It is very warm here. In Thailand there are lots of trees and plants on rooftops and in between highways.
They speak the Thai language which sounds way different than English. But some people at restaurants and airports, they can speak English.
Everything you read is in Thai, but some things have English translations. This is what “Hi” and “Good morning” look like in Thai:
Hello: สำหรับสวัสดี
Good Morning: สวัสดีตอนเช้า
Pretty cool huh?
One of the ways people get around is on a tuk tuk. A tuk tuk is really cool because it is a motorbike that has a carriage on the back of it for 3 people. I had to sit on the floor once and it wasn’t very comfy. The tuk tuks are good because they get you to places without having to walk.
We are right near the beach. The beach is so nice, and the water is so warm, you don’t have to get used to it. We are swimming in the Gulf of Thailand that is part of the Indian Ocean. When the tide was out, it was very shallow, we went to the sandbar and built a sandcastle and looked for sand dollars. Jade found two. They were only babies and still alive, so we didn’t keep them. – Mady
Cooking Class/Visiting Market
In Bangkok we went to a Thai cooking class. We went to an outdoor market to get the food we needed. In the market they had live fish in a small tank for eating. To get back we had a tuk-tuk race. THE KIDS WON!!!!!
Ok we cooked so many foods they looked so good and it was so fun cooking with my family in two separate teams. The foods we cooked are the following:
Green chicken curry paste, shrimp pad thai, lemongrass shrimp soup, and for dessert we had the following :Sticky rice covered in coconut milk with mango.
Food in Thailand:
The food in Thailand is so good. Usually what they have for every meal is a main dish, and rice, like soup and rice. Everything with rice. My favourite dishes are all of them. Almost everything I try, I love.
The food is usually very spicy because their spice tolerance is very high. But you can order things without spice, you say, “mai pet” which means no spice. As you heard about from Jade, all of those things she named, they are all Thai food. They are so good, with so much flavour. I do a little bit of spice, because the food is better with it. And the desserts are amazing. I have seen so many beautiful things. Today what we did, is we took a banana which we bought from a woman who was selling fruit at the side of the road. I thought they were so small, but she said they were really good. And so what we did this morning was, we cut them up and put them in a frying pan. It is a type of plantain – fried banana. If any of you see it, you have to try it! – Mady
Wat Pho – Temple of the Reclining Buddha
We went to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. This was a golden statute of Buddha who was lying down which was probably 150 feet long and 20 feet high. lf you do not know what Buddhism is then I will tell you: It’s a religion like Christianity. They follow the teachings of Buddha. They like to call him the enlightened one, which means he has eternal happiness and awareness of the world. In the temple you can go there to meditate and you will find people called monks. They are people who believe in Buddha and dress in orange or white cloaks and shave their heads. They cherish the elephant and they guide it as a spirit animal of the land. They are a sign of good luck. When entering the temple, you take off your shoes and cover your knees and shoulders with clothing – as a sign of respect. You step over the doorframe. The doorframe guides good spirits – so you don’t want to step on the doorframe. I gave a donation to the temple at monkey mountain and got a good luck bracelet from a monk and wear it every day. Thanks for listening and learning.
– Jady
Monkey Mountain
We went to a mountain and there where monkeys everywhere – big monkeys, little monkeys.
You had to climb many steps up to get to the temple. At the temple there where two monkeys. Don’t bring food because it tempts the monkeys. One woman got jumped on, so don’t let them bite or scratch you. They are really unpredictable. They are not looking at you with a smile, not looking at you with a frown, so you don’t know if they are going to jump at you or like you. They are really cute, but as soon as they yawn, your picture of a cute monkey disappears. They have huge front teeth and medium sized bottom teeth that are very sharp. Don’t go near them and you will be totally fine. If you love animals as much as I do, you can watch them all day. It’s entertainment. Better than T.V.
When you enter a temple, you have to be respectful and quiet. You see images of Buddha or statues everywhere. Phuang malai are orange puffy flowers that they thread onto a string and make into a garland that they put onto statues as offerings. It shows respect to Buddha. – Mady
Things you say and do in Thailand
I have been able to swim every day. It is one of my favourite things to do. Me and my family love to walk around the markets and shops along the road. We get to see all the different things they sell in Thailand.
Kapkoonka: means thank-you. It is a way to demonstrate respect, and is good to know. How you do it is you place your hands together flat and put them near your nose and you bow down. You say the translation of “Kap Koon Ka”.
Sawadeika – is a greeting for hello. How this works, like kapkoonka put your hands together and bow down. It is saw a dee ka. Thanks for learning about the things in Thailand.
I recommend Thailand. It is beautiful for its beaches and it is hot.
– Jade