Winding down in Asia...

Our final two weeks in Asia were in Thailand.  Although food in Bali was pretty good, we were looking forward to delicious Thai food.   We were not disappointed! We first hopped on a bus from the Bangkok airport east to Rayong and Ban Chang (both east of Bangkok) to visit friends. (Brent was a fellow crew member with us on the "interesting" sail from Vancouver down to San Francisco on SV Sapphire in September.) Not much for tourists in the area, but we enjoyed our visit.  Brent and Kob (in Ban Chang, Thailand) We then went to our favourite beach town Hua Hin, and spent a relaxing 8 days at our usual hotel (Hotel Jed Pee Nong). To get there, we first took a shared mini van from Ban Chang to Bangkok's Victory Monument, then hopped on another mini van to Hua Hin. Those familiar with mini van transport in Thailand will know how damn fast these vans like to travel (140 km/h is not unusual) and how hair raising they can be. About 6 hours later, we arrived in Hua Hin. After the lack of tourists in eastern Thailand, the large number of tourists (most, it seemed, from Scandinavian countries) was a change. The town was decked out for Christmas. Hua Hin Market Village Mall: Decked out for Christmas After 8 days, we headed back to the Bangkok area, opting to take the brand-new luxury (big) bus between Hua Hin and Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport -- staying nearby in the Lat Krabang area. We like this area: besides being 5 minutes from the airport, and a good, reliable and cheap hotel favourite -- Thong Ta Resort -- the area if filled with places to eat, drink as well as night markets etc. It also has easy and fast transport into Bangkok by the "Airport Link/City Line" rapid train: take a songthaew (7 THB) or a taxi (40-70 THB) to Lat Krabang Station ("Sataannee Lat Krabang" in Thai). On our last full day, we spent a tiring day shopping in the MBK Shopping Centre in Bangkok -- Michelle was less tired, thanks to 2 hours in the spa....    MBK shopping ... while Michelle goes to the spa... Sadly, our trip comes to its end today, as we head home Vancouver. It sure will feel cold to us -- we've become so used to 30+ degrees (Celsius!) we don't even sweat now. Last dinner in Thailand Last "Leo"... Michelle is not a happy camper going home to rain and grey skies. David is more optimistic -- thinking of skiing, as well as getting back to Pelagia (oh, and all the work to do on her...).