Fam Money said:
Hey Delija, where were those pics taken? That place looks beautiful!
The picture with the lake was taken on the road between
Chaing Rai and Chaing Mai in northern Thailand. Really a
beautiful place. Found it by accident. We were driving for
hours and starving, and out of nowhere I saw a sign in
English that said "Restaurant-Hotel"....only English I saw for
days. In the middle of nowhere. Sometimes you just get
lucky!!! Food was great and the three of us had a super lunch
for probably $5 total.
The picture with all the bells was taken at a Buddhist temple
up in the mountains outside of Chaing Rai....it's a 700 year
old temple. It's also a place where the Royal Family goes to pray
when up in that region. I believe the bells each represent a
monetary donation.....sort of like having a plaque with your
name on it if you make a donation to a church or synagogue
in the US.
Yeah, it is some beautiful country.
I did get a little lost exploring the area around there. It's
the "Golden Triangle" region, and you are skirting the border
of Thailand and Burma...Burma is now the "Soviet Union of
Myanmar", so a few times I got stopped by the Thai army.
They guard the roads closely....there is a lot of drug smuggling...
.if you've heard of the "Golden Triangle" you would probably
know that.
They don't screw around with drug smugglers. They will shoot
you on the spot rather than waste time with arrests and trials.
So I guess the drug smuggling is off limits to amateurs and
left to the corrupt government officials.
Great place to visit (if you aren't running drugs). A top notch
hotel room including breakfast is around $20. In Bangkok
it's more like $30. In New York...$400+ for an equivalent
room. Maybe more.
You can go to the best Thai restaurants, including entertainment...dancers, music, etc....and you could not
spend more than $10 if you tried....even with the most
expensive dishes....shrimp, prawn, whatever. They have
great sushi in Thailand as well as what you think of as Thai
food ...except they don't give you chop sticks....don't know why...different culture I guess than it is in Japan, Vietnam, .
..chop stick territory..LOL.
Even the airfare is pretty cheap. I think that time I flew on
EVA air....it's Chinese (Taiwan). The airfare was less than
$800 round trip from Chicago to Bangkok (stopped in Taipei).
The round trip flight from Bangkok to Chaing Rai and then
from Chaing Mai back to Bangkok was maybe $60. I rented
a car and drove so that's why I flew into one city and out
of another. The rental car was NOT cheap...had a little
Thai made Honda...smaller than a civic. The rental car was
the only thing that was pretty much American prices...it
was Hertz or Avis or one of those, so that's probably why.
I saw ads for renting motor scooters for like $3 a day. (even for "farangs" ..foriegners).
I normally fly on Northwest. It's a little more money...the
food is better. But EVA was a good deal and I will use them
again. For regular economy fare you get a reclining seat
with footrests. Almost, but not quite like the first class seats.
The only trouble is the footrests are pretty much the right
length for shorter Asian people. (Chinese...the Thais seem
taller). I had enough legroom, but the footrests were at the
middle of my calves...(I turned them sideways...like a wheel
chair kind of thing).
The flight is so long you need to be unconscious anyway.
All the airlines that fly trans Pacific give you unlimited
booze for "free". And meals come non-stop.
I am seriously thinking of retiring there. For $100K you
can buy a house that would cost a million dollars in Florida...
.swimming pool, landscaping, guest house, private gate,
the whole shooting match. For $700 a year you can hire
a live in housekeeper. Basically you can live like a king in
Thailand. The people are super friendly...it's the only country
in that part of the world that has never been at war or
occupied. The surrounding countries....very different.
Laos, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam, China (mainland).
The south of the country is beautiful too. I was on the
beach at Phuket last October. That is where the Tsunami
hit. Most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. They have
these little islands where they filmed some of the exotic
locations for the James Bond movies...like Dr. No...they
actually call them the "James Bond Islands" now. The movie
"The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio was also filmed
there more recently.
Everyone should go to Thailand!!!! A round of golf outside
of Bangkok is $4 including caddies (beautiful hot young
Thai girls). They use the golf carts with four seats...so
the caddies can ride along (it's REALLY HOT..it's 8 degrees off
the equator).
They even have shooting ranges. You can shoot full auto
machine guns (rentals..I don't know about owning).
I could do a whole photo thread on Thailand. It's incredibly
beautiful.
Bangkok is NOT beautiful....it's HUGE...20 million people.
Very polluted and lots of poverty. But if you are into a
nightlife...it makes Vegas seem tame.
The Thai women......they are indescribably gorgeous!!!
ALL SINGLE GUYS SHOULD BOARD THE NEXT FLIGHT TO
BANGKOK!!!
All married guys should avoid it like the plague :lol:
Although taking your wife to a place like Phuket is
probably the most romantic place imaginable.
Below is yours truly on the beach at Phuket. This very
spot was hit directly by the Tsunami. I can cry thinking
about the fact that the people I joked with and hassled
over the price of t-shirts and knockoff sunglasses for $1
(wearing a pair of $1 sunglasses in the picture I think)
are in many cases now gone
But from what I hear the place is pretty much back
to normal. Even cheaper now to get tourists to come
back after the disaster.
Oh, the nightlife on Phuket is also amazing. Really
completely beyond description. You have to just
see it. It can't be explained. It is too much fun!!!
Oh, and since I already know that I will be asked....
Phuket is pronounced "Poo-Khet". (not "****-it")...LOL
Peace,
D.
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