Monkeys and Birds and Elephants...Oh My!!!

Eric and I got to go deep into the wild here in Khao Yai National Park!!! We had such an amazing experience! We rode in the bed of a pickup truck around the park for a while, went on a 5km trek in the jungle (our guide thought it best not to use a trail) and waded in a beautiful waterfall! The wildlife we saw was so awesome. We would just be driving and our stealthy guides would be able to spot a Great Hornbill, Eagle or Gibbon from so far away! On our trek, we were just bashing through the bush and were able to see some amazing trees and flowers. It was so cool just to be so deep in the jungle and see all the foliage and hear all the crazy sounds from the animals! We saw hundreds of monkeys (most on the road at night), some gibbons, deer, crazy birds and even a wild elephant! There are only 200 elephant that roam around the park so we were really lucky to see one, even if it was walking on the road at times. The animals just blew me away, I've never seen so many!

Scooters and motorcycles rule the land

Around here the motorbikes don't mess around. It is the exact opposite of the US. In the US cars rule the road and motorcycles have to watch out for them. Here, the bikes rule and the cars look out for them. There are seemingly more bikes than there are cars. They zoom in and out of traffic, weaving through cars. The craziest part(which you can see in the video) is the girls just chillin on the back of their dudes bikes sidesattle! numerous times I saw they were just hanging out talking on their cell phones just cruisin through traffic! soooo crazy. Katie read that 4 people every hour die on a scooter or motorcycle in Bangkok. We have been lucky enough to not see one yet!

bikes in bangkok from Eric White on Vimeo.

Greetings from the Grand Palace

We made it to the Grand Palace today which is what I've most been looking forward to in Bangkok. Holy Cow! It was amazing. The second you walk into the gardens, you are basically smacked in the face by gold, gems and more gold! We spent the entire morning there (in the sweltering heat) just gawking at this crazy architecture.When we got to the palace, they said we were wearing the wrong kind of clothes and that we'd have to borrow some...Eric got some very fashionable blue scrub pants and I got a lovely orange skirt. It was wild that they made us (and a billion other tourists) change clothes. Even though we were dressed funny, we loved every minute. It was such an incredible place to see! ...Katie

KAZAAM/Shaq Buddah

I made a couple new friends today. Apart from the awesome older ladies you see below. I also met the star of the movie KAZAAM. <===Click there, if you are not in the know about this fine film from 1996. This man is also known as Shaq Buddah. He was a very generous fellow that agreed to not cut my head off with his giant sword if I would take a picture with him in this temple. I of course agreed. I was not about to get my head cut off on our first day out in Bangkok. ....Eric

Sawat Dii - Thank You

After 19 1/2 hours of flying and a 30 min car ride, we made it to BANGKOK!!! We had no idea, but we've arrived at the very beginning of the Chinese New Years. Lucky for us, this means a few temples are open for free today and we'll get to see a massive fireworks display in China Town tonight. Eric and I braved the busy streets today and made it to this enormous "Standing Buddah". It was breathtaking! I've never seen anything more intricate and beautiful. Everyone in Bangkok is off today to celebrate and give praise to Buddha, so we were able to witness people giving their offerings and see the monks leading prayer.

So far, the city has blown us away. We totally look like tourists with our maps and tour guide books out, but we're getting it DONE! The food stands look amazing and I'm so excited to try out some delicious noodles on our next venture out.
Oh, just some adorable Thai women that we met! They were so nice and were trying to teach us how to speak a little Thai. I think I'm catching on quicker than Eric, he just says anything he thinks sounds Thai!

........ Katie

LA to Bangkok. YEA BABY!!

For some reason Katie looks really excited about spending the next 24 hours of our life on an airplane. I know our destination is amazing, but still, we will be spending a full day on planes. Maybe because our plane looks like this?
I am looking forward to watching movies and sleeping for the next 24 hours. See you in Bangkok!!
....Eric