End of India Start of Thailand

Monday, December 07, 2015
Ao Nang, Krabi Province, Thailand


 Sawatdee-ka!!!
 
That's what we say now that we are in THAILAND!!!!!!! WAHOO

So far so good, but first I need to recap our final days in India ......

We had that fabulous homestay in Dharamsala which Griffin did a great job describing. It was extremely relaxed and I know everybody felt a little sad leaving that comfortable, beautiful, friendly town. We had to wake up at 2:30 AM to catch a bus to Amritsar so we could make it to the border ceremony between Pakistan and India that takes place everyday when they take down the flags at each border.

Not the most comfortable bus but the peeps in the back caught some major air on every bump we hit which was a good time at 5:00 am. Once we got to Amritsar some of us went to the Kitchen which was a communal food kitchen for anybody, that is paid for by donations to the Golden Temple. There were so many people on every station ranging from serving the food to washing dishes to peeling garlic, and all the people were volunteers. It was such a cool production and the Sikh people believe that because God gave them food, they should give food to whoever needs it, and anybody could volunteer at the kitchen . It was such an amazing thing to see so many people working together to produce the small meal that was placed in front of me on the floor that everybody shared. We also got free rooms and showers due to the generosity of the Sikh people.

The border ceremony that we witnessed was beautiful to many of the Indians watching and gave them a great sense of pride. As a foreigner, I felt the outfits and the yelling and the guns was just a big show and competition for each nation. Jingoism (as my European history teacher would say) at its finest.

We got back to the Golden Temple at night and it was insanely beautiful. It was lit up by lights on the outside and it sits in the middle of a large pool filled with holy water in which people take holy dips. At night the temple looks like your grandmothers gold ring when she sits next to the fire in her old oak rocking chair and the flames reflect and flicker in its surface. Pretty nice.

Amritsar is known for its large Sikh population becasue the Golden Temple is the holiest site for the Sikhs . The Sikh faith is very interesting and we got a brief overview of it. I find it very hard to explain so please do google it. I have realized on these travels that religion and culture tend to go hand in hand and in Amritsar that was very clear.

From Amritsar and the beautiful Golden Temple we took yet another overnight train to Delhi. We waited for about 7 hours at the airport for our flight to BANGKOK! You can imagine that after the whirlwind of travel from Dharamsala to Amritsar to Delhi we were a pretty groggy, grumpy and giddy group. After the four hour plane ride filled with a number of good movies and a final Indian meal we finally made it to the humid and hectic city of BANGKOK at about 10 PM!

The first day in Bangkok most people elected to go with the group and check out some cool sites such as the Reclining Buddha and the National Palace. I wanted to see these things but instead was zoning out when the group got off of the water taxi and was too tired to actually make it to these sites on my own . Instead I turned right around and bought a ticket back to our hotel. I lose pretty much anything and everything so the fact that I lost the group isn't so surprising. MA recommended that I just don't put anything down and that way I can't forget it but that doesn't work with a crew of 12.

The next day many went to the Weekend Market and bought some much needed gifts for friends, families and themselves.

One more overnight train from Bangkok to the southern island that we currently inhabit. It is paradise. Crystal clear, warm water and soft sand. We spent the day dancing in the hot beach air and skipping through the waves. From the beach we took a boat to the night market. Sun kissed and glowing we walked around and bought fried seafood and smoothies.

We don't really know what is happening tomorrow but we do know it will include beach and boating. What a life to live! Sorry to some of our people back home where it's snowing right now . That's a bummer.

See you soon,
Anna

"I love the beach! I love frisbee! Gang gang gang."
-indirect quote from Elliot

"Shout out to Jack for being awesome."
-direct quote from Jack

"Sometimes the greatest things in life...that's it I can't think of anything."
-Griffin

"You're putting me on the spot that's too hard."
-Alejandro

"Where is everybody?"
-Tim

"Time flies but I will fly with it."
-a well thought out quote by Anna


 

Comments

Anna and I didn't just get off t
2016-03-21

Love the quote list. Especially the last one. : )

2025-02-07

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