Day 25: More Fun in the Philippines?

"It's More Fun in the Philippines" is the country's new tourism logo.  As we looked out our plane's window to this view we had our doubts.

We woke up at 5 to get on the road back to Bangkok to catch our plane.  We had arranged and confirmed to have the cab driver who brought us from Bangkok come back and get us but there was no sign of him in the morning.  Luckily the front desk found us a van and we were driving by 6:30 and didn't get stuck in traffic.  When we landed in the Philippines it was pouring.  Flooding actually.  A monsoon had struck the day before and didn't move out for 48 hours.  You may have heard about it in the news.  At one point one half of Manila was under water.  Today, five days later, parts of the city are still under water.  The devastation is unbelievable.  We went through customs and went to find a taxi to take us back to Manila, 1 1/2 hours away.  The cab drivers just laughed and told us the road to Manila was flooded and would be for at least another day or two.  We had no choice but to find a hotel room and hunker down.  By noon the next day the roads were thankfully open and we headed back.  The traffic in Manila was more insane than ever, taking us a half hour to go one kilometer because all the underpasses were flooded.  We finally made it back three hours later.

JustFamily.com links (posts)

Our brother-in-law has created a new website that is kind of like a Facebook for families.  The site is www.justfamily.com.  I (Jacob) have made a number of posts to that site using the beta iPhone app.  We're not sure when we will have the ability to duplicate those posts to other sites like FB or blogs.  So, I've just included links to the posts with titles.  You can click on the link and it will load!

Preferred mode of transport
http://www.justfamily.com/story/single/xqKvVGGgolVmEloeoatG

What century is this?
http://www.justfamily.com/story/single/4EBvlRUHQWSx6nBMLI9J

Buying local food
http://www.justfamily.com/story/single/xJTnx0FxPIfBG6UiiE6S

Toothicus update
http://www.justfamily.com/story/single/P9P7TXt5MWByF4XHI2Ls

Filipino cabs rock!
http://www.justfamily.com/story/single/FLYBpKLzfpHD5CbGhgGU

Welcome to Thailand
http://www.justfamily.com/story/single/T3qdzdNx8TwTAbQ71XkZ

Khao Takiab and Cicada Market

While at church I met a girl from Florida whose husband works at the embassy.  She said she loved Hua Hin and had some recommendations:  Khao Takiab and the Cicada Market.  We hit both and were so glad we did.  Khao Takiab is a hill topped by a Buddhist temple.  It is also home to hundreds of Howler Monkeys that roam free.  We got there at dusk just as a woman threw them bananas for dinner.  The feeding frenzy was amazing and slightly scary as the monkeys ran around at our feet.  Next we scaled about ten million stairs to the Buddhist temple with a great view of the beach and the ocean.  Our cab driver was late picking us up and we were getting chewed up by mosquitoes so we started walking down the road.  We walked through a little neighborhood where Will met a friend (see picture) and then met our cab driver who took us to Cicada Market.

Let me pause here and explain our hierarchy of cool on this trip.  There is third world-cool and then there is really and truly, unconditionally cool.   Most markets are third-world cool.  Cicada Market falls into the latter category of something I would love in the U.S.  First of all, all of the vendors were selling actual handmade things, not just knock-off purses and made-in-China trinkets.  An old woman sat knitting the hats she was selling.  Another woman hand-stitched peoples' names onto t-shirts she had appliqued.  Local art hung on the walls of an open building.  The next thing I loved were the performers, speaking in Thai and doing traditional and modern dances.  The best part for us, of course, was the food.  For 100 baht ($3) you bought a coupon book that served as credit for the different food vendors.  Fresh seafood, kabobs, and handmade coconut ice cream served in coconut shells were some of our favorite things.  It was a beautiful night with live musicians performing throughout the market.  We took a tuk-tuk, the kids' preferred mode of transportation, back to our hotel.

Howler Monkeys were everywhere!

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Buddha

The view from the Buddhist temple.

Will had been sporting his slingshot all day and when this street fish vendor saw it he pulled out his too.

Feeling the beat at Cicada Market

Amazing seafood at the market

Loving the coconut ice cream served in a coconut shell.

Lest we forget we are still in a developing country...

Thais are obsessed with their queen and there are shrines to her everywhere.  I loved this painting of her.

On our way home in a tuk-tuk.

Day 24: Can't go to Thailand without...

...riding an elephant.  It's totally touristy but had to be done!  Our elephant guide's name was a 19 year-old named Ap who expertly perched himself on the elephant's neck.  When we were halfway through the ride an older woman came out of a bamboo hut, offering him a straw hat.  He, embarrassed, shooed her away.  I asked, "Your mom?"  He nodded his head.  Some things are the same no matter where you are in the world!  During the ride Ap asked if we wanted him to take some pictures.  I handed him our camera and he started clicking away, taking about 50 pictures of us.  At one point he smiled mischieviously and said, "Okay, goodbye!"  The girls were relieved when he decided to come back after all because we were sitting about 15 feet in the air!  The boys were on another elephant in front of us and had a great time, although by the end we were all melting in the intense, humid heat.  We all agreed that will stick with tuk-tuks to get around.  We've learned that liability is something that doesn't exist in these countries.  The kids loved holding this darling monkey and luckily didn't get bit!

Day 23: Church in Bangkok and Hua Hin

Jacob found an English-speaking ward only five minutes from our hotel!  We caught a cab and walked into a jam-packed fast and testimony meeting.  Like our branch, there were people from many, many different countries in attendance.  Anna was impressed by an Asian girl about her age who had written out a heart-felt testimony in English, obviously not her first language.  One of Jacob's young men, Bud, is serving his mission in Thailand (up north in Chiang Rai), so he was thrilled to meet a missionary who was in the MTC with him.  Unlike the Philippines which is predominantly Christian and has 18 LDS missions, Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist, with less than 1% of its population claiming Christianity as its religion.    Certainly a challenging mission!  Our kids love Bud and it was fun to talk about him serving in this beautiful country.  At one of our delicious dinners, Sam proclaimed, "I want to serve my mission HERE because the food it sooooo good!"

After church we got on the road to Hua Hin, which is a beach town about 2 1/2 hours south of Bangkok.    I had stayed up until 2 A.M. earlier in the week planning our trip and booking hotels.  I found a little resort called Anantasila that got great reviews on Trip Advisor.  I was initially tempted to go with a safer option like the Hilton, but took the plunge.  As we drove down a twisting, dirt road, I started getting nervous that I'd booked us at a dive.  We pulled into the parking lot and my nervousness peaked...the whole parking lot was under construction.  However, when we got out of the car and walked around the corner we found PARADISE!  I was so thrilled and relieved.  Orchids were growing everywhere and the infinity pool looked out onto the ocean.  The staff was gracious and accommodating, allowing us to have all six of us in a poolside room (and it was reasonably priced)!  We ate calamari and Thai coconut soup on the patio overlooking the ocean after a walk on the beach.  Dreamy...

The Grand Palace

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After the market we tracked down a cab with seat belts (not an easy task) and headed to the Grand Palace.  Will was feeling sick and fevering again and it was crazy hot and humid.  We rallied the troops, got ice cream and water and headed in.  The buildings were so colorful with intricate tiles and designs.  The Emerald Palace with its jade Buddha was amazing and peaceful.  It made me "whistle a happy tune" and want to re-watch "The King and I."

Day 22: Asiatique and Bangkok Water Market

Our little sleeping beauty, tuckered out after a long day of traveling.

Our first dinner in Thailand...amazing! 

A vegetable vendor at Taling Chang

This lovely Thai woman insisted on buying some bananas and sharing them with Lucy.  Thai people are obsessed with Lucy's blue eyes and blondish hair.  They're always reaching out and touching her and giving her hugs.  Asians tourists have been asking to take pictures with her!

Sam buying some limes out of a boat.

Boat buddies

We had the most incredible dinner our first night in Thailand at Asiatique, a night market where our non-English speaking cab driver dropped us off (Jacob had tried to communicate that we wanted to go to a different night market but luckily this one was great) .  Will and Lucy were exhausted so we were lucky to be seated at a table with comfortable benches.  Lucy slept the entire meal on my lap while we feasted on iced fruit drinks, spring rolls, chicken satay, massaman curry, and duck curry.  After dinner we walked around the market and then floated down the river on a water bus.  We rode the Skyway (above-ground metro) back to our hotel (which took forever because we didn't know what we were doing!) and conked around midnight.

The next morning we had a late start, eating pastries at the hotel, then catching a taxi to Taling Chen, a water market.  This was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had.  Old Thai women wearing straw hats in their canoes  lined the river, cooking beautiful food in huge woks or on grills.  Delicious smells wafted up from the river as we walked along, feeding ravenous fish, bargaining for Thai trinkets, and tasting a few safe-looking foods.  We found a boat operator and paid 100 baht ($30) to take a ride on a long and skinny motorized, covered boat through the canals of Bangkok. We saw wood plank homes on stilts, a snake, Buddhist temples, old men washing dishes, and boys swimming in the brown, murky water.