Thai Kickboxing

I love kickboxing (at the gym) so I was all about going to see some real live kickboxers while we were in Thailand to get some good pointers, we went last night. It was 5 matches of 5 rounds each and we really enjoyed it.
I didn't like the punching part that much b/c I really didn't like the blood (and I am not a fan of regular boxing) but I loved the kicking part- I mean there were some really awesome roundhouse kicks!
It also had some nice touches compared to American boxing- little Buddhist dance and prayers before each round, happy smiling boxers- they smile at each other pretty much during the whole match, awesome Thai music played during the whole match and again some awesome kicks.
We were really bummed b/c we forgot to bring the camera, b/c after each match was over, the winner would pose in a really cute boxing stance for pictures!
We can't believe we leave the Marriott tomorrow, our 5 nights here flew by! We are worried a bit that our perspective of vacation length of time has gotten really skewed since this trip. We head to some islands down south near the coast where the tsunami hit tomorrow, looking forward to getting to a quieter beach. The island we are going to only has 500 inhabitants, so internet access is unlikely.

___________________________________________________________
Inbox full of spam? Get leading spam protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html

Backpacker lifestyle

So.....we are loving the Marriott. It seems so plush to what we have become accustomed too. They have such nice things as washclothes! Anyway, I feel slightly out of place here. It seems to extreme of a jump to go from dread locked smelly backpackers to fat germans (the resort is loaded with them). We also have carried some backpacker lifesytle options over to the Marriott which makes it tough. No way are we eating the $15 breakfasts, so its yogurt and museli for us. $9 burgers - No Way! Its PB&J for us. We have a Tesco (british wal-mart) across the street so its easy to shop, and we have a fridge so we can store beer, jelly and yogurt in our room. But it does feel a little silly sitting on a plush bed eating a PB&J....oh well 3 more nights till we go back to our normal lifestyle.

At long last....The Marriott!

After fantazing for 3+ months, we have finally made it to the Marriott Resort in Thailand (We are using Michael's Marriott points from all his travels to San Fran for 5 nights on the beach).

The train ride to Hua Hin from Bangkok was rough- 4 1/2 hours, non air-conditioned and packed! But Michael made friends with a cute Thai boy and helped him with a puzzle. We were HOT, tired and cranky after the train ride...Upon arriving at the Marriott we were greeted with a lai of orchids, ice cold lemon grass water and a cold compress for our heads- YEAH- The Seymour's had arrived!!! The resort is totally plush! (but still doesn't make up for Michael being gone so much from me- who am I kidding- it totally does ;)

Changing Rupees

As we were leaving India, the Thomas Cook guy said to change our Rupees in Bangkok as we would get a better rate. So today, we decided to trade them in. Well after 5 stops at banks were they wouldn't accept Rupees.....we were cursing him. It took the better part of the morning to trade them in. We did get a better rate but only marginally so.

Other than that we checked out the royal palace in Bangkok (check flickr) which was pretty cool. They have this emerald buddha, actually made of jade They dress it up for the seasons....ha! Tomorrow we head for Hua Hin and the much awaited Marriott resort.

Other tidbits on Bangkok
- The touts have nothing on the Indian touts.
- We have been traveling by ferry in Bangkok which is a nice change of pace
Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

New Pics on flickr!

Chaing Dao

So yesterday, we decided to head out of Chiang Mei and into the hills for a respite from the city. Well, we decided on Chaing Dao, which is a town about 75 kms from Chiang Mei. We took a bus, which was actually nicer than many of the buses we rode on in Europe up here. We are so glad we came up. For starters, our accommodation is very quaint. Its 6 bungalows nestled at the base of a mountain, the largest limestone mountain in Thailand. They have thatched roofs and are in a lush environment.....we are surrounded by banana trees and other flowering plants. The food at our restaurant is also some of the best we have had in Thailand.

In addition to the delightful accommodation, we also saw some nice sights. This area is famous for its caves and we got a tour of them. For the most part, the caves are completely dark, so a guide leads you through them. You have to crawl around to get to some areas, but its well worth it. The formations (all of which are named) are awe inspiring. They just look freaky (Hopefully we can upload some pics soon). After the caves, we checked out this famous monastery. It was at the top of a hill and required 500 steps to climb up to it. It was definitely worth it, but we were covered in sweat by the time we reached the top. The views from up there were beautiful and the temple itself was quite impressive. Its somewhat strange to see monks everywhere, but they seem to be just part of life here. Today, we check out a local hill tribe and some more monasteries/wats. To be honest, they are similar to churches in Europe or temples in India....and I can see them starting to blur in my mind after a while.

Thailand so far

Ok, Thailand so far has been relatively boring. Not because Thailand is boring, but because I have been sick. We arrived on Tuesday and didn't do much besides walk around due to exhaustion from travel.

On Weds, our primary goal was to arrange for a trek which we did. That took a longer part of the day, and we filled the rest in with massages along with shopping at the night bazaar. The night bazaar is a shoppers dream. It pretty much has everything you could want there, plus it is loaded with designer knockoffs. Ashley picked up a two cute Izods, I picked up a Von Dutch t-shirt. We purchased a few gifts for our fashion conscious friends and relatives.

Late Weds night, after several Changs (Thai Beer), I broke out with a fever and some stomach problems. So all day Thursday, I laid in bed hoping to get better. We ended up having to cancel our trek as I was too sick to go. Luckily we got our money back, but I was definitely disappointed. Today, we have kept it low key also, as I still feel a little shaky. We did check out another Wat (see picture) with this spectactular buddha statue. Tomorrow we head to some caves nearby.