Being Beyond Begins...

Not only did we have to say goodbye to Kenya, but we also had to say goodbye to our 3rd musketeer Michelle. We had such an amazing time with her and she was such a great addition to the trip. We will miss her morning grunts, her laughter, her tummy troubles, her storytelling abilities, and so much more! It was tough to say goodbye, especially the fist time! Our flight to Bangkok was overbooked and we had to stay in Doha for an extra 12 hours. We were given visas and a hotel and had to sneak Michelle in with us. It was quite the production but we succeeded and made it to Bankok a day later than scheduled.

After checking into our hostel we quickly searched the streets for our first thai cuisine. Our mouths were watering even before we landed. We had a great dinner and followed it with a trip to the night market. There, we made our first purchase - new thai pants! You have no idea how exciting this was after wearing the same clothes for the past 6 weeks. The market blew our socks off and the variety of items was remarkable. We heard the shopping was good, and it truly is!! This is being said from two non-shoppers. Real shoppers would go on quite the spree here.

The following day we checked out the major attractions in Bangkok. This included the Grand Palace and Wat Po, which houses an enormous Buddha. The sites were stunning and large, both having a compound of sparkling buildings to wander through and around. The pictures don't do these places justice. The buildings and statues are so detailed and meticulous, they really are quite the sites to see.



Next, we took a boat down the canal home. We used means of transportation in the past 24 hours (plane, boat, car, feet). This left us exhausted and achy. We deserved some pampering...so...we went for our first Thai massage. W-O-W. An hour massage cost less than $10 and it was fantastic!! Our bodies are craving more...

We then went to Kao San road for the evening, a very popular place for travelers. It was bumpin'! Music was playing, vendors were selling all sorts of food, the market was always tempting us. It was glorious!! We ate, we drank, and we ate some more. Key items were pad thai off the street for less than $1 and a banana pancake drizzled with chocolate sauce. We may start our own cart when we get back to Toronto!! Soooo good.

We've enjoyed Bangkok way more than we ever anticipated. We think Asia is going to treat us very well. We're off to Chiang Mai in the morning, we'll see what's in store for us there...