The Land of Smiles

Sawadee ka! That's hello in Thai. After spending 10 days in Thailand I think that and thank you are about all language I picked up. I did start brushing up on my Korean a little bit on this trip and learned some more key phrases. I am looking forward to start using these while I am out and about.

View from our room

Pool with swim up bar

Dennis and I left Chiang Mai and continued on our Thai adventure to the beautiful island of Phuket. We  arrived at the one of the most luxurious hotels that I have ever had the pleasure of staying at called The Indigo Pearl. The really nice part was we only paid about 200 dollars total and we stayed for 5 nights.  Thailand probably is one of the most inexpensive places to vacation and your American dollar can go really far. (30 baht equals about 1 dollar) Our room was incredible and had one of those rain like shower heads and a bathtub outside on the balcony. The next day we got to explore the rest of the facilities the and we discovered the rest of the hotel was just as unique and luxurious! It might of not been near the most popular area on the island but was perfect for a more quiet and romantic atmosphere that Dennis and I wanted. We went to the adult only pool, with a swim up bar, the first day and then visited the private beach club most other days. The ocean had this beautiful emerald color to it and it was the perfect temperature for a nice swim. Just outside our hotel there was a little back street which had lots of local restaurants and some cute shops where you can buy very cheap touristy items. This hotel and location had everything that we could of imagined and more.

Kendall Jackson of Thailand

While in Phuket we had the pleasure of going on an all day sailing tour to visit the famous Phang Nga Bay. What a spectacular sailing trip that was. We got to go inside several caves and check out their hidden lagoons (hongs), swim and eat lunch at our own private little beach, and view some of the most marvelous looking islands in the bay. It was an amazing day with our hilarious Aussie captain on our little sailboat called Sakai. It was a highlight of our time on this gorgeous island. Overall Phuket was BEAUTIFUL and Dennis and I had a fantastic time.

Sailing with adult beverages!

Hongs from inside the cave

Our final days were spent in the city of Bangkok. The night we arrived we decided to check out the Muay Thai boxing at Lumpinee. What a neat experience it was. We got ring side seats and got to see several matches with beers in hand. Mauy Thai boxing is a combination of boxing and kickboxing since they are allowed to use their hands, legs, elbows, and knees. At the beginning of each match both boxers did this sort of dance routine which was a graceful tribute to pay respect to their trainers, spectators, and buddha.  It was a exciting Thai tradition that I was glad we got to see.

Mauy Thai Boxing 

The next day we decided to take a boat taxi to explore the rest of the city. In the past Bangkok used to be referred to as"the Venice of the East" which now most of the canals have been covered by roads....I guess a little more efficient than a boat. We road the water taxi first to Chinatown where we visited the very famous market. They had the biggest selection of jewelry and accessories that I had ever seen. It was like the store Sam Moon but on crack and even cheaper. Hundreds of booths with more jewelry and accessories then anyone could imagine. Poor Dennis had to be dragged through this market and I don't think it was a favorite stop for him. Our next stop was to visit the famous Wat Pho with the reclining buddha. This buddha is enormous; about 150 feet long. It was a very impressive sight to see. After the Wat Pho we headed home for our dinner cruise. The dinner cruise was a very toursity thing to do but was a great way to see all the famous sights at night on the river all lit up for the night time viewing. They also had a entertainment on each deck. Guess what American songs they sang?? The YMCA and Country Roads. I think Country Roads is an international favorite since I also heard this a lot in the bars in Austria. Along with those selections they sang some famous Korean, Chinese, and Indian songs. This cruise catered to all cultures and it was fun to party the night away with them.

Overall, Thailand was a great place to visit and Dennis and I hope someday that we might be able to visit again. The people are so nice, the food is so tasty, and the beaches are beautiful. Plus, it is so inexpensive compared to most vacation destinations. If you ever get a chance I would highly recommend visiting this beautiful country.

Sunset at Patong Beach 

I hope you all are having a great week! I will be making my way back to the states for about a month in less than a week. I can't wait to go to a Gator game for "girls" weekend, fly to Texas for Meredith and Brian's couple shower, go wedding dress shopping, and see all my wonderful family and friends! I hope you have a great rest of your week and I can't wait to see most of you soon!!

Elephant Owner for the Day

Dennis and I arrived in Thailand a couple of days ago and what we have experienced so far here has just been magical. We arrived in Bangkok for the first night and got to explore a little bit the next day before taking a plane up into the northern region of Thailand to a city called Chiang Mai. We checked into our boutique hotel and I cannot tell you how great the service was. We were only paying a little over 60 dollars a night but it felt like we were celebrities staying in the penthouse at a Four Seasons hotel. The people that worked there were so friendly and helpful and would come outside to greet you with your room key in hand. I kept thinking if only more hotels in America were like this what a much more enjoyable experience a vacation could be with such great costumer service.

Besides the great hotel, Dennis and I got to experience one of the most amazing adventures ever in our lives. When we first booked the trip I went on trip advisor looking up "things to do" in Chiang Mai. The number one thing to do was to visit the Patara Elephant farm and take the elephant owner for the day tour. Everyone raved how it was the best thing they did in Thailand and how you didn't want to miss it. After I read the endless amount of positive reviews I knew Dennis and I had to take this tour. Let's just say that we were not at all disappointed. We started off the day learning about the elephant farm and what to expect on our elephant owner for the day adventure. We put our very sexy elephant attire on and got to meet our elephants. My elephants name was Praelia and she was rescued from a circus about 6 months ago. I liked her because she seemed to be an Alpha female of the group. We dominated most hikes when she wasn't getting distracted by the yummy looking shrubbery we passed by. Before we got to ride our elephants we learned all about elephant health and how to check it.  We checked to make sure they were dirty which meant they were sleeping on the ground at night, their ears were flapping (that means they are happy), that their feet were sweating, and their poo was moist and it didn't have too foul of an odor. We also learned some commands for our elephants in Thai. The Thai word"Bon" meant they would open their mouths for us to feed them and "dee dee" meant good girl! We got to feed and clean our elephants which included brushing them off and bringing them into the river to scrub them down. Once our elephants were clean we got to put on our elephant riding pants and attempt to get up on the animal. We watched one of the guides demonstrate and he made it look so easy. I did get up on my first attempt but it was definitely not as easy task. We then preceded to hike through the Chiang Mai country side to a beautiful waterfall for lunch. The lunch they provided was amazing and even included fried chicken drumsticks along with many other famous Thai finger foods. Then we got to do the most incredible thing....swim with our elephants. I never thought in my life that I would ever swim with an elephant. I cannot describe how amazing it was to swim with the biggest mammal on land. After our swim we got back on our elephants and rode back to the farm where we sadly had to say goodbye. Dennis and I had an experience of a life time and I am so thankful that we were able to have this opportunity of owning an elephant for a day.

Swimming with the elephants

We are now at the Chiang Mai airport where we are waiting to get down to our next destination, Phuket. This stint of our trip will probably include some lounging on the beach, a boat trip to various islands, and maybe even seeing some of the famous Thai lady boys. I just know that we will probably to continue to have an incredible vacation.

Bikinis in Busan

It's been a while since I last blogged but to be honest not much had been going on here in South Korea to write home about. Other than going out to eat with friends and Dennis having a two week exercise there wasn't too much too much excitement. Thankfully, this past weekend we got off base and headed to the beaches in South Korea. It took fours hours to get down there by train to the city of Busan but it was completely worth it. If there is another city that is a must see if you ever visit South Korea besides Seoul it is the beach town called Busan. A beautiful fun city with an abundance of things to do and of course BEACHES! So we hopped on a bullet train in Seoul and took a 3 hour ride to Busan or also known as the "Miami" of South Korea.

On the train down to Busan

There are many sites to see and things to do in Busan like the aquarium, shopping at one of the largest malls in the world, and touring temples but Dennis and I were concerned about one thing....relaxing on the beach with a beverage in hand and not having a care in the world. Unfortunately, the first day we arrived there was a typhoon nearby hitting Japan so it was a little cloudy and the ocean was pretty much un-swimable. There had to be 7-8 foot waves which meant the only people in the water were the surfers. The second day was a little better with the sun breaking through the clouds every now but the water was still not safe to go swimming in. We did decide to lay out a majority of the day and had a wonderful and relaxing time. At one point they actual made several announcements over the speakers, first in Korean and then in English, saying all swimming was banned due to the conditions of the water. It was pretty entertaining to watch some of the Americans, who don't listen very well, try to get in the water after that announcement was made. A Korean police/lifeguard would follow around anyone getting too close to the water until they thought they had gone too far in and would whistle for them to get out. As for the Koreans at the beach, almost all of them come in their full clothing and sit underneath umbrellas so they are not in the sun. This is very different from the American and western culture where everyone is in board shorts or their swim suits baking in the sun. It seems as a culture they are just not big fans getting tan or being in bathing suits at the beach. Another great perk of going to Busan on labor day weekend is that all the Americans seem to flock to this beach town as well. There were several bars and restaurants that cater to western tourists and in some places it almost felt like you were back in America. We had tacos and margaritas at a mexican themed restaurant, ate a yummy burger at local place, and even went out to an irish pub owned by ex-pats. It was a nice change from what we have around the base up in Uijeongbu. The last day that we were in Busan ended up being gorgeous. We got some great beach time in before we made the four hour trek back up to base. It was an awesome weekend and it's kind of neat to say I swam in the Sea of Japan.

View from our Hotel

Mexican restaurant called Fuzzy Navel

I hope everyone had a great labor day weekend and stayed safe. Dennis and I are off to Thailand on Friday and we can't wait to ride an elephant and get some more beach time in! Love and miss you all!