March 9: Christi in Thailand

After leaving Korea, Christi set off on her own for some much needed R&R. When it comes to quality relaxing, one must go to the best place on Earth. And where is that?

You guessed it - THAILAND!

Now, you might think that it should be quite simple to get from Korea to Thailand. And if you have a pocket full of cash, you'd be quite right. But if you want to do the journey on a shoestring, then let the adventures begin! It took Christi 52 hours to get from her apartment in Busan to her guest house on the beach. This included getting to the airport and waiting, flying to Beijing, a 7 hour layover, flying again, waiting the night at the Bangkok airport (since she arrived at midnight), transport to the bus station, a six and a half hour bus ride, dinner, a motorcycle taxi ride, and a night boat, followed by 4 hours of looking for and haggling for budget accommodations. Success!

Now for that rest and relaxation!

After catching up on some lost sleep, Christi ventured out for a stroll around the island. Now, you might think that these will all be beach photos. Nope! Just a day in the sun with some time to stop and smell the flowers. Ahhh, Thailand.... so nice!

In America, we have mailboxes. We might deck them out as little farm houses or paint them with something patriotic. In Thailand, they have shrines. If I remember correctly, these are to bless their residence and ward off evil spirits, keeping their home safe.

Time to stop and smell the flowers!

Boy, they sure are purdy!

A close-up amidst a sea of purple.

I suppose it's spring time.

Oh, look - bananas!

I think I found the grocery store.

If pictures had odors - these flowers smelled soooo good!

I could call that home.

Another fruit stand. Those yellow mangoes in the front are amazing. The green mangoes we get back home are good, but this is so buttery-tender and sweet - I could eat them forever! (Especially with sticky rice and coconut milk!)

I could even call THIS home! Looks good to me!

Oh, what a lovely bunch of coconuts!

Screen saver, anyone?

Oh, another "mailbox!"

This island is gorgeous.

Does this look like home to you?

Main Street.

A close-up of the food that I dream of. I've never seen this on a menu in the US. It's Khao Phow Mu, or as the menu describes, "grilled pork over rice with brown gravy." It's always served with a side of greens and a small bowl of soup.

All the fixins'. You add your own (raw) garlic and Thai chilis. The garlic cloves are smaller than we are used to, and the paper on them is a light purple shade. Usually, you get a red sauce to splash over this, but as this one didn't come with that, I added some red from the spice rack.
Best. Thing. Ever.