This is the first time that I had ever gone to Thailand.   I went with 3 friends -- Mike,
Dan, and Bill.   Mike, Dan, and I arrived on the same day and Bill arrived on the 18th.
I imagined what it was going to be like but wasn't even close!   I'm just glad that I
didn't get jaundice like a friend who went on a similar trip a couple of years before.

This is the third trip that I've taken to an Asian or South Pacific country in the past
year-and-a-half.   I hope to visit other countries in those regions and, eventually, some
countries in Europe where my ancestors came from.   You can visit the pages for those
other trips by going back to the Pictures page.

Some of the highlights of the trip were --
1) The three cities that we visited were Bangkok, Pattaya (pronounced "puh-tie-yuh"),
and Phuket (pronounced "poo-ket").
2) We partied every night until at least 2 o'clock every morning, usually starting at
about 5 o'clock.
3) If you are a man and you get a chance to go to Pattaya, you've GOT to get a foamy.
You'll never forget it.   (Ladies, it's best if you don't ask.)
4) Dan, a friend that we met on the bus ride to Pattaya -- Matt, and I went to an
elephant farm and got to ride elephants.

Some things that I learned were the following (in no particular order) --
1) If you go to Thailand and you want to stay in some nice hotels, the best ones that we
found were Lotus Novotel (Bangkok), the Royal Palace (Pattaya), and the Bayshore
Resort (Phuket -- the new one).
2) The exchange rate was approximately $44.40 baht per dollar (for cash) and $43.50
baht per dollar (for travelers checks).
3) The one drawback about Pattaya is that the sewers run along the sides of the streets.
Occasionally, you'll run across rancid sections.
4) The locals express sincere gratitude by pressing their hands together in front
of them in a praying motion and bowing their heads.
5) Along with bowing to express thanks, bowing is also used for praying,
acknowledging the presence of a monk, and one other issue that I don't remember.
6) The working women wore either high heel shoes, stilettos, or platform tennis shoes.
7) The most common beers available were Singhao, Singhao Gold (my favorite), Chang
(which means "elephant" in Thai), Heineken, Carlsberg, and Klosters.   The reason
that there are so many European beers is because Europeans like to vacation there.
There were many more of them there than there were Americans.
8) Many of the locals have never heard of "The United States" but they have heard of
"America".
9) In order to avoid rain, the best time during the year to visit Thailand is between
November and March.   It didn't rain at all while we were there.
10) One of the girls at one of the bars wanted to talk to me about the ongoing
anti-terrorist campaign that The United States was running.   I explained that we
were doing it because of the terrorist attacks that happened on United States land on
September 11th.   She stated that Thailand had not experienced any type of
(significant) terrorist activity for about 70 years.   Consequently, some of the people
there were indifferent about it.
11) Some of the working girls had trouble speaking English.   (Imagine that!)   As a
result, they would use words that were similar to what they intended but would
produce a significantly different meaning.   For example, instead of saying "I like
you very much.", they would say "I like you very big.".
12) The majority of available news on TV was via BBC World.   This made sense since
Thailand is geographically closer to Europe than to The United States.
13) We discovered through hard knocks that it was necessary to ask hotel personnel
questions about the rooms prior to booking one; especially if the hotel was relatively
expensive.   (Hotel prices started at $12.50 per night.)   If you go and want to get a
room at such a hotel, ask about (1) Warm water, (2) Escalator, (3) Bugs (you name it,
they might have it), (4) Number of towels, (5) Wash cloths, (6) Cleanliness of sheets,
(7) Carpeting or tile floors, (8) Need key to operate everything -- lights, air
conditioning, etc., and (9) Shower -- a tub or a hole in the bathroom floor.   (If I go
again, I'll have this checklist available.)
14) Along the streets, there are many Internet cafes.   I estimate that there are two on
every block.
15) The monks wear three colors of robes -- Yellow, brown, and orange.   The color
of the robe designates their status.
16) I ordered Thai ice tea at a couple of restaurants and no one knew what I was
talking about.   (I even said it in English!)   I eventually learned what it is called in
Thai -- "chaa yen" ("chaa" is pronounced "cha-a").   Instead of making it with milk,
they make it with syrup.   It's just as good as the American version if not better.
17) The main road where we stayed in Bangkok -- Sukhumvit Road -- has 2 levels of
traffic.   Above the second level is the track for the Sky Train, an above-ground
subway train.   It's similar to the design of the traffic system as Kobe, Japan, where
the earthquake occurred, knocking the upper deck of the system on its side.  
18) Be careful because some of the women are not women.   They call themselves
"lady-men". D'oh!

I tried to learn the language, but it was difficult.   It is similar to Chinese and
Vietnamese because it has inflections.   It would take a lot more time than two weeks
for me to be able to learn them.   A good book that Mike brought along is called
"Thai Phrasebook" by Lonely Planet.   It was very useful.