Sawatdee! (Hello from Thailand!) + link to PICS (finally!)

originally posted july 18, 2006:

hey guys!

i arrived in delhi a week ago (yes, a week in delhi.. ugh)

we took a sleeper bus (beds) from rishikesh to delhi we left there at 10:30pm and arrived at 5:00 am in delhi. we took a cab to the main bazar (pahar ganj) and after walking around we found a place to stay. fell asleep and got up at 9 am. we decided to go to the caughnnut place (excuse me for mispelling) (a big circle with shops and underground market) just to find out (when we got there) from the rikshaw driver that everything is closed on sunday. we went to the underground market to find more annoying indians that bug us to buy something from their store. we left there because half of the stores were closed..and all the stores had basically the same garbage. and went outside to the circle. there were western shops like Levi's, Adidas, Nike, McDonald's, and even TGI Fridays. we felt like we're in europe, and it was a refreshing feeling. it was a great day!

the next day we went to this are with antiques and stuff, we went into a store and met a American Airlines stewardes (sp?) that took us to her hotel to freshen up - SHERATON($250 A NIGHT!!!!) it was such a fancy hotel. we went to the bathroom and they treated us like queens, and when we got out the lady (her name was Tamera) gave us a bag with a huge loaf of round bread, apples, and mints :) oh yeah and fragrent rode buds - "to put on your pillow tonight". oh and also at that store we sat and hung out with the commisioner of the delhi police. the only nice sikh person in india.

the next day we took a Delhi tour bus that cost us only 150 rupees, and was from 10am (10:45 india time) till 6pm - the bus took us to birla temple, indira ghandi memorial, raj gaht (mahatma ghandi's ashes), parliament house, india gate, lotus temple, and more that i dont remember at the moment. the tour was nice... for the price we paid. they changed our bus twice, and the guides changed 3 times.. non of them really spoke in english.

on wed - we bought plane tickets to thailand, and it was raining so we decided to just hang out in the main bazar (that we know so well already)

the next day we went to the chandi chowk, took a rikshaw that asked us for money for the ride AND to go in to 2 stores (he gets comission for bringing people in) - so we, smart girls, said ok we dont pay for the ride and we go in the stores. he took us to i think the most expensive stores with no people in them and annoying sales people that try to sell anything. the chondi chowk is an even grosser market than the main bazar. we found a mcdonalds so we bought ice cream and cooled down inside in the AC. then we started to walk around the market.. that was so gross :( we walked for 2 hours and after that we decided to go back to mcdonalds (its like our shelter), and we actually ate there.. at the middle of the meal some mcdonalds worker came and asked if we could fill out a suggestion card OF COURSE we said yes.. and 5 mins later he came back with free ice cream for us.. (so we needed to change our rating a bit, haha) after that we went to see the Red Fort - this huge um i forgot the word, like a palace type of building.

on friday i hung out with a new couple from israel i met at my guesthouse. in the morning we went to drink good coffee and then we decided we want to go to all the fancy malls of delhi. we took a rikshaw to the first mall. it was OK, nothing fancy, afterwards we took a rikshaw to another mall.. the driver wanted us to go into 2 stores, so we agreed, but without having to pay for the ride.. after visiting those stores the driver asked what day is it? so we said friday, so he said "ohh the mall is closed today" - we said go there anyway, its ok... 2 mins later he said theres not enough gas in the rikshaw and that he needs to go put gas and he will come back in 5 mins. we said.. ok... we'll go with you... "no no i will be back in 5 mins".... no... we go with you. anyway he kept on driving and drove fine for another 10-15 mins. we got to a place and i went to ask if this is the place we wanted to go, the lady said NO... the dumb driver took us to a different mall.. but we decided to go in anyway. after walking around we went outside, and the driver was still there.. we ignored him. we went into another store, came out, and he was still there, and we still ignored him. he came after us and said we didnt pay. the guy that was with us yelled at him and the driver ran away. HOW RUDE. later on we finally went to the mall we wanted to go to.. it was not fancy at all.. but whatever, better than nothing.

the next day we (me and the couple) went to the Akshardham Temple (that was recommended by vijay and kalmeeta - THANK YOU GUYS!) - the temple is a new (only 5 years old) huge huge amazing complex with an amazing all hand carved from stone and marble, and amazing gardens (cams were not allowed). in the complex there were 3 attractions - this hall with like 8 different huge rooms with exhibitions better than disneyland with dolls that move and talk and great sound effects, this took 50 mins. it was AMAZING. the next thing was a 40 mins long movie about the guy this temple was built for. the movie was on a huge screen and it was great. the next attraction was a 15 min boat ride (like a small world in disneyland) showing us the history of india, important people, inventions, etc..

on sunday we didnt do much. i did henna on both of my arms and we just hung out in the room watching a movie.

at 11:30pm was our flight to Bangkok, Thailand.

we arrived at 4am and walked around for 2 hours looing for a guest house.. we finally found one in the Kaho San) backpackers favorite street. the guesthouse is called sheikin in bangkok (sheinkin is a street in israel) its pretty cool.. we passed out and basically did nothing all day. in the evening we finally went out to the Kaho San that is an amazing street with tons of cool stores selling cool stuff and tons of bars and pubs, and millions of people (travellers and locals). i ate my first pad thai in the street(was very good) and we went bar hopping. this is my second day here in bangkok. today we (me, tzofit, and shiri - her friend from israel that also landed in thailand yesterday, dana left us earlier in delhi, and went to thailand alone) walked around a lot. i planned us a tour. we saw the Democracy Monument, the Loha Prasat (a complex with temples), the city Parapet Phrakan Fortress (this weird white place.. probably a temple), the Golden Mount (amazing buddhist temple), the Giant swing (i dont really have any idea on what it was), Wat Suthat - inside there was a HUGE sitting buddha. then we walked around looking for the Chao Phray River.. and then looking for Chinatown, and ended up in a very busy park doing Tai Chi with a group of very nice old ladies! i LOVE it. i love it, i love it.... too bad thailand is a little more expensive.. i would love to stay here for longer than 2 weeks. i love thailand, and the stuff to buy here is exactly my taste... i hope to win the lotto while im here, cuz i really want to buy whatever i like! (not much.. just some bags, clothes, and stuff for my new room)

is it too early to say that i like thailand better than india?

i have more pics on my cam to download, but i am too tired for now.. i will do it later.

for now check these out!!! http://mayaspics.spaces.msn.com

enjoy

miss you all

maya