planes, trains, automobiles, tuk tuks, boats, soengthaews, buses…
We haven’t disappeared, it’s just hard to keep up when traveling with others. Since I last updated we’ve bathed elephants, ridden on every class of train and tuk tuk, fed wild monkeys sunflower seeds (stacy even got a monkey scratch!!! yikes!!), fed a baby elephant, gotten trapped in a monsoon storm on the top of a rickety boat while thais were laughing at us from inside, seen 10,000 pictures of the king all around the country, learned how to pray like a buddist, and much more. i tried to update a few days ago, but the connection was really slow. stacy and mom head out tomorrow night and i’ll have time to update then. i’ve decided to scrap cambodia/laos and stay in thailand for another week. i’m going to take an introductory scuba class to see if i want to get full certification later or if i’m too scared. i also haven’t had my fill of monkey spotting so i need to do some more of that in a rainforest in the south. right now we’re on ko si chang, an island off the east coast, but not where the tsunami hit, so don’t worry, we’re all good. thais are really friendly and helpful, and thank goodness for the phrasebook because we’d be in trouble without it. many people speak a little bit of english, but only know the very basics so it gets kind of difficult when you want to find out at what time the train leaves in the afternoon rather than when the next one is leaving. you wouldn’t believe this place in lopburi (a town between bangkok and chiang mai) where there are hundreds of monkeys living around this temple!!! they run across the street and walk on the electric lines…it’s nuts!!! there were a TON of babies too!!
sorry i haven’t updated with photos, but like i said, outside of major cities like bangkok, the connection is slow, but i’ll definitely get some up tomorrow night after the fam leaves. i may just hit that floating market on my own too, we’ll see?!
oh yeah, i got a palm reading too and it was really freaky because the lady knew about a mole that i have in a spot where she couldn’t see it. after she said that i believed everything she said…tell you all about it tomorrow night.
Tags: lopburi, monkeys, thailand

July 10th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I can’t wait to hear about the palm reading! So you are sure she did not see your mole when you were shopping for something in the street, and then later, when you went in for the reading it was covered? Is the mole location too secret to post on a blog?
July 10th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Don’t tell me they have dial up! What kind of a world do we live in?! lol
I can’t wait to see photos and hear about the palm reading. I would love to see someone but something tells me that good readers are only a few out there. Once when I was 19 I paid $15 to a lady in the South Side who told me things that didn’t even apply to me. Common stuff that could work for anybody. Dumb!
Anyway. Take care of yourself.
Romina.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:46 am
Ha ha ha! With all the mention of elephants, monkeys, tuk tuks, praying like a Buddhist, Romina & I both just asked about the palm reading! Ha!
I can’t believe Stacy got a monkey scratch!
Have an amazing time in Hawaii, Marion & Stacy, and Heather have a great week next week!
Holly