OUTSIDE BANGKOK: KHAO SAM ROI YOT NATIONAL PARK & PHRAYA NAKHON CAVE

While in Hua Hin, we took a few day trips. The most memorable one was to the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, which is about 63 km. south of Hua Hin. Khao Sam Roi Yot translates to "Mountains of Three Hundred Peaks."

The Park is full of interesting rock formations, forested hills, valleys and beaches.


It is also home to a bunch of wild monkeys. I guess that's not a big deal to the locals, but for me it was interesting to see them in their natural setting.


One of the main attractions at the Park is the Phraya Nakhon Cave (named after the ruler Nakhon Sri Thammarat), but it can only be reached by taking a 1 km. hike up some stoney steps.


On the weekend, a boat can be hired to skip this hike, but unfortunately we were there on a Tuesday. Still, the trek offered some nice views (thankfully there were handrails).



Once we finished this portion of the hike, we had to make our way through some woods to yet another set of steps that led to the cave.


The distance (430 m.) didn't seem like much after the initial hike, but the steps were much steeper, rockier and a lot more treacherous (not unlike the ones Frodo and Sam had to climb in "The Lord of the Rings.")


The climb proved to be a worthwhile one though, as the cave had a feeling of mystery to it...


The highlight here is a royal pavilion built when King Rama V visited the Caves in the 1890s.


One of the chambers of the caves has a collapsed roof which allows the sunlight to pour in (sorry for the lousy photo). I guess that this means that the area is not technically a cave, but who cares?


All in all it was a worthwhile trip and did not require too much physical exertion. If two of my kids can do it (ages 8 and 5), then so can you.

OUTSIDE BANGKOK: EVASON HUA HIN & SIX SENSES SPA

A few weeks back we took a short trip to Pranburi (about 30 km south of the Hua Hin, a thriving resort town in Thailand). We stayed at the Evason Hua Hin, which is part of the Six Senses chain of spas.

The setting is very nice, filled with lush tropical gardens and peaceful lotus ponds.


We stayed in a villa, which was a bit small for a family with three kids, but we managed OK. The whole place had an open air design which I assume was to bring the guests closer to nature.

This included an outdoor shower...

And a private pool.

The open air design ran through the whole resort, including the public restrooms which didn't have ceilings or back walls (the toilets were open and exposed to pond that wrapped around the whole restroom).

I only bring this up because I got locked in the toilet one night but was able to escape by climbing along the edge of the pond through to the urinals.

I noticed a few other people getting locked in while we were there, so hopefully the folks at Six Senses got the situation taken care of.

The resort is situated on the Gulf of Siam, but this doesn't necessarily make for a beach-type experience. Anyone attempting to swim there would be asking for trouble because he waves are rough and crash against a bunch of huge, jagged rocks (there were also a lot of signs warning of jellyfish).

Luckily, a huge pool is nearby for all of your swimming needs. I didn't spend too much time there, because the windy location near the coast made any excursion into the water a frigid one (I never thought I would say that I was cold in Thailand).

Other little details added to the resort's atmosphere, including local musicians who were always on hand to play traditional Thai songs.

I thought the resort was really nice, but not the greatest for families. They did have a kid's club type place to drop off the children, but for the most part it seemed like a place for a romantic getaway for two, rather than a family vacation. As we took our kids to dinner each night, I often felt that I was staging a commercial for contraception for the couples that were actually there for romance.

THIS HAPPY NEW YEAR IS SPONSORED BY...

The fine folks at Tops grocery store, who this week are giving away free samples of peach-flavored Absolut Vodka.


So tonight at midnight, raise your glass and make a toast to 2007 (but please, don't drink and drive!)

SOMETIMES IT SNOWS IN BANGKOK

Yesterday we took the kids to Dream World, an amusement park that is probably Bangkok's closest thing to Disney World. With a fairy tale-themed entrance, the Disney influence is immediately felt right when you walk up to the place.




The rides are pretty typical of the ones you'll find at any other amusement park or carnival throughout the world, most were designed to whip people around and turn their stomachs inside out.




From the expression on Max's face here, I don't think he was enjoying this particular ride (called "The Spider.")




They even ripped off Disney by naming an attraction "Space Mountain" and calling their haunted house "The Haunted Mansion." It wasn't too scary, just a big dark place with a lot of noises and things jumping out at every turn. You can't even see what they are, unless you have a camera with a flash:


The big drawing card at Dream World is a section called "Snow World" which is a big refrigerated building complete with a hill for sledding. For a Michigan family that's been feeling a bit homesick during the holidays, it was a welcome escape. The locals seemed to enjoy it to, and I'm assuming that many of them have never seen real snow before (technically, this stuff wasn't real either, but it was close enough). One of the funnier stories I've heard here is from my wife's Thai teacher, who thinks she knows what snow is because she's seen the frost build up in her ice box.


Coats and boots were provided, although we just had shorts on underneath, so it was still pretty cold. After six months of sunny skies and stifling humidty, it felt pretty nice for about 20 minutes.


The night wound down with an electrical parade featuring a colorful cast of characters that (surprise) is pretty close to the one that marches down Main Street every evening at Disney World. The music was a techno version of "Jingle Bells" though.




All and all it was a fun time. The kids had a blast and every time we can do something to put a grin on their faces, it's all worth it.

WARMEST WISHES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

From our family to yours, Happy Holidays...

WALKING IN A HUMID WONDERLAND

Ah, the Holiday Season in Bangkok. For me, there's never been anything quite like it.

Gone are the blustery days of years past and in their place are miles and miles of traffic and the heavy pollution that comes with it.



Any thoughts of a White Christmas went out the window the moment I boarded that plane back in June.

A lot of people have written and asked if they celebrate Christmas over here and from the looks of it some people do and the local businesses are doing their best to promote it (and milk some expat dollars I'm sure). There are holiday decorations everywhere, but it's all the Holly Jolly Commercial Christmas as opposed to the Silent Night version. There's not an image of Jesus in sight, but Santa Claus, reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman can be seen at various stops around town.



There are a lot of huge trees on the streets, but for some reason most seem to be sponsored by a bank. On them, ornaments and tinsel go hand and hand with credit cards.







I am of the feeling that when you celebrate Christmas, you are not just celebrating the current year, but all of the Christmases of years past. Nostalgia is a big part of it for me and while I am missing out on all of the snow and ice that I am accustomed to, I hope to create happy Christmas memories here that I can reflect on in the future