Thailand!

For our October "Golden Week" holiday in China, we decided to head south to Thailand for a visit to Bangkok & a small island called Koh Chang (link). Lucky us, my folks and sister decided to take some time off to see us (read Gus) in paradise. We sandwiched a week in Koh Chang between two weekends in Bangkok.

What better way to get accustomed then take a longtail boat tour of Bangkok...







...and visit a few Wats (Theravada Buddhism temples). It was wicked hot and we had to wear close toed shoes and pants while visiting the temples!





First was up was Wat Arun. The steps were unbelievably steep. Hard to capture in a picture.

Wat Arun...







The buildings were covered with old pottery. The guide said "what China throws away, we turn into art..."




We took a quick ferry across the river and checked out Wat Pho and the Grand Palace where the King or Rama IX resides. I can't remember exactly what the guide said, but the Rama is sacred in Thailand. There are signs and billboards in random places proclaiming "Long Live the King." I think the Prime Minister has almost all authority, but the Rama is definitely the leader of the country.



Wat Pho was basically built for all the Rama's over the years.



Different colors of the buildings reflect each Rama's color, which I think is based off of what day of the week you are born.



The tiles on these buildings were covered in PLASTIC tiles. Weird.



The reclining Buddha is the biggest in the world, 46m, and covered in gold leaf and mother of pearl on its feet.



Towards the end of this hot, stickey, Wat marathon, we breezed passed the Rama's crib...


We were starved for some Thai food, the tour book recommended the following...

It is a restaurant founded by a Thai politician, and all the proceeds go towards charitable works to fight the spread of AIDS/HIV. So, we thought we could indulge our guts and conscience.

I am an adventurous eater, the rest of the family, not so much. I still got them to try some different stuff, AT LEAST THEY TRIED IT!

We were then off to Koh Chang via Bangkok airport and a puddle jumper to Trat...


Trat terminal...

...where we hitched a ferry to Koh Chang.

(Not THAT adventurous!)

The ferry didn't take long, just enough time for a cooling beverage on the viewing deck...



Nadia and I wanted a resort, my folks wanted Jurassic Park, Becky wanted a massage, so we settled on a couple huts on the beach, with a swim up bar.

We got our way...








They got their way...














My folks and I went shore diving (snorkeling) by these three islands to experience the renown Thai reefs. It was stunning after I quelled my fears of sharks and open water.

The sunset was amazing. After a long drop of increasingly bigger sun, the entire beach looked purple. It was weird. It made everything appear in a purple haze. No, I did not eat the mushrooms growing on the elephant poo! The sky had splashes of torquize too. I wish I had eaten the 'shrooms, it probably would have thought I was skating through an impressionist painting!

Augie Laugh 3

Augie Laugh 3
Originally uploaded by zrahaim

Part of Pops stay in Beijing with Nadia and Augie while Gigi and I were back in the States.

Augie 5 Months

Augie 4 Months

Augustine - 3 Months

Augustine - 3 Months
Originally uploaded by zrahaim

Olympics!

The self proclaimed, most important event in Chinese history concluded today, & we were THERE!

Zach's buddy from High School (although a River Rat - Huron) Jon made the trip from San Diego (sorry, I don't know how to spell Encindintas). He showed up only a couple of days after we arrived from our 3.5 weeks in the States. This was going to be a marathon...
First up on the docket... BOXING!
Surprisingly, the loudest and most aggressive fans, were the Kazzies! Kazakhstani's were well represented! It was hard not to root for them! So we joined in with "GREAT SUC-CESS!" A google map looksee showed me that Kazakhstan shares a HUGE boarder with China. Who knew!?
Another welcome surprise was the cost of beers. 3 RMB per beer, or $0.44/beer!
Next was a trip to The Temple of Heaven. Admittedly, we have never been in our 13+ months of living here. Jon's aggressive schedule forced us to some sites we previously had not visited. Honestly, it was a nice push into our Beijing schedules after 2 weeks of vacation. Between work, baby duties, Olympics, & Jon's agenda, we squeezed the most out of every day.
One of the most hottest tickets in Beijing was the USA Men's Basketball. We didn't score any tickets during the numerous lotteries, so Jon and I headed down to the stadium Tuesday night in hopes of scalping tickets.

The market rate was 4,000 RMB ($588) for TWO TICKETS! It was only a qualifying round! So, at tip off, we were about to throw in the towel, when I saw a couple get out of a taxi in front of the gate. I asked if they had any extras, they didn't respond like most people I spoke to for the past hour. We were hoping that some of the scalpers would come down in price since the match started, but it seemed as though they would rather eat the ticket before getting their price! Just as I turned to Jon and shrugged in concession, I hear the husband from the taxi say, "hey, here you go" in a Carribean accent and he handed me two tickets. I was dumbfounded. I asked him if he was sure, and he kept waving me off. I can only guess that he didn't want to risk selling them and was in a rush into the game, so he just wanted to give them to a couple nice die hard USA hoops fans! Olympic spirit at it's best!
We got to see the Redeem Team CREAM Germany. Thank GOODNESS we didn't waste our money on a blowout. Unbelievably, the stadium wasn't 80% full. There was an entire section in the lower bowl vacant, and the seats outside were selling for $250+ a piece (face price $20).
Nadia then took Jon to the Great Wall. I couldn't handle going there again for the 3rd time in 3 months. It also gave me the opportunity to get some work done while our Ayi watched Augie.
Next up was Boxing again. And AGAIN, the Kazzie's we're well represented. Only to be rivaled by the Irish. "YOU CAN-NOT BEAT THE IR-ISH" still reverberates in my skull.
However, we still found ourselves backing the Kazzies! "KAZ-ZAK-STAN! KAZ-ZAK-STAN!KAZ-ZAK-STAN!"

We then hopped a pedicab to San-Li-Tun for a couple post match toties before calling it a night.

Next up, baseball...It's a crap shoot when you buy the tickets, you don't know the match-ups. We saw the Netherlands's get MERCIED against the Koreans (gold medal winners).

Next, THE BIRD NEST (AKA National Stadium) for Athletics. We were able to see the first day of the decathlon including eventual winner Bryan Clay! It was a little soggy, but we were under the overhang. Below are a couple of night shots too. Beijing's 7-star hotel, the Putong Plaza, one of two in the WORLD.

Of course no trip to Beijing is complete without sampling Peking (Beijing) Duck. Then we crammed a trip to the Forbidden City and a tour of a Hutong (old school historic protected neighborhood) to see how life was in China before their industrialization.

I am intentionally sparing a lot of details due to anticipated visitors. This will be part of their Beijing tour. I am happy to answer any questions, just drop it in the comments!

ZHONG GUO! JIA YOU!