Okinawa, Japan

This is not a post about Thailand, but a wonderful series of islands in southern Japan. I have been to these islands 2 or 3 times (lost count! ^o^). They are the "Hawaii" of Japan--beautiful beaches, sunny weather and wonderful food. MAP HERE. They are also popular for another pastime: diving! Some of my readers are avid divers, so I thought I would share a "hidden spot": Miyako Island's "Pond Street" [下地島の通り池] This dive spot is really, really cool. You start in the ocean, diving deep to 30 meters, swim through a tunnel, and exit out via a pond on land. How cool is that?!?! It's something I really want to try. Inside the Tunnel: Since two big holidays are coming up in Thailand (Songkran -- April 10 ~ 16) and Japan (Golden Week -- April 29 ~ May 5), this might be the perfect vacation for some of my readers. I hope you will try and give me a report! ^_^ Emerging from the tunnel to the pond:  

 For my Japanese readers, here is the Wiki site: こちだよ！ Happy diving!

**Bonus** Today marks April Fools Day around the world. Rather than play a trick on you, I hope you will enjoy THIS LINK to the top 100 April 1st hoaxes of all time. Please enjoy!

Fencing Club?

Looking down at the condo building next to mine, I noticed two people having, what appeared to be, a fencing lesson.

After these two practiced, a larger group joined them and they practiced other kinds of sword fighting. Neat!

Chatuchak Park III

As I mentioned earlier, this park is quite romantic. When I walked around on a Thursday afternoon, I saw many couples, lying on mats on the grass (which can be rented), enjoying the atmosphere.

Thais seem to love being outside, sprawled out underneath trees, napping or just taking it slow.

A passed out couple:


Another group napping (note the gazebo!):


For those who want to get fit, there is not one, but TWO exercise areas in the park. The more serious one was busy with some Thai army guys. This one, is a little bit more "family friendly" and includes signs explaining how to use each piece of equipment effectively.

The park's gym:

Chatuchak Park II

As mentioned in an earlier post, Chatuchak Park near Mo Chit station (also MRT Chatuchak Park stop), is quite romantic. I highly recommend this place to take your special someone, as there are many quiet, hidden spots.

A pink bridge (there are actually 3 in the park):


An interesting arrangement of storm drain covers:



A hidden Japanese themed garden:



Complete with Koi pond!


The whole park deeply reminded me of walking through Christchurch in New Zealand. Really wonderful and great memories!

Chatuchak Park

Many tourists, when in Bangkok, will pay a visit to Chatuchak Market, but miss what could be the most beautiful park in the city: Chatuchak Park, next to BTS Mo Chit station.

Over the next few days, I will share pictures of this large park. It took me over an hour to walk around and explore. I would also say this park is the most romantic-- due to pink brick bridges that could have been taken from the British countryside.

The large walking/ jogging path:

Benchasiri Park

At BTS Phrom Prong station, next to the Emporium department store, you can find this small park. After eating lunch at the food hall, I headed over to this park to enjoy the nice breeze outside.

I was surprised to see many students wandering around the park, furiously writing the names of trees on their papers. What was interesting were their uniforms. Apparently in Thailand, many schools have one day a week when students wear not school uniforms, but Boy/Girl Scout uniforms. I am not really sure why, but I thought they all looked pretty neat. Notice the teachers also wear Scout uniforms.

The kids:



This park is the smallest I have visited. There is a central pond, two play areas for children, and some sporting areas. It's nice, but tends to have more people, as it's just off Sukhumvit Road.

BKK Bagel Bakery

There is a *real* bagel shop in the city now! Hurray! A friend and I decided to have a lunch date here on Tuesday. We ordered:

Salmon and cream cheese toasted bagels...


A "whoppie pie" (waaaay too sweet)...


and coffee. We chatted and nibbled our way through lunch for almost 2 hours. We both agreed the bagels were fabulous! Really great. Each bagel costs 35 baht (about $1). The shop is located near BTS Chitlom.

Visit the shop's website HERE.

**Bonus**: Extra photos from the Bangkok Podcast/ Spice Roads "Bangkok Jungle Tour"
See the photos HERE.

Soi Chulalongkorn 5

I ventured off the beaten path and into some lesser known territory: Soi Chula 5. It runs from Lotus Supermarket on Rama 1 road, near the BTS National Stadium stop, and ends at Rama IV.

There are two things to note about this soi:

1) If you ever need a bicycle or car parts of any kind, Chula 5 is the place to go. I saw hundreds of shops selling everything from headlights, to engines, to car seats, etc, etc. There were also numerous bicycle shops along the route and most looked used, but in good condition.

a bike with an engine?!?


Car parts galore:


2) There was a nice little market tucked in one of the side roads that I explored a little. It wasn't on my map, but is located closer to Rama IV, on Chula 5. The market housed lots of clothes and food shops. The majority of shop keepers I noticed spoke Chinese. (Chinese-Thais??)

a covered veggie market:


a hidden street market:


It was a long, hot walk, but fun to see a part of Bangkok that few tourists trod.

Spice Roads III

Our cycling tour continued on the island. We stopped at the docks on the island and enjoyed some drinks here. I look a picture of one of the local ladies:


The dock area:


After resting, we headed out again, this time, stopping at a lovely park with a huge fish pond. Here, our guides fed the fish and I snapped a picture of some local children, also feeding the fish:


The tour ended at 17.30. A fellow cyclist had brought along a trip meter, and he noted that we had traveled 20 kilometers on this tour!! For those who are interested in trying a bicycle tour, some further information can be found HERE(Spice Roads Website).

Regarding this "Bangkok Jungle Tour", some information that is not posted on the website, but I would consider valuable knowledge:
- You will have to carry your bicycle at times. There are some wooden bridges, obstacles, and boat ramps along the route.
- Bring some pocket money for the water market.. you can pick up some cold drinks and ice cream here.
- Sunscreen is a MUST.
- A helmet, bike and one bottle of water are provided. I wouldn't hesitate to bring an extra bottle of water. We all drank our water very quickly.
- Getting a camera mount for your bike is a great idea. One guy brought his, and could take video while cycling. Brilliant idea!

I am already considering a bike tour of Vietnam now...^_^ Nice!

Spice Roads II

Our "Bangkok Jungle Bike Tour" continued. Once the boat docked at the island, it was a different world. Very hard to believe this island is directly across the river from a thriving metropolis! The island is full of tropical trees. We cycled on numerous elevated walkways which criss crossed through the vegetation.

One of the many elevated walkways we cycled on:


Near Wat Klong Toey, we had a 30 minute rest stop to explore a water market. I really enjoyed looking at the food stalls and small gift shops. Here's a sample of what I saw...

Water snakes!


The market:


Japanese character "Doraemon" drinks:


Postcards:


Red Piggies:

Spice Roads

This is the name of a tour company that specializes in bicycle tours. They offer tours not only in Thailand, but also Vietnam, Cambodia and other South East Asian destinations. Their most popular tour is Saigon to Bangkok -- all by bicycle!

At the meet up spot, listening to safety instructions:


I participated in their half day tour one Sunday afternoon, called "Bangkok Jungle". The tour met at Face on Suk Soi 38. From there, we peddled through a slum area, to the waterfront dock "Klong Toey". Next, we boarded a long boat that would take us over to a government protected island, full of lush tropical forests.

I will devote the next few blog posts to this great tour.

Waiting for other group members:



Waiting on the docks at Klong Toey:


Loading the bikes onto the boat:

Lumpini Park

This is a large park located at the end of Soi Langsuan and across from the Siam MRT Station, and the Sala Daeng BTS station. It's popular with Thais on the weekend, and is a great place to unwind within the city. the view from my bench: There are numerous facilities in the park: basketball courts, a swimming pool, badminton courts, large playgrounds for children, picnic tables, a concert hall, covered gazebos, a library, paddle boats and lots of greenery. I visited the park on a Saturday afternoon. It was very relaxing sitting on a bench reading my book, when something caught my eye: a giant lizard, moving along. Wow. I ran into a friend later while walking near Soi Covenant. She said that lizard has been seen by many recently, and is becoming a bit of a celebrity! 

New BTS Skytrain cars

The main mode of transportation here is the BTS skytrain. It connects the city well, and most places can be traveled to in 10-15 minutes.

I noticed the BTS Skytrain got new train carriages. Electronic displays, more seating and hand grips are now available. It's a good way to see the city, as the trains run on elevated tracks. Ticket prices vary depending on how far you want to travel. Typical fares are 15 - 45 baht (40 cents to $1.20).

Inside the new train carriages:

Chulalongkorn University

This is the top university in Thailand and located very near the Siam shopping district. The campus is quite big, and the grounds are definitely worth exploring.

On campus:


An interesting thing about Thai universities: students must wear uniforms. The common colors are: black pleated skirts, with white shirts for ladies, and black pants, white shirts for guys. The uniforms look quite nice, and are very different from the sailor style school uniforms I often saw in Japan.

Walking along the street next to the campus:


Map of the university grounds:


While walking around the university, be sure to ignore the looks from students, who will likely think you are a lost tourist. ^_^

Snake Farm

From Lumpini, walking toward Chulalongkorn university, you will come across the WHO snake farm. They collect snake venom here for medicines. I didn't go inside; instead, I walked around the grounds, which are quite lovely and free!

The Red Cross water fountain:


WHO snake research area: