Thailand!🇹🇭

Welcome back y'all! I'm sure you are all DYING to know all about my trip to Thailand! Well I'm here to tell you! 😁

Let me just start by saying HOLY COW!

Thailand is amazing! I was only there for 4 days, but we packed a lot in and needless to say I fell in love with my 14th country! I will definitely be going back (hopefully in January)!!! 

BTW I'm almost half way to my new goal of 30 countries by 30!-- I've got 3.3 years to get myself to 16 more countries. I think I can do it!! 🤗✈️

Now while the pictures don't do the true beauty justice, I'd like to think I'm a pretty good amateur photographer with my good ol' iPhone! 😜

Get ready for a bunch of pictures and some details behind them!

Day 0: Traveling from Shenzhen to Hong Kong

Day 1: Traveling from Hong Kong to Thailand & Exploring Bangkok

KITTY!!! Finally reunited and so excited to be visiting her in THAILAND!
First meal- Chicken & rice with the spicy sauce on the side

One of the manyyyyy temples in Bangkok

The Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha Temple

More at the Emerald Buddha and Grand Palace

Seriously?! Isn't this beautiful!!!

 Selfie time! And then a nice traveler took our pic for us--- We had to "rent" the skirts to cover our legs since we both had shorts on.

Kinda like the guards at Buckingham Palace, these guards aren't allowed to smile. But he was very friendly and willing to take the picture with me.

Not really sure the significance of the elephant statues, but it was pretty. And then the left picture is called the "Giants Swing". It was pretty cool looking.

Afternoon snack of toast & flavored milk! I had Chocolate milk and toast with Strawberry jam. I don't remember what flavors Kitty had, but hers was good too!
Then we had Pork Satay with peanut sauce for dinner-- this was amazingly delicious!!

Day 2: Floating Market and Beach in Hua Hin

Floating market!! We took a boat tour that took us around the market and then to 5 near by temples. They were all absolutely beautiful!

Some of the temples!-- My phone started to die, so I didn't take many pictures. Kitty took some, but i havent received them from her yet to include in this blog. Hopefully I can post and "edit" with more pics when I receive them from her :)

Lunch! More Pork Satay- YUMMMM! And what i think was Papaya Salad with Shrimp.

Fresh coconut! While I am still not a fan of the texture of eating coconut, the fresh Coconut water/milk (whatever you want to call it) was DELICIOUS!

Day 3: Beach time in Hua Hin and nightlife in Bangkok

After the Floating market we drove to Hua Hin, checked in to our B&B, walked on the beach and then went to dinner.
The next morning we put on our bikini's and went for beach time!

Some of my shells I found and the view from our patio.

I was craving a burger, so we found a place for lunch before heading back to Bangkok.
If the menu doesnt give you a clue, the burgers were HUGE and I only had the "normal" size burger.
When we got back to Bangkok we met up with Kitty's friend, Bert. He took us to the river front where we wondered around, ate dinner and rode the Ferris wheel!

The view of Bangkok from the top of the Ferris Wheel.

We did some night sight seeing on the way back to Kitty's apartment. I believe this is the Kings Palace. (Update: I just learned that the King of Thailand has passed away. May he rest in peace)

Day 4: Ayutthaya (the Old City) and Elephants

Fresh grilled Shrimp for lunch! Lots of Shucking, sucking, and peeling (heads/brains and egg sacs fully intact). 😉

Ruins of the Old City. So peaceful and beautiful!

Kitty did sneak in some pictures of me taking pictures! haha.

The laying down Buddha was absolutely gorgeous!

These guys were super cool too! They were in the process of redressing them after the rainstorm.

Just me and a bunch of Buddha friends.

We got somebody to take our picture with one of the big Buddha's. We look so tiny!

ELEPHANTS!!!!!
We got to feed them, take pictures with and even go on a short ride. I was in heaven.

After the ruins and elephants we went to another floating market! I actually liked this one better! It seemed more maintained and had more shopping. Unfortunately this selfie of me and kitty on the boat is the only pic we took! lol

We went to this fabulous waterfront restaurant for dinner before leaving and this was our view.

As the sun went down they turned on lights and it became even more breath taking.

I took this right before we walked out. Isn't it gorgeous!? 😍

Day 5: Traveling back to Hong Kong and then back to Shenzhen 

Up before the crack of dawn to catch my flight back to China. I had a wonderful time and I ended the trip watching the sunrise while flying at 30,000 feet.

The day before I was set to start my adventure I was at home eating some Starbursts, and a crown fell out. Now I'm sure some of you are probably like "OMG Margaret get to a dentist ASAP".... 

Unfortunately I have plenty of experience dealing with missing cavities, crowns, missing fillings, etc., and wasn't worried one bit. As you see I have HORRIBLE teeth. I brush (at least twice a day if not more depending on what I eat), floss, use mouth wash, etc.. I just have horrible teeth. My dentist and I agree that I have inherited my bad teeth from my Grandmothers on BOTH sides of my family. 

Now I know what your thinking- "If you have bad teeth why were you eating a sticky, chewy candy that can pull out fillings and crowns?".. The answer is simple- because I wanted to & it tasted good. Will I eat them again? Probably not for a while.... 

I asked my boss for a recommendation of a dentist here in China that could speak English. She referred me to a place and I made an appointment for the afternoon of the day I returned from Thailand. In the meantime I grabbed this nifty stuff my Dentist from home suggested I bring with me for such instances- Dentemp. It helped keep the crown in place while I was in Thailand, but I had to reapply the material to the crown every night pretty much.

When I went to the Dentist here, the majority of the staff spoke enough English, and were able to examine my tooth/crown... Leave it my bad teeth I guess, but I now need a retreatment of a root canal, a gold post put in and a new crown made... Upset and angry I messaged my mom, who called my dentist and talked to my favorite dental assistant (shout-out to Trish). Trish then text me asking me for a copy of the x-ray and pictures the Chinese dentist took. Luckily I was able to get them and send them to her... Trish and Dr. Ham agreed that since I will be in China another 13 months, its probably best I just go ahead and do what they suggest.... 
I had the root canal retreatment appointment Wednesday (October 12, 2016), It took almost 2 hours, and it was different than how Dr. Ham did my last one. But I think it was okay. Wish me luck in the next steps of getting the gold post and crown. 🙃

 Now that my Thailand adventure is over, I'm obviously starting to plan when I will be able to go back and visit more places- such as Phuket, Phi Phi Island, and Chang Mai... 

Hello beautiful beaches and Elephant sanctuaries!

 

Buttttt I'm also looking into other countries and places I may want to go. I've heard great things about Singapore, Vietnam, The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. 

If you've ever been to any of those or have other SE Asia recommendations let me know! 

(Uncle Jim, Christina, & Laura: I know its been a long time since y'all lived in Malaysia, but do you have any recommendations of cities to visit or things that are must sees?)

Along with my planning my next adventures, I am working on getting hotel reservations and transportation for my family when they come to visit in December! 

I CANT WAIT!!  

Our must see list includes: 

• The Great Wall (Beijing)
• The Forbidden City (Beijing)
• The Terra Cotta Soldiers (Xi'An)
• Hong Kong
• Macao 
• Shenzhen (My apartment and school)

 Well I think that catches you up on all things "Margaret" for the time being! Of course this post is significantly longer than I planned, but that's okay! 😊

 I had a grocery order delivered on tuesday (Thank goodness for NoGoGo and their ability to sell me brands from America (as well as other countries) and deliver it all to my doorstep), so now I'm able to snack on snacks I am more accustomed to from home. (but don't worry- No more Starbursts!)

Adios for now!

Margaret❤️

Chopstick update: a little progress has been made! Not much but a little! I am a master at twirling noodles, and now I can *sometimes* pick up larger pieces of meat. I keep telling myself that "I WILL LEARN" lol. It's (or really I'm) a work in progress! 😉