Bang-Namphueng-floating-market

South of Bangkok and in the province Samut Prakan that Ning comes from is Bang-Namphueng-floating-market. This market is very large with a lot of the vendors being under a roof. You will find plenty of places to sit and rest as you take in the sights.

You will want to be hungry when you go to this place. You will be able to find just about anything you would want to eat here. You can get snacks to meals. My favorite is the coconut ice cream. The one I had was served in a coconut half shell, very tasty.

You can also hire a boat for a ride down the surrounding canals. This would make for a very nice ride to take in all the greenery that surrounds the market. You would not even know that you are so close to Bangkok.

Within the markets grounds is a traditional Thai house made of wood. Like most homes of this style, it is built on stilts. In the bottom area is a place to sit and just relax. You can go into the upper part, which would be the living area. Here too you can look around.

There is also a very nice selection of Thai orchids and other plants to buy.  There is a large arched bridge to get across one of the canals and you will find the plant stalls to the left right off the bridge going deeper into the market.

Not only will you find food and plants at this market, but you can get all the different crafts also. I was even able to find some hand made soap for sale. We did get some and it was as good as any soap bought here in the US.

If you are ever in Bangkok and want to see a large market, Bang-Namphueng-floating-market would be worth your time. It is only open on the weekends though. It will be very busy but still a very good time.

Jao Praya River Ride

During Ning’s and my 2009/2010 trip to Thailand, Our family and some friends took a long boat trip down the Jao Praya River that runs through Bangkok to the Thai golf.

Our trip started out in the canals that branch off of the river. To get onto the river, we went through a gate that raised us to the level of the river at that time of the day. For the time of say that we went through, we raised only about 3 feet.

The ride through the canals was very smooth due to very little boat traffic and shielded from any wind. We saw a lot of Thai river houses going along the canals. Some were ready to fall in and other homes were very nice.

Once we got through the lock, the Jao Praya River was a little rough ridding. The long boats have somewhat of a flat bottom, and will ride on top of the water not cutting through any of the waves. However, it was still a very nice time seeing everything on the river.

We stopped at nine Wats or Temples on our trip. Somewhere large and a few of them were very small. The largest one was Wat Arun. Ning and I had been there just a week ago from our trip to Wat Bang Phra. However, it was still nice to see again.

On our first trip, we went up to the top of the tallest building with steps going up outside. The steps were very steep, and you were fairly hi up when on the top. We did not climb up on our second trip, Ning was not too thrilled about going up again.

Our family trip on the Jao Praya River was very nice, and we got to see a lot of different things in the Wats that we visited. We did not get back until after dark, and our long boat captain most definitely knows the canals. He only had a spotlight for lighting on his boat to see with but had not trouble at all.

My Thai Tattoo

During our last trip to Thailand, I got a Thai tattoo. Ning’s one brother took us to Wat Bang Bhra. The Wat is about 2 hours drive from where we were staying out side of Bangkok. We where there only about 2 hours to get our Thai tattoos.

Wat Bang Phra is well known for its tattooing. Every year in March the Wat has a tattoo festival . A thousand plus people go to get tattooed and pay homage to the monk that built the temple and to the monk that tattooed them.

Ning’s brother has a friend that is head of the immigration office in Bangkok that is a big believer of the power of the Thai tattoo, and has a lot of them. We meant him at the temple and had lunch together. He had called the monk ahead of time so he knew that we were going to see him. I do not think that you need to make an appointment for a tattoo, but he wanted to use a certain monk for the tattoos.

Ning’s brother and I are to get a tattoo each. After lunch, we went and had to buy a tray each that had flowers and cigarettes to give to the monk before getting our tattoos. We also were given an envelope to put any amount of money in it to give the monk after he was done tattooing. The tray was an offering to Buddha, and help in the cost for the upkeep of the Wat as was the money given in the envelope.

I will say that at first I was concerned with needle cleanliness. The ink used is Chinese charcoal ink made with alcohol. There was not going to be anything living in it. The monk also cleans the needle very well before using it. After seeing this, I had no longer any worries. Plus Nings brothers friend assured me that all was clean.

The tattoo is put on with a straight 2-prong needle, not a tattoo machine. So basically you are getting jabbed a lot of times to get your tattoo. The monk said that there would be more pain than a regular tattoo machine. I find that it was no worse than a regular tattoo, but the monk took it easy on this foreigner, that is what I was told.

My tattoo healed faster than any other tattoo that I have ever gotten. I have 3 that was done the machine way. I think it is because there is not the skin damage done like there is done by a regular tattoo machine.

When we go back to Thailand next time, I will more than likely get another tattoo. I will keep all my tattoos on my back so that they can be covered up and not seen. The tattoo that got this time is a protection tattoo. It is said to protect me from any harm.

My Thai tattoo was healed in 4 days. No scabs to deal with either. My brother in-laws tattoo healed just as fast as mine. He got a tiger tattooed on his back. The tiger is the sign of the temple. The monk that built the temple, meditated for 20 years in the Thai jungle. It is said that a mother tiger with her cubs came up to him and did no harm to him at all.

Best International Airlines

Since 2003 I have been flying to Asia just about once a year. I have made 1 trip to the Philippines and 6 trips to Thailand. I had flown on Cathay Pacific, Northwest Airlines and Korean Air. For me the Best International Airlines would be the one most comfortable with the best food and entertainment.

The flights out of the US are the longest part of the trips. They can be anywhere from over 13 hours to 15 hours. I have stopped in Hong Kong, Narita Japan and Seoul Korea. From there it has been a 5 to 6 hour flight to my final destination.

My only flight with Cathay Pacific was my 1st trip to Asia, and that was to the Philippines. I start my trip from Midwest USA and my 1st leg of the journey was to Los Angeles. From There I went to Hong Kong the base for this airline. From there I went to Cebu Philippines.

This was back in late 2003 and the planes have been all upgraded to my understanding now. Even back then the plane was very clean and the food was good. The flight attendants were very friendly and courteous. You had the one movie that everyone watched then. Now, everyone  gets their own screen with plenty of options to keep you entertained. I do believe also that Cathay Pacific uses shelled seats so you never get your space invaded by the seat in front of you.

Flying with Northwest airlines based out of Virginia USA, I usually fly out of Detroit Michigan to Narita Japan. This leg of the trip is around 15 hours long. Their fleet of 747s is old, and they are dingy looking. Entertainment is everyone watches the same movies from shared screens. Flights with them out of Japan to Bangkok are usually on Airbus 330, and you have your own screen with a good selection of entertainment on them. The airbus is nicer looking being newer.

The flight attendants are not really that friendly, but will do a good job at getting you whatever  you might need. The food is not really bad, airline food is airline food, what else can I say. They give out good snacks that are all right.

Flying with Korea’s airlines, you go to Chicago and then Soul Korea, then on to Bangkok from there. The planes for the flights are very clean and the flight attendants are very friendly. Entertainment out of the US to Soul, everyone had his or her own screens. Not so on the 6-hour flight to Bangkok from Soul. Everyone uses sheared screens with the in-flight movie shown.

Above picture is inside of the Korea Air 747 from the US to Soul.

The food is ok but I think it could have been better. On the 2 long flights, the plane inside temperature was too warm for me. It made for a very uncomfortable ride. The 2 flights going and coming from Bangkok, the temperature was cooler.

When booking my flights, I have used travel agents; on line sites and dealing direct with the airlines’ web sites. With the 2 web sites, Expedia and Priceline that I used, I had to call the airlines to get more information and straighten out problems. I had no trouble when I went through a travel agent, and always got good service when dealing direct with Northwest Airline and Korea airlines.

Cathay Pacific is usually one of the highest cost airlines to fly. The other 2, Korea and Northwest are generally the best priced. However, cost to fly varies due to time of the week and also the time of the year. When looking for flights, I will do a check from the airline sites and then check with a good travel agent. I use Priceline type sites just for reference now. They will give good prices but that is as far as it goes with them.

Land of Smiles just back from 3-week stay

On the 16th of this month Ning and I got back from our 3 week trip to see her family and do some traveling within Thailand. We had time to get all of Ning’s Thai documents changed with her last name and new Thai Pass Port.

For the traveling, the longest trip from Bangkok that we went was to Wat Bang Phra. This is where you go to get a real Thai tattoo by a monk. It is also the place that has the big gathering to honor the monks that do the tattooing. Yes I did get a Thai tattoo.

You hear a lot of stories about the ink being made of different things with anywhere from snake venom to battery acid in it. My main concern was cleanliness. The ink used is Chinese charcoal ink made with alcohol. The needle is cleaned in anti septic also.

We also went to the floating market known as Bang Nam Peung. I must admit though that the majority of the venders were in land-based booths. However, it was interesting to see all the fresh fish and everything else there. The trip was worth taking to see it all.

Well, I will be posting in more detail about our 2009/2010 trip to Thailand. I just wanted everyone to know new information will be coming.

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