It's been 2 years since I last did an "out of the country" vacation. This year, it's that time of the year again to have a week-long vacay. After months of hardwork and perseverance in my studies, sometimes, it's not bad to spend a week away from all the stress right?
So this year, my family and I went to Thailand for a week-long vacation. Luckily, its the start of our semestral break and it's the perfect time to relax and just enjoy the entire trip.
My impressions about Thailand did not fail me. I was greeted by people who look like me yet when they speak that's when you'll know they're not Filipinos. However, their attitudes surprised me. As much as Filipinos are known for our hospitality traits, so are Thai people. Everywhere you go, people are accommodating and they really help you out when you're lost. Although they're not fluent in English, they try their best to understand you just to help you out in times of need, which gave way to me falling in love with their country.
As a neighbouring ASEAN country, Thailand also has the same attributes to that of the Philippines, same weather conditions, people look alike and you won't really notice the difference unless they speak their native language, Thai. But you'll realize there are also traits that made them different to us Filipinos, their discipline and respect to other people which made me think that: they are more advanced despite the same conditions between the Philippines and Thailand.
When i first arrived in Thailand last week, the first thing i noticed was the photo of their King. As we all know, their King died 3 weeks ago, and Thailand is in a year-long mourning period. Wherever you go, you can see the king's face and there are black and white ribbons everywhere, from the airport to the streets to the billboards and even on the cars.
We rode a taxi on our way to the hotel and the driver was very helpful in helping out with our bags (the driver's a woman, actually) and despite her poor english skills, she was very cheerful and hospitable and gave us the exact amount of our fare from the airport to the hotel. (which costed us around 800 baht, not bad at all) I actually saw how she also grieves for the death of the king by putting up photographs of him on her seat and she was wearing a black ribbon on her left arm.
I made a mental note that people in Thailand always take it seriously in their love for their king. While we were on the road, i've seen huge billboards and buildings with the king as the main subject, though I couldn't understand what the message said, i'm certain that it's for the well-being of their king after he died.
Thailand is a Buddhist country and that's one thing we all should consider when going to Thailand, always respect their religion and their beliefs because they all are serious when it comes to religion, and even their way of life.
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| A mural dedicated to their king at Suvarnabhumi International Airport |
When we reached our hotel, we were once again, greeted by hospitable people. Fortunately, the guy at the front desk was fluent in English and we were told to do our check-in at around 2pm, Thailand time. (Btw, Thailand is 1 hour behind from Philippine time) So we ate lunch at a local restaurant near the hotel and I ordered their famous Pad-Thai which was made from noodles and vegetables and guess what, they also love nuts! They include nuts in almost all of their cuisines and to be honest, Thai food is good.
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| Pad Thai |
After lunch, we finally did our check-in at the hotel we're staying and it was nice considering we're only composed of 5 people, and as a budget-traveler, it was good enough that we stayed at a hotel that only costed us 950 baht per night. (around 1,300 in Philippine peso)
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| Our hotel in Bangkok |
So, after all the checking in, we were fetched at the hotel lobby by a young guy of whom we've made a reservation with at the airport for a private tour that costed us 1,990 baht (A bit pricey but it's worth it after all)
We were toured around 3 temples in Bangkok, and the first temple was named Wat Traimit, of which the biggest golden buddha in the world is located, with 99% pure gold as the buddha's structure.
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| A huge photograph of their King, Bhumibol Adulyadej outside Wat Traimit |
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| Biggest Golden Buddha in the World |
After touring around Wat Traimit, that's situated in Chinatown Bangkok, we were to be toured at Wat Pho, the temple of the Reclining Buddha but we were told that Wat Pho was closed due to the royal ceremony around the area where Wat Pho is located. Actually, Wat Pho is near the Grand Palace, but since it's very proximate to where the ceremony is being held, it was closed at the time of our private tour and we were toured at another place instead, where the Standing buddha is located.
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| Standing Buddha |
After touring at the two temples that have huge buddhas in it, we were finally toured at our last temple tour, which would be Wat Benchamabophit, or the Marble Temple. This temple is different from the temples we've visited because it didn't involve any buddhas during our visit but nevertheless, the place was absolutely amazing. (though there are inside, i know but we just didn't enter the place)
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| me ft. Wat Benchamabophit |
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| the beauty that is Wat Benchamabophit |
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| a close up photo of the Marble Temple |
So, after our first day touring around these temples, we headed back to our hotel and even though we faced Bangkok's traffic, mixed with the heavy rain in the evening, we safely arrived at exactly 10pm and we prepared for the new day that awaits us.
-E.A.T.S 11/10/16
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