurious life – eat at nice restaurants, stay at top hotels, and shop till you drop. No wonder there are so many foreigners in Bangkok.

It's nice when things work out without planning for it. We found out that one of Thailand's big holidays, Loi Krathong (floating lantern festival, aka festival of lights), is only a couple of days away. It's celebrated everywhere, but we decided to see it in Sukhothai, the ancient capital, where Loi Krathong started. This time around we traveled in luxury - the 4 of us went in a nice 9-passenger minivan complete with entertainment center. What a difference compared to the bus trips we've been on.

On the day of the festival, one is supposed to light a candle on a Krathong (a lotus-shaped float usually made with banana leaf and decorated with flowers), make a wish, and release it into the river or a body of water and let it drift.

If the candle doesn't go out the wish will come true. When a couple makes a wish together they'll be together in the future. There's also another way to test the strength of a relationship: each person gets a krathong and puts them in the river at the same time, and if the kratongs float down the river together that means the couple will be together, but if the kratongs separate then the relationship won't last. We chose not to trust our future to the flow of the current and instead made a wish together. Here's Ashok & I floating our krathong at the end of the night:

The Loi Krathong festival was held in the historic park of Sukhothai. All the events - krathong floating, parades, fireworks, etc. - took place with the old temples and monuments as backdrop which was very cool. Here are some pics of the various events:

One of the temples in Sukhothai Historic Park:

Loi Krathong parade with floats from each of the 9 provinces:

One of the floats used chips & other snacks as decoration:

Light & Sound Show in front of the temples, complete with fireworks:

People also launched Khom Fai, or hot air lanterns, into the sky. They're not environmentally friendly, but the sight of the tiny flames floating up into the night sky was quite mystical.

On the way back to Bangkok we tried to make it to the River Kwai (as in the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai) for sunset but didn't quite get there in time so this is all we got to see of the bridge:

Lastly, an interesting thing we saw during the road trip was this innovative (but probably very old) way of crossing the river which almost looked like the monks were flying over the river. We got on to check it out, and the monk controlling the cables probably thought it was weird that we didn't want to get off when we got to the other side and instead just rode it back.

Once back in Bangkok we decided it was time to hit the road again, so off we went to Vietnam and Laos. More on those next time.

Wow! I can't believe it's been a month since we left China.... which means I'm seriously behind on my posts. We have since gone through Bangkok, Thailand, Vietnam (south to north), and are now in Luang Prabang, Laos. In Bangkok we got to rest, catch up on things, and get taken care of by my mom.... and of course enjoy the tasty Thai food. Actually the food has been amazingly good in Thailand, Vietnam, and even Laos so we've been feasting everyday. We considered staying longer in Vietnam just for the food but sadly our visa ran out.

Of course we have done more than just eat: we caught the water lantern festival (Loi Kratang) in Thailand, spent our 4th wedding anniversary in charming Hoi An, Vietnam, and Thanksgiving on a boat in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. Now we're enjoying the peace & quiet of Luang Prabang (one of the few touristy places in Asia where you're not harassed by the vendors every 5 seconds). We're supposed to make our way south back to Bangkok (by land), and then fly to Kolkata, India, from there but that will depend on whether or not the Bangkok airport opens up in time.

I will backtrack and post more details of our experiences & photos of all these places in the coming weeks so stay tuned.