Packing up

Well - I admit that I haven't been able to keep up the blogs in a regular fashion.

Cambodia whipped by. Thailand has also been a blur.

Thailand is a beautiful country and it looks far more prosperous than either Cambodia or Vietnam.

In Bangkok I have enjoyed the Chaturak weekend market; the biggest market you can ever imagine. If you've been to the Grand Canyon and thought you were prepared for its size and then discovered that your mind couldn't hold the picture of the canyon, this market is like that.. but in market, not canyon, shape. It was incredible, sprawling in size and variety of goods and I scored a vintage Miu Miu skirt!!! For 8 dollars!! Heaven.

I've seen Buddhist monks, temples, pagodas, and buddhas everywhere I look, had the best dal and bean curd I've ever eaten, and been amazed by Mah Boon Krong (MBK) mall. The mall is 7 stories high and jammed with stores selling everything from knock-off IPhones to knock-off sunglasses. The top floors are a maze of food stalls selling delicious food, a bowling alley, adorable and sound-proof karaoke stalls, and the most ginormous cinema complex I have ever seen.

I also visited Jim Thompson's little jewel of a house. An American architect, Jim Thompson revived the silk trade in Thailand and preserved six traditional Thai houses that have long been open to the public as a museum that showcases traditional Thai architecture and art. Unfortunately, Mr. Thompson disappeared while hiking in Malaysia in 1961.

Yesterday I visited the bridge on the River Kwai. The original was blown apart by Allied forces in 1945 but the new bridge has been reconstructed in the same fashion. It was interesting to visit one of the three cemeteries where some of the 15,000 soldiers who died in the construction of the original bridge and railroad are buried. 100,000 civilians also died.

On my last day here I decided to take the plunge and treat myself to a traditional Thai massage. I was a little nervous because I'd heard that Thai massages are very different that Swedish massages and that they involve pulling of limbs. It was the best massage I've ever had. The masseuse though wasn't happy that I elected to have just a one hour massage. She told me that two hours is better because she had to rush otherwise. She also scolded me because everything was so tight.. I suppose I'll just have to find a Thai masseuse in Ottawa :p

All in all it's been a really wonderful trip and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to see as much as I did.

There is much that I haven't written about the trip because of a lack of time and because sometimes I have found it difficult to put experiences into words. I don't know if I'll post more about my impressions and experiences after I'm back in Canada but I am looking forward to talking about them with all of you.

All the best, thanks for reading,
Emmanuelle