You think you know hot.  You do not.  Here’s what I said to my husband when we arrived for our  16-day trip to Thailand:

“I will never ever complain about the Texas heat again.  Ever.” 

We ventured out into the weekend market where we saw and smelled every thing imaginable.  You could buy anything from fresh flowers to clothes to souvenirs to live eels and stinky durian fruit.  It was a bit of an assault on the senses for our 10-year old who, on more than one occasion, could be seen plugging her nose.

 Then on our first full day of sightseeing, we headed off  to the Grand Palace, the Wat of the Reclining Buddha (its huge), Golden Mountain Temple and two more Buddhas in one Wat.

I was struck by the simplicity of pots of water lilies scattered about the Grand Palace compound.  There was a different kind around every corner, but no other landscaping or garden elements.

And then we shopped.  We shopped a lot.  There was “stuff” everywhere.  Souvenirs and crafts and carvings and fabric.  And all very inexpensive.

We rode tuk-tuk’s…think of a motorcycle with three wheels and a place for two/three people to sit in the back.  We had a wild ride back to the hotel through really amazing traffic and well, heat.  But it was so hot that even traffic-filled fumes of breeze felt good!  It took 20 minutes and cost a whopping $5.

Then we went to the amazing hotel pool…afternoon heat and humidity there was not fit for man nor beast.

The tropical plants and trees there were incredible and we visited an orchid farm that just blew me away. 

I was overwhelmed by the friendliness of the Thai people.  Customary greetings and goodbyes include bringing together the hands and a slight bow of the head, which you do to everyone you see.  I learned greetings and goodbyes and thank you and the Thai always smiled and appreciated it.  Hotel and large restaurant people spoke English, but most on the street didn’t.  But we all managed to communicate in spite of that.  And they were so sweet to our daughter – I’d read that they love kids and it was clearly evident.

The tropical plants and trees there were incredible and we visited an orchid farm that just blew me away.  I’ll post about the orchid farm next, so check back.

More of our trip to come …