Thailand
Land of smiles. Land of contrasts. The heat, humidity, smells and traffic, the temples and Buddha's and quiet respect shown to visitors, all combine to make Thailand a fascinating place to visit.
I traveled with G Adventures in mid-September with 11 other travel advisors on a Wellness Trip to Thailand. We started in Bangkok, flew to Chiang Mai, drove to Pai and flew to the island of Koh Samui. I added 2 days to the end of the trip and toured Bangkok with a guide. The 9 days were filled with yoga and Thai massage, Temple visits, delicious food, a cooking class and even a stand-up paddleboarding lesson! It was a terrific week!
In Bangkok the tuk-tuk was a quick way to get around, though perhaps not the safest since their are no seatbelts! It was raining the day I toured Bangkok so the tuk-tuk provided a quick and dry way to travel between Temples.
The longtail boat is another popular method of transportation in Bangkok, allowing you to escape traffic and get around the city on the Chao Phraya river.
Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) was the first Temple I saw in Bangkok. Located on the west bank of the river, it is supposed to be particularly beautiful at sunrise. I missed that opportunity and saw it mid morning on an overcast day but was still impressed by it.
Wat Arun has two central spires that are decorated with multicolored ceramics.
Covered in gold leaf and an impressive 15m high and 46 meters long, the Reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and can be found at Wat Pho, also known as The Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It is one of the largest and most impressive Buddha statues in Thailand.
Not surprisingly, the feet of the Reclining Buddha are also enormous, the soles of the Buddha’s feet are covered in mother-of-pearl inlay.
After viewing the Reclining Buddha, the Emerald Buddha seemed surprisingly small, however it has much more significance in Thailand. It is the figure of a meditating Buddha made of a semi-precious green stone (probably jade, not emerald) and is thought to provide protection and safety for the people of Thailand. Pictures are not allowed so instead I have included pictures of the guardians of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Elaborate and a little frightening, in my humble opinion!
On my day touring the Temples of Bangkok, I must have seen over 50 various Buddhas. Some have different hand positions, some have a gold leaf coating and some were lined up in a store that sells Buddhas for Thai people to take home with them. There were many signs around Bangkok about respecting Buddha, reminding people that you cannot get a Buddha tattoo or use the name Buddha for your bar or restaurant. I saw a large billboard on the way to the airport that said DISRESPECT FOR BUDDHA IS WRONG BY LAW, and then directed you to the website knowingbuddha.org.
At the Royal Palace complex, I was amused to see these three monks with two cell phones and an iPad taking pictures. It fascinated me that despite giving up so many earthly possessions, they were busy taking pictures just like me!
And the three monks below sitting at a table were comparing something on their cell phones! My guide explained to me that monks are not allowed to chew in the middle of the day but they could have a drink. Again the rules puzzled me — no shirts, no hair, no chewing, often no shoes, — but cell phones were acceptable!
After a lesson in Thai massage at the famous Wat Pho Massage School our G Adventures group flew to Chiang Mai and toured the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Temple, sitting at the top of over 300 steps! Despite being in the midst of rainy season, we had a perfect day for our visit.
On our second day in Chiang Mai, we traveled to a village outside the city to observe how traditional northern Thai people live. We toured the herb garden with our very entertaining host and then made Thai Herbal Compress balls used for massages.
Our visit also included a delicious meal and a lesson in making cigars!
My fellow travel advisors Grace, Kim and Victoria took a puff of the cigar, living by that saying…when in Rome, or Thailand or wherever!
Our hotel in Chiang Mai, the Bodhi Serene, served drinks and light meals poolside. I enjoyed their Tom Kha Gai soup, a coconut milk soup with chicken and icy cold Gin & Tonic on more than one occasion!
On our last morning in Chiang Mai, we got up early to offer food to the local monks. Our hotel provided the food and we silently placed it in their bowls. In return, the monks blessed some water which we then used to water a tree. The whole event took about six minutes and was done silently and without eye contact.
From Chiang Mai, we took a long and winding road to the charming, hippie community of Pai. Thankfully there was a rest stop about half way so we stopped to visit the Toilet Lady and have a cold drink. I got seriously into the local bubble tea and matcha tea while in Thailand. Readily available, very inexpensive and with a sugar/caffeine hit that carried me through the heat of the afternoon, they were hard to resist!
Pai was charming, mainly because of the community of friendly people we met there. Our stay began with a yoga class taught by the lovely Kookai, the owner of Pai Yoga Shala. Kookai also owns a restaurant in town and we had a delicious meal there one evening.
Charlie and Lek own a restaurant serving delicious food in Pai and also have a cooking school just outside of town.
Lek took us on a market tour before our cooking class and showed us many of the common foods used in Thai cooking. Then she made it very easy for us to succeed at making spring rolls, Pad Thai, Massaman curry and sticky rice with mangos!
After Pai, we flew to the island of Koh Samui, a little slice of heaven in the Gulf of Thailand. From the beach, if I looked right, I saw the sunrise…
…and to the left, I saw the sunset!
More yoga, free time, great food and massages made our stay in Koh Samui enjoyable!
Koh Samui has no shortage of luxury beachfront hotels and several of us had the chance to visit a few of the resorts on the north shore of the island one afternoon...
and the gorgeous and whimsical W hotel Koh Samui
This was an incredible first visit to Thailand. I'd happily return and stay longer. I was just beginning to remember the exchange rate for Thai Baht to US dollars and had not tried enough Thai food!
Thanks to Eduardo and Moh of G Adventures for an amazing Wellness week in Thailand!