Thailand - Last day
Our last full day in Thailand :( Jonathan and I got a decent start out to Chinatown, but the traffic was pretty bad for the morning. Actually, we hitched a ride with Met over to his school and then took a cab to the Flower Market. I had no clue where we were in relation to the market, and the cabbie must have know (or just figured it out since we're foreigners) and we figured out later that he had actually driven us in a few circles before dropping us off.
The flower market was impressive! It was about 3 square miles of cut flowers, small bakeries, baskets of veggies and every spice you can find in Thailand! The warehouses were packed with people running back and forth (and barely any sightseers) with giant baskets either filled for a delivery or empty and running to pick something up. Orchids were stacked in giant piles on tables, and other flowers were either being threaded to sell or bagged for street vendors to buy. There were even stacks of bamboo leaves that were being folded into intricate patterns and stuffed with flowers like real vases. It was really a sight to see. We walked around for over an hour before we realized we were hungry.
We caught another cab to the train station just at the edge of Chinatown and ate at a noodle shop the guide book recommended. Unfortunately for us, the place was under new management and we happened to stop in on it's first day of re-opening. The soup was so spicy I couldn't eat it, so we ordered something else that was too bland and then went walking around Chinatown again.
We got seriously lost (the intersection by the train station is poorly planned) and eventually caught a cab back to the house. I hadn't slept well the night before, so I took a nap-about 2 1/2 hours later, my jet lag had finally burned off! We caught another cab back to Met's school (cab rides here are about $5-$10 dollars. It's super cheap to drive for an hour somewhere). The cab driver was ok at first, but he kept getting out of the car to check the hood 0.o Then, right before we made it to the school, he pulled off the side of the highway, asked us to wait one moment, and then turned around an went to the bathroom RIGHT THERE @_@. It was too weird!!
Met took us to an outdoor restaurant for dinner where we had a few drinks, then to the Saum Lum Night Bazaar, where all the knock-off products are sold. They had Mont Blanc pens, Cartier watches, Channel purses, and black market DVDs. I was going to get some movies (New Moon and Tru Blood Season 2!!) but the guys were moving too quickly for me to stop. I did, however, get a dress for the beach later in the trip :) It was a small gift to myself.
After the Night Bazaar we met up with on of Jonathan's friends from Thunderbird and a few other people at the bar in the Four Seasons. Despite the fact that there were about 8 of us, we went through 2 bottles of wine :) Met even tried to get us out to a nightclub for some dancing, but the place we went to was just another bar. It was outdoors at the top of a small building though, and the nights here are relatively cool, so it was still very nice.
We got home around 1AM and said goodnight/goodbye to Met and his mother, thanking them for letting us stay the week, then did some packing before heading to bed.
I'm going to miss Thailand! (Have I said that enough yet?? Haha) but I'm ready to move on to the next country. I am going to come back here, either with friends or by myself, at some point to see Chiang Mai and the beaches on the South side of the country. Maybe I'll get more nightlife in there too, since I won't have jet lag anymore :D
The flower market was impressive! It was about 3 square miles of cut flowers, small bakeries, baskets of veggies and every spice you can find in Thailand! The warehouses were packed with people running back and forth (and barely any sightseers) with giant baskets either filled for a delivery or empty and running to pick something up. Orchids were stacked in giant piles on tables, and other flowers were either being threaded to sell or bagged for street vendors to buy. There were even stacks of bamboo leaves that were being folded into intricate patterns and stuffed with flowers like real vases. It was really a sight to see. We walked around for over an hour before we realized we were hungry.
We caught another cab to the train station just at the edge of Chinatown and ate at a noodle shop the guide book recommended. Unfortunately for us, the place was under new management and we happened to stop in on it's first day of re-opening. The soup was so spicy I couldn't eat it, so we ordered something else that was too bland and then went walking around Chinatown again.
We got seriously lost (the intersection by the train station is poorly planned) and eventually caught a cab back to the house. I hadn't slept well the night before, so I took a nap-about 2 1/2 hours later, my jet lag had finally burned off! We caught another cab back to Met's school (cab rides here are about $5-$10 dollars. It's super cheap to drive for an hour somewhere). The cab driver was ok at first, but he kept getting out of the car to check the hood 0.o Then, right before we made it to the school, he pulled off the side of the highway, asked us to wait one moment, and then turned around an went to the bathroom RIGHT THERE @_@. It was too weird!!
Met took us to an outdoor restaurant for dinner where we had a few drinks, then to the Saum Lum Night Bazaar, where all the knock-off products are sold. They had Mont Blanc pens, Cartier watches, Channel purses, and black market DVDs. I was going to get some movies (New Moon and Tru Blood Season 2!!) but the guys were moving too quickly for me to stop. I did, however, get a dress for the beach later in the trip :) It was a small gift to myself.
After the Night Bazaar we met up with on of Jonathan's friends from Thunderbird and a few other people at the bar in the Four Seasons. Despite the fact that there were about 8 of us, we went through 2 bottles of wine :) Met even tried to get us out to a nightclub for some dancing, but the place we went to was just another bar. It was outdoors at the top of a small building though, and the nights here are relatively cool, so it was still very nice.
We got home around 1AM and said goodnight/goodbye to Met and his mother, thanking them for letting us stay the week, then did some packing before heading to bed.
I'm going to miss Thailand! (Have I said that enough yet?? Haha) but I'm ready to move on to the next country. I am going to come back here, either with friends or by myself, at some point to see Chiang Mai and the beaches on the South side of the country. Maybe I'll get more nightlife in there too, since I won't have jet lag anymore :D