Friday, January 16, 2009
Trotting off to Trat
I started my vacation with a surprise and then a peaceful getaway. The surprise was that I met my homestay family, the Trieus, on the plane to Bangkok! They were on the way to visit their son, Ha, who works for the Red Cross in Bangkok. It was fantastic to see them again and I got to practice some more Vietnamese! Ha droveme with his parents from the airport and I saw his place, a fantastic apartment on the 31st floor in downtown Bangkok! The views were spectacular.
I followed this with a mini shopping spree in downtown Bangkok. The highlight--I bought the game "Clue" from a Toys R Us in Siam Square. I'll play it with Chien and Thu, and maybe for larger groups if I can figure out how to adapt it to the classroom.
The next day it was off to meet Tracy in Trat! I was so excited to see her again. I fell in love with Trat as I was hopping a bus back from Koh Chang last year, now that I spent another two days there--I absolutely think it's great. Trat is a small port city near the Cambodian border. Normally, it's just a jumping off point for the islands of Koh Chang. But Trat on it's own has a lot to offer.
We stayed at a great and cheap little guesthouse called "The Orchid." It has a beautiful garden in the back with many flowers and is run by a woman named Jun. There are a lot of beautiful temples in the area and many charming cafes. It's just a great relaxing city.
Next stop: Cambodia
Labels: Thai culture, Thailand, tourism
