I wanna go back to Thailand!

Hello! “Sawadee-kah” (since I can’t read or write in thai, I’ll spell it phonetically).

We are back from an amazing two week trip to Thailand!  Some of the places we visited were the King’s Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and a boat ride on the Chao Phraya river that coils its way through the Bangkok metropolitan area.  Our hotel in Bangkok overlooked the river which has served as a “highway” for hundreds of years.  Every morning I’d sip some of the best coffee I’ve ever had, and watch the tow boats pulling barges filled with rice and the early morning tourist-filled long boats decorated by orange safflowers and an occasional pineapple.   Bangkok is a HUGE city–according to wikipedia, it is populated by 8.2 million people–and the traffic reflects its surging population.  We experienced the transportation sampler during our stay–777 airplanes, tuk-tuks, taxi cabs, cargo vans and elevated mass transit.  (Check out the video of my first tuk-tuk ride–notice the number of motor vehicles on our side of the center line going the wrong way!).  I cannot say enough nice things about the people.  Without exception, the people were friendly, patient and accommodating.

And yes, the gem markets were FABULOUS (understatement)!  We sat in an open air market in Chanthaburi, Thailand sorting through gems of every kind, color and quality while haggling for the best prices.  A trusty calculator served as our best form of communication during the haggling process and it was FUN!

Gem Market at Chanthaburi

Buying Stones in Chanthaburi

My head is still spinning from the incredible sights, smells, tastes and sounds of Thailand.  If it weren’t for the 26 hour travel time, I’d hop on a plane and regularly visit.  But, that is part of the experience, too.   I’m looking forward to my next visit, whenever that might be.  In the meantime, we all have some designing to do!  Stop by anytime to see the gemstones from our trip!