Thailand: details

In early November 2008 we plan to leave Vietnam and head for Thailand for about three months. When we had started our research on Thailand we initially thought we would stay in Chiang Mai. We thought that it was still a relatively large city but not as intimidating as Bangkok. But... after some more reading and talking with some Thai aquantences we decided that it might be better to stay somewhere more central. So we are now looking at the Bangkok area. Ayuthaya (85 km north of Bangkok) was recommended to us, but we think it might be a bit far from the city and from public transit to other areas that we would like to see. The other area we are considering is Nonthaburi (about 20 km northwest of Bangkok). We are told Nonthaburi has a strong Baha'i community which would be helpful for us. We've got an e-mail out to some people in Nonthaburi for their advice, and we'll probably ask a travel agent for advice as well.

We would still like to visit the north of Thailand and will likely take a one week trip to the Chiang Mai area at some point during our stay. We will also take a trip to the south of Thailand and see the Krabi and Phuket areas which are known for their amazing beaches. The rest of the time we will stay in the central area.

While in Thailand we plan to see palaces, and temples (there are a ton of those) and a reclining Buddha that is 15 m high by 46 m long! I'm sure we will also take in some boat rides along rivers and canals. There will also be some interesting markets to visit, monkeys to see, and elephant rides. We also want to see a famous 7 tiered waterfall and the Death Railway (bridge over the river Kwai). I'm sure their will be lots more to see, and of course we'll have to make time for home-schooling work too!

Hopefully we will have some friends come visit us while we are there. If they can make it we would try to do the trip to the south with them and have them stay with us in the Bangkok area for a little while as well.

CM