8 Months This Once

December 29, 2016

Maya’s Entry #1 (Dec. 29, 2016)

It all started on Dec. 25th in Bangkok, Thailand, when we attempted to get a taxi. It was really confusing for both the taxi driver and us to find out where we were going because the driver spoke little English, but after about 15 minutes we got it. Once we got to what my parents like to call “home’’ we listened to some tips from the people who were staying at the house before us. After, we went and explored around the main street closest to our “house’’, where we got some smoothies, groceries for breakfast and dinner and found out that the driving rules are nowhere near the same as Canada’s. For example, scooters rule the streets. Scooters weave in and out of traffic as they please and vehicles have the right of way - when you want to cross the road, you wait for a space between two cars and make a run for it. There is no standard for the cars; open sides and no seatbelts are a normal. It was a little tricky finding our way back to the house, but when we did, we ate dinner and settled in for our first night super tired from jet lag.

Lucas’s Entry #1 (Dec. 29, 2016)

The next day we went to a huge mall called MBK center, but first we had to go through a smaller mall were we found virtual reality rides. Maya, my dad and I all went on a round the world roller coaster. It was extremely real and exciting. I have been wanting an iPhone for quite some time now, so we decided to check out how cheap the phones in Thailand were. There were plenty of small booths that sold phones for a little bit less than the price at home, but we had a sneaking suspicion that they might have been 'iphonies'. After about 30 minutes of searching for a place that looked legit, we found one. Turns out the phones are about $200 more than in Canada. I thought about it for a while and decided not to get one but wait until I get back home or find one cheaper somewhere else – maybe Hong Kong.

Entry#2( Dec.29 2016)

Yesterday was a blast; we rode on a boat, saw the grand palace, ate grasshoppers, and rode in a tuk tuk. Our first activity was catching a shuttle bus to the grand palace. We all took a boat to get to the grand palace and Khao San road. It was lots of fun but a little scary a times! It was about 45 minutes to down town Bangkok were the Grand Palace is placed.

View from the shuttle boat of a the MahaNakhon building that

looks like it belongs in a sci-fi movie

A man with a police badge came up to us and told us that the girl's pants were too short (girls aren’t allowed to show much skin in the palace), but luckily we had prepared for this and we had packed extra clothing. The man then continued to “help” us, and told us that the palace was closed until 2:30. He told us that we should take a tuk tuk, go eat lunch, and then go to the palace. It turned out that the palace was just around the corner, and open at 1:30. We think that that man may have been a fraud police and just trying to get money off us, so we went to get some lunch and then headed over to the palace. The moment we walked in through the entrance gate, we were in awe. Dead ahead of us was a huge mansion with crazy architecture. We had to pay 500 baht each (about $20 each) to enter the palace, but it was worth it. We were so excited to get in, but then a security guard told the girls that they had to cover up more because shawls aren't good enough to cover shoulders. Dad and I waited while the girls got shirts, then we went in. everywhere we went we saw people, people and more people, it was really busy. Once we got ahead of the crowd we saw the temples they were so cool! They were covered in gems, gold, and mirrored tiles. Everything was so detailed and fancy! To enter the temple of the Emerald Buddha we had to take our shoes off and we were not allowed to take pictures. Some say that it was made out of jade not emerald, and that’s true but people still call it the Emerald Buddha because it is an emerald color. The Grand Palace was made was for the King back in 1782. The King of Thailand died this year so while we were wandering around the temples there were a lot of people dressed in all black from neck to toe at +30 degrees. The temples were really fun but in order to get our deposit back for the t-shirts we had to return them before 4:30.

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha - one of many amazing buildings

Our next stop was Khao San Road, a long street filled with carts, restaurants, and tons of people. There we got Pad Thai for dinner and banana fritters for dessert, but as an appetizer we all tried fried grass hoppers heavily salted, and sprayed with soy sauce on a stick, which in Maya’s words, ewwwww! They tasted like hay, but Lucas loved them and ate 2 more! On the street we also got a bracelet-Lucas, a shirt-Maya, and some pants-Maya. Khao San road was super fun but we were all getting pretty tired so we went home……. On the best ride ever! To get back home we road in a tuk tuk! Maya thought it was really scary at first because the driver took us into a dark alley. But then we realized that he just kept it in the dark because it was probably the oldest and ugliest tuk tuk in Thailand! Don’t worry though, it was still very functional. Our experience in Bangkok- although it was our first city- was incredible. Beautiful buildings, unique cultures, weird (but good) foods, and lonnnnnngggggg walks. Next stop… Chiang Mai!