Blind in Bangkok

Hello dear friends and family! Just a quick update for everyone back home.

Jess and I have arrived in Bangkok after roughly 24 hours of travel (more for the New Orleanian here!)
We flew here on Japan Airlines--and you can imagine the interesting food we had on the plane. Sadly, no sushi for dinner. There was, however, delicious tea ice cream for desert. There was this obnoxious Canadian guy who was harassing us most of the flight, but we politely ran away from him the second we landed in Bangkok.
After arriving around midnight in Bangkok, we took a car to our hotel on the river and practiced how to say "thank you" in Thai. (KA POON KA (female) or KA POON KAP (male).
Thailand is such a unique and interesting place. Today, after eating a delicious breakfast on the water at the hotel including what Jess refers to as "curry bread," we set out for the temples, palaces, and Buddhas of Bangkok.
Believe it or not, Jess and I do not blend in here very well. Not only are there NO Thai blonds(shocker!), but I am easily the tallest person here. We dressed in our most conservative dresses and skirts, and were STILL forced into renting some longer sleeved/skirted attire. Also, a group of teenage Thai girls asked to take pictures with us and posed in about fifty pictures with us. Hopefully, Garvey will make it big in Hollywood and their photoshoot won't be in vain.

While renting more conservative clothes outside of the temple, Jess and I bumped into Meng, one of Nikki (Garvey's) best friends from school! Neither knew that the other would be in Thailand. We are meeting up with Meng and her boyfriend tomorrow for a late lunch. WHAT A SMALL WORLD!

It would be impossible to describe the beauty and splendor of Thai temples. I won't do them justice here, but Jess and I were absolutely wowed but the ornate and detailed architecture and artwork. We "meditated" in the Emerald Buddha monastery, and we were careful not to point our feet towards the Buddha--Thai culture considers feet to be the dirtiest and most disrespectful part of the body. At the front of all the palaces, one could purchase the most beautiful flowers to serve as offerings to the Buddha. I am not sure what type of flower it is, but I took about a million pictures and will be sure to ask Peter, our concierge at the hotel/new best friend.

After the palaces, Jess and I went to Chinatown to explore and eat lunch. After a really delicious MSG filled lunch, we wandered through the street markets where there were trinkets and food galore, ranging from head bands to shiny roasted pigs noses to some sea-urchin looking fruit.

Tonight, we are headed to lively-tourist filled KoShan Road and tomorrow we are waking up early for a tour of the floating market outside of Bangkok.

Much love from your friends, daughters, grandaughters!
Sam (and Jess)